Author: Chris Scullion

Chris Scullion is a Scottish video games journalist who's been covering video games professionally for 16 years. For the first six years of his career he worked at the Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, then became the Games Editor of CVG before its untimely end. After setting up his own site, Tired Old Hack, Chris then joined Video Games Chronicle (VGC) where he is currently Features Editor. He has a passion for retro games and cataloguing their history, hence his ongoing series of console encyclopedia books (search his name on Amazon).

Ultra Street Fighter II and Super Bomberman R hands-on previews

Published on by Chris Scullion4 Comments

Header image by Jorge Vargas

Two of the games I played at last month’s Switch UK premiere event share a lot in common.

Both are based on classic games that were bigger in the ‘90s, both are heavily focused on multiplayer gameplay, and both have received some criticism for their rumoured £40-£50 price points.

Having had the chance to briefly play both, it’s clear this is an argument that will continue until they’re released, and likely beyond that. Continue reading “Ultra Street Fighter II and Super Bomberman R hands-on previews” →

Snipperclips hands-on preview

Published on by Chris Scullion9 Comments

snipperclips_art3For every big Nintendo franchise out there – your Marios, your Zeldas, your Metroids – there’s usually another smaller one that’s widely ignored by the gaming public in general.

Sometimes these are proper retail games: the likes of Band Bros, Custom Robo Arena, Excitebots, the Bit Generations series and New Style Boutique were all strong titles that were so underappreciated they may as well have had photos of Ben Affleck on the cover (he’s a cinema legend, deal with it).

More often than not, though, these ignored gems have been digital-only releases tucked away in each Nintendo system’s rarely browsed eShop. Indulge me for a second, there’s a big list coming because this really annoys me.

Pushmo and its sequels. Art Style PiCOPiCT. Dr Mario & Germ Buster. Three separate Mario vs Donkey Kong games. Art Style Kubos (Precipice in the US). Hydroventure. Excitebike World Rally. Dillon’s Rolling Western. Harmoknight. BoxBoy and BoxBoxBoy. All seven Picross e games.

These were all digital titles published by Nintendo that were thoroughly enjoyed by me and most of those who bought them, but were tragically ignored by the masses and ultimately didn’t sell as well as they could and should have.

If you’re thinking of buying a Switch, please don’t let Snipperclips become the latest member of that club. Continue reading “Snipperclips hands-on preview” →

Arms hands-on preview

Published on by Chris Scullion4 Comments

arms-uk-boxThere was a moment when I was playing Arms (not ARMS: come on, people) where I was suddenly hit with a flashback of something I’d experienced nearly a decade before.

It was when I performed a grab move in the game, flinging both my extendable arms at my opponent and pulling them towards me for a beat down.

“Shake the controllers”, the rep at the Switch event told me. “Shake them fast and you’ll do more damage.”

So I did. And as I did, I suddenly found myself at the Wii post-E3 event in 2007 again, trying out Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games for the first time.

“Shake the Remote,” the rep told me back then. “Shake it fast and you’ll run faster.”

So I did. And I convinced myself then that it was a fad and ‘waggling’ wasn’t going to be a popular control method for too long.

We meet again, Old Scratch. Continue reading “Arms hands-on preview” →

Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Switch hands-on preview

Published on by Chris Scullion5 Comments

zeldabotw-boxI wasn’t fortunate enough to get to play the Breath Of The Wild Wii U demo back when it was doing the rounds after E3 last year.

By all accounts, the demo I played last week was the same as that one, with the only obvious difference being that this time it was running on Switch hardware.

Since the contents of the demo itself are more than half a year old now, I figured I’d spare you the same rundown of what it entails, what I got to see and the like. Every site worth its salt already has a hands-on preview of the Wii U version in its archives somewhere, so me adding my own would be like pissing into Lake Hylia.

What I can do, though, is tell you how it feels playing the game on the Switch, as well as going into other details like playing with the Joy-Con Grip and how easy it is to do the whole ‘switching from TV to handheld’ process. Continue reading “Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Switch hands-on preview” →

Let’s not piss around – the Switch is a handheld

Published on by Chris Scullion11 Comments

nintendoswitch_hardware-0-0Ever since the late 1980s, when the Game Boy started its global dominance, there has been an overwhelming agreement on the difference between home consoles and handhelds.

A home console is one that, as the name suggests, can be played at home: you plug it into your television, sit back and enjoy all the platform-jumping, goal-scoring, enemy-fragging shindiggery you want from the comfort of your sofa.

A handheld, meanwhile, is a console you can take on the move with you. It has its own screen and, crucially, never needs a TV. You can take it wherever you like and play games on it no matter where you are in the world.

That’s why I’m really bewildered at the way many online are comparing the Switch to other consoles (including the Wii U). Although Nintendo – for some bizarre reason I still can’t comprehend – is adamant that the Switch is a home console, that’s frankly bullshit. It’s a handheld, and anyone saying otherwise is… well, ‘wrong’ sounds harsh. Not right, basically. Continue reading “Let’s not piss around – the Switch is a handheld” →

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe hands-on preview

Published on by Chris Scullion8 Comments

mario-kart-8-deluxe-boxThe reaction to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been oddly tepid so far.

Maybe there’s a slight sense of disappointment that while Splatoon gets its own proper sequel, Mario Kart 8 instead gets an enhanced re-release.

Or maybe it’s just the fact that this is the first time in Mario Kart history that Nintendo has dipped back into the same well rather than offering a brand new helping of tracks, characters and gameplay mechanics.

Whatever the reason, I don’t share the same indifference. I believe Mario Kart 8 is the best game in the series, so getting the chance to play it wherever I want in the world is something that would excite me even if it was a straight carbon copy of the Wii U game. Continue reading “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe hands-on preview” →

Nintendo Switch hardware hands-on impressions

Published on by Chris Scullion9 Comments

Yesterday I attended the UK Nintendo Switch Premiere in London’s Hammersmith Apollo (or whatever it’s called these days).

There I went hands on with a bunch of games planned to launch for the Switch in its first couple of months.

Over the next week or so I’m going to be writing up a series of in-depth hands-on articles for each of these games, one at a time (except for Splatoon 2, which I unfortunately didn’t get time to try out).

Before that though, it makes sense that I would give my thoughts on the Switch hardware itself: its strengths, any weaknesses it may have and, ultimately, whether I personally think it’s worth the £279 / $299 price that’s caused so much controversy. Continue reading “Nintendo Switch hardware hands-on impressions” →