Guitar Hero: On Tour (Guitar Hero DS)

As I've said before, I'm a guitar hero fan, but no guitar hero playing for any player will prepare them for Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS system. Yes it's true, they are developing a guitar hero DS. Before I explain how it will work, check out these pictures for a reference:

Using details from the top picture, we see a new guitar hero fret buttons attachment which will slide into the game boy port. You will hold the game on its side like in Brain Age and the notes will come down the left screen. To strum, you can use your stylus, your finger, or the new included guitar hero pick stylus to pluck the strings on the touch screen. You will also touch the whammy bar on the touch screen for that effect.  As you can see, only four fret buttons have been included, so no insane moving up and down the frets on expert songs, but the game is still expected to be challenging. Also note this attachment will work on both new and old DS systems.

The track list is going to be one of the most diverse in a guitar hero game ever. With over 20 songs including "Spiderwebs" - No Doubt, "All the Small Things" - Blink-182, "Do What You Want" - OK Go,    "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" - Jet, and "We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister. Also, a Nirvana song will be included and include other songs from genres such as classic rock, alternative and pop. 

The usual career mode is back, with 6 characters to play, and two new to the series. Battle mode is back from Guitar Hero 3 and co-op play can be done with a direct DS link, so no Wi-fi over the internet. Although slightly different from what we've seen from past Guitar Hero games, Guitar Hero: On Tour should provide a new twist to DS owners on a familiar series. So prepare your rocking spirit to go on the road with Guitar Hero: On Tour on the DS June 22nd (yes, the day Rock Band Wii comes out).

Images and Info credit Wikipedia and Nintendo Power volume 228

Mario Kart Wii

I don't know how many times I've read this, but here I go on about it. On the heels of the super popular Super Smash Bros Brawl comes Mario Kart Wii. It seems now that Nintendo's big name game series have finally all made their debut on Wii. Here they are in a nutshell:

Zelda: Twilight Princess

Mario (plat-former): Super Mario Galaxy

Paper Mario: Super Paper Mario

Metroid: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Super Smash Bros: Brawl

Mario Kart: Mario Kart Wii

Does this mean a 2nd Wii generation is on the horizon? Please note that Twilight Princess and Super Paper Mario were originally going to be released as gamecube games, and not built for the Wii base up, Metroid was the first from this list to do that. I for one can't wait to see what a complete Wii Zelda will be like (I'm hoping rumors for a 2009 release coming soon).

Yes, all that is very nice but the game I want to preview in this post is:

For those of you who don't know, the Mario Kart series is a Nintendo-ified, Mario-ified racing game. You get to pick from a selection of characters that hail from the Mario universe in increasing numbers from game to game. Although it may seem like it, the game is not about strategic racing, but rather using items and mini-turbos to bust up your opponents. Mario Kart Wii features a couple of new features and some taken from Double Dash (game cube) and the DS version. I simply compiled a small list for those anticipating this game.

• Along with the ability to race of Karts, you can race of bikes. The differences are as follows: Karts, better charge-up on turns, slower turns Bikes: Ability to do wheelies to get speed on straights, sharper turns
• 32 tracks with a combination of new and old (although reviewers report the new outshine the old)
• Ability to pull of wicked stunts on small bumps and large death-defying jumps. 
• Ability to race as your Mii along with 17 mario characters
• New items, some inspired by old games
• Online racing and battle mode
• WiiWheel attachment to use as a wheel (think Wii Zapper) that makes racing more realistic (you can also stay with a gamecube controller
• Instead of 8 racers, you get 12! (Battle mode too, it gets hectic)

Well, that's my summary of Mario Kart Wii's new game features. Also note Nintendo Power gave the game a 9 out of 10 for being perfect but not as revolutionary as some Wii games and not as packed as Super Smash Bros Brawl. Feast your eyes on these screenshots for the next couple of weeks as April 27 approaches.

The Kart selection screen, looks nice and clean. Plus color schemes for each character.

Wi-fi, in Japanese! Lot's of Mii's on the track today.

Like I said, some uber tricks on big jumps.

Here it is, Peach's other side, a biker chic. 

Also, check out my Mario Kart Wii event tracker at the very bottom (it wouldn't fit anywhere else) of the page. It provides regularly updated info with images, news, tips, and features. 

(Images courtesy of ign.com, information Nintendo Power)

Legend of Zelda Movie!

Hoax or not? The choice is up to you but it did make the headlines of IGN. Based on the trailer, it seems to follow a combination of Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time. Rainfall (the production team) does say only a year from this date, April 1st. Check it out:

http://movies.ign.com/articles/863/863492p1.html