Exploring Stuff That Makes Life Great
While we love our gadgets we hate wires. They are the bane of technology; always getting tangled up as if by magic. So it’s a good thing Nyko has unveiled a wireless Nunchuk for the Wii.
There’s just one little problem. After stories of Wiimote related accidents in the home doesn’t this make the Wii’s controls even more deadly?
Here at StuffWeLike, we like a lot of things when it comes to video games. But there are also some things we don’t. Here’s a list of stuff we’d like to see. And some things we hope never see the light in 2008.
Some good Wii games please
After Wii Sports, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy there was not much else to get gamers truly excited in 2007. A new Donkey Kong game would be nice. And we mean a proper DK game like Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), not some silly spin-off crap involving a pair of Bongo’s.
It doesn’t have to be all about the motion-sensing powers of the Wiimote either. Games can still be good using just the classic controller too. Observe the superb collection of titles on the SNES. Did they need motion-sensors to make them some of the best games ever? No!
The emergence of a new gaming mascot
It’s time for some new faces in the gaming world. We love Mario but he’s getting overworked these days appearing in such titles as Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Mario and Sonic at the Olympics and Super Smash Bros and the many more Nintendo will have planned for the mustachioed plumber. We’re not saying to get rid of him, just don’t abuse the poor guy.
The same goes for others too. The less said of Lara Croft, the better. Besides, Heavenly Sword’s Nariko is so much sexier. But even she hasn’t been the phenomenon Lara was in her day, though she has time on her side.
We’ll forgive Ratchet and Clank because Tools of Destruction is one of the best games around, just like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was. Speaking of which, we wouldn’t mind seeing more of Nathan Drake, actually. It’s a start.
Proper motion-sensing controls
This applies to both the Wii and Playstation 3. It’s all well and good having new-fangled motion-sensing technology, but it’s how developers use it that counts. Take a look at how wonderfully these controls were implemented in Heavenly Sword and Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction for the PS3.
Rather than being forced on gamers throughout they are used only when neccessary to enhance the experience at key moments. Now take a look at the woeful Lair and you’ll see what we mean.
Equally, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has some of the most intuitive controls of any title, ever. It’s games such as Link’s first Wii outing that fully justify Nintendo’s Wiimote. But it’s a shame when other titles don’t get it quite so right, Scarface I’m looking in your direction.
Exciting new accessories
Forget all this cheap attachment baloney. What happened to all the great guns and accessories? Back in the day I used to have a R.O.B. The NES Robot. How cool was that! How about something exciting and innovative like that Ninty? The Crossbow doesn’t quite cut it.
Even the Dreamcast had some sexy red Maracas that came packed with Samba De Amigo. Rather than fishing rods and golf club attachments we want something different, please.
Delayed titles
Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto 4, Little Big Planet and even Sony’s Playstation Home concept; we could go on. We don’t mean to be picking on the PS3 as it’s had enough bad press but it’s been the main victim in all of this.
We would like to see titles out on time as promised. Publishers teasing us with trailers and screenshots only to be told we have to wait another four months to play them is not good enough.
No more ‘Red Ring of Death’
It came, it saw and it bitch-slapped a lot of us, including yours truly. Of all the injustices to hit gamers this one took the biscuit and then proceeded to spit out the soggy-crumbled remains in our shocked little faces.
Ok, so reports of this stain on gaming humanity has subsided a little, but with rumors of a new Xbox 360 with built-in HD DVD coming don’t let it happen again, Microsoft.
An end to lazy updates
Electronic Arts are probably the biggest culprits here, but its not just them guilty of dressing up titles masquerading as something totally new. With the current/next-gen console war entering its first calendar year with all the major contenders in place we’d like to see some originality. We know developers are bustling with ideas, but we want to see them.
What would you like to see in 2008? What do you NOT want to see? Is there anything we missed? Let us know.
Now, you might have seen plenty of gun mods for your Wii, and may even own one – but I’ll bet you you’ve never seen something like this. It’s called the “Shark Gun” and it is the perfect combination of the ferocity and deadliness of a shark with the ferocity and deadliness of a gun. You do the math.
It’s actually out for sale at DealExtreme for $10.86, which doesn’t sound like a bad deal for something to impress your friends with. Check out the back of the box, and its beautiful semi-Chinglish literature.
“With lively appearance and smooth lines, shark gun makes you feel comfortable and gives you a strong sense of shark liked invincible force.”
Woah, okay – “Shark liked”? So we want to impress and attract sharks with this thing? There’s more stuff if you read closely. Then again, maybe I should be thankful, seeing as how I have encountered far more traumatizing English on product manuals.
2007 has been a very good year for the gaming industry, with dozens of spectacular titles that we shall play for quite a while. StuffWeLike has decided to compile a list of games we should expect for 2008. With this year being so great and all, we hope the next will be equally exciting and we aren’t wholly disappointed (yet)!
In Part I, we cover the games whose release dates have been announced and hopefully will not be delayed. Of course, we may have missed a few games here and there. If so, be sure to tell us in the comments! So here’s Part I!
Arguably the most exciting revelation at Nintendo’s E3 Media Briefing this year was the Wii Fit. A new peripheral that is able to sense where a person is stepping. Nintendo showed off the possibilities of doing exercises and fun mini-games by using this “stepping platform”.What Nintendo now presents is yet another merge between the arcade and the home console. Imagine using the Wii Fit, not as a excercise platform but as a skateboard, snowboard, or surfboard! Turn the Wii Fit sideways and you’ve got a two-in-one peripheral. Sure you probably won’t be able to do crazy tricks with the board, but for people who can’t find their balance in the real sports Wii Fit is going to be a fun alternative.
For all of the above sports, you’d steer with both feet on the platform. Since Wii Fit is tilt sensitive the peripheral can be as accurate as the real sports. Skateboarding would be a little more tricky, if you want to consider having one foot step down to have your avatar push the skateboard faster difficult.
The real brain teaser is why didn’t Nintendo market the Wii Fit at E3 with more of these amazing game possibilities? As Reggie talked about during the presentation Nintendo is going for the general gaming audience and then the hardcore users. It’s plausible that Nintendo realizes that this peripheral is probably not going to be used by the average male gamer at least as a fitness machine. Lets face it, this is what the game industry considers as a serious game. Have serious games sold well thus far? If you have no idea what a serious game is, that just proves my point. By marketing this peripheral as a fitness machine, it’s the female audience who will most likely be the first to purchase it. If specifically mothers were to buy this peripheral for their family Wii console, Nintendo gains access to the whole family. It’s at that point when Nintendo will unveil more casual games like they have already done with their Wii Sports and Wii Play series.
These short gameplay session games are becoming a key to Nintendo’s success and with the Wii Fit a whole new door of gameplay has been opened.
StuffWeLike.com covers the Nintendo Wii Launch at Universal Citywalk.
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Part 2:
Part 3:
