Konami is throwing their hat into the WiiWare ring, and I quite like the sound of it. It can’t be any worse than Puzzle! Puzzle! Puzzle!, anyway. The first title, known as Saku Saku Animal Panic in Japan, will be released in North America as Critter Round-Up. The puzzle game can accomodate up to four players and has you building fences to keepout the bad animals and keep in the good. There are fifty levels and a mini-game called Predator Rampage which seems like it might especially be relevant to my interests.
Konami is also planning a few other titles for future WiiWare release: Crescendo, which is an arcade/music hybrid, and Fresco Beach, which allows players to build sandcastles and try to keep them from being washed away. It all sounds pretty much like the average WiiWare offerings, so I can’t say these will end up being good or shovelware, but you never know, I suppose. It can’t be any worse than Pong Toss: Frat Party Games, after all.
SAKU SAKU ANIMAL PANIC COMING TO AMERICA AS CRITTER ROUND-UP FROM KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.– April 17, 2008– Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans to bring the first of several Wiiware titles developed for North America. Known as Saku Saku Animal Panic in Japan, Critter Round-Up will be Konami’s first Wiiware title in North America.
Developed by Los Angeles, CA-based Epicenter Studios, Critter Round-Up is a puzzle game for up to four players. Players are challenged with building fences to separate different critter species into their own area, while avoiding predators and other mischievous animals attempting to stop you from rounding them up. Players can corral exotic critters from five environments encompassing 50 levels, with gameplay modes including a co-op Adventure Mode as well as special co-op challenges for up to four players. There’s also a Marathon Mode that supports up to four layers on a nearly infinite number of levels, as well as a collection of Critter Games, an entertaining selection of mini games such as Snowball Soccer and Predator Rampage.
Critter Round-Up is the first of several planned Wiiware titles to be distributed by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Future planned releases include Crescendo (working title), a musical experience fused with quick, frantic action of classic arcade action, and Fresco Beach (working title), a game where players create their own sandcastles and maintain their structure amidst the dangers of the beach.
Critter Round-Up is rated“E” for Everyone by the ESRB.
About Konami
Konami is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Konami’s titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid®, Silent Hill®, DanceDanceRevolution® and Castlevania®, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker
symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami can be found at www.konami.com.
“Nintendo DS” is a trademark of Nintendo.
