DarkRula

People confused about the wording of Vs Race for the changes - that's what Online races are. Besides, the probability for offline Vs mode can't be changed when it's fully open.

It's a good enough update. Item boxes reappear pretty much instantly, though I'm hoping the invincibility period has increased enough to counter any greater chaos that comes from the item boxes. Not been able to test that one myself, yet.

Ooh, very nice. Very much hoping for Hyrule Warriors and Splatoon Raiders to be here. And maybe my wishes can be answered with a Midtown Madness collection from Microsoft.

It's Splatfest time! Let's show the night as the best time to work. And when not on Splatoon 3, it's time to continue Xeno X. With a bit of Wreckfest on the side.

Sad news. Fae Farm was such a great one! Hope those laid off can find new employment soon.

That last shot feels like it's confirming open worlds to explore. So much land! And that highway doesn't seem very closed track-like.

Oh, the Switch reveal and hands-on event... Still remember that. Staying up all night to watch the presentation, then heading down to London from Stoke early on Saturday morning to get a first play with Nintendo's future machine. Hoping a similar thing can happen for this successor.

Though maybe not having the UK time for the presentation be 4 in the morning. Don't think I could manage staying awake for that long. Or getting up early for it feeling awake.

@WheresWaveRace Gotta count MySims, too. Since it only released on Switch. So pretty much most of the top ten is Switch-related.

Already got it on my Series S, since how could I not? Generations is the game that solidified my interest in the franchise after only sporadically checking things out for it over the last ten years. If you can count Adventure 2, Heroes, R, 3D Blast, Mario & Sonic at the Olympics, Advance 1 + 2, and Sonic X sporadic.

Either way, Generations is a special one for me, and I do love Shadow, so that extra content is going to be loved by me just as much, I feel.

The Grand Festival has kept me thinking for a good while on where I'll be going with it. Past brings with it the nostalgia of the good times, all the great trips away and places explored. People hung out with in those locations. Future brings with it the plans that are to come, seeing new faces and new places, making great new memories. The present ties both together, providing an outlet for those future plans to become great memories of the past.

And honestly, it's a tough choice. Sure, present seems like the easy one, but the nostalgia and the future are more powerful than as current ideas. I'm sure by September I'll have made a good choice.

This has been on my waiting for list for some time now. The only issue I have with it is that it releases in September, where there's already so many other games! Will definitely be one of my priorities, though.

The countdown ends to start the Direct. The first trailer begins. A world appears. Fade to what that world looks like. A pan across to a landing zone, where a familiar ship rests. "The greatest intergalactic bounty hunter faces a new adventure" appears on screen. An underwater view is given, one that looks manmade. It sweeps along the floor, through the water, revealing a mansion. It turns to face a deckchair by the pool. The camera stays still, but a figure climbs from the pool to take a seat in the deckchair. Grabbing a magazine from the side table, Samus opens it. The camera zooms in on the cover, which has the Metroid Prime 4 logo and a date. The proper gameplay then begins.

For me the weekend seems fully geared to the Switch, as it has for pretty much all of the week. I've been on a nostalgia kick for Story of Seasons having fully completed Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons, so had started Pioneers of Olive Town.

Then the series went on sale on Thursday, so I've sidetracked onto A Wonderful Life instead. Which I'll be continuing with for... a long time. And I'm also working toward finally completing Red Dead Redemption having let it sit on my Switch for far too long. Getting close now.

Might also give something on my Quest 2 a go, but with it warming up now, I'm not sure I could immerse myself into VR while my face burns.

Hopefully Magic Pockets can better optimise this one. Miraculous was rough with how much it dropped frames.

@Bobb Hmm... That would be bad, even with its attack cut. Might need to train up a second support. And quick.

I think support is likely the best bet again. Reduce the damage it can do, everyone else can hopefully take it down. Hopefully my Umbreon can perform the same magic as during those Paradox raids.

@Sisilly_G Hotel Life is in development by RingZero Game Studio, while Train Life is by Simteract. All these plus others come under the same Nacon Life Games label. I'm hoping more of them start showing themselves since they all seem full of promise.

Taken a chance on this as it's weirdly something I've been wanting since the Switch released. Proper Gamecube-styled Joy Con, not just a colour scheme.

Well, this is certainly a surprise. Could we be seeing more in the Direct tomorrow, or is this it until closer to release?

Also, sorry, but I have to do the meme.

This is defiinitely not going to dethrone the best kart racer of all time - Garfield Kart.

Well, of course I'm getting it as soon as. Three classic GTAs on a Nintendo system for the first time and a hybrid console at that? What's not to love? And with control fixes and other improvements, they'll be a lot better than the old PC versions that were on Steam (RIP to said old versions).

Not weird at all. I've been developing a concept for such a thing for over five years now, always adding or changing things across the years. Mii Resort Paradise would be the ultimate game for anyone who wants a grand return to the Wii Sports Resort days, with a lot more to do as well.

With Miis returning to prominence over the last year, I can only hope something like my concept is in the works.

There's a Mini Cooper in the game? I was getting it anyway, but I know what car I'll be using when I get it, now. Oh, I guess I can try out that Delorean, as well.

I'm registered, so let's see how this runs on the day. This is the closest I'll get to being inside E3, so bring it on.

My Switch is now going the way of all devices that spend a long time in my room, I think. I only have to load up and the fan starts up like a rocket launch, and in recent times it hasn't died down to fully silent. A new model Switch would be a great thing to have come out some time in the next year.

Pre-loaded it yesterday. Will be enjoying it later on. Story of Seasons is ready for tomorrow, as well.

Been playing Generations Ultimate to get back into the feel of the games, and I'm ready to hunt some monsters.

I put a few hours into this when it was Early Access on Steam around a year ago (along with TemTem), and enjoyed what content that version had. I remember I had a market on the west side of town with a giant lake to the north-east. I'd progressed quite a bit, but as with every game on PC these days, it was dropped pretty quickly. Knowing it's on Switch means I'll certainly be picking it up.

@gavin_is_gavin Already confirmed as far back as the original announcement. This isn't a normal game where the major story beats are just confined to the levels. The open world plays just as much a part in telling the story as those levels, and you can explore the galaxy freely whenever you want.

I'd consider this the same as Jurassic World, where it'd be a great game to get on the system and I'd be happy for those who might not have played it yet. Admittedly I haven't played this one yet, either, but I've only recently bought a load of LEGO games during the Christmas sales on the Microsoft Store, so if it did release, I wouldn't be jumping on it yet.

@TheLightSpirit Skywalker Saga was delayed out of 2020, which will be a big release for this year. Really doesn't matter if we get a port of an older game, considering there will be a new one releasing alongside it sometime in the year.

I've always personally preferred an Animal Crossing Battle Royale, where the bank accounts of a hundred villagers are constantly decreasing, meaning they have to raise funds any way they can so they don't go bankrupt.

At first they'd start with nothing, but they can go to the shop to buy a tool to be able to gain higher earnings through bugs, fish (which would be an instant catch once one bites), buried or floating items. As the game progresses, more shops close, meaning villagers can't just stay in one place.

When they release the August list in early September, it will be pretty funny to see All-Star Fruit Racing up at the top.

F1 Race Stars is pretty much the best game on this list, and a great contender to dethrone Mario Kart. Why? Because of it's differences. I always think that the bubbles that replace shells and bananas are the bubbles that come from a bottle of champagne, which is also an item in the game. So it all makes sense. The modes are also varied, with added customisation on top. I could talk about it all day, really.

This was definitely a great article, and as you say - nothing but a bit of fun. And it was indeed fun.

I've had it since it unlocked at midnight:04 BST, and still haven't gone through everything yet. Been enjoying Mancala, Dots and Boxes, and Ludo, with a few of the other games in between.

I completely forgot about this the first time around, so I'll definitely try to not forget this time.

Everything about this game is built from the ground up with a completely new engine. Nothing from The Complete Saga will make a return here in terms of levels. Retreading the same ground, yes, but nothing will just be ported over and given a lick of paint.

I have no doubt that this will be the greatest LEGO game of all time, along with one of the best Star Wars games of all time. The words of TT Games are strong, and everything from those E3 2019 interviews makes me confident of my words.

Gotta rep my main Byte and Barq. They'd offer another dual character setup - possibly more akin to the Ice Climbers than Rosalina and Luma.

Well... Custom furniture designs. Can't see how that can go wrong, especially for those who'll just turn the town into a creepy horror setting.

The mechanics are great, and were from the start, but the range of characters was let down slightly from a focus on the Mighty Morphin' era, and the fact that the season passes locked some of that variety away. The addition of the free characters helped spice things up a bit, but the roster still feels lacking in representation of all of Rangers.

I'm hoping for more free content added to the game, but I can see why they wouldn't want to continue support. Hopefully some more new games can come along that aren't arena fighters.

To cut into the discussion about developers and effort in games, I've played Temtem for a good few hours, and initial thoughts are positive. Sure, it feels like Pokémon in the battle mechanics, but at the same time there's a major difference owing to the stamina bar rather than PP limits for moves. It adds a bit more strategy into the proceedings, as while you can go over the stamina limit, you'll be using the HP of your Temtem to do so, and depending on what advantage you currently have, that might not be the best idea.

The overworld is all interlinked (so there's no gating of sections involved), though just like Alola there are multiple islands to explore. The visuals look great, and everything is smooth in action. The music is a sweeping score of violins with various other instruments mixed in with that. The battle themes - also a favourite in Pokémon - are beautiful within this.

The Direct will be here 5/February, and starts us out with Metroid Prime Trilogy. After a number of other announcements which include Star Fox Assault/Adventures DX, F-Zero GBX, and a collaboration between Nintendo and Rockstar to create a multi-sports (including extreme sports) game for the Switch, the Direct will end on a Metroid 5 reveal.

@Friendly Surely you mean Thrillville? That way we get the full range of Animal Crossing gameplay with a theme park builder on top.

E3 is still a massive presence. It generates the hype, not only for gamers, but those outside the gaming sphere as well. It's the one time of year guaranteed to be a massive hit with a massive amount of coverage - even through the fans - generated a week or more before and after the event.

Even if E3 as a trade show was to disappear (and that's very unlikely), it would be interesting for the companies to keep it going in spirit with a week of announcements and events, because the second week of June still commands such a presence in the gaming industry.

Boo! Off the stage! Tame! Etc., etc..

Diamond and Pearl are announced to be remade next, but the overworld camera is still in a top-down view despite the complete overhaul of the world to scale everything to how it would look as a real world. However, there are no loading transitions between areas, and no swapping between screens when going into interiors, with the overworld blacking out to just focus on that interior.

A new side series game that expands what the Pokéathlon gave us in Heart Gold and Soul Silver. The five original Performance Stats return, with an added sixth in stability. There's an entire region to explore with plenty of sports to enter your team in, with sporting tournaments replacing battles - with singular events for wild battle encounters. It's pretty much a main series game but with a sports focus.

Battle Bingo returns as a spin-off, adding new cards that offer more than just 4x4 grids, including the easy 3x3 cards and the super challenging 6x6 cards that allow access to a full team of six. Specialised cards also get more interesting with cards, such as those that only allow you one 'mon to complete the card. Pokémon from across the generations will appear and at the end of the trailer a tease of a new 'mon will happen.

Although now I think on it, I guess this article wasn't meant to give such wild ideas. It certainly wouldn't get away with passing them off as predictions.

Hasbro has given Nintendo the chance to make an all new Power Rangers game for the Nintendo Switch. This game is what Intelligent Systems has been working on, and features the staple turn-based RPG combat of the Fire Emblem series, telling a new story with a completely new team of Rangers. In return, Battle for the Grid gets an exclusive DLC pack that brings Mario, Link, and Fox into the game. Both get announced in the Direct together.

Is Chuck Norris still relevant to chuck into these things?

@HobbitGamer The point is as I stated above. People want the option of using it even in tabletop mode, or even just docked without wires. Along with the full control-set of the pro. It's not so much wanting a Gamecube controller, it that's many people find the button layout of the GCN controller the best and would rather have that adapted for modern use.

I really don't get why none of these are wireless. I know I've said it repeatedly, but a wireless controller at least allows the choice of wired or wireless for when people are away from the dock and want to play games tabletop.

No. The Switch UI is fine. It's a good concept and very well designed, but the Switch doesn't need this.
The only thing it needs is the All Games icon brought to the front of the list with the games sorted A-Z. Maybe two lines of games on the home screen as well. The top being for favourite games while the bottom one retains the last played timeline.

@justin233 Exactly what I've always said. The Switch is advertised as a go anywhere play with anyone machine. If you have speciality controllers that need to be wired [like all those third party controllers] it's stopping half of the appeal. I can see why they wouldn't, as it means adding a few more things to make it fully compatibile, but it would be good to use the best layout Nintendo have ever used for a controller while in tabletop mode as well.

@RainbowGazelle That would be a fun thing to do. Maybe you could have a day within the Switch game that has a mystery to solve, though an entire spin-off game would certainly be interesting. It would definitely give interactions between characters you normally wouldn't see.

@KingdomHeartsFan
It's too realistic! I can't take it any more! I'm going mad!
>Throws Switch out the window

@GrailUK @KingdomHeartsFan
Animal Crossing: Empire of Villages - Become mayor of a friendly little village and turn the residents against neighbouring villages, raiding them and capturing their villagers to recruit into your own community. Experience Animal Crossing in a new way with this RTS exclusively on Nintendo Switch.