Fake copy on the left, real copy on the right. Notice the "WiFi" icon is missing from the fake, plus the instruction manual has overlapping text.

I guess I’m posting about this because I didn’t even Fathom it.

I recently bought my wife Professor Layton and the Curious Village DS through the Amazon Marketplace as a birthday present (I ordered a brand new copy through the Marketplace to save about $10).

After playing it, my wife started complaining that it wouldn’t remember her saved games, plus there was no option to download new games through WiFi, as advertised. Like any good (okay, bad) tech support person, I disregarded this as her not saving properly.

When it happened again, I tried to save the game personally with no luck. My wife also noticed that the instructions manual wasn’t a manual–but rather a critique of the game (neither of us have ever seen a manual that actually complains that the “game’s music is so distracting”).

Notice how the fake (left) reuses the same image as the cover.

Further examination of the packaging made it clear that this was a pirated copy, so I went out and purchased the real version for comparison.

Fortunately, the Marketplace vendor is promising a refund, but the experience has [sadly] rattled my faith in ordering new games through third-party vendors

I often go to Gamespot for video game reviews and on occasion find myself dissatisfied with their lack of a Wii-specific reviews for multiplatform games. Case in point, MLB 2K8 has been reviewed for Xbox, but not for Wii. While IGN has provided a review of MLB 2K8 for Wii, what I was more interested of was which was better—The Bigs or 2K8, as I will often unload last year’s game to supplement my purchase of the new game.

It’s not so much me being a Nintendo fan boy as it is that the game play is just so drastically different (I did the Pepsi Challenge with some friends of The Bigs on Wii vs. the 360, and the Wii won out on fun factor).

Now that I’ve had the opportunity to play and own both, here’s my humble opinion:

MLB 2K8 Highs:

• The commentary is incredibly robust. This makes EA’s Madden sound like a broken record.
• Gameplay animations are very realistic.
• Heck, the stadiums are more realistic, too.
• The soundtrack isn’t as mosh pit-inspired as The Bigs (well, this is a plus to me, anyway).
• Pitching is MUCH EASIER to approach for beginners (it’s pretty much point and swing).

MLB 2K8 Lows:

• The players look like animated cadavers compared to the well-shaded models in The Bigs.
• I find I make myself performing a lot of check swings by accident (Come to think of it, I still don’t know how to do a check swing on purpose).
• The Bigs had much more accurate idle bat waving/motion detection. Yes, it’s subtle, but it makes a difference.
• While we’re at it, Jeter’s preparation at the plate–raising his right hand before getting into a batting stance–is absent in 2K8 but not The Bigs.
• Pitching lacks the hand motion used in The Bigs. Granted, it was nearly impossible to explain to my newbie brother-in-law how to pitch, but this is the Wii! It’s all about motion detection!
• Advancing multiple runners and some of the fielding is more difficult.

It’s as if different 2K camps did the games, yet didn’t pick up off of one another. They’re both fun games, but as far as my decision goes… well, it’s too late, as I’ve already sold The Bigs and upgraded to 2K8.

My biggest gripe–and this applies to both games–is that the nunchuck is used during batting. 2K should take a page from Wii Sports as far as batting goes. Keep the running (controller shaking), use the directional pad for stealing bases, and ditch the nunchuck in 2K9!

That’s my message to game publishers out there. Okay, it’s not my message, but I definitely agree with it. My friend Amit Pitaru recently had an MIT Press article published on accessibility and game design. It’s a fascinating read, and really makes you ask why the industry has neglected establishing some sort of standard. Sadly, I doubt making more money will serve as a catalyst for supporting accessibility. Rather,  I could only foresee a governing organization enforce ADA compliance.

The return of Starcraft. I’m not sure if I’m happy or scared about this …