Across the Dimensions

I believe I've mentioned before how much I love time travel. Its not the only sci-fi concept that I love though. Another one is alternate dimensions. One of my favorite shows about that was Sliders. The first two seasons of that show were just so perfect. And while the game I want talk about today isn't like Sliders, it does involve alternate dimensions and does look extremely cool.

Oliver and Spike: Dimensions Jumpers, by Rock Pocket Games, will be coming to the Wii U. I hope this year but I'm not sure about the date. Dimension Jumpers has a wonderful art style (really beautiful) and a fantastic concept.

In the game, you play as Oliver, a boy who travels with his faithful dog Spike. He is on a journey to figure out his past & his future. To help him, he has been granted the ability to jump across dimensions. Oliver will go to different worlds and have parallel dimensions that he can jump across to solve puzzles and get further in the game. One example I saw in a video had the hero running through a level, jumping into the air, quickly switching over to another reality where he could swim and then switching back to the other reality to find himself in a ledge that use to be far away. I hope I'm explaining this right. It sounds tricky but when you watch a video of it (check near the bottom of this blog entry for that video), wow, its very seamless and looks easy.

Also I've seen video of the main hero as a boy but pictures of the hero as a girl. I wonder if you'll be able to choose your gender at the beginning of the game or if the heroes gender has been changed. I'm not sure. The website and info on the game is a bit unclear about this. Either way, though, I'm very excited about this game!

Take a look at these screenshots from the official website:









And here's a video:

For more information about the game, check out its official website here: http://www.oliverandspike.com/ and its facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/oliverandspike

Metroid Prime Thoughts

Yesterday, Nintendo released the Metroid Prime trilogy onto the Wii U eshop. The game was on the Wii originally. The first two games in the collection are from the Gamecube. No matter what you think of Metroid Prime, you can't deny that three games for $9.99 is a heck of a deal. And if you do happen to love these games and no longer have them, well, its an even better deal.

I first played Metroid Prime on the Gamecube. Metroid Prime was one of two games that was responsible for me buying a Gamecube (the other one was the Resident Evil remake). I remember seeing a demo of the first Metroid Prime at a K-Mart and being amazed. My jaw as on the floor. I had never seen a game that looked THAT great. The graphics were amazing and the gameplay was really good. Metroid as a first person shooter? Honestly I never would have guessed how fantastic that could be. I just had to own the game. When I got it, I loved it even more. I thought it  was so great. It did eventually get traded in. I have no idea why. I no longer have a Gamecube either, so it doesn't matter.

Flash forward to the Wii. I bought the Metroid Prime Trilogy collection. I enjoyed it a lot. Though, it got traded in too later on. I can't remember why now.

And here we go again. I've bought Metroid Prime for the third time. This time its downloaded onto my Wii U. I can't trade it in. I'm stuck with it now. ALL THREE GAMES. For $9.99. I am so very happy.

I've started to like digital a lot. Its nice to have games that I can't trade in. I like that. And having Metroid Prime Trilogy like that? So awesome.

I have played the first Metroid Prime a little bit now. I can report that the graphics STILL look great. The gameplay is still solid too. Retro Studios did a great job with these games. I can't wait to replay them all!

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I'll be back tomorrow with an Indie game preview.

Codename S.T.E.A.M. Demo First Impressions

Today (January 29), Nintendo released a demo of Codename S.T.E.A.M. Codename is an upcoming 3DS strategy game from developer Intelligent Systems. The same people who did the Fire Emblem games.

I've played a little bit of the demo and now I want to give you my first impressions of the game. Is it any good?

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The Codename S.T.E.A.M. demo starts with a really fantastic cutscene. The cutscene is fully voice acted and has comic book panels & comic book sound effects. The graphics are very comic book/cel-shaded. The game looks great in 3D too.

After the cutscene, you are slowly introduced to the game's gameplay.

Right away, with the cutscene, I loved this demo. Then I tried the gameplay and I was hooked. You have to be very careful in this game. You only have so many times you can move your character. There's so much strategy to this game. That said, it has a very cool shooting element to it too. I love how the gameplay is third person, over the shoulder. Codename is basically a blending of a third person shooter with a turn-based strategy game. And its very very awesome.

That said, there is one thing that I think could be better. The enemy movement seems to be a bit slow at times. Sure its a turn-based game but your character can move pretty fast. Enemies should too.

Honestly, though, thats the only thing I can nitpick about the game so far. The gameplay is solid, the graphics are excellent, the voice acting is good; basically its a super addictive, fun game.

I really want this game now! I'll have to see if its possible to get the game in March. I hope so!

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I'll back tomorrow with my thoughts on the Metroid Prime trilogy, which I just download onto my Wii U today. I can't say it'll be my first impressions because I have played the game before. I'll talk about how it feels to be playing the game again. See you then!

Teslagrad (Wii U) Review

I had heard of Teslagrad for awhile and thought it looked really good but I hadn't had the chance to play it. Till now. Thanks to #GamesMatter on Twitter, I got a free copy of Teslagrad. I went into the game hoping that it would be as good as the previews looked.

What did I find? Here is my review:
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My first reaction to Teslagrad was WOW. My jaw was hanging open as I looked at the game's beautiful graphics. This game looks like an interactive cartoon. There is just so much detail to the scenery. This is the type of game that you want to show off to your friends or family. People will be interested in watching this game.



That said, I wasn't a huge fan of the story. The game is lovely to look at, but I wasn't sold on the story just being told via images with no spoken or written dialogue. Some people will love this. They will love trying to figure out what the story means exactly. I wasn't a huge fan. But the graphics and the gameplay kept me playing.



Teslagrad has really fun gameplay. New powers are introduced every so often to keep the puzzles interesting. The game is also VERY hard. The puzzles get more and more challenging. The boss fights are pretty tough but definitely well put together. One thing I didn't like about the gameplay, though, was that you are only given one Life. If you die once, you are put back to whatever the last checkpoint was. Sometimes its not too bad, other times, you have to backtrack a little bit. Also you never really know where the checkpoints are because the game doesn't a marker to let you know. I really wish it had one. The game also autosaves, which is nice, but it would have been cool for it had a place for you to save too.

Other gameplay features: the Wii U gamepad is used well. There is Off-TV mode and the game looks just as beautiful on the gamepad. Also when you have the game just on the TV, there is a map on the touch screen. I didn't use the map a lot but I can see how it would be handy. The game is just so well designed gameplay wise. It also sounds pretty great.

Teslagrad has an excellent soundtrack. I love this game's music, especially during boss fights where it gets pretty intense. The game also has really good sound effects.




Overall, Teslagrad is a great Wii U eshop game. Its not perfect: I wish the story was better, you had more than one life, and the checkpoints were better arranged. Though, in the end, those all nitpicks. Teslagrad is a beautiful game with excellent gameplay and a fantastic soundtrack.

If you haven't bought the game yet and you love platformers (with puzzles), you need to run to the eshop and get it now. It so worth the download.

My Score: 9/10

Thanks to Rain Games and #GamesMatter for my copy of this game.

All pictures are from the official Teslagrad website.

Chosen By the Stars

I've never really been into PC games much. There is one genre of PC game that I've always loved though: the Adventure Genre. Point & Click classics like King's Quest, Space Quest, and others.

Wii U has always seemed like the perfect home for point & click games to me. The gamepad's touchscreen can work just as well as a mouse (if not better). So I'm always happy to hear about a new point & click game coming to Wii U.

A Rite From the Stars by developer Risin' Goat will be coming to the Wii U this year. The game takes place on a dangerous island and centers on Kirm, " a mute kid from the Makoa Tribe" who, according to the kickstarter page "must overcome a rite of passage in order to leave his childhood behind. "

There are three main trials that players will take on and then a final trial. A Rite From the Stars won't have an inventory to manage or send you on pointless walks. The game will be about pointing, clicking, and puzzle solving. It looks like it has a very unique story and will have solid gameplay.

Take a look at these screenshots from the kickstarter page (its already funded):







And here's a trailer for the game:

For more information about the game, check out its Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/risingoat/a-rite-from-the-stars-a-3d-graphic-adventure

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Demo Multiplayer Impressions

When I wrote about the Monster Hunter 4 demo last time, I hadn't had the chance to play the multiplayer part of the demo. Since then, my dad got a copy of the demo too and I tried it out. Here are my impressions of Monster Hunter's multiplayer

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I wasn't a big fan of Monster Hunter 4's single player. I found it a bit repetitive and the cat companions were really annoying.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of the multiplayer...

Monster Hunter 4's multiplayer is a blast! It is so much more fun to play this game with somebody else. I played the demo with my dad and we had a good time. We played on the easiest mode and went off to hunt down a big creature. It was a lot more fun hunting with him than with those annoying cats. For one: no cat sounds all the time. That was too much. And second of all: the enemies were a lot easier to defeat. Even the big, final guy was easier and we actually finished the quest!

Its not just that things are easier though. Traveling with a fellow hero is cool and its funny how if you get too close to the other players weapon, that effects you! My dad was playing with a big sword. I was getting too close to him and sometimes getting flung into the air. You'd think that would be annoying but it was actually funny.

Overall, multiplayer was just cool. It feels like Monster Hunter 4 was built for this kind of experience. I'm hoping we'll play some more multiplayer soon!

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I'll be back tomorrow with an Indie game preview!

An Adventure At the Pub

Recently, it was revealed publisher Circle Entertainment would be bringing a new rpg to the 3DS soon. They teased the game with a couple of screenshots. It was soon revealed that the game was Adventure Bar Story.

Adventure Bar has you playing as the owner of a bar who needs start to cooking up better meals or he'll be run out of business. You have to defeat monsters to get ingredients for over 400 recipes!

From the screenshots I've seen, it looks like theres a world map and the battle system is...TURN-BASED! I love turn-based battle systems.

We have no idea when Adventure Bar Story will be coming to the eshop. Hopefully sometime this year and hopefully sometime soon. I'm very interested in this one. It looks fun.

Here are the two screenshots from Circle Entertainment's twitter: 







And here's an article talking more about the game with some more (non-translated) screenshots: http://www.siliconera.com/2014/06/19/adventure-bar-story-served-nintendo-3ds/

I might do another blog entry about this game in future or update this one when I know more about the game. It looks like it'll be a 3DS eshop title to keep an eye on though.

This Is How They Fit Together

A couple of days ago, I sat in on a live video stream for @rcmadiax's next game, Pentapuzzle, for Wii U. I thought it looked like a really neat puzzle game! I know I said I'd write about his title Super Robo Mouse next but, well, that game won't be out for a little bit still (I'll try to write about it closer to release). Pentapuzzle, on the other hand, is aiming for a release in February.

I'm a fan of puzzle games, but my dad is a HUGE fan of them. I think he'd love Pentapuzzle.

In the game, you have to figure out how some blocks fit together. Its pretty tricky looking and even @rcmadiax, the co-developer of this game, was having a hard time figuring out how to get every puzzle together. The trickiest of the bunch looked like the insane & brutal puzzles. The puzzles that intrigued me the most were the Special puzzles, where you fit the blocks together to create animals or objects.

Take a look at these pictures from Rcmadiax's twitter:







And here's some footage from the game:

Pentapuzzle should be out in February for $3.99. It'll have Over 70 levels!

Never the Final Fantasy

I use to really love the Final Fantasy series.

I started playing the Final Fantasy games with Final Fantasy 7. That game got my addicted to the series (and I went back and played the older ones even) until Final Fantasy 12 started putting me off of it and 13 just made me want to stop playing the series. Though I did play 13-2 also and it was a little better but not much...

Of course, these days I'm just a Nintendo gamer and the new Final Fantasy games never come to a Nintendo system (so I have no choice but to not play the series). Sometimes, the older games are redone for a Nintendo portable or a spinoff title is created though.

In Japan now, for instance, Final Fantasy 1 has been remade (again) and put on the eshop there. This new FF1 remake looks SO good. Sure, its still pretty retro but its leaps and bounds better looking than the original game or the PS1/GBA remakes.

The sprites are more colorful and the world map and areas to explore have more detail. It looks great and I'm sure it plays great too. As a lapsed Final Fantasy fan, I really hope this game comes to the U.S. Square Enix has said nothing about it yet. We can hope, right?

Here's some footage of the game, via the ever awesome @NintenDaan:

Expanding Your Worlds

If you read my blog often, you know that I love games that let you create things. I've written about these type of games a lot. In fact, earlier this week, I wrote about the very promising Cube Life.

Today, it was announced that another creating game will come to Wii U next year. Izle, from developer Area Effect, is an action-adventure RPG that will have creation elements. The official site says that you can create dungeons, sky castles, towers, and other things. You'll also have to fight off enemies and combine items to create new classes, items to use in battle, and new abilities too! I love the combination of RPG and creation. It looks like there will be so much variety in Izle.

I also really love the game's graphics. It looks cartoon-like. There is a very cel-shaded (almost Zelda Wind Waker) look to the game.

Here are some screenshots from the official website:







And here's a trailer for the game:

For more information about Izle, check out the game's official website: http://www.izlegame.com/#Title

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Demo Thoughts

Recently, I got the Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Demo and today I wanted to give you a review (of sorts) of it. I've never played Monster Hunter a ton. I played the first demo and didn't care for it much. What did I think of the second demo? Read on to find out!
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The Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Demo has single player & local/online multiplayer. I wasn't able to try out the multiplayer because nobody else locally had the demo and you had have friends (or give a code out to people) that had the demo to play with others online. I wish the demo had random matching. Hopefully the actual game does.

So the following thoughts are just my thoughts on the single player:

In the single player demo, you just wander around killing stuff till you find the big boss you're supposed to fight. Its gameplay is neat but feels a bit repetitive. The controls work fine. I don't have a Circle Pad Pro for the camera though. The camera isn't too much of a problem during random fights with smaller animals but it gets a bit tough to manage with the bosses. I suppose a Circle Pad Pro or a New 3DS is really needed for this game.

Graphics wise, I felt like the graphics were better on the last Monster Hunter demo. This time the graphics didn't seem as good. Monster Hunter 4 seems muddy and not altogether clear without the 3D. When the 3D is on, the graphics look better but still not as sharp as the previous entry.

As for sound, I didn't really notice the music much, but I did notice the annoying cat sounds that your sidekicks make. Man that got on my nerves!

Overall, the demo was fine but I'm pretty sure Monster Hunter isn't for me. The gameplay is much too repetitive, the camera is a mixed bag, and the graphics are just not as good as the previous game. And those cat sidekicks! Ugh. Yeah, I don't think I'll be playing anymore Monster Hunter.

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Tomorrow I'll be back with another Indie preview!

Goodbye Club Nintendo

Today, Nintendo announced that Club Nintendo will be ending this year.

Just what is Club Nintendo? I'm sure there's some of you out there don't know about it. Maybe I'm wrong. But I'll just recap it anyway.

Club Nintendo is a free online service where people can register the Nintendo games they buy and get special coins for doing so. They can redeem these coins for special gifts. Basically, Club Nintendo is a loyalty program for Nintendo fans.

The service started out with lots of physical rewards that you could order and then receive through the mail. NO SHIPPING. In recent years, the service (in North America) has gone to more digital games and less physical rewards. One of the coolest things about Club Nintendo is that if you reach Gold or Platinum level, you are eligible for a free yearly reward. Previous years the Platinum reward was a Bowser statue, a Majora's Mask CD, and other cool stuff. Last year, it was downloadable games. Some of them were pretty cool, like Donkey Kong Country Returns for 3DS. This year, the final year of Club Nintendo, will feature digital games as Gold/Platinum rewards too.

Many people haven't liked that the service has had less and less physical rewards. Also the digital only yearly reward wasn't a big hit either. I was happy last year to get Donkey Kong Country Returns for my mom. This year I'm hoping I can get something for my dad, my mom again or myself. I do like the physical rewards, but it is nice not to have to wait till the end of the year for the reward...

It should be noted that the Nintendo of America Club Nintendo was NEVER as good as the Europe or Japan Club Nintendos. They got CDs and other cool rewards. America, well, we've had some cool stuff in the past, but never quite to the same level. Still, I'm extremely sad to see the service go. I enjoyed answering surveys and getting the occasional cool reward.

There are a few silver linings in this whole thing.

Nintendo will be offering up more physical rewards next month (hopefully some great stuff) so that people can use up their coins.

Also they'll be offering Flip Note Studio 3D for free for all Club Nintendo members. This is an application that a lot of 3DS fans have been wanting for awhile now. So thats pretty cool.

Another thing is that we won't have to wait till July for the yearly Club Nintendo Gold/Platinum rewards to appear. It looks like they will be up in April.

Finally, Nintendo will be replacing Club Nintendo will a new loyalty service. Will it be another free program (I hope) or something like Playstation's Playstation Plus (not sure how I'd feel about that)? We have no idea. Right now, everyone is just guessing. We'll have to wait and see.

So its time to say goodbye to Club Nintendo. Its a very Long Goodbye but its still goodbye. Hopefully its new younger sibling will be just as cool, if not cooler.

Survival of the Blocks

Nintendo players have been promised a lot of creation Minecraft-like games for awhile now. UCraft, Cube Creator, and I believe there are others too. We did get one for 3DS (Battle Miner) and we got a demo of Cube Creator but have yet to see any game like this come out on the Wii U.

Another creation game was announced today. Cube Life: Island Survival will be developed by Cyronia for Wii U. The game could be the most promising cube creation game yet.

Cube Life is set among several islands. The player will have to hunt for food, fight off beasts, and among other things in Survival mode. There's also a Create mode where players can create whatever they want.

The two screenshots shown so far look pretty impressive. Here they are:





It sounds like this game will be a true Wii U exclusive. I hope so. Wii U definitely needs a game like this. The release date is second quarter 2015 so far. I hope this one happens. Please don't let us down Cypronia.

For more information about Cube Life, check out this blog post by the developer: http://www.cypronia.com/games/68-cube-life-wiiu

This is MY Road!

We use to see more arcade racing games on consoles. From Burnout to Twisted Metal, arcade racing was faster and more furious than regular "realistic" racers. This type of racing, though, doesn't appear very often anymore.

Road Redemption, in development for Wii U by Dark Seas Games, is similar to Twisted Metal but with a dash of Burnout in there. The game is super fast. You race with bikes and there's going to be everything from desert tracks to roof top races. Its not just about racing though. The player can hit other players with melee weapons or shoot at them. There are other (nonplayable) cars on the road too, so players have to look out for them as they are driving around. They wouldn't want to crash into them! The game has online multiplayer and that should be a blast!

I also love that you'll be able to play as SHOVEL KNIGHT. So awesome!

Take a look at these two trailers of the game:

Doesn't that look cool?! Check out their kickstarter page for more information about the game (the game is fully funded): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkseasgames/road-redemption/posts?page=1

Super Mario Galaxy 2 First Impressions

This week, Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii U eshop. I thought I had played the game but once I got it, I didn't recall the levels. So I ever played just a little of the game or didn't play the game at all.

Today I'll give you my First Impressions of Super Mario Galaxy 2
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Wow! This is a Wii game?!

Even on the Wii U, Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks amazing. The graphics are stunning, especially the outer space and underwater levels. And the gameplay....

The gameplay is excellent. Galaxy 2 takes classic Mario gameplay and adds a gravity defying element to it. Also Yoshi is in this game and he plays great. I especially like how you can point the Wii remote at an enemy and press b to have Yoshi eat them.

The only disappointment here is that the game goes into Wii mode, so you can't use the Wii U gamepad to play Galaxy 2. Of course, this game is setup so well with that Wii remote, I'm not sure how you would play it with the gamepad anyway. Still...

In any case, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is an incredibly fun game. I can see why people are always asking for a Mario Galaxy game on Wii U. Imagine how stunning a Galaxy game on Wii U would look and how awesome it would play.

For now, though, I'll just be happy continuing to play this game. Its a great experience no matter what system you play it on.

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I'll be back tomorrow with another Indie game preview!

Real Time Wars

There is another game that impressed me in the recent 5 Kickstarter Games Video I saw. That game is C-Wars by developer Onipunks!

C-Wars is a Real Time Strategy game that will be coming to the 3DS and Wii U. The battles take place on a grid. You'll move all these characters around in real time and battle it out with the game's various enemies.

The game's story is set in an apocalyptic future full of zombies, mutants and an evil mafia!

C-Wars looks pretty fun. Definitely a unique game for both 3DS and Wii U.

Here's a screenshot (from the Kickstarter page. Its already funded):



and a trailer:

For more information about this game, check out the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1054244612/c-wars-roguelike-pixel-art-pc-game

An Adventure On the River(s)

Rivers of Alice is a puzzle adventure game coming to the Wii U. Its being ported to the system by Umami Games.

The game has a very unique, hand drawn style to its graphics, especially its main character. She is all in black & white and stands out from the rest of the environment. Rivers will have you interacting with that environment to solve puzzles. 

It looks like a really fun, interesting Wii U game.

Here, take a look at this trailer:

I'll write about this game again when I have more information about it. I love adventure games and this looks like a fun one.                                                                                                                                              

Nintendo Direct 2.14.15 Thoughts

WOW! Today's Nintendo Direct was amazing.

So many things were talked about during the Direct. I think some people didn't catch everything that was in the direct. I know I watched the direct two times and I still think I missed something. Nintendo really packed in a lot of games & information.

Here are the things that impressed me the most:

Xenoblade X: WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW. Did I say wow? My jaw was on the floor throughout this entire trailer. It was so amazing. This game just looks better and better. I can't wait to play it.

New Fire Emblem: This was the biggest SHOCK of the Direct. Nobody knew about this title. I'm excited for this one and I know my dad is even more excited. Fire Emblem is awesome and this new one looks like the best one yet.

Mario VS. Donkey: Tipping Stars: Not only does this game look good, but it'll be the FIRST CROSS BUY title for North America. If you buy the game on one system, say 3DS, you'll get a Wii U code for free. And it works the other way too. This is a BIG moment for Nintendo. I hope we see them do this more in the future.

Puzzles & Dragons: I love puzzle games and my dad loves them even more. Puzzles & Dragons, especially the Mario one, looks really fun!

New 3DS: The New 3DS system is coming in February 13. I doubted this rumor yesterday. I thought this would be too soon for the system. I was totally wrong. I was pretty shocked by this revelation. Its amazing just how many things are coming out on the 13th of February and, of course, this is the biggest thing coming. North America has only announced the XL version of the system for North America. Some people were pretty disappointed about this. Personally, I'm fine with it. I'm not buying the system right away (can't afford it), plus I never would have been able to afford many faceplates. Hopefully I'll be able to get a special edition New 3DS XL sooner or later...

Such a large focus on 3DS: After a long time of major focus on Wii U, we finally got a Nintendo Direct that focused on 3DS games. It was really great to see this. 3DS definitely needed some time in the spotlight again.

Splatoon: I didn't have much interest in Splatoon before this direct. Sure, the game looks neat but I wasn't sure how much I'd actually like it. This new video, showing off customization, looked really great. Still not completely sure if I'll be getting the game but I have more interest in this game now. I'll be keeping a closer eye on it.

And...EVERYTHING ELSE! Whew. This Nintendo Direct was so awesome!

I know some people were disappointed in this Direct. I wasn't. I thought it was the best January Direct EVER (yes including the Hyrule Warriors one).

Nintendo did a great job!

Jumping Into the Hive

I had vaguely heard about Hive Jump before but didn't know much about it. After watching the 5 Kickstarter Games Video, I knew I had to write about this game!

Hive Jump, by developer Graphite Lab, is a sci-fi action game with a bit a Metroid feel. It also has a bit of a Contra feel too.

The game will have 2-4 player multiplayer. Both local AND online. You'll be able to upgrade weapons and you can pick which Hive you want to jump into next. It looks very impressive. I think this is going to be a really fun game.

Check out these awesome Gifs from the Official website:





And then there's this:

Wow! I want to play this game! Now. It looks fantastic.

For more information, check out Hive Jump's cool official website: http://hivejump.com/

Nothing Will Stop Alicia

While watching an excellent video about 5 Kickstarter games to look out for on Wii U in 2015, I saw a few Indie games I had never heard of before.

One of those games was Heart Forth, Alicia by developer Alonso Martin, a Metroidvania rpg coming to the Wii U. And wow, does this game look amazing!

Heart Forth has elements of Metroid, Castlevania, and an incredibly beautiful art style. The player will collect all kind of things, like you would in an rpg and be able to upgrade their character & take on sidequests.
Another very, very, very interesting twist is that the game will include a second story parallel to Alicia's. This story will be told via LIVE ACTION FOOTAGE. This is something you just don't see on the Wii U. It sounds like this will make Heart Forth, Alicia a very unique game for the system. Honestly, if I had known about this game befpre, it would have been included on my 2015 can't wait to play list!

Here's a picture from the live action footage (from the kickstarter page. the game is funded):



And here's some gifs from the kickstarter page too:








Oh and this awesome trailer:

For more information about the game, please check out the Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alonsomartin/heart-forth-alicia

Don't Take My Picture!

Celebrities, like me, find it hard to go anywhere without their picture being taken. You wouldn't believe how many photographers follow me everyday. I have to get really sneaky sometimes. I...

Ok, look, I'm not really a celebrity. You already knew that though, right? Sheesh, you could at least pretend to play along...

Look, I may have the perfect solution to my problem. Your problem too if you feel like pretending to be a celebrity, especially one hounded by a photographer! Or maybe you just like to take pictures of people like me (shutup) with your camera! Meanie. You're covered too.

Enter developer Pringo Dingo. Their new game Paparazzi is a multiplayer focused game (it also has single player) where one player is a celebrity and the other is a photographer. The celebrity dodges behind objects and has act all stealthy. The photographer is in first person mode and uses their camera to shoot pics of the celebrity (when they can catch sight of the person).

The game looks frantic and completely bizarre. The graphics is pixelated. This looks like it'll be a fun game. Its expected to release in February for Wii U.

Take a look at these pictures from the official website:







And here's a trailer for the game:

For more information about Paparazzi, check out the official website here: http://www.pringodingo.com/

A Trip Back in Time

Nintendo has had many portables, but the first one they had was the original Gameboy. We had so many games for that system. I think we may even still have some of them. It was a really great system.

Developer Christophe Galati is creating a game that is a tribute to the first Gameboy. Tasukete Tako-San: Save Me Mr. Tako! will be coming to the Wii U. The game uses the same green color palette as the Gameboy and has graphics that make it look like a Gameboy game. Though, with this game, you can change the color palette to different colors (red, blue, etc). Thats pretty cool.

The game is a retro platformer. The player plays as an Octopus and there are several powerups you can find. The octopus character can turn enemies into platforms too! It looks like a really fun game.

Here are some screenshots from the developers website:






And here's a trailer for the game:

The developer's website (largely in French) can be found here: http://christophegalati.fr/html/projet.html . The developer can also be found on twitter at @ChrisDeneos                                                                                                                           

Racing Across the Galaxy

I miss F-Zero. The recent F-Zero Mario Kart 8 dlc was pretty cool but it wasn't quite the real thing. The Next Penelope, an upcoming Wii U racing game from developer Aurelian Regard, isn't F-Zero either but its a lot closer.

The Next Penelope is a racing game as fast looking as F-Zero but it also has weapons, massive bosses to fight or run away from, obstacles, and different plants to visit. The game has a cool, retro overhead racing look to it and fantastic graphics. Its fast and looks really fun and exciting.

Take a look at these screenshots from the Official website:

And here's a trailer for the game:

For more information about the Next Penelope, check out the Official website here: http://www.the-next-penelope.com/

An Epic Song

Song of Seven, from developer Enlightened Games, is action adventure game coming to Wii U. The footage for the game is very early but it already looks like an interesting game. According to a Nintendo Enthusiast article, the game will have "a variety of puzzles and comedic style to storytelling." I like puzzles and I'm always open to lighter, possibly funny, games.

Here's a look at early screenshots and gifs:








And here's a link to some pre-Alpha footage:

http://vimeo.com/98277618

For more information about the game, check out: http://www.thesongofseven.com/
and http://nintendoenthusiast.com/news/song-seven-new-indie-title-announced-wii-u/

Lazy Day Alert

I feeling totally lazy today. So I'll ask you to please check out my Comic Review blog if you're into Comic Books: http://roland19.wordpress.com/

Also I have a new tumblr here: df2506.tumblr.com, which covers tv, movies, video games, and more. I have some Steamworld Heist and Dig poems there too.

And don't forget to check out http://shigerureviews.wordpress.com/  for all the best Nintendo news and reviews (some of which yours truly wrote).

Tomorrow I'll try to have a cool new Indie preview for you!

Faster Than Light

Developer Heart Machine's Hyper Light Drifter, coming to the Wii U this year, is an action rpg done in an 8bit/16 bit style. It reminds me a bit of old PC adventure games like Space Quest or King's Quest. The graphics are much more beautiful than that though. This is a very impressive looking game.

Gameplay wise, think early Zelda except with weapon upgrades. Hyper Light Drifter does look like it includes some cartoony blood, so I don't think its aiming for a young audience. The vibe I get from the game is that its looking for older gamers who yearn for more games from yesteryear. Not a bad thing, in fact, Shovel Knight proved that there are still plenty of ways new games can revisit old style gameplay and be amazing.

Ok, I'm going to shut up now. Take a look at these screenshots and gifs from Hyper Light Drifter's Kickstarter page (its already funded):









And here's a trailer:

For more information about Hyper Light Drifter, please check out its Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1661802484/hyper-light-drifter

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Review

I thought Smash Bros Wii U would be my Game of the Year for 2015. I was wrong.

Read on to find out why Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is the real deal.

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Time for Adventure!

From the moment you step into Captain Toad's shoes, Treasure Tacker is wonderful. The first thing you'll notice is the amazing graphics. While Captain Toad has a similar look to Super Mario 3D World, the graphics has noticeably been improved. When you play this game, you feel like your playing a Pixar cartoon. Its quite amazing.

Even more amazing is Treasure Tracker's gameplay. This is a very addictive puzzle game. There is so much variety in the levels. You'll keep coming back for more and won't want to stop playing this game.

The game's story isn't ultra important to Captain Toad. Its pretty basic, much like a lot of Nintendo stories are, BUT the story is incredibly cute. I'm not afraid to say that this is the cutest game I've ever played. This isn't just a kids game though. Those puzzles might be too hard for young children. This would be a great game to play with your kids, if you have them, but its also a great game to play by yourself.

Other important aspects of Captain Toad to note: the gamepad mirrors the TV screen, so Captain Toad is perfect for Off-TV play. The game also uses the touch screen for certain levels. Treasure Tracker looks great on the TV and on the gamepad.

The only thing I wish was different is that the gamepad motion sensor could be turned off. The sensor is always on and controls your in-game camera. You can use the right analog stick to move the camera and that works better. But as you play Captain Toad, the sensor may occasionally move the camera when you don't want it to. Its not a major problem though.

In fact, there are no major problems with this game. Just about everything is perfect: the cute story and characters, the amazing graphics, and addictive gameplay. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a must own Wii U game. It gets my highest recommendation and my highest score.

My Score: 10/10

Xeodrifter Review

Xeodrifter, from developer Renegade Kid, is an outer space action/adventure for the 3DS. Lots of developers have done games like this. Is Xeodrifter unique at all or is it an average experience? Here's my review:

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Xeodrifter doesn't have much of a story. There is a short cutscene at the start and then the player is left to figure out what they should do next. It would have been nice if the game had had more setup and let you know more about the mysterious main character. That said, Xeodrifter is a fun game. The gameplay is similar to Metroid but throws in some pretty unique powerups and neat worlds to explore. One thing I do wish was better was the boss fights. Each of the bosses is the same creature, with a color repaint and some different powers. Some boss variety would have been nice. Also, just because Xeodrifter is fun, doesn't mean its easy. Xeodrifter is a very hard game. Its not just the enemies. Sometimes, its tough figuring out where you need to go next. A little more direction in the game would have helped.

Graphics wise, Xeodrifter is very nice looking. I like the retro vibe and the game looks great in 3D.

The game has a good soundtrack and good sound effects too.

Overall, Xeodrifter is a fun, often tough game. More boss variety, a better story, and bit more direction would have been nice, but this is still a really good game. If you love Metroid or games like it, you should check Xeodrifter out. Renegade Kid did a fine job.

My Score: 8.5/10

Shovel Knight First Impressions

For awhile now, I've been hearing how good Shovel Knight is. I admit I wasn't too impressed by the footage I'd seen. It looked neat but it also looked like a pretty hard game. I wasn't sure if I'd like it. But there was a sale this week and I had the money. I couldn't resist finally checking this game out.

Here are my First Impressions of Shovel Knight:
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Shovel Knight feels like a retro NES/SNES game. A really really really awesome one that some took and improved the graphics a little on.

The game is heavily inspired by Castlevania, Ducktales, and a little bit by Zelda 2. That said, Shovel Knight has its own unique cool vibe too. The story harkens back to the days of old with knights and quests. There's a wonderful cutscene at the beginning of the game and then the story doesn't really pop up much until boss battles.

Shovel Knight has great level design. Like I said before, it reminds me a bit of Castlevania. Its almost hard to believe that Capcom didn't make this game. There are other things I really love about Shovel Knight too: the rpg elements (upgrading your health/magic), the overworld map, fishing, and wow, those boss battles are really TOUGH but absolutely fun. Yacht Club Games did an amazing job with this game. Even the music is brilliant (so retro inspired!)

I'm playing Shovel Knight on the Wii U and the game looks great on the TV. Though, possibly, it looks even better on the gamepad. I enjoy playing it on both.

The game also has a unique Miiverse feature on the Wii U. The Digger Diary is a direct connection to Miiverse. As you play Shovel Knight, you can check out the digger diary and see what people said about the game and even get tips sometimes for certain rooms in levels (if people leave tips---a lot of times they just say how awesome the game is). I really like this use of Miiverse. I wish more games did things like this.

Overall, Shovel Knight is an excellent game so far. I just love it! I'm so glad I bought it. I can't wait to play more.

The Dungeon Just Popped Up

I like dungeon crawling rpgs. I love turn-based rpgs even more. The two together? Oh man. THAT excites me a lot.

Triple B Title's Popup Dungeon, coming to the Wii U sooner or later, is a combination of dungeon crawling and turn-based battles. The title looks to combine video game & board game elements. Most exciting of all, really, is the fact that the player will be able to build their own character, weapons, enemies, and abilities. It all sounds really cool.

Also the game has a papercraft look (sort of like last year's Paper Monsters Recut). With unique graphics and very interesting gameplay, Popup Dungeon should be a game to keep an eye on.

Here is the game's kickstarter trailer (its already funded):

For more information about the game, please check out its official website: http://www.popupdungeon.com/

Top 10 Indie Games I Can't Wait to Play This Year

Yesterday I gave you a list of 2014 Indie games that I loved. Today, the first day of 2015, I want to give you a list of Indie games I can't wait to play (and hopefully review) this year. Starting at #10...

(note: If you click on some of the names, you'll be taken to my previews of the games)

10. Super Robo Mouse: This could be RCMADIAX's most ambitious game yet. I'm not sure if I've done a preview of this game. I doubt think I have. I will have to fix this very soon. Robo Mouse looks like it'll be a fun game!

9. Tiny Galaxy: As I said in my preview, the Tiny Galaxy PC demo was a lot of fun to play but I'm sure the Wii U game will be a lot better! Also: I heard that Jason Lepine from Nintendo Enthusiast and Armillo will be in the game!!! Oh my. This game is going to be excellent.

8. Jenny LeClue: I love the adventure genre and can't wait to check this one out. Its got a Saturday morning cartoon vibe with a bit of Nancy Drew thrown in. Should be fun.

7. Knite and the Ghost Lights: This game looks amazing. I enjoyed Paper Monsters Recut by this developer but I have a feeling this game will be better.

6.  Cube Creator 3D: I enjoyed the demo & I look forward to seeing what the full game is like. I hope its very good!

5. Citizens of Earth: I love rpgs. I especially love rpgs like Earthbound & Citizens of Earth appears to be tapping into the same 2D fun.

4.  Moon Chronicles Episodes 2-4: Episode 1 was so good! I can't wait to see what happens next.

3. Y2K: I always wanted a 3D Earthbound. I don't think it'll ever happen but Y2K is happening & it looks to take on an Earthbound vibe plus its own style. Very exciting!

2. Zombie Vikings: Stick it to the Man was so much wacky fun. Zombie Vikings, though, looks like next level craziness. I'm ready Zoink!

1. Steamworld Heist: This can't be surprising to you guys right? If you follow my blog or twitter, I'm sure you saw this coming. I'm so very very very VERY excited for this game. Image & Form have me hyped for it. This is my number #1 must play Indie game of 2015!

There are a ton of other cool games coming this year too. Please check out my other 2014 blog entries to read about some of them. I think this is going to be a great year for Indie Games!

I'll leave you today with this video. I love it so much: