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Review by Matt S. 

Super Mario 3D Land was one of the few games on the 3DS where I would argue the 3D slider was an essential part of the experience. The game was built from the very ground to take advantage of 3D, and in fact as I was playing it I would struggle to properly gauge jumps and navigate around the world with the slider down.

So bringing a new "3D" game to a console that can't display 3D graphics struck me as a somewhat odd move by Nintendo. That initial impression didn't go away when I started to play the game. I did indeed lose a couple of lives early on from poorly-judged jumps and without Fire Mario at first I found it easier to simply avoid enemies than try to jump on them. That impression stayed with me for the first couple of levels, but I started to understand the physics and environments better, I was able to kick back and simply enjoy the supreme quality of level design that Mario's latest outing offers.

Review by Matt S.

With each new release, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic (or Winter Olympic) Games takes one more step towards becoming a generic and soulless minigame compilation. There's still fun to be had from these games, but it's easy to tell that budgets are getting smaller and ideas are running thin.

I still remember the Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games on the DS from the last Games. That one was a lot of fun with minigames that had a measure of depth to them. But then the last Summer Olympics game on the 3DS featured very few games that were worth playing more than once. Having not played one of these games on the home console before I'm happy to say the Wii U game is better than the 3DS Summer Olympics release, but can't match that DS game that I enjoyed so much as a single player experience.

But that being said the great difference between the handheld versions of these games, and the console versions, is that the console versions are that much better for multiplayer, and that makes all the difference.

Interview by Matt S. 

Of all the third party developers working on the Nintendo Wii U, there is one that stands out as going out of its way to take the unique features of the console; the Australian porting house, Straight Right.

When the Wii U launched Straight Right gave us the best version of the brilliant Mass Effect 3, that really showed the way a game can provide players with information on the bottom screen in a way that enhances the overall experience. Then Straight Right was responsible for the excellent remake of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The Director's Cut was initially meant to be a Wii U exclusive and use the Wii U Game Pad in a way that is integral to the game's experience. And it worked. After playing The Director's Cut I can't imagine playing Deus Ex without that excellent second screen enhancing the play.

Unfortunately for Straight Right both of its games have been mired by controversy that has meant the players have overlooked the games for superficial reasons. At the same time that Mass Effect 3 launched with the Wii U, players felt hard done by because EA also released the Mass Effect Collection (1, 2 and 3) for the same price on the other consoles. It didn't matter that the PS3 and Xbox 360 games in the collection had no work done to them, while the Wii U Mass Effect 3 was almost a remake, it was so extensively reworked for the Wii U; apparently players want quantity rather than quality.

And then the Deus Ex port was hampered by the fact it was also released (complete with second screen experience) for the PS3 and Xbox 360 at a slightly less price.

It's disappointing that the gaming community is more interested in complaining about what they're not getting than appreciating that they have the best version of two great games, but Straight Right Managing Director, Tom Crago, still wants to work on the console. Straight Right's sister company, Tantalus, is working on a sequel to the excellent casual farming sim Funky Barn, and even with two new consoles now on the market, Crago says his team has ideas for even more games.

We sat down to have a chat with Crago about Deus Ex, his hopes for the Wii U and other opportunities he sees in the market.

Review by Matt S. 

Back when the Wii was the bee's knees, Wii Fit was a revelation. For a relatively small investment in a balance board consumers got access to a fun little package of fitness minigames that genuinely offered a basic fitness regime that could help people lose weight free of any sensation of embarrassment they might feel from the comfort of their homes.

Review by Matt S.

Straight Right deserves recognition for being the best developer in the industry when it comes to porting games to the Wii U. Its port of Mass Effect 3 was a tragic tale; despite producing the finest version of one of the finest games of the generation (by some margin, in fact) to launch the Wii U in style, too many people chose to instead focus on the fact that EA released an easy compilation of all three Mass Effect games for the other two consoles.

That compilation had no extra work done to it, but in this industry 'fans' like to see the world with the glass half empty, it seems. So it pains me to say this, but I think Straight Right is headed right towards tragedy number two with its Wii U remake of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Without a doubt Human Revolution on the Wii U is the ultimate version of the game, and it's also one of the finest uses of the Gamepad and MiiVerse that we've seen to date (including from Nintendo itself). But I'm sure there will be plenty of people out there that criticise its price or how old the game is compared to the other AAA-games out there or something.

So much for putting all that extra effort in, right?

Opinion by Nick H. 

It's hard to believe the next generation of consoles is right around the corner. I suppose a fair point could be made that the Wii U actually kicked that generation, though many people felt it was more of a midway pit stop than a full on upgrade in technology. Am I excited to get my hands on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers? Absolutely - but there was a great deal to love about the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as well.

Arguably one of the best titles on the Wii was Donkey Kong Country Returns, which emerged on the console in 2010, and was then rereleased on the Nintendo 3DS. Now, developer Retro Studios looks to make its debut on the Wii U with the sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Preview by Matt S.

After walking away from Super Mario 3D World a little disappointed, I was glad to see that Wii Party U more than surpassed my expectations. I'm a sucker for digital board games at the best of times. Throw in some minigames that genuinely feel fresh, and I'm in seventh heaven.

Preview by Matt S.

Something spectacular happened when I got some hands on time with Super Mario 3D World at the EB Games Expo 2013 show; everyone was participating as equals.

Five levels were on show at the Expo, and I got to play them all. In each case the experience was purely multiplayer, and I was paired with three other players of varying skill. Some were clearly gaming veterans. Others were clearly utter beginners. What worries me, after playing through all of these levels in multiplayer, is how great they are as levels that have something for everyone in multiplayer.

Let me explain: across all five levels it was as easy for an experienced gamer to get through to the end of the level as it was for a complete beginner. The platforming was designed in such a way that, for the most part, the only way that players would not get to the end of the level would be if every single player died within a few seconds of one another, and with regular power upgrades and a really quick respawn, that was never going to happen.

Pre-empting a new Nintendo Direct tonight, Nintendo has rolled out an update for its Wii U console. This is a major update that offers some great new features. Nothing console-selling, but good additions for existing customers.

Platinum Games' titles are nothing if not divisive. The Wonderful 101 is no different. In fact, with this specific game my Twitter feed contains comments ranging from "game of the year," right through to "what the heck is this thing?"

Division over the quality of a game isn't anything new to the games industry but the range of opinions for this specific game seems to hold no middle ground whatsoever. People either love it, or hate it.

So I'm in a pretty lonely group, because I fall into the middle ground. The game's concept and style are fun to experience, but as a game to play it's limited and physically uncomfortable and is more of an argument against a dual screen experience on the Wii U than an argument for it.

Making a standout top-down racing game is a difficult proposition now. It's a mature genre without much room for innovation and there are no shortage of great games out for people keen on a Micro Machines clone.

TNT Racers is not a standout example of the genre. But it is good fun, and though it's an old game now that you've probably played in some capacity somewhere else, it's work a look if you're still feeling starved for Wii U titles.

When it came time to head down to the local game store and pick up my copy of Disney Infinity, the only platform that made sense to me was the Nintendo Wii U. Not because the Gamepad is used in any special way (it isn't), but for the same reason that the same magic that made Disney such a special company when Walt was in charge is the magic that makes Nintendo games so compelling.

Back when the 3DS didn't have much software to speak of, I found myself hopelessly addicted to Pokémon Rumble Blast. It was addictive in short bursts and offered a nice little level structure that had me wanting to replay levels over and over again to catch all the critters.

Wayforward has an interesting track record. When the developer is working on a passion project, it is unbelievably good. When the team cares about the material they drip their hearts and souls into creating gorgeous, personality-filled animation and characters, and classic 2D level design.

The other half of Wayforward's business model is licensed titles and while in fairness Wayforward's licensed titles are better than the efforts of many others, the less said about these games the better.

So it's just as well that DuckTales is a game Wayforward cared about. Amongst all the platformers I've played in my life, it's difficult to think of a game that has more character and personality than this one.

Phil Gaskell

To hear the small and independent publishers talk about the Wii U, it does not matter that the console has only managed to shift a couple hundred thousand units in the last quarter; it’s still a big opportunity.

In fact, it works to their benefit that the likes of EA and Ubisoft are scaling back their interest in the platform.

I'm not sure what miracle it was that convinced Tecmo Koei to release a Romance of the Three Kingdoms onto the Wii U Virtual Console, let alone in the West. What's even more miraculous was that it was released in the Australian Wii U Virtual Console too, and we never get those kinds of games out this way.

It surprises me that it took Nintendo so long to do this; from the day that the Wii U was announced I thought that an Art Academy game would be the perfect way to show off the console's unique features.

And I was right. Unlike Nintendo's other heavy-hitter Wii U games so far; New Super Mario Bros. and Pikmin 3, Art Academy SketchPad would not be possible on any other device except the 3DS, and completely uniquely for Nintendo, it's also a game that the Wii U does fundamentally better than anything Nintendo has produced for the 3DS.