Music is prominent in our day to day lives because of the amount of emotions it can give us. Whether it’s sadness, happiness, anger – it can illicit memories and induce feelings, creating moments that stay with you for the rest of time and take you out of the moment and into another space. For musicians, this is a lifestyle, not just a hobby, and the wonderful thing about games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Dance Revolution is that they make feeling like a musician – regardless of whether you have talent or an affinity for instruments and the craft – a lot more accessible to the masses by handing them peripherals to make the immersion that much more real. With Gal Metal, no peripherals are needed, as your life as a drummer begins as soon as you pick up your Joy-Con and start tapping away with the motion, hitting at imaginary drums as you try to save the world from an alien invasion with the power of metal. It’s a lot of fun when it feels good, however the accuracy, timing, and calibration more often than not are off-tempo, even if you’re not, making it for an imaginative but somewhat lackluster experience.

More: DMM Games, Gal Metal, highlight, marvelous, top, XSEED Games

[Let’s Talk] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct reactions – November 2018

Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments

A Nintendo Direct for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rolled right in and aired earlier this week. Nintendo pretty much filled in the blanks on some of the uncertainties surrounding the game. The last initial characters were revealed, DLC was confirmed, the Spirits mode was detailed, we got a first look at the new Adventure Mode: World of Light, and more. There was a lot that was discussed in the end, so this recap should come in handy if you want to get a quick reminder on everything shown.

Now that we mostly know about everything surrounding Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, how is everyone feeling about the game? Did this week’s Nintendo Direct get you more hyped or were you disappointed? What do you think about the final characters that were announced? If you have any thoughts about the new Smash Bros., be sure to share them with us in the comments below.

More: highlight, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, top

[Review] Save me Mr Tako: Tasukete Tako-San

Posted on 6 years ago by Jakob Vujovic(@jakovujo) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments

System: Switch (eShop)
Release date: October 30, 2018
Developer: Christophe Galati / Nicalis
Publisher: Nicalis

If you’ve gone back at all to the vast catalog of Game Boy games, you might be surprised by how so much of it is really doesn’t hold up. The Game Boy was Nintendo’s first true portable system with swappable game carts, rather than a single-purpose LCD Game & Watch toy. It had to be able to run actual games, with actual computer processors. These processors were very out-of-date even when the Game Boy was new, with its Z80 CPU having powered many computers from the late 1970s. As the first of its kind, the grey brick was a heap of technical and financial compromises; but it could run the oddball Super Mario Land, and later Tetris, Pokémon, and even a Zelda game in Link’s Awakening. Trying to adapt overly ambitious home-console NES game for the meager capabilities of the machine lead to cases like Metroid II, Castlevania: The Adventure, and Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge. I have tried going back to these games on the 3DS Virtual Console, and they just aren’t fun.

More: highlight, Nicalis, Save me Mr Tako: Tasukete Tako-San, top

Are Switch ports getting out of hand?

Posted on 6 years ago by Eric Zauch in Features, Videos | 0 comments

I’ve been a gamer since cartridges were the size of a Switch, and through those many nostalgic years, I’ve built up memories. Those memories are dear to me and though some may be more tinted by the goggles of time than others, reliving them in my adult years still brings back emotions I had all but forgotten. There is a part of my brain that wonders, “If I’m using precious hours playing old games, what new games am I not experiencing?” This dilemma has become even more apparent as we enter the age of “ports”. I love both new and old experiences, and now find myself torn by the two. These are some of my thoughts on the subject, what are yours?

More: highlight, top

[Let’s Talk] Predict the release months of these 2019 Switch games

Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments

If you thought 2018 was a bit slow in terms of big new Switch games published by Nintendo, there’s a good chance that 2019 will raise your spirits. We actually know about quite a few games that due out next year. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe kicks things off on January 11. Other confirmed titles include Yoshi’s Crafted World, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Daemon X Machina, Animal Crossing, and a new core Pokemon entry. Other possibilities include Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4. There have also been rumors about a Star Fox racing game from Retro Studios.

Nintendo should clarify its plans further in the months ahead – at least for the first half of 2019. No one knows if we’ll get another general Nintendo Direct before the year is over, but we could see a thing or two at The Game Awards, and January presentations have been a thing for the past few years.

While we wait, let’s play a little game. Try to predict the release windows of the games mentioned above. The likes of Yoshi’s Crafted World and Fire Emblem: Three Houses seem like games that could drop during the first half based on what Nintendo has said previously, but what about launch months? If you want to go further than that and take a random guess, you could even name a specific release date you believe would make sense. It might also be worth discussing if you believe Metroid Prime 4 and / or Bayonetta 3 will be 2019 titles. The goal here is to try and predict how Nintendo will structure its lineup for 2019.

More: highlight, top

[Review] Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Posted on 6 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

System: Switch
Release date: October 16, 2018
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft

The cosmos has always been fascinating. From our blue dot, Earth, being able to look up and see the stars shine, it’s natural to wonder what’s out there or what it’d be like to walk on other planets or visit other solar systems first hand. It’s because of this that I’ve always found sci-fi and space exploration intriguing regardless of the medium helping to bring those thoughts and galaxies to fruition with our imagination. Titles like Mass Effect, Elite Dangerous, Everspace, No Man’s Sky, and so much more have helped bring us as close as possible to experiencing the extraterrestrial within the comfort of our own homes (with significantly less danger) and laid the foundation as well as continue to push various ideas on what lies beyond the exosphere in a variety of different ways. Starlink: Battle for Atlas takes the best parts of space exploration, planetary farming, star battles, and more and brings them together in a way that’s immersive both in and out of the game with a toys-to-life approach that, surprisingly, doesn’t actually need any toys to be enjoyed to its fullest.

More: highlight, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, top, Ubisoft

Here’s what’s new in Dragon Quest Builders 2

Posted on 6 years ago by Eric Zauch in Features, News, Switch, Videos | 0 comments

When I had my first random encounter with the original Dragon Quest Builders (DQB), I was ready to add it to the stack of other Minecraft clones that were all melting into one. I decided to fire up the demo anyway, and luckily I did because what the game boiled down to was liquid metal fun. Though my time with the game was great, some areas were a little under-leveled. Luckily for us, Square Enix has been on the grind to level up the DQB short comings. There is a lot to cover here, so find a House of Healing, save that game, and prepare for a stack of Dragon Quest Builders 2 facts that will have you ready to rocket into the next game.

More: Dragon Quest Builders 2, highlight, Square Enix, top

Let’s get you battle ready for Wargroove

Posted on 6 years ago by Eric Zauch in Features, Switch eShop, Videos | 0 comments

Games developed by Chucklefish are no laughing matter and my excitement levels for their upcoming game Wargroove, are off the scale. However, the most I’d seen of Wargroove was a couple of ancient trailers and the odd tweet. Thus, I took it upon myself to fish out a little more info and I was delighted with what I found. Now that I’m ready to boogie on down to the tactical groove, it’s time to prepare you for battle, as the war is almost here.

More: Chucklefish, highlight, top, Wargroove

[Review] Warriors Orochi 4

Posted on 6 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

System: Switch
Release date: October 16, 2018
Developer: Omega Force
Publisher: Koei Tecmo

The Warriors series spans decades across a multitude of eras, spinoffs, and properties, and has become a cornerstone in what it means to have feel-good hack-and-slash gameplay that’s as fun as it is memorable and unique. Warriors Orochi itself – a crossover between the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series – is over ten years old now, and with each new entry has come new mechanics, more playable characters, and a story that’s as wacky as it is over-the-top with its action prowess. Warriors Orochi 4 has its biggest roster yet, spanning 170 characters across both series each with their own era, specialty, class, weapon, and fighting style. The biggest difference between this and other entries, however, is the inclusion of magic, which really helps to change things up and introduce a fresh and exciting way to execute moves and combos out on the battlefield.

More: highlight, Koei Tecmo, Omega Force, top, Warriors Orochi 4

[Let’s Talk] What would you want out of a Switch revision?

Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments

One of the bigger news topics in the Switch scene recently stemmed from a Wall Street Journal report. The publication reported that Nintendo is planning some sort of revision, which would arrive in the second half of 2019.

What exactly Nintendo is planning remains unclear. The Wall Street Journal said “Nintendo is still debating what new hardware and software features to include in the upgrade and weighing the cost of the features”. The company could choose to improve the display, but that probably wouldn’t be all.

Assuming this Switch revision exists, what would you like out of it? Would you want the design to change in any way? How about slightly beefier specs? Let us know in the comments below.