Pew Pew Pew!!!

The Blue Bomber is back in the latest installment of the Mega Man series.  This time Mega Man is sporting his good old 8-bit retro battlegear.

So far I have only gotten a chance to play the PlugMan stage, and wow is this game mean.  If anyone has heard of the indie game “I Wanna Be The Guy” then they will know just how brutal that game is from the stand-point of “those mother bleepin game developers did that just to mess with me”.  Well, it would appear that Capcom has done the same thing with Mega Man 9.

Many times in the one level I have played things just happened that made me think “I should have known”, like when you are jumping across the sequential vanishing blocks and attempt a jump only to find a block appears that, well, blocks your way and what you really should have done was not jump at all because another block would appear below you to catch you.  Arg

But does this make a bad game?  Not at all.  I like a game with stupid hard challenges, maybe that is why I like Kid Icarus so much.  Mega Man 9’s challenges are not only stupid hard at times, they are stupid hard just to mess with you, and I like that.

If you want to get MegaMan 9, it is available on the WiiWare Shop Channel for 1000 points ($10.00 USD).

Today, at the E3 Press Conference for Nintendo, a lot of new announcements were made regarding future games for the Wii and DS. We’ve been keeping a close eye on Gamertell’s live blogging coverage of the E3 conferences.

Here’s just a few of the announcements Nintendo made for E3:
* Animal Crossing: City Folk
* Wiispeak – Mic support where players can communicate in real time
* Star Wars: The Clone Wars
* Call of Duty: World at War (hardcore gamers rejoice!)
* Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades and Spore on their way for the DS
* Grand Theft Auto – Chinatown Wars coming to the DS

Want more information on what Nintendo was up to at the press conference? Go over to Gamertell’s coverage and read everything!

Activision, Inc. announced today the Fall 2008 release of Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On!, the sequel to last year’s rhythm-packed Dancing with the Stars videogame. They have once again teamed up with Disney-ABC Television Group’s ABC Entertainment and BBC Worldwide America to create this all new game for Wii and Nintendo DS. Players will engage in the battle of the ballroom with more stars, more dances, more intense competition – and more fun!

“‘Dancing with the Stars’ is an ongoing cultural phenomenon that appeals to people of all ages. It is mainstream entertainment at its best,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “We feel the game is the perfect opportunity to evolve the idea of ‘active family fun’.”

Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On! features all-new stars such as Mel B, Apolo Anton Ohno, Joey Fatone and Jennie Garth. Players will be able to cha-cha with new professional dancers including Derek Hough, and his sister, two-time “Dancing with the Stars” champion, Julianne Hough.

The Wii version improves on the original with refined Wii Remote and Nunchuck controls to enact their favorite dances. Other additions include all-new special “flair” moves that will wow the judges. Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On! for Nintendo DS brings a fresh take on the rhythm game genre, complete with the ability to change outfits and swap partners at the player’s whim.

For more information visit www.activision.com/

Source: ACTIVISION

Candace’s opinion: This is not the announcement for a new game I was hoping for, considering Activision just merged with Blizzard and, Wii Fit recently hit the shelves. I understand that the Wii has taken the mainstream audience by storm, getting rid of the stereotype of your “typical gamer”. I also understand Nintendo has created a system that relies almost entirely on social games. However, Dancing with the Stars? That’s a little too much cashing in on pop culture if you ask me. I’ll pass..give me yet another Zelda, Mario or Metroid game. Anything but this.

The home-console classic, Mega Man, is back in the latest incarnation, Mega Man 9, and is confirmed for WiiWare.  Rather than using the power of the Wii hardware for 3D graphics, Mega Man 9 will be presented using the visual style of the original Mega Man games from the NES:  Glorious 8-Bit.

The bosses for the game are being reported to be Magma Man, Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, Concrete Man, Hornet Man, Plug Man, Tornado Man, and…

…Splash Woman?  0.o

Well, it’s Monday again and you know what that means?  WiiWare and Virtual Console goodness.  This weeks addition…

That’s right.  Dr Mario has hit WiiWare, but it’s not just the good Doctor you knew on the NES.  Online RX brings new modes of play, including online play with randomly picked opponents from all over the world or (with the use of the game’s OWN friend codes) play against your friends online.

A reminder to all those TGM fans out there than have a Nintendo Wii. Please go to this thread on our forums and post your Wii Friend Code, as well as any Friend Codes to individual games you have (GuitarHero 3, Dr Mario, Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Strikers, etc).

Although WiiFit has only been in the US for less than a week, Japan has been buying that little white thing you stand on like crazy for the past 6 months.  So crazy, in fact, that this peripheral has now outsold the PlayStation 3 over there.

[ From Infendo.com]

Before you jump on my back, know that this post is speaking more to the power of WiiFit than it is demeaning the PS3. Believe me, the system doesn’t need my help in that department.

As you can see from this screengrab of Malstrom’s Hardcore Gamer Suicide Watch page, WiiFit surpassed the PS3 in Japan. Not the Wii, mind you, but a Wii peripheral. Oh, and I still vehemently maintain that the WiiFit is no ordinary accessory. It’s still more of a console or platform in my book, and I’m sticking to it.

I’ve been balancing and lightly exercising on my copy of Wiii Fit for the past day and a half. I’ll have my thoughts on it later today. Initial impression/tease: “Hey, you know what? This thing actually works.”

“You would have to build something very console centric from the get-go,” Paul Barnett (WarHammer Online Creative Director) said in an interview with ComputerAndVideoGames.com, “I think probably the best chance of someone doing something like that is Nintendo — doing something crazy that no one expects.”

He also suggests that the key difficulty for crafting an MMO for consoles is the mass fondness of World Of Warcraft.

[Rob's Opinion] I feel that he is simply bringing up WoW because he is developing an MMO that directly compeats with it, that being WarHammer Online.  I have my doubts that WoW hurts any market of games other than the MMO market.  If anything, WoW has helped the video game market by bringing in new players that have never been into video games before.

This also holds true for the Nintendo Wii, as that system has also brought in new gamers.  While I personally would not buy an Animal Crossing MMO, a Pokemon MMO is not out of the question

Nintendo officially launched WiiWare on Monday with a selection of 5 games available: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King, Pop, Lost Winds, TV Show King, VIP Casino Blackjack and Defend Your Castle.

So far I have downloaded Crystal Chronicles, Pop, Lost Winds and Defend Your Castle, and I have to say that I have been having fun.

These games range from full-on game so simply, almost Flash-style games.  Not that Flash games are bad, but I find more enjoyment with games that are move involving.  FFCC My Life As A King currently has been holding my interest with an iron grip.

For more information on the latest crop of WiiWare games, listen to the next episode of R&D.