Consoles, Games and Emulators.

Imagine the Landmake system from Legend of Mana (where you basically take little bits of land and create your own custom world), but in full 3D with much more ability for customization.

Sony’s Dark Cloud is a 3D role-playing game that sports incredible graphics (no surprise there) and an interesting game system. Basically, try and imagine the Landmake system from Legend of Mana (where you basically take little bits of land and create your own custom world), but in full 3D with much more ability for customization.

Basically, you create your own world and then explore it. The viewing distance from what we’ve seen is amazing - the game switches from the overhead ‘creation’ map to the actual 3D world on the fly (there’s no changing of screens or anything - it just zooms down until you’re in the actual world). It’s very cool. For those of you who care, SCEI is calling this a “Georama RPG,” which we can only imagine means “geographical drama RPG.” What will they think of next?

We can’t answer that, but we can tell you that when more Dark Cloud details are available, you’ll read them here.

Dark Angel takes place 13 years since the Warlord Yagma, lord of the land of Gothos, first came to power after making a pact with the Vampire underworld, casting the people of Gothos into oppression.

Because of the industry consolidation that has been going on in the past 18 months, new publishers have been few and far between. One of the exceptions is a new San Jose, Calif. based company called Metro3D. Founded with private money prior to E3 by former senior Capcom executives George Nakayama and Joe Morici, Metro3D has announced its intent to support Nintendo and Sega platforms in its first year via the Game Boy Color, the N64 and the Dreamcast. Some of the more notable titles include Bubble Bobble for the Game Boy Color and Armada, which is due shortly after the Dreamcast launch. However the most intriguing title in the Metro3D stable is Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse, a fast-paced action-RPG.

Considering its title, Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse (hereafter DA) is not surprisingly a Gothic fantasy story. It takes place 13 years since the Warlord Yagma, lord of the land of Gothos, first came to power after making a pact with the Vampire underworld, casting the people of Gothos into oppression. Your character is Anna, a young woman of unusual strength and endurance. The implication of vampires and superhuman strength is obvious but not stated. The inhabitants of Gothos are dying from a slow and painful unknown disease whose victims are transformed into hideous gibbering mutants.It is Anna’s mission to discover her origin, find out why she has such superhuman powers, and defeat Warlord Yagma.

As is the case with most Dreamcast games, the DA team is building the game engine from scratch, working specifically within the strengths of the machine. Metro3D’s engine supports standard 3D collision and physics along with “inverse kinematic components and special effects similar to the sword-slash streaks in Soul Calibur.”

Leading the Metro3D team is ten-year industry veteran Mark Jordan, best known for Star Command: Deluxe. His 21-person team is composed of a large number of experienced members, including some ex-Atari and THQ staffers. The team has also worked on Armada, but this is its most ambitious title to date.

We asked Jordan why he chose this particular story. “The story of Dark Angel grew out of our fascination with gothic fantasy, our love of stylish characters, and our desire to make an epic game,” he said. “It is what the team wanted to make, a fun, fast-paced game filled with intelligent allies and enemy creatures.”

These allies and enemy creatures feature a lot of animation sets. Each monster has roughly 16 of these animations. The standard moves are walk, run, attack, shake (from a hit), and die. The Imp character, however, will also cower in fear, sneak up on you from behind, jump on the back of a large monster and ride it, climb walls, and, when cornered, beg for its life. Mark gives such titles as Diablo, Strider, and Fallout as some of the previous games that inspired the team. This is particularly noticeable in the overall structure of the game. Unlike the many level-based games currently scheduled for the Dreamcast, DA is structured like Fallout in that you can travel to a large number of locations, and save anywhere during gameplay.

The locations in the game run the gamut from indoors to outdoor - with caves, dungeons, forest, oceans, and mountains all being featured. Also, the infected inhabitants turn up in a secret laboratory where a mad scientist tries to transform them into monstrous soldiers. Weather is also an important part of the presentation, with lightning storms are told to be particular quite impressive. Correctly implemented, these weather effects will allow the same landscape to become two different playing experiences.

Gothos is not a static land, and neither are its people. As Anna moves throughout the different locations in the game, events can occur to a place after she has already left it. A thriving city she has visited recently can fall victim to a plague by the time Anna returns. Similarly, the people will remember each interaction with Anna and react accordingly the next time she visits. Better to leave a place on good terms than to cause trouble only to discover that an important part of the story must be resolved in a place you’d prefer not to return to. The game features no specific additional in-game cutscenes, but rather the storyline will unfold during the natural gameplay.

Your view will change depending on the situation; Zelda 64 was cited as a game that changed the player’s perspective in a similar way. Similarly, overall weapon combat will have a Zelda 64 or Tenchu feel, if not somewhat a quicker one

There’s also a lot of speech in the game and a strong character-interaction emphasis. Again Jordan explains, “There will be a couple hours of speech in the game, but we do not lock up your gameplay while people talk. just talk to you when you are near and fade out if you walk away.”

The Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit (VMU) is certainly starting to impact game design. Here, the VMU will let you build up the ability and skill of Anna, along with special items such as new melee weapons, special magic tools, and spells. Multiple spells are available within the game, including those that make Anna a blur of motion or turn her invisible, and the special magic tools feature such items as the staff of healing. There are ten weapons in all, including a shadow knife, soul hammer, demon blade, and skull -cleaver. All these items can also be traded to other players using their VMUs.

Nakayama, who serves as the president of Metro3D, and Morici, who is the company’s VP of sales and marketing had an impressive track record at Capcom with the successful launches of such franchises as Street Fighter II and Megaman. Metro3D’s ability to understand the market and become a player in the profitable handheld segment, while also investing in new technologies, bodes well for this fledgling publisher. Ultimately, the strength of the product will be the deciding factor. Filled with classic RPG and adventure-game ingredients, such as good vs. evil, epic battles, mystery, and even romance Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse has every opportunity to make a name for Metro3D.
-Gam

Set in an age of Civil War in Japan, when Nobunaga Oda ruled, the highly anticipated new game will bring Resident Evil gameplay to the medieval age.

Flagship, Yoshiki Okamoto’s company, is developing Onimusha. The game’s premise revolves around your kidnapped cousin who needs to be rescued. To save your cousin, you must explore an ominous castle. And in typical Resident Evil fashion, this castle will include an abundance of traps, puzzles, and other obstacles.

Onimusha will be released this fall in Japan, with a US release date expected to follow sometime shortly after.

We travel back in time and assume the role of a saber-toothed squirrel as we check out the Wii version of this movie-inspired platformer.

Released for last-generation consoles earlier this year, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown is an enjoyable platform game that’s inspired by (rather than closely based on) the movie of the same name. In the game you’ll spend the vast majority of your time playing as Scrat–a saber-toothed squirrel with a penchant for all things nutty and a rare talent for getting himself into trouble. We recently had an opportunity to spend some quality time with the upcoming Wii version of the game, and we’re pleased to report that we had a lot of fun doing so.

Assuming the role of Scrat at the start of the game, your first task will simply be to collect as many nuts as you can find in the first area. The nuts are generally arranged in such a way that they lead you through each location in a linear fashion, but exploration is definitely encouraged and, more often than not, rewarded. To progress from one area to the next, you’ll have to locate all of the golden walnuts in the level, which invariably means straying from the most obvious path and putting all of Scrat’s skills to good use.

Early on, Ice Age 2 does a good job of easing you into its control scheme, which has been completely reworked to take advantage of the Wii controllers’ unique capabilities. Basic movement and jumping is handled using the Nunchuk’s analog stick and the Wii Remote’s A button, while the camera can be repositioned at any time using the directional pad. Attacks are performed by moving the Wii Remote in any direction, and by combining attacks with jumps, it’s possible to perform rolling and stomping moves. A powerful spinning attack is also available, though only when you’ve powered up your energy bar by collecting fruit. Initially, the only use you’ll have for attack moves is smashing open blocks of ice to collect the nuts encased inside them, but it’s not long before enemies such as boars, bats, beetles, and bears start showing up. Other controls that you’ll be introduced to as you progress through the first few areas include using the C button to read signposts and to sniff out hidden nuts, moving the Wii Remote left and right to dig up buried items and to climb slippery surfaces, and throwing pebbles at enemies using the trigger buttons. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown’s controls are uncomplicated, and at least in the early portion of the game, onscreen icons and signposts will appear quite regularly as a reminder of how certain actions are performed.

In addition to all of the running around and nut-collecting that you’ll be doing, Ice Age 2 boasts a number of minigames that you’ll be required to beat before you can progress through the story. For example, the first is a simplistic stealth game in which you’ll have to collect nuts inside a cave while avoiding rustling bushes and the gaze of an irritable saber-toothed tiger. Anytime the tiger turns around to look at you, you’ll have to press a button to play dead until he turns his back again. Other minigames that we played during our time with Ice Age 2 included 10-pin bowling with penguins instead of pins, a shooting-gallery-style game in which we were tasked with throwing pebbles at monkeys, and a perilous ride down a lengthy ice slide littered with obstacles.

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for the Wii looks really promising right now and is certainly a good example of how Wii-specific controls can be worked into existing games. We look forward to bringing you more information on the game as its December release date closes in.

We attended a special Nintendo UK event to play Wii Sports Boxing.

Wii Sports is set to be one of the most played games this Christmas, given that it will launch free with the Wii console in the US and Europe. For those who have never heard of the title, it’s a compilation of athletic-themed mini-games which take advantage of the new motion-sensitive controller. In the months since E3 2006, we’ve had a chance to play the majority of the Wii Sports mini-games, but so far Boxing has eluded us. However, at a recent Nintendo preview for the console, we were able to get a hands-on with the missing piece of the puzzle.

Making use of both the Wiimote and nunchuck controller, Boxing is one of the most intuitive games in the Sports package, if not the entire launch line-up. As you’d expect, you hold both the Wiimote and the nunchuck in the upright position by default, and you’re able to use both left and right hooks as well as uppercuts by making those motions. As with real boxing though, half of the sport is keeping yourself protected, so you need to keep the controls in the upright position to stop yourself from getting hurt.

Wii Sports boxing also supports Mii, the character that you create in the main menu to represent you through a variety of Wii games. Boxing itself follows a traditional fighting game model, with a bar at the bottom of the screen to show your health, and a timer that counts down to the end of each round. If your health falls below a certain level then you will become dazed and more prone to attack, and if your opponent lands a knock out punch you’ll be sent falling to the ground. Once on the mat, the referee will count to 10 and you need to wave the controllers frantically in order to recover.

Boxing is pretty undemanding stuff, but that doesn’t stop it from being great fun in the two-player game that we had with a Nintendo representative. You can create your own in-game taunts by spreading your arms apart and welcoming attack, and it’s easy to link up damaging combos from the start. True, the game occasionally misinterprets your movements, but as long as you’re protected when your opponent is coming at you then you can’t go far wrong. We managed to win our first game, and while it was certainly demanding on the physical side, we managed to earn two straight knockouts in that time. Luckily, we’ve got just enough time to get in shape for the full game’s release towards the end of the year.

We talk about 2K Sports’ alternate take on the MLB with producer Dan Brady.

When Take Two secured exclusive third-party publishing rights for Major League Baseball games last year, baseball fans knew it was only a matter of time before 2K Sports began expanding its hardball reach with new titles. The first of those new games is the just-announced arcade baseball title, The BIGS. Heading development of the game is Dan Brady, general manager of the development house behind the BIGS, Blue Castle Games. Brady is no stranger to baseball games, having previously served as technical director for EA Sports’ MVP Baseball series. We recently spoke with Brady about just what to expect from the upcoming game, and how his experience on more-realistic baseball games has informed the making of The BIGS.

GameSpot: What is The BIGS, and how did Blue Castle Games become involved in the project?

Dan Brady: The BIGS is a brand-new take on arcade baseball. In The BIGS, you are going to see all of what makes baseball spectacular, all the time. Our goal is to make the major league players look like heroes when they make the big play, and to make you feel like a king while doing it.

How did Blue Castle become involved? There is a bit of a story there.

Blue Castle Games was formed in early 2005, with the intention of gathering together truly amazing development staff to make great games. As it turned out, the original staff was composed of a significant portion of the senior members of the MVP titles, and some of their really talented friends. We had all worked together over the years, but had been sent in all sorts of different directions as time had passed. Blue Castle represented one more chance for us to reassemble and get back to making great games again.

In the middle of 2005, Blue Castle was contacted by 2K to do something new in the baseball genre. Up until that moment, we were exclusively focused on IP prototyping. We hadn’t considered working on another baseball product, but 2K really impressed us with [its] energy and passion for bringing fresh ideas to the baseball category. Over the last 16 months, we have grown quite a bit. A lot of the former MVP team has joined us, and we have really rounded that out with some extremely talented newcomers. Right now, we’re really excited to be making The BIGS, and to be back in the baseball market.

GS: Your team brings a good amount of baseball game experience to the table. How does your experience on the more realistic MVP series tie in to what you’re creating here?

DB: We learned a lot when we wrote the first MVP title. While it was a great starting point for the franchise, many development mistakes were made that really handcuffed us in future years. Development of The BIGS has gone much more smoothly, and we have a much higher-quality engine than we had before. MVP and The BIGS are very different games. You will feel a sense of familiarity in the design choices that we have made, but our target is something very different.

GS: What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned from previous games that can be applied to The BIGS?

DB: Keep the game to a manageable scope. Always have the game in a playable state. Tune, tune, and then tune some more. At the same time, you always need to listen to the fans, understand the requirements, and stay true to the sport.

GS: Are you starting from scratch with The BIGS, or is there any sharing of technology between your team and Visual Concepts?

DB: The BIGS was started completely from scratch. While we aren’t sharing anything with Visual Concepts, we do have a fantastic dialogue with them. Visual Concepts has an incredible team, and there is a great deal that we are learning from each other.

We’re really excited about the engine that we have created for The BIGS. You’re going to have to take my word for it, but it is better than anything that we have had to work with before. I am really looking forward to showing off the quality of the engine over the next several months, as we move toward final. Some of the details that the team is able to put into the game are absolutely outrageous.

GS: What game modes will be included in The BIGS?

DB: The main mode in The BIGS is called the BIGS League Challenge. The challenge is completely different than a traditional season or franchise mode. You are going to play games, train your players in a number of action-oriented training minigames, earn power-ups, and ultimately struggle to win the World Series. When you play this mode, each team that you face will feel like a unique team. If that team is known for their fielding, then you are really going to feel that in the game–much more so than in other sports games.

To round out the experience, we have a new multiplayer mode, exhibition, online (up to four players), minigames galore, and the standard create-a-player. We also have some quick action-oriented modes in the game. While it is still too early to give out details, there is one that I am particularly excited about: Imagine blending pinball and baseball, and then taking it all to a completely new level.

GS: Tell us about the controls in the game. Are they similar to what we’ve become used to in 2K MLB games, or are you going for something different?

DB: Many of the recent baseball games have felt like they played themselves, while the user merely provided timely decision making. The BIGS really goes the opposite direction. The action is very twitch-based, and when you play the game, there is a sense of direct connection between you and the game that just hasn’t been present in baseball games before.

We’re also pushing hard to create a different feel between the athletes. You’re going to see a lot of uniqueness in the animations, and when a big play happens, it feels huge. Similarly, when you don’t make the big play, your failure is going to be equally spectacular. I really think our game stands on its own as a very different entry to the baseball category.

We hit the dirt with one of the first driving games to arrive on Nintendo’s Wii.

Every console launch needs a good driving game. And with Excite Truck, Nintendo attempts to show you how well the Wii can handle one of gaming’s staple genres. This dirt-track racer will let you drive a variety of four-wheeled vehicles by holding the Wiimote horizontally and tilting it as you would a steering wheel. We tried a preview of the game at Nintendo’s prelaunch event in London, and we managed to play quite a few Excite Race single events.

The preview build of Excite Truck featured tracks in Mexico, Fiji, Canada, and Scotland, all of which varied wildly in terms of design and scenery. In Mexico, wide tracks and numerous bumps provided a gentle introduction to the basics of jumping. In Fiji, however, winding tracks provided more obstacles and water sections. Scotland looked suitably gloomy, with trees to block the path of the more adventurous driver, and castles dotted the scenery to remind you of the venue’s heritage. The graphics were fairly rudimentary, but the designers clearly put some thought into the track layouts.

It will certainly take some time to get used to Excite Truck’s control system, but after a couple of races, we stopped skidding around every corner and finally gained some control of the vehicles. You hold the Wiimote horizontally with your hands placed at each end of the unit. You soon forget you’re holding a bar and a natural steering instinct comes into play. One thumb is placed on the A button to accelerate, and you slow down either by letting go of this button or by performing controlled slides around corners. In addition, you can tilt the Wiimote backward to attain higher jumps at the crest of a hill and forward to bring your car down when it’s in the air.

Your aim in Excite Truck is to earn as many stars as possible by completing challenges throughout the race and finishing the race in the highest position. Numerous bonuses are scattered throughout each race, some of which automatically terraform the track in front of you. Others bonuses draw rings in the air that you need to jump through to earn stars. There are also power-ups, such as boosts, which you can use to power around the track, but less cautious drivers could find themselves ploughing into a roadside obstacle. If you total your car by crashing into an obstacle or another car, you have to tap quickly on the controller to rebuild it. Stars are also awarded for gaining air, and just like in the Mario Kart series, you’re awarded an overall grade at the end of the race.

Of the 11 vehicles that are set to be available in the final game, we got to play with three in our demo–the boulder, firefly, and wolf. These three trucks varied in size, from smaller buggy-style vehicles right up to the full-on trucks that are promised by the game’s title. Each car had a number of paint jobs available, and with six vehicles per race, things can get fairly hectic on the track. The demo we played let us sample the single-race game, but the finished game will provide challenges, a versus mode, and tutorials. It will also feature two levels of difficulty in the form of “excite” and “super excite,” as well as bronze, silver, gold, and platinum level cups to win.

You don’t often hear the words “excite” and “truck” together, but Nintendo’s game looks like it will deliver on both accounts. It also looks as if Excite Truck will be one of the first ways for racing fans to test out the new controller, and on the evidence so far, it should be great fun to play in multiplayer mode. While the jury’s out on whether or not it will provide a long-term challenge, it seems to nail down the simple mechanics that have served previous launch titles, such as WaveRace 64. We’ll find out whether it deserves to make it into your new Wii soon enough, with the game launching on November 19 in the US and on December 8 in Europe.

Wii Play is a collection of nine minigames to be bundled with the Wii Remote controller, and we got a hands-on with the pack before launch.

As the name suggests, Wii Play is all about having fun. A collection of nine minigames that will be bundled with the Wiimote, it’s the perfect introduction to the console’s innovative new control system. It’s unlikely to reside in your new console for long periods at a time, but it still boasts all the wit and charm that we’ve come to expect from Nintendo. We were lucky enough to be invited to Nintendo’s headquarters to play seven of the nine minigames firsthand, and we wasted no time swiping, prodding, and twisting the remote to bring you this preview.

Many of Wii Play’s minigames are tied into Mii, which is Nintendo’s cross-title avatar system. The first game that we played, called shooting range, demanded that you not shoot your in-game representation while protecting it from the threat of alien abductors. Instead of using a gun, you aim by pointing the Wiimote at the screen and pressing B to fire. The game itself is a clear homage to Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and as you shoot down a variety of different targets, ducks will fly by the screen that you can kill for bonuses. Among the targets were tin cans, which you must continually shoot at to keep in the air, as well as balloons and skeets. The best part of the game was the final level, in which you have to stop UFOs from beaming your Mii character into their spaceships for abduction.

The second game, called Find Mii, was a selection of recognition games based on Mii characters. To begin with, all you need to do is pick out the two matching characters from a crowd, but these groups soon become bigger and more difficult to sift through. After this, you have to pick out the Mii in a pool of water that’s swimming the fastest, or find the rebel character that’s doing something different than the rest of the group, such as looking in the wrong direction.

The table tennis game in Wii Play is no match for Rockstar’s take on the sport, as your only action is to move the Wiimote left and right to knock the ball back and forth. As you don’t even need to move the controller in a batting motion, it’s a little too simple at this stage. Far better is the billiards game, if only because there isn’t any other cue-based game available for the console at launch. Before taking a shot with the Wiimote, you can aim the ball up to take the shot and also choose where you want to strike the cue ball. Again, it’s incredibly simple gameplay, but it’s perfectly suited to the Wii controller.

The last few games we played were Pose Mii, laser hockey, and fishing. In Pose Mii, you must adapt your Mii’s pose and fit it into frames that fall from the top of the screen. The character can be moved around the screen with the Wiimote, and its pose can be changed with the A and B buttons. Laser hockey is effectively air hockey with fluorescent lighting, but it’s probably the best two-player game of the collection. The mechanics of Wii Play’s fishing minigame should be familiar to anyone who’s played Nintendo’s own Animal Crossing. You dangle the bait in front of a pool of fish, and if they take the bait, you yank up on the Wiimote to catch them.

Even though we had a good look at Wii Play, there are still two more unlockable games that were not available in the preview build. Nintendo is due to include the game with the Wii Remote at launch, which will retail for £35 in the UK. We look forward to seeing how well it stands up next to other high-profile Wii releases very soon.

We play a round with Tecmo’s upcoming golf game for the Wii.

Super Swing Golf is Tecmo’s upcoming golf game for the Nintendo Wii. Because the veteran Japanese developer has made its name with games featuring ninjas, horses, robots, schoolgirls, ghosts, and monsters, Super Swing represents a new branch on its family tree. The golf game is a no-brainer for the Wii and seems poised to sit alongside Wii Sports as a pick-up-and-play title that makes intuitive use of the Wii controller.

Super Swing Golf is based on the popular PC game called Pangya Golf. The game is in the same vein as Sony’s Hot Shots Golf series and finds you playing golf as one of several different, eclectic characters. You’ll earn money as you play and be able to trick out your character with performance-enhancing accessories. Tecmo has stuck pretty closely to the PC game’s formula and tailored it for console players and the Wii hardware.

You’ll find several different modes, including a story mode, a party mode in which you can play a variety of minigames, and a traditional scoring mode in which you can try to golf your heart out. The game is set to feature a roster of at least seven playable characters, which includes a mix of some seen in the PC game and some original. You’ll test your skills on a minimum of 10 playable courses (Tecmo is aiming for more), which differ in theme and environment.

At the core of the experience is Super Swing’s smart control scheme, which is shaping up to be a promising mix of arcade-style accessibility and traditional golf-sim depth. The Wii controller essentially becomes your golf club. You’ll have to hold it in proper golf stance and swing as you would in real life. The key difference is that the game offers some console perks to keep the experience accessible. You’ll use the A button as your primary input to make selections with the Wiimote, such as your preferred hand and your shot. Once you’re ready to swing, you’ll tap A to switch to swinging, which queues up the in-game power meter that will fill according to how far back you pull. Once you’ve got the meter where you want it, you’ll hit A again to finish your swing by following through. The Wii reads the speed and force of your swing, allowing a good measure of fine control that you can take further by adding spin after you get the hang of things. Players who need a hand with their swing will appreciate the game’s step-by-step sequence of tutorials for you to follow as you swing that helps the action become more comfortable. In addition, you’ll be able to switch clubs and your view by moving the controller with the D pad to get a better idea of the course. Though it took some getting used to, the system feels good and walks a comfortable line between arcade and sim.

The overall presentation in the game is solid and smooth but won’t blow anyone away. The visuals in the game sport a stylized look that’s reminiscent of Sony’s Hot Shots Golf but still looks unique. The character models sport a modest amount of detail and animate well, which works for the game’s cartoony look. Each of the playable characters falls into pretty conventional anime archetypes, so you can plan on seeing a nurse, urban youth, and other everyday folk on hand.

Your helpful caddy, a flying golf bag that’s apparently really happy to be joining you, shows off a good amount of personality. The different courses are set in themed environments that all feature a unique look that ties in to the hazards and course layouts you’ll be dealing with. The game’s frame rate generally moves along at a solid pace while you’re playing or having a look around the course. The audio we heard appears to be taking a low-key approach with peppy tunes, some minor voice, and assorted sound effects to complement the visuals.

Based on what we’ve seen, Super Swing Golf is shaping up to be a good casual title for the Wii. The game’s intuitive control scheme makes good use of the system’s unique controller, and the gameplay seems to be striking the right balance between sim and arcade. Furthermore, Super Swing’s various modes and unlockable content should give the experience some legs once you’ve mastered it. We would like to have seen some online multiplayer of some kind to take advantage of WiiConnect24, but considering the game is slated to be a launch-window title, we expect the team has its hands full. If you’re looking for a complement to Wii Sports or are a fan of golf games, you’ll want to keep an eye out for Super Swing Golf when it ships in December.

How is Atari’s upcoming DBZ fighter fusing with the unique attributes of the Wii? We go hands-on to find out.

Atari’s upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the latest in the company’s successful run of DBZ-inspired fighting games. Though the series has typically led on the PlayStation 2, with the GameCube versions following some time after, this year finds the Nintendo Wii version of the game almost matching its current-gen cousin in development. We’ve seen the game on and off over the past few months and have finally gotten an exclusive peek at a near-final version of the game, which is being polished up for its November launch.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is another chance for fans of the series to reenact their favorite ki-powered beatings by using a who’s who of the Dragon Ball universe, including a roster of more than 100 characters. The game will feature a variety of modes that will let you run through the scenarios from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball GT, with fan-favorite heroes and villains battling it out in 15 environments. The game will once again feature role-playing-game-like features to let you customize your fighters. In terms of content, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is a carbon copy of its current-gen console cousin and features all the gameplay modes and characters found in the PlayStation 2 game.

In lieu of unique modes or characters, control is obviously the big-ticket offering on the Wii. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 offers two major control options, which should cover the bases for all Wii players. The primary control option is using the Wiimote and its analog attachment to fight. The Wiimote scheme has changed since the last time we saw it, as it relies less on frantic waving. The new scheme mixes button pressing with selective waving, which feels a good deal better than the last time we played it. You’ll move your character with the analog stick and perform your primary melee attacks with the A button. Your ki blast will be triggered by the B button. The Wiimote’s D pad will let you block by holding down and find your foe by holding up. You’ll dash by pushing a direction and shaking the analog attachment. You can boost the move up to a super dash by holding down the Z button while you shake.

A few moves will incorporate motions with the remote. For instance, you’ll jump with the C button, and once you’ve taken flight, you can change your height by holding down the button and moving the controller up or down. You’ll trigger each character’s super moves by holding down the Z and B buttons and moving the Wiimote and analog attachment in one of several intuitive motions. For example, Goku’s Kamehameha blast is performed by moving the Wiimote and analog attachment back and forth in a stabbing motion. If all of the above sounds a bit too complicated for your tastes, the second control option might be up your alley, although it’s decidedly less Wii-tastic. If the Wiimote isn’t to your liking, you can plug in a corded GameCube controller or Wavebird and kick tail via more conventional means.

The visuals in the game stay true to the look and style of the previous games, which were faithful to the franchise’s anime roots. The whole gang is on hand and represented in cel-shaded style. The backgrounds offer a sampling of familiar locations that feature a high level of interactivity on par with the previous games, so you can plan on knocking people through mountains and wrecking cities as you go about your business.

Audio in the game is exactly what you’d expect out of a DBZ game and follows the smart formula applied to the last handful of DBZ fighters, offering up screaming guitars, familiar show tune-y themes, and buckets of voice. As always, the fighters in the game are brought to vivid life by the anime’s crack voice actors who capably sell the game’s dialogue, whether it’s a battle cry or a meaty diatribe. The final piece of the puzzle is the satisfying mix of authentic sound effects from the cartoon and a good array of collision effects for punches and kicks.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has seen some positive changes over the course of its development. The new control options are a smart move, and implementing the traditional GameCube controller should ensure no one gets left out of the action. We’re curious to see just how a match between a GC-controller user and a Wiimote user would play out. If you’ve dug the previous DBZ games, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 appears to be offering everything you’d want, along with support for the Wiimote–not a bad offering overall. Obviously, we would have liked to have seen some proper exclusive content for this version, but as launch titles go, Tenkaichi covers its bases. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is currently slated to ship this fall for the Wii.