Articles tagged "religion, miis, wii, nintendo"

News

Can bigger screens save a shrinking market?

by Brian Crecente [Kotaku.com (MCT)]

[3.Nov.09] :. News of a new, extra-large, extra-priced portable from Nintendo was met more with confusion than enthusiasm when it was unveiled last week. The DSi XL has screens that are an inch bigger than the...

PopWire

News

When the going gets tough ... let the game play itself

by Brian Crecente [McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)]

[14.Oct.09] :. Like many younger brothers I had a contentious relationship with my older brother. We butted heads, fought, lied, accused each other of unimaginable atrocities and genuinely despised one another...

PopWire

News

Nintendo cuts price of Wii console to $199

by Dan Gallagher [MarketWatch (MCT)]

[25.Sep.09] :. SAN FRANCISCO — Nintendo Ltd. cut the price of its popular Wii console by $50 to $199, the latest price reduction by video game console makers who have watched sales fall sharply over the last...

PopWire

Books Review

Believer, Beware, ed. by Jeff Sharlet and Peter Manseau

by Oliver Ho

[9.Sep.09] :. How does a person live with the concepts of religious belief or non-belief without falling prey to fundamentalism or intolerance, or simply feeling foolish?

Recent Book reviews

News

A reignited console war means a happy holiday for gamers

by Brian Crecente [Kotaku.com (MCT)]

[1.Sep.09] :. The long-simmering war between the Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 has boiled over in time for the holidays thanks to dual price drops that put all three consoles within $50 of each other. In a much...

PopWire

Film DVD Review

Audience of One

by Shaun Huston

[31.Aug.09] :. Director Michael Jacobs resists simplifying his subject, leaving viewers to come to their own conclusions about pastor Richard Gazowky, who he is, and why he wants to make his movie.

Recent DVD reviews

The Evolution of God by Robert Wright

by Michael Patrick Brady

[4.Aug.09] :. In Wright's view, biological evolution is an engine for the development of higher intelligence, which contrasts with the more traditional, scientific view that higher intelligence is merely a lucky break in a chaotic and complicated process.

Nintendo’s Niceness Problem

by Mike Schiller

[4.Jun.09] :. Nintendo might do well to remember that we, as gamers, crave a challenge every once in a while.

The $80 million inspiration for Disney’s latest Wii game

by Brian Crecente [Kotaku.com (MCT)Movies, books, comics, even a 14th century poem have inspired video games, but Toy Story Mania! is the first gam]

[12.May.09] :. Movies, books, comics, even a 14th century poem have inspired video games, but Toy Story Mania! is the first game designed to recreate a Disney ride experience. Toy Story Mania! is being developed...

Adult gaming on the DS: the Chinatown conundrum

by Brian Crecente [Kotaku.com (MCT)]

[22.Apr.09] :. With 100 million DS and DSi in the hands of gamers worldwide, Nintendo’s portable is a mighty tempting platform for developers. So why are only seven of the nearly 1,100 games for the DS rated...

Could the future of gaming be console free?

by Brian Crecente [Kotaku.com (MCT)]

[31.Mar.09] :. Last week’s annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco gave gamers a tantalizing glimpse at things to come in the world of interactive entertainment. While the week of talks,...

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2

by Arun Subramanian

[18.Mar.09] :. The reality is that both American Idol and karaoke are conceptually voyeuristic endeavors for the audience. But for the participants, the competitiveness of a contest like American Idol doesn't necessarily translate.

TWiG 2009-03-16: A Very Portable St. Patty’s Day

by Mike Schiller

[16.Mar.09] :. New releases for the week of 2009-03-16...

Ultimate Shooting Collection

by Mike Schiller

[2.Mar.09] :. Space shooters: where the art is in the execution.

SimAnimals

by G. Christopher Williams

[27.Feb.09] :. This simulation of animal behavior may further the Sim-franchise's interests in simulating human behavior.

SPRay

by Arun Subramanian

[25.Feb.09] :. While plenty of games have been very clearly inspired by Super Mario 64, SPRay might be the first that's drawn so directly from the underrated Super Mario Sunshine.

Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine (Wii Version)

by G. Christopher Williams

[16.Feb.09] :. If you really like the experience of chopping a lot, you're gonna love Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine.

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars

by L.B. Jeffries

[9.Feb.09] :. For all the innovation in Mushroom Men, it is not applied in a way that suitably overcomes the inherent problems of the genre.

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

by Azmol Meah

[28.Jan.09] :. Surely, after almost four years of the DS being on the market, even the big N must realise that drawing circles on the screen is only fun, like, maybe twice?

Mother 3

by L.B. Jeffries

[21.Jan.09] :. Like No More Heroes, this is a game where your own reactions and views are being toyed with. Unlike that game, however, this one is willing to do so with both humor and tragedy.

Castlevania Judgment

by Arun Subramanian

[19.Jan.09] :. Many of the characters in Judgment seem like caricatures of themselves, their designs clearly influenced a bit too much by Soul Calibur.

Skate It

by Chris Gaerig

[14.Jan.09] :. Skate It stands as one of most realistic skateboarding games ever made while maintaining the playability and casual attitude of its predecessors.

Something to Do with Death

by Marco Lanzagorta

[6.Jan.09] :. By manipulating mankind’s fear of death, organized religion clearly emerges as the most ruthless and totalitarian authority institution in the history of the world.

Dr. Seuss Lives on in World of Goo

by Mike Schiller

[30.Dec.08] :. World of Goo is a work of art in the way that The Butter Battle Book is a work of art. Perhaps it’s too simplistic an assessment, given that the Seussian inspiration that...

Quantum of Solace

by Chris Gaerig

[10.Dec.08] :. What truly shines in Quantum of Solace is the single player mode, not the multiplayer that the series has become notorious for.

Fault Lines by Nancy Huston

by Diane Leach

[8.Dec.08] :. Erra’s childish recounting of body parts that grow and those that don’t, including a count of her own lost baby teeth, is a rare moment where the narrator truly is only six.

Art Style: Rotohex

by L.B. Jeffries

[26.Nov.08] :. For all intents and purposes, Art Style: Rotohex is Tetris with triangles.

Sam & Max: Season One

by L.B. Jeffries

[21.Nov.08] :. For a player wanting a good laugh, Sam & Max delivers.

WiiWare: Tetris Party

by Chris Gaerig

[20.Nov.08] :. A look at the latest iteration of Tetris via Nintendo's WiiWare.

Wii Music

by Chris Gaerig

[14.Nov.08] :. Where Miyamoto says you're creating music, you're actually just creating varying rhythms, stringing together eighth and sixteenth notes.

Love Marriage by V. V. Ganeshananthan

by Shyam K. Sriram

[6.Nov.08] :. At the intersection of works on nationalism, cultural identity, and Sri Lankan history, stands this humble book -- part family history, part war memoir.

Art Style: Orbient

by L.B. Jeffries

[27.Oct.08] :. How does one evaluate the challenge of a game that features an entirely unique play style?

The Console War

by L.B. Jeffries

[21.Oct.08] :. A Dramatization of the Console War of 2008.

de Blob

by Cole Stryker

[20.Oct.08] :. de Blob is imbued with the same sort of grinding, childlike Zen that Katamari Damacy perfected.

Religion on prime-time TV? Now it’s mostly the Gospel According to Cable

by Neal Justin [Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT)]

[15.Oct.08] :. Network television has long believed in the teachings of teenage vampire slayers, talking cars, bionic crime fighters and planet-hopping ambassadors, but has had little faith in one otherwise...

Wario Land: Shake It!

by Jason Cook

[13.Oct.08] :. Wario Land: Shake It! may be the best post-modern video game ever.

Bill Maher hopes to get people thinking with his tirade against organized religion

by Roger Moore [The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)]

[2.Oct.08] :. ORLANDO, Fla.—Never let it be said that Bill Maher ran away from a fight. The comic and cultural critic is famous for questioning and ridiculing America’s sacred cows. With his new film,...

Adventure: Adventure

by Timothy Gabriele

[1.Oct.08] :. Carpark continues to document Wham City's enchantment with juvenalia, this time taking on some chiptune teenage victory songs.

Wonder World Amusement Park

by Glenn McDonald

[17.Sep.08] :. Carnival games on the Wii is a great idea whose time has come -- and apparently gone -- without any developer truly realizing the potential of the concept.

Space Chimps

by Glenn McDonald

[3.Sep.08] :. As a movie, Space Chimps tanked pretty hard. As a videogame, though, it's got a lot going for it.

Wii Fit

by L.B. Jeffries

[25.Jul.08] :. L.B. Jeffries offers his experiences with eight weeks of Wii Fit training.

Pop Culture: Finding Meaning and Purpose in the Neighborhood

by Rev. Doug Gebhard

[23.Jul.08] :. Whether intentionally spiritual or not, popular culture and its products serve many of the same drives of religion: making meaning and forging the bonds of community.

Opoona

by Jason Cook

[23.Jul.08] :. Opoona fails as a character because he's a weird little bulbous alien with a pom-pom on his head named Opoona.

No one’s a winner in E3’s console wars

by Victor Godinez [The Dallas Morning News (MCT)]

[22.Jul.08] :. Worst. E3. Ever. I wasn’t expecting much, but what transpired in Los Angeles at the annual video-game conference last week was a pretty big waste of time. MICROSOFT Microsoft scored...

Deca Sports

by Mike Schiller

[14.Jul.08] :. There's a psychological advantage to a game that allows you to play as yourself, or at least as someone created by yourself, as opposed to one that simply offers someone who looks a little like you.

At the Bottom of the Uncanny Valley, Volume 1: Gordon Ramsay

by Mike Schiller

[11.Jul.08] :. Poor Gordon has seen better days.

“Swiper, No Swiping!”: The Demonology of Dora the Explorer

by Dennis P. Quinn

[1.Jul.08] :. With his moral ambiguity, ritualistic expulsions, and trickster ways, Dora the Explorer's Swiper is an archetypal image of the diabolical fox-spirit in the history of religions -- which might be an unacknowledged lesson for children.

The Word of God by Thomas M. Disch

by Erik Hinton

[27.Jun.08] :. This reads as if Italo Calvino was somewhat slow and raised on MTV, but had tried to write If on a winter’s night a traveler …” , anyway.

Boom Blox

by Arun Subramanian

[20.Jun.08] :. The different weights of blocks and projectiles alike are so well realized, they are almost tactile.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

by Mike Schiller

[9.Jun.08] :. Seeing Sonic and Mario alongside each other in the same game is still a synapse fryer along the lines of seeing Mickey Mouse guest star as a cadaver on CSI. Something about it just...ain't...right.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darknes

by Michael Abbott

[6.Jun.08] :. While it may be unfair to expect randomly generated dungeons to approach the kinds of visual variety found in Zelda games, it's a shame more of the Pokémon aesthetic couldn't be carried through inside the dungeons.

Battle of the Bands

by G. Christopher Williams

[4.Jun.08] :. "Mama Said Knock You Out" becomes a whole different song when sung by a jug band.

Sega Bass Fishing Returns!

by Arun Subramanian

[22.May.08] :. Arun Subramanian takes a look at the recent Wii release of the Dreamcast/arcade fishing sim Sega Bass Fishing.

Mario Kart Wii

by Cole Stryker

[14.May.08] :. Mario Kart Wii has reached critical mass levels of madcappery.

Worms: A Space Oddity

by Cole Stryker

[7.May.08] :. Worms: A Space Oddity's most crushing failure is the absence of the ninja rope.

TWiG 2008-05-05: Like Jenga, But With More Explosions

by Mike Schiller

[5.May.08] :. New releases for the week of 2008-05-05...