Dcubed

The Gamepad is an interesting beast in that it is designed for themselves and as a concession to 3rd parties in some respects. It allows them to revive the GBA-GCN connectivity concept that they wanted to push so badly back in the day, while removing all the barriers and control/processing power issues that held it back. However, they've also designed it in such a way that appeases 3rd parties as well (the redesign from the E3 to the final version which ditched the Circle pads in favour of clickable sticks and the ability to have off-TV play which is a lazy way to add a selling point to an otherwise standard multiplatform game) - not to mention the pro-controller, which is a carbon copy of the 360 controller that Nintendo admitted wasn't designed for their own games, but rather to keep 3rd parties happy. And after all that, you STILL have developers making excuses not to support the console. Quite frankly, controls nor processing power are the barrier that is stopping 3rd party developers from supporting the platform - but rather personal reasons/egos and business issues are the culprit. The idea that the Gamepad's unique functions are in any way shape or form a barrier to multiplatform development is patently absurd and anyone who makes that excuse deserves to be flogged to within an inch of their lives! Personally, I'm glad to see them take a different approach with the controls on this console and the idea of them having the Wii U being the swiss army knife of control possibilities is really quite exciting! It can truly power ANY experience that you can think of! The Wii Remote and Nunchuck was never going to be properly supported by 3rd parties, hell it wasn't when it was included in the box last time around! The only thing that matters here is whether or not Nintendo themselves are still fully supporting it and all signs indicate that this is exactly what they're doing - in fact, their biggest upcoming title was designed completely around the Wii Remote Plus and the Nunchuck first and foremost! Motion controls aren't going away - they're just as prominent as ever. The Gamepad itself is a motion device after all (which in of itself offers new ways of playing motion controlled games, by nature of having the screen being tied directly to the device's orientation) and the Wii Remote is still at the forefront of development for Nintendo. It's an evolution of Wii AND a new path for them to forge onward into the future. It's the best of both worlds (And for the 3rd parties who aren't interested in exploring new forms of gameplay, it's a lazy way out and an easy selling point for a Wii U version)

Iwata Asks is out now! http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-HarmoKnight/HarmoKnight/1-Just-Give-It-A-Go-/1-Just-Give-It-A-Go--722734.html The UK release must be coming very soon if they've just put the IA out The comic book style design docs are awesome! (there are more pictures in the link) I wish that Nintendo would apply this policy across all of their studios...

Well, Tri does do a much better job at easing newcomers into the game than the PSP ones do but you're right. It's not a game that you will "get" straight away - it has a steep learning curve and will kick your arse repeatedly. Best way to describe it is like Punchout I guess. That triaumphant feeling you get when you finally figure out how to kill a monster and grab that loot you've wanted to make that new weapon or armour that you've been craving for is just wonderful!

Finally got it. It's awesome! Great little pick up and play game. The 3DS really needs more games like this I've just gotten to Well 5 and unlocked the iron ball. I love how each "stone" has it's own little backstory (LOL @ the bouncy ball one!) I can already tell that chasing the high score on this is gonna be the death of me

WOAH! I didn't know that he was working on Yaiba, that's a shocker for me! That'll be one to watch/listen for sure!

I miss Digitiser so much That and Super Play were my bibles back in the day! Some of it has been archived on here... http://www.superpage58.com/ And here... http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.moleman.freeserve.co.uk/ But most of it had been lost to time sadly Edit: Oh there's a few pages archived on here as well, but it's not much... http://www.teletext.org.uk/index.php?cat=30_Archived-nbsp~Pages&page=40_Digitiser-nbsp~1995&highlight=Digitiser

I would

Have you noticed it changing from Japanese text to English text recently? (Like what that guy mentioned)

Reviews are all over the place. Not surprised one little bit. This game has been divisive ever since it was first announced (nay, even before that with Lords of Shadow). There is a substantial group out there who refuse to accept anything different from the foundation of the IGA Castlevanias, with them labelling the Mercurysteam games as "not real Castlevania" (which in of itself is a laughable statement when you consider that the Metroidvania titles in-of-themselves aren't actually "real" Castlevania titles either ). The fact that these games have been developed by a Spanish studio also doesn't help, as it exacerbates the situation by throwing xenophobia into the mix for good measure My gut feeling tells me that this is a good game, albeit with a few rough edges and a slight petering out towards the end. My gut has never steered me wrong and I don't expect it to do so this time either

Now this is interesting... That companion card game is out on the 3DS eShop. Look what appears on an EU 3DS when someone Streetpasses with a copy of the Japanese game... It's in English! Normally Japanese games would display the game's name in Japanese when someone streetpasses it with a foreign console, but a few games that had upcoming English versions display the English title instead (Dobitsu No Mori 3DS displays "Animal Crossing New Leaf" on US and EU 3DS consoles through Streetpass for instance) English localisation confirmed? I hope so! Edit: It gets even more interesting! Supposedly, the guy who made this discovery said that this has only just recently changed! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=502738 Before just now, the game displayed the Japanese name when streetpassing a foreign console, but just now it has changed to display the English name instead! I like where this is going

It's a completely different game! The Wii U game is the sequel to this one on 3DS. It's a game that was released at retail (full RRP price) in the US and Japan. This one on eShop is an enhanced version of that original retail game with extra content, improved graphics and Circle Pad Pro support. Quite frankly, it's a bargain at that price - considering that it would've otherwise have been £39.99 at retail! BTW, in case you're wondering, the 3DS game has way more content than the Wii U sequel (which makes sense, considering that it was originally a retail title)

Good week this time AT LAST! Nano Assault EX will be mine! Interested in picking up River King too

So I noticed that Powerstone Collection is finally working on Vita now! I was able to finally get it through my Downloaded Games list, even though it's still not available on the Vita store and I was wondering if anyone knew if the two Capcom Classics collections for PSP work on Vita now as well. There isn't an up-to-date list anywhere and support seems to be spotty and random. If anyone here has those two games on PSN could you please check if they're now available to download via the Downloaded Games list? (my Vita refuses to connect to my PS3, so I wouldn't be able to get them that way...) Also I don't suppose that Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins is compatible this way is it?

MID-APRIL!? THE FUCK!? You've got some splaining to do Gaijin! Especially when it's available on 360 in Europe right now!

Why has it taken MS so long to start doing these sorts of sales!? These prices are crazy awesome!

Bah! You win this round... :p

You know... If you don't like it and are planning to give it a bad score, I'll be happy to take it from your hands! (of course, your refusal would mean that it's gonna get a fantastic score )

Can't wait to see everybody replace their on-wall degrees with Trauma Center XS rank scores!

ARGH!!!! HURRY THE FUCK UP!!! I'M SICK OF WAITING FOR THIS GAME!!!

Yeah, I derped. Somehow I read his post as if he was asking whether or not it was Shinen's first 3DS game! No idea how I cocked that one up

I like both as much as each other. Handhelds and consoles both have different sets of requirements and both offer distinctly different types of experiences. Even when when ignoring control differences, there are many games that fit one form of play better than the other. Pick up and play titles often work better on handhelds, while games that ask for longer play sessions usually work better on consoles. Stuff like Metal Gear Solid 2 or 3 just feels out of place on a handheld, while a game like Tetris works better on a handheld than a console. And even when you have a game that works equally as well on both like the NSMB games, each form of play has their own sets of benefits (console = larger and higher fidelity screen/sound, handheld = portability and convenience + glasses-free 3D in the 3DS' case) Really, both have just as much to offer as the other - and it gets even more interesting when you throw in the unique controls and other hardware qualities of each machine! BTW, Nintendo have already said that they don't plan on merging their next console and handheld into one device - they're just going to be using the same hardware architecture (allowing them to share game code and assets - meaning that they can make games much more quickly and focus more on the actual gameplay of their games, rather than the graphics and tech side of them)

Game looks great! Wasn't expecting an SM3DL style game! It has actually gone through quite a few changes. It started off as a spinoff called Jett Rocket Super Surf (which was presumably a whole game based of the Wave Race style sections), then it seemingly became a 2D platformer and now it's a 2D/3D platformer hybrid like SM3DL with Wave Race style bonus stages! Looking forward to this one Edit: Herpdederp, misread his post completely

If that's the case, then I expect to see February's NPD numbers sitting around 65-80K. It is extreme, but not implausible when you consider that this was the successor to the fastest selling console of all time - a console that was sold out for 2 years in the US and made these people a fortune on eBay. Not hard to believe that a sizeable number of them might've been itching for round 2...

I never even knew that NPD counted returns, let alone put them against monthly sales! That makes a lot of sense. 57K is just such an absurdly low figure that I had a hard time believing it back when those last NPD figures were released (and it's not hard to believe that such a large number of scalpers might buy them enmass, in light of what happened with its predecessor). 100Kish is still a very poor result, don't get me wrong, but it's a damn sight more plausible than the meteoritic drop that those NPD figures suggested! It bodes much better for February and March's sales in that case, at least in the US.

So I just finished it... Now after the dust has settled... I wouldn't say it matches Bayonetta after all. It's still amazing no doubt, but it doesn't have the mechanical depth to match Bayonnetta, nor the breadth of enemy types and environmental mechanics and such. I suppose that is in part due to its brevity (I finished it on Normal mode in 4:22) that there isn't enough time to pack in as much variety as seen in Bayonetta, but what is there is Pure Platinum quality The short length of the game is also quite refreshing really. You could realisically blast through the whole thing in one sitting and just enjoy the whole ride. I can see it making the game that much more replayable for me I do get the feeling that quite a bit was cut from the game, as it does seem to end a bit abruptly, but it was an amazing ride that I will be sure to come back to time and time again Edit: OH MY GOD I JUST TRIED OUT REVENGEANCE DIFFICULTY!! Wow... Just wow... I don't think I'm ready for a New Game run of that mode lol!