Wii Fit Putting Pressure on Kids

Wii Fit takes no prisoners when it comes to handing out bad news to plumpers. If you’re a Hefty Hattie, the game will shake an admonishing finger at you. Suck it up Fatty.

But what about if you’re a bit vulnerable? Some adults are claiming that the game is leaving their kids feeling like porkers, even when they are fit and fine. That’s the claim, anyway, although it may be more of an issue with the kids’ self-esteem than with what is, effectively, a weighing scale. Expect outraged-headlines-next-to-glum-family-portrait to appear in a middle-brow newspaper any day now.

Wii is Crap Really, Isn’t It?

GameDaily has ten suggestions for making Wii a better product. They suggest an Ethernet port, a bigger hard drive, better channels, better third-party publisher support and a dedicated online network. Mostly it’s a case of stating the obvious, but worth a look anyway.

Second Life a Perverts Haven?

Far from being a fun-wasteland dotted with bores, turns out Second Life is a danger to our children. Republican Senator Kirk has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting a consumer-alert warning about the online world. However. Kirk admits that he has no evidence of any wrong-doing in Second Life but points out that one of his aides managed to get into the site by pretending to be a child who was pretending to be an adult. Eh?

Echochrome Shooter?

Could Escher-esque puzzler Echochrome become the basis for an optical illusory shooter?  The PSN game’s associate producer Yumi Yuasa tells CrispyGamer, “I have heard that there are now other game developers looking to make games in M.C. Escher-like worlds.” Okay, it’s not exactly proof positive, but given the warm reception to this rotating world of false perspectives, we’re hoping this one’s more than an illusion.

Uncharted Movie

Joystiq has a “well placed source” who says movie rights for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune have been swooped up by Atlas Entertainment.

Hands On With Home

More evidence that the social network curve has peaked. Gamespot’s hands on of PlayStation Home says the product is definitely moving away from a ‘friends’ model and towards a more Xbox-Live-in-3D approach. Guy Cocker writes, “While Home was originally pegged as a social networking tool akin to something like Second Life or even Facebook, the developers have made a more conscious effort recently to reposition the software for gaming.”

Populous Enters Hall of Fame

IGN has inducted some more games into its fledgling Hall of Fame. New entrants include Populous, Prince of Persia, Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle and Age of Empires. Games must be at least ten years old to enter the hallowed halls.