[Review] 3D Out Run
Posted on 9 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, Reviews | 6 Comments
System: Nintendo 3DS eShop
Release Date: March 12, 2015
Developer: Sega AM2/M2
Publisher: Sega
Author: Patrick
When Sega announced their line of remastered “Classics” for the 3DS, the one I was really holding out for was Out Run. Being born in an era where arcades barely mattered, I’d only had a single chance to play the original arcade cabinet so my familiarity with the game mostly came from the fact that it has already been ported to just about every console in existence. While most of these ports captured the game’s relaxed feel and addictive gameplay, they did vary wildly in quality so I was curious to see how well this 3DS version stacked up. Is it faithful to Yu Suzuki’s original classic?
Well yeah, of course. The emulation experts at M2 always go to crazy lengths to get the small details accurate as possible while throwing in heaps of extra content and hidden bonuses. What really surprised me was how well Out Run holds up in the year 2015.
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[Review] Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Reviews | 12 Comments
“Of course, I thanked my friend. Manners are the finest dessert, as we in Yukuko say.”
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: February 13th, 2015
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Author: Austin
Monster Hunter, from outside the cult of its supporters, looks awfully intimidating doesn’t it? Just the phrases that come to mind when people bring it up– “gear grind”, “brutally difficult”, “extremely inaccessible”, “clunky”, “time sink”– don’t exactly do the series any favors in the eyes of newcomers, so it hardly comes as a revelation that the appeal of its extremely nuanced and strategic real-time combat system has remained limited outside of Japan. Something about that country seems to give them a higher tolerance for this sort of thing.
Nevertheless, Capcom seems to be enchanted with the idea of Monster Hunter’s ubiquity in the west, and so we’ve arrived on the doorstep of Monster Hunter 4’s release on 3DS.
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Perhaps the most important thing to understand about Monster Hunter 4 up front is that it exists unapologetically; it’s easy to feel some sort of fundamental inspiration driving all of this game’s decisions. From the clunky (though, the word “nuanced” truly does fit it more appropriately) controls in combat to the feline-laced aesthetic, this game knows what it wants to be and it does not sully itself with watered-down mechanics or simplify itself for the sake of more instant appeal. It’s not for everyone, and it doesn’t try to be.
That being said: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is easily as approachable as this idea has ever been.
More: 3DS, highlight, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, review
[Review] Chariot (Wii U)
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in Features, Reviews, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment
Author:Vincent W.
Nowadays, finding a good couch co-op game to play with a friend isn’t as easy as it seems. In an industry that strives on giving an experience targeted towards online play, enjoyable games that let you sit down with a close friend or sibling in the same room are few and far between. That’s not to say that online gaming is bad or a step in the wrong direction. But there’s a feeling you get when you’re close enough to smack the controller out of their hand after they wreck you in games such as Smash and Mario Kart that feels like no other. Now Frima Studio is ready to take it back to the good old couch co-op days with their puzzle-platformer Chariot.
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[Review] Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Reviews, Wii U | 6 Comments
Author: Austin
Hello everyone, this is our review of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker for the Wii U. I wrote it and spoke the words and edited it, so if you have any problems with it I’m the person to blame. Enjoy! Approximate transcript after the break.
[Review] Fantasy Life (3DS)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, Features, Reviews | 7 Comments
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 24th, 2014 (NA) September 26/27, 2014 (EU/AU)
Developer: Level 5, 1-UP Studio
Publisher: Nintendo
Author: Austin
Paper Skyrim.
The defining feature of Nintendo’s Paper Mario series is, undoubtedly, its warmth. Characters and locales that are at once unbelievable and entirely lovable, supported by music that makes you forget you’re not a kid anymore, all tied together by a simple but enjoyable story of saving the kingdom from certain doom.
The defining feature of Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series is, undoubtedly, its scope. Hundreds of quests, hundreds of hours, and a seemingly endless amount of trivial– but altogether enjoyable– gameplay to partake in.
Fantasy Life isn’t perfectly described as a combination of these two philosophies, but thinking of it in those terms would give you a fair idea of what to expect if you opted into this Level 5 adventure. It’s a tempting concept, after all: What if you could live in the world you just saved for as long as you like? What if you never had to leave those characters and locations behind after the credits had receded above the top screen of your 3DS? The possibility of harnessing the emotional weight that an adventurous tale lends to a world and then channeling it into an endless farming game (not just farming of course, but you follow) is an intriguing domain that would seemingly take a considerable amount of work to map and conquer. But Level 5 decided to grab their best cartographers and venture into the unknown, and thus Fantasy Life has burst forth onto the 3DS, covered with bruises and a few broken bones, but with a completed map of that intriguing domain nonetheless in tow.
[Review] Ninja Battle Heroes (3DS)
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in 3DS eShop, Features, Reviews | 2 Comments
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 9th, 2014
Developer: Tom Create
Publisher: Tom Create
Author: Vincent W.
If someone were to write a book on terrible game design, I feel as if Ninja Battle Heroes would be one of the main examples. Aside from its terribly uncreative title, this 3DS eShop game looks pretty appealing on the surface. Boasting a heavily Japanese-inspired universe along with a unique platforming experience, Ninja Battle Heroes seems like it could provide a small but desperately needed breath of fresh air to a genre that’s been long in need of one. Once inside, however, you’ll find a game that takes all of its interesting ideas and executes them poorly.
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[Review] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, New Nintendo 3DS, Reviews | 11 Comments
System: Nintendo 3DS (what a shock)
Release Date: October 3, 2014
Developer: Sora Ltd/Bandai Namco Games
Publisher: Nintendo
Author: Patrick
The long-awaited fourth entry in Nintendo’s crazy crossover series is finally out, but it finds itself on a curious platform – the 3DS. A multiplayer fighting game is a strange fit for the portable console, but this new instalment retains the addictive style of fighting and throws in a few new ways to battle. Even on the 3DS, the frenetic pace of previous entries is still present (to an extent – this ain’t Melee) and Smash is still very much an experience accessible to both newcomers and seasoned players, with plenty of weird Nintendo references, of course. As a sequel, the game promises more of everything: more characters, more items, more assist trophies, more stuff to collect… the problem is that in some cases Smash on the 3DS feels like a lesser game than the ones that’ve come before it. Make no mistake, the game is still an incredibly enjoyable time, especially with a few friends, but the series makes the jump to the 3DS with a couple of compromises.
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[Review] Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in Features, Reviews, Wii U, Wii U eShop | 7 Comments
System: Wii U
Release Date: September 26, 2014
Developer: Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Nintendo
Author: Vincent
Calling me a Legend of Zelda fan would be a bit of an understatement. If you were to step into my room, you’d be blinded by the posters and merchandise scattered from one wall to another, all finished off with my saddening number of physical Zelda titles. So with the announcement of Hyrule Warriors during last December’s Nintendo Direct, I was nothing short of excited; providing an excuse for having our beloved Zelda worlds and characters collide in one epic horde fighting action game sounds like a dream come true, and every day I spent waiting for the game felt like an eternity. Now that I’ve sped my way through this long journey over the past week, I can safely say my excitement was placed in good hands.
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[Review] Teslagrad (Wii U eShop)
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in Features, Reviews, Wii U, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: September 11th, 2014
Developer: Rain Games
Publisher: Rain Games
Author: Vincent
“Magnetizing and satisfying”
In a market filled to the brim with 2D platformers, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd; it seems as if, unless your character is sporting some overly familiar overalls and a fancy brown mustache, you’ll never be noticed. Those odds didn’t stop newly-made studio Rain Games from taking a shot in the dark with Teslagrad, a platformer that uses unique storytelling and gameplay to rise above the rest. But does this all blend together to create an experience worth checking out, or is it better left alone?
As soon as you start up the game, you’re presented with the opening menu showing the main character’s father carrying a baby walking through a dark town. Once you hit Start Game, it makes the seamless transition into gameplay where he hands off the baby to the mother. Time goes by and the town you live in becomes overrun, forcing your mother to let you out the back door as you take control over the now grown up young boy. You run through the town amidst a rainstorm as soldiers chase you down, and you climb atop buildings and through alleyways to escape, all leading up to the young protagonist taking shelter in an abandoned tower, which he then discovers has more than meets the eye.
Now, this isn’t all spoon-fed to you with numerous boxes of texts or someone yelling in your ear telling you what the soldiers names are. The game instead chose to feature no text or full on voice acting throughout the five hour adventure. All you have is the ambient soundtrack and character grunts to accompany you throughout your journey as you have the world around you unfold and tell the story little by little.
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[Review] Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
Posted on 9 years ago by Vincent Ward in 3DS, Features, Reviews | 5 Comments
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: September 16th, 2014
Developer: indieszero
Publisher: Square Enix
Author: Vincent
“More than your average RPG Final Fantasy Rhythm Game”
Back in 2012, Square Enix took it upon themselves to celebrate the Final Fantasy’s 25th anniversary by creating a rhythm-based game that involves some of the best soundtracks in gaming. That game was the 3DS title Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, which was incredibly well-received and praised. Two years have passed, and now Square is at it again with Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call – another take on the rhythm based series. Featuring new music, updated visuals, and new gameplay modes, does this game offer enough to be on par with the rest of the franchise? Ir is this game a fantasy gone wrong?
