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The infamously content-heavy Monster Hunter series is an indefatigable juggernaut in its native Japan, despite being relatively new on the scene compared to some of the popular series that have been around for decades. It doesn’t seem like the United States is going to get that promised Monster Hunter Vita by the end of the year. Instead, series fans without a Japanese 3DS and working knowledge of the language will have to settle for playing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, an expansion of Monster Hunter Tri, either on the 3DS or Wii U. It’s perhaps not too much solace, with Monster Hunter 4 possibly dropping around the same time -- March 2013 -- in Japan, but it’s something.
If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ve likely already played the initial Wii release of Monster Hunter Tri, or at least one other game in the confusingly titled sequence. I, however, have never played a Monster Hunter game, fearing the risk of becoming engrossed in a title easily capable, if the stories are true, of sapping away hundreds of hours of my life.
Unfortunately, I rather enjoyed what I played of 3 Ultimate, much to the satisfaction of friends who’ve been trying to bait me into the series for a while now. Hopefully this fresh perspective will be helpful for soon-to-be-new Wii U owners, emboldened by your fancy new Nintendo, and 3DS users who have yet to take the plunge.
Fluidity released on WiiWare a couple of years ago and proved a surprising treat for a lot of Wii owners. Tony Ponce liked it a lot. Good news for Tony -- and for everyone else -- is that its 3DS sequel is coming to the eShop for more viscous platforming fun.
The indelible Bruce Lee himself suggested people should be like water; formless and shapeless, with an empty mind. The developers at Curve Studios clearly took that mantra to heart, because Fluidity: Spin Cycle casts you as agua itself.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask launched with the 3DS. In Japan, anyway. We’ve had to wait a bit longer. Over a year and a half. You know what they say: Rome wasn’t localized in a day. Thankfully, Miracle Mask is indeed coming to the 3DS in just a couple of weeks for those of us whose Japanese is non-existent.
Set a year after the previous game in the series, Miracle Mask takes place in The City of Miracles, Monte d'Or, a gorgeous, European-style town in the throes of a celebratory carnival that is interrupted by the appearance of The Masked Gentleman whose apparent magic powers terrorize the city. Are you a bad enough dude to deduce the culprit and explain away his mystical magics?
I was on the outside looking in during the Pushmo craze, still without a 3DS. While I could appreciate seeing Dtoiders recreate Jonathan Holmes’ face, I couldn’t explore its depths and intricacies -- its well-worn crags of interminable wisdom -- firsthand, much to my chagrin. After playing its sequel, Crashmo (or Fallblox, as it's known in Europe), I was finally able to enjoy the adorable block manipulation firsthand.
The premise this time around is slightly less gallant than saving children. Papa Blox’s grand-niece, Poppy, has come for a visit. Poppy flies in on what looks like a run-of-the-mill, rainbow-patterned hot air balloon, except the balloon is actually a wooden frame upon which rows of rainbow-colored birds are perched. Boy, I bet their arms are tired. Mallo greets Poppy with an affable stomp, frightening the birds which scatter and all end up atop Papa Blox’s Crashmos. Without them, Poppy can’t get home, so it’s up to the chivalrous Mallo to scale these edifices and pluck each perched bird.
Growing up I could just never get into role-playing games at all. I enjoy them now, but for the longest time I would steer clear of the genre, with the one exception being any of the Mario related RPGs. I still consider Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars my all time favorite game, and I, of course, adore the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series as well.
The latest Paper Mario for the 3DS is a sharp departure from the past games, as Sticker Star dramatically shakes up the formula. There are no partner characters, you don't earn experience points, and navigating the new land via an overworld map are some of the major changes.
But you know what? Change is good, especially in this case. What I got to check out of Sticker Star still felt like a solid role-playing game that pulls off the Mario RPG charm.
It's hard to describe just how popular Capcom's Monster Hunter series really is over here in Japan. It's no small feat considering how hardcore the games actually are. I find it fascinating that they've managed to find such mainstream success despite the difficult controls, huge learning curve, and the hours of dedication required to get good.
Monster Hunter 4 for the Nintendo 3DS is the latest in the series and the first numbered entry to debut on a portable system. It was playable for the first time at Tokyo Game Show this past week and after a mad dash to Capcom's booth, I was one of the first people to get a chance at slaying some monsters.
Together with three other companions, I chose my weapon and dove onto the battlefield.
Aban Hawkins and 1,000 Spikes (by 8BitsFanatics) didn't get a fair shake. The game is better than 99% of the stuff on the Xbox Live Arcade marketplace, but sadly, that's not where it even ended up.
Instead, it launched on XBLA's funny looking little brother, the often-overlooked Xbox Live Indie Games service. Combine that with the game's NES-style graphics, Japanese-style gameplay, and tough-as-nails difficulty, and you have a new IP that had a tough time commanding the attention of the Xbox 360 install base.
Thankfully, Cave Story publisher Nicalis has scooped up poor, underloved Aban and given him a second chance on the 3DS and the Wii U. With added levels, all new multiplayer modes, new characters, and more, Aban Hawkins and the 1,001 Spikes is a revamp that just might make Aban a star.
I had a bit of trouble containing my excitement when Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion was first revealed. Not only did we learn that it is a hand-drawn 2D platformer by DreamRift, the same team behind Monster Tale and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, we also learned that it is a follow-up to Castle of Illusion on the Genesis. As a Sega child, this latter piece of news made me completely lose my mind.
Since then, I've been soaking in every update, hoping to to quench my thirst but to no avail. When Chad Concelmo shared his hands-on impressions from E3, I had to bolt my feet to the floor to keep from floating away. The wait was too much!
Luckily, I was invited to Walt Disney World in Orlando to attend a Power of Illusion demonstration led by Junction Point's Warren Spector and DreamRift's creative director Peter Ong. After the duo ran through the game's creation, I was able to hop onto one of the 3DS units available and play a few areas, including the newly unveiled Aladdin-themed environment.
The smile never left my face.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is labeled as the sixth and final game to follow Hershel Layton. The game starts in a cozy, winter village and follows the crew on a globetrotting adventure after Layton and co. embark on an airship.
It looks and controls the same as the other 3DS Layton games, which is to say, very very nice. I really like the snowy town setting that makes the game a contender for a new winter time classic. So, yeah, there isn't much to say about it. It certainly doesn't seem like Hershel will be going out with a bang, but the gorgeous visuals and relaxing music in the demo suggest that this won't be a forgettable last chapter.
Professor Layton and Ace Attorney are unique within the puzzle/adventure genre, but both share enough in common with each other to make for a perfect crossover game. Not since Marvel vs. Capcom and Kingdom Hearts have dedicated fans (nerds) of two major franchises had something to collectively geek out about.
The slow-paced, narrative-driven puzzles, stylish atmosphere, and quirky characters of both games could be interchangeable. Level-5 and Capcom realize this and are trying to please fans of both franchises, but my time with the game left me wondering if this is one title bringing the two together or merely a two-game combo pack.
After three long years of development that started on the Nintendo DS, Fantasy Life will finally release on the 3DS on December 27 in Japan. Level-5 was a much different company when the game was first announced. It was a company focused on making great RPGs instead of adventure games -- not that there is anything wrong with that. Along with Ni no Kuni, Fantasy Life looks to be another great return to form for the studio and one that will fill a much-needed niche in the 3DS' library.
As great as the Professor Layton games are (they are really great!), the last four released on the Nintendo DS have been very similar. While the art direction, puzzle-solving gameplay, and surprisingly emotional stories have been stellar, none of the last games really did anything new and shocking to move the series forward.
With Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (the series' first entry on the 3DS), things are definitely changing. And, if the demo I got to play at PAX was any indication, these changes are definitely for the better.
If you’ve been reading Destructoid with any regularity, you know that we love us some Adventure Time. I side quite happily with my Dtoid kin, having been enamored with the program for some time now.
Perhaps it was meant to be. Before I ever watched the show, someone told me that if I was to have a theme song, it would be the Adventure Time theme, to which I chuckled sans context, but, now in the know, can’t help but agree with.
As a fan, I was as stoked as anyone to hear about an Adventure Time game penned by Pendleton Ward himself and developed by the lovingly retro folks over at WayForward. When I saw a giant, inflatable Finn and Jake eclipsing South Hall at E3, I was sad to find the game wouldn’t be playable. However, I was finally able to get my hands on the Zelda II-inspired brawler crawler and it’s glorious.
Developer Toys for Bob showed off a few new characters for Skylanders Giants during gamescom this week. Amongst them was Swarm, a bee-like monster that's also one of the new oversized Giant characters.
Look, bees and hornets are scary enough in real life. They fly around, stinging things, and are giant jerks. In the case of Swarm, he can hover slightly off the ground, uses melee attacks, and shoots beams of energy from his arms. His attacks aren't as scary as the real life bugs Swarm is based on, but he does look as intimidating.
LEGO Lord of the Rings is doing a number of things to really differentiate itself from prior LEGO titles. The biggest change is that this one provides a more seamless, open world design to the exploration, akin to that of Skyrim.
So I like Angry Birds. Yeah, I said it haters. It's a fun physics based puzzle game, and a great time waster when I'm on the go. I can never look at the mobile game the same again though thanks to what I played of Angry Birds Trilogy on consoles.
First of all, this isn't a downloadable title. It's a full retail product for the the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $39.99, and $29.99 for the 3DS. You get Angry Birds classic, Seasons, Rio, plus 19 exclusive levels for a total of around 700 puzzles, clocking in at around 150 plus hours of gameplay. Plus, everything has been reworked from the ground up. There's all new art, and animations that look beautiful in 1080p. It's even 60 frames per second!
