Week: End Game: On 02.01.2014

Welcome back to another edition of Week: End Game: On! What games are the Dojo staffers playing this weekend? Read on to find out!

Anthony Vigna

I’m ecstatic about the Super Indie Connection Sale on the Wii U eShop! Basically, if you own either Spin the Bottle, Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, Toki Tori 2+, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, or Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition, then you get a 60 percent discount on all of the other listed games! I’m so glad that Nintendo is embracing online sales now, because I’m a sucker for stuff like this.

Being that I already picked up the fantastic Runner 2, which was a runner-up for the best Wii U eShop game on Nintendojo last year, I decided to pick up Giana Sisters and Spin the Bottle while they’re still cheap. Both of these games caught my attention immediately due to their creative design. Ironically, the Giana Sisters series started out with a game on Commodore 64 that completely ripped-off Super Mario Bros. But, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams actually features an awesome mechanic that allows the protagonist to switch between two different worlds at will, making it able to stand on its own as a unique game. The game’s mechanics, outstanding soundtrack, and beautiful visuals have me excited, and I can’t wait to try it out this weekend.

The other one, Spin the Bottle, is a party game where you huddle around the GamePad with two to eight different people and compete in various odd minigames, such as pressing two buttons simultaneously on a Wii Remote with a partner by using your noses. This game doesn’t use a television at all, since features like the score and rules are displayed on the Wii U GamePad instead. So, the bulk of the game is experienced through interacting with other players in real life. The unconventional attributes of Spin the Bottle convinced me to purchase it, and I can’t wait to get a couple of friends to play it with me. I hope more developers create interesting gameplay styles on Wii U like this in the future!

Jon Stevens

I’ve decided to revisit some of my 3DS games that I just never got around to finishing last year. Appallingly, I’ve only got two badges in Pokémon X and have made practically no progress in my goal of catching them all (not that that is likely given the number of Pokémon that now exist!). Luigi, meanwhile, still hasn’t even entered the third mansion in Lugi’s Mansion 2!

I’ve also started playing Mario & Yoshi on 3DS again. I very rarely played it on my Game Boy, but it’s actually pretty addictive and has some great music.

On PC, I finally decided to get Day Z after several friends bought it. So far, we’ve spent 40 minutes trying to find each other and 10 minutes running away from a zombie before being killed. Not the best of starts, but I’ll be giving it another go this weekend. Hopefully things will improve!

Anthony Pershkin

I didn’t play much this week, but my game hunting quest is still going strong. I was lucky enough to finally find Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II and a sealed copy of Battalion Wars for GameCube. The most bizarre little game I bought recently was AirBlade for PlayStation 2. It’s a wacky sports game about the Hoverboard from Back to the Future. It also was apparently made by Criterion Games, of Burnout fame. I didn’t have the chance to try it out, but it looks cool– like a weird mix of Jet Set Radio and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series.

Other than that, I was also trying to recover some of my Viewtiful Joe skills, after witnessing this year’s Awesome Games Done Quick run of it. And oh boy do I still love this game! If Hideki Kamiya decides to make a separate game about any of The Wonderful 101 heroes, I would love to see a Viewtiful Joe-like game about Wonder Blue on the 3DS.

Marc Deschamps

Right now, it’s all about Super Mario 3D World. I have 208 green stars and I’m two away from the last unlockable level (to my knowledge) in Star World. Going back and replaying so many levels has given me an even greater appreciation for the game’s exceptional level design. It’s amazing how well hidden some of these stars are! There’s something extremely satisfying about figuring out where I missed one or two.

That’s not the only game I’m currently playing, though. I’m getting close to the end of Scribblenauts Unmasked (3DS) and I’ve been laughing out loud at some of the nerdy comic book in-jokes. Expect a review, soon! Animal Crossing: New Leaf is still the king of my 3DS, though. It’s amazing that I’m still glued to it. I’m not playing every day, but it’s certainly close, even if it’s only for 10-15 minute spurts. I just can’t tear myself away. I think I’m just too attached to some of my neighbors.

Last but not least, I picked up the Wii Fit U pedometer, as an attempt to get in better shape. The new activities are a lot of fun, but the loss of Penguin Slide is a travesty. I hope Nintendo adds it back in an update. It was a fun little cool-down routine!

Mel Turnquist

No, this is not a typo, it’s actually me!

Anyways, this weekend will be not as game-oriented. I have been making a habit of doing at least 30 minutes of exercise with Wii Fit U. Well, at least within the past month or so. I’ll also probably take on Wind Waker. I’m in the Wind Temple and almost finished. I just need the Master Key and I’m good to go. I’ll also probably play some Super Mario 3D World as well. That game is awesome.

Nicolas Vestre

I’ve been keeping an eye on Rayman Legends for Wii U, hoping it would take a nosedive in price the way Rayman Origins on Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 did. Instead, the opposite seems to have happened– the game is sold out everywhere near me except EB Games, and I’m not a big fan of having a giant sticker on my game case. Feeling a little dejected, I passively checked eBay and found a sealed copy of the game for $40 (Canadian dollars, no less!). Needless to say, it’s now part of my collection.

All I have to do now is start playing my copy of Rayman Origins that I’ve had for almost two years… heh heh…

In actual game progress, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is going great. I’m tackling the Somnom Woods and have well over 800 Expert Challenge points. A word of advice: Don’t throw a Taunt Ball at the Commander Lakitus– it becomes almost impossible to dodge the Boomerang Bros.’ attacks without them (I learned that the hard way). Being as stubborn as ever, I still have equipped the same hammer, boots, and armor I started the game with. The reasoning behind this is to make the game a bit more challenging and to actually dodge attacks instead of relying on the best armor and weapons to plow through everything. While the game is a ton of fun, I’m looking forward to the end so I can start Super Mario 3D World. Man, it takes me forever to complete games!

Much like Marc, I’ve been keeping a regular routine of playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf every day. Before playing any other game for the day, I always start with a little bit of Animal Crossing. Right now I’m working on getting bingos for furniture, and I’m about two thirds done with that. My mom donated all the Ice furniture to my collection, and I’ve gotten the best item from Snowtyke a couple of times. If I collect all the Ski furniture before the snow melts, I’m going to build an army of Snowboys and finish my collection. I’ve found out the hard way that if your snowman doesn’t have enough room around it when it’s built, it will completely disappear later on. This happened to me a couple of times, so now I only build snowmen in wide, open spaces. Other than that, my beach now has every possible hybrid except the White Carnation, which isn’t really possible for North Americans or Europeans to get yet (White Carnations are a product of Red and Pink Carnations).

That indie sale is tempting to me, too! I enjoyed my past experience with Giana Sisters DS, so I’m seriously considering picking up Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams.

What about you? What’s on your gaming agenda this weekend? Let us know in the comments!