After last year's somewhat E3 disaster, Nintendo they came back all guns blazing and certainly kicked off the show with a bang, answering one of the Nintendo communities' most asked questions
What type is Sylveon?
Well our questions were soon answered as Iwata introduced the first of the E3 trailers which was for Pokemon X and Y. Now I bet many fans, myself included, were like "This isn't new" considering we have known about it for months. Yes we saw some new Pokemon and were given a tantalizing view of what the 3D Pokemon world looks like, including new battle sequences, but this was not surprising considering the lack of information about the title since it's announcement.
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| Two new Pokemon that could be seen in the trailer |
Then Nintendo went and hit us nay-sayers in the face with the biggest announcement since we learned that Parasect is actually controlled by that big mushroom on its back! In addition to the 17 types of Pokemon that appear in the game today a NEW Fairy type has been added and that it is indeed the type of that elusive eveelution Sylveon.
Now this has thrown a spanner in the works! old Pokemon such as Jigglypuff, Gardevoir and Marill are all now part Fairy type as well as their previous attributes. Fairy type is Super Effective against Dragon type making it the only type to be so, other than Dragon itself. Moves like Moon Blast and Fairy Wind were shown indicating a whole new move set that will be added to the game
Another interesting addition to the game is a minigame like featre called Pokemon - Amie. This mode sees you playing an interacting with your party Pokemon, feeding them, stroking them and playing games like mimiking the macial expressions of your Pokemon.
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| Feeding Sylveon in the Pokemon - Amie mode |
All of this adds to your Pokemon's friendliness towards you and adds a new in depth game mechanic. Pokemon X version and Pokemon Y version are set to release worldwide on October 12th
With that many fans were screaming at their screens........what? just me?.......... and couldn't possibly think of anything that would cause such a ruckus in a gaming community! Well hold on to your hats because there is more in store!
What is so lucky about those weird waving cats?
Next we were greeted with the friendly face of Mario himself i
n a brand new 3D multiplayer Wii U title Super Mario 3D World. Yes folks this is the 3D mario title that Iwata has been hinting at in the last few Nintendo Directs. The trailer began with the typical grass level with Mario stomping a Goomba and running to collect some coins that some loose pocketed old pensioner has left on the ground. The game changers come hidden within the scene as a first glimpse of the new see-through warp pipes can be seen in the background, the coins Mario picks up are in fact invisible until he runs over them and new masked rat type enemies are seen running treadmill style on a rolling piece of grass. The "Oooos" and "Aaaas" came as Mario hits a "?" block to reveal a golden bell which he uses to transform into.....Wait for it...........Cat Mario.
n a brand new 3D multiplayer Wii U title Super Mario 3D World. Yes folks this is the 3D mario title that Iwata has been hinting at in the last few Nintendo Directs. The trailer began with the typical grass level with Mario stomping a Goomba and running to collect some coins that some loose pocketed old pensioner has left on the ground. The game changers come hidden within the scene as a first glimpse of the new see-through warp pipes can be seen in the background, the coins Mario picks up are in fact invisible until he runs over them and new masked rat type enemies are seen running treadmill style on a rolling piece of grass. The "Oooos" and "Aaaas" came as Mario hits a "?" block to reveal a golden bell which he uses to transform into.....Wait for it...........Cat Mario.
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| Mario in top and tails (mostly tails) |
A bit anticlimactic I admit but hear me out. Your new feline attire allows you to perform some cataclysmic new attacks like a cat scratch and an awesome mid air pounce at enemies, as well as new wall climbing features that allow you to scale vertical surfaces and even to clime the flag pole at the end in order to reach the 1-Up at the top, which could be catastrophic for those that can get a little catty when their high score is swiped from under them....I should stop with the cat jokes or I might have to go and get a cat scan......I couldn't resist!
Other additions include the supplementing of hidden green stars (hint at Mario Galaxy 3?) for star coins/star medals and the first 3D title to have a multiplayer mode. In this mode 4 of you can roam around the world tackling levels as cooperatively or as competitively as you want. Mario, Luigi, Toad and wait....who's that? OMG its Peach! Yes Peach is a playable character in this game (begging the question of who has been kidnapped) and we get to see her in all of her pink floaty glory and suped up with Fire Flowers and... Urm cat Suits... hehe. Each player has their own ability too. Mario is well rounded and all of his skills balance each other out, Luigi can jump above the rest, Toad is a master of sprinting and Peach can float a little in the air to give the player a slower fall. All of these mechanics give each player a reason to be played and I can see each one being used in the single player mode to improve times, get to new areas and to ultimately shake up game play. That's right! all of the characters can be played in single mode meaning player one is no longer tied to Mario for every adventure.
Other additions include the supplementing of hidden green stars (hint at Mario Galaxy 3?) for star coins/star medals and the first 3D title to have a multiplayer mode. In this mode 4 of you can roam around the world tackling levels as cooperatively or as competitively as you want. Mario, Luigi, Toad and wait....who's that? OMG its Peach! Yes Peach is a playable character in this game (begging the question of who has been kidnapped) and we get to see her in all of her pink floaty glory and suped up with Fire Flowers and... Urm cat Suits... hehe. Each player has their own ability too. Mario is well rounded and all of his skills balance each other out, Luigi can jump above the rest, Toad is a master of sprinting and Peach can float a little in the air to give the player a slower fall. All of these mechanics give each player a reason to be played and I can see each one being used in the single player mode to improve times, get to new areas and to ultimately shake up game play. That's right! all of the characters can be played in single mode meaning player one is no longer tied to Mario for every adventure.
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| Check out these cool cats |
Of course this is a Wii U game so how does the Gamepad tie into all of this fur balling mayhem? A player can use the touch screen to freeze enemies and moving parks of the world just by touching them, and can reveal stacks of hidden coins and "?" blocks by poking at suspicious areas of the screen to make them appear. The pad can also be tilted during play to move the in game camera around, allowing you to view the scene from many angles to help you uncover any missed green stars or coins. While I don't feel this is a major improvement on the Mario Bros U brick placement, and that an extra item pocket like in 3D land would have been more beneficial, I think the features will come in handy during the game and will make the game enjoyable for more than one person even in single player! Overall I am REALLY looking forward to this game, the HD capabilities of the Wii U have been fully exploited in this game and the level design is filled with all of the charm and.... Mario-ness that makes us fall in love with the titles again and again! Available December
After that huge Mario installment I bet your all out of wonder from the Mushroom Kingdom? Wrong!!!
Why stick to the laws of physics?
YES!!! here is the one I have been waiting for Mario Kart 8. The next game in the much loved Mario Kart series is here and it looks like Nintendo have taken the best bits from recent games and POWed them all together. Firstly the return of bikes could be seen from the outset of the trailer as could features from MK7 such as gliders and underwater tracks. The graphics have had amajour revamp to fit into the Wii U's 1080p graphic software and allowing us to enjoy the whole game in stunning HD, The framerate has also been increased to 60fps which to the common folk like you and I means that the game will be smoother and more realistic to view. Iwata also said they are re-tuning the wi-fi mode to keep up with this framerate reducing lag and stalling when online. The lighting and shading effects have also been majorly improved which is part thanks to the Wii U's graphic drives that allow advanced shadow design.
All of this may seem a bit technical so lets get back to gameplay. After underwater and air sections of track from MK7 many were wondering what on earth Nintendo would do to plus it in MK8. Well that was answered rather quickly with the groundbreaking (or should I say ground-defying) new feature of the Anti-gravity. After rolling over special pads Mario and friends' wheels will spin onto their sides and glow causing the Kart or Bike to hover in mid air, drivers can now stick to all surfaces allowing them to drive on walls and even to go loop-the-loop on special upside down track sections.
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| "What a feeling, when were driving on the ceiling" |
Some of the new tracks are especially designed to endorse the new driving mode and feature vertical and double sided tracks to spice up gameplay and to give you new ways to cheat your friends out of 1st place. Other new tracks were shown including a charming village full of trams (yes trams!) and an entire world made out of sweets and chocolate :3
Some old worlds are returning, as expected and I definatly saw Melody Motorway and Piranha Pipeline form MK7 in the video. No official list of powerups have been give as of yet but I am hoping for some fresh items for us to grab and throw at our enemies with wild abandon! I did see some Fireflower fireballs floating around and along with a shell or two though, and I spotted that coins have been re introduced which suggest Kart customisation is again possible.
Not much information has been give about this title yet but I will keep my eyes peeled and report more as I find out new info Iwata did give us the tantalizing new prospect of an enhanced multiplayer experience, promising some new functionality with Miiverse that I am looking forward to uncovering, and saying that this game will offer more online modes.
Mariokart 8 for Wii U is set to release in Spring 2014
Now for another game that will bring all players around the Wii U
Now for another game that will bring all players around the Wii U
Who's up for a party?
I was pleased with the announcement of 80 new mini games for me and my friends to get way too competitive over and liked the look of some of them. The pole volting one looked rather run as did dodging giant boxing gloves to avoid being pounded to oblivion! We have already seen some of the "table top games" that are playable on the gamepad for this title and were shown a new Scalextrick style racer played solely on the game pad. A new board game world was released that takes the form of a sprint down a mid-sea zig-zag bridge with like 10 dice and a gaggle of friends to race to the end which I fell is a nice addition to the game and adds a new flavor to the already established Board Game Island.
Unfortunately Nintendo has pushed back the release of the game to October as they did with Wii Fit U, which has been pushed back to December. While i am disappointing about the wait I am happy that Nintendo are taking the time to fully upgrade the games as much as possible before release, which makes me feel valued and important as a Nintendo fan.
