Nintendo’s winter line-up unveiled

Waiting to see what the must have games to play on Nintendo’s consoles will be this winter? Well wait no longer as Nintendo’s autumn/winter line-up has been announced and includes a broad spectrum of genres catering to both casual and core gamers alike.

Players will be able to take up the new challenges of Wii Fit Plus, a totally new take on the Super Mario Bros. games which sees the dawn of simultaneous multiplayer action in the Mushroom Kingdom for Wii, a new instalment in the The Legend of Zelda series for Nintendo DS and many more.

Wii Fit Plus will ship on 30 October and features new exercises for both mind and body to make existing at-home training regimes more varied. Users will be able to personalise their own yoga routines and strength-training exercises to create a continuous exercise plan to suit individual fitness goals, as well as a randomised routine for using the Yoga and Muscle exercise routines. For example, the game’s Lifestyle routine gives you exercise combinations to help train muscles and boost flexibility or even warm your hands and feet to ease tension. Health routines meanwhile will be tailored to toning specific areas of your body.

New Super Mario Bros. meanwhile brings collaboration to the Mushroom Kingdom. Launching on 20 November, this is a fully fledged Mario adventure with the added aspect of multiplayer action. Up to four players can join in the fun at the same time, playing as Mario, Luigi or either one of the Toads as they vie to save Princess Peach who, as ever, has been kidnapped. Players can choose to cooperate by saving their fellow heroes from danger – or get rid of the competition by tossing them straight into it. New features in the game include the new propeller suit, which, by shaking the Wii Remote, allows your character to fly and hover – great for reaching secret areas. You can also use your suit to help your fellow players; for instance if another player picks you up, you can both fly together. There is also a penguin suit which enables you to throw ice balls at your enemy, jump onto your stomach and slide with incredible speed across icy sections of a stage. Players can even ride different coloured Yoshis in a nod to classic SNES game Super Mario World.

Finally, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is the hotly-anticipated new title coming to Nintendo DS slated for release on 11 December. The twist here, as you may have gathered from the subtitle, is that Link will travel to new lands via train. Players will use the stylus to chart a course past all manner of obstacles and enemies that will try to thwart Link’s quest. What’s more, Link has a new companion in the shape of the Phantom. This giant suit of armour will respond to your commands and help Link by battling enemies and reaching previously inaccessible areas by walking through fire and lava. Whether working the tracks on the train or battling through the dungeons, the new Zelda adventure will keep your stylus tapping this winter as you crack its fiendish puzzles.