Gamertell

DreamCatcher Interactive and JoWooD Productions have announced they will be bringing Yoga for Wii and The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft to the Nintendo Wii. Both games are currently under development and are set to be released Fall 2009.

Yoga for Wii will utilize the Wii Balance Board as players are guided through a variety of popular yoga exercises. A “yoga guru” will act as the player’s personal instructor and help monitor progress, making suggestions based on the player’s performance and computations taken from the Balance Board.

The exercise game will feature three play modes: Story Mode (start as a beginner and ends a yoga guru), Training Mode (learn new poses) and Routine Mode (a series of consecutive yoga poses for either user- or pre-created routines). There are also mini games along the way to test the player’s knowledge of yoga.

Yoga for Wii is expected to be rated E by the ESRB, with an anticipated release in October 2009 from DreamCatcher Games.

The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft comes about as the result of a partnership with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing to develop a series of interactive games based on the Frank and Joe Hardy characters. Already available for Windows, Hidden Theft puts the young detectives at Spencer Mansion where a vault has been robbed and the police apparently need the help of teenage boys to tie-up some loose ends.

According to the press release, the game features “... an enjoyable story, likeable characters and challenging puzzles,” and is non-violent. I imagine what’ll attract gamers to this, though, is the fact that Jesee McCartney and Cody Linley play the voices of Frank and Joe. And hey, if you get stuck on one the case, you can always call Nancy Drew for help.

The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft is rated E 10+, and will be available in September for $29.99 from The Adventure Company.