If you enjoyed the original game, then you’re going to like what DotEmu delivers in the Windjammers 2. While I’m not a fan of taming the power-ups, I am a fan of competitive disc games that remind me how cool TRON was back in the 80s. Windjammers 2 is an easy-to-pick-up arcade experience that has far more positives than negatives.
Assassin's Creed Origins sets a new bar for the series. It brings a taste of tomb raider mixed in with the girth of a Horizon Zero Dawn and wrapped in a traditional Assassin's Creed structure. It will exceed gamer expectations and set a new standard for a series that needed life breathed into it.
Sea of Thieves' concept is beautifully drawn up. It has exploration, intense PvP and one of the most beautiful sea adventures to ever grace gaming, but it is lacking in content and it needs more reason to keep players moving and exploring. It has plenty of space on its plate for that, but in its vanilla form there's nothing really to fill that space. I suspect that won't be the case for long, if Rare has anything to say, but that is the current case now.
MLB The Show 20 is another marvel for San Diego Studios. The tweaks they implemented and the gameplay options they have provided only stand to improve the product. They own baseball in gaming and it looks like they're not ready to give it up anytime soon.
The game looks solid, the intensity of the original release is still intact, and the gameplay doesn't drop off much when playing it portable. It's a must-have for Nintendo Switch owners dying for a first-person shooter.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is a fun game that offers up more gameplay options than narrative depth. The competitive mode is the highlight of the release and gives you plenty of reasons to keep playing this sequel.
Overall, Chimparty is a fun PlayLink title from NapNok that gives off a nice Mario Party vibe, while not quite reaching the level design that usually comes with a Mario Party. Chimparty is a good family game, though, and a good addition to the PlayLink family.
The Crew 2 is a beautiful follow-up to the first. It packs a lot of punch inside of it and it's friendly to all types of gamers. The world is still big, the events are great in number, and it just feels like a fun/simple racing game that you want to play on and off for a long time.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster does its best to get you in that uncomfortable gameplay horror structure it aspires to achieve, and it succeeds in engaging and pulling you into the experience. The game just falls short in the story and never really brings the actual horror you would expect to the table, which hurts the gameplay. The long journey to start the horror and the payoff by the end doesn't match up. That's not to say you won't get something out of the game, at least some mystery and suspense, but your expectations of what you should get and what you want to get will never quite come to fruition.
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is a well-planned and executed game from Binary Haze Interactive. It has some repetitive shortcomings, but the fun boss fights and massive levels will help you get through the grind.
Overall, Detective Gallo is a great point and click game with little to dislike. It brings a solid story, some very likable and dislikable characters, and it does the point and click genre justice. The difficulty might be a bit too much for some, but the payoff is worth it.
Madden NFL 20 updates and adds some interesting attributes to its football structure. It polishes up the story mode and gives it focus while maintaining the entertainment value of the series steadily. It needed a bit more with regard to content, but what it has is still good.
Demetrios is a solid point and click title from Cowcat. It is point and click and dialogue-driven, even to a fault at some points, but the difficulty will be enough to offer up a challenge to those who love the genre. Demetrios certainly isn't perfect, much like its main character, but it is intriguing enough to warrant a go.
Overall, the Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus release for the Nintendo Switch is a one-up on all the other releases of the game previously. It has the original game very much intact and this new ‘plus' game that turns the established gameplay design on its head (in a good way). Two beautiful forms of frustrating entertainment in one must-have package for the Nintendo Switch.
I could go on and on about this game, but just know that games like Sea of Solitude are important. It personifies Kay's journey with mental health issues and brings to light different types of situations that people suffering from MHI might encounter. It also brings with it perspective that some people absolutely need should they know someone going through MHI and potentially a starting point when it comes to getting help for that individual.
While the beat 'em up genre will be lost on most gamers, and the story experience isn't that long in 99Vidas to keep some engaged, there is still some fun to be had in this game. It kicks up some nostalgia of what once was cool in the arcades and at home during the 16-bit war, while trying to mix in some new material and motivation to keep the experience going. QUByte did a good job with their action title, so definitely give it a look.
Madden NFL 18 brings a lot more improvements than not. The presentation of the game has been upgraded, though still scattered with some imperfections. Not many, but some. The improvement of Ultimate Team with the MUT Squad is a welcomed one and adds more depth and life to the mode. The addition of Longshot to the mix also brings a true campaign mode to the Madden franchise, which adds some value to the overall package. All in all, EA Tiburon continues to find new ways to improve their Madden series and so far, at least in the last few years, they're doing a good job of bringing worthwhile experiences to gamers. Definitely check this one out.
Windjammers is a solid game that is dumb arcade fun from the 90s. While it certainly has some arcade charm to it through its intense gameplay, it isn't meant for long periods of play, which might be a turn-off for some gamers.
Konami Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a solid release, even without the best of the bunch, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Getting authentic ports of the classic series, while adding some small save features, and graphical options help to sell the package. The bonus book might be the best part of it, though, so that's something to look forward to if you're going to purchase it.
While this collection has about every iteration of Space Invaders that was popular back in its day, and in modern times, the concept of Space Invaders has grown old. For avid collectors out there, like yours truly, this is nice to see on a modern system and all in one game. For newbies looking to try out old video games, there may not be as much joy to be had.