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Albert Wesker Resident Evil Umbrella ChroniclesGood news for Wii owners: the upcoming on-rails shooter, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, will feature co-op play. While it isn’t the most exciting concept for a game, Umbrella Chronicles sounds like it’ll definitely be worth picking up if you’re looking for something to play with a friend on Wii and don’t care for mini-games.

This comes way of Famitsu, which has two pages dedicated to the game - scans can be seen on NeoGAF. While you might not be able to read Japanese, you can enjoy the screenshots, some of which feature my personal favorite, Albert Wesker. He always looked so good in those sunglasses.

Read More | Famitsu via NeoGAF


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E3 logoSure, the convention is much smaller this year and all, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a ton of games to be seen. Eurogamer has posted a list of the announced lineups and then some of what you’ll be seeing at E3. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have been quiet on what they’ll be showing, so it looks like we’ll need to wait until their respective showings to know for sure. The event is taking place next week, so expect it to be a busy week in news.

But please, please, please, Nintendo, show me Animal Crossing Wii. Something. Anything. Please?

Read More | Eurogamer

Family Play Madden offense controls

Most gamers that play sports games, either casually or hardcore, have certainly run into the problem of attempting to explain complex controls to a friend – which usually results in your friend QB scrambling or shooting half court jumpers each time he or she gets the ball. But the new Family Play feature, which is debuting in this year’s Wii versions of Madden 08, NBA Live 08 and FIFA 08, is aiming to make it easier for youngsters or game novices to jump in and play against friends and family who would otherwise wipe the floor with the competition.

When playing, you can choose either Advanced or Family Play. The former allows you to make use of both the Wiimote and Nunchuk, while the latter assists the player in-game and requires them to use only the Wiimote. Family Play users will control only the key actions, like shooting, passing, throwing, etc. And by simply plugging in a Nunchuk, someone playing with the Family Play style can easily try out Advanced mode.

This sounds like a truly fantastic idea – sports games have a huge market, especially Madden, and by opening the floodgates and allowing for an otherwise complicated game to be played by most anyone, EA Sports is poised to make quite a bit more money, while also allowing gamers to begin experiencing a new genre.


Latest Gear Live Videos

Wiimote Sure, the Wii already has the Virtual Console, but all we get there are straight ports of classic games. Great for those of us who may have missed games or want to play them again for nostalgia’s sake, and Nintendo & co. can make a ridiculous profit. Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network, to an extent, on the other hand, are home to original titles and encourage independent developers to create titles for the platforms.

WiiWare is Nintendo’s answer. We don’t have many details yet, but we know the first content for the platform should be appearing in early 2008. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Read More | Red Herring via Gear Live


Super Mario Bros. 2You either loved or heated Super Mario 2. With its choice of four characters to play as and plentiful numbers of turnips & co. to be tossed at enemies, it was clearly an acquired taste. If you’ve never had the chance to play it (for shame), you can now do so as it’s available on the Wii’s Virtual Console for 500 Wii Points. Joining Mario 2 are Ecco: The Tides of Time (800 points) and the unfortunately capitalized DRAGON SPIRIT (600 points).

Check out after the break for all the details.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 7/2: A Different Take On Mario


Pokemon Battle Revolution

Some big name titles are hitting this week, including the much anticipated The Darkness for both Xbox 360 and PS3. Transformers is bound to be a big seller by virtue of its name and the number of platforms that it’s coming out on. And Pokemon Battle Revolution for Wii is going to sell a scientifically accurate 1,432,345^100, or in other words, a metric crapton.

Click to continue reading Game Releases For The Week Of 6/25: The Darkness, Pokemon, And Transformers

Read More | Gamasutra

Sonic Knuckles Tails Sonic the Hedgehog 2Things happen, and sometimes we miss things. But, in case you weren’t paying attention, let’s pretend like there are nine new Virtual Console games available today! Wow! Yet somehow the number of good games in there equates to about one per week… for shame, Nintendo. We gave you three weeks to get us the goods, and we only get THREE good games at most? Let’s take a look at the list:

  • F-Zero X
  • Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
  • China Warrior
  • Lode Runner
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Golden Axe II
  • NES Open Tournament Golf
  • World Sports Competition
  • Bloody Wolf

Given their prices, there aren’t even three games in their worth their price tags. But at least I can feel like I’m playing a good Sonic game, which is a rarity these days.

Details for all of the games after the break.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 6/25, 6/18, And 6/11: Okay, We Missed A Few Weeks


Manhunt 2 Wii box artTake Two is in what we call a pickle. Manhunt 2, set for release on July 10, has received a preliminary ESRB rating of Adults Only. Initially, this was believed to be a major problem due to the fact that some major retailers – such as Walmart – wouldn’t carry the game. Walmart composes a significant portion of the videogame retail market, making the AO rating a major blow.

Then came word that Nintendo doesn’t allow AO-rated games to appear on its systems. In other words, no Manhunt 2 on Wii, or at least not until the game receives a lower rating.

But as with books, television and movies, different content is meant for different audiences. That’s why the ESRB provides ratings to help consumers understand the content of a game before they purchase it. As stated on Nintendo.com, Nintendo does not allow any AO-rated content on its systems.

How about Sony, who was supposed to see the game land on both the PlayStation 2 and PSP?

Currently it’s SCE’s policy not to allow the playback of AO rated content on our systems.

So where does this leave Take Two and Rockstar? They’re left with a very limited number of options, none of which are particularly attractive.

Click to continue reading The Adults Only Manhunt 2 Saga


Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wario

If you haven’t already heard, then you’ll be excited to know that in addition to the previously-confirmed GameCube controller compatibility that Smash Bros. Brawl will feature, you’ll also have three other controller options: Wiimote + Nunchuk, Wiimote turned on its side, or the Classic Controller. This was confirmed on the official Smash Bros. DOJO!! website on Friday, and while details weren’t included, we can infer a few things based upon this news. The fact that the Wiimote only has the 1, 2 and A buttons on its face that are within easy reach (I doubt gameplay itself would require any use of the + or – buttons) and the B trigger underneath, the controls will have to be fairly simple. The news post alludes to more news coming on how exactly the controls will work with the Wiimote, but expect some sort of motion control to be involved. It’ll be interesting to see how the different control schemes mesh with one another.

Read More | Smash Bros. DOJO!!

Zelda 2 title screenToday’s release of Zelda 2 marks the 100th release on the Virtual Console – not too bad of a library, considering it’s only been a little over 6 months in the making. announced a few details about the VC, but first, let’s get to what you really want to know: this week’s list of releases.

Four games saw release today: Zelda II - The Adventure of Link (NES, 500 points), Dead Moon (TurboGrafx16, 600 points), Milon’s Secret Castle (NES, 500 points), and Toe Jam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (Sega Genesis, 800 points). Not a bad list, and while you may love or hate Zelda, the other three cater to different audiences very nicely.

According to Nintendo, more than 4.7 million games have been downloaded from the VC, which equates to more than 1,000 games purchased an hour since the Wii’s release. Not too shabby considering these games don’t have demos available for them. (Or maybe that’s why they manage to sell so many?) Super Mario Bros. on the NES is the platform’s best selling game, followed by Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Super Mario World, and The Legend of Zelda.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 6/4: Zelda 2, And 1000 Games Per Hour


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