Technofranki's blog

The Norwegian Game Award – Gullstikka 2009 – was held in Oslo tonight. Under you will see all the nomenies, winners are marked in bold text.

The big winner was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with five awards.

Best Racing game:

• Colin McRae Dirt 2
• Forza Motorsport 3
• Need For Speed Shift
• Need For Speed Nitro

Best Sports game:

• FIFA 10
• Football Manager 2010
• NHL 10
• Wii Sports Resort

Best Action game:

• Assassins Creed 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Adventure/RPG:

• Borderlands
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
• Sherlock Holmes vs Jack The Ripper

Open Class:

• Guitar Hero: Metallica
• The Sims 3
• Street Fighter IV
• Tekken 6

Best Platformer:

• Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
• Little Big Planet
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

Best Childrens game:

• Knerten Spillet
• Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
• Mini Ninjas
• New Super Mario Bros Wii

Best game with Norwegian language:

• Buzz Norgesmester
• Little Big Planet PSP
• Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
• The Sims 3

Critics Award:

• Batman Arkham Asylum
• Dragon Age Origins
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best PC game:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Dragon Age Origins
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Sims 3

Best Console game:

• Assassins Creed 2
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• New Super Mario Bros Wii
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Handheld game:

• Gran Turismo PSP
• GTA: Chinatown Wars
• Little Big Planet PSP
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Game of the Year:

• Assassins Creed 2
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Dragon Age Origins
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Online site:

• Gamer.no
• Gamereactor.no
• Spill.no
• Spillmagasinet.no

Årets Ildsjel:

• Bernt Erik Sandnes
• Kim «Iterium» Uri (MW2.no)
• Petter Røisland (FM Norge)
• Vegard Skjefstad (The Gathering)

Best Retailer:

• Gamestop Karl Johan
• Gamezone Kristiansand
• Spaceworld Megastore Oslo
• Spaceworld Strømmen

Best Downloable game:

• Battlefield 1943
• Shadow Complex
• Tales of Monkey Island
• Trials HD

Best Strategy:

• Anno 1404
• Empire Total War
• Halo Wars
• Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War II

Best Multiplayer game:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• FIFA 10
• Left 4 Dead 2
• New Super Mario Bros wii

Best Cellphone game:

• Beneath A Steel Sky (iPhone)
• Flight Control (IPhone)
• Modern Combat: Sandstorm (iPhone)
• Secret of Monkey Island SE (iPhone)

Gullstikka translates to something like The Golden Stick.

There is one gaming company that I do remember from the 80′ies, Epyx. They made a lot of good games. One, which I’m very fond of, is Winter Games on Commodore 64. The games was released on ‘all’ formats under the sun. And since it’s time for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, I thought it was time to digg the game up and make a small review of it.

This is the emulated Commodore 64 version on Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console (only available in Europe I think).

Winter Games have 7 eventens, detailed bellow. The games was released in 1985 and is 25 years old this year. Is the game still good? Yes, I think so. The graphics is quite blocky by todays standards. But all those 8-bit games have some sort of soul that many new games don’t have. Remember that these games ran on a 64 Kb computer. It’s amazing what they achieved with so little memory.

The characteristic C64 sound brings back good memories. The game emulates very well, it only lack a Tac 2 joystiq.

Under my YouTube-video, you will see a small description of each event.

Hot Dog

This is a freestyle event. Make your twist and turns and try to land stright.

Biathlon

Find a nice pace with the left button to get a good rythm of your skier. Watch your heart rythm since you will get tired and slow down uphills. It will also be harder to hit your target while shooting. This is one of my favourite events.

Speed Skating

This event is pretty easy. Find a good rythm with the left and right buttons, and you will win easy.

Figure Skating

You have 1 minute to do your jump and spins. Sounds easy, but you have to land stright to get good score from the judges.

Ski Jump

The key in Ski Jump is to time your jump right, have a nice flight down the hill and try to land standing. As you see in my video, this is something I’m not good at.

Free Skating

My only criticism to this game is that this event is the same as Figure Skating, except that you now have 2 minutes to do your athletic movements.

Bobsled

This is my other favourite event. Learn the curves and when to press the button, and you will do great.

In other words: Play some Winter Games. It’s still a great game after 25 years.

Project Needlemouse is Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The new game will be released episodical on WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 will feature HD graphics, while the Nintendo Wii version will use some sort of motioncontroll. The best part is that Sonic 4 is back to it’s original 2D roots, where Sonic belongs. The first episode will be released Summer 2010.

Here is the full pressrelease from blogs.sega.com:

SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced the first game developed specifically for the download market from the world’s fastest hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I will be available via download on Microsoft XBLA, Sony PSN and Nintendo WiiWare, bringing with it the addictive classic 2D side scrolling action that Sonic fans have been waiting for.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I offers sublime 2D gameplay through beautifully rendered HD environments. Fans will be able to speed through each level with the classic Spin Dash move, and destroy enemies using the Homing Attack. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I sees the return of the much-loved special stages and takes players through a variety of different Zones, all inspired by the Mega Drive era.

Each level from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is separately selectable from the main menu, making it easy for players to replay their favorite sections as they wish. Long time fans will not be disappointed as they rejoin the action and face all new intense boss battles against everyone’s favourite villain – the ever devious and evil – Dr. Eggman!

“Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I is a return to the classic game style of the original Sonic games” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director SEGA Europe Ltd. “It’s great to be able to offer fans of the Sonic series the type of game they have been asking for in a high definition experience.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I will be available in Summer 2010 for XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare.

Today Nintendo in Europe released three WiiWare demos for download. You can download the demo of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord, BIT.TRIP Beat and NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits. they are only available for download until 31st January, 2010. You find the demos in Wii Shop Channel under Demo in Search by Genre in WiiWare.

So three demos isn’t much, but is a small start. I do hope Nintendo will release more demos. From my own experience on Xbox 360, some of my Xbox Live Arcade titles are bought after I’ve tested the demo.

I’ve recored some gameplay of all the three demos and took some screenshoot too, which you can see at the bottom of this post.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord

BIT.TRIP Beat

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits

This blogpost is for everyone who lives in Europe, have a Nintendo Wii and haven’t connected it online you. In October Nintendo of Europe launched their Connection Ambassador Promotion. This is for helping all those of you who haven’t connected your Wii’s to Internet.

The benefit is for both of us. I give you my Nintendo Wii number which is 6418 – 9480 - 9127 – 7277, and you give your Wii number to me. You can post it in the comment or sendt it to me. Follow the instruction on Nintendo.co.uk on how to do it. When everything is done, we will each get 500 Nintendo Wii Points to spend on games from the Wii Shop Channel.

I help you, and you help me.

It’s getting closer to the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii for Nintendo Wii. From the video I’ve seen, the game look great and I can’t wait for the game to ship. IGN.com have made a preview of the game wich you can watch bellow.

If you’re lucky and live in Europe and have a lot of friends and family who have still not connected their Nintendo Wii to internet, you can now help them and earn Nintendo Wii points. The more you help, the more points you earn. Helping 10 persons gives you 5000 points, 20 person helped gives you 10 000 points and you can download every Virtual Console game for free.

The Nintendp Connection Ambassador Promotion was launched in Europe on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009.

Here is some of the pressrelease from Nintendo.co.uk:

By becoming a Connection Ambassador, players can gain up to 10,000 Wii Points by encouraging friends and family to get connected to the Internet with their Wii.  Each time a friend or family member connects for the first time to the Internet with the help of the Connection Ambassador, both the Connection Ambassador and the person they helped will receive 500 Wii Points.

If you help 10 people connect to the Internet, you reach Gold status and can download ALL Nintendo-published NES games for free on Virtual Console as well as receiving a total of 5,000 Wii Points. If you connect a maximum of 20 people to the Internet, not only will you attain Platinum status, you will also receive a total of 10,000 Wii Points to spend on WiiWare games and can download ALL NES, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 games on Virtual Console for FREE.

How do I become a Connection Ambassador?

• Enter the Wii Shop Channel
• There is an icon on the Wii Shop Channel entitled ‘Connection Ambassador Promotion’
• Select this icon and you will be prompted by two icons: one showing that you are the Connection Ambassador (or the Helper) and the other icon showing that you are the ‘Person Who Was Helped’
• Select the Connection Ambassador icon
• You will be prompted to enter the Wii Number of the person you have helped.
• You must do this within 30 days of when the person you have helped, has registered their connectivity using your Wii Number
• Once both parties have registered, you will have received 500 Wii Points on your  Wii Shop Channel Accounts to spend in the Wii Shop Channel

What do I do if a Connection Ambassador helps me connect to the Wii Shop Channel?

• Enter the Wii Shop Channel
• On the Wii Shop Channel welcome page there is an icon called ‘Connection Ambassador Promotion’
• Select this icon and you will be prompted by two icons: one showing that you are the Connection Ambassador (or the Helper) and the other icon showing that you are the ‘Person Who Was Helped’
• Select the ‘Person Who Was Helped’ icon
• You will be prompted to enter the Wii Number of the person who has helped you connect
• You must do this within 30 days of accessing the Wii Shop Channel
• You will be asked to fill in a short questionnaire
• Once both parties have registered, you will have received 500 Wii Points on your Wii Shop Channel Accounts to spend in the Wii Shop Channel