What a relief! After months of waiting, Mario’s arrived on 3DS with all cylinders firing. Super Mario 3D Land isn’t just a good portable Mario game; it’s one of the very best Mario adventures, topped only (for me, anyway) by SMB3 and Galaxy 2. Sharp, ingenious, and fun beyond belief, this game’s a feast for Mario fans as it pays tribute to characters and locales from the franchise’s past, mixes in brand new concepts, and ends up as a wild race through dozens of unique, astonishing worlds. It’s pure Nintendo. This kind of experience is the reason we’re fans. (more…)

In the final weeks of game development, the team behind Super Mario 3D Land took a look at the nearly-finished Mariokart 7, liked what they saw, and promptly altered the way you experience 3D in their platformer. (more…)

Mario hits the shelves in fourteen days! To celebrate this happy little countdown milestone, here are fourteen reasons to do the Mario! And, yes, there’s something about the box art I don’t like. See if you agree with me; I’ll mention it at the end.

But first: Fourteen reasons to charge up your 3DS on November 13th!

1. 3DS really needs this game (understatement of the year)

2. It’s a new Mario adventure on a new platform

3. Luigi’s unlockable (more…)

One thing I wasn’t expecting from my 3DS was its ability to morph into a little portable film festival with truly outstanding entries. Do not miss this week’s Nintendo Video debut of “The 3D Machine” from Rotterdam’s Ka-Ching Cartoons.

Not only is this the best film to hit the service so far, but it actually has (drum roll) a reason to be in 3D: the plot involves a crazy scientist’s creation of a machine that turns 2D drawings into 3D objects. The action focuses mainly on the Igor-like assistant’s dimwitted misuse of the contraption–very reminiscent of Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice (the Mickey cartoon from Fantasia, not the Nicolas Cage film). The black and white visuals are wonderful, the stylized world is appealing, and the 3D works really well.

This is the reason I love the 3DS and root for its success despite the current skimpy game lineup: even without games, this little wonderbox can produce amazing and magical entertainment experiences available on no other device. Imagine what it could do with a ton of great software to back it up!

Funny thing: right in the middle of all the current doom-and-gloom discussions, Nintendo’s just released one hell of a great game. Want a break from all the weird recent Nintendo announcements? Care to remember how fantastic this company’s games can be? Buy Starfox 64 3D; it’s a spectacular, funny, smooth-as-silk, super-replayable, nonstop thrill ride.

I agree with Infendo Radio’s view that a five-star rating system is the best one-glance method to judge a game’s overall quality. That makes this very easy: Star Fox 64 3D is a five star game. No question. Its single potential negative—it’s a remake—evaporates in the face of the dazzling quality and the pure giddy fun you get out of this one cartridge. (more…)