Pickups! Metal Slug Anthology (Wii Version)

I picked up this fantastic haul on eBay this week. This Metal Slug Anthology was released for the Wii and PS2 and contains the following games.

Metal Slug

Metal Slug 2

Metal Slug X

Metal Slug 3

Metal Slug 4

Metal Slug 5

Metal Slug 6

That's a whole lotta slugs. For those unfamiliar with Metal Slug, it was a run-and-gun series of arcade games developed by SNK (also known their many-many fighting games). Metal Slug didn't necessarily re-invent the wheel when it came to shooters, but it had some amazing animation and wonderful attention to detail.

I was going to go for the PS2 version but it's over double the price of the Wii version, plus the PS2 version apparently suffers from poor controls. The Wii version boasts a number of different control schemes, some involving motion control (won't be using those), but for those with an earlier Wii model you can plug in a Gamecube controller and use that instead. 

I'm really pleased to have picked up the majority of the Metal Slug collection, and if you haven't played these arcade classics before you can download some of them on current generation consoles or PC (cough..or emulate them..cough).    

Splatfest

Splatoon held it's first European/Oceanian Splatfest over the weekend. Splatfest involves everyone choosing a team based on whichever 'thing' you like best; this weekend's choices were Rock music or Pop music, and then you duke it out in Turf Wars for 24 hours and see who comes out on top! So, what went down?

Uneven Teams and Communication Errors

In many multiplayer games, it's still possible to seize a victory even if you have a smaller team...but not so in Splatoon. If you lack the full quota of players you may as well quit out because you'll be in for a 3 minute pasting at the hands of your adversaries, and it's just not fun for either team involved.

This became a real problem during Splatfest as it was clear after a few games there just weren't enough Pop fans to make up the numbers (at least that was the impression I got). This either meant you were battling against fewer opponents (or more opponents), or the server played you off against another group from the same team as yours (which is just as annoying as there's no incentive).

There was also a number of communication errors which booted everyone out of a number of matches, which I must admit has rarely ever happened to me since the game launched.

PAR-TAY!!!

The Ink-lings sure know how to throw a party as Splatoon's hubworld was plunged into darkness for the Splatfest, and everyone was treated to a neon musical performance by the Squid Sisters (Splatoon's resident music stars). Every match was accompanied by fully voiced rocking tunes, it truly felt a like celebration and really livened up the atmosphere.

The Prizes Stink!

The whole point of Splatfest was to earn 'Spiky Shellfish', which you can use to modify your equipment. They'll either add another attribute slot to your existing equipment, or randomise your existing attributes if you already have the maximum four attributes for each piece of kit.

The only problem I had is that anyone who picked up the game at launch most likely have the maximum number of attribute slots filled on each piece of their gear (making the shellfish pointless). Of course you can randomise your existing attributes, but randomise doesn't always mean better. I'm aware that some Ink-lings may want to improve a particular piece of gear they like, but there seems to be a better equivalent for every single piece of kit in Splatoon (again, making the shellfish pointless).

It would have been much better if Nintendo had thrown in some unique equipment for everyone to win, thus raising the stakes and making the Splatfest a must-play event. Come on Nintendo, let me win a FLUDD that fires ink!

Global Test Fire

Well this took longer than expected but here's my Splatoon blog! The Splatoon Direct didn't reveal much we didn't already know, if you've been following the splatoon Facebook page that is. The Global Test Fire event however, allowed everyone to play Splatoon's Turf Wars mode for three hours, so what went down?

Turf wars

Splatoons main multiplayer mode is simple; 2 teams of 4 players compete to cover as much ground as possible with their ink before the enemy does. Defeating enemies offers no points, but your characters special abilities will charge much faster, which is imperative if you wish to gain the upper hand. The nature of Turf Wars encourages you to explore the map, making age-old pastimes like camping redundant as you won't benefit your team. Turf Wars is fast, fun and refreshing in what has been a stale genre in recent years.

Setting the Stage

Nintendo offered 2 maps to play during the global test fire, Walleye Warehouse and Saltspay Rig.

Walleye Warehouse has lots of maze like corridors with an open area in the middle, encouraging mayhem between the two teams as they battle for turf. There's also an upper level to allow for sneak attacks and the opportunity to claim a little extra turf that may just give the edge to victory. The only problem with Walleye Warehouse is that when one team takes the upper hand and forces the opposing team back toward their own base, turning the tables is almost impossible.

Saltspray Rig is a collection of walkways and platforms in the shape of a squid. The two teams start on opposite tentacles and work their way towards the head. It's a great map as there's opportunities for sniping, but make sure to watch your step as you can fall from the stage and into the sea.

Weapons

Splatoon has 4 weapons to choose from, each with their own secondary weapon and special ability. First the Splattershot JR; a small automatic weapon useful for scouting and defending an area from opposing forces. Along with this comes some powerful grenades and a bubble shield which can be shared to allies upon contact.

Next the Splattershot, another automatic which feels more like the default weapon (much more balanced). This comes bundled with water bombs (ink-bombs?) as a secondary weapon, and your special ability allows you to throw flurries of ink-bombs for about ten seconds.

The Splat Charger is a rifle that covers quite a bit of ground when claiming turf, but I found it incredibly tricky use, especially in close combat situations. Splat Charger users also come equipped with the same grenades as the Splattershot JR and you can throw flurries of them as your special ability.

Finally we have the Splat Roller, which is turning out to be a controversial weapon in Splatoon because it's hideously unbalanced but great fun to use.  You can claim great swathes of turf by rolling it along the ground or flinging it to claim vertical turf. It's really a melee weapon so you've got get in close to defeat your enemies, but once you do they go down instantly. The secondary weapon is a suction bomb however, I couldn't see much difference between this and the grenade. The special ability allows you summon an immense speaker that blasts some funky tunes, and throwing ink into the sound wave allows you cover huge areas of turf and defeat enemies.

All in all Splatoon is shaping up to be a brilliant shooter and a must-have title for the Wii U. There's still a few things to tweak as we slowly make our way towards launch, the Splat Roller in particular, but with free DLC, tons of unlockables, and not to mention the single player campaign; Splatoon is going to have you hooked for a LONG time.

The Global Test Fire is happening again on May 23rd, hope to see you on the battlefield!

Free Hat! Free Hat! Free Hat!

I wish they'd announced this before I pre-ordered Splatoon from Nintendo.

For those who pre-order Nintendo's colourful shoot em up from Game, you'll receive this sweet inkling hat! It doesn't mention if they have any different sizes, so hopefully it'll be one size fits all. And even if it's not you can always get a handmade one from etsy. :P

There's also going to be a Splatoon themed Nintendo Direct tomorrow at 3pm (UK time). I'll be at work so I won't catch it straight away, but I'll see if I can get a blog up about it on Friday. 

amiibo Touch & Play

amiibo Touch & Play is a free piece of software for Wii U, allowing you to unlock NES and SNES demos by scanning your amiibo figures. Each demo is random and is not based on the character you scan, for instance we scanned a Yoshi amiibo and unlocked the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The demos allow you to play a total of nine scenes from different sections of a game for a total of 3 minutes a scene. The peculiar thing is that Nintendo have allowed access to the final stages of a game, I was able start Super Mario World from the Valley of Bowser?!

amiibo Touch & Play is great for those who have invested in Nintendo's world conquering toys, enabling you to further your collecting addiction by chucking in these demos. It's a good idea for those who haven't played these classic titles before, but since I already own most of the original cartridges it's kind of wasted on me. If they throw in some GBA demos however, that'll be awesome.

Happy Birthday

It's one year to the day since I posted my first blog. 

\ ^_^ /

We've come a long way since that first post, and while there's been some stops and starts, I've had a blast putting the blog together and I'm looking forward to doing so much more over the next year. I'm currently busy working to restart the YouTube channel, hopefully sooner rather than later, and I'm also going to be updating my Soundcloud. :) The epic clear out is still going on but soon we'll have our studio space, and once it's ready everything should start to move a lot faster (I hope).  

On the gaming front I'm currently addicted to Super Smash Bros on Wii U, and I'm determined to collect every trophy in the game (I have 355 at the moment... only 364 to go). Meanwhile my 3DS has been commandeered by my wife to play Xenoblade Chronicles 3D... perhaps we'll have a little interview/review blog all about it. :P

I finally caved and pre-ordered Splatoon. I chose the bundle with the girl amiibo so I can look dashing in my school outfit. Only 25 more sleeps and the mayhem can begin!!!

And finally we must remember that it's May 4th; Star Wars Day! I have been working on a blog about the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront, originally how I was so looking forward to playing it. After much research however, it's looking like EA may have strayed to the dark side. More on that this week.

Mewtwo returns and amiibo woes

It's a been a while, so what's been happening?

Mewtwo Strikes Back!

Last week the Mewtwo download codes finally arrived for those who picked up both the Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros. Mewtwo is just like I remembered him back in the days of Super Smash Bros Melee, but now of course he has a final smash!

If you manage to outwit your opponents and nab the smash ball thingy; Mewtwo will transform into his Mega Evolution and blast his opponents with a devastating orb of energy (awesome). My characters of choice have usually been Bowser or Little Mac, but Mewtwo is slowly making his way into the fold.

No Squiddy amiibo for me :(

I left pre-ordering Splatoon a little too late and all of the Squiddy amiibo bundles are sold out. I'm holding out for another batch to appear on the Nintendo store, but if it gets to the final week and there's no joy then I'll grab a different bundle.

I must admit I'm pretty stoked for Splatoon finally arriving next month as it's shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of the year. The Wii U has been starved of an online shooter, but now prayers have been answered and Wii U owners are being treated to one of the most unique shooters I've seen in a long time.

Studio Progress

We've been clearing out some more stuff and you can finally see the floor, check out the photo! I'm hopeful the room will be cleared by June, but I may be holding off getting new kit until November...to coincide with the release of Star Wars Battelfront. :P

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

Speaking of Star Wars; I was dreading the upcoming film was going to be terrible however, the latest trailer has done it's job and I'm bloody excited. Drop whatever you're doing now and watch it if you haven't done so already!

A Quick Studio Update and Nintendo Direct

The new studio space seems to be on course for the June deadline, a lot of space will be cleared this month to make way for new furniture and kit. The only thing putting the deadline in jeopardy is the last Nintendo Direct. It was a non-stop roller-coaster of excitement as Nintendo pulled out all of the stops by announcing a huge variety of new releases, updates and more! Here's some of the highlights...

Super Smash Bros: Mewtwo and Lucas join the battle!

Mewtwo was a force to be reckoned with back on Super Smash Bros Melee for the Gamecube, and now he makes his long awaited return to the Super Smash Bros series this April! Mewtwo will arrive on April 28th for a fee, but if you registered both the Wii U and 3DS versions on Club Nintendo by March 31st; you'll receive a download code on April 15th.

Not only that but Lucas from Mother 3 will be making his way to Super Smash Bros on Wii U and 3DS in June! No price has been mentioned, so here's hoping Lucas will be part of a free update.

Super Smash Bros goes to the polls

Another huge announcement was the Super Smash Bros Fighter Ballot; where you can vote for a Nintendo character to appear in Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. Peppy Hare gets my vote, do a barrel roll!

New Amiibo waves in the Super Smash Bros series

May 29th- Charizard, Pac-Man, Wario, Jigglypuff, Greninja, Ness, Robin and Lucina

July- Dark Pitt and Lady Palutena

September- Bowser Jr, Dr Mario, Ganondorf, Zero-Suit Samus and Captain Olimar (YAAAAAAAY)

Amiibo's for Mewtwo and Lucas are also in works. ^_^

Super Mario Bros 30th Anniversary and Mario Maker

This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros, so to celebrate Nintendo are releasing Mario Maker; a game that will allow you create your own Super Mario Bros levels.

You can choose themes from a variety of Super Mario Bros games including Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros Wii U. Not only that, but you can upload your created levels for everyone to enjoy.

Yoshi's Wooly World and New Yoshi Amiibo

Yoshi will be making his return in Yoshi's Wooly World, a platform game where the entire world is made out of yarn and wool. It's a quirky idea that's already been used with Kirby however, Nintendo will also be releasing special Yoshi amiibo's alongside Yoshi's Wooly World. They're so cute!!!

Octodad and Don't Starve?

It's certainly been a long time coming but it's also a pleasant surprise. Octodad Dadliest Catch and Don't Starve will both be making their way to Nintendo eShop very soon.

Octodad sees you play as an Octopus trying to make his way in the human world and not reveal to everyone that he is in fact an octopus. This means you have to carefully guide Octodad through a variety of levels without smashing everything up or making a fool of yourself.

Don't Starve is a survival game where the objective is...don't starve. You have to guide your character through a world filled with monsters as you try to scavenge, farm and fight your way to survive. Also each purchase of Don't Starve will net you two copies of the game, so you can send one to a friend and survive together online.

This is only a handful of the many big announcements Nintendo made, so if you haven't watched the latest Nintendo Direct just click this link. ^_^

Studio update and Twitch Hacking!

The blogs have been inconsistent lately as I've been studying for some exams, decorating, setting up the studio and all the usual day to day stuff; so when I get home all I want to do is sleep. There's been a couple of moments where I've almost caved under the pressure and went to buy a PS4 to cheer myself up, but that would mean no PC and no YouTube videos for a long time (even longer than it's already been).

With that in mind, I thought it would be best to blog about the progress I'm making towards the studio to see how far I've travelled, and look back when it's finally done and say "thank God that's over with."

Last weekend I've arranged for a two huge pieces of furniture to be removed which will free up an enormous amount of space, the huge box of games from ages ago has at last been sorted through and the local charity shop now has enough stock to keep them going until Christmas 2020.

Now for some gaming related chit-chat. Yesterday I received an email from Twitch, as I'm sure many others did, stating my account may have been hacked and the following information may have been compromised.

Username

Password (which was cryptographically protected...whatever that means)

The last IP address you logged in from

The information below may have also been compromised if you have given it to Twitch.

Real name 

Phone number

Address

DOB

As a precaution Twitch are making you change your password, and your stream keys will have been expired (I don't use Twitch very often so I have no idea what this means). And if you're account was linked up to Twitter or YouTube you'll need to link them up again. Happy days.

Games on Club Nintendo Europe???

Club Nintendo Europe's Stars Catalog has been expanded with downloadable Wii U, 3DS, Virtual Console titles.

While downloadable games have been a staple on Club Nintendo US for some time, Europe has never been able to exchange stars for games. Here's some of the titles available at the time of writing...

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the. Past

Advance Wars

Chibi Robo Let's Go Photo

Pullblox World
Super Mario World

While it's great to finally see these games added to the Stars Catalog, hopefully there will still be more exclusive items on the way such as soundtracks and other merchandise.

Are you going spend the last of your stars on some games, or hold out for something else?  

Outrun in 3D!!!

I was always hopeless at Outrun...and I still am. Nevertheless I was looking forward to this 3DS remake of Sega's classic arcade racer and it finally rode in last week, so what does Outrun 3D have to offer under the hood?

Outrun 3D has two control options; the conventional buttons/joystick combo or ... a touch screen option? The touch screen is very weird and I'm not certain of how to change the gears when using it, but if touch screen is your thing then it's there (I'm just old fashioned as I like my buttons). Browsing through the options you'll find the controls are entirely customisable, which is great as accelerate has been defaulted to Y and I find it really unnatural (I prefer B).

For those who struggle at Outrun (like me), Outrun 3D has you covered with 5 difficulty levels and an option to extend the time limit between checkpoints. You can also start the game from any checkpoint if you want to master a particular track.

There's also an option for Old and New versions of Outrun? I don't understand this fully but they seem to offer different tracks, perhaps an Outrun aficionado might be able to explain this better (if there's any around please comment and let us know), but either way you're getting a huge variety of tracks with Outrun 3D. ^_^

There's 6 fantastic audio tracks available to cruise along to, plus a 5-band equaliser in the options menu with 5 programmable presets which is a nice touch. You can also tweak the environmental sound effects as well as the volume of your engine.

Any races you happen to be proud of can be recorded and saved however, you can only save one at a time and there's no option to upload them to a community site to perhaps show off your high-scores and best times, a missed opportunity.

And of course it wouldn't be Outrun 3D if it didn't have any 3D, right? While the 3D effect in Outrun looks great it can make you feel incredibly sick when there's more objects on the screen, especially as the game runs at 60fps which is twice the speed of the original game. I had to shut off the effect when driving through a level made up rows of pillars as I started to feel really dizzy.

Despite the dizzying 3D effects Outrun 3D is a great addition your 3DS collection. Thanks to its wide variety tracks, customisable options and its appeal to both the casual gamer, and the players competing for the highest score, it's certainly worth the £4.49 asking price.

Noggins Week Off

After an unexpected absence I'm back and I'm looking forward to writing many more blogs, starting with this one! So what's been happening?

We've been clearing space to make way for an office/studio, and progress has been going really well, in about 2-3 months I'm hoping to have the space and the kit to start recording videos for YouTube. It's all going to be gaming related but I'm wanting to do something really different as YouTube's gaming scene is really over-saturated, I have some ideas in mind but you'll have to wait to find out. ^_^

We also looked into picking up some microphones last week with the view to starting a podcast however, the local music shop changed it's name to PMT (seriously) and won't be open again for some time. Unfortunately this was the only local shop that offers an extensive range of microphones, so we went off and bought ukulele's instead!

I'm really enjoying playing the uke; as it feels much more relaxing than the guitar. I'm currently learning to play the Last of Us theme, the theme from the Cat Returns and of course, the FUN song from Spongebob Squarepants.

There's also been some decorating going on; my wife has taken some of the Club Nintendo Hanafuda Cards and made this amazing display!

Check back tomorrow for a quick look at Sega's Outrun for Nintendo 3DS!

It's Finally Here!

After nearly 3 months of waiting the Super Smash Bros. Soundtrack has finally arrived!

This double CD set contains a selection of 72 songs from the 3DS and Wii U versions of Super Smash Bros. In order to get the soundtrack you had to register both versions of the game on Club Nintendo by 31st January 2015.

Best track? In my opinion... Gerudo Valley from the Legend of Zelda. I'm going to play that on loop until the disk wears out. :P

Happy 15th Birthday PS2

It's hard to believe that it's been FIFTEEN years to the day since the PS2 arrived. The PS2 would end up being the biggest selling console of all time with a whopping 155 million units worldwide, and it was home to some of the most groundbreaking games of its generation.

I was a late adopter of the PS2 (I opted for Microsoft's Xbox), but I eventually picked up a bundle with an additional controller, Canis Canem Edit (also known as Bully), and Rampage World Tour. I think I got the whole lot for £90, bargain!

With that being said; here's some of my favourite PS2 games and memories.

Grand Theft Auto 3 ... D??? - When it was revealed GTA would be making the transition to 3D there was a lot of excitement. The controversial crime-a-thon's third game offered a huge city to roam around, a ton of vehicles, stacks of weapons and an engrossing story filled with action, betrayal and profanity. When the story was over you could attempt to seek out all of the hidden packages scattered throughout the city, or just take turns with a mate going on a rampage.

Half Life on Console!!!- Originally slated for Sega's Dreamcast, Half Life made the jump to PS2 when Sega bowed out of the console race. Half Life on console isn't anywhere near as good as the PC version (the loading times are terrible), but it did have some console exclusive features like a terrific split-screen multiplayer mode (Snarks FTW), and a co-op campaign called Decay.

Decay followed the story of two scientists that prepared the test sample for Gordon Freeman and thus triggered the Black Mesa incident. It didn't last very long but as it was exclusive to PS2 it made the game a must-have for Half Life fans, although it was just fun activating invincibility and shooting each other during cutscenes.

We Love Katamari- One of my all time favourite games; We Love Katamari is a wonderfully insane, yet simple, puzzle game where you have to roll up objects. You start off small by rolling up things like pencils and sweets, but towards the end of the game you're rolling up cities, countries and even the entire solar system! All of this was wrapped up in a brilliant J-Pop soundtrack and even included co-op multiplayer, which my wife and I played non-stop for months.

If you do somehow manage to collect everything in the game, you unlock one more quest to roll up 1 million roses. Unfortunately you can only roll up the roses in bunches of ten, so we may have to take a year off work in order to accomplish this.

Let me know your favourite PS2 moments in the comments. :P

Looks like a Zora, Swims like a Goron

What on earth is going on with the swimming mechanics in Majora's Mask 3D? I heard some stories that they weren't as good as the Nintendo 64 version, but I can barely control the bloody thing on 3DS.

The camera seems to wander wherever it likes when swimming underwater, if it was directly fixed behind Link there wouldn't be a problem, but it's like the cameraman forgot his flippers and is struggling to keep up. 

The extra joystick on the New 3DS doesn't even help. I'm already holding my thumb down on the A button to make Link swim; so I have to do some impressive thumb/finger gymnastics just to reach the joystick to have minor control over the camera. I have no idea if it's any better on the previous 3DS.

When I thought things couldn't get any worse, along came a mini game where you have to swim through numerous rings in a certain order. Oh joy. And just to make sure you're having the most hideously agonising time imaginable; all the rings have been rendered as solid objects rather than markers to simply pass through. So unless you pass through the ring's centre with reasonable accuracy Link glitches into it, until he's spat out, leaving you to slowly maneuver your way back for another go.

And another thing; why are the vertical controls for swimming inverted?! Link's meant to have transformed into some kind of fish/man hybrid, not an aeroplane!

Maybe I'm being too negative but I'm nowhere near finishing this segment of the game, so I have at least another 1-2 hours of this to go. Best get the coffee on. 

Game On 2.0

From 23rd May until 1st November 2015, the Life Centre in Newcastle are going to have the world's biggest collection of playable computer games from the last 60 years!

There's going to be consoles from the 70's, arcades, popular retro consoles/games, alongside a look at the design process for some of gaming's popular franchises like Pokemon and WoW.

There'll be exhibits looking at VR and thought interface technology (funky stuff), and how other media like movies and music have influenced gaming (and vice versa, of course).

I don't know about you guys but I'm really excited for this! Here's a link the exhibition page, see you on opening day. :P

Bringing Back the Funk

Toejam and Earl may be making a comeback as a crowd-funding campaign for a brand new entry to the series has launched on Kickstarter.

Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove will see the alien duo return to their roots with the RPG style gameplay of the original Mega Drive/Genesis classic. I've just watched the pitch video and the developer comments on Sega influencing the design choices of the second and third games, claiming Back in the Groove will be a true sequel to the first game.

The graphics have been changed to a comic book style and it looks pretty sweet. The game is currently in development for PC (Windows and Linux) and Mac, with a view to bring the game to other platforms but nothing has been confirmed at the moment.

Back in the Groove is promising 4 player multiplayer (AWESOME), new presents (with popular oldies returning), and also new earthlings (again, with some oldies returning).

There's obvious risks to backing projects on Kickstarter but the prospect of another entry to a much loved series is very exciting indeed! Here's a link to the Kickstarter page.

Skull Kid Figurine Unboxing

                                     

According to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the world needed to be saved in 72 hours. Well, this figurine took 2 weeks to arrive so it's a good job there isn't an angry moon crashing toward us.

The figurine however, is finally here so let's take a closer look!

The figurine comes packaged in a very plain white box, as Nintendo seem to package all of their figurines/trophies/toys, but it would have been nice to see some graphics on the box to liven things up. Once opened you'll find the figurine in a plastic cover which is easy to remove. 

The figurine itself is beautifully detailed but it seems quite fragile. It's made of plastic and upon closer inspection there's a been slight break on part of the Skull Kid's hat, which is a bit of a shame, so my advice is to take care and handle this figurine as little as possible.

                               

The base has the Majora's Mask logo across it, but the figurine can't be removed from the base.

All in all the figurine is great, with the detail on the mask being exceptionally well done, and it was an unexpected bonus, so I'm really pleased. ^_^

Now I leave you with a view of the rear.

The Boy and the Telescope

What about AR Cards?

I've owned a 3DS for a couple of years and I've never tried the Augmented Reality cards...until now. :P

There's a pack of 6 AR cards bundled with every 3DS, each depicting a famous Nintendo character. Once scanned with the 3DS camera, the character will appear as if it's in the room; it's a nice feature that has been strangely under-used.

There's also some additional AR cards bundled with Kid Icarus Uprising, so I decided to check these out and to be honest they're not bad. You need KI: Uprising in order to use them but the artwork is fantastic and when they're scanned the characters look great. And if you put two opposite each other they're meant to battle, but mine just seem to get into an awkward dance off.

You could pick up KI: Uprising booster packs to add to your card collection, there's apparently 412 cards in total, but I haven't clapped eyes on a booster pack in shops for a good while and naturally certain cards command high prices.

I'm wondering if Nintendo will produce any more AR cards, as it seems strange they only bundled a small pack with the system and made a Kid Icarus range, but not for any other franchise. I imagine a Pokemon AR card series or even an Animal Crossing series would fare amazingly well, then again with the launch of amiibos it's pretty doubtful Nintendo will bring out any more.

What do you guys think? Do you want to see more AR cards or are you happy with the new amiibos? Let me know in the comments.

Knackered

Well my manga skills may leave a lot to be desired (in fact they're crap), but I think my doodles aren't too bad. 

I've had a really long day/week/year so I thought I'd draw myself on the way to work tomorrow (I probably won't be this well dressed).

On the Lookout

I'm actually downsizing my games collection at the moment but there's always something I'm on the lookout for. Whether it's because of curiosity, or just something I've never been able to get my hands on, there's always something I'm searching for; so let's take a look.

The Firemen- I've played this before, and featured it in 100 Happy Gaming Days, but I've wanting to find a copy to play on my SNES. A Japanese copy is very easy to come across (but I can't read the language, although I'm learning), I've never seen an American copy and a European copy commands extortionate prices. 

I might have to face the facts, I may never track this one down. :(

Panzer Dragoon Saga- I want to play this one mostly because of it's reputation. It was a Sega Saturn exclusive RPG that spanned a whopping 6 disks and was meant to be brilliant, and again, commands high prices. You're lucky to find a copy with all of the disks intact.

Shaq-Fu- just kidding.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past- I already own a copy of this on the GBA, and I could just download it on Wii U, but I like to the play games on their native systems as I enjoy the experience. I would like a boxed SNES version, with the map and booklet, perhaps I could ask my parents to reinstate my pocket money.

Late Birthday Wishes

Well, this one snuck by me.  The classic sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf celebrated its 27th anniversary on 15th Feb 2015. The show follows the exploits of the hologram, Rimmer, the creature known as Cat, and Lister, the last human being alive (with the mechanoid Kryten joining the show full-time from series 3).

The popular show has ran for ten series and has a massive cult following, and there may be an eleventh series airing on Dave in Autumn 2015. YAY!

The show cropped up during my 100 Happy Gaming Days feature thanks to some great gaming related episodes, but here's 3 episodes guaranteed to make your smegging day.

1. Polymorph- A shape-shifting monster that feasts on human emotions is loose aboard Red Dwarf. The Dwarfer's have two choices; one take it on and kill it, or two... run away. Who's for two?

Best bit: The scene involving Lister's underwear is probably the most popular, but I like the scene with the crew trying to decide how to defeat the Polymorph. Each character has been drained of an emotion; turning Rimmer into pacifist and Lister into fearless lunatic, it's great.

2. Stoke Me A Clipper- Ace Rimmer returns to try and convince his cowardly counterpart to take up the role of the hero, and simply be brave, handsome and all-round magnificent. But is Rimmer up to the task?

Best bit- The brilliant opening scene with Ace Rimmer sky-diving on a crocodile and then causing chaos at Nazi army camp while riding a motorbike, all to save Princess Beryl.  

3. Meltdown- When Kryten discovers a transporter allowing the crew to quickly travel through space, they land on a mysterious planet inhabited by dictators, dinosaurs and celebrities. It turns out the planet is a theme park that's been abandoned for millions for years, and now there's an epic war between the forces of good and evil. The evil side has the leaders of the Third Reich, and the good side has Marilyn Monroe and Elvis.

Best bit- Any scene with Elvis, but also the scene where Lister witnesses the execution of Winnie the Pooh. 

Majora's Mask First Impressions

It's strange to think that to sell Nintendo's (sort of) New 3DS they bundle it with a 15 year old game. Sure, fans were pleading with Nintendo to re-release Majora's Mask, but is it the must have title/console seller Nintendo hopes it will be?

Well Majora's Mask has undergone a complete graphical overhaul, it looks incredibly sharp and the world of Termina looks wonderful, right down to the smallest detail. The characters have also been re-modelled and look indistinguishable from their Nintendo 64 counterparts.

The music of the Legend of Zelda series has always been a focal point, and MM is no different. You'll feel overwhelmed at the sheer volume of music present in the game, and it sounds brilliant in this remake.

I've mentioned before that I didn't play MM the first time around, so when the 3DS edition was announced I tried the GameCube port of the Nintendo 64 original. The save system in the port was a little confusing; with certain saves only lasting until I turned the game back on, and this coupled with a faulty memory card didn't help matters. Luckily every save point in the 3DS version is a definite save point, so no losing progress unnecessarily, and it certainly helps the games transition from the home console to the handheld platform.

The controls are very straight forward, MM is very easy to just pick up and play. The only frustration is that your inventory is only accessible via touch screen/stylus, and it really disrupts the flow of gameplay. So keep your stylus drawn at all times cowboy cos you're gonna to need it.

Majora's Mask was a stand out for the series thanks to it's foreboding undertones, which has been the subject of some great gaming theories, so it may be a draw for those looking for something different from the franchise. Plus Majora's Mask is chock full of unlockables and side-quests to keep you going for months, so I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Nintendo Anime Channel

Nintendo has released a new anime-on-demand streaming service exclusively for 3DS (but strangely not the Wii U). 

It's completely free and surprisingly stable, I was able to watch a couple of cartoons with no sign of lag or any other problems.

There's a handful of episodes available at the moment with Inazuma Eleven, Kirby: Right Back At Ya!!!, and Pokemon Advance.

I'm hoping Nintendo will release more of their back catalog when they expand the channel, some earlier Pokemon series would be pretty sweet. Right now though; the Nintendo Anime Channel is off to a great start but what shows would you like to see? Let me know in the comments. 

Happy Nintendo 3DS Day

The New 3DS console lineup was released today alongside Majora's Mask, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Ace Combat. So I thought I'd put together my Top 3 3DS games.

1. Super Smash Bros.

The perfect title to have on the go. There's just so much to unlock (characters, trophies, levels) the controls are excellent and local multiplayer is amazing (forget the online multiplayer though - plagued by lag).

2. Animal Crossing: New Leaf

In stark contrast to Super Smash Bros. we have Animal Crossing: New Leaf. A peaceful game where you play as the Mayor of your own town and you get to customise pretty much everything about it. It's not as demanding as previous entries to the series (thank goodness), but AC:NL is seriously addictive, you have been warned.

3. Kid Icarus: Uprising

A brilliantly dynamic shoot 'em up with stunning visuals and a heap of weapons to unlock. The best part though is the dialogue between the characters as it's wonderfully scripted and well voiced. Some found difficulty with KI: Uprising because of it's unusual control scheme; you hold the console with one hand and tap the screen with your stylus to shoot, I can imagine it's difficult for smaller hands but for a big kid like me I didn't have a problem. There's a bundle available with a stand which should make things more comfortable.

Can't Mask the Excitement

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D Special Edition arrived one day early...YAY!!! So let's take a look at the extra goodies on offer:

• SteelBook
• Double Sided Poster
• Majora's Mask Pin Badge

Steelbook Case

I don't own any SteelBook's but this is pretty nice. A lovely detailed image of Majora's Mask on the front, Skull Kid on the Back, and what appears to be an image of a map on the inlay. It's beautifully presented but I'm unlikely to use it as the game comes in its original packaging alongside the SteelBook, one for the collectors I guess.

Double Sided Poster

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but this is printed on very high quality paper and looks fantastic. I might get it framed and pop it on the wall.

Majora's Mask Pin Badge

I take back what I said in November because this pin badge is absolutely gorgeous. It comes in a great little presentation box, the engraving is incredibly detailed and it's been polished to the nth degree. Seriously, a lot of care and attention has been put into this.

Well, enough blogging about it because now I'm going to play it. Catch you guys tomorrow. ^_^