With every Monday we have our weekly Virtual Console update, which I will get into later. Today’s big news is the trailer for Praise Hero has finally been released. For those of you not in the know, Guitar Praise is the Christian equivalent of Guitar Hero/Rock Band. So if you love God/Jesus and don’t mind playing your video games on a PC or Mac then Praise Hero is for you.

And as promised here is today’s virtual console update information:
WiiWare™

Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 (Telltale Games, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Move over, generically buff action heroes. Strong Bad is here to show you how it’s done in his hand-crafted cinematic masterpiece, Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective. You play Dangeresque, a dirty cop in pursuit of a little action and several big sacks of cash. Can our hero stay alive long enough to defeat his arch-nemesis, save the world and get the girl? Looks like he’s gonna have to jump.

Target Toss Pro: Bags (Incredible Technologies, 1-16 players, Rated E for Everyone, 700 Wii Points): Target Toss Pro: Bags is a new video game based on beanbag toss, the nation’s hottest backyard and tailgate sensation. Bags – or Cornhole, as it’s called in some parts of the country – originated in the Midwest in the 1960s and has since become a staple at outdoor social events from coast to coast. Similar to horseshoes, Bags is a deceptively simple yet extremely competitive game where players try to toss beanbags into a hole in a slightly raised platform or “box” for points. Whether at a tailgate party or a summer barbecue, the game has become a social focal point, and the unmistakable thud of bags hitting the box is now a universal party soundtrack.

Virtual Console™

SPACE INVADERS: The Original Game (Super NES™, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Experience one of gaming’s iconic franchises in this perfect rendition of the arcade classic. Take aim at the field of invaders relentlessly marching toward you. Move quickly but carefully, using the barriers for protection as you avoid missiles fired by the aliens and try to destroy all of them before they reach the bottom of the screen. Further enhance the nostalgia by choosing from several modes that simulate different versions of the arcade game (such as upright cabinet or black-and-white). Or if you want to prove your superior skills to a friend, try the new VS mode and see who can stop the alien menace the quickest. All in all, it’s pure gaming at its best, now with no quarters required.

FORGOTTEN WORLDS (SEGA GENESIS, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): FORGOTTEN WORLDS is a one- or two-player side-scrolling shooter made by CAPCOM. It was one of the first games to incorporate 360-degree aiming and shooting. This SEGA GENESIS version provides the same impact and intensity of the classic arcade game. In the 29th century, without warning, warships broke through the sky, loaded with fiendish aliens. They rained down fire, bombs, missiles and napalm, leaving the land barren and inhospitable. Humanity was enslaved and Earth became known as the Forgotten World. In a hidden place, a group of brave humans raised two male children in secret. They brought up the young men as warriors, training them for battle. The two warriors emerged as armed machines of might, strength and super power – the Nameless Ones. Fight the hateful invaders as the powerful Nameless Ones. Collect Zenny to upgrade your weapons and satellite, and free the planet.

With the popularity that is Wii Sports, many other companies are trying to catch the craze by developing their own fitness game. There have been a few on the DS already that help with stretching and pilates, but EA is out to make the first Wii Fit competitor. Announced today is the development/release of “EA Sports Active” which will look to enhance your workout techniques through a 30 day challenge giving you a new 20-minute workout each day. Could be interesting to see if the home work-out craze is still going on when this comes out next year. Full press release below.

GUILDFORD, UK. – November 13, 2008 – Do you find there are too few hours in the day to run a household, hold down a job and fit in a workout? Or, are you just getting bored of the same old fitness routine? EA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the development of EA SPORTS™ Active, an innovative new customizable and personalized fitness product that will get you motivated to move in the comfort of your home. EA SPORTS Active will launch exclusively for the Wii™ worldwide next spring.

Developed in collaboration with fitness experts, including Bob Greene – renowned exercise physiologist, author and Oprah’s personal trainer – EA SPORTS Active is perfect for the whole family, though designed specifically for women seeking a simple, fun and cost-effective way to achieve a healthy lifestyle. The product will be the first in a new line of EA SPORTS fitness and sports performance products in development to improve the well-being of people of all ages.

“EA SPORTS Active and our entrance into the fitness space is an exciting and groundbreaking milestone for EA SPORTS,” said Peter Moore, president, EA SPORTS. “As we continue to expand our brand, we have a real opportunity to redefine the home fitness experience with a more Western cardiovascular approach and exercises that will appeal to a diverse audience, getting people off the couch and into shape while interacting with our products in a way never before possible. EA SPORTS Active costs less than a gym membership, it provides a variety of exercises unlike a one dimensional in-home fitness contraption, and it delivers an interactive experience that you don’t get from a DVD – this is a true fitness revolution and a space in which we intend to be leaders.”

EA SPORTS Active features a wide variety of interactive activities combined into a circuit that target both the upper and lower body as well as cardio, and supports two players to allow family or friends to get fit together. EA SPORTS Active provides a new level of motivation with on-screen, real-time feedback on your workout such as calories burned, while also allowing you to adjust intensity levels. EA SPORTS Active will include two specially-designed leg straps that hold the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to support a number of upper body strength training exercises.

“One of the most frequent questions I am asked is how to get fit at home – especially from busy mums. EA SPORTS Active provides a fun and effective workout that targets your upper body, lower body, and gets your heart pumping in just 20 minutes a day,” said Greene. “It’s a great way to get moving when you can’t get outside or you only have a short amount of time at home. In addition, I like the variety of exercises that it provides – one of the many reasons it has earned the Best Life seal of approval.”

EA SPORTS Active features a “30 Day Challenge,” a fitness road map for players to reach their fitness goals with the guidance of a virtual trainer. The Challenge provides a new, 20-minute workout every time a player exercises, including clear instruction, feedback on technique and positive encouragement throughout the workout. Each circuit will feel different and increase in intensity as fitness levels improve to help you work up a sweat and work toward your fitness goals. Users can also create their own custom workouts that vary in activity, duration and intensity, and the Wii Balance Board will add functionality to many exercises.

EA SPORTS Active is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver. It has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI; visit www.esrb.org for updated rating information. Media can find photos and a trailer of the game at www.electronicarts.co.uk/press. For more information, please visit www.easportsactive.com.

Image courtesy of videogamegeek

First of all sorry to all my fans for not posting anything lately, but my computer got a virus somehow *cough* porn *cough*.  But I’m back now, so that is all that is important.  Now on with the news.

This past Monday saw a pretty weak Virtual Console lineup as the biggest thing was Mega Man 3 being released with two new Wii Ware titles.  Mega Man 3 is the first game in the series to introduce the slide and charge buster to Mega Man offensive repertoire

WiiWare™

Brain Challenge™ (Gameloft, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Just like your body, your brain needs to be exercised to stay in shape. Boost your brain and relieve stress through various minigames in a personal session to get a detailed evaluation. Challenge your friends’ brains in delirious party games to see who is the smartest. Test your brain’s abilities in Visual, Memory, Logic, Math and Focus minigames. Compare yourself with friends by challenging their brains in three multiplayer modes. Develop your resistance to stressful situations that could happen in real life. Use a customized Mii™ character to create personal sessions. Choose your favorite personal coach. Track your overall performance with detailed statistics and graphs. The special Kid Test and Senior Test modes will gather everyone around the game.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (Virtual Toys, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Animated Blood, Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam is a frenetically active cooking game in which you must serve food to your customers as quickly as possible. This could be a simple task, but the customers aren’t very patient, and you’ll find a multitude of annoying insects that make the noble mission of satisfying your small gourmets’ stomachs much more difficult. In the game’s Career Mode, your goal is to become the best chef in the city. To do so, you have to prove your worth by cooking in four fantastic restaurants: the Hot Dog, Hamburger, Pizza and Mexican Restaurant. Enjoy playing Yummy Yummy with your family, serving delicious food to the most surprising characters: vampires, ninjas, extraterrestrials and mafia thugs. Put on your chef’s hat, sharpen your knives and turn up the heat.

Virtual Console™

Mega Man™ 3 (NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Cartoon Violence, 500 Wii Points): In the year 200X, the notorious Dr. Wily, now reformed and working for the forces of good, works hand-in-hand with Dr. Light to build a new type of peacekeeping robot. When a new set of eight Robot Masters escapes the lab to wreak havoc on the world at large, only Mega Man can save the day. This time, Mega Man must rely on his new slide move and canine companion Rush to conquer the stages and vanquish evil. A new character, Proto Man, adds to the mystery and appeal of this seminal title in the famous action-game series.

Direct Youtube Link

Also big news with the ESRB.  The ESRB has updated their website to include more in detail descriptions of games so that parents can understand what they are buying for their kids this Festivus season.  I like how more info is getting to parents this way, but I don’t think most parents will go to the website and get this info.  Most will probably still look to rely on what is on the box, but this is at least a step in the rigt direction.  Below is an example of the new description for Call of Duty World at War, in the past the description would not go into this much detail about what can be seen and heard during gameplay.

Call of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of Allied soldiers in both the European and Pacific Fronts during World War II. Combat can be intense with extensive use of camera effects (e.g., slow-motion, blurring, and screen shakes) and realistic sound effects to highlight the tense and frenetic nature of each battle. Fighting is fast-paced with players using a large array of military weapons (guns, grenades, and flamethrowers). Collateral damage includes sprays of red blood when enemies are shot; maimed appendages from explosions; and flailing and screaming when enemies are set on fire. Cutscenes and historical footage can contain graphic depictions of prisoner/POW executions. Strong profanity can be heard during gameplay (e.g., “f*ck” and “sh*t”).

Finally, we have figured out a new way to post videos so I will look to have a big post about the release of Midways Mortal Kombat vs DC game that is coming out soon. Hopefully this title will take off as with current reports, Midway is really needing a hit on their hands to avoid more layoffs and possible sale of the company.

The powerhouse that is Best Buy probably didn’t help but with Circuit City closing a majority of their stores for good, today marks the beginning of all their liquidation sales. Unfortunately nothing too exciting on the video game front, but what they have will save you a few bucks at least. Below are the deals you will find in the video game department.

Systems (360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP) and their respective games - 5% off
All game accessories (controllers, batteries, cases, Xbox Live memberships, etc) - 10% off
“Social” games (aka Rockband and Guitar Hero) - 10% off
PC Games - 10% off
Strategy guides and cheat books - 20% off

I would say the best deal is the game accessories discount. Considering you can use this on Xbox subs and more than likely Wii points, the savings you can get could equal free games.

Well in a way at least. It has been revealed that Viewtiful Joe will be a playable character in the upcoming Japanese fighting game Tatsunoko vs Capcom. TvsC will be another venture into the VS Capcom series that gave us the fantastic Marvel vs Capcom 2. For those not familiar Tatsunoko is an anime company that brought G-Force, Speed Racer, Bible Stories and many others over to the states back in the day. As of right now TvsC is only scheduled to be released in Japan for the Wii but there have been strong rumors from the start that Capcom USA will be looking to bring it over here. Being the 2D fighter fan that I am, I really hope that this game will come over to the US, if not we still get the fantastic Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter II HD Remix later this year to satisfy our 2D fighting needs.

Direct Youtube Link

So we have a semi-great update today for the Virtual Console.  Another episode of Strong Bad for Wii Ware, but the good news is we finally get Earthworm Jim. This is a game me and my friends spent hours on the Genesis, offering us hours of low brow humor with great gameplay.  Please download this for the Virtual Console you will not be dissapointed.

Direct Youtube Link

Also on the virtual console front (along with PS3 and XBOX 360) we saw the release of additional Mega Man 9 DLC last week.  On top of being able to download two new difficulty modes (Hard and Expert) you can download an additonal stage for time trials which gives us a whole new robot boss in Fake Man.  This stage is fun to go through, but difficult as you only have one man.

Direct Youtube Link

Finally, Guitar Hero: World Tour came out yesterday and it is exactly what I was looking for.  After playing for around four hours I have only begun to get decent at playing drums, experienced little with the new slide guitar feature, have not tried the create a song, have not created custom characters and haven’t even played all the songs yet.  So obviously there are plenty of things to do in this game and with the DLC that will be available will only add to the list of things to keep you busy.  Of course with any Guitar Hero, they find a way to get me to like playing a song I couldn’t stand to listen too in real life.  With Guitar Hero 3 it was “Before I Forget” by Slipknot, this time around it is “Misery Business” by Paramore.  The song drives me crazy but is so fun to play on drums.  I’ll let you all take a listen to the song so that it gets in your head all day as well.

Direct Youtube Link

I was lucky enough to have a friend who worked on Guitar Hero: World Tour. Below is the fantastic interview I was able to do with my buddy Zach Parr.

Mike: So first of all thanks for doing the interview and giving us some insight on your work
Zach: No problem, I really like what you guys are doing with your site so I was happy to do my part.

M: Alright, let’s get into this. How did you get hired at Activision/Neversoft? What is your school background?
Z: I submitted a resume to Activision which got passed down the Neversoft. The two major qualifications which got me the job were a masters in computer science as well as a music background. Since it is the case that Neversoft is currently in the business of “rhythm games” my qualifications fit the profile of the type of person they were looking for.

M: What is your official title/ what do you do at work?
Z: My title is UI Programmer. I primarily work on game screens involving stats, menus, and HUD (heads up display) elements

M: What was it like having Guitar Hero 4 being your first project to work on and where you a fan of the series beforehand?
Z: Being assigned to GH: World Tour as my first industry job was truly amazing. It is a triple A title and most people don’t get the pleasure of working on such a popular game when they first enter the industry. I was a fan of the series before hand but only in the “party” since, I hadn’t really gotten into the game until shortly before i had my interview while doing research on the company’s current titles. I quickly became an addict. Guitar Hero aside I’ve always been a huge fan of the Tony Hawk series.

M: Experiences (best and worst) working on the project? At what phase did you come in on the production of the game?
Z: I started at Neversoft midway through development of GH:WT, this was quite daunting at first. I would in fact chalk this up to the worst experience so far. The learning curve is very steep when jumping into such a massive code base. At the beginning I wasn’t sure what i had gotten myself into, i was constantly breaking the game and having to reboot and reload into the portion i was working on just to have it crash again! These games are very fragile while in development and this can be quite frustrating. The best experiences for me come during the development of a new idea. Game elements are often reiterated over and over until all the producers/designers/directors are happy with that particular element. The best experience is when I put my own twist on some element I am working on which gets a consensual smile of approval among the leads.

M: Being a drummer, what are you thoughts on the drum set along with the new features on the guitar?
Z: The drum experience in the game is the most realistic out of all the instruments (excluding vocals) this is both a good and bad thing. In my opinion its very cool how realistic the experience is, but I’ve spent years behind an actual drum set developing the necessary coordination to play the instrument. So playing drums in the game feels very natural to me. On the other hand it is very difficult for me to imagine what it must be like playing the game without such a background. The general consensus is that it is very difficult; I guess you’ll have to start on easy folks. In my opinion difficult is good, people have already gotten 100% on through the fire and flames from GHIII, we have to cater to all skill levels and the challenge is part of what makes this game so addictive, the drums add a whole new dimension to the “challenge factor”.
At first I was not a particular fan of the new slide guitars, I really like the look and feel of the les paul, though after using the new slide guitar it wasn’t long before i preferred the smoother strum bar as well as the beefier size. (I still like the look of the les paul better though, I’m not a big fan of the sunburst)

M: What is your favorite thing about your job?
Z: There is a natural creative energy that emanates from the studio, this is created by the folks who work there. My favorite part of the job is how amazingly well the people interact, everybody has their own ideas and visions of what the finished product will be like. These ideas all differ in their own ways. Everybody must support the team and make decisions as a team. I am amazed on a daily basis at how well a team of over 100 people can fight it out and always come to a compromise leaving everybody in agreement

M: What are your thoughts on Rock Band and the other music games being released?
Z: Harmonix is a great company and have been making rhythm games for a few years longer than us. (you know they did develop the software for GH1 and GH2). I don’t really like the fact that you have to replay songs through the career progression of the game in order to get everything unlocked, but oh well, ill survive. You won’t catch me talking smack on them but there is a general level of competition between the two studios. I think this is quite healthy and keeps massive pressure on pushing the genera forward. We often compare what we are doing to what they are doing. We feed off their ideas as well as I’m sure they feed off of ours.

M: Now for some rapid fire questions, lets see what you got.

M: Favorite Smash Bros character?
Z: Fox on melee, Mario on brawl (lame I know)
M: Favorite Song in GH4?
Z: Rebel Yell
M: System preference and why.
Z: Xbox 360, its got the most games and largest online community. And you can have multiple people signed in online at the same time, Sony really screwed up not allowing that on ps3, I heard a rumor that they are changing that with the new sdk : )
M: What games are you playing right now?
Z: Metal Gear Solid 4, Dead Space, Rockband 2, COD 5 beta, Warcraft III (ill never give that one up), god of war on PSP (what ever the name of that one is) *Editor Note: it is called Chains of Olympus* and Spore.

M: What games are you looking forward to?
Z: Little big planet, StarCraft II and Diablo III.

M: What games should people check out that they have probably missed?
Z: Braid and Castle Crashers both xbox live arcade titles, Odin Sphere (ps2), Warcraft III (PC)

M: And finally, what are you working on next?
Z: Sorry, can’t tell ya.

Well there you have it kids, I hoped you enjoyed yourself. And remember Guitar Hero: World Tour comes out this Sunday (10/26) for PS3, Wii and the Xbox 360.

A song featured in the supposed-to-be-released-on-Friday video game Little Big Planet contains two lines from the Koran, resulting in a delay and re-program of one of the biggest games of this season.  According to developer Sony, the game will now be released the week of October 27th.  A spokesperson from Sony says they look forward to when “Little Big Planet” comes out and the controversy ends so that they can return to promoting their next game, “Jesus, Buddha, and Krishna are Gay” for WII.

Capcom has recently released their first installment of DLC for Mega Man 9 this past week. In their first update, you will be able to download Protoman as a playable character (200 Wii points) and the endless level (300 Wii points). Protoman will be able to play through the same story as Mega Man but with a few differences. Mainly he has the ability to slide (a feature introduced in Mega Man 3), a chargeable shot and a shield that will block enemy attacks. The downfall to Protoman is that he takes twice as much damage and gets knocked back further after being hit. The Endless level is just how it sounds. You play as Mega Man going through an endless stream of screens and enemies, even fighting bosses throughout. The level design is totally different from the levels in the regular game and is pretty much completely random each time you play through.

So all in all, another fantastic job done by the good folks at Capcom. Can’t wait to see what they have for us next time.

Direct Youtube Link

Direct Youtube Link

So last week was a huge week for Nintendo as they held their annual fall press conference announcing big things that will appeal to the casual gamer along with the Nintendo fanboy.  The biggest announcement coming out of the conference was the release of the Nintendo DSi.  This new DS redesign will provide the customer with a bigger screen, better sound, camera functionality and it removed the GBA slot in favor of a SD card slot.  One camera is on the outside of the handheld which is used for just what you would think, taking pictures and sharing them with friends.  While the 2nd camera is on the hinge on the inside, which would be used for upcoming games more than likely.  The downside of the new DSi, is that the battery life is a little shorter than the current DS lite (2-5hrs depending on the brightness level) that is on the market.  Also if you have Guitar Hero for the DS, the accessory needed to play the game will not work on the DSi due to not having a GBA slot to plug into.  Other than that the DSi will be a great new handheld if you don’t already have a DS lite. The DSi will be released in Japan later this year, but will not hit America till the next holiday season.

Outside of that big news, Nintedo had also announced that our Wii storage probelms are over (well for now).  Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that coming in Spring of 2009, we will finally be able to begin downloading WiiWare and Virtual Console titles to a SD card.  The storage issue has been very problamatic to many people who download a majority of the Virtual Console games.

And finally, Nintendo announced that they will be releasing a new Punch Out game next year for the Wii.  No details on how it will play, but it looks just like the SNES version of gameplay and doesn’t seem to be straying from what we have come to love about that franchise.

Direct Youtube Link

Today is the day that Mega Man 9 comes to the Wii through the WiiWare service.  For only 1000pts ($10.00) you will be able to enjoy the greatness of 8-bit gaming.  I really don’t know what more I can say about this that I haven’t stated before, but I look to have my impressions of the game posted later on this week.  Now for those who may not be looking forward to Mega Man 9 then the Virtual Console still has some good stuff this week like Vectorman for the Genesis and Super Dodgeball for the NES.  All games will be available for download by noon today CST. Press release about all games below.

WiiWare

Mega Man™ 9 (CAPCOM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Mega Man fans, the wait is over! The classic Blue Bomber that debuted in 1987 is back with the ninth installment in the classic series. It’s a new adventure for Mega Man done in an 8-bit style-graphics, music and gameplay are all like you remember them.

Super Dodge Ball™ (NES™, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Cartoon Violence, 500 Wii Points): In Super Dodge Ball, you take control of the USA Dodge Ball team and travel the world in an effort to become the best dodge ballers around. Step onto playing fields in countries all over the globe and use a combination of normal and super shots to help take down your opponents. But be careful, as some destinations have surfaces that can affect your footing. Manage the team as you think best, and swap out characters with other players that better fit your playing style. Two players can enjoy a head-to-head game or play a spirited round of Bean Ball, a six-character free-for-all. Three difficulty levels are available (Easy, Medium, and Hard); which one you choose will depend on your skill and courage. Do you have what it takes to lead Team USA to the ultimate prize and win the world championship of dodge ball?

Direct Youtube Link

Vectorman™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Animated Violence, 800 Wii Points): In the year 2049, mankind is forced to abandon an over polluted Earth and seek out other planets for colonization while the mechanized Orbots stay behind to clean up the mess. When the Orbot leader, WarHead, starts blowing a few circuits and causes a war among the mechanical brethren, a sludge pilot named Vectorman is the only one willing to step up and fight him. You’ll morph into a speeding train, a power drill, a mechanical fish and a mighty dune buggy in this action-packed adventure. Equip yourself with weapons, pick up morphs and power-ups to defeat WarHead, and restore peace on Earth.

Direct Youtube Link