Gaming opinions, reviews, news, and impressions. Plus thoughts on other cool stuff.
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Wii U
It's been over a month since Nintendo released Super Mario Maker, a game that lets you build your own Mario levels. In that time, I've been trying to find time to write a review of it, but it's taken me this long because I can't stop playing this game. It's captured my imagination in a way that probably no other game has before, and it's finally Wii U's "killer app" to show why its tablet-meets-gamepad controller lets players do things no other console can offer.
Any long-term gamer who was paying attention to the Wii's launch back in 2006 likely had one very specific feature call to them amid the hype surrounding motion control, blue ocean strategies, and a console promising a "revolution"—the Virtual Console.
And yet, as with so many of Nintendo's innovations, strange policies and limitations have, over time, turned this selling point into a pain point.
Fox McCloud is back! Yes, we'll all be to "do a barrel roll" when Star Fox Zero releases on Wii U later this year, and I'm pretty excited to jump back into an Arwing.
Nintendo led into the formal unveiling at the beginning of their Nintendo Digital Event video by way of an amazing introduction during which muppet versions of Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime, and Shigeru Miyamoto gradually turned into muppet versions of Peppy Hare, Fox McCloud, and Falco Lombardi of Star Fox fame.
It was as weirdly charming as it sounds.
This morning's Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS livestream on Twitch had a lot of news (some of which had leaked), but I'm most excited about some of the awesome-looking amiibo announced. Before we get into that, though, let's talk about some of the other news.
You've now doubt heard the news: Nintendo is finally going to (co-)develop games for smart devices (and, apparently Windows PCs?) and they have confirmed the development of their next gaming system, code-named the "NX." Big changes for the house of Mario.
Let's dig into the theories, implications, and wild guesses.
While not the oldest game I'm currently playing, The Swapper is hardly a new release. If you're not up-to-speed on the game, picture a Metroid-esque 2D platformer with a "swapping" gun mechanic that allows your character to create four simultaneous clones (all of which move together) and then swap freely between them. While the atmosphere would make Samus Aran feel right at home, the gameplay has more of Portal than of Power Bombs.
Check out the full post for my initial impressions on this unique indie title.
Well, here we are: the end of another year. 2014 is just about wrapped up, so I wanted to write one last post to reflect on the highs and lows of this year in gaming from my perspective.
Other sites have covered the biggest news stories, the best & worst games of the year, and every other kind of list imaginable. So, rather than retread tired ground, I'll just provide my take on what I played, what I liked, and what really captured my attention.
After months of anticipation and speculation, Nintendo's amiibo figures, announced earlier this year at E3, have finally arrived! Of course, they accompany the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, but they are designed to be a cross-game accessory that will work with current and future Nintendo titles. I got my first four today, so let's take a look!
Two years ago today (November 18th, 2012), the Wii U launched in North America. People had been clamoring for an "HD Wii" for years, but the tablet-centric console ended up being a major source of confusion for early consumers. Was it a new console? A peripheral for the Wii? A portable tablet device? Would the games play on an original Wii? Fast forward to today, and the system has found some of its footing, but it's still in strange spot on its second birthday.
When the Wii U released in November 2012 (could it really be almost two years ago!?), one of the criticisms levied against the console was the GamePad's laughably short battery life, which clocked in at just about three hours. So, when Nintendo, in December 2013, released an extended battery for the Wii U GamePad, I was curious. Was Nintendo planning to sell this "premium" battery all along?
San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is happening this weekend, and Nintendo has a major presence at the show and on the twitch streaming service. They're hosting all kinds of contests during convention and live-streaming it all on twitch as part of Nintendo Challenge Live. While the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS have been the main focus of many of the tournaments and match-ups, what really caught my eye was a clever competitive round of NES Remix 2.
In a continuing trend for Nintendo's E3 strategy, Miyamoto has stealth-announced another project: Star Fox for Wii U! In a video from the E3 show floor about upcoming GamePad-specific games that he's developing, he mentions that a new Star Fox game (presumably making significant use of the GamePad) is in development!
