I remember there was a fair amount of fuss about this play games a few months back. I was intrigued, and really liked the sound of it. It helped tremendously when I saw that respected Japanese games magazine "Famitsu" gave the game a high mark of 35/40.
Endless Ocean aka Forever Blue (in Japan), finally got its UK release this month. I totally had forgotten about this game, and the press didn't give it much space. What alerted me to this game was when I was out the other day shopping for Mario Galaxy. This game appeared on the shelf below.....and at £20.....TWENTY POUNDS!? I was gobsmacked. I immediately assumed that this mean't the game was rubbish, but I bought it anyway as the price was good, and I kept thinking about Famitsu's 35/40 score.
Let's get back to reviewing this game though! Endless Ocean is an underwater exploration game....which is probably a brand new genre. You are a scuba diver and your aim is to explore the depths of the "Manaurai Sea", which is a beautiful tropical region. Control is via just the Wii-mote, so put the nunchuck away and enjoy some scuba diving in comfort of your own living room.
This game is beautifully realised....it looks wonderful, and really does the job of simulating this stunning underwater world. Of course you are not alone, and are accompanied by hundreds of different sealife. Marine species include dolphins, sharks, whales, small fishes, manta rays and penguins. Your task is simple.....just explore all these wonderful creatures by swimming around, taking pictures, and communicating with the marine biologist expert back on board your boat. You can also find treasure laying on the seabed.
You can then come back to the surface and board the vessel. On here you can do a number of things - take pictures, listen to music (via mp3's stored on your SD card), and drive your boat to a new area in the sea to begin new dive. You can also, via Wi-Fi, connect up to the internet and swim with a friend who also owns a copy of this game.
This is not your usual game. You don't get killed or attacked by anything....you just dive, swim around, and search Endless Oceans glorious environment. There is little else to add to that - its great, and don't let the fact that its not a "hardcore" game put you off - so put aside any attitude that games have to include blood, violence, an 18 certificate and be a first person shoot em up. It's £20, you can't go wrong. So kick back, look at the pictures, buy the game. Highly recommended.
Showing posts with label Mario Kart Wii - Nintendo Wii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mario Kart Wii - Nintendo Wii. Show all posts
Mario Kart Wii
This is the REAL review, rather than my joke review before I even played the game a week or so ago, where I dismissed the game and gave it a measly 2/10 score! The good news is that this game WILL get higher than 2/10.
So Nintendo have brought out their latest version of their 16 year old "Kart" franchise. My views on this series have been mixed. The original 1992 version on the SNES was absolutely perfect, flawless in every possible way. Then came the huge disappointment of Mario Kart 64 on Nintendo's N64, followed by the marginally better, but still flimsy Mario Kart Super Circuit on the GBA. We all thought Double Dash may be the game to re-ignite the passion of the series, but simply, it didn't. It was average.
However, the Nintendo DS version was actually rather splendid. It still fell someway short of the original but it was still a solid, fun racer with great multiplayer link up and online wifi play games .
So Mario Kart DS gave us Mario Kart fanatics high expectations for its Wii edit. Motion controls with the steering wheel sounds awesome, doesn't it?? Well in truth....it IS pretty awesome as it happens. The steering wheel, which is fundamentally a bit of plastic, houses the Wiimote and is nice and comfy to hold and light. Controls are hugely responsive and within about half an hour of play, it becomes natural.
Nintendo have given users the option to use a gamecube pad or nunchuck....but frankly, its pointless, and makes Mario Kart Wii essentially Mario Kart Double Dash 2. If you buy this game, USE THE WHEEL. It makes this game stand out from Mario Kart DD....otherwise, its effectively the same thing.
Ok, so lets pick out the faults. Well, graphically, its what we expected....ie nothing incredible. In truth, its not really a step in front of Mario Kart Double Dash. Same with the track design, its essentially the same thing....big wide tracks, nothing too taxing. What is hugely frustrating though is its one-player mode. As with most Mario Karts, you are penalised for being GOOD and leading the race. Your race will constantly be disrupted by red shells, blue shells, lightning strikes etc etc. So in the end, you resent leading the race, as the flow of racing is always ruined by these.
Ultimately, where all the Mario Karts went wrong compared to the original SNES version, is the track design, and that feeling of really putting in the fastest laps to win. You want to lead the race in SMK, and you want to lap the backmarkers. In the Wii version, that never happens as the tracks are just too long, and all 12 racers are too bunched together.....that and the fact you only get 3 laps instead of SMKs 5 laps. Super Mario Kart was a raw, kart racers game. This isn't, and is a bit chaotic.
To sum this up though. Mario Kart Wii IS a pretty fun title, and just what the Wii needs. It is ESSENTIAL that you use the wheel otherwise you're just buying an old Gamecube game. What also of course makes this great, is the online modes. Playing against friends online is a real hoot, and what ultimately saves this free games from being really average. Buy it, play it online, use the wheel, and don't worry too much about the fact that its not much as a 1 player game. Oh, and buy Super Mario Kart on the VC when its FINALLY issued!
So Nintendo have brought out their latest version of their 16 year old "Kart" franchise. My views on this series have been mixed. The original 1992 version on the SNES was absolutely perfect, flawless in every possible way. Then came the huge disappointment of Mario Kart 64 on Nintendo's N64, followed by the marginally better, but still flimsy Mario Kart Super Circuit on the GBA. We all thought Double Dash may be the game to re-ignite the passion of the series, but simply, it didn't. It was average.
However, the Nintendo DS version was actually rather splendid. It still fell someway short of the original but it was still a solid, fun racer with great multiplayer link up and online wifi play games .
So Mario Kart DS gave us Mario Kart fanatics high expectations for its Wii edit. Motion controls with the steering wheel sounds awesome, doesn't it?? Well in truth....it IS pretty awesome as it happens. The steering wheel, which is fundamentally a bit of plastic, houses the Wiimote and is nice and comfy to hold and light. Controls are hugely responsive and within about half an hour of play, it becomes natural.
Nintendo have given users the option to use a gamecube pad or nunchuck....but frankly, its pointless, and makes Mario Kart Wii essentially Mario Kart Double Dash 2. If you buy this game, USE THE WHEEL. It makes this game stand out from Mario Kart DD....otherwise, its effectively the same thing.
Ok, so lets pick out the faults. Well, graphically, its what we expected....ie nothing incredible. In truth, its not really a step in front of Mario Kart Double Dash. Same with the track design, its essentially the same thing....big wide tracks, nothing too taxing. What is hugely frustrating though is its one-player mode. As with most Mario Karts, you are penalised for being GOOD and leading the race. Your race will constantly be disrupted by red shells, blue shells, lightning strikes etc etc. So in the end, you resent leading the race, as the flow of racing is always ruined by these.
Ultimately, where all the Mario Karts went wrong compared to the original SNES version, is the track design, and that feeling of really putting in the fastest laps to win. You want to lead the race in SMK, and you want to lap the backmarkers. In the Wii version, that never happens as the tracks are just too long, and all 12 racers are too bunched together.....that and the fact you only get 3 laps instead of SMKs 5 laps. Super Mario Kart was a raw, kart racers game. This isn't, and is a bit chaotic.
To sum this up though. Mario Kart Wii IS a pretty fun title, and just what the Wii needs. It is ESSENTIAL that you use the wheel otherwise you're just buying an old Gamecube game. What also of course makes this great, is the online modes. Playing against friends online is a real hoot, and what ultimately saves this free games from being really average. Buy it, play it online, use the wheel, and don't worry too much about the fact that its not much as a 1 player game. Oh, and buy Super Mario Kart on the VC when its FINALLY issued!
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