Nintendo Wii Fanboy

One would think that Balloon Pop is about popping balloons, and that would, in fact, be correct. But it's not just a matter of running around with a pin all willy-nilly in this puzzle title; no, there is a method to the popping madness. Of course, said method may strike as a little similar to Bejeweled, or one of the many other takes on the gem-matching subgenre of puzzle games. This time, as you might have guessed, it's balloons, but not just any balloons. A scurvy thief has stolen the seasons, and you're tasked with releasing them in order to save the planet.

Isn't it great when even the simplest games feature epic quests? We can't help but love it, especially when they're accompanied by a budget price.

As if responding to the concerns we raised yesterday, D3Publisher announced what changes and additions gamers can expect with the Wii port of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Shouldn't we have heard about these details at an earlier date, preferably before the game was shipped out?

Anyway, this new Wii version of the puzzle/RPG hybrid has rebalanced elements, a replay option for capturing monsters, and a two-player multiplayer mode. As we predicted, there are no online features, unlike the Xbox Live Arcade and PC releases. Developer Vicious Cycle Software did, however, make sure to integrate "waggle control options with the Wii Remote."

Were any of you actually hoping for motion-based controls? Or were you wishing, like we were, that the developer would focus its efforts on implementing the primary feature fans of the handheld versions were asking for? We'll probably pick up Puzzle Quest anyway; we just wish we could play against some of you online.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords was one of the biggest surprise hits of the year, its word-of-mouth success prompting a release on every relevant platform -- first the PSP and DS, then Xbox Live Arcade and Windows, and this week, the Wii and PS2 (with a Mobile version in the works). But with over eight months past since Puzzle Quest made its debut on handhelds and two months since its first console port, are you still interested enough in this game to pick it up?

We haven't seen any previews or impressions so far, so we can only assume that developer Vicious Cycle Software hasn't added anything to the original game beyond the bug fixes and balance tweaks that were already in place with the Xbox Live Arcade version. It's safe to assume that there won't be any sort of online functionality either, which is really disappointing when you consider that cheaper versions of Puzzle Quest have had support for online multiplayer battles for months now.