QCF: New Super Luigi U

ou know, if there’s one thing I hear or read more often than not when Nintendo is involved, it’s that Mario is for babies, but that couldn't be more untrue with New Super Luigi U. This expansion of downloadable content hitting New Super Mario Bros. U stars Mario's sibling in a retread through the HD Mushroom Kingdom like you’ve never played it before; this return isn’t for the faint of heart, so be prepared to die—and not always with a "well, I deserved that" smile.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

ack in the day, when they weren’t developing half-hearted motion titles or games with papier-mâché animals in them, Rare had a partnership where they developed games for Nintendo, and they got their big break reviving one of the Big N’s biggest icons; Donkey Kong.  While the reception toward the Donkey Kong Country franchise has always been wildly mixed (seriously, what’s up with these guys?) it’s definitely secured enough of a following for Retro Studios to live up to their name so to speak, and release a modern sequel on Wii…

Flash forward to 2013, Nintendo makes the call for Retro to port the monkeys over to the 3DS, and Retro being the forward-thinking bunch that they are, decided to work on all of the criticisms of its Wii cousin, it’s safe to say that they succeeded.

Click to read more ...

PPR 73

ometimes life can be like a hurricane, and when it is, then you should be sure to grab on to some Disney games. The podcast gets heavy as we discuss all of the games and news from EA securing publishing/developing rights for Star Wars to Nintendo fucking around, and finally the featured topic, Walt Disney video games. Over the last 20 years we’ve seen a variety of licenses from the big D transformed into games, and we discuss whether these games are a testament of quality because of the license itself or their design-- we get steamy folks.

Rate and subscribe to us iTunes today, follow us on our new Twitch page, mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, and be sure to stop by at our Forums and register as well!

Click to read more ...

QCF: Pandora's Tower

 think it's just about time to call it. The Wii has finally drawn its last meaningful breath. Unless some other game finally makes it to the system that somehow never got its day on North American Shores, this is finally the end for Nintendo's original profitable waggle-wonder. But hold on, that doesn't mean it's time to move on; as it turns out, Pandora's Tower, the final noteworthy word on the Wii, is one that definitely deserves recognition.

Click to read more ...

Press Pause Radio at GDC13!

t’s over everyone, the gauntlet of video game events is OVER! George and Sean return from GDC and get in touch with Toast as they talk about a myriad of topics from the 2013 Game Developer’s Conference—sessions concerning the evolution of storytelling in games, post-mortems, tons of indie games, The Phantom Pain, Nintendo Web Framework, and PS4 social functionality? Yeah, it’s all here and more on the latest podcast, some audio issues occurred unfortunately but the episode is still very much listenable.

Rate and subscribe to us iTunes today, follow us on our new Twitch page, mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, and be sure to stop by at our Forums and register as well!

Click to read more ...

PAX East 2013: Pikmin 3 Impressions

hen it comes to Nintendo, they sure have been playing it really safe lately with their core franchises on the Wii U. New Super Mario Brothers U has only been subtly evolved since the original entry on the Nintendo DS in 2006, and even then, almost entirely in an audio/visual sense. The first Legend of Zelda game that Wii U owners are going to see is an HD redux of Wind Waker.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Chasing Aurora

Broken Rules has volunteered to be the forerunner of independently developed game for the Wii U, an admirably brave task considering that larger, more experienced studios have been skeptical of their own ability to significantly take advantage of the Wii U’s potential. Nintendo's new console excels at offering a cavalcade of dynamics in a multiplayer setting, evident by the direction of Nintendoland.

Broken Rules therefore staked their hands at creating their software that centered on a competitive theme with their imaginative take on the philosophy of flight through the portrayal of paper art in Chasing Aurora. While the cliché of an indie studio taking the humble route in order to concentrate all production value towards the creative process and to convey a deeper meaning through a solid game mechanic, the Austrian studio takes this trait to heart, and it works both against them and in their favor in the end.

Click to read more ...

The Wii U: Two Weeks Later

Well known freelance artist and internet color commentator Bill Mudron, has recently coined  quote, “Nintendo is making silent film-era games in a stereo/Technicolor world” and  it got me thinking, just how much weight does this analogy hold? Today marks the fourteenth day since North America was introduced to the Wii U, Nintendo’s new hope that represents so many different factors for both the Big N and a reflection of the video game industry as of late; a desire to possibly experience the prospect of playing video games with the ideals of the next generation.

The stalwart box of fun also symbolizes Nintendo’s intent to embrace the age of tech and online functionality, an exploit they’ve neglected for so long in the very industry they once helped pioneer back into relevance.  The last two weeks with the machine has given ample opportunity for me to gauge an impression of what was delivered to us and analyzing the end result of what pushed me and so many other to plunk down over $350 and some change for.

Click to read more ...