I'll start by saying that, more than anything, Splatoon was really the game that Nintendo needed in 2015. While it may not have pushed the Wii U sales-wise that much, it definitely felt like a fresh new title at a time when Nintendo was sort of stagnating both in terms of their console sales and their IPs.

Splatoon is definitely a very unique take on the shooter genre in general - one that manages to still pertain to Nintendo's overall style and 'family friendly' image. Splatoon takes the form of a sort of 'paintball' shooter where you take control of 'inklings' that can swim through paint of their respective color in 'squid' form and be able to use weapons in the 'kid' form (are you a kid or a squid haha).

The game's definitely more multiplayer-oriented, but there is still a singleplayer campaign you can play through if that's more your style. I decided to play through that before writing a review (and honestly just because I've wanted to get around to it at some point regardless lol), and while it isn't necessarily anything too special on it's own, it's definitely pretty fun at the very least. In each stage your goal is basically to follow a linear course where you save a Zapfish at the end, and the game does mix it up with a decent variety of stage mechanics such as the 'sponges' and propeller-driven blocks. It's pretty short, only clocking in at 27 stages and 5 bosses, which takes maybe a few hours to complete, but I think it makes for a good tutorial of Splatoon's gameplay and mechanics as well as the different types of stage mechanics in multiplayer. You also get the ability to upgrade your weapons and gear within this mode by collecting Power Eggs that are sprinkled throughout each stage and the 'Sunken Scrolls' which establish the lore and history behind the world of Splatoon. It doesn't necessarily offer a huge amount of replay value, but I think what's there is decent enough as a singleplayer offering in a multiplayer-oriented game.

On that note, the multiplayer aspect divides eight players into 2 teams of 4 and offers a few different modes. I've pretty much described the 'core' of Splatoon's gameplay, and again - it's definitely pretty unique and even fun. There's a really good amount of customization here with the different weapons you can purchase with the in-game currency which you obtain from playing matches, adding a lot of replayability into the multiplayer with weapons having different attributes and even entirely different playstyles.

That being said Nintendo notoriously is bad with online multiplayer so there's bound to be a few caveats and... well, I definitely have some criticisms. On the more minor side, there's the lack of communication options which is definitely pretty important in a team-based game like this one. I can understand why Nintendo wouldn't want to put voice chat in a more family-friendly game like this one (i mean i've definitely heard my fair share of shit in pretty much every online PC game i've played lmao), but I can't help but feel like they could have at least done a bit more than just having "C'mon" and "Booyah!" I mean, come on, this was on the Wii U, surely they could have put a few more communication options, especially with how vague those are. They did change one of the signals in Splatoon 2 to "This way!" which is more helpful but... yeah.

But my biggest criticism of this game from a multiplayer standpoint is that I've never been a huge fan of how this game 'rotates' it's game modes. What I mean is, the game offers only one 'Ranked' game mode to play that changes on a daily basis with two corresponding maps - which basically means that if there's a certain game mode I like playing, and want to keep playing, but it's not the one that the game chose for the day, I'm basically at a loss until the game selects it as the game mode for the day.

And keep in mind, I said "Ranked" game modes there. If you don't like Ranked/competitive gameplay, you're arguably at an even bigger loss as the game's Unranked mode, 'Regular Battles' only offers one game mode - Turf War - and the only thing rotating on a daily basis being the two maps you can play on. I'm gonna be honest - this always made Splatoon feel sort of limited to me in terms of gameplay variety as you're basically stuck playing certain modes and maps on a daily basis and you're not really given any options to play anything other than what the game's algorithm selected for the day. I won't lie, I got into this particular game way later than others did (I didn't own a Wii U until 2018 when I bought it off the used market), and this still being the first Splatoon game I played, I actually just thought Turf War being the only mode playable in Regular Battle was just a result of the game being out of active support... but no, it was the same case when I bought Splatoon 2 on sale, and it was the same case when I got Splatoon 3 for Christmas last year. I... really don't understand this gameplay decision - maybe I'm just too used to Overwatch's method of having the mode/map rotate on a per-game basis in Quick Play or Comp or just other multiplayer shooters giving you the option to select whatever modes you want to play - but why certain other game modes are locked behind ranked on top of being rotated out daily was always kind of a weird move that causes the game to feel sort of repetitive fairly quickly imo.

The game modes themselves are still generally pretty fun though. Despite my criticisms of the other modes being locked behind Ranked, I will say that Turf War does make the most sense to be the one that's mainly available in the Unranked mode - it's easy enough for anyone to learn and understand the gameplay through, and it can get pretty engaging with each team fighting for the most ink splattered (especially as you get towards the middle of each stage). Tower Control is an interesting combination of the 'Payload' mode from TF2 with the more traditional 'King of the Hill' style modes from other multiplayer shooters, Rain Maker is a good spin on Capture the Flag type gameplay, and Splat Zones.. isn't too interesting, just kinda being a more traditional King of the Hill/Control Points style mode, but it's fun for what it is. Obviously later games would introduce more game modes but that's a different discussions for another time.

Overall, what else can I say other than Splatoon being a really unique and refreshing IP that Nintendo was kind of in need of in the time. Admittedly there isn't a whole lot of a reason to going back to the original Wii U game (other than the campaign which even then, while fun, isn't that much to write home about) unless you're still one of those people who only has a Wii U and not a Switch, as the multiplayer gameplay is more or less the same in later games with more game modes and more support, but I did enjoy going back to my Wii U and just re-experiencing this first entry after playing the later titles for some time.

This is definitely another game I was honestly pretty surprised by how much I liked it. The game serves as a ‘visual novel’ adventure sort of deal with a rather interesting and unique structure in that the game has branching story paths which, while obviously on it’s own isn’t very unique considering so many games have that sort of thing, is a bit interesting in that the story paths themselves do have some sort of connection where you pick up ‘Charms’ - emblems of key words that you can use to go back to “turning points” in order to change the direction of the story until you reach the game’s “true” ending. In theory this could have easily led to a “Shadow the Hedgehog” situation where you’re basically left having to replay the entire game multiple times, but I feel like the devs and writers kept it in mind as the dialogue and your tasks do tend to change pretty significantly as you progress and return to these turning points (and you can actually return to them instead of just playing the game from scratch 10 times lol). It’s a really unique way of structuring a narrative-driven game like this, and is just a really interesting concept on it’s own.

The game actually sort of reminded me of Night in the Woods in both it’s gameplay and elements of it’s narrative and setting. This is more of a narrative-driven title so gameplay isn’t too much of a focus here, and both games take place in a sort of rundown town that’s basically left abandoned and to rot by corporations, and as you play through it you learn more about the characters, their backstories, and the town’s history, on top of secrets that are being kept under wraps. There is of course significant differences between this and NITW, but it’s definitely very comparable.

And as a fan of NITW… well, you can bet I really liked this game as well. I definitely felt very invested in the story and where it would end up going, with some points definitely hitting pretty emotionally as well. Without spoiling anything, the characters feel well rounded and just fun in general in each of their own ways, and I did enjoy going around the town and talking to the different NPCs that had their own personalities and stories going on with some minor details even playing a part of the bigger narrative. The art style is really good all around too, having a style that does fit in with the sort of ‘classical literature’ theme the game has going on throughout with the ‘cover art’ just providing a taste of it.

This game of course probably won’t be for everyone, but if you do enjoy narrative-driven games (especially ones in the same vein as Night in the Woods as mentioned), I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

(also at one point the among us ‘emergency meeting’ sound effect is used as an alarm and that really bothers me)

Since I'm legally obligated to pick up any new Crash game that comes out, I ended up picking this up about a week ago and decided to play a few hours before getting to this review.

When it was announced I didn't really know what to expect from it, but after playing it, I will say that the core gameplay is surprisingly fun. It's not the deepest thing in the world, but the concept itself is pretty unique - being a sort of platform-based MOBA with some good feeling movement and snappy controls on that part (feeling similar to that of Crash 4) and the maps all feel unique with their own little gimmicks that fit their respective 'themes'. Plus the game is overall really nice visually and I also like how each character has a set of moves and whatnot that align well with their established personalities, in addition to the new 'Catbat' character which... hey, enby kittybat, pretty cool stuff.

That being said... I definitely don't see this game taking off. As some have talked about, the character balancing is a bit wonky. While you can still do pretty well if you're good enough at any of the players, it definitely feels like certain characters have abilities that put them at an inherent advantage over others that makes some feel more viable than others. Neo Cortex in particular has a pretty distinct ranged ability whereas most if not all the others are left with a couple simple melee attacks and on that note it can be difficult to fight him with any of the other characters since he can attack you without being close to you, and Ripper Roo is also in a similar boat having a 'bomb' attack that's inherently more devastating while also having some pretty versatile mobility. On the other hand, characters like Dingodile just feel pretty sluggish to play as while still being stuck with the close melee attacks that the others have with no real advantage to him other than being able to hold more Wumpas and (I think) having a bigger health pool and being more defensive. Plus the game feels like it encourages puppy guarding a bit too much, especially in maps like Bogged Down where both team points are pretty much right next to each other, and as such I've been in a few matches where it feels like the other team can just stand by your point and constantly knock you and your team out without much consequences. The result is that this ends up feeling like one of those games where if your team falls behind a significant amount early on, you're basically left with very little if any chance of winning the round.

My biggest issue with this game is that it feels extremely lacking in content. For $30, you get a grand total of... one game mode. Like I said, the game mode itself is fun enough, but at the same time, without much else to fall back on, I could definitely see it getting really monotonous, really fast, especially when this gameplay style feels like it could be open to much more. On top of that, you have a grand total of 9 characters to choose from, with only 3 being unlocked and only about 4 being actually viable due to the game's balancing issues, in addition to not giving much customization to them outside of cosmetics and powers (the latter of which are shared among all characters so it doesn't even feel unique). To be completely fair, it does seem like Toys for Bob does plan for there to be more content down the road, but... Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled had much more content from launch even if you don't include the stuff that was already in the original game to begin with. Also the game has a battle pass because... of course it does, I guess.

Despite all my criticism, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun with the game... but truth be told, at the rate it's going I really don't see this game having much of a life ahead of it with it's lack of content at launch, balancing issues and especially the fact that marketing for this game seems practically non-existent outside of the announcement trailer from the Game Awards. I could be wrong about that, but considering Nitro-Fueled had way more content and didn't build up a big long-lasting multiplayer base, and this game's matchmaking already seems pretty lacking, the odds in favor of this game having a long-lasting playerbase feel kinda slim. And if you do want to play this, I would probably wait for a sale or maybe even the chance that this game goes free-to-play lol.

Although I'm tempted to just the post the lyrics to the "We Like Pizza" song like I did on Steam, I figured I should do an actual review of this game.

In a nutshell, it's definitely a really good platformer overall. The movement and controls feel really snappy and fluid, and the levels do a good job of encouraging speed while adding some bits of exploration here and there with all the collectibles (such as the bonus rooms and the pizza topping characters to get enough 'money' to unlock boss fights). I won't deny that I've never really gotten into the Wario Land series... or, well, beaten any of the games despite owning the first one on 3DS, but from what I played this really does a good job of paying homage to that series while having enough of it's own gameplay perks to help it stand out from it's own.

There's a lot of replay value in the levels, part of which comes into play with the game's ranking system, which heavily encourages you to rack up "combos" by defeating as many enemies as you can in a fast enough sequence, while also collecting many collectibles along the way, and can provide incentive to learn the controls and how they play with the level design. On the note of the controls, the game gives the player a good amount of variety with Peppino's moveset, both natively and with some of the different abilities/power-ups(?) you get in many levels. The 'dash' is definitely the most prominent here which not only is used to pick up speed but to practically plow through enemies, and of course it's really fun to use. Even Mort the Chicken from that obscure PS1 game appears here as a sort of power-up in one of the levels so that really says something.

I will say though that while I respect the variety I do have some gripes with the game's mechanics. The wall running is definitely the one I have the most issue with largely because, especially with how fast this game has you going sometimes, it's pretty easy to accidentally activate it and in the process kind of disrupts the pace entirely. Obviously I do get that there does need to obstacles in place so it doesn't just feel like I'm holding the dash button to win, but the way the mechanic works can sometimes get annoying when you have a sort of "flow" going on, especially when trying to rack up combos/points or when you're trying to make good time in any of the chase sequences, plus with how fast you're usually going it's hard to rectify it before you hit the ceiling which, again, kinda kills the pace. Granted it's not a big enough deal to where it made the game feel less fun, but it is a slight annoyance that I kept running into throughout the game. The Super Jump ability also isn't too great - being designed in a way that's pretty situational with how the levels are structured, and while I do appreciate that the game gives you the ability to get into a position before letting go, the movement still feels pretty sluggish and pace-breaking. Also ima be real the 'golf' level kind of sucked.

I will commend the game for it's approach to difficulty balancing though - ultimately being open to how one chooses to play the game. Playing through the game normally isn't too hard (albeit the bosses can get pretty frustrating), but like I said the game has a ranking system based off of how many points you score, and even beyond the 'S Ranks' there's an even higher 'P' rank that one can try to achieve which basically rewards complete mastery of each level - finding all three bonus rooms, collect all treasure and doing a second lap while maintaining a consistent combo. Ranking systems in games have never really been something I've put too much stock into, but I really do like how the game offers something for many different kinds of players.

The presentation is also really nice. The style was notably influenced by 1990's Nicktoons and you can really see that in the game. The game primarily reminded me of the style of Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life (and some of the minor character designs gave me sort of 'Chowder' vibes even if that's a bit later on on a different channel), and as an animation fan... well, I really like it. The soundtrack's also pretty good but I don't really have too much to say about it.

Overall, despite having a few minor grievances here and there, I can definitely see why this game has gotten as popular as it is. It's a really fun time, and for $20 (or $15 as I paid in the Steam Summer Sale), there's definitely a lot of replay value to find. I don't think it'll be everyone's cup of tea admittedly, and the game does have a slightly steep learning curve to it at least when it comes to Peppino's abilities and combat, but I think it's worth checking out if you haven't already.

(hi-fi rush is still the best game of 2023 so far don't @ me)

For $3 (or $2 as I paid in the Steam Summer Sale), I think it's a fun little romp. Being made by the same creators of the Toree games, you can definitely find a lot of that 'style' here - where you get to play as a small bird in a cutesy but somewhat creepypasta-ish aesthetic that also has the 5th gen early 3D look to it, albeit this time mimicking the N64 style rather than the PS1 style in the Toree games.

And what's there I think is solid. The controls and movement overall feel good with some different abilities such as a glide, corkscrew-attacks and the ability to stick to walls to climb, and the levels are well designed. It's very comparable to something like Banjo-Kazooie or Glover but with the game design and presentation style of the Toree games. If you liked those, you'll probably enjoy this.

Though I will say this is more of a 'comfort food' type game. The game's rather short and can be beaten in less than an hour once you know what you're doing. For the price you're paying, it does do a fine job, especially if you're looking for a platformer or game in general to play through real fast while you think about what title you want to play through next, but I wouldn't go into it expecting anything amazing or full replay value. Even completing the game doesn't take much more than an hour at most and once you've done that I don't really feel like there's much for me to go back to aside for maybe potentially speedrunning the game.

To nitpick a bit too the game's pretty much completely lacking graphical settings of any sort, even on PC, and on that note... well, I do have some issues with the game's visuals. The game is kinda blurry, which I get is to pay homage to the N64 look but it kinda just comes off as if someone just used a bilinear filter to scale up a retro game, and on top of that I noticed some Steam reviews mentioning the lack of VSync resulting in screen tearing - which I didn't notice myself (playing on Linux Mint via Proton) but worth mentioning. It's not too game breaking, but I kinda wish there were some graphical settings at least available. To add to that too there isn't a "Return to Desktop"/Exit option in-game so you have to either ALT+F4 or Alt+Tab and close the game from your OS which, again, not game breaking but an odd move.

Overall though it's a good experience for what you're paying. Nothing spectacular or oozing in replay value, but it's definitely worth checking out if you just want a nice little platformer to play through, especially if you enjoyed Toree or just PS1/N64-esque indie games in general.

Can't believe Microsoft/Bethesda lowkey dropped a GOTY contender on us out of nowhere.

The weird thing about this game is that, on the surface, it probably wouldn't be the top of game I'd enjoy. I'm not very good at rhythm games out of the ones I've played, and beat-em-up/hack-and-slash games... well, I don't really have any experience with outside of a certain playstyle in a certain hedgehog game that admittedly kind of gave me a bad first impression of the genre.

Hi-Fi Rush sort of ties those two genres together, mixing the core gameplay of beat-em-ups/hack-and-slashes with a sense of 'rhythm' to your actions as there's a consistent beat throughout the game, and by playing along to it, you're able to deal more damage through combos, or in case of the platforming sections add some variety to your movement (in addition to occasional QTEs and whatnot). It's a really creative form of this type of game and frankly I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would.

The mechanics first of all are really fun to play with - adding a lot of variety both with the enemies you face and the combos you can unlock especially as you try to master the 'beat' and whatnot. In addition you unlock partner attacks and the ability to parry as you play through the game, which only adds to the game's vast moveset and feel really good to pull off. The enemy variety is also good, and I like how the game occassionally has enemies and hazards related to the 'environment' you're in that adds a bit more challenge to the fight.

This all adds up to the game doing a good job incentivizing replayability through all the upgrades, attacks, combos and abilities you can unlock and in some cases change out at will, especially with the addition of a ranking system where you can try and rack up your score particularly during enemy battles. I won't deny that I'm... not the best at these types of games still and Hi-Fi Rush only proved that, but at the same time, the mechanics being really fun to use and full of variety definitely made me want to continue on and experiment with the combos I could pull off. Plus I liked being able to explore off the main path here and there and look for collectibles.

On top of all that the presentation of this game is really good. I really like the comic book plus anime art style, and the characters and environments look really good. On top of that, the environments themselves are full of elements that move or change to a beat, even stuff in the background that you can't really interact with, which is frankly pretty neat and nice attention to detail. Plus I really enjoyed the characters and watching the story unfold - seeing the characters develop and all the events and major plot points take place really made me feel invested in the story, which like the gameplay itself, really helped me want to keep going.

My only real criticisms I can think of is that the platforming is a bit wonky in my opinion. Chai's movement feels a bit weird in places - particularly his double jump feels weirdly 'heavy' and his Dash having a tendency to overshoot platforms at time without much control.

I guess also the game doesn't really a good job incentivizing the player to change out and experiment with the various special attacks. The 'Rip and Tear' move was one that I outright felt wasn't really that useful or powerful despite taking up more Reverb Charge compared to the 'Double Riff' which you get fairly early in the game and just felt more accurate and powerful with where you're targeting. Granted if I go back and decide to play for some of the higher ranks, I may experiment with that a bit more, especially with the potential to upgrade my Reverb Charge, but after experimenting with a few different attacks I purchased I didn't really feel encouraged enough to keep trying out different special attacks.

Otherwise, this game is really damn good, and would probably even go as far as to say it's my Game of the Year so far (at least until Super Mario Wonder and Sonic Superstars come out) and would definitely recommend playing it.

also peppermint is a gender ngl

This honestly feels closer to what I felt Sonic Origins should’ve been at launch and I mean that as both a positive and negative.

To recap on my previous review, when Sonic Origins released last year, I felt it was… somewhat middling as a compilation. Don’t get me wrong, I still had fun playing through all of the classic games for the millionth time, and I really like having the ability to play Sonic 1 and 2 with the enhancements of their mobile ports on a console with those enhancements also being applied to Sonic 3 & Knuckles. However, it had notable issues and frankly, especially compared to the content in previous compilations like Mega Collection Plus or Ultimate Genesis Collection, I really feel like Sonic Origins offered too little to really justify being $40, even with some of the new additions like the Mission mode and whatnot.

With Origins Plus, there is at least more added here to help it further stand on it’s own. The most notable addition is easily Amy Rose being a playable character in all classic games of the first time outside of fan mods, and with her being the best girl and all, I won’t deny that I really like having her as a playable character and I did have fun playing through all the classic games as her. Granted her play style isn’t too unique on it’s own - basically being close to Sonic’s with the addition to her hammer serving as an increased attack range if you press the jump button in mid-air, plus the ability to throw hammers (which I honestly didn’t even know was a thing until I was almost done with S3&K) - but I think she stands out enough to where it at least feels like a ‘new’ way of playing these games. I probably would have preferred to see her Advance 1 playstyle come back, but I get that it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and honestly after playing hacks of the classic games with that playstyle it definitely isn’t the most suitable for the classic games lol

That’s kind of the most positive thing I can say about this expansion however. In addition to that, the Game Gear games also return in this compilation which… cool, I guess? Obviously I do appreciate seeing these games get officially preserved once again especially since Triple Trouble at least is really good, but like the classic games themselves… we’ve already had these re-released multiple times before, both in cases like the 3DS Virtual Console as well as other Sonic compilations like Sonic Gems Collection and Sonic Mega Collection Plus, or hell, being unlockables in Sonic Adventure DX. I’m not necessarily mad that these are here - again I think it is a good thing to have them preserved and available to play in an official form - but once again it feels like a missed opportunity to also bring back other classic games that aren’t as readily available like Knuckles’ Chaotix or SegaSonic the Hedgehog, or hell, completing the Genesis collection with 3D Blast, Spinball and Mean Bean Machine. I mean, Spinball, Knuckles Chaotix and 3D Blast are still acknowledged within the game with the sound test mode, so why not have them in addition to the Game Gear games? I know they aren’t necessarily considered great but I mean… neither are half the Game Gear games lol.

On that note, I really gotta ask… why are we still porting the Game Gear versions of Sonic 1 and 2, both of which suffer from mad screen crunch, instead of the Master System version which doesn’t have that problem? Considering the Game Gear is basically the same as the Master System in terms of hardware, I really can’t imagine it’d be that hard to just port the better versions of those games. Also should add that the sound emulation for the games is kinda off, having a weird ‘echo’ throughout that just comes off as distracting. It doesn’t necessarily kill the experience or anything, but it’s such a weird oddity when it didn’t exist in any past ports of the Game Gear games.

Plus some of the issues I had with Origins to begin with haven’t been fixed. There’s still a weird ‘blurriness’ to all the games regardless of whether the anti-aliasing option is enabled or not, I still ran into a few collision bugs when playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles especially, the prototype tracks in Sonic 3 still sound like ass… and I think with all these other issues in mind, Sonic Origins Plus still doesn’t really justify it’s $40 price tag.

It seems like the price of Origins’ core was dropped to $30 which to me is still kind of in the questionable area but alright, but you’ll still need to pay another $10 either if you want the expansion pack or want to get the physical versions and for that price… I dunno. I feel like if Origins with the Plus expansion for $30 would be reasonable, but there still doesn’t feel like enough content here to warrant the game being $40. Amy Rose being playable is nice, and I still dig playing Sonic 1-3&K in widescreen on something that isn’t a phone, but it doesn’t really offer much else that previous Sonic compilations did, in some cases better with even more content available. The Game Gear games are an okay addition, but don’t really feel like anything to write home about (especially since only about half of them are enjoyable lol) and there’s still a lot of other issues with these ports that haven’t been addressed. Just saying, for the extra $10 I spent in addition to the $40 I spent on Origins to begin with last year, I feel like there could have been more done with this compilation and it’s expansion pack. Granted maybe I’m just too much of a sucker for anything Sonic related lol.

well this is certainly one of the games of all time.

I gotta be honest, going into this game I feel like I wanted to like it more than I did - maybe not love it, but at least put it in the ballpark of 7/10 - especially as someone who's sort of into a lot of the different "mascot" platformers from the 90's, and truth is I do think the workings for a solid game are here. The art style, for one, is nice, especially for a PS1 game - just having a very "cute" feel to everything on top of being really colorful (and Croc himself is an adorable little fella), and the sound design is also surprisingly good. If you didn't already know, this was originally supposed to be a Yoshi game that was "outsourced" to Argonaut Games, and I gotta say - even if those plans fell through and took the form of a different IP, this game still manages to keep a similar vibe to Yoshi's Island.

The level design is also decent... at least for the most part. It isn't anything too special, but I do like how it adds a sense of "open"-ness and exploration while still keeping a more linear structure, with the addition of collectibles scattered throughout the level towards completion. I also like how the game spices things up with some new mechanics based off each world theme, albeit these mechanics can be a bit of a mixed bag. Some mesh well with the rest of the level design well enough, but others do just come off as pretty gimmicky to some extent. 4-6 is one example I can think of, where you progress through the entire level on these platforms that rotate and/or move as this Platform Pete guy bangs his hammer, and it just gets kinda... tedious, largely just coming down to memorization and pattern recognition. 4-5 also has two sections where you're going down an elevator sort of thing as enemies drop in and fight you, and you can basically just get through it by mashing the Square button (or whatever the Tail Attack button is for the other versions) over and over again. Overall though, with some exceptions, the level design is fine enough for what it's going for.

Unfortunately what brings this game down more than anything for me is the controls. I'm just going to be straight here - tank controls really do not belong in a platformer. While the controls are fine, I guess, for some of the more open-ended areas where you're basically running along a path, doing any sort of platforming in this game is basically a chore. Croc's air control is pretty floaty and stiff, and trying to turn around is a pain, especially when you're dealing with moving or disappearing platforms where you don't really have enough time to react. Doesn't really help that there's a few sections in the game full of small platforms in a game where the controls feel extremely imprecise and stiff. It's especially noticeable in levels like, again, 4-6 where in addition to the trial-and-error gameplay you need to keep that in mind while having enough reaction time to deal with these clunky controls. I do have a hard time putting how the controls "feel" into words, but if you've played any game with tank controls... well, I imagine you can get the idea.

I will give the game some credit for actually programming analog controls with camera movement with the DualShock versus just mapping D-pad controls to the analog stick like a lot of PS1 games seem to do, but unfortunately it doesn't really fix the overall issues I have with the controls as Croc's turn while moving is still extremely wide, and makes the game feel slippery, on top of adding a new issue on top of everything else where just trying to turn around on platforms sometimes led to my death because you have to be really precise with the analog stick. It feels better than the extremely stiff D-pad controls, but it's still far from ideal.

The hitboxes in this game also feel kinda wonky. It's not too bad with most of the stage enemies, but with the bosses in particular there were times where I felt like I hit them when I was able to, only for the game to treat it as if I just ran into the boss and took damage. Granted the bosses themselves are all... pretty pathetic otherwise (the only challenging thing about the final boss is trying to get the camera to stay on him), but it is an issue that I felt was worth mentioning.

Overall, while this game does feel like it has a solid foundation, the controls and some of the level design gimmicks just really drag it down for me, and I have a hard time recommending it unless you really like a lot of PS1-era 3D platformers. I will say that I only beat the "main" part of the game which ends at the second boss of World 4, and I could've gone ahead and grabbed all the Gobbos to unlock and play through World 5 which has the 'true' final boss and ending, but honestly I was already pretty much ready to be done with the game even before World 4 lmao. Apparently the 'true' ending isn't even anything to write home about anyway so, whatever.

As I was playing through this game though, I found out that there is an official remaster/remake in development, so if you are interested in playing this game... I'd probably just say to wait until whenever that comes out.

To be honest I never actually played the original game on Wii (didn't actually own any Kirby games on the system until 2018... and even then it was just Dream Collection lol), so this was ultimately my first experience with the game. And, well, all I can say is that it was a really good one.

Levels are overall just well-designed and fun in general, full of variety in terms of the core level design, art style and all the different power-ups/abilities you can pick up, while also being open for replayability and completion with collectibles like the Energy Spheres which unlock new challenges and 'rooms' within the Starcutter.

The 'Super Abilites' were especially interesting to me, largely coming down to how they used upgraded versions of the regular abilities to change up the environment and unlock dimensional rifts, adding a sort of mini-challenge taking place within a sub-level that allows you to unlock energy spheres. Plus the game is generally well designed around the abilities in general and how you can use certain abilities with the environment and level design.

The visuals are also really nice and colorful, and I really like the storybook aesthetic for the cutscenes. Plus the controls also feel really good.

Really, the only thing that I can complain about is that the difficulty is really on the easy side, especially if you're just beating the main story mode instead of going for collectibles. It does pick up a bit towards the end, but even then I was able to hold on to around 50 lives at the end of the game just on my first playthrough. That being said I don't think Kirby is really a series that is going for any level of difficulty so it doesn't bother me all that much. Guess I could also point out that Kirby's ground movement was a little slow for my liking at least in some areas, but again, didn't really bother me too much.

This remake also adds some new features and further replayability to the game. Admittedly I didn't really get too into it as I just focused on beating the Story Mode for this playthrough, but I do think it is worth noting in addition to the updated graphical style, there's also the addition of masks, the 'Merry Magoland' mode, and the Magalor epilogue that adds some lore to the character - something I'm definitely going to go back to and try at some point and gives some added value to the remake even for those who already own and/or played through the original version.

Overall, really solid remake and I can see why this game is among the fan favorites. As someone who's just now getting into the series, this might be my favorite out of what I played (which granted is just Kirby's Dream Land 1, Forgotten Land and this lol) and honestly between playing it and Forgotten Land last year I do kind of wish I played more Kirby games growing up.

Call of Duty is a series I've always had a.. weird relationship with. My older brother got into the series when he was about 11 years old with Call of Duty 4 and World at War, but my parents wouldn't let me play the games for probably obvious reasons about it being too violent and whatnot. But even when I did get a bit older, I started going through a sort of hipster phase where I deemed anything that wasn't Nintendo or Sonic as being 'bad' and 'overrated' - which was particularly the case with Call of Duty especially seeing as it was one of those that was 'cool' for everyone to hate in the online sphere.

That is to basically say that, although the series does still remain popular, I didn't really experience Call of Duty in it's "prime" per se. In fact, outside of a few local multiplayer matches against my brother (who always kicked my ass ima be real), I really didn't fully play a Call of Duty game until 2015 when I bought World at War in a Steam sale, and am now looking at these games moreso retroactively.

And as someone more into the historical based games, especially the WWII ones, I went ahead and picked this and 2 up a few years ago and have now gotten around to playing it and... well, it's pretty good.

The gunplay feels pretty nice, and the game can definitely get pretty challenging. Obviously if you've played any of the later games, there's really no need for an introduction here, although you may notice some differences with how Call of Duty 1 plays versus some of the later games. The biggest thing of note is how your health doesn't regenerate automatically like it does in the newer games, instead you have to rely on MedKits that you can find either placed around the map or dropped by enemies - reminiscent of stuff like classic Doom and Half-Life. I wouldn't say this is a good or bad thing, but it does increase the challenge somewhat especially if you're going back to this from later titles, and some may really dig that extra bit of challenge. Also worth noting that some mechanics, notably sprinting, aren't available here.

Regardless, when the game gets good, it definitely offers a really challenging, engaging experience. The Russian campaign in my opinion is easily the best part, having the most 'dynamic' missions and whatnot, and being later on in the game it does feel like the developers had more of an idea of their direction and what they wanted to do with the gameplay.

I do gotta admit though the game overall does feel a bit... basic? I don't really know how to describe it, but in between some of the more engaging action-based missions, there were a lot of times where I just kind of felt like I was just walking around, occasionally shooting some Nazis, or just waiting for an opportunity to progress. This is especially true in the first third of the game or so, and while it does pick up, there were definitely moments that kind of dragged in my opinion. The story is also pretty light, which I guess isn't too out of the ordinary considering it's Call of Duty, although the ending especially just came off to me as being underwhelming - though that may be just because World at War's flag-placing scene in Berlin really spoiled me in terms of how satisfying and cinematic it was.

That's... really about all I have to say about it though lol. It's definitely a good FPS if you're into WWII-based shooters, but even compared to later entries it really isn't anything too mindblowing in terms of quality.

Would probably recommend, although if you're thinking of getting the PC version on Steam you definitely might want to get this in a sale for 50% off minimum. For some reason Activision keeps their decade plus old Call of Duty games at relatively high prices, with this game remaining at $20, which isn't too bad but is still a bit steep especially considering other FPS titles from around this time like Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 can be found for $10 not on sale and going for pocket change during sales. Still worth playing, but preferably for $10 max.