TMNT
This unnamed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game (nicknamed “TMNT” by Nintendo Power) is being developed by the people who helped make Super Smash Bros. Brawl a smash (pun intended) and other members from Team Ninja (the team behind the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series.) There’s a huge feature on this new game in the latest issue of Nintendo Power, but here’s some of the important stuff: the online multiplayer will be better than Brawl’s, it will have unlockable stages and characters (that’s a given), it will be released sometime in September 2009, a story mode, 4-player mutiplayer (where each character has a colored glow to make it easier to tell each one apart) and Ubisoft is the publisher.
Release: September
Sonic and The Black Knight
We all know that recent 3D Sonic games suck (except the day stages of Unleashed apparently.) But The Secret Rings was a decent game right? Yeah, it was a nice attempt at something new but awkward controls and repetitive story missions overshadowed the unique storyline concept. The Black Knight will take a similar approach for its story – take an old tale and transform into a Sonic game by replacing famous characters with even more famous characters like Tails and Knuckles. While I don’t have high hopes for this one, maybe Sega has perfected the formula introduced in The Secret Rings.
Release: March
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop
The original Xbox 360 game was released back in 2006 and is being remade for the Wii after the success of the Wii version of Resident Evil 4. In fact, this new version of Dead Rising will use the same RE4 engine and Capcom hopes to have at least 100 zombies on-screen at a time. Some minor changes have been made to the game like the removal of picture-taking, no 72-hour countdown (it will be replaced by a countdown that is different for every mission) and multiple save slots. Capcom hopes to sell 500,000 copies, hopefully this port will be good enough to sell even more. This is another title for those looking for a mature hardcore game on the Wii.
Release: February
Tenchu 4: Shadow Assassins
This Wii-exclusive game (unless you count the PSP version) will of course feature motion controls like swinging your Wiimote as if it were a sword and flicking the Wiimote to throw a shuriken. The game will be linear and you’ll know exactly where to go by following the blue flames or pressing Z on the Nunchuk. Don’t assume this will be an easy game, as almost every enemy confrontation could prove fatal.
Release: February
Rune Factory Frontier
While the Rune Factory games have always been spin-offs of the popular farming simulator Harvest Moon, this new Wii entry will feature more farming making it more similar to the Harvest Moon games than ever before. You can not only plant, maintain and eventually harvest crops to sell but you can also explore dungeons and slay monsters (or if you prefer, you could always keep them as pets.) You can even marry and have a child that will eventually grow old enough so that he (or she) can follow you into town. This puts an interesting twist on the regular farming simulator, so I’ll have to watch this one and see how it turns out.
Release: March 31, 2009
The House of The Dead: Overkill
Set to be the most violent entry in The House of The Dead series with a M-rating, Overkill will feature not only blood, gore, intensive violence and whatever else the ESRB will slap on the back on the box, but funny dialogue, intros to levels that feel like trailers for a movie, graphic filters and locations usually found only in B-movie horror films. The controls are simple: point with the Wiimote and shoot with A. Get two Wiimotes and you can dual-wield! 2009 is shaping up to be the year of mature/violent Wii games!
Release: February
Klonoa
A remake of the classic Klonoa: Door to Phantomile PSX game released back in 1997, will feature updated graphics that are cel-shaded, redesigned characters and remade cutscenes to reflect the new graphical style. One of the biggest changes is actual voice acting compared to the original game where all the characters spoke in their own fantasy language.
For more information on upcoming games for both the Wii and DS, pick up the latest issue, #237, of Nintendo Power which has multiple-page features for Klonoa, the new TMNT game, MadWorld, and developer interviews for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Rune Factory Frontier, Little King’s Story and more.
Release: Q2 2009
