Metroid: Other M Out Now on Nintendo Wii

Samus Aran, protagonist of Nintendo's Metroid series, is already known as one of the most iconic heroines in video game history. Now, with the launch of Metroid: Other M for the Nintendo Wii system today, players are about to discover more about this enigmatic bounty hunter than ever before. Combining crisp action, immersive graphics and multifaceted controls, this latest entry in the legendary Metroid franchise marks a return to classic form that will captivate fans and newcomers alike.

Grokion (Metroid, Mega Man inspired video game) Out Now

Grokion is an iconic action-adventure game inspired by the dark explorations of Metroid and intense platforming of Mega Man. Entwining brilliant modern game-play mechanics, physics-based puzzles and pure old-school styling, it delivers a nostalgic yet progressive gaming experience.

Of Two Minds - Brains in Video Games

Check out Mother Brain from the Metroid series.

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Video game reviews: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Tabula Rasa and Sight Training

Pick from two different science fiction space operas and then train your eyes

Metroid Prime 3

: Corruption
Wii. Available now, £39.99


The first two Metroid Prime games were among the best of the decade: gorgeous sci-fi adventures that saw bounty hunter Samus Aran investigating alien ruins and killing off alien creatures with equal elan. The problem was that they were for the Gamecube, so few people had the chance to play them.

Now that the series has a proper platform - the all-conquering Wii - the designers are taking no chances: the third in the series is more cinematic than ever, expanding Samus's world and driving the action forward with all the panache of a Halo 3. It doesn't generate quite as much adrenaline, but that's because the Metroid games have always given the exploration and puzzle-solving as much prominence as the critter-blasting. With its excellent point-to-look control system, and pitch-perfect game design, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption caters to the Wii's strengths while making light of its technical limitations. A treat. - Robert Colvile

Tabula Rasa

PC. Available now, £29.99


The work of online role-playing pioneer Richard Garriott, Tabula Rasa is meant to breathe new life into the genre. Abandoning the fantasy setting of its competitors in favour of a sci-fi theme, it sees the remnants of mankind taking on the Bane, a xenophobic race that has destroyed the Earth and now battles humans across richly detailed alien worlds.

Although traditional aspects of the genre such as casting spells and "grinding" to develop skills are still present, they've been repackaged as cloning technology, which lets your character follow a new direction, and the use of Logos, an ancient alien language that can manipulate matter. The intense action of a first-person shooter combined with the longevity of an online role-playing game makes this title stand out from its peers. If you prefer robots and aliens to Dungeons & Dragons, this is the online role-player for you. - Joy Acharjee

Source: Telegraph

Shopto confirms its position as a leading online retailer

Shopto.com is proud to announce record traffic figures for its online retail store in October 2007, with November expected to bring further growth. As such, the site is benefiting from its most successful period to date.

Between the 1st and 31st of October 2007, Shopto.com received more than 300,000 unique visitors, all searching for the best prices and the biggest deals. Between them, these visitors generated over 9 million page impressions, comparing favourably with videogames portals such as totalvideogames.com, computerandvideogames.com, eurogamer.net and videogamer.com.

November has already seen a dramatic increase, with traffic up over 32%, putting shopto on course to break the 500,000 unique user mark by the end of the month. Complimenting the sharp increase in users, page impressions are also up 40%, with an expected 12 million pages to be served before the end of November.

“The Christmas period is always a busy time of year for retail, and shopto’s market leading prices and renowned customer service is really starting to hit home within the gaming community,” commented Igor Cipolletta, Chief Operating Officer of shopto.com. “We’re geared up for our biggest period yet, and with some of the best deals on hardware and software in the UK, we’re proud to offer our unrivalled service as one of the leading names in online retail.”

www.Shopto.com has hundreds of deals online right now, including a Nintendo Wii console, with Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Prince of Persia: Rival Swords retailing for an unbeatable price of £279.99. Also on offer is the HDMI enabled Xbox 360 Premium pack, including a copy of Crackdown for just £214.99 and the newly released 40GB PS3 for £279.99. These bundles are not exhaustive, and Shopto.com strives to always offer the best deal for the consumer, offering them the choice and affordability they require.

Metroid Prime 3

The best console FPS controls ever; that's what gamers in the States are saying about Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's innovative Wii controls. For the first few hours of the final code we didn't quite see what they were on about; it was all a bit familiar to Ubisoft's launch shooter effort Red Steel. Then we found the "advanced" control mode. Ooohhh...

Return of Samus
The Metroid series has always been about aiming and shooting and less about which weapon Samus is packing in her orange space holster. That's why the Wii's new accurate method of shooting fits in to the series so well; the difficulty's ramped up even further and beaming a critter requires far more skill than the first two Prime's simple lock-on system.

It should be noted that while the 'normal' mode works well enough - especially for beginners - 'advanced' is far more sensitive and allows you to play more skilfully than on the other mode.

Retro Studios proves that a Nunchuk and Wii Remote are the perfect armchair alternative to a mouse and keyboard; with short, simple Remote movements you can aim Samus's weapon with awesome precision, and thanks to some excellent tuning at Retro Studios, vision movement is accurate and feels tight - unlike the loose aiming circle of Red Steel.

Because of this fire fights are a notch above anything possible in previous Prime games; instead of darting from baddie to baddie with an instant lock-on, Corruption's system allows you to track targets as they dash and dive away from your cursor, as you can see from our captured videos below.

Aiming for specific areas of the body is also played around with; certain enemies will require you to aim at chinks in their armour, which you can do quickly and easily with the Wii Remote, and swarms of drones test your reaction speed with shields and teleports. It's the breath of fresh air that, after the second Prime, first-person Metroid really needed.

The first Prime game could be classed as one of the visceral shooters of it's time; gorgeous visor effects, subtle HUD delay and a teasing glimpse of Samus's girlish reflection made you feel like you were actually stuck inside the helmet. Corruption takes this even further with an abundance of levers and switches you actually reach out and pull with the bounty hunter's Wii Remote-controlled hand.

You're given your first glimpse of these satisfying switch moments in Samus's orbiting space ship at the very beginning; pushing levers forward and twisting dials feels solid thanks to the Remote's sturdy force feedback, and you thrust her ship into by your own hand - which beats pressing the A-button any day.

You can see Samus's new grapple toy in action below which puts you even more in control of the on-screen bounty-hunter, whipping and lassoing rubble - and even enemy shields - out of the way. It plays a big part in Corruption's puzzles and combat later on in the game and, although there are sometimes issues locking on properly at first, it works very well and adds a completely different feel to the straight-forward point-and-click shooting we're used to.

Source: CVG

Pokémon Trades Span The Globe

They invaded. They evolved. And now they'll be traded - across oceans, and without regard for national borders or native tongue.

Nintendo today announces the Pokémon GTS (Global Trade Station) Web site goes online worldwide Sept. 15 and will be a great resource for Pokémon fans interested in learning more about trading their favorite characters.

The Global Trade Station already allows the trade of millions of Pokémon between trainers worldwide. Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are the fastest-selling games in the history of the series, with worldwide sales in excess of 10 million games. Players use their Nintendo DS portable game systems to link wirelessly to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing them to scan which Pokémon are available from different nations and offer to trade with other players.

The new Pokémon Global Trade Station Web site, www.pokemon-gts.net, can be reached via any Internet-connected computer. The site will let users see which Pokémon are the most popular to trade, provide statistics about the number of trades completed and allow them to bookmark their favorite Pokémon. The site will operate in seven different languages and inform users about the nation they're "visiting" electronically. Visitors can even listen to audio files to learn how to say "hello" and "thank you" in select countries languages.

"Pokémon is now truly global in nature," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "A Pokémon Trainer from Chicago can be traveling in Sydney and trade one of their Pokémon with another owner in Helsinki."

Pokémon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia which includes licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, an animated TV series, home entertainment, the official Pokémon Web site and an online retail center www.pokemoncenter.com. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo's Game Boy and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Pokémon was introduced in North America in September 1998 and today is one of the most popular toy and entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 420 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.