Now the WiiU is getting massively overlooked during this console war, but after returning from Eurogamer and seeing the new line ups for 2014 it’s high time for this underdog to jump back into the fight.

The Console

Contrary to popular belief (popular belief being a mixture of parents in toy stores and endless arguments with friends) The WiiU is NOT a portable Wii, the number of people that seem completely confused by the WiiU Gamepad is astounding, but I’ll get to the pad shortly.
The actual console is big, well compared to the Wii at least it’s only slightly wider than its older brother but it’s about twice as deep (and Heavy). This dramatic size increase is equally mirrored by the Game pad.

The Gamepad

Now this is the most outrageous controller redesign of any console in this, or come to think of it any generation. This is personally my favourite thing about the WiiU, The touch screen opens up so many creative avenues for Nintendo *cough* as well as an opportunity for them to port some of their more recent portable titles to the big screen *cough**cough* but unfortunately of the few games that they’ve released in the past year none of them fully grasp everything that this new control style has to offer.
The most inspired use so far has been an easy to access inventory. Hopefully some of the newer titles such as Wonderful 101 will explore this wonderful bit of kit more. And hey if you don’t like the giant screen on the pad you can always get a Pro Controller. (Which looks surprisingly similar to the current 360 controller)

The Games

There aren’t any …

This is the main issue with Nintendo of late, they’ve had a year’s head start on the competition and have literally done nothing with it, and most of the WiiU’s library consists of ports from other existing consoles.
But the few original games they do have, REALLY shine and my god is it bright. The main heavy hitter for me is surprise surprise a Mario game.

Super Mario Bros. U.

This is easily the best side scrolling Mario game since 3 and world. The level designs are some of the sharpest of any Mario game and they’ve FINALLY included new and interesting power ups and characters.
There is also a marvellous challenge mode that lets you show off your skills to all of you friends, just like when you’d take your copy of Mario 3 round to your friends 20 years ago just to rub it in that you knew where the hammers and warp whistles were. Except this time you can view it all online (slightly less personal but it fits into you now adult busy schedule)
You can also indulge in the absolute mayhem that is 5-Player local multiplayer, just trust me it has to be experienced.

Things to look Forward to

Sonic Lost Worlds

Yes for so many years the blue hedgehog has been subjected to subpar games. But after the turnaround that was Sonic generations, Sonic Lost world looks as if it’s going to finally prove to us that Sonic belongs in three lovely dimensions. The Super Mario Galaxy esc level designs really compliment how Sonic moves through the world. When I got my hands on this at Eurogamer it hit me “This is it! This feels like I’m back playing the original” I have never smiled so widely as I did when I realise that this game is Sonics rebirth into gaming.

Mario Kart 8

Every generation has its own version of this beloved franchise, they always provide a great time whilst playing and are arguably one of the best multiplayer games in existence. But (and this is a big one) there’s nothing massively different in this instalment bar the graphics and the ability to drive on walls, now I know the age old proverb of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” but innovation is the backbone of what made Nintendo what it is today.
Saying all that I’m still going to buy it … DON’T JUDGE ME!

Super Smash Bros. U

A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES! This game is the sole reason why 90% of Nintendo fans will purchase a WiiU if you ever wanted to settle the age old argument of who would win in a fight between Mario & Sonic (well you could have settled that in the Wii version) but now that annoying friend that always says “yeah but if Megaman…” can join in too. It’s a futile argument because LUIGI is the devourer of souls, but the can have their fun.
The new smash bros. offers even more character than any previous version, and with compatibility with its sister game Smash Bros 3D the possibilities are endless.
I just hope that the new developers Namco Banda can live up to the example set by HAL Laboratories in the previous games.

A Whole Lot of Indie Goodness

Now for all of you that have just realised that I have done nothing but talk about Mario & Sonic games. Yes that is unfortunately always going to be the main focus of Nintendo but probably the most exciting development for the WiiU is the insane amount of awesome indie support the system is providing.
Shovel Knight, Steamworld Dig, Scram Kitty, QUBE there is a massive list of quirky titles developed entirely by hipsters in a basement flat with no money between them. And that is an incredibly exciting thing, where the Nintendo have been very reserved in the past towards 3rd party content they seem to have seen the light and opened the floodgates. Now that may sound scary, But I’ll be damned if it’s not exciting.

Overall

So is the WiiU worth spending your hard earned money this Holiday season my honest answer is … No. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t get one, you almost definitely should, just wait for some of the future titles to hit the shelves.
But in the meantime you could do what I do and use it as an alternative to paying £1000 on a cartridge of Earthbound, £5.49 on the EShop DONE!
The WiiU is a great experience to play and I’m looking forward to see what Nintendo will bring to the system in the future.

In the final issue to be printed before the worldwide release of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y in just two days time, CoroCoro took to officially revealing a number more Pokémon that would be introduced in the new game. And while the information on other Mega evolutions may not have revealed much new – Mega Kangaskhan was first shown off in the World Championships; and other Megas were leaked last week by mainstream media – the issue finally reveals the last evolutions in the three new starter’s lines of progression, as well as Japanese names for each.

Chespin’s final evolution, Burigaron, is a 1.6m high Grass/Fighting-type weighing exactly 90kg. Fennekin’s final evolution is Mafoxy, a Fire/Psychic-type that like its pre-evolution is an anthropomorphic fox; but this time having an appearance more akin to a robed magician. It appears to use a lit stick for some of its attacks. Finally, Froakie’s final evolution, Gekkouga, is a Water/Dark-type. If Froakie was clearly a frog and Frogadier edges closer to Gecko, Gekkouga is like a weird mutant of the two; and even appears to have – to my eyes at least – a frog’s tongue as a hairstyle. It’s 1.5m high and weighs exactly 40kg.

Courtesy of Bulbanews, we can bring you scans of the CoroCoro pages showing you each final evolution’s official Sugimori art. As for their in-game appearances… well, we’ll just have to see them for ourselves in two days time 😉

Burigaron – Chespin’s final evolution

Mafoxy – Fenikkin’s final evolution

Gekkouga – Froakie’s final evolution

One other game that was discussed during the first of October’s Nintendo Direct was the next title in the long-running Mario & Sonic Olympics franchise, titled in full as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014.

Fans of the franchise, one of your biggest criticisms of the series is finally over! For the first time in the series, players from around the globe will be able to compete simultaneously via the Internet – so says Satoru Iwata himself. Sochi 2014 will feature the ability to compete with Friends or with anyone around the Globe in four specially selected events for the mode. The events include three Winter Olympic staples – Freestyle Ski Cross, Snowboard Cross and Short Track Speed Skating 100m; and a Dream Event racecourse combining elements of all the different types of Winter Racing.

Competing Worldwide will pitch you against random other players across the globe also looking for matches; with each player acting as a representative for the country they selected as their home territory at profile creation. When you win any medal in an online contest, you will also win points towards your territories’ total score. A ranking system will be permanently in-place in the game, tallying up the scores, so countries can compare the performance of players representing them in order to see which country has the best players (or the biggest community of consistently medal-winning players – face it, some countries will always be behind just because others are bigger).

In other news, as well as selling the game on its own, Nintendo will make Sochi 2014 available in a bundle with a blue Wii Remote Plus also included. Both game and bundle will hit stores November 15.

If there’s one thing I both love and hate Nintendo for personally, it’s Nintendo Directs. I hate them because they spring up suddenly, often with very little advance notice; and the pace of reveals in them can go from sedate to break-neck making it often hard to keep up. Yet, I love them BECAUSE they’re surprising, exciting and often have a lot of cool stuff to show off. Conducting a Nintendo Direct at 3pm Yesterday, a 29-minute conference proved exactly my point, showing off tons of new information about multiple upcoming 3DS and Wii U titles.

First up was news about Super Mario 3D World, for Wii U. A two-minute trailer shows Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess taking a midnight stroll watching shooting stars. But their attention is soon drawn to a transparent pipe that is half-buried in the middle of the path. All of a sudden, it straightens and a fairy-like character emerges from it. But before it can speak, Bowser pops out from the same pipe, catches it in its large hands and places it in a jar, taunting the gang. The gang follow Bowser down the pipe and a new adventure begins…

What also begins is a series of scenes showing off whole new features coming to the game. Naturally, Cat Mario takes most of the spotlight, Mario even picking up the Bell Mushroom that triggers the transformation from the floor of the level in a very early scene (which itself also confirms power-ups won’t JUST be in ?-blocks). Over the next few minutes we see even more of Cat Mario’s special abilities, such as touching grabbing an end of level flagpole. Instead of triggering it there and then, Mario climbs UP the flagpole and handstands on its top, triggering it at its very highest point and earning a 10,000 point bonus. Now, THAT’S a way to rack up the score! We also see Cat Mario jump against a Thromp and climb up its face, eventually finding himself atop it and able to ride it without taking any damage.

But hold on? Did we just see NEW Powerups? Why, yes we did! Collectable cherries in some levels see the collecting character (which Satoru informs us can be any of the players) split into two copies of themselves; and additional cherries adding one more. One scene shows four Mario firing a barrage of fireballs together, with some on higher ground and some on lower – though the mechanics aren’t made clear.

Also of interest is the return of Coin Block Mario. Once again it will be possible for Mario to wear a block on his head and have it shower him in coins as he runs, jumps and falls through the level. But it’s not the only headwear Mario will be sporting this time! Further scenes show off two other blocks worn on Mario’s head – a Cannon block that fires cannonballs in direction he faces at the time of firing; and the return of Propeller Blocks as wearable on-head objects. While we’re talking about Coin Showers – one level sees a geyser of coins falling through the centre of the level and Mario jumping through it to collect as many as possible. Oh Mario, has your anti-hero Wario’s greed rubbed off on you now? (Anyone who’s played New Super Mario Bros. 2 will probably say yes to that.)

And that’s not even the end! Further scenes see Mario riding through an Ice level in what appears to be an ice-skate version of the Kuribo’s Shoe (last seen in Super Mario Bros. 3); a Goomba Suit allowing Mario to look like a Goomba and enter a room filled with them without drawing attention. There will also be bombs in some levels that can be picked up and thrown, not just to blow up enemies; but also to trigger nearby POW blocks for chain explosions. We even see Mario holding a plant pot containing his own Piranha plant, which proceeds to eat any enemy within reach.

And then we get to the game world itself. The In-game Map sees levels referred to by both number and name; walking to World 1-3, we see the top-left corner of the screen refer to the level as both “World 1-3” and “Mount Beanpole”. Once in a level, each one seems to introduce a new touch to the proceedings. A level with a river flowing over part of the path sees Goombas floating around on life rings; while a Ghost House level sees Mario grab a fake flagpole that reveals itself to be an illusion created by several Boos. Elsewhere, a lava level sees Mario walk across a winding path that keeps disappearing but reveals itself with butt-stomps; while one level is played in the shadows of an unseen environment.

Driving towards the screen in a car decorated with several spikes, Bowser rounds off the Trailer by taunting us in front of his castle. Wait a minute… in a CAR? This isn’t Mario Kart…

Satoru Iwata rounded off the proceedings by informing us that while much focus has been on Super Mario 3D World being the first 3D Mario to allow co-operative multi-player, the game will also have a solid single-player campaign for those who prefer to take the challenge solo. Finally, as a special promotion, Mario and Luigi-branded Wii Remote Plus controllers will be made available in stores from November 1. These controllers are coloured either Red or Green with the appropriate Brother’s logo emblazoned on them, and yellow + and – buttons.

Super Mario 3D World launches November 22.

It’ll perhaps come as no surprise, but the Xbox 360 version of Watch Dogs will come on two discs and will require an install.

Watch Dogs creative director Jonathan Morin told Videogamer, “Yes, there are two discs. It’s the same thing as GTA [5].”

Apparently the install is 8GB, although that figure seems to be rumoured for now.

Watch Dogs arrives on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, PC & Xbox One on November 22. It hits PlayStation 4 on November 29.

What version are you buying?

Credit for this story to ShopTo.net