WolfRamHeart

I thought the point of E3 was to get me excited about the Wii U not put me to sleep.

Talk about disappointing.

Is that it? Seriously? WTF?

Ah, just like last year I got practically no sleep last night due to my excitement for this press conference. This is obviously the best way to do E3, on pure adrenaline. Bring it on Nintendo!

Even though I enjoyed Lord of Shadows I was a bit worried about them handling the development of this new game for 3DS. Now that I have seen this trailer I feel a lot more confident that this game is good hands. I love the art style and the game looks like it captures that old-school 2D Castlevania gameplay while mixing it up with some good modern flair. I just hope that the music will be as good as the Japanese produced Castlevania games.

I just got the special email announcement from Atlus. So this is from the creators of Guardian Heroes, huh? Sounds awesome and it looks pretty darn cool too. I will definitely be pre-ordering this game. Hopefully Amazon will be one of the select retailers carrying the pre-order bonus.

I don't think that Nintendo intended for the focus of today's conference to be all on this particular controller but it seems that gamers all over the internet are weighing in with their opinions about it. I actually like it. Yes the shape of the controller does look like that of the Xbox 360 controller. That is fine with me because I find the 360 controller to be quite comfortable. The layout of the analog sticks and buttons seem to be oddly placed but then again I think that it will just be a matter of getting used to them. I don't think that it will be as bad as people are making it out to be. Hopefully it will be comfortable and easy to use. Keep in mind that this is just an optional controller for the system which should give developers another option for creating games on the Wii U as well as giving us gamers a different way to play.

So far I am really impressed with what I have seen of the Wii U. I am already used to the name. I love the final design of the Wii U Game Pad and I absolutely love that they made the Wii U Pro Controller. Even though it looks just like a Xbox 360 controller, people can no longer complain about Nintendo not making a "regular" controller for their new system. I love that they showed off a black color scheme for the Wii U system and Game Pad. Hopefully those color options are available at launch. Finally, I am really excited about the online features. It looks like Nintendo is finally doing online right. I can't wait to see more this Tuesday. I am definitely pumped! Great job Nintendo!

Made it home just in time to watch.

Sacre bleu!

I actually liked Lord of Shadows but I would much rather see a new 2D Metroidvania on the 3DS. I think it is a much better fit for a portable system.

@XyNo: I agree, I have been waiting for Konami to make a game that stars Julius Belmont and shows us exactly how that final battle with Dracula in 1999 went down. It would have to be really epic though considering that is supposedly the end of Dracula.

Great to hear that there is still some hope of this game possibly coming to WiiWare. I know that there are quite a few Wii owners out there who have been waiting to play this game. Hopefully Nintendo will make the WiiWare service compatible with the Wii U so that this game will get more of a chance to be successful.

While I agree that Nintendo really needs to do all it can with the Wii U to blow us away with great specs and a killer 1st party line-up of games, I can't take anything that Peter Molyneux says seriously. He is the epitome of all things underwhelming.

Nice to finally get Kirby's Block Ball this week. Hopefully more VC titles will be on the way to the eShop soon. I wish that I could say that I enjoyed the Rayman Origins demo but sadly I did not. It is a poor port of the original. I own it on the PS3 so I will just stick with that version and wait for Rayman Legends on the Wii U.

Don't bother with WiiWare, just bring it to the 3DS eShop or put it on the Wii U.

I got my hands full with Xenoblade Chronicles, Monster World IV and Demon's Souls.

Oh and Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Nice review CB and congrats on hitting your 100th review! I picked up this game yesterday and so far I am really enjoying it. I did notice the problem with the soundtrack as soon as I started playing the game and yeah it is kind of annoying. It is a shame because I heard some of the music tracks on Amoebattle's Facebook page and they sounded really great. Apart from the music, the game is a lot of fun especially if you are a fan of real time strategy games. The controls work great and the circle pad on the 3DS makes scrolling a breeze. The graphics are nice and the character designs are cute and likable. I like that you can save the game at any given time so it makes it good for some quick gaming sessions. For only $5, this is a pretty solid experience and I would recommend it if you are into RTS games.

I'm getting Amoebattle. I have been looking forward to this one for a while.

I really like this shade of purple. Looks really nice! As cool as this color looks I think that I will stick with my black 3DS until it dies or until a must-have limited edition model comes along. That or if they make a really gorgeous shade of green(my favorite color). /me crosses my fingers for an electric green.

This looks pretty cool. I never played or let alone even heard of this game before. Should be an interesting addition to the growing library of 3DS Virtual Console games. Hopefully we will get this game soon. I would really love to play it.

Well, this stinks but I am not surprised since WiiWare is now a dead service. I seriously doubt that we will see any more significant games releasing on WiiWare. I think developers realize that WiiWare games simply aren't selling so there is no logical reason to continue supporting it. Hopefully there is still a chance of seeing La-Mulana on the Wii U, 3DS or even XBLA and PSN. Yeah, I don't own a PC.

PiCTOBiTS is definitely the best of the bunch here. Too bad that I already own it. I am tempted to get Urban Champion yet I know that it is one of the worst games in existence. I would never spend actual money on it so dare I use my precious coins on it or would I regret doing that? Hmm...

Wow, this is a pretty big leak! I am so glad that we finally get to see what the Wii U is capable of. This looks very impressive. I'm glad that this isn't just a port of Rayman Origins but a brand new game. While the game may not be a Wii U exclusive, the features for the Wii U do seem really cool. It looks like Skylanders has had a major influence on the future video game market. Well, I guess that if we are going to be buying DLC we might as well get a cool figure to go along with it.

Well, I already have this game on WiiWare but I was considering picking up the 3DS retail version. I think that I will pass on that one and just get this newly updated version instead. Or maybe I should just wait for the next version that will probably be coming out next year.

It looks like fun to me. I will be definitely be getting this. Not sure why people are getting so worked up over just one game. If you don't like it then don't buy it. Besides, Nintendo has a ton of titles coming out for the 3DS to choose from: Luigi's Mansion 2, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem, Professor Layton, Epic Mickey, Final Fantasy: Theatrhythm, Heroes of Ruin, Mario Tennis, Kingdom Hearts, Monster Hunter, Etrian Odyssey, Dragon Quest: Rocket Slime, Project X Zone, Paper Mario, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward(999 sequel), Skylanders 2. There are sure to be plenty more announced at E3 too.

Yay, stickers!

They are pretty cute. I wouldn't use them though. I will probably just save them as a collector's item.

I will be playing FEZ and Trials: Evolution on my Xbox 360, Demon's Souls and Tales of Graces F on my PS3, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, Valkyria Chronicles II and SMT: Persona 3 Portable on my PS Vita. Oh and some Kid Icarus: Uprising on my 3DS if I have the time.

Well, that is good news that Castlevania is finally gracing the 3DS eShop. I probably won't pick this one up since I already own Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth on WiiWare. I am looking forward to seeing Belmont's Revenge and Kid Dracula. Hopefully we will get those titles as well.

I don't think that the game's quality had anything to do with it not being successful on Nintendo's platform. WiiWare simply has way too many restrictions and is too archaic of a service for a majority of developers to make a profit on, let alone break even. Personally, I don't think it is worth the risk for developers to make games on WiiWare especially this late in the Wii's lifespan. The eShop is better than WiiWare but there are still a lot of improvements that need to be made in order to bring Nintendo's online service up to par with Microsoft and Sony. I think a lot of developers are going to wait and see what the Wii U is capable of before they decide if they want to take that risk again.

Here is an excerpt of an article that I read on Joystiq.com that gives a bit more information of the situation from Beamdog's perspective:

Oster claimed Beamdog self-funded the WiiWare version MDK 2 as part of its arrangement with Interplay. The team underwent the process of crunching a 400MB game down to WiiWare's 40MB size requirement – no easy task. Beamdog was "very excited" about implementing the Wii Remote, and Oster said "we worked our butts off to make a great version of the game, the best version of MDK 2 there ever was." Even with "good reviews and good coverage," and despite the work of a hired PR firm, "the game was quickly lost in the WiiWare store and failed to sell enough to earn us a dime back." While Oster did not disclose sales numbers, it would seem that MDK 2 failed to break the 6,000 download threshold.

"We don't hate Nintendo and I have fond memories of earlier consoles," concluded Oster, "but the phenomenal sales of the Wii console don't truly indicate the number of people who buy third party software on it."

EDIT: Let me just add that I do have a problem with Oster's statement when he said that the Wii is a toy. Of course the Wii is a toy but so are all form of video games. Some are just more expensive than others. Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, PS Vita, PC, tablets and smart phone games are all toys. Ask any person who isn't a gamer and they will tell you that video games are toys regardless of the platform they are on. Heck, I'm an adult and I'm not too proud or cool to admit that I still play with toys.

I am disappointed by this news. I was considering picking this game up but now I'm not so sure. I will probably just wait until it drops in price unless it gets extremely good reviews.

Well, there isn't much for me to get excited about in this week's offerings. I'm still considering picking up Colors 3D but I want to read the Nintendo Life review first. Ketzal's Corridors looks interesting but it doesn't really look like a must-have game to me so I guess I will pass on it for now. Oh and where is Kid Icarus: Of Myth and Monsters? Why is Nintendo of America waiting to release it?

@FluxOwl: Good news, there is a 3DS sequel to Rocket Slime. It hasn't been confirmed for release outside of Japan yet but hopefully it will one day. Here is some info: <a rel="external" href="http://www.1up.com/previews/import-play-test-rocket-slime-3ds">http://www.1up.com/previews/import-play-test-rocket-slime-3ds</a>

I never got to play the original version of this game and I almost forgot that they were making this. It looks like a lot of fun. I'm a huge Dragon Quest fan so I will definitely be picking this one up.

EDIT: LOL, I just got ninja'd by @Mickeymac!

Oh, kind of like the way Microsoft is overly reliant on Call of Duty.

This one really surprised me. I was expecting it to be a fighter but I am very glad that it turned out to be an RPG. The fact that it has characters from Tales of Vesperia, Valkyria Chronicles, Xenosaga and Mega Man makes it a must-have for me. I just hope that it will come to the US.

Well, considering that Capcom said recently that survival horror games don't sell anymore and that they plan to make Resident Evil 6 more of an action game so that they can get Call of Duty level of sales, I am not particularly interested in this game anyway. However, Resident Evil is still a major series and Nintendo needs to have this franchise on the Wii U in order to attract more gamers to their new system. Hopefully Capcom will port this game to the Wii U in the future for the people out there who don't have an Xbox 360, PS3 or a PC.

I ordered my copy directly from Nintendo so I'm still waiting for it to arrive. I am just glad that I will finally be able to play it. I hope it gets here soon.

Very nice review Thomas. I am pretty excited about this one. I wish that it was already out here in the US. I can't wait to pick it up.

I am really interested in getting this. I just downloaded Penguin Patrol and it is surprisingly good. I am also thinking about downloading Divergent Shift since they made that game as well.

I'm tempted to get Colors! 3D but considering that I am not a very good artist I might not get the most out of it. I will probably pick up Penguin Patrol. It actually looks like it could be a pretty good game plus it is only $1.99.

Wow, another lackluster update. What is going on with NOA lately? They have been slacking in the digital department over the past few weeks. I would have thought that they would have released Kid Icarus Of Myths and Monsters to coincide with Kid Icarus Uprising but nope. Oh well, I am still enjoying the heck out of KI Uprising. Hopefully next week will be better.

Considering that DreamRift is developing this game, it has the potential to be really awesome. I am actually more excited for this game than Epic Mickey 2.

Happy Birthday 3DS! You may have had a rough start but you really turned things around. I wish you continued success and many more awesome games for us all.

I'm buying this on the PS3 but this is good news for those out there that only have a Wii. I wish that it was coming out on the Wii U too because I think that they could make some interesting use out of the Wii U controller.

@DictatorJumpMad: LOL, your post made my day.

Yeah, this week's update is pretty terrible and it surprises me that Kid Icarus: Of Myth and Monsters wasn't released to coincide with the release of Kid Icarus: Uprising. Oh well, my copy of Kid Icarus: Uprising has shipped and I will also be getting Kid Icarus 3D Classics soon so I'm good.

I don't know who any of these artists are. I guess that means that I must be getting old.

Not on the Wii U? That is a missed opportunity for Nintendo. Looks like I will be getting this game on either the PS3 or Xbox 360.

I really hope that they don't end up canceling the 3DS version. I already own this game on the PS3 but I really want to experience it in 3D. I feel that it could add a lot of depth to the gameplay if executed properly. I could always pick it up for Vita if it never gets released but personally I would rather have a portable, 3D version.

Great review Thomas. As eager as I am to play this I have to say that I still have my reservations about the controls. The reviews for this game have so far been a mixed bag. Some say the controls make this game almost unplayable while others say that you just have to get used to it. I have it on pre-order and will most likely still get it. I want to try it out for myself. I'm hoping that the good stuff will outweigh the bad. Oh and getting Kid Icarus 3D Classic as a pre-order bonus is another definite plus.

Thanks for the review Philip! I am definitely picking this one up now. It looked really impressive on the YouTube gameplay videos I watched. I never played a Game Gear game before so I'm looking forward to trying this out. Nice to see that SEGA put so much effort into the emulation of these games.

If Kid Icarus can make a comeback then StarTropics can too. Please make it happen Nintendo! Oh and bring back Drill Dozer while you're at it too.