You could play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Big Brain Academy at Melbourne’s eGames next week. And you’d probably have fun. Or you could take the opportunity to play a few Wii games Nintendo has waiting up its sleeves for the next 6-12 months.
Before you ask, Battalion Wars 2 isn’t one of them.
However, Super Mario Galaxy, Link’s Crossbow Training and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles will be doing the rounds at eGames. Oh, and Pokemon Battle Revolution for those of you who must “catch them all”.
Apparently Crossbow Training will be there complete with Wii Zapper, so peripheral lovers have no excuse not to go.
Jupiter-sized press release after the jump-a-whatsit.
MELBOURNE ” Wednesday 7 November, 2007 ” Nintendo fans will be blown away by the chance to test drive a number of “˜soon to be released titles’ as well as lots of “˜just released’ titles for Wii and Nintendo DS when they visit the eGames & Entertainment Expo ” Australia’s largest video games expo ” at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from Friday 16 November through to Sunday 18 November 2007.
Wii fans will have the chance to check out Metroid Prime 3 Corruption and Big Brain Academy, both of which will be released to market the week before eGames’07 hits town.
If you think you know what it feels like to be a bounty hunter behind a visor, “˜Metroid Prime 3 Corruption’ will take you to another level. Players can control Samus by moving the Nunchuck controller and aiming with the pointer to experience a level of immersion unlike anything they have ever felt before. Through the eyes of Samus, players will be able to take a quantum leap in first-person control.
“˜Big Brain Academy’, the adaptation of the popular Nintendo DS game, tests players’ brains with fun problems, offering 15 new activities across five categories ” Identify, Memorise, Analyse, Compute and Visualise. Designed for players of all ages, “˜Big Brain Academy’ can be played solo with one Wii remote, or players can take on a friend with another remote or pass remotes around like a relay baton for group competitions.
The fabulous “˜soon to be released’ Wii titles available for “˜test driving’ at eGames’07 are “˜Pokemon Battle Revolution’, “˜Super Mario Galaxy’, “˜Link’s Crossbow Training’ and “˜Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles’.
“˜Pokemon Battle Revolution’ enables players to battle their Pokemon in spectacular 3D and take on the world via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Players can choose from a wide range of Pokemon characters to battle it out, or load their very own Pokemon wirelessly from a copy of “˜Pokemon Diamond’ or “˜Pokemon Pearl’. Up to 4 players can play using the Nintendo DS as a controller.
The ultimate Nintendo hero takes the ultimate step “¦into space”¦in “˜Super Mario Galaxy’. Players join Mario as he defies gravity and travels to all the planets in the galaxy. Mario can be moved along his way with the Control Stick or by shaking the Wii Remote to perform a spin move or players can cue the stars to launch him to and from planetary objects. Players can also collect stardust or latch onto stars to blaze a magnetic trail through the heavens. Play solo or invite another player to play alongside you and by using a second Wii Remote they can help you by launching stardust at enemies, sweeping aside projectiles or stalling enemies to make Mario’s plight easier.
“˜Link’s Crossbow Training’ is based on the hugely popular Legend of Zelda series and provides players with the perfect demonstration of how the Wii Zapper can be used in other games. The game comes packaged with the Wii Zapper which houses the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller (both sold separately). Players are transported to a world like that of “˜The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’ where they assume the identity of well known hero Link, who progresses through a series of tests to perfect his crossbow marksmanship, using the precision targeting capabilities of the Wii Zapper.
“˜Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles’ reveals the story behind the fall of the Umbrella Corporation by exploring locations from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 and 3, as well as never-before-seen locations such as Umbrella’s stronghold. Players should be prepared to face horror and uncover the dark truth that could well take down the Umbrella Corporation forever. Featuring unique gameplay choices, players can use the Wii Remote, including Gun Shooting Action, or the Wii Zapper for a more immersive experience.
Visitors to the Nintendo stand will have the chance to test their visual abilities and hand-eye coordination with “˜Sight Training’ which is not scheduled for release until 2008.
“˜Sight Training’ is designed to do for your eyes what “˜Brain Training’ does for your brain, with players able to test and train their eyes by playing a variety of mini games. Players can also put their eyes to “˜real-world tests’ with a variety of fun, sports-based training activities, including basketball, boxing and table tennis.
Nintendo DS fans will be able to try their skills on “˜The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass’. Following the epic story of “˜The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’, Link continues to find himself lost and alone in the unknown seas in a new adventure. Featuring intuitive touch-screen controls and innovative puzzles, “˜The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass’ offers new challenges for fans of the series and an easy-to-grasp introduction for newcomers to “˜The Legend of Zelda’.
Nintendo DS fans who visit the Nintendo stand at eGames’07 can also play “˜already released’ titles “˜Brain Training’, “˜More Brain Training’, “˜Big Brain Academy’, “˜Clubhouse Games’, “˜Picross’, “˜Nintendogs’ and the recently released “˜DK Jungle Climber’.
Visitors to eGames’07 can also watch live, on-stage demonstrations of a number of new, never-before-seen games; hear keynote presentations from the industry leaders; catch up on the latest games news & views proffered by the expo’s industry panels and participate in a wide range of other exclusive “˜at show’ activities, all hosted by returning MCs Matt and Yug from AustralianGamer.com.
As they arrive at the show, visitors will be able to enter in the door prize draw to win a fabulous Yamaha sound system valued at $3999 or a Scorptec Venom PC valued at $2500 as well as a host of other great prizes.
The list of exhibitors for this year’s eGames’07 reads like the “˜who’s who’ of the games industry, with major companies including Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Auran Games, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Madman Entertainment, Yamaha, Scorptec, AFA, Gamerz Bunker, Atari and Activision attending.
The expo will also have a strong focus on careers in the new media and game development industry. Swinburne University, Monash University, Ballarat University, Deakin University and QANTM College and AIE are all at the expo to provide visitors with insight and information on how to pursue a career in the game industry. This is a great opportunity for students and parents to meet both educators and developers from one of the fastest growing industries in Australia.
A series of seminars will be held on the Friday for school groups interested in learning more about how to get into the industry with sessions for students also being held over the weekend.
Expo opening hours are Friday 16 November, 12pm to 6pm, Saturday 17 November, 10am to 6pm and Sunday 18 November, 10am to 5pm.This year, eGames ’07 will be staged concurrently with the Game Developers’ Association of Australia’s annual conference – GameConnect Asia Pacific (GCAP). More details can be found on their website, www.gameconnectap.com.au
For more information on the eGames & Entertainment Expo, please visit www.egamesexpo.com.au
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