Review – Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
Posted inNintendo 3DS

Review – Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)

The Good Solid game play from a solid franchise Nice little additions and changes from the original Metroid II Good visuals The Bad Repetitive enemies and play mechanics Bosses are disproportionately difficult compared to everything else Very linear game play for a "Metroidvania" style game. In Depth Metroid: Samus Returns is a 3DS update and remake of the original Metroid II on Game Boy.  It's essentially to Metroid II, what Zero Mission is to the original Metroid.  The maps in Samus Returns are a little closer to the original Metroid II maps than Zero Mission and Metroid, but there are…
Review – Shadow Complex (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Posted inPC PS4 XBoxOne

Review – Shadow Complex (PC, PS4, Xbox One)

2009, 2015 - Chair - 1 Player The Good Metroidvania games are pretty much awesome by default. Interesting use of 2D and 3D Fun gameplay and puzzles The Bad Not a lot of enemy variety. Controls can be frustrating at times Bosses are kind of a joke tl;dr Review I, like many others I gather, often have a pile of games from bundles that never end up getting played.  Recently Shadow Complex appeared in a Humble Bundle and came recommended, so I opted to actually give it a shot.  I was really surprised just how good it ended up being.…
Review – Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)
Posted inGame Boy Advance

Review – Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Ah yes, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.  Things finally start to come together for out portable Castlevania titles.  This one is set pretty far in the future compared to most of the other Castlevania games so the overall styling is a bit of a treat as well, well, it could have been… The Belmonts are pretty much the heroes of the Castlevania series but really there’s probably as many if not more games NOT starring Belmonts than there are games with them.  This game is one of those games, starring the fruitiest hero of any game in the series, Soma Cruz. …
Review – Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (NDS)
Posted inNintendo DS

Review – Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (NDS)

If you’d have suggested to me twenty years ago I’d be a Castlevania fan I’d have laughed in your face.  I have zero interest in the whole Gothic Horror genre, I dislike the soul crushing difficulty of the NES games, and frankly, the whole Dracula thing is kind of derivative. Then I played Symphony of the Night on the recommendation of pretty much everyone in alt.games.final-fantasy.  Ok, I purchased it at the Greatest Hits price then it sat on me game shelf until halfway through college.  Eventually I needed something to play so I picked it up. Now I’ve purchased…
Review – Metroid Prime: Hunters (NDS)
Posted inNintendo DS

Review – Metroid Prime: Hunters (NDS)

Oh my dear Metroid, where did you go wrong? Ok, technically I’m not a Metroid fan in any sense of the word. I’ve barely played Metroid on the NES. Metroid 2 was a decent distraction for a while but I’ve since sold my copy. Metroid 3 is an outstanding piece of gaming, but one game does not a series make. I’ve pretty much skipped anything recent on the portable scene other than half an emulated game of Fusion. I don’t have a GameCube. Enter Metroid Prime: Hunters. I was leery of a FPS style Metroid game but people had good…