Ghost Time Games has revealed that Jettomero: Hero of the Universe is headed to the Nintendo Switch next month, with a release date of 4th October nicely secured.
The game has you playing as Jettomero, a giant, indestructible, and adorably clumsy robot who’s only hope is to save the human race. Players must explore a procedurally generated universe by flying through space and landing on planets, all while trying not to accidentally destroy every single little thing in your path. Despite the protagonist’s accidental chaos, the game has a rather relaxing vibe to it and describes itself as a “charming experience for players of all backgrounds”.
Gabriel Koenig – the one-man developer behind the game – has been in touch to tell us a little more about the project. Jettromero was initially released around a year ago on PC and Xbox, before eventually making its way to PS4, too. Naturally, it’s been on quite the journey over this time period, and we’re happy to see it arrive on Switch.
“Jettomero has had a good though relatively quiet year. Audiences have been small though passionate – the game has certainly struck a chord with many players. While sometimes criticized for its simplicity, Jettomero has received almost universal praise for its unique visual style and charming protagonist.
It’s a human story, about a giant robot trying to save the universe, but only making things worse every step of the way. Designed for audiences of all ages, the narrative balances comedy with existential angst.”
It has received positive users reviews on Steam, while really dividing opinion among critics, generating both high and low scores in reviews. You’ll likely already have an inkling as to whether or not you’re sold on the game’s concept and design, but make sure to let us know your thoughts on this one in the comments below.
Nintendo is offering exclusive Splatoon 2 gear if you sign up to the Switch online service for 12-months. Here’s what you’ll get:
Online Jersey
Online Squidkid V Shoes
The information again comes from Nintendo’s official websites. The deal is available to both individual and family subscribers. Download codes for the items will be delivered to emails sometime between late September and early October. Family memberships will also receive eight codes:
For family memberships, 8 download codes (one for each member of the family group) will be sent to the email address associated with the purchasing Nintendo Account.
Are you at all tempted to subscribe for 12-months to the new online service based on this Splatoon 2 exclusive item offer? Let us know in the comments.
Epic Games’ free-to-play battle royale title Fortnite has received a number of criticisms since mainstream audiences found out about its existence. It’s been accused of inciting violence and creating gambling addictions and now it’s apparently ruining marriages.
According to a press release issued by UK-based website Divorce Online, Fortnite has reportedly contributed to five percent of divorces within England and Wales so far this year. Fornite alongside various other games were cited as encouraging video game addiction.
Divorce Online said there had been an increase in the number of divorce petitions referencing Fornite throughout the year. 200 petitions since 1st January have cited Fortnite as the reasons for divorce, along with addiction to online gaming. This number counts for “roughly 5%” of 4,665 divorce petitions. It’s also worth noting Fortnite was the only game mentioned in the findings.
What do you think about this? Do you play Fortnite? Have you played it since it arrived on Switch? Tell us below.
More details about the NES games to be made available alongside the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online service have been revealed. Apart from the ability to play against others online, it’s now been discovered the games will include a variety of features to make the experience more enjoyable for modern audiences.
A recent email sent out by Nintendo explains what exactly service subscribers can expect from the retro library of games:
Gain access to a growing library of classic NES games anytime, anywhere – with added online features and other enhancements, like HD resolution, filters and special save states!
In the past, all of Nintendo’s classic re-releases have supported save states and the ability to suspend play, so it’s no surprise to see the feature make a return on the Switch. As for the addition of HD resolution and filters, hopefully, it will make these games look better on modern screens whilst channelling the nostalgia of the original versions.
On Nintendo’s website, it’s also mentioned how a friend will be able to display a hand-shaped cursor on the screen to provide tips and clap while you play a game:
When playing online, you can display a hand-shaped cursor on your friend’s screen. Use it to give hints or point out strategic locations. You can even clap to congratulate them.
What do you think about the inclusion of save states, HD resolution, filters and a hand cursor? Tell us in the comments.
If you were hoping the Super Nintendo game Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden would eventually be added to the Switch eShop or upcoming online service, we’ve got some unfortunate news to share. Bandai Namco reportedly has no intentions of making the classic fighting game publicly available on Nintendo’s latest system.
When Nintendo Everything reached out to Bamco and asked if the 1993 game would be widely distributed at a later date, it was confirmed the title was a pre-order bonus only. If you want this nostalgic dose of Dragon Ball on your Switch, you’ll need to pre-order Dragon Ball FighterZ before its big launch on 28th September. Alongside Super Butoden, those who pre-order the new game will also receive early access to SSGSS Goku and Vegeta.
What do you think about the decision to make this retro game exclusive to pre-orders? Would you like to be able to purchase the Super Nintendo classic as a standalone game and then wait until Dragon Ball FighterZ goes on sale or drops in price before you pick it up? Have you already pre-ordered? Tell us below.
Bombing Busters will unleash mayhem on the Switch eShop in both North America and Europe on 8th October. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, its former name Bombing Bastards might.
As explained by Sanuk Games’ developer diary, the title was originally released on the Wii U eShop four years ago as Bombing Bastards. Although it made it to Nintendo’s platform at the time with this name, at the request of Sony the title was then changed to Bombing Busters. It’s essentially a cheaper alternative to the likes of Super Bomberman R, with 30 mazes, boss battles, multiplayer and a few of its own differences here and there.
The developer also says it made no attempt to revive the original name for the upcoming Switch eShop release, with the belief the novelty of it has worn off.
Are you interested in picking this up when it arrives on the Switch eShop next month? Tell us below.
Since the initial Direct reveal, more information about the $59.99 wireless NES controller pack for the Switch has been discovered. Once again, the news is sourced from fine print located on Nintendo’s official website.
If you haven’t already spotted it yourself, you might be interested to know the two controllers will be an exclusive offer for members of the Nintendo Switch Online service. In addition to this are two limitations:
Please note: Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers can only be used while detached from the Nintendo Switch system, and only to play NES – Nintendo Switch Online games. Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers can be charged by attaching to the Nintendo Switch system.
Would you have liked the option to somehow play your Switch in handheld mode with NES controllers, rather than just charge them while they’re attached to the system? What about the compatibility of these controllers – are you disappointed with the NES game only restriction, or do you think Nintendo has made a logical decision? Could a future patch perhaps change this?
This operation isn’t going well. It was meant to be a ‘simple’ heart transplant. Take the old ticker out, pop in the new one. Easy. This isn’t brain surgery after all (well, not yet, at least). But what should be a routine procedure in the theatre turns into a bloodbath of Eli Roth-style proportions. We’ve smashed the poor patient’s ribcage open with a hammer and pulled their lungs right out their chest like fleshy luggage. Unfortunately, we’ve knocked the new heart on the floor, so we’ve popped in a nearby bottle of fizzy pop instead and casually flipped the rapidly perishing subject the bird with our gore-soaked fingers.
This is Surgeon Simulator CPR in a bloody, self-contained nutshell; it’s a gore-soaked combination of unwieldy motion controls, sharp implements and a series of unfortunate patients too drugged to really put up much protest. There are no tutorials or helpful hints to urge you in the right direction, bar a few pointers on how to use the Joy-Con in the main menu. You’re just left with a patient ready to have their eyeballs pulled our or their brain replaced. It’s designed to be obtuse and unhelpful – that’s part of the fun, after all. Are you really meant to smash someone’s skull open with a phone receiver? Of course not, but it’s certainly quicker than using a buzzsaw.
As you can probably imagine, there’s no clean or clinical way to perform these slapstick surgeries. You’re meant to cause untold chaos as you accidentally pull an eyeball out of its socket while moving in an ambulance or liquify the insides of an alien with a deadly fidget spinner. Your success is measured in whether you can ‘complete’ the operation before the patient’s blood loss gets so out of control that they kick the bucket. You can pull out livers and lungs and throw them like rubbish from a handbag, just as long as you pull the old organ out and throw the new one in.
This being the latest iteration of a game from 2013, the Switch port benefits from a more well-rounded selection of missions. You can operate on brains and hearts, perform eye surgery, pull teeth and more, and when you add in environmental factors that up the difficulty factor – such as working in a moving ambulance where all your tools and jumbling about, or in zero-G where a bone saw floats in mid-air next to a scalpel – you’re getting far more bang for your buck than the first iteration of the game way back when.
The real question is, how well do the game’s motion controls – used in everything from DualShock 4 controllers to VR peripherals – stack up when channelled through the Switch Joy-Con? Well, they’re quite hit and miss, much in keeping with previous iterations. Outside of the original mouse and keyboard controls the game was originally envisioned with, Surgeon Simulator should, in principle, be a perfect fit for gyro-based tomfoolery, but too often it felt like we were fighting for control of our virtual arm by contorting our real-life limbs.
You use ‘LZ’ to lower your arm, raise the Joy-Con to elevate it, press ‘L’ to grip and the D-pad buttons to control individual fingers. It’s a system, when used with a mouse and keyboard, that offered precision if you could master the unwieldiness of its physics. But much like its port on PS4, Surgeon Simulator CPR’s hilarious medical violence soon gives way to abject frustration as you try and pry away a lung concealing another body part because your arm and fingers won’t cooperate properly. You can actually play with a Pro Controller or with the Joy-Con attached in handheld mode, and while this wasn’t the proper way this game was envisioned on Switch, it’s actually the most intuitive. Now you just use the analog sticks to move the arm and hand independently, and while it’s not a perfect like-for-like alternative, it does make completing each mission that bit more feasible.
We did find the clunky gyro controls a lot more enjoyable when played in co-op. This is, after all, one of the big selling points of the Switch port and having two limbs on-screen certainly makes for chaos as you and a friend split Joy-Con and create a co-operative bloodbath. As a couch-play experience, Surgeon Simulator CPR is a far more enjoyable proposition, since struggling to complete a procedure and murdering a patient with slapstick movements is far more fun with a friend sat next to you.
Conclusion
Surgeon Simulator CPR finally brings Bossa Studios’ slapstick medical ‘sim’ to Nintendo Switch, and while its use of Joy-Con motion controls is a little rough around the edges, they do make for some brilliant local co-op shenanigans. With plenty of patients to harm (sorry, we meant ‘heal’), all manner of scenarios to contend with and plenty of hidden secrets to be found both in theatres and in the interactive menu, you’re at least getting one of the better versions of this veteran title.
You might recall a post last week about a horrific typhoon that devastated Japan and literally knocked the ‘N’ out of Nintendo at the company’s head office in Kyoto. The storm was considered one of the worst to hit the country in 25 years, leaving a trail of destruction in major cities. Nintendo got off lightly in contrast, with the loss of the big ‘N’ and having to temporarily cease its telephone and online customer support.
Twitter user @k64ss MariLuiysg has now shared photos of the logo being fixed, with the ‘N’ back up on the building – ultimately restoring the company name to its former glory. Here’s a look at the delicate operation below:
We can only hope Nintendo Japan is finally able to put all of these troubles behind them – including the recently delayed Direct due to the earthquake in Hokkaido – and move forward.
Chris Taylor loves video games, and when Nintendo announced Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he was just as pumped as everyone else – but with a catch. Taylor has terminal cancer and in July made the brave decision to decline any further treatment. He was given between 3 to 6 months to live.
Taylor’s comments on social media – which reflect on the fact that he may not be alive when the game arrives this December – have triggered a wave of support from the Nintendo community, and now a campaign has begun to get Taylor – who is effectively bedridden – pre-release access to Smash.
Those involved with the campaign have taken to social media to bring Taylor’s plight to the attention of Nintendo of America. We’re more than happy to amplify this message on Nintendo Life – so please, join your own voice to this movement and perhaps Taylor will get his wish.
