Well it has been some time since I managed to get around to doing anything with the site and really that's just down to life getting in the way and maybe lately with what seems like a drop in all things Nintendo as they are in a transition period to a new generation of systems, since the Wii is slowly winding down and the 3DS is really just getting started and most of Nintendo's focus is on the upcoming Wii-U even third party developers have pretty much all but abandoned the Wii at this point in time with only the few big multi platform games being released on the system now.


On the subject of the Wii winding down, it seems to have all but halted in North America as NOA has pretty much point blank refused to release there of the final biggest releases on the system, but on the flip side NOE has decided to release all three games in Europe and all of those games will of course have full English voices and translations, this is pretty much unheard of and in a way a shocking move. Maybe in a way all those years of never getting any of the big releases from the last years on other systems has paid off and not to mention all those countless RPGs from the SNES era that were just never released, it is a bad thing that many gamers wont get a chance to play these games but from a point of view a some one who has suffered over previous generation it almost feels like the tables have turned a bit and Nintendo is start to put Europe over North America for a change.

So what about the site?

Well I am going to try and put some more effort into it, I will even be putting a video blog on here as well to add a bit more content but you should see it as I will attach it some where in here anyway as well as another new feature that I am just on my way to finishing, I have also added a bit of a different look to the main site and the forum too to give it a bit more of a unique look, I know it's not much as I am not the greatest with that side of the design but it makes it feel like my own now.

My long term goal is also to get some form of a community going within the Forum, via my Youtube channel and via twitter, so join follow and subscribe to all those and take part and help me build a better site :)   

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Well it has certainly been some time since I have been on the sight at all, and that is down to the sad fact that life seems to have gotten in the way of things that I want to do, and well that and a certain member of the opposite sex taking up other parts of my time, but I do plan on getting some time put into the site soon and adding a few new features and finish of my Mario platform game set of reviews.

Anyway my thoughts on E3, well in a way it was both exciting and anti-climatic at the same time, on the one hand you had this exciting new console shown off that plans to change how consoles are controlled much like the Wii did, but the new Wii-U as it is named looks to tap into the tablet craze that seems to be going about right now thanks to the i-Pad. I will admit I am excited about the potential it offers us for new kinds of games and that Nintendo is releasing something that will match what is currently out there meaning that we will get all the top multi-format games and not watered down versions or PS2 ports, with maybe the exception of Activision games like Call of Duty which seem to be the one series of games that aim to deliver a unique Wii only experience and each passing one has included more and more while trying to stay as close to the originals as they can.

I am going off subject a little there but I am hoping this means for the most part having one console will mean not missing out on the best versions of the games now. On a more negative note the fact there was little to no games shown and just a few tech demos from Nintendo and nothing much from third parties either other than a hand full of announcements and one or two tech demos, so there is no real way of judging the true power of the console itself compared to the others that are out there until the games start to be shown and many stories it may be quite a bit more powerful and others suggest it wont be any more than what is currently on the market, either way we know as much about the system as we don't know about it.

On a whole I am pretty happy with how the hardware itself seems to have turned out pretty much matching and surpassing anything the PS3 has to offer from a technical standpoint although it has really yet to be fully confirmed, at least the discs will match that of Blu-ray in capacity and it will be able to output games in 1080p, although whether it renders them is another thing that is unknown at this time. The potential of the controller alone makes things very exciting and I believe that I said the Wii-U would come with a camera I just never thought it would be in the controller, or that it would feature video chat for that matter, but the Mii-maker feature as seen in the 3DS is not easily possible.

Personally I am not to sure how often I will play games on the controller itself but the feature is pretty amazing as it allows you to continue the game even if some one else wants to use your TV, within a certain distance of course and although the resolution of the controller is not HD from what I understand it is pretty razor sharp anyway.

One thing that has really yet to have any great depth into it is the online infrastructure, but I expect it to be some kind of hybrid of what the Wii currently has, the 3DS system and X-box Live with player accounts and maybe even achievements, but how ever it works I would imagine Nintendo are going to try and correct any mistakes of the Wii.

Well after what seemed like it was going to be a quiet month of gaming from a Nintendo point of view, things happened to change quite quickly, with the announcement that their newest home console will be unveiled in playable form at E3 in just over a months time, although it's not yet known if it will be playable to the public or just certain people behind the scenes.

The main reason for the announcement is due to the mass of rumours coming out about the console all at one so in a way it seems to have forced Nintendo's hand, but at the same time other factors seem to have pointed in that direction namely the slowing Wii sales and the lack of any real substance to the Wii line up for the year beyond a handful of games.

I am going to take a stab in the dark at some things that I feel will be happening with this new system, first I feel full back wards compatibility with both Wii and Gamecube games, I also think it will adopt similar feature to what the 3DS has done and that is have much more in depth player profiles again using the Mii's as avatars and multiple ones on each system too for the first time, even doing away with the friend code system. I can also see it incorporating the Mii maker feature from the 3DS where you use a camera to create the Mii's likeness to your own, so I do think it will use that camera as part of the control too with maybe some enhanced version of the Wii-mote plus being used so it can be backwards compatible too, although I do think there will be some other additional form of controller too with an improved version on the classic controller pro with some sort of motion control in a similar vein to Sony's six-axis controller as well as rumble support but some other addition too to keep it fresh and unique.

Now what about the rumours doing the rounds? Well for one regarding power I can see it for one being easily able to match anything the X-Box 360 and PS3 can currently do and then some more, how much more? Well that all depends on how much it will cost Nintendo as they are not ones to build a console that will cost them money and they will also want to sell it at a reasonable price. As for the controller I have already said I think they will use an enhanced version of the Wii-mote plus that takes advantage of a camera to track over a sensor bar, but I actually think the classic controller pro will become the main form of control with all the extras I feel it will have that I stated above, and be a standalone rechargeable controller but the main rumour going about is it will have a built in screen now I can actually see this happening, but if it does or doesn't only time will tell.

What ever happens from now on out it really promises to be exciting time for Nintendo fans and gamers alike over the next few months and even year leading up to the release of the system.

Well I will have to be totally honest and admit I was blown away by not only what the system can do from a graphical point of view but the 3D effect actually works and works well too. I think that pretty much sums up the system as a whole and really pushes the boat out as far as what a Nintendo console can do and that's not just a handheld system it's a home one too as the 3DS pretty much matches what the Wii can do and from some of the upcoming third party games surpasses it.

If anything due to the fact that developers are matching and in some cases surpassing Wii games does that just show how lazy they have been with developing the Wii games on the most part?

But that's not my point to this point I am fully enjoying the 3DS and the four games I have picked up on launch, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, Piolotwings Resort, Ridge Racer 3D and Pro Evolution Soccer 3D.

All four games I am pretty much loving too for one reason or another so I am gonna do a quick summary of all four;

Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition

Well first it's a great technical achievement they the have not only got the game onto a handheld system but it's near enough uncut from the console version and looks very very close to them as well, and from a control point of view it's easily the best fighting game I have ever played on a handheld system and only loses out to the home systems due to being a bit awkward. The 3d is used to a nice effect but has no real benefit in any way to the way the game plays just nice to show off the system and separates it from the home versions more.

Piolotwings Resort

Like a combination of Piolotwings 64 and Wii Sports Resort's flying sections and it suits the game well, a solid looking game that benefits from the 3D as you can really have a sense of depth when flying about and landing, it really is like a newer version of the N64 game in many ways just simply progress by getting enough passing scores and beating all the missions to unlock the next one, which I have to say I enjoy and good for a quick pick up as each mission is relatively short.

Ridge Racer 3D

The fact that it is a Ridge Racer at a console launch is not lost on me but Namco have really crammed loads into this game so they can be forgiven for that, and possible has the best use for the 3D of all the games I have picked up and the sense of depth really helps with the up coming corners as you can better judge how far away they are, the game though goes from look graphically rather bland to having moments off stunning brilliance due to a combination of both the scenery and the 3D effect, certainly shows that racing games can really benefit from the 3D.

Pro Evolution Soccer 3D

Ok I will admit this game is pretty basic stuff and the 3D effect is only any good in replays and the totally unplayable player cam and maybe from the odd corner kick or free kick to help better judge depth, but the game is solid none the less, if slightly lacking in features but for a decent game of football on the go it's very good, but I have a love for the series so I guess I would day that.

So as a whole I am enjoying it and it certainly outshines every other handheld on the market right now in every single respect.

As a note I should also be updating the site a bit more soon as it has been some time.

So with the release of the 3DS in just over a months time, am I excited?

To sum it up yes I am and it is for more than one reason, not only am I excited for the release of a new console and getting it on the day of release but I am also excited for what will mark a change in my gaming habits, with the exception of my gaming PC the next generation I intend to stick with just Nintendo.

It wasn't easy coming to this conclusion, but both time and money have certainly played a large part in it, as it can be very expensive trying to maintain and play several consoles and a gaming PC all at once let alone find time to play the biggest games on each, not to mention the amount of time I spend working and then there is sleep as well, as over rated as I see that it needs to be done apparently, but fitting life in around a gaming schedule I pretty tough so what time I do have I intend to focus it on just one company.

Now I am sure anyone reading this may see this as limiting my options as to the choices of games I will get to play, and I agree but I will ask this is it better to play a game for a very short time and then move onto the next because you run out of time because you have other games you want to try, or to focus on the smaller number of games you can get and play them more thoroughly?

To be fair the decision of what company to go with was never any doubt as my love with Nintendo is an ageless one as it is with many, and to those no I do not blindly follow them and will buy what ever they release, I am hoping for quality games from third parties too, many such titles I have admittedly missed out on for the Wii as I never had enough time or money to get them.

Hopefully I can stick by this as well as I don't want to break this promise to my self as it may get very expensive some where down the line yet again, although that will hopefully be where my gaming PC helps a bit, by allowing me to get my fix of certain sorts of games that may not appear on Nintendo's system, or that's the theory well at least it should give me access to Microsoft’s own exclusive games at some point.

Maybe if I do manage this I will also be able to do some of those things I want to more often too, such as kick into gear what I want to do more online, as there are so many things I am hoping to give a proper shot at creatively.

Only time will really tell.

Okay so this Blog eventually took on a life of its own when I started thinking late and wrote a second part later in the day on a different computer and I was originally going to spread it across two blogs, but since then I have decided to add it onto the end of this one and expand so here it is. 

Well I have to say I have never done two blogs at the same time but I have the other one that I have just written saved on my desktop PC and this one I just started typing while I am still awake at sill O'clock .

Why am I still awake? Well there is just so much that I want to do plans are all about in my head and hopefully I can start fitting that jumbled mes all together into something creative, and start to create a buzz about what I have been wanting to do for some time, what is it? 

A website, a web blog, which I have been doing for some time just not as often as I would like, a video blog, which hopefully will be starting shortly and my tweeting which I do and will more than likely be sharing with part of my video blog.

Why? Well I guess I have always really wanted to give it a shot and get myself out there, loads of people do it so why not me?

Plus it will all be my own work so it can't all be bad, right?

Anyway I may just have to start using all of this technology I have started to get used to using, and do something with my spare time that may be productive.