This week in video games, August 7, 2017: Giant screens on the New Nintendo 2DS XL

This week, Mech_Con 2017 is coming to Vancouver, and The Long Dark video game is getting a feature-film adaptation. But first, details on the New Nintendo 2DS XL. It's bigger, it's from Nintendo, it's new.

New Nintendo 2DS XL has much bigger screens

Now available for discerning gamers is the New Nintendo 2DS XL. This is in the 3DS family but does not support 3-D imagery. Which is certainly fine for kids—under about age nine, eyes are still developing and 3-D is not good for them—or for lots of other people who have given up on the trend.

This is a nice little handheld. It's lightweight and has dual screens (where did you think "DS" came from?) that are 82-percent bigger than on the standard 2DS. It also has NFC support for Nintendo's amiibo toys.

The $200 device only comes in a smart black-and-turquoise colour, with a textured top case and a detail of turquoise around the shell.

And although it plays all the games developed for Nintendo's 3DS systems, including recent releases Hey! Pikmin and Miitopia, it also handles bestsellers like Super Smash Bros., Pokémon Sun and Moon, and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

But the killer feature of the New Nintendo 2DS XL just may be that to put the system to sleep you need only close the clamshell. Simple.

Vancouver's Piranha Games hosting Mech_Con 2017 in December

The MechWarrior Online World Championships are happening IRL, and they are happening in Vancouver as part of Mech_Con 2017. This is the second year for the event. The picture here is from last year's final match, won by Empyreal, the team representing North America.

The game is developed locally by Piranha Games, which is also working on MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. That game, set for release in 2018, will be playable at Mech_Con.

The one-day event takes place on December 9 at the Pinnacle Hotel and also features panels, MechWarrior Online matches, and prizes. Teams from around the world are already competing in regional qualifiers for a chance to play for a cash prize pool at Mech_Con 2017.

Tickets are US$50 and available through Eventbrite.

The Long Dark game gets feature-film development from producer of Resident Evil film series

The Long Dark is already one of the most Canadian things ever made, and a new short film called "Elegy", based on the survival-exploration video game, really plays up those connections.

The five-minute short is narrated by Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, opens with a quote from Canadian author Margaret Atwood, and features scenery Canada is noted for, including snowy landscapes and northern lights.

"Elegy" was released as the game, developed at Hinterland Studio in Cumberland on Vancouver Island, went into final release on August 1. That heralded the removal of the "beta" tag the game had been carrying since 2014, when it was released as a sandbox experience that challenged players to survive in a remote wilderness in the dead of winter.

Last week, the game's story campaign, "Wintermute", debuted. The narrative experience of the game is being released episodically, with the first two chapters available now and the concluding segments planned before the end of 2018.

The Long Dark, set in what used to be northern Canada after a global "geomagnetic disaster", is available on PS4, Windows, and Xbox One,

Raphael van Lierop, who founded Hinterland, led development on the game, and scripted the short film, last week announced that The Long Dark is also in development as a feature film. Hinterland has partnered with Bolt Pictures and Jeremy Bolt, who produced the Resident Evil series of films. Van Lierop will write the script.

Games recently released

• Namco Museum: A compilation of some classic games, including Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, Rolling Thunder, and more. Available on Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo eShop.
• Titanfall 2 Ultimate Edition: Includes the great game as well as all of the post-release extras, including all downloadable content. Available digitally for PS4, Windows, and Xbox One.