NGamer Issue 5

Introduction

It’s always a big deal when a new console is launched, and the Wii was no exception. The first issue of 2007 was dedicated to the launch of the Wii, and being the first Nintendo console to be launched everywhere at pretty much the same time, this was the biggest so far. So big in fact that the magazine had over 180 prizes to give away, with something on almost every non-ad page of the mag! The legendary Matthew Castle joined the team this issue, and was the longest serving member of the magazine, lasting almost until the very end! His famous contribution was to the Red Steel review, scoring it far higher than most other magazines at 90%.

News this issue looked at the wii’s launch in the USA, a few more bits of information about Mario Galaxy and coverage of all the games unique to the Wii’s USA and Japanese launch with the promise of reviews to come in the next issue. Previews showed that there were plenty of games coming after launch, with  Smash-Bros, WarioWare Smooth Moves and Pokemon Battle Revolution all getting coverage.

The reviews section was massive, with 18 of the Wii’s launch games getting reviewed. Of course the star of the show was Twilight Princess, which was the first time a non-Mario related  title took the top billing for a console launch. It gained 97%, with the team saying it was possibly the best Zelda so far, which was a massive compliment given the games that had come before! 

Of course the pack-in Wii Sports was reviewed, which became a sensation, and coverage of people smashing their TV’s was to become a staple for many moons to come! The only other big game of note was Monkey Ball Banana Blitz, which was properly reviewed after the coverage from the last issue, again scoring 84%. The DS wasn’t exempt from coverage of course, and Yoshi’s Island DS gained a highly respectable 85%. Many of the other games were license and movie cash-ins (pretty standard for the Wii library), although Tomb Raider finally appeared on a Nintendo Console with the release of Legend on the Gamecube.

World of Nintendo was again devoted to the Wii’s launch, with the team looking at 247 things you can do with your new console, including making Mii’s, tips for getting the most out of your Wii, and various things you can do with the channels that came with the Wii’s operating system. Sadly most of these are now lost in time, with support no longer available, but it was certainly entertaining to try some of these things. They also looked at the Wii’s history, and a few things that didn’t actually make it to the final Wii.

The team also launched the Wii challenges, which was the next stage of I’m the Best that ran in N64 magazine and NGC. This time they wanted your best scores in Wii sports specifically, plus set challenges for various launch games.

The download section was again dedicated to the Virtual Console, looking at what games you could get for various price points, and splitting all the launch games into groups based on how good they were, including what to avoid and the major gems that you should be buying. How I miss the days of anticipating those massive game re-releases on the Virtual Console!

The magazine ended with the round-up of the quiz, with Greener showing all the prizes you could be winning. It was certainly one of the biggest competitions they had ever run!

This was a fantastic issue, with plenty of nostalgia, especially Matthew’s Red Steel review, which likely haunts him to this day! Their coverage of the Wii’s launch was certainly unique, and the coverage of USA and Japanese games was very much appreciated. As always it was good to see what was going to be coming to the UK soon