Game! Website Articles - December 27, 2010

Super Meat Boy’s too chunky for WiiWare #

Those of you waiting for a WiiWare version of the hit indie platformer Super Meat Boy (that means you two in the corner there), save yourselves the heartache; because of the service’s 40 megabyte file size limit, the game won’t be released on Nintendo’s virtual store.

The news came on Dec. 24 from Team Meat – the developers of Super Meat Boy – via their Twitter account. “ATTENTION: there will not be a Wiiware version of SMB. we are looking in to retail Wii, bit its also looking grim. still looking though.”

Confirmation about the maximum file size cap being the cause for cancellation came to Joystiq first. “There is no way to avoid the fact that if we released a 40MB version of Super Meat Boy it would be a shit version of the game,” Edmund McMillen of Team Meat told Joystiq. “It’s a lose-lose situation, but the fact of the matter is if we release a shitty game, we will have to live with that for the rest of our careers and have to cop to the fact that it is a shitty game.”

Among the cuts made in order to reduce the game’s size are high score leaderboards, Dark World levels, DLC support, and even music in boss fights and cutscenes.

It’s worth noting that while 40MB doesn’t seem like a lot to work with, some great games have managed to work with less. Nintendo 64 cartridges rarely held more than 32MB worth of data, and for a modern example, World of Goo – another indie underdog story – has already been published on WiiWare.

Yet another sports game for the Wii #

Nintendo recently announced the release date of its latest compilation game, Mario Sports Mix. It’s slated to go on sale in the USA on February 7, 2011. Why not go for a Valentine’s Day release? Because Nintendo reserved February 14 for Dragon Quest VI on the DS, that’s why. What’s interesting to note about this particular minigame collection (because let’s face it, that’s what they are – small games) is that the team developing it isn’t Nintendo, but Square Enix instead.

The choice of developer involves more than just talent, but iconic characters as well. Aside from the usual lineup of Mario and the gang, playable characters include Ninja, Black Mage, White Mage, Moogle, and Cactuar. Sorry, ladies, no Cloud, Squall, or Sazh for you!

Mario Sports Mix pits up to four players against each other in basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, and/or hockey teams. Choice of multiplayer includes local and online flavors.

Lara Croft reboots on the iOS #

Critically acclaimed Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light flips over to the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad after making her debut on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC platforms earlier this year. How much of the original did Square Enix manage to cram into the portable iOS? Quite a lot, actually.

The isometric, action-oriented and arcade-inspired Lara Croft reboot translates quite well to the iOS’s sparse controls. On the consoles and PC, the primary actions – moving and shooting – followed a dual analog stick control scheme, with the left controlling movement and the right pointing the guns and firing. The secondary controls like jumping and dodging, however, fall prey to the usual problem of finicky, sometimes unresponsive on-screen buttons. Touchpad controls are never perfect replacements, and Guardian of Light is no exception from getting it only half right.

In terms of graphics, the game still looks stunning on the iPhone/iPod Touch, and it’s available in HD for the iPad, probably because the details are too small to be judged as critically as on the consoles. The reduced screen size does make it a pain to locate Lara sometimes, especially considering how small she was rendered in the console versions.

All in all, it’s a well-done port that falls prey to the usual problems of iOS games not designed with touchscreen controls or a 4-inch screen in mind. Thankfully, multiplayer via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on the iOS is provided right off the bat, something the console cousins have had to wait for.