This week on the 3DS eShop: Mario and Donkey Kong, The Starship Damrey, and Crash City Mayhem

Games. Glorious games. Unique games. Notable games. The Nintendo 3DS eShop has quite the variety this week, make no mistake.

You've got a new game featuring everyone's favourite plumber and gorilla combo, something new from the studio behind the Professor Laytonseries, as well as some smaller, cheaper options.

In fact, it's a rather good week for the Nintendo 3DS all round. There's a reason for every single one of you 3DS owners to head down to your local eShop and throw some cash at the man behind the counter made of pixels.

Let's take a closer look at these games in their natural habitat.

European eShop releases



Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move leads the top releases this week. It's the fifth entry in the Mario vs Donkey Kong series.

You funnel robotic Marios around a series of puzzle boards, and try to guide them to the end. Think Pipe Mania, but with Mario. This costs £8.99 - expect a review soon.

The Starship Damrey is also potentially exciting. It's the first title in Level-5's Guild 02 trio, and it's an adventure horror game about working out what the heck is going on in a twisted world.

The quality of the Guild 01 titles ranged from great to not so great, so it's probably best to wait for a review on this. £7.19 if you can't wait.

Elsewhere, Bloody Vampire is a Metroidvania title that looks fairly stylish, and costs £4.49. And Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini is, as you'd expect, a fishing game. £3.59 for this one.

Crash City Mayhem is one to watch. It's all about driving around a city, causing as much carnage as you can behind the wheel of large tanks and zippy mopeds. Potentially great - £17.99 for that.

And there's even a new Virtual Console game this week. Wrecking Crewsees Mario and Luigi taking on roles as demolition experts in this NES classic, with a £3.59 price tag.

US eShop releases



Americans get Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move too this week, although they'll be paying $9.99 for it. Apparently they don't use pound sterling over there. Who knew!

And SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition takes the original Bronze Award-winningSpeedX 3D from last year, and throws a new coat of paint over it, as well as new music, improved controls, and faster gameplay.

That will cost you $2.99 if you're interesting. If it's similar to the original version, that can't be a bad purchase at all.

And that's your lot for this week - back again in seven days.

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The Animal Crossing: New Leaf Diaries - Day 1

Next month, Nintendo will launch Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS.

The Animal Crossing games have always had you live among a cosmopolitan microcosm of the animal kingdom, and used to leave you to lead a quiet life of luxury; plucking fruit, catching fish, and collecting furniture.

But that's all changed. In New Leaf, you're made mayor of the village as soon as you step off the train, and must take charge of your up and coming hamlet.

In this diary, then, you'll follow my rise from travelling vagabond to empire-building governor. You'll also be able to guide my journey, by suggesting tips in the comments below.

We'll have a full review later this month. But, for now, here's our daily diary of life in Kusanagi.

Day 1 - Thursday, May 9th

The long journey to my new home was already well under way. The click-clack of the railroad tracks hypnotically keeping the rhythm of my travels.

A charming blue chap by the name of Rover approached me, politely asked what the time was, where I was headed, and what my name was. So I readily handed over this information: I told him that my name is Xero, and my destination is the wonderful town of Kusanagi.

Kusanagi is a place I'd spent many glorious months in during previous years of my life, yet I hadn't visited for a long while and I thought it high time to rectify that.

If I had left Kusanagi due to an over familiarity with its environs - packing my bag and leaving to visit strange new lands filled with other adventures - then any fear of tedium setting in for this fleeting visit immediately vanished when I saw that the lie of the land had completely changed.

Or at least, that's how it appeared to me.

No sooner had I stepped off the train than I was greeted by a veritable parade of Kusanagi townsfolk, though no one I recognised. The welcoming committee gathered round me, and amidst the chatter, a yellow dog named Isabelle casually mentioned that they were excited to see their new mayor.



"I'm the mayor?" I thought, "but how can this be...? And just why does everything look different in Kusanagi from when I was last here?"

In hindsight I should have rejected the idea of taking on the daunting challenge of running a whole town, but in the confusion of my arrival something inside me compelled me to blurt out, "yes, I'll be your mayor!"

After being briefly shown the Town Hall it was off to Main Street - which is just past the train tracks I'd arrived on - and to meet Tom Nook.

Ah... Tom Nook... now there's a name I recognise. That man had nearly ruined me when I last lived in Kusanagi all those years ago, constantly tinkering with my home in exchange for cold hard Bells when I didn't ask for the renovations in the first place, and I certainly didn't have that kind of money.

Yet he didn't recognise me. Perhaps I really had been away from Kusanagi for too long.

So Nook and I went to find a piece of land to build my new residence upon, and when I had found the perfect spot - a peaceful and quiet area away from Main Street and by the tranquil ocean - he set up a tent for me to stay in for the night.

My day was far from over, even though I was getting extremely tired by this point. I needed my TPC (Town Pass Card) which acts as a form of ID for all the citizens of Kusanagi. I don't remember needing one of these last time I resided here, and it seemed a little authoritarian, but then the world was a very different place in 2006...

One last order of business before I could turn in for the night: the tree-planting ceremony in the Event Plaza. This I was told was to symbolise my arrival, and the new life I might breathe into Kusanagi - a sweet gesture, if ever there was one.

Completely pooped, I retired for the day.

Enjoying the journey? Got any tips for my stay in Kusanagi? Let me know by leaving a comment in the box below.

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Cyberpunk RTS C-Wars passes sixth stretch goal, will come to PS Vita and 3DS

Do you remember that gritty, grid-based RTS game C-Wars that we found on Kickstarter a few weeks back?

If so, you'll be happy to read that C-Wars just passed the $65,535 threshold and will now be released for the PS Vita and 3DS, in addition to Android tablets.

Actually, it would have come out for the 3DS anyway as Onipunks recently said in an interview with 4CR - but the news of a Vita release is certainly encouraging for the Sony faithful.

To the moon

C-Wars has grown beyond its original scope following the success of its Kickstarter campaign.

In the new All-Star mode, for example, players will be able to recruit Esmy from Cryamore or Shovel Knight from, er, Shovel Knight into their ranks and use them in battle while the Survival mode will put a player's mastery of C-Wars' unique combat system to the test.

Unfortunately, with only three days of fundraising left it appears that the distant goals of a Wii U or iOS port will remain out of reach for C-Wars for the moment - but there's always a chance that they'll pop up later based on the reception of the Android, Vita, and 3DS versions (to say nothing of its PC, Mac, and Linux releases).

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Review: Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo for 3DS

Being a squirrel must be ace. You get to lounge around in the treetops all day, and every once in a while dig up a nut or two (if you can remember where you left them).

This particular squirrel, star of the ridiculously named SuperLittle Acorns 3D Turbo, has lost his nuts all over the place. Fortunately, grabbing them all makes for an entertaining platformer.

From acorns grow mighty stereoscopic 3D visuals

Super Little Acorns is all about dashing around a series of small levels, hunting down acorns and fruit, and bopping baddies on the head.

Only once you've grabbed all the acorns (and baby squirrels, if they are any) can you exit out of the door. It's all timed, as well, so you can't hang around.

The game is hugely stylish, from the gorgeously animated visuals to the bouncy soundtrack. At the end of each level, the acorns you collected are thrown into a giant tree pit together - it's such a simple yet lovely idea, and just one element that makes Super Little Acorns stand out so much.

There's plenty of content on offer, too, with multiple "years" to beat, boss battles, to overcome, enjoyable challenges to take on, costumes to collect, and achievements to unlock.

And that's without even mentioning the replay value. Each level has speedruns and medals to grab - essentially, it'll be quite a number of hours before you complete this game 100 percent.

Not so little

The action thrown your way is a little tepid to begin with, and takes a while to truly get going.

It's still enjoyable, but there isn't really much of a challenge - you can easily grab everything and beat the speed run time on your first go with many of the levels in the first hour of play.

Eventually, however, Super Little Acorns does ramp up the volume, and things get far more exciting, with perfect jumps required, and the clock ticking away to your potential failure.

It doesn't help that the controls feel rather floaty, mind. Numerous times I found myself overshooting a jump, or slipping off a platform, and cursing that damn squirrel for being just a tad too flimsy.

Should you grab Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo, then? Yes. It's entertaining, it's stylish, and above all else it's a damn fine Nintendo 3DS game.

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Dodge cops, plant bombs, and rescue hostages from May 9th in Crash City Mayhem for 3DS

Essex-based publisher Ghostlight has announced that its action-packed drive-'em-up Crash City Mayhem will smash onto the Nintendo 3DS eShop on May 9th.

Released in Japan as Runabout 3D: Drive Impossible, Crash City Mayhem is a high-octane driving game in which you earn rewards for causing as much destruction as humanly possible.

Your 'official' aim in this title, though, is to put an end to an evil terrorist syndicate that's hell-bent on causing carnage.

Tanks for the memories

You do this across a series of vehicle-based missions that involve you careering over rooftops and driving blindly through sewers.

Bored of games that are filled with generic shiny sports cars? Fear not: you can drive mopeds and even tanks in Crash City Mayhem.

If you want to download Crash City Mayhem, head on over to Nintendo's eShop on May 9th with £17.99.

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This week on the 3DS eShop: Picdun 2, BearShark, and a nice meaty discount

There are a bunch of neato discounts on downloadable Nintendo 3DS games this week.

And all you need do is visit the eShop to find them.

The Virtual Console has been given a real shot in the arm this week, too, with multiple new (old?) titles ready for your consumption.

Plus, there are some brand-new games to download. In fact, it's fair to say that the 3DS eShop has 'got game' this week. Or something.

European eShop releases



Picdun 2: Witch's Curse is a dungeon-crawling RPG featuring static images of women with disproportionately sized chests. Yes, you're right.

You get 60 levels to battle your way through, all for £4.49. Watch out for a review of this up on the site soon.

My Riding Stables 3D - Jumping for the Team is a horsey adventure game involving looking after stallions and making friends. For £34.99, you could probably buy a real horse, mind. Well, a hoof.

Onto the Virtual Console...

The classic game Balloon Fight is now available for £3.59, while Ice Climber is £4.49. Meanwhile, Mario & Yoshi is £4.49, and Super C - the sequel to Contra - is £4.49.

Ooooooo, Marvel Pinball 3D is on sale! It's usually priced £6.29, but you can grab it for £2.99 up until May 9th. Sweet.

US eShop releases



Americans! You can download a game this week called Gummy Bears Magical Medallion. It was originally a Wii game, and it looks awful. Avoid it like the plague.

You can also check out My Riding Stables 3D - Jumping for the Team, just like your European brethren. I'm sure it's delightful.

Now, onto the semi-real stuff. BearShark is an endless-runner about escaping from a bear, and a shark. It looks pretty funny, but it's perhaps best to wait for a review before diving in.

In the US Virtual Console realm this week, you can nab Balloon Fight. Warning: you cannot fly after attaching a balloon to your back in real life. Don't ask how I know this.

But enough about all that - there's a huge sale on. Up until May 9th, you see, you can grab a ton of Nintendo games on the cheap.

We're talking Pushmo, 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure, Dillon's Rolling Western, Fluidity: Spin Cycle, and Tokyo Crash Mobs.

All of Shin'en's games are on offer until May 9th, too. So, yeh, Art of Balance TOUCH!, Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH!, and Nano Assault EX. Don't bother with the mini-golf game, but do bother with the other two.

And, finally, Marvel Pinball 3D is cheap as chips until May 9th. Buy it - it's fun.

Back again next week.

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Review: Clash of Elementalists for 3DS

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At its heart, Clash of Elementalists is an arena-based tank-combat game, with two opponents trying to blast each other to bits in a 3D arena.

In many ways it's similar to classics like Battlezone and Virtual On, except it replaces huge mechanised infantry with tiny anime girls.

The game is a simple fight to the death between two of the girls. In other games of the genre, the fun is in mastering intricate controls as you play cat and mouse with your opponent around the map.

Unfortunately, Clash of Elementalistsarenas are flatter than Norfolk, while the characters all move like hyperactive drunks.

Where did you go?

Just the simple act of turning in a desired direction is unnecessarily difficult, as it involves holding the A button and then tapping left or right to turn characters 45 degrees. It's impossible to react quickly or accurately to the action.

The only surefire way to get even a fleeting lock-on with your opponent is to jump, which automatically rotates fighters to face each other. But this fails to be a satisfactory workaround as, with the AI constantly strafing incoming attacks, the only way to stay on target is to constantly leap into the air like a deranged Jack in the Box.

Jumping also proves the only guaranteed way to find an opponent who has moved off-screen. When fighting in close proximity this often results in the camera swinging around wildly to try and track the action.

Being anime-inspired, much of Clash of Elementalists's focus seems to be on its childlike female fighters. Each is linked to an element - fire, water, wind, or earth - and possesses three ranged and close-quarters attack types.

I'm not sure I care

While powers do differ slightly depending on their characters' elemental affinity, their functions remain constant across the roster. It's a nice idea, but with only four selectable fighters there simply isn't enough diversity on offer.

The lacklustre offering of characters does nothing to help spice up the game modes included. Even on Hard, running through all four fights of the Arcade Mode only took about six minutes. While this is supplemented by Battle and Versus modes, playing AI and friends in single matches does little to pad out the package.

It's hard to say whether Clash of Elementalists's problems are rooted in its element concept, in the limitations of the hardware, or in its distinct lack of underlying ambition. While more characters and moves would have made a more substantial package, part of me is simply happy to have seen all the content so I could put it down.

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