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Nintendo Download: Fire Emblem Echoes, Thumper, Darksiders Warmastered Edition, more
It’s Thursday, and Nintendo is back with another update to the Nintendo eShop. Here’s what you’ll see on the storefront’s digital shelves…
After 25 years, Nintendo is finally Fire Emblem Gaiden to a North American audience as Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for the 3DS. Fire Emblem Echoes is a tactical RPG with a pair of intertwining stories that began life as an NES exclusive previously only available in Japan. Set to launch tomorrow, Fire Emblem Echoes is expected to be the last game in the series to appear on the 3DS.
Jumping over to the Switch shelves, Drool has brought their “rhythm violence” game Thumper to Nintendo’s newest console. Guide your “Space Beetle” down a track by hitting the right notes, and do then battle with a “Giant Head From the Future” to win.
Finally, the Wii U lives for another week with the release of apocalyptic action game Darksiders: Warmastered Edition on Tuesday, May 23.
You can find more information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Darksiders, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Thumper
Injustice 2, Chroma Squad, The Surge, more added to PS Store
The heroes and villains of the DC Universe collide once more in Injustice 2, which is now available to download for the PS4. Developed by NetherRealm Studios, the sequel introduces a new antagonist (the planet collector Brainiac) and a customizable Gear System.
Also available to download for the PS4 this week (on Friday) is Chroma Squad, a strategy RPG heavily inspired by the Power Rangers franchise, and The Surge, a new Souls-like action RPG from Focus Home Interactive and Deck 13.
As usual, a smattering of other games were also added to the PlayStation Store including Akiba’s Beat (PS4 and Vita), an action RPG from Acquire; Shadow Warrior 2 (PS4), a goofy FPS sequel from Flying Wild Hog; Farpoint (PS4), a PlayStation VR-powered shooter from Sony; and Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (Vita), an overhead action RPG that is rather reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Chroma Squad, Injustice 2, Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas, The Surge
New Retail Releases: Injustice 2, Fire Emblem Echoes, The Surge, More
The DC Universe will descend into civil war once more with this week’s release of Injustice 2 for the PS4 and Xbox One. But in addition to a new antagonist (Brainiac), the latest one-on-one fighting game from NetherRealm Studios will introduce a special Gear System that allows players to customize their favorite character in interesting new ways.
Speaking of war, Nintendo will also launch Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for the 3DS this week. Widely expected to be the final Fire Emblem game released for the 3DS, Echoes is an enhanced remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, which was originally released in 1992, and only in Japan.
A wholly different type of RPG will be available from Focus Home and Deck 13, as they’ll release The Surge for the PS4 and Xbox One. An action RPG set in a science fiction setting, The Surge requires players to augment their character with technological enhancements and scavenge additional powerups from dismembered enemies.
Finally this week, the sugary and sweet Cooking Mama franchise returns to the 3DS with Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop. Seems like a rather appropriate choice for Mother’s Day.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Injustice 2, The Surge
The Video Game Canon: Contra
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon by calling up the two commandos from Contra to examine the history of gaming’s most famous cheat code. Here’s a teaser…
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.
The rhythm of the words made them sound less like a controller input and more like a prayer. By “speaking” the correct phrase with their controller as the Contra title screen rolled into view, players were able to invoke the spirit of the developers and begin the game with 27 additional lives. In a way, the Konami Code was quite literally a gift from the gods behind the game’s creation, and not so dissimilar from the God Mode cheat that was included in early first-person shooters like Doom.
The Konami Code was originally programmed into 1986’s Gradius by Kazuhisa Hashimoto as a way to unlock a huge weapons cache in the notoriously difficult shooter. He has even joked that the button sequence was left in the game by accident. The Code quickly became an accepted part of the of the publisher’s identity, and its inclusion in Contra (along with Super Mario Bros.‘s Warp Zones and Metroid‘s password system) changed the way people progressed through a game’s levels. These features meant that players were no longer forced to follow the same trail through a game. Now, they could veer off in new directions, and discover what secrets a game held on their own.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in Features, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon
Tagged Contra
Nintendo Download: Minecraft Switch Edition, Garou Mark of the Wolves, Elliot Quest
Three new games are now available to download through the Nintendo eShop, but we start with the biggest game on the planet right now… Minecraft.
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition brings the popular open world game to Nintendo’s newest console, and players will be able to join up with three other friends for local multiplayer, while up to eight can venture forth together online. The Nintendo Switch Edition of Minecraft also includes the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, so everyone can transform the game’s blocky terrain into a mirror of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Beginning today, Switch owners will also get the chance to download SNK’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Originally released for the NeoGeo in 1999, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is a one-on-one fighting game, and the last game to date in the Fatal Fury series.
Finally this week, Elliot Quest was added to the 3DS side of the eShop. Developer PlayEveryWare created an 8-bit adventure that was inspired by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Mega Man II, and players will battle through five dungeons to cure Elliot of his curse.
You can learn more about all of these games after the break. (more…)
Nintendo’s E3 2017 presentation will focus on Super Mario Odyssey and other Switch games coming this year
Nintendo has announced that they’re kicking off their E3 2017 activities with a special “Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2017” presentation on Tuesday, June 13. “Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2017” will deliver new information about Super Mario Odyssey, as well as other Switch games scheduled to launch this year. The presentation begins at 12:00 noon (Eastern Time), and fans can watch it via e3.Nintendo.com. As in years past, Nintendo will follow their consumer-focused Press Conference with a series of “Nintendo Treehouse: Live at E3” segments all throughout the week.
Nintendo’s E3 portal will also feature livestreamed coverage of the first tournaments for Arms and Splatoon 2 at this year’s Expo:
Nintendo will also host game tournaments that will be livestreamed from the E3 show floor. The 2017 Splatoon 2 World Inkling Invitational splats onto the scene on June 13 and features Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch. Composed of four pre-qualified squid squads from the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, the tournament will find teams participating in the first-ever international Splatoon 2 competition. The second tournament, the 2017 Arms Open Invitational, takes place on June 14 and will feature Nintendo’s upcoming Arms fighting game for Nintendo Switch.
Finally, E3 attendees will get the chance to try out Super Mario Odyssey for the first time, along with other games coming to the Switch and 3DS this year.
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch
Tagged Arms, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey
Contra is being adapted into a live-action movie in China
Konami gleefully ripped off Aliens and Predator when they were developing Contra back in 1987, but they also wound up creating one of the greatest side-scrolling shooters of all time. so I’d call it a wash. But 30 years later, it looks like Contra will finally be going the other way, as a group of Chinese filmmakers have stepped forward to create a live-action adaptation of the game.
According to China Film Insider, Contra: The Movie will shift the action to an island in the South China Sea, but it’ll otherwise stick to the same story beats:
In 1988, a huge meteorite lands on an uninhabited island in the South China Sea. Chen Qiang and Li Zhiyong investigate but come up empty handed. 29 years later, Chen sends commandos Bill and Lance into a combat mission there to neutralize the villainous Red Falcon Organization, but end up facing a different enemy altogether.
Contra: The Movie is being produced by Beijing Starlit Movie and TV Culture, and a short teaser video has been embedded above.
LocoRoco Remastered, Strafe, NBA Playgrounds, more added to PS Store
It’s another throwback day for the PlayStation Store as several classic games receive re-releases on new platforms and long-forgotten genres get another chance with the gaming public.
First up is LocoRoco Remastered, a PS4 re-release of a quirky puzzle platformer originally released for the PSP. Players will need to tilt LocoRoco’s world of “blowing flowers, lively creatures, and pastel scenery” to fight back against a group of evil outer space creatures.
Also available to download this week is Strafe, a retro-styled first person shooter for the PS4 that includes procedurally-generated levels and tons of gore. And speaking of retro style, Saber Interactive has brought back the arcade antics of the NBA Jam franchise in NBA Playgrounds, which also launched yesterday for the PS4.
Fans of the Harvest Moon series will be pleased to learn that Yasuhiro Wada is back with another life simulation, Birthdays the Beginning. It’s launching on the PS4 alongside Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland, which was originally released for the PS2 in 2001. Resident Evil: Code Veronica X was also added to the PS2-On-PS4 section of the PlayStation Store yesterday.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged LocoRoco, NBA Playgrounds, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Strafe