What do you do when you create the worst PSP game of all time?
You put it on Wii.
_thumbnail.jpg)
What do you call a bowling game for the Wii that's: a) uglier than Wii Sports, b) controls worse than Wii Sports, and c) isn't free? A bad idea. Brunswick Pro Bowling for Wii makes Wii Sports look like Gears of War. The characters look lifeless, and the textures simply don't have the sheen of Nintendo's pack-in. The wood looks dull, and the pins look like they're from an early PS2 game. Honestly ... is it that hard to render bowling pins? The controls are far less natural than its Nintendo counterpart. The bowling animation is so slow, that it's unclear when you're supposed to release. The game is supposed to be a far more accurate replication of the sport, with different balls and a focus on how a lane is oiled (seriously). After a few rounds of Brunswick, we have a new appreciation for Wii Sports.
If I were two years old, Crayola Treasure Adventures would be a blast. Crayola offers all the drawing fun of Pictochat, without the fear that some stranger join your room and start drawing penises. The included adventure mode is cute, but is so repetitive that only the truly masochistic will find any substantial enjoyment out of it. With a budget price of $20, it looks like Crayola will be a nice, cheap way of quieting the younger DS players.
Based on the upcoming Cartoon Network revival series, George of the Jungle looks like it'll offer everything that other generic cartoon platformers do. And nothing more. The PS2 version we played had stiff controls, and lackluster graphics. It wasn't bad ... but it certainly didn't keep our attention. Like other licensed games, expect this game to arrive on a variety of platforms: Wii, DS and PS2.
How does one make a game based on Napoleon Dynamite? A good question. It's simple: turn it into a series of random minigames. Dance, dance Napoleon Dynamite style ... or fling mud at a donkey. A serious issue that gamers will face in this licensed title will be its production values: each mini-game feels like a poor Flash game. The game is as humorous as the movie its based on (so it's not funny at all). The PSP version will feature more games than the DS version, due to UMD capacity, but don't expect brilliant gameplay from either.
This isn't a Virtual Console game? Honestly, looking at the textures, you'd think you were thrown back into the N64 days, where 320x240 gaming was all the rage. It's a decent game of pinball; we certainly loved the dynamic camera. But the control mechanics have us confused: why do you need the Nunchuck? Certainly, having the Wii Remote turned on its side would have been far more efficient. Then, you could tilt the Wii Remote to tilt the machine. Brilliant! Where's my paycheck?
Honestly, this was the best game available at the event. And, it's not the best bad game. No, it's actually pretty good. Taking a page from Brain Age, this "learning" game has you participating in a spelling challenge. And more! There's hangman, and other language games that'll make your English teacher proud. The game is presented as a game show, and the host is a lot of fun. The game has a great progression in challenge, and its easy to navigate. The PSP version has audio definitions of words, which makes for a far more natural game (the DS version, instead, flashes the word quickly). However, the DS version allows you to use the stylus for input. Either way, these games are going to be a ton of fun for the casual market ... who knew spelling could be so entertaining?
