Oddly, there are no new Virtual Console releases due this Thursday. That’s not a huge cause for concern though – the Wii U is set to receive two retail releases and a smattering of intriguing downloads.
Admittedly, we do have concerns about Devil’s Third as previews were far from flattering. It’s also set to cost £49.99 on the eShop, – £10 more than what we were expecting. For the uninformed, Devil’s Third has been stuck in development for a very long time. It was even under THQ’s wing at one point. Why did Nintendo pick it up? We assume that the rights had fallen to a ridiculously low price, and that it would simply suffice for plugging a gap in the Wii U’s release schedule. Either that or Nintendo believed they could turn the project around and release something that would appeal to those who purchased Bayonetta 2. It’s a bit of a mystery, really.
On top of that £49.99 asking price there are IAPs in place too – batches of ‘Golden Eggs’ (presumably used in multiplayer) can be purchased, with prices (free) ranging from 49p to £17.99. They have to claw back seven year’s worth of development money somehow, we suppose.
Disney Infinity 3.0: Play without Limits is the Wii U’s second big-name release of the week. It’s arriving at a discounted price, which is certainly pleasing to see – £16.49 until 5th September (£24.99 thereafter). You will of course need a portal and a few figures to get started. Although Star Wars is the main theme this year the likes of Inside Out and Frozen still get a look in. They haven’t forgotten about good old Mickey Mouse either. Chuck it all into the pot, fellas.
Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut headlines the downloadable offerings. We reviewed the Xbox One version in July and found it to be a decent enough take on Portal. The biggest problem we had was that it didn’t really hit its stride until the storyline was nearing its conclusion – the puzzles found in the last hour or so are, frankly, ingenious. Prior to this, most aren’t particularly taxing. The storyline does however help to engage from the outset, making this worth a look. This too has a launch period discount – £7.19 until 14th September (£8.99 thereafter).
Then we have Life of Pixel (£8.99), a 2D platformer that pays homage to the likes of Turrican, Streets of Rage, Altered Beast, Super Mario Bros. and more. There’s even a monochrome GameBoy stage to beat. Nintendo Life reports that isn’t too shabby, giving it a solid 7/10. That’s being joined by Stone Shire (£4.20 until 26th September, £7.00 thereafter) which is let another Minecraft clone. And a bad one at that – Nintendo Life claims that it feels like an unfinished demo.
The 3DS meanwhile sees just one new release – Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson (£24.99 – also due at retail). The Senran Kagura beat’em ups have been pretty good (although not great) previously, despite their questionable content. We imagine this one will follow suit.
As per usual, a bunch of 3DS games are lined up for temporary price cuts. Like last week though, they’re mostly games that have been reduced countless times prior, including various match-three puzzlers and hidden object games. We do however recommend picking up Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails on Wii U – that’s down to a mere £4.49 until 3rd September. It’s the cat’s whiskers. Whatever that means.