Tag: Switch

Review round-up: Switch eShop special

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

Last week a metric fuckton of games (trust me, I weighed it) were released on the Switch eShop, so I spent the weekend rinsing the shit out of some of them for your consumer advice pleasure. In today’s round up:

• is Thimbleweed Park more like Monkey Island or Space Chimps?
• is Golf Story a legend at fore play, or an awkward fumble out-of-bounds?
• does Picross S offer another brilliant square meal, or should it be blocked?
• is Butcher a glorious helping of gore, or a grotty little gunge pit?
• does Binaries offer double delights, or a second helping of slop?
• does Conga Master Party have toe-tapping skills, or two left feet?
• is Deemo an operatic masterpiece, or a Fisher Price xylophone? Continue reading “Review round-up: Switch eShop special” →

Pokken Tournament DX (Switch) review

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment
Nintendo / Bandai Namco Studios
Nintendo Switch

Pokken Tournament was a game that deserved better.

Originally released in Japanese arcades, this odd fighting game eventually made it to the Wii U in March 2016, by which time Nintendo’s system was already hanging onto a cliff edge by its pinky.

Despite this it still managed to shift around 1.3 million copies, which is bloody good going when you consider only 13 million Wii U consoles were sold.

With Pokken Tournament DX, the hope is surely that – as with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – by porting the game over to Switch it’ll get another chance at reaching a wider audience.

It really does deserve to, mind you, because it’s actually a fun little fighter that makes good use of the Pokemon licence. Continue reading “Pokken Tournament DX (Switch) review” →

The complete history of Nintendo arcade games

Published on by Chris Scullion19 Comments

A couple of days ago Nintendo streamed its latest Nintendo Direct presentation.

For many the most notable announcement was that Doom and Wolfenstein II are coming to the Switch, while the five minutes of new Super Mario Odyssey footage was a great way to wrap things up and get people talking after the Direct had ended.

For massively nerdy Nintendo historians (like me), though, the biggest news of the Direct was that Hamster Corporation – the studio currently responsible for the regular Neo-Geo games appearing on Switch and other consoles – will be bringing some of Nintendo’s old arcade games to the Switch as part of its Arcade Archives series. Continue reading “The complete history of Nintendo arcade games” →

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle review

Published on by Chris Scullion2 Comments
Ubisoft / Ubisoft Paris
Nintendo Switch

Contrary to popular belief, the Rabbids haven’t always been irritating, overly French characters who’ve only ever starred in shite games.

There was one underrated Wii game, the now forgotten Rabbids Go Home, in which Ubisoft’s loopy lagomorphs (that’s right) ditched their usual mini-game mediocrity for an adventure game that was genuinely hilarious. I promise.

I’ll talk about Rabbids Go Home some other time: the important thing is that it’s always been proof to me that as annoying as the Rabbids usually are (that ‘funny’ scream cuts right through me), they can be entertaining if used well. It’s just that this has only happened once before.

Well, you can now make that ‘twice’, because Ubisoft has once again managed to pull off a Rabbids game that will genuinely raise a smile. And this time, Nintendo’s along for the ride. Continue reading “Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle review” →

Sonic Mania (Switch) review

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments
Sega / Christian Whitehead
Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC (Switch version reviewed)

I fucking hated the Chemical Plant Zone.

If all the zones in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 were like family members, the Chemical Plant Zone was my racist uncle: it was part of a larger group I loved, but any time I encountered it I had a lengthy, uncomfortable time interacting with it.

Even as a young 9-year-old sprog who was obsessed with Sonic and excitedly got his copy of the sequel on what was officially known as Sonic Twosday – Tuesday, 21 November 1992 – the Chemical Plant Zone rubbed me up the wrong way.

Yes, friends, I hated it. But the key word is ‘hated’, in the past tense. Amazingly, nearly 25 years later, I’ve come to peace with it: and it’s thanks to Sonic Mania. Continue reading “Sonic Mania (Switch) review” →

Monster Hunter XX Switch demo hands-on video

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Capcom has released a playable demo of the Switch version of Monster Hunter XX on the Japanese eShop. Being a brave warrior, I decided to try it out and record my findings in video form for your benefit. Continue reading “Monster Hunter XX Switch demo hands-on video” →

Splatoon 2: single-player review

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment
Nintendo EPD / Nintendo
Switch

Splatoon 2 is out this Friday and yer man Scullion’s been playing it for the past week. Well, sort of.

You see, I received my review code the day I headed out to Canada to visit my father-in-law, and it turns out my Switch can’t detect his router (it’s fixable but I don’t want to mess about with his stuff).

As such, my online multiplayer experience with the game has been limited to about seven or eight matches that I’ve had while sitting in Ontario malls, connected to the mall Wi-Fi as I’ve waited for Louise to finish shopping.

That certainly isn’t enough to justify a review of the game’s multiplayer aspect, so here’s the deal: having an offline Switch still hasn’t prevented me from rinsing the utter piss out of Splatoon’s single-player Hero mode instead.

Here, then, is my review: not of Splatoon 2 as a whole, but of what you have available to you any time you’re playing without an internet connection (on certain public transport, for example). Continue reading “Splatoon 2: single-player review” →

FIFA 18 Switch hands-on preview

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Note: Because of restrictions placed by EA, I wasn’t allowed to capture any gameplay footage or screenshots of FIFA 18 on Switch while I was playing it.

I also wasn’t provided with any screenshots, and I don’t agree with showing Xbox One and PS4 screens in their place, because they aren’t an accurate representation of how the Switch version looks.

To make up for this, instead of screenshots of FIFA 18 on Switch, I’ve included my favourite Celtic goals against Rangers.

Quick disclaimer: I’m an enormous FIFA fan. I saved my pocket money for months to buy the first FIFA International Soccer on the Mega Drive on the day it launched in December 1993, and although PES took over my attention in the early 2000s (because of course it did) it still didn’t stop me buying every FIFA game over the years.

I’m not ashamed then to say that, after Super Mario Odyssey, FIFA 18 is the game I was most looking forward to try out when I visited Nintendo’s UK HQ earlier this week.

EA is infamous for fucking over Nintendo fans in recent times when it’s come to its sports games. FIFA 13 on Wii U was just an enhanced FIFA 12 with all the good modes taken out: this led to understandably poor sales which EA then pointed to as a reason never to make another Wii U FIFA.

As such, FIFA 18 marks the first time in FIVE YEARS that Nintendo fans will be able to play FIFA on a home console, and the first time they’ll be able to play ‘proper’ FIFA on a handheld (because, let’s face it, the 3DS versions couldn’t quite handle it even though they did their best).

I held my breath as I selected the FIFA 18 icon on the Switch I was using. “Please don’t bottle this one,” I thought. After just a minute into my first match, I exhaled. It’s legit. Continue reading “FIFA 18 Switch hands-on preview” →

Fire Emblem Warriors hands-on preview

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to be invited to Nintendo’s UK headquarters,where I was sat in front of a Switch for three hours and given free reign to play through its E3 demos without any annoying queues.

Over the next couple of weeks, expect a bunch of hands-on preview articles in which I give my views on these demos: starting with this one.

I have a strange relationship with the Warriors games.

Over the years I’ve played loads of Koei Tecmo’s Musou titles (as they’re known in Japan). Whether it’s the main Dynasty Warriors series, the spin-off Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi games, or one of the licensed tie-ins based on the likes of Gundam, One Piece and Fist Of The North Star, the process has always been the same for me.

I almost always start by running aimlessly around, because in the space of time since I last played a game in the series I’ve forgotten how I’m expected to make progress. Continue reading “Fire Emblem Warriors hands-on preview” →

Nintendo E3 2017 Digital Event: exclusive script leak

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

After revealing the full scripts for Sony and Microsoft’s E3 2017 press conference, yer man Scullion is also finally ready to shed light on Nintendo’s offering.

Content is subject to change, but it really won’t. This is cast-iron, mate. Continue reading “Nintendo E3 2017 Digital Event: exclusive script leak” →