Family Gaming News May #1 - Disney Infinity 2.0 DLC Option, Nintendo Goes A Bit Skylanders

Trap Team details, Disney Infinity 2.0 DLC option and Nintendo saves the Wii U with Skylander style figures and games.

Skylanders
As rumoured, the new Skylanders game is called Skylanders: Trap Team. The main new features are the Trap Master type of Skylander and the separate trap objects. The traps are made of "traptanium", and can be used to trap villains from the game to then be sent back in to fight for good rather than evil.

Trap Team will be available on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, 3DS, Wii U, and -- a relief to many families -- Wii. With a new starter pack, the Trap Masters, new more basic Skylanders, and those different traps, that's a lot of new stuff to buy. Is this new trapping mechanic worth it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT_J7h0MRyQ&list=PL02RKkMS5T4iCxb6e735Ars8_Uy87__xn

Disney Infinity 2.0
Not to be outdone, Disney Infinity had its own announcement recently, for its new game Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes. A starter pack that contains Black Widow, Thor, and Captain America, two power discs, and the Marvel Avengers Playset, but there may also be other non-Marvel characters coming to the game -- you can see Merida, Maleficent, and Stitch in the trailer.

According to our contact at Disney there is also a DLC option for owners of the original game that grants access to the new features and Marvel playsets. This, together with the full support of all the old toys and the new upgrade Skills Tree, makes for great value.

Although there is no Wii version of Disney Infinity 2.0, it seems that you will be able to re-use your Wii portal and figures on the Wii U if you purchase the game via the eShop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypjaDwrMeeg&list=PL02RKkMS5T4ih3VjZ3E57r4y4G1uxCtg3

Nintendo
Announced that it will also be joining the figurines party, with its own range of NFC (near-field communication) figurines of characters like Mario. It's calling these figurines NFP, which stands for both "NFC Featured Platform" and "Nintendo Figurine Platform".

The difference between Nintendo's figurines and those for Skylanders or Disney Infinity is that they'll work with multiple games to be released in the future. Like the figurines we're already used to, they will be able to store data.

Those looking forward to Mario Kart 8 can also get an added bonus if they register the game on the Club Nintendo website between 30th May and 31st July.

Also on Mario Kart is a smartphone app that offers race replay videos from Mario Kart TV along with stats for how your competitors are doing. We had a look at what the app might look like and it seems like a great way to extend this functionality beyond Nintendo's own devices. But why isn't this just a feature for the 3DS? Will Mario games be coming to smartphones soon?

Minecraft
Minecraft Realms is now live in North America. The service costs $13 a month and makes it much easier for those who aren't computer experts to have multiplayer games of Minecraft for PC.

https://twitter.com/xlson/stat....us/45930833232371712

As for the console versions of Minecraft, the PlayStation 3 edition is getting a disc release next week, on the 14th of May.

Sims
Sims 4 Executive Producer Rachel Franklin, otherwise known as "Sim Guru Rachel", has confirmed that The Sims 4 will be at E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) this year, so we should have more Sims 4 info when the event takes place next month.

https://twitter.com/SimGuruRac....hel/status/459013253

The Last Of Us
For those older players who enjoyed The Last of Us, this piece of art from concept artist Marek Okon might be of interest. Of course, fans of the game are wondering if this means we'll be getting a sequel to The Last of Us in which central character Ellie is older, perhaps to be announced at E3, but Okon calls it "fanart".
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152109453189562&set=a.10150352806654562.347159.681689561&type=1&theater

Retry
Finally, Angry Birds creator Rovio has released a new iOS game cleverly called Retry, presumably because it's so difficult that you will be hitting the retry button a lot. The retro-inspired game gives you a plane to fly past obstacles without crashing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5UHZItLzpA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNBsSCYgOj4

Charts------
3+ FIFA 14, 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Mario Golf: World Tour
7+ Lego The Hobbit, The Lego Movie Videogame, Lego Marvel Super Heroes
12+ Trials Fusion, Kinect Sports: Rivals, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
16+ The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Titanfall, Call of Duty Ghosts
18+ Battlefield 4, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

New Releases------
May 9 - Bound By Flame (PC, PS4, PS3, 360)
May 14 - Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition (PS3 disc)
May 16 - Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS)