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NewsBites - January 2009

This page of the index features all of our listed NewsBites stories for January 2009

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Contents

  1. 1 Boom Blox Sequel Announced
  2. 2 New Wii Fit channel helps you further with your health
  3. 3 Guitar Hero On Tour returns as Rock Band DLC is on its way
29th Jan 2009

Boom Blox Sequel Announced

Contrary to popular belief, Boom Blox didn't sell quite as bad as everyone first thought, and to top it off, it wasn't a bad game, either. So it comes as good news then, that EA have revealed a sequel to the game, Boom Blox Bash Party. Other than the awful name - it's a tongue twister and has the word "party" in it - it sounds like it's got quite a few great improvements in store as well.

This version will be more multiplayer based with twice as many co-op missions and the option of team play, alongside new block types and the option to create levels and upload them online for anyone to download for free (a la Guitar Hero World Tour's GHTunes feature). Creations will be reviewed before being allowed onto the server, though (with apologies going to thirteen year old pubescent boys), especially since the game is being aimed at the family audience, as the game's director Steven Spielberg revealed.

"We know families and friends really enjoyed playing the original together, so we designed more explosive multiplayer experiences with Boom Blox Bash Party," the ET creator said, also claiming that it was going to be a "wild social gaming experience". One final addition to the game is the ability to move items further away from you or closer to you by pushing or pulling the Wii remote, although the team behind the game say that Wii MotionPlus isn't compatible.

Read the Boom Blox Bash Party game overview >>


27th Jan 2009

New Wii Fit channel helps you further with your health

Over in Japan, a new downloadable Wii Channel is on it's way next month, which gives you in depth help and support with your health. The Wii Fit Body Check Channel (try saying that five times fast) sends your data to professionals who look at your BMI and whatnot to give you more feedback on how to keep healthy. This is part of a new sponsorship deal with Hitachi, Panasonic and NEC, who are all developing special systems for health help. It is also rumoured that this will be compatible with the upcoming "Walk With Me" coming to DS soon, although once again, it only looks likely for Japan. This news comes as Wii Fit hits the top of the UK sales chart for the sixth week since launch, despite the lack of stock (yes, still).


2nd Jan 2009

Guitar Hero On Tour returns as Rock Band DLC is on its way

Two news stories regarding different music games have emerged today, as it turns out that another new DS version of Guitar Hero On Tour will be on its way later this year. The ESRB have recently rated Guitar Hero Modern Hits, and songs due include Sum41 - Due Waiting, Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen and Finger Eleven - Paralyzer. This is the first to be heard of about the game, especially after the Guitar Hero On Tour team were quoted last year stating that they were going to have a big rest after Decades. Meanwhile, Harmonix say that Rock Band 2 DLC is in the final stages of testing for the Wii, and the service will deliver 20 bonus songs alongside 30 more songs from the Rock Band backlist. A European date for Rock Band 2 still hasn't been announced, whilst the DLC is expected to be available in North America within the next few months.