Hey Gnerd readers! We're thinking of making Weekanerd a weekend feature only. We'll still have daily event listings on the right-hand sidebar, but we'll only do write-ups for Friday through Sunday. Is that cool with you? Let us know at tips@geekanerdblog.com.
"Circuit Bending" sounds kind of dirty, but it's not. It's the act of modifying electronic toys (getcha minds outta the gutta) to create all sorts of crazy audio, from symphonic melodies to R2D2esque doots and dweets. Tonight's concert includes seven performers from around the globe, plus Free Singha beer from 7pm to 7:30, which is important cause it seems like you might want to be just a leeetle bit altered in your perceptions to fully appreciate the festivities. Check out the website for full listings, including workshops on Saturday in case you want to bend some circuits of your own. If you know what I mean.
Mario Kart Wii and 2001 with the weirdest bunch of guests ever, after the jump...
FREE, 2pm @ Nintendo World Store, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan
Test drive the new game, see if those Wii Wheels are worth the cheap plastic their molded from, and get ready to learn how to do blue sparks all over again. Jason Priestly will be making a personal appearance, apparently he owns something called the Rubicon Race Team and well...I guess that's not keeping him too busy. All I want to know is if these guys will be there...
$25, 3pm @ Pace University, 3 Spruce Street, Manhattan
Before there was GLaDOS, there was HAL. Wait, 25 dollars?! Oh right, it's part of the Tribeca Film Festival. So in addition to the screening, you get a panel afterwards with this ragtag bunch: Buzz Aldrin(!), Contact screenwriter Ann Druyan, MIT Professor Marvin Minsky, Matthew Modine and Ira Flatow. Jeesh! Sounds like the cast of some nerd's fever dream.
It's obvious they've got a long way to go on this game, but the vid shows off two cool things:
1. Dynamic jumps! No longer does the course feel like a magnet holding your kart down, it appears that they've totally reworked the physics of the experience. The clip has Mario doing some freestylin' Excite Truck-style air spins and stuff. Very cool! I often felt like Double Dash was restricting my movement too much, so I'm ready to go wild on Wii.
2. The motorcycles are seen racing alongside karts, so it would appear the difference between the vehicles might be more cosmetic in nature and won't detract from the core experience. Great news.
I've still got my fingers crossed on this one, but the footage looks promising...
Nintendo held its Fall Conference in Japan while I was sleeping, and they let out a lot of good news. The first, if you couldn't gather from the video above, is that Sonic is Joining Super Smash Bros Brawl! Seeing him beat up on all the Nintendo guys actually started making me a little angry. I decree that anyone who plays as Sonic and wins in my presence will get a punch in the gut from me. And the good news also comes with the bad news that the game is delayed into 2008.
More breaking Ninty news after the jump...
Nintendo Takes Wii Ware Seriously Not content to have their Wii Ware downloadable game service wallow in crappy no-name properties, Nintendo has announced both a Final Fantasy game and a Pokémon game app will soon be a few clicks away from your Wii menu. The FF game is titled Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Country (breeaaath! I'm sure they'll come up with something shorter in the US) and it apparently sounds like it'll be a strategy game or something, with the player building and governing their own land. Please tell me it's just Settlers of Catan: Final Fantasy Edition. With online multiplayer. ::geeeks!:: Pokémon Farm sounds basically like Mii Plaza for your pocket monsters. You import the little bastards from your DS and get to walk among them... And raise them. Anyway, nice to see that Nintendo really wants to enter the downloadable games space by offering up two hot franchises to start things off with.
Mario Kart Wii Delayed, Pops Onto Two Wheels First off, MK has been delayed, but just a bit, to Spring 2008. I didn't even know when it was slated to come out, so that's no worry. BUT! They've also announced that there will be motorcycles (or bicycles, depending on whose translation you trust) in the game. Motorcycles could be OK if they handle the same as the karts, but... I just remember Diddy Kong Racing had all those different vehicles and it was actually a real turn-off for me. After enjoying the back-to-basics-with-some-twists Mario Kart DS so much (and hating Double Dash) I really don't want them to F this one up.
Wii Acts as DS Download Station You know how you can download demos of DS games at in-store kiosks? No? Well get with it, man! Well anyway, soon you will be able to download demos of new and unreleased games via your Wii's wi-fi connection. This is great news, I never liked having to walk into a store to get the demos. I was always on the way somewhere else, so I always had to rush my little gaming session. I'm going to enjoy this much more from the comfort of my couch. Fo sho.
Super Mario Stadium Baseball Announced Who knows why it's taken them this long to expand one of the thrilling Wii Sports sports into a full game, but finally it's here in the form of Super Mario Stadium Baseball. It's a shame that 1) The title is so clunky, and 2) Wii Baseball sucked (Mario Tennis, please!), but it's good to know their hearts are in the right place.
News based on translations of conference from Kotaku and IGN.
Available wherever games are sold, or order online at the link above.
I kinda hated the GameCube version of this title, and the Wii doesn't exactly seem made to simulate games played with your feet, but...uh, Albo, why should people be excited about this again?
8pm @ Union Hall, 702 Union Ave, Brooklyn (Park Slope)
The Super Sceret Science club meets once a month for guest lectures and science nerd fun - this month, the presentation is on everyone's favorite terrifying topic, global warming. Also included in the evening are "low-impact tunes", a video, Q & A, and "Eco-Cocktails". Free!
All the legitimate gaming journalists are out in LA right now at E3, where some exciting stuff is being announced. Since neither AHR nor myself are legitimate gaming journalists, please accept this gift of videos and news we've stolen accumulated from other sites.
First off, Kotaku got to play with the finalized Rock Band drumkit so go read their impressions and gawk at their pretty pictures. These things look... expensive. I'm so excited/terrified for my wallet.
After the jump we have about a billion videos of cool (or at least interesting) games, including ones of Rock Band, Wii Fit, Metal Gear Solid 4, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, LittleBigPlanet, the Wii Zapper, Resident Evil 5, Mario Kart Wii, Metroid Prime 3, and Assassin's Creed. Let's get this set started off right with Rock Band!
Like I said before, excited... And terrified.
A shiny commercial for "Wii Fit", featuring the Wii Balance Board, which appears to be a normal bathroom scale on crack:
First off, what the junk kinda name is Wii Fit? Is it supposed to be like "We fit!"? I mean, wouldn't Wii Fitness roll of the tongue better? Also, I question how naturally the board will feel in practice, because this video of Reggie and Miyamoto playing with it makes it look a little twitchy:
We'll see.
LittleBigPlanet is the only upcoming game that makes me wish I owned a PS3...
Can you believe how beautiful this game is? Really amazing stuff.
Now, the Wii Zapper being used with Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles:
And here's a vid of it in raw, un-modelly action:
This really doesn't look very fun. Frankly, I think I would prefer the nunchuck be separate from the zapper. Having them in-line like this seems much less comfortable than being able to keep a hand at your side. Infendo says this thing will cost $20. Can't wait for the first game that utilizes this AND the Wii Balance Board!
Next up is Metal Gear Solid 4 for the Playstation 3:
Looks... Brown. Honestly, I'm sick of watching cut scenes from this and want to see some actual gameplay. Especially if the cutscenes continue being so boring. Though this one has a pretty sweet fight tacked onto it after the main titles.
Now, a Raving Rabbids 2 trailer:
How delightful. Too bad a couple of the minigame vids I've seen at IGN look to be stinkers.
Resident Evil 5 for Xbox 360!
I liked Resident Evil 4 so much it hurts, so while this trailer doesn't quite do it for me I still have faith that it'll keep up the fun times we had with the last game.
Reggie talks Mario Kart Wii:
We don't get to see too much gameplay here, but it doesn't look too different than what we've come to expect from the franchise. Reggie pulls out the Wii Wheel, which will come packed with the game and which he claims will make it easy for new gamers to pick up and play but which I claim is a useless hunkajunka.
Not much new here, but it's still Metroid Prime 3!
I really hope the controls work out for this, because if it turns out FPSs suck on the Wii after all the hype I'm gonna cry a thousand tears.
And to cap us off, the always impressive Assassin's Creed:
Somehow this was the least exciting footage I've ever seen of this game and I'm still excited to play it. Apparently Brian Crecente felt the same way, but he played it and has some great things to say about it. Especially of note is his description of the the free running / climbing dynamic: "You can free run through the city and head straight at a wall. As soon as you approach it, Altair runs up the wall and reaches for something. If there is anything jutting out within his reach he grabs on to it. And I don't mean he sorta clings to the wall near it, I mean his hand grasps the object jutting out of the wall. The effect is startling. After he's clinging to that position you just push the joystick in the direction you want him to move and Altair will reach out for another hold. It looks amazingly like real rock climbing."
That wraps us up for now, I'll update tomorrow with another megapost!
