In a conference yesterday in Japan, Nintendo unveiled some new games, services, and even a brand new DS model. The new DS is called the DSi, and will sport a few improvements over the DS Lite, while at the sime time dropping the GBA slot in favor of a slimmer design. The DSi was presented by Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, and here are the details that we know so far:
Smaller and lighter than the DS Lite with bigger screens
No GameBoy Advance slot
VGA resolution camera
SD card slot for media and storage
Larger speakers with improved sound quality
Music player
Downloadable software (DS Ware). Wii Points renamed to Nintendo Points. Software price brackets will be Free/200/500/800 points.
Built-in web browser.
Will release in Japan November 1 for 18900 yen (about $180), two colors: White and flat gray.
The device hasn’t been given a release date for North America yet. It’s possible that the US won’t see a release until the Spring, but we’ll definitely find out more soon. There was more announced at the conference than just the DSi, so we’ll be updating on that shortly.
After spending a few hours with LittleBigPlanet, I thought I’d chime in with a few thoughts and impressions. When you download the beta (a special download key is required), you’ll get eased into the action through a few simple tutorials and a bit of hand holding. Within 20-30 minutes, you’ll have passed enough levels that the game will allow you to either start playing user created levels or to design your own.
When you’re ready to give level design a try, it’s best to play a few user created levels before jumping in to make your own. Not only will get great ideas, but you’ll also earn more objects to use when building your levels. The flexibility given to you to create scenarios, traps, obstacles, and fun little platforming elements is truly amazing. In fact, for the first half hour of level creation, I was almost paralyzed by overwhelming choice. Just this little exercise made me appreciate all that much more what professional level designers are able to accomplish.
So far I’ve spent far more time in other player’s worlds than in the ones that come packed in with the beta download, and I figure that’s how it will be when the retail version hits stores on October 11th. One of my favorites was called Hest (Part 2) and it had me breaking into a bank, while trying to avoid arrest and imprisonment. The level was extremely clever, and it leaves me extremely excited to see what the community is going to be capable of when this game makes its way into millions of homes.
For the most part, the actual gameplay is pretty solid, but jumping is a little floaty. The physics are great, but it would be nice if you could rely on your jumping just a bit more to bail you out. Also, there was an instance when the level didn’t reset a vital piece (a moving platform) after I died and got moved back to a checkpoint. Once that happened, it made the level impossible to finish. Hopefully by the final release these sort of issues can be addressed. Aside from those two things, however, there really isn’t much to complain about.
When LittleBigPlanet rolls out onto store shelves I figure it’s going to make a huge buzz. We’ll see videos all over YouTube, GameVideos, and all sorts of video sharing sites. Below I’ve embedded a really simple creation that shows a PS3 fan taking a jab at the 360 RROD problem. While there isn’t any gameplay in the level aside from some walking, it’s still a fun use for the LBP creation tools.
Wow, how any of us could be patiently waiting for We Cheer to hit shelves is beyond me. Preorder, boys and girls…preorder. I imagine that Silent Hill is going to be the biggest release of the week, as reports of Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood say that the game is less than great.
Greetings everyone, I bet you’re all so used to only Jeff posting to this blog. Well that has just changed. My name is Brad Mosbacher, former Features Editor for Nintendo World Report. I have been brought aboard to provide all of you with interesting and well written updates when Jeff himself is unable to post.
I am also here to provide posts that slightly differentiate in taste compared to the standard variety of posts that Jeff makes. However, this alone is not the cause of my appearance. Jeff and I have big things planned in the future. What these plans are I cannot say just yet, but it is the culmination of his and my combined resources. Needless to say, I hope you will enjoy what we have in store for all of you.
The video below is Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb just having a blast with Mega Man 9. The game is brutally tough, and Jeff is making sure that you can understand his frustrations in this video. Note: The video contains a bit of strong language, so send the kiddies out of the room.
And I don’t know why a white rectangle is showing up above the video. Just ignore it and don’t complain, ok?
This whole issue has passed and at first I refrained from commenting on it, but I think it’s still worth commenting on. Last week, Cheap Ass Gamer ran a contest within their community to see who could make up the best and most believable rumor. A few bloggers, including Kotaku’s Brian Crecente, picked up one of the rumors and ran with it. I’m not going to name the rumor, because it doesn’t really deserve any more attention, but the fallout of these blogs running stories based on the competition merits a little discussion. Once the Internet’s finest detectives flushed out that the source for the rumor was indeed CAG’s little contest, Brian was backed into a corner and forced to admit that he posted an unconfirmed bit of (fake) news. Of course, rather than showing some good humor and admitting his mistake, Brian did what he always does; he lashed out and decided to push the blame back into CAG’s hands. Below is what Brian said when he updated his original rumor post:
UPDATE: It appears that this rumor story could be CAG throwing their credibility out the window as part of a contest. Kotaku’’s decision to run rumors is always based on the credibility of the site and the information contained within it. In the past CAG has proven to be a reliable site, having broken a number of stories through apt reporting. It appears that may no longer be the case.
Well, jeez, Brian…can you really blame this on CheapyD and CAG? Is that really fair? You failed to fact check, you failed to follow up on a lead, and you made the decision to run with a rumor that had no credibility in the first place. All you had to do was a little bit of simple digging and you could have easily found out it was all part of a fun community contest put on by CAG. Don’t blame CheapyD and Wombat for trying to have some fun with their readers and podcast listeners. Your arrogance in these sort of matters is what turned me off of Kotaku years ago and is the same reason I don’t visit the site today. It’s ok to be wrong, but it’s not ok to throw a site under the bus simply because you failed to do a simple thing like fact checking before hitting the post button. And no, CAG wasn’t throwing their credibility out of the window by running the contest, you were when you ran with the rumor in a sad attempt to beat your competition to the scoop. Bravo, Brian, bravo. Here’s what your update is really saying to me:
UPDATE: It appears that this rumor story could be me throwing my credibility out the window as part of a premature reaction. Kotaku’’s decision to run rumors is always based on the ridiculous need to get lots of hits to drive up our click count to appease our traffic-hungry superiors. In the past CAG has proven to be a reliable site, having broken a number of stories through apt reporting which we’ve hastily grabbed and slapped on our front page. It appears that we may either need to start fact checking like most reputable sites and blogs or risk continuing to look like total clowns and amatuers.
For the record, Joystiq, Kotaku’s biggest competitor, refrained from posting the rumor that they were very much well-aware of. Joystiq and CAG good. Kotaku bad.
Survivor, the popular reality competition show, kicked off its last night in its 17th season and one of its contestants happens to be the world champion for Super Smash Bros., Ken Hoang. The pro gamer should be used to being on TV cameras as he’s placed first in many televised tournaments, and was one of the main subjects of MTV’s documentaryTrue Life: I’m a Professional Gamer. Within the gamer community, the champ is known simply as “Ken” or by his old forum and tournament name “SephirothKen.”
Ken, accepting a check for winning at a gaming tournament.
We’ll see if his gaming skills translate to Survivor, as Ken looks to be one of the more likeable characters in the early running, but maybe not one of the most physically gifted.
A few people have asked me what the best order is for taking down the bosses in Mega Man 9. Well, here you go. Start at the top of the list and work your way down using the previous boss’ weapon. For the first one, just use the Mega Buster, obviously. Attempting to take the bosses down in any other order is something you shouldn’t probably try to do until you’re a certified expert of the game. I managed to beat Jewel Man first, but it was very, very, tough.
For me, it’s a rare moment that I’m able to pull out my older consoles, dust them off, and dig into my favorite classic games that laid the groundwork for the modern masterpieces. However, when I get those consoles out, and it comes time to play NES games, two of my favorite games to play through are Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 2. When it was revealed that Mega Man 9 would look, play, and sound just like the old Mega Man NES titles, I was very excited. To think that in the age of hi-def gaming systems, TrueHD sound, and television screens that jump over the 100 inch mark that Capcom would be willing to create a new game in purely retro fashion is just amazing.
The gameplay is solid. If you’ve ever been a fan of the NES Mega Man games, you’re getting exactly what you’re getting into with Mega Man 9. The game looks and acts just like a NES game, all the way from the level design up to AI behavior. You can even pull the same old tricks on enemies that you could in old NES games, like walking off the screen and coming back to see the screen repopulated with the same enemies you just destroyed. It is worth noting that the game is hard. In fact, those not wanting a challenge are going to be best served steering clear of Mega Man 9’s unapologetic difficulty. While Mega Man games have never been a cakewalk, Mega Man 9 comes at you rough and never lets up. For long time fans of the series, this will prove to be a very good thing.
The music and sound is very satisfying and will make you feel like you’re back in the 80s again as catchy chiptunes with short loops accompany the bleeps and bloops of Mega Man’s jumps and attacks. Capcom went all the way in making Mega Man 9 look like it belongs on the NES.
The replay value of the game depends on how much you like a challenge. If you choose to go back and hunt for the achievements in the game, it’s going to be a very long time before you manage to get them all. Also, playing the stages out of the easiest order is going to require total mastery, so you can be sure that the game will provide many hours of enjoyment.
I can’t recommend Mega Man 9 highly enough. I only hope that the game is successful enough that Capcom and other developers choose to go this route with some of their older franchises. Imagine another Ninja Gaiden from Tecmo in this style, or maybe another Battletoads from Rare. The possibilities are endless, and I’m very grateful to Capcom for what they’ve done here.
Ensemble, speaking exclusively with Gamasutra unveiled that their canceled project was indeed a Halo MMO. The game has been rumored to have been in development for quite some time, but it was never made official. Now that Ensemble is closing down, the studio was at liberty to discuss their unfinished projects. Check out a few screenshots below.
Nintendo unveils new DS, the DSi
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