With the release of Metroid: Other M only days away, Nintendo of America have taken it upon themselves to run a live-action ad for the upcoming action-adventure. The moody sixty second spot sees a Zero Suit Samus reflecting on her past, and if the commercial is anything to go by, Other M will live up to its promise to deliver the best story-driven experience ever to grace a Metroid title.

Metroid: Other M for the Wii will release later this month in North America (Aug 31), and early next month in Europe (Sept 3).

After much rumor and speculation, Kid Icarus is indeed making a return in the upcoming Kid Icarus: Uprising. Revealed during Nintendo’s briefing, Uprising was built specifically for the newly announced 3DS and will be one of the handheld’s flagship titles. Check out the full trailer and screens after the break!

At the Nintendo E3 briefing earlier today, Satoru Iwata officially unveiled Nintendo’s successor to the DS line, the Nintendo 3DS. The new handheld maintains a bottom touch screen similar to the DS’ but also includes an impressive 3.5 inch widescreen 3D display for the top screen. Along with a significant upgrade in the handheld’s graphics capabilities, the 3DS will include a slider which lets you alter the 3D display to a 2D display, motion sensor, gyro sensor, and what Nintendo is calling a “slide pad.”

Additionally, Nintendo has included two cameras on the outside and one on the inside of the handheld that will capture 3D images. Wi-Fi is also getting an overhaul with the ability to search for Wi-Fi spots and other 3DS’ in sleep mode.

The 3DS has over twenty companies working on upcoming titles. Pulling out the big guns, Nintendo was able to confirm a brand new Kid Icarus game for launch as well as other franchise tittles like Pilotwings Resort, Star Fox 64 3D, and of course Mario Kart. With 3rd party support from companies like Capcom, Konami and Level 5, the 3DS is already boasting an extremely strong lineup. The full list of confirmed upcoming 3DS titles can be found below:

Another day, another rumor confirmed at the Electronics Entertainment Expo. The newly announced Donkey Kong Country Returns does exactly what the titles says, revisits one of the most beloved Nintendo franchises. The game is being developed by Retro Studios (of Metroid Prime fame) and looks to be receiving the NSMB treatment with the 2D gameplay being given that extra special splash of 3D. Diddy Kong will also be tagging along for the adventure using his backpack as a jetpack or his ability granting peanut gun.

You can expect to see Donkey Kong Country Returns on store shelves this Fall. Check out the official E3 tailer after the break!

New rumours on the next Zelda title have been revealed and boy do they sound good.

The game will apparently have no subtitle, and will be called simply The Legend Of Zelda. The game’s story takes place several hundred years before Ocarina of Time and tells the tale of the Master Sword. The fairy-like girl (above) goes by the name of Zordiana and plays an important role in the game, think Midna or Navi.

The Hookshot makes a return with new abilities, reminiscent of the Grappling Hook in Wind Waker, it will now allow you to swing between platforms. At certain points in the game you’ll have to “draw” specific symbols onto doors (with your sword) to open them. The Bow and Arrow will control similar to that of Wii Sports Resort’s Archery, we’re guessing that means the new Zelda *fingers crossed* will support Wii MotionPlus.

Two levels of difficulty are present, Hero-Mode has no “Super Guide” and enemies are much tougher. Miyamoto didn’t want to include this feature but Eiji Aonuma insisted on putting it in the final game.

The On-Stage Ice Dungeon, said to be shown at E3 isn’t a dungeon those used to the Zelda series are familiar with. When entering a Dungeon you will not notice you are in one, the transition between the outside world and dungeons is an unnoticeable gradation. There will be dungeons with bosses and ones without them, bosses will also make appearances outside of the dungeons.

Zelda Informer are backing these rumours after a thorough investigation, and we’ve got to say we’re with them on this one. What do you think?

Ever found yourself on the fence about buying a new game? This should get you off it! Watch the opening minutes of Super Mario Galaxy 2 after the break.

Crytek UK, formerly known as Free Radical (the studio behind the popular TimeSplitters franchise), have filed a patent for *drumroll*… TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. Not what you expected huh? Not to worry, this isn’t a bad thing – let me explain.
As much as I and every other monkey lover would have loved to see the follow-up filed instead, it’s good to know the team still have TimeSplitters on the brain.

A remake would definitely build interest for a possible sequel, or even a downloadable re-release. Some have even suggested TimeSplitters might be making its long-awaited debut onto the PC. Heck, whatever it is I’ll take two of whatever they’re selling! Stay tuned for more info.

Last year Nintendo broke their age-old rule of one 3D Mario game per generation with the surprise announcement of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Hitting US stores on May 23 and Europe shortly after (June 11), Nintendo don’t seem to be messing around this year. Check out the game’s mouth-watering box art and a brand new trailer after the break.

Yoshi joins Mario on his second adventure through the galaxy – though I’m still baffled why he was absent from the first game. New power-ups are present, notably the Drill Bit which sees our favourite plumber burrowing through the back of planets as well as inside them, without a Warp Pipe in sight.

Nintendo have promised 95-99% of new content with the sequel, scrapping the complaint from fans that some old levels would return. If the game lives up to be as good as his first outing then we’re in for treat! The game’s fact sheet follows.

• Mario collects stars as he travels from galaxy to galaxy. Every level is new, but the game retains the charm, sense of wonder and beauty in line with Mario’s history.
• Mario works his way through the various levels, sometimes upside-down, sometimes floating from place to place.
• On some stages, Mario can find an egg, smash it open and hop onto the back of Yoshi. Yoshi can use his tongue to grab items and shoot them back at enemies, or to snag attach points and swing across chasms.
• Yoshi has an interesting diet. When he eats a Dash Pepper, he gets so hot and frenzied he can run up steep inclines and vertical walls. When he eats a Blimp Fruit, he inflates like a balloon and floats to new heights.
• New power-ups include a drill that Mario uses to tunnel through the planet’s surface all the way to the other side of a planet.
• Skilled players will want to collect new Comet Metals, which will unlock harder levels with even more challenges.

Mmm… Shexy Box Art!

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It’s official. Project Needlemouse (like predicted) turned out to be Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 to be specific was revealed by GameSpot early this morning along with its first real trailer. Hit the jump for more details and of course the trailer.

While only revealing five seconds from the hedgehogs latest adventure, the franchise is sure to return to its roots. What makes this announcement even more interesting is the fact that the Sonic is going episodic, with the first episode hitting PSN, WiiWare & XBLA this summer. Picking up where the Mega Drive/Genesis series left off and taking place right after Sonic & Knuckles, the game will feature traditional game mechanics like Power Sneakers and an all new “powerful” Homing Attack.

Online leaderboards will be incorporated into the title and motion controls thrown into the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions. How? I’m not exactly sure, but I guess we’ll see how it all works soon enough.

On a side note, scanning through the trailer revealed a locked image next to the downloadable platforms, similar locked images appear throughout the games official site hiding hidden content. An iPhone release? A Sega comeback? Dreamcast 2 *fingers crossed*? I’m sure they said that ship had sailed and I’m probably thinking way too hard here. In the meantime we’ll keep you up to date with all the news on Project Needlemouse Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

It’s also worth noting that some more concept art was revealed yesterday (gallery below), as well as some possible intro music to accompany it. More news is planned to surface in the coming days.

UPDATE: Apparently the hidden platform was indeed the iPhone, also what’s up with the Ashlee Simpson connection?

Ever found yourself on the fence about buying a new game? This should get you off it!