Thursday, 19 April 2007
Kororpina Review
Another good example of what the Wii-mote control system can bring to gaming.
As with many marble games before it (Marble Madness, MonkeyBall, etc…), Kororinpa has a simple game concept: guide your marble through a maze collecting to get to the goal, and along the way you collect red crystals and bonus green crystals before hitting the exit point.
Sometimes there is a sense of disorientation, especially when the Wii-mote has been turned through 180 degrees and you are not sure which way is up; or trying to jiggle the marble sideways onto an unseen platform below, but the occasional miss is not too frustrating, as each level is not overly large by design.
Each level also contains many features to liven up the game play, from magnets, conveyor belts, canons, sliding platforms, honey and more.
The best fun to be had was with the split screen two-player competitive mode, which how I have mainly played the game.
The challenge, although tricky in parts, rarely gets too difficult; as such this is a game that can be enjoyed by a wide range of abilities and ages, but that did lead to all 45 levels being fairly swiftly completed. There is a ‘mirror’ mode which is unlocked, so all the levels are available again but this time in reverse.
You can also unlock different types of marbles, playing with the rugby ball (or I guess it’s an American football) shaped marble was a little tricky!
Recommended!
Cost:
Pros: Good graphics. Good, intuitive use of the controller.
Cons: Some larger and trickier levels would not have gone a miss.
As with many marble games before it (Marble Madness, MonkeyBall, etc…), Kororinpa has a simple game concept: guide your marble through a maze collecting to get to the goal, and along the way you collect red crystals and bonus green crystals before hitting the exit point.
Sometimes there is a sense of disorientation, especially when the Wii-mote has been turned through 180 degrees and you are not sure which way is up; or trying to jiggle the marble sideways onto an unseen platform below, but the occasional miss is not too frustrating, as each level is not overly large by design.
Each level also contains many features to liven up the game play, from magnets, conveyor belts, canons, sliding platforms, honey and more.
The best fun to be had was with the split screen two-player competitive mode, which how I have mainly played the game.
The challenge, although tricky in parts, rarely gets too difficult; as such this is a game that can be enjoyed by a wide range of abilities and ages, but that did lead to all 45 levels being fairly swiftly completed. There is a ‘mirror’ mode which is unlocked, so all the levels are available again but this time in reverse.
You can also unlock different types of marbles, playing with the rugby ball (or I guess it’s an American football) shaped marble was a little tricky!
Recommended!
Cost:
Pros: Good graphics. Good, intuitive use of the controller.
Cons: Some larger and trickier levels would not have gone a miss.
Labels: Games, Kororpina, Reviews
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
“It's-a Wii! Wario!".- Warioware Smooth Moves Review
The main feature of all WarioWare games is that they are collections of short, simple microgames in quick succession, and just like it’s predecessors half the fun is actually working out what action is needed to complete each game.
For the sake of the story the Wii-mote is called a form baton, and you progress by holding the baton in a variety of forms depending on the game, for example: "The Umbrella" holding the Wii Remote vertically like one would hold an umbrella handle; or "The Elephant" where you hold the bottom end of the Wii Remote against the nose like an elephant's trunk!.
Each stage of the game is represented by a specific member of the WarioWare cast, and begins with an introductory story sequence featuring the character, a sequence of frantic microgames and concludes with a boss stage (a longer, more complex microgame), followed by the concluding part of the story.
The multi-player mode is unlocked when you complete the single player stages, unfortunately though one remote is shared by up to 12 players, so the multi-player games are often quick due to the difficulty in passing the controller around the group rather than by the difficulty of the games. It would have been nice to see multiple controller support.
Along the way you also unlock some single player arcade style games, the best of which is a fairground style ‘duck shoot’ game.
And that, basically, is the game. Bizarre stories and strange animations, and lots of short frantic games, that get more frantic as you progress. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and even when you complete a stage by completing a set number of micro-games, there is still a desire to go back and play the stage again and again until you complete all the micro-games.
NOTE - The title screen is like a mini-game in itself: You can mess with Wario's moustache and also make different images appear by holding the Wii Remote straight up-and-down and moving it like a windshield wiper. (Well it passed a couple of minutes of my time!)
Highly Recommended!!
Cost:
Pros: Great graphics, and really good and imaginative use of the controller.
Cons: Multi-player games would have been better with more than one controller
Official site: http://wii.nintendo.com/software_warioware.jsp
For the sake of the story the Wii-mote is called a form baton, and you progress by holding the baton in a variety of forms depending on the game, for example: "The Umbrella" holding the Wii Remote vertically like one would hold an umbrella handle; or "The Elephant" where you hold the bottom end of the Wii Remote against the nose like an elephant's trunk!.
Each stage of the game is represented by a specific member of the WarioWare cast, and begins with an introductory story sequence featuring the character, a sequence of frantic microgames and concludes with a boss stage (a longer, more complex microgame), followed by the concluding part of the story.
The multi-player mode is unlocked when you complete the single player stages, unfortunately though one remote is shared by up to 12 players, so the multi-player games are often quick due to the difficulty in passing the controller around the group rather than by the difficulty of the games. It would have been nice to see multiple controller support.
Along the way you also unlock some single player arcade style games, the best of which is a fairground style ‘duck shoot’ game.
And that, basically, is the game. Bizarre stories and strange animations, and lots of short frantic games, that get more frantic as you progress. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and even when you complete a stage by completing a set number of micro-games, there is still a desire to go back and play the stage again and again until you complete all the micro-games.
NOTE - The title screen is like a mini-game in itself: You can mess with Wario's moustache and also make different images appear by holding the Wii Remote straight up-and-down and moving it like a windshield wiper. (Well it passed a couple of minutes of my time!)
Highly Recommended!!
Cost:
Pros: Great graphics, and really good and imaginative use of the controller.
Cons: Multi-player games would have been better with more than one controller
Official site: http://wii.nintendo.com/software_warioware.jsp
Labels: Games, Reviews, Warioware Smooth Moves
Sunday, 15 April 2007
I need not have worried
Wii number 2 arrives and is very quickly set up, without looking at the instructions of course, and with much excitement and a lot more excitement by the girlfriend Jo, Warioware is very quickly inserted!
First impressions are good indeed!
Everything was extremely quick to set up and the Wii Channels interface works. Hopefully the wait was worth it, if nothing else it looks the part, sleek and white, makes my old GameCube look a bit clunky and kid-ish (What do you mean it always was!? :) ).
What excites me most about the Wii is not Zelda, Rayman or even Mario. The most exciting part of the Wii is its potential. I think it opens the door to all kinds of new gaming experiences, many of which have not even been thought of yet.
Good news is that the Wii is backwardly compatible so you can play all your old GameCube games. Now might be a time to raid the pre-owned bargain bin at Game for those decent GameCube games I never got round to buying! Well not right now, obviously, I have more pressing matters. Where was I? Oh yes...
…"It's a Wii... Wario!"
First impressions are good indeed!
Everything was extremely quick to set up and the Wii Channels interface works. Hopefully the wait was worth it, if nothing else it looks the part, sleek and white, makes my old GameCube look a bit clunky and kid-ish (What do you mean it always was!? :) ).
What excites me most about the Wii is not Zelda, Rayman or even Mario. The most exciting part of the Wii is its potential. I think it opens the door to all kinds of new gaming experiences, many of which have not even been thought of yet.
Good news is that the Wii is backwardly compatible so you can play all your old GameCube games. Now might be a time to raid the pre-owned bargain bin at Game for those decent GameCube games I never got round to buying! Well not right now, obviously, I have more pressing matters. Where was I? Oh yes...
…"It's a Wii... Wario!"
Labels: GameCube, Warioware Smooth Moves
Saturday, 14 April 2007
Waiting...!
The Wii box is still sitting there unopened, taunting me!!
Thursday, 12 April 2007
Wii Number 1 arrives...
...but I can't play take it out the box!!
If will have to remain pristine, just in case Wii number 2 doesn't make it before my brother birthday in 2 weeks!
The box is smaller than I was expecting though!
If will have to remain pristine, just in case Wii number 2 doesn't make it before my brother birthday in 2 weeks!
The box is smaller than I was expecting though!
Thursday, 5 April 2007
When One Wii Is Just Not Enough!!
After months of searching, waiting, phoning up my local Game at 8:30 every morning and more waiting I got my hands on a Wii and not just the one, I also ordered one for my brother's impending birthday (he is 30 only once!). And before you think I've come over all generous it is a present from the family not just from me.
Such was demand that most stockists weren't just selling the Wii on it's own, oh no, they making hay while the Nintendo sun is shining, and I was forced into ordering 3 game bundles with each Wii. Which really I don't blame them as I'd do the same. I should have at least find one game that might be worth the wait, although to be fair the selection of games to pick from wasn't great, but I am pinning my hopes on Warioware Smooth Moves, Zelda and Sonic to provide several hours of entertainment.
Such was demand that most stockists weren't just selling the Wii on it's own, oh no, they making hay while the Nintendo sun is shining, and I was forced into ordering 3 game bundles with each Wii. Which really I don't blame them as I'd do the same. I should have at least find one game that might be worth the wait, although to be fair the selection of games to pick from wasn't great, but I am pinning my hopes on Warioware Smooth Moves, Zelda and Sonic to provide several hours of entertainment.
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