What did this week bring us in gaming news? Japan is getting some awesome 3DS games that look amazing, G4 loses its most notable personality, Nintendo says they’re giving Kirby a 20th birthday extravaganza, and there’s a Kinect game coming out that combines rhythm games with basketball dribbling.
And if that’s not enough for you, there’s also a blog out there with incredibly original Pokemon artwork.
Rayman Legends for the Wii U gets leaked
Much to the dismay of Ubisoft, a video showcasing the sequel to Rayman Origins was uploaded to the internet for all to see. The game seems to incorporate the same art style and general gameplay mechanics as the previous title, but it is still very early in the game’s development to draw any conclusions. It appears the game also takes advantage of the Wii U’s controller to use during multiplayer games. And more importantly, it seems you can place certain physical objects on the Wii U controller to have them appear in the game. Much more on this one to come as information is released. (Source: Machinima)
Nintendo announces New Super Mario Bros. 2 will be out for 3DS this year
Not only did the company that Mario built drop this brand new Mario platformer on us, but they also said the game would be available via download as well as at retail stores. The title does not yet have a full release date but it is projected to drop in Q3 of this year. Keep your fingers crossed that we see online multiplayer and the return of the cape from Super Mario World! (Source: Kotaku)
Finally someone has created a game that combines the rhythm and basketball genre
A lot of people tweeted about the announcement of NBA Ballter Beats, a new rhythm/basketball hybrid title by Majesco. Not much is known about the title yet, but the teaser trailer (which can be viewed here) seems to allow players to bounce a basketball in beat with music on screen. Where’s Xzibit when you need him? (Source: Destructoid)
Japan is getting a 3DS port of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
I’ve been a fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series of Japanese RPGs. I’ve given up large portions of my life to live in the shoes of a magically enhanced, demon-fighting teen in games like Persona 3, Devil Survivor, and Strange Journey. It is part of the SMT Devil Summoner sub-series (of which there are two American released titles out there). I would love to be able to get my hands on any other game in the series, especially one such as this, which was actually never released in the US. No word yet on whether Atlus will bring this one across the Pacific, but we can hold out hope, can’t we? (Source: GameSpot)
Adam Sessler parts ways with G4TV
In what came as a shocker to most people this past week, video game enthusiast and personality Adam Sessler has left G4. Not all the details are out on this departure yet, but it seems like it might have had something to do with his contract. Adam Sessler is one of the most recognizable video game critics out and I’m sure he won’t have any trouble finding another employer, but this definitely is a change for all of us. What’s G4 gonna do without it’s star? I guess that’s more screen time for Blair and Morgan. And Cops. Lots and lots of episodes of Cops. (Source: ScrewAttack)
Diablo III gave Blizzard the Beta stress test they were hoping for
Last weekend Blizzard opened the Diablo III Beta for all to enjoy. If you managed to get into a game, rather. Blizzard’s servers were often times at capacity, not allowing gamers to log in and enjoy the hack-and-slash action RPG before its full release. The game’s servers recorded around 300 thousand players logged in to play. Many were faced with a demon worse than the Lord of Terror: Error 3004! (Source: Kotaku)
This amazing Tumblr featuring Pokemon fan art was found
Do you like Pokemon?
Then you should see these beautiful renditions of the original 151 Pokemon. Each is done by a different artist, with many of them taking the pocket monsters in entirely new, decidedly dastardly directions. My personal favorites? Weedle, Charizard, Vileplume, Diglett, and Likitung. Gotta love ’em all!
Nintendo is giving Kirby the anniversary treatment
Much like Mario in 2010, Kirby is getting a special nod for his upcoming milestone anniversary. In celebration of the Pink Puffball’s 20 years of dedicated service, Nintendo will be releasing a special Anniversary Collection of “all your favorite Kirby games,” later this year. Seeing as that would be Kirby’s Dream Land, Pinball, Superstar, Canvas Curse, Epic Yarn, Mass Attack, and Return to Dream Land, Nintendo may have outdone themselves this time. But then again “your favorite Kirby games” is entirely subjective. Let’s hope Nintendo puts at least one of the above mentioned games on there. Do it for the Pink guy. (Source: Game Informer)
Sony’s Smash Bros. clone is officially revealed
Titled PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, the fighter pits PlayStation stalwarts such as Kratos from God of War, Parappa the Rapper, Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal, and even the Princess from Fat Princess in an arena where they fight to the death. It’s hard to not look and this and scream foul for its blatant rip-off of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series, but I am personally very excited for this game. It looks great (as seen here via interview with the game’s director) and it has the potential to do for Sony what Smash did for Nintendo: satiate the fan’s incessant hunger for fan service. There isn’t an official release date yet, but it’s looking like the game won’t be out this year. (Source: Game Trailers)
Laters,
Jsick
