New Nintendo 3DS - First impressions

So on Friday I got my brand new "New " Nintendo 3DS, my first Nintendo console since trading in my original 3DS three years ago. As  have mentioned before, the main draw to going back to the 3DS is I those three years the library of games that I would love to play has hugely increased. Its hard to believe that I moved away from the 3DS because of its lack of decent titles. Now there is an abundance of games and a hard choice of where to start. So let's take a closer look at my first weekend with the New Nintendo 3DS.

With two models on offer,  the smaller standard N3DS or the larger N3DS XL, the choice for me was easy. I went for the standard N3DS (in black, of course) as I am going to be using it on the move alot the smaller form factor is better for me. Plus, those SNES coloured buttons are gorgeous. Having not had a chance to go hands on with either system before launch, opening the box was my first time to see and touch the new design.

The original 3DS tried to destroy my hands, reducing them to cramp ridden claws over the duration of several long sessions of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. I was concerned that I was going to suffer again with this new design. I am pleased to say that the increase in size of the new standard unit is far more comfortable and I haven't had any issues with playing for extended periods of time. The New 3DS has extra shoulder buttons (zR and zL) placed next to the existing L & R  buttons. They are comfortable to use and I don't feel like I am having to contort my fingers in order to use either set of shoulder buttons.

One of the biggest additions to the New 3DS, control wise, is the addition of what Nintendo refer to the as "C stick" in reference to previous Nintendo controllers. The C stick is not a stick in the traditional sense. It is in fact more like the little red nub you see on a IBM ThinkPad. It doesn't move, but detects the direction, in which pressure is being applied. It is a bit weird to use this control particularly when there is room on the handheld for a second circle pad, but Nintendo like to do things their way. I have only tried this on two games so far, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate demo and Metal Gear Solid 3D demo. I have to admit, it works better in practice than I thought it would. Its not going to be great for First Person Shooters, but how many of them are you going to play on a 3DS? I wanted to try Metal Gear Solid 3D with the New 3DS, as I remember the demo for it being the deciding point for my switching to Vita. Now with the new controls encorporated into the unit, rather than with the unsightly Circle Pad Pro, I could see myself playing Metal Gear Solid 3D properly on 3DS.

So far very impressed and I haven't even got into the best part... the 3D works now. Like many 3DS owners before me, the 3D was a cool gimmick that only worked in the right conditions and if you were looking at the 3D screen dead on without moving your head or eyes. Doing so would instantly break the illusion and cause your eyes to freak out a little bit. If you dared to use the 3D for a long session you could expect to have a headache afterwards. So you turned it off and kept it off.

Not anymore! The New 3DS has improved 3D which is enhanced by a infrared face tracking sensor that adjusts the 3D effect in relation to your head and eye movement. Sounds like another gimmick right? Except this works and transforms the system. I have not turned the 3d off at all, this weekend. I have used for long periods with no effects. I have been able to use the 3D whilst travelling or moving around and the effect rarely breaks. There are some glitches if you turn your head away room the screen completely, when you turn back the screen quickly adjust as the sensor picks up your face again, if only for a brief second. It changes the console and brings the 3D back to the 3DS.

A lot has changed on the software front for someone coming back to the 3DS after a long time. The systems front end now supports custom home themes which can be purchased via the eShop. There is screenshot sharing support, which allows you to upload screengrabs from supported titles to social media sites. The 3DS now also has Miiverse, Nintendo's own take on a community driven social media. The added processing power of the New 3DS helps to boost the online capabilities. Downloading from the eShop is now much faster and a far less painful experience.

With all of the new additions and improvements, this old 3DS owner is very happy to come back to the Nintendo family. Its going to be great catching up with three years worth of amazing Nintendo titles. Starting with the three games I wanted to play, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Thankfully now the eShop has a wealth of demos to try out as well. So my software library is well stocked for foreseeable future.

Now finally onto the most important part for me, the Nintendo Factor! The one thing that Nintendo does right is putting a smile on your face from the moment the you start a new game until the moment the credits roll. It is a cliche, I am sure but these gaming moments are not matched on any other system. The other side to the Nintendo Factor is family gaming. Since bringing home the New 3DS on Friday, the Two Little Gamers have moved into our new Animal Crossing village and we have been taking it in turns and helping each other to out in our quest to pay off Tom Nook. Even my wife has been seen returning to Animal Crossing for the first time in 8 years. Its this way that creates gaming moments that can be shared with the whole family, which make Nintendo so special. I cannot wait to share games like Tomodachi Life and upcoming Story of Seasons with my family.

I feel like that at the time I made the right move to get rid of the 3DS in favour of the Vita. Now, though I can honestly say... It's good to be back with the big N.

Disney Infinity - This Weeks Toy Boxes - 5th September

Back again with another update on everyones new favorite family game, Disney Infinity. Although most of you have already ploughed through the playsets included with the starter kit. Some may of even done the Cars and Lone Ranger sets too. This means that you are left with own imagination in the Toy Box. What if inspiration fails you? Never fear, Disney is here!

Disney Infinity - A week later...

With Disney Infinity across shop shelves for just over a week now. Surely you couldn't of missed it. The Supermarkets are stacked with Figures and Playset packs. The price war is in effect as well, with most supermarkets selling the starter kit for 360 and PS3 at £52.

In case, you are sat on the fence, wondering on whether to invest and need more proof that Disney Infinity is the game that you and your family need. Have no fear, help is here. Thanks to YouTuber Dried Moss, who has done an indepth playthrough of his first hour in Disney's Interactive Toy Box. If the amazing introduction tutorial doesn't win you around to this game, nothing will. It is pure essence of Disney.



Hope you enjoyed the video and we look forward to providing the latest in Disney Infinity news as the game expands.

Infinity Week - Day 5 - It's Launch Day!!

Disney Infinity is available today, the game, the figures, the playsets and power disc packs are all in shops now. What better way to celebrate a huge day for Disney, than with what Disney does best. A Parade! That is what happened this week in London to celebrate the UK release of Disney Infinity, but with a twist on the traditional parade. It was the worlds first ever digital Disney Parade. Take a look below...



The cast of Disney Infinity, including Buzz Lightyear, Jack Sparrow and Mr. Incredible, take part in the first Digital Disney Parade to celebrate the UK launch of the game - http://www.disneyinfinity.com

The parade's full line up included Buzz Lightyear and Jessie (Toy Story), Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean), Mr. & Mrs. Incredible (The Incredibles), Mike Wazowski and Sulley (Monsters University) and The Lone Ranger and Tonto (The Lone Ranger), all appearing together in London for the first time.

For more information on Disney Infinity join the Official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/disneyinfinity or visit the official site http://www.disneyinfinity.com

So with the parade done, why haven't you already got to the your local videogame retailer to get your copy for you and your family.

Infinity Week - Day 4 - The Reviews

Whilst here in Europe,we have to wait until tomorrow to get our hands on a copy of Disney Infinity. Those lucky Americans have been able to play it for the last couple of days. So lets take a look at how it has been received.

Infinity Week - Day 3 - Meet the characters

Today on Infinity Week, its time to look at the figures themselves. These figures are highly detailed models that once placed onto the Infinity Portal transport the character into the game world. At launch there are 17 figures available. 3 of these are included in the starter kit, the rest are available as either single figures or in multi-packs. In the first wave of figures the focus is on The Incredibles, Monsters University, Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lone Ranger.

Infinity Week - Day 2 - How to use the Toy Box

So yesterday, we looked at Disney Infinity as a whole. Today though we are going delve deeper into the awesome "Toy Box". Imagine a gameworld where Minecraft meets LittleBigPlanet. Where you can shape and create your world to look and feel like your favorite film and then make games adventures for you and your friends to play in. Welcome to the Toy Box!



The beautiful thing about the Toy Box mode is that at the surface it is simple enough to let your kids create great looking worlds with ease. Yet, peel away the surface and the various editors allow for some complex designing and customising. Lets take a look at how easy it is to use Power Discs to change the way your environment looks.



Nice and simple with great looking results. So now you have created a nice themed world what do you want to do with it? How about expanding on the idea of a race track? How would you go about making a really cool karting track? Lets see...



Finally, Lets see what happens when you combine the advance editor elements to make a working Football stadium with working scoreboards and confetti cannons.



Once again, the tagline "infinite possibilities, endless fun" springs to mind. The Toy Box is the one of the most exciting elements of the game and one that is sure to keep Little Gamers (and their parents) coming back again and again.

Infinity Week - Day 1 - What is Disney Infinity

With the UK release of Disney Infinity only a few days away. Two Little Gamers is going to dedicate this week to this incredible new game. Let's start with the simple question... What is Disney Infinity?

Disney Infinity is a complicated thing. Collectable figures, virtual playsets and power discs, all combining into a videogame based sandbox via a portal device connected to your games console. Simply place a figure on the Infinity Portal and Presto! They are in the game for you to play with. So far its all very Skylanders, right? Wrong! Disney Infinity then takes the genre to a new level by adding Playsets and Power Disc's.

The Playset blocks fit in the back section of the portal and allow the user access to a themed world full of fun and mission. Plus it unlocks special themed items to use in the creation mode called "Toy Box". Place a  Power Disc underneath your figure and you unlock a special power for them to use. Place a hexagonal Power Disc under your playset piece to unlock objects, vehicles, or even new themes for your Toy Box.

The Toy Box mode is where the real action takes place. Players can create and design their own themed worlds full of activities they can design and share with the friends and play with them. Whether it be creating a football game or a race track, even a flying race. The possibilities are endless (which is also the tagline for the game) and with the addition of more Characters (the second Wave is coming as soon as October) and new Playsets and Powers, Kids and adults can look forward to playing in Infinity for a long time to come.

For more a detailed explanation of Disney Infinity and how it all works, check out this video from PlayStation Pure's YouTube channel.

Disney Infinity - New Figures & Playsets revealed at D23 Expo

Disney revealed at the weekend the next batch of figures and playsets for Disney Infinity. There are some fan favourites and some new characters that people will not be familiar with. Here is the line up.

Disney Infinity - Check out the latest Trailers!

With the release of Disney Infinty only a week away, Disney Interactive are on the hype train and more and detail about the game is coming to light. First of all, there is a now a trailer explaining the Power Disc element of the game. How they work and what they offer players in game.

The cost of Disney Infinity?

Usually the Daily Mail likes to warn its readership about the risks of playing video games. Their targets are typically games like Call of Duty, Battlefield and of course, Grand Theft Auto. This time though the Daily Mail seem to have an issue with a game for children. Disney Infinity, a video game that mixes virtual action with collectable figures.

3DS Circle Pad Pro - Review

If there is one thing the 3DS has been good at since its release last year is its ability to cause controversy . The initial launch saw claims of 3D induced headaches if you played the system for longer than 10 minutes. Then the price crash so soon after launch caused some people to declare the console as a failure and gimmick. Then there was the article from Japanese magazine Famitsu which spread around the world in hours. Scans of an image of a huge plug-in with a second analogue stick hurtled through cyberspace. Was this a belated April fools joke... Had Nintendo gone mad?

Nintendo soon announced to the world that the Circle Pad Pro was in fact real and was required to allow games like Monster Hunter to arrive on the console. It seemed that Nintendo has realised that it should of been there in the first place. It looked like a workaround to get out of a horrible hole. Meanwhile Sony laughed and showed a lot more Vita images with it's two analogue nubs and touch triggers.

Last Friday saw the unit released in the UK to complement the release of Resident Evil: Revelations, the first title to support the device. The first thing that struck me was the size. It wasn't as big as I expected. The images released before launch made it look massive. It is not as bad as you would think although you won't be popping it your pocket anytime soon. The sleek design of 3DS is basically destroyed and the whole unit is now off centre and looks odd. Thankfully, I got the Carbon Black 3DS which looks the best sat in the Circle Pad Pro.

Looks are not everything (As we keep telling BG every day when we fight over which clothes to wear). The Circle Pad Pro is not trying to fix a cosmetic issue, but a functionality issue. Having played the newly released Resident Evil demo for a week without the CPP, I can say that there are no real control issues with just a standard 3DS. It plays very well. With the CPP attached though, it plays so much better. The additional stick is a welcome addition for this Xbox gamer and the new triggers are the icing on the cake. The additional stick on the CPP is slightly more resistant than the one on the console, but that is a minor niggle.

The unit is powered by a single AAA battery and Nintendo state that should last for 480 hours of gameplay. Funnily enough, I haven't been able to test that claim, but I am working on it. The connection to the 3DS is done via the infra-red port on the back of the console. The 3DS just simply pushes into the CPP and is held in place by rubber feet, very securely. Due to the configuration of the CPP you cannot change cartridge or access the stylus during use.

Nintendo are the kings of showing the world a wacky piece of hardware and then proving us all wrong. This product is no exception. Playing Resident Evil with this is amazing, it makes it feel more like a home console rather than another handheld. I played Metal Gear Solid 3DS at the Eurogamer Expo, last year and hated it because of the control system. Now, with Circle Pad Pro I cannot wait to get my hands on MGS 3DS. Kid Icarus will also feature Circle Pad Support and that makes more sense to me than the next piece of crazy hardware... the 3DS Stand.

Verdict: 9 out of 10

3DS Circle Pad Pro is available now at between £15 - £20 at  all good High Street and On-line retailers

Resident Evil: Revelations demo out tomorrow

The eShop update tomorrow will include the first European demo's. These are Resident Evil: Revelations along with Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic (BG will be so happy).  There will be more demo's released on the eShop. There are no confirmed dates for them, but expect these soon:


Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure
Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Things are just getting better and better for Nintendo's new portable hero.

Coming to a 3DS next week!

Resident Evil: Revelations is out next week and is the fantastic way to start the year for 3DS owners. The trailer above shows some of the cutscene and fantastics visuals on offer. I have high hopes for this and cannot wait to get my mitts on this, next Friday.

Super Mario 3D Land - Review

 The 3DS has been getting a lot of bad press recently. The Software has been under fire as not enough original titles available. That the best titles are available are just remakes of old games (Which are amazing, by the way!) The price drop led to speculation of the consoles failure. More recently, criticism towards the use of the 3D effect in the games and how most people do not use it.

How do Nintendo go about fighting these negatives? By turning to an old friend of course! It seems that a Nintendo console almost isn't taken seriously until Mario has his own game. This year though, we are treated to two games starring Nintendo's leading man. First, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 at the beginning of December.

Super Mario 3D Land is an entirely new game and is not a rehash of a previous title. Although, the game is full of tributes to the earlier titles, Super Mario Bros. 3 in particular. It all starts off the way you want all of them to start. As soon you insert the cartridge, Mario's voice greets with "Super Mario 3Dee Land!" and you cannot help but smile. That first smile is important; because it’s going to be there for whole time you are playing.

The Mushroom Kingdom is once again in danger. This time not only has Bowser kidnapped Princess Peach, he has also stolen all of the Tanooki leaves from the Tanooki tree. Can Mario rescue the Princess and defeat Bowser and his Tanooki powered army? In case you don't know the Tanooki leaf is what gives Mario his Racoon suit, complete with whipping tail.

The game is split into eight worlds. Each of the worlds is made up of six levels. Each level has its own theme and most of them have a unique twist. These range from traditional mushroom kingdom levels to haunted houses to underground dungeons and twisted castles. Favourite levels of mine include the level full of switching platforms which flip direction with your jump. This means that when you jump the platform you were on is going flip away from to the next position in front of you. This makes for a very tricky challenge. That is the beauty of this game is when you are being challenged to nasty section of platforms, you never get annoyed as you are enjoying the game so much. The game deals with problem sections by handing the player a special power-up to allow them invincibility, if they lose five lives in a row. Even if that does not help the play will be given a super power up which transports them to the end of the level. This makes things easier for younger players (and older too!) and makes sure that the player is always going forward and achieving.

The levels are quite short in some cases, but this actually helps the game. It is so easy to pickup for a quick blast. It feels like a nod to the iPhone style of gaming. The level design is incredible with so many tricks and gimmicks to make sure the quest to save Peach is never dull. New powers for Mario also crop up in the form of the Boomerang suit and the propeller box. The suit allows Mario to throw Boomerangs and is very useful for taking out stacked enemies. The propeller box shoots Mario high into the air and then gently floats him back to earth, the levels that incorporate the Propeller box are huge vistas in the sky with Mario launching and floating between carefully spaced platforms, which take the shape of some familiar items.

The 3D is really well utilised in this and at no point have felt the need to turn it off. There is even a switch in game to change the projection of the 3D to suit the user. The switch allows selecting whether the effect should balanced between increased depth and increased foreground effects. The 3D is quite useful to help with timing jumps which are going in to the screen.

Sound is a triumph. Every Mario hallmark is there. The classic Mario tunes are brought back to life fantastically. In several levels the music is actually in time to required jumps that you need to make.

Every aspect of the game is astounding and it’s what you expect from a Mario title. I would even go as far as saying that this is without a doubt the best Mario game I have played (I have not played the Galaxy games!). This game signals the arrival of the 3DS and with Mario Kart 7 out this very week. It’s a good to be a 3DS owner right now.

Verdict: 10 out of 10 (The 2nd best reason to get a 3DS)

Look what the postman brought today

Been looking forward to this since my encounter with the game at EG Expo. Lets hope the 3DS version can deliver the goods. First Impressions soon....