Atomic’s Game News Roundup -- 8/12/06

The Wii is out. XNA is coming. And we’ve found the inspiration for the Wii-mote -- it’s a Nintendo scandal!

The Wii has been launched; and no doubt the nation’s telcos saw a spike in SMS traffic as gleeful Wii owners spammed out the good news to all their jealous friends. Let’s talk launch titles for a moment. This...



...is Rayman Raving Rabbids. Even though Rayman doesn’t have the clout of the more established mascots, this latest outing looks quite fun. The story: rabbits (all of which are presumably drugged and/or deranged) enslave Rayman, who is forced to participate in a series of gladiator-style trials. The game includes more than 120 mini-games and online leaderboards, and if you don’t have a Wii, it’s also available on PS2, PC and Game Boy Advance.

Star Wars: The Best Of has been released for PC, for those moments when you get nostalgic about Star Wars (which is probably very often). It includes Empire at War, Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Republic Commando and a 4 day trial of Galaxies. Rebel Assault is a notably lacking if you ask us, but KOTOR and Battlefield Battlefront are both in there. You’re looking at $89.95 for the lot.

Atomic hosted an evening with Microsoft’s top game coders to show off the capabilities of XNA. It’s a programming language based around C# that can compile games for both a PC and an Xbox 360. Not only did Brisbanites get their Atomic Event fix, but both they and the Sydneysiders got to throw game ideas around, chat about programming and. As has become tradition, a new drink, the Halo, was invented. Pictures from Brisbane follow...

The love is everywhere!

This took a weekend to code.

Got 360? No? Well now you do.

Out of Midori. Hands up all those who aren't suprised.

Later, in Sydney...

Several drinks later, the Atomicans checked out XNA.

coding can be a dark and mysterious business.

Microsoft gave everybody a 1GB USB key.

But some people got luckier than others.

Oh, and finally, these did the rounds of the office today. They’re a laugh and a half.





“I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.” He looks and sounds like he’s uttering the final words of a sermon from the top of a mountain when he says that. Jesus Christ Pose indeed.

Craig: "Then it was: 'I wish video game championships were in Australia.'"
Dave: "Now it's: 'This is an ad in film's clothing.'"
Ben: "You just want to hit that smug bastard."