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I WANT A DS PLAYER FOR WII
I WANT A DS PLAYER FOR WII 150 150 GAMESFWD

I’ve been saying this amongst friends for a while now, but I’m almost amazed that Nintendo hasn’t yet introduced a DS player for Wii, similar to the Game Boy Player for GameCube or Super Game Boy for the SNES.

Sure, they’d look a bit ugly on an HDTV, but there are plenty of games in the Nintendo DS library that I’d love to play on the couch with Nathalie beside me. RPG titles come to mind first because; well that’s what I mostly play on the DS. I’d much rather play something like Dragon Quest V on the couch for an evening with some company to share the experience with rather than alone in a corner or something.  Family time is important to me, so I’m less likely to play a solitary handheld game than one I can play on the TV with other people around.

Some would argue that it would be difficult to control DS games on a TV. I would argue that those people aren’t thinking hard enough.  It would be very easy to simply use a DS as a controller, while streaming the audio and video signals to a Wii via wi-fi, or knowing Nintendo, a proprietary dongle.

They could also implement a system similar to the one in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time and map controls to the standard Wii Remote and Nunchuck combination, using IR pointer capability to act as the DS stylus. It may not be perfect, but it certainly works well enough to be playable.

Display is another concern. I would personally prefer the two DS screens to be displayed on top of each other, producing a similar aspect ratio to a vertical SHMUP title. The emulator could also have options for a side-by-side display or even make one of the screens the only one displayed on the TV in the case of titles that primarily use one of the DS screens.

This brings me to my next point. The Wii has been hacked wide open. There are fully functional DS emulators that run on relatively low-powered PCs.  Why the homebrew crew hasn’t ported one of these emulators is even more surprising to me than the fact Nintendo hasn’t introduced an official DS player.

One way or the other, I really want to have the option of playing DS games on my TV without having to hook up a PC to it. I have a feeling I’m not alone when I say I’d pay good money to be able to do so.

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Playing Wii Can Earn Students Physical Education Credits
Playing Wii Can Earn Students Physical Education Credits 150 150 GAMESFWD

The University of Houston has introduced a brand new way to earn physical education credits. In the class entitled Wii Performance, students will learn how to improve their posture, centre of balance and their knowledge of health and fitness.

The class will use the games Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Dance Dance Revolution in addition to more traditional methods. Students will also take quizzes on health and nutrition and track their calorie intake and daily activities.

“Our department conducts a host of research into the epidemic of obesity, not only its root causes, but ways to combat it and the diseases related to it,” said Jessica Wheeler, program coordinator at the University of Houston. “Using the Wii games can be both fun and an effective tool. We anticipate that many students will want to take this class.”

This innovative teaching method may be surprising to some; however a growing number of schools are turning to the Wii to stimulate students. For example, at the new Bunker Hill Elementary School in Middletown, Delaware, students were greeted with a fitness room equipped with a 50-inch widescreen television and a Nintendo Wii.

The video game console is also a staple in the fitness centre at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware. “They (the students) really like the video games, the interactive fitness, as I call it,” said Kim Eroh, a gym teacher at the school. She started using the game system in class in 2007.

“You have a lot of kids who are not as active,” said Barb Bobik, a physical education teacher at Olive B. Loss Elementary School in Bear, Delaware, who started piloting the Wii games for fourth-graders at the end of 2008 and plans to expand it for grades 3-5 in gym class 2009.

“Kids are a little overweight now. This motivates them. This hooks kids who are not going to be out there running around at every recess playing tag. It doesn’t look like work to them. I just want them to move.”

Fun, but Are They Effective?

While the fact that kids are attracted to fitnessp-themed games is undeniable, their effectiveness remains to be fully proven. The U.K. government has endorsed the Wii for use in school physical education classes following a pilot project that used heart monitoring to determine that regular use increased students’ fitness. However, more evidence remains needed to properly assert their success rate.

Scientists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found that active video games offer a great alternative to moderate exercise for many children of today’s generation who are sedentary and at high risk for obesity and diabetes.

“These exergames are no substitute for ‘real’ sports activities, but if kids play them as designed and stay engaged, they can burn several calories per hour above their sedentary level,” said Kevin Short, Ph.D., principal investigator on the project, which was published in the July 2009 issue of Pediatrics.

The Oklahoma researchers measured the heart rate, energy expenditure and self-reported exertion in children between ages 10-13 while they watched television, played active video games and walked on the treadmill at three different speeds. They found that the energy expenditure levels reached during active video game play were comparable to moderate-intensity walking and that playing physically active games can be a safe, fun and valuable means of promoting energy expenditure.

Lorraine Lanningham-Foster, an Iowa State University assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, is also researching the measurable health benefits of active games. Lanningham-Foster was lead author of a study titled “Activity-Promoting Video Games and Increased Energy Expenditure,” published in the June 2009 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics.

Her initial research on 22 children, ages 10 to 14, found that a child who plays eight hours of video games a week will burn 1,990 calories—an average of 284 per day—through Wii Sports boxing. The amount is three times greater than the energy expenditure from playing a traditional sedentary video game.

“What I wanted to demonstrate was how many more calories your body can burn by playing Wii as opposed to playing a traditional video game — and it’s quite a lot,” said Lanningham-Foster.

Whatever gets kids moving in any manner is a good thing, according to John Ray, an education specialist for physical education with the Delaware Department of Education. “I think it’s a positive,” Ray said of Wii games. “Anything that promotes physical activity and being fit for life is good. We have a long way to go with our obesity and overweight population. But we’re making progress.”

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BOOM BRIGADE REVIEW
BOOM BRIGADE REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

Boom Brigade combines elements of real-time strategy, tower defense and route-tracing games to create a brief, but very fun and promising game that feels right at home on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. It looks and sounds great, controls well and can be genuinely addictive once you get the hang of it.

In Boom Brigade, you are tasked with defending your bunker from waves of alien attackers by drawing paths around the battlefield for your soldiers to follow. This unique mechanic sets Boom Brigade apart from other defense and strategy games and though there is plenty of room for improvement, there is also the potential for this game to spawn a whole sub-genre of its own.

You begin a game of Boom Brigade by selecting one of three unit types – Minigun, Shotgun and Bazooka – to deploy onto the battlefield. Each reinforcement has a unique attack range, health level, speed of movement and damage rating. Your first unit will have to survive several waves of enemies before receiving backup, so choosing the right one is important. I found the Minigun to be the most well-rounded unit to start with because of its high health rating.

At first, enemy waves will contain but a few attackers, making it easy to learn the route-tracing mechanic and general strategy employed in Boom Brigade. In most cases, encircling your enemies as they approach your bunker will get the job done. As the game progresses though, enemies will start to appear from all areas of the battlefield, making route choice more and more important.

After every few waves, you will be given a chance to add another unit to your brigade and are allowed a maximum of three at once. Once you have two or more units on the battlefield, the game gets much more tricky. Keeping your units moving, crossing their paths and giving them enough time to reload are all key elements to keeping your brigade alive and your bunker safe.

As enemies get dispatched, some will drop items like cash, health pick-ups and in extremely rare cases, a reinforcement. Cash can be used for upgrading your unit types or repairing the bunker after it takes damage. Grabbing the health pick-ups is very important, because it’s the only opportunity you have to “repair” your units. I’d have liked to have seen an option to spend cash on repairing units, but this may have taken away from the game’s difficulty somewhat.

Boom Brigade can be very difficult at first and even after spending several hours with it, my play sessions rarely last more than 15 minutes. By that point, the enemy waves are simply overpowering and keeping your entire brigade alive is a real challenge. It is difficult in a good way though and not frustrating. Almost every time my game ended, I wanted to restart immediately to try and make it further. I honestly don’t know how many enemy waves there are in the game, but every once in a while you will encounter a boss wave that will really test your mettle. After 15 minutes, I’ve usually seen four or five boss waves and have had three units on the battlefield at once.

Boom Brigade feels very much like a real-time strategy game once it gets going and the route-tracing mechanic seen in games like Harbour Master lends itself to careful and strategic planning amid chaos. Your units can be stopped mid-route by tapping on them and you can also target a specific enemy to target first by tapping on it. Combining the route-tracing, bunker defense and real-time action helps Boom Brigade to feel familiar and fresh at the same time and I can see its formula being copied by other developers in the future; it’s very fun and addictive.

The major drawback for me is the fact that there is only one battlefield and bunker layout in the game. The enemy waves are also the same every time you play, so it can feel repetitive. New maps and enemies, as well as randomized enemy patterns will add much to the longevity of Boom Brigade in future updates, as would online leader boards. Developer 10tons (Belowscape, Azkend) has also announced several new features planned for future updates like an expanded options in the bunker store, an in-game encyclopaedia and even a new Pyro unit that can be seen here.

At the time of this review, Boom Brigade is being offered at $1.99. When factoring in the already-announced updates and the massive potential that this game has for additional features like multiplayer matches, I’d consider this a must-have title despite its current lack of content.

The level of polish in Boom Brigade certainly sways my recommendation as well. Even though your units and the enemies are small on an iPhone/iPod Touch screen, everything looks fantastic and runs without a hitch. Details like the footprints of your units, smoke from your weapons and spilled alien blood really add to the level of immersion. The game’s art is cartoony in nature, similar to games like Team Fortress 2, Advance Wars or Metal Slug.

There isn’t much in the way of a soundtrack in Boom Brigade outside of the title screen, but the sound effects are quite good. Weapon fire sounds meaty, aliens make appropriate squishy sounds and reinforcements chatter a bit when you dispatch them. Unfortunately, the option to listen to your music library is not available at this time.

Boom Brigade’s novel approach to strategy and defense gaming is a success and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing copycat titles soon enough. What it lacks in content, it makes up for with presentation, attention to detail and genuine, addictive fun that is perfect for a commute. There’s plenty of room to improve, but also plenty to work with for future updates. If you want to see the future of iPhone/iPod Touch strategy gaming now, I suggest you try out Boom Brigade.

Positives:

+ Route-Tracing Mechanic
+ Great Graphics and Sound Effects
+ Challenging but not Frustrating

Negatives:

– Only One Map
– No Online Leaderboards

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PSP GO IMPRESSIONS: A PSEUDO-REVIEW
PSP GO IMPRESSIONS: A PSEUDO-REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

Opinions about the newly redesigned, download-only handheld from Sony seem to be polarized after its first week of release. While many fans are finding a lot to like about the PSP Go, retailers are complaining that they can’t sell games for it and some in the UK have even slashed the price of the console in an effort to move units.

Game Forward had the opportunity to get a PSP Go during its launch window and despite a few shortcomings, we are very satisfied with our purchase. The system is sleek, light and surprisingly comfortable to hold during extended play sessions. The display is simply the best among the current generation of handhelds and the ability to use a PlayStation 3 controller with it essentially turns the PSP Go into an ultra-portable console.

At first I found the PSP Go a bit awkward to hold, because it’s rather thin when opened – about the thickness of an iPod Touch – and the button placement is a rather drastic change from the original PSP layout. I found that the unit quickly settled in my hands though and I adapted to it easily. The placement of the analog nub in particular feels perfect and I don’t have to scrunch up my thumb to use it as on the original PSP. The nub also has a wider gate than before and it feels more responsive.

The buttons and d-pad have also received a makeover. The face buttons are smaller than before, but not too small. The d-pad on the PSP Go is the same size as the original PSP, but the buttons that compose it are a bit thinner than before. Both the buttons and d-pad have a more “clicky” feeling to them and they remind me very much of the original Nintendo DS buttons.

The right and left triggers are easily accessible, but they suffer from a spongy, springy nature and feel like the cheapest component on the whole unit. The volume, brightness and music buttons are housed at the top of the unit between the trigger buttons and are tough to use while the system is open.

Of course, should you not like the new buttons or analog nub and you own a PlayStation 3, you can actually sync a SIXAXIS or DUALSHOCK 3 controller to your PSP Go via Bluetooth. This feature requires you to register the controller with it and the PSP Go connected to your PS3 via USB cables. Unfortunately the feature cannot be used by those who don’t have a PS3, but hopefully Sony will make it available to everyone in the future via a firmware update or through the Media Go software used to purchase content from the PlayStation Store on a Windows PC.

I cannot stress enough how much I love the controller sync feature. It alone was worth the upgrade cost for me and is something I will use often. When combined with an A/V out cable, the feature basically turns the PSP Go into a tiny home console and the ability to play on a TV without being tethered to it by a cord is fantastic. Unfortunately, the video out is still heavily windowed as it was on the PSP 2-3000. Though the XMB, video content and PSOne Classics all run in full screen, PSP game content does not and on our TV at least only covers about half of the available space.

A decent TV scaler can alleviate this problem somewhat, but it’s still annoying and I had hoped that the slight power boost the PSP Go got over its predecessor would allow it to output PSP game content in full screen.

Getting back to the controller sync feature, it has actually impacted my ability to play some games for the better. Regular readers of Game Forward are no doubt aware that I was born with mild Cerebral Palsy and have limited dexterity in my left hand. On an old PSP unit, I had difficulty playing God of War: Chains of Olympus. There are many quick time events in that game that requite spinning the analog nub quickly and I was simply unable to pass certain sections of the game because of my physical limitation. My left thumb often slips off of the analog nub and leads to much frustration.

Though the new nub on the PSP Go still doesn’t help me with that particular game, being able to grip a full-sized analog stick on a familiar controller certainly does and I was extremely happy to get past a part of a game I was stuck on for over a year. I doubt that the engineers at Sony were specifically thinking of gamers with physical limitations or disabilities when they were implementing this feature, but I can see it being beneficial to many such gamers in the future.

The PSP go is being touted as the first 100% digital handheld gaming system and brings with it an expanded PlayStation Store, wider digital distribution of titles available on UMD and the introduction of PSP minis, Sony’s answer to the Apple App Store. I won’t go into software here, but will in an upcoming edition of The FWD Download.

The fact that there is no UMD trade-in or upgrade program seems to have rubbed many consumers the wrong way because the PSP Go essentially renders their collections useless. I can certainly understand the concern and would have liked to see a solution for people who wanted to upgrade and leave their old PSP behind. It should be noted thought that all digitally distributed games, including PSP minis are playable on both the PSP Go and the original PSP series and apparently Sony has no plans to stop selling the PSP-3000 or pressing UMDs to sell at retail.

This is not an official review, so I won’t flat-out recommend the PSP Go or not. For us at Game Forward however, the ability to play games with a PS3 controller was worth the cost of the upgrade alone. The system’s smaller form factor, improved on-board controls and ability to pause a game and save its state are icing on the proverbial cake.

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FWD PROGRESS 11-16-2009: NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII HANDS-ON
FWD PROGRESS 11-16-2009: NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII HANDS-ON 150 150 GAMESFWD

I’ve been pretty much stopped dead in my tracks as far as work goes because of joint pain. It’s mostly in my arms, but my hips are affected as well and everything is quite stiff. I’m really hoping to get some (any) work done this week. Seeing work posted on the site helps me feel better and really lifts my spirits.

I’ve been evaluating the CogniFit Personal Coach software and I find that it’s really quite thorough and impressive. Because of the nature of the program, I’ll need to keep using it for at least another two weeks before I can give it a fair evaluation and come up with material to ask the people behind it. It’s proving to be a very fun and interesting project, though some of the precision mouse-controlled tasks are difficult to perform with my joint pain flared up.

Like millions around the world, I’ve been glued to my Wii, playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii as much as possible given my recent arm pain. I am almost halfway through the game already and I am thoroughly enjoying it for the most part. It’s the 2D Mario game I’ve been waiting for for almost 20 years and it really feels like “Super Mario 4“.

The level design is fantastic and the game is far more challenging than New Super Mario Bros., especially if you are trying to get every Star Coin in the game. The Penguin and Propeller power-ups are both great additions to the series and make for some interesting new ways to clear courses.

Some of the hint movies that you unlock are absolutely amazing and show off a new layer of depth related to “comboing” your way through courses or the all-new multiplayer mode. Much like when I learned about speed Tetris, my mind was a bit blown when I saw some of these hint movies and I realized there was an entirely different (and hardcore) way to play Mario beyond simple speed runs.

Mastering the multiplayer mode will require practise and extreme co-ordination between all of the players involved and quite frankly, Nathalie and I will never be able to pull of many of these tricks. I consider myself a skilled player and she is average and when we play together the result is often frantic and chaotic, though in the most fun way possible.

The only complaints I have are related to the controls. As I detailed last week, I hate playing with the Wii Remote sideways for any length of time. It and its d-pad are simply too small and often result in me having “claw hand” after even a short session. Though there are actions mapped to tilting and shaking the Wii Remote, they could have easily been mapped to an analog stick or shoulder button on the Classic Controller or a GameCube controller without detracting from the gameplay at all. There is a Wii Remote and Nunchuck option, but it does not allow for d-pad control.

If you are like me and primarily playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii as a solo experience, you won’t find much new here outside of the new power-ups and tacked-on motion control actions. There are familiar desert, water and ice worlds. There are also ghost houses, mini-games and baddies on the map that attempt to impede your progress.  None of this is bad however and the game really does feel like a long-awaited sequel to Super Mario Bros. 3 with a bit of Yoshi tossed in.

The game is in many ways making me feel 20 years younger when I play it and I will likely collect every Star Coin and unlock every secret. It will likely be remembered as one of my favourites of the decade despite my issues with the control scheme. This game is making me smile through an otherwise difficult time, which is a huge thing for any game to be able to do.

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The FWD Download Vol. 2: Art Style on the Go
The FWD Download Vol. 2: Art Style on the Go 150 150 GAMESFWD

The Art Style series from Nintendo and skip Ltd. is making waves in the puzzle game genre. After spending only a few minutes with these games, it was clear to me that their smooth, polished presentation, unique atmosphere and innovative gameplay set them apart from most other puzzle titles on the market.

I had the opportunity to try out four of the latest Art Style titles for the Nintendo DSi: PiCTOBiTS, BOXLIFE, BASE 10 and Zengage. Exclusively available for download on DSiWare for the price of 500 Nintendo Points each, these highly ingenious puzzle games promise to challenge any player regardless of their skill level. More…

PiCTOBiTS

This DSi game is a must have for old-school Nintendo fans. Each level of the game presents 8-bit themed graphics and music inspired by launch-era NES titles, such as Mario Bros., Ice Climber and Balloon Fight. This simple yet challenging puzzler is vaguely reminiscent of Tetris, the goal being to clear a certain number of squares from the screen to reveal an image taken from one of these early NES games.

Large blocks of varying shape and colour, called megabits, come down the bottom screen in waves. As they fall, players pick up single bits with the stylus and add them to the megabits, clearing them by making 4-bit lines or shapes of at least 2 x 2 bits. Uncleared pieces of megabits will break down into bits.

The bits you pick up are held into an 8-spot queue. When your screen becomes dangerously full, you have the option to hit the POW button which will clear two lines at the bottom of the screen. However, every time this feature is used one spot in the queue will be disabled.

As you advance in the game, permabits will be thrown into the mix. These pieces cannot be picked up in the queue and can therefore only be cleared as they enter the screen. For every megabit and permabit cleared, players earn one coin, which can be used to unlock additional music and dark version of stages. Dark versions offer a higher degree of difficulty with pieces coming down at a much faster pace.

This game is quite challenging requiring players to think and act fast. While I found PiCTOBiTS amusing in short bursts, I felt it was a bit stressful to play for longer periods of time.

BOXLIFE

This title is an unusual puzzle game which will test your logic and spatial recognition skills. Its cute pixel art graphics and 8-bit music are quite charming. The game offers two playing modes, both of which will have players building cubes out of various patterns.

The main mode, R&D, offers 14 levels to play. The goal of each is to use the given pattern and fold it all into cubes before the time expires, using only three functions: cut, fold and mend. The second, Factory, is a timed mode which becomes unlocked later on. In this variation of the game, players have an unlimited pattern to work from to build as many cubes as possible before the clock runs out. Bombs are also introduced, which will blow up to destroy part of the pattern, costing players a penalty. They can be removed by trapping them in a cube before they turn go off.

BOXLIFE is quite simple to play, yet truly engaging and original, making it definitely worth a look for any puzzle game enthusiast.

BASE 10

BASE 10 is like no other game I have ever encountered. Entirely number-based, this puzzle game is sure to challenge most players with its innovative game mechanic. Requiring both good mental math skills and pattern recognition abilities, BASE 10 can be a bit intimidating to play at first. But as they progress, players will learn to recognize number patterns helping them solve the game.

The title has four modes including a local wi-fi multiplayer option. The main mode, Zerosum, offers nine levels to play each using an additional number. For example, the first level uses 1s and 2s, the second 1s, 2s and 3s, and so on. Players must clear a fixed quantity of numbered-tiled by selecting connected digits adding up to 10.

The twist lies in sliding the numbered tiles, up/down and left/right, to arrange them. Flipped numbers will change, become disabled or remain the same. For example, a flipped 2 turns into a 5, a flipped 8 is the same all around and a flipped 3 is nothing, therefore becoming unusable. The closer you are to completing a level, the faster the numbers fill up the board. Red digits will also appear which cannot be moved or flipped. Once used, a red tile will clear all other tiles showing the same number.

The second mode, Puzzle, presents players with set tiles to clear, using as few moves as possible. Infinite mode is a marathon version of Zerosum, where players clear lines for high scores until the board gets filed up.

BASE 10 has a minimalistic style and cool ambient soundtrack making for a slick presentation. With its fast pace, this challenging and novel game is sure to test your speed and mental acuity.

Editorial Note: Left-handed players should be aware that skip Ltd. inexplicably omitted a “lefty flip” option from BASE 10, which may render it unplayable to some. – Brian

Zengage

Zengage can be best described as hypnotic. I found myself getting completely absorbed and even mesmerized by the sounds and colours while playing. This simple puzzle game has players matching tiles and pegs of the same colour, with a mechanic comparable to the Rubik’s Cube.

Groups of nine puzzles are presented in different audiovisual environments, starting with Sky, River and Forest. In as little moves as possible, players will slide the tiles until they match the pegs on the board. However, as you advance in the game, some parts of the boards will be bolted down, limiting the ways in which you can move the tiles. Later levels will also introduce vector tiles which will allow you to move the pegs around the board.

Zengage is a simple and very enjoyable game. I even found it relaxing and didn’t mind having to retry puzzles several times. This title is an excellent way to practice your spatial recognition skills and logic without any pressure. The game even allows you to keep playing a level even after having failed it.

Nintendo and skip Ltd. hit the mark with these four Art Style games which are genuinely fun and very original in their presentation and design. Anyone with a DSi should certainly check them out, especially fans of the puzzle genre or those interested in testing their mental skills. While being similar in style and feel, these games each offer a unique gameplay experience, one of which will surely be right for you.

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INITIATIVES PROMOTE VIDEO GAMES IN EDUCATION
INITIATIVES PROMOTE VIDEO GAMES IN EDUCATION 150 150 GAMESFWD

Researchers at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center have recently released a report arguing that investments in research-based video games can play a cost-effective role in revolutionizing children’s health and learning. The group asks teachers, policy makers and healthcare professionals to embrace the medium despite some of bad press it has occasionally received.

“Games are here to stay and offer the country a rare opportunity to leverage children’s already established enthusiasm in order to reform education,” states the report, titled Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children’s Learning and Health.

Pointing to the potential of video games in helping improve vocabulary, literacy and maths skills as well as problem-solving abilities, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center report also calls for a digital teachers corps; a professional development group which would help teachers integrate curriculum-based games to classes and after-school programs.

Early pilot projects and trial runs show that there is certainly space for curriculum-based games in today’s educational landscape. As the math and algebra game DimensionM finds its way in more American classrooms, other students in Florida receive school credits for playing American history games. These successful examples are paving the way for video games to become essential teaching tools in schools.

One academic group proves that the medium can also be a great vehicle for classic literature. Developed by the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project (CASP) as part of an English education folio, ‘Speare is an arcade game that targets curricular literacy goals by playing with words, phrases and facts based on Romeo and Juliet. The game also promotes effective communication by portraying the classic tragedy as a community’s failure to communicate effectively and solve its conflicts.

“We worked with several school boards and did extensive testing of ‘Speare,” said Daniel T. Fischlin, Director of the CASP and Professor at the School of English and Theatre Studies at Guelph University. “We saw test scores on beta-testing… [where] students who were asked a set series of literacy questions before they played the game improved their scores by up to 80 percent when presented with a similar set of questions at the end of an hour of playing the game.”

“This indicated to us how powerful the medium is for conveying information in a way that connects with a space that youth spend considerable time in,” added Fischlin, in an interview with Game Forward.

However, Fischlin questions some mainstream game developers’ ability to effectively create truly educational products. Companies like Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft may publish dozens of educationally-inspired titles every year, but their products could benefit from the knowledge and methods developed by researchers like Fischlin. On the other hand, in order to reach the market, research-based game projects require funds to invest.

“We produced two games on a shoestring budget and with a huge amount of personal effort,” explains Fischlin. “We would be open to commercialization with a company that could take what we’ve done and improve the interface and place the games in a distribution network with proper access to the market.”

Public appeals such as the one made by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center may lead to future partnerships in curriculum-based video game development. This niche industry could well become highly lucrative in coming years. Some experts even argue that mainstream games also hold educational potential, something mainstream video game companies or their marketing teams are wise to consider.

“I definitely feel that mainstream video games have a lot of educational value,” said David Hutchison, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, Brock University, when speaking with Game Forward. “Many genres of mainstream video games have a lot to offer in terms of curriculum integration.”

In his opinion, while teachers facing pressure to efficiently meet curriculum requirements currently limits the integration of video games in the classroom, there are other options. Hutchison is the author of an in-class activity guide, Playing to Learn, which uses video game themes to teach a range of subjects. Specifically targeted at 4th to 12th grade students, the book offers an opportunity for teachers to explore school subjects in a manner which speaks to today’s students.

“Referencing video games in the classroom can help to connect the curriculum that needs to be covered to students out-of-school interests which itself serves to engage students in learning and help them retain the content they are being taught,” says Hutchison, who uses video games as cultural reference points rather than direct tools. “I was able to make links between video games and virtually every subject area that is addressed in schools.”

Whether it is through their themes or their ability to engage the students who play them, video games are proving worthy tools in the classroom. It may take time to thoroughly convince policy makers of the effectiveness of the medium, but by bringing attention to the need for funding of educational games, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center is helping ensure more kids benefit from games in education in the future. In the meantime, literacy games like ’Speare and game-themed activities like in Playing to Learn are valuable examples in favour of integrating educational video games into a curriculum.

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BATTLE SHOCK REVIEW
BATTLE SHOCK REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

By incorporating real-time strategy and tower defense conventions, Battle Shock rises above other castle defense games on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. This flick-based title features 100 waves of increasingly tough enemies to thwart, multiple upgrades and an attractive presentation; all for less than the price of a candy bar.

The concept of Battle Shock sees players assuming the role of a young wizard whose mentor has recently passed away. Your castle’s enemies are using the opportunity to attack and it is up to you to defend it and save the townsfolk by unleashing powerful plasma balls, placing archers and managing your castle’s repairs.

The enemy onslaught begins with waves consisting of a few infantry rushing towards your castle from the top of the screen. These initial waves are easily dispatched by using the core mechanic of flicking plasma balls towards enemy soldiers. As you defeat soldiers you will score points, but more importantly you will gather resources which can be used to upgrade your magic attacks, purchase archers and make repairs to your castle.

As you upgrade your plasma ball, it will not only become more powerful, but it will split into smaller balls which makes clusters of enemies a little easier to deal with as Battle Shock ramps up in difficulty. A Shockwave attack can be also be purchased and is particularly effective against closely grouped foes. This attack is executed by simply holding your finger in the place you want the attack to be triggered.

The Last Resort can be used to electrify your castle walls and damage any invaders near it and becomes a necessary tool as knights, horsemen, battering rams and catapults begin to appear in the enemy waves. The flipside is that the castle also suffers damage when executing the Last Resort defense by touching your castle with two fingers.

Archers are an effective way to thin out enemy waves as well, though it should be noted that you receive no score for any enemies killed by your archers and only half the resources of those killed by plasma ball or shockwave attacks. Despite the drawbacks, archers also become necessary as the game progresses. They can be upgraded to have more strength, defense and a greater attack range, with the highest level reaching across the entire battlefield.

The battlefield itself presents a number of obstacles like trees and rock formations that can help or hinder you depending on their placement. Though the battlefield remains the same from wave to wave, it seems to be randomly generated every time you start a new game of Battle Shock, helping the title feel fresh after multiple plays and adding a layer of strategy normally absent in castle defense titles.

Another thing that really sets Battle Shock apart from competition like Defend Your Castle and StickWars is its top-down view. While I found the linear or isometric view in those games tended to make things frantic and chaotic, Battle Shock feels more familiar and manageable, like an older real-time strategy game.

The presentation of Battle Shock also evokes classics like Command & Conquer or Warcraft. Though small, all of the enemy types are richly detailed and easy to distinguish from each other. Each enemy unit also has a health bar and despite there sometimes being dozens of them on the screen at once, the game hardly ever stutters or slows down.

The music is cinematic in quality and suits the feeling of an epic battle, though it does loop frequently. As of version 1.1 there is no option to listen to your iPhone/iPod Touch music library while you play. The sound effects can become a bit grating, if only for the fact that there seems to be one enemy death sound and it is repeated all-too often.

At $0.99, Battle Shock is easy to recommend to fans of strategy and defense games or those looking for some fast-paced action. It feels different every time you play thanks to the robust upgrade system and randomly generated battlefields, creating a great value. There is also a lot of potential here and I’d love to see future updates or sequels include things like online leaderboards or a multiplayer mode in which you both defend a castle as well as launch attacks on your opponents’.


Positives:

+ Overhead View is Unique in the Genre
+ Upgrades and Random Battlefields Keep Things Fresh
+ Detailed Graphics

Negatives:

– No Multiplayer Modes

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Exorcist Review
Exorcist Review 150 150 GAMESFWD

A unique premise and gameplay mechanic help to set Exorcist apart from the crowded puzzle genre on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. This title utilizes both the touch and accelerometer capabilities of the iPhone/iPod Touch quite well and features worldwide online rankings. Exorcist is limited to only one game mode, though because of this it becomes a great short-session game.

Exorcist falls directly into the category of game that is easy to pick up and difficult to master. There is really only one goal to achieve and one mechanic to grasp, but doing so requires quick reflexes, some strong hand-eye coordination and a bit of brain muscle.  I have never played a game that uses a mechanic quite like Exorcist, but I will do my best to explain it. More…

The play field in Exorcist is a circle broken up into quadrants. The main goal is to fill each quadrant with four components; a Bat, an Eyeball, a Spider and a Snake to create spells. These components will appear in buckets around the circle and you move them into the quadrants by pressing one of four buttons located in the corners of the screen and then tilting your device towards the component you want to capture as a wand spins around the circle like the hand of a clock. Trust me; it’s not nearly as complicated as it looks in writing.

The components will appear as one of three colours and if you are able to fill a quadrant with four components of the same colour you will receive a score bonus and gain a life. Free lives will also appear as a heart in one of the buckets from time to time. Lives are lost when you leave a component in a bucket for too long. At first, this is a non-issue, but as the game speeds up it can be difficult to match components in time.

A Mana Jar will also be filled when you fill a quadrant with four components of the same colour. Once you fill half of the Mana Jar with one colour, it can only be filled with that colour. You can also touch a half-filled jar to empty it and start filling it with a different colour.

Once the Mana Jar is filled, you can touch it and use one of three spells depending on the colour that it was filled with. Yellow is Time Mana, which slows the game down for ten seconds. Blue Explosive Mana clears all the quadrants and green Mana replaces all of the components in buckets with a Skull that can be used as a wild card.

The control method in Exorcist does take some getting used to and there were a few times when I first started playing that I felt overwhelmed and a bit frustrated. It only took about half an hour to really get used to it though and started to feel quite natural at that point. The game is best played with your device held flat and it will be calibrated every time you start or continue a game.

The art style in Exorcist is what I would describe as cartoon horror. The play field is surrounded by a scene featuring a spooky, glowing house some old-looking trees and even a headstone. The component shapes are easily distinguishable from each other and their bright colours stand out against a dark background.

The music and sound effects in Exorcist really help to establish a mood and suit the theme of the game perfectly. The production on the music and sound effects is above average, featuring rich, full, warm-sounding tones. My only complaint is that the sound level is a bit soft overall and I needed to turn up my device quite high to appreciate it. You can also listen to music from your device’s library while retaining the game’s sound effects should you choose.

It is difficult for me to award Exorcist an above-average score simply because there is not a whole lot to it. What is there however is refined and well done and I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with the game quite a bit. I find myself getting a bit farther every time I play and the action is fast enough to keep me playing when I lose; a good sign for any puzzle game. Exorcist is most enjoyable in short sessions and is perfect for a short bus or train ride. Just be sure to look up once in a while so you don’t miss your stop.

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X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE REVIEW
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

The Wii version of  X-Men Origins: Wolverine suffers from just about every problem common to movie-licensed video games. While the combat system can be fun for a couple of hours, the game is heavily weighed down by repetitive enemies and bosses, poorly implemented and archaic design choices and a downright ugly presentation.

After seeing how well the Uncaged Edition of X-Men Origins: Wolverine for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was being received by fans and the gaming press alike, I had somewhat high hopes that the Wii version would be competent as well. These hopes were dashed within ten minutes of starting the game as I failed an obtuse quick time event and saw the game over screen before being forced to watch an unskippable cut scene for the second time.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the tale of a man that sets out for revenge after the woman he loves is brutally murdered in the Canadian wilderness. I haven’t seen the film, but it seems that this game parallels that story more so than the Uncaged Edition. Though it is rather generic and predictable, the story will undoubtedly be the highlight of the game for X-Men or Wolverine fans who end up playing this version of the game.

Almost immediately, it becomes clear that this version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine fell victim to the same fate that many licensed games on Wii do. It is a direct port of the PlayStation 2 version and was likely rushed to completion in order to get it released at the same time as the movie. Developer Amaze Entertainment (Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Shrek the Third) have also implemented quite a few design choices that would have felt bad even five years ago such as invisible walls, hordes of mindless and generic enemies and doors that magically unlock after defeating said enemies.

Should you be able to overlook these core flaws, you will be left with a completely linear gameplay experience that lasts five or six hours and has little to no replay value. Players are tasked with simply moving from area to area while clearing out enemies that seem to spawn out of nowhere. There are some very light environmental puzzles to solve, but it is next to impossible to get stuck in this game.

Along the way, you will also be thrust into quite a few quick time events (QTEs) that are more annoying than challenging or skill-testing. QTEs are used to open doors, lunge to otherwise inaccessible areas and frequently during the game’s few, repeated boss fights. In many cases, failing a QTE will result in you seeing the game over screen and having to restart a section. I found this extremely frustrating at times, given that the game often gives you a three second window to perform an action, but rarely tells you which action. In one case, I actually found myself having to not perform an action in order to progress, though the game was telling me to.

Thankfully, X-Men Origins: Wolverine autosaves after every single section of the game, so you’ll never have to repeat more than a few minutes should you run out of energy, or experience the more common scenario of failing a QTE or mistakenly falling out of a level. I found this title rather easy from start to finish and little besides my patience was challenged during my play through.

A RPG-like upgrade system is in place, with health and attack enhancements available for purchase using experience points earned from felling enemies, completing missions or finding hidden observer droids. While it was satisfying to upgrade my health bar or unlock a combo, I quickly found that Wolverine became overpowered, taking away what little challenge or satisfaction the God of War inspired combat system started out with.

There is a rather deep combo system in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, however the game can be beaten by simply mashing on the attack buttons and without blocking enemy attacks. I was pleased that attacks were mapped to the B and Z buttons rather than to a Wii Remote or Nunchuck motion. Motion controls are almost exclusive to QTEs and rarely require any degree of accuracy. My biggest complaint about the controls is that as a port of a PS2 game, no Classic Controller support was added. Not only would the option provide greater accessibility for physically disabled players, it simply feels more natural for this type of game.

Speaking about accessibility, or lack thereof, X-Men Origins: Wolverine has no subtitles for people who are hard of hearing. I feel that subtitles, along with customizable control schemes should be standard across all games and platforms at this point and that there is no excuse not to implement these options.

The principal cast of the movie including actor-producer Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber lend their voice talents to the game, though the performances unsurprisingly feel lifeless and phoned-in. The enemies you dispatch always seem to have something to say, but this chatter is limited to a few phrases that repeat ad nauseum and sound like they were all recorded by the same voice actor. The rest of the audio presentation really fares no better. The soundtrack is extremely generic and sounds like that of countless action games and movies before it.

The graphics look quite bad, even by PS2 standards. This title does run in 16:9 and 480p, but suffers from a completely erratic frame rate, blurry textures and a bland colour palette primarily made up of greys and greens. The story is told through a patchwork of down sampled movies from the PS3/Xbox 360 version, in-game cut scenes and written text in between some missions. The whole package feels disjointed and unfinished and the end of the game is completely anti-climactic, offering little satisfaction when the surprisingly long credits roll.

At first, I thought that this T-rated version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine would be a viable alternative for parents of young fans over the brutally mature and bloody PS3/Xbox 360 version, but I was quite mistaken. The blood is toned down quite a bit in this version but it is still rather prevalent. I was also surprised at how much foul language was in this title. Because of this, it’s hard to find an audience to recommend this version of the game to.

Frankly, unless the Wii is the only console available in your household and you are nothing but the hugest of Wolverine or X-Men fans I would suggest steering clear of the Wii version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine entirely. The Uncaged Edition on other consoles is a much better and viscerally satisfying experience for those looking for some mature God of War or Conan-style action and the DS edition is much more suited to a younger audience.

Positives:

+ Combat System can be Fun

Negatives:

– Ugly Presentation
– Disjointed Story
– Repetitive Enemies and Boss Fights
– More Frustrating than Challenging

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