June edition of the Digitally Downloaded magazine now live!

It's been a very busy month for us folks at Digitally Downloaded. The good news is that this means our monthly magazine is packed with content.

(click on this link to read: http://issuu.com/MattSainsbury/docs/issue3digitallydownloaded)

So, what's in the June issue? A whole lot of stuff you won't see on the Website, including:

* Interviews with Suda 51, American McGee and board game legend, Reiner Knizia.
* In-depth with the folks at Red Wasp, who are just crazy enough to take a shot at putting a Cthulhu horror game on the iPhone.
* A chat with RPG veteran, Jeff Vogel.

We also have a full wrap-up of E3, full coverage of the Nintendo 3DS eShop launch, and a whole heap of reviews from the past month.

All up, you're getting a 56 page magazine. And the price? Free. We're happy just hearing your feedback.

Have a read! you can find it here: http://issuu.com/MattSainsbury/docs/issue3digitallydownloaded

E3 2011: Arnar's games of win

These are not even my top picks but a fraction of the games I want to play from E3. Two games that are most likely on everybody’s radar and two that are lesser known perhaps. Matt, Owen and Nick have done a great job covering other games you might be excited for.

Review: Alleyway (3DS Virtual Console)

Because the 3DS can play DSiWare games, it’s possible to download and play a little game called Alpha Bounce. It’s a Breakout clone, but with a huge range of RPG-style items to unlock, a massive number of levels to play, and a cool visual style.

Thanks to the launch of the 3DS Virtual Console and Alleyway, it’s also possible to download and play a Breakout clone with a tiny range of levels, boring gameplay and very little replay value.

The Mario themed bonus levels is this game's saving grace

Gamma World has nothing to do with Bruce Banner

No, the incredible Hulk has nothing to do with the upcoming shooter from Atari. This one focuses on everyone's favorite atom smasher- the Large Hadron Collider.

In the fall of 2012, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, embarked on a new series of high-energy experiments.  No one knows exactly what they were attempting to do, but a little after 3pm on a Thursday afternoon came The Big Mistake.  Something unexpected happened, and in the blink of an eye, a multiplicity of possible universes condensed into a single reality.  Welcome to Gamma Terra.

Gamma World features heavy exploration with RPG and shooter elements. And in addition to playing it out solo, you can also get up to four players going at a time online with squad based co-op play.

It sounds fantastic and Atari is promising a lot here; we'll see if they can deliver on LIVE, PSN, and the PC this fall.

E3 2011: Matt's Five

I can’t cover all the games I really, really want after this year’s E3. Owen and Nick have covered off some of the other ones that look like must haves, but if I was just to choose my top five…

E3 2011: Nick's Picks From E3

Yes, that rhyme was intentional and, yes, I am hilarious.

E3 is well underway now and there have been plenty of exciting announcements. A new PlayStation portable device, a new Nintendo console, a plethora of newly announced titles: the list goes on and on. And, while we here at Digitally Downloaded feel that digital distribution is the way of the future, that's not to say that we don't get just as excited about new retail releases as the rest of you.

To that end, here's my top picks of E3 2011, both downloadable and retail.

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (3DS Virtual Console)

I’ve said in the past that I consider The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to be the high point for the series. Since then, we’ve seen a slow degration of quality and soul in the series, and it’s now a shadow of its former self, relying on silly gimmicks to keep it afloat.

So it brings great joy to be able to download and play the second best Zelda game of all time. Link’s Awakening is a true highlight for the series, cramming a hell of a lot of invention, dungeon hacking and an entire new world to explore into a single Game Boy Color cartridge (or in this case, tiny download file). This is the game that kicks off the 3DS Virtual Console experience, and actually manages to be the closest to an ‘everyone must have this’ title on the console to date.

That raccoon is still annoying, even after all these years

Akane the Kunoichi Boss Guide (XBLIG)

We found Akane the Kunoichi to be one of the best Xbox Live Indie Games thus far, delivering tons of ninja action. However, the boss battles can be rather tricky when collecting the kimonos, so we've created a guide that will help you rescue Master Goro from Hiromi’s clutches.

Review: Bumblepig (while you wait for Halo 4... get this!)

What happens when pig meets bumblebee? Flowers get pollinated and hats get worn, that's what.

Games just keep getting weirder

So at first you might be wondering just what exactly a Bumblepig is. Having played through developer Kindling's new offering on the Xbox 360 Live Indie channel, I can safely tell you that... I still don't really know. But it doesn't matter because BP is a really enjoyable little shooter nonetheless.

Review: Super Mario Land (3DS Virtual Console)

Super Mario Land was, with Tetris, the first game I ever owned. And I literally played both to death. It didn’t really surprise me that, despite having not played it in 15 years or so, giving the game a whirl again was a very familiar experience. I still knew where all the little secrets were, and though I was a bit rusty, I still played through the game with minimal fuss.

This is one of the more unusual Mario games, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun

Batman Gotham City Imposters Comes Clean

I never thought I'd see the day that there was a Batman themed FPS but here it is. Gotham City Impostors puts players in the shoes of gang members from The Bats of The Jokerz.

Review: Tennis (3DS Virtual Console)

Tennis on the Game Boy was first released back in 1990. Because this is Digitally Downloaded’s first Game Boy Virtual Console release, I’m going to say this once and only once: these games are overpriced. There is no way a 20 year old game with less content than a free iPhone game is fairly priced at $Au4 or more based on raw content.

That said, there is a nostalgic value to these games, so in the interest of being fair, we’ll review these games as though they are reasonably priced, because Nintendo’s pricing policy isn’t a real reflection of the quality of a game as a game. So, is Tennis a good start for the new download shop?

Who needs awesome 3D visuals when you have simple elegance?

E3 2011: Owen's games of the show

So the big three presentations have drawn to close. The show's not over yet, but now it's time to have a look at the games that each of the Digitally Downloaded staff found most attractive, and what we'll be looking forward to in the coming year.

First up, Owen:

E3 2011: Nintendo wowed and disappointed me greatly

I didn’t watch the Nintendo presentation. 2am in Australia is a horrible time to hold a big event, and sleep won me over despite my best intentions. Since waking up I’ve been catching up like crazy though, and now I know everything Nintendo has let on about the WiiU and 3DS plans.

Nintendo has simultaneously wowed me, and deeply disappointed me. To start with the wow so I don’t appear to be too much of an “anti Nintendo” fanboy or some such:

Welcome to the 100000th gadget you're going to have to carry around now

Warhammer 40K: Kill Team Storms XBLA

Freshly announced from e3 is the arcade, third person shooter- Warhammer 40k: Killteam. THQ is readying this for release slightly before its upcoming retail release, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine.

Where they differ is that while Space Marine will be a much deep, story driven experience, Killteam will be a straight up arcade shooter. And you'll be shooting Orks, lots and lots of Orks. Seems the green-skins have a Waaaagh planned for a nearby Imperial forge world. Think you're gonna stand for that?

In this third person arcade style shooter, players take on the role of an elite Space Marine team sent to assault a giant Ork Kroozer en-route to an Imperial Forge World. Do you have what it takes to take out the Warboss and prevent the Waaaagh?

What's more, there will be a weapon unlock for players who pick up the retail release after playing through this one. Pretty nice and an added incentive for fans to get both games.

Click through the jump for a few more details, no screens yet but we'll have them as soon as they go live-

Street Fighter III Third Strike Announced for XBLA

LIVE already hosts a few Street Fighter games and now you can add one more as one of the more under-appreciated entry's in the series comes to the Xbox 360.

Fight!

Street Fighter III Third Strike: Online Edition is the most complete version of the game to be released and it'll be bringing all the modes and characters that you expect, plus updated graphics, when it comes home later this summer on LIVE.

Click through the break for a feature set including a cool new replay feature-

Nintendo’s e3 2011: News and Opinions

One would be hard-pressed to deny that Nintendo’s 2011 e3 presentation was quite newsworthy. Here at Digitally Downloaded, we’ll outline the news items, as well as our personal opinions each step of the way.

E3 2011: A second look at Microsoft and Sony conferences

Earlier today Matt S posted up his impressions on both Microsoft and Sony's presentations. That was followed with Owen S' own take on Microsoft. Now we have two other Digitally Downloaded staff, Nick J and Arnar L, put up their own takes on what they've seen so far:

E3 2011: In depth analysis: Microsoft keynote

Microsoft's pitch of 2011 E3 proved to be a rather interesting affair. Kinect-heavy and hardcore gaming light, it may have changed the approach Microsoft employs in the market. Is the attack on Nintendo heartland worth the effort?

Review: 3DS eShop

So, the 3DS eShop is finally live, and with that the Nintendo 3DS finally joins us in the world of digitally downloadable content. We'll save the game reviews for the coming days - expect full coverage from us - but in the meantime, how does the shop front itself hold up?

3DS eShop now live; terrible news for DSiWare transfer

The Nintendo 3DS eShop is now live, and with that the ability to transfer most of your DSiWare to the new console.

Unfortuantely there's a hitch: Apparently save games and scores do not transfer over.

Now, on the plus side most DSiWare games were fairly small in size, so the save data loss isn't too critical. The bad side of that of course is if you spent hours upon hours earning a truely elite score in Kubos, then that hard work needs to be done all over again.

Yes, I am really bitter right now (:-P) Beware before you transfer!

We'll check this out personally ASAP and let you know if there is a way to transfer game saves as well. Stay tuned.

E3 2011: Microsoft whimpered, Sony rocked

Given that Kinect has proven to be such a popular technology for Microsoft, it’s no surprise that it featured strongly in the Microsoft presentation – and it’s certainly good to see that the next year of Kinect games will involve more than minigame compilations. Shooters, serious sports games… should they play well 2011 and 2012 will be good years for ‘core’ Kinect owners.

The non-gaming applications coming to Xbox 360 look good too – YouTube, live TV and Virtual Disneyland for the kids are all nice-to-haves that further cement the 360 as an entertainment hub, rather than a ‘mere’ games console.

Is Kinect and a bunch of FPSers really enough for Microsoft?

E3 2011: Why Apple belongs at E3

When we talk about E3, in the main the conversation revolves around three companies; the “Big Three” – Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. The dominant forces in games hardware, the three spruik their wares, amaze us with new hardware promises, and hint and the next year in software.

Review: Pride of Nations (PC)

In Pride of Nations, Paradox Interactive has released an admirable addition to the strategy games. It's a turn based approach to the genre, and offers a realistic, historically accurate, all-encompassing game. This game is definitely on the complicated side, attempting to be a realistic modulator of the times. For the most part, it achieves its aim and thus should be a welcome addition into the strategists library. 

What's this? A Grand Strategy game that is easy on the eyes? Why I never!

Review: The Heist (iPhone)

Most games are easy enough to classify. Call of Duty is a first-person shooter, Resident Evil is a survival horror and Super Mario Bros. is a platformer. You see? Simple. But every once in a while a game comes along that blurs the lines between genrés. A game that just can't be categorized or classified as anything else. Something that really makes people sit up and take notice.

Sadly, The Heist is not that game. It's a puzzle game, through and through.

See? Puzzle!

What makes it noticeable, however, is the way it blurs the lines between advertising and gaming. Follow me on this one:

Editorial: Why now is a good time for Nintendo acquisition

When I look over all the games (and indeed, IT in general) companies out there, Nintendo strikes me as the one that really should be acquired next. Why? Because it would be a massively beneficial acquisition for both Nintendo, and whoever acquires it.

Based on the 3DS, and what seems likely to be in the successor to the Wii (currently titled Project Café), one thing that has struck me about Nintendo is how much it is struggling to find relevance in a market that is increasingly about offering more that one service. The PlayStation 3 and PSP offer movies, subscription music services, comics, remote play and TV. The Xbox 360 has streaming Pay TV and a whole host of other services within its subscription online account. The iPhone and the iPad feature gaming almost as an afterthought – they do movies, music, social networking, non-gaming apps, and just about everything else.

E3 2011: Games we're looking forward to at Digitally Downloaded Part 2

E3 is always an exciting time of year for us, and 2011 is no different; both in terms of hardware and games this looks like it's going to be one of the biggest shows yet... which means the next 12 months of gaming is also going to be a whole lot of fun.

So what will Digitally Downloaded be looking at the most? Here's a preview of some of the games we're keen to see in action. (And make sure you check out the first part of the piece here)

Review: Akane the Kunoichi (Xbox 360)

Whatever stance you take on the great pirate versus ninja debate, it’s tough to deny the overwhelming appeal of these assassins. While both clans have their fair share of video game adaptations, some are more successful than others. Enter Akane, a kunoichi (female ninja) whose skills are second to none. Her platforming game is not only a solid argument for ninja superiority, but proof that independent developers can craft some of the best titles available on download services already full of quality.

Sold.

E3 2011: Games we're looking forward to at Digitally Downloaded

E3 is always an exciting time of year for us, and 2011 is no different; both in terms of hardware and games this looks like it's going to be one of the biggest shows yet... which means the next 12 months of gaming is also going to be a whole lot of fun.

So what will Digitally Downloaded be looking at the most? Here's a preview of some of the games we're keen to see in action.

Review: AR! Pirates (iPhone)

Incorporating augmented reality technology, AR! Pirates uses an innovative approach to gaming on the iPhone. For those who don't know, augmented reality gaming involves using your device's camera to utilise your environment as part of the game. Despite having access to this new technology, AR! Pirates is a let-down in almost every other department.

Get off my table top!

It Looks Like It's Our Payday! ... Get It?

So in some exciting news, Sony Online Entertainment has announced a new downloadable title that's going to be coming our way, and it looks like we've hit the jackpot.

Payday: The Heist will have gamers teaming up together to, you guessed it, heist a bank. It's as if Overkill Software, the team behind the game, took the premise from the best part of Kane and Lynch: Dog Days and combined it with the AI from Left 4 Dead. If that doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will.

The game is designed as a first-person shooter, which is an interesting choice considering a main component of gameplay has to do with cooperative tactics. The game will boast four-person co-op and, as far as I can tell, no competitive multiplayer. Obviously, the objective of each map is to break in, deal with hostages, steal the goods and get out, all the while having to deal with the fuzz.

With six different scenarios, dynamically adaptive AI (think of the AI Director from Left 4 Dead) and a character specialty progression tree, Overkill promises endless replayability. Add the fact that we've been promised future DLC such as additional heists, weapons and equipment, and this has suddenly shot up to the top of my "most anticipated" downloadable titles.

The game is apparently coming to the PSN as well as to PC. We'll keep you posted on any additional news about Payday: The Heist when we find out. I'm assuming we'll hear some more about it over E3 so if this sounds like your sort of gaming, keep your eyes peeled.