E3 2012 News, E3 2012 Features

Look around you

Wii U's ability to output different scenes to television and controller is something truly special, but many of the games we've seen have been content to use the GamePad's extra screen to provide an alternative take on the main display, or an inventory, or a map. Wii U Panorama View is a startling look at the possibilities of the...

Triple trouble

Three: it's the magic number. It's also the number of playable characters in Trine 2: Director's Cut, a 2D puzzle platformer that sees you regularly switching between a mismatched trio of varying skillsets to traverse beautiful lands. The wizard Amadeus commands bridges and blocks with the tips of his wizened fingers, either...

Mushroom magic?

It's OK to say you were disappointed that New Super Mario Bros. U is Wii U's first Super Mario game. You may have wanted something groundbreaking like Super Mario 64, and Nintendo revealed a shinier, sharper version of a Wii game from 2009. You're entitled to be disappointed. Your excitement for Mario's next home adventure all...

Crowd sourcing

Tucked away at E3, shielded from the glare of the main presentation for reasons unknown, was Project P-100. It's an all-new superhero action IP by well-lauded developer Platinum Games, due to be published by Nintendo in Wii U's launch window. It's also bonkers. One Mr Hideki Kamiya is at the helm as director, famous for a track...

London crawling

Ubisoft's first-person shooter ZombiU is brutal. Adapted from the ashes of the cancelled Killer Freaks from Outer Space, it sees London overrun by hordes of infected monsters. Your only goal is to survive, but don't expect to do so for very long; battles are desperate, fought with melee weapons or a weak pistol until you can scrape...

No Ware out

Wario's first Wii U appearance isn't quite what we've come to expect from the garlic-munching gold grabber. Instead of a platformer or a new entry in the micro game-fuelled WarioWare series, Game & Wario is a collection of more fleshed out mini games that shows off what Nintendo's new home console can do with a single GamePad...

Sonar, so good

Batman's latest crusade through video games has been out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC for a good eight months now, but that didn't stop Nintendo giving enhanced port Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition plenty of stage time at E3. Escaping the confines of Arkham Asylum, a section of Gotham City has been cordoned off as a...

E3 is changing

9am PDT, Tuesday, E3 week. For Nintendo fans, this time and date is akin to New Year's Day, ringing in the next big batch of games Nintendo has to offer and beginning a week-long celebration of all things gaming. Nintendo’s E3 press conference has created some magical moments over the years, from the reveal of The Legend of Zelda:...

Unlimited indeed

We've already seen two Scribblenauts releases on Nintendo's DS system, but now the series is making the jump to the home console on Nintendo's upcoming Wii U, in the form of Scribblenauts Unlimited. While the series has never looked better visually, it's the major improvements to the gaming experience itself that really takes this...

An absolute jaw-dropper

Ubisoft's Rayman Origins was praised for its amazing 2D visuals, lush environments and solid platforming. So when word leaked out that Ubisoft was working on a possible sequel, fans of the limbless one sat up and took notice. After finding out the game would be shown at E3 on Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console, the thought of...

Monkey + bombs = puzzler fun

When you mention developer Renegade Kid's name, some gamers' minds immediately gravitate towards the spine-chilling first-person shooters the developer has created like Dementium and Moon. So when the group released its retro platformer Mutant Mudds, most were fairly caught by surprise. There's another surprise as...

Is Wii U for U?

Any time a company is about to release new gaming hardware there's a certain buzz that comes along with the E3 show that year. We've known for some time that Nintendo was getting set to release its brand new Wii U console this year, and we had a rather short sneak peek of the system at last year's E3. At the time we were unable to...

Did Nintendo win?

The E3 displays and demo booths have all been packed up and tired exhibitors have gone home, so now we can reflect on what happened in Los Angeles and contemplate how Nintendo performed. A few members of the team provided a short review of Nintendo's E3 press conference hours after it finished, with a general consensus that while...

The silent treatment

At last year's E3, EA CEO John Riccitiello shared a stage with Nintendo global president Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to announce that the two companies would join together in an "unprecedented partnership" for the launch of Wii U. Neither party gave any real indication what this would...

Prepare yourself

Nintendo's E3 showing this year gave plenty of stage time to some less familiar faces: Katsuya Eguchi and Scott Moffitt both spoke at length about Wii U and 3DS respectively, while president Satoru Iwata — traditionally the conference mainstay — mostly stayed behind the scenes to tweet. This video is probably his finest ever...

Who was the star performer?

As the booths at E3 are packed up and taken away, Nintendo's teams and key figures will be going back home for a well-earned rest. For Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime, it'll also be a time to reflect on their respective performances and whether the company as a whole succeeded at the event. Nintendo's...

Several in the works

Last year's Zelda HD experience was certainly graphically impressive, but as always Nintendo was keen to stress it was just an example of what's possible; we know from past experience Zelda tech demos often vastly differ from the finished product. Nintendo's main man Shigeru Miyamoto told Entertainment Weekly there are various...

Only one can triumph

After we asked which Wii U game got you excited? we want to know how you felt about the line-up for 3DS. Unsurprisingly Nintendo first-party games dominated the poll, but there were good showings from Konami and Square Enix. Paper Mario: Sticker Star — 75 Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon — 62

Luigi, Mario and more

If you missed last night's 3DS software showcase you didn't miss a whole lot, to be honest, but we've collated the trailers and bundled them all up into this very post all the same. Each game page has also been updated with new screenshots, artwork and official details, so click through to see what's new. Luigi's Mansion:...