It’s Monday and I’ve got to put up this podcast! [Read more...]
Error! Report #081
April 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon Review: Chock Full of Charm
April 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
2013: The Year of Luigi. It is finally time for gaming’s most famous second fiddle to step into the spotlight. It all starts here, with Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. The long anticipated 3DS title is finally on store shelves and kicks off the green-clothed brother’s year. [Read more...]
Sisyphean Design: The Problem with Nintendo’s Core Franchises
January 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment
In an Iwata Asks on Paper Mario: Sticker Star, the designers were talking about story. It was said that Miyamoto didn’t like the idea of a story in a Mario game, “It’s fine without a story, so do we really need one?” And that got me thinking about all of the Mario games’ stories. Each one creates a similar base-line plot and that hasn’t changed in over 25 years: Bowser kidnaps Peach and Mario saves her. It isn’t interesting, exciting, different, or groundbreaking; it’s just a series of levels to get you to the end of the game.
This week, Nintendo announced another slew of upcoming titles including a Mario, Zelda, and Yoshi game. You can almost guarantee in that Mario game you’ll be saving Princess Peach from Bowser, and that Zelda game will have you save the Princess from the evil Ganon, and that Yoshi game will have you eat apples. But video games are unique story-telling devices, and it doesn’t have to be just that flat archetypal narrative. It can be as simple as giving the enemy a reason to fight, rather than just being evil. [Read more...]
Error! Report #061
November 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
You know those times where we just talk about stuff? Well this time we talk about a lot of stuff. This past week was a whirlwind of a console launch and many, many video game reviews. We discuss some of the finer details that our reviews didn’t cover and how great some of those games are. We also talk about how not so great (but still pretty cool) the Wii U is as a console released in 2012. [Read more...]
Wii U Review: A Confused, Conflicted Console
November 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Editor-In-Chief Evan Tognotti and Senior Editor Clint Prentice both got Wii Us at launch. A conversation about the console is featured below. Remember to check out Clint’s reviews of Nintendo Land and Scribblenauts Unlimited, as well as Evan’s reviews of New Super Mario Bros. U and ZombiU. [Read more...]
ZombiU Review: Judging A Book By Its Cover
November 22, 2012 By 2 Comments
ZombiU probably isn’t the game you think it is.
I predict this for a number of reasons. It’s a launch title for a new system, and one developed by Ubisoft, a developer with a pretty spotty launch title record (Red Steel, anyone?). Every piece of information regarding the game before release has naturally focused on the Wii U’s GamePad, which could easily be read as a warning sign about the game itself. Also, the name of this goddamn game is ZombiU, like we’re living in some odd, Nintendo 64-esque era where such a title is acceptable. The whole thing reeks of a kind of disaster.
In reality, ZombiU is anything but. It’s a smart, scary, slow game marred by some predictable launch window woes.
Nintendo Land Review: The Happiest Virtual Space on Earth
November 20, 2012 By 1 Comment
In 2007, the Wii launched with Wii Sports as a pack in game. That series of mini-games became ubiquitous to the Wii and defined motion control gaming for a generation. With the Wii U, Nintendo changed their controller drastically and Nintendo Land is their attempt at defining what this controller means to a new generation. I decided the best way to really understand what Nintendo hoped to achieve with Nintendo Land was to gather my family together and spend an entire day playing the various “attractions” of Nintendo Land. What followed was the most fun my family has had playing video games with me since Wii Sports, and that is exactly what Nintendo was hoping for.
New Super Mario Bros. U Review: Higher Definition, But Not Highly Different
November 19, 2012 By 4 Comments
Nintendo’s flagship franchise faces a problem that so many series’ this late in their game are susceptible to: fatigue. There have been five “New” games in about as many years, and we haven’t had a proper 3D Mario since 2010′s Super Mario Galaxy 2. Just earlier this year we had New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 3DS, which was received in a decidedly mixed fashion. I think most people agree that Mario needs a jump-start, or a break, or anything that could mitigate what’s fast becoming over-saturation. New Super Mario Bros. U is an immaculate and pretty game that relieves none of that dread or tension.
Error! Report #060
November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Wii U launch is upon us, so half the stuff we talk about doesn’t really matter anymore! No, I’m joking, but we do speculate on the state of the Wii U this holiday season. [Read more...]
Editorial: The Wii U Launch Market
November 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
As I sit here watching my Wii U download a system update that arguably shouldn’t be necessary for a console launch, day one, I recall the long journey I’ve taken to get to this point. [Read more...]
