tapedeck

Congratulations Bob! Love the pic, you look more surprised! Edit: just seen the backstory. This makes it more special.

What is really stupid (and follows EA's history perfectly) is that EA did create new IP's for Wii but then diluted them with dire sequels (for the most part - look at http://www.ea.com/uk/wii#7 ) and now they have totally abandoned these games to go back to their safer franchises. They could have built a great new portfolio for a different audience building the quality of such titles - but instead went for the quick money. This shows that without their brand games like FIFA, they would be in dire straights. Nintendo should have been a great home for more Boom Blox, MySims, board games and sports games like Tiger Woods and Grand Slam Tennis. And Nintendo should have made a play for those games on Wii U as well and supported EA in pushing those games like they did when the Motion Plus launched. Purely as such games are associated with the Wii brand. Unfortunately we are getting the leftovers of other systems titles (or no games at all in the future) which just dilutes the perception (and quality) of the Wii U itself. Nintendo and EA have jointly screwed up here. It's definitely an unprecedented partnership. Albeit one that shows how 2 huge businesses failed to work together to bring any benefit to themselves and customers who are actually keen to throw money at them both. That would be an unprescedented partnership...Nintendo set up a small team to just work on porting third party games to Wii U with their added nous. I can dream...

Holy hell. Amazing news!! Just PLEASE bring it to our side of the world SEGA. And then we'll all buy it too and 2,3 and knuckles can follow. Bonus stages in 2,3 will look eye popping too.

If Galaxy 2 and 3D Land were rushed, Nintendo can rush more! Both are mind-bendingly brilliant with hidden depths. I agree with Rummys love for Mario64. Sunshine etc felt more streamlined as if to bring in more players. Either way, a new 3D Mario is a huge deal. Bring it!

When it comes to 3D - size is everything. Also: you'll need a jacket with big pockets or a sleek manbag to accompany your XL gaming habits.

Loving this. So addictive and the Gamepad usage is beautifully integrated. Love how you can jump into levels from the controller too - beats walking to them. Hope this is integrated into future Mario games.

Same. Something is up :-/

I like it. McJ - what programme do you use for your tracks? I'm just getting into Logic and putting tracks together. Will put some up here at some point.

For comparison sake: not being at E3 doesn't seem to affect Rockstar... I love the Nintendo Directs. I can sit and take them in over and over and they are created with care, personalisation and with a focus on the games. You get some good insights and they will have a ton of them created for E3. They will then be distributed all over the web and directly to your machines. It's not like we'll miss out. It's just different. Then there will be reports and feedback from those who have played the games. Journalists will actively seek out Nintendo. They aren't gonna suddenly stop reporting on them because they didn't invite them into a hall for a seminar. Journalists will play the games on the show floor. They don't just go for the main meal, they want the dessert. But this news does have an air of sadness about it...end of an era no doubt. I will miss seeing marketing cads on stage hitting us with buzz words every five seconds before attempting to humour the audience with dire jokes and memes. I'll also miss uncomfortable looking foreigners facing off against other designers with only a translator between them and total embarrassment. Then there's the American reactions and rounds of rapturous applause. I'm sure we'll all miss the E3 idiosyncrasies, but at the end of the day the games will be what makes E3. Nintendo: they are all about the games...

Physics look horrific. Other than that will be keeping an eye on this. Great concept as ever. Skitchin' from SEGA next please :P

I'd love to see Nintendo do this more frequently. As with MM, look at Super Mario Galaxy 2 to see what else they can do with recycled gaming ideas/assets. Sure, they do this moreso in the NSMB universe, but it's in the 3D space that I like to see this aspect. Nintendo create such stunning games that we become attached to the universes. Seeing the assets repeated only reinforces the originals appeal and when wrapped up in the mind of Nintendo's legendary developers they still feel fresh and new. Like I said in my N-E SMG2 review (plug), it's like recycling a plastic bottle to create a Jumbo Jet. If it means more games I'm all for it.

Still on Mansion 3. I do love the game but it just doesn't grab you and keep you involved in it. I almost want to love it MORE. What others have said is true about the mission structures. You can be SO into it and then you are pulled out of the experience before starting all over again. It's somewhat disjointing from being in such an oppressive atmosphere to then being pulled out to the lab where it is all whimsical. It loses the appeal in the process as you have to mentally switch between exploration and puzzle solving to merely being told how much of a pussy you are. No wonder Luigi freaks out when he's transported back to the lab. He's shitting himself because he's gotta listen to the professor. It's called Luigi's 'Mansion' for a reason - keep me there. The Dual Scream is the only reason I need to talk to Elvin. :P

Awesome deal. Got Luigi already so will pick up FE after LOVING the ambassador GBA version and will get LEGO City for Nephew as he loves the Wii U version. Then I'll pick up the ever-awesome Animal Crossing.

QFT. I love that about this game. Games are generally too serious these days. I see enough macho shit and seriousness in daily life. Give me rainbows, unicorns and talking LEGO figures cracking jokes at each other any day.

Over the moon with that like. About time we played football...and to do it at the wongadome was great. Di Canio = instant legend.

Good points! You won't get disconnected when playing the game either! This amount of collectables here remind me of DK64. Insane!

I'm bricking it lol. MON had us sleepwalking into relegation. Seriously, he turned a half-bothered squad into a team of headless chickens. And I'm a massive MON fan. At least PDC seems interested and full of ideas. Fun times ahead...

Couple of things you shoot yeah. EDIT: Cheers Serebii Nice that they use some recognisable pop/classic music in this game. Wasn't expecting that.

I just couldn't keep going with this. It was like a beautiful, sexual fling that I knew was taking me away from the mundane world. So yeah, it consumed me and my mind and threatened to take over everything. I was going missing for hours playing this. Not eating, sleeping, seeing the (un)lucky lady in my life. Totally consumed me. And so I had to end it and embrace the real world. Do I regret it? Like any good fling, it remains bittersweet. I miss the swaying grass, beautiful vistas, enchanting stars at night and the VO work. So I did the unthinkable...I YouTubed the ending. Haven't stopped listening to the song at the end since. May be the game I sink my teeth into when I retire...(if I have any teeth by then!) Lol. Love it.

My logic too so got LEGO. As NFS is cheap on the PS3/360, it will drop in a couple of months to the £25 and below price point. Decent game yet I bought it on the PS3. May double dip later as Criterion are great devs...although I fear Wii U may not see much EA support regardless.

Having serious fun with this. It is absolutely hilarious, good fun and just...well, brilliant! I can't believe some of the reviews for this were limited as it's the best open world game I've played since San Andreas. GTA IV bored me after awhile as did RDR. This keeps you hooked and the LEGO design is genius. Eastereggs are also great. Had a brilliant Mario Sunshine reference earlier! The load times when starting the game and going into the police station are PS1 long. The rest are about 10 seconds. Nothing major. You only go in the station occasionally to trade in studs/bricks. Obviously it takes awhile to jump into the game though. According to some who have finished it, Iwata is in the credits as an executive producer...I think this HAS to become a Nintendo exclusive franchise. Its the perfect fit for Nintndo systems. How about using the medieval/pirate sets in future too? Would be great. Seriously - best LEGO game ever. And Frank Honey is just brilliant as a character. You can also build your own characters like the previous versions. I've a Karate Chuck Norris! Have also just started a mission with Starksy and Hutch where you are dressed as Huggy. Brill. Those who haven't got it yet...you are in for a treat if you like sandbox games!

In my opinion, the whole generation thing is just a marketing term created to make something seem exciting, full of promise, slicker and somehow better than what we already have. Cynical? Perhaps. I'm still gutted that we always move on to new machines when developers rarely push existing consoles in new ways. (Not just graphically).

Loved that interview. Such a smart, humble and peaceful guy. He is right about what he says about Nintendo, Luigi and life (!) within this interview. Personally think it's great. A nice extra. More mansions would have been better though.

Kirkhope doesn't seem too fussed... “I keep wishing that all the ex-Rare staffers would just get together and form a company, and go to Nintendo and say ‘give us the money. We’ll make you Banjo 3 for the Wii U’ or whatever. …Just make Banjo 3 like it should have been made back then and it would be great, and it would be great on Wii U, and all the ex-Rare guys would be together again all happy and kissing each other. … I just keep thinking we should just give it a try.” - Grant Kirkhope

Yep, sound effects glitched out on me too... Graphic have a lovely angular, Saturday morning cartoon style to them. Kinda miss the atmosphere/lighting of the original but for a portable game this is superb and the are definitely impressive moments.