What's the deal with friend codes on the Wii? In the last week or so, we've seen a flurry of rumors and responses-to-rumors, and we don't even know if the system for Mario Strikers Charged will set the standard for the rest of the Wii's WiFi future. Are friend codes Mii specific? Some say yes, but there's also word that the good news about Mii-based codes may be untrue and the result of a mistranslation. We've talked at length about WiFi and the future of Wii online before, but in light of all these recent developments, we can't resist asking what you think.Posts with tag MarioStrikers
Wii Warm Up: Friend code rumor fest
What's the deal with friend codes on the Wii? In the last week or so, we've seen a flurry of rumors and responses-to-rumors, and we don't even know if the system for Mario Strikers Charged will set the standard for the rest of the Wii's WiFi future. Are friend codes Mii specific? Some say yes, but there's also word that the good news about Mii-based codes may be untrue and the result of a mistranslation. We've talked at length about WiFi and the future of Wii online before, but in light of all these recent developments, we can't resist asking what you think.'The big three' ARE coming in 2007 (to Japan)
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo confirmed that they do in fact plan to release Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl by the end of this year, as well as pretty much every Nintendo game announced for the Wii. This corroborates an IGN report to the same effect, and is also totally, totally rad. Here's the full list of Nintendo's planned 2007 releases. Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race is slated for June 28, and the rest are all "2007":
- Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race
- Wii Health Pack
- Disaster: Day of Crisis
- Mario Party 8
- Project H.A.M.M.E.R.
- Wii Music
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Battalion Wars II
- Forever Blue
- Mario Strikers Charged
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
Update: fixed some italics and formatting.
GDC 07: Mario Strikers Charged impressions
Mario's extreme soccer game, Mario Strikers Charged was available for play at GDC. The game, a sequel to the Gamecube original, featured some impressive presentation values and some very fun gameplay. The graphics seem relatively unchanged from the original. The game does natively support 480p and widescreen modes, a nice plus for HDTV owners. Although not technically stunning, the game's cute, animated art style certainly goes easy on the eyes.
The game's controls are almost too simple, with passing and shooting very easy to perform. Tackling another player comes from simply shaking the nunchuck: it's a simple Wii gesture that doesn't seem too elaborate for its own good. The Wiimote comes into further play when you must defend your goal from an opponent's special shots. They will launch up to five soccer balls, and by using the pointer, you must try to aim at the screen and press A to stop as many as you can. In theory, it's a novel idea, but as is most pointer functionality on the system, it seems like an abrupt change from the rest of the game.
Mario Strikers Charged certainly doesn't innovate gaming, but it remained to be quite fun, especially in multiplayer. How it holds up to longer gameplay sessions is still to be seen, but gamers can find out when it releases later this year.
