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!
Though I may have felt a bit conflicted on how to score Windscape, I like its concept, most of its simple but workable design, and how much of it slows as a whole...
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Gameplay is focused on shooting enemies flying and floating around within a cave, but you’ll also need to concern yourself with the potential for falling rocks that will damage you as well...
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You’ll play the game as A-Tak, a daring and somewhat brash fighter pilot with plenty in common with Robotech’s Rick Hunter...
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You’ll be playing the part of a veteran warrior whose job is to take a Princess under his wing...
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Skipping the non-story, since it has no real bearing on anything, the basics are that you’re someone dressed as a knight but who has no weapon...
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In general, though the interface is clean and simple it’s on the unrefined side depending on your tastes...
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In theory based on that tagline the game would be right up my alley, and to a degree it is, there’s something a bit mesmerizing about watching your small ship flow through increasingly elaborate “tracks” that make up each stage...
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You’ll play the game as Synch, a man on a mission to try to find the mythical Azure in the hopes of saving the remnants of humanity from extinction...
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In the game you’ll get to choose your character, and this carries a bit of consequence as it will affect not only things like how many lives you get but the type and duration of power-ups and assists you can get...
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Though it’s pretty clear in places that Nuclear Throne has aged a bit since its original release, its unapologetic degree of challenge and a wide variety of builds still make it one of the best twin-stick shooters on the Switch...
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Determined not to let itself get in a rut and become too predictable, Zero 2 is a rewarding walk through nostalgia while not being content to limit itself to dated design and mechanics...
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Most of the formula behind the game is straightforward to people familiar with the genre...
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Starting from the top we have Theater of Magic, a table that shouldn’t need any introduction...
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While there’s quite a lot to understand about Fate/EXTELLA Link in the end your enjoyment is likely to hinge on the frantic and crazy combat...
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It will begin with simple negations, changing out colors with directions, and even some or statements...
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For me the concerns began just in the tutorial as the game walks you through each character’s signature ability...
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You’ll start out in a circular room that’s lacking in detail or cover, where a steady flow of zombies will be thrown at you coming from different directions...
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Starting out things are pretty simple as the game walks you through the basic mechanics...
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In the end what you’ll want to understand is that this is a cyberpunk semi-interactive adventure that explores society, corporate overreach, and human choice in a smart way...
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