Most Recent: 3DS
A Day-By-Day Guide to All of 2016’s New Video Games (April – September)
The Spring and Summer months are currently less dense with new releases than the first three months of the year, but that should change fairly soon, especially since publishers have staked a claim to every week from the beginning of April to the end of June with at least one big new release dropping every seven days.
Are you ready? Because here… we… go… (more…)
Nintendo Download: Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, Shutshimi, Typoman demo, more
Resident Evil 4 is getting yet another re-release as Capcom added Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition to the Wii U eShop today. Leon Kennedy’s search for the President’s daughter should be playable with the Wii U GamePad (though Nintendo didn’t mention it in their announcement), and it also includes the Ada Wong-starring “Separate Ways” campaign. Just watch out for those zombies.
Also available to download on the Wii U today is Shutshimi, a shooter that stars “a musclebound fish with memory problems.” I guess it’s a good thing that each level is only ten seconds long.
Finally this week, in case you missed it last year, a demo of the excellent Typoman is now available to download on the Wii U eShop. If the trial version of the title piques your interest, you can upgrade to the full game for a discounted price for the next two weeks as Typoman is 15% off until February 18.
More information on all of these games (and several other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
WB Games and TT Games will release Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens on June 28
WB Games has announced the Lego Star Wars series will make its triumphant return this Summer with the release of Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens on June 28. The game will include a Lego-ized retelling of the latest entry in the Star Wars saga, while also offering levels built around the events that happened after the end of Return of the Jedi.
The Lego Star Wars series has sold 33 million copies since making its debut on the PS2 in 2005, but developer TT Games still has new ideas in store for The Force Awakens. These new features will include “intense Blaster Battles,” aerial dogfights (in outer space and ground-based arenas), and the “Multi-Build” system, which will allow players to choose from multiple building options to advance in the game.
Players will get the chance to visit Jakku and Starkiller Base in Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as take control of Resistance and First Order fighters like Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma. Finally, PS4 and PS3 players will receive bonus content for the game including a Droid Character Pack and Phantom Limb Level Pack. More details on those add-ons will be announced at a later date.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will, not surprisingly, be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Nominate your favorite game for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) at The Strong Museum is once again seeking nominations for its World Video Game Hall of Fame. The Class of 2016 will be announced on May 5, but the museum will solicit suggestions from the general public until February 29. Anyone interested in nominating their favorite game should visit the Hall of Fame’s website, and they should also keep the selection criteria in mind:
- Icon Status: The game is widely recognized and remembered.
- Longevity: The game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time.
- Geographical Reach: The game meets the above criteria across international boundaries.
- Influence: The game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. A game may be inducted on the basis of this criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.
Six games were selected for induction in 2015 (Doom, Pac-Man, Pong, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and World of Warcraft), and a similar number of titles will likely make the cut in May. That means nine games from last year’s shortlist failed to be inducted (Angry Birds, FIFA International Soccer, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Pokemon Red/Blue, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders), but they’ll likely be at the top of the suggestion pool again this year.
This year’s finalists will be chosen by an internal advisory committee from the ICHEG, and will be revealed to the public on March 29. The new class of inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame will be selected by an international selection committee made up of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.
Bayonetta and Corrin will be available to download for Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U this week; See them battle it out in a new trailer
The final downloadable characters for Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U, Bayonetta and Corrin, will be available to download from the Nintendo eShop on February 3. But if you want to get a sneak peek at the two fighters in action, then be sure to check out this new gameplay trailer from Nintendo UK.
Both characters will be available in several different packages. Corrin will be priced at $4.99 (or $5.99 to receive access to the character on both the 3DS and Wii U), while Bayonetta is slightly more expensive ($5.99 individually or $6.99 on both platforms) as she comes bundled with the Umbra Clock Tower stage.
And speaking of the Umbra Clock Tower, Nintendo UK uploaded a second new gameplay trailer that takes place on Bayonetta’s home turf. It’s been embedded after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Final Fantasy Explorers, FF Tactics Advance, Lego Avengers, more
You’ll find a double shot of Final Fantasy in this week’s Nintendo Download as Final Fantasy Explorers is now available to download for the 3DS and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has made the jump to the Wii U.
Ditching the turn-based format of most Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy Explorers is an action RPG for the 3DS that asks players to slay massive monsters while taking control of the franchise’s most famous faces. Players will also be able to choose from more than 20 jobs and summon eidolons like Ifrit and Bahamut. Over on the Wii U, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance joins the Virtual Console and reintroduces players to the land of Ivalice in a strategic RPG originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.
Another dynamic duo of games flew onto the Nintendo eShop this week with the release of Lego Avengers for the 3DS and Wii U this week. WB Games and TT Games turned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for their latest Lego game, adapting six of the films from the sprawling saga: Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Detective Pikachu will be released for the 3DS on February 3… but only in Japan
Nintendo has revealed that Detective Pikachu, an adventure game where the world’s most famous Pokemon wears a deerstalker hat and gives eloquent speeches with commanding authority, will be released for the 3DS on February 3… in Japan. A North American release date for Detective Pikachu has yet to be announced, but only a handful of Pokemon have ever failed to make the trip across the Pacific, so I assume it’s only a matter of time.
Though first announced in 2013, a good portion of Detective Pikachu’s background is still a mystery (heh). We know it’s an adventure game of some kind and that a teenage boy serves as Detective Pikachu’s Watson… and that’s about it. The important question of just how Detective Pikachu can talk goes unanswered.
Hopefully, we’ll learn the solution to that question soon.