The video game Necro-Nasia Escape from Bug Island wasn't exactly warmly welcomed when it was released in Japan and North America. It seems like the reported tweaks on controls and cut scenes didn't work for the American audience as well. But Eidos Interactive is hoping the European taste suits their title better as the game's about to be released in that region this September.

Anyway, the background story of Escape from Bug Island is pretty much solid and if we may add, a little heart-warming. You see, amidst the survival-horror feel and the monstrous bugs everywhere lies a love triangle among characters Ray, Mike, and Michelle.

September is still a couple of weeks away and given the feedback from fans and some other video game sites, Eidos Interactive might be considering another update to Escape from Bug Island. Any suggestions? You can tell us through the comments section below and in the mean time, just take a look at these new screenshots straight from the publisher.

See the other screenshots after the jump!

Yeah, the name change might suggest that the overly-conservative Title Police have been to work again (c'mon, Necro-Nesia sounded kickass!), but Escape From Bug Island still packs the same amount of intense bug-stomping-and-squashing action as the Japanese version. Judging from the changes that Eidos' Sam Tehrani revealed about the game, it could very well pack an even more vicious punch than the original.

Anyway, the premise here is simple. You're on an island crawling with crazy giant bugs who want to eat you. What do you do? Why, defend yourself of course! What, you were expecting maybe Gamera to come and rescue you? Don't worry, though, because thanks to revamped controls and the new Quick Weapon switch feature, bug-splattering has been made easier for players. Just make sure you don't run out of ammo.

Escape From Bug Island is currently slated for a May 15 release. In the meantime, check out the screenshots below to get your latest bug fix.

   

More bugs after the jump!

Given that the May 15 release date for Necro-Nesia Escape from Bug Island is a little less than a month away, Eidos product manager Sam Tehrani has come up with some details on the changes that were made for their upcoming game (aside from the new title).

The first business he tackled was the game's revamped controls. Aside from re-tuning the the game's basic actions (walking, aiming, throwing items, environment interaction), Tehrani explained that the Eidos team also tuned the game's FPS aiming mechanism. The new setup will allow players to use the Nunchuk's analog stick to make more precise movements with their Wiimote when shooting or throwing (objects). As for the other features that have been added to Bug Island's US version:

The Quick Weapon selection is new, which allows players to select different weaponry and items on the fly. Before, gamers would have had to stop the action, get in the item or weapon menu, select the item then get back into the game. It was too frustrating and lengthy a process. Secondary objectives have been added which reward the player with secret items for killing bugs. For example, collecting X number of purple gems in the game will award unlimited ammo for the gun.

Other important changes Tehrani noted were graphical bug fixes (no pun intended), and a storyline tweak to let the game focus more on the "escape" aspect of the title. Features he noted for the game are that the game still support widescreen, and progressive scan modes for the Wii. He further detailed that the game will take 10 to 12 hours to finish, with an alternate mode available at the end of the player's first run-through.

As for the game's biggest selling feature? Smashing bugs, of course!

That's all the details Tehrani noted for the moment (aside from admitting he hates bugs), although we'll just have to wait and see what other details will crawl out of the woodwork within the next few weeks.

 

We reject their reality and substitute it with our own! Even if the American version of this Wii game is supposed to be called Escape from Bug Island, we're still going to call it Necro-Nesia because the name is just SO MUCH COOLER than the American video game.

GameSpot put up a bunch of new screenshots and concept art for the game, and while it still looks the same, some of them are pretty freaky. Giant mantis creatures? A disturbingly large person-thingy who looks like he's going to explode? Frogs the size of Oklahoma?! Sweet!

In any case, there's still more than a month to go before this title joins the rank of available Wii games. Expect to be scared out of your wits this coming May 15, and pray the giant mantises don't get you in the meantime.

   

More bugs want to say "GRRRAAAARGH!" after the jump.

Just when you thought it was safe to do something more horrific on the Wii, the Title Police suddenly comes along and beats you senseless. Go Nintendo noticed the listing of Necro-Nesia had changed a bit on GameSpot, though that change wasn't exactly for the better.

The great news is that Necro-Nesia will be headed to American shores on May 15. The bad news is that it won't be called Necro-Nesia anymore. Even worse news: it's going to be called Escape from Bug Island. Not exactly the horrific-sounding title it used to be, but it may just fit the B-movie aesthetic of the game a bit better.

Oh well. At least we're not AT Bug Island, right?  Expect to hear more about this American version in the coming weeks.

And now, here comes the newest episode of the über fun Broken Pixels! Now, for episode 5 (the one shown above), the guys basically just make a mockery out of the Wii games Red Steel and Necro-Nesia.

This video is actually about 20 minutes long, but we're sure you won't have any problems sitting through the whole thing. Think The Man Show, minus the girls bouncing on the trampoline (The beer stays! It has got to stay!). Or Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, where at the end of the make-over, they watch and scrutinize the every move of their subject, making comments. Then again, you can scratch out the champagne and the wrist flicks.

It's really interesting how creative your take could be on a particular game. Makes for a more fun Wii-experience, too. Anyways, we won't be keeping you any longer. We're sure the video would be enough explanation by itself.

This here is an 'import-intro' trailer of Spike's Necro-Nesia. Now, when it was first presented over at E3, it failed to get the critics' approval. Months later, it was again show in the Japanese Wii conference, and finally, it started getting attention.

While we've already seen loads of screenshots and a couple of trailers from this manga-adaptation, this trailer pretty much encapsulates what's there to expect still from this not-so-fun camp out in the woods. With the kind of big bugs that's bound to break the night's silent reverie, this certainly gives Blair Witch a run for its money.

The difference is, you actually have the chance to survive in this one. Unless you'd rather be immortalized in some battered video cam found in the woods.

Download: [Necro-Nesia intro vid]

If you really had a choice, would you really want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a flashlight? Of course not. That's a recipe for disaster in a slasher B-movie. There a rules, remember? Unless you play the token blond cheerleader who can scream decibels higher than any human being is capable of or the stereotypical sexually-charged jock who has nothing but air between his ears, you still have a chance of surviving.

While this writer thinks that those rules are a tad bit too, shall we say, formulaic, Necro-nesia from Spike Co. Ltd. seems to break the barrier of B-movie-ism. Although it was based off of Japanese horror manga regarded as pulp fiction material, it still brings something new to the genre. In being B-movie-ish, the game actually emphasizes the campiness factor and immerses you into its world of creepy-crawlies. With the Wiimote and Nunchuck, the B-barrier has been broken. Suddenly, the story isn't so campy anymore now that you're in it.

Boasting unique motion-sensing control schemes and investigative story-telling, this game will plunge you into a fiasco that B-movie junkies only wet dream of. I smell screenshots coming in 3, 2, 1...

  

It's CSI, meets Ju-on, meets Aliens. This upcoming survival horror game from Spike promises to send hairs rising soon as it is starting to get primed for its Japanese release on December 2.

Developed for the Wii, Necro-Nesia will allow the player to use the Wiimote and its nunchuck attachment as a flashlight and as a weapon. However, even this close to its release, not much is still known about this game except that we have our leading man, Robert, a dark forest, lots of bloody body parts lying around, and a whole lot of bugs. Big ones.

So, while we wait for more details to be divulged about this title, enjoy these screenshots and stock up on the bug spray.

More screenshots after the jump!

Necro-nesia updates are like jigsaw puzzles. Until now we haven't even figured out what Spike (the developer) is up to until the last minute but we received news that the game's website has just been updated. True to the game's nature, you really have to grope around the site (don't get lost!) in order to find information about the game.

In it, there's a map that'll hint where sections such as feature, operation, information, gallery, island, system, character, and storyline can be found. Okay - don't bother if you can't read Japanese. Maybe the screenshots will give you an idea though. The game gets better each time, but it seems the updates are coming in slow.

Necro-nesia will hit store shelves by December. But the storyline has had some improvements we almost regret didn't make it to the Halloween season. The game somehow reminds us of Resident Evil, which may either be cool with you or not. I guess that we'd have to stick around until the day of the launch to find out how this game will go. And yes, we agree it's an original Nintendo title. On one hand, the game doesn't look too impressive yet, hardly even next-gen. On the other, it's all about the Wii, remember? So like most other Wii titles, the focus will be more on the Wii controller action rather than the graphics. But that remains to be seen.