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Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Review

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Over the course of seven games released outside of Japan, only one Fire Emblem title has failed to impress me. That dud is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. Starring Marth, arguably better known now for his appearance in the Smash Bros. series, it was a remake of the first game in the series. Despite featuring updated graphics, its antiquated story and gameplay remained, leaving a lot to be desired for players who jumped on the bandwagon through more refined entries in the franchise.

My concern all along for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was that it would suffer the same fate as Shadow Dragon. As a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the series that was initially released in 1992, its fair to assume at the outset that this also would have aged poorly. Does this remake suffer the same fate as its predecessor? Continue reading →

Batman: The Telltale Series Review

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After the runaway success of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, the company continued their string of adventure games with Borderlands, Minecraft and Game of Thrones. This time, they head over to Gotham to tell a new story about the Caped Crusader. For years, we’ve played action games starring Batman. How does he fare in this story-driven format?

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Ultra Street Fighter II Review

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Street Fighter II is back! Again! For the last time! Yeah, probably not the last time, but whatever.

After a countless number of iterations over the last few decades (!), Capcom rolls out the latest version of its signature fighting game franchise with Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers on the Nintendo Switch. Is this a worthwhile addition to the franchise and to your collection?

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Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment Review

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Following the success of Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games released Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows. It was a free downloadable campaign that allowed you to play through the existing levels as Plague Knight. While I appreciate the level of effort that went into making the Plague Knight experience differ, it came at the cost of Plague Knight not being as fun of a character to play as.

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment seems to have learned from the mistakes of the past. This time, you play as a new character that moves with a fluidity that Plague Knight sorely lacked. You also get to use this new character in heavily revised levels that are tuned to match their play style. One could even argue that the end result might be better than the original game.

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Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows Review

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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.

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Coming Soon: NBA Playgrounds Review

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For the last few days, I’ve been playing NBA Playgrounds on the Nintendo Switch. I’ve been working on a review, but I don’t feel comfortable publishing it until online play is activated on the Switch. When that goes live, I’ll give it a go and finish the review.

What I can say for the time being is that it’s fun, but highly flawed. The game’s shooting mechanics make shooting 3s too easy and 2s too difficult. The AI is unbalanced, as it will steal the ball from you every two seconds, but can’t stop a long range shot to save its life. Unless you’re a fan of the sport with an unshakeable urge to play a modern NBA Jam, you can probably pass on this one. Full review coming soon!

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Defenders of the Triforce – Real Escape Game Review

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Defenders of the Triforce takes the Legend of Zelda universe into the real world with an escape challenge game. Touring across North America this summer, my family and I gave it a shot when it came to our city. Should you carve some time out of your busy schedule to try out this limited run challenge?

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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Review

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Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U almost became the definitive title in the franchise. While it stunned players with gorgeous visuals and racing that has been fine-tuned over the course of decades of innovation, its half-hearted battle mode that didn’t feature battle-mode-specific tracks was the worst in the series.

Years later, Nintendo addresses this flaw in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch with an all-new battle mode. For good measure, the game also features all of the DLC from the Wii U, a handful of new characters and a few minor gameplay updates as well. Better late than never, as this is the new pinnacle for the franchise and the genre.

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Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Review

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The default Joy-Con controllers on the Nintendo Switch provide an unprecedented level of versatility, from acting as the controllers on a portable unit, to working as a standalone controller when attached to a Joy-Con Grip, or even as two separate controllers when split in half. This versatility, however, comes at a cost. In particular, when used with a Joy-Con Grip, it works okay, but it’s certainly no substitute for a more traditional controller.

To address this issue, you could buy a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. It definitely looks the part, though its steep price point may give you pause. Is this control alternative worth it?

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1-2 Switch Review

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1-2 Switch is a direct callback to a time not that long ago when Nintendo took the world by storm with motion controls. A time that many gamers would rather forget. Many felt burned by controllers that did a poor job of tracking our movements and motion-based games that were shallow or just plain bad. That being said, Nintendo hopes that the casual crowd that fell in love with Wii Sports will fall in love again with 1-2 Switch. Has Nintendo caught lighting in a bottle twice? Or is this a relic of the past that should have stayed buried?

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