Game of the Week: Disney Magical World [3DS]

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live amongst some of your favourite Disney Characters? If so, then this game is absolutely perfect for you...

Disney Magical World is a new Life Simulation game, which allows players to explore the Disney universe in a new and exciting way. Players begin their adventure in Castleton, where they will settle in to their own room and be able to visit the local cafe. This is also where they will find the magical World Gates, which will allow them to journey to other worlds populated by over sixty best-loved Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Donald Duck and many, many more.  

Players can create a new character for the game or use an existing Mii character. They can then choose how they play the game, from collecting and using different materials for furniture and wallpaper, to eating various snacks, Do favours for your new Disney friends by fetching their requested items, or going on special 'ghost-hunting' quests to collect stickers and open up new areas of the map to explore.

Having Trouble viewing this trailer? CLICK HERE

Disney Magical World has already launched in North America and Japan, and has so far been considered a successful addition to the Disney Videogame franchise, shipping more than 500,000 copies since March this year. [sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Magical_World#Reception]

Disney Magical World is a fun interactive game which will appeal to old and young Disney enthusiasts alike. The customisation options and expansive game map make it very enjoyable. Furthermore, there is the chance to gain further bonus items via Spotpass, such as new outfits and furniture, and there are also items which can be purchased from the Nintendo eShop, including an entirely new world to explore!

Thus,  Disney Magical World is likely to keep gamers interested for quite a long time. This is a fantastic title, complete with some very good animated cutscenes and voice acting. Definitely one for the top of the Christmas List this year. Overall Mini Gamers rating: 8/10.

Disney Magical World is available to buy from the 24th October 2014.

The PlayStation Experience Is Coming And You're Invited!!!

Sony has today announced that it will be holding its first ever PlayStation Experience. The community event is due to take place in Las Vegas between the 6th and 7th of December 2014 and will be open to anyone aged eighteen or over.

Attendees will get the chance to sit in on many in-depth panels, meet some of the industry’s best developers, get an exclusive first look at what’s coming next in 2015, and they will also have the opportunity to purchase rare collectibles directly from their favourite game studios,

 Ticket prices are still being finalised, but are expected to cost around $50 ( approximately £31) for a one-day pass, or $90 (approximately £56) for the two-day pass.

It certainly sounds like an amazing time for those gamers who are lucky enough to go! Nevertheless, for those gamers who won't be able to attend the event in person, the PlayStation blog will have live coverage of the event from start to finish, including breaking news and  live video streams through multiple distribution channels.

More news about the event, including the programming schedule, Streaming times and finalised ticket prices is expected within the next two weeks, so remember to check in with Mini Gamers for more news about this event as it occurs.

Introducing Some VERY Weird But Wonderful Super Smash Bros. 4 Characters...

 Nintendo's Super Smash Bros is an incredibly long-running franchise, but for those gamers who are still unfamiliar with it, Super Smash Bros. is one of the leading crossover fighting games, which is known for its wacky cast, who are all well-established characters from other Nintendo games.

With the fourth edition of the franchise making its 3DS début today, Mini Gamers thought we would take the opportunity to introduce you to some of the more obscure character choices for this edition of the game, and let you know what precise 'Special moves' they each have to offer in battle.

1. The Wii Fit Trainer:

It would not be usual to find a fitness trainer locked in battle, but this trainer has some seriously enviable battle moves. Originally from Nintendo's popular Wii game, Wii Fit, this average-looking female comes with some seriously impressive special moves, which, as you'd expect, are all based around the idea of fitness and exercise:

Wii Fit Trainer: Special Moves

•  Sun Salutation: this attack is a powerful, savable projectile attack. 

•  Header: the Trainer pulls out a soccer ball and headbutts it at a downward angle. It remains on the battlefield for others to hit. 

• Super Hoop: a recovery move that entails the Trainer hula-hooping upwards. Applies damage to any opponents who are hit. 

•  Deep Breathing: this attack raises the power of the Trainer's other attacks. 

2. Villager:

These little guys and girls (two each for each gender) have travelled from the world of Animal Crossing. Villagers have some very cute attacks, including catching opponents in their bug net, etc. However, Villager's special moves are quite impressive.

Villager's Special Moves:

• Pocket: Villager can keep any projectile or weapon he collects during the game hidden in his pockets for later use. 

• Lloid Rocket: a move with involves launching the Gyroid, Lloid, sideways. The Villager can choose to ride on him, which increases its damage. 

• Balloon Trip:  Villager uses two balloons to fly. Villager will sustain some damage if the balloons are popped by opponents. This move does 4-7% damage. 

•  Timber: Villager plants, waters, and chops down a tree, which hits opponents as it falls, even bouncing off near edges to lower areas. However, the tree can be destroyed by other characters, and is a fairly slow move to use altogether - using the move once only advances through one of the four stages (plant, water, first chop, second chop), so having it actually deal damage takes four total usages in the same location. The axe can be swung during the chop stages regardless of distance from the tree, as long as that Villager's grown tree currently exists on the map.

The Mii Fighters can be split into three distinct catergories, depending on their chosen fighting style:

• Mii Brawler has more fist-driven special attacks.
• Mii Swordfighter has more sword-based moves.
•  Mii  Gunner uses guns.

The Miis all have various weapons and special moves at their disposal, depending on which type of Mii Fighter they are. Mii Fighters are entirely customisable - from their height and width, right down to their individual moves. Each Mii Fighter type has four special moves, and each special move has three options. This makes the Mii fighters one of the most unique class of fighters in the game. 

The fact that Mii Fighters can be a Mii of anyone that you can think of, also has the possibility of quite humorous match-ups. The Mii Fighters individual fighting styles can be seen in these following video:

Having trouble viewing this trailer? CLICK HERE

Mii Fighters can not be selected for the online multiplayer battles, but is available for local multiplayer battles against friends and family members. Female Mii Fighters can also wear skirts instead of trousers.

That concludes our introduction to some of the newcomers in Super Smash Bros 4. The 3DS version is definitely a great addition to the existing franchise, and it is likely to be a best-seller in the Christmas gaming market.

What do you think of the Super Smash Bros. newcomers? Who is your favourite? Please feel free leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts.

One To Watch: Fantasy Life [3DS]

Fantasy Life is a new 3DS game in which players can choose to play as not one - but twelve - distinctly different characters. The game has been brought to you by Level 5 inc. the team behind the hugely successful Professor Layton franchise, and it has all the makings of another massively popular game series. 

The game is set in the fictional world of Reveria. Players start out as by customising a generic Avatar. Players may alter the gender, body type, skin colour, hairstyle, face shape, eyes, and voice of their chosen character.

Once the new Avatar has been created, they will take on the role of an innocent young man or woman who has recently arrived in a brand new town. Players must choose a career path for their Avatar, (known as a 'life' within the game,) by which to earn their keep and pay off their new landlord, etc. Players must pick an initial life to start with from the twelve types listed below:

• Hunter
• Cook
• Miner
• Angler
• Alchemist
• Paladin
• Magician
• Woodcutter
• Tailor
• Mercenary
• Blacksmith
• Carpenter

This chosen 'life' will help you develop new skills, such as digging for fossils, precious metals and gemstones (Miner), or saw any logs that have been collected into snazzy new furniture and other items (Carpenter). However, the game's most interesting feature is that players can choose to swap between all twelve lives. Each new life is governed by a 'Life Leader', who will be instrumental in teaching the main character his or her new craft.

Once players have become reasonably proficient in their current life, they will be offered the opportunity to swap to a different life, whilst keeping any skills and materials that have been collected from their previous one.

For example, players who start out as a Miner in the game can collect rare metals and ores, and then they can swap to the Blacksmith life and learn to create weapons such as swords from the metal ore that they had collected as a miner, and then they can swap to the Mercenary life and use the swords they created to battle the town's most fearsome monsters, including a fire-breathing dragon! Thus, players can use the skills they gain from various lives to progress throughout the game.

The varied lives keep the gameplay interesting and engaging. When players are not busy slaying one of the local monsters, they must use their current life skill to help the various townsfolk with their problems, players can earn money and stars this way, which will gradually increase their skill levels.

There are three different types of currency in the game:

• Dosh - this is the main currency in the game and is used to buy and sell goods.

•  Bliss - is gained by swapping lives and visiting new areas of the game map. Bliss allows you to gain upgrades to weaponry and armour or allow you to get a pet for your home.

• Stars - These are awarded to the player and allow a character to advance in his or her current skill level.

Having trouble viewing this trailer? CLICK HERE

Fantasy Life has a regular day and night cycle, which helps keep things realistic. There is also a massive game map with several new environments to explore and new monsters to battle.

Furthermore, the game features both local and online multiplayer 'Co-op' modes, so players can choose to  battle the fearsome monsters that threaten Reveria's safety side by side with up to four friends at any one time. Even better, online multiplayer has its own chat feature that lets you send messages to other players as you explore the realm together.

However, the fun does not stop there, because players can also choose to expand the experience by purchasing special expansion packs, which can be downloaded directly from the Nintendo eShop. These expansion packs are set to retail at around £7.18 and will provide players with new areas to explore, extra costumes for character customisation, new materials, ranks and recipes, new pets, plus much, much more.

In conclusion, Fantasy Life is a very enjoyable game that will appeal to RPG fans of almost any age. The colourful, quirky graphics and gentle plot will almost certainly appeal to younger gamers, whilst the subtle intricacies of the gameplay coupled with the lure of expansion packs and an online multiplayer experience are likely to appeal to the more mature RPG fan too. Overall Mini Gamers rating: 8/10.

Fantasy Life is available to buy from all good video-game retailers now.