Barrel Roll Gaming: Less Whinging, More Gaming

Oh yeah... right...

Changes are afoot here at Barrel Roll Gaming. Yes, we're actually choosing to update the site - that's one main change. But, in 2014, we're making some changes to provide you with the best experience we can.

If you grew up with Nintendo like I did, then you will probably have a very special place in your heart for Mario. At its core, a Mario platformer is focused on gameplay and new experiences. If I was to look back at my most favorite 3D Mario game, it would be Super Mario Galaxy 2; one of the few games that I consider to be perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about it - that's why I'm glad that Nintendo have chosen not to try and change it but instead to work on something else. That something else is Super Mario 3D World on Wii U.

SteamWorld Dig, the "high quality indie title which could be clearly mistaken for a AAA game", is now leaping from Nintendo 3DS onto Steam and will launch on December 5. Seriously, if you haven't already played it, you need to.

This is a public service announcement from Barrel Roll Gaming that the Xbox One has officially launched in Australia. If you aren't sure what an "Xbox One" is, we recommend you read our unofficial guide from E3 earlier this year. Your thoughts in the comments; we'll share some of your tweets below on Friday...

Nintendo is hosting another Nintendo Direct, this time focusing on previously announced Nintendo 3DS games. Better set your alarms though; it'll be streaming from 3am tomorrow morning.

Update: Three day passes are now 100% sold out. Individual days (Fri/Sat/Sun) and International three day passes are still available.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of decades, the term "Pokèmon" should be recognised amongst gamers and non-gamers alike. Game Freak's simple little formula has kept us enthralled for six whole generations! In Game Freak's latest installment in the world renowned Pokèmon series, Pokèmon X&Y, is this formula getting a bit too repetitive, or is has it been changed up enough, with new mechanics, to hold as much excitement as the original Red, Blue and Yellow?

October is almost over, but that's no excuse to not release a bunch of new games. Included this week, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Football Manager 2014 and WWE 2K14, plus Angry Birds: Star Wars comes to consoles and two new Invizimals titles - The Lost Kingdom for PS3 and The Alliance for PS Vita.

Oh no! A new Sonic game has been released, which means I have to buy it. Sonic games are kind of my guilty pleasure, which stems from childhood. I grew up with Nintendo consoles which means I missed out on Sonic in my earliest years and didn't get into a Sonic game until my early teens. Now, I'm apparently making up for this by purchasing every Sonic game that gets released.

Bubblegum Interactive, the Sydney studio that bought us Jetpack Jinx and Space Heroes, have released their latest mobile title, Cake Bake Blitz, on iOS and Android.