Koei's PR machine has just released a batch of new character art for the upcoming Wii title Opoona. The game's got a whole RPG-like vibe going with the whole job class-based license system, and coupled with the character design, looks like it'll be providing a few hours of fun to Wii owners once it hits.

Interestingly enough, Opoona will be played mostly through the use of the Wii's nunchuck controller. Koei calls the combat system in Opoona "Active Bombom," where players will be using the nunchuck to hurl and direct projectile attacks at the enemy. If you're planning to get this title, better work on your left hand.

Anyway, on to the art. First off, let's have a look at the game's principal characters as created by Shintaro Mijima. And yes, the Wii finally has a gunblade-wielding character to call its own. Check out Opoona and his friends below.

    
Next up, we've got the game's baddies. These are the ones who are standing between y...

Filed under: Fan stuff

But wait, that's not just any 'ol rectangle, that's ... it is! The Wii! Awesome.

We were huge Lego dorks ourselves, but without those lovely step-by-step instructions, we were unable to achieve the artistic plateau that is a work such as this. How many of you guys were raised by small plastic blocks that fit together? And seriously, screw K'nex. Those things sucked.

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Recently we posted a bit of news regarding the Electronic Arts-Steven Spielberg collaboration for the Nintendo Wii. Both parties still won't reveal any game details, but GameDaily did manage to get a few new bits of info from EALA's Vice President and General Manager , Neil Young.

In our last post on this subject we mentioned some background details on the first of the three titles EA's cooking up with Spielberg. While the third title remains a mystery, Young revealed to GameDaily that the second title is "really not in [the Doug Church-produced game's] vein, and Lou Castle is producing that game." Castle is one of the co-founders of Westwood Studios and is one of those responsible for the Command & Conquer series.

It looks like the games are coming along nicely, too. Young said that the relationship between EA and Spielberg is "a very close collaborative relationship" and that "it's really wonderful spending time with him." We'll be keeping you guys posted as soo...

It's been announced a few months back, and has recently gotten some airtime in an interview. We're sure some of you guys have really been waiting for this godsend to come out. Well, no reason to have low energy levels now. It's perk up time.

Nyko's Wii Charge Station is already available in Gamestop for US 29.99. That gets you a standing charge-dock for two Wii remotes and two rechargeable NiMH battery packs. It also comes with two rubberized battery covers and a six-foot power cord.

Check out the Read link to hook up with Gamestop and ch-ch-charge those batteries of yours.

We have a feeling that Hudson Soft might have borrowed one of their old commercials for this one. Presenting Double Drag (oops) Dungeons for the present-day TurboGrafx16, also known as the Wii Virtual Console.

Explore the depths of the dungeons! Beat back nasties! Re-equip from stores manned by ladies in strapless gowns (either that or they're tube tops)! Those were the early days of video gaming RPG (you can tell it's old-school, for the gowns have gotten skimpier these days...).

Double Dungeons should be in the Wii Shop channel now.

1UP reports that Koei is offering the Wii something other than Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors, and Dynasty Warriors (oh, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, for that matter). It's called Opoona, and based on 1UP's descriptions and screens, it looks like a quirky RPG-like (or RPG-lite?) title.

Here's the interesting part: as 1UP reveals, the game is played mostly with only one hand (no naughty thoughts now; this looks like a kiddie title) - but it's not the hand that you think. Koei calls the combat system "Active Bombom," controlled entirely by the Nunchuck (now what's the Wiimote, a plate of grits?), to hurl and direct projectile attacks at the enemy.

Other aspects of the gameplay include a job class-based system where you must earn job class-based "licenses" to travel to different parts of the game world, and the participation of Dragon Quest vet Sachiko Yukimura and Final Fantasy XII composer Hitoshi Sakimoto in development. Release date remains TBA.

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They may look like a secret Wii accessory we haven't seen, but these floating bowling pins are actually desktop speakers. They're held up by a thin spine/rod which you can only see from behind to give the illusion that they're floating in air. The speakers shoot audio straight into the circular base, which Audio-Technica says helps spread the sound. Here's the catch, they only deliver 1.7 watts yet cost 200 bones. I don't care how cool these bowling pins look, 1.7 watts does not equal $200. – Louis Ramirez
Product Page [via CrunchGear]

Concealed under Shigeru Miyamoto's shadow, Eiji Aonuma always looked up to the game designer legend and his past works for inspiration. As Nintendo's successor to Miyamoto, Aonuma had a lot of pressure with his own works on Zelda, he knew that there would be a time that the core fans of the long running Zelda series would grow tired of the entire franchise as a whole. He called this the "gamer drift."

Turns out he was right, after hitting the road bump of his developer career with The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. It eventually became a huge commercial flop locally in Japan, after garnering sales way below Nintendo's expectations. There was very little it could offer as groundbreaking, and since then, Zelda became a franchise in distress.

Because of Wind Waker, Nintendo decided to create a task force operation to combat "gamer drift." They analyzed gaming angles, what was cool and what was new, and formulated philosophies to reverse the adverse effects gamer drift had ...

Straight from a Game Trailer TV interview with Nintendo Localization Writer Erik Peterson at the 2007 GDC, you can get a whole lot of other info on Super Paper Mario, including how the game is played with a Wiimote and a little sneak peek at the game's story. The U.S. version was lovingly transformed by an army of translators to bring out the original story and humor that we know the Mario games are notorious for.

In addition to being able to play Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Bowser in the 50-hour game, each character will be accompanied with Tippy, which is that "digital butterfly" you've seen on the gameplay vids before. While each character also sports their own skills, you'll be able to select which ones you'd like to play immediately in-game, as long as they've joined Mario on his quest to stop a crazy Count from wrecking the Mario worlds.

Filed under: Features, Home Entertainment

Ben's Solid State A/V Switcher. Comes in any color you'd like as long as it's black.

As you probably recall we recently had several articles on the Wii laptop which, of course, has Virtual Console game emulation. But what about people who'd prefer to have, say, every system they own hooked up all at once to one TV? Or a full-featured standalone DVD player and an Xbox 360, both using component video? This can become problematic input-wise, but not if you have a solid state A/V switcher!

While "solid state" may bring bring to mind electronics from the 60s (or, in some cases, yet-unreleased flash hard drives), but in this case it simply means the actual switching is done with circuitry, not mechanically. Ironically, the circuits are activated with a mechanical switch, but they could be controlled electronically if you were so inclined.

In this How-To we'll show you how to wire up your own A/V switch...