Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a few days away now, June 9th. For those planning on picking it up, it’s good to know that Best Buy will be offering special SpotPass content. Take your 3DS along with your copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf to get special in game items, including a Racoon Wall-Clock, Cat Tower, Suitcase and Double Neck Guitar. All of the digital items offered can be placed in your house, can be downloaded once per player, and are available for a limited time.
Love is in the air especially for Nintendo lovers! Nintendo released a Nintendo Direct conference this Valentine ’s Day morning and covered some big titles and news coming this year for both the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.
Satoru Iwata appeared in Luigi’s iconic hat letting us know that 2013 was the “year of Luigi”. Iwata introduced Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of The Legend of Zelda and Mario series, who went into great detail about Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon including several multi-player modes. These multi-player modes will be playable via wireless play, online play, and local play. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon will launch on March 24th in North America exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.
Next up, Iwata briefly discusses Mario and Luigi: Dream Team. This is a new installment in the Mario and Luigi role-playing series. Players will be able to interact with Luigi’s face while he is sleeping to solve puzzles and complete levels. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team will be exclusively released for the Nintendo 3DS in North America this summer.
Continuing on with the Luigi love, Iwata announces that downloadable content will be available for New Super Mario Bros. U for the Wii U, New Super Luigi U. This downloadable content will feature none other than Luigi himself. Over 80 alternate stages will be unlocked which will provide a whole new level of gameplay and challenge. New Super Luigi U will be available for purchase as a single download in the eShop this year.
Luigi and the Mushroom Kingdom gang will once again be playing golf in Mario Golf: World Tour. Those familiar with golf will enjoy this title especially. Mario Golf: World Tour will be released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS in the summer.
Bill Trinen of Nintendo of America’s Treehouse division discussed Fire Emblem: Awakening downloadable content. Two new maps are now available to purchase at the Outrealm Gate on the world map. For $2.50, the Champions of Yore 3 lets players battle against memorable characters such as Marth, Roy, and Ike. Those who have already purchased the Champions of Yore map pack can now access this new map to earn a new playable character named Michaiah and a special skill that will increase all of a character’s stats by two points. The Golden Gaffe map is now available for $2.50. In this map, you will be pitted against wealthy enemies which will be a great way to earn money within the game. The Champons of Yore 1 map is available as a free download through March 6th.
Next up, Animal Crossing: New Leaf is discussed and there is finally an official release date for the game in the US. In New Leaf, you come into town not as a resident but as mayor so goodbye Tom Nook! New features in the game include swimming and full customization of your town including the outside of your home. Animal Crossing: New Leaf will be released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS on June 9th in North America.
On the topic of Animal Crossing, Style Saavy: TrendSetters will have new styles and fashions inspired by Animal Crossing. If you are interested in trying out the game a demo is available on the eShop.
Lego City Undercover is briefly discussed which will be released on March 18th for the Wii U. In addition, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins takes place in the Lego City universe but the story is set two years before Lego City Undercover. This game will be released on the Nintendo 3DS and will be released on April 21st in North America.
If you loved the previous Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge downloadable content then get ready for more coming later this month which will feature different costumes and new ninja trial missions. This DLC will be free to everyone that already owns the game.
Moving on to some information about Miiverse on the Wii U, developers decided to create a Legend of Zelda community for users on Miiverse to discuss their love of the series. This will be available today.
Besides the new Legend of Zelda community, Wii Street U which is powered by Google is now free today to download for a limited time via the Nintendo eShop for Wii U. This application utilizes Google maps and allows users to get a 360-degree view of locations around the world using the Wii U GamePad.
Some downloadable games are coming to the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS which include HarmoKnight, a game developed by the makers of the Pokemon games, Gamefreak. In HarmoKnight, actions like jumping and attacking create the harmonies of the music. Music notes will need to be collected to defeat enemies, complete levels, and unlock different modes to play. A HarmoKnight demo will be released on March 14th followed by the full game release on March 28th. More downloadable games include Kersploosh! which will be available March 7th, Dylan’s Rolling Adventure: The Last Ranger available April 11th, and Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the move which will be coming soon.
Two classic Gameboy Color games from Natsume, Harvest Moon and Legend of the River King, will be released in the coming months on the Virtual Console via Nintendo 3DS.
To continue the Nintendo 3DS eShop discussion, Nintendo 3DS owners can now buy and download select games from the Nintendo eShop at a discounted price for a limited time. These include BIT.TRIP SAGA from Aksys Games; Crashmo, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword and Ketzal’s Corridors from Nintendo; Fractured Soul from Endgame Studios; and Mutant Mudds from Renegade Kid. One game will be available at the reduced price each week.
For those that do not own a Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo will be running a special promotion. Anyone who registers a Nintendo 3DS XL and either Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity between March 21 and April 30 will receive a code to download one of these five games for free from the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS: Super Mario 3D Land, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!, Star Fox 64 3D or Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive!
On February 28th, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow demo will be available for download on the Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS. The full game will be released on March 5th.
Capcom’s Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate launches for both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS on March 19th. A Wii U player can connect with up to three Nintendo 3DS players to create a hunting party. Players can utilize the game on Wii U and then transfer their data to the Nintendo 3DS to continue playing. A demo will be available in the Nintendo eShop on both platforms on February 21st.
A large roundup of third-party games will be coming to the Wii U including Need for Speed Most Wanted U from EA, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct from Activision, Injustice: Gods Among Us from Warner Bros, Toki Tori 2 from Two Tribes, Zen Pinball 2 from Zen Studios, and BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm from Gaijin Games. These games will be available to purchase from the Nintendo eShop via Wii U system from February to April.
The much talked about Disney Infinity from Disney Interactive is coming to Wii U, Wii, and Nintendo 3DS this summer. Players will be able to use real-world interactive figures to activate original adventures in the game worlds.
Reggie Fil-Aims wraps the conference up by announcing Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D which will be released on the Nintendo 3DS. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D will launch this summer but a 3D video on the game will be available today in the Nintendo eShop channel on the Nintendo 3DS.
Nintendo has plenty of new plans and ideas to keep Nintendo fans, like myself, very happy with both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. I will be picking up many of these titles at release.
When trophies were first introduced to Playstation I was intrigued and excited. This was Sony’s way of competing with Microsoft Xbox 360 Achievements. Super Star Dust HD was among one of the first games that started the trophy system. My goal? To obtain EVERY single trophy! This was also my first full 1080p game. So I decided to give this game another breath of fresh air and give it another go.
The game has many different play modes, such as arcade mode, planet mode, endless, survival, bomber and time attack and it also includes a 2 player co op mode. For the sake of this throwback we will go visit just plain and simple arcade mode. The player controls a space fighter craft that can move in any direction on a spherical shield surrounding a planet, while simultaneously firing in any direction independent of its movement. In arcade mode you are visiting planets and umm… destroying asteroids and alien enemies. Think of it as a very advanced Asteroids game. You get many different types of weapons for different types of asteroids. Rock Crusher for regular asteroids, Fire for gold asteroids and Ice for Ice asteroids. Along with those weapons you also get bombs which destroy everything with a certain radius. Weapons can also be upgrade by shooting the Kryptronite looking asteroid rocks that are found with in the bigger asteroids. Among the weapon power up you can also find points, shields and 1-ups.
After MANY frustrating attempts I was able to obtain every single trophy in the game. After doing so, I wondered… now what? I was able to get much play out of the game through the other modes in the game. The game was extremely easy to start and play for any novice player, but it does challenge even hardcore players. Very worth the $10.00 if you want to burn some time.
Reggie Fils-Aime today was once again the host for today’s Nintendo Direct, he introduced all of Nintendo’s holiday goodies along with some teasers to early 2013. Nintendo along with many 3rd party publishers have a great deal of games to satisfy hardcore Nintendo games as well as casual gamers. I certainly was not left disappointed with the amount information gathered from today’s presentation.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star is due to be released on November 11th in North America, and December 7th in Europe. Reggie explained over and over again that Nintendo will have the game available both in hard copy at the stores and digital copy via e-Shop. Nate Bildorf gave us a bit more details about the game as well. With Mario in this game there is no XP all you do is collect stickers to fight your opponents. Now remember once the sticker is use the sticker is gone. Coins and battles will be key to buy and win stickers. The battle spinner in battle will be key for winning battles.
Next, Reggie spoke about the Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask that comes out this Sunday. Reggie recommends anyone and everyone, even if you have played the game to give it a shot. The game comes with more puzzles than ever before. In addition to all the puzzles though story mode, the game adds 365 downloadable puzzles at no extra charge. One for everyday of the year.
DLC was released for New Super Mario Bros 2 today, 2 new course packs along with a leader board on the games official website. The Gold Mushroom pack is exactly as you read it, a level full of Golden mushrooms for you to collect. Challenge pack B, will challenge you to get a high score and share it with others.
Also talked about a few of the smaller games, one of those games was crosswords plus. The game has endless puzzles that come through SpotPass at no extra charge. Not much further info was reveled about the game. The next game is Art Academy Lessons for everyone. The game has a lot to offer for artist and beginning artist, the game is available now in the eshop and in stores, along with DLC coming soon. 2 packs are available now and 10 more lessons coming later. Finally Style Savvy Trendsetters was talked about for those who like to run a virtual store. There a Fashion Contest demo available now for download and another one Shopping Spree coming this December.
e-Shop starts to be the talk of the show with a few more adds to the library. Pushmo’s equal is talked about with Crashmo. The trick with this game is gravity with new gadgets such as floating blocks doors and move switches. This game will available November 2nd. Fluidity Spin Cycle is another game talked about that uses the full Nintendo 3DS as the controller. The game features an all story book setting and levels are designed for repetitive play. Some area require items to complete puzzles. The game will be available December 27nd.
New trilogy of games coming from Level-5 are also coming, Liberation Maiden from Suda-51. The game is available today. Also due this year the second 2 part trilogy. Aeroporter and Chrimson Shroud are coming soon.
From the creators of Cave Story, Nicalism, Night Sky and later this year Ikachan are coming to the 3DS as well.
If you love Mutant Mudds from Renegade Kid there is 20 new bonus levels also available today.
Reggie also revealed a new trailer for a game that was leaked accidentally by Reggie at E3, the only thing we know about this game so far is that it will include some DLC for new maps and story lines to along with it. Also Reggie Fils-Aime stated in the latest Nintendo Direct that the game will be coming to North America during the first half of 2013.
Now finally for one of my favorite games coming in early 2013 is Animal Crossing New Leaf. The game is now allowing you to choose your shops and hours. How and why? well because you are now the major. You now have the ability to design your outfits from head to toe, that includes socks as well. People will have the chance to share the creations and designs via QR code. As major you will also have control of what major land marks to place in your town, thus letting you mold your city to your desire.
I certainly have open arms for all the upcoming Nintendo 3DS games coming up Animal Crossing and Sitcker Star being my main choices. I have a very very busy schedule the next couple of months filled with video game playing!
Today is the day One Piece Pirate Warriors becomes available to the North American market exclusively as a download title through the PlayStation Network.
This is the first One Piece game that’ll be available on the PS3. The game primarily covers the first part of the story and you get to play as all the members of the Straw Hat crew.
Europe, where it has seen the light of day four days sooner, gets some special downloadable content for Luffy, Nami, and Zoro (only for a mere 2.99€!). Each have their own special costume and a brand new additional fighting scenario. American OP fans would be lying if they didn’t say they were a little jealous.
During San Diego Comic Con, I had the opportunity to play the New ME3 DLC “Earth”. As an added bonus, for one of my matches, Kimberly Brooks, the voice of Ashley, was my squadmate! It was her first time playing, but she held her own.
For me, the first order of business was to check out the new Platinum difficulty. All the other guys tried to argue that it was too hard. My opinion is: here we were at Comic Con in the BioWare lounge getting a sneak peak of some DLC. Why would I play a normal map on Silver?
I chose platinum on the London Map. All I can really say about the new difficulty is: WOW. They are not kidding. As five Banshees teleported up the stairs to my location, I felt my first moment of doubt. On wave 4, as the last surviving squad member, I felt my first moment of blind panic. I committed suicide for the greater good.
I repeat: the difficulty was so hard that I commited in-game seppuko.
I cannot WAIT to play this with my friends!
As far as the maps, London is definitely the more challenging of the three, with less cover and more places to get cornered. Vancouver and Rio are both excellent and beautiful. Vancouver seems a little small for some reason, but there is plenty of cover and levels of obstacles to keep it interesting.
The new characters were all human, which was a slight dissapointment to me. Out of the Destroyer Soldier, Paladin Sentinel, Demolisher Engineer, Slayer Vanguard, Shadow Infiltrator, and Fury Adept, I was only able to play as the Fury Adept, due to my bad luck (long story).
HOWEVER, Fury Adept is greatness. I loved the character, her abilities and how creepy she looked. She is an excellent adition to the squadmates. Another new character I watched in action was the Shadow (Infiltrator), which looked like a super cool Phantom <3
Overall I enjoyed my time, both playing the new DLC and in general hanging out at the BioWare base. As usual, I left their event feeling even more like a rabid fangirl. I spoke with one of the level designers and his passion for the game and for the fans was immeasurable.
The ME3 Earth DLC is currently available for download and is free of charge.
After weeks of rumors, BioWare officially confirmed the next multiplayer DLC that will be coming for Mass Effect 3, titled “Earth”. Available on July 17th for Xbox 360 and PC. Playstation 3 users in North America will be able to dive in to the DLC the same day, with those in Europe waiting until the 18th.
The Earth Pack will add “mods, gear, and new maps for Rio, Vancouver, and London,” as advertised on BioWare’s blog; as well as a new difficulty: Platinum. Three new weapons and six new human N7 classes will be unlockable in existing Reinforcement Packs (bought with credits or real money).
Just like with the past multiplayer packs–Resurgence and Rebellion–Earth will be available at no additional charge.
If you’re not busy this weekend and want to hit up ME3‘s multiplayer to save credits for the free DLC, be sure to participate in “Operation: Broadside“, which began July 13th and will end on July 16th.
Warner Bros. has officially announced the upcoming Batman Arkham City Game of the Year Edition and confirmed the arrival of Harley Quinn DLC.
Arkham City GOTY Edition
The GOTY edition will be available in the U.S. on May 29th and will include all five of the DLC packs, including:
Nightwing DLC
Catwoman DLC
Robin DLC
Challenge maps
The Arkham City skins add-on
The North American version of the bundle will also have a download code for the animated movie Batman: Year One and Harley Quinn’s Revenge, the upcoming DLC.
Harley Quinn’s Revenge
Harley Quinn’s Revenge will be released for players who already have Arkham City on May 29th and includes two hours of gameplay. Prices are $9.99 on PlayStation Network or 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live.
Players will switch between Batman and Robin to expose Harley’s plan while they interact with new environments and enemies.
I’m always excited to get more Harley in my life, so I am definitely considering getting the Game Of The Year edition. What do you all think about releasing GOTY editions with all DLC included? Do you think it is unfair to early buyers?
Who doesn’t love free DLC? I sure love it! So is it free because it sucks or are we actually getting a great deal here?
The Mass Effect 3: Resurgence pack DLC was released April 10, 2012 for FREE. The pack included two new maps, Firebase Condor and Firebase Hydra and six new characters, one for each class:
Asari Justicar (Adept)
Krogan Battlemaster (Vanguard)
Batarian Soldier
Batarian Sentinel
Geth Infiltrator
Geth Engineer
The pack also included three new weapons, the Striker Assault Rifle, Kishock Harpoon Gun and the Geth Plasma SMG, and four consumable items:
Strength Enhancer – Applies a melee damage boost for one mission
Targeting VI – Applies a headshot damage bonus for one mission
Stabilization Module – Stabilizes weapons while firing and moving for one mission
Shield Power Cells – Shortens the length of time shields take to begin recharging for one mission
Maps
Overall, the new maps add just the variety the month-old multiplayer needs. My favorite of the two is Firebase Hydra, because it’s pretty and birds fly around. Who pays attention to birds? BioWare does that’s who.
Hydra also has some great cover spots and a varied layout. It really feels like a full, fleshed out dungeon.
Firebase Condor has an ok setup (doesn’t seem as big as Hydra) and I enjoy that it is set on Palavan’s moon, but the color scheme is horrible. Enemies, cover and even corners blend right into the background. After playing a few rounds on this map, I find my eyes feeling strained.
In general, however, both maps inject just the right amount of newness to the multiplayer.
Characters
Thus far, out of about 20 hours of game time, I have unlocked ONE of the new characters: the Batarian. I can completely see how BioWare is making money off of the multiplayer. If I was anything but a Capricorn, I would have already purchased packs willy-nilly for the chance to unlock the Asari Justicar!
This is the balance in return for “free” stuff I suppose. You might play three rounds and unlock a Batarian Sentinel or you might play one hundred rounds and have 50 guns and 50 existing character upgrades.
As far as having playable Geth and Batarians: THANK YOU BioWare. I truly do appreciate you sticking to your hints that more races would become available. One of the best aspects is that the Batarian has new powers, so it feels very believable as a fleshed out character.
I can’t speak too much about the benefits of one character over another, because, as I mentioned, I haven’t unlocked them all.
Now if only we could get some more lady aliens!
Guns
Of the three new weapons (the Striker Assault Rifle, Kishock Harpoon Gun and the Geth Plasma SMG), the Kishock Harpoon Gun was the only one that made me squee for joy. It’s now my favorite gun, actually. Even though it takes what feel like an extra second for the bullet to hit, the power behind it just gives me a little thrill. The first time I fired it, I had an Herbal Essences moment.
With an assault rifle, sniper and SMG, there is plenty to love and you will probably switch at least one of your guns out for one of these.
Equipment
I found all four of these items to be useful additions to the equipment, with the stabilization module coming in extra-handy with the harpoon gun. The shield power cells did me the most good because I still struggle with the sticky cover system. All of them are great to find in your pack.
Final Notes
As far as new DLC in general, I am SO happy they included playable Geth and Batarians, but a little sad that these new firebases come with no new phrases or quests from Admiral Hackett. To be honest, I would be happy with new phrases for the same missions even! If I have to hear “An STG team was shot down…” one more time….
However, overall, this is a great deal. BioWare gave us plenty of bang for our absent buck. As I mentioned before, I already love the multiplayer, and this free DLC was just the icing on the cake. Which is not a lie.
Besides the highly publicized VGAs hosted by SpikeTV and Gametrailers, another video game award show took place recently. Hosted by Machinima’s very own Adam Kovic and the rest of the Machinima group, the Inside Gaming Awards (or IGAs) was held on December 9th. With it came a few reveals as well as plenty of awards given to the years biggest blockbuster and critically acclaimed video games. Check out the videos below for some of the winners and big exclusive reveals that were shown at the IGAs.
