Trevor Gould's Reviews
Cabela's: The Hunt – Championship Edition turns out to be quite a good game for what it is, with its authentic approach to hunting. I played it through to completion. It's available as a $49.99 package with a solid plastic gun. If that larger peripheral isn't your thing, the game can be found alone for 39.99 which I think is fair for what's here.
Bass Pro Shops: The Strike – Championship Edition lacks the wide appeal of The Hunt in my opinion, but I think avid fisherman could really get into it. As a sport in general, I think fishing attracts broader interest, but the design choices here mean virtual anglers would be best served with real-life experience. This is still a good game, and one to which I'll probably return at some point.
Jeopardy, while still fun, has a number of issues. It’s visually bare bones, with no shots of the studio or players. The board shows pictures on a handful of answers, but the overall look is lacking ambition and a bit dull.
A trio of classic board games packed together into a single Nintendo Switch Game Card, Hasbro Game Night tries to offer a good bang for the buck. It almost succeeds, too. Only one dud prevents me from declaring this a great package, though I still feel it’s a good one.
The initial thrill is sizable, but once it tapers off, Mega Man 11 reveals itself to just be a good game, not a great one. There's no shame in that; I'm just grateful the blue bomber is back. I'd hoped for something that better balanced the old-school with innovation after all this time, but that isn't something the series has generally been known for. The familiarity is comforting in many ways, so for those with nostalgic interest, I recommend the physical amiibo edition with some cool extras.
While its many positive themes are definitely commendable, the lack of challenge, level diversity, and options do no favors. The game also has no ending, and thus feels unfinished. It's an okay game for youngsters, but there's no innovation here. The quality doesn't match the price, so I'd wait for a reduction.
Bottom-line, if you enjoyed the prior Syberia games, you'll enjoy part 3 as well. It offers some fun surprises, and I feel it'll also prove to have some endurance and stick with me. Plot strengths can't override the key technical issues though, so do wait for a needed patch and a sale if you're on the fence.
Car Quest starts running out of gas through its failure to recall where you're going next. New areas are unlocked one at a time, often as small openings revealed via speedy cutscenes. These are very easy to forget, especially if you put the game down for a bit. So, I found myself searching through overly familiar looking sections hoping to stumble upon my next path. This became worse after the first few hours, as the world continued to grow.
A pretty good release for the bookworm crowd, A Case of Distrust will keep you entertained, even if it's only for a few hours.
The SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is a great collection of not necessarily great games. While retro enthusiasts and multiplayer fans will likely have this anthology near the top of their wish list, others might want to wait for some DLC to flesh it out.
Monster Loves you is entertaining enough for the first couple of plays, but it definitely doesn't last. This short title fails to leave much of an impression, unfortunately.
The Nintendo Switch has several strong point-and-click games, it's true. But while some have tried to re-design the genre, Broken Sword 5 reminds how it helped cement the best of it in the first place. The series has a timeless quality, and part 5 simultaneously offers a celebration of the past and encouragement of heading in the right direction for the future. It hits the ground running to get you hooked, and its weaknesses end up not hurting the overall package, which took me just under15 hours, as much as you might've thought. Throw in some Switch exclusive behind the scenes movies (better late than never for this port) and you have even more of a winner.
Just Dance 2019 is phoning it in many ways, but I must admit that even an off entry is still fun. My wife and I have really grown fond of the Just Dance series as a means of lively exercise, and this 2019 installment is likely to be our most played Switch title the next 12 months. However, its predecessors show Ubisoft can do significantly better. So if you're not a big series fan, stick to 2018 (with an Unlimited subscription) or wait for the inevitable price reduction on this curtailed Switch version.
Much like its title character, Detective Gallo is a game that manages to grow on you and is a pretty easy purchase for genre fans.
Even though it's a cute game, My Brother Rabbit is short. After three hours or so the end credits roll.
Marble It Up offers some polished entertainment, but it feels incomplete to me. It's often frustrating, not just from uneven difficulty, but from unrealized potential. It needs more to justify its $19.99 price tag. The fun is fleeting.
The Journey Down: Chapter Two is bigger, but not quite better than its predecessor. However, in a three-part act, one chapter has to be the “weakest”, and rather this one than the opener. This game is still very good though, please don't get me wrong.
While the episodic nature does it no favors on the Nintendo Switch, I'm glad to have experienced all three chapters of The Journey Down. I look forward to revisiting them again someday.
The Journey Down: Chapter One is surprisingly involved for a smaller introduction of a larger tale. The story is easy to follow, but definitely has its share of surprises. It's a fulfilling download, and refreshing in that it can successfully imitate in the true sense what made point and click graphic adventures great to begin with.
While the content is light, Toy Stunt Bike: Tiptop's Trials is quite fun while it lasts. If you're drawn into mastering the game, like I was, it will last much longer. If you're looking for a game to make you grin and chuckle, $4.99 is pretty cheap for this joyful little romp.