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!
I’m really impressed by everything the folks behind this game have put together...
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Overall, this is in no way a game for casual shooting fans, it is for hardcore shmup fans who are thirsting for their next serious challenge...
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Working to its advantage the portability factor of the game is pretty strong...
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You play the game as a spirit who has been summoned to aid a girl named Yamiko, who has tasked you with cutting through the Kaiho, a bunch of light-powered dudes who have captured her...
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What absolutely works well for the title is the aerial combat itself...
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As you progress through stages one demand is that you rotate your Switch, turning it 90 degrees at a time, to change the feel of play from being vertical to horizontal...
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Only through a mix of some smart defensive planning, supplemented with your ability to move around the battlefield and fill in when necessary will you survive, and this is especially true if you try to go it solo...
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Despite the game’s limitations and the performance hiccups I can’t deny that there’s a quality to Dungeon Stars that absolutely got me hooked...
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Pet Care is a very basic game that challenges your child to pair an animal with the proper sort of food it would eat...
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Pretty well instantly upon finishing my initial version of this story I was compelled to start up and try another path as there are quite a number of key decisions I can imagine would greatly affect the outcome...
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While lacking the variety and skateboarding craziness of something like the Tony Hawk series both the original and sequel included in this pack are more well-made than your typical stunt-focused title...
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For people who are willing to get over the initial hump of getting used to Strikey Sisters there’s plenty of challenging stages and bosses to conquer...
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You play the game as an exchange student who is excited by the prospect of spending a few months in Japan...
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In the game you’ll play as Ember and Rime, young woman and man who each hail from kingdoms representing elemental extremes, ember from a world of warmth and Rime from a world of cold...
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Guess The Word is a relatively basic affair, where you’ll see a small collection of letters from a word and then a picture that will be slowly revealed from top to bottom representing that word...
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Who said you couldn’t have a great time with a budget retro arcade shooter? Iron Crypticle has a smart but classic arcade style of play that will challenge you solo, or you can join up with 3 friends as well...
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You play the game as a very nimble young woman capable of some pretty impressive wall-jumping acrobatics but also with a limited ability to glide and fly...
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The first thing that makes these puzzles a bit more challenging is that you don’t go in with any idea what they look like...
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I have no doubt that City of Brass won’t provide an experience everyone will love, but then again that’s not a shock when games try new things...
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Playing as a warrior by the name of Haggis, you’ll be moving through some cursed lands and slaying demons along the way...
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