Nintendo News – Page 1680

Posted on December 22, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

ARMS Version 5.0 Is Now Live

Nintendo has been doing a fantastic job of keeping ARMS updated with new stages, characters, and ARMS, and that support has been continuing nearly nonstop up until now. The company has been teasing version 5.0, which would be adding in a new character, for a few days now, and the update only just went live. As expected, it adds quite a large amount of new content.

The headlining feature of this one is a new fighter named Dr. Coyle, who can be encountered when playing through Grand Prix on LV6 or higher. Alongside the doctor, a new stage and some new arms have been added, along with some new badges and a handful of other tweaks.

Here’s the full list of patch notes:

· New fighter “Dr. Coyle” is now available. Play the Grand Prix at LV6 or higher as someone other than Dr. Coyle and see what happens…

· New ARM “Lokjaw” added.

· New ARM “Parabola” added.

· New ARM “Brrchuk” added.

· New stage [NAME REDACTED] added.

· For Grand Prix LV6 and lower, the computer will now get stronger as you get deeper into the Grand Prix.

· For Grand Prix LV7, the computer will start out strong right from the first match, as usual.

· You can now view stats from previous Party Crash events in “Stats.”

· Added new badges related to Dr. Coyle.

· Fixed issue in online play where the healing area created by HP Juice would sometimes shift position.

· Adjusted abilities of some fighters and ARMS as follows.

Fighters / Arms	Adjustments
Lola Pop	The holidays are a busy season for street performers, so Lola Pop is fired up! Her charges now persist longer.
Whammer Kablammer Blorb	Lessened deceleration when knocking down mid-weight ARMS.
Scorpio	Increased retraction speed. Shortened waiting time between flying off and retrieval. Fixed issue where time needed for retraction could be greatly protracted.
Skully	Improved curving. Increased rush damage. Decreased speed of initial rush attack. Adjusted the number of attacks needed for rush range to reach a maximum.
Glusher	Lessened deceleration when knocking down mid-weight ARMS. Increased expansion rate of charge attacks.
Megaton Megawatt	Lessened deceleration when knocking down mid-weight ARMS. Increased speed of charge attacks. Decreased speed of normal attacks.
Toaster Sparky Chilla Bubb Buff Roaster Nade	Decreased speed of initial rush attack. Adjusted the number of attacks needed for rush range to reach a maximum.
Slapamander Slamamander	Increased the time interval between initial launch and extension. Increased extension speed.

What do you think? Will you be playing much as Dr. Coyle? Who’s your favorite character thus far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Mdp4life — Leave a comment

Start 2018 with new rewards!

Resolve to take your gaming up a notch in 2018! To get you started, My Nintendo is offering new reward discounts on challenging Nintendo 3DS games that’ll give your gaming skills a workout. Redeem your points for these discounts today:

• Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (Nintendo 3DS) 30% off
• Earthbound (Nintendo 3DS / Wii U) 50% off
• Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (Nintendo 3DS) 30% off
• Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Nintendo 3DS) 30% off
• Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword (Nintendo 3DS) 30% off

You can also ring in the new year with a January 2018 calendar featuring the Master Cycle Zero from The Legend of Zelda™: Breath of the Wild. And don’t forget to update your Nintendo 3DS with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: A New Adventure HOME Menu Theme.

Looking for more game ideas? Check out the Games for Core Gamers lineup on the Game Store.

My Nintendo wishes you a 2018 filled with fun and happiness!

Games Rated:

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Zelda: Breath Of The Wild’s Champions’ Ballad DLC Marks The Conclusion Of The Game

It might sound like stating the obvious, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Champions’ Ballad DLC officially brings the game to a close – there will be no more content released from this point onwards, Nintendo has confirmed.

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma delivered the news in an interview with Famitsu, stating that the release of the DLC means the game is now complete. There will be no further DLC expansions.

We already know that work has begun on the next Zelda outing, so it makes sense that the team at Nintendo has shifted its attention away from Breath of the Wild. However, given the incredible success of the game – and the fact that other publishers are supporting their big games for months (sometimes years) after release – one does wonder if it would have made more sense for Aonuma and his team to continue to expand the world of Hyrule with DLC packs throughout 2018.

What do you think? Were you expecting more DLC expansions for Breath of the Wild beyond Champions’ Ballad, or did you always think it would be the final throw of the dice for the game? Let us know with a comment.

Thanks to SLIGEACH_EIRE for the tip!

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Review: Hammerwatch (Switch eShop)

There’s something to be said for Nintendo’s continued insistence that local multiplayer is as important as any other method of play. While there are plenty of reasons why online features are always touted, from the ability to play with friends from afar or just because you can keep your plans to yourself instead of on a split-screen, it seems as if playing with your friends and family shoulder-to-shoulder on a couch seems to be a lost art. With Switch, that push is felt even more by design – you can disconnect the Joy-Cons from the system for instant multiplayer with anyone within arm’s reach.

Hammerwatch, developed by Crackshell, began its life as a PC game in 2013 as a cozy little send-off to Diablo and Gauntlet. You’re tasked with taking down hordes of enemies while you storm a castle (or shrine, in the case of the included expansion, Temple Of The Sun), collecting coins, upgrading your character and solving rudimentary puzzles all the while. While fun as a solo experience, Hammerwatch is worthy of regular rotation at get-togethers the moment you can get your buddies involved.

iIt works very much like a twin-stick shooter; you use one analog stick to walk and the other to aim your weapon. You start with a special move that you can use based on the tried-and-true magic meter, and you can upgrade everything by finding vendors hidden about the castle and emptying your purse. To further give you choices, there are seven classes with which you can choose from, be it melee-based paladins to healing priests and every fantasy trope in between. There’s a definite delineation between characters which makes for unique experiences, with some being best with solo play but all being useful in a proper party.

It’s best to approach Hammerwatch as if it were a traditional party game; while there is the option to outfit and upgrade your characters throughout your playthrough, there isn’t a traditional leveling system to link its campaign together. It tows the line between arcade game and proper RPG, filling the role of both but not necessarily in the most meaningful way. Thankfully, there’s plenty of replayability, with the option to modify different options in game such as difficulty, the amount of lives or mana you start with and even one-hit kills or sharing a health pool with your party. While the castle itself never changes, the way you can approach it will.

Beyond your ability to customize your experience, there’s a few other options for players as well. There’s that additional Temple Of The Sun is campaign, which changes up the progression of the game by having you explore different areas surrounding the titular temple, with plenty of backtracking a gaggle or quests you can receive from a small outpost on the outskirts. There’s also a defense mode in which hordes of enemies attack in waves that you must stave off to protect a retinue on the map. Rounding out the various modes is survival, which has you pushing through area after area tackling tougher and tougher enemies in the hopes of making it further than you did last time.

Hammerwatch looks the part of Gauntlet homage, with squat little heroes running through a pixelated world. Even though the campaign has you trudging floor after floor of the same castle, each one is unique not only in design but in theme. While familiarity can set in, it’s hard to complain when everything is well detailed and animated. The presentation is rounded out with a suitably epic score which should be part and parcel for a game steeped in a fantasy setting.

Conclusion

Hammerwatch carries the torch for Gauntlet with aplomb. It takes its concept and magnifies it into something richer and more thought-provoking than Ed Logg could’ve ever imagined. It can be played and enjoyed by anybody, from the lone adventurer to ale-soaked mates and everything in between. Those looking for a game that properly ends may be disappointed in its initial simplicity, but those who enjoy challenging themselves with speed runs or complex rules with find a good time. Heck, there’s even the promise of online play in the future, so those with family or friends afar can enjoy it together down the road. Regardless of how you want to play Hammerwatch, it’s a satisfying experience through and through.

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Feature: Vote For Your 2017 Nintendo Life Game of the Year

Earlier this week we closed voting on four major categories in the Nintendo Life community Game of the Year awards. Thousands of you took part in the polls and via email submissions, but there is one prize left – that of overall Game of the Year.

As promised, then, we’ve taken the top five from each of the four categories – Switch retail, Switch eShop, 3DS retail and 3DS eShop – and combined them in this final poll of 20 games. You can only choose one, however – yep, it’s a tough decision.

The top three will be named along with all of the other winners during the Holidays, so here’s your chance to choose your favourite game (on Nintendo hardware, at least!) of 2017. The voting closes at 9am Pacific / noon Eastern / 5pm UK / 6pm UK on 24th December.

Hit up the poll below and debate the vote in the comments!

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

The Original Double Dragon Brings Street Justice To The Switch Next Week

Billy and Jimmy Lee’s original arcade adventure will bring the pain next week to the Switch eShop at the usual price point. HAMSTER’s Arcade Archives send off to 2017 is none other than Yoshihisa Kishimoto’s sequel to Renegade (Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun in Japan, Kunio’s debut video game), a coin-op that revolutionized the side scrolling beat’em up genre by offering two player cooperative gameplay… at least up to the very end (the heart wants what the heart wants).

In the grim dystopian future where gangs rule the streets and law is made by fists and steel, Marian sees herself kidnapped by the Black Warriors gang. Billy is having none of that, so he along with his brother Jimmy (Hammer and Spike in the US for Western sensibility purposes) take on the streets, the factory, the forest and the gang’s hideout, delivering martial arts justice to the many foolish street thugs who face them, including powerhouse Abobo whose debut entrance is in Double Dragon players’ minds to this day. It’s far from award winning plot material, but back in the ’80s this was all we needed to get things going.

Double Dragon will be the first Technōs Japan-developed / Taito-published title to be released as part of the Arcade Archives series from HAMSTER; hopefully it will not be the last.

Did you play this one back in the arcades or on any one of the many home ports? Will you grab an important piece of video gaming history next week to carry around on your Switch? Put up your fist and take on the comments section below.

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Nintendo Download: 21st December (Europe)

It’s the final European Nintendo Download Update before the festive break, and it’s a bumper offering. The Switch has various high-profile downloads to cater to most tastes, while the 3DS also has a notable retail title and a few of its own new downloads. Without further ado let’s get to it!

As for festive discounts, there are a lot of them once again, so we’ve put them all in one place right here.

Switch eShop

TINY METAL (Unties, €24.99 / £19.99) – A title that does nothing to hide its attempt to fill the gap left by franchises such as Advance Wars, it offers stylish turn-based strategy allied to modern weapons and warfare along with a bombastic storyline. We were rather impressed with it in our TINY METAL review.

Enter the Gungeon (Devolver Digital, €14.99 / £10.99) – This is a smartly designed roguelike in which you go into a run with the hope that a mix of skill, luck and perfect drops will see you make it all the way through. It has some smart twists to keep you going, too; we bloomin’ loved it in our Enter the Gungeon review.

Brawlout (Angry Mob Games, €19.99 / £17.99) – A game that isn’t hesitant to affirm itself as an Indie take on the Smash Bros. style of brawling. Similar techniques are cited as key to gameplay, and you use assorted – in some cases familiar – indie characters to bash others off the screen. We gave this a solid recommendation in our Brawlout review, even though it perhaps struggles to reach its full potential.

Floor Kids (Merj Media, €16.99 / £15.99) – This rather unique and charming rhythm / dancing game has finally arrived. With just sticks and buttons at your disposal you have to find the flow and pull off funky dance moves across various tournaments. We loved it in our Floor Kids review and were lucky enough to speak to JonJon and Kid Koala about the game.

Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL (Wired Productions, €12.99 / £9.99) – On the surface this looks like a modern-day reimagining of Cannon Fodder, with an isometric overhead view as you lead your tiny troopers into battle. It looks rather charming and promises various challenges and soldier classes; we’ll head into battle and let you know what we think in a review.

Bloody Zombies (nDreams, €13.49 / £10.99) – A brawler that previous arrived in VR form, it’s now been adapted to suit the Switch. It aims to server up ‘freeform’ combat within beat ’em up gameplay, as you go through London knocking the snot out of a variety of zombies; it also supports local and online co-op for up to four players. We’ll get into a review, but in the meantime you can learn more about it from our interview with nDreams.

Crawl (Powerhoof, €14.99 / £12.99) – This dungeon-based game lends an awesome visual style with a clever local multiplayer concept – one player is the main protagonist, but up to three friends possess traps and monsters to try and kill them. The multiplayer hook could make it perfect for the Switch; we’ll find out in a review.

The Next Penelope (Aurélien Regard, €12.99 / £10.99) – Previously planned for Wii U, this is a half racer, half shooter and features some massive boss battles which – once complete – give you additional weapons to use. It’s a stylish modernised take on Greek mythology that we rather enjoyed on PC, and now we’ll take another look on Switch.

Hammerwatch (Blitworks, €9.99 / £8.99) – This pixel-rich fantasy action title sees you taking down hundreds of enemies as you attempt to storm the castle of Hammerwatch. 7 character classes are available while local multiplayer for up to four players is supported; online multiplayer is coming in the future.

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (FDG Entertainment, €14.99 / £13.49) – As Lily, Knight of the Rose, you must go on a quest to save the Kingdom of Blossom from eternal darkness, collecting a host of weapons, spells, and more along the way. It has a top-down adventure approach that brings 16-bit Legend of Zelda experiences to mind; we’ll see how it stacks up in a review.

Puzzle Box Maker (Bplus, €14.99 / £13.49) – An interesting arrival as it provides some basic tools for creating your own game stages, on which you can then try out an assortment of minigames. It has plenty of pre-set levels too, and does a solid job of providing accessible level creation. We gave it a recommendation in our Puzzle Box Maker review.

60 Seconds! (Robot Gentleman, €9.99 / £8.50) – Released on PC a little while ago, this has the premise of trying to gather supplies in 60 seconds before surviving for a long time in the fallout shelter. It seems to have some rather dark humour (unsurprisingly) and could certainly be a rather intriguing title on the system.

Heart&Slash (BadLand Games, €13.99 / £12.59) – This brawler is treated as a roguelike, so each run throws up different stage designs and weapon pick-ups. What’s particularly neat is that there are “up to 75 different weapons and 60 different robot body parts”, which all affect how you fight and play. In theory that should keep things very interesting, and we’ll try it out in a review. Available from 22nd December.

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (Stage Clear Studios, €14.99 / £14.99) – Originally released in 2014, this is a clever puzzle platformer in which a coloured ‘magic marker’ allows for various abilities. We’ll see if it ain’t heavy in a review.

Mom Hid My Game! (KEMCO, €4.99 / £4.49) – Previously released on mobile, this is a simple and rather quirky puzzle game in which you attempt to find and retrieve your GBA / DS hybrid on each screen. It’s a charming title that can raise a smile, albeit its limitations meant we only gave it a limited recommendation in our review.

The Coma: Recut (Digerati, €19.99 / £17.99) – A manhwa-styled Korean survival horror, this is a remaster of the “indie cult classic” The Coma: Cutting Class, in which you have to survive and escape in a twisted version of High School. We’ll face the horror and bring you a review soon.

RXN -Raijin- (KAYAC, €31.99 / £28.79) – Developed by Gulti, this is a vertically scrolling shooter that evidently goes big on its story, with three playable characters. One of the key selling points is that it’s a ‘wide-screen’ shooter, designed to fill the entire width of the Switch screen. We’ll try it out in a review.

Guns, Gore & Cannoli (Crazy Monkey, €9.99 / £8.99) – Ideal for ‘shooting zombie freaks on the go’, this run and gun title is set in a comedic and highly stylished take on 1920s America. You play as mobster wise guys and shoot everything in sight; it certainly looks entertaining, we’ll bring you a review as soon as possible.

Plague Road (Arcade Distillery, €8.75 / £8.39 until 28th December, normally €12.50 / £11.99) – A game of strategic turn-based combat with rogue-like progression. Set in a world engulfed in disease, as a doctor you seek survivors to help but also recruit them to build up your farm or accompany you on your travels and assist you in combat. There are four regions, five ‘types’ of survivors and plenty of challenges to face as you head for the end goal. We gave it a modest recommendation in our Plague Road review.

Frederic: Resurrection of Music (Forever Entertainment S. A., €5.39 / £4.85 until 4th January, normally €5.99 / £5.39) — Previously released on PC, smart device platforms and Wii U, this is a music adventure game that certainly has an intriguing style, aiming to blend humour and classical music. We quite liked the basic idea but bemoaned technical issues in our review of the Wii U version, so we’ll see whether this Switch iteration solves those problems.

FruitFall Crush (System 3 Software, €5.49 / £4.99) – A puzzle game in which you re-arrange fruit to match up within various shapes and confined stages. It has 75 stages and local multiplayer – we’ll see where it’s a tasty download in a review.

The Deer God (Level 77, €7.99 / £7.19) – A title we also saw on Wii U, this is a heavily stylised adventure that aims to deliver a positive storyline. The potential is undoubtedly there, but we were left disappointed with the end result in our The Deer God review.

VS. Super Mario Bros. (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) – The latest ‘Arcade Archives’ Nintendo release, this brings the arcade spin of the NES classic into our homes. Fewer Warp Pipes means you can’t warp your way to the end as easily as in the original, there are also less power-up blocks and more enemy placements. In addition you’ll find six new levels that were unique to the arcade before later being reused in Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels.

Woodle Tree Adventures (ChubbyPixel, €4.99 / £4.49) – Described as an ‘old school platform game’ with eight worlds to take on, it goes for a bright and cheery look for its 3D platforming. We’ll see whether it’s worth picking up in a review. Available from 23rd December.

Pulstar (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) – This 1995 arcade release was the first Neo Geo game to feature pre-rendered graphics, the same kind of that were pushing the industry forward one year previously with Donkey Kong Country. Unlike its more hectic sequel, Pulstar is a far more slow-paced shmup, one that requires a different set of skills to tackle: enemy pattern memorization, navigation and the correct choice of weapons for each section are key for smooth sailing on this one.

Switch eShop Pre-Purchase

Pic-a-Pix Deluxe (Lightwood Games, €7.99 / £6.99)

Switch eShop Permanent Discounts

Just Dance 2017 – Just Dance Unlimited 30 days (Ubisoft, €3.99 / £3.29, previously €4.99 / £3.99)

Just Dance 2017 – Just Dance Unlimited 1 day (Ubisoft, €2.99 / £2.50, previously €3.99 / £3.29)

Just Dance 2017 – Just Dance Unlimited 365 days (Ubisoft, €24.99 / £19.99, previously €29.99 / £24.99)

Switch DLC

Fire Emblem Warriors: Fire Emblem Fates DLC Pack(Nintendo, €8.99 / £8.09 or as part of the season pass)

LEGO MARVEL Super Heroes 2 – Out of Time Character Pack (WB Games, €1.99 / £1.69)

LEGO MARVEL Super Heroes 2 – Agents of Atlas Character Pack (WB Games, €1.99 / £1.69)

LEGO MARVEL Super Heroes 2 – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 Movie Character and Level Pack (WB Games, €2.99 / £2.50)

SUPERBEAT XONiC EX DLC Single Track – Expressive Air 06 (Rising Star Games, free)

SUPERBEAT XONiC EX DLC Single Track – Vertical Horizon (Rising Star Games, free)

Zen Originals Season 2 Bundle (Zen Studios, €17.99 / £17.97)

Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition – 1st Birthday Skin Pack (Mojang, free)

Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition – 2nd Birthday Skin Pack (Mojang, free)

Sonic Forces: SUPER SONIC (SEGA, free until 23rd January, then €1.99 / £1.69)

Switch eShop Demo

Pic-a-Pix Deluxe (Lightwood Games, free)

Dark Witch Music Episode: Rudymical (Flyhigh Works, free)

3DS Retail Download

Mario Party: The Top 100 (Nintendo, €39.99 / £34.99) – This 3DS entry in the series aims to tap into the best of the series by combining 100 minigames from across the IP’s history. It does that, but also falls short outside of the nostalgia around the collection, as we explain in our Mario Party: The Top 100 review. Available from 22nd December.

3DS eShop

The Legend of Dark Witch 3 – Wisdom and Lunacy (CIRCLE Entertainment, €9.99 / £9.89) – An action platformer in the vein of retro Mega Man, this places you in the shoes of series regular Zizou, who returns to Earth to check everything is running smoothly only to discover another witch is running amok. Cue platforming, bullet hell gunfights and plenty of big bosses to take down. TLODW3 is also the first instalment to feature 3D effects.

Battleminerz (Wobbly Tooth, €4.99 / £4.99) – A sequel to the studio’s earlier effort Battleminer (a game released back in 2014 that we weren’t particularly keen on), this promises a range of new features. It promises modes including Adventure, Creative, Horde, and Battle, along with support for local and online multiplayer.

New Nintendo 3DS eShop

Mom Hid My Game! (KEMCO, €4.99 / £4.49) – You can expect pretty much the same game as on the Nintendo Switch, just on a smaller screen.

Breakout Defense 2 (nuGAME, €6.99 / £5.99) – This is a versus Breakout game in which you try to beat the AI across 20 stages.

New 3DS DLC

Fire Emblem Warriors: Fire Emblem Fates DLC Pack (Nintendo, €8.99 / £8.09 or as part of the season pass)

3DS DLC

Culdcept Revolt – Two Worlds (NIS America, free)

3DS HOME Themes

Pokémon: Winter Hide-and-Seek (Nintendo, €1.99 / £1.79)

Basic: Green (Green Lightning, €0.99 / £0.99)

Basic: Orange (Green Lightning, €0.99 / £0.99)

Basic: Purple (Green Lightning, €0.99 / £0.99)

Hiding Out (Green Lightning, €1.99 / £1.99)

Magical world of Beast Quest (Coolabi, €0.99 / £0.89)

Beast Quest heroes! (Coolabi, €0.99 / £0.89)

Beast Quest featuring Elenna (Coolabi, €0.99 / £0.89)

Xmas gifts with Jurassic Cubs (Animundi, €1.49 / £1.39)

White Xmas with Jurassic Cubs (Animundi, €0.99 / £0.89)

JC 3pack Number 11 (Animundi, €2.49 / £2.29)

CHRISTMAS (Umusic online France, €1.99 / £1.79)

KITTEN (Umusic online France, €1.99 / £1.79)

SMILE (Umusic online France, €1.99 / £1.79)

TEDDY BEAR (Umusic online France, €1.99 / £1.79)

Wii U DLC

Minecraft: Wii U Edition – Norse Mythology Mash-up (Mojang, €5.99 / £4.79)

Minecraft: Wii U Edition – 2nd Birthday Skin Pack (Mojang, free until 30th December)

Plenty of options to consider this week – let us know what you’ll be downloading in the poll and comments below.

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Random: These N64 Box Art Covers Have Not Aged Well

We’ve all got plenty of fond memories of Nintendo 64 – which is why we’re excited for the inevitable N64 Mini and its third-party friends – but that doesn’t mean we look back on every game with a smile. In fact, just thinking about some those box art covers makes us a little queasy.

Over on N64 Today, erstwhile Nintendo Life contributor Martin Watts has put together a new feature on some of the worst box art covers to ever grace Nintendo’s 64-bit beast. And no, time hasn’t been kind to them, either. We get to look back on the sexed up NSTC cover for the forgettable shooter Forsaken (we just got the letter ‘F’ burned on the surface on a planet, which in retrospect, probably has more to do with the actual game than a wet model with a tattoo on her face).

Anyone remember the middling Holy Magic Century (as it was known here in the UK and Europe)? Well, the game might have been a little shallow for an RPG, but at least it had decent box art. Not only did our US chums get a name change (Quest 64? Really?) they got some really terrible artwork as well, too. Yikes.

What do you guys make of these old covers? Tell us about some your favourite terrible covers on Nintendo consoles in the comments below.

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Review: TINY METAL (Switch eShop)

It’s been almost ten years since we last had an entry in Intelligent Systems’ superb Advance Wars series, but don’t let that depress you – we now have the next best thing in the form of Tiny Metal, the debut game from Japanese studio Area35. This is unashamedly a clone of the aforementioned Nintendo franchise and the nuts and bolts of its tactical, turn-based gameplay is lifted almost wholesale from the Advance Wars playbook. Despite its derivative nature, Tiny Metal hits all the right notes and throws in a few surprises of its own to liven up the blueprint.

In Tiny Metal, you control an army made up of different unit types, each with their own inherent strengths and weaknesses. Foot soldiers are weak, but they’re the only ones who can capture enemy cities (which in turn generate revenue for you to spend on new units), while Metals (tanks in the game’s parlance) boast incredible destructive power but have limited movement range. Helicopter gunships can fly over obstacles and pack powerful weapons, but can be dealt with effectively by mobile missile launchers, which – as you might imagine – are weak when under direct fire from other ground-based opponents. For every unit, there’s another against which it is painfully weak, creating a wonderfully balanced system where there’s always a solution for the issue at hand, no matter how dire things may be on the battlefield.

The game’s campaign mode places you in the boots of Nathan Gries, a lieutenant in the Artemisian army. When a plane carrying the Artemisian monarch is shot down, the blame is quickly directed at the island nation of Zipang, triggering armed conflict. Like all good narratives, the plot to Tiny Metal rarely sticks to the predicted path and very early on Gries’ loyalties to his nation are tested by a series of unexpected twists and turns. It’s a surprisingly engaging storyline which is brought to life by excellent writing, emotive Japanese voice acting and good character artwork.

Your mission objective is usually to destroy the enemy army or capture their HQ, and successful control of the battlefield is almost always a case of intelligent resource management. You can’t build units without owning the structures which create them, so your first task is often to locate a factory and capture it with your foot soldiers. You earn cash based on the number of buildings your own, making those a prime target also. All the while you’re expanding your sphere of influence on the map, you have to deal with incoming threats from a rival general who has the same militaristic ambitions as you.

In addition to the keeping in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each of your units, you also need to take into account variables such as terrain, relative unit health and – most important of all – opportunities for combining your military power. Units in dense woodland or cities benefit from a defensive bonus, while positioning your forces on higher ground makes their attacks more effective. Very early on, the game’s protagonist states emphatically that striking first is of the utmost importance; attacks which you initiate allow you to open the exchange of fire and deal the first blow, meaning that the enemy unit’s response will consequently be less powerful. In some cases, you can wipe out a weaker unit without giving them chance to retaliate.

“Focus Fire” – one of the few features created for Tiny Metal rather than borrowed from Advance Wars – is by far the most effective means of dominating the battlefield, but it requires some forward-planning to master. Using this system, you can combine the attacking power of your units and take down stronger enemies in one fell swoop. Instead of selecting “attack” you pick “lock on” and select the enemy unit. From that point, you can add more weight to the eventual attack by locking on with other units, before picking the final unit and issuing them the “Focus Fire” command. The ensuing barrage should be enough to take the enemy down, but you need to plan accordingly; any units which are locked-on will not attack until the Focus Fire command is executed, and if you don’t have any units which can be given that command at the end of your turn, it passes without any of your locked-on troops firing a single shot. Such wastefulness can be the difference between triumph and retreat.

Other wrinkles to the system include the “Assault” option, which is handy for pushing enemy units out of structures they’re either trying to capture or preventing you from capturing. Assault carries risk, as it allows the enemy to fire first – however, should your unit survive the blow, they will push the enemy one square back on the map and assume their position. Your units grow in proficiency as the battle rolls on, with each move, attack and capture attempt boosting their experience and making them more effective – which gives you a reason to keep them alive for as long as possible. Certain structures are capable of healing damaged units, and you can call in “Hero Units” at certain times by using communication buildings dotted around the map. These are variants of the standard units and have special abilities which make them prized members of your burgeoning army.

Visually, the game uses a 3D engine despite presenting the action in a rigid, grid-based format, just like the original Advance Wars series. The default perspective is almost isometric, but you can use the shoulder buttons to toggle to a more traditional viewpoint, as well as zooming right in for a good look at those stylish 3D models. Attacks switch to a short cutscene which shows each unit opening fire, and these can be turned off entirely if you find them time-consuming. We’d also recommend you switch off the unit voices, which quickly become annoying; there’s only so many times one can hear the same phrase uttered in a dodgy Scottish accent before you want to really hurt someone. Alternatively, you can switch the unit voices to Japanese to match the voice work heard during the narrative sequences, if you so wish.

The main campaign is generous in size and will offer even a skilled player around 15 to 20 hours of gameplay, and there’s also a Skirmish option which offers a series of challenges – each rated by difficulty – to tackle when you’re done with the main story. The most exciting element is the Multiplayer mode, which sadly isn’t available at the time of writing. It promises to bring both local and online 1v1 multiplayer, which – barring some major disaster – will drastically enhance the game’s playability. The Switch’s portable nature should make this an ideal tactical time-waster when you’re out and about, assuming you can find a willing opponent. Speaking of portability, it’s worth noting that the game allows you to save your progress at any point in an active mission and exit out to the main menu – a prime consideration when you’re playing in short bursts. Pleasingly, it only takes a few seconds to both save and load your progress. The only fly in the ointment from a technical perspective is that performance can become sluggish in handheld mode when there are a lot of units on-screen at once; animations become choppy and inputs become ever-so-slightly delayed, but it’s not a common occurrence and doesn’t impact your overall enjoyment (we also imagine it will be dealt with in a future update).

Conclusion

Tiny Metal has the core mechanics nailed down brilliantly, even if it has cribbed much of its structure from the famous Advance Wars franchise. Upon this handsome foundation Area35 has crafted a tactical wargame which is every bit as compelling, addictive and challenging as its inspiration, while adding in a storyline of surprising drama and complexity. The robust single-player campaign – twinned with some great one-off maps in the Skirmish mode – is worth the price of admission alone, but when the multiplayer mode arrives (presumably at some point next year) the game will become even more essential. Isaac Newton once attributed his remarkable discoveries in the realms of mathematics, astrology and theology to the fact that he was “standing on the shoulders of giants”; his outstanding work was only possible because of the geniuses that came before him. The same could be said of Tiny Metal; it may be light on original ideas, but it’s a towering achievement regardless.

Posted on December 21, 2017 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Pokémon GO Holiday Event Brings More Brand New Pokémon

Playing Pokémon GO over the next few weeks may not have been your top priority what with the weather turning so cold, but a new celebration for the holidays might just be enough to change your mind.

This event will see the return of the festive Pikachu, a noticeable increase in the amount of ice-type Pokémon appearing in the game all over the world, and even some brand new faces. It has been promised that more water and ice-type Pokémon from the Hoenn region (so Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire) that have never been seen in GO before will be making their debut appearance.

On top of all this, the first PokéStop you visit each day between 22nd December at 1pm PST and 25th December 1pm PST will grant you a single-use Egg Incubator when you spin the disc for the first time. You’ll also be able to get your hands on special boxes in the in-game shop including Super Incubators, Lure Modules, and the all-new Star Pieces which earn bonus Stardust for 30 minutes when activated.

The event will launch today at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern (9pm UK / 10pm CET in Europe). Will you be braving the cold to find your favourite ice-type critters? Let us know your plans in the comments.