UPDATE 1: Top 5 Most Wanted - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Red Steel, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers.
UPDATE 2: For Gamecube, the top selling game is Madden NFL 07 and in second, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
UPDATE 3: Harvest Moon Wii will be available in Q4-2007. You’ll till soil, chop wood, and water plants by using the Wii-mote. Mini-games will be included in the game. The game is set on an island where a mystical tree has withered. It’s up to you to raise a farm, family and befriend animals and local and plan special seedlings so you can bring the tree back to life.
UPDATE 4: The graphics of Metroid Prime 3 are now “leaps and bounds” beyond the E3 build with additional lighting effects and a smooth frame rate. Sonic and the Secret Rings has more than 30 multiplayer party-style minigames.
UPDATE 5: There are plans for more “game-oriented” Wii Channels. Nintendo Power says that for the Internet Channel (Opera Web Browser), a “separate purchase” is required. It seems the “Six-Month” free download deal we all spoke about may not be for those in North America.
UPDATE 6: While we all know the Zelda info and a lot of it (such as ball and chain etc), one part needed clarification: Midna in Twilight Princess gives Link the ability to travel long distances, teleporting him from one exotic location to the next.
UPDATE 7: In Excite Truck, real-time terrains will include natural disasters like tornadoes and volcanic eruptions. The games graphics have been improved on from the E3 build. In Far Cry Vengeance (which is an expanded version of the Xbox version), Ubisoft is exploring the possibilities of Online Play! Call of Duty 3’s graphics are impressive in widescreen and in 480p.
UPDATE 8: Metal Slug Anthology will have more than 35 levels in total and will include Gamecube controller compatibility besides Wii-mote controls! The difference between the GCN build of The Grim Adventures of Bill & Mandy and the Wii, is the additional nine new missions, eight new weapons and more (game is also GCN controller compatible). Expect unlockable costumes from Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden for Super Swing Golf.
UPDATE 9: Need for Speed Carbon will have 160 events and you can earn reward cards to unlock new cars and parts. In Open Season you can toss rabbits at hunters, ride a floating outhouse and shake porcupines from your behind (a multiplayer minigame). Elebits utlizes a robust physics engine which allows for items to bounce and collide each other convincingly, stacking objects on top of one another etc.
UPDATE 10: Ice Age 2 has smoother animations, higher frame rates than GCN version and uses the Wii-mote for swiping attacks and nut-stomping (a hammering action is done with the Wii-mote). Steer a penguin in Happy Feet in swimming and belly-sledging stages and the game has a bit of DDR in it. Monster 4×4 has three multiplayer games which include Monster Soccer, Monster Combat and Monster Ball.
UPDATE 11: Here is Part 3 of The Stuff of Legends, which looks at the world of Zelda in preparation for Twilight Princess: Top 5 Secrets: “It’s a Secret to Everybody” in LoZ, Second Quest in LoZ, Chris’s Hidden Room in LTTP, Poultry in Peril in LA, Hero’s Caves in OoA/OoS. Top 5 Bosses are Ganon/Ganondorf, Vaati from MC, Arrghus from LTTP, Gohma and Dodongo. Top 5 Plot Moments are The Sword in the Stone in LTTP, “Just a Dream” in LA, Saria’s Sacrifice in OoT, Sheik Revealed in OoT and “Beneath the Waves” in WW.
UPDATE 12: Gamecube Review Scores:
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 - 7.5/10
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - 6.5/10 (to be ported to Wii)
Chicken Little: Ace in Action - 6.5/10 (to be ported to Wii)
Spongebob Squarepants - 8.5/10 (to be ported to Wii)
FIFA 07 - 8.0/10
Flushed Away - 6.5/10
Splinter Cell: Double Agent - 4.5/10 (to be ported to Wii)
Avatar: The Last Airbender - 7.0/10 (to be ported to Wii)
UPDATE 13: Drummer for “The Sleeping” played the Wii at the Fusion Tour and said “I thought it was awesome. It’s pretty mind boggling. I had no idea it was like that. I’m stoked about it.” Lead singer of Hawthorne Heights says “I was a bit nervous (about Wii Boxing) because I’m not super-coordinated. I thought it was going to be hard to incorporate both hands, but I think it’s really cool. I got into it. I’m a 28-year old grown man, and I was really into boxing (bandmate) Eron.” A woman from the show brought her son along, played the Wii and said “That’s probably the first game platform where I’ve said to (her son), I’m going to buy it for me.”
UPDATE 14: This was fairly new news and I’m surprised no one caught it back in October when this issue was scanned and leaked. Nintendo Power states that between Nov. 17-24, Nintendo will be giving away a very special (and rare) gift in Animal Cross: Wild World DS (through WFC) to commemorate the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Also between Nov. 15-Jan 31st, in collaboration with GameStop and Westfield Malls, Nintendo will have kiosks in 25 locales across the United States so shoppers can try it out for themselves.
UPDATE 15: Besides Zelda, Nintendo Power Staff Picks are: Excite Truck, Super Monkey Ball, Call of Duty 3, Metal Slug Anthology, Wii Sports, Red Steel, Elebits, Rayman, Downhill Jam, Trauma Center and Madden NFL 07.
UPDATE 16: Next issue will feature with Twilight Princess (which seems to be the cover story), Wario Ware and Excite Truck
