Computer and Video Games (dot com) has a preview of Wii Fit up giving you some insight into a few of the various modes the game will offer. I’m wagering that Wii Fit will be one of the next big things for the casual gamer market just as Metroid Prime 3 will be the next big thing for the more hard core gamers. We’re looking forward to it here at the Wii Living Clubhouse, especially after reading this preview.

Check the quote below then follow the link for the whole write up:

We played a yoga game that had you stand balanced in a range of different positions, following the motions of an on-screen character, and it challenges you to hold these positions for a set amount of time while it records your balance data, from which it will give you a score.

This was the more fitness-related half of the demo version we played, although the full game will have many more exercises, as shown in previously released media. There are also numerous balance testing games - one game having you lean your body slowly in different directions to keep a dot in a specified moving zone. It’s harder than it sounds.

But Wii Fit has a more colourful, fun-focused side to it as well. If you’re not into all that fitness lark (like us), or just aren’t a bit round around the middle (also like us), then you’ll be far more interested in the party-style games on offer.

The first we tried was the football heading mini game that Nintendo head honcho Reggie played during Nintendo’s pre-E3 2007 media conference. This is where Wii Fit starts to look and feel more like Wii Sports.

You control a character who’s standing in front of a goal, and balls are kicked your way which you must hit with your ‘head’ by leaning your weight left and right. You get a point for hitting the balls, but lose them for nutting any other projectile hurled your way, like football boots or panda heads (?).

Check out the preview of the upcoming Simpsons game over at Eurogamer and read about what could make this Simpsons game one of the best. The Simpsons games have been somewhat hit or miss beginning with the early days of the arcades when the 4 player beat ‘em up was a blast to play, yet the NES versions that we got to play at home were relatively lacking in the fun dept. Always wacky and zany and chock full of Simpsons lore, this iteration coming for the Wii should prove to be more hit than miss.

Here’s a nice quote from the preview going over some of the game elements:

On to the game, then. There are sixteen levels with Springfield acting as the hub world, with two pre-determined playable characters in every level. If you’re playing on you own, the buddy AI promises to help out and you’ll need to switch between the two characters to take care of certain impassable situations. The quality of the AI isn’t something we can comment on yet, but in these situations perhaps it’s just best to hope it doesn’t get in the way, rather than expect it to be making intelligent decisions. The game has been designed with two-players in mind, with co-op throughout the entire game and instant drop-in and drop-out play. Unfortunately - and this could be a real bummer - there’s no co-op play online. “We felt that as it’s a family game we wanted people to experience it next to each other. It’s couch co-op,” Almassizadeh tells us, but we can’t help thinking that’s a pretty lame excuse. Why not have both and give people the choice?

Levels are built on a mixture of classic Simpsons episodes and well-known videogames. “In The Simpsons universe nothing is safe - including EA and any other game-maker out there. We do a lot of tributes to different games that we love,” says Almassizadeh. And so we get a level entitled Medal of Homer. Haha, that works. Shadow of the Colossal Donut. Very good. Neverquest. Nearly funny. Grand Theft Scratchy. Hrm.

s you’d expect, all five Simpson are playable and each has their own special powers. Homer bloats up to become a giant, fat, rolling ball. Lisa can use the Hand of Buddha to manipulate the environment .(By ‘manipulate’ we mean ‘move around some boards to create a bridge’, because your character dies if he/she goes in the water. There’s another cliché! Hoho!)

NintendoWorldReport.com has a preview up of Boogie, which mixes singing and dancing in a rhythm based game coming for the Wii. Everything I’ve read and hear about the game sounds great so far, I like the idea of a game that mixes karaoke game modes with a dancing rhythm game all in one package and I am sure EA can hold it’s own in this realm. The video editor feature which allows you to remix your performances also sounds interesting. Check out the quote below and follow the link to read the full preview.

You start out by customizing your choice of five characters (including the pink alien seen in most screenshots), where you’ll have the choice of everything from their clothes to the color of their skin. Once you’re finished, you’ll find that the game is actually pretty simple in its premise.

Requiring the nunchuk attachment, the analog stick controls your movement direction, while the Wii Remote designates your dance moves, which can be toggled through by pressing A. There’s a rhythm meter (resembling an audio equalizer) that will designate when to bust a move (by lighting up green) – the more in tune you are with this meter, the more points you’ll receive. It’s also important to stay fresh with what dance techniques you employ, as you’ll be penalized with less points if you just keep re-hashing a certain method.

IGN has had a chance to spend some time with the Transformers game coming to the Wii and they also have some shots of the game in action. Check out the quotes below talking about it and how it will control, then follow the link for the full preview:

No matter which side you choose, gameplay will take place in free-roaming hubs. Rather than have a sprawling metropolis to explore like in Grand Theft Auto, Transformer fans will get smaller plots of neighborhood and city to explore. Sure, if you want to you can go to the yellow rings around the map for missions, but why not run around and knock down buildings for a half an hour while partaking in the occasional mini-game? The world’s your oyster.

Control-wise, there isn’t a difference as to which side you chose when boxing as the robots from another planet — except when the ‘bots are in their vehicle form. Each robot’s design is straight from the model used by Industrial Light and Magic in the feature film, so they look spot on and stick to their transforming capabilities. Most of the Autobots are of the wheeled variety while the Decepticons are more prone to go to the air.

Kotaku played a bit of Mario Strikers Charged against the folks in Redmond via the online capabilities the game has to offer and they have posted their impressions of the game and how well it plays over the internet. In the article, they cover additions and changes to the game, how the controls work, and finally their experience with playing it online. Check out the quotes below, then follow the link to read the entire writeup.

Mario Strikers Charged uses the Wii-remote and nunchuk, with little in the way of waggle to make the soccer title unnecessarily complicated. Players can flick the remote to knock over other players but the rest of the control scheme follows a simple, traditional set up. Passing is done with the A button, goal attempts with B (held down to charge a Mega Strike), Z chips the ball and C performs character specific special moves.

The Wii remote is used as a pointer in one additional way, blocking Mega Strike shots. After a short, somewhat jarring cutscene, the action will change to a first-person view and require quick reflexes to stop incoming shots.

Online play was, as I mentioned earlier, mostly seamless. We played a handful of multiplayer matches with Nintendo of America employees in Redmond and experienced no noticeable lag, but did see a few dropped frames.

Mario Strikers Charged is a solid addition to the Nintendo Sports Formula and looks to be a great multiplayer title.

IGN has a preview up with some new screenshots from Pokemon Battle Revolution and they had mixed reactions to the title for various reasons. I think the game will be a hit for fans of the series and for people that are just giving Pokemon a chance with the DS versions of the titles that were just released. The game will be one of the first allowing for online multiplayer and the first game to integrate the DS into the gameplay.

Here’s a quote from the article going over what they found to be good:

What is definitely a notable aspect of Pokemon Battle Revolution, however, is just how seamless the entire experience is. We had our DS out and were battling before we knew it, syncing the handheld with Wii in a matter of seconds, and playing touch-controlled Pokemon action with the power of the Wii. The characters look great on screen, and the fact that we could relax on a set of couches and enjoy the same great Pokemon feel with the addition of the big screen is an obvious plus. Players can now battle online against random strangers, as well as play through multiple modes of play which include level capping, two-on-two fights, or traditional free-for-all bouts with up to six Pokemon each. Not bad.

And here’s a quote going over what they don’t like about the title and how it should be:

To be real though, Pokemon Battle Revolution is still just more of the same, and could be a free service at this point. Yes we had fun playing it, but no - there’s no way I personally would be paying $50 to play it with a 480p, 16:9 presentation; it just isn’t worth it. By this point we should have a Wii Pokemon Channel that shows off online battle stats between our DS handheld friends, also including a basic Wii pass-through for home-based battles. At the very least put a compilation together with a few different mini-game modes or casual Pokemon-based activities (one of which being the Battle Arena of sorts), but don’t make players pay over the price of the original game again for a 3D experience. Wii owners (and Pokemon fans) deserve a full-fledged Pokemon RPG for their console; if you can’t do that, at least provide them with something more than just the same old Stadium combat.

Read the article here for the rest of their impressions and check out their screenshots as well. Is it wrong to say I’m over 30 and I’m excited about the game?

Here’s a couple of Manhunt 2 previews, one from Computer and Video Games right here and another from GameSpot, both of them covering the PS2 version. This means you won’t find any control related details in them, but you will find a ton of info regarding the gameplay and features. Check out the quotes below I took from both of them and check out the links for the full mamma-jamma’s:

From Computer and Video Games:

Combat is much more visceral than before, here sporting an over-the-shoulder Resident Evil 4-style camera for sparring against testy nutters. Most of the time you’re better off taking the quiet approach; grabbing the nearest, carefully laid-out syringe and poking some poor sod in the neck by sneaking from behind.

As before there are various levels of gore in your executions. The longer you hold down the attack button the more gruesome your kill, ranging from quick and efficient hasty kills to stomach-churning gruesome dispatches.

And here’s a bit from GameSpot’s look at the game:

The stealth and exploration components have been tweaked a good amount, too. You’ll need to make your own shadows, as we saw in the Honey Pot level, which can be done by breaking light sources. One new wrinkle on hiding is that shadows are no longer a free ride. Whereas you could hide out indefinitely in the shadows in the original game, it’s now possible for enemies to see you if you’re not quick. A random system is being implemented to ensure that players are always on their toes. Enemies looking into shadowy areas now have a chance to spot you. In the event they do, you’ll still have a chance to hide, thanks to a minigame where you have to quickly match onscreen controller prompts. If you do it fast enough, you’ll remain hidden. If not, prepare for some melee. The new element in exploration we saw was a sequence where Daniel sneaks through an air duct, which switched to a first-person mode as he worked his way through the airways in the Honey Pot level.

Sounds great, I can’t wait to check out this game on the Wii. I remember playing the 1st one and I never got too far into it, but using the Wii controls should be a ton of fun this time around.

1up has a nice preview up for Crash of the Titans in which they discuss some of the features in the game and the various platforms it’s going to be on. I’ve taken a few choice quotes below, but as usual click the link to read the entire preview:

The main underlying feature between them all will be Crash’s newest ability. After punching and kicking the spit out of little mutated creature until it is sufficiently dazed, Crash can “jack” the enemy by jumping onto its back and essentially taming it for his own uses. While he stays on the tamed monster’s back, players control the monsters movements and have access to its special abilities. “Jacked” enemies not only boost a player’s attack arsenal, but also come in handy for getting past obstacles that previously blocked the way.

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Besides spinning like a top or surfing down pipes and ramps, Crash can also use ropes and climb walls — this time at a decently fast pace. Unique to the Wii version, many of the platforming abilities and attacks use motion controls. Taking a page out of Super Mario Galaxy, the Wii version of the game has players shaking the Remote so Crash spins around with his arms outstretched.

1up has a preview up for Scarface for the Wii which talks about the controls and some gameplay elements. They also include some screenshots, some of which I’ve posted below along with the quote concerning the controls:

You move with the analog stick on the Nunchuck, and adjust the camera/aim by pointing the Wii Remote around the screen. If you lock on to an enemy by holding down the Z button, you can readjust your aim to hit a specific body part (knees, arms, head) before shooting. If you can pull off successful head shots without locking on, however, you earn more “balls” for your “blind rage” meter that — when you trigger it by shaking the Nunchuck — makes you invincible and uber-powerful.

This game is looking great and should make for some great GTA-style fun for the Wii. I had a blast playing it on the XBOX and can’t wait to see how the controls work out.

Gamespot has a preview up of Spider-Man 3 including some screenshots from the upcoming web slinger for the Wii. I’ve taken a few screens as seen below and some choice quotes but check the link for all of it:

If you flick the Nunchuk when Spidey’s head flashes (a marker that his spider sense is kicking in), you’ll be able to dodge attacks. You’ll jump with the Z button and stick to walls when you hold the B button when you’re near one. Holding Z and B together performs a webzip, which helps you move to a point quickly. The A button lets you interact with highlighted objects. Pushing down on the D pad lets you perform an adrenaline attack, which powers up your normal attacks. Hitting left or right on the D pad puts you in Spidey’s sexy black suit (more on that in a second). Up on the D pad lets you enter photo mode and snap shots, like any good struggling photographer who happens to have superpowers does.

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One of the big elements in the level showed off the Wii game’s unique way of using the black suit. Unlike the other console versions of the game, the Wii version will let you put on the suit whenever you want. However, it’s not all fun and games. To paraphrase the comic and film, with great power comes a big price tag. Though the black suit lets Spidey do significantly more powerful attacks, if you use it for too long, you’ll notice the edges of the screen will start to darken and your line of sight will be reduced. If you don’t change suits, you’ll pass out. Unfortunately, taking the suit off isn’t as easy as putting it on. Once you initiate the change back, you’ll have to match onscreen prompts using the D pad. If you complete the sequence properly, you’ll be able to get the suit off. If not, you can try again or pass out.

1up has an interesting preview of Alien Syndrome posted and it talks about the graphics, gameplay, and other features of the game. Here’s a blurb I found interesting, the ability to go back through the game with the character you have leveled up after you beat it once through with her current stats intact:

The playable character, Aileen, can improve the odds of her survival against waves of progressively tougher alien enemies by making use of the new experience system. Adding role-playing flair to the simple moving and shooting, the game has Aileen collecting resource points from defeated enemies and using them to build up her strength, speed, accuracy, and health. If after finishing all 40 sprawling stages you still want to improve your stats, you can replay the entire game (at a higher difficulty level that you just unlocked, if you want), with your experience held over, and level all the way up to 99.

Here’s a trailer for the game based on the PSP version which is supposed to be very similar to the Wii version:

Eurogamer.net has a great preview of Medal of Honor: Vanguard up describing it’s gameplay and how it looks on the PS2 and Wii. Check the blurb below and the link for the full writeup:

If this is sounding disappointing because you were hoping for a more significant change to Medal of Honor, we can think of one solution: pick the Wii version up. As well as looking a little prettier and running a little smoother it boasts an all-new control scheme using the Remote and Nunchuk. Put simply, aiming involves pointing the remote, moving uses the analog stick on the Nunchuk while jumping, reloading, swapping between weapons, shooting and the all-new sprint ability use buttons. Throwing grenades has you bringing the remote back then casting it forward, and guiding your parachute involves gripping the remote and Nunchuk in front of you like the straps. Best of all, a quick flick of the Nunchuk to the left causes Frank Keegan to execute a sharp 180 degree spin to face whatever’s behind him, a move that’s absent from the PS2 version. Whether these controls will make us more efficient Nazi battlers remains to be seen, but there’s just no question they’ll make this tried and tested formula feel a little more fresh.

There are a few outlets giving their impressions of the games that were at the GDC for the Nintendo Wii, let’s take a look at some of them below:

Super Mario Galaxy Impressions
- IGN has their Super Mario Galaxy preview up here.

Super Paper Mario Impressions
- Gamespot has their impressions right here.
- And here’s NintendoWiiFanboy’s thoughts on what they saw.
- 1Up has their impressions on Super Paper Mario here.
- Joystiq has some impressions up for Super Paper Mario here.

Big Brain Academy Impressions
- Here’s IGN’s hands on with Big Brain Academy.
- NintendoWiiFanboy impressions on the game here.

Mario Strikers Charged
- Impressions from Advanced Media Network on the Mario soccer game.

Pokemon Battle Revolution
- Impressions from NintendoWiiFanboy.com.
- Advanced Media Network sounds off on their thoughts of PBR.