milestone posts(Subscribe to this feed)
Wii Fanboy Review: Ultimate Shooting Collection
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jan 23rd 2009 at 9:58AM } 
A compilation of shooters on the Wii may seem a bit unnecessary or even redundant. The Wii already has what could be dubbed the "Ultimate Shooting Collection" -- though not on a single disc. The Virtual Console is loaded with a surfeit of shooters, including many of the best games in the genre's history. The Ultimate Shooting Collection, in comparison, is composed of just three games, some or all of which you may never even heard of. But just like there usually is an argument for a new game over an old one you've played, there is content of interest here that doesn't exist in the downloadable space. The games in Ultimate Shooting Collection are a great showcase for the evolution of the shooter genre, which may seem stagnant or even dead, in the modern age. Even with the piles upon piles of existing shooters, there aren't any like these on the Virtual Console.
Gallery: Ultimate Shooting Collection
Ultimate Shooting Collection delayed once again? [update]
by JC Fletcher { Dec 9th 2008 at 10:00AM }
The last time we mentioned UFO Interactive's US release of the Ultimate Shooting Collection, it was to report a delay. We, uh, have some bad news. Maybe. According to Amazon and Gamestop, the compilation of Milestone shooters (Radio Allergy, Chaos Field, and Karous) will miss its December 15 release date by at least a month. Gamestop's new date is January 20, as is Best Buy's. Amazon places the release at January 31. We've sent an inquiry in to UFO to verify the delay and, hopefully, specify the latest for-real release date.
We're now convinced that Radilgy is cursed. In December of 2006, O3 Entertainment announced plans to release the colorful shmup in February of the next year. It was then delayed until March, then delayed a few more times before being cancelled in June.
Gallery: Ultimate Shooting Collection
Ultimate Shooting Collection targets December release
by Chris Greenhough { Nov 18th 2008 at 3:37PM }
Yes, the localized version of Milestone's Ultimate Shooting Collection may have horribly generic boxart (seriously, compare this to the Japanese box and weep), but we still want the game badly.Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait. Previously, the game was scheduled to come out on November 11th, but as it isn't in our homes right now, we had to assume it had slipped. When contacted, publisher UFO Interactive confirmed our worst fears: the new release date is December 15th, right in the middle of the Christmas rush. Pew pew your way past the break for a trailer.
Gallery: Ultimate Shooting Collection
Good news and bad news about Ultimate Shooting Collection
by JC Fletcher { Sep 30th 2008 at 11:45AM }
Second, the screens tell us that hey, UFO is still promoting Ultimate Shooting Collection! It may actually come out! Though, it's been, uh, delayed again, to November 11. GameStop is showing some new boxart as well, that's less ... identical to the Japanese look.
Illvelo Wii is real(velo)
by JC Fletcher { Sep 10th 2008 at 7:16PM }
Importer NCSX has confirmed the existence of a Wii version of Milestone's Illmatic Envelope, first seen as a Play-Asia listing. Milestone has seemingly foregone the customary "last Dreamcast game EVER!!!" release of their NAOMI-based shmup in favor of a system that is still being produced. The November 13 release date found in the Play-Asia listing was accurate.At this point we'd normally start speculating about a US release for the vertical shmup, but to be honest we're still suspicious as to the prospects of the Ultimate Shooting Collection. Sure, it looks like it's going to come out, but so did Radio Allergy on the GameCube. Let's get that out, and then we can start crossing our fingers for Illvelope.
Rumor: Another Milestone shmup port on the way
by Chris Greenhough { Sep 3rd 2008 at 11:46AM }
Ultimate Shooting Collection will release in the U.S. later this month, but it might not be the last shmup port we see from Milestone. Sega's Illvelo / Illmatic Envelope is based on the NAOMI arcade system board (the Dreamcast was rife with NAOMI ports), and appeared earlier this year in Japanese arcades. Now, according to a Play-Asia listing, the Wii will be getting its own port on November 13th in Japan.
As you can see above, it looks pretty wacky, with cel-shaded levels populated by everything from giant cutlery to confectionery, a tongue-in-cheek approach that reminds us of Star Parodier. Presuming it does exist, will Illvelo Wii get localized? UFO Interactive helpfully picked up Ultimate Shooting Collection for the States, but that contained a wallet-pleasing three shmups -- as Illvelo will only feature one, a North American release looks less likely.
[Via Siliconera]
A Milestone for Wii shooter fans
by JC Fletcher { Jul 21st 2008 at 9:30AM }
Good news for people who want even more space shooters on the Wii: the Milestone Shooting Collection, a three-game bundle including Chaos Field, Radilgy and Karous, has been picked up for U.S. release on September 23 by UFO Interactive. Chaos Field was released here on the GameCube in 2005, but the other two games are completely new to us -- partly because the GameCube release of Radilgy was cancelled.When Milestone announced this item for Japanese release last May, it was going to be a retail release of Karous only. Then Milestone decided to throw a couple of bonus games on there, and then it became the "Shooting Collection." The bundle is probably the only way it could ever get picked up by an American publisher. And $30 isn't bad at all for three games, even in the age of downloadable games!
Wii leaves India alone and in the dark
by Candace Savino { Jul 3rd 2008 at 10:00PM }
Sony and Microsoft have distributors in the country, but the Wii doesn't. However, that may change soon enough, after Milestone Interactive tests out the market for Wii software. We're not entirely confident in Milestone's approach, though. For one, it hardly seems smart to base results on game sales when the console itself hasn't even officially released yet. On the other hand, since that's just how things are in India (and they're not likely to change anytime soon), we can understand Milestone's rush to get the ball rolling.
Here comes the other, less excusable problem: the game Milestone chose to distribute is Alone in the Dark Wii. Not even critics are playing the Wii version of Alone in the Dark, so is it fair to assess the Wii's chances based on Atari's survival horror title? Also, because Indian gamers import their Wiis, we wonder if the region of the disc will have any effect on sales.
At least this is a step in the right direction, but now that supply for the Wii is starting to meet demand globally, we hope Nintendo branches out into some of the areas it currently neglects.
[Thanks, Vijay!]
Dance Hula Together on the Wii
by Candace Savino { Jul 1st 2008 at 9:00PM }
The next Boogie is only rumored to include Balance Board support, but a dancing game is coming out in Japan that features a style perfect for the Wii Fit peripheral: hula. That's right, you'll now be able to seductively wiggle those hips of yours and call it a game. So many Japanese Wii owners have Wii Fit that we don't see userbase being an issue, as the peripheral will be required (not optional) to play this title.Keep in mind, though, that the game's publisher (Milestone) didn't officially announce Hula Wii: Minna de Hula wo Odorou (Dance Hula Together); a listing was discovered on a Japanese online retailer's site, revealing the release date as September 25th.
SingStar series sells 12 million units in PAL territories
by Jason Dobson { Apr 26th 2008 at 4:30PM }
In addition, with the SingStore finally gaining traction, Sony also announced that PAL gamers have downloaded a million tracks in the four months since the store opened. Also impressive is that the store's 140,000 registered users, together with members of the game's official website, have recorded and shared 20,000 videos of players belting out tunes from the comfort of their living rooms -- public embarrassment that has been watched some 2.5 million times.
The SingStar series first got players in Europe singing off-tune renditions of "Careless Whisper" and "Like a Virgin" in 2004, and has since spawned numerous sequels, including last December's SingStar for the PlayStation 3 and the soon-to-be released Volume 2. Now, with SingStar for the PS3 finally getting a release in North America on May 20, it will be interesting to see how enthusiasm on this side of the Atlantic for the game measures up.
The Sims surpasses 100 million units sold worldwide
by Jason Dobson { Apr 16th 2008 at 8:50AM }
The idea of 100 million of anything is difficult for us to wrap our brains around, so we cornered Rod Humble, the brand's studio head, to pick his noodle on The Sims, particularly with regards to the franchise's expansion-heavy history. So, with pets, night-life, and even magic tricks to pick from, what add-ons do players continue to ask for that's not yet available? Says Humble, "Right now our players are keen to playing an expansion pack that focuses on living in a big city...other ideas I've seen in the community include a rave/party pack and science fiction pack." Little green sims? We can support that.
Look for the complete interview with the EA exec on The Sims franchise, expansions, and where it goes from here later today.
PS3 sales pass 2 million in Japan
by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 11th 2008 at 10:20AM }
For the sake of comparison, the Nintendo Wii passed the 5 million mark in Japan earlier this year -- it's probably creeping up on six by now. Meanwhile (don't laugh) the Xbox 360 gently rocks in the corner, wondering what it did wrong, with a regional lifetime sales figure of 555,000. Poor little guy.
Milestone Shooting Collection release date shot down
by JC Fletcher { Mar 19th 2008 at 10:30AM }
The Milestone Shooting Collection, featuring Karous, Chaos Field, and Radilgy, has been delayed until "TBA 2008," according to retailer NCSX. It was once planned to be released this month, but NCSX said that retail preorders for the game were "apparently ... insubstantial." Insubstantial for a shooting game. We're guessing retailers had yet to see the stylish boxart when orders should have gone out.Even though the collection was never announced for localization, we were hoping for it. Radilgy was already cancelled once, and we hoped that it would come along with Karous via this disc. But now it's been (effectively) cancelled again before the Japanese release. Not a good sign. Maybe shmups on the Wii face too much competition from the Virtual Console?
Milestone emphasizes bonus games on Karous Wii release
by JC Fletcher { Feb 27th 2008 at 9:45AM }
First it was just going to be Karous, then Milestone decided to toss Radio Allergy/Radilgy and Chaos Field on the disc. Now the package is officially called Milestone Shooting Collection Karous Wii, and it's being released in Japan on March 27th. Karous has been enhanced with some slight waggle: you can now swing the Wiimote in order to swing the sword weapon. It sounds kind of distracting to have the controller waving around while you're trying to make precise movements. We would like Classic Controller/Hori stick play with this title, so we hope that the waggle is optional (and that the game supports the Classic).
Radilgy and Chaos Field seem to have been left untouched from their Gamecube iterations. Not that we mind -- the only difference we want to see in Radilgy is in the crucial "being released in the U.S." category.
Devil May Cry 4 sheds 2 million tears
by Jason Dobson { Feb 20th 2008 at 10:00AM }
This accolade is no doubt helped by the fact that the sequel, unlike those that came before it, was released for two platforms simultaneously, satiating players' thirst for over-the-top action regardless if they wave their banner over the Xbox 360 or PS3. In addition, Capcom continues to note that a PC version, for those inclined to play console-style games while tethered to their monitor and desk chair, will be released in the months ahead.
