VGC at NEX: The Best Games Of NEX 2008 - News

by Gabriel Franco , posted on 22 August 2008 / 6,591 Views

And well, I bring you my evaluation of what I sampled over there based on my personal taste; so my views may not necessarily be shared by all.

Well, with no further ado I present you my impressions of the best games displayed on Nex 2008.

MAD WORLD

As I had mentioned before, Sega was the great winner of the event with the presentation of great games both for the DS and the Wii. Despite the fact that Mad World was not in open Playable Demo form, they did showcase gameplay presentations every two hours. These presentations were carried out by a nice looking SEGA model girl who astounded us with her level of gaming skill. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to video or take any pictures of these presentations… If you live under a rock and don’t yet know what Mad World is, you can check out my preview here:

http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=1727

2^ND PLACE :

Wario Land : Shake It:

System: Wii

No. of players: 1 player

Release Date: Sep 22, 2008

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Platformer

ESRB Rating: E

Game storyline: Wario receives an antique globe and telescope that allows him to travel to the once-idyllic Shake Dimension, now conquered by the tyrannical pirate, the Shake King. With the assistance of his longtime rival, Captain Syrup, he must rescue the Merfles, denizens of the Shake Dimension imprisoned by the Shake King. Only by defeating the bosses of all five continents of this strange world can Wario find and confront the Shake King, rescue Queen Merelda, queen of the Merfles, and, most importantly, claim the Bottomless Coin Sack, a never-ending supply of gold.

Wario Land: Shake It is one of the most fluid, brilliant and colorful games that I have ever played in my long life. The game is like playing a cartoon episode. The character animations and game Intro were made by hand by the Anime Studio named Production I.G, Inc., the same creators of Ghost in the Shell.

You can see their quality in this Intro:

To control Wario you flip the Wii-mote sideways, use A and B to run and jump respectively, shake it to punch. The shake move is also used to obtain coin from sacks or power-giving garlic heads from enemies. Enemies can also be thrown, and you aim by tilting the Wii-mote. The controls respond wonderfully increasing your level of satisfaction of the whole experience.

The game is very fun, especially since Wario’s erratic and greedy personality often places him in fairly comedic situations throughout the game. The game has no voices beyond the usual grunts and growls of the characters; which is something to be expected from a game sporting one of Nintendo’s mascots. WL:SI is the stunning comeback to the 2D worlds games, with colorful and well designed stages filled with plentiful surprises and challenges at the turn of every corner. This is a game that you must own if you love the Wario Land series (or if you like platformers in general).

3^RD PLACE :

Samba de Amigo:

http://www.sega.co.uk/sambadeamigo/en/index.html

Maracas and Wii-mote seems to be one of those marriages made in heaven. Samba de Amigo now jumps from the DreamCast to the Wii, filled with new songs and game modes. This was easily one of the favorite trial versions for casual and new gamers at the convention; for instance, one lady from my country who owns a video store but who had never played video games in her life soon gravitated towards this particular stand and got caught by it. She said she felt just too comfortable with this game. That’s the kind of magic this title packs.

Please see this video to understand better what I am about to explain:

The basic concept behind Samba de Amigo is that we simulate the motions we would have made had we been playing the real instrument, and you have to keep track not only of the rhythm but also of the height and the direction in which you shake the thing. This actually sounds a lot more complex than what it really is in practice.

It will be up to us to choose between one of two control schemes. The first option is to use the Nunchuk and Wii-Mote and the second is to use double Wii-Motes. At first glance this second option seems more user friendly, a notion that was confirmed by the representatives of Gearbox Software. The one handicap is that the Wii system only recognizes motion, not specific height or precision. The solution has been to ascribe slightly different moves to each of the positions, allowing the Wii to recognize the position in which we’re attempting to play.

The postures, another of the characteristic moves of the game in which we try to keep the same position for a certain amount of time, is another interesting component of the game. Thanks to it you can enjoy the display of color in each of the stages in which you participate. So far the only songs I’ve tried were Mambo Number 5 by Lou Vega, and Ricky martin’s Living la Vida Loca.

As I said before, all this coordination requirements may make it seem like this is a tough game to master, but nothing could be further from the truth. The whole experience is very intuitive. Such as with the original DreamCast game, this release is extremely easy to master and fun to play. It is one of those ideal games to bring out at parties or family reunions. Because of this, I feel that Samba de Amigo fits in just great with the Wii’s underlying philosophy.

By the way, Samba de Amigo will be the first game to use the Pay for Play approach in the Nintendo Wii.

OTHER VERY GOOD GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:

Guitar Hero-World Tour: With new modes and instruments this game promises to be the best version of ‘band’ games to reach the market. The online mode has been confirmed and it will allow you to arrange ‘band battles’ with teams of up to 4 players per side. Furthermore, it has the GH Mixing Studio were you can create your original music songs which you can then upload into the web for others to rate and try out.

The Blob: THQ’s strongest card, is a mix between Katamari Damashi and Spiderman seasoned with a catchy background rhythm. This is a story of revolutionary heroism. Radya’s world has been invaded by a group of monochromatic enemies known as the INKT corporation. The Black Comrade and his goons from INKT have taken over Chroma city and purged the streets of all their color, music, and happiness. You have to repaint the streets of Chroma City, bringing back the happiness and freeing the citizens from the oppression of the INKT and hopefully, eventually rescuing Radya as well. There are 10 chapters to the story, each based on a different borough of Chroma City. Each borough has its own challenges, music, mini games and architecture, endowing the game with a richly diverse play experience. As the game progresses the challenges faced by Blob become more complex and the enemies grow tougher, but if you play well, you may be rewarded with more mini-games.

Rayman Rabid Rabbids TV Party: This was another game that raised much curiosity among the attendants as it was played, no kidding, with your buttocks. And the game actually plays out very well. You have to sit on the Wii-Balance Board, grab your nun-chuck and Wii-Mote… and let the action begin.

In this game you impersonate a Rabid Rabbid that rides downhill through the snow atop a cow. If you tilt your body forward the cow accelerates and when you slant backwards you slow down. You move your behind from side to side to give direction. The objective is to take a series of ramps along the way that catapult you up through the air, where you’re required to use the Wii controls to simulate a series of Ballet-like postures with your cow to score points. I’m not altogether sure if it was an innate lack of dexterity, or a sudden pang of self-consciousness at operating a game with my buttocks in front of a crowd of strangers what caused me to fare less than ideally in my tryout of this game. But I guess that in a slightly more private environment this game would certainly be loads of fun.

Other games I liked included Animal Crossing Wii, Mario Sluggers, Sonic Unleashed, Tales Of Shymphonia, Deca Sports, and Wii Music (although this last one losses much of its charm without the Mario song).

Games that dissapointed me:

Not even cute girls could save Castlevania.

Castlevania Judgment: They have to really polish this game before releasing it, the graphics are bad, the controls don't respond correctly and don't feel natural, and it lacks strategy. I say this based on the demo available and probably a little with anger because I was expecting a lot more from this game.

Facebreaker: They have to really polish this game before releasing it, the graphics are bad, the controls don't respond correctly and don't feel natural, and it lacks strategy. I say this based on the demo available and probably a little with anger because I was expecting a lot more from this game.

No, I am not lazy, but both games deserved the same commentaries. They even share the control scheme.

Games that I will never Admit that I liked : We Cheer and Active Life Outdoor Challenge from Namco, I don't know if that is because of the hot ladies jumping with me in a mat on the stand or because the games have a real chance...

Shovelware Shown: TONS OF IT , but I am sure you dont wanna hear about those .

The Best Games I tried for DS

I have to admit I wasn’t able to try out nearly as many DS games as I would have wanted since I basically ran out of time. The moment I was beginning to get the hang of the first few I realized the convention was over and they were already closing up the convention floor. But at least I managed to set my hands on a few of the more attractive ones I could spot. And here is my preview of them:

Rythm Heaven:

Rythm Heaven: this is a simple and infectious rhythm game that anyone can play. If you can tap your finger in time to music, you'll get the hang of Rhythm Heaven in no time! Players hold the Nintendo DS system sideways like a book and tap their stylus on the touch screen to the rhythm of the music. Players tap, slide or flick the stylus to hit the right beat. Rhythm Heaven features catchy tunes, charming characters and a wide variety of rhythm games. Well-known Japanese music producer TSUNKU helped direct Rhythm Heaven and composed the music for it.

My Opinion: Those who know me are aware that I’m no big fan of music related games. For instance, although I bought EBA I’ve rarely ever touched it. I also own guitar hero, but I’ve only managed to remain in the amateur difficulty setting. So this is not my genre of games. But there was something about Rhythm Heaven that caught me, perhaps it was the simple, cute but elegant graphics, or the ingenious stylus maneuvers required to play it, or perhaps the music itself. Who knows, the point is that I spent quite a while bobbing my head from side to side to the rhythm of the music.

In the first level you’re required to assemble in a factory two square pieces with a hole in the middle. You do this by inserting a pin between the two, and all must be done to the rhythm of guiding background music. If you do this well you’re rewarded by your boss by moving on to the next level.

In this next level you’re required to fuel up recently assembled robots. You do this once more, under the ever-present guidance of music which will indicate you via different sounds whether it is the right moment to introduce the hose into the tank, or when to stop, or simply how much to put. To make things more interesting, the sizes of the robots vary ans so does the amount of fuel each one requires. This stage is probably best completed with your eyes closed, carefully letting the music guide you, instead of loking at the screen because the shifting images can easily t you and lead you to a mistake.

The third part of the demo was by far my favorite. In here, you’re now part of a singing trio. You’re required to keep up with their song, not singing when another one is running his solo, and taking over when your turn arrives, or when the chorus is taking place. If you start out either too soon or too late your teammates will give you a not-so-friendly over-the-shoulder glance.

Kirby Super Star Ultra :

Oficcial History: There are different plots for each of the games, ranging from Kirby's fight to stop King Dedede from stealing all the food in Dream Land to Meta Knight's quest to train for the ultimate battle. While most of the modes are traditional adventures, several of them, like Megaton Punch and Samurai Kirby, are quick mini-games.
How to progress through the game: Run, float and fight your way through the adventure games as Kirby®, gobbling up enemies as you go. Kirby can inhale enemies and spit them out as stars, but the main game play comes from swallowing foes and copying their abilities, then using the abilities to defeat other foes and advance past obstacles. In other games, you race King Dedede for food, compete in a punching contest or even adventure as Meta Knight.

Kirby Super Star Ultra features new graphics, fully rendered animated cut scenes, and new game modes. I declare myself a big fan of Kirby, and let me tell you, this game is a unique mix of old memories and new Mini Games. This is a typical Kirby platformer, you jump, float, you eat enemies to steal their abilities. Also you can increase the fun by bringing in a friend to fight with you against King DeDeDe. This game will introduce Kirby to the new generations, and also will satisfy its core fans.

Other great games that I tested and I liked:

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia : Dracula’s back, and is haunting our DS. First thing to note after checking the games is the art style. The graphics are darker and more stylized, this game looks much better than prior offerings. The controls are basically the same as previous games, but the gameplay is changed since you are not limited to one castle, now you have a open world like in Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. This game will be released on Oct 21 this year.

Bleach Dark Souls: Bleach is back in our DS for a second round, this time with an expanded roster of 44 playable characters and an exclusive story created for the game.
The game does not make too many changes to the established formula set by its acclaimed predecessor, but why to fix something that is not broken? Nevertheless, you will find some changes in game play; new cards are added and some are gone, also you still can play four-way multiplayer battles on the Wi-Fi, but now you form teams of two. This game is seeing release on the Q4 2008.

With this report we close our NEX 2008 coverage, We hope you enjoyed!!!

I took a quick video just to remember the NEX Floor show, If you wanna look it is here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi6HpPjFEuI

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Jo21 (on 25 August 2008)

well the girls worth a look

FJ-Warez (on 24 August 2008)

Wow, nice review my friend...

GhaudePhaede010 (on 24 August 2008)

That Bleach game is something to be fucking with. Must own day one!

TheRealMafoo (on 24 August 2008)

Nice. Can someone do this for Sony and MS as well?

pichu_pichu (on 23 August 2008)

Can't wait for Mad world... it's more bloodier every time I see it. I'll have a look out for Rhythm heaven since it's a rhythm game and I like rhythm games^^

megaman79 (on 22 August 2008)

the pussy cats, i got to get to sth america man

DonWii (on 22 August 2008)

I'm sure you didn't mean to put Away Shuffle Dragon in the Shovelware section.

Maynard_Tool (on 22 August 2008)

Cant wait for some of these games (especially GH WT) ....and cant stop looking at those girls :|

nordlead (on 22 August 2008)

I did, I was just joking :-D

elgefe02 (on 22 August 2008)

Read the caption Nordlead...

TheSource (on 22 August 2008)

Nice job Mr. Franco!

nordlead (on 22 August 2008)

so that girl directly under "Games that disappointed me:" turned you down huh?

FreeTalkLive (on 22 August 2008)

Good work man

Cougarman (on 22 August 2008)

madworld seems to be worthy winner, shame about castlevania.

wow some hot girls were on display there, i don't think i would be able to play games there, there are better things than games in NEX

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