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Aliens: Colonial Marines – Kick Ass Trailer January 24, 2013

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Listen up Marines!  Disappointed with any movie in the Alien series that followed after the second one?  Wish you had a sequel that properly followed the story greatly expanded by director James Cameron with Aliens?  Well, now we’ve got ourselves a proper sequel and it’s headed to us in video game form.

If you’ve ever wondered just what the actual gameplay was going to be like in this game, fear no longer, as this new trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines shows exactly what we’re in for in this new game, and just what kind of support we’ll have.  Actually, this may be the time to start the fear.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is coming February 12th, 2013 to the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.  A Wii U version is also coming.

Dead Space 3 Sneak Peak January 24, 2013

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Dead Space 3’s release is coming very soon and early comments about the game have already started popping up across the web.  EA decided to create a little game teaser which took some of the comments they got from the game as well as some entirely new game footage we haven’t seen before.  Check it out.

Just a reminder, the Dead Space 3 demo is already out for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 if you want to check the game out for yourselves.

Dead Space 3 is coming February 5th, 2013 to the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

What IS Next for the Wii U January 23, 2013

Posted by Maniac in Editorials.
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Several weeks ago I wrote an editorial about the Wii U. In it, I detailed a few things that Nintendo could announce for the Wii U in response to if any future console announcement that Sony or Microsoft made. I expected that the article would stand until Nintendo made any announcements for the next wave of Wii U content, which I figured would be at E3. Well, I was wrong. Today, during the Nintendo Direct webcast, Nintendo announced a plethora of new content for the Wii U, including games, system updates, and new console features. There is just so much to cover.

When I was watching the Wii U Direct Video, I felt like it was written as a response to a lot of the stuff I brought up in my previous editorial. So, I want to break down a few things that were mentioned by Mr. Iwata that I thought should be coming for the Wii U, and apparently now will be.

3D Mario Wii U Game – This was confirmed, and it will be playable at E3 this year. Its being done by the team who did Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, so there’s good chance it could be called Super Mario Galaxy 3 or since Mario Galaxy’s project code was Mario 128, you could call this new one Mario 256.

Mario Kart Wii U – Also confirmed and it will be playable at E3 this year. No other details about it were provided.

Wii U Virtual Console – The Wii U is getting its own Virtual Console. Users rebuying games they had already purchased on the Wii will be able to rebuy their games at a heavy discount to take advantage of the new features Wii U virtual console games will have. All a user will have to do to earn these discounts is transfer their Wii saves and purchases to the Wii U using the transfer tool.

Wii U Virtual Console games will have the same features 3DS Virtual Console games have, like allowing the user to keep a save file of their game progress. There are a wide range of games that will be coming from a wide variety of classic Nintendo platforms, including Game Boy Advance, which is a platform Nintendo has not released any Virtual Console games from to date. It also will be compatible with the Wii U Controller and offer a variety of customizable control options. Finally, Nintendo will be implementing the most requested Virtual Console feature people wanted on the Wii U, you will be able to play VC games entirely on the Wii U Controller’s screen if you want to.

No GameCube support coming to the Virtual Console yet (or backwards compatibility with GameCube games), but Nintendo is releasing Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker updated for the Wii U on disc this fall. There will be updated graphics, HD widescreen, and Wii U Controller screen support. Hopefully if this sells well it will inspire Nintendo to port over more GameCube games like Luigi’s Mansion or Eternal Darkness to the Wii U.

Wii U Panorama View – I mentioned this feature as a possible video service for the Wii U in my original article. Nintendo demoed a feature of the Wii U which would allow a user to use the Wii U Controller to view a 360 degree HD video. I was really interested in this feature when I first saw it shown at E3 2012. There hasn’t been a mention about this since E3 2012 and there was no mention of it during the Nintendo Direct video, but after writing about it, I decided to see what was the latest information I could dig up on it was. This had been previewed in real-time at last year’s CES and when it was shown at E3 2012 it had a tentative release date of the end of 2012. That time has passed and it never saw release so my guess is that it was either quietly delayed or cancelled.

Nintendo wasted no time capitalizing on the time that they have before Sony and Nintendo respond to the Wii U. I thought for sure that these announcements weren’t going to be coming until E3, but I was wrong. If Nintendo continues to improve their hardware in the time they have before another console’s release, as well as continues to release great software for the platform, either through retail or online, they will be in a very difficult position to move from the top spot of the future generation console battle.

Monolith Soft Wii U Trailer January 23, 2013

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Here’s something that is sure to interest our site contributor Twitch.  Monolith Soft is the company which developed Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii.  According to Twitch’s research, Nintendo owns a stake in Monolith Soft, which is why their games have appeared as Wii exclusives in the past.

With the Wii being phased out, it looks like Monolith Soft’s next major game is going to be headed exclusively to the Wii U, and it looks just amazing.  The following premiered today during the Nintendo Direct feed.

X is coming exclusive to the Wii U.

Nintendo Miiverse Smartphone App Announced January 23, 2013

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Nintendo announced during today’s Nintendo Direct that a smartphone app that would allow Wii U owners mobile access to the Nintendo Miiverse was going to be coming.  With it, you’ll be able to read Miiverse posts, view drawings, posted screenshots, and manage your communities without having to be home and logged in at your Wii U.

The app will be coming in two phases starting this spring.  The first phase will be a browser-based experience which will allow limited interactivity and allow users to keep up to date with Miiverse posts on their smartphone screen.  A full featured Miiverse app will then be released afterwards.

Nintendo announced that you would be able to access Miiverse through your Nintendo Network account, which users traditionally set up the first time they start the Wii U.  While any internet connected smartphone will be able to browse the Miiverse with their smartphone’s internet browser, no specifics were provided about which smartphone platforms they would release the full featured app on.

Bayonetta 2 Behind the Scenes Teaser January 23, 2013

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Fresh off the Nintendo Direct this week, here’s the trailer for Bayonetta 2.  Instead of showing what they had before, Nintendo and Platinum Games decided to show a little bit of behind the scenes behind the making of the game.

Although only a brief look into the game’s development, I like where this is going.  I hope that Nintendo and Platinum Games decide to release a longer behind the scenes featurette for Bayonetta 2 some time down the road.

Bayonetta 2 is coming exclusive to the Wii U.

Wii U Direct – 1/25/2013 January 23, 2013

Posted by Maniac in Game News.
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Ladies and gentlemen, the President of Nintendo, Mr. Iwata.

There was a lot going on here in this video.  We heard some new E3 game teasers, game announcements, and upcoming Wii U features.  On top of that, Mr. Iwata also made a few announcements that I had requested in a previous article on the site.  Because of all the information relayed in this single video, I feel that it would be too complex to include all my analysis about it just here in this article.

Stay tuned to the site today for further analysis of Nintendo’s plans for the Wii U this year!

Club Nintendo DS Stylus and Game Card Case Review January 22, 2013

Posted by Maniac in Reviews, Site Videos.
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Club Nintendo owners can redeem the coins they earn from purchasing Nintendo games and hardware for a wide assortment of prizes and accessories which can’t be found elsewhere.

If you are looking to take your DS games on the go but don’t want to bring all the game cases with you in your bag you would probably want to bring this with you.  This DS Stylus and Game Card case is unique to Club Nintendo and will hold nine games and comes with a bunch of different DS compatible styluses.

Maniac cracks open this redeemable prize and sees if its worth the points.

Gears of War: Judgement – The Guts of Gears Trailer January 22, 2013

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Up until this point we’ve only seen the briefest glimpses of what will be the storyline for Gears of War: Judgement.  Well, that is about to change.  Set before the events of the first game, Gears of War: Judgement follows series characters Baird and Cole as they face trial along with the rest of their squad after the events of Emergence Day.

Take a look at yourselves as Baird himself explains what is coming with this new game.  There will be entirely new strategies, new features, and an entirely new single-player game mode.

Gears of War: Judgement is coming March 19th, 2013 exclusive to the Xbox 360.  An exclusive original Hammerburst and young Marcus Fenix skin will be available to those who preorder the game.

 

The Phantom Pain Alternative Trailer January 22, 2013

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Moby Dick Studio has released this updated version of the trailer they released at the VGAs.  This alternate trailer doesn’t change much with the trailer itself but it does bring in an entirely new music soundtrack.  The footage is still being rendered entirely on a high-end PC, but the studio promises that the game will release to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

The more times I see this trailer the more I believe the online community in their belief that this trailer is a hoax for the next Metal Gear Solid game.  The game’s protagonist, although his face is partially bandaged, looks very similar to Naked Snake’s face from the Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes trailer.  One of his eyes is clearly bandaged, showing that the character could have lost it.  Naked Snake is already missing an eye.

The character’s movement when shambling around with difficulty reminded me of a very similar moment in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, where Solid Snake had to walk through a corridor bathed in intense microwaves.  As time progressed it became harder and harder to move through the area, and Snake became weaker and slumped closer to the ground, bringing his movement to a slow crawl.

The new music track included in this alternate trailer at the two-minute mark also sounds very similar to a track from the Metal Gear Solid games.  The new music has a very similar guitar rhythm to ones that would play during a boss fight or action sequence.

But I believe the two strongest pieces of evidence that the trailer is a hoax comes from two very important moments towards the end of the trailer.  At 2:36 in the trailer, a giant flaming whale comes out of the sky.  Could this be where the studio, if it is a fake, got its fake name from?  It is highly unusual that a brand new game developer would name themselves directly after an event or character of their flagship game, particularly one that would be so plainly seen in their first game trailer.  Usually game studios are named after unrelated things or were references to popular projects the studio heads had done in the past.

The other, and the one that brings it to the closest connection with Metal Gear Solid is the appearance at 2:57 of what looks to be a doll of The Sorrow floating above someone in pain.  The Sorrow was a boss in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.  He was a member of The Boss’s Cobra Unit, and while he was already dead before the game began, he somehow had the power to act as a ghost and impact the real world.  Though he was defeated in MGS3, a doll of him was used by another boss in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.  It was wielded by Mantis, one of the final members of the Beauty and the Beast Corps that Snake battled in the game.  The Sorrow’s doll could even be collected and used by Snake as a special item.  While the B&B Corps would not be around during the events of Ground Zeros, The Sorrow would still be dead.  Could this explain the origin of Mantis’s doll?

The Phantom Pain is coming to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.