Tag Archive: nintendo


EGM Review: The Wonderful 101

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September 23, 2013

It’s a Not-So-Wonderful Life

As Nintendo tried to get everyone hyped up for the release of the Wii U, few titles intrigued and excited players more than The Wonderful 101, long known only as “Project P-100.” Much like several other titles that were supposed to arrive during the system’s launch window, however, The Wonderful 101 experienced countless delays and technical issues during the final stages of development. As it slipped further and further away from its original release-date projections, its relevancy in the Wii U’s lineup became more and more diminished.

Now, instead of a title that helps champion the Wii U’s cause from the start, The Wonderful 101 finds itself as a lone new IP drowning among more established Nintendo franchises slated for the console in the second half of 2013. After finally getting my hands on it, though, I found that while it doesn’t totally overcome its well-documented development difficulties, it doesn’t get swept permanently beneath the waves, either.

As the game begins, Earth has come under attack for the third time from a group of alien terrorists known as the Geathjerk. The invaders are powerful, but the Earth’s premier defense team, the Wonderful 100, have always quelled the threat before. This time, however, they can’t make a dent in the Geathjerk’s offensive onslaught individually, so they must come together and unite into fantastic objects and weapons to help subdue the otherworldly threat and send these space invaders back from whence they came.

On the surface, The Wonderful 101 is exactly what the Wii U needs. Its vibrant art style is a throwback to the work director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba did together on Viewtiful Joe, and it stands out from the realistic first-person shooters and action-adventures continually flooding the market. The humor and story falls directly in line with what you’d expect from Platinum Games, and the voice acting only helps carry this across, with some solid performances from veterans like Tara Strong as Wonder-Pink and Roger Craig Smith as Wonder-Blue. What’s more, the core concept of 100 (relatively) normal people coming together to do extraordinary things and become heroes is a message that gamers of all ages can get behind.

But ideas and concepts can only get you so far. At the end of the day, it all comes down to execution—and this is where The Wonderful 101 falters. As aesthetically pleasing as the game may be, its controls—which force players to use the Wii U GamePad for several features—are a far tougher opponent than any of the alien Geathjerk.

The Wonderful 101 is really meant to be played with two screens, but it’s technically capable of Off-TV Play. Unfortunately, because of the horrendous camera—which is usually either too close or too far out to be effective—you can hardly see anything on the tiny screen to actually advance. During the handful of indoor sequences when the game abruptly shifts to a first-person perspective, you might as well be blind. GamePad-only play also disables the drawing capabilities of the controller, so you then have to trace all the symbols that have your Wonderful Ones unite by using the right analog stick and an invisible cursor, which is far too sensitive to be used in any capacity in this game. Basically, you’d have to be a glutton for punishment to even attempt Off-TV Play here.

When you do play on your TV, it’s quite the opposite. You can use the GamePad to draw the necessary shapes to make different offensive forms like massive fists, swords, guns, whips, or hammers, or you can use it to change the environment around you or temporarily recruit ordinary citizens by drawing a circle. While the right-analog-stick method is too sensitive during Off-TV Play, drawing on the tablet isn’t sensitive enough—it’ll either give you the wrong weapon or completely ignore what you’ve drawn altogether.

The worst part? The pacing during the action sequences is all out of whack. Having to draw on the GamePad isn’t nearly as quick as pressing a button, yet many of the combat situations require those split-second reflexes. For much of the game, especially early on, you’ll be dealing with a horrendous learning curve. Battles will drag on and on, and levels will become akin to marathons with very little payoff—you’ll get pummeled by the Geathjerk when trying to draw lines while running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

At times, though, these marathon battles are worthwhile—and that comes when you finally get to the chapter boss. These behemoths are truly terrifying: They fill sports stadiums, consume skyscrapers, or plug up volcanoes, and they definitely put the weapon forms you acquire to the test. But unlike the missions that lead up to these encounters, you actually have a great sense of accomplishment when you topple one of these kaiju-like beasts.

And that’s the essential problem with The Wonderful 101—it doesn’t live up to its full potential, and a large part of that comes with being on the Wii U. A regular controller and simpler method of switching forms would’ve been far more effective than shoehorning features into the GamePad, and a shorter buildup to the boss battles would’ve been preferred. Players with the patience to work through the bugs and pacing problems should leave at least somewhat satisfied, but The Wonderful 101 could’ve been a true gem if Platinum had more time to polish the experience and figure out how to properly work with the Wii U hardware.

Developer: Platinum Games • Publisher: Nintendo • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 09.15.2013
7.0

A horrendous learning curve, poor story flow, and shoddy controls take away from what could have been a superstar new IP for Nintendo. Instead, only players who can look past the bugs and pacing problems will be satisfied in the end.
The Good Humor and style befitting the pedigree Platinum Games.
The Bad The touchpad drawing gimmick gets in the way of the flow of gameplay.
The Ugly Wonder-Green’s stalkerish obsession with Wonder-Pink.
The Wonderful 101 is a Wii U exclusive.
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EGM Review: Pokémon Rumble U

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September 5, 2013

Don’t catch this one

We’ve always had to take Pokémon spin-offs with a grain of salt. Sure, there have been some interesting ideas like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Pokémon Snap that have been able to pique our curiosity for a little while along the way, and natural evolutions to the series like Pokémon Stadium, but most don’t have the staying power for sequels or simply fail outright. It’s just hard to capture the core of what makes the main series of Pokémon games great and put it into a different format that still appeals to consumers. Yet, Nintendo still keeps on trying to milk its precious cash cow in different ways.

The latest attempt at capitalizing on their beloved Poké-brand is Pokémon Rumble U, the third in the Rumble spin-off franchise and the first Pokémon game of any kind on the Wii U. In the Rumble series, players play as wind-up toys designed to look like Pokémon. You battle your way through a series of arenas, mashing a single button for a signature move that corresponds to the Pokémon. (You get two moves if they happen to be a dual-type.) As you fight your toys against other toys, you can add those you defeat to your collection, trying in essence to signify the capturing of a Pokémon from the main series.

The big difference between this iteration and previous titles in the Rumble franchise is that it takes advantage of the Wii U’s built-in NFC technology. This allows you to buy special figures (17 in all) that can help their corresponding Pokémon in the game, giving the a sense of leveling up for the first time in the series. You don’t need these figures to beat the game, mind you, but Pokémon fans and collectors alike will probably want to try to pick up a couple.

Of course, this has the beginnings of a slippery slope for Nintendo and consumers. First, there are all 649 currently available Pokémon in the game, and only 17 figures, leaving the door open for more figures to be added. The figures are also concealed, so whatever you buy is given to you randomly. It comes across as a lottery system really that takes advantage of Poké-fanatics’ willingness to throw money at anything with a Pokémon label on it.

Moral ambiguity aside, the worst part is that Pokémon Rumble U really isn’t a very good game. It’s by no means broken, and the ability to have four people play at once, trying to collect as many coins in battle as possible like some deranged Mario Party mini-game, makes it something that could offer younger children a distraction for an hour or two. But the strategy, the gameplay, the characters, and, most importantly, the bond you may develop towards your most familiar Pokémon are completely absent from this game.

From the very first battle, you’re encouraged to leave behind the Pokémon you start with for the ones you capture, who are typically stronger than your previous crew. Even then, when you actually get into one of these arenas, most of the time all you’re doing is mashing a single button. The gameplay is beyond mindless and gets tired fast no matter how many Pokémon figurines you want to collect.

When all is said and done, Pokémon Rumble U comes off as nothing but Nintendo trying to build up some hype for the highly anticipated Pokémon X/Y and line their pockets with some cheap action figure sales in the process. The game works as a proof-of-concept for the NFC technology (even if no one else is using it right now), but beyond that, this is the kind of dull downloadable game you hope will get lost in the ether sooner rather than later.

Developer: Ambrella • Publisher: Nintendo • ESRB: E – Everyone • Release Date: 08.29.13
5.0
Serving as little more than a proof of concept for the Wii U controller’s NFC technology, Pokémon Rumble U is a boring, pointless game that should just be chalked up as another failed Pokémon spinoff.
The Good A Mario Party–style competition system that could make the game fun for multiple players.
The Bad The lack of any of the core gameplay mechanics that make a Pokémon game great.
The Ugly The parents who will surely be duped into buying the companion NFC figures.
Pokémon Rumble U is a Wii U exclusive. 
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EGM Developer Chat: Pikmin Creator Shigeru Miyamoto

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Before everyone gets all in a huff, we know Shigeru Miyamoto is the man behind Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Donkey Kong, and most every other beloved Nintendo franchise. But since this is a Pikmin-centric interview, we simply referred to him as “Pikmin Creator.” And yes, we were able to get a few minutes with this videogame legend and chat about the upcoming Pikmin 3.

EGM: So, it’s never easy to launch a game—any game—but Pikmin 3 was originally supposed to be a launch window title and got pushed back. What went into that decision to push it back, and what were you able to accomplish with the extra time?

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, I guess one simple explanation for what happened was, in helping prepare the launch titles, I was a little bit too busy working on NintendoLand and the other games. The other reason is that we had a bit of an extravagant goal with Pikmin 3. We want this to be a game for people who haven’t really played games before. We want this to be a game that, from a controls and gameplay perspective, they can play. Even if they sort of take their time and learn the game rules, they could play through the game and experience it and enjoy it. But at the same time, we want it to be a game that really avid and experienced gamers can very quickly get and jump right into the depth of the gameplay and really experience it through the replayability and the high scores and the challenge that it offers.

This is obviously a very complicated task—to create a game that bridges both of those audiences.  So if we had put some more effort into it, it’s possible that we could’ve released Pikmin 3 earlier and had it ready in February or March, but as we got close to that time frame—and looking at the overall balance between these two desires—we felt that we really wanted to take the time to polish them both up just the right way so that everyone who plays the game is going to be totally satisfied with it.

EGM: You mentioned that you were helping work on the Wii U’s other launch titles, and you’re known as the father of so many beloved Nintendo franchises. How do you balance your time between so many given projects?

SM: I—obviously—am getting up there in age, and getting to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if something happened and I wasn’t with the company anymore. Because of this, we’ve been preparing for the day when I might not be there, and part of that process has really been bringing up the younger developers and producers and getting them to a point where they can run many of these series on their own.  So we have someone in charge of the new Super Mario Bros. series, someone else on the Zelda series.  They’re working really hard on developing those games on their own, and I’ll only look at them from time to time. What this allows me to do is really spend my time on the projects that I really want to devote my time to.

EGM: What new features have the Wii U and its controller allowed you to bring to Pikmin 3?

SM: Well, we have three different explorers now.  So this means you can have three different teams working independently, doing different things at the same time.  Usually what you would have to do is, if you had one or two explorers, you would be sending little Pikmin to a task and you would have to run around and find out where they were in terms of their progress on completing that task.  Now, with the new map and site controls that you can access via the Wii U GamePad, you can quickly jump from one place to another and you can see on the map how done they are with their tasks and if I can sign them a new task. So it really helps you to efficiently manage your resources as you build your strategies to play the game.

Beyond that, we also have the pointing technology, which we first utilized on the Wii version that we re-released with the new play controls. With Pikmin 3, we are taking more advantage of the Wii MotionPlus functionality that’s in the Wii Remote. It’s really helpful when aiming precisely at specific areas of the enemies. So, for example, in the previous games, you would simply charge at your enemies with all your Pikmin and they would try to destroy the enemies to defeat them.  With Pikmin 3, what you can do is you can aim at specific parts of the enemy.  So you might attack a Bulborb specifically on the eye, which prevents it from seeing, and so it can’t attack at the Pikmin as long as the Pikmin are attacking it’s eyes. That gives you a window to then attack from another direction on it to defeat that enemy.  So with the use of Wii MotionPlus combined with the pointer technology, it makes it much easier to be a lot more strategic both in terms of how you’re issuing commands to the Pikmin but also in terms of how you’re attacking certain enemies.

EGM: Was there ever a thought of doing some kind of Pikmin tie-in for the 3DS?

SM: Well, certainly there are a lot of options, and my dreams have a lot of potential possibilities for Pikmin, but we really wanted to focus on sort of creating the ultimate version of the strategic-action gameplay of Pikmin, and we were able to do that with Wii U. We thought it was just the right, perfect hardware for Pikmin 3, so that was our focus this time. But I think that in the future we’ll certainly have opportunities to look at ways that we can bridge Pikmin across different consoles or other ideas that may come up.

EGM: The Nintendo faithful in general are very hardcore. How is Pikmin reaching out and helping cultivate that community this time around?

SM: Well, there are a couple of ways that we kind of encourage people to connect with each other with regard to the game. One is that Pikmin is certainly a game in which strategic moves and advice and things are going to be a lot more plentiful and a lot more useful to the gameplay than even something like a Mario Kart with its shortcuts. With Pikmin, there will be plenty of opportunity for people to go into Miiverse and really help give each other advice on ways to better approach their levels and how they can work their way through them, or ways to get higher scores and things like that, because the strategic depth is so deep in this game.

But the other is also a Miiverse functionality that does take advantage of the GamePad. This is something where, with a GamePad, you’re able to go into a first-person view in the game and snap photos.  Essentially, you can get down to a viewpoint that’s similar to the Pikmin’s. With this, what you can do is take pictures and try to get people to guess where in the game you found this, or perhaps find very funny pictures of things that people didn’t anticipate would happen.  Then they can exchange those pictures over Miiverse, which I think is going to help build that communication and help give fans a way to really engage with Pikmin 3.

Pikmin 3 launches exclusively on Wii U August 4 in North America, and is currently available at retailers and the Nintendo eShop in Japan, Europe, and Australia.

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New Pokémon Gameplay Trailer Reveals Several New Species, New Villains

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July 23, 2013

A new trailer for Pokémon X & Y highlights several new species of Pokémon, shows cover Pokémon Xerneas and Yveltal in action, and introduces key characters we’ll meet on our journey through the Kelos region.

Two Pokémon in particular caught my eye: the new Dark- and Fighting-type Pokémon, Pangoro—who looks like an angry panda—and the new Fairy-type Pokémon, Swirlix, which looks like cotton candy. In the trailer (embedded below), Swirlix can be seen using a move called Draining Kiss, a new move that’s basically the Fairy equivalent of Absorb for Grass types.

Meanwhile, Xerneas, officially revealed as a Fairy-type, uses a new move exclusive to its arsenal: Geomancy, which generates rainbow-colored light from the ground to damage enemies.

Not to be outdone, Yveltal uses its own exclusive move, Oblivion Wing, which sees the Dark- and Flying-type Pokémon take to the sky to blast a heat ray at its opponents. Kinda reminds me of Superman.

Some of the key human characters players will meet were also revealed, including Professor Augustine Sycamore—the man who will likely give us our first Pokémon—and Team Flare, the red-obsessed bad guys who surely wish to steal Pokémon for their own nefarious schemes.

Players will have the chance to come face to face with these new characters when Pokémon X & Y becomes available worldwide on October 12, 2013, for the Nintendo 3DS.

Check the full trailer out for yourselves:

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EGM Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

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June 24, 2013

For the banana horde!

I grew up in the gaming era where, when you mentioned the name “Donkey Kong,” most folks didn’t think of rolling barrels down girders or Mario trying to save a damsel in a cage. No, we thought of Donkey Kong rocking out with his buddy Diddy, lounging around in the jungle, protecting his precious bananas from a bunch of fruit-deprived reptiles. While some around the office still swear by the arcade original, Donkey Kong Country is how many of us more fondly think of the big ape.

After Donkey Kong Country’s initial yearly success on the SNES (yes, the first three games came out in back-to-back-to-back years), the series had difficulty adjusting to the N64. And when DK finally made the jump in 1999, it was a mistake that still haunts many of us—particularly that awful “DK Rap.” (Which is, also, oddly beloved by certain individuals in the EGM offices.) Because of this shame, Nintendo relegated DK to the shadows for over a decade.

Thankfully, Nintendo franchise-saviors Retro stepped in to save the day. After their success with Metroid Prime, they were approached by Shigeru Miyamoto himself and asked to bring back DK. Retro obliged, dropping the hip-hop and returning the super-strong simian back to his platforming roots with Donkey Kong Country Returns, which released in 2010. Even Diddy came back—with a bit of a rocket-pack upgrade—along with the rest of the core gang: Cranky Kong, Rambi the Rhino, and Squawks the Parrot. Retro had done it again.

But now the bad news: Clearly, Nintendo feels that since Donkey Country Returns was such a huge success on the Wii, they can just cash in again by slapping some 3D on Retro’s gorgeous visuals and making the game portable.

It’s at this point of the review where, as EGM’s resident curmudgeon, I’ll try to channel my inner Cranky Kong. Just call me Cranky Carsillo. Sure, the core of the original remains intact, and, yes, this could possibly reach a new audience who didn’t play the original Wii version, but there’s absolutely no need for this game. Their big selling point this go-round? An Easy mode.

Back in my day, gamers didn’t need an Easy mode in our platformers—we simply learned the levels and got better. If you didn’t, you sucked and never got your 15-second ending and credit roll and lived with it, in shame. I’m sick and tired of Nintendo not only porting games over to their portable platform in a desperate attempt to produce titles, but then catering to people because the experiences are “too hard,” coddling a generation of soft gamers.

Sure, Donkey Kong Returns 3D features a handful of new stages, but the game doesn’t offer enough new content for those who played Retro’s offering in 2010 to come back to DK’s isle a second time—especially if you found the plethora of collectibles once already.

Essentially, developer Monster Games just slapped on a coat of 3D paint in order to hide the lack of new features. Donkey Kong Country Returns was a 2.5D platformer; this 3D look does very little for the overall visual experience because of the tricks of the eye Retro already tried the first time around. And don’t forget: We were lucky to get that extra half-dimension when I was a kid, and we were grateful for it! We would’ve walked barefoot in the snow for miles, uphill, for a full 3D experience back then.

OK, time to take off my cranky pants. At the end of the day, I’ll admit the great gameplay that made the first game such a hit returns here. It’s a throwback of a platformer if you play it the way it’s meant to be played—and if, for some reason, you missed Retro’s 2010 offering, this is a nice way to catch up. But if you played the original version a couple of years ago, there’s very little here to make it worth picking up again.

Developer: Monster Games • Publisher: Nintendo • ESRB: E – Everyone • Release Date: 05.24.13
7.0

The meager number of additions here—including the useless 3D gimmick—aren’t enough to make this worth picking up if you played Donkey Kong Country Returns the first time around on the Wii in 2010. If it’s your first time, though, and you’re still curious about checking out Donkey Kong’s latest adventure, this is a solid port.
The Good The platforming excellence from the 2010 release remains intact.
The Bad The 3D does little to enhance the experience.
The Ugly Simpler game modes remind me how easy kids have it these days.
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is a Nintendo 3DS exclusive. 
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EGM Review: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

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April 7, 2013

Fly Luigi to the Moon

When the GameCube launched in 2001 without an official Mario game, the Nintendo faithful were stunned. Instead, they got a title starring Mario’s brother, Luigi, and immediately many gamers got that sinking feeling that the system was getting off on the wrong foot. But those who actually gave the game a chance found a charming title that reminded us why Luigi deserves the spotlight—maybe not as often as his big bro, but at least once in a while.

The next logical conclusion, then, was that Nintendo wouldn’t launch a system with this game unless they wanted to turn it into a new series. So, we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Several systems, including handhelds, came and went. And after all this waiting, Luigi’s Mansion had been relegated to nothing more than a nice one-hit wonder.

As is often the case with Nintendo, however, just when you think you’ve figured them out, they surprise you. Nearly 12 years post-launch of the original, Nintendo’s decided to give us Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS, a true sequel to that GameCube launch title.

The action unfolds with Professor E. Gadd continuing his paranormal research in a land called Evershade Valley. Here, the ghosts are docile and friendly, like Casper or Slimer. But when the mystical Dark Moon, which hovers over the valley, is shattered into six pieces by Luigi’s old nemesis, King Boo, the ghosts go bonkers. E. Gadd barely escapes to a special safe house he’d constructed in case of such an emergency, and he knows there’s only one call to make.

Being the one man with any sort of ghost-busting expertise in the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi knows he has to help E. Gadd restore peace to the valley—even if he’s absolutely terrified to do so. Armed with an upgraded Poltergust and flashlight, Luigi must travel to five different locations across the valley in the hopes of collecting the remaining pieces of the Dark Moon (one conveniently fell in E. Gadd’s lap after it broke apart) and helping the ghosts there revert to their more docile state.

The first thing you’ll notice is how pretty Dark Moon looks on the 3DS—and how well it takes advantage of the system’s one-of-a-kind aspects. The gloom and doom of a haunted valley doesn’t usually afford the most vibrant color scheme, but this just makes the bright green of Luigi’s clothes and the rainbow array of colors that represents your ghastly foes pop even more on the tiny screen. Also, the lighting effects are superb; entire rooms flash when lightning strikes, and blowing out candles with the Poltergust can completely change the ambiance of any given area. Dark Moon also takes full advantage of the system’s 3D capabilities by having several puzzles play off the depth perception created by the top screen. As for the bottom screen, a Zelda-like map and list of objectives are displayed to help keep Luigi on point through this 10 to 15-hour adventure.

Dark Moon’s level design is also head and shoulders above its predecessor. With five different haunted houses, each with their own theme, the bevy of different puzzles you’ll face will keep you on your toes and entertained through the two dozen stages. You also get to see the range of this new Poltergust and Luigi’s new flashlight, as some simple techniques learned early on get inventive uses later as the stages become more complex.

The game does supply a few frustrations, however; the most notable of these is the aiming system. Dark Moon is just another entry on the ever-growing list of 3DS titles that could benefit from the use of a second analog stick, as you can’t easily turn Luigi in one direction while moving in another. And it grows more frustrating, as you face tougher and tougher ghosts—and the pull against them is what allows you to suck them into the Poltergust.

In light of the fact that the 3DS only has one analog stick—and that Nintendo decided not to offer support for the Circle Pad Pro—you’re left to make use of the system’s gyroscope, but I don’t imagine anyone playing this will want to spin around wildly with their handheld in an attempt to complete the game. I can just imagine someone sitting on a plane, flailing around and smacking their neighbors in the face. When they ask why you did that, you can just reply that you were desperately trying to catch imaginary ghosts. I’m sure that’ll go over well with the FAA.

The story’s also a bit of a drawback, because just like his brother Mario’s adventures, Luigi’s tale here hits almost all the same beats as the first Luigi’s Mansion. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the game still has a lot of charm and remains quite humorous as scaredy-cat Luigi progresses further and further. I just expected a little more. Then again, after 12 years, I’m sure not everyone remembers the original Luigi’s Mansion, so this could also serve as an entry point for rookies.

The single-player isn’t the only thing that really caught my eye; one of the more pleasant surprises here is the multiplayer. This option offers four different modes that can feature up to four friends in the ScareScraper, a haunted building where the game’s host can determine where the team of ghost-busting, multicolored Luigis can start at before racing to collect as many pesky poltergeists as possible. I wonder if part of my enjoyment was that it wasn’t just a rip-off of the Luigi’s Mansion minigame from Nintendo Land and instead its own unique feature, though. Nonetheless, if you can’t get enough of the single-player action and want more of a challenge, this is a solid place to look.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon’s charm, great looks, and interesting puzzles overshadow its few flaws to provide a quality experience that fans of the original and newcomers to the series alike should enjoy in earnest.

Developer: Next Level Games • Publisher: Nintendo • ESRB: E – Everyone • Release Date: 03.24.13
8.5
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon maintains much of the charm of the original and benefits from a superior coat of paint and level design. But one limitation the 3DS has—its lack of a second joystick—can prove irksome, especially as you move into the latter stages.
The Good A large variety of levels and puzzles keep the experience fresh.
The Bad The aiming system is in desperate need of a second joystick.
The Ugly Nearly 12 years between titles and virtually the same story.
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is a Nintendo 3DS exclusive.
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EGM Game Over Podcast 015: Nintendentious

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November 20, 2012

EGM Game Over Podcast 015: Nintendentious

The EGM crew brings you the Game Over Podcast, our end-of-the-week conversation where we discuss some of the biggest recent events in gaming.

[Hosts] Brandon Justice, Andrew Fitch, Ray Carsillo, Josh Harmon, and Eric L. Patterson
[Date] November 16th, 2012

[News] The Wii U’s about to launch, THQ is in trouble, Silicon Knights’ games sentence to death, Call of Duty: Black Ops II hits $500 million on its first day, and Xbox Live turns 10.

[EGM Reviews] Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Wonderbook

Want to send feedback to the show? Drop us a line on Twitter: @EGMLogin

[Subscribe via iTunes] http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/egm-radio/id538629924
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EGM Review: New Super Mario Bros. U

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Trouble with Koopalings

There’s been a lot of talk lately in the game industry about sequels and what we expect from them. How much they need to change or raise the bar to keep people coming back for more. How they need to break the mold so it doesn’t seem like each game is just cut from the same cloth over and over again. One franchise, however, never felt it needed to do that. It just kept churning out sequel after sequel and rarely changed a thing. A few new powers here, a couple new worlds there, but since the very beginning, everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario, has really never changed. And somehow, he’s still as fun as ever.

To put it simply, as Mario approaches his third decade of relevance, his games continue to define platforming perfection, and New Super Mario Bros. U is the new pinnacle of his long and storied run.

Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach for the 143,658,903,279th time, and it is up to Mario to once again stomp on the seven Koopalings, Bowser Jr., Kamek, and Bowser himself across eight themed worlds in order to get her back and save the day. Moreso than any previous Mario game, New Super Mario Bros. U is the perfect love letter to the era I consider the franchise’s heyday—Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

Wily old Mario veterans will immediately recognize the overworld map, which has shades of Super Mario World written all over it. Then there’s the item system, where you have a stockpile that you can reach into and arm Mario with before each stage, was a Super Mario Bros. 3 invention. It’s a departure from the more recent outings, where you could only have one item in storage but were able to use it mid-stage—presumably because that approach made the past few games a little too easy. Mario wants you to hone those jumping skills again!

And it’s not just the item system that will make you want to brush up on your platforming skills, as every Mario baddie worth his salt returns to get in our mustachioed plumber’s way and make things even more perilous. The level designs are also a bit more abstract this time around, so if you think you’re going to just stockpile dozens upon dozens of lives like in the past few games, you might want to think again.

One returning element that helps counteract all these changes, however, is the our good friend Yoshi. You’re still unable to bring him with you from one stage to the next, but he’s a huge help on the levels you can use him, as they seem specifically designed for Yoshi’s unique attributes, including his new power where if eats enough fruit, he will actually…uhhhh…produce power-ups.

We also see the return of Baby Yoshis in blue, magenta, and yellow varieties, each of which provides a special ability for Mario as he carries them through a level. Yellow lights up dark caverns, Blue shoots bubbles that trap enemies and turn them into coins, and  Magenta can inflate like a balloon and carry Mario for short distances. Although they never grow into full-sized Yoshis, these babies can also eat anything that gets in your way, making it worthwhile to lug them through as many stages as possible.

Aside from a lot of features from the past returning, there are also a few new additions that might make you “oooh” and “aaah.” The most obvious is the much ballyhooed (and somewhat belated) transition to full HD graphics. Simply put, no Mario game has ever looked this good. Some of the world backgrounds are so vibrant that they look as though they’ve been painted onto your TV. They’re so gorgeous, you almost want to take a pictures and put them all in some sort of incredibly dorky museum.

We also get a new power-up in the form of the Flying Squirrel Acorn, which joins old favorites like the Fire and Ice Flowers, Invincibility Stars, and the Super and Mini Mushrooms. It certainly isn’t my favorite power-up of all-time, since you can’t really fly with it like you could the Tanooki Suit or Raccoon Leaf. Instead, you just glide gently across the stage, which isn’t nearly as useful. Still, the Acorn did help inspire a new enemy to add to Bowser’s hordes, and there’s also a much more useful P-Acorn variant (like the P-Wing from Mario 3), where Mario can infinitely glide if you perform a spin jump at the right time. I  also would’ve loved to have seen the Penguin and Frog Suits return, but with a limited item storage system, I can see why the lineup has been cut back some.

There aren’t just changes to the single player game, though, as New Super Mario Bros. U also features three multiplayer modes. Yes, you and four friends (one person can now use the Wii-U remote’s touch screen to place helpful Boost Blocks to help their friends cross especially hard gaps) can still move your way through the single player stages together and cause craziness as you “accidentally” push each other into bottomless pits.

Specific to multiplayer though is a revamped Coin Battle mode, where you and your friends compete to gather the most coins as you work your way through a level. There’s also a coin editor system, so you can design your own stages for the mode. Another multiplayer mode is Challenge Mode that offers unique obstacles for you and your friends to overcome, like seeing who can earn the most lives or get the fastest time in one run. Rounding out the multiplayer is Boost Rush, where you try to traverse scrolling stages that scroll faster and faster as you progress.

All things considered, even though Mario hasn’t really changed that much after all these years, he finds a way to keep himself just fresh enough while still maintaining the high gameplay standard that keeps us all coming back for more again and again. New Super Mario Bros. U doesn’t disappoint and is a must have launch title for anyone picking up the Wii U.

SUMMARY: A love-letter to the days of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U’s multiplayer modes, insane platforming, and beautiful HD graphics offer more than enough to provide hours of fun for gamers of all stripes.

  • THE GOOD: Same classic formula with a fresh coat of paint and puzzles.
  • THE BAD: Tanooki Suit > Raccoon Leaf > Flying Squirrel Acorn.
  • THE UGLY: The unbearable pain Yoshi must feel when he craps Fire Flowers.

SCORE: 9.0

New Super Mario Bros. U is a Wii U exclusive. 

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EGM Review: Pokémon Black/White 2

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
October 20, 2012

We won’t get caught again

When Pokémon Red/Blue hit North American shores 14 years ago, I don’t think anyone could’ve imagined the phenomenon it would become and continues to be to this day, as the franchise keeps churning out hit games (that, in turn, also lead to truckloads of other merchandise and media). In all that time, though, Pokémon‘s never seen a true sequel. Most of the time, we simply see the same game rehashed over and over again but with new opponents, new areas, or the most popular choice of new Pokémon, which has bloated the Pokédex to more than four times the size of that seen in Red/Blue. Finally, though, we get a direct sequel, and it’s a follow-up to one of the more beloved Pokémon games in recent history in Pokémon Black/White 2.

The game starts like every other Pokémon outing: You choose between a male or female trainer and then set off into the world to become the greatest trainer ever by collecting eight gym badges—and hopefully conclude your adventure by challenging the Elite Four and the Champion to become Champion yourself. Along the way, you’ll also try to bring justice to Pokémon and people in need and promote positive relations between Pokémon and humans by completing sidequests. Much of this revolves around crushing the resurgent Team Plasma, who wish to steal all the Pokémon for their own nefarious purposes.

But as you start to get deeper and deeper into the game, you’ll get a feeling of déjà vu; many of the areas and trainers you’ll meet are exactly the same from the first game—and this is Pokémon Black/White 2’s major flaw. Minor aesthetic changes can’t hide the fact that this game is a soulless carbon copy of its predecessor unlike any other Pokémon release before it.

Now, I understand that Pokémon has used this formula for years, but when you make a sequel and set a game in the exact same universe as the previous title, the story needs a little extra “oomph,” and players need to see more differences from the original game. The first Pokémon Black/White was so adored because it mixed things up for the first time in a long time while still sticking to the core gameplay values. These same values remain in Pokémon Black/White 2, but the story here makes it feel like you’re playing the exact same game most of the time but with a couple of meaningless new side areas like Pokéstar Studios.

The gameplay does at least shine through here, though—it’s still as tight as ever, and there are still few greater feelings in RPGs than capturing a wild Pokémon (especially a legendary one) or overcoming a difficult foe by knowing what types work well against your opponent and actually outplaying them. And some minor gameplay additions do augment the action in positive ways—like the new Challenge and Assist modes that allow you to raise or lower the level of your foes on a second playthrough. Still, all this doesn’t hide the fact that the game just feels like a sad attempt to doll up an experience that seems more like Pokémon Black/White 1.5 instead of Pokémon Black/White 2.

In the end, Pokemon Black/White 2 handles just as tightly as any other game in the franchise’s history, and it’s still fun to play; it would also serve as a great jumping-on point for any newcomers. But for veteran Pokémon players—or even fans of the first Pokémon Black/White—you’ll most likely end up disappointed.

SUMMARY: The story takes a step backward, and the new game modes aren’t that impressive. Mostly, it’s just the same ol’ Jigglypuff song and dance from Pokemon Black/White 2.

  • THE GOOD: A few interesting new locations and game modes.
  • THE BAD: The story takes a step backward and does little to differentiate itself from the previous game.
  • THE UGLY: The fact that the Pokédex is at almost 650 Pokemon now…

SCORE 6.5

Pokemon Black/White 2 are Nintendo DS exclusives. Primary version played for review was Pokemon White 2.

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EGM Review: Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — 1 Comment
September 11, 2012

The pink puffball still packs a punch

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since I first put Kirby’s Dream Land into my Game Boy and bounced the pink puffball—though he appeared more white on the limited color palette of the handheld—around Green Greens. With almost two dozen more starring roles across all of Nintendo’s platforms since then—and, of course, a couple of smaller roles in games like Super Smash Bros.—few other gaming icons are as deserving of their own celebratory collector’s edition.

Kirby’s Dream Collection compiles six of Kirby’s earliest and most iconic titles in Kirby’s Dream Land (Game Boy), Kirby’s Adventure (NES), Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy), Kirby Super Star (SNES), Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (SNES), and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64) in their completely original versions. The package also comes with a detailed art book highlighting Kirby’s designs over the past two decades; a 45-track, 60-minute-long music CD with original and remastered tracks from all of Kirby’s adventures, and three episodes of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, the Saturday-morning cartoon Kirby starred in for 100 episodes.

Now, the skeptic would say that Nintendo simply just slapped some ROMs onto a disc in order to capitalize on Kirby’s anniversary, and they wouldn’t be completely wrong. Nintendo fanboys would say that Nintendo’s simply trying to keep the experiences authentic and preserve the classic gameplay. And they wouldn’t be wrong, either. But I know that, personally I would’ve loved some updated graphics or even some color in the Game Boy entries—and for the games to completely fit my 42-inch TV screen.

The lack of new polish on these older titles also hurts the collection’s appeal to younger gamers who may be less familiar with Kirby and want to learn about this classic gaming protagonist. Don’t worry—this won’t turn into a “back in my day!” review—but I’m sure younger gamers’ heads will explode at the concept of playing a game that looked like the original Kirby’s Dream Land compared to the kind of graphical output they may be used to with modern systems.

Now, just because the aesthetics of these classic games don’t enter the modern era in any way doesn’t mean the platforming and puzzle action don’t translate. The NES and Game Boy games feel just as tight as they did two decades ago, and they translate perfectly to the Wiimote. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the later games, especially Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, actually felt better than I remembered with the simple new Wiimote layout. Though, maybe it’s just that the Wiimote feels better in my hands than the N64 controller did.

Aside from the six original games, Kirby’s Dream Collection also features an interactive timeline showing key dates in Kirby history as well as a bevy of new challenge levels inspired by his most recent Wii adventure, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land. These unique levels have an old-school arcade feel as you specialize in one of Kirby’s powers, whether it’s Beam, Sword, Spear—or one of the many others featured in that game—and attempt to clear the level and set a high score while also beating the time limit. As you set certain scores in each level, you’ll then unlock the right to attempt other, more-difficult-to-wield abilities.

If you’re a big Kirby fan and grew up with him like I did, this is a nice total package. The games don’t completely stand the test of time, but this offers older gamers a nice chance to reminisce and see how far we’ve come. Plus, considering the $39.99 price tag and all the extra features the package comes with, Kirby’s Dream Collection reminds us that’s it OK to think pink every now and again.

SUMMARY: Not all of the games in this classic collection stand the full test of time, but for die-hard Kirby fans, the entire package is more than worth the price tag.

  • THE GOOD: Six games, an hour of music, an art book, and three cartoons makes this a sweet package.
  • THE BAD: No graphical enhancement whatsoever—really just a bunch of ROMs.
  • THE UGLY: You ever stop to think about what Kirby’s enemies must go through when they get eaten?

SCORE: 8.0

Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition is a Wii exclusive.

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