UPDATE! More Punch-Out!! Wii Details

Following up on Monday’s Punch-Out!! story, GoNintendo has grabbed some more info from a press release that was briefly on Nintendo Europe’s site before being pulled. Here’s the quick nitty gritty:

• The game will not support the balance board. There will be motion controls however, with the Wii remote and Nunchuck.


• Another mode of control will be to hold the Wii Remote sideways and play NES style.


• Don Flamenco has been announced as one of the returning characters. There will be 13 opponents in all (it seems small to me, but then again, that’s a good number for a Punch-Out!! game, considering you fight 3-4 guys a circuit). I’m hoping for Bald Bull to make a comeback. J has told me repeatedly he’s praying for Super Macho Man to return.


• Nintendo will apparently be revealing the identities of these 13 opponents one at a time, every week until the game comes out.


• Best of all, there will be a two-player head to head mode where you and a friend can slug it out. Sweet!

Maybe I’m too excited for this game, but it’s currently the next big thing due from Nintendo and it’s one of my favorite franchises (more due to Super Punch-Out!! than the original). Just trying to keep you all in the loop—something that Captain Cragen from TV’s Law & Order: SVU is always asking his detectives to do. Seriously. Like once an episode.

Max

Left 4 Dead Multiplayer Impressions

With Left 4 Dead hitting stores today, I figured I better get my multiplayer impressions up ASAP. Of course, if you’ve been reading lately, you probably already know that this game is the shit and you should be getting it if you have an Xbox 360 or a PC. I’m really glad J got to play a little, as they’re not making a PS3 version and he needs more reasons to get a 360.Since trying out the demo solo, I’ve gotten a chance to play with my brother in a two player match, and other friends in a few three player matches.

Let me just say the obvious: the game is more fun with friends. The not so obvious? It is scarier too. Not only are you watching your own back, you need to help your team out too, which becomes a lot more urgent when it’s a real person playing (who can scream in terror for help over Xbox Live) over a computer player. I’m not surprised to read in J’s impressions that even when playing with random people, other players don’t act like selfish funhats. It’s most likely tied to the need for mutual survival; the more of the team that stays alive, the more likely you’ll stay alive. Not to mention, the more human players there are, the more threats there are too; more hunters, smokers (tongue guys), boomers (fat exploding guys)—so it’s best if every one works together.

The other interesting thing I noticed while playing is that things so INTENSE that occasionally other players may be so wrapped up in the grim situation that they won’t respond right away because they may not hear you; a few times both playing with my brother and in three player matches, things needed to be repeated. This is no fault of the online chat servers; instead it’s because of the amount of fear that overwhelms you.

Team tactics work a lot better in a group too. Plans can be made up and executed, and sometimes, more ground can be covered as the team can split up. However, I learned very quickly that you should never leave the group to go somewhere alone. There will be undead threats to face anywhere and everywhere you go, and if you don’t have at least one other team member with you, there won’t be anyone to save you once things go bad. But sticking in a tight knit group while patrolling the area, there are few challenges you won’t be able to fend off successfully.

With real players, you’re able to plan as a team, verbally call out for rescue, and hear other people in the group freak the fuck out. It also makes the sense of accomplishment much greater when everyone makes it out of a level alive. With the demo being only two levels, I’m sure things get even more intense and the need for cooperation increases. And in the final version, there’s also multiplayer matches where you can play as zombies hunting humans.

Multiplayer puts an already great game over the top. Don’t miss out on Left 4 Dead; again, it’s out today.

Max

Taking Zombies out Co-op Style!

With Halloween not too far behind us and me just having finished the Max Brooks’ masterpieces The Zombie Survival Guide and its pseudo-sequel, World War Z, I’ve had zombies on the brain. Since the original Resident Evil and House of the Dead games, zombies have been antagonists and cannon fodder in many a video game since, with gamers having satisfying results killing swarms of undead. (My brother is playing Fallout 3 and tells me one of the cool things about the game is that the mutant enemies look a lot like zombies). And so, with new games coming at us from all sides, it’s inevitable that some of them feature shambling corpses out to eat our brains.

However, this time around, there are a couple offerings that capitalize on what makes zombie movies so awesome: co-operation. What’s cooler than seeing a group of survivors working together to hold their own against onslaught after onslaught of undead? Both Left 4 Dead and Resident Evil 5 will feature online co-op for their main games, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

Left 4 Dead

In Left 4 Dead you control one of four survivors. Each one has a specialty and team work is desperately needed if you plan to survive the attacks of the undead. You’ll need all the teamwork you can muster, as the zombies in the game are anywhere but in pre-determined locations, allowing you to get used to the scares. No, in Left 4 Dead, zombies manifest randomly in the levels, meaning you’ll never know where or when you’ll be attacked. This is worth the price of admission alone for me. Not only that, zombies are everywhere and can come at you at any minute. Because of this, it’s not a good idea to run and gun carelessly ahead of the group. In L4D, you’ll have to establish team tactics to work through each fight, all the while being careful not to accidentally shoot a fellow survivor. This gets tricky when quarters get tight, like crossing a rope bridge or working your way through derailed subway cars. Teamwork also comes in handy for rescuing beleaguered teammates who are overrun by zombies, or being dragged away by certain members of the undead with enormously long, snakelike tails. You’ll also have to rely on team members for healing, or the occasional pick-me-up. It looks like making it through the game is anything but easy, so it’ll be good to have not only one person watching your back, but three.

Resident Evil 5

While we won’t be seeing RE5 until the middle of March of next year, I know it’s on the top of just about everyone’s “Must Have Games in 2009” list. One of the things that makes RE5 so exciting is that it features online co-op via a partner for Chris Redfield, a woman named Sheva, who can be controlled by another player online. The two will work together in fighting off the “not-quite-zombie” infected townspeople that fill the game. They can do a co-operative attack moves if players can pull off the timing, and also both players will be able to keep track of one another at all times, so if things get too hectic for one of them, coming to help won’t be a scavenger hunt. Keeping each other alive will be essential, as if one of the characters dies, it’s Game Over. Another important aspect of the co-operative play in the game will involve sending one character off to accomplish something to continue progress through the game. For example, there is a part where Chris boosts Sheva across a roof so she can go down and unlock a door from the other side. All the while of course, infected townsfolk are out for blood and the two characters will have to fight them off to succeed, one from a distance, and one up close and personal.

It’s really great to see teamwork aspect of zombie-crisis movies make its way to the interactive medium. The zombie apocalypse is something we definitely shouldn’t face alone, but something friends should join forces to combat, to kill, strategize, and scream with one another!

By the by, the Left 4 Dead demo has just become available online now on Xbox Live, and includes multiplayer. Booyah!

Max