Media Create Software Sales: 2007 February 19th - 25th February

01. (PSP, Capcom) Monster Hunter Portable 2nd - 705,281 / NEW
02. (PS2, Alchemist) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - 80,002 / NEW
03. (WII, Nintendo) Fire Emblem: Goddess of the Dawn - 75,359 / NEW
04. (NDS, EA) SimCity DS - 50,826 / NEW
05. (NDS, Level 5) Prof. Layton and the Mysterious Village - 49,979 / 186,716
06. (WII, Nintendo) Wii Sports - 47,053 / 1,090,736
07. (WII, Takara-Tomy) Naruto: Shippuuden Gekitou Ninja Taisen! EX - 45,792 / NEW
08. (NDS, Square-Enix) Dragon Quest Monsters Joker - 40,507 / 1,174,576
09. (WII, Nintendo) Wii Play - 35,811 / 944,586
10. (NDS, Nintendo) Picross DS - 26,693 / 183,357

11. (PS2, Banpresto) Lupin the 3rd: Death for Lupin from Love of Money
12. (NDS, Nintendo) More Brain Age
13. (NDS, Nintendo) New Super Mario Bros.
14. (NDS, Nintendo) Hotel Dusk: Room 215
15. (NDS, Nintendo) Animal Crossing Wild World
16. (NDS, Bandai-Namco) Keroro Gunsou Enshuu da yo! Zen-in Shuugou Part 2
17. (NDS, Nintendo) Wario: Master of Disguise
18. (NDS, Marvelous Interactive) Harvest Moon: The Island I Grew Up On
19. (NDS, Nintendo) Common Knowledge Training
20. (NDS, Nintendo) Mario Kart DS
21. (360, Microsoft) Crackdown
22. (NDS, Konami) Death Note
23. (NDS, Nintendo) Brain Age
24. (PS2, Nippon Ichi Software) Soul Cradle: Sekai wo Kurau Mono
25. (PSP, Bandai-Namco) Tales of Destiny 2
26. (NDS, Pokemon) Pokémon Diamond
27. (NDS, Nintendo) English Training
28. (NDS, IE Institute) Kanji Brain Test 2M
29. (NDS, Sega) Bleach DS 2nd: Kokui Hirameku Requiem
30. (PS2, Capcom) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

From Neogaf

Amazing First week sales for for Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for the PSP. Fire Emblem also had a solid first week.

IGN Reviews: SSX Blur

'EA delivers one of the most intense and entertaining experiences on Wii.'

When SSX Blur was announced, we were skeptical. When we found out about the controls, we were worried. Now that we’ve carved through every inch of the game, we’re convinced. SSX Blur for Wii isn’t a game for everyone, as its level of pure difficulty and motion control mastery is one of the highest on Wii. Still, for true gamers out there, SSX Blur comes as the ultimate challenge on Wii thus far. Ubers are an art form in and of themselves, track design is ruthless, and the Wii control is innovating, but not perfect yet. Screw ups with control are going to happen, but once mastery of this new control scheme is achieved players are going to unlock a truly invigorating experience on Wii. We’re dying to get a more stylized sequel down the line, hopefully built of entirely new levels (rehashing some of the runs from previous games is weak, EA), and we’re eager to see how EA polishes the Wii control down the line.

SSX isn’t an everybody game. It isn’t Wii Sports Snowboarding, and it won’t be a no-brainer for just anyone. The game demands coordination, but is also one of the more rewarding games on Wii. Not everyone will take this new control form in stride, but for those that put in the time and really explore the depth of the game’s design, SSX Blur is one of the top titles on Wii, and a must-have for the hardcore.
Score: 8.4

Full Review

GameBrink Reviews: SSX Blur

Pros

• Tons to do and unlock
• Cool new art style
• Decent starting controls

Cons

• Tricks and Uber tricks are deeply flawed
• Controls overall aren't polished enough
• Reuse of tracks and characters
• Terrible multiplayer

Score: 7.4

Full Review

Flash games to utilize Wiimote

WiiCade is proud to announce the immediate availability of software that unlocks Nintendo Wii Remote functionality previously unavailable to online video games. This Application Programmer Interface (API) allows Flash developers to utilize the full range of buttons on the wireless remote device. Additionally, the API gives developers the potential to detect multiple, simultaneous button presses without interfering with the pointing capabilities of the remote; a feature not seen in previous APIs.

The intuitive nature of the API provides a wealth of other conveniences and advantages. One of the most innovative features of the API is that it automatically uses keyboard keys to emulate the functionality of the Nintendo Wii Remote on desktop computer systems. This allows games that utilize the remote to be played on a desktop computer without any additional code. Since the API offers the full range of buttons on the Nintendo Wii Remote, it also provides a clear method of circumventing the A button’s inherent rapid-detection limitations. A limitation that has been crippling to many online games.

By far, the best feature of the API is its easy-to-understand interface. Developers wishing to make their game Wii-ready only need to follow a few simple steps that are outlined on the WiiCade.com website. First, they download the ActionScript interface and include it in their working directory. Next, they paste a few common lines of code to initialize the “WiiMote” object. Lastly, the developer replaces their “Key.isDown” API calls with “WiiMote.isDown” calls, as outlined in the interface’s documentation. This prepares the game to be exported and uploaded to WiiCade, where the rest of the work will be handled by server-side files.

From Gonintendo


This is great news for flash game devs willing to make some basic Wii games.

Famitsu scores

• Virtua Tennis 3 (PS3, Sega): 8, 7, 7, 6 - (28/40)
• Bomberman Land Wii (Wii, Hudson): 7, 6, 7, 7 - (27/40)
• Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana (NDS, Square Enix): 9, 8, 8, 7 - (32/40)
• Doraemon: Nobita no Shin Makai Daibouken DS (NDS, Sega): 8, 8, 8, 7 - (31/40)
• Yoshi's Island DS (NDS, Nintendo): 9, 7, 8, 8 - (32/40)
• Riot Act [Crackdown] (X360, Microsoft): 9, 9, 8, 9 - (35/40)
• Armored Core 4 (X360, From Software) - 8, 8, 8, 8 - (32/40)
• Call of Duty 3 (X360, Activision) - 8, 8, 9, 7 - (32/40)
• Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle (PS2, Spike): 7, 8, 7, 7 - (29/40)
• Amekoushi no Kan (PS2, Nippon Ichi): 7, 8, 8, 8 - (31/40)
• Karous (DC, MileStone): 6, 6, 6, 7 - (25/40)

Great score for Heroes of Mana And Yoshi's Island.

First MotoGP '07 screens

From: Gamespot

Gametrailers Reviews: SSX Blur

Highlight here for score -> 8.4

Spiderman 3 screens

More can be found over at the The Magic Box

New Mario Party 8 screens

More at: The Magic Box

Japanese software sales on February 22nd

1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (inkl. Bundle) (PSP, Capcom): Approx 500,000
2. Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami (Wii, Nintendo): Approx 50,000
3. Naruto Shippuuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX WII (Wii, Takara Tomy): Approx 20,000
4. Sim City DS (NDS, EA): Approx 20,000
5. Trigger Heart Exelica (DC, Warashi): Approx 10,000
6. Riot Act [Crackdown] (Xbox 360, Microsoft): Approx 10,000
7. Metal Slug Complete (PSP, SNK Playmore): Approx 10,000

Amazing Monster Hunter first day sales. Fire Emblem selling well on its first day and Naruto selling average.

Thanks to: GoNintendo

GameDaily Reviews: SSX Blur

Conquer the mountain in style with EA Montreal's Wii exclusive SSX Blur. Players select from 12 riders, then spin, jump, flip and shred their way through 12 beautiful tracks featuring gigantic dinosaur statues, ramps, half-pipes and insane drops. In a unique twist, they steer their characters using the nunchuk, twisting it left to right to navigate around hairpin turns. To perform tricks, they jerk the Wii remote in various directions, and once they fill the Groove Meter, they draw shapes using both controllers to bust out superhuman maneuvers, all the while the music changes depending on how well they perform. No online play hurts, and the two-player split screen mode offers limited enjoyment, but overall, EA successfully "blurs" the line between realism and fantasy, creating a great video game for all ages
Score: 8.0


Extended Review

New images of Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings

More can be at NGCFrance

New Forever Blue and Battilion Wars II screen

Thanks to NGCFrance

Media Create Hardware Sales: 2007 February 12th - 19th February

DS Lite - 136,846
Wii - 63,618
PSP - 34,505
PS3 - 20,676
PS2 - 16,192
Xbox 360 - 5,210
GBA - 953
GBA SP - 843
GC - 347
DS - 153
GBA - 40

Source: MCreate

IGN Previews: Godzilla Unleashed

What surprised us was how well the current Wii controls work with the fighting system. Atari and Pipeworks made it clear that the mechanics will most likely change as the game's tweaked in the next few months, but we can see the potential for Wii motion sensing for this fighter. Movement's handled via the nunchuk analog stick, with attacks mapped on the A or B button on the Wii remote. Combining the remote's buttons with motion will perform different swipes and uppercuts. Holding the crouch button on the nunchuk and shaking the device will send the beast on a charge towards his foe. Letting off a beam attack is handled by a two button system and aimed in 3D by twisting the Wii Remote to mimic the direction of your character's head. If the two monsters' beams cross, they'll play "volleyball" with an energy ball riding the beam where each player must time their return or else take the hit.

More images and full preview can be found here.

IGN Reviews: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent

Unfortunately for gamers and fans of the Splinter Cell series, it appears that Ubisoft took the quick, easy route to gouging consumers, as opposed to the concealed, evil one. The developers may not be deceptive about what the game offers, but it definitely doesn’t exemplify what the Wii is capable of, both graphically and control-wise. A blatant rush-job, Splinter Cell Double Agent may appeal to hardcore fans of the series, but doesn’t offer anything new to the genre.

Full Review

Sega Shifts its development from PSP to DS

In an interview with Nikkei Shimbun, Sega managing director Hideki Okamura says the company is shifting its focus from PSP to Nintendo DS, pointing out that there is a title they will release this year that will “surprise absolutely everyone.”

“We have to do a lot of thinking about titles for Nintendo’s hardware, because Nintendo’s own titles are extremely strong. It really is difficult to sell a title as a third party. What that means is that we’ve got to go after it with force: “heave-ho!” - Sega managing director Hideki Okamura

Major surprise, huh? I wonder what it will be? Though, from the sounds of it, it will be one hell of an announcement.

Thanks to Gonintendo

Media Create Software Sales: 2007 February 12th - 19th February

01. (NDS, Level 5) Prof. Layton and the Mysterious Village - 136,736 / NEW
02. (PSP, Bandai-Namco) Tales of Destiny 2 - 73,022 / NEW
03. (NDS, Sega) Bleach DS 2nd: Kokui Hirameku Requiem - 45,486 / NEW
04. (NDS, Konami) Death Note - 44,600 / NEW
05. (PS2, Nippon Ichi Software) Soul Cradle: Sekai wo Kurau Mono - 43,253 / NEW
06. (NDS, Nintendo) Picross DS - 41,105 / 156,664
07. (NDS, Square-Enix) Dragon Quest Monsters Joker - 39,598 / 1,134,069
08. (WII, Nintendo) Wii Sports - 39,128 / 1,043,683
09. (WII, Nintendo) Wii Play - 29,342 / 908,774
10. (NDS, Nintendo) More Brain Age - 28,254 / 3,991,966

11. (NDS, Nintendo) New Super Mario Bros.
12. (NDS, Nintendo) Wario: Master of Disguise
13. (NDS, Marvelous Interactive) Harvest Moon: The Island I Grew Up On
14. (NDS, Nintendo) Animal Crossing Wild World
15. (NDS, Nintendo) Hotel Dusk: Room 215
16. (NDS, Nintendo) Common Knowledge Training
17. (PS2, Capcom) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
18. (NDS, Nintendo) Mario Kart DS
19. (NDS, Nintendo) Brain Age
20. (NDS, Pokemon) Pokémon Diamond
21. (NDS, Nintendo) English Training
22. (NDS, IE Institute) Kanji Brain Test 2M
23. (NDS, Pokemon) Pokémon Pearl
24. (PS2, Sega) J-League Pro Soccer 5
25. (PS3, Sega) Virtua Fighter 5
26. (PSP, Capcom) Monster Hunter Portable
27. (NDS, Bandai-Namco) Heisei Board of Education DS
28. (NDS, Sega) Puyo-Puyo!
29. (PS2, Marvelous Interactive) Zero no Tsukaima: Shou-akuma to Harukaze no Concerto
30. (NDS, Rocket Co.) Kanji Test

From Neogaf

IGN Reviews:Virtua Fighter 5

Virtua Fighter 5 kicks a whole lot of MMA ass. It offers one of the most intuitive and robust fighting systems ever assembled and the customization options and quest mode are great fun. Granted, its AI isn't very good, it has a couple of interface issues and the lack of online is a major negative, but the mechanics here are so amazing, that it doesn't hurt the overall package as much as it would in other games. Grab a buddy (or five) and play it... a lot!

Score: 8.8

Full Review

IGN Reviews: Sonic and the Secret Rings

Sonic and the Secret Rings is my favorite entry into the franchise since its 2D roots. That's high praise for some, I'm quite certain. Bearing that in mind, if you really liked the Sonic Adventure titles for Dreamcast or GameCube, I think you will find much more to be excited about in this Wii-exclusive undertaking. I can tell you that the experience is more fun and more beautiful than any other – at least, as far as I'm concerned. But that being true, there are still flaws – big ones – and I'm less willing to tolerate and forgive them now that 3D games have fully evolved and we've seen exactly what great developers can do in the third dimension. Sonic Team has taken a giant step in the right direction here, and of that there is little doubt, which is why I hope that more time and attention goes into the camera system and level designs for the inevitable sequel.

I want to take moment to specifically explain the score. For me, Sonic and the Secret Rings offers moments of greatness where I find myself caught up in the intensity of the experience and, oppositely, moments where I want to pull my hair out or throw the Wii remote down because of imprecise control or insulting design choices. I think that some gamers, particularly diehard Sonic fans, will be able to get past these drawbacks and enjoy the great times, which are also in supply. However, for me it's really pretty simple. Call me harsh, but I don't believe you should be forced to deal with the bad to enjoy the good and hence, I've scored the game with that in mind.
Score: 6.9

Full Review

US January home console Sales

Wii - 436,000
360 - 294,000
PS3 - 244,000

Source: Go Nintendo

1UP Reviews: Sonic and the Secret Rings

Although Sega deserves praise for Secret Rings' innovative single-player adventure, the less said about the four-player party mode, the better. It's another low-budget Mario Party rip-off that stretches out a few weak gameplay concepts into multiple multiplayer contests. Seriously, the haphazard canoeing mechanic barely works -- why make four different variations of it? A few bright spots (a clever violin-playing contest, catching fruit on skewers) don't make up for the poorly executed whole. Stick with the main game -- you can surely do multiplayer Wii-waggling better elsewhere.

Link to Full Review

Gaming-Age Reviews: Sonic and the Secret Rings

Sonic and the Secret Rings is an encouraging sign that good Sonic games can still be made. I had a tremendous time exploring the different stages and the skill points add a bit of depth to an otherwise straightforward game. Some of the missions can be extremely difficult at times and I became frustrated with a few of them. Luckily previous missions can be replayed to gain more experience and level up Sonic with new attributes that often help to pass some of the more difficult areas. For the most part, controlling Sonic with the Wii Remote works great. There were a few times when the game didn’t recognize my gesture to use the homing attack and several times I accidentally pulled back on the controller, causing Sonic to stop and walk backward, but these were few and far between. If the story was told better (or ditched altogether), the music closer to the Sega CD Sonic, and the missions a little less maddening, the game would have received an even higher rating. As it stands, Sonic and the Secret Rings is a game I would recommend to anyone with a Wii. It’s good to have the blue blur back!
Score: B+

Full Review

IGN Reviews: Jade Empire PC

While it's apparently quite easy for a good RPG to turn the heads of our console editors and leave them gasping for superlatives, the fact is that the RPG market on the PC is considerably more competitive. Add in the fact that Jade Empire is nearly two years old and it's not hard to understand that the PC version isn't quite the revelation that it was on the Xbox.

That said, Jade Empire is an instantly captivating experience for any action RPG fan who hasn't yet played it on the Xbox. The characters, settings and storyline are filled with fantastic details and the whole game is dripping with atmosphere. There are always meaningful and interesting choices to make throughout the game and a wide range of combat styles to explore. On the other hand, the linear missions tend to simplify the "good" and "bad" morality system and you'll need to focus on just a few combat styles in order to stay alive.

Like the PC version of Knights of the Old Republic before it, Jade Empire is a remarkable RPG that, apart from better graphics and load times, really has little to separate it from the Xbox version from two years ago. If you've played it before, there's nothing here that you can't miss. If you missed the game on the Xbox, however, you're in for a real treat.
Score: 8.6

Full Review

Australian March Wii Releases

Sonic and the Secret Rings / March
Bionicle Heroes / March
Kororinpa / March
Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 / March 2
SSX Blur / March 15
World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions / March 15
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 / March 15
Rapala Tournament Fishing / March 22
TMNT Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / March 22
Wing Island / March 29
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII / March 29
Prince of Persia: Rival Swords / March 29
Medal of Honor: Vanguard / March 29

A great month for Wii fans down under.

Tales of Fandom Vol. 2 coming to the PS2

Namco has recently announced that PS2 owners will be getting Tales of Fandom Vol. 2. The first volume was only released in Japan but the game wasn't an RPG game. It was a game full of skits and was more of a collection of games.

Here is some info on the first volume: http://namco-ch.net/talesoffandom1/index.php

Videos:
http://namco-ch.net/talesoffandom1/movies/kaodora.zip (0.54mb)
http://namco-ch.net/talesoffandom1/movies/kaoven.zip (1.1mb)

I'm not yet sure if this is the only game Namco will be announcing. If so, they'll be posted right away.

Rumour - DS and Wii getting 'Tales' games

According to last information of the Net, Namco should announce the next week new Tales of Phantasia 2 on Nintendo DS carried out in 2d (which will be presented next Monday), a remake of Tales of the Abyss on Wii (shorter times of loading, more events, etc.) envisaged for May in Japan, and Tales of the Harmony on Wii, one following Tales of the Abyss, the history begins 10 minutes after the end of the first episode.

Source: Jeuxfrance


Let's just hope it's true.

Latest Famistu Scores

Nintendo DS
Sim City DS (EA): 7, 8, 8, 8 - (31/40)
Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan DS (Interchannel): 7, 6, 7, 7 - (27/40)
Nova Usagi no Game de Ryuugaku DS (Konami): 6, 7, 7, 6 - (26/40)
Keroro Gunsou: Enshuu da Yo! Zenin Shuugou Part 2 (Bandai Namco): 7, 6, 7, 6 - (26/40)

PSP
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom): 9, 8, 9, 8 - (34/40)
Akudaikan Manyuuki: Seigi no Yaiba (Global A): 5, 4, 7, 6 - (22/40)
Simple 2500 Series Portable Vol.9: The My Taxi! (D3): 6, 5, 7, 5 - (23/40)
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (THQ): 5, 7, 6, 6 - (24/40)

Wii
Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami (Nintendo): 8, 8, 8, 9 - (33/40)
Naruto Shippuuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX (Takara Tomy): 6, 6, 6, 7 - (25/40)

PlayStation 3
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom (Sony): 7, 8, 8, 8 - (31/40)

Xbox 360
Riot Act [Crackdown] (Microsoft): 9, 8, 8, 9 - (34/40)
Splinter Cell: Nijuu Spy (Ubisoft): 7, 8, 8, 9 - (32/40)

PlayStation 2
Aammegami-Sama (Marvelous): 5, 6, 6, 7 - (24/40)
Aoi Sora no Neosphere: Nanoka Frankano Hatsumei Koubouki 2 (Nippon Ichi): 7, 7, 8, 5 - (27/40)
Destroy All Humans! (Sega): 8, 9, 7, 7 - (31/40)
Higurashi no Naku Kei ni Matsuri (Alchemist): 9, 8, 8, 6 - (31/40)
Lupin III: Lupin niwa Shio, Zenigata niwa Koio (Banpresto): 7, 5, 8, 5 - (25/40)
Reijou Tantei: Office Love Jiken (D3P): 6, 6, 6, 5 - (23/40)
Shoujo Mahou Gaku Little Witch Romanesque (Success): 6, 7, 6, 5 - (24/40)
Simple 2000 Series Vol.113: The Tairyou Jigoku (D3): 4, 5, 5, 4 - (18/40)
Soukou Kihei Armodyne (Sony): 8, 8, 7, 6 - (29/40)
The Jokouppichi Torimonochou - Oanechan Go Go Go! (D3): 4, 5, 4, 6 - (19/40)

Dreamcast
Trigger Heart Exelica (Warashi): 7, 6, 6, 6 - (25/40)

From: The Magic Box

EGM Reviews: Sonic and the Secret Rings

IGN Reviews: Fossil League: Dino Tournament Championship

Okay, so Fossil League: Dino-Tournament Championship is another Pokemon rip-off, but that's okay. The monster battle RPG game has become so popular that it's nearly its own genre, so there's room for more than one game. Fossil League brings actual dinosaurs into the mix, which is a cool feature for dino-geeks. The graphics are a mixed bag, ranging from the cool dinosaur models to the absolutely terrible character sprites. Still, the game is fairly solid, and it's a game that deserves to not be left in the Stone Age.
Score: 6.5

Full Review

The Destiny of Zorro screens

Looks... interesting. Full conference can be found at Go Nintendo

Media Create Hardware Sales: 2007 February 5th - 11th February

DSL - 201,177
Wii - 78,550
PSP - 32,175
PS3 - 23,431
PS2 - 16,033
Xbox360 - 4,811
GBASP - 980
GBM - 884
GC - 383
DS - 121
GBA - 36

From: M Create

New Dynasty Warriors DS screens

Official Dynasty Warrior Website

New Spiderman 3 screens

From Gamespot

IGN Reviews: Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner

While Jewel Summoner doesn't soar to the heavens with unique and interesting characters or a battle system that stands the test of the full game time it doesn't fall apart either. It has a steady amount of fun that lasts for the whole game. It's a good and well-presented distraction and for something that you hope to carry in your pocket for a little while it certainly serves that purpose. This is not a game to be held up as a shining example of what RPG's on the PSP should be, but rather a good stepping-stone on the path to what could be.
Score: 7.1

Full Review

Major League Baseball 2K7 screens

More can be found over at IGN