This commercial embodies exactly what Madden has come to mean to its fan base. Madden is football, it happens to be a game, but at its core all Madden is, is the ultimate NFL fan service. Legions of console owners only own their console to play Madden, and maybe NCAA Football. For once a game is not about the game, its about the fans. With that said, the controversial EA/NFL exclusivity makes perfect sense. The NFL wants a singular product they can stand behind on the market that is synonymous with NFL football, and with this deal, they have it.

Gamers have a hard time swallowing the idea of Madden’s existence. It takes a lot of heat from the “serious” gaming community for being nothing more than a roster update for a game they already don’t want to play. What I say to them is, get the eff over it. You are not the target audience. Trust me, EA will find another way to separate your money from your wallet.

That will be all.

(Sorry for the green video quality, this is what happens when you use a camcorder to record a plasma display)

It will be appropriately priced at $70 (for the game and controller) and will be a limited run. The controller doesn’t really remind me of 007 or even GoldenEye, but does remind me of a different notoriously gold Nintendo Franchise, The Legend of Zelda.

I don’t really need a new Classic Controller, but I could really dig playing Virtual Console Zelda games on the much improved Pro model. Having the controller be gold would only add to the pimpage of the whole experience.

Activision’s 007 Goldeneye Wii will launch later this year exclusively on the Wii and from what I hear it plays like Call of Duty.

Upon presenting the Blue Tennis Racket and “PINK” baseball bat(sorry no nieces) the boys immediately fought over the more manly of the two.  Of course the older brother won just before being struck over the head with a cotton candy blur, resulting in a loud pop that made it “Sound” a lot worse than it was putting a devilish grin across the four years lips.  After a little man to man with uncle, the brothers were sharing.  Onward to the games.

We began with Wii Sports baseball.  First thing I noticed was the “Pop” sound is not really that loud when the kid’s have the surround sound turned to “11″.  After a volume tweak we tried it again.  I must say the “Pop” has very good timing.  It is pretty much synced with the Wii-mote speaker’s bat “Crack” (onomatopoeia) combining into an echoing “thwack.”  Was a little hard to test golf since the kids do not care much for it, but it was still entertaining to watch the four year old strike the ground on his swings with the added length of the Wii-mote.  The Hyperkin Tennis packet is bundled with two rackets which is greatly appreciated for two spoiled little boys.  The “Pop” however did not feel quite right for Wii Sports Tennis (the boys do like the Williams sisters, especially the 16 year old) but was okay for Wii Sports Resort table tennis.  My older nephew really enjoyed the sound for Wii Sports Resort Swordplay.  Constantly tormenting his little brother with “I Popped You” taunts resulting in a real life bat versus racket.  Thankfully these accessories are soft but can still be damaging in direct to face impact.  So parents listen closely for a “Pop!” followed by a “Waah!”.

Would I recommend this product?  In all honesty, No.  In a time when we are inundated with excess gaming plastic, I’m looking at you Rock Band, Guitar Hero.  I myself can not store anymore.  Ever wonder why Tony Hawk Ride failed.  We have to many peripherals that only serve a singular purpose.  Now on the other hand, if your kid’s have neither of those games and accessories,  are below puberty, have a toy chest,  and The Hyperkin Wii Sound Plus either drops in price or comes in a “get it all” bundle like this then I say go for it.  It has exactly what gets young kid’s attention, bright colors and obnoxious sounds.  Don’t worry parents, that loud “POP” you hear is coming from the pink bat and not your little one’s pink skull from impact of said bat.  Wow these are things are solidly constructed.

After years of lackluster 3D platforming mis-adventures Sonic is going back to his roots, but really how far back is he going? Sonic has had 2D adventures on GBA, PSP and DS. They aren’t even that old. The most recent two were released in 2007. If anything this looks to be Sonic Team giving up and going back to what they are good at.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 will be downloadable on the PSN, Wiiware and Xbox Live Arcade later this year. Presumably, if this one does well, more episodes are to come.

Pretty sure I am late with this post but I will share it anyway.  The official site (Japanese) for “Metroid: Other M” is live.  Not much info provided but even those without the ability to read the characters can make out2010.  For those who visit the site you will be treated to the image above and some very somber music(tear).  This Metroid will definitely be deep in Samus’s back story(tear).  I can feel it in my bones(sniffle).

The main Gold Box Deal is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash Up:Wii.  Not sure how long this been out or if Sergio already owns 10 copies, (Nine to play with 1 to keep in Mint condition) but I can say copying Smash Brothers was not a bad idea.  I enjoyed this game at E3 and now it can be bought for $29.98.  Since this is the gold box it will be available all day at that price.

Now lets get to the lightning deals.  The way the lightning deals work is, one item becomes available at the time below, and remains available either until it sells out or until it is the next items time for sell.  For items that are not for sell yet.  You are given a little hint, almost riddle like, to guess what the next item up for sell will be.   Since I was a little late we have missed the first two deals.  I am gonna list them out in times of availability.   All times below are Pacific.

6am– House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for Wii — $14.98

9am– EA Sports Active: Susan B Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Edition

–Riddle Time–

12pm –Ninjas can be cute. (I am guessing “Mini Ninjas”)

2pm – This is one house where you don’t want to trick or treat. (guess “House of the Dead: Overkill) might have to get this one

4pm – Join our favorite detective on this chilling mystery. (Agatha Cristy maybe?)

6pm – Bring it on! (Ha! ha! I bet its “Wii Cheer”)

Well there you have it.  Appears these titles are Family, women, and Halloween Oriented.  Get ya some Deals people.

-Design-

The Wii Crossfire Pistol is definitely aesthetically pleasing. Button layout feels natural and accessible. Weight distribution is also good. With the battery compartment in the pistol grip, the bulk of the weight is in in the palm of your hand. Unlike most Wii gun shells which, because of the Wii remote are significantly more top heavy.

The Crossfire also has the ‘A’ button on both sides for easy thumb access, pleasing both righties and southpaws. The groove for thumb access to the ‘A’ button is also very comfortable. The ‘+’, ‘-’, ‘power’, and ‘home’ buttons are all located on the left side and easily accessible by a second hand. Also located on this side is the four blue player indicator lights which are very bright, which can be contributed to them being blue. On the back we have the d-pad, ’1′, and ’2′ buttons. They are easy to access with a thumb or second hand and the directional cross is concave making it okay to rest your thumb in the groove. The d-pad shape is also like that of cross-hairs, circle with a cross over the top. This is good for comfort but could be a problem for pressing diagonals but this is a gun not a fight pad so I can not fault them there.

The trigger is a little clickier than I would have preferred and feels sort of narrow, but I have a rather fat thumb, so it would probably feel okay to others. Unlike some gun shells the Crossfire also has a sight for precision aiming in games that allow calibration and turning off of the aiming reticule. The Wii sync button(orange dot) is located recessed in one of the faux backfire vents on the right side of the gun. The speaker is also located on the right of the gun and is much louder than the standar Wii remote speaker. All in all you will not be shamed to hold one of these.

-Performance-

Here is where the Crossfire loses significant points. One problem that will be experienced by all users immediately after connecting the Crossfire to their Wii is the over sensitiveness of the infrared camera. In games the pointer will move great distances with even the most minuscule of changes in hand position. The gun’s motion sensing technology is no where near as sensitive. Games which require certain hand gesture, such as swipes and swings will have some trouble registering them, but this could be no fault of the gun and more the fault of the hand orientation, since you hold the gun quite differently than your Wii remote. I also noticed a compatibility problem with two games. Sega’s “The House of the Dead 2 and 3″ and “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption” have trouble communicating with the Crossfires speaker. Instead of audio cues there is a constant hissing sound coming out of the speaker. I did not experience this with Wii Play but the sound of the gun firing was somewhat distorted. Its possible that Sega and Nintendo may be purposely creating incompatibilities with third party hardware.

-Durability-
The Crossfires appears to be constructed of the same shiny plastic that first party Wii remotes are composed of. This gives the gun a good feel, and belief that it could handle multiple drops and collision with nearby furniture. However the buttons with their overly clicky presses alludes to possible early failure. The Crossfire is held together with seven standard philips screws, one residing under the battery cover, lending itself to possible deconstruction by the curious and creative. This may be necessary to rectify the Crossfires failing grace, which I will speak on below.

-Value-

The Crossfire currently retails for $39.95 at www.Buy.com. This is the same price as a Wii remote.  Normally third party peripherals retail for less than what the console manufactures themselves sale peripherals for.  If the Crossfire did what its designed for and you have every Wii light gun-esque game then I would recommend this controller wholeheartedly.  Who knows, maybe this gun functions well with a one-hundred plus inch display with an infrared sensor powerful enough to be received at 50 feet and the user able to be 50 feet from their television.  I can tell you that I do have access to a 100 inch screen but I can only get about 24 feet from it and at that distance it was difficult to maintain the infrared light.

-The Problem-

After some testing and comparison to a standard Wii remote in my video below, I think I have determined the problem with the Penguin United Wii Crossfire.  On the Wii system menu for sensor sensitivity, one can definitely see that the the Crossfire’s infrared camera is detecting the two points of infrared light as being about two times as a far apart as what the first party Wii remote reports to the system.  The space between those two dots is how the Wii determines how close to your TV you are sitting and the angle/slant to which the remote is pointed.   It appears the Crossfire’s camera is zoomed in.  As everyone knows when you zoom your video/digital/film camera in, even the slightest movement of ones hand is translated into wild shakes.  The Wii is translating this data into what one can relate to as a “PC mouse set at max sensitivity”, but since the Crossfire is not on a tripod or a mouse pad the user receives very erratic motions on the Wii.  Also attributed to an overly zoomed in camera is loss of peripheral vision.  For example, in a first person shooter when you zoom in with the sniper rifle you are unable to see someone standing in front of you off to the side.

-Solutions-

One option: is to install a lens in front of the infrared camera to widen its field of view.  Option two: games could come with a sensitivity adjustment setting.  Option three: would be to program the Crossfire to halve the distance reported between the two sources of infrared light.  This would fix the ‘shakey cam’ over sensitivity but not the limited peripheral view.

-Conclusion-

I really wanted to like the Penguin United Crossfire but it fails to do its sole purpose for being constructed. It will need to be and possibly will be recalled to rectify this problem.  But from my findings it could be an easy fix.  It won’t be cheap, but nothing ever is.

Later in the day I received the press release for the gun.  This peripheral is manufactured by Penguin United and distributed by Red Lion Interactive.  Yours truly has requested a media sample and hope to receive one in the coming weeks and provide you with great review.

Zack and Wiki are pirates, not in an “Arg, I’ll plunder your booty” sense, and not even in a Johnny Depp sense. They are more like part of a group of children playing “pirates” on their bicycles. You kind of get the feeling that the developers weren’t really sure how to capture the look and feel of a pirate game and instead built a story loosely around the “ideals” of piracy. Zack and Wiki are looking for treasure and stumble upon a golden talking skull that, by the length of his mustache, you can tell ends up being the bad guy. This skull tells them of an awesome pirate ship that they should look for and the only way to do it is to reassemble the lost parts of his skeleton, all of which are gold.

If that sounds like a loose premise for a story, you would be right, but the charm of Zack and Wiki doesn’t come from the story, but rather the in-game interactions. The art style is a very heavy Japanese anime style. It and the Japanese expressions almost detract from the mood of the in-game experience, but if the player is younger than 13 years old, they may find enjoyment in the silly expressions made by the cast of characters.

The game plays like an old school point and click adventure: think Sam and Max, Myst, or Monkey Island. You use the Wii remote to navigate your way through the levels and when Zack interacts with an object in the environment, a motion controlled event pops up and you have to complete it properly to move on. Now by that, I don’t mean a mini-game. What I mean is that certain items and or item combos give you access to different areas of the levels and to gain access you must do the motion controls to clear it.

This control scheme probably sounds goofy and even a bit gimmicky, but it actually feels good and adds a level of immersion that is not present in other point and click games.
What really stands out about the items and characters in the game is that pretty much everything you interact with can transform from an object to an animal and vice-versa. For example, anytime there is a frog in a level, using Wiki as a magical bell (buy shaking the wii remote like a bell), that frog turns into a bomb.

If you use your bell on a scorpion, it turns into a saw and so on… This is the key gameplay driver. All of the games puzzles revolve around using the characters and items in the environment to solve them. The puzzles can get pretty complex and you can really bust your brain thinking of a way to get from point A to point B.

Other highlights are the decent length of the game and the overall quality of the presentation and tone. The biggest downside to Zack and Wiki is the lack of a quick retry feature. If you are playing through a level and you die, you have to completely restart the level. Since some of the levels can take 20 minutes to clear, dying can become violently annoying. The game gives you the ability to purchase “revive” tickets, but with a regular play through, you don’t get enough coins to benefit much from tickets. On top of that, each ticket costs more than the previous one making the tiny amount of coins you pick up increasingly useless.

Also since the whole premise of the game is trial and error, I found myself playing the beginnings of levels upwards of 15 to 20 times. Once you understand how to complete a level, the game becomes rather easy, but until every piece of the puzzle is in place on a level, there is always the possibility that you will need to play it another 10 times to figure it out.

Now, let’s take a moment to address the difficulty. The game is positioned like a children’s game. The colorful environments, playful characters, silly childlike animations and general juvenile presentation all would lead parents to possibly purchase the game for their children. However, the difficulty is pointed directly at players with a high level of problem solving skills. Many of the puzzles would be incredibly hard for your average American fifth grader to solve.

This may not be the case with Japanese children, but mid-way through it, Zack and Wiki seemed too Japanese to be an American children’s game. It could be a great learning tool for advanced children, but as a parent, be ready to help them though some, if not most of, the puzzles.

So, Zack and Wiki hasn’t been a huge hit and many of the above factors could have contributed to this, but if you dig puzzlers or if you want a throwback game that builds on the point and click formula, I suggest you get it. It can be purchased for about $15 bucks.
(3.5/ 5 Stars)

Chapter 1:  Nintendo Entertainment System!!

1985 the NES is released in America.  I didn’t get one immediately seeing as I was only 2 and my parents would have been fools to give a 2 year old a gaming system.  Around 1989 I get an NES for Christmas and my life is suddenly changed.  Little did my mother know that by getting me this immensely popular system, she was starting an addiction that would rival crack.

I play classics like Super Mario Bros 2, Excitebike, TMNT, The Goonies 2 and Kirby’s Adventure.  The music after you lose your final life from the first Super Mario Bros still makes me think that its bed time (this is an inside thing, if you want to know, ask.)  Moving on…

Chapter 2:  Mom, can I play Tetris now?

I don’t remember ever actually wanting a Game Boy, but I guess my parents assumed as much because of my love of the NES.  1990 I get my very first Game Boy and my first taste of green screened Tetris, but outside of that and Super Mario Land; I didn’t own too many other games.

Most of what I ended up playing was whatever I mother could find at garage sales.  After the initial spark of fighting over the Tetris game wore off and when the epiphany hit me that my mother wasn’t into buying batteries in 24 packs, my Game Boy collected a lot of dust.

This effected my overall opinion of handheld systems for years…but we will get to that later.  I have since gone back and found some gems of games for the original Game Boy, but playing on that tiny green screen is probably gonna give me catarax later in life.  During this period I was still playing the crap out of my NES and building a huge game collection.

Chapter 3:  Now you’re playing with Super Power!

1991 The SNES is released stateside and I show a lukewarm interest in the system.  My mother had taken the stance of “why should we get the Super Nintendo if it doesn’t play the old games?”  I, being a big momma’s boy, took the same stance, until I played the system at my good friend Jason’s house.

After playing Super Mario World, I had to have that new machine immediately.  Around 1992/93 I get an SNES for Christmas to much rejoicing.  Between the years of 1992 and 1997 I played SNES like the cure for cancer was hidden somewhere in the middle of a game. Games like Super Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat, Star Fox, and Donkey Kong Country easily kept my attention for that half of the decade.  Both single and miltiplayer games got massive amounts of gameplay.  My NES started to get really hard to boot games in (anyone who owned an NES knows the cart blow, cart stack, and cart jiggle techniques) and I really began to lose interest in anything on it outside of Dr. Mario on the NES.  What’s next? Get ready to break into the 3^rd dimension.

Chapter 4:  What’s up with that tiny ass joystick?

I vividly remember getting an ad for the N64 in the mail at my Grandmother’s house.  My first thought was, “Mario looks stupid and boy is that controller funny looking,” but that year after standing in line to play Mario 64 at Wal-mart, I was convinced it was the greatest gaming experience ever!

Come 1997 and I was hoping so hard that I would get the much coveted system for Christmas.  I didn’t get it, but my brother Ben did.  Ben didn’t seem very excited about the gift, and since it wasn’t my present I had to contain my excitement.  To give you an idea of how I felt inside…picture me doing this.  I was kind of confused and upset that Ben had final say over who plays the machine, but overall it was an awesome Xmas.  Mario 64 marathons continued for years.  Super Smash Bros, Donkey Kong 64, Mario Kart 64, Banjo Kazooie, and Star Fox 64 were extremely well received in the Lugo household.  The N64 got played throughout High School and well into college.

When I moved out, I had to leave the N64 at home because ultimately it wasn’t mine take.  My roommate Brad had a Nintendo 64 though and a new brand of competition began in 2002 when we started playing NFL Blitz 2000.  My social life hindered me from enjoying adventure games and I turned into a casual multi-playing social gamer.

Chapter 5:  Damn, I’m broke.

By 2002, I was waist deep in college and struggling to pay rent with my puny little part time job pay check.  I had met my future wife and was trying to get moved to Hattiesburg and somehow acquire a Gamecube.  Two auctions on eBay were a bust, one being broken on receipt and the other never arriving at all.  Clutching my girlfriend, all my worldly possessions and my unused copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee I moved to H-burg, hoping to get a job and somehow feed my Nintendo fix.  Finally, for Christmas 2003 Jackie gets me the Gamecube Zelda bundle (It contains Legend of Zelda, Link’s Adventure, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask.)

The Gamecube, reinvigorates my interest in adventure single player titles.  Super Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, and the The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker proved to be hours upon hours of fun.  The Zelda Bundle that came with the system shows me how great Zelda is and that solidified my gamerdom.  The next chapter is my absolute favorite.

Chapter 6:  The hunt begins.

Finally, by 2005 I had worked my way into a position where I had some extra money.  I immediately explored my impending Nintendo options.  Between the years of 2005 and 2006 I happened upon several portable Nintendo systems.  First I got a Game Boy Advance at Wal-mart the day after Thanksgiving.  It was a soccer mom war and my buddy Trey was able to come out of the pile with a Light Blue Game Boy Advance SP.  At first I was hesitant to buy another hand held system because of the sedated reaction I had to the original Game Boy.  The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, eased those worries.

Wal-mart ran a similar sale on the Game Boy Micro the following year.  I then got a Game Boy Color off eBay in a huge lot of game systems that I won.  I decided to keep it because I didn’t have one.  About three months later I saw a Game Boy Pocket on eBay for $5 and I couldn’t pass it up.  There I am with 5 different versions of the Game Boy.  By this time Jackie and I are living together alone and I am able to bring all my old gaming systems out of the closets they were hidden in and start playing some classic stuff.  I replaced the pin connector in my NES which made it like new again, and I was well on my way to building an arsenal of Nintendo systems.  I picked up a DS Lite on release date and rejoiced as I played through New Super Mario Bros.

With all of this Nintendo fandom oozing from my apartment it was hard to believe that one system was missing, the hugely unpopular, eye sight ruining, neck cramping, goggle look-a-liking pimple of a system the Virtual Boy.  I set my sights on one on eBay and BAM the collection was pretty much complete.  Seeing that Jackie didn’t leave me during this weird ass period of my life, I married her in late 2006.  Next up…Wii!!!!

Chapter 7:  Hey, get your hands off my Wii!

The Wii launched November 2006.  Everyone knows how hard it was to get.  I didn’t get one on release date because it was too hard to find but Carl did get one, so I bought a controller (that’s right I dropped $40 on a controller for a system that I didn’t even own yet) and got to playing Wii Sports.  I was really, really excited!  For an idea of how excited…see the Nintendo 64 video above.

I ended up getting a Wii for Christmas after Jackie tricked me into thinking she hadn’t gotten one.  I took the Wii to my parent’s house that Christmas Eve, and we played it for hours.  I have been playing titles like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros Brawl Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy frantically ever since.  With the Wii purchased there is no major Nintendo console for me to pine over for probably the next 3-4 years.  What shall I do?

Chapter 8:  Ok, this is getting excessive.

Since my initial purchases of a GBA and a DS Lite I have picked up a Pink counterpart of each for my wife and I grabbed the NES styled GBA.  What more could I possibly want…well, the classic sideways GBA caught my eye on eBay and thanks a too a broke cousin I was able to knock out that one as well.  So that puts my total at 2 Game Boys, 1 Game Boy Color, 1 Game Boy Micro, 1 Virtual Boy, 4 Game Boy Advances, and 2 DS Lites.  Maybe I’ll stalk down an original DS and that new DSi looks enticing.

Well, before I’m done, I ask.  Is there something wrong with me?  In addition to all these systems I have hundreds of games for them, and this is just Nintendo.  My complete collection is way bigger than this.  At least no one can say that I don’t have a hobby.

I recently purchased a game I knew was bad but thought to myself; “How bad could it be.” Oh man is it bad. I went into my local Gamestop and purchased PN03 for just a penny shy of five bucks. $4.99 for those who don’t like their numbers spelled out or hate math in their bathroom reading material.

Initial Impression

Wow this game is grainy. PN03 really looks like its running at 320×240 resolution stretched to full screen, however that booty does look nice. The game is a third person shooter. You spend at least 99% of the game behind Vanessa and oh what nice behind to be behind. Vanessa is a very rhythmic character: tapping her feet and snapping her fingers to the beat. The music is pretty catchy. Sounds somewhat like F-zero music from the Nintendo 64. Vanessa also will gyrate her hips while firing and you will do “a lot” of firing. This is a shooting game so I understood there would be gratuitous tapping of the fire button however; I had no idea there would be this much tapping. It feels like you are using a 22 caliber pistol to take out a tank. The damage each shot does is significantly minuscule. Also there is no auto-fire option which I must say is just punishing the player. There are extra suits you can buy including one with auto-fire, but its penalized with an even greater reduced damage ratio. Another pet peeve of mine is that Vanessa does not have a charged shot ability. Capcom made this game, they also made the Megman games. When I first saw tech demos of this game I just knew I would finally get a great Gamecube 3-D megaman. My final problem with the game, which I am sure anyone who plays it will notice, is that there is almost no level variation. The scenery is either a dusty, windy, dark canyon/desert or bright, clean, white, corridors/hallways.

Loved

The character Vanessa has a lot of flare to her and very smooth animations. That is actually about it. Well I guess another plus is that I see a lot of great possibilities for this game but I am pretty sure they will never happen. This game will/has probably become Capcom’s Virtual Boy.

Conclusion

Save your five dollars. This game has too many faults to warrant a purchase, unless you are okay with tapping the ‘A’ button 100 times a minute for your entire playtime. I purchased this game only because I wanted to get the entire Capcom Five (Resident Evil 4, Viewtiful Joe, Killer 7, PN03, Dead Phoenix(canceled)) The repetitive level design, the non-intuitive controls, and pathetic character design would make me regret this game if I had paid full retail for it. Yay for used game sales. Man that was an awesome booty.

1.5/5 stars

Hardcore fans breathe easy –this is one difficult game. In the little amount of time I spent with it, I was introduced to enemies whose attacks took up the entire screen.  You will be shooting and dodging like a madman just to stay alive.

Speaking of shooting and dodging, the controls for this game are absolutely solid. Your wiimote aims the crosshair while you move, jump, fly, and dodge with the nunchuck. Holding the “A” button down starts your charge attack while holding or tapping the trigger will fire or initiate a melee attack, respectively.

It made me very happy to find games like this and Muramasa at Nintendo’s booth. They seriously have me considering a Wii purchase. Sin And Punishment 2 will be released sometime in early 2010.

Layle is a Crystal Bearer, and it seems that his special power given to him by the crystal involves him manipulating heavy objects. He effortlessly twirls his mini-gun around in the air and is even able to control it when they become seperated. In towns, Layle is able to life heavy objects (and even npcs) and flick them around the map.

The graphics in the demo left a little to be desired. However, I wouldn’t be concerned at this point because a) the game isn’t finished yet and b) this could end up as a downloadable title.

Nintendo’s E3 2009 press conference gets under way at 9:00 AM PST and the techpedition staff will be there for the live coverage. Tune in here for up to the minute announcements and pictures, as Nintendo tries to woo us with Wii news and more!

COVERAGE BEGINS 9:00 AM PST / 11:00 AM CST

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As some people know Metroid Prime has been a staple series since the Gamecube. Now for those who missed them on the Cube or who just didn’t like the controls for the Cube (liugeaux) you will now be able to enjoy them with Wii controls. With the added bonus of the MP3 medal system included. The whole trilogy will be sold at $49.99.

3-IN-1 VIRTUAL RETRO ADAPTER CONNECTS OLD SCHOOL CONTROLLERS TO NINTENDO® WII™

Innex Secures Exclusive Komodo Adapter in Time for E3 Launch.

Old School is Now the New Cool.

City of Industry, Calif., (May, 2009) –Backwards compatibility has reached a new level of cool with the launch of the 3-in-1 Virtual Retro Adaptor that allows gamers to connect NES®, SNES®, and N64® controllers directly to the Nintendo Wii™ video game console.

By accessing the GameCube® port that is built in to the Wii™ system, the 3-in-1 Virtual Retro Adaptor allows gamers to enjoy older, “retro” games using the original controllers for NES®, SNES®, and N64®.

Product Highlights:

· Compatible with Nintendo® Wii™ Virtual Console

· Connects Through GameCube® Port

· Compatible with 1st and 3rd Party Controllers

· Compatible with NES®, SNES®, and N64® Controllers

· Analog Function Available for N64® Controllers

· Suggested Retail Price: $19.99

· Launch Date: Mid June

“Whether you’re a young kid or middle aged gaming fanatic, the Retro Adapter is perfect for controlling all the great Nintendo® titles from the last 25 years,” stated Titi Ngoy, President of Innex. “The Retro Adapter allows you to step back in time and play all the classics the way they were meant to be played using the original controllers. The old school is now the new cool.”

About Innex

Innex was launched in 2004 as a distributor of video game related products with a particular emphasis on video game peripherals. The company has experienced exceptional growth in just five years and is poised to become one of the leading providers of gaming accessories worldwide. In addition to its extensive global distribution capabilities, Innex also provides its business partners with the opportunity to develop their own private label brands by offering an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) program. Simultaneously, Innex has positioned itself as a product sourcing agent, providing expert consultation to companies looking for specific video game related products that are either unavailable through other vendors, or difficult to find or manufacture.

Here is the confirmed track list thus far:

New Slogan: Systematically killing your favorite games since 2008

I am as much of a guitar game fan as anyone, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Activision/Blizzard is actively trying to destroy the genre. Last year, 2008, saw the release of 4 Guitar Hero games: World Tour, Aerosmith, On Tour and On Tour Decades (basically, a proper sequel, a spin-off and two handhelds.) While I think that 2 is 1 too many DS GH games, 3 titles in a series per year seems reasonable. It covers all three bases and naturally progresses the series. This year, Activision/Blizzard is OUT OF CONTROL.  So far, all we have this year is Guitar Hero: Metallica (a welcomed edition to the series), but before the end of the year Blizzvision will be flooding the market with the following titles: Guitar Hero: Smash Hits Guitar Hero: Van Halen Band Hero Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits Guitar Hero 5 (working title) DJ Hero Geez people, 7 Guitar Hero games in a calendar year; Is there anyone employed by Activision that is not working on something Guitar Hero related? It wouldn’t surprise me if Modern Warfare 2 ended up being a rhythm game.

Coming in 2010 Guitar Hero Purity Party Starring the Jonas Brothers

On the other front, the Harmonix Crew is taking a much more realistic stance on releases. They only have three titles planned for this year, all of which are firmly targeted at different audiences. The Beatles: Rock Band (target=older audiences) Lego Rock Band (target=younger audiences) Rock Band: Unplugged (target=handheld market) Obviously they will still be releasing track packs, but those can’t really be considered full games as they only contain tracks that were previously released as downloadable content. The Track Packs also have a specific audience (people that don’t have internet access/people that don’t want to be nickel and dimed to death via PSN and Xbox Live.) My biggest fear is that with Activision recklessly pouring games into the market, they are going to kill it, eventually causing Harmonix to stop producing the far more superior Rock Band series. Thoughts?

Those of you that own a Wii know that the nunchuk attachment is a must if you plan on rocking any type of hardcore game on the console.  The real question is, have you ever been hindered by the 3 foot cord attaching the ‘chuk to the wii-mote?

No?  Well, me neither, but what if you did didn’t have to have the cord?  For those of you that are curious and have an extra chunk of cash to spend Nyko has provided us with an alternative.  Here’s the Kama.

The Kama is a wireless nunchuk that’s powered by 2 AAA batteries with a receiver that plugs into the base of the Wii-mote (just like the regular nunchuk).  The batteries give you up to 30 hours of gameplay (supposedly) and the Kama can be used up to 3 meters from its receiver.

I don’t know anyone that has a 9+ foot arm span, so keeping a constant signal shouldn’t be a problem.  It looks and feels almost identical to its wired counterpart (which got Nyko in some legal trouble, but we will talk about that later) and supports all motion controls as well.

I was browsing everyone’s favorite discount store, Hudson’s and found a Kama listed at 70% off.  With the item retailing at $30 I was able to pick it up for a modest $9.  I had seen the Kama at other retailers and was interested in it but thought that $30 for an accessory that seemed unnecessary was way too much.  So, since the cheap option presented itself I pounced.  How does it play?  We will get to that later as well.

The look and feel is so familiar that until you press the C and Z buttons (which are a tad bit stiffer than the original ‘chuk’s) you probably won’t feel much of a difference in the controller.  Nintendo apparently didn’t like this and in June of last year filed suit against Nyko for creating a controller that basically stole the likeness of their nunchuk.

To be fair, Nintendo was probably right.  If the Kama wasn’t branded in multiple places as a Nyko product I would swear it was made by the big N.  Consequently, Nyko agreed to redesign the Kama to look less like its counterpart and the redesign (pictured to the right) is what is currently on the market.  Its mighty ugly, but I guess it gets the job done.  Since mine was bought at Hudson’s I was able to grab the original (and much classier) design.

Anyone that has gamed with me knows that I don’t do buddy controllers.  By, buddy controller I mean anything that isn’t made by the first party company.  While companies like Nyko, Mad Catz, Logitech, Saitek and Dreamgear may have been in the business of gaming controllers for a long time, their controllers usually have weird uncomfortable grips, faulty buttons, different button sensitivities, break easily or simply don’t feel right.  I detest them and will quickly drop the $40-$60 to get the name brand.

The Kama is a very rare exception to the rule.  It feels real, offers better feedback on the shoulder buttons, is the right weight and has a tight analog stick.  I obviously can’t comment on the redesign, but the original is solid.  The motion controls work well and the receiver is not a hindrance at all.

Kama's a Bitch ain't it, Glass Joe?

However, a few things come up when using it.  Standard Wii-mote gloves and the Zapper can’t be used with the accessory.  How is this going to work when the Wii-motion plus is released?  Is there really a market for this device?  I don’t know about the Motion Plus, but as for a market, anyone that touches thing is going to want one.  It’s much more liberating that you would think.

Outside of Wii boxing, the original cord never got in my way, but the lack of a cord opens a whole new world of flailing for your arms.  Having the full range of motion, even if it doesn’t register on screen, gives you a more immersive experience, since you are pretty much playing directly with your hands and not two tethered pieces of plastic.  The real problem is getting people to actually pick up and use it.  $30 is a steep cost for what in essence is a luxury.  I’ve been looking for something to spice up my Wii, and I think the cure will be the Kama.  Punchout, here I come…

4/5 Stars

After reading a few of my co-tech-pe-diter’s review submissions, I decided it was time I did one of my own.  Since my exposure to some of the new mainstream releases has been somewhat limited, I figured a good submission would be to do a review of a game many of you may have passed up in the past.  Get it, “Passed Up, Past, PAST’ed Up”.  Ok moving along

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem ushered in a new “game” genre all to itself, which I do not think any other game has imitated yet.  I am speaking of psychological horror.  This game is the first game, to my knowledge, to purposely screw not only with your character but also, breaking the fourth wall, screw with the player.  The game incorporates a sanity meter.  Simply put, a secondary life bar that indicated the strenght of you and your character’s grasp on reality.  Allow this meter to decrease, through encounters with the games monsters, and your character will begin experiencing incidents that may or may not be real or may not have even occured.  These “sanity effects” range from a slightly slanted camera angle, bleeding walls, weird sounds(which are awesome in surround sound) and hallucinations.  The most awesome of these I have seen is, just to screw with the you the player, the game will give you a Windows BSOD(Blue Screen of Death).   I really thought my game crashed until it flashed back and the character uttered “Is this really happening”.

Another game mechanic it used was selective targeting which could be used for selective dismemberment.  You could run through the game using your sword to just decapitate most zombies and just leave them blind, although the red(Chatturgha) would grow another head, the green(Xelataoh) would have a phantom head and the blue(Ulyaoth) would create a chain wave of magical explosive self destructions to all blue zombies in range of its howl, but still fun to chop off heads though.

Another positive and also the game’s main negative is the magik system.  That is correct.  Silicon Knights used Midway’s Mortal Kombat tried and true replacing of C’s with K”s.  The magic system is pretty unique in that you are not just given spells.  You are given runes/glyphs to form your own magic spells.  Of course you cannot come of up with any spells the game did not already intend you to have but it is still fun on that first play through to experiment and find different combinations for spells.  Hidden in the level are scrolls that pretty much automatically make the spell for you.  However these scrolls can be easily missed and you cannot go back to already completed levels.  So experimentation is the only way to get some spells if you missed the scrolls.  Do not worry however you cannot miss any runes/glyphs.

Now for the bad.  The magic meter in this game is filled up 3 ways.  One is with a magic drink, which only certain characters have, actually one I think and this item can not be carried on to other character.  Two is by casting a magic spell to replenish magic which costs more magic than it restores so is actually useless until you acquire the 5 point spell.  The third method which you will be using for maybe one third of the game is, magic returns as your character  walks/runs.  Meaning you will spend a lot of time just running in circles just to refill your magic so you can cast a spell to refill your health/magic/sanity or a spell needed to solve a puzzle.

Even with the magic refill hickup the game is still remarkable.  I have beaten this game six times.  To get the true ending you must beat the game with all three elder gods scenarios.  I also beat it three more times because I wanted to experience all the sanity effects in the game.  They are just that cool.  If you have a Gamecube or even a Wii you owe it to yourself to play this game.  It is a true gem that too many people PAST’ed Up. 

5/5

I’m not insinuating that CTW should have sold GTA:IV numbers, but to not make the top 10 during the off season is a shock to the DS and gaming community.  With an over 31.93 million player install base the DS is bound to have some hardcore players in there somewhere.  These sales figures (or lack thereof) bring up alot of major industry questions.

Are hardcore gamers not looking for a hardcore DS game?

Are portable gamers looking for something that isn’t too involved?

Does this prove that Nintendo can only sell 1st party titles?

Would a follow up to the the GTA: “Stories” games on the PSP been a better idea?

Is this the end of hardcore 3rd party titles for the DS? (not that their were a lot to begin with)

Is the recession finally getting to the games industry? (17% is pretty big drop)

Does this prove that graphical power sells hardcore games?

Did all of the GTA fans spend their money on Pokemon instead? (805K units moved in March)

While none of these questions can be answered definitively, the fact remains that CTW underperformed.  Pokemon and GTA’s numbers should have been close if not identical.  Initial week sales are usually an indicator of a games overall performance, but many DS games are very slow burners (see New Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart DS).  Maybe gamers are skeptical and will only buy this game if they see it in person.  Maybe the sales will stay steady and the success will come out in the wash.

If the DS is truly dying to core gamers (which right now is still a huge assumption), and the Wii fast becoming your grandmother’s system, are 3P developers going to limit their Nintendo releases to Cooking Mama and Imagine games?  The only real hardcore market that thrives on the DS is the RPG genre.  I would feel comfortable that the RPG gamer is not the same gamer as the GTA gamer.  So, its safe to bet, that even though Nintendo pulled several strings to GTA on the DS, all 3P companies will be watching the sales of CTW in the coming months before making development decisions.  OK Sony, go ahead and announce the PSP2 and feed off this press, you know you want to.

UPDATE: It gets worse, much worse!  The NPD released specific numbers for CTW and they are reporting that it sold “just under 90,000 units“.  Ouch!