WiiWare offers you the chance to download exciting new games straight to Wii in minutes. These titles are created by both well-known publishers and fresh, new talent who now have a platform to show the world their creativity! With the recent announcement of a new storage solution for Wii, the sky’s the limit when it comes to downloading new games to play and we’ve taken a close look at some of the stars on the horizon.
This week we’re shining the spotlight on some upcoming games that take full advantage of Wii’s unique controls to interesting effect:
A Snip of Success
In Bonsai Barber, developers Zoonami have come up with a one of a kind experience where you get to test your hairstyling skills on a variety of vegetable customers.
Zoonami founder Martin Hollis was the Producer/Director of the classic GoldenEye 007 game for the Nintendo 64 and therefore approached the prospect of WiiWare with an experienced eye: “We were looking for interesting ideas for Wii and we found this control method with scissors, so that was the first kind of prototype…we thought it was a really good feeling to cut round the edge”. Or in this game, hedge. Zoonami also took advantage of WiiConnect24 to communicate with the player even when they’re not playing.. Martin explains: “I could make an appointment to come in and cut someone’s hair, but then if I missed that, [my customer in the game] would write me a note to say, “What? Are you okay? You missed an appointment!” and that goes to your Wii Message Board.’
It’s a Heavenly Adventure
Icarian: Kindred Spirits is a very different kind of game that uses the fluidity of the Wii Remote controls to conjure up the powers of Ancient Greece. You play Nyx, a winged girl, who is in search of her lost friend, Icarus.
A side-scrolling platformer with copious puzzles and obstacles, the game requires you to invoke the powers of the Gods, as Roberto Alvarez from Over The Top Games explains: “We took advantage of the Gods and related that to the Wii Remote – so you control a character with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, but additionally you have access to these powers that the Gods give you and aim at the screen and affect things”. The powers can affect items of the environment independently of Nyx and allow for a great two-player experience where one player is Nyx, and the other controls the godly powers.
Overturn the Robot Revolution!
Moving a few thousand years forward brings us to the futuristic world of Overturn: Mecha Wars. The title is a robot wars tournament-based game with six classes of robot warrior and a number of multiplayer options including online play via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
The aim of the game is to blast your opponents to pieces using a wide range of upgradeable artillery. Logan Gunasingham from Gamebridge reveals a surprising peripheral twist on the genre – the use of the Wii Balance Board: “The Balance Board works by shifting your weight left to right, up and down, to replace the analogue stick. It’s a feature we’re looking forward to seeing being used.”
A Fight for all the Family
Water Warfare introduces another twist on a popular genre. As a first-person-shooter, you wouldn’t expect this to be a game for everyone. But the difference here is that, instead of lead, you’re firing water at each other! There are seven different types of water gun to play with and up to eight people can get in on the action, chasing each other round with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to deliver a good soaking.
Click on the links above for further details on each game. And make sure you check back soon for details on another set of games as WiiWare Highlights takes you back to the old school…
