NGamer Issue 25

August 2007
Release Date: 18 Jun 2008
Pages: 116
Editor: Nick Ellis

Introduction

There was a brand new use for the Wii’s balance board in this issue, as Ubisoft showcased Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party. Basically a party game involving those rabbids and options to play some of the games using the balance board. There were plenty of other new Wii games previewed, such as the latest Guitar Hero, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Madworld and MySims Kingdom. The third Castlevania, Order of Ecclesias was the lead DS preview.

The big news this month looked at Nintendo’s forthcoming games, as Smash Bros Brawl was the last known release - at least until someone at Nintendo had accidentally leaked some information. With E3 just around the corner, there was due to be a new Animal Crossing, as well as a new Wario Ware game. They also looked at potential games from the main publishers Capcom, EA, Activision and Konami. There was also the news that Pokemon Platinum - the third Gen 4 game was due in the Autumn, and that there were more than 100 Wii Ware games in production. They also looked at potential games that Capcom could turn into films.

The feature this month looked at Nintendo Games that had increased in value over time. These varied from some of the N64 and SNES to older Game & Watch games as well as the Nintendo World Championships Gold cart, which was worth £2,000 at the time - and likely considerably more now!

Smash Bros Brawl was the big review this month, with months of speculation and drip feeds from Nintendo finally coming to fruition. Of course it delivered on all the promises made, with Matthew scoring it at an excellent 93% - with plenty of praise across the board. His only complaint was with the Subspace Emissary mode, which he felt could have done a lot more. The latest Lego platformer also was released this month - this time Indiana Jones got the Lego Treatment - with Matthew Pellet scoring it 80%. There were a couple of decent games on DS, with puzzler Soul Bubbles getting 79% and Zombie shooter Dementium: The Ward scoring 80%.

Also, Wii Ware was launched this month, which were essentially smaller games from (usually) independent publishers that could be downloaded from the Wii shop. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was the best of the first batch of games, and Martin scored it 5 out of 5. Metroid like adventurer Lost Winds and platformer Toki Tori also scored 4 out of 5.

World of Nintendo looked at the worst adverts for Nintendo games, and spoke to Telltale games who were due to release an episodic Sam and Max onto Wii Ware, as well as Homestar Runner adjacent title Strongbad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. As Stephen Spielberg had credit in Boom Blox, they decided to photoshop some of the Boom Blox characters into Spielberg films.

In Download this month they looked at Star Fox, and all the trials and tribulations of the much missed franchise. The classic levels also looked at Wario Land 4’s Wildflower Fields, which showcased many of Wario’s abilities and the Virtual Console essentials focussed on Yoshi’s Story.

Articles

Features

Nintendo Gold
Ads that Subtract
Telling Tales
Pincredible
Bloxbusters
History Lesson 22: Star Fox
Wildflower Fields from Wario Land 4

Previews

Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Guitar Hero IV
Madworld
MySims Kingdom
FIFA 09
Skate It
Lego Batman: The Videogame
Daidasso! Band Brothers DS
Ninjatown
Fatal Frame IV
Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked
Infinite Line
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesias
Lock's Quest
Drawn to Life: Spongebob Squarepants Edition
Shawn White Snowboarding
Detroit Metal CityL Death Shout
Pictoimage
The Meloncholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Sigma Harmonics
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Simple DS Series - Vol 41: The Bomb Defuser
Simple DS Series - Vol 42: Abandoned Building
Family Trainer

Reviews

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 93
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Author: Matthew Pellet
Country: Uk
Score: 80
Soul Bubbles
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Uk
Score: 79
Dementium: The Ward
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Uk
Score: 80
Top Spin 3
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Uk
Score: 60
We Love Golf!
Author: Michael Gapper
Country: Uk
Score: 77
Big Beach Sports
Author: Nick Ellis
Country: Uk
Score: 59
Speed Racer
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 49
Iron Man
Author: Nick Ellis
Country: Uk
Score: 41
Doodle Hex
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 77
River King: Mystic Valley
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: USA
Score: 44
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 45
Yume Neko DS
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Jap
Score: 70
Drone Tactics
Author: Charlotte Martyn
Country: USA
Score: 65
Dingeon of Windaria
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Jap
Score: 55
Looney Tunes: Cartoon Concerto
Author: Charlotte Martyn
Country: Uk
Score: 69
Guru Guru
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Uk
Score: 62
Heracles No Eikou: Tamashi No Shoumei
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Jap
Score: 64
Street Football
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Uk
Score: 12
Pro Yakyuu Team O Tsukurou
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Jap
Score: ??%
That's OT
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Jap
Score: 66
Lost Winds
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 4
Star Soldier R
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 3
TV Show King
Author: Nick Ellis
Country: Uk
Score: 3
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: Uk
Score: 5
Toki Tori
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 4
POP
Author: Nick Ellis
Country: Uk
Score: 3
Defend Your Castle
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 2
VIP Casino: Black Jack
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 1
Critter Round-Up
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 2
Dr Mario & Germ Buster
Author: Matthew Castle
Country: Uk
Score: 2

Staff

Martin Kitts Deputy Editor
Kim Bissix Designer
Matthew Castle Staff Writer
Andy McGregor Art Editor
Nick Ellis Editor
Charlotte Martyn Operations Editor