DreamCatcher’s adventure game affiliate The Adventure Company sent word that it plans to release its PC title Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None for the Wii this November.

Offering an example of how the PC gameplay will be translated for use with the Wii remote, TAC explains, “players will have the freedom to control their character’s actions, such as using a digging motion to unearth clues, or spinning the handle of a safe using the Wiimote; and the introduction of timed puzzles where, for example, players must race up a set of stairs from a boat docked below.”

The game’s story centers on ten people, all strangers to each other, who are invited to a mysterious island. Through a recording, their equally mysterious host accuses each of his A

With all of the controversy that has surrounded major publisher Take Two over the recent years, one has to wonder if the chance to do it all over again, if they would have handled things differently. I mean, as popular as Grand Theft Auto is, the franchise has to be seen as a kind of albatross as well, drawing additional legal and media confrontations and scrutiny with each new release.

The most recent cause of concern for the company has come from an impending stockholder coup to overthrow the company’s management and board, as well as plans by Take two to take infamous anti-game lawyer Jack Thompson to court for his plans to keep the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt 2 from being sold in Florida.

Today, amidst all of these goings on, [url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13186]Gamasutra has reported[/url] that Take Two has postponed its annual meeting from March 23 until March 29 “…to provide additional time to review the proposed actions of the shareholder group and also to evaluate alternative courses of actions that could potentially be presented to the shareholders.” One of these courses of action being considered by Take Two is “a possible sale of the Company,” though at this point nothing is for certain.

So, playing devil’s advocate, should Take Two find itself the unwilling child of another company, one has to assume that the surrogate parent would want to clean house, and change things so the same black cloud that has hovered over Take Two does not follow it post mortem. Could we be seeing the last of Grand Theft Auto and other controversial properties and return to the more forgettable days of Take Two pre-Rockstar?

Recently a number of my coworkers over at CMP Media, including editors of Gamasutra and Game Developer magazine, set to the task of coming up with the most stereotypical video game name imaginable, the results of which came following arduous bouts of creativity.

Game Developer/Gamasutra EIC Simon Carless has [url=http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/03/perpetuating_game_naming_stere_1.php]posted up the challenge’s notable entries[/url], listed below, including my rather gnarly “Final Fantasy VII: The Black Gate: Part Two” – a name that not only dates me, but also fittingly sums up my impression of just about every role-playing game that comes my way.

Anyway, on with the names:

– “Quaternion: The Beige-ning”
– “WWII: World War II”
– “Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Call Of Duty: Revenge Of Duty”
– “Pauly Shore’s XTREME Nude Wakeboarding II: The Awakening”
– “Final Fantasy VII: The Black Gate: Part Two”

So, what sorts of stereotypical game names summarize the industry for you?

As I mentioned in [url=http://www.snackbar-games.com/r494.html]my SSX Blur review[/url], that game might be the current benchmark for third party exclusives for the Wii. I say this because, at the end of the day, and more than any other platform, exclusives carry the burden of selling the Wii console to the fans. Because of this, quite a bit of weight over the last 24 hours has been placed on a late page announcement in the latest Official Nintendo Magazine which promises a “World Exclusive” in the next issue. In the April issue.

[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/03/nights_maybe_1.jpg[/img]

Oh wait, April? The lier’s haven. I’m inclined to take anything next month with a grain of salt in light of April Fool’s Day. However, are we really at the point where a “joke” warrants a month build up? If so, that’s not just a bitter pill, that’s borderline cruel. But I digress.

From the magazine scans (Thanks [url=http://gonintendo.com/]Go Nintendo[/url]), the text reads: “World Exclusive! Step back in time as a classic game makes a long overdue return,” and goes on to note that the upcoming announcement will be for a game for the Wii. It also shows a cryptic star pattern as a teaser for the upcoming unveiling. A pattern, as some enterprising internet Photoshop hounds have uncovered, almost certainly points to Sega and Yuji Naka’s Saturn classic NiGHTS into Dreams.

[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/03/nights_maybe_2.jpg[/img]

Not to sound like an elitist prick, but I have always found NiGHTS to be a contrived mess and vastly overrated, but I also know that the fan community has been climbing the walls for a remake or sequel for the Wii, so maybe the video game gods have heard their call and are genuinely planning this as a kind of fan service.

Could we soon be seeing NiGHTS for the Wii? Is this an April Fool’s joke? Does the rooster crow at midnight? These answers and more soon. I hope.

[EDIT: Apparently British mag NGamer’s final pages also speak of a “Big Exclusive” for their next issue, with a picture of the earth as seen from space, complete with a dar and starry sky as a “hint.” What are the odds that both are planning the same joke? I guess we’ll know soon, maybe.]