Studio Walljump has announced Liight, a new WiiWare puzzle game based on casting same-colored light on puzzle pieces to create music. The concept sounds pretty cool: you position beams of colored light such that they cast right on all the pieces of that color on the board. Every piece adds elements to the soundtrack (which is available as MP3s on the website).
In order to pull this off, you have to combine colors and cast shadows over the game's 100 puzzles. It also includes a level editor and the ability to host speed contests. It actually sounds pretty cool! Except for the name. People could probably have figured out that it's a Wii game without the Wii pun in the title.
Up until now, Virtual Console and WiiWare games in PAL regions have played nicely, each politely waiting their turn to appear on alternate Fridays. This week, they've both appeared on the same day, scrapping it out for your love. This is what we wanted to happen from the start, but since WiiWare appeared, Nintendo has had an excuse to offer less on the VC.
Anyhow, that's another rant for another post. Critter Round-Up and the totally obscure MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade are the latest WiiWare additions, while the Hanabi Festival continues with Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa(parts of which look like some of our dreams -- eating through miles of cake) and Dig Dug. Is Dig Dug really worthy of a Hanabi Festival release? Hasn't it already appeared on every format known to man?
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa -- NES -- 600 Wii Points
Dig Dug -- NES -- 600 Wii Points
MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii Points
Critter Round-Up -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points
Munch your way through the break, which isn't made of cake, for footage of all four.
World of Goo has been a squishy blip on our radar for ages now, but development will be wrapped up soon. WiiWare World got a chance to chat with 2D Boy duo Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler, who revealed that development for the U.S. version will be complete in September, and that they're hopeful the game will be released Stateside in late October. Oh, and it'll cost more than 1,000 Wii Points. Wait, what?
So far, only Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King has dared to breach the 1,000 Wii Points mark, but Nintendo clearly thinks 2D Boy's gooey, beautiful puzzler is worth the extra pointage. On the bright side, North Americans won't be paying as much as Europe, where the game will be retail-only, cost €40 (£31), and has been delayed until Q1 2009. The European version will have a sixth chapter, however, one that takes place on the moon.
Amongst all the new details to digest (also worth mentioning: the two-player co-op mode now accomodates four players), Gabler seems like he'll be relieved when the game is out of the door. "I like to hate the game as much as possible, and believe that it's ugly, with horrible gameplay, and that nobody will like it," he admitted. "If this were a human relationship, it would be very unhealthy, and World of Goo would cry a lot." Man, that brings back memories.
Clu Clu Land is one of Nintendo's most mysteriously underused franchises. Some of the company's early Famicom/NES games never became long-running series because nobody wanted any more -- Urban Champion, for example, or Donkey Kong Jr. Math; some were designed for the R.O.B. robot and died with it (Stack-Up) and some were too generic to really even count as franchises anyway (Baseball). But Clu Clu Land was an original puzzle game that just never reappeared.
Except for that one time! And those other times, kind of!
Over 100 stages will feature in Kororinpa 2, as well as multiple difficulty levels (maybe even difficult levels of difficulty this time), a swish-looking course editor, multiplayer for you and three fellow rollers, and Mii integration (which is now as importantandcommon as having graphics). So long as it also has a better camera, we're already on board. Oh, and boxart that is half as wonderful as that of the original PAL game. Like, seriously, how perfect is this? Expect it early next year.
Tetris has had its udders suckled dry down the years, with innumerable spin-offs, follow-ups, and twists on the original formula all taking their turn on its now-withered teat. Tetris DS remains, for this blogger, the definitive Tetris experience, but the Balance Board-compatible Tetris Party is looking extremely promising on the evidence of these first videos.
Developer Hudson seems to be drawing inspiration from other games to make dropping blocks feel fresh again -- "Shadow" mode (above) is essentially Tetris mixed with NEVES, while "Climb" mode (in the video after the break) is a bit like what would happen if Tetris got jiggy with Lemmings (or, as this is a Nintendo site, Mario vs. Donkey Kong). It works as well -- both of these modes look engaging and fun!
It's worth mentioning that the game contains classic, vanilla Tetris, and there's a video of that after the break also. You know, in case you've never seen Tetris before. Which would just be odd.
This is pretty out-there for a Virtual Console request, for plenty of reasons. Okay, so Irritating Stick is a PlayStation game, which is more likely to show up on the PS3 than the Wii. And okay, there'd be no point in doing it without Wiimote integration -- more on that later -- meaning it should be WiiWare or something rather than an emulated VC game. Also it's kind of annoying (the name is accurate).
But none of that matters, because it's a game called Irritating Stick, and that's hilarious, and I want to talk about it. And if it would be good anywhere, it would be good on the Wii.
After the first month of Boom Blox's release, sales of EA's original, excellent built-for-Wii game didn't look too hot. Apparently, sales have come along quite nicely since then, according to statements made in a conference call last night.
EA CFO Eric Brown told investors that Boom Blox had sold 450,000 units since launch. Since Brown didn't specify the region in which those sales took place, it's probably worldwide. While 450,000 worldwide is not exactly a blockbuster (though Boom Blox kind of can't help but be a blockbuster), it's certainly a much happier number than the 60,000 quoted earlier. And that's the thing about this kind of "expanded audience" game that Nintendo likes so much: even if it doesn't sell a million in the first month, it'll sell steadily for a long time.
The question on our minds: which region is Boom Blox selling best in? Has Japan taken to it since its release this month?
Hey, there's a party beneath the sea, and you're invited! Reflexive Entertainment just announced a WiiWare version of its maritime-themed PC puzzler Big Kahuna Reef, except because this is the Wii and the Ultimate Party Machine, it's now called Big Kahuna Party. Adding Party has worked for at least one other title, we believe.
Gameplay in Big Kahuna Party is of the "line-tiles-up-to-make-them-disappear" variety, and while that may not sound wildly exciting, there will be both co-operative and competitive play for two to four players in all of the game's 99 levels. The reward for completing stages is the chance to unlock 26 "beautifully rendered" exotic fish and, uh ... that's it.
Oh yes, and you can totally play it for free already, much like certain other WiiWare games. No release date for this one yet, but we sense it needs to be cheap.
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.
Up until now, Virtual Console and WiiWare games in PAL regions have played nicely, each politely waiting their turn to appear on alternate Fridays. This week, they've both appeared on the same day, scrapping it out for your love. This is what we wanted to happen from the start, but since WiiWare appeared, Nintendo has had an excuse to offer less on the VC.
Clu Clu Land is one of Nintendo's most mysteriously underused franchises. Some of the company's early Famicom/NES games never became long-running series because nobody wanted any more -- Urban Champion, for example, or Donkey Kong Jr. Math; some were designed for the R.O.B. robot and died with it (Stack-Up) and some were too generic to really even count as franchises anyway (Baseball). But Clu Clu Land was an original puzzle game that just never reappeared. 
This is pretty out-there for a Virtual Console request, for plenty of reasons. Okay, so Irritating Stick is a PlayStation game, which is more likely to show up on the PS3 than the Wii. And okay, there'd be no point in doing it without Wiimote integration -- more on that later -- meaning it should be WiiWare or something rather than an emulated VC game. Also it's kind of annoying (the name is accurate). 
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.
