By all rights, "pirate" and "family" should never be used in the same sentence, unless that sentence is "A pirate killed my entire family." Still, somewhere between Sid Meier's Pirates! and Johnny Depp it seems that pirates have gone from being the scourge of the Seven Seas to high-flying family entertainment. Sure, they might rape and pillage, but they also say "Arrrrrgh!" and keep hilarious monkeys as pets. We imagine it's the newer, friendlier brand of pirates that's present in Aksys Games upcoming Family Pirate Party for WiiWare.
Nintendo Japan has revealed its March lineup for the Virtual Console and we're more than a little jealous. That's right, The Revenge of Shinobi is on the list and we don't know if we'll ever see it. You see, at one point the boss characters in the game were (very clearly) Batman, The Terminator, Godzilla and Spider-Man and while some of those characters have changed, Sega has never included the game on any Genesis compilations in North America for possible copyright restrictions. Japan nets a few other exclusives this month, beginning with Koei's New Horizons for the Super Famicom and the classically terrible platformer Takeshi no Chōsenjō from Taito on the Famicom. And in a surprising twist, Japan will play catch up to a few Virtual Console releases already available in North America, including: Sonic Chaos for the Sega Master System and the Famicom puzzler Clu Clu Land.
Hey gang. After checking out this staggering release list, we played a hot new game on the Joystiq Podcast this week. It was such a hoot, we encourage you to do the same with someone you love. Here are the rules: In Round 1, you're trying to pick the one real game among the fakes. In Round 2, you're trying to find the fake amongst all the real games. In the Lightning Round, you just have to identify each game as real or fabricated. Then, see how you rate!
EA is determined to release its new crop of sports game, whether or not Nintendo has released the Wii MotionPlus peripheral or not. As you may recall, EA revealed the next Tiger Woods game would feature MotionPlus support, as well as a new tennis game the company is developing, and both will ship to retail on June 16, 2009. EA Sports' PR chief, David Tinson, said that both games "will be compatible, but not dependent, on WMP. They will ship with the functionality, regardless of when WMP comes to market."
Considering our outrageous, unslakable handheld lust for Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, we didn't think anything could keep us from diving back into our dual-screened device for a go at Galactrix -- though a report from MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo is giving us slight cause for concern. According to Totes, the DS version of the game suffers from "surprisingly long load times." Yes, he said the DS version -- not the Commodore 64 version. We were confused at first as well.
The U.S. and China have been fighting to rule the world -- but now a new group called the Global Liberation Army(GLA) is gunning for the both of them. Step into this three-way power struggle and take command as a General, to lead your side to victory.
Command U.S., Chinese or GLA troops, each with their own unique abilities, weapons and strategies
Use your tactical skills to lead the Chinese with their nuclear and fire-based weapons, or the U.S. with their advanced technology & air superiority, or the GLA with their guerilla tactics & scavenging skills
As you play and win in these multi-level campaigns, you'll earn General Points you can use to break out the Super Weapons - Nukes & Particle Beams are waiting for you to deploy them
Unique new missions and campaign goals combined with all-new multiplayer modes bring up the challenge, as you fight for the right to Command & Conquer!
Brand new lands and treasure filled dungeons to explore
Transform your fearless companion into a flaming lion or timber wolf
Complete the quest with an all-new set of potent magical spells
Brand New Quests to Challenge you -
Fight an onslaught of monsters while protecting your town
4 person local multiplayer gameplay
Innovative board game RPG crossover
The friendship destroying game turns the heat up on your relationships
Tons of battles, magic spells, mini games and endless play
Easy, intuitive and effective combat system
Revamped & improved Konquest Mode - What was once a training mission evolves into a full-blown adventure
Unique Kreate-A-Fatality system gives you the ability to create custom fatalities by stringing together a series of attacks via a series of button combos
Use the Kreate-A-Fighter feature to create and define a fighter's look, abilities and personality
Take your custom fighter online, and compete against other Kreate-A-Fighters
Expanded online features - Improved responsiveness, deeper customizing, expanded Lobby Options and much more
Create a booming railroad industry, exploit the stock market
25 challenging scenarios with improved, streamlined UI
3D graphics
Modify landscapes with World Editor
For 1 player