Do you plan on picking up Darksiders II for Wii U? Did you miss out on the first game? If so, you might want to get caught up on the original. If you know the story from the first Darksiders game, you'll surely enjoy the sequel a bit more. If you're up for a bit of lore from the first game in the series, hit up the link below.

Recap here

Whether you're interested in it or not, SiNG Party could actually be quite a big and important game for the Wii U. Nothing gets the casual and expanded audience gamers in like dancing and singing games. SiNG Party tries to mix the two together into the ultimate package. Expect SiNG Party to hit the UK on Jan. 18th.

Link

Nintendo Land

- “…Luigi’s Haunted Mansion, Animal Crossing Sweet Day and Mario Chase offer up some of the most innovative, raucous and party-fueling fun we’ve ever had with a console”
- Plaza is filled with all things Nintendo
- There’s menu music for each attraction that bleeps out in NES chimes
- Monita, the floating computer, guides you around the park’s features
- Spend winnings on pachinko-esque coin game
- Win a jukebox, day/night cycle button, and more
- Miis from your console and other consoles through the Internet
- Attraction mode: set up a Nintendo Land party; choose a time limit and player count and then head to a points-based tournament of mini-games
- Multiplayer games are fun, but GamesMaster says the single-player ones are sometimes forgettable
- A few games highlight “some seemingly inherent problems”
- Ex: Takamaru’s Ninja Challenge – “constant screen misalignment”
- GamesMaster says GamePad/TV crossover usually works best when done in tandem
- “As a discerning gamer, you may not find all that Nintendo Land has to offer to your liking, but should you fork out for a Wii U, you owe it to your family, to your friends and to everyone else you know, to bag a copy of this to go with it.”
- Graphics: 90%
- Gameplay: 86%
- Accessibility: 95%
- Lifespan: 82%
- Innovation: 92%
- Overall: 86%
- “An essential purchase for party lovers that whets the Nintendo appetite. Bring friends.”

New Super Mario Bros. U

- May look the same, but there are some “incredible tweaks”
- GamesMaster feels it’s easier than NSMB Wii
- Took under seven hours to complete
- More to the game outside of the main campaign
- Most of the innovation is saved for the final levels
- “Without wishing to spoil anything, we were surprised, excited, and twinkly-eyed during an excellent finale. It’s almost as if Nintendo suddenly realised that they were in fact working with a Wii U, with a game-changing GamePad and everything.”
- Hopes Nintendo will “build on this solid, if not mind-blowing, foundation.”
- Graphics: 82%
- Gameplay: 85%
- Accessibility: 90%
- Lifespan: 80%
- Innovation: 75%
- Overall: 82%
- “A great excuse for families to gather round the TV, and an enticing glimpse of Mario’s HD future.”

Link

Direct link here (thanks NintenDaan!)



You can check out screens, art and more at the official website, found right here!

Coming from our good friend, NintenDaan...

Nintendo eShop in Japan will be down between 3:00 and 10:00 JST this coming Wednesday.

Should we hope that this downtime is like the downtime Apple has with their websites? When the shop goes down, it comes back up with new goodies?!

Link

>More pics here

Link

The following comes from Ubisoft director Patrick Redding ...

"The market as a whole is going to undergo a critical shift in priorities, a shift away from the absolute primacy of graphics and production values and content creation toward systemic depth. This trend is going to trigger a reality check for developers like me who work on established franchises with a large succession of sequels, and it's also going to be a call-to-arms for smaller game creators, including a number of people who are sitting in this room, I hope."

I think smaller games certainly have a part in the industry. The thing is, those smaller games can grow into huge brands with multiple sequels. They may not be the AAA experiences we typically think of, but they are certainly AAA brands.

Link