Wallace & Gromit (Untitled Project, 2024)

Wallace & Gromit have been on some bold journeys together.  They traveled to the moon to get cheese in A Grand Day Out.  Gromit receives some techno-trousers from Wallace that would take him on walks in The Wrong Trousers (which featured the adorable yet villainous penguin Feathers McGraw).  And they even had to deal with sheep coming into their house in A Close Shave.  

The latest Wallace & Gromit short was A Matter of Loaf and Death that was released in December 2008.  To date, Wallace & Gromit have been featured in four short films and one major film (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit).  

Interestingly enough, Wallace & Gromit will be featured in yet another film on Netflix.  Aardman Animations’ founder Peter Lord revealed that the next film will feature a robotic gnome who will be the main villain of the film.  It will even center on Gromit’s concern on Wallace’s dependence on his inventions.  As always, Gromit is led to defeat the enemy.

Aardman Animations has done more than just the Wallace & Gromit series.  They created TV shows and films like Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, Flushed Away, Angry Kid, and Morph.  Interestingly enough, Shaun the Sheep is a spin-off series that started after Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave.

With that, we have a new Wallace & Gromit film coming this year.  It will be the latest Wallace & Gromit project since Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death.  Wallace and Gromit will deal with a villainous robotic gnome in the next movie.

Shrek 2 Re-release (Summer 2024)

Have you ever had a time where you review the Internet Movie Database about a particular movie and realize how shockingly old it is?  That is the kind of feeling I recently had with Shrek 2.  

Shrek 2 was the successful sequel to Shrek.  The film stars Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz as Shrek and Fiona, two newlyweds who return from their honeymoon to find they have been invited to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage.  They travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away with Donkey (Eddie Murphy).  Chaos ensues as Fiona’s parents King Harold and Queen Lillian express complete disdain for Shrek.  

Now what’s even more shocking than the fact that another Shrek movie is coming out is how old Shrek 2 is.  Brace yourselves folks – Shrek 2 will be 20 years old this year.  Shrek 2 came out back in 2004, which was just two decades ago.  I know, I suddenly feel old reading this myself.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie’s release, Shrek 2 will be re-released in theaters nationwide.  Since the film was released around summer 2004, it is most likely that Shrek 2 will be re-released this summer.  You will get to relive watching the film in theaters all over again.

This is great news that will tide us over while we wait for Shrek 5.  Shrek became an instant box-office hit when it was released on May 18th 2001.  It spawned other sequels after Shrek 2 like Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After.  There were even spin-off movies with Puss in Boots like Puss in Boots and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

With that, Shrek 2 is re-releasing in theaters this year.  Two decades later and one of the most successful sequel films is coming back.  Shrek has been a popular franchise from Dreamworks ever since the first film back in 2001.  Now the 2nd movie is coming back, which will be just as good as when it first released.

New Nintendo Switch Online Games (February 2024)

Now the Nintendo Direct event may have been a bit short, but we still got some exciting titles coming out.  Not only were there games coming to Nintendo Switch, but there were even old titles coming to Nintendo Switch Online.  It has been a while since we heard of games being added to Nintendo Switch Online, so it was exciting to see them featured on the Nintendo Direct event.

We have two games from the NES, two games from SNES, and one from Nintendo 64.  One thing that all these games have in common is they were all developed by Rare.  All of these games are available to play if you have Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

Here are the five games:

R.C. Pro-Am

R.C. Pro-Am is Rare’s first successful NES game.  It is a timeless racing game that is presented in an overhead isometric perspective.  This was the game that inspired subsequent racing games like Rock n’ Roll Racing, Super Off Road, and even the Mario Kart series.

Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll

Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll is a platformer game where you navigate the obstacles through each level and eat ‘Nibbley Pibbleys’ to ring a weigh-in bell located at the end of each level.  This is another one of Rare’s successful games for the NES of all time.

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct is a 2.5D that originally came out for arcades in October 1994 and was ported to the Super Nintendo.  The plot involves and all-powerful corporation organizing a fighting tournament that features 10 fighters to choose from.  This would be the first of four Killer Instinct games to come out over the years.

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs

Released around the same time as Battletoads & Double Dragon, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is a beat ‘em up platform game that was originally released for the SNES in June 1993.  Rash and Pimple are on a quest to defeat Silas Volkmire and the evil Dark Queen from ruling over the world.  When Battletoads in Battlemaniacs first came out, this was known as one of the more difficult games to play.

Blast Corps

The only N64 game on the list, Blast Corps is an action game where you solve puzzles by transferring between vehicles to move objects and bridge gaps.  This was actually Rare’s first game for the Nintendo 64 before releasing games like Goldeneye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie.

#NintendoDirectFebruary2024Highlights

Nintendo featured a Nintendo Direct event for the month of February.  There’s some amazing games coming to the Nintendo Switch.  Better yet, some classic games from previous consoles are coming back as well.  

To celebrate this event, MakeSandcastlesNotWar took the time to showcase the highlights from Nintendo Direct February 2024.  Whether it be classic games or new games, all these titles are slated to be out this year.

Here are the highlights of Nintendo Direct February 2024:

Unicorn Overlord (Next Game From Atlus)

Unicorn Overload, the next game coming from Atlus, is coming out March 8th.  More of the game’s strategy and role-playing elements were shown.  It may not be another Persona game, but it definitely looks promising.

Disney’s Epic Mickey (Rebrushed)

Disney’s Epic Mickey, which originally came out for the Nintendo Wii, will now be coming to the Nintendo Switch.  This remake was developed by Purple Lamp is will be released by THQ Nordic later this year.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a new version of the 2021 RPG game Shin Megami Tensei V by Atlus.  This updated edition adds new story content to explore within the game.

Star Wars Battlefront: Classic Collection

The first two Star Wars Battlefront games, Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II, are coming to Nintendo Switch March 14th.  It was released a long (long!) time ago where the original battlefront games were massive multiplayer experiences.  There is even a Hero Assault Mode that features an arena where you can pit Jedi like Luke Skywalker and Kit Fisto against enemies like Darth Vader and General Grievous.  

World of Goo 2

World of Goo 2 is the sequel to World of Goo and it is gooier than ever.  There will be 64 new levels where you will have to build bridges, grow towers, terraform terrain, and even fuel flying machines to get to the end.

Contra: Operation Galuga (Updated 80s Classic)

A reimagining of the classic 80s action game, Contra: Operation Galuga updates the nostalgic experience with modernized visuals and co-op combat.  There is a demo available on eShop and it is set to release on March 12th.

Monkeying Around with Super Monkey Ball

Time to roll over to the final highlight with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble.  You’ll monkey around across 200 new stages and choose from over 300 customization options to help your monkey stand out from the pack.

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