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 throwback budget platforming shooter when they manage to recapture the excitement of years past...
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I actually debated reviewing this game because it irritates me so much...
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If you’re going to bring a tower defense title over from the mobile space the Kingdom Rush series is absolutely the one to go with...
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With a somewhat limited repertoire of racing/sports games on Switch when a new one comes to the scene there can be some pretty intense interest in how well it performs...
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I'll be the first to admit that interactive novels as games don't typically do it for me, they too often either lack in richness I expect in a well-written narrative or I just don't find there's enough for me to do other than click along to advance to the next block of text...
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I'll admit, I haven't to this point seen a sort of zombie survival adventure title on Switch so it's nice to have Heaven Dust filling in that block on my indie Bingo card...
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From the story, to the general action, to the fact that its combat is turn-based with timing-based bonuses akin to the likes of Super Mario RPG and others, UnderHero is plain different...
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When it comes to local multiplayer party games variety is always a good thing, especially since you may be playing with non-gamers, people of any age, or skill level before even accounting for personal tastes...
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Featuring some cool aesthetics, whether large set piece environments, neon-lit landscapes, or the reality-altering powers you get to wield, Soul Axiom Rebooted has its merits...
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Playing this was a bit odd for me, as in many ways it feels like a game I somehow played before in the SNES era but I can't quite put a finger on its name...
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Ever since the early days of the genre I’ve been a big fan of a good beat-em-up...
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With an abundance of puzzle games on the Switch making an impression is a challenge...
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With a bit of a window remaining until the release of Animal Crossing, if you’ve been looking for something relaxing and structured to occupy your attention you’ll be in luck with Rune Factory...
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When people typically think of educational games they do so with a bit of a groan...
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Simulations, by their nature, can be a varied and sometimes interesting bunch...
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When you're trying to catch people's attention in a genre as crowded as puzzlers on the Switch it pays to do something a bit different...
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Certainly one of the elements of the classic Zelda series that everyone loves is its dungeons...
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There's something to be said for the power of pick-up-and-play simplicity in multiplayer games...
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Puzzle platformers have been a staple genre since even the early days of gaming, but it has only been in more recent years with indie and mobile games that they've made a real resurgence...
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In theory surviving with limited resources in an environment full of threats where you're not sure where any given turn may lead you can be exciting...
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