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’re a fan of strategy games in the vein of Advance Wars, Wargroove 2 makes an outstanding case for your attention
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Sporting a ridiculously fitting killer soundtrack, and incredibly satisfying controls, this is a must-have music title
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If you don’t mind the sometimes glacial pacing of the adventure aspects, the art and story here are top-tier within the space
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This mesmerizing adventure in black and white is both accessible and brilliant for sharing with a friend or tackling solo
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This single-developer passion project sets a standard for how the classic 16-bit JRPG can still be improved upon
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Far more than a mere collection of well-known games, Atari 50 sets the standard for chronicling the history of an icon
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Finally, a LEGO game that truly captures the essence of both its creative and functional play in digital form
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Ever since the Pinball FX3 team took over the Williams pinball license there has been a steady stream of quality tables coming from them, but with the release of the Indiana Jones table in particular it feels like they've really underlined their commitment to making the most of their opportunities...
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While I've played indie games with a pretty wide variety of styles and levels of quality since the launch of the Switch I can't say any of them has defied easy explanation as much as Disco Elysium for me...
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Possibly one of the best games to challenge and entertain determined groups either locally or online in this generation, Overcooked started strong and at this point where they've brought everything together into one package it's tough not to be impressed...
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At long last the conversion of DOOM: Eternal has made its way to Switch to satisfy your itchy trigger finger and much like the last DOOM... it's pretty hard to believe this game is running (well) on a console you can take anywhere...
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A creative take on a puzzle platforming adventure that’s challenging but fair, and has plenty of secrets to discover along the way
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With its low-poly look coming straight out of classic Sega arcade titles like Daytona Racing we have Hotshot Racing, and while it may not have incredible depth or nuance damn if it isn’t a whole lotta fun...
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Bless the indie devs that are determined to just completely go off in left field and do something unique...
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Bless indie developers and their ability to come up with weird concepts for gameplay that you probably never considered but upon seeing them are easily attracted to...
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