Nintendo Amiibo Retail Store Demo Sation

I think this is a great idea by Nintendo to get the word out about Amiibo in stores nearly a full month before Smash Bros hits. Anyone going to be getting Link? That is the only Figure that can be used in Hyrule Warriors, Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros.

Mario Kart 8 - 1080p 60fps Youtube Video

This my quick test on my Wii U and it works great!

So Youtube yesterday announced that 60 frame per second videos will now be allowed to work with all users who publish. Basically if you can record your gameplay in HD and at 60fps.Youtube will encode it as high as 1080p with that frame rate. I have already tried to upload a 1440p at 60fps but it doesn't seem to work at that high of a resolution.

Mario Kart 8 - Excitebike Arena Discussion

So it seems this is Nintendo's new and possibly improved version of a "Baby Park" type course with 8 laps, but this time with a random placing of ramps and jumps for each time you race it. I think it's a great idea and can't wait to try it out soon.

The Swapper Wii U - Gameplay Footage

Here is some first time gameplay footage from the Wii U version of The Swapper. This game actually looks amazing and if you haven't played the PC version, this might be worth checking out.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - New Gameplay Info

GameXplain has a full 40 minutes of new info and analysis to share with everyone. This game looks amazing with all the puzzles and really wonderful graphics and art direction.

Super Smash Bros Wii U Direct

Nintendo lists over 50 things that the Wii U version has that the 3DS doesn't have and basically shows how much lesser a version the handheld game is, in a classy way of course. Be sure to watch every second of this direct, you never know who will show up in the end!

Mario Kart 8 Analysis - DLC Yoshi Circuit

You knew this was coming right? Each time Nintendo reveals a new trailer, you can bet that the guys at GameXplain will be examining closely the things hidden in each video.

Mario Kart 8 DLC - Yoshi Circuit Revealed

So one of the retro tracks revealed in Japan is Yoshi Circuit from Mario Kart Double Dash from the Gamecube. Who here is really hoping for Baby Park too??

Mario Kart 8 Youtube Ultra HD 4K Races

This is part of test series I am starting for 4K upscaling on some Wii U games. So far so good wouldn't you think? 60 frames per second and Youtube don't like each other too much since 8000 bitrate is the max Youtube encodes, putting a game like Mario Kart 8 at an ultra high resolution helps the blurry artifacts that happens at high speeds.

Bayonetta 2 Demo - Ultra HD 4K Gameplay

***Directions to watch 4k: Choose 2160p, your browser might reload and you'll have to choose it again after that. The video will then buffer and depending on your Internet speed, it will display in 4k after a short while of loading***

 This is a very fast moving game that runs at 60 frames per second on the Wii U and on Youtube the compression makes games like this look very blurry in fast motion. Up-scaling the game from it's native 720p to 4K (2160p) seems to really help minimize blurring and minimize the artifacts. Let me know what you think in the comment section.

Super Smash Bros 3DS - Little Mac Tutorial

Have you been wondering how to control and use Little Mac better in Smash Bros? What about trying to beat others who use him in Online matches? I have noticed that this character seems to be overpowered, but after playing against others that use him, you can spot some of big weaknesses pretty easily.

Hyrule Warriors - Master Quest DLC Trailer (Epona featured)

It's amazing how much DLC Koei-Temo is releasing for Hyrule Warriors. The only issue is the cost, each DLC pack is $20 dollars and while riding Epona looks really cool, I don't think the deals are as good as the Mario Kart 8 DLC which was only $11.99 for 16 courses, 6 characters and 6 karts.

*Correction* The Season Pass costs $20 dollars, not each pack. Thank you my readers for correcting me on this. 

Bayonetta 2 - My Full Demo Wii U Walkthrough

So instead of talking about my playtime with the demo of Bayonetta 2, why not just show you? Here is my full walkthrough of Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U. This game is already one of the highest scoring on terms of average review rating, and now after playing the demo it's easy to see why.

Bayonetta 2 Wii U Video Review

With sites like Gamespot giving this game a perfect 10 score (only the 8th they have ever given), it's hard not to be excited for this game. After playing the demo all the way through, I can definitely see the awesome potential the game has. 

Killer Instinct - Did you Know Gaming?

This stuff is amazing! Who would have thought so many links to other movies, inspired this game and how many problems with the development RARE had on this game. It has to be one of the only times that a developer had to physically patch each and every 17,000 different arcade machines after an combo glitch was found.

Captain Toad - New Gameplay Footage

Wow, are you looking for a reason to want this game? Look now further, just watch this video and I think you'll be convinced it's worth the price of only $39.99 upon release in December.

Mario Kart - History of the Green Shell

When you think of the Green in each Mario Kart game, did you really think it had very different aspects in each and every game like this? I'm amazing at how different the Green Shells behave in each entry in the series.

Super Smash Bros 3DS Controls Tutorial

If you have been hesitant about the prospect of playing a handheld Smash Bros game, maybe this tutorial will help you make up your mind. Better yet, just download the demo for yourself on the 3DS to play it. The controls feel very good, the only problem with the 3DS version is the limited space for your hands to move on the small form factor of the 3DS. Long play sessions could give you hand cramps, but shorter play sessions are very fun and easy to play.

3DS System Firmware Update Tour - Menu Themes!

So here we have another feature that could make you wonder why it wasn't install on the 3DS since it launched in 2011. However, it is very cool to finally have colored background and Nintendo character themes to use to spruce up the 3DS home menu look. Zelda Theme FTW! 

Super Smash Bros 3DS - Stage Selection Secrets

I have been sinking my teeth in the Super Smash Bros on the 3DS and man is it an awesome game so far. I didn't know about some of these secrets and how to change stage appears and music tracks. Big thanks to the guys at GameXplain for being so proactive and getting into the nuts and bolts of this version of the game.

Fast Racing Neo - Wii U Tech Details

From Shin'en Twitter page:

The following come from Shin'en's Twitter account...

(About the 4K-8K textures) Yeah, streets took a lot of resolution. Tho biggest textures are used for the shadows.

60fps (with minimal dips here and there that we try to iron out)

Cinematic Tonemapping
Motionblur
SSAO
HDR Bloom
Atmospheric Scattering
Godrays 

Smoke and mirrors all over the place, otherwise we would be at 20fps.

No, we use realtime soft shadows. So we can have dynamic weather and the games size is much smaller.

(TOD feature) It's realtime. As a race is just a few minutes there are not much visible changes, beside some clouds moving.

SSAO is by definition dynamic, tho it's (almost) impossible to get working in 60fps ;) Technically: Every console is outdated


https://twitter.com/ShinenGames

Bayonetta 2 - Combo Training Gameplay

You have to wonder how difficult these combos will be to pull of in the actual game outside of training. It is however really nice that they including this mode to practice.

Hyrule Warriors 1.3.0 update - New Characters Highlighted

So at least for the Japanese version of Hyrule Warriors there was a new update to version 1.3.0 that includes 3 new characters. Take a look at the video to see which they are, however I am sure that the Western versions will also get these characters eventually as well.