Wiikly Wii Releases - 4/20/08
Welcome to the this week’s edition of the Wiikly Wii Releases! Here we will let you know about all the great Wii titles coming out this week and give you some information to help you pick the game that’s right for you. When applicable, we’ll choose one game to be the “MyWiiNews Pick of the Week,†a game that stands out among all the others as the title that takes the crown for that week. Without further ado, let’s look at what’s coming out this week.
Wild Earth: African Safari
Majesco – April 22nd
Do you like taking pictures? How about playing videogames? Now, hold onto your hats, what about playing videogames about taking pictures? If your mind isn’t completely blown yet, hop into the Jeep and start up your very own African Safari.
You guessed it: Wild Earth: African Safari is a game about taking pictures. But these are no normal pictures; they’re pictures freshly taken from the exotic Savannah, where life and limb are constantly at risk of being torn asunder by a lion the size of most small cars. Yeah, that’s right, lions. Africa doesn’t mess around.
For those who remember yesteryear’s Pokemon Snap!, Wild Earth: African Safari is more of the same virtual photography fun with a few cool extra features, including two-player co-op, multiplayer missions, and an “interactive Safari mini-game” that allows players to play from the animals perspective. Neat!
Wild Earth: African Safari is a port of the similarly-titled, award-winning PC game Safari Photo Africa: Wild Earth, so even if you played (or missed it) it the first time around, give it a try for the new content and improved Wii controls. Nothing quite like quaking in front of a Wildebeest with a camera in your hand!
Target: Terror
Konami – April 21st
America. Terror. Both are undeniably words that don’t get along under almost any circumstances, Iran-Contra affair excepted. So what in the heck was Konami thinking in bringing these two volatile concepts together? A quick lightgun buck, that’s what. And that’s exactly what you’ll find here.
In addition to continuing this week’s colon theme, Target: Terror brings the arcade experience of annihilating swarms of infidels to your Wii in a way that hasn’t been seen since, well, House of the Dead 2 & 3, which was released earlier this month. Only this game was specially designed for the Wii’s Zapper attachment, making it the first game that will hopefully work well with the giant piece of plastic. Oh, and it’s absolutely hideous.
If you love to shoot some terrorists, need to get another lightgun fix, and are hankering to see how a game that was designed for the Wii Zapper controls, give Target: Terror a go. If you want pure lightgun joy, don’t care about the zapper, want something that’s a tiny bit easier on the eyes, and only want to spend $20, give House of the Dead 2&3 a go. Either way, both games are fun and at least worth a rental, especially for those times when you just need to kill something.
Heavenly Guardian
U.F.O. Interactive – April 22nd
For those who like their shooters to be in two-dimensions, thankyouverymuch, U.F.O. Interactive has just released the bargain-priced Heavenly Guardian. The $20 title is overflowing with 32-bit charm that two parts hack n’ slash adventure and one part Tempest/Stinger clone, with a little bit of story and exploration thrown in there for good measure.
Sometimes you just need some mindless fun, and for those times, Heavenly Guardian should probably fit the bill. For those wondering what version of the game to pick up, the Wii version features some special Wii Remote actions, while the PS2 version is $5 cheaper, so pick your poison wisely. Now buy somethin’, will ya?
Battle of the Bands
THQ – April 22nd
If only I had a “wow, that sure didn’t take too long” award to hand out here, Battle of the Bands would be the first candidate after Rock Band to take home the top honor for music-oriented game bandwagoning. Oh sure, THQ added a few different play mechanics and uses the Wii Remote instead of some wonky peripheral, but Battle of the Bands? C’mon! The name is hardly better than “Guitar Hiro” or “Country Band;” both of which are only one or two notches below this unfortunately-named Wii exclusive.
Generic title qualms aside, Battle of the Bands looks to give Samba de Amigo a run for its maraca-shaking money with its mildly-innovative control scheme. Instead of pressing down buttons, strumming, or tapping controller triggers rhythmically, the majority of Battle of the Bands is based around shaking the Wii Remote at appropriate times. Seemingly influenced by the musical minigame found in Zack and Wiki, Battle of the Bands seems to be an interesting take on the rhythm genre. It also features multiple music renditions of the same song, making for some of the most confusing aural abominations ever heard. Ever heard country renditions of Cypress Hill songs? How about latin interpretations of metal? While the latter may be better than the former, Battle of the Bands looks to give players a run for their money with the 150 included songs.
If you’re looking for more maraca shaking fun and can’t wait until Samba de Amigo’s proper Wii release later this year, give Battle of the Bands a try. It’s hard to say it won’t be at least interesting.
None. Go play Okami instead.
Uncategorized | 
Ilchymis | April 21, 2008
