Wii3

Wii Party

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:24:13 +0000

This party isn’t Mario’s party, its Wii’s Party. Like any other party game, any Wii3 enthusiast should know how Wii party works. It is a collection of about 80 minigames (yep, another minigame) designed for an assembly of friends and family. Minigames have been here for a long time and yet, surprisingly, they’re still quite a hit even for younger generations. Wii Party minigames are designed in quite a number of variations. You can play them in a party-style board game or a globe-trotting style board game, bingo style, other luck-based games such as the wheel-of-fortune and many others. With all its cool and exciting modes, you will never be bored at playing the game.
The Good
Playing Wii Party can definitely give you truck loads of fun especially when you have a room filled with friends and family. The wonderful variety makes the game very exciting. From kart racing to being chased by zombies, there’s a minigame for everyone. Games like the Hide n’ Hunt game or the animal sound tracker make it perfect for little kids. Wii Party also offers games for more mature players like Walk Off and Word Bomb. You will see some previous minigames, which were recycled by Nintendo but they have added a few bonus twists and tricks to give the minigame a different feel, most revolving around the clever use of the wiimote.
These games are great as it takes computer games off the TV screen and gives a whole new meaning to computer gaming amusement. The game captures the essence of Wii, and that is “interaction” as supposed to “isolation.” And the best thing about Wii Party is that you don’t have to be a video game expert to play. As long as you know how to have a good time, satisfaction is guaranteed.
The Bad
Unfortunately, Wii Party game modes are as dull as the visuals that go with them. Other games are quite sluggish and make a kind of haphazard play, which takes the fun off the minigames themselves and aside from getting high scores there are not enough incentives to keep you in one mode for a long time. And although the tilting and turning of the Wii remote can be a lot of fun for some, it could be very frustrating for others, especially for those who are new to Wii controllers. And what’s worse, most of these frustrations usually come up just when everyone is already having fun with the game— what a spoiler!
Auspiciously, its wide breadth of games and the different ways you can experience them definitely make up for its overall lack of depth. Then again, I guess this seemingly shallow nature of Wii Party is probably what makes these minigames fun. It is not about the computer game but the fun you get out of it. Wii party can definitely give you a rolling-on-the-floor kind of amusement and if you have great friends to share the experience with, this game will surely give you a blast!

Michael Jackson: The Experience

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:23:12 +0000

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop to be correct, is known for his dance moves. At last, we here at Wii3 can play a game where we can bust his entire collection of dance moves, instead of as a victory celebration at the end of another game. The Experience is a game that attempts to give people the chance to have a taste of Michael Jackson’s legendary dance career.
To clarify moves, making it easier to accomplish, the game has little figures that slide up and down, illustrating the dance move or pose. You are expected to follow these cues and try to imitate the dancers on the screen as closely as possible. You will then be given points based on the movements tracked by your wiimote, giving you scores such as bad, good or perfect. It has a score bar found on the left screen that fills as you hit the marks while you progress in the game.
The Good
Michael Jackson: The Experience will definitely be hit for all Michael Jackson enthusiasts. The game is relatively easy to follow and is great because you can share the Michael Jackson experience while dancing alongside three of your friends. With over 20 Michael Jackson dance hits, you are sure to have a fantastic experience with the game.
Even when its dance moves are difficult, the songs, undoubtedly make up for the frustration of missed moves. The game features some of his most popular dance routines including Thriller, Billy Jean and Beat It. The music alone makes you want to pick up your controller and dance! And if you’re a big Michael Jackson fan, you will be even more thrilled with the return of his most celebrated hits back in the days such as Bad, Smooth Criminal, and even older ones such as Ghost and Money. The music selection and game setup puts this game in the must play at least once category. Michael Jackson: The Experience is an experience indeed!
The Bad
Michael Jackson: The Experience attempts but doesn’t quite compare with Michael Jackson’s dance magic, of course that is to be expected. One of major flaws of the game is that the Wii remote alone is not able to capture the complexity of the Michael Jackson dance moves. Instead of moving your entire body, you will be left with waving your hand around rather than actually “dancing”. And you might think the game makes Michael’s dance moves more easy, well the bad news is, it is still as difficult as it looks. This is especially true for those who intensely attempt to copy the dance routines. The game features videos of real dancers, performing real dance moves, overlaid on theme backgrounds. The game does offer video tutorials. Curiously, however, you have to complete several games to unlock the tutorials. This makes little sense and completely sucks! Those who need tutorials will have difficulty completing one dance routine to even unlock a tutorial.
And what makes the game even more difficult is its unpredictable controls. At one point, you might feel you are not being scored properly or that the game is not recognizing your moves, making it very frustrating. Unless you are a die hard Michael Jackson fan, we here at wii3 think that you’d probably be better off buying Just Dance 2. Just Dance 2 provides a better dance outlet.

Just Dance 2

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:22:07 +0000

Just Dance 2 is a sequel to Ubisoft’s incredibly successful and popular game called Just Dance. As its name suggests, all you need to do to play the game is, well – Just dance! The mechanics is pretty easy. With over 40 song choices, you begin by clicking on the song, which you feel you will be able to dance, whether or not you will be good at it. Then, with your wiimote, just follow the steps of the dancers on the screen and you’re good to go.
The all new just dance two offers several dance modes. You can choose to have a classic mode, which is simple, basic dancing. Then, if you want to dance with a partner, you can opt for a duet, the medley mode, if you want to dance in a series of 5 songs, team battle mode if you want a dance off and finally the race mode, if you want to compete with other players on who gets to fill the score meter first. All these new features make Just Dance 2 a fun and quite challenging game that you can play with your friends and family.
The Good
Just Dance 2’s cool new features will definitely send any wii3 enthusiast into overdrive. The newly transformed game flaunts better visual designs, new modes, more outrageous dance routines plus a song selection that caters to the interests of people in all ages from songs for 10-year old girls such as Girlfriend, to those who are ten at heart such as Toxic and When I grow up and song choices like Viva Las Vegas to those who were ten a long time ago. These songs will definitely make grandchildren, parents, and even grandparents sweat through the different dance routines. Perhaps its popularity is brought by its incredible versatility, even bad dancers get the chance to be a star with Just Dance 2. Anyone of any age, as long as you have a knack of having a great time, this game is for you!
The Bad
As exciting as the game is, the only problem that can be found is the absence of unlockable content. Most games offer the opportunity to gain levels, which improves the game overall. Just Dance 2 does not offer the chance to progress to or reach higher levels with time. Without something to look forward to, the game over time can become rather boring and kind-of routine. Overall, regardless of the absence of career progression, the old and/or the young will certainly have loads of fun in playing the game.

Just Dance 2 makes the original game look half-cooked and even with its runaway success, the original now becomes somewhat less appealing. Just dance 2 takes the core of Just Dance into a more exciting and a more hilariously entertaining experience. And the best thing about Just Dance 2 is that it gives people the chance to have loads of fun while exercising and making their body much healthier. Ubisoft has not issued a statement as to whether the game will be available on Nintendo’s much anticipated new console. Perhaps Ubisoft will hear our pleas for unlockables if they plan to release a version for Wii2.

Conduit 2

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:21:00 +0000

Finally, we here at Wii3 have a traditional styled shooting game worth playing, well somewhat anyway. Hats off to High Voltage Software for at least trying to fill the gaping void of traditional style Wii shooting game choices. Although Conduit 2 is not the most memorable game on the market, it is one that can at least motivate you to keep playing.

Conduit 2 builds on the sensation of the original game. In the latest game, players fight and defend to the far reaches of the earth, vying to prevent an alien invasion. Players, equipped with powerful high-tech weapons, experience action-packed movie quality battles, multiple tiers on each level and giant boss type enemies to face. Overall, Conduit 2 is a good game that offers plenty of fun. Here is our take, the good, the not so good and the ugly.

The Good
The game is fun! In fact, we here at Wii3 believe it to be far better than the original. The storyline is completely different and a lot more lighthearted than the first Conduit. Your avatar navigates the globe rather than the dry government regulated platform as before. Conduit 2 almost seems like a game independent of its predecessor.

Conduit 2 allows for both offline and online co-op modes and online battles. Also, this go round, the developers did weaponry justice with some big and powerful weapons. Additionally, they also provided players with lots of humor and bonuses, which enhances game play.

Precision of the Wii remote during play is remarkable. If a player chooses, they can opt for a controller, but precision suffers a bit.

The Bad
Regardless to how much fun this game is and regardless of the fact that it does fill a void in the Wii game showcase, the bad is really bad. The biggest complaint we have is that completion came way to fast and way to easy. The other issues are with one of the games best features, the multi-player modes. Oftentimes during play, the console would lag because of a slower connection. Another issue with the game is that some of the battles are predictable. However, even with the predictable moments, the game still manages to hold our attention.

If the Wii2 is actually released later this year as rumored, High Voltage Software may be able to release a more enhanced version of the game. The issue of lagging and slow connections could also be resolved with a faster console that boasts faster connection speeds.

Top Five Cheats for Mario Kart on the Wii

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:14:05 +0000

Throughout its history, the Mario Kart franchise has been one the most popular games developed by Nintendo. It’s made an appearance on multiple Nintendo consoles and we at Wii3 fully expect to see a brand new iteration whenever the Wii2 makes its first appearance. Part of the fun of this game has always been the various cheats and Easter eggs placed by developers for persistent gamers to find. To save you some time, here are the best of these cheats:

5. Unlock Mirror Class

In order to unlock the Mirror Class you need to first win every single 150cc cup. The Mirror Class will then be unlocked.

4. Ways to Avoid a POW block.

There are three ways to avoid getting hit by the dreaded POW block. You can use whichever is easier for you to pull off. We at Wii3 have found that using the Wii classic controller can make the third option somewhat difficult to accomplish, but your mileage may vary.

• Avoid the effect by using a Bullet Bill, Star, or Mega Mushroom at the same time you hit the POW block. The timing of this cheat can be tricky, as you won’t get the effect if you are a hair too early or too late.
• If you keep hopping as you come upon the POW block you can hop right through it and retain all the items you are carrying as well. Note: This will only work if you have Manual Drift Mode enabled.
• Flick your controller right before you get hit by the block. This is timed correctly by counting the pre-POW strikes and flicking right after three. Those using a Wii classic controller can press the Up arrow instead and get the same effect.

3. Avoiding the Blue Shells

Blue shells can be avoided by using a mushroom. To do this, you need to use any kind of mushroom just as the blue shell is about to hit you. If you’ve timed it correctly, the blue shell should not cause any damage and you should drive right through it. This cheat can mean the difference between finishing a race and getting knocked out early, as those nasty blue shells can be very difficult to avoid for the novice gamer.

2. Big Boost at the Start of the Race

Press and hold the “A” button just at the number 2 in the countdown begins to fade away. If you time it correctly, you will obtain the maximum boost possible as the race begins. This can be a huge advantage when playing multiplayer if your opponent doesn’t know the trick. If you choose a fast racer and use this cheat, you can leave opponents in the dust at the start and gain a huge lead early on.

1. Unlocking Expert Staff Ghosts

To unlock this mode you need to beat a Normal Staff Ghost on any course with a time that’s at least seven seconds faster than the ghost. Do this, and you automatically unlock the Expert Staff Ghost for that course.

Wii2 Update

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:11:33 +0000

More Wii2 Rumours

Citing unnamed and anonymous sources, the video game blog Kotaku is reporting a handful of notable, albeit predictable, details about Nintendo’s upcoming Wii successor, codenamed Project Café. For instance, in lieu of the standard capacious hard drive with lots of storage space, Nintendo will buck industry trends by offering only 8GB of flash-based memory augmented by SD card support. If rumours are true and Project Café plans to offer a graphical experience that’s competitive with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, we’re not sure what the storage solution for DLC or larger downloadable games will be. For instance, Red Dead Redemption’s Undead Nightmare DLC was over 1.5GB in size and the downloadable game Comic Jumper was nearly 2GB. With such a drastic reduction in storage memory, digital distribution of retail titles would seemingly be off the table for the Wii successor, as would larger DLC.

Also rumoured is the new disc format for Project Café. It’s believed to hold 25GB of data, which is roughly three times the size of a dual-layer DVD and over five times the size of the single-layer DVD that most Wii titles currently use. 25GB is also the standard storage space of a single-layer Blu-Ray disc, although it’s not clear if Project Café will use that standard and, even if it did, if it would enable movie playback on the console. Remember that the current Wii, despite using DVDs, famously doesn’t support DVD video playback.

Speaking of Blu-Ray video playback, the magic number usually tossed about by Hi-Def home theater enthusiasts (and Sony marketing goons) is 1080, as in 1080p video resolution. Less popular is 1080i, which, while also featuring one-thousand-and-eighty lines of resolution, interlaces those lines instead of scanning them progressively like in 1080p. If that doesn’t sound familiar, it’s because the 1080i standard has been somewhat out-of-fashion since 1080p-compatible televisions and devices have filled the market. Kotaku is reporting that its sources are hearing “mixed things” as to whether Nintendo plans on offering 1080p (or, as Sony would put it circa 2006, “True HD”) or 1080i.

As much as we want to believe every Project Café rumor we hear, we can’t forget the delta between the console that Nintendo announced at E3 2006 and the one we actually got at its release. Nintendo was full of promises then too: DVD playback! USB hard drive support! It remains to be seen if the new successor to the Wii will be better able to live up to the hype than its predecessor. Between now and Café’s 2012 launch date, it’s anyone’s guess.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:22:02 +0000

Throughout its history, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series has been the Old Faithful of sports games. You’re pretty much guaranteed the same level of quality year after year, but that constancy comes at the price of innovation, as the gameplay itself seems to change very little. As we at Wii3 have noted in the past, if you’ve played one Tiger Woods game, you’ve played them all. Thankfully this year’s version, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, does a fine job of freshening up the series with some new courses and options while still retaining the core mechanics that have made the game a winner time and again.

The Good

As its name suggests, this year’s Tiger Woods is all about the Masters, and with good reason. Augusta National Golf Club has been notoriously reticent about allowing its famous course to appear in video games over the years, which makes what EA Sports has accomplished even more of a coup. The course itself is rendered beautifully in game, with an attention to detail surpassing anything the franchise has done previously. EA has taken full advantage of its unprecedented access, featuring the voice of The Masters, Jim Nantz, on commentary and offering the new “Masters Moments” mode as a way for golf fans to replay some of the most iconic

Surprisingly, EA Sports didn’t stop with the inclusion of the Augusta course, adding some new features and tweaking some existing ones to really enhance gameplay. The new Caddie Mode is one of the more interesting additions, giving the player a virtual caddie who suggests shots and doles out advice during play. This is a great feature for those new to the game, but even experienced players may find themselves getting a second opinion from their caddie during a particularly tough hole.

One more thing to mention is the retooled Career Mode, which is now called “Road to the Masters” in honor of this year’s theme. We at Wii3 have always had a problem with the way the Tiger Woods series separates its Career Mode and Challenge Mode, which forced the player to complete challenges separately in order to increase their stats for the career portion. Thankfully, these two modes have been integrated in Tiger Woods 12, creating a smoother, more realistic experience in which challenges are blended seamlessly into the career play.

The Not-So-Good

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is a game with few flaws, but unfortunately those it does have can be glaring. For whatever reason, the graphical capabilities of the Wii are not a great fit for Tiger Woods 12, and the game looks the worst on this system out of all the current generation consoles. It’s really a shame, as the gorgeously rendered Masters course is somewhat wasted on the Wii’s hardware, with occasional lags and frame rate skipping. One wonders what the next-gen Wii2 could do with such a beautiful game. The character models are also somewhat lacking, having a blocky, outdated look that’s reminiscent of last-generation consoles.

Minor visual complaints aside, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is the best golf game in recent memory and a must buy for any golf enthusiast who owns a Wii. Even gamers who aren’t fans of the sport will enjoy this simulation, as many of the new options are geared toward simplifying the game and making it easy for the novice to master.

WWE All-Stars

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:19:02 +0000

In recent years, World Wrestling Entertainment has garnered a great deal of success with its flagship Smackdown vs Raw series, which have quickly become the best-selling wrestling games in the industry. But while those games strive to be a realistic simulation of the WWE brand of wrestling, lately developers at THQ have been eager to focus on some of the more cartoonish aspects of sports entertainment. Enter WWE All-Stars. Under the guise of a legends-type game that allows players to pit wrestlers from different eras against in each other in various “dream matches”, THQ has effectively thrown the physics-based wrestling engine common to previous endeavors out the window, creating a strictly arcade wrestler that abandons realism for gravity-defying moves and over-the-top antics. And while this concept may be interesting, its execution is lacking, marring an otherwise fun game and keeping it from reaching its full potential.

The Good

First and foremost this game is a wrestling fanboy’s dream come true. With an impressive roster of over 30 former and current Superstars, WWE All-Stars has something for every type of wrestling fan. Dream matches have always been a source of discussion and debate in the pro wrestling community, and for the first time on next generation consoles fans can pit legends such as Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant against top modern stars like John Cena and Randy Orton. The character designs, in keeping with the arcade feel of the game, are ridiculously bulky and over-exaggerated, with bulging biceps and bouncing pecs that tend to look like action figures come to life. Although they have drawn criticism for some, we at Wii3 didn’t mind them at all. In fact, we thought the cartoony character models worked quite well within the overall game theme and fit the style and graphical capabilities of the Wii system perfectly.

The Not-So-Good

It may sound ridiculous, but here at Wii3 we like our fake sports with a healthy dose of realism. And that’s where WWE All-Stars goes off the tracks. An exaggerated or unrealistic game engine is one thing, but WWE All-Stars often seems to have abandoned earthly physics completely. Prepare to watch opponents fly ten feet through the air with a single punch, or bounce six feet off the ground like a superball with every body slam. An arcade sensibility is one thing, but in its quest to eliminate the feel of a true-to-life wrestling simulation THQ may have gone too far. Rather than feel light and fun, these changes to the game engine are jarring and the matches lack any kind of continuity or flow, degenerating into mere button-mashing. Another problem is the decided lack of options, featuring only two main scenario modes, a very limited Create-A-Wrestler function, and very few gimmick matches.

Don’t get us wrong, WWE All-Stars isn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, just incomplete. Hopefully, future iterations of the franchise can tone down the Matrix-like gymnastics, expand the features and options, and give classic wrestling fans the game they deserve. WWE All-Stars has tons of promise. Unfortunately, we may have to wait until the Wii2 before it’s realized.

Top Five Cheats for New Super Mario Bros on the Wii

admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:18:33 +0000

We here at Wii3 consider New Super Mario Bros to be one of the most challenging games ever produced for the Wii platform. So if you’re having trouble with a difficult point in the game, or just want to brush up on your skills in preparation for the next installment on the Wii2, here are the top five cheats to make your in-game experience more enjoyable:

5. Permanent Mushroom Houses

With this cheat you can obtain a Mushroom House that will never disappear from the map. To unlock, first get 5 stars on your save file by beating the game, then collect every star coin in Worlds 1-9 while using every single Warp Cannon and Mushroom House along the way. Once this is done, the Mushroom Houses will stay on the map permanently.

4. Super Guide Help

If you die eight times while attempting to finish any single level in Worlds 1-8, you will be given the option to be helped by the Super Guide. By hitting the block labeled “!”, you can then watch as a computer-controlled Luigi finishes the level for you.

3. Unlock World 9

World 9 is unlocked only after you beat the entire game. However, the individual levels in World 9 are only unlocked after you have collected all star coins in Worlds 1-8 as follows:

World 9-1 – Collect all Star Coins in World 1
World 9-2 – Collect all Star Coins in World 2.
World 9-3 – Collect all Star Coins in World 3.
World 9-4 – Collect all Star Coins in World 4.
World 9-5 – Collect all Star Coins in World 5.
World 9-6 – Collect all Star Coins in World 6.
World 9-7 – Collect all Star Coins in World 7.
World 9-8 – Collect all Star Coins in World 8.

2. Save Game At Any Point
Upon completion of the final castle on World 8, the Quick Save option in the main menu is changed simply to Save. You can now save your game from anywhere and at any point. This becomes a very valuable cheat once you start hunting for stars after beating the game. You can focus on finding those difficult star coins hidden on each level and not worry about dying and having to start the entire level over again.
1. Obtain Maximum Lives
At the very end of World 2-3, there is a turtle that comes down the stairs towards you right before you encounter the flag. In order to activate this cheat, you will need to jump on its shell and carefully time the jump so that the turtle’s shell gets stuck between you and the stairs. Once this is accomplished, you can continuously jump on the shell and gain extra lives each time you do so until you hit the max. If you are really struggling with the game, you can use this cheat early on to gain a ton of extra lives that should last all the way through World 8 and the end of the game.

Wii2 Rumours

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 10:45:32 +0000

For months the lingering question has been, to Wii or not to Wii. However, now with so many Wii2 rumors, it seems that Nintendo definitely decided to Wii. The company remains very tight lipped about what the new console will offer gamers, if there is a new console.
We here at Wii3 are eagerly awaiting confirmation of other reports about the console. In the meantime, we will share each of the rumors with you.
The Name
Until recent months, everyone has referred to the successor of the Wii simply as the Wii2. However, now it seems that there is at least two names floating the web about the secret project.
Several months ago, someone leaked the code name for the project as “Stream”. This was the first inkling of abstract proof that Nintendo was in fact working on a Wii2. In April 2011, leaked designs of the console set the web abuzz. Along with the designs was an even more feasible codename. “Project Café” is now believed to be the actual project name for the Wii2 and the name of the console is the “Nintendo Stream”.
The Console
The original Wii revolutionized how gamers interacted with the games they played. Initially when played, most loved the Wii and the new platform for gaming. However, the systems shortcomings became more apparent as hours on the console increased. The original Wii had very little High Def functionality. In addition, it was short on flash memory, providing less than a gig. Overall, the original Wii was weak compared to systems like the Xbox 360. The Kinect, an add-on for Xbox, broke records with sales, making Xbox 360 the best selling console in the world.

According to unofficial reports, Nintendo addressed the shortcomings by adding a triple-core IBM PowerPC chipset and an improved edition of the AMD R7000 GPU architecture. This combination of hardware trumps that of the Xbox 360, one of Nintendo’s goals.

Reports also indicate that Nintendo is toying with the notion of stereoscopic 3D as a mode of output. Many believe this is unlikely and will be too costly. Those naysayers believe that Nintendo will use 1080p High Def output instead. Foxxcon, a manufacturer based in Taiwan, will produce the console. Speculations point toward a design comparable to that of the Xbox 360 or a modern version of the Super Nintendo.

What’s New

New features of the Wii2, other than the graphic capabilities and power upgrade, are unique to say the least. Rumor has it that the new Wii2 will be able to stream content to individual controllers. More than just streaming though, it seems that the new system may allow different games to be played on each controller. The other fascinating feature of the controllers is that they will deliver images in High Def, the first of its kind on the market. In addition, leaked specs for the controllers show they have a touch screen for making choices.
How Much
Critics speculate the new console will cost anywhere from $350-$400, which is standard for a new gaming system.
WHEN???
Gamers can expect the new system from Nintendo as early as this fall in time for the holiday season or possibly as late as winter of 2012.