While the first Wii media for the upcoming Sam and Max: Season One wasn't particularly enlightening, it was pretty funny -- a staple of the S&M (wow, bet Telltale didn't think that one through) series. That has all changed with the latest trailer, as the titular characters give us a sneak peek at their entire adventure catalogue.
Many gamers may have missed out on the comedy duo's episodic capers during its run on the PC, so the chance to pick up the entire first season on the adventure-capable Wii is a no-brainer. You'll find noir-style music, wisecrackin' rats and beating up old people in the promising video, so there's no reason it won't be totally awesome. Look out for Reality 2.0 in Q3 2008.
Being nice to look at is hardly essential for a puzzle game, but that's not to say we're opposed to easy-on-the-eye puzzlers such as World of Goo. Deep Silver's Gravity is another entry in the genre that is also a looker, with each of the title's 100 puzzles featuring a unique, hand-painted background (IGN has bigger screens if you want to admire them some more).
As for how it plays, this debut trailer suggests that the Deep Silver team have been spending some time with Crayon Physics, or maybe even DS homebrew hit Pocket Physics. You'll hear no complaints from us if the Wii gets its own Crayon Physics!
Posted Jul 17th 2008 5:00PM by Phil Larsen Filed under: News
What is a Roogoo, exactly? Well, it's not quite a kangaroo, not quite a pile of goo, but ... we have no idea. While everyone stumbles around trying to figure out these mysterious things, SouthPeak Games had an idea of its own -- bring the colorful puzzler to Wii and DS!
Previously available on XBLA, the Wii version will naturally use motion controls for its core gameplay. You'll be tasked with guiding meteors through rotating platforms, which will apparently stop the evil Meemoos from draining the energy of the planet. Pffft. That doesn't sound very realistic, does it? What are games coming to?
Roogoo will feature multiplayer action for up to four players, in co-op, competitive and "party" modes. Additions to the Wii version are evident, but explained only as "gameplay twists." Well, if you say so. We're actually looking forward to it, because the recent round of puzzle games have been top-notch. Check out the XBLA trailer at DS Fanboy for Roogoo in motion.
Do you want to know everything there is to know about Mega Man 9, or, uh, Neopets? If so, it's time to send hugs and kisses to Capcom. The company officially announced what it's showing at E3, and, guess what? Those titles made the cut. Now you have more reason than ever to try and get on Capcom's invite list.
For Wii owners, the Capcom Belle of the Ball is definitely going to be (a playable) Mega Man 9, a game that we just can'tshut upabout. Those of you who aren't impressed by the awesomely retro, 8-bit goodness might just come away from E3 feeling better about the project (/hypnotic stare). The rest of us who are already in love can commence happy dancing, as we wonder what Mega Mannish goodies will come out of the convention.
Oh, and Neopets! Can we get a woot? ... No? Okay, well, we tried.
WordJong on the DS is unique among the system's puzzle games: a Scrabble-type game in which you build words onto existing stacks of letters in order to clear stages. It's even got an online mode and Achievement-like trophies. There aren't enough language-based puzzle games, and even fewer good ones.
That's why we're thrilled to see a new game listed on GameStop.com called WordJong Party. According to the listing, it'll be out October 21 for $40. If, uh, it's real, a multiplayer, scaled-up WordJong is definitely something to be excited about. Although, of course, it'll have to be particularly feature-rich to avoid the calls of "should be WiiWare" that haunt all 2D, puzzle, or shooting games.
Europeans can't handle the whole "download" thing. No, they have to have their game all wrapped up in a neat little pack-age! Despite the fact that World Of Goo is to be a WiiWare title in North America, a release list for Nintendo Europe showed the game coming as a full retail version!
Speaking to WiiWare World, 2D Boy's Ron Carmel said "Our European publisher, RTL Playtainment, is planning to release both the Wii and PC versions as retail titles." Well, this means 2D Boy has opted to include extra content in the retail version, unavailable in North America and Japan -- though the amount of bonus stuff is still undecided. Find out for sure when the game hits Europe in Q3 2008.
Just watch any old thief movie to be infused with a great sense of power. Laugh heartily as a sexy babe or handsome badass steals millions right from under some chump's nose, then boldly exclaim "Ha! I could do that!". Well, probably not, so Safecracker is for those who dream big but don't particularly want to go to prison.
You play the role of some safe expert who is hired by a family to search the mansion of their dear old (dead) dad, Duncan Adams. There are 35 safes to crack in total, so you'll need to explore the mansion to find Adams' last will and testament -- then fork it over to the spoiled brats in his family. Fat chance!
Safecracker was originally a PC adventure game, much like this, that, And Then There Were None. The Wiimote works perfectly for pointage and clickage, so any puzzle aficianodos can look out for this one in Q3 2008.
In spite of its untimely demise, the Dreamcast still lives on in gamers' hearts due to a small library of now-classic titles, ranging from the grandiose, such as Shenmue, to the bizarre, like Space Channel 5. Falling closer to the latter on the weirdness scale is ChuChu Rocket!, a unique Dreamcast puzzler that's noteworthy for being one of the last great games to come out of Sega's Sonic Team (I mean, really -- Shadow the Hedgehog?), and for taking the Dreamcast online with four-player multiplayer -- no small feat in 2000. Just like Katamari Damacy, ChuChu Rocket! succeeds on the strengths of simple-but-addictive gameplay and irresistible charm.
ChuChu Rocket! makes no attempt to hide what it is -- a pure puzzler, free of all frivolities and unnecessary dead weight like a story. The concept is quite straightforward -- your only goal is to guide a group of mice (or, in some levels, just one mouse) into a rocket. In many cases, this involves avoiding cats who are roaming the puzzle terrain, waiting to make a mouse sandwich out of your little ChuChus. Both the mice and the cats move in the exact same fashion -- they head in a straight line until they hit a wall, which will cause them to turn right. It's a little like watching a group of lemmings, but, thankfully, the mice move just a bit faster.
Oh, Zack & Wiki, what an overflowing treasure chest of delights you were; your demanding (yet fulfilling) puzzles and vibrant, cute visual style won us over in a heartbeat. Even though you consistently made us feel thick, we'd still do anything to spend just another hour in your puzzley company. Even that meanie Yahtzee liked you!
Alas, a new adventure featuring the pirate and his monkey is looking increasingly unlikely. Capcom bossman Christian Svensson seemed to rule out a follow-up on the Capcom forums, noting that he "[wasn't] so sure there will be [a sequel] on any reasonable timeline." That doesn't mean we'll never get one, of course, but we wouldn't go expecting Zack & Wiki 2 in the next decade or anything rash like that. We can't say we blame Capcom, either -- remember how the company was forced to drop the game's price just three months after it launched in the States? That's probably not an experience it wants to revisit.
We're glad to see Namco Bandai continuing to support the WiiWare version of Word Puzzle Mojipittanthree months after its launch-day release. They've released another pack of new downloadable puzzles, this time aimed at children. The "Kantan Kids' Stage" (Simple Kids' Stage) pack features cutely-designed stages shaped like frogs, ladybugs, cats, and more, intended for elementary school kids.
Like the last DLC, the new Mojipittan puzzles are priced to move at 200 Wii Points. Even with the 1,000 Points required to purchase the base game, the price isn't bad for quality educational gaming that happens to be conveniently downloadable. It also seems handy for beginning Japanese readers who happen to have Japanese Wiis.
For the second time in three weeks, those rapscallions at Nintendo have decided to forgo releasing old, lovable Virtual Console games and have instead opted for WiiWare. Grr. Still, at least it means that Europe and Australia get Arkanoid-style puzzler Block Breaker Deluxe, which we deemed to be rather good, despite its cast of grinning, lifestyle pillocks. At the other end of the quality pool bobs the questionable floating object that is Cocoto Fishing Master, which we wouldn't buy for our worst enemies.
When Pong evolved, we got Breakout. When Breakout evolved, we got Arkanoid. Then, when Arkanoid evolved, we got ... Block Breaker Deluxe?
Not that we'd call Block Breaker Deluxe revolutionary in any way, even though it's fun to play. Take Breakout, slap on some tacky '80s visuals, then throw in '70s disco/porn music for good measure, and you pretty much know what to expect from Gameloft's WiiWare offering.
EA's John Riccitiello? Nothing fazes him. The man's as cool as a cucumber. Case in point: last week, GameDaily reported that EA's Boom Blox, a game that has received universal praise from critics, has sold just 60,000 units in North America since its launch in early May -- a figure that equates to 0.6% of Wii owners. "Ouch" doesn't begin to cover it.
Yet whereas such paltry figures would have had seen most CEOs teetering on the windowsill of their eleventh story offices, Riccitiello remains confident that Boom Blox is a slow-burner. Speaking during a session with investors, the EA bigwig argued that casual games have a "much flatter, much longer [sales] curve" compared to core titles, which can see "20 to 30 per cent" of their lifetime sales take place during the first week.
"Right now, Boom Blox has met our expectations internally based on the model that was put forward," announced Riccitiello. "Can it do several hundred thousand or a million or more units? Sure, it just has to keep selling."
We just hope you're right, John, if only because Boom Blox desperately deserves to do well.
Plättchen: Twist 'n' Paint was the first WiiWare game announced, back in July of last year. According to the ESRB, it's (at least eligible to be) twisting 'n' painting its way to the Wii Shop any time now, having been officially rated. Also rated: King of the Monsters, SNK's totally great Neo Geo monster fighting game, which was released on Japan's Virtual Console two weeks ago.
It's impossible to predict when these games will actually show up on the VC and WiiWare, but we're hoping that King of the Monsters will appear soon. It's been too long since we controlled a rock monster throwing tanks at a giant guy. Too long.
If you think we've already forgiven Nintendo for totally neglecting the PAL Virtual Console last week, you can think again, sunshine. Nope, Ninty is officially in our bad books, and no amount of sweet talk, flowers, weekends away, or singing telegrams can let the company out of the doghouse right now. Frankly, we've never felt so unwan -- eh, what's that you say? Five games? Two of which prominently feature ninjas? Oh, go on then.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points
Fatal Fury 2 -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points
Ninja Combat -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points
Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points *
Nebulus -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points *
* Unavailable in Oz, we're afraid, but look at the bright side: footage of all five games is past the break! Actually, we're not sure how that's meant to console you, or how those two facts are even related. Ridiculous, really.
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EA's John Riccitiello? Nothing fazes him. The man's as cool as a cucumber. Case in point: last week, 
If you think we've already forgiven Nintendo for totally neglecting the PAL Virtual Console 
