FlingSmash Message Board

#review For ten bucks more than the cost of a Wii Remote Plus you can pick up the new Nintendo controller with a copy of FlingSmash, Artoon's paddle-ball platformer. Is it worth it? Let's see. More »

A Nintendo original that fails right at its concept.

In general, I don't believe in factoring price into an evaluation of a game's quality. The artistic and entertainment value of a game is completely separate from its, you know, value. But there was basically never a point during my time with FlingSmash that I wasn't thinking about how it was about right at $10 -- which, if you take out the $40 that a Wii Remote Plus would cost on its own, is its effective cost.

In my defense, Nintendo must have looked at it the same way, since it is only selling the game in bundles with controllers, despite all indication that it was originally conceived as a "normal" retail game (it's been in development at least since October of 2008, when it was announced at Nintendo's media summit, and the E3-era box art showed it being sold separately from the MotionPlus). The production values are nice, but it bears the design hallmarks you'd expect from a budget game: it's extremely brief (like three hours), it's shallow, and it's built around one reasonably insane idea. Luckily, FlingSmash falls on the "stupid fun" side of the superficiality continuum I've just invented.

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A portion of an NWR review… FlingSmash is full of interesting gameplay ideas that would’ve been a lot more fun if the game controlled well, or at the very least, compensated for the poor controls by being a little more forgiving. The unpredictable controls come dangerously close to breaking the game.

I will only go over details that we haven’t already reported on the game… - due out in Japan on 11/18 - ¥4,800 - “Big” power up that makes Poko larger - find/collect medals to clear stages - 8 worlds - each world has multiple themed stages - co-op play for stages and boss fights - co-op partner must have MotionPlus - unlock bonus [...]

function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf", "mplayer", "420", "340", "8", "#000000"); so.addParam("wmode","transparent"); so.addParam("swliveconnect", "true"); so.addParam("allowscriptaccess", "always"); so.addParam("allowfullscreen", "true"); so.addVariable("pid", "goni001"); so.addVariable("siteId", "485"); so.addVariable("videoId", "213925"); so.addVariable("autostart", "false"); so.addVariable("file", "http://cms.springboard.gorillanation.com/xml_feeds_advanced/index/485/3/213925/"); so.addVariable("pageUrl", document.location); so.write("flashcontent_485_goni001_single_213925"); } getVideo(); The official Japanese site for FlingSmash is up and running, and it comes with a ton of content. While there are some old and new screens to check out, there’s also over 6 minutes [...]

Our press copy of FlingSmash -- like all copies of FlingSmash -- included a black Wii Remote Plus controller, the new version of the Wiimote with MotionPlus inside.

We immediately got it out and compared it visually against a plain old Wii Remote, and now we can determine with scientific* precision that it looks exactly like a regular Wiimote -- except for the "Wii MotionPlus Inside" label uner the Wii logo. You can see the (complete lack of) difference for yourself in our gallery.

The one thing you can't see in the gallery: the difference in weight. We didn't have a kitchen scale handy, but informal testing (i.e. picking them both up) revealed no perceptible difference in weight. The fact that the added hardware doesn't change the controller in the slightest suggests that the MotionPlus was a placebo all along, increasing the sensitivity of controls by making you think they were more sensitive. Either that or the gyroscope is really small. We're not ruling anything out. FlingSmash and the Wii Remote Plus will be out November 7 in North America.

We linked you guys into this last week, but now you can check out an embed version if you missed it the first time.

The official FlingSmash website is now up and running. It has some new content that you might want to check out, including a brand-new trailer for the title. I guess Nintendo is going for an expanded audience approach with this game. Took them long enough to get it out! Hit up [...]

#nintendo Late last month, a retail listing showed a FlingSmash bundle with the then unrevealed Wii RemotePlus. That controller is real and so is the bundle. More »

Nintendo will release the Wii Remote Plus, which combines a Wii Remote and MotionPlus add-on, in Europe on November 5 -- six days before the Japanese release date. The new controller will be available in black, white, pink and blue. Nintendo has yet to announce a price, but the price in Japan is equivalent to a normal Wiimote, so it'll probably be a similar deal in Europe.

If you want to get a Wii Remote Plus early, and if you have the money, a red one will be included with the Super Mario Bros. anniversary edition Wii on October 29. If you'd like to pick up a game with your Wii Remote Plus, but not a whole system, you'll be able to buy a FlingSmash bundle on November 19.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that the company is indeed developing the Wii Remote Plus, integrating Wii MotionPlus into a much handier all-in-one design. No release details, but FlingSmash hits Japan on November 18 and the device has been spotted as a pack-in with the game Stateside.

A Gamestop listing hints at new hardware.

Though Nintendo's quirky, somewhat under-the-radar throwing game FlingSmash doesn't seem like the most likely partner for the launch of a new accessory, it would appear that's exactly how Nintendo is handling it. The GameStop listing for the Artoon-developed Wii game shows that it's bundled with a "Wii Remote Plus," and still due November 7. Given FlingSmash's MotionPlus requirement, we can safely guess that the Wii Remote Plus is a Wiimote with the MotionPlus already all up in it -- a trick we've seen from third parties.

Nintendo confirmed the existence of the controller to Eurogamer, declining to offer any more details. No GameStop listing was found for just the controller, leading us to suspect that FlingSmash was always intended as a pack-in with the Wii Remote Plus (its Wii Play, so to speak) -- which neatly answers the question of why Nintendo would make FlingSmash a full-priced retail game. We're contacting Nintendo for more details, since it probably knows a bit more about its own release plans than GameStop.

#breaking And it is apparently called "Wii Remote Plus". More »

#wii Who gets a couple of hours to play any of the Nintendo-published games arriving this holiday season for the Wii and DS and starts with FlingSmash? Me. Yesterday I played a batch of Nintendo games. Throughout today, I'll tell you about them. More »

E3 2009's bouncing, smiling, sentient tangerine is back.

Side-scrolling meets arcade style pong action with new WiiMotion Plus controls!

#impressions The Nintendo representative demoing upcoming Wii title FlingSmash, kept describing the game as an "active sidescroller." More »