Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.
Category: Nintendo News
Nintendo News
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Launches This Week
Nintendo has confirmed that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp launches on iOS and Android worldwide this week.
It was previously hinted that the game would launch on the 21st, but Nintendo has now revealed that it’s coming a day later on the 22nd (that’s Wednesday, in case you were wondering):
We recently reviewed this new smartphone game and awarded it 8/10, saying:
It’s almost startling just how easily this IP has been adapted to the mobile platform. While it does experiment with the classic formula to go where no existing releases have gone before, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp still manages to provide the same level of escapism that has been fundamental to the series over the years. For this reason alone, it’s worth checking out.
Will you be downloading this when it launches? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Video: This Could Be The Most Awesome Gaming Room Ever
If you’re keen on following YouTube-based retro gamers then chances are you’re already familiar with Aussie super-collector Joel “Last Gamer” Hopkins. This guy literally has everything, from the rarest games to the most desirable vintage systems.
His collection – and the building it’s housed in – has undergone quite a bit of development recently and his game room has gotten to the state where he’s happy enough to show it off to the world.
A word of warning – if you’re prone to feelings of intense jealousy when it comes to video gaming gear, you might want to click off this page and go and do something else. You almost certainly don’t want to watch the second video below in which Joel shows off his record-setting collection of over 17,000 games:
We’re not green with envy, you’re green with envy.
Review: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Mobile)
It’s still hard to comprehend a series as obscure yet mundane as Animal Crossing has had so much success since its inception. Apart from minor similarities to The Sims and Harvest Moon, the concept of the original game wasn’t really akin to any other title available on the market at the time of its release. Unlike the conventional type of video game western audiences had grown accustomed to, Animal Crossing’s arrival seemed almost accidental when it was eventually localised. How could living in a village filled with talking animals while at the same time paying off a home loan and harvesting fruit possibly be fun? It probably shouldn’t have been as likable as it was, but the level of escapism the game provided from the real world was hard to resist.
The series’ steady rise to fame over the years has been a blessing in disguise for Nintendo. Calculated or not, Animal Crossing is arguably the most successful new IP the company has created in the past two decades and the one with the brightest future. The key to its success has been its broad appeal and approachable style. Over time, Nintendo has built upon the initial concept. Recently the company has even begun to experiment with the series, proving there isn’t necessarily a definitive template for every release.
With Nintendo’s mobile game development well underway, bringing an Animal Crossing title (of any kind) to this untapped mass market appears to be a match made in heaven. While purists may not be in favour of the transition to this platform, the latest free-to-play incarnation of Animal Crossing is a way for Nintendo to grow the brand and heighten its appeal in hope the charming series can one day become as recognisable as the likes of Mario or Link.
This latest entry for Google Play and iOS acts as another important step in the series’ evolution. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp takes inspiration from Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and even the Welcome amiibo update that added the RV campground and other new content to Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It’s a demonstration of the series’ adaptability; similar to how the Mario games are able to seamlessly swap between 2D and 3D design while maintaining the same core values and level of familiarity.
Having been a town mayor in New Leaf and an employee of Nook’s Homes in Happy Home Designer, in this new Animal Crossing entry Isabelle assigns you with the role of campsite manager. Here your responsibilities include attracting animals to the site by crafting furniture and amenities with the help of Cyrus the alpaca. The core focus is on building social relations with the animals you know and love from past releases in order to improve the quality of life at your campsite.
When you’re not busy being a social butterfly, you can spend your time decorating or rearranging your campsite and the furniture inside your camper van. Trademark aspects the series has become known for over the years – such as the upkeep of the natural environment – is no longer relevant to how your character’s experience plays out. You can still fish and catch multiple varieties of bugs at any hour of the day, but these once leisurely pastimes are now simply a means to an end.
Generally there is less emphasis placed on the simulation aspects that were pivotal to the past entries. Personalisation is still somewhat intact – with the ability to customise your character including their look and what they wear. The first time you play, Isabelle will also ask you to describe your campsite to add a further sense of personal identity. The more you play of Pocket Camp, the more you realise how streamlined the game is compared to previous releases. Don’t expect extensive features such as being able to customise the names of locations or the dialogue of animals – or even being able to post letters on a regular basis. Pocket Camp, while more linear in its design, provides players with a sense of direction most of the past releases in the series have not. Despite the clearer goal from the outset, the smart phone version manages to maintain the free spirit of Animal Crossing – allowing players to approach day-to-day life however they choose, even if there is a suggested routine.
Levelling is what drives progression in camp. In order to attract animals to your site you must gather crafting materials such as wood and cotton, and earn Bells to pay for crafting and construction costs. This then allows Cyrus the alpaca to craft fancy new items, furniture and amenities as requested by the animals. In order to obtain the crafting materials, your character must fulfil animal requests, which require you to provide them with particular fruits, fish or bugs from a certain location. You can also earn rewards such as crafting materials by conversing with the animals on a daily basis. Regular social interaction and completion of requests levels animals, and every time they level your own character will get closer to the next stage of their progression. Each time you improve your character or an animal in this way you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.
The rewards you earn can be used to craft furniture and amenities to attract specific animals to your campsite. At certain levels your character will also receive different types of rewards, such as additional inventory and market box space to make the micro-management aspects of the game easier; you’ll also unlock new items to craft. Before a new animal is able to enter your campsite, you must place down the specific furniture they have requested at the site – it’s like operating one big supply chain. It should also be noted there is a limit on the number of animals you can have at your campsite at once, meaning you’ll have to decide which ones become regulars.
Adding an extra layer of depth to the levelling aspects of Pocket Camp are amenities. These are comparable to the public works projects featured in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Amenities in Pocket Camp are tied to specific types of themes including natural, cute, cool and sporty. At the start of the game you select a particular theme, and from here specific characters, furniture and amenities are all categorised under a key theme. After you’ve upgraded from the starter tent you’ll also move onto a themed tent which allows you to take your friendship with animals to a higher level. Essentially, amenities extend the level cap placed on animals. Certain themed amenities extend the friendship cap on all animals that fall under the specific theme. By developing amenities and levelling existing ones at your campsite, you can raise the friendship cap of animals of all themes to even higher levels. The depth of the levelling system, combined with the sizable cast of animals, adds to the prolonged life of this game.
Once you’ve grasped the basics, life in Pocket Camp revolves around the whereabouts of the animals in the world. The central location of the game is the campsite, and surrounding this are seven different areas. Four are recreational areas where you meet new animals and go to catch bugs, fish and pick fruit. The remaining three locations are OK Motors, Shovelstrike Quarry – where you dig for rare minerals – and the marketplace, featuring a rotating selection of shops. Here you’ll find recognisable vendors featured in existing games like the Able Sisters (selling different clothing on a daily basis) and Timmy and Tommy – offering a select range of furniture you can buy to decorate the interior of your van or place around your campsite. The new birds on the block at OK Motors offer services that allow you to upgrade the size of your camper van or customise the exterior with a new paint job, pattern or look. Similar to the RV featured in the New Leaf: Welcome amiibo update, the van has the same traits as a house in the respect that you can furnish it and visit other players’ campers; the loan system lives on as you’re required to pay for these upgrades over time. On the whole, each location in Pocket Camp serves a purpose. Much like past Animal Crossing releases, visiting locations to fulfil requests, gather supplies or buy new items simply becomes part of everyday life.
Although there seems to be a common misconception that all smartphone adaptations based on popular game franchises are demonic, the influence of the mobile platform isn’t overbearing in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Notable features in the series such as the day and night and the seasonal cycles and events are still present – however, random ones appear to have been cut, lessening the simulation aspects. None of the features mentioned that are still present have quite the same level of importance as existing releases.
The fruit trees in this title act as a reminder you’re in familiar but uncharted territory. Seeing a tree with a timer above it for the first time can be a tad startling, but once you realise it regenerates every three hours – compared to taking days in past titles – it’s not all that bad. The waiting game – much like existing Animal Crossing titles – is more evident than ever, only because you are now informed exactly how long furniture and amenities take to be constructed. Crafting can take a minute to an hour, or even a number of days. The mobile identity of this entry doesn’t really detract from the fun factor, either. You’re now just more aware of how long you’ll have to wait. Depending on what you expect from an Animal Crossing game, this design choice may be seen in a positive or negative light. There’s also more common mobile game features included like daily login bonuses – providing the player with regular rewards such as special camper van patterns – for showing their loyalty.
While on the subject of the game’s adaptation to smartphones, it’s important to discuss the monetary transactions built into Pocket Camp. This is where Leaf Tickets come into play. Leaf Tickets can be freely obtained via daily login bonuses, by completing the timed and stretch goals (that in effect act as achievements) or reaching certain milestones via levelling. Of course, you can also acquire these tickets with real money. The microtransactions contained within Pocket Camp are mostly non-intrusive.
If you play the game enough there’s no need to be concerned about these tickets, as you should earn a satisfactory amount for free – just don’t go in with high expectations of being able to obtain every item of furniture or befriend every animal if you don’t plan on playing regularly enough or even occasionally dropping some real coin on the game. The tickets are mostly there to make life easier for players. You can speed up the crafting times of items, buy more crafting space for Cyrus, and purchase additional inventory and market place slots to sell items. Tickets also enable you to regularly use sea nets, river nets and honey jars to catch multiple fish and bugs of particular varieties at the same time. You’ll occasionally obtain these items for free, but after that you’ll need to spend your precious Leaf Tickets if you want take advantage of them again.
Shovelstrike Quarry is about the only section of the game with more extreme entry requirements. Here you can mine rare minerals and also find an array of crafting materials and Bells. In order to gain access you’ll need to pay upfront with Leaf Tickets or find five friends to help you gain entry. This is very much an optional area, and not required to progress in the game – it’s more of a way to accelerate your progress. Arguably the most absurd Leaf Ticket pricing so far is tied to the limited-time special promotion. At the time of writing, Cyrus can craft you K.K.Slider’s chair or Tom Nook’s chair for the insanely large sum of 250 Leaf Tickets if you would like to see them show up at your campsite and hang out. As already mentioned, you can acquire a fair amount of Leaf Tickets for free, provided you’re committed to the cause. So it’ll just take a bit of hard work and saving to unlock these special characters for your campsite.
If you are eager to spend some real coin, the pricing is no different to other Nintendo apps such as Miitomo. Leaf Tickets start out at AU$1.49 for a pile of 20 and go right up to 800 (plus a 400 ticket bonus) for AU$62.99. Just like other Nintendo smart device games, the higher the amount spent the more bonus tickets included in the transaction. It should be noted Bells still fuel the in-game economy, with crafting materials also being of great importance.
The social aspects of Pocket Camp allow you to visit other player’s campsites to view their own setup and also go inside their camper van – as previously mentioned – to gain interior design inspiration. You can also give kudos to other players to meet timed goals, and sell or buy to and from others using the market box. With the market box you can list any fish, fruit or bugs you may not necessarily have any need for, and other players will then be able to buy these items for whatever amount you set. Unfortunately the social interaction in Pocket Camp isn’t quite as advanced as what we’ve seen in past iterations of Animal Crossing, but the ability to see players in every part of the world and visit their campsites and camper vans still provides a sense of connection to the game’s community. Making friends is as easy as making a request during a conversation. You can also link your game with your Nintendo Network ID, Twitter and Facebook accounts to add friends and gain bonuses via the My Nintendo website – much like in Miitomo.
This leads to the technical side of Pocket Camp. You can play the game using your own mobile data or on a wireless connection. The presentation of the title doesn’t cut any corners. It looks as impressive, if not better, than the recent releases on 3DS. The surprising part is just how smoothly this game runs on an array of mobile devices and platforms. Of all Nintendo games released on mobile so far, you would think a 3D Animal Crossing game might have been too intense for certain devices. Fortunately, the game appears to be well optimised; it’s also rather forgiving because of the slower tempo of the title.
The fastest interactions required are when you’re tapping the screen to reel in a fish, or swinging your net about to catch a bug. The touch controls are second nature; the user interface makes searching through your crafting collection and the inventory effortless, while movement of your character is just as easy. You can either drag your finger or touch a location on the screen you want your character to move to. Rearranging furniture is also a breeze, as the game utilises the same grid mechanics featured in Happy Home Designer. Talking is the same setup as past versions, with the player simply tapping their finger instead of pressing a button to select dialogue options. These technical feats are supported by trademark Animal Crossing sound effects and theme songs. Every animal speaks the local language – Animalese – and music changes throughout the day. Well known tunes for popular characters like the Able Sisters are present. These sound effects and songs make the game feel like a truly premium Animal Crossing experience.
Conclusion
Nintendo has once again worked its magic to release a smartphone title that is vastly superior to the average game release on Google Play and iOS platforms. Even as a free-to-play title, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp goes above and beyond expectations; it’s certainly a great introduction for first-time players thanks to the charming and accessible design.
As explained, the monetary transactions in the title are not intrusive, nor are they essential to progress. They simply offer the player a way of accelerating their progress in the game. The purchasable Leaf Tickets can still be obtained for free, provided you are willing to visit your campsite on a regular basis – the commitment required is rather fitting given the history of the series.
It’s almost startling just how easily this IP has been adapted to the mobile platform. While it does experiment with the classic formula to go where no existing releases have gone before, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp still manages to provide the same level of escapism that has been fundamental to the series over the years. For this reason alone, it’s worth checking out.
Guide: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Top Tips And Tricks
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has finally arrived on a Nintendo console for the first time and, for many of you reading this, this could well be the first time that the vast land of Skyrim has been on your screens. The pure size of games like Skyrim can be rather overwhelming and you may well be wondering how to play, how to make the best use of your skills, how to spend your gold, and so on.
Well, you are in luck! We’ve put together a handy list of tips and tricks that can hopefully give you the advice you need to brave it on your own for the first time, or refresh the minds of those who are revisiting the game after a while away from its dragon-riddled lands. So push your best arrow and knee related memes to the back of your mind for a second and make your way through our guide below. Enjoy!
Choosing Your Race at the Start of the Game
After an opening scene, Skyrim makes you choose which race you’d like to play as before throwing you into a character customisation section. The problem is that something about this whole decision making process leaves most players panicking for the next four days as they sit staring at the different humans, elves, and lizard-thingys and desperately wondering what on Earth they should choose.
Our advice would be to not worry too much about this. Each race has its own starting stat bonuses that are catered towards different play-styles so, if you have a particular play-style that you know you’ll favour over others, go with that one. Otherwise, just go ahead and pick your favourite – you can still excel at the attributes associated with different races to the one you choose but it’ll just take quite a while longer to train them up to the same level.
Don’t Worry About Which Ancestral Stone You Choose
Very early on in the game you’ll be given a choice between three large ancestral stones (are you noticing a theme so far?). These three stones have the power to improve your skills in a particular area faster – therefore giving you an advantage in that play-style. You’ll be asked to choose between Thief, Mage, and Warrior, so you’ll likely be drawn to one of these straight away but might be worried about losing out on the other abilities.
The good news is that there are actually 13 sites like this scattered around Skyrim, meaning that you’ll be able to change which stone you have activated at any time. Yes, this decision is not permanent! Throughout your journey you’ll have the option to play about with all styles, see which you think will be most worth boosting, and select the stone that is most appropriate for your chosen style. If you chose to boost your Warrior skills but are getting fed up with repeatedly bashing things in the face with an axe, change things up!
Take On Sidequests
Skyrim is home to a pleasingly large amount of sidequests. Unless you’re wanting to get through the game as quickly as you can, doing as many of these as you can is a no-brainer. For starters, you’ll be given a variety of rewards for completing them and, also, you might find yourself seeing parts of the world that you haven’t previously been to.
It can also be quite a refreshing change to swap your rather frantic, dragon-hunting lifestyle to enjoy a few moments trying to find a bunch of grapes for an elf. Be a man, woman (or lizard) who can do both.
Don’t Hoard Everything
If you’re anything like this writer, a part of you will look at every little grubby plate and broken bucket dotted around the darkest dungeons and think “I should probably keep that” without really knowing if it will have any use whatsoever. It can be even more tempting to hold onto every last healing potion and weapon in case you end up needing them for tricky sections that may or may not appear in the next few hours in the game.
Our advice here: don’t do this! Yes, having a whole bunch of potions can be really useful, and being able to sell endless tat to slowly build up your wealth can be good, but Skyrim can become an incredibly frustrating experience if you have to keep ‘dropping’ things every few seconds because your character can’t even walk any more. Make sure to sell your useless loot as often as possible and don’t hold on to absolutely everything – you’ll feel better without it! Now, in a twist that seems like we almost planned it, this very conveniently leads us on to…
Don’t Buy Equipment Early On
It won’t take you long to stumble across several people who are happy to sell things to you. Whilst you should feel free to sell anything you don’t need to them to get some extra cash, we’d argue that it is rather pointless spending your money on the items they have for sale. The basic iron and steel weapons that can be purchased here can be easily found lying around Skyrim for free and, if you’re the bow and arrow type, you’ll end up with enough arrows to keep you busy elsewhere too.
Your cash would be much better invested into training. Along your journey, you’ll find various Trainers (characters that can help improve your skills) and you’ll need to pay them for their services. If you’re an ‘everyone for themselves’ kind of player, you can always pickpocket the Trainers and get your money back afterwards, too. Just don’t tell anyone that that was our idea!
Use Your amiibo!
Following on from our last tip quite nicely, another way to get your hands on a small nation’s worth of equipment is to use your amiibo figures. Nothing in the game is locked behind amiibo – so if you don’t have any you aren’t missing out on anything – but they do help to make things much easier.
Scanning an amiibo in Skyrim will grant you with a treasure chest containing various random items that you can keep and equip and, if you scan any The Legend of Zelda series amiibo you’ll have a chance at getting something very special. You can scan as many amiibo as you like but each one will have a 24 hour time limit before they can be used again.
If you’re unsure how to use your amiibo in the game, start by pressing ‘B’ to bring up a menu and flick the control stick to the left a couple of times to select ‘Magic’. On the ‘All’ tab, flick the control stick to the left again and you should find an option for ‘amiibo’. With the amiibo selection highlighted, press either ‘ZL’ or ‘ZR’ to equip it – unlike other abilities, this one does not get assigned to a particular hand ready for you to use. With the amiibo function equipped, return out of the menu, head to some open space, and press ‘R’. The ‘R’ button is usually used for your Shout in the game but, with the amiibo function assigned, pressing the button will instead release a wave of pulsating energy on screen. When you can see this wave of energy, scan an amiibo onto your controller’s NFC reader and a treasure chest will appear – ta da!
Use the Abilities You Want to Grow
The best way to get better at any ability in Skyrim is to practice it – lots. This isn’t just because practicing something means that you will find it easier to do in the future, but because Skyrim’s levelling system works in such a way.
If you start picking locks, your lockpicking skills will be upgraded, sneaking past characters will level up your sneaking abilities, and flinging your sword at anything that moves will help to level up your one-handed fighting abilities. You can either switch around to use different abilities more often, working on creating a more well-rounded character, or focus on your favourites and become an unstoppable expert in those particular areas.
Don’t Always Fast Travel
Sometimes, for the sake of having a life away from the screen, fast travelling is essential. This method of travel allows you to choose a location on the map and warp there instantly. It can be nice to occasionally travel to places by foot, however.
Just like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you’ll discover so much more – and therefore get so much more out of the game – by wandering around and accidentally stumbling across new places that you would never have found otherwise. A large selling point of these open-world games is the fact that the worlds are so, well, ‘open’ – you may as well explore what is out there.
Get Into the Habit of Saving
Save whenever it crosses your mind to do so! The game does autosave at certain points such as when you sleep, go through doors to new areas, and so on, but it doesn’t save as you’re exploring places in between. If you’re spending a lot of time just running up and down mountains searching for treasure and then suddenly get thwarted by a troll you’ll lose an awful lot of progress. It’s a simple tip, but a very useful one.
Be a Bookworm!
Feeling like a proud teacher as we do so, it is now our job to tell you all to do your reading. There are lots of books scattered around Skyrim’s vast world – you can buy them, you can find them, and they are actually really useful. Many of them are intended as background reading; you can often learn a lot about the culture and lore of the Elder Scrolls series by flicking through these books’ pages.
If you don’t enjoy reading, however, you’ll still want to open every book at the very least. Sometimes, opening a book will grant you with skill increases – you don’t have to sit and read the whole thing, but see if you gain anything by inspecting it. Also, some sidequests are triggered by looking in books so, to fully see everything the game has to offer, you’ll want to explore them.
Admire the Pretty Dragons!
By ‘admire the pretty dragons’, we actually simply mean ‘enjoy yourself’. Again like Breath of the Wild – or any open-world game for that matter – allow yourself to take in the scenery, soak up the beauty of the world you’re in and have fun. Yes, you’re on a very serious quest and, yes, there are an awful lot of things to be getting on with but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the little things, too.
We hope that you have found this guide on top tricks and tips for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim useful. Let us know if you’re enjoying the game with a comment below.
Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? – There Are So Many…
Let’s be truthful, 2016 was quite a quiet year for Nintendo gaming. This year’s been rather different, however, which helped inspire the return of WGAYPTW™, in which we all talk about our weekend gaming plans. Last time out we had a Halloween edition where, to be completely honest, most people just said they were playing Super Mario Odyssey. Now, however, the field has changed.
The past two weeks have brought a lot of exciting new titles, with this week alone bringing L.A. Noire, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Rocket League, RIVE, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and many more besides. As a result we should see some interesting results as some of our writers reveal all in their weekend gaming plans.
So without further ado, let’s get to it.
Tom Whitehead
This week I’ve been borderline burning out on EMBARGOED for Switch, but do plan a bit of me time with other games. A few weeks ago I got Fire Emblem Warriors for my Birthday and am nowhere near finished, so I’ll give that another whirl. I think I’ll buy RIVE while it has the [email protected] discount, and my other gaming systems (gasp!) will also get a workout. I’ll play a bit of Football Manager 2017 on PC (I’ll buy the new one when it gets a bunch of updates and an inevitable discount) and probably L.A. Noire too. Yes, I know L.A. Noire is out on Switch, but I have to spend money on grown-up things like groceries and furniture, so I’ll stick with the PC original despite its annoying ‘Rockstar Social’ nonsense. Maybe I’ll play a few games in Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 on PS4 as well, because PES tries to be like actual real life football rather than the arcade nonsense of FIFA – I know, I’m asking for trouble with that statement.
I’ll also check into my matches in Chess Ultra on Switch, too, because it’s a lovely way to enjoy the game.
Ryan Craddock
Super Mario Odyssey has become an almost nightly ritual in my house at the moment; dinner comes first (because very little beats food), but then it’s straight back into the action to hunt down more Power Moons. I’ve decided to dedicate tonight to exploring more of New Donk City, which should be great fun.
Aside from that I’ve been playing through Pokémon Ultra Sun, training a seemingly unstoppable (and beautifully elegant) Furfrou whose ‘Headbutt’ seems to be defeating pretty much anything, and Rocket League, as it has been almost a year since I last played it on PS4 and the Switch version has got me all excited for it again!
Morgan Sleeper
In our last “WGAYPTW”, I mentioned that I was excited to try out Super Mario Odyssey but not sure how long I’d stick with it; as it turns out, two weeks later I can’t put it down! I’m not at the finish line yet but I’ve been chugging along, knocking out a kingdom or two every few days as I get a chance to play, and I’m absolutely loving it. I can’t remember the last time a game had me sore in the jaw from smiling so much, but that’s exactly what Odyssey’s done for me. I’m so glad I tried it out!
Aside from Mario’s latest, I’m planning on spending some quality time with my 3DS this weekend, working my way through New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star for review and trying to polish off the last few ‘A’ ranks in Japanese Rail Sim 3D: Journey in Suburbs #2. Sonic Powered’s train sims coming Westward has been my own personal 3DS localisation miracle, and I love dipping back into a different route every month or so – digital tourism at its finest.
Ron DelVillano
Now that I’ve finished Super Mario Odyssey’s campaign and collected around 500 moons, I finally feel like I can take a break! This weekend I’m hoping to get back to Fire Emblem Warriors, a game that was shamefully overshadowed by the beloved former plumber. I also just took advantage of this week’s eShop sale and downloaded Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, so I’m hoping to dig into that one too.
Let’s be honest though – I’m probably just going to play more Odyssey.
Conor McMahon
After finally digging into some of the really difficult end-game stuff, I’ll be rounding off a few more Moons in Mario Odyssey this weekend. Every time I have a wander around one of the kingdoms I seem to find something new and end up playing for way longer than I originally planned, but focusing in on some of the more difficult challenges just makes it all the more satisfying. Luncheon Kingdom (also known as BEST Kingdom) really lights up as you progress, so I could even just find myself donning a chef’s outfit and aimlessly taking a stroll around there.
Aside from that, I’ll be desperately trying to stay away from the eShop for fear of temptation, because neither my brain nor my wallet can handle the amount of releases I’ve wanted to check out in recent weeks. I know I’ll eventually end up nabbing Skyrim, maybe even L.A. Noire, but for the time being I’m attempting to polish off some of my backlog. Both Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and ARMS are on my list, as well as NBA 2K18 which I promised myself I’d get better at! It’ll be a real mixed bag, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dave Frear
I’ll mostly be playing a couple of games I’m reviewing, but as I’ve gone and purchased Skyrim again I’d like to dip into that when I can. I’ll pick up L.A. Noire and DOOM again at some point too (and Rocket League!), but right now I’m not sure when I’d get chance to play them especially as I’ve still got lots of Mario Odyssey to explore. Away from the Switch I’ve been meaning to set aside an evening for episode 2 of Life is Strange: Before the Storm since it was released, but haven’t managed it yet. Hopefully this weekend I’ll find time for a few hella fun/angsty hours in Arcadia Bay.
Arjun Joshi
Starting from today and over the weekend, I’ll be playing a handful of games. In my own spare periods of time, I’ll be looking to collect the 150 odd remaining Power Moons in my Super Mario Odyssey playthrough, as well as perhaps finally getting round to starting that mini Xenoblade quest in Breath of the Wild. Of course, I’ll be hopping on For Glory mode in Smash Wii U as and where I can too – I need my daily dosage!
As for multiplayer games, I have a few friends and colleagues coming round tonight and tomorrow, with tonight’s bunch being gamers and tomorrow’s being a lot more casual. For the former, you can best believe that the likes of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, FIFA 18, and Rocket League will be on the cards. We also love our Mario Party, so we’ll likely get that going at some point later in the night – although we always spend a good 30 minutes deciding which one. Finally, we’re hoping to rekindle our ARMS obsession that we had over summer. Despite its new content and it being a great game in general, we just haven’t had the time or motivation to pick it up again. As for the casuals tomorrow, 1-2-Switch always goes down a treat, so I’ll be firing that up again. Maybe even some ARMS as that has the charm to entice both casuals and veterans alike.
Well, that’s me in a nutshell. It’s great timing that the “What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?” series has landed on this weekend – a weekend I’ve set aside for gaming with others and on my lonesome!
Jon Cousins
This week will most likely be dominated by the ‘big third-party three’. I’m interested in them all, but I’m going to double dip into L.A. Noire. Probably my favorite R* game closely followed RDR and Bully. The interesting setting and narrative along with the incredible visuals make it an amazing feat for a handheld. Other than that, Rocket League. As soon as the details of the Switch hardware were announced, RL was top of my wish list and it’s awesome that it’s come over.
Dave Letcavage
WGAYPTW, huh? Been a while. I think I remember how this goes. This is where I tell you that this weekend I’ll be playing Ittle Dew 2 and RIVE on Switch, right? Maybe mention that there are only three moons standing between me and Super Mario Odyssey’s true conclusion? I wish I could add that I’ll be diving deep into Skyrim for the first time ever, but it seems Amazon thought I should wait a little longer for that. Anyway, I believe I’ve got more than enough entertainment to get me through the next two days. I’m also fairly certain I did this whole WGAYPTW thing correctly, which is super neat because it’s been, like, 100 years since I last participated. Yeah, for real: 100 entire years!
That’s what we’ll be playing this weekend – share your gaming plans in the comments below!
Zelda: Breath of the Wild Won Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards
We’re heading into awards season, and Nintendo will fancy its chances of scooping quite a few. Today brought the Golden Joystick Awards in London, with the UK event being rather interesting for relying almost exclusively on public votes.
It’s with that in mind that Nintendo’s wins are certainly very welcome, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild taking the top award and four in total, while Pokémon Sun and Moon also joined in. There was also a win for the Nintendo EPD team; the relevant results are below.
- Best audio – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Studio of the year – Nintendo EPD
- Handheld/mobile game of the year – Pokemon Sun and Moon
- Nintendo game of the year – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Critics’ choice award – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Ultimate Game of the Year – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
We particularly liked Aonuma-san’s joke around the late release of Super Mario Odyssey affecting its chances of accumulating votes. We’re sure the two heavy-hitters will both pick up awards as the year wraps up.
Letter Quest Remastered Will Bring Wordy Delights to Switch Very Soon
Some wordy Wii U owners may remember Letter Quest Remastered, the rather charming word game / puzzler / RPG that arrived in mid-2016; it was rather good. The good news is that Digerati Distribution and Bacon Bandit Games have confirmed it’s coming to the Switch, all set for release on 23rd November.
Below is a trailer and some details on what it’ll have to offer.
Play as the curiously adorable grim reapers, Grimm and Rose, as they embark on a perilous quest for pizza. Use the awesome power of words to battle a motley crew of monsters and make your way through 40 stages of letter-slinging brawls.
Key features
- Story mode: Spell your way to victory (and pizza) across 40 stages
- Collect all four stars on every stage for 100% completion
- Think fast to complete time trials and prove your word mastery on extra challenging hard stages
- Earn gems to spend on different upgrades, books, weapons, and special items
- Endless mode: See how long you can survive against a constant conveyor belt of baddies
- Quests: 70 additional challenges to complete for extra gems
- Built-in dictionary of over 192,000 English words
- For players of all abilities, from novice noun hounds to legendary lexicographers
- Can be played using touchscreen controls when using Nintendo Switch in handheld mode
Spell out your purchasing intentions for this in the comments below.
Review: Maria The Witch (Switch eShop)
Bayonetta. Twinrova. Gruntilda Winkybunion. There have been some truly terrific witches on Nintendo consoles over the years. Whether friend or foe, ally or adversary, these spell casting sorceresses have entertained, antagonised and tormented audiences for decades.
In addition, the notion of video game phenomena has been thrown around more and more since the rise in popularity of social media, digital distribution and smart devices. For every FarmVille there’s a Minecraft. For every Angry Birds there’s a World of Warcraft and so on.
Imagine the giddy excitement when a game was announced to be coming to the Nintendo Switch that combined the elements of an intriguing, mystical protagonist with the gameplay of an addictive pop culture sensation. An enchanting tale of righteousness over evil in a beautiful world, filled with fun and magic.
Misleading and slightly facetious hyperbole aside, Maria The Witch is a port of a 2016 mobile game (also released on Xbox One this year) that comes from Italian developer Nap Games. The player (tries to) control Maria, a young and enthusiastic trainee working for the post service. She is also a witch that is having a bit of trouble controlling her preferred method of transport – a devilishly temperamental broomstick. Unfortunately, Chaos is strewn across the (as far as we are aware, unnamed) kingdom thanks to a dastardly duo named Zaki & Mia – two wicked and savage thieves who have stolen and scattered precious mail across the worlds. Only by tracking down the anime legend lookalike Zaki and his hovering rodent friend will Maria restore peace and happiness to the kingdom and its recipients alike.
The overall presentation of the game is at least pleasant. The instantly forgettable looping soundtrack and varied yelps of the failing heroine notwithstanding, Maria the Witch is a deceptively passable game in terms of its visuals, at least initially. A brief yet bold pair of storyboard panels set the tone, with a range of soft pastel colours and whimsical characters to make up a Studio Ghibli vibe. Then, it’s straight down to that mail retrieving business. A simple and consise controls tutorial screen is presented – press Y for left, A for right; then the nature of the game hits home. It’s a clone of the aforementioned ‘phenomenon’ – 2013’s Flappy Bird, and brings little else along for the ride.
Instead of tapping the touch screen to maintain altitude in a linear fashion (in fact, there are no touch inputs at all, but we’ll get to that), pressing Y or A will make a meter in the top right hand corner of the screen empty and fill. This will give Maria and her trusty broomstick boost and travel in more of an arc shape. Holding the button down will do a loop de loop. Despite the game’s narrative attempting to justify the haphazard movement of said broom, playing the game is frustration exemplified; the sporadic sensitivity and inconsistencies in the physics are sure to annoy.
If the monotony of trying to keep a steady line doesn’t get you, the bland level design – with a just a few moving obstacles and enemies – will do just that. Misinterpreting challenge and ending up being just plain irritating, bumping into anything will result in a retry. Clouds electrocute, floating black beasties vaporise and traveling through portals straight into autorunning lava sections will halt your progress again and again.
When you crash – and you will, a lot – you will be reminded every single time of the controls, in a level of condescension that will jeopardise the wellbeing of your cherished hybrid system. As an incentive, or maybe as a reward for your perseverance, there are coins to collect in each level which, when you land on a safe strip of ground, can be exchanged for a checkpoint.
The main objective is retrieving and delivering mail, and there are up to three stars in each level across the four worlds; these are needed in order to unlock later areas, as well as play random slot games where you can gain the ability to keep items after crashing, affect enemies or get more coins.
When navigating the menus and world map, you will be required to move the (very slow) hand curser to the action you desire using the right analogue stick; despite the fact that the interface still has ‘tap to do X action’ prompts, the Switch version has no touch interface at all. Equally curiously, the R and ZR triggers – instead of face buttons – are used to retry or restart a level.
There are more examples, but this is generally an awkward experience from to finish. An admittedly reasonable looking if not memorable mobile title nosedives its way onto console, with no optimisation, consideration or attention to detail. As mentioned, the backgrounds (especially when the switch is docked) are rather nice, until you see the thin dark lines that expose the cut and paste nature of the scenery.
Conclusion
Cute visuals can’t prevent Maria the Witch from being anything other than an incredibly lazy port of an already mediocre and generic mobile clone. A derivative, boring and regularly frustrating experience that has had no care applied in bringing it to Nintendo Switch. The laborious gameplay and obtuse controls, combined with bland, uninspired level design and by-the-numbers progression, reduce it to being one of the most disposable titles on the system. Don’t let the admittedly pleasant art style fool you – Maria the Witch really isn’t worth taking for a spin.
Vostok Inc Will Have a Bit of Exclusive Content on Nintendo Switch
Vostok Inc is on our radar of upcoming Switch eShop titles because, well, it’s a bit crazy. It’s a twin-stick space shooter with cool customisations, and also a quirky experience all about capitalism and exploiting planets to become disgustingly rich.
Nosebleed Interactive and Wired Productions have now confirmed that its strange game will have exclusive content on the Switch in the form of Pluto, now re-classified as a planet. We’ll let the trailer and press release explain things…
Pluto is – and always has been – a planet, and a huge part of our solar system since its discovery in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Its heart shaped expression, first seen from across the solar system on July 13th 2015, made us fall in love with Pluto all over again. Long distance relationships do work! Whether it’s 4.4bn km or 7.4bn km away, Pluto has a place in our hearts, and now a place in our game: Vostok Inc.
In Vostok Inc, you play as a corrupt, narcissistic yuppie hoping to make as much money as possible in a greed-driven, twin-stick shooter without a conscience. As the newly-appointed CEO of Vostok Inc., you have one goal: to become filthy, stinking rich. Piloting your very own ship, explore and exploit more than 40 planets across six different solar systems in your quest to earn ludicrous amounts of MOOLAH!
Start by landing on any planet to begin colonization, build factories and rake in the big bucks. Once the MOOLAH starts flowing, you’ll be able to upgrade your ship’s weapons and augmentations. Increase profits even further by finding and recruiting managers, consultants, and executives scattered throughout the galaxy.
So there you have it, a fun little extra for the Switch version. We’ll keep an eye out for a release date on Vostok Inc.