Welcome back from another fun-filled weekend, everybody. The countdown for PAX Prime has officially begun, and we couldn’t be more excited. It’ll be nice to finally make it out of the dry summer drought. Until then, however, I’m here to keep you informed and up to date on some of the things you may have missed. In today’s Gaming Daily, Nintendo of America released a live-action Super Mario Maker Trailer, Cliff Bleszinski is primed to announce his new game at PAX, Nintendo announced a massive Yarn Yoshi Amiibo, Metal Gear Solid V reviews are out and we’ve rounded them up, and Guerrilla Games says that the RPG elements from Horizon Zero Dawn fit somewhere between Skyrim and Assassin’s Creed.

Nintendo releases live-action Super Mario Maker TV ad.

Though Nintendo of America is no stranger to combining real-life actors with gameplay to advertise their games, the newest TV campaign for Super Mario Maker–which releases on the Wii U September 11–might be our new favorite.

The video above features a kid using the Wii U gamepad to create a bonkers Super Mario level where Boos are coming out of mystery blocks, enemies and weapons are stacked on top of each other, and so much more. Once he’s done, he asks his impressed friends whether they want to play.

Sure it’s a cheese-fest, but it accurately describes the game in under a minute, and really makes us want to play.

HT: Youtube

Cliff Bleszinski and Boss Key productions to reveal new project this week.

If you’ve been wondering what Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has been up to recently, you’re in luck, because he’ll be announcing exactly that this week. The developer teased the above video, alongside the phrase “prepare for shattering” on a teaser website called “The Shattering”. It’s unclear what the title will be, or what they’ll be revealing over the course of the next few days, but according to Bleszinski himself, it has to do with their free-to-play Sci-fi FPS codenamed Bluestreak. Ooh, I can’t wait to hear more.

HT: VG 24/7

This Mega Yarn Yoshi Amiibo will cost $40!

Whether you’re into collecting Amiibos or not, the newest addition to Nintendo’s batch of collectibles is a head above the rest—literally. Remember the trio of Yarn Yoshi amiibo Ninty announced a while back? Well, apparently they weren’t enough for Nintendo, as the Japanese Giant has decided to release a Mega Yarn Yoshi in North America (11/15), Europe (11/27), Australia and New Zealand (11/26) this November.

Look at how he towers over the Wii U gamepad and his tiny counterparts in the above images! But, with size comes a hefty price tag. If you’re looking to add one of these babies to your growing collection (I know I am), you’ll need to fork over a whole $39.99.

That may be a bit much considering the fact that the bigger version will support the same exact functionality as the smaller ones in Yoshi’s Wooly World. When used, the amiibo adds a second Yoshi to the game. Plus, aside from towering over the others, I don’t see much change in terms of appearance.

HT: Nintendo Life

The Metal Gear Solid V Reviews are in, and looking good.

It’s hard to believe, but the launch of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is almost here! With the game releasing next week on September 1, sites around the web have released their official review scores for Hideo Kojima’s final entry in the franchise. It comes as no surprise that it’s been receiving upwards of 9s and several perfect 10s around the web. Check out the review roundup below.

Game Informer: 9.25/10

IGN: 10/10

Game Spot: 10/10

EGM: 9.5/10

Destructoid: 9/10

Game Trailers: 9.3/10

HT: Nerdist

Guerilla Games says RPG elements from Horizon Zero Dawn fit somewhere in between Skyrim and Assassin’s Creed. 

Since Horizon Zero Dawn’s stellar debut at E3, Killzone developer Guerrilla Games has revealed next to nothing about the mysterious open-world post-post-apocalyptic title. We know that the protagonist Aloy is part of a tribe of survivors who hunt strange dino-bots to survive the post-post-apocalyptic world, but that’s about it at this point. Luckily Guerrilla MD and co-founder Hermen Hulst cleared a few things up in the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine.

On the move from Killzone to the open-world RPG, Hulst revealed, “An open-world, for instance, required a huge effort from our technology team to get the systems ready. But also the game design elements such as RPG mechanics and story writing for this kind of game are very different and more difficult and demanding than for games that are more linear. So in those areas we have been very proactive in our recruitment effort. (in reference to Witcher and Fallout developers joining the team)”

When asked whether Horizon offered he same level of RPG depth as the Witcher or Skyrim, he explained, “I guess you’re wondering where we are on that spectrum of, on the one side more action-orientated games like Assassin’s Creed, and on the other hand you have your Elder Scrolls and these kinds of series. I think we’re in-between. We have elements in both directions, and that probably puts us somewhere in between. It’s really difficult to talk about how deep the role-playing experience is without being able to show it yet, because people start speculating on it too much. Once we have something to show we’ll talk about it in more detail.”

I for one enjoyed the extended behind-closed-doors demo I checked out during E3, and can’t wait to hear more

HT: Gamesradar

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That’s it for today everybody. Keep Nerdist tabbed for all your upcoming gaming news, reviews and features!