Wired has a great piece up on how video game developers have dealt with in-game death over the years. From the power-up mushroom in Mario to the Regenerative Shields in Halo, developers have been tackling creative ways for players to ‘die’ or ‘fail’ for years.

I am of the camp that would like to see less ‘fail-states’ in gaming, because let’s be honest, nobody likes to put  45+ min into a game only to have to start over because of not clicking the potion button fast enough. The game over screen shouldn’t even be considered in this day and age, there are more inspired ways of handling the situation. After all, fail-states are relics of the coin-op era where more deaths equaled more money.
(more…)

3DS gets Kirby’s Dream Land and Wii gets Final Fantasy III (known as FF VI in Japan). Classic digital downloads rule the roost this week.

I have to admit, the 3DS Virtual Console has surprised me. It was the one feature I thought I’d never use, and now I’m about to purchase my third title. There’s a moral here somewhere about gameplay over graphics, but let’s just move along…

Kirby, like Mario and Donkey Kong before him, is going for the Nintendo Superstar Rate of $3.99. Is it worth it? I vote yes: though lacking many of the features of later Kirby adventures, Dream Land offers a short but extremely fun romp through some classic Nintendo surrealism. The black and white graphics, as with GB Donkey Kong, are sharp, well-designed and entertaining. (more…)

In an interview about upcoming Wii title The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Eiji Aonuma talks to Famitsu Magazine and reveals some slightly spoilery details. If you are attempting to keep pure and avoid all Skyward Sword info, you probably won’t want to click through.
(more…)

Jack Loftus was one of the first contributors to Infendo. He began writing for the blog in 2006, a year after I founded it. Known for his wit, provocative writing, and unabashed subjectivity, Jack lovingly referred to himself as the “fanman.”

When gamers prematurely wrote off the DS, and later Wii, Jack was quick to champion each platform and its maker. Over the last half decade, if there ever was a leader of the unofficial Nintendo Defense Force, Jack may have been it.

Not anymore.

Since the announcement of the pricey 3DS last year, and the unveiling of the technology bloated Wii U three weeks ago, Jack has lost almost all faith in the company. “Nintendo just doesn’t interest me anymore,” he said via email this week. Here’s why.

(more…)

The reason: The game does not let you reset saved game data. Why? Presumably as a parlor trick to disuade used (or as I call them: pre-owned) game sales. But Capcom ambiguously says that’s not the case.

“Secondhand game sales were not a factor in this development decision,” Capcom said in a statement to Giant Bomb. “This feature does not remove any content available for users.”

But as Ben at Ars Technica notes, “If this isn’t to hurt the resale value, why else would you do this? This hurts everyone who buys a copy of the game, and significantly harms the long-term replayability of the title…So thanks, Capcom. You have made my purchasing decision much easier.”

Please join Ben in boycotting the game, won’t you? Besides, haven’t you played like 10 iterations of Resident Evil already?

If you headed Nintendo of America, how would you release a brilliant first- party title you knew wouldn’t sell?

Back in 2006, the company found the perfect solution: If you didn’t pre-order the $19.95 Electroplankton, you probably couldn’t get the game. Arriving in beautiful, shiny-foil packaging, the quirky music generator marked the most limited cartridge launch in Nintendo’s North American history. They produced enough copies for fans—and that was all. (more…)

It’s no secret that Infendo loves Wayforward Technologies and the unique titles they bring to the table. From Contra to Shantae, Wayforward has delivered the goods. In an interview with Nintendo Power Matt Bozon reveals what the studio will be releasing next.

Nintendo Power: What about Mighty Switch Force makes it something you can experience on the Nintendo 3DS system?

Matt Bozon: In Mighty Switch Force, we’ve crafted a unique puzzle mechanic that gets players not only watching in stereo, but actually exploring solutions in the third dimension.  It’s the kind of platformer we knew was possible, but hadn’t seen until now.  And as fans of our previous titles can confess, some of our thematics elements–T-rexes with eye lasers, wall-eyed fishmen, jet-pack cats, belly dance transformations, popcorn explosions, vocaloid J-Pop ballads, hottie pirates, and whipping puppies with your hair–would only confound retailers.

Nintendo Power: Can you give a couple of examples of how puzzles work?

Matt Bozon: Sure.  In a simple puzzle, you might need to cross a pit that’s too wide to jump past.  By using your Switch power, you can pull distant blocks closer to the screen in 3D and use them as stepping stones.  However, any blocks on the playfield will retreat into the background. That’s all pretty basic stuff.  Where it gets complicated is when you have to think several steps ahead.  Will the blocks underneath your feet pull away?  Will the blocks in the background zoom up and smash you?  What will happen if you pull blocks out from under an enemy?  Puzzles are built around these kinds of mysteries, and the interesting and unexpected outcomes.

Sound compelling! Like I have said all along, leave it to the most creative developers to show gamers what the whole third dimension is all about. No word on release or price, but Mighty Switch Force will be released on the eShop sometime in the near future!

Suddenly 3DS’s all over the planet have a ton of content to look forward to.

Since its inception, Club Nintendo has provided Nintendo fans an opportunity to get more from their product purchases. The program is a wonderful way for Nintendo to reward its customers for purchasing their products, thereby giving consumers a reason for buying new. If you want to qualify for elite status, however, your time is almost up!

June 30 is the last day to fill out those post play surveys and register your Nintendo products to qualify for the free goodies for earning a Gold or Platinum status. Over the past two years the prizes have been rather good, so it will be interesting to see what Nintendo of America has up its sleeves for this 2011.

How close are you to reaching the elusive Elite Status on Club Nintendo?

RecordSetter, formerly known as the Universal Records DataBase, has proclaimed 700 points to be the lowest Super Mario Bros score ever. Check out the video above to see the glorious 7 1/2 minute run, avoiding all goombas, koopas, time bonuses, and all but one coin.

p.s. I’m a current world record holder!

Nintendo Power editor Chris Slate wrote a great column this month on Sonic vs Mario. I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to share. Here it is transcribed in its entirety from print to internet:

Sonic, when you first burst on the scene bragging about blast processing, I kind of hated your guts. For me, no other platformer came close the Super Mario series.

So when some friends suddenly sided with the new Sega Genesis poster boy, I took it personally. And then when someone insisted that Sonic the Hedgehog was better than Super Mario World, I got downright angry. How could the deep, complex gameplay of a Mario masterpiece possibly be outclassed by a game that uses only three buttons that all do the same thing?

Years later, you almost had me with Sonic Adventure  (more…)