amphibious_ReViews

When the StreetPass Mii Plaza DLC was first rolling out, players could pick one of two games to receive for free as a demo of sorts. The options were Slot Car Rivals and Market Crashers, and I quickly chose the former because it looked a lot more exciting. Now that I've played both of them and learned that Market Crashers might just be my favorite StreetPass game out of all of the DLC, I know I probably picked incorrectly. However, Slot Car Rivals was still enjoyable in its own right. I can't think of any other racing games that are controlled exclusively with one button, let alone any that are still fun, but this one managed to pull it off! Mimicking the real-world hobby of slot car racing, Slot Car Rivals invites you to race against your StreetPass tags on increasingly complex tracks as you aim to become the champion. Each course has a set of challenges to complete in order to progress. Each of the four circuits has five tracks (although the fifth track in the final circuit i...

I have been thinking about playing the original F-ZERO for a while now, but I keep getting distracted by other games that I have even more interest in playing. I usually prefer to start a series with the first game before any others because it helps me to appreciate the franchise's legacy. However, the surprise announcement of F-ZERO 99 that followed the shuttering of PAC-MAN 99 seemed like too exciting of an opportunity to ignore. While it isn't exactly how I would've planned it, I played the newest game in the F-ZERO series first, just to make sure I experienced it during the height of its popularity. With how much it is inspired by the original, I think I would've appreciated F-ZERO 99 more had I played the SNES classic beforehand, but as it stands, I still had a great time! Following the template of the 99-series games that preceded it, F-ZERO 99 pits you against 98 other players. However, your play area is no longer independent of your opponents where you can only...

When I was a kid, my dad scored a SNES and a pretty sizable collection of games for a price that would practically be illegal in today's market. He played that thing with me and my brother until we literally couldn't get it to work anymore. After that, even though I loved the games, they were just sitting around like paperweights. It wasn't until I was browsing GBA games at our local game shop that I learned there would still be a way to play all those SNES games again. Sitting on the top shelf behind the counter was the beautiful Yobo FC-16 Go. Allowing for both handheld and TV play (with wireless controllers included?!), our SNES library could be an option again! Needless to say, my GBA was not getting a new game that day, and I buckled down to save up the money for that shiny new handheld. As bulky as it was, that machine was one of my favorites for a very long time. I played Turtles in Time on the minivan TV with my brother, handheld Super Mario All-Stars in the living ...

  As a remake of Crash Bandicoot 's first racing game that also revisited his other kart-themed outings, this was definitely a game I was interested in trying. I mean, It's a rare game that can stand up to the juggernaut Mario Kart series. Plus, the jump from PlayStation polygons to modern graphics really looks superb. Unfortunately, my entire experience with the game was plagued with the thick, muggy air of free-to-play. This normally wouldn't be a problem for me - I will gladly grind more to get stuff the hard way if I didn't pay for the game on the first place. However, this game is not free. Setting that aside for now, my general experience with the game was a series of ups and downs. The controls took some getting used to after years of Mario Kart, and my instincts, especially when it comes to drifting, needed a lot of retraining. Though once I got the hang of it, if felt pretty intuitive! The difficulty was also a shock. As this game lacks things like "rubb...

  Mario Kart Tour marks the series' smartphone debut, making it one of the most accessible games in the franchise. Looking at Nintendo 's other mobile titles, one may expect this game to be a shallow implementation of the core mechanics fans have come to expect from mainline entries in the series. In a way, that assumption is accurate. However, Tour does an incredible job of hiding it. Thanks to the beautiful courses and the largely faithful racing gameplay, this feels exactly like a modern Mario Kart should, at least at the start. My first reaction to playing this game was awe. It felt like a full Mario Kart experience on my phone, which is definitely not what I was expecting when it was first teased. The races are fast paced, steering and drifting feel smooth and responsive, and winning races is more dependant on skill than financial investments. However, it quickly became apparent that the goal of this game wasn't really to win races. As you play, the game pushes you...

Every new  Mario Kart  game comes with its own gimmick of sorts, whether its the introduction of motion controls on the  Wii  iteration, or the pairing up of riders on the  Gamecube's Double Dash;  but this new  Switch  release does more than introduce gimmicks, it improves the entire system. Even compared to its previous release on the  Wii U , this game kicks it up a notch! Small improvements including the return of old mystery box items and the ability to carry multiple items at a time are appreciated, but the real fun comes with the major additions -- with my attention immediately gravitating towards the full-fledged battle mode with 5 different battle options and 8 new/returning arenas that allow for some amazing multiplayer mayhem. Beyond the improvements this game boasts,  Mario Kart 8 Deluxe  is a solid entry into the  Nintendo Switch 's growing library. It acts as the perfect pick-up-and-play option, allowi...