Most Recent: Wii U
Finn stars in the second Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Character Trailer
WB Games is back with a second “Character Vignette” from Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and this time they’ve focused on Finn, everyone’s favorite ex-Stormtrooper.
Watch as Finn helps Chewbacca stuff Captain Phasma down the garbage chute, and hear new dialogue recorded by John Boyega as Finn explains to Han Solo that everything’s going to be OK (grumpy Han Solo sounds less than convinced).
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released on June 28 for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Spider-Man joins Lego Avengers today as part of free Spider-Man Character Pack
Spider-Man officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this month’s Captain America: Civil War, and now the webhead is heading to Lego Avengers as part of the Spider-Man Character Pack. Available as a free download for Lego Avengers owners on the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, the Spider-Man Character Pack will actually include six different webslinging characters:
Spider-Man Character Pack
- Spider-Man (Captain America: Civil War)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
- Spider-Man (Mile Morales)
- Spider-Girl
- Iron Spider
- Scarlet Spider
You can also check out the Spider-Man Character Pack trailer embedded above to see Spider-Man (and friends) do whatever a spider can.
Shovel Knight is getting a series of tie-in kids books this January
Shovel Knight lives by the Codes of Shovelry, and the teachings of this ancient art helped him topple the Order of No Quarter in Yacht Club’s excellent side-scrolling platformer of the same name. Capturing the hearts and minds of nostalgic gamers everywhere after his 2014 debut, Shovel Knight will take on his greatest challenge next year… the Children’s Literature section of your local bookstore.
Yacht Club Games has partnered with Grosset & Dunlap to publish a series of Shovel Knight-themed books targeted at kids 8-12 years old. The four books announced so far include:
- Shovel Knight Guidebook, a 176-page strategy guide that includes all of Shovel Knight’s secrets and tips to defeat the Order of No Quarter.
- Shovel Knight: Codes of Shovelry Handbook, which will teach readers more about the characters from the game, “as well as tips for enhanced gameplay.”
- Shovel Knight: Digger’s Diary, a journal filled with “fun activities, challenging mazes and puzzles, and writing prompts.”
- Shovel Knight Mad Libs, which promises 21 silly stories from the world of Shovel Knight.
Yacht Club expects to release Shovel Knight’s final two expansions by the end of the year, which nicely matches up with the January 10, 2017 release date for the game’s first four tie-in books.
Nintendo Download: PokePark Wii, Contra III: The Alien Wars, PixelJunk Monsters, more
We’re taking a trip back in time for this week’s Nintendo Download…
PokePark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure was originally released for the Wii in 2010, and its now available to download through the Wii U eShop. An action-adventure game, players will guide Pikachu through a Pokemon-themed amusement park in a quest to reassemble the Sky Prism.
Going back even further, PixelJunk Monsters is a tower defense title from Q-Games that was originally released for the PS3 in 2008. It’s now available to download for the Wii U, and Q-Games is calling it, “The Definitive Monsters Experience.”
Finally this week, Konami and Nintendo reached way back to bring Contra III: The Alien Wars to the 3DS eShop. Available only for the New 3DS, Nintendo fans will get another chance to re-buy one of the greatest side-scrolling shooters of all time, which was originally released for the Super NES in 1992.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Poe Dameron is the star of the first Character Trailer from Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will bring the beloved franchise back to that galaxy far, far away in just a few weeks, but first the developers are doing their best Han Solo and jumping to lightspeed with a series of brand new Character Trailers. First up is Poe Dameron, the decorated X-Wing pilot played by Oscar Isaac.
Isaac recorded new dialogue for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, proving that even a Lego Minifigure can be cocky and charming all at the same time.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on June 28.
Mutant Mudds Super Challenge Review: Dirty Deeds
When one hears the word “bully,” the archetypal image that usually comes to mind is that of a hulking brute. A dimwitted, slack-jawed, pit-stained-t-shirt-wearing oaf that couldn’t tell what a rhombus is, let alone be able to spell it. Not often do you hear of the nerdy kid with glasses being the jerk in the bunch. But I tell you this – I got my ass kicked by this bespectacled geek more times than I would by any bully. And these were brutal beatings, causing me great pain, uncompromising fury, and the occasional tear. Cruelly mocking me with every blow. Unrelenting. But you know what? I was totally cool with it. (more…)
Nintendo has sold more than 3.5 million copies of Super Mario Maker
With the launch of the NX looming, it’s painfully obvious that the Wii U failed to hit the mark with the video game community. According to their most recent financial report, Nintendo has sold less than 13 million Wii U consoles, which is just a fraction of the install base owned by Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. But that hasn’t stopped the consolemaker from creating compelling software that speaks to Wii U owners everywhere.
Just yesterday, Nintendo revealed that more than 25% of all Wii U owners have purchased Super Mario Maker, which translates to more than 3.5 million copies sold worldwide. These Mario fanatics have also managed to produce more than 7.2 million courses, and it would take the average person quite a long time to play them all:
If you played every level in #SuperMarioMaker for 1 minute each, it would take you nearly 14 years to play them all! pic.twitter.com/vEzBMTLGg8
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 17, 2016
Super Mario Maker’s 3.5 million copies puts it just outside the Wii U’s Top 5 behind Mario Kart 8, New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, and Splatoon.
Kickstart This! Lynn and the Spirits of Inao
UPDATE: The Kickstarter campaign for Lynn and the Spirits of Inao has been canceled after allegations that Bloomylight Studio illegally refused to pay a group of interns who helped develop the game. More information is available in this post on Reddit and in an update to the campaign.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Welcome back, potential crowdfunding donors, to the weekly Kickstart This! This week’s focus is on Lynn and the Spirits of Inao, a magical platformer courtesy of Bloomylight Studio. It had some stiff competition, namely from Pirates of the Polygon Sea by Praxia Entertainment, which is a fast-paced, cartoony version of the sailing sections in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. There’s also 80s arcade space shooter Dystoria, which piqued my interests with its retro style, but also looked like a retread of The Last Starfighter.
So let’s see why Lynn and the Spirits of Inao won me over… (more…)