Fruit Ninja-Meet Scott Pilgrim

The Game Bakers have proven to me that a quality game capable of capturing a core gamer's attention is possible on an iOS device. Previously, I was able to review Squids Wild West for them. SWW took the lighthearted humor and quick level mechanics of an iOS title and combined them with a deep strategy game and engaging story. Now, they present their newest foray into a different genre, and even though it is a completely different genre, they still bake up a quality gaming experience.

The ghosts are back and up to their old tricks. Professor E. Gadd and the Poltergust 5000 are looking for Luigi's help in ridding a valley full of ghosts from their mayhem. While recently friendly, the disappearance of the Dark Moon has turned these kind spirits into tricky, rotten, and downright mean versions of themselves. Can Luigi save the...well...night again?

Recently, a couple of quality titles rose from the graves that I was positive would never see the light of a re-release. Most notably, Earthbound. I never got to play this back in the day, but I'm excited for the upcoming Virtual Console release. Everywhere you turned on the Internet, people fought long and hard for Earthbound, but just as strong were the rumors as to why it would never make it. Most notably, there are songs that were considered copyright taboo these days. This was the biggest hiccup most felt the title was facing.

I recently contacted David Yu, the Marketing Director for Hyperkin, they are the creators of the SupaBoy, a portable Super Nintendo system, as well as the previous line of RetroN products (currently up to the RetroN3). Hyperkin is preparing to release the RetroN5, a sleek system capable of playing NES, SNES, Genesis, Famicom, Game Boy, and GBA games via HDMI with the ability to use packaged wireless controllers or the original system controllers. The RetroN5 is an all-in-one package that caters to the modern retro gamer. If you grew up with these systems, you've most likely moved on to others and don't have the ability to keep all of these systems plugged in at once. The busy life of being middle age also hurts your game time, as these classic games usually didn't have saves, meaning completing one took hours. With the RetroN5, Hyperkin plans to fix all of your woes with a unit that will make you literally dust off your old cartridges so they can look suave sticking out of the slim RetroN5, with ease of connection to your HDTV, as well as the ease of fitting into your busy schedule by adding save state capability to your classic games! Below, you will find my interview with David:

The Wii U is a wonderful device that seems to be a complete unit. One oddity is that the system only supports a single GamePad. Sure, buying a second would only be for the super-rich at the moment, but could there be more behind this reasoning?

The Wii U has had an interesting start, much like the 3DS. One of the big sellers of systems in the 3DS' early phase was Metal Gear Solid 3DS, which was thought odd by many as a port of an older game was a must-have new system seller. The Wii U is hitting this rather intensely, with ports of things that most core gamers have already worked through in very recent times. Games not even aged enough to be called "classic" are being ported over with Wii U enhancements. While Mass Effect 3, Deus Ex, and Batman: Arkham City are amazing games in their own right, these titles are at a rough spot, as budget minded gamers can deal without the bells and whistles of the new model and get a used copy of any of these games for pennies on the dollar compared to a brand-new Wii-U edition.

Nintendo's newest update has got to be one of the most sought-after updates in recent history. The update itself does little more than speed up some menus and a few other performance issues, but the next-day release of the Virtual Console is something many think Nintendo should have had ready Day 1. Even though 90% of Nintendo fanboys will agree with you that the Wii U has had a rocky start, Nintendo is pushing back strong. Here are four things I feel that Nintendo is doing right (with a few critiques thrown in for good measure and to prove I'm not a wholehearted fanboy myself).

I've been a huge fantasy/RPG fan all of my gaming life. While I grew up on Nintendo, I'd say Final Fantasy on PlayStation systems forever locked me into the gamer mold. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate's release on the Wii U was something I looked forward to for ages, but one simple oversight on the developer's part severely crippled my ability to play it. The most recent update gives me a simple crutch to hobble through on, but will it win me over, or just be another hassle to deter me from the game?

I've written an article before about how games are taking full advantage of HDTVs and how it really hinders people who have yet to get one. When I published "What the Helvetica is Going On with Game Fonts?", a lot of the response I got was "Get over it" or "Get with modern society and pick up an HDTV." SDTVs aren't as clear with the image when it comes to text, so fonts made to minimize the graphical interface end up looking like blurry lines instead of text.