Nintendo fans have been practicing parkour with their very own platforming princess since the 8-bit days. Now it seems another traceuse is stepping in on the territory Samus pioneered. On the surface, it doesn't seem as if Mirror's Edge has very much in common with the Metroid franchise. Yet,the respective series heroines' exploits can be experienced and enjoyed in either first person 3D or 2D sidescrolling viewpoints.
Mirror's Edge 2D is currently in the beta stages of development with its destined platforms still unannounced. It hasn't yet got any of the fascist oppressors seen in the 3D version, but they'd only get in the way of the acrobatics that are on impressive display here. Rarely do we get to control such fluid and graceful 2D animation, and it makes the treat all the more delectable when you get to do it with a Wii Remote.
Well, that was fast. That recent update that wouldn't allow users to install the Homebrew Channel? It's been bested, as the Homebrew Channel beta9 has been released. Among working with the latest update, beta9 also brings the following fixes to the table:
Installer / updater now works with the October 23 update
SDHC support
REALLY fixed the memcard bug
Installer now picks newest sane IOS, fixes some beta8 regressions
Added a reload button (for SD card changes)
Return to system menu skips warning
Fixed some graphical glitches
Saner XML load code
Many fixes to underlying stuff in the newer libogc
Update 2: "View Compatible Controllers" is now a separate link in the details of each game listing in the Shop Channel. Also, we've corrected the Japanese version number. It's 3.3 everywhere, up from the last update ... 3.3.
Update: Reader John writes in and points us to Wiibrew, who is reporting this update kills The Homebrew Channel, as well as the Mplayer that makes DVD play possible. If you've already followed our guide for playing DVDs and installed The Homebrew Channel, then you're fine.
Chances are, your Wii may have told you this already -- either through the friendly blue light or a message that pops up when you load the Wii Shop Channel. But in case it hasn't, Nintendo has sent out a new Wii firmware update. In Japan, the software is up to 3.4 still 3.3. The Shop Channel is down for maintenance as well, as all references to Wii Points are changed to "Nintendo Points" and various other pre-DSi maintenance is done. But in America and Europe, not much seems to have changed.
This NeoGAF thread is tracking the potential changes -- most notably that some people are now unable to install the Homebrew Channel. People with pre-existing installations are fine, but it's possible that this new update has blocked the ability to install homebrew. There was a fairly ominous message in the update description about deleting altered saves! Of course, these reports could turn out to be in error.
Other reported effects include improved Shop Channel loading speed, possibly reorganized item listings, and nothing.
Though it's been doing the rounds in the homebrew community for roughly six weeks, WiiSX is still very much a work-in-progress, but one with huge potential. As a PSone emulator for the GameCube and Wii that loads ISO files from an SD card (DVD and USB implementation is planned), WiiSX could eventually grant owners of Ninty's white box access to around 8,000 games, including titles that many regard as someofthebestever. The idea of playing Final Fantasy VII on a Nintendo-branded console would probably make a few people weak at the knees.
During an interview with tehskeen last month, co-creator Emu_Kidid (Sepp256 and TehPola are the other names behind this) admitted that sound still needs to be implemented and "numerous bugs" zapped, but it looks pretty playable to us in the video above! Indeed, interviewer brakken reports that "the emulator can handle some games and runs at a very playable speed." As for when it will be ready, Emu_Kidid is hoping to have an initial preview release out before the end of 2008.
Assuming this exciting project does come to fruition, which PS1 title (which we strongly advise you should already own, obviously) would you try out first?
"Let me tell you about the game I played when I was still young..." Growing up, I was familiar with the name Bionic Commando, although I'd never played it for myself. I've had lots of conversations with friends about old games, and they'd reminisced about some game with a guy that swung around on a grappling arm. Yet strangely enough, none of my friends could remember what the game was called. When it was announced that Bionic Commando was to receive a re-imagining, I finally was able to match that game my friends loved, with the title. With the hype for the new game, I caught my first glimpse of the old 8-bit classic in promotional videos, and I really felt like I'd missed out on something special. But my disappointment quickly turned to anticipation when it was later revealed that the game would also be remade in 2D for download on all the popular home consoles!
(raucous cheering)
But not the Wii!
(sound of crickets)
Long-time Nintendo fans love to remember the old times, but we don't hold dear the memories of being repeatedly snubbed out of multiplatform ports. With GlovePIE running and Wiimote in hand, I turned to the PC version of Bionic Commando: Rearmed.
If you're a lawyer for Nintendo and your spidey senses are tingling, we may have an explanation. "Wii Backup Loader" is exactly what this (highly convincing) video suggests: a program which allows the Wii to play DVD game backups, in the form of modified ISOs. It runs from the Wii Homebrew Channel.
News of the program broke from the forums at tehskeen (note: we've linked to a related article due to tehskeen being down), though we'd expect this to hit peer-to-peer networks in the not-too-distant future, if it hasn't already. Just remember, kids: winners don't do piracy.
Illegal as this may be, there's plenty of other very cool and very legal things you can do through homebrew. Care to watch DVD movies on your console? How about some original games, like Masteroids or the shmup OpenTyrian? And it doesn't stop there. Our own Mike Sylvester also likes to see what he can come up with in his bi-weekly column Revolutionary.
How many times in your history as a gamer have you felt that your console's controller couldn't be any better? Every time I've gotten my hands on a new game controller, there's been something I wished could be different. The NES controller could have been rounder. The SNES controller could have used some more face buttons for Street Fighter. The N64 controller needed speedier room service.
The Wii controller is built with expansion, flexibility, and upgrades in mind, and with the addition of a third party accessory, I've been able to mate the Wiimote with the Classic Controller to form a Voltronic gestalt of a controller that should be capable of great things. But is it perfect?
Apparently, there's a secret recovery mode within the Wii that can be accessed through a special GameCube memory card. What's the significance of this? Well, don't you read post titles? It allows the system to play back-ups.
There isn't much in the way of information regarding the process right now, but the deal seems to be that when this GameCube memory card is inserted into the system, with a unique ID signature present, it takes the Wii into recovery mode, allowing the user to run basically anything. We'll update you all with more information as it's made available.
Update: It appears the recovery mode is only good for fixing "certain bricked consoles." Oh well ...
The homebrew community is the best. Not only have they allowed us to do things that we never thought possible on the Wii (like play GoldenEye 007 and watch our favorite movies), but now they're hard at work coming up with ways for us to enjoy classic point-and-click adventure games on the platform. While we won't be able to, say, play Sam & Max Hit the Road yet, the current release (version 0.12.0) has support for 5 games. These include:
The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Two: Hand of Fate
The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Three: Malcolm's Revenge
Lost in Time
The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble
Drascula: The Vampire Strikes Back
Sure, it's no Secret of Monkey Island or anything, but progress is being made so that we need not rely entirely upon Telltale for our point-and-click fix. We're excited for a future where we can enjoy all of those classics on our Wii.
If, like us, you spent hours gawking at Pocket Physics on the DS (or Crayon Physics, its predecessor on the PC), you'll know that it's one of the most time-consuming homebrew titles on the handheld. Sooner or later, it was inevitable that the homebrew community would spawn a Wii version, and homebrewer Beardface has answered the call with WiiPhysics. The video above is version 2.1 of the title, though it has since enjoyed a slight update, adding a two-player mode. Download it here!
In the year 1997, with Sylvester Stallone's Demolition Man still fairly fresh on our minds, developer Shiny took the opportunity to name one of their games after an abbreviated phrase that was mentioned several times in that film. Under the assumption that MDK stood for "Murder, Death, Kill" and the fact that you run around as a guy whose head is a sniper rifle, the Playstation generation couldn't wait to get their hands on it. As it turned out, the game was not the gruesome murder simulator many people expected, but a humorously quirky action title like most of the prior games Shiny was known for. In the sequel, the main character from the first game, Kurt Hectic, would share the duty of saving the earth with Doctor Fluke Hawkins and the four-armed, gun-toting, cigar-chomping robotic dog, Max, the other members of the game's titular trio. It's the crazy sort of stuff that keeps gaming fresh, and with its recently-announced comeback in the making, I can think of no better place for the franchise to make a killing than on the Wii.
We had two questions upon watching this footage of a Roomba being controlled by a Balance Board:
What the heck is a Roomba?
Why?
Google answered the first for us -- apparently it's a robotic vacuum cleaner or something, which we now want -- while the second is explained to us by hacker "Ron" Tajima. Through endearing Engrish subtitles, we learn that Ron has a dilemma: he wants to surf, but also needs to clean his floors. Hey, happens all the time to us. His solution? Hack the Balance Board so that it controls his Roomba, allowing him to "surf" the Board while also vacuum cleaning his way to lint-free carpets.
We especially like how "Surfin' USA" is played in the background while Ron wobbles away, just to make it really feel like actual surfing.
Going outside? Let the common man do that, as tech-savvy folks can just navigate the outside world within the comfort of their own home, with little more than a Balance Board and Google Street View. It's kind of similar to the Google Earth thing we presented back in May. In the least, it's got to be a cheap and easy way to travel to those cities you always wanted to visit, but couldn't afford to go to.
The homebrew community has been hard at work creating wonderful experiences for you to enjoy with your Wii. Did you know about homebrew game Masteroids? Or how about the shmup OpenTyrian? Outside of games, people have been using the Balance Board to come up with somereally neat stuff. Also, if you wanna watch movies on your Wii, be sure to check out our step-by-step guide. Keep up with the homebrew scene by staying current with our Homebrew category!
In a bid to get his Wiimote-compatible music software Wii Loop Machine out on the market, Yann Seznec pursued funding from an unlikely source: popular BBC show Dragon's Den. For the uninitiated, Dragon's Den follows a similar concept to American Inventor -- hopeful entrepreneurs line up in front of unimaginably rich businessmen and beg for funding to assist their zany ideas, while we smugly laugh at their expense from the comfort of our armchairs.
Those of you in the UK who caught last night's edition of Dragon's Den may well have spotted the affable Yann selling his software to the miserable millionaires. Alas, like so many of the show's participants, Yann's excellent work didn't grab the imaginations of the dragons, though they did seem to acknowledge its potential. "I've got to give you credit," quipped businessman Peter Jones after watching Seznec waft his Wiimotes about to demo the software, "You look like a complete idiot, but actually, it sounded quite good." Charming.
[Update: YouTube video added, thanks Mouthsmasher!]
A group called "Destiny Revival" is honoring the dormant Sailor Moon franchise by creating five Sailor Moon brawlers created in the free Beats of Rage engine. Two are available so far, and now the group is branching out and tempting widespread attention (and thus lawsuits from Toei) with the announcement of the development of a Wii homebrew Sailor Moon game.
In a Sailor Moon Forum post, developer kungpow12345 unveiled the first screens of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, a new game done in the style of the Super FamicomSailor Moon games. Even if you're not particularly interested in fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight, it's a homebrew brawler for the Wii, and that is excellent. kungpow12345 is hoping to have a playable version of Pretty Guardian ready for next year's Otakon in July.
