Tag: Nintendo

Halloween is a Perfect Day to Play Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

Luigi has a bright career as a door to door Hoover salesman on Halloween night. He can leave the family plumbing business, ditch Mario and go out on his own. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the Nintendo 3DS is an entertaining action and puzzle game even though there are a few interface problems. And for fans of classic haunted house scenarios and paranormal pop culture, the little nuances placed into the level design can be appreciated. Gamers are getting a dose of a Ghostbusters style video game done right, a tour into Disney’s Haunted Mansion with a flashlight and a walkthrough of a Hammer Films retrospective of everything that goes bump in the night.

The game has four estates that Luigi has to deal with. Each of them are further divided into sub-levels (floors) and somewhere in the mansions are pieces of a crystal that he has to recover in order to save EverShade Valley from a Kirby-like evil spirit. Professor E. Gadd recruited Luigi to do the job because that was who he met in the original game. Dark Moon is a continuation from the game released twelve years ago on the Gamecube. And the professor has been spending the intervening years studying the nomenclature of a ghost.

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Too Much Rovio? Angry Birds goes Grand Theft Auto?

Eventually there will come to be a time where the Angry Birds will no longer be popular.

AngryBirdsGOThe Angry Birds is to Rovio much like the Mario Brothers are to Nintendo. Without a flagship product, neither company can be widely successful. Nintendo can survive because it has a huge product line which is not limited to Mario, Zelda or Donkey Kong. They have many other video games and products to carry this company forward but what about Rovio?

With no surprise, Rovio is copying Nintendo. They are taking these flightless birds and making them mobile with Angry Birds Go! (due out on December 11). Last month had this company release a new iteration of Angry Birds Star Wars II which hardly looked all that exciting.

In what looks like a Mario Cart clone, the next iteration will get these pigs and birds racing. In this case, it’s a downhill racing game and a few unique features will keep this concept fresh. Hasbro’s Telepods toys will allow players to “teleport” new karts into the game. But not everyone will be waving the flag in the end.

Some fans want to see Rovio develop new ideas than to see rehashes of old ideas. They should let the birds take flight and develop a brand new idea.

This company does have other properties that they created games for, but those titles may be one hit wonders. The Croods and Amazing Alex are the only two licensed items featured on Rovio’s website, and there is no sign of any other ideas being offered or listed as in development. To have a company bank on only one property to continue its success is dangerous. Eventually there will come to be a time where the Angry Birds will no longer be popular.

Zelda Leaks. Tri-Force 3DS XL & A Link Between Worlds News

The big news is that the next Zelda game available for the portable market is The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. 

nintendo-3ds-zelda-bundle-650x0Zelda fans will have to do a halt, stop and wait … no, run to the nearest video game retailer if this information leak is true: on Black Friday (in the States), GameStop will be selling a Tri-Force branded 3DS XL. The clamshell will be painted gold, and if you’re a Zelda fan like me, I’ve often thought about customizing my aging regular 3DS with a Zelda logo. The only reason why I bought the 3DS to begin with was to collect all the Zelda games available to this one unit and play it when the urge to go retro hit me.

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It’s Time to do the Mario with 8 Bit Lit!

Now the big question is whether toddlers will have to leap around like Mario to nudge the 8 Bit lit or not.

24b4a79b767eb9e816623e77cac15fc0_largeNearly every Nintendo fan will want their own 8-bit LED lamp in their recreation room. The 8-Bit Lit is an idea of Bryan Duxbury and Adam Ellsworth. They made a great tribute to that one product that made Nintendo great in their early days. A simple switch on the bottom of the unit is where all anyone has to do is to tap it, palm it, or head butt it. Sound effects will be part of its interactive appeal.

Now the big question is whether toddlers will have to leap around like Mario to nudge the switch or not.

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Weighing in on Nintendo’s Latest Two Dimensional Offering

At least with the consoles that are out there, Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Zelda and Link show that they can be enjoyed on any gaming device Nintendo is selling.

super_mario__nintendo_1280x960Nintendo enthusiasts now have a menu of portable hardware options to choose from: they can go 2D, 3D or XL. Each unit has their pros and cons, but as for whether or not their newest unit, the 2DS, will fly hinges on the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

The unit is essentially a stripped down version of the 3DS. The third dimension is being tossed out the door since medical experts are saying that can hinder the development of young eyes. But the big question is if the MSRP of $129.99 the right price? Maybe, in a nearly tax-free shopping zone of Alberta (Oregon for American shoppers) or a weekend when sales tax isn’t applied to purchases. Within Canada, the electronics tax may well be a hindrance than a god-send in select regions that have implemented this measure to deal with electronic waste.

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