S.C.G

Fear not @Retro_Link for I have been biding my time until now to post... I'd like to start off by saying how wonderful it is to have another Donkey Kong Country title to play for it has been just over three years since Retro Studios last spectacular effort so the timing is clearly right, crucially it's also another quality title for the Wii U which is always good. So what has changed in those few years? Well certainly Donkey Kong plus the rest of the crew have gotten somewhat hairier, really the fur effects in this title are nothing short of stunning, I'm really glad that extra time was devoted to this as it really makes a difference being that this is the first DK in HD. It certainly shows as the visuals are some of the nicest I have seen on any console, it's not just about the resolution though... the art style is sumptuous, I'm only up to the second world so far but the game is already shining brightly in so many respects; use of colour is very striking as is the change of camera angles throughout each stage which is done in such a way that it demands your attention. As for the soundtrack, oh my is it good, except to say that it's merely 'good' would be grossly underselling it, of course David Wise is a legend so this part of the game was always going to be spectacular but I would say that he has far excelled expectations which were already understandably high. Each note is perfect in pitch, the pacing is peerless and just everything about the whole aural experience just oozes perfection; for me it's already too good yet I haven't even heard half of it though I know the best is surely yet to come. Regarding the pacing there is nothing wrong with it at all, I honestly don't know why some reviews marked it down here because everything that I have played so far has fantastic level design, yes the minecart stages are particularly enjoyable but overall the standard is so high that it's really like splitting hairs, one of which Donkey Kong in particular has many so what I'm trying to say is; when you're playing a title that is of such a high calibre as this, it's really hard to pick fault with it at all. Of course yes we can say that there could have been more animal buddies included, perhaps some more throwbacks to the original DKC trilogy but overall I feel that we're very lucky to have this game, blessed even and so I intend to fully enjoy every moment of it. I would urge anyone else who has a Wii U to buy this game and do the same for it's worth ten times its weight in banana coins for the amount of enjoyment you're likely to get out of it and even that's underselling it. : peace:

We technically already got that within Nintendoland as the mini-game was basically Metroid with Mii's. I do like the term 'Miitroid' though, either way a new Metroid game is definitely needed, personally I'd like the idea of Retro making a new 3D Metroid but in the meantime I don't see why we couldn't have a 2D Metroid either on the Wii U eShop or on the 3DS... perhaps even both with some way to link them both up for extra suits etc. Yeah... I'd settle for *anything decent with the Metroid name attached to it right now... :p ...and no that does not include a *Metroid Other M sequel as good as it was at least some of the time, that's an experiment that really shouldn't be repeated.

Will play if it's ever free on Playstation plus.

Every Call of Duty game... It's only because I can usually buy them cheap on day of release so I get them to 'see what all the fuss is about' complete the campaign on the hardest difficulty, play online multiplayer a handful of times while it's new and then move on. The worst part is that the games never really get any better and probably never will. :p

If Namco are actually on board for GBA VC releases for Wii U then they surely have to release Tales of Phantasia as this would be a perfect fit especially considering it was originally a SNES game. I own the physical GBA cart plus a GBA player/Hori GC pad so I can play it already when I like but it would be nice for everyone to be able to enjoy it without such a large investment in extra hardware. : peace:

Oh that's actually a relatively pleasant surprise as I was naturally assuming that the install was going to be closer to 40GB so 24GB doesn't seem so bad to me. Nice to hear that all the inFamous games are going to be on sale as well, I have inFamous1&2 but only recently started playing through them but I will certainly be purchasing Festival of Blood. I downloaded the inFamous 2 theme that's free for plus users as well, looks amazing. : peace:

I'm getting it for certain, already paid for got the game for £30.25 in the end and I managed to buy one of those pre-order keyrings off eBay for a couple of quid - I had to have it, plus it still works out cheaper than GAME in-store price of £40 - my copy was posted this morning which means I will have it tomorrow even if I won't get a chance to play it properly until after work but still... it's a new Donkey Kong Country game so naturally I can't wait! : peace:

Oh I know but I couldn't find a video of the story mode one on YouTube so I just posted the video that I could find of Phantom Road. I've witnessed the wall-less track of death that you speak of, I can recall it taking me many attempts to beat back in the day... I used to love playing F-Zero GX, Mario Kart 8 could do a lot worse than taking a leaf out of F-Zero's book when it comes to track design; I mean they've added anti-gravity to the karts now so they might as well. : peace:

'What're-ya buyin?' This game, multiple times over as it happens. Resident Evil 4 was not only the game that helped to partly shoo away that stereotype that there were no 'Mature' games available for the Gamecube, it was also the title that changed what the term 'Survival Horror' meant in addition to shaking up the gameplay of the Resident Evil series which had very much become familiar by that point. Pacing is perfect throughout as right from the start you're once again thrown into the role of Leon S Kennedy who's been sent to a village in rural Spain to investigate the kidnapping of Ashley Graham who is the President's daughter; he's not there very long before he gets attacked by one of the locals, the police car -along with the two 'idiot' cops - ends up falling over a cliff, - seriously what is it with Leon and vehicles? - and he finds himself alone in this village of crazed lunatics or rather 'you' do as the player... but it's not until you actually reach the most populated part, fought off hordes of them and then finally heard that clock tower bell ring that the title screen comes up, for it's then that the game really begins. Everything from the 'over the shoulder' camera perspective still used in all modern Resi titles to date, to the amazingly well crafted environments which were certainly 'large' in scale but retained those atmospheric touches which mattered; it's all here in spades used to maximum effectiveness as there are some genuinely creepy moments in this title which really make it stand out even within the series. It's a shame then that each game which came after it simply failed to completely recapture that same magic... Resident Evil 5 might have been considered more 'canonical' due to its story/characters etc plus it tried a new location once again which worked but not in the same way, for me RE4's story was refreshing plus the fact that you're actually 'alone' count for a lot because RE5's co-op actually takes away just as much as it adds. Resident Evil 6 tried to present events in a new way giving you the choice of playing the game from three different character perspectives which certainly added something but again, they tried to go 'even bigger' with everything which will only get you so far; RE4 had its grand moments where you would be fighting it out within an ancient castle but it never tried to do too much such as having you pilot vehicles in largely redundant sections of game. Resident Evil Revelations at least tried to restore some sense of balance to the series, while it only half succeeded it certainly got many things right as the exploration was indeed excellent overall even if it blundered every now and then plus those disguised load times hampered the experience slightly; something clearly had to give seeing as Capcom had designed the areas in the game to be played once through in single player mode but then again co-operatively as 'standalone' sections for the brilliant Raid Mode which I think should become a future series staple just so long as it's implemented more 'tactfully' into the game next time. But when it comes to Resident Evil 4 it really cannot do any wrong in my eyes for it is both a brilliant Resi title, a spectacular example of survival horror and just a superbly crafted piece of entertainment which has played its part in 'saving' not one but two Nintendo consoles... as it's undeniable that 'Wii Edition' improves the game even further; perhaps Capcom might consider releasing it again one last time in HD but with the option of having those fine pointer controls while things are a little quiet both for the Wii U and the Resident Evil series in general. Capcom have built what I would call their 'Ultimate Weapon' in the form of Resident Evil 4 so it would be a shame if they didn't at least use it just one last time. 'Stranger, Stranger! Now THAT'S a weapon!

Will buy when it's cheap, if the reviews are good, besides... Infamous Second Son is out on the same day so it's no contest.

I feel for you Ash that's pretty much what I had since Thursday... with any luck it'll pass in a couple of days for you as well, best to take some paracetamol - if you can keep it down - and get an early night - if you can sleep - I certainly wouldn't recommend initially ignoring it like I did, choosing to drink alcohol instead. The next morning was not good. Anyway, best of luck and hope you feel better soon. : peace:

Still not enough to make me take them seriously... That's probably about the one decent thing they've done in favour of a Nintendo game in a long time. I'm not saying that they should have given DKC:TF a 10 or anything but anyone can see that a 5 is certainly not representative of the games overall quality. (in before 'you haven't played it yet though' 'it's only a score' etc I know this) :p

Who ever takes Gamespot seriously though? :p

Five if we are only counting... Metroid Prime Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Donkey Kong Country Returns Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Eight if you count... Metroid Prime Hunters (mostly developed by NST) Metroid Prime Trilogy (Technically only new control schemes for first two titles plus extras but still an amazing collection) Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (ported by Monster Games) Personally I'd call it six as I would include Metroid Prime Trilogy on the count of it being amazing but being that the other two portable games were outsourced I don't think they really count in the same sense.

Dear Esther is only £1.74 on Steam until tomorrow.

Got mine as well. Seeing as it's just Dr. Mario this week I'll add Super Mario Bros DX to VC Weekly #279 and then just repost the review if/when it gets a general release later on down the line.

I'm really not feeling too good... I thought about not typing anything but this time I just can't help it, or at least I could keep bottling it up though perhaps it's best not to. Yes I have thought about talking with my family or one of the few friends I have outside N-E and it still seems to make sense to post it here, I also realise that the fact that I'm feeling down at the moment is probably partially down to the fact that A) I've been feeling a bit 'ill' since work earlier plus B) I didn't get much sleep last night so intend to remedy this by hopefully going to bed soon after I've posted this... - I'm 28, recently single, wanting to be in a new long-term friendship/relationship partially to ease the loneliness but more because I feel that I'd have a lot to offer. - While I do have a part-time job which I enjoy to a point and a grateful for, I wonder how long I can realistically stay in the same place, doing the same thing... while it's in my nature as a person even I get bored after a while. - Despite trying to learn to drive, I still haven't managed it though I intend to give it another proper go this year as I have a new provisional, will pass the theory again I'm sure but I really need to apply myself I feel. - Still living at home, this is both a positive and a negative I suppose? Tomorrow... well technically today it's Valentine's Day, I dislike over-the-top PDA's at the best of times so I'm sure work will be a trial when serving couples in particular - I already have to stop myself from saying things out loud as it is! :p - but it'll be fine; plus I suppose you never know I could technically meet someone nice on the way to work/at work or something though it's unlikely but I am at least trying to stay positive on some level. I think that perhaps I'm just stuck in a 'rut' of sorts but I just wondered what anyone else's take on things/advice might be? My life really isn't all that bad, I still very much like my games/films/music/books etc so there's always that plus of course I really do still enjoy visiting N-E on a daily basis, I love reviewing as it's something I still want to do plus it helps keep me sane in a way - thanks for the Dr. Mario code btw @Ashley I'll be right on that tomorrow - but yes... perhaps I just need to work towards other goals like driving, change of job, new interest or actually to just get out there and meet people which I'm really not so good at. Anyway I do feel better for sharing in a way, tomorrow/today is a new beginning etc so I'm sure things will be fine in time and I hope that things start to look up for everyone else on here too I really do. : peace: Night N-E one who's still up.

I too did not realise, we definitely need to get a party of at least three or four of us together one night not tonight though as I have a valid 'excuse' because I just started inFamous on the PS3! Loving it so far. Thanks for the games last night @Daft we may have been outmatched but it was still fun. Yes, we'll definitely do better next time. : peace:

I'm half-expecting either... Majora's Mask 3D Twilight Princess HD But what we'll probably get is... CDi games added to Virtual Console line-up, first games include... Link: The Faces of Evil Wand of Gamelon Zelda's Adventure (£6.99 each or buy all three for £19.99) As you can see, I'm keeping my expectations in-check, please understand that this is only a necessary precaution.

That reminds me, I really do need to start inFamous if I'm to finish it AND inFamous 2 before Second Son arrives. :p I might even start tonight before/after the Nintendo Direct in preparation/realisation that the drought period for the Wii U is almost certainly going to seem that much more significant I'm sure. It's so nice to have other consoles/games to play. : peace:

Seconded! Being able to play Ocarina of Time on the 3DS was amazing enough but Majora's Mask? If this happened, I would probably never take the game out of the card slot because I would honestly play it a lot. :p

I'll probably be on at around 9PM with any luck.

Happy Penisday!

Looks interesting... perhaps not the kind of game I'd rush out to buy at full price, more likely is that I'd wait until it was free/reduced on Playstation Plus or cheap at retail if the multiplayer turns out to be decent.