It's definitely on my list, just seems a tad short for the price so I'm biding my time.

Yeah I recon it's about 2-3 hours long but it's really fun. Think I've only seen Reg and Frantic talking about this before, afaik they both enjoyed it a lot too.

@Dante, ahh, that explains why he's in the credits.

Couple of quick Wii U Virtual Console games down this week, games I used to own as a kid.  

Aiming to have my Wii U catalogue completed or given up on by the end of the year, and the machine boxed up.

Pilotwings (SNES) - I found the jetpack and plane missions to still be a blast, but didn't really enjoy the skydiving and hang glider ones.  RE the jetpack, the sense of inertia holds up so well and I'd love to play a full on game based around it.  RE the plane, I was more impressed with the really stripped back controls (just 2 buttons and a d-pad needed) still leaving you with agreat deal of control over your craft.  RE the skydiving, it was a little dull, and hang glider was to complex for me, and I mostly just fluked my way through.  7/10


Would have loved more missions, it's pretty brief and light (especially when you can save state your way through on the Wii U!).  Well worth the return play.

Vegas Stakes (SNES also) was less enjoyable.  It's a beautifully presented gambling game.  It has a gimmick where it breaks up the betting with random encounters from other casino patrons.  If you go along with them, you'll have a chance of making a little money or getting ripped off by them.  It's initially cool, but wears out its welcome because a) as you get more money, the risk is either too great or the reward too little; and b) there are only a handful of scenarios that keep repeating.  That Don Rickles looking prick must have asked to wipe a spot off my jacket a dozen times throughout the game.

You can split the game up in two halves - the first being a quest to accrue enough money to access the no-maximum-bet casino.  Unfortunately, the best way to make money early is to sit at a fruit machine and wait for the jackpot to drop.  It's a bit dull.  The second half is about trying to earn 10 million dollars at the high stakes casino.  It's fun, apart from the interruptions from the patrons.  Poker was my favourite.  Your opponents have their own quirks, some are cautious, others are lunatics who go all in with a pair of 2's, and it's fun figuring out who is who.

I'd have enjoyed it alot more if their were more various patron interruptions, with risks/rewards that scaled with your money, and more variations on competetive card games.  As it stands it's a bit limited.  Not the best game going around but was at least interresting to revisit.  4/10

The final boss is fucking irritating even with Move controllers. I've given up on it after a couple of goes about 6 times, so well done for getting past that.

4. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)
Mild cheating by including this one. I haven't finished playing it completely but I'm done with the trophy collecting at this point. Got all the golds up to 150cc. 2 or three stars on each. I think I'm getting out before it gets properly challenging. 150cc I can win most races, lead most laps, still get nailed on the last lap once every few races and end up 2nd or worse. I'll dip in now and again for mop up and MP. Don't know if I can be arsed with mirror. 200cc seems fun but probably tantrum-inducing given the games tendency to completely fuck you through no fault of your own (yeah yeah git gud scrub etc - that's not going to happen). Anyway, very good. The F-Zero tracks are amazing, and now I must have a new F-Zero, nintendo why you hate your fans. 

Zelda BOTW up next.

4. Mr. Shifty - Switch

A very pleasant surprise.  Picture a close quarters combat Hotline Miami where you control Nightcrawler.  Enemies have range weapons, but they can't 'shift', which is forward motion short teleport from a depleting/recharging bank of 5.  Any variety is mostly provided by a gradually increasing roster of speciality fodder, so you'll be learning how to deal with new types every couple of stages (shotgun guy, rocket launcher guy etc).  It's all very simplistic, which is why it works so well.  Quick shifts get you in and out of trouble and you'll be pinging around the screen in - depending on skill - total control of the chaos.  Or in my case not quite total control of the chaos, which might be the sweet spot for maximising the enjoyment.  I'm surprised this didn't receive more critical acclaim, a few bugs and hiccups aside it runs well undocked and makes for terrific handheld gaming imo.  I did have to reboot it once though, as it started to lose maybe 10fps per stage before gradually grinding to a halt.  

The whole experience is extremely focused and even the screens with shift blockers in them don't manage to ruin the fun.  Building a game around an ability then taking it away doesn't usually goes well, but there's no real harm done anyway.  Unlike Hotline Miami it's not hugely difficult - unless this one really clicked with me (I struggled with certain stages of both HM games on occasion) - more 'tricky but doable'.  Most stages can be seen off in a matter of minutes once you're in The Zone.  Genuinely good stuff, critics and naysayers be damned.  [8]

Not all games need to have mix it up constantly, certainly not if the core gameplay is as strong as it is here. These twitch/arcadey types often fall down when moar variety is shoehorned in. 'If only you could talk to the monsters' etc. The simplicity and trust in the way your character moves/his moveset throughout is precisely why this one succeeds.

4: Red Dead Redemption 2 Xbox One - 9/10
There is little I can say about this, too raw at the moment. Me and the wife absolutely loved this and how we actually loved and hated some characters and we both found it hard to finish knowing what was coming. Was absolutely in love with this game, the only thing stopping it being a clear 10 is the ending. After spending so much time with Arthur though I knew what was going to happen I felt I needed more from then in his ending. Aside from that, almost perfect.

5: Resi 2 Remake Leon Xbox One - 10/10
The stuff dreams are made of. Absolutely everything I’ve always wanted in the remake of one of my greatest of all times. Absolutely perfect. Will just play over and over again. Stunning to look at, dripping with atmosphere, Dolby Atmos sound design is amazing, movement, aiming etc just to die for. In terms of Resi its absolute nirvana.

6: Resi 2 Remake Claire Xbox One - 10/10
Same as above, but loved the switch and how it actually makes you play a little different with Claire being so soft and minus a shotty. Some great different weapons and characters chucked in. Just wanna go again. Straight on to the B scenarios.

Git gud

Pretty much.

yourfavouriteuncle wrote:

Verecocha wrote:

4: Red Dead Redemption 2 Xbox One - 9/10 There is little I can say about this, too raw at the moment. Me and the wife absolutely loved this and how we actually loved and hated some characters and we both found it hard to finish knowing what was coming. Was absolutely in love with this game, the only thing stopping it being a clear 10 is the ending. After spending so much time with Arthur though I knew what was going to happen I felt I needed more from then in his ending. Aside from that, almost perfect.

How did you play?  Good or bad?  

My Arthur was a gentlemanly saint wherever possible and i got the happiest of available endings.  
My daughter and i are still wandering around with massive horse shoe shaped holes in our lives though.  Such a game and Arthur is the finest of men. I miss him so.

Me too, he was a sweet god amongst evil men. Gonna be tough for me and the Mrs for a while as we’re the same. We absolutely loved our time as Arthur. Still heartbroken. We share the same hole in our hearts. Sad times.

Sort of in love with the fact you've managed 4 entries out of 1 game

5. Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U)

What a lovely little game, and it was a very reassuring playthough too, having just noped out of Celeste after trying that for half an hour.

It's quite brief and there's hardly any challenge getting to the end of each stage (with the odd exception); although a lot of the collectibles are tough to find (I certainly didn't find them all).  It's a lot of fun to mess around with, and there's some pretty clever little touches that pop up (covering scary enemies with wool to turn them into helpful and cute objects etc) that you expect from a Nintendo platformer.  That said, the final level is a bit more puzzly than the others and I think the game could have done with more levels like that.  I don't think it would have hurt the kid friendliness of it, and some of the levels are a little bit samey.

But good stuff really, and hoping for more of the same done a little bit better (and cleverly) in Yoshi's Crafted World next month.

8/10

7. New Super Mario Bros Switch U Wii Deluxe - Switch

Pretty good Mario game.  I don't go deep with them, so purists would say I'm doing it wrong, but this was enjoyable to plod through in co-op.  Nabbit and Toadette are good additions for younger children (Nabbit - very easy - doesn't take damage and Toadette - easy - can become a floaty superboost Peach).  Bosses are still laughable but the level design is on point.  The coin hunt is an excellent addition to Mario games, really adds to it in two player.  Good but I didn't see enough to call it great (which it supposedly is for proper fans).  [7]

I'm only reviewing it to the credits, no secret exits and whatnot. Apparently there are 82 stages? Don't think we saw more than 50.