Biomotor Unitron is yet another curiosity in the NeoGeo Pocket Color library much like Card Fighters’ Clash and Big Bang Pro Wrestling. Fortunately, it falls in the more playable and enjoyable court of the former than the latter, which while unique and nice-looking didn’t play too well. If you’re a fan of mechs, don’t want to spend too much, and have 10 hours spare, then you can’t do much better than Biomotor Unitron.
I enjoyed and continue to enjoy my time with Shin Megami Tensei V, but it isn't the title I envisioned when it was announced a few years back. It's a top-shelf JRPG with a lot of content, charm, and game time to keep the most engrossed of players demon negotiating until the wee hours. For me sadly the game lacks the identity I've come to expect from the main Shin Megami Tensei series. That alongside some performance issues, the weighty day one DLC, and the draining pace issues means this is one title that has strayed further from God than I would have liked.
While I liked Trigger Witch, I must say I was done with the game a while before its credits rolled. To be frank (and vulgar), it shot its load long before the crescendo which was a shame. It’s a fun and charming game with some ambition, containing quirky writing but hampered with wonky pacing and asset reuse.
I enjoyed the tone of Vaporum Lockdown. The story was fantastic and it’s been a good while since I was this immersed into a dungeon crawler. I think the lack of replay value does somewhat hurt it a little and the presentation could stand to be improved a little bit but I wholeheartedly recommend Vaporum Lockdown to anyone remotely curious in a more narrative-focused dungeon crawler.
All in all the NeoGeo Pocket Colour Selection Vol.1 is a fascinating, if not slightly unbalanced look into the history of SNK and its short-lived foray into handheld gaming. What is commendable is the dedication to getting fighting games working well on their handheld project, but also putting out stuff like Dark Arms which was quite unexpected for the market at that time. While this is a A+ emulation collection with some nice extras, filling it with 6 fighting games really puts this title into a niche. If you’re a fan of SNK/NeoGeo history and curious about the Pocket this is an easy purchase. On the other hand for people less versed or not interested in fighting games, it’s a rather pricey lesson in death by excess. It’s a quality product – just laser-pointed directly at a certain audience.
I love Capes. It’s a great game and it’s staggering just how much they got right, especially just how gripping the characters and narrative were. A massive shout-out to the writers for that. That said, it’s significantly lacking in a few areas especially when compared to similar titles. Capes is going to satisfy the hole in your life that calls out for comic books and strategy games for a good while. I do hope a sequel comes around and the developers get really wild with the team-ups, locations, and superheroes. But even if what we have now isn't perfect, it could be a fantastic origin story for this series.
Once again, Nightdive has released an official, definitive way to play another classic FPS with Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster. It may seem like a basic FPS even by the standards of its original era, but it still looks and feels authentically Star Wars and makes for a fun as heck playthrough.
While not a complete triumph, falling down in the same places as many other survival horror titles, and a rather iffy last act to boot, there is still so much to fall in love with in Alone in the Dark (2024). It is a must-play for horror fans and would also make an excellent pool to dip your toe into if you're new to the genre, with the fantastic options on offer to make the game as accessible or as masochistic as you need it to be Alone in the Dark (2024) is exactly what this dormant series needed after the deathblow that was Alone in the Dark: Illumination. It sticks to what made the series famous with classic horror clichés, hammy acting, a great atmosphere, and an engrossing mystery. It's not only a fantastic stand-alone title, but is in the upper echelons of reimaginings, leaning on the original title where it counts, but not enough to make it a crutch. It adds its unique ideas to further the experience and gives gamers a true dark-fantasy horror that would please any avid fans of Lovecraft.
A brilliant all round Shmup for newcomers and genre fans
A fantastic yet brief adventure full of quirk and charm
I want it on the record that I love UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys: Celes. That said, I think to try and recommend picking it up at full price to anyone but hardcore fans is too much of a hard ask. Yes, if you pick the game up now you get access to Season 1 with three new DLC characters incoming, but it just doesn’t have the weight of a game released this side of titles like Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Mortal Kombat 1 where they had a lot of worth to their offline portions. The gameplay is solid and the visual style is somewhat love or hate, but there is a lot here to love. It doesn’t feel like a major sequel so I would suggest that you either pick this one up on sale or pick an earlier one up first to see if you're new to the series and not convinced. If you’re a fan of the series this feels like a half sequel, but the rollback netcode and extra characters alone should be enough to entice you in.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is the blueprint for how making the right tweaks in the right places can enhance a good experience to a great one, as long as you want to take that experience online that is. Despite the gutting of single-player content and the overly grindy nature, the core game is still an absolute thrill to play, and shot it back up into my rotation of fighting games. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a serious contender among fighting games and the leader of the anime fighting game faction.
Gothic II Complete Classic is the best way to experience an all-time classic “Euro Jank” RPG out of the box without mods. The new graphic tweaks look fantastic and it has enough quality of life improvements to make it much more digestible than playing the original Gothic 2 release. Yes, the game controls are funky and you’ll die over and over again, in-game cutscenes might look daft because your character jumped on top of a chair as it triggered, and you’ll no doubt spend ages banging your head against brick walls trying to make progress. But, when it clicks, nothing hits quite like Gothic 2 and you’ll be growing dark bags under your eyes for nights as you get fully consumed by the role of the Nameless Hero. Gothic II Complete Classic is a product of its time presented in the easiest way to play it. No mods are required and you can indulge in the convenience of console or handheld with the hybrid nature of the Switch. It’s a treat for any classic RPG fan so long as you’re willing to wade through the swamp before you reach the treasure chest.
While Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered is technically the weakest of the original trilogy. But now that Nightdive Studios has put in the work and made this title available to players of all modern consoles, you can see that even at its weakest moments Turok was a series that had more than enough charm and gore to carry it through the generation. It’s the end of the original Turok trilogy and it is amazing to see how much love and care Nightdive has put into all three of the titles. Bravo to Nightdive for their work here and making this easily the most playable Turok 3: Shadow Of Oblivion has ever been to the point I couldn’t put the game down. You truly are the new Turok!
Red Dead Redemption is hailed as one of the best games ever made, as is its sequel, and this is a strong reminder as to why. It's aged brilliantly and is easily a game I would suggest everyone needs to play. Sadly, the lack of multiplayer and the higher price tag do seem to be sticking points for some. But with the sheer amount of content and quality, it still offers fair value for an unmissable gaming experience.
I loved Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons as a fan of the genre and a fan of the franchise. The Gaiden moniker is certainly apt as this doesn’t look or feel like a traditional Double Dragon, but as we haven’t had an original title from the series in six years, it’s hard to argue whether this is a side or mainline release at this point. Its addictive and random nature is fantastic for the genre, but I can imagine that coupled with the art direction, it isn’t going to be a street everyone will want to walk down. Tokens cashed in, this is a fantastic addition to the genre and franchise and hopefully, it spurs more Dragons in the future!
Glitches and annoyances aside, Aliens: Dark Descent is a fantastic experience for any fan of the Aliens franchise. A much higher level of care is clearly on show here than in some previous titles, and that helps stave away the annoyances mentioned in this review. It's a tough-as-hell game that feels immensely rewarding when things go right and you manage to achieve a victory over the Xenomorph scum with little to no injury. It rewards planning and keeps you on edge with the constant reminder that even the basic Xenomorph can ruin your day if not taken with the utmost caution.
Nightdive are synonymous with fantastic remasters but to my knowledge, this is the first from-the-ground-up remake they have produced and Shodan be praised, did they knock it out of the park! System Shock isn’t a game for everyone as previously stated. It doesn’t have the flexible character builds of its sequel nor is it a more linear digestible experience like its spiritual successors. What it does offer is a hardcore, sci-fi horror game with a level of immersion that only comes around every so often. Fans of Prey (2016) will certainly find a lot to love here, along with gamers looking for a challenge. You will get lost, you will die, and you’ll spend more than enough time scratching your head at some of the more obscure objectives and puzzles. But if you stick with it, you’ll come out of the other side fulfilled and with an even greater appreciation of just how much of a landmark title System Shock was and still is.
All in, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is exactly what I expected when it was announced as "Boomer Shooter" and that is a damn good thing. When it comes to this franchise, you usually have to go into it expecting certain levels of jank much like Necromunda: Hired Gun. Fortunately, here the developers have put out a jank-free, high-quality product that should bring Boomers and Gen Z kids together in a bloody ballet in the glorious name of the Emperor.
DNF Duel is a fine addition to the rosters of fighting games on the Nintendo Switch. I can only hope that crossplay comes in the future alongside the number of updates and support Arc System Works has promised the other versions. It's a bit of a niche franchise when compared to stuff like Dragon Ball Z and may not quite have the appeal for more casual fans. That said, fans of the genre who fancy an anime fighter with a bit of a difference will find that DNF Duel stands in its league.