Like the finale of The Wizard, the winner of the 2015 Nintendo World Championships was decided by the competitors going head-to-head in an unreleased Super Mario game. While Super Mario Bros. 3 shocked us all in 1989, the courses designed by staff members from the Nintendo Treehouse for John “John Numbers” Goldberg and Cosmo Wright in Super Mario Maker (it’s not just “Mario Maker” anymore) are just INSANE (note the bold and italics I used there).
Things start off slowly with a course based on World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. But things quickly take a turn for the “What?” when Cosmo runs into a wall of Fire Sweepers. And it only gets crazier when the combination Blooper/Hammer Brother/Bob-Omb shows up.
You can watch their 40-minute battle in the video embedded above, which culminates in a race through a custom New Super Mario Bros. U course. John Numbers went into the final round with a 15-second advantage and put it to good use by utterly dominating the final round.
Congratulations to John Numbers and now we begin the agonizing three-month wait for Super Mario Maker’s September launch.
Fallout 4 is coming… and much sooner than you’d think. To close out their first-ever E3 Press Conference, Executive Producer Todd Howard took the stage to introduce the long-awaited sequel, but also to reveal exactly when we’ll get a chance to play it. Ladies and gentlemen, old onto your Vault doors, Fallout 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 10, 2015.
Howard then took viewers on a whirlwind tour of the new game, beginning with the revelation that Fallout 4 opens before the nuclear war that would eventually decimate the world. Players will get a chance to completely customize their character, man or woman, by editing a wide variety of facial features. Once you step away from the mirror, you’re ready to begin your Fallout 4 adventure… or rather, you will, 200 years from now as the sole survivor of Vault 111.
Once you’re out in the world, you’ll reconnect with your robot butler, Codsworth, and meet a friendly German Shepherd. Players will be able to give the dog commands and it will help in battles. But don’t worry, the strategic shooting of the VATS System is back. And a revamped Pip-Boy model offers a new spin on one of Fallout’s signature features. This new Pip-Boy will even play games, like the Donkey Kong homage “Red Menace.”
And speaking of gadgets, players will have a ton of options for crafting in Fallout 4. Tools, armor, weapons, buildings. The options are endless. And once you’ve got a building, you can hook it in to the power grid and build an entire town which will be inhabited by other survivors in short order.
Finally, Howard revealed that the Fallout 4 Collector’s Edition will come packaged with a WORKING Pip-Boy. How, you ask? The Pip-Boy is actually a cradle for your smartphone that you wear on your wrist (eat your heart out, Apple Watch). Bethesda is even designing a Pip-Boy app that you can use as a “second screen” for Fallout 4. The Fallout 4 Collector’s Edition will be available in “limited quantities” and it’ll set you back $119.99.
The complete Fallout 4 presentation from Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference has been embedded above and you can check out the first screenshots from the game at the Bethesda Blog.
T-Minus 119 days until launch… of the game… not the bombs.
The Dishonored franchise is coming back in a big way next year with the release of Dishonored 2 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. But first, Bethesda announced that gamers will get the chance to return to Dunwall this Fall in Dishonored: Definitive Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Dishonored’s Definitive Edition will include the original game, as well as all of its post-launch downloadable content: Void Walker’s Arsenal, Dunwall City Trials, The Knife of Dunwall, and The Brigmore Witches. As is to be expected for any “Definitive Edition,” Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios will also provide Dishonored: Definitive Edition with enhanced graphics and other visual tweaks before its release this Fall.
I should probably stop calling it Doom 4… and that’s because Bethesda and id Software have finally blown the lid off their Doom reboot, which will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Spring 2016. Doom is ridiculously fast and ridiculously gory, and you can see it for yourself in the new trailer embedded above. But this is just a small taste of what’s in store for the new Doom, as Bethesda also include about 20 minutes of gameplay during their E3 Press Conference earlier tonight.
We’ll have that for you soon, but for now, watch the trailer above and catch a glimpse of the Shotgun, the Super Shotgun, the Plasma Rifle, the Chaingun, the Chainsaw, Imps, Pinky, and gallons upon gallons of blood. If you look close, you’ll see a variety if “finishing moves” that are new to the franchise.
The new Doom will also include a game editor known as Doom SnapMap. With SnapMap, players will be able to fully customize their own maps or gameplay modes using a very extensive set of tools. Players will also be able to share these creations with the world.
Spring 2016 can’t come soon enough, but remember, if you pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order, you’ll be able to join the upcoming Doom multiplayer beta.
Gamers flocked to Dishonored for its combination of stealth gameplay and a visually amazing steampunk aesthetic. After three long years, we’ll finally get to return to the world of Corvo Attano and Emily Kaldwin in Dishonored 2.
Taking place several years after the end of Dishonored, Princess Emily is all grown up and decides to join Corvo in his mission to help the people and stop the plague. Players will take control of both characters, who each have their own unique powers, weapons, and tools. In development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One at Arkane Studios, Dishonored 2 will be released in Spring 2016.
But first, the publisher used their E3 Press Conference to unveil the great-looking trailer embedded above. Take a look, it’s worth it.
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
The first E3 Press Conference for 2015 will begin in just a few minutes. Bethesda’s first-ever presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo is sure to be amazing with gameplay reveals for Doom 4, Fallout 4, Dishonored 2, and probably a bunch of other stuff. We’ve got a new player in the AAA space and that’s exciting. But will Bethesda’s Press Conference (and Microsoft’s… and Sony’s… and Nintendo’s… and Square Enix’s… and EA’s… and Ubisoft’s…) be a huge waste of time? In between all the glitz and the horrible jokes, won’t there be precious little time actually devoted to games?
At least, that’s what Vice’s Dan Maher believes. He remembers the horrible gaffes (middle-aged executives that have no idea how to talk to regular people), the horrible lies (what Sony promised the PS3 could do) and the horrible people (Jamie Kennedy, good god, Jamie Kennedy). He makes the case that all this pomp and circumstance is more at home during a graduation ceremony than the showcase event for a multi-billion dollar industry:
It shouldn’t be difficult. The last time I checked, video gaming was still a festival of colour and noise and excitement and dakkadakkadakka-pweeeeeee-kaboom. Chuck them up on a screen bigger than your house, crank up the volume to unbearable, bar the doors. Done. And yet, somehow, what we inevitably end up with leaves the audience feeling like stakeholders at the world’s most extravagant board meeting.
The full article is available for your perusal at Vice.
Stop the presses! The 2015 E3 Expo hasn’t even begun yet and Nintendo has already planted their flag in the ground and declared victory! At 9:00 PM tonight (Eastern Time), Nintendo will add Earthbound Beginnings to the Virtual Console section of the Wii U eShop.
If the NES game is unfamiliar to you, you might have seen it referenced over the years as Earthbound Zero or possibly as Mother, the title it was given in Japan. The important takeaway is that the game, which was released in 1989, is the predecessor to Earthbound, a beloved RPG that was released for the Super NES in 1995.
Nintendo never wanted to wait 25 years to release Earthbound Beginnings in North America, but the slow pace of game localization threw a wrench into their plans. The consolemaker began developing a version of the game for an English-speaking audience and planned to release it in 1991. But the launch was scrapped after the translation work hit a snag, which would have pushed the release of Earthbound Beginnings (then known as “Earth Bound“) past the launch date of the Super NES. Determined fans eventually discovered a prototype version of “Earth Bound” and made it available on the Internet for NES emulators a few years ago.
This is probably also a good time to mention that Mother 3 (AKA Earthbound 2) was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006… only in Japan. Perhaps Earthbound Beginnings is Nintendo’s way of priming the pump for another major Earthbound announcement this Tuesday. Lucas, Earthbound 2’s main character, was even added to Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U today.
Nintendo’s big Pre-E3 showcase for the latest updates to Super Smash Bros. For Wii U/3DS may have leaked out a bit early, but it was still exciting to watch Game Director Masahiro Sakurai in the “New Content Approaching” video and to see all the announcements in the same place.
That said, all the rumors are true… Ryu (from Street Fighter II) and Roy (from Fire Emblem) will be added to both games as playable characters, joining the previously-announced Lucas (from Mother 3/Earthbound 2). Not only that, but Nintendo took special care with Ryu and included a variety of bonus features including custom attacks based on how long you hold the button down and the original button inputs for the Hadoken and the Shoryuken. All three characters are available to download now, along with new stages and new Mii Fighter costumes. I’ll let Nintendo handle the details…
Ryu For 3DS: $5.99 For Wii U: $5.99 3DS + Wii U Bundle: $6.99
For the first time in Super Smash Bros. history, a character from the fighting game series Street Fighter joins the battle. Iconic character Ryu, whose look in the game is based on Street Fighter II, brings a new fighting style and feel to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Ryu’s traditional Light, Medium and Heavy attacks can be used depending on whether players tap, press or hold the buttons. Classic Street Fighter moves like Hadoken and Shoryuken can be activated with just a one-button press, but players who enter the original button combinations from the Street Fighter series will perform the same actions with higher damage.
Purchase includes the bonus Suzaku Castle stage from the Street Fighter series. This classic environment provides stable footing on the right side and a series of platforms on the left. It can also be played in Omega form, giving the stage a look and feel much like in the Street Fighter II original.
Roy For 3DS: $3.99 For Wii U: $3.99 3DS + Wii U Bundle: $4.99
A fan-favorite from his last appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube, Roy from the Fire Emblem franchise returns to the series more powerful than ever before. Unlike Marth, Roy’s sword is stronger closer to the hilt, so he works better in close range. Roy also now has a Final Smash move in the form of a devastating sword blow.
Lucas For 3DS: $3.99 For Wii U: $3.99 3DS + Wii U Bundle: $4.99
As previously announced, Lucas is also available to purchase as a new downloadable character. Originating in the Japan-only Game Boy Advance RPG Mother 3, Lucas primarily uses lightning attacks to smash his opponents.
New Mii Fighter Costumes For 3DS (Each): $0.75 For Wii U (Each): $0.75 3DS + Wii U Bundle (Each): $1.15 For 3DS (All 8): $6.00 For Wii U (All 8): $6.00 3DS + Wii U Bundle (All 8): $9.20
Multiple video games and characters from the past and present are represented in a new set of Mii Fighter costumes now available through the new update. Two costumes from classic fighting game Virtua Fighter are based on the Akira and Jacky characters, with Akira even maintaining his blocky polygonal look from the original game. Tekken fighter Heihachi (and his amazing hair) serves as inspiration for one costume, with additional costumes based on Isabelle from Animal Crossing, MegaMan.EXE from Mega Man Battle Network, Zero from Mega Man X, the Inkling Girl and Boy and the Squid Hat from Splatoon also available.
Dreamland (Stage) For 3DS: $1.99 For Wii U: $1.99 3DS + Wii U Bundle: $2.99
Based on the first Dreamland stage from the original Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64, this stage returns with a few tweaks.
Miiverse (Stage) For Wii U: Free
This new stage for Super Smash Bros. For Wii U features Miiverse posts created by players all over the world. During matches while connected to the Internet, players will see Miiverse posts appear that cheer specific fighters on from the background. These messages will be pulled from individual Miiverse communities that just opened for each Super Smash Bros. character.
Everything Pack For 3DS: $21.96 For Wii U: $21.96 3DS + Wii U Bundle: 29.16
Players who want every fighter, stage, outfit and accessory featured among today’s DLC releases can buy them all at once.
In addition to all of today’s downloadable content, Nintendo had a few other Smash-related announcement to make. In August, a free update will add Tourney Mode to the game on the 3DS and Wii U. According to Nintendo, “Community Tourneys let players compete for the highest points in a certain amount of time, while regular Tourneys have a specific set of rules and only happen at select times.” Tourney Mode will be followed by a second free update that will give Smash Bros. For Wii U players the chance to upload match replays to YouTube.
Finally, some new Amiibo figures are coming in September. The previously-announced Dr. Mario, Ganondorf, Bowser Jr., Zero Suit Samus, and Captain Olimar figures will be part of this wave. But fans will also be able to pick up Mii Fighter figures, as well as R.O.B., Mr. Game and Watch, and the Duck Hunt Dog. A Falco figure will also be available at a later date. And Amiibo figures based on Roy, Lucas, and Ryu are also in the works.
Is that enough Smash Bros. news for one day? Images of the newly announced Amiibo figures can be found after the break.
