When doing the Jacknife crunch, the Wii balance board measures the pressure and counts a release of that pressure (when you’re supposed to be lifting your legs) as a successful jacknife crunch. Instead, we’ll just sit down with our feet resting on the balance board. When it tells us to crunch, we lift our legs off it and the Wii loves us.

For running in place, just bounce the wiimotes up and down.

I love the slalom tip. Just sit down and move your butt back and forth. I wouldn’t have thought of that one.

For more very usefull tech tips grab a Wired Magazine subscription. You can see the Wired article here.

If you have any other creative Wii Fit workarounds, please comment.

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The nunchuck is an attachment for the wii remote. It’s for wii games that require two hands. The nunchuck features a thumb controller and two trigger buttons.

Just like the wiimote, it has the accelometer but Ninendo cut out the feedback (both sound and vibration) and it can’t be used as a pointer.

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Games that offer to put you in the gown of a veterinarian follow each other, but fortunately for us, they are not alike. After Farm Vet on PC that is not really convincing and Petz Vet, still on PC, that is truly catastrophic, Zoo Hospital looks like a breath of fresh air for all animal lovers. The idea of a game where you treat zoo residents is far from revolutionary. But we must admit that this is a handy way to justify the meeting a wide variety of species. In Zoo Hospital you can look after about 50 animals from around the world. From the hippopotamus to the platypus, through bears and meerkats, the scenery is at the end of your stethoscope. Unfortunately these discoveries quickly become a routine: the animals are varied but the diseases that you encounter are the same from one specie to another.

Unlike his version recently released on DS, the Wii version of Zoo Hospital has a real scenario. Newly promoted veterinarian, you pick your first job in a zoo. Unfortunately this facility is in danger: it accumulates debts and a property developer intends to raze the building for a huge mini-golf. To save the zoo, you will have to take care of the animals; it is only on this condition that you can accommodate newcomers. From the map you have direct access to various residents. You can visit them at any time to pet or feed them. Good news, each resident have an identity card quite accurate. Young people addicted to animal documentaries will certainly love this database which will quench their thirst for knowledge. They will discover, for example, that a Casoar can run as fast as 30 km/h or that a crocodile can measure up to 8.5 meters. Of course, a veterinarian does not pass all his time contemplating animals; he must treat them especially when they are sick. Do not expect any of your little residents to leave you alone…

Animals are very well modeled and animated in a very realistic way. The care phases do not have all the same work to do and we regret, for example, that all mammals are found with the same jaw.

Handling is not a problem; it is usually about targeting the area to treat with the Wiimote. You will need about 6 hours to overcome the eight sections of the script. This is an honorable life for this type of game, but some aspiring veterinarians will eventually get tired to meet the same conditions. Note, however, that the cooperative mode just rekindles interest in the game. The music is quite correct, but not great. The sounds of the animals are more successful however.

Overall, if you want to treat animals from around the world, Zoo Hospital is for you. This veterinarian simulation has great graphics and a good database on animals. We can always blame it to offer medical mini-games that are too repetitive, but this flaw is counterbalanced by the presence of a cooperative mode rather distracting.

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Developed by 2D Boy, a young studio consisting of two developers (!), this puzzle-game might well have joined the overwhelming mass of anonymous, like too many titles of the genre. But it would not rely on the talent of Ron Caramel and Kyle Gabler, who clearly know what makes a good game; it is primarily a solid concept. The World of Goo is childish: you must bring a number of small black balls, the famous Goos, to the output of each level; a principle as old as Lemmings. However, the Goos are amazing: they are able to create links between them, much like atoms in a molecule. In assembling, it becomes possible to create structures such as towers and bridges, which allow you to overcome obstacles. So, the basics are easy to learn, especially since everything is done in a few movements with the Wiimote.

Kyle Gabler, the artist of the duo, has done an outstanding job. We will not speak here of dynamic lighting and bump mapping, just crude artistic talent. The world of Goos is a little jewel of inventiveness, even if we can see some influence by places. However, World of Goo has a charm.

The Wiimote is enough to move Goos and form a structure; we immediately understand how it works. But 2D Boy has managed to transcend this simple principle with a clever level design, which never ceases to surprise us as we progress in the game. The gameplay is surprisingly so deep. This is high art.

World of Goo offers 50 levels and it takes about 8 hours to be done with all of them. However, it can be very pleasant to return and try saving more Goos to build the tallest tower, to get the awards or just for fun to browse this haunting world.

Whether in music or small noises made by the Goos, everything is really cute, adorable. The sound is a frank success. A puzzle-game with a real story and not an indigent story, is it possible? Yes, World of Goo proves it. Yet the narrative is very brief, since it is largely through signs … But it works and it disappears quickly in the sweetness of this funny and poetic world.

World of Goo gives us a real lesson in game design and creativity, in words of art. What remind to the most jaded of us why we love video games. There is still hope in this formatted world and it feels good. What more, if not thank you 2D Boy?

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It shouldn’t surprise that PES’ ever-evolving organic gameplay remains the leader, though the margin’s thinning. FIFA’s made huge strides in recent years, but PES retains its mastery at creat-ing nearly imperceptible nuances that showcase stellar feel and control. Every single goal still feels earned and looks unique, which results in fist-pumping delight (and, oh, how I wish FIFA would adopt PES’ genius postgoal-replay system). Plus, the between-player jostling before jump-ing for a header — improved significantly in both titles — gives a sense of achievement each time you gain possession.

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]]> http://www.wiiener.com/pro-evolution-soccer-2009-review/feed http://www.wiiener.com/vigilante-8-review http://www.wiiener.com/vigilante-8-review#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:10:25 +0000 admin http://www.wiiener.com/vigilante-8-review For all of the talk about Activision seeking “exploitable” franchises in recent days, here’s one release that wouldn’t seem to follow that business plan…at least not on the surface. Vigilante 8: Arcade is a mashup remake of sorts of Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense, a pair of PS2/N64/Dreamcast car-combat titles that debuted before the turn of the century and had not been touched by developers since. While the built-in thrills of the car-combat genre remain intact and the $10 price intrigues, little else has changed in the last decade or so — more for worse than better.

Series aficionados will take heart at the integrity of the core game mechanics and universe, which are likely just as they remember it from the original games — as in Twisted Metal, you drive around a handful of diverse arenas, dispensing various projectiles in an effort to be the last man (or rather, vehicle) standing at the end of each match. Charged shots and upgradeable vehicles (via collectable scrap pieces) set Vigilante 8 apart from its now-faded genre competition, along with a 1970s setting packed with references to disco music, the oil crisis, and UFO-loving hippies.

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]]> http://www.wiiener.com/vigilante-8-review/feed http://www.wiiener.com/wrath-of-the-lich-king-us-servers-go-live-at-9-pm-pst http://www.wiiener.com/wrath-of-the-lich-king-us-servers-go-live-at-9-pm-pst#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:10:24 +0000 admin http://www.wiiener.com/wrath-of-the-lich-king-us-servers-go-live-at-9-pm-pst

Thanks to quality retailers like 7-Eleven selling the game days ahead of time, many gamers have found that they still have to wait for the official launch to play their early copies of ‘World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Luckily, WOW Insider is reporting that the wait is almost over, as Blizzard has changed their previous launch plans to allow everyone in the U.S. — regardless of time zone — to hop a boat to Northrend at 9 p.m. PST tonight. The European servers, it seems, are already up and running with the new expansion content.

Like almost any decision Blizzard has ever made, this revelation has drawn the ire of a small contingent of upset subscribers who feel that this arrangement is somehow unfair to them. In response to one such thread on the official forums, Blizzard poster Zarhym sarcastically replied, “We’re working to ensure the sun reaches all areas of the world at the same time of day and plan to have this corrected in a future patch.”

WOW Insider also notes that there is apparently already a bug involving players being unable to create characters of the new Death Knight class on the European servers. Blizzard’s temporary solution is for subscribers to first create a fresh, level one character, then attempt to make a Death Knight. Surely this will be just the first subject of the countless hotfixes that await during the post-launch weeks ahead.

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]]> http://www.wiiener.com/wrath-of-the-lich-king-us-servers-go-live-at-9-pm-pst/feed http://www.wiiener.com/starcraft-2-trilogy-not-about-milking-the-franchise-blizzard-claims http://www.wiiener.com/starcraft-2-trilogy-not-about-milking-the-franchise-blizzard-claims#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:10:24 +0000 admin http://www.wiiener.com/starcraft-2-trilogy-not-about-milking-the-franchise-blizzard-claims

Gamers were outraged when they heard that StarCraft 2 would be coming in three different parts. Blizzard had claimed it wouldn’t let the merger between Activision and Blizzard parent company Vivendi impact the way it did business. But the move reeked of the type of thingthat would fit right in with Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s recent comments that the company want their games to be exploitable. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Blizzard COO Paul Sams vehemently denies that StarCraft 2 is being milked.

Speaking with VideoGamer.com today before a midnight launch of ‘Wrath of the Lich King’ game in London today, he said:

The fact of the matter is, it’s absolutely, positively untrue about us trying to stretch it out and milk it. People think that it was a monetary driven decision. I can absolutely, positively tell you, with 100 per cent certainty, that that was not part of the conversation. I guarantee it. I give my word. There was never, ever a conversation where we said, ‘let’s do this because we’re going to make more money’. I guarantee it. As a matter of fact the sole reason we did it was because we thought it was going to be a better experience. Anybody that says otherwise is not correct. It is absolutely not what we did it for.

Sims’ denial is more passionate than the usual corporate line we get, so maybe it’ll be enough to convince fans that Blizzard truly is doing this to deliver the best game is possible.

But we doubt it.

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]]> http://www.wiiener.com/starcraft-2-trilogy-not-about-milking-the-franchise-blizzard-claims/feed http://www.wiiener.com/rolling-stone-unveils-questionable-list-of-most-rock-roll-games http://www.wiiener.com/rolling-stone-unveils-questionable-list-of-most-rock-roll-games#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:39:58 +0000 admin http://www.wiiener.com/rolling-stone-unveils-questionable-list-of-most-rock-roll-games

KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child may have been absolute trash, but Rolling Stone thinks it “rocks” because it “helped to reinvent the band for a new generation of tech-savvy comic book fans as virtually animated saviors of humanity.” In the music publication’s new article, “The 50 Best Rock & Roll Video Games of All Time,” Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Rez are expectedly mentioned, but so are duds like Make My Video and and Spice World. Meanwhile, the plastic guitar-pioneering Gitaroo-Man and this year’s independently-produced, and critically-lauded Audiosurf get the shaft.

Did they miss any other titles? Feel free to make some substitutions below. For the record, rhythmically tapping Chris Redfield’s feet on the wood flooring in the original Resident Evil 1 probably doesn’t qualify, as it seems by Rolling Stone’s criteria each game must either be focused on music creation or involve the music industry to some degree. Although, the inclusion of Simon does allow for unspecified leniency.

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]]> http://www.wiiener.com/rolling-stone-unveils-questionable-list-of-most-rock-roll-games/feed http://www.wiiener.com/libraries-will-celebrate-national-gaming-day-on-nov-15-3 http://www.wiiener.com/libraries-will-celebrate-national-gaming-day-on-nov-15-3#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:29:48 +0000 admin http://www.wiiener.com/libraries-will-celebrate-national-gaming-day-on-nov-15-3
See this? Now imagine it with video games. Makes it so much better, doesn’t it? And that’s exactly what we’re going to get as libraries across the country gear up to celebrate the first ever National Gaming Day on November 15.

“Gaming formats have become a valuable tool for libraries,” said American Library Association President Jim Rettig. “Not only has this new format increased library usage from hard toreach users such as teens, we also have found that video games attract a variety of users and are a great vehicle to teach basic technology skills.”

National Gaming Day will feature online tournaments using T-rated games (sorry, no Gears of War 2 bouts for you), Pictureka, Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, though the setup might vary from library to library. So if you have some free time on the 15th, now you can spend it proving why games belong in libraries. Isn’t that nice?

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