Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Out This Week

Donkey Kong! Mario! Sly! BlazBlue!

Robert Purchese avatar
News by Robert Purchese Associate Editor
Updated on
10 comments

Don't say you never get core releases on Wii because look, it's Super Mario Bros.! Super Mario Bros. 1, 2 and 3, actually. They're stuffed like chickens into Super Mario All-Stars, a boxset to celebrate 25 years of the portly plumber. There's even a snazzy booklet to read while you reminisce. And Eurogamer wrote a Super Mario Bros. 3 retrospective at the weekend, so you know it's good..

The old games don't stop there: Donkey Kong Country returns this week in, er, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Sly Cooper has come back to life on PlayStation 3! More on those below.

Also of note: the fantastic Air Traffic Chaos under the name of Air Traffic Controller on DS. Simply keep those planes on schedule and not on top of each other or crashed into a tropical island beach. Questionable body scanning and frisking allowed, probably.

Do look out for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, too. It's no Street Fighter, but this sprightly and spritey 2D fighter is certainly a peer. "As a follow-up to one of the most innovative and accomplished 2D fighters in recent years, Continuum Shift is a worthy successor which refines the BlazBlue formula," wrote Eurogamer reviewer Matthew Edwards.

There's more Harvest Moon this week too, plus karaoke on Wii and zombie co-op shooter Dead Nation on PSN - loads more about that on the European PlayStation blog (it's out tomorrow).

This Week In Shops!

Donkey Kong Country Returns

  • Developer: Retro Studios
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Formats: Wii

What is it? A cherished co-op platform game faithfully recreated for Wii. What does Eurogamer think? Fanatical Donkey Kong Country fan Ellie Gibson awarded a sky-scraping 9/10: "This game has the potential to win over a whole new generation, and to do so without eliciting any whinges from those of us old enough to remember the taste of a McRib washed down with Tab Clear.... If you're looking for a bit of fun, old school escapism this Christmas, pick up a copy of DKC Returns. It's great to be back in the old Country."

Donkey Kong Country Returns does what it says on the tin.

The Sly Trilogy

  • Developer: Sucker Punch
  • Publisher: Sony
  • Formats: PS3

What is it? An HD, Blu-ray conversion of the three PS2 Sly Cooper games. It even supports 3D. What does Eurogamer think? Christian Donlan smothered it in 9/10 affection: "You've got three of the most endearing platformers ever created to pick over, and an unlockable teaser trailer hinting that a fourth instalment is on the way. Sly 4, finally! That's something to think about. However that turns out, Sucker Punch has already ensured it will have a lot to live up to."

Sly's alone. Say it a few times.

What Else?

  • Super Mario All Stars (Wii)
  • BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (PS3, 360)
  • Air Traffic Controller (DS)
  • Harvest Moon Animal Parade (Wii)
  • Harvest Moon 3 Sunshine Island (DS)
  • Dead Nation (PSN)
  • U-Sing 2 (Wii)

Chart Predictions!

Each week one of the team will step up to predict the UK all-formats chart. The following predicts the outcome for the week beginning Friday 3rd December (to be reported on Monday 6th December).

Johnny Minkley, Editor, Eurogamer TV

"All the big 'event' games are out and thoughts turn rapidly and desperately to Christmas presents. As such, I wouldn't expect a great deal of movement between now and the end of the year beyond those already up there swapping around a bit. GT5 might just have enough gas in the tank for one more week at the top. FIFA's traditional December surge ought to be enough for it to nick third spot from Ubisoft. Fifth place, meanwhile, is a toss-up between NFS (a series which knows a thing or two about Christmas No.1s), Just Dance 2 and Wii Party. I'm going for the latter because I want to play Hide and Hunt with JLS. "

  1. Gran Turismo 5
  2. Call of Duty: Black Ops
  3. FIFA 11
  4. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  5. Wii Party

Eurogamer Deputy Editor Ellie Gibson peered into her crystal ball last week. She said Gran Turismo 5 would be top, Call of Duty: Black Ops second, Michael Jackson: The Experience third, FIFA 11 fourth and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood fifth. How did she do?

UK All-Formats Top 5 (reported this morning)

  1. Gran Turismo 5
  2. Call of Duty: Black Ops
  3. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  4. FIFA 11
  5. Just Dance 2

Read this next