Most Recent: Switch

17 Random Thoughts About the Nintendo Switch (and its Launch Lineup)

Posted on March 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s much too early to say for sure, but it looks like Nintendo is off to a great start with the Switch. The Wii U had bit of a hot start as well, but something feels different this time. Perhaps it’s the near-universal acclaim that Breath of the Wild has received. Or maybe it’s the interesting selection of exclusive launch titles that you can only get on the Switch.

Whatever the reason, after a week with the Switch, I’m enjoying it very much. And that’s not the only thought that popped into my head over the last seven days… (more…)

Posted in Opinions, Switch, Top Story | Tagged , , , ,

Nintendo Download: Zelda Breath of the Wild, Shovel Knight, Super Bomberman R, more

Posted on March 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Nintendo Switch is here!

Nintendo’s next gaming machine, a hybrid console/handheld, will go on sale in just a little over three hours. That’s also when Nintendo will swing the doors open on the Switch’s eShop and give early adopters the chance to purchase nearly a dozen different launch titles.

The biggest name in the Switch’s launch lineup, by far, is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Also available to download on the Wii U, Breath of the Wild will offer a wide-open world for Link to explore and new puzzles to solve.

However, if you’re looking to celebrate the system’s launch with a big party, you’ll have several options. There’s 1-2-Switch, a wild minigame collection where players are encouraged to look at each other instead of the screen. There’s also Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together!, a co-op puzzle adventure starring two pieces of paper. And Ubisoft will bring the popular Just Dance series to the Switch with Just Dance 2017.

Prospective Switch players who want to be on the move might want to look into FAST RMX, a new futuristic racer from Shin’en Multimedia.

Finally, retro gaming fans will have plenty of options on the Switch’s first day including Yacht Club’s new platformer, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, as well as the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes Specter of Torment and the first two campaigns. Konami’s Super Bomberman R brings the lovable Bombers back for the first time in almost a decade. And I Am Setsuna, from Square Enix, is an original RPG inspired by Chrono Trigger.

If you’re taking a wait and see approach to the Switch, never fear, 3DS owners will still have something new to play this week. Marvelous Entertainment’s Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns is the latest entry in the popular farming simulation series and, as you might have guessed, players will be able to visit three towns this time around.

You can learn more about all of these games after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Ultra Street Fighter II will be released for the Switch on May 26

Posted on March 1, 2017 by John Scalzo

Capcom just announced that Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers will be released for the Nintendo Switch on May 26.

Like 2008’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, The Final Challengers gives players the option to use the fighting game’s original 16-bit graphics or redesigned high definition sprites from Udon Entertainment. Players will also be able to select two new characters (Evil Ryu and Violent Ken), and compete in the first-person “Way of the Hado” mode using the Joy-Con Controllers.

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers will be priced at $39.99.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Video Game History Foundation wants to create a digital record of the industry’s past

Posted on February 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Frank Cifaldi is a developer who has worked on Mega Man Legacy Collection and IDARB, but he is also the founder of the Video Game History Foundation, a new non-profit that seeks to preserve and digitize the history of video games.

The Video Game History Foundation launched their first “Digital Collection” yesterday, focusing on The NES Launch in 1985. Cifaldi is also seeking donations to expand the scope of the Foundation, as detailed on their “What We’re Doing” page:

The heart of the Foundation is its digital library, an online repository of artifacts related to the history of video games and video game culture. The ultimate goal is to create a searchable, organized, always-online archive of verified, high-quality material that is accessible to researchers and historians as a public education resource.

All donations to the Video Game History Foundation are tax deductible, and I can’t wait to see what collections they come up with next.

Posted in 3DS, DS, Etcetera, Mobile, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Retro, Switch, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One |

Ubisoft is developing another game based on James Cameron’s Avatar

Posted on February 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Avatar is nearly ten years old, and practically absent from the current pop culture landscape, but director James Cameron continues to insist that he’ll release the first of four sequels to his Oscar-nominated sci-fi spectacle in 2018. Today, Ubisoft announced it’ll be accompanied by a brand new Avatar game, which is in development at Massive Entertainment.

Massive Entertainment is best known for their work on Tom Clancy’s The Division, and they plan to work closely with Cameron’s Lighstorm Entertainment to bring recreate Pandora for players:

The new game will return PC and console players to the Avatar universe, using Massive’s Snowdrop engine – also used in The Division and the upcoming South Park: The Fractured But Whole – to bring Pandora’s unique terrain and inhabitants to life. It was after seeing a Snowdrop-run game prototype, in fact, that Avatar creator James Cameron and Lightstorm agreed to the partnership.

“With the power of Massive’s Snowdrop engine, and the team’s passion and obsessive focus on detail, we know they’re the right group to bring the beauty and danger of Pandora to life,” Cameron told the UbiBlog.

Representatives from Massive Entertainment are in attendance at this year’s Game Developers Conference, and hope to hire a number of new developers to help them work on this Avatar project. You can find a list of open positions at their official website.

Massive’s Avatar game is currently without a title or a release date, however, we do know it’s in the works for “PC and consoles.”

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged

Here’s the first trailer for SteamWorld Dig 2… launching this Summer on the Nintendo Switch

Posted on February 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Developer Image & Form has been talking up their Nintendo Switch debut and a new entry in the SteamWorld series for a few months now. But… surprise, surprise… the two games are actually one and the same.

SteamWorld Dig 2 will pick up right where the first game left off and launch for the Switch this Summer. According to an FAQ on their official website, Image & Form also plans to bring the game to other platforms later in the year:

Grab your pickaxe and dig into the sequel to the award-winning SteamWorld Dig! A platform mining adventure forged in MetroidVania flames. In search of her lost friend, a lone steambot and her unlikely companion must dig deep, gain riches, and explore an underworld riddled with danger. But time is running short…

In addition to viewing the debut trailer, fans will get a chance to go hands-on with SteamWorld Dig 2 at a number of conventions and conferences this Spring including the Game Developers Conference (which kicked off on Monday in San Francisco) and PAX East (which opens its doors in Boston on March 10).

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged , ,

More than 60 “Nindies” are in development for Nintendo Switch including SteamWorld Dig 2, Runner 3, Yooka-Laylee, and more

Posted on February 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo presented their first-ever Nindies Showcase for the Nintendo Switch today, and promised that more than 60 games from independent developers will be available for the console in 2017. This includes a staggering number of exclusives and timed exclusives such as…

  • Image & Form’s SteamWorld Dig 2, which will be available first on the Switch this Summer.
  • Choice Provisions’s Runner 3, which is in development exclusively for the Switch, and will be released this Fall.
  • Vertex Pop’s Graceful Explosion Machine, a side-scrolling shooter that’ll be released for the Switch first this April.
  • Team Shifty’s Mr. Shifty, an overhead action game that’ll also be available first for the Switch this April.
  • Cardboard Robot’s Pocket Rumble, a retro-styled fighting game that’ll only be available to console owners on the Switch this March.

Other highlights from the Nindies Showcase include confirmation that Yooka-Laylee will be available for the Switch “soon” and that Blaster Master Zero will be released simultaneously for the 3DS and Switch on March 9.

Nintendo’s complete Nindies Showcase presentation has been embedded above, and you can learn more about all the games featured in the video after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Rive is officially coming to the Nintendo Switch this year

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

Rive, a twin-stick shooter/platformer hybrid from Two Tribes, was originally released for the PC and PS4 last year. The game was also in the works for the Wii U, but development difficulties forced the team to consider moving the game to the Switch.

Today, Two Tribes confirmed that Rive will indeed launch on the Switch sometime this year.

Co-Founder Martijn Reuvers confirmed the Switch version of Rive will be playable at an “ultra-fast” 60FPS, and he said the developer is also working on a Switch-exclusive expansion:

Rive is a great fit for Nintendo Switch. It was always intended as an explosive ode to the action games of the early nineties. Nostalgic, yet thoroughly modern. And we feel that Nintendo Switch, too, is all about bringing the experience from our youth, playing deep and skill-based games together, to the current day.

A launch date for Rive’s Nintendo Switch debut will be announced soon.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged