nintendo
Sometimes games slip through the cracks here at All Around Gaming Hub. It’s inevitable that we can’t review everything but once in a while a big game that we intend to cover doesn’t get its due in time. In the past we’ve moved on, letting the work on the review languish in favor of more up-to-date coverage. Today, we’re introducing our Quick Scores, micro reviews of games that we missed a reasonable window on. Our first two Quick Scores are Bioshock Infinite and Pikmin 3.
After dissecting what I’ve read about Nintendo’s new console, the Wii U, from E3 2012 I wanted to discuss the system and my fears for it’s future – and possibly Nintendo’s as well.
Wii Play Motion is, at it’s best, a fun diversion for small parties or a group of friends who have tired of racing, brawling and 2D platforming on the Wii. At worst, it’s a minor disaster. Which end it leans to for you depends on your patience and your company.
IGN is reporting here using information that they’ve gotten from Game Informer and their own sources that Nintendo is planning to debut a new console, dubbed Project Café at E3. This system is reported to be more powerful then the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and feature a more conventional controller with a 6 inch touch-screen display on it (you can see IGN’s concept design here). Personally it sounds a bit fantastic to me and I for one will have to wait until Nintendo confirms this information one way or another before I pass judgment on it, but for now it’s an interesting concept. I would love to see Nintendo rededicate themselves to the hardcore gamer audience but a new system is only part of the solution. An online network to compare with Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network would go a long way as well. We’ll all have to wait until more information comes out to see what, if anything, Nintendo has planned.
With the Nintendo 3DS on it’s way soon, I got my first hands-on with on this morning. My first impression was that I really liked the 3D look. I didn’t have high hopes for it’s appearance since I’m not a fan of 3D movies or TVs, but this was a nice change. I took Pilotwings Resort for a spin, using the new analog nub to pilot my avatar’s jet-pack-belt-thing around Wuhu Island. The controls were much better then say, Mario 64 DS was with the d-pad. I enjoyed the 3D experience for a few minutes and could really see myself enjoying one of these.
And then I stepped away for a second, and felt loopy.
It was perhaps the oddest sensation I’ve ever had as a gamer. I was wobbly, my eyes were out of focus and my balance was off. It took me a second or three to get my bearings again. I don’t know if it was me, the system, the game, the lighting, or some mixture of them all, but I was dazed for a short after I played it. Visions of the Virtual Boy came flooding back, with all of the people experiencing headaches and sore eyes after playing it for a while.
The technology was fun,the games looked good and I liked the new controls, but unless that vision and dizziness issue can be solved, I can’t see this thing taking off in a big way, and that’s a disappointment.
There’s something to be said for the current state of gaming that something like our current subject, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, can elicit such a positive response from the press and gamers alike. It’s not hard, it’s not violent, it’s not dark, and it’s certainly not mature. In fact, it’s easy, friendly, bright, and cute almost to a fault. So why is it that gamers, who we are told are beyond the cute and childish games of yore and want serious, mature themes these days, can still enjoys titles like this one? Because above all, it fills that primal need we started this hobby for – it’s fun.
I loved Super Mario Galaxy. I in fact loved it so much that it received e-AAGH.net’s Game of the Year award in 2007. When a sequel was announced – the first time a console Mario title had a follow up since the NES days – I was excited. As time wore on, though, and we heard next to nothing of it’s development, my excitement wore down. The hype brewed back up prior to release, but when other reviewers were throwing 10/10s at it, I was hopeful and skeptical at the same time. Really? A game that was that good back in 2007 got a sequel and it’s even better? How? I was to find out when I got my hands on it that the hype is for real – even if perfect scores aren’t a perfect fit.
When I reviewed New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS, I loved it and went lengths to explain how much I liked it. In that light, since this is the evolution of that concept, I’m not going to go in depth about the base concept or Nintendo going back to basics here. Instead, let’s cover what makes this a great game.