Amazon calls this deal "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" but we prefer to think of it as "Get Two $60 Games for Just $45 Each." Normally, these kinds of deals have perhaps one marquee title playing the role of siren, calling your wallet-shaped ship to its rocky, mediocre-game covered shores; however, this deal is different.

Blockbuster titles like Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 3, Rage, and more are available choices, with some junk like The Black Eyed Peas Experience and Go Vacation, just to keep us on our toes. With this many options, we're more inclined to think of it as a "Buy Three, Get One Free" deal. This offer is good for a "limited time," which we think means "not long."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...reative=390957
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In 1987 Nintendo introduced European gamers to The Legend of Zelda.

The title was unique in the way that it combined action, adventure, exploration and even a basic levelling up system.

It also introduced gamers to the boy hero Link, the evil king Ganon, the princess Zelda and the land of Hyrule – characters and worlds that would define the series for 25 years.

From here on out the series would grow and grow in popularity, often changing in tone and graphical style. Each game received critical acclaim – even the black sheep of the Zelda family, the underrated Zelda II.

There was a few hiatus on the way. It was almost five years between the second Zelda and the third one. Likewise, Ocarina of Time arrived following another five-year gap for the series.

Outside of the main franchise, the Zelda series has spawned a number of spin-off titles – although nothing like Mario. These include 2007 Wii budget game Link’s Crossbow Training, and a DS title starring the irritation Wind Waker and Majora’s Mask oddity Tingle.

There was also a trilogy of games released for the Phillips CDi. These games were terrible, and although officially licensed, were created with next to no input from Nintendo. Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure are not counted as part of the official Zelda series.

Below, as part of our week long celebration of The Legend of Zelda, we run through the main games in The Legend of Zelda series.

1987 –
The Lege nd of Zelda
The ground breaking NES original introduced gamers to the boy hero Link in his bid to find the Triforce, defeat the evil Ganon and save Princess Zelda. Fans can get hold of a copy quite easily over the Wii Virtual Console.

1988 -
Ze lda II: The Adventure of Link
One year later the first sequel arrived, with Link on the hunt for the Triforce of Courage. The game included side-scrolling gameplay, and as a result is often seen as the black sheep of the Zelda series. It is also available over the Wii Virtual Console.

1992 -
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The iconic SNES title returned to the first game’s top-down view, and featured two worlds – light and dark. It is also available to download via the Wii Virtual Console.

1993 –
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Heralded as one of the greatest portable games ever, Nintendo managed to squeeze the Zelda formula onto a Game Boy cartridge. Link must wake the Wind Fish to escape Koholint Island. A colour version of the game, featuring a new dungeon, was released in the UK in 1998. It can be downloaded via the Nintendo eShop.

1998 –
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Widely accepted as the greatest game ever, Ocarina of Time rendered Link in 3D for his N64 debut. It’s been re-released a few times and can be downloaded via the Wii Virtual Console.

2000 –
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Ocarina of Time’s sequel was a darker and more intimate affair, with a moon on a collision course with the land of Termina. It is available to download now via the Wii Virtual Console.

2001 –
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages
These two Capcom-developed Zelda games for Game Boy Color could be played in any order, but then linked together for the final, ultimate showdown.

2003 –
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
This acclaimed GameCube game boasted beautiful cel-shaded visuals. In the adventure Link took to the seas to save his sister, and discovered the lost kingdom of Hyrule in the process.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past & Four Swords
Four Swords was the first ever multiplayer Zelda game and was introduced a part of the remake of A Link To The Past on Game Boy Advance.

2004 –
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Finally Zelda fans could find out how Link got his iconic green hat. Our hero shrinks down to miniature size in a game that acted as a prequel to the
two Four Swords games.

2005 –
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Four Swords’ sequel was a GameCube release. Up to four players could use the Game Boy Advance as a controller and a second screen to defeat Shadow Link and the real villain, Ganon


2006 –
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Link discovered his inner beast and hero in this adventure. The GameCube and Wii title featured a more mature visual style. It is available now on Wii as part of Nintendo’s Selects range.

2007 –
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Wind Waker’s 3D?cel-shaded visuals returned for Zelda’s DS debut. Using intuitive touch screen controls, players had to travel the Great Sea to save Link’s friend Tetra.

2009 –
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
When Zelda’s body is taken, leaving just her spirit behind, Link must team up with the princess in this sequel to Phantom Hourglass, which swaps boats for steam trains.


2011 –
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
The 1998 classic is back on Nintendo 3DS. Fans and newcomers can rediscover the epic adventure in remarkable 3D, with improved visuals and the addition of the Master Quest.


The Legend of ...

The Nintendo 3DS had a tough start to life, but the handheld’s story has barely begun with its biggest blockbusters still to come. MCV looks at why the much talked about handheld should have a very merry Christmas...
SUPER MARIO HAS ARRIVED
One of the biggest criticisms of 3DS so far has been the lack of big, system-shifting blockbusters. And when it comes to major console sellers, you don’t get much bigger than Mario.
Not content with a promising new platformer – Super Mario 3D Land – there’s the seventh entry in the ludicrously successful Mario Kart series. The previous game on Wii has sold an incredible 27m units worldwide as of April, the last handheld title – Mario Kart DS – has shifted 21m games. It’s quite a big deal.
There’s more Mario due next year. Paper Mario, Mario Tennis and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games are scheduled for release. But the two to watch are out this year, with 3D Land due on November 18th and Mario Kart 7 set for December 2nd.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
3DS’ original £200 price point was a touch high – particularly for a device without a killer app. Nintendo recognised this and took drastic action in August, knocking a third off the trade price (taking the retail price down to around £150).
THIRD-PARTY SUPPORT
3DS has an impressive third party release slate. From Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D to Resident Evil: Revelations, there’s plenty of blockbusters on the horizon. The biggest – for the Japanese market at least – is Capcom’s double helping of Monster Hunter titles. This franchise has made PSP the hottest games machine in Japan, and is a huge coup for Nintendo.
GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS
Female gamers make up a sizeable chunk of Nintendo’s DS install base and the platform holder hopes to convert them with a number of new titles aimed at girls (to go alongside Nintendogs + Cats) and the launch of a ‘Ice White’ and ‘Coral Pink’ 3DS – you know, because girls like pink.
NINTENDO IS WILLING TO ADAPT
Sure, it looks bulky, but the 3DS second circle pad attachment (which can be used for Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Metal Gear Solid, Ace Combat and more) is just one example of how Nintendo is prepared to update and iterate on its product. And not just in the physical space either. The company is working on new modes for its popular Street Pass and eShop.
AND THERE'S POKEMON
Spin-off title Super Pokémon Rumble is due in December, and you can guarantee The Pokémon Company are hard at work on a full 3DS RPG.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opini...ng-xmas/087334 ...

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Apparently 3DS sales aren't so bad. Or, more accurately, 3DS sales are not great, but DS sales were also pretty bad at first. It's all relative. The company said today that the 3DS is "poised" to sell more 3DS systems in its first year than the DS did. The 3DS system is over 1.65 million units sold in the US, and the DS sold 2.37 million in its first year, "with approximately 50 percent of those sales occurring in the holiday time frame."

It's worth remembering that the DS was pretty bad in that first year, and didn't become a sales sensation until early 2006 with the introduction of the DS Lite. So that's not the most impressive milestone. In fact, we would hope a 3DS with both a (good!) Mario game and Mario Kart will be able to outsell a system that had neither.

Nintendo reported "more than 250,000" 3DS systems sold in the US in October, along with "nearly 180,000" DS units and "nearly 250,000" Wiis. Of course, all those numbers, along with every other game system's sales numbers, will go up significantly in the next two months. We'll have more NPD information this evening.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/11/ni...r-sales-in-us/ ...

First 3DS sales were great, then notsomuch, and now things seem to be evening out somewhere around "normal." According to numbers released by Nintendo, the fledgling handheld is poised to break the original DS' first year sales numbers -- closing out its 8th month with 1.65 million units sold, or roughly 69 percent of its predecessor's 2.37 million first year sales. Noting that half of the old DS' year one sales were made during the holiday season, Nintendo is confident the 3DS will surpass its predecessor's numbers before hitting the one year mark. We'll let you make your own predictions -- Nintendo's press release is after the break, if you want to compare notes.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/12/3...-killing-blow/ ...

With Zelda’s next epic chapter due in shops next Friday (November 18^th), the producer of Skyward Sword has hinted at an exciting new 3D future for the series.
And furthermore, none other than Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto is fronting the project.
“Mr. Miyamoto himself has been talking recently about going back to the 2D Zelda games," Eiji Aonuma told GamesRadar. "In particular the ones that were designed with multiple levels to the world like A Link to the Past, and taking those 2D graphics and recreating them in 3D so that you could get a sense for the depth of those worlds.
“That's something that might be interesting to do, so I would say there might be a possibility of something like that in the future."
One thing that might work against the plan, however, is Nintendo’s emerging strategy of avoiding the use of 3D in its 3DS marketing. What that means for the use of the tech in future Nintendo releases remains to be seen.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/miyam...s-in-3d/087302 ...

This year, you say, you're not going to watch retailer websites all Thanksgiving weekend for deals; you're not going to give in and drive to a store at midnight for cheap games. Walmart is the first to try to convince you otherwise, posting its Black Friday circular with discounts and exclusive offers it hopes will bring you back on the most dangerous shopping day of the year.

For $199, you have a choice of console bundles: an Xbox 360 4GB with Gears 3, 3 months of Live, and a $50 gift card; an Xbox 360 4GB with Kinect, Kinect Adventures, and a $50 gift card; or a 160GB PS3 with Ratchet & Clank All 4 One, LittleBigPlanet 2, and 3 months of Plus membership.

The blue Wii, announced in Europe as a Mario & Sonic bundle, will be released in America exclusively to Walmart ... at the crazy low price of $100.

If you're already set for systems, Walmart is also offering limited-time deals on games. From Thanksgiving night at 10pm through Friday, you can get recent releases like Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3, Infamous 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops for $28. Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports Season Two, and Epic Mickey (among others) are $15. You can also get Yakuza 4 for ten damn dollars -- plus the cost of having to fight for your life at Walmart.

http://www.walmart.com/ ...