NitroBike

http://wii.ign.com/articles/804/804226p1.html

Quote:

---

E3 2007: Ubisoft Announces Nitrobike
New online game coming to Wii.

July 12, 2007 - At its press conference in Santa Monica, CA, French publisher Ubisoft announced a new Wii-exclusive dirt-bike racer named Nitrobike.

The title, which was only shown in trailer form, is developed by Left Field Productions, which also created the acclaimed N64 title Excitebike 64.

"Ubisoft is thrilled to be introducing the first Motocross game available for Wii," said Jay Cohen, vice president of publishing at Ubisoft. "Nitrobike's fun and fast-paced gameplay is sure to be a hit for Wii owners for the holiday season."

Players will drive rocket-propelled motorcycles across a variety of bumpy, jump-filled terrains. Nitrobike looks very similar graphically to Excite Truck for Wii. Like Excite Truck, players hold the Wii remote classic style and twist and turn to steer the vehicles. The Ubisoft title, however, includes a full-fledged online multiplayer component. Nitrobike is set for a holiday release.

---

I would have settled for ExciteBike 64 with online play on the VC but this should be sweet.

"Nitrobike looks very similar graphically to Excite Truck for Wii. Like Excite Truck, players hold the Wii remote classic style and twist and turn to steer the vehicles.'

Fuck this game. It sucks already. Saying a game has similar graphics to Excite Truck should not be a major selling point. I'll accept the fact that it has the Excite Truck control scheme, but it better be cleaned up quite a bit for this game.

I still haven't played Excite Truck but I look forward to playing it. Excite Bike 64 is my favorite racing game of all time. I still don't know why Nintendo cut Left Field studios but I look forward to Nitro Bike. I would be more optimistic about it but that last Moto game Left Field made wasn't exactly great. Online multi-player sounds really good though.

I'm really looking forward to this, the trailer looks like a lot of fun. I don't know why anyone would waste their time talking about it on this forum, though.

James

It's going to be tough be as fun as Excite Truck, but I'll keep an eye on this.

Excite Truck is like Hydro Thunder. I fucking love hydro thunder. Too bad excite truck has motion controls.

This game looks like certifiable dog shit. Seriously.

F-Zero GX looked fine.

Damn do I need a Wii. :(

Usually I can understand why people get excited for games, even if I am not. It may look great but just not be up my alley, like Civilization IV or something similar. This shit I just can't get my head around. If this were on any other system, no one would buy it.

So do you strap the Wiimote to a broom handle and ride it as a pretend bike?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Usually I can understand why people get excited for games, even if I am not. It may look great but just not be up my alley, like Civilization IV or something similar. This shit I just can't get my head around. If this were on any other system, no one would buy it.

---

You're right, if this was on another system people wouldn't care.

But, regardless of what you and the anti-Wii crew choose to believe, Wii controls can deliver a unique experience. The controls were a large part of what made Excite Truck so fun. Similar controls, combined with online play and the dev's past experience with Excitebike 64 is what people are interested in here.

Now that you and Joust have had your predictable say please STFU and go away. Your job is done here.

Until every wii is in a landfill their jobs will never be done.

I love the Wii, and I'm not trying to bash it...BUT...Excite Truck looked like dog shit. If they are trying to say that Nitrobike will look and play like Excite Truck, then it will look and play like dog shit as well.

When are we going to see even ONE original (RE4 doesn't count) Wii title that has some decent graphics, at least on par with Rouge Leader from the Gamecube launch. I'm getting more severely disappointed with this system every day.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PBMax

The controls were a large part of what made Excite Truck so fun. Similar controls, combined with online play and the dev's past experience with Excitebike 64 is what people are interested in here.

---

I can't believe the Excitetruck pimping that is going on in this thread. That game was complete trash. I rented it since all I heard was "if you love arcade racers, you'll love Excitetruck", what a waste.

It had awful presentation, awful visuals, controls that really didn't bring anything to the arcade racing genre, and terrible AI. The only good thing I could actually say about the game is that the track design was pretty solid. If this game even somewhat emulates Excitetruck, it's going to be just as fucking bad.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PBMax

regardless of what you and the anti-Wii crew choose to believe, Wii controls can deliver a unique experience. The controls were a large part of what made Excite Truck so fun.

---

You can play Motorstorm by tilting the Sixaxis. It gets dull after five minutes.

Is it so much to ask for a good game beyond the control scheme? A shitty racing game with somewhat nifty controls (that every racing game on the system is going to have anyway) will only be worth a damn until a good racing game comes out o the Wii, at which point the "unique" controls will no longer matter and the game will just be a piece of shit. It's the same problem early DS games had, where touch screen implementation was the only thing keeping them interesting, and which are now completely pointless since the system has good games that also implement the touch screen.

TL;DR version: unique controls will cease to matter when every game in the genre on the system will have them anyway, so this thing is going to have an extremely short shelf life if it's as mediocre as Excitetruck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sethsez

TL;DR version: unique controls will cease to matter when every game in the genre on the system will have them anyway, so this thing is going to have an extremely short shelf life if it's as mediocre as Excitetruck.

---

Online play will surely add to the game's shelf life.

No one is going to be playing this game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mikey

So do you strap the Wiimote to a broom handle and ride it as a pretend bike?

---

Nintendo announced the Wiimote broom attachment at E3. $19.99, ships in September.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joust Williams

No one is going to be playing this game.

---

You and the rest of the Emo TNL crew won't be, but there sure will be people playing this.

This looks like a game that came with a 3D card I bought in 1996.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sethsez

You can play Motorstorm by tilting the Sixaxis. It gets dull after five minutes.

Is it so much to ask for a good game beyond the control scheme? A shitty racing game with somewhat nifty controls (that every racing game on the system is going to have anyway) will only be worth a damn until a good racing game comes out o the Wii, at which point the "unique" controls will no longer matter and the game will just be a piece of shit. It's the same problem early DS games had, where touch screen implementation was the only thing keeping them interesting, and which are now completely pointless since the system has good games that also implement the touch screen.

TL;DR version: unique controls will cease to matter when every game in the genre on the system will have them anyway, so this thing is going to have an extremely short shelf life if it's as mediocre as Excitetruck.

---

Never leave again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sethsez

You can play Motorstorm by tilting the Sixaxis. It gets dull after five minutes.

---

That's because Motorstom's SixAxis support is implemented so poorly it's almost unplayable.

And there is a lot more to ExciteTruck's motion controls than just tilting left and right to turn.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PBMax

That's because Motorstom's SixAxis support is implemented so poorly it's almost unplayable.

---

It's more the nature of the game. Excite Truck is straight up arcade nonsense, whereas Motorstorm is a racing game. Where you need to slow down sometimes. Maybe use the brake.

That said, from what I've played so far, Motorstorm requires a lot more precision than tilting a controller in the air will allow you. I still really like both games, it's just that I wouldn't play one as a substitute for the other... though Motorstorm's graphics make Excite Truck pretty tough to look at. If NitroBike is similar to Excite Truck in gameplay, sure, I'd welcome it. However, in any less of a chaotic game, I think the motion control would be more a hindrance than anything else.

What we need is a new neGcon. We've had two entries in the RR series without one. :(

The only good use for the neGcon was Wipeout. Coincidentally, Wipeout is the one series that could really benefit from well-implemented tilt control.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bVork

The only good use for the neGcon was Wipeout.

---

Can't agree. Good controller for all the RRs, but I got the most mileage out of it in R4. Much more useful than the Jogcon, that's for sure.

So is anyone else playing this? I got it today and played a little while and it is really fun. At first I was all over the place but after a few races I got pretty used to the controls. This could be silly fun online.

Oh and for the Wii haters the game really is fun, but it really does look like dog shit.

I didn't know this was out. I'll try to pick it up today.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Glass Joe

So is anyone else playing this? I got it today and played a little while and it is really fun. At first I was all over the place but after a few races I got pretty used to the controls. This could be silly fun online.

Oh and for the Wii haters the game really is fun, but it really does look like dog shit.

---

I just picked this up today, and IAWTP. This game acutally is a lot of fun!

Of course the presentation isn't really anything to write home about. Just like Excite Truck, the menu screens are generic and ugly enough to make your eyes bleed. Once you get passed the menu screen, and onto the character select screen, you'll start to think "Ugh. What the hell did I get myself into. These character models are absolutely horrendous." I recommend just picking any character and ignoring the god awfulness of it all. Once you sit through a 6-7 second loading screen the actual races start, and the overall graphics fail to impress. Make no mistake, this game does look like a first gen PS2 launch title.

All that being said, luckily, once you start racing around the tracks you will forget about the horrible presentation. It really seems like the Wii developers are finally starting to get the hang of the Wii remote, because this game controls very fluidly and precisely. There hasn't been an instance yet where I'm flying all over the track with no control over my vehicle, like in Excite Truck. Overall, its just a very fun, fast paced, arcade racing experience and I'm happy with my purchase. I'd give it about a 7.

I haven't had the opportunity to take my Wii online yet, so perhaps I'll give it a shot with this game later on tonight.

I till haven't had the chance to play Excite Truck but I plan to if I can have some fun that's on par with Nitro Bike. I've been all over the place a few times and it mostly feels like my fault because I rest my hands without realizing it and it causes me to get a bit squirrely. I'll chalk that up to this being the first racer I've played holding the Wii remote in this manner.

I look forward to some online races with whoever gets this but I probably won't play again until tomorrow. Be sure to add me to your Wii if I'm not there already and I'll do the same.

Most of the reviews complain that the course design is way too narrow in this game; in Excite Truck you could be really loose with the control and still have tons of fun because the tracks were so wide open. Do you guys feel that NitroBike's control is accurate enough to make up for the narrow courses? The reviews do sound a bit like whining from people that don't have the hand-eye coodination to play a semi-challenging skill-based game.

Or it could be that they realize that you can get Ridge Racer 7 for $10 less or Burnout Paradise for $10 more.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SpoDaddy

Most of the reviews complain that the course design is way too narrow in this game; in Excite Truck you could be really loose with the control and still have tons of fun because the tracks were so wide open. Do you guys feel that NitroBike's control is accurate enough to make up for the narrow courses? The reviews do sound a bit like whining from people that don't have the hand-eye coodination to play a semi-challenging skill-based game.

---

Yes, I think the control is accurate enough to make up for the narrow courses. All you need to do is tap the 1 button while going into a hairpin turn, and it allows you to navigate some fairly narrow and windy roads with ease. So, you can pretty much be turboing into a wall and then hit the 1 button and your bike will slide through the turn...

My only real complaint so far is with some of the later courses. They start to litter the courses with junk to crash into, and its really difficult to see some of these items due to the subpar graphics, all the dust flying in the air, and just because you're going too fast half the time. This really doesn't become an issue though once you play a track a few times and memorize the track layout. It can just be annoying at first though, because it does tend to cause a few pile ups from time to time.

Here we are well over a year after the Wii's launch, and developers still are either giving you decent-looking titles that play like shit or crappy-looking games that play well. When are they going to learn to do both?

Or are they "still taken by surprise by the Wii's success" and "getting the hang of developing for it?"

The best third party game for the Wii will forever be Resident Evil 4. No one is going to give a damn enough to beat that one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Melf

Here we are well over a year after the Wii's launch, and developers still are either giving you decent-looking titles that play like shit or crappy-looking games that play well. When are they going to learn to do both?

Or are they "still taken by surprise by the Wii's success" and "getting the hang of developing for it?"

---

This is sad, but very true. I think the only games on the Wii that have actually acomplished LOOKING AND PLAYING good are Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3. Even Twilight Princess was a slightly fugly game.

Its a shame, because the Gamecube was capable of putting out some truly beautiful looking games...so the Wii should at least be able to put out games that look as good as the best Gamecube titles.

For now though, it looks like I'll just have to settle for games that look like crap but play well. If I want a good looking game, I'll just have to play my PS3 or 360.

I'm hoping that Factor 5 - whose GC games still look better than 90% of what's on the Wii- will show 3rd parties how to make the Wii sing. I doubt they're going to revisit the Star Wars well once more, but hopefully they'll put together a great engine and actually give the console a 3rd party game that both looks and plays great. So far the only ones that do that are Zak & Wiki and RE 4.

*EDIT* It looks like they may be on to something...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joystiq

We reported last week that Factor 5, developers of the amazing Rogue Squadron series for the Gamecube and the nightmarish Lair for PS3, has rekindled their relationship with Nintendo, and are currently working on an unnamed project exclusively for the company's home console. According to gaming site Kombo (and their anonymous inside source), the project is a brand new Kid Icarus game, designed from the ground up for the Wii. Given F5's renewed partnership with Nintendo, and the Kid Icarus buzz already in the air due to protaganist Pit's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it's a definite possibility. However, until we hear something from the new lovers, this is just hearsay at best.

---

Source.

Sounds good. It's just a rumor, but I hope it's true.

How many times are we going to hear the Icarus rumor?

It seems like Factor 5 hit a point of diminishing returns with their graphics whoring and decided it'd be more fun to just embarrass other developers by making great-looking Wii games. I don't believe we're getting another Kid Icarus game ever. I don't really care either, because Kid Icarus wasn't that great in the first place.

And if I remember correctly, they were one of the developers giving the Wii hell when it was first released. Funny.

Yup, they said they left Nintendo because the Wii was just an overclocked GameCube and they wanted to do cutting-edge graphics.

So they did Lair? LOL. Another great-looking game that played poorly. I retract my earlier statement about Factor 5. It seems then that they're just trying to blend in with the rest of the Wii's 3rd parties.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Giga Power

And if I remember correctly, they were one of the developers giving the Wii hell when it was first released. Funny.

---

Actually no they weren't.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SpoDaddy

Yup, they said they left Nintendo because the Wii was just an overclocked GameCube and they wanted to do cutting-edge graphics.

---

I don't think that was how it went down at all.

In fact Jullian was one of the few people talking up the Wii. A few months after the Wii launched Jullian said in an interview that 3rd parties should be embarrassed by what they've put out on the system. That Factor 5 had gotten to see the hardware through many stages of development and knew what it could do, that it was quite powerful for 480p, and it had a blazing fillrate for that resolution. He stated that while it wouldn't match what the 360 and PS3 were doing in the HD resolutions, that the Wii as a SD machine could do some really impressive things.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Julian Eggebrecht

When I heard what was going on at Nintendo, I cringed. It's audio is relatively mediocre. It's essentially GameCube 1.5...

---

To be fair, he did also say that the GameCube was the best hardware architecture he'd ever encountered and that the motion control opened up tons of amazing new possibilities for gameplay. Apparently he thought he could get the best of both worlds on PS3 with a SixAxis.

He's talking about the audio there. Which is something I really agree with, not having optical audio out was fucking retarded. Good keeping up with things there Spo.

Here's the interview quote I'm talking about and can actually link to the article.

Quote:

---

IGN: Resident Evil 4 was a beautiful GCN title. Rogue Squadron was doing things at launch that developers still haven't done on Wii. Why do you think that is? Are studios getting sloppy on Wii?

Julian: Yes. I'm so disappointed knowing exactly what the Wii can do -- and I still think nobody knows it better than we (no pun intended) [laughs]. I really have to say, boy, am I disappointed! They all have finally figured out, five years into the hardware's life cycle, how to do at least basic shaders and a rim light, but that's what everybody does. But I still don't see enough bump and normal-mapping, if any. I still don't see enough post effects, although you would have insane fill-rates with Wii. I don't see any of that. I was digging out Rebel Strike the other day and was looking at it, and we had some people who were visiting ask, "Why isn't anybody else doing this on Wii?" And I am at a loss. I really am.

---

http://wii.ign.com/articles/762/762984p1.html

Quote:

---

2. What do you think of Nintendo's Wii console and is there any chance that Factor 5 would make a future Wii title?

Julian: I love the Wii, absolutely. As I've said many, many times, the perfect combination of consoles to have at home is a PS3 and Wii. Everybody really should have one. Will we make something for the Wii? Well, obviously we would have an extremely powerful engine on it with our work on Rebel Strike, but for right now we certainly haven't planned anything for the Wii outside of some third parties who have approached us about licensing DivX and MusyX, which would be a no-brainer for us. Speaking about games, right now we're quite happy with Sony and Lair is obviously something that is with Sony and will stay with Sony. As to other original IPs, I think as long as we and Sony can agree on price, budget and everything else that makes these things tick, we're quite happy with who we're with right now. On the other hand, I as a creator would love to do something with the Wii-mote, something wacky, but I also can do that just by hacking into the thing and never making a commercial game with it [laughs].

---

This was from almost a year ago and obviously things didn't stay wonderful and cheery with Sony. I'm guessing Lair bombing, and being panned critically put their relationship through the ringer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

that the Wii as a SD machine could do some really impressive things.

---

Add that to the jumbo shrimp and women's sports list.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

He's talking about the audio there.

---

He wasn't talking about the audio when he called it "GameCube 1.5".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Glass Joe

I look forward to some online races with whoever gets this but I probably won't play again until tomorrow. Be sure to add me to your Wii if I'm not there already and I'll do the same.

---

I'd like to try playing you online sometime Glass Joe...but this is my first time trying to take the Wii online. All this friend code stuff is confusing.

Here is my Nitrobike friendcode if you want to add me though:

051663627919

What is your friendcode?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by magnifiedplaid

I'd like to try playing you online sometime Glass Joe...but this is my first time trying to take the Wii online. All this friend code stuff is confusing.

Here is my Nitrobike friendcode if you want to add me though:

051663627919

What is your friendcode?

---

Cool, I added your code in Nitro Bike and here is mine: 1976 9259 4814. I'm not sure if you need to also exchange Wii friends codes also so here is mine: 3338 7123 0266 1378

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Glass Joe

Cool, I added your code in Nitro Bike and here is mine: 1976 9259 4814. I'm not sure if you need to also exchange Wii friends codes also so here is mine: 3338 7123 0266 1378

---

Cool. I'll add you, and I'll probably be online either tonight or tomorrow.

I actually got a few online matches going earlier today, and according to a thread on Gamefaqs I may have been playing the guys from Left Field Studios. Apparently, the development team is going to be online from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. today, and they are going to give away a free T-shirt to the first 100 people who are able to beat them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Or it could be that they realize that you can get Ridge Racer 7 for $10 less or Burnout Paradise for $10 more.

---

They made those for the Wii?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

The best third party game for the Wii will forever be Resident Evil 4. No one is going to give a damn enough to beat that one.

---

have you played zack and wiki yet?

Nope, and there is absolutely zero chance it is better than Resident Evil 4, though I expect it to be good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name

They made those for the Wii?

---

No. Reviews should never be system specific.

So Orange Box for PS3 should get the same review as Orange Box for 360 which should be the same as Orange Box for PC?

That logic fails on so many levels. I don't want comparisons for games on other systems I may not own. When reviewing a Wii game, comparisons should only be made to other wii games.

What? No, the review for a given game on a given system should be given considering all games on all other current systems.

Why should Wii games only be compared to Wii games? If I have $60, and a Wii game gets a 9, and a 360 game gets a 7, but the 360 game is the better game, how the fuck am I supposed to know that?

First off, scores are useless imo.
Secondly, if we have to use scores, how is a 7 a better game than a 9, regardless of system. If your 360 game is truly better than the Wii game, that should be reflected in the score. A great game is a great game. An average one is an average one.
All I'm saying is that if I'm in the market for a specific racing game for the Wii (I'd rather chew glass), I'd want to know how it stacks up compared to the other racing games for the Wii. I couldn't care less about where it falls in the hierarchy of all racing games on all systems. Need for Speed Most Wanted may be the best (single player) racer ever, but if it isn't on the Wii, it doesn't really matter much does it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Nope, and there is absolutely zero chance it is better than Resident Evil 4, though I expect it to be good.

---

Zack and Wiki is the best game on the Wii.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Nope, and there is absolutely zero chance it is better than Resident Evil 4, though I expect it to be good.

---

to be fair though, you are a res evil fan, so its kind of a foregone conclusion. Just like a tes game for me would get extra points, but z&w is surprisingly very good, it took me a while to start it because of real world time constraints, but now that i have, i think its something that gets overlooked a lot more than it should by enthusiest sites like this one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name

First off, scores are useless imo.
Secondly, if we have to use scores, how is a 7 a better game than a 9, regardless of system. If your 360 game is truly better than the Wii game, that should be reflected in the score. A great game is a great game. An average one is an average one.
All I'm saying is that if I'm in the market for a specific racing game for the Wii (I'd rather chew glass), I'd want to know how it stacks up compared to the other racing games for the Wii. I couldn't care less about where it falls in the hierarchy of all racing games on all systems. Need for Speed Most Wanted may be the best (single player) racer ever, but if it isn't on the Wii, it doesn't really matter much does it.

---

You just contradicted yourself. Your first paragraph and second paragraph can't co-exist.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Glass Joe

Zack and Wiki is the best game on the Wii.

---

You bought NitroBike.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name

First off, scores are useless imo.
Secondly, if we have to use scores, blah blah blah

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

You just contradicted yourself. Your first paragraph and second paragraph can't co-exist.

---

no.

Then we're saying the same thing. I want to know how games relate to all other games, regardless of platform. By definition, that would allow me to see how all Wii racers stack up.

no.

Then you're wrong. :p

no.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Glass Joe

Zack and Wiki is the best game on the Wii.

---

It's definitely a breath of fresh air and should be played by all. Incidentally it's down to $29.99 at Best Buy. *-neo

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

You bought NitroBike.

---

You bought a DS, twice.:bang:

God damn it.