News - 2012, Week 02

Sunday15th Jan 2012

  • Review Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (3DS eShop / GBA)

    Drawing you in

    Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island joined a Nintendo tradition of re-releasing classic titles for a new audience. Bringing an iconic Super Nintendo platformer to the Game Boy Advance seemed perfectly apt, with the handheld more than capable of 16-bit standard visuals. The question remains, is this port worth playing today?...

  • Review 101 Pinball World (DSiWare)

    Deaf, dumb and blind

    101 Pinball World is, quite frankly, confounding on every level. Teyon's latest misguided attempt to cram large numbers of poorly-designed levels into half-baked games has resulted in a broken, hideous, aurally offensive, shambling monstrosity of a game. And that's being polite. Releasing in North America alongside the...

Saturday14th Jan 2012

  • Feature Nintendo in 2011 - Part Two

    Disaster and redemption

    Following on from Nintendo in 2011 — Part One, it's time to look at the latter half of the year. The gaming world quickly moves on, as the 3DS enjoys positive sales and the Wii U hype begins to build. It’s easy to forget that the tail-end of 2011 was particularly dramatic and eventful for Nintendo, leaving us with plenty...

Friday13th Jan 2012

  • Review LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (3DS)

    Half-blood, whole fun

    Isn't it about time TT Games did something new with its LEGO franchise? How many others have gotten away with utilising near-identical gameplay formulas this many times? Not that it's a terribly bad thing – we'll happily trek through another humorous toy-sized tribute as the team rarely misfires. Delivering the same casual...

  • News Wii U Panorama View Demo is Awesome

    How do they do that?

    We all saw the Shield Pose, Chase Mii, Battle Mii and Zelda HD Experience Wii U demos from E3, but one we didn't get to see was Panorama View, recently shown off at CES. The 360º video experience shown below is unlike anything Nintendo showed off before. Using the Wii U controller you can look around the space as you like, even...

  • Review Trip World (3DS eShop / GB)

    Bad trip?

    Sunsoft made a ton of great games for Nintendo systems back in the day. Everybody knows the likes of Blaster Master and the NES Batman game, but they also had a ton of equally great games which people simply didn't find out about. We've already had some, like Ufouria: The Saga and Lock 'N Chase, but thankfully it's continuing its support,...

  • News Your Favourite WiiWare Demos Are Now Back

    Fire up your Wii

    In an act of unprecedented generosity, Nintendo of America has reinstated a ton of WiiWare demos in the Wii Shop Channel, which now bulges with nearly 50 demos of some of WiiWare's brightest and best games. Europe, you have just the two demos still: MotoHeroz and Gnomz. Here's the full list for North American Wii owners: 3D Pixel...

  • Review LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Wii)

    Let's finish this the way we started it... together

    Legend has it that every time Billy Joel drives to a holiday party that has a piano, he knows that he's going to end up playing Piano Man by request. He's played it countless times before, but when he plays it again, people will like it. It won't be surprising or innovative, but it will be...

  • News Kid Icarus's 3DS Stand Coming to North America Too

    Take a stand

    That 3DS stand we saw the other day for Kid Icarus: Uprising? It's totally leaving Japan. Nintendo of America confirmed to Shack News that the stand is coming to North America: Nintendo is including a free stand with all copies of the Kid Icarus: Uprising game for the Nintendo 3DS system. The stand

  • News Retailers Leak The Last Story Limited Edition

    Swiss retailer breaks cover

    It appears that Nintendo of Europe is preparing a limited edition release for upcoming Japanese RPG The Last Story, due for release on 24th February. Initial rumours started to spread earlier this week, but images of the box art and packaging have since begun to surface. According to a Swiss retailer this release will...

  • News NPD Group Reveals America's 2011 Best-Sellers

    Where's Nintendo?

    After we brought you the UK's best-selling games of 2011, the NPD Group has revealed the biggest sellers for the United States. In a truly shocking event, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 outsold the rest, but Ubisoft's rival juggernaut threequel Just Dance 3 edged into second place. As with the UK charts, there are no...

Thursday12th Jan 2012

  • News Nintendo Reconfirms Wii U Will Not Make Wii Games Sharper

    Hopes dashed

    With the Wii U boasting HDMI output and full backwards compatibility with Wii games and accessories, some had hoped the new console would be able to make existing Wii games sharper, but Nintendo has reconfirmed to Wired that it won't. During a hands-on session at CES, Ben Kuchera was told that the Wii U "will not be able to improve...

  • Review Zombii Attack (WiiWare)

    iinsufferable

    Zombii Attack is a very silly game. Its main mechanic — firing zombies out of a giant slingshot — is strange enough, but even more preposterous is the fact that this game actually got published on WiiWare. The game is so horrendous that the campy feel and OK music don't even come close to saving it from its abominable controls and...

  • Nintendo Download 12th January 2012 (North America)

    Reach a state of Zen

    After a few weeks' wait from its European release, the 3DS eShop in North America gets a piece of portable pinball, with DSi owners getting some balls and bumper action too. Elsewhere there's a little music and some more maths. Nintendo 3DS Download Software: Zen Pinball 3D (Zen Studios, $6.99) — An excellent pinball title in...

Wednesday11th Jan 2012

  • Review The Kore Gang (Wii)

    The bore gang

    The Kore Gang has been a long time in the making, a fact reflected in the final result. At its best, it’s colourfully innocuous and fun, while at its worst it can be frustrating and infuriating. It’s likely to be divisive as a result, so we’ll do our best to break it down. You know what everyone likes, though? Good intentions,...

Thursday12th Jan 2012

  • News New Pokémon Title Coming to Japan in March

    Who knew?

    Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition is the latest Pokémon title due to arrive on DS, hitting Japanese stores on 17th March. Many of you may be asking, what on earth is Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition? As detailed by Andriasang, and as the title suggests, this is a cross-over between the well known Pokémon franchise and Tecmo Koei's Nobunaga's...

  • News Gaijin Games Explains Why RUNNER2 Won't Reach Wii

    Talks Wii U too

    Gaijin Games' BIT.TRIP series started life on Wii and has appeared on 3DS in the form of BIT.TRIP SAGA, but the next instalment, RUNNER2, won't come to WiiWare. Why not? Artist Chris Meyer explained: This game is too big and too detailed to work on Wii. We need the Xbox power in order for it to work. If you actually think about it,...

  • News Kid Icarus: Uprising Comes With This 3DS Stand

    In Japan at least

    Kid Icarus: Uprising will be bundled with an arm-saving display stand for the 3DS. The folding stand sits on a desk and cradles the console itself while you use the stylus and face buttons to control Pit. Uprising supports the Circle Pad Pro for left-handed players but don't worry if you're not planning to pick up the peripheral...

  • Charts 12th January 2012 (North America)

    Feel the chart beat

    eShop charts have a permanent home here on Thursday now — that's when the new games arrive so it makes the most sense to see how last week's batch have done. Here's your lists for the week. denotes last week's position. indicates game is a new entry. indicates a non-mover. Popular Last Week — All Downloads: A lot of change...

  • Fact Sheet Kid Icarus: Uprising Details Updated

    AR mode and multiplayer detailed

    Kid Icarus: Uprising isn't too far off now — at least, according to Nintendo's most recent release date — and we have an updated fact sheet to share. The sheet outlines the multiplayer mode and AR Card play, claiming the game recognises "countless" specially-designed cards, though the outcome of those...

  • Review Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 2 (DSiWare)

    A logical progression

    The Successfully Learning series is becoming one of the most prolific on DSiWare, with Successfully Learning Mathematics: Year 2 now the ninth title on the service. Versions of this mathematical matter have previously been released on WiiWare, but Freddy the Vampire’s campaign to teach all young Nintendo gamers through...

  • News 3D Screenshots of Mutant Mudds Available

    Fire up that 3DS browser

    You may have seen our news article earlier in the week with launch details for a new Mutant Mudds website. It's got plenty of content to whet your appetite for the game, but as some readers have already spotted there's a neat sub-site that's worth a look. Renegade Kid has set up a page specifically designed for viewing on...

  • Charts 12th January 2012 (UK)

    Now at home on Thursday

    When are new games added to the 3DS eShop? Thursday. When does it make most sense to update the charts? Thursday. That's a long way of saying "look for 3DS eShop charts every Thursday", starting today. Let's see how last week's new releases fared in the UK chart. denotes last week's position. indicates game is a...

Wednesday11th Jan 2012

  • Review Samurai Sword Destiny (3DSWare)

    No ninja, no ninja, no

    There's been a lot of ballyhoo about the death of the dedicated handheld at the hands of smartphones and tablets, and given the amount of doom-and-gloom headlines penned about portables in the past year it can be easy to think that the chair has been kicked so forcefully out from under them that it's shattered against the...

  • Review WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (3DS eShop / GBA)

    No time to catch your breath

    Nintendo has made its name in the games industry by providing tightly focused and highly polished experiences for over 20 years. Its games are always regarded as some of the best in their respective genres, so what to do when it's conquered all charted territory? Invent new ones, of course. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega...

  • Review Imagine Fashion Designer (3DS)

    "I don’t design clothes, I design dreams"

    Imagine Fashion Designer 3D shies away from simulating the job to presenting a facsimile of it, gamifying the act of compiling outfit combinations and their superficial design. It’s certainly not a deep and involving game of nuanced mechanics and choices as you try to climb the fashion guru ladder; to...

  • News Tiger Woods, Your Time on Wii is Over

    Wii can't play PGA Tour 13

    After several excellent outings on Wii, EA Sports has confirmed upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 won't release on Nintendo's current home console. While Xbox 360 owners can play Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 on Kinect, and PlayStation Move fans have been enjoying motion controls since 2010, Wii is being passed over for this...

  • News Majora's Mask and Dr. Mario Join Club Nintendo Rewards

    Coins at the ready

    North America's Club Nintendo site lets you buy downloadable games with your hard-earned coins. After the success of 3D Classics: Xevious and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, there are four new games available to buy between now and 31st January. Here's what's available: 150 Coins: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

  • News Zelda: Skyward Sword Misses Wii's 2011 Top Five

    Missing Link

    Much-anticipated MotionPlus adventure The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is nowhere to be seen among the UK's five top-selling Wii games of 2011. Topping the chart is fitness phenomenon Zumba Fitness, just ahead of Just Dance 3 and prequel Just Dance 2. Nintendo first-party software occupies the fourth and fifth slots: Mario

  • News StreetPass for Items in Resident Evil Revelations

    Grab herbs on the go

    Resident Evil Revelations' array of wireless communication features is complete with the news that you'll be able to use StreetPass to exchange items, missions and enemies with other players. Campaign mode lets you swap items with nearby survivalists, while those who play the co-operative RAID mode — unlocked once you've...

  • News Reggie: Wii U to Boast a "Full Range of Entertainment"

    The big man speaks

    Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime's CES "interview" with Spike TV didn't give anything major away — games and dates remain a mystery — but he did speak in very broad terms about Nintendo's vision for its upcoming console. Talking about the plan to continue broadening the Wii install base, Fils-Aime...

  • News Super Mario 3D Land Beats All in 2011 3DS Chart

    Goal Pole goes gold

    Super Mario 3D Land was the biggest-selling 3DS game of 2011 in the UK, according to the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE). In second place was Mario Kart 7, with both Mario titles outselling Grezzo's N64 remaster The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. Here's the full top five, followed by the DS top five, in...

  • News Reggie: Wii U Information Could Hit Before E3

    Keep 'em peeled

    Wii U will boast a full range of entertainment says Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, but must we really wait until Nintendo's E3 press conference on 5th June at 9am Pacific time to hear more? Perhaps not. Fils-Aime told Spike TV that there'll be new details spread over the course of 2012: We will be sharing...

  • News 3DS Still Top of the Japanese Charts

    A Happy New Year for Nintendo

    In recent weeks Nintendo has been enjoying significant 3DS sales worldwide, making the most of the Holiday period. In Japan, the 3DS set a new console sales record for December, based on records that began in 1997. Although the festive period has now passed, it appears that sales of the handheld are continuing to do...

  • News UK's Best-Selling Games of 2011 Revealed

    Nintendo misses all-format top 10

    Now 2011's over and done with, the Association for United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment — UKIE for short — has revealed the best-selling games across all formats last year. To nobody's surprise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the best-selling game of the year, but what's most surprising is the...

  • News North America Infiltrated by Metal Gear Solid 3D on 21st February

    Snake beater

    Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is due for North American launch on 21st February, Konami has revealed. Snake's Cold War adventure reaches North America a few weeks before its European release date, with Circle Pad Pro support and a photo-based camouflage system. Will you be lining up on 21st February? METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D...

  • News Get Into this Rhythm Heaven Fever Teaser Trailer

    Contains a lot of monkeys

    Rhythm Heaven Fever is just one month away in North America, and Nintendo is upping the tempo with a new teaser trailer. Showing off a selection of bizarre games — our favourite is the high-fiving monkeys on a clock face — the game's certainly lost none of its imagination in the transition to Wii. Here's the trailer to...

  • News CRUSH 3D Delayed Again in North America

    Now due in March

    Poor old CRUSH 3D. SEGA's layer-squashing puzzle title was originally supposed to release in September last year, then was delayed until January 2012 to give the 3DS a chance to build up some sales steam. Now the machine's done just that, it's time for Cru... oh. It's been delayed again. GameStop now lists the game with a 6th March...

Tuesday10th Jan 2012

  • Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong (3DS eShop / GBA)

    A worthy successor

    The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series has been going for quite a while now, with four entries under its belt. If you've never played the original, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's not much more than a fun Lemmings clone, but that's actually not true. In fact, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is closer to the Game Boy version of Donkey...

  • News Wii Balance Board Enters Record Books

    Wii European sales also announced

    Nintendo have confirmed that the Wii Balance Board has officially achieved a Guinness World Record for the 'best-selling personal weighing device'. The record was initially broken back in November 2010 when just over 32 million units had been sold worldwide as part of Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus bundles, though this...

  • News Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D Sneaks into Europe on 8th March

    3DS exclusive features also unveiled

    Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D has been on the horizon of the 3DS for a while now, but a European release date — and official box-art — has finally been confirmed. It hits the region on 8th March, with further confirmation that it will support the Circle Pad Pro, the second title to do so after Resident...

  • News Learn More About 'Swapnote RPG'

    Now it's getting serious

    Just over a week ago we discovered that there's a fan-developed Swapnote RPG waiting to be played. Creator Ben Gray has now posted a follow up video with more specific details on how it can work. This is useful information for those without much experience in pen and paper RPG games, with examples given for the player simply...

  • News Kid Icarus: Uprising Will Use the Circle Pad Pro

    Maybe not as expected

    Kid Icarus: Uprising has seen some delays, with some attributing the March release to the upcoming Circle Pad Pro. That was only a rumour, though Director Masahiro Sakurai has now confirmed that the peripheral will be a available to use in this title. Speaking to Official Nintendo Magazine, Sakurai confirmed that an extra...

  • News Renegade Kid Launches New Mutant Mudds Site

    Information and trailers galore

    Renegade Kid has just launched a brand new site for its upcoming 3DS eShop platformer Mutant Mudds, and it's chock full of information and media about the game. Everything from screenshots and gameplay trailers, to many of the cast of characters that you're likely to run into during your quest to collect the Water...

Monday9th Jan 2012

  • News Nintendo Working On New Zelda Game

    What will it be?

    Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and team are working on a new Zelda game. The producer's statement in the final pages of Hyrule Historia, as translated by Patas at GlitterBerri, sneakily confirms a new game is in development: The long sailing time of creating Skyward Sword, a game to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Zelda...

  • Review 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DSWare)

    Pit of class

    Kid Icarus was always a bit of a weird game. Originally released alongside Metroid and using an almost identical game engine, it was quickly overshadowed by the popularity of Metroid's giant game world full of areas to explore and, save for a (more entertaining) Game Boy sequel, the series was never heard from again until Pit suddenly...

  • Review Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Big Ben Burglary (WiiWare)

    Big Ben brain buster

    Episodic gaming is becoming a regular occurrence on the Wii and DSiWare services, and whether that’s a good or bad thing is completely up to the individual. It is true, however, that if the first episode in a series isn’t very good, then there’s a chance that it won’t get much better moving forward. Carmen Sandiego...

  • Review 3 Heroes - Crystal Soul (DSiWare)

    Crystal meh

    CIRCLE Entertainment has a whopping 11 releases on DSiWare, with 3 Heroes — Crystal Soul the latest arrival. And while the medieval theme the developer is obviously fond of is still prevalent throughout the experience, this time around it's more of a puzzler than the usual strategy title. At the start of your adventure, you'll find...

  • News Miyamoto Working On Secret, Original Game

    A lot on his plate

    According to an interview with Zoomin.TV, Shigeru Miyamoto is currently at work on an unannounced, original game. Miyamoto himself didn't say anything about the game, so we have nothing else to go on: no format, no genre and no hint at which of his hobbies it'll be based on. Miyamoto is still working on Luigi's Mansion 2 for 3DS...

  • News Resident Evil: Revelations Art Book and CD Soundtrack Announced

    For Japan, so far

    The hype is starting to build for Resident Evil: Revelations, not surprising as it's the first major release of the year on 3DS. With that in mind, it seems that Capcom is ready to go the extra mile to give fans of the series all of the content they need to get them excited. According to Andriasang, Capcom has announced a rather...

  • Review Quick Fill Q (DSiWare)

    Holey-er than thou

    Quick Fill Q is the story of a pink ball rolling across featureless terrain at a glacial pace. Every so often he — this ball is a living creature, for some reason — will come across a hole that looks suspiciously like several Tetris pieces were removed from the ground, and it's up to you to fill it. That's the game, in its...

  • Nintendo Download 12th January 2012 (Europe)

    Three for the choosing

    Nothing unique for 3DS owners this week as 3DSWare and Virtual Console take holidays, but WiiWare and DSiWare have the centre stage. WiiWare: Bobby Carrot Forever (FDG Entertainment, 800pts) — In development for years and years, little rabbit Bobby finally left the warren in July last year and brought a pretty good game with...

  • News Netflix Reaches Wii Shop Channel in UK and Ireland

    Merrily down the stream

    Netflix has launched in the UK and Ireland — and it's available on Wii. The Wii Shop Channel offers a free Netflix Channel for download, enabling subscribers to stream TV and movies through the console. You can sign up for a free trial and account through the Channel, with a flat rate of £5.99/€6.99 per month. In North...

  • Review Slingo Supreme (DSiWare)

    Will it eat your baby?

    Some games just don’t translate well to the video game format, among them bingo and slots, unless you can bet real money on them. They’re both completely up to chance, and that’s generally not enough to drive a gamer. It’s strange, then, that combining the two works so well. Slingo Supreme does a decent job of bringing...

  • News 3DS Sets New Japanese Console Sales Record

    Blazing a trail

    Nintendo 3DS sold more consoles in Japan during December than any other machine on record. Enterbrain (via Andriasang, naturally) has been tracking console sales since 1997. Nintendo sold 1,492,931 3DS systems between 28th November and 25th December, beating any other console in Enterbrain's books. Last week it was revealed that 3DS...