EA Sports will revive NBA Jam to the Wii this year. If you remember the days of the Big Head code or Bill Clinton and Al Gore, then you’ll remember just how much fun it was to compete against your friends.  I personally built up my Chicken character and dominated the boards with strength.  These games were all played on the Nintendo 64, and the game controls were ideal.  Some rumors have made their way around and those include NBA Jame 2010 coming to Xbox LIVE and PSN.  But those are rumors for now. We’ll be sure to let you know if we hear concrete evidence.  Boom Shaka Laka!

The game has a unique visual style, using 3D models with high-resolution photographs for the heads of each of the players. Several aspects such as outrageous slams and “He’s on Fire” make a return.  Unfortunatley, the original did not contain any players with licensing issues including Shaq and Jordan.  Let’s hope all NBA players and classic players return.  My team of choice was the Bulls, but without Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Tony Kukoc were the best they offered.  NBA Jam was made in 1993.  So 17 years later seems fitting for a remake.  Wow, it’s THAT old?

I hope the NBA Jam folks take a page out of NBA Hangtime.  Now that was a great game too!

What team did you prefer?  And what name and nickname did you give your character?

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It seems the Wii can output HD signals… with a catch of course.  The 720p screenshots of the New Super Mario Bros. Wii were captured off an emulator.  That emulator is known as the Dolphin.  With most emulators, the Dolphin’s system requirements are pretty intense.  While we don’t promote the use of any piracy, the screens are more of a preview of what “may” come.  It also shows the games were made with the ability to support the 720p graphics, so why the Wii was made to top 480p is still a question.

About Dolphin:

Dolphin is a Gamecube and Wii emulator. Most games run perfectly or with minor bugs. Games are playable at HD quality, up to 1080p. This is a remarkable feature the actual Gamecube and Wii consoles are not capable of. As an open source project everyone can commit improvements. The code is hosted on code.google.com. Dolphin is actively developed and almost every day new features are added and bugs fixed as well.

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Nintendo’s plans for 2010 are already hitting the news wire and the reports are good for gamers. Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M will be coming sooner that most of us in the industry expected. The games will be released mid-year around Summer 2010.

Nintendo will have plenty of news coming out of their camp this week as they’ll be outlining some of their 2010 plans and the hardware and software they’ll be releasing. Expect a new black Nintendo Wii, within the “next couple of months” as well.

Fans of Super Mario Galaxy have much to look forward to with this announcement. Currently SMG is one of the best sellers on the Wii.

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Earlier this month, SEGA revealed they are working on another Sonic game, this time focusing on Sonic’s classic gameplay elements that we all grew up loving.  Even though it seems this will be the definitive Sonic game fans have been waiting years for, Sonic fans still can’t help but feel caution given how promising previous Sonic games looked, only to not live up to expectations.

It seems we could all breathe a little sigh of relief as the SEGA Community Manager ‘RubyEclipse’ revealed on the official SEGA forums the original Senior Level Designer for Sonic 3 is working on Sonic 4.

So, is it just Dimps? Just Sonic Team? The answer is a bit of both: Yes, Dimps is working on the game. But there’s actually more to it than just that: at the same time, we also have members of Sonic Team, including the original senior level designer from Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the SEGA Genesis working alongside them. It is most definitely a partnership, and the result of this teamwork is something many of us are excited for.

So it seems SEGA is putting all of their efforts into Sonic 4, which hopefully will be something beneficial for the gaming community as we’ve all become extremely jaded when it comes to new Sonic games.  Although, it looks like Sonic 4 could finally break the streak of bad Sonic games if all goes according to plan.

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Travis Touchdown is your everyday otaku assassin living out of the No More Heroes Motel in Santa Destroy, California.  Some might consider his obsession with anime, professional wrestling, action figure collecting, and pornography borders on unhealthy.  Others would consider it’s what makes him unique among other assassins.  Regardless of what he does in his personal life, one thing is for certain: Travis Touchdown will kick your ass.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle takes place three years after the events of the original game.  After rising up to the #1 spot of the United Assassin Association (UAA), he returns for revenge and is made to battle through 51 of the UAA’s strongest and most unique assassins to get to the man responsible for his friend’s death.  No More Heroes 2 drops the open-world feel of the original title and replaces it with an overview map where the player can pick where they would like to go.  Players can either take on the main story and choose to enter a “Ranked Battle”, earn extra cash with some mini-games, or even work out with a man of questionable sexuality named Ryan.

Travis’ iconic beam katana returns along with new beam katanas that can be changed on the fly and offer a slight difference in combat.  Depending on how you hold your Wii Remote, Travis can perform either a “low” or “high” positioned attack by hitting the ‘A’ button.  Combos are easy to pull off as they can be chained together by mashing the ‘A’ or ‘B’ buttons, then finishing them off with either a wrestling move or a “death blow” which requires players to follow on-screen prompts with their Wii Remote & Nunchuck.  If Travis connects with his attacks without receiving any serious damage, his ‘Ecstasy Meter’ will rise.  Once the Ecstasy Meter reaches full, Travis becomes invincible and can then unleash a barrage of quick attacks that can deal some serious damage.  There are times when Travis’ beam katana might become weak.  Thankfully, a quick jerk of the Wii Remote will quickly charge the batteries in the beam katana.  Certain missions will allow players to assume the role of Shinobu or Henry as they assist Travis in defeating some of the 51 assasins Travis must defeat.  Both characters offer a similar fighting style to Travis’, but each have their own secondary attack.

Overall, I enjoyed the combat system for its fast pace and how satisfying it was to finish an enemy off with either a wrestling move or death blow.  One issue I had was the location of the button to change targets on the Wii Remote.  Why on Earth the developers would decide to bind the ‘2′ button to change enemies is beyond me as it’s location can make changing targets difficult, especially during heated battles.  I found myself letting go of the ‘Z’ button, which is used to lock on to enemies, and then hitting it again in order to attempt to change targets.

The assassins Travis will face during his adventure are some of the most unique characters I’ve witnessed in a game.  Travis will battle Gothic Lolitas, football stars, and even a Russian astronaut.  These are just three examples of the very unique 51 assassins that Travis will face.  The unfortunate thing is since there are so many assassins to fight, there really isn’t much of a back story to any of them besides being someone that Travis needs to fight through in order to get to the top of the UAA.  With how unique each assassin was, I would have loved to learn more about them.

Nearly everything in No More Heroes 2 screams satire.  Travis isn’t only deadly with a beam katana, but his tongue is as deadly as he insults and curses at enemies during battle.  Many of his wise-cracks are actually pretty funny and offering a refreshing perspective.  As Travis slices and dices his enemies, blood will shoot out of nearly every orifice, which just goes to show how over-the-top this title really is.

Many of the mini-games in No More Heroes 2 pay homage to old-school 8-bit NES games.  Each mini-game has its own little story as to why you need to play them such as being a pizza deliveryman or gathering up coconuts.  The purpose of the mini-games is to earn money which can be used to upgrade Travis’ weapons, clothes, and even help train him to be a better fighter.  Other mini-games, such as helping excercise your cat, offer bonus items or moves that can only be achieved by completing the mini-game.  Compared to No More Heroes grind-tastic mini-games, No More Heroes 2’s mini-games are a welcome change and don’t feel as grind-y.

FINAL THOUGHT: No More Heroes 2 is a breath of fresh air as far as hack-n-slash games go.  Travis is a character most gamers can relate to, which is why most gamers will enjoy this title.  The combat system, even with its minor shortcomings, is fast-paced, fun, and offers just the right amount of gore.  With mini-games a-plenty, a slick and unique graphic style, and a lot of humor, No More Heroes 2 is a great improvement over the original title.

8/10

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SEGA officially announced the next sequel in the Sonic the Hedgehog series with Sonic the Hedgehog 4.  The first trailer for the game was revealed on GameSpot last night and it’s very telling.  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is dropping the 2D sprite graphics for a more HD-friendly 3D look, but it looks like it will keep the gameplay elements that we all know and love.

The title is set to be released this summer on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, Playstation Network, and WiiWare as a downloadable title.  ’Episode 1′ in the title leads us to believe SEGA has future DLC plans for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 for future episodes in the series.

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So there you have it folks it is Wii or Die! I am truly shocked that the average age of gamers is between 18-49, and that the best selling game of all time is Wii Sports. Well, maybe not as surprised because even the old folks in Century Village in Florida are  wii bowling to their hearts content, they must have finally been tired from all the love making. Oh yes, I did not forget that lil’ tid bit of news, though I wish I had.  Also 2 out of 5 gamers are females, Yahoo! I thank Wii fit for that one, a lot  of Cougars are loving getting fit in the comfort of their own home as they get ready before a night out on the prowl. Either way pretty informative, yet disturbing.

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First the Xbox 360, then the Playstation 3, and now Nintendo announces that they’ll be offering the Netflix service on the Nintendo Wii this Spring.  Similar to how the PS3 will run Netflix, the Nintendo Wii will need a Netflix instant-streaming disc in order to use the service at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers.  For Netflix subscribers who would like to sign up for a free instant-streaming disc, follow this LINK.

As of now, the Xbox 360 version of Netflix seems to be the best choice as there’s a native application built into the Xbox 360 as well as the ability to stream at 1080p.  The PS3 can stream 1080p as well, but it requires the instant-streaming disc.  This announcement from Nintendo is definitely a step in the right direction since Nintendo’s Wii is still selling like hotcakes, even after the holidays.  Since the Nintendo Wii’s max output resolution is 480p, Wii owners shouldn’t expect a true HD experience out of it, but I’m sure all will be forgiven since navigating the menus will probably be much easier with the Wii-mote.

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Fans of the arcade and console classic NBA Jam are in for a treat today as EA Sports announced they’re remaking NBA Jam for the Nintendo Wii later this year.

The new NBA Jam promises to bring the original gameplay elements that we all know and love while some new game modes and characters will be included as well.  NBA Jam will also include “re-defining visuals” with true-to-life body types, updated physics, and visible player emotions.

That’s all well and good.  All I ask is that I still be able to play with Bill Clinton, or at least allow me to customize my player to have a goat head, just like my character in NBA Hangtime on the N64.  I think I named him Chupacabra.  I know.  I’m pretty sick.

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It’s true, Mega Man 10 will not be exclusive to the Wii like some thought.  In fact, it will be coming to the big 3.  Nintendo’s WiiWare, Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE Arcade, and Sony’s PS3.  Keeping the same 2D graphics, Mega Man 10 screens do resemble previous Mega Man titles and their retro look.  But rest assure, these graphics were done purposely in keeping the tradition going with our side scrolling hero.

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