The biggest appeal of the show and comic book isn’t just zombie attacks, it’s the characters and their interactions with one another as the strain of surviving a wasteland of the living dead puts everyone on edge. Survival Instinct has none of that. In fact, it barely has any semblance of story structure at all. Sure the impetus for Daryl in the beginning is to find his brother and there’s always the pressure to survive, but it is soon clear that the plot is little more than “get to the next objective” while the handful of side characters you meet along the way are just flat props to be used either to push along the story or as tools for gathering supplies. Nods and references to the series are in short supply, so even die hard fans are going to get little extra enjoyment out of the mythos of the setting. Whichever way you cut it, the game’s story has less meat on its bones than a walker.

Melee weapons won’t draw more walkers but they put you at significantly greater risk.

In true zombie fashion the gameplay primarily revolves around scavenging for supplies and taking out zombies before they take a bite out of you. This means stealth is your greatest ally–unfortunately that also means you’re limited to melee weapons for the majority of the game as you won’t find a quiet distance weapon until nearly two-thirds of the way through the game. Challenging the player to work slowly and carefully is fine, but this structure just becomes tedious in Survival Instinct–it may surprise the developers to learn that sneaking up on one zombie after another is not actually very compelling after a few missions. However once you have that quiet weapon, the game becomes more satisfying but also significantly less challenging. The game never quite finds the balance between fun and challenge, which makes the entire game feel drab.

Curiously, the game provides you with a wide array of firearms despite the fact that firing even a single bullet will bring down a horde of zombies upon you–oftentimes coming out of the woodworks–and the meager amount of bullets you’ve managed to scrounge up isn’t going to take care of all of them. It’s such a severe penalty for using a gun that it’s just not worth ever using them unless you’re already at the very end of a level, which makes the whole firearm aspect of the game a little pointless. Conceptually it’s a nice use of zombie crowds, but gameplay-wise it’s restrictive.

Despite their decrepit state, walkers see surprisingly well. Stay out of their line of sight or distract them with other objects to sneak by.

So you’re left generally sneaking up on zombies and knifing them, level after level. The missions themselves try to add some interesting twists: most levels have optional areas to explore for supplies as well as side quests that can yield further supplies or allies to join you on the road. Even so, the missions become repetitive and dull, partially due to the weak motivation of the plot and partially due to the lack of interesting environments. There’s another aspect to the gameplay outside of missions where you can choose what road to take on a map, leading to branching paths as well as scavenging opportunities. Each level is so similar to the last that the branching paths don’t matter much but attempting to balance your fuel consumption versus potential for car break-downs is a neat concept. Again though, this is an idea that isn’t really used to its fullest, since scavenging just opens up an extra side level–and there are only a couple different side levels to see before you start repeating environments–which tend to be highly linear. Worse yet the long load times on the road make taking detours seem like an even bigger waste of time.

The controls in Survival Instinct are pretty straight forward, with the only unique aspect being the inventory selection on the Gamepad’s screen. You can quickly see what items you are carrying and can swap between weapons and items quickly by just tapping the screen which can be a huge help if you’re ever unlucky enough to be surrounded by a group of undead walkers. The alternative is scrolling through your weapons, so the touch screen really is more efficient. Alternatively you can use play off-TV on the Gamepad’s screen, though of course you’ll lose the convenience of the inventory screen.

Daryl’s iconic crossbow will be your best friend: silent, quick, and with retrievable bolts, there’s no better way to take down the undead.

From one environment to another, the graphics maintain a fairly consistent mediocre quality. The visuals aren’t bad outside of some noticeably flat textures but so many locales and objects within those areas look so much like the last one that the graphics only reinforce the droning, repetitive nature of the gameplay. The zombies themselves, at least, look pretty terrifying when they latch onto you, though even the undead grow repetitive with only a handful of different designs. The audio has a few nods to the show including the actual actors providing the voices of Daryl and Merle, but the lackluster story makes their inclusion fairly superfluous. Like the story, the presentation is clearly a half-hearted effort on the developers’ part.

At seven hours or so to finish the game, Survival Instinct is a fairly short adventure, and even those few hours can be dull and repetitive when you’re just doing one mission after another. There are a couple incentives to replay the game, including hidden collectible relics as well as the aforementioned branching paths, but the differences between paths aren’t really enough to justify trudging through the game again. As it is the game makes a convenient weekend rental since the lack of varied content most likely won’t draw you to replay the game over and over.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct tries to turn its good ideas into solid gameplay, but some key aspect of game design is lost in the translation. The repetitive “get to the exit” structure and unsatisfying focus on the limited stealth elements hardly sustain even the short game length, while the pathetically nonexistent story and average presentation fail to buoy the rest of the game’s faults. Serious fans of the franchise may enjoy this nominal trip into The Walking Dead mythos, though it’s just as likely that the ineffective use of the franchise and zombie gameplay will just leave fans even more disappointed.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

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NINTENDO DOWNLOAD HIGHLIGHTS NEW DIGITAL CONTENT FOR NINTENDO SYSTEMS – MAY 23, 2013

May 23, 2013

This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content:

Virtual Console™ on Wii U™ Special Kirby Offer
Classic Kirby™ titles for Wii U – Nintendo announces the release of three classic Kirby titles for the Wii U console: Kirby’s Dream Land™ 3, Kirby’s Dream Course™ and Kirby Super Star™. As a bonus for fans, we’re making it easy to get them all at a great price. Simply purchase two games from the Nintendo eShop on Wii U to get the third for free. This offer ends at 9 a.m. PT on May 30.

Nintendo eShop on Wii U
Kirby’s Dream Land™ 3 – Kirby must once again save the day when the mischievous King Dedede starts causing trouble. Always armed with his trusty ability to swallow enemies and gain special attacks, Kirby can also unite with some of his animal friends and make use of their particular talents. Featuring detailed graphics and challenging boss battles, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is a classic.

Kirby’s Dream Course™ – High above Dream Land, players can pitch and putt Kirby through a maze of obstacles on a zany checkerboard golf course. Kirby’s Copy Abilities must be put to good use in order to complete each course. Players must sink Kirby into the hole to advance to the next stage as they clear all eight courses – 64 holes in all.

Kirby Super Star™ – In Kirby Super Star, the iconic round, pink hero will have to journey through six main games and two mini-games, finishing with the ultimate showdown in the Arena, to defeat King Dedede. Each game offers its own story and variation of platforming action, as well as unique environments and an assortment of enemies. There’s never a dull moment as Kirby dashes, flies and fights.

Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS™
Donkey Kong Country™ Returns 3D – Donkey Kong™ swings to the Nintendo 3DS system in this barrel-blasting, rail-riding, ground-pounding adventure. The original Donkey Kong Country Returns game has been rebuilt and optimized for portable play. Play the game in Original Mode or New Mode, and unlock eight new, challenging levels not available in the original Wii game.

Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS Sale
THE “DENPA” MEN: They Came By Wave – Collect Denpa Men from many different places on a role-playing journey to rescue a certain special someone from the clutches of the King of Evil. Now through May 30, get THE “DENPA” MEN: They Came by Wave for 20 percent off exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.

Also new this week:
• NARUTO™ Powerful Shippuden (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Groove Heaven (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)

To view this week’s Nintendo Download in its full graphical version, please visit: http://news2know.net/nintendo/downloadj7w3Si6m.php.

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As a pre-E3 offering, today’s Nintendo Direct from Satoru Iwata sheds light on some upcoming games for Wii U and 3DS. It looks like Nintendo is still holding back on its big announcements for E3, but the big announcement today is a new Sonic game exclusive to Nintendo platforms which marks the beginning of a new partnership between Sega and Nintendo–how far we’ve come since the days of their rivalry! Here’s a quick breakdown of the information from the show, or watch the replay of the show here on Nintendo’s website.

• New Mario & Sonic Olympics game from Sega for Wii U. Game takes place in Sochi and will feature new events including figure skating and snowboarding as well as dream events and mix events not based on actual Olympic sports. Events like the Biathlon use both Gamepad and Wii remote in conjunction.
• New Sonic Lost World game will be exclusive to Wii U and 3DS. Expect more info at the E3 Nintendo Direct.
• Game Gear titles will soon be available on the 3DS Virtual Console service
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons will be available May 30th for $5.99 each, but for the first three weeks–until June 20th–they will cost $4.99 each. Remember that the games are linked, so playing both unlocks a unique final boss.
• In Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, the eight new levels are based upon the original eight worlds. The game will be available on May 24th.
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf will be available June 9th. Check out Nintendo’s Youtube channel for developer videos on the game. New StreetPass puzzle coming soon.
• Game & Wario will be available June 23rd for $39.99.
• In New Super Luigi U, since there’s no Mario you can play as Nabbit instead, though only in multiplayer mode. Nabbit cannot pick up items and power-ups but he doesn’t take damage from enemies so he can be a helpful crutch for players. The DLC version will be available June 20th for $19.99, plus a stand alone retail version will be available on August 25th for $29.99.
• The Wonderful 101 will be available on  September 15th–new details will come out gradually.

• In Pikmin 3, the three new playable characters are Alph, Brittany, Charlie, who are out looking for food resources when they crash land and discover Pikmin. The goal is to collect fruit and seeds; fruit can be converted into juice to feed the characters–all characters need to stay fed. You can retry areas immediately if you lose Pikmin or want to work more efficiently, which should make the game more accessible to new players. The Gamepad is called the “KopPad” in the game–it shows a map of the area you have explored and lets you scroll through the map on the TV screen. At the end of the day you can view a replay of the day to review your progress. Pikmin 3 will support Gamepad, Wii U Pro controller, and Wii remote plus and nunchuk. More information on challenge mode and multiplayer will be released soon. Game will be available on August 4th.
• Partnership with Best Buy will let you play demos for Wii U games during the week of E3 in stores around the United States and Canada.

The post Nintendo Direct 5/17: Sonic Lost World to be Nintendo Exclusive appeared first on NSider2 - Nintendo Forums.

The game wastes no time at all in throwing the player into the midst of the action. Indeed, the details of Elena’s curse and her close relationship to Aeron are revealed only gradually as you progress which, combined with the suspicious old woman named Mavda who is helping you lift the curse, makes the entire game’s plot rather cryptic. This foggy atmosphere is used to great effect though as it’s clear even the protagonists know little about what is actually happening, and each piece of the plot’s puzzle that you unravel over the course of the adventure serves to draw you further into the dark mystery. The strange origins of the thirteen towers and their monstrous masters whose flesh Elena must consume to break the curse gives the game a weighty sense of suspense and thrill not typically found in adventure games, at least not so brazenly. All the cryptic and brief glimpses you get into the history of the towers culminates in multiple endings which, despite the fact that they just deluge the player with information, make Aeron’s struggles well worth it.

Saving Elena is no easy task; Aeron will face plenty of monsters and obstacles along the way.

The combination of action/adventure gameplay and RPG elements may sound complicated, but the easiest analogy would be a Zelda game if it only focused on dungeons and with a bit more RPG influence to include stats and level raising. Essentially, each tower Aeron explores features a variety of combat, exploration, and puzzle solving which lead to the deadly master of each tower. Each tower follows a theme, and though the themes are repeated and a couple towers can feel a little repetitive, there are few genuinely dull moments in Pandora’s Tower, thanks largely to the constant timer hanging over the player’s head. If Aeron takes too long in a tower, Elena will succumb to the curse which means a nasty transformation for her and game over for you. While you could conceivably race through each tower quickly to make it back with master flesh before she transforms, the more practical solution is to collect beast flesh and feed it to Elena to help mitigate the curse–a gross enough concept to begin with but one that the developers manage to make even creepier as the game progresses. The pressure of Elena’s transformation gauge can make even simple towers stressful, which gives the player’s every action unexpected weight: should you spend time to kill these enemies, or rush past them? Do you have enough time to defeat the master? Progressing through towers on a timer is a tense challenge and gives the game a further unique sense of disquieting atmosphere.

Another key component of the game is collecting items and materials for crafting items, equipment, and gifts for Elena. It’s important to keep her spirits buoyed and your relationship strong–it might even have an affect on the story. This almost dating-sim style gameplay while you’re in the Observatory is simple enough to not feel overly intrusive on the chain-swinging action of exploring the towers but still rewarding and satisfying to develop. And yes, while Aeron uses a sword the Oraclos chain is the real star of the show here as it’s used not only in combat to bind enemies and throw them around the room but also to explore and solve puzzles–primarily puzzles on how to explore further. The Oraclos chain is really the centerpiece of the game, and the Wii remote makes it perfectly fluid in your palm. It takes a bit of practice to wield it well in combat but it soon becomes clear that the chain helps mitigate the other design choices such as fixed camera angles and lack of lock-on targeting. Neither is a problem when you can bind a foe in place while you close the distance for a sword swing. And tearing the flesh out of an enemy is always satisfying.

Not all the regular enemies are terribly satisfying to fight though. There are actually only a handful of monster designs, and while the enemies late in the game can be fun to battle most small monsters aren’t much challenge for Aeron and the Oraclos chain. It’s the masters that pose a real threat, and the developers have done a great job of cooking up unique, exciting, and challenging fights for each one. As always you’re on a timer, so forethought and strategy become crucial to these battles–you always want to maximize the amount of damage you can do with the chain while obviously avoiding damage yourself. Conquering each deadly beast in an intense duel is greatly satisfying and a clear highlight of the game thanks not only to their intensity but variety as well.

The Oraclos chain will be put to many uses throughout the game, just don’t forget to use it in combat as well.

As already mentioned the Wii remote makes wielding the Oraclos chain as easy as pointing at what you want to strike then pressing a button. Pandora’s Tower certainly seems tailor made for the Wii remote and nunchuk and plays to their unique control scheme well in both IR aiming and motion control. Traditionalists may want to use the Classic Controller but the experience just isn’t the same–using the right control stick to move the chain’s aiming reticule lacks the speed and efficiency of just using the Wii remote to point and launch the chain. The option is there if you want to use it of course, but this is an excellent example of a game using the Wii remote intelligently.

Visually the game doesn’t offer up anything particularly special–aside from the masters, each of which boasts a unique look which just makes the battles seem all the more epic and grand. That’s not to say the graphics are lacking in any way though. The towers are suitably decrepit and ominous, there are simply few areas or moments that stand out as being notably vivid, visually. The soundtrack does a great job of building the ominous atmosphere as well, emphasizing the creepy and sinister aspect of exploring these towers in pursuit of beast flesh. The music could use a little more variety though as familiar tunes can feel repetitive after a while. The voice work, meanwhile, is more on level with the graphics: not bad, but not particularly noteworthy either. That may be due to the fact that there are only a few characters in the game and you’ll only hear them speaking in cutscenes or in the Observatory, so the voices don’t have much time to leave a strong impression.

Monstrous behemoths, each tower master looms over Aeron, but their flesh must be harvested for Elena’s sake.

Around twenty hours should see you through the game, though that doesn’t account for everything there is to see. To fill out a 100% completion file means being as thorough as possible with collecting materials, crafting new items, and finding everything there is to see in each tower. Even so, you’ll need to use New Game+ to truly see everything the game has to offer. Rather than being a full repeat of the game though, this New Game+ mode lets you essentially rewind to key points in the game to revisit towers without having to actually complete each one again. It’s an incredibly convenient system for revisiting areas and truly getting the most out of the game.

I would be remiss not to mention the elephant in the room here: Pandora’s Tower suffers from an unfortunately annoying and quite prevalent glitch late in the game. Though it seems to block the player’s progress it can be circumvented with a few tricks easily found online, but it’s still frustrating to face a glitch that can freeze up your system so easily, and one that many gamers have reported encountering. Since there are workarounds to be found it hopefully won’t ruin your experience, but it is something to be aware of.

Unlike the previous two Operation Rainfall games, Pandora’s Tower leans more toward action/adventure rather than RPG, but the experience is no less entertaining for it. The tense and occasionally stressful way you have to explore these towers while maintaining Aeron’s relationship with Elena creates a satisfying blend of gameplay elements, topped off with thrilling boss fights and a mysterious plot that simply begs you to dive into it. The disappointingly common glitch toward the end of the game is undeniably a damper on the game, but the core gameplay and presentation remains intriguing and challenging, perfect for anyone looking for one last unique adventure on the Wii.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

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Last week started a series of podcasts were we will be discussing the latest news where Nintendo will not be presenting a huge display this year at E3. This news came as a shock to some and articles have sprung up across the internet. One such article posted by Wii U daily where they had to eat their previous words about how this E3 would be the most important for Nintendo.

Our next Podcast will delve further into opinions of those expressed by our community members on this matter. You can listen to last weeks podcast along with those of the past in our thread on Power On.

In the near future before E3 we will be hosting an extensive podcast featuring several groups from various podcasts and other communities. Stay tuned for updates for the time and date of this special feature.

In the mean time, what are your thoughts about E3 and Nintendos decisions? Your comments will be read and discussed during our next podcast!

If you would like to join in you can post on our thread and we will be sure to PM you with the next time and date.

The post Nsider2 Scoop – Your thoughts on E3 appeared first on NSider2 - Nintendo Forums.

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD HIGHLIGHTS NEW DIGITAL CONTENT FOR NINTENDO SYSTEMS – MAY 16, 2013

May 16, 2013

This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content:

Virtual Console™ on Wii U™ Sale
Save 50 Percent on Super Mario Bros.™ 2 for Wii U – We’re celebrating spring with a sale on classic favorites for Wii U. Starting today, save 50 percent on Super Mario Bros. 2 when you buy the Wii U Virtual Console™ version of Super Mario World™ from the Nintendo eShop. This offer ends at 9 a.m. PT on May 23.

Virtual Console on Wii U – New Releases
Super Metroid™ – Super Metroid was originally released in 1994 for the Super NES™ system and features beautiful graphics, a huge assortment of enemies and various worlds to explore. Considered one of the best video games of all time by critics and fans alike, the side-view action game introduces a host of powerful weapons and items to the Metroid™ series. Super Metroid is the fifth game released on the Virtual Console for Wii U to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Famicom. For a limited time, the game will be available for only 30 cents.

Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts™ – The third game in the legendary Ghosts ‘n Goblins series of video games, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts follows Arthur in a challenging quest to rescue the princess. Players take control of Arthur in a classic side-scrolling adventure to defeat the creatures of the night and save the day once more.

Super Mario Bros. 2 – Mario™, Luigi™, Princess Toadstool and Toad™ embark on a quest together to save the day against the villainous Wart. Pick up items and throw them at your adversaries to clear levels in seven fantastical worlds. Each character has a unique set of abilities: Luigi can jump higher and farther than any of the other characters, Toad can dig extremely fast and pull items out of the ground quicker than anyone and the princess is the only one who can jump and hover temporarily.

Nintendo eShop on Wii U™ – New Release
LEGO® Batman 2™: DC Super Heroes – Batman and Robin team up with some truly super friends in this action-packed sequel. Experience one of the best-selling games of 2012 with new and enhanced game play using the Wii U GamePad controller. With help from other famous DC Super Heroes, including Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, the Dynamic Duo are in for a fight to put the notorious villains Lex Luthor and The Joker behind bars and save Gotham City. LEGO® Batman 2™: DC Super Heroes will release on May 21.

Nintendo eShop on Wii U Sale
BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien – Runner2 is an action-packed, auto-running platformer with five exciting worlds, 125 tantalizing levels and five death-defying boss battles. BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien will be on sale for 25 percent off until May 30.

Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS™ – New Release
Swords & Soldiers 3D – Prepare for an encounter with a freakishly large pepper: Swords & Soldiers 3D is coming your way! Swords & Soldiers is a 3D side-scrolling, real-time strategy game that lets you control an entire army and wield devastating magical abilities.

Also new this week:
• Resident Evil® Revelations (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Mega Man™ 5 (Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS)
• Harvest Moon® (Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS)
• THE STARSHIP DAMREY™ (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Bowling Bonanza 3D (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Dress To Play: Magic Bubbles! (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• California Super Sports (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS / DSiWare™ on Nintendo DSi™)
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’99 (Virtual Console on Wii™)

To view this week’s Nintendo Download in its full graphical version, please visit: http://news2know.net/nintendo/downloadbBe4yL32.php.

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While the Wii U game showed Chase McCain’s triumphant return to LEGO City after a two year absence, The Chase Begins shows what he did to earn that unceremonious transfer. For anyone who has played both games, virtually all the faces will be familiar as will their comical interactions with one another–for example, future police chief Deputy Dunby still antagonizes Chase and obsesses over the sugary bane of every cop, donuts. Unfortunately the story is a little more cut and dry in the 3DS game: the narrative is mostly restricted to cutscenes which feature voice acting while the in-game storytelling is reduced mostly to text-based directives–go here, do this, etc. The cutscenes are still charming but can feel rushed; it doesn’t help that players have already seen the comedic potential of the cast, which makes the humor in The Chase Begins feel thin.

First things first: the rookie's first important mission is delivering donuts.

Open-world gameplay distinguishes both LEGO City Undercover games, though in The Chase Begins it’s noticeably smaller. The simple joy of exploring can still eat up hours of your time, though the city is undeniably less dense than its Wii U counterpart–not that this would be surprising going from Wii U to 3DS of course. Even so, there’s still plenty to see and The Chase Begins does an admirable job of creating a pocket-sized city to explore. Regrettably this comes with more load screens, and the load times are just as substantial as they were in the Wii U game. Transitioning between areas within the city causes a rather intrusive loading screen to pop up which hurts the sense of freedom and exploration that normally characterizes a sandbox game. In the same vein, there’s a lot of pop-in and limited visibility–clear signs that the developers were trying to workaround the hardware limitations while still creating a believably active city–which, in addition to just being a little disappointing to be able to see behind the curtains so clearly, can be hazardous when cars seemingly materialize in front of you. And this also has a way of dampening the excitement of exploring, as you can’t easily spy a distant object and decide to investigate it but are limited to your immediate surroundings. The game does its best to workaround these restrictions but there are still clear signs of the difficulty of fitting this genre into this system.

The missions and objectives themselves are suspiciously similar to sections of the Wii U game–indeed, the 3DS title follows the same essential formula of collecting new disguises to progress and unlock more side content, though this carries with it the same pros and cons of the Wii U title. The gameplay retains the simple appeal that makes it accessible to any type of player; rarely are puzzles too obscure or combat too difficult. In fact, The Chase Begins errs on the side of being overly simplistic on both accounts. The puzzles don’t quite follow the classic LEGO formula of large stages with many things to collect, instead the missions are generally much shorter but more numerous. This is perfect for a portable game but it also means the story mode lacks replay value and the puzzles tend to be incredibly direct. Meanwhile the combat, while never LEGO’s strong suit, is not only boringly simple in this game but far too prevalent. It seems the developers used fights as filler for a lack of good puzzles as Chase is constantly fighting thugs and villains and it is simply never interesting–even the boss fights can feel tedious.

The map on the bottom screen helps orient you and can show nearby interactive objects.

The controls are generally easy to grasp and navigating the world of LEGO City isn’t much trouble except for the slightly awkward camera controls. You can rotate the camera via L or R, a system which makes sense and uses the 3DS well but still isn’t as smooth as you would hope. It’s never more than a finicky annoyance though and the game is otherwise quite easy to play. Even when the gyroscope gets involved, which is sparingly, the motion control feels solid.

Visually the LEGO City setting is bound to see a downgrade from the Wii U version but the game still looks great–possibly due to the aforementioned limited view and load screens. The city isn’t quite as detailed but the developers managed to cram in enough little touches to keep the environment full and natural, and while the stereoscopic 3D generally isn’t very dramatic it’s a nice addition. Unfortunately, even with the technical workarounds to bring LEGO City to life there’s still a lot of slow down and lag as the 3DS seems to struggle to keep pace with Chase’s adventure. The audio fares a little better but still doesn’t have many stand-out moments. The background music isn’t constant as sometimes you’ll be exploring in silence while certain sound effects are positively grating after a while–notably civilians crying out for help or sirens. The voice acting is still strong though, even if you don’t get to hear it throughout the game but only in cutscenes.

Despite the combat-heavy gameplay, Chase is still limited to a couple of simple attacks via throwing criminals around.

Chase’s first big case seems noticeably shorter than his future investigation throughout LEGO City, as you can fairly easily finish the story in a quick six or seven hours. However, despite it’s technical drawbacks, there’s still plenty to see in the city and tons of hidden collectibles or side objectives to complete. That six or seven hour main story only represents maybe fifteen or twenty percent of the full game. Like the Wii U game you’ll have to wait until you’ve unlocked all of Chase’s disguises in order to fully explore every nook and cranny the game has to offer, but if you’re up to the challenge there’s plenty of optional content waiting to be found.

It may seem unfair to compare The Chase Begins to its Wii U counterpart but they share so many design elements that it’s hard not to see the 3DS title as a watered down experience. Whether it’s the more direct and to-the-point story or the low puzzle, high combat gameplay or the choppy presentation, the whole game feels “light.” However, LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins still has a lot to offer, especially to those dedicated players aiming for 100% completion. A little more polish would have been nice but the open-world LEGO gameplay is still enough to draw the player deep into this brick and block world.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

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NINTENDO DOWNLOAD HIGHLIGHTS NEW DIGITAL CONTENT FOR NINTENDO SYSTEMS – MAY 9, 2013

May 9, 2013

This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content:

Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS™
Mario and Donkey Kong™: Minis on the Move – Test your puzzle-solving skills in this spinoff of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong™ series. Use tiles to create the best path through each level. The main game contains more than 180 levels, spread across four different puzzle modes. Although each mode has a slightly different style of play, they all share the same goal: Get the Minis to the star.

Nintendo eShop on Wii U™
Resident Evil® Revelations – Demo Version – Resident Evil® Revelations returns, complete with HD visuals, enhanced lighting effects and an immersive sound experience. Additional content includes a terrifying new enemy, extra difficulty mode, integration with ResidentEvil.net and improvements to Raid Mode. The demo will be available on May 14.

Virtual Console™ on Wii U
Xevious™ – Control the Solvalou Fighter plane and destroy the Xevious forces in this classic arcade shooter. Fire the Zapper missiles against air-based enemies, and drop the Blaster bombs down upon ground-based targets to earn bonus points and beat the high score.

Solomon’s Key™ – As Dana, a skilled and talented hero, you must strategically maneuver through more than 40 stages using mysterious block-creation skills and other magical powers. Free the captive Fairy in each stage by finding the Bell, and escape by grabbing the Magic Key.

Nintendo eShop Sale
50 Percent Off Chasing Aurora – Chasing Aurora is an indie multiplayer game that lets players control birds flying through challenging arenas. Now through May 16, get Chasing Aurora for 50 percent off exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.

Also new this week:
• SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Publisher Dream (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS / DSiWare™ on Nintendo DSi™)

To view this week’s Nintendo Download in its full graphical version, please visit: http://news2know.net/nintendo/downloadm4HgcAtt.php.

The post Nintendo Download: 05-09-2013 appeared first on NSider2 - Nintendo Forums.

Just yesterday CNN released an article “Nintendo’s big Problem”.  Here they open up the article with the following statement:

“For all its magnificent games and past successes, Nintendo has always been a little tone deaf when it comes to detecting and embracing new gaming trends. That brashness is finally catching up with the legendary video game company.”

Granted Nintendo had foretasted sales to reach 5.5 million by March of this year and after lower said goal to 4 million they only reached 3.4, however, does this really mean Nintendo has a problem? Does the “new gaming trends” prove anything as far as past, present and future results? In all honestly, all the articles bombing Nintendo just makes me laugh. Media loves to cause drama and from where I’m sitting, it’s all a bunch of talk.

Let us have a look at this next quote and dig deeper into trends. CNN states the following:

“For decades now, it has been this type of thinking that has plagued Nintendo: The company is cognizant of the latest trends and shifts in gaming, but it chooses to disregard them in the name of simplicity, or family-friendly gaming. Instead, Nintendo frequently opts to develop its own warped, counterintuitive take on the latest trends.”

When we think of trends, we know that they have a pattern. They come and go. This is very true in fashion, but also true in video games. Trends are “fads” and in this fast pace world fads can change over night. The needs of the market can change over night. Currently we have been in this trend of FPS gaming and high end graphics, but what happens when those gamers grow up and have kids of their own? Perhaps they get more hours at work and don’t have time to game, maybe they have less hours to take care of the needs of their family so they don’t have as much money to spend on games. The end result is the fad/trend dies and the gaming world moves on to the next era.

This is not true with Nintendo. They have always put out solid first party games. They have a solid fan base and they don’t change things drastically so as to drive people away. They paved the way for motion and touch gaming. Last generation, both MicroSoft and Sony followed suit with motion. Now that Smart devices are becoming hot, one can see the touch gaming with the Wii U game pad as being something to draw in newer gamers. Granted they are having a slow start and third party sport is lacking, but Nintendo has never let down their fans. We just need patience. Trends will die, but Nintendo will live on!

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The EB Stream is holding a Community Charity Marathon to support Autism Speaks.  The event starts May 9th at Midnight EST, and ends May 13th at Noon EST.  Several casters from Twitch.TV will be participating, including myself (currently scheduled for Thursday and Friday between 3PM and 6PM EST).  While most of the games are to be determined by the casters, there will be a GGPO Super Street Fighter II Turbo Tournament on Saturday, May 11th from 3PM – 6PM EST, and Retro Game Racing is planned for Sunday between 12PM and 9PM EST.

Donate if you can, and if you can’t, be sure to spread the word!  There will also be prizes up for grabs for several lucky supporters.  Click here or the banner above for more information, and you can also follow The EB Stream on Twitter.

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