Nintendo has gone demo-crazy this week as the company is devoting almost half of its weekly eShop update to letting you try things out before you buy them.

First up is the Wii U, which is getting demos of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Trine 2: Director’s Cut. Both are available now in addition to a classic Super Nintendo racing game that is way better than Mario Kart (despite what everyone I’ve ever met thinks): F-Zero. As you may recall, Nintendo announced last month that Captain Falcon’s debut would be part of the company’s anniversary celebration. That means for 30 days (starting yesterday), you can download F-Zero for only 30 cents and play it offscreen with the Wii U’s tablet controller.

Not to be outdone by its big brother, the 3DS is also getting a demo of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate this week, along with a demo of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, both of which are downloadable now. Also, if you’re jealous of the Wii U’s Nintendo classic this week, the 3DS eShop has something for you as well: the slightly less fondly remembered Nintendo Entertainment System puzzler Yoshi.

Fans of very descriptive titles can check out Viking Invasion 2: Tower Defense, which is a tower-defense game about invading vikings, while those of you looking to scratch your first-person-dungeon-crawler itch can download Picdun 2: Witch’s Curse. Of course, you could also wait until Sunday, which is when the full version of Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan comes to the 3DS eShop.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

Guest appearances and surprise crossovers in video games usually distract the player and end immersion. But well-placed cameos are amusing — especially if you have to dig around to find them.

Check out the gallery below to see the cool (and bizarre) cameos we gathered from 13 recent games.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

It’s a great week for downloading games on Nintendo platforms as the various eShops are welcoming all of the usual staples today: Wii U and 3DS full titles and demos, quirky DSiWare games, another SNK classic for the Virtual Console, and even something slightly bizarre enough to make its mere existence a little funny.

But first up is the Wii U. Last week, we saw the introduction of the system’s very first demo, and today we can add two more to that list: Rayman Legends and Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. You can also get the full version of Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition. Both it and the demos are available now.

Usually, Nintendo directs most of its eShop focus at the 3DS, but things are a little light this week for the super publisher’s latest handheld, with only one full retail game and a handful of smaller titles and demos ready for download. The full game is Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?!!, which is based on Cartoon Network’s impenetrably weird hit show about a guy with a sword and his crazy mutant dog. Adventure Time is also available as a demo, along with Art of Balance Touch, a physics-based eShop puzzler. You can also check out Crimson Shroud, a tabletop-style role-playing game from Level-5 (the developers of the Professor Layton series); Gardenscapes, which combines a hidden-object game and a gardening sim into something my mom would probably love; and a port of the NES title Ninja Gaiden.

Fans of SNK fighting games can once again turn to the Wii’s Virtual Console this week as Real Bout Fatal Fury is now for sale digitally. This was the fifth installment in the long-running series, and it introduced the “independent Sway Button,” according to Nintendo’s website. As someone who doesn’t follow this genre, I can only assume that is more exciting than it sounds.

Finally, things get weird when we move on to the DSi. First and not particularly weird is Rytmik World Music, a synthesizer app that lets you create music with the included 180+ sound samples. Second and fairly weird is Zombie Skape, a game about dodging zombies on a skateboard. Yes, a skateboard. Not a skapeboard, whatever that is. Lastly, one of the coolest sounding things of all time: Chuck E. Cheese’s Alien Defense Force, in which you play as the giant mouse mascot as he attempts to defeat the evil king of Planet Cheese. Unfortunately, it does not appear to include delicious cardboard-flavored pizza or offer free tokens with a good report card.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.

This week, THQ is in talks with a mystery sponsor about “financial alternatives” after its chief financial officer resigned, Treyarch removes the Nuketown map from public matches in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Fable creator Peter Molyneux turns to Kickstarter to fund a new “god game” project for his studio 22Cans.

You’ll also find reviews for Hitman: Absolution, Persona 4: Golden, Epic Mickey 2, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed,  and the Wii U.

Pieces of Flair

• The GamesBeat ‘Naughty and Nice’ alternative holiday gift guide for your geek
• A soldier’s perspective on Call of Duty (interview)
• Christmas for ‘u’ and ‘i’: Kids want iPads, iPods, iPhones … and a Wii U
• Black Friday 2012 video game deals — updated regularly
• PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale unlock guide
• Wii games that never happened
• Snatched: 20 classic video game kidnappings (gallery)
• If Final Fantasy VII’s Aerith had a dating site profile

News

• The DeanBeat: How Gamesys is pioneering real-money gambling on Facebook in the U.K.
• Educational outreach program Pixel Academy looking for a place to call home
• Black Ops II gets an update on 360
• The future of mainstream machinima films: A panel discussion inside Second Life
• How yearning for arcade games like Ghost ‘N Golbins birthed Maldita Castilla
• Microsoft may be working on a ‘Xbox TV’ set-top box
• Molyneux and Curiosity developer return to the ‘god game’ with a new Kickstarter project
• 2K president: I have no doubt ‘that the Wii U will be successful’
• The Revert returns to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD in December
• Hulu Plus comes to the Wii U’s second screen
• THQ talking with mystery sponsor about ‘potential financing alternatives’ as CFO resigns
• GamesGrabr is a Pinterest-like social network for gamers
• Bayonetta locked down as GameStop preorder exclusive for Anarchy Reigns
• GamrRank engages gamers with fun challenges and deep social-networking hooks
• 5 things game developers need to know about mobile advertising in China
• PlayStation Mobile is now open to all developers; Sony wants to work with indies on Vita and more
• Graphics comparison: Grand Theft Auto V’s trailer re-created in GTA IV’s engine (video)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II ‘Nuketown 2025′ preorder map removed from public matches [update]
• Video game e-commerce: It’s about serving the fans
• A fiery debate on the regulation of social casino games
• Sony announces new Uncharted game for Vita — and it probably isn’t what you wanted
• Google Hangouts provider Vidyo powers video chat for Wii U (and sees a $1B opportunity in Nintendo)

Reviews

• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two promises too much and ultimately disappoints (review)
• Threeview: Assassin’s Creed III reviewed by a critic, an analyst, and an academic
• PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale successfully brings the fight to Smash Bros. (review)
• Persona 4: Golden is secretly multiplayer, and you’ll love it (review)
• Hitman: Absolution aims high but misses the mark (review)
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed challenges Mario Kart for the gold (review)
• Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is the mouse’s greatest gaming adventure in years (review)

Wii U

• Gadget lovers and gamers: Here’s a look inside the Nintendo Wii U
• 7 Wii U games too insane to exist (we hope)
• The Wii U gets a YouTube app to bolster Nintendo’s living room ambitions
• Bricked Wii U owners will have to send their consoles to Nintendo for repair
• Your Wii U won’t connect to the Internet? Here’s the fix
• Nintendo Wii U reviews: It’s an intriguing Wii successor that will get better
• The Wii U launch title review roundup
• Wii U debug menu reveals something called ‘Yoshi’s Land Wii U’
• Why you should wait on a Wii U (review)

Previews

• Ace of Spades is much more than just ‘Minecraft with guns’ (hands-on preview)

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

This holiday season saw the release of three fairly high-profile kart racing games, and not a single one of them had anything to do with Mario. But which one is worth your limited holiday money, and how do they stack up against each other? GamesBeat put F1 Race Stars, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and LittleBigPlanet Karting through their paces to find out.

Presentation

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

As with the original, courses in Sonic Transformed are inspired by games across the entire library of Sega franchises. With courses from sources such as Panzer Dragoon to Nights into Dreams, this has plenty of nostalgic magic to bask in. It’s also interesting to see some of those worlds re-created (in race track form, of course) in modern, high-definition graphics. Sonic Transformed isn’t exactly rocking the latest in Unreal Engine technology or anything like that, but the colorful, cartoonish approach fits this well. Likewise, the expansive soundtrack by longtime game industry composer Richard Jacques revives some of the greatest tunes to ever accompany pixels and polygons on-screen, and even throws in some subtle dubstep on the main menu for good measure.

LittleBigPlanet Karting

Even in kart form, Sackboy and the LittleBigPlanet universe retain their wholly unique audiovisual stylings. The game is not so fast or frantic that you can’t still enjoy the pieced-together locales, and the soundtrack is as an eclectic medley as you’d expect from the series. Longtime fans will find the identical user interface immediately accessible, but, just as in the main games, I feel like the weird, forced story elements are mere nuisances just begging to be skipped. 

F1 Race Stars

F1 games are typically rather dull as far as visuals goes. No matter how impressive the graphics engine behind them are, basing a game around real-world locations doesn’t always make for the greatest eye candy. But F1 Race Stars doesn’t have any such “realism” holding it back, and so the cartoonish tracks are very imaginative, complete with loops, river rapids, and huge jumps. The track design is definitely the key to F1 Race Stars appeal, as its audio presentation is forgettable (seriously, I can’t even remember it, at all).

Wreck It Ralph’s Sugar Rush course recreated in LittleBigPlanet Karting.

Gameplay

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Building off of the strengths of the original Sonic & All-Stars Racing, developer Sumo Digital has taken a page out of Nintendo 64 classic Diddy Kong Racing’s playbook: In specific stages, your vehicle transforms between a kart, a boat, and a plane.

The core racing is what you’d expect, especially if you’ve played any other kart racing game ever (drift long enough to build up a speed boost and so on). Aerial sequences are decent. The controls are not as precise as they probably could have been, making it unnecessarily difficult to navigate tight spaces. The water sequences add some nice variety, at least visually, but the water physics themselves seem intentionally flat. This was probably to even the playing field for all racers, and that’s not a bad thing, but don’t expect any impressive water effects like what you’d find in Hydro Thunder or Assassin’s Creed III.

Unfortunately, Sonic Transformed is surprisingly difficult, and this comes from someone who mastered notoriously frustrating games like Crash Nitro Racing, Diddy Kong Racing, and Demon’s Souls. Each Grand Prix or World Tour event has four different difficulty settings, from Easy to Expert. The Normal setting will give you a run for your money, but the difficulties beyond that will be downright insurmountable for most players. This is its biggest fault — and a surprising design decision for a kid-friendly kart racer.

LittleBigPlanet Karting

Powersliding so that you can boost out of turns seems to be a mainstay of kart racing games, and LittleBigPlanet is no different. You can also pick up power-ups to attack fellow racers, but this system is much more pedestrian than the bullet hell-esque upgrade system in ModNation.

Sadly, the stunt mechanic in LittleBigPlanet Karting is terrible, in my opinion. You hold a button to rotate Sackboy in mid-air, but if you don’t land perfectly, and I mean perfectly, you’ll end up facing the wrong way or losing speed. It just doesn’t seem worth the trouble.

F1 Race Stars

Touted as being developed by the same company behind technical racers such as Grid and Dirt, F1 Race Stars makes two rookie mistakes, the first of which is completely unbalanced enemy A.I. who will constantly spam you with heat-seeking attacks. I have no problem maintaining first place in a race and blocking the occasional attacker looking to dethrone me, but when you’re overwhelmed every few seconds by incoming missiles, it’s impossible to dodge them all. One successful hit can set you back several race positions, and this killed the game for me pretty much immediately. It’s just not fun.

To compound matters, F1 Race Stars also tries to introduce some Formula 1-racing staples such as repairing your car at the pit, which really has no place in an allegedly exciting fantasy kart racing game. It slows the pace of every match down and ties into my first complaint, which is being bombarded with attacks. These will not only make you lose positions and momentum but damage will quickly slow your kart down until you repair. No thanks.

Hitting the waves in Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Multiplayer

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

You can either race or battle online in Sonic Transformed. Racing tends to get somewhat manic, as players all bunch up on the same places on the track, firing off weapons and running into each other. For some reason bumping another player in multiplayer causes you to lose speed and control over your vehicle, which doesn’t happen in single-player. It’s actually really annoying, as are all the weird glitches that seem to be provoked by playing against other players.

You can also play with up to four players locally in any of the game’s modes, including arena-style battle matches. If you have some friends willing to sit through the career with you, they can help level up your characters and combat the A.I. so you don’t have as many unfair enemies to deal with.

LittleBigPlanet Karting

There currently seems to be an issue with the servers that are preventing me from updating the game, so I couldn’t play online. We have a rule at GamesBeat that we write what we experienced (as opposed to saying what should have happened). However, just from playing the campaign and reading the trophy descriptions, Karting looks to sport all the same multiplayer options as the platforming versions, and of course the user-created levels and sharing play a massive role in the online portion of the game.

F1 Race Stars

F1 Race Stars offers a few team-based or solo multiplayer modes online, but you should consider them nonexistent since that’s what the community for this game is. If you’re looking to hop in a random match, you’ll be sitting in a lobby all by yourself for a long time. Up to four players can play split-screen locally, and this is probably the only good way to enjoy the game, as it reduces the A.I.’s presence to be a little more bearable.

Sackboy’s about to have a bad day.

Extras

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

The career campaign offers a handful of unique challenges aside from standard races. Getting as many stars as you can and unlocking all the characters will act as your primary goal in the game, but the Hard and Expert difficulties will test your patience and sanity. Time Trials and a Grand Prix mode round out the single-player offerings for those looking to eventually get all the Achievements/trophies.

LittleBigPlanet Karting

LittleBigPlanet games are known for their virtually limitless community-driven content, and Karting is no different. The story mode provides plenty of minigame races to whet your appetite with possibilities, and for newcomers it’s a bit easier to produce results with the creation tools here than in standard LBP titles. You can also import your Sackpeople and outfits from previous games.

F1 Race Stars

F1 doesn’t come with nearly as many bells and whistles as the other games. You won’t find much outside of the main Grand Prix mode.

Sonic and Amy having a romantic spat on one of Transformed’s Sonic the Hedgehog-themed courses.

Conclusion

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Racing your Xbox Live Avatar against Ulala and Nights in a Panzer Dragoon-themed course is worth the $40 asking price alone. The steep difficulty curve can be an insurmountable frustration in an otherwise great game, but there is still a ton of varied content and some solid racing to be had. Its transforming gimmick, multiplayer options and nostalgic soundtrack help liven the package, making this a must-buy for old-school Sega fans or younger players waiting for an introduction to some of gaming’s greatest franchises. GET!

LittleBigPlanet Karting

You could argue this is essentially a reskinned ModNation Racers, but LittleBigPlanet Karting is hands-down my preferred method for consuming this series. I never really felt like Media Molecule provided good enough controls or fun enough level design, but Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games seems to have circumvented that. It’s not without its faults, and the standard retail price seems high for what’s essentially a side mode, but LittleBigPlanet’s signature user-created tools provide endless replay value and unique style make this a worthwhile purchase for most interested PlayStation 3 owners. GET!

F1 Race Stars 

While the concept was worth a shot, the execution fails in a few very vital ways. Even if this had been a budget-priced downloadable, which is what it looks and feels like, the annoying kart damage, pit stops, and relentless assault of enemy attacks suck any would-be enjoyment from this promising title. SKIP

Super-deformed F1 race stars waving goodbye to their short-lived kart-racing careers.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

You may be sleeping off a tryptophan-induced coma later, but Nintendo isn’t taking a break from updating its various digital download services. This week, it’s even getting into the Thanksgiving spirit by offering something new for everyone. Well, everyone who owns a 3DS, DSi, Wii, or Wii U at least.

First off is the Wii U, since literally everything on its eShop is new this week. Most of the system’s launch games are available digitally, like ZombiU, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but you could also download the Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, or ESPN Sports Connection apps if you need to entertain any family members that haven’t left yet. Here’s the full list of Wii U eShop items:

• Amazon Instant Video
• Chasing Aurora
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
• ESPN Sports Connection
• Hulu Plus
• Little Inferno
• Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition
• NBA 2K13
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Nintendo Land
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Trine 2: Director’s Cut
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
• Assassin’s Creed III
• Darksiders II
• FIFA Soccer 2013
• Game Party Champions
• Just Dance 4
• Madden NFL 2013
• Nano Assault NEO
• Netflix
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
• Rabbids Land
• Sing Party
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
• Warriors Orochi 3
• ZombiU

The 3DS is hosting a few new titles as well. The big names this week are Crashmo and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The former is the sequel to Pushmo, which our own Jeff Grubb referred to as “the secret best 3DS eShop game,” while the latter is best remembered as one of the few times Nintendo did anything radically different with the Zelda franchise. Both are available now, Crashmo for $8.99 and Zelda II for $4.99. Also new today is 3D Mahjongg, which is pretty self-descriptive, and a new episode of the Meat or Die video series.

The DSi brings a pair of new titles this week as well, though they’re technically just different versions of the same one: Spirit Hunters Inc., which comes in Light and Shadow variants, is a Pokémon-style augmented-reality game in which you capture and battle hidden spirits. Both types have a few exclusive monsters that you can’t find in the other, so you could buy both if you’re a completionist, but keep in mind that they are $7.99 each.

Finally, the Wii refuses to die, as yet another old SNK game comes to the Virtual Console. This week, it’s a Neo Geo fighter called Ninja Master’s, which includes an oddly placed apostrophe and a special move called the “Super Death Blow,” which sounds awesome.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

In the kart-racing world, Mario is the unconquered king. Some challengers (such as Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong Racing) have come close, but ultimately, they eat the plumber’s dust. They vanish, and Mario Kart — the series that has inspired so many racers like it — continues to lead the race year after year with new sequels.

Mario Kart’s success comes down to its top-notch mechanics, colorful tracks, recognizable characters — and how fun it is. While Sega’s cast isn’t as popular as its Nintendo rivals, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (out today for PlayStation, Xbox 360, and Wii U) does something that Mario Kart often neglects to do: move forward and think deeper.

What you’ll like

Smart designs that improve and streamline gameplay
Truly overtaking Mario Kart’s formula is probably impossible at this point. We’re so used to its picture of what a kart racer should be that we have trouble accepting any deviations from its norm. Leave it to Sumo Digital, the maker of 2010′s well-received Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, to find little ways to innovate on the essentials.

World Tour is the main campaign in Career mode, and you’ll mine at least 8 to 10 hours out of its five interconnected maps (not counting the bonus tour that unlocks after the credits). You travel along a linear track, playing races and other challenges as you go, until you reach a branching path and can choose which course you want to attempt next. It’s a simple but more interesting way to present a long series of races.

Beating tracks on each of the three core difficulties — Easy, Medium, and Hard (and later Expert) — nets you a corresponding number of stars, and earning more enables you to pass through gates to new areas and unlock characters. You can clearly identify spots for extra characters on the map and read their names once you get to them, but as long as you have the required number of stars, you can access them and anything else you need. It won’t lower your total star count, either. You unlock some drivers in different modes, too, but you can at least learn where you do so by looking at the blank slots on the character select screen.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed also cycles through a nice-sized collection of tips on the loading screen, which helps acclimate the player to the different power-ups and controls available. This should come easy to anyone who’s played Mario Kart or other games in the genre.

Deep racing gameplay is full of great features
The announcer is a little overbearing on the menu screens, but during races, he’s helpful. He tells you what power-ups you receive so you don’t have to take your eyes from the road — giving you an extra second of time that you can always use. This happens in multiplayer as well, but it’s not confusing when you hear the announcer gab about another player.

You can hold two items at once during a race as long as you switch one into your reserve first. [Update: Although we never noticed this during our playthrough, Sumo Digital has alerted us that this feature is called a "swap slot." It's only available in split-screen multiplayer. While you can hold and use two items in sequence, the second item also appears in the other player's swap slot. Either one of you can then claim it by pressing B, which lets you work cooperatively to win the race or event challenge. This sounds like a clever addition that the game never makes note of, but it doesn't seem advantageous if you're racing competitively.] In addition, little symbols appear next to a driver’s name, indicating what item he’s currently holding. This is key to knowing when to drive defensively or to close the distance.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed’s items are recognizable variations on Mario Kart’s staple inventory, but little tweaks to how they work make them even better. One of my favorites, Swarm, has the same basic function as the notorious Blue Shell: It targets the first-place player. However, you can also direct the Swarm backward, and it doesn’t just endanger the player in the lead. It releases a cluster of giant bees on the track, so anyone who encounters it before it disappears has to maneuver through it without hitting the insects. Another power-up, the Glove, protects you from taking a single hit and also “catches” and fires back enemy shots.

Whether you succeed or fail, completing tracks gives you experience points that level up characters to a max of five (a good incentive to play as them), unlocking mods for their vehicles in the process. These change how a vehicle behaves, altering its performance in speed, acceleration, handling, boost, and your All-Star power, which is unique to each character. Activating an All-Star power-up during a race transforms your vehicle into its ultimate form. It’s like getting a star in Mario Kart, and it renders you invincible for a short time. But you can also attack opponents using your special shot, which is unlimited for that brief time.

Speaking of transforming, your vehicle automatically changes into a car, boat, or plane as you progress through the course. All you need to worry about is finding the quickest path possible — you’ll almost always want to fly when you have the option as it’s the fastest mode of transportation. If you happen to fall off the edge, don’t fret. It resurrects you and puts you back on the track almost immediately, a record for kart racers.

The actual gameplay works how you’d expect: On the Xbox 360 (the version we reviewed), the A button launches items, the Right Trigger accelerates you forward, and the Left Trigger — in conjunction with the gas — drifts. It’s natural and not finicky like in other kart racers, and you can easily switch the direction of your drift without losing steam. The longer you maintain it, the more powerful it becomes.

Multiplayer is the true experience, not an accessory
Nearly everything in Racing Transformed is multiplayer-friendly. The main menus constantly flash tiny icons at the bottom of the screen that invite up to three additional players to join the game. They can participate in almost all of the modes, including the Career modes, which are traditionally single-player affairs in kart racers. This is the game’s greatest asset. The races and events are more challenging than you might expect even on the default difficulty, so it’s a blessing to have a second (or third, or fourth) player helping you to complete them.

Pages: 1 2

If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.

This week, Zynga lost three more executives, Sony revealed a new slim PlayStation 3, and BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk retire.

We also have reviews for the action-role-playing games Borderlands 2, and Torchlight II.

News:

• The DeanBeat: The BioWare doctors built games the nice way
• Kickstarter lays down the law: ‘We’re not a store’
• EA draws fire for consulting SEAL who wrote tell-all about killing Bin Laden [updated]
• YoYo Games lands Microsoft as a supporter of its cross-platform game engine GameMaker
• Add to your collection of classic game collections with Midway Arcade Origins
• How Activision uses Salesforce.com for engaging with (complaining) gamers
• Expanded Dark Souls content from the PC coming to consoles in October
• Bunchball’s sales gamification 2.0: Easier to learn, easier to customize
• Making every gamer famous, Twitch raises $15M to expand its eSports webcasts
• The PlayStation 3 continues to slim down with smaller console this fall
• Microsoft set to boost original video content on the Xbox, hires TV exec
• BioWare cofounders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk announce retirement
• Torchlight debuts on Linux along with the rest of the latest Humble Indie Bundle
• Badgeville gamifies Salesforce.com to make salespeople more productive
• Chasing more engaged users, Zynga acquires ‘midcore’ social game startup A Bit Lucky
• Sega: Sonic Adventure 2 and Nights into Dreams HD remakes coming in early October
• BioWare confirms Dragon Age III: Inquisition in the works that runs on Battlefield 3 engine
• Bohemia Interactive: ‘Insinuations are completely false’ about employees’ alleged spying [Updated]

Mobile News:

• Moga game controller for Android devices to debut Oct. 21 for $49.99
• With a veteran startup team, Scopely raises $8.5M for social mobile games
• Sharp and Fujitsu join Sony’s PlayStation Mobile program; new games debut Oct. 3
• Ludei can convert HTML5 apps into speedy mobile apps in minutes
• Pickmoto simplifies sports betting on smartphones
• Nvidia loses its mobile chips chief
• Comic book guru Stan Lee moves into mobile games

Zynga troubles:

• The exodus continues: Zynga’s chief security officer resigns
• GSN snatches up former Zynga chief marketing officer
• New departure from Zynga: Omgpop’s chief revenue officer (exclusive)
• Zynga alleges EA’s chief executive proposed an anti-competitive ‘no hire’ pact or he would ‘rain hell’
• Zynga strikes back hard at EA in copyright infringement case

Reviews:

• Torchlight II is a poor man’s Diablo that’s rich in content but not originality (review)
• Borderlands 2 nearly perfects the blend of shooter and role-playing game (review)

Interviews:

• Borderlands 2 dev on creating the canonical sequel to James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ (exclusive)
• This year’s Halo/Call of Duty killer: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (interview)
• Facing down the giants: CEO Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II and its competition
• Nintendo VP Scott Moffitt dishes on the Wii U’s $299 price, living room strategy, and more (interview)
• Activision is finally swinging for the fences in mobile games (interview)

Features:

• The story of MarioBART: How one artist finds gaming inspiration in transit maps and lawn ornaments
• The good, the bad, the Minecraft: All the inspiration and clones you’ll ever need

Pieces of Flair:

• A working Aperture Science Sentry Turret from Portal
• Cel-shaded Lilith cosplay from Borderlands (gallery)
• Breaking Borderlands 2: Easy money, XP, Eridium, boss fights, and tokens
• Gotta mold them all! Clay versions of the original 151 Pokémon
• 15 baffling Street Fighter II mysteries

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing was the best game no one expected. Not just the best kart racing game in years, but also the best Sonic game in recent memory. It was polished, imaginative, and most importantly, it was just plain fun. Now Sonic and company are back in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

A few slight changes have been made to the formula this time around. You may have noticed “All-Stars” no longer has the publisher’s name before it, and that’s presumably because real-life Nascar driver Danica Patrick has joined the virtual roster of racers. The “Transformed” part of the title also alludes to the gameplay’s biggest departure from the original’s strictly four-wheeled affair. Now karts will dynamically morph into water or airborne vehicles during certain sections of each map.

Things have obviously gotten kinda crazy, and we nabbed Sega of America associate brand manager Aaron Webber to chat about Diddy Kong Racing, Panzer Dragoon courses, and fan-favorite Nights joining the playable racers!

GamesBeat: What exactly does an associate brand manager do on a title like this?

Aaron Webber: So translated, that means I work on games from the very beginning stages; sometimes — in Racing’s case, it’s the very early concept stage — all the way until the game finally releases on store shelves. Everything in between. All the marketing and messaging is stuff that I’m involved with, and my team.

GamesBeat: What was some of the most standout feedback Sega got on the original All-Stars Racing?

Webber: It’s kind of funny, but I think most people went, “Oh, wow, this is a lot better than I expected it to be.”

GamesBeat: I had that very same reaction.

Webber: Yeah. On the one hand, it’s fair. With a lot of people, you look at the kart racing genre, and there’s not been a lot of change over the last 10-15 years. Even Mario Kart changes here and there, but not a lot of differences. When people looked at Sonic last time, they probably thought, “Oh, it’s just a Mario Kart clone. It’s just the same old, same old.” Then they played it, and they said, “Wow, it’s unique, and it’s really fun to play. The multiplayer’s fantastic.” I think that’s what it was. People thought it was really good.

GamesBeat: What are the core pillars of the game that make it unique?

Webber: This time around we’ve shifted things up on our end a bit. With Transformed, as the name suggests. … The game is called Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, which is kind of a mouthful, I know. The vehicles transform from cars to boats to planes as you go across the different terrain: land, sea, and air. For us, it was a case where we wanted to take and improve upon it and do stuff that people had never done before. When you get into the water, you’re not just underwater on the ocean floor. You’re actually on the water, riding the waves. There are wave physics that are totally separate from the rest of the game. When you’re in the air, you have full control over your vehicle. You’re not just hang-gliding down. You can go anywhere you want and fly anywhere you want. That kind of freedom is what we wanted to use to distinguish Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed from the other kart-racing games out there.

GamesBeat: By adding new features, you’re actually kind of throwing back to an older kart racing game. …

Webber: Yes, Diddy Kong Racing. Yeah.

GamesBeat: That obviously had to be some kind of inspiration for you guys.

Webber: A lot of kart racing games were inspirations for the devs at Sumo over in England. They did the first game, as well. They looked at a lot of games and said, “Okay, what are the best parts of these games? Likewise, though, there was a lot of creativity from their side. One difference from Diddy Kong Racing, where you could pick your vehicle at the beginning and you would be in the plane or the hovercraft or the car. … Certain vehicles were naturally just better at certain tracks. That’s just how it went. With Racing Transformed, we tried to make it so that every vehicle is kind of similar in terms of fairness and balance. When everyone’s on the water, everyone’s on the water. Everyone’s going to have to be going through that same challenge. No type of vehicle — no plane or boat or car — is necessarily going to be dominating the race the whole time just because of the track you’re on. Now, that said, there are some tracks where you’ll get a clear choice. You can go left and become a car. You can go right and become a boat. What do you want to do? Those moments will happen, but they’re very strategic, and everybody in a race has the option to choose one or the other, so it’s fair.

GamesBeat: I have to ask. … Danica Patrick.

Webber: Yeah? [smiles]

GamesBeat: How does she fit into this universe?

Webber: She fits in the same way as any other character from a more serious game would fit in. You’ve got Joe Musashi in these kiddie levels from Monkey Ball, right? So the game is a celebration of Sega history. At the same time, it’s really important for Sega to go out there and do things to expand and grab people and get them to look at the game and say, “Wow, this is a cool game, and I might not have looked at it otherwise.” Danica Patrick is a Nascar superstar. She’s one of the first and only female drivers out there. Danica was a perfect fit for us because she’s someone who’s very fast. Obviously, that’s what she does. Sonic is very fast.

We got the partnership going to where Danica’s in the game, and then likewise, Danica’s helping promote Sonic to an audience that might not otherwise have seen Sonic Racing — might not know about it. But clearly they’re people who love racing, so that first connection is already there. I know a lot of fans have looked at it and said, “Why is Danica here? She took somebody else’s spot.” That’s not the case, to just get that on the record. Danica was added in. So her being in the game didn’t take away anyone’s chance of seeing their favorite character in the game. I should state that clearly because I know some fans felt like that. That’s not the case, though. Neither is Wreck-It Ralph, from the Disney movie, which I think fans are actually pretty excited about. Wreck-It Ralph is going to be there. And likewise, Sonic is going to be in the Wreck-It Ralph movie.

GamesBeat: What were some of the most requested characters from the original that are now in the sequel?

Webber: One of the biggest ones was Vyse. There was a whole thread on the Sega forums for Vyse. Secretly, I’m a huge Skies of Arcadia fan … or that’s not actually a secret. Anyway. When the initial list went around, we all get to pitch in some characters and say, “Maybe this would be a good fit.” I put Vyse’s name on the list, and apparently other people agreed. I certainly didn’t make the final call. I just put the name there, and Vyse ended up making it into the game. Knowing that Vyse was in there was great when we read that thread. Everyone was saying, “Please put Vyse in!” By this point, we knew Vyse was in for months. I just smiled when I saw that. Vyse is one of them. Another one of the biggest ones was Nights. There was a whole campaign for the first game: the “Don’t Forget Nights” campaign. Even though Sumo was awesome and they put Nights in as the sort of flag-bearer at the beginning, in this game we have Nights returning as a fully playable character. In fact, as a sort of homage back to the original game, Nightswill transform into the vehicles. Just as Nights used to transform in the snow level — he’d transform into the sled for Eliot. Now he’ll transform into the car, the boat, and the plane. There’s a little Nightopian on top riding him.

GamesBeat: Is Reala in the game?

Webber: Yeah, Reala’s here, too.

GamesBeat: Cool, cool. I also saw a Panzer Dragoon level. …

Webber: Yeah, you saw a Panzer Dragoon level that references almost all of the Panzer Dragoon games, which is pretty cool. We’ve got references to the first Panzer and every Panzer after that. When you get to the flying section, you’ll see these plants hanging down. Those planets are a direct reference to Panzer Dragoon Orta. So from the very beginning to the Xbox Orta, we’ve got references to everything. Every level is like that. Skies of Arcadia has its own level. You’re gonna see the Delphinus in that level. There’s some really cool stuff. If you pause and freeze-frame our trailers, you’ll see the things I’m talking about. None of this is technically new information there, but it’s really cool the amount of stuff we’ve hidden in these levels as Easter eggs for fans.

GamesBeat: Anything else we should know about?

Webber: I’d say a special thanks to all the fans out there who pick up and get all the Sonic games and the racing games. Likewise to Sumo. They’re doing a great job getting the game together. We’re almost there. We’re out November 20. We’ve got versions across pretty much every platform, so whether you own a 3DS, a PC, a 360, a PS3, a Vita, or a Wii U, whenever that comes out … you’ll be able to pick up the game. We’re pretty excited for that.

GamesBeat: Did you say iOS? [The first game was later released for iOS -- Sebastian]

Webber: I did not say iOS. I’m just talking consoles today. Now, that said, there was DLC in the last game: Metal Sonic and all that. We got a lot of good feedback on that. So anyone who picks up the game in its first release — like if you go in the first day or the first week, it’s going to say “Bonus Edition” on the top. That’s going to get you all the DLC for free, just packed in there as a thank you. You get Metal Sonic. You get the Out Run track, which is pretty good. And then also you get some free stickers for your in-game driver’s license. It’s a really nice package as a special thanks for anyone who’s out there supporting the game in the first initial launch.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

This morning, Nintendo finally announced the price and launch date for its upcoming Wii U video game console as well as its new TVii feature that lets you use it as a Netflix/Hulu/Tivo/whatever box. Of course, you can also play video games on the Wii U, and we have the complete list of the system’s launch window games, as well as screenshots of many of them.

The Wii U console is in stores Nov. 18, with the basic version costing $300 and the deluxe $350; for specifics on each package, see our story from this morning.

Now, the system’s “launch window” extends from when the Wii U comes out all the way until March of next year. That means a few of these might not actually be available in 2012, but Nintendo still includes them in the “launch window.” It makes sense if you try not to think about it too much.

Either way, check out the list and gallery below to see all of the games you’ll be playing on your hot new Wii U … at some point within the next six or seven months.

• Funky Barn
• NBA 2K13
• 007 Legends
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Transformers Prime
• Wipeout 3
• Skylanders Giants
• Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
• Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
• Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
• Ben 10: Omniverse
• Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
• Mass Effect 3
• Madden NFL 13
• FIFA Soccer 13
• Trine 2: Director’s Cut
• Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
• Zumba Fitness Core
• Jett Tailfin
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition
• Tank! Tank! Tank!
• Nintendo Land
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
• Sing Party
• Lego City: Undercover
• Wii Fit U
• Game & Wario
• Pikmin 3
• The Wonderful 101
• Aliens: Colonial Marines
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Nano Assault Neo
• Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
• Darksiders II
• Wheel of Fortune
• Jeopardy!
• Toki Tori 2
• Assassin’s Creed III
• Just Dance 4
• Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
• Rabbids Land
• ESPN Sports Connection
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
• ZombiU
• Rayman Legends
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Game Party Champions
• Batman: Arkham City — Armored Edition

The gallery is below, but if you prefer your pictures to move and have sound, take a look at these Wii U launch trailers.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---

This could be blasphemy, but Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, publisher Sega’s new kart racer, may be more fun to play than Mario Kart, the series that invented the genre back in 1992 on the Super Nintendo system and has seen a release on every major console from the company ever since.

Just like Mario Kart, players race each other while gathering and using a variety of items to try to deter their opponents. However, Racing Transformed’s tracks are much more dynamic than those seen in Nintendo’s popular franchise.

For example, I played a level at Sega’s Electronic Entertainment Expo booth where the course would change after each lap. You spend the first time around the circuit (which was themed after Panzer Dragoon, an on-rails shooter for Sega’s old Saturn console) simply racing on the ground, but a blocked off path redirects you to a lake for the second lap, automatically transforming your vehicle into a watercraft (this is where the “transformed” part of the game’s title comes into play). The third and final laps redirect you again, this time sending you up to the sky for aerial racing.

The transition between land, sea, and air doesn’t just happen from lap to lap. A track based on Sega’s old arcade brawler Golden Axe sends racers off a cliff and over a lava pit in the middle of a circuit (pictured above).

These evolving levels mean that you aren’t simply speeding past the same exact environment three times, adding variety to the old genre’s mechanics. True, Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64 also features aerial and water racing, but the way you switch between the different vehicles mid-race and see new areas of a track with each lap is what sets Racing Transformed apart from its competitors.

After seven Mario Karts and dozens of imitators, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed feels like a refreshing update to a genre that had gotten stale and predictable. Plus, with playable characters like Beat from Jet Set Radio and Vyse from Skies of Arcadia (both old titles from the short-lived, but much loved Dreamcast library), there are plenty of throwbacks from Sega’s past to keep fans happy.

Sega will release the title this fall for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, 3Ds, and Vita.

---

GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

---