Wiitastic.co.uk

Nintendo's Wii Sports leads the nominations for the 2007 British Academy Video Games Awards with nominations in 7 different categories.
Looking at what games it is up against, I don't think that it will actually win in any of the categories.
The full list of categories and nominees...

ACTION AND ADVENTURE
CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Rod Fergusson, Michael Capps, Cliff Bleszinski (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Cory Barlog, Michael Cheng, Eric Williams (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
ORANGE BOX (PS3) - Development Team (Valve/Electronic Arts)
RATCHET AND CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION (PS3) - Development Team (SCE Foster City Studio & Insomniac/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
BIOSHOCK (Xbox 360) - Development Team (2K Boston/2K Australia/2K Games)
HEAVENLY SWORD (PS3) - Development Team (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover(Capcom)/Capcom)
RATCHET AND CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION (PS3) - Development Team (SCE Foster City Studio & Insomniac/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) SKATE (PS3) - Development Team (EA Black Box/Electronic Arts)
VIVA PIÑATA (Xbox 360) - Ryan Stevenson, Ed Bryan (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)

BEST GAME
BIOSHOCK (Xbox 360) - Development Team (2K Boston/2K Australia/2K Games)
CRYSIS (PC) - Development Team (Crytek/Electronic Arts)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Rod Fergusson, Michael Capps, Cliff Bleszinski (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Eidos/Eidos)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

CASUAL
BIG BRAIN ACADEMY FOR WII (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
CAKE MANIA (DS) - Development Team (Digital Embryo/Sandlot Games/Majesco)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
MORE BRAIN TRAINING (DS) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
SINGSTAR (PS3) - Development Team (SCE London Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

GAMEPLAY
CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Cliff Bleszinski, Ray Davis, Lee Perry (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
SEGA RALLY (PS3) - Development Team (SEGA Racing Studio/SEGA)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
WARHAWK (PS3) - Dylan Jobe, Bruce Woodard, Brian Upton (Incognito/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

INNOVATION
FLOW (PSN) - Jenova Chen, Nicholas Clark, Austin Wintory (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover(Capcom)/Capcom) SUPER PAPER MARIO (Wii) - Development Team (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
THE EYE OF JUDGMENT (PS3) - Kazuhito Miyaki, Yusuke Watanabe (SCE Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
TRAUMA CENTRE: SECOND OPINION (Wii) - Development Team (Atlus USA/Nintendo)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

MULTIPLAYER
BATTLEFIELD 2142 (PC) - Development Team (EA Dice/Electronic Arts)
CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane) WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
WORLD IN CONFLICT (PC) - Development Team (Massive Entertainment/Sierra Entertainment/Vivendi Games)
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: THE BURNING CRUSADE (PC) - Development Team (Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment)

ORIGINAL SCORE
FINAL FANTASY XII (PS2) - Hitoshi Sakimoto, Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy XII Project Team/Square Enix)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Clint Bajakian, Jonathan Mayer, Chuck Doud (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
LAIR (PS3) - John Debney, Ryan Hamlyn, Clint Bajakian (SCE Foster City Studio & Factor 5/Sony Computer Entertainment America)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover (Capcom)/Capcom)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
VIVA PIÑATA (Xbox 360) - Grant Kirkhope (Rare/Microsoft Game Studio)

SPORTS
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008 (PC) - Development Team (Sports Interactive/SEGA)
COLIN McRAE: DIRT (Xbox 360) - Gavin Raeburn, Matt Horsman, Alex Grimbley (Codemasters/Codemasters)
FIFA 08 (PS3) - Development Team (EA Chicago/Electronic Arts)
MOTORSTORM (PS3) - Mick Hocking, Martin Kenwright, Pete Smith (SCE External Development Studio & Evolution/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
VIRTUA TENNIS 3 (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Sumo Digital/SEGA)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

STRATEGY AND SIMULATION
COMMAND & CONQUER: TIBERIUM WARS (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Electronic Arts LA/Electronic Arts)
FORZA MOTORSPORT 2 (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Turn 10/Microsoft Game Studios)
MEDIEVAL II: TOTAL WAR KINGDOMS (PC) - Development Team (The Creative Assembly/SEGA)
TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX VEGAS (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Ubisoft Studios (Montreal)/Ubisoft Entertainment)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
WORLD IN CONFLICT (PC) - Development Team (Massive Entertainment/Sierra Entertainment)

STORY AND CHARACTER
FINAL FANTASY XII (PS2) - Development Team (Final Fantasy XII Project Team/Square Enix)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Cory Barlog, David Jaffe (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
HEAVENLY SWORD (PS3) - Development Team (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover (Capcom)/Capcom)
THE DARKNESS (Xbox 360) - Denby Grace, Lars Johansson, Jerk Gustafsson (Starbreeze Studios/ 2K)
THE SIMPSONS GAME (Xbox 360) - Scot Amos, Jonathan Knight, Greg Rizer (EA/Electronic Arts)

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/ Microsoft Game Studios)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studio)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Tim Moss, Christer Ericson (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
MOTORSTORM (PS3) - Scott Kirkland, Martin Kenwright, Pete Smith (SCE External Development Studio/Evolution/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover(Capcom)/Capcom)
UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE (PS3) - Development Team (Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

USE OF AUDIO
CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
ELITE BEAT AGENTS (DS) - Development Team (iNiS/Nintendo)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Dave Murrant, Philip Kovats, Chuck Russom (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
SKATE (PS3) - Development Team (EA Black Box/Electronic Arts)

BAFTA One's To Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital
RAGNARAWK - Voodoo Boogy (Malcom Brown, Robert Clarke, Peter Carr, Lynne Robertson, Finlay Sutton)
CLIMBACTIC - Carebox (Jack Potter, Alan Campbell, Benjamin Rollinson, Zarek Cohen, Duncan Harrison)
BEAR GO HOME - Phoenix Seed (Fengming Bao, Xi Deng, Yi Li, Guangyao Wang, Christopher Isaacs)

THE PC WORLD GAMERS AWARD (Voted for by the public)
DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING (DS) (Nintendo/Nintendo)
FIFA 07 (PS2) (EA Canada/Electronic Arts)
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2007 (PC) (Sports Interactive/SEGA)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) (Epic Games/Microsoft)
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES (PSP) (Rockstar Leeds/Take Two)
RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN (PS3) (Insomniac/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
WII PLAY (Wii) (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Labels: BAFTA, Games

In the race to win the 'next-gen' sales war the Wii is selling quicker than warm buns, but with a flurry of 'casual' game releases where are the games to keep the traditional gamer busy. With games like Mario Party 8 and Boogie doing exceptionally well in the charts then it seems that a lot of people might have bought it as a party machine which they bring out to impress guests. If they have, then they won't be disappointed, it fills that role perfectly. But if the Wii gets an outing once or twice a month, and only one or two games are year are purchased then where is the longevity of the machine, particularly for Nintendo's profit margin. Standard console marketing lore dictates that the consoles are sold at cost or even at a loss and profits are made from the sale of games.
It does appear amongst the people I know, some of who would be considered to be quite serious gamers and others who have never played a computer game in their lives, that it's equally popular with both.
Don't get me wrong though, I think much of the pleasure that is to be gained from videogames is and always has been their ability to surprise, and I think the Wii does this as well as, if not better than what else is on offer, and it's this surprise element which is appealing to 'casual' and 'serious' gamers alike. Maybe it's that that makes it the first console with mass appeal.
As much as it sounds like I am be-moaning the party games, I am not! I do like the party element to the Wii, it is great that when friends or family come round that anyone from my niece to my mum can have fun and enjoy gaming. I just hope that this is not just a fad (Christmas '08 sales will probably decide if it's a fad or not). I am just waiting to see more balance in the games available, admittedly there are a few 'meaningful'
titles out there, or on the horizon, but just not enough.

Party Games (recent and up-coming releases)
Mario Party 8
Boogie
Tamagotchi Party On!
Guitar Hero III
Carnival Funfair Games
EA Playground
Alan Hansen Sports Challenge
Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Cheggers Party Quiz
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

More 'Serious' Games (recent and up-coming releases)
Super Paper Mario
Super Mario Galaxy
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Tony Hawk Proving Ground

Labels: Games

Nicole Kidman backs them, but are brain exercise regimes any good?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6979949.stm

Labels: Brain Training

Bog standard Monkeyball action makes its disappointing way to the Wii!

As with all the Monkeyball series you control Aiai (or any of the other characters) as you roll around collecting bananas and reaching the goal. The game is split in a series of worlds, each world contains eight stages but unlike previous games in the Super Monkey Ball series, Banana Blitz feature boss battles.

Each character has different stats and abilities, and there are two new characters to choose from this time round: “Yan Yan” the new girl in town and an amnesia-suffering lemur who has made some great inventions who the towns folk call “Doctor”!

The visuals are a little simplistic, although that said, they are well-suited to the tone of the game, and using the Wii-mote to roll the ball, although difficult to master at first is actually quite intuitive, and superior to using the analogue stick of previous incarnations.

There are 50 mini-games in total in Banana Blitz. There is, also, a "party" mode whereby players can choose tournament-type gameplay, selecting mini-games going head to head in an attempt to accumulate the most points. It is good to see the number of mini games, even if a few of them aren’t really any fun to play.

Price: £ (or get given it as a birthday present!)
Pros: Lots of mini games, which are particularly good when played in the party mode. Nice use of the Wiimote controller.
Cons: Some of the party games are pretty unplayable.

Official Site: http://www.sega.com/gamesite/bananablitz/

Labels: Games, Reviews, Super MonkeyBall, Super MonkeyBall: Banana Blitz