Wii Previews

Nintendo really pulled the wool over our eyes with this one. The announcement of a new Kirby title isn’t normally the sort of business that gets us rocking, but what followed during Nintendo’s E3 presentation were three of the most inventive and charming minutes of gaming we’ve seen since, ooh, Mario Galaxy 2...

We’ve been in love with Epic Yarn since its cheerful E3 debut, so the fact our latest round of hands-on time left us brimming with joy should come as no surprise. We knew the game’s world, which is made up of string and other storybook-like fabrics, was immensely charming and destined to be one of the most alluring games in Wii’s entire library, but we had a sneaking suspicion the actual gameplay might be too straightforward. Thankfully that’s not the case, as Epic Yarn is loaded with rewards and incentives to keep playing.

At this risk of spewing pro-Nintendo hyperbole, Epic Yarn is the cutest, most charming game on the Wii. Even our bitterly aging gamer hearts melted at the game’s adorable visual style, which presents the entire world as one made of yarn and other soft, fuzzy fabrics. Kirby himself exists only as a piece of malleable yarn that shape-shifts and stretches as needed – for example, he can whip out a piece of string and snag enemies, or transform into a car when dashing or a sub while underwater, or a huggable parachute to slow your descent. The constant motion and bounciness is quite infectious, as if daring you not to smile...

As we've seen with Canvas Curse, Mass Attack and Epic Yarn, Kirby excels at trying new things. But what about the classic Kirby gameplay the series is most well-known for? What if sometimes all we want to do is inhale a bunch of enemies, absorb their powers, and float around like a puffy pink cloud all day? Well, that's where Kirby Wii comes in. If you yearn for a new Kirby game that harkens back to Kirby classics like Kirby's Adventure and Dreamland 2, read on...

With its official title finally announced, Kirby's Return to Dream Land firmly positions itself as a throwback to classic Kirby of yore. We've loved Kirby's more experimental forays like Canvas Curse and Epic Yarn, but the time seems right to finally bring a more traditional Kirby to Wii. And if you didn't think Kirby was adorable before, it's getting even tougher to deny it now...

You know what was a great game that you didn’t play? Klonoa on the PSOne. Released in small supply and now fetching surprisingly high prices on eBay, the first game in an underrated platforming series at last gets a rerelease, on the Wii specifically. Now a whole new generation can have some 2.5D fun with the adorable… what is he? A rabbit-koala-cat?

Klonoa deserves better. A creature of indeterminate species wearing a Pac-Man baseball cap and with ears with hands on the end, he starred in a couple of brilliant PlayStation games before being lost down the back of the mascot sofa. Well, he’s back. Or, rather, Namco Bandai has finally remembered what he’s good at, after a few average handheld titles and the head-slapping misfire that was Klonoa Beach Volleyball.

Oh dear. We’re only one sentence into KORE’s accompanying PR prattle and we’ve already found a ‘kooky’, an ‘insane’ and a – gulp – ‘zany’. The alarm bells skip ‘going off’ and go straight to ‘explode’. The item bringing out these most dreaded of adjectives? That would be the titular KORE vehicles/suits. Think Mario meets mechs and you’re nearly