News: Super Mario 3DS game announced
Nintendo have had a good few announcements from their conference at this years Game Developers Conference held in San Francisco. First they show new details for their new Legend of Zelda game Skyward Sword, then announces a June launch date for the 3DS port of Ocarina of Time, Netflix for 3DS as well and now a new Super Mario Bros game.
Me being a Super Mario fan I knew this was going to be inevitable because Nintendo’s plumber has to be on their console one way or another whether it’s playing football, driving a kart or hosting a Mario party. This Mario game is being made by the people who made the top-scoring Super Mario Galaxy series of games on the Nintendo Wii so it will be based in 3D and could be a potential best-seller for Nintendo.
Well if you did miss the briefing from the event then those kind folks at Nintendo are letting you re-watch the whole briefing again at http://gdc2011.nintendo.com
This week’s new releases! February 28th – March 6th
Well it looks like this is going to be one to remember If you like RPGs as just about every type of ‘em seems to be getting some coverage this week. First up we’ve got the unrelenting juggernaut beloved by the hardcore and casual alike, Pokemon for the DS. As per tradition it comes in one of two flavors: Black or White, with each containing a hand full of exclusive monsters that can’t be obtained in their counterpart. This time around there will also be a large amount of aesthetic differences and an exclusive new area for each side, namely the Black version’s dominating Black City and the White version’s peaceful White Forest. To the casual eye there’s not a heap of difference between Black/White and the previous editions of the franchise; it’s still the same easy to play but surprisingly deep RPG its always been, just now with a new lick of paint and a whole plethora of new monsters to catch. If that’s not enough to get you exited then I think Pokemon might not be your thing anyway.
If you’re more into cute anime girls than cute anime monsters then perhaps you should instead focus your attention on the latest RPG from Idea Factory: Hyperdimension Neptunia exclusive to the PS3. Mechanically it’s just another run of the mill ultra grindy JRPG, but Instead of the usual spiky hair teenage boy with magical powers on a quest for friends/acceptance/revenge/answers, Neptunia actually has a pretty interesting story setup. You take the role of the Console Patron Units who are the physical embodiments of the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, the unreleased Sega Neptune and a few Japanese game companies, who unsurprisingly for a JRPG all look like well endowed teenage girls. Their quest is to transverse the dangerous world of Gamindustri (see what they did there?) in order to battle the dark forces of… DS Piracy. While the gameplay is no doubt going to bore the uninitiated out of their minds, the unique and surprisingly topical story premise might be enough to ensnare those who would normally snub these kinds of games. Well, it certainly worked on me anyway.
On the less cutesy side we have the latest in the German produced action RPG series Gothic with Arcania: Gothic 4 for the Xbox 360 and PC finally making its way to our shores. Reviews of the title have been pretty negative thus far, many citing that this entry in the series has apparently been significantly dumbed down to appeal to the more casual console gamer audience. Whether that will translate into poor sales is another thing entirely as previous Gothic games have really failed to catch on over here anwyway, so perhaps takeing a more Fable like approach might end up serving them better.
On the other hand your “serious” RPG needs might also be filled by the latest “I can’t believe it’s not World of Warcraft!” MMO Rift, which is of course exclusive to the PC. Judging by the average life cycle of fantasy MMOs these days I can’t say I would encourage anyone to pick it up right now; at best it will probably go free-to-play within a year.
If none of this swords and sorcery or Japanese craziness floats your boat then fear not! Because in the grim darkness of the future, there is only WAR (and grim darkness). More specifically, Dawn of War 2: Retribution for the PC, the latest in Relic entertainment’s series of brutal RTSs based on the ever popular Warhammer 40K universe. This stand alone expansion pack sees a host of mechanical tweaks as well as a new campaign for each of the 6 playable factions, including the newly implemented Imperial Guard. Still no Tau or Necrons though, so I think I’ll be waiting until Retribution pops up in one of Steam’s crazy sales.
This week also sees the belated European release of the uDraw peripheral and its assorted games for the Nintendo Wii. Don’t get too exited and start throwing away your “real” graphics tablets just yet, it’s probably going to be just another Wii add-on that will only get used once or twice at most before it’s relegated to the back of the cupboard for the rest of eternity. But I’m sure that won’t stop it selling boat loads though, or stop its games clogging up the retail charts for a week or two. I guess that’s just the way things are these days……. If you excuse me, I’m just going to go cheer myself up by planing how to turn a sentiant trash bag into an unstoppable engine of destruction. A good stat filled week to you all!
Multiplatform
Fight Night Champion (PS3/Xbox360)
Busy Scissors (WII/DS)
Arcania: Gothic 4 (PC/Xbox360)
PS3
Hyperdimension Neptunia
DS
Pokemon: Black/White
Hidden Photo (DSi)
Wii
uDraw GameTablet (With uDraw Studio)
Pictionary (uDraw GameTablet Compatible)
Dood’s Big Adventure (uDraw GameTablet Compatible)
PC
Rift
Warhammer 40000: Dawn Of War II Retribution
UFO: Trilogy
Warhammer 40000: Dawn Of War II – Complete Collection
Elements Of War
Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition (Mac)
15 Days
Battlestations: Pacific (Mac)
The Hidden Mystery Collectives: Awakening 1 & 2
Nightmare Adventures: The Witch’s Prison
Star Wars Mac Pack: Empire At War & Knights Of The Old Republic (Mac)
Star Wars: Jedi Knight Gold Pack (Mac)
Championship Manager 2010 (Mac)
Deadtime Stories
This week’s new releases! February 21st- 27th
Another wide range of releases across all platforms this week, including Guerrilla Games’s gorgeous looking futuristic shooter Killzone 3, a PS3 exclusive that’s just as likely to sell gangbusters as it is to cause fanboy wars in the comments section of every major gaming news site (i.e. very likely). Alongside that there’s People Can Fly’s ultra-violent killathon BulletStorm, a first person shooter that rewards you for destroying your opponents in the most brutal, messy and juvenile ways possible. So yeah, expect several (more) ill-informed mass media outcries and a campaign by the Daily Mail to get it banned within the next month or so. If that doesn’t quite sedate your thirst for blood, then you may also be interested in Game Republic’s Knights Contract for the PS3 and Xbox 360, which for all intents and purposes appears to be……yawn….. another God of War clone about mutilating mythical beats via the fine arts of button mashing and quick time events.
If gore and dismemberment ain’t really your thing, then on the other end of the spectrum we’ve got the WAY overdue ultra cute Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii. Yarn’s minimal resemblance to the classic Kirby games might put some fans off, but on the other hand it’s nice to see Nintendo put out a game that’s not identical to something they’ve already released a bunch of times already. That said, don’t expect it to happen again any time soon. From what I can gather the similarly original Metorid Other M was somewhat of a flop, while the highly iterative Donkey Kong County Returns is still positively printing money. I’m sure people will still complain about a lack of original content from the big N, but at the end of the day people vote with their wallets, and they voted for more of the same.
Speaking of the Wii, this week also sees the release of de Blob 2, sequel to the critically acclaimed Wii exclusive de Blob, which turned out to be a real sleeper hit back in 2008. Hopefully now that colour based puzzler has moved into the much more practical multiplatform arena it’ll get a bit more media attention this time around. I’m also praying for the success of the new PSP remake of SNES classic Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, a deep turn based RPG with a surprisingly dense narrative (for a game released over 15 years ago) and a very unsurprisingly weird name. I haven’t played it myself yet, but so far it’s had massively positive reviews from numerous Japanese AND American critics, which is a somewhat unusual correlation for that sort of game. Come back in a week or two and I’ll help you discover if it really is just that good.
It’s not the only game getting a re-release this week, thanks to the Sega Dreamcast Collection for PC and Xbox 360 (what, no PS3 version?) you can bare witness to the return of classic titles: Sonic Adventure, Space Channel 5 part 2, Crazy Taxi and….. Sega Bass Fishing (?) all in one box for only £39.99! I should probably point out that all of these titles are/will be available to buy separately over Xbox Live Arcade and PSN, so don’t feel that you have to get stuck with a bunch of obscure games no one cares about just to get your hands on Sega Bass Fishing, that would just be silly.
Of course, let us not forget the obligatory talking CGI animal movie tie-in multiplatform games, this week brought to you by Industrial Light and Magic’s Rango! Can’t say I’ve seen the games in action, but I think its a fair guess to say that if you’re reading this, then they’re probably not for you.
Multiplatform
de Blob 2 (DS/Xbox360/Wii/PS3)
Rango: The Video Game (Xbox360/Wii/PS3/DS)
Sega Dreamcast Collection (PC/Xbox360)
Gray Matter (Xbox360/PC)
Knights Contract (PS3/Xbox360)
BulletStorm (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
PS3
Killzone 3
DS
Jewel Link Chronicles: Legend Of Athena
Atari Greatest Hits: Volume 1
PC
Cities In Motion
Surgery Simulator
Trapped Dead
Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull
eXperience 112
PSP
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Wii
Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Haunted House
Pirates of the Caribbean will set sail on the 3DS
Disney have just announced that Captain Jack Sparrow and his band of pirates will bound into 3D action with LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is estimated to release at somepoint during May 2011. The game will be Published by Disney Interactive Studios and developed by TT Games, the Nintendo 3DS version will bring the LEGO Pirates world to life with vivid 3D in the palms of players’ hands. The game will include unique features such as “Pirate Duel,” a chance encounter system, as well as high resolution graphics and support for Play Coins.
“The Nintendo 3DS lets players experience a LEGO game like never before, and allows us to add new depth to the Pirates of the Caribbean universe,” said Adam Sussman, senior vice president of publishing, Disney Interactive Studios. “The game incorporates new features such as the Pirate Duel system and high resolution 3D effects to deliver fun and clever gameplay fans of the LEGO series expect. “
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game will re-create the action, adventure and memorable moments of the Pirates of the Caribbean mythology in LEGO form, incorporating the humor of LEGO Minifigures and fantastic worlds built from LEGO bricks. Players can take on the roles of more than 70 characters and experience the pirate adventures, irreverent humor and amazing creatures of the Pirates of the Caribbean films through action-adventure gameplay and hilariously quirky LEGO cut scenes. Throughout the game, players will also have the freedom to explore environments from the highly acclaimed movie series.
The Nintendo 3DS “Pirate Duel” mode allows players to cross swords with nearby Nintendo 3DS owners using the Street Pass™ feature. With Street Pass, the Nintendo 3DS can automatically detect and communicate with other Nintendo 3DS devices. When an encounter with another Nintendo 3DS is initiated, “Pirate Duel” pits the players against each other in a battle where they will select from a series of attacks and blocks to be utilized by their LEGO pirates. Players can participate in duels to earn Play Coins that will unlock and allow them to use new characters. By winning duels, players can also gain experience points, allowing them to move up the ranks and gain new rewards including extra health, new moves, new titles and extra characters. Players of the 3DS version will have the ability to turn off the 3D mode and play the game in standard 2D.
LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean The Video Game will be released on the Wii,Xbox 360,PlayStation 3, Games for Windows PC/Mac Hybrid and the Nintendo DS.
The games will be released simultaneously on all platforms with the highly anticipated new film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in May 2011. In addition, a collection of LEGO brand Pirates of the Caribbean construction toys that will set children’s imaginations sailing on thousands of build-and-play adventures is scheduled to launch in May 2011.
Funfact:L To date, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have generated more than $2.5 billion at the global box office, while the multiple Pirates of the Caribbean video games have sold more than 6 million units globally.
ARGGGGGGGH ME MATEYS! SOME SCREENSHOTS AT ME TIMBERS! Translated: Enjoy the below screenshots!
This weeks new releases! February 14th – 20th
Oh man, the retail sector is finaly starting to pick up the pace again, this week we’ve got something for nearly everybody! Top a lot of peoples most wanted list will likely be the long awaited and much hyped Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds for Xbox 360 and PS3. With Capcom’s legendary fighting game craftsmanship and a combined total of over 36 classic characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes, it’s sure to get all sorts of fanboys and girls giddy with excitement. Check back next week when we’ll hopefully have a review up!
Speaking of reviews, pretty soon we should also have one of tongue in cheek RPG parody Magicka for the PC. I don’t want to go into too much detail about it right now, but if you’re a hardcore RPG nerd that’s looking for a mindbending spellcrafting system as well as bit of humor targeted squarely at you, then ya can’t go wrong with Magicka. If on the other hand you’re a nerd looking for some more serious swords and sorcery, then you’ll probably be better served by inXile Entertainment’s Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, an action fantasy game full of Gears of War style grit that only the Unreal Engine can provide (without looking awful) for the Xbox360, PC and PS3. All these game’s however, are massively outclassed on the nerdiness scale by Deathsmiles: Deluxe Edition, a Japanese bullet hell shooter* for the Xbox 360! Damm, I can’t remember the last time one of those actually came out at retail over here, too long ago, way too long.
If you’re more interested in looking to the past than the future, then we’ve also got two Xbox 360 double packs that bundle together some classic action titles for the fair price of only £24.99 (it’ll vary depending on retailer). While that’s nice and all, I would question the logic in bundling Halo 3 with Fable 2 and Crackdown with Mass Effect, just about any other combination of those games would have made more sense. But regardless, they’re some pretty cool games that have aged fairly well, so if you missed out on them first time then now is a good chance to catch up without your wallet taking too much of a hit.
Oh yeah, and there’s some obligatory shovelware and casual stuff too. Each to their own!
*If you don’t know what one of those are, then it’s probably just a little TOO nerdy for you.
Multiplatform
Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate Of Two Worlds (PS3/Xbox360)
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
The Mysterious Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (DS/PC)
Wii
Family Party: 90 Great Games
Nickelodeon Fit
Fit & Fun
Xbox 360
Deathsmiles: Deluxe Edition
PopCap Hits!
Crackdown & Mass Effect: Double Pack
Halo 3 & Fable II: Double Pack
DS
Natalie Brooks: The Treasures Of The Lost Kingdom
PC
Magicka
Bejeweled Blitz
New Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded trailer
Still haven’t decided to give Kingdom Hearts Re:coded a go? Well you can check out the recent trailer to see what you may have been missing out on.
The trailer shows off the combat, the ‘Stat Matrix’ which is how you empower Sora, ‘Event Quizzes’ that have you guess answers to questions that important characters such as Alice answer and the ‘Tag Mode’ system where you upload your custom avatar, communicate with other players and engage in mini-games to win items.
Europe to receive One Piece: Gigant Battle
Good news for One Piece fans who live in Europe (like Stephen Jackman and me) as Namco Bandai have decided to give One Piece: Gigant Battle a European release.
The game will obviously have English text but any fans worried about any sub-par English dub sneaking in can breath a sigh of relief as One Piece: Gigant Battle will still have the original Japanese voiceovers, a wise move on the part of Namco Bandai.
The plot, according to the Namco Bandai website is that “the biggest event of the century is about to take place in the Grand Line… The Pirate Grand Prix–a tournament to decide the ultimate fighter–will be open to both navy and pirates alike. Word of the Grand Prix spread in a flash. All of the biggest names have entered. Monkey D. Luffy, a pirate who possesses the power of the Gum Gum Fruit, heads to Last Resort, determined to win.”
All the characters – of which there will be twenty to choose from – will earn experience points which can be used to upgrade their stats and acquire special attacks. To help you in battle there will be 50 support characters to choose from.
Hopefully the game will contain decent unlockables and have individual endings for each of the selectable characters.
One Piece: Gigant Battle is are scheduled to make their European debut in June.
This week’s new releases! February 7th-13th
No major titles to talk about this week, but I bet a lot of people’s wallets are still recoiling from Dead Space 2 the other day, so at least you can rest safely in the knowledge that you’re unlikely to impulse buy anything new for a while. That is, until Marvel vs Capcom 3 gets released a week on Friday!
But for now it’s mostly casual stuff headlined by the latest chapter in the ever prolific Ben 10 franchise for the Wii, DS, Xbox360 and all 3 major Sony consoles (yes, people still buy PS2 games). If that’s not your cup of tea then we also have the PC based point and click adventure Edna And Harvey: The Breakout – Collector’s Edition which, according to the sales pitch, possesses the highly sought after accolade of “most acclaimed German adventure game of 2008”. Yeah, it’s a slow week ok?
For the more niche audience there’s the predictably difficult to pronounce Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’ll, sequel to the Japanese only PS1 JRPG Zill O’ll and its PS2 remake Zill O’ll Infinite Plus. On top of that, for the REALLY niche audience there’s PC based simulators for both tanker trucks AND model trains (2011 edition naturally).
And to finish off, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Dr Kawashimas series of rather annoying and highly successful brain-training games of questionable effectiveness have now escaped the Nintendo DS and entered your living room*. And this time there’s no stylus, because YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER. Yes, a very slow week indeed.
*Provided you living room conforms to the absurd size requirements of the Kinect.
Multiplatfrom
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien – Cosmic Destruction(PS3/PSP/Wii/DS/PS2)
Test Drive Unlimited 2 (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
PS3
Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’ll
Wii
Hello Kitty: Seasons
DS
Magic Encyclopedia 2: Moonlight
Amazing Adventures: The Caribbean Secret
Xbox360
Dr Kawashima’s Body And Brain Exercises (Kinect)
PC
Model Train Simulator 2011
Tanker Truck Simulator
Edna And Harvey: The Breakout – Collector’s Edition
Ace Attorney Investigations: The Theme Park Attraction
Take on the role of Miles Edgeworth in Sega’s Tokyo Joypolis Attraction
If you plan on visiting Japan any time soon and are a fan of the Ace Attorney franchise, more specifically Miles Edgeworth and the Ace Attorney Investigations games, then Sega will have an attraction you might want to try out. Come Spring at Tokyo Joypolis those experiencing the attraction take on the role of prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. They then physically move around the attraction, a themed captivate build that looks like Edgeworth’s office, and look at clues left around, interacting with the scenery, to try and solve the case and figure out the culprit. The amusement ties in with the release of Ace Attorney Investigations 2. The game is currently only out in Japan and is awaiting a release date for North America and Europe.
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