Jason Capp's Reviews
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shiny Pearl are both great remakes of the Nintendo DS classics. With fun little additions like decorating your ball capsules with stickers given to you from just about everyone, the ability to buy new clothes so our avatar does not look the same from start to finish, and other solid cosmetic additions, this is definitely the superior version and ILCA did a fantastic job hovering over that line of respect to the originals while also giving it their own spin.
Hindsight 20/20 – Wrath of Raakshasa is honestly a strange one. On the one hand, there is a great story here with some relatively dynamic decisions to make that will alter the course of things to come. The ability to decide what weapon to use in a given moment is an awesome mechanic that really puts your enemies’ fate in your hands. On the other hand, though, the overall combat and dungeon system is a bit repetitive and drags the experience despite the well-told story.
If you are looking for a solid action experience with a real challenge, The Legend of Tianding is a great option. But if you are looking for an engaging story with a strong narrative and fantastic characters, The Legend of Tianding is perfect. If you are looking for both? Well, all I can say is you need to buy this game right now! It is one of the best action titles I have played in 2021, and if you know me, that is saying a lot.
Induction is quite the abstract and challenging experience, and casual puzzle gamers may be turned off by the lack of instruction and high difficulty in the later portions of the game. However, for those looking for something unique and more along the lines of a sci-fi puzzler (Because of the time traveling), this is a wonderful addition to your library and something that will keep you thinking even when you are not playing the game.
Don’t Touch This Button is not a good game. It clearly borrows its ideas from significantly greater titles, but the execution is poor. It lacks substance and personality, and the “jokes” (If that’s even what you want to call them) are not funny in the slightest and add nothing to the gameplay outside of making the puzzles more annoying.
This is a pretty hefty title as well when it comes to content, as there are plenty of worlds to discover, numerous places to go, and lots of cards and dust to collect throughout the journey. There are some bizarre design decisions, and the disappointing map in the 3D world makes traveling much harder than it should be. However, everything does work, the story is engaging, and there is a lot to chew on here, but this is one of those titles that is simply not going to please everyone, especially in every way. I do recommend Anodyne 2: Return to Dust within reason, as I do believe it is a good game overall, but this may be an easier pill to swallow when the price is discounted.
If you have never played the game before, though, I cannot recommend it enough, so please purchase Afterbith+ and see what all the hype is about. Who knows? Maybe you will fall in love with it immediately and then go ahead and purchase Repentance to have it all. Either way, The Binding of Isaac: Repentance is a phenomenal package, and it is finally time to show Mom how you really feel about her, consequences and all.
At the end of the day, though, R-Type Final 2 is a game for a particular crowd, and they will most likely love it. For others, this is something to avoid unless you are a masochist and want to see how long you can play before you pull your hair out.
Bouncy Bullets 2 is a strange one for me, because it comes off as lesser than its predecessor in just about every way. There are less levels, less colors, and seemingly less things to do. It is not a bad game, as the shooting feels good and is pretty solid, but it is hard to neglect the difficult platforming, especially with the slippery mechanics and some times harder levels are just throwing more stuff at you instead of creating a more challenging set up.
If you are looking for a proper golf title, this is absolutely not the game for you. However, if you are a gamer and simply enjoy an abstract challenge that borrows from some pretty heavy hitters, this is an excellent video game with a golf skin. This is not Tiger Woods or PGA, but it is a golf video game, one with branching paths, secret holes, collectibles, and more! It is not a little journey, either, as A Little Golf Journey will take up lots of your time in a wonderfully relaxing and fun way.
If you are wanting to take a trip down memory lane or experience Cotton’s first 3D adventure for the first time, then this is a decent ride. But for the price and the not very impressive experience, I find Panorama Cotton very difficult to recommend. If you are a Cotton fan, then adding this to your collection is a must, but that doesn’t mean it is a good game.
If you are a shoot ’em up enthusiast, then Cotton 100% is definitely a game worth playing, but if you are entry level and want to experience some old school Cotton gameplay, I think Cotton Reboot! is the much better option for you as it caters more to a wider audience. Don’t get me wrong, Cotton is still super-cute here, but the nostalgia glasses may come off faster than you think.
A Good Snowman is Hard to Build is a really nice puzzle game with some fun ideas that looks and sounds incredible. It fails to keep things interesting as you continue on, but that does not take away from the challenge of the spacial puzzles presented. Building snowmen is great, and seeing their cute faces as a reward is nice, but I would have loved to see a bit more mix up in the gameplay.
It is a shame, because there is a lot of potential here. However, at the end of the day, Aeon Must Die! was kind of doomed from the start. This is a title that just cannot escape its demons, and there is enough problems here to prove that this was not a fully finished idea before putting everything together. I cannot recommend Aeon Must Die!, and it is even hard to do so even with a good deal. You will be getting a beefy game if you do buy it, but you will get bored with it rather quickly and making it to the end is a real drag.
It may not be the most memorable shoot ’em up out there, but Gleylancer is still worth your time, especially if you are a fan of the genre. The fact that Ratalaika Games has brought this one back and are only selling it for $5.99 is amazing. For the price, this is a steal, and it is definitely a game to add to your collection, despite its blemishes.
Dojoran is a good, little platformer that offers quite the package for such a bite-sized price. It does decent in all regards, has a great soundtrack, and takes a reasonable amount of time to clear. There are some extra challenges on the table as well, like reaching the end with the bug and a large coin, but this does not offer anything and is purely there for bragging rights.
Metroid Dread gets just about everything right, and without spoiling anything, this is a satisfying ending to this story that will please fans both old and new. The addition of the E.M.M.I. create some of the most intense moments in the series’ history, and the boss fights are truly some of the most fun and challenging ever. Samus has never controlled better, and exploring with her once again on the eerie Planet ZDR is a dream come true. Samus is finally back, and she’s better than ever.
Steel Assault is a fantastic game that is only flawed by one of its quality-of-life additions. Although the checkpoint system does make the storied experience really short, the addition of Arcade Mode is where people are going to get the great challenge. Zenovia Interactive went above and beyond the call of duty to make this game feel like it is from a different time, and this is honestly one of the best 16-bit games I have played in a long, long time.
It is good to know that Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania did not slip on any of its peels, but it probably could have used a little more time to ripen up. At the end of the day, this is still one of the best Monkey Ball collections we have ever gotten, and SEGA delivered a significantly better experience here than they did with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD on the Switch. If you have a Monkey Ball-shaped hole in your heart and need it filled, then look no further, because Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is here to fill that hole and put you back in control of AiAi in a great way.
Aeon Drive is a solid action platformer set at a really good price. The single player, if you don’t care about collectibles, will be a quick ride, but the multiplayer adds so much more fun and replayability to the title. Ultimately, how long you enjoy the game solely depends on how you are entertained with such titles. But if you enjoy precision platforming, strong leaderboards, getting all the collectibles, and local multiplayer, this is a full package and one you could be playing for years.