There’s a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rumour suggesting the popular home run contest mode and stage builder will be added to the game in a future update.
This information comes from the YouTube Channel Source Gaming, where it reveals dataminers have found files within the ‘How To Play’ section of Ultimate, making reference to the above-mentioned modes. The first file is “howtoplay_stage_builder.html” and the second file mentions the home run contest mode.
These placeholders are apparently enough evidence the modes will appear in a future Ultimate update. Source Gaming goes onto speculate both could be added to version 3.0, which Nintendo teased during its most recent Direct presentation.
Would you like to see the return of these modes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Leave a comment below.
Toge Productions’ fantasy RPG Azure Saga: Pathfinder Deluxe Edition is headed to Nintendo Switch later this month, and pre-orders have now gone live on the eShop.
The game sees players join the adventure of Synch, a young scientist on a quest to find his lost father. You’ll be exploring a foreign planet in 2.5D isometric landscapes, as you can spot in the trailer above, and venturing into dungeons and solving puzzles to unlock new areas. The whole thing looks rather lovely to us.
There are also mini-games to enjoy inside some of these dungeons, such as fishing, but you’ll also stumble across a healthy number of enemies that will try to stop you from goofing off. Battles are said to be JRPG-like in style, with turn-based combat helping you to gain EXP and items.
Game Features: – A world with a classic storyline that will delight both veterans and new RPG fans, infused with highly detailed 2D illustrations – Traditional Turn-Based RPG Gameplay inspired by the classic JRPG of the 90s – Strategize and configure your characters’ gear and jewels in to enhance their maximum potential. – Unite, mix, and match your characters’ skills to discover powerful abilities, each with their special effects – Classic old school adventure with tons of puzzles and secrets to discover
The game launches on Switch on 21st March for $9.99 / £8.09, but pre-ordering it will get you 15% off.
Might you give this one a go later this month? Do you like what you see? Share your thoughts with us in that inviting-looking comment box below.
In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and LEGO video games. On every platform, seemingly since time immemorial, the good folks at TT Games have been taking those humble Danish toy bricks and turning them into a successful – if not particularly groundbreaking – series of titles. Of course, having access to all those blockbuster film licences probably didn’t hurt either, and it’s off the back of another – The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, to be precise – that we get the first family-friendly cinematic tie-in of the year.
Interestingly, The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame actually has more in common with one of the series’ most ambitious and non-licensed games, 2017’s LEGO Worlds. While this Minecraft clone never quite captured the imagination of the digital building crowd, it did embrace a creative suite of ideas the franchise had previously never dabbled in. The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame doesn’t go ‘full crafting’, but it uses its large sandbox settings to its advantage by enabling you to scan objects with a pair of binoculars, which then saves a blueprint you can then rebuild on select platforms.
The LEGO games are very slowly following the path practically every other genre has been doing for years already, and are steadily adding in more RPG-inspired systems. As with LEGO The Incredibles and LEGO DC Super-Villains, each world you visit in the Systar and Rex-Plorer Systems has its own share of main and side missions and you can tackle these in whichever order you see fit. Now you’ll need actively gather different coloured bricks in order to build each creation in the Builder Menu, in a similar fashion to the limited crafting options in LEGO The Hobbit. We’ve not reached XP and skill trees yet, but adding in an extra collectable currency does usher a little more agency into your open-ended adventures.
As you’d expect, The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame loosely follows the plot of the film, taking you from the Mad Max-aping wasteland of Apocalypseburg to the farthest reaches of the Systar system. You travel to each world via a special portal and the more Master Bricks you collect (this game’s version of the classic Red and Gold Bricks), the more portals you’ll unlock. It’s all very basic, but much of that is by design, since TT Games is clearly trying to make the series even more accessible to younger players.
Being able to travel to new worlds and start building your own mini-settlements and cities will have creatively-minded players really investing in the cycle of scanning new objects, collecting relics and gathering enough resources to build them. Those relics are another neat little feature; they come in rarities and are unlocked by completing missions and opening chests littered throughout the world. Each one has a randomised contents and you could unlock a new building blueprint, some accessories and even new minifigs. Much like the blind bags in LEGO The Incredibles, we can see these relics being a tasty carrot on a stick for long-term players.
This being a port of a full LEGO game (rather than one of those butchered versions you found on PS Vita), The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame on Nintendo Switch does suffer from some performance issues. The framerate has been capped at 30fps, it this rate usually holds true when you’re playing in docked mode. However, it’s hard to miss the graphical downgrades you’ve come to expect from a multiplatform port such as this when playing on a bigger screen. In handheld and tabletop mode those sacrifices aren’t so obvious, but the framerate does start wobble, dropping to the mid-20s when you start building large structures or are engaged in large-scale boss battles.
However, it should be noted that the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game also suffered from performance issues, so this shouldn’t be solely chalked up to the hardware inside Switch. The stop-motion movement of the LEGO Movie universe does actually help mask the issues with the framerate, but be prepared to deal with painfully long loading times every time to enter a new world. Thankfully, there’s plenty to do on each world so the wait isn’t as bad you might think, but they’ll definitely become a problem later on when you’re trying to hit that elusive 100% completion accolade and you need to hop between worlds on your galaxy map.
Conclusion
The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame isn’t the groundbreaking reinvention the franchise so desperately needs, but it’s still a step in the right direction. It’s still got the same one-note combat (even with some Master Builder special attacks thrown in for good measure) and missions too often boil down to ‘Go find enough resources to build this item, which opens this door, etc’, but for all the times it falls into the pitfalls of its own past, there’s plenty to appreciate. The focus on collecting resources makes total sense for a game all about breaking everything in sight, and the mixture of sandbox levels and creative building options is a timely reminder that LEGO Worlds has plenty of ideas still worth revisiting.
Merge Games has revealed that it is bringing Fatbot Games’ dungeon crawler Vaporum to the Nintendo Switch this April.
This award-winning, grid-based adventure title takes inspiration from the likes of Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and Legend of Grimrock, but rather than opt for the traditional fantasy setting, it uses a steampunk aesthetic. The end result is a game which looks pretty unique and should scratch a very particular itch for RPG fans.
Here’s some PR:
Prepare to fight – you’ll encounter many enemies along your path. Each type has a distinctive set of strengths, weaknesses, and attack and defense mechanisms, so you’ll have to employ different tactics to beat them. Choose wisely when equipping yourself with gear; weapons differ from one another not only by damage levels and appearance, but also in terms of their unique bonuses or behaviors.
Use a wide range of skills thanks to the gadget-based RPG system: direct attacks, area attacks, offensive and defensive buffs, etc. But be careful, because while they are powerful, they also drain your energy. Remember that some enemies are immune to certain types of attack, so you will have to figure out the best way to deal with every encounter the game throws at you.
Solve intriguing puzzles and level-wide objectives where you will need to use both your wits and reflexes. While most riddles are contained in a single room, progression objectives can span entire levels, or even multiple ones.
Instead of increasing the abilities of your human character, improve your exoskeleton. Equip yourself with various items and define your own playstyle. Change your loadout at any time to adapt to all kinds of unexpected situations. As your exoskeleton becomes more powerful by absorbing a special substance – fumium – from defeated enemies, you will be able to unlock useful areas of the exo-rig, gaining significant permanent attribute bonuses and passive skills. Simply put – prepare for tonnes of customization.
+ Fight in real time – First-person real-time combat with deadly foes with varied abilities and behaviors + Be tactical – Use various attacks and read your opponents – each enemy has a different set of strengths and weaknesses + Fully voiced main characters – Find out what happened to the inhabitants of the tower with fully voiced phono-diaries kept by the main story’s protagonists + Tons of customization options – The gadget-based RPG system allows you to evolve your exoskeleton and define your own playstyle + Absorb fumium from defeated enemies – Unlock additional circuits in your exoskeleton and gain new bonuses and skills + Keep your wits about you – Solve level-wide objectives and puzzles that vary in difficulty + Explore and loot – Look for optional passages filled with additional challenges and rewards + What happened in the mysterious tower? – A storyline full of dark secrets and unexpected twists + Immersive steampunk setting – Beautiful graphics, stunning sound design and an atmosphere that makes you aware of the constant danger lurking around every corner
The Nintendo Switch version launches on April 11th and will cost £19.99.
Publisher indienova has revealed that its upcoming shoot ’em up AngerForce: Reloaded is ready to go on Nintendo Switch. You’ll be able to get your hands on it this April.
We first heard about this one back in October, when it was expected to launch within the following couple of months. Of course, we’re now well and truly into 2019 so that never happened, but the delay was apparently due to the development team wanting to add a TATE mode. We think we can live with the delay, considering.
The game is set in a 19th-century world where humans are under threat from a robot rebellion. Players can improve their on-screen characters by choosing from randomly generated abilities, and your choices will impact your entire stage progression. You’ll be able to choose from dozens of different upgrades, hoping to compliment your character’s special abilities and forming your very own favoured playstyle.
Here are some more features for you if you’d like to know more:
Features: – A straight-up hardcore STG that takes you back to the fast-paced 90’s. – Original robot-tech and unique comic art style that employs Free-form Deformation technique to achieve detailed and 3D-like effects in 2D animation. – 7 elaborate stages and 10+ crazed bosses to defeat. – 4 original characters, each of them having two special abilities and one powerful bomb. – Create your own unique play style by mixing and matching your character’s abilities. – A roguelike randomized ability system in the arcade mode. – Explore the story behind each character and the secrets surrounding the enemy legion. – More than 20 original tracks. – Nintendo Switch exclusive TATE mode.
The game launches on 2nd April in North America and will be priced at $9.99; a European release is expected just days after. Those who wish to pre-order the game nearer the time will also benefit from a 15% discount.
Does this look like a winner to you? Are you happy that a TATE mode has been added? Tell us below.
Publisher 3D Realms has lifted the lid on its latest project, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, a retro first-person shooter built using the tech from 1996’s Quake. The best news? It’s coming to Switch.
You can see the first glimpse of the game in the trailer above; 3D Realms says that it “embraces the timeless elements of classic titles such as DOOM, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Unreal and Hexen and carries them into the 21st century”.
The title has been developed by KillPixel, a team made up of Quake scene veterans, and has players exploring ancient crypts, sunken ruins, corrupted temples and howling forests to kill everything in sight. If you want to know a little more, check out this quick description and mighty feature list below:
“You are Outlander. Once adrift upon the Ageless Sea, you now find yourself on the shores of a dying world. From the consuming darkness emerges a figure cloaked in white, the Shepherd of Wayward Souls, who burdens you with the task of hunting down the remaining Guardians of the Old World. You must journey into the vast gloom to explore ancient ruins, discover forgotten secrets and battle the horrors that lurk within.”
FEATURES:
– Explore a vast world shrouded in darkness, passionately crafted by the hands of expert Quake scene necromancers. – Traverse 3 hubs and 15 enormous, interconnected levels crawling with hordes of enemies, lore and ancient secrets. – Forge your path with an arsenal of 9 deadly weapons, each with multiple fire modes. – Know your enemy. Many horrors lurk in the shadows, thirsting for your blood. – Artifacts of great power lay hidden in the dark places of the world. Find them and dominate your enemies. – Powered by the Legendary Quake 1 Tech, WRATH is an authentic, classic FPS in every way. – Capped at 666 fps, WRATH will melt your soul and your Voodoo 2… But it’s okay. Software Rendering is supported! – Create your own worlds. WRATH is built from the ground up to be easily moddable. Make your own levels, weapons and characters. From day one, the very tools used to create WRATH will be available for all. – Gib your friends in classic Multiplayer modes, powered by the renowned QuakeWorld netcode. – Dominate the world of WRATH with 3 other companions in 4 player co-op, LAN or online! – Immerse yourself in a haunting soundscape born from the twisted minds of Andrew Hulshult (Quake Champions, Rise of the Triad, Dusk and Amid Evil) and Bjorn Jacobson (CyberPunk 2077, Hitman, EVE Online).
The game is set to launch on PC this summer, with Switch and other consoles expected to join in the fun early next year.
Does this one look right up your street? Did you love Quake back in the day? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn unravels onto 3DS today and Nintendo has shared a launch trailer to celebrate. You can check it out for yourself above.
This 3DS rerelease’s Ravel Abilities, new mini-games, and optional harder difficulty make this a very solid purchase indeed; we praised its focused gameplay design, creativity, and strong art direction in our review earlier this week, going on to say that this is the best way to experience the game and absolutely worth it for those who missed out on the original Kirby’s Epic Yarn on Wii.
Of course, Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is also interesting in that it could well be the final major 3DS game released by Nintendo. This is purely speculation on our part, we should point out, but with zero games officially on the horizon from the Japanese giant, we wouldn’t bet against this being the console’s final hoorah, despite Nintendo’s supposed commitment to it going forward.
Will you be picking up this latest Kirby adventure for 3DS? Do you think we truly are at the end of the system’s life now? Share your thoughts with us below.
Nintendo really is pulling out all the stops for this weekend’s Mario Day. We’ve already seen Mario game discounts through the North American My Nintendo site and double reward points offers in Europe, and now even more savings are on the way.
Nintendo is offering North American players some special deals on select Mario games for the Switch. Between the 10th and 16th March, you can pick up a Switch system and one of five selected games starring Mario for a suggested retail price of $329.98 (saving you $30 from the usual price).
On top of that, digital download codes for the very same games will be available from participating retailers for just $39.99 each. Here are the fives games available in the offer for both of these deals (with descriptions from Nintendo thrown in for good measure):
Super Mario Party, an uproarious party game for up to four players. Play as classic characters in a series of more than 80 fun new minigames.
Super Mario Odyssey, a massive globe-trotting 3D adventure for one to two players. Using his new ally Cappy to control objects, animals and enemies, Mario explores multiple creative Kingdoms to collect Power Moons.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the multiplayer high-speed racer. Race friends through colorful tracks using iconic characters like Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, and even Link from The Legend of Zelda series and the Inklings from Splatoon.
Mario Tennis Aces, a multiplayer sports game. Play locally or online with friends in fast-paced tennis matches across multiple modes.
The official Nintendo site suggests that GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart will be home to the offers mentioned above in various forms, so make sure to be on the lookout when these go live on Sunday.
Will you be treating yourself to any of these offers? Let us know in the comments.
After years of inactivity, the Wonder Boy franchise is enjoying something of a resurgence thanks to the release of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap and Monster Boy, the latter being a kind of spiritual sequel. However, it’s not the only Wonder Boy-themed release we’ve seen in recent years; the PC and PS4-based Wonder Boy Returns hit the market in 2016.
As the title suggests, this is a remake of the original game with improved visuals, but it was met with a rather lukewarm reception at launch due to the iffy controls, lacklustre animation and general lack of polish.
The ‘Remix’ at the end of the title would suggest that Switch owners might benefit from some additional content, but what shape that might take is anyone’s guess.
Pokémon‘s a pretty popular franchise, and smartphones are pretty popular devices, so combining the two was probably a pretty smart idea. Well, as it happens, it definitely was a smart idea, as new data suggests that players have now spent an approximated $2.5 billion on the games to date.
The data comes from mobile app intelligence site, Sensor Tower, which has taken into account total spending across six smartphone Pokémon titles. You can probably guess which game tops the charts in terms of revenue, but let’s dive into the good stuff anyway, shall we?
Pokémon GO is obviously the highest-earning mobile game in the franchise, taking home almost 98% of that total with an estimated $2.45 billion in total player spending. The other $50 million (which sounds strangely tiny in comparison) is split across Pokémon Shuffle Mobile (estimated to have taken $25 million in player spending), Pokémon Duel, Pokémon Quest, Pokémon: Magikarp Jump, and Pokémon TCG Online.
Interestingly, Sensor Tower’s report also suggests that 35% of this revenue has come from US players (or $875 million), with Japan accounting for 29% (approximately $725 million). The apps have amassed “nearly 640 million” downloads between them.
Anyone else wishing that they’d invented the series back in the ’90s? There are some pretty staggering figures here!
