[VIDEO GAMES] INTERNET CHANNEL UPDATE: OPERA BROWSER FOR WII

Since late December, Wii owners have been able to download a trial version of the Opera Internet browser. After receiving substantial and helpful feedback from consumers, friends and family members, Nintendo developers have made a number of improvements to the final version of the browser, including: improved zooming and scrolling an improved zoomed font shortened startup times quicker access to “favorites” an ability to hide the toolbar buttons that will instantly type common preset letters, such as “www” or “.com” More details about these and other functions will be announced in the near future. To ensure that the browser incorporates all of these enhancements, the final version will be available for download in April, a few weeks later than previously announced. The browser will remain free for Wii owners to download through the end of June. After June, users who haven’t already downloaded the Opera browser can go to the Wii Shop Channel to download it for 500 Wii Points.

 

[VIDEO GAMES] WII-KLY UPDATE: NEW CLASSIC GAME ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL

Today Nintendo adds a classic Super NES® game to the popular Wii™ video game system’s Wii Shop Channel. The game goes live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new game is:Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire™ (Super NES, 1-8 players, 800 Wii Points): Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV is a tactical simulation game in which the player takes the role of a ruler seeking to unite China in the era of the three kingdoms of Wei, Wu and Shu. The role of the ruler is to command a range of officers with differing characteristics – some cunning strategists, others brave warriors – and strengthen the military might of his or her kingdom. Foreign policy, involving forming alliances with certain kingdoms and hatching plans to weaken others, will play a major role in this process. Once players have developed a powerful enough military, it will be time to expand their borders through military conquest. Ultimate victory will only be achieved once all 43 cities in China lie within a player’s control.

 

[VIDEO GAMES] WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL

Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii™ video game system’s Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Excitebike™ (NES®, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): Face crazy curves, hairpin turns, and daredevil jumps as you race toward the checkered flag and the Excitebike championship. Race against the clock or challenge an opponent. You must keep your bearings as you fly through the air and avoid getting clipped by other racers. Stay cool under pressure or your bike will overheat. If you get tired of racing on the circuit, create your own course in Design Mode. There you have access to all the ramps, mounds, bridges, and other obstacles Excitebike has to offer.

Beyond Oasis™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): You are Prince Ali, who has discovered a buried gold armlet. This armlet once belonged to a wizard who waged a long war against the evil wielder of a silver armlet. The silver armlet was used to create chaos and destruction, while the gold armlet had the power to summon four spirits: the water spirit “Dytto,” the fire spirit “Efreet,” the shadow spirit “Shade,” and the plant spirit “Bow.” To stop the person who first discovered the ancient silver armlet and is again using it for evil, Prince Ali travels the land of Oasis, gradually acquiring the ability to summon the four spirits. Use your wits and speed to claim the silver armlet!

SPLATTERHOUSE™ (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): Rick and Jennifer, both parapsychology students at the local university, are visiting West Mansion, site of the research lab where the famed Dr. West conducted some of his most gruesome experiments. A sudden storm forces them to find shelter inside the mansion. Once inside, they are attacked by monsters. Jennifer is kidnapped and Rick is knocked unconscious. Hours later, Rick awakes to find himself covered in blood, with the Terror Mask stuck to his face. His only hope is to depend on the ancient powers of the mask to give him the strength and courage to find Jennifer. Now Rick’s fight has begun! Splatter your way through 7 stages of side-scrolling horror action. Armed with cleavers and shotguns, Rick must fight his way through the monsters of West Mansion and defeat the bosses at the end of every stage. The creepy music, gruesome monsters, gory action and shocking events leading up to the finale will keep you on the edge of your seat!

 

[VIDEO GAME] NCSOFT posts worst-ever quarterly results

NCSOFT, the company originally founded in Korea and known in America for games such as “Lineage”, “Guild Wars”, “City of Heroes” but NCSOFT recently posted their worst-ever quarterly results.

According to an article on Chosun,  “NCSoft’s business results for the second quarter announced Friday were the worst since the firm was listed in 2000. It posted a net loss of W200 million, instead of the W20 billion net profit in the same quarter last year, its only one except for the second quarter of 2001, when it brought in U.S. game developers the Garriott brothers for a whopping W47.5 billion. Operating profit has been on the decline for seven straight quarters since the fourth quarter of 2004.”

More on NCSOFT 

 

[VIDEO GAMES] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 2 coming to PSP on April 5th

Last year, J!-ENT reviewed the first Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable for the PSP. Unfortunately, it looked dated compared to the PS2 versions but still retained the cool audio and Japanese baseball game but still felt it was lacking in something.

On April 5th, the second installment will be released for the PSP.

The game will feature a larger trading and management section and introduce the PoToCa which are cards that will enable access to possibly trade characters with anyone in Japan and also download baseball news.

Image courtesy of Konami Digital Entertainment, Co. Ltd.

 

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL
Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii™ video game system’s Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Tecmo Bowl™ (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Tecmo Bowl pits the player versus the computer in 11-game, single-elimination playoff action. Players also can go head-to-head with a human opponent in action or coach mode. The player can select from 12 teams. On offense there are usually two run and two pass plays to choose from. The player takes control of the quarterback before the snap and then either hands off to the running back or works through his receiver progression from the top to the bottom of the screen. Defense consists of trying to guess which offensive play the opponent will select and then taking control of one of the defensive players before the snap. A very simple power-meter system is used for kicking field goals, extra points and punts.

Sonic Spinball™ (Sega Genesis, 1-4 players, 800 Wii Points): Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik) has taken over Mt. Mobius and turned it into a mechanical base. He is using energy from the magma flowing under the volcano to power his Veg-O-Fortress. He has the power to transform helpless animals into robots. Sonic the Hedgehog must take down this fortress to free the enslaved animals. The only way to make that happen is to trigger an eruption in the volcano it’s built on. Sonic knows this can be done by removing the Chaos Emeralds that keep the volcano stable. Dr. Eggman, however, is also aware of the fragile relationship that exists between the emeralds and the mountain, and he’s set up an elaborate Pinball Defense System to make sure the precious jewels don’t go anywhere.

Double Dungeons (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points): Double Dungeons is a dungeon role-playing game that features smooth-scrolling 3-D game play. Two players can play at the same time, which makes this game truly stand out from the rest. There are 22 unique scenarios, spread out among six levels. The higher the level is, the harder the scenario. Because each scenario is independent, players can choose to start the game from any scenario other than the final one. Players defeat monsters in each dungeon to gain experience while searching for the “key” that opens the door to the room with the boss. They buy equipment at the shop, team up with characters and defeat the boss to clear a scenario. Players must conquer all 21 scenarios from levels 1 through 5 to obtain passwords. If they obtain all of them, they make their way to the final scenario!

 

[VIDEO GAMES] WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL
March 5, 2007

Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii™ video game system’s Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Elevator Action (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): This is a multidirectional, scroll-type spy-action game that is a blast from the past. Control a spy and sneak alone into a building to steal the secret papers hidden there. Use a pistol, kicks, an elevator and even the lights to take out the building’s guards. The gun-fighting action is full of thrills. Players will need speed and timing to get on the elevators, move between floors, steal the secret papers and escape from the basement parking lot.

Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts™ (Super NES®, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): The third game in the legendary Ghosts ‘n Goblins series of video games, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts follows Arthur in another quest to rescue the princess, his fair maiden and damsel in distress at large. Players take control of Arthur and defeat the creatures of the night to save the day once more. Discover what glory awaits those brave enough to take on the armies of Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts.

Sword of Vermilion™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Sword of Vermilion is about the role of Erik’s son, who takes on a quest of revenge to defeat Tsarkon and free the world of Vermilion from evil. In the town of Excalabria, the people went about their business and tended to the fields. One day, vicious fighting broke out everywhere as the army of Cartahena, led by the wizard-king Tsarkon, swarmed all over the town. The townsmen were overwhelmed. The castle of King Erik V collapsed. Erik summoned his bravest, strongest and most faithful warrior, Blade, and gave him his infant son and an ancient family heirloom, the ring of wisdom. He ordered Blade to save himself and the child while the castle burned. Blade traveled to a small village named Wyclif, where he settled down and raised the child as his own son. Eighteen years later, the son of Erik begins his quest. Save the world of Vermilion and fulfill the prophecy of the Malaga fortune-tellers!

 

[VIDEO GAMES] Information on Wario: Master of Disguise for the Nintendo DS (3.5.07)

When Wario™ sees a television series about a thieving master of disguises, he dives through the TV screen, steals the thief’s quick-change wand and takes over the whole show. Episode after episode, he breaks into exotic locations, like a luxury liner, watery ruins and an Egyptian pyramid!

* Draw Wario’s eight disguises: By sketching a symbol on Wario, the player puts Wario in outfits that give him powers, such as Thief Wario’s tackles and Cosmic Wario’s laser blasts. The player also uses the stylus to wield the powers.

* Explore environments: Wario travels the globe in 10 missions that span nine exotic locations. The player must attack many enemies found in each location and also use Wario’s disguises to get past puzzling obstacles.

* Play minigames to unlock chests: To pick the lock of each chest, the player must play one of eight stylus-driven minigames that grow more difficult as the game progresses.

Game storyline: Over the 10 episodes of “his” new TV show, Wario travels the globe in search of treasure to steal. Along the way, he discovers that there’s a far greater prize to be had: an ancient artifact that grants wishes. Now if he can only find it before his rival, the master thief whose show (and powers of disguise) he’s stolen.

How to progress through the game: Using the Thief Wario disguise, players run, high-jump and tackle their way through each episode. They’ll need to switch to other disguises, frequently one after the other, to fight and puzzle through rooms full of obstacles and enemies. Players use buttons to run and jump while using the stylus to affect Wario and his environment, and they can watch the top screen map to keep their bearings in the levels.

At the start of the game, players will have only one disguise (Thief Wario) and will discover more as they proceed through the game. Players can return to previous episodes with the power to use all currently held disguises, making it possible to explore more areas and gather even more hidden treasures. Each episode ends in a boss fight that challenges players to use a variety of disguises to defeat it.

Characters: Wario is joined by his new sidekick, a wand that lets him change into eight different disguises. He’s also pursued by the master thief who wants his wand back, and who still has plenty of high-tech tricks up his sleeve. The episodes also feature more characters in search of the ancient artifact, plus dozens of new creatures. Wario’s friendly new wand helps him switch disguises. Players use the stylus to draw a key piece of each disguise onto Wario to activate the change. The wand explains how to sketch these quick-changes in a tutorial.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Wario opens locked treasure chests by completing one of eight random minigames that grow harder, faster and more complex as the game progresses. If the players succeed, they’ll get the treasure, key item or disguise power-up found specifically in that chest. If the player fails, the chest remains locked, the chest spits out exploding bombs and the player may return to try the chest (with a different minigame) again.

(from Nintendo)