Author: Austin
A couple of months ago I wrote an article called “What has happened to 2D Mario games? (And how to “fix” them!)”, calling on Nintendo to return the sidescrolling plumber to his magical roots with one simple change; not by copying that which made older titles great, but simply by increasing the difficulty, thereby forcing you to spend more time with the game and form stronger memories of individual levels. Sounds pretty simple, right?
Well, despite my high hopes for the game, it appeared as though New Super Mario Bros. U was still the same old New Super Mario Bros. (the irony of which is not lost). Which isn’t to say it’s bad– after all, Nintendo always nails the technicalities of platforming to perfection– but simply that it’s still not as memorable as entries like World and 3. Going into the game, this is what I was expecting, and I was more than fine to play through another good-not-great Mario title with solid platforming and a few standout moments. Instead of just going through it willy-nilly though, I decided to take the approach that I would complete the game as I went, which is to say that I would gather all three “Star” coins in every level of a world before moving onto the next.
The consequence of this is that the game is no longer good– it’s great! If you read not past this point and you’re a seasoned Mario player, please consider following in my footsteps and playing to completion. You will likely enjoy it a whole lot more. If you want to hear more of why this works, read on!
I almost can’t get over how peculiar the Wii Mini looks. And I still don’t know why it exists!
Indie developer WaterMelon said that if it reached its goal of $200,000 on Kickstarter, it would bring Pier Solar and the Great Architects to the Wii U eShop. The achievement was reached earlier today – a little less than two days before the campaign ends.
For those wondering, the Wii U version won’t be included as a reward/add-on. A message from the developer reads:
We will unfortunately not be adding the Wii U version as a reward or ADD-ON as we just do not have enough time left at this point.
Each of your pledge’s are directly what helped make it a reality in the first place, so thanks for your support!The Wii U version of Pier Solar HD will be available for purchase once it is officially released late next year, so it won’t make any difference if you pledged now or purchased it then – that’s when it will be released regardless.
Thank you for your understanding and support everyone – we can’t express this enough!
Pier Solar and the Great Architects is a long way off from launch, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about it throughout the next year.
Nyko has a slew of Wii U accessories on the way. One of the upcoming products includes the “Wii U Playstand” – a tripod, essentially.
What’s the point of this $40 peripheral, you ask? Let’s take a look at the product description:
“Nyko’s Play Stand for the Nintendo Wii U easily holds the Wii U GamePad for comfortable, easy viewing. The variable height and angle allows for use in any position, making it ideal for video chat, fitness, and music games. The 3 legged design provides a small but sturdy footprint, and it is collapsible so it folds away when not in use. Adjusts to fit other types of tablets.”
I can’t see the stand being a useful tool for most, but maybe a few of you out there have a bit of interest. You can check out the Wii U Playstand product listing at GameStop right here.
This week’s ESRB updates are as follows:
Winter’s Tail (3DS/DSi) – E
Nano Assault Ex (3DS) – E
3D MahJongg (3DS) – E
Jewel Master: Cradle of Egypt 2 3D (3DS) – E
Pokemon 3D is a lot like Gold/Silver. In this fan-made game though, the action is set in 3D and with a first-person perspective.
We’re about to initiate some long-overdue maintenance on Nintendo/Gaming Everything. It should fix some strange… things some of you may (or may not) have noticed on both sites. We probably won’t be able to fix everything this year, but it’s really about time that we get this done.
Fortunately, most of you won’t see any effects on the sites while maintenance is taking place. But if you do, keep in mind that it’s just standard stuff.
THQ and Vigil will release more downloadable content for Darksiders II on most major platforms tomorrow. “The Demon Lord Belial” offers “a new adventure based on a ravaged post-Apocalyptic Earth, where Death will encounter the last remnants of humanity as well as one of his most sinister opponents yet.”
An official description of the DLC reads:
“Little has been said of the struggles on Earth besides the story given to WAR by the Charred Council. Rumors have now surfaced that perhaps the Third Kingdom was not completely destroyed, and remnants of humanity still yet survive! It falls upon Death to seek out the truth and unearth a forgotten evil… The Demon Lord Belial.”
The thing is, there’s no word on a Wii U release at this time. I have a pretty good feeling this will land on the console eventually, but after the situation with Mass Effect 3, I suppose anything is possible.
European Club Nintendo members will want to register their copies of Paper Mario: Sticker Star when it launches on December 7. The Big N is offering a special sticker book to 10,000 users of the service.
According to Nintendo, the book provides:
“Packed with stickers of your favourite Mario characters and power-ups, you can combine them with the colourful background to come up with your own Paper Mario adventures.”
You’ll be able to register your Paper Mario: Sticker Star copy at 8 AM UK time on December 7.
