Platform Played PlayStation 4

Developer Disney Interactive Publisher Disney Interactive

The powers that be at Disney Interactive have been doing their best to stay current with their movies. With Disney Infinity 3.0, we have seen the launch of Star Wars, Inside Out, Zootopia and more on their toys to life platform. They also published real money slot games based on the world of Disney. These are naturally aimed at adult players who want to play casino games and try their luck on huge jackpot prizes. People who are intrigued by these games can use an online casino welcome bonus from this page that will match their deposit, doubling their money for free. Disney really tries hard to have games for people of all ages, which in our opinion, is an excellent strategy. It should be no surprise then, that their latest offering is Marvel Battleground. Which is a play set that brings all of the Disney Infinity 2.0 characters along for the ride with a fresh crop of new ones, in a very Super Smash Brothers style game that brings as much frustration as satisfaction? But is the battle across the galaxy worth your time?

I had been looking forward to this game for the wrong reason. I expected the ability to play in an online battle arena against people all over the internet. But that just isn’t the direction Disney Interactive seems to be taking. Their approach is more “build it, share it, and walk away.” The game encourages local couch co-op, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Most gamer frustration I hear comes from being sick of requiring an online internet connection to play a game. The issue I had is that this game should have been a no-brainer to incorporate online co-op or versus mode but never makes the commitment. We all know the importance of co-op and online gameplay nowadays, it’s almost essential. People like to connect, chat, and play together so how a game like this didn’t get that feature is a real failure on the developers side. Fortunately, there are plenty of games on various sites that promote online play, most notably the one we linked above. It promotes online games that you can play on your phone and these are not basic games, but while having fun with friends you can win real money. Now that’s a winner feature to have in a game.

Execution

In previous games, you synced one or two characters to your portal, threw on whatever play set crystal, and then moved on through the story or toy box mode. Marvel Battleground takes a different approach. You’ll get to a Battleground screen and see the opaque silhouettes of the key characters from 2.0 and 3.0. As you sync your characters to your portal, each character becomes it’s solid looking self or is added into the mix, and saves to your game. From there, you can select up to four characters on the fly without having to replace the characters on your portal. That mechanic alone has been sorely needed throughout the entire franchise and is a welcome addition. The problem is that only works in the arena style modes.

The story will still make you swap characters when you die like previous games. And the most interesting thing is your inability to add the Star wars, Inside Out, or Zootopia characters in the game. Settle down; I fully understand it doesn’t make any sense to mix those properties. But this is still a Disney Infinity fighting game, and as I look to my right and see Darth Maul, Finn, Luke Skywalker, Poe Dameron, Ray, and Han Solo all staring in different directions, I can’t help but feel cheated that I don’t have an additional reason to bring these guys back into circulation. I get that they have no place in the story. But you’re telling me it wouldn’t be amazing to have Luke square off against Iron Man? Han Solo against Hawkeye? Rey against Black Widow? I’m sure it was a continuity issue, but it just seems like they should have at least added a Star Wars Battleground side to the game at least.

Story

As with every play set crystal, you are treated to a story based around different aspects of the Marvel Universe. You’ll visit Wakanda, Knowhere, and other places but only ever as backdrops. There is zero exploration to be had here. You will be fighting, and fighting often. The story is relatively weak compared to how solid The Force Awakens and The Clone Wars playsets were. Two villains that you should have no trouble guessing have decided to team up and steal the only element worth stealing; Vibranium. You’ll fight your way through waves of weak enemies, stronger doppelgangers, and a few challenging boss battles as you work your way through the story to completion. Sound basic? It is.

Game Play

This game is a button masher, make no mistake about it. Where The Clone Wars encouraged layers of timed button presses and holds, Marvel Battlegrounds just wants you to beat-up the other guy before they get to you. The variation comes in the form of ranged attacks, held power moves, and the finishers that build up by collecting purple “sparks.” Much like items in SSB, power discs are dropped into the game, and add ally’s, shields, or call in air strikes. You can block, dodge roll, parry blasts, but it just all seems ridged and under cooked. Heaven help you in a four-person arena because you can’t lock onto anyone, and switching from character to character is more tedious than rewarding.

It’s not a difficulty setting issue either; it’s just the mechanics of the game. The most fun I had playing, was during the 1v1 battles because I could just focus on one character and beat them mercilessly. In 4v4 or 2v2, it’s impossible to select a character to throw an item at. The game chooses all that for you. Having played SSB in the past, currently playing Pokken Tournament, and Street Fighter V, I have certain expectations as to the fluidity of a fighting game. It doesn’t need to be free flow combat like Batman: Arkham Knight, but I shouldn’t be getting mad that I can’t cancel an action to block or choose who I shoot webbing or throw my shield at. And we aren’t talking about some small indie developer with a ten-person team. We’re talking about Disney, here. I can’t make an excuse for a company with seemingly unlimited resources.

Overall

I realize I’ve been pretty hard on this playset so far, but I didn’t just review a free version of this. I purchased it because I wanted to try it out, turned out to be one of the best game reviews ever and a lot of this is criticisms as a game editor and a fan of the franchise. I like collecting the characters. The art style of Ant-Man and Black Panther are fantastic. I can’t tell you how much fun I have re-creating battles between Hulkbuster and The Incredible Hulk. Between Spider-Man and Venom. There is a lot of lore to sift through and having the IGF figures save to the console makes those fights all the more easy to accomplish. It’s just hard not to be disappointed in the clunky fighting mechanics, lack of online gameplay, and disregard for other 3.0 content.

Marvel Battleground adds a lot of important elements in a very competitive field. But they make the main component of the game, 4v4 combat, too ridged and frustrating to enjoy. With a weak story and clunky fighting game mechanics, this is a game that will be a welcome addition to Marvel fans and Infinity collectors but is sure to be hated by fighting gamer’s looking for a new version of Super Smash Brothers.

The Good

• Up to four players
  
• IGF’s save to the game
  
• New characters!
  
• Destructible Landscapes
• Unique abilities and finishers

The Bad

• Limited Combat moves
  
• No target lock on
  
• No way to cancel attacks
  
• Weak story
• No online battle or co-0p
• Most 3.0 characters left out

Its latest title, Blast ‘Em Bunnies appears to be no exception to this, with the two man development team deciding to have a shot at the tower defense/ endless shooter genre. With the launch of Blast ‘Em Bunniesimminent, Analog Addiction had a chance to speak to one of the creative minds behind these games, Nnooo Creative Director and Founder Nic Watt.

“I first came up with an idea about looking around and shooting things and we wanted to include cute, colourful characters,” says Watt, speaking of how the premise for the game was formulated. “The first idea was a space defence shooter where you were some form of orbiting space station which could move in 360 degrees looking through its sights. I felt that shooting aliens in space might be a little too niche and alienating for some users so I tried to think of a character type that would appeal to all users.”

“This is where the ideas of bunnies came from. Once we had that, we started to think of all the cool things both the player could do in the form of crazy types of weapons (exploding, heat-seeking pepper bombs!), and enemies (burrowers, blockers, throatslitters for example)!”

My first experience with Blast ‘Em Bunnies was back in 2013, at the EB Games Expo in Sydney, Australia. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One had just been announced, and Blast ‘Em Bunnies was being used to showcase the gyroscope in the PlayStation 4 controller.

“At the EB Expo in 2013 we were showing an early build on PlayStation 4 and we actually hadn’t been approved for Xbox at that time,” reflected Watt. “We still had a lot to add in the form of different arenas, bunny skins and even weapon and enemy types. We also added refreshable missions which renew on completion and daily, as well as lots of medals to complete too.”

Blast ‘Em Bunnies will be a strictly single player experience. “There isn’t multiplayer as mainly it would have required online play. The game is designed to be a first person shooter and the gameplay we went for really suits single player,” comments Watt. “Multiplayer would be a very different mode and, on at least PSVita and Nintendo 3DS, would have had to support either local or online multiplayer. This was too big an undertaking and something we hadn’t done before so we decided to focus our efforts on making sure the single player was the best it could be.”

Nnooo has been focused on Blast ‘Em Bunnies for quite some time. It’s been a little over two years since I first saw Blast ‘Em Bunnies in action, and several factors have played a part in the long development time frame. Largely, Watt tells me, it was because of the number of platforms the game was being developed for.

“We were always planning on PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS and added PlayStation 4 when we received development approval. Xbox One we added when we got approval to develop. We mainly wanted to release on multiple devices to reach more people and make the game as successful as we can.”

“When we finally got Xbox One approval we decided we wanted to aim for a simultaneous release, so it took a fair bit of time adding all of the support for each platform’s idiosyncrasies.”

Not only is a simultaneous release on this many platforms something new for the small developer, it also made the quality assurance testing a much longer process. “Given that there are only 3 of us and we are supporting 4 platforms, it took a big chunk of time to get it all super polished and bug free. The EB Expo 2013 build had a lot of crashes and other issues we were quite skilled at hiding!”

Another challenge the team faced was utilising each platform’s unique features in the game. The PlayStation and 3DS versions of the game make use of each platform’s gyroscope as an alternative control method to move the gun turret, but the Xbox presented more of a challenge that could not be overcome.

“We would have loved to support Kinect but it is such a different user interface we were concerned about how well we could give the feeling of controlling a gun turret and how much code would be shared between [the different platforms].”

Having absolutely no knowledge of developing games for different platforms, I was intrigued as to which platform Watt preferred.

“I really enjoy making games full stop. I think Nintendo probably provide the most interesting hardware in terms of things you can do with it, but for me working on PSVita, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo 3DS is super exciting. It has been challenging trying to get the game working on such different hardware, particularly from the power of the PS4 and Xbox One down to the relatively lesser power of the Nintendo 3DS. Nevertheless, I think the game shines and has been tailored to work well on them all.”

“In terms of development ease I wouldn’t say any are much easier than the others, other than (because they are more recent) that the PS4 and Xbox One have got more modern tools and systems. Each generation the hardware manufacturers learn from the things they liked and disliked the generation before and make adjustments accordingly. With PS4 and Xbox One being the newest they have a lot more prior learnings to draw on.”

If you hadn’t picked it up by now, Nnooo has a development team of just two people. “The benefits are we can make the games we want, how we want and to the quality we want,” says Watt. “The challenges are we can only work so many hours and because we like to really polish our games they can end up taking a lot longer than we expect. Balancing the time, budget and quality is always very hard.”

It’s no secret that the current Australian government has not been very supportive of local video game development, but Screen Australia’s limited funding went a long way in helping the development of Nnooo’s latest title. “To be honest Blast ‘Em Bunnies would not have been completed without their support,” reflects Watt. “Screen NSW have been amazing, particularly given the tough times they have faced with their budgets being cut. They have really supported everything we have done and we are really glad they can still help out developers!”

Blast ‘Em Bunnies, the latest game from Nnooo, is available digitally this week for $4.99 USD (or regional equivalent). The PlayStation 4 and Vita versions of the game are available on March 8 in North America (March 9 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand). The Nintendo 3DS version launches on March 10 in the Americas, Europe and Australia and New Zealand, and the Xbox One version will be available on March 11 in the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

The latest interview is with Koji Oda, the director of the Resident Evil 0 Remaster and the original Gamecube release of Resident Evil 0, alongside his work on the original Resident Evil. During the interview Oda gives some insight into the development of the Resident Evil 0 Remaster, where he describes how he wanted to try new things, while also making sure it did not affect the gameplay balance.

The Resident Evil 0 Remaster also contains a specially crafted feature called Wesker Mode, which allows players to control an overpowered Albert Wesker. Oda explains that the development team decided to create this special mode to give something entertaining for players, while discussions were also underway for the player to control enemy creatures; but the idea was ultimately nixed.

Capcom will continue to celebrate the anniversary of Resident Evil throughout 2016, but until the next interview feel free to share some of your fondest Resident Evil memories in the comments below and check out the interview with Resident Evil producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi

The AFK Room will be a quiet area for people looking to relax and take a break from the busy PAX floor. The room will be staffed with volunteers and clinicians who can answer question and offer support for those taking a break from the show floor.

Take This is a US-based not-for-profit organisation, which has teamed up with PAX to bring this joint initiative down under. The AFK Room was introduced at PAX East in 2014, and has since accommodated up to 500 attendees each day during events. The AFK Room has been a permanent feature of every US PAX show, and PAX Australia is happy to replicate this feature.

“We are thrilled to bring the AFK Room and Take This’s message of healing and hope for those dealing with mental health issues to PAX Australia,” said Take this Executive Director, Russ Pitts. “Over the past year, as attendees of US-based PAX events and other shows have become more aware of the mental health issues in our community, we’ve seen a growing demand for spaces like the AFK Room and education and awareness like Take This provides. To be working with PAX to ensure that the Enforcers and attendees at PAX Aus have support for dealing with these issues is a wonderful privilege.”

“After seeing the benefits at PAX East 2014, it’s always been Russ and my goal to get AFK rooms to not only all PAXes but to all gaming events across the globe. Take This is an organization that helps gamers, period,” said Penny Arcade President Robert Khoo.

PAX Australia will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 30 to November 1. Single day passes and 3 days international passes are still available online here. It was also previously revealed Warren Spector would be appearing at the event, and ESL will be hosting an eSports Arena at the event.

The demo only contained five arenas, with the usual locations such as Namek, World Martial Arts Tournament and generic areas reminiscent of iconic battle locations. Each arena has two areas battles can take place: on the ground and in the air. Battles only take to the air once a powerful combination of attacks has been produced. Dominating your opponent until they are sent flying into the air is certainly satisfying, but Dragon Ball fans looking for destructive arenas won’t find what they are looking for here.

The Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden demo itself only contained four different characters, which included Majin Buu, Son Gohan, Goku and Vegeta. Each character felt like their series counterparts, with Gohan delivering speedy attacks and Buu using his size to his advantage. Combat did feel quite sluggish compared to many fighters I have experienced on console, which is to be expected due to the 3DS’ lack of power in comparison. The sluggish nature of battles took some getting used to, but once you finally familiarise yourself with the slow natured battle style there is some great fun to be had. Iconic moves can be delivered with lengthy button combos and because of the 2D nature of each battle, there is no time wasted trying to find your opponent in the open environment. Fantastic handheld fighters are not an easy experience to deliver, but I’m happy to say each fighter has enough variety to provide some exciting gameplay.

Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden also gives an expanded focus on the lesser known individuals from the series. The focus on lesser known characters is due to the Z-Assist feature. When starting a match players can select up to four different Z-Assists to help them in battle, these range from characters like Turtle, Korin, or even Shenron himself. These assists can be initiated on the 3DS touch-pad and can produce a wide variety of actions. For instance, summoning Korin will have the feline master throw a Senzu bean onto the battle and whoever gets it will retrieve some of their health. Of course these assists all possess different cool down periods, meaning nobody will be able to spam these features to victory. Learning which Z-Assist would best suit particular moments in battles added a whole new strategic element to battles, using these assists randomly with no thought will see them gone to waste. They become important tools that need to be used effectively to dominate your foes.

Each arena as well as the characters looks great, due to the crisp 16 bit visual style, which is reminiscent of Streets of Rage. Stages represent their anime counterparts well, but the characters themselves look gorgeous. The cell shaded style on consoles have come a long way in mimicking the anime style, but these crisp old school visuals make each character seem like a moving manga. Pulling off iconic moves also looks fantastic, with Vegeta’s Gallick Gun, of Goku’s Spirit Bomb looking deliciously destructive.

The demo of Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden only contained two modes; one was the standard Battle Mode which allowed me to play against the computer in any combination I liked, while the other took place online. As you’d expect for a demo experience there were not many individuals online, but I eventually was able to experience online with a friend. Searching for battles and creating your own rooms worked well once we were both online, with zero lag during our experience; mind you these took place on the same internet connection. Battles were certainly more fun when playing a human controlled opponent, which pushed the importance of your strategic choice of Z-Assist and characters. These dramatic encounters were certainly my highlight of the Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden demo, but I’m worried how the connection will hold up when battling players on other connections.

The short slice of Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden I experienced definitely eclipsed my expectations. Handheld fighters can get very messy when they are not done right, but Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden seems to be on the right track. There were no indications of what other modes will be included in Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden come launch, and I’m still not sure if a story mode will be amongst them.

If you’re a hardcore Dragon Ball Z fan looking to enjoy a fun experience on your 3DS, Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden seems like it may deliver. But as it stands, it’s hard to tell how hardcore fighting fans will come accustom to the sluggish nature of battles and how the online capabilities will handle come its western launch in October.

Wii U

• BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition
  “Fly through the award-winning world ofBADLAND and discover an astonishing number of imaginative traps, puzzles and obstacles on the way. BADLAND is a side-scrolling action adventure with innovative physics-based game play and stunning atmospheric graphics and audio. Purchase and download now to enjoy beautiful HD visuals, more than 15 hours of single-player levels and up to four-player local multiplayer awesomeness with co-op and death matches!”
  – Nintendo press release

• Xeodrifter
  “Xeodrifter is the story of an interstellar drifter traveling the stars on a simple mission of exploration. Blast your way through alien landscapes, seek out valuable secrets and defeat ancient guardians to unlock powers in this exciting journey of mystery and adventure. People who buy the Wii U version of Xeodrifter will also be able to download the game for Nintendo 3DS for free – and vice versa! Click here to view a trailer for the game.”
  – Nintendo press release
• Endless Golf
  “Hit shot after shot as you play an endless amount of procedurally generated golfing holes that increase with difficulty, more hills, and tricky traps. Enjoy the scenic pastures as you play all day and all night, never stopping. Watch as time passes you by. Easy to learn touch controls, but hard to master. See how many holes you can get in as few strokes as possible. But don’t worry, there is no win or lose, just Endless Golf.”
  – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com
• To celebrate Kirby’s 23rd birthday on Saturday, Aug. 1, Nintendo has released three Kirby titles for the Wii U Virtual Console.
  • Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
    “Kirby stars in his first 3D adventure, which is also his Nintendo 64 debut. This game finds the always-versatile hero battling a new enemy called Dark Matter. Dark Matter is after a distant land’s powerful crystal, but a young fairy named Ribbon attempts to save it by escaping with the gem to Dream Land. Now the crystal has been broken, and it’s scattered around the world. Take control of Kirby, and help him journey across six worlds, battling a wide variety of enemies and challenging bosses, as he tries to collect all 100 pieces of the shattered crystal. Along the way, you’ll use Kirby’s trademark Copy Ability to use enemies’ strengths against them. Not only that, but try combining any two abilities to create a brand-new one that is usually stronger than the original. Throw in three exciting multiplayer minigames, and you’ve got a package of which even King Dedede would be proud. Fans of Kirby and action games with bright, colorful graphics should vacuum this one up.”
    – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com
    
  • Kirby Squeak Squad
    “Float, jump, and battle through eight huge worlds as Kirby takes control of a diabolical band of rodent robbers called the Squeaks! You can expect all of the action from a classic Kirby game, but this time, Kirby’s Copy Abilities have been massively boosted. Not only can you mix and match Copy Abilities by using the stylus to drag them together inside Kirby’s belly, but the powers themselves now have the ability to affect the environment as well as foes. For example, you can burn trees and grasses with the Fire ability or freeze water with the Ice ability. The massive array of Copy Abilities in Kirby: Squeak Squad will appeal to any Kirby fan, and a collection of well-hidden treasure chests to discover will reward players looking to find every last secret.”
    – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com
    
  • Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
    “Return to Kirby’s roots with new copy abilities, and awesome new Super Abilities. Up to four players can play together – play as Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee. Classic gameplay with a new twist makes for an adventure that anyone can enjoy.”
    – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com

• Just Dance 2016 (Demo)
  “Play the free Just Dance 2016 demo today in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U! No additional Wii Remote controllers are required – you can download the free Just Dance Controller app to your iOS or Android device to turn your smartphone into a controller.”
  – Nintendo press release
• New Splatoon Update
  “On Aug. 5, a free software update for the Splatoon game on the Wii U console brings new content to the game, including two new matchmaking modes, new weapon types, an increase to the game’s level caps and more than 40 pieces of new gear. Following this update, more content will continually roll out through the rest of the summer and fall, including the Rainmaker Ranked Battle mode, additional maps and new weapons. For more information visit http://splatoon.nintendo.com.”
  – Nintendo press release

3DS

• Best of Board Games – Mahjong
  “Rediscover all the pleasure of Mahjong in this timeless classic! Learn how to play and test your abilities by solving 60 boards in Adventure mode, or play a single game at your leisure in Free mode. Stuck in a level? Use your bonus and make the entire board simpler in a split second! Discover the brand new Moving walkway mode: finish the levels more quickly by using the extra tiles that scroll alongside the board. Choose classic or modern tiles and become a Mahjong pro!”
  – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com
  
• Best of Board Games – Solitaire
  “Rediscover Solitaire and its most popular variations in this timeless classic! Take a moment to relax with one of 5 variations: Freecell, Golf, Pyramid, Klondike and Spider, with many more adjustable options for each variation. Stuck? Use brand new bonuses such as card swap to get yourself out of the situation! Play a quick game at any time in Free mode or take on 40 increasingly harder challenges in Adventure mode.”
  – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com
  
• Flick Golf 3D
  “Welcome to Flick Golf, the world’s most addictive handheld golf game now for Nintendo 3DS! Flick, spin and curve your shots with pinpoint accuracy to sink that perfect hole-in-one. Turn up the 3D depth slider to add a whole new dimension! Beat high scores across six unique and challenging courses in Quickshot, compete for trophies in World Tour, or put your golf skills to the ultimate test in Quickshot Pro. Experience Full Fat’s award-winning ‘after touch’ controls for the very first time on Nintendo 3DS!”
  – Description on game’s page at nintendo.com

Sales, Specials & More

• LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham has been permanently reduced to $19.99.
• High Strangeness is $4.99 starting at 9 a.m. PT on Monday, Aug. 3, until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 9.
• Elliot Quest is $10.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, August 13.
• Developer Circle Entertainment has their games Castle Conqueror Defender, Demon King Box and Quell Memento on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 20.
• Toys vs. Monsters is $1.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 23.
• Developer EnjoyUp has their games 99Moves, Abyss and Rock Zombie on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 27.
• The Etrian Odyssey Untold 2 Classic Theme is now available on the 3DS.
• The Miiverse has received a new updates and facelift. Screen Shot Album allows players to organize up to 100 captured pictures; Play Journal lets players write about their experiences by citing them in a journal, which can be public or private, with compatible Miiverse games; Games in Miiverse are now split up into player journal entries, drawings and discussion categories.
• The Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. Sink or Swim Tournament is running from Friday, July 31, to Sunday, Aug. 9.

Ongoing sales from the weeks of May 28, June 25, July 2, July 9, July 16 and July 23

Below is a list of games on the Wii U and 3DS eShops that still have ongoing sales originally listed during the weeks of May 28, June 25, July 2, July 9, July 16 and July 23.

May 28

• Luv Me Buddies Wonderland for Wii U and 3DS is $12.90 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Friday, July 31.
• Fit Music is $12.90 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Friday, July 31.

June 25

• Stone Shire is $3.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Saturday, Aug. 1.

July 2

• Plenty of Fishies is $2.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Friday, July 31.
• Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, 4 Elements and more games from Tulip Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Friday, Jan. 1.

July 9

• AeternoBlade is $7.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

July 16

• Classic Games Overload: Card & Puzzle Edition is $14.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Monday, Aug. 3.
• Developer Circle Entertainment has their games Castle Conqueror EX, Fairune and Parking Star 3D on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Monday, Aug. 6.
• uWordsmith is $0.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 6.
• Developer EnjoyUp has their titles 99Seconds, Soccer Up 3D and more on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 13.
• Squids Odyssey on the Wii U and 3DS is $5.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 13.
• Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX is $4.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Saturday, Aug. 15.
• Developer Bplus has their games Bit Boy!! Arcade and PUZZLEBOX Setup on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Monday, August 31.
• Developer Cypronia has their games Angry Bunnies: Colossal Carrot Crusade, Angry Bunnies, Color Zen on the Wii Uand 3DS and more on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on August 31.

July 23

• Developer Wayforward has their games Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse on the Wii U and 3DS, and Mighty Switch Force! 2 on the Wii U and 3DS  on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 2.
• Midnight is $0.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 6.
• Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D is $4.99 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, Aug. 6.

“China is a relatively new market for PlayStation and we’re excited to be bringing Blast ‘Em Bunnies to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita there,” said Bruce Thomson, Business & Marketing Director at Nnooo. “It’s also new territory for us and we’re partnering with Shanghai-based publisher Circle Entertainment who know the market well.”

Blast ‘Em Bunnies is an endless bunny shooter, which tasks players to defend their burrow from a horde of evil bunnies. Players must keep their bunny alive as long as possible, with enemies becoming more challenging the longer they survive. Players can also upgrade their weapons and purchase special ammo types with collected in-game coins, which will be needed if they want to survive.

Blast ‘Em Bunnies will also release in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and Xbox One, either “this year or early next” with the price to be announced at a later date.

If you’re attending the China Joy Expo, Nnooo encourages fans to come down and check out the game, or if you can’t, check out AA’s hands-on impressions.

E3 2015 was all about the games. Every press conference, from Bethesda on Sunday night, until Square Enix on Tuesday morning, featured trailers and gameplay for games in all stages of production. There was a lot more show than tell during the press conferences, and the games benefit because of it. From the extensive gameplay footage of Fallout 4, to short gameplay reveals of Gears 4 and The Last Guardian, and a CGI trailer for the long requested Final Fantasy VII remake, the press conferences featured a tonne of gameplay. Publishers are finally realising that gamers don’t want to be told about games, they want to be shown games. It seems the first parties have finally stopped openly fighting against each other and embracing why fans love their consoles.

Whether you agree with what Nintendo is doing or not, they chose to focus on games closer to release rather than making announcements about what’s to come in the future. Almost all of the titles they showed will be released this year, with exceptions being Mario & Luigi Paper Jam, Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Fire Emblem Fates. Regardless of your views towards Nintendo and their reliance on the same few core franchises, there are a lot of games heading to the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS this holiday season. Star Fox Zero, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Super Mario Maker will keep Wii U owners entertained for a while until new games are announced, and perhaps a Zelda Wii U release date. Meanwhile, 3DS owners can look forward to new a new Animal Crossing, Yoshi’s Woolly World and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. There was also new Smash Bros. content released this week for Wii U and 3DS. Nintendo has not had a press conference at E3 for a couple of years now, so they may make other announcements through Nintendo Direct videos later this year.

Microsoft had a strong showing this year choosing to bombard viewers with gameplay demo after gameplay demo, with a few trailers thrown in to keep the conference from reaching the two hour mark. Microsoft chose to focus on Halo 5: Guardians to start the show, premiering the first campaign footage and a new 12v12 multiplayer mode called Warzone. Several trailers were shown off for ID@Xbox games in production including Tacoma, Ashen, Beyond Eyes and Cuphead. It also announced a new Game Preview program similar to Steam Early Access with Elite Dangerous and The Long Dark available now, while DayZ will be coming soon; all Game Preview titles must have a free trial. Away from the games, Microsoft announced Xbox One backwards compatibility with select Xbox 360 titles starting this Fall, and a new extremely customisable controller. Microsoft also had its other first party games on show with a trailer for Forza Motorsport 6, first gameplay for Gears 4, and a gameplay trailer for Rare’s new game Sea of Thieves (it’s not Banjo, but it does have pirates). Surprisingly, the Hololens demonstration with Minecraft was quite fascinating, especially with the technology they used to show it off to the audience. Finally, with the impending launch of Windows 10, Microsoft announced that published titles are going to begin seeing cross platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, as well as more Xbox titles being made available on PC – Killer Instinct, Fable Legends and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition are the first batch.

For PlayStation fans, I assume it’s the press conference they’ve been waiting for. Sony finally showed gameplay for The Last Guardian and a Final Fantasy VII remake was announced. Sony also continued with its third party partnerships, with exclusive missions in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, and Batman: Arkham Knight which releases next week. In a big step for PlayStation, Call of Duty: Black Ops III gameplay premiered at the conference, with downloadable content coming first to PlayStation. Sony’s conference appeared to be about looking towards 2016 and beyond, with announcements of new IPs from Killzone developer Guerrilla Games, and Little Big Planet developer Media Molecule. Sony has had strong showings from first party games in the last few years with big guns like The Last of Us (2013), Infamous Second Son (2014) and Bloodborne (2015). However, the second half of 2015 will see Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, God of War III Remastered, Tearaway Unfolded and the Heavy Rain/ Beyond: Two Souls bundle keeping PlayStation 4 gamers busy before, hopefully, a first party filled 2016 – I hear some small project called Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is gaining some attention.

And yet, who needs first party titles when publishers like Bethesda Softworks, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have some great looking titles set for late 2015 and early 2016. Bethesda has the much anticipated Fallout 4 set for a November 10 launch, and DOOM is looking at a 2016 release, with perhaps Dishonored 2 joining it. Electronic Arts will launch its Need for Speed reboot in the Fall, and Star Wars: Battlefront on November 19; Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is set for a February 23, 2016 release. Ubisoft’s big titles for this year are Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Meanwhile, there will also be a new yearly entry in the fan favourite dance series Just Dance. For 2016, Ubisoft has The Division on its schedule, with unspecified release dates for Ghost Recon: Wildlands, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Anno 2250 and new IP For Honor. But wait, there’s more from other publishers too. Square Enix has Just Cause 3, Kingdom Hearts III, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and a new Hitman on the horizon. As usual, there are also EA’s extremely popular sports games. 2K Games has NBA2K16 on the way, as well as XCOM 2 and MOBA-style action game Battleborn (Gearbox Software). Oh, and let’s not forget the return of rhythm game behemoths Guitar Hero and Rockband making returns this year. If that’s not enough for you, there are plenty of independent developers creating games to fill the void of genres triple-A titles won’t touch.

As you can see, gamers definitely won E3. It’s a great time to be a lover of video games. No matter what platform you play on, there are plenty of exciting titles on the way. The first party publishers, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, have stopped visibly fighting against each other and have shifted their focus to their own player bases and what they expect. Of course, PC gamers don’t miss out either with loads of exclusive games not available on console like an expansion for Guild Wars 2, and a Total War/Warhammer cross over that is somehow not called Total Warhammer. Regardless of which brand you lean strongly towards, there is something for everyone this year at E3, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This year at E3, everyone is a winner, and it feels great.

While Xenoblade Chronicles 3D only works for New 3DS systems due to the game’s size, it utilizes the system’s features, including the two extra shoulder buttons and C Stick, which is presumably used for the camera.

The port also has features not originally in the Wii iteration. Collection Mode allows players to look at various animated character models, while Jukebox lets players listen to the game’s soundtrack, event when the system is closed. Tracks can be unlocked via in-game tokens, meeting other players through StreetPass, Play Coins or, if you were lucky enough to get one, tapping the Shulk amiibo on the touch screen.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is an open-world game that follows Shulk and the crypticness behind his Monado blade. Along the way, players meet new allies, enemies, embark on side quests and find treasures. The real time gameplay focuses on leveling up, character customization and attacking enemies with abilities called Arts.

The sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles X, will release in Japan on April 29, 2015. It was also revealed the game will have optional downloadable content to purchase.

Developed by Lightwood Games, POWGI is the developer’s Nintendo platform debut title. While the 3DS version has straightforward controls, the Wii U versions allows up to one player with a GamePad, and four players with Wii Remotes, to work together to solve puzzles. Both versions contain more than 300 puzzles.

Below are screenshots for each from both platforms.

POWGI can be downloaded for the Wii U and 3DS on April 16, 2015, for $7.99. A downloadable demo is also available for free.