In the late 90âČs the PlayStation out-shined Nintendo in the survival horror genre, with games like Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Clock Tower, and Silent Hill. Outside of a port of Resident Evil 2 that arrived on the Nintendo 64, it wasnât until the GameCube when Nintendo became the home to multiple beloved survival horror games, including the Gamecube exclusive, Eternal Darkness. After becoming the home for Resident Evil exclusives (at least at release), Nintendo owners finally got a taste of the Silent Hill series with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, a re-boot of the original Silent Hill, that plays the player, as much as the player plays it.
Shattered Memories follows the story of writer Harry Mason, looking for his daughter after a car crash in the town of Silent Hill. Throughout the intense, albeit short story Shattered Memories Harry traverses, a much more linear version of Silent Hill than in the PlayStation original. Those who have played the original will not find themselves wandering around town trying to find the next place to go, as it is much more straightforward this time around.
The game also changes up how enemies are dealt with. The town of Silent Hill itself is completely free from enemies, and much of the fog that made the world so creepy. Instead these are replaced by the Nightmare world that Harry enters, which is a frozen world instead of the dingy and rusted alternate realities of other Silent Hill games. Inside these claustrophobic scenes Harry must run through a maze of doors and enemies. This is the only time that enemies appear in the games, and Harry must run away from them, instead of having the option to fight them, as in the other entries in the series. Because of this, thereâs much less horror, but the game still offers an intriguing mystery,
Throughout the game the time in Silent Hill is interrupted by therapist sessions, where the gamer must answer certain questions and take place in psychological tests. The way the player answers these questions helps determine the ending that they will get, as well as what the monsters in the Nightmare look like. There are also multiple endings based on choices that the player makes throughout the game like every other entry in the series.
Graphically the game looks pretty good, although a bit grainy. The character models are well polished and the town of Silent Hill looks eerie, and the first couple Nightmare world encounters are pretty intense thanks to the lack of lighting and the overall mood set by the snowy environments. The game also boasts a great control scheme, overall I am not a fan of motion controls, especially in third party games, but this has one of the better motion control schemes on the Wii.
Whatâs ultimately disappoint about Shattered Memories, is itâs repetitive nature. While I appreciate the game going a completely different direction than the original Silent Hill, the nightmare wares off a little too quickly. After the first few hours with the game, youâll have seen everything the gameplay has to offer. The puzzles will become a breeze and the areas that you have to traverse are so small that thereâs almost no exploration. The Nightmare stages also become a bit of a nuisance from the third or fourth time that you enter one.Â
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is still a must own for survival horror fans with a Wii, or fans of the series who are okay with playing a different take on the series formula. Â Despite the gameplay growing stale about three-forths of the way through, there is still fun to be had and this is one of the better adult games on the Wii, even if I found myself wishing I could just watch the ending unfold instead of playing through it.
The Call of Juarez series has definitely had an interesting run. As the series was in the midst of really evolving from a cult title to really breaking into the mainstream, the series dropped itâs Western roots and became just another generic modern first-person shooter in the wake of Call of Duty. Luckily the series returns to itâs Western setting with itâs fourth entry, the budget priced download only title Call of Juarez Gunslinger, as this title is easily the best in the series and one of the more enjoyable shooterâs Iâve played in recent memory.
The game tells the tales of Silas Grieves, a larger than life character telling his larger than life story to a few detectives. Silas narrates most of the game, and the game makes excellent use of the unreliable narrator trope on many occasions. It gives the game a nice sense of humor and it can be fun taking on the same situation from two different perspectives.
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is definitely much more action based than the previous Western entries in the series. Gunslinger takes the arcade approach and has a lot of fun making this game as ridiculous as possible, and an XP and combo system that functions similar to the chain system in Bulletstorm keeps the action fast paced. The duals are also a lot of fun, but can be a bit challenging to get a hang of.
The graphics take a cel-shaded approach and it serves the game nicely. Itâs quite a mild effect, but it adds to the outlandishness of the characterâs actions while still feeling like it is grounded in reality. The voice-acting is great as well and that makes Call of Juarez: Gunslinger a very rare case of an arcade shoot-em-up that actually has a plot and characters worth investing yourself in.
The only real downside to Gunslinger is that it is too short. According to Steam I beat it on the regular difficulty in under four hours. There are separate Arcade and Duel challenges outside of the main story, as well as a New Game + option which I definitely see myself playing through some day soon, but youâll want to see more of these characters when the credits roll.
Iâve always been a fan of the Call of Juarez series, and consider Bound in Blood to be one of the most underrated titles from the PS3/X360 generation. Despite being able to find The Cartel a bit more playable than others, it was an extreme let down and I am very happy that the developers went back to the Wild West. Gunslinger is everything that the past entries in the series have been leading up to and itâs the best game in the series, and I would love to see a full title with multiplayer. After The Cartel, I assumed that I would never get another Call of Juarez game, but after playing Gunslinger I have more optimism for the series now than I have ever before.
Sometimes when life gets too heavy. all one can really do is try and get away for a while. This is the premise behind the beautiful indie title Firewatch by Campo Santo, where you take on the role of Henry a fire lookout in Shoshone National Forest. Armed with only a walkie talkie and the bare essentials, Henry has a summer that he will never forget.
The only companion that Henry has is his supervisor Delilah who he only has contact with through the walkie-talkie. This is all the detail that I am going to go into with the plot, as it is incredibly well written and I would hate to spoil it for anyone who hasnât played the game yet.
While a rather short experience Firewatch is one of those titles that sticks with the player long after they have finished, largely in part to the character development. The writing for this game is top-notch, and the conversations are funny and memorable. It bears many similarities to Portal in this sense. The dialog is smart and funny and you genuinely care about these characters within just a few minutes of exploring the game. Rich Sommer of Mad Men fame does the voice of Henry and does an incredible job.
Firewatch essentially plays as a first person point and click game. Thereâs a lot of exploration required and make sure to use good use of the map as it is rather easy to get turned around. One of my favorite qualities of this game is that the game is always pushing you in the right direction, and wants to you to explore every part of the woods. There were many times where I assumed I would need to backtrack, only to find that I actually just needed to move forward instead of going back the way I came. This is a rather short game and very little of it is spent backtracking. I appreciate that there wasnât an attempt to pad the games length with walking back and forth from the same locations over and over again.
Firewatch is a short and straightforward experience that will last with you long after you are done playing and is easily one of the first must play titles of 2016.
Fallout 4 comes home in the newest installment in the renowned post-apocalyptic RPG series. While it doesnât feel quite as new as it once did, the tried and true gameplay of the last gen-entries in the series gets a nice upgrade
Starting before the bombs fall, Fallout 4âČs opening is incredibly intense and cinematic. Itâs nice getting a feel for what the world was like before it became the post-apocalyptic universe we know of it as today. Iâm not going to spoil too much of the plot, but pretty soon you end up in a vault and the bombs fall. Thanks to cryogenic sleep you are soon out exploring the Commonwealth (Boston and itâs surrounding areas), a fitting area given that it is where developer Bethesda is based.
The world of Fallout 4 feels somewhere in between Fallout 3âČs more closed quarters and the open desert of New Vegas. You wonât be forced to fight your way through mutant infested subway systems, but youâll often run into settlements full of people to help, or in most cases kill.
The game very much builds on the formula set up by the past games, and doesnât take too many risks. The crafting and customization aspects of the game are much more in-depth and I actually found myself wanting to use them a lot more than in previous games. The two biggest changes in the game are the settlement system and the combat.Â
The settlement system allows you to build homes and settlements that computer characters join. If you take it far enough you can have an expansive settlement system in place, allowing different settlements to trade and interact with each other. This requires you to do mundane tasks for the villagers, as well as build them the structures they need and protect them. Given that I very much enjoyed the house building of Hearthfire in Skyrim, I was very excited to give this a shot, however it fell to the side almost immediately, replaced by eager exploration of the new world.
The combat definitely feels a bit different in this game. It could be because I was playing on a PC for the first time, but I found myself using VATS a lot less than in previous Fallout games and playing the game more like a standard First Person Shooter. While Iâm sure I wasted a good amount of ammo doing this, it felt like the game was better suited for it than past entries. Perhaps this is because VATS no longer freezes time, just slows it.
Graphically Fallout 4 is a beautiful game that looks like a Bethesda game. Iâm thankful to report that I didnât run into any bugs in my way across the wasteland, as can be common with these kinds of games. The audio was great as well and I especially enjoyed having a voice actor for the main character. It makes the story that much more immersive.
Perhaps by biggest disappointment with the game was with the writing. This will be a rather spoiler free review, but there may be some spoilers in this next paragraph so please skip if you donât want anything to potentially be spoiled. At the 2/3 or 3/4 mark of the game the story falls victim of some lazy writing. This game has you choose which faction you want to fight with and this determines the ending of the story. I had already been pretty set in my ways of who I wanted to side with, but I knew that it was going to be a tough emotional choice and the game would try to get me to change my mind. Unfortunately a âplot twistâ late in the game removes any emotional weight that the decision would have had, making it a MUCH easier decision than it should have been.
Aside from this, I have little to complain about in Fallout 4. While itâs not the revolutionary title Fallout 3 was, it builds on that gameâs strengths incredibly well. Iâve spent a lot of time in the Commonwealth, but I am excited to keep pressing on and seeing what the world has in store for me.
Upon its release at the beginning of the 3DSâs lifecycle Splinter Cell 3D was critically panned and rightfully so. A port of the incredible Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Splinter Cell 3D did nothing to show of the capabilities of the 3DS. On top of that the entire multiplayer suite has been removed and the enemy AI has been dumbed down considerably. That being said, a few years removed from its release Splinter Cell 3D is a surprisingly addicting entry on the 3DS that satisfies a niche of action game not found on the system.
Aside of Ghost Recon Shadow Wars and Metal Gear Solid there really isnât much in the way of modern action adventure titles on the 3DS. Itâs refreshing to play a title more grounded in reality and isnât another excursion into one of Nintendoâs usual universes. Splinter Cell 3D puts you in the shoes of Sam Fisher as he tries to stop World War Three.
The control scheme is probably the hardest part of the title to get used to. With just one analog stick the main four buttons control the camera with everything else left to the touch screen and triggers. It takes a few missions to master and because the camera feels more zoomed in on Sam than it did in the console entry itâs a bit harder to be aware of your surroundings. This is made up for by dumbed down enemy AI. The game is considerably easier than it was when first released and chances are youâll do more running and gunning.
The single player is still pretty thrilling once you get the hang of the controls and get further into the story. While it is disappointing that none of the multiplayer aspects made there way into the game I doubt many people would be playing so itâs hard to see as a serious loss.
The graphics in the game are quite standard for the 3DS. Character models are blocky and most of the environments are dark and drab. The game uses the audio from Chaos Theory but what is missing is subtitles. An odd omission for a game that is on a handheld so bring headphones if youâre on the go and want to follow along.
I went into this title with incredibly low expectations and was surprised how hard it was to put down. While itâs by no means one of the systems stronger titles those looking for an espionage/action game for the 3DS should definitely look into picking this up at the budget price you can find it used these days. Score 7/10
Picked this up this weekend. The reviews are god awful but given the price and that Chaos Theory is one of my favorite games I had to give it a shot. It's a little clunky but once you get used to the control scheme it's surprisingly hard to put down.
This weekend I also picked up a Sega Genesis. I've never owned a Sega console in the past, looking forward to exploring the system and playing some titles I've never played before. I'll be sure to post reviews for the titles I spend a good amount of time with!
Everyone knows about Tetris, the puzzle game that took the world and Gameboy by storm. Most Nintendo gamers are familiar with the Dr. Mario puzzle series as well. The link between these two puzzle game behemoths is Tetris 2. A Nintendo exclusive that mixes the two games together. Despite borrowing heavily from Dr. Mario I felt as though Tetris 2 is a bit more straightforward. After several attempts at trying (and failing) to understand how the color matching on Dr. Mario worked I felt like I was able to grasp the gameplay much faster with Tetris 2. Graphically Tetris 2 is classic SNES era Nintendo. It's very colorful and the fun backgrounds of the levels offer some variety so you're not just staring at the same columns over and over again. The audio is quite catchy as well and allows you to chose what song you want to listen to. The highlight of Tetris 2 is the multiplayer mode. Racing to see who can clear their screen first gamers must simultaneously make sure their block placement is smart while keeping an eye on your opponents progress. It's the right amount of friendly competition for some same couch multiplayer. Tetris 2 is far from origins but a lot of fun. Before stumbling upon it at a second hand store I had no idea it existed, let alone changed the gameplay completely. Puzzle enthusiasts will have a great time with Tetris 2. Score 8/10
Picked this up this weekend. I havenât played a Castlevania game since Dawn of Sorrow. Really enjoyed the bit Iâve played so far. Iâve mostly been playing Fire Emblem lately and Iâve really enjoyed playing a game thatâs a bit more light hearted and donât need to over think every move
The story behind Star Fox Adventures is well known by now. Coming off of so many successes on the Nintendo 64, Rare started developing a game called Dinosaur Planet. It got pushed back to the GameCube and eventually became the next entry in the Star Fox series, making quite the jump from being a flying shooter to a mostly on foot Zelda clone. My time with Star Fox Adventures can best be described as a roller coaster. A ride that almost reaches points of greatness before dipping into valleys of mediocrity. The game starts out slow, very slow. In fact you don't even play as Fox right away. When you land on Dinosaur Planet you are tasked with saving Tricky a young dinosaur who will aid you on your adventure. Tricky is incredibly obnoxious and worse than most of the fairies on Zelda titles. At the beginning the game holds your hand way too much. Making the fact that the gameplay is that of a Zelda clone painfully obvious. Once you get a few hours in and you start to explore the world opens up a bit more and it feels fresh and exciting. The buddy system with Tricky works well for the most part and getting new powers for Fox's staff (the games main weapon) is satisfying. However as you get further and further into the game you realize just how incredibly limited the world is. The game does not have the sense of exploration the Zelda titles have and it slows the pace of the game. You constantly feel like you're going from point A to point B with no reason or way to explore this world you've been dropped into which is quite a pity because this world has plenty of potential. Considering how large Rare's titles on the N64 were it's shocking how barebones this world feels. There are multiple parts of the planet to explore but you get to them by flying your Arwing instead of being able to walk around and explore. The game looks like classic Rare and that's probably one of the best things about the game. The sound design is great too but you'll get annoyed by Tricky in no time. There was a lot of potential to give the Star Fox series a fresh coat of paint and Adventures holds back too much to live up to its potential. As a die hard Rare fan from the SNES and N64 era the company's swan song with Nintendo is a disappointing one. While the game is entirely playable and has some fun moments, it's too shallow of an experience that will be constantly reminding you of games of a similar vein that were much more enjoyable. 7.0/10
Hello all sorry for the lack of posts lately. This blog was mainly a way for me to work on my writing during down time at work. It got switched to a different position back in January and don't have access to tumblr during the work day anymore. Suffice to say I really started to miss writing on this blog so I decided to start it up again, mainly from my phone. I was a little uncertain about writing reviews via mobile, since it isn't as likely to catch errors and what not so please bear with me while I figure it out. Anyways, excited to be back. 2016 is looking to be a great year for Nintendo
A little late the party, Lego Batman 2 finally launched on the Wii U around a year after it launched on other consoles. On the other consoles it introduced the open world gameplay as well as original voice acting. On the Wii U, none of this is new, considering that it was released a good two months after the Wii U exclusive Lego City Undercover. The core gameplay still holds up despite being overshadowed by some of the more recent releases in the Lego series.
The open world is much smaller than say the New York City found in Lego Marvel Super Heroes. The character roster isn a bit disappointing as well. You will spend most of your time playing as either Batman or Robin. Each character has multiple power suits that gives them different abilities to solve the puzzles around the game world, but the game doesnât cash in on the subtitle âDC Super Heroesâ until the very end of the game. There are plenty of characters from the DC universe that are unlockablento use during free play, but in the story mode youâll be playing most as Batman and Robin.
The plot finds Joker and Lex Luther teaming up as Luther is running for president and Batman and Robin must foil their plans. There are plenty of exciting set pieces to traverse through, especially the vehicle levels which provide a fun change of pace from running around and breaking everything in sight.
Overall this is one of the easier games in the Lego series. The puzzles made a lot more sense to me than in other entries which provided a nice break from the frustration Iâve experienced with other Lego titles. The game is expertly paced and ends before it wears out itâs welcome, ensuring most players will experiment with free play.
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes isnât the best Lego game on the Wii U, but itâs still a solid title and is easily the best entry of the Lego Batman titles. If youâre a Batman fan and can overlook the lack of characters present in the story mode, this is definitely a game with playing. Everyone else looking for a Lego superhero fix should move onto Lego Marvel.
With the most recent 007 outings lacking the âitâ factor that James Bond had when I was a kid, I decided to go back and play through some of the previous entries in the series. Despite the lack of interest that I have in the current film outings of everyoneâs favorite MI6 spy, the kid in me feels the need to play through every James Bond game that is released, despite how bad it may be. Luckily, in the early 2000âs the series has strong as ever, and the first release of the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox Agent Under Fire, saw EA taking the first person shooter formula from Goldeneye 007 and The World is Not Enough and decided to create their own James Bond plot, the results are mostly positive.
Looking back at Agent Under Fire itâs hard not to notice how much the newer James Bond games (since Activision took over) have been standard Call of Duty clones that lack the feel of being Bond. Sure the newer entries in the series have taken a more realistic approach, but there is just something about the vibe of this game that is leagues above the newer titles. As you traverse the world and engage in high speed pursuits you feel like you are in a James Bond film.
Another change that is quite noticeable is how short the levels in the game are. That is not to say they are bad by any means, but the individual missions can be completed quite quickly. Once you know what you are doing you can complete the first ten levels, at least, in under ten minutes a piece. This keeps the pace of the game moving briskly, as you go from fast paced shooting missions, to epic car chases, and sneaking your way through embassy taking guards out with dart guns.
The inclusion of the â007â moves is sorely missed in new James Bond games. Pulling off these moves by taking out multiple enemies with the environment or using your gadgets is incredibly satisfying, even if they are a bit too easy to spot at times. The graphics of the game are alright, typical third party fare for the time period. Bond looks surprisingly like Sterling Archer which is cool.
Where the game really starts to show itâs age is with the control scheme. The driving and on-rails sections work like a charm, but the first person shooter gameplay takes a while to get used to. Itâs nowhere near as tight as it is in the later games such as Nightfire, and you can tell this game is a product of a time when first person shooters were just starting to enter the âdual analogâ era, and while you use both analog sticks to make your way through the environment, it definitely doesnât work like modern shooters, so it will take a bit of time to get used to.
007 Agent Under Fire represents the golden age of James Bond games. Sure most people will say that the series went downhill immediately after Goldeneye, but these original titles, especially Agent Under Fire and Nightfire, really made the player feel like Bond in a brand new story that they have never experienced before. While itâs sequel would be a much tighter product, anyone looking for a more old-school approach at the genre, would definitely enjoy their time with this title.
A lot of games fail to live up to their full potential, but at the end of the day there even if the outer layers are a bit rough, there is still some fun to be had. However there are a few games that donât even begin to scratch the surface of their potential, and Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate is one of those games. There is so much potential for there to be a great handheld experience in this title, but sadly the game doesnât even attempt to strive for greatness.
When announced Blackgate seemed like a fantastic idea. A sequel to the fantastic console game Batman Arkham Origins, Blackgate takes the combat system that the Arkham series has become famous for and put it in a 2.5D Metroidvania title. The very thought of this brought back memories of some of the great side scrolling beat âem ups of the NES and Super NES era. Classic Metroid gameplay with the Batman Arkham series combat system? Sign me up! While the combat is surprisingly fluid, almost nothing else in the game works as it should, making for an incredibly clunky experience.
To make matters worse the gameâs introduction is easily the most enjoyable part of the game. Before Batman makes his way to Blackgate Prison he chases Catwoman through the streets of Gotham. While the world is much more limited and structured than the console versions of the game, you really do feel like Batman. Gliding and running across rooftops, the on-rails nature of this sequence makes it feel like you are moving quickly and with the agility of the Dark Knight. However once you get into Blackgate itâs a completely different story.
When inside the prison the controls are clunky, and Batman moves incredibly slow, even when running. With so many empty corridors of the prison to explore it starts to feel like a chore getting from one side of the room to the other. The 2.5D gameplay fails to be immersive as you can only move left and right, but then are at certain points expected to interact with a vents or doors that are in the background. It leaves the player feeling incredibly restrained when exploring the levels, constantly changing not only the perspective but the range of motion that the player has.
One of the main components of the series has always been Detective Mode which allows you to scan the area to find secrets and walls and floors that can be destroyed. Detective Mode is included with Blackgate, but instead of being incredibly helpful like it is on the console it is an absolute mess on the 3DS and adds only to the clunky nature of the game. Detective Mode is activated on the touch screen and then you scan the area by moving the circle pad.
This wouldnât be such an issue if the game didnât require you to scan everything for a few seconds before you are able to interact with it. Having to constantly pick up the stylus to scan and then put it back to interact with the world is incredibly annoying and cumbersome, especially if you are playing on the go, as most playing a 3DS would be. A simple solution would have been to map the Detective Mode to one of the triggers or a button, but as it stands the solution is incredibly inconvenient, slowing the pace in a game that already moves slow enough.
It really is a shame that all these details hold the game back, as the combat system is incredibly fluid just like on the consoles. While itâs obviously not quite as deep, itâs incredibly functional, probably the most functional part of this title. Itâs nice that the combat has been translated pretty well, but since the rest of the game is so clunky it doesnât really matter. It wouldâve been a lot more forgivable if they had dumbed down the combat and created a more interesting, playable world for the game to take place in.
Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate is one of those games that I really, really wanted to love. I kept coming back to it, time and time again, hoping that it would stick and I would be able to enjoy it like I did the console entries in the series. Unfortunately the game is lackluster at best, and even the most die hard Batman fans would better off picking up one of the Lego Batman games for their on the go Batman needs.
