Leader of the pack?

There are very few serious driving games of note on Wii - the machine is undoubtedly missing its Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo or Race Driver: Grid - and EA's latest in the Need for Speed franchise does little to address this problem. Whilst 360 and PS3 owners can play the generally well-received NFS: Shift, Nintendo gamers are being given a very different racer in the form of Nitro, a less serious take on the genre that combines familiar elements from the series into a new, more accessible title for the Nintendo market.

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Another gaming revolution from Archer Maclean?

Wheelspin is an unashamedly old-school arcade racer, with exaggerated physics, rollercoaster-style tracks and an emphasis on enormous speed. Its influences are clear - F-Zero and San Francisco Rush 2049 are the strongest - but sadly Wheelspin never feels more than the sum of its parts.

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Some shops not interested in swords and beautiful animation

Although we love Muramasa: The Demon Blade around here, it seems UK retailers are less than optimistic about the game's success, with some stores refusing to stock it completely.

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Another variant of the console heading to Japan soon

Just as we were reporting on the possible development of an nVidia-powered DSi successor, Japanese website Nikkei has published a news story claiming Nintendo are ready to launch another variant of the console's current iteration, the DSi.

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Looking forward to Eurogamer tomorrow and Wednesday :)

Enjoy Winter Olympic fun on the move.

Refreshingly for a simultaneous release on Wii and DS, the handheld version is a completely different beast to its big brother: far from being a stripped-down conversion it’s a decent accompaniment to the Wii version, although one aimed at a completely different gamer. Where the Wii game looks to capture the lucrative family and party crowd, DS owners have received a more solo-oriented experience, although there’s naturally still multiplayer modes available.

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Yet another short but sweet carnival from me – thanks to all those who continue to support the Carnival despite me neglecting it massively! Read a post, leave a comment, share a link – you’ll benefit from it immensely!

sheila hopes presents Wii-fit and Wii-games Reviews: August 2009 posted at Wii-fit and Wii-games Reviews, saying, “This game is great for Star Wars fans! It allows you to take the place of a variety of characters from the Clone Wars series and movie and battle with other characters. I really love this game”

D.C. Douglas presents Video Game Nirvana posted at THE D.C. DOUGLAS BLOG.

Adam presents Top 10 Halo Guns posted at Flip The Turtle.

Eric Gargiulo presents Guitar Hero 5 Video Game Cheats and New Features posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Guitar Hero 5 is available today and for some, this is the first half of your Guitar Hero 5 / Guitar Hero Van Halen bundle. The game features 85 songs, new GH features and the debut of Kurt Cobain. Expect a lot of the standard Guitar Hero cheats to work with the game.”

Jennifer Mannion presents Tropix- Fun, Educational Kids Computer Game Ages 6 on up posted at Kids Computer Games Recommendations.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 2010 Tips: Breaking Down The Cover 2 Defense posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “This year it’s a bit harder to break down the Madden 2010 Cover 2 defense, since you can’t just put the tight end on a streak and get between the safeties. You have to open up the playbook a bit more to do this.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Old-enstein: Wolfenstein Video Game Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Now fast forward almost ten years later, the newest Wolfenstein game in the series tries its best at eclipsing that games success but comes up way short. The new game continues the story of William “B.J.” Blazkowicz and his pursuit to eliminate the Nazi Empire.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Guitar Hero 5 Full Import Song List posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Guitar Hero 5 was released earlier this week with 85 songs. This is the third Guitar Hero game released in 2009. Unlike previous GH games, Activision has now allowed users to import songs from older Guitar Hero games into the GH5. Here is the full list of import-friendly Guitar Hero 5 songs.”

Cricket presents Game Review: Batman: Arkham Asylum posted at NERDSOCIETY.com, saying, “Review of the latest hype game, Batman: Arkham Asylum”

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 2010 Tips: Breaking Down Defensive Man Coverage posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “I like to break down man defense in Madden 2010 using one of four strategies. I like to either use my Madden opponent’s weakness to my advantage, hit the flats, use my tight end, or use wide receiver or half back option routes.”

Eric Gargiulo presents OrcPad Online Games Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Orcpad.com is an online gaming website and has a lot of cool free games. I was pretty happy with their random tab because each time when I visited the page I got a random selection of 15 games and at the same time some very cool games came up initially. Also I could find lots of fun games this way.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden Curse Strikes Troy Polamalu In Week 1 posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The Madden Curse wasted no time this NFL season. Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t even make it to halftime in Week 1 against the Titans. The Madden 2010 cover features Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald fantasy football owners are holding their breath everywhere.”

Eric Gargiulo presents New Madden 2010 Roster Update Details posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Madden 2010 video game players may have noticed that their roster is a little outdated. EA will fix that with a new Madden 2010 Roster Update. EA released the details of the next Madden update. The update will bring rosters up to date with NFL opening day lineups and recent transactions.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Can Buy Me Cheats! The Beatles: Rock Band List Of Cheats posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The Beatles: Rock Band is a very popular video game. Like other Rock Band and Guitar Hero games, there are plenty of Game Cheats available. Check out the full list of The Beatles: Rock Bands cheats. Follow these instructions and you will have more game unlockables than you know what to do with.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 2010 Tips and Strategy: Breaking Apart the Cover 3 posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Breaking apart the Madden cover 3 defense is a lot easier than breaking open a cover 2. I like to overload one side and have underneath routes just in case. In that play, there aren’t any buzz zones (purple zones) so the corners are open. You can run a play that has a corner route and a flat route to break down the lack of coverage they’ll have against one of the two routes.”

Eric Gargiulo presents The Side Scroller Is Back: Shadow Complex Video Game Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Epic Games delivers another solid hit outside of there Unreal Tournament series. This time around its a 2D/3D side scroller called Shadow Complex. This title unlike there previous games on the consoles is a Downloadable Title online on Xbox Marketplace.”

Jaybot presents Jaybot’s essential Top 10 best Videogames of all time. | Jaybot7 : Jason Surguine : Music : Audio : Design : Games posted at Jaybot7 : Jason Surguine : Music : Audio : Design : Games, saying, “You wanna study game design without blowing all your money at Full Sail? This is so subjective, but people always ask me what my favorite games are (since I design games as a profession). This is a list of the 10 (okay, 50) best games that inspire me as far as game design.”

Surbhi Bhatia presents Epoc-h of Gaming posted at The Viewspaper » The Viewspaper.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 2010 Tips and Strategy: Twin WR Sets & Beating A Nano Blitz posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “A nano blitz has been around Madden since the years of Madden 04-05 where your opponent would setup a blitz that gets to your QB really fast, coining the term nano blitz as it got there almost in a nano second. If it’s a good nano, someone will break free even with a TE blocking.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 2010 Gets AFL Legacy Pack Today posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “EA will release yet another Madden 2010 video game update today. The AFL Legacy Pack download is now available for Madden 10. The pack pays tribute to the AFL and will integrate classic AFL presentations and uniforms into Madden. The download is available on Xbox Marketplace and the PSN store.”

James Reilly presents Xbox Repairs � How To Fix A Stuck Game Using A 360 Repair Guide posted at XBox Repair Guide.

Eric Gargiulo presents WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 Deals and Screenshots posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The new WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 video game is on the way! WWE superstars John Cena, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Edge and Rey Mysterio all featured on the cover. New game screen shots reveal the most detailed pro wrestling video game in gaming history. In addition to great graphics, the new game promises more customization than ever from users.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story – Video Game Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story is a game I have been waiting to review for quite some time. The game was released in Japan back in February and since then, I have done everything I can to get as much information about this classic.”

Jennifer Mannion presents Top 5 Educational Kid Friendly IPhone/ITouch Apps posted at Kids Computer Games Recommendations.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 2010 Tips And Strategy – Pittsburgh Steelers Money Plays | CamelClutchBlog.com posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Madden video game players are very familiar with the term “money plays.” A money play is a play that works almost 90% of the time you run it either on offense or defense. Today, we take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ money plays. Use these Madden plays and lead the Steelers back to the Super Bowl.”

RetroEnter presents RetroEnter Presents: Spiderweb posted at For the Love of Retro, saying, “RetroEnter about Spiderweb’s games”

Sam presents Left 4 Dead 2 Pre-order Bonuses Announced posted at The Technology Goat.

brian young presents Lockable Cases for Your Media Products: Security Devices for Business posted at Retail Security Products.

Luke presents How to rush with UNSC leaders in Halo Wars posted at Lukedude5’s Blog, saying, “How to rush with UNSC leaders in Halo Wars for Xbox 360. Head to my blog for how to rush with Covenant leaders.”

Rose King presents 50 Great Games to Sharpen Your Business Skills posted at online classes.org.

Eric Gargiulo presents New Madden 2010 Roster Update #6 Details posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The boys at EA have worked hard on yet another new Madden 2010 update. The update is available now for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 users and features updated NFL rosters, player injuries and skills/attributes. Get Michael Crabtree on the field immediately or have Mark Sanchez throw deep to Braylon Edwards immediately with the new update.”

Bryan Sharp presents Dante’s Inferno Encourages Baby Killing posted at Gamebane, saying, “Gamebane is a video game comedy blog that offers a unique perspective on the game industry. This post is some commentary on the recently announced Dante’s Inferno achievement that encourages players to kill babies.”

Eric Gargiulo presents It’s Go Time: PSP Go Review | CamelClutchBlog.com posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Sony has finally answered the demands by the media, blog community, and well just about everyone else outside of those two demanding sources. I have be waiting for an upgraded PSP with a built in Hard Drive for some time since I have always wanted a more digital gaming handheld. Well enter the PSP Go, a screen sliding, hard drive equipped, much more smaller and sleek looking PSP brings with it a new way of playing gaming while on the go. Instead of a media drive such as a Game Card slot like the Nintendo DS or the UMD with the current PSP, the Go relies solely on downloading anything and everything.”

Linda Jones presents 50 Serious Games for Social Change posted at AccreditedOnlineColleges.org.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of video game bloggers using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of video game bloggers, blog carnival.

Developers chat about their social simian saga

Earlier this week we got a chance to visit the guys from The Code Monkeys and root around their upcoming banana 'em up Manic Monkey Mayhem, and you can read our First Impressions here.

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A withering flower

Tree of Tranquility is the first game in the main Harvest Moon series designed exclusively for Wii, following 2007’s disastrous Gamecube port Magical Melody. It’s been available in the US for over a year, but now it’s finally available in PAL territories it’s time to see how it measures up.

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I think I'm probably having the best year ever.