Sure as the sun rises and falls, sure as another week passes - it's the weekly news round-up. Let's get to it!
LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids sneaks up behind you
Ninja LEGO? Yes please.
While usually the news of any new LEGO game would be enough to get us excited, Ninjago has us intrigued for several reasons. First off, it's a 3DS and PS Vita exclusive, shunning the home consoles altogether (much like the last LEGO Ninjago game, which was only on the DS). Secondly, it's based on the LEGO Ninjago: Rebooted TV series. And last, and perhaps most importantly, it's not developed by LEGO stalwart Traveller's Tales, with the work instead being handled by Hellbent Games - the developers of the last LEGO Ninjago game. Set to offer something a little bit different to the usual co-op LEGO experience, Ninjago appears to be single player, and much more action oriented, with 30 levels of baddy smashing goodness to play through. While all we have by way of a release date so far is a vague "this summer", we'll be keeping an eye out for this one.
Wolfenstein offers a different take on '60s music
Upcoming WW2 first person shooter Wolfenstein: The New Order promises to offer players a view of an alternate-reality 60s world - a world where Nazi Germany won the war, conquered pretty much the every country going, and then took their rightful place in every major historical event over the next two decades. Rather than the Americans landing on the moon, it was the Germans, for example - but Wolfenstein promises to go that much further, having even commissioned a number of bizarre, German language knock-offs in a 60s fashion, to make up the soundtrack of the upcoming game. Rather than the swinging pop of the Beatles, we have (that's right) Die Kafer, with Mond Mond, Ja Ja, instead of the Monkees, we have Die Schäferhunde, with Zug nach Hamburg, and replacing the Beach Boys is the Comet Tails, with their smash Weltraumsurfen. Beyond just making for a fantastically cheesy trailer (found above), you can also listen to full versions of the songs at the game's promotional site, Neumond Recordings
Xbox One punishes bad players
It sees all.
It's a familiar problem - you're trying to enjoy a quite online deathmatch with your friends, and along comes some snotty nosed teen with a foul mouth, who thinks he's 'ard because he's having a go at you and your party. While Xbox Live has long been plagued with these tough nut wannabes, Microsoft's latest console, the Xbox One, has always promised a rather different online experience - and now the company have revealed how they're going to enforce it. With a similar feedback system in place to the Xbox 360, the people you play with will be able to submit feedback based on how much they like playing with you. If you're constantly camping and bad-mouthing, they'll give you a negative report - and if you get enough negative feedback, it'll actually start to have consequences. From taking away Twitch streaming privileges, to the long-awaited restrictions on matchmaking, which will see scumbags only get paired with scumbags online, this could help make Xbox Live a much more welcoming place - although we do wonder how much scope there is for abuse of the feedback system by bad losers (or bad winners).
Sonic Lost World adds a Legend of Zelda stage
Depending on your view, this is either the closest a game has ever come to blasphemy, or one of the coolest cross-overs that's ever happened - at least, since Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright hit the shelves earlier today, anyway. Available now on the Wii U eShop as a free download for anyone who bought the decidedly average Sonic Lost World, is a brand new level that places SEGA's long time mascot Sonic into the green garments of Link, and the world of Zelda. Collect rupees, dash into long-time Zelda baddies, and enjoy one of the strangest cross-overs we've ever seen, all for free, by downloading the stage from the Nintendo eShop. Even if you weren't a fan of Lost World, it's probably worth delving back into it for this.
Tomodachi Collection coming to the UK
And finally, some good news for lovers of bizarre games, as there have been some strong hints that oddball 3DS game, Tomodachi Collection, may soon be hitting these shores. A strange "life simulator", along the lines of the Sims, or Animal Crossing, it's a game where almost anything can, and will happen, as you add a cast of characters of Miis to a village, whether it's your friends, your parents, or a celebrity, and interact with them as they go about their lives, with some hilarious possibilities. While nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet, a survey has been spotted on the internet that introduces the game to players, and asks what they think of it, showing screenshots with English text, which suggests the game may already have been localised... We're looking forward to this one.
