Tag Archive: Breath of the Wild


Nintendo dominates 21st annual D.I.C.E. Awards

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March 15, 2018

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences held its 21st annual D.I.C.E. Awards at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, celebrating the tremendous year in gaming that was 2017. The D.I.C.E. Awards are the only peer-voted award ceremony in video games, where developers from around the industry cast ballots on 24 different categories that recognize the best of the best in gaming.

Not surprisingly, Nintendo had a huge night, which mirrors the success they had with the launch of the Switch in 2017. With games nominated in 14 of the 24 categories, Nintendo-published games won in a whopping 10 categories (Mario+Rabbids also won an award but is technically a Ubisoft game). The bulk of Nintendo’s success was due to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s four awards, the most for any game this year, and which includes the coveted Game of the Year Award. The next most awarded game was Cuphead, winning in three categories. Horizon Zero Dawn, whose 10 nominations were the most of any game at the show, walked away with two awards.

“Every year, the D.I.C.E. Awards brings the global interactive entertainment industry under one roof to recognize and honor the very best in video games – the games that captivated and inspired us, and kept us entertained for hours on end,” said Meggan Scavio, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.  “On behalf of the Academy, I am thrilled to congratulate this year’s winners of the 21st D.I.C.E. Awards.”

Considering Nintendo’s success, it was only fitting that the D.I.C.E. Awards would also recognize Genyo Takeda of Nintendo with only their seventh ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Takeda was a critical figure at Nintendo for decades. One of his first major accomplishments included creating the save-system in the original The Legend of Zelda that would revolutionize games on the NES. From there he helped design the N64’s analog stick on its controller, worked on peripherals with the Gamecube, and was a key architect of the Wii.

The winners of this year’s D.I.C.E. Awards categories are below. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order, with winners in bold.

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

  • Cuphead
  • For Honor
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

  • Cuphead
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Little Nightmares
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Outstanding Achievement in Character

  • Bayek – Assassin’s Creed Origins
  • Senua – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  • Aloy – Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Iden Versio – Star Wars Battlefront II
  • Chloe Frazer – Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Cuphead
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • RiME
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

  • Destiny 2
  • Injustice 2
  • Star Wars Battlefront II
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Outstanding Achievement in Story

  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Night in the Woods
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Outstanding Technical Achievement

  • Assassin’s Creed Origins
  • Hellblade: Senua’ Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Lone Echo
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Action Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Cuphead
  • Destiny
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Adventure Game of the Year

  • Assassin’s Creed Origins
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Family Game of the Year

  • DropMix
  • GNOG
  • Just Dance 2018
  • SingStar Celebration
  • Snipperclips

Fighting Game of the Year

  • Arms
  • Injustice 2
  • Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite
  • Nidhogg 2
  • Tekken 7

Racing Game of the Year

  • DiRT 4
  • Forza Motorsport 7
  • Gran Turismo Sport
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
  • Project CARS 2

RPG of the Year

  • Divinity: Original Sin 2
  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War
  • NiER: Automata
  • Persona 5
  • Torment: Tides of Numenera

Sports Game of the Year

  • Everybody’s Golf
  • FIFA 18
  • Golf Clash
  • Madden NFL 18
  • MLB The Show 17

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

  • Endless Space 2
  • Halo Wars 2
  • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
  • Total War: Warhammer II
  • XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

  • Lone Echo/Echo Arena
  • Robo Recall
  • Star Trek Bridge Crew
  • The Invisible Hours
  • Wilson’s Heart

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

  • Lone Echo/Echo Arena
  • Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
  • Robo Recall
  • Space Pirate Trainer
  • Wilson’s Heart

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award

  • Everything
  • Gorogoa
  • Night in the Woods
  • Pyre
  • Snipperclips

Handheld Game of the Year

  • Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
  • Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
  • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
  • Metroid: Samus Returns
  • Monster Hunter Stories

Mobile Game of the Year

  • Cat Quest
  • Fire Emblem Heroes
  • Gorogoa
  • Monument Valley 2
  • Splitter Critters

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Destiny 2
  • Fortnite
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

  • Gorogoa
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • PlayerUnknwon’s Battlegrounds
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

  • Gorogoa
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  • What Remains of Edith Finch

Game of the Year

  • Cuphead
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
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EGM’s Best of 2017: Ray Carsillo’s Editor Awards

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It has been a great year for games overall, and one of the best in recent memory. I can’t remember the last time I had to wrestle with my top five as much as I had to this year, because there were honestly 15 or so games out of the 89 that I beat before official EGM game of the year voting that I could’ve slipped into these slots. After much internal deliberation, however, I hammered out a list that I think provides a variety of incredible experiences that are all more than worthy of your game-playing time.

#5 Publisher: Bethesda
Developer: MachineGames
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC		 Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
There were literally three games rotating in and out of this spot for me before I finally decided that talking about how great it is to kill Nazis—and in such a variety of ways—was worthy of a nod. There have never been a more disgusting or vile people on the Earth than the Nazis; they are the ultimate evil. And, reigning havoc on this fictional Reich was cathartic at a time when people seem to be forgetting just how heinous they were. If this game weren’t already in my top five, it’d be getting a special award just for being able to kick Hitler in the face. Throw in a terrific end credits scene that should get every patriot’s heart pumping, along with just how amazingly smooth the game’s gunplay was, and there’s no doubt that Wolfenstein II should be near the top of everyone’s lists.
#4 Publisher: Supergiant Games
Developer: Supergiant Games
Platforms: PS4, PC		 Pyre
The folks at Supergiant Games are nothing if not expert storytellers. In each of their games, they’ve created unique worlds that you can’t help but get sucked into, and Pyre does that again here. It finds a way to make you care about the characters in your caravan right from the get-go, and as your party grows, the roots you place in this world only become stronger until it’s almost painful for you to leave it. What’s even more amazing is that the gameplay’s main mechanic—besides chatting with your party members in standard RPG fashion—is to basically win 3-on-3 basketball games. Of course, boiling this mechanic down like that to its very core peels away the stakes that surround each game. There’s a real sense of risk here, as well as loss should you fail. Pyre is a gorgeous game, both visually and content wise, and is a can’t-miss experience.
#3 Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Platforms: Switch		 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild is no doubt a game-changer for one of Nintendo’s most popular flagship franchises. It was a bold choice to focus more on puzzle-solving and world interaction than combat, and it paid off. People are still discovering new ways to interact with this latest iteration of Hyrule and its inhabitants, and it again proves that few companies are as good as Nintendo at just making games that are pure fun. Plus, there is plenty of fun to be had considering how massive the game’s world is, not to mention a tremendous amount of customization here, with Link being able to wear just about anything. I could’ve done without my weapons breaking so often, and I worry about Nintendo embracing the idea of DLC with this game, but even still, this is an instant classic.
#2 Publisher: Studio MDHR
Developer: Studio MDHR
Platforms: Xbox One, PC		 Cuphead
It’s rare in today’s world for something to be hyped for as long as Cuphead was, and for it to then live up to that hype. And yet, somehow, it did. After 188 deaths, I had completed this game and was thrilled for every second I got to play with it. There is a randomness to each boss fight that tests your reflexes in ways few games like this can, as you can’t just sit back and memorize patterns. It’s an action-shooter, but there are definitely moments where this feels like a bullet hell, too—especially in the flying levels. On top of this, the art and musical style of 1930s cartoons is a surprisingly fresh take for a video game, and proves that sometimes what is old can be new again. Combine all this with tight controls (especially around the parry system), and Cuphead sits as one of the year’s most complete experiences if you’re like me and don’t mind the difficulty.
#1 Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC		 Resident Evil VII
It’s rare for a game that releases in January to hold throughout the year at the top of my list, but Resident Evil 7 surprised us all in a lot of ways in 2017. It’s both a return to form and a strong step forward for the franchise. The atmosphere and intimateness of the Baker compound down in the bayou harkens back to earlier games in the series, helping to set up some truly horrific moments. The move to first-person was controversial for some, but for me I found it to be a smart step into the future that only enhanced the terror the game instilled in me. When you include the clever traps and puzzles, the unforgettable characters that were the Baker family, and the new enemies in the Molded, Resident Evil 7 quite simply might’ve saved the franchise. It also, though, was the first full game to completely support VR. Sure, the graphics took a hit, but playing with that headset on is a true test of anyone’s fortitude.
The 7th Annual “The Colors, Duke! The Colors!” Award for Most Colorful Game presented by Popsicle (not really, but I wish)
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Continuing my annual tradition of giving an award to the prettiest game of the year, Assassin’s Creed Origins’ visuals blew me away. This was one of the toughest years yet to judge for this award, but when everything was working—whether you were perched atop one of the Pyramids of Giza, or just soaring over the Nile with Senu—Assassin’s Creed Origins could take your breath away. The diversity of the landscape also played a huge part in Origins coming away with the win here, as there was so much more to explore than just the desert you likely first think of when thinking of Egypt.
The Rick Astley “Never Gonna Give You Up” Award
Injustice 2
For as great a year as it’s been in video games, few games have got me coming back for more as consistently as Injustice 2. Earning new gear in the game’s Multiverse mode has become something of an addiction, as I’m constantly trying to make my favorite characters stronger through the system. Online play has been solid—I’ve got a .540 winning percentage with my main, Batman—and the steady flood of new monthly DLC characters has kept things fresh with all these new characters to learn and arcade endings to discover. In a year full of memorable experiences, Injustice 2 just might be the most addicting.
The Don’t Let It Fall Under Your Radar Award
The Sexy Brutale
There have been a flurry of AAA-blockbusters that took our breath away this year, but we can’t forget to give indies their proper amount of love. While some smaller projects were fortunate enough to catapult themselves into the limelight from their first showing at fan expos and trade shows, others have toiled away hoping to breakthrough. The Sexy Brutale is a terrific murder-mystery with the added caveat of time-travel thrown in to help you relive the same day over and over in order to solve all the murders taking place around you. Throw in a stellar soundtrack and The Sexy Brutale is a game you might not have heard of until now, but is one you must go back and experience if you find the time.
EGM’s Best of 2017 Coverage
We’re taking a look at the best games of 2017 all week, from Christmas day through December 30th. Check back every day for our Top 25 Games of 2017, as well as our personal lists for the games we loved most this year. Check here for everything that’s been posted so far.
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Ubisoft CEO says Horizon, Breath of the Wild “borrowed” gameplay from them

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If you’ve played Ubisoft games over the past decade, you’ve probably noticed a lot of parallels between their titles. From how the player character gets around to how a map is opened up, there are usually striking similarities to be found between franchises whether playing Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed, The Crew or a Tom Clancy title. It’s like an artist who paints in a particular style, or a writer that relies on certain narrative structure. This isn’t to say Ubisoft doesn’t break from their own mold at times (Child of Light, the Rayman series), but most times you can almost tell just by seeing a little bit of gameplay what’s an Ubisoft game.

And like any other art form, games can inspire people, and lest we forget, that can include other game developers. In an interview in the most recent EDGE magazine (issue #311), Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot talked about how two of the year’s most acclaimed games—Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild—seemed to utilize several gameplay mechanics that Ubisoft popularized.

“It’s interesting, because The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took a lot of things that existed in Far Cry and other Ubisoft games, but did them perfectly,” Guillemot said. “I think the most important thing is not the systems as they are, it’s how they can be perfected; how they can give the player the best experience possible.

“The same system can be in two games, and not be seen as the same thing. The job, really, is to make sure that you have a certain number of possibilities and that you are able to combine them in such a way that provides a great experience. When systems are similar, it’s because developers have not been able to take full advantage of what those systems could bring.

“When a system is really good at providing fun, the team knows that that will work—and at the end of the day what counts is the experience. But we are taking more and more time on our games so that they are very different from one another. That has always been the objective. But if you look at many of the games that are being launched—even the last Sony game, Horizon: Zero Dawn—again, they took some of the same systems that we have. Because, in the industry, we always look at other games and other publishers. A game is very complex, so it helps us to provide a good experience.”

Of course, Ubisoft did the same thing themselves recently with Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which saw many of its game mechanics inspired by 2K’s XCOM series. Much like how Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn made Ubisoft’s bread-and-butter gameplay their own, though, Ubisoft did the same by adding their own touches to differentiate and even improve on certain systems. So, it should come as no surprise really that someone took inspiration from another game and made it their own; arguably improving on things that weren’t perfect, as Guillemot insinuates. After all, this has been going on in games for a long time, even leading to the rise of certain genres, and permeating how we, as gamers, describe them. Metroidvania anyone?

Before he was finished, Guillemot also commented on Ubisoft’s recent shift towards more multiplayer driven experiences, adapting to changing times, and trying to show there’s more to them than just climbing towers in open-worlds.

“It’s the kind of game that is more and more in demand from players. As a company, we have to adapt to this evolution in demand,” explained Guillemot. “So it’s a question of generation: some people have been playing linear adventures, and they tend to want to continue to play that kind of game, even if they’re starting to open to other types of games.

“For each revolution or disruption, there are steps where you are in the middle and the new thing is not yet very interesting. The first people that try the game might say ‘It’s good, but it’s not as good as I expected’ and sometimes they don’t want to try it again.

“But after a while you improve the quality of this new experience, and you arrive at a level where the new people who try it love it. It always takes time to change mentalities. For us, we had no choice but to introduce the types of product that most of the customers, most of the players, wanted.”

Ubisoft will be getting back to their open-world roots a bit before the year is over, however, with the latest Assassin’s Creed set to release on October 27th, and dip their toes back in familiar waters next year with Far Cry 5’s planned release for February 27th, 2018.

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Top 10 Switch Games I’ve Played Thus Far

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February 20, 2017

Although the Nintendo Switch is only going to have five games released on launch day, it’ll have over 50 games impressively come out during the system’s initial launch window. I had a chance to go hands-on with over a dozen of these launch window games—including the five coming on day one—and put together a list of the ten best titles you should be looking forward to in the early days of Nintendo’s newest home console.

12Switch

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 3, 2017		 1-2 Switch
It wouldn’t be a Nintendo console launch anymore it seems without a fun collection of minigames available to show off the system’s potential, and hopefully draw the entire family into the Big N’s warm embrace. 1-2 Switch features a handful of games that take full advantage of the Joy-Con’s variety of motion sensors while bringing out your competitive nature. One game requires you to listen for the sound of a ball smacking a paddle and to keep up with the rhythm in table tennis—minus the table. For all you wannabe cowboys out there, having to quick draw your Joy-Con and press the trigger in an old-fashioned duel at high noon might be more your speed. And the first game to fully take advantage of the HD Rumble, one minigame requires you to move your Joy-Con around and determine how many marbles are inside it—and, unbelievably, the sensors make it feel like there are actually marbles inside your controller. The most interesting thing about all these minigames is that they implore players to look away from their TVs and instead look at each other, livening up the play space and again driving home the potential portability of the fun the Switch has to offer.

ARMS

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Spring 2017		 ARMS
Another new IP being introduced during the Switch’s launch window, the ARMS demo we played touted five different fighters, with a variety of titular appendages that you could snap into place, potentially providing a greater advantage on the battlefield. Each player requires a pair of Joy-Cons, with each representing a player’s left and right arm respectively. By turning the Joy-Cons you can move or block, and by punching forward you can send your spring-loaded arms forward at incredible speeds. You can even throw hooks by twisting your arms mid-attack, or throw your opponents off by punching both arms at the same time. Each armament touts different positives and negatives in terms of how powerful they are, and how many times they can potentially hit. The Trident, for example, shoots three finger projectiles out, while the BIG wrecking ball arms are slower but can do a ton of damage. Similar to many fighting games out there, each player has a lifebar, and each avatar also has their natural advantages and disadvantages in terms of health, speed, blocking, and other parameters you’d expect from a game such as this. Meanwhile, ARMS touts multiple ways to play: single-player versus the computer, local versus, and also online versus. Whether or not there’s an accompanying story to go along with ARMS is yet to be seen, but at the very least, if you can snag a second set of Joy-Cons, ARMS could be another game to potentially get the party started on the Switch.

FASTRACINGRMX

Developer: Shin’en Multimedia
Publisher: Shin’en Multimedia
Release Date: March/April 2017		 FAST RMX
FAST Racing NEO took the gaming world by storm by harkening back to the futuristic racing of games like F-Zero, and was a rare surprise hit on the Wii U. So, it was with great glee that I found that the original game is being ported over to the Switch with more tracks, more cars, and more modes than the original. Once again, players will hop into the cockpit of a futuristic, super-stylized, hovering race pod and will have to change the colors of their jet streams mid-race in order to get the biggest and best boosts possible if they want to exceed speeds of 1000 miles per hour. Impressively, you can play the entire game with only a single Joy-Con by turning it sideways, or use the Switch Pro Controller if you so choose. In another rarity, FAST RMX touts four-player local split-screen as long as you have enough controllers. There’s also 8-player online versus, and taking advantage of the Switch’s ability to connect with other consoles locally, even touts 8-player local multiplayer if everyone has their own Switch. If you missed FAST Racing NEO the first time around, this remix is a perfect time to test your racing mettle.

LoZBotW

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 3, 2017		 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
There was easily no other game that excited us more about the Switch than the newest chapter in one of gaming’s greatest franchises. After having played demos on both systems, I can attest that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks better and plays smoother on the Switch over its Wii U counterpart. Playing with the Joy-Cons inserted into the “puppy dog” dock felt amazingly comfortable, and it wasn’t long before I was off trying to figure out the secret behind Calamity Ganon in the largest Hyrule yet. The map was absolutely massive, but I couldn’t wait to explore every single inch. Of course, the demo was quickly cut short after only 20 minutes, but I found everything to be easier in the Switch version, from managing my inventory to combat, and I believe again it’s in large part to the Switch controller being far more comfortable than the Wii U tablet. Of course, if I so chose, I could also snap the Joycons to the side of the Switch console and take it on the road. There’s a small loss of quality there—the 900p visuals becomes 720p on the console’s 6.5-inch screen—but the fact I could be flying across the country and playing a Zelda game makes up for that in spades.

MK8DX

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: April 28, 2017		 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Besides getting an obvious bump in visual fidelity on the Switch console, this latest version of everyone’s favorite kart racer is filled to the brim with content. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is easily the definitive edition of this game. All previous DLC characters are unlocked from the get-go, along with a couple of new ones added to this version. New tracks are also included, again upping the content and replayability should you have played the original the first time around. The most telling addition, however, comes on the multiplayer side. Yes, like many of the other games on this list, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe touts a variety of local and online multiplayer options all depending on how many Switches and Joy-Cons you have available. You can even play 2-player split-screen locally with just a pair of Joy-Cons, with each player turning them sideways like NES controllers. But the biggest multiplayer addition is the inclusion of old-school balloon-popping battles in classic arenas that were noticeably absent from the launch of the original Mario Kart 8. With all these additions and new features, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is almost an entirely new game, and a must have for fans of the series.

Snipperclips

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 2017		 Snipperclips — Cut It Out, Together!
Lengthy title that should be shortened to just Snipperclips aside, this is another new IP that shows off the flexibility and creativity games on the Switch can potentially afford developers and players. This two-player game gives each player a single Joy-Con turned sideways, and sees them take control of living pieces of construction paper. By cutting your partner—and them cutting you—into a variety of different shapes, you must create the tools needed to solve puzzles of ever-increasing difficulty. No matter if you’re popping balloons, putting a basketball through a hoop, bringing a pencil over to a sharpener, or just matching shapes given to you, Snipperclips – Cut It Out, Together! will test your ability to collaborate (and maybe your patience) as you attempt to overcome all the challenges in your way.

SonicMania

Developer: Headcannon/PagodaWest
Publisher: SEGA
Release Date: Spring 2017		 Sonic Mania
One of the big things seemingly keeping the industry afloat at times is its regular reliance on nostalgia. When that nostalgia hits home, it’s hard to deny the impact it can have on a particular fanbase. Of course, when that same nostalgia leads to disappointment, the impact it has can be felt even more harshly in the other direction. Few franchises have seen both sides of this effect as clearly as Sonic the Hedgehog, with most recent entries falling on the unfortunate side of the nostalgia effect. It’s no wonder then that SEGA is turning an eye back to the beginning—to Sonic’s clearly-defined roots—and bringing the blue blur back home with Sonic Mania. A combination of the original Sonic the Hedgehog and an entirely new adventure, Sonic Mania combines the 16-bit breakneck speed that Sonic blasted onto the scene with with new worlds, harder levels, bigger bosses, and even the inclusion of his buddies Tails and Knucles this time around. While Sonic Mania is the only non-exclusive title to make this list, it needs to be mentioned that being able to play the game with only a single Joy-Con controller might feel the most similar to how it did when we were children as opposed to the larger, bulkier controllers of the PS4 or Xbox One. Considering Sonic only ever needed a couple of buttons, even the single Joy-Con might be overkill to some. To the rest of us, it is an extra tool in SEGA’s efforts to re-hone in on Sonic’s core, and bring his fans back to happier times.

Splatoon2

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Summer 2017		 Splatoon 2
Disappointment over the fact this wasn’t named Spla2oon aside, Splatoon 2 is doing everything you could hope for from any and every sequel. Aside from supporting both Joy-Con and Pro Controller play, and offering up local 8-player multiplayer if you have enough Switches, Splatoon 2 is coming at us bigger and better in every way imaginable. Just like in real life, two years time has passed in the world of Splatoon, and with it Squid-kid style has changed—along with their weaponry. New devices like the twin pistols allow for more accurate painting, and new modes, maps, and more are promised to bring the experience as a whole to a new level. I played a pair of classic turf war matches during our brief time with the game, and the core of bright colors and easy to pick-up gameplay remain centered on the Wii U’s biggest surprise franchise. We can’t wait to paint the town red (and blue, and green, and yellow, and pink) all over again this summer.

SuperBombermanR

Developer: HexaDrive
Publisher: Konami
Release Date: March 3, 2017		 Super Bomberman R
During the ending montage of Thursday night’s press conference where Nintendo really showed off the Switch for the first time, there were two things that I noticed. First was the confirmation of NBA 2K18, coupled with the earlier announcement of FIFA showing a clear sign of Nintendo finally supporting sports games again. But completely unrelated, and even more exciting for most of us, was the brief image of a familiar explosives expert who we hadn’t really seen in quite some time. The original Bomberman back in the day was one of those perfect little arcade-inspired adventures that flourished on the original NES. Over the years, the lore of Bomberman and his enemies was expanded upon, and he’s become a cult-classic for those of us who can’t get enough of his brand of demolition and destruction. Thus, Super Bomberman R was an extremely pleasant surprise that fantastically captures the essence of what makes Bomberman great, while giving us tough puzzles, persistent enemies, and just enough friendly fire to keep us on our toes when playing couch co-op. Another game that utilizes a single Joy-Con controller held sideways, Super Bomberman R is a great throwback for fleshing out the Switch’s launch-day lineup.

USF2

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: TBD 2017		 Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers
Another retro surprise, Capcom is giving fans what could end up being the final revision of Street Fighter II in the game’s over 25-year lifespan. Featuring two new (to the game) characters in Evil Ryu and Violent Ken, the roster of that fighting game classic is finally considered complete now alongside original additions like Cammy and T. Hawk. The game plays exactly the same, as you would expect if you caught the title the first time around, and features Pro Controller support, unsurprisingly. Besides the two new characters (that channel aspects of Akuma in different ways), the game can be played in two different visual modes. The first mimics the 16-bit sprites of the SNES days, while the other uses the new art UDON provided for the game’s HD Remix release, giving every character a gorgeous coat of anime-style paint that just leaps off the screen. As great as the game looks, the real question now is if it could join the professional fighting game circuit—and how long before we see Ultra Street Fighter II alongside Street Fighter V at tournaments like EVO.
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