It’s been a long weekend. Sorry for the delay in posts but with traveling non-stop and gaming at the SXSW convention I had a lot to write up for this recap. I’m back now and news/reviews will resume. Anthony is also back as well after a long time of college classes, homework and finals so be prepared for some awesome Nintendo hands on reviews and news.
On to the good stuff, SXSW Gaming Expo. There were a lot of games there to play and lots of companies to chat with as well.
Nintendo Booth
The Nintendo booth shown in the photo above was really busy, all the time. The booth itself was extremely small but impactful. It was like taking 100 people and shoving them in a 400 square foot area, and everyone wanted to play a new game. Most of these games aren’t out yet so they were pretty hot and we were able to get our hands on some of these awesome upcoming titles for the Wii U and 3DS.
Pikmin 3 – Wii U Hands on
This Wii U game had a decent sized line but I managed to get some decent play time on this anticipated title. This is the type of game that you need to invest some time in, not just hop on for a short period of time. However, I did enjoy what I saw. You can use either the Wii Remote/Nunchuck combo or the actual Wii U display controller which is how I played. Pikmin are easy to track using the gamepads real time tracker, you can swipe it to see different areas of the map to control a large group of Pikmin with ease which was awesome. The graphics and animation looked absolutely beautiful. If you enjoy this genre you’ll love this game.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – Wii U Hands on
This title was so awesome it threw me off guard. I went in a little skeptical and was blown away by the gameplay. Animation is smooth, graphics are immersive and you run around and find yourself saying, “Kill it, its moving!”. The gameplay is easy to figure out and the world feels huge and open. The monsters are epic in size, at least in the area they put us in. This is definitely a title worth getting for Wii U
The Wonderful 101 – Wii U Hands on
This game was fun to play but I had my reservations. The graphics felt a little off, while they were nice in quality they had a stylistic treatment that made it feel cheap in my opinion. I really enjoyed the arsenal of heroes you can control at once and wander around levels exploring and beating up baddies. They use the Wii U controller in a unique way which was refreshing. Since the game is in a top down view, when you go into buildings you get a first person perspective on the pad to solve puzzles and explore. Overall, this game was fun but it was silly and I eventually had enough and moved on. If you enjoy the graphical treatments and done mind controlling super heroes named Vending Machine Man, and Toilet Bowl man then this game is for you.
LEGO City Undercover – Wii U Hands on
This game was just plain fun. Now, a lot of people are bashing it saying its just Grand Theft Auto lego and I assure you that is not the case. This game is a Lego Story game with the ability to explore more openly solving extra puzzles, finding hidden areas and unlocking side missions that enhance gameplay. The story itself is quite fun and pulls you in, its whimsical as usual being Lego and they do a good job. Its actually quite funny poking and tilting its hat towards pop culture. I definitely suggest you give this game a try it was very fun and I’ll be picking it up for sure.
Nintendo Booth Gallery
3DS Games
This is the other facet of the Nintendo booth that was awesome but placed in a horrible spot. They placed the 3DS kiosks in front of the Wii U stands blocking ways for people to stand in line and to even see what games were even there. I clawed my way into the masses to report back some awesome games for all our readers.
Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon – 3DS Hands on
This game was even better than I expected. I got to this one first because it was on the end as I walked into the Gaming Expo, I saw it open and dodged into place. The graphics on this 3DS title are fantastic. Luigi’s Mansion has that whimsical approach and feel and I absolutely adored it. Gameplay was smooth and easy to figure out as well, sucking up ghosts felt great. The music is also pretty amazing. I wish I could have experienced the multiplayer but they didn’t have a few lined up to try that out unfortunately. This is a 3DS title you’ll want to pick up with the new multiplayer features as an added bonus you’ll get a lot of replay out of this, the single player campaign is really fun, I highly recommend.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – 3DS Hands on
This game was close in proximity to the Wii U game so I ran over to the 3DS after playing the Wii U version. I have to say, this game impressed me and packed a punch on the 3DS. The top screen is your battle screen and bottom screen is your menu screen that has your combo list, item pouch, and lets you navigate between characters. The game ran super smooth and was easy to play. The cutscenes were very sharp as well, one of the best games I’ve seen on the 3DS so far. The cool thing about this version is the street pass functionality. You can find other Monster Hunters and share cards with them, you can also play co-op online as well. If you don’t have a Wii U I would definitely check this out for the 3DS.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 3DS Guided Tour
Now, we didn’t get to play this game but Nintendo presented it at their booth. It honestly was not too impressive in my opinion but then again I’m not a huge Animal Cross fan so I may be biased. The graphics looked great for 3DS games but the presentation was such a slow pace I lost interest quickly. I found the trailer more informative and you may enjoy the teaser below.
PC Section
There weren’t too many PC games at the SXSW Gaming Expo but there were two notable games, Loadout and Hawken. Loadout is a third person/first person shooter, free to play and highly stylized and very fun. Loadout is developed by Edge of Reality. Edge of Reality brought us games like the Mass Effect Trilogy, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 as well as other games. The other great game is Hawken. Hawken is another free to play, first person mech shooter. This game fills a very specific and much needed niche, it plays ultra smooth, looks beautiful and is fast paced. Hawken is developed by Meteor Entertainment.
Hawken – PC
So lets jump into this one. Like I mentioned above, Hawken is a great game and is highly addictive. Hawken is a free to play, first person mech shooter. Gameplay is smooth and graphics are sharp and very detailed. One of the best things about this game is its loadouts and unlocks, players can customize their mechs very specifically from looks to counter-measures and weapons. The other awesome thing about this game is its tied to a story and graphic novel. Players can get sucked into this world very easily as their illustrators are amazing and the story line pulls you in to different characters lives and conflicts.
Check out the video demo I took of gameplay and also a few photos from the booth below as well as controls for the game.
Loadout – PC
Loadout pulled me in subtly. At first I dismissed it as being a Team Fortress look alike and walked away. I then saw the developers panel from Edge of Reality. This blew my mind and changed my outlook on the game. I was upset at myself for being dismissive. The development team went over process on how they created the game, how they aimed to make it different, free to play and well balanced. Not only is this a different game stylistically but in regards to gameplay, its a extremely unique and a very fun game. Players can customize their weapons in multiple ways, but the developers have figured out a balance system to keep things in check for all those people with doubt. There is also an unlock mode to get more add ons to weapons so this game can get you addicted quite fast. Its still in beta currently but you can sign up here and try to get access. I won a team match and received a shirt and a beta pass so you’ll see more coverage on this game in the future. I highly recommend you give it a try if you can, its very fun.
Here are some photos and videos below for you to enjoy. The Halo man, and the unicorn riding dev photos were taken from the Loadout Facebook page, we shot the rest ourselves.
The player in this video is awful, I know. It wasn’t me so don’t worry, our team actually won.
That’s it for now, I hope you enjoyed this 2013 SXSW Gaming Expo recap. We wish the expo was larger with a lot more games but this worked for now. We’ll definitely be going back there next year. Also, we’ll be heading to PAX East next week so keep an eye out for that coverage.
