Blog Archives
Nintendo Report: Should You Buy Odyssey
Is Nintendo trying to beat itself (Zelda BOTW) for G.O.T.Y.?
I would be willing to bet that there is a large percentage of Nintendo Switch owners that still only own Legend of Zelda: Breathe of the Wild. Until today, that is. Super Mario Odyssey is finally here. But, is it worth the hype? Will it be better than Super Mario Sunshine? (half kidding) Let’s see what respected game reviewers around YouTube have to say!
IGN
Gamespot
ProJared
GameXplain (Spoiler free)
–Matt
The Nindies 2017 Summer Showcase gives Switch owners a lot to be excited about
PAX West is upon us! Yesterday, my YouTube subscription box was flooded with Nintendo videos from their Nindies Summer Showcase. Let Damon Barker show you (video below) some of the great indie titles coming to the switch this year, and beyond.
Ok, that’s a lot of great games (new and old) coming to the Switch. I have to say, I’m very impressed with how Nintendo has been bolstering the Switch’s catalogue. What started out as a very slim launch lineup, with a couple big “tentpole” games being released throughout the year (Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey), has turned into an extremely strong library of both physical and download-only titles.
Below is most of the games announced at the Nindies Summer Showcase along side their release dates. I’ve also included links to some of their trailers. That’s the kind of guy I am, it’s all about our readers. I ask for nothing in return*.
- Super Meat Boy Forever — 2018
- Shovel Knight: King of Cards — early 2018
- Mom Hid My Game (also on 3DS) — late 2017
- Golf Story — September 2017
- Floor Kids — holiday 2017
- Wulver Blade — September 2017
- Poly Bridge — Holiday 2017
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition — 2018
- Earth Atlantis — Fall 2017
- Next Up Hero — 2018
- Steamworld Dig 2 — September 21
- Mulaka — 2018
- Yono and the Celestial Elephants — October 2017
- Dragon Marked for Death — Winter
- Battle Chef Brigade — holiday 2017
- Morphies Law — Winter
- Sausage Sports Club — Fall 2017
- Light Fingers — early 2018
- Nine Parchments — holiday 2017
- No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again — 2018
Happy SWITCHing…get it?!
-Matt
Happy Name Day, GoldenEye 007
Photo credit: https://goo.gl/RLtpkD
Way back in 1997, I got my grubby little sausage fingers on a game that, unbeknownst to me, would change, nay, DEFINE the landscape of the first-person shooter (fps) genre from that point forward. GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 (N64) is the Godfather of the modern fps, so join me as I gush over this masterpiece on its 20th birthday.
The N64 did a shit load of things right – great platformers, excellent graphics for its time, and some of the best first-party titles Nintendo has ever released, to name a few, but, the best thing about the N64 was playing with your friends. Before the N64, consoles needed adapters to play four players games. And even when you had these multi-tap adapters,
Photo credit: https://goo.gl/uVWpu3
most of the games weren’t optimized for four player fun. The N64 changed that by adding four controller ports right on the console, and GoldenEye 007 capitalized on it. Don’t get me wrong, I played the hell out that campaign mode, but my fondest memories from GoldenEye are playing multiplayer. Specifically in the Facility camped out in a bathroom stall…with a RC-P90 aimed at the door. My character of choice…Oddjob. I know this isn’t a popular decision among gamers, and I don’t care. In fact, please @ me so I can laugh in your face for picking anybody other than him. Strategic (height) advantages like you read about.
Going back and playing GoldenEye 007 after a long absence can be a bit jarring. The dual analog stick controls, that have become the standard of modern shooters, are nowhere to be found and the graphics are obviously not on par with modern consoles (or even mobile devices for that matter). But, in the end, none of that really matters. A few minutes into a multiplayer game of “man with the golden gun” and all the controls come right back to you. A few kills later and you can barely notice the strangely square head of Pierce Brosnan.
GoldenEye 007 is ground zero for thousands of games that have tried to imitate the feeling I had when I first played with my brother 20 years ago. It truly was, and is, a special game.
On GoldenEye 007’s birthday, let’s dust off our N64’s and play a round of “license to kill” …for old time’s sake.
-Matt
P.S. – Let’s pray GoldenEye 007 gets included on the N64 Classic (if it gets made). I would say it’s a given, but Nintendo can make weird moves sometimes.
P.S. (the sequel) – My 10 must-have titles on a N64 Classic.
- GoldenEye 007
- Mario 64
- MarioKart 64
- Body Harvest
- Super Smash Brothers
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Snowboard Kids
- Ocarina of Time
- Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest
- Pokemon Stadium
Captain Nintendo Dude is waiting in line for a MONTH for the Switch
For those of you who don’t know Captain Nintendo Dude (CND), he is a YouTuber who makes content around Nintendo and Nintendo games. He’s an all-around pleasant dude who makes quality content that he is legitimately passionate about. I just discovered his channel about a month ago, so I had no idea what he is capable of when it comes to his beloved Nintendo….until now.
That’s right, this crazy Mofo (in the most endearing way possible) is waiting outside the Nintendo Store in New York for the launch of the Nintendo Switch. At eye-level that’s not too crazy. I once waited overnight for the Wii, so I get it. But the Switch doesn’t come out until March 3. For those of you reading this in the future, that’s one month away from the date this blog was posted. Kind of crazy, but I’m not going to hate on this level of passion.
Oh, and he’s not alone. Read the rest of this entry
First Look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo at E3
With all the new hardware being thrown around at E3 this year, it’s easy to say Nintendo’s presentation was a little dissapointing.
Nintendo, you pulled the NX rug right out from underneath us, deprived us of a new handheld console and then you do something like giving us gameplay footage and a trailer for the brand new Zelda game….
To be fair, they also gave us a handful of new Pokemon that will be on Sun and Moon, but ZELDA MAN, ZELDA!
First Impressions
Visuals
When I first saw the trailer (embedded above), I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Wind Waker-esque cell shaded graphics were being brought back into the fold. Not that this game is a reproduction of The Wind Waker, far from it, but it’s cool to see this hybrid of visuals that make up Breath of the Wild.
Landscape
People are calling this an “open-world” Zelda game, which is confusing to me. I recall my days streaking across Hyrule field with Epona, wasn’t this open-world? Sailing across the open seas in my tiny wooden boat, wasn’t this open-world? Hell, side scrolling through landscapes and throwing my sword around, wasn’t this open-world? The landscapes in Breath of the Wild are vast. They seem to be truly grande than any installment previous, but everyone being caught on this “open-world” tagline needs to chill. More RPG-like? Yeah sure. Am I missing something on this?
The Jump Button
I Don’t like it. There, I said it.
Style
Style is than visuals in that I am solely talking about Link’s clothes when I talk about “Style”. My verdict…I like it. Kind of tribe-chic.
Bottom Line
This is a Zelda game, people. No matter what tiny little things we can nitpick about it, even a JUMP button, it’s still the next installment in one of the greatest video game franchises ever. I’m going to buy it, you’re going to buy it, what a time to be alive!
-Matt
Let’s Talk about the Nintendo Wii U
If you haven’t been privy to the latest news coming from Nintendo, here’s the summary: Nintendo is set to release a new console, codename NX, in March of 2017. Besides it’s codename, and the disclosure of a new Zelda game to accompany it, we know very little else about the new Nintendo hardware. I’m excited because I love Nintendo. I’ve played the majority of their first-party titles (which are second to none) and i’ve owned pretty much every piece of hardware they’ve release since the SNES. And yes, that includes their current generation home console the Wii U. Which brings me to the point of this article. Let’s talk about the Wii U.
In my eyes the Wii U was a home run. Maybe it does’t show it on Nintendo’s bottom line, but in my experience with it, and it’s games, it’s a great console. The Wii U gamepad is unlike anything to come to home console’s and it’s functionality was just as unique. Being able to play Mario Kart 8 while my brother watched a movie on the TV? Awesome. Changing the channel, adjusting volume and surfing the web with the gamepad? Futuristic shit right there. I feel I’m sitting at the helm of the Enterprise every time I use that piece of tech.
Nintendo gets who’s playing their games. Again, this might not show with all the internet heroes trashing it left and right, but ask anyone who has put significant time into the Wii U’s library. They will tell you how great the experience is. Case and point, the launch of Super Smash Brothers for the Wii U. Everyone knows that Super Smash is one of Nintendo’s strongest recurring title. It has been for some time. Nintendo knew that they out some hardcore fans during the Wii version, so what did they do? They did exactly what the fans were asking for; They released a game that uses Gamecube controllers! Getting an updated game with traditional controls is just what Super Smash needed.
With additional titles like Mario Make and the two Zelda HD remakes, The Wii U has really put out quality games. Could the third-party support be better? Yeah, but that’s not why I buy a Nintendo system.
The bottom line here is that more people need to find games that they enjoy, rather than comparing numbers and online reviews. My Wii U will have purpose in my TV entertainment center far past the NX’s debut.
-Matt
These Are The Games You’ve Been Waiting For
It’s that wonderful time of year. Football is back on my TV, the leaves are falling, pumpkin spiced donuts are falling…into my mouth, the holidays are coming and so are all the new video games! While there are a shot-ton (scientific measurement) of games for your grubby little paws to choose from, here are 3 of the titles I am most looking forward too. They will cover PS4, Xbox One and the Nintendo 3DS.
Fallout 4
When I first discovered the Fallout series in college, while playing Fallout 3 on my PS3, I was immediately hooked. I was never a huge fan of RPGs and leaned more towards large roaming adventure games. This game completely changed my mind. Since that fateful day back in 2008 I have sunk more hours into that game than almost any other game i’ve ever played (nothing will come close to the hours I played Golden Eye with my brother). Fallout 4 seems like the game that I and ever other Fallout fan has been waiting for. Oh, and did I mention you can get a physical Pip-Boy in the limited edition version? Yeah, mines been pre-ordered for months.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
The guys and girls over at Nintendo really know how to reinvent a series. After debuting one the the best Zelda games in the franchise, A Link Between Worlds, in 2013 they took aim at another hand-held installment that is ready to wow 3DS owners. Tri Force Heroes takes Link and multiplies him by 3 for a co-op experience unlike anything you’ve ever played on a hand-held game. This will have to hold me over until the next console Zelda game. Which, fingers crossed, will be sometime in 2016.
Star Wars Battlefront
The most anticipated movie of the year gets a video game to match. Picture George Lucas and Battlefield 4 having a sweet, passionate love and then out pops their spawn. Got that horrifying image in your head? Good, because that’s what it’s going to be like. This game is going to be awesome, you know how I know? BECAUSE IT CAN’T BE ANYTHING LESS.
What games are you looking forward to?
This Mario Maker Level Took 11,000 Tries to Complete
Let me start by saying I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Mario Maker. That game is so classic Nintendo it hurts. This is the type of stuff Nintendo does so well year in and year out.
Now let me move onto this devil of a level (hey now rhyming). I’m pretty sure if you turn the clocks back to my 5th birthday, where I received my first video game system, the SNES, and you put this level in front of me I probably would have slammed my head through the TV on try 3. I am not usually super competitive when it comes to video games. I like playing them, but for me it’s just about having fun….except for Mario games. Mario games bring the absolute worst out of me and they frustrate me to my core, even today! I still want to slam my head through a wall when playing the third world in Super Mario 3. But I digress. I wouldn’t even know what to do at the first landing of this level. I got to give props where props are due.
-Matt
