The Wii U is mere months away from release and interest is building. It represents a huge risk for the oldest games company left in the console business and could prove to be a huge disaster, however so was the Wii and look at how that turned out. Here is a list of the 5 reasons it wont be go that way and could prove to be Nintendo’s most popular console ever, a console that appeals to all ages and people.
Rayman is a character that I and I’m sure others have missed greatly. I loved numbers 2 and 3 and found his near disappearance a disappointment, especially in the face of the raving rabbids, good but overused characters. Rayman Origins is a huge return to form, a loveable ode to the supposedly dead 2-d platformer and could happily walk hand in hand with super meat boy to prove that there’s life in this old genre yet. Rayman Origins is so stereotypical in its themes and locations that recommending it almost seems wrong. Water world? Ice world? Both feature heavily as do colourful, cheery characters and a jolly world of lovable, creatures grinning inanely, as cheerful music plays in the background. Along with as relatively cutesy, near non-existent plot that is barely there, it should make me want roll my eyes, so clichéd and boring that it shouldn’t work but by god it does. A combination of stunning visuals and excellent gameplay making clichéd worlds fresh and original again.
Asura’s Wrath comes to us from the collaboration between CyberConnect2, creators of the .hack and Naruto games, and Capcom. This game is quite distinct both in its artistic style as well as the way its combat is performed. Stepping outside the box and taking chances like CyberConnect2 did can lead to a fresh and interesting experience, but can also lead to a game that just doesn’t work. So, which path did Asura’s Wrath head down?
Poker is something we have all tried to play, some of us are great at it, other just don’t get it. It seems certain types of people are ideal for the game of poker, be it people with lady luck on their side, or those with a keen eye for people bluffing.
Mario and Sonic at the London Olympic Games is actually something I haven’t played before this release and honestly went in not expecting the greatest gathering of minigames. I was actually really surprised and consider it a pretty good way to kill some time all in all. The only real comparison I can think to make to it is Mario Party without the board game aspect of it which, to me at least, made it a lot more interesting.
The premise to the story mode is actually not what you would think. They began setting up for the Olympic Games when Robotnik and Bowser become upset that they weren’t invited to compete at the games and created a series of fog machines to cover all of London in an ultrathick multicolor fog that also creates copies of the competitors, ranging from Mario and Sonic to Dry Bones and Blaze, who instantly challenge anyone they meet to a series of Olympic challenges for reasons that are not entirely clear. Once defeated they disappear into the fog and the heroes must find the fog machine and destroy it before it cancels the Olympics.
The minigames themselves have ranged from incredibly fun to exasperating to compete in, against a group even if they are AI. One thing I did enjoy is that near every aspect of the 3DS is utilized. Events use the circle pad, the d-pad, the touch screen, the microphone (you blow into it for some events like sailing and swimming) and even just tilting the 3DS to maintain balance or jump on a bicycle and even blends them together for some events which can be both interesting and worthwhile in a game but I would sometimes forget I had to hold my 3DS is a specific way while pressing on the buttons in a race.
The story mode is interesting to play since it lets you do a bunch of events with different competitors and all but I wasn’t completely caught up in the story part. I actually often skipped the cutscenes before and after the events since you can’t speed the dialogue and they tend to exxplain the same thing over and over which got repetitive but I enjoyed a lot of the scenes with the villains more than the heroes because they had more humor than the heroes once again stating that they had to destroy the fog machine for the millionth time. All said and done Mario and Sonic at the London Olympic Games is a great way to pass time on your 3DS and a really fun time.
8/10-
So we’re at the beginning of 2012, and what better way to look forward to the New Year than by hyping up the games that are slated to be released this year. I’ll start this feature by going over one of my most anticipated games of 2012: Tomb Raider.
Upcoming Games for PS Vita!
Are you anticipating the release of the PlayStation Vita? Sony has just disclosed the games that will accompany the Vita! For a full list, visit http://www.psu.com/US-PS-Vita-launch-lineup-announced–a013978-p0.php. Here’s a brief look at a few of the third-party publisher and launch window titles:
Yours to play now, in a galaxy of your own PC.
A while back, I took at look at the beta for the new massively multiplayer game from BioWare, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Well, as of the 20th, the game is officially launched, but for the past week some lucky players have been included in the pre-launch, leveling up our characters and generally trying to get as much neat stuff as possible before the servers really fill up. Still, with some extra patch time between the last beta weekend and the official live game having passed, what’s changed about the game itself?
Today, has been a busy day for Nintendo. The increasing of sales of the Nintendo 3DS, Shigeru Miyamoto taking a step back and the fifth anniversary of the Nintendo Wii in Europe. Seems to me Nintendo are very busy with the Christmas period getting into full swing (near enough). Going by reports from MCV talking to the GAME Group and other retailers – plus supermarkets saying, that they have more than adequate stock of the Nintendo 3DS – reassuring customers that they will be able to get a 3DS for this Christmas. So, no Wii launch catastrophe ahead? Those that didn’t pre-ordered was very lucky to obtain a Wii for when it first launched. Of course this is a different story, as the Nintendo 3DS launched in the UK earlier this year. I contemplated to get a 3DS from the very start – as it was the line-up of games which made me reconsider time & time again.
