The Sky Crawlers video interview and in-game footage

All in Japanese but you get a good glance at the gameplay and nice plane models. The Ace Combat team seems to be taking advantage of the Wii's capabilities in both graphics and control and are obviously building the game from the ground up for it. We need more games like this for the Wii, it's too bad that the PS2 simply won't die and developers continue to just port over a PS2 version of a game with waggle and call it a day....

The Sky Crawlers Wii screens

The Sky Crawlers has the best looking Airplane models yet seen on the Wii. However no Airplane title on the Wii thus far has been worth buying, will this game finally change that? It again depends on how it will control; they need to nail it or we'll end up having yet another paper weight....

Star Soldier R WiiWare video

New X-Blades screens for Wii

Link

Here are some new screens of X-Blades, the little known about game coming out for Wii and PS3/360. Looks very nice, now I just want to know more about the gameplay. Enjoy.


EDIT:

I've been alerted that this game is actually not going to be coming to the Wii. There was an error in the original press release by Southpeak games that mentioned a Wii version. Sorry to all the Wii owners that were looking forward to this game....and the main character.

Mario Kart Wii - circuits video

I'm glad I finally have a longer video preview to post of this game, most of the others have been around 1 minute each. The game looks like.....um well....Mario Kart!

Castle of Shikigami Wii video

You would think that this is a WiiWare game but it's not....It does look fun if you like top-down shooters.

Wii's growing number of Mature games

There is a growing number of Mature rated titles being released on the Wii, not all of them are great games but it is nice to see that the adult audience is not being left out. Here is a list of some of the good "M" rated games on the Wii:


Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

No More Heroes

The Godfather: Black Hand Edition

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Scarface

House of the Dead 2 & 3

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Manhunt 2

These games rated from good to great in most reviews across the internet, so this is not a list of all the "M" rated content on Wii. The Wii has proven that Mature rated games can sell (RE4, REU) as long as some effort is being put into the product. Also, I beg you Third Party developers to put out some advertising for your games! I don't think I've seen one commercial for any of the games listed above, it's amazing some of them have still sold so well.

Super Real Mario Brother

We know that in his video games Mario never grows old or looks his real age. Imagine that if he did look his age and you'd probably get a dirty old man with a red hat that might look like the guy in the image above. Funny or disturbing? I pick the latter...

Mario Kart Wii coming April 27th in the United States

REDMOND, Wash., March 12, 2008 - This year, the typical signs of spring will be accompanied by the sweet sound of revving engines and the sight of lightning-fast shells whizzing around every corner. Mario Kart® Wii is zooming toward its launch in the United States on April 27. The game comes with the intuitive Wii Wheel™, which makes it easy for novices to compete against veterans, so no one is left in the dust. And with a broadband hookup to Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, players can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world for racing dominance.

“Mario Kart Wii transforms one of our most popular franchises into a race that every member of the family can join,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Driving with the Wii Wheel could not be more natural, and this is one place where speeding is encouraged.”

Mario Kart Wii will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. For the first time ever, players have the option of racing with either karts or motorbikes. Players can also hit the road as their personalized Mii™ caricatures in addition to the handful of classic Nintendo characters found in the game. True to the series, the game features tons of racing, plenty of power-ups and oodles of objects for players to use to slow down other drivers. And 10 battle arenas will keep players busy between trips around the circuit.

The easy-to-use Wii Wheel will also be sold as a separate accessory, giving every driver in the household a chance to get behind his or her own wheel. And if veteran Mario Kart fans are afraid of getting smoked by rookie drivers using the Wii Wheel, they can rest assured that Nintendo has them covered. Mario Kart Wii supports four different control options: Wii Remote™ with or without the Wii Wheel, Wii Remote and Nunchuk™ controller combo, Classic Controller and even the Nintendo GameCube™ controller. So there’s bound to be a configuration that fits everyone’s style.

Mario Kart Wii launches with a new channel added to the Wii Menu to enhance game play: The Mario Kart Wii Channel. This new channel builds on the huge online community of Wii owners and lets players compete in tournaments, check worldwide rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com. For more information about Mario Kart Wii, visit MarioKart.com.

Nintendo press release

Super Smash Bros. World Launches!

http://supersmashbros.ign.com/

Nintendo's rule on Smash Brothers online map sharing is that you get 1 user created map per day to download. IGN has taken a huge step beyond that and created a site called Super Smash Brothers World that lets you upload and download as many user created levels as you want as long as you have an SD card. Great news since some of the maps that are on the site look really cool like remakes of the Nintendo 64 versions "Hyrule City" and "Saffron City". So I suggest you check it out and download/upload away!

Mario Kart Wii videos show off DS levels!

Delfino Square is one of my favorite (and other peoples favorite) tracks on Mario Kart DS, I'm really excited that it is going to be on Mario Kart Wii. Yoshi Falls....not so much. Hopefully the online mode will be a smooth experience as well.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Gametrailers Review

How are you enjoying the game so far? I'm having a blast playing the Subspace Emissary and all the other modes. I haven't been able to get an online match going yet, each time I've tried to do a random match the connection times out and it can't seem to find an opponent for me to fight. Anyone having similar issues?

No More Heroes "one hit failure" missions: painful or enjoyable?

Link

Above is a link to a story regarding the Free Fight missions from No More Heroes that goes into detail about if these are really frustrating or enjoyable to play with the system that is set up in the game.

For me, when I'm playing the game it is easy to just go do one of these "fights" when I feel like it and it is not something that feels like it must be done to get anywhere. Yes they can be difficult but once you know the pattern of how the enemies attack, you will have a much better chance of surviving the mission. If you fail, then the mission just disappears from the map until a later time when you can try it again. So even though a "retry" option would have been nice for some of the missions, at least it doesn't force you to continue to keep doing them over and over again.

How do you feel about these missions?

Super Smash Bros. Brawl IGN Review

A honestly thought that IGN would give the game a lower score due to some of the complaints they had. Like many are saying, there is really no need to review a game like this since everyone is going to buy it regardless of the score.

100 cool things you can do with the Wii

Click here to see all 100

Things like Wiicade, Wiitube, watching TV, streaming videos etc. You should really check out some of the things on this list because a lot of this stuff I didn't even think about doing with my Wii.

Very cool stuff!!!

X-Blades coming to Wii

Link

SouthPeak Games has confirmed X-blades for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and the Wii. Notice that there was no PS2 version announced? This is good news seeing that they will not be porting over PS2 assets for a watered down Wii version. My bet is that SouthPeak will port the PC version just without Shader Model 3, so we'll have a decent looking Wii game with less detailed shading than the other versions. The main character looks interesting.....

Neo Geo Control Stick coming for Wii

Finding it hard to pull of the moves in KOF or Fatal Fury with the Classic Controller? This should help you out then. The Neo Geo arcade stick is being released in Japan on April 10th, no word on a US release date.

Mario Kart Wii Fact Sheet

The next generation of Mario Kart is blazing a new path on Wii! New tracks, new racers (including Miis), new rides and 12-player racing via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection makes for the ultimate Mario racing experience!

With all the new additions, don’t expect Mario Kart Wii to skimp on the details. All your favourite Mario Kart franchise features return, such as classic tracks, cup modes, battles, boosts and ghost data. Mario Kart Wii isn’t an update – it’s a breakthrough!

Similar to Mario Kart DS, players will be able to take full advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. You’ll be able to race against up to 11 other players from around the world in massive online races or race against your friends. You can create rooms for friends to join and even text chat while you’re waiting for other racers. The online function of Mario Kart Wii also lets you join a friend’s race in action and be a spectator until the next course launches.

When you’re not going full-throttle toward the finish line, you can see how you stack up against others in the Mario Kart Channel . Here, your best times on tracks are compared to other racers from around the world. You can also see which characters and control methods were used to record this time. See someone with a better time than yours? The Mario Kart Channel also lets you download their ghost data to your Wii and race against the best!

The other massive expansion to come to the Mario Kart franchise is the addition of a new type of vehicle: bikes! Although bikes have fewer wheels than karts, they have a different set of advantages. On a bike, you can pop a wheelie, which can make you go faster but also makes you vulnerable to other racers and environmental effects. Plus, bikes and karts can launch into the air from certain boost ramps, and once in the air, you can perform special tricks to gain a boost when you hit the ground.

All these new bikes and cool karts won’t just tear up new courses. Retro tracks are back! Along with new courses like Mushroom Canyon and Wario Mines, you’ll be racing on old favourites such as Sherbert Land, Waluigi Stadium, Peach Beach and 13 others. How will riding a bike on these new retro tracks stack up to the karts? You’ll just have to play it to find out.

You’ve been racing as the Mushroom Kingdom’s finest for a long time, but now there’s a new racer in town: Your Mii! Put your Mii behind the wheel and take on all comers! For those who want to get in the game even more, Mario Kart Wii comes packed with the Wii Wheel. Shaped like a steering wheel, you place the Wii Remote inside the Wii Wheel’s casing and get ready to ride! In addition to the Wii Remote, you can also use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers in combo, or use a GameCube Controller to take those tight turns and challenges Mario Kart Wii throws at you.

A new experience in racing is here! The world is waiting for you. Whether you get behind the wheel to go online, race solo or take on up to three friends at your home, you’ll find Mario Kart Wii to be a one-of-a-kind experience!

* Play against up to 12 players, download and share ghost data and race friends via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Plus, you can take part in events organised by Nintendo in the Mario Kart Channel.
* Perform special tricks to score some serious speed boost with the new bikes and supped-up karts. Mario Kart Wii gives you more options than ever.
* Race as your Mii! Grab the Wii Wheel and race through the new and retro tracks as your favourite Mii. It’s like you’re in the game like never before!

Resident Evil 5 Wii boxart

It's amazing what a fan will do when they really want a game to come to the Wii. This looks pretty good, but of course the info on the back of the box is just speculation at this point. Capcom has recognized the demand for this game on the Wii but nothing has been announced yet as to when/if RE5 will come to the Wii. Do they really need to think about it that much?

Boom Blox to have 3D Head Tracking!

*Note* You cannot see the 3D effect with the angle of the camera shown on YouTube.

"Coming straight from the EA session about the development process behind Boom Blox, we thought it would be nice to inform everyone that there was a special “GDC Easter Egg” presented at the end of the session. It seems as though Head Tracking has been worked into the production of Boom Blox. Some things are unclear as to whether or not you can move around through previously recorded levels that you played through, or if they are custom built levels. The important thing is that it IS worked into the game and is available. Things needed by the player would be either LED glasses, or a wireless sensor bar, but by using just that and the controllers the same headtracking effect that we have seen in various online videos will be possible on the Wii."

Link

That was fast I must say! Only a few months after Johnny Lee introduced 3D head tracking for the Wii, we have EA using the technique in Boom Blox. Hopefully more games that are released later this year will use this.