With the imminent release of Metroid Corruption I have started playing Super Metroid on the Virtual Console. Having never played a Metroid game until Fusion (on the GBA) and Prime (on the Cube) Super Metroid passed me by (I know I had a SNES and still never played it!).

Anyway coming to it as a relative newcomer is interesting for several reasons.

Guidance and objectives:

Super Metroid is really hard. Not because of the AI or the amount of health or ammo you get. Instead it is because there is very little guidance. It does not tell you how to use any of your abilities or where to go next. Instead you are left to explore and experiment to discover what to do and where to go. To this end it can be frustrating at certain sections becuase you think you are lost or even trapped.

Feeling trapped and unable to progress is an interesting one as there are several sections where you can blast a switch to open a door from one side that when you return you cannot open from the other side. This leads to a few moments of thinking ‘crap I am going to have to reset and start from my save again’. Interestingly, however, there are always ways out of the area you think you are trapped in.

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We are nearing the end of our prototype phase and are really chuffed with where the game is.

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Now that we have been approved to develop WiiWare™ we can announce that we have started developing Pop™. A game which we hope will launch with the service.

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Back in April we were approved by Nintendo to develop for what has now become WiiWare™. We could not announce this at the time as it was obviously top-secret.

Because of this we have put Blast on temporary hold. This is because 1) it was being developed using XNA and 2) we had not been approved for XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade). The XBLA process at the moment is a very long affair with this in mind and that we have been approved for WiiWare™ we made the decision to freeze its development.

We will be returning to it but for now we are working on something a little simpler which makes loads of use of the cool Nintendo Wii™ Controller. So check back here often for updates.

I’ll try to get a bunch of these done today so I can catch up…

Premise

You don’t know about Wario Ware? Go to the back of the class. Wario Ware is, in all its forms, a compendium of mini games. Each one lasts seconds rather than minutes and you must not only complete the game to keep going but first you have to try to work out what exactly you have to do to complete the mini game.

Controls

Wario Ware needs only a Wii Remote but it does ask you to use it in various fun and unique ways. Each of these ways is called a ‘Form’ and they can vary from putting it on the ground/table top and quickly picking it up to holding it above your head while you nod, duck or crouch.

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God I am so behind on these, I have masses of games still to write up about Anyway onto Trauma Center.

Premise

Like the original DS version you play a rookie surgeon who starts doubting his abilties until he find he is one of the few in the world with a special healing gift.

Controls

You use the Wii Remote to manipulate the various surgical implements e.g. scalpel, bandage, x-ray etc. The nunchuk on the other hand is used to select each implement making changing each much quicker and more fluid than the DS. Using the Wii remove as a scalpel etc is really nice and in many ways feels more surgical than the DS version. It’s very satisfying and not fiddley at all,

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Like Resistance I got this for Christmas and am only now getting round to writing about it…

Premise

Erm drive cars round Ridge State fast and win prizes. Best get your drift on ‘cos the corners are tight. Or you could say a re-hash of the PS1, PS2 and 360 Ridge Racers. Same old tracks but with better graphics… Oh and this time you can customise your cars (watch out Need for Speed)!

Controls

Steer, accelerate and drift. If you need to brake your playing the wrong driving game. The reason I like RR is its all about the drifting, many games have tried but RR always feels on the money. Gliding round one of its corners at top speed is exhilarating. But it is all feeling a little too familiar!

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Got a this with my PS3 at Christmas. I know its like 5 months later but World of Warcraft and work have been eating up a lot of my time so its been hard to write!

Premise

Its the Second World War but in a parallel universe. There are no nazis, instead a mutant/alien plague has escaped Russia and spread across Europe to the UK. You and some American Allies must fight of this scourge and save the world. Nice graphical showcase for the PS3 and an interesting plot line (well instead of the usual WWII fps shlock).

Controls

The game is a first person shooter and so uses the usual: left stick for move and strafe and the right for turn and look. Strangely the triggers are not used for weapons by default (although this can be configured). At certain points you have to shake the control to get rid of bad guys who attach themselves to you.

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We have now completed Milestones 6 and 7. These two milestones were about getting artwork into the game and rolled right off the back of Milestone 5. We now have the player characters animating, the ability to place and export instanced objects including pickups and the ability to put in static artwork for the levels.

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Dear Mr Stoner,

I am writing to ask you to renew the Interactive Media Fund for NSW. I believe the fund has been influential in fostering the growth of the NSW video games industry since its inception in 2010. NSW has an increasingly active video game development scene, with a growing number of small studios, a burgeoning International Game Developers Association chapter and lots of young talent graduating from local colleges and universities. The funding awarded to date has helped establish and grow a number of small studios which are already making their mark on the global video game stage.

The global video game industry now generates more revenue than the global film industry and it is one of the world’s fastest growing entertainment sectors. Through digital distribution, video games developed in NSW can be exported around the world, increasing NSW’s share of a valuable and important export market. However, developing video games is much like creating films or television programs. It is a risky and hit driven business which needs nurturing at a grass roots level. The Interactive Media Fund is essential to help the small developers of today grow into the video game leaders of tomorrow. It also helps developers compete on the global stage in which many countries now offer increasingly generous funding and tax packages to developers to grow their local video game industry.

I urge you to renew this important fund to continue the momentum which has already fostered growth in the NSW video game industry. Without the continuation of this fund there is a significant risk that the success of the last few years will be undone.

Thank you for your time.