My fandom for Castlevania is a relatively recent phenomenon. Despite having played a few games in the series over the course of my lifetime, none of them really clicked with me until I spent an extended period of time with the original game on the NES Classic. While this epiphany occurred well after the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter ended, I jumped in just in time for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.
What better way to start NES streaming than with one of the console’s greatest games that hasn’t really made its presence felt on modern platforms? Let’s blaze through Contra!
…with the Konami code, of course.
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My love affair with the God of War franchise was brief, yet torrid. Years after its original release on PlayStation 2, I played the original God of War remaster on the PlayStation 3 and was smitten by its thrilling action. However, my desire to play the remainder of the series fell off a cliff. I felt like God of War II and III were too much of the same and I dropped them before completion. Didn’t even bother playing Ascension because I had completely lost interest.
Almost as if Sony heard my criticisms, this new God of War appears to be the shakeup I wanted. From a new setting, to an emphasis on story and adventure over shock-factor combat, the reviews are glowing and the parts I’ve seen of it look right up my alley. Looking forward to picking this one up tomorrow!
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Mighty Gunvolt: Burst is the amalgamation of two indie franchises that were heavily influenced by the Blue Bomber. Despite being conceived by Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and backed by a multi-million dollar Kickstarter campaign, Mighty No. 9 will go down in history as one of the largest flops in gaming history. As for the Gunvolt half, Azure Striker: Gunvolt has been a more successful IP in terms of critical reception, though I’d never heard of the franchise until this mash-up.
Wouldn’t blame you for feeling skeptical about any game featuring the now-toxic Mighty No. 9 brand, even if it looks like the 8-bit platformer backers of the original Kickstarter wanted in the first place. While I can’t speak for the quality of that game, I can say that Mighty Gunvolt: Burst is actually a pretty decent game.
(NOTE: I didn’t finish the game. I stopped after Kadara. You’ll see why in a minute)
In Mass Effect: Andromeda, you’re certainly not in Kansas anymore. As part of a group of pioneers that left the Milky Way in search of new worlds, you end up in the Andromeda galaxy, where creating a settlement has turned out to be more difficult than originally planned. Do you have what it takes to help the species from the Milky Way establish themselves in this new world?
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows is the first piece of downloadable content for Shovel Knight. This time, you take on the Enchantress and the Order of No Quarter as Plague Knight, one of the bosses from the original game. While it uses the same levels, the experience of playing as Plague Knight gives the game a different, more challenging, and arguably not as fun game.
Nathan Drake makes his PlayStation 4 debut in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. While you’ve probably already beaten the game three times over at this point, I just started. Sorry, was busy. I’m around chapter 8 or so.
While the game starts a bit slow, things have really picked up. I really like how the game has scaled up many of its core ideas in ways that require the power of the new hardware, such as the auction scene filled with people in the main room and objects that realistically fall apart as they get shot. The only thing that has been a bummer so far are that some of the climbing sequences go on for too long. They feel more like filler at times.
Street Fighter has been a huge monkey wrench in my gaming schedule, but I like what I’ve played so far. Will try and chime in with a full review if I ever get around to finishing it!
(Originally posted on splitkick.com. Thanks to the Splitkick team for the edits!)
Kid Icarus on the NES has its fair share of fans, but I’m not one of them. I’ve given the game multiple honest tries, and have always felt that its particular blend of platforming and shooting don’t gel in a way to create a fun experience. Though fans clamored for a new entry in the franchise, I couldn’t have cared less to see Pit star in another game, if it meant a retread of his 2D platforming roots.
Then I played Kid Icarus: Uprising. It is not the retread I was expecting. Instead, it’s a game far more ambitious – and awesome – than I ever would have imagined.
(Originally posted on splitkick.com. Thank you to the Splitkick team for the edits!)
Perched atop a lamppost, I spot my targets. Directly below me are three gun-toting foes who have no idea what’s coming to them. I could simply grapple to the adjacent rooftop to continue my mission, but my bloodlust is running high. I ask myself, “Do I want to cloud their vision with a smoke bomb, then stab each of them in the back? Or can I come up with something more clever?” Scanning my inventory, I find just the thing to liven up this party. In an instant, a swarm of ravenous insects showers down on one of my enemies. As the insects make quick work of his flesh, his partners freak out, and accidentally shoot each other in the commotion. Recognizing that my work was done, I slip off into the darkness to continue my quest.
Though it’s a stretch to classify Mark of the Ninja as a simulation, this 2D stealth platformer makes me feel more like a real ninja than any other video game I’ve played before. Marrying concepts from the NES Ninja Gaiden games with the Arkham series of Batman titles, it’s also one of the coolest games I’ve played in 2012.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor had been sitting on my shelf for almost a year before finally giving it an honest try. Despite the game’s critical acclaim, I had a hard time putting it over other games in my queue due to my disinterest in the Lord of the Rings. As it turns out, the game doesn’t require a background in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic to be enjoyed. Also, it’s awesome.
In Third Person 