Onelargeprawn
Devil’s Third by Valhalla Studios is one of those games that was heavily anticipated, probably because it’s unusual to see an over-the-top violent game like it on a Nintendo console. The game has had a troubling history, what with game engine shifts and publishers shutting down. Still, it’s here now, and we’ve gone a few rounds with Ivan to see what the devil is up.
It’s a bit weird to be reviewing an NES game 26 years after its first release, but that’s the wonders of modern gaming for you. Earthbound Beginnings—or Mother, as it was known in Japan—is one of those legendary JRPGs that you hear about but have probably never played. Although the game was translated into English way back then, it was never officially released in the west because that era was the dawn of the Super Nintendo. We in South Africa never got this game, nor its sequel, Earthbound. Thanks to the Wii U’s Virtual Console, now you can play this NES classic, but is it worth playing 26 years later? Let’s find out.
The Yoshi’s Island series has been one of the most beloved Mario spin-off franchises to come from Nintendo. The games have had varying amounts of success, as my review of Yoshi’s New Island shows. Now we have Yoshi’s Woolly World for Wii U, and I’m going to start the review with these words: you’ll want this game.
Harvest Moon is a tricky story. The games were developed in Japan by Marvellous Entertainment, but while originally translated and localized by Natsume, is currently localized by XSEED Games (and by Rising Star Games in Europe). The problem, however, is that the name “Harvest Moon” is held by Natsume, not XSEED. So while XSEED continues to localize Marvellous’ Japanese games under the title “Story of Seasons”, Natsume and Rising Star continue to make games using the name Harvest Moon. So, to be clear, the newest game in the series, The Lost Valley, is not strictly part of Marvellous Entertainment’s main Harvest Moon series because Marvellous Entertainment had nothing to do with it, even though it shares many gameplay elements with the original Harvest Moon series. It makes sense, therefore, to analyze and review this game based not on the original Harvest Moon series, but as its own entity with the same name. Confused? Never mind. Let’s just farm through this review to see what kind of crops we reap.
Art Academy for the Wii U is more of an app than a game, but its object is to teach people to draw and paint using the Wii U gamepad. A test of whether it is successful would be whether the skills learned within it are transferrable to proper pencil and paper media outside the app. I pulled out my easel and plonked the gamepad on it. Oh the conclusions I’ve drawn!
Right in time for the release of the new Jurassic Park film, we have a non-Jurassic Park game to review. But it still features dinosaurs. It’s like what would happen if you combined Pokemon with dinosaurs. Except the dinosaurs are called vivosaurs for no discernable reason. Sounds fascinating? Hop into the Bone Buggy and let’s go for a ride down to the corner of Archaeology Lane and Catch-em-all Avenue.
It’s not every day that big video game companies create new IP, instead preferring to rely on the name impact of existing, highly successful titles instead. This is why Mario has his face on so many Nintendo titles. Creating new IP is adding extra risk to what is, admittedly, a highly costly business. So it’s with no surprise, really, that we learn that Mario was originally supposed to be the face of Splatoon, Nintendo’s new third-person online battle arena game. I fill my super soaker with multicoloured ink, dunk my paint roller, and head for the urban parkways to see what Splatoon is all about.
Anyone who has seen or played Fantasy Zone will instantly recognize the insanely cute graphical stylings of an insanely difficult game (one of the few games that belong to a genre called, appropriately, “cute-’em-ups”). It has a long and very checkered history, with ports onto almost a dozen different platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Megadrive, and of course, an appearance in video arcades. The 3D release of this game has now been released on the 3DS, and I get cute to bring this review to you.
If you’ve not heard of Puzzle and Dragons before, odds are you don’t play many match-three style games on Android or iOS devices. The game is insanely huge, especially in Asian markets, and now the game is coming to Nintendo 3DS, along with a new Super Mario Bros. mode. I got a chance to review the bundle, so let’s dive in.
Codename S.T.E.A.M. is a new, turn-based, tactical action game for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is set in a Steampunk Victorian age during an alien invasion of the planet, and it’s up to your team of S.T.E.A.M. agents to save the day. Can you muster up the…you know…smoky stuff?