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Messages - Justin Nation

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26
TalkBack / Piczle Lines DX - 500 more Puzzles (Switch) Review
« on: October 01, 2018, 01:06:00 PM »

Who said you can't enjoy more of a good thing?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48535/piczle-lines-dx-500-more-puzzles-switch-review

Writing a review for this is a bit challenging in terms of making it distinct since I reviewed the original release, loved it, and this package is effectively just more of the same goodness. The nature of the puzzles in unchanged; you’ll see numbers arranged around the puzzle space that show the endpoints of differently colored lines you’ll need to then draw to specific lengths to fill things in. While this starts out being easy, as you get into larger puzzles or ones that sometimes have large areas of the same color, you’ll ultimately end up needing to methodically use deductive reasoning to work out how each set of lines needs to be plotted out in order for everything to fit. The result is a game that plays most ideally in handheld mode, simply for the sake of ease and speed, but that works well enough docked with the Joy-Con that either method of control is viable.

For anyone who’d choose to try to throw shade for this being a release that does nothing more than drop more puzzles into a new package rather than simply adding more puzzles to the existing release that would be unfair, as they’d already released multiple updates for the original game and when you’re dealing in a number like 500 new puzzles (the original initially came with 200 and has had at least four or five updates since that time). Throw in the fact that this standalone package of puzzles (this is not an expansion, you don’t need the original to buy this) comes at a very budget-friendly price, runs the gamut from smaller and easier up to much larger and challenging ones, and if you enjoy puzzles this represents hours upon hours of enjoyment.

If you had the original and are reading this review I doubt you’ll need much encouragement to take the plunge, this massive expansion is just a whole lot more of what made the original enjoyable. If you’re a puzzle fan who missed the initial release, this is probably an ideal starting point since getting up to speed won’t take much effort and this is a larger collection than the original, making it an even better value. Puzzle fans have truly been blessed on the Switch, with a system capable of showing great versatility in terms of control with the genre. Having the option to play on the big screen is always nice but it’s in handheld mode where titles like this truly shine, with the touchscreen in handheld mode always offering a quicker and easier way to play. If you love a good puzzle challenge Piczle Lines DX is neck and neck with the likes of Picross for quality and offers a unique style worthy of your time.


27
TalkBack / Haunted Dungeon - Hyakki Castle (Switch) Review
« on: October 01, 2018, 01:00:00 PM »

If you're looking to do some dungeon crawling and battling against creepy monsters from Japanese folklore book your trip to Hyakki Castle.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48534/haunted-dungeon-hyakki-castle-switch-review

Old-school first-person dungeon-crawling RPGs used to be a bit of a thing back in the day when I was playing them on the Commodore 64. In titles like The Bard’s Tale, you’d work your way through often labyrinthian mazes looking for treasure while taking on monsters and an occasional trap. Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is very much a modern take on this formula, throwing in a more real-time version of the traditional turn-based combat as well as a strategic element allowing you to split up your party, creating an opportunity for more tactical combat and an occasional puzzle. Oh, and did I mention this is all themed with some pretty creepy and monstrous Yokai from Japanese folklore?

To start, you must set up your party, choosing between four different classes and races for each member, providing for some potential replay value if you want to try to optimize them to your play style. Setting out you’ll want to be on the lookout for traps, which can be quite devastating if you don’t disable them before proceeding, and creepy Yokai, who you’ll need to take down and can require some work. Combat is pretty active, with you being able to move around to dodge and shift between party members and choosing their skills to attack, heal, or provide stat-boosting buffs depending on your party composition and the situation.

As you get further in you’ll need to take it to another level as you’ll encounter tougher monsters that will require that you attack them from the back or sides. In order to do this you’ll need to split your party up, changing over to a somewhat odd (though you get used to it) split-screen setup where one party will stay in place while heavily shielded to act as a decoy while the other can then flank the enemy and do serious damage. This mechanic is also used for an occasional puzzle and does a good job of creating some variety and preventing the combat from becoming a total predictable slog.

Outside of the ability to split up your party this is a straightforward dungeon crawler that offers a slow-paced version of real-time combat, some sizable maze-like dungeons, and creepy monsters peppered all about. While I wish there was a greater variety of Yokai, at least their attack patterns and behaviors differs a bit so they aren’t merely cosmetic variations slapped on the same base. Save points tend to be fair in their spacing and the choices you make for upgrading your characters open the door to some variety depending on the skills you choose, further encouraging replayability. If you’ve been looking for something a bit different on the Switch, for a variety of reasons Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle sets itself apart as unique, even if its style and pacing may not be for everyone.


28
TalkBack / Review: Manual Samuel (Switch)
« on: August 31, 2018, 01:38:35 PM »

Who knew that breathing and blinking could be so challenging...

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48186/review-manual-samuel-switch

You may have played some weird games before, maybe even some with strange physics, but I’m not sure anything could prepare you for Manual Samuel. It seems that this wealthy douchebag in life has come to the afterlife with an abundance of Hell’s currency, which catches the attention of Death, who is apparently a gnarly skater dude. In order to earn a chance to go back to the land of the living, Samuel makes a deal to try to survive 24 hours with an impediment of Death’s choosing, putting his precious shreds of life on the line. Of course he didn’t anticipate that Death would have a nasty one in mind, Samuel would need to live his live quite literally in a manual fashion, and that’s where you come in.

Being clear, you’ll either be amused by the very funky control challenges this game presents you for performing the most mundane of tasks (including breathing, I kid you not) or you’ll want to curse whatever horrible people put it out on the eShop. This takes the normal physics game model and really pushes the limits. Trying to coordinate a variety of button presses, taps of the joystick, and moving between shoulder buttons absolutely gets confusing, but it’s also a kind of silly fun if you’re open to the experience.

What story there is over the handful of hours you’ll play tends to be odd as well, but the strange characters and the ever-present narrator commentating on what you’re doing (complete with celebratory hashtags for mundane achievements like taking a leak) do a good job of rewarding your continued efforts. If you can see the amusement of nearly killing yourself while simply trying to drink some water or narrowly avoiding running over little old ladies while struggling to control your car (of course complete with a manual transmission) the experience has its silly rewards.

Given the likely polarizing nature of the game’s controls, Manual Samuel gets a highly conditional recommendation. If you’re willing to roll with the punches, there’s definitely a unique good time to be had here, just be very aware of its intent to make controlling just about anything more challenging than you’d ever imagine.


29
Podcast Discussion / Episode 102 - No Geese Were Harmed
« on: August 30, 2018, 11:21:58 AM »

The boys are joined by Justin Nation to talk a whole slew of games including The Messenger, Blade Strangers, and Victor Vran. Then it's time for a complete breakdown of the Nindie Direct!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/talknintendo/48177/episode-102-no-geese-were-harmed

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  Another week, another 150 games to talk about… or so it seems that way. Luckily we stole Justin Nation away from his duties with Nindie Spotlight to join us on this very nindie focused show. We kick it off with our longest Quick Bites ever, which we can thank Justin for because he plays everything under the sun. He gives us the quick break down on a number of titles, in fact too many to even bother listing here, so you’ll just have to tune in to hear! Then it’s more Messenger time because this game kicks some serious keister. We move along to Blade Strangers which is an involved 2D fighter that brings indie darlings to the stage, but does it all in a very unintimidating way, welcoming casual players with open arms. Excited about Diablo 3? Well then Victor Vran might scratch an itch to hold you over until then, but it does enough to stand on its own merits instead of just another typical clone.

 We had discussed some more games, but due to Perry being a big ol jimbot, they were lost because of the poor performance of his mac (what’s new?). So instead we move into the eShop featuring Justin’s one word takes… or grunts really. Then we wrap the show up with a combo of News Talk and our Topic of the Show, the Nindie Presentation. The boys give a rundown of all the games shown off during the direct and give some commentary on each including the wonderfully absurd looking Untitled Goose Game.

A big shout out to Justin Nation for joining us. Ever see a Indie game that looks like no one has played? Well it’s almost a guarantee that Justin has indeed played and reviewed it, so make sure to check out Nindie Spotlight for all your nindie needs.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact by tweeting us  or by send us an email!


30
TalkBack / Invisiballs (Switch) Review
« on: June 06, 2018, 11:31:44 PM »

A hide and seek for the digital age, Invisiballs delivers intense moments of fun but needs four for optimum play

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47395/invisiballs-switch-review

Local-mutliplayer-only games are a bit of a risk, even on the Switch. Relying on the availability of some friends, and with no way to enjoy the game solo, when the planets align and you have people available and willing to play, the experience needs to deliver. In its real-world form hide and seek is certainly a classic kids’ game that can’t be enjoyed alone, can only be so good with a single friend, and gets better the more people you add. That makes it fitting that Invisiballs has been sort of billed as a next-gen hide and seek; it has the same limitations but can also be quite a lot of fun if you’ve got four people to play with.

Visually the game is simple but has a somewhat futuristic look to it that reminds me most of a TRON lightcycle grid. The playfields are maze-like, wide open, or some fusion of both. The characters really aren’t anything more than a dot typically, though when you attack it will leave a color trail. Since, for the most part, you’ll want to be incognito the majority of the the minimalist appearance makes sense.

The hook is that everyone is, at once, both a hider and a seeker. You can only move in straight lines until you hit a wall. At the point you make contact with the wall your colored dot will temporarily be visible. When in plain motion or sitting still you’re invisible though, and that’s where strategies begin to form. For the most part, it is all about knowing where your opponents are and trying to deceive them about where you are when possible. You want to try to sneak up on them and then attack, if you hit them while you’re creating your lines you score by taking them out. Of course your attack has a limited charge so care is needed. The result is a game with quick bursts of intensity followed by a general sense of tension as people try to keep track of where people are and set up for the next attack.

Aside from requiring other people (the more the better) to play, it suffers from a lack of overall variety. Aside from the main deathmatch-ish Free For All mode there’s currently an alternative Gold Rush mode as well where a gold gem gets placed on the playfield and whoever gets it first then has to try to avoid getting hit for a set amount of time in order to score. This is a great alternative and changes things up in fun ways, somewhat driving to keep intensity up rather than everything being quite so cat and mouse. There’s a slot on the menu for an additional mode saying it is Coming Soon but until that’s in place you only have those two options to work with.

Overall I was surprised how positively my family reacted to Invisiballs. They’ve become pretty jaded with mutliplayer action games so when their initial skepticism melted away quickly to be replaced by whoops and yelling about who got who it was a sure sign the game was onto something. That said there’s also no getting around the limitation of really needing four people to be an optimum experience. A two or three-player match can be done but it is far more of a cat and mouse game followed by quick bursts of attacks until someone gets a kill. Only when you have a full roster do you have enough going on that you begin to see a wider variety of strategies in play and the game hitting its stride. A great option if you regularly have some friends or family around to play with though.


31
TalkBack / Clusterpuck 99 (Switch) Review
« on: April 15, 2018, 01:01:47 AM »

Get some friends together for anything up to 4 v 4 match-ups in this strange, team-based twist on the classic air hockey.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47000/clusterpuck-99-switch-review

Competitive party games are a tricky thing to get right. Somehow you need to create something simple enough that people can quickly understand and acclimate to it, but at the same time you don’t want it to be so simple that it’s dull. Of course, if you’re shooting for the stars, you can try to support up to eight players and then, with the right crowd, you can have some real potential for mayhem. Clusterpuck 99 aims for those lofty goals, and for the most part gets it right, but without the numbers to elevate it, the experience isn’t nearly as fun.

Clusterpuck 99’s general play and rules work out as a sort of hybrid of soccer and hockey. Each player controls their little circle (each adorned with their own chosen logo) and the objective is to put the game puck (which is smaller and marked with an X) in the other team’s goal. Does it sound simple? Well, it can be, but that depends greatly on the arena you’ve chosen. With flavors ranging from straight-up plain and boring through absolutely insane and chaotic, one of the game’s strengths is the variety in places to play.

On the simple end of things there are plain floors and walls only, but remove some of the sides and add gates, acceleration spots, spike traps, and more to the mix and getting to the goal can be more like clearing through an obstacle course. This can make for a pretty rowdy and silly time as you and your team stumble through the process of trying to score, only to have the tide turn as half of you accidentally accelerate into some spikes. As with any game of this kind, the fun mostly hinges on what you and your friends make of it. There’s not a whole lot of technique; you just need to get in there and make some mistakes. The summary at the end of each match helps with the bragging and/or shaming as well, crowning players for great play and giving awards like Useless or even Traitor to those who struggled.

It is possible to play the game with less than the optimal 8 people using bots that have 3 variable skill levels. You can even have uneven numbers on each team to try to spice it up a little more if you’re playing short-handed. In addition, there’s a Challenge mode where you can try to work alone to complete some specific objectives for cosmetic rewards but since you need to reach a certain threshold to qualify for the next one it may be easy to find yourself frustrated and stuck. If you’re feeling creative there’s also a provision for making your own arenas, and in theory you could make something truly elaborate if you’re willing to invest the time, but keep in mind that you’ll only be able to play them locally and there’s no provision for sharing them online.

As a complete package Clusterpuck 99 relies heavily on your access to as many other people as possible to maximize the fun. If you regularly have some friends over and everyone enjoys some light competition that’s easy to pick up and understand it very well may be a big hit. If, on the other hand, you’re normally playing by yourself if will no doubt run out of steam quickly. Thus, results and enjoyment are likely to vary wildly with this one.


32
Podcast Discussion / Episode 82 - Slingin' Bombs and Takin' Names
« on: April 12, 2018, 11:39:00 AM »

Justin Nation joins us to talk Double Cross, Pool Panic, Trailblazers and more as we wrap up our PAX coverage. But that's not all, we also discuss Clustertruck and the recently released Bombslinger!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/talknintendo/46981/episode-82-slingin-bombs-and-takin-names

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The boys are back from PAX East and even though it would have been easy to take the week off, there are things that need dicussin’ - and that’s just what we’re going to do. We welcome fellow staffer Justin Nation back to the show to cover some games we didn’t get a chance to see while at PAX. There are a bunch, but to name a few we talk 13am’s new game Double Cross, the quirky Pool Panic, and the wonderful looking Trailblazers. Due to a little audio snafu, we lose Perry for a bit at the end of this conversation... Don’t worry, no need to thank us.

After we say goodbye to Justin, we turn our attention to the eShop Roundup and News block. Busy week over on the eShop with a bunch of games hitting the digital store shelves including some really interesting ones like Super Daryl Deluxe, The Bunker, and of course a good ol’ fashioned NEOGEO fighter. While the news block might not have been dense in the number of stories, it was dense in game announcements including the critically acclaimed Firewatch.

Keeping with the trend of this episode being completely backwards, we wrap up the show with What We’ve Been Playing Hotel Edition. Perry finally got to sink his teeth into Clustertruck and what we found out is that it works perfectly in a multiplayer setting. Passing the controller off on this insane stages was incredibly satisfying. Then after over a month of playing and waiting to talk about Bomb Slinger, we finally can. This spin on Bomberman gameplay incorporates roguelite game mechanics with that classic Bomberman gameplay we’ve all come to learn and love.

Once again we’d like to thank Justin Nation for jumping on to give us the breakdown of the games we missed. Make sure to check out Nindie Spotlight on YouTube!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact by tweeting us  or by send us an email!


33
TalkBack / Nightmare Boy (Switch) Review
« on: February 26, 2018, 12:34:17 PM »

If you're looking for an adventure with a unique look and its own sense of style Nightmare Boy can have its charm.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46550/nightmare-boy-switch-review

While many genres are already well-represented on the Switch, the classic Metroidvania numbers are currently a bit thin (as of the initial writing of this review). That isn’t to say that the titles available, most notably Steamworld Dig 2 and Axiom Verge, are an issue as both are excellent and have their own distinct take on the genre. We now have Nightmare Boy throwing its hat into the ring as well, with its own visual style and gameplay, though it unfortunately suffers when compared to those aforementioned titles.

In the game you’ll play as Billy, a young boy who has been sucked into a sort of nightmare world and becomes embroiled in some sort of conflict… but honestly it all kind of went over my head pretty quickly. You’re there and you’ll slowly come along a variety of funky beings who help you along, though some of their motivations and actions do make it challenging to tell what’s going on at any given time. The moral of the story is to wander and find your boss conflicts, defeat them, and then accept the rewards they give you so you can find your next fight and then use your newfound ability to progress further.

The somewhat uneven story matches up pretty well with the nature of the action. While your enemies are undoubtedly varied in their appearance and methods of attack, things can be a bit muddled and confusing as well. In particular, the benign little puffball beings scattered everywhere aren’t necessarily meant to be killed, and with one particular power-up you can use to get a warrior helper you’ll actually take some damage when you kill them. Unfortunately they’re very good at getting in the middle of fights so that entire aspect of things is just frankly weird. To the game’s credit, the boss fights are often with unusual-looking nightmarish creatures who then sometimes have some surprises in store for you, but at times sticking with the game got tough.

I think my biggest issue with the game was simply having a grasp on where I was supposed to be going or what I was supposed to be doing. Overall, plenty of content is there, in terms of things to find, children to rescue, and bosses to fight. Why there’s not then a better overall way to tell where to go next is baffling. The in-game map is good on a general level at revealing where you’ve been and somewhat hinting at possible places to go, but I found myself wandering and backtracking far more than I’d prefer. On a general level, the controls are a bit on the loose side so jumping and attacking can take a little getting used to.

In the end Nightmare Boy offers up something thoroughly different from a visual standpoint and can be quite challenging, just not always for the right reasons. If you give it some time it does pick up momentum and you can get into a groove but when you hit the spots where you’re not sure where you’re going, things understandably drag quite a bit. Probably only recommended for the most die-hard Metroidvania fans who have blown through what’s already available on the system, show patience with Nightmare Boy and some fun can be had with it.


34
TalkBack / The Darkside Detective Review
« on: February 13, 2018, 01:39:04 PM »

If you're looking to get your noir adventuring on with a side of pop culture laughs The Darkside Detective may be what you're looking for

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46417/the-darkside-detective-review

Thus far in the Switch’s short life, I’ve been surprised by the number of titles from the resurgent classic adventure genre as well as their quality. The fact that the Switch is both portable and has a touchscreen may have a lot to do with this; in many regards it may be the perfect console system for enjoying them. Adding to the list we now have The Darkside Detective, bringing with it a host of quirky characters, pop culture references, and stylistic pixel art.

As is the case with any game in this genre, the majority of the time is spent exploring rooms, poring over anything that can be clicked on, then figuring out how to solve a variety of puzzles requiring objects and your wits to solve.. Humor is commonly derived from the dialogue options and the descriptions of the items. Specifically in the case of Detective, an abundance of jokes involve movies and television and while it all worked for me, I’ll acknowledge my age may have helped some of these connect. Younger gamers, in particular, may find some of it a bit more hit and miss.

Over the course of the six cases, the first one being a bit shorter and serving more as a tutorial, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that, for the most part, each case lasts about an hour or two, depending on how quickly you read and can figure out the puzzles. The good news is that in general I’d consider the actions and puzzles, to be sensible so there’s a good chance you’ll be able to get through the game without heavy use of a guide. In a few cases I was thrown off only by the sequence I had to complete things in, not so much by not having the right idea, but in general I had a good time.

What it comes down to for a game like this is whether you’re a fan of the genre and what your expectations are for the length of the experience. I’d say that Darkside Detective isn’t the best adventure game on the system but it holds up well in the middle of the pack. The greater the breadth of your pop culture appreciation the more likely I’d say the jokes and references are to connect for you. In general, the game is riding on that understanding. It’s a worthwhile romp for genre fans who’d like a chance to enjoy five chapters with a reasonable length, have a few laughs, and not being quite as frustrated as with other games in the genre on the Switch.


35
TalkBack / Her Majesty's SPIFFING (Switch) Review
« on: February 02, 2018, 12:21:00 PM »

If you're looking to have a cracking good time for a few hours you may want to blast off into space to sip some tea with the crew in this space-faring adventure

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46354/her-majestys-spiffing-switch-review

The classic PC-style adventure game has something that always manages to put a smile on my face. With a blend of unusual circumstances, slightly off-center characters, oddball puzzles, and  typically humor, they’re not usually deep but they are at least consistently entertaining. Seeing little more than just the opening cutscene to Her Majesty’s SPIFFING, it looked like all boxes would be checked, and while the adventure isn’t a very long one, it does manage to provide a few hours of quirky adventure fun.

You play as one of the pilots of a very curious-looking spacecraft launched by the Queen Mother herself to expand the breadth of the Empire once again, just this time in space. The path to doing so will require that you resolve some unusual problems in typically weird adventure game ways, engage in some silly dialogue full of self-deprecating humor, and essentially “click” on anything and everything you see that will allow it. Thankfully when you walk near anything you can interact with, it will automatically be highlighted (eliminating the dreaded pixel-hunting that occurs in many games) and the straight-forward action wheel that pops up when you decide to check something out makes this a breeze. You can typically look at, talk about, or analyze any of these objects you’re able to interact with and the actions are also always context-sensitive. Even if you think you know what you’re doing, there’s almost always something cheeky your character will have to say so in general I’d say it is well worth always exhausting your options, if nothing else for the giggles.

The humor is really what manages to keep things afloat, whether it is in the interactions between you and your co-pilot, your character simply talking to themselves, or some of the silly solutions you’ll need to find for the problems you’re presented with. In general the normal Adventure game rules apply; you’ll want to thoroughly explore every space, leave no object unchecked, and always give anything you pick up a good look as well for measure. As the game goes on, several situations crop up where you need to attack in a few layers so taking note of just about anything your character says is important as there may be a hint thrown in. While one typical issue with the genre is that solutions will tend to get convoluted, I wouldn’t say that there are any horrible offenders in SPIFFING. No doubt understanding what you should do may take some trial and error and head scratching but I’d consider the vast majority of solutions to be quite sensible. The fact that your inventory doesn’t get filled with junk and red herring objects helps keep you focused.

In terms of the issues, first and foremost would be that the length feels slightly short, and the end a bit abrupt. It just seemed like the game had fully hit its stride and then the credits rolled. Now, for the budget-friendly price, t is a fair trade; I just would have wished to have a little more to do so the end of the game didn’t feel so sudden. Outside of the length, I actually have very few concerns to speak of though as the interface is generally intuitive, the dialogue is uniformly funny (though perhaps people less familiar with British culture and humor could find it less amusing), and everything generally runs very smoothly.

Overall Her Majesty’s SPIFFING was a pleasant surprise, full of cracking humor and some suitably absurd puzzle-solving. It may feel a bit on the short side but given its price the length is fair and I would prefer it over too soon rather than overstaying its welcome. For people searching for a game that is light, not terribly demanding, and can just be enjoyed for quite a few hours it’s pretty easy to recommend.


36
TalkBack / Brawl (Switch) Review
« on: February 02, 2018, 12:15:00 PM »

While its dark and funky characters try to add charm they're unable to compensate for the game's lack of quick pick-up-and-play fun you look for in a party-type game

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46353/brawl-switch-review

One of the initial launch titles for the Switch was one I had high hopes for. I’ve been a fan of Bomberman ever since the SNES days playing it with friends on my Multitap so with great anticipation, I purchased Super Bomberman R, hoping it would recapture some of those classic feels. Unfortunately, it initially did a number of things wrong and it was a disappointment, though they’ve since been trying to make amends. When I saw the first video of Brawl, I was left with high hopes that there would finally be a great Bomberman-style party game on Switch, and at a Nindie-fied more budget price. Unfortunately, while it has some merits, Brawl might have a lot of style but it doesn’t back that up with nearly as much substance.

Instead of simply playing as palette-swapped clones of one another, Brawl attempts to give itself some personality. Dipping into the Twisted Metal vaults and maybe sprinkling in a little bit of random nightmare juice, Brawl has a menagerie of creepy characters. There’s the weirdo clown, the living mannequin, the blind girl with a knife-wielding teddy bear… I’ll give credit for effort, though for the most part these are concepts you’ve seen before. In the single-player Story mode, you’ll have the opportunity to essentially take each one for a spin, getting to hear a little bit of back story on them care of a suitably creepy narrator. Each as their own special abilities that you’ll very quickly be walked through and then forced to use in order to survive and advance. At the conclusion of each story you’ll then be pitted against one of the other characters. While conceptually, this isn’t a bad idea, for the most part I found it played out a bit tedious and perhaps a bit unnecessarily hard. In some cases, some elements were a bit random and confusing; just in general I found myself waiting for it to be over.

Undoubtedly multiplayer is where the game is meant to shine and it does fare better than single-player but that isn’t to say there aren’t issues. A hat tip to the developers for having the sense to include a Classic mode that generally eliminates the complication of people concerning themselves with the individual character abilities, generally aping the Bomberman formula more directly. There are variations with Sumo and Color Splash modes but while they hold up for a few rounds, neither inspired a great deal of interest from the family. If you’re feeling that something more cooperative could be your speed, you can always tackle the Challenge modes with a friend, with both Horde and Sheep modes. These again add some variety and strengthen the package, but they’re only as good as the foundation they’re built on allows.

That’s where the more grim end of things comes into play. Stutters and slowdowns became commonplace during our group play session, generally during the worst times when play was getting more intense with a fair number of bombs on the screen. Much as was the case in the early days with Super Bomberman R, these performance issues can be brutal when you’re trying to be precise to place your bombs or quickly get behind a wall to avoid a blast. This really took a lot of steam out of the game experience quickly. Bear in mind, as well, that this is a local multiplayer affair only, though given the performance issues already, online would have liken been foolish to tackle anyway. Depending on the map, issues cropped up with clear visibility due to the theming. While I can appreciate the desire to create a certain mood, when it ends up interfering a bit with people clearly understanding what’s going on at all times, that also tends to stink.

In the end Brawl isn’t necessarily a bad game, it’s just a hodge podge of ideas that individually may work but somehow when they’re mashed together it doesn’t seem to congeal. There’s obviously been effort to inject some personality into things but at the same time, what makes each character distinct ends up detracting a bit from the ease of handing someone a controller and having some fun. With the voice work, it’s also obvious that the single-player story mode had some investment but the glorified tutorials with somewhat bland play and wonky AI failed to leave a very positive impression. Just from top to bottom the overall effort plays out as pretty average, though its stuttering periodic performance issues make it more difficult to redeem.


37
TalkBack / Nuclien (Switch) Review
« on: February 02, 2018, 12:04:00 PM »

For fans of the Brain Age series the quick-thinking action of Nuclien may feel both familiar and engaging!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46352/nuclien-switch-review

When it comes to somewhat unusual games that work differently, the Brain Age series quickly comes to mind. Filled with often relatively simple ideas and mechanics that test your ability to quickly comprehend what is in front of you and then act, they may not have been a scientifically proven means to guarantee mental acuity as you age but they were certainly challenging and could be fun. I see the new budget title called Nuclien very much in that vein, taking some basic gameplay elements and then adding variety and time pressures to turn it into something I thoroughly enjoyed playing through to its conclusion.

Conceptually Nuclien doesn’t have  too much to describe, as the game is about touching the numbers that appear on the screen so they can disappear. These numbers are always between zero and nine and in the very beginning, it will just feel like a reflex test, simply making you tap the numbers as they appear. As you progress you’ll begin to learn variations on things, like that when you see numbers in a circle that means you want to tap them in descending order while numbers in squares you want to tap in ascending order. Variations include larger blocks that break into up to four small ones that will now force you to pause and recognize whether that next number you were counting on touching will instead wait behind one that is newly revealed.

While the levels progressively get more challenging in the four initial areas, where the game really kicked in the challenge that made it satisfying for me was in the last area that isn’t unlocked until you’ve completed every level in the others. In the final zone, the last trick is revealed and it can really begin to strain your concentration and ability to think quickly. Now, alternating screens introduce the white background color to the mix and the rules you’ve been getting used to up to this point are inverted. That wouldn’t be as hard to deal with if each screen didn’t then shift between the two rule sets, with the game constantly challenging you to keep a hectic pace while not losing track of what order you need to tap things in. A Time Trial mode is present as well but since I didn’t even try it out until I’d completed the rest of the game at that point I found it quite easy, though you could always try to improve your times.

No question the presentation is pretty thin, and that with the simplicity of the concept, this will either be something you’ll latch on to like I did or completely disregard as boring. I’d say people acquainted with the Brain Age games would probably be more inclined to enjoy it while people who never really understood why people played them should likely just assume it won’t be for them.

While the road to the best challenges were a bit tedious, my brain found the rapid pattern recognition and rule application of Nuclien very satisfying over the course of the few hours it took to complete everything. This is in no way a high-concept game; it is simply the full exploration of a relatively simple idea. If you’re looking for something a bit different that will test your ability to quickly recognize numbers and patterns it can be quite an engrossing activity while it lasts.


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TalkBack / Tennis in the Face (Switch) Review
« on: January 28, 2018, 07:26:22 AM »

Yet another release from one of the most active Switch publishers

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46304/tennis-in-the-face-switch-review

When the folks at 10Tons aren’t making new titles where you can mow people down in a hail of gunfire, they’re steadily releasing more casual fare for a different kind of audience. Using what appears to be the same general engine as their somewhat similar title King Oddball, we now have Tennis in the Face. While it similarly isn’t going to change the gaming world, if you enjoy a somewhat silly physics-based puzzle game along the lines of Angry Birds you may find it a good fit.

The hook here is that you’re a former tennis pro who has been put through the wringer and is trying to stop an evil soda company from using their product to somehow take over the world. Here’s the deal: You’ll be using tennis balls, or sometimes soda cans, to aim and try to either knock out your enemies or hit them with other objects (or people) using some crazy Rube Goldberg-type chain reactions.

As you go on to different city blocks of stages the nature of your enemies and the levels’ associated challenges will change a bit with extra objects, people that require more than one hit, etc. Within some areas you’ll then also unlock additional bonus challenges that change things up in some way, whether with new enemies or trying to collect coins. It’s all just variations on a general theme, and can be tricky and clever, but it all revolves around whether you enjoy the base mechanic. Personally, I prefer the relative accuracy of this over the added layer of timing complexity King Oddball introduced to the mix since I like the way you’re forced to work with angles here, but that’s down to taste.

What it boils down to is whether you’re looking for something light, silly, and generally pressure-free to enjoy for a reasonably low price. If this all looks and sounds like something of interest I’d say it is wonderfully varied and probably has more content than you’ll complete anytime soon. If you like applied geometry and physics, some tricky puzzle scenarios, and a dose of silliness, Tennis in the Face isn’t a grand slam but it plays a respectable game nonetheless.


39
TalkBack / Red Game Without a Great Name (Switch eShop) Review
« on: January 09, 2018, 02:38:00 AM »

Coming over from the mobile space with a budget price and a clear sense of style Red Game could be worthwhile for the right audience.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46149/red-game-without-a-great-name-switch-eshop-review

In the space of low-budget Switch games, the eShop doesn’t have a lot of choices. Enter the appropriately named Red Game Without a Great Name and its slick appearance. Sharing aesthetics with the similarly-named Green Game Timeswapper but not its problematic wandering controls, it has a relatively simple mechanic that challenge across 60 increasingly complex levels.

The game has a very distinctive and polished look. With relatively simple but detailed black foreground elements on a varied red background, everything is crisp, clean, and brimming with style. Since the mechanical bird you’ll control is in constant motion, as is the camera that will force you to keep moving, you won’t get much of an opportunity to take it all in but don’t worry, in many sections, death happens frequently enough that the simple and distinctive locales stick out.

The only control is to swipe the bird from one spot to another on the screen, meaning this is strictly a touchscreen affair. Docked mode is rendered unplayable, but at least the sacrifice makes sense given the style. While this relatively basic control scheme would seem to make things easy, new elements are continually introduced to complicate everything. Aside from the various traps that kill on contact, directions can change as well. Each new element is generally given a quick but instructive bit of on-screen text followed by a small safe space to showcase the effects, making sure nothing ever takes you by surprise.

In general terms, aside from noting how challenging the game can get at times and in the moment some things can feel a bit unfair, for the price it’s hard to have many actual complaints. Some sections require deft precision to avoid death, but usually that only happens when trying to collect all 3 cogs on every level. In relation to trying to collect all 3 cogs, the cruelty can come from the fact that touching them isn’t enough, as to collect them, the level has to be completed without dying. This gets particularly treacherous when trying to nab all 3 in one go. While that can make for a steep challenge at times, it is also 100% up to you whether you tackle it though.

All said, for the price of admission, Red Game Without a Great Name has more to offer than its lacking title would imply. With the likely frustration factor as you get further in it seems mostly suited to playing in shorter bursts, the levels are generally very quick to either complete or fail at before it takes you right back into the action again. If you enjoy some challenge and undoubtedly some aggravation in your gaming, it’s not a bad budget title to check out.


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TalkBack / Plantera DX (Switch eShop) Review
« on: January 09, 2018, 02:19:00 AM »

If sometimes the stress of your day makes you want to play something simple to "veg out" with Plantera DX will help you get there... quite literally.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46148/plantera-dx-switch-eshop-review

Sometimes the hustle and bustle of a long day calls for aggressive video games but sometimes it’s nice to settle back and play something to help soothe your nerves. Stardew Valley and the likes of Farming Simulator have their appeal in this space, but even those have larger objectives and strategies at play. Sometimes it’s nice to have something a little mindless to veg out to after a long day. That’s roughly where Plantera comes into the mix, bringing a simple combination of farming, a basic life sim, and a dash of whack-a-mole (or bird or rabbit or fox) to the mix as well.

Plantera DX has no real story or overarching theme; to start you’ll just have one little blue dude who is your helper and the ability to plant some carrots. From that humble beginning you’ll be looking to slowly cultivate and expand, adding land, unlocking new plants and animals, filling in your mini garden empire, and furiously trying to defend it from pests who would steal your food or livestock. You can interact with things, and in the interests of making money quicker, you may want to pick your plants since at some point your little guys simply aren’t going to be able to easily keep up. A progression system of unlocks tied to your overall level is one of the few other complexities, but that’s more or less it.

Plantera DX is simple, generally serene, has steady progression, and provides some simple satisfaction of watching your little sort of farm grow from nothing into something more elaborate. It lacks any sort of complexity but that’s also a big part of its charm for the right audience. If you’re looking for something to just help you relax, or perhaps want to get a game that could probably be played and enjoyed by people of just about any age, Plantera is a chilled out match.


41
TalkBack / One More Dungeon (Switch) Review
« on: December 19, 2017, 04:47:09 AM »

One or two more changes could help this promising roguelike.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46050/one-more-dungeon-switch-review

As a huge fan of roguelikes the Switch has been like a cornucopia of pain and suffering thus far, but in a good way. What’s great about them is that they allow for the recombining of the same elements to produce an experience and outcome that is a bit different every time. Finding the right balance of randomness, risk versus reward, and difficulty is always tricky but for fans they’re almost always a good time. One More Dungeon takes a crack at the formula on the Switch mixing an old school FPS along the lines of Doom (weirdly with 2D figures in a 3D space) and a few action RPG elements as well. The result isn’t too bad but it certainly has some quirks you should be mindful of.

You’ll start out by choosing your mutators (if you have sufficient points from your previous run) and from there you’re pretty well on your own. You always start with a dagger and a staff that will shoot one of 3 elemental attacks and everything else you’ll have to work with on the current run will be a matter of luck in what you find or salvage from slain monsters. Your melee attack can be tricky at best, with your attack range being limited, and you’ll likely sometimes struggle to line up your enemies well from left to right. Smaller targets like bats or rats, in particular, can be a real nuisance. Each level will have a “boss monster” of some sort that you’ll need to kill in order to get a seal that will open the door to the next level.

While the style of play sometimes feels a bit like an RPG there’s no leveling so in some ways it can seem a bit strange and lacking in progress. You’ll happen upon a random piece of gear to help you out every once in awhile but for the most part you have the core of what you started with to make work for you. While I understand the nature of roguelikes is some degree of randomness, the situation with what you’d encounter seemed a bit more haphazard than normal. I would consistently find locked chests but not necessarily ever keys and I’d have some runs with plentiful potions and others with nothing to speak of. The somewhat wide swings produce some interesting and productive runs but it also makes you feel less skilled in the process. Just something in the formula seems to need a little more normalizing.

In terms of criticism, the first and foremost would be that even after quite a number of runs there were elements of the game I didn’t understand completely. There are orbs you can pick up, and if you find a portal you can get quite a few of them, but I wasn’t ever entirely clear what they were for. The mini-map is rudimentary, and you’ll likely find you’ll need it, but since it is centered on the screen it obscures your view. It would have been more useful had it been perhaps a little smaller and offset. I also wish I was able to better understand the attack range of monsters as well as your own melee attack. Moving in for a hit and then backing off tended to work but in general the animations are clumsy enough that it is unclear when you’re going to connect and with the monsters you have no real visual indication whatsoever.

Overall One More Dungeon is an interesting take on how to make a roguelike dungeon crawler that has a look and feel all its own. I appreciate what it is trying to do, and some aspects of the design were unexpected. Unfortunately as a whole there are also elements that feel unrefined and not necessarily complete. With a patch or two I think it could still have room for improvement but as it is I’d say it is likely an acquired taste, even for roguelike fans.


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TalkBack / Monster Jam: Crush It! (Switch) Review
« on: December 19, 2017, 01:19:41 AM »

This isn’t the monster truck game you’re looking for.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46048/monster-jam-crush-it-switch-review

Let’s face it, there is a criminal lack of variety in the current Switch line-up, especially when it comes to racing games. Monster Jam: Crush It had a golden opportunity to fill that diversity void offering up a variety of modes as well as freaking monster trucks. Unfortunately, even with no viable competition, after spending some time with it there aren’t many redeeming qualities to what it is bringing to the table.

Starting with the basics, Crush It offers up a wide variety of racing modes, whether it is head-to-head Stadium Races, Stadium Freestyle stunt mode, Hill Climb mode which offers a variety of choices from Time attack to Survival, and finally Crash Mode. While you’ll only start out with a choice of 2 Monster Trucks (at least one of them is the iconic Grave Digger) you’ll be able to begin unlocking other trucks as well as painted variants as you complete challenges with specific objectives. So, on the surface, there’s a pretty wide variety of options for some diverse play and you’ll have the opportunity to likely play with one of your favorite trucks as well at some point.

Unfortunately, it’s when you begin to actually play that a lot of it begins to go to hell. Calling the physics in Monster Jam wonky would be generous. Considering the mass and weight distribution on one of these behemoths, accurately capturing the feel of controlling them is likely quite a task but the acceleration and speed you end up getting on them in the game is nothing short of preposterous. In the Stadium Races this just makes your truck a bit unwieldy, but specifically when you play the Freestyle mode all semblance of reality go right out the window and it’s downright silly. Granted, you wouldn’t want to accidentally turtle your truck and be finished automatically but something with that much mass flipping around in the air and then practically breakdancing when it lands is insane and also makes everything criminally easy. Mix in a graphical look that mostly screams last-gen and the fact that almost all modes just play out in rounds that last less than a minute and it’s really a challenge to get invested in anything you’re doing.

If I had to pick a mode that at least tries to redeem the overall package it would be the Hill Climb, which has a Trials-like setup with some crazy tracks that will include wooden structures and ramps allowing you do to loops and all manner of things that fully embrace how ridiculous it all is. The stunt challenge variant of this mode is still a mess even with the ability to free roam taken out of the picture, but both the Time Trial and Survival modes at least blend in some elements of challenge and you’ll need to dig in a bit to be successful. It’s at least far better than being able to just get some air and go crazy with the controller, or just generally bumble your way through things and get a medal for your efforts.

Overall Monster Jam: Crush It is a hot mess of a game that is coming to eShop in a state that’s simply baffling. While on paper the license mixed with the various modes sounds like a lot of fun, the execution of not just the graphics but the overall gameplay makes it feel more like a game from a previous generation and I’m not only talking about the previous one. It’s really hard not to believe that this has been slapped together and is being sent out to market to simply ride on the assumption that Monster Truck fans, and more likely their parents, will buy it on sight. That’s a shame and especially when you throw the $40 asking price onto the package Crush It is a disappointment.


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TalkBack / Letter Quest Remastered (Switch) Review
« on: December 16, 2017, 12:39:03 PM »

Flex your vocabulary and find your thesaurus for this word RPG for the Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46039/letter-quest-remastered-switch-review

While the hardcore audience has been getting treated to some great indie variety, the Switch is a platform built to support many tastes, casual gamers included. Many of the best games in this space were either created or refined by the folks at PopCap and one of their titles I enjoyed the most was called Bookworm. Letter Quest Remastered reminds me of that title in many regards, and actually shares quite a lot in common with another title that recently released on Switch called Spellspire. Though they are very similar, some nuances to how they play and that may be crucial to which is better suited to your tastes.

Starting with the basics, Letter Quest is a word game / RPG hybrid where you’ll be trying to flex your vocabulary in order to defeat monsters that get in your way. As you progress, a shop opens filled with what ends up being a pretty impressive, if not a little overwhelming, variety of gear. These include new weapons, books, tile sets, and all sorts of things that will help you change the game’s appearance, enhance specific abilities, or give you special bonuses for using specific letters or combinations of letters.

For variety, aside from being able to repeat the same stages at higher difficulty, there are boss levels, special stages that are a bit like classic Hangman that will give you a mid-level bonus, and monsters that will create a pretty wide variety of status effects on your board to complicate matters. In addition, random letters sometimes crystallize to entice you to figure out how to get them in a word since they’ll give you a variety of buffs that could be the difference in whether you survive or not. These all keep the sense of the grind to more of a minimum, while requiring some tough decisions and strategy along the way.

Contrasting it with the Spellspire, the other game in the eShop that is in the same vein, while they’re both well-made and share many ideas, a few critical differences are apparent. The first big difference is in how the challenge is applied. Where Spellspire uses a timer to keep you thinking quickly and on your toes, Letter Quest features a lenient timer for completing challenges but won’t have you scrambling to complete words before your enemy’s next attack. Instead, the status effects on the letters on your board, or even bosses that will have conditions like only words beginning in vowels causing them damage are where you need to be focused. This makes everything play out more strategically where Spellspire is more tied to action. Reinforcing that sentiment further is the fact that the upgrades, specifically the books, in Letter Quest get pretty specific in giving you bonuses for things like using the letter E, using double letters, and more. While the bonuses aren’t necessarily substantial, they do influence how you play and can give you the edge sometimes. Due to removal of the timer’s urgency, I also think Letter Quest is better suited to people who anticipate playing the game more in docked mode as well just because it is slower to use a controller than the touch screen in these sorts of games.

With all of this in mind, I’m pleased to say that Letter Quest Remastered does a pretty fine job of carving out a place for itself in the lineup of Switch gamers looking for something more casual. If you like to get out your thesaurus and flex your vocabulary while having to contend with the obstacles your enemies love to throw in your path, it does a fine job. What helps distinguish it is the level of strategy you’ll be able to employ while doing so.


44
TalkBack / Mantis Burn Racing (Switch) Review
« on: December 05, 2017, 04:54:11 AM »

Surprisingly the racing is done with cars and not a magnifying glass.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45943/mantis-burn-racing-switch-review

For the most part when people think about racing games today something along the lines of either hardcore racers like Forza or lighter fare like Need For Speed come to mind. If you go much further back, though, there’s another style of racing that even has nostalgic value for old school fans of series like Micro Machines and that’s the top-down racer. Mantis Burn Racing is now here on the Nintendo Switch and it makes a strong case that this style of racing is far from dead.

If you’re a big fan of controlled drifting you’ll be in love because more than anything that’s at the core of the gameplay here. As you move through the ranks of different circuits you’ll work on refining your skills, thrown into races that will sometimes demand that you use a specific vehicle (including ones that feel like controlling a brick on wheels) and sometimes getting to choose. Completing races and performing well will gain you experience, cogs, and upgrades that you can then use to improve specific characteristics of your vehicles. The progression is pretty important as mastering the turns in each style of vehicle and on each road surface can be tricky even when the speeds are slower, and when you get to the high end and far faster vehicles that don’t even have wheels it gets a bit insane.

Noting that it is crucial to develop your skills little by little my biggest concern for the game is actually the pacing of progressing through the Career Mode and how repetitive it can feel at times. You’ll have a variety of race types thrown at you, from time trials, to normal races, to eliminations, but in the early going you’ll also find yourself typically on the same tracks over and over. The shame is that since the Switch version of the game has all of the DLC packs in the game that they weren’t peppered into the career mode in some way, even if just swapping out some of the tracks in the early going. I just worry that for some people keeping interested through the early slog is more challenging than it should need to be given the total content in this iteration of the game. Switching to playing in online races definitely helps to break things up but there are real benefits to completing the Career mode so it would have been nice to have that shaken up a bit.

What absolutely redeems the game for me, and actually what I’d love to see in a sequel, is the Battle Mode that was introduced in one of the DLC packs. More of this please, there’s just something enormously satisfying about wrecking your opponents or narrowly avoiding being destroyed by managing to get to a repair spot while your vehicle is on fire from taking so much damage. Racing purists will no doubt be more attracted to the high-speed insanity of the anti-gravity vehicles that were introduced in a different DLC pack and make absolute precision absolutely a necessity. As I’d said before my only wish is that somehow the entirety of the game’s content could be remixed so that the Career mode would take full advantage of everything the DLC packs added to the game in order to make the early progression far more in line with all the game has to offer.

All said Mantis Burn Racing plays brilliantly on the Switch whether in docked or handheld mode. Control is smooth, the drifting is satisfying, and in general it looks great. You can enjoy playing against the AI but it is far better to play with friends locally or online and in general I didn’t have issues finding people to play against since it is cross-platform to boot. If you’re willing to grind through the Career Mode in order to learn the nuances of the controls and unlock everything the game has to offer it does deliver a satisfying payoff, I just wish tastes of it came sooner.


45
TalkBack / Tallowmere (Switch) Review
« on: December 01, 2017, 02:19:51 AM »

A fun rogue-like in a small package.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45929/tallowmere-switch-review

The classic problem in gaming was that in the old days the box art for a game could look absolutely incredible but once you went to play it the title would be a steaming pile of wasted money and time. With modern consoles, big budget games pushing the hardware to its limits, and studios cranking out titles that could almost be mistaken for a movie can create the opposite problem, affecting indies in particular. Tallowmere would fall into that category as on its surface it’s a pretty basic looking game that doesn’t look like it would push the Switch hardware. That said, if you’re a fan of roguelike action, for a budget price it’s actually an excellent and challenging experience.

Let’s be clear, for the most part there isn’t an overarching narrative at play, you arrive in an area with some people, including Lady Tallowmere, who will essentially give you your main menu of options. There’s also a shopkeeper, a man who will offer you up some pretty nasty hard challenges if you’re feeling up to them, a grizzled old man who’ll advise you on use of the demon statues and souls you’ll collect, a grim reaper who will help you amp up the difficulty, and a woman who’ll graciously offer you kittens to sacrifice. No, not kidding on the last note, but I found it funny to be able to boost your initial health in exchange for mere proof that you’re a terrible person. With only that and some minimal on-screen prompts of information you’ll be off to fight.

As is the case with many roguelikes you can expect to spend your early runs enduring some frustrations. You’ll get stunned too easily, making you die. You’ll run afoul of the many traps the game has within the levels and die. You’ll find a weapon that does explosive damage, only to blow yourself up, and die. However, if you pay attention, learn the mechanics, master how to block with your shield and come to understand the nuances of using each of the various weapons in the game you’ll begin to make progress. When you get your first random weapon or piece of equipment that has a 5-star (or more) rating you’ll then have an opportunity to really start doing some damage. For the most part it all comes down to making the most of what you have, hopefully getting something that will restore some health slowly, and pacing yourself to try to make good decisions. That’s because there’s enough opportunity to die already, being reckless just tends to multiply those opportunities quickly.

The further you get into the game the tougher your enemies and the challenges will get. You’ll begin to get to special levels with essentially boss monsters that present a number of different types of threats and some even have attacks that do things like randomly switch your weapon. To be the most successful in the game you’ll need to know that for every type of monster there’s a specific path to success. Most of the time blocking at the right moment is part of that strategy but having a variety of weapons is also ideal. Sometimes melee is key, other times you’ll want something like the flamethrower that can do continuous damage, and then there are times where something crazier like grenades or a rocket launcher are your best bet. Learn the best ways to use each weapon and you can get some strong runs going, it just takes some patience, understanding, and time.

Overall I’m actually very impressed with Tallowmere and would recommend it strongly to any roguelike fans out there looking for a great way to spend some time on something a bit light but still challenging. In many regards, though the style of play is very different, it reminds me of Quest of Dungeons, a sort of gem of a title hidden in an unassuming package. If you like to constantly feel like you’re on top only to have the rug pulled out from under you, Tallowmere delivers a high-quality challenge at a budget price.


46
TalkBack / Perception (Switch) Review
« on: November 17, 2017, 05:38:07 AM »

A unique title that provides a new experience full of suspense.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45859/perception-switch-review

Perception is a difficult game to characterize so it can be complicated to clearly define a target audience for. Mechanically, it is ultimately an adventure game of sorts, with you exploring a house in search of clues and elements that you’ll need to progress through the 4 stories you’ll be learning about over the course of several hours of play. However, layered on top of that, you have some elements of mystery, what I’d call mild horror, and a bit of survival depending on how you play. In the end, while it doesn’t quite deliver on all of the promise, it feels like it has at its beginning. Perception is a unique game with some stories to tell, occasional jump scares to inspire, and a slow burning sense of dread. If that sounds like a great match for you keep your expectations humble and you can probably have a good time.

You’ll be playing through the game as Cassie, and what makes the game unique is the visual style it uses since she is blind. While exploring this strange and seemingly haunted house with normal sight may have been a much less challenging and frightening exercise, being forced to move through the environment using a sort of echolocation gives the game its signature look and is a big piece of what creates the tension. While you’ll periodically get startled by creepy voices and visions, the main threat you’ll face in the game is the deadly apparition called The Presence that you’ll need to try to avoid or hide from once it is on its way. While there are events that will trigger its coming, beyond that the main risk of making it come for you is by making too much noise too often. If the walls around you turn from blue to yellow you’d better try to be quiet for a little bit. But if they begin to go to red you’d better find yourself a place to hide as soon as possible. I found that as long as I kept my strikes of the floor with my cane to once every 20 seconds or so overall I didn’t have to worry much about.

In order to enjoy the game to its fullest, what you’ll need is an openness to embracing the somewhat spooky surroundings and accepting them rather than thinking about it too much. In order to keep things fresh the layout of the floors and even the nature of the house will change at times, never really letting you keep your bearing for long. In order to help you out the game does compensate by providing Cassie with a sixth sense you’re able to trigger that will let you visualize where your next task is, even if it is far away (and it often is). From that point it is a matter of somewhat clumsily bumping around at times to navigate the maze of rooms that you must work through on the way, listening to tape recordings or picking up objects that will trigger memories that fill out the active story in a variety of ways. While not all of the storylines are likely going to be of equal interest to you they are generally at least compelling enough to try to understand and get to know more about, and when you add that to the general desire to understand more about the visions that have brought Cassie to this house the game is trying earnestly to keep your attention.

That need to change things up and keep your attention is important in keeping the game from descending into being dull. Some sequences borne out of that thrust can get a little weird or ridiculous as you progress. The longer you play the more the mechanics of the game can begin to wear thin through repetition. Get objective, see that it is far away, navigate house, get periodically startled, look and listen for insights into what’s going on, be mindful of places you can hide along the way if things start to go south. Again, if you buy into the experience and let the creepy nature of things stay with you it is all far more engaging but if you become immune to it over time it’s more likely to feel tedious as you move further into the game but that generalized pattern persists.

I think the game’s title of Perception works out to have a double meaning, obviously concerning your main character’s lack of sight, but it also applies well to whether you’re likely to enjoy the game as a whole. If you’re in it for the action or actual horror you’ll very likely walk away disappointed. But if you like a slow burn of suspense, periodic things that will make you jump, and some stories that will reveal themselves to you slowly and through a variety of means as you wander an ever-changing house, it will offer several hours of enjoyment. I’ve never played a game quite like it, and there’s something to be said for a title working earnestly to challenge gamers with something new, even if it may not have hit all of the marks it was likely aiming for.


47
TalkBack / Rock ‘N Racing Off-Road DX (Switch) Review
« on: November 14, 2017, 06:37:05 AM »

Rock ‘N Racing blows a tire on the Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45837/rock-n-racing-off-road-dx-switch-review

If you’ve got a hankering for some classic top-down, single-screen, arcade racing the resurgence of these sorts of games in the indie scene is likely quite a blessing. Borrowing from the likes of Super Sprint and Super Off-Road Racing, this distinctive style of racer was very popular in the game rooms of yesteryear. Rock ‘N Racing Off-Road DX looks to capitalize on this enthusiasm of classic gamers and adventurous folks alike, but it’s unfortunately shaky off the line.

Starting with what’s positive, the aesthetics of the classic style are mostly intact, and since they’re rendered in 3D they actually look a bit better, though still a little on the primitive side. All of the tracks have hills and bumps you can clearly see and the surface is bump-mapped to give it a muddy look. The vehicles themselves are generally not very detailed but have at least a little personality and around the edges of the track there’s some decent theming going on to bring you the track experience. Through the 5 cups of the Championship Mode you’ll race on 4 tracks a piece, though the generalized layout of tracks will begin to repeat about half-way through moving in the opposite direction and with some different hilly details. You’ll also be able to participate in Time Trials on your unlocked circuits, competing on the worldwide leaderboards for top times, and you can also partake in Local Racing with up to 3 friends as well.

The racing isn’t exactly stellar, I found it very highly dependent on the class of cars and the performance of the AI drivers which can be weirdly inconsistent. Starting with the computer driver AI I would have some races where it would do well and throw up a real challenge but then others where, I won’t lie, the majority of the CPU pack wouldn’t finish the race as some would stall out completely and others would get caught up with peculiar issues. In terms of handling the physics, the game can be quirky in general and when you throw that on top of the characteristics of specific vehicles it gets a bit more pronounced and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Specifically, I found both the Buggies and the Monster Trucks to be problematic in terms of control, encountering enough trouble with them that I generally opted not to use them and stuck with Highlander the majority of the time. This left the somewhat unusual physics from landing your jumps and sometimes catching the track funny to more of a minimum. In particular if you collide with other vehicles or the walls at the wrong angle getting back in the swing of things can take quite a lot of effort, and will typically lose you a substantial amount of time. Turning around, controlling in reverse, it’s all just a bit strange and I can’t put a finger on it beyond saying it makes any crash potentially a big timesink.

Since there are tracks that have a lot of deliberate cross-overs, this will require you to be even more cautious in these areas. Taking an element of unpredictability that I actually relish (I love Figure 8 track racing in general) and making it a bit more complicated than I think is intended. Even when you’re on your own and doing fine the way you can sometimes land or catch an edge in a turn is quite peculiar. This makes it one of the things I enjoy about the game, the relatively diverse track design (given how simple a game this is overall) you run into, a set of mixed blessings. For every element that keeps it from being too flat and boring there’s a degree of unpredictability. Certainly by braking you can and should reduce some of these risks, but when I tried to play around at different speeds the peculiar way you’d fly off of jumps would still be an issue even at lower speeds. It’s just a bit odd at times. My main criticism of the track in terms of a lesson not learned from the classics that the game emulates is a lack of risk/reward short cuts which were almost always a staple. I saw one case there was a hole in a row of tires on a track but it was so subtle I actually wondered if it was meant to be there or an accident.

Keeping in mind the budget price, Rock ‘N Racing Off-Road DX is a tough one to call. It makes fair attempts at providing some variety with multiple track layouts mixed with jumps and uneven terrain but at the same time racing physics being tricky at times can make for unintended challenges. While there is likely an element of personal taste to control in the 5 vehicles, I found that the Highlander class (the first you’ll unlock) to be far superior to most everything else in terms of overall performance and handling. It may just take some tweaks but collisions are inevitable in the game and can royally screw you up, more than I’d expect. This can detract from some of the fun of the tracks that overlap themselves and that’s a shame. While there are some positives to be had in the game it’s also quirky enough that it’s tough to recommend.


48
TalkBack / Morphite (Switch) Review
« on: November 14, 2017, 05:06:32 AM »

Looking to fill the black hole of the space exploration genre on Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45836/morphite-switch-review

In general, space exploration isn’t a genre with much representation in the industry but on the Switch in particular there hasn’t really been anything to satisfy a taste for interplanetary adventure. That changes with the introduction of the low-poly Morphite, which will let you travel between star systems, explore alien landscapes, and interact with their various inhabitants both aggressive and benign. While it is hardly a perfect experience, if you set your expectations for a generally relaxing ride with some interspersed moments of excitement and challenge, you may find it to your liking.

When the story begins you’ll find your character, Myrah, is a somewhat bored young woman living on a space station under the protection and care of her father figure Mr. Mason. While she’s initially sent out to a planet to simply collect scans, she accidentally uncovers parts of a mystery she has ties to involving a substance called Morphite. It’s at this point she begins an adventure to discover its secrets and something about herself as well. How you complete your overall journey is somewhat up to you, either opting to follow your checkpoints through the stars to fulfill your primary missions or taking your time to explore.

The exploration in the game is likely what will either appeal to you or turn you away because the mechanics of being successful in the game are generally repetitive. They involve going to new planets, scanning everything in sight, dealing with an occasional hostile creature or alien enemy of some sort, looking to upgrade your ship or your equipment, and then repeating. Certainly along the way you’ll have some boss encounters to go with the main storyline and you’ll be able to opt into helping people will all manner of side quests that range from serious to outright silly, but the core of the experience is always searching, scanning, upgrading, and sometimes fighting.

The locations you visit can vary greatly, with procedurally-generated landscapes and space stations that promise some degree of variety but also either fall into generalized patterns or sometimes make for some pretty sparse landscapes without too much going on. The flora and fauna do often show some variations but it depends on the planet’s climate and for the most part you will begin to run into familiar creatures at some point. This is hardly crippling but it does sometimes lead to a sense of deja vu even on new planets when some of the layouts of caves or waterfalls happen to be similar as well. If you stick to the main story everything will typically feel more diverse but part of the fun of the game should be straying off the intended path. If you’re patient and don’t hold your expectations too high it can lead to some pleasant, if often predictable, exploring.

Morphite is a game with high ambitions and while you can see many of the elements needed to meet them not everything gels fully across the board. The low-poly environments can certainly lack detail and textures but that shouldn’t mean that so much of the space you explore is barren. While some of the larger creatures are impressive they also have a tendency to clip through walls and have some other complications. Boss fights are interspersed and a nice challenge but patience mixed with even your pea shooter is usually the solution to all problems so strategic combat never really comes into play. The more you stick to the story, though shortening the experience, the more refined and finished Morphite feels. If you stray too far off the path the game makes a fine attempt to make play rewarding but unfortunately the rough edges also tend to take more definition. While it may not be fully realized if you walk in with modest expectations set and a desire for some exploration Morphite is a decent game to give a try.


49
TalkBack / King Oddball (Switch) Review
« on: November 10, 2017, 05:58:07 AM »

A more mobile focused title for the Nintendo Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45822/king-oddball-switch-review

While the folks at 10Tons Ltd have delivered some of my favorite twin-stick shooters on the Nintendo Switch, they also like to dabble in casual games as well. Their marble shooter Sparkle 2 was a great take on the genre which has been well defined by the classic Zuma Deluxe. But this time with King Oddball, they’ve taken a new direction with a physics-based puzzler. Taking some cues from the likes of Angry Birds, King Oddball is a one-button game that takes a solid shot at providing some casual but challenging fun on the Switch.

I’m not certain there’s any story to speak of but apparently you play as King Oddball, who for some reason is determined to throw rocks at various military pieces of military equipment and personnel, flung from his very long tongue. His motivation is never made clear, whether for political reasons, or that he is set on conquering the Earth, or he’s simply a character stuck in an unusual game, nobody may ever know. All you’re armed with is the knowledge that pressing your button will make him release a rock and send it hurtling with the power of physics in a particular direction with a certain amount of angular velocity generated by the point of his pendulum-like swinging tongue. Does it make any sense? Not a shred, but it is a simple mechanic to grasp that you’ll find consistently challenging to master.

What’s nice is the progression of difficulty and the various alternative modes you’ll unlock as you complete smaller areas that then combine to make a larger square on a grid. As you complete each major square the next one will open and you’ll be able to make your way through it until all the levels have been completed. Each area then generally has a special space that will have a variety of functions from helping you track special achievements to tracking your core overall stats. New modes are earned such as Diamond Mode or Demolition Mode.  In Diamond Mode you’ll be trying to complete levels using less rocks. In Demolition Mode you’ll be throwing grenades instead of rocks and trying to position their explosions effectively to help clear out the enemies. So you’ll get a pretty steady challenge curve rising as you get into each new area accompanied by a new special space and potentially some extra surprises.

In terms of the downsides this is very much a budget casual title in the way it plays but that isn’t to say it isn’t challenging by any means. Unlike a game like Angry Birds where you have a pretty fair degree of control over your angle and power, in King Oddball you’ll have to get the sense of timing to your releases and you’ll also need to quickly begin doing some rough estimations of how your rock will fly once you’ve hit something. There are usually shots that will wipe out either all or most things on the screen but knowing what you’ll need to pull that off won’t always be obvious. Inevitably, enjoyment will come down to whether or not you enjoy the setup and appreciate the many levels and challenges it lines up.

For the budget price of admission, King Oddball actually provides quite a lot of content that would take you several hours to likely be able to work through. Once you add on the levels in the additional modes and the challenge of some of the more unusual achievements you could likely double that time. The question will be whether you’ll want to stick out the ride long enough to enjoy it all. That will ultimately come down to tastes, what you’re looking for, and how you’re planning to play the game. Using it to fill gaps in your day 15 minutes at a time would probably be great, playing for hours at a time probably not so much.


50
TalkBack / Interview with Sampo Töyssy on Time Recoil
« on: November 06, 2017, 11:42:38 AM »

The folks at 10 Tons have already brought a number of distinct twin-stick shooters to the Switch, get the lowdown on the latest, Time Recoil, from one of the game's lead developers.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/45781/interview-with-sampo-toyssy-on-time-recoil

Ever since dipping their toe into the Switch pool just a few weeks ago, the folks at 10 Tons have been cranking out parts of their backlog and newly-released titles on the Switch. Coming on the heels of recent weeks in which they’ve released 2 of their popular twin-stick shooters, they’re now bringing a third to the table in the form of Time Recoil. Time Recoil blends getting your combo meter going from kills with a time slowdown mechanic that makes it a very different kind of game. I was able to get some time from Sampo Töyssy, one of the game’s lead developers.

Since I could see many potential answers to this question, what games and/or movies would you say influenced the style and story of Time Recoil the most?

ST: SUPERHOT and Hotline Miami were definitely a large influence. Regarding the time manipulation stuff the Quicksilver-scenes from X-Men were an inspiration. The game uses your basic "mad evil scientist extorting the world" trope which appears in a lot of superhero and sci-fi movies.

Would you say that the almost puzzle-like nature of the game in many levels, particularly if you're looking to do some speedruns, was a central piece that drove the design of things? Making sure that someone who is observant of which walls are in place in a given spot or to be sure enemies are paired or in clusters that would create a good power-up charging opportunities are there to be found and exploited?

ST: The puzzle-like qualities come from the games that inspired Time Recoil. In Time recoil you will die a lot less and you'll be much quicker if you have a good plan on how to play the level. For example, when speed running the levels you might need to find a way to trigger Time Freeze to get a three-star time.

Working with at least the bones and some of the assets that are common with other 10 Tons shooters how would you say that affects the process in creating new games within your group?

ST: Time Recoil was a relatively quick project. It would not have been possible if we didn't build on an existing game like Neon Chrome. We started prototyping different ideas and experimented with art style in late 2016 while finishing up Neon Chrome mobile and working on Neon Chrome Arena DLC.

Full-on production of Time Recoil started in January 2017 and it took only around six months to finish the game from the prototype to the release version. We had our summer vacations in July so the release was pushed into early August. The PS4 and Xbox One versions will be out in Sep and Nintendo Switch should follow quickly after. Mobile port is also in the works, but it will be a bit different so it takes some time.

Having now played 3 twin-stick shooters using roughly the same core engine from 10 Tons I'm impressed at how different they all are in terms of their structure and even gameplay fundamentals. How are variant games like this pitched or proposed and what is the oversight in place to ensure each game is distinctive but carries a consistent level of quality with the other titles?

ST: With Time Recoil we prototyped with several core ideas before we landed on the idea which became the finalized game. We use internal and external testing to verify that the prototype is enjoyable. Obviously one game can't satisfy all players but we'll try to make sure there's a group that enjoys the game before going forward with the production.

I've talked to a number of either lone wolf indie devs or to extremely small single-title teams but 10 Tons is a little bigger with a little more oomph. What would you characterize the indie experience like from where you're sitting and where 10 Tons is as an indie?

ST: The market situation has been getting harder for indies. There were times when you got some sales for even lower profile titles, but today it looks like there's less space in the middle. You either convince your target audience or you don't. The market and the potential is larger than ever but the amount of games coming out is massive and a large amount of them are at least ok. An indie hit game from 2014 might not be a hit game in 2017.

Having announced you're going to be bringing your titles to Switch but not having anything with a firm release date yet what has the Switch experience been like so far for you all compared, perhaps, to the process of getting your games onto the Vita with some of your other titles?

ST: From tech perspective Switch has been easy to work with. Nintendo really did a marvelous job with the tools. We've been sailing smooth ever since we got into the developer program. Really looking forward to see how the games will be received.

Any comment on what you're personally set to work on next?

ST: We're designing a few prototypes with a team that will create one of the next 10tons games. Soon we'll start producing the prototypes and then we'll see where it goes. I've done top-down shooters in some form since 2014 so probably some other genre next.

I wanted to thank Sampo for taking the time to answer my questions as well as Tero for helping to coordinate. Time Recoil is currently available on the Nintendo Switch eShop!


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