The Monkey King (UFO Games)
We’ve seen this title available for an absurdly low price under $10.00
in many stores, which is a shame because aside from its relatively short
length, this is a fun vertically scrolling shooter with a cool Wii twist.
The game plays like many shooters as your main character moves around the
sceen, shooting a variety of enemies. It’s not particularly innovative
here, though the occasional power-ups and health boosts make it somewhat
easy to play through in a single sitting. The Monkey King’s shops which
appear from time to time make for an interesting power-up system that
reminds you of Sega’s classic Fantasy Zone. Monkey King’s
eastern-influenced levels and enemies give it a cool Japanese flavor which
is enhanced by its soundtrack. The game’s play is fairly standard with
one exception. Utilizing the Wiimote’s tilting abilities allows you to
tilt the screen, making you go faster or slower. It’s a pretty cool idea
that bridges the classic shmup play mechanics with the modern Wii
technology to present a unique experience. You don’t really need to use
this strategically for the most part, but it’s a fun change of pace. Its
sort of gimmicky, and its disappointing that when it comes time for boss
encounters, its not used at all, making the game play like a traditional
shooter. Unfortunately, as stated earlier there’s a limited number of
levels in the game, which means the fun is over all too quickly.
Graphically, the game’s 2D appearance and simple visuals recall 16-bit
era shooters, which makes it a pleasant throwback for older gamers.
Unfortunately, the game’s presentation is also old-school, as it lacks
support for widescreen display. Still, it’s a fun shooter title that
should please fans of the genre, effectively bridging traditional play
mechanics with some modern Wii controls. Grade: C+
Ocean
Commander (Valcon Games)
This is another different take on the classic shooter genre, which should
appeal to the same gamers who enjoy this style of play. Ocean Commander
has you in control of a futuristic submarine with advanced targeting
abilities. On the surface, it plays like traditional shooters, but go a
little deeper and you’ll find more interesting gameplay mechanics
submerged. You can use either the nunchuck to steer your ship around, or
use the wiimote alone. Firing your weapons and special shots is a fairly
simple task and the waves of enemies come at you in predictable, if
enjoyable patterns. Making this unique is the fact that you need to point
the wiimote at the screen itself to shoot down enemies in the targeting
cross-hairs. It’s a bit confusing initially, especially in some of the
boss battles where it isn’t clear where to shoot. There are two
configurations available for the controls, and they both take some
practice to get used to. However, once you get the hang of things,
you’ll find that Ocean Commander offers smooth-flowing gameplay. The
game allows you to purchase power-ups between levels, gradually increasing
your ship’s weapons and defenses as you progress through the levels.
Visually, the game looks good with decent animation and nicely rendered
backgrounds, accompanied by decent techno music. It’s not a bad game,
but the novelty wears off quickly, making the levels feel repetitive
quickly. Overall, this release is a fun and slightly innovative
underground shooter, that might appeal to shooter fans. Unfortunately, but
the slow pace of its initial levels and somewhat wonky controls detract
from what could have been a much better game. Grade:
C
NitroBike
(Ubisoft)
The Wii console is definitely not lacking for racers and its probably
difficult for most games in this genre to offer something unique. While
it’s graphics aren’t as polished as you’d like, NitroBike is
surprisingly fun if you’re expectations aren’t too high. The gameplay
mechanics are accessible and simple to understand. You tilt the Wii-mote
to steer and have to navigate through a series of tricky courses and
finish ahead of the other bike riders. The twist here is that your Bike is
equipped with Nitro, which gives you a speed boost temporarily. However,
this can only be used sporadically, otherwise you’ll over-heat and the
bike will explode. You only have a limited amount of boost, but you can
earn more by performing tricks. The game’s structure is easy to
understand, and you have to play through the career mode in order to
unlock additional items, courses, bikes and characters. The gameplay is
fairly easy to learn, but the courses themselves are large and elaborate
with tricky corners and occasionally deceptive layouts. This adds to the
challenge, giving NitroBike a surprising amount of depth. It’s
easy-to-learn controls and arcade-style racing make this a surprisingly
easy to play game that’s appealing for both quick pick up sessions and
longer career modes. NitroBike plays like a scaled-back version of
MotorStorm, but that’s not an entirely bad things. NitroBike’s
tilt-steering controls are responsive and its course designs offer varied
terrain and more. It lacks the polish of Nintendo’s own ExciteTruck from
the launch window, but it still delivers some action-packed and exciting
racing action that’s worth checking out if you can find it cheap. Grade:
C+
Championship Foosball (505 Games)
Those who enjoy this casual sports/action game in real life are bound to
be frustrated by this poorly-designed title’s non-intuitive controls,
ugly graphics and unimpressive physics. Championship Foosball supports up
to four players and includes multiple tables to play on, though it
doesn’t seem to make much difference once you get into Championship
Foosball’s gameplay itself, which gets dull quickly.There are different
rules, such as number of goals to win or timed matches. These aren’t
enough to really make much of a difference, since the game’s problems
are immediately apparent the moment you hold the controller. You control
the action using the wii-mote to point at the bars and spin them around,
while the nunchuck is used to move the characters. It takes some practice,
but once you get used to it, you’ll find this to be an aggravating game.
Having to point with one hand, and spin with the other requires more
hand-eye coordination that its worth. This awkward interface makes for a
frustrating game where you have to struggle to keep up with the action.
Add in static visuals, minimalist sound effects, a decidedly dull
presentation and simplistic, predictable AI for an unappealing release.
It’s limited selection of game modes and options make for a title that
offers very little challenge and even less replay value. Additionally, EA
has already included a vastly superior Foosball simulation as a bonus in
this year’s FIFA 09, making this title both sub-par and redundant. This
is one of those knock-off cheap games where you definitely get what you
pay for. Grade: D-
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Michael Palisano
