Going into the fall gaming season, I always felt that there is an astounding number of games end up unnoticed. So we at MonsterVine sought to showcase a selection of games from particular publishers and let the readers decide for themselves.
Swords
Swords pit you against enemy combatants in the vein of games like Punch-Out! and Wii Sports boxing with the exception of weapons. It offers realistic combat play through the inclusion of Wii MotionPlus to gauge sword movement, time blocks, and unleash combos. The demo we saw of Swords placed the player against Rognir, a fierce Viking warrior dude that specializes in high offense and damage but handicapped by poor speed. Keeping in mind this, we braced for Rognir’s imminent attacks and activated a special parry based on timing. The timed block allowed a brief window to unleash a devastating combo that chipped away at a good chunk of the opponent’s health bar.
Aside from the combat, the time traveling story is pretty humorous. You go back in time to various periods of history to fight foes like Sir Lancealot or a samurai. Each victory gains a special ability and a new sword to fight against the next adversary. It even includes a zombie minigame designed to hone your skills. If you’re starving for a light saber type game for the Wii, you should give this one a try.
Crafting & Babysitting Mama
With the success of the Mama franchise, Majesco looks to capitalize on its gains and introduce two entries that offer a “natural progression of the series” by putting Mama in crafting and parenting scenarios that lends itself to an addictive but qualifying experience.
Immediately in Crafting Mama, the classic formula that has defined the series has been left intact. Players will go through the process of creating items that made its games so oddly fascinating and addicting. Might we also mention that this will be the first Mama game to feature two player multiplayer through wireless. If you’re into Mama-ing it up with others. In a demo, we were tasked with fashioning a mug from scratch, quite literally. First, we molded a wet ball of clay into the shape of a cup, attached a handle with glue, fired up the kin, and customized the finished product with a coat of paint. There are other crafts and tools to use but you’ll have to wait until October 26th to get your hands on Crafting Mama.
Babysitting Mama may be the most interesting Mama game to date; its bundled with an actual baby accessory. The Wii remote is placed into the back of the doll with the nunchuck acting as the control for menu navigation. Sounds are even emitted from the baby through the speakers on the Wii remote. Minigames are played with the baby, moving it around as prompted by the game. If you shake the baby too hard, the game will freeze and warn you against shaking. That’s real parenting advice. We were tasked with making the baby laugh and utilize the nunchuck in a roulette style minigame in order to make the face it wanted. Another has you rocking the baby to sleep by slowly cradling the doll in ones arms, remarking that “aww†moment. These are the sort of activities you will encounter, all designed for an interactive time with the doll accessory. There is even an option to conduct yourself in a “who’s the better baby scenario†with two player baby races. Of course that will mean getting another person to buy Babysitting Mama. Younger girls will likely eat this up for Christmas, just in time for the game’s release.
Monster Tale
From the folks that brought you Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure, Dreamrift newest game is Monster Tale featuring a virtual pet sim named Chomp coupled with an action style platformer gameplay. The basic jist of the story has you fighting monsters corrupted by evil kids and the last good monster becomes your companion. Throughout the game, Chomp levels up through the actions of the top screen – players familiar with Henry Hatsworth will feel at home here, though the difficulty has been pegged down a notch.
Ellie, the main character, is tasked with saving the world run by delinquents and has a melee and ranged projectile weapon that is upgradable. The actual gameplay itself gives homage to Castlevania and Metroid with the option of going back and forth through the various levels. Anytime Ellie’s in danger, she can call on Chomp to perform special attacks and a shield move but drains health in the process, at that point, Chomp returns back to the bottom screen to reenergize.
When hanging out on the bottom screen, Chomp responds to the top screen, in particular the food dropped by defeating enemies. Eventually these items raise stats which in turn allow Chomp to transform into a more formidable monster with improved health and abilities. It becomes particularly helpful in boss fights, where it becomes a whole another level of challenge. Majesco is aiming for a December 2010 release date, so check back for it then.
