Wii party Pt 2
Well, after reading Bethany's post over at GoNintendo.com, I'm a little hesitant to continue, but here it goes anyway.....
Looked just so-so, a direct port with the Wiimote functionality tacked on. you attack by swinging the Wiimote. i spent about 30 sec. on this game and ran back to Wii sports when i saw that the boxing game was going to be played.....
Just like all the other WarioWare games, this one was a zany-crazy game with hilarious minigames coming at you fast and furious. Most involved waving the Wiimote around or swinging it. and the driving minigame was like the Excite Truck driving. The game lets you know right before the game starts how you should hold the Wiimote, and the single word instructions ( SWIM!! JUMP!!! SHAKE!! DRIVE!!) are all the direction you need. most of the people playing this were having a ball and giggling like maniacs while playing. there were about 15 minigames, i guess the final game will have alot more......
After about 1 hour of gaming, the guys and gals from Nintendo bought in some deep-dish Chicago-style pizza and started to switch the games around. Excite Truck became Madden 07, Marvel Ultimate Alliance became Trauma Center: Under the Knife, and Warioware became Elebits.
I've sworn off Madden about 4 years ago, when it was clear that Sega's 2K series was the football game that was most appealing to me. ( yeah, i rented Madden o6 on the 360 for the achievements) So playing this was like picking up Madden all over again. after a almost 15 min (!!!) tutorial, i started a game with a chap named Frank and we advanced to the kickoff......
The Wiimote is used for most of the functions, except the actual player movement. you pull the Wiimote down to hike the ball, and choose a receiver on the wiimote ( crosspad, +,- , A, and B) and swing your arm to throw. the speed of your arm movement and the arc control the ball's speed and arc. so if you raise your arm above your head and simulate a lob, it translates pretty well in the game, just be ready for the interception. Fast, direct throws work better. the lead blocker stuff and other newer Madden features were just too complicated to get to work in the short time i had with the game ( it froze up twice and my brother was hogging it for most of the evening......dirty monkey...) . Again, the graphics were underwhelming, with ugly jaggies everywhere....another Gamecube port?????
I haven't played the DS Truama Center, but some of the guests that have said that it's almost an exact port of the DS game, with better graphics. I thought the game was very cool, with a urgent life-saving undercurrent. I played a section that has you cutting into the belly of some sick kid, and taking a tumor out of his stomach. This game was frustrating the hell out of my sister, who is a medical professional!!! The main problem that she (and I ) had was not knowing how to pickup and use the items ( scalpel, antiseptic, etc.) we kept trying to pick up what was already in our hands, i guess you just have to hold a direction of the tool on the nunchuck and use the Wiimote to use the item with the A button. after I got a hang of it, i was slicing and dicing that poor kid and got a B rating. it's a cool game, but if it's not any different than the DS version, what's the point??
Unfortunately this is the only game i didn't play, because the it was up for only a short amount of time, and so many people wanted to play it, when it was clear for a few minutes, i had my face stuffed with pizza!!!! yeah, now i feel bad, cuz it seems like it was a favorite for alot of people. All i can say about it is that the graphics were N64 fuzzy, but strangely, i don't think many people minded. the Elebits are cute in a Animal Crossing sort of way, and the zapping gameplay made me wish I had played it.. check out Bethany's thoughts on Elebits and Jeff's thoughts also....
While everyone was eating, Nintendo's people were going around giving everyone Wiimote key chains and coupons for free Wiimotes after they purchased the Wii. the way it works is you buy your Wii, send the coupon with a copy of your receipt, and you get your Wiimote mailed to you ..... very cool. Elebits was swapped out for Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, just cuz it was almost time to go, and i really wanted to see how it played....
this game has alot in common with Excite Truck, in that both games share a similar control style. you hold the Wiimote horizontally, and steer your character as if you're driving. The 2 button makes you jump and grind rails and different movements with the Wiimote activate tricks. You attack fellow skaters or pedestrians with the crosspad; this was quickly imitated by everyone. The graphics were so-so, with a weird pastel color palette that gave everything a fruity vibe. and my personal pet peeve that Excite Truck also had, the going from 50mph to a dead stop when you hit an invisible wall was also present. come to think of it, when you fall down in Tony Hawk, you have to shake the Wiimote to get up, just like if you crash in ExciteTruck........ Not impressed, if i had to choose, I'd take Excite Truck....
Well, at 10:00p.m. sharp, the screens were shut off, and the Wii party ended. We were thanked for coming out, and Nintendo's peeps let us out to return to the vans and take us back to the pickup point. As i left, i looked around one last time, and i thought about how lucky i was to get chosen to host the coolest gaming event of MY lifetime. I have to thank Catherine and Megan, who made a gamer's dream come true. They were the most helpful people ( and patient, with all the changes my guest list went through!!!) and i appreciate all their help from the bottom of my heart. thanks also go out to Brian from Nintendo, Gil and Sergio, with whom this never would have happened ( these two monkeys were the ones who convinced me to start a blog, instead of sending out 20 emails a day with gaming links) Bethany, Lara, Joel and Mike for not thinking I'm a creepy stalker and actually coming to the event, my family and all my friends, who were a sophisticated and classy bunch, and finally to my wife Sandra, who has put up with my non-stop babbling for the last 3 months. She's the most understanding woman i have ever met, and i feel like the luckiest guy in the world when I'm with her.
So that's it, besides the pics that are coming this week.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Looked just so-so, a direct port with the Wiimote functionality tacked on. you attack by swinging the Wiimote. i spent about 30 sec. on this game and ran back to Wii sports when i saw that the boxing game was going to be played.....
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Just like all the other WarioWare games, this one was a zany-crazy game with hilarious minigames coming at you fast and furious. Most involved waving the Wiimote around or swinging it. and the driving minigame was like the Excite Truck driving. The game lets you know right before the game starts how you should hold the Wiimote, and the single word instructions ( SWIM!! JUMP!!! SHAKE!! DRIVE!!) are all the direction you need. most of the people playing this were having a ball and giggling like maniacs while playing. there were about 15 minigames, i guess the final game will have alot more......
After about 1 hour of gaming, the guys and gals from Nintendo bought in some deep-dish Chicago-style pizza and started to switch the games around. Excite Truck became Madden 07, Marvel Ultimate Alliance became Trauma Center: Under the Knife, and Warioware became Elebits.
Madden '07
I've sworn off Madden about 4 years ago, when it was clear that Sega's 2K series was the football game that was most appealing to me. ( yeah, i rented Madden o6 on the 360 for the achievements) So playing this was like picking up Madden all over again. after a almost 15 min (!!!) tutorial, i started a game with a chap named Frank and we advanced to the kickoff......
The Wiimote is used for most of the functions, except the actual player movement. you pull the Wiimote down to hike the ball, and choose a receiver on the wiimote ( crosspad, +,- , A, and B) and swing your arm to throw. the speed of your arm movement and the arc control the ball's speed and arc. so if you raise your arm above your head and simulate a lob, it translates pretty well in the game, just be ready for the interception. Fast, direct throws work better. the lead blocker stuff and other newer Madden features were just too complicated to get to work in the short time i had with the game ( it froze up twice and my brother was hogging it for most of the evening......dirty monkey...) . Again, the graphics were underwhelming, with ugly jaggies everywhere....another Gamecube port?????
Trauma Center: Under The Knife
I haven't played the DS Truama Center, but some of the guests that have said that it's almost an exact port of the DS game, with better graphics. I thought the game was very cool, with a urgent life-saving undercurrent. I played a section that has you cutting into the belly of some sick kid, and taking a tumor out of his stomach. This game was frustrating the hell out of my sister, who is a medical professional!!! The main problem that she (and I ) had was not knowing how to pickup and use the items ( scalpel, antiseptic, etc.) we kept trying to pick up what was already in our hands, i guess you just have to hold a direction of the tool on the nunchuck and use the Wiimote to use the item with the A button. after I got a hang of it, i was slicing and dicing that poor kid and got a B rating. it's a cool game, but if it's not any different than the DS version, what's the point??
Elebits
Unfortunately this is the only game i didn't play, because the it was up for only a short amount of time, and so many people wanted to play it, when it was clear for a few minutes, i had my face stuffed with pizza!!!! yeah, now i feel bad, cuz it seems like it was a favorite for alot of people. All i can say about it is that the graphics were N64 fuzzy, but strangely, i don't think many people minded. the Elebits are cute in a Animal Crossing sort of way, and the zapping gameplay made me wish I had played it.. check out Bethany's thoughts on Elebits and Jeff's thoughts also....
While everyone was eating, Nintendo's people were going around giving everyone Wiimote key chains and coupons for free Wiimotes after they purchased the Wii. the way it works is you buy your Wii, send the coupon with a copy of your receipt, and you get your Wiimote mailed to you ..... very cool. Elebits was swapped out for Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, just cuz it was almost time to go, and i really wanted to see how it played....
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
this game has alot in common with Excite Truck, in that both games share a similar control style. you hold the Wiimote horizontally, and steer your character as if you're driving. The 2 button makes you jump and grind rails and different movements with the Wiimote activate tricks. You attack fellow skaters or pedestrians with the crosspad; this was quickly imitated by everyone. The graphics were so-so, with a weird pastel color palette that gave everything a fruity vibe. and my personal pet peeve that Excite Truck also had, the going from 50mph to a dead stop when you hit an invisible wall was also present. come to think of it, when you fall down in Tony Hawk, you have to shake the Wiimote to get up, just like if you crash in ExciteTruck........ Not impressed, if i had to choose, I'd take Excite Truck....
Well, at 10:00p.m. sharp, the screens were shut off, and the Wii party ended. We were thanked for coming out, and Nintendo's peeps let us out to return to the vans and take us back to the pickup point. As i left, i looked around one last time, and i thought about how lucky i was to get chosen to host the coolest gaming event of MY lifetime. I have to thank Catherine and Megan, who made a gamer's dream come true. They were the most helpful people ( and patient, with all the changes my guest list went through!!!) and i appreciate all their help from the bottom of my heart. thanks also go out to Brian from Nintendo, Gil and Sergio, with whom this never would have happened ( these two monkeys were the ones who convinced me to start a blog, instead of sending out 20 emails a day with gaming links) Bethany, Lara, Joel and Mike for not thinking I'm a creepy stalker and actually coming to the event, my family and all my friends, who were a sophisticated and classy bunch, and finally to my wife Sandra, who has put up with my non-stop babbling for the last 3 months. She's the most understanding woman i have ever met, and i feel like the luckiest guy in the world when I'm with her.
So that's it, besides the pics that are coming this week.
Comments
Does it make you want a Wii anymore than it did before-hand?
So you didn't get a chance to play Project H.A.M.M.E.R then? That game looks cool. I can see it being one of those low key games, which'll end up being surprisingly decent.
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