This week on the 3DS eShop: Monster Hunter, Luigi's Mansion, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Greetings, Nintendo fans. We've got a nice beefy selection of game products for you to fawn over this week, courtesy of the 3DS eShop.

There are huge releases, small releases, demos, sales. The works basically. Is it worth visiting the eShop this week? Oh hells yes.

In fact, it's looking rather good in both the European and American eShops. And I rarely get to say that, so savour it.

European eShop releases



We've been waiting for this one for a while, and it's finally upon us.Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is the first Monster Hunter game for Nintendo 3DS, and it's a bit of a beast.

You grab your preferred weapons and equipment, then head out to kill monsters and complete quests. You can grab it from the eShop for £39.99, but probably best to buy it at retail instead, where it'll no doubt be cheaper.

My Foal 3D is less exciting. It's a simulation game about looking after 20 foals. You get to take pictures of them, though. Yes. £24.99 if you care.

This one's a tad more interesting: HarmoKnight is out next week, and a demo has appeared on the eShop so you can give it a try one week early.

It's a rhythm game from Game Freak, who you might know from creating a little franchise called Pokemon. Get on it.

Oh, and there's a sale on Pokedex 3D Pro. It's £10.79 now instead of £13.79 which, quite frankly, is still way more than we'd be willing to pay for it.

US eShop releases



Americans! You get Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon on the eShop this Sunday. It's a sequel to the wonderful GameCube launch title that saw Luigi capturing ghosts in a vacuum cleaner.

I've been playing it for the last two weeks and... well, you'll have to wait for my review later today. Gosh, I'm such a tease.

There's another big profile release on Sunday too: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity. It's a dungeon crawler based on thePokemon universe.

I have quite a thing for the Mystery Dungeon series, but they are very polarising - some people love them, some people hate them. Expect our review soon.

Elsewhere, Lola's Math Train is a learning game about adding numbers to other numbers to get more numbers. That's $3.99 - might be good if you have kids.

And 50 Classic Games 3D packs together a bunch of well-known games like Texas hold'em, chess and mahjongg. Might be good for those long train journeys and whatnot.

The American eShop has some games on sale too. The Pokedex 3D Pro is $9.99, while pixel art platformer Mutant Mudds is $5.99 - grab the latter if you haven't already.

That's your lot. See you next week.

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The fire rises in first screens for Mighty Switch Force 2

It's official: Patricia Wagon will be returning for another episode of platform-puzzling mayhem in Mighty Switch Force 2 later this spring.

Don't believe me? Well, I have the screens to prove it.

Tangent City is burning, and the Hooligan Sisters (who have turned over a new leaf since their criminal escapades in the excellent, albeit short,Mighty Switch Force) are in need of rescuing.

In order to save the day, our robotically enhanced heroine will be putting down her truncheon and picking up a fire hose to help Planet Land's Fire Brigade put out the blaze and save the Sisters.



The block-puzzling mechanics of the first game will make a return inMighty Switch Force 2. This time around, however, Wagon will have a few new tricks up her mechanical sleeve, including the ability to dissolve mud blocks with her hose.

We can also look forward to new weapons and enemies, and to searching for the hidden USBs (Ugly Secret Babies).

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity heading to 3DS in Europe on May 17th

Nintendo has confirmed that Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity(which was launched in Japan late last year) will be released across Europe on May 17th.

In case you're unfamiliar with this upcoming roguelike, you're thrust into the shoes of a plucky adventurer, who awakens from a mysterious dream as a highly collectible pocket monster.

This title is jam-packed with critters from Pokemon Black and White's Unova region, such as Snivy, Oshawott, Tepig, Axew, and the infamous Pikachu.

Fun in the future

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity will take advantage of many of the 3DS's hardware features.

You'll be able to scan real-world objects using the handheld's rear-facing camera, for example, and unlock new dungeons to explore.

Additional dungeons will also be available via free and premium DLC packs.

May 17th, boys and girls. Pencil it in your diaries.

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Fire Emblem: Awakening receives new Bride class via paid DLC on March 21

Nintendo is stepping up its DLC release schedule for Fire Emblem: Awakening, which is great news for those who have been enjoying their time with the Pocket Gamer Platinum Award-winner.

Following last week's release of theSmash Brethren 1 DLC map, Nintendo announced via its 3DS Facebook Pagethat Smash Brethren 2 would be available on Thursday, March 21.

Excitingly, this map not only offers players the chance to recruit Erika from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stonesbut it also gives them the chance to pick up the Wedding Bouquet item which unlocks the new Bride class.

To have and to hold

The Bride has access to two unique skills 'Love Cry' and 'Bonds' which will buff or heal all allies within a three tile radius of the character.

Additionally, Brides can use Lances, Bows, and Staves which makes them one of the more versatile classes in the game.

If you're in North America, you can purchase Smash Brethren 2 for $3.00 at the Outrealm Gate, or you can purchase the Smash Pack for $6.50 to nab all three Smash Brethren maps at a nice discount.

If you're in Europe and dying for this game to come out already, April 19th is only a month away.

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Review: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for 3DS

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on 3DS has all of the hallmarks of its PSP predecessors: the same playing mechanics, the same esoterica, and the same productivity-destroying gameplay.

But it arrives in a new context. Thanks to the recent success of hardcore games like Dark Souls and this game's ties to the WiiU version, we get the feeling that Monster Hunter is on the verge of blowing up big.

Information hunter
It's about hunting monsters, obviously. But it's not all hunting: you're also asked by the populace of the village - which is your central hub for missions - to gather items and fulfil other requests.

Each quest has a small description about what you need to achieve, as well as some utterly missable narrative (you're here for the loot, not the story).

After accepting a request, you head into various the lands of theMonster Hunter world, each of which is filled with an abundance of riches if you know where to look. Unfortunately, the game is pretty stingy when it comes to guidance.

Here's an example: one early mission asks you to gather Monster Guts, so you head out and kill some creatures only to come away empty-handed. You double-check the quest and in the description you discover that you were specifically supposed to get Apioth tripe.

Can you remember what an Apioth is? I hope so, because there's no mention of what they look like or where you'll find them.

Later on, you're in the ocean and see a massive creature that you can't possibly beat. Your adviser pops up and urges you to leg it, so you assume that the monsters you need to eviscerate aren't there.

You get so frustrated that you go to the internet, look up the creature, discover that it's where that gigantic monster is and that you need to risk life and limb to source the materials. This all takes 45 minutes of your time.

My fight money!
If you're prepared to give yourself over fully to the Monster Hunteruniverse, though, this is an exceptionally rewarding structure. You're walking a fine line between dominance over the elements and simply surviving, using your wits, knowledge, and skill to excel in an environment that wants you dead.

Combat is combo-based and methodical. You need to systematically approach creatures and give them the respect they deserve, understanding that each encounter can quickly turn sour.

There are loads of weapons to use, each with its own attack pattern and benefits in battle. This is augmented with a rich selection of items to use in the field. Maps and paintballs are used to track monsters that flee when injured, potions restore your health, food tops up your stamina, and so on.

When you return from the field, you upgrade your armour and forge new weapons to make you even more effective. When you feel you can handle yourself, you can then share the experience with others locally, though you'll need a WiiU to play online - a feature we couldn't test at the time of writing.

Time and money
Clearly this 3DS outing isn't as high-resolution as the WiiU, but the biggest downer in this department is the 3D, which blurs the small text in menus slightly. You'll turn it off within minutes.

The sound design is excellent, though: chuck a pair of headphones on and the world around you comes to life with the cries of animals and the passing breeze.

When you're not on quests there's still plenty to do, thanks to the plethora of content on offer here. Farming, fishing, renovating your village, gladiatorial combat - you're never at a loose end.

Apart from the investment of time, you may also need to fork out some more cash if you want the best experience. The second stick afforded by the Circle Pad Pro is almost crucial, and if you're planning on downloading the game you should know that the standard SD Card that comes with the 3DS is only just large enough to contain the game.

Make no mistake: this is still a niche game, owing to the demands it places on its players, but if you're willing to accept that challengeMonster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a substantial and extremely satisfying experience.

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Review: Pac-Man for 3DS

Having arrived in arcades in the '80s, Namco's circular pill-muncher Pac-Man made his way over to Nintendo's NES home console in '84.

He's changed over the years. He's gone up against ghosts in platforming titles, starred in a multi-screened multiplayer game, and even turned into a car for Ridge Racer. But Namco's yellow spherical fellow is still primarily known for just two things: eating pills and chasing ghosts.

Now, thanks to this latest 3DS Virtual Console release, you can playPac-Man in its original, pill-eating, ghost-chasing NES form all over again - except now you can do it on the move.

Waka, Waka, Waka

If you've managed to get this far through life without ever coming into contact with Pac-Man, the aim of the game is to gobble up all those yellow pellets around the maze without colliding with the four ghosts - Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde.

Picking up the bigger flashing 'power pills' turns all the ghosts blue, and stops them from chasing you - thus allowing you to gobble them up for extra points alongside the occasional pieces of fruit that blink into existence.

As you progress through each stage, the four ghosts become far faster, and eventually turn invincible - thus making for some incredibly nerve-wrecking gameplay.

Dulled with age

The 3DS's screen makes this all look rather nice and sharp compared with the blurry sprites you'd find if you plugged in your NES original. But the gameplay would be just as primitive.

It still remains fun in short bursts, but Pac-Man just isn't paced or designed well enough to compete with the best that contemporary gaming has to offer.

While perfect for short bus rides or a quick five or ten minute blast when you get the chance, Pac-Man on Virtual Console feels just a little bit obsolete in the modern age. If you really must play it, you can certainly pick it up for less on a smartphone - but chances are you'll also find far better things to play there anyway.

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The 10 new Pokemon creations we want to see in Pokemon X and Y

Coming up with new types of Pokemon must be tough. I mean, there are now over 650 in the wilds of Kanto, Johto and, Hoenn.

And although the original series had some pretty smart ideas up its sleeve, later entries have resulted in anumber of WTF?!? moments.

So, I've decided to help Game Freak out by designing ten brand spanking new Pokemon for the team to implement intoPokemon X and Y.

Below, then, you'll find my incredible creations, as well as ready-to-go descriptions of their abilities and backgrounds. Oh, and ten (shockingly poor) illustrations from my own fair hands.

If you've got any suggestions for new characters in Pokemon X and Y, let the Pocket Gamer community and me know by posting them in the comments section below.



Sonevita

This creature is almost never seen in the wild, even though its population is gradually increasing.

The reasons for its scarcity are a little mystifying, but most Pokemon trainers believe that, while it's certainly an attractive beast, its expensive-to-obtain nature (you'll need a lot of Ultra Balls to capture it) have led to many Pokemaniacs ignoring it.
Threepin

Often found while its owner is preparing to move house, Threepin is an extremely adaptable electric snake Pokemon.

A master of subterfuge, it sneaks into homes at night and sets up camp in boxes marked 'random electronics junk'. This is primarily because it has learnt that humans will only very rarely look inside one of them.


Freemyum

This particular Pokemon attacks enemies by eating them. Yes, that's right.

Though he has some pretty standard basic chomps and bites in his arsenal, you can log onto the eShop and purchase additional moves, like Consume and Wolf Down. These will help him wipe the floor with any foe.



Snugglywugglybooboo
As in The Real World, appearances can be deceiving in the land of Pokemon.

Snugglywugglybooboos - or "Snugs" to law enforcement agencies - are highly dangerous mass-murderering Pokemon with a penchant for sadism.

Due to their adorable and cutesy cutesy looks, Snugs lull human beings and other Pokemon into a false sense of security. Rest assured, however, that they're no stranger to GBH, armed robbery, and worse.

Hankee

You know that thing your grandad sneezes into that looks like a tissue? Yeah... that's a Pokemon.

Hankee has a symbiotic relationship with humans, awakening only briefly to feed on snotty nose detritus. Because his 'bones' are made of cotton and lint, Hankee has an extremely malleable body.


Miyamotwo

Perhaps the most beloved Pokemon ever.

Miyamotwo's winning attitude and permanently positive outlook on life make him a formidable opponent in monster-battling arenas.

Miyamotwo is just SO jovial, SO likeable, SO, well, smiley. In fact, he uses that wonderful smile as a special move - called Nostalgattack - infecting other Pokemon and their trainers with an inescapable urge to reminisce about how awesome the '90s were.


Uman

Ecologists have forever argued that the most dangerous creatures on the planet are humans. In Pokemon X and Y, you can put this assertion to the test.

Uman's move list includes: Deforestation, Hunt to Extinction, and Nuclear War.

Due to its fleshy nature and lack of natural defences, though, Uman will faint after just a single regular hit from a standard Pokemon.

Angeldeelight

You think that the butterscotch-flavoured treat your mum's had in the cupboard for what seems like forever is a milk-based insta-dessert?

You poor innocent fool.

A foam-based Pokemon, Angeldeelight is the unfortunate by-product of a Miltank infected with Mad Miltank Disease.

This is no laughing matter, mind, for consumption of this Pokemon is highly dangerous. Which is why mums keep it hidden.


Sandi

Sandi is just a collection of sand particles. It has no attacks, no useful moves outside of battle, and no way of communicating with its owner.

But it also can't be harmed by any physical, elemental, or psychic attack, making it one of the strongest - if most pointless - Pokemon in the Pokedex since Magikarp.



Pokemoncard

Now, you can combine battling Pokemon from the video games with battling Pokemon from the card games.

Pokemoncard is, to all intents, a Pokemon that looks like one of the collectible cards from the Trading Card Game.

Susceptible to fire and water, this fourth-wall smashing creature later evolves into Magic: The Gathering.

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