Previews

Nintendo announced, confirmed and otherwise showed off a wealth of great new games at E3. And while the excitement of that big event has calmed down, our excitement for the games really hasn't, so it was with great delight that GAME headed down to a special hands-on event to try out some of the titles we'll be playing on Wii U and 3DS over the next year or so.

Fans of Nintendo will know that since the days of the SNES no Nintendo console has been completed without a Mario Kart title. With the Wii U, we get Mario Kart 8.

First impressions were clear - this game looks so good in HD, with every nuance of the three courses we raced positively beaming off the screen. Obviously, it maintains the typical style of the Mario Kart series, but with an increased detail and much more interactive courses.

Control-wise, if you've ever played Mario Kart on Wii, you'll be able to pick up and go with almost no difficulty. The GamePad makes use of its gyroscopic controls to be steered much like the Wii wheel, There are also the options to use the analog sticks to steer, as well as playing using your Wiimote, which makes it great for multiplayer races. If you prefer your multiplayer more virtual, then you'll be pleased to know that Mario Kart 8 features 12 player online racing.

In terms of gameplay, again much of the Wii version is carried over, as have many of the features of Mario Kart 7 for 3DS, with Kart customisation, coin collection, gliders and Kart handling all being brought forward from possibly the best Mario Kart title to date.

The new addition to Mario Kart 8 is the anti-grav strips. Rather than being separate course, there are anti-grav sections added to each of the regular tracks, giving you the chance to drive up and along walls while your opponents are still on the ground. These anti-grav sections took a little while to get used to, as you need to steer to combat the gravity that's trying to pull you back down, but once you do, races are no longer a level playing field as you can now take to the wall to avoid shells or fire flowers.

Indeed, the anti-grav sections help to expand each track, offering multiple ways to explore and make your way around the race. Part of the fun of playing Mario Kart 8 was taking these different routes to see which way would slice the most seconds of our finish time.

Despite only small changes to the gameplay, Mario Kart 8 still feels as fun and as fresh as ever, and for those of you who use Mario Kart as your party game of choice will be pleased to know that Mario Kart 8 is just as addictive as previous entries.

Formerly known as the mysterious Project 101, The Wonderful 101 has been one of those titles where it's not always been clear what kind of game it actually is. Early screens and gameplay videos seemed to suggest some sort of point-and-click strategy game. But when we got our hands on it, we learned it was far from that.

The Wonderful 101 is a chaotic and fast-paced affair that will leave you grinning from ear to ear. It's at it's very essence a brawler with some delicious combat moves and so much going on screen at once you'll barely have chance to breath. To put it concisely, it's like Pikmin, if Pikmin got super powers and ADHD on the same day!

Like Pikmin, this is a game that's as much about collection as it is anything else. But instead of collecting fruit, here you collect an army to join your battle - and, quite often, you're doing this in the middle of a battle. And it's not just any army, but an army of powered heroes. The more powered heroes you have, the more powerful your attacks will be.

Despite the chaos on-screen (or, perhaps, because of it), the controls are easy to get to grips with, as it mostly comes down to drawing shapes on the gamepad. To collect new heroes all you need to do is stand by them and draw a circle on the touch pad. This will recruit average city folk and Superheroes in disguise. Obviously, the heroes will each bring a bit more power to your horde individually, but masses of civilian helpers will help boost things too.

Now that you've got your hero horde, drawing more shapes will give you fun and powerful attacks. A straight line will give a huge sword, an L shape will give you a gun, and an S will give you a whip. There are hidden weapons, too - a hastily misdrawn S will sometimes result in claws (we're told we must have drawn a Z by mistake to get these). As you might expect, each weapon has its own use in battle - Guns give you range, whips can remove armour and the sword ups your attack power. These attacks aren't unlimited, though, and you'll need collect batteries to charge your abilities.

Different weapons work well against different enemies, too. Whether taking on reams of smaller foes or some of the bigger bosses, you'll need to vary your attacks and find the right weapon to suit the fight at that moment. In the limited time we played there was a fair amount of trial and error in this regard; with more time in the full game, we're sure that this will become more tactical.

Wonderful 101 also features online and local multiplayer. Players can join forces to take on enemies whilst recruiting new heroes. it's an odd blend of competitive and co-operative play - in theory, you're working together to vanquish your common foes, but competing to be the ones that do it the best. You'll each strive to add the most civilians to your horde, acquire the most batteries and kill the most bad guys. And with multiple coloured hordes on screen and the action moving so fast, the ability to truly tell how well you're doing does become a little difficult times.

The Wonderful 101 is wonderfully wacky and suits the Wii U perfectly. Its fast-and-furious combat looks complicated on screen but in reality is simple once you learn the shapes to call upon the weapons you need. If you can master the chaos, this will be a game you'll want to return to again and again.

Gamers of a certain age would have spent their childhoods playing out the adventures of either Mario or Sonic. And while there was plenty of Mario on show today, his erstwhile rival was also present in this brand new - but very classic feeling - adventure.

What we played of the Wii U version of Sonic: Lost World felt like playing Sonic back on the Mega Drive in the early 90s, but with enough modern twists to make it feel current. The classic abilities and controls are mostly here, albeit with some minor changes - Sonic now has two speeds, meaning you can slow down and speed up as needed throughout the perils and pitfalls of the platforming. He's got a couple of different jump attacks that you'll need to learn to use accordingly throughout, as some enemies will only fall to the stronger of the two, and knock the rings out of you if you try anything less.

But it didn't take long for these controls to become very natural, and we were soon immersed into the action of the game. We had the chance to play three different levels, each set at a different difficulty, which really helped show off what SEGA has planned for this Nintendo-exclusive adventure. First up was a level called "Wind Hill", and one that was very much based on the design (and enemies) of the classic Green Hill Zone, complete with brown checked surfaces and identical plantlife, but redesigned as a massive, tubular windmill-like platform in the sky.

Next was "Desert Ruins 1", that was less desert and more like one of those candy-themed Worms environments. Despite some 3D rail-like navigation, this level played most like the side-scrollers of Sonic's early generations. "Desert Ruins 2" was our third level, boasting the typical tunnel-racing that Sonic games have excelled at more recently, and throwing in some of the classic freefall gameplay as you drop between runs. Each level also offered up the typical springs to bounce you around, although much bigger than before, and joined by cannons to also boost you in the right direction.

Despite the very different environments, the challenges and gameplay were largely similar, with each one offering up plenty of obstacles and drops that would literally stop you in your tracks. Wind Hill and Desert Ruins 2 particularly excelled at this, with rotating floors, which included rotating spikes, holes and more, and paths that changed in size and shape to really keep you attentive in order to avoid the gaps. Desert Ruins 2 even offered an extra way to die - splatting against the outer tunnel wall as we didn't quite steer Sonic into the entrance in time. Frustrating, yes, but it's hard not to smile at the image of Sonic's prone body slowly fall to the ground after hitting the wall!

With familiar sights and sounds (collecting and losing rings had the exact same ting today as it did 20+ years ago), this is a game that will certainly attract those who've not played Sonic since he only appeared on SEGA consoles. And with shiny HD graphics and enough new gameplay elements, Sonic: Lost World is shaping up to be a return to form for the blue speedster.

Fans of the spectacular, bespectacled witch Bayonetta will be pleased to see that her latest outing is just as outrageous as her previous adventure.

Her costume is made from her own hair as are the creatures she conjures; Bayonetta is certainly a unique title. In terms of style, Bayonetta 2 is similar to her first, offering up fast-paced over-the-top combat with the occasional wink to camera as Bayonetta's skin tight cat suit vanishes and she conjures hideous creatures.

The action has goes further than before, though. In the level we got to grips with, our heroine was stood atop an F22 Raptor hurtling through the city as a group of creatures began attacking. As the battle progresses, the jet becomes more and more battle damaged. By dishing out a torrent of punches and kicks, you'll build up a bar that will allow Bayonetta to unleash Climax, punish or torture moves. These vary from summoning magical enhanced hands that appear around her foe, to massive creatures that tear enemies apart and even odd contraptions that you know would hurt anyone caught in them. But even when the jet has been totalled the fighting doesn't stop as we moved on to a high speed train and then a building being scaled by a huge creature.

From what we've seen so far, Bayonetta 2 is a not just a good looking game but one that is ideal for fans of high-speed hack n slash titles.

Those that grew up with a SNES should have played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. If you did, then you'll be pleased to hear that The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is set within the same gaming world as the SNES classic.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is not a remake, but rather a re-imagining of the original game, offering new adventures in the same maps as before. But with this comes a return to the classic isometric view point and old school gameplay that hooked many gamers. Familiar creatures also return such as dive bombing skulls and slime that roam the land hoping to make your life difficult.

Link's typical weapons - sword, bow-and-arrow and hammer - all make a return, but he's also armed with another ability called Merge. Link can, for reason not explained in the demo, merge with the walls of his environment, with Link becoming a charming chalk drawing on the wall. By merging with the wall, Link can not only avoid dangers, but manoeuvre his way around hard-to-reach areas like barred windows or if an outcrop threatens to knock you off a moving platform.

We got to try out two levels - one field- and one dungeon-based - and each offered up its own challenges and things to learn as you make your way to your goal. The dungeon level particularly showed this off, with walls that can be raised and lowered, to make your way around and springboards that can get you up to the next layer.

Both levels looked charming in that classic top-down style. The graphics have been brought sharply up to date, and it was almost tempting to leave the 3D off! But we're glad we didn't, as the 3D really helps give the dungeons depth as you move up the layers and watch the ground floor getting farther away.

With its enhanced graphics and old school gameplay, Link Between Worlds brings Link to his original style after his many 3D adventures. It's got plenty for long-time fans to enjoy and cherish, as well as serving as a great way for new fans of the series to learn exactly how and why we all fell in love with it all those years ago.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

We also got a quick look at the HD remake of the GameCube Zelda classic that was beloved by many, The Wind Waker.

As much of the game is unchanged from the original version, there wasn't much gameplay in the demo we saw, but what we did see showed off the new features very well. First and foremost, it looks gorgeous. The 1080p high definition graphics are fantastic and the colours really pop off the screen - much like last year's Ni No Kuni, this game looks like an anime feature of the highest order.

The new controls were easy to get a hold of, making use of all the GamePad's features, including the gyroscopic controls used when aiming your grappling hook. We were also shown off-TV play using the GamePad, a very cool addition to any Wii U game. The integration of the Miiverse via messages in bottles found throughout the game also looked fun, and a great way to bring a sense of community to what is essentially a single-player experience.

Looking better than ever and just as much fun (if not more!) to play, we can't wait to get our hands on The Wind Waker once again.

Possibly one of Yoshi's best outings was the SNES' Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which saw Yoshi trying to protect a Baby Mario from Bowser's evil sorcerer, Magikoopa Kamek. While not a sequel per se, Yoshi's New Island is very much in the spirit of that game - and of Nintendo's retro-heavy offerings here today.

Visually, Yoshi's New Island is quite striking to look at, with its blend of watercolour, oil painting and crayon style artwork making it stand out from most other titles. The newly designed levels take full advantage advantage of the 3D, too, with background and foreground working nicely with the mid-ground that Yoshi will stomp across.

Yoshi of course uses his trademark strained jump, which sees our brave dinosaur running as fast as he can in the air to keep his jump airborne. For Yoshi's defence is the standard head stomp, but as this is Yoshi, you can also eat your enemies to produce eggs. Yoshi Eggs can be thrown at blocks and enemies to give you range to your attack, which can be incredibly handy when facing the trickier enemies.

Although our time with Yoshi's New Island was short, it was clear that this particular adventure isn't straying too far from its origins in a "If isn't broke, don't fix it"attitude. The gameplay was very familiar, but too fun to hold it against the game, especially as it'll give newcomers the chance to fall in love with the game the way we did all those years ago. This, plus the extra pop of the visuals get from the 3D, and you've got another fun and enjoyable romper stomper on its way.

Similar in many respects to the 3DS's Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World sees you tackling bigger levels. In HD. With friends!

The 3DS version achieved true 3D thanks to its top screen, and of course the Wii U can't achieve this, but once you convince yourself that doesn't matter (hint: it doesn't!), you'll be able to enjoy Super Mario 3D World as the fun platformer it is, and one that fans of 3D Land will come to love as well.

There are some excellent additions that help deliver this. Firstly, as cool as the Tanooki suit is, the Cat Suit is a riot! Don this funky suit and you'll be running on all fours before leaping at enemies claws outstretched. But the major advantage of the Cat suit is the ability to run up walls and even the flag pole, to get the golden flag and bag full points.

Another new feature is that the Gamepad screen is used to greater effect. Throughout the level there are hidden coins, 1-Ups and Power Ups. To find them you just need to use your finger and rub the touch screen to shake trees, make plants grow and even rub big walls that may hide platforms.

Mario's famous warp pipe is also in for an upgrade as you discover clear pipes now that hold coins, Power Ups and even items to open doors. We saw some fun puzzles using these pipes as once in you can't change direction but you can choose which way you go when a fork in the pipes comes up.

The multiplayer mode is perhaps even more fun than single-player, with up to four friends tackling levels together as Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad. As previously announced, each character feels different; Mario is the all-rounder, Luigi has a greater jump but less traction and Toad is the fastest, and you need to work together to achieve your goal. For example, in one level we had to ride a dinosaur down some rapids. In single player, this level wouldn't be too bad, but in multiplayer, all players must be in tune to jump and turn at the same time to make the dinosaur go where it needs to, when it needs to.

With that typical "one more game" addictiveness you'd expect from a title like this, Super Mario 3D World is a great looking platformer. It benefits from the multiplayer greatly and even at this stage is shaping up to be another endearing and addictive member of the Mario platforming family.