Gamertell

I remember standing in front of the television with my co-workers September 11, 2001, watching in non-belief that such a thing would even happen on American soil.

So when I read the story on Fox News 29 Philadelphia that a new online game called New York Defender II featured images of that day caused an outrage, I can truly understand why. It was the pouring of salt into the wounds of all those who were still shocked by the events of 9/11.

Out of curiosity I found the website, Uzinagaz to check it out for myself. In New York Defender II, you play a small fighter jet patrolling the area and when one airplane changes its route or passes the airport and heads for downtown you shoot it down. Your progress board is in the shape of one of the two towers. If it’s completely filled in with red you lose. It didn’t bother me as much as New York Defender did, where almost instantly you see the twin towers and the airplanes speeding towards and crashing into the towers. You have to shoot them down before they hit the towers.

What was intended to be entertaining brought up memories of that day. I must say I agree with the…

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Perhaps you remember the Wii-launch title Red Steel, which looked extremely promising in the run-up to the Wii launch but eventually betrayed all that pre-launch promise and hype.

It was supposed to be the title that would underline the new gameplay experience that the motion-perceptive Wii had in store. But it was dwarfed by other titles – especially Wii Sports – and rightly so, for its gameplay was very frustrating. Now Ubisoft has a sequel of the game in the works.

In the Issue 26 of Official Nintendo Magazine, there is a very terse preview of the sequel. Ubisoft has managed to keep the details of the game a secret but promised that the game will be better in all aspects than the original Red Steel. It doesn’t have a proper name or a specific release date, however, a 2008 release is promised.

I thought that Ubisoft might have retired the game by now but it lives on. Now, hopefully, the original Red Steel’s experience has faded away in the minds of the Wii gamers so that its sequel doesn’t have to battle with any negative predispositions.

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Nintendo’s game plan always has seemed to try and incorporate as many people as it could in its gaming family with the DS and especially with the Wii.

Wii Sports set the bar for casual gaming goodness as a pack-in with the Wii system, supplemented by Wii Play and its Wii remote bundle. Wii Fit sought to emulate this success with Nintendo’s new balance board released in Japan on December 1, 2007. It comes as no surprise that it was met with immediate success.

What does come as a surprise is the fact that it missed the top spot of the sales charts, losing to Professor Layton and the Devil’s Box, an adventure puzzle game developed by Level-5. According to the Japanese software charts listed on GameIndustry.biz, Wii Fit sold approximately 250,000 units during the week while Devil’s Box pulled by with 300,000 units, a significant 50,000 unit lead.

The list also shows that Assassin’s Creed also made its debut at the #8 spot for the Xbox 360, a very surprising feat considering the poor sales of the system in Japan. The Dragon Quest IV DS remake also remains high on the list during its second week, which is to be expected considering its immense popularity in Japan. Hopefully the success of the remake will encourage Square Enix to send it over to western shores. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is good, but I think Pokémon Diamond & Pearl already gave my DS a big enough dose of “catching and battling” this year.

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Activision isn’t content to have one massive Guitar Hero release out for the holidays. The company has just released a second dose of Guitar Hero for fans who may just have joined the bandwagon. Activision began shipping a new dual pack that contains Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II on November 7, 2007, for Playstation 2. The dual pack is rated Teen, does not contain a guitar controller and costs $59.99.

As we all remember, Guitar Hero is where the whole series began. The initial entry featured more than 40 songs, different guitar options, and unlockable characters. Some of the more recognizable tunes were “I Love Rock and Roll,” “Iron Man” and “I Wanna Be Sedated”. Guitar Hero II expanded on the original, as it contained over 60 songs, new characters, more guitars, and multiplayer modes. A few of the tracks from Guitar Hero II are “Sweet Child of Mine”, “Free Bird”, and “You Really Got Me”.

I kind of feel behind in all the Guitar Hero hype. The only entry I own is the original Guitar Hero. I’m a little surprised at the price of the bundle. I would have thought $49.99 would be more fair. I’ve seen the original Guitar Hero in used stores for around $19.99 after all. The price will probably drop after Christmas.

Read [Destructoid] Site [Guitar Hero]

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