amphibious_ReViews

One of my favorite things about geek culture is how often creators come together with their characters, games, etc. and release special collaborations that combine multiple great things into one awesome product. Although Nintendo  is just one company, their willingness to combine their IP's in different games has always excited me. Because of this, I have a deep appreciation for the Smash Bros.  franchise. My introduction to the series was a $25 copy of Melee  that I found at a Gamestop near the end of the GameCube's  lifespan. As the years passed, I still appreciated the franchise, but I rarely sat down to play it anymore (with the exception of pulling out Brawl  with a group of family friends every now and then) because the gameplay felt more catered towards a short playtime, and I didn't feel like it was worthwhile to boot up a console and get everything situated if I wasn't going to play for a significant chunk of time. That's why the portable (yet powerful) 

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, allowing for  Switch  owners like myself to bond with others t

Although I have never really been that good at it, Galaxian  has stood strong as one of my favorite arcade games. Every once in a while I will pull out my Namco  plug'n'play or Namco Museum  on my Gameboy Advance  just to waste some time destroying (or being destroyed by) some aliens. The gameplay is extremely simple with the player controlling a ship that moves from side to side in order to avoid enemy attacks and aim shots at wave upon wave of multi-colored aliens. Although much simpler than its successors,  Galaga  and Gaplus , this game is still quite addicting and always reels me in when I have some time to play it. Unfortunately, I am a pretty garbage pilot and I still need a lot more practice in order to do anything of value when playing, but that doesn't stop me from trying over and over to see if I can beat my last score. Whether or not you are confident that you can single-handedly destroy hordes of bug-like extraterrestrials, Galaxian  is a worthwhile quar

I'm going to start this review by saying that I regard The Legend of Zelda  franchise as my favorite video game series of all time. The story, music, characters, environments, and everything else that comes together in a Zelda  game always seems to make me smile and keep me engaged every second of my playthrough. Because of this, I had extremely high expectations coming into  Breath of the Wild , and I am ecstatic to report that it most definitely delivered! My first step into the world of Hyrule  felt both nostalgic and fresh at the same time - a feeling that the game built upon continuously as I played. Because most of the mechanics in the game were either altered heavily from previous Zelda  titles, or entirely new for this title, I did find myself extremely giddy anytime I found something left in from previous games. The fact that the experience I had in this game was different from the series' roots ensured that references to older games (such as highly recognizable sh

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

Portal  is one of those games that everybody should give a try. It has such a range of amazing elements to it that everybody can take a little something away from their experience, even if they are just watching someone else play. The story is minimal, but hints about what is truly going on are scattered everywhere, and they open up a whole new understanding of the player's situation. That story gets fleshed out even further in the sequel, and it can get extremely intense! Aside from story aspects, the controls are fluid and the system of portals is extremely intelligent and well executed, with the level design complementing multiple strategies, without being simplistic. Portal takes a look at Half-Life 2 's groundwork, and then flips it on its head to create something fantastic and worth every replay; as well as canonically expanding the Half-Life  universe into something completely unanticipated and unprecedented at the time. Although Portal ends up being a pretty quick

I am a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, and that is definitely because of the fantastic first game , but that love is hardly shared for this game. It's unfortunate, too, because it really could have been enjoyable, but there were so many things that held me back from truly appreciating it. The gameplay is simple, with the player invited to swipe down the right of the screen, causing the "heroes" to attack the semi-randomly chosen enemies. Each hero has their own recharge time before they can attack again, making them susceptible to enemy attack (which can defeat multiple heroes within a single hit). That's where my disappointment starts. The entirety of the gameplay is a repetition of swiping and waiting. For the whole game. There is absolutely nothing more to it. What's worse is that the game demands nearly $50 to unlock half of the available content (which is close to the price of a full triple-A title), in addition, there are micro-transactions that