Nintendo battles for next-gen attention via Super Smash Bros 4

With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One snapping up all the next-gen headlines, Nintendo is looking to bring the fight to its rivals in 2014 via a couple of new titles including the highly anticipated Super Smash Bros 4.

This title is being developed for the Wii U as well as the 3DS by Namco Bandai and sees a whole barrage of familiar Nintendo characters returning to battle it out in this fighting franchise, along with a couple of new contenders the likes of Mega Man and the Wii Fit Trainer.

Although Killer Instinct and Injustice: Gods Among Us (quick review) might appeal more to traditional fighter game fanatics, this offering will surely pack an acquisition wallop for a more mainstream market who grew up with Mario and Luigi, Link, Sonic, Pikachu, and Donkey Kong.

New story trailer for Thief sneaks in

It would be no exaggeration to say that one of our much anticipated games for next year, Thief, is a long time coming. Now, Square Enix has only upped the anticipation with the release of its second story trailer, that shows a bit more of the world aka The City that Master Thief Garret will find himself in.

Since Thief details have a pesky habit of sneaking in under the cloak of darkness, you may well have missed the first trailer, which introduces The City as well as Garret. The new second trailer introduces the Queen of the Beggars and builds up the enticingly creepy mood generated by the first.

Suffice to say, the more we see of Thief, the more alluring it becomes, and the more we are reminded of last year’s excellent Dishonored (review). Thankfully, there is not too much of a wait ahead, as the game arrives at the end of February on PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC. In the meantime, take a look at the duo of trailers below.

Warner Bros releases new Lego The Hobbit trailer

Yet another trailer to surface this week is Lego The Hobbit, courtesy of Warner Bros. The trailer below is a mix of fantastic voice overs, epic music and of course, the Lego games’ trademark sense of humour. Naturally, it helps if you’ve seen at least the first movie, but if you like your spoofs to come in small breakable pieces, then you will definitely want to take a look at the video below. Just watch till the end (trust us on that).

Only helping matters is the fact that the final game will be arriving on just about every console out there at present, including the Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC, 3DS, and PS Vita, so players of all platforms will have nary an excuse not to embark on an adventure.

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse to slither onto Vita

PS Vita as well as adventure game fans have been given an early Xmas present by video game company Revolution Software, who has made the next chapter in the Broken Sword franchise available on the PlayStation Store and Steam. Like Leisure Suit Larry, this popular game series has been given a new lease on life courtesy of Kickstarter. Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse obtained enough donations via the crowdsourcing website last year to make its way to the PS Vita, Windows PC, Mac, as well as Linux-powered computers.

Within this title, series protagonists George Stobbart and Nico Collard find themselves on yet another globe-trotting adventure, until a robbery and murder turns their tourist plans all topsy turvy. Catch a glimpse of the action on Vita in the trailer posted below.

New mobile games make it to the store

If your gaming is mobilely inclined on iOS and Android devices, then you may well have a good weekend ahead, as a few long awaited new mobile games have finally arrived this week. The first of these is puzzle game Cut the Rope 2, a full sequel to the Original Cut the Rope that spawned its spinoffs, Cut the Rope: Time Travel and Cut the Rope: Experiments.

Another game that finally made its appearance is Before the Nexus, the companion app/endless runner game to Ratchet and Clank: Nexus (review) on the PS3. Given that it was slated to appear sometime in November, without any further word being released about it, we feared the worst, and had half resigned ourselves to the app being lost in space. Happily, that is not the case, and as endless runners go, it has a fair amount of familiar Ratchet and Clank gameplay on offer. It’s also free and synchronises with the console version.

Finally, Deus Ex: The Fall has had a fall of its own, in price that is, and is currently sitting on an augmented price point of R10.   

Do you have the Gaul for more war strategy?

Sega is preparing to annex more gaming time of strategy game fans courtesy of the first expansion pack for Total War: Rome II, dubbed Caesar in Gaul, which is now available on Steam. As its name suggests, this campaign expansion pack covers Julius Caesar’s war of expansion against the Gaulish tribes. Players can choose from four playable factions in this conflict: the Gallic Arverni, the Germanic Suebi, the Belgic Nervii as well as Rome, in a campaign inspired by Caesar’s Commentarii de bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic war).

Gamers will plot their warmongering plans on a new campaign map that delivers a more detailed vision of Gaul and the south coast of Britannia. Multiple turns per year (up to 24), seasonal changes, as well as new gameplay effects and visual alterations will also be offered within this standalone expansion that costs around R155.

Contributions by Hanleigh Daniels.