14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo made their core audience happy at its E3 press conference, announcing new titles in the Donkey Kong and Mario franchises. Donkey Kong Country Returns is the long-awaited appearance of the iconic Donkey Kong character on the Wii. Mario's presence on the Wii will be complemented by a new sports game, entitled Mario Sports Mix.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 2.5D platformer that will be released during this holiday, according to Nintendo. The developer is promising to bring back and expand upon the elements that made the original installments great. The trailer showed Donkey and Diddy Kong running, jumping, swinging on ropes and collecting bananas exactly like in a classic iteration of the title. However, this time around, the Wii's 3D graphics will provide animated backgrounds that will have a kind of bearing on the gameplay mechanics.
Mario Sports Mix will have Mario, Yoshi, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong and more engaged in four sports: volleyball, basketball, ice hockey and dodge ball. The gameplay will comply to the basic rules of the sports, but with twist, specific to the Nintendo characters. For example, there will be a power-up in the form a mushroom that will shrink the volleyball exactly before it passes to the other team's field.
There will also be special attacks for every character, like a fireball for Mario or a heart-filled attack move from Princess Peach. There will be various levels with gimmicks, like a volleyball court that slides from left to right or a basketball court with areas that will give power-ups for the players who pass through them. Local competitive play was also announced, with up to four people being able to have fun together with the game. Mario Sports Mix is being developed by Square Enix and will be launched sometime next year.