New Nintendo Direct focuses mainly on the 3DS

Last Nintendo Direct covered tons of Wii U news, but this time the spotlight is on the 3DS. What are the big announcements? Donkey Kong Country Returns coming to the 3DS, a new Mario RPG is coming, and a release date for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, once again hosts Nintendo Direct. During the start of the presentation, Iwata marked this year as the year of Luigi. Nintendo feels Luigi needs more love, so they have a good amount of Luigi games planned for 2013. The first one? The sequel to his first ever game as the lead.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon - 3DS

Luigi's Manion Dark Moon launches March 24.

Iwata also announced a new entry in the Mario and Luigi RPG series.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - 3DS

No release date was given, but Dream Team will be launched sometime in summer in the US, which should be around July for us.

To further bombard us with Luigi news, Nintendo also announced during this Nintendo Direct that a new DLC called New Super Luigi U(image above) will be coming to New Super Mario U for the Wii U. The title pretty much explains everything really. The DLC, or rather the expansion, will include Luigi-themed levels. No date was given, but expect it this year.

Mario Golf: World Tour

The presentation debuted another new game for the 3DS - Mario Golf: World Tour. Camelot, the developers of past Mario Golf games return for the 3DS title.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

This Nintendo Direct also covered the latest entry in the Animal Crossing series. Along with a new trailer, they also announced the release date - June 9.

Nintendo Direct is really a bag filled with new Nintendo announcements. Wii U wasn't the focus,, but was not forgotten. LEGO City Undercover was shown together with release dates for games coming to the Wii U like - Injustice: Gods Among us on March 16, Need for Speed: Most Wanted U on March 19, The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts on March 26, and last but not least, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is coming on March 19 for both Wii U and 3DS. If you're eager to try out the new Monster Hunter title, a demo will be available on February 21 on both platforms at the eshop.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

And to close of this Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announces Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for the 3DS. The Donkey Kong Wii title is getting a 3D makeover and is planned for a summer release. No footage was reveal but just think Donkey Kong Country Returns, but in 3D.

That's about it for this Nintendo Direct, there's a lot more mentioned like new DLC for Fire Emblem: Awakening, new DLC for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor Edge, more Nintendo promotions and a lot more. To see the full Nintendo Direct presentation, check it out below.

Nintendo Direct 02.14.13

Warframe going open beta this weekend only

Warframe, the Free-To-Play third person shooter on the PC, will be hosting an open beta this weekend for everybody to try out the game. All you need to do is register and download the game.

Warframe is a 4 player co-op game that has randomly generated missions, with the usual weapon unlocks, mod unlocks, special abilities, and classes to define your character. Oh, and you get ninja sword if you want to get up close and personal. It is being work on by Digital Extremes, developers of known games like Darkness 2 and Dark Sector.

I don't know what to expect with Warframe just yet but I'm quite curious to see how it plays out. It's something new in a way that - It's Free-To-Play, looks amazing for a free product, and is mainly focused in 4-player cooperative play. It's currently on closed beta, but just for February 15-19, non-beta key holders get to have a taste of Warframe. I'll be downloading the client once I'm allowed to do so and we'll see how it goes.

If you want to join the open beta event, go ahead to the Warframe website and register. The client should be available for download on Friday at 12:00PM EST, which is 5PM GMT on a Saturday in the Philippines.

[source: Warframe official website]

The Last of Us delayed to June 14

Updated your calendars because Naughty Dog needs more time to polish The Last of Us. Originally planned for a May 7 release, this PS3 exclusive is now coming out on June 14.

The Uncharted developers made the announcement on Playstation's official blog:

"As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realise just how massive Joel and Ellie's journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog's internal high standards.

"As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games - gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further - for ourselves, and most importantly, our fans.

"The extra wait will be very short and your patience will be rewarded. Update your calendars. You won't even have to change seasons. The Last of Us will be available June 14, 2013. Until then, know that we will be working extremely hard to deliver an experience that matches your high expectations."

The Last of Us is the only PS3 exclusive I'm excited for this year. Take all the time you need to polish the game, but hopefully this is the last delay we will see for Naughty Dog's latest.

[source: PS Blog US]

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen New Enemies Trailer

Capcom released a new trailer for Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, an expansion to the 2012 Shadow of Colossus-ish open world RPG. The trailer gives us a good look at the added monsters you get to face in Dark Arisen. Check it out below.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen will be available on April 23 and will include the original game together with the expansion. I considered Dragon's Dogma as one of the best games of 2012, so I can't wait for Dark Arisen to hit the stores. It's priced at $40 instead of the regular $60 for new titles, so expect a good deal when it hit's the Philippines.

Slender: The Arrival dated, pre-orders include beta access

Slender: The Arrival now has a release date. The sequel to the short but sweet indie horror title Slender: The Eight pages will be available on March 26 for the PC. Pre-orders are now live and by ordering early grants beta access to the game and extra goodies. 

There are five pre-order options to choose from.  The game will cost $10 on release, but if you choose at least the cheapest pre-order option, you get a 50% discount plus beta access to the game. If you are feeling generous and wish to give back, you will get extra goodies like a downloadable copy of the game's soundtrack, or even get your name in the game's credits.

The beta content is actually a revamped version of the creepy forest found in the original game, letting you relive that game all over again with a new look.

If you have no idea what Slender is, but love to challenge yourself with a game that could potentially make you shit your pants, I highly suggest you check out the first game which is free to download over at their site. Try it, I double dare you.

[source: Slender: The Arrival website]