Just a few minutes ago some in game video of the forth coming Grand Theft Auto China Town Wars PSP were posted for all to see and that got me salivating for some Grand Theft Auto on other systems that I own. The only platform completely untouched by the franchise thus far is the Nintendo Wii. With a noticeable shift towards the hardcore and mature gamers with titles like Dead Space Extraction and Resident Evil The Dark Side Chronicles it stands to reason that Take-Two isn't going to want to miss out on the Wiimote shaking action. A recent quote by Take-Two CEO Ben Feder lends some weight to the argument.

“We’ve spent an enormous amount of time and effort working with Nintendo. We’re very proud of the partnership,” he noted. “GTA: Chinatown Wars is an important step [in that partnership]…and we intend to continue to grow that relationship.”



A previous quote by a Take-Two rep. went something like:

“[but] I think there are other titles better suited for the [Wii] than Grand Theft Auto 4.”

So it stands to reason that, given the success of China Town Wars, we won't be seeing the current full fledged Grand Theft Auto on the Wii any time soon. What we will most likely see is either another port of China Town Wars or another Grand Theft Auto spin off based on the series. The latter being the most likely as we've seen them do with previous PSP Grand Theft Auto games.

Fake box art from vgboxart.com by Xwind.

A recent release of the "Demo" of Section 8 on Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 caused a bit of a stir when it received a very love it or hate it response. It was lacking a tutorial or game manual of any sort. A game that was nearly ready for release but was still in the polish phase. Due to Microsoft's lack of labeling for things like beta's the beta version of Section 8 on Xbox Live was labeled as a demo and a lot of people received a partially finished game experience. I don't know the inner workings of putting a game on Xbox Live but one thing is certain. There are a good number of players who won't be playing the game because they had a bad experience.

The main difference between a demo and a beta should be the level of finish. The intent of a beta whether open or closed is to assess the readiness of the game for consumption by the general public. In some cases this may look a lot like a demo in that the game client may be finished but the developer still needs to tweak the server end. A demo on the other hand is a finished product. A representation of the game its self all be it a small piece of the finished game.

Section 8 is not the first game to see a demo released as a beta. Unreal Tournament 3 under went the same sort of treatment. It barely made a blip on the radar compared to some other games. On the other hand a recent game Batman Arkham Asylum had a demo released in a very polished, finished, condition and has done quite well. In fact the majority of demos available on Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade feature polished, finished, game demos and seem to be doing quite well. This should be a warning to the game industry. Proper labeling of game demos and proper fielding of betas can make or break a game.

From the user stand point this seems to be a failure on Microsoft's part by not including a delivery system for game manuals or a method for "open" play testing of beta games. On the other hand it is perfectly with in the developers power to include a tutorial game mode and/or an information screen providing the location of additional documentation outside the Xbox Live network. So there does not seem to be a single point of failure here. But what is obvious is that such errors can make or break a game.

Should there be a standard for game categorization? Is this a fault of only the Xbox 360 network or does this also happen on the Playstation Network as well? What would a standard for that type of thing look like? Who would maintain that standard? Will you find your self spending more time looking in to and reading up on a game release from now on? The subject seems to raise quite a few questions that the game industry will be have to answer in the near future.

For those not in the know Kirby is a little pink blob with a massive appetite for enemies and a lung capacity that could no doubt rival Pavarotti. He sucks down enemies like a competitor at a hotdog eating contest and is able to suck in enough O2 to float his way out of any situation. To top it off he takes tips from every ones favorite plumber and can platform jump with the best of them. Kirby hasn't been around quite as long as the plumber brothers but for most gamers he holds a similar prestige. That being the case another Kirby game is always welcome. Lets suck it up and float on.

Kirby Super Star Ultra is priced in the general price range between twenty and thirty dollars which is about average for an A list DS title. There isn't much of note there. The packaging is the usual plastic case with front and back panels featuring our pink hero in a bright eye catching fashion. I'd have to say this is one of the brightest busiest bit of packaging I've seen in a while and yet it isn't unattractive. This graphical artistic theme is the same through out the game its self. I have to give kudos to who ever does the art design. The contents of the package are also not particularly significant. However the package does come with a Nintendo Club code that will net you a free bit of something on the club.

Kirby Super Star Ultra leans towards but does not succumb entirely to the mini game focus most games on the Nintendo systems fall to so frequently in this last generation. Instead it creates what amounts to a collection of short stories turned video games in the Kirby universe. Some people might like this sort of story telling especially if you have a short attention span. Others may not like this "lack of story" but it does lend its self to some of the game play elements Nintendo wanted to utilize. The bottom line is that the game is made of six short stories that do not appear to be linked together at all.

Game play is top notch in this title. Controls respond instantly and collision detection is spot on which is to be expected from such an A list title. Beyond controls there isn't a whole lot new from Kirby Super Star Ultra. The same general game play mechanics held over from previous titles are in place. You slurp up enemies and then have to make a decision to either gobble them down, set them up for success as your 'helper' or simply steal their abilities. This new mechanic of having a helper is nice but you'll find you aren't getting much action because your helper is taking care of all enemies before you even get there. This becomes especially problematic if you need or want a power up to take on a boss with a specific ability. Small issues aside game play is fun and has enough of a new dynamic to be worth while.

Visually the game is one of the best looking games I've seen on the DS in a while. The game is fully two dimensional with some very sharp, beautiful artwork to be found every where. Characters are bright as are the backgrounds and yet you never lose track of Kirby or your 'helper'. All the text on menus is very clear and readable as are in game texts. Nintendo has given this game the same style flare and visuals they typically give their own titles. This is definitely a nice game to look at.

The audio side of things fairs rather well but does include some short comings. There is after all only so many things you can do with the limited audio hardware in the Nintendo DS and DSi. Most of the music is fun and beautiful but many of the sound effects have a beep and bloop sort of sound. If you a haven't spent much time in an arcade this sort of repetitive noise may come more as nails across a chalk board instead of invoking the nostalgia it does for some. As with the story style this seems better suited towards children who probably won't notice or mind.Over all the game is good entertainment that will last a reasonable amount of time. The multitude of enemy abilities Kirby can commandeer gives the game great replay value and the visuals definitely please. The games primary short comings are its over all length and poor sound quality. It also lacks any kind of multi-player either local or internet. This means after a week or two of play Kirby Super Star Ultra is most likely going to be tucked away or traded in for something else. If you can rent it or get it cheap its definitely worth a look if you are seeking a classic arcade platform style play.