In 1998, a device called the Bio Sensor (or Bio Pak depending on who you believe) was released in Japan for the Nintendo 64. Admittedly, it wasn’t made by Nintendo, instead being brought to us by a third-party company called SETA, but the idea was the same. Basically, this device measured your heart rate as you played, the only difference being that it attached to your earlobe, not your finger.

And what games were compatible with this device? According to Wikipedia, Tetris 64 (released only in Japan) is the first and only game to ever make use of it. It featured a special mode where the speed of the game changed depending on your heart rate, so if you’re one of those army sharpshooters who are trained to slow down their heartbeat, you might find it pretty easy. It sounded like a fun idea in theory, but in practice, not so much (according to reviews).

This raises an interesting idea. What if someone at Nintendo was looking over old releases and lamenting the missed opportunity of SETA’s original device? What if Nintendo have plans for the Vitality Sensor beyond Wii Fit?

Maybe we’ll see puzzle games that change according to your heartbeat. Maybe we’ll see FPS games where the higher the heartbeat, the harder it is to steady a sniper rifle. How about a game where your enemies can sense fear and react accordingly? Or a survival horror game which springs surprises when your heartbeat is low to maximise the surprise factor?

Or maybe it is only for Wii Fit, and this is all wild speculation that will never amount to anything. But we can dream, can’t we…

The title will feature 120 new levels, 10,000 adjectives, refined controls and an improved camera system.

Scribblenauts 2 will be developed by 5th Cell (the creators of the original game) and is due out Q3, 2010.

If you haven’t played the original Scribblenauts yet, then check out The Nintendo Basement’s review of it and maybe consider purchasing it before the sequel is released.

The folks at Universomo were responsible for the mobile phone version of de Blob and had just completed their first ever non-mobile phone game, Beat City, for the Nintendo DS.

Beat City is apparently similar to Rhythm Heaven and will be released in April.

THQ says it will remain committed to mobile gaming, despite the closure of Universomo.

Sumo Digital were the developers behind the DS version of this game, and you can tell right from the beginning they’ve really done their homework. Just about everything within this game is borrowed from the king of kart, Mario Kart. But, like they say, imitation is the biggest form of flattery. In-game kart mechanics, online options, character statistics and much more are all borrowed from Nintendo’s well-established kart series, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sumo Digital, unlike the many other game development teams, has been smart enough to realise that Nintendo’s kart racing series uses a tried and tested formula that should be acknowledged and embraced in order to be successful.

It becomes obvious that Sumo has drawn inspiration from the Mario Kart series as early as the first menu screen, because the first two options presented to you are the core elements of any decent kart racing game: single player and multiplayer. After this, you’ll no doubt be able to sigh with relief and search through the options on offer within these two modes. Single player mode allows players to select from Grand Prix, single race, time trial and mission mode. Grand Prix has three difficulties: easy, medium and hard, and let’s you play through a number of cups. Single race lets you play as any unlocked character on any unlocked course. Time trial is a race against the clock and Mission Mode is basically the same as Mario Kart DS’s version, giving you tasks like collecting rings or racing against a number of opponents. The multiplayer component of the game also gives players some safe and standard options. There is single card, multi-card and an online mode, the last of which allows players to verse a bunch of random people, friends or view the worldwide leader boards to see who has the best lap time for each track.

When one of these modes has been selected, you then choose a character from the SEGA cast (eg. Tails, Shenmue or Alex Kidd) and pick one of the 24 themed tracks to race on. Each character has unique stats, but the differences aren’t that noticeable unless you’re a hardcore kart racing player. The controls are spot on and Sumo Digital has nailed the power sliding and turbo technique. As for the tracks, in comparison to a game like Mario Kart or even Diddy Kong Racing DS, All-Stars Racing will no doubt leave players with mixed feelings. Some tracks (like the Sonic or Super Monkey Ball ones) feel really well designed whereas others (like the Billy Hatcher circuits) could have used with a bit more effort. The distinctive feature of each of these tracks is that they have multiple paths from start to finish. Besides this, most of the stuff Sumo Digital has done with All-Stars’ characters and tracks has all been done before in games like… (drum roll) Mario Kart. Question mark boxes have been replaced with Sonic-themed item capsules, boosting mushrooms are now Sonic boots and drift boosts are now drift turbos.

What's Sonic doing in Bowser's Castle?

Outside of the standard material, Sumo Digital has included a few different features within All-Stars. For starters, there is the license system. Over the course of the game your license is upgraded as you complete cups in the Grand Prix mode, beat ghosts in time trial and win races online. This nice little feature keeps players motivated and also even rewards them with credit, allowing them to purchase new characters, tracks and music. So rather than just unlocking things randomly, All-Stars gives players the ability to purchase what they want, when they want. Besides the license feature, during races each character is able to receive their own unique power-up which may or may not become available to them depending on their position in the race. For example, AiAi from Super Monkey Ball will get in his ball and roll around to speed up, and Ulala from Space Channel 5 has the ability to distract all her opponents from the race with some cool tunes.

In terms of visuals, this game looks quite impressive. The majority of third-party developers never seem to be able to get much power out of the DS, but Sumo Digital has done a reasonably good job. The tracks are all nice and colourful and the character models look just like their console version counter-parts. The sound is equally as pleasing. Players will hear classic lines of dialogue from characters, noises from well-known items, and catchy tunes from all of SEGA’s game series.

Oh no, it's that nightmare where I get chased by giant bananas.

As good as Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is, unfortunately, it falls short in a few areas. For starters (as far as this reviewer could tell), playing the Grand Prix mode on different difficulties doesn’t do anything. If you play through each cup on easy once, you unlock them on all of the harder difficulties as well. About the only thing you get out of playing the Grand Prix mode on a higher setting is more credit. The multiplayer modes also have a few letdowns as well. The single pack mode only allows 2 racers to verse each another and the connection is closed after every single race, meaning if you want to play more than one race you’ll have to get your mate to download the game from you again. There are no options for a set of races, which is disappointing, because Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing DS are quite generous in this area. The other multiplayer problem is in relation to the online section of the game. For some reason, only a few tracks are available to play on, and the one with the most votes is raced on. Apart from this, the options in this game aren’t quite as extensive as Mario Kart and as a result it just falls short.

Overall, Sumo Digital has done a good job on Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. Sure, the title isn’t as polished as Mario Kart DS or even Diddy Kong Racing DS, but it will no doubt capture many players’ hearts because it features a brilliant line-up of SEGA characters, tracks and music. This title is highly recommended to SEGA fans and anyone else out there who is looking for a new kart racing game on the DS.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: B+

Good enough to remind fans why they love SEGA so much.

Sound: B+

There are plenty of classic sounds and tunes from many SEGA titles within this game.

Gameplay: B+

The collection of characters and tracks within this game will satisfy any SEGA fan and will no doubt entertain any DS gamer who enjoys kart racing games. The only real let down is the lack of options on offer, especially in the multiplayer section of the game.

Overall: B+

Sumo Digital has done what many thought was impossible: created a good Mario Kart clone.

The latest Mega Man title brings the series back to its old school roots by featuring retro game play and classic 8-bit style graphics and sound.

Mega Man 10 will also feature additional download content and many options which allow the game to run like a NES title.

Mega Man 10 will be released on Nintendo’s WiiWare service and cost 1000 Wii Points.

This new Dragon Quest game is the very first in the series to be released on a handheld and also exclusively on the DS. When the game was released in Japan, Famitsu magazine gave it 40/40.

So far, more than 4.15 million copies of Dragon Quest IX have been sold in Japan.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies will be released in Australia this winter.

The second game’s title now spells out “U R MIAY”.

If you’re still struggling to understand what the hell I’m on about, take a look at the pictures  below and use the star points on the particular letters in both titles to reveal the hidden messages.

U R MR GAY

U R MIAY

Welcome to Violence includes three of the biggest SEGA-published titles on the Wii: Madworld, The Conduit and The House of the Dead: OVERKILL.

Madworld features bloody violence, The Conduit pushes the technical limits of the Wii and The House of the Dead: OVERKILL makes use of the f-word in 189 different ways.

The trigger-tapping triple-barrel terrorfest will be released on March 11, 2010 for $109.95.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M will now both be out sometime between June and August this year.

Greg Arthurton from Nintendo Australia commented that the two titles would definitely not be released during the Christmas period, which is a good sign.

This leaves plenty of room for other titles (like the new Zelda) to be released in the latter half of this year.

Samurai Warriors 3 is a spin-off of the Dynasty Warriors series and has been developed by Koei. The Wii title has been rated M because it contains violence.

The other two games revealed to be coming to Australian shores later this year are Light Trax and Penta Tentacles.

Both of these games are being developed by Skip (the creators of Chibi-Robo!, Captain Rainbow and the Art Style series) and have been rated G.

Unfortunately, there are currently no details available on what exactly these two games are about or on what platforms they will be released. So keep your internet browsers on TNB for the latest updates.

Source: ACB