The Last of Us sets a standard
Nintendo, when on peak form and producing its landmark titles, is capable of producing some of the greatest video games in the industry. It's the master of universal genres such as 3D and 2D platformers, adventure exploration games, and can make kart racing look easy — as mediocre copycats often demonstrate. What...
"It is all about the games"
Mutant Mudds Deluxe will not only bring the return of the highly-rated 3DS eShop title on a HD platform, it'll also be Renegade Kid's home console debut. Since the studio was founded in 2007 it's focused, primarily, on Nintendo's DS, DSi and 3DS systems, with recent diversions to PC and iOS in the form of Mutant Mudds...
How the GBA’s best fighter doomed the company that made it
We’d be willing to bet that if you quizzed any games developer, they’d admit that pushing a system to its absolute limit is one of the most satisfying parts of the job. Taking a piece of hardware and making it do things it really shouldn't be capable of shows incredible talent and...
Wii U games, specifically
For many, the start of a new generation heralds the beginning of a golden age for gaming, promising new IPs, a fresh approach, or simply an established franchise seen through new technology. It is a time when the sky is the limit, and gamers everywhere can come together to celebrate change. But this time, that hasn’t...
We speak exclusively to the team behind the 3DS adventure
The 3DS is enjoying a bumper 2013 when it comes to must-have releases, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (or Luigi's Mansion 2 if you're outside of North America) has been one of the best titles to hit the handheld this year. The game has received overwhelmingly positive reviews and has set...
The favourites so far
With E3 2013 now a little over a week away, we expect a lot of talk to focus on the Wii U and its competitors, as the home consoles prepare for a battle at the retailers this Holiday season. And yet, we feel we should take another opportunity at this juncture to show some love for the 3DS, the handheld that overcame a rocky...
Now this list is getting juicy
With summertime almost officially upon us, and with E3 looming on the horizon, we've decided to take stock and provide our updated list of the biggest Wii U games of 2013. There are some changes since our Spring Edition, most notably the removal of two Wii U eShop titles. With the Wii U retail lineup getting more...
Nintendo's nadir, or misunderstood masterpiece?
According to the history books, the Virtual Boy is Nintendo's biggest failure — both commercially and critically — in the hardware arena. Launched in 1995 to almost complete consumer apathy, it bypassed Europe entirely and was discontinued the following year. It is also thought to be the reason...
Point and click, swipe and tap
While the Wii U was the first to kick off what will soon be considered the current generation of game consoles, we were left wondering what innovations Sony and Microsoft would be bringing to the table. With the Wii U we've had a major processor power upgrade over the Wii, which was expected, but the control...
A big deal, or a mountain out of a mole-hill?
Last week Microsoft unveiled its Xbox One, or the non-gaming aspects for the most part, and seemingly managed to confuse as many viewers as it hyped up. Those that opt for schadenfreude should tread carefully, however, as Nintendo's Wii U reveal at E3 2011 similarly baffled many in terms of what the...
Contracting Pokémania
In the mid-nineties, an epidemic spread across the world. First discovered in Japan, it soon spread across the pacific, consuming vast areas of America. We were powerless to stop it. No cure was to be found. Before long, it broke America's shores and hit Europe with similarly devastating effect. The worst affected were...
You've come a long way, little one
So, the 3DS approaches its third E3 in good shape, having passed its second Birthday while enjoying a run of strong sales worldwide. It also has a games library, both current and coming in the next six months, in exceptionally rude health; the upcoming lineup in 2013 is packed with potential blockbuster hits, so...
Here comes the Sun (doo-doo-doo-doo)
As we glance out of Nintendo Life Towers we see something a little unfamiliar — there's an enormous ball of fire in the sky, and it's bathing us in warmth. We would go and bask in its magnificence, but we've got some video games to play. Of course, as our team is scattered around the world — like...
Microsoft, Sony and others start to show their cards
Yesterday, as we're sure most — possibly all — of you are aware, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, the company's offering for the "next generation" of gaming. And so we finally have a situation where, piece by piece, the rumours, leaked design documents and outright fibs are making way for...
It can be the home of creative new ideas from the big N
So, where does the eShop stand at roughly six months old? It's had an uneven release schedule, but looking at it as a complete picture we feel that it has a solid initial library with decent variety, combining some multi-platform titles with the odd exclusive thrown in, with genres and price...
A starter ahead of the main course
This week's Nintendo Direct has now digested, and if you still need to catch up you can check out our big summary of the news for the full lowdown. After the last broadcast went big with some significant reveals, it was a more measured approach this time around, with the running time fleshed out with plenty of...
If someone gives you lemons, make lemonade
The video game industry is a strange beast, especially for Nintendo and its Wii U system. Since launch it's had some early ups with launch week sales and some thoroughly decent releases, but also lows with a loss of momentum and a fair amount of negative press. Some excellent exclusive software has...
Not as big as other Direct summaries, perhaps
Nintendo hit us with a fresh Nintendo Direct on 17th May, with the usual 24-hour notice period to leave Nintendo gamers scrambling to check their diaries. With a focus on Wii U releases in Spring and Summer, we should have known that, ultimately, this would be a little lower key than recent bombastic...
You're doing well, young one
Earlier this week British tabloid The Sun somewhat defied its own 3DS-bashing tradition, when one of its writers rather boldly proclaimed that Nintendo's portable is "the best console ever". While we're not sure about that just yet, we do think the handheld has come a long way since its early days of non-existent sales...
Veteran UK developer talks about Putty's return and future projects
Today saw the confirmation that System 3's Putty Squad is coming to the Wii U and 3DS. We got in touch with the UK-based studio to talk about the game, how it differs from the Amiga version and what the company's plans are for the future. We spoke to studio founder Mark Cale, who...
Hugo Smits gives insight into a developer's life
While we'd suggest that he doesn't necessarily get the attention he deserves, Hugo Smit — through his studio Goodbye Galaxy Games — delivered four notable DSiWare experiences. These have all been published by third-parties, but have each had merits and plenty of areas worthy of praise. Of...
Jon tries to drop the hammer but settles for waving a foam finger
This is the second part of our man Jon's personal Animal Crossing: New Leaf diary, which is part of a Nintendo-organised "Mayor Program". You can read all about how we came to be involved in this article, where we also explain our reasoning for participating. With that out of the way,...
We speak to successful crowdfunders
Kickstarter, as regular readers of Nintendo Life have no doubt noticed, is becoming increasingly visible in the gaming media. It's not just here that the crowdfunding site is gaining a lot of web space, as increasing numbers of fundraisers begin to emerge, gain significant support and, of interest to us here,...
Games are a bit less 'final' than they used to be
It's not so long ago that Sony and Microsoft's platforms began to drown in DLC (downloadable content) while, for Nintendo gamers, it was largely restricted to the occasional Guitar Hero or Rock Band track on Wii. Nintendo had an attitude of adopting online trends and practices in its own sweet...
Jazz Hounds
It's barely more than a month before Animal Crossing: New Leaf finally hits western shores, and whilst we impatiently wait to get our paws on it we thought we'd take a look at the history behind one of the village's favourite regulars: K.K. Slider. With his country guitar and unique vocal style (who could forget such hit lyrics as...
