Video chat, three-on-three battles and a brand new graphical style are just some of the surprises awaiting folks who plan to pick up the new Pokémon Black & White, out in Japan next month and reaching the Western world next Spring. They're not all the surprises, though: in fact, the story mode promises to be full of them.
Control the plumber with only your eyes
We've had NES consoles controlled by peculiar pads in the past, one notable example being the Castlevania fan who used a dance mat, but what if you could play a similarly legendary, groundbreaking game without any controllers at all? No, we're not talking about Kinect, we're talking about Super Mario Bros. and this incredible set-up from Waterloo Labs.
Sonic and Knuckles take to the track
If there's one thing better than new video games merchandise, we haven't found it yet. Feast your eyes on these new remote control cars from NKOK, showing Sonic and Knuckles in their Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing mobiles.
Princess present but not in weapon form
Ever since the very first piece of teaser artwork was produced for Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – long before it was even known as Skyward Sword, even – there's been discussion of who or what the sword would be. Eiji Aonuma has confirmed the sword does have a personality but you can rule out one possibility: it's not Princess Zelda.
6 hours, 38 minutes and 16 seconds, to be precise
Earthbound is highly regarded, and rightly so: even to this day it captivates gamers the world over (apart from many in Europe, where it was never released.) One gamer who loves it more than most is speed runner Chris Corsi, who just set the Twin Galaxies-approved World Record for the fastest completion of the game at 6 hours, 38 minutes and 16 seconds, nearly 3 hours faster than the next contender.
Sonic Boom heard everywhere
Takashi Iizuka is a man of great experience in the games industry, having worked on Sonic titles since 1994's 16-bit send-off Sonic & Knuckles. Now head of Sonic Team, he's the man charged with glugging the poisoned chalice of reviving the blue hedgehog to his former glory, with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 and Sonic Colours for Wii and DS both on the way before 2010's out. Can we expect Sonic Colours in particular to deliver? Yes, says Mr Iizuka. Yes we can.
Updated: 1000 Points
And Yet It Moves hit many people's radars with our First Impressions of the title back in February, and it's been a long wait to see when the game would finally be available to download. Now, thanks to an update to Nintendo of America's site, we have a date: August 23rd.
Take another journey into sound
Another month, another Monday: that can only mean a brand new episode of the Nintendo Life podcast.
May have versus mode, may not. Who knows?
We didn't get chance to wrestle with Kid Icarus: Uprising at the 3DS event in London as the game's still being feverishly worked on behind the scenes, and a recent interview with GamesMaster Magazine reveals the game's online modes are still taking shape.Masahiro Sakurai: The online capabilities are currently being tested. There could be some versus play but we can't go into the detail. As far as going forward, there are lot of capabilities that expand on what was in the DS that people are taking advantage of.A typically cryptic answer from a seasoned Nintendo developer, particularly the tease that the machine's expanded capabilities will feature more heavily going forward, but we'd expect nothing less from the new console.
Not sure where this fits in the Zelda timeline, though
We love people who dress up as Nintendo characters, and we love them even more when they get up on stage in Japan to have a pretend fight in the final of the World Cosplay Championships. Our love for this video cannot be put into words.
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