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Showing posts with the label Vicarious Visions

Crash Bandicoot

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My first Crash Bandicoot game was The Wrath of Cortex . I chiefly played it with my dad, as I was not nearly good enough to get past more than the first few levels on my own, but it was always fun to watch him play. With the N-Sane Trilogy , I wanted to relive those memories a little bit, but hopefully have an easier time actually beating the games. Although the nostalgia did come back somewhat while playing this first game, I was surprised by how difficult and frustrating I found the whole experience to be. While there were a few stages that only took one or two attempts and werw a lot of fun, the more memorable ones either had VVVVVV -level platforming without the abundant checkpoints, or janky 3D jumps that just don't work for the bandicoot, making this a hard game for me to look back on positively. Crash Bandicoot has you playing as the titular anthropomorphic marsupial as he attempts to save his girlfriend from the mad scientist, Dr. Neo Cortex. This quest will take you from

Skylanders: Swap Force

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The leader in the toys-to-life genre released another gem with Swap-Force , bringing a lot of upgrades and changes to the game, but maybe a bit too many additions for its own good. Now, I could write an entire doctoral thesis comparing this game to its predecessors and successors, but I won't. Rather, I hope to delve into Swap-Force  almost as if it were a standalone. What I noticed immediately about this game is that it looks and feels gorgeous. Everything blends together seamlessly into one solid world that combines cartoony with colorful, creating a wide variety of aesthetically magnificent levels. The platforming is also quite enjoyable, coupled with a button-mashing combat that stays exciting thanks to a variety of enemies and playable characters. Even the story is worthwhile as multiple humorous cutscenes play during the (unfortunately long) loading times. However, there are flaws, and most come thanks to the franchise's inherent business model. As a game that