Platform: 3DS

SteamWorld Heist

I really don’t play my 3DS nearly as much as I should. I don’t think this is all my fault, though, as a lot of developers keep on making huge, sprawling epics rather than bite-sized chunks of joy that I actually have the time to play. If developers could bear in mind those of us that have full-time jobs, significant others and interests other than gaming in mind, that’d be great.

I say all of this because I’ve found that SteamWorld Heist is a perfect package in just about every way. It’s a perfectly accessible, turn-based strategy game, meaning I didn’t have hours of tutorials to work through. It’s perfectly suited to the 3DS, taking advantage of the layered 3D effects. On top of this, it’s the perfect length, meaning ten hours later and I’d seen and done mostly everything, leaving me completely satisfied.

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The New 3DS XL

The 3DS has now been on the retail market since early 2011, with an ever growing library of games to be played on after it’s laughably feeble launch. Receiving mixed reviews and a state of fear over how using 3D could damage youngsters’ eyes, the 3DS has since become a marginal success in a decreasing portable games system market.

The slow-burning success of the Nintendo 3DS could be attributed to the influx of exclusive first party titles that came shortly after the ‘launch window’: a phrase Nintendo coined in order to justify the lacklustre games that first appeared alongside their cobalt blue/black housing units. Anyone remember PilotWings 3D? We couldn’t forget it if we tried.

Now that four years have passed, the optimistic fandom of Nintendo’s buyer-base has seen a gravitation towards the previously shunned clam-shaped plastic from some of Nintendo’s older, hardcore gaming audience. At the same time, Nintendo were also ushering in a new wave of impressionable younger casual players, once some more merchandise-friendly IP’s found their way onto the system (still no Minecraft though, which is the biggest shame).

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Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

I was, unfortunately, a latecomer to the Persona series, my first exposure being the charming Persona 4 Golden on Vita, yet its discovery and timing was extremely important to me in terms of my relationship with JRPGs. Prior to reviewing P4G for TIMJ, aside from one or two exceptions, I had grown incredibly tired of certain JRPG conventions. Thanks to its unique setting and wonderfully written characters, however, Persona reinvigorated my love for an entire genre.

Obviously, when offered the chance to revisit these characters in the 3DS exclusive spin-off, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, I was totally on board. What I found was a very different brand of Persona experience, but one that captivated me enough that I gave it my vote for Game of the Year in our 2014 End of Year series. Upon finishing it, that view has not changed.

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SteamWorld Dig (Wii U)

I’m sure it will be of no surprise that SteamWorld Dig’s gameplay is based on digging. So within minutes of loading the game up, your avatar can be seen returning to a prospecting village, asking about the whereabouts of his father, finding him (spoiler alert) dead and taking up his fabled rusty and frankly knackered pickaxe. There’s very little time spent with your dead Dad, because in all honesty it is seemingly not in SteamWorld Dig‘s interest to.

SteamWorld Dig, simply put, is an explorative digging puzzle platformer, and it does it really well. It’s easy to pick up and play with its simple and familiar control scheme, and rewarding thanks to loads of upgrades and equipment, plus sneaky (but not mean) puzzles to solve…

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Bravely Default

While much of their JRPG output has been met with mixed reaction over recent years, I can’t help but feel sorry for the stumbling giant that is Square Enix. They seem eternally stuck between long-standing genre traditions (that they themselves helped to shape) and the call from the gaming community to reinvent – a conundrum for which they just haven’t yet found the answer.

Even as someone who enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII and really dug its sequel XIII-2 (I know; I’m a monster), I don’t think even I could deny that they appear to be in something of an identity crisis. Especially when you look at the gross commercialisation and gimmickry of the upcoming Lighting Returns and the lack of care taken over some of their recent ports to mobile formats.

This, however, is exactly why the new 3DS exclusive Bravely Default has been such a lovely surprise. Funded by Square, but developed by Silicon Studio as something of a spiritual Final Fantasy successor, this charming and capable JRPG proves that at least there’s someone out there that still understands what at one time made Square’s games so revered.

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

There have been a lot of calls for The Legend of Zelda series to shake up its trademark structure over recent years and although I always want to see innovation in the industry, I can’t say I was one hundred percent on-board in this instance. I don’t know why exactly, but I still find myself a little precious over this particular franchise. Irrational, I know, but when it came to light that A Link Between Worlds on 3DS would be used as a chance for Nintendo to experiment, I was very nervous.

It turns out that I needn’t have worried; this is one of the 3DS’s very best, not to mention one of the most pleasantly surprising games released this year.

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Pokémon X and Y

Though Pokémon is a craze that managed to pass me by completely over the years, it’s impossible to be unaware of its big reputation. I only popped my pocket monster cherry with Pokémon Black not more than two years ago and I found a quaint, if simplistic JRPG. It was definitely a lot of fun, but I found it slow-going and the collection aspect, the system around which the game centres, failed to keep me motivated to see it through to the end. Funnily enough, however, I think a younger me would have been obsessively into this franchise, but I just wasn’t feeling it with my first go as a jaded 29-year-old.

Well, Pokémon X & Y are here for the core series’ first outing on 3DS, and with its various subtle and not-so-subtle upgrades, they’ve made a game that this 32-year-old can now fully get behind…

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PES 2014

There was a time when I was a staunch PES fan. I bought it year after year without fail and loved every version. With PES 2008, however, things started to change. For the first time, some of the fun had gone, and from that year on I started buying FIFA. I’ve played the odd game of PES since then at friends’ houses, but PES 2014 is the first version I’ve really gotten to grips with in six years.

So did absence make the heart grow fonder?

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Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

You know what I’ve always fancied playing? A Mario-themed JRPG. You know what I’ve just never gotten around to playing? A Mario-themed JRPG.

I’m not exactly sure how I’d never tried one. I remember reading games mags back in my youth and marvelling at the idea of Super Mario RPG (a SNES game that unfortunately never made it to English shores), and I’ve had plenty of opportunities with the likes of Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi series taking plaudits for years. More fool me for not taking the plunge sooner, as my recent experience with the newly-released Mario & Luigi: Dream Team has been nothing but positive.

Hold onto your Red n’ Green hats for a newcomer’s perspective into the Mario & Luigi RPG franchise!

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Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

If like me, you didn’t have a Nintendo Wii at the time of Donkey Kong Country Returns’ original release, you’re in the perfect position to right a wrong if you have a 3DS. Developed by Retro Studios, this is truly a platformer in the classic Nintendo mould and it’s more than worth your time.

Almost everything Ray Willmott said in our original Wii review is still very much valid, so make sure you check it out if you want another point of view.

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

I think that everyone coming into Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed for the first time will cynically expect the same thing; a painfully cheap and undercooked Mario Kart clone. I mean, that’s what I was expecting, certainly, and it was the exact reason I’ve kept well away from Sonic-themed racers right up until this point.

Only… I had it wrong. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is actually brilliant, and in many ways surpasses its own inspiration.

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Virtue’s Last Reward

The Nintendo 3DS has now been out for over a year, yet it lacks the same number of unique titles that came out on the Nintendo DS in the same period of time. Not that it’s necessarily bad to have a catalogue of well-known franchises. It’s just that it feels like some of the unique capabilities (such as the touch screen) are not being used to their full potential.

Fortunately, Rising Star Games must have thought the same when it decided to publish Virtue’s Last Reward. This brave attempt from Chunsoft is certainly unique, but is it enough to captivate 3DS owners?

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Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

Professor Layton is one of those series that I’ve always kept one eye on, even during periods where I didn’t own a DS or 3DS, but simply never gotten around to trying. It’s always appealed thanks to its distinct direction and art style, but it always seemed to be one of those series destined to pass me by, until Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask turned up in the mail, that is.

This fifth game in the series marks Professor Layton’s first appearance on 3DS, but is it worth your time?

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Shifting World

There are plenty of puzzle video-games in the market so it’s always interesting to see what a new entry can offer. Rising Star Games is braving this already competitive genre with its latest offering, Shifting World. Will this prove popular with puzzle admirers, or will it go unnoticed among the sea of puzzle video-games already out?

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Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

I’m afraid that this is another of those reviews where I begin by admitting that I’ve never played a game in the relevant franchise before. This particular review represents a newcomer’s opinion to a series that’s already six instalments strong, and to others, it might have seemed a daunting task to come into the seventh game with fresh eyes.

Not for me though; the thing I truly love about my role here is that it I’ll often have to tackle games that I might not otherwise have had an interest in, and that’s certainly true of Kingdom Hearts, despite my penchant for Final Fantasy.

While my experience is limited, I know that for many, 2002’s Kingdom Hearts and its blending of both the Final Fantasy and Disney universes is very fondly thought of, managing to find favour with even the most bitter of cynics.

The series makes its 3DS debut with Dream Drop Distance (3D, get it?). Should you be handing over your ‘munny’?!

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New Super Mario Bros. 2

It took a while to get going, but the 3DS finally has decent momentum thanks to a steady drip of releases that’s kept its users, including me, extremely happy in recent months. Some would probably argue (successfully, I might add) that the momentum began late last year, with the release of the excellent Super Mario 3D Land. Its critical and commercial success meant that Nintendo would be utterly stupid if another Mario outing wasn’t far behind.

Rather than rushing out a direct sequel to 3D Land, Nintendo decided to return to their ironically named ‘New Super Mario Bros.’ series, which  debuted on the original DS in 2006 and saw Mario return to the classic 2D side-scrolling of yesteryear.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is now upon us on 3DS. Is it worth your gold coins, or even the effort to collect them?

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Heroes of Ruin

With no prior experience of the series, I have to admit that when Diablo III hit I felt something of an outcast. Despite all the build-up hype, despite all the excited chatter, I was on the outside of the media assault, looking in on a huge event that I didn’t fully understand.

It’s no surprise to hear, then, that I’ve never really played any of the old top-down dungeon crawlers extensively in my lifetime. This has, sadly, led to me miss out on the highlights of an entire sub-genre. That’s not to say I can’t appreciate a good loot-drop, though, so I have been eagerly waiting for a chance to put this right.

I didn’t expect the first step of my dungeon-crawling redemption to begin on the 3DS, courtesy of Heroes of Ruin from n-Space and Square Enix.

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Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns

The Harvest Moon franchise has come a long way from its humble beginnings on the SNES. It’s hard to think that a farming simulator would gather such a devoted group of fans over the years.

Rising Star Games has supported new Harvest Moon entries for quite a while. The latest one to make it to Europe is the first Harvest moon title to grace the Nintendo 3DS. Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns was originally a Nintendo DS title, so was it worth the effort to release it on a fairly new handheld?

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Kid Icarus: Uprising

Ahhh, Kid Icarus. While I can’t admit to have ever played the original NES game (except for recently from the eStore), I certainly have many a fond childhood memory of the Gameboy sequel, tag-lined ‘Of Myths and Monsters’. So, when I heard that there was some fan pressure on Nintendo to resurrect the franchise after a twenty years-plus hiatus (his Smash Brothers appearance not withstanding), I was fully behind the movement.

Nintendo eventually listened, caved and commissioned Project Sora to finally bring the fans’ dream to life with Kid Icarus: Uprising. We were expecting great things. I was expecting great things.

What I wasn’t expecting, bearing in mind that the original games were side-scrolling platformers, was that resurrection to take the form of a partly on-rails shooter…

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Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater

I’m going to get this out of the way right off the bat: I have never really been a fan of Metal Gear Solid. If you’re expecting a rose-tinted review that soulfully reminisces about the good old days, I can tell you now that you’re not going to get that here.

If you’re a fan yourself, as many of our own writers are, you’re probably already reaching for your pitchfork, rallying an angry mob and sharpening the pole on which you envisage my head. Yet, I may as well go the whole hog here: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has always been my least favourite in the series (MGS1 being my favourite by a country mile, if you’re asking).

It’s a game I’ve played twice before to the halfway point, before labelling it ‘an abortion’ and ‘self-indulgent’. I like Kojima as an industry character, but I can’t help but feel that he’s become imprisoned by his own creation and, at least to me, it seems to have shown increasingly with each passing instalment.

That said, I am always willing to be proven wrong, especially with games held in such high regard.

There are many games, and even entire franchises, that I’d never cared for previously and have grown to adore through subsequent replays (Dead Rising and God of War being noteworthy mentions). While in this instance I’ve found myself reviewing Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater out of necessity rather than love, I will absolutely approach it once again with an open mind.

If it helps, think of this as less of a review and more as the personal experiment of someone testing the weight of their own opinion… I hope I can finally see what all the fuss is about.

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The Whitakers Present: Milton & Friends 3D

I think it’s fair to say I review a real mixed bag of games. One minute, I’m embracing a rich, cyberpunk universe with Syndicate, and in the next, I’m flailing around in a Hollywood High School dance-off with VICTORiOUS. I’ve always been open-minded about trying new things since I started writing about games. Whatever a game’s background, I believe everything deserves a fair shout.

It’s with that mindset I approached Milton and Friends. Instead of closing down twisted enemy corporations and swooping through the night skies, cowl-intact, I used my stylus to feed carrots and baby bottles to a horse.

Then promptly regretted the whole thing…

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Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (3DS)

Remember when they announced Mario and Sonic were going to be in a game together? Remember how you first felt about that before it became a series of mini-game mish-mashes? Pretty good, right?

Unfortunately, that game we’ve been long awaiting still hasn’t materialised, but we do have another Olympic escapade featuring the world’s most famous plumber and that spikey-blue phenomenon traipsing around London.

That’s got to count for something, right?

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Resident Evil: Revelations

I’m one of those guys. You know, a fan. Of Resident Evil, don’t you know. I’ve loved it since the very beginning, when tank controls and a slow pace made for tense, nerve-wracking moments. I loved it when Resident Evil 4 helped to reinvent both the horror and shooter genres as we knew them. I loved the rail-shooter spin offs and all in-between. Hell, I loved Resident Evil 5, even though it was happy to exchange the choking horror of its predecessor for a balls-to-the-wall-action setting.

Still, many yearn for those old days; the days of aimlessly walking around mansions, putting hexagonal crests into doors and gems into the hollow eye-sockets of stone tigers, long before the Los Illuminados relentlessly hunted us. After the bright locales of Resident Evil 5, many just wanted the feeling of classic horror reinstated.

Well, here comes Resident Evil: Revelations on 3DS, with Capcom vying to capture the best of both worlds. Can this approach really cater for everyone?

Just about, yes.

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Circle Pad Pro

Despite its Christmas success story, Nintendo’s newest handheld has definitely raised its fair share of concerns. Not least of which is that it shipped in an unfinished state. Initial concepts of the 3DS were drafted to include two analog sticks, but for some reason Nintendo changed its mind midway through development, sticking with just one. A few months into the console’s lifespan, suddenly, the idea of two analogs turned out to be a good one (how about that?)

Introducing the Circle Pad Pro. Last week, the controversial accessory launched in the UK, with one retailer offering it in a bundle with Resident Evil Revelations.

Naturally, we all have our questions about the model, the most important of which, is this simply tacked-on tardiness?

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Crush3D

When I talk about Crush in this review, I’m not talking about some pulped form of orange juice, an old-school wrestler from the 80’s or a classic Megadeth song. I’m talking about a remake of a 2007 PSP game by Zoe Mode.

What’s different this time around? The game is able to make full use of Nintendo’s revolutionary 3D technology, and considering the game is all about exploring the third dimension, this would seem like a dream fit.

Were my hopes dashed, crumpled, and ultimately crushed?

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Mario Kart 7

Fun for all ages

You wait months and months for decent 3DS games to come along, then two come along at once. True to form, they both feature Nintendo’s cheeky mascot plumber, wheeled out once again to help with the console’s troublesome opening year.

With Super Mario 3D Land already released, finished and reviewed, I switched my attention to the oddly named Mario Kart 7. Well, it seemed oddly named and out-of-place at first, until I discovered that it was named so because it’s the seventh game in the franchise’s history. Pretty obvious when you think about it.

Is it better or worse on 3DS, though? Is it worth the cash? Can Mario really expect to keep his upper class lady interested in him on a meagre plumber’s salary?

I’m about to answer all those questions (except for the last one), as I examine whether Mario Kart 7 is worthy of a place on the podium.

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Super Mario 3D Land

Us poor 3DS owners, eh? We’ve been forced to scoff down token-gesture ports from third-party developers for most of 2011, with rare gems scattered amongst them. With very few games truly deserving our cash, and well, very few games period, we’ve really only had an Ocarina of Time re-release and an excellent launch-day port of Super Street Fighter IV to shout about since the console hit shelves.

Well, after waiting for the third-party developers to do something noteworthy, it seems that Nintendo finally had enough and decided that if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. Between the back-end of November and the start of December, they finally released the two jewels in their 2011 crown, the first of which was Super Mario 3D Land.

Is it platform-saving goodness or is it simply too little, too late?

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Zen Pinball (3DS)

I remember the 3DS being introduced through reviews and articles as ‘an oversized paperweight’. While this seemed like a harsh judgement at first, the beginning months of the console’s life span didn’t hold out well. With it striving to prove it was worthy of being among the big boys, it released many titles, all of which promised different things and usually failed to bring them. Nintendo needed to be reminded that their consoles were sole contenders in bringing good old-fashioned entertainment.

Now here we have Zen Pinball, a fancy little download from the 3DS store, and a 3D port of the game that has featured on many other platforms. Perfect for an eShop download, the game provides a hefty amount of fun, but can it stand to contend against the big hitters currently on the field?

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Review: James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes 3D

Puzzle games were something of a dying breed until the DS brought them back with a bang. The touchscreen interface proved perfect for the genre, with cult hits like Another Code making the best of the system’s capabilities before Brain Training, Hotel Dusk and (especially) Professor Layton took the reigns most recently.

Not to be outdone, Ubisoft have thrown their own new puzzler into the mix. Cue James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes 3D; a puzzle game on 3DS set in 60’s L.A., where a murderer is at large…

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Review: Need for Speed: The Run (3DS)

It took me a long time to fall in love with racing games, and as such, Need for Speed is a series that’s very much passed me by. I do know, however, that it’s had varying degrees of popularity, covering many different play-styles in the process. In more recent years, NFS: Shift has been the EA racer of choice for many, taking more of a realistic approach to instalments like Hot Pursuit… EA don’t seem shy about allowing their franchise to splinter off, though, and no more so is this evident with the release of the Black Box produced arcade racer, ‘The Run’, which was met with mixed opinions from the critics.

Of course, the game makes it out on every conceivable format too, and it was down to Firebrand Games to bring the action to the smaller screen of the 3DS.

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Review: Shinobi

Mention the name ‘Shinobi’ to any older gamers you know and they’ll probably get all misty-eyed and start looking upwards and slightly to the left, as they recount the fun times they had in the arcades or on their Mega Drives back in the good old days. Feel free to snap your fingers at this point to bring them back out of a warm, fuzzy cloud of nostalgia. The original game was undoubtedly a classic, but also a product of its time; a brutally challenging game that was designed to get those coins out of your pockets and into the arcade machines.

Since those 16-bit days, the franchise has seen moderate to limited success on more recent platforms, but it’s fair to say that the Shinobi name is no longer what it was. Still, such is its status as a classic franchise, we can expect to see it keep coming back again and again, and most recently SEGA tasked Griptonite Games with the task of recapturing the old school magic in an entirely new title for 3DS.

How did they do?

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Review: The Sims 3: Pets (3DS)

Ah, Sims 3. We’re doing this dance again, aren’t we? It’s been what? Three reviews now, this year alone? Having just put the finishing touches to my review of Sims 3: Pets on home consoles and only recently reviewed Sims 3 on 3DS a few months back, I guess I’m in as good position as any to judge how well the former title performs on the latter format…

That’s right! Sims 3: Pets is on now available on 3DS. Does it purr nicely or try to scratch your eyes out?

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Review: FIFA 12 (3DS)

Ah, it’s that time of year. The time that the new football season is already upon us, still new, fresh, and just a few months in. It’s doubly exciting for football fans who are also gamers, as two major franchises hit the consoles around this time, allowing you to relive your footballing fantasies and fix results that didn’t go your way in real life.

We all know that FIFA is currently sitting pretty as top-dog over Konami’s PES, and EA, the lovely bunch they are, try to make sure that their latest instalment makes it out on all major platforms. Hell, they’d put it on toasters if they could, so it’s no surprise to see a version hitting Nintendo’s 3DS.

Is it worth carting about with you, though?

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Review: Star Fox 64 3D

Ah, I used to love me some Star Fox. The SNES original back in 1993 (known as Star Wing, in Europe) was the first to make use of the seldom-featured FX Chip, allowing Nintendo’s 16bit machine to handle something approaching 3D graphics. The game was like not much else at the time visually, while playing as a forward-scrolling space shooter.

As is the way with Nintendo, their big franchises make at least one big appearance on each console, and after winning plaudits on the SNES it was no surprise to see Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars 64 in Europe… sigh) hit the N64 exactly one generation later. Acting more as a remake, this is the one that everyone fondly remembers the most, introducing free roam arenas to fly in, along with ground-based battle tanks.

With another N64 classic, Ocarina of Time, recently doing the business for Nintendo, some might say that it was only a matter of time before another remastered title saw the light of day to bolster 3DS sales. Sure enough, Star Fox followed suit.

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Review: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

I am a huge fan of the Resident Evil series (you might even go as far to say that I am our resident Resident Evil fan…), but even I must admit to being surprised and cautious when I saw Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D listed among the upcoming games for the 3DS. Sure enough, screenies and videos made their way onto the interwebs, and they didn’t look all that far away in quality from RE5 on the big consoles. Was I seeing things? I mean come on! I had no idea that the 3DS was capable of such graphical prowess. I was excited.

Then, of course, came the big controversy regarding non-deletable saves, as Capcom tested their mettle in the fight against the secondhand market. This killed interest in the title for many, but undeterred, I was still first in line when the review copy came around…

How does it fare?

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Review: Driver: Renegade 3D

Driver is a series that’s seen plenty of ups and downs since its inception, with most of the latter coming in recent years. Still, there remains a lot of fondness for the cop drama thanks to the original, with a focus on fast-paced gameplay and stylish driving skills still fresh in the memories of fans. Although the game hasn’t hit the lofty heights of praise received since then, it’s fair to say that the franchise has improved a lot since Reflections Interactive stopped trying to play Rockstar at their own game in Driv3r. No more so has this been evident with the recent release of Driver: San Francisco, which, without setting the world alight, has been picking up praise from around the industry.

Alongside it, Ubisoft, seemingly independent of Reflections, have quietly released Driver: Renegade 3D for the 3DS. Is it another good step in restoring a tarnished franchise?

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Review: The Sims 3 (3DS)

The Sims is a bit of a craze that’s mostly passed me by over the years. Prior to sampling The Sims 3 more recently on PC & Xbox 360 (thanks partly to my wife’s ongoing obsession with the series), my previous experience was restricted to just four hours on the original, back in 2000. I spent those four hours in my late-teenage years absolutely pleased as punch, modelling my Sim with my own traits before carefully crafting my dream home with all the mod-cons, and living life the way I’d always dreamed. It was at that point I had a sudden realisation; it wasn’t my life! Gutted, I shut the game down and never returned to it. Hey, if I wasn’t living the perfect life, then why should virtual me?!

Obviously, in the time between my first experience with the series and the release of Sims 3, it has gone on to have phenomenal success worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling video-game franchises of all time. Because of that (and also partly because the franchise is owned by EA), it’s a title that you can own on practically any format, so it came as a surprise to no one when it was announced that The Sims 3 would be a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS in March.

With some Sims 3 playtime still fresh in my mind, I decided it would be a decent opportunity to see how the game fared in transition to the small-screen…

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Review: Naruto Shippuden 3D: The New Era

When you think about it, the Naruto anime series offers a lot of potential for video-game adaptation. Not only does it possess interesting storylines that have kept audiences gripped for over two hundred episodes, it boasts a huge roster of lovable, eccentric heroes and villains, and more over-the-top ninja combat than you can shake a nunchuck at.

Around a year ago I reviewed Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 by CyberConnect2, and I wasn’t left disappointed. With the ability to play as practically every character in the series, and battle it out using their signature moves in settings familiar from the anime, it was everything a fan could ask for. Impressively faithful visuals during the action-packed fights and cut-scenes provided so much authenticity, it was easy to believe that you were literally watching the show. This wasn’t merely fan service, however; it was bloody good fun to boot.

Enter Naruto Shippuden 3D: The New Era. Produced by a different developer, Tomy, it brings everyone’s favourite hyperactive ninja to the 3DS for the first time. Unfortunately, if Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 was an example of how to do (mostly) everything right in a Naruto game, then The New Era is its antithesis. How did it all go so wrong? Read on to find out.

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Review: Splinter Cell 3D

I’m not entirely sure why, but it’s a weird fit seeing Splinter Cell listed among the small number of games available for Nintendo’s 3DS. Probably because it just doesn’t really strike me as a title that would get the best out of the system’s features, in the way that the others have.

Still, it’s a run of games that I’ve got a lot of fondness for, preferring it over the silly nature of Kojima’s convolution in the Metal Gear Series. With that in mind, I had no qualms about putting myself back in the shoes of Ubisoft’s favourite super-spy, just to let you good people know whether it’s a title worth buying into or not.

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Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Over the course of November 1998, one of the most important games of all time was released. Not just important for Nintendo, gamers worldwide or the industry (although it was important for all those things and more), but mainly for me personally… which is all that matters, really isn’t it? My well-being?!

It wasn’t so much just a good game as it was an industry milestone. Universally loved, beautifully crafted, full of charm and a joy to play; it’s still the game that many people (including those actively involved in games development) will point to as the pinnacle of game design. It was, and still is, one of those games that is truly timeless; a rare commodity in a day and age where ‘ground-breaking’ titles are forgotten as just quickly as they are hyped.

For me? If I tell you that it was the first game that enraptured me so much that I feigned illness from school for an entire week just to play it (sorry mum!), and one that for well over a decade I would play annually, it should probably tell you all you need to know about my feelings for this particular title. With the seminal game recently remastered and given the 3D treatment for Nintendo’s latest handheld, I was more than happy to delve back in and see if Ocarina of Time was still worthy of such lofty acclaim today.

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Review: Dead or Alive: Dimensions

The Dead or Alive franchise has recently been lacking in any titles that actually take its fighting roots seriously, opting instead for spin-offs making the most of its pretty girl characters and famous boob-jiggling physics. For the last few years, the majority of releases in the series have replaced brawling with volleyballing, special moves with sunbathing, and combos with camera voyeurism. Enter Dead or Alive: Dimensions, choosing Nintendo’s new 3D handheld as the platform on which to get the series back on track.

My review of Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition left me seriously impressed all round, so Team Ninja have got their work cut out to live up to Capcom. Should they have just stuck with totty and titillation? Are the series’ fighting foundations truly Dead, or still very much Alive?

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Review: Asphalt 3D

Asphalt is most well-known these days as the series of racers available for Android and iPhones. I have Asphalt 5 on my HTC Desire, which is okay for a quick mess-around but is ultimately plagued with bugs, irritating touch screen/accelerometer controls, and appalling performance issues. Thankfully, I don’t feel too short-changed, having only spent a quid on the game in a sale; not to mention that its usual asking price is only about £3 anyway.

Gameloft have now brought Asphalt 3D over to the Nintendo 3DS, and I have to say that having been transferred to a dedicated gaming console and had its price multiplied to an RRP of £39.99,  my expectations are higher than for its mobile phone-dwelling brethren. Let’s see if it delivers.

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Review: Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition

When you think of fighting games, one of the most popular brawlers that comes to mind is the Street Fighter series. Street Fighter started out in the arcades with modest success, but when Super Street Fighter II was released for home consoles and computers it blew everyone away and revolutionised the genre. After a sparse period of new games for the series, it recently had a real return to form with Street Fighter IV (and more recently Super Street Fighter IV), on 360, PS3 and PC.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is Capcom’s attempt to bring this comeback to Nintendo’s new handheld (not to mention, an attempt to over-inflate game titles far above a modest length). Will this fighter come out kicking on the 3DS, or could the reduction in screen size, graphical prowess and control layout cramp its style?

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Review: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

The Lego video-games, love ‘em or hate ‘em, are now a staple of the industry, with a variety of parodies that like to place well-known franchises within the Lego world and add a good dose of fun and humour to the mix. Batman and Indiana Jones have been Lego-ified and Pirates of the Caribbean is soon to receive the blocky treatment too, however, probably one of the most popular of the series is Lego: Star Wars. The third entry of this sub-series, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, is now here and as one of the relatively few 3DS launch titles available, let’s see if it’s a worthwhile purchase to keep you occupied on your shiny new handheld.

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Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo have always been the indisputable leaders of the handheld gaming market since the very first Gameboy Classic, and here they are yet again, ushering in the next generation of portable consoles with the Nintendo 3DS. Continuing on from the popularity of the first DS, the 3DS has two screens, one of them a touch screen, but as you’ll undoubtedly know by now, the real exciting development here is in its three-dimensional graphics that don’t even require glasses.

There is a lot riding on the release of this console, with the impressive-looking Sony NGP out later this year. Nintendo has to make an impact with the 3DS and use its earlier release to its advantage, to ensure that they continue their domination of the market. The continual evolution of mobile phones is also a concern, as the iPhone and Android platforms continue to spit out their deluge of portable games, which set the consumer back no more than a few quid at a time.

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Review: Sonic Colours

Sonic the Hedgehog is undoubtedly one of the gaming worlds most iconic characters. With a history of over 25 games in twenty years the series has pushed the boundaries of brilliance and also thrown up some complete turkeys. Sonic Colours is the latest entrant to the Hedgehog’s catalogue and in a bizarre twist of fate is exclusive to the Nintendo platforms of Wii and DS.

At a time when everyone is going Kinect mad it is fair to say that the Wii could really use a big Christmas title, so the question is can Sega’s big gun give Nintendo’s console a lift or does Sonic Colours just put another nail in the Wii coffin? Read on to find out.

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