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We’ve arrived at the penultimate episode of Tales of Monkey Island from Telltale Games and boy is it a shocker. It’s okay, don’t worry. There are no spoilers of episode 4 here but if you’ve not finished episode 3 yet then you may want to pass on by. So as you should remember; Episode 3 of Monkey Island ended in yet another cliff-hanger with Morgan Le Flay once again betraying her hero (and ours); Guybrush Threepwood. She gives in to her greater lust for money and continues on with the Marquis De Sade’s bounty on Guybrush’s head. After escaping the guts of the giant Manatee and the mad clutches of Coronado De Cava with the not so giant Voodoo Sucking Sponge in his pocket, Morgan knocks him unconscious and takes him back to Flotsam Island.
Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4; The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood sees the Marquis De Sade finally get his hands back on Guybrush only to be robbed of his prize specimen by a baying mob. They want Guybrush to answer for crimes he’s supposedly committed and simply drag him off to the local courthouse to face trial and punishment. To say much more could easily spoil what is probably the most intriguing episode in this Pentology so far.
What I can say is that this adventure felt a little shorter this time around lasting about four hours, compared to the five to six of the previous episodes. I believe this is because the fifth episode will likely be a longer and more complex affair. I did get seriously stuck at one time and nearly had to resort to searching Google for the answer but as usual; after walking around and trying everything I managed to solve that one really tricky puzzle. Nevertheless Episode 4 features plenty of stomping around the Flotsam Island previously visited in Episode 1; many of the characters that you met before are still there as well as some new ones including the infamous Salesman, Stan from the original Lucas Arts games.
Because it uses the same engine as all of the other episodes, Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4 looks and sounds just as good as the rest; the quality of the dialogue is once again great with many laugh out loud moments. Die-hard fans may spot some more classic references and smile, sweet.
I award yet Another 8 out of 10 for Monkey Island here folks.
It’s true that Nintendo have focused more on the casual gamer and families this console generation; however behind the scenes there is a strong core focus to be found. Many Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners scoff at Nintendo Wii because all they see are TV commercials of the casual games they find so offensive, yet there are plenty of Wii adults only games available. You can now buy a Nintendo Wii for a hardcore video game player this Christmas holiday and still provide them the sort of games they’d want. Searching the web for the best Wii deals gets you more of a dedicated gaming device than the Xbox 360 or PS3 for under $200 because it isn’t loaded down with any multimedia or media extending capabilities. It’s about games and games only.
Top 10 best Wii games for adults
Here are some of the favourite hardcore games for the Wii available from Amazon.com right now. With other core titles such as Metroid Other M, Red Steel 2 and The Grinder coming out in 2010 at the same time Sony and Microsoft are releasing their own casual motion sensing devices. As it’s looking the Wii could be the system of choice for hardcore gamers in 2010, here are a rundown of some of the top 10 best wii games for adults:
Madworld is one of the most over the top and gory Wii adults only games of all time. You just know that the Wii boys will love slicing people up with chainsaws and watching blood splatter everywhere – you can find out what we thought of the ultimate Wii hardcore game in our Madworld review where we gave it an excellent 8 out of 10.
House of the Dead Overkill is an adult wii game from Sega which recently broke the world record for the amount of cuss words in a video game. Combine this with zombies, blood, gore and sexual references and this is a Wii title to make any hardcore Wii gamer take note. We played this back in February 09 and gave it an almost perfect 9 out of 10 – watch our House of the Dead Overkill review and see why.
Resident Evil comes to Wii once more in the Darkside Chronicles. Another light gun esque game which uses the Wii Remote’s infra-red capabilities to brind the arcade feel to your home TV. Play though scenes you know and scenes you don’t from previous Resident Evil games and find out what happened between the parts of the story you already know.
The Conduit is the Wii’s most popular first person shooter. It’s full of Aliens, Science Fiction and guns. It also features some of the best graphics on Wii and a brilliant online battle mode – head to our review of The Conduit to see exactly why we gave it an impressive 7 out of 10.
Madden NFL 10 is just the ticket for Football fans who want to score touchdowns without having to join a college team. A perfect game for boys who want to be men, and men who want to be real men – read our full review of Madden NFL 10 where we gave it a very good 7 out of 10.
Dead Space Extraction was a hit on PS3 and Xbox 360 and this exclusive prequel brings the horror to Wii in this classy on rails arcade style shooter. We recently got our hands on the game and couldn’t put it down, see our Dead Space Extraction review for the Wii where we awarded it an outstanding 8 out of 10.
Excitebots comes with a free Wii Wheel (just like Mario Kart) and is a more serious stunt filled affair. It looks like it’s for kids but to actually do well you’ll need to be great at pulling of stunts and big air.
Muramasa the Demon Blade is a real 1980’s Metroid style old school hack em up featuring sword swishing in abundance and enough collection to keep an OCD sufferer happy. Oh and and its rock hard too.
Star Wars The Clone Wars features all of the stuff a Star Wars geek could want, Lightsabers , Star Wars and excellent cell shaded animation.
New Super Mario Bros for the Wii – the hotly anticipated follow up the the best selling Nintendo DS game of the last few years. Go back to the original days of Mario before 3D took over the world. Any half decent gamer should play this game if they want any credibility in 2010 – cutesy but impossibly addictive.
We also recommend the Wii Sports Resort Special Edition – the fantastic sequel to the original Wii Sports title which comes with a new twist. This time you can become even more immersed in the experience because it comes bundled free with two Wii Motion Plus units which provide a more lifelike motion control experience and can be used on other compatible titles. It may seem casual at first but dedicated players will find many secrets and appreciate many core mechanics to be found.
Hardcore Wii gaming accessories
Hardcore Wii gamers will also love some of the accessories on the market that don’t try to emulate tennis rackets and golf clubs but instead enhance their gaming experience.
The Quad Remote Charge Station takes away all the hassle of battery changing because it comes with 4 battery packs that will give hours of playtime. Save money on batteries with this useful and cool looking base station that will charge your Wii Remotes with no hassle, built in LED indicators show when charging is taking place.
The Wii Classic Controller is compatible for certain games that aren’t quite suited to motion sensing and those purchased via the Wii’s Virtual Console online download service. Also Wii hardcore games such as Super Smash Bros Brawl support the classic controller for the best gameplay.
A Wii Zapper is a great way to emulate that crossbow / shotgun feel on Wii and it comes with a free Zelda themed Links Crossbow training game. It’s perfect for titles such as Resident Evil, House of the Dead and Dead Space on Wii.
Owners of Guitar Hero and Rock Band will appreciate the Dual Guitar Holder which keeps those guitar accessories stored neatly in the living room or bedroom. See our recent run-down of Wii guitar accessories for more ideas of what to get fans of Rock Band and Guitar Hero for Christmas.
We found the official Wii lens cleaner is the best option to fix problem Wii discs when we did a recent rundown of Wii lens cleaning kits – the Wii hardcore game Super Smash Bros Brawl was known to cause problems when playing with certain Wii consoles due to it’s intense disc activity.
A Wii HD Link Component Cable will allow up to full 480p visuals to those with an HD television set, great for LCD and Plasma screen gamers who want to get the very best visuals the Nintendo Wii can display.
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Dead Space was one of my surprise favourite games last year so I’ve been looking forward to Dead Space Extraction on the Wii – a prequel which charts where all the horror on the cracked planet and in the mining vessel the Ishimura began.
It’s an on-rails FPS but before you think this is just like Time Crisis or House of the Dead, let me explain to you why it’s very much not. Extraction has a much more considered approach in that there are times where you don’t shoot anything whilst the atmosphere builds as you’re taken for a ride through the eyes of a number of survivors in different chapters. You crawl up ladders, shuffle across service hatches and even make leaps of faith through zero gravity. The mining equipment from the first game is in use again as you hack limbs off the monsters and you’ve also got access to pistols and pulse rifles. You can also slow down enemies and the world around you at times using stasis and fetch weapons, ammo and items using a sort of sci-fi tractor beam type thing.
There are 10 chapters to play through and as you go, you unlock new challenge mode levels and comic books to watch complete with sound effects and voice acting. It may be short but it really is a new gaming experience for me and something I couldn’t put down until I finished the story mode. There are also choices of paths to take from time to time which may encourage playing through the story again and you can play the game in co-op mode and shoot the Xenomorphs with a friend.
The game’s got the best graphics I’ve seen on the Wii and although the action slows down occasionally when there’s lots on screen, it certainly doesn’t wreck the game. Another small complaint is the crosshair. Info about your guns and a Gears of War-style quick reload system are incorporated into it and as a result it’s rather large, sometimes obscuring what you’re actually trying to shoot. Still, it means there’s no HUD on the screen which all adds to the atmosphere.
If you want a game that really sucks you into the action and gives you the creeps at times, give this a go. You’ll definitely enjoy it.
Dead Space Extraction gets an excellent 8 out of 10.
Once again it’s time for another EA Sports game with a new number on the end. This time it’s the turn of FIFA. When you first look at the game it doesn’t look much different but you’ll soon realise that they’ve ironed out all the things that made 09 great to make this version excellent.
First of all there’s the 360’ movement, meaning you’re no longer running at 45 degree angles. This makes for a more realistic movement of the players and coupled with the improved ball physics, some truly interesting and freakish goals that are sure to make you shout out or hold your head in your hands.
Manager Mode is the main season mode where you play through a number of seasons and make transfer and squad decisions. Be a Pro mode is back where you play as an individual and now you can make your own Virtual Pro. Using EA’s Game Face technology which is currently broken as I review the game due to high demand, you can put your face right into the game and level them up RPG style in custom games and even in the arena.
Following on from the Adidas Live Season comes Live Season 2.0 where you can download the latest games your club’s played and try to replicate or re-write history. It’s a shame you have to pay for this after a 5 game demo but hardcore fans will find it worth the extra spend. There’s also a set piece creator where you can modify and save set pieces for use in games. Again, only the hardcore will probably go this deep into the game but it’s a nice touch.
As ever, presentation is slick with some great player likenesses and some good ad-libbing from Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. I usually say not to bother getting the new version of an EA Sports game if you’re enjoying last year’s, but once again, FIFA’s come up trumps. Over to you Pro Evo. FIFA 10 gets 9 out of 10, if you know what I mean.
A new bike peripheral is set to come out for the Nintendo Wii. The Cyberbike will encourage people to get fit using 18 circuits and an array of ‘impossible’ machines. It’s out in January and is sure to end up in the spare room to hang washing on.
It’s true that Nintendo have focused more on the casual gamer and families this console generation; however behind the scenes there is a strong core focus to be found. Many Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners scoff at Nintendo Wii because all they see are TV commercials of the casual games they find so offensive, yet there are plenty of Wii adults only games available. You can now buy a Nintendo Wii for a hardcore video game player this Christmas holiday and still provide them the sort of games they’d want. Searching the web for the best 
