There are too many Nintendo series that don’t have enough entries on Switch… I am looking at you Mario Kart.

Well, Mario Party isn’t one of them. With Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars already making their way to the Switch the question is, is there space for a third one?

Nintendo seem to think so and has just released Super Mario Party Jamboree, and yea, there is justification for a third.

If you haven’t played a Mario Party game before, the main way to play is via a board game.

Each player rolls a dice and moves a bunch of spaces around the board. Your goal is to collect the stars that scatter the board. But it can’t be that simple right? Of course not, you don’t just have to be first to the star, you also have to have enough stars to claim it. So how do you get stars I hear you ask?  Well there are a few ways, but the main way is to win mini-games.

And this is the main point of the whole game. The mini-games are all kinds of silliness, but are consistently fun.  You may be slicing up pieces of meat to get the closest to a 50/50 split or you may have to deal with sandwiches that are falling and have to platform on the landed sandwiches before you get squashed. But they aren’t all food based. Maybe you have to navigate along a winding path without being pushed off the edge by a bunch of moving logs.

Now I am not going to go through every mini-game, because there are over 100 of them, but these simple albeit fun mini-games are what makes Super Mario Party Jamboree worth playing.  They utilize the joycons to make it an essential Switch experience.

There are heaps of ways to play if you aren’t feeling the board game.

You can visit themed islands or there are modes which have you smashing a handful of games to beat 20 players to get the most coins. Here you also go up against an imposter Bowser, because why not. There is even an 8 player mode where you have to take down this giant imposter Bowser. You can play single player, including a single player mode which is a glorified tutorial, or any modes against bots. If other people are your jam there is a very competent online mode as well.

But the best way to play any Mario Party is on the couch with your friends or family. Super Mario Jamboree is no exception here. Whether it’s you and a few friends with some beers, or soda if you’re under 18, or with your family, it’s so much fun to play. Watching your family navigate the challenges of motion controls while you try to do the same to claim that important star is just pure fun.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is an excellent Mario Party game. Heaps of mini-games new and old, heaps of boards to play on, and heaps of fun. Whether you’re a long time fan, or new to the series, there is heaps of awesome to enjoy here.

The post Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

WarioWare is one of the weirdest titles in Nintendo’s catalog.

The series consists of collections of mini-games, which are always silly, but they are just consistently fun.  WarioWare: Move It! is no exception, and with enforced use of your Joy-Cons, this game will force you to have fun, whether you want to or not.

Wario wins a competition that gets him to a vacation island. Here he is given two stones that are shaped like Joy-Cons. He throws them away and finds himself having to run from some locals on the island. There is more story in the story mode, but there really isn’t much more to it than that. The story is just as daft as the game, and that is what works so well.

For anyone that hasn’t played a Warioware game before, they basically consist of heaps of mini-games.

Little mini games that generally take seconds, and playing them back to back makes for a heap of fun. Grabbing the initial series of ones in the story mode, you have to put out a fire by scooping water from a waterfall, or need to clink a glass with someone walking towards you. Fail in a few seconds, and the people chasing him get closer.  It’s so dumb, and in its dumbness, it’s kinda brilliant.

WarioWare: Move It! uses the Joy-Cons for every minigame.

Each one tells you the starting position to have your hands. This varies from choo choo with your arms bent at your side, to love struck with your hands at your cheeks, to Crocodile with your hands out like a crocodile jaw.  Everything about the game from the explanation, to starting poses, to the games themselves are so silly.

And this is where the way to play comes in.

On your own, I don;t think you are going to get a whole lot of value from this. Whether playing the story or party mode, the game works at it’s best with multiple people. On your own, sure you’ll have some fun before it wears off.  With friends, or even better with kids, this game is pure insanity. The silly games are made that much more fun when watching someone else doing the same insanity next to you. The chaos as you quickly try to figure out how to play a mini-game, and then trying to do it in time makes for a lot of laughs.

There are 223 mini-games in total, while it takes seconds to complete a game, this amount of variety means you will have so many different silly actions and silly premises to complete. If the volume of games had been a touch lower, this would have gotten stale far too quickly, but again, 223 mini-games, there is so much insanity to be had.

I don’t want to touch on all the mini-games because encountering them the first time is them at their peak, go in blind, you won’t regret it.

Just like WarioWare games before it, the style and aesthetic isn’t too much to look at, and the whole thing is so daft, but my god this is fun. With kids, friends, or just your partner and some drinks, WarioWare is pure, party, fun chaos. This won’t be your next game of the year, but it is a great way to spend some weekends or evenings. Though given we are going into a hot summer down under, you may need some deodorant for longer sessions.

The post WarioWare Move It! (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

One of the crossovers that always feels so wrong is seeing Mario and Sonic in a game together.

I am of that right age where these two mascots seemed like mortal enemies that would fight until one was bitterly left in a mess on the side of the road praying for the sweet relief of… well that got dark quickly. Yet in 2007 the two competed side by side in the Wii game Mario & Sonic at Beijing Olympics, and since then they have been brought side by side at the Olympics many more times. As with many other Nintendo exclusives, the Switch release was my first dabbling with this series, and I certainly enjoyed it enough.

At its core Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a huge collection of mini games for each of the upcoming events at next years Olympics. What this means is there is a huge variety in games, and as you may expect this means that none of them are perfect. Each game tends to be based on simple mechanics so you can jump in and have a blast because trying to master that many games if they were complicated would be near impossible which wouldn’t work when it comes to a party game. This means games like the Rugby 7s you basically pass and run with the ball. As a rugby game this isn’t complicated, but as a fun party game it works because it only takes minutes to understand how to play.

Skateboarding, because that’s apparently an Olympic game too now, is the same where you basically aim the skateboard around the park, time jumping and landing to boost your speed while slightly varying tricks. Like with the Rugby 7s it’s simple but in the context of playing a party game it needs to be. that You are likely going to switch between events regularly and the last thing you want is a 20-minute tutorial with a few hours to get the hand of it.

The games that work the best are the simpler sport such as long jump, running and the javelin throw. Where running requires mashing a button faster or swinging in the joy-con if using the movement controls. Javelin and long jump do the same with a quick moment of timing required to execute the final move. These are especially entertaining when it comes to a group of people because again, it’s easy to explain, easy to get the hang of, and fun as hell when you fail with a group of family or friends. The huge variety of games means that even when I played with the family for a few hours we didn’t even come close to playing every minigame on offer.

Because these are the second Olympics held in Tokyo, there is even a 1964 Olympic games option. This has a handful of games where the characters are using their original designs and the games themselves looking like they belong of that era, that’s the 80s / 90s era when these games kicked off, not 1964 before they all existed. It’s a fun throwback that couldn’t feel more appropriate for the two icons leading this game and a welcome addition to the collection.

There is a story mode which was far from my favourite bit. Basically Mario, Sonic, Bowser and Robotnik get sucked into a gaming machine where they go into classic mode to compete in the 1964 games activities while they try to get out. On the outside the other characters try to get them out and must compete in the 2020 activities as they get other characters to join them on their quest. There is an overworld which was tedious to travel around and a lot of the dialogue, especially in the 1964 stages which take far too long with little to offer. I got especially bored in a scene where Sonic was pacing and pausing in many moments looking for Robotnik behind a tree. The story mode would have been greatly enhanced by it having chapters in a list with the dialogue popping up before and after an event.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is an excellent collection of mini games that would absolutely suit a party session, or a fun rainy Sunday for the family. Some of the harder modes like Gymnastics which requires fast button prompting take a while to get any good at, while running is super easy to jump in and win at. The Joy-con options are the best way to play some modes but using the controls will still provide plenty of value for anyone looking to fill that silly mini game void in their hearts.

Don’t expect the story mode to blow you away, though.

The post Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – Krispy Kreme NZ has recently released four retro mini mobile games on their Instagram.

From the days of 8 BIT, relived and replayed for free, with genres that hearken back to the basic pixelated graphics and punishing gameplay.

Finger Bun Fighter sees you partaking in some sweet fisticuffs, Cookie Dough’s Krispy Kart goes to the old skool feel of top down racing, Brownie Batter Bash is a doughnut fueled take on the classic Pong and our favourite, Fairy Bread Fantasy is a sugary 2D platformer adventure. You can read our review and see gameplay HERE.

At the end of each game you are awarded a high Score. whether you make it to the end of each game or not. STG and Krispy Kreme NZ wants to know; WHAT IS YOUR HIGHEST SCORE?

Tell us here on STG or via our Social Pages (Facebook or Twitter) and be in to Win a Krispy Kreme NZ Voucher.

We have three vouchers up for grabs for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. But get in real quick – as this Giveaway, like the four retro games and Krispy Kreme’s Throwback Party Doughnut range are for a real limited time.

The prizes are:

1st = Assorted dozen – The overall Highest Score winner on any of the Four Games

2nd = OG dozen – The second Highest Score winner on any of the Four Games.

3rd = Shake n Glaze combo – The third Highest Score on any of the Four Games.

You can give us your Answer by placing a Comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

(If you enter on Social Media don’t forget to Tag: @KrispyKremeNZ)

* Winner(s) will be selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question.Winner(s) will receive a Krispy Kreme Voucher reflected on their submitted High Score. Winner(s) must adhere to the terms and conditions listed on the vouchers. Vouchers are not transferable. Competition ends on the  27th of May 2019. New Zealand entries can only be accepted.

The post What’s Your Score? – Krispy Kreme Giveaway! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Carnival Games for the Nintendo Wii was a surprise hit, one of a number of casual-focused games that came to dominate the software line up of Nintendo’s hugely popular home console. Years later, Carnival Games has re-emerged for Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch, hoping to capture some of the success of its predecessor. With the re-emergence of local cooperative play, especially on the Switch, will Carnival Games pick up where it left off? Will it be as essential to a Switch library as it was to the Wii’s? Let’s find out.

First off, Carnival Games is best played with a party and group of friends. Just like a Mario Party game, I’m sure there are those out there who enjoy playing the mini games by themselves, but for me the only fun way to play was with some friends gathered around the TV after a nice dinner. Because it’s on the Switch, you can also take Carnival Games down to the pub, park or to a mate’s place, though squishing four people around the Switch’s 6 inch screen can get a little tight.

Secondly, there are the games themselves. Carnival Games features 20 games in a wide range of settings, from the standard basketball shot to more advanced games that belie that game’s roots as a Wii game by using motion controls. Up to four players can play at any one time, and with the extra grip the Joy Con were an absolutely fine way to play. The variety in the games is good, and they are generally welcoming and relatively accessible to those who perhaps don’t play as many games as we do. Not surprisingly then, the mini games are lightweight, fun diversions that kept us entertained for a casual night of gaming. They’re not deep mechanical introspections as in a Super Mario platformer, but they all do have a good hook to them. Now, some games are definitely better than others, but there were rarely duds to the extent that our group of friends felt they had wasted our time on one.

Lastly I wanted to talk a bit about how the games are unlocked and played. There’s not as much connective tissue between the games as there are in other party games. Each game stands relatively alone from the other in a play session, though you are earning tickets and coins (that unlock even more mini games) that persist between games. However there are no board games a la Mario Party and no real metagame to speak of. This means there’s a greater focus on the mini games rather than an ongoing competitions between friends over the play session. Playing through games gives you tickets that can be used to customise characters by buying them new outfits, but in the end it’s relatively shallow and as different friend groups cycle through playing Carnival Games each individual group is unlikely to care what the other group has unlocked.

Carnival Games offers a fun, varied party game that is well-suited to a casual audience looking to spend a few hours together in the evening. While it’s graphical fidelity perhaps isn’t what a game could be in 2018, for those who are most likely to play Carnival Games that’s hardly going to take first priority.

If you want a party game but don’t want to commit to a full run of Mario Party, then Carnival Games could be your pick.

The post Carnival Games (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Nintendo have shown a remarkable commitment to the Nintendo 3DS family since the Switch was announced and subsequently released.

It’s true that releases have slowed down, though hardware sales have continued to be strong, and the total sales now sit over 70 million consoles. So it is worth Nintendo’s time to make sure owners of 3DS and 2DS consoles have something new to play.

And what a strange but nevertheless very well-suited to 3DS game than WarioWare Gold.

From the bizarre micro games, sometimes grotesque and subversive aesthetic, and flamboyant lead, it’s almost like Nintendo has created a full-blown parody of itself. Yet at the same time it does feel familiar. There is much in common with Warioware touch on the Nintendo DS, though thankfully updated and broadened for the success to that handheld.

WarioWare Gold starts off with a short story mode that serves as the introduction to each style of mini game. Firstly there’s touch, using your finger or the 3DS’ stylus which sees you picking noses, pulling Wario’s shirt down, and spinning around lattes. Second is tilt, where you move the 3DS side to side to do sit ups and keep a pig in a pen among other wacky activities. The last main control system is simply using the D-Pad and ‘A’ button to control your character on screen. In the remix ‘Ultra’ modes, there are also some games that require you to blow into the 3DS’ microphone. Each mechanic is introduced slowly, with a gradual ramp up of effort, speed and difficulty. The pacing is nicely done, though the only times that I felt truly challenged was when I encountered a new micro game I hadn’t played before and therefore didn’t know what to do.

And this situation is the true double-edge sword of the series.

The truly hardest part of playing WarioWare Gold is not the micro games, but the meta game of predicting and reacting to what micro game is coming up next, particularly in the Ultra mode where it routinely swaps between control schemes. One second you might be using your stylus, and the next using the D Pad. Mentally managing these changing systems is difficult, but often in a good way. For me, the arcade mode where you simply try and do better at one single micro game didn’t appeal, and each game by design doesn’t have much depth to it. Once you know how to play each micro game you know how to do it, there’s no additional layers of mechanical complexity to discover. Which is not a bad thing at all – swapping between the dozens of micro games shows that sometimes quantity can be just as good as quality.

Now many of these micro games will feel familiar to those who have played previous entries in the series – this is more of a compilation of past entries than a wholesale new rethinking of what a WarioWare game would / could / should include. There are plenty of returning micro games and others that directly reference or take snippets of past Nintendo classics such as The Legend of Zelda, and whether you like them or not I think depends deeply on your existing familiarity with other Nintendo franchises.

If this game is sounding all a bit too bizarre to know whether it’s something you would like, there’s a demo available in the eShop, so if you’re unsure whether WarioWare Gold is the sort of game that would appeal to you, or it’s too familiar to previous entries, then there’s no reason you can’t check it out before committing to the full package.

Nintendo’s send-off games to the Nintendo 3DS family are generally a mixed bag, but the focus on the Switch has given the developers still on 3DS games the freedom to experiment with some strange titles. WarioWare Gold is one of these, even if it seems familiar.

It peels back the corporate shininess that often covers Nintendo, revealing the strange yet relatable minds that work on and around Nintendo properties. WarioWare Gold is a game that embraces and reflects back all the odd and fringe aspects of Nintendo fandom and answers the questions only deep fans ever dreamed – what if Wario was handsome? What if Nintendo made a game that looks like the imitation Mario flash games that have proliferated for decades now? It’s a bizarre package, but one that’s strangely compelling as a quick hit.

WarioWare Gold isn’t a game that will captivate you for hours, but it’s a great in between game, a pick up and play experience that will easy distract you from whatever you need. And yes, I would have loved to see this on the Switch.

The post WarioWare Gold (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.