review

Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar Review Review

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During my childhood, the original Fireball Island board game made quite the impression on me. Unlike many games of its time, this one was played on a 3D board, complete with pathways, hills, rickety bridges, and an ominous fireball-shooting mountain at the top. You could steal treasure from other players by passing them on the board. Of course, there was also the fireballs. Strategically positioned on the map, you could send one crashing into your rivals, knocking them down while causing them to drop their treasure. This level of adventure and treachery was beyond cool at the time.

Though the original has been long out of print, the game returns as a modern remaster from Restoration Games. Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar certainly looks the part when you set it all up, but does it maintain the essence of the original while making the game play well for modern times?

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First Impressions of the PlayStation Classic

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Classic? Hardly. Panned by critics and gamers for falling well short of their expectations, the PlayStation Classic has failed to find an audience. Even after the price drops and promotions, these mini consoles continue to collect dust on store shelves.

But is the PlayStation Classic truly worth dodging at all costs? Once I saw the console on sale at 75% off its original retail price, I decided to buy one. Figured at that price, it’s at least a functional mini console with a few all-time greats, such as Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid. With greatly-reduced expectations and purchased at a price that won’t break the bank, I skim what it has to offer to see if the unit has any merit.

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Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire Showed Me How Cool VR Can Be

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From the blocky pixels of Star Wars on the Atari 2600, to the large-scale combat of Star Wars: Battlefront 2, video games have continually evolved in order to bring players closer to the action. Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire is a VR experience that raises the bar for immersion to an all-time high.

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Tetris 99 – Season 1 Big Block DLC Review

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Tetris 99 has been one of 2019’s biggest surprises. Putting a battle royale spin on a timeless classic has grown to become Nintendo Switch Online’s killer app. Even with only one mode during the first few months of the game’s existence, I’ve poured dozens of hours into the game and had no plans of stopping.

But for players looking to shake things up, the Big Block DLC is available for purchase. For $9.99 USD, you get access to two new offline modes. Are these new additions enough to pry you away from the online multiplayer action?

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Reviewing Games as an Independent Content Creator

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I’m in the midst of writing my review for Mortal Kombat 11. Taking a moment to reflect on what I’d written thus far, it was over 1,000 words long, with the vast majority of it being focused on a handful of new gameplay adjustments that I find really cool. Whether I keep it all or not, being my own boss here at In Third Person gives me the wiggle room to approach my evaluation of the game in any way I so choose.

Having that freedom is really important to me with regards to the work I do here. While reviews are a staple of the video game content mix, I also find them to be a chore. Especially when you’re writing them with the goal of covering every aspect of what a game has to offer so that your readers can make an informed purchasing decision. It’s an unnatural way to consume and write about games that can really wear someone down over time. If it’s a game you don’t like, the strain to complete the game and review is amplified further.

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Bob Ross: The Art of Chill Review

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Long after his passing, the legacy of Bob Ross continues to shine. Episodes of his show The Joy of Painting are still popular online decades after its television run ended in the 90s. Though I don’t think anyone imagined that his work would have an impact on the board game world, there are two in his name as of writing.

Bob Ross: The Art of Chill does not involve any actual drawing or painting. You’ll want to play Bob Ross: Happy Little Accidents for that type of experience. Instead, it is a strategy game that loosely simulates the experience of painting alongside the legend himself. Can you keep up with Bob Ross and achieve maximum chill? Or at the very least, make the most of your happy little accidents?

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A Look Back at Wrestlemania 2000 on the Nintendo 64

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During AKI’s legendary run of producing some of the best wrestling games ever made, they made two for the WWF: WWF Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF No Mercy. The latter is widely recognized by many – including me – as the single greatest wrestling video game of all-time. The former is…the precursor everyone forgot about in the shadow of the greatest wrestling video game of all time. Quite frankly, I have largely blocked out the existence of Wrestlemania 2000 from my mind until the opportunity arose to stream it on the eve of Wrestlemania 35. Playing the game again served as a great reminder for what makes it enjoyable to this day, but also why it faded into obscurity.

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20XX Review

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20XX by Batterystaple Games isn’t afraid to show where its inspiration came from. From the design of its main characters, to the feel of the game’s controls, right down to aping one of the most iconic intro screens in gaming, this is an unapologetic riff on the Mega Man franchise, particularly the X series of games. However, some fundamental changes to the core formula flip the standard bot-battling formula on its head.

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Mayflash Magic-NS Wireless Controller Adapter Review

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The Nintendo Joy-Con controllers work great in portable mode, and serve as a handy way for 2-player action when no other controller options are available. However, as a standalone controller in the Joy-Con grip, it falls well short of the standard. Buying a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller isn’t cheap, and you still might prefer the feel of the PlayStation or Xbox controllers. For me, I want to play fighting games with a fightstick, but I’m not ready to pay hundreds of dollars for one just to use on the Switch.

Enter the Mayflash Magic-NS. This USB adapter is designed to let Switch players use a number of different controllers from outside of the Nintendo Switch ecosystem. I recently picked one up to address my fightstick needs, but I also tried it with my DualShock 4 and Xbox One Controller.

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Anthem Impressions

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Life at BioWare has been pretty rocky. Despite being a great game overall, the fallout over Mass Effect 3‘s disappointing endings was one of the biggest news stories of that year. Then, Mass Effect: Andromeda was released a few years later to much criticism. Falling well short of expectations in terms of critical acclaim and sales, I’m concerned that we might never see Mass Effect again after that debacle.

This time, the studio left Shepard behind to tell an all-new adventure in Anthem. It’s also a very different type of game. Leaving much of the choose-your-own-adventure elements behind, this game is a looter shooter in the style of Destiny.

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