Horror, puzzles, disappointments and the future in this week’s Nintendo News Roundup.

CURSED MOUNTAIN - NEW DETAILS
Cursed Mountain is a new horror game for the Wii. It would be released next year. Not a lot of details about this project yet except that the developers feel that the Cursed Mountain’s gameplay is only suitable for the Wii and not for any other console.

Will you buy Wii 2 and Xbox the Third in 2010?
Rumors of next generation consoles are spreading. The author is asking if the public would be willing to buy these consoles. For me, if the next generation Wii would feature a larger memory capacity and better video rendering then I would definitely buy one.

First Look: Roogoo Twisted Towers
The puzzle game that has debuted in the Xbox Live Arcade, Roogoo would be making its way to the Wii next year. It would be over 100 levels of brain exercise.

DEADLY CREATURES & DANCING WITH THE STARS - SCREENSHOTS
Screenies from Deadly Creatures and Dancing with the Stars games. Yay!

Tucson brothers make a Wii game
A story about two brothers making a Wiiware game called Madstone. Anyone played the game before? I haven’t and it’s the first time I heard about it.

Another classic is making a comeback. Punch Out!! is said to be on its way to the Wii next year. The last game of the series was 1994’s Super Punch Out!! for the SNES.

What’s nice about Punch Out!! is that you dn’t have to be a boxing fan to enjoy it. I never liked boxing as a kid but I had lots of Punch Out!! moments with my friends. They used to sleep over at our house for some Punch Out!! tournaments.

Here’s a sneak peak on the Punch Out!! game for the Wii.

My nephew got me into Avatar the cartoon. It was one lazy day when I was just channel-surfing when he told me to change it to Nick. Avatar is on, he said. Not knowing what the show is about, I stayed and watched it. That was a year ago and until now I’m still looking forward for new episodes of the cartoon.

Now Avatar: The Last Airbender will be invading several gaming consoles including the Wii and DS. Fans of the series would be glad to know that the game will be based on the storyline of Avatar’s third season. There’s the story mode and then there’s the two-player versus mode.

The game will feature Bobble Head style animation that’s previously seen in Nickelodeon’s Special Avatar Featurettes. The game is scheduled to be released for the DS on November 24.

I was browsing through the titles at the videogame store yesterday when I saw LEGO Batman for the DS. I played both LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones, so I guess it’s only proper that I tried LEGO Batman.

Gameplay is pretty much the same as with the previous LEGO games. You have to go around Gotham City, collecting LEGO pieces along the way. The game involves solving problems in order to advance to the next stage.

At first, you get to play as Batman and Robin, switching between the two heroes to solve the puzzle. But as the game progresses and you’ve reached the Asylum, you could also opt to be the Joker, Penguin and the Riddler. In the Villain Mode, you’ll be up against Batman and Robin, creating chaos in Gotham City.

The LEGO series just got more entertaining with LEGO Batman. What do you want to be featured in the next LEGO game?

There have been some speculations that Star Wars: Battlefront 3 (it should be Battlefront 4 but who’s counting anyway), would be coming out for the DS. The game was classified as PG by Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC). The publisher is said to be Activision Blizzard.

Battlefront 3 was previously available on Amazon.com as being a multi-console game that would be available for the Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and the DS. The release was scheduled for March 15, 2009. It was listed on the site briefly and was removed.

This would be good news for Star Wars fan. I do hope it would be a better game than Force Unleash.

Wish for the future features, latest features, and torture in this week’s Nintendo News Roundup.

Bridging the Gap: Connecting Guitar Hero Wii and DS
The author talks about the possibility of connecting the Wii and DS to play Guitar Hero. That’s not a bad idea at all.

Nintendo DSi: Definitely not all it is cracked up to be
Here’s a naysayer’s take on the new DSi. She says that Nintendo might be moving in a new direction with the DSi that it confuses her. But then she states in the next paragraph that it is nothing new at all. She really is confused.

Wii Speak Channel: Nintendo announce release date
Wii Speak Channel would let 4 people to speak and share pictures and text messages. The channel would be launched on December 5 in Europe.

Will Nintendo DSi region locking combat piracy
Nintendo announced that the DSi consoles would be region-locked. This goes with the DSi games as well. I hope Nintendo changes this policy or else it will be the end of those great imported games from Japan.

Top 10 Reasons Hardcore Gamers Fear Casual Gaming
Number 1 – The Nintendo Wii. I LOL’ed with this list but it pretty much summed up what I feel about casual games.

The USA might be experiencing a financial crisis but the demand for Nintendo consoles and games would still be high this coming holiday season. This is according to the predictions of Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Nintendo will increase its Wii shipment up to 50% while the DS will have a 10% increase. The figures are compared to the numbers of last year’s holiday shipment. Even with the increase in stock, NoA predicts that the demand is still higher than the supply.

The holiday season is when Nintendo does the most business. Last holiday season Nintendo managed to sell 2.85 million Wiis and 4.5 million DS consoles. Last year a lot of children were disappointed when their parents can’t find a Wii or a DS for Christmas.

My advice is to do your Christmas shopping early this year. I would definitely want a DSi this year, if I can find one.

NintendoNonstop got to chat with Go! Go! Kokopolo! creator Keith Webb and he stated that the game would not be promoting bullying in any ways. He made it clear that it is made for “comic mischief” and nothing more. He can’t elaborate on that any further but I did get to ask him a few questions.

Nintendo Nonstop (NNS): What’s the story behind the character Kokopolo?
Keith Webb (KW): Kokopolo is a wild cat with a slightly hyperactive temper. When his peaceful slumber is disturbed, he embarks on a mission to play pranks and cause mischief to those responsible.

NNS: Why release it on the DS and not the Wii?
KW:Developed for DS purely as a great fan of pixel and sprite artwork. The game is also designed to be purely “pick up and play” and played in short bursts. Thus perfect for handhelds.

NNS: What’s your take on casual gaming?
KW:Love casual gaming. Great way of getting more people involved. Though also a great fan of more hardcore, old-school, retro games. I think there is room in the market for both

Judging from the sketches, it does have a retro feel to it. Well, I did sounded kinda harsh during my last article on Go! Go! Kokopolo. I should have waited for the game itself rather than judging it immediately.

The exclusive sketches of Go! Go! Kokopolo! after the jump.
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Go! Go! Kokopolo! Will follow the adventure of a wildcat named, you’ve guessed it, Kokopolo. He is sort of an anti-hero and his enemies are not necessarily evil, they’re just in his way. With that description alone, I would not be giving this title to any of my nieces and nephews when it is released.

The game’s creator, Keith Webb, describes Kokopolo as:

“The ultimate trickster, scratching innocent animals at will, and luring them into deadly traps in a typically comic style.”

Well tell that to the hundreds of children being bullied in schoolyards. Any game that promotes bullying is a no-no in my book.

Developers have also announced that its sequel would be release for the Wii on 2012. Hmmm… will the Wii still be available in 2012?

Hopefully the storyline will change when the game is finally released. As is, I won’t be recommending the game for anyone.

*Edited*

I judged the game prematurely. That’s uncool of me.

During the recent Nintendo press conference, it is announced that the Pikmin series would be released for the Wii as part of the company’s Let’s Play on Wii series. It is reported that Pikmin would be released on Christmas Day in Japan. Pikmin 2 is also stated for rerelease but no release date has been given yet.

It was hinted during E3 2008 that a third Pikmin would be available for the Wii. Nintendo’s Cammie Dunaway has said before:

“It’s not the Pikmin that Mr. Miyamoto referred to, no. Mr. Miyamoto referred to a new Pikmin, as opposed to the classics that are being rereleased on Wii.”

In the recent developments, it is hinted that Pikmin 3 might be heading for the DSi instead. When Charlie Scibetta, Senior Director of Corporate Communications of Nintendo of America was asked if there’s a Pikmin 3 for the Wii, he answered:

“I don’t have an answer for you.”

The answer is a bit vague. It might be because they want to keep the project secret for now. They might even release it for the Wii and DSi.

I do think that Pikmin is more suited for the DSi than the Wii. What are your thoughts on this?