Thursday, June 7, 2012

An Evening With The 3DS - Part 1


At their E3 press conference, Nintendo promised they'd be showing off a lot more titles in this specially planned hour dedicated to everyone's new favourite portable: the 3DS. Did they show us everything we wanted and more? Let's see what was offered!

Castlevania: Lord of Shadows - Mirror of Fate

Mirror, mirror...

The first time excellent sprite artwork has been replaced by the 3D characters being played from a 2.5D perspective on a handheld for this franchise. Following on from the fully 3D game Lord of Shadows, this story follows Trevor Belmont, Simon Belmont and Alucard and a yet to be announced character. This game intends to fill the gap between the original Lord of Shadows and the sequel currently under development.

Yet another unholy monster had to be put down.

Belmont overcompensating?

 The Combat Cross will return which means the series staple, Chain Whip will return. Along with these there will be secondary weapons that will include a boomerang, sword, amongst others. The action is an interesting mash-up of classic 2D Castlevania with the style and combat flourish of the 3D Lord of Shadows title.

When it doubt, whip it out.

An interesting new feature which allows the player to draw on the map and make notes, something Metroidvania games have been needing ever since the games have been playable on a touchscreen based handheld. It will support Street Pass functionality and be making an appearance in Autumn 2012.

Just once I'd like to see them fight evil on a sunny tropical beach.


Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon


It's been a decade since the greener, leaner brother made his debut as the unwitting lead in his very own game and now he's back to explore more terrifying rooms with ghostly beasties hiding behind every corner.

When there's somethin' weird, in your automobile...

There's something sinister about this smirking spider.

I remember being very surprised at how well the original game was executed, especially with regards to the atmosphere and how surprisingly spooky it could be. No doubt this sequel will provide many of the same quality gaming while showcasing the power of the 3DS.

I've always thought about starting up my own ghost hunting business.

The pressure's on to be as good as the first game.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star


Disregarding the world of Thousand Year Door on the Wii, this game continues in the style of the original Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64. The RPG combat returns and demands your full attention with each battle, requiring timing perfect button presses to maximise damage dealt and mitigate damage received. Any fans of previous Mario RPG titles will feel right at home with this game.

 Mario chose dance as his weapon.

Enter Sticker Book mode to apply stickers.

The new hook for this game is the focus on stickers, as implied by the subtitle. You find stickers everywhere in the Paper Mario world. Stickers can reveal hidden areas when ripped off or be collected for use as combat items or even applied to the over-world in a special Sticker Book Mode to create all manner of interesting effects.

Toad's happiness only makes you stronger.

A new aspect of the RPG game is that you no longer earn experience from battles, instead you grow by completing sidequests and helping out your fellow Toad. This effectively eliminates the grind of previous games and focuses on the fun of questing instead.

Mario's Biggest F- oh, nevermind, too easy.

With Intelligent Systems behind the wheel of this title again you can expect parodies and snappy dialogue and relevant humour. All things considered I am definitely looking forward to this title.

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