What doesn’t kill your ants makes them stronger in Konami’s upcoming WiiWare game.

It stands to reason that Miyamoto isn’t the only developer out there who has channeled his love of nature into inspiration for a video game. If that’s the case, then Konami’s upcoming WiiWare title Ant Nation is probably the anti-nature-loving game, since it revolves around the “beloved” (Konami’s words, not ours) childhood past time of…torturing ants?

OK, yes, a little on the odd side, but once you get over the odd premise, there’s a bit more to the game than bug torture. It turns out that you’re torturing the ants for a reason. A kindly professor has put you in charge of tending to an ant colony and is on hand to offer tips as you “help” the little guys out. Basically, the ants get stronger as you damage them to the point of near death, and the key to success is not to murder them. If you do your job right, the ants will recover and be stronger, which makes them better prepared for dealing with the challenge posed by roughly 100 missions and 20 unlockable bonus challenges. Stronger ants are also better at dealing with local hazards, such as spiders and the dreaded ladybug menace.

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We get a look at Konami’s revamp of the original Silent Hill for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PSP.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a little more than 10 years since Konami first introduced players to the creepy world of Silent Hill on the original PlayStation. The game was first released in March of 1999 and offered a different take on the burgeoning survival horror genre by tossing in some trippy psychological horror. Konami is going back to the series’ roots with its latest game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, a revamp of the first game for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PSP.

Expect more flashlight-based exploration and less lead-pipe-based combat.

If you’re not familiar with the original Silent Hill, here’s a quick primer: You’ll play as Harry Mason, a father searching for his lost daughter in the town of Silent Hill. Although this may sound straightforward, it’s not. Silent Hill is a freaky place and the locals are a bit off. There are also more supernatural monsters in the town than you’d expect. Shattered Memories developer Climax Studios–the studio behind Silent Hill: Origins for the PSP–is looking at the original storyline as a basic framework. The game is being described as a “reimagining” of the original game rather than a remake. So even if you played the original game, you shouldn’t assume that you know how Shattered Memories is going to play out.

The presentation at Konami’s recent press event showed off various scenes from the Wii version of the game that offered some hints as to what to expect. The game’s interface has been spread out to Harry’s cell phone, which lets you access game features such as a town map. You can also make phone calls (yes, you can call 911, but don’t expect a ton of help), as well as receive them (from what we saw so far, don’t expect good news when you get calls), and take pictures of locales to reveal supernatural clues. We got to see a montage of Harry interacting with some familiar faces from the original game as well as doing some exploring, which highlighted the game’s Wii Remote and Nunchuk-powered control scheme.

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It’s Yu-Gi-Oh! meets futuristic racing in this card-battle hybrid game from Konami.

Combine the Yu-Gi-Oh! card-collecting phenomenon with futuristic racing and you get the upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Wheelie Breakers for the Nintendo Wii. The game is a departure from the endlessly deep card-battling games on other platforms and looks to combine friendly controls with a touch of the collectible strategizing that keeps Yu-Gi-Oh! players engrossed. We had a chance to play the game during Konami’s recent spring press event in San Francisco.

Racing bikes and card collecting combine in the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! game for Wii.

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“Reimagined” edition of Konami’s original survival horror adventure to spook Wii, PS2, PSP later this year.

Last week, online reports surfaced claiming that Konami was prepping a remake of its original survival horror action adventure Silent Hill, which first saw release on the PlayStation in 1999. At the time, a Konami representative confirmed for GameSpot that an official announcement for the game was en route. And true to its word, the publisher revealed today that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories will arrive for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PSP this fall.

Calling Silent Hill: Shattered Memories a reimagining rather than a remake, Konami said that the game will again follow Harry Mason as he searches the eerie town of Silent Hill in an effort to find his daughter. However, Shattered Memories will offer a number of new wrinkles on the original, with Konami promising “an interactive user interface” as well as a revamped puzzle system.

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Konami delivered an experience that no other sports game had been capable of. Until the release of the PES ‘08, most sports games on the Wii had been failures. Sure, the Tiger Woods series was always bound for success, but the other main sports titles just didn’t work. The NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL games that are published each year offered very little for Wii owners. They could be fun in short bursts, but they never made you want to play them. Isn’t that the ultimate challenge that developers are faced with, and one we expect them to meet? Well, Konami knew that and seemed to understand it, because when Pro Evo hit the shelves it was critically acclaimed. The control scheme felt natural, and you just loved playing it. PES ‘08 was one of the first sports titles I still enjoyed playing after the 6th or 7th season. Well, Konami has decided it’s time and has given Wii owners this year’s Pro Evo Soccer ‘09. In the eyes of many players, all they had to do was update rosters and the game would be a success. They’ve done that, and a little more. The main addition is the Champion’s League, the world’s largest club competition. They’ve also updated the defense a bit, making it more intuitive and player controlled. To put it in layman terms: they added enough and didn’t mess with much. What this means to the players is that PES ‘09 is a must-have, especially if you didn’t play last year’s masterpiece. If you want a taste of gameplay there will be a video below. I warn you though that when it comes to Pro Evo seeing is not enough, you truly need to be the man behind the controls to appreciate the beautiful game.

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