Wii Archive

Review: Spore Hero (Wii)

Words by

Jennifer Allen

Posted on December 9, 2009

I fondly remember the hype surrounding Spore before its release. It sounded like it was going to be the greatest sandbox god game ever. It wasn’t of course. That’s not to say it was a bad game or an unsuccessful game, it just never quite matched the build up. Unfortunately it’s the sort of game that has been remembered more for the pre-release hype than the actual content of the full game, a shame as it was a very intriguing proposition. The Spore franchise on the whole hasn’t fared much better either with the likes of Spore Creatures and Spore Hero Arena garnering mixed reviews and commercial success. So we come to the first Spore title for the Wii in the guise of Spore Hero, a basic but competent adventure game.

The simplest way of describing the nature of Spore Hero is to call it a very basic version of the action RPG. You start out as a round blob with legs to move around but that’s it. You’re quickly guided by the game through the main quirk to this title: the ability to add body parts for various scenarios. Such body parts range from the likes of legs and arms to enable you to attack enemies, fins to swim and horns to charge at your enemy. Oh and a mouth of course, that’s quite useful if you want to be able to eat anything after all! The more body parts that you want to use at any one time, the more blue crystals you must collect. These blue crystals are dotted around the game world quite frequently ensuring that it’s never too hard to equip extra parts. This is especially handy when you bear in mind that eventually there are 350 parts to collect all together when you include upgrades. As you can see already this is all very reminiscent of a very simplistic version of an RPG.

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Review: Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil (Wii)

Words by

Billy Withers

Posted on November 2, 2009

Review: Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil (Wii)

It’s a well known fact that it was Capcom’s original game that spawned the sharp increase in stature of the survival horror genre. If it hadn’t been for Resident Evil on the Playstation we may well have never had the Silent Hill franchise or Dead Space and the many other scary games which now adorn the shelves of stores everywhere, but even though we do have a lot to thank the originator for, do we REALLY need yet another re-release of it?

The PSX and Saturn was where it started; and we all know that, but since then it’s made an appearance on every Nintendo home console since, with the Gamecube getting a revamped version with some souped up graphics and extra areas within the mansion itself and the grounds outside. The Wii gets this more recent edition, but with no extra frills and only an additional control system being the main difference on show.

As you begin your march through the storyline again you start to realise two things. The first is that for a game that has been round the block a few times, it still seems to be as solid and playable as it was at the start, back in the days when Jill was still the “Master of Unlocking” (a piece of voice acting so bad that it will go down in folklore forever) and secondly is that even though it’s still as fresh as a spring chicken you HAVE been through all this before.

See, it’s hard to really be all complimentary and full of optimism when you stand back and realise that all this game is is a re-release. You could technically buy the Gamecube edition and a third party control pad for about the same amount and that would get rid of one of the biggest faults this new version has. The huge black borders on each side of the screen pretty much halves the playing area and on anything smaller than an old 28 inch TV will make it nearly pointless to enjoy the graphics, mainly because you’ll be squinting your eyes that much that people will begin to think you’re gazing into the sun on a permanent basis.

It’s not all bad though. The Wii remote control system does actually make things work rather well and simplifies everything to a point that even a child could get into it, although with it having a 15 certificate that could prove difficult. You wouldn’t think it possible with just the solitary wand of Nintendo’s current hardware, but within minutes you become quite accustomed to the way things are laid out and as I say, it works. Ironically the Gamecube pad is supported, but then considering where this conversion came from, maybe it isn’t much of a surprise after all.

If we move away from how it came to be and look at the game itself you can still see the quality seeping from every pore. The mixture of combat and puzzles is still a joy to go through and in my eyes much better than the “just shoot” attitude of the more recent additions to the series, especially 5. What the original Resident Evil did was keep your senses at their peak, with your brain working hard to move things on, whilst your adrenalin was pumping through your body in fear of another undead foe limping towards you. You always had to be resourceful with weaponry too, as there was never enough ammo to be comfortable. This all contributed to the love affair everyone had with Resi.

It is starting to look a little ragged now if you compare it to the new guard, but then that might be a lot to do with the aforementioned screen layout. That’s not to say there still aren’t some nicely grotesque zombies kicking around the mansion. The main thing that shows the ageing is that the game still houses characters running through a pre rendered environment, rather than one created by the power of the console it’s housed in. It did a great job back then, but in a graphic hungry gaming world that we now find ourselves in, poor Resident Evil has a little bit of trouble keeping up.

I think the best way to describe the Wii version of the original classic horror game is to link it to an old rock group, who think they have got one more tour left in them, but once they hit the road the fans can see it was one too many and things just don’t sit in the memory as well as they did. I think it’s a real shame that this came out because the conversion just doesn’t do it any favours at all. The screen is too small and the need for a game that everyone has played at least once in their lifetime is not high enough to wheel this out. There has been talk of the rest of the series getting the archive treatment, which is fair enough, as we haven’t seen the 2nd or 3rd titles since the Dreamcast, so seeing them again would be a welcome sight, but we would hope they would get the same treatment that the original Resi got from PSX to Gamecube and not straight ports.

If the series had by-passed Nintendo’s last console and this was its re-mastered debut, we would probably look on it a little differently, but as it stands this is one for the purists and collectors. The director’s cut of the original is available on the Playstation Network and is a fraction of the price; and even though the graphics won’t be up there with what’s on offer here, the gameplay remains intact, not to mention it will be less than half the price of this offering. I don’t want to take away from the fact that Resident Evil still plays very well, but the way they’ve delivered this horror classic to us is scarier than half of the zombies living in Raccoon City in the first place. If you genuinely haven’t played it before and were perhaps too young to enjoy the beauty of this game in its original form then I would recommend getting this. For the rest of us it’s simply a case of keeping hold of the memories, at least until they give us another re-release on Nintendo’s next console.

VideogameUK verdict: 7/10

Review: Dead Space: Extraction (Wii)

Words by

Martin Perry

Posted on October 29, 2009

Dead Space made something of a splash when it arrived on PS3 and 360 last year. The title looked good throughout development but its heady mix of challenges and brutal survival horror all coupled with a science fiction setting James Cameron would be proud of lead to many gamers holding it up as a shining beacon of a new IP. Never one to miss a trick EA have seized the opportunity to cash-in on that popularity with a new light-gun game for the Wii in the form of Dead Space Extraction. With Visceral Games at the helm this new addition to the franchise has the right creative talent but is it merely a pared down version of its big brother?

Well, to put things into context, Dead Space Extraction acts as a prequel to the events witnessed as part of the original game. Set on the busy mining colony where a mythical artifact is found this is an immediately more sociable game. From the onset you interact with a number of characters and will rarely find yourself alone. This changes the atmosphere of the story quite considerably – rather than being a lonely, tense experience Dead Space Extraction instead delivers brash thrills more akin to Left 4 Dead. Your band of plucky colonists journeys its way to the familiar Ishimura while facing down the newly mutated hordes.

The story itself is arguably a bigger focus for the game than its shooting. With levels lasting around half an hour you’ll spend at least half of that time listening to characters discuss the various crazy goings on. It’s a bold move on Visceral’s behalf and as you wield your Wii Zapper it might be one that you question. While the voice acting is entirely serviceable (it actually sports a very varied cast) there seems to be little surprise in the frightened tones of your comrades. This failure to provide convincing dialogue may well be partly be the fault of the visuals. While easily some of the best on the Wii the facial animation doesn’t allow for the range of emotion we are now becoming used to.

It may well seem odd to discuss these things before fully exploring the gameplay but, being entirely truthful, it feels as though it has taken a back seat to the establishment of a reasonable prequel. It’s a shame too as while the back-story of this universe is filled in with fairly bland material the actual combat delivers an experience worthy of description using the developer’s namesake. The third-person viewpoint adopted in the original game gave you the ability to retreat as enemies swarmed onto the screen you are afforded no such luxury here. In all enemy encounters you are pressed down upon by the size and ferocity of the approaching mutations – just as well you can slice them in half.

One of the more technically impressive aspects of Dead Space Extraction is the return of ‘Strategic Dismemberment’. This system allows you to target specific body parts in the name of taking out your enemies. Rather than relying on the traditional headshot the freaky bad guys may well need to lose a limb or lung before they hit the ground. Fan favourite weapons make a return including the Rivet and Line Guns. With a carefully timed shot, if you can manage it with the massive reticule, can deny a beast its ability to crawl anywhere near you and your health bar. This mechanic remains satisfying and the types of enemy are varied enough to require unique strategy.

A melee attack is made available after picking up a pick-axe as part of the story. This one item makes up part of an interchangeable inventory that allows you to alter your weapon load-out. That’s a flexibility that few light-gun games offer and the game is all the better for it. My personal favourite toy was the flamethrower as it made quick work of most enemies. Prefer to pick off those toes? The game allows you to play as you wish. You better be quick to grab the items that litter the levels however as you rarely have more than a second to reach out a telekinetic arm and grab a passing explosive.

That’s right, the telekinesis and puzzle solving make a return albeit in an entirely stripped down nature. While the rest of this spin-off game has made an effort to identify its own originality these sections are weak versions of more grand concepts. Lifting objects out of your way, shooting at specific targets to bolt down panels – these are not the intricate gravity puzzles that made Dead Space so intriguing. That weightlessness does make a re-appearance though as does the turret shooting section. Neither is nearly as impressive as the first game and its easy to question whether or not they were simply ported over to maintain a brand image. Regardless these sections add little and I would much rather have seen them replaced with more of the fun shooting.

Dead Space Extraction, when taken on its own merits, is a well developed, highly polished title that breaks the mold with its story-telling. Unfortunately for me I found the gameplay balance to be rather poor with the best of what the game has to offer being drip-fed to the player. As a stop gap between the inevitable number two game it plays the prequel card regularly with there being little incentive for new-comers to persevere with the story. One for the franchise fans only then and even they might end up being led back to replaying the original.

VideogameUK verdict: 6/10

Review: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (Wii)

Words by

Paige Barclay

Posted on September 28, 2009

Review: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (Wii)

The mythical world of Harry Potter and his time at Hogwarts has been around for a good number of years now. While the wizard seems to be reaching out to a number of entertainment platforms (books and movies), it isn’t surprising that this was further extended to incorporate the video game market. Although a handful of games manage to wade past the usual run-of-the-mill movie-to-game tie-ins, this particular kind of instalment is very rarely expected to be a decent game. So, of course the main thing playing on my mind when I think of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is: Does it stand out on its own?

The telling of the plot is pretty essential in Harry Potter, even if the player has seen the movie; they’d no doubt get confused at one point or another. But sadly, this particular game doesn’t withhold a strong story-telling ability. This is mostly due to the fact that many rather important events from the story are omitted out of the final game, and even worse, pointless extra cutscenes that don’t occur in the movie are added in instead. This in itself, really brings the game down.

In terms of changes from The Order of the Phoenix to the new Half-Blood Prince, it’s not all evident, and at times, not all positive. The duelling system is one particular aspect of the game that’s been looked at most in terms of alteration. Thankfully, it’s now been accessorised with an obvious health indicator on both yourself, and your opponent. Plus the ability to cast spells faster makes for a more rapid duel. Unfortunately, as I mentioned not all changes are for the better. There’s not as much freedom in terms of spells anymore – they’re split into two categories: General spells and Duelling spells. Therefore the duelling spells obviously are for duels only, meaning you cannot just randomly initiate a duel with a wandering student around the Hogwarts grounds. EA have taken this into account however, and incorporated duelling clubs for each school house – this allows you to duel against varying opponents. The satisfying activity of exploration in the previous game has also been knocked down a few pegs by the newest instalment. Unfortunately for budding explorers, and also, the games replay factor, the Hogwarts castle is essentially the same as it was in Order of the Phoenix. This simply makes it feel as if you’re playing the same game, but just with a new storyline to keep you entertained for a while.

New additions to the game are potion-making and the loveable sport of Quidditch. If you enjoy complex mini-games then potion-making is for you, plus this is a good example of positive use of the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. So really, this is a very positive addition to Half-Blood Prince and works very well with the control system. Quidditch however, really does let the side down with a repetitive mini-game involving guiding Harry through air-rings in order to gain enough speed to catch the Snitch – which is then simply caught automatically. This is evidently not an aspect that has been paid much attention to, and seems ineffectively tacked on to the overall game experience.

Graphically the character design is actually rather impressive for a Wii game. The character models effectively convey a likeness between the movie’s actors and the game’s answer to them. Everything about the physical appearance of the environments, spells and cutscenes don’t pose as anything to complain about – which is very nice indeed.

Music is also a positive aspect which even manages to add a selection of the movie’s soundtrack into the video game. Plus many of the game’s characters are voiced by the movie’s actors, making for a much more believable experience.

Overall the Half-Blood Prince is a decent game, especially for a movie tie-in of course. But it must be said that this really is a game for fans of the books and/or movies because there are frequent references back to previous instalments, which are needed to understand particular points of the game. Though if you bought Order of the Phoenix you will most likely be disappointed by the lack of change to Hogwarts castle and in comparison to previous instalments of the game; Half-Blood Prince does come to mind as a bit of a weaker effort in the series.

VideogameUK verdict: 7/10

Review: Rock Band Country Track Pack (Wii)

Words by

Russell Maher

Posted on September 8, 2009

Review: Rock Band Country Track Pack (Wii)

When this arrived little did I know that I would be up until the wee small hours playing it!! This, the 5th track pack add-on for Rock Band, gives you 21 country songs to add to your repertoire. Even though it is an add-on it is a game in it’s own right so you can dive straight in even if you don’t already own a Rock Band title!!

This gives country music fans an alternative to all the, well, alternative, metal and classic rock tracks available for Rock Band via DLC. Most of the songs appear here for the first time in a Rock Band title before they will be available to download.

Now, I know a few of you are thinking that it’s country music and that it’s not that big here in the UK. There are plenty of fans of the genre in these isles although this track pack isn’t available via retail here. It is available from online retailers but you may need something like Freeloader to get it up and running on your Wii.

The only time I have seen country music on TV recently was during one of those Time Life adverts. You know the ones, order with your credit card and get another 5 cd’s free!! To be honest, going into this the only song I knew was the Kenny Rogers classic “The Gambler”. When playing I noticed a few of the guitar riffs and when the chorus hit to a few of the songs I realised I had heard them before. Of the track listing I think there was about 30% I was unaware of!!

Pick this up if you can. If you can’t find it at least download “The Gambler”. You really will enjoy it!!

VideogameUK verdict: 7.5/10