The objective of adding real world toys to video games is not a new one.

Over the years, even from the earliest days of video gaming it has been tried with mixed results.

Then in the mid 2000’s Activision became the pioneers, reinvigorating the Spyro series with Skylanders. This included a base which plugged in to your home console and figures that when placed on the base would appear as playables in-game.

Disney and Nintendo both caught on too, the now fledgling Disney Infinity series cast the entire Disney ensemble from cartoons to movies on to their own USB to console connected base. Nintendo took a differing track and removed the base requirement on the Wii U and 3DS, using the console’s touchscreens to sync the Nintendo character to the game. Thus introducing portability.

Ubisoft have now come along with The Starlink: Battle for Atlas, the connected Universe of planets, ships and characters (including the legendary Starfox McCloud for Nintendo Switch and his Arwing), following the same vein as Skylanders and Infinity, but adds vehicles and physical weapon mods in to the genre for Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation. We received the Switch version with its exclusive bonuses.

To start out with the intro pack will contain a Starlink controller base for you to slide your Joy-Cons in to.

Included is two characters; Starfox McCloud and Mason Rana and one large ship with two weapons systems.

The whole thing all clips together on to the Joy-Con controller hub in an sequential order so that the your chosen pilot can ‘sit’ inside of the cockpit of your spacecraft.

The game will instantly recognise the real world ‘toys’ you are using and you play out the story which places you in the hotseat as a the leader and hero of a foursome of heroes tasked with freeing the star Atlas from the forces of the Forgotten Legion. Both yourself and your ship are the character that you control in an open world game.

The Starlink: Battle for Atlas, the game itself is huge. There is a Universe to explore, planets to conquer and discover and save. Missions upon missions to complete aswell as side quests.

An RPG element sees you whizzing around planets and collecting up minerals, species DNA, special mods and more.

Your ship can level up, as can your character and even your weapons.

Ubisoft have done this brilliantly. Starlink, just as a standalone game would have been a ‘Triple A’ title without the modular ‘toys’.

It’s so easy to get lost in the game – I found myself whirring around determined to find pockets of collectible goodness, filling up my DNA database of as yet undiscovered species and par-taking in countless side missions. So much so that after almost a week of playing, I don’t think I’ve even touched the main juicy bits of the core game.

Now I can finally come out the closet here – I am a toy collector. Toy obsessed.

SciFi collectibles and action figures being my primary round ups and hoarding. Every week I have something old but new arriving in from eBay.

The Starlink collection of ships, weapons add-ons and characters are totally me.

These are not cheaply made additions to an otherwise excellent game. Each spacecraft is minutely detailed, each weaponry add-on aesthetically tells a story of its own and the level of intricacy to each figure makes the whole set collectibles within their own right.

With the game having just released there is six main ships, four dual weapon packs and three additional separate characters. Each ship comes with a character aswell. I suspect that the range will grow very quickly.

You can swap out ships, weapons and characters on the fly as you play.

Sure, it’s a good way for developers and publishers to make coin, as you buy the game’s Starter Kit and then the extra add-ons and characters and ships and so on – but in fairness the game is totally playable without the need of the accessories. yep you can play The Starlink: Battle for Atlas digitally as a standalone title.

But when the ‘toys’ that are used in the game are of quality build it’s an excitement, a thrill to have a new one, with new abilities, new skills, opening up new adventure paths.

Then there’s online play. Level up your ship, your character and get the best weapons to take on opponents across the Starlink Universe.

Each ship handles differently and adds differing elements to the game. Each character has their own path ahead of them and has their own way of getting things done.

With immersive gameplay, real-world ‘toys’ that are super collectible I can see The Starlink: Battle for Atlas shooting far beyond its Universe and venturing farther in to space than any other video game of this type has gone before.

The Starlink: Battle for Atlas, can’t stop playing it.

The post The Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Ubisoft has announced to us that Starlink: Battle for Atlas, an all-new action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Toronto, will be available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox One X.

This open world space saga featuring modular toy technology empowers players to assemble and customise real-world physical starships. Each modular component and pilot attached to the starship appears instantly in-game and players can experiment with different pilot abilities, weapons and ships to unleash devastating combos upon their enemies. The Starlink: Battle for Atlas Retail Starter Pack includes the game, one starship, one pilot, a variety of weapons, the Starlink controller mount and a poster.

The Starlink diverse cast of characters will team up with ace pilot and leader of the Star Fox team, Fox McCloud, and his iconic Arwing ship in free exclusive add-on content for the Nintendo Switch. Players can play through the entire campaign as Fox McCloud and embark on exclusive missions in Atlas featuring other friends from the Star Fox universe from October 16th, 2018.

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Nintendo has released news about the next two games in its fan-favourite Star Fox series: action shooter Star Fox Zero and companion strategy title Star Fox Guard,  both launching in Australia and New Zealand on April 23rd, 2016 exclusively for Wii U. 

In the action-packed universe of Star Fox Zero, the TV displays a cinematic view from behind the Arwing while the Wii U GamePad puts players straight into the gunner’s seat, complete with immersive audio and intuitive motion controls for pinpoint aiming. A range of training missions help new recruits to master the game’s unique two-screen gameplay, and as their skills improve, players can return to these training missions to rack up better scores, then take what they’ve learned into the main game to discover new areas and beat their previous best performances.

As players progress through the game they’ll be able to return to earlier missions to find hidden collectibles and alternative routes that offer brand new challenges. For instance, the standard route through the bioweapon-filled planet Fortuna ends with a climactic battle against the imposing Monarch Dodora, but after clearing a certain story mission, confident pilots can return to Fortuna and choose to branch off in pursuit of Star Wolf instead. With multiple paths through the game bringing new challenges and surprises, there’s one to suit every skill level and play style.

Pilots up for an even fiercer challenge can tap in their Falco amiibo to unlock the Black Arwing, which has more powerful weapons but weaker defences, making it a potent but fragile weapon. Tapping the Fox amiibo unlocks a retro Arwing styled after the original Super NES Star Fox game, complete with retro music, to be used in the first Corneria stage.

Launching alongside Star Fox Zero is the companion game Star Fox Guard, which puts players in the ultimate security guard job – defending mining sites against waves of robot invaders. The TV screen displays a bank of 12 surveillance camera feeds, each monitoring a different part of the mining site, and it’s up to players to switch between cameras to spot enemies and blast them before they reach the central tower. It’ll take supreme awareness and multi-tasking skills to fend off the relentless robot approach, so it helps to have friends on-hand to call out camera numbers that show approaching enemies. Help is also on hand via the Fox and Falco amiibo, which can each be tapped once per day to call in team Star Fox for a powerful air strike that destroys attacking robots.

Successfully clearing missions bestows rare metals, which count towards unlocking additional missions and cameras with special abilities, like slowing enemies down or freezing them in place, adding another layer of strategy to the action. My Squad mode also lets keen tacticians create and upload their own enemy attack patterns to challenge others around the world, or take on other players’ best efforts. Meanwhile, the Star Strategists feature is updated every day to offer a popular challenge from across the globe.

Fans who purchase Star Fox Zero can get a taste of Star Fox Guard’s strategic action with an exclusive downloadable demo, only accessible though the main menu of Star Fox Zero. Save data can be carried over to the full version, so tacticians can pick up where they left off.

From April 23, Wii U owners can pick up Star Fox Zero and Star Fox Guard in a limited First Print edition including both games on separate Game Discs, and an exclusive SteelBook case. This package is the only way to get a physical copy of Star Fox Guard, so collectors won’t want to miss out. Star Fox Guard (AU$19.50/NZ$25.50) and Star Fox Zero (AU$79.95/NZ$99.95) will also be available on Nintendo eShop for Wii U, and those who purchase one title from Nintendo eShop can get a discount of AU$6.50 / NZ$8.50 off the other!

Anyone who wants to get into training can pick up the Nintendo 64 game Star Fox 64, available now in Nintendo eShop for AU$6.50 /NZ$8.50 (regular price AU$13 /NZ$17) until April 21st, 2016.

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This year Mario reaches an impressive milestone in video gaming: 30 years as a leading man in Nintendo’s timeless Super Mario Bros. series.

At E3 2015, Nintendo celebrates Mario’s longevity with a new instalment in the series called Super Mario Maker, one of many games at the show that transforms familiar characters and their games with unique new looks, styles and gameplay features.

Players will see new instalments of beloved series like Star Fox, Yoshi, Animal Crossing, Mario & Luigi, Xenoblade and Metroid, and enjoy the reimagining of Bowser and Donkey Kong as Skylanders figures that also have amiibo functionality with compatible Nintendo games.

During the Nintendo Digital Event video on the opening day of E3 2015 in Los Angeles, Nintendo announced games launching in the near future, with a focus on what fans can enjoy in the second half of 2015 and early 2016.

Here’s a round-up of some of the news and games Nintendo showed at E3 2015:

Wii U

Super Mario Maker: The next evolution of the Super Mario Bros. series lets people’s imaginations run wild. For the first time ever, friends can have fun playing through levels they create for one another. The Wii U GamePad controller makes it so easy for anyone to create Levels; it may feel like simply sketching out ideas on paper.

Players can enjoy a seemingly endless supply of inventive Mario Levels from players around the world. The game includes a Hardcover Artbook totaling about 100 pages that illustrates the boundless possibilities in Super Mario Maker. Nintendo will also release two special Mario amiibo figures, one of which will be part of a limited edition software bundle, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game.

Tapping these amiibo in Super Mario Maker adds a Big Mushroom power-up to your course, allowing Mario to grow big, bust blocks from any direction, as well as adding a retro visual filter to the game, reminiscent of older cathode ray tube televisions.

In addition, many other amiibo will also be compatible with Super Mario Maker through the use of a new item called the Mystery Mushroom. This item allows Mario to take the appearance of many other characters, such as Link, Kirby, or Wii Fit Trainer, complete with character-specific animations and sound effects. These character costumes can be unlocked by completing the 100 Mario Challenge mode and many can also be unlocked if the player taps the amiibo of the character to the Wii U GamePad.

To coincide with the Super Mario Bros. anniversary, the Super Mario Maker game, which includes the Hardcover Artbook, will launch on 12th of September, 2015. On the same day Nintendo will also release a limited edition Super Mario Maker bundle that includes the game, Hardcover Artbook, as well as a Mario (Classic Colours) amiibo from the Mario 30th Anniversary Collection.

Both amiibo from the Mario 30th Anniversary Collection will also launch as standalone amiibo during summer 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

LetsSuperMario.com website: To continue the celebration of Super Mario’s 30th anniversary, fans around the world are encouraged to create personal “Let’s Super Mario” video tributes that showcase their love for the legendary series.

The videos can be submitted to a dedicated website which can be found HERE.

Whether it’s through song, dance or reliving favourite moments, Nintendo will honour Super Mario by showcasing the creativity of our fans. In the spirit of Nintendo’s mission of putting smiles on the faces of everyone that experiences our products, Nintendo’s share of any ad revenue generated from the Let’s Super Mario 30th Anniversary videos will go towards a donation Nintendo is making to Operation Smile, a global surgical charity dedicated to healing the smiles of children around the world suffering from cleft lip and cleft palate.

Star Fox Zero: Fox, Falco, Peppy and Slippy are back in a new adventure. Players pilot an Arwing in the traditional style of TV gameplay and, in a new twist, players can use the cockpit view on the GamePad to aim and shoot enemies using the gyro controls.

Having two unique viewpoints offers distinct gaming advantages and frees up the TV for more cinematic moments in the title’s brand-new all range mode. Scheduled to launch in Q4 2015, Star Fox Zero includes a new Walker transformation for the Arwing, a new Gyrowing vehicle and the return of the Landmaster Tank.

Skylanders SuperChargers from Activision: Both Donkey Kong and Bowser guest star in the next Skylanders game, complete with their own vehicles and move sets that celebrate the lore and legacy of their 30+ years in the video game universe.

As an added bonus, the Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser Skylanders SuperCharger characters also work as amiibo in compatible Nintendo games, so players can store their save data in both modes with a simple twist of the figure’s base. The game is anticipated to launch on the 24th of September, 2015.

Just Dance 2016 from Ubisoft: Just Dance 2016 is the latest instalment in the best-selling music game franchise of all time. Launching on both Wii and Wii U, the game features tracks from artists like Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor and Lady Gaga. This year, the free Just Dance Controller app enables Wii U players to use their smartphones to play.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Amidst an intergalactic war between aliens and human survivors, players fight for survival while exploring the massive expanses of an unknown planet.

Weaponised mechs called “Skells” let players access every location they see. Players also can customise a lethal skill set of combat and defensive skills, called Arts, to strengthen their strategies and defeat enemies efficiently.

The game launches in December 2015.

Animal Crossing – amiibo Festival: Animal Crossing amiibo figures and cards get their own party game. Players are challenged to collect the most Happy Points by the end of a dynamic board game.

The board layout can remain the same, but the spaces and even the environment change, depending on which month players choose for their game. As in otherAnimal Crossing games, players can buy turnips and use strategy to decide when to sell them for big money. Scheduled to launch in Q4 2015, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival will release as a bundle that includes the game, two amiibo figures and three amiibo cards.

Genei Ibun Roku #FE (name not final): Set in modern Tokyo, young people come together to weave an epic tale alongside heroes from an alternate world. This brand-new RPG, developed by ATLUS, is infused with elements of the popular Fire Emblem series. In the struggle between the worlds of glamour and darkness, these young heroes rise to face the challenge.

The game is scheduled to launch in 2016.

Mario Tennis – Ultra Smash: Up to four players can compete in tennis matches that could only take place in the Mushroom Kingdom. With the addition of Jump Shots to hit high balls overhead, or Giant Mushrooms that when picked up make characters bigger, this Mario Tennis is reborn with features enabling players to aggressively go after higher balls.

The game is scheduled to launch in Q4 2015.

Yoshi’s Woolly World: Collect, cooperate and get crafty with Yoshi in a world made completely from yarn, felt and other fabrics and textiles. Pulling on strings in the game usually leads to discoveries, while new transformations include Moto Yoshi, Mole Yoshi and Sky Pop Yoshi.

The game’s simple platforming adventure challenges players to find hidden secrets. Tapping select amiibo characters to the GamePad creates new patterns for Yoshi, while new Yarn Yoshi amiibo let players control two Yoshis at the same time. This first-ever two-player co-op Yoshi game includes Mellow Mode, which gives Yoshi wings, and is perfect for players who just want to hunt for treasure, or newcomers who want to get the hang of the game.

The game launches on 25th of June, 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

Nintendo 3DS

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes: Three players take on the role of individual Link characters and team up to solve puzzles and battle bosses in dungeons.

The game features the same top-down view and visual style of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Players must work together, as the group shares all hearts. All three Links can stack on top of one another to create a Totem to reach new locations and solve puzzles or fight enemies. Different outfits offer unique abilities.

The game is scheduled to launch in Q4 2015.

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: The player transforms into one of 20 Pokémon as he or she sets out on an adventure in a world inhabited solely by the 720 discovered Pokémon, including Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

This game boasts hours of replay-ability by randomly generating each dungeon, so players will never explore the same dungeon twice as they unravel this tale of adventure and mystery.

The game is scheduled to launch in early 2016.

Animal Crossing – Happy Home Designer: One of the favourite activities in the Animal Crossing series now gets a full game. With more options than ever, players design interiors and exteriors of homes for hundreds of animal characters, and can even design a garden.

They can choose where to place the home, and then pick out a house style and colours for the roof, door and fence before getting to work on the interior. Tapping compatible amiibo character cards brings favourite Animal Crossing characters with their separate personalities and design requests into the game, which launches with a complimentary amiibo card on the 3rd of October 2015.

A bundle will launch the same day and include the game, one amiibo card and the Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer accessory.

YO-KAI WATCH: This game sold millions and became a cultural phenomenon in Japan. Now players in Australia and New Zealand get to experience the fun of hundreds of sometimes cute, sometimes spooky, and usually mischievous Yo-kai that inhabit our world. Players explore using their Yo-kai Watch to find Yo-kai, then befriend them and turn them into a team to battle other Yo-kai.

The game is scheduled to launch in 2016.

Fire Emblem Fates: Two versions of the franchise’s new instalment offer players an unprecedented choice: fight an opposing force or join the other side and try to make changes from within.

For the first time in the series, players take on the role of the main character and command an army, while struggling to decide which path to follow: helping blood relatives or the family that raised him or her.

The game is scheduled to launch in 2016.

Mario & Luigi – Paper Jam Bros.: Paper Mario jumps out of the book and into the bizarre adventures of Mario & Luigi, resulting in hilarious and dangerous hijinks. Become the superstar team of Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario to take on quests, take down enemies and untangle these two unique universes in this playful new entry in the Mario & Luigi series.

The game is scheduled to launch in autumn 2016 in Australia and New Zealand.

Hyrule Warriors – Legends: The Wii U version of Hyrule Warriors comes to the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. In the portable version, experience new story elements and playable characters inspired by The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

New features allow players to enhance their tactics and switch between different characters on the fly as they explore and battle in Hyrule’s most famous locales.

The game is scheduled to launch in Q1 2016.

Metroid Prime – Federation Force: Up to four players can connect online or locally to take on co-op missions in this first-person sci-fi adventure set in the Metroid Prime universe. Players don a mech suit and work together as a team to clear out enemy-infested bases and complete objective-based missions.

After completing the missions, up to six players can compete in Metroid Prime: Blast Ball, a three-on-three game that requires players to shoot a ball into their opponents’ goal.

The game is scheduled to launch in 2016.

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