New DS and 3DS Games For January 2012...

January 2012 has officially begun, and with it comes a lot of new gaming titles for us to enjoy. This is the Mini Gamers January 2012 release calendar, a short guide to what should be available for our handheld consoles by the end of the month...

January 2012:

DS GAMES

JEWEL MATCH 2

Fans of Jewel Match will be treated to this brilliant sequel game, which is due to be released on the 13th of January 2012.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this game, it involves matching rows of similar jewels in order to accrue points. Other 'Match-3' games of this type include the Bejeweled series, which has become very popular over the past five years.

Jewel Match 2 will feature over 150 levels and two game modes. There will also be a chance for players to unlock new spells and other bonuses or build beautiful castles.

Another Match-3 game is Heroes of Hallas 2: Olympia, which should be heading to the Nintendo DS console on the 30th of January 2012.

Players take on the role of an ancient ruler of a place called Olympia. Players must compete in Match-3 games in order to gather materials that will in turn help to restore the land to its former glory and unlock lots more interesting bonuses.

January 2012:

3DS GAMES

CRUSH 3D

Although this game was originally considered for cancellation because of poor 3DS sales figures, it seems as though Crush 3D has had a reprieve.  Crush 3D is now scheduled for release on Friday the 13th January 2012.

Crush 3D is a new version of an existing PSP puzzle game, in which players can switch between a 2D or 3D world by simply crushing or flattening it.

The 3DS version promises over fifty challenging levels set across four separate environments. There is lots of bonus content to collect or unlock, and players can even use Streetpass to exchange gifts with friends.

WINTER SPORTS 2012:

Feel The Spirit

This is the first Winter Sports title on the 3DS, and it promises not to disappoint. Winter Sports 2012 features over fifty different challenges in six sporting disciplines. The game also features loads of slow-motion replays and unlockables.

Winter Sports 2012: Feel the Spirit is scheduled for release on the 20th January 2012.





REEL FISHING PARADISE 3D

Scheduled for release on January 20th 2012, Reel Fishing Paradise 3D has been rendered in full autostereoscopic 3D, to create a fishing simulation game like no other.

The game features fifteen different stages and features different fishing techniques, from Fly fishing to Bait fishing. Players must travel to different locations, where they can catch, keep and care for their fish in two 3D virtual fishtanks.

TALES OF THE ABYSS

The popular RPG game has its debut on the 3DS at last. Tales of the Abyss tells the story of Luke fon Fabre, sole heir to a family of aristocrats. Luke has been left with no memories of his past, following his kidnap almost seven years earlier.

  Luke has been kept sheltered and spoilt by his family since his return, but suddenly finds himself thrust into the outside world, by the  Order of Lorelei, keepers of the prophecy known as the 'Score'. 

 Luke must get along in this confusing and often hostile world. He knows nothing about those who might be his friends, or those who already are his enemies. Alone, Luke must learn of friendship and sacrifice, of duty and choice. Luke's actions could help to save the world in which he lives or destroy it.

Tales of the Abyss on the 3DS features special new animation and an 'ARTES' shortcut, which gives greater scope during battles. The game is scheduled for release on the 27th of January 2012.

Resident Evil: Revelations is scheduled for release on January 27th 2012. The game is set between the events of Resident Evil 4 and 5, and the game will seek to test players through a variety of game mechanics, including a limited supply of ammo, and more emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving.

Thus, that marks the end of our January 2012  DS/ 3DS release calendar. We hope that you have found it interesting. Remember to check back with the Mini Gamers blogsite for more news and reviews after the games are released.

Game of the Week: Super Mario 3D Land [3DS]

The Super Mario Bros franchise has FINALLY been given its first outing on the Nintendo 3DS. The game mixes 2D side-scrolling action, which is traditionally associated with Platformers, with new autostereoscopic 3D environments.

Although the 3D effects don't particularly aide the overall plot, the use of the 3DS gyroscope and the increased depth perception does mean that there is more of the environment to explore, and players may just find some Star Coins, (or Star Medals as they are now known,) hidden in some very unlikely places. There are three Star Medals to collect per level.

The way that the game switches with ease from 2D to 3D and vice versa really helps to keep players on their toes and is a truly refreshing way to play.

Power-ups also help to keep the game interesting. This time however, most of the minor traditional power-ups have been dropped, and only a few essential power-ups remain. The main power-ups in Super Mario 3D Land are as follows:

Super Leaf/Tanooki Suit - Turns Mario into a Tanuki type creature (Tanooki) and grants him the ability to float, fly and administer special spinning kicks etc.

The Boomerang Suit -  Gives Mario the ability to throw Boomerangs at his enemies and it can also be used to pick up Coins, Star Medals or other Power-Ups.

? Box Helmet - This item will only be found in the latter levels of the game. Although it will be disguised as an ordinary Question (?) Block, it will attach itself to Mario's body when hit and it will earn players some extra coins as Mario walks around the environments wearing it.

Poison Mushroom - This item can only be gained once you have completed the regular game and have accessed the Special Worlds portion of the game. This item will result in Mario characters losing a life if they touch it, so it is best avoided, but this mushroom can be destroyed by a fireball.

 This is a really fun game to play and can be quite challenging at times. One slight disappointment was that there are only two types of Boss fights: Aerial Fights against Boom Boom or Castle-based attacks against Bowser. Both of which are easy to overcome after a little bit of practise.

This brings us to the final criticism of Super Mario 3D Land, which is that the overall game seemed incredibly short and it would definitely not take Mario veterans longer than a day or two at most to complete the game's standard levels.

Nevertheless, it is a superb game which really does appear to have been made for use with 3D. In fact, had this game been released earlier, it would have probably single-handedly raised 3DS sales by about two-thirds. Truly a game worth owning. Overall Rating: 10/10.

Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 - What Can We Expect?

The final installment of Lego Harry Potter (Years 5-7) is about to land onto the PSP and Nintendo DS/DSi and 3DS consoles. What can we expect from the game, and will Harry's 3DS debut be as popular as the other Lego titles before him?

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 promises to be an family-fun, action-packed game from start to finish. Players can play through a total of twenty-four different events spread across the remaining titles of the Harry Potter books - Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and of course, The Deathly Hallows.

The game will also seek to build upon the various spells and incantations learnt in Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4  and will teach players to master more advanced magic including the Unforgivable Curses. in the fight against the evil Lord Voldermort and his army of Death Eaters.

The game will also introduce new locations including Godric's Hollow, The Ministry of Magic and Grimmauld Place, amongst others.

Although the gameplay varies very little between the various platforms, the 3DS version of Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 has the advantage of greater depth and stunning visuals to add to the adventure, and Mini Gamers sees no reason why this game shouldn't be as brilliant as the previous 3DS Lego titles - Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars and Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

Official UK Trailer

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is set to launch in the UK on Friday the 18th of November 2011. Look out for the full review of the game shortly afterwards.

Game of the Week: Starfox 64 3D [3DS]

The Star Fox 64 game, (which was actually a sequel to a  SNES game called StarWing,) was first released for the Nintendo 64 console in 1997, and now over fourteen years later, lead character, Fox McCloud and his intergalactic team is set to take flight again in order to stop his nemesis, Andross, from destroying the universe, and this time around, the whole battle will take place in full autostereoscopic 3D.

For those gamers amongst us who are old enough to remember the original version of the game, the worry here will most probably be that the game will be too familiar and thus not offer enough new content to entice them to purchase a 3DS version.

Nevertheless, there are a few subtle differences between the original version and the 3DS updated version, which does make this game a lot more challenging than its predecessor.

Vehicles in the game are mainly controlled via the Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad, which can sometimes feel a little bit awkward and difficult to move, however, for those brave gamers amongst you, Star Fox 64 3D also has the option of using the gyroscopic features of the 3DS console - by tipping the console left or right - which does enhance the gameplay and make it more believable, but can also slow down your progress through the various levels slightly.

As in the original game, players who perform badly during the in-game missions may find themselves  sent back to a previous (supposedly easier) level depending on how well they are deemed to have performed in the mission(s) included in each level.

However, in the 3DS version, this gameplay structure has been improved. Thus, players can now unlock different portions of the Star Fox 64 3D storyline depending on which characters you manage to locate and save during the missions, which does increase the game's replay value.

Having said that, the game's overall storyline remains virtually identical to the previous Star Fox 64 title, and for veterens of the series or hardcore gamers alike, it can be completed in under two hours of constant playing.

Nonetheless, the missions are fun and engaging, and the 3D graphics look really great and do seem to add to whole experience.

Furthermore, the game now features a new Score-Attack mode, which allows players to revisit any of their previously unlocked planets and try and gain a new high score. Again, this increases the game's replay value immensely.

The game also features a Multiplayer Mode for up to four players. Players can battle their family and friends in various aerial dogfights. The Multiplayer Mode also features new power-ups and weapons not used in the original version.

Unfortunately, the Multiplayer Mode does not include Internet capability, which means that it is restricted to local wireless play only. Nevertheless, the game does support the 3DS' Download Play function, which means that your friends can connect with their 3DS consoles, even if they don't own a separate copy of the game.

Overall, this game is a very good update of the original Star Fox 64 title. It makes excellent use of the 3DS capabilities and also includes some changes to the main gameplay mechanisms, which certainly ensures that the game can be replayed many times over.

Veterens of the Star Fox games will however find several familiar elements throughout the game, which may mean that the game is easier to complete than it will be for newbies to the series. Ultimately though, this 3D version of Star Fox 64 is a brilliant edition, which is not to missed. Overall rating:9/10.

Game of the Week: Dual Pen Sports

It is the latest sports title to appear on the 3DS, but Dual-Pen Sports certainly has one unique selling-point - The game is designed to be played with TWO styluses instead of one. As a result, the game even comes packaged with two unique green styluses of its very own.

There are seven sports included in the game: Boxing, Paragliding, Skiing, Football, Archery, Baseball and Basketball.

Each of the sports involves two distinct actions in order to complete them. This sounds complicated, but with a bit of practise, both actions will become second nature.

 For example, in the Basketball game, players must first tap the left side of the screen to catch the ball, and then slide the stylus in an upwards motion on the right side of the screen to shoot at the basket.

Each sport has two types of matches as well. Rank matches take place against a CPU opponent. The task here is to beat your opponents' rank.

 Please note, however, if you fail to successfully complete either of your two main actions, you will fail the round. If you fail for three rounds in a row, it will be 'Game Over', making Dual Pen Sports very challenging indeed!

The second type of match is a Score Match, whereby players try to score as many points as they can. This type of match also uses Score Multipliers.This is a lot of fun and adds loads of replay value to the game.

Each sport comes with a practise session before the main match, and has its own illustrated tutorial, which can be re-read at any time.

This is very helpful with sports such as Boxing, which contain two main actions for players to complete, (Strike Left and Strike Right,) but which also contains several optional actions that can be performed as well.

If you are concerned at the thought of playing a game with two separate stylus, then Mini Gamers can reveal that the game can actually be played just as easily with one single stylus, although the timing of each action may take a little more work this way.  

The game also features a Daily Challenge, these challenges will help players to hone their dual pen skills before competing in an actual match.

Each of the seven sports included can also be played against friends via the 3DS' local wireless settings.

 Unfortunately though, this will mean that each player will have to have their own copy of the game in order to play. Nevertheless, competing against real human beings does mean that you will get a chance to prove who the most ambidextrous amongst you and all your friends, which is an interesting contest.

Dual Pen Sports Trailer

In conclusion, unlike other sports compendium games, like Sports Island 3D, this game does not allow players to take part in complete sports matches, but rather consists of a set of sporting mini-game challenges, such as kicking the ball into the goal, or knocking out an opponent within three rounds and so forth. Thus, it may not appeal to the hardcore sporting fans amongst you.

Nevertheless, for those players who are looking for a unique, fun and challenging sporting title, which can be replayed again and again, then this is definitely the game for you. Overall rating: 10/10.

Super Mario [3DS] WILL be scheduled for UK Winter 2011 Release...

Finally, there is some definite good news for existing owners of the Nintendo 3DS console, the long-awaited Super Mario for the 3DS should hit UK stores in December of this year after all.

Originally, Mini Gamers reported that the game had appeared on the Play.com website as being 2nd of December 2012,  but this has since been changed to 2nd of December 2011. This is fantastic news for all those 3DS gamers who have been hoping that some of the big-name franchises would be released by the end of the year.

It also great news for fans of Mario's brother, Luigi, as he will be making his 3DS debut in December 2011 as well. Luigi's Mansion 2 [3DS] should be available to buy on the 2nd of December 2011. The 3DS version boasts new unlockable items and different mansions to explore.

There are, of course, three more Mario games which are yet to be given accurate Nintendo 3DS UK release dates: Paper Mario, Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Mario Kart 3D are all expected to be out some time in early 2012, so watch this space!

It certainly sounds as though Nintendo is listening to concerns from 3DS gamers, who have been worried about the recent 3DS game cancellations and price drop.

Hopefully the first two mario-related 3DS games (if they are not delayed in any way) will inspire some more gamers to consider purchasing a Nintendo 3DS console in time for the Christmas rush, and also means that some lucky Mario fans might be waking up to find two new games in their stocking!

Remember to keep checking in with the Mini Gamers blogsite for more news on these games as it occurs.

Why Have These Popular 3DS Games Been Cancelled?

It has only been four months since the Nintendo 3DS launched throughout the UK and the rest of Europe, but already several top video games publishers have announced that they are cancelling their up and coming titles for the handheld console.

The list of 3DS games which have been confirmed as having been cancelled includes the following:

Saints Row: Drive By

My Garden

Assassin's Creed:  Lost Legacy

Mega Man Legends 3

Bomberman

Tetris 3D

Omega Five

As well as the above confirmed cancellations, there are also four more games whose production has been halted, pending decisions on whether to cancel them or not. These games are as follows:

DJ Hero (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

Crush 3D (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

Shinobi (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

BloodRayne: The Shroud (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

It is unclear why  many of these games have been axed, but what is even more worrying is that these titles come from big-name franchises and developers, and thus should have been extremely popular upon their release.

However, Sega has come forward and announced that it has chosen to delay their pre-released games, Crush 3D and Shinobi because of potential poor sales of the Nintendo 3DS console.

Studio Chief, Paul Mottram spoke to GameIndustryBiz about the cancellations recently. He said: "we're finding that everyone is not knowing what platform is going to succeed - we did our first 3DS title - we got Crush onto that, but we had to delay the release of that because of the success of the platform." [sourced from: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-07-14-nights-at-the-roundtable-interview]

Assassin's Creed: Legacy cancelled? Why?!?

The cancellations are also going to mean big gaps in the current 3DS release schedule, meaning that Nintendo 3DS users will have to wait even longer before new titles become available.

Nevertheless, It seems as though some of the cancellations have nothing to do with the Nintendo 3DS at all, but are rather the unfortunate consequences of major shifts within the video games industry instead.

For example, DJ Hero for the 3DS has reportedly been delayed, pending cancellation, because Activision is eventually planning to cease production of ALL its music-related game series, including Guitar Hero for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox because of: "Continued Declines in the Music genre..." [sourced from: http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/23615/news/dj-hero-axed-alongside-guitar-hero/]

Furthermore, according to a recent article on the CVG website, new 3DS titles like Bomberman and Tetris 3D, which were going to be developed by Hudson Soft, may have in fact been cancelled because of a company shift in which Hudson Soft has now become a wholly-owned, (as opposed to partially-owned,) subsidary of Konami, but this has not yet been confirmed.

However, even if this is the case, it still does not explain why other well-known videogame developers including EA (My Garden), THQ (Saints Row: Drive By) and Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy) have all cancelled their 3DS projects as well.

These game cancellations certainly do not bode well for the future of the Nintendo 3DS. An article for Kotaku.com summed up the problem nicely: " If developer after developer jumps ship, what kind of message does it send studios thinking about making a 3DS title?" [Sourced From: http://kotaku.com/5822519/whats-with-all-the-cancelled-3ds-games]

Mini Gamers is very disappointed to learn that these cancellations have occurred. The hope of the 3DS now rests with the other highly-anticipated game titles such as Resident Evil: Revelations, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, Kid Icarus: Uprising, StarFox 64 3D, MarioKart 3D, to name but a few.

However, it has to be said that with many of the above games not being released until Winter 2011 at the earliest in Europe, 3DS gamers could be in for a long and boring wait before something truly interesting comes along.

Let's just hope that these games can do enough upon their release to promote and secure the Nintendo 3DS' dominance in the handheld gaming market over the next twelve months or so.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

What do you think of the above cancellations?

Do you think these cancellations will harm the Nintendo 3DS' reputation?

If you would like to share your opinions with other readers on the blogsite, then please leave your comment in our comment's box. We appreciate your thoughts.

Nintendo 3DS Game Release Calendar: July 2011- Dec 2011

A list of new 3DS games with potential 2011/2012 North-American release dates has recently come to light on the Internet. The list gives details of upcoming 3DS games along with their currently scheduled North-American release dates.

The leaked Nintendo schedule contains a few titles that already feature in the pre-order sections of many online shops at the moment, but also contains a few interesting titles that we did not know about.

 It has to be said that some of the games shown in the list are North American releases only, and there does not seem to be any UK equivalent release date at all.

How The Calendar Is Arranged:

As Mini Gamers has attempted to modify the 3DS release date list in order to include confirmed UK 3DS release dates as well, you might notice some slight differences between our calendar and the original list. We have tried to make the calendar as easy to follow as possible by implementing the following rules:

•  In order to distinguish between the North-American and UK release dates, we have included either (NA) or (UK) alongside the relevant titles.

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• Where the UK date has been confirmed as being in the same week and/or month as the North-American release of the game, we have only listed the UK release date in order to avoid confusion.
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• Where the North-American release date for a game has been generalised, (ie. FALL 2011) but the scheduled UK release date has been given in full (ie. 07 July 2011), we have given the UK release date only, in order to avoid confusion.
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• Where the release date for a game has been generalised (ie. FALL 2011), and there is no UK release equivalent, we have placed the game title in the most likely month for its release, (ie. Fall = October etc) but we have listed the game as 'FALL 2011 TBC'.

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• Where a game has two separate release dates (ie. the same game is released in different months of the year) we have listed the game twice in its respective release month and used the (NA) and (UK) symbols to differientiate between the two versions.

It is impossible for Mini Gamers to list all the various pre-releases, so we have ommitted some of the games which have already been highly publicised, but there were a few 'surprise' titles that piqued our interest, which we felt were definitely worth a mention.

 Here we summerise the most interesting new 3DS pre-releases, along with their planned release dates. Please note, however, that all release dates are approximate, and may therefore be subject to change.

3DS GAMES July-Dec 2011

 JULY

Resident Evil: The  Mercenaries 3D July. 1 (UK)

Dream Trigger 3D July. 15 (UK)

MAHJONG CUB3D™ July. 19 (NA only)

AUGUST

Cave Story 3D Aug. 9 (NA)

Shin Megami Tensei® :Devil Survivor Overclocked™ Aug. 23 (NA only)

 

PAC-MAN® & GALAGA® DIMENSIONS Aug. 26 (UK)

James Noir's Hollywood Crimes™ Aug. 30 (NA)

 

Driver® Renegade Aug. 30 (NA)

 

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights SUMMER 2011 (NA)

SEPTEMBER

DualPen Sports Sept. 2 (UK)

Driver® Renegade Sept. 2 (UK)

Face Racers Photo Finish Sept. 2 (NA only)

                                        

StarFox 64 Sept. 11 (UK)

FIFA Soccer 3D Sept. 30 (UK) 

OCTOBER

Thor: God of Thunder FALL (NA), TBC (UK)

Captain America: Super Soldier FALL (NA), TBC (UK)

FIFA Soccer 12 FALL (NA)

 

Tetris 3D OCTOBER (NA - TBC)

The Hidden Oct. 4 (NA ONLY)

WRC: World Rally Championship Oct. 7 (UK)

 

Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic Oct. 11 (NA ONLY)

 

Pet Zombies Oct. 11 (NA ONLY)

Imagine® Fashion Designer Oct. 11 (NA ONLY)


Order Up! Oct. 14 (UK)



Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Oct. 14 (UK)



The Sims™ 3 Pets Oct. 21 (UK)



Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn Oct. 21 (UK)

Cute Puppies Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

 

Horses 3D Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

NCIS (working title) Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

Imagine® Babyz 3D Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

Michael Jackson The Experience Oct. 25 (NA)

Dr. Lutrec and the Forgotten Knights Oct. 28 (UK)

James Noir's Hollywood Crimes™ Oct. 28 (UK)

 

NOVEMBER

Raving Rabbids® 5 (working title) Nov.1 (NA ONLY)

One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP Nov. 1 (UK)

Disney's Magical Star (3DS) Nov. 1 (UK)

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 Nov. 4 (UK)

Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D Nov. 4 (UK)

Reel Bass Fishing 3D Nov. 4 (UK)

 

Cooking Mama 4 Nov. 11 (UK)

Farm (working title) Nov. 15 (NA ONLY)

Sonic Generations Nov. 15 (NA), TBC (UK)

Need For Speed: The Run Nov. 18 (UK)

 

Tales of the Abyss Nov. 18 (UK)

Cave Story Nov. 25 (UK)

DECEMBER

Resident Evil: Revelations Dec. 2 (UK)

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Dec. 2. (UK)

Gundam Dec. 2 (UK)

Super Mario 3D Dec. 2 (UK)

Luigi's Mansion 2 Dec. 2 (UK)

Mario Kart 3D Holiday (NA), TBC (UK)

 

There you have it, several new 3DS games, which will apparently be released by the end of the year. We were pleased that  popular games such as FIFA Soccer 3D and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 made the list, as well as many more besides.  

 As always, it is impossible to give accurate release dates as they tend to change so often, but we are hopeful that the information presented here is correct at the time of publication.

We have also used a reputable retailer for the scheduled UK dates (where listed), so we are confident that these dates are as accurate as possible. If you would like to read the original list, please click HERE.

Remember to check in with the Mini Gamers blogsite regularly for updated news about these games as it happens.