news/reviews/previews

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:52 am

Rock Band Announced
The popular music game is set to debut for Wii this June minus online play and downloadable content.
by Matt Casamassina
March 24, 2008 - Harmonix, MTV Networks and Electronic Arts on Monday announced that the popular music game, Rock Band, will debut for Wii on June 22 in America and Canada. The package includes the title itself, a set of drums, a microphone and wireless guitar, and will set players back approximately $169.99. Rock Band for Wii features 63 songs, five of which are "bonus" tracks presumably exclusion to the version.

Rock Band takes the fundamentals of Guitar Hero to the next level by incorporating additional instruments, such as drums and a microphone. The title has gained popularity since its release in large because of its extensive list of interactive tracks from leading artists, all of which can be purchased and downloaded for use in the game.

On the official Rock Band website, a representative for developer Harmonix elaborated on the specifics of the package. "The feature-set is a lot closer to the PS2 version of Rock Band which was also developed by Pi Studios," he wrote on the site's message board. "We've decided to focus on getting the core gameplay on to the Wii and focus on making that awesome."

The instruments included in the package will not be compatible with the Wii remote, according to Harmonix. Instead, the instruments will work wirelessly directly with the Wii console, similar to the other console versions.

Disappointingly, it appears as though Rock Band for Wii will support neither online play nor downloadable content -- huge, glaring omissions. One of the game's biggest draws on other consoles is the steady stream of downloadable songs, which can be purchased and then utilized in-game very easily.

"The Wii's success among casual and core gamers of all ages makes it an ideal match for the cross-generational appeal of the music featured in Rock Band," said Bob Picunko, vice president of Electronic Games and Interactive Products, MTV.

"The social interaction and addictive nature of the Rock Band experience is a perfect fit for the Wii and will undoubtedly be fun for the entire family," said Steve Singer, licensing VP from Nintendo.

IGN Wii will have much more on the title in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:04 pm

BIG NEWS FOR SONIC FANS!!!!

brand new sonic game called sonic unleashed 4 unspecified platforms, but most likely on wii, 360 and ps3, the first news i got was at http://miiwiichat.com/
heres wat is se(theres also a video): Finaly a Sonic Game Worth Waiting For!
Bandit March 24th 2008 08:01:59 pm

This Video does not really show much in terms of game play, but it does show the more attention to detail SEGA has put in.

I saw this at Joystiq! Sega has announced Sonic Unleashed is on its way to unspecified consoles for a November release!

"You'll be able to traverse the game's 12 stages as Knuckles, Tails or the eponymous hedgehog, who has picked up the ability to transform into Wolf Sonic, seen in the concept art above. We aren't crazy about the prospect of a foam-mouthed, feral version of the beloved protagonist, but we're pleased to know they're keeping the game's character lineup to a minimum. There's a chance we'll be hearing more about the title at SEGA Gamer's Day in May -- keep your fingers crossed that no additional whimsically named forest dwellers pop up on the game's roster until then. "

Sonic Unleashed is in the works with a giant budget! This game might be returning Sonic to his classic Side-Scrolling roots! SEGA said, "rebuild the Sonic brand and prove it could work in 3D environments.">

I think this is the Sonic game that could finally revive the series' awesomeness.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:31 pm

New Sonic Game Inadvertently Unveiled
First images leaked to web.
by Nate Ahearn
March 24, 2008 - Last week SEGA ominously filed a new trademark for a property named Sonic Unleashed and now we have images to go along with the rumored name. Found earlier today the images that you'll find in our gallery appear to depict a new three-dimensional Sonic game similar to that of Sonic Adventure. We'd bet our bottom dollar that this new Sonic title is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 at the very least (based on the high-def screens), but we'll wait until SEGA officially makes a comments – something they've declined to do throughout today – to speculate any further. For now, enjoy the screenshots.

We'll have much more on this new Sonic game as soon as it becomes available

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:22 pm

heres the link 2 the video posted by me on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o0yJ8D89nw

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:21 pm

Hands On: Pokemon Ranch
One free Pokemon a day for those without Diamond & Pearl.
by John Tanaka
March 25, 2008 - We at long last have an answer to the age old question: what happens if you try to play Pokemon Ranch without having a collection of Pokemon from Diamond & Pearl?

The answer is, a whole lot! The WiiWare service's launch Pokemon title in Japan may be a glorified tool for managing the Pokemon from the DS titles, but it also offers something for the Pokemon fanatic who's starting from scratch.

Pokemon Ranch hooks up with your DS via Wi-Fi, allowing you to transfer your Diamond & Pearl collection over for viewing in full 3D in a ranch environment. You can do all sorts of things with your new 3D friends, including making them interact with your Miis and with the toys that you place around the ranch. You can take pictures, which can be saved to an SD card and sent to your friends. You can also invite friends to your ranch in order to show off your collection.

So what happens if you don't have your copy of Diamond & Pearl handy? It turns out that the game starts all players off with six starter Pokemon, Pikachu included. From then on, the ranch manager, Yukari, adds a new Pokemon to the family at the start of every day.

Even with the freebies, there isn't too much to do when you first start off Pokemon Ranch. In fact, the game initially limits your control over the action. You initially have access only to an "auto" mode of movement, which switches views automatically between things on your ranch. It's only once you've reached a high-enough level with your ranch, which you do by collecting more Pokemon, that you gain access to a free movement mode. This lets you freely move your view point and force Pokemon and Miis to move around.

In short, most of your initial time with Pokemon Ranch will be spent starting at low polygon models of Pokemon. If that doesn't excite you, you'll probably want to start your WiiWare collection off elsewhere.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:22 pm

Hands On: Dr. Mario
We go online with the WiiWare launch title.
by John Tanaka
March 25, 2008 - Tetris is still a few months away from hitting the WiiWare service, but Nintendo made up for the absence with its only game to launch with the service in Japan today: Dr. Mario and Virus Buster (for all the smarty pants out there, Pokemon Ranch is published by "Pokemon" in Japan, so it's technically not a Nintendo title).

Dr. Mario has been around for ages, so we'll skip the detailed gameplay breakdown. As a quick "it's like Tetris except" recap, Dr. Mario is like Tetris except your goal is to eliminate colored bacteria from the play field by making them part of the chains and combos that you create using the capsules that Mario tosses at you.

The WiiWare version of the game is actually two games in one., combining Dr. Mario with the lesser known Virus Buster. Dr. Mario looks like a high tech version of the classic puzzler, with single player and competitive modes included. The competitive modes, which can be played against a friend or against the CPU, includes standard competitive matches, as well as a "flash" mode, where you race against your opponent to wipe out flashing bacteria quickly. All modes let you adjust speed between slow, normal and fast, and set the bacteria count.

Also included in the Dr. Mario game is Wi-Fi play, allowing you to face off against players from throughout the world via the Wi-Fi Connection service. You can select to face off against a randomly selected opponent, or send out invites to friends who've recorded your Dr. Mario friend code. Your gaming buddies don't actually need a copy of the game, as Nintendo has implemented a download play feature for this game, which sends a limited versus-only copy to members of your Wii Friend List via Wi-Fi Connect 24.

The other game included in the bundle will be recognizable to those who played through the Japanese Brain Age 2. Virus Buster has the same basic rules as the main Dr. Mario game, except you use the Wiimote to directly move capsules around on the play field. To make direct pointing controls feasible, Nintendo has zoomed the action in, so you won't have too much trouble grabbing hold of the capsules. This mode can be played simultaneously by up to four players, something which should come in handy once the game starts throwing multiple capsules at you simultaneously.

The main Dr. Mario mode is the main draw here though, and seems like it could be worth the 1,000 Wii Points, not only for the online play, but also for the convenience of having access to a Tetris-like experience on your Wii without having to switch out discs.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:24 pm

Hands On: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
The WiiWare launch title has us hooked.
by John Tanaka
March 25, 2008 - Given the space constraints Nintendo has imposed on WiiWare developers, we were a bit concerned that games for the service would be quick experiences that you play in between the real Wii games. That may not be the case, though, judging by our first couple of hours with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which launched with the service in Japan today.

As we've noted in past previews, this new installment in the Crystal Chronicles series, subtitled My Life as a King and not to be confused with the full Wii Crystal Chronicles game, is a major change of pace for the series. While Square Enix calls it an RPG, it's actually more of a simulation game, where you attempt to build a city, constructing houses and shops and luring residents (also known as tax payers) to your growing kingdom.

The game begins when you and your party arrive in an abandoned, barren town. You stumble upon a large crystal, which gives you "Architecture Power," or the power to construct things. You decide to use this ability to build this new town into the image of your old home town, which was destroyed in the original GameCube Crystal Chronicles.

With your new powers, you're able to build your first home, selecting its positioning in your town, and its facing direction. After that, you simply press a button, and a few seconds later, you'll have a fully constructed home, and a couple of new residents inside, one of whom becomes your town's first soldier.

On its own, the architecture skill isn't enough to build up your town. To actually use the skill, you need spirit power, which can only be found in the dungeons and caves surrounding your town. You don't actually go out into these dungeons, though, instead entrusting hired soldiers to do the dirty work. Hiring these soldiers and sending them out on quests takes cash, which you get through taxes collected from your residents. To get more residents, and thus more taxes for hiring soldiers, you need to build new homes and shops.

It's all a big cycle, but the Crystal Chronicles experience can be broken down into two parts: building up your town and managing your soldiers.

At the start of each day, you choose the quests you'd like your soldiers to perform that day. Doing this is as simple as selecting dungeons and caves from a map, which grows throughout the course of the game to include new, tougher locations. Initially, you're limited to assigning a single quest per day, but this limit is cleared as you advance.

Once you've selected a set of quests, these get posted to message boards around town. Your first bit of activity after leaving the castle is usually to head to these message boards and assign the quests to individual soldiers. When determining which soldier goes on which quest, you need to consider the soldier's level, class and weapon set, as some dungeons may be impossible or difficult for some characters to clear.

We were able to send all our soldiers out on any given quest, although only one character actually manages to get through to the end of the dungeon and clear it. That may not take place within the limits of one day, though. Some dungeons take multiple days to clear, forcing you to reselect the same dungeon each day until the job is complete.

While you're not in direct control of them, the game does keep you in touch with your soldiers throughout the day. You receive notices when your warriors arrive at their intended locations, when they begin engaging in a fight with a tough enemy, and when they reach their goal. It's actually quite satisfying to learn of an soldier's impending arrival back home following a quest, and waiting to greet them at the town entrance. This meeting is actually recorded in the soldier's report that you get to read at the end of the day.

Your party of adventurers grows as you advance through the game. Each time you build a new home, one of the residents is sure to be a young warrior in training. This character will eventually approach you near the castle gates and ask that you take him or her into your employ, something that requires a hefty amount of cash.

As your soldiers are off fighting, you run around town interacting with your citizens and taking part in your building duties. Your big concerns with creating new structures is building up your town's population, keeping your townfolk happy and, keeping your adventurers well equipped. You start off with the ability to build nothing but houses, which takes care of your need for tax payer and adventurers. A bakery is added rather quickly to this, and seems to be used to keep your citizens happy One character whose house happened to be next to the bakery came up to our king and said how happy he was to be living next to a bakery.

Eventually, you learn how to build a weapons shop, which takes care of your need for weapons for your soldiers. However, even if you've built the weapon shop, you'll find it stocked with exactly zero items. To get some items, you have to hand over cash for weapons research.

All this has made for some compelling strategy so far. There's plenty to consider when deciding on new buildings and quests, and a growing list of options that should make things even more interesting for those who get far enough.

And for those who get really into it, the game could expand even further. Square Enix has provided some provisional details at its website on upcoming downloads for the game. Examples of content include additional houses which, when combined with clearing a special dungeon, unlock new character classes for your soldiers. Also planned are clothing downloads for your king. Pricing is expected to range between 100 and 300 points.

It may take up just 200 blocks of space, but Crystal Chronicles doesn't seem like a marginalized experience in any way. The simulation portion has kept us hooked for our couple hours of play time, signaling a good start for Nintendo's new downloadable games initiative.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:26 pm

Hands On: Star Soldier R
For those who like to chase the high score.
by John Tanaka
March 25, 2008 - When we first heard that Star Soldier was going to be part of the Japanese WiiWare launch lineup, we were excited at the prospect of getting an old school shooter brought up to Wii visual standards. Unfortunately, Hudson apparently had something a bit different in mind for its launch title, which hit Japan today in a crowded lineup of nine games.

Star Soldier R isn't a full shooter with multiple levels and bosses. Instead, the game gives you access exclusively to a score attack mode known as "Caravan Mode." You can select to play for two minutes or five minutes, working through, respectively, one or two levels of play.

Those two levels are full levels. They have plenty of targets, and large bosses waiting at the end. Your ship can be sped up to three levels and can be powered up with six shot levels and multiple shields.

With just two levels playable for only a few minutes of time, the point is apparently to get as many points as you can in order to compete in the game's online ranking mode. Whether or not that's worth the 800 Wii Points that Hudson is charging for the game in Japan depends on how much of a high score freak you are.

Basic premise aside, Star Soldier R feels a bit hastily put together. There's no reset option, so if you mess up and want to go back to the title screen, you have to do so via the Wii's Home menu. The actual interface for the online rankings is a joke. You can check the top thirty rankings for both two minute and five minute modes at regional, national, and worldwide levels. For some reason, you're required to connect individually to the Wi-Fi Connection service to get the ranking for each of the six combinations. They surely could have gotten all the rankings in one go.

We wouldn't be surprised if most have come to the conclusion by now that the "R" stands for ripoff. However, given that we managed to place in the thousands in the ranking mode, there are apparently a good number of high score freaks in Japan who deemed the experience worthy of the 800 Wii Points. If that description applies to you, you'll have to hope that Hudson determines that enough people like you exist in your part of the world top warrant an international release for Star Soldier R.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:27 pm

Hands-on Tenshi no Solitaire
Even Wii Ware needs shovelware.
by Bozon

March 25, 2008 - The first wave of WiiWare games have arrived in Japan, and it's pretty obvious right off the bat that gamers are going to need a discerning eye when selecting their downloads on Nintendo's new service. While some titles – such as Dr. Mario, or My Life as a King – are showing the strengths of the new Wii Shop Channel options, games like Tenshi no Solitaire are doing quite the contrary.

Tenshi no Solitaire is extremely simple, so we'll be brief. For a quick 500 points players can download Gmode's first Wii Ware title, boot it up, and play three basic versions of Solitaire on Wii. The game runs in 16:9 and 480p display – a great standard to embrace for download apps – but is astonishingly simple. Rather than using the Wii IR to select and move cards, the game instead uses the Wii remote on its side, having the d-pad control an on-screen finger "cursor" which can be moved around the screen.

Huh? No IR pointer implementation? How hard is that?

As an obvious quick piece of shovelware on the system, Tenshi no Solitaire offers the thinnest possible experience for your cash. It may ask only 500 points (the price of an NES game), but even then it's overpriced, as there's simply no reason to pick this one up on Wii, rather than playing with an actual deck of cards, or booting up a free version of Solitaire on a PC or on the net. Even the card games themselves aren't randomly dealt, and in an attempt to make the game more "puzzle-like" players end up playing the same dealing of cards multiple times, which takes the random element of Solitaire out completely.

You're better off just grabbing a deck of cards, and saving the 500 points.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:28 pm

Crystal Chronicles Getting Paid Downloads
More surprises as WiiWare launches in Japan.
by John Tanaka
March 25, 2008 - Square Enix's experiment in downloadable gaming may also turn into an experiment for the company in microtransactions. When you attempt to download Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which launched with the Japanese version of the WiiWare service today, you're given a message warning that some parts of the game, including expansion packs and other services, may require extra Wii Points.

This is just a general warning that appears to be attached to any WiiWare title that may get paid content in the future. Outside of Cyrystal Chronicles, Mojipittan and LonPos also display the notice when making the download from the Wii Shopping Channel. The other six games do not.

Crystal Chronicles doesn't actually have any downloadable content at the moment, so we're presuming Square Enix has bolder plans for the game down the road.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:42 pm

WiiWare Launches in Japan
We take a look at the service and preview all of the games.
by Matt Casamassina
March 25, 2008 - Nintendo launched its long-awaited WiiWare service in Japan last night. (It will debut in America on May 12.) WiiWare, of course, describes all of the original games which can be purchased through the Wii Shop Channel – the perfect complement to the growing selection of classics already available. We've spent ample time with the service, downloaded and played all of the launch games, and have readied both our initial observations of the WiiWare component itself and brief previews of the first wave of titles.

There is no WiiWare Channel on the Wii's main interface. Rather, players access WiiWare titles through the Wii Shop Channel. Prior to the launch of WiiWare, the Wii Shop Channel housed both Virtual Console and Wii Channel download sections. Now, a WiiWare option appears in the middle of the two. After clicking on the WiiWare icon, gamers are treated to several different browsing avenues, including the ability to sort games by the newest released, by company and by genre, among others. It is also possible to search for specific titles by entering their names. Wii owners intimately familiar with the inner-workings of the Wii Shop interface will find WiiWare's to be a logical extension and not a departure.

Nine WiiWare games are available for the Japanese launch, of which only two (technically, only one) have been created by Nintendo: Dr. Mario & Virus Buster and Pokemon Ranch, the latter handled by the Pokemon Company, to be specific. The remaining seven titles come from third-parties, all Japanese, such as Square Enix, Genki, Gmode, Arc System Works, Bandai Namco and Hudson. The cheapest WiiWare game, Okiraku Ping Pong, costs 500 Wii Points or $5, while the most expensive, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, will set customers back 1,500 Wii Points, or $15. Given the incredibly shallow nature of many of the launch titles – many of which ignore the Wii remote's infrared pointer and accelerometer altogether – we feel that some of the titles are grossly overpriced.

The full list of WiiWare launch titles includes the aforementioned Final Fantasy, Dr. Mario, Pokemon Ranch and Okiraku Ping Pong, but also the shooter Star Solder R, Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii, Tenshi no Solitaire and Lonpos. Neither Solitaire nor Lonpos use the Wii remote IR despite the fact that they are card and board games respectively and therefore inherently suited to such control. Kind of takes the Wii out of WiiWare, in our experience. Also, omissions like these demonstrate the lack of care that went into designing many of these efforts for WiiWare's launch.

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Dr. Mario hands-on
Dr. Mario videos

Pokemon Ranch hands-on
Pokemon Ranch videos

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King hands-on
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King videos

Star Soldier R hands-on
Star Soldier R videos

Okiraku Ping Pong Wii hands-on
Okiraku Ping Pong Wii videos

Tenshi no Solitaire hands-on
Tenshi no Solitaire videos

Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii hands-on
Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii videos

Saku Saku Animal Panic hands-on
Saku Saku Animal Panic videos

Lonpos hands-on
Lonpos videos

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Interestingly, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King and Lonpos both pre-warn buyers that they may be required to pay for future game-enhancing updates and downloads – the first sign of Nintendo's recently announced pay-to-play service in motion. In Final Fantasy's case, we expect that gamers will be able to buy new classes and outfits, while in Lonpos players may be able to buy new challenges and puzzles. No other WiiWare launch games use the functionality, however.

Wii Shop users who love the Channel's gifting feature will be happy to learn that it is also possible to give WiiWare games to friends. The process works in exactly the same way – gamers choose the gifting option, select the recipient from their friend's list, pay for the title, and off it goes. Those lucky enough to receive gifted WiiWare titles will find a waiting message with a link to the Shop Channel in their system's message board. Easy. No fuss.

Probably the most interesting feature we've run across in some WiiWare games, though, is the ability to play multiplayer titles online against other gamers who haven't actually purchased a version of the WiiWare title in question. It's very similar to DS Download Play minus the DS, of course. Take Dr. Mario, for example. We purchased the game on a Japanese Wii system from our Los Angeles office. Then, in the game's Wi-Fi menu, we chose to send a multiplayer-only version of the title to one of our friends – specifically, Nintendo Team executive editor Craig Harris, out of San Francisco. Harris quickly received a prompt on his system, which guided him to the Wii Shop Channel to download a special multiplayer-only version of Dr. Mario. Once we had both exchanged Dr. Mario-specific friend codes, we could then engage in online matches, which ran seamlessly. Harris could not, however, exit out and play single-player matches of Dr. Mario.

Thus far, the concepts powering WiiWare – original games, pay-to-play content, the ability to send online-centric versions of titles to friends – are all very promising. The prices for some the shallow launch efforts, though, definitely have us concerned, and so do the quality of these first efforts, some of which only minimally put Wii's features to good use; some not at all. Thankfully, the launch of WiiWare in America in May, already set to encapsulate more promising titles like LostWinds and Defend Your Castle, is far more encouraging.

We have written previews for all nine WiiWare launch games, which can be read by clicking on the links above. Viewers can also check out new screenshots and videos for each of the titles.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:42 pm

Mojipittan Wii Hands-On
Namco's popular puzzle series helps launch WiiWare.
by Daemon Hatfield
March 25, 2008 - For the WiiWare launch in Japan, Namco Bandai is offering a downloadable version of its popular word game series, Mojipittan. We spent some time with the puzzle game today, and discovered we are apparently fluent in the Japanese language.

Despite having no knowledge of Katakana, we were laying down tiles, making words, and racking up combos. Of course, these were just the very early stages of the game, surely designed so that any combination of tiles will spell something. The truth is, a word-based puzzle game played entirely in Japanese is next to impossible for gaijin to play. So we will attempt to deliver some very basic impressions of this game that will never come to the U.S.

Visually, Mojipittan has a very clean, cartoon look that reminds us of Namco Bandai's Tamagotchi games. The tiles you have to work with are stacked on the right side of the screen, and your playing field comes in a variety of shapes -- everything from fish to baseball players to bananas. The language isn't the only thing Japanese, here. All of Mojipittan's presentation, from the young girl's voice who greets you at the title screen to the eyes of the tile stack that follow your pointer, is distinctly Japanese.

Tiles can only be built off existing pieces, and they must form a word. If you find you can't make anything with the tiles you have left, you'll have to undo your previous placements one by one until you can play again. The game has a built-in dictionary that keeps track of all the words you create and provides definitions. You can also look up potential words to see if the game will accept them.

There are loads and loads of levels, and unlockable stages on top of that. As you complete puzzles you'll unlock different accessories for your helper friend to hold. There is also multiplayer, both locally and over wi-fi.

Mojipittan could definitely be fun if we were capable of understanding the tiles. Word games are all the puzzle rage, now, so something like it will certainly show up on the U.S. WiiWare sooner or later.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:43 pm

Lonpos Hands-On
A virtual puzzle with no pointer control? Say it ain't so.
by Bozon
March 25, 2008 - Like Tetris, Lonpos is a game that has gotten a huge amount of attention across the budget PC, web, and cell phone platforms, as the basic ball puzzle is perfect for quick ports and simple designs. With it being a very popular series in Japan, it makes sense to have an official Lonpos title for the WiiWare launch.

The general premise behind Lonpos is simple, as you'll take pre-made blocks and fit them into a specific frame of space. Like the classic Tangrams puzzles, there's one right way to solve each puzzle, and it'll take a mix of strategy, spatial reasoning, and some trial and error to beat each challenge. The core game is fun, and the Wii version is true to the game's original design.

Unfortunately, like Tenshi no Solitaire, Lonpos isn't worth the cash it's asking for on Wii Ware. For 1,000 points (that's $10 bucks), players can download the main Lonpos experience, complete with single and multiplayer, rankings, as well as the optoin to also purchase a pay-per-play downloadable bundle (which we can't currently access) to flesh the product out. And while the game has more options than most of the titles out there on WiiWare right now, it's lacking in a big way as far as presentation goes. For starters, the game runs in only 4:3 and 480i, and with other titles already available on WiiWare pushing 16:9 and 480p, it instantly looks dated. As a much larger issue though, Lonpos – just like Solitaire – uses the d-pad and buttons rather than in-game IR, so players will be moving an on-screen pointer via the Wii-mote's d-pad, making for a slow, clunky experience.

The choice for uninspired controls is really a downer to the rest of the experience as well, since the game has a huge list of options, multiple modes for both single and vs. play (even including co-op mode), and overall is a decent mix of depth and simplicity for Wii Ware. We'd still never suggest you drop 1,000 points on it though, as the gameplay control is a total cop-out, and it impacts the rest of the game.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:44 pm

Okiraku Ping Pong Wii Hands-On
Polished products come in all shapes, sizes, and prices.
by Bozon
March 25, 2008 - It may not be the most in-depth ping pong experience out there, but Okiraku Ping Pong Wii is a great example of how to do WiiWare utilizing the Wii's technology (both motion and pointer), hitting the right price point, and delivering a scaled down – but still full - experience. There's a decent list of products already out on Japan's download service, but Okiraku Ping Pong stands out not as the best overall game, but as a great cross-section of what WiiWare is all about.

Like any simplified version of tennis or pong, Okiraku Ping Pong uses a simple waggle system to deliver one-on-one ping pong on Wii, very similar to Wii Sports or Wii Play. The game's interface is extremely simple, but includes everything you'd want for a quick burst of play before getting into a larger Wii affair. Boot up the game, select from one of four players (a young boy, young girl, older woman, and older man), and then either play in a single player tournament mode, or hit up a few mini-games. The only thing missing is 16:9 support.

Right off the bat we noticed how concise the package is. IR is used for fast menu navigation, A+B begins the game, and a small list of options await the player. There's the aforementioned single player mode, and depending on who you select to play the other three players in the game become your three-game "campaign" mode. Very simple, but easy to jump in/out of between Smash Bros. matches or Mario Kart races, and that's the idea. Aside from the main mode, there's also an extremely basic two player section (pick characters, select from the three stages, set the rules, and go), and also three mini-games to play. The minis are very basic in concept, but are still a nice addition to the cheap, 500 point package, with a rally mode (the more hits against a computer player, the more that rally is worth), an accuracy target mode, and a tic-tac-toe game. Each are brief, but adding depth to the already budget WiiWare title with local leaderboards to boot.

As for the gameplay itself, Okiraku Ping Pong is very basic, but par for the "casual" design it embraces. Players use only the Wii remote, lifting it to toss the ball, and then swinging left or right to hit the ball in the intended direction. Timing also comes into play, with poor shots leaving your character in a shocked state, allowing competitors to spike the ball with an "A+motion" smash if you don't waggle out of it in time.

In the end, it isn't that Okiraku Ping Pong is the best Wii game out there for launch (games like Star Soldier R, Dr. Mario, and My Life as a King are very impressive), but it's a great example of how to make a small, casual game for Wii Ware, without making the experience feel gimped along the way. This one has all the polish of a wrapped Wii game, just with a smaller overall core. Arc System Works has the right idea here.

Subject: Re: news/reviews/previews Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:55 pm

Okiraku Ping Pong Wii
Also known as: Okiraku Ping Pong Wii Ware

Part of the Wii Ware service for downloadable games, this is a Ping Pong title that uses the Wiimote for direct controls of your in-game counterpart's paddle. Based on how you swing, you can achieve top spin, back spin, smashes and other shots. The game lets you chose between automatic movement and manual movement. When set to automatic, all you have to do is time your shots and swing. Those who want the full ping pong experience will want to go with manual mode. Modes of play will include a challenge mode, where you earn items by playing five mini games, and a four player doubles mode, where the screen splits to make sure everyone has a similar view of the action.

Developed by: ARC System Works

Genre: Sports
Number of Players: 1-2
Release Date:
US: TBA
Japan: March 25, 2008