Treese On Games is a new Sunday column where Tyler Treese takes a look back at all of the week’s gaming news and gives his thoughts.
Since not everything I want to talk about deserves its own article, I figured I would do a weekly column where I give my thoughts on some of the big (and small) news of the preceding week. In the debut installment i’ll be covering the exciting news of Mario Kart 8’s DLC, the disappointing leaks of Smash Bros., the surprising announcement of the New 3DS and even more! I’m sure I will toy with how this column is laid out in the coming installments but for now I think a bulleted list will suffice. Now on to the news.
- While I quite enjoyed Mario Kart 8, I would be lying if I didn’t feel as if the game felt a bit stale. You can only drive through the Mushroom Kingdom so many times without feeling a bit of déjà vu. That is why I am so excited that the new DLC will be incorporated characters and tracks from other Nintendo franchises. Hopefully, we will be able to race through areas such as Hyrule, Aquas from Star Fox and other Nintendo locations. Could my dream of Nintendo Kart be on the way? I hope so.
- Quite possibly the best news (although definitely the worst for my wallet) was that the first series of Amiibos were up for pre-order at fine retailers such as Amazon. They have sold very well so far with several of the figures showing up as out of stock. If you can’t pre-order the one you want you can blame me since I went and pre-ordered all twelve of them as soon as I heard the news. I may be $160 poorer but I am thrilled to be able to play around with these figures once they are released. The high level of detail on each figurine really stood out when I saw them at E3 so I can’t wait to see them up close.
- I have never understood why people want games spoiled before they have even played them. Some people are happy knowing every available character, level and plot twist before even tearing through the plastic wrap to open a game case. I’m not one of those people. One of the reasons I love gaming is surprises. That is what sucks about the latest Smash Bros. leaks. I already felt too much was known about the game and now there is very little left to know about the roster. On the bright side, what was leaked out was awesome so I can’t be too sad after finding out i’ll be able to wreck fools in a clown car coming this October9.
- A lot of people are mad about the New 3DS. No, not about the silly name but because the hardware they currently own will no longer be current. It will be lacking in power compared to the new New 3DS which means some games that rely on the additional power, such as the port of Xenoblade Chronicles, will not play on the 3DS and 3DS XL. Personally, I want to see the best games possible come to handhelds so if that means what I currently own won’t cut it any more than I am fine with that. The good news for those who don’t want to upgrade? Look at the last time Nintendo added features to an existing handheld. Do you remember all those great DSi-exclusive retail games? Neither do I.
- Episode two of the Legacy Lookback should be up next week. Sorry for the delay but i’ve been trying to make the video as good as possible without rushing it. The original weekly goal of the feature was too ambitious but I will aim to put them out as quickly as possible. Since it isn’t out yet I might as well reveal that the episode is titled, ‘The Strange Enemies of Sarasaland.’