The Stupid Gamer

Neomoto, over at the NeoGAF forums put together a great summary of the recently held Nintendo conference. Instead of just ripping off his info and work, I’ll just link to it directly. Lazy? Yep. Does it make my day a bit easier? You betcha.

Check out the full summary here: NeoGAF

There’s a lot of good stuff to look forward to for Wii and DS owners.

Jeux-France has the first Fire Emblem DS images online. Take a look:

More images can be found at jeuxfrance.com here: Fire Emblem DS

Nintendo officially unveiled Sonic the Hedgehog as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While many speculated that it was coming, and many more expected it, it’s nice to finally see Sega’s main mascot officially join the cast. Sonic is sure to become a fan favorite, and it’s possible that he might bring some of his buddies along with him.

I guess we can finally settle the SNES/Genesis feud the way it also should have been, right? Mario4lyfe, suckas!

Free Radical Design has officially announced the development of TimeSplitters 4. Back when Rare was starting to hemorrhage talent in the latter days of the N64, many of them formed up the Free Radical studio. Since then Free Radical has put out three great shooters in the TimeSplitters franchise. There are many, myself included, that feel that TS2 and TS3 were among the best FPS games released last generation, so the announcement of a fourth installment is great news.

Check out the company’s official web site for a humorous little teaser. You can find it here: Free Radical Design

In a big move for Nintendo, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter III will be exclusive to the Nintendo Wii. The franchise has been Sony’s strongest selling title for the PSP, so the development is very significant in Japan, if only mildly so here in North America.

Here’s the official Capcom news release:

Capcom unleashes the beast as “Monster Hunter 3 (tri-)” rumbles its way onto the Nintendo Wii®

Capcom Co., Ltd. (Capcom) is pleased to announce the development of a new edition in its mega-hit “Monster Hunter” series: “Monster Hunter 3 (tri-)” for the Nintendo Wii.

The “Monster Hunter” franchise is a series of action games that puts the player in the boots of a fearless hunter tracking down and battling huge and ferocious monsters all while traversing breathtaking natural environments. To date, the series has shipped over 4.5 million copies worldwide (as of September 30, 2007). The “Monster Hunter Freedom” series for the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system (referred to below as the PSP® system) makes use of Network Play to build upon the gaming experience, which has boosted its popularity, especially in the student market, and has also helped to make it the first PSP® game to sell over a million copies in Japan. The series has also been the recipient of numerous awards with “Monster Hunter” for the PlayStation®2 receiving the Award of Excellence at the Eighth Annual CESA Game Awards and “Monster Hunter Freedom 2″ receiving the Grand Award at the Japan Game Awards: 2007.

Capcom has worked tirelessly on the latest title in the series, “Monster Hunter 3 (tri-)”, to utilize the unique aspects of the Nintendo Wii, which will create a “Monster Hunter” game unlike any of its predecessors. The attractiveness of the Wii experience is sure not only to please existing fans of the series, but also attract newcomers to this unique adventure.

As always, we at Capcom will continue to strive to develop new and original games that appeal to a broad audience around the world while expanding our properties for multiple platforms. We believe that by bringing the “Monster Hunter” series to multiple platforms, it will help the franchise reach an even greater number of users eager for its unique gameplay.

Title Summary
1. Title Monster Hunter 3 (tri-)
2. Genre Hunting Action
3. Platform Wii
4. Release Date To be announced.

In a conference today, Nintendo unveiled new plans for the DS and Wii. While information is still trickling in at the moment, here are some of the highlights:

Games Shown/Announced:

Fire Emblem DS
Wii Music
Super Mario Stadium Baseball
Mario Kart Wii
Famicom Wars Wii (Battlion Wars II)
Dragon Quest IX

Games and Features Coming to WiiWare:

Dr Mario
Star Soldier R
Pokemon Ranch
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - The Little King and the Country of Promise
DS Station Channel (DS demo download)

Exhanced Wii Voting Channel - recommend games. Search based on recommendation.

So how awesome is it that we’re finally getting a Fire Emblem on the DS? Too awesome? Maybe. Also, the DS demo downloads are sure to be a great asset to those that own both a DS and a Wii. It seems that you can download demos to your Wii and transfer them via wireless connection to your DS. Pretty slick.

More information is still coming in, so we’ll update with anything worth noting.

There are some great releases this week and plenty to look out for. Most notably would be Valve’s The Orange Box, which is one of the best bargains that gaming has ever seen. If you haven’t played Puzzle Quest on either the DS or PSP, you may want to check it out on XBLA. Finally, the first Neo Geo games hit the Wii Virtual Console this week and are well worth checking out.

Consoles/Handhelds

• FIFA 08 (PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PS2, PSP)
• Folklore (PS3)
• Sega Rally Evo (PS3, 360)
• NBA 08 (PS3, PSP)
• Looney Tunes Acme Arsenal (360, Wii, PS2)
• The Orange Box (360)
• Thrillville: Off the Rails (360, Wii, PS2, DS, PSP)
• Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (Wii)
• Balls of Fury (Wii)
• Bleach: Shattered Blade (Wii, DS)
• Mercury Meltdown Revolution (Wii)
• Backyard Football ‘08 (PS2)
• Mountain Bike Adrenaline (PS2)
• Flipper Critters (DS)
• Looney Tunes Duck Amuck (DS)
• Touch Detective 2 1/2 (DS)
• Juiced 2 (PSP)
• Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP)
• Jackass the Game (PSP)
• Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (PSP)

Virtual Console

• Art of Fighting
• World Heroes
• Fatal Fury

Xbox Live Arcade

• Puzzle Quest

PlayStation Network

• Nothing announced yet

Wow. Despite rumors flying around for the past week, I didn’t think this would actually be happening. In an official news release on Bungie.net, Frankie confirms that the split is effective immediately. A press release below the news post details all that you need to know about the departure.

Source: Bungie.net

I doubt that this is the end of Bungie on the 360, as some are claiming it might be, but it will be very interesting to see where Bungie puts its development resources going forward. Obviously Bungie loves the Halo franchise, and will continue releasing Halo titles with Microsoft, but they really want to work on something different for a while. Happy trails, Bungie, and good luck going forward.

Why make a big deal about Zelda? We love it.  We’re sure you love it as well.  And if you don’t, then you’ve got big problems with Stupid Gamer.  Simple, no?  To celebrate the release of one of our most anticipated games of the year, here’s a list of 5 reasons why you should love The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass — Link’s latest appearance on videogames, and first official adventure on Nintendo DS. 

1) We enjoy touching Link.  Really, we do.

Nintendo really wanted to make The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass a game for everyone, and in doing so, completely changed the traditional control scheme that Zelda is known for.  But don’t worry, Link is still capable of doing everything we’ve done on previous Zelda titles like running, slashing with his sword, and picking and throwing pots.  Take a swipe at your screen and Link will take a swipe at his enemies.  Draw a circle, and Link will also make a spinning attack with his sword!  There’s nothing difficult to understand in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and the control-scheme is sure to attract even the biggest Zelda skeptic. 

2) Need a Wind Waker? Nah, let it sleep.

The Wind Waker took a lot of criticism for its gorgeous, yet slightly tedious sailing portions.  You took out your magical Wind Waker, played a song for the winds, pick a direction for the wind to blow, and then open your sail to, well, sail.  Hmmm, come to think about it, it does sound a bit tedious.  It’s okay, though; Nintendo addressed the issue with new technology (this game takes place after the Wind Waker, after all — so technology has improved) in the form of a Steamboat!  No longer will you have to worry about having friendly winds, because all you need to do is draw a path for your boat, and let it follow its course! Easy and awesome.

3) Write it down on the map, Boy!

You seriously can’t tell us you’re a Zelda fan, and have never dreamed about being able to write clues and notes on your map before! Well, we have, and thanks to the Nintendo DS’s features, now we can! Remember all those broken walls you can bomb, but don’t have the bomb to do so?  Got a hint from a villager and don’t want to forget? How about learning a treasure location and can’t find pen and paper to write it down?  No worries, all you have to do is mark it on your map, and return when are able to complete the task.  Thanks to this new feature, you have no excuse to forget about anything!  And if that doesn’t make it easier for you, we don’t know what will.

4) Smaller Cel-da.  Nice Lookin’ Cel-da.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has the honor of being the best looking game on the Nintendo DS.  What about Final Fantasy III, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, and Metroid Prime: Hunters?  Nope, this one looks better.  We don’t know how the development team pulled it off, but we really hope this engine is used in future titles because it is truly outstanding.  The sailing portions are as colorful as they were on GameCube, and the world is still as big as ever.  Who cares that it basically looks like a smaller version of The Wind Waker? Phantom Hourglass is as beautiful as any other Zelda game, making the presentation one of the best we’ve seen in the portable realm.

5) It’s Zelda.  Next Question!

In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is another exceptional entry in the legendary franchise, and what better credential to show than that?  If all works well, and Nintendo gets away with their original plan with Phantom Hourglass, more gamers will be interested in trying out a Zelda game, which will bode will for the future of the franchise.   We’re pretty sure that anyone who plays Phantom Hourglass will be thrilled to experience the Zelda magic, and with a game that’s chock-full of the Zelda charm we all know and love, there’s no denying that The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is the portable game to own in 2007. 

Nintendo has quietly announced the official box-art for what’s soon to become one of our favorite games here in the Stupid Gamer office… Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn!

The art, as usual, is some of the best we’ve seen so far, and the game is sure to be another hit by the geniuses at Intelligent Systems. We can’t wait!