Week: End Game: On 01.28.12

It’s the Weekend! What have we been playing this week? Find out here.

By Lewis Hampson. Posted 01/28/2012 12:00 Comment on this     ShareThis

Another video game filled week has come to pass. Find out what the staffers here at Nintendojo have been playing in their spare time. Remember to let us know, in the comments below, what has been stuck in your console/handheld of choice for the past week.


Katharine Byrne

Okay, so I’m going to have to slightly revise that New Year’s resolution of mine about getting my backlog down to ten games before buying a new one, because, you know, Resident Evil: Revelations was released in the UK yesterday! Yes, I clearly have no restraint. As a result, I think I’ll change it to getting it down to ten by… June. That should be more manageable. I hope.

As you can probably guess then, Revelations will be very much front and centre of my gaming agenda this weekend. It’s actually my first proper Resident Evil game as I’ve never really been a fan of survival horror before, but I’m hoping this is going to change with Revelations. I was really impressed with it when I played the demo at Eurogamer Expo last year, and it’s probably the first time I’ve been genuinely excited about the series. Here’s hoping I don’t scare myself silly in the process.

I’m also hoping to squeeze in a few more hours of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. I’ve been playing this quite a lot over the past week or so and now that I’ve broken through its rather intimidating veneer of old-school difficulty and zero hand-holding, it’s actually becoming quite enjoyable. I still can’t quite believe that it doesn’t have a targeting system during battles, but it’s shaping up to be quite a pleasant little title nonetheless.


Lewis Hampson

The undying bleakness of a world scorned and hollow. A luminescent land in which, the undead occupants scour for a whisper of humanity. To etch a path through such a treacherous and hostile environment requires patience, poise and will. Guardians of these worlds look down upon you with utter contempt as they swing a blade twice as large as your own form, extinguishing the life you possess in one hideously violent swoop.

Impassable monuments to whatever force overcame this world stand in your way as you traverse the highlands and catacombs searching for answers and hope. Igniting bonfires is the key to survival. Kindle their flames, to offer hope and peace, resting at their side, refuelling vital energies before continuing your quest. Faint, ghostly forms pass you by and then disappear before you, offering an insight into a plight just as helpless as your own, taking place in a dimension that is achingly out of reach.

The skewed portraits of royalty hanging crookedly from the walls of a palace, long overtaken by the all consuming evil, serve as reminders to the humanity which once reigned over this land. With the need to return it to its former glory, growing ever more urgent.

This game has invaded my dreams like a dark phantom recently. It has been almost perpetually stuck inside my PS3 and I haven’t the heart to remove it. I am nearing the end of this amazing experience that get’s better and better as you progress. What game do I talk of? Why Dark Souls of course, a true innovator in the action RPG genre. This game may not be for everyone, but for those who take the plunge, it (like Demon’s Souls) really is something very special. Spectacular.


Nicolas Vestre

I woke up groggily a few days ago to my sister showing me a box that had come in the mail. Admittedly, I don’t remember what happened during the first few minutes after gaining consciousness (it’s all a blur), but the box was suddenly open– and inside was a 3DS accompanied by Super Mario 3D Land! My mother had totally surprised me, keeping me in the dark that she had ordered such a wonderful gift for me.

The only slight hitch was the color of the 3DS– Cosmo Black. While extremely grateful, I really wanted that Aqua Blue color. So I headed over to Target (where my mom ordered the 3DS from online) with my packing slip, asking to exchange my black 3DS for a shiny blue one. Sadly, Target’s internet was down that day and we couldn’t make the exchange. So I was forced to stare at the black 3DS longingly, waiting for the next day to come so I could finally get in on all this 3D goodness I’d been hearing about. Well, tomorrow did come, and I also managed to score a $20 eShop card, which I’m definitely going to download Pushmo and Mutant Mudds with.

One thing that concerns me, though, is this problem I’ve seen many people online talk about– the 3DS’ top screen can sometimes get irreparably scratched over time by just keeping it closed; apparently the top screen somehow comes in contact with the touch screen. I’m really paranoid about that now, so I’ve been inserting a cleaning cloth every time I close the 3DS. That’s temporary, though, until I can order a (Hori) screen protector on Amazon.

Other than that, I really don’t see myself devoting my gaming time to anything this weekend other than blissfully playing my 3DS.


Kevin Knezevic

So my plan to finish Pushmo last weekend didn’t exactly go as I’d hoped, but I did still get to play the Resident Evil: Revelations demo (albeit only once, and not even all the way through). I was really quite impressed with it despite my short playtime, not only because of its gorgeous visuals (I had heard they were beautiful, but I was still taken aback by the sheer level of detail in its environments), but because of how genuinely fun it was. I was really surprised by how much the game reminded me of Metroid Prime— the controls immediately brought me back to the deserted wastes of Tallon IV (and felt like second nature as a result), and the scanner you acquire partway through only solidified this comparison. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I’ll actually buy it (I already own too many unplayed games as it is), but at least now I’m genuinely considering it!

I also dipped into my Virtual Console backlog this week and started playing Game & Watch Gallery. I purchased this particular title on a whim back when it was released onto the eShop, but this was the first I’ve actually gotten to trying it. This, too, was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed seeing the updated versions of classic Game & Watch games (particularly Manhole, which is officially my new addiction). It may not the most fully-featured title to come out of the service, but for its price (it sits comfortably on the lower end of eShop’s pricing spectrum at $2.99) you certainly can’t go wrong with it.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Log In 0 points Log in or register to grow your Ninja Score while interacting with our site.
Nintendojo's RSS Feeds

All Updates Podcast
News Comments
Like and follow usFacebookTwitter Friend Code Exchange + Game with Us Join the Team!