GDC 14: Nintendo's quest for indies is paying off

he pace is slow and the swagger barely exists. The last day for GDC is starting to wear on the best of us, but it’s been an incredible ride nonetheless. This show in particular showcased incredible ideas and potential to gaming in some sweet directions.

Another testament to this, of course, were games supported by the efforts of Nintendo and their web frame/Unity efforts to make the eShop a friendlier place to distribute their games on for indies. Two games hitting Nintendo’s underdog console as exclusives particularly stood out, and hopefully will set a trend for their peers to follow suit when it comes to what the Wii U can do.

Click to read more ...

Bullet Heaven Mini, Episode 5 - Chain Blaster

ini. Mobile. Shmups. Welcome back to Bullet Heaven Mini!

The 3DS eShop's shmup numbers have grown considerably over the last year with quite a few notable titles. Shortly after Kokuga (episode M-2), Chain Blaster was released to the eShop worldwide. With elements reminiscent of Every Extend Extra (PSP) and E4 (XBLA), just how does Chain Blaster stack up?

Click to read more ...

QCF: Dr. Luigi

nfluenza, acute coryza, or in my case at the time of writing this, Bronchitis, are but a handful of the many viruses and illnesses we encounter through the years we live and breathe; in spite of the medical advances accomplished by mankind; we still face the threat of these infections to this day.

Which is why it truly speaks to the aptitude of Nintendo’s charm when they can translate the process of fighting infectious viruses through the aching road to medicinal recovery into something fun to play. Dr. Mario, a first-party brain teaser within the Big-N’s stable, still commands a strong following since it’s NES days, but time hasn’t been kind to the Italian physician.

The addictive puzzler has always lacked the depth of its peers to excel beyond the narrow scope of its core fundamental mechanics—which is why Dr. Luigi is more than just a second opinion.

 The year of Luigi has influenced the engineering to sequel that refreshes the formula in all the right ways and stands tall with the strongest doctrine of the franchise has seen yet.

Click to read more ...

Bullet Heaven M-2 - Kokuga

ini. Mobile. Shmups.

In Episode M-2, we take a look at the G-Rev's 3DS eShop release, Kokuga, a tank-based vertical arena-style shmup from the mind that brought us the legendary Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga! Worth the $15? Watch to find out!

Click to read more ...

QCF: Bit Trip Presents... Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

"
ove at first sight” is such a cliché. I've never been one to fall for such a ridiculous notion, nor have I ever admitted to its true existence. Sure, you can like how something looks, but usually there's something underneath what can only be seen that's actually quite ugly. However, I was proven wrong on this theory when, at Logan International Airport in Boston after PAX East 2012, I booted up a copy of Bit.Trip Saga and played Runner for the first time. The delightfully retro visuals, silky game play and unbelievable sound had me seriously hooked. It was love at first sight. At that very moment I had a very sudden lamentation; Runner 2 was at the show, and I totally missed out.

After travelling across the entire continent to Seattle for PAX Prime 2012, I finally got to play the follow up of Runner, and it was definitely worth the journey and the wait. Fast forward to today, and it's finally almost time for Runner 2 to drop across multiple platforms. And let me tell you, this is a game that everyone – absolutely everyone – should be playing.

Click to read more ...

QCF: New Super Mario Bros. 2

If you came to me 22 years ago and told me I'd be second guessing the number one plumber in video games, I would have told you to fuck right off (in a much more polite, 8-year-old tone). Until very recently, I had always been a ridiculously faithful Mario fan -- especially as a child. I collected everything from posters and comics to pasta noodles (seriously). I even had a letter printed in the September 1991 issue of Adventures of Super Mario Bros. by Valiant Comics (which I'm searching for again, so contact me if you have it).

Click to read more ...