Video Game News & Reviews

Wii Menu 4.3 brings performance upgrades, removes homebrew
Over the last day or so, a message has gradually disseminated through North America’s Wii systems, alerting users to a new Wii Menu update (we personally received it at around 1AM EST). Wii Menu 4.3 doesn’t add any neat features to the user experience; rather, it seems focused entirely on taking features away from swarthy pirates and unlucky homebrewers. “Because unauthorized channels or …

Read more on Joystiq

Nintendo Updates Wii OS To Block Pirate/Homebrew Content
Nintendo has released a new Wii firmware update, Wii Menu version 4.3, that is intended to disable unauthorized files and prevent “homebrew” mods on the console. The primary aim of such an upgrade is to prevent software piracy. Says Nintendo: “Because unauthorized channels or firmware may impair game play or the Wii console, updating to Wii Menu version 4.3 will check for and automatically …

Read more on Gamasutra

Health Watch: Wii Fit And Brain Damage Rehab
Wii Fit, combined with sophisticated new software, is giving people their lives back, not just brain-injured soldiers but also thousands of others who suffer brain injuries in car, motorcycle and other accidents. The brain problems often take weeks or months to show up.

Read more on WCBS-TV New York

Library calendar: Free employment workshops
Courtesy of library staff Monday, 10:30 a.m. Westside Library, Career Specialist@Your Library (fourth Monday of every month). Free employment workshops. Come spend the whole day or drop in for a session that interests you. Call your branch for workshop details. No registration required. Call 574-6815.

Read more on Spartanburg Herald-Journal

Our couch potato Olympic mascots
Wenlock and Mandeville sound like Agatha Christie detectives, “in the loggia with the commode”. Or, perhaps, an Edwardian musical act. “I say, Mandeville, old chum. My dog has no nose.” “Really Wenlock? What does he smell of?” “You idiot. How does he smell?” “I don’t know, he’s your dog.”

Read more on Times Online

Researchers Use Wii Fit to Help Restore Soldier’s Balance After Traumatic Brain Injury
(PhysOrg.com) — Kansas State University researchers have found that Nintendo’s Wii Fit helped improve balance for a solider with a traumatic brain injury, a problem many soldiers are facing after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Read more on PhysOrg

There has been quite a bit of buzz about the Nintendo Wii Fit which is exercise for your body. However, this home gaming console also offers some fabulous games that will exercise your mind. One of them is called SafeCracker. If you are determined to win the game without reviewing any of the cheats it is going to take you quite a while to accomplish this goal.

Make sure you have a memory card ready so you can save the word you have done. There is just no way you are going to complete this particular Wii game in one setting. It doesn’t matter if you have all day to do it either! Safecracker involves a mansion with 35 safes located in various locations throughout it.

If you love to solve puzzles and to play video games, then Safecracker for the Nintendo Wii may be just what you are looking for. You can move it along at a pace you are comfortable with. This game is going to be challenging though and it is going to exercise your mind. However, it will also provide you with hours of fun in a way you may not have experienced before with any video game you have played.

There are several levels for Safecracker so you can start out with the easier ones and work your way up. Make sure you read the directions though for all of the tips you can get. You don’t want to miss out on important clues throughout the game. Nintendo is keeping quite a lid on what the screens will be like for the game. What is known is that there will be tons of rooms in the mansion to go through.

It is highly anticipated that consumers will be extremely happy with this game though. In fact it is one of the most anticipated games for the end of 2008. This game is geared more for the adult age groups even though it will likely have a rating of E for Everyone. This is due to the fact that it won’t have any violence or other factors that can warrant a stricter rating.

The game of Safecracker itself isn’t new, just to the Nintendo world. So if you want to get a head start you can take a look around online to see what it is all about. You are encouraged though to stay away from the cheats for now. That can take some of the fun and excitement out of the game. It is recommended that you try it all on your own first. Of course not all consumers will feel this way and so that is a personal decision for you to make.

The anticipation for this particular game is already at a huge height. It won’t be offered by Nintendo until October of 2008. This means when the weather turns colder you can snuggle up inside and play the game. Maybe the fact that the snow is falling outside and it is dark so early won’t bother you as much when you have something else to focus on. Playing video games on the Wii can help you occupy your time until the warmer weather comes along and you can spend more time outside.

The estimated purchase price for the game is about $30 and it should be a very good investment. If you enjoy playing games and figuring out puzzles then Safecracker can be a very interesting game for you to play on the Wii. It certainly isn’t a game for those that want fast action and fast results though. This is a slower paced game for someone with some patience and plenty of logic. If you have played Safecracker on other gaming consoles than chances are you are eagerly awaiting the arrival of it for the Nintendo Wii. The time will go by faster than you think though as October is just around the corner.

• New Activities! The title is a series of minigames designed to give your brain a workout. The 17 new, engaging activities are all designed to help work your brain and increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. Whether you’re playing simple songs on a piano keyboard or monitoring the photo finish of a footrace, you’ll love your new mental workout!
• Keep training! When you start a new game, you will take a series of tests and get a score that shows how old your brain is. This number is called your Brain Age. With daily training over weeks and months, you can improve your mental acuity and lower your Brain Age. Progress is charted in graph form.
• Expanded multiplayer! You can keep up to four save files on one game card. Sharing a game allows you to compete in a picture-drawing quiz or a word challenge with family and friends. You can also use DS Download Play to send a demo to friends or compete with up to 16 players in one of four fun modes.

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!

Another Company Takes Nintendo To Court
IA Labs, a Maryland-based company also known as Powergrid Fitness, is the latest to sue Nintendo for alleged patent infringement. The company claims that basically any tech used in the Wii and its attending peripherals violates two of IA’s patents. According to Gamasutra , IA Labs filed the lawsuit on April 2, and it says that Nintendo violated IA Labs’ patents for a “computer interactive …

Read more on Game Informer

Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles 2 and Challenge Me: Word Puzzles
The next two games in the Challenge Me series from O-Games are coming August 2010 for the Nintendo DS, Wii and PC.

Read more on IGN PC Games

Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles 2 and Challenge Me: Word Puzzles
Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles 2 (Wii) The next two games in the Challenge Me series from O-Games are coming August 2010 for the Nintendo DS, Wii and PC.

Read more on IGN Wii

• Activities include quickly solving simple math problems & counting people going in and out of a house simultaneously
• Draw pictures on the Touch Screen, or read classic literature out loud
• Play Sudoku, the popular number puzzle game

Product Description
Activities include quickly solving simple math problems & counting people going in and out of a house simultaneously.

Draw pictures on the Touch Screen, or read classic literature out loud.

Play Sudoku, the popular number puzzle game.

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!

Brain Age is an awesome Nintendo DS game. Download Brain Age for Nintendo DS now.

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Brain Age for the Nintendo DS is one of the hottest video games in the world right now. If you are looking to download Brain Age for your Nintendo DS, you have come to the right place. Pocket Download Center is the best website to download Brain Age and thousands of other awesome Nintendo DS games. The best part is that you can download unlimited Nintendo DS games for a one time membership fee of only $29! Click on the link below and sign up now to download Brain Age and other great Nintendo DS games right now:

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The Nintendo DS is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States, and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen. On March 2, 2006, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS Lite, a redesign of the Nintendo DS, in Japan. It was later released in North America, Europe, and Australia in June 2006. The DS Lite is a slimmer and lighter version of the Nintendo DS and has brighter screens. If you want to download unlimited games for your DS for one low price – click on the link below and sign up:

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Brain Age is a great Nintendo DS Lite game. Download Brain Age for Nintendo DS Lite

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Brain Age for the Nintendo DS Lite is one of the hottest video games in the world right now. If you are looking to download Brain Age for your Nintendo DS Lite, you have come to the right place. Pocket Download Center is the best website to download Brain Age and thousands of other awesome Nintendo DS Lite games. The best part is that you can download unlimited Nintendo DS Lite games for a one time membership fee of only $29! Click on the link below and sign up now to download Brain Age and other great Nintendo DS Lite games right now:

Click Here to Download Brain Age for Nintendo DS Lite

The Nintendo DS is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States, and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen. On March 2, 2006, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS Lite, a redesign of the Nintendo DS, in Japan. It was later released in North America, Europe, and Australia in June 2006. The DS Lite is a slimmer and lighter version of the Nintendo DS and has brighter screens. If you want to download unlimited games for your DS Lite for one low price – click on the link below and sign up:

Click Here to Visit the Pocket Download Center – Get Unlimited Nintendo DS Lite Games for $29

• Brawl with Other Brains! The Wii sequel includes three multiplayer modes for up to eight players. You can also exchange training data with other players over WiiConnect24 and compete against their save data.
• Weigh Your Brain! With 15 new Activities that challenge your brain in single-player Test and Practice modes, Big Brain Academy Wii sees how you measure up in five categories: memory, analysis, number crunching, visual recognition, and quick thinking.
• Train with the Wii Remote! All Activities are designed around the Wii Remote’s Pointer, so you can have fun learning from the comfort of your couch with one Wii Remote, or pass around two Wii Remotes for group competitions.
• Mii data compatible.

Product Description
This rethinking of the popular Nintendo DS game will test players brains with fun problems and allow people of any age to play together. The Wii Remote controller’s hands-on control makes playing a cinch. Multiplayer versus and co-op play modes also have been added, allowing players to use the title as a brain-training exercise or a raucous party game. In split screen two-player versus mode, the same puzzle problems will appear in a different order — The first player to get 12 correct answers wins.Amazon.com
The Wii sequel to Big Brain Academy for Nintendo DS includes three multiplayer modes for up to eight players. Players also can exchange student-record books with other players over WiiConnect24 and compete against their save data. With 15 new activities that challenge the brain in single-player Test and Practice modes, Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree sees how players measure up in five categories: Identify, Memorize, Analyze, Compute and Visualize. All activities are designed around the Wii Remote’s pointer. Players can play solo with one Wii Remote, or pass it around like a relay baton in group competitions.

Sample activities: The activities in Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree are fun minigames with a ton of variety, and they’re meant to be played rapid-fire for a short time as players push their brains to do more than they did the day before. Here are three of the activities included in the game:

• Art Parts: In this Visualize activity, players must complete the sample painting by stamping the missing pieces onto an unfinished scene. When it becomes more difficult, Art Parts flips the unfinished scene sideways or flips it upside-down.

• Balloon Burst: In this Compute activity, players must pop balloons in rising numerical order. At its easiest, there are few balloons shown at once. On a higher difficulty level, Balloon Burst sends in more balloons, including some with negative numbers.
• Fast Focus: In this Identify activity, players see a distorted image that slowly returns to normal. Players must select what it is as soon as they figure it out. As it grows more difficult, Fast Focus starts with a more heavily distorted image, so it takes longer to identify what it is.

How to progress through the game: When players start a new game, they’ll meet the whimsical Dr. Lobe, who will suggest that they take on the Test mode challenge: playing all 15 activities that span the five brainy categories. He’ll tell players how big their brain is based on how well they did and how fast they did it. He’ll encourage players to take the Test often and to use Practice mode to beef up their skills in all 15 of the activities. Practice mode also offers three difficulty levels for each activity, and Dr. Lobe will award several medals for high achievement in each one.

Multiplayer: Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree offers three ways for groups to play:

• Mental Marathon: Speed through activities to buy more time to stay in the game. Go it solo or as a team, but if anyone botches an activity, the game is done (1-8 players, one Wii Remote).

• Mind Sprint: Form a team to compete against a system-controlled competitor that “thinks” like a selected student record (1-4 players with one Wii Remote). Or separate into two teams (2-8 players with two Wii Remotes). The first side to complete a set number of problems wins.
• Brain Quiz: Play game-show style with up to four teams that compete in a total of 20 activities, since five extra activities are available in this mode. (1-8 players, one Wii Remote)

Mii compatibility: Everyone who enrolls in the academy will choose a Mii, which will walk down the school’s hallway and pop up during Wii Remote handoffs to help explain which teammate goes next in multiplayer matches.

Wii Remote audio: Players will get encouragement and hear color commentary from a “Wii Remote Coach” who speaks to the player through the Wii Remote speakers.

WiiConnect24: In Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, players can send and receive student-record books full of brainy data. By establishing WiiConnect24 ties with Wii Friends who own the game, players can all see their academies affected in several fun ways:

• Compare distant students’ test scores with those of the local student body on the Student Scores board. Distant students’ records are shown as books.

• Compete against distant students’ brains in Mind Sprint. Players actually play against game-controlled competitors that “think” based on brainy strengths and weaknesses in their student records.
• The distant player’s “Mii student” will walk the hallways with the player’s own student body. Players can make WiiConnect24 connections with many students, adding many Miis to their crowd.

Players are encouraged to send and receive each others’ records frequently, so that their academies have up-to-date results for competition and comparison. In this way, individual academies can join a personal network of schools and push each other to develop their brains further.

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree