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DIGITAL EDITION

July/August 2017 $6.99 USA $8.99 CANADA

Splatoon 2 and characters represented are © & ™ of Nintendo.

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Our Mission Statement

Little Player Magazineâ€™s mission is to provide a safe, fun and advertising-free reading experience that parents can feel good about giving to their kids. We also want to inspire and teach kids to make good gaming choices and play what is appropriate for their age group. We only cover and review games that are rated EC, E, and E10+ to ensure that young children are not exposed to content meant for teens or mature audiences. 2 Little Player Magazine

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Supporting kid-friendly content can shape the future of video gaming. When I was a little player in the 1980s, there were no ratings for the games I played. Most of the games that were developed and released were appropriate for kids of all ages. As console technology evolved in the 90s, video game content became more mature and often times extremely violent. The need for guidelines, such as the ESRB ratings system, became a good way for parents to better watch what their kids were playing. Today, most of the video game content available is meant for Teens or Mature audiences and truthfully isn’t good for young players. Although hundreds of new titles come out each year, only a small percentage are rated EC, E, or E10+. As young minds develop, it is so important to manage the kind of content they absorb. One way to ensure that the video game industry takes notice is to support kid-friendly games with your purchasing power. The more E-rated games you buy gives the developers a message that there is a real demand and a growing market for them. This issue we preview the best kid-friendly video games at the E3 2017 convention and we are very excited for the upcoming holiday season. Thanks for reading and enjoy the latest issue of the magazine!

Martin Alessi Publisher / EIC

little player

Video Game Magazine for Kids A Massive Impact, Inc. Periodical ISSN 2572-6145 (Print) ISSN 2572-6153 (Online)

July/August 2017, Issue 8 1st Printing

Publishers Martin Alessi & Shelly Alessi Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director Martin Alessi Managing Editor Shelly Alessi Senior Editor / Content Director Jason Kaplan Associate Editor Nathan Alessi Junior Editors Isabella Ocampo, Brody Patterson Hannah Friedman, Aiden Friedman Contributing Editor Todd Friedman Copy Editor Jenny Kaplan Industry Correspondant Patrick Scott Patterson Art Director / 3D Artist Allen Forbes Illustration Artist Thor Thorvaldson Video Capture Technician Pete Hahn Creative Consultant David Ray Siller Legal Counsel Erich G. Monzon

__________________________ © Copyright 2017, Massive Impact, Inc. All rights reserved. Little Player is published bi-monthly by Massive Impact, Inc., P.O. Box 512, Wheeling IL 60090. Subscriptions are 6 issues for $24.99. Please allow 6-8 weeks before receiving your first issue as well as any subscription changes on an existing account. Little Player is a registered trademark of Massive Impact, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of Massive Impact, Inc. Trademark and copyright for all other products and characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright owners. For permisson to reuse material from our publication or to use our logo contact martin@littleplayermag.com. DIGITAL EDITION

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Little Player is published bi-monthly. Domestic rate is $24.99 for 6 issues. NEW SUBS: www.shoplittleplayer.com Subscription Inquiries: 312-574-0499 subs@littleplayermag.com Please send letters and artwork to: letters@littleplayermag.com or Little Player Magazine P.O. Box 512 Wheeling IL 60090 Little Player Magazine 3

FEATURE STORY

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Systems: Switch Players: Single-player, Multiplayer Release Date: 7/21/2017 ESRB Rating: E10+ Content Descriptors: Cartoon Violence

Splat ink and defend your turf in the freshest title on Switch! By Martin Alessi

Get ready to join Inkling Boy, Inkling Girl and other squid-like characters for some colorful and chaotic action! Up to eight players can partake in the fun and you can play local multiplayer or go online for even more competition. Check out the new dual-wielding Splat Dualies for ultimate coverage. You even have a new move to master, the Dodge Roll, which lets you get out of the way in a hurry. The Splat Roller and Splat Charger are back and have also been updated. Just like with the Wii U original, updates will roll out after launch, adding tons of new content.

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Did someone say “Let’s have a TURF WAR”? The fun is about to begin again as Splatoon 2 brings back the iconic Turf War battles that made the first one a blast! The goal is to splat as much ink on the territories as possible. All the while you have to submerge yourself in your team’s colors and blast your opponents with your color ink to win the match. You can play four players vs. four players in local and online multiplayer battles while in TV mode, handheld mode, or tabletop mode.

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BLAST.FROM.THE.PAST! Publisher: Atari Developer: Atari Systems: Atari 2600 Players: Multiplayer Release Date: 9/11/1977 ESRB Rating: E Content Descriptors: N/A

Take a look at one of the first competitive home video games ever made!

By Todd Friedman

With the release of Splatoon 2 for the Nintendo Switch, we decided to look back at a classic title that paved the way for these types of friendly competitive games. The name of the game is Combat, and it was one of the original titles that came out when the Atari 2600 system was released in 1977. The one cartridge is able to play up to 27 different games which include Tanks, Biplanes and Jets. Tank games involve two tanks battling around different arenas. The object is to hit your opponentâ€™s tank before they hit you. Biplane and Jet Games were similar to Tanks, but take place in the sky. There are many options for the flying games such as multiple planes and controlled firing. Combatâ€™s game play is considered to be the roots of multiplayer console gaming. 8 Little Player Magazine

Combat came out when video game controllers only had one button! DIGITAL EDITION

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E3 PREVIEW

Publisher: Accolade Developer: Black Forest Games Systems: PS4 Players: Single-player Release Date: 9/2017 ESRB Rating: RP Content Descriptors: N/A

Bubsy the Bobcat is back, wisecracks and all! By Shelly Alessi

Watch out Woolies, after 20 years Bubsy is back in a new 2D platformer! The wisecracking bobcat has returned to take on the Woolies and other enemies in search for the golden fleece. The game is like his past adventures, find yarn balls, power ups, and exclamation points to help you on your way. Explore exotic new worlds using Bubsy’s classic moves, such as floating and jumping, and some new ones to fight enemies. Known for his one liners, Bubsy has no shortage of jokes in this game as well. Let’s just hope it’s enough to help him defeat the UFO bosses and save the world! The return of Bubsy welcomes the game brand of Accolade back into the gaming world. Accolade created action, arcade, and sports games from the mid 80’s to the 2000s. 16 Little Player Magazine

Bubsy is a platformer that has you running and jumping to defeat or avoid enemies throughout the giant levels. DIGITAL EDITION

E3 PREVIEW

Stunning new updates coming to make Minecraft even better!

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Developer: Mojang Systems: XO, XOS, XOX Players: Single-player, Multiplayer Release Date: Fall 2017 ESRB Rating: E10+ Content Descriptors: Fantasy Violence

By Nathan Alessi

The block-based ever-popular adventure game Minecraft is back at it again with another massive update. Known as the Better Together update and releasing sometime this summer, Minecraft will soon support cross-platform play, which means you can play with your friends even if they donâ€™t own the same console as you. This new update also brings servers from the PC to the console version, allowing dozens upon dozens of people to play in one massive world. Minecraft will be launching with four serversâ€“ Lifeboat, Mineplex, InPVP, and CubeCraft - with more to follow. Finally, Minecraft will also be getting a free graphical update called the 4K Update in the fall, along with a new DLC called the Super Duper Graphics Pack, which also adds dynamic lighting, realistic water textures, and more.

The Super Duper Graphics DLC will make Minecraft look better than ever before in stunning 4K resolution! DIGITAL EDITION

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Collector’s Corner

By Jason Kaplan

Collecting “Toys-to-Life” figures is really fun! Here is a guide to some of the newest figures that are coming out soon. You can use the check boxes to keep track of your collection.

Nintendo released a small mountain worth of amiibo at E3 this year. It’s almost too much to keep track of! For Super Mario Odyssey we’ll get Mario, Peach, and Bowser all very nicely dressed up for a wedding. They should be out at the same time as the game in late October. For The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild we’ll have the champions Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa. They should be arriving later this year with the 2nd DLC pack. Then there will be another Samus and a Metroid from Metroid: Return of Samus on 3DS. Those will be arriving in stores in early October with the release of that game. As of right now no functionality has been provided for any of these amiibo.

Daruk (Goron)

Series: Zelda - Breath of the Wild Release date: Fall 2017

Urbosa (Gerudo)

Series: Zelda - Breath of the Wild Release date: Fall 2017

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For fans of Skylanders and Lego Dimensions there isn’t anything new going on right now. Activision still says they’re supporting Skylanders so that’s something positive at least. There won’t be anything for Lego Dimensions until Wave 9 in September.

Mipha (Zora)

Series: Zelda - Breath of the Wild Release date: Fall 2017

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Revali (Rito)

Series: Zelda - Breath of the Wild Release date: Fall 2017

Mario