Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
Boy, that Guitar Hero franchise really sucks, huh? If there were ever a set of games that were a complete and utter waste of time, it's these. Luckily, Guitar Hero III changes everything.
No, wait. We have that all wrong. Guitar Hero is unconditionally awesome, and we can expect nothing less from the latest and soon to be greatest version -- especially when we're playing it on the Wii. 1UP recently took a look at all three next-gen versions of Guitar Hero III and reported back improvements across the board, particularly in regard to the guitar peripheral. From buttons to accelerometer, the guitars seem to have gotten a major overhaul, and longtime fans of the series will find their frustrations with past versions fading away. The Wii controller offers up a tiny bonus, as well; the Wii remote speaker outputs, as as 1UP's Garnett Lee accurately puts it, "the ugly guitar string twang" that sounds when players miss a note. Not only is that more accurate -- such sounds should come from your guitar, after all -- but in multiplayer situations, when you're strumming along with no problems and your buddy can't seem to find his butt from the strum bar, you're less likely to be distracted by his mistakes.
All in all, it seems that Guitar Hero III is taking the franchise to a whole new level and getting closer to simulating actual guitar play without involving actual guitars.
Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.
Ever since the motion sensing ability of the Wiimote was revealed, Star Wars fans have been pleading for a game that would let them live out their Jedi fantasies, swinging the Wiimote in command of an onscreen light saber. Well, Lucasarts recently announced that the Wii will be getting a version of the multiplatform title, The Force Unleashed, a game that's expected to fulfill all your fantasies of being an power-infused enforcer with a luminous sword.
But Lucas & Co. haven't always given us just what we want. In 1999 they released the first chapter of the long-awaited Star Wars prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace, to an audience that was expecting something more, well ... Star Wars-y. Jar Jar, midichlorians, and a pre-pubescent, mop-topped future-fascist didn't quite make for the hit we were hoping for, and the most exciting moment in the film was not a war or a fight scene, but a race. Lucasarts seemed to agree and developed a game based around that scene (albeit, filled out with more tracks and worlds). In this week's Revolutionary, we'll be using GlovePIE to see if the Wiimote and Nunchuk can keep up with the Jedi-like reflexes you'll need to stay in the lead in Star Wars: Episode I Racer.
Nintendo announced that all new Wii systems, Wii Remotes and Wii Playbundles will now come packaged with one of these cushy-looking Wii Remote Jackets. The new bundles are shipping out today, and expected in stores by the 15th. (Side note: expect Wiis in stores on the 15th?) The design of the things completely kills the simple aesthetic Nintendo was going for with the Wiimote, while really driving home the feeling of safety with the enormous padded helmet on the top of the controller.
If you don't want to buy a new Wii or Wiimote just for one of these, then you can get up to four free from Nintendo. North American customers can order them online or call 1-866-431-8367; Japanese customers fill out the form here; and Australian Wii owners call (03) 9730 9822. We're sure there will be an option for Europe as well, but Nintendo of Europe has yet to provide the information.
This news comes just three days before the release date of the NERF Wiimote sleeve. That's a shame. A shame that results in big savings for you!
After we said, uh, things about some of HeroGear's Wii Guitar Hero controller skins, we weren't sure we wanted to open the email we received from them. But rather than scream at us, they took the high road and sent us some more images of new controller skins. They did an even better job of shutting us up than any threat would have; the skins look great and entirely guitar-like!
Red Burst up there looks like something we'd expect to see on a fancy PRS guitar, for example. The rest of them are all delightfully classic, with the exception of Diamond Plate, which is totally metal. Jem from HeroGear promises that their full line of "50+ designs" will be available for the Wii guitar soon after launch. So if you want to put a thin, clingy sheet of stuff over your controller, this is an option. It'll look cooler than Saran Wrap, anyway.
Some people are all in favor of the Zapper, as we discussed this morning, but Game|Life's Chris Kohler is not among them ... at least, not when it comes to Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. After trying the game several times, he has consistently found that the Zapper is less optimal for this game than the simple naked combination of the Wii remote and nunchuk. At TGS, he was playing co-op with a freelancer who was even excited about the Zapper and its potential with the game. He played without, and she played with -- and halfway through, they switched.
Once finished, he asked her which she preferred ... and she agreed with him. The Zapper may end up being great for other games, but in Umbrella Chronicles, it seems to make actions ungainly rather than precise, particularly when one has to reload or pick up objects.
This makes us doubly interested in seeing how the shell affects other games, like the pack-in Link's Crossbow Training, but for now, we think we may just stick to the remote and nunchuk. After all, the remote is a pointing device all on its own, and we've seen just how fantastic it can be for shooting.
Here's rule one about owning pets: if you allow them to chew on or scratch one type of thing, they're often going to think similar materials are fair game. Give a cat one of those carpet-covered scratching posts? Sure, lots of us do it, but it's hard to be mad at them when later you find them sharpening their claws in the middle of the dining room rug. The similar nubby texture gets them every time. So it shouldn't be much of a surprise what happened to the Labrador one Colorado family allowed to chew on an old television remote. Not only did the dog eat it, but once that was down, he turned on the next remote-like object in his sights: a Wii remote.
Which he swallowed whole.
The poor pooch started spitting up blood, and once at the vet, vomited up bits of the original remote ... but there was still a mass in his stomach visible on an X-ray. It was only then that the Wiimote-swallowing was revealed. Luckily, the dog was able to expel the controller after having his tummy massaged, and he's just fine after an overnight stay at the doctor.
The Wii in question belonged to the family's son, who was punished for leaving the controller out where the dog could get to it ... but who's going to punish everyone else for allowing the dog to chew on electronics in the first place? Sharp plastic bits probably don't digest so well, after all.
On the lighter side, now we all have an excuse to tell jokes about the horrors of dogs chewing on your Wii.
Along with releasing a boxart preview of its upcoming Wii Zapper (due 11/19/07), Nintendo also shed some light on its bundled game, Link's Crossbow Training, earlier today. The shooter will have 27 stages in total over three different modes -- Target Shooting, Defender, and Ranger -- all of them multiplayer, but played one at a time.
Target Shooting plays as expected, asking you to hit bull's-eyes as they pop up and move around the screen. Defender pits you against a variety of enemies charging towards you from all directions; you can to aim off screen to turn Link and face your attackers. While playing in the Ranger mode, you can actually move Link by using the nunchuck's control stick, exploring and fighting your way through the different missions.
Blast past the post break for close-up shots of the Wii Zapper logo and the Link's Crossbow Training bit.
Analyzing NPD numbers, it's come to light that those who've purchased a Wii own an average of 2.2 Wiimotes. Personally, we were content with just two Wiimotes when we got our own system. What's weird, though, is that only around 21% of the Wiimotes sold come with Wii Play, while around 34% were purchased just as the base accessory.
Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.
When I first tested my balance board, I was in a bit of a hurry to find a suitable game with which to demonstrate it. I found a demo for a snowboarding game called Stoked Rider, but in my haste, I failed to realize that this was the long-outdated original version, and there had since been a sequel entitled Stoked Rider: Alaska Alien. Sporting far better graphics, and a more advanced gameplay engine which encorporates detailed physics, it seemed like it could give me reason enough to dust off the balance board and see what more could be done with it.
One of our problems with Nintendo's official Classic Controller is how it has to be plugged into the Wiimote to be used. It's not that big of a deal, but sometimes the cord can become a nuisance. Thankfully, third-party manufacturer (and ridiculously-named company) Thrustmaster have devised the wireless solution you see above. Sure, it may not be much to look at, but at least there aren't any wires.
To connect the controller to the Wii, you'll have to plug an adapter into one of the GameCube ports on top of the console. We suspect that won't be an issue with most of you, as we're certain you (like us) already have a few WaveBird adapters plugged in up there. And, to add even more appeal to the thing, it'll only retail for $19.99, the same cost as Nintendo's official solution.
We'll have to wait until the thing releases to see, but we're pretty sure that Nintendo's controller will end up winning in the end based on feel alone. That thing looks bulky.
Brando's latest accessory beats Nintendo to the punch, copying the official Zapper's submachine-gun design and allowing users to detach the nunchuck handle from its pistol shell. The 2-in-1 Combined Light Gun is a bit expensive at $18.00, and it doesn't come bundled with anything like Link's Crossbow Training, but it's still a pretty slick idea. Bring your complaints about gun-shaped controllers past the post break for more watermarked photos of the plastic pistol.
We here at Wii Fanboy may have mixed feelings about the Wii Zapper, but there's one thing that we're pretty sure none of us has thought about: its potential in training children to becoming ultimate killing machines. Apparently, however, that's exactly what some people are thinking upon seeing different versions of the lightgun-like setup. The New Jersey Star-Ledger's Parental Guidance blog's most recent Question of the Week centered around the attachment, and it seems to have some folks alarmed. One commenter said, "I think it's irresponsible for Wii to come out with a controller that looks like a gun so kids can play games simulating shooting. What kind of message are we sending as parents when we buy these things for our kids?"
What we didn't see was any mention of previous lightguns -- like, say, the one for the NES -- or laser tag, or paintball, or any other item that might involve simulated gunplay. Instead, we see a lot of mention of children and guns, and while we don't know the rating yet on the accessory's pack-in title, Link's Crossbow Training, the other games slated for use with the Wii Zapper are (or probably will be) rated Teen or Mature. Last time we checked, that meant they weren't for children.
We know it's hard for some people to separate the idea of video games and children, but considering the vast (and ever-increasing) number of adult gamers, we can only hope that eventually, the outspoken, uneducated nongaming minority will realize that not all video games and accessories are for kids. We might also add the neither the NES zapper nor the existence of paintball have thus far destroyed the world, but we'll keep an eye for signs of the apocalypse.
Guitar Hero "skin" purveyor HeroGear.net has released images of their skins for Guitar Hero III controllers, including two made for the Wii guitar. The first, seen above, doesn't do a lot to aid the illusion that the squeaky plastic controller is a real guitar, since guitars tend to have paint jobs that look like they could be made of paint (and usually only on the body.) The pattern is called "Neon Blocks" and we have no idea what the idea is there.
The other Wii skin, Neon Rebel, is ideal for either Lynyrd Skynyrd superfans or people who love uncomfortable conversations. Really, it's best for people who fall into both categories.
Japanese site Game Watch got a hold of Hori's Fighting Stick Wii, posting photos of the arcade controller out of its box and in use at their office. They might as well have put up pictures of themselves caressing its white casing, smirking at the camera with a "you wish your life was as good as ours" look, shirt half unbuttoned to suggest the night ahead, for all the jealousy they've aroused in us. Quarter circle forward past the post break break to see a couple of those images.
The Wii remote dangling off of the arcade stick, unfortunately, isn't very attractive. We prefer not having to hook anything on for wireless controls, but we wouldn't have minded the Classic-Controller-styled setup if there was at least a way to unobtrusively attach the remote; it's not like there isn't any room inside the arcade stick's mostly empty shell.
If we could, we'd cut down on all the remotes we have lying around our family room and operate everything with our Wii Remote -- televisions, DVD players, our downward-spiraling lives, etc. -- but so far, the white wand hasn't been too useful outside of playing video games.
Mike Anderson's BlueTunes application adds an extra feature to the remote, allowing you to mess with the controls on media players like iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player. Once you've installed the program on your computer and detected the remote as a bluetooth device, you'll be able to execute a number of playback functions by either pushing the controller's buttons or waving it around.
Unfortunately, if you're like us and have a playlist filled with nothing but Bel Biv Devoe's "Poison," using an application like BlueTunes to change tracks wouldn't make much sense. Really, there's no reason why you should ever skip "Poison," unless, of course, you want to listen to more "Poison."
