Pac-Man Party is playable with 1 to 4 players and features Story Mode, Mini-Game Mode, and Party Mode.  We tried out a few of the mini-games.  The game is reminiscent of the Mario Party series but with Pac-Man characters and some other Namco favorites.  One of the best parts of this game is the ability to unlock some of your favorite arcade classics including the original versions of PAC-MAN, Galaga, and Dig-Dug!

Pac-Man Party will be available for the Nintendo Wii this Fall.

There are 24 activities to get the entire family up and moving through the jungle, the old west, underwater, in the air, and snow!  You can play with up to 4 players cooperatively and competitively or with up to 8 players in a turn by turn play with party mode.

We played some of the mini games like Shark Jump, where your character is hanging from a rope while dangling over man-eating sharks.  You must jump on the mat at the right time to avoid getting eaten!  No worries, the game is family friendly, so there is no gore!  Other mini games include Mine Carts and Runaway Train, where you must run in place and dodge obstacles in order to make it to the front of the train to stop it in time!

The game will keep you on your toes and you are sure to break a sweat as most of the mini-games use your entire body to play.

Active Life Explorer is rated E for Everyone and will be available this fall exclusively for the Wii.  You can purchase the game bundled with the Active Life Mat or as a stand alone game.

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You can play with up to 4 players locally – there is no online play at this time.  In Quest Mode, you traverse a 3D model of the Earth and discover hot spots which contain themed episodes with questions and mini-games.  You can face off head-to-head in the card battle stat attack mode in just one of many mini-games in Quest Mode.  Quiz Mode features Memory Test, Observation, Odd One Out, Higher or Lower, Fast Focus, Anagrams, True or False, and many more.

We did have a chance to play the game and I could have played all day long!  It’s a lot of fun to play with others and I’m sure I will clock many hours in the game on my own as well!

The game will retail for $29.95 – well worth the price for not only what will be a fun but highly educational video game.

Nat Geo Challenge! Wild Life is due for a November 2010 release and will be rated E for Everyone.  The game will be available on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii.

The game features 30 games designed to incorporate fitness hidden in fun family gameplay.  There is Cardio, Balance, & even Brain training exercises.

Also, for the first time in the series, you will be able to use the Wii Balance Board in over 10 games.

Norm and I were able to play a few games to get a feel for what this game is all about.  The first game we tried was Skydiving.  Norm got to use the Balance Board while the rest of us used the Wii Remotes.  While you can just use the controller in the tradition way, you will get more of the fitness benefits if you get up off the couch and play.  The one on the Balance Board will probably get the better workout, but again, if you commit you may actually break a sweat.

We also played Mine Carts, which was a shooting game, and Giant Ball Rolling, where the one on the Balance Board is on a giant ball trying to run the rest of us over.

While I didn’t feel as if I had gotten a workout (not like Kidz Bop Dance Party), I can see the game as being a great game to play with the whole family.

The appeal is definitely with younger kids and a more casual gaming parent looking for a game suitable for the younger ones.  The game will retail for $19.95.

Family Party: Fitness Fun is rated E10+ for everyone 10 and up and will be available September 2010 exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

The game is an interactive experience that will get kids active and off the couch – dancing away to their favorite Kidz Bop tunes.  The game play is simple, you follow an avatar’s dance moves which is represented by arrows on the screen.  You can get as involved as you want or you can just simply move the Wii remote as instructed.  You can play by yourself in the single player mode or with a friend in the 2-Player Challenge mode.  You can play together co-operatively and rack up points together or you can play head-to-head for the top score.

Norm tried out the game at E3 with Mika Ortiz of D3 Publisher and today, they went for a rematch.  I wish I had my camera with me as they both put on the shiny sequined white glove, grabbed a Wii Remote, and started their dance challenge.  The game responded well to both players and looked like a lot of fun.  It was my turn next and Norm and I danced it out to “Paparazzi”.  Again, the moves were simple, yet effective and I could see that the more you play the game, the more familiar you would get with the dance moves.  The game also features a No Arrow mode – the arrows are turned off and you just follow the avatar’s moves – and Mirror Mode – where the dancing is mirrored – both modes making the game more challenging to players who have mastered the dance moves and want to take the game to the next level.

For our last dance, we chose “Thriller” because it’s Thriller!  All three sets were pretty close but Norm took first place all three times!

Kidz Bop Dance Party: The Video Game looks like it will be a fun game for the entire family and especially for younger kids.  It’s simple, fun, and offers a nice little workout.  We both broke a sweat while playing!  Along with the dancing, you can collect points to purchase new outfits, accessories, and shoes for your avatar.  You can change the look of your avatar at anytime.  All 24 songs are unlocked at the start of the game but as you progress, you will unlock new stages and outfits to enhance your Dance Party experience.

Kidz Bop Dance Party: The Video Game is currently rated RP (Rating Pending) and is is under development exclusively for the Wii.  The game is scheduled for release on September 21, 2010.

That being said, the game looks fantastic. It features a strangely bright art style that takes design cues both from the over-bright and cartoony Wind Waker and the realistic and dark Twilight Princess. The details of the creatures are impressive and they moved with all of the fluidity you have come to expect from a Zelda game.

Earlier in the year, Shigeru Miyamoto hinted that the new Zelda would take the franchise in a totally new direction. I did not get that impression when I saw the first demo, and after getting some hands-on with the game, I can say with some degree of happiness that this game is not completely different from previous Zelda games. What is different is that some of the problems with previous titles have finally been addressed.

The biggest improvement over Twilight Princess (TP), is in the sword control. In TP, the swordplay was largely just swinging the controller side to side with mixed results. Using the dueling technology in the popular Wii Sports Resort title, the developers of Skyward Sword (SS) are using the Wii Motion Plus to allow more control over the sword. Now you can swing the sword overhead, from side to side, at an angle, basically in any direction. This allowed the creators to adjust the difficulty of the enemies to make it more of a challenge.

For example, the boss battle I got to fight was a huge scorpion whose obvious weak spot was the eyes he had on the inside of his claws. As he attacked he would open his claws in different directions and you had to attack him accordingly. You also have to block with the shield and use a shield bash. It was a fun and challenging boss.

During the Nintendo press conference prior to E3, Shigeru Miyamoto took the game for a spin and there was a technical disaster that rendered the game unplayable. As the buzz of this event escalated, no one could wait to get their hands on the title to see if this was a problem with the game. Thankfully, it wasn’t, as I got to see for myself. The game did not control perfectly, but it’s still an early build, and all things considered, it still controlled pretty well.

Another welcome change is your ability to climb faster by waving the controller in an upwards motion. This has Link hop up on whatever he is climbing, speeding up what used to be a little bit of a chore.

Another neat touch is the way you throw bombs. In previous games, you could only set a bomb down, or throw it some random distance. Now you can draw a path for the bomb on screen and bowl the bomb to your target. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get a hang of it, you can do some pretty cool things with bombs. There will be some puzzle elements that revolve around this mechanic.

Other changes include a more detailed map, some new items, and some cool uses for returning items. You can now use the bow to snare items. You can still throw bombs, but now you use a throwing motion. The item selection is a much improved radial menu that makes use of the pointer. This game marks the first time you get to use the whip in a 3D Zelda. And finally, the “Beetle” is a cool new item that can fly and has pincers to grab items. You fly it by tilting the controller.

It may sound like so many changes could make this a completely different experience from previous titles, but believe me, it’s Zelda through and through. It has the exact same feel as previous titles, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. With so many improvements, it may very well be the Zelda we have always wanted. I don’t think that we will see voice-over work done for this game, but I do expect to have a fully orchestrated music score (not officially announced), and some amazingly creative puzzles.

With the release date to be sometime in 2011, we hope to bring you more coverage as we head into the holidays.

After playing Metroid: Other M, I can see that they are drawing on that same inspiration, but so far doesn’t seem to match the title from 1994. Granted, I only played one level and one boss. I was also rushed through the demo a bit, but I wasn’t immediately hooked. It was still kind of cool, though.

Other M was introduced at last year’s E3, and it was a complete shock to everyone because it was also announced that it was being co-developed by Team Ninja. Team Ninja is a game studio headed by Yoshio Sakamoto, famous for his work on the Ninja Gaiden series.

Other M really delves into the back story of Samus Aran, the enigmatic main character of the franchise. In the very first game, released by Nintendo in 1986, kept the main character in a suit of full-body armor, complete with a helmet that concealed the main characters identity. Most gamers didn’t even give it a second thought until the end of the game revealed that the character you had been kicking but for hours on end was a woman! Awesome! There was no other back-story or history, however she has developed as the silent hunter in a large galaxy. Now we are finally going to learn what made Samus what she is.

For fans of the series, I’m sure this will be met with mixed feelings. One of the things that made Samus so great was how quiet she was. Up until the latest Wii installment, Metroid Prime: Corruption, no one in her world spoke a word. All of the story unfolded through tapping into computer data banks and reading about the world.

Another thing the Other M does is take the game back into 2D…sort of. The side scrolling portions are still in a 3D setting. The camera is off to the side of the action, but you can still move in all directions. You shoot enemies all around you by aiming up, down or at at angle, just like in Super Metroid. As I played the demo, there seemed to be some sort of auto lock in place, but it was hard to tell if that was the case, or if my gaming prowess was that good. I honestly think it was the former.

In an odd choice, you can switch over to a first-person perspective by pointing the controller at the screen. You can’t move around while in this mode, but you can look around. While this will be useful when looking around environments, it leaves you completely vulnerable during combat. The boss I played required you to use this mode to blast your missiles at the enemy. It took a moment to adjust each time, but the game was forgiving enough at this stage to make it possible to do without getting hit.

In previous games, you had to hunt around an open environment to find upgrades to your equipment. The upgrades would allow you access to other areas, where new upgrades could be found, and so on. It was hard to tell if that formula will be in place for this game because the demo didn’t really leave room for exploration. Maybe it was just the area I was in, but the game seemed to be more focused on combat and a more linear experience. At one point in the game, the Commanding Officer you are with states that you are now authorized to use missiles. This leads me to believe that the days of hunting down the ability to use missiles is gone, however missiles could be the only item in which that mechanic is used. I will hold my judgment on this until I get my hands on the full game.

Getting back energy seems to be a little strange too. Before, enemies would drop energy units that would fill the energy tanks you found in the environment. In this game, there were energy tanks to find, but it looked like you recharged them by point the controller up. It was kind of strange and couldn’t quite get used to it in my limited demo.

Overall, I enjoyed the demo and am excited to see more. I think I would have gone easier on the game if I wasn’t such a fan of Super Metroid. I’m secretly hoping that this game will give me that same feeling of mystery and exploration. Okay, not so secretly hoping, but you get my point. Please stay tuned as we get you more coverage on this exciting new release by Nintendo.

First, we watched Minion Mayhem, a puzzle game for the DS.  In Minion Mayhem, you must collect a particular item from a level, but you will have a time limit and many obstacles in your way where you will use the different minions in the level to get past.  There are several different types of minions, like the Sumo Minion, which is the only minion that can kill enemies.  There are other minions, like the Disintegrate minion, who can disintegrate walls that block your path, and a Fire minion, who can withstand fire to collect items that lie in or beyond fire. You can preview the level by using the stylus to check out the full level to help plan your strategy before the time limit starts.  You must collect the main item as well as get through the exit before time expires. You can unlock additional levels by collecting additional items and by getting all your minions to the exit within the time limit.  There are more than 40 levels in the main game as well as the bonus levels, some of which feature fun challenges, such as a rotating screen.

We did not get a hands on however, what we did see looked like a lot of fun and quite challenging as well.

Next, we saw the Wii version, brought to us by Vicious Cycle Software. Despicable Me: The Game where you take the role of the main character, Gru, who is voiced by Steve Carrell in the movie and 3D/2D platforming style much like Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond (an XBLA/PSN title also by Vicious Cycle Software). When you reach certain sections, you enter puzzle mode where you command your army of minions to help you get to an exit.  You have an arsenal of “despicable” weapons like a magnet gun and freeze ray. In the platforming portions you can use the freeze ray to freeze platforms in place and cool down heated platforms.  An air gun can assist you with higher jumps and the magnet gun can act as a grapple gun by either moving metal objects or using them to travel to other areas.  The puzzle portion allows you to use your weapons in different ways, such as freezing your minions to help solve the puzzle and get you to your objective.  There are subtle clues in the level as well as a hint system if you get stuck.  If the puzzle is too hard, you can even skip it and move on to the next level. You can even be despicable and vandalize objects owned by your nemesis, Vector.

Both titles look like a lot of fun and both seems to offer a ton of replay value.  Both games will be released in July to coincide with the movie’s July 9th release.

Despicable Me: The Game will be available in July for the Wii, PS2. and PSP and is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and over.  Despicable Me: The Game – minion Mayhem will be available for the Nintendo DS and is rated E for Everyone.  The film Despicable Me is released nationwide on July 9, 2010 and features the voice talent of Steve Carrell (The Office, The 40 Year Old Virgin).

Check out the movie trailer:

In the game you can complete missions or you can just fly around and explore the different areas to discover new and hidden things.  There are seven different flying machines from a biplane to a UFO.  You will have to complete missions in order to unlock new planes as well as new skins (colors) for them.

We had a chance to play a few missions and the game controls very nicely and intuitively.  It may take some getting used to if you aren’t familiar with flight games, but it is intuitive enough that you can pick it up and start playing right away.  Because the game is aimed more towards children, any of the shooting modes use things like water balloons as ammunition, keeping the game safe and fun for a younger audience.  The game will appeal to gamers of all levels since it is an open game where you can choose to just fly around and explore the areas, or you can try to accomplish all the missions.  Even while you are exploring, the game will notify you if you are close to completing a mission even if you hadn’t accepted one in the first place.  You will want to unlock all of the planes, especially the UFO because you can abduct cows with it and that is just wicked funny.  Additional planes can be unlocked by completing missions and increasing your flying skills…you will need them too since the UFO is the most difficult flying machine in the game.

The game also features co-op missions and head-to-head multiplayer modes.

Kid Adventures: Sky Captain looks like it will be a fun and entertaining title for kids and adults of all ages.   The game is rated E for Everyone and is due for release on June 15, 2010.  The game will also retail for $19.95.

The controls feature a three button scheme: light, medium, and heavy. Light attacks are weaker and faster, heavy attacks are stronger and slower, and medium attacks are balanced. Special moves are also affected by these buttons, like Ryu’s fireball attack.

Special attacks are easier to pull off and have quite an impact on the game. You have a meter that fills as you deal damage to your opponent. If you perform a certain action while hitting two attack buttons after the meter fills, you will unleash a Level 1 Hyper Combo. These are fun, cinematic attacks that can deal some serious damage. Fill it up three times over, and you can unleash a Level 3 Hyper Combo. These are like the Level 1 Hypers, but are even more over the top.

These are character specific attacks and are really fun to watch. If you are a fan of the character, you will love their Hyper Combos. From Viewtiful Joe’s FX attacks to Ryu’s fistful of fireballs, they each really capture the essence of the character.

Other special attacks include launching opponents into the air and jumping up to unleash a flurry of attacks at your opponent. If you get caught in the air, you may be able to do an escape attack by pressing all three attach buttons at once. You also have a grapple move, and the ability to tag-team with a partner character.

Most characters allow you to bring another ally with you, gaining their health bar as well as a special “buddy” attack. You can switch out your characters at any time, but if you are caught while switching out your character, you will be open to attack by your opponent. Other, more powerful characters, always go solo. This adds to the strategy of the game as you try to find to complimentary characters.

And this game features over 20 characters, half from Capcom and half from Tatsunoko’s illustrious history of Japanese Animation. There are some pretty obscure characters that you will probably be getting to know for the first time, such as Saki Omokane from Capcom’s Quiz Nanairo Dreams.

If you are a fan of fighters, especially if you enjoyed Street Fighter II in its glory days, you should be very excited for this new game.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is rated T for Teen and will be available exclusively for the Wii on January 26, 2010.

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