Tom Clancy’s: The Division is a new original game from Ubisoft Massive. This developer originally started out as Massive Entertainment in 1997 and worked on some great strategy games like Ground Control and World in Conflict. When they were picked up by Ubisoft in 2008, they helped put out with Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Far Cry 3. The pedigree of this studio is great. The other side of this story is the Tom Clancy name. Those with a long memory will remember his name hitting games as far back as 1998 with the original Rainbow Six but games based upon his books reach all the way back to 1987. In a rapidly evolving industry, the Tom Clancy name has brought to life several innovative and popular franchises like the aforementioned Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and several others. There were a few misses but for the most part, it has been a mark of a quality game. Especially with the resurgence of Rainbow Six with Siege this past year, the name being on The Division should indicate some confidence on the part of Ubisoft and Massive. With these two facts combined, the pedigree of the studio and the Tom Clancy name, this should make anyone hyped about the potential of this game.
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Remember the 90’s when weird arena based fighting games all came out of the woodwork? After games like Ballz, Wargods, Zero Divide, Destrega, Virtual On, Power Stone 1 and 2, and Battle Arena Toshinden, the genre saw a massive exodus. With only Dead or Alive and Soul Caliber remaining as the bastion of the sub-genre. Now in 2016, there is a new game that revives the idea of the weird arena fighter. Bandai Namco and the Pokémon Company have teamed up to make Pokkén Tournament. The result is a much better game than any of those examples, even if it’s a bit lacking in features.
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While Digimon has existed for many years, there was a whole bunch of games which mostly stayed in Japan, or were of poor quality. The higher quality Digimon games didn’t start showing up until the PSP release of Re:Digitize, but even that game didn’t make the trip over. Thankfully, before all hope was lost, Bandai Namco decided to localize Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. While the localization is far from perfect and the game itself has some issues, it’s still a fun time and it shouldn’t be overlooked.
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Fire Emblem: Awakening was Intelligent Systems planned final game in the series. But due to their efforts, it ended a huge success, selling over 2 million globally. It effectively revitalized the franchise. With the tweaks made to the long standing formula, the game would seem hard to top. While Fire Emblem Fates manages this, it only just barely accomplished this task: Which is still a fact worth celebrating, even if it was split into three parts. Birthright, the more casual of the two titles, may not have the level of strategy seen in Conquest, but it’s still a great standalone game in its own right.
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RPG Maker produced games often don’t get much press when it comes to online gaming sites, so maybe it’s time to change that. While the engine has it’s foibles, the toolkit can churn out some great stuff, especially with the implementation of custom scripts. However, Echoes of Aetheria from Dancing Dragon Games is still an RPG Maker game, and it can’t escape the engine’s problems, for better or worse. Thankfully, these issues can be looked passed, as there’s a great game here with some interesting ideas.
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Today, Ubisoft announced that TrackMania Turbo, the latest installment in the TrackMania franchise developed by Nadeo, a Ubisoft studio, will be released on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC on March 22, 2016.

TrackMania Turbo features an easy to learn, difficult to master arcade racing universe with time attack gameplay where players set their own limits and challenges. The game revolves around an exhilarating combination of matchbox car fantasy and massive scale, focused on the pursuit of the perfect run around the track.

Using the Trackbuilder tool, players can build an infinite number of tracks to train and challenge their skills. TrackMania Turbo also includes more than 200 head-spinning tracks set in four beautiful environments, each with their own driving style: Rollercoaster Lagoon, International Stadium, Canyon Grand Drift and Valley Down & Dirty.

The brand-new Rollercoaster Lagoon is set in a tropical paradise, where drivers must race through sunny beaches and magnetic rollercoasters. The fan favorite International Stadium is back, along with the Canyon Grand Drift and Valley Down & Dirty environments, all reworked with updated graphics, gameplay, dedicated new car designs and a new artistic direction, creating a visual identity that immerses gamers in the arcade racing experience more than ever.

Launch Trailer (not in 360°):

Trackmania Turbo – 360° demo – Canyon Grand Drift (Swing your Smartphone around in the YouTube App or Desktop: use your mouse to drag and look around!):

Trackmania Turbo – 360° demo – Valley Down & Dirty (Swing your Smartphone around in the YouTube App. Desktop: use your mouse to drag and look around!)

To learn more about TrackMania Turbo, visit trackmania.com.

Nintendo of Canada is hosting a Pre-Launch Event for Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. Both titles will be launching for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on February 19.

Nintendo of Canada inviting you to choose your path and play these games early in Toronto, Canada. Bring your Nintendo 3DS system to take advantage of Street Pass opportunities in Mii Plaza! There will also be exclusive Fire Emblem Fates T-shirts* given to the first 100 people to choose each path, don’t miss out!

You MUST RSVP:
· Space is limited! Please RSVP by visiting the event page.

When:
· Friday, February 12, 2016
· Drop in between 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Where:

Snell Hall – 65 Church St. Toronto, ON, M5C 2E9 – View Map

Event Details:

· Event is restricted to ages 13+.
· Food and beverages are not permitted at this event.

*Limit one T-shirt per person, while quantities last.

It’s been almost three years since Mario & Luigi: Dream Team came out in 2013, and only a bit longer since the 2012 release of the oft-reviled Paper Mario: Sticker Star. So it’s been too long time since both series has seen a follow-up game, and in the case of Paper Mario, a one most people would agree is great. Even Nintendo had a hard time deciding which series should get another shot at the chance to make players satisfied. So Alpha Dream and Intelligent Systems decided to meet each other half-way, and make a mash-up of the two. What we get is Paper Jam, which is every bit as good as those two series. Although that’s also for better and worse, thankfully it’s mostly good.
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Our sister site GearTactics has reviewed the Kangaroo Mini PC by inFocus. This is a $99 mini Windows 10 PC that can be used for surfing and office work. We decide to push our luck and do some gaming and MAME emulation with it also!

Available at NewEgg and the Microsoft Store Canada and USA. Thanks to inFocus for sending us the Kangaroo Mini PC for review unit!

There hasn’t been a lot of noise on the Wii U front since Super Mario Maker came out earlier this year to much acclaim. We were supposed to get a new Star Fox, but that got delayed to 2016, so Nintendo put out Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash to try and smooth things over. Now normally, despite our mixed feelings about so-called “rehashes”, we’ve found plenty to like about these sorts of releases as they tend to build on a tried and true formula and give us something better. Unfortunately this time the tactic strikes us as far too cynical and unambitious to recommend.
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