Kore Gang E3 Promo Video

As of right now this game is in Limbo. It was canceled for the Xbox because the company apparently went out of business then it was resurrected for the Wii. However, after being announced over a year ago there is no release window. I wouldn't hold my breath on this one, but at least it looks better every time I see it.

Nintendo Digital Downloads 7/13/09

- Bit Boy (Wiiware, $6)
- Incoming (Wiiware, $5)
- Ant Nation (Wiiware, $7)

- Secret Command (Virtual console, $6)
- Pulseman (Virtual console, $9)

- Brain Challenge (DSi, $8)

The Conduit Online Glitch Remedy

The Conduit is a great game, but it has some glitching issues with it's online multiplayer. There are plenty of occasions where the game can lock up and freeze on you. If you're lucky you've only experienced it a couple of times, but if you play a lot chances are that you have been forced to reset your Wii to get back into the game a lot. Supposedly, High Voltage is aware of the problem and are working to find a fix, but I recommend you email them and let them know anyway at info@high-voltage.com

What I have to offer isn't so much a remedy for the freezing, but a quicker way to get back into the game. Before I would hit reset on the Wii or power it off on the Wiimote, but both methods require you to sit through the opening screens and warnings. A better way is to eject the disk from your wii then put it back in. This method will kick you out to the multiplayer menu instead of the warning screen and is much, much faster. I haven't fully tested it yet, but it has worked for me and it may work for you.

Hopefully, High Voltage comes up with a fix soon.

Vanguard Princess

Free Game of the Day



Vanguard Princess is a sexy Moe fighter in the same vein as Arcana Heart. The difference here though is that Vanguard Princess is totally FREE and supposedly developed by an ex-Capcom employee over the course of 3 years. You have to applaud that kind of dedication for a FREE game especially since the final product is of such high quality. That's right. This game doesn't have extras or tons of modes, but what it does have is expertly done.

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Unfortunately the game is entirely in Japanese and it won't run on a non-Japanese computer without some tweaking. Thankfully the process isn't that hard and it only took me a minute to set it up. If you want to play the game and have downloaded and extracted it just follow these steps:

1. Download and install Microsoft applocale

2. Find the games .exe and .kgt files located in the game's first subfolder (the .exe file will have a small icon with a red figure)

3. Rename these two files to something in english while maintaining the extensions

4. Run applocale and run the game under Japanese language settings.

5. Enjoy

Sadly this won't make the game's text english, but it's not that hard to figure out. I'm sure there are people working on a translation anyways. To download the game and get more information check out the game's Wiki page.

Vanguard Princess Wiki

Gamepro Writer Plagiarizes IGN Review

After a forum posted the similarities of both the Gamepro and IGN reviews, Gamepro staff investigated the matter and concluded that their review of Water Warfare had indeed been plagiarized. The writer in question said he used the IGN review as a guide and has subsequently been fired (he was an unpaid Intern). The review in question will remain posted according to Gamepro.

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When I first heard about this I skimmed over it and didn't think much of it since "pro" reviews tend to mimic each other and sound alike. Just take the reviews for The Conduit where you would be hard pressed to find any review that doesn't mention the words innovation, ground breaking or ordinary. Buzzwords, press release sheets and other things routinely go into "pro" reviews, and combined with the very similar views of the "hardcore" videogame press I wasn't surprised at the similarities.

Of course the review was plagiarized and that opens up or rather re-opens the wound that is the lack of ethics, standards and the overall shady practices of the videogame press. In this case I'd like to touch on the horrible practice of not playing the games you review. Clearly this plagiarizer didn't play the game sufficiently or at all else he wouldn't have needed to steal from another review. Unfortunately this practice is all too common.

I direct you once again to the reviews for The Conduit where multiple reviews admitted to not having played the multiplayer portion of the game. Now while it's admirable that they admitted they didn't play half the game it's horrible that they would think they are qualified to offer a valid opinion. It would be like offering a review of a six course meal after only eating three courses. It's absurd.

The usual excuse for this practice is a lack of time. People will tell you how busy they are and how many games they have to play and review. Others will blame late preview copies or deadlines. Whatever the excuse is the practice is unacceptable, and I believe that this case is the first casualty of such an accepted and widespread behavior in an industry that claims to be professional.

The question then rises; how much of a game do you have to play to offer a valid review? The common sense answer is most of a game. Not some, not half - Most. It's hard to say your review is unfounded when you say you've played most of a game. How much is most depends on the game, but if I were to use a number I would say at least 80%. Games come in all different types so what's most for one game won't be for another, but if your review is based on most of a game then it can be taken seriously.

Source

Wii Users Like Easiness & Gun Shooting Games

Quote of the Day

A gun shooting game like Darkside Chronicles makes much more sense for Wii so, in short, Resident Evil 5 Wii Edition isn’t likely to happen. - Masachika Kawata, Capcom

For those who don't know, Kawata was also the wonderful guy who said that "Wii users like easiness" when explaining why Umbrella Chronicles was changed from a 3rd person Resident Evil game into a rail shooter. While I applaud him on his consistent view of Wii owners his message still stinks.

What's even more pathetic (more pathetic than his flip flopping about a Wii version of RE5 in the interview), is that he hinges the entire possibility of a RE5 port to Wii on nothing more than the visuals. Of course this is stupid since Capcom has ported RE4 to cellphones and they didn't seem to care about visual quality there. What about the horrible visual quality of Dead Rising Wii?

This type of crap is what has really made me hate Capcom this generation. Their PR is atrocious, they never say what they mean, and they insult Wii owners by ignoring the success of RE4.

Source

The Grinder Sheriff & Arena Gameplay Video

High Voltage Software seems to have some good ideas for their next Wii game The Grinder. Here's a video showing some footage where you can save a Sheriff if you want and an arena score attack mode in a placed called the Dust Bowl.

Suda Rumor & Poor Journalism

I didn't really want to talk about this, but it's spreading like a virus and someone needs to inject some common sense into the lunacy that is the videogame media. See, a game magazine posted an interview with Goichi Suda, the creator of No More Heroes, in which he supposedly said something like this:

I think this is the last NMH that is going to be developed on Wii. To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now.

I don't know if that's the official version or one of the many versions floating around the net, but he supposedly said something like that. I say supposedly because of two important reasons:

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1. He's only said this to one publication.
2. He doesn't speak english and translation issues are not uncommon.

If Suda had been saying or even hinting he was ditching Nintendo to multiple publications in multiple interviews then this would be a lot easier to swallow, but this is the first we've heard him rail on the Wii like this. Maybe he will continue to, I don't know, but there needs to be a pattern for me to believe he really feels that way. Then there are the translation issues and there are so many, so often in the videogame news business that at this point anything translated from Japanese needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Now let me address this rumor as if it were true before pointing out the stupidity of the videogame media. If it is true that Suda really said this it was incredibly stupid of him to do so. First of all he has multiple Wii games that are coming out and the last thing you want to do is piss off the people you are trying to sell something to. Telling Wii gamers that he can't make anymore games for them because their console sucks isn't the way to promote your products.

Secondly, him saying that he needs a new platform to expand NMH is pure insanity. No More Heroes is a very low budget, technically inferior game. I love it and think it's excellent, but there's no way in hell it even starts to utilize all the power of the Wii. Implying that you've done everything you can on a system when all you've done is one low budget game that could have easily been done on the PS2 is dishonest at best.

If Goichi Suda really feels this way he will be nothing more than another videogame industry asshole who gets popular then shits on the people who made him popular in the first place. He hasn't tapped the Wii in any way so if he is leaving it's because of money. Somebody, somewhere offered him a lot of money and now he wants to jump ship. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft threw him some cash since he now seems to think Natal is the greatest thing ever - a prototype peripheral that hasn't proven itself in any way, shape or form.

I want to stress that I don't believe this rumor is true or that Suda is dumping on the people who got him to where he is now... yet. I hope it's not true, but only time will tell.

Finally, with this mess the videogame media have once again shown off their incredible lack of standards and Journalistic credentials. Not only have multiple publications spread this quote around as truth and fact, they haven't bothered to get a clarification or try to find out if he really feels this way. A developer who just found success (for the first time in his life), on the Wii suddenly dumping on it is pretty important yet no one cares to get to the bottom of the story or make sure it's true to begin with. Of course this should come as no surprise since the vast majority of the videogame media would love nothing more than for developers to ditch the Wii.

The Mythology of The Conduit

The Conduit doesn't have a whole lot of story, and what's told is mostly done through dialog before and during each of the levels. It's simple and not too involved, and that's turned some people off. The Mythology of The Conduit, though, is huge and it does a lot in explaining the premise of the game and what's going on. The thing is the mythology isn't handed to you on a silver platter like most gamers expect these days. No. The Conduit's mythology is something that you have to look up for yourself with the help of the many hidden clues in the game.

It's involved and it takes some extra work, but it's well worth it. The entire game is founded on decades of conspiracy theories, UFO mysteries, American history and even some Greek mythology. There's a lot to absorb, and I don't blame them for leaving it out of the game. It would have been nice if they promoted it more though.

The link below will lead you to some serious discussion on the game's mythology so expect lots of SPOILERS. If I were you though, I would find the hidden messages and do a little research before checking it out. There's a lot to be discovered and if there's a sequel who knows what else will be revealed.

SPOILERS Conduit mythology discussion SPOILERS

Machinarium Preorder Goodness

I'm not a fan of preorders (especially since they are helping to destroy the videogame industry), but I do it occasionally. A bonus makes things even better, but a discount? A discount makes things awesome, and that's what you get if you preorder Machinarium. You get $3 OFF the full price ($20 - $3= $17), plus 5 high res pics and 5 songs from the game that you can download right after purchase.

Machinarium is the first full length adventure game from, Amanita Design, the guys who brought us Samarost 1 & 2. You can play them right now by checking out the FREE game section on the right there. I urge you to check them out because they are truly great games with an incredible and unique style.

Machinarium is set to launch in October 2009.