Take a look at 10 WiiWare and DSiWare games that are likely to be on your must-download list in 2010.

From platforming to strategy, from long-running franchises to all-new properties, there's a lot of downloadable goodness to go around -- and this list only scratches the surface of what's to come. The moral of the story: start saving up those Nintendo Points!

WiiWare

1. And Yet It Moves - And Yet It Moves turns platforming on it's head - and on it's side. As you navigate unique paper-collage-style levels, you'll be able to rotate the game world to help you make jumps and overcome obstacles.

2. Super Meat Boy - Quirky, cool, and kinda gross, Super Meat Boy is guaranteed to push your jumping and wall-climbing skills to the limits. The developer's are looking to include more than 300 levels, including a retro-themed bonus chapter.

3. Bonk: Brink of Extinction - Hudson's big-headed caveman, Bonk, is back! In addition to the usual jumping and headbutting, you'll be able to use all-new elemental powers to help you save prehistory from an impending meteor collision.

4. Liight - You'll manipulate colored lights to hit like-hued targets in this promising brain-bender. The game will feature more than 100 stages and a nonstop survival mode, plus you'll be able to make your own puzzles.

5. Mega Man 10 - When it comes to 2-D action, Mega Man always delivers. New bosses like Solar Man, Blade Man, and Chill Man will keep you on your toes, but a new Easy mode promises to make the game more accesible than the last installment.

6. Military Madness: Nectaris - The original Military Madness on the TurboGrafx16 set the standard for console strategy games. Experience it for yourself in this enhanced remake which includes new hero units in multiplayer mode.

7. NightSky - The silhouette aesthetic of NightSky certainly helps the game stand out from the crowd. Its premise - rolling a ball throught obstacle-laden environments using limited special powers - is also very compelling.

8. Phoenix Write: Ace Attorney - The Phoenix Write: Ace Attorney games were excellent on DS. Now you'll be able to experience the quirky legal dramas all over again on WiiWare. The first game could be out by the time you read this.


DSiWare

1. Reflection - In Reflection, your character has been magically split in two, and you must control both parts - one on the top screen, the other on the bottom screen. It's a different and clever type of platformer.

2. Shantae: Risky's Revenge - We're not sure which is more exciting: the fact that Shantae is returning after so many years, the fact that this game looks absolutely amazing, or the fact that this is only the first game in a three-part saga.

tags: #news, nintendo, nintendo ds, nintendo wii, source: nintendopowermag

Sega brings vintage hedgehog action to the DS with Sonic Classic Collection.

Sonic the Hedgehog has done a lot of crazy stuff recently. He's wielded a sword, he's turned into a werebeast, and he's competed against a certain plumber in both the summer and winter Olympics. But this spring he'll be returning to his roots on the Nintendo DS with Sonic Classic Collection.

Featuring the Blue Blur's original adventures from the Sega Genesis, Sonic Classic Collection contains some of the best (and speediest) platformers of the 16-bit era: the groundbreaking Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (which introduced Tails, Sonic's little buddy), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (featuring the debut of Sonic's rival, Knuckles the Echidna), and Sonic & Knuckles (in which both Sonic and Knuckles are playable characters).

Gamers will also be able to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 using Sonic & Knuckles's vaunted "lock-on technology." To top it off, the compilation will contain unlockable artwork and an in-depth video history of Sonic, making it a must-have for any die-hard hedgehog aficionado.

tags: #news, nintendo, nintendo ds, source: nintendopowermag

Guitar Hero: Van Halen was just released in North America, but it’s proving a disappointment among reviewers. Where have all the good times gone?

Metacritic’s average for the game is currently at 65 for the PS3 after seven reviews, while it’s at 64 on the Xbox 360 after six reviews – proving it’s not the best of both worlds.

Game Informer gave the game a 75 on both platforms and it’s currently the highest score for the game on the Xbox 360 on Metacritic. But even they said that “Van Halen deserves better”.

GamingTrend meanwhile rated the game at 78, the highest-scoring review for the PS3 version, and said of it:

“Limited coverage of Van Halen’s long history as a band, little involvement from the band members themselves, and a strange assortment of accompanying tracks all conspire to limit the appeal of this title.”

Finally, IGN gave the Xbox 360 version a 4.9 and claimed that ”no effort was put into making it good. It’s a step backwards for the franchise and a totally unnecessary release.”

Oh dear. The dream is over. Is this the beginning of the end for Guitar Hero? You’ve had fair warning.

I’m hot for teacher.

Is this becoming too obvious now?

tags: #news, source: kokugamer.com

We head to the Land of the Rising Sun to play the latest and greatest upcoming titles at Tokyo Game Show 2009.

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie for Nintendo DS

It feels like ages since we first announced that Dragon Quest VI was coming to the Nintendo DS system, but we finally got our hands on the Japanese version of the game. The turn-based formula remains the same as in previous iterations, but this time you travel between two different worlds.


Ninokuni: The Another World for Nintendo DS

Just as Level-5 is known for making excellant games (Professor Layton series), Studio Ghibli is known for making excellant films (Ponyo, Spirited Away). These two impressive studios have come together for Ninokuni: The Another World, a turn-based RPG with some of the most beautiful cut-scenes ever put onto a DS card. We have no idea if the game is headed to this side of the Pacific, but we're keeping all of our fingers crossed.

( Games, let us show you them )

tags: #game info, #news, nintendo, source: nintendopowermag

Epic Mickey (also known as Super Secret™ Warren Spector Game Project or Junction Point Studios Project #2) is an upcoming Mickey Mouse video game designed by Warren Spector and developed by Junction Point Studios for the Wii console, using Emergnet Game Technology's Gamebryo Engine.

Epic Mickey is part of an effort by The Walt Disney Company to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character by moving away from his current squeaky clean image and reintroducing less savory aspects of his personality. Spector has been collaborating with Walt Disney Feature Animation and Pixar in conjunction with the project.

The November edition of Game Informer confirmed Epic Mickey's existence. The game was officially announced on October 28, 2009 in London.

The game was originally in development for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Development on the Wii started in 2008, when the idea of addressing a Wii port of the game was raised; Specter replied that a straight Wii port would not be viable, remarking that many of the "design ideas just won't work on the Wii, we need to give the Wii its dues". Graham Hopper of Disney Interactive then suggested dropping the development of the aforementioned platforms completely, and instead releasing it solely on the Wii.

Concept art for the game by Fred Gambino and Gary Glover depicts a "surrealistically bizarre" look at Disney characters and locations in a steampunk environment. Featured in the concept art are post-apocalyptic renditions of Goofy, Epcot's Spaceship Earth, Disney's Hollywood Studios' "Earful Tower" and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Cinderella Castle.

Mickey will be receiving a character redesign in this game, which will attempt to give him a "retro" look and the game uses an animation engine to replicate the stretchy athleticism of the classic cartoons.

( read more! )

tags: #game info, #news, nintendo wii, source: wikipedia.org

Publishers are delaying games by the boatload, moving their 2009 release dates to 2010. Some are delayed for development reasons, but a lot of companies are saying straight up that they want to avoid being a casualty in the upcoming 2009 holiday massacre-shot down dead by cold-blooded retail assassin Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which comes out in November.

Here is a list of just some of the 2009 titles that have been moved into 2010:

• Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC) - First half of 2010
  
• Battlefield 2 (PC version) - First quarter of 2010
  
• BioShock 2 (PS3/360) - Mid 2010
  
• Splinter Cell Conviction (360/PC) - First quarter of 2010
  
• Red Steel 2 (Wii) - March
  
• I Am Alive (PS3/360/PC) - 2010
  
• Singularity (PS3/360/PC) - First quarter of 2010
  
• MAG (PS3) - January 26th
  
• Dead To Rights: Retribution (PS3/360) - Spring
  
• Mafia II (PS3/360/PC) - Spring
  
• Red Dead Redemption (PS3/360) - Spring
  
• Bayonetta (PS3/360) - January
  
• Dark Void (PS3/360/PC) - Early 2010
  

tags: #game info, #news, source: gameinformermag

NCsoft and ArenaNet finally released images and info for the long-awaited Guild Wars 2, also at GamesCom. The teaser trailer doesn't convey much (other than the fact that ArenaNet still employs fantastically talented artists), but the developer was willing to shed light on one of the game's new features: the event system. In similar fashion to Warhammer Online's public quests, GW 2's events offer a dynamic way for players to work together to impact something in the gameworld. ArenaNet shared an example of a centaur raid on a military outpost, where the outcome of the raid determines whether the next battle takes place as the human forces counterattack to either retake the outpost or go after the centaur's base. Unlike the first game, Guild Wars 2 features a persistent world like most MMO's, though the relative balance of instanced content to public space is as of yet unknown. NCsoft has yet to announce a release date for the title.

• Visit the official game website for more news
  
• View the official game teaser trailor at YoutTube
  
• Official game art
  

tags: #game info, #game previews, #news, #screenshots and pictures, #videos, source: gameinformermag, source: guildwars2.com, source: youtube.com

EVE Online developer/publisher CCP blindsided conventiongoers at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany with its announcement of Dust 514, a massively multiplayer FPS for consoles that ties into EVE's persistent world. This unique title has players engaging in ground combat on planets across the galaxy. Gameplay details are scarce, but we know that maps are created by a combination of hand-crafted geometry and procedurally generated terrain, which CCP touts as allowing it to populate thousands of planets with unique battlefields. Similarly to Battlefield 2, a commander will set waypoints for each team and set up deployables to support his troops on the ground. The game will have limited PvE bot play, but CCP is making no bones about the fact that its focus in squarely on competitive online multiplayer.

The relationship between EVE and Dust 514 hasn't been fully revealed, but CCP has let a few details out. The outcome of battles in Dust 514 helps determine which player faction in EVE controls the planet and its output. The publisher is releasing a game-centric social networking site that will allow players of both games to interact in that way, and it's a good bet that EVE's dynamic player-driven politics and factional warfare will have an impact on Dust 514's social structures as well. Dust 514 has no announced release date.

tags: #game info, #news, source: gameinformermag

Following speculation that a 'slim' model was in the pipeline Sony officially announced the PS3 CECH-2000 on August 18, 2009 at the Sony Gamescom press conference. The PS3 slim (officially called the PS3 CECH-2000) features an upgradeable 120GB hard drive and is 33% smaller, 36% lighter, and consumes 34% less power than previous models. The cooling system has been redesigned and Cell processor has moved to a 45nm manufacturing process.

The PS3 slim also includes support for BRAVIA Sync allowing control of the console over HDMI and runs quieter than previous models but no longer has the ability to install third party operating systems such as Linux. The PS3 slim is priced at $299 United States/€299 European Union/£249 United Kingdom/AU$499 Australia/NZ$629 New Zealand/MXN$3,999 Mexico/ P 10,000 Russia/¥29980 Japan and was officially released on September 1, 2009 in North America and Europe and on September 3, 2009 in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. However, some retailers such as Amazon.com, Best Buy, and GameStop started to sell the PS3 slim on August 25, 2009. FCC filings also reveal a second slim model, the 250GB CECH-2000B.

( Read more... )

tags: #consoles and accessories, #news, source: wikipedia.org

Hudson Entertainment Brings Wii Owners Face to Face with Spirits of the Dead in Calling

Calling Videogame Strays between Life and Death, Evoking Intrigue and Mystery as Players Fight for Survival

Hudson Entertainment will bring players face to face with death as they roam an alternate existence in an attempt to survive Calling. The adventure horror title is set to be published by Hudson Entertainment, the North and South American publishing arm of HUDSON SOFT, and will be exclusive to Wii in 2010.

“Players will be asked to use their wits and senses to survive the world of Calling,” said Mike Pepe, Director of Marketing of Hudson Entertainment. “It is a game that revolves around real people and real emotions – no chain saws or suits of armor. The game is traditional survival horror at its finest.”

In Calling, players begin by visiting a mysterious “Black Page” website with a simple number counter. Some say it is a bridge to something sinister; the counter indicating the number of people who have died after visiting the page. It is said that people who have visited the site and witness a certain event are drawn into a mysterious space compiled of the memories of the dead - the space between life and death. Someone or something is drawing the living there for a reason, and it is up to the player to discover the horrifying truth. In order to do so, players will use various equipment including flash lights, phones, and other items to navigate and escape the Calling.

Throughout the game players will visit various parts of the Calling world. Memories of houses, schools, hospitals and more bring players closer to either an escape or an untimely death. Players will solve puzzles, search and interact with objects, and ultimately try to avoid the inhabitance of this alternative existence.


( Read more... )


For more information on Calling, as well as other titles from Hudson Entertainment, please visit hudsonent.com.

tags: #game info, #game previews, #news, #videos, nintendo wii, source: gamezone.com