Justin Nation's Reviews
Strangely enough this isn't my first rodeo, back in the day I wrote for the N64HQ as well as a few other outlets on freelance gigs but then when the HQ closed I decided to step it up and started The 64 Source. As the first word of a follow-up system to the N64 began to swirl I then decided to venture out into completely new territory and started OperatioN2000, where I had very little regular reputable news to share. With no other options I decided create my own content focused on profiling key developers and their current relationship with Nintendo or "dream games" where I saw opportunities for Nintendo to dust off classics or recently-made games and do something new with them on improved hardware.
This was all going pretty well until my wife and I decided to have our first child and I then decided that it was time to hang it up and focus on my family. As I closed down both sites I did decide to partner with Billy Berghammer, another former N64HQ writer, who had created his own site, PlanetN2000. We agreed to move over the relevant content from the older sites to his and on top of that I had taken a grad school class in programming in ColdFusion and decided to offer to code the front-end and back-end for a new version of his site. Through these efforts the newer and more complete Planet GameCube was born! While I would occasionally contribute to that site, helping do things like working out Louie the Cat doing rumors and other odd things, I eventually decided to stop as my family obligations grew.
While I had continued to follow Nintendo through both the Wii and Wii U eras my TV time was limited enough that I began playing more PC games again. It is in the PC space that I began to play a number of independent games and they started to be the games I enjoyed the most. Between their lower price, their often less traditional gameplay and approach, and their great variety I was hooked!
With the launch of the Nintendo Switch I was already excited by the possibilities. The portability factor alone meant that I would have far more options and places I could play away from the TV, and games like Breath of the Wild looked impressive. With my oldest daughter poised to start her senior year in high school and my youngest finishing out junior high I started to see an opportunity to get back into amateur games journalism once again with what is now Nintendo World Report as well but I'd initially just thought about writing some editorials periodically. Then, right before the launch of the system, Nintendo had their Nindie-focused presentation and I saw my two most beloved gaming worlds colliding. The games I had been playing on my PC could now be played in a portable way and on Nintendo hardware! Being the type who tends to work against the normal current the concept behind Nindie Spotlight was born!
There's nothing wrong with a decent budget puzzle platformer, in fact there are plenty of them out there in the eShop...
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Having endured a previous Outbreak title in the form of Epidemic, I'll say my enthusiasm for checking out Endless Nightmares was limited...
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As an old-school arcade fan I'll admit I've been a big fan of indie titles that have come to the Switch putting a twist on classic gameplay...
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Leisure Suit Larry is a franchise I’ve been with since the very earliest days pretty much...
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Realistic all-terrain driving games are an odd breed that has emerged in popularity in more recent years, and to date hasn’t been represented too well on the Switch...
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Usually focusing on more hardcore or even the semi-sophisticated casual market, developers don't always put much care into trying to appeal to the next generation of gamers...
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Stealthy action games have had their ups and downs over the years and actually haven't been that strongly represented on Switch, leaving fans a bit thirsty for their handheld fix...
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Especially when games are budget priced it can be unfair to be too tough on them for looking more simplistic but with what I would call a "crayon-drawn" look perhaps Rabisco may look a bit too simple for its own good...
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Budget-friendly titles can often tend to be difficult to evaluate when their competition carries a higher price tag and something like Space Commander highlights the problem well...
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Fans of the "good old days" of FPS shooting will no doubt raise an eyebrow seeing shots of Exodemon...
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Games based on existing properties I'm unfamiliar with are always a bit of a challenge to fully appreciate but in the case of Grimm Eclipse I think my issues with it are deeper than that...
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There's no doubt that the Switch, in general, is pretty starved for decent real-time strategy games...
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Fans of strategy RPGs with a more classic 16-bit style will likely be drawn to Rise Eterna on looks alone, but beware that the vintage look comes with some quality of play issues that also feel a bit out of date...
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With a pretty cute protagonist, a generally steampunk look, and a mix of puzzles and combat that at least feel novel, Retro Machina has some things going for it...
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Much like it's predecessor on the eShop, Palindrome Syndrome, Tested on Humans brings the escape room experience, at least conceptually, to the video game sphere...
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Ungh's Quest is one of those games that on the one hand I appreciate finding its place on the Switch but on the other it's hard not to be a bit frustrated by...
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As someone who celebrates games that take chances to do something new, to a degree Flowing Lights feels like a game made just for me...
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Cobbling a few ideas together that have shown up in other shooters on the Switch, Blink: Rogues at least seems to have some ambition going for it...
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Coming over from the mobile space, there's no mistaking the visual simplicity of Infestor...
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With an abundance of retro shooters on the Switch it can be a challenge to differentiate them, but for old school arcade fans the Raiden name should be enough to grab some attention alone...
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