Tuesday 28 April 2015

Deeper Look Into Star Wars Battlefront EA [Gaming]

Star Wars Battlefront is some months from release now. After two teasers at E3 events [2013 and 2014], it was about time we had some information for the game. At Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, we had that information. DICE are playing the information game very slyly. We have some info, but not enough to accurately say how this game will play or feel.

Take the main piece of information - that there will only be four planets in the game - and think about that. The developers say multiple maps, varying in size depending on the mode. And each planet will have more than two maps at launch. However, we still have very little information on the different modes to take a guess at how those maps might be set out. The only information we have is on Walker Assault, where an Imperial AT-AT lumbers along the battlefield for the Rebels to take out. And that's about as much as we know about that. Although it does seem to be a protect/destroy the base type mode.

In terms of other modes, we should at least be able to expect normal conquest and perhaps capture the flag type modes. In true Battlefield style, I expect conquest to have small, medium, and large maps playable for each planet. Capture the flag doesn't need that big of a map, so a medium one would do. Considering we also have dogfights in the air, depending on how vehicle distribution will be played out, I expect one map will be a military base of some sort, where one team has a hangar full of ships and the other has them spread out. This could of course bring a mode into play like the destroy/protect the base mode, but in the air instead. Of course, the four map types and modes are purely my thoughts, and it should be interesting to see what actual modes there are.

Instead of a true singleplayer campaign, there will be a Missions mode, playable in singleplayer, local co-op or online co-op. There is also very little to go on with this mode as well. I think we can expect something along the lines of Battlefront II's campaign though. Remember, the structure will be different, but the campaign of Battlefront II was a number of objectives for one larger mission. It might be possible that Missions mode is just one larger overall mission, sort of like the PSP version of Battlefront II had. Collect a number of objects, kill a number of special units. That sort of thing, but of course with a lot more variation. Galactic Conquest mode, under the circumstances of only four planets, doesn't look likely to return. As long as there is another singleplayer mode waiting to be announced as the replacement, however, it shouldn't be too troubling.

Customisation of characters has been announced, but we have no idea of how it will play out. Feeding into that is how online will work. The Battlefield series as of late uses Battlelog - a browser based app - for everything not directly related to the game itself. Character, weapons, unlocks, jumping into a game. Well, that's how it works for the PC version, at any rate. Funny thing is that Battlelog has so far not been mentioned relating to Battlefront. It might use it, it might not. There might even be a revised version specifically for the Battlefront series, or even all Star Wars games. At this point, we don't know. Heroes have been mentioned, but not shown in detail. Heroes work different depending on the mode, and considering we saw Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and the Millenium Falcon, it can be considered that vehicles of the heroes will be playable as well. Depending on mode, of course. Considering focus is on the original trilogy, there won't be that many Jedi to play as. We'll have old Ben instead of young Obi-Wan. Which will make a nice change, I'm sure. Dependant on how many heroes for each side we get, it might be possible that some sort of Hero Assault mode might be included.

The biggest treat is that Battlefront EA, just like the previous Pandemic Battlefronts, will be a first/third person shooter hybrid. That is possibly the biggest worry many of us had, as many saw Battlefront as a primarily third person shooter.

Of course, I could say go all out on this, especially when there's free DLC in the form of the planet Jakku, but I'm instead saying wait until E3. Because, with all this playing sly, it could be that they are hiding a lot more. Or, it could be the usual hype building by only releasing small droplets on information. I'm optimistic and am hoping it is the former. From all I am reading, it does sound like DICE are doing an awful lot of teasing.

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim Post-Talk [Events]

JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy opened up Celebration with a panel that was not only streamed on every TV screen in the convention centre, but online and in worldwide cinemas too. So big was the event, that the reveal of the trailer had a massive build up. We have the name of the mysterious planet that so looks like Tatooine. And that is Jakku. The two reconfirmed the use of practical effects over CGI in rather a stunning way. Remember that rolling droid? BB-8? Yeah, he's actually a proper robot. A massive amount of technology went into that, and it was well worth it. We were given a lot more hints at things to come, met the three new stars, and had a chat to returning members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, and Anthony Daniels. The last thing shown off was the trailer. And what a trailer it was. It suggests a lot with its careful editing. Just who is Luke talking to during the voiceover? What is the Empire these days, and what does it stand for? What kind of battle are those X-Wing pilots in? And just where does the Dark Side stand in the order of this point in the timeline? There were many more besides that as well. The biggest point of that trailer though, was Han's simple words. "Chewie. We're home." There was also that magical quality right at the beginning of the trailer, where we simply have the camera panning right to bring a Star Destroyer - crashed on the surface - into view, as a lone speeder in the distance drives by. You've really got to see the trailer to understand the excitement of the fans. December can't come soon enough, but The Force Awakens was only the start of a number of big and small reveals everywhere.

While not live streamed, The Untold Clone Wars panel had a live blog going. And a number of things were revealed to us by Dave Filoni. The Clone Wars is interesting in the fact it would have hit Revenge of the Sith, and then gone beyond it. Telling us stories from after the Jedi fell. There are several other stories before that happened though, and it appears we would be getting our look at why Yoda has such good relations with the Wookiees. Cad Bane and Boba Fett would have teamed up to fight Tuskens. Aurra Sing would have been involved in that somehow. The Bad Batch arc was slightly covered in the panel, as was the arc that has now become the novel Dark Disciple. And what's interesting is that Lucas didn't like the fact that Ventress was Dooku's apprentice, and invented a way to get her out of that situation. Ahsoka's story would have been continued, even after her leaving the Jedi Order. It seems that had The Clone Wars continued, many more seasons would have been made. So much so, it seems, that they would have eventually covered a massive amount of the Clone War era, and even beyond that. It seemed to not have a real end point. Barriss Offee would have been explored more. The kyber crystals from the Utapau arc would have been explored more. Maul's story. What happened to Rex. Maybe even incorporating how the Jedi come to know Sidious by name but not face. How the Battle of Coruscant affected those on the planet. There seemed to be a lot they wanted to explore with the characters and time period. Some characters, and their arcs, are sure to be told elsewhere, as I'll be saying soon enough.

Star Wars Battlefront. The gaming main event. Starting out with the trailer, where no gameplay was shown [though hints at what the gameplay entails can be seen within], the talk settled to talking about the game. Third person is in, Sullust will be a planet featuring within the game, and free download content in the form of a planet from The Force Awakens - Jakku. To bring up some points regarding those three, for third person, people were asking on Twitter almost daily whether it was included, but obviously the team couldn't say anything. When it was announced it was in, a massive cheer rose from the crowd. In terms of Sullust, it's a planet hardly explored, and the team wanted to do it justice. So, just like with the other planets, they visited a location they felt suitably fitted Sullust, and compiled the same in-depth analysis as with the other locations. And we see it at the end of the trailer, and how close it looks to the volcanic regions of Iceland. With the free download content, the story is the Battle of Jakku takes place soon after the Battle of Endor, with the remnants of the Empire still fighting the Rebellion. It launches after the main game on December 8th, but those who preorder the main game get the content a week earlier. And talking of dates, the main game was confimed to be releasing November 17th [20th in Europe]. For those who were at Celebration, they were treated to gameplay footage. From what I've read, that gameplay is promising. I'll definitely be looking deeper into this.

Star Wars Rebels Season Two is looking absolutely amazing. We have this darker age coming in. Hints at dark things to come. Within the trailer, which I seriously recommend you watch, we see Vader finally come into the fight. Lothal is now in danger from Vader's wrath. Captain Rex returns. Space battles get more hard hitting. There are new Inquisitors by the looks of things. Hondo Ohnaka appears to take Ezra on an adventure, possibly as part of his deal with Vizago at the end of season one. We see A-Wings, B-Wings, AT-AT's, more TIE's, more Ahsoka, and more lightsaber fights. Relationships form, and Vader and Ahsoka seem destined to meet somewhere down the line.
I find it interesting that Ezra retains his scars from the season one finale, and it seems he will be pressured more by Jedi trials, as will Kanan. It will also be interesting to see where Ahsoka stands on all this. But one thing hinted in the trailer is that she and Rex kept in contact. Perhaps not during the war, but certainly after it. She might even be the one who suggested their hiding place. Yes, Rex has two other clone soldiers with him, and they seem to have a grudge against the Imperials, and especially Stormtroopers. And with twenty-two episodes, they can certainly explore a lot within season two.

In other areas of the convention, it was revealed that the first official canon DK Ultimate Star Wars guidebook will be releasing. It will be giving definitive answers to the questions we've all been wondering, such as how big the Death Star really is. Marvel are hitting things with regard to The Journey to The Force Awakens series with Shattered Empire, a four-part series showing the immediate aftermath of Return of the Jedi. The first issue will hit in September, so look out for it. There has been talk of the original trilogy novels being rewritten to fit into official canon, giving the stories new viewpoints and extras within the stories. Talking of novelisations, Alan Dean Foster has picked up The Force Awakens. The tie-in novel should be released in the fall, and if the prequel trilogy novel tie-ins are to go by, this one should be just as good. And talking about canon, when asked about The Old Republic video game, it was said the events in that game would stay out of canon, but parts could still make their way in. It was also said that unfinished Legends stories may be completed, but focus for now is the new canon. Clarity on the spin-off films was also given at the event. They will deal with stories away from the main. Away from Jedi. The spin-off films can also deal with themes and subjects not normally seen within the Star Wars universe. Things that have been hinted at, but would normally not warrant being included themselves. As such, a small teaser was given for Rogue One. Between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, but nearer to the latter, a mission takes place to steal the Death Star plans by a group of resistance fighters. Rogue One and the other spin-off films will all be labelled the Star Wars Anthology.

LEGO were showing off their new Build-It figures, as well as a new five part miniseries called Droid Tales. The retelling of all six films from the eyes of R2-D2 and C-3PO. Comedy / parody is a trait of LEGO Star Wars shorts, and again there seems to be some jokes on Jar Jar. The episodes will be twenty two minutes in length, and air on Disney XD this fall. Seems like they wanted a small recap of previous material with a new twist before the release of The Force Awakens in December. The new Build-It figures announced are Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Grievous, Commander Cody, and Jango Fett. If you don't know what Build-It figures are, they are close to the Bionicle figures, but using licenced material. Proper movement, and roughly the same amount of pieces of some of the smaller sets. The figures do look nice, and building something is always a nice thing to do.

Star Wars Celebration for this year is over, but the next one has been announced. July 15th to July 17th 2016, and taking place in London, UK. This next one should be as good as the others, and it also means, if I decide to, it'll be the first one I've been to. Celebration Anaheim has been extremely good, and considering it was the first Celebration to be live streamed, they did fairly well. I hope next year they can do it even better. For now though, be sure to look for anything else I might post regarding this Celebration just gone.

Thursday 9 April 2015

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim Pre-Talk [Events]

On this day next week, the start of what has become the biggest Star Wars event will commence with a big item. A panel focused on The Force Awakens. Director J.J. Abrams and LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy come together with special guests on the Celebration stage on the 16th April at 10:00 [event local time PDT]. The event will be simulcast right over the various stages of Celebration, and even an event in London, UK will be showing it. It's expected that insights into the film will be talked about, and possibly even a new trailer for those at the event itself.
Now Star Wars Celebration is a big event, bringing fans from around the world together for a four day event with enough content to fill a Star Destroyer. There will be a load of panels from the various corners of Star Wars outlets, and I'll be covering some of the bigger ones here. Those at the event itself will have a load to do while there, while the rest of us will have to stay tuned to Star Wars.com for the various live blogs that will be happening. There were dozens of live blogs and articles posted during the Celebration Europe event in 2013, and while it's not guaranteed that live blogs will be happening for everything, there's a good chance to still grab the news after the event. And with that, I'll continue the panel talk.

Fifteen Years of Collecting LEGO Star Wars is sure to be a good event, looking back at the past fifteen years of all things LEGO Star Wars, including TV Specials and LEGO short films. It has even been said that there will be a brief glimpse of what the future in LEGO Star Wars will look like. While nothing more has been said about that, various things strike me as likely. First off, though a possible long shot, would be the fourth videogame in the LEGO Star Wars series. While I don't think we'll get any gameplay of any sorts, just a teaser to know that it's coming would send fans in a frenzy. The third game was popular enough, and some of the features from LEGO Star Wars III, as well as some of what other LEGO games have been doing, could be expanded on to make an even greater game than the third. Another tease could come for what is coming soon. LEGO Dimensions, only just been announced, is a toys-to-life game by LEGO themselves. Star Wars was absent from the reveal trailer, despite various other franchises being spotted, and so a Star Wars reveal could be held back until the day. And that day is one week from today, again on the 16th April, this time at 15:00 PDT.

Half an hour after that, which means if you are at the event itself you really need to decide which is most important to you, is the panel The Untold Clone Wars with Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo. This panel looks into the stories that never were told, with insights into those stories here. After The Lost Missions, various other stories were still to be told, and while some of those were released as part of The Clone Wars Legacy, others weren't so lucky. It seems both Legacy and unreleased material will be shown, and from rumours it seems as though an exclusive look at some scenes from a near-finished arc will be present. We'll be getting a look at these untold stories from Dave Filoni, the supervising director of The Clone Wars, and Pablo Hidalgo from the LucasFilm Story Group. These two were the front runners of the show, and knew everything that went on within and behind-the-scenes of the stories we have seen within the animated TV series. It is also possible that this panel will give us news of a worldwide release of The Lost Missions as well as a possible, though unlikely, Complete Clone Wars box set, featuring all five seasons, The Lost Missions, a load of extra features, and if we're lucky, the film as well.

The 17th April will be an event that most gamers will have their eyes on very sharply indeed. At 10:30 PDT, the first look at gameplay from Star Wars Battlefront will be shown, as well as insights into how the game was made and how access to the LucasFilm archives makes this one of the most impressive and immersive Star Wars gaming experiences ever. Talk about this game has been absolutely immense, not from when EA first revealed they were working on it at E3 2013, when we all got the concrete evidence that it existed, but way back in 2009 and before when rumours were flying everywhere about a possible third game being in production. After two teases and a small insight into the making of it, it now feels right that the game gets officially revealed at a Star Wars related event. There are two ways this could go. Either DICE could give us full details, or at least as full as they want, so that their E3 line up is free for other Star Wars games. This could include details of any such playable events, like demos or betas, or what makes the game different from Battlefield, and more importantly, from Battlefront's predecessors. Otherwise, we'll be getting insights and small teasers about what the game is like, but nothing more until E3.

The other Star Wars animated series will be getting major coverage on 18th April, as New Allies and New Villains in Star Wars Rebels Season 2 takes place. Again, Dave Filoni will be present, this time joined by the main voice actor cast of Star Wars Rebels. They will be discussing the events that happen at the end of season one, and how season two will lead on from that. We'll be getting various insights to new characters, exclusive previews of what is to come, and we might also find ourselves looking at the release date of the Season One Box set on DVD and Blu-Ray. It is also possible that the premiere date will be announced here as well. Considering what people have been saying, it is possible that premiere date might be closer than we think, but all of that is just based off the release of The Force Awakens and how that is being built up as a big thing. We will have to see what comes out of this, and can do so at 11:00 PDT

The other two panels focus on printed media. Books and comics. And both take place on the 18th as well. Star Wars Comes Home to Marvel takes place at 13:00 PDT and focuses on comics. Star Wars at Del Ray takes place at 14:30 PDT and focuses on novels. Both will be looking at past, present, and future. For Marvel, that means looking at their previous dealings with LucasFilm way back in 1977, then to the present with their four current Star Wars comic series [Star Wars / Darth Vader / Princess Leia / Kanan: The Last Padawan]. There will also be two announcements of comic series coming for the future. As for Del Ray, it is more than likely they will look at the previous expanded universe material, what converting to a new and consistent canon means, as well as what books have been released under the new canon, before rounding off with announcements on new novels coming soon. Now, don't forget about the previous announcement of The Journey to The Force Awakens, which will deal with the time inbetween Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, and it seems we can guess at which time period will be focused on. Then, of course, is the listing of Battlefront under a list of canon novels in the paperback release of A New Dawn, which leads to the possibility of a book, not neccessarily telling the story that might be in the game, but that shares its name.

For those who will be at the event, don't forget about all the other things you'll get to be doing as well. Over the course of the four days will be the prequel trilogy in 3D, with the premiere of Revenge of the Sith 3D taking place, as well as 2D versions of the original trilogy. There will be art panels, portfolio reviews, panels relating to the music of Star Wars, a look into the toys of Star Wars, how to build your own R2-D2, an exclusive screening of the premiere of Rebels Season Two, how to build your own costumes, various constructions of Star Wars vehicles dotted around, all those other special guests who you'll be able to meet and get autographs from. And don't forget about the exclusive merchandise an event this big generates. Star Wars.com have already been showing off some of this, from exclusive T-shirts, to official Celebration prints and pins.
With just seven days until it all starts, I can't wait to hear about all the news that will come pouring out of the event, and the possibility of so much happening will be sure to get fans who are going excited as well, no matter what your age. Star Wars is for everyone, and Celebration is too.

Thursday 2 April 2015

Nintendo Direct 1-April-2015 [Gaming]

Like I've been saying, it's been near enough two years since I covered any gaming event of any type. So to warm up for E3 this year, I decided to cover one Nintendo Direct. And this Nintendo Direct covered pretty much what I expected, along with some I didn't see coming.
Before the introduction from Iwata, a Super Smash Bros. 4 trailer played showcasing Mewtwo. Once the trailer ended, Iwata then introduced us to the Direct as a whole, and gave a few words about Mewtwo before giving his release. To those who registered both Super Smash Bros. 4 games on Club Nintendo, you'll be getting him free on the 15th of this month. The rest will have to wait until the 28th, and will need to pay up for him. A small update will also be released on the 15th, allowing for more Mii Fighter costumes in the form of download content. These will be crossover costumes, like the Mario Kart Racing Suits. The pricing, while not confirmed for Europe, will be $0.75 per pack on one console or both for just $1.15 in America.
Another trailer proceded this. Another character announced - Lucas, from the Mother/Earthbound series. While the character isn't finalised yet, he will be released in June. We also got info for the Smash ballot, a form on the microsite allowing people to submit characters to be in the game. It's quick and simple to do so, but requires a bit of thought. If you can't give a justifiable reason for a character being in the game, that character will be unlikely to appear. A new set of amiibo characters was also shown off, including Greninja, Jigglypuff, Dr Mario, Olimar, Zero Suit Samus, and Dark Pit. This new set will be released in three parts over May, June, and July.
A quirky little app for WiiU was shown off next. Using amiibo, you unlock three minute demos for Virtual Console games. The game you get isn't related to the character on the amiibo, and the same character isn't locked to just one game. If you have two of the same character, each one can get a separate demo. While not a brilliant idea, it does mean you can try before you buy.
Mario Maker, the game allowing you make your own Mario levels and share them globally, is part of what Nintendo are calling the 30th Anniversary Celebrations. More details for the 30th anniversary are soon to follow.

Region specific information then followed. While mostly the same throughout, there are some differences. Being from the UK, I'll only be covering the European information.
And first up was Yoshi's Woolly World. There will be two modes available in the game. Traditional mode will keep the game exactly at the difficulty of previous Yoshi games. Mellow mode tones that difficulty down, allowing for less skilled players to still enjoy the game. As a bonus, these two modes can be swapped out at any time - even in the middle of a level. Another amiibo was then revealed. This one being different. It is a fully knitted amiibo of Yoshi made from yarn. This adds another Yoshi into the game, allowing for some sort of co-op even with just one player. Think of it as the double cherry in Mario 3D World or Captain Toad. Duplicate characters both following the same control input. The game and the amiibo will be available on the 26th June, and a bundle with both together will be in stores.
Splatoon was up next, featuring a review of the info we know. Ranked battles will be in the game soon after launch allowing for tighter control of skill levels in matches. Splat Zones is a King of the Hill type mode, where control over areas for a period of time earns your team a point. And new mode Battle Dojo is a local multiplayer game, where the points are earned by shooting balloons out of the sky. It's one vs one, but now we know local multiplayer can be done in the game, there might be more local modes within the game.
Also revealed were Inkling amiibo. These are based off the characters in the game, and when scanned allow special missions to be played, giving special equipment upon completion. While America get a three pack, with Inkling Boy and Girl, and the Squid amiibo, Europe only get a special edition with just the game and Squid amiibo. It all depends on the pricing of these to know which region gets the better deal. The game and amiibo launch 29th May.

eShop title Affordable Space Adventures was given a small recap - the game is a 2D game where you control a ship through difficult levels - and given a release of 9th April. Swords and Soldiers II is another 2D game, this time a real time strategy battle game in the vein of Worms. It'll feature easy to use touch controls, and will be available some time in May. DS and Nintendo 64 games announced for the WiiU Virtual Console, with the first two DS games being Mario Kart DS and Warioware Touched. The Nintendo 64 games being Super Mario 64 and, for the first time since original release, Donkey Kong 64. All four of these games are available right now to download, and if you buy three of them, you will get the fourth free. The offer runs until July, so there's plenty of time to get on board. Wii Download games are Pandora's Tower on the 16th April, and Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies on the 30th April. Both games will be reduced by twenty-five percent during their first week of sale.
The Atlus logo was shown on-screen. A trailer followed. Anime styled, in both 2D and 3D, with a Japanese song playing over it, giving players snippets of gameplay in the process. The game was then revealed to be Sin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem. The game was first announced two years ago, and nothing has followed since. Until now. The game was purely said to have more information soon after the trailer.
Chilling survival game Project Zero [Fatal Frame outside Europe] has been confirmed to be coming to WiiU. Another Atlus game, Attack on Titan, was also shown for the 3DS with new information. Local and online co-op will be availabe for the game, as will leaderboards. The New Nintendo 3DS' C-Stick will be available to use in the game. To get people excited for the game, the first two episodes of the anime series will be available until 30th June on the eShop for free.
Azure Striker Gunvolt, a 2D side scrolling action game, had gameplay shown. It was also revealed two 3DS home themes would be available to buy. The game is out now.
Box Boy, from HAL Labratory - the creators behind Kirby - was shown off as a simple game in which the player creates shapes with connecting boxes to solve puzzles and progress through the level. Those levels are short, but there are more than 150 of them. The game is out right now, so if it interests you, get on buying on the 3DS eShop. If you buy the game, you can give a friend a trial with Download Play.

Next up was the rumoured Pokemon Rumble World for 3DS. Confirmed, given information about it, and a set release date [8th April], the game follows the same structure as others in the series, except for the fact it is free-to-play. To explore lands, you use Poke Diamonds, which is where the micro-transactions come into it. While you can get them through normal play, the paid method is obviously faster.
More Streetpass games in the Mii Plaza. First is fishing, which give you various bait to use from Miis you collect. There are over 150 fish to catch. Streetpass Zombies gives you weapons based on the hobbies of Miis you collect. Controlling your Mii, you have to defeat zombies and protect the town of Hobbyville. Also announced was a premium mode, which gives a VIP area to put special Miis and friends. It also allows additional personal information to be added, such as birthdays. As per usual, they need to be paid for, and as per usual, I'm cynical as to the price.
Puzzle and Dragons Z was shown to have over 250 monsters to collect in total from eggs, and chips will allow monsters to evolve. Monsters have different elements, so you need to pay attention to those when in battle [that play out as a match three puzzle game]. The Puzzle and Dragons Z and Puzzle and Dragons: Super Mario Edition dual pack releases 8th May, and a demo for the Super Mario Edition will follow soon.
Codename STEAM was given release of 15th May, and features local and online multiplayer battles, as well as worldwide tournaments. Fire Emblem was given a release of 2016, and was said to give your character main protagonist status. What you do in the game affects the path you follow. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer uses amiibo cards to select which character you design a house for, and once it is complete, you can scan more cards in to invite more villagers over. While the cards were only shown, it was revealed that the NFC Reader - needed for any 3DS system other than the New variants - will be released the same time as the game.

Back to Iwata and worldwide announcements, there was only one. But it was multiple content within one game. Mario Kart 8's second download content pack, Mario Kart 8 x Animal Crossing, was revealed to be coming in 23rd April. The track shown was the Animal Crossing track, which took racers through the whole of the town. From the look of the trailer, Villager will have variants, and Isabelle looks to be having fun on the bike that's Animal Crossing themed. The season will change depending on the time of year, and all the music will be live recorded. More information will be coming between now and release.
On the same day, more amiibo will be able to be scanned into the game for more Mii Racing Suits, including Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man. Also available with the update will be 200cc mode. This extra engine class will be far faster than 150cc, and it looks it as well. It was said that over the course of Mario Kart history, no new engine classes have been added, and so the format has grown a bit stale. With the new 200cc mode, races will become faster and harder, in both competition and tactics.

And that was that. Fifty minutes of Nintendo gaming gold. I'll certainly be getting both Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 content on release, as well as trying the demos that'll be released. I might give the amiibo demo app a quick play, and I'll certainly consider Codename STEAM and Super Mario 64. As for Splatoon, I'm going for that special edition if I can. Everything else I'll certainly be keeping an eye on, though.
And with that, this wrap-up comes to an end. The next time a big one of these directly related to gaming comes up will be E3, but I'll certainly be managing something like this for Star Wars Celebration later in the month.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

Aerial April [Network]

So, I said that I hadn't got most of the gaming related material posted, owing to the fact nothing at the gaming events interested me, and a Nintendo Direct didn't happen... um... last month. It happens today. Hopefully I can get full coverage of it, since I will be watching.
Now, owing to another event happening this month, and as I'm a massive fan of the franchise anyway, I'm naming this month Star Wars month. From today up to May the Fourth, I'll have numerous content relating to Star Wars, as well as what coverage I can of the Star Wars Celebration event itself. And there are numerous things I can be covering from the event.
Running from the 16th to the 19th, there will be many panels over those four days covering the wide variety of Star Wars products. Film, TV, books, comics, games, and many others will be around, and I'll be giving an overview of all what happened after the event is over, as well as going more in depth with anything I feel needs it.
As well as that, another Battlefront video will be on its way [maybe even more than one], and I'll cover other games. Not in any serious capacity, mind. Just for fun. What those games are, you'll have to see when I upload them. But I have numerous Star Wars games on PC, so I'm not stuck for choice.
Due to it being Star Wars month, the only story uploads on CDS Media will be of Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles. I might even add a Star Wars related short to the website as well.
That's all for another monthly update, Star Wars content galore, but don't forget about the Nintendo Direct content in the next few days, as well as the conference itself, if you can.