Ice Cream Surfer tells the story of a maniacal vegetable hell bent on destroying the sugary world of the flying gelato-influenced heroes, but just as fast food and candy treats are light on essential nutrients and likely to do you more harm than good, this is a game that is probably best left on the shelf, with other far more healthy options available to the discerning shooter fan.
Triple Deluxe is a solid platformer bookended by some great extras, even if it is pretty easy, give or take a couple of tricky boss encounters. It lacks the sense of wonderment that Epic Yarn generated with its incredible use of texture, humour and verve, yet is still well worth a look -and is perhaps the finest handheld outing for the cerise sucker. Another understated triumph for Nintendo, then.
Originally a PC release, the Wii U is a fine platform for Unepic, and it's another worthwhile addition to the eShop library. It can be quite frustratingly difficult at times, and the constant geeky references to everything from Star Wars to the worlds of Gary Gygax may not sit well with everyone – one particular misfiring side quest involving bureaucrats may be enough to turn off some gamers – but for those who enjoy old school platform action, this generously sized Spanish-crafted effort will be manna from heaven.
Although it has flaws, you have to hand it to Nintendo for spicing up their eShop catalogue with something a bit different. Well put together by a developer who have a nice little niche carved out when it comes to this sort of thing, indieszero have made the most of the raw materials that EAD have given them.
[RUSH] is another fine effort from Two Tribes, who seem to have carved themselves out a nice little niche delivering quality puzzle fare to the Nintendo masses.
Edge has a lot to give you. You can pick it up and whizz through a few levels at your leisure and just enjoy the blocky, bleepy wonderfulness of it all. Or you can focus on becoming a master of the flashy balancing trickery, eking every last drop out of it, keeping your best times as low as they can possibly be, not missing one damn prism.
On the flipside, for those that are completists, who want to eke every drop out of their Layton, there is a staggering amount of depth here, not just from the multiple puzzles,but from the way all of the mini-games are directly tied into the main adventure, and the Treasure Hunt mode can actually provide a beneficial reason to keep your idling 3DS in your pocket, lest you have a cheeky StreetPass encounter that will unlock a juicy reward. The 3DS has certainly come of age this year, and this is another sterling effort that combines expert design with frankly gorgeous looks and sounds.