• 22May 13

  Next Level Games

  Hi everyone,

  All Nintendo fans know that one of the companies biggest 2nd party developers is Retro Studios who have made such games as the Metroid Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns. Less known however, yet equally worthy of praise are Next Level Games. This Canadian studio, founded in 2002 have developed a string of great games in popular Nintendo franchises for Nintendo systems The first of these was Super Mario Strikers on Gamecube that was released in 2005 but for me their most recent three games are the ones that stand out.

  The first of these was Mario Strikers Charged Football on Wii in 2007. This follow up to Super Mario Strikers was the first Wii game to include online multiplayer and one of the first Wii games I got. It was fantastic fun in both single and multiplayer and the online is still fun to this day(if you can get a game). It improved on the original in a number of ways and firmly established Next Level Games as a developer to look out for.

  In 2009 they released another Wii game: Punch-Out. With it, Next Level Games succeeded in restoring life to a Nintendo franchise that was seemingly dead. They retained the games mechanics whilst making it for for the modern day and it was an undoubted triumph. It is simple to get into but difficult to master just like Punch-Out games of old. Its success seemingly established them as a key developer for Nintendo and as such Nintendo turned to them to bring another series back to life.

  Earlier this year, their latest game, Luigi's Mansion 2 was released. Coming a decade after the original, Next Level Games have again managed to keep what works from the original but make it fresh and suitable to the present day. It is an even greater improvement than was the case with the Punch-Out though and brings plenty new to the table. Next Level Games' abilities are clear and I am truly excited to see what they bring us next.

  For more on my thoughts regarding Luigi's Mansion 2 please check out my review. Constructive criticism about my review style would be welcome too. 

  Thanks for reading.

  Pigfish2

  • Posted May 22, 2013 7:46 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 3May 13

  Summer at the Movies

  Hi everyone,

  Having seen Iron Man 3 on Wednesday(it was brilliant), I now consider the summer of movies to have begun. When it comes to the cinema I count summer as late April through to September because of how spread out the big films are. Its got me thinking about what films are out this summer and I've realised there are quite a lot I want to see. I thought I'd share the ones I am anticipating with you and hear what you're looking forward to.

  I intend to see

  • Star Trek Into Darkness
  • Monsters University
  • Man of Steel
  • Pacific Rim
  • Kick-Ass 2
  • The Wolverine
  • Red 2
  • Elysium
  • Rush
  • The World's End

  What films are you looking forward to seeing at the cinema this summer?

  Thanks for reading.

  Pigfish2

  • Posted May 3, 2013 5:26 am GMT
  • Category: Movies
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• 27Apr 13

  The turnaround of the 3DS' fortunes offers hope for the Wii U

  Hi everyone,

  I have never subscribed to the doom and gloom surrounding the Wii U and have always believed it will come good. However I will admit it has had a difficult start, with poor sales and a lack of games. I firmly believe that will change. In my opinion it was launched too early and if it had been released in March then there would have been more games at or close to launch and no one would have complained about a games drought. By the end of the year there will be a plentiful supply of games for it, with Nintendo leading the charge in its releases. Many of which will be announced at E3. Speaking of E3, I was shocked by Nintendo's decision to not stage a traditional press conference this year and at first I was quite angry because it is usually a highlight of the year for me. However having reflected on it, I feel it actually makes sense. The media and the industry will get their own specific tailored events and Nintendo Direct or something similar will be used to reach the gamers. We will still get an exciting presentation with some great announcements around the same time as the usual live conference, it will simply be pre-recorded this year.

  It is recent Nintendo directs and the rise of the 3DS' fortunes that give me plenty of hope for the Wii U. The 3DS suffered from a similarly troubling first year but is now going from strength to strength in terms of both sales and quality games. By the end of year at least 9 games that I will most likely buy will be released for it with more that don't appeal to me but will be great for other tastes. The 9 games I am looking forward to are: Animal Crossing, Inazuma Eleven 3, Mario and Luigi 4, Mario Golf World Tour, Pokemon X/Y, Layton 6, Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate, Yoshis Island 3, and The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past 2.

  Finally, I have recently completed Lego City: Undercover on Wii U and whilst its not a classic by any means, it is a good addition to the Wii U's library. I have recently started Tomb Raider that I got for me birthday and it is so far really good and in my opinion a rival to the Uncharted series.

  Thanks for reading.

  pigfish2

  • Posted Apr 27, 2013 3:34 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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