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[Feeling offbeat.]

1

TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Wii Music

« on: October 18, 2008, 09:06:29 PM »

Feeling offbeat.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=17005

 I applaud Nintendo's attempt to make a mark in the music game genre while maintaining a kawaii touch with Wii Music. Using the Wii remote to play different instruments in a 6-person band is novel, especially when you can be an adorable Mii character donning a cat suit meowing to the song every time you paw the air with the remote. Moreover, even if you're not amused by animal suits, you can still enjoy the game's myriad of instruments, ranging from harp to sitar to rapper to bagpipes. You can also play more standard instruments, such as the guitar, drums, and violin.    

Most of the fun comes from experimenting with the remote to figure out how to play various instruments. For example, pressing a button shortens creating staccato on the piano while the same button produces single notes rather than chords on the guitar. Moving the remote up increases volume, while moving down decreases volume for the woodwind and brass instruments (e.g. clarinet, trumpet) while for the string instruments (e.g. violin), volume control is typically based on how quickly you move the remote left and right (in the motion of a bow). Nintendo has incorporated many real life musical techniques into the remote, which were delightful to discover!    

In contrast, the actual band performance portion of this game was lackluster.  Those less-familiar with the music can turn on a beat indicator, which instructs players when they should be playing notes if they are interested in playing the song in its original manner.  Without this indicator, I found it hard to play along to the music, because no explicit instructions were given. There was metronome to keep the beat at the bottom right corner, but  that was a confusing string of shape- and color-changing notes that bounced to the beat. Consequently, I ended up being offbeat for most of the song. If that weren't embarrassing enough, the performance was recorded and ready for playback.    

Aside from simply playing the instruments, you can actually focus your performance on different components of the song, such as the melody or percussion. The skilled musician can even utilize the metronome as a cue to add solos and improvisation throughout the song. Needless to say, I never made it that far, but having the potential to do so is a nice addition to the already layered presentation of the mode.  The game also includes a separate drum kit mode, which is even harder to learn to play.    

Regardless of my success (or lack thereof) in the band mode, I did like the editing features of Wii Music. I was able to go back and record different components of the song with different instruments to make a one-man band. Furthermore, I could send my recorded performance to friends so that they could alter or add to my work. My final recording was then played as a cute (but cacophonous) music video with portions of the scene changing according to the music.    

In short, the learning curve for this game is going to be quite steep for the novice gamer, but if you desire to be in band but for whatever reason cannot, Wii Music makes for an entertaining starting point.    

   

[Rabbids should invade more parties!]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party

« on: October 16, 2008, 03:55:50 AM »

Rabbids should invade more parties!
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=16998

 Even the wallflowers at a party will be caught dancing with rabbids. This game, through its assortment of mini games, keeps the energy going by complementing zany graphics with silly sounds and tossing in some creative use of the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and Balance Board. The three mini games I played highlighted some of the party vibes as I surfed through space, sledded with my butt, and danced like a stick figure.    

As a space surfer, I navigated my rabbid through glowing rings floating in outer space through the use of the Balance Board. I stood on the board as if I were on a surfboard or skateboard. To steer left or right, I leaned forward or backward. To speed up or slow down, I leaned towards the TV monitor or away. The controls were fairly sensitive, so keeping my balance was never an issue. I was quite amused by the shouts my rabbid made as I jerked him through space, missing rings.    

The sledding mini game also used the balance board; however, like a proper sled, I sat on the board. It was completely intuitive to use too. To steer the rabbid between the flagged gates down the sled course, I tilted left and right on my butt. To accelerate I leaned back. There was also the option to use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to enable your rabbid to do aerial tricks off the ski ramps, but I didn’t try that out. I really enjoyed the graphics, from the floppy-tipped pine trees to the befuddled, upside down wildebeest my rabbid rode. I also noticed that if you leaned back slightly throughout the course (and continued playing for hours), you could get an additional ab workout. What a delightful way to burn off those chips and drinks had at a party!    

The rabbids can also move the party to the dance floor with the Dancing with Dweebs mini game. In this game, you dance like a stick figure by mimicking movements displayed on a stick figure. You hold the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and follow motions delineated by arrows placed beside the stick figure’s limbs. The song I played was upbeat and catchy. The background graphics weren’t distracting, as is the case in Guitar Hero with its lit buttons and bright colors on black everywhere. I also liked that the judging component of this mini game was to the side of the screen and no booing ever occurred for novice gamers like myself. To that and the game as a whole, a big ‘yay’ from me: Raving Rabbids is an energetic party game fit for all skill levels.    

   

[Subtle changes for Mii and you.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Animal Crossing: City Folk

« on: October 06, 2008, 07:53:44 PM »

Subtle changes for Mii and you.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=16885

 Many of the new features to the game were unfortunately not on demo during the summit. The game was recently reset, so while I could move my character through the slightly hilly landscape with the Wii Remote, I was unable to purchase a fishing pole for my character, and couldn’t test the gesture controls for catching fish by flicking the remote. The remote did make interacting with animals and objects more intuative: you point and click on them to trigger an action. Otherwise, there didn’t seem to be much specialized use.    

The additional customizability of your character is a nice feature. The front, back, and sleeves of outfits can be altered separately. Shoes can be made to match or clash. You can even go to the stylist to get a makeover and replace your character’s head and hairdo with that of a Mii. These additions seem perfect for expressing holiday spirit. You can literally visit your friends’ towns as a Halloween trick-or-treater donning a Darth Vader costume. However, there is still the limit of 4 friends, including yourself, in a town at a given time.    

For excited Animal Crossing gamers ready to become city folk, your collected items in the catalog and clothes transfer over from the DS version. However, your money (bells) does not.    

I was hoping to see demonstrations of the chat feature, which enables you to talk to your friends over the Wi-Fi Connection, as well as a visit to the theater, where the characters learn emotions. Since those were unavailable, the game seemed strikingly similar to the others in the series.    

From the title, I expected more city bustle from this version. The landscape sure didn’t reflect that of a city. In terms of game play, I expected something more like the Sims with more social interactions and urban life. Naturally, I was rather disappointed to interact with so few animals while wondering through the Animal Crossing city. The low cap on the number of friends allowed to visit simultaneously was also dissatisfying.    

   

[Oh, I get cooking with a little help from my (frien)DS.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Personal Trainer: Cooking

« on: October 06, 2008, 07:44:52 PM »

Oh, I get cooking with a little help from my (frien)DS.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=16884

 This fall, our friends at Nintendo will release an interactive cooking guide for DS as part of the Personal Trainer series. It transforms the DS into a handy kitchen appliance that’s a cookbook capable of logging recipes you’ve tried onto a calendar, providing cooking demos, dictating cooking directions, and understanding select voice commands.    

You start by selecting a recipe from the main menu. The search options include the standard ones, such as main ingredient and cooking method, as well as more unique criteria, such as calories, recipe’s ethnic origin, and your ratings of the recipes. Oddly enough, I couldn’t find the option to search by meal type (e.g. snack, entrée, dessert). With so many search options, the results often came up with only a few recipes. It didn’t feel like the database contained over 200 recipes from around the world, but it does!    

After selecting a recipe, you’re shown a list of ingredients and a list of necessary and recommended utensils. I like the checkboxes following each ingredient, which can be ticked to ensure no ingredient is forgotten. There is also the option to scale the recipe to different serving sizes, so you are spared some mental arithmetic.    

When you finish gathering your ingredients and utensils, you proceed to the dictated directions. Each step is spoken aloud while the corresponding text is displayed. If that weren’t enough, each step comes with an illustration detailing the directions. To move through the steps, you can either click buttons with the stylus or use voice commands. Since it was loud at the summit, I couldn’t really hear the spoken instructions, so I appreciated the cartoon chef that mouthed the directions and gestured whenever he needed me to repeat what I said. Overall, the voice recognition did well understanding me despite the background noise.    

In addition to recipes, the Personal Trainer provides you with culinary technique. Under the "Cooking A-Z" section, you can learn techniques through short videos. The novice cook can master the art of whisking, while the gourmet gamer can tackle the art of filleting flatfish. The Personal Trainer has something for every cook. All that’s desired is a little help from your friends to feast on your creations when Personal Trainer: Cooking hits stores on November 24.