Excitebots: Trick Racing impressions

Before anyone freaks out and says "That's IT?", no, this is not the article I've been working on for the last few days. I'm just whipping this up quick as some filler until that article is done (Probably tomorrow. Yes, I delayed it AGAIN. I suck at this). Alright? Alright.


After staring at the box yesterday for 4 1/2 hours, I finally got a chance to play Excitebots: Trick Racing today. In one word, my overall impression is "...WHAT?".

Excitebots is no ordinary racer. You thought Excite Truck was crazy? Bots is everything Truck was, plus darts, anthropomorphic vehicles, pie-throwing, bowling, soccer, football, chattering teeth, backflips and more. If Truck was crazy, Bots is flat-out insane.

One of the first things I noticed when I started up this game is how incredibly bright and lively the environments are. It's amazing how vibrant all the colours are in this game, from the common dirt path to the lush green foliage. Overall, Excitebots looks quite a lot like Excite Truck, but with a far more cartoony appearance.


Excitebots retains the same basic control scheme as its predecessor, along with the same excellent level of precision. A few new ways to control are added, most notably the seesawing motion needed when the bot takes on its "Leg" form (As seen above). I find it quite difficult to control where you're going in this mode, though, but maybe I just need to practice more.

The music in Excitebots, as opposed to Excite Truck, is actually pretty fun and suited to the level's theme. This is great news considering that, unlike Excite Truck, 'Bots has absolutely no support for SD card music. Such a pity, too; I was dying to peel across the Mexican countryside in the form of a praying mantis robot to the sounds of Born to Be Wild. Who can honestly say they've never wanted to do that at least once in the past?

Perhaps the biggest and most-wanted addition to the game is the one thing Excite Truck truly needed: Online play. I have yet to give it a go myself, but if Mario Kart Wii's buttery-smooth experience is any indication, Excitebots is sure to boast an amazingly fast and lag-free online mode. A six-player, online, crash-tastic race featuring flying bowling pins and explosives? I gotta check this out, and fast! Of course, if your friends are a little more local, there's always the option of local multiplayer. The major downside to this? A maximum of two players at once. Bummer.

Excitebots is already a whole whackload of fun, and I've barely even begun playing it. Stay tuned for the full review sometime in the near future!

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Animal Crossing: City Folk impressions

After waiting since City Folk's announcement back in July, gamers all over North America finally have the latest Animal Crossing in their hands. I actually managed to grab a copy on Saturday, beating the street date by a whole day. Sure, not as drastic as some peoples' experiences, but it was still pretty notable. Anywho, I've played this game for many, many hours so far (Over three hours today alone), and while I'm not quite ready to write up the review, I can certainly give my impressions.

The main place where I've noticed some change is with the fish. First off, they're no longer 2D sprites moving around under the water, but full, 3D models that wiggle around far more realistically than in any previous Animal Crossing. Fish seem a little more rare, though, and catching them seems to have become more difficult somehow.

Related to the fishes being graphically upgraded, everything in game is now a 3D model instead of a 2D image. While it's a minor touch, it does add a new level of polish to the game. The fact that the flowers actually have some depth to them also makes it a little tougher to find a bug sitting on top, which is pretty cool.

Of course, the most notable addition to City Folk is, well, the city. Accessible by bus, the city is basically a collection of many visitors from the previous games. Crazy Redd, Katrina, and Dr. Shrunk all call the city home, and even Shampoodle (The hair salon that was set up in Nookingtons in Wild World) has moved towards the bright lights of downtown. There are also a few exclusive features to the city, such as a fancy (And incredibly expensive) store run by fashionista Gracie, the Happy Room Association (Or HRA) headquarters, and even an auction house that uses WiiConnect24 for friend-to-friend bidding and selling. While the city isn't all that it could have been, it's still nice to have.

Also added to City Folk is the ability to take your own screenshots at any time. Conveniently mapped to the 1 button, you can take a screenshot just about whenever you want, even in the middle of a conversation. Below is an example:


While there's a slight quality drop in the conversion (Some jaggies and JPEG "artifacts" are common), it's still an amazing tool to have at your disposal. The photos can be saved directly to the SD card, making it very easy to share them online (As I am right now).

As for new items and furniture, the aforementioned high-class store in the city sells two new furniture sets, but they're certainly not for the faint-of-wallet. I've also caught a couple lobsters in my few days playing (As well as had a friend come over and steal one...), and they're 100% new. Pretty sure the bagworm is, too, but I'm not sure.

I've gone online a couple times so far, visiting two towns and having my town visited once. I've experienced no lag at all (Even when visiting a town in Saskatchewan), and had a generally good time messing around with a couple online buddies.

Overall, I'm enjoying City Folk so far. No, it's not drastically improved or significantly different from Wild World, but so far I'd say it's worth the buy for any Animal Crossing fan out there looking for something with a little more. Tune in later this week for the full review, complete with WiiSpeak notes, thoughts on the motion controls, and more in-depth information on everything mentioned in these impressions.

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Hands-off impressions of the games shown today

Two posts in one day? This is insanity! So, um, yeah. Taking tomorrow off unless something wicked happens.



I watched the conference. I downloaded all the relevant press packages. I checked out every last screenshot and video so far released. I've done everything but play the games Nintendo discussed today. After looking everything over, I've come up with some hands-off impression of every major title and accessory shown today.

First, lets start with the one everybody saw coming: Animal Crossing: City Folk. From what we've seen, it seems to be the same basic idea as the other installments, with a couple little twists. First, there's the city that gives the game its new title. While hardly a "city" by size standards (About one eighth the size of a town in Wild World, if even that much), it still manages to cram in a whole lot of different things to do. Based on what we know so far, the plaza plays host to an auction house (Presumably online), Gracie the fashionista's shop, Harriet's hair salon, a theatre, and a few more things yet to be fully revealed. Overall, the city looks like a nice new addition, but nothing truly game-changing.

Yay!

As for the rest of City Folk, it seems to be fairly the same. You still buy a house, Nook still haunts you for your mortgage payments, fishing is still a major pastime, and filling up the museum remains a goal attainable by only the most determined players. Nothing's really changed. Some may be disappointed by this, but I'm pretty happy. I didn't want Animal Crossing Wii to be a huge departure from what I'm familiar with, and Nintendo delivered. Really, no new entry in the series has ever added anything insanely new or notably different, and I never expected the Wii version to go against this pattern. And dang, am I ever happy to see the real holidays come back! Halloween and Toy Day, hooray!

If there's one thing that disappoints me, though, it's that online play is still limited to four players at a time. Come on, Nintendo! You took Mario Kart DS' four and turned it into twelve in Mario Kart Wii! Why can't you do the same with Animal Crossing: City Folk? Not necessarily twelve players, but is six really that much of a stretch? I really hope this is changed by launch, but I don't suppose I should really expect it to happen. Besides this little problem, the game looks solid to me.

Unveiled alongside Animal Crossing: City Folk was Wii Speak. Unlike most traditional game console microphones, Wii Speak is not a headset. Instead, it's a box that sits somewhere near your play area. The sound from the entire room is broadcast across the internet, allowing entire families to have conversations among each other.

The brand-new Wii Speak, coming to a living room near you this November.

On the plus side, I see this as a great way for far-separated family members to get in touch with their brethren and play some games at the same time. Sure, it's not exactly private, but do you really expect to be having intimate conversations in your living room? And the way I see it, Wii Speak looks to be far less "scary" for the non-gamers than a full-blown headset. Just imagine if you weren't a gamer. Would you rather put a box on top of your TV, or wear some weird headset? I feel the choice is obvious in this case. Also, with one central microphone, people won't need to buy a new headset for each player in the house in order to play simultaneously. One central microphone, with the sound played through your TV speakers.

I suppose the downside is it doesn't seem to be shipping in a bundle with any known game. I thought that it would be a perfect fit to have two Animal Crossing: City Folk packages, one with the Wii Speak, and one without. Instead, though, we'll have to shell out an additional $30 for this thing. Doesn't that sound like a tad too much for you? I remember getting my DS headset for $12, not $30. A little bit pricey, don't you think? I was thinking $20 at most.

Well, no matter. This should still shut up all those people obsessing over voice chat. You got it now, okay? Not good enough? Too bad for you, I guess. I'm sure some third party will make a headset soon enough. When that day comes, it's all yours.

Although we really didn't hear all that much about Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, I still feel like mentioning it for one key point: Song sharing. Really, this is a great idea. If you have a copy of the original On Tour, and a pal has Decades, you can swap songs among each other and still play together. That's some cool stuff right there. Activision really does seem to be trying, and I applaud them for that.

Next up we have Wii Sports: Resort. From the three sports shown (Frisbee toss, water skiing and sword fighting), Resort seems to be shaping up as a completely new entry in the Sports series. And honestly, that's got me pretty excited.

Wii Sports finally gets a sequel in Wii Sports: Resort

Of course, Wii Sports: Resort just wouldn't be possible without the new Wii MotionPlus. Available in a bundle with Resort next year, MotionPlus adds so much more to the Wiimote's motion sensing abilities. Finally, we can get the true 1-to-1 experience in our own living rooms. If the amazing sensitivity shown in Wii Sports: Resort is any indication of future titles, we're in for one hell of a treat.

Wii Music finally made its return to the limelight today. With practically an entire orchestra at your disposal, there's sure to be at least one instrument right for you. Saxaphone? Piano? Drums? Tamborine? You got it. The variety of instruments is astounding to say the least.

The controls are something that many people seem to have misunderstood, sadly. Everyone reading this please take note: Wii Music is much more than pointless waving around of the controller. Buttons are pressed to the beat to keep the song going, and the motion controls are there to allow the player to give their performance a little pizazz. With the option of saving a recording of your concert, you're going to want it to be exciting!

The long-lost "Wii" game returns at last

I was somewhat confused at one part of the presentation. Six people took the stage, but the Wii can only support four players. Not quite sure what was going on there. They said that two of the musicians were computer-controlled, but then... Why call those extra two people on stage? Bah, I'm probably making too much of a minor misunderstanding.

I like that Wii Music seems to allow the player to make the song their own. There's no high scores or strict button press timing. Just play the way you want to play. It's a great approach to music-based gaming. Rock Band: Mii Edition this ain't, but it's still going to be one hell of a concert.

Overall, I was fairly impressed with the games showcased today. Sure, they weren't a new Zelda or Mario, but for what they were, it was a good showing. I just hope everything remains as awesome between now and their too-far-away release dates.

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The Duck Has Spoken.

Triple WiiWare impressions: My Life As A King, Defend Your Castle and LostWinds!

Today Nintendo finally launched the brand-new WiiWare service. Using the Wii Shop Channel, we can now download exclusive games straight to our Wii consoles. With six titles to choose from, you may be wondering which one is worth your hard-earned Wii Points. Of course, there's no way I would have been able to afford all six of these, so I narrowed down my choices to three: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King, LostWinds and Defend Your Castle. Here's how they're shaping up so far.



First up is LostWinds by Frontier Developments. The first thing you'll notice about LostWinds is how amazingly vibrant and lively it is (The above logo should give you a basic idea). Even the leaves and shrubbery in the background react to the cursor when you wave it past. A lot of effort was put into making this game look stunning, and it came across every bit as amazing as expected.

LostWinds follows the story of Toku, a young boy from a small village. When walking about one day, he stumbles upon a small stone containing a wind spirit. Named Enril, this spirit needs Toku's help to stop the evil elemental monster Balasar from destroying his homeland.

Controlling both Toku and Enril (Who takes the role of the game's cursor), players will use the powers of wind to guide the young adventurer through vast caves and fields. Every now and then a monster will appear, with Toku's only defense being Enril's wind powers. Whipping about the enemy with a gust of wind, Enril can slam it into the ground to finish it off. An interesting way to fight for sure.

The controls are very smooth, and guiding both Toku and Enril works just fine and never gets confusing. The puzzles take little more than a moment of thinking to figure out, but I'm sure things will get harder later on. Accompanying you on this somewhat linear adventure is a soft and calming soundtrack that quickly grows tense when an enemy approaches. It's an incredibly unique title, and so far seems well worth my 1000 Wii Points. If you get the chance, I suggest checking this one out.



If you like playing Flash games online, chances are you've dabbled in Defend Your Castle. The classic action-strategy game by XGen Studios has been a hit on many websites all around the internet, and today it made its debut on WiiWare for 500 Wii Points. Is it worth paying for a Wii version of a free Flash game? So far, I'd have to say yes.

For those of you not familiar with Defend Your Castle, here's the basics. The player takes the role of a cursor floating around the field. When an enemy roams into the field, players can pick them up and whip them into the air, killing them on impact. If picking them up doesn't work, players can also employ their own units to do the job, from archers to magicians to explosives experts. Upgrades can be purchased with points after each round, and then the next level starts.

First of all, there's no need to worry about having to learn a whole new control scheme. If you can pick up a Wiimote, you can play this. Just point at a baddy, press A to grab him, lift him in the air and release A to drop him. In fact, pointing and the A button are pretty much the only controls in this game. Very, very easy to understand.

Second, Defend Your Castle actually takes some strategy in addition to fast reflexes. Figuring out how to properly distribute your troops is key to surviving. Should you make more archers, get another magician, hire a stone mason, or just keep someone on hand to become an explosives expert? There's a surprising amount of thinking involved here.

Finally, this game is just a pleasure to both play and watch. Tossing several enemies in the air and watching them all plummet to the ground at random intervals in hilarious. It's raining men! And the animation style brings a whole new meaning to "homebrewed games". With Popsicle stick battering rams, bread clip cursors and construction paper castles, this is certainly a unique looking game.

Defend You Castle on WiiWare is certainly a step above the original Flash game. If you're a fan of the original, or you're looking for something unique, this is for you.



And finally we have the highest-profile of all the WiiWare games, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King. By mega-company Square-Enix, My Life As A King takes place after the first Crystal Chronicles game (Gamecube).

One thing's for sure, My Life As A King is one of the best looking WiiWare games we've seen. With a huge draw distance and lush environments, it's certainly a beauty of a game. Of course, all this graphical prowess is directly related to what sets this game apart from any other Final Fantasy: You can never leave the town. You play as a king, and it's your job to help rebuild the town that was destroyed in the events of the previous game. In order to build, you need material. This is where your warriors come into play.

You can send warriors to caves and dungeons near your town, and they'll spend the whole day fighting monsters and exploring, bringing home money and materials to build more houses and stores. And that's the basic extent of gameplay as far as I know. Really, I haven't had much time at all with this one, as I only downloaded it about four hours ago. All I can say for sure is that it starts off slow, but starts to pick up after a few in-game days.

The music and sound effects scream Final Fantasy. It's just so very fitting! And the characters certainly reflect the creativity of Square-Enix as well. Talking penguins? Hey, sure, why not?

If there's one apparent shortcoming thus far, it's that the characters have the same facial expression permanently glued to their head. Everyone is slightly happy all day long, no matter how amazing or terrible an event is. Would it have been that hard to add in a few more facial textures to show emotion?

Aside from this one problem, everything seems to be going great so far. The storyline is beginning to show itself, and my curiousity has definitely been piqued. I eagerly await more on just what exactly is going on! My Life As A King looks to be a major time-eater for me these next few days.

To make an early judgment, LostWinds, Defend Your Castle and My Life As A King are all pretty darn fun. They're certainly a unique bunch of games, and I honestly can't get enough of any of them. I'll be playing all three of these for quite some time to come. Probably the best $30 I've ever spent!

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The Duck Has Spoken.

Super Mario Galaxy: How it's going so far

Got Galaxy today! PLAYED IT FOR ALMOST SIX HOURS, and I've only had it for ten hours total... Yeah.



So then, the time has arrived. Almost one year after the Wii launch, Super Mario Galaxy is finally here. People have been waiting for this since Super Mario Sunshine, and some even longer than that. Unsurprisingly, anticipation is high. I'm not quite ready to write up the review, so here's how I feel about the game so far.

First of all, it's absolutely the best looking Wii game I've played, EVER. Better than Metroid Prime 3! The textures are beautiful, the reflections are amazing, the lighting is perfect, it's all too great!

Second, the story is perfectly Mario-like. Yes, they actually found a way to make Mario-in-space not sound completely idiotic. Sure, it's still your basic "princess in trouble, Mario must save her" storyline, but now it's in SPACE.

The sound is pretty awesome, too. The music (To my untrained ears) sounds like it was done by a live orchestra, and many of the tunes are masterfully remixed classic Mario tracks. Could use a bit more voice acting, though... A few grunts and scattered words just don't do it in this day and age. Although Charles Martinet is once again brilliant as Mario, no surprise.

The controls are amazing fine-tuned and responsive. Simply pointing at Star Bits (The game's ubiquitous collectible) causes them to fly towards Mario. Shaking the Wii remote to spin is pretty nice and non-gimmicky, amazingly. Several sections of the game require slightly different control schemes. You'll hold the Wii remote pointing up, tilt it on it's side and more. No matter what the situation, the controls deliver beautifully.

The gravity system is just mind-blowing. Jumping from one planetoid to another feels amazing, and the sense of distance and scale is spot-on. There's puzzles, boss battles and timed-jumping all throughout this game, and they're all executed beautifully. A truly masterful experience.

So, as you can see, Galaxy's pretty damn awesome so far. However, it isn't perfect, and I'll elaborate on where it goes right and where it fails on Friday with the full review. Until then, keep on gaming, and watch out for falling rocks.

The Duck Has Spoken.

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! impressions

Okay then, article number two it is! My mom was kind enough to grab Brain Age 2 for me on her way home from work today, so here are some impressions!



Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day was all about making your mind sharper and faster with simple puzzles and games. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day carries the same idea, but in a slightly different package.

It's blue.

Well, okay, there's more of a difference than that, but the purpose remains the same. The infamous "BLUE!!!" Stroop Test is gone, and in it's place is a seemingly more similar Rock, Paper, Scissors activity. The twist? In some cases, it will want you to lose, and sometimes it'll want you to win. Whatever the bizarre requirement is, you let your choice be known by speaking into the DS' microphone.

This is but one of the 12+ brain training activities tucked into this blue little package. And who better to guide you through all the steps than the main man himself, Dr. Ryuta Kawashima (This guy)! His friendly little disembodied accompanies you throughout most of the experience, giving you tips and cheering you on. Neat!

Okay, the most important part here, though, is how well does the "game" play? Well, so far, the handwriting recognition seems a little less polished than it was in the original, but maybe that's just because I've been typing far to much lately. The voice recognition seems improved, and the game selection looks to be larger than that of the previous version. I can see myself using this for "Minutes a Day" for quite some time to come!

Full review will be up either Monday or Tuesday. Until then, keep on gamin', amigos!

The Duck Has Spoken.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption impressions

So then, I went out in the humid, sticky 34 degree Celsius heat, but I got it. I have rented Metroid Prime 3: Corruption! So then, on with the impressions!



Corruption is the final game in the epic Metroid Prime saga, and the first ever on the Wii. It has a LOT to live up to. And so far, things are looking good. VERY good.

First of all, the controls are incredibly accurate and intuitive. As you already know, aiming is handled with the Wii remote's pointer. Simply point and fire. Movement is relegated to the analog stick and most other actions are mapped to the remaining buttons.

One other action taking advantage of the Wii's unique abilities is the Grappling Beam. When targeting an object that can be grappled, simply flick the Nunchuk towards the screen, and Samus will launch the grappling beam at the target. Then, pull back hard on the Nunchuk to pull away the grappled object. Very interactive, and very fun.

The graphics in Metroid Prime 3 are also incredibly amazing. Corruption sports some of the best mapping, rendering and special effects that I've ever seen on ANY console, especially the Wii. Not only does everything look great, but all of the environments have an amazing atmosphere to them. Huge open levels, small, cramped hallways and more are so believably lifelike. Every single last visible object is rendered absolutely BEAUTIFULLY.

The audio quality in Metroid Prime 3 is top notch as well. With amazingly well arranged music and some of the crispest, cleanest sound effects I've ever heard, Corruption sets a new standard for sound in Wii games. Absolutely STUNNING.

So far, Metroid Prime 3 is the best game I've played in a long, long, LONG time! However, I've seen far too little of this game to judge it just yet. I'm gonna take one more day of play to really gather all I can of this amazing piece of work. Full review will be up TOMORROW NIGHT!

The Duck Has Spoken.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition impressions

Well, I grabbed me a copy of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition today. Hey, the Gamecube game rocked, and it was only $40 (Canadian), so what the heck? Here are my feelings thus far.



Of course, one of the main things to consider in any Wii game (Especially a port) are the controls. Well, at first, I admit they were a little odd to grasp. Then again, I have The Godfather: Blackhand Edition's controls burned into my soul as of now, so adjustment to any new control scheme takes a while.

My intense Corleone allegiance aside, the controls work very well, if a little unexpectedly. Of course, movement is handled by the analog stick, and camera angles are manipulated via the D-pad. As usual, interacting with the environment entails the use of the A button, and holding the Z trigger steps up Leon's pace to a sprint. Access the menu with the - button and the map with 2. To use your trusty pocket knife, merely swipe the Wii remote for a quick strike, or hold the C button, aim with the analog stick and then swipe for a more accurate cut (Quick swipes will auto-target nearby objects and enemies, sometimes yielding unwanted results).

But, it's with the gun play where things get a little odd. To enter the aiming mode, hold the B trigger. Once that is done, you can freely aim within the confines of the screen by pointing the Wii remote wherever you want. However, pointing the remote at the edge of the screen does NOT cause the camera to turn. Instead, all camera manipulation in aiming mode is handled by the analog stick. This can be quite odd to grasp at first, but once you get the hang of it, everything works quite well.

As for the graphics, they're merely Gamecube quality, but they still manage to blow me away with their beauty! Seriously, Resident Evil 4 looks better than many Wii games on the market today. Everything is dark and gritty, which does much for setting the mode for this survival-horror adventure. Leon and all other living beings are also all rendered very well, and even with 20+ people on screen at once, the frame rate rarely misses a beat. Some of the textures can be blurry at times, but it's pretty rare unless you're specifically looking for it.

It all sounds pretty great, too. The villagers have many different things to say, and Leon's occasional conversations with more civilized beings are very well acted out. The sound effects are spot on, too, from the biggest shotgun blast down to the sound of your feet tramping along in the underbrush. Capcom really outdid themselves here!

Those are my basic impressions of the game so far. Remember, this is merely a preview! The full review should be up on Monday evening, so keep an eye out for it! Until then, keep on gaming, folks!

The Duck Has Spoken.

Pokemon Battle Revolution impressions

Well, loyal readers, I finally managed to get a copy of Pokemon Battle Revolution! EBGames got the shipment today, and I ran there like a bat outta hell! It is now MINE! So then, the impressions!



Anticipation for Pokemon Battle Revolution has been high, and that's putting it lightly. I have my copy, so here's how I feel so far.

As we have all found out from screenshots and footage, this game is arguably the best looking Wii software yet. Nintendo struck the perfect balance between realism and the series' trademark animation style with the Pokemon and the people. The only way thy could've possibly made anything look better would be to abandon Pokemon's cartoony look.

Also, for the first time EVER in a standard Pokemon game, the creatures actually make physical contact when battling! It use to be that the attacking Pokemon would make a little motion to indicate an attack, then the camera would swing over to the target and show it reeling and getting damaged. Now, if your Chimchar uses scratch, it gets right up close and personal with the target and actually scratches it! This may sound petty to those of you unfamiliar with the series, but it really does help in a big way.

Controls are spot-on. You simply point at your on-screen command, press A, and there ya go. This really helps streamline the whole experience in the same way the touchscreen helped Diamond and Pearl.

And how about using the DS as a controller? Also very quick and easy. The same controls as in Diamond and Pearl are used, just this time all the action appears on the TV instead of the top screen! There's also very little lag, which is really something considering all the translations your input has to go through.

The sound is great, with different music for each arena. Speaking of different arenas, the announcer's commentary will relate to the environment. For example, if your playing in the waterfall arena, he'll comment on the calming effect the cascading water seems to have on the Pokemon. Sure, it's a tiny little thing, but it gives the game even more of that unique charm.

All the Pokemon cries are intact, which is both good news and bad news. The good news is you'll recognize each screech and growl from your portable adventures. The bad news is the cries are the same thing as we've been hearing for the past nine years, so their quality doesn't exactly translate well to a TV's speakers.

So how about one of this game's most anticipated features, online play? First of all, it's certainly improved over what was released in Japan in December. Most notably, you can actually play one-on-one with perfect strangers. No computer-controlled clones here, just real person VS person battles. So make a note, folks: FRIEND CODES ARE NOT REQUIRED HERE! I've played two matches online so far (Got my ass handed to me both times...), and I've encountered little trouble, except with my second opponent...

When battling foe #2, there was massive lag in between menu selections. I'd click on the Attack button, wait 5 seconds for the attacks to show up, select an attack, and wait another few seconds for that to work. In the first battle, this was not an issue. I'd select a command, wait barely any time at all, and WHAM, I was in business. This can probably be attributed to my opponent's wireless connection strength, so no need to hold anything against Nintendo.

So those are my impressions of Pokemon Battle Revolution thus far! Look forward to a full review later this week! PEACE OUT!

The Duck Has Spoken.