Just Another Space Program Coming to the Wii U

Have you ever wanted to build your own space program? I'm talking about putting together spacecrafts, getting the people together, and launching off into space?

Well Kerbal Space Program wants to help you do just that! Well, sort of...you do realize this is a video game I'm talking about right? NO? Oh, sorry. I should have made that clear! KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM WILL BE COMING TO THE WII U.

Now, I admit that the first time I had heard about this game was when the Wii U trailer was shown. I just don't keep up with PC Games. Kerbal Space Program sounds rather promising though. A game where you build a space program? On Wii U?! Where do I sign up?

Here's what Nintendo's Damon Baker said about the game (via Game Informer):

" We feel we have the definitive version on Wii U because of our interface,” Nintendo's Damon Baker, senior marketing manager of publisher and developer relations, tells us. “You’ll be able to utilize the touchscreen and the GamePad in a number of different ways from actually building the spacecraft and navigating the spacecraft and even getting different perspectives. You’ll be able to fly the spacecraft from the cockpit utilizing the GamePad as a different viewpoint.”

Wow! As you all know, I love games where you can make stuff. And this game lets you build your own spacecraft via the gamepad?!! Oh man. I'm ready for this game. Please come out soon.

If you want even more information about this game, go here! Its Kerbal Space Program's Official Website!

And now start planning your space program!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sources: Game Informer for the quote, Nintendo of America for the trailer

Its A Matter of Taste

Ask two reviewers what their opinion on a game is and you'll likely get a different answer. Reviewers are people and not everyone has the same taste. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately (depends on your point of view), reviews all come to down to personal preference. One reviewer might think the controls are imprecise, while another may have no trouble with them. Another reviewer may find a game boring, while yet another reviewer may rave about the same game.

 When a game developer lets reviewers review their game, they are taking a chance. I'm sure no one ever thinks they created a bad game. I'm sure each and every developer thinks their game is great or really good. I mean, they have to right? They are putting their game out there and hoping people will buy it. You have to be gutsy and believe in your product. Right? I'm just guessing here. I'm only a reviewer.

I never like writing bad reviews. Its not fun. Its not fun to play bad games and its not fun to rate someones game low. But I want to be truthful to the developer and to my audience. If I don't like a game, I tell you I don't like and I explain why. Sometimes, I fail at explaining why or I forget something. I'm only human.

It seems like writing bad reviews comes easy to me. That doesn't mean I go out of my way to write a bad review. I go into each and every game I play hoping, sometimes desperately so, that the game will be good. But when a game is bad or is not that good, its pretty obvious whats wrong. Well, at least to me. Everyone has different standards as far as how a game should be. Some people love cellphone games or smaller experiences better than bigger experiences. For some people, a game has to have a lot of content or why bother.

Writing reviews for good games is much harder. You have to make sure that the game is as good as you think it is. Are you just a fan of this particular style? Is your judgement missing some flaw? Yes, you have to look at it from all angles. Sometimes, you have to be tough on the good ones too.

In the end, reviews are a matter of taste. You put your trust in a reviewer when you read their review. You hope that you agree with them. Sometimes you don't. I think, sometimes, you have to read between the lines and find out if the game sounds good to you.

I do my best to review a game. I won't apologize. If I mess up, I'll try better next time. If you don't agree with my review, thats fine. Its my opinion. What's yours?

I Want to Make A Mario Level

My first Super Mario Bros game was the first Super Mario Bros on the NES. I was just a kid and I played the game a lot. Though, my favorite NES game was Super Mario Bros 3. Still love that game to this day. Perhaps my favorite of the NES/SNES was Super Mario World. Its hard for me to choose between Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World though. Both games are great! Love the racoon suit and the cape!

So to have a game that has all three of my favorite Mario styles of play PLUS New Super Mario Bros. U coming to the Wii U in one game is just amazing to me. And I'll be able to make my own Mario levels! Wow.



I love the Mario VS Donkey Wii U editor, but Super Mario Maker takes things to the next level. The amount of tools you're provided with and different types of environments is impressive.

You won't have all the tools right away though. You have to unlock the tools slowly over the course of 10 days. I love that. I think its a great way of keeping you playing the game every day and slowly learning how to use the Mario maker. Nintendo, as always, is brilliant.



I think its great that you can create whatever type of level you want. A lot of people will be creating crazy hard levels, but I've seen some very impressive simpler levels created by reviewers that have the game early. One of my favorites is by The Bit Block. He created a Donkey Kong level recently and it looks amazing.



The best part of Super Mario Maker? The online sharing! After you create your level, you have to beat the course and then you can upload it to the internet. Then anybody can play your level. But wait. If you're not a creator, don't worry. If you just love playing Mario games and just want to play a bunch, this is the perfect game for you too. Super Mario Maker is going to have an insane amount of Mario levels. This is going to be the perfect game for fans of Mario. Make sure you have your Wii U connected to the internet. You are not going to want to miss the amounts of amazing Mario levels coming your way.

Need more proof about how awesome this game is going to be? Check out these videos:

I'm so excited for this game. I have no idea when I'll get to play it though. I hope I'll get it for Christmas. Thats a bit of a wait, but this game will be more than worth it!

---------------------------------------------------------

All of the above pictures were taken from the official Super Mario Maker website. And the videos are from Nintendo's youtube channel. All of the above is copyright Nintendo.

What am I up to?

I plan to take over the world.

No, not really. If only. sigh.

In fact, this has been a really busy week. I'm sorry that I missed my Monday blog entry this week! I will try my best to have a blog entry on Friday.

Until then, please check out the reason I've been so busy this week! Its Shigeru Reviews!

I did an review of Wind-Up Knight 2 here: https://shigerureviews.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/wind-up-knight-2-wii-u-review/

And I have an interview with Factotum developer Thomas Hopper here: https://shigerureviews.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/an-interview-with-factotum-developer-thomas-hopper/

Also an interview with Factotum voice actor Peter Willington here: https://shigerureviews.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/an-interview-with-factotum-voice-actor-peter-willington/

Finally, I've been posting a bunch of news on Shigeru Reviews too. Its been a busy week for Indies!

I am also playing a game for review at Shigeru Reviews too: Factotum. I hope to have a review up for it this week.

So if I don't have a blog entry on Friday, you'll know that I'm extremely busy with Shigeru Reviews stuff.

Take care everyone. Hope to talk to you again soon.

Jump Into the Adventure

Wow. I just watched the trailer for Poi and I had to write about this game. My jaw was on the floor watching the trailer. Poi looks incredible.

Now on Kickstarter, Poi is a 3D Adventure Platformer. They want to bring it to the Wii U too! Currently, there is only 19 days left on the kickstarter and they only have 13,908 out of an 80,000 goal. The game seems like a long short right now. I hope not though. Please read the rest of this blog post and consider helping to fund this game. We need more games like this on the Wii U.



Poi's graphics are breathtaking. They remind me of games like Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and Skies of Arcadia. 3D dimensional, brightly colored, and jaw dropping. There are a couple of 3D platformers in the works right now that look really amazing but I think Poi might look even better.





The main character can be a boy or girl. This character will go off on a journey via an airship to explore the world of Poi. The developers want to make a game with big free roam levels and smaller challenges too. They use Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Super Mario Sunshine as examples of what they are trying to accomplish!

 



Run, jump, swim, slide, sky dive! Poi looks like an amazing platformer adventure game.

I'm really hoping this comes to the Wii U. I think it would be an fantastic addition to the eshop.
.
Here's the amazing trailer:

Oh and here's a cool video from yesterday:

Check out the game's Kickstarter page here.

--------------------------------------------------------------

All of the above pictures were taken from Polykid's website. The moving picture is from the kickstarter page. And the two trailers are from Youtube!

Building a Bridge to the Wii U

Just when we think we've seen everything the puzzle genre can provide us, some brilliant people come up with something a bit different.

The Bridge is an upcoming 2D logic based puzzle game coming to the Wii U. Not only is the gameplay very inventive, but the graphics are stunning.



The Bridge is purely in black and white and it gives the game a different look than anything else I've seen on the Wii U eshop so far! Its like drawings out of some classic novel come to life.



Of course, gameplay is at the forefront of the Bridge. The game will have you twisting and turning environments to continue forward. You'll have to use logic and your imagination to get further in these levels. The game is supposed to get harder as you go.









Doesn't this game look magical?

The Bridge is coming to the Wii U THIS MONTH. August 20th in fact.

Take a look at this trailer for the game:

What do you think of the Bridge? Let me know in the comments!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

All of the above pictures were from Google here.

I'll be back on Friday with another Indie game preview!

Don't Drive While Looking At This Blog Entry

What?! I can't believe I haven't written about this game yet!

Fast Racing Neo is an upcoming racing game for the Wii U eshop.

One part F-Zero, two parts Kinetica from the Playstation 2, and all speed, Fast Racing Neo is one of the most exciting games coming the eshop this year!



Just look at those graphics! Yes, thats IN-GAME. Fast Racing Neo has the graphics of a big retail title. Its just a fantastic looking game.





But of course, there has to be more to a game than just great graphics. Fast Racing Neo also lives up to its title. ITS FAST. Very, very, very, VERY fast. It might even make F-Zero and Kinetica look SLOW. The game was shown off during Nintendo Treehouse at E3 and looked incredible. Take a look at this:

Fast Racing Neo has multiple courses, cars, and online multiplayer! IF you love fast racing games at all, you will NEED this game!



My jaw is on the floor for this game. Not just the graphics, but the pure speed and amount of crazy fun that this title will be. I wish more racing games would just go for speed and action over trying to be "realistic". This game will be a blast!

Check out the official website here: http://fast.shinen.com/neo/  and you can follow the game's developer here: https://twitter.com/ShinenGames for updates!

Currently, the game is aiming for a December release date! What a fantastic Christmas present!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of the above pictures were taken from the game's official website!

The Wii U Gamepad Is My Favorite Controller

I just got a Playstation 1 again recently. I enjoyed playing that system again but two things were missing: a screen on the controller and being able to sit where ever I wanted. I had to turn the TV on, take up the whole TV for an hour or two, and sit in front of the tv while playing the system. It was very uncomfortable. Its no wonder I don't play the Playstation much...

The Wii U, on the other hand, gets played constantly. I love being able to sit back in my chair and just turn that Wii U gamepad on whenever. We could be watching some show on TV and I think "man, what's on the internet" or "I'd like to play some game while I'm watching tv" and so I turn the gamepad on. Right in the palm of my hand is a large screen thats capable of playing games like Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Captain Toad, Darksiders, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and more. There are plenty of Indie games that make use of the Wii U gamepad for Off-TV play too. And I fully admit that I'm addicted to the internet. I look at twitter a lot. Oh and I can't stop watching Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer videos. The Wii U gamepad is perfect for ALL OF THAT.

In fact, I'll just go ahead and say it: the Wii U gamepad is my favorite controller. I like it better than the Playstation, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U pro controller, and Xbox controllers. You may think " Hey, but its so bulky". Not to me. The Wii U gamepad fits well in my hands. I never want to let go of this controller. I doubt very much I'll ever get use to a controller without a screen again.

How do people play games only on their TV? Sure, all of the games look great and shiny on the big HD screens, but man, its so nice to being able to get sucked into a video game whenever I want to. The gamepad and the Wii U had so many great features. I love this system so much. I wish more people knew what a great system it is!

Ok, I'll done writing for today. I have to get back to my Wii U gamepad.

--------------------------------------------

The Wii U gamepad picture was taken from here.

I'll be back on Friday with an Indie game preview most likely.