Latest Previews
September2015
Hands On Digging Deeper With Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
An explosive addition
The new Shovel Knight expansion has finally dropped, and while it may not be an entirely new game in the Shovel Knight franchise it still brings enough new content and ideas that it warrants a sort-of-review. Remember, this expansion is entirely free with the game, we're just going to share our thoughts on it and how it differs...
Hands On Popping Wheelies In Pumped BMX+
Becoming the raddest & baddest
Curve Digital is a publisher and developer that rarely fails to impress, and when we were invited down to its HQ to play a new title it's bringing to the Wii U we couldn't refuse. Pumped BMX+ is a game not dissimilar to OlliOlli, a previous title from Curve, the difference being that this time not only are you riding...
First Impressions Digging into Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Fiendishly good
When Shovel Knight was Kickstarted in March 2013 and subsequently met its funding goal, Yacht Club Games announced additional content to follow its release if stretch goals were met. The developer is now delivering on its promise with the release of a new downloadable campaign titled Plague of Shadows. We recently had the opportunity...
First Impressions Getting Down with Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
Don’t call it a reboot
Among the indie stars that have graced Nintendo platforms over the years, it's easy to say that WayForward's Shantae is one of the most recognizable. Despite playing the lead role in only three games over the past decade, the scantily clad genie has managed to dance her way into the hearts of so many gamers
Preview Getting Inside The Curiously Undemanding World Of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
"I love what you've done here!"
Animal Crossing: New Leaf is one of those titles which has been instrumental in selling the Nintendo 3DS to the wider gaming public. When it launched in the west back in 2013 it appeared to trigger a rush of interest in Nintendo's portable system, and everyone seemed to be talking about it - sharing their experiences,...
August2015
Preview Rekindling Platforming Passion in Super Mario Maker
It's about the playing as well as the creating
Super Mario Maker is now rather close, and there's every chance that the Wii U exclusive will be regarded as a key turning point for 2D Mario gaming in years to come. Having spent some time with the final build, it's clear to us that Nintendo's finest have been truly devoting themselves to this most...
Hands On Devil's Third - Sampling Online Chaos and Fearing the Devilry of Microtransactions
Ironically you can buy Golden Eggs
When we shared our initial first impressions of Devil's Third it turned into a bit of a saga; your humble writer was surprised at the level of feeling that came out in response to an early look at the game. The focus was on the single player campaign at that point, with our general summary being that - while full...
Hands On Here's What The 3DS Version Of Terraria Looks Like
On show at this year's Gamescom
Although the Wii U version was not forthcoming, the 3DS iteration of the popular 2D mining game Terraria - recently confirmed as coming to Nintendo platforms - was fully playable at this year's Gamecom. We've put quite a lot of time into the PC version and it took a little while to get used to the controls on the 3DS...
July2015
First Impressions Learning to Fly With Rodea the Sky Soldier
Winging It
Rodea the Sky Soldier has had quite a turbulent time in development. Originally announced in 2010 for the Wii, this character-driven flight action game from Sonic and NiGHTS into Dreams creator Yuji Naka looked set to soar, but ultimately never got off the runway. After years of radio silence, Rodea was cleared for takeoff as a rebuilt...
Feature Hands On With The Spooktacular Luigi's Mansion Arcade
Don't cross the streams
Deep in the dimly lit bowels of Japanese arcades lurks a surprisingly wonderful new first person shooter (sucker?) with an unlikely arcade hero. It's not surprising that Luigi is running the show this time around. After all he's saved Mario from the notorious King Boo on two separate occasions at this point. The surprise...
First Impressions Heading Back to the Farm in Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale
Of Cabbages and Kings
Nestled snugly between Senran Kagura's bountiful bosoms and the Cold Steel of the latest Legend of Heroes chapter, Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale occupied a relatively unassuming spot at XSEED's E3 booth last month, but it certainly left quite an impression. This upcoming 3DS title is a crossover that...
First Impressions Getting Cosy With Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
How to make a happy home
At Nintendo's E3 presentation two "spin-offs" based on the Animal Crossing series were shown: Animal Crossing amiibo Festival for Wii U, a Mario Party-style interactive board game, and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for 3DS - an interior design based title. To focus on Happy Home Designer, it left many questioning...
First Impressions Basking in the Glow of Atlus' Legendary Lineup
We take a look at Stella Glow and Legend of Legacy
From a steady stream of Shin Megami Tensei titles to an ever-growing assortment of Etrian Odyssey outings, it's safe to say that Atlus has shown the 3DS a massive amount of JRPG love over the past few years. The company's lineup at E3 last month continued that happy trend, but what was especially...
First Impressions Trying to Believe in Devil's Third
And like that... optimism's gone
Devil's Third seduced us in 2014, trumpeted as a mature exclusive that would change the way we think about action shooters, promising to be a system seller. Tomonobu Itagaki prepared us for a game changer, an experience to thrill - after spending some time behind the curtain, however, we're left sorely in need of a...
Tom and Anthony scratch their heads at Nintendo's Prime demo
Blast Ball had a peculiar reveal and presence in recent weeks. It first appeared in the Nintendo World Championships without Metroid branding, and was then revealed in the E3 Digital Event to be part of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, the divisive 3DS title in development by Next Level...
June2015
First Impressions Digging Up Details on Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories
Meanwhile, back at the ranch
Natsume always has a diverse catalog of games to show at E3, but the cream of each year's crop is undoubtedly Harvest Moon, the premier farm-life simulation series that's been offering players quiet pastoral pleasures since 1996. This year, after having just produced their first in-house Harvest Moon with last year's The...
First Impressions Getting Into The Spirit With Yo-Kai Watch
An Inspiriting Invasion
Yo-Kai Watch's Western début has been a long time coming - two 3DS games, several anime and manga series, and a mountain of merchandise have already conquered the imagination of young Japanese players, and now the first portable RPG in the series is making its way to the rest of the world courtesy of Nintendo and Level 5...
First Impressions Plugging In To Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash
Little Robo, big heart
The first time we played Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash at this year's E3, it was on a 3DS tethered by cable to a mobile Nintendo representative. It felt oddly appropriate given the wired nature of the game's protagonist, but sadly, pressing 'B' did not - as we would have hoped - release the cord. Later on during the show, we got to...
Hands On Logging More Flight Time With Star Fox Zero
“Impressive, Star Fox!”
In this second look at Star Fox Zero, Morgan Sleeper has a more positive experience than colleague Alan Lopez. To reflect the divisive nature of the controls, Alan's updated impressions from another playthrough are also included. When Miyamoto-san's Muppet started sprouting Star Fox features during the Nintendo Digital...
First Impressions Celebrating a Gaming Icon With Super Mario Maker
Let's Super Mario!
Super Mario Maker, recently powered-up from its initial moniker of 'Mario Maker', was a huge part of Nintendo's E3 presence both this year and last. Just a few months ahead of its September release it still had plenty of new surprises in store for this year's show, and still managed to captivate attendees' imaginations. The...
First Impressions Getting Into the Fold With Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
A crossover aiming for the funny bone
The world has seen its fair share of monumental crossovers: DC vs. Marvel, Jetsons meets the Flintstones. And now, Mario meets Mario in a game of the same genre but technically in another universe because one is made of paper and, uh… The specifics of how this all happens in the story likely doesn't matter,...
First Impressions Linking Up in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Wisdom, Power, Cosplay
While saving Hyrule has traditionally been a one hero job, multiplayer adventures have become a fan-favourite subset of the Legend of Zelda series since Four Swords made its début in 2002, and we were ecstatic to see The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes - an all-new co-op title for three players - revealed in Nintendo's...
First Impressions Holding Court with Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
Racquet Riot
A surprise service sent over the net in Nintendo's Digital Event at this year's E3, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for Wii U marks the first home console appearance of this particular Mario Sport in over 10 years. If early impressions are anything to go by, it's one to watch for - the demo we played on the show floor was very simple,...
First Impressions Our Maiden Flight In Star Fox Zero Prompts Mixed Emotions
You okay over there, Fox?
One of our men on the E3 floor, Alan Lopez, had a first run on Star Fox Zero in a short session. We'll aim to have a longer playthrough - to tackle the GamePad control scheme, in particular - in a separate media session later this week. When I got to the Star Fox Zero kiosk inside the Nintendo media room, the Nintendo rep...
First Impressions Kicking Off With Metroid Prime: Blast Ball
Samus Soccer
First unveiled as a suspiciously Samus-shaded title at the Nintendo World Championships, Metroid Prime: Blast Ball was more recently revealed to be part of the upcoming Metroid Prime: Federation Force for 3DS. While the main multiplayer action of Federation Force wasn't on the show floor at this year's E3, we did get a chance to take...
Hands On Checking Out Splatoon's Freshly Unlocked Ranked Battle Mode
Laying it all on the line
If you booted up Splatoon this morning you might have noticed that without even the need to download an update that you can now play on the new Port Mackerel map. You can also buy the N-ZAP '85, a new weapon which looks suspiciously familiar. Of course what will be most exciting for competitive gamers is the introduction of...
May2015
Hands On Disney Infinity 3.0's Twilight Of The Republic Brings The Star Wars Saga To Wii U
The Force is strong in this one
After much anticipation we finally got our hands on the Star Wars levels in Disney Infinity 3.0 in London last week. There's a little time before launch still but the headline here is that things feel very polished and locked down already - we came away very impressed. Having had a play with the Toy Box game-creator...
Hands On Disney Infinity Toy Box 3.0 Brings A Fresh Mario Kart Rival To Wii U
Sumo Digital works its magic once more
Getting hands-on with the Toy Box for Disney Infinity 3.0 was more than a little interesting, not least because of the Star Wars content and characters therein. At an event in London yesterday we had a chance to experiment with the new game creator as well as try both the Toy Box Takeover adventure and Toy Box...
First Impressions Hands On With Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee
Damien and Thomas share their initial impressions
The cat - or should that be chameleon - is out of the bag. Fledgling UK studio Playtonic Games has lifted the lid on the stars of its début title - Yooka and Laylee - and has sent Rare-loving Nintendo fans into a frenzy of anticipation by confirming that the game will be coming to the Wii U eShop...
First Impressions Tapping In With amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits
amii-boo
There's a decent indication that amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits (known as amiibo Touch & Play: Nintendo Classics Highlights in Europe) is considered a fairly valuable release - internally - by Nintendo. When highlighting the role of amiibo in an investor's briefing at the start of the year Satoru Iwata referenced the project by...
April2015
Preview Unraveling the Truth in Yoshi's Woolly World
Baby Mario cheerfully absent
For many years now fans of games in the Yoshi series have been clamouring for a successor to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, yet the games Nintendo has presented us with so far haven't quite hit the mark. Yoshi's Story ditched the somewhat irritating Baby Mario mechanic much to the delight of many, but overhauled...
First Impressions The Addictive Futility of the New StreetPass Games
An existential crisis wrapped in awesome Nintendo cutesy style
Here's a tale of the lengths that editorial director Damien McFerran and editor Tom Whitehead went to in order to test out the new StreetPass games - StreetPass Zombies / Battleground Z and StreetPass Fishing / Ultimate Angler. Due to working in a small UK town and not Tokyo, added to...
Hands On Hitting the Tracks in Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 and 200cc Mode
It just keeps getting better...
When Nintendo announced that the second Mario Kart 8 DLC pack was coming earlier than promised, we were appropriately excited. Now that we've had a chance to get to grips with everything this extra content has to offer, suffice to say we're not disappointed. In this early look at the full DLC pack we check out the...
March2015
Preview We Take Aim at Splatoon to See if It Offers the Best of Both Worlds
Catching up with Splatoon's solo and multiplayer modes
During past Nintendo Direct presentations, the main focus of Splatoon has undoubtedly been the multiplayer gameplay, leaving many caught off guard when it was announced that Nintendo's upcoming squad-based shooter would feature a single player campaign as well. Not much has been revealed about...
First Impressions Contemplating the Long Con in The Swindle
Steampunk hijinks
The Swindle is primarily the work of Dan Marshall and some close colleagues through Size Five Games, but due to the efforts of UK publisher Curve Digital has rapidly changed up from being another intriguing PC release to plotting a multi-platform arrival. The inclusion of the Wii U eShop is promising, as this is shaping up to be a...
February2015
Preview Hitting the Rails With OlliOlli on Wii U and 3DS
Totally sick, dude (is that right, ed?)
As a chubby thirty year old with the athleticism of a sloth and the cool-factor of a professional chess player, your humble writer will never be seen on a skateboard down at the local skateboarding-park-thingy. That's a reality of life, but video games are all about fantasy, so it's possible for even the least...
First Impressions Getting Into the Swing of Flick Golf 3D
Golf club-shaped stylus accessory not required
When you put the phrases smartphone game and 3DS eShop release in close proximity to each other there can be understandable concern - for dedicated portable gaming fans it can appear to be a marriage made in hell. Yet it's not always that simple, and titles that become a phenomenon on smart devices can...
January2015
Preview Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Takes the Series to New Heights
It's got teeth
At times the localisation of the Monster Hunter franchise can be frustrating for dedicated fans in the West; it's a sales phenomenon in Japan and, as a result, there are more frequent releases in the country. Despite this Capcom is to be commended for its increasing commitment to making it a success outside of its homeland - Monster...
First Impressions Taking To The Skies In Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy+
Danger zone
Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy was an enjoyable romp trough the skies in the early days of the 3DS, and its chunky dogfighting proved to be a delightful fit for auto-stereoscopic 3D. What better way to immerse yourself in a virtual world than to feel as if you're soaring over it, right? Bandai Namco is now offering the chance to do...
First Impressions We're Really Feeling It With Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
It's Reyn time!
Xenoblade Chronicles was something of a white whale that appeared late in the Wii's lifespan. A Western release was not assured despite critical success in its native Japan, sending fervent American fans into an Operation Rainfall-shaped tizzy to show Nintendo that hey, maybe they should release some games from time to time. Then,...
Hands On We Check Out The New Nintendo 3DS XL
North America's only New Nintendo 3DS, lest we forget
The New Nintendo 3DS XL is a sleek piece of kit that streamlines many of its predecessor's quirks. Be it changed button placement or new features altogether, it's evident that Nintendo has put a lot of thought into alleviating pain points both obvious and subtle. While we aren't fans of every...
First Impressions The Next Penelope is Futuristic Retro Racing at its Best
A fast-paced odyssey
We've seen a number of HTML-based games come to the Wii U eShop, but few have succeeded in defying their humble code origins to stand alongside more complex offerings on the store - Construct 2 project The Next Penelope looks set to deliver new standards, however. The work of solo developer Aurelien Regard, we were naturally...
December2014
First Impressions Bravely Second's Demo Comes Out Fighting
Watch the first 30 minutes right here
About a year ago we gave the original Bravely Default a whopping 9/10 in our review, so it was with some excitement that we battled through numerous eShop error messages for hours on end, desperate to get our grubby mitts on the Japanese Bravely Second demo that released recently. So how does Bravely Second...
Preview Picking Up The Pace With Proun+ on 3DS
Light at the end of the tunnel
It seems, in recent times, that the majority of intriguing and exciting new projects on the eShop platforms brings us to the Wii U, with the home console's power and development tool support attracting plenty of companies. The 3DS eShop does have excellent titles of its own, but the volume seems lower in terms of...
November2014
Hands On Wii U GameCube Controller Adapter
Party like it’s 2001
The GameCube controller has become the community gold-standard for playing Super Smash Bros. So much so that Nintendo has wheeled out an adapter to make the controller released in 2001 compatible with its home console released in 2012. All for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The adapter is about as thick as two retail game cases...
Preview Power Sliding Around The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 DLC
The great just got even greater!
Recently we were invited to Nintendo's UK headquarters to have a go at The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 DLC that's arriving on 13th November, and naturally we just had to tell you what we thought of it. This is the first time a Mario Kart game has had DLC, so Nintendo has to make an impact to convince buyers to...
Preview The Irresistible Charm of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Cuteness overload
When summarising Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, we feel that our editorial director Damien McFerran may have nailed it: "look at it, pure gaming joy on a screen". Few game companies portray 'cute' as successfully as Nintendo — relatively few even bother to try — and this is the epitome of that approach. It takes the...
Preview Having a Brawl With Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Extended time with Nintendo's biggest game this holiday season
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the most anticipated Nintendo title this holiday season, and with good reason. Whether it's the intricate and deep gameplay mechanics, the sheer amount of content reported to be on offer or the crossover Nintendo theme and the fan service that comes with...
October2014
Video New Nintendo 3DS Unboxing And Hands On
Watch in awe as we remove and refit a face plate
We've got the New Nintendo 3DS in the office right now and in-between gazing at its rock-solid 3D screen and fondling its nipple-like C-Stick, we somehow found the time to record a special unboxing and hands-on video, which you can view below. The new console — currently only available in Japan —...
Preview Bat-Swinging into Action in LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Go West young man
Already a successful branch of the LEGO series of games, the LEGO Batman line is soon to add a third entry into its already successful lineup. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, as its name suggests, takes the action outside of just Gotham and spreads it around the globe and even outer space — but does it measure up? We got some...
Preview Going Retro On The Go With Ultimate NES Remix
The ultimate collection?
Stealthily announced a month or two ago, there is still some uncertainty about what exactly Ultimate NES Remix contains. Is it a new game, is it NES Remix and NES Remix 2 stuck together in one package, like the Wii U retail release, or is it something else entirely?
First Impressions Blasting and Hacking in RIVE
Two Tribes gets less cerebral
Earlier this year Two Tribes endured a restructuring process and re-formed its development company, in the process shrinking the team down to three, still including original founders Collin van Ginkel and Martijn Reuvers. Previously associated with the Toki Tori brand and its publishing business, the struggles of Toki...
September2014
Feature We Go Hands On With SteamWorld Heist, The Next Image & Form Game
“A game about space adventure and survival”
Image & Form, the Swedish development studio that shot to prominence with the success of SteamWorld Dig on the 3DS eShop, which was subsequently ported to Wii U and other platforms, has announced the next game in the SteamWorld franchise. This isn’t a straight-up sequel, however, but a spin-off...
Hands On Exploring the Four New Tables of Zen Pinball 2
The Walking Dead! Guardians of the Galaxy! Deadpool! Doctor Strange!
It's tough for comic book fans these days – movies based on superhero comics are more popular than ever, but the comic books themselves are often lost in the shuffle. Everyone loved The Dark Knight, but have you been reading Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's fantastic run on...
Preview Fantasy Life is Waiting to Become Part of Yours
Gotta live 'em all!
Originally released in Japan in late December 2012, Level-5 and Brownie Brown’s part life sim, part action RPG Fantasy Life was announced for the West at this past E3 and will see release in Europe on 26th September and on 24th October in North America for the Nintendo 3DS. Selling over 300,000 copies in its native Japan and...
August2014
Preview Exploring Black Magic in Bayonetta 2
A climax worth waiting for
When Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime revealed Bayonetta 2 at the Wii U's launch date announcement festivities, we suspect he did so with a mischievous glint in his eye. No doubt the anguished cries and wails of those that actually bought the original were expected, and Nintendo was also showing that it wasn't afraid...
July2014
First Impressions Exploring the Depths of Affordable Space Adventures
A unique challenge
After a first year of struggling momentum, the Wii U eShop library has steadily developed and now has a solid line-up of high-quality games. Some are multiplatform titles, a common reality in this era of game engines such as Unity being widely adopted, and there's also a small batch of experiences unique to the system. A...
First Impressions Throwing Down in Shigeru Miyamoto's Mech Maker, Project Giant Robot
A robot riot
At the very end of Nintendo’s Digital Event at this year’s E3, Shigeru Miyamoto made a brief appearance to announce that he’s been hard at work creating new games that use the Wii U’s dual-screen setup in innovative ways. One of these works-in-progress was Project Giant Robot, an experimental venture that lets players build...
First impressions HD Brawling with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Big screen action
At a first glance, you could be forgiven for assuming that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is simply a HD refresh of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, especially given that the core gameplay concept hasn't evolved a great deal. Nevertheless, underneath its incredibly polished aesthetics and smooth 60 frames per second speed, there’s a wealth...
First Impressions Breaking Out With Siesta Fiesta on 3DS
We also chat to Stuart Ryall as release details are pinned down
Siesta Fiesta is a title that we've been keen to play here at Nintendo Life, with the title earning a spot in the Spring Edition of our biggest 3DS games of 2014 feature. A title first profiled — seemingly out of nowhere — by the Nintendo of America booth at IndieCade, it promises a...
First Impressions Going Portable With Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
Anything but a little ruckus
While much attention remains on a home console version of a certain iconic franchise, it's perhaps worthwhile reminding ourselves that Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is now less than three months away and giving us our first fix in the series since Brawl on Wii — we should pay it more attention. As much as Nintendo is...
First Impressions Hyrule Warriors Is Zelda, But Not As We Know It
Button-mashing with the Hero of Time
On paper, Nintendo's decision to ally Zelda with the Dynasty Warriors franchise makes perfect sense; Koei Tecmo's series is incredibly popular in its native Japan and Wii U owners are simply dying for another Hyrule-themed adventure to embark upon. However, almost immediately after the announcement of Hyrule...
First Impressions Getting Our Hands Dirty in Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley
Farm fresh
Since its initial début on the Super Nintendo in 1997, Harvest Moon has blossomed into something of an institution; a non-traditional RPG that swapped swords for shovels, replaced fighting with farming, and let players find true love among the turnips, it captivated with a unique charm, and has been hooking would-be farmers on platforms...
First Impressions The Thieves And The 1000 Pokémon Steals Its Way Onto 3DS In Japan
But is it Robin Hood or Dick Turpin?
We've taken a look at The Thieves and the 1000 Pokémon before, but now the free eShop title has been released in Japan we can share some more info and screenshots of this delightfully bonkers little game. You start out by picking one of the three initial Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y, and then you basically...
June2014
Hands On Bewitching Bayonetta 2 Brings Action Gaming To A Climax On Wii U
We spend some time with Bayonetta 1 and 2
It’s hard to overestimate just how much buzz Bayonetta 2’s Wii U exclusivity garnered back when it was announced in 2012; the first game in the series - from Platinum Games and Hideki Kamiya - was critically acclaimed and a big hit with fans, though since it only ever appeared on the Xbox 360 and PS3,...
First Impressions Taking Sonic Boom for a Spin on Wii U and 3DS
Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)
Back in May 2013 Nintendo announced that it had entered into a partnership with Sega to bring a series of three Sonic games exclusively to its systems. Sonic Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games were the first products of that arrangement, and the upcoming Sonic Boom games —...
First Impressions Moulding Clay With Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Rainbow Country
Kirby has always been a flexible little guy; from his humble beginnings as a placeholder sprite, he’s been moulded into a pinball, a golf ball, and an animate collection of yarn - not to mention the many hats he wears as part of his trademark copy abilities. Kirby’s workable versatility is a huge part of his identity as a...
Preview Summoning Our Luchador Instincts in Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
Viva Mexico!
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition will quite possibly be one of the most colourful, bizarrely-named games on the Wii U eShop when it arrives on 2nd July, as any exclamation mark-bearing title with a masked hero can be. The Nintendo début of Drinkbox Studios is an expanded, improved version of the popular original, and the...
First Impressions Getting Creative With Mario Maker
Make Mine Mario
Mario Maker may have been inadvertently revealed a little earlier than intended at E3 this year, but with the allure of what was on offer — a new Wii U title which lets budding Miyamotos create and play their own Mario levels — we’d argue that the effect was less like ruining a surprise and more like knowing you’re getting...
First Impressions Solving the Puzzle of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Toad Captain! My Captain!
Sometimes games play host to smaller experiences so fun they could easily stand as full-fledged titles of their own. Kirby games are famous for this, of course, with Kirby Fighters & Dedede’s Drum Dash on offer in the pink puffball’s latest outing, though Mario’s also been known to get in on the act — Super...
First Impressions Enjoying the Craft of Yoshi's Woolly World
A purled gem
For fans who have been anxiously awaiting news of Yarn Yoshi since it was first announced in January 2013, seeing Nintendo’s Takashi Tezuka and Good-Feel’s Etsunobu Ebisu walk into a yarn shop during the E3 Digital Event was enough to send hopeful hearts flutter-jumping in anticipation. Now sporting a new name and a launch window of...
First Impressions Taking Aim With Nintendo's New Online Shooter IP, Splatoon
Colour us ink-pressed
Whatever your expectations for Nintendo's Digital Event at E3 this year, it's safe to say that they probably didn't include squid-girls flinging ink at each other across a cityscape in team-based battles. A surprise in every sense of the word, Splatoon came out of nowhere to significant fanfare as one of Nintendo’s flagship...
May2014
Hands On Photos with Mario and AR Card Fun
Koopa Troopas invade your living room!
How long has it been since you thought about AR (augmented reality) gaming on your 3DS? If the stack of AR cards that came with your system is gathering dust in a corner somewhere, go dig 'em out, because Nintendo has finally released a new AR game; it doesn't even seem to want you to know about it. Photos with...
Preview Ripping It Up With Wii U eShop Action Title Insanity's Blade
Armless fun for all the family
While Capcom, Konami and many of the other games companies which forged their reputations during the 8-bit era have since moved on to creating next-gen experiences, they have left a rich legacy of retro gaming brilliance which is proving to be particularly fertile ground for indie studios — one of which is Causal Bit...
The best of both worlds
The WiiWare platform may not always be considered in a particularly glowing light, but it's undeniable that it did deliver some top-class download experiences. One of these was Swords & Soldiers from Ronimo Games, a side-scrolling real-time strategy title that made use of the Wii Remote pointer in an intuitive, natural...
