New Wii Channel – Check Mii Out

The light on your Wii was either recently blue or still is – because the new Check Mii Out channel has been released. In case you haven’t downloaded it yet, or are wondering what exactly you can do, here’s a basic overview of the Check Mii Out channel.

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One half of the channel is a contests section. This is where Nintendo will post someone that you should try to make a Mii of. The best look-alike wins the contest. The current contest is to create Mario without his hat. Best of luck if you decide to enter the contest!There’s also “Posting Plaza”. You can do a number of things here. First of all, you can upload your own Miis, for other people to check out. When you upload a Mii, you give the Mii initials (Nintendo doesn’t want people sharing names on this channel, evidently), designate its favorite activity from a given list (including athletics,cooking, secret, and more). In “Posting Plaza” you can also see Miis uploaded by other Wii owners from around the world, and favorite any that you especially like.

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Overall, the channel is what you make it to be. Some people may actively participate in the contests, and others will have no problem never using this channel. I’ll probably rarely use it, due to its lack of friend connections (it’d be great if there were a way that your friends were notified when you posted a new Mii and they could comment on it), as well as a lack of a point of participating (the Miis are already made – what’s the point in uploading them, instead of playing an actual game on Wii?)

Here’s Reggie explaining the channel at E3 ’07.

Spread Your Gaming Dollars Around – Buy 3rd Party (Part 2)

Here’s part 2 of the article by “Joe News” about which 3rd party Wii games might be worth your (or someone who’s buying you a gift) money this holiday season. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.

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Fighter Fans
Godzilla Unleashed – Last gen the Cube was home to one of the best games based on a movie series ever, and it was Godzilla!!! Yes, the man eating lizard is back (I know, he doesn’t actually…) and this time he is sporting a larger roaster, bigger levels which are completely destructible! Reading the blog updates on IGN from the development team who actually answered a question I posted once has been an awesome treat, that dev team really cares about the gamers who will buy its game. And like the last game, I think that will show when it hits the market soon.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (click for more info on the game) – With Atari in a court battle to keep the DBZ license this actually could be the last DBZ game from Spike. If thats the case this is definitely the swan song for the series, its packs with 150 playable characters, 20 levels and refined controls from last years version. A must own for any DBZ fan, easy.

Mini-Game Fans
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 – Wacky to say the least, this mini-game stuffed adventure promises to be best its original with even more crazy mini-games. The few we know of show mini-games loosely based on Rock Band (yep, parody at its best), Football (American kind) and push the envelope by combining live action video taken in Tokyo, Paris and New York with rendered rabbits which can interact with the video environment! This is the must own party game of 2007, Mario Party what?!

Light Gun Fans
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles – One of the best series out there finally has a “light gun” style game on the market thats worth your time. Visually it looks just as strong as RE:4 Wii Ed, with all the thrills of having the stuff nightmares are made out of jump out at you. I’ll be keeping the lights ON, thank you!

Simulation Fans
Trauma Center: New Blood – The jump from the DS to the Wii left nothing behind, and the first TRUE sequel is on my must own list for two reasons. Its thrilling, eat your heart out ER plotlines and bizarre, who knew it was fun, gameplay. And I was just informed it also has co-Op support for the whole game! NICE.

Rhythm Fans
Guitar Hero 3 – Its GH, need I say more? It rocks!

 

If you’ve learned ANYTHING from this I hope its that Nintendo quality games, can come from 3rd parties also. Don’t pass these up and down the line complain we get no awesome games. You have a direct effect on how Nintendo’s fan base thinks and purchases. Choose wisely and spread this message around the internet! Super Mario Galaxy isn’t the only must own game this Christmas for me, I hope I am not alone.

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Project “Touching Is Good”

“Touching is Good” is the slogan Nintendo uses to promote the DS, but Get N or Get Out is going to interpret it a bit differently; that it actually means to touch others’ lives, to help someone out. So, instead of just writing articles about video game, we’re going to encourage you to participate in some sort of charity to help out someone in need. This is Project “Touching Is Good”.

Our current project will not only feed hungry people across the globe, but also increase your vocabulary. Please head on over to FreeRice, where a word will be given to you and you must choose the correct synonym to it. For each word you get correct, 10 grains of rice will be donated to the United Nation’s World Food Program.

Please leave a comment on the project page letting everyone know how many grains you’ve donated!

Black Friday Sales

Ads for some national chain retailers have been leaked onto the web. So far, Target and Best Buy are stores of interest that have been posted. Here are all the DS and Wii specials they’ll be having for Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving).

Best Buy
DS Lite Bundle w/ Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass ($150)
DS Lite Bundle w/ Nintendogs ($150)
Sonic and the Secret Rings – Wii game ($20)
Brunswick Pro Bowling and Rapala Fishing Tournament – Wii games ($20)
**There are also other, unspecified games ranging from $5-$15**

Target
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree – Wii game ($28)
Boogie – Wii game ($28)
Pirates of the Caribbean – Wii / DS game ($28 / $17)
Star Wars II – DS game ($17)
**There are also a variety of DS Starter Kits on sale**

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The interesting thing about this is what each store is putting on sale, and how big the sale is. Target has a very small number of sales on Wii games compared to other systems. For example, Target has sales of over $10 off on games like The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, and the newest Tony Hawk game for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. Target has a total of 13 sales for 360, and only 4 for Wii.

Sale needed / No sale needed.
Need I say any more?

This goes to show that retailers are having a tougher time moving XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 games compared to Wii games. They know that the Wii games at $50 will sell with minimal promotion, but even the hottest 360 and PS3 games need to be put on sale. More evidence that Nintendo is in the position they wanted to be all along.

For information on the sales for Circuit City, Toys ‘R Us and Gamestop, check out this post.

All sales info courtesy of Black Friday Ads.

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Spread Your Gaming Dollars Around – Buy 3rd Party (Part 1)

“Joe News” of Dreamcast Magic wrote this fantastic article about why you should consider buying some 3rd party Wii games this holiday season. Thanks for letting us put this on Get N, Joe!

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Puzzle Fans
Zack and Wiki – Not enough praise can be given to this innovative point and click adventure. Its got some great puzzles that will really put your brain to the test. Graphically it sports some of the most fluid animation I’ve seen in years with character models and level design right out of a colorful story book. It’s a sight to be seen, played and owned. Don’t pass on this Nintendo-quality, must-own Capcom title!

Action Fans
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition – If you don’t already own this 30 dollar masterpiece, please go buy it now. I simply refuse to reinforce all the positive things said about this amazing, series re-defining game. Just another example of Capcom giving us awesome games, even if it already was released on the Cube; the new controls make this a much better experience, by far.

Adventure Fans
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams – Its been 2 console generations since the original NiGHTS was released; if you’ve never played it, it’s the perfect chance to experience a new, different type of game, and use unique motion controls to pull off acrobatics like flying through the air. Add in its charming art style and Wii Connect 24 weather service support and this is clearly Sega’s defining work for the Wii in the foreseeable future.

Shooter Fans
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 – I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for the game in this category that does it all. Great graphics, great online, great controls, and great gameplay. If the reviews (read – IGN) reveal anything about this soon to be released game its that for the first time in years, a Nintendo console will be getting a great FPS worthy of its hardware. Sure, its got no voice chat, but that’s Nintendo’s fault. Don’t blame the developer or publisher for it, because next year should Nintendo finally release a headset, I want there to be a Medal of Honor game waiting for me on shelves. Anyone else notice that there’s no Wii version of Call of Duty 4? Let’s not let this happen to Medal of Honor.

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Be on the lookout for part 2 later this weekend!

Weekly Poll #3

This week’s question is: How do you feel about the ‘Check Mii Out’ channel, which will be released on November 11th?

The choices are:
This is the best Wii channel so far.
It’s cool, and should be fun to use.
When I’m bored I might use it.
It looks stupid, but I’ll give it a shot.
I’m not even going to download it.
Check ME out, not Mii!

To vote, go here.

Last week’s question was: Which addition to Super Smash Bros. are you most excited about?

The winning feature was Online Play.

Here are the complete results:

Stage Editor 13% (2 votes)

Online Play 60% (9 votes)

More Characters 20% (3 votes)

Final Smashes 0% (0 votes)

Assist Trophies 0% (0 votes)

Better Graphics 0% (0 votes)

Subspace Emissary 7% (1 votes)

Super Mario Galaxy Reviews Compilation

If you don’t have time to go check all the big sites for their Super Mario Galaxy reviews, check below for the scores that various sites gave the game, as well as excerpts from their respective reviews.

GamePro: 5.0/5.0
“There’s no doubting that Super Mario Galaxy is one of the most visually stunning Nintendo Wii games around.”
“The space levels definitely offer up a new experience unlike anything we’ve experienced before in a Mario title.”

IGN: 9.7/10.0
“Galaxy really does feel like the “spiritual sequel’ to Mario 64.”
“Somewhat surprisingly, Galaxy also incorporates some genuine motion control and it too is well implemented.”

1UP: 9.5/10.0
“you probably won’t even realize how off-the-wall its level design actually is until you stop to consider how fresh it all feels.”
“Galaxy makes even the wildest challenge feel almost second nature.”

Gamespot: 9.5/10.0
“Controls work just about flawlessly in nearly every situation”
“Practically every galaxy you explore is an absolute joy to experience.”

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This is just what was expected – near perfect scores and comments on the game. Most, if not all, reviewers of Super Mario Galaxy agree that it is the Wii’s best game to date. Just less than a week away now, too.

Buyers Beware – Circuit City

If you were planning on picking up your new copy of Call of Duty 4 (for PS3 or XBox 360) at Circuit City and expecting to get Call of Duty 3 for free (as advertised quite clearly in their weekly flyer and on their website), you may be out of luck. People across the U.S. arrived to pick up Call of Duty 4 today, and were told by store employees that the deal was a misprint, and refused to give out the free copies of Call of Duty 3. This is false advertising, which is illegal.

If this happened to you, or ever does, do not let the store avoid giving you what they said they would in the advertisement (in this case, Call of Duty 3). If they do, you should refuse to buy the game (Call of Duty 4, for example) at that retailer, and buy it somewhere else if you want the game. Be sure to tell them that what they are doing is illegal, and if they don’t give you what they promised, report them to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). It may take a couple minutes to fill out the form, but it is worth it, since the store wasted your time and lied to you.

This may be a one-time happening, but chances are it will happen again. So, next week when you go to pick up Super Mario Galaxy, or in the future when you go to buy whatever game it may be, do not give in to store managers / employees if they are contradicting a promise the store already made to you.

Phoenix Wright 3 Impressions

First of all, hello to everyone out there. I’m new to GetN as you might have noticed, but you can expect to see quite a bit from me in the future. What better way to begin my duties then to write up my impressions of one of my all-time favorite games, Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations.

 I ordered my copy from Japan, so I recieved it earlier than most did. Opening that case, I was both exited… and worried. I was worried about how the game would seriously turn out. As a big fan of the series, I will admit that I had my doubts as to if it will be able to stand up to the might of the wonderful series so far.

 After just jumping into the first case… all of my doubts and worries blew away. This case was truly phenomenal; it included everything I expected and a whole lot more. I won’t give much away, but I’ll just say it starts out quite a bit differently than the rest of the series has.

 As far as overall look goes, there’s not much I can say. The Phoenix Wright games are all sprited, so they all look pretty much the same graphic-wise. So as you may have assumed, there really wasn’t much of a “wow” factor in comparison to the look the other Phoenix Wright games. Though, I’m certainly not criticizing the look in any way. The Ace Attorney series has a unique style to it… one that I’m personally quite fond of.

 The first case to the game was very well thought out. It isn’t one that is quickly run through, either. I would certainly say that it’s the longest 1st case in the entire Ace Attorney series, which I was very happy to see.

If you’ve played the Phoenix Wright series through up to this point, I can strongly say you will not be dissapointed with this one. For those of you that have been nebulous of the series so far, well, you might want to look into it, even if trials and courtrooms isn’t your thing. It’s never too late to start playing through these games, and with the holiday season just around the corner, this just might be the perfect opportunity for you.

New Classic Controller

If you love playing classic games that you’ve downloaded from the Virtual Console, but miss the classic feel of the games, a solution may be arriving for you. Due for release next week, the “Digital Arcade Stick”, Hori’s new replacement for the Classic Controller, will be usable for any games that the Classic Controller can be used with.

Now, the controller certainly looks more vintage than the Classic Controller, although it sports a more modern color scheme… but does it work well? Generally, Hori products work great, and can be trusted. Also, it is Nintendo approved, meaning you won’t be disappointed… or shouldn’t be, at least.

There is a huge downside, though – it costs $50. It costs enough to just buy the $40 Remote and $20 Nunchuk, along with a $20 Classic Controller if you need one, and $50 just for the Hori controller probably won’t fit into a lot of gamers’ budgets.

The controller is expected to be in stores next week (although the only major retailer with it on their site right now is Gamestop, but many other stores have other Hori products in stock). For more info on the controller, check out Hori’s official site.