Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture
Undeniably, digital downloads have a number of advantages. When purchasing a title electrically, gamers don’t have to abandon the comfort of their homes, or even deal with the pressure of clerks pushing preorders. For those in dorms, apartments, or diminutive houses, having a digital library can certainly save space. Yet, as last week demonstrated, the cloud can be a fragile entity, evaporating under the strain of holiday crowds. That’s what happened to PSN, Steam, and Nintendo’s eShop on December 25th, as a swarm of shoppers overwhelmed three of the four major online e-stores. With this week’s schedule of all digital releases, we hope these problems are behind us, and the publishers remember this experience during next year’s holiday surge.
Wii U
CastleStorm (eShop, $9.99)
Dr. Luigi (eShop, $14.99)
Super Punch-Out!! (Virtual Console, $7.99)
3DS
Bird Mania Christmas (eShop, $1.99)
Cubit The Hardcore Platformer Robot (eShop, $2.99)
EDGE (eShop, $1.99)
Mario Tennis (Virtual Console, $4.99)
PC
Gnomoria (Steam, $7.99, $3.99 until January 2nd)
Shady’s Poopong: 20th Anniversary Edition
Robert’s Pick: Amidst an era of 1080p, sixty-frame-per second fidelity, I found myself enamored by a Dwarf Fortress, a game that’s visuals offer no amenities beyond 16 color ASCII artwork. Yet, look past the modest graphical perspective and you’ll find an amazingly complex and persistent world, which plays host to a number of engaging incentives- from exploration, treasure seeking, building strongholds, and even seeking vengeance. Regretfully, travelling into the realm can be a bit daunting. This week’s release of Gnomoria aims to capture most of Drawf Fortress’ components- albeit with a kinder, gentler learning curve and a much-improved user interface.
Nothing from Sony or MS? Way to ring in the new year!
$15 for Dr. Luigi? That’s a bit high for a puzzle game. Should be $10 tops.
Yeah, Nintendo’s going to seel shit unless they drop the price. I can buy newer, full Wii U games on disc for $20.
Mario Tennis for the GBA kicked ass, the ONLY problem with the game is that it got too hard near the end of the campaign.
I wish the 3DS version was as good as the old GBA one.
For someone who never played it what’s good about it. Isn’t it just glorified Pong?
The eShop is still down. I was hoping to take advantage of some sales. I guess not, Nintendo.
Robert picked a PC game? WAT?!?
Haha, my thoughts as well!
And an indie one as well..with no lolitas.
Please bring back the real Robert. 😉
PC games aren’t so bad! He totally kicked our asses today with Insurgency, too – no lolitas, but lots of pew pewz.
Haha. The guy knows more than lolis? Who knew?
So is Dr. Luigi basically just a reskinned Dr. Mario? If so, no wonder why Nintendo is hurting.
Wondering if Cubit is as hardcore as he claims to be.
Mario Tennis for me. Can’t wait for the eShop to get back online. Maybe Nintendo will give us a discount!
I remember having a great time with Super Punch-Out way back when.
So ends the year of Luigi.
Seriously? Nobody’s going to make a Shady’s Poopong joke?
I had to Google it to take sure it wasn’t a joke.
At least one person needs to make the game a back (up) pick of the week.
Here’s a game that can brag that it looks like shit.
Nothing for me this week.
Just for completion’s sake, the Shady game will be $5.