Messages

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story

« on: October 14, 2009, 12:27:41 PM »

Bowser's last special is from collecting blitties.  With Mario and Luigi, you should pay up when a mob of blue-shelled creatures want their money, even if you don't think it's worth it.  I don't know about the other one for them, I can't recall it.  Hopefully you have Mighty Meteor.  I love that one.

Ah, the Blitties. I think I have two more of them to find before the collection is completed. I do have Mighty Meteor though, which is indeed an awesome attack if you execute it correctly. That's the cool thing about the Special Attacks - they are immensely powerful, but the player has to do the hard work to ensure it deals that damage, or else it will be very weak and a bunch of SP is wasted. One of Bowser's specials is likely to be my favourite; probably Bob-Omb Blitz or Magikoopa Mob.

If anybody is still on the fence about shelling out the money for this, keep in mind that it is essentially like playing two games. The two halves of Bowser's Inside Story are starkly different from each other and they both play really nicely. Also, I feel obligated to back up earlier comments that the graphics and animation are some of the best to grace the system.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story

« on: October 13, 2009, 07:33:22 AM »

I got Bowser's Inside Story a day before release here in the UK (cheers, Amazon) and it's already completed. 22 hours from beginning to end in my playthrough. I haven't been captivated by a videogame like that for quite a while. The battle system was so sublime, I started battles with every enemy I saw and never ran. Music is wonderful too.

According to the list of Special Attacks, I still have the two Specials for Mario and Luigi after Snack Basket, as well as the last Special for Bowser after Magikoopa Mob to unlock. They must be optional, but I have no clue where I should be looking to find them.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 165

« on: October 13, 2009, 02:58:46 AM »

[stereotypical English accent]Jolly good show, chaps![/stereotypical English accent]
You guys had the comedy mind frames very much in place, Greg in particular. The answers to the first letter had me in hysterics, especially "After playing Disaster, I look at wildlife and think 'I can take it'". Priceless.

The third letter was more thought provoking. While it is indeed true that Nintendo has been reliant on its established franchises this generation, I don't really see the problem with it. Okay, NSMB Wii and Zelda: Spirit Tracks might not be the most original games ever conceived, but we can be safe in saying that they will be high quality titles.
Also, the complacency is apparent on the other consoles as well, to be fair. Just look at the big holiday titles for PS3 and 360 - Uncharted 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and so on & so forth. I think it's simply what the consumer majority wants: more games in the brands they recognise and like. It is easier to be excited about a sequel to something you enjoyed than an unknown, out of the blue game with unique ideas you know nothing about it which could easily go wrong.

Anyway, great episode, although I have two more notes. I'm amazed none of you have picked up Mario And Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Plus, when should we expect the MegaDrive RetroActive poll?

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TalkBack / Re: Complete DJ Hero Set List Revealed

« on: October 11, 2009, 04:45:30 AM »

DJ Hero is not for me, simply as my tastes in music do not align whatsoever with this set list. For people who do like these genres, however, I reckon this would be worth it. I like the controller and what Activision has done with the usual note chart gameplay, but the songs... not so much. Pass.

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TalkBack / Re: Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Release Trailer

« on: October 10, 2009, 04:41:28 PM »

This is one of those games that I wasn't expecting much from, but the trailers have consistently exceeded those expectations. It looks to be much more cohesive and well thought out than its predecessor, which makes me a lot more interested in buying it.

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TalkBack / Re: LostWinds 2 European Release Date Confirmed

« on: October 08, 2009, 04:29:39 PM »

The first of many WiiWare purchases in the next three months. I've got to get this, Bit.Trip VOID, Cave Story, Night Sky, LIT and maybe a couple of others depending on how they turn out, like And Yet It Moves and Max & The Magic Marker.

WiiWare rocks!

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TalkBack / Re: Monster Hunter 3 May Get Free Online, Wii Speak Support

« on: October 07, 2009, 02:06:24 AM »

I guess I'm having a hard time conceptualizing how this game works. Is it more like Phantasy Star than WoW? How about Guild Wars? I never played Guild Wars.

From what I can perceive, a general sequence of events in Monster Hunter goes: "Interact with NPCs in central city area -> Receive quests about killing monsters -> Gather a party of other hunters -> Explore the massive wilderness -> Kill the designated monster and any others who threaten the party -> Harvest dead monster for materials -> Forge stronger weapons and armour from said materials -> Repeat cycle".

Take that with a pinch of salt, 'cause I've only seen gameplay videos and impressions of Monster Hunter Tri. I haven't played any of those three titles you mentioned in your post, though if they are MMORPGs, I would say that this game doesn't really seem to fit into that genre, although it does have certain things in common with those types of games.

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TalkBack / Re: Tales of Monkey Island Interview with Mike Stemmle

« on: October 06, 2009, 03:58:17 PM »

Huh. Well, with any luck their revised comments about the hardware means they've figured out how to make the games run smoothly when making the transition to the Wii. When they get around to releasing Sam & Max: Season Two on Wii, I'd be happy to get it then if it was technically sound.

One question I would have asked is why their company mantra is to produce point-and-click adventures, nothing else. I realise it is their speciality, they have some talented writers and all that, but I wonder what they could come up with if they fought outside the usual Telltale Games box.

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TalkBack / Re: Monster Hunter 3 May Get Free Online, Wii Speak Support

« on: October 06, 2009, 11:42:47 AM »

Yeah, the online service has to be free. A monthly subscription format doesn't lend itself well to console games in the West. Seeing as four player online co-op is one of the main selling points about Monster Hunter, having to pay would be a massive turn-off for me personally.

The Wii Speak integration is less important, though I would still greatly appreciate being able to talk to the people in my party. I'm sure it is well within Capcom's capabilities to implement voice chat.

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TalkBack / Re: NWR Round-Table 1: The Future of Gaming Retail

« on: September 30, 2009, 02:43:15 AM »

Interesting feature indeed. I'm curious as to how this discussion took place. Was it a case of typing down new thoughts whenever they popped up and forwarding an email to everybody?

I think the downloadable games scene is quite a way off from reaching acceptance from the general consumer bases of each console. We must remember that many people still don't have a working internet connection, many more have a primitive connection that would not suffice for this level of downloading and most importantly, a very large proportion of the market is completely unaware that their are download services for videogames right now. As it stands right now, there aren't nearly enough people adequately prepared for a change in distribution as drastic as this one. The stable connection issue is a major problem for many, especially with a lot of broadband providers now imposing restrictive limits on their customers' use.

A very good point that Nick made which wasn't elaborated on too much is the used games market. With the loss of physical retail, that disappears entirely. I don't sense any appetite from companies to allow you to receive your money (or a portion thereof) back after deleting the download that you no longer want. As for buying used downloads... well, that doesn't even make sense, does it?
Another thing that occurred to me is that the download scene also takes away the borrowing and trading element with friends. Loads of people still like to borrow discs from their friends to play for a while before returning them and I cannot see that working well with an all-download distribution system.

Basically, a future of downloadable gaming is certainly coming, but I'd agree with Andy on a time frame of 10-15 years before such a movement could fully set in. Currently, none of the download services, PSN, XBLA or WiiWare, have an infrastructure that is ready for this and there needs to be a lot of modification & development on policies, agreements on profit stakes, data compression techniques, etcetera, before any of the three top dogs could begin to support this sort of future.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 163

« on: September 28, 2009, 02:30:31 AM »

I haven't yet picked up Geist for the feature, but I'm more inclined to after hearing inklings about the real substance of the game. I had no idea the object possession ability was involved in all these intriguing puzzles, so I might get this second-hand as I'd quite like to try out the challenges associated with these poltergeist powers.

As for Flower, I'm somewhat dubious about that. After Jonny described the gameplay, I was left thinking "ugh, who thought this was a good idea for a videogame?". My fears were confirmed when I searched for a YouTube video of it - the one I picked had a 10 minute duration and I watched it for 1 minute before closing the window out of boredom. Once you get over the visuals, which I will concede are astonishingly nice, it seems that picking up petals would get dull extremely quickly. What I find most bizarre that Jonny used Flower to have a dig at De Blob, which kept my attention for its entirety and provided a lot of enjoyment. It obviously doesn't have the graphical finesse of the HD blades of grass, but it certainly appears to be a great deal more fun to play.

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TalkBack / Re: IMPRESSIONS: Monster Hunter Tri

« on: September 27, 2009, 03:21:13 AM »

I sincerely hope the European release date isn't too far behind the North American launch. Although I've never experienced the Monster Hunter series for myself, the Wii instalment just keeps looking better every time I read updated impressions or watch a new trailer... and that's not just because of the breathtaking graphical accomplishment (it's impossible to make any excuses now, lazy devs). I feel like this is the sort of game where I could sit down to play, join an online party of hunters and suddenly, 8 hours have passed by. This will probably even be enough incentive for me to finally make the purchase on Wii Speak.

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TalkBack / Re: IMPRESSIONS: Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll

« on: September 27, 2009, 03:05:42 AM »

Wait a minute. Balance Board only? Did you mean for this specific demo or has Sega now announced that is the only controller support they are giving to Step & Roll? I could have sworn I remember them mentioning it was optional and the Wii Remote would be compatible. I hope so, because I feel the Remote gives more precise feedback, which is especially important for a game like Super Monkey Ball.

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TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

« on: September 26, 2009, 08:16:03 AM »

That's another title that will contribute to my wallet being deserted this winter. The Paper Mario sub-series has always been my preference from the Mario RPG franchises, but it sounds like the bulk of Bowser's Inside Story is exploration and puzzle solving, which is what I love about them. The interactivity between the brothers and Bowser is a great mechanic, and I look forward to seeing more of that.

Brilliant review, by the way. Delivered the facts I wanted to know and in good detail as well.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Looking for Britain's Best Gamer

« on: September 26, 2009, 08:09:40 AM »

The Gamestation store in Norwich is a little over an hour's drive from me, so I could go, but I must say that the choice of Wii games at the event is... questionable. Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit don't really seem like the best picks for a competitive scene such as this one. Smash Bros and Mario Kart Wii would have been the obvious selections, so I'm baffled by this decision.

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TalkBack / Re: Nick and Neal Say Farewell to NWR

« on: September 25, 2009, 02:18:12 AM »

Good luck with the new website, you four. I hope you'll pop into the forums every so often to chat. I also hope you continue the weekend marathon project on PixlBit, because they have been excellent so far and I'd love to see more (3D Mario trilogy or the Pikmins, perhaps?). Goodbye and again, I wish you success with your site.


Question for Lindy: how will this affect the staff line-up? I mean, there's two very important positions open now... should we expect job title changes for several staffers?

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces New Super Mario Bros. Wii European Date

« on: September 24, 2009, 01:22:57 PM »

Cannot wait. Simply can't wait for this. I don't really have much else to say other than that. Even with just the single player, which is what I'll be playing for the most part, this should be an absolute blast.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Ex-Team Ninja and some SSBBrawl developers make TMNT for Wii

« on: September 23, 2009, 04:47:49 PM »

First review in from Official Nintendo Magazine UK. 83%.
It basically states that the fighting mechanics and the game modes are all well done, but players of Super Smash Bros Brawl shouldn't expect much different. In fact, there was a comparison box and it's clear certain features are blatantly copied. TMNT: Smash Up's Castle Stage is identical to Luigi's Mansion in both layout & destructibility, and this game also has imitations of the Coin Launcher and Target Smash modes from SSBB, except you fire shells instead of coins and you break pizzas instead of targets.

I don't know about this. I really enjoyed Brawl and this seems similar in so many ways, but for me personally, the Turtles characters have a much smaller appeal than a Nintendo all-star roster, especially as apparently a lot of desired characters are missing (I have to say, three Rabbids is a bit excessive). Maybe I'll get it down the line sometime.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 162

« on: September 20, 2009, 04:50:13 PM »

Hurrah, you've returned! This episode really shows how much can happen in a fortnight - New Business was filled to the brim this week, and I really liked hearing your perspective on the news, even the not-so-recent stories.

The thing about Scribblenauts is that I heard in one of the early fact-sheets that the stages worked on a medal system. To earn a gold medal, you had to complete the level three times, but the condition was that with each successive playthrough, you couldn't use anything you had used in previous plays of said level. That's where I feel the creativity would really shine, though from the sound of the reviews so far, it appears not many people took that route. I guess they wanted to blast through the game once so they could get the review out quickly. If I buy Scribblenauts, which I think I'm likely to when it is released over here, I'd quite like to challenge my imagination more by going for the golds.

As far as the WiiWare announcements go, this episode's discussion and the coverage on Nintendo Life has really made it apparent that the service is flourishing. There's a decently library of great games at this point (I have a good number of them myself), and there's about 5 or 6 upcoming titles in the 'Maybe' pile between now and the end of the year that I might download. In fact, I've already put 3000 Points on my Shop Channel, despite that I don't know precisely what it will ultimately be spent on.

Final comment: LOL @ Jon's comment on The Beatles. In fairness, I'm pretty indifferent about them; their music is tolerable but very bland, in my opinion. Nobody yell at me please.

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TalkBack / Re: New Trailers for Mario and Sonic Released

« on: September 20, 2009, 12:54:49 PM »

I'm considerably more interested in this game than the Summer Olympic crossover. If they flesh it out with enough depth, the Ice Hockey event could be a substantial sports game in a similar vein to Mario Strikers, standing out from the rest of it. The Dream Events seem cool too, so I'm keen to know more about them and if there's any more crazy stuff to come in that category.

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TalkBack / Re: IMPRESSIONS: LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias

« on: September 17, 2009, 11:59:14 AM »

Isn't the wind being your jump the hook of the game?

Took the words directly from my mouth.

Aside from that, I've got no doubt that LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias will be well-designed, especially with the puzzles, because the seasonal switch powers has great potential. I'm just worried about the length, which I'm crossing my fingers for seeing as this sequel has been in development for 18 months. One thing this title will illustrate for sure is the effectiveness of the SD Card Menu, because it's safe to say this will take up a hefty chunk of blocks - those art assets, while beautiful, can't be easy to compress, so... yeah.

By the way, I'd like to offer my welcoming greetings to Mark Kelly. The more representation of the Land of Hope and Glory the site can get, the better. Good luck, Mark.

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TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEW: Scribblenauts Interview with Jeremiah Slaczka

« on: September 15, 2009, 03:56:46 PM »

Yeah, I have to say that Jeremiah Slaczka seems like a really down-to-earth guy. His responses aren't like so many others, who insist on giving carefully-tailored answers with almost robotic phraseology - he just says whatever he thinks.

It's interesting hearing the stories about coming up with the Scribblenauts concept and believing they could create the word amount that everyone thought was impossible. I guess the quality of the game now rests on how well the Objectnaut idea works into the 220 levels (!) they have made.

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TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEWS: Mini Ninjas Interview with IO Interactive

« on: September 04, 2009, 12:22:42 PM »

Fantastic to hear that IO Interactive have managed the massively multiplatform route well. I'll probably pick the Wii version up soon... assuming the PAL release is soon. Did you catch any word on when Mini Ninjas is coming out in Europe?

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 160

« on: August 31, 2009, 05:01:21 AM »

In a weird way, it's a good thing that the letters were held back for a massive catch-up session, because it made for a lot of interesting discussions that never got stale because as soon as everything had been said about something, the conversation could go completely in another direction. I like the sound of this new weekly Underdog Shout-Out - it would almost be like having a miniature RetroActive every episode, and who knows, I might be persuaded to pick up a previously unknown hidden gem.

Quickly going back to my question about reactions towards remakes, I was spurred on to write in after reading a review for NPC: Pikmin 2 in a magazine, where they gave it a glowing appraisal for the whole double page spread, but in the summary box, the sole con was that it was a five year old game, which lead to them scoring the game lower than when they reviewed it on GameCube. Now, I can understand that criticism if the game hasn't aged well - if GoldenEye or Perfect Dark were remade, I'd agree with that sentiment because the years haven't been kind to them - but Pikmin 2, along with several others that have been redone for Wii (and DS), is more timeless. I can't think of any similar games advancing the formula that much or well in the five years since this came out, so I think these sort of 'old age' complaints are often invalid. In some cases though, it does apply, and you guys covered the spectrum of good and not-so-good rereleases pretty thoroughly.

Last point: I don't think enough people credit you for this, but you four are very funny people. Laugh out loud hilarious sometimes. Especially Jon, he needs to be allowed to talk more. Be loud and assertive, Jon, don't let the others drown you out.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Trivia: Podcast Edition - Episode 57

« on: August 30, 2009, 06:04:00 AM »

Astounding selection of songs. I got 3 out of 5 on the successful guess rate, which is one of my best performances at Radio Trivia.

I'm ecstatic that the original Pikmin was finally chosen - I suggested it a while ago, so I'm glad there were three wonderful songs to listen to. I recognised the first song immediately, which was from the Results Screen in both games funnily enough, but the second song confused me a little, as like TYP, I had never seen the Bad ending, although there was a hint of the main theme in that short melody. The third song cleared any doubts about the game though and though it was very long, I was really pleased that Jonny had used a recording with all the variations of the Impact Site BGM, such as the percussion from when enemies are nearby, and also the night-time remix that is heard very rarely because it only played during the final minute of a day. Nice find.

Great fun to listen to as always. Is there a chance of having more guests appear on the show? I think getting more viewpoints in the discussions can only be a good thing.