Tecmo’s new game SPRay is shaping up to be pretty interesting. It takes the concept of the “Pixels” from Super Paper Mario into a full 3D platformer. As you progress through the game you’ll amass a small army of these flying sidekicks that spray different liquids onto the environment. Each liquid has a different property – sticky goo, ice, etc. While the graphics need a little touching up, SPRay could be one of the most unique games on the Wii when it’s released.

Will asked me to give a shout out to all the loyal WiiCast fans, letting YOU know I’ll be joining the team as a regular blog poster. Some of you may already know me from around the Web; I go by the name “GeekyDad” on most gaming sites and forums I frequent. I also write as a freelance reviewer / previewer for Cheat Code Central and was recently hired on by British gaming site AceGamez to write reviews for them, as well.

But my Nintendo geek-ness goes way back, and as a WiiCast fan, myself, I was eager to participate in helping to get relevant, Wii-related info out there for the community to discuss. I’ve enjoyed watching each episode of the WiiCast almost since its inception, and when the new site went up, I never left. So, I look forward to being part of this really fun endeavor.

-Tony Capri (aka GeekyDad)

RooGoo is an interesting puzzle game that uses shapes and speed to create a frantic scenes of urgency. I really enjoyed the game on XBLA and I’m really glad SouthPeak decided to port the game to the Wii and DS. The Wii version will include 4 person multiplayer as well as motion controls. I suspect the DS version will use the touch screen. Look for more details in the coming weeks.

[via press release]

In this interview with Nintendo’s Cammie Dunaway the reviewer expresses concern over the lack of core games in Nintendo’s press event. Her Response? She says core gamers should “keep playing Mario Kart and Smash Bros” and “try Wii Music”. She goes on to emphasize looking to third parties for titles that will satisfy “advanced” gamers. Oh, she’s also not a long time gamer. ‘Professor Layton was actually the first game I played through so that was kind of an accomplishment” she said. The good news is that she “absolutely loves us”. Awwwwww.

In this writer’s opinion Nintendo is embarrassed by their core gamers. This year’s E3 was all about appealing to the mass market. Miyamoto explains that the event is not for core games anymore

For a very long time, E3 was an event where — and certainly Nintendo included — catered specifically to the core gamer. Now we look at more … an opportunity for us to introduce new concepts and new types of play that we intend to bring to the broader audience, particularly because of the media that gathers at E3 now.

So while attending an E3 event like this, they might be given the impression that Nintendo is no longer focusing on the games that appeal to the core gamer, in fact we’re still working on many of those titles, but it’s just not the type of event where we’ll be showcasing that anymore.

That’s little comfort for people who were disappointed by Nintendo’s press conference. Looks like Nintrndo’s core game announcements will be restricted to the depths of the internet where the general public will never know they’re there.

[msnbc - Meet the man]

Here’s the current list of release dates for the Wii games of 2008 (according to IGN).

2K Play
Carnival Games: Mini-Golf™ (September)

2K Sports
MLB® Power Pros (July 28)
Don King Presents: Prizefighter 2008 (September)
NHL® 2K9 (September)

Activision
Quantum of Solace Video Game (Fall)
Madagascar Escape 2 Africa™ Video Game (Fall)
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (Fall)
Call of Duty: World at War (Fall)
Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors™ (Fall)
Monsters vs. Aliens™ Video Game (Spring 2009)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance II: Fusion (2009)

Activision/RedOctane
Guitar Hero® World Tour (Fall)

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
Dokapon Kingdom™ (Oct. 14)

Capcom
We Love Golf™ (July 15)
MotoGP08 (October / November)
Neopets® Puzzle Adventure (Holiday)

D3Publisher
Ben 10™ Alien Force (October)
Onechanbara™ Bikini Zombie Slayers (Q1 2009)
Coraline (Q1 2009)

Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Sing It! (September)
High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE! (Oct. 21)
Disney TH!NK Fast (Oct. 28)
Bolt (Nov. 18)
Ultimate Band (November)

DreamCatcher Games
Sam & Max Season One (Aug. 12)
Safecracker (November)

Elastic/ Scholastic Interactive
Goosebumps® HorrorLand (Oct. 14)
Ultimate I SPY™ (November)

Electronic Arts
NCAA® Football 09 All-Play (July 15)
Madden NFL 09 All-Play (Aug. 12)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR All-Play (Aug. 26)
Boogie™ SuperStar (October)
Littlest Pet Shop™ (October)
MONOPOLY™ (October)
NBA LIVE 09 All-Play (October)
FIFA 09 All-Play (October)
NERF™ “N-Strike” (November)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Fall)
FaceBreaker KO Party (Fall)
Skate It (Holiday)

Gamecock Media Group
Mushroom Men (October)
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball™ (October)

KONAMI
Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked™ (August)
DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 2™ (September)
Rock Revolution™ (October)
Castlevania Judgment™ (Fall)

Legacy Interactive
Pet Pals™: Animal Doctor (October)

LucasArts
Star Wars®: The Force Unleashed™ (Sept. 16)
Star Wars™ The Clone Wars™: Lightsaber Duels™ (Holiday)

Majesco Entertainment
Pajama Sam®: Don’t Fear the Dark (July)
Freddi Fish®: Kelp Seed Mystery (August)
Spy Fox® in Dry Cereal™ (September)
Zoo Hospital™ (October)
Escape from the Museum (November)
Cake Mania™: In the Mix! (November)
Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 (Holiday)
Cooking Mama World Kitchen™ (Holiday)
Major Minor’s Majestic March™ (Holiday)

Mastiff
Deer Drive™ (October)

Midway
TNA iMPACT!™ (September)
Game Party™ 2 (October)

NAMCO BANDAI Games America
Active Life™: Outdoor Challenge™ (Sept. 9)
We Cheer™ (Fall)
Tales of Symphonia®: Dawn of the New World™
(Winter)

Natsume Inc.
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Aug. 26)

Nintendo
Mario™ Super Sluggers (Aug. 25)
Wario Land™: Shake It! (Sept. 22)
Animal Crossing®: City Folk (Holiday)
Wii Music™ (Holiday)
Wii Sports™ Resort (Spring 2009)

SEGA of America
Samba de Amigo™ (Q3)
Sonic Unleashed™ (Q4)
Nancy Drew®: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (Q4)

Sierra Entertainment
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Aug. 29)
Ghostbusters The Video Game (Fall)

SouthPeak Games
Brave: A Warrior’s Tale™ (Sept. 16)
Igor The Game (Sept. 23)

THE GAME FACTORY
BUILD-A-BEAR Workshop-A Friend Fur All Seasons (October)
RUBIK’S WORLD (October)
BRATZ™ KIDZ- SLUMBER PARTY (October)

THQ
de Blob (Sept. 22)
Big Beach Sports (Summer)
Deadly Creatures (Fall)
WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2009 (Fall)
All Star Cheer Squad™ (Fall)
The Naked Brothers Band: The Videogame (Fall)
Avatar – The Last Airbender: Into the Inferno (Fall)
SpongeBob SquarePants featuring NickToons: Globs of Doom (Fall)
Tak and the Guardians of Gross (Fall)
Bratz™: Girlz Really Rock (Fall)

TOMY Corporation
Penny Racers™ Party: Turbo Q Speedway (Summer)
NARUTO™: Clash of Ninja® Revolution 2 (Fall)

Ubisoft
Brothers in Arms Double Time (Aug. 26)
The Price is Right® (September)
Hell’s Kitchen™: The Game (September)
Party Babyz® (October)
Ener-G™ Dance Squad (October)
Petz® Dogz® Sports (November)
Petz® Monkeyz® House (working title) (November)
Shaun White Snowboarding (Holiday)
Rayman Raving Rabbids™ TV Party (Holiday)

UFO Interactive Games, Inc
Ultimate Shooting Collection (Sept. 23)
Saint (Nov. 12)

Vivendi Games
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant (October)
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon (October)

XS Games
Rebel Raiders™ (Q4)
Ten Pin Alley 2™ (Q4)
Super Pickups™ (Q4)
Pop Star Guitar™ (Q4)

ZOO Games Inc.
Order Up! (Q3)
Puzzler Collection (Q3)
Margot’s Word Brain (Q3)
Jeep® Thrills (Q3)
Twin Strike: Operation Thunder (Q3)
Army Men “Soldiers of Misfortune” (Q4)
Yamaha Supercross (Q4)
Bigfoot®: Collision Course (Q4)
Garfield Gets Real (Q4)
Skate City Heroes (Q4)
Chrysler Classic Racing (Q4)
M&M’S® Adventure (Q4)
Deal or No Deal™ (Q4)
Calvin Tucker’s Redneck Jamboree (Q4)
M&M’S® Beach Party (Q4)
Story Hour Fairy Tales (Q4)
Story Hour Adventures (Q4)
Puzzle Kingdoms (Q4)

[Source]

[gtrailer]36424[/gtrailer]

E3 2008: Developer Cam Walkthrough Part 2

[gtrailer]36548[/gtrailer]

Awesome! Hey, why are you reading this? You could be watching the walkthrough!

Not to come across overly bitter, but I’m a little disappointed that we have two Star Wars games coming out for Nintendo’s home console without Wii MotionPlus functionality. In fact, I’m a little confused why the product won’t make the holiday season. My theory is that Wii Sports Resort was intended to hit the spring crowd, so they’d rather make the enhancement a bundled product in their own game even if it’s not ready for release, than allow third parties access for the holiday 2008 buzz.

Few things are known about Wii MotionPlus, such as whether it will be backwards compatible with older Wii games. One thing seems certain, the PR surrounding the device will already make two major Lucas Arts games feel dated before they even release. At least, that’s my take…. what about you guys?