Game of the Week: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds [3DS]

 

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was finally released in the UK today. The game marks the seventeenth title in the very popular gaming series The Legend of Zelda, and is the first game in the series to be developed specifically for the 3DS.

Link

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this fantasy epic, the series centres primarily on Link, who is the only playable character within the game. Link is best known for his rescue of a fair maiden called  Princess Zelda, the leader of the world of Hyrule, from Ganon, a Gerudo thief who is the primary enemy in the series.

Princess Zelda

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds indirectly follows on from the 1991 Super NES title, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, in this game, the usual villian, Ganon, has long since been sealed away by a group known as the Seven Sages, and peace has seemingly returned to the land of Hyrule.

However, an evil wizard called Yuga has recently begun tracking down the descendants of the Seven Sages and turning them into paintings, in order to use the power of the Triforce for himself. It is up to Link to locate Yuga and find a way to rescue those sages who have been turned into paintings before it is too late...

 

Although The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds takes place in the same world as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, there are lots of new exciting elements which help to mark a clear distinction between the two games. For example,  although the game environment is largely the same as that featured in A Link to the Past, all the dungeons are totally new, and the game features several new puzzles to solve.

The game's magic meter now refills automatically instead of requiring the player to collect potions in order to refill it. Furthermore, the magic meter now replaces the previous ammunition system for Link's bow and bombs, as well as being used to power other items and special abilities, such as the magic hammer attack.

Several items from A Link to the Past do return in this game, however, including Link's trusty bow and arrow for shooting enemies long distance, his projectile-shooting sword and his shield, as well as the mallet which allows Link to knock down pegs in the ground, and the Fire Rod which helps to create a firestorm.

Furthermore, these weapons can now be rented for a small amount of Rupees (the in-game currency) from Rovio's Shop, which gives Link a much better chance of defeating enemies earlier in the game.

 There is one catch, however, if Link gets defeated in a dungeon, he loses all of his rented items. nevertheless, these items are available for purchase later, assuming that players have enough rupees to do this.

A major new power for Link in this game is the ability to enter walls and become a painting himself in order to move along certain walls and passages and to reach new areas. This ability also allows Link to enter cracks in walls to move between the world of Hyrule and a mysterious alternative universe, known as Lorule, which has its own princess (Princess Hilda) for Link to rescue from the evil Yuga.
Drawings of hearts and rupees can also be found on these walls, but can only be collected when Link is transformed into a painting himself. Using any of these abilities or items will also cause Link's meter to deplete over time.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds also takes advantage of the 3DS' StreePass abilities. Once StreetPass is enabled, other players will appear in your game as Shadow Links. When you approach a Shadow Link, you can do battle with the character and reap special in-game rewards if you win.

In conclusion, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a really interesting game. The stereoscopic 3D really does add new depth to the game's environments, especially when exploring the dungeons.

The game will be instantly familiar to fans of A Link to the Past, but has enough new content to make it enjoyable to both old and new fans alike.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is available to purchase now from most videogame outlets, or as a digital download from the Nintendo eShop,  and even as a special bundle with the Legendary Gold Nintendo 3DS XL. If you liked the previous Legend of Zelda games, then this is definitely a must-have for your collection. Overall rating:10/10.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy Review [3DS]

It has been hailed as the end of an era for one of Nintendo's most successful  adventure game series to date, but Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy has now made it to the UK. This is the sixth game in the series, and is apparently the last ever game to feature Professor Hershel Layton and his companions. So, what does the final Layton adventure have in store for its fans?

The main story sees Professor Layton, Emmy and Luke embark on the search for a 'living Mummy', said to be located in the icy environments of Snowrassa. Once there, they encounter a young girl (Aurora), frozen in the ice.

After freeing the young girl from the ice that has entombed her, Layton and co. quickly realise that she has no memory of what has happened to her. The search for clues to Aurora's past takes them on an exciting journey through cities, islands  and even jungles until they finally discover the truth about Aurora and her links to an ancient civilisation known as the Azrans.

Along the way, Layton is hampered by his old foe Jean Driscole, (AKA The Masked Gentleman,) who fans last met in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. Driscole wishes to utilise the power of an Azrans for himself. He is also joined by a new enemy, a mysterious organization named Targent, who have recently taken possession of an Azran relic known as The Azran Legacies in the hope of also utilising its strange powers. Can the Professor and his friends locate the item before it falls into the wrong hands?

Gameplay in Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy follows a very similar format to its predecessors in terms of touchscreen controls, Hint coins, Hidden puzzles and unlockable mini-games.

Nevertheless, this game also features 500 new types of logic puzzles for players to solve, which will greatly improve the game's replay value. Furthermore, the game also involves travelling to lots of different locations around the world including the United States of America, South Africa, and Russia. The puzzles themselves are also embedded within the main plot much more subtly this time around and seem to fit the overall narrative much better.

The three new mini games are also likely to please fans of the series:

Nut Roller sees players assume the role of a squirrel, who must successfully guide a walnut around a 3D grid, rolling boulders and acorns in order to guide the aforementioned nut towards the goal tent.

Blooms and Shrooms sets a unique gardening challenge in which players must carefully place special cross-pollinating flowers in order to encourage growth and make the garden blossom into life, without disturbing the already placed mushrooms.

Dress Up is a mini game that we feel is best suited to younger Layton fans, in which the aim of the game is to find suitable clothes for each of the non-playable characters, based upon the request.

All in all, it is clear that Level 5 inc. have really pulled out all the stops for this game, and as a result,  Professor Layton's final adventure could not be more epic. Mini Gamers is sure that fans of the series will find it a fitting end to a very popular gaming series, and a game that is well worth playing. Overall rating: 10/10

PS Vita Update: ICon Changes, PS4 link button and Parental Controls Given New Feature...

Yes, there has been yet another system update for the PS Vita console this week, and with it, users may notice some interesting changes to their normal PS Vita icons. Here is what has been updated in system update 3.00:

 (PS4™ Link)

The (PS4™ Link) application has been added. With this application, you can use your system to remotely control a PlayStation^®4 system. When you are playing a game on the PS4™ system, you can also display information from that game on your system using the second screen feature.

(Parental Controls)

The (Parental Controls) application has been added.
 Users can now manage the overall length of time that children and teenagers can play on the console, as well as set and manage the types of games and videos that children and teenagers can have access to. It is also possible to restrict access to some of the PS Vita's other applications such as the Internet browser, for example.

(Photos)

(Panoramic Camera) has been added to the camera application. Camera enthusiasts can now make use of the new Omnidirectional, Tall and Wide modes to take panoramic photos. As with the standard camera images, it is also possible to view the panoramic images you have created, and it is also possible to attach the created images to your messages in order to send them to other Vita users.

(Friends)

The application layout has been improved.

(Messages)

The (Group Messaging) application name and icon have been changed to (Messages).

The application layout has been improved.

You can now send and receive messages with friends and players who use PS4™ systems or PlayStation^®App.

Users will also receive 'Game Alert' messages for games that they play online etc.

(Party)

The icon for the (Party) application has been changed to (Party).

You can now voice chat and text chat with friends and players who use PS4™ systems.

PSN^SM

 The "PlayStation^®Network" has been renamed "PSN^SM".

(Email)

You can now sync the contacts saved in your email account from services such as Gmail™ (Google's email service) or Yahoo! Mail, and then use, edit, or delete these contacts on your system. To sync your contacts, you must adjust settings for your CardDAV account.
Select (Contact List) > (Options) > [CardDAV Settings] > [Add CardDAV Account], and then follow the screens.

(Content Manager)

You can now use Wi-Fi to connect your system with a PS3™ system, and transfer data between them.

Connect the PS3™ system to a wireless access point, and then connect the PS3™ system with your system using the access point. Your system and the PS3™ system must be connected within the same network.

• To use this feature, the system software of the PS3™ system must be version 4.50 or later.

When copying PSP™Game software from a PS3™ system to your system, your system now checks if update data is available. If available, it is automatically downloaded.

• To use this feature, the system software of the PS3™ system must be version 4.50 or later.

(PS3™ Remote Play)

The (Remote Play) application name and icon have been changed to (PS3™ Remote Play).

(Sourced from: http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/psvita/)