Archive for May, 2014


Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) Review

Thursday, May 29th, 2014

Mario-Kart-8

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Kart Racing
Players: 1-4 locally, 1-2 per system online, up to 12 per lobby online
Console: Wii U
Hours Played: 13 hours and 38 minutes
Progress: Placed first in all 50cc and 100cc cups (unlocking all characters), earned more than 1200 points in online multiplayer

The Wii U is unarguably in need of a killer app to drive sales and really get the ball rolling on the current generation of Nintendo home systems.  Pikmin 3, Wind Waker HD, and even a brand new Super Mario 3D World, while excellent games in their own rights, all failed at accomplishing this task one-by-one in recent months.  Even the two most recent entries in the Mario Kart series were fairly disappointing in many respects, with broken battle modes that skewed greatly toward the unskilled and rather tepid graphics.  So, with the weight of past missteps and a dire need to move systems looming over its head, is Mario Kart 8 the light at the end of the tunnel that will push the Wii U out of its slump and into the hearts and living rooms of the world?  Read on to find out wherefore kart thou Mario.

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Official Wii U GCN Controller Adapter Announced

Thursday, May 29th, 2014

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Even though we reviewed an excellent Wii remote GCN controller adapter not to long ago, Nintendo has gone and made them largely useless by announcing that they will make a GameCube controller adapter and limited edition Smash Bros. branded GCN controller available so that we can continue to play Smash Bros. as it was meant to be played.

No details yet on its price or release, but we’ll keep you posted on any other information Nintendo releases about it.  You can see the video they made to announce it here.

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Smash-Fest @ Best Buy Canada Locations

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

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Best Buy has released a list of the Canadian Best Buy locations where lucky gamers will be able to play the new Wii U Smash Bros. well before it comes out.  You can check out the list of dates, times, and locations below or go to the announcement page here for more information.

June 11:

Province City Store Name Address Time
QC Quebec Quebec City 5401 Boulevard des Galaries 4-9pm
NS Halifax Halifax 11 Washmill Lake Drive 4-9pm
ON Mississauga Mississauga 1-6075 Mavis Rd 4-9pm
AB Edmonton Edmonton South 9931-19th Ave NW 4-9pm
ON Scarborough Scarborough 480 Progress Ave 4-9pm
AB Calgary Deerfoot Meadows 300-8180 11th st SE 4-9pm
MB Winnipeg Winnipeg 10-1580 Regent Ave W 4-9pm
AB Edmonton Edmonton North 13924-137th Ave NW 4-9pm
BC Vancouver Cambie 2220 Cambie St 4-9pm
ON Barrie Barrie 100 Mapleview Dr 4-9pm
ON Brampton Brampton 451-25 Peel Centre Dr 4-9pm
BC Surrey Surrey 2153-10153 King George Hwy 4-9pm
QC Montreal Marche Central 8871 De L’Acadie Blvd 4-9pm
ON Kingston Kingston 770 Gardiners Rd 4-9pm
QC Anjou Anjou 7200 Blvd des Roseries 4-9pm
QC Lasalle Lasalle 7077 Boul Newman 4-9pm
QC Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire 6815 Trans-Canada Hwy 4-9pm
SK Saskatoon Saskatoon 20A-3310 8th St E 4-9pm
ON Kanata Kanata 745 Kanata Ave 4-9pm
ON Toronto Bay and Dundas 65 Dundas St W 4-9pm
ON London London 1080 Wellington Rd 4-9pm
BC Burnaby Metrotown 4805 Kingsway 4-9pm

 

 June 14:

Province City Store Name Address Time
QC Quebec Quebec City 5401 Boulevard des Galaries 12-5PM
NS Halifax Halifax 11 Washmill Lake Drive 12-5PM
ON Mississauga Mississauga 1-6075 Mavis Rd 12-5PM
AB Edmonton Edmonton South 9931-19th Ave NW 12-5PM
ON Scarborough Scarborough 480 Progress Ave 12-5PM
AB Calgary Deerfoot Meadows 300-8180 11th st SE 12-5PM
MB Winnipeg Winnipeg 10-1580 Regent Ave W 12-5PM
AB Edmonton Edmonton North 13924-137th Ave NW 12-5PM
BC Vancouver Cambie 2220 Cambie St 12-5PM
ON Barrie Barrie 100 Mapleview Dr 12-5PM
ON Brampton Brampton 451-25 Peel Centre Dr 12-5PM
BC Surrey Surrey 2153-10153 King George Hwy 12-5PM
QC Montreal Marche Central 8871 De L’Acadie Blvd 12-5PM
ON Kingston Kingston 770 Gardiners Rd 12-5PM
QC Anjou Anjou 7200 Blvd des Roseries 12-5PM
QC Lasalle Lasalle 7077 Boul Newman 12-5PM
QC Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire 6815 Trans-Canada Hwy 12-5PM
SK Saskatoon Saskatoon 20A-3310 8th St E 12-5PM
ON Kanata Kanata 745 Kanata Ave 12-5PM
ON Toronto Bay and Dundas 65 Dundas St W 12-5PM
ON London London 1080 Wellington Rd 12-5PM
BC Burnaby Metrotown 4805 Kingsway 12-5PM

 

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Game Usagi Opens – Loot Crate May 2014

Monday, May 26th, 2014

The first episode of Game Usagi Opens featuring Loot Crate May 2014.

If you’d like to get a Loot Crate of your own, you can go here: http://mbsy.co/lootcrate/5202985 and even use the code JUNELOOT to knock $3 off of your order.

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Game Usagi Plays Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

Nintendo sent us a review copy of Mario Kart 8, so we’re hard at work play checking out everything the game has to offer.  Check out the video above or on our YouTube channel to see some Mii gameplay on the new Thwomp Ruins course.  We’ll have a full review up for the game soon, so watch this space.

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Canadian Mario Kart Event on May 24th

Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

mario-kart-8-canada-best-buyNintendo is having an event in Canada to promote Mario Kart 8 by letting you play it almost a week early from 12:00pm – 4:00pm on Saturday, May 24th at Best Buys across the country.  The selection of Best Buy locations hosting the event is a little smaller than it was for last year’s Best Buy Nintendo E3 Experience, so check them out here to see if you can satisfy your need for karting speed a little early.  Check back here on the 24th for some videos/pictures showing off Mario Kart 8 in action.

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Pocket Couture Earphones

Monday, May 5th, 2014

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Manufacturer: Degauss Labs
Current Retail Price: 24.95 USD (one-button), 34.95 USD (three-button)

The headphone market these days is completely swamped with products of all shapes, sizes, and prices. While many of them are mediocre and interchangeable, there are brands like Dr. Dre’s beats and SkullCandy that have at least managed to make a name for themselves among the large corporations like Sony, Klipsch, Sennheiser, and Creative. Degauss Labs’ Pocket Couture (PC) line of headphones, while oozing with style from the packaging to the logo printed on their flat cable, are very obviously attempting to make a name for themselves by catching some of the sizable crowd of consumers flocking to the redesigned EarPods that Apple launched in late 2012. From the earbud design to the exact same price this smaller Swedish headphone company is aiming straight for the top of the midrange earbud market with its Pocket Coutures, but are they really a viable alternative to the intensely engineered Apple devices?  Read on to find out if we think the PCs successfully blend style with function.

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