Now Playing: 06.14.2011

A video game legend is set to release, and– what’s that?– there’s an actual Wii title coming out this week? Oh, it’s just Wii Play.

By Kevin Knezevic. Posted 06/14/2011 20:00 6 Comments     ShareThis

Every Tuesday, Nintendojo discusses the week’s video game releases on Now Playing. As long as a game’s on a Nintendo console, it’ll show up here– so come every week and don’t miss a thing.

Wii

June 14, 2011
Hyper Fighters (Zoo Games)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon — Stealth Force Edition
(Activision)
Wii Play: Motion
(Nintendo)

Virtual Console & WiiWare

June 16, 2011
BIT.TRIP FLUX (Demo Version) (Aksys Games)
Mega Man 5
(Capcom)
Snail Mail (Sandlot Games)

3DS

June 14, 2011
Brunswick Pro Bowling (Crave)
Cubic Ninja
(Ubisoft)
Deca Sports Extreme
(Hudson Soft)

June 19, 2011
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo)

eShop & DSiWare

June 16, 2011
Beach Party Craze (Alawar)
Donkey Kong
(Nintendo)
Gold Fever (TikGames, LLC)
Hidden Photo (Subdued Games)
Zimo: Mahjong Fanatic (Agetec)

DS

June 14, 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon — Autobots (Activision)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon — Decepticons
(Activision)


3DS seems to be having quite the week: in addition to the Game Boy classic, Donkey Kong, the console will also play host to the quirky puzzle-navigator and potential sleeper hit, Cubic Ninja. The game is distinctive not only for its intentionally blocky art style, but also because it is played entirely with the console’s gyroscopic controls: players must twist and tilt their 3DS systems to move the portly assassin throughout the title’s many trap-laden mazes, avoiding enemies and doing battle with large, square bosses all to save the kingdom’s abducted princess. While the reliance on the gyroscope automatically invalidates the system’s stereoscopic capabilities, the title nonetheless looks like a fun and challenging addition to 3DS’s slowly-expanding library, and the ability to create and share your own mazes will give gamers plenty to do even after the game proper is completed.

Not only that, but the much-anticipated remake of Ocarina of Time is finally set to drop a mere five days from now. Early adopters have been waiting patiently for the title to arrive since the console was released back in March, but its absence has been considerably more agonizing given the relative game drought across all Nintendo platforms. Thankfully, we have now entered the home stretch, and with news of some retailers breaking the title’s street date, it shouldn’t be too long before we get to revisit Hyrule in all its fancy new stereoscopic glory.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D screen, Link and Epona“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Oh wait, wrong game…

On the home (console) front, Wii is once again given a paltry selection of new offerings, but amidst the movie tie-ins and bargain games stands one beacon of potential, shining in gamers’ eyes like a girl who looks attractive thanks entirely to the aesthetic deficiencies of the friends she keeps: Wii Play: Motion. While perhaps not the title to satiate Wii owners starving for a new release, the motion-controlled mini-game compilation is, at the very least, a competently-produced package that should prove to be quite a bit of fun once all contextual biases are put aside. Much like its predecessor, the appeal of the game largely stems from the inclusion of an additional Wii Remote (Plus), and those who have been considering one could do worse than purchasing this title: not only is it a mere ten dollars more than a remote on its own, but it is also one of a handful of games available for the console to actually support the peripheral. Since its conception, the MotionPlus accessory has been something of a nonentity, and the number of games to (attempt to) utilize it can thus far be counted on a single hand; Wii Play: Motion slightly remedies this by virtue of its very existence, and while the title will no doubt be a fun (if shallow) play, it may have been released too late in the system’s life to interest anyone but the most morbidly curious (or content deprived) gamers.

Not like you have anything else to play.

As for DS– well, the console looks like it will continue to be a wasteland of licensed games and shovelware until it inexplicably catches its final wind this fall.

6 Responses to “Now Playing: 06.14.2011”

  • 162 points
    LadyMushroom says...

    Unlike most peripherals, which notoriously never get support from game makers, Wii Motion Plus will come into its own in the next generation where it will be the secondary controller for WiiU, and being standard, will be supported.

    A unique situation, I think.

    • 1 points
      Kevin Knezevic says...

      I actually think so, too. I was relieved to see the Wii Remote so prevalently featured in the Wii U preview videos, so I am hoping developers will continue to take advantage of it well into the next generation.

  • 1332 points
    Andrew Hsieh says...

    You know, for the past year, I haven’t had the slightest clue why Nintendo thought OoT3D would be a system seller for 3DS. But as the release date looms … I’m starting to feel it. AND I DON’T KNOW WHY.

    • 697 points
      Adam Sorice says...

      It’s OCARINA OF TIME in 3D Andrew… What part of that sentence isn’t amazing!?!!?

      Plus, there is literally nothing else to care about on that system. It’s like Wii Play: Motion but just a much better deal :/

      • 1332 points
        Andrew Hsieh says...

        Hey! Super Street Fighter IV 3D is the game that originally got me pumped up for that system in the first place. That and Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, if not just because People Like It.

  • 162 points
    LocoBaka says...

    ninja gaiden, kingdom hearts, netflix and ar games are things that sold me on the 3ds. The only reason I haven’t picked one up yet is lack of money but that will soon be remedied. You can live with just one kidney, right?

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