What with the Wii’s motion controls and all, you’d think that fishing titles on the system would be absolute successes, as the dual Remote + Nunchuk combination seem destined for casting and reeling. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case with Rapala: We Fish. Taking the “We _______” approach via the Wii’s name as many games are apt to do these days, it’s a much different type of fishing game than you might be used to, and one that does not translate well to motion controls. They may have have good intentions with this game, but it surely needed a bit more work before being released.
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Impressions: We Cheer 2
For many the sport of cheerleading is universally looked down upon because of its implications – it’s for “girls only.” Men aren’t “allowed.” In fact, most wouldn’t even classify it as a sport, though the amount of training required to become one of the best is in no way any less strenuous than that of other athletes’ regimens. We tend to view cheerleading video games with the same sneer upon our faces. “Cheerleading? Who’d want to do that?” I admit I’m guilty of that very thought process, and in spite of my gender (girl) I usually have no use for “girly” conventions like babysitting or cheerleading in gaming; it’s generally not my thing. I do, however, enjoy music and rhythm-based titles, and I had quite a bit of fun with Namco Bandai’s second attempt at the genre in We Cheer 2. While you can most certainly get quite a bit of enjoyment out of it if you’re willing to put up with annoying waggle and inaccurate controls, what’s here isn’t enough to recommend over something as accessible as Rock Band or even rival title All Star Cheer Squad.
Review: Just Dance
Fitness buffs have long known the benefits of using the Wii as an exercise machine via extensions such as Wii Fit, EA Active Personal Trainer, or even simple games such as WarioWare: Smooth Moves, which asks you to pose accordingly in order to be successful. As of late I’ve taken it upon myself to get in better shape, so I’ve taken advantage of the glut of options available to me in order to facilitate my own fitness program. For a while I had my eye on Ubisoft’s Just Dance, a music/rhythm game that encourages you to get up off your derriere and get into the action by dancing your little heart out. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t work too well as it was intended, but if you simply use the game as a visual guide to shaking what your mama gave you, it does provide an intensive and entertaining workout if you’re willing to throw your inhibitions — and possibly your dignity — out the door.
Review: Dead Space Extraction
Last Halloween, we fast-forwarded 500 years into the future, where interstellar mining was alive and well. The Concordance Extraction Company, or C.E.C., was charged with tasking mining ships with this mammoth deed. Just when things appeared to be running smoothly, a distress call was received by the C.E.C. from the USG Ishimura. Isaac Clarke, an engineer employed by the C.E.C., along with some squadmates, were sent to evaluate the situation. Upon arriving on the Ishimura, Clarke and his squadmates discovered that what appeared to be a simple malfunction had gone terribly awry. A terrifyingly hostile race of beings known as Necromorphs had overrun the ship and jeopardized the survival of Isaac and his party. The three were separated, and Isaac was left to fend for himself out in the deepest, darkest reaches of space, left only with the Necromorphs and every bit of his wit that he would need to use to survive. With that, we were thrust into Dead Space, one of EA’s most enjoyable new IPs of last year. Presented in a format reminiscent of Gears of War or Resident Evil 4, gamers were tasked with keeping the space engineer Isaac Clarke alive until he could get to safety or to the bottom of the Necromorph invasion.
Impressions: A Boy and His Blob
On November 9, 2009
In Impressions, Wii
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Once upon a time, I was a young girl armed with little more than my faithful Nintendo and gently-used Game Boy from the local pawn shop. Along with my brand new acquisition for on-the-go gaming, I received a smattering of games to put to good use. Among these were titles that my younger self couldn’t quite wrap her head around, such as the random Spanish translator (a very cheap game) and the quirky A Boy and His Blob. Though it took several attempts for me to finally understand why the blob accompanying the boy would eagerly gobble up jelly beans and change forms, I finally realized that I was playing through one of the most creative games of the time. Twenty years later, the franchise returns with a stunning remake of legendary developer David Crane’s original masterpiece. Is there still room in this world for blobs and those who love them?