Game/Tech Review: Nintendo 3DS XL System

It's certainly bigger, but is it actually better?

Way back in March of 2011, when the 2012 Olympics were still far enough down the line that the horrendous logo wasn't plastered on everything under the sun, Nintendo released their next generation of handheld video game consoles, the Nintendo 3DS. Many eager gamers lined up for midnight launches across the country to get their hands on the new fancy 'glasses-less 3D' system. Despite the heavy anticipation and hype surrounding the system, the 3DS saw fairly lacklustre sales in its opening months, perhaps it was the wallet-devouring launch price of £220-£230, maybe it was the lack of must-have AAA game titles or it could have been the lack in significant aesthetics and name from Nintendo's previous DS handheld models, the Nintendo DS, DS Lite and DSi appearing to be just another revision rather than a fully new, more powerful system. Whatever the cause it prompted Nintendo to act quickly and slash the retail price of the 3DS to a far more acceptable £149.99 in stores, this new price cut and a handful of new must-have titles such as the Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS remake inflicted a huge and healthy spike in 3DS console sales.

Fast forward to now, the end of July 2012 and Nintendo have released a hardware revision of the 3DS, just 18 months after the 3DS launch. This revision, the 3DS XL's main selling point it commands is the 90% larger screens, 'the largest screens ever on a Nintendo handheld' the adverts boast. The top screen stretches 4.88 inches diagonally and the bottom touch screen at 4.18 inches. The original 3DS displays came in at 3.53" and 3.02" respectively.

Having played a few different games on the top screen, I've already begun to appreciate the larger, less reflective screen, 3DS games look great on it and the 3D works even better than before, with a larger 'viewing window' thanks to the screen size boost, this 'sweet spot' for the 3D is much more accessible. I often found myself holding the original 3DS closer than I would like to see more of the detail or get the best out of the 3D. Thankfully the 3DS XL can be played from a more comfortable distance without feeling the need to bring the system closer.
Up close however the 3DS XL does highlight the fairly low resolution (400x240 or 800x240 with 3D) of the top screen. If you look closely enough the pixels are far more visible to the human eye than they were on the 3DS. As Nintendo opted to keep the screen resolution the same some games can appear slightly more pixelated or 'jaggy' but I never found it to detract from my gameplay sessions, in fact, I found myself somewhat more immersed in games than I had been with the original 3DS.

Alongside the behemoth sized screens Nintendo has given the main body a slight makeover, gone are the fingerprint magnet glossy coats and instead, we're treated to a more premium and in my opinion, more attractive dual matte finish in black and either metallic Blue, Red or Silver. The stylus (which is now one solid body rather than the telescopic 3DS stylus) has been re-positioned to the right-hand side, in a move mirroring the DS to DS Lite stylus relocation, which is far more accessible during gameplay. Scrambling to find the stylus on the back of the original 3DS during gameplay was either hectic or game-pausing, the experience is far more seamless now.

The face buttons have seen some minor improvements, which now feel more clicky and as a result ever so slightly more responsive. The D-pad has received a minor size increase and due to the larger 3DS body, is far more practical to use in games, the original 3DS' size and shape made using the D-pad cumbersome and even cramp-inducing, so far I've had no complaints about using the D-pad on the 3DS XL. This brings me to the overall ergonomics of the unit, the console feels much sleeker and more comfortable to hold than its predecessor, which had protruding square edges and corners which I found didn't get on well with my gaming palms. This one fits far more elegantly into your hands and doesn't overstay it's welcome when playing for longer periods.


The lack of a second analogue slider pad is disappointing but I'd be lying if I said it was a deal-breaker, there are only a handful of games that make use of the Circle Pad Pro accessory for the 3DS, which I primarily used as a means of acquiring a more comfortable grip for my original 3DS. Nintendo announced a 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro would be released later in the year for those who refuse to play Metal Gear Solid 3, Resident Evil Revelations and the other couple of games without dual analogue action. Oddly the 3DS XL also lacks a power supply in the box, while this may benefit the size of the box and production costs it does leave new 3DS XL owners without a means to actually charge the system, Some retailers have bundled it with the system or it can be purchased separately for less than a tenner, the box subtly alerts consumers with small warnings as to the lack of a charger. One thing I felt the original 3DS did right was the inclusion of a plastic charging cradle users could effortlessly dump their console into charge when they were done gaming, without the need to fiddle around and plug in the power cable, sadly Nintendo has opted out of including a cradle for the 3DS XL in the box, although it is available for cradle lovers to purchase separately along with the missing charger for a questionable £20, I guess that's what Nintendo consider the price of conveniently charging your portable games system.

As well as all the aesthetic and ergonomic improvements Nintendo have also shoved in a larger battery for good measure, an inevitability really when those larger screens are going to need more precious energy. The battery life actually improves and last an hour to an hour and a half longer than the original 3DS on a full charge depending on brightness and wireless settings, a welcome upgrade considering the original 3DS' battery life wasn't great which goes against the grain for a Nintendo handheld.

Many of these improvements help fix many of the issues I had with the original 3DS and as a handheld, the 3DS XL feels far more suited for longer gameplay sessions. However, there are still a few areas the 3DS XL leaves me wondering why they didn't touch them up too. The cameras are as still shockingly bad as they were back on the DSi and original 3DS: grainy and low-quality, and I was disappointed the analogue slide pad isn't coated with a more grip-able texture though it's far from unusable. The sound levels coming from the unit's speakers were almost if not entirely identical to the original 3DS speakers, even at maximum volume it's not particularly loud and doesn't impress the ears. Of course, the use of headphones can alleviate this problem but I'm not one to wear headphones around the house which is, which is where I spend the majority of my 3DS gaming time, despite it being portable.


Perhaps it's all due to my issues with the original 3DS but when it comes down to it, I'd be hard-pressed to argue that 3DS XL's improvements aren't significant enough to recommend it over the original for first-time buyers looking to buy a Nintendo 3DS. The longer battery life and the more ergonomically satisfying form factor were enough for me to opt for an upgrade from my 3DS. The larger screen is definitely a bonus too, especially for the glasses-less 3D.  For others considering upgrading, I'd still recommend if like me, you find the original 3DS' comfort levels just aren't adequate enough for something designed to frequently fit in your hands for various periods. If you're still happy enough with your original 3DS and don't have the cash to spare then stick with it. A substantial influence on my decision to upgrade was a local retailer's surprisingly generous trade-in value for the original 3DS when put against the new 3DS XL. The lack of including a power adaptor is a confusing move by Nintendo but a problem that can be easily and cheaply solved. Those looking for more power and higher-end graphics closer to the likes seen on home consoles may be better suited to Sony's marginally more expensive offering, the PS Vita.

Product: 3DS XL
Manufacturer: Nintendo Co. Ltd
Release Date: 28/7/2012 (Europe/Japan) 19/8/2012 (North America/Australia)
Retail price: £179.99 (UK) $199 (USA)
Colours Available: Red+Black/Blue+Black/Silver+Black (Europe/Japan only)

The Good:
+ Playing games on the new larger screen looks and feels great
+ Less glare/reflection on the top screen
+ Glasses less 3D simply looks and works better thanks to the larger screen
+ Improved battery life
+ Nicer Dpad and face buttons and proper start/select/home buttons
+ The units sleeker and more rounded edges make it more comfortable to hold for prolonged gameplay sessions
+ Stylus now far more accessible during gameplay
+ Fewer fingerprints thanks to the matte finish


The Bad:
- Heavier and less portable
- Still the same low screen resolutions
- Some games can look slightly worse on the larger screens
- Lack of a second analogue slider pad feels like a missed opportunity
- No charger in the box
- No significant improvements to the mediocre speakers
- Incompatible with many 3DS accessories (including circle pad pro)

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Game Review: Mutant Mudds

Mutant Mudds brings us back to the old-school retro style look, and it's a game that should be played by all seasoned players! This one was supposed to be released as a retail title on Nintendo DS as Maximilian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds, but sadly, that didn't happen. The project was then moved to Nintendo's DSiWare service, but ended up not going there either. The game eventually found a home on the Nintendo eShop and PC, under its current name today. It's been a long time coming, but it has been worth the wait!


This game is developed by Renegade Kid, the team that worked on popular games such as Dementium and Moon for the Nintendo DS, and is lead by Jools Watsham. Mutant Mudds is an old-school platformer, where your objective is to eliminate the invasion of Mutant Mudds that have landed on Earth!

The player controls Max. Max is equipped with a jet pack, allowing him to hover across areas he can't do by just jumping alone (which is very similar to Gargoyle's Quest on the Game Boy). Also equipped is a water cannon to help eliminate enemies. There are 40 levels spanning across 5 worlds in the game, which includes main, secret and boss levels. Each main level has 100 jewels, and a water sprite in all levels to collect. Mutant Mudds difficulty is harder than first expected. The level design is done extremely well, and the environment of the enemy's moves takes a while to get used to. There are warp panels that allows Max to further away or closer towards you, which may alert some players like myself of where you are and where you're actually going (believe me, I got tricked at a couple points near the end of a level because I thought I was touching the water sprite, but really wasn't!). Also, each level has to be done on a time limit, which may put some pressure on players to get everything in that level. Each level has a secret area, which is marked either G-Land or V-Land. These secret level doors actually has an influence to the Game Boy and Virtual Boy. Fortunately, when you enter these secret doors, the time resets. If you die in these secret areas you immediately go right back to the beginning of it without having to start at the beginning of the main level itself. In terms of collecting things, you only need to collect the water sprite itself. However, that doesn't mean you will go without a challenge, as the secret areas may be harder than the main areas, bringing veteran players to the test.


Mutant Mudds has great usage of the 3D feature, with at least three layers put into it. The 3D fits quite well with the colourful, retro layout. Another thing that gave me quite the appreciation is the chiptune music, which is an added bonus! Going to the game over screen a lot of times usually is frustrating, however with this one, the music really touches my heart and is one of the most memorable tunes I've heard in a long time!

If there is any complaints about Mutant Mudds I have, it's the lack of items and objects. There is only three available right now, which is not much. If it had a variety of weapons and/or objects of such like in the Mega Man games, then players would have the ability to pick the weapon of their choice.


Conclusion


Renegade Kid has made Mutant Mudds is a game that can't be missed. It's clever level design and its difficulty makes this a must download purchase. Although, the initial game is fairly short, there will be extra levels added soon. If you're a fan of these types of games, or someone who is looking for something new to play, go download this now and experience this terrific retro-style platformer!

Publisher: Renegade Kid

Developer: Renegade Kid

Genre: Platformer

Platform: 3DS eShop (Reviewed), PC

Players: 1

Release Date: 21st June 2012

Price: £8.00/$8.99

By Vernon Schieck

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Game Review: Family Tennis 3D

Family Tennis 3DS eShop Review

ARC System Works recently brought its first 3D entry of the Family Series to the Nintendo 3DS eShop. The Family series first appeared on WiiWare, but they were just average or below par than what 3DS gamers had hoped. However, this title follows a whole new format so read on to see how this one did:

Family Tennis 3D brings us those same familiar characters that we saw in the other Family games. In terms of game modes, there is: Quick play and game play. Quick play throws you into a quick casual match against an opponent randomly chosen, and set usually at two games, one set matches. This mode is a good way for you to get used to the game. In game play, you have the option of choosing either free play, tournament, and minigames. Free play allows you to select singles and doubles, as well as the characters and the option or how long you want your game to be. Tournament mode provides you a series of matches on the difficulty of choice. You can only select higher difficulties if you completed tournament on the lower ones. Finally, minigames allows you to pick between three different options that has an objective of trying to get a higher score than your opponent. In terms of other features, unfortunately there is no multiplayer, which will probably set other players, along with myself disappointed there is none of that in this Family series entry.

The games controls allow the usage of the circle pad to move your character. It's a shame there is no option to use both the d-pad and circle pad. Additionally, the movement is wonky at times, making it difficult running to get the ball and hitting it. It seems you character dives down almost every time you do both actions almost or entirely at the same time. Also, some of those opportunities to do a smash hit sometimes goes over the area mark, making these efforts frustrating at some of these moments.
The 3D capabilities are at least decent, but do not exceed what I was expecting. It is not terrible by any means, but the developer could have added more more layer or depth to the game. The animations are good though, and the additions of viewing replays after every score, as well as the ability to change camera views are welcome additions.

Conclusion
Family Tennis 3D at the core is a passable tennis title, but does not rise to the quality tennis fans would hope for. The game's often poor controls and lack of controller options makes me difficult to recommend this game to 3DS owners. There is an option to set it to easy mode, but unfortunately it doesn't make much of a difference. Unless you are a huge fan of all of ARC System Works past games in the Family series, it's best shy away from this title and to just save your cash something such as Mario Tennis Open for your portable tennis fix.

Developer: Arc System Works

Publisher: Arc System Works

Platforms: 3DS eShop 

Genre: Sports

North America Date: 5th July 2012 / 

Europe & UK Date: TBA

Price: $6.99

- Vernon Schieck

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Game News: Nintendo eShop Anniversary Sale

Nintendo celebrates eShop's first birthday with discounted titles

Nintendo announced during the recent Nintendo Direct that a special anniversary/summer sale taking effect over the next fortnight in Europe and Japan to celebrate the Nintendo eShop's first anniversary.

For North American 3DS owners, the downloadable Gameboy classic, Super Mario Land will be on sale for the discounted price of $2.99 from June 6th-24th 

Between June 22nd and June 28th the following titles will be reduced by 20%:

Pullblox - £4.30 

Zen Pinball 3D - £3.60 

Let's Golf 3D - £4.30 

Super Mario Land - £2.90 

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX - £4.30 

In the week that follows, June 28th to July 5th, these games will be discounted:

Dillon's Rolling Western 

Freakyforms 

Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! 

Mighty Switch Force! 

Super Mario Land 2

- Vernon Schieck

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Game News: Nintendo 3DS XL Announced

Nintendo announces new jumbo 3DS revision

Nintendo has announced a new 3DS hardware revision at its latest Nintendo Direct broadcast.
Simply named the Nintendo 3DS XL (or Nintendo 3DS LL in Japan), the system revision shares similarities to the Nintendo DSi XL/LL that was released in 2010.

The Nintendo 3DS XL comes in three colours. In Europe it will be Blue, Red and Silver while Japanese gamers can get White, Red and Black and Silver and Black. It features an increase in screen size to 90% larger than the original Nintendo 3DS' screen and features a longer battery life. Ranging from 3.5 to 6.5 hours for Nintendo 3DS software and 6 to 10 hours for Nintendo DS software, depending on the brightness of the system, 3D usage and other features.

The pixel density of the 3DS XL works out to be less of a significant decrease in ppi than the DSiXL was due to the 3DS' higher resolution screen meaning 3DS titles shouldn't suffer too much graphically from the jump in size.


Original 3DS: 132.15ppi
3DS XL: 95.59ppi
----------
Original DS: 106.67ppi
DS Lite: 102.56ppi
DSi: 98: 46ppi
DSi XL: 76.19ppi
Source: [en.wikipedia.org] & [pixeldensitycalculator.com]

The Nintendo 3DS XL will release simultaneously in Europe, for around £179.99, and in Japan on July 28th, and finally in North America on August 19th for $199.99


- Vernon Schieck

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Game Review: Pushmo

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Platform: Nintendo 3DS (download)
• Genre: Puzzle
• Release Date: 8th December 2011
• Price: £5.40/$6.99

Pushmo (known as Pullblox in Europe) is Intelligent Systems first entry on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS system. The company is well known for making the Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario and WarioWare franchises. Intelligent Systems has a great tracking record behind the other franchises they contributed as well, so you can be assured that this one will be great too! Believe me, you will not be disappointed when you purchase this download title!

Finally, I've saved you!

The game is set in Pushmo Park, which contains special puzzles called Pushmo. Each puzzle is stacked of colourful blocks and are designed to slide forwards and backwards to three rows. Players control Mallo, a round and happy human-like character. He is instructed by Papa Blox to rescue the children trapped in the puzzles. The objective of the game is to create an appropriate path that you can rescue the child trapped in the puzzle and/or locate the goal flag. On the way there, Mallo must go through certain obstacles, such as manholes, ladders and triggering switches that only certain blocks full forward. The puzzle's difficulty is set upon the number of stars showing on that level. The higher the stars, the harder its going to be. In the beginning levels, the game teaches you the basics of how to move these blocks, so you can access the goal area. Further on when you progressed through a certain number of puzzles, you'll go into the advanced lessons learning about the more difficult objects, like the switches mentioned above and going through manholes that are only the same colour. Once that has been done you'll be able to go through puzzles that have this technique. The great part of this is you may even come across some Nintendo inspired levels as well, which is full of nostalgia!

Pushmo takes great advantage of the steostopic 3D feature, which is pretty amazing! At the beginning of every level the blocks are all flattened at the back, making them invisible until you pull them forward. When you start to pull them a bit, the 3D effect starts to come towards you a bit as well. The game's art is incredible, especially in 3D. The bright vibrant colours from the blocks are coming through very nicely. In terms of the sound, it flows very well with the gameplay. The 8-bit and modern beats blend nicely together.

Experience how the game plays visually by watching this trailer.

Pushmo Studio is the place to create custom puzzles to play yourself or a friend. You can also put the puzzle data on a QR code to share to others in popular places such as the Internet.

Conclusion

Pushmo is by far one of the best games available on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS system. With charming and addicting gameplay at a value price. It's a bit disappointing that there is no StreetPass or SpotPass features involved in this game; but the inclusion of the QR code feature kind of makes up for it. Nonetheless, I highly recommend everyone that has a Nintendo 3DS system to make a purchase and download the game right now and experience this gem!

-Vernon Schieck

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Game Review: The Pinball Arcade - As Good as it Gets

• Publisher: FarSight Studios
• Developer: Crave Entertainment
• Platforms: Xbox 360 (XBLA, Reviewed), Playstation 3 (PSN), iOS, Android, Macintosh. Windows PC and Nintendo 3DS announced
• Genres: Simulation
• Players: 1-4
• Release Date: April 4, 2012 (PSN/XBLA)
• Price:  $10/800 MSP (PSN/XBLA)

By now, it’s probably safe to say that a good majority of the gaming population has never experienced the joys of a real arcade. Pinball tables have become scarce which is a particular shame since, even more so than most arcade cabinets, there’s really no way to truly recreate the physicality and connectedness of real pinball in a virtual environment. The Pinball Arcade from FarSight Studios comes damn close, reproducing in painstaking detail every nuance and quirk that exists on their real-life counterparts.

PS3 and 360 owners who are familiar with any of the four tables initially available with the game (selections from Bally, Williams, Stern and Gottlieb – Theatre of Magic, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Ripley’s Believe it or Not! and Black Hole, respectively) will immediately feel right at home, and should find that for the most part, the action and ball physics feel just about right. Everything from the table art and playfields to the sounds, soundtracks and the dot matrix displays are meticulously recreated and a blast to play. But I want to make this clear right away: The Pinball Arcade is as much for people who have never been lucky enough to experience a real table as it is for nostalgia seekers and enthusiasts.

Black Hole, with its reversed lower playfield

Video pinball isn’t anything new, of course. Notably Zen Studios have emerged as champions of the genre, with Zen Pinball and its upcoming sequel (PSN), and Pinball FX & FX2 (XBLA), touting realistic physics and ball control. Now, I’m lucky and I have access to a wealth of great tables locally – including one found in this collection, and I can say without hesitation that The Pinball Arcade plays more like the real thing than any other pinball simulation I’ve played to date. Whether I can say that someone will prefer it over Zen’s offerings isn’t for me to say and frankly, would be splitting hairs anyway; the real draw of the game is quite simply the allure of getting to play these masterpieces of pinball design, recreated here with impeccable accuracy. FarSight’s attention to detail and fine tuned game play is astonishing.

It’s not all perfect, mind you. The overall presentation of the game leaves a lot to be desired in its current state. Control options are limited, there is no support for multiple controllers and with the PS3 in particular there is no Sixaxis support for nudges, which feels like a major missed opportunity. Gameplay settings aren’t saved between sessions, a minor if perplexing omission. Getting a good view of the action is fairly good, with three angle settings, switchable between fixed- and follow-camera options, though more angles wouldn’t hurt. The view at the plunger in particular is far from ideal and cannot be changed, though FarSight have confirmed directly that this will be improved upon in the future. 

Ripley's Believe it or Not! Hands down the most complicated of the group

Also gone is the kitschy virtual arcade used for table selection last seen in FarSight’s previous effort, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection but instead of a simple list format, tables are selected through a clumsy scrolling lineup. While this isn’t much of an issue at the moment, once DLC tables start rolling in (the developer is aiming for an average of one table per month), things are going to get clumsy very quickly. Thankfully, along with frequent content updates, FarSight have been forthcoming and committed to improving the user experience. As it stands, the out-of-game functionality is passable and really doesn’t detract from the excellent game play found within. 

Thankfully, the game does go to great lengths to ensure one can make sense of what's expected of a player, with each table including comprehensive rule sets, broken down into short, individual pages that point toward the goals as they’re explained. This helps a great deal where some of the more cryptic (or just plain expansive – the Ripley’s tutorial sports nearly 400 pages!) table goals are concerned, and will help you immensely if you plan to rack up the best scores and see how you fare on the leaderboards. They’ve even included short write-ups on the history of the tables, right down to scans of the promotional fliers that were sent to arcade owners back in the day.

At 800 points/$10 for the initial release and an expected 400 points/$5 for DLC (it’s expected that tables will be released as two-packs for consoles; other platforms have different pricing and availability), The Pinball Arcade is priced right in line with its direct competitor, somewhat impressive considering the licensing hell FarSight is likely to be faced with in securing the rights to the properties. It will be interesting to see whether they will be successful where other licenses are concerned; legendary tables like Addams Family, Twilight Zone and Indiana Jones, just to name a few, aren’t likely going to be easy to obtain. While I won’t hold my breath, the fact that Ripley’s Believe it or Not! is already present here is a very good sign (and having the rights to Stern Pinball is promising, being a company famous for their movie- and TV-themed tables). 

Even without any household names, pinball has a long and varied catalogue full of bizarre and memorable themes, easily standing on their own merits. Williams’ [Ye Olde] Medieval Madness (a personal and fan favourite) and The Machine: Bride of Pinbot, have already been announced as the first DLC tables for PSN and XBLA, with several titles named for future updates, including massive hits like Cirqus Voltaire, Funhouse, Attack from Mars and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Welcome to the Theatre!

FarSight has gone out of its way to ensure as many people can play their game as possible, too. iPhone and iPad players have been enjoying the iOS version  since late 2011, Mac, Android, PSN and XBLA versions all released recently, and Windows and Nintendo 3DS versions are expected as well. Of particular note to PS3 and Vita owners, your $10 gets you BOTH versions of the game, and the Vita offers the ability to play in a vertical orientation for maximum screen real estate. This is a serious perk and should be considered your best option if you are having trouble deciding which platform to get it for. 

If you haven’t gathered already, the folks at FarSight are committed to making this the definitive video pinball experience. They’re working hard to ensure everyone can have a copy of the game, they’ve landed licenses for all four of the big manufacturers (and it has been confirmed that the Stern licence carries rights to tables from SEGA and Data East), have already secured some blockbuster titles and have committed to an aggressive release schedule with a timeline that spans years.  It’s a clear labour of love and we’re reaping the benefits. The downloadable domain is a natural environment for this kind of game and is a natural progression from FarSight's previous disc-based efforts with the Williams/Bally/Gottleib collections. And that’s all just icing on the cake that is the best real pinball simulation available.

Tales of the Arabian Nights - Perhaps the classiest table ever conceived.

If you don’t have access to a real machine... hell, even if you do, The Pinball Arcade is a worthwhile investment for any fan or curious newcomer. It already stands as the next best way to experience some truly classic tables and promises to keep it that way for the foreseeable future. Even if you have no nostalgia for these classics of a bygone era, if you’ve played a pinball video game and enjoyed it, you really can’t do better than The Pinball Arcade. 

It’s man vs. machine at its best, and even though the machine always eventually wins, you never really lose. Get flippin’!


- Ryan McLaren

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Game Review: Super Pokemon Rumble

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Ambrella

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Action RPG

Players: 1

Release Date- October 2011 (USA), December 2011 (Europe)

Price- £19.99+/$29.99+

As a fan of the "main series" of Pokemon games, I tend to stay away from spin-offs. This is not because I believe they will be terrible games however I know they wont follow the same structure as the series that I know and love. Despite this thought process, I decided to delve into Super Pokemon Rumble, a sequel to the Wii ware title released in 2009.

In Super Pokemon Rumble the player controls clockwork Pokémon toys (brought to life by a magical key), battling through various different levels in a top down dungeon crawler-esque fashion. The game adopts a simplistic approach with each of the players Pokémon exploiting one or two attacks against waves of opposing Pokémon. Every toy in the game has a power level which relates the their strength in combat as well as having up to two moves they can use. The opposing Pokemon have a chance of remaining on the battlefield after being defeated for the player to collect. Doing so will grant the player use of that particular Pokémon complete with a randomly assigned move set which more often than not renders them useless.

Unlike the "main series", the Pokémon collected cannot be levelled up or evolved meaning that the player must continuously obtain new, more powerful toys. Players will find themselves constantly switching Pokémon due to the power level of the toys increasing at a fairly steady pace. This sadly renders the less powerful, previously collected Pokémon fairly useless.

This feels like a broken mechanic. If I grew an attachment to a specific Pokémon whilst playing there would be no point using them after a couple of levels as they wouldn't be able to compete with the more powerful toys.

There is also an option to purchase moves for your Pokémon using in-game currency however doing so feels pointless as the player will find a stronger Pokémon on the very next level and will have practically wasted the coins.


On the contrary when you pick up a new Pokémon there is no guarantee that they will be of any use due to the large pool of useless moves. It feels like a kick in the teeth when you finally obtain a high power toy only to find that the moves the game has randomly assigned happen to be terrible.

The main issue that I had with this game, so much so that I almost didn't finish it, is the mind-numbing repetitiveness of the gameplay.

Each level consists of around 4-6 dungeons where the player battles through around 5 stages before entering a boss battle where you battle a big version of a Pokémon.

After these dungeons are complete the player must play a "Battle Royale" where they come up against an arena of Pokémon in a brawl like scenario.
Upon completion the player will start a new level where they must do the same thing with a slight variation on the Pokémon you battle.

This is the structure for every level in the game and it wears thin very quickly.

The only variation in terms of battles are two other game modes.
The first is "Team Battle" where the player selects two CPU-controlled Pokémon (from their own collection) to battle alongside them. It's the same formula as before however you now have two CPUs doing most of the work for you. In the later stages of the game you will gain the ability to combine 3 Pokémon together for a brief period of time to make them very slightly more powerful as a whole.

The second and in my eyes most pointless variation is a "Charge Battle". In this type of battle the player must mash a single button and rotate the nub stick to make their collection of Pokémon charge towards a group of onrushing enemy Pokémon. How well you are doing is indicated my an arrow at the top of the screen which gets longer depending on how hard you try to destroy your console. If the bar reaches over half way then your team will knock the opposing squad out of the way. This process is repeated three (or more) times before the player is faced with the boss of the "charge battle" but instead of having a more difficult task, the player is swiftly prompted to press a single button to win. It is literally a "Press A to win" scenario.

The story of the game revolves around life replenishing "glowdrops" which are being stolen from the fountains of various towns across this toy world however it is about as deep and predictable as you'd expect from a game as simplistic as this. Having said that Pokémon isn't know for it's story telling approach (not up until Black and White at least) so this isn't a huge issue in the game.

The game utilises the streetpass functionality by obtaining a trainer card and that specific players collection allowing you to battle them whenever you desire. There are also unlocks attached to the number of people who you have passed on the street, for example acquiring ten street passes unlocks a legendary on a particular stage.

A niggling issue I have with the street-pass interface is that the options/buttons appear on the touch screen. They're nice and big and look like they can be pressed but the developers seem to have forgotten to add touch screen functionality. It's a small thing but it's very annoying considering it feels like they've simply forgotten to put it in.

As far as I'm aware, after the game is completed the player can up the difficulty level for all the previous stages already played and a new part of the game with a much greater difficulty margin opens up. This does give the game a form of replay value after the game is complete however I found after the first two chapters of the game everything felt like a replay anyway.


Having played a demo of the Wii ware prequel (and enjoying it thoroughly ) I knew exactly the type of gameplay to expect on the 3DS version, however I hoped there would be a bit more to the game overall.

To me the main flaw with Super Pokemon Rumble is the repetitiveness. It goes for a very simplistic approach but ends up being too simple with not enough variety to keep the player engaged given the length of the game.

By no means would I say this is a terrible game, I'm happy that they've included all 5 generations of Pokémon but it leaves a lot to be desired. Though hardcore fans may find a soft spot for the game, personally I would advise people to play the Wii demo on repeat. It practically offers the same experience.


- Tom Seed

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Game News: 3DS sales hit 4.5 million in the states.

Nintendo of America has revealed that the Nintendo 3DS has sold 4.5 million units in the United States in it's first year. The 3DS had a shaky start with a poor launch line up and high price. Nintendo were quick to fix the sale issues with a price drop just six months after launch. Sales then boomed and The launch of key titles such as Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario Land 3D also had a huge effect on sales over the holidays season.

The 3DS is close to doubling the original DS' first year sales. The original DS sold 2.3 million in it's first year. Unfortunately Nintendo are still expected to announce there first financial loss in 30 years at the end of the financial year.

- Michael Johnson

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Game Preview: Kingdom Hearts 3D

Preview: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance 

Square Enix has revealed that Kingdom Hearts 3D, for the Nintendo 3DS, will feature a set of flashbacks of past Kingdom Hearts games for newbies of the series. There’s a feature in the game called ‘Recollections’ which allows players to catch up or study with what happened in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts, 358/2 Days and the rest of the past Kingdom Hearts games before it. 


Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the Kingdom Hearts series directed by Tetsuya Nomura. Revolving around a fourteen-year old boy named Sora, it details his adventures after his home world is destroyed by sinister creatures known as the Heartless, and his attempts to restore his world and reunite with his friends. In the process, he meets many characters from classic Disney films and a handful from the Final Fantasy video game series.

Kingdom Hearts 3D is set to release next month in Japan, and is due sometime later this year in the rest of the world. Kingdom Hearts 3D will be a canon story, not a side story, and it's said that the story will have an impact on Kingdom Hearts 3's story. North American Fans will be pleased to hear that KH3D is already under localisation but no date has been confirmed. 


The game will feature heroes from both Kingdom Hearts and the World Ends With You. Gamers will play as Sora and Riku, so far seven worlds have been confirmed, some worlds are from classics like Prankster's Paradise, Country of the Musketeers, Symphony of Sorcery and brand new to the Disney collection is The Grid from Tron Legacy. 

Instead of having the likes of Donald and Goofy at your side you have these creatures called Dream Eaters, these cute little demons will be your aid in the game. They are Wonder Meow, Bat Bat. Riku's is Bat Bat, Kuma Panda. The game will have limits on both Sora and riku not much info is been said about this. A gauge called the drop gauge will deplete after a certain amount of time time causing you to switch from Sora to Riku. For example: when Sora is in one world and the gauge gives out, the player will be forced to then play as Riku in a another world. Sounds confusing right? It should be simple enough in practise, it's certainly an interesting gameplay partner system to use.


- Jake Huston

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Gaming Feature: The Flow of the Nintendo eShop

3DSWare - The tides of the eShop

Those of you who have owned a 3DS since launch, you probably remember the system came with fun and engaging features! Some of the more popular ones were StreetPass Mii Plaza, AR Games, the friends list and the music and camera applications. However, one important feature was not available at the system launch: the Nintendo eShop.

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