The PS3 recently got a downloadable version of flOw. http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing/ A wonderfully mesmerizing flash game. I am very jealous of that.

Do you know if there will be a downloadable Wii flOw. The game would be perfect for the VC and the Wiimote.

- LEWI
Austin, TX

I don't think so. I believe Sony has exclusive distribution rights for flOw for consoles, so it can only be on the PS3. Of course, you could always play the original flash game for free.

Have you heard of Wiis producing audio distortion at relatively normal (and even low) volumes? It seems to only happen in the Wii menu since I haven't noticed a game with the same problem.

It's most likely not my home theater system since I often listen to much louder music, movies, and games at the same volume with no distortion. I've done some research and there are some mentions of it on Nintendo's forums, but no real suggestion on what it could be. Any ideas?

- Captain N
Columbus, OH

I haven't heard (pun) of any audio problems, but maybe some of our readers have. If you know of this issue, speak now or forever hold your peace and quiet. Maybe we can figure out what's going on employing such a tactic.

When Rare and Nintendo split what is exactly controlled by who as far as games go. While visiting numerous nintendo forums it seems like no one sure and releases of Diddy Kong Racing DS and DK Country (VC) but RC Pro Am on XBXL or Perfect Dark on the 360 seem to complicate the issue.

I thought Nintendo only got the DK characters back but in the case of Diddy Kong Racing how did everyone stay on that game BUT Conker and Banjo? Surely Tip Tup, Taj et. all aren't "nintendo" characters or no more so than Conker and Banjo.

And on that note what does that say to the fate of say Cobra Triangle (NES), Goldeneye 64, Perfect Dark 64, Diddy Kong Racing 64, Jet Force Gemeni, and the multitude of other games Rare put on the older Nintendo systems?

Could it be a game by game negotiation between Nintendo, Rare, and Microsoft?

All the VC gamers would appreciate the info.

- PirateTreasureNC

Any characters or games created by Rare (Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark, most anything pre-dating the N64) on their own are the property of Rare. Even if Nintendo published a Rare game, Rare should still retain the rights to their original property. However, any characters or games created by Nintendo (like Donkey Kong) are the property or Nintendo. It doesn't matter that Rare developed the DK games, since Nintendo owned the license beforehand. Since Microsoft now owns Rare, they own Rare's intellectual properties by extension. The extra characters, like Tip Tup, Taj and (HI I'M) Timber were a part of the original game. Conker and Banjo were Rare's original characters, so Microsoft probably didn't want to see them showing up on a Nintendo platform.

Goldeneye is tricky. Rare developed it and may own rights to some parts of the game. Microsoft owns Rare. Nintendo published it, but they can't do it again without permission from the current license holder, which is Activision. That's a legal mess if I ever saw one.

For now, everyone shouldn't get their hopes up for GE on VC, because Nintendo would need to get permission from Microsoft and Activision to put a game they published up on the service, and then make sure they each get royalty payments. It's not as simple as finding the game code and putting it up. Everyone needs to have the legal bases covered.

VC gamers need to exercise patience. The old games you want could come to Virtual Console, but it may take time to sort out the paperwork. Of course, this may also mean a particular game may never come to Virtual Console, because there may be times when the parties involved think getting it done may be more trouble than it's worth. Just because we all want something doesn't always mean companies will do everything in their power to get it to us. They'll only do it if it makes logistical and financial sense to them.

Have you heard if Nintendo is going to put channels out for the VC? I mean like a NES, Sega, SNES and so on. So instead of having tons of VC games everywhere in the Wii channels. You just click on the NES channel and all the NES games you bought are in there? That would save a lot of room, because im running out of channels on my Wii you probably are to.

- Delgon

Not in the cards at the moment. I don't mind having each game take up its own channel window (you can move them around with A+B to organize them how you want), but with only 48 slots available people are going to run out of room eventually. Maybe a firmware update can address this issue?

I just read the GC review of TP on the gamecube and it got a 10. which under normal circumstances is cool. but when I looked at the break down it received: one 10 three 9.0 and one 9.5. how in all that is good and sacred does that equal a 10? with standard mean median mode math that is a 9.5, if not a 9.2, that really challenges credibility if you can't score a game on its broken down average that YOU had given it instead of its Hype. I love the game don't get me wrong, but don't be scared to give zelda or ANY game the score that it deserves.

- Kenshin025

Please refer to our review policy. Our final score for any review is not an average of the other scores. There is more to a game than what each of our five review categories describe, so a simple average would leave out those factors. The final score is its own category that describes the overall quality of an entire game. It could be the average, it could be lower and it could be higher. It is what it is, and nothing more.

Remember that by our definition, a '10' is not perfect. No game is perfect. Our definition of a '10' is something that's the best of the best. Take Twilight Princess for example. Could some parts of the game have been better? Yes. Does this make the overall game experience less amazing? No. Reading the review would make this clear, since our reviews are not just the score. The review text explains why a game received its score, and we check to be sure the two agree in our editing process.

I played Twilight Princess on the Wii, and I believe it deserved the scores we gave it. Both of them.

Hey NWR as you know I wanted info on Virtual Console on the site from the day it was announced. You have done a great job. :-) I love the index with the games so you can see if a game you might want has made it to Virtual Console. I also enjoy how you are reliable, other sites are still trying to catch up (A review of Ocarina of Time yet still no Kid Icarus.)

I am also excited for new releases as well (I want Super Metroid and a Majora's Mask that does not freeze up like the Collector's Edition did.)Keep up the good work and overall never let the site die no matter how many people you pass the site onto.

- Brandy
Orange City,FL

Why thank you. The index page was put together rather quickly, and the drop-down with all the games was a neat last-moment addition by Michael Cole. I think it's super-great, and I'm glad you appreciate it. I do!

However, we've got some catching up of our own to do. We didn't finalize the VC Mondays format until a few weeks after the Wii launched, so there is a big chunk of classic games missing from our database. We're going to get back to those this month, starting with a batch that will complement tomorrow's regular update. Please look forward to it!

I have been playing Twilight Princess for a while now and because of my insane addiction to all things Zelda, I have been enjoying it very much. One thing irks me, however: the world does not feel connected. I love exploration. Exploration makes a game much deeper and, let's face it, adds a ton of replay value. In Zelda, however, there are about six areas and each one leads to the next one. I want to explore flowing rivers, deep forests, and tall mountains. Plains are nice to, like the ones found in TLP, but I would prefer them to be much larger and interconnected to other areas by something other than a mountain pass. Also, plains ending in cliffs are depressing.

So anyway, here's my question: is it possible for the Wii to kick out a living, breathing, and vast fantasy world? I know the Wii is not an all-powerful machine, but still, I would like to see a developer make a game that's huge enough to provide immersion similar to a good book. Hey, I can always dream, right?

- William John

I'm sure it's possible. Final Fantasy XI is a living, breathing, vast fantasy world, and it runs fine on the PS2 (albeit with lots of horizon-blurring fog and help from a hard drive). The Wii has enough power to make it work, technically. It would have been fantastic if Twilight Princess was the same way, but let's not forget that it started off as a GameCube game. Maybe the next Zelda game that Nintendo is working on will have more open and expansive worlds. It's being designed with the Wii in mind, so who knows?

as i was reading this last weeks bag a thought occurred to me regarding the possibilities of the wii remote... they other person with the question was asking how long it would take to start seeing new games utilizing the wii tech... so my question is that if developers start having issues and just wanna use a traditional controller can they use the gamecube controller or maybe the classic controller... this is unlikely and worst case i know but i still curious

- saltydecimator
oklahoma

From what I know, every Wii game must use the Wii remote or remote/nunchuk combo for default controls. People may not own a Wii Classic or GameCube controller, so developers can't force the scheme on people buying a full game. Virtual Console is different, since games just can't work with the Wii remote by itself.

Games can, however, use the Classy and the GC pad for optional control schemes. Super Smash Bros. Brawl will most likely have these options available, but it's going to be playable with the remote/nunchuk combo, too.

Hey guys,

Quick question about Blazing Angels for Wii - I was trying to find more info on the game (hands-on impressions of the controls, etc.), and I noticed a couple of places mentioned Wi-Fi connectivity, and the boxart at IGN featured the Nintendo Wi-Fi logo on it. Is this something that has been confirmed (my guess is not, as we haven't heard much about Wii and WiFi, and the game is coming out in only a couple of weeks), was it planned but dropped, or is it just speculation and wishful thinking?

Thanks!

Jason M.
Michigan

The Wi-Fi logo on the box is confirmation of it being online capable. Whether or not it's actually playable online is one thing, but at the very least we can be assured of online leaderboards, or some other feature that lets game owners go online. Expect to make use of your wireless router or USB dongle in either case.

This mailbag has ended. Don't be sad, because there will be another next week. Before then, though, something very special will be happing at Nintendo World Report. And I'm not talking about our upcoming GDC coverage (which you can expect to see), but something ... celebratory. What could it be? Check back on Wednesday.

Don't forget to send in your questions! I'll take 'em all.