Category Archives: Gaming News and Reviews

Game News and Reviews

The Gaming News & Reviews section on AverageNobodies.com contains general thoughts on the game industry as brought to you by The Average Nobodies. Containing opinion pieces on new releases and gaming news, the Gaming News section of AverageNobodies.com is a hot spot for everything you need to know about the video game industry.

Also, if you’d like to see what the Average Nobodies are currently playing, follow Matt on his Twitch channel. On his channel he streams current and classic games for his followers. Usually with some colorful commentary attached. Have a game you’d like to see us give a review on? Find us on Twitter and ask us to check it out! Have game your developing? We would be happy to check it out and give it a fair shake. We love indy developers!

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*.

Happy SWITCHing…get it?!

-Matt

*check out our podcasts

It was only a matter of time – GTA goes PUBG

With Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) enjoying massive popularity, it was only a matter of time before other properties adopted their unique battle royal play style. Rolling out yesterday, “Smuggler’s Run” is GTA Online’s (GTA) newest expansion that does just that.

Smuggler’s Run in a nutshell: “Blending the adrenaline rush of Drop Zone with the claustrophobic tension of a match of Penned In, this brutal Adversary Mode is a deadly scavenger hunt where second place is not an option,”…”Up to four teams parachute into a periodically shrinking kill box strewn with a lethal assortment of guns, explosives and Weaponized Vehicles. Work together, find a vehicle, and fight opposing teams and the shrinking map to survive and win.” – Rockstar

Not into words or reading? Watch the trailer for it:

Looks familiar right? Everything, minus the gun-outfitted vehicles, screams PUBG. If you were planning on waiting until PUBG comes to the XBone later this year, maybe this is the game that holds you over until you can ditch the keyboard and mouse for good.

-Matt

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Happy Name Day, GoldenEye 007

goldeneye_multi

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,

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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.

  1. GoldenEye 007
  2. Mario 64
  3. MarioKart 64
  4. Body Harvest
  5. Super Smash Brothers
  6. Banjo-Kazooie
  7. Snowboard Kids
  8. Ocarina of Time
  9. Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest
  10. Pokemon Stadium

 

The Future of Console Gaming: My Thoughts on the Xbox One X

While E3 usually does a number on my bank account, that’s no secret, I knew my wallet was totally fucked when Phil Spencer stepped on stage last Saturday.

xboxPhil (we are on a first name basis) announced the Xbox One X (The X) [Codename Scorpio], the most powerful gaming console ever built. It totes 12 GB of GDDR5 Ram, 6 teraflops (1.8 more than the PS4 Pro) of power and…………….asleep yet? Me too. Let’s talk what really matters–It’s going to make your gaming sessions look fucking amazing. It’s outputting true, and that’s the key word here, TRUE 4k gaming at 60fps. This wasn’t obtainable before The X (on consoles, take it easy PC master race). Gaming was either scaled up to 4K or lacked the ability to sustain high frame rates. Even the original Xbox One really only outputted 900p, which is less than the advertised “HD”.

All these fancy numbers are great and everything, but let’s talk about what this means. Beyond the 4k, beyond the incredible frame rates and even beyond the better graphics. Beyond all that, we have a new console, 4 years into the life cycle of his grandfather console, that still plays all the same games, uses all the same hardware and now does FULL backwards compatibility. The days of having to buy new controllers, games and accessories are OVER. Consoles (including the PS4) have much longer shelf lives as they inch closer towards becoming PCs. Sure, you won’t get the performance enhancements of the new games on your old system, but you can still play them. That’s the important part.

At $499 The X isn’t cheap. In fact, it’s $100 more than its competitor, the PS4 Pro. However, the upgrades are undeniable and the future of this system is very bright. I wouldn’t be surprised if VR came in the next year or so.

What do you think about the Xbox One X? Are you getting it come November?

-Matt

This Q&A about the Nintendo Switch will answer all the question you have

This video was originally recorded live on GameXplain on Youtube.

Good stuff right here. Lots of in-depth looks and information about the Switch. If you can’t wait a week to find out this stuff for yourself, like me, then this video is perfect for you.

-Matt

A video game streamer beat Resident Evil 7 with just a knife

Not only did Quizzle beat RE7 with just a knife, but he did it while trying a speed run.

For those of you that are unsure what a speed run is:

speed-run

He finished RE7 in just over three hours (The average time to beat this game is somewhere in the 8.5+ hour range) just falling short of the world record. Sure, if anyone plays a game as much as this guy has, you’re bound to find patterns. And slowly but surely you’ll get better and faster at the game. Right? WRONG. When you play “Madhouse”, the highest difficulty in RE7, items and puzzles rearrange themselves. That means you never play the same game twice. Impressive feat, Quizzle.

-Matt

 

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

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