The very kind folks at THQ stationed several Xbox 360s and PS3s with WWE ’12 for people to get stuck in straightaway and it didn’t disappoint. It was instantly noticeable that the speed of the series has been turned up a notch, not only in the movement of characters, but also when completing moves and moving on the next. it’s clearly a more fluid experience. The matches themselves, from a simple One on One to a Ladder Match, capture the essence of WWE TV near perfectly. The most impressive new feature seen in action (against me I might add, by Sam from Ginx TV), is the Comeback system.

Being squashed by your opponent? Missing every counter opportunity? Have no fear, the match-turning Comeback system is here. It consists of a small set of QTEs which, if successful, not only leaves your opponent in a crumpled heap, tipping the scales, but also with a finisher ready to use. In video games, that might seem as fair as the blue shell in Mario Kart, but this system works perfectly in recreating the tug-of-war style matches that often occur in WWE.

Ultimately, the games’ designers have taken fans of the Smackdown vs. Raw series’ comments and criticisms, and done something positive about them. The presentation is the best ever seen in a WWE video game, with some really nice touches to the in-game cameras, and if you were to place a snapshot of a live Raw show alongside a shot of the game, there is very little difference. It’s that good.


But there are minor gripes. Portions of the controls have been altered from the last game, yet there is nothing to declare so. There are tutorials and help menus to digest these changes, but as gamers, we just want to get in there and have a game, and are willing to take a quick control pop-up menu to assist on the first go. As such with this year’s FIFA 12, when you load the game up, there is a brilliant, brief video that explains any new controls. This would have been more welcome in WWE ’12.

All in all, WWE ’12 is turning out to be an excellent game. As a fan of the franchise myself, I know I will lose hours and hours alone or with friends and family. Just bring it!

WWE ’12 will be out on 25th November for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii

Without a rubbish steering wheel in sight and sporting some natty 3D visuals, Mario Kart 7 really looks the part. The 3D adds a lot of depth to the tracks which I felt pretty comfortable staring at for the whole time I was playing. The demo build consisted of 3 tracks along with a nice selection of karts and different tyres. However, I was restricted to only one attachment, the hand glider. Not bad. I’ll take that, thanks very much.

Now that's a mighty strong hand glider!

The karts have new updates available in order to handle the new tracks, most notably the hand glider and underwater attachments. The hand glider attachment only worked after I’d jumped off a ramp.

In fact whilst gliding around a bit of jungle track I felt like I was playing Rare’s brilliant Diddy Kong racing game. Not that this is a bad thing, just unexpected. I also developed a habit of crashing into the start/finish banner. Note to self – must glide better. The brief underwater sections found on the second track were quite fun. After jumping into the water and diving down to the sea bed my kart produced a little propeller to power it. Very effective it was too. The only real difference to driving on land was that my kart felt a bit less responsive and “floaty” light.

This was clearly a development build of the game as many of the usual Mario Kart power-ups like the dreaded lightning bolt and the blue shell (first-place seeker) were notably absent. Collecting coins in return for a temporary speed increase was back, although I was restricted to a maximum of 10 per lap and the coins regenerated on the track. I did like the tracks on offer. There was a nice variety of driving challengesavailable. You just can’t beat karting around on a beach firing shells through the waves as they gently meander onto the shore.

This is all rather picturesque

Unusually, I was able to access the full range of pickups available whilst in first place. Previous games would penalise you by restricting pick-ups to the useless ones like banana skins. This is a welcome change as I never really understood why you should be penalised for doing well.

Summary

I was hugely encouraged by this version of Mario Kart. It felt like a return to form for the franchise. I only hope that the some of the gameplay tweaks, like having access to all the weapons when you’re in first place and the coin collecting stay intact when the game is finally released. Welcome back Mario Kart, it has been far too long.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

This is coming to the Wii later on this year, around autumn time, as Nintendo have now finally finished it. Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening will be available to buy via 3DS eShop from the 7th June 2011. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords will be coming to the DSi and 3DS for free later on in the year.

To celebrate The Legend of Zelda’s 25th anniversary there will be a series of symphony concerts playing the classic Zelda tunes that we’ve come to love over the years. As soon as I find out the times and dates for these concerts I’ll post the details.

Mario Kart 3DS

In the 3DS version of Mario Kart, the karts have undergone some fairly radical upgrades to cope with the new track locations. For instance the karts have propellers for the underwater tracks. For other tracks the karts come with a James Bond like hand glider attachment.

Mario 3DS:

This is a brand new Mario game built from the ground up specifically for the 3DS. After watching a demo on a 3DS in the Nintendo stand, sadly in video form, I was impressed with the 3D. You could really feel the depth to the levels, especially when you come across the giant flame towers belching hot plasma straight into your screen. The rest of the game was classic Mario.

Starfox 3DS

In Fox McCloud’s latest adventure you can either use the standard d-pad controller or tilt the console to control his ship. Starfox 3DS also makes use of the 3DS camera to show you other players at key points during the game. You can get to see everyone’s happy, sad or angry faces. Hmmm, I’m not keen on this little bit of functionality. No doubt it will be funny for the first couple of times then quickly get boring. Starfox 3DS will be coming out in Sep 2011.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

Luigi is back and still armed with his ghostbusting vacuum. With similar looking gameplay to the original game on the Gamecube, Luigi’s Mansion features some very nice looking 3D visuals. The lighting effects in particular were quite stunning. Luigi also gets to explore multiple mansions this time.

Pokedex 3D:

The global phenomenon comes to the 3DS via a 3D Pokedex. This will be downloaded only through the Nintendo eShop. It will also be free.

3DS System Update:

Nintendo also mentioned that with the June 2011 3DS system update you get a free version of Excitebike 3DS for a limited time. Don’t forget this game is now 27 years old, so don’t expect something ground breaking. The Virtual Console and 3DS demos will be appearing later on in the year on the eShop.

Wii U:

This is the name for Nintendo’s new console. It main feature is its big, new controller, which hogged all the limelight during the press conference. I actually don’t remember seeing the small, Wii-shaped console that accompanies the controller such was the focus on the controller.

The controller features a 6.2 inch touch screen at its centre. It also includes a microphone, camera, accelerometer, speaker, control pad, two circle pads, a rumble feature, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. Accompanying the controller is the base unit which looks very much like the Wii and varies in power according to which website you read. Nintendo have announced that it will support HD visuals, which would be a substantial improvement over the shockingly poor graphics that you get from the Wii.

Wii U allows you to switch from playing a game on the TV to the controller. This is useful if someone wants to watch something else on the TV. Other functionality includes the ability to draw on the controller’s screen (if you have any talent) to create beautiful masterpieces. You can use the screen to play board games too. The screen allows you access your inventory or a map without you having to interrupt your game.

Nintendo Wii U Controller And Console

Wii accessories can be used with Wii U. So all those controllers you’ve bought for your Wii will still be useful.

In terms of games, Lego City Stories is coming to Wii U and the 3DS. This will be an open world game packed full of Lego vehicles. Darksiders 2 will be available for Wii U at launch. Other notable games that caught my attention were Batman: Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon Online and Aliens: Colonial Marines. Alas, there were no firm details about how the controller will be used in each of them. Nintendo also teased that Smash Brothers will be developed 3DS and Wii U and will work together in some fashion.

And that’s it for the Nintendo media briefing. There were units to play with during the E3 Expo running 8 different tech/gameplay demos, but no actual games. We did get to play with the Wii U so look out for our hands-on impressions post. Randy Pitchford did mention during his talk during the Aliens: Colonial Marines live demo that they have got the game running on Wii U hardware, and that they’ve had the units for some time. But that was all we got out of him.

So this leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions about the Wii U. How much is it going to cost? When will we see it in the UK? What’s the backward compatibility like with Wii games? Are developers going to retro fit Wii games to take advantage of the new controller and what do they think of it? And what are the games going to look like on the new hardware. Tech demos and just that, demos. Rarely have they been representative of what it’s like to play games on the console that you get to buy and plonk in your living/bedroom.

All you have to do is download the Blur multiplayer demo on the PS3, get up to level 5 between 4th August (tomorrow) and 25th August and win a prize draw. Easy!

Activision and the PlayStation Network are holding a competition to give away a brand new BMW 125i coupé equipped with sporty BMW Performance accessories to one lucky gamer in Europe. What are sporty BMW Performance accessories? I have no idea but check out the BMW USA Performance pages for a taste.

Blur is a great racing game with a 4-player split-screen mode as well as online competition. Think of it as the bastard child of Wipeout and Mario Kart – big vehicles, loads of powerups and a devastating lightning attack to blast the race leader. You should have no problem hitting level 5 in a weekend – I managed it in a day on the Xbox 360 version.

Go get the demo!

Several hours later we were still playing it, which for a driving game is a very good sign. So why were we still playing it? Well it’s simple, fun and quick to play. You don’t wait around ages looking for a match, the power-up icons are easy to see and use and you’re straight back in the game when you crash or get wrecked (i.e. your car takes too much damage). It makes the racing interesting from start to finish.

Also its easier to play than WipEout HD, so Weefz enjoyed playing it. Given all the races are over either 2 or 3 laps in the beta, you can swap quickly between people, if there is more than one of you. You don’t have to suffer 10 minute races. Also given Blur is essentially Mario Kart crossed with Project Gotham, it’s spectacular to watch all the power-ups causing mayhem.

Blur is also the most accessible game that I have played from Bizarre Creations. They have taken all the game mechanics from their Project Gotham racing games, like Kudos points for driving “with style” and made them, well, just more fun. You now earn fans during races when you use power-ups, inflict damage on other cars and drive with style. But since the focus of this game is arcade action, you don’t lose fans for crashing into walls, or not taking the perfect racing line. As a result Blur is a more enjoyable game.

My only criticism of the beta is that it only contains 6 tracks. These are:

• Barcelona Gracia “Passeig de Gracia”
• Docks “Pacific Reach”
• Amboy “Badlands Traverse”
• Tokyo Shutoko “Wangan-sen”
• Amboy “Devil’s Dip”
• LA Downtown “Downtown Loop”

So after a few hours, I did crave a bit more track variety. Although I did learn these tracks inside out, which meant I made full use of all the short cuts. And also this is just a beta and we are promised more tracks in the finished game. After playing this beta I’m certainly looking forward to playing the full game in May 2010.

And finally, I have a code to give away for the Blur multiplayer beta to the best comment on this post. So make sure you enter a valid email address and then I’ll send you the code to enter on http://www.blurgame.com/beta.

Update 14th March 2010: The code has now gone to the lucky reader – Lcom :-) Enjoy the beta.

Blur is released on the 25th May 2010 on PS3, PC and Xbox 360.

You can still find the bundles in GAME stores as long as you don’t mind buying them with other games bundled in there. Today the bundles by themselves are going for around £150 on eBay, so if you see them in your local store there could be a nice little money-spinner there…

I got mine for my birthday over the weekend, thanks to a lovely and determined puppy-hunting boyfriend :) Review of Bobo the cute brown toy poodle coming tomorrow!

Update 8:40pm: Stuck my head in a few GAME stores on the way home and all the ones that were there last week are gone! They’re disappearing fast! Will keep my eyes open and let you know if I find any.

Update 16/12/05: Pink bundles spotted in stock! Keep an eye on this post for more store and contact details as we find them.

Mario Kart DS is the first title to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection enabling DS owners to play online with no extra costs (online compatable DS game required).

The service launches on Friday (25th Nov) in the UK with the launch of Mario Kart DS.

Upcoming DS titles which will use the service include:

• Animal Crossing: Wild World
• Metroid Prime Hunters
• Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land

In addition Nintendo has announced that there will be 7,500 wireless hotspots active around the country that you can use to play online.

You can find the location of your nearest hotspot by using www.thecloud.net or www.btopenzone.com

If you don’t fancy playing in McDonald’s or in your local pub, then you can play at home using Nintendo’s £30 Wi-Fi USB Connector device plugged into the back of your PC.

Simple.

Links:
Nintendo Wi-Fi (USA site)
DS Wi-Fi adapter
MarioKart DS trailer (QuickTime) and official site (Europe)