Review: Photo Dojo (DSiWare)

This morning, Nintendo gave all DSi owners a sweet treat: a free game!  That’s right, the brand-spankin’ new Photo Dojo is available from now until June 10th for the low, low price of free!

Photo Dojo is a simple little game.  You use the DSi Camera to take pictures of yourself in certain poses, then record a few voice clips, and then become a powerful kung-fu master!  It’s really quite simple.  Taking the pictures can be a bit difficult because they have to be taken from about 6 feet away, but it can be done without too much trouble.  I would recommend having a friend help you out.

After taking some pictures of yourself, you get to record various sound samples for moves (such as “Take this!” or “You fight like a girl!”).  These sounds are then used as you roam the countryside looking for fights.  Not only that, but after recording your sounds, you can take a picture of something to use as a backdrop.  Naturally, I chose the bathroom.
The game has a 2-player VS mode and a 1 player mode.  In VS mode, you share the same DS.  The left player uses the D-Pad to move and the L button to attack.  The right player uses the ABXY buttons as a D-Pad and the R button to attack.  It works surprisingly well.

1 Player mode has you plowing through as many bad guys as you can take on.  Each one is represented by other characters in your roster, so the more fighters you make, the more random and crazy it gets.  Everyone once in a while, you’ll even get a mini or mega fighter (with high- or low-pitched sounds to go with them).

All in all, it’s a pretty sweet game, especially considering the price.  And even at 200 points, it’s a steal.  The game is really fun and crazy funny.  So, if you have a DSi, get it now.  You might as well, even if you don’t like it much.  It is free, after all.  And if you don’t have a DSi, you’re crazy.

Pros:

• Unique and fun fighting game
• Very inexpensive!
• Put yourself in the game (sounds, too!)

Cons:

• Can be difficult to take some of the pictures

This game earned a Blatantly Biased:

Nintendo News: May 10, 2010

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata mentioned in a recent interview that Japanese gamers strongly prefer 2D Mario titles to 3D ones.  This may be evidenced by the fact that New Super Mario Bros. Wii has sold 3 times what the first Mario Galaxy has (in Japan at least), and in a much shorter period of time.  He speculated that 3D Mario games tend to be too difficult to control for many gamers.  This may be at least part of the reason that Mario Galaxy 2 will come bundled with an instructional DVD on how to play the game.

After a failed attempt at entering the used video game market, retail juggernaut Wal-Mart has announced that it is giving it a second chance, this time with another provider.  It is testing a used video game/DVD service in 5 locations to gauge customer response.  This is likely partly due to the recent closing of Game Crazy, leaving GameStop as basically the only national chain of used video game stores (which is a crying shame, to be honest).  If not Wal-Mart, let’s hope someone can keep GameStop from becoming the only place to buy games used.

EA has announced that beginning with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, new EA Sports games will come with an Online Pass to play the game online.  If the game is sold used, it will not come with the online pass.  Gamers who buy a used copy will need to purchase their own Online Pass ($10) to play online.  This is part of EA’s “Project Ten Dollar” initiative to reclaim sales lost to used game vendors.  Essentially, new EA games will come with codes to redeem for free Downloadable Content, where gamers who buy used copies will have to pay for said DLC.  It seems risky and arrogant, but it remains to be seen if Project Ten Dollar will have any effect on anyone.

-benjamines

Mondownloaday!

Good morning, friends!  I hope that your weekend was amazing!  I know mine was.

This week, we get 4 DSiWare games and 2 WiiWare games.  Let’s get to it!

Photo Dojo (Nintendo, 1-2 Players,  200 Points [starting June 11]): This game lets you take pictures of yourself or others and put them into a fighting game.  It has made a great impression on most people who play it, and Nintendo, being the awesome company that they are, are giving it away for the first month!  Awesome!

Earthworm Jim (Gameloft, 1 Player, 500 Points): The good ol’, hilarious, insanely hard SNES game, with some additional DSi Camera mini-games thrown in.

Chess Challenge! (Digital Leisure, 1-2 Players, 500 Points): Chess, with local multiplayer.  Joy.

Flips: The Enchanted Wood (EA, 1 Player, 500 Points): The next entry in the downloadable book series.  I haven’t read it.  So that’s all I can tell you.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (Capcom, 1 Player, 1,000 Points): The final entry in the fantastically entertaining Phoenix Wright saga.  Play as Phoenix Wright and uncover the truth behind various murder cases.

Chess Challenge! (Digital Leisure, 1-2 Players, 500 Points): The Wii version has online play, leaderboards, and Mii Support.  Joy again.

Well, there you go!  Starting at noon ET, I would definitely recommend Photo Dojo, considering it’s free for the first month, starting today!  And while there are no Virtual Console games, you can still get a SNES or DS game with Earthworm Jim or Phoenix Wright.  Fun times!  So get out there and play!  Or stay inside.  In case it’s cold.

-benjamines

Don't Lose Hope!

In Nintendo's latest release list, the oft-delayed Gamecube-turned Wii game Hoshi no Kirby (basically, Kirby Super Star) is still in development.  The title was shown at E3 2005 and literally no new details have been shown since.

The video below shows you what kind of game it may be.  This trailer is old, so many things may have changed.  Either way, it makes my heart hurt to watch this, seeing how it looks like Kirby 64, which, in my opinion, is the best game of all time.  I want my Kirby!

-benjamines

Let’s Party!

Today, Nintendo announced Wii Party, which appears to be Mario Party without Mario.

  The game looks to copy the board game/mini game collection series, but letting players use exclusively Miis instead of the Mario Bros.

Apart from a couple of screenshots, we don’t really know anything about the game, other than it’s similarity to previous Party games.

It does appear that you’ll be able to use the Balance Board.  Heck, you might even be able to use Nintendo’s not-yet-released Vitality Sensor.  Who knows.

The game is expected to ship sometime in the next year or so.  I’m predicting Holiday 2010.  You heard it here first.

-benjamines

Milestones

Kinda like kidney stones, but significantly less painful.

Since the advent of the DS and the Wii, these games have all sold more than 20 million copies.

Wii Sports: 62.34 million
Wii Play: 27.38 million
Nintendogs: 23.26 million
Wii Fit: 22.61 million
Mariokart Wii: 22.55 million
New Super Mario Bros.: 22.49 million

That’s pretty awesome, eh?  Makes most other games seem like total failures.

For the record, Brain Age and Mario Kart DS each have sold about 18 million, so they’re close.

-benjamines

Flash Game Friday!

It’s back!  Your favorite time of day when you can go to your favorite blog and play some stupid game!  It’s almost the weekend, so why the crap not, right?!

This week, we have the adorable game Sushi Cat.  There’s this kitty, see, and he wants to get all fat and stuff.  So, you drop him down a sort of Plinko-style board and get as many pieces of sushi as you can!  So silly, but so cool!  Go here to play the game!

Btw, if anyone out there has found a fun Flash game that could be included on the site, let me know!  Enjoy!

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Perfect Dark (X360), Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (NDS), Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (NDS)

Nintendo News: May 06, 2010

Later this year, Disney will be releasing a Wii game called Epic Mickey.  It’s an action-platformer starring the quintessential mouse, but with a darker edge.  Not only that, the game will be transformed into an actual book.  Few details have been revealed on either title, but we’ll likely get more info at E3. [via NeoGAF]

In Nintendo’s fiscal report, they announced that Wii sales are down 21% from last year.  This is probably due to fewer high-profile titles in 2009.  This year will see a new Zelda, Mario, Metroid and several other big name titles, so I really don’t think this is a big issue.  Besides, even with the downward slide, this was Nintendo’s third-best year ever.

The latest issue of Nintendo Power talks about the next De Blob game, among other things.  One little sidenote mentions the announcement a new major game right around E3.  Whether or not it will be anounced in the magazine or at E3 is not clear.  Here’s hoping it’s a new F-Zero.  PLEEEEEAAAAAAASE!!!

-benjamines

Big Numbers

Number of DSs sold worldwide: 128,890,000.

Population of Japan: 127,380,000

You know how they always talk about robots becoming sentient and turning on you?  Yeah, I think we’re getting close to that day.

Keep your uchi locked, everyone.

-benjamines

Terrible Turdsday!

And now, it’s time once again for your favorite make-fun-of-crappy-games bit!  This week, we examine a REAL gem of a game.  Lemme tell ya.

This crappy NES game has a crappy NES name.  Well, actually, it’s more of a short story.

Chapter 1

Wizardy

Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord

The End

Personally, I like the name I gave it better: Gizzardry – Puking Clowns on the Bad Underwear.  That would have been a much better game, I assure you.

Let me show you what that would look like!

Look at that pretty dragon!

Remember those old text adventure games, where you have to type each command, like Go South or Get Rock or Break Wind?  Well, this game is pretty much like that, except, as you know, the NES controller has no keyboard.  Well, not much of one anyways.  I guess if your commands looked like BABSelectABBStartBBABBB, you’d be ok.  Fortunately for the universe, the game has several commands you can use!  Like LOOK!  Or like, TALK!  It’s so freakin’ AMAZAZING!!

In short, this game is stupid.  Don’t buy it.  Don’t play it.  Don’t look at it.

For the record, I didn’t buy the game.  Some dirtbag mugger guy gave it to me.  Stinkin’ weirdy.

Pros:

• Makes a great coaster!
• It’s not Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball
• Makes ET for Atari look fantastic

Cons:

• Must you ask?

This game has earned a Blatantly Biased: