Mario tries to jump the pit between casual and hardcore.



Mario is back on the Wii, but hardly in the fashion we expected him to. With each successive console platforming release, from the majestic open-world of Mario 64, to the inventive water-based action of Super Mario Sunshine, to the physics-bending universe of Super Mario Galaxy, we've expected each of the mustachioed plumber's adventures to break the mold. Forgive us, then for being a bit taken aback when the next console adventure was announced--New Super Mario Bros. Wii seemed at first to be a souped-up port of the top-selling DS platformer. Once we had our hands-on, however, we learned that this could be the most important and accessible Mario game yet.





It's-a us, two Toads!

Our demo consisted of a variety of levels--all series staples like ice, dungeon, and standard overworld stages, with the Koopa Kids returning as bosses after an extended hiatus taken after Super Mario Bros. 3. The four of us chose from four characters--Mario, Luigi, and a yellow and blue Toad, and tackled each stage together. Played with the controller held NES-style, the game felt very similar to the DS' New Super Mario Bros (which mixed moves from Super Mario World with certain 3D-inspired moves like wall-jumping and ground-pounding). In order to keep the pace up, when characters die, they quickly enter back into the stage, floating in on a bubble that another character must pop. There is still a certain amount of lives allotted to each character, so too many deaths will keep a character out for the remainder of a level.







Power-up Yours!

The levels, by and large, felt equal parts cooperative and competitive, as we'd just as soon steal a power-up from a partner than pop their bubble to get them back in the game. With new power-ups like Helicopter Hats (shake the Wii remote to fly!) and Penguin Suits (slide on your belly and throw ice balls!), as well as the glorious 2D return of Yoshi, we found it extra difficult to share. One vertically-oriented stage was extra sinister, as we raced up with little regard to characters about to drop off the screen into death. Regardless of whether you've got Mario or Wario's morals, there's no denying that this four-player fast and frenzied take on the series is serious fun.
We're still a few months away from getting the final version, so hopefully some small tweaks can be made. The highly-publicized "Demo Play," which allows the game to take control from less-experienced characters will help younger players from getting frustrated, but we'd love to see more "natural" measures to keep them playing, rather than watching. An infinite lives difficulty, perhaps? Also, the current lineup of characters needs to be expanded. We're all about the Mario Bros, but TWO Toads? Despite IGN's clever attempt to characterize the Toads, that's just unimaginative on Nintendo's part. How about giving us the Princess, Wario, Donkey Kong, Waluigi, Baby Mario and Luigi, Miis... do we really have to go on? The game definitely has a near-flawless foundation, and is just a few power-ups away from being the biggest and best multiplayer Wii game yet.

At the end of a lackluster presentation by Nintendo, it was revealed that a new Metroid Prime game, 'Metroid: Other M' would be making its way to shelves in 2010 and is being developed by Team Ninja.

Nintendo's presentation wasn't what one would call very exciting, as most of it seemed focused on things we've already heard about. But, for their very last reveal, Nintendo announced that a new Metroid Prime is in the works, entitled, "Metroid: Other M." In a surprising bit of news, the game is being developed by Team Ninja, who brought us the Ninja Gaiden and dead or Alive series.



Apparently the game will "delve further into Samus's story" and will explore the Metroid universe even more. From the trailer that was shown, it looks like the game will combine both classic Metroid gameplay with some 3rd person action, as well as some pretty hardcore take-downs. With Team Ninja on the job, this could really shape up to have some intense action pieces.

Metroid: Other M is expected to arrive sometime in 2010.

Details on character classes, online world and story in Final Fantasy XIV were revealed this morning.

For those who missed Final Fantasy XIV's surprise showing at E3 this year (and its beautiful CG teaser), Square-Enix has released new details on the upcoming online game. The recently updated website gives insight into the five different character classes, one of which shares a striking resemblance to a certain Lord of the Rings character (see above). Aside from the classes, three city-states found in the world are detailed, as well as an introduction into the overall game world and story (fans can read up on the main site for finer details). The site still has a general 2010 release date for the game, but we may get a closer look as the website continues to be updated.

Though graphically similar to the previous Legend of Zelda entry on Nintendo's portable, Link's latest outing on the DS is looking to innovate on a few different levels, aside from the already apparent "train challenges" seen in earlier trailers. One new component of the gameplay involves players controlling the heavily-armored Phantom Knight, who is used as an auxiliary character to help solve puzzles and reach inaccessible areas; one example is Link riding the Phantom Knight through a sea of lava to avoid green leotard burns. The knight can also be used to trigger door locks and removing obstructions, with the player switching back and forth between controlling Link and the Phantom Knight.





Aside from the Knight, the previously mentioned Train Challenges are looking to add a change in pace from the series' traditional dungeon crawling/puzzle solving mainstay mechanics. The challenges task players with assaulting enemies with a giant cannon mounted on the engine, while attempting to avoid crashing into other trains at the risk of failing the challenge. Players have to balance controlling the train speed, switching train tracks, defeating enemies and avoiding oncoming train traffic in order to succeed, and the intensity of these sections is extremely engaging.

Fans of Phantom Hourglass should surely get a kick out of Spirit Tracks, and the new gameplay aspects look to bring fresh ideas to the series. While we never envisioned Link as a train conductor, when Nintendo says it can be done, we listen.

Description: Think you have the parking skills? We'll test you in the toughest arena known to the parking elite: the Supermarket. Loose carts, oversized SUVs and sticky children. Oh noes!

Instructions: Arrow keys for driving; spacebar to brake hard!

Category: Action

As evidenced by NPD data in recent months, Wii sales are no longer flying high. Today, Nintendo released its fiscal results for the company's first quarter ended on June 30, and sales of the Wii were down more than half from 5.17 million to 2.23 million. Overall, net income for the quarter fell 60.6% to ¥42.3 billion ($445.4 million) from ¥107.3 billion, while sales slipped 40.1% to ¥253.5 billion.

The company said the poorer performance was largely due to a tough comparison with its first half of 2008 and the value of the yen against the dollar. "While the company reported the third highest sales and profits in its history for this period, sales and profits were down compared to the same three-month period in 2008, largely due to two factors. First, the valuation of the yen in 2009 is higher compared to the dollar and euro than it was in 2008. Second, in 2008 Nintendo front-loaded the first half of the year with top-selling games like Super Smash

Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, while in 2009 major Nintendo game launches fall in the second half of the calendar year. Accordingly, Nintendo made no revisions to its half and full fiscal year financial forecasts," Nintendo said in a statement.

For the fiscal year ending next March, Nintendo still expects to sell 26 million Wii units worldwide along with 220 million pieces of Wii software. For the DS hardware, the company expects to sell 30 million units worldwide with 180 million software units. Sales for the full year are forecast to total ¥1.8 trillion (down 2.1%) with net income totaling ¥300 billion (up 7.5%).
Analyst Michael Pachter has told us previously that Nintendo would have to cut the price on Wii in order to meet its fiscal targets, and it seems other analysts are in agreement. "The slump in sales of Wii stood out," said Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC Securities Japan. "The Wii's popularity depends on software. As it's been (three) years since its launch, a price cut may be an option."

To date, Nintendo has sold 52.62 million Wii units globally and 384.09 million Wii software units. Nintendo DS hardware has reached 107.75 million units worldwide (and of those, Nintendo DSi hardware accounts for 6.68 million), while DS software stands at 596 million units.

It’s official, pirates will never get old. Be it movies about them, games, Halloween costumes or rides at Disneyland, pirates are still one of the most fertile grounds for tales of adventure and intrigue. I’m not sure if it’s the puffy shirts, the eye patches or the proclivity for rum consumption, but it seems like everyone has entertained the notion of being a pirate at least once in their lives.

Russian video game publisher 1C, along with developer Sea Wolf knows this very well and has created not only an action packed swashbuckling adventure set during the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean, but one with a very unique visual style. They definitely have some very talented artists working for them, that’s for sure. But another cool thing about the game is that it encapsulates two entirely different archetypes of pirate games.



First is the on-foot action. In Captain Blood you play, well, Captain Blood, a dashing and quite buff pirate captain who’s as good with his saber as he is sailing the high seas. As you make your way through wretched and debaucherous port towns, you’ll fight alongside your faithful friend Pitt in what can only be described as being inspired by classic hack n’ slash games. Switching between the Captain and Pitt on the fly, you’ll have melee weapons like swords and clubs at your disposal, as well as your trusty pistol and the occasional bomb. There will be environmental weapons at your disposal, like hanging barrels that can be dropped on enemies.





We got a chance to actually play this mode a little bit, and it definitely has that classic brawler feel. Simple attacks can be chained together for combos, and yes, they have fatalities in the game. Because I know you were wondering. The game still has a way to go development-wise, but we had the kind of fun we expected to have playing through.

What we didn’t get to play, unfortunately, was the sea battle mode. You will take control of entire fleets of ships in Captain Blood, and engage in large scale battles, both with your cannons and also with your men as you board and capture enemy vessels. These vessels then join your fleet, giving you even more power at sea. It remains to be seen if the “at sea” sections take on a full scale Privateer-style of play, but what we saw of the sea battles looked like they actually employed somewhat realistic tactics. Completing levels of each kind will allow you to build your characters skills up, giving the game an rpg-like sheen. We don’t expect that element to run too deeply though. That’s ok, Captain Blood looks more like silly fun than a true “pirate sim”, whatever that might be. No sight of a ballroom dancing minigame either, thank god.

What really stands out about Captain Blood is the art style. The highly realized look wouldn’t look out of place on the drafting table of a top Disney artist, and Sea Wolf is to be commended for it. The hero is sufficiently buffed out (I wouldn’t put it past a pirate to be on “the juice”) and the bad guys comically twisted. We can say one thing for sure, the game is a visual treat.

Captain Blood is still a ways off development-wise, but it will be releasing this year. We’re just hoping to get our hands on the ship battling aspect of the game soon. As soon as we do, we’ll be sure to let you know all about it.

Valve has announced that Left 4 Dead 2 is currenlty under development. Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) is currently slated for release on the Xbox 360 and PC and promises to be come one of 2009's marquee titles.

"A large part of how Left 4 Dead became 2008's top-selling new IP on Xbox 360 and the PC was the custom-tailored gameplay made possible by the AI Director," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games."

Left 4 Dead 2 is set for release on November 17, 2009 and adds melee combat with items such as a chainsaw, frying pan, axe, baseball bat and more. More info after the jump.

From the press release:

Introducing the AI Director 2.0, L4D's dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance. The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Featuring new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original with more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.



Supported by a $10+ million marketing campaign, Left 4 Dead has sold over 2.5 million retail copies since it was released in November of 2008. Left 4 Dead 2 is targeted for release on Xbox 360 and the PC on November 17, 2009, and will be launched worldwide with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign across TV, Outdoor, and Online.

"Left 4 Dead was backed by our most aggressive advertising campaign to date, and resulted in a top 5 showing on two platforms during holiday 2008," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "Left 4 Dead 2 is a larger game and will be supported with even more consumer and retail advertising programs than the original."

Left 4 Dead 2 will be featured as the cover story on PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazines this month.

If you haven't spent all your money buying Street Fighter IV controllers , Namco Bandai has a new arcade stick for you to invest in. The official Tekken 6 Wireless Fight Stick Bundle bundles the upcoming game with an art book and a wireless stick made by HORI. The set will be available at various nationwide retailers, and will cost $150 for either the PS3 or Xbox 360 version.In addition to revealing the official arcade stick for the game, Namco Bandai also released 33 new screenshots of the game, showcasing some of the new characters featured in Tekken 6. Our favorite character? Well, there's that decapitated robot girl ...Finally, official details of Penny Arcade's collaboration with Tekken 6 have been revealed. The "Samurai" Pack includes a playable Cardboard Tube Samurai skin for Yoshimitsu and 40 Samurai Battle Banners which can be used to customize the other characters in the game. The DLC pack will be availableas a Game stop-exclusive pre-order bonus.

The latest edition of Gametrailers’ Bonus Round discussed Grand Theft Auto 4, its Xbox 360 exclusive expansion, and Grand Theft Auto 5’s release date. You can watch the episode below.
To quote investment banker Wedbush Morgan Securities’ game industry analysts Michael Pachter: “I actually think they already have a story in mind. GTA5 is already in the planning stage and my guess is you’ll see [the next GTA] in two and a half years. In fall of 2010, there’ll be Grand Theft Auto 5.”
This last Grand Theft Auto Bonus Round episode discusses whether or not the release of GTA4 on April 29th will be the fall of GTA as a series or if Rockstar will reach new heights?




Update: After rumors circulating on the internet, Rockstar confirmed that there would be no GTA5 in 2009. While most companies don’t respond to rumors, Rockstar probably thought it would damage sales of their two upcoming GTA4 downloadable episodes (the 1st in February, the 2nd in October), which they are still working on. As a result 2010 is looking more logical for GTA 5