Nintendo 64 games living a second life on handheld is nothing new, certainly not if you’ve owned and loved a 3DS at some point in the last eight years. But there’s something about that mid-to-late-’90s heyday of shooters – an era that gave us GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark and Quake II among so many others – that still exudes a quintessential kind of magic. And so while the original Turok might not be considered the series’ pinnacle – that falls to the incredible Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, which is also coming to Switch this year – it’s still an FPS landmark filled with charm, character and well, loads of dinosaurs.
Even if you’ve never heard of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter – never mind played it when it first launched in 1997 – it’s important to appreciate just how much this off-the-wall title progressed shooters as a whole. It was the first FPS to appear on N64 (back when its lineup of games was barely into the double digits) and it was massively ahead of its time. Its levels were open, full of twisting corridors, open-plan glades and shortcuts galore. It utilised motion capture to give enemies a realistic sense of movement, and its AI was aggressive and relentless in its quest to vanquish you. Even the way you sway and tilt from side to side as you run is a world away from the rigid movement model of Doom.
To 2019 eyes, Turok might seem a little basic visually – and it is, with its crude textures and sharp polygons – but this was a game built by an 18-strong team back when Nintendo 64 was barely out of its infancy. 3D itself was still a wild frontier of possibility, and developer Iguana Entertainment and publisher Acclaim took a huge risk trying to build a rewarding FPS in three dimensions with what was – at the time – a new IP in the gaming space (it’s based on a comic book which began in the 1950s, in case you were wondering). And, somehow, they had to find a way to fit it onto an N64 cart. Even the condensed soundtrack – one of a handful of concessions that were made to get Turok running on 64-bit hardware – still has a nostalgic quality to it.
So here we are, 22 years later, with that very same game running on Nintendo Switch. This remaster first popped its head up on PC at the tail end of 2015 before eventually making its way onto consoles, so while it’s not necessarily a new port, it is the first time this trailblazing shooter has gone mobile. Developer Nightdive Studios has done a fine job of transitioning Turok’s debut adventure to the world of Joy-Con and handheld adventuring. That infamous fog – one of those aforementioned technical sacrifices – which clouded many of its open areas in order to save memory, has been (mostly) lifted while every character model, lighting effect and weapon has been given a remastered spit shine.
The Nintendo Switch port also benefits from motion controls, so you can sit there and happily wave your console around in handheld mode, shooting dinosaurs and dodging grenades to your heart’s content. It’s a control scheme that suits the messy gunplay of Turok, and is often just as fun as using the sticks. Talking of handheld mode, there’s barely any change in performance when playing away from the dock. This is a port of 22-year-old game and you wouldn’t imagine such a title would put much strain on Switch’s processor, but being able to enjoy Turok’s old school sense of speed and break-neck action in its full form on-the-go is a huge boon.
So how does it play today? Well, that boils down to whether you played it the first time around, and how indoctrinated you’ve become to the tropes of modern first-person shooters. Turok comes from the same time that gave us Quake III Arena and Unreal, so it’s all about moving at sprinting speed, blowing enemies to bits with shotguns and exploring a labyrinthine set of levels before taking down a bullet-sponge boss. The lack of manual saving (something Nightdive could have added in, but presumably didn’t to preserve the game’s original intent) feels so odd in 2019, with checkpoints and save points spread very thinly across its large levels.
And while that gunplay lacks the finesse you’ve come to expect from Rainbow Six: Siege or the current CODs and Battlefields, it never, ever feels boring or rote. While it might not have the ridiculously over-the-top weapons of Turok 2 (Cerebral Bore, anyone?), its arsenal of 14 weapons tick enough classic and creative boxes to make the most of its dramatic death animations. Even now, all these years later, watching those polygonal enemies clutch their throats as blood spurts out feels as exhilarating as it did when that cartridge was first slammed into an N64. If you didn’t play the original that might sound like the kind of thing a psychopath would write, but honestly, it’s still really cool.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that Turok: Dinosaur Hunter has aged a lot in the last two-plus decades, but the fact it also holds up so well is a testament to the work of that small Iguana team and the effort Nightdive Studios has put it bringing this interactive time capsule to life. The lack of a proper story, inability to manually save your progress and sheer open nature of its level design will be something of a shock to players less experienced with the shooters of yore, but with a lick of new paint and some welcome motion controls, this piece of interactive history gets to live again on Nintendo hardware. It’s arguably more interesting as a piece of history than it is an FPS shooter in 2019, but Turok is still worth a look if you’re a fan of the genre.
Flyhigh Works has confirmed that Witch & Hero is making its way to Nintendo Switch later this month, launching on the eShop on 21st March.
In this one, you play as a Hero accompanied by a Witch, seeking revenge and justice over the evil Medusa. Medusa turned the witch into stone, so she is no longer able to move, and it’s up to the Hero to defeat the monsters and collect their blood in order to recover the Witch for a limited period of time. You’ll find plenty of challenging arenas in which you use ‘bump’ combat to take on waves of foes, and you’ll need to partner up with the Witch and her destructive powers to take on these waves as they get stronger.
You may remember that the game launched on 3DS back in 2013; it’s pretty safe to say that we didn’t exactly enjoy our time with it back then, but this Switch version adds the ability to play with a friend in a co-op mode and has been “enhanced for the Nintendo Switch and HD displays”. Hopefully things will be better this time around.
The game will be priced at $4.99USD / €4,99 when it launches next week.
What do you think? Did you try this one on 3DS? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Ripstone Games has revealed that the upcoming Snooker 19 will be launching on Switch this spring. A brand new trailer has been released to celebrate.
The game is set to feature 128 of the world’s top players including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Ding Junhui, with iconic venues including The Crucible and Alexandra Palace. Players can choose from plenty of offline and online modes to master every official tournament, including global online tournaments which are set to link in real-time with the live World Snooker calendar. On top of that, you’ll find quick play online match-making and fully customised matches of full snooker, 6-red snooker and fast-paced Shoot-Out snooker.
It’s been made in Unreal Engine 4, with Ripstone stating that this is the “most authentic depiction of the sport ever created”. You can see some of the player likenesses in the trailer above, which have been created using 3D facial scanning technology, and it also boasts highly detailed cues, tables and balls. “Advanced physics and AI engines” are also set to play their part in adding to the action.
Justin Forrest of Lab42 has said the following:
“It’s been way too long since the last flagship snooker title. We’re hugely excited to finally give players a snooker simulation worthy of this increasingly popular sport. The combination of official World Snooker licensed content, high quality, authentic gameplay and TV-style presentation, Snooker 19 is the complete package for both newcomers and hardcore fans.”
We’ll keep an eye out for more news, including the exact release date, but fans attending EGX Rezzed in London this April can go hands-on with the game from 4th – 6th April.
Are you a snooker fan? Will you be strutting your stuff around the table this spring? Let us know if you plan on picking this up in the comments below.
Accessory maker Bionik is launching a couple of new Switch products in Europe this week, including a portable charger capable of charging your Switch and Joy-Con separately or together.
The product has been available in the US for some time now, but this is the first time that those in Europe can pick it up for themselves. Called the Power Plate, this device allows you to attach your Joy-Con to each side, just like you would on your Switch, and takes the form of the Joy-Con grip so that you can keep playing at the same time. The Switch tablet itself can also be charged via a USB Type-C cable.
You can check to see how your devices are doing in terms of battery power with the LED indicators on the front, and it comes with a carry case and charging dock for the unit itself. You can see it in action in the video below.
If you want one for yourself, you can pick one up from Amazon UK (£32.79), GAME (£24.99) or Amazon US ($49.99).
A smart solution for on-the-go gaming? Would a product like this suit your needs? Let us know if you plan to grab one in the comments below.
Tiny Metal really hit the spot for Advance Wars veterans, offering hours of turn-based tactical gameplay and some excellent presentation. Developer Area 35 has now revealed a sequel in the form of Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble, which offers more content, maps and units than the original, as well as multiplayer action from day one.
77 skirmish maps will make the cut, 21 of which can be played with another person. 23 unit types are on offer – including mechs and new Hero and Commander units – and you’ll be able to experience a whole new story across 39 campaign missions.
The plot follows Commander Wolfram, leader of the White Fangs, as she searches for her brother and tries to prevent a lethal technology from falling into the wrong hands. Four new difficulty modes are available, allowing you to tailor the challenge to your liking.
Producer Hiroaki Yura had this to say:
Our all-star team of developers have expanded on the features of the first game and crafted a compelling new narrative to make for an even more thrilling tactical experience. We will test the strategic mettle of Switch with an adventure that evokes Nintendo classics like Advance Wars while pushing the genre forward.
Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble launches on Nintendo Switch this Spring, and will have full English-language text support as well as English voice-overs.
Did you like the original Tiny Metal? Will you be investing in this follow-up? Let us know with a comment.
Following the Taiwanese game rating reveal last week, it has now been officially confirmed that Attack On Titan 2: Final Battle is headed to Nintendo Switch.
The game follows the third season of the Attack on Titan anime adventure, with its story mode playing through selected characters’ points of view with major heroes active in Season 3 (who are playable for the first time). This boosts the total number of playable characters to more than 40.
If you fancy learning more, check out this description provided in a press release today:
“Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle will feature two new gameplay experiences: A frenetic anti-personnel combat feature using anti-personnel omni directional mobility gear and an all-new wall reclamation mode focused on recovering outside territories. Here, players will have an ability to choose a leader of their squad, pick out the members they want to include – even members who were never together in the original work, and set out to reclaim the lands from the Titans. Thunder Spears will also be equipped for battle for the first time, allowing the take down of the Armored Titan when a normal blade just won’t cut it.”
Final Battle will be made available for digital purchase as an Upgrade Pack to fans who already own Attack on Titan 2, and it will also be available for purchase as a special digital or physical bundle. You’ll be able to check out the action for yourself from 5th July.
Did you enjoy Attack on Titan 2 on Switch? Will you be checking out this new content? Tell us below.
Indie developers, the Lightfoot Brothers, have today revealed the release date for the upcoming point-and-click adventure, The Mystery of Woolley Mountain. The game arrives on Switch on 10th April.
The announcement comes alongside a new trailer (which you can check out for yourself above). The game is actually described as an “otherworldly” point-and-click adventure, which takes inspiration from the likes of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle and The Trap Door. Players must join a renegade crew of time travelling audio scientists, embarking on a fantastical quest to save a group of children from a malevolent witch.
Lead developer, James Lightfoot, has said the following in a press release:
“Woolley Mountain encapsulates everything about us, everything that we embody and love – humour, art, adventure, music, cartoons, other worlds, camaraderie, puzzles and time travel. We really hope we’ve created a world that you want to exist and play in over and over again.”
The Mystery of Woolley Mountain will launch at £9.99 / €10.99 / $12.99 when it arrives on 10th April; pre-orders are now available on the Switch eShop with 25% off. We’ll leave you with this second trailer:
Does this look like your kind of game? Will you be giving it a go when it launches next month? Tell us below.
Nintendo’s long-rumoured foray into virtual reality with Labo: VR Kit has set some heads spinning with dreams of high-end experiences featuring all manner of Nintendo franchises. Imagine Mario Kart VR on Switch! they say. What about Animal Crossing VR! Where’s Metroid Prime Trilogy VR-astered?! Okay, we made up that last one, but we’re sure the idea must be on a forum somewhere.
We’ve already taken a look at the pros and the cons of Nintendo’s upcoming toe-dip into the world of VR, and while the company wisely kept the announcement low-key – releasing a press release with very little fanfare – the lack of game footage or simulated screenshots gives enthusiastic fans a blank canvas on which to scrawl their imaginings based on the more advanced VR experiences available elsewhere.
It’s only natural to compare what we’ve seen to concepts we’re already familiar with, but unlike the initial Labo offerings, those ‘VR’ initials conjure up some serious expectations that risk being hopelessly dashed by the end product. Nintendo repeatedly said that Labo was aimed ‘at kids and kids at heart’, but that didn’t stop some of us being disappointed. It’s right there in the press release title – ‘shareable, simple VR gaming experiences’ – but despite all the warning signs, it seems that once again people are setting themselves up for disappointment when Labo VR doesn’t measure up to expectations, ignoring what the cardboard oddity really is.
It’s an introduction to VR for kids; a ‘taster’, plain and simple. If there was any doubt from the promo art and the stated intentions of the Labo product line, a video from a VR developer that we reported on just yesterday highlights the Goggles’ fixed (and relatively narrow) Inter Pupillary Distance, meaning it’s designed for smaller heads. That’s not to say that us ‘kids at heart’ can’t enjoy it (the cranially-gifted of us notwithstanding), but we aren’t the target demographic; never have been, never will be.
All that said, there’s still plenty of scope for this kit to entertain, just so long as we consider its context and technical limitations. For one thing, the graphics and art design of the games will have to account for a mightily reduced resolution. That’s not to say Nintendo can’t work with restrictions – the company’s experience handling stereoscopic 3D at low resolutions on 3DS will be invaluable – but dividing the Switch’s 720p screen between two eyeballs means you’ll be going up close and personal with those pixels. The result needn’t be ‘ugly’, but any decent workaround will involve some creative artistic choices. Latency presents another significant hurdle that must be negotiated if this is to function well. Nintendo has form in tailoring software to work around hardware limitations, and we’d hope the company has learnt from the VR boom of the past few years, and from its own past mistakes.
We shouldn’t expect too much from controls, either. While the Joy-Con gyros are adequate for general rotation and aiming, they’re easily confused and require manual resets – something we’ve been used to since the Wii days with Skyward Sword. The lack of positional tracking means ‘look to aim’ mechanics are likely to be Labo VR’s meat-and-potatoes input; again, not a problem in itself, but it limits the potential number of gameplay applications.
We’d wager that neither our patience or the strapless cardboard of the Toy-Con itself is going to withstand prolonged periods pressed to our sweaty brows; anyone getting their hopes up for an immersive Mario Kart or Skyrim VR patch is asking for trouble – we should be thinking Wii Play rather than Wii Sports.
While everything until now may read like we’re sending Debbie Downer to the Labo VR launch party (on the contrary – we’re still convinced there’s loads of potential for delightful experiences), we’re just keen to keep our expectations in check. There’s arguably no better company in the industry to make this work with the kit’s inherent restrictions. With details still thin on the ground, it’s fascinating to speculate as to what the kits could have in store.
Looking at the revealed VR Toy-Con, their various forms (and the images surrounding them) give us some clues about what to expect. The Blaster is blindingly obvious, the missile on the promo poster indicating that – shock! – you’ll be shooting projectiles with it. The fish swimming around the boy brandishing the Camera suggest a little underwater photography is on the menu (we can imagine plunging into the ocean in a cage and gaining points by snapping the various forms of marine life). The planet and stars surrounding the kid with the Goggles indicate there’s a little stargazing on the horizon, too. So far, so predictable.
More interestingly, the Elephant Toy-Con is surrounded with lines from a coloured pencil, suggesting a little more creativity will be required than scanning the night sky for the Big Dipper. And in addition to permitting a close veterinary examination of a cardboard seagull’s cloaca, we speculate that the Bird Toy-Con may have you joining a flock of birds, perhaps flapping your wings (using those moving bits on the sides?) to gain height or stay in formation. The Wind Pedal comes bundled with the Bird in the Expansion Sets and presumably works in conjunction with it, although exactly how is anyone’s guess at this juncture.
So, what else might the Labo VR experience entail? Here are a few ideas we believe are workable given the limitations of the tech and Nintendo’s past experiments…
A Safari ‘Snap’-Type Game
Before we even noticed the fish swimming around in the photo and read about the “colourful in-game ocean” we’ll visit with the Camera, snapping pictures of animals seemed like an absolute no-brainer. Of course, Pokémon Snap immediately springs to mind, but although we’re certain Pokémon would get a lot of people buying the VR Kit, everyone and their Arcanine has been catching (and indeed ‘snapping’) great looking Pocket Monsters in Pokémon Go for a while, and we’re not certain a Labo-based Pokémon experience could meet fans’ expectations. The base gameplay loop of observing an environment and photographing things is a solid one, though, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see something along those lines – perhaps with an ornithological bent? (That’s birdwatching, people.)
Wii Play-Style Minigames
We mentioned Wii Play above, and the more we think about it, the more its breezy brand of minigame seems like a sensible fit for Labo VR. Imagine a Whack-a-Mole style affair (holding and aiming with one hand, swinging a Joy-Con in the other) or some kind of shielding or ‘deflection’ game (using, say, an umbrella to deflect projectiles into targets). Or why not some sort of Battleships variant involving looking through periscopes to target?
Wii Play (or Your First Step To Wii, as it was known in Japan) no doubt got a far wider audience than it otherwise might have as a Wii Remote pack-in (indeed, it’s the seventeenth best-selling gameof all time), but we still recall having some fun with it. No, Find Mii, Fishing, Pose Mii and Billiards were hardly groundbreaking, but they were more engaging than we expected, perhaps due to our extremely low expectations. One game, in particular, that would seem to be a shoo-in for Labo VR…
A Shooting Range
Yes, yes, the Toy-Con Blaster is something of a giveaway. The PR blurb informs us we’ll “fend off an alien invasion” with it and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a VR interpretation of the Duck Hunt-style Wii Play Shooting Range game. Although we doubt Nintendo would use actual Duck Hunt, a lo-fi pixel aesthetic might be a good way to side-step some of the graphical issues we mentioned earlier. Nintendo is nothing if not adept at embracing and recycling ideas and franchises in different contexts. If Switch isn’t capable of rendering fully realised and detailed 3D environments (in VR), why not tap into that rich vein of nostalgia?
Once again, though, we’re looking at it from the perspective of a 30-something gamer with Nintendo nostalgia; we’re not the target audience. Although the Blaster evokes memories of the Super Scope from the SNES days, we probably won’t be jumping on Yoshi’s back and firing at hordes of Koopa Troopas a la Yoshi’s Safari. Mind you, being forced to hold the console to our face at least ensures we’ll feel like Cyclops firing laser beams from our eyes (Cyclops the X-Man, that is, not the giants of Greek mythology).
Local Multiplayer Games
According to the press release, Nintendo’s lack of headstrap for the various Toy-Con is “to help encourage social gameplay”. Therefore, we imagine the ‘headset’ will be passed around between players, perhaps using audio to get everybody in the room involved. Maligned as 1-2 Switch might be for launching as a full-priced game rather than a pack-in title, it had some fun ideas that could be expanded upon with Labo VR.
Gameplay possibilities are multiplied when you get another Switch involved. We’ve seen some limited interactions between two consoles already in things like Toad’s Rec Room in Super Mario Party, but having two people able to share a VR space (albeit in a limited, non-positional way) opens up further opportunities. One player could ‘ping’ targets for their partner to shoot, for example. Tower defence, anyone?
While VR ‘ports’ or ‘patches’ for existing games seem to be extremely unlikely, there’s nothing to stop the developers of Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes from patching in a Labo VR option allowing the bomb diffuser to use the Labo Goggles as their team describes how to disarm the device. We doubt, however, that there’ll be much crossover with non-Labo software or IP. Of course, there’s one Nintendo series that manages to marry myriad simple ideas into a chaotic-yet-coherent whole…
A WarioWare-style Microgame Montage
The WarioWare microgame series is a perfect example of how very limited controls can produce compelling, quickfire gameplay that works fantastically in a social context. If there’s any existing series suited to Labo VR, surely it’s this one.
In reality, we doubt Nintendo would tie any of its existing characters to the VR concept, beyond a cheeky Easter Egg or two. The trademark pandemonium of the WarioWare games would have to be carefully balanced in VR to avoid any adverse effects, but Nintendo knows better than most the pitfalls of the platform from previous experience. We’d hope that any kinks have been ironed out over Labo’s long development (many of these VR Toy-Con were glimpsed in Labo’s initial reveal trailer), but let’s finally address the elephant in the room that isn’t a Toy-Con…
A Virtual Boy Collection
While the other ideas on this list seem relatively plausible, we admit that this last one is probably wishful thinking on our part. What kid these days has even heard of the Virtual Boy? While most Nintendo fans are familiar with the company’s ill-fated VR experiment from the mid-‘90s, not all have had the opportunity to actually play the thing. The fact that the system and its games simply aren’t very good does little to diminish its allure – the console wasn’t even released in Europe, giving it a 64DD-esque air of mystery.
Labo VR offers the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to provide a curated collection of the system’s library. Difficulties may arise due to a lack of control options, although the PR blurb mentions a ‘Screen Holder’ and a ‘Safety Cap’. We’ve yet to see any pics, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the former is a stand for the Goggles.
For many older gamers, simply having access to that infamous console’s library would be enough to warrant a purchase. Can you imagine the custom Virtual Boy Toy-Con being designed by fans across the globe at this very moment?
Those are just a few possible ways we think Labo VR might manifest. It brings to mind the short-lived Wii Street U channel which offered Google Streetview through the GamePad, or the 360° films of Wii U Panorama View giving you the chance to fly amongst a flock of geese, tour London on a double-decker bus or check out the cherry blossoms in Kyoto from the comfort of your sofa. We recall using up some idle Nintendo Points/Coins on them and they were diverting enough – nothing like the highly immersive experiences offered by high-end VR headsets from HTC or Oculus, but amusing little curios nonetheless.
In fact, speaking of curios that most gamers probably tried once and never bothered with again, Labo VR has us thinking of the 3DS Augmented Reality games. While for some that might be a more depressing comparison than even Wii Play, that is probably the level we should be setting our expectations. In and of themselves, we got a good hour or two of fun out of those cards with the fishing and archery games. We’d imagine Labo VR will have more longevity than that, but we doubt we’ll be sitting down for multiple hour sessions a year from now.
Perhaps we’re being overly pessimistic. Maybe we’ll be blown away by some incredible technical feat enabling Switch to overcome its technical shortcomings in the VR space, but we think it’s important to temper our enthusiasm with the realities of the hardware. Overall, short experiences must be the focus – the tech restrictions make anything else unrealistic.
Fortunately, that focus aligns with Nintendo’s mission statement to bring entertainment to everyone, and this basic approach to VR offers new social experiences rather than isolating gamers from each other private virtual worlds. We’ll just have to keep reminding ourselves it’s not for us.
Are we being too pessimistic about the technical shortcomings of Labo VR? Do you think Nintendo will surprise us with a more involved, in-depth experience to get our old, cold hearts beating faster? Let us know your thoughts.
Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine has revealed its next game, Solar Ash Kingdom, and you can get a first look at it in the trailer above.
Details are extremely slim at the moment, but we do know it’ll be published by Annapurna Interactive. At present, the game has only been confirmed for release through the Epic Games Store on PC, but more details about its launch are set to be released in the future and we’d hope that this will include a version on Switch.
Heart Machine’s lead developer Alx Preston shared the following statement with IGN:
“We strive to tell a beautiful story through our world, the atmosphere, our characters and even our gameplay – each aspect of our games are painstakingly considered – which requires a large investment of time. Thanks for bearing with us and our relative silence; we’re so excited to start opening up about the game and the process behind it on our devlog and beyond.”
We’ll make sure to keep an eye on this one as time passes – with Hyper Light Drifter being shown off in a Nindies Showcase presentation and arriving on the system with exclusive content, we’re confident that Heart Machine will want to keep working alongside Nintendo going forward.
What do you think? Share your early impressions with us in the comments.
Funko has revealed the next Pop figure to arrive in its quickly growing Pokémon series. This time, it’s the ever-so-adorable fire Pokémon, Charmander.
The figure has been teased in the tweet below, with a blog post also being shared which gives us a little more info. A May release date has been set, along with an image of the product which we’ve shared below and a brief description:
“Grow your Pokémon team with this famous Pokémon! Charmander’s tail will flare up when it gets angry, but this Pop! Charmander will be happy to join your team! Charmander can typically found in hot, mountainous areas, but this Pop! Charmander should be easy to capture without a trek to your nearest mountainous region.”
Charmander isn’t a surprising choice, of course, what with Bulbasaur being the last Pokémon to be revealed for the lineup. We’d be pretty willing to bet Squirtle will be next, so keep an eye out for that one.
Do you collect Funko Pop figures? Have you already ordered the Bulbasaur model? Let us know down below.
