A minor addendum to my previous post regarding Wii fit. I was able to snag some more info from the rep, who said that Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii should be out early June. He also was a bit discreet about some possible huge announcements coming from Nintendo’s press conference in either June or July; this was mentioned when I told him about my Zelda edition DS, which leads me to believe it’s either the announcement of the next Zelda game for the Wii, or confirmation of the rumors about a newer, even slimmer DS. Stay tuned for more details, and we’ll get you updated as soon as the news breaks.

[More info] Look for said big announcements around the time of E3, in mid-July.

Now I know you are all waiting with gasping breath for the release of Wii Fit - which recently got pushed back two more days for some reason (to May 21, for those of you not following). At an MSRP of nearly $90, it seems like quite a hefty price for the video game equivalent of an exercise bike crossed with a stepper, but it does have plenty of potential.

Well, today I had my first opportunity to give it a try, and though it’s weird as hell to control at first, even in my limited trial time I could definitely see some inklings of fun and, perhaps more importantly, the potential for some quality exercise. I tried my hand (or feet, if you will) at the ski slalom and soccer heading events, then watched others make fools out of themselves to the hula hoop and tightrope walking activities. The Nintendo vendor kept trying to get some poor sap to try the pushup-yoga routine thingy, but he wasn’t having much luck finding such a sucker. The board is extremely sensitive to your shifting weight, but the events - at least on the easy mode which we were playing - give you a chance to get your feet underneath you by starting the events off slowly; for example, the slalom began with very wide turns and flags spaced far apart, then progressed to tighter, more closely divided gates to ski through. There’s definitely a learning curve, but it seems like a ton of fun to engage in.

Overall, I’m excited. Of course, this was a vendor event for the store I work at, so the message we were being told was, “This is going to sell lots of units and lots of systems! Yay money!” But through it all, I kept my gamer poise and just imagined the fun I’ll be having and the weight I’ll be losing (I hope!) come May 21.

At the Playstation Day in London Sony announced that they are pushing back the release of LBP one more month to October, apparently because that’s just what game companies do and no game is ever allowed to be released on time, EVER. In addition to the LBP delay, Sony pres Kaz Hirai said that Home would not launch “until I’m happy with it,” which we take to mean not until he can turn it into a tangible being which he can hold and make sweet, sweet love to.

Well, according to Kotaku presidential candidate Barack Obama has managed to mention GTA without launching into a spit-propelling rant about hookers and morality. Truly, we could not expect anything more video game friendly than that out of a politician in this day and age, and this is clearly a sign that God wants me to vote for Obama, kidnap McCane and Hillary, and stick them on a deserted island armed with nothing more than copies of GTA IV and a couple of dirty hypodermic needles. Thank you, Lord, I know how to acknowledge your signs when you send them to me. I am on the mother f*cker; just chill them niggers out and wait for the cavalry, which should be coming directly.

Saw this neat article very much in that sarcastic GameLemon vein today over at TechRadar.com. Among my favorites:

“You avoid playing on the Wii because it’s too much effort

There’s no denying that the Nintendo Wii is a revolutionary games machine but… well, it does require a lot of effort. Aren’t there times when you just want to slouch into a comfy sofa with a traditional joypad? Times when you can’t be arsed with all that wiimote waving and waggling? It’s way too energetic – a 20 minute bowling session in Wii Sports is almost akin to a full workout.”

..and

“You’ve pre-ordered GTA IV but don’t mind if it doesn’t turn up on launch day

Wednesday’s just fine. Really. You’re a bit busy at the moment, anyway. In fact, you probably won’t get a chance to play GTA IV until the weekend. You’re also not bothered by the prospect of downloading the DLC for GTA IV either. You’ll never finish the main game anyway.”

Yep, well, that first one just about rules me out. Though I safely evaded the second one because I am too much of a snob to play GTA IV in the first place.

Here’s a feel-good story for all the video game haters out there. Former NHL star (that’s hockey, for the 96% of the US that doesn’t watch) Pat LaFontaine and his Champions in Courage program has been hooked up with Microsoft for some time now, allowing sick and disabled children living in hospitals across the country to connect to friends and family online, and the computer giant has stepped it up another notch, bringing Xbox 360 kiosks to several of the hospitals. The kiosks run on a private Xbox Live network, allowing the kids to interact with each other via text or video chat and play games with and against each other. This is a great organization, and LaFontaine was on NHL Live on XM Radio late last week explaining the details of the new program. You can read the official press release on the Champions in Courage website here. There’s also some coverage on GameInformer’s website, and an interview with LaFontaine on nhl.com. It’s great to see some positive video-game related press once in a while. Pass the word on to your nay-saying friends or make a donation. It’s really a great cause and seems to truly have a positive effect on the children.

…oh wait, it’s just the Gears of War 2 edition. Call off the paramedics. Or whatever, let them come, maybe they can fix that pinkish fungus thing I’ve got growing behind my left ear while they are here.

…aaanyway, Gears of War 2 then. Well, without regurgitating the article which I am sure all of you have already swallowed whole, pooped out and swallowed again, I am just glad to learn that the core gameplay is remaining pretty much as in the original. I thought GoW1 absolutely nailed the core mechanics and the last thing I’d want to see is them messing with that just because they feel the dreaded “pressure to innovate”. I mean, hell, it will inevitably happen eventually, but I hope they last at least through GoW 3 before caving.

Can’t say that I got particularly excited by the new cast of characters (or baddies, for that matter) - but only because I was perfectly happy with them the first time around. It’s not like the first game really gave us a chance to get tired of them or anything - which brings me to the other point - it was awesome to hear that the story is going to get a depth-first makeover. I know some people won’t agree with me, but I think EVERY good game, no matter what the genre, should have a story that’s good enough to stand as an independent piece of work. All right, so maybe puzzle games get to have crappy stories, but that’s it.

The expanded cast of new vehicles sounds moderately exciting - here is hoping the vehicle gameplay gets a makeover as well. I am all for burning up the vampiric Kryll, but overall GoW1 vehicle combat was kind of anti-climactic as compared to the rest of the game. While I’ll admit that it sort of worked as a nice contrast at times, overall I’d like to see some hardcore vehicle combat integrated into the game. Maybe give Marcus a nuclear-powered pink tricycle with a mounted Hammer of Dawn, I dunno.

Anyway, those are my impressions of the preview. I gotta go (the paramedics are here) - but feel free to share your own thoughts on seeing your red GI this month.

Activision has announced that they are developing Spider-Man: Web of Shadows for every system out there (yes, including PS2), due out sometime this fall. Straying a bit from the movie formula - and thankfully, from the awful display that was Friend or Foe - Web of Shadows looks to give the players complete control over how they play the game, from which bad guys to fight to which powers to upgrade. RPG-ish, maybe, but it’s Spidey, so it’ll probably be a lot cooler than your average RPG (oh man I’m sure to piss off some people with that one). Check out Yahoo!’s first look and features page for more info, and head to the official site for the full trailer and other details. From the looks of it, we could be seeing an army of Venom-like enemies, and that will surely kick ass.

So we officially have a price for Nintendo’s eagerly awaited mostly insignifcant Wii Fit. Kotaku is reporting that the bundle of the game and balance board will retail for $90.

Now American gamers know exactly how much it will cost them to pretend to exercise while standing not so perfectly still on a slab of plastic. The good news is that since you’re paying just under a C note after taxes for this fitness revolution it will likely take longer for you to denegrate the balance board into little more than a TV tray for your gigantic, calorie-laden, trans fat having, heart attack inducing American-sized dinner.

Is anybody else getting hungry? I sure could go for a 2 lb steak right about now…

A lot has been said about IGN’s faux pas of a fake trailer for a “The Legend of Zelda” live action adaptation. I personally bought it not, because every April 1st, I engage on what I like to call “La-la I can’t hear you!” stage, where I cover my eyes and ears at the same time (somehow) and rhythmically go “La-la-la!” for 24 hours.

But even without a defense mechanism like that, I wouldn’t get excited because I’ve always been against the prospect of a live action “Zelda” movie. My bitterness aside, I can definitely take my imaginary hat off for IGN because, 1, that trailer is an amazing and borderline believable effort for an April Fool’s joke, not to mention a very fresh one; 2, anything that makes me laugh as much as seeing the excited/crushed comments about it is a-okay in my book.

Let’s not get into that, for another GameLemon writer has already focused her mind on the subject in this very blog. This is to bring you something new to sink your swords into - IGN’s official Making Of the “Zelda Trailer”.

Link here (wow, great pun, Leon!)

I’ll endlessly respect IGN for pulling such a thing. Please enjoy.