The XBox 360 dropped out in the very first round while the Wii and PS3 continued on duelling it out till the end. Applause! Applause! Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t get a 360 after all…

Note: I urge you not to perform this test yourself, but feel free to do so. I waive all responsibility.

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Well, the Guardians of Space are back, and they’re kicking Ryu’s ass in this video of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for the Wii! Watch the video to see the beautiful, head-bashing visuals:

After the break, we have Ghostbusters coming to the Wii



About a decade after the Ghostbusters movie, you can now relive the adventures of Pete, Egon, Rey, and Winston as they zap the crap out of Slimer, the Staypuft Marshmallow man, and other new ghosts in the upcoming Ghostbusters video game, coming out for multiple platforms:

Visit the Ghostbusters home page for more info.

Last, but certainly not the least, if you haven’t heard of The Conduit (you haven’t heard of The Conduit?!), it’s an upcoming FPS for the Wii that is going to push the limits of the Wii’s hardware. While most developers were still too busy playing with the motion controllers of the Wii and testing the Wii waters (Wii Music, anyone?), the Conduit creators decided it was better to make a splash and created it’s own engine for the Wii, called the Quantum 4 engine, and as showcased in this video:

Developers take note, the Wii’s hardware may not be as powerful as the PS3, but it certainly isn’t weak (and the controls, of course, well, there’s nothing like it). Please, please, please, snatch up this Quantum 4 engine and give us better-looking, envelope-pushing games!

And here is the Quantum 4 engine, as used in The Conduit. Enjoy!

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Enter the airport-friendly bags for the modern photographer. There were several brands that I was choosing from: Pelican 1514, Lowepro ProRoller Mini, ThinkTank Airport Security and a cheap Nikon rolling backpack that I found in one of the stores, among others. All of these choices offered two things I was looking for:

1. Easy to lug around; can’t get any easier than wheels
2. I can bring at as carry-on luggage
3. Price vs. quality and features

I was choosing between the cheapest of them all, the Nikon rolling case with backpack straps, or the more expensive ProRoller Mini. I ended up slightly more expensive but better bag than both of them. The Lowepro Rolling Computrekker AW has inline-skate wheels, backstraps for when you can’t roll it, a laptop pouch, CF card pockets, a rain cover, and lots of padded compartments. And it only cost me Y30K in Yodobashi.

Well, I just came back from a shoot in Kyoto, and had put the bag to the test. It rolled all the way from my house to the trains and on to the bus to Kyoto, all the way to each train platform I passed through. And when I was up in the slopes of Kurama and Fushimi Inari, I carried it backpack-mode.

On wheels, it rolled smooth as silk and saved me from future backpains. Though my shoulders ached till the next day, it was because it was a long trek through Kurama and Fushimi Inari. The contoured shoulder and back pads really helped as I am sure I’d have a much more tiring experience with my previous Lowepro Toploader 75. Then again, the Toploader wasn’t meant for travelling heavy at these kinds of distances.

Click on the image with the numbers to the left to see what got packed for my Kyoto trip.

Special thanks goes to RBM for persuading me to spring Y2,000 yen more for this rather than getting myself a ProRoller Mini. It’s a good bag in its own right, but it would have been a nightmare bringing it up the mountains!

In less than 2 months, I’ll be riding on a plane again. Feels good to know I won’t be sweating my pants off lugging overweight luggage this time around or having to wrap my lens and other gear around several layers of socks and towels.

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Before entering the hall, you are greeted by this giant. Though I’m unfamiliar with who he is.

Among the games there was a big booth showing Cooking Mama 2 for both the DS and Wii versions.

The Need For Speed Undercover booth had a sports car on display, while video displays were continuously playing trailers of the game.

Monster Rancher 3 was also demoed, showing the controls side-by-side with the gameplay.

There was also Taiko no Tatsujin game, though I wonder why it took them this long to make one.

The one game I actually lined up for was Let’s Tap. Not because it had a comparatively fast line (play time is limited to three stages), but because it had the most innovative gameplay; it’s the only game where you’re NOT SUPPOSED TO HOLD THE CONTROLLER. Instead, you place the Wiimote face-down on a box (see pictures below). The Let’s Play box, but I asked the usherette and she said any normal box could be used, in case your Let’s Play box is already in tatters from too much playing. You then…tap. And tap and tap and tap. It’s really amazing.

Final Fantasy Dissidia

Tenchu 4

アルコスの戦士 (Arugus no senshi)/Rygar: The Battle of Argus

Capcom

Sega

Takara Tomy

There were also some cosplayers, though they weren’t part of any of the events. I think they’re just seizing the opportunity to dress up.

and then there were some mascots as well.

There was a nice display of cool Wa-Sa-Bi Cases for handhelds. Pictured here are the DS cases, but there are also cases for PSP and cellphones.

Over at the Game Science Museum booth, surprising I saw  Johnny Lee’s Wii Head Tracking software! From the looks of it, they just downloaded the software directly and put it there.

Beside the head tracking display there was a display showing a graph of the outputs of the Wiimote accelerometers. Having played Let’s Tap early, I put the Wiimote face down and tapped on the table. And yes! The Wiimote is THAT sensitive!

Well that’s all for this week. If ever you’re in Japan, the Tokyo Game Show runs until tomorrow, so you have one more day to go. Then again, there’s always next year. If you want to pre-order some of these games,try searching Play-Asia here:

Remember, they offer free delivery.

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This time, we’ll be showing you some great video channels to deck out your Miro player, but before that, I would like to point out that, YES, MIRO HAS A VERSION FOR WINDOWS TOO! And this guide is applicable for either GNU/Linux, MS Windows or Mac OS X.

WebbAlert

WebbAlert

TechTV/G4 X-Play host Morgan Webb gives you news about technology, Internet and gaming squeezed into digestible 5-minute shows 5 days a week, Monday to Friday. Perfect for getting all those tech news quickly, especially when you don’t have much time during the weekdays or when you’re on the go.

National Geographic Wild Chronicles Digital Shorts

National Geographic Wild Chronicles

Embark on an adventure with National Geographic Wild Chronicles. Learn new things about nature and the world around you in bite-sized 10-minute podcasts.

Chase Jarvis Photography

Chase Jarvis Photography

For non-photographers, Chase Jarvis is a very successful lifestyle photographer. For everyone else, what do you mean you don’t know Chase Jarvis?! Though his channel doesn’t get updated very often, but when it does, it’s worth the wait. You’ll get backstage pass to his wonderful shoots in a perfectly-edited video that could be as short as 5-minutes, to a full-featured 30-minute clIp.

There are two feeds available, one is for the higher-res for-Apple-TV channel, and a lower-res for-iPhone/iPod channel.

Hi-res

Lo-res

GameTrailers Wii

GameTrailers Logo

This is where I get my Wii gaming fix. I get a whole slew of videos each day, sometimes more than 10 clips at a time, ranging from trailers, game reviews, developer interviews, game events, and more!

CNet Insider Secrets

CNET Insider Secrets

Get expert tips for topics ranging from rescuing your computer from a crash, to squeezing the juice from your iPhone3G, to tips on buying cars online.

Get All of These Channels

If you want to subscribe to all these channels, click on the following link:

Buttons were created with Miro 1-Click Buttons

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On the other hand, you may be more excited about rumors of the successor to the highly-successful Wii. Dubbed Wii HD (although that may not be its final name) will feature HD-capability and a beefed up “next-gen” graphics processor while maintaining backward-compatibility with the current Wii. And with Nintendo’s increasing their R&D spending by three times since the launch of Wii, we can hope to see whatever Nintendo has in store in a 2 short years (Unless they spent $370 million dollars for developing the DSi, which I doubt).

For the rest of you preferring to look at the present for now, I leave you with a lineup of games coming to the Wii this fall. And they’re looking pretty amazing.

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Kaero-kun: U~n. Komatta na~
Ushi-kun: Doushita no?
Kaero-kun: Ima kara, isoide rinzouko family bokojou ikanakucha naranaindayo.
Ushi-kun: A sounanda.
Kaero-kun: Isoganakucha ikenai noni, idou ni tsukau norimono ga nani mo nainda!
Ushi-kun: Eeee?
Kaero-kun: Aaaa…bokujou monogatari waku waku animaru ma-chi mitai ni, doubutsu ni notte idou ga dekireba na~
Ushi-kun: …
Kaero-kun: …Noreru doubutsu ga itara na~
Ushi-kun: …Nori na yo…
Kaero-kun: Ii no? Arigatou! Tasukaru yo Ushi-kun! Kimi wa hontou ni ii ushi da na! Un. Arigatou. Yosh. Shuppa~tsu.
Kaero-kun: Ushi-kun. Osooooi!
Ushi-kun: Ya, datte boku, ushi da mono…shouganai yo.
Kaero-kun: Motto bariki dashite yo!
Ushi-kun: Ya are, uma da mono. Uma no chikara to kaite bariki mono. Boku ushi da mono.
Kaero-kun: Jaa, gyuuriki dase yo! Gyuu riki!!
Ushi-kun: Gyuu riki ha kiita koto nai mono.
Kaero-kun: Ushi no chikara to kaite gyuu riki dayo! Gyuu riki wo dase! Ushi-kun! Gambare! Gyuu riki~ Gyuu riki~
Ushi-kun: Nanka, Inoki* mitai ni iwaretemo..
Kaero-kun: Gambare! Yareba dekiru!!
Ushi-kun: Mmoouu
Kaero-kun: O, ii zo! Hayai hayai! Gambare. O ii zo ii zo!
Ushi-kun: Ha! Ha! Yatto tsuita! Haaa!
Kaero-kun: Otsukare! Okagede tasukatta yo! arigatou ne! Ja, Ushi-kun, shibaraku koko de mattete ne.
Ushi-kun: Eh?
Kaero-kun: Ya, boku wa ima de-to dakara Keromi-chan ni awanakucha ikenai kara sa. De, mochiron kaeri mo nosetette morau kara. Dakara koko de mattete, ne? Soko de hen ano aru kusa ippai tabete ii ka. Kusa tabehodai dakarasa. Ne? De, yoroshiku. Ja ne. Keromi-chan!
Ushi-kun: Nandayo! Hidosugiru yo! Eh? Aah, ie. Boku chichishiboriyou no ushi janai desu. Hai. A, iya chigaundesu, hontou ni. Chichishiboriyou no ushi janai desu yo, boku. Iya iya, hontou ni. Chotto yamete kudasai. Narabanai de! Boku chigau kara, hontou ni. Uwa~ chotto nani? Sawaranaide. H yamete. Nani sunno? Chotto…
Kaero-kun: Ho!
Ushi-kun: Ah! Kaero-kun, ii tokoro ni kaette kite kureta. Ne, tasukete.
Kaero-kun: Chotto, Keromi-chan! Koko de ushi no chichishibori yatteru yo!
Ushi-kun: Chigau!

Roughly translated:
Frog-kun: Groan… this is a problem.
Cow-kun: What’s wrong?
Frog-kun: RIght now, I need to go to the Rinzouko family farm.
Cow-kun: I see.
Frog-kun: Even if I need to hurry, there isn’t anything I can use to get me there!!!
Cow-kun: Eeee?
Frog-kun: Aaaa…Just like in Harvest Moon: Animal March, you can ride on animals to get around
Cow-kun: …
Frog-kun: …If only there was an animal I could ride…
Cow-kun: …Get on…
Frog-kun: It’s ok? Thanks! You really saved me, Cow-kun! You’re really a good cow aren’t ya! Yeah. Thanks. Alright. We’re going!
Frog-kun: Cow-kun. You’re slooow!
Cow-kun: Yeah, well I’m a cow…it can’t be helped.
Frog-kun: Give it more horsepower!
Cow-kun: Well, that’s for horses. When you write horse and power, that’s horsepower. I’m a cow.
Frog-kun: Then, bring out your cowpower! Cowpower!!
Cow-kun: I’ve never heard of cowpower.
Frog-kun: When you write cow and power, that’s cowpower! Bring out your cowpower! Cow-kun! Give it your best! Cowpower~ Cowpower~
Cow-kun: Like…even if you told me that like I was Inoki…*
Frog-kun: Give it your best! You can do it!
Cow-kun: Mmoouu
Frog-kun: Oh, that’s good! That’s fast! Give it your best! Good!
Cow-kun: Ha! Ha! We finally arrived! Haaa!
Frog-kun: Good job! I’m saved thanks to you! Thanks! Well, Cow-kun, wait here a little ok?
Cow-kun: Eh?
Frog-kun: Well, I’m going on a date, and I have to meet up with Keromi-chan. Of course you’ll be giving us a ride home. So, wait here ok? You can eat a lot of grass over there. It’s a grass buffet. Right? Well then. Keromi-chan!
Cow-kun: What the?! That’s too cruel! Eh? Aah, no. I’m not a milking cow. Yes. A, no, really. I’m not a milking cow. No, no, really. Please stop. Don’t line up! I’m different, Really. Whoa, wait! Don’t touch me. Stop that. What are you doing?
Frog-kun: Ho!
Cow-kun: Ah! Frog-kun, You came just in time. Save me.
Frog-kun: Keromi-chan! They’re milking a cow over here!
Cow-kun: No they’re not!

*Antonio Inoki is a famous Japanese pro-wrestler. The cheering of Kaero-kun, “Gyuu-riki! Gyuu-riki!” is in reference to how people cheered on Inoki with “Inoki! Inoki!”. Thanks to Minami-sensei for this info.

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Like Bokujou Monogatari Waku Waku Animal March?Order here and get FREE SHIPPING to any address in Asia!

This particular commercial is actually quite funny and very creative. Almost to the point of making me buy a copy of the game, except I’m not a big fan of the Harvest Moon series. Although, I wouldn’t mind if anyone sent me a copy for review. Still funny though. It’s in Japanese but I added a translation below.

Harvest Moon: Animal March Puppet show Part 2 (Click here for Part 1)

Ushi-kun: Kaero-kun, bokujou mongatari waku waku animaru ma-chi de ge-mu sa, ge-mu no naka de shashin wo tottari dekiru rashii yo.
Kaero-kun: Sou nandayo. Soko de boku mo, kossori Ushi-kun no shashin wo tottanda!
Ushi-kun: Ee, sou nano? Zenzen kizukanakatta!
Kaero-kun: Sorega, kochira!
Ushi-kun: Kore boku janai to omou yo…
Kaero-kun: Iya iya, shoushin shoumei Ushi-kun dayo! Shashinka no ude ga ii to koumo ririshiku toreru mondane!
Ushi-kun: Boku janai to omou kedo…
Kaero-kun: Mada aru yo. Kore!
Ushi-kun: Nani kore? Itsu totta no?
Kaero-kun: Kimi wa nezou ga warui na~
Ushi-kun: Are neten no kana… Nanka kowai na~
Kaero-kun: Ato sekushii shotto mo tocchatta
Ushi-kun: Ee, mou chotto nani mou yamete yo, sonna no. Nani shiten no ne?
Kaero-kun: Ofuro agari no…ushi
Ushi-kun: Riaru da ne~

which quite roughly translates to:
Cow-kun: Frog-kun, in the Farm Story Exciting Animal March (Harvest Moon: Animal March) game, it seems like you can do things like take pictures
Frog-kun: Yup. I secretly took pictures of you.
Cow-kun: Really? I didn’t notice at all.
Frog-kun: This one!
Cow-kun: I…don’t think this is me…
Frog-kun: No no, this is genuinely you. With good photographer’s hands, don’t I take take awe-inspiring pictures!
Cow-kun: But I don’t think this is me…
Frog-kun: I still have more. Here!
Cow-kun: What’s this? When did you take this?
Frog-kun: Your sleeping position is really awful isn’t it.
Cow-kun: Ah, was I sleeping? It’s quite scary.
Frog-kun: I also took a sexy shot
Cow-kun: Ee?! Wait a sec, stop doing things like that. What do you think you’re doing?
Frog-kun: Cow…out of the bathtub
Cow-kun: …So it is…

Now for weeks now, I’ve been bombarded with short trailers for Wii Music, featuring a girl playing one instrument per commercial. And I used to think, “this game looks pretty boring”. But after seeing the following trailer, makes me think twice about it. For sure, it’ll be nice multi-player fun for the whole family. At the very least, this trailer is worth watching.

Wii Music Truck Gameplay

Here’s another nice Wii Music Clip. While here’s the rest of ‘em (a lot! Including all the boring instrument commercials)

On the other side of the creative fence, here’s an aptly named “Lost Appetite Trailer“. I mean, what kind of creative genius would think that a Wiimote wielding kid and a scary-looking, guiness-record-for-longest-nails-holding woman would get them to sell more copies of The Guiness World Records game.

And Cabela’s hunting game, a game about hunting for trophies to stuff and hang on the wall, seems to have involved a lot of digital animals hurt during the making of this game. Nothing like good ‘ol educational values like hunting endangered animals for sport.

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If you’ve long been dreaming about wielding a lightsaber in your own hands and vanquishing foes with it, this will probably be the closest experience you’ll have short of getting Jedi Training in an asylum somewhere (at least for now, we’ll see if Star Wars: Clone Wars has anything to say when it comes out). This game is exactly like what we saw in the Wii Producer Walkthrough video that we showed in one of our recent posts, only hands-on it gets so much better. In a nutshell, you get a Wiisaber and Forcechuk with the game. So as previously mentioned, Force Push is executed by quite literally performing a “push” (you push forward on your Forcechuck) and enemies go flying! Here are some more Forcechuk moves:

Force Grip: Grip your enemy (by gripping on the Z button)
Throw Enemies or (objects at enemies): Force Grip them, move them around (using the Forcechuk analog stick), then release your grip (by releasing the Z button).
Force Pummel: Grip your enemy, and wave your other hand to send objects hurtling toward your force-gripped opponent.
Force Choke: Grip your enemy, then turn your Forcechuk upside down (similar to how you would turn your hand ala Vader-style)
etc.

Now isn’t that intuitive?
Wiisaber moves aren’t any less spectacular either. You swing your Wiisaber right, left, up, down, or thrust to perform the same moves. The game has a tutorial mode to get you quickly up to speed. You’ll be taught by Proxy, your droid, and none other than Vader’s hand demonstrations themselves! Pardon the screenshots, I don’t have a capture card, just a camera. And yes, you can see my reflection from the TV.

Edit: It’s pretty standard for games to vibrate during gameplay, but did I mention that the Wiisaber also emits lightsaber sounds as well? Yup! Not from your TV, from the Wii mote itself with its built-in speakers whenever you activate it or it hits something like another lightsaber. Can’t believe I forgot to mention this.

Krome Studios did an excellent job with designing the controls. The point here is to maximize, not use for the sake of using. Imagine if you ran by “jogging” both controllers. Thankfully, Krome was SMART enough not to fall down that dark path and just used the nunchuck analog stick for movement.

Sadly, the Wii version does not have Euphoria or DMM, or even an attempt to mimic these technologies. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of objects flying around, getting thrown, or getting destroyed. The second level boss fight with Jedi Master Gen. Rahm Kota is particularly beautiful (see the video below); it takes place in a TIE-Fighter Construction Facility control room. As the intense battle of two powerful wielders of the force ensues, you’ll have to sometimes stop and marvel (at the risk of your own demise) the surroundings, especially the large glass window that cracks and sends out shards of glass as one of you gets slammed into it. The battle ends in a climactic finish with a large and dazzling display of the destructive power of the force as wielded by the Secret Apprentice.

The Wii game also sports a Duel Mode where you get to fight with another player. At the start, you’ll only have access to the Secret Apprentice, Darth Vader (!), and Rahm Kota. But as you play the Story mode, you’ll be able to unlock other characters, including Ep. 3 Anakin, Darth Maul (no dual-saber though),  Obi-Wan, Qui-gon Jinn, as well as the Secret Apprentice with different costumes. Although, cheating might be rampant as in the following example dialog:
Player 1: Damn it! Why the heck did you push me for?!
Player 2: That was a force push.

As BlendGames points out, Krome “will be focusing the game mechanics around motion control.” In essence, there will be 5 versions of the game (as was covered in our last post’s video): Xbox360/PS3 versions (with DMM and Euphoria), Wii (Duel-mode, motion control), PS2 (Jedi Trials), PSP (play historic missions), and DS (made by N-Gage. No news on this one). So which version do you get? According to LucasArts, you’ll have a different, unleashed experience on all platforms. The first mission on Kashyyyk, for example, is a night-time raid on the Wii version (Here’s a video of Vader fighting the Rogue Jedi in the attack) while it’s day-time in the PS3 version. The Wii will have 5 more levels, and the level design will also be different. Even the Junk Titan seems different in design (PS3: Here Wii: Here).

Basically, if you prefer trees that splinter, metal that bends, and storm-troopers that panic, get the amped-up graphics of the XBox360/PS3 version. But if you like to really get unleashed wielding force powers, as well as playing head-to-head against another player, get the Wii version. If you’re an on-the-go type, get one of the handheld versions. And since most of you probably have a PS2 as well, be sure to pick it up as well. I would. Right now, I’m tempted to buy an XBox360 just to see DMM and Euphoria in action.

I highly recommend that you get the Wii version. If you’re local retailer doesn’t have it yet, you can get one from Play-Asia and say no to piracy. Mine arrived around a week after I ordered it. For now, I’ll leave you with these two videos: The first one is a gameplay video on the Wii, all the way up to a spectacular boss battle at the end. The second video is a compilation of clips from the PS3 version of the game. Enjoy! I’ve got more foes to send flying in the air.
Wii Version Gameplay

PS3 Video Clips

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Another thing worth mentioning is that I found out today that unlike the PS3 and XBox versions, the Wii version will have a duel mode. I’m gonna have some fun slicing someone I know. Hehe. Aside from that Wii also gets a few more levels. Yes! On the other hand if you have a PS3 or XBox 360, you get great graphics and…<cough! crappy controls! cough!> and…great graphics!:D Seriously though, you get to have Digital Molecular Matter and Havoc which means…yep, you get great graphics!:)

If you want a bit more of an overview of what each system’s differences are, from the Sony PS3 down to the Nintendo DS, you can check out this Behind-the-Scenes video I found a couple of months ago:

You could continue watching with this part 2 of the Behind-The-Scenes look into Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. This time around, it details the “Force Wrecking Ball” as well as the characters that surround and shape the Secret Apprentice:

This Star Wars Force Unleashed Wikipedia article talks about the characters of the game, the game engine, and most other aspects of the development of the game. If your interested about some more insider details on the Wii version of the game though, this hands-on Interview with the developer of Wii version, Krome studies will be right up your alley.

Lastly, if you’re like me, you can’t wait to read up more about the story of The Force Unleashed. Basically, it happens between Star Wars Episode III and IV and details many of the important events that transpired during that time, including the establishment of the Rebel Alliance. If you want more details on the story, check out this wiki on Galen Marek from Wookiepedia.

If you haven’t already bought one, order online now through Play-Asia. But if you’re not yet totally convinced about the Wii version, check out our previous post on the Wii Version Producer Walkthrough.
Enjoy!

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