Nintendo

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon will not be a game that every 3DS or Pokemon fan will like, but that doesn't mean it does not have some redeeming qualities. Individuals who have been turned off by previous Mystery Dungeon titles will not be won over with this latest installment. The core game play mechanics have not been overhauled much from previous titles, but the inclusion of 20 Pokemon to select as a starter, and the ability to interact with all 720 Pokemon - including legionaries - should make fans of the franchise ready to tackle and more mystery dungeons.

Apparently, lumping together Zelda and the 3DS is not always going to produce an epic adventure like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Tri Force Heroes might use the same graphical approach, but the game could not be any more different. Despite what many reviewers are saying online, I really, REALLY enjoyed my time with Tri Force Heroes, both in single player and multiplayer. Read on to find out more!

On the eve of the launch of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, it appears as if Animal Crossing amiibo cards are sold out at almost every retailer, and those that are not sold out will have limited stock. What I'm basically saying is: if you don't go get your copy of the game the second the store opens, there is a good chance you won't get any amiibo cards.

People love amiibo. There is no way around that fact. They are excellently sculpted miniature figures of our favorite Nintendo and friends characters. It would be interesting to see what percentage of amiibo buyers are actually using them within games, and how many are picking them up purely for collectible reasons. I think those numbers could prove whether Nintendo is smart with amiibo cards and jumping on a great opportunity, or if they are just getting greedy?

If you find a free moment, go to YouTube and search Super Mario Maker. You are bound to get stuck in that "just one more video" cycle as you look through some of the amazing levels that have been uploaded so far. This week, Nintendo in Japan announced on Twitter that over one million Super Mario Maker levels have been uploaded for others to play. This is an amazing statistic.

Last night, I was a guest on the Magic Hour Show podcast hosted by fellow Canadian, Eugene Huo. It was a special episode for a number of reasons. It was the 25th episode for The Magic Hour Show and we got to talk sandbox / creation games.

Although Nintendo has been pretty quiet at retail, they want to remind consumers that there is still plenty going on in the Nintendo Universe. Below is an update from Nintendo - provided by their PR company - on a few of the things happening this summer!

The rising price of AAA video games at Canadian retail locations is making me wonder something: how long can consumers continue to pay the high price of games? Best Buy Canada and Amazon Canada have been offering a bunch of pre-order incentives for games announced at E3 2015. With a 5-10$ discount, these retailers are charging 64.99 - 69.99; that means the regular price on these titles is 74.99 - 79.99. With a 13% sales tax in Ontario, that means a brand new AAA tilte at full cost could set back consumers 90.00, or roughly 1/5 the price of an Xbox One or PS4.

Splatoon is the latest and greatest title by Nintendo to grace the Wii U and boy does it deliver! As we begin our Splatoon campaign we select our character. You select either the boy or girl avatar and then begin the tutorial. Nintendo has had an excellent track record on making its mark with any game genre and this is no different as it takes the concept of a shooter subtracts your typical bullets and guns and adds colorful ink and a splatter blaster to paint the town red, or whatever color you can.

I'm not going to spoil what was in the Nintendo Direct today. Basically, it was awesome. I originally had no desire to play this game, but the more I've seen of it, the more I want to play it. The addition of those fantastic amiibo helps as well.