Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Disaster: Day of Crisis Dated In Europe

Well, so much for "the entire first party slate is announced", Disaster will indeed be coming this year.

Official Press Release from Nintendo:
"2nd September 2008 –

Earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, flood, hurricane... and the small matter of an ex-military terrorist group with their hands on some nuclear weapons – and all in just 24 hours! Welcome to Disaster: Day of Crisis, the action adventure game on Wii from Nintendo and Monolith Soft., sweeping across Europe on 24th October 2008, guaranteed to bring out the survival skills in everyone.
Stepping into the shoes of Raymond Bryce, a traumatised but highly decorated retired US marine and former operative of the International Rescue Team, you’ll prepare for a day like no other. Called back into action to deal with the threat of SURGE, an ex-military terrorist unit led by former elite forces specialist Colonel Hayes, Ray must overcome personal tragedy and numerous devastating natural disasters to prevent the threat of nuclear warfare.
Wracked with guilt over the loss of his best friend in the line of duty, Ray finds out that SURGE has kidnapped a leading seismologist and his assistant in order to predict the arrival of an earthquake, which will act as a diversion for their plan to seize the nuclear weapons. However, upon finding out that the assistant is his lost friend’s sister, Lisa, the mission turns personal and offers Ray the chance of redemption he’s been craving for.
Disaster: Day of Crisis is a dedicated single-player, all-out-action adventure, blending a variety of exciting gameplay activities around an intense and absorbing 23-stage storyline. In addition to vanquishing the SURGE threat, players must come face-to-face with a series of daunting natural disasters and take full advantage of Ray’s survival expertise to rescue stranded civilians left helpless.
As the story unfolds, the player’s skills are thoroughly tested as Ray finds himself in increasingly hazardous situations. Gameplay varies from exploring devastated city streets for survivors to thrilling shooting sequences, as well as driving, swimming and intense quick-time events all intuitively controlled with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Players are awarded Survival Points and Battle Points which are vital for improving Ray’s abilities and ensuring he has the skills needed to overcome the game’s hard-as-nails bosses, survive the effects of each disaster and, ultimately, rescue Lisa.
Along the way, Ray will face adversity from SURGE, at which points the game automatically switches into combat mode. Similar to an on-rails shooter, the action becomes fast and furious where players use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to dispatch enemies with a variety of lethal weaponry including handguns, automatic weapons and shotguns. Once every hostile is taken down, Battle Points are awarded and can be used to purchase new weapons or tune current equipment to perfection.
Even after the main storyline is completed, there are numerous incentives for players to keep coming back for more. With additional modes such as a shooting range, a stamina campaign and a wealth of hidden content from unlockable weapons and costumes to the extra-hard ‘Real Disaster Mode’ difficulty, Disaster: Day of Crisis will keep gamers entertained for many months to come.
So are you ready to step into the shoes of an action hero and emerge victorious after one hell of a day? If the answer is yes, then Disaster: Day of Crisis is crying out to be rescued from your nearest retailer across Europe on 24th October 2008."

-Nintendo

So, does this mean that the United States will be getting it before the end of the year? And what of Japan? I haven't seen an official release date for them yet.
Time will tell, as we also need to see some gameplay videos of this game someday.

And last but not least, some new(at least to me) screenshots of the game.
Screens:


Monday, September 1, 2008

WiiWare/Virtual Console Releases 9/01/08

This week we see a very well priced WiiWare game, Clu Clu Land and...Super Mario RPG!! Oh snapz yes!

My comments in red.

WiiWare
My Aquarium (Hudson Entertainment, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): With swaying aquatic plants and fish idly swimming about, My Aquarium is a relaxing Wii experience that allows you to enjoy a virtual aquarium in your spare time. Whether freshwater or slat water you can select from over 40 popular types of fish, including favorites like the Ocellaris clownfish, the freshwater angelfish and the Asian arowana. You can also create up to six different aquariums and personalize them by adding decorations like seaweed and driftwood. In My Aquarium, you can send aquariums to your registered Wii Friends. The aquariums can even be set with special dates, such as a friend's birthday, that the fish will commemorate with a dance. Feed your fish and watch them steadily grow from fry to adult. Then, after meeting certain conditions, you can breed them. Another feature will allow you to interact with your fish using your Wii Remote™ controller in fun ways, like "tapping" the glass of your aquarium.
For the price you actually seem to be getting a fair amount of content out of this game. If you liked games like Endless Ocean I think this would be for you.
Status-Undecided
Virtual Console
Clu Clu Land™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Take a deep breath and prepare for a puzzle game set in the underwater kingdom of Clu Clu Land. The greedy Sea Urchins have stolen all of Clu Clu Land's gold bars and buried them in a series of mazes. As Bubbles, a brave bubble fish, you'll set out to uncover all of the gold bars in each maze. But you'll have to be careful: Sea Urchins will relentlessly pursue Bubbles, and there are also dangerous black holes that must be avoided. Bubbles isn't defenseless, though, as she has the ability to stun Sea Urchins with sound waves and quickly change direction using posts scattered throughout the stages. Not only that, but the locations of the gold bars in each maze form the outline of another object—once you know the object, you're well on your way to finding the gold. With 20 stages to complete and increasingly complex conditions (like having to pass over the gold bars twice to uncover them), you might just want to bring along a friend for help.
Never played Clu Clu Land, but I hear that it is again a fair price for what you get, I would suggest researching more to see if it's for you.
Status-Undecided
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Set in the Mushroom Kingdom and featuring its cast of well-known characters, this adventure RPG begins with a familiar scenario: Mario™ must rescue Princess Toadstool™ from Bowser™. However, a mysterious new enemy named Smithy soon appears, and Mario and Bowser are forced to fight as allies for the first time in their long history. In the quest to defeat their powerful new foe, they'll journey across a wide variety of locations (a town of mining moles, a tropical forest, a thundering waterfall—just to name a few) and tackle a mix of obstacles requiring both expert timing and strategy to overcome. Along the way, they'll gain experience and grow more powerful, while also meeting new characters whose unique abilities will be needed to take on Smithy and his gang. Striking a perfect balance of traditional RPG elements and the action-packed game play Mario is famous for, it's easy to see why this title has earned "legendary" status.
The game that thousands have been waiting for, finnally Super Mario RPG has reached the United States, and for a normal price as well! If you don't know anything about it consider it the original Paper Mario, with a few more platforming elements then the original Paper Mario games. It has the humor, and the gameplay is generally the same.
Status- Playing Already


These games will be released Monday, September 1, 2008 at 9:00 PCT.

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