Wolfenstein shooters have been around since 1981. My introduction was in 2001 with the much beloved Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and then I also enjoyed the 2009 reboot that flew under the radar. I next played the 2014 reboot New Order, which precedes the game I will be reviewing: New Colossus. New Colossus takes all that was good about New Order and improves on it in ways that make it a dream experience. Machine Games deliver a first-person shooter weak on weaknesses.

New Colossus picks up the moment the previous game left off, in an alternate history wherein Nazis won World War 2, and you are spearheading the resistance. Wolfenstein tells a story that produces drama under absurd circumstances. There are moments in this game that just leave you stunned, but the story is told in such a way that it is effective. Including in this style is a keen awareness of its own absurdity. There are a bevy of interesting characters playing into the story, including a detestable main villain returning from the first game.

What matters most in these games though, is not the story at all. The developers know that you are truly just looking for more Nazis to kill. And such joy is this gameplay. I played the third of seven difficulty settings, called, “Bring ‘em On.” I found this setting to be perfect for me. I think anything much higher would result in a lot of cheesing my way through stages. It was nice to have the freedom to experiment and play with all the games play styles, while also being consistently challenged to play my best.

Among the improvements over New Order are the upgrade systems. Vastly improved are the benefits of playing to your strengths and preferences. Weapon upgrades aren’t too much of a chore to find. You unlock ability upgrades by performing certain actions, making certain choices in the story or doing side missions. All these upgrades are helpful. By the end of the game, I had been so well rewarded for playing I was significantly more powerful than when I began.

New Colossus steadily sprinkles in upgrades, enemy types and weapons. You will always be implementing developing strategies while also improvising to survive. Once enemies know where you are, they are going to bring the hammer, so I suggest making many save files to avoid having to reperform a fight you barely survived. The action is lightning fast, and spectacular.

I was so in love with this game I spent a lot of time doing side quests, and with plenty of side content left to do I beat the game in about twenty-five hours. I have heard you can blitz through the story in about twelve hours if you really want to, but if the combat is what you came for, which I hope it is, you have a lot to gain by playing side quests. Not just opportunities for fun, but you will be rewarded with loot and upgrades as well.

Unfortunately, there is no New Game Plus, where we can take our upgrades from the end of the first play-through and start over on a higher difficulty, so if you want to play again after doing all the side stuff you will have to start from scratch. Not the end of the world, to be honest. I am sure I will find myself experimenting with higher difficulty for the experience of what it is like, as I also did a play-through of New Order on high difficulty as well.

Graphics and sound are exemplary even on Nintendo Switch. The visual design immerses you in the world, while serving up a feast for the eyes when the action is surging. The music and sound effects are excellent as well. Guns look cool and sound satisfying. Mick Gordon and friends deliver another outstanding original soundtrack to back cut-scenes and combat. As I listen to this soundtrack writing this review, it reveals itself to be better than I even remember. The voice acting and facial motion capture give the game an evocative plot.

It is difficult for me to think of much I didn’t like about Wolfenstein 2. I had pretty high expectations after thinking of how much I enjoyed New Order and how it could be improved. The developers exceeded my hopes. I am so glad they do some set up during this game for another sequel, because I am hungry for more after New Colossus. An all-round top tier shooter. My one complaint is I felt like I wanted more out of the final boss, but the ending left me very satisfied and optimistic for the potential of a future sequel.

I got Wolfenstein on sale for $20 on the Nintendo Online store. Easily one of the best game purchases I have ever made. This game is worth more than that in terms of production quality and quality of experience. I would suggest getting it for any price you find reasonable for a shooter you can really sink your teeth into. The Switch port from Panic Button is how I played and I will recommend it if that seems like a solid option for you. It may look a bit better and be more precise on other systems, however. But, again, I have loved it on the 2017 Switch port.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is sure to be all I am talking about for some time. Everything about this game is fantastic, and one thing that is sure to resonate with me is the positive ways disabled people are represented. There are multiple disabled characters, you even play the first mission in a wheelchair and have to solve puzzles such as: “get up the stairs.”

Nazi imagery is present in the game and the evil of that regime is no foreign concept to Wolfenstein. They are treacherous at every turn, atrocious from every angle. So much has been given to protect the world from Nazism, this game is a reminder we must be vigilant now. Nothing perks me up like fighting Nazis, and this game let’s you do it in such a marvelous way.

Credit: Wolfenstein 2 The New Colossus. Screenshots by me.

The Tony Hawk series has always had a big impact on me. We all picked up music tastes from the games, but the fun has been just as important a piece of the series’ legacy. With the addition of this remaster, I have played ten Tony Hawk games extensively. That’s all of them except the Wii’s “Downhill Jam,” and none of the games from the 2008-2015 era of games from Robomodo. I remember as a ten year old, being at my best friend’s house who had a PlayStation, and playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for the first time. I was instantly in love. This remaster is everything I have loved about the series, and was clearly done with great consideration and care.

Vicarious Visions brought this game to market in September 2020. I bought it for the Switch, a version which just dropped at the end of June. I couldn’t think of a better game to always have with me. The joy-cons that have previously befuddled some of my gaming experiences work just fine here. That said, I have also vastly improved with the joy-cons from these experiences, and this one as well.

The most important thing for this game to be good is tight controls. I have found them to be honed well. Picking up a Tony Hawk game to me is like riding a bicycle, so I instantly knew loosely how things were going to work. And my past with the series has served me quite well. I’m sure if you aren’t as familiar, it will be a longer journey to be where I am at in terms of skill. But, I can assure you that you will have every bit as much fun learning the game for the first time as a veteran coming in.

The remaster looks like a new game. Not like a 1999 game they slapped some fresh paint on. Visuals are engaging and effective. Levels look great, as do models and animations. Customization options are satisfactory. Sometimes I find myself wishing it were a little deeper, but I can easily spend hours on just making my skater look his freshest before we skate out. Self-expression should be as much a part of any skateboarding game as it is to any real-life skateboarder. Tony Hawk games have always been a hallmark of that fact.

There is endless gameplay here. The skill cap is unbelievably high. So high, you may play for well over a hundred hours and still be improving. There are multiple ways you can improve including getting better with new tricks and strategies, knowing the levels as they contain depth, and just simply mastering the controls. You will also be picking up skill points for your custom skater throughout the game. There are a bevy of pro skaters, old and new, from which to choose, but as I said, I am big on self-expression, so I always use my own character. There are 17 levels, which all have unique goals. If you just want to fool around or learn the level, there is a “Free Skate” option. I spend a lot of time here. It is perfect if you just want to skate around with no time limit, and also if you want to warm-up on a level before a main game session.

The “Create-A-Park” feature is back, and I love it. I am working on one master park where I can pull off ridiculous interweaving and looping lines. I also will be making parks with certain focuses as well. Like a vert ramp heavy park, or just a park I think looks neat for example. You can share parks online, and some of the custom parks are really good, you should check these out if you’re looking for some fresh terrain or inspiration.

Create-A-Park isn’t the only thing about these games the internet has improved. Back in the day if you wanted to play multiplayer you needed a friend who knew the game and could be there to play. Now, I can hop online and enjoy the fantastic mini games at my leisure. This is probably a greater remaster improvement than the graphics, for me. These mini games are so simple, yet so fun. My favorite is “Graffiti,” where you score points on an obstacle to paint it, highest score trick on said piece paints, and player with the most pieces painted at the end wins. I am crazy about the online features of this game, I just wish there were a bigger community.

Tony Hawk games can be very cathartic. I think maybe in part because as hard as I tried, I was always the worst skateboarder. The arcade style of THPS will have you doing insane stunts inconceivable to reality. This style has always helped me alleviate things like anxiety and anger, somehow. The perfect vortex of awesome music, satisfying combos and the soothing sound of skateboarding just resonates with me in way that is difficult to express. The nostalgia I feel doesn’t just bring me back to those innocent days of playing the first game for the first time, but it reminds me that no matter how bad my life has been, there is always something worth playing. I also remember plenty of nights staying up all night playing Tony Hawk so I could go to the skate park at first light, when nobody else was there.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Remastered is a more than welcome addition to my catalog. It has been far too long since I have been able to enjoy one of these games. It is everything I could want from the remaster: updated graphics, perfected gameplay, customization options and online features. All of which are fantastic. These games bring me immense joy, and there is so much more to this remaster than nostalgia. For about $40 base game, you get to enjoy a piece of gaming history, and a case study in how to make a worthy remaster of a game. I recommend this game to die-hard fans and newcomers alike, either way you are getting a game that’ll bring you endless fun.

Credit: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Remastered. Screenshots by me.

Few games stack up in my repertoire the way Borderlands does. A handful. Something really special. Special when it was new, while it was popular, and even now on the Nintendo Switch port of 2009’s Borderlands. With the new movie coming, featuring Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis to name a few, I thought, “What a good time not only for an overdue review of Borderlands on the Switch, but a look at the first game in the iconic series itself!”

I have high hopes that director Eli Roth has assembled his team, and will deliver on this movie for fans and newcomers alike. My wish is that it gets would-be fans into the series, even those who have a problem with Borderlands’ cartoonish art style. Something that for me, was one of the reasons I initially played the game, and a key factor in me continuing to play as I do.

These games’ art style is not only stimulating to the eye, but serves key roles in your understanding of what is going on around you. The whole game has a cartoon-like visual style, but the content is very much mature oriented. In this FPS/RPG you will face hordes of bandits, psychos and monsters. To me, all of the enemy varieties bring something to the table in Borderlands.

Borderlands takes place on a hostile alien world called Pandora. Pandora is ravaged by bandits and greedy corporations looking for a hidden alien Vault. Supposedly the Vault contains untold wealth and knowledge from an ancient alien race. There is no proof of this, but here you are, getting off the bus your first day as a Vault Hunter. The story isn’t the most dramatic or compelling I have ever played by any means, but it is quite funny a lot of the time. The car horn still cracks me up after all this time playing. You’ll be doing a lot of shooting and looting. Loot is a major factor in this game, as randomness drives the creation of gear. Gear can radically alter your build.

This is a game meant for you to play a couple times, at least. The level cap in GOTY Edition is 69, and I finish the game in the low-to-mid thirties typically. There are millions of gear options. New Game Plus will offer fiercer foes, more intense combat, crazier loot and abilities beyond your reckoning. The character I played on the Switch can also be the most powerful, and even by the end of my first playthrough, my Siren was leaving corpses in her wake as she bolted across the battlefield with wings of fire, incinerating, shooting and using melee against whatever comes her way.

There are four main classes in Borderlands that you choose from at the start of the game. There is Brick, who is a tank that uses his fists as his ability, then there is Mordecai the hunter, who uses a pet falcon, third is Roland the soldier, who has a deployable turret, and finally Lilith the siren, who can create bursts of energy as she enters and exits another plane of existence where she cannot be hurt or seen. Every character is brilliant fun. Each offers a bevy of unique experiences, as each has three skill trees that you can spec into however you like, and reset for a fee.

What I must absolutely recommend when playing Borderlands, is that you find a friend to play through the game with you. I know this can be hard, but after spending countless hours on Borderlands 1 with friends, I just have to tell you that it is a really wonderful time. The bosses can be hard, even if you think you’re ready, and it is nice to have someone that has your back. You can revive someone who is in Fight For Your Life mode, where normally you need a kill to revive, which makes the game different.

You can play up to four people, and the level of dynamics between character class, build type, gear, play style and more will create a unique experience you and your friends won’t soon forget. It is a fantastic bonding experience. That said, you will still love it solo, as well. I’m just saying, for me, with friends playing this game are gaming memories I will remember forever.

If you love it as much as I think you will, there are three more Borderlands games after this: Pre-Sequel, 2 and 3. The games Pre-Sequel and 2 came with this one in a bundle on the Nintendo store deal for $20, so for probably my favorite game series of all time, how could I not try an FPS on the Switch that I have the highest chance of loving? I have played about twenty hours of the sequel and am enjoying the experience there as well.

So, how is the Switch port? Still one of my favorite games? Most certainly, yes. I beat the game in about twenty hours, and I suspect I will be playing it much more. The GOTY Editions come with all the DLC, and I never fully explored the DLC in any of the games. Switch will most likely be how I enjoy them. Playing on the Switch made this game feel fresh again, and that was meaningful.

Playing on the Switch versus Xbox took a lot of getting used to. The joy-cons felt less precise, but this was anticipated. My Switch was still new to me when I bought the games, and I wanted to put the new system to the test. You will have a better experience if you use a Pro controller, guaranteed. That being said, early in this game I had my doubts. However, I noticed I was not only getting better with the controller, but I was adapting and playing differently in ways that were successful.

Whether you have or haven’t played the original Borderlands games, the Switch ports are worthy of your attention. Play split-screen with someone, online with a group or just give it a go solo. The game looks great on the Switch, it runs good except for one or two weird bugs, (one of which was particularly annoying,) it plays well on whatever controller you play it on, and if you can get it on sale, is an absolute must-play on any console.

Credit: Borderlands. Screenshots by me.

I have been with Civilization games since the dawn of the 21^st century. I remember playing a spin-off game in the series, Call to Power 2, quite a bit and I believe some Civilization 3 as well. After that I recall a bit of Civilization 4. So, when I saw the critically acclaimed 2016 effort from Firaxis Games, Civilization 6, on the Nintendo Switch for $20, it was an easy choice. I knew I could quickly sink time into it, as I have. This game is a master class not just in Civilization games, but strategy games themselves. Building your empire from the stone ages is as fun as ever. It can be enjoyed by the casual connoisseur or the hardcore gamer alike.

Civilization 6 can be rough for beginners. Starting a game opens a can of worms. From the get-go, the menu where you layout your game. There are so many options, and the more you play the more you will be able to hone these exactly to what you want out of your experience. I prefer to turn off barbarians because they are such a nuisance. Some settings change the game quite a bit, such as map size and style. Then once you get into the game, I ended up resetting a lot because I would get very undesirable spawn locations or early game progression was bad.

Then, before you know it, you’ve got a game on your hands. Hours disappear as you carry your empire towards the stars. Or, glorious military domination, or whatever victory condition you choose to pursue. There are different ways to win, and you should know how you’re going to win well before you get there. I’ve played several games the ones that neared, or reached, completion were about ten hours. Sometimes, you lose because a cascade of things, but often times I found I lost over little things I had to deal with that I wasn’t ready for. With between 40-50 hours, I am confident I can secure a victory if I apply what I have learned in past games.

This game is not easy. It is incredibly complex and deep. Your foes will not make the kinds of mistakes you will early on, even at easy difficulty. They will not bow down to you, by any means, and their demands can be a lot sometimes. I have had fun experimenting with different ways to win and slowly honing how to secure each type of victory. Settling cities is important for most victories I have explored.

Civilization 6 is graphically pleasing. The visual style tells you what is happening well, and looks good doing it. I love how everything changes as your civilization advances. The animation of great wonders being constructed, like the Eiffel Tower, are so cool and you get to rewind them and watch them over easily. I’m not sure how accurate they are, but they look neat. There is just an eye for detail in this game that makes it special.

Another thing that makes this game special is the audio. The sound design is communicative, gratifying and just all around wonderful. And the music is extraordinary. It is so evocative and compelling it makes your experience transcendental. As good of a game as this is to turn down the volume and listen to a podcast, a record or something, you won’t want to because of how good the music already is in Civilization 6.

Multiplayer is there, although I haven’t had the opportunity to explore it yet. You need committed players for a game which will go multiple sessions. Solo games for me have been around ten hours. The potential for fun with friends is fantastic, whether you forge an alliance, send spies to steal their Great Works, nuke their capital or however you decide to play. I am so convinced by the capacity to enjoy this game with others, I bought the Civilization “New Dawn” board game from the local game shop, and have been begging friends and family to learn how to play it with me. The board game is much more fast-paced from what I understand, easily doable in one sitting.

One aspect I have not forayed into as strong yet, is military action. All the military action I have committed up to this point has been minimal to focus on other things, and has been either directed at barbarian threats or posturing/building defense. So far, on easy difficulty this has been alright, although like I said I did start turning off barbarians because they are SUCH a torment. Unlike old games, you can’t stack units on top a city and endlessly garrison it. This means you cannot drag your enemies into a battle of attrition for your city the old way, now it is more sophisticated. You build construction projects on hexes adjacent to your city centers, and can improve tiles within your grasp with builders building farms, mines, etc. Enemies can pillage these, and siege you this way. Tech is important to military might because it gives you things like gunpowder, rifling and nukes, to name a few.

This game is really fantastic. Find it anywhere you can, pay the price for admission. You will be able to spend hundreds of hours in this game if you like strategy games. You can do no better in the genre. The gameplay is addictive in how fun and gratifying it can be. The visuals keep the eye entertained and are competent. The music is out-of-this-world, with a wide selection of tracks. The worst thing about this game is the difficulty, and that isn’t even a bad thing. The intense difficulty gives this game depth. It also makes it so much more rewarding the more you do things right. Difficulty is not a downside in this game. And as I mentioned, there are so many options in the menu to start a game, you can really tip the odds if you are just playing to learn and want don’t care about a purist experience. Civilization 6 is a welcome addition to my library, I expect to spend over a hundred hours with it, easily.

Credit: Civilization 6. Screenshots by me.

In 2012, I did get a chance to rent Assassin’s Creed 3 and play it a bit. Unfortunately, my copy was glitched so I didn’t really get to experience nearly as much as I had hoped. So, when I saw this remaster on the shelf at the local game store for $18, I knew it was an easy decision. Well, after giving it a full play on the Nintendo Switch, I’m certainly glad I did, but I also am glad I didn’t pay much more for the experience.

Assassin’s Creed 3 is set between two time periods, as many of the games have been historically. I will grace over much of the exposition as it draws heavily from several games worth of content before AC3, not just the first two numbered games. There is a modern day story of Desmond Miles, who is using an device called the Animus to enter the memories of his Assassin ancestors. Desmond is locked in a war old as humanity itself which has now been going on in the shadows, but with global consequence. This war has developed into a battle between the Templar order, and the Assassin order. You play as both Desmond and his ancestor. Desmond’s goal is to find out what his ancestor did with an artifact.

In AC3, Desmond enters the memories of Ratonhnhaké:ton, who takes the adopted name Connor. Connor starts as a Native American child of the Mohawk tribe during the American Revolution, and we follow his growth as he enters the Assassin order and his exploits within. Connor’s goal is to save his people, and while his efforts are not in vain, his successes are nowhere near his expectations.

The story is excellent, as this series tends to deliver. It is told in a manner which lends humanity to characters while also shining bright lights on their dark side. The care taken in handling the delicate nature of Native American interaction with colonists shows what a horrible situation it was by integrating that situation into the narrative. The game might make the Native Americans seem gullible, if the game had not also done such good job tricking the player at the beginning of the game with a well-executed twist. The ending still has me thinking.

The graphics in the remaster were good-looking on the Switch. You can judge for yourself in the screenshots. Visually it is a very compelling game. You can really get a feeling of movement careening through the treetops in the frontier between cities, always keeping an eye out for a good animal to prey upon to sell in town.

I was a little disappointed in how short AC3 was, if you don’t do a lot of side stuff. About thirteen hours for me, who really just wanted to experience the story, but also very much enjoys classic-style Assassin’s Creed games. Especially ones with cool boat missions. Which AC3 introduced to the series. You captain a vessel, and sail about the sea helping along trade routes, fighting other ships with a bevy of tools at your disposal. These missions are really special, and I’m glad Ubisoft really dove into this concept in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. (My favorite AC!)

Sadly, a lot of the other side stuff was not nearly as exciting as even the decent parts of this game. The missions to clear cities of British control are often lame. I did so few of these I could probably count them on my hands. I don’t mind if a mission ends in combat, as long as the whole city doesn’t come down on me for a random side quest I stumbled upon on my way to do something else much more interesting.

But like I said there is the naval stuff, which honestly in my thirteen hours I didn’t even get much into, but I may revisit. There is also hunting which is kind of fun as a side thing that generates money. Although with fast travel and a horse, again I usually found myself on my way to the next story mission.

As I said before, I love classic style Assassin’s Creed, when parrying was everything, and on that promise this game delivers. Indeed, I got my fix, but I still hope they make even spin off games in the old style yet. Although I suppose I could give AC: Rogue a try, as it is now available in a bundle with Black Flag on the Switch as well. (Wouldn’t mind revisiting Black Flag, either.) Different enemies have different ways to fight them, and you have an arsenal at your dispatch. From trademark hidden blade, to swords, a bow and arrow, muskets and pistols, smoke bombs, poison and more.

The AC3 Remaster also comes with Assassin’s Creed Liberation, another older game I haven’t gotten into yet, but if I get another big AC itch, it may just scratch it. And I wouldn’t be adverse to giving modern Assassin’s Creed it’s fair shot, as well. I’ve only played a little bit of Origins, and thought it was beautiful, but I missed to old gameplay style very much. I found modern AC to be too Souls-like. I’m not a big fan of those games, while I do understand their appeal. And I understand eventually having to innovate on the formula. I understand this may be an unpopular opinion, as the new Assassin’s Creed games have been massively popular, which again, is why I want to play them at some point.

So, I thought Assassin’s Creed 3 was a game with a really good story, that like the rest of the game, could’ve been served by being longer. Twelve hours and no real consequence from not doing any side stuff just felt kind of unfulfilling. Although, I will say, our short time together was very enjoyable. If you get a chance to pick it up for a good price, and you like Assassin’s Creed, I would say pick it up!

As some of you may have noticed, I have been on stream hiatus for about a year now. Granted, I did do a handful of streams for Mount Mercy regarding my internship, but my personal brand did not grow from this project. I am planning on returning, with some big, transformative plans.

I am not currently well enough equipped to stream in any way serious currently. I have just been going off my Xbox One, but that system is failing, and I don’t have a PC at the moment. I just graduated Mount Mercy University with a Bachelors in Journalism, and am waiting to upgrade not only my PC, but my internet connection, until I can land a job, get a place and afford to spend money on a real streaming setup.

When I do return, like I said, I have some things in mind. Many of these ideas came from pro streamer advice to plan ahead for what would happen if I got Twitch Affiliate, or Partner even. I am not foreseeing these things entering my life anytime soon, even when I do get my stream up respectably. However, I can start fleshing out some of these ideas now.

One idea is to do streams with guests. If I could get a camera up in my living room, we could do it together and really have some fun. Guests I could get on even as a amateur streamer include chefs, a bevy of interesting artists of all kinds including comedians, musicians, streamers and more, I could also have family or close friends on to give a more personal look at me, and more guests possible.

Another idea is cooking streams of two varieties. First, streams where I try to cook something out of one my cookbooks and see how good the cookbook is at teaching you. Second, is having professional cooks and chefs on to make something special for us. I love food, and I would love to make these ideas happen.

Finally, is the big one. The idea that could really take my brand to the next level. I have dealt with an indescribable amount of conflicts relating to mental health my entire life, and studied psychology on the side at Mount Mercy to further my understanding on the human psyche. I would like to put this to good use, and thought, what if I analyze games from a mental health perspective? Using tools of literary analysis and psychology I learned in school and in life, I could dissect a game and come up with different takes on what a game says about mental health, not only of the characters in the game, but the player themselves. I think there are a lot of people talking about how videogames impact mental health, I think my idea could provide some answers, raise some questions, give a fresh take on streaming, and do so much more potentially.             

I will not play all games this way. I experimented with the idea while playing Control, which I absolutely love by the way; it is a fantastic game in all respects, and the process was doable, but somewhat more exhausting than normal gaming for fun. So, I will have streams where I do either a mental health analysis, or just play for fun. If it is for analysis, I will end up taking all my VODs of a specific game and pasting them together on YouTube where they will be archived. This will be important as my brand grows, because more people will notice and watch my analysis, which is work to be sure, if they don’t have to catch it live.

These ideas will all become more realized as time goes on, I spend a great time thinking about my stream, as streaming is some of the most fun I have ever had, let alone in regards to video games. I will continue to post here about video games and tidbits from life during my hiatus from Twitch, don’t worry.

2017’s Super Mario Odyssey comes to me at a time of great change. I have borrowed my brother’s Nintendo Switch to give me a feel for the system, as my parents offered to get me one of my own as a present for graduating Mount Mercy University with a Bachelors of the Arts in Journalism. He had a few games, Animal Crossing and Mario Kart most notably, and of course, Super Mario Odyssey. A few days before my brother lent me the console, our family dog, Buddy, was laid to rest. I have lived with Buddy, a Yorkshire Terrier, nearly his whole life, and his passing really upset me. I couldn’t find joy playing anything, until I fired up Mario Odyssey.

Odyssey brought me about twelve hours of pure delight. The game’s simple treasures were marvels for me as I process all the new shifts in my life. I admit, I may have beaten the game quickly because not only am I an adult playing a children’s game, but I have seen speedruns of Odyssey, and was familiar with some mechanics that may have required more exploration otherwise. Nonetheless, there was plenty to challenge me in this game.

The difficulty curve is fantastic. It nurses you along at the beginning, which was perfect for me learning an entirely new game system. It does, however, really ramp up the challenge in the last few kingdoms. There are about 15 kingdoms in Odyssey, kingdoms being open worlds you progress through on your ship, the titular “Odyssey,” which is powered by Power Moons that you collect within kingdoms. If you are familiar with collecting stars in Mario 64, it is a similar concept. Some moons are story based, and others are scattered throughout the world, unlocked by completing some sort of task or another. Not only does the collection system ring resonant of earlier Mario games, there are also 2D sections which are clearly meant to inspire nostalgia, along with countless other nods to classic tropes from the series.

The new feature that makes Mario Odyssey unique is the appearance of Mario’s new ally, Cappy. Cappy is basically a member of friendly hat-based ghost-like entities that were attacked by Bowser in his quest to find a tiara to complete his perfect wedding with Peach, who he kidnapped, once again, as he journeys from kingdom to kingdom pillaging each piece he desires. Mario and Cappy, hot on his tail. Mario can throw Cappy at entities in the world and control them. A mechanic that keeps fresh throughout the game, as there are more beings to control with new abilities you use to solve new puzzles.

The level-building in Odyssey is second to none. Always interesting, and consistently challenging. Kingdoms are filled with challenge rooms within, and these always test your limits, especially one right at the end that not only tested my skills, but my patience. Though, I must say, the feeling when I overcame some of the harder obstacles in the game was very satisfying.

Each kingdom feels unique, and levels are well textured; dense with crannies to explore. It is hard for me to pick a favorite, although Metro Kingdom was particularly memorable. You can find regular coins, which you spend ten every time you die, and purple coins, which are unique to each level. Both types of coins can be spent at the store to buy items such as moons, outfits, hats, treasures for your ship, extra health and such.

This is a fantastic game for all ages. If you have a Switch, you would be a fool not to pick this one up. I had heard so many great things about it, and it really lived up to all the hype. Nintendo’s crafting is top tier. The user interface effective, controls simple and intuitive even when operating a new character, for the most part. I found the motion controls more of a hindrance than a help, I did use it from time to time to do a sweeping attack with Cappy. The sound design is what I have come to expect from a major production like Mario Odyssey. By which I mean, great music, and sound effects that are distinctly “Mario” sounding.

There is endgame content in Odyssey. I beat the game with about 130 Power Moons, but there are 880 unique moons to be found throughout the kingdoms. That ought to be enough to keep anyone engaged for quite some time. Even speedrunners find this long. Ironically, they use some runners also use motion controls. Motion controls are limited to flinging your two paddles one direction or another to perform different actions with either Cappy, or whatever character you are possessing.

Super Mario Odyssey looks, well, super. Crisp whether on the Switch handheld screen, or docked on my 4k TV. Speaking of the handheld screen, possibly my favorite part of the Switch is being able to play in bed, with my laptop or magazine in the background. The visual art design in Odyssey is creative, while also not showing long time Mario fans anything that will be too shocking for them. And I should know, I have been playing since the NES days. I believe Super Mario 3 was the first game I ever beat. And those memories served me well as I played Odyssey.

The resonance, presentation and delivery of the Odyssey experience continuously overwhelmed me with positive emotions. I found myself smiling wide, the only game I could bring myself to enjoy at the time, but did I ever enjoy it. An instant classic, an unforgettable Mario entry and a home run for Nintendo. This game is timeless, so don’t think you are too overdue to check out Super Mario Odyssey.

Credit: Super Mario Odyssey. Screenshots by me.

Ubisoft developer Ivory Tower followed up their racing MMO The Crew with a sequel in 2018. I picked this game up on sale recently, after having very much enjoyed the original. Still an MMO in concept, Crew 2 makes fabulous use of its open world to improve on the initial 2014 formula. The arcade style is still there, and perhaps more pronounced. There is a plethora of events. Crew 2 has a lot to offer, and I enjoyed much of its offerings.

Crew 2, like the original, takes place in an open world United States. It is a world densely populated with events, individual race initiation sites sometimes having multiple races to select within. There are too many event types to list. Events exist for three vehicle types: cars, boats and planes. This is new to the sequel, the original just had several types of car events. You can expect on and off-road racing, street racing on and off track, and stunt events, to name some. The one thing The Crew 2 doesn’t have that the original did is a story, but the story of the first game was so shallow I didn’t really miss it at all. I am perfectly happy coming to the world a rookie racer climbing my way up to fame.

And a climb, it is indeed. The Crew 2 has a lot of grind, but there are so many events you will never really get bored. I have played over 20 hours total so far and it has been a fresh experience the whole time, and an enjoyable one most of the time. There is a lot of game left to play. To progress in terms of car upgrades, you need to complete events or find hidden caches in the world to obtain loot, i.e., parts for your vehicles. You will need cash to by cars and visual flair, but a lot of things that can be bought with cash can also be bought with the rarer, but more valuable Crew Credits, (CC.)

CC can be bought with real money and is reasonably enough priced that I actually dropped a little money on CC for visual upgrades to my main street racer, a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Seeing as how I got the Gold Edition of the game, normally $80, for about $25, I don’t feel too bad about spending a little bit of change on something that is going to enhance the game for me. I may buy more CC in the future to ease the grind of unlocking cars I want, but not bad enough to grind endlessly.

The arcade style racing is very fun in the Crew 2 and works for all vehicles I would say. Steering requires precision, no matter what type of engine you are using. The plane events are very challenging, and there is a weird bug in airplane stunt events where it doesn’t pick up when I have performed a loop, even after troubleshooting online. Even with that, airplanes are a welcome addition. Boat events are fun, but limited. I hope in the future they keep these other vehicle types, but improve on them. Like having more boat types, or jets for some airplane events. There are a lot of different car and motorcycle racing types, and I would say they deliver for the most part.

This is a fun game to play with friends, especially events like monster truck stunt courses which are a lot more fun when you have other humans to play with or against. I very much enjoyed playing a Hyper Car race from New York to San Francisco, the longest race in the game at about 30-40 minutes. It was fun to go into cockpit view and get those real road trip vibes with a few buddies.

There is a terrific selection of vehicles in The Crew 2, and your car has a numerical grade based on its performance. You will find that max level cars are not created equal, and different cars will have different optimal performance. Keep this in mind as you spend your hard earned cash. Especially if, like me, you bought the Gold Edition, which comes with cars that, when max level outperform the topped-out version of the expensive Dodge Hellcat you bought. Hey, I think the car looks cool, ok? And believe me, a max level car of most types will be enough to do what you want to do in this game. Although at times I do yearn for four-wheel-drive. Rear-wheel is consistently fun for me though.

I should say something about the music in The Crew 2. It is a fantastic selection of music for all the eight stations. I found new treasures on a several stations. Even the country station is good, as it avoids the dredges of pop country for a more indie sound that is perfect for cruising through the Midwest in your Dodge. The hip-hop station has some real gems, and the rock station as well. There is also a classical music station if you are feeling sophisticated.

This game is a treat for the eyes. Weather effects look delightful, as do cars and the world offers a bevy of roadside sights to behold. It is a very simplified and skewed version of the United States, but their intention was to make a good video game not a geography lesson. I’m sure, if you’ve driven around the United States you will see a lot of familiar things around the game world. Little slivers of home that endear the game to you. The built-in photo and video editors may lack some little bells and whistles other games offer, but I am just glad they are there. You can’t use them during races, but you can retrace your driven path in the game world map if you want to go back to a landmark and grab a picture. I did this for a little slice of the Midwest that really reminded me of home.

I have very much enjoyed my indulgence of The Crew 2, and I anticipate I will continue to, as there is still so much I haven’t done and unlocked. There are cars I want, new event disciplines altogether, new races and more. Even a lot of old races are worth doing again, especially since you can crank up the difficulty. If you’re looking for a racing game with a lot of different disciplines and an arcade style, look no further than The Crew 2.

I played the original Burnout. My brothers and I all had great fun with it when it hit the PlayStation 2 in 1998. I was nine years old, and what a precious childhood memory smashing up cars with my siblings. A true treasure. Well, Burnout survived, and it persisted. Criterion Games has made eight Burnout games total, the penultimate, and fan favorite, Burnout Paradise dropped in 2008. I didn’t play it then, and I didn’t play it ten years later in 2018 when they released the remastered version. But then, EA Play got added to Xbox Game Pass, and when I saw Burnout Paradise Remastered in the bunch, I downloaded it immediately. And while this game has shown its age, I was not disappointed.

Burnout Paradise takes us to the fictional Paradise City, an open world where all you must do to start an event is burnout at any intersection. There is literally something at every turn in this game. Events include races, car specific time trials, stunt runs, events where AI racers try to take you down, and events where you try to take down AI racers. There is enough to keep it fresh, my favorite events were races. The Road Rage events where you take down a number of opponents by crashing into them are great fun as well and you can pretty easily murder the target goal in these.

Paradise City has some sights to see. There is the city proper, where you can expect more grid-like racing, then there is the countryside. There are special landmarks all over the map that the game uses for reference like the Country Club or the Observatory. The environment serves its purpose for the most part. My two big gripes with Paradise City are the confusing map which often leads you to believe intersections exist where they do not, and the fact that you cannot fast travel. They did make it easy to quit a race, just pull over and don’t push any buttons for a few seconds, but then you have to drive all the way back if you want to restart your event.

There are things in this game that could’ve been improved further in this remaster, I feel. There is no photo mode, and taking photos is exceptionally hard I apologize for not the usual screenshot quality in this post. Then, they could’ve fixed my two gripes with the city, the fast travel and map. If they would’ve done those things they would’ve had an absolute home run with this remaster.

The graphical fidelity makes this game feel very dated. It is funny because going back to NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered, that game looks fantastic and is two years newer. But as I said, the graphics do their job and this game is not exactly an eye sore. The crashes are still a big part, you will see fictional vehicles completely decimated in thrilling crashes. I wish they still had the mode where you try to cause the biggest crash possible as in old games.

Criterion made this game two years before a game I previously reviewed, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. The control style is very similar. You only use the handbrake for radical changes in direction. Most drifting in races should be done with regular brakes. Once you’re used to the style of this game, it is satisfying to race and race aggressively.

The driving is loads of fun in this game. You could not conceive a more arcade-style experience. There is not even a speedometer you should just intuitively know how fast you are going by how your car is behaving. It is a slow build to really fast cars, even with the enhanced content of the remaster that contains DLC. There is a big turbo gauge, however. Different cars fill this different ways, I prefer “Stunt” cars where it is the classics like oncoming traffic driving, drifting, takedowns and things of that sort.

Burnout Paradise also uses a “make-your-own-route” approach to open world racing, where they merely give you a start point and an end point and you use the open world to get there as fast as possible. This can be fun, and it can be detrimental in my opinion. If the map were better it wouldn’t be as much of an issue. You spend a lot of time during races pausing into the map to see where you are and where you need to go.

The soundtrack in this game is really fantastic. You can select which songs you want and don’t want, which is something for a game which doesn’t even have a control map screen. Every time you boot up the game Guns & Roses’ “Paradise City” pulls you into the insane world of Burnout Paradise. There is also composed music for the game, and classical music which not only plays when you’re AFK, but also feeds into game songs as well. Other favorites of mine include Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, a NERD remix and a song I have actually seen performed live: “Coming Down to Beijing” by Brain Failure, a really cool punk band from China back in the day.

I feel all this game’s problems really boil down to one thing: they need to make another Burnout game! Modern tweaks on this formula could be a lot of fun, especially if they make the crashes a big part of the game. Let’s face it, we don’t care if real car companies will license their real cars to be crashed at high speed, we just want the carnage of familiar car shapes being twisted and brutalized in spectacular fashion. Also, it is crazy to imagine how modern graphics would make this arcade vision come to life. Burnout has always had an over-the-top style.

I recommend Burnout Paradise Remastered. The play is a little repetitive in that you complete events to get a better license grade, and once you get a better license grade all the events you’ve won reset and can be won again. You need wins to get points on your license. That known, it isn’t the end of the world as you will find events you really like. I’m not terribly far in the game, but I suspect I will only play it a limited amount. Try to find this game on sale, or get it on Xbox Game Pass if you can, because if you can, it is definitely worth a play.

Credit: Burnout Paradise Remastered. Screenshots by me.