New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis

The New Play Control series of games are a result of Nintendo listening to their fans, producing new motion control versions of older games and porting them to the Wii. Whilst man naysayers are claiming that the company should be focusing on new games rather than tweaking older ones, the demand for some of these ports have been high enough to force attention. These are not just straight ports either, games are receiving impressive graphics enhancements, along with some additional content. Here we take a look at the New Play Control port of Mario Power Tennis

The first thing you can't help but notice from this update are the augmented graphics, giving the game a much more polished feel. The visuals are noticeably slicker and smoother flowing, instantly improving the general feel of the game. Secondly, and most notably, the game has been fitted with the Wii's signature motion controls. In the default D-pad setting, you use the pad to move back and forth, but you can also plug in a nunchuk and make use of it as well. Swing the remote upwards for a topspin, backwards for a backspin, and do a steady swing for a flat shot.

The game features all the usual characters from the Mario universe, each with their own set of skills and signature moves. All characters do have access to the smash shot though, which involves positioning your character just right beneath a lobbed shot. Aligning an on-screen star with your player within a certain time window will result in an all-powerful smash shot, almost guaranteed to win you the point.

Mario Power Tennis is a classic on the Gamecube, so hopefully New Play Control can do it justice. potentially great game ports have been ruined by poor and half-hearted execution in the past, but Mario Power Tennis is looking the business. Lets hope this paves the way to higher quality Wii ports.

Great Games Coming To Wii

2008 was generally seen as a good year for the Wii. Developers Nintendo started to break into new ground and tackle some more mainstream, dependable genres previously found lacking on the Wii. We saw the first FPS on the Wii to be done right; Call of Duty: World At War, the highly anticipated Smash Bros. sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Guitar Hero World Tour; which featured the all-important downloadable content for the first time. Hopefully the Wii's impressive swing will continue through 2009, and here we take a look at the most exciting prospects;

#3: The Conduit

The Conduit is stirring up a high level of excitement within the gaming community, with developers Voltage systematically releasing further info and screenshots to build up the tension. What we've been promised is categorically the best FPS released ever for the Wii, and from early footage it seems Voltage's claims may have the facts to back themselves up.

#2: Monster Hunter 3

Monster Hunter is a franchise that, whilst climbing in popularity over recent years, still doesn't receive the widespread praise it deserves. The game immerses players not only into the world of Monster Hunting, but all the trivialities that come with it, such as earning a living, growing food, smithing armour etc. This new edition for the Wii is set to feature underwater monster hunting, a great prospect in itself. Since there aren't all that many online action roleplaying games available for the Wii, Monster Hunter 3 should enjoy further popularity in this area.

#1: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggles

One of Nintendo's breakout successes in 2008, No More Heroes took the Wii by storm, and impressed many people with it's stylish cutscenes and frantic action. Over the course of the game the main character, Travis Touchdown, struggles to become the deadliest assassin on the charts. Now that his goal has been realised, what's next? No doubt it'll include lots more action, adventure and comedy.

Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Donkey Kong jungle beat was a curious game, which revolved around controlling the well loved titular character by beating a pair of peripheral Nintendo bongos! A strange concept, but most players found that when they actually sat down and played it, it was an absolute blast. However, some criticised the lack of analogue control within the game, and it seems Nintendo listened to some ideas with the new release of Play Control!

Play Control! Donkey Kong makes the game much more accessible and attractive as your control of Donkey Kong becomes a lot more manageable and personal. Use of the analogue allows you to tilt it accordingly, and the bongos are eschewed completely, there's no accessibility for them. This creates a much smoother flowing game with a classic control system.

The motion sensing within the game covers most actions, such as punching enemies, beating the ground and even swinging on vines. Pounding the ground is especially interesting, seeing as you do it by holding B or Z to crouch and shaking either the wiimote or nunchuk to pound with the corresponding arm. Other than that and the fact that you can backflip while running and tilting the stick backwards whilst pressing A, Jungle Beat controls much like any platformer. The visuals and gameplay are married to great effect, creating a game that plays as great as it looks.

Another instance in which Nintendo listened to fans is that of adding new/different content to this new port. Gamers complained that the original title began to recycle boss battles and environments as the game progressed, annoying gamers who began to tire of fighting the same battles over and over. New and tweaked bosses have been added along with refreshed environments, sure to please the original naysayers.

If you missed the first opportunity to play these hugely innovative game, then try out the Play control! version for an even better experience!

X-men Origins: Wolverine - Finally a Worthy Game?

Wolverine is almost without question the most popular X Men character, which makes the fact that all his videogame representations have landed a bit wide of the mark quite a surprise. Many have tried, but Wolverine has never been captured quite right within the gaming genre. However, the new game based on the X-Men origins: Wolverine movie is already being hailed as a roaring success. Movie license games have a bad reputation in themselves, and so this game could be a double success.

Most importantly with a Wolverine game, Origins allows you to really let loose with the character, with a strong emphasis placed on brutal close combat. Wolverine is also able to sneak up on certain enemies and perform stealth kills, sneaky but no less brutal! This game has earned an 18 certificate for a reason, with Wolvie's claws being worked overtime. The game also makes extensive use of Wolverine's mutant healing powers. These powers constantly heal you as you take damage, though at some point you'll need to hide and heal if you are in the middle of a battle and your health gets too low. Stringing together certain combos allows for cinematic fight scenes, often topped with elaborate finishing moves.

The game features an intuitive system, allowing enemies to become progressively stronger and smarter, meaning this is far from a no-brain slash fest, you really have to think about your approach to combat. Luckily, Wolverine has a few impressive dodging skills, and can even deflect bullets with his claws if timed right. Using the D-pad or control pad, you can activate the different aspects of Wolverine's sharp senses, which will allow you to spot cloaked enemies, hidden entrances to areas, and more. Not only is this a key skill for level progression, but it also utilises one of Wolverines often forgotten abilities.

In addition to all these points, the game is simply well made. The gameplay is solid and doesn't get repetitive, which is no mean feat. Graphics are exceptional and pay close attention to detail, with Wolverine's wounds visibly healing progressively as you continue. Add to this great music and voice acting, and you have a game that is finally worthy of bearing the Wolverine name!