New Releases Video Games

The Puzzler World series continues as 3DS gamers take on more than 1,200 different puzzles spread across 27 different categories in Puzzler World 2013. In addition to using their stylus and touch screen to take on classic games like Wordsearch, Sudoku, and Spot the Difference, players can also try out new activities like Loko, Maze-a-Pix, Backwords, and NumberJig. Gamers can get a taste of all the puzzles in Challenge mode and eventually unlock even more activities in the Master mode. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

An updated port of a 1997 Japanese Saturn title, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner -- Soul Hackers brings its intricate mix of gothic and cyberpunk themes to North America for the first time. The Spookies are a group of young hackers, and gamers take control of one of them as he attempts to enter the beta phase of Paradigm X, a virtual city designed to fulfill the entertainment and basic service needs of citizens in Amami City. But when the Spookies stumble across a demon-summoning device knows as a GUMP, they find themselves at odds with the influential and mysterious Phantom Society.

As with most games in the series, the action takes the form of first-person turn-based combat between summoned demons. There are hundreds of different demons to summon, each with unique personalities that players must get to know through text conversations. Gamers can also use a special fusion ability to combine two demons into a single powerful spirit, or fuse a demon into a sword to create a devastating weapon. Soul Hackers offers several features not included in the original release, including the devil-summoning detective Raidou Kuzunoha, a redesigned demon and sword compendium, new opening animation, adjustable difficulty, and a StreetPass feature that lets 3DS gamers exchange information, collect Devil Souls, and unlock rare demons. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Nintendo's turn-based Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spinoff series makes its way to 3DS for the first time with 3D graphics, dozens of randomly generated dungeons, and a new town-building mechanic in Gates to Infinity. Players once again play as a Pokémon, choosing from Axew, Oshawott, Pikachu, Snivy, or Tepig, and enlisting one of the four remaining playable characters for companionship during adventures and dungeon crawling. Gamers begin their journey in Post Town, where they can shop for goods, learn new moves, and accept quests from fellow Pokémon.

Battling foes and scouring dungeons for treasure earns players rewards that can be used to turn the barren swath of land known as Pokémon Paradise into a thriving city, complete with shops and other facilities. Gamers will encounter many different Pokémon during their travels, including the rare Legendary Pokémon, who may offer helpful advice or become hostile and attack. Players can find dungeons in the wild, or they can use Gates to Infinity's augmented reality features to instantly create Magnagate dungeons by pointing their 3DS camera at any circular object in the real world. Multiplayer fans can join up to three friends for co-op dungeon crawling, and activating StreetPass lets gamers revive friends who have fainted in dungeons. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Based on the animated film about a family of cave people dealing with their changing world, The Croods: Prehistoric Party! is a collection of 30 primitive-themed party games. Players can join Grug, Ugga, Eep, Thunk, Sandy, Gran, and Guy as they take on mini-games, collect eggs, meet strange creatures, and learn about technology while searching for a new home. There are two different game modes, with the Trailblazer mode offering a board game competition, and the Hunter and Gatherer mode letting users define their own time- or egg-based victory conditions.

~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate combines most of the content from the Wii title Monster Hunter Tri and the Japan-only game "Monster Hunter Portable 3rd" to offer players more than 200 quests full of classic monster-stalking action. As always, gamers take on the role of a hunter and battle large beasts through a variety of locations both on land and in the sea, and then return to their base settlement to take on more quests, exchange goods, purchase items, and upgrade weapons and armor.

Multiplayer remains a core part of the Monster Hunter experience, and 3DS gamers can enlist the help of AI companions or join up to three local friends, including Wii U users, to take on tougher monsters, using their touch screen to quickly access books, maps, weapons, and mini-games. Capcom also plans free post-release DLC updates including new quests and cross-region multiplayer action. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The first entry in Atlus' Etrian Odyssey series released on 3DS, Legends of the Titan adds new aeronautic adventures and a casual difficulty level to its classically styled RPG action. Called to the city of Tharsis as part of a quest to reach the giant tree Yggdrasil, players form a party and head into the wild to battle a variety of beasts in the top screen, and manually map out the game's labyrinthine dungeon grids in the bottom screen. Combat is turn-based, and a special gauge fills after each action in battle, eventually allowing the party to unleash powerful Burst Skills.

There are ten character classes from which to choose, including Medics, Snipers, and Runemasters, and each character in the party can be assigned a secondary class and acquire new skills as they level up and earn experience. At the hub of Tharsis gamers can acquire quests, recruit new party members, heal their wounds, sell battle spoils for new weapons or armor, and save their game before heading out on more adventures. Players use hot-air balloons to travel to the game's many dungeons, but the world map itself is also home to a variety of treasures and extremely powerful beasts. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Nintendo's popular brain-building series returns with an emphasis on short-term memory and focus in Brain Age: Concentration Training. Working on the premise that a society full of emails, text messages, and video clips has produced an information overload, Concentration Training aims to improve working memory through a variety of five-minute exercises. Dr. Ryuta Kawashima returns to guide gamers through simple math problems, matching, and cup-and-ball mini-games, among other activities, and the game offers dynamic difficulty settings that adjust to players' progress. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide