Dying Light

Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC.

Platform Reviewed: Xbox One

Genre: Open World Zombie RPG

Release Date: January 27, 2015

Date Reviewed: July 3rd, 2015

       Dying like is an open world Zombie RPG game from some of the creators of the Dead Island series. It is honestly almost exactly like Dead island but with a bit more of a serious feeling to the story and atmosphere, updates visuals and parkour....yes parkour. Without giving out to much of the story you are basically an agent who is trying to find a doctors research to a potential "cure" for the virus. It turns out they did not want the cure to actually help people but to use it as a weapon which is discovered fairly early on in the game.

Huge Open World.

       Dying Light has some interesting game mechanics that keep the game from going stale to fast. You can craft unique weapons, items, explosives and other useful tools in order to get passed the hordes of zombies. During your exploration you will come by Safe Zones which are always filled with zombies. Safe zones are all the same where you clear the area of zombies and turn on all the power to the safe zone. You can now use that safe zone as a fast travel or resting area. One thing that would have been useful in some of the safe zones would be the ability to repair your weapons you are currently using or a way to buy parts to repair the weapons. To many times my weapons would break and I would have to struggle to a safe zone. Another interesting mechanic is night time. When the sun goes down you will get a warning on your radio to seek cover or to make it back to the home base. At night time the zombies become more active and these super zombies come out to play. If they see you walking around they will attract other zombies in the area and chase you done. These are very fast and will catch up to you if you are not careful. Interesting mechanic but the day and night cycle last to long making me wait or walk very slow in this massive open world so I am not discovered.

These guys suck!

       I do appreciate the fact that Dying Light's open world is very big with lots of events, side quests, and Easter eggs to discover. Another issue I had was some of the quests felt very repetitive making you go through areas and tunnels that you've visited multiple times before which made it get boring real fast actually making me want to complete the game that much faster. The story is rather dull to be honest and doesn't do that great of a job with developing your emotions towards any of the players. There were maybe two instances where I felt a bit of emotion and one time where it was an adrenaline rush to escape but it didn't last to long. The co-op is a nice feature where you are able to open the game to anyone or your friends. I enjoy the drop in and out system where you can join your friends or other people whenever you'd like and you get to keep all experience and items earned during the co-op session.

Skill Tree. Lots of different skills.

       In conclusion Dying Light feels the same as Dead Island but with a couple of small thing added in to make it feel fresh and with a bit more of a serious atmosphere. If you are a fan of Dead Island then you will probably enjoy this game as well. I personally was not thrilled for Dying Light and stopped playing immediately after i completed the game. About up until half way through the game I actually did explore everything and do as much side quests as I could but it got boring and repetitive really fast. Good attempt but it could have been way better.

Overall Score:
6.5/10

Okay game.

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Fantasy Life.

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Open World RPG

Release Date: October 24, 2014, (JPN)December 27, 2012

Date Reviewed: March 24th, 2015

Fantasy Life is an open world RPG created by Level-5. Fantasy Life is a unique game where you are able to choose what life you want to live. There are 12 different lives you can choose from with each life having a ranking system. If you want to master all lives then prepare to dish out easily over 100 hours trying to do so. There is a main campaign to this game that is roughly 8 hours or so. It took myself 28 hours to complete due to doing the side quests and mastering mining with a little of mercenary and paladin as well. Fantasy Life has a Harvest Moon/Sims/Rune Factory feel to it and it is a good mixture.

Your character and your life.

You start the game off in an attic apartment where you are then introduced to the main story, great in game features and your choice of which life to venture off into. One great thing about the life system is you are able to change your life anytime you want. Each life always starts off with a mini tutorial on how to use the skills for that life as well as materials used for that life. Each life is unique and is very different from the other. Only ones that are remotely similar are the combat lifes which they should. They can vary from Blacksmithing, Sewing, Archery, fishing, and many others. Each life has a life master who you will report to once you've completed the tasks they ask you to. Once these tasks are completed you hand them in and turn acquire stars. Once you have hit the stars required you will rank up that life. Each rank up provide a stat increase associated with that life and new skills. For example if you are a miner you will learn a new skill where you can power up your attacks every time you mine a node.

Open World fun!

Fantasy life allows you to buy new homes, decorate them and own one home in each section of the world acquiring a total of 3 homes at a time. Another great feature is being able to play with your friends or other people online. This is a great opportunity to show off your homes and even take down some bosses that you are unable to solo. Only downfall to this is if you do not have the DLC and your friends does; you will not be able to play with them unless you have the DLC as well. Other than that your other party member can fully explore and help you take on some powerful monsters and complete those tough quests. Highly recommended feature to use.

Overall Fantasy Life is great for RPG fans alike. It is a cute little RPG that has a long of bang for your buck. Pick your life and explore Riveria with your friends, take down powerful foes, decorate your home, and have some fun! This game is highly recommended.


GREAT GAME
9/10

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Captain Toad

Platform: Nintendo Wii U

Genre: 3D Puzzle Platformer

Release Date: December 5, 2014

Date Reviewed: December 31st, 2014

       Captain Toad is a game set in the Super Mario 3D World environment and story line. In fact it takes place just before Super Mario 3D World. Captain Toad is a 3D puzzle platform game for the Nintendo Wii U. You primarily use the tablet to control the game world and move Captain Toad around the reach the goals. Captain toad is a very unique way to play. You either use the touch screen or the second control stick in order to rotate the world map around to navigate Toad though the level. You also have the option to use the Gyro controls built in the tablet itself. Some of the events take place in first person view on the tablet which appears third person on the TV. When you go into a mine cart level you control the aiming with the gyro controls or control stick while throwing object at enemies, coins and other collectibles. Captain Toad controls very well and runs extremely smooth.

 One of the early levels.

       Captain Toad is broken up in chapters. Each chapter has roughly 18 levels while the last one has 28. First chapter you play as Toad, second chapter you will play as Toadette and the chapters afterwards is a mixture of the two characters. The objective of each level is to grab coins, treasures and the star at the end of each level to complete it. Rinse and repeat. A lot of the levels are very different and offer some sort of challenge in order to grab all three diamonds. Each level also has a challenge to it in order to fully 100% complete each level. Some of these include collection a certain amount of coins or grabbing a certain item without breaking the bridge, etc... This adds a nice little challenge for the completionists out there. Each level is unique with it's own puzzles and charm. My favorite levels were the ones where you have to ride a mine cart and use the tablet to shoot coins, diamonds and enemies.

Big boss battles!

       Once you have beaten the game and cleared all the chapters you unlock a bonus mode. This is where you need as much diamonds as possible to unlock these additional modes. One of the bonus levels is playing through the first few levels of Super Mario 3D World but as Captain Toad instead which makes the gameplay very interesting and changes it up a bit. Another one is grabbing and guiding all four toads in each of the levels to the finish in order to complete it. This helps extend the game play and adds a decent amount of reply value to the game. For the low price of $40 this game is definitely worth the time and investment.

Getting the Diamonds are well worth it!

       The visuals are very beautiful in Captain Toad. Each level brings a breath of fresh air with different visuals, enemies, and scenery. Captain Toad runs at a smooth crisp 60 frames per second. The in game music is wonderful and some are remixes of the old Mario games. I wish the game was a little bit longer and some of the levels as well. The boss battles were fun but a little bit to easy. Overall Captain Toad is a great addition to the series and hope to see more from this franchise.

Overall Score:

8.5/10

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Solar Roller

Platform: iOS, Android

Genre: 3D Platformer

Date Reviewed: November 10, 2014

       Solar Roller is the newest mobile game for Android and iOS developed by Runway Games. Solar Roller provides unique and fun game play where you use your phones motion controls to navigate through each of the levels. You start off with using Pluto and work your way up to all of the planets. Depending on how faster you complete each level you will earn stars to show how well you did. Each planet has their own unique level designs and they get more challenging each time. You basically control a ball which looks to me like a moon. You navigate each level to the goal using the tilt controls with an option to jump when you swipe upwards. This becomes very important as the much harder levels require you to jump on to platforms. This is the type of game where you come so close to beating a level and mess up you end up throwing your phone at the wall but when you succeed you feel like you've achieved something. This is where Solar Roller shines. It makes you want to continue and beat that one level you’re stuck on and once you do you feel like a god. This kind of game play is what makes Solar Roller a real treat and makes you keep coming back for more. With an already huge amount of levels to complete you are in for a treat. Another small feature I love is that this game is free and they do it in a way where you are not bombarded with ads that interfere with the game play. If you run out of lives you have an option to let it recharge or watch a short ad and get all of your lives refilled. 

 This....level...is....NUTS!

       The game play, music and level design make it feel like you are in space while playing these levels. Although the music and background can get repetitive it’s still not a big issue or game breaker at all. You are so focused on getting your ball into the goal that you don’t even notice half the time. One feature I truly enjoy is the option to record your game play. You can record and share your videos with your friends or people on the internet. Not usually a feature you see in iOS games. Very nice. There are a couple of features I do hope to see in a future update. Keep in mind they have already updated the game once so I am certain we will see even more. Some nice features I would like to see are leader boards, an adjust camera option, a race mode, and new levels added once in a while. Also it may get frustrating for some players on the difficulty curve. I love what Runway Games has done with the game so far and with updates I can see Solar Roller getting very popular. This is only their second game and I am already impressed and have high hopes for the team.

Skins!!

Great Game!
8.0/10

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Super Smash Bros. 3DS

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Fighting

Release Date: October 3rd, 2014

Date Reviewed: October 17th, 2014

       The latest Super Smash Bros for the 3DS is the 4th entry in the series and a very popular and high demand video game. This version brings another huge roster as well as plenty of new characters to the game. The 3DS version brings a bunch of new modes which really extends the life of the game as we wait for the Wii U version. You have your classic mode where you fight random characters. This version you get to choose which patch you want to go. For example if you choose the red path the entire time it will be harder. Blue is easy and green is normal difficulty. The higher the difficulty the more coins and rewards you will get. Some of these rewards offer coins, new customizable moves, costumes, and trophies. The next mode is All Star mode which has been in the previous games. In order to experience the entire All Star mode you will need to have unlocked every single character. This mode takes you through the years of Nintendo characters like in the previous ones. Multi-man melee makes a return as well but instead of wire frame enemies you face a bunch of Mii characters. Home Run mode is back where you see how far you can hit the sand bag with the home run bat for each character. A new mode added is target blast. In this mode you have 10 seconds to launch a bomb from the platform and blow up as much targets as possible. Sort of like angry birds. You also have trophy rush mode where you are able to get a ton of coins and trophies. You also have a challenge mode. This really isn't a mode it's more like an achievement system where you complete certain challenges and unlock new stages, trophies, costumes and skills. Then you have your typical online mode where you can fight for glory or for fun. For glory is just a battle mode where every map is a final destination mode and no items are allowed. For fun is all default maps and all items are allowed and enabled. The last mode I want to cover is Smash Run. Now Smash Run would be a lot better if it was allowed to be played online but do not think will work well due to the lag. You start smash run in a huge dungeon where you complete objective and kill as much enemies as you can to power up your stats. At the end of the run you fight with 3 others and see who comes out on top. You can be climbing to the top the fastest, have a basic smash battle, or even race to see who wins and who uses their stats wisely.

Tortimer Island!

       Super Smash Bros. also has a fantastic soundtrack with a lot of returning tracks as well as brand new ones. A lot of the new ones are remixes like Dr. Wiley's Castle which is just great. The entire game runs at 60FPS with some pretty nice visuals which is very impressive for the Nintendo 3DS. However the animations for each of the assist trophies are at 30FPS which is completely fine. The Nintendo 3DS can only handle so much. Since the 3DS is much smaller than a TV each character as a dark border around them to see them much easier which can also be customized to make it thicker or thinner. Another cool feature is you can use your Mii characters as fighters and completely customize their abilities, stats and their costumes. There are three different types of fighting styles that the Mii's can use. They vary from swordfighter, fist fighter and gun fighter. You can even unlock badges and equipment to improve your Mii's stats so if you want to stack speed or power you can. Only thing is you cannot use these stats or customization options when you are fighting other players online. On top of that you are able use different skills for current characters which again you can use online against other players but is a great addition to the game to try the different abilities and combos.

Little Mac makes and Appearance.

       Overall in Super Smash Bros. 3DS there are a ton of features that will keep you occupied for hours on end. Tons of modes, options, unlockables, customization and decent online multiplayer. Super Smash Bros. is a must own game for all Nintendo fans and current fans of the series. This makes me even more excited to purchase the Wii U version which is set to release on November 21, 2014. The Wii U version will offer even mor modes and options apart from the 3DS, will have the same characters, different levels, and much higher visual quality. Great work Nintendo.

Fantastic Game!
9/10

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Red Sea Exodus

Platform: IOS, Android.

Genre: Point and Shoot

Release Date: September 2nd, 2014

Date Reviewed: September 9th, 2014   

    First off I would like to thank Runway Games for letting me beta test and review their first game! Looking forward to more from you guys!

    Red Sea Exodus is a game on the IOS store and Android store. As of writing this review it is currently only on Android devices. It will be on the IOS store very shortly. Red Sea Exodus is a simple point and shoot game. You help people cross the red sea. While you are helping them cross there are soldiers trying to stop them. The main goal of the game is to escort them to safety by using the water and other elements to stop the enemies. Your basic attack is the water around you and your enemies. The longer you hold your finger on the water the bigger and stronger the attack becomes. If it gets to hectic then you can always use the elements to help you. You may choose from powers such as a firewall, lightning, earth, and others. These powers have to be bought though with in game currency. While defeating some enemies they may drop coins which can be used to purchase more powers. They also offer a way to purchase more coins at very reasonable prices. Better yet, some of the profits go to charities! So by helping the developer you're also helping charities such as Brothers Brother Foundation, The Ronald McDonald House (of Pittsburgh), and K.I.D.S (Kids in Distressed Situations). Also, once per day you earn a free bonus token which you can spin to get a free power up. Bonus spins can also be purchased in game.

 Charities your purchases go to.

 

 Bonus Rolls can win you Powers!

Pesky enemies!

     Red Sea Exodus overall is very well put together considering it is Runway Games first game. It's a challenging game and a great game to compete against your friends and people around the world. The Leader board function is fantastic for that. I hope in a future update they will add a feature where you can challenge different people on the leader boards. The animations are very smooth and look really good. Very colorful. The music, although repetitive is very soothing and catchy, really suits the game. The game has Facebook connectivity to see your friends scores. I also like the look of the enemies.

Leaderboards! (I'm #8)

    Overall Red Sea Exodus is a great game, especially for the challenge and competitions. It does need a little work regarding a few bugs that aren't that noticeable, needs for variety in each level, and a challenge option would be great! They are however are adding updates to the game which is fantastic. I cannot wait to see how this game will evolve over time and I look forward to future games from Runway Games. Pick it up, it is a free game and please help support the developer it all goes to a good cause. Fantastic work on your first game!


Overall Rating: 7.5/10

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Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas

Platform: PC

Genre: Online TCG

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Date Reviewed: July 26, 2014

A different review today. I will be reviewing the popular game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. To be more exact I will be reviewing the very first expansion for this game. This will be reviewed differently since it is a card game based in the Warcraft Universe.

Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas is the very first expansion set for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and it is a single player adventure. This expansion comes with 30 brand new cards including golden cards as well as a single player addition to the game. There is a new tab on the home menu which has been renamed from "Practice" to "Solo Adventures". When you access this option it will give you the choice between practice mode and Naxxramas. Naxxramas introduces us to 5 wings just like in World of Warcraft where you have to take down each boss in each wing. The first wing which is the Arachnid wing is open and

free to all players for the first month. Each other wing will open the following week after each other. You can spend real money to open these wings or spend your hard earned gold. It is 700 gold per wing or $6.99 each. It will cost you 2800 gold to get access to all of the wings, including the Arachnid wing when the free trial runs out.

My personal battle! Also a look at the naxx board.

Curse of Naxxramas offers a very fun and difficult challenge. Like in a typical raid in World of Warcraft you start off by facing each boss in normal mode. Defeating each boss will reward you with new cards to add to your collection. Defeating the final boss of each wing will reward you a legendary of that boss. So when you beat Maexxna you will be rewarded with the legendary card of Maexxna. Normal mode is not overall to difficult. After you beat normal mode you unlock two class challenges. I believe these are random classes. Right after you beat the class challenges you unlock the heroic mode version of the bosses

in Naxxramas. These are much harder with higher health (45 instead of 30) and a much stronger player power. The challenge is definitely there and might make you punch your monitor a few times.

The only issue I have with this expansion is that when you beat the heroic bosses you do not get nothing out of it. Personally I would have loved to gotten golden cards from defeating them. The only reason to beat heroic mode right now is mainly bragging rights, and nothing more. But if you're looking for a good challenge then please try to conquer heroic mode. For any new players out there with just the basic cards there is always a way to beat these bosses even on heroic mode without purchasing

new cards. There are a lot of guided out there you can follow that show you how to build your deck with the basic cards in order to beat these bosses. I am looking forward to conquering the other wings and highly recommend this expansion. It is free, so why not?

Just SOME of the cards that can be earned.

Overall Rating: 9/10

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Shovel Knight

Console: 3DS, Wii U, PC

Genre: Platformer

Release Date: June 26, 2014

Date Reviewed: July 4, 2014

Gameplay:

Shovel Knight takes another whack at the classic plat forming genre. The style for Shovel Knight takes place in the NES era. With classic 8 bit graphics and 8 bit sounds/music. It has a mixture between Megaman, Castlevania, and Mario. It mixes these three great games together to make its own step into the classic plat forming series. The game plays just like you would expect it if you've ever played an NES plat forming game before. Feels exactly like the three games I mention above. Shovel Knight feels like a fresh entry overall. The basic principle of the game is going through different levels; beat each knight to advance forward and save the Shield Knight from the evil Enchantress. You are a knight that wields a shovel as his weapon of choice. You attack with your shovel and perform certain tasks to venture through each level with this mighty shovel. From downward thrusts so you can bounce on objects and enemies to swooping your shovel to deal with enemies, the shovel has many uses.  Each boss knight has its own special attack and abilities. Just like in Megaman you need to find out what their patterns are to defeat them. Some of these bosses are not the easiest.

Ahhhh Classic.

In Shovel Knight you can even upgrade your shovel to perform new attacks. Shovel Knight can also purchase new armor that has different effects to the player. Just like in Mario you are on an over world map and you are able to choose any level, any time. Sometime on the world map there are random events as in mini boss battles, and treasure to grab by using certain items. If you are the type of person that needs to collect everything than you can even collect music notes. Return these music notes to the bard in town and he will buy them off of you for 500 gold a piece. When you give the bard these music notes he will add them to your collection so you can go back and speak with him at any time and listen to the music you have unlocked. Shovel Knight provides an excellent difficulty level as well just like in the classic plat formers. It starts off moderately easy and then picks right up and ups the difficulty level. Some levels make you want to pull your hair out but in the end are very rewarding when you finally beat it.

Graphics/Visuals:

Shovel Knight is an 8 bit plat forming adventure. It takes place during the NES generation of plat form gaming. The visuals and style of artwork is outstanding. Very colourful game, great looking backgrounds, fantastic looking enemies, great animations and NPC’s. All in all it is a very nice looking 8 bit game and a fantastic edition to the NES plat forming series.

Epic Boss Battles!

Soundtrack/Music:

Wow. Shovel Knight has one of the most amazing soundtracks I have even heard in the 8 bit era. Each and every song is unique, different, and makes your ears sing. You can tell they put their heart and soul into this game, into the music. The music is so good that it’s making me unlock and find all of the music notes hidden in the game. I often find myself going back to the main town just to listen to the music I have unlocked. Each boss, each level, and zone has its own unique soundtrack and every single one of them is a breath of fresh air. You can even get the entire soundtrack on download; it is very well worth it. Some people even got this game just because of the amazing soundtrack.

Epic Soundtrack!

Final Thoughts:

Shovel Knight is a breath of fresh air to the 8 bit plat forming series. It feels very familiar yet very new. With a mixture of the greatest plat forming NES games with a hint of its own style, Shovel Knight is a fantastic addition. Beautiful music, addicting and challenging game play, and beautiful art work, Shovel Knight is a must purchase. In fact I purchased it for all three platforms! My recommendation is to buy it on the 3DS or the Wii U just because you can quickly switch between all of them items with just a tap of your finger. The PC version provided no quick select tool.

Overall Rating: 10/10

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Mario Golf World Tour

Console: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Sports

Release Date: May 2, 2014

Date Reviewed: June 30, 2014

Ahhh good ol’ Mario Golf. I have fond memories from playing the very first Mario Golf game for the Nintendo 64. I was so into the game than I even remember one of the cheat codes from when it first came out 10+ years ago. KPXWN9N3 was the code me and my brother memorized and for some reason it is still stuck in my head. Mario Golf for the Nintendo 3DS is another great addition to the series.

Gameplay:

First off there is so much to do in Mario Golf. You can’t decide which mode to choose from first. I personally started with the Mii Castle Club. This mode allows you to gold with your personal Mii character in the game. The point of this mode is to challenge the three different course tournaments and try and get gold on each one. Doing so will reward you with an award ceremony cutscene with the Nintendo characters as well as a gold cup for that course. Winning one of these will also allow you to unlock the use of these courses in the challenge mode and all other modes. On top of that for completing certain goals in any golf game you will unlock a new piece of gear for your Mii character. These pieces of gear are used to upgrade you Mii. It could be to increase your Mii’s power, their sweet spot or control of the ball. So choose wisely and pick the gear based on how you play the game. You can even unlock character costumes to add to your collection for your Mii to wear. Wearing a Princess Peach costume as a man with a beard looks kind of weird. Once you complete the course tournaments you can then take to some challenge competitions to unlock more things for your Mii. Some of them are very challenging but worth it in the end. One other thing I would like to add is when you play in the Mii Castle Club you also earn a handicap rating depending on how well you do. This handicap is very smart because it allows the game to figure out the difficulty for the tournaments.

Great courses.

Another mode is the “Quick Golf” mode. This mode has other modes inside of the selection. Such as challenge mode to earn star coins. When you earn a certain amount of star coins you will unlock courses, and even new playable characters such as Birdo and Kamek. The other options are just basic modes to play if you’re in a hurry. It can be Vs. mode with a CPU character, Stroke Play to play a quick 9 or 18 hole round of golf by yourself and an offline point tourney mode. If you really want to test your golfing skills there is even an online mode where you play against other players. The online feature is really great as you can set your own rules, enter tournaments created by Nintendo to win in game prizes, and even community tournaments that other players make themselves.

In order to purchase the unlockable gear for your Mii characters you will need to buy them with coins. Coins are extremely easy to earn in Mario Golf. You earn them by simply just golfing. There are even courses that you can play where you need to get coins floating around the course which adds to your overall coin pool. With Mario Golf: World Tour there is an option to buy some DLC packs for the game. I highly recommend this because each pack adds a new character and a brand new course to play on. If you buy the season pass you get Gold Mario as a character which is a great way to earn some extra coins. Fantastic buy and really fun, especially for casual players.

Graphics:

The graphics and visuals in Mario Golf are actually really good for it being on the 3DS. All of the character models look fantastic with great animations. Each character has their own unique animation which really adds to the game. The environment on each course is very unique and is never the same. Each course has their own them like bowser’s castle or cheep cheep beach. You will always know which course it belongs too. Costumes look very nice; the customization option for your Mii also is great with a large variety of golf clubs, shirts, golf balls, etc…

Great Items Selection.

The 3D also adds a very nice effect to the game. I personally don’t really care for 3D but I was impressed by it. It adds a whole new perspective when you are golfing and is sometime breath taken. The best times to use the 3D feature are during the golf matches. It gives you a whole new view and the environment surrounds you. I find it really absorbs you into the game more than playing in 2D. Other than that the 3D doesn’t make too much of a difference while walking around or navigating the menus. It is still a nice feature overall.

Soundtrack/Music:

Not really much to say here due to it being a golf game. The music is pretty standard and quite. Nothing really unique about the in game music. The in game sounds are great overall and the menu music is really nice as well. Other than that it’s pretty average, not in a bad way just nothing the really WOWS you with the music.

Overall Rating: 9.0

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Mario Kart 8.

Console: Nintendo Wii U

Genre: Kart Racing

Release Date: May 30th, 2014

Date Reviewed: June 20th, 2014

I’ve been a big fan of the entire Mario Kart series since the very first one on the SNES. I have played and owned all of them at some point. I even enjoyed Mario Kart: Double Dash immensely for the Nintendo Gamecube. I just recently bought a Wii U to add to my collection and decided to buy the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition. I to this day love my new Wii U and the games I have for it. Enjoy the review!

Gameplay:

Mario Kart 8 (MK8) is a breath of fresh air to the series. The very first Mario Kart game to be HD on the big screen! MK8 plays like any other Mario Kart game. There is a great new mechanic in MK8 that adds a “WOW” factor to the races. The new mechanic is anti-gravity. With this mechanic you can basically race in any direction! You drive upside down, around in loops, etc… This adds new dynamic to the Mario Kart. With this new mechanic they can create new and refreshing courses to future Mario Kart games. Even with Mario Kart 8, these courses are really enjoyable. MK8 also offers some new items to use against other racers. One of these new items is the boomerang. Using this item allows you to, you guessed it, throw a boomerang ahead or behind you and it comes right back to you. You can throw the boomerang up to 3 times in front of you or behind you. When you throw it, the boomerang will go ahead and then circle back to you allowing you to throw it again. Very handy item if you have the accuracy to use it like the green shell. Another new item added to the game is the “8” item. When you use this you will get 8 items that circle around you. Some of these items include a star, a bomb omb, a banana and a green shell. Whichever item is in front of you circling, you will use that item first.

Anti Gravity is the new Mechanic.

Coins make their way back into MK8 as well. These coins will help you unlock new karts, wheels, and parasails. There are a lot to unlock with these coins so make sure you collect them. You can collect up to 10 per race. Drift boosting also makes a return to MK8 but it is much easier to do this time around. Simply press and hold the right of left trigger to drift and continue to hold it to get a boost when you let go of it. There are also many different characters that you can unlock in MK8. Unlocking characters is extremely easy. By completing courses and earning cups you will always unlock a random character. Some of these characters include Rosalina, Toadette, and all of the Koopa Kids. The Wii U tablet can be used as a controller or can be used as a secondary screen which displays the race track and all of the racers. The same modes are back as well including Grand Prix, Versus, Time Trials, and Battle. All of these can be played online while Time Trials gives you uploaded ghost data to race against.

Online racing in MK8 is fantastic. The Wii version had a lot of lag issues while racing online. MK8 puts you up against 11 other people per race and I have not experienced any lagging or hiccups in my connection while racing. If you need something to do besides earning trophies in Grand Prix then give the online modes a try. It is great if you are racing competitively or just for fun. You start off with 1000 points and depending how well you do you will earn a certain amount of points. But if you’re coming in 10^th, 11^th, or 12^th all of the time then you will slowly start to lose points. It’s a good system especially if you are very good at the game. What I mean by that is Nintendo tries to promote “just have fun” feel online instead of “you have 18 losses and 2 wins, you suck”. This way people don’t really care and race to have fun. At the time of this review my score is at 1600.

Awesome character Roster.

Overall reaction for MK8 has been very positive for me. I am still having a lot of fun with the game just by racing online and with communities I know and enjoy playing with. I am very happy that you are able to join communities to play with your friends, live streamers, youtubers, etc… MK8 is very fun, beautiful, fast paced and cheerful as it always has been. This is a great edition to the series and probably one of the best since Mario Kart: 64.

Graphics/Visuals:

MK8 is the first Mario Kart game to enter the HD market with Wii U being able to do so now. The characters look so good; all of them have received a major HD upgrade. The character animations are very good as well. The biggest thing you will notice when playing MK8 are the environments of the courses. I have caught myself multiple times not paying attention to the races themselves because I was just amazed by the environment. They are very colorful, detailed and look outstanding.  The visual effects are extremely well done and the game runs incredibly smooth. No lag, no frame drops, just smooth gameplay all the way through.

Soundtrack/Music:

The second you load up MK8 the music starts up. The menu music is fast paced and sounds great. Gets your adrenaline going. The menu music has a nice rock feeling to it with small sections with an electric guitar. Compared to MK7, the music in MK8 is much much better. The new courses are no remixed versions of older tracks. All music in the new tracks is brand new editions to the series. The music in the older tracks from previous games are the same obviously but sound so much better and updated to today’s standards.

Menu music is sooooooooooo good.

Final Thoughts:

MK8 is a breath of fresh air. Yes it remains to be basically the same as the previous games but the game has been amped up to HD quality with a brand new anti-gravity mechanic that adds a lot to the game itself. With the amazing quality, to great online play MK8 is definitely a breath of fresh air. You will enjoy this game immensely with endless game play. I highly recommend this game to everyone.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

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Wolfenstein: The New Order

Console: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Release Date: May 20, 2014

Date Reviewed: June 5, 2014

Wolfenstein has always been a huge part of my life. I have played every single one including Wolfenstein 3D. I have always held this series close to my heart and always found each game in the series to suck me into the action and story. This is my review on the newest edition to the Wolfenstein series. Wolfenstein: The New Order. I am reviewing this for the Xbox One version.

Game play:

Wolfenstein: New Order is not your ordinary FPS. It has two campaigns, mostly very similar to one another but different outcomes. Without spoilers you basically choose a campaign for one of two characters. At the beginning you do not have that option. You have to select which character is part of your campaign right off the first mission. Once the game has been beaten you are able to go back and choose the other character for you campaign. Wolfenstein has stealth mechanics and well as full blown action packed mechanics. Depending on which difficulty you choose you will be using more stealth the harder it is and more running and gunning on the easier difficulties. Wolfenstein is a very challenging game. If you're looking for a real challenge then go and try the Uber difficulty. You may throw a controller or two. Wolfenstein has a mixture of good FPS action, movie like cinematics, stealth gameplay, a perk system, and a fantastic story that action made me use some of my emotions.

The Perk System is great!

The perk system is a fantastic way to customize your play style. Whether it be stealth, demolitions, run and gun, etc... Each tier of perks has it's own prerequisites you need to do in order to unlock that perk. One example is you have to kill 5 guards while being stealthed with throwing knives. Once you do this challenge you unlock a new perk allowing you to carry more throwing knives with you. If you're a completionist then you will want to try and get all of the perks. But that is not all there is too do for you completionists out there just like in the other Wolfenstein games in the series.

In New Order, there are a ton of things to collect. Some of them are harder to find then others due to them hiding in secret locations. Sticking to the old Wolfenstein system you are able to find secret doors and switches to open up secret areas to add to your collectables. One set of collectables that I really enjoyed finding are the golden items. They are scattered everywhere and most of them are tough to find on your own. They can be hidden behind the smallest cracks and you will walk past them. Besides golden items you can also find encryptions. When you find all of the encryptions you can go into the main menu under extras and try to encrypt the codes to unlock cheats and funny little additions to your campaign. There are also things like models, letters, and audio files to collect which make exploring much more enjoyable.

The gameplay overall is very fun and addicting. If you rush through the game you will complete it in roughly 5-6 hours. But if you spend the time exploring and collecting everything it will take you 10+ hours. Keep in mind that there are two campaigns you can play. The cinematics and cut scenes pulled myself into the game even deeper. Some characters make you hate their guts and want to hunt them down while other events and characters make you want to sob and weep. Each character has their own unique

story and some of them you really get to know. Finally, there is a wonderful easter egg hidden in the game. When you are in your hide out go to the very top floor. You will see a mattress with pictures above it. Look at the mattress and it will show an icon to examine called "Nightmare". Hold X to sleep on the mattress. When you fall asleep you will be in the very first Wolfenstein game and you have to fight your way out of it.

Duel Wielding guns!

Graphics/Visuals:

This review was done on the current gen consoles. It was reviewed on the Xbox One so it will be graphically superior to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions although it still does look great on the last generation.

The graphics in Wolfenstein are overall very well done. I wouldn't say exceptional due to it being on Xbox One. It doesn't look "next gen." The cut scenes are very beautiful and cinematics are great and really get you involved in what's going on as well. The gameplay visuals are good but like previously stated, doesn't feel "next gen". Overall I was still impressed with the visuals in the game. There is a lot of gore in the game and some people may feel uneasy. In one cut scene after you escape the labour camp there is a cut scene that happens and it was even making me somewhat uneasy. But it added great effect to the game overall.

Soundtrack/Music:

The audio in the game was really great. The soundtrack really impressed me overall. I have always been a fan of heavier music. As soon as you enter the main menu you hear this wonderful soundtrack. It has a "Wolfenstein" feel to it. The music in game and music in the cinematics and cut scenes were all very well done and added to the already great experience of the story and action within the game. Overall it was fantastic!!

The Main Menu music.

Overall Rating: 9/10

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