Category Archives: Wii

All Games related to the Wii

Nintendo, the End of the WII U?

Posted by Bodrul on 20/05/2013 – 8:49 pm
Filed under Wii
Tagged as , , , , , ,

Nintendo, the End of the WII U?

So a Few days a ago EA announced that it would not be releasing future titles for the Wii U and it would only be concentrating on consoles which it sees as profitable.

Don’t get me wrong EA are right in moving away from the Wii U, it does have the same resemblance to the Dreamcast a Long lost Console released by Sega to compete against the Playstation back in the 90s and that was a failure as sales weren’t great and Publishers decided cut their losses and walk away from the console.

Back in the 90s then Sega compared to its competitors did provide additional features which weren’t introduced by other console manufacturers, an example of this was networking option to allow gamers to play other gamers by connecting their Dreamcast to the internet and play others.

The console did great and Sales were pretty for Sega and all things looked good for them until they were slapped with the fact that Sony were launching the Playstation 2 which shot down the sales of Sega Dreamcast, this is turn caused publishers to abandon the platform and cut their losses in producing titles for the Dreamcast where they were going to see little or no return in investment at all.

Now we have Nintendo who revolutionized the face of gaming by going outside the box and introducing the Wii and the revolutionary controllers allowing them to broaden their audience from hardcore gamers and casual gamers to a wider audience and made gaming more sociable.

this was greeted well for Nintendo and it gave a great boost to their profits as the WII sold out within hours in almost all countries it was launched putting a high demand on the console.

as soon as Sony and Microsoft saw the impact that the new features had to the gaming community they came out with their own versions, some like Sony Adapting what Nintendo Had done and going with Playstation Move, with Microsoft going further and completely getting rid of the controller and giving for a controller free experience with Kinect .

Now with the competition eating away at their user base by providing a better version of what Nintendo have been doing they came up with a new system to launch side by side with the WII, the WII U with HD graphics.

The WII U wasn’t greeted as fiercely and gracefully as the WII was on launch.
the WII U was suppose to provide gamers with more freedom from the sofa and play their game anywhere in their house and give free movement to the player.

WII U SPECS

Dimensions
5.3 × 0.9 × 10.2 in (13 × 2.3 × 26 cm)
Input

Motion sensing
Touch screen
2 Analog sticks
D-pad
Digital buttons
Microphone
Gyroscope
Accelerometer
Magnetometer
Extension Connector

Display
6.2 inch (15.7 cm) 854×480 16:9 @ 158 ppi

at the end of the day the Touch Screen for the Wii was kind of pointless and really didn’t provide that much of a reason for people to purchase the console.

Now Nintendo have hit the same stumbling block that Sega had hit over a decade ago and are slowly being abandoned by Publishers who are cutting their losses and sticking with what makes them money (Which they have every right to do as companies, they need to ensure that they make money and not lose money)

for Nintendo it looks like their honey moon period is over and this has been shown a long time ago when they were forced to cut prices months after their initial launch of their console.

Even with prices being slashed across the world, Nintendo have failed to win back customers and with the launch of the Playstation 4 and the next Xbox console over the horizon, Nintendo have been left on the curve.

Nintendo Had taken gaming outside the Box and did something no other company did, they took a leap of faith and brought in a new type of gaming and drastically increased the demographics of gamers.

Now it’s not all Gloom and Doom for Nintendo as so Far it’s Just EA who have abandoned Ship,
from what I am reading from Ubisoft, Capcom and other developer game releases to come over the year there are still titles for the WII U so not all is lost.

and the next few months will be a real test for Nintendo and how they do and if they can keep the remaining publishers on their side and provide games for their console.

 

Eurogamer Expo 2013 Gaming Expo Ticket Giveaway

Posted by Bodrul on 16/05/2013 – 10:52 pm
Filed under General, iOS games/Android, Multi Platform, PC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PSP, retro, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged as ,

Eurogamers 2013 Gaming Expo Ticket Giveaway

Firstly a Thanks to Tom Champion and Eurogamers who are providing the Tickets for the Expo,

As you guys know Eurogamers Gaming Expo is one of the largest gaming events Held in the UK every year since 2008 and as the years have passed it has increased in Size and the number of people who attend each year increase.

Over 50,000 people attended last year and tickets always sell out within days

So this is your chance to Get hold of Tickets for Thursday the 26th

You will Get Two Tickets for the Day to attend Eurogamers with anyone of your choosing, you don’t want to be enjoying such a gaming Event on your own now?

You will get to play some of the latest Games to be released and soon to be released
Enjoy the Developer Sessions.

So the Question you must be asking,

How do you get hold of these great tickets?

Simple Register at http://www.gamingrev.com/forum/ and Say Hello (Introduce yourself in the new member section) and then enter the competition in the giveaway section :)

sticking around is optional but welcome :)

Winners will be picked at the End of July.

RULES


You have to be a Resident of the UK to Enter and Be able to Make it to London on the 26th of September

You must be 16 or over to Enter this Competition

Winners will be notified that they have won on the 1st of August

by Participating in this competition you agree that your Name, Date of Birth and Email Address can be shared with Eurogamers if you win, As they will be sending you the Tickets.

Good Luck to everyone that enters

 

WatchDogs Trailer + collector’s edition details

Posted by Bodrul on 29/04/2013 – 9:05 pm
Filed under Multi Platform, PC, Playstation 4, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged as , , , ,

WatchDogs

 

 

WD_SPECIAL_EDITION_mockup_UK

D1 SPECIAL EDITION

Product Description

You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug, whose criminal past led to a violent family tragedy.  Now on the hunt for those who hurt your family, you’ll be able to monitor and hack all who surround you by manipulating everything connected to the city’s network. Use the city of Chicago as your ultimate weapon and exact your own style of revenge

 

The Watch_Dogs special edition contains bonus in-game content: the Breakthrough Pack single player mission!

Digital bonus content

  • Breakthrough Pack – A secret gathering is underway. The Chicago Club is negotiating power with Corporate CEOs. The Club has hired scramblers to block surveillance devices. Drive around the city to find the scramblers and take them out. Retrieve all names from the meeting and upload their images to the world.

 

  • Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)
  • VEHICLE EXPERT PERK: Get free vehicles from your Underground Car Contact and earn discounts on select cars.

WD_UPLAY_EXCLUSIVE_EDITION_mockup_UK

 

UPLAY EXCLUSIVE EDITION

Product Description

Exclusive edition available only on Uplay website!

 

You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug, whose criminal past led to a violent family tragedy.  Now on the hunt for those who hurt your family, you’ll be able to monitor and hack all who surround you by manipulating everything connected to the city’s network. Use the city of Chicago as your ultimate weapon and exact your own style of revenge.

 

The Watch_Dogs Uplay Exclusive Edition is dedicated to gamers who want to expand their gaming experience.

This edition has an impressive amount of additional content: it includes almost 1 hour of additional gameplay through 3 single player missions. Get the power of hacking and develop your special skills: you’ll be rewarded upon completion of the missions.

In addition, to make experience even more special, you’ll receive a dedicated steelbook™ offer. You’ll also have access to almost 60 minutes of additional gameplay thanks to 3 single player missions, and rewards upon completion of the missions.

 

Physical content

  • Exclusive Steelbook™
    • Palace pack: A police raid is planned on the luxury palace of an Internet mogul. His impressive databanks have intimate details on thousands of people…including Aiden Pearce. Break inside, wipe the hard drives and escape before the raid begins.

Digital content

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)

  • INVESTIGATION BONUS: Unlock more investigative opportunities inside the network databanks.
  • ATM HACK BOOST: Boost your cash rewards when hacking bank accounts.

 

  • Signature Shot: A biometrics weapon has been smuggled into Chicago for a captain of the Black Viceroys gang. The weapon only works with the first person who holds the gun.

Breach a stronghold, steal the package and be the first to hold the weapon.

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission):

  • BLACK VICEROYS GANG COLOURS OUTFIT
  • BIOMETRIC ASSAULT RIFLE

 

  • Breakthrough Pack: A secret gathering is underway. The Chicago Club is negotiating power with Corporate CEOs. The Club has hired scramblers to block surveillance devices. Drive around the city to find the scramblers and take them out. Retrieve all names from the meeting and upload their images to the world.

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)

  • VEHICLE EXPERT PERK: Get free vehicles from your Underground Car Contact and earn discounts on select cars.

WD_DEDSEC_EDITION_mockup_WITH_AR_UK

DEDSEC EDITION

Product Description

You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug, whose criminal past led to a violent family tragedy.  Now on the hunt for those who hurt your family, you’ll be able to monitor and hack all who surround you by manipulating everything connected to the city’s network. Use the city of Chicago as your ultimate weapon and exact your own style of revenge.

 

The Watch_Dogs DedSec Edition is the premium Collector’s Edition ideal for any fan wishing to immerse themselves in this hacker fantasy world!

In addition to the Watch_Dogs game, this edition contains a unique figurine of vigilante hero Aiden Pearce, steelbook, an artbook, a map of Chicago, the official soundtrack of the game, a set of 4 iconic character cards, a set of 3 collectible Watch_Dogs logo badges.

You’ll also have access to almost 60 minutes of additional gameplay thanks to 3 single player missions, and rewards upon completion of these missions.

 

Physical content

  • A 23cm Aiden Pearce Figurine
  • Steelbook™
  • DedSec Collector’s box
  • Watch_Dogs Artbook: artworks and illustrations that inspired the game
  • Original soundtrack of the game
  • Watch_Dogs map of Chicago
  • Set of 4 collectible cards: discover Watch_Dogs iconic characters through augmented reality
  • Set of 3 exclusive badges.

 

Digital content

3 single payer missions: almost 60 minutes of additional gameplay

 

  • Palace Pack: A police raid is planned on the luxury palace of an Internet mogul. His impressive databanks have intimate details on thousands of people…including Aiden Pearce. Break inside, wipe the hard drives and escape before the raid begins.

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)

  • INVESTIGATION BONUS: Unlock more investigative opportunities inside the network databanks.
  • ATM HACK BOOST: Boost your cash rewards when hacking bank accounts.

 

  • Signature Shot: A biometrics weapon has been smuggled into Chicago for a captain of the Black Viceroys gang. The weapon only works for the first person who holds the gun.

Breach a stronghold, steal the package and be the first to hold the weapon.

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)

  • BLACK VICEROYS GANG COLOURS OUTFIT
  • BIOMETRIC ASSAULT RIFLE

 

  • Breakthrough Pack: A secret gathering is underway. The Chicago Club is negotiating power with Corporate CEOs. The Club has hired scramblers to block surveillance devices. Drive around the city to find the scramblers and take them out. Retrieve all names from the meeting and upload their images to the world.

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)

  • VEHICLE EXPERT PERK: Get free vehicles from your Underground Car Contact and earn discounts on select cars.

 

WD_VIGILANTE_EDITION_mockup_UK

VIGILANTE EDITION

Product Description

You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug, whose criminal past led to a violent family tragedy.  Now on the hunt for those who hurt your family, you’ll be able to monitor and hack all who surround you by manipulating everything connected to the city’s network. Use the city of Chicago as your ultimate weapon and exact your own style of revenge

 

The Watch_Dogs Vigilante Edition is dedicated to hard core fans who’d like to embody the hacker vigilante in real life! Thanks to the iconic cap and mask offered in this limited edition, you’ll feel just like a real modern day hero.

Also included in this edition: the Watch_Dogs official soundtrack and in-game bonus content: single player mission: Palace pack. Develop more hacking skills and unlock rewards.

 

Physical content

  • Vigilante Collector’s box
  • Aiden Pearce’s iconic cap
  • Aiden Pearce’s mask
  • Original soundtrack of the game

 

Digital content

  • Palace pack: A police raid is planned on the luxury palace of an Internet mogul. His impressive databanks have intimate details on thousands of people…including Aiden Pearce. Break inside, wipe the hard drives and escape before the raid begins.

Rewards (Unlocked upon completion of the ULC mission)

  • INVESTIGATION BONUS: Unlock more investigative opportunities inside the network databanks.
  • ATM HACK BOOST: Boost your cash rewards when hacking bank accounts.

Monster Hunter: Because Us Westerners Want to Stab Godzilla in the Plums With a Toothpick Too

Posted by Chris Littlechild on 03/03/2013 – 5:10 pm
Filed under Multi Platform, PSP, Wii
Tagged as , , , , , ,
Image source: www.blogsradioacktiva.com

Image source: www.blogsradioacktiva.com

Remember, if you will, the most preposterous contretemps with a final boss you ever had. Kicking Bowser right in the eyeball with your faeces-stained plumber shoes will not suffice, we’re talking strenuous, half an hour wars of attrition against aggressors that would make Godzilla look about as physically imposing as a one-legged kitten with a limp scrotum. The painstaking endeavours as you tortuously chip away at its vitality, until you emerge victorious (with excitement-urine and sweat dribbling down your legs. Legs of SWEET, SWEET WINNING!). The Monster Hunter franchise has crafted an entire game from these theatrical confrontations.

Which, I’d venture, warrants worldwide acclaim as ludicrous as the series’ success in its native Japan. In the Orient, you’ll see commuters, schoolchildren and pensioners alike all indulging in some dragon slaying. Each Monster Hunter release has become a veritable national holiday, with canny employees adopting their stricken ‘pinched nose for nasal voice and melodramatic false cough’ routines on the telephone to the boss so as to spend every daylight hour with the new title. (“I can’t come into the office today, I’ve… got the plague. On… my testicles.”)

Lamentably, though, this remarkable franchise remains an obscurity in Europe and the U.S. Since the inaugural outing on PlayStation 2 in 2004, these have been largely unheard of PSP releases. The most recent Monster Hunter frolics, the Wii-exclusive Monster Hunter Tri, was a tenuous success in these territories in 2010. Y’know, modestly. If you squint a bit. As such, Capcom are striving to expand on the series’ less-than-meteoric rise to world domination (unless said meteor was being transported by an elderly mule with arthritis and/or no legs in a wheelbarrow across a minefield) with the impending March 22 appearance of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for Wii U and 3DS.

What you’re asking right now, though, is “JUST WHAT IN THE NAME OF SATAN’S SWEATY SCROTUM IS THIS ‘MONSTER STABBER’ YOU SPEAK OF?” (Don’t deny that this is precisely your question. ‘Tis folly.) What we need just now, then, is a brief synopsis for the uninitiated. Monster Hunter is an action RPG, loosely defined (loosely enough to drop right off, I’ll concede, but let’s not be pernickety). You create your hunter via a reasonably meticulous, The Sims-esque editor, and are thrust groin-first into life as a fledgling village’s resident exterminator.

Monster Hunter 2

In Monster Hunter Tri, your tiny coastal village was beset by a abominable beast dubbed Lagiacrus, and your initial object was, as the chief proclaims, to “Stab this mother RIGHT IN THE ANUS. SEVERAL TIMES.” (Except he didn’t.) You had no hope of dispatching this behemoth from the off, so it was incumbent upon you to ‘train up’ for that encounter. This you do by bolstering your weaponry, armour and abilities by embarking on a series of tiered quests, given to you by the village’s clerks. You will begin by hunting innocuous, piteous wildlife to harvest materials from them, and gathering herbs and ore to fashion into items.

You will ascend from these humble heights to casually dispatching the largest, ghastliest, groin-punchiest and hallitosis-est wyverns in the Monster Hunter menagerie. The all-pervading sense of progress is quite a wonder, particularly when finally killing a beast that defeated you in several prior instances. This is, most pertinently, because your triumphs are solely skill-based. You can, I’ll concede, bolster your defensive and offensive capacities with upgrades to your equipment, but even the most formidable blade will be as ineffectual as stabbing a knight in his steely codpiece with a broken matchstick if not wielded well.

There is an array of weaponry to utilise, and the disparate playstyles each one demands will render it your de facto ‘class.’ A user of the preposterously large hammers, for instance, has the ability to knock out a monster (making it immobile and vulnerable to mass stabbing with a side order of stabbing and extra stabbing sauce for a fleeting moment). The elegant, katana-esque longsword, meanwhile, has neither the brute strength or cumbersome, slow attacks of the hammer, but dispenses swift, precise attacks, wonderful for cutting off a beast’s tail (thus giving you extra items and other rewards for crafting equipment). The sword and shield bestows upon you the ability to block, as opposed to the ungainly desperate haul ass roll away when some big ol’ dragon targets your buttocks with a fireball you must often employ. You are also very mobile with this armament, the shortcoming being that its hasty flurry of attacks are, comparatively, somewhat feeble.

Monster Hunter is, as the tedious old sports presenter’s adage proclaims, ‘a game of two halves.’ While the deftly-tuned combat (hunting) is your primary pursuit, there’s an obscenely compulsive ‘collection’ aspect that is its catalyst. Each monster you defeat can be captured or killed, the latter of which allows you to carve its corpse for items. It is these that are fashioned into an upgraded weapon or armour piece, created by the craftsmen of the village. It will adopt characteristics pertaining to the foe they were gathered from (materials from the venomous abomination Gigginox will result in lances, blades, bows and so forth that can inflict the poison status on opponents, for instance). Setting one’s sights on a new armour set or weapon is the very notion that brings average save files of Monster Hunter titles into several hundred hours.

Image source: www.godisageek.com

Image source: www.godisageek.com

In summation, this franchise is a remarkably tough sell. It has such nuanced and varied combat that a simple decision to try to master another of the twelve weapon classes can eke weeks of new gameplay from any one installment. The online play (hunting in a party of up to four) is some of the most compelling co-operative gaming I’ve ever experienced, when you gather an effective team together. Nonetheless, this very ponderous, tactical combat has contributed to the niche worldwide nature of Monster Hunter. Frequently, you are deftly timing very slow attacks, with the deliberate, slow animations you’d associate with such. Hack and slash sensibilities will only lead to the monster trampling your gonads into the dirt, perhaps pausing to give your dessicated, blood-bleeding corpse the middle finger as it does so before galumphing back to its cave to take a triumphant crap.

As newcomers to the Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate demo currently residing on the eShop will attest, it does not pander to beginners. The remarkable immersive quality of the games is also a shortcoming, in that it DEMANDS such a commitment. Farming is the name of the game, and it is for the player to decide is this is an appealing trait. This is perhaps the very epitome of the love it or hate it concept.

Opinion: The Legend of Zelda Hyrule Historia-The Hero of Time Captured in a Timeless Work

Posted by Nick Clement on 25/02/2013 – 6:13 pm
Filed under General, Wii
Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,
Hyrule Historia takes an extensive look at the evolution of the Hero of Time

Hyrule Historia takes an extensive look at the evolution of the Hero of Time

For the last twenty-five years The Legend of Zelda has been upheld as a timeless video game series. Set in a fantastical world, full of demonic creatures, beautiful princess, and grandiose heroes, The Legend of Zelda series has been a continuous highpoint when discussing video games. However, despite its grand popularity, Nintendo has been continuously secretive of Hyrule’s long history, as well as its inhabitants, including a particular green tunic-wearing hero. Well for fans of the series, the long wait is finally over, as Nintendo, along with Dark Horse Books in North America, recently published The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia- and what a grand, mythical history it is.

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Little Inferno and ‘Digital Experiences’: They’re Video Games, Jim, But Not as We Know Them

Posted by Chris Littlechild on 15/02/2013 – 11:50 pm
Filed under Ios, iOS games/Android, PC, Wii
Tagged as , , ,

Little Inferno Header

In today’s gamingsphere, accomplishment is paramount. As we’ve previously seen, if a game featured an Achievement for a month’s uninterrupted play with nary a pause for a bathroom break, there would be those enterprising gamers that acquired it, risking their bladders swelling until they exploded in a ghastly, macabre mess of urine and blood-leaking flesh fragments on their shagpile carpets.

Hard mode? Impossible mode? preposterous mode? Ultimate-Fighting-Champion-battle-against-humongous-movie-badass-Arnold-Schwarzenegger-with-an-arm-and-both-legs-tied-behind-your-back-armed-only-with-a-turd-stained-toilet-brush mode? All SHALL be conquered, paying no heed to the loss of sanity/vision/hours of daylight/minty-fresh body odour/significant others that may occur as a result.

Self-imposed feats of demented ninja cyborg gaming prowess are also common, completing x level utilising only x weapon and ad nauseum variants on that notion. As such, what is the protocol with ‘digital experiences,’ these odd little confections that don’t deign to offer achievements, trophies, coherent plots of any sort or even logical level systems? Are we to abandon our strenuous quest to bolster the ever-increasing size of our immense e-wieners? Are we reduced to taking photographs of ourselves giving the righteous middle finger and mailing them to developer HQs in our eternal chagrin? No. Because THAT would be crazy.

Let us venture, then, into the preposterous, endearing and macabre world of Little Inferno. This PC release steadfastly defies any attempt at being genre-defined (I’m going to tentatively dub it a ‘puzzle’ game, though this is a loose -loose enough to DROP RIGHT OFF- application of the term), presenting players with… a fireplace. You’ll accrue catalogues containing a fantastical multitude of mail-order items, from the conventional (stuffed toys, food, drink, household items) to the ludicrous (a phoenix egg, an actual, tangible ‘email,’ the no-longer-manly-and-sizable-enough-to-be-a-fully-fledged-planet-but-still-not-the-kind-of-thing-you-can-keep-in-your-kitchen-cupboard astral body Pluto). Your sole aim, your very raison d’etre, is to purchase an assortment of these items and burn them in the fireplace.

Little Inferno Screenshot 2

You are bereft of scoring systems and time limits, almost entirely unfettered by the ‘logic’ of the gamingverse as we know it. Our endeavours are buoyed along by only the vaguest of narratives: our protagonist (a small boy rarely seen due to the game’s first-person perspective) and his town are beset by a bizarre phenomenon: it has been snowing for as long as anybody can remember, it transpires, and is becoming ever-colder. It is fortuitous that the big ol’ global enterprise, Tomorrow Corporation, is in town, dispensing their ‘Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace.’ As a fleeting, Tim Burton-esque cutscene demonstrates, the master plan to curtail everybody’s popsicle-testicled frozen fate is to… burn things in the fire. A calling our tiny pyromaniac performs with gleeful vigor.

Beyond this tantalizing, fleeting glimpse, we must rely upon letters, brief missives that arrive alongside your fire-fodder (and, in turn, become just so much kindling once read). Oftentimes, these will constitute the psychotic warblings of your next door neighbour, Sugar Plumbs, as she burns toy tigers’ crotches and so forth in the same manner. She’ll leave maddening hints pertaining to the eternal snow, and the reasons for it, and allude to knowing other things that are never disclosed. Further messages will arrive from the weather man (he is, naturellement, orbiting this dystopian, frozen world in a balloon, as these guys are seemingly wont to do) and will intermittently report upon the precarious situation outside your window. Beyond these loons, a third character, Ms. Nancy, will lend less-than-insightful insights about the ‘Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace,’ working within the Tomorrow Corporation.

There is, I’ll concede, some semblance of progress and even collectibles to be found in the toon-tinged, macabre world of Little Inferno. Most pertinently, there is a ‘combo’ menu. (the only time, except when making purchases, that you won’t be staring into the bowels of that infernal fireplace with its creeptacular, unexplained WEIRD HEAD THING. Which incidentally, has its eyes shut, yet still has the capacity to glare into your soul with a righteous condemnation, as though you have a saucer of human eyelids on your kitchen and half a buttock under your pillow. STARE NOT, FOUL THING! RETURN UP SATAN’S ANUS FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!) Of some hundred-or so items proffered, certain selections will have a special effect when burnt simultaneously.

Little Inferno Screenshot

The menu will provide a clue and the number of objects (two to four), and it’s incumbent upon you to earn the ‘stamp’ on the menu that ensues. There are 99 of these, and they are perilously close to conventional puzzles by the unhinged standards of Little Inferno. Only half are a prerequisite to ending the game (certain thresholds of combos must be discovered before you acquire the next catalogue), and much poring over the humorous, cryptic clues and perusal of the catalogues will be required to find them all.

Those that have indulged in the developer’s much-vaunted World of Goo can attest to the find dichotomy of cute and creepy that these guys deliver with aplomb. As such, with the incessant allusions to something ghastly JUST ABOUT to be elucidated upon, Little Inferno demonstrates how absurdly compelling its comparatively aimless approach can be.

In summation, you won’t attaining ultra, mega, roaring off into the stratosphere on a rainbow of mighty gaming prowess scores here, or achieving anything per se. This is a whimsical, odd little confection, relentlessly addictive in ways that are quite astonishing. In other releases, you may expend several hours in your travails to conquer a ‘professional’ or ‘ballbuster’ or some such difficulty mode. Here, in the same time period, you may opt to painstakingly construct a fort from the building blocks, or spell out convoluted messages with the letter bricks. Is this a comparable ‘challenge?’ The seemingly-warranted pride of enthusiasts that have uploaded screenshots of such to Wii U’s Miiverse would suggest so.

The Future of Wii U: Nintendo Direct 23/01/13 Overview

Posted by Luneth on 24/01/2013 – 9:57 pm
Filed under retro, Wii
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Zelda, Wind Waker Reborn, Mario Kart U, New 3D Mario, Yarn Yoshi, Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei;

It was a good day to be a Wii U owner.

Nintendo once again hosted a livestream yesterday, with a plethora of news about upcoming Wii U releases; Bayonetta 2 and Wonderful 101 both showing off new, unseen gameplay. The interesting part of this livestream was the announcement of 6 new releases coming to Wii U in the future as well some other surprises;

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The Legend of Zelda- The Wind Waker: The Greatest Zelda, the Most Controversial, Or Both?

Posted by Chris Littlechild on 20/01/2013 – 7:14 pm
Filed under Wii
Tagged as , ,

Wind Waker Header

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was released for the Gamecube in 2003, Link’s first foray onto the console (although,if we’re being pernickety, he had been punching Mario right in his prestigious gonads for a year or so in Super Smash Bros Melee at this juncture). Now much acclaimed and among the system’s most prolific sellers, gamers mocked Wind Waker, like the merry mocking mocksters of mock they can often be, during its development. What was it, then, that attracted the wrath of the internet nerdsassins, and how did it refute their claims?

Most pertinently, there was that anomalous art style. Cel shading, a decade ago, was a novelty -and a beguiling one to developers- that had never been utilised with the panache that the style deserved (“Hey there, Cel Damage! I didn’t know you had resurfaced from the sweaty depths of Satan’s anus! How are you? Still terrible? I thought so.”). It was a notion for experimental new ventures and nobodies to dabble in, not a franchise as revered as the Legend of Zelda. Fine for me too craptacular racing games -I’m looking at you again, Cel Damage. With my righteous middle finger raised- perhaps, but the first unveiling of the Wind Waker? Some thought it was an elaborate joke. Some vowed to boycott the series forever. Some posted a small tupperware box of their own faeces to Nintendo’s HQ in their outrage. All, naturellement, without having tried the game.

Nintendo, as anyone with even a passing grade in Gameology class can attest, have long been beset by a ‘kiddie’ or ‘casual’ tag. Link’s shenanigans in Hyrule are among their killer apps, celebrated ‘gamers’ games’ if you will, and Wind Waker’s toon-tinged appearance was regarded as positively scandalous by some. EGAD! A PREPUBESCENT-LOOKING LINK, TROTTING CAMPLY ABOUT IN A WORLD AKIN TO SOMETHING ON ‘MRS. McNANNY’S BEDTIME HOUR FOR WHINING CHILDREN?’ UP WITH THIS I WILL NOT PUT! That is what these people said.

Conversely, what I say is: nuts to them. Zelda has always been, at its nucleus, a whimsical adventure. Link is not a formidable, muscle-brandishing hero, wantonly dispensing bullets, explosions and dire one liners; leaving his foes leaking blood and sad, sad tears of sadness onto their shagpile carpets. He is not, in summation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in every damn film the monotone maestro has ever featured in (Jingle All the Way aside, that doesn’t count. Primarily because it sucked monkey nuts). As an ordinary elf-man-thing magnificently rising to a Herculean task, Link infuses all of us with the concept that the ordinary can attain the impossible. Sometimes they have to employ three burly associates to haul their buttocks off of the sofa where they’d been idly scratching their nuts, but they can.

Wind Waker Screenshot 1

Wind Waker reflects this concept from its inaugural cutscene. A young denizen of the island’s rite of passage: donning the ancient apparel of the hero (stabbing vast dragons and other abominations right in the face optional). As these ceremonial capers demonstrate, this iteration of Link is a dichotomy of ordinary and extraordinary; it becomes incumbent upon a young boy like any other to traverse the land -of which there is little- and the sea -there’s a goddamn ridiculous quantity of sea- to rescue his sister. From, I should point out, a bird that resembled a flying Godzilla and a large, angry man with a terrible ginger beard.

The prevailing aesthetic, then, is as endearingly whimsical as it is perfectly appropriate. Our ever-mute protagonist, Link, has previously been limited to his incoherent vocabulary of HEEEYYAAs, HUUUUPs and EEEAAAGHs. The assorted exclamations of a constipated guy in a public toilet stall, in summation, which do little to ingratiate the elf hero to us. What he sorely needed, I’d venture, was the capacity to be more expressive. In the Wind Waker, his enormous bush baby-esque eyes lend him this opportunity. When traversing dungeons/whales’ rectums/wherever else you happen to be, he will soundlessly track points of interest, items and clues with his frightful and emotive stare-y eyes of staring. The canny player, then, has an almost tangible link -look, ma! I made a pun!- to a mute protagonist, which is a devilishly difficult thing to convey.

As such, the cel shading offers a sense of childlike wonderment, a visual representation of the exploration of expansive vistas that has always been synonymous with Zelda. It is majestic and surreal, evoking the feeling so many encountered upon first riding Epona across Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time. It is the very spirit of the games, condensed into an adorable visible form and fired straight into your eyeballs. I’d tentatively suggest that Wind Waker represents the purest entry in the series, even while I cannot quite define the term.

But what, prithee, of the gameplay? There were also fears that this appealing new aesthetic would be reflected in an appreciable lack of challenge. Critics and players alike noted a more simplistic bent to the dungeons and boss battles. I’ll concede, there is nothing that apes the infernal water temple (the mere mention of which has caused terror-urine to run down the legs of gamers worldwide since 1998) or the Master Quest here. It’s a remarkable journey, but hardly a taxing one.

Wind Waker Screenshot 2

The Wind Waker’s primary shortcoming is those interminable sailing sections. Nintendo dispensed with that ‘expansive overworld’ feel, instead opting to send us laboriously traversing endless salty lengths of tedious sea with extra sea on. There were, I’ll concede, sea monsters to dispatch with cannonballs to the plums, warps, moblin installations and suchlike, but you can only cruise about in a tiny irritating sailing ship for so long. An impressively convoluted and involved sunken treasure hunting quest was available for more enterprising sailors, and the very nature of the thing showed the scale of this new world; its sparse population proved its undoing.

In summation, it was primarily the 2000 Spaceworld tech demo that caused the initial frosty reception. It seemed to depict an ‘Ocarina of Time 2’ if you will, a more realistic next-generation approach. Such a dramatically toon-tinged u-turn caused much dismay. Nevertheless, the resultant title is both a joy to play and a wonder to see in motion.

Images source: www.gamefaqs.com

THE AVENGERS BATTLE FOR EARTH

Posted by Bodrul on 11/05/2012 – 11:58 am
Filed under Multi Platform, Wii, Xbox 360

News Just In from Ubisoft

“UBISOFT AND MARVEL ASSEMBLE
THE AVENGERS IN NEW
“BATTLE FOR EARTH”

Game Marks First Time that Marvel Universe Will Be Available on
Kinect(tm) for Xbox360(r) and Nintendo Wii(tm) U(tm) Motion Platforms

London, UK – May 10, 2012 – Today, Ubisoft(r) announced a deal with Marvel
Entertainment, LLC to develop a video game based on the popular Avengers characters
and other heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe.

Developed by Ubisoft Quebec, Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth’s interactive
environments are inspired by iconic Marvel comic artwork and the Secret Invasion
storyline. This game will be released this Autumn for the Microsoft Kinect(tm) for
Xbox 360(r), and Nintendo’s Wii(tm) U(tm) system.

“We are excited to team up with Marvel Entertainment to bring some of the most
iconic comic book characters from the Marvel line-up to life in motion-gaming,” said
Geoffroy Sardin, Ubisoft EMEA Marketing and Sales Director at Ubisoft. “Fans of the
Marvel universe and superhero games are going to love the extensive combinations of
characters, motion-controlled moves and competitive gameplay.”

“For the last few years, Marvel has positioned itself to deliver the absolute best
in entertainment, be it in film, animation, comics or games,” said Andreea
Enache-Thune, senior vice president of games and digital distribution at Marvel.
“Partnering with Ubisoft is a big part of that ongoing movement. We are confident
that Ubisoft’s talent matches Marvel’s own commitment to making the Avengers: Battle
for Earth the best in the motion-controlled gaming category.”

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth features 20 different characters, including
Avengers such as Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor, as well as other
fan-favorite Super Heroes and Super Villains from the Marvel Universe.

For more information on Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, please visit:
www.AvengersBattleForEarth.com“

The Return of The Classics

Posted by Bodrul on 15/12/2011 – 8:48 pm
Filed under 3Ds, DS/DSlite, General, Multi Platform, PC, Playstation 3, PSP, retro, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged as , , ,

The Return of The Classics

In the next Few Months we can see titles from the past brought back to life in HD quality
up scaled using the latest software and computers to give that extra bit of oomph.

So far we have

Metal Gear Solid HD collection
Kingdom Hearts HD collection
Jak and Daxter HD collection
Devil may cry HD collection

and much more

In my opinion This is great as the originals aren’t compatible with current systems by porting them over to the latest generation of consoles

as older classic games are revamped and up scaled in graphics it will give the ability to play older games of latest releases, gamers can get a sense of feeling of the game and its history then having only the option to play the current game and then judging the game from that release.

at the end of the day old school games in most cases have more depth, Character.
and that’s something I miss in most games which are released in this day and age.

maybe with the rise of the older games, game developers will return to their roots and produce games which enticed and made gamers keep on coming back for more.

This will also revive most companies by giving them extra revenue from game sales increasing the chances of them producing more and better games.

I Look forward to peoples thoughts on this (Click here for forum Link)