Is 2022 The Year I Fall In Love With The Switch?

Over the years i have always been a massive Wii U apologist and as part of that i've commited the biggest sin... I haven't enjoyed the Switch. 

My main issue with the Switch has always been how similiar its game library is to my beloved Wii U but as my life has changed alot recently i've decided to drastically down size my physical game collection and i have found myself playing Nintendo's hybird consoles ALOT more than i ever have.

So in my most recent attempt to return to blogging i'm going to chart the games i've been playing! 

The Hunt For The Gold Kart Pieces

The first game that i have been going HARD on is..... of course... Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Despite the hundreds of hours i've put into both versions of the game i've never made a proper attempt to unlock everything. I am about half way to unlocking the Gold kart (Getting a gold trophy n star on all 150cc and mirror cups) then i need to tackle the Time Trial mode.... I'm going to snap a controller ain't i?

The First Stop On JRPG Backlog Train...

Much to Craig's general disgust myself and Chris has sooooooooooooooooooooo many JRPG's in our backlogs so i've decided to start knocking them off with Yoko Taro's Voice of Cards: The Isle of Dragon Roars. The first game in the Voice of Cards series is a turn based JRPG but with the unique twist that the entire game is made of cards as if it were a table top game. I played the Prologue Demo on the channel last year and i quite liked its characters, writing and simple battle system and so far the full game is proving to continue the quality of that demo. I am only a few hours in so i cant talk about it too much but check back to the blog later in the month for a full review!

Well thats the first Switch update complete! Hopefully i can stick to a schedule and make this a regular thing so please check back again for more!

Immortals Fenyx Rising: Preview (Stadia Demo)

Hey Guys welcome back to the blog! It's been a crazy and scary year but thankfully we're getting closer to our solace - Q4 Video games releases! One of the games that has been very quietly gaining hype for me is Ubisoft's Immortal Fenyx Rising coming out in December. And as there was a brief exclusive Demo on Stadia last week i decided to give it a try to see if it will jump to the front of my wish list or even be another factor to push me towards trying Uplay+.

So let's get this out of the way now, Breath of the wild... It's heavily inspired by breath of the wild. But to call it a clone is a tad unfair. Whilst it shares BOTW's open world exploration with stamina based climbing, gliding and similar magnatic powers it also powers from Ubisoft's other titles, theres a loot system that is close to the system seen in Assassins Creed Odyssey. 

I think where this game feels unique is in its art style and humour. Its bright, colourful and almost toy like in design. It's portrays the Greek mythology in an almost cartoony way that reminds me of the Disney Hercules Movie a few decades a go. The narrators are funny, charming and constantly breaking the forth way which adds a level of comfort that i found lacking in Breath of the wild. Fenyx has a voice too and he/she is happy to argue with Zeus about the story he's telling. It's a very promising start to a game thats gone under the radar for a while.

The combat is snappy as you would expect from Ubisoft and i can already tell it's going to be full of content. The demo was only about 30 minutres long so there isn't a huge amount to add but overall this feel like more of a progression of the Zelda style experience more than a simple clone, hopefully its Decemember release date won't cause it to be forgotten in all the next gen madness but if you liked Zelda or didn't get a chance to play Breath of the Wild, i highly recommend giving Immortals a shot.

Next Gen Watch - What are my plans and Thoughts?

As we roll ever closer to November and the release of the next generation of console gaming i am still at a crossroads: Do i want to buy a console? 

Now that may already be abit of a moot point (Only the Xbox Series S is still available for preorder) but let's talk about it anyway. I initially preordered a Digital PS5 but after the announcement of a price hike for next gen games and, to be honest, a realisation of how many PS4 games i buy on disc i decided to cancel that for now. So what should i do?

For context, i have bought just about every console since 2000 (even an Ouya!) so i will 100% end up with an Xbox Series and a PS5 eventually. This Gen i mainly gamed on Wii U until it became apparent that my beloved Nintendo machine wouldn't be getting most 3rd party titles. I then played a Titanfall beta in 2013 at a friends house and i got him to drive me back to work so i could buy an Xbox One - That game rocked. A few years later i picked up a PS4 for Uncharted 4 and i've been jumping between them ever since. Overall i tend to play more single player games to completion on PS4 but my community of friends mostly play on Xbox (sort of, we'll get to that). So my crossroads seems justified right?

I think the older i get i'm finding gaming to be even more of an essential escape then when i was younger. Playing games now is what i do to relax, to chat to friends, to escape the frankly shitty world we live in. And as such in the last 2 years i have moved back to Single player games far more than i have previously. Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, Mafia and Breath of the Wild are all examples of games that i lost myself in, long gone are the days of me playing Call of Duty to prestige or grinding out progression in games like Titanfall. A possible exemption to this rule is games as a service. The community nature of these games is sort of a happy medium and i do occasionally really enjoy the teamwork and grind of Destiny. 

Sony is very much doubling down on this single player focus, With Horizon 2, God of war:Ragnarok and Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart already announced for the next 12 months. These games alone could easily sway me to Playstation this time. Throw in Sackboy (Which im buying on PS4 for now), Kena and Gran Turismo and i may already be sold.

But Xbox...has Value. Gamepass is the single best value that gaming has ever seen. Every first party title (including bethesda now), Ea play and a host of great indies launching first into the service is frankly hard to ignore. But there's a canary in the coal mine - I just bought a new PC. For the first time in my 30 year life i have the ability to play PC games that aren't just Football Manager. I still use a controller sure but as Gamepass is on PC... i can still get almost all the benefits of Xbox without rushing out and buying a new console right now.

I think really this answers my question, if i want to buy one i should probably get a PS5. I've just got a promotion at work to so for once if i want to buy a console i don't need to buy the cheapest one, this is a big change for me! Whatever i end up doing i think its a good problem to have, this Gen neither console is BAD, they both offer something exciting and different and with Amazon Luna, Stadia and Switch there is a ton of options for every circumstance. It's a great time to game!

Some Wii U "Hidden Gems" To Play Whilst You're Stuck At Home!

2020 has been a wild year hasn't it? Anyway.... One of the surprise benefits of the various lockdowns and quarantines happening all over the world is the increased amount of game time we have!

 

This got me thinking about my dreaded backlog and some of the underappreciated games i have within it. And as the Wii U is my favourite console I've thrown together a few games to try whilst you're stuck at home.

New Super Luigi U

So this first entry is perhaps abit of a cheat. Yes - This was DLC and Yes - This is now on Switch but it really doesn't matter how you're able to play.... you just should! Luigi's 2D adventure is essentially a retooled version of 2012's New Super Mario Bros. U but with a few twists. First of all our green bro handles VERY different to Mario, He's slippery, floaty and can jump abit higher. This can make the game alot harder as it requires precision and skill beyond what a normal Mario game asks of the player.

This is coupled with overall more difficult level design and a 99 second clock to make NSLU a speed runners dream. The levels are difficult but quick which is really perfect for the "Breaks at home" that alot of us are now trying to fill!

The Steamworld Collection

For our next entry we look toward the intriguing "Indie Selects" Label. Near the end of the WII U's life Nintendo decided to put out a few indie titles as physical releases. The one I've chosen for this list is the excellent Steamworld Collection. This collection is 2 games - The Randomly generated Metroidvania Steamworld Dig and The 2D turn based Strategy RPG Steamworld Heist.

First of all the Games share the same cartoon steampunk aesthetic which looks fantastic on the Wii U gamepad as well as the TV. As i mentioned Dig is a metroidvania that encourages players to...um... dig... deeper and deeper to discover more secrets, power-ups and resources to return to the hub, upgrade and refuel and then try and go deeper and deeper. This is a truly addictive gameplay loop that will keep you thoroughly engaged for the games 8-10 hour runtime. 

Heist is a very different game. It's a slower paced Strategy RPG with the unique combat ability of bouncing bullets off different surfaces to defeat enemies. Heist's delivers a much more linear and story driven experience compared to Dig with its emphasis on characters with specific strengths and weakness as well as weapons and armour that needs to be regularly managed if you are to stand a chance. The game is kind of hard in places, but if you take your time, level your characters and weapons up, you should be fine. This version of the game also includes the Outsider dlc on the disc which is even more added value.

Both games look great, play great, and overall provides this package with a ton of value.

Batman Arkham: Origins

The last game on this little list is arguably the most left field. The Often forgotten black sheep of the Arkham games Origins is sorely underrated. Origins plays very similarly to Akrham City (Also playable on Wii U) but with a much bigger focus on the early days of Batman. Gordon and the GCDP are not your allies and this is really more of a vigilante at this point. One of my favourite aspects of Origins is its Holiday setting, It feels like Die Hard or something! 

Gameplay wise there are a couple cool additions. Detective mode has had a major overhaul with a much more unique visual style, everyone of these is indeed a treat! The other big focus of this game is Boss fights and man are there some great ones in here. I won't get too deep with this because you need to experience it for  yourself but the Deathstroke boss fight is arguably the best in the entire series!

Overall Origins deserves alot more love than it gets, It's a fantastic Arkham game that really stands toe to toe with City in my humble opinion. Despite the cut multiplayer mode i would recommend the Wii U version of this purely for the added feature of the gamepad, there's nothing that can replicate this set up right now!

So there was abit of a ramble about a few games i recommend trying out on Wii U if you're stuck at home, i honestly could've listed 20+ games for this so i may do another one at a later date!

Stay home, Stay Safe and Play some Wii U! 

<3

My Half Year Review of Google Stadia (2020)

For the last 8 or so months I've had access to Google's Brand New Stadia cloud gaming platform. Whilst the echo chamber of twitter has seemingly already written off of this new platform as dead before it's even a year old Stadia has actually been quietly and steadily growing, improving and becoming a small but very tight knit community to the gamers that have given it a fair chance.

So with that being said i am going to give my own personal thoughts on a few key areas at this yearly half way point, is it good? is it bad? is it somewhere in the middle? lets begin...

How does it feel to play?

The first thing an internet troll will say about Stadia is "Theres too much lag, it will never work" and on the whole i massively disagree with this statement. I have a modest internet set up in my city centre apartment, nothing special, and i have still encountered zero lag or performance issues on the chromecast ultra set up. The games are silky smooth, the UI is fast and the resolution is incredibly stable. TICK right? well, no, sadly. Performance on browser is still spotty at best for me on any of the 3 laptops/towers i have available to me and that's a real shame. I understand the need to use a chrome browser for ease of use but perhaps a more streamlined extension or maybe even a separate downloadable .Exe might serve to iron out a few of the low latency issues that i have encountered so far.

As for the mobile app, its great! Even on low quality internet at the local Cafe's and bars i am able to play fairly consistently stable games with little issue. I still think google would be wise to make something along the line of a controller dock (A controller for your phone to sit in not just the claw!) to make on the go gaming even better but right now the on screen touch controller works fine for most slower games.

Overall, i think Stadia from a tech side has come on leaps and bounds over the last year. Achievements are in, mobile gaming is in, crowd play is very soon, so yeah great stuff!

THE GAMES

This is the hardest section for me to review because it's been good...but also bad. Pro continues to be an excellent value for money with tons of games and deals being drip fed out at a fairly commendable rate. The quality of those games is top notch too, GRID, ESO and Rise of the Tomb Raider are all great additions to any library and the smattering of smaller titles such as the Steamworld Collection, Serious Sam and Spitlings rounds out the service nicely.

So where's the bad?.... Well.... There still isn't that 1 game that you HAVE to play on Stadia. Xbox had Halo, Playstation had MGS/FFVII, Nintendo had Mario and Sega had Sonic. Spitlings and Gylt are fun games but they are not going to persuade hardcore gamers to give up there consoles and buy full priced titles on a cloud service. Google is so close though, if they are able to produce a must play title from Jade Raymond's talented teams then i think the library stands up nicely to its competitors, especially in the cloud gaming sector.

My favourites!

I've played about 20 different titles so far on Stadia and my favourites are mostly the pick up and play titles on offer. Trials Rising was a big surprise for me, I've not played the previous games and thought very little of them but for £8 in a sale i took a gamble and my what a joy. It's simple try, fail, try again gameplay loop suits Stadia's play anywhere tag line perfectly and i think encapsulates the Stadias biggest strengths.

Another standout is the hugely addictive Spitlings. A simple and colourful puzzle game that starts easy and then gets brutal quick. Through its hilarious multiplayer and being a Pro game and you've got arguably Stadia's most fun exclusive game.

Overall i go into the second half of 2020 fairly positive about Stadia's future. They have some questions to answer about commitment, no one trusts Google after all, and desperately need a killer app but as the premiere Cloud gaming service right now, there is no better.

Evercade Console - First Impressions!

Collecting Physical Retro video games has become increasingly expensive in recent years. Gone are the days when you could walk into a charity shop and buy SNES games for £5 or a mint condition working Amiga for the price of takeaway pizza! So in this pricey world what is the aspiring retro collector to do?

Traditionally there are two options, either buy a "retro Inspired" mini console with 100's of ROMs built in or pick up the Retro collections for say the Switch or Xbox. The British company Blaze Entertainment has seen these options and decided its Evercade can be Both.

In essence the Evercade is a good quality handheld retro machine that uses changeable cartridges for its games. These cartridges are a mix of licensed older games from classic publishers like Data East or Namco and Indies/Homebrew labels such as Mega Cat Studios. This gives the Evercade a fairly unique place in the retro market as it potentially could be sustained by consistent and varied releases.

As for the unit itself i must admit i am impressed. The unit feels sturdy and well built, the buttons are large, clicky and responsive and the D-Pad is smooth and comfortable like say a Mega Drive's D-Pad.

The only gripe that i have so far is that the cartridge slot on  my unit seems incredibly tight, once the cartridges are in it becomes very difficult to get it out again! Hopefully with use that will stop being an issue and as long as i'm not damaging the unit i won't hold it against the product. The evercade also sports a Mini HDMI out which outputs a fantastic 720p image directly to a modern TV and this has worked flawlessly for me so far. Overall for £60 the hardware feels like value for money.

So now the most important aspect of the Evercade, It's game library! As i mentioned earlier the Evercade's games come on Cartridges that contain anything from 2 to 20 games, usually themed around a single publisher. So far i have the Namco 1, Atari 1, Interplay 1, Mega Cat Studios and Piko Interactive studio carts (with a Data East 1 on its way!) and i have been pleased with the level of quality so far. The games are nicely emulated with very minimal input lag which is very impressive. I'm planning to review a few of the Carts going forward so i won't go into too much detail but Tanzer on the Mega Cat Cart and Earthworm Jim from Interplay are particular highlights of mine. Overall i think the 10 current carts (all priced at £14.99 Btw) provide a solid d launch library of games that has a fairly good variety overall. I must say that the Piko and Mega Cat carts provide the most varied games so i would recommended them alongside the starter or premium sets.

With Atari Lynx and Dizzy Cartridges among the ones announced for the end of 2020 i think the future is looking strong for the library to continue to expand.

Overall i think the Evercade is a very brave product that can certainly carve itself a place in the market, it is well made, well supported and most importantly knows exactly who its marketed at. If you want to collect physical retro games on a budget and play them comfortably on one machine then the Evercade is certainly worth its £60 entry point.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna: The Golden Country (Switch) Review!

The Xenoblade series from Monolith Soft is arguably the most "hardcore" of Nintendo's first party IPs and as such can be incredibly intimidating to new players. I have myself attempted to play the first game and X a number of times before and i quite simply couldn't get the games to stick for long enough, they are after all 100's of hours long!

So it's from this strange starting place that i decided to give Torna (A Prequel stand-alone expansion to the also massively long Xenoblade Chronicles 2) a chance to hook me into the series.

Torna is set about 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and is spread across 2 of the series signature living land masses: Titans. You take control of Lora and her Blades (The name given to the games living weapons) Jin and Haze. You'll be joined in your quest by other characters throughout the journey with your party reaching 3 "Drivers" with 2 blades each. Although from what i understand of XC2 this is actually a very limited number of blades i actually came to enjoy the character development that everyone got as a result of this. I also understand that all of these characters are involved in the plot of XC2 so i'd imagine if you played Torna AFTER XC2 you will get an even greater insight into these interesting bunch of characters.

I don't want to go into the story too much as to not spoil it but i found it utterly engrossing. The dual tales of Lora/Jin and Adam/Mithra is brilliant told throughout the 20-30 hour adventure, each character develops over the course of the game, showing real pain and anguish at the events that unfold. It sets up the Main XC2 brilliantly to all those that played the game in this order and i couldn't wait to jump online and read theories of what became of world after the game was over.

The gameplay is what you would come to expect from the Xenoblade series, an active turn based system that reminds chaining elemental and situational damage together as a unit to take down sometimes massive enemies. There's no random battles here, everything you can see, you can fight! The main change to the battle system compared to XC2 is the ability for blades and drivers to swap positions allowing the blades to take the lead and causing massive damage as they switch in. Overall i found this to be a fairly enjoyable combat system that became second nature after a few hours.

As is standard with Xenoblade there is a huge amount of side quests in the game that vary from the standard fetch quests and monster hunts to more elaborate combat style based mission that reward you for fighting in specific ways. The quest log does a great job of showing you what to do and where to do it but at least twice throughout the game you will hit a massive roadblock where you need to complete a certain amount of side quests to improve your "Community" and thus progress the story. This is obviously not really a problem overall but the game does a poor job of signposting this early on so if your like me and tend to mop of the side quests post game at a chilled out speed you may find yourself grinding through a lot of similar quests for a few hours before the final boss. Thankfully the fast travel system and the fact the Switch is portable make this much more manageable.

Overall i think Torna is both a great addition to the XC2 universe and a good starting point for the series. It's shorter length and small band of characters really help to tell a personal and emotional story that ramps up by the end to a climax that is truly something special. The combat is fast and fluid and despite side quest roadblocks and occasionally frustrating collectables Torna is wonderful place to explore. And hey, if you liked it then you can go out and buy Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to find out what happened to Lora, Jin and the rest of your Tornan allies.