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WiiWare


Mega Man 10
Art and Screens

By Shaun Hatton - December 18th, 2009

Mega Man 10

Capcom has released a handful of screenshots and some character art for Mega Man 10 and, in good fanboy fashion I’m devoting an entire post to it. Shown above is Proto Man with the blue bomber, while our Flickr set contains the game’s logo and the screenshots. Enjoy!

Check out the gallery »


Made of Win
Mega Man 10 Art

By Shaun Hatton - December 10th, 2009

Mega Man 10 Art

Who says Nintendo Power isn’t good for anything? In the January 2010 issue, the magazine has a multi-page feature for the upcoming WiiWare release of Mega Man 10. If the game is anywhere near as great as Mega Man 9 was, I’ll be playing it for hours on end while spewing frequent obscenities at the television. Make no mistake, I will love every second of it.

I’m looking forward to this one, but in the meantime this retro-inspired art will do just nicely.


NO OBJECTION HERE
Capcom Announces Ace Attorney for WiiWare

By Shaun Hatton - November 18th, 2009

Capcom Announces Ace Attorney Series for WiiWare

In January 2010, Capcom will begin releasing its Ace Attorney trilogy on WiiWare. The games, which gained a devoted cult following for its Nintendo DS incarnations, will be more affordable this time around at just 1000 Nintendo Points each (roughly $10).

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be available in January as a four-episode release, followed by Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All in March and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations in May.

The first DS title actually had five episodes, so it’s a little strange that Ace Attorney on WiiWare will only contain four of them, saving the fifth one as a downloadable bonus episode that will be released in May 2010 for the price of 100 Wii Points. Before crying foul, however, remember the fact that the first DS game cost me $50 before taxes.

Read the rest »


Let’s Tap Releases Today

By Jamie Love - June 16th, 2009

Let's Tap

The day is finally here for those wondering if Yuji Naka’s first title from his Prope Studio will meet with the expectations that come from leading Sonic Team for so many years. Let’s Tap is hitting stores today, and Sega has announced that Let’s Catch is also available via WiiWare. I’m slightly in the dark with regards to Let’s Catch, which apparently uses games of catch through six different single and multiplayer modes to challenge our hand-eye coordination. Whether finger gaming will prevail in North America is anyone’s guess. All I know is that I really want to get tapping with these fish right now.


This Contra ReBirth Video is Totally My Bag

By Shaun Hatton - May 12th, 2009

My mornings go a little something like this: I wake up to the sound of my computer speakers beeping. After falling out of bed, I stumble across the apartment to my home office muttering to myself, “What does he want now?” I take my computer’s mouse and shake it violently to wake the screen from its slumber. When it comes to, I see that Jamie has been messaging me manically about something so incredibly awesome it just couldn’t wait till the work day starts.

When I woke up this morning, I checked the computer to find that Jamie had sent me a link to this Contra ReBirth video along with the message, “This is totally your bag.”

He was right.


Konami to give Contra a ReBirth

By Shaun Hatton - May 8th, 2009

Contra ReBirth

Evan over at 4 Color Rebellion has uncovered some details regarding Konami’s plans to give Contra the ReBirth treatment. The game is set to release on the Japanese WiiWare service May 12 for the cost of 1000 Wii Points. So far, there seems to be no plan of bringing the title to North America, but we shouldn’t worry about that, given the immense popularity of the series over here and the fact that they brought over Gradius ReBirth not long ago.

When it does arrive as North American WiiWare, we will be dropping everything to play and review it, because we love Contra you.


Robocalypse: Beaver Defense Hitting WiiWare This Summer

By Shaun Hatton - April 7th, 2009

Robocalypse!

Pirates versus Ninjas, Godzilla versus Megalon, Coke versus Pepsi – these are the epic battles that have shaped Modern Western Civilization. And now we can add Robots versus Beavers to the list of longstanding grudge matches thanks to Vogster Entertainment’s upcoming WiiWare title, Robocalypse: Beaver Defense.

The game will centre on a tower defense mechanic, with players controlling robots to thwart the plans of an evil, maniacal beaver and will have a hilarious story written by Jay Lender of SpongeBob fame and Micah Wright. Vogster also promises lots of goofy weaponry and tonnes of destruction in both single-player and four-way multiplayer.

From the few screenshots I’ve seen and the artwork above, the game looks like it’s right up my alley. Too bad I’ll have to wait till its summer release to find out for sure.


FAILED REVIEWS
Gradius ReBirth Has Destroyed Me

By Shaun Hatton - March 21st, 2009

Gradius ReBirth

Weeks ago, Konami released a new retro game called Gradius ReBirth as WiiWare. I didn’t know much about it, but Jamie Love thought I’d be a fan of it seeing as I absolutely love shooters (specifically the R-Type series). So I downloaded it – and wouldn’t you know it, he was right. I was instantly charmed by the game’s use of 16-bit graphics and sound, its enemy attack formations, its initial snail-pace, and its stackable power-ups.

That was two weeks ago. Now, the honeymoon is over. Gradius ReBirth has left me alone in our hotel room after two fun weeks. I woke up this morning shivering, in the bathtub. It was full of ice and my back was killing me. A note was taped to my chest. It read: “Had to go. I’m too good for you. And I stole your kidneys just for fun. See a doctor.”

Read the rest »


REVIEW
BIT.TRIP BEAT

By Shaun Hatton - March 18th, 2009

BIT.TRIP BEAT

This WiiWare titles begs the question: What is a videogame? And in a similar way, thinking about this game is making me question: What is a videogame review? How could I possibly write any more about BIT.TRIP BEAT other than saying you have to play it for yourself? Let me begin…

BIT.TRIP BEAT is at the base level of its existence, a videogame – which is to say it has a challenge and rules in which users must meet it. But through the experience of sitting down to play it, the game becomes much more. The “Are Videogames Art?” debate has been so ongoing that it has become easy to forget these core principles of what elements come together to make a game, and yet here we have a game – a WiiWare game, at that – that makes you feel like a catalyst in the creation of art.

Read the rest »


HIDDEN GEM
Gradius ReBirth on WiiWare

By Shaun Hatton - March 16th, 2009

Gradius ReBirth

Now that WiiWare is no longer hot news, it has been easy to ignore these weekly updates to the Wii Shop Channel. Add to the fact the storage problem on Wii consoles, and you have further reason to be wary of these titles. After all, it takes a lot of time to “clear out the fridge” and decide which titles in your Wii’s memory just aren’t worth your time anymore.

Last week, Konami’s Gradius ReBirth made its way onto the Shop Channel. It’s a WiiWare title done in classic 16-bit style, and I can’t imagine why I haven’t heard more about this gem online considering the strong resurgence in classic gaming we’ve seen in the hobby – and especially considering the amount of coverage a title like Mega Man 9 received last year. Is the gaming world so quickly jaded? If so, why is everyone still in love with FPS titles?

The Gradius name is a staple within the shooter genre, and ReBirth is a great entry into the series. Look for a full review in the near future, but in the meantime, trust me and download this game. It’s all kinds of awesome.