Sonic has a Cameo in the Upcoming Samba de Amigo

In the upcoming Samba de Amigo release for Nintendo’s wii, there will be a special guest cameo by Sonic himself. And a stage set in the Green Hill Zone.

Hmmm….so you think we can get a 2D Sonic game some time soon?

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Free Radical bringing Star Wars: Battlefront III to Wii?

It seems the rumours that Free Radical are making Star Wars: Battlefront III are true. On Tuesday Amazon showed listings for the game on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS and, most surprisingly, Wii.

The Battlefront games are multiplayer-driven, third-person shooters that drop the player into massive battles on land and space in control of numerous troops, ships and vehicles, including both heroes and villains from the Star Wars movies.

IGN has reported that two independent sources that have confirmed the listings to be correct and that Free Radical are the developers. The listings on Amazon have since been taken down, presumably at the request of publisher LucasArts. This comes almost two years after LucasArts announced that they had signed a development deal with Free Radical for an unnamed game.

This comes as great news to Wii owners, as not only are we getting the new installment of a fantastic franchise, but it comes from the team behind the TimeSplitters series and GoldenEye on the N64 - some of the best first-person-shooters of the past two generations, and games that Nintendo fans will no doubt have fond memories of.

However, with the looming presence of a PS2 title, we can hope that we don’t just get a port to the Wii with tacked-on some token waggle controls, as is typical of multi-platform titles. The cheap cash-in has never been Free Radical’s style though, so we can confidently look forward to a game built from the ground up for Wii.

The big question is can they make a game with this much focus on multiplayer and co-op gaming work well on Wii, or will they drop online gaming altogether for the Wii version?

Perhaps LucasArts know something we don’t about Nintendo’s future plans for online gaming or voice chat (Editor’s note: After all, Vicarious Visions was able to recently confirm that Guitar Hero 4 will feature downloadable content, after previously expressing displeasure at Nintendo’s lack of attention to their online flaws in the Wii).

Either way, at the moment it’s safe to be optimistic about Free Radical’s first outing on Wii. We’ll be watching for this one!

Update- Project Origin is not coming to the Wii

Edit - Here’s a quick update for you guys… It looks like the rumor that Fear 2 was coming to the Wii was only a careless mistake by some editor at the Official E3 site. The title is only going to be appearing on the PC/PS3/360.

Also, according to Nintendo Fan Alliance there are more mistakes in the site, such as Animal Crossing and Kid Icarus being on the 360/PS3/PC. It looks like we’re not going to be able to play Fear on the Wii after all.

Hey, it was a good shot, right?  At least we get Kid Icarus and Animal Crossing all to ourselves.  Which is reason enough to rejoice.

Editor’s note: If you need your darker-themed Wii fix, it’ll come.  Patience, friends.

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Ah, the face of fear. The sequel to the terrifying title known as Fear was unofficially announced today to be coming to the Wii on the official E3 site. According to the site the game, now called Project Origin, will be coming to the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. Whether this was just a careless mistake or the site editor did not know that the news wasn’t supposed to be out yet, it’s looking like Wii owners will be able to experience a true bone-chilling game like the rest of the gaming world. With the Wii’s outstanding success and the good sales numbers for mature horror titles such as Resident Evil 4, what kind of publisher wouldn’t want to bring it to Wii?

According to the E3 site, the name of the game is changed but the back story and the location it is set in has remained the same. Taking place right after the first game, paranormal events have spread and now are becoming a major threat to engulfing a major American city. The site says you can, “expect questions to be answered, bullets to be fired and time to be slowed when Project Origin [hits] this fall.”

The original Fear is said to be truly terrifying. In fact, a friend of mine played the first couple of levels and then put it away, never to play it again. Then again, he may have a low threshold for awesome.

If you’re a fan of the series and you own a Wii, be sure to keep your eyes on this game because it looks like it may be coming to the Wii. Discuss this game in our forums and keep checking back for more info.

Speculation: Castlevania Wii Announcement Soon?

Finishing moving, unpacking, and cleaning usually results in some wind-down Metroid Prime action for me. Today resulted in reading the latest issue of Nintendo Power.

The July 2008 issue spills the beans on the recent title in the Castlevania series: Order of Ecclesia for the DS, a game hinted at by the previous issue. Something didn’t sit right while paging through the issue, however. There were too many squeaks in the pages, words that were taunting my mind with that “just you wait, we have something big we can’t tell you” feeling.

Starting with the Pulse section, devoted to letters from readers, I found two interesting tidbits. First came a reader named “Squi-G!!!” that picks his favorite games out of a hat, apparently. Talking about the idea of picking a personal Best Game Ever (BGE), Editor Chris Slate responds to the reader’s inquiry with “On this subject, keep an eye out for something really big next issue.”

“BJG93″ also wrote in asking about Nintendo’s devotion to the hardcore crowd and M-rated titles. Slate responded with “All I can say is… don’t miss next issue. And bring extra underwear.”

Aside from Slate’s need to pimp the oncoming issues of NP, something else is itchy here. Since the next issue is August 2008, the big post-E3 issue, we can assume some big Wii titles will be announced and detailed.

Other clues to lead us to rational speculation:

In the same issue, Koji “IGA” Igarashi guest writes about the Castlevania series thusfar. Reflecting on the PS2 versions, IGA mentioned that “while they feature some of the best work by [artist] Ayami Kojima and [composer] Michiru Yamane to date, the perfect 3-D Castlevania game is still ahead of us.” IGA brings up an interesting point: non of the next-gen home consoles have seen a Castlevania game. With the heart of the series being a 2-D platform/adventure, Konami has been focusing on the DS as Castlevania’s home for new games in vampire-slaying.

Seeing the massive success of slashing games on newer consoles like the Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry series (both bearing strong similarities to the imperfect 3-D iterations of Castlevania), one can imagine the direction IGA would like to go with the series.

Better yet, hear it from the man himself. IGN got a few words with Igarashi back in 2006, and squeezed this out of him:

“We still can’t think about anything other than this DS version because we are so busy, but of course we would like to think of something interesting and pleasant for Wii. I have some ideas for Castlevania for Wii.”

And since then, IGA has been thinking and brainstorming ways to bring the Wii an amazing, whipping-good time. Over a year and a half later, and he’s still thinking. MTV Multiplayer brought words from the series producer just this last month that he’s still… sorta unsure. At a recent Konami press event, Igarashi said, “In regards to using the Wiimote as a whip, I still think it’s going to get tiring after a while… But using the Wii, I have been thinking about different ways. I see it as a viable platform, the more and more I think about it.”

The more he thinks about it, over the years? Sounds kind of ridiculous for a visionary producer. To his credit, however, IGA loves to fine-tune his games, and any Wii game he will eventually make has to be better than good. It has to be “good + 1.”

Additionally, the new DS game’s detailing in this NP issue culminated in promising words. NP staffer Chris Hoffman explained that “regardless of the game’s extra trappings-and there are additional features we can’t yet discuss-at its heart lies a tried and true formula.” So many secrets!

If there’s one thing I miss in Nintendo’s systems, it’s connectivity. Knowing the DS and Wii can wirelessly connect, we can expect this to be a feature exploited in announcements at this year’s E3. Konami can really make it happen Metroid Prime/Metroid Fusion-style with new Castlevania titles on both the DS and Wii. All of it adding up to my speculation that the next big announcement gracing the ears of E3-goers and the pages of Nintendo Power will be an excellent, “perfect 3-D” Castlevania game for the Wii.

Of course, that’s in a perfect world. There are other possibilities for excellent M-rated games for the hardcore Wii gamers. Considering the same issue of Nintendo Power also talks about Mad World, it’s a safe bet that the big surprise for next issue isn’t that game. Also, this issue’s cover story was the new DS Castlevania title, so what are the chances that the next could be a Wii title in the series?

Enough banter; let’s speculate. What do YOU think the big announcements will be at E3? What could Nintendo Power staff be getting at? Are you sure it’s not butter? And if it is, how might butter make the Wii even better? Only time will tell…

Wii Fit? Bah! Here Comes Wii Strip!

Now, we’re talking right?

I know that the guys and readers here at My Wii News already knew about the Wii Fit, its many fun factors, and of course, how it helps people stay in shape and all those things. But you know what’s better than any old Wii Fit? Something called Wii Strip, of course, and it’s coming to your favorite console unless the Peekaboo and Nintendo talks won’t materialize.

Well, I know you guys already know of Nintendo, but who exactly is this Peekaboo?

Nope, it’s not really some drunken Pokemon, Peekaboo is actually a company dedicated to making at-home dance poles for people aspiring to become strip dancers. And yes, they really do it with pride since Strippercising (an exercise involving strip dancing on a pole) is getting real popular for women wanting those extra fats burned from their bodies. If you don’t believe me, just search for “Strippercise” on Google; there’re even forums for this fast growing sport and I know you guys and girls out there will love it too… as spectators of course.

Anyway, an on-going title would be Wii Peekaboo Pole Dancing and it has that cute ring to it because mainly of the pole creator’s name. It’s going to be widely accepted too, I bet, since even this article from The Independent shows expectations about the release. But for more news about this rumor, you can always check out Peekaboo’s website confirming the talks.

A question immediately comes to mind on whether these poles would be available for men-size too. Well, I’m not dreaming on swinging on some pole but some of you guys may be thinking of trying it out too. Besides, no one’s gonna know of you’re just swinging happily all by yourself in the safety of your own home, right?

Anyway, I just hope those poles are sturdy enough. I also hope some of you won’t let your grandparents near them. Believe me, that’s going to be one hell of a problem, and common sense will definitely tell you guys that I’m absolutely right.