It’s major appeal is that it offers something a little bit different. The aim of the game is to get your balls of goo back up through the goo pipe by using them to build bridge like structures – only don’t use too many for the bridge as you have to help a certain number of goo balls escape to progress through levels. As with all bridges you need to be careful how you support it with goo balls to make sure it doesn’t just collapse. A certain amount of physics is involved in the game although it doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the game.

The early levels are really quite easy but the challenge soon picks up as a range of skills from lateral thinking to strategic planning are required to get just the right amount of goo balls into the pipe. The game requires only the standard Wii controller so even the kids can get in on the fun.

The game offers a broad range of fun and is one of those games that you pick up to play to fill a few minutes, only to find an hour has passed by. This probably explains why it holds the number four slot on the UK WiiWare All-Time Chart.

Wii Game: World of Goo is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

This game looks set to tie-in with, soon to be, Matt Smith version of The Doctor and looks set to feature a number of popular Doctor Who villains probably including Daleks, Cybermen, and perhaps the Silurians who are rejoining the Who brand during the tenure of Matt Smith.

If it proves popular it could be the first in a series of games based in the universe of the popular science fiction series.

Doctor Who Game For Wii To Materialise? is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

We have been playing Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, from Ubisoft, recently for the Nintendo Wii.

It caught our attention as it was advertising more than 50 mini games which could be ideal for keeping the kids occupied with their short attention spans. We were only hoping that the control mechanisms are quite straightforward – sometimes they can be a little too complicated for the little ones especially when the Nunchuk is required (which it is for this game).

The blurb tells us “Party with four person multiplayer or an all new eight player arcade mode! More than 50 hilarious games that will have you racing, wrestling, surfing and dancing to hits! Hook up a Wii balance board to play the first videogame you can control with your butt!”.

The game has a playful vibe somewhere between Guinness World Records and Wii Sports Island but is set around television channels, where mini games are split across channel hopping activities throughout the in-game day. Both solo play and multiplayer campaigns are catered for, and as you progress through the campaigns you will unlock new games. A Free Play option allows you to simply choose from all the games you have unlocked so far.

From time to time during a game an “ad break” indicator will appear allowing the current player to pause current programming (the game) and play a micro-game for a few seconds – winning gets the player a special bonus.

The games are a mixed bag and they do have a slight feel of disjointedness in both style and sometimes in the way they are presented – almost as if each game was developed by a different team then stitched together later. That said, most of them are fun to play often requiring little more than a flick of the wrist at the right moment. Many of the games can be played using the motion board in place of the Wiimote which adds an interesting angle to game play – but the kids prefer the Wiimote.

The cutesy rabbids are what really make the game unique and appealing for the kids (Rayman himself barely makes an appearance so far) and they are usually good at knowing what they like and don’t like. They found some of the games a bit boring (so did we) as little control is required past shaking the remote however they do enjoy a number of the other games including the bounce game.

All in all it’s a good game made even moreso by the recent drop in price – we picked it up for £15 in Tesco Extra. Once we’ve played it a good few times more we’ll post an update as to how we’re getting on with it.

An oddity in the accompanying game manual is on page 12 where the same paragraph is repeated, it appears first under the heading “Sabotage!” then the identical paragraph appears again under “And Now For Something Completely Different…”

Wii: Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

The all new Nintendo DSi XL is due for launch on 5th March 2010 and features bigger, 4.2”, dual screens, longer stylus, a new touch pen, and longer battery life.

The gaming console from Nintendo also features built in web browsing (Nintendo DSi Browser) and two built-in introductory applications (Dr Kawashima’s: Little Bit of Brain Training: Arts Edition and a 6 in 1 Dictionary application with Camera function).

The DSi XL will initially be available in two colours: Wine Red and Dark Brown.

For more information visit Nintendo DSi XL.

Get Bigger Gaming With The New Nintendo DSi XL is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

First off, there is a wider variety of games all set around the Wii Sports Resort Islands. Games include Swordery, Archery, Canoeing, Wakeboarding, Skydiving, Table Tennis, Golf and Island Flyovers (and a number of others). The kids love it, I only wish there was a quick replay button (to avoid all the menus) allowing us to get back into the game quickly. It is worth mentioning that the Wii MotionPlus accessory is requires for Wii Sports Resort.

Some games, such as the Island Flyover and Swordery, can be played with the Wii Remote alone (with Wii MotionPlus attached) whilst others, such as Archery, require the Nunchuck addition but each is clearly labelled. The music and sound also works well, not too much and not too little – the Swordplay Showdown uses this to good effect.

The Wii MotionPlus add-ons for the Wii Remotes let the Nintendo Wii become the gaming machine I thought it would be at the outset and it makes such a huge difference to the gaming experience. For example, no longer is a flick of the wrist all you really need to bowl the ball in bowling – now the movement reflects what I am actually doing (the Swordery games really demonstrate this ability).

Flying the various planes in the Island flyover, whilst popping balloons, is great fun (try flying into then through the volcano) and both the little kids and us big kids love it. We only have five more information signs to find to unlock the final feature of the Island Flyover game.

We all have our own favourite games and it is quite quick changing characters to choose our games and the multi-player elements lift the game immensely – my partner and I are already highly competitive over the archery game, for example. The canoeing game is fun and the kids love it too, as you get to treat the Wii Remote like a paddle and have to navigate the sometimes tricky course.

Holiday At Home With Wii Sports Resort is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

The Internet Channel can now be downloaded free from the Wii Shop Channel.

Read more on the Nintendo Makes It Easy For Wii Owners to Access the Internet

Nintendo adds Wii Internet access is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

No problem, we took the game back to the shop and had it exchanged for another disc but when we got home – guess what, the same problem. The particular error seems quite different to the usual messages we get on the Wii as it is simply white text on a black background stating:

“An error has occurred. Press the Eject Button and remove the disc, then turn the Wii console off and refer to the Wii Operations Manual for help troubleshooting.”

The first thing we tried was ejecting the disc then switching the Wii off and on again – the same message was displayed. Next, we tried leaving the Wii off for about fifteen minutes before switching it back on – still nothing but the same message. All the other games work just fine however Block Party just does not want to play ball.

One observation we made is that just prior to the message appearing the drive makes an unusual clicking sound which lasts about five seconds before displaying the message shown above.

Some of the things we have tried so far:

• Cleaning the game disc – this has not rectified the problem. Also, we have tried two different discs for this particular game and all our other game discs work fine.
• Switching the console off for 15 minutes and switching on again – this did not resolve the problem.
• Checked the Nintendo Wii support forums for issues with specific games – Block Party is not listed.
• Checking we have the latest firmware. There are no further updates

Things we have not yet tried

• Laying the Wii on its side to see if the game works
• Blowing out the disc slot with compressed air
• Trying the game on a different Wii – we have already swapped out the game though and all other games we have play fine.
• Investigating if this might be related to the Wii Fit we purchased recently (a few searches on the internet show a number of people have mentioned this problem shortly after buying a Wii fit).

One problem searching the internet seems to point to could be a problem with the laser itself however it seems odd all the other games we have work fine. If we cannot resolve this problem the only alternative seemed to be to contact the Nintendo Wii support team.

We will post updates as we try and resolve this problem.

UPDATE: We tried putting the Wii on its side to see if the game works but the problem remains. We have also tried leaving the Wii off and unplugged for 24 hours with still no luck.

UPDATE: We have tried the game on two other Wii units and it brings the same message up. I think we can be pretty sure it must have something to do with the game Block Party so we are giving up on the game. We returned it to Morrisons where we bought the game but as we couldn’t find the receipt they gave us a really hard time over refunding it even though it had a Morrisons sticker on the case and we explained they had already exchanged it previous week. In the end, after giving us a lot of grief, the store manager agreed to give us a credit slip for the value of the game.

An Error Has Occurred On The Wii. Press the Eject Button. is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

Video: Nintendo DSi Trailer is a post from: eggnchips.com - cracking good technology

The latest news on the Nintendo DSi:

• Cubed3: DSi UK: 4th Best Debut Weekend
• IGN: Wii and DS to support on-demand video.
• Gamasutra: UK Charts: Wii Fit Maintains Healthy Lead
• Kombo: Lack of Unique Software Inhibiting DSi Sales
• I4U: Nintendo DSi Launches in UK
• MCV: DSi sells 92000 in opening weekend
• Pocket Gamer: DSi becomes UK’s fourth fastest-selling console of all time
• USA Today: Nintendo does it again with DSi
• Wired News: Analysis: What DSi Means for Nintendo, Sony, Apple
• ZDNet: Nintendo DSi retail box
• FOXNews: Review: Nintendo’s New DSi — A Quantum Leap Forward
• GamePro: Nintendo dsi Giveaway: Enter Now!

You can read more about the Nintendo DSi on Wikipedia at Nintendo DSi – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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