Tag Archive: nintendo


Come On Down!

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May 11, 2010

Originally Published: October 30, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

With family-oriented games developing a strong following, mostly due to the tremendous popularity of the Wii, game show type games are becoming hugely popular as well. Trivia games like Buzz! and 1 vs. 100 have seen a steady stream of sales for their respective consoles since their releases.

To cash-in on this trend, Ubisoft has released their 2010 versions of some classic game shows for the Wii like Press Your Luck, The Price is Right, and Family Feud figuring that if these new game shows could develop a strong following, that classic game shows that were once TV staples (The Price is Right still is) should do well also.

I don’t know how they will sell, but these games at least deserve more than a $1 bid. Press Your Luck is probably the worst of the three because of the luck factor. Most of the game deals with trying to avoid the “whammy” that steals whatever money and prizes you have accumulated while playing the big board with a randomizer. The person with the most wealth acquired at the end of several rounds of taking and passing turns, accumulated via answering multiple-choice questions, wins.

The graphics are typical of the Wii as your avatars are cartoon-like in appearance with a lot of bright lights and funny sound effects reminiscent of the classic TV game show. Due to the majority of the game being based around luck (hence the title, I suppose), I would probably say this was the worst of this old-school game show triumvirate.

Next on the review list is The Price is Right. This game show has always had a special place in my heart because growing up I would spend many summer days at my grandparents’ house and we always would watch The Price is Right at 11AM on CBS and play along at home.

The best part of this game is that there are actual clips taken from the show to display the items used to play the pricing games (Barker’s Beauties, or maybe they’re called Drew’s Darlings now, are included in the clips as well). With over 30 original pricing games and thousands of items up for bid, the game can almost never play out the same way twice.

Again, the graphics are cartoony and I would love for the theme song to be featured more prominently, but aside from those minor complaints, it reminds me of those summer days playing along with my grandparents except this time I actually have control over the bids and games (and the Golden Road pricing game is still the bane of my existence!)

The only gripe I have with The Price is Right game is that when playing with the computer, it is almost impossible to win the big wheel to make it onto the showcase showdown. I almost always go over or get such a paltry score that the computer easily wipes the floor with me. Again, like Press Your Luck, there is too much of a luck factor with the big wheel and it’s never fun losing to a computer. If you have people to play with though, this game is a winner all the way.

The final classic game show game was Family Feud. I saved this for last because this is by far the best game of the three because it is fun whether playing by yourself or playing with friends because it tests your common sense and leaves very little up to luck.

The purpose of Family Feud, as anyone who has had exposure to TV over the past 30 years would know, is to guess the most popular answers to survey questions. When one team (usually a family in the traditional show) reaches 400 points, they have a chance to send their two best players out for an abbreviated version of the regular game and if they can get another 200 points, the team wins $25,000 dollars.

This is a great family oriented game because everyone gets a chance to be involved and can either work as a team against the computer or against each other as they try to figure out the answers to the surveys. The theme song is classic and the graphics are typical of all the games featured in this article. I would say that if you are looking for a family/group oriented game show game for the Wii, then the best value for the money is Family Feud because there is no luck involved and the competition level is evident from the second the game starts.

It is nice to see these family interaction oriented games are going strong and that classic shows are being incorporated in order to help draw in the older audience that remembers the shows as well as the younger audience that might enjoy them. Now all we need is a $25,000 Pyramid game and we’ll be covered on the classic 80s game show front.

All three of these games are available now.

-Ray Carsillo

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Heroes in a Half-Shell

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April 24, 2010

Originally Published: September 25, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), and Lundberg.me

With this being the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mirage Studios and Ubisoft, who hold the video game licenses to the franchise, have been going all out with the shell-ebration. This includes a reissuing of some of the old 1980s action figures (which they were very kind to send me a Master Splinter figure; sweet!), a remake of Turtles in Time for the current generation of consoles, and the highly anticipated TMNT: Smash Up for the Nintendo Wii.

Now that TMNT: Smash Up is officially available; I want to take this time to analyze the first original TMNT game for this current generation of consoles. The basic plot of the game is that Master Splinter wants to hold a special ninjitsu tournament to see how far the turtles have progressed in their training. The prize would be any of the items of Splinter’s trophy room. Of course, there is a catch. Splinter, Casey Jones, and April O’ Neill are all going to be participating as well.

As the tournament progresses and a winner is about to crowned, the Turtles receive an emergency call from their old friend the Fugitoid saying he has been captured by Shredder. This is where you take over and progress through various fights before facing down Shredder and some Foot Soldiers.

The plot is simple, as it should be for a fighting game. No one besides Shredder should be the final boss and the fighting mechanics are great. Ubisoft took the same fighting engine that was used in the Super Smash Bros. series so you can have four-player grudge matches and the game flows very smoothly. The game looks beautiful with some awesome settings and great interactivity in the levels.

There are still a few things nagging at me though being a die-hard TMNT fan. First, the generic background music irritates me to no end. Can we PLEASE bring back the 80s theme? There wasn’t even the new cartoon theme. I’ll even take the “Go Ninja Go” rap from Vanilla Ice at this point.

That isn’t my biggest gripe though. My biggest gripe is that after being promised tons of characters, the list was suddenly shortened just before the release and instead of having hidden TMNT characters Ubisoft thought it would be a good idea to have three Raving Rabbids based on TMNT as hidden playable characters. WHAT?!

No Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang (although they might try to pull off the Utrominator as an upgraded Krang without calling him that), Leatherhead, Baxter Stockman, Rat King, General Kragg, Wingnut, Ace Duck, Usagi Yojimbo, Tokka, Rahzar, Slash, OR ANY OTHER BIG CHARACTERS WE CARE ABOUT! Instead, we got the Turtles, Shredder, Splinter, Karai, April, Casey and…that’s pretty much it. There were more stages than there were playable characters.

The most important thing about a fighting game after the fighting system itself is the roster of characters and TMNT: Smash Up sorely disappoints on this front. The majority of TMNT fans are still those of us who grew up on it and not catering to us is always a bad idea. I was really surprised with this considering the great job Ubisoft did when revamping Turtles in Time, but this really depressed me as a hardcore fan. Instead of trying to use this game to promote another franchise, Ubisoft should have concentrated on making this as good a game as possible.

Ratings are based on a score of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 8.5: For the most part the game did look beautiful. Some of the settings were a little darker than I liked and when some of the large maps zoomed out to show all the characters on screen, it was hard to tell where everyone was, but for the graphics were mostly crisp.

Audio: 5.0: The generic background music irritated me and made me long for the good old days with the 80s theme song. The SFX were average and the voice acting was solid using the newest cartoon’s voice actors, but they didn’t record a lot of lines so they repeat themselves frequently.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.0: The plot is not usually the strongest point for a fighting game. All you need is a reason to bring a lot of people together to duke it out and this game does that.

Gameplay: 8.0: The fighting mechanics are very good and all the characters have unique combos and special moves to fit their styles. Add in special Ninpo items like daggers, smoke bombs, and some mystical items that randomly appear on screen and you’ll have a solid fighting game experience.

Replay Value: 5.0: An arcade mode, survival mode, and mission mode all make the game worthy of playing, including a nice amount of unlockables, but with none of those unlockables being characters from the TMNT universe, I have to dock this score a lot.

Overall (not an average): 4.0: This game reminds me of the original Smash Bros. for N64 and if this was two generations ago, this would be a great game. Unfortunately, it’s not, so this game is not nearly as good as what we’ve come to expect from fighting games. A lackluster roster takes a lot away from the game and severely hurts the game’s replay value because there are only a few characters to go through the game with. The engine is great and that is the number one aspect for a fighting game, but everything after that falls flat on its face and any TMNT fan will be disappointed at the very least, if not furious, over this game. A more casual fan might want to rent this just to take a look, but probably not.

TMNT: Smash-Up is available now for the Nintendo Wii.

-Ray Carsillo

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A Whole New World

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April 20, 2010

Originally Published: July 24, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

When you look at the surface of Treasure World for the Nintendo DS, there really doesn’t seem to be a lot to the game.

When you turn the game on you’re immediately introduced to a mystical being that travels the cosmos collecting stardust. As his ship travels around the Milky Way, it runs out of fuel and crash-lands in your backyard. He asks for you to help his robot assistant explore your world and collect enough stardust to refuel his ship so he can go back to exploring the universe.

The game is pretty straightforward, but the difference between it and any other game you will play is that the in-game exploration revolves solely around your real-world interactions. As you walk around the real world, like you’re on an actual treasure hunt, the game utilizes the DS’s wi-fi compatibility to latch onto new wi-fi signals. As you collect more signals and, therefore, more stardust and unique items, you get closer and closer to powering your mystical friends’ ship. This is the entire premise of the game; to walk around the real world and attempt to locate more unique signals in order to have the game’s spaceship return to the stars. It’s almost like a real-world treasure hunt (hence the name of the game).

It sounds simple, right? But when you add in that the collectibles can be used to make original musical compositions, the items can be used to help “disguise” your robot friend, and you can trade items with others who own the game, the game gets a new layer of depth that immediately made me think of the Pokémon series’ original catch phrase, “Gotta Catch’em All!”

After finding enough stardust, the mystical being blasts back off to the sky, but leaves his robot friend behind to help you continue to explore their digital universe (and your real one) as you attempt to collect all of the more than 2,600 items available via trade, stardust purchase, and random exploration.

The game isn’t going to blow you away in terms of looks or plot, but solely on the gimmick of the real-world interaction that the game revolves around. It is a solid premise and it will keep you entertained for a good amount of time as you carry your DS around, knowing that with every step you take you could be getting closer and closer to completing your collection. The game also includes a great safety feature in that you can actually close the DS and put it in your pocket as you travel and it will still collect items and signals. This way, you don’t have to worry about walking into lampposts as you try to collect more items.

Another nice feature that really appeals to the social aspects of the game is the ability to go online and trade codes you find for some of the more rare items in the game, as well as the ability to trade with friends via the DS’s already preeminent wi-fi capabilities.

Unfortunately, most people don’t have the means or the opportunity to just randomly explore and try to collect wi-fi signals in order to beat a video game so once you’ve gone through your daily routine for a few days, the game really loses its luster and appeal as you walk by the same wi-fi signals. This is especially difficult if you’re a child, who is the main target audience for the game, and you rely on your parents as your main source of transportation. Even if you’re out riding your bike, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find 2,600 wi-fi signals.

It’s pretty difficult, too, if you live in a more rural area where the wi-fi signals are fewer due to it being a less populated area. I walked around New York City and found half the treasures in the game in a single day of exploration. I don’t think someone in Omaha, Nebraska, would have the same ease in tracking down signals.

Still though, the collection and trade aspects and, as Nintendo has proven with the Wii, real-life interaction gimmicks are big nowadays, so this game is a solid pickup if you’re looking for something to keep your Nintendo DS warm for a while.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.0: The visual aspect isn’t going to be the selling point for this game since you can spend most of your time playing the game with the DS closed. When you do look at the screen though, the graphics are average.

Audio: 9.0: An enjoyable, simple melody serves as the theme for the game and with solid SFX, so you can’t complain about the audio. The aspect that boosts this score, though, is that different items also represent different notes and you can compose your own, more varied music as you collect more items, a la old school, Mario Paint style.

Plot/Plot Development: 3.0: A friendly alien ship crash lands in your backyard and you walk around in the real world in order to fill up its fuel tank so it can blast off again. Obviously, plot was not a big consideration when making this game.

Gameplay: 5.0: This was difficult for me to score because there really isn’t a lot of “playing” going on in the game. The game is glitch-less, which is nice, but most of the game really is just you walking around the real world. So, in good conscience, I couldn’t give it a passing score.

Replay Value: 10.0: One of the major selling points is trying to collect all 2,600 treasures, and that reason alone is enough to give this a phenomenal replay score.

Overall (not an average): 7.0: The social aspects required to trade online and/or in person are nice, but not enough to make this a must-have title. What makes the game so interesting is the avatar customization and the gimmick of walking around trying to collect wi-fi signals like you are on a real-world treasure hunt, and considering there are 2,600 treasures to find, if you really want, you can devote a lot of time to this game.

Treasure World is out now for the Nintendo DS.

-Ray Carsillo

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June Swoon – June Video Game Sales

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Originally Published: July 17, 2009, on Examiner.com

Being an admitted geek, things like charts and numbers and tables always make me smile a little, especially when tracking things like video game software sales. It’s a great way to see how your favorite systems are doing and which third party developers are hot at the moment.

Being the Xbox 360 Examiner, I will focus on the Xbox games in terms of analysis, but will give the entire list of top 10 in terms of software sales in terms of both worldwide sales and United States sales.

The June month time period is measured from May 31st through to June 27th and further information can be found at http://www.vgchartz.com

Worldwide Sales:
1. Wii – Wii Fit – Nintendo – 745,576
2. Wii – Wii Sports – Nintendo – 691,255
3. Wii – EA Sports Active – Electronic Arts – 587,434
4. Xbox 360 – Prototype – Activision – 526,434
5. DS – Pokémon Platinum – Nintendo – 459,899
6. Xbox 360 – UFC 2009 Undisputed – THQ – 412,482
7. Xbox 360 – Red Faction: Guerilla – THQ – 382,115
8. Wii – Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo – 356,149
9. Wii – Wii Sports Resort – Nintendo – 349,411
10. PS3 – Prototype – Activision – 345,388

United States Sales:
1. Wii – Wii Fit – Nintendo – 387,170
2. Xbox 360 – Prototype – THQ – 358,515
3. Wii – Wii Sports – Nintendo – 339,350
4. Wii – EA Sports Active – Electronic Arts – 339,138
5. Xbox 360 – UFC 2009 Undisputed – THQ – 312,410
6. Xbox 360 – Fight Night Round 4 – Electronic Arts – 268,942
7. Xbox 360 – Red Faction: Guerilla – THQ – 237,754
8. Wii – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 – Electronic Arts – 208,010
9. Xbox 360 – Ghostbusters: The Video Game – Atari – 188,923
10. PS3 – Prototype – Activision – 185,692

This short list provides countless amounts of information. First off, Nintendo’s worldwide dominance is still clearly evident with having not only six of the top 10 titles worldwide (5 Wii, 1 DS), but five of those six are all first party published, which means Nintendo is just raking in the profits on the worldwide market.

Xbox 360 is making a nice showing, though, by having three of the top 10. Microsoft has to be pleased considering its poor influence overseas, especially in Japan.

This poor overseas influence I speak of can be seen most clearly by comparing the United States list with the Worldwide list. Even though Nintendo and the Wii still have the top spot in the US, it’s a much closer deficit between one and two and on this list an Xbox 360 game is listed as number two.

Aside from having the second best selling game, Xbox 360 has five of the top 10 slots compared to four for the Wii showing that Xbox 360 is competing very well in the United States with the Wii right now and if Xbox 360 could take a larger chunk out of the worldwide market, which seems to be trending towards all these workout games, then it could make a case for the top spot that Nintendo has held since the Wii’s release.

A consistent sales trend showing a continued pattern towards workout games might make Microsoft want to push harder for Project NATAL to become a reality a little sooner than first planned. If a workout game is what the people want, then the tools and means to have a workout game is what the people should get.

In terms of total software sales in the United States for June, even though the Wii had three of the top five, Xbox 360 sold 92,876 more total software units in the top 10.

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Take Me to Your Leader

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Originally Published: July 13, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Collider.com

During Nintendo’s press conference at this year’s E3, the Nintendo brass revealed an interesting statistic: 60% of all American households still do not have any home console whatsoever. After making pledges to wage their own personal war against this statistic (in much nicer terms since it is Nintendo) by promising more games to appeal to the casual gamer, they also said that they were afraid of isolating their hardcore audience (guess the Wii’s gimmick is finally wearing off).

To appeal to the hardcore gamer, Nintendo showcased games from third-party developers like Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Measures (both published by Ubisoft) and a decent selection from SEGA.

The presentation by SEGA was surprising since many associate them with the now-tired and mediocre-at-best Sonic the Hedgehog series. Following the release of the solid hit Madworld (a Running Man meets Sin City gore-fest exclusive for the Wii), many felt that SEGA was ready to re-stake a claim as a strong third-party developer. With that in mind, I give you SEGA’s newest exclusive title for the Wii: The Conduit.

In The Conduit, you play as Michael Ford, an agent for a secret government organization known as “The Trust” tasked with keeping the world at peace while protecting America’s interests. You begin by following the orders of your shadowy leader, John Adams, as you attempt to retrieve stolen technology by a terrorist known only as “Prometheus”. As you explore the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, you begin to uncover a conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of government and involves a lot more than an experimental piece of technology.

In a decision that will change your life and the fate of a nation, you befriend Prometheus as you realize that Adams has his own agenda and that the stolen technology is not of earthly origin. Now, you must wage a one-man war against your government as you try to single-handedly prevent an alien invasion that would spell the fall of life as we know it.

With a game that had as much hype and potential as this one, it’s no surprise that it fell short. It is a surprise, though, that it did not even come close to what was expected of it. As the only true first-person shooter for the Wii, it would have been difficult for hardcore gamers who play the Wii (is that an oxymoron?) to not be satisfied with this game but this game disappoints on every level.

The story had potential, but as it unfolds, it looks and feels like a Perfect Dark rip-off from the N64. It’s a first-person shooter, has government agents, alien invasion, crazy technology, you befriending an enemy, and your friends becoming enemies; an original storyline would have been appreciated.

The game also looked like something from two console-generations ago. Horrible enemy models with environments that looked like amorphous blobs painted on a canvas combine to make this one of the worst looking games to come out in years. I understand the Wii does not have the graphics power of the other consoles, but I’ve seen it do so much better than this.

The music sets a good feel and pace for the game and the sound effects work, but the voice acting is abysmal. Even with Kevin Sorbo (star of the television hit Hercules) as Prometheus (interesting that he is best-known for a Greek demi-god and his character is named after a Greek god), the voice acting is over-the-top to the point of utter absurdity.

Aside from being one of the few first-person shooters for the Wii (namely Metroid Prime 3 and Red Steel with everything else worth mentioning really being a rail-shooter), the other appeal for the game was the most highly-touted multiplayer for Wii since Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This is something that would compare to the best of the best on other systems as it allows up to 12 players to play.

This feature may be one of the few saving graces because it reminds me of the old game: Goldeneye (arguably the greatest multiplayer game ever). Unfortunately, with quickly depleted health bars and a horribly-long lobby-load time leaves this needing more polish to be ranked up there with a classic like Goldeneye or modern marvels like Gears of War or Halo.

When all is said and done, this is a short game (8-10 hours of gameplay max) that seems to have been thrown together with spare parts from other games two generations ago. If this is Nintendo’s best effort for hardcore gamers, maybe they’ve accidentally figured out the reason why 60% of people don’t own a home console.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 3.0: I can’t remember giving a game this bad a graphics rating, mainly because the game looks like something from two generations ago. I actually forgot what polygons were until I saw this game. It’s a current generation abomination.

Audio: 6.0: Solid SFX and a catchy soundtrack lay a decent audio foundation, but the instant a character opens its pixilated mouth, the entire experience goes down the toilet. Horrible voice-acting all around drops this score below passable marks.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: An old, tired plot that has already been done before and done better at that. The story flows at a break-neck pace that also affects the length of the game itself and gives you the feel that SEGA just had spare parts lying around and wrapped it around an alien-invasion story.

Gameplay: 5.0: The game has slow, unresponsive controls, enemy A.I. permanently set to cannon-fodder, and only 8-10 hours of gameplay. Then again, maybe only 8-10 hours was more of an act of mercy than anything.

Replay Value: 8.0: There is a decent amount of collectibles, achievements, and unlockables that if you are a diehard completionist, it will have enough to bring you back for a second or third playthrough. Add in a multiplayer mode that clearly takes up most of the system’s processing power, even if it still responds poorly after doing so, and you have enough that, if you actually enjoyed this game, you would play it again.

Overall (not an average): 3.0: Aside from the multiplayer mode, this is one of the worst games of the year. It looks like something from 10 years ago that they forgot to touch up before releasing it for the Wii. Avoid The Conduit at all costs.

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To Be A Kid Again

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Originally Published: July 6, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

With steroids, luxury taxes, and overpaid, under appreciative players usually being what people first think of when they think of modern baseball, it is easy to forget the beauty in the simplicity of this child’s game.

When people think of baseball games for the Wii, they usually think of glitchy, unresponsive, second-rate games that don’t compare to other systems’ exclusive franchises.

Both of these problems are solved with Activision’s Little League World Series 2009 for the Nintendo Wii and DS.

Little League World Series 2009 allows you to take control of an already established little league team, or create your own, and try to guide a young group of dreamers to a title run in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

If you choose to take a pre-loaded team, you can choose from teams from 16 different regions: eight American and eight from the rest of the world.

If you choose to create your own team, you can customize everything from the state or country your team hails from to the color of your catcher’s mitt. Batting stances, equipment brands, hair, eyes, and more are all customizable to the point where you’ll feel like you were playing with the little league team you played for when you were 12 years old.

After selecting your team, you can then take them through the extensive World Series mode as you can go from the regional championships all the way to Williamsport. This is a much more difficult task than it sounds due to the fact that it is round-robin play meaning it is one-and-done for your team if you lose.

To try to help stack the odds in your favor, the game does include two things that can make your team more competitive against the top-tier squads. First, depending on how well your team performs, you can earn attribute points to assign to your players after each game. A little extra juice on your starting pitcher’s fastball or a little more pop from your second baseman could be the difference between a stalled run in the regional tournament and immortality.

The second helpful feature harkens back to the old days of the Madden football games. Stellar performances can earn you special trading cards that can be played in the middle of a game to boost your stats or diminish your opponent’s. Having trouble running the bases? Play a card to boost your team speed for an inning. Need that fly ball to sail over the wall? Play a card to boost your power for an at-bat. This old-school, sports-game feature is a nice addition and will surely change the tide of a game if played properly.

In addition to the World Series mode, there are also a plethora of mini-games and the standard exhibition mode if you want to play a friend in a Midwest versus Mid-Atlantic grudge match.

After playing through a couple of tournaments, I can say that if you only have a Wii, this isn’t a bad way to get your baseball fix, considering your only other option is the abysmal MLB2K9. The controls are simple, but respond well to the Wiimote. If you’re more comfortable using both hands while playing your games, Little League World Series 2009 is also classic controller compatible.

When it comes down to it, if you are looking for just a pure, fun baseball experience on the Wii, this game is probably your best bet. Fun mini-games, a competitive A.I., and none of the superfluous trimmings that usually come with the pro-based games leave this as possibly the best baseball game on the system. Plus, who wouldn’t want to pretend to be a kid again?

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 6.5: The cartoony look will turn a lot of people off because it looks like another game for the Wii that is meant to appeal to only younger players. The vibrant colors and over the top animations do play well and without a glitch, but I think a lot of people would prefer a more serious looking game.

Audio: 8.0: The clang of the aluminum bat and the snap of the catcher’s glove after pouring in a great fastball over the outside corner are sweet sounds to hear that define Little League baseball. Add in Gary Thorne and Brent Musberger for authentic play-by-play and the only thing the audio lacks is a decent soundtrack.

Plot/Plot Development: N/A: It’s a sports simulation.

Gameplay: 8.0: If you play the game without any assists, the fielding can be a bit difficult if you aren’t used to playing with just the Wiimote, but with the game being classic-controller-compatible, it provides a way to remedy this problem. The pitching system could also use a little tweaking since there is a minimum of control over where you can aim the pitch. Otherwise this is a solid baseball game in terms of controls.

Replay Value: 7.5: No online capability is a serious downside for this game, but it is compatible for up to four players offline and has an abundance of mini-games and collectibles to keep you coming back for more.

Overall: 8.0: Considering all of the other options there are out there for the Wii, this is probably your best baseball bet. With the combination of solid controls, good atmosphere, and an authentic feel from professional play-by-play, you have an enjoyable experience on your hands. It could use online capability, less cartoony graphics, and just a little more overall refinement, but otherwise this would be a great pick up for the entire family or any pure baseball fan.

Little League World Series 2009 is out now for the Nintendo Wii and DS.

-Ray Carsillo

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The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny?

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April 19, 2010

Originally Published: June 20, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

When I saw Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball for the Nintendo Wii, I didn’t think much of it. Then I started to analyze the concept. Some of the most revered character genres in all of creation are being combined into one game. Pirates, ninjas, robots, aliens, monsters, and more are meeting in one of the most-fun games you’ve ever participated in on the playground. This game had a premise of what could be an instant classic. So, what have I learned after playing it? Always trust your first instinct.

Although a winning concept, Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball is really nothing more than a glorified mini-game. The story mode lacks any real depth beyond a handful of text prompts before each match as you battle your way through various scenarios set before you. These scenes are possibly humorous to a small child, however, the text story is droll and predictable to anyone out of pre-school.

The graphics are typical of the Wii with their cartoony goodness, but there aren’t many details to drool over visually because of the overhead observational view of the dodgeball court. Even then the court is rather bland and leaves you wanting more.

On top of lackluster visuals, the audio is dull at best. No voice acting whatsoever and cheesy music and sound effects leave any hardcore gamer just shaking their head.

The gameplay was beyond simple and the inclusion of a homing-shot targeting-system left the game to be no challenge whatsoever. It was nice to see each group of characters have special powers to help delay your opponents, but instead of a dodgeball match, the powers help it de-evolve into what might have been a cooler game, actual pirates versus ninjas.

There isn’t much to bring you to this game a first time, never mind for repeat playthroughs, but at least there a few nice versus options if you can convince a friend to play with you. Other than that though, this game is an instant bargain bin offering and will only appeal to much younger, beginning players, if anyone at all.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 4.0: A lack of details on the court, cut scenes, and an overall emphasis on the cartoony look leaves you looking for more from the looks of this game.

Audio: 2.0: Bad sound effects and worse music, coupled with no voice acting, just shows the lack of production value given to this title.

Plot/Plot Development: 2.0: Text-driven prompts usually, only between two characters, poorly develops a lackluster pseudo-rivalry between all these of fictional fan-favorites. This is just another clear sign of poor-production values.

Gameplay: 2.0: No difficulty whatsoever and an emphasis on powers leave a lot to be desired from the gameplay. To say the game is chaotic and unsatisfying is like only saying the Red Sox and Yankees have a rivalry.

Replay Value: 5.0: If you should get this game and can convince someone to play with you, you might actually find the one, barely-redeeming quality of the game. There are several different versions of dodgeball that may get your more competitive side to emerge. However, there is nothing to bring you back to the story mode.

Overall: 1.0 (not an average): Unfortunately, this makes my list of some of the worst games ever made. The worst part of this awful game is the wasted potential. This game could have been very good, I don’t know if there was a lack of funding or a true development team, but the lack of production values and creativity leaves this game a bitter disappointment. Follow your gut when you look at this game and avoid it.

Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball for Wii is out now, probably at the bottom of the bargain bin, if you’re looking to waste a few dollars.

-Ray Carsillo

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Little Mac Comes Up Big for the Wii

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Originally Published: May 21, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

It started as an arcade game all the way back in 1984. It then invaded homes in 1987 riding some star power with Mike Tyson for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A sequel five years later for the Super Nintendo continued the game’s popularity even after distancing itself from Mr. Tyson and his legal problems. And then…we waited.

Now, after a 15-year hiatus, after throngs of fans screamed for a sequel, and after Nintendo came out with the perfect system for boxing video games, Punch-Out!! has finally returned to our home consoles.

Donning the green gloves of everyone’s favorite video game underdog pugilist with the big heart, Little Mac, and taking the odd words of advice from his trainer Doc in stride, (“There are many ways to eat chocolate, but only one way to eat a chocolate bar,”…thanks Doc.), you return to the ring once more to attempt to become the WVGA’s (World Video Game Association?) greatest boxer.

The control system is solid and with three ways to play, it gives you plenty of options. You can use the Wii Balance Board to duck and dodge while swinging the controls to punch if you want more of a workout. If you are a little less coordinated (like yours truly), you might want to just swing your arms and use the control stick on the Nunchuck to duck and dodge. And for others who might not feel like swinging their arms around for three rounds at a time, you can turn the Wiimote around and use the classic controls from the NES. These controller options, along with minimal lag in the control sensors and the over-the-top nostalgia factor, and the gameplay is even more fun than it was 15 years ago.

The graphics are superb. The cel-shaded visuals and the new cut scenes introducing each opponent and giving some depth to all the characters and plot are a great touch. The revamped original soundtrack along with original and brand new SFX will have you flashing back to 1987 in no time.

The best part of the game though is all the extras that have been added to the game to flesh it out because a straight remake would not be worth $50, no matter how strong the nostalgia factor is. Along with being almost as difficult as the original (curse you Piston Honda and Bald Bull!), there is a new title defense mode after you beat the game the first time. You have to attempt to defeat each boxer all over again as they have been training long and hard after you pummeled them on your way to the top. Even Glass Joe isn’t a pushover anymore due to some interesting new headgear on the second time around.

Add in challenges to help motivate you to try exhibition mode, a practice mode if you don’t want to tarnish your record as you attempt to figure out each boxer’s patterns, and a VS. mode for the first time in the franchise’s history and you have enough here to easily keep you coming back for more since the initial playthrough shouldn’t take you more than five hours for even the worst of gamers.

With many of the old favorite foes from the first two home editions being brought back, along with one new boxer added to round out a nice baker’s dozen for the stable of competition, a revamped edition of the original soundtrack, and the classic controls being implemented in brand new ways, and all the pieces are in play to make Punch-Out!! for the Wii a knockout.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 8.0: Since cartoony, cel-shaded graphics seem to be the Wii’s staple now, it’s no surprise to see this game chock full of them. On that note, they look beautiful and I think they work perfectly for Punch-Out!! If you want realism, Fight Night Round 4 will be out in a month.

Audio: 9.0: The original soundtrack has been completely revamped and sounds great. Mix that in with some of the original NES SFX when throwing your punches and the game does not disappoint in terms of sound, even if it does get a little repetitive after a while.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.0: It’s the same plot as in every boxing game: no-name underdog fights his way up the ranks to glory. The only difference with this game that gives it a passing grade is there are short cut scenes that flesh out the history and nuances of the boxers you go against which no other boxing game does. It’s a nice change to see a game, even a cartoony one, give some depth to not only your boxer, but the boxers you have to fight as well.

Gameplay: 9.0: A minimum of glitches, considering the amount of motion control this game relies on, gives this a great score. Add that to difficulty reminiscent of a NES original and you have a great experience on your hands.

Replay Value: 7.5: I don’t see devoting more than 10 hours to this on the first couple of playthroughs, but that nostalgia factor coupled with a VS. mode will probably keep you coming back to it somewhere down the line just to relive the one hit KOs of Glass Joe and realize how far we’ve come.

Overall: 8.5 (not an average): When it comes down to it, this game is fun for all ages. The cartoony graphics appeal to younger audiences while the gameplay and characters strike a cord of nostalgia with us older gamers that you just can’t replicate. Why it took this long to come out with a sequel is beyond me, but now that it is here, it will stay warm in my system for a long time.

Punch-Out!! is available now exclusively for the Wii.


-Ray Carsillo

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Played on the 4th of July

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April 18, 2010

Originally Published: March 29, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

When I first got my hands on Big Bang Mini (created by Arkedo and brought to you by SouthPeak Games for Nintendo DS) I was pleasantly surprised. I had in my head that the game would be some sort of Space Invaders knock-off with brighter colors and fireworks from what I had seen and heard of it. Oh, I could not have been more wrong.

Although simple in design, it more than makes up for its lack of depth with non-stop, straight-shooting fun and addictive mayhem; I couldn’t put this game down! If you’re strapped for cash and need something to eat up some battery life on your DS, Big Bang Mini is a solid choice at only $19.99. If you’re anything like me, by the time you’re three stages in, you’ll be pleasantly surprised as you will be completely hooked.

You’re given a ship and the objective of the game is to shoot fireworks at enemies to blow them out of the sky and then collect the stars they drop to advance through the levels. However, it’s not as simple as it may seem; as your missed shots explode and the debris from their ensuing explosions are just as dangerous as enemy fire to your avatar. Not much of a plot, I know, but the game more than makes up for it in gameplay.

The controls are simple yet add a degree of difficulty you don’t find in most of these retro arcade-style shooters. To shoot your fireworks you simply drag the DS’s stylus over the screen to fire in all different directions. To move your ship, you also need to use the stylus to drag your ship around the screen to avoid enemy fire. This lends itself to you only being able to do one thing at a time, dodge or fire, and you can’t advance through the stages by just dodging.

It is difficult at first, but it soon becomes second nature as you develop the necessary balance to start flying and firing all over the screen. This balance gives the gameplay a nice level of difficulty; it’s not impossible, but not a cake walk either. Add in interesting special level-specific powers (usually shields or enemy weapon nullifiers) and a couple of permanent upgrades (homing missiles, stronger fireballs) and what started as a simple Space Invaders or Asteroids-like shooter because a fully fleshed out modern game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Aesthetically the graphics are simple compared to what the DS has shown it can support, but they get the job done. The vibrant colors and themes of each level are a nice change from the dull monotonous palettes in most games nowadays. Each level has its own specific theme and most work well. From the bottom of the ocean, to a snowy mountaintop, to Hong Kong and New York City, the levels are different enough from each other to hold your attention relatively well throughout the game.

The music, on the other hand, is uninspired and the SFX become repetitive to the point where you’ll end up playing most of the time with the volume on your DS off and your iPod on in its place.

There are 90 stages over nine levels, each with its own unique devices to help you or hinder you over the course of the game. If you survive all 90 levels, then you can unlock a Mission Mode that notches up the difficulty even more for hardcore gamers. Add in some other secondary modes (setting high scores, versus, etc.) to flesh out the game and it has enough content to keep you coming back for a long time. Space Invaders…what was I thinking?

Ratings are based on a system of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 6.5: The graphics are solid, but nothing spectacular, especially with the DS’s capabilities. I enjoy bright colors just as much as anyone else, (“The colors Duke, the colors!” You know it’s a good commercial if you’re quoting it a decade later. Kudos to the Popsicle people.) but it takes a lot more than that to impress me graphically. Barely average.

Audio: 5.0: The music is original, but along with the SFX, gets very repetitive very quickly. By the time you get to the 4th or 5th stage of each level, you’re turning off the DS’s volume and plugging in your iPod. Points for originality and that’s it.

Plot/Plot Development: 1.0: You fly, you fire, you dodge, and you blow stuff up. There isn’t anything else to this in terms of plot so I can’t give it a good score.

Gameplay: 9.0: This game more than makes up for the poor score in plot in gameplay. Challenging, yet still fun, this game gives you hours of solid gaming as you blast your way through nine completely different levels with a variety of powers and abilities to help you on your way. Add in several different modes of play and you’ve got a game that will eat up your time like a fat chick shoveling food down at a Chinese buffet.

Replay Value: 8.0: Lots of levels, lots of modes, lots of fun. This will keep you coming back for more for a long while until you beat every level and every extra mission. Or until your battery dies. Whichever comes first (probably the battery).

Overall (not an average): 7.5: A lack of plot aside, this is in the same vein as all the classic arcade shooters. Add in the different take on the control scheme and you’ve got a really solid shooter. Not spectacular, but solid, and for $19.99 it’s a great way to spend some free time.

Big Bang Mini is available now for Nintendo DS.

-Ray Carsillo

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