I'm flying a rocket pack! (And a jet plane and a hang-glider.) Over a beautiful tropical island packed with features that are just begging to have stunts pulled in, through and around them! There's a volcano! And it's all in 3D!
I shouldn't be this bored, should I?
There are two groups of videogamers in the UK (and perhaps the world) whose Venn diagram has a surprisingly small intersection. In Group A we have "People who own a Nintendo DS", and in Group B there's "People interested in buying a Nintendo 3DS".
In fairness, this may be because Group B is so small it'd be a tiny intersection even if it was entirely contained within Group B, but that's neither here nor there. In any event, because WoSland loves Nintendo so much, we're going to try to help increase it a bit.
Well, it's all been happening in the world of the 3DS since WoSland decreed it relevant by deciding to get one last week. Nintendo are talking about stick-on second analogue pads, brand-new models with the 3D effect toned down, and trailing mysterious big announcements for the Tokyo Game Show that sent the beleaguered company's stock soaring.
Obviously WoSland is flattered that its Seal Of Grudging Sort-Of Approval has generated such dramatic activity, but much more important than that is the fact that my 3DS now has a game to play. So how's that gone?
Since it's apparently Namco Week here at WoSland, let's find out.
So I've got a 3DS now. For someone who's still just about a functional videogames journalist, the professional obligation and the economics finally more or less converged, and I'm now the owner of a rather handsome Cosmos Black machine. (No games yet, but I'll pick some up at some point.)
But don't worry, viewers – WoSland's principles remain firmly intact.
In all the hubbub about the 3DS price cut, little has been made of Nintendo's compensation package for "3DS Ambassadors", by which they'll all get 20 free Virtual Console titles, split equally between old NES and GBA games. Just a nice offer to make peace with people who might feel a bit ripped off, right?
The problem with the package, however, is that it might be a bit too good.
I get the feeling that Nintendo just don't understand what's happening to them any more. They're doing what they've always done, and what's made them swillions of dollars for the last half-decade, but the public just aren't biting this time. And now the gaming giant's nerve has cracked altogether.
Today's announcement that the company is to slash the trade price of the stumbling 3DS by a third, just four months after release, has taken everyone by surprise. But it really shouldn't have.
WoSland – now at wosland.podgamer.com
