N +

Animal Crossing Wii was released a few days ago, so a good number of you might have it, and I am sure its going to be a hot holiday item too. I have created the Animal Crossing Forum where we can all help each other finish bug or fish collections or share funky stories about how to end up in Resetti's lair, or a neat trick you can do with two shovels - things like this. I have also moved the the AC:Wii friend code forum to this area too, so you can share AC:Wii friend codes if you are so bold. If you don't want to give it to everyone just post what city you are from with what fruit, and you can set-up private message invites with fellow N+ers.

Ready to cross some animals?

Just a quick post to let you know that N+ member evaunit6 has created a thread in the forums for people to post their reviews and thoughts on the various Wii Ware titles as they get released.

MK has already given his thoughts on Pop, and it'd be great if we could compile loads of reviews to help people decide what to spend their precious Wii Points on.

N+ member evaunit6 brought this amazing Super Famicon Controller to our attention in the "Look what I've found" thread. You may think that a Super Famicon controller isn't that exciting, but this one's special. This one can be used with the Virtual Console, giving you classic controls for classic games.

Whilst NoE has a rather pants star reward system, Nintendo Japan's loyalty scheme is much better, and continually offers exclusive games and merchandise for their members. The controller, is just one example, and NoJ are also offering the chance to get the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD, and Nintendo calendar. It's almost enough to make you move. Almost.

N+ member PVgummiand (who currently owns 14 Wii games ), has written an excellent review of The Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii. This is a game that I have been contemplating getting, and as PVgummiand describes it as the second best game he's played on the Wii, I may have to give it a go! (The best game, in case you're wondering is Zelda).

The full review can be found here, in our Wii games review forum. Here's the summary for you:

Although the game lacks a bit on the graphical front every other aspect of the game is excellent. It stays true to the movie and it doesn't ruin the story - in fact it may add a bit to it. Playing it out as a mobster is lots of fun and this game is clearly a must have for all Godfather and/or Grand Theft Auto fans.

Custom Robo Arena for the DS is a great game. I'm going to get that out of the way at the start of this review. It's one of the most fun games I've played on the DS, and I've found it a very worthwhile addition to my games collection. It's got a decent one player story mode, a great multiplayer mode, Wi-Fi battling with voice chat, and hundreds of collectibles.

The premise of the game is simple. You control a battling robot called a Custom Robo. Each Robo has unique handling and combat attributes, and has four different parts that you can customise and tune into a victorious warrior. Once you have equipped your Robo, you enter a virtual arena with another Robo, and you the last Robo standing wins. The controls are simple, but effective. You move with the D-Pad, and jump with the A Button. You have 3 weapons, which are controlled by the B, L, and R buttons, and a charge attack activated by the X button. Your Robo constantly targets the enemy Robo, so victory comes as a result of some frantic button mashing, skillful manoeuvring, and shrewd tactics.

It may surprise you to find that the battles can become quite tactical affairs. You can change Robo parts before each one, so you can make sure you take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses. There are so many variations of weapons; short range, long range, homing, defensive, aerial, ground...the list goes on. If your opponent has leg thrusters, for example, it usually indicates that he is going to be raining aerial assaults down on you. It might be wise to equip yourself with floating mines to negate his attacks.

The combat is broken down into stages. Both robots start the battle with 1000 health points, and this decreases when they get hit. Each Robo also has a endurance gauge. If you take 3 big hits, your Robo will be downed, leaving it vulnerable for an attack. And your opponent will attack, because they know that the more that they can attack you with a combination of weapons they will cause you more damage. The idea is to try and corner your opponent so they can't move, and then launch a salvo of destruction on them.

It's good fun, and battles over Wi-Fi have been great (apart from the fact that MK annihilated me). It's a shame that the single player story mode isn't as entertaining. It's not bad, but just lacks that little something. It's similar to Pokemon in that you travel around battling random people, gaining experience points, levelling up, and getting new Robos and parts. The story is just a little...bland. It's not unplayable, and doesn't feel like a chore to play, but it is not memorable in the least. It only gets exciting when you go into a battle. Thankfully this happens regularly!

You can also pose your Robo, and decide how he appears to your opponent before battle. This includes selecting a background, or diorama to display them in. It's a nice little touch, and adds to the list of things that you can collect, as there are many different dioramas to unlock. Not to mention the different arenas available, each with a unique factor to affect the battle, be it hot magma, conveyor belts, or moving platforms.

It's a very enjoyable game, and one that I recommend playing. If any of you have the game, and wish to add anything, please post in the comments. Whilst you're at it, post your friend code in the Custom Robo Arena friend code exchange thread in our forums, and let battle commence!

The N+ Points

N+ Nice graphics, with little slow down
N+ Lots of parts, and dioramas to collect
N+ Simple, fun, and effective battle system
N+ Wi-Fi battles with voice chat!
N+ Due to the amount of parts the options for customisation are plentiful

The N- Points

N- Story mode is mundane
N- The music gets on my nerves a little

Whew! Sorry gals and guys, I was out for a while, and havn't been able to post too much. But now I'm back, and feelin' ready to set some new high scores! I noticed our numbers are shooting up fast! you guys are doing fantastic with The Challenge, but don't give up! I want to make this worth everyones while but I'm not exactly sure how to go through with my plan... See I made a super sweet T-Shirt design to somehow reward our Founders, but I have no idea how much it would cost to get 500 shirts made! AH! Anyway for a peek at the founder shirt go Here for the Black and white (cost effective) or you can check out the dreamy color version The names at the top right would all be placed on different areas, "N+" would go on the breast, while Nintendo, and Opera would both be on the sleeves, the main design is intended for the back of the shirt. REMEMBER: This is just an idea, I would love to realize this for you all though, if anyone who knows the know, can you fill me in on how to track 500 sizes and get 500 shirts printed the most affordable way possible? - Also what do you think? I can't believe I forgot to write the word "Founder" on there, It will be added to the shirt I promise! maybee just add the word "founder" underneath the "N+" on the breast.

Also I have added alot of my Nintendo collection to the Member Hardware Album! I think I have a pretty impressive lot of hardware, but what do you have? it isn't a "moderators hardware" album, We wanna see your booty to! ! well, er.. hehe, you see that's pirate talk actually,...hehe, it means treasure...

Siiiigh...ANYWAY! I also want to report that the Forums have been exploding lately! If you havn't tried 'em yet, now is the perfect time to test the waters, we do talk about some wacky stuff inside, as well as games of coarse, but theres somthing for everyone, and you can create your own new forum topics as well! don't be shy! Speaking of the Forums, "moderating" those things has been a breeze! you guys keep it really good! not a single flame war has erupted, and I have only had to delete maybee 2, 3 at most flooding posts.

- Captain Seagull

Dr. Z has come across an interesting interview with Katsuya Eguchi, the man in charge of developing the game, and posted it in our Look What I've Found forum. Eguchi hints at the possibility that you will be able to design your own furniture, and then share it with other users.

I think it's a great idea. Of course, if you made your own furniture, you'd want to share it with others, to be able to give and receive hand-made stuff. Otherwise why would you make it? To be able to do that, you have to build in some place to keep that in the memory. The save data would be pretty huge, then. That's a challenge I'd like to face, though.[/url]
It's certainly a very interesting prospect, and I think achievable.

There are a a few more details about the game, which can be found in this Wikipedia entry. These include functionality with your mobile phone, and also utilisation of the Wii's message board feature.