Justin Nation Avatar Image

Justin Nation

Windsor, PA
The Nindersect
Nindersect

Favorite Games:
  • Rocket League
  • Neon Abyss
  • Wreckfest

4389 games reviewed
70.7 average score
71 median score
43.3% of games recommended

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!

If you can get past the somewhat slow returns on quite a bit of grind, it has some survival appeal

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Oct 17, 2019

Art is inherently in the eye of the beholder and that certainly carries over into interpretation of game design...

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8 / 10.0 - Little Town Hero
Oct 16, 2019

When you’re a game studio responsible for what may be arguably one of the biggest and most successful franchises in the world it must be challenging to break away and do something very different...

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7.5 / 10.0 - Roof Rage
Oct 16, 2019

OK, Smash fans, hear me out...

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8.6 / 10.0 - Overwatch - Switch
Oct 15, 2019

While I don't think most people likely need to be told, Overwatch is a pretty thoroughly impressive game...

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While it got off to a little bit of a slow start the Switch has been blessed with a ton of great beat-em-ups to choose from, and especially for fans of the original arcade title Ninja Saviors is a strong addition to the list...

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If you're a "vintage gamer" like myself who has been in the PC space you've definitely heard of, and likely played, one or both of these pen and paper inspired RPG classics...

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Much like the pairing of Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, released at the same time as this pack, the most likely audience for these titles will be veteran gamers who remember playing these on PC back in the day...

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6.7 / 10.0 - Billy Bomber
Oct 15, 2019

Budget titles are always interesting to check out, if you can look past their often more simplistic appearance some creative gameplay can lay within...

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6.7 / 10.0 - The Eyes of Ara
Oct 15, 2019

With tablets and smartphones having opened the door to more casual gamers the puzzle genre has been in a terrific renaissance as a whole...

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8.9 / 10.0 - Killer Queen Black
Oct 11, 2019

After having heard so much about this killer multiplayer arcade title I was interested to see what the fuss was all about...

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7.1 / 10.0 - AeternoBlade II
Oct 11, 2019

Side-scrolling slashers are pretty well-represented on the Switch, though none of them have game mechanics quite like Aeternoblade...

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6.1 / 10.0 - Beast Quest
Oct 11, 2019

When you aspire to match up to the likes of the Legend of Zelda series and its ilk, taking on a grand adventure in a 3D world, you've got quite an endeavor ahead of you...

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Oct 11, 2019

While perhaps I'm a bit jaded having played so many indie puzzle games over the past few years but while its presentation may be nice enough, Demake's gameplay is what I'd consider painfully average...

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7.5 / 10.0 - Mistover
Oct 10, 2019

Fans of challenging and highly strategic turn-based play have had a number of quality picks on the system to choose from, and though Mistover has a lot on its side with great art and an interesting setup its random elements may make it a bit too unpredictable at times...

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7 / 10.0 - A Knight's Quest
Oct 10, 2019

Possessing a strong sense of adventure, many nods to the Zelda series and some other titles, and reasonably open world to explore and discover things in A Knight's Quest has a fair amount working in its favor...

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6.8 / 10.0 - Family Tree
Oct 10, 2019

Taking aim at the budget-friendly, colorful, and approachable casual game category we have Family Tree...

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6.1 / 10.0 - Contraptions
Oct 10, 2019

While undeniably encouraging creativity a general wonkiness holds this back from success

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8 / 10.0 - Valfaris
Oct 9, 2019

If you’ve been looking for an experience on Switch that takes some of the core shooting mechanics of games the likes of Contra, then bolts the ability to hack and slash, and tops it all off with some cranking metal tunes and loads of intensity… Valfaris is going to be your new jam...

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Oct 8, 2019

Bringing together 4 progressively-improving puzzle titles you can enjoy solo or co-op, this collection is a win for action puzzle fans...

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