Skylanders is a tough sell for adults. No matter what sort of gameplay lies beneath the surface, it's difficult to reconcile the fact that playing Skylanders means you're playing with children's toys.

If you have a healthy inner child (or, at the very least, no sense of shame), you'll discover that the Skylanders series is secretly a total blast. Similar in premise to Gauntlet Legends and the Diablo series, the Skylanders games are lightweight, action-heavy dungeon crawlers that offer a surprising degree of depth, with gameplay bolstered by expansive skill trees and stat-boosting loot.

Skylanders: Swap Force continues that tradition, and if you can stand a few funny looks when your friends see you playing with figurines with ridiculous names like "Grim Creeper" and "Stealth Elf," you'll discover that this is the best Skylanders to date.

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Back in February, Two Tribes planned to bring a level editor to the Wii U version of Toki Tori 2 in its free "plus" update. However, the developer recently announced the Wii U won't be receiving the game's level editor feature after all, citing poor sales for the game on the platform as the biggest reason for the change in plans.

Two Tribes also noted technical issues and "missing features" in the console's Miiverse system, creating more challenges for developing the level editor it wanted for Toki Tori 2+. "We obviously wanted to use Miiverse for level sharing as everybody has access to it," the developer said. Among the problems with Miiverse, it said that "it wasn't possible to start the game from a level posted in Miiverse," though "something like this might be possible in the future."

The developer considered using its own servers as well, but that solution wound up being "way out of scope." Additionally, Two Tribes said that while Steam integration on Wii U would at least allow Wii U players to play custom levels created by those on Steam, after talking with both Valve and Nintendo it found the idea to be a "dead end" as well.

To make up for it, the developer said it will now give away free keys to the Steam version of the game to Wii U players. All players need to do is head to either of the related European or US-based Miiverse posts for Toki Tori 2+, post a message with their Steam ID and then email tokitori2@twotribes.com with their Steam ID and a link to the post. Two Tribes will manually message players with a Steam key, doing so "as long as we feel is necessary."

"Okay, where are the minecart levels?"

That's a novel, ill-advised question when it comes to platformers, but Retro Studios achieved the improbable with 2010's Donkey Kong Country Returns (updated this year with a 3DS version). The side-scrolling platformer knew how to do a good minecart level, exhibiting creative design in a realm meant to be firmly on tracks – sometimes the whole track would curl up and break loose, rolling forward as you spun around a makeshift motorcycle cage.

The rickety rail-jumping returns in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, along with some of the other special traits that rightly suit Nintendo's tie-wearing gorilla. I played a handful of levels set at various points of the game, getting a sense of its challenge and momentum. As before, Donkey Kong and an optional companion – the diminutive Dixie Kong joins this time – run from left to right, leaping and swinging to avoid flames, falls and the fury of nasty animals marching about. The backgrounds are a vivid mix of jungles, caverns and cloudy skies, and all benefit from Retro's graduation to HD on the Wii U.

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Most of Nintendo's platforms are getting new games on the eShop this week, even the lonely DSi. Let's face it though, the only games that matter are Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. We declared the games "hands-down the best in the series," so Pokéfans will definitely want to pick those up.

What else are you going to play, Tennis? Golf? No, really, the NES versions of Tennis and Golf are out on Wii U Virtual Console too.

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Shovel Knight may have a relatively quaint exterior, but don't let its apparent simplicity fool you.

At first it appears Shovel Knight is something of a Ducktales clone, with the eponymous knight bouncing about on his shovel like Scrooge with his cane. The knight can only bounce when hitting an enemy or specific in-game objects, however, and most of his attacks are reserved to lashing out and striking enemies with his scooper.

Every inch inspired by the traditional 8-bit platformer, Shovel Knight does fall back on established design tropes. Disappearing blocks and bottomless pits abound, for example. But the game is pleasantly distinct.

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Nintendo is gift-wrapping three new Wii U bundles for the UK, including one 32GB Premium bundle and two 8GB Basic ones. The trio launch across consecutive weeks in November, and going by Nintendo's new web store they're each priced £250.

The new 32GB Premium is first to reach Her Maj's Kingdom on November 8, bundling in New Super Mario Bros. U and its New Super Luigi U expansion on a 2-in-1 disc. Going by the Nintendo store it features the Legend of Zelda GamePad as per the Wind Waker HD bundle, as well as usual extras including Nintendo Network Premium membership.

A Wii Party U bundle follows on November 15, featuring the not-yet-forgotten 8GB model. If one party game isn't enough, the bundle includes launch game Nintendo Land.

Finally, November 22 sees the arrival of a Just Dance 2014 pack. Like the other 8GB bundle, it chucks in Nintendo Land. Nintendo's site lists both 8GB bundles as "limited," underlining the publisher's plans to focus on the 32GB model.

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Ubisoft is not bringing DLC to the Wii U version of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. After the Wii U was left out of the game's season pass plans, the publisher told GamesBeat none of the game's DLC would be coming to the platform.

When approached, a company representative simply confirmed to Joystiq "there will be no DLC for the Wii U version." We'd asked for an explanation, and to confirm the DLC would definitely not arrive on the platform at a later point, but he offered no other comment.

It's a curious turnaround by Ubisoft, having released DLC for the Wii U version of Assassin's Creed 3, albeit typically a while after it had arrived on other platforms.

Assassin's Creed 4 itself safely docks on Wii U, as well as PS3 and Xbox 360, on October 29. It then sets sail for PC on November 19, and the Xbox One and PS4 at their launches.

What game has helicopters, gourmet cooking, adventures in space, safari jockeys, foosball, swimming, hats, finger flexing, alligators, costumes, and karate?

If you said Grand Theft Auto 5, you're probably wrong*! The right answer is apparently Wii Party U, which is on its way to retail shelves and karate parties on October 25.

*I've not played GTA 5 yet. I mean, it could have all that in there, right?

A high-capacity battery for Wii U GamePads is officially out in Europe, available via Amazon in the UK for £25 and in Germany for EUR 35. The longer-lasting battery was first announced for the Japanese market on May 30.

The new battery packs in 2,500mAh for five to eight hours of playtime, compared with the original GamePad battery's 1,500mAh and three to five hours of untethered gaming. There are existing off-brand batteries that offer similarly super-charged GamePad life.

There's no word on a North American launch of the official GamePad high-capacity battery.

If you're a resident of the United Kingdom and would prefer to put your money directly into Luigi's pocket, rather than into the coffers of big business, you now have the option of doing so, as the Nintendo UK Online Store has opened for business.

The shop offers the expected range of Wii U bundles, limited-edition Pokemon-themed 3DS units, games and other various sundries. While there don't appear to be any sales or surprises to speak of, other than in-stock New Leaf 3DSes, you do get free shipping on every order and free next-day delivery on orders over £200.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will let you choose how much of the present day you want to explore, to a point. Game Director Ashraf Ismail revealed via the Ubiblog that the game will feature "a solid three to five hours" of gameplay that takes place at Abstergo, the sinister mega-corporation antagonist of the series. Most of the modern day gameplay is optional, however; only roughly 20 minutes will be required.

"You leave the Animus five times during the game's main path and each time you're there for about three to four minutes," Ismail told the Ubiblog.

While in the game's modern day setting, you'll play as an Abstergo programmer, researching protagonist and assassin-pirate, Edward Kenway. Dig through the company's files, and you can uncover information, including what's happened to Desmond. "You get to see what Abstergo Entertainment as a company is doing with your research. You get to see the progression of what they're trying to do, which is really fun," Ismail said.

Software programmers and pirates don't tend to get along in the real world, but in Assassin's Creed 4, they apparently go together like peanut butter and jellyfish. No wait. Jelly. Just regular jelly.

While I'm a Mario fan, I was utterly baffled by the appeal of the four-player co-op play introduced in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

People tell me: "It's chaotic and fun!" But all I ever experienced was that little jerk Luigi distracting me while I try to make a precision jump. In Super Mario 3D World, however, four player multiplayer manages to avoid the chaos found in New Super Mario Bros. and it's actually preferable to playing alone.

In Super Mario 3D World, momentum is much less important. Momentum counts for a lot in New Super Mario Bros., whether it be jumping over a chasm or dodging an enemy. Having three other players around can affect that momentum, which could lead to a lot of funny but unnecessary deaths.

In general, the action is slower and more measured in Super Mario 3D World than the typical 2D Mario game. There's more on-screen real estate to work with, too, lessening the chance of running into some errant enemy or falling off the screen by mistake. Super Mario 3D Land gives the modern Mario series a much-needed jolt with its tweaks to the game's precision of movement.

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If you've been wondering where the great twin-stick shoot-em-ups have gone, you can be reassured to know you're not alone. Not because Witch Beam can offer you solidarity in your views, but because the Australian indie studio is trying to change all that with Assault Android Cactus, coming to Steam, PS4, Wii U, and Vita. After sinking hours into the game's Steam Early Access build, I'd say Witch Beam is onto something very promising.

"What we wanted to do [with Assault Android Cactus] was make a really good twin-stick shooter in an arcade style because we don't think there's been one in half a decade or something," Witch Beam's Sanatana Mishra told me. "The last one that was really great for me was Super Stardust HD. And I think, since then, we really need more."

Assault Android Cactus represents more than a (hopefully) really good twin-stick shooter to Witch Beam. It's a game the studio's three members felt they couldn't make when they were working together at Sega Studios Australia. There they put three years of their lives into London 2012: The Official Video Game, a game Mishra isn't proud of: "It wasn't very good."

He and his co-founders wanted to put their time into making games they really wanted to make, and so Witch Beam and Assault Android Cactus came about. While settling on a shoot-em-up was perhaps a little circumstantial, since it was a game the studio could make using their savings and without outsourcing, it's clearly a genre that appeals to Mishra. When I asked him about the game's inspirations, he quickly rattled off the Dodonpachi series, Deathsmiles, and old-school "arena" games like Robotron 2084.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts' dedicated servers aren't only on Xbox One, but are coming to "next gen," "current gen," and PC versions too. The news comes via Infinity Ward's Mark Rubin, the exec producer careful to not mention specific platforms in his Twitter announcement.

"We've already mentioned dedicated servers as part of the overall plan to improve connectivity," Rubin wrote. "Dedicated servers will be used on current gen, next gen and PC with Ghosts. And, in order to make sure that people have the best possible experience regardless of platform, location or connection, Ghosts will be using a hybrid system of dedicated servers and listen servers. So no matter where you are the game will always be trying to give you the best online performance possible.

"There is also some great new tech in the matchmaking system that will place players in matches that have the best combined overall connectivity performance. Again these are just some of the things that are going into Call of Duty: Ghosts to give players a great online experience."

Rubin's tweet comes after he announced Ghosts would use the Xbox One's cloud for dedicated servers. It's unclear if Rubin's avoiding mentioning other platforms because of (ridiculous seeming) red tape, or because certain version(s) don't feature dedicated servers. When one Twitter user asked him if PS3 and PS4 were included, Rubin replied, "I can't call out other platforms by name but one might assume that from what I wrote."

We'll know soon enough since the Ghosts train is fast approaching. First stop is PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U on November 5, followed by PS4 and Xbox One at launch.

IndieCade 2013 took place in Los Angeles over the weekend, and the festival played host to countless independently developed projects, ranging from traditional video games to more physical, hands-on installations. That means everything from Shovel Knight to Edgar Rice Soirée, a bizarre game played entirely with dangling PlayStation Move controllers.

You'll spot both games in our video tour of the IndieCade festival, along with Quadrilateral Cowboy, which won IndeiCade's Grand Jury Prize, and the indie arcade game Killer Queen. You'll even see yours truly donning a virtual reality suit for the self-explanatory Project Holodeck.

Check out the video, and stay tuned to Joystiq, where we'll be publishing our IndieCade coverage throughout the week.

Collectors, prepare to elbow children and topple toddlers as you rush toward the video game aisle at your local Toys'R'Us. The retailer will have a series of limited-edition Skylanders figures on offer during a day-one launch event for Activision's multiplatform Skylanders: Swap Force.

Toys'R'Us will stock a store-exclusive Dino-Rang variant, along with Legendary versions of Swap Force stars Free Ranger, Night Shift, Grim Creeper, and Zoo Lou starting on October 13. Select locations will host a midnight launch, while others will open early at 8 AM for the event.

Die-hards who pre-order a Skylanders: Swap Force Starter Kit at Toys'R'Us will also receive a Lightcore Hex figure with purchase.

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FIFA 14 saw off the challenge from Grand Theft Auto 5 to make it two weeks at the top of the UK charts, with sales taking a 68 percent slide compared to last week. While GTA 5 had a great first week, it likely speaks volumes about FIFA 14 that Rockstar's latest crime sim surpassed GTA 4's lifetime UK sales this week, yet lies in second place.

As for new releases, F1 2013 crossed the line ahead of Wind Waker HD to secure a podium finish in third. That said, fourth is a strong enough debut for the Nintendo revamp; it did better than multiplatform new releases NBA 2K14 and Just Dance 2014, coming in seventh and ninth respectively.

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