One To Watch: Tomodachi Life [3DS]

Nintendo has today revealed an exciting new  Life Simulation game, Tomadachi Life (Tomodachi is the Japanese word for 'friend'), which will be released for the Nintendo 3DS on the 6th June 2014. The game allows players to create Miis of almost anyone they can think of and bring them to life in their own virtual world.

The game takes place on Chin island,  a special place inhabited by various Miis, which the player can import from their 3DS Mii Maker or via the 3DS QR code reader. Miis can also be created by using the 3DS camera or the in-game creation tools.

 Once created, these little avatars can be given their own voice and then players can set about creating a unique personality based on some slider inputs. The game is open-ended and almost anything can happen as new Miis interact together to form their own virtual communities.

Miis can perform various actions, such as eating, trying on different outfits and doing many leisurely activities such as going to the beach or dining at a restaurant, etc. As more Miis are introduced into the game, different interactions will become available and new events will occur. Miis can develop new skills and experience social developments such as friendship, romance, and rivalry, as well as take part in some bizarre musical numbers.

If you are curious about how all these elements work together, then the latest Nintendo Direct broadcast seeks to answer your questions:

  (Having trouble viewing this video? CLICK HERE)

Tomodachi Life  cleverly blends together many core elements from other Life Simulation games. If you have enjoyed games such as The Sims 3, Enchanted Folk or Animal Crossing, then this may be the perfect addition to your collection. Mini Gamers looks forward to bringing you further news about the game as it develops.

PS Vita Pets Gets June 2014 Release Date...

PS Vita Pets,  the first true pet simulation to emerge on Sony's handheld system, has today been given a proposed release date of the 4th of June 2014. The game, which merges together elements of the virtual pet simulation genre with some action-adventure elements thrown in as well, has a very family-orientated feel to it.

There has been some dispute among the gaming community of late as to whether the game's title of 'pets' is misleading, as it tends to suggest that there will be various domesticated animals on offer when in fact the game actually only features dogs.

 However, Kevin Oxland, Creative Director for Spiral House,  today explained that the high quality realistic animations and the task of making these dogs actually talk to the player has meant that the overall concept of 'pets' had to be kept simple, which is why only dogs have been included in this game. He said: "We could only include dogs. The fidelity of the dogs, the quality in the animation, the adventure and all the dialogue, which we translated and recorded in many different languages, require a lot of resources and time to get right and the team worked hard to bring you a quality experience..." [sourced from: http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/04/02/playstation-vita-pets-release-date-new-gameplay-details/]

Of course Spiral House are no stranger to pet simulation games as they were also responsible for bringing the PS3's loveable EyePet to Sony's original portable handheld, the PSP. However, it will be some time before we can see whether Playstation Vita Pets can equal Eyepet's success in the casual gaming market.

 Some new screenshots for the game have also been released, along with the main box art image (shown above). The screenshots appear to show some of the adventure parts of the game. More information has also been provided about the virtual dogs' ability to talk in human speech with the players. According to Kevin Oxland, the game will feature "a huge script of dialogue for each of the dogs. In total we have around 10,000 lines of spoken dialogue in the game."  [sourced from: http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/04/02/playstation-vita-pets-release-date-new-gameplay-details/] 

More detailed descriptions of exactly how the dogs will be essential in helping the player to unlock the secrets of the island's buried treasure, has also been revealed. It seems that the player's chosen puppy will help  by sniffing out clues, digging in unexpected places and crawling through areas of the game map that players could not otherwise be expected to access.  

Some gamers have already criticised the game, accusing Sony of  trying to copy Nintendo's success with the Nintendogs series. Nevertheless, PlayStation Pets has tried very hard to separate itself from other virtual pet games on the current market, and whilst cute pet simulation games will not appeal to everybody,  this game is very innovative  and helps to widen the appeal of the PS Vita by offering casual gamers and younger gamers an adventure title with a difference. This is definitely one to watch!

One To Watch: Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training [3DS]

It's finally here! The latest installment of Dr. Kawashima's hugely successful Brain Training franchise is set to arrive on the 3DS in the UK for the very first time. Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused? was first announced back in 2012, but despite several rumours that the game would be scheduled for European release on the 8th March 2013, it failed to appear - until now.

The game, (which is also known as Dr. Kawashima's Concentration Training outside of Europe,) offers another difficult set of mental agility challenges for players to complete, but whereas previous titles in this series have tended to focus more broadly on logic, mathematics comprehension, perception and long-term memory recall, each of the exercises in Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused? have something to do with concentration and training the player's working (short-term) memory to stay focused whilst facing various distractions.

So, what exactly has the game got to offer fans of the series? Well, Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused? offers a total of thirty daily exercises and minigames, including eighteen exercises which have never appeared in the previous Brain Training games. Furthermore, many of the featured core exercises can be uniquely tailored for brain training enthusiasts of all abilities.

For example, Devilish Calculations challenges players to recall the answer to a previous mathematical problem while paying attention to the next one in line. The questions come thick and fast and it will take all of a player's concentration skills to successfully remember all of the required information without making any mistakes.

Meanwhile, Devilish Mice,  challenges players to simultaneously track the path of some mice while they are being chased by cats. It sounds simple but it's a lot harder than it might first appear.

However, this is where the game usefully adapts itself to the player's performance and understanding. If players struggle during the exercise and seem to perform badly, then the game dynamically adjusts the difficulty based on the player's real-time results. By offering a difficult challenge from the start and shifting the difficulty to match the player's individual performance, Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused? constantly pushes players to attain new high scores, helping them to stay alert, engaged and to use their short-term memory to its fullest.

As well as putting themselves to the test with the daily challenges on offer, players can also build up their concentration skills via the Training Supplements mode, which seeks to further train the brain using other exercises from those that are completed during the daily challenges. Players who are feeling confident in their short-term memory capabilities may also wish to complete the difficult Concentration Challenge

Furthermore, Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused? has now made it even easier for players to compete against friends and family by using multiple save slots to keep different profiles on a single Game Cartridge.

Like many other 3DS games, Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused? will now use the 3DS' StreetPass to trade data with other users of the game and allows players the chance to compete against one another to attain the best brain training challenge scores.

 The actual UK release date for the game is yet to be confirmed, but with more screenshots and a newly-designed European boxshot cover design slowly emerging on the Internet, it would seem that Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training days are far from over. 

The following video presentation from Nintendo Direct (originally filmed in December 2012) helps to give an idea of the gameplay and challenges that players can expect to see during the game. If you are having trouble viewing the video on your device, please CLICK HERE.

As with the previous games in the series, Dr. Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused?  has a nice 'adult' feel to it, whilst still remaining entertaining and accessible enough to appeal to slightly younger gamers as well, making it a very good family game. 

If you enjoyed the previous Brain Training games but are looking for a new challenge, or if you just feel that your short-term memory could do with a work-out, then this is definitely the perfect game for you. Overall rating: 9/10.

Keep checking in with the Mini Gamers blogsite for more release date and gameplay information on this game as it arrives!

Sci-Fi Adventure Forma.8 Coming To PS Vita and PS4!

Forma.8 is a new action-adventure game from Italian indie game developers, Mixedbag. The plot for this game is a fairly simple one.

The game is set in the future, where a small space probe known as Forma.8 has been abandoned on a small alien planet with one important mission - find and recover a powerful energy source deep under the surface before it’s too late to save humanity.

However, things are not as simple as they first appear, and Forma.8 will have to face many battles (and boss battles) with some unforeseen hostile enemies before it can finally complete its mission. Nevertheless, this game is very innovative in that it is up to the players of the game to decide how and where the game unfolds next.

Forma.8 starts with no powers, no weapons, and no hints of what to do or where to go. There is no verbal communication in the game at all, instead everything is conveyed to the player with images, sounds, and the gameplay itself.

Players must explore the planet independently, collecting powers sometimes having to deal with alien hostiles along the way, and gradually unlock the rest of the story. Physics plays a big part in the game too; everything in the in-game world is physics based, with plants, ropes, liquids, enemies, rocks,etc., all interacting and reacting in a realistic way, which helps to add unexpected twists to the game.

The graphics of Forma.8 are also very unique, and consists mainly of hand-drawn vector lines, which have then been rendered in HD to create a very smooth-looking, slightly strange but beautiful environment.

Very little is known about Forma.8 at the moment as the game is still in development, but is expected to become available for download from the PS store by Spring 2014. If you want a space adventure with a difference, then this might just be the game you are looking for.

One To Watch - Mario Party: Island Tour [3DS/2DS]

The first Mario game of 2014 also marks the debut of the Mario Party series on the 3DS. The game which is called Mario Party: Island Tour, is filled with lots of fun mini-games for fans to explore.

The game is designed to be played with up to four players, and thanks to the Nintendo 3DS' handy Download Play feature, the game can now be shared via a single cartridge, which makes multiplayer gaming much easier.

The game's single player mode is designed so that players compete against three computer-generated [COM] opponents from the Mario Universe. However, players can now choose who their COM opponents will be and also alter the skill setting of each opponent in turn to make the game harder or easier to play.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the previous titles in the Mario Party franchise, the idea is that players must work their way through the island like a board game. Players must roll dice and move a set number of spaces until they reach the goal.

 All players (including COM players,) must roll a dice at the start of the game to determine the order of play - the player with the highest dice number goes first, the next highest goes second and so on. Players can also play mini games at the end of each round to earn more dice, and give them a better chance of scoring higher and thus a chance of reaching the finishing goal faster.

The game also features special spaces (as found on many traditional board games to date,) which can either help or hinder a player's progress across the board. There are many different spaces, depending on which of the game boards you have chosen to play, including the following:

SPECIAL ITEM:  landing on this space grants the player a special bonus item which can be used on their next turn. a few examples of special items include: The Golden Dash Mushroom; which allows players to add five more moves onto their dice score, The Lucky Star; which allows players to multiply their dice score by two, and The Setback Shell; which can be used to make an opponent take two spaces backwards on the board.

Players can own a maximum of three special items at any one time. If players earn more than three special items during a round, they will be asked to choose a special item to discard.

BOWSER TIME: Players who land on this space will be subjected to a random consequence imposed by the evil Bowser. These consequences are usually detrimental to the players' progress in the game, but not always.

An example of a negative consequence would be Lose all special items, which means that players will be immediately stripped of any special items that they have accumulated in the game thus far. An example of a positive consequence could see players Warp to the finish, thus giving them the best chance of being the overall winner of the game.

EVENT: This space triggers something which will either move the chosen player forward or backwards within the game. An example of this is the terrifyingly-brilliant Piranha Plant, which throws players backwards a number of spaces, depending on their roll of the dice.

CHALLENGE OR VS.: These spaces are very similar in that they will both trigger random mini-games. However, the rewards for completing the mini-games is slightly different. Challenge Squares will challenge the player to a mini-game, where being first will earn them a bonus dice or a special item.

Versus spaces [VS.] sees all four players compete against each other in a 'best of three' type activity. Completing the activity the fastest three times will result in bonus rewards.

There are a total of seven different types of main game boards each with different spaces and challenges available, which adds lots of variety to the game. Mini-games become unlocked during certain rounds of the game. Once unlocked, they will be added to the Mini-games section on the start screen and can be played independently of the main game.

In conclusion, Mario Party: Island Tour makes a very good addition to the Mario Party franchise, with humorous twists and turns and quirky mini-games, it is likely to appeal to most mini-game fans out there.

One slight criticism of the game is that some of the main game boards felt a little too long sometimes, whilst others seemed to be over far too quickly. Nevertheless, this is still a fun title to play with friends and family, as its easy and familiar style, as well as its colourful graphics will appeal to even the youngest of gamers. Mario fans are sure to find lots to delight and entertain them in this game. Overall rating: 8/10.


Mario Party: Island Tour will be available to buy from Friday the 17th of January 2014.

Game of the Week: Scribblenauts Unlimited [3DS]

Scribblenauts has finally made its 3DS debut this week. The game, which is called Scribblenauts Unlimited is the fourth title in the popular gaming series, produced by 5th Cell, the developers of the equally popular Drawn to Life games.

Fans of the series will already be familiar with the strong cartoon-style graphics and quirky gameplay which has characterised the previous games. However, there are a few changes to the 3DS version which fans should be aware of.

Firstly, the beginning of Scribblenauts Unlimited gives more backstory on how Maxwell initially came to own the magical green notebook, and why he is so keen to look for the tiny little star objects (known as Starites) in the first place.

 Furthermore, players are now expected to locate tiny Starite fragments (referred to as 'Starite Shards',) which are then combined to make whole Starites. When ten shards have been earned, one full Starite is granted to the player.

Starite Shards can be earned in a multiple ways. A brand new feature  called Starite Vision now allows Maxwell to see which objects or people in each level need his help, thus making it easier to locate the source of each Starite Shard. Tapping on the tiny Starite symbol at the top left-hand corner of the bottom screen will unlock Starite vision. Objects which have uncollected Starite shards will be shown as glowing either yellow or orange.

A special exclusive feature for the 3DS version of the game also allows players to swap hints and solutions to each level via the Streetpass function, and hints are provided for almost every object in the levels, making the solutions for the various puzzles that Maxwell must solve much more accessible than the previous Scribblenauts titles, while still remaining challenging. Not an easy task to achieve.

Another useful new feature is the Object Library, which is located in Maxwell's backpack. This allows players to store and re-use any previously created and summoned objects at any time during the game.

Players can also choose to play as other members of Maxwell's family, as these characters now replace the previous Scribblenauts Avatars. Maxwell's forty brothers become unlocked at various stages of the main game, but the avatars of Maxwell's twin sister, Lily and their parents, Edgar and Julie can only be unlocked after all sixty whole Starites have been collected and the post-game bonus levels are unlocked. Players can also customise their chosen avatar by tapping on the avatar and then selecting 'edit'.

Of course, the main skill in any Scribblenauts game has always been the ability to simply write any given object (with the exception of crude words and/or proper nouns) into Maxwell's notebook and spawn it into existence during the game. The available vocabulary of each Scribblenauts game has grown bigger with each new version, and Scribblenauts Unlimited is no exception.

As well as the adjective system that was first introduced in Super Scribblenauts, players can now attach multiple objects to each other. For instance, it is now possible to create a pig with wings.

 Furthermore, players can also choose to attribute other properties to objects, such as movement (e.g. a fast car) and new offensive capabilities (e.g. breathes fire). Players can also adjust the size, material or colour of their chosen objects, making for a much more personalised gaming experience.

With over 22,000 words and adjectives now available for use within Scribblenauts Unlimited, there are just too many combinations for us to list here, but a full list of all the available object words can be found by clicking HERE .

Nevertheless, with all the fantastic new improvements that can be found in Scribblenauts Unlimited, there were two minor nagging details that, whilst not necessarily detracting from this brilliant game, were a tad disappointing.

Firstly, the Nintendo 3DS version of Scribblenauts Unlimited does not feature the object editor, which has been heavily promoted in advertisements for the Wii U version of the game.

Secondly, although the initial backstory cut scenes are shown on the top-screen, and are thus displayed in full animated 3D, the actual gameplay takes place on the bottom screen of the 3DS, and thus the levels in Scribblenauts Unlimited are not actually playable in 3D.

Nevertheless, neither of these two observations can alter the fact that Scribblenauts Unlimited  is still a masterpiece of innovative, imaginative gaming and is therefore a worthy addition to the Scribblenauts series.

 If you loved the previous games in the series, then you are bound to love Scribblenauts Unlimited just as much. If you are not sure about the game and wish to know more, then why not watch the trailer now? (see above). Overall rating: 9/10.

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