ICO + Gary Jules

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess + Nine inch nails

Panzer Dragoon Saga + Blue Öyster Cult

Shadow of the colossus + Requiem for a dream BSO

Silent Hill2 + A perfect Circle

¿Y a vosotros que juegos os han tocado la fibra sensible? Queda claro que el Team ICO, desde mi punto de vista, es la compañía que mejor ha sabido jugar con las emociones del jugador.

Rating: 9 Out of 10

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess brings Zelda finally to the Wii and it does not disappoint. This game brings what many of the Zelda hopefuls have been looking for. This game has a set of unique characters and a compelling story with a great environment and puzzle design. The graphics and audio in my opinion are fine, but they may feel sometimes outdated for a few people. This game is also a large game, and it won't be able to beaten in 24 hours. Sometimes though it feels that the Wii specific elements are somewhat tacked on. Overall, this game is a great game for Zelda fans and having it on the Wii makes it even better.

Pros:

+ Compelling characters and story

+ Outstanding world and puzzle design

+ Longer than most action adventure games

+ Terrific graphics, from an artistic perspective

Cons:

- Wii-specific elements feel tacked on

- Graphics and sound sometimes go from nostalgic to dated

Extras:

# The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Cheat Codes

# The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Music File

A few of our school things are on hold until our new computer comes. Without our computer I don't have a printer and I think Luke's fifteen minutes of typing is challenging enough for him without having to use our laptop with a few keys broken off. (Courtesy of Sylvia.)

Regresa la aclamada Guia de The Legend of Zelda con algunos cambios, optimizado y refinado. Todas las dudas que tenias, todas seran aclaradas. Obten toda la información que necesitas para acabar el mejor juego de Zelda al 100%.

En esta Guia encontraras:

• Las 45 piezas de corazón
• Los 9 calabozos
• Estrategias contra Jefes y enemigos
• Walkthrough Detallado
• Las 24 Golden Bugs
• Los 60 Poes Souls
• Las 7 Hidden Skills
• Todas las armas
• Lugares Secretos
• Mapas detallados

Sorry but this song is a victim of The Loudness War too. You'll just have to deal with it. It's an alternative rock version of the Twilight Princess Lost Woods theme. The sweeping pad-like guitar sound was made using a spectrum equalizer. Also lots of dynamic dub delay for the lead guitars. And I stress dynamic.

Drum Kit Specs:
Bass - RL model 2 (mute) with MIDI enhanced bass
Snare - Tama Ambassador and Ludwig Alluminum hybrid
Hats - Titey
Toms - Tama StarClassic
Ride - Zildjian
Crash - Gretch and Zildjian hybrid

Other Specs
Bass - BooBass
Rythym Guitars - Sytrus, with Spectromatic panning and custom l0vE Philter (using EQ 2 hybrid)
Lead Guitars - Slayer, using dub delay and FL Stereo Enhancer technology.

Original Composition: Koji Kondo (Composed just about all the music for the Legend of Zelda games)
Remix: DmNt

You can contribute by voting and reviewing on the site. I don't care what score you give or how much you hate it, just review/vote.

[SHAMELESS PROMOTION OF FRIENDS TIME]

Everyone who reads this needs to check out my friend Alyssa's new blog.  She's doing study abroad in India next semester, and she's going to be blogging about her experiences up to, during, and after the trip.  Only a few posts are up so far, but it's interesting stuff. 

I'm finally getting started on Twilight Princess--should be something fun to do tonight after Olbermann.  More to come, folks.

Midna's voice was fun ;D

Now that I'm done with Twilight Princess, I'm so relieved. Mixed feelings maybe because I actually paid for it... Oh hey, maybe now I'll be a bit more productive! (My physics is still doomed dead shot to hell though :c)

I am such a sucky gamer that I took 50+ hours to complete, no lies here. Maybe now you has an idea how badly I play, I don't think the average time for completion is so long. I think I took at least half an hour to a whole hour or more for the ending? orz

My brother's on MGS4, I have to say that that Vamp vs Raiden trailer portion is really just eye candy in the whole game. Though for the girls or the guys, I have no idea, due to influence by Jazzu, since the impalement portion did seem to have quite a bit of innuendo, except for the context of the whole battle. Anyway, I don't think he's playing all too well, so I don't think gamer genes run in the family -- unlike a certain sirane-sama who unlocks and completes everything in a game in a fraction of the time I take, as long as she doesn't get distracted by a passing Tieria the Trap or Kanda or some OTP she ships from Japan.

My brother's also on quite a few PSP games at once, I've kinda gotten addicted to Patapon because of how catchy the beats are. He's especially hooked on FFT it seems, not sure how much they remade it from the PSX version I tried to start on the other day, though.

I need my sleep now. Hope others enjoyed the game as much as I did! I love the music, too, I think now I could loop the whole soundtrack, yet still be willing to pay for a live orchestrated performance locally. BANZAI LoZ CREATORS! Just make more games for uh, the Wii. Or something that I actually own, really.

Speaking of which, there's the Sony vs Nintendo comparison, eh... Nah, let's leave that for another day.

Now you may not have ever noticed, but Link never does taht, why? Because Link is left handed, he's supposed to be using that hand to hack and slash and slice and dice... but for some odd reason he's right handed now... All the guys at nintendo say is "He holds the sword in his right hand sometimes..." Yeah... in The old NES Zelda's... sure... because they just mirrored the sprite so his left handededness became right hand... he also does it in WInd Waker as far as I hear (never played that one, actually refuse to play) but again it's a directional thing. It's in the freaking manuals that Link is left handed and I forget the exact quotes but it's in there, and he's been left handed for what twenty one years now?

Except for Twilight Princess... on the Wii anyway. I seem to recall hearing something about the Wii version being exactly the same as the Gamecube version, just mirrored... which would actually explain why he's suddenly left handed. Sadly I don't have the GC version of the game to verify this.

--

Nun aber zum Thema. Wie Einige sicher schon mitbekommen haben, ist Nintendos aktuelle Heimkonsole "geknackt". Schon wenige Wochen nach Erscheinen, war es möglich Kopien (egal welcher Art) abzuspielen. Also eigentlich das gleiche Spiel wie man es schon von anderen Konsolen kennt, nur etwas schneller und vorallem: extrem billig. Für unter 5€ kann sich jeder einen Chip für "frühe" Wii Konsolen (die vor Mitte 2007 gekauft wurden (?)) selber bauen. Frühe? Ja Nintendo hat darauf reagiert und neue DVD Laufwerke, die die wohl größte Schwachstelle darstellen, verbaut. Allerdings war der Karren schon in den Dreck gefahren und schon bald gab es neue, nun teurere und aufwändigere Chips. Das Katz und Maus Spiel hatte begonnen und läuft noch immer mehr oder weniger.

Richtig offen war die Konsole aber noch lange nicht. Nur "stupide" Kopien konnte man Spielen und  Homebrew, also selbstentwickelte Software, konnte nur auf die beschränkte Gamecube Hardware zugreifen. Viele suchten, rauften sich die Haare, taten das übliche eben. Bis zum 24C3, dem Chaos Communication Congress des Chaos Computer Clubs Ende des Jahres 2007. Beim, mittlerweile wohl schon traditionellen Vortrag rund um Konsolen(-Hacking) von und mit tmbinc (Felix Domke) kam was. Ganz am Schluss. Die Bombe. "One more thing". Ein sehr aufgeregter Bushing ((?) wer genau weiß ich nicht) hatte da etwas zum Vorzeigen dabei. Was genau wusste noch niemand, aber es war mehr als nur ein Hoffnungsschimmer.

Die verwendete Wii zeigte brav die Daten, die sie von der Wiimote bekam, an. Viele freuten sich. Viele wurden enttäuscht. Der Exploit sollte nicht veröffentlicht werden. Zu "unsicher" war Er. Zu hoch das Risiko eines Fixes. Zu Wenig wusste man. Also die Ärmel hochgekrempelt und weitergearbeitet, bis man etwas besseres Fand. Der "Twilight Hack" war geboren. Wie der Name schon verrät wurde die Tür durch die Wii Version des Spiels "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" geöffnet. Seit dem muss der geneigte Anwender nur im Besitz einer Kopie des oben genannten Spiels und einer SD Karte mit einem modifizierten Zelda Savegame sein, um die, inzwischen zahlreichen, Homebrew Programme zu nutzen.

Warum gab es so schnell so viele (gute) Software?

Zum einen ist die Wii weit verbreitet, was mehr potenzielle Entwickler bedeutet. Zum Anderen existierte bereits ein gewisser "Background". Da die Nintendo Konsole dem Gamecube ziemlich ähnlich ist, konnte viel Wissen aus der Gamecube-Ära sozusagen kopiert werden. Viele "libaries", ich würde sie als eine Art "Treiber" bezeichnen, konnten verwendet werden. Allerdings boten diese auch noch keinen Support für die neu hinzugekommenen Features, wie WLan, Bluetooth und USB, so dass es sich bei den ersten Spielen hauptsächlich um 1:1 Umsetzungen bekannter Gamecube Projekte handelte, die dadurch natürlich auch nur den Gamecube Controller unterstützten. Tetris war hierbei mein erstes Homebrew Programm auf der Wii. Man konnte zwar, wie immer, nur Blöcke runterwerfen, aber doch brachte es ein Aha-Gefühl mit sich: Da hatte man gerade Zelda gestartet, ein Savegame mit einem etwas komischen Namen ausgewählt, war zwei Schritte gelaufen und auf einmal wurde der Bildschirm schwarz, etliche Meldungen ratterten herunter und die Tetris Musik erklang.

Einige Portierungen später erschien erste Homebrew Software, die die Wiimote verwendet. Schon bald war man es überdrüssig ständig Zelda zu starten, nur um eine Runde Tetris zu spielen.  Doch das Team Twiizers hatte schon eine Weile an einer Lösung gearbeitet und präsentierte dieses Video. Erste Bilder eines so genannten "Homebrew Channel". Ein Kanal...im Wii Menü, der schon kurze Zeit später das Licht der gespannten Öffentlichkeit erblicken sollte. Zwar vorerst nur in einer rudimentären Art und Weise, stellte er Eindrucksvoll ein "Proof of Concept" dar und lies auf mehr hoffen. Die Entwicklung ging weiter und mittlerweile sind wir beim Homebrew Channel (der übrigens selbstständig nach neuen Versionen sucht) in der beta 8 angelangt. Von hier aus können seither bequem die auf der SD Karte vorhandenen Homebrew Applikationen gesucht und gestartet werden. Dies brachte die Wii Comunity einen enormen Schritt nach Vorne und verleitete immer mehr Leute zum Starten eigener Projekte.

Das große Interesse brachte jedoch, aus Sicht der ursprünglichen Entdecker, nicht nur Gutes. Raubkopierer, der Todfeind eines jeden Gutmenschens wollten natürlich auch ein Stück des Kuchens und erfreuten sich am gemeinhin so genannten "trucha bug". Hierbei handelt es sich um den marginalen Fehler im DVD Überprüfunsprozess von Nintendo, der auf dem 24C3 genutzt wurde. Er ermöglicht auf einer gechippten Konsole ohne weiteres eigenen Code auszuführen. Im Allgemeinen bedeutet dies: Spiele konnten modifiziert werden, so dass z.B. Waluigi auf einmal das Moveset von Mario aufweist oder Ganondorf sich in Smash Bros. aufeinmal wie Falco verhält. Miteinher gehend mit der Möglichkeit Spiele zu öffnen wurde einen recht einfaches Tool gebastelt, das Spiele auf, teilweise enormen, Schrumpfungsprozess durch Programme wie Winrar, vorbereiten kann. Wii Schach konnte in handlichen 300 MB anstatt knapp 4,7 GB transportiert werden, Andere, wie das göttliche "Zack & Wiki", benötigten nur noch knapp die Hälfte an Speicher.

[Achtung: Dies ist ein kritischer Absatz]
Allerdings wurde dieses "Problem" von Nintendo, wie erwartet, recht zügig (1 Monat) gelöst. IOS 37 wurde zusammen mit dem Update für WiiWare am 22 März 2008 auf den Update Servern bereitgestellt und bereitete den Anfang des vermeintlichen Endes modifizierter Software vor. Die neue IOS Version, der Unterbau sämtlicher Wii Software (steht für Internal Operating System ?), wurde zwar noch nicht verwendet, doch war es nur eine Frage der Zeit bis Dies geschehen sollte. Es geschah dann am 16 Juni mit der Firmware Version "3.3X", die jedoch nicht nur modifizierten Spielen, sondern auch dem "Twilight Hack" den gar ausmachen sollte. Denn seit dieser Version checkt die Firmware ob das Savegame denn so in dieser Form auch sein kann, nur leider, für Nintendo, äußerst schlecht und wenige Stunden später war eine neue, voll funktionstüchtige Version des Zelda Savegames erschienen (mehr Info). Jedoch ist jedem spätestens seit diesen Ereignissen klar, dass man dem Katz und Maus Spiel so schnell wie möglich eine Ende setzen sollte.

Die momentan angestrebte Lösung: ein Costum IOS

Die Angst Vieler: ein Softmod oder gar ein ISO/Backup loader

Hierzu meine Sicht der Dinge: Viele fürchten und wahrscheinlich noch mehr erhoffen einen ISO Loader, mit dem Backups, ohne jedwede Modifikation an der Hardware, ausgeführt werden können. Warum tun sie das? Nun, die Jungs von Hackmii.com haben einen weiteren Fehler in der Wii Sicherheitsarchitektur gefunden, der ursprünglich gar nicht Publik gemacht werden sollte. Grund hierfür: Nintendo zeigt kein wirkliches Interesse an einer Kooperation/Lösung des Problems. Dieser Fehler soll es schon bald ermöglichen jedwede DVD, zum Beispiel auch Filme, zu starten. Desweiteren besteht schon seit langem die Hoffnung mithilfe der USB Anschlüsse und des SD Kartenlesers ganz einfach ISOs von bspw. einer USB Festplatte zu starten, ob dies realistisch ist, sei in den Raum gestellt, denn:

-es besteht ein enormer Programmieraufwand

-sind SD/USB/WLan (für streaming) nicht zu langsam? Nach meinem Wissen bieten die bisherigen libraries lediglich Support für USB 1.1, was deutlich zu langsam wäre und der SD Slot scheint nicht gerade von der schnellsten Sorte zu sein. Keine Ahnung wieso genau, aber mit dem Tool "ftpii" errreiche ich eine maximale Datenrate von 1600kbit/s, was gerade einmal DSL 1500 entsprechen würde.

Übrigens: Ich hoffe trotz alledem auf soetwas, denn ich hasse ehrlich gesagt die ständigen DVD Wechsel von Mario Kart zu Smash Bros und zurück.

Links:

TehSkeen - eine HB-Szeneseite

WiiNewz - neues aus der Wii Welt (Fokus auf Modchips & Homebrew)

Wiibrew - Wii Homebrew Wiki

HackMii - Blog der Wii Hacker

Events Archive - Chronik eingier wichtiger Releases

--

Geplante Verbesserungen: (also nicht darüber beschweren)

-Spiele konnten schon vorher geöffnet werden

-Costum IOS detaillierter

Kleiner Hinweis am Rande: Ich hasse die automatische Textformatierung in Wordpress...

Update:

Mittlerweile gibt es übrigens erste Programme, die z.B. DVDs abspielen können. More to come.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

This was the first Wii game I bought for myself. I had some Christmas money earmarked for a video game, and at the time (early January 2007) there still weren't more than maybe twenty or so Wii titles to choose from. Twilight Princess was the first Wii title to garner high praise and lofty reviews, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I hadn't played a Zelda game since I gave up on the original Link adventure when I got stuck on the eighth and final labyrinth, but I figured this could be fun.

And it was. I found Twilight Princess a game that really sucked me in. I just didn't seem capable of playing it fewer than two hours at a time, and more often I'd get drawn in to Link's adventures for four hours or more. Of course, I didn't appreciate how my save file recorded and updated my total time played, serving as a frequent reminder of just how many hours I had logged in my quest (I think I wound up at forty-something hours, which, if you consider I spent 50 bucks on the game, meant I got a return of about a dollar an hour, which ain't half bad for entertainment).

There are a lot of different weapons and features that are pretty cool. You get to wield a sword, of course, along with shooting arrows and firing a slingshot. But you also get to ride a horse at times, and you actually transform into a wolf at times, which is interesting. Plus, the graphics in Twilight Princess are beautifully rendered. I remember the big debate back when the Wii and PlayStation 3 came out virtually simultaneously was whether people would want the Wii when the PS3 and Xbox 360 both boasted high-definition graphics and all sorts of processing power. Turns out, they did, especially because the Wii was often seen as more fun. But while the graphics in a lot of Wii games seem sort of rudimentary (not eight- or even sixteen-bit rudimentary, just not terribly complex or detailed), Twilight Princess and other titles show that you can still pack a lot of punch into the Wii, creating a really pretty-looking game. Plus, not owning a high-def television (unless we're counting my laptop), it would've been overkill to get a higher-end system.

Overall, Twilight Princess is arguably the first classic title for the Wii. It was good enough to make me want to acquire all the previous Zelda titles (sort of like my unfulfilled passion for beating every Mario game Nintendo ever produced). And really, when a game leaves you so pleased you want to start tracking down games from obsolete systems, well, you can't argue with that.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess From Nintendo

The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess brings you back tot he land of Hyrule, as you uncover the mystery behind its plunge intodarkness. Link, a young man raised as a wrangler in a rural village, is ordered by the mayor to attend the Hyrule Summit. He sets off, oblivious to the dark fate that has descended upon the kingdom. When he enters the Twilight Realm that has covered Hyrule, he transforms into a wolf and is captured. A mysterious figure helps him break free, and with the aid of her magic, they set off to free the land from the shadows. Link must explore the vast land of Hyrule and As he does, he'll have to enlist the aid of friendly folk, solve puzzles and battle his way through dangerous dungeons. In the Twilight Realm, he'll have to use his wolf abilities and Midna's magic to bring light to the land. Revisit classic and new characters - Link, Zelda, Midna and many others

When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero and the animal within. When Link travels to the Twilight Realm, he transforms into a wolf and must scour the land with the help of a mysterious girl named Midna. Besides his trusty sword and shield, Link will use his bow and arrows by aiming with the Wii Remote controller, fight while on horseback and use a wealth of other items, both new and old.

The most epic Zelda ever launches with the Wii.

Link roams an entirely new land of Hyrule. View larger.

Take control of your trusty horse as you travel from quest to quest. View larger.

Link must solve a number of challenging puzzles to progress to boss battles. View larger.

Fishing with the Wii Remote is a fun and worthwhile diversion. View larger.

Link's journeys, reinvented
Hailed by many as the best Zelda game since 1998's Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess thrusts players into a troubled world ravaged by a dangerous magic. Sporting a new, more realistic visual style than the previous Zelda title, Link looks much more like an adult than in previous installments and fits well into an environment that provides Zelda fans with a much more gritty and grim environment to explore. The entirety of the quest fits this darker mood, as both Link and NPC's alike share the same concern for the changes about in Hyrule.

More than just a spiritual successor to previous Zelda installments, Twilight Princess offers players a new way of controlling Link through dungeons, forests, towns, and the bizarre Twilight Realm: precise weapon controls with the Wii remote! Players can use the remote to control Links' weapons including the sword, arrows, and boomerang. This new control scheme allows for much faster and more accurate control than on previous Nintendo hardware. For example, waving the remote in the air will result in Link performing the same move with the sword. To fire off on arrow, players "pull back" on a virtual controller string as the Wii remote's speaker lets players know that the projectile is ready for release. It all works incredibly well and adds to the title's immersion and style- you feel more in the center of the action than in previous Zelda games.

As impressive as the new control scheme is, the scope and size of the new land of the Hyrule is equally as impressive- truly the Wii's first epic adventure. Beautifully crafted and four years in the making, the land players travel through is vast and diverse as the dungeons and monsters that lie within. As players collect triforce pieces from the distant sections of the continent, they will get to know many different villages and foes. Thankfully, Link will be able to move over long stretches of land faster thanks to "Epona," your faithful horse. Epona also helps Link become a more effective fighter, as a number of powerful and impressive sword strikes can be launched while galloping through fields of enemies.

The Twilight Realm awaits
Like most games in the Zelda franchise, Link begins his adventure with little more than the clothes he has on an an inkling that something has gone awry. After an initial trip to the Twilight Realm, in which Link appears as a wolf, a friendly shadow dweller named Midna will meet up with players and give helpful advice on gameplay. Fortunately for players, this virtual assistant spells out ways to be a more effective adventurer in and out of the shadow world. Early stages of the game have Link spending a lot of time in the Twilight Realm, and outdoor areas of Hyrule, attempting to clear areas of the strange darkness that has seemingly fallen over every village, forest, and field. As the story progresses, players will learn the cause of the shadows, and what they must to do vanquish them for good.

Puzzling puzzles
Link once again finds himself in a number of classic Zelda-esque puzzle scenarios in which he must light torches to unlock doors, raise and lower water levels, and fight enemies to collect keys and open chests for valuable rupees. A number of the dungeons present unique puzzle challenges that rely on the player's ability to hone their Wii remote's control, such as an air castle in the sky that can only be accessed by an extremely accurate grappling hook toss.

In general, Twilight Princess is more challenging than the average Zelda game, with a number of boss battles having protracted hit sequences with little support potions about, and even less warning. Still, there's never been an adventure experience such as this, wherein players can literally charge at a dungeon boss with their fists and punch the air to defeat an enormous foe. As the finest Zelda experience in almost ten years and the game fans have been waiting for, Twilight Princess will delight young and old gamers alike.

Whether you’re contemplating buying it or already have it, use this post-release buzz post to ask questions, give a personal review, and confirm or dismiss rumors.

This Zelda release is the thirteenth in the series, and the first for the Wii. Taking place long after Ocarina of Time, the game begins with Link as a ranch hand in Ordon Village.  While pursuing monsters that have attacked the village, Link is pulled through the twilight entrance and transformed into a wolf.  The story gets complex, as can be expected, so I’ll stop there and let you find the rest out for yourself if you choose to do or have already done so.  The basic game play is like other Zelda 3D adventures – Link is able to use his sword, slingshot, etc. to fend off enemies and must complete puzzles to progress through various temples.  The twist with this game is the ability to use motion controls and play as the wolf.

FACT

-This game was originally conceived for the GC (titled “Windbreaker 2”) but later converted to the Wii also after being delayed.

-The sword control is not 1:1 but rather simple left to right and up and down.

-The majority of the music is not orchestrated.

-There is no voice acting.

-This is the first Zelda game where Link wields the sword right-handed (due to the predominance of right-handed players).  Even the GC version has a left-handed Link.

For more info, visit the Twilight Princess portion of IGN:

Twilight Princess on IGN

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
Twilight Princess
Wii Fit
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

A post on these games and more is coming tonight.  I just want to get some feedback on what others think.  Thanks for the consideration.

EDIT:  Also, any game recommendations you might have would be welcome.  I don't want the list of games above to be any sort of restraint on your thinking/Wii playing. 

The first is Yuuhi Kurenai from Naruto.

The second is Ordon Link from Twilight Princess.

Of these I think Link will be the harder to do and pull off successfully, for two reasons. One is his costume, while it might look simple, has many parts that are complicated to get right. The second is that it will be a crossplay, and I being a 'well-endowed' female, might find it difficult to pull off his young man chest.

There are not many good reference pictures for Link's costume. I spent a good while playing the game and getting some close up shots of Link as reference pictures. My references can be found at my deviantart account of the same name.

I am trying to keep the costs down on this as much as possible, using eBay and op shops to purchase the clothing and fabric as I need it. My family is a creative one and has a lot of the things I need around the house.

Kurenai is 7% complete. I have the headband and shoes half done. I also have a few kunais. I have a fishnet top on watch on eBay which will be perfect. Next up is to search for a long sleeved red shirt, and some white bike shorts. The dress will be the hardest part of this costume. To make it, I am going to start with two loops of cotton and sew them together to make the main X. From that, I will sew the rest of the pieces on. Bandages can be bought.

Link's shirt I will make from a basic tunic pattern. Not sure what to do about the designs in his tunic yet. Link's costume means making two small quilts, the blue one and the brown one. My mum is an excellent quilter and will be able to help with this. The green cloth on his thighs looks heavy, so that I think will be made with heavy curtain fabric. I am looking forward to making the green piece on his shoulder, though not sure what to do about the leather strap. The pants will be bought and altered. The shoes I have the bases for. The offclipping from Kurenai's shoes I will use to put his together.

Well, that is all for now, updates to come thick and fast. There's little time before the convention itself!

It seems to me that established developers look at the Wii and see a gimmick in the motion controls and nothing more. Even developers that were brave enough to venture a launch title, like...oh, I don't know, Ubisoft for example...are now of the shallow opinion that the Wii is for casuals and casuals only. They say that now after people have hopefully forgotten about the failure that was Red Steel.

Ubisoft played a good game hyping up Red Steel since the day the Wii was announced. I can recall watching the presentation live on my computer. The Wii was announced a bit earlier and I was eager to see how developers would utilize the potential in the motion controls. Red Steel had me the most excited, well, after Twilight Princess (but anyone who has been keeping up with this blog knows how I feel about that game...) Like everyone else, the first-person sword fighting had me most interested.

After waiting twelve or so hours on launch day for my Wii, I made it home with a copies of Twilight Princess and Red Steel. Zelda at least had the quality of its classic formula to fall back on despite being a disappointment in the innovative controls department. Red Steel, on the other hand, let me down when I found out that the sword fighting was terrible joke that consisted on nothing more than waiting your turn to make weak counterattacks against repeated attack patterns.

Unfortunately for Ubisoft, they couldn't erase Red Steel from our memories. Since then, they've stuck to sub-par ports, mini-game collections, and other drivel that have finally caused one of their forum moderators to make some interesting comments about the Wii's potential.

I'm not gonna' flame him since, after reading through the actual topic, that some of his comments were taken out of context. Instead, I wanna' elaborate upon what looks to be a trend that Ubisoft and other developers seem to be following.

Developers seem to be psyched out by the Wii and its motion controls, almost as if, to develop on the Wii, you must use the motion controls. That's simply not true.

While it is true that majority of Wii titles make use of some sort of motion controls, lots only make minor use that could be replicated otherwise with traditional controls. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a major success for the Wii, has no motion controls whatsoever. While there are significant changes between Brawl and its predecessor Melee, the gameplay has been unchanged enough to the point that it could have been done on the GameCube, or any other console. That brings me to my point.

Ubisoft's stance seems to be that the Wii isn't cut out for these big, mainstream titles, games that appeal to the traditional, hardcore gamers. I really don't see why they feel that way, though, because honestly, the "AAA" games that Ubisoft refers to aren't innovative in any way other than that the Wii couldn't replicate them graphically.

Why do people think that the Wii couldn't do Halo, Gears of War, Soul Calibur, etc.? Yes, it wouldn't look quite as good, but that's not the big concern to the ignorant masses. No, they're concerned with how much time they'd have to waste applying the "gimmick" to the Wii version of the game.

Wii games do NOT need motion controls.

Really, if a developer can't see past that, then they'll have to stick with crappy ports and mini-game collections. I understand that they're businesses, but they need to understand that gamers want some integrity from the people who make the games they play. Just because Petz: Catz 2 will sell to a large amount of young, female, casual gamers despite the small amount of effort you put into it, that doesn't mean you should make it.

If you do decide to make it, make it well. Again, I know they're a business, but do you really need that cash at the expense of demeaning yourselves in the eyes of traditional gamers? In the same respect, established developers shouldn't be afraid to step out of their comfort zone to try something new, even if it's a bit risky.

Maybe I'm just a bitter EarthBound fan, but I hate seeing a company pass up an opportunity to please fans and improve their image, even if it might not be the best choice financially.

I guess I'd never be any good at running a business. :P

One man has looked at the Wii, realized the potential of its motion controls, and utilized them better than anyone else in a single game.

Can you guess his name? Here's a hint:

IT'S NOT SHIGERU MIYAMOTO!

For as much as people complain about GameCube games getting ported to the Wii with tacked on motion controls, they seem to miss out on the most unusual of them all:

The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess

Hailed as one of the greatest launch titles ever, Twilight Princess is actually a port of a GameCube game that came out before the GCN game even came out. The motion controls were tacked on, and Nintendo even flipped the entire world map around in order to cater towards a right-handed Link.

The problem is, of course, the motion controls.

Wii's philosophy is to offer the player a new experience by having the motion controls serve as an extension of their bodies, allowing them to play games in a way they never have before.

Twilight Princess doesn't offer much in this regard. You have to swing the Wiimote to have Link swing his sword, but the motion requires no precision; the Wiimote just need to register enough motion. So, instead of being able to control the direction of Link's hacks and slashes, you pretty much execute a predetermined combo at an awkward pace since the swinging motion isn't as reliable as a simple button press.

These controls go against the Wii philosophy since you're not actually controlling Link's sword, you're just pressing an invisible, harder to press button. There's no reward for drawing out your motions to replicate an actual sword slash. Instead, you're better off slightly flicking your wrist back and forth to complete combos as quickly as possible.

If you want to execute Link's classic spin attack, you have to shake the Nunchuk. This motion is lot less sensitive, as it should be considering you move Link around with the same device. The lesser sensitivity still doesn't matter much since the motion is awkward and unreliable.

The only example of successful motion controls are found in the first-person view. Controlling the bow and hookshot work well, but that's no saving grace. The controls are basic enough that it would have been unforgivable if they had been screwed up.

So, going back to the original question: Can you guess his (the guy who has best utilized the Wii's motion controls, name?

It's Goichi Suda, aka Suda51.

Suda51 is the man behind Killer7 and, most importantly, No More Heroes. He has stated several times in interviews that he went into NMH without observing what other people were coming up with on the Wii. Later on, he noticed that majority of Wii titles were uninspired shovel ware, shameless ports, and unoriginal mini-game collections. He was inspired to make NMH something very unique.

Let's cut to the chase:

While Twilight Princess has you flicking the Wiimote to swing a sword, No More Heroes by passes that for the traditional "mash A." This might not sound revolutionary, but there are some unique subtleties. The position of the Wiimote is constantly used as Travis Touchdown (the player's character) fights using a high stance or a low stance which lead to different finishing moves. These moves are where No More Heroes really shines.

After dealing enough damage to an enemy, time slows and an arrow flashes upon the screen. Swinging the Wiimote in that direction executes a violent finisher that often ends in dismemberment. The genius in this is that the motion requires more than just a slight flick of the wrist. Combine that with the pacing of having to hack and slash an enemy and you have a game that encourages the player to swing the Wiimote like an actual sword.

When Travis finishes off an enemy, you finish off an enemy.

The only thing better would be finishers that require a thrusting towards the screen motion. There are also wrestling moves that Travis can use to take down stunned minions and bosses alive. They require a set of motions (sometimes more than one set) from both the Wiimote and the Nunchuk. Again, the controls require slightly more motion to register allowing the player to emulate their lucha libre fantasies.

Motion controls are also used in what sounds like a hypocritical move: side-jobs that work like mini-games. These jobs will have using the Wiimote as a lawnmower, a toy to distract kittens, a pole to pick up trash, etc. They're done tastefully, and they're not required all that often so they never become a gimmicky burden.

NMH has two very unique motion controls that display Suda51's humor and creativity. My favorite is the use of the Wiimote as a cellphone. Before each boss fight, Travis received a phone call from the woman who sets up his fights. Instead of coming from the TV's speakers, her voice comes from the Wiimote's. It's soft enough that you're encouraged to place the Wiimote to your ear like a cellphone. The first time I encountered this, I laughed. This use of the Wiimote is pure genius and pure Suda.

The other...creative use of the Wiimote comes when you have to recharge the batteries of Travis' beam katana. The game tells you to shake the Wiimote, but the process is completed much quicker if you emulate Travis' motion on screen.

Yes, Suda51 has you suddenly making depraved motions in the middle of your blood baths to keep the murder going.

In the end, No More Heroes feels different than your average game. Even if the plot and dialog weren't filled with over the top violence, F-bombs, and sexual innuendos, No More Heroes would still have this unique feeling to it that could never be replicated on any other system.

Twilight Princess is NOT a Wii game and should have controlled like No More Heroes did.

I like throwing that line around.

Preparing the Zapper can be confusing at first since it requires you to store the Nunchuk's cable within the handle and then feed the slack through two small holes. Once you have it set up, you'll notice that you can't really aim it like a gun by looking down the "barrel", i.e, the Wiimote. Within the game, there is an option to calibrate the Zapper, but all it lets you do is adjust the height of the crosshair by no more than a couple inches and increase the speed at which the crosshair moves. At first, this pretty much renders the Zapper entirely useless since it'll be more comfortable to just aim the Wiimote normally, but you'll find that several of the game modes utilize the Nunchuk in such a way that it's more comfortable to hold the Zapper than the Wiimote in one hand and the Nunchuk in the other.

The game revolves around a series of levels, each consisting of three stages. Your scores from each stage are added together at the end of a level. Scoring above 20,000 earns you a bronze medal and allows you to play the next level. Majority of the game's replay value is found in trying to earn higher medals. After bronze, there are silver (40,000), gold (60,000), and platinum (80,000) medals. Each stage uses one three game types.

Target Shooting finds you sitting still in a first-person view to shoot at wooden targets as they pop up and sometimes move about. There are regular red targets, gold targets which are worth more points than red, and blue 'X' targets which lose you points. Scoring bulls-eye's and consecutive hits will multiply your score. Some Target Shooting stages take you to various areas in a location, each with assorted objects like jars and crates that you can destroy for extra points.

Defender has you behind Link in a third-person view. You cannot move Link around, but you can pivot on the spot. A radar is placed on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to alert you to enemy whereabouts. Red dots indicate enemies that will slowly approach you. If they get too close, an alarm will sound. If an enemy strikes Link, you begin to lose points. Green dots on the radar indicate special enemies that, when defeated, grant Link's crossbow with an automatic upgrade. While regular arrows are unlimited, automatic arrows are in short supply, but can be used to mow down large groups of enemies with ease. You must continue defending yourself until time runs out.

Ranger gives you full control of Link. The controls for this mode feel very awkward at first since the direction Link faces is controlled by the Wiimote, while moving is controlled with the Nunchuck's control stick. It's similar to the control setup for Red Steel but much less fluid. In this mode, Link must infiltrate an area and destroy as many enemies as he can. Though it can be used in the other modes, the zoom feature, activated by holding down Z, becomes very useful, allowing you to snipe unsuspecting enemies. You can also charge an arrow into an exploding arrow which covers a wider area and deals more damage. Exploding arrows can be used to defeat armored enemies in a single blow.

There are a few boss stages thrown into the mix, but they all follow the same rules as the other modes. The game does a fair job at giving different targets or different ways to deal with familiar targets. Also, to do away with the monotony, some levels have secret endings. Just look for the scarecrows, and be sure to hit their bodies before you hit their heads.

The potential in Link's Crossbow Training comes in the faithful recreation of areas and enemies from Twilight Princess. Though the game itself was only above average, the style is present here, and that's definitely a good thing. The levels take you to various locales from the game including Kakariko Village, Eldin Bridge, Hyrule Castle, Arbiter's Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, and many more. It's a shame though that Nintendo didn't put more thought into the order and execution of these stages. Link's Crossbow Training has the potential to be almost an abridged version of Twilight Princess with a cool weapon. Instead, the levels are thrown in a seemingly random order with no real cohesion between them. If the game began in Ordon Village and progressed through the same locales in the same order as Twilight Princess did, Link's Crossbow Training would have been a delightful companion game. Instead, it will remain a tech demo that can be completed in one sitting.

Pace yourself if you want to enjoy this game. Play just one or two levels, then call it quits for a day or two. That way, it'll take at least a week before you finish the last, unsatisfying boss. Later, you can come back and try your hand at some of the higher medals. Try to get some of your friends interested in the game if you can. There is a multiplayer mode, but you're better off letting a friend finish the game for himself, then comparing scores afterwards.

If you played through Twilight Princess, you should be able to see the potential in Link's Crossbow Training and appreciate the game for what it is: a decent tech demo for an interesting, albeit mediocre, peripheral.

Anyone who has shopped for a Wii knows the truest form of agony.  Store shelves are noticeably empty--most shipments arrive at stores, with each unit quickly going from the delivery truck directly into the vehicle of the few lucky searchers who correctly guessed the arrival time that day.  While those few leave with faces full of smiles and hearts full of glee, everyone else must go home, hoping to be successful next time.

Having a hard time dealing with rejection of this sort, I decided to go the eBay route.  After a short search, I found a sweet bundle--the Wii console as it would come in the box, along with Wii Play (including extra Wiimote) and an extra Nunchuk.  I snagged some other games as well--Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; Far Cry: Vengeance; Super Mario Strikers Charged; and Resident Evil 4.  All that, and some extra fancy stuff for about $60 less than what you'd pay in the store!  And I got Super Mario Galaxy as a gift!  Victory is mine!   

The best part about all this?  I've not had time to play any of these games.  I know, that sounds odd at first, but think about it.  My summer is going to be wonderful.  Instead of playing the games a bit here and a bit there, I'll get to have one great big visually stunning mind-numbing video game orgy.  Considering the kind of person I am, I find this unquestionably more appealing.

So, thank you, Nintendo--you've once again found a way to take my money, make me like it, and lower my brain cell count.  Just tell me one thing--I'm the only one, right?

Does anyone really buy strategy guides anymore? I don't think I ever even bought one in my life, and I hate when Gamestop offers me a meager 10% discount on the guide when I buy the game. I like to say, "No thanks, I already have one. It's called the internet, and it's free." Ok, it may not be free, but you know what I mean. Besides, why do I need a strategy guide for a game like Mario Kart? It should just be one page that says, "Do whatever you want, but you're going to get hit with a blue shell at the end, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I can understand if someone is a huge fan of a game and they like to pick up the related collectables, especially if the guide is all special editioned-out like the super-sexy TwiPri one. Even that, though, would just become bookshelf fodder that I'd be scared a girl would see if she came to my apartment...which she wouldn't.