Beat, Heart, Beat is an action-rhythm platformer that puts a unique spin on the auto-runner, incorporating a midwest emo soundtrack and a truly bizarre cast of characters and premise. Through fifteen unique levels/songs, you’ll avoid obstacles, attack in three directions, chain combos, and try to do it all to the beat to earn the highest scores. The short quest relies heavily on replayability and high score chasing and your enjoyment will likely hinge on your affinity for the distinctive midwest emo soundtrack.
Up until Lies of P released, I thought it was impossible for anybody not named FromSoftware to make a great Souls-like. We’ve certainly seen plenty of teams adapt the formula to 2D successfully, but despite the similarities, those titles feel more like variants on the classic Metroidvania formula than a proper Souls-styled game. False Hero, though, leaves no question where it draws influence - this 3D Souls-like, the product of a single developer, is imbued with everything that made the Souls series great. It even manages to add its own twist to the formula, creating its own identity in the process.
When Star Fox Adventures originally released back in 2002, I skipped out. If you read my review on Star Fox, this might surprise you, given how much I love the series. But Adventures wasn’t really a Star Fox game, it was the Rare N64 game, Dinosaur Planet. It got an awkward Star Fox coat of paint, some poorly executed Arwing sections, and was dumped into the Star Fox universe, thanks to Nintendo leadership.
One of my favorite things about the original Splatoon was that while you were waiting for an online match to start, you could play a little 8-bit arcade style game. I even wrote an article about them here. I missed having them in the sequels, but I can understand why they took them out. I think most people would rather play in a practice arena doing what they’ll actually do in the match while they wait, and I think some of the extra arcade games were locked behind amiibo figures anyway. But I still liked them because I’m weird I guess. So I was pleasantly surprised that the arcade games made a return in Splatoon Raiders! I don’t even remember anyone talking about them in previews or reviews, so it was a surprise to me! So I’m going to talk about them here!
Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten. So here’s when those games get their due. Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
I'm getting closer to the end of my 360 games now, but it may be a few more weeks still before I move on to PS3 or Wii. I really can't wait to start those.
This is the last of the OG Xbox games I played from my collection. It's all DS now for a while.
In Stephen King's memoir In Writing, a good piece of advice (regarding reading habits) that King made was to read in small sips as opposed to big gulps. Which is more accessible depends on the person, their schedule, and how much time they have during a given day.
When the Nintendo Switch 2 released earlier this year, one of the launch games was the download only Welcome Tour. It was set up like a museum, and you controlled a little person as they walked around a giant Switch 2 and its accessories. You could play mini-games, try tech demos, and take quizzes on facts about the new console. To me, it sounded like a lot of silly, quirky fun. And I love games that have museums in them, whether it be Namco Museums or Animal Crossing. There was only one problem. They charged you for it. It really should’ve come with the system, and that’s what it’s going to be known for from here on out. I really wanted to boycott it and not buy it to support that kind of behavior. But here’s the thing. I only believe in boycotting if it doesn’t hurt yourself. And the game still sounded interesting enough to me that I didn’t want to miss out on it. Life is too short to miss out on what you think is fun. So I got it. It was only ten bucks anyway, and I can spend more money than that on fast food! So I figured I’d take you all on a tour of the Welcome Tour!
Remember those Tamagotchi virtual pet keychains that were super popular in the late 90s? Well they’ve never really gone away. In fact, back on the Nintendo DS, they had a series of games called Tamagotchi Corner Shop, and there were three of them! You ran little shops and would play touch screen mini-games to serve and help out other Tamagotchi customers. My brother Jeff and I were weirdly obsessed with those games back in the day, probably because we did like those virtual pets (Jeff was even a Tamagotchi for Halloween one year when he was little). Well, Tamagotchi Plaza is the sequel to those games, so of course I had to get it. There are a dozen shops for you to run, and two more if you have the Switch 2 version. I thought it might be fun to run through the shops in this game, so let’s go!
I ripped through my Switch rentals this week and saved what I thought I'd like best for last and, sure enough, I'm still playing it. I've even played it on multiple systems now. Here's everything though.
This is your lucky day! I’ve got more game reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
It’s time for my “Best Video Games of 2024 Awards Show!” Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
Mario & Luigi: Brothership was just released, so I thought it would be fun to rate all the Mario & Luigi games that have come out so far. There might be some slight spoiler warnings here and there, but I’ll keep you posted on those. We’ll start from the worst in the series to the best. OK, let’s begin!
It was all Switch this week. I feel like i'm cramming in playing the systems I largely ignored during the year in this last month. Better late than never.
Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten. So here’s when those games get their due. Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
My game session was interupted by a car repair and now a rain storm keeping me in the library for a while. I don't mind though because the library is my favorite place. So, anyway, I've changed up my gaming plan to simplify it all and started playing a few new and old things.
Valentine’s Day is this month, so I’m bringing the love with reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
These darn brick-breakers, that is. I've been trying to play the earliest gaming styles on Xbox to coincide with my console Gen 1 theme this month. It's been a struggle, and compromises have been made, but it's also been fun, if at times frustrating. Gen 1 might get a miss from me next year if I do this again.
Wow, 2023 has been an incredible year for gaming, one of the very best! And here we are at the end of the year, so let’s look back at some games, shall we? You guys probably know that I’m a big Nintendo guy. In fact, I don’t even have the other consoles (mostly because I don’t have time to play them all). This was a great year for Nintendo, we got so many fantastic games on the Switch. This year I beat a total of 26 games! (I was hoping to beat 30, but you know how it goes)
Finally, I am Switch exclusive right now. I already have youtube running for meal times, and I'm exploring the story and news apps thoroughly. I'm also just as impatient with every game I'm playing, taking breaks and jumping around like a manic flea from game to game. Well, maybe I've found a game I will stick to for a while in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. Details below.
