Unreal Engine 4 not coming to the Wii U

I've got very bad new for the people that invested on the Wii U.During this year's GDC(Game Developers Conference), someone straight up asked Epic Games if their next-gen engine would be coming to the Wii U, the answer? No.

No is actually the short answer, when Epic co-founder Mark Rein was asked that question during that panel he said:

“Hahaha no. I mean, sorry, it’s not really a correct answer. We’re not… we have Unreal Engine 3 for the Wii U. Right? And Unreal Engine 3 is powering all kinds of amazing games, still lots of games are being made with Unreal Engine 3. We announced today about a new Unreal Engine 3 license. Unreal Engine 3 doesn’t disappear because of Unreal Engine 4. But our goal for Unreal Engine 4 console-wise is next-gen consoles. That’s really what our energies are focused on. If you want to make a Wii U game, we have Unreal Engine 3, and it’s powering some of the best games on the Wii U already.”

Even if they say the Unreal Engine 3 is not dead and that great games are still using the old engine, this statement alone is a big blow for Nintendo's next-gen console.. This yet again limits what could be released in the Wii U and third-party support won't be as strong as Nintendo intended.

Frostbite 3 Engine is also not coming to the Wii U

To make matters worse EA announced as well that the Wii U won't have Frostbite 3 Engine support. If this stays true, we won't be seeing Dragon Age 3, Battlefield 4, and the next Mass Effect game(will be using the Frostbite Engine)  on the Wii U. This doesn't help the new console one bit. From the looks of things, it seems that Nintendo will have to rely solely on first party titles yet again and exclusive titles to keep the Wii U alive, unless they have something huge to announce during this year.

With news like this, it's hard for me to even consider the Wii U a next-gen console but a current gen. Time will only tell, but it's not looking good.

[Source: Kotaku, Polygon]

DuckTales Remastered

My nostalgia has been hit so hard. Not only was DuckTales a kickass series but it also had a pretty kickass NES game, back when Capcom was awesome. Now we have this, with the opening theme of the cartoon with sing-a-long lyrics playing through out the whole trailer.

DuckTales Remastered is coming to PSN, Xbox Live and the Wii U eShop.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag details, release date set

As promised, Ubisoft blows up the start of the week with tons of details regarding Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.  Set before the events of the third game, Edward Kenway is the new assassin and is set to sail on October 29 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and next-gen consoles.

In a preview article by Joystiq, The development of Black Flag started in 2011, which suggests they have quite a ton of developers working on just one franchise at Ubisoft. Revelations was released in 2011, meaning they had three Assassin's Creed titles in the works that year(including Assassin's Creed 3). This definitely isn't a rush job, but how many more games like this can we take in?

But enough of the history lesson. Black Flag is embracing a highly praised feature that debuted in the last game - Naval battles. But it's not just the combat anymore, they expand on that concept further. Edward Kenway commands the ship called the Jackdaw, which seems to be the focus of the game's exploration. The game will have around 50 locations like Cuba, Bahamas, Nassau, and South Florida to visit. Including islands, cities and ports such as Havana, Kingston and Nassau. There will also be hidden paths to explore, quiet fishing villages, ship wrecks, plantations, dense jungles, islands, an underwater ship wrecks.

This is going to be pirate game in it's core, wrapped around that assassin's hood, which means boarding ships, plundering, finding lost treasure, and freedom to explore the open sea awaits when it hits this October. The sea exploration won't be restricted with artificial barriers, but you can't explore the whole world too, there will be ship upgrades to do, and some are required for you to progress.

Black Flag will have an absent Desmond this time. Ubisoft stated that the third game will conclude his story, and they are sticking with it. It's still not certain if Black Flag is a straight up history lesson, with no modern day sections of us exiting the Animus with a new character. But if you ask me, it's a step to the right direction if they remove it completely.

It was just four months, and already Assassin's Creed 3 has been pushed out of the spotlight by a new numbered sequel. Ubisoft's attempt of releasing a new title every year might be exciting for the hardcore of fans, but it makes me wonder if this healthy for a blooming franchise. I'm sure many players is still trying to find time to experience Connor's journey, and some might get sick of the franchise thanks to the annual release.

Check out the released trailers and screenshots so far for Assassin's Creed: Black Flag below.

Announce Trailer

Edward Kenway trailer

[source: Gematsu, VG247]

New Nintendo Direct focuses mainly on the 3DS

Last Nintendo Direct covered tons of Wii U news, but this time the spotlight is on the 3DS. What are the big announcements? Donkey Kong Country Returns coming to the 3DS, a new Mario RPG is coming, and a release date for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, once again hosts Nintendo Direct. During the start of the presentation, Iwata marked this year as the year of Luigi. Nintendo feels Luigi needs more love, so they have a good amount of Luigi games planned for 2013. The first one? The sequel to his first ever game as the lead.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon - 3DS

Luigi's Manion Dark Moon launches March 24.

Iwata also announced a new entry in the Mario and Luigi RPG series.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - 3DS

No release date was given, but Dream Team will be launched sometime in summer in the US, which should be around July for us.

To further bombard us with Luigi news, Nintendo also announced during this Nintendo Direct that a new DLC called New Super Luigi U(image above) will be coming to New Super Mario U for the Wii U. The title pretty much explains everything really. The DLC, or rather the expansion, will include Luigi-themed levels. No date was given, but expect it this year.

Mario Golf: World Tour

The presentation debuted another new game for the 3DS - Mario Golf: World Tour. Camelot, the developers of past Mario Golf games return for the 3DS title.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

This Nintendo Direct also covered the latest entry in the Animal Crossing series. Along with a new trailer, they also announced the release date - June 9.

Nintendo Direct is really a bag filled with new Nintendo announcements. Wii U wasn't the focus,, but was not forgotten. LEGO City Undercover was shown together with release dates for games coming to the Wii U like - Injustice: Gods Among us on March 16, Need for Speed: Most Wanted U on March 19, The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts on March 26, and last but not least, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is coming on March 19 for both Wii U and 3DS. If you're eager to try out the new Monster Hunter title, a demo will be available on February 21 on both platforms at the eshop.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

And to close of this Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announces Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for the 3DS. The Donkey Kong Wii title is getting a 3D makeover and is planned for a summer release. No footage was reveal but just think Donkey Kong Country Returns, but in 3D.

That's about it for this Nintendo Direct, there's a lot more mentioned like new DLC for Fire Emblem: Awakening, new DLC for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor Edge, more Nintendo promotions and a lot more. To see the full Nintendo Direct presentation, check it out below.

Nintendo Direct 02.14.13

Latest Nintendo Direct talks all about Wii U and its upcoming games

The latest Nintendo Direct was packed with Wii U game announcements. Games like Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2, Monolith's Project X title, and with Shin-Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem were presented. But after all that, there was bigger news that involved Mario, Zelda, and that Smash Bros. game people love so much.

The games we want are coming

Nintendo announced that a new 3D Mario game and Mario Kart game is currently in development for the Wii U. Nothing was shown yet, but Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata says that these games will make an appearance in this year's E3 in a playable form.

Smash Bros. gets a small mention during the presentation. Development is still on track and expect to see the first screens of the game during this year's E3. E3 kicks off this June 11.

The Zelda Wii U game was also mentioned during the presentation. Sadly, the new Zelda game is still not ready for a reveal. Nintendo asks fans to wait a little while longer. To make the wait a lot easier, they announced that they will be remaking The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for the Wii U with enhanced graphics. They did not go into detail whether there will be added content or changes to the gameplay. No release date was given yet.

They also reveal a new Wii U party game that features different kinds of game styles that utilizes the Wii U GamePad. Casual games that are best played as a group, or games that let you go head-to-head with a friend with just the GamePad. It's planned to launch this summer.

One more game to mention -Yoshi is finally coming back with Yarn Yoshi. The last Yoshi game was Yoshi's Story that was on the Nintendo 64, way back in 1998. The new Yoshi game will get similar visuals seen in Kirby's Epic Yarn. Takashi Tezuka, director of Yoshi’s Story, will be supervising the development.

Wii U updates, Virtual Console, and Miiverse updates

The Wii U will have 2 major updates: The Spring update(around March), and the Summer (around June) update. These updates will improve the loading time when launch software, and shorten how long it takes to return to the Wii U menu screen.

The Spring update, will include a feature that allow players to browse their Miiverse with their smartphones. The feature will be browser-based but Nintendo plans to make a Miiverse app in the future.

A new Wii U Fit app Wii Fit U Communities was revealed giving player the ability to create communities in the miiverse to discuss exercise BMI, weight changes and other health topics with other players.

Virtual Console (seen in the 3DS and Wii), an online service that allows players to buy classic Nintendo titles, will be hitting the Wii U after the Spring update. All Virtual Console titles already on the Wii will be made available in the Wii U version, but not the full line-up will be available on release. The cost of these games on the Wii U will be the same price as the ones found on the Wii. if by any chance you already own some Virtual Console games on the Wii, you can purchase the Wii U version at a reduced price of $1 for NES games and $1.50 for Super NES games.

Also announced is the 30th anniversary celebration of the release of the Famicom (NES) in Japapan. In celebration, Nintendo will be releasing one classic famicom game each month for only 30 cents for 30 days. The promo will start this January and will last until July. Here's the list.

• January - balloon Fight
• February - F-Zero
• March - Punch Out! Featuring Mr. Dream
• April - Kirby's Adventure
• May - Super Metroid
• June - Yoshi
• July - Donkey Kong

Whew, that's a lot to take in. Nintendo is going all out and that's good to see since they have a new console now out. You can watch the full Nintendo Direct presentation below.