Speedie

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have high highs and low lows, the Teal Mask DLC offered a genuinely good reason to experience this generation if you're willing to pay a little more for extra content. Just the design of the new area alone is so enjoyable, having exploration depth while not feeling too overly expansive. A majority of the story is very interesting to follow, and my new favorite Pokémon character was even introduced in this expansion. This expansion is one of the better Pokémon experiences of the last few Generations.

I thought we'd done all we could do. I thought video games would only repeat themselves from this point forward. Nobody seems to be able to piece together a coherent new idea anymore. So who better than Jeppe Carlsen to bring the light back to video games. This is not only the most creative game I've played in years, but the flat-out best game, from design to my own personal enjoyment, to release in the 2020s. Thank you for this masterpiece.

This is absolutely my game of the year for 2022, as well as my game of the console for the Nintendo Switch. Getting a 100% on this game is fun, rewarding, and so worth it. Every second of playing this game is an absolute delight, and the amount it adds to the Kirby franchise for the future is outstanding.

This game accomplished absolutely everything it was trying to. It's an art presentation combining visual art, storytelling, and music into a short, easy-to-digest package. It takes only an hour or two to complete, making it a perfect game to sit down and take in all at once. It has simple little puzzles and a beautiful story to tell. It is absolutely a game worth experiencing.

Skyward Sword was a really intense entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise. Coming off of the darker, more intense Twilight Princess, Nintendo found a really great balance between that dark tone and triumphant hero feeling. There are so many hints to the idea of a future open world Zelda in this game, and its great to see where that all began. The biggest hinderance this game has is its controls. Just like the Wii, the Switch motion controls sometimes made you feel awesome, and sometimes made you very frustrated. Its a give and take, but the bad is sadly just as memorable as the good. Overall though, a great story with visual upgrades, memorable music, and a very important piece in the timeline for Legend of Zelda fans.

Pokémon Violet is the culmination of everything GameFreak had been working towards with Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Starting from the most obvious, performance is far from optimal. Sadly it is not the wonderous landscape and smooth adventure that we wanted it to be. Points have to be docked for that. What Pokémon Violet does well however, is just about everything else it has to offer! It is an wide open adventure that for the first time, you can take at your own pace! There is no required direction, and this Pokémon region is truly yours to explore. The new battle systems are not only wonderful for ease of use, but are also extremely enjoyable. Not to mention for the first time ever in a Nintendo game, I can honestly say that the online works exactly as intended. It's simple, its fast, and there is no difficulty in connection to other players for adventures and raids. This is one of the most fun Pokémon games to play, and moving forward we can return to ones that are enjoyable visually as well.

For the current market of video game, Dream Buffet sadly doesn't have enough content to warrant not being free. If the customizations were behind a 5 dollar paywall, that would be more understandable. While the game is a really fun time, especially locally with friends, it needs an expansion or two of content before its worth more than an hour of your time at a party. Great concept though, and will hopefully be supported!

Donut County delivers satisfying gameplay backed by a silly, ever expanding story. It isn't a very lengthy game which is perfect for an indie game based on a simple gimmick. The puzzle aspect of them game could've been expanded on slightly, but what was included was tame, and just diverse enough to keep it interesting. The sound design backs the game very well, with satisfying confirmation audio and a nice track full of little tunes.

As exciting as it was to see this game announced, it sadly didn't provide the competitive nature that most players hoped for. A majority of actions taken during the matches are futile considering one feature that takes place in the last two minutes decides most of the points earned in a match. Casually, the game is a fun time and is a good free to play experience with friends. Sadly, it was released with a competitive style in mind and didn't rise up to expectations.

As exciting as it was to see this game announced, it sadly didn't provide the competitive nature that most players hoped for. A majority of actions taken during the matches are futile considering one feature that takes place in the last two minutes decides most of the points earned in a match. Casually, the game is a fun time and is a good free to play experience with friends. Sadly, it was released with a competitive style in mind and didn't rise up to expectations.

You may want to stick this review out. It's a rollercoaster ride. There are two driving forces in this game. One force that takes the game in either direction. In the direction of being a good game, there is the amount of fan service in the game. New forms of Pokémon, an regional origin story, new strategies to collect Pokémon, Breath of the Wild menus, sounds, and gameplay. The negative driving force however is how long it takes for the player to be able to enjoy these things. It isn't as if the player is always learning new things that they must use in the gameplay. The opposite actually. Almost everything needed to complete the game is handed to you right off the bat. This is not an inherently bad feature. This kind of freedom allows each player to create individual experiences and choose their own way to complete each task. Sadly, in this game, there are no choices to be made. It's simply a game where you build your collection, with new environments only serving as a change of scenery. Even then, the same forest area is used for a majority of three out of five areas. Finally, the graphics are unacceptable. This is something that can be looked over when we talk about quality, since gameplay is most important, but it's a sad thought when you realize every once in a while how poor the graphics are. With all of the complaints somehow, someway, this game made me return to my desk and continue where I left off the night before. Why was I coming back? What kind of game do I turn on and start complaining about? Freedom. For once, you aren't just a Pokémon Trainer. You're a collector. A researcher. The one that others look up to. You are the obstacle in their way from the very start. For Pokémon fans this story is one they've wanted to know for so long, and want even more of in the future. It's Pokémon history being played out and created by you. The most important thing in the entire game is collecting and studying things about Pokémon that have never been such a large focus. Effort. That's what this game has. It's not the norm for the developers. It's unexplored territory. They made their mistakes, the game has it's flaws, but it has the soul that a good Pokémon game should have. They didn't leave out crucial features to make the game more marketable to wider audiences. They didn't make the story simple so everybody could follow it. It's a huge chapter in the Pokémon world and one that's worth experiencing, even through the flaws in it's core. As fans we all have our opinions about this game, but this game will absolutely be built on in the future, and is a foundation for the future of fun in the Pokémon franchise.

This has to be the most beautifully polished Pokémon game ever developed. The gameplay may not have been quite as engaging as the main line games, but wow was it beautiful. Let me start with the few thing I would've liked to see improved on in the game. in comparison to the first Pokémon Snap game, some of the environments feel much larger, but unfilled. You're left with a few courses where you can see spanning emptiness outside the map and it feels more like a simulation that an environment. Outside of that this game is everything it promised to be. It can often be immersive, especially with the inclusion of online features allowing players to show their individual experiences. After release there was a content update that added two more environments and some extensions and updates to already existing ones. It would be nice to see more content updates in the future and see the game getting supported more, especially with the competitive point system gaining quick popularity. For an immersive step into the Pokémon world, this is about as close as you'll get for now.

This is a highly disputed game, and understandably so. I avoided any spoilers on this game for years, not even knowing what the gameplay was like. I had no expectations or preconceived judgements about this game, and for me that was the best way to go about playing it. All I knew is that it was a short indie game, that was well talked about a few years ago, so I finally downloaded and played it. The story and back and forth interaction with Delilah, a long time park service employee, are the main focus points of Firewatch. The cool thing about that, is that you have to focus between speaking with Delilah, remembering things she tells you, and also making your way through your section of the forest and you receive new tasks. The developers were very aware that, while immersive, walking around their park was not the most exciting park of the game. At least not most of the time. As you walk, you're always given dialogue with Delilah that you, and Henry, can respond to and listen as more of their lives are revealed to each other. The writing and voice acting are stellar in this game. I was so encapsulated in these fake characters' lives and the voice actors delivered performances that few Triple A games have. Sarcasm, sadness, pain, reflection, joy, every line is delivered with emotional inflection and I can't applaud the team well enough for the amazing story they created. This game was clearly created by writing specialists, and not necessarily the most intense game designers, but in a four hour long indie game, that's fairly acceptable. Now, story is not the only thing the game has going for it. the twists and turns of the story provide an outstanding base for the environment to become more than just trees and tents in a park. Barely seeing any other humans in the game doesn't make the park feel any less lived in or explored somehow. The sounds of the forest begin to mean more and keep you on edge as you read collectables and make discoveries. The small world Henry lives in starts to close in even more around him as thing develop over time. Overall, this is a game that anybody with some free time and an open mind should absolutely experience. If you want constant action or inventive mechanics, you're not finding it here. What you will find though, is an adventure and experience that will stick with you and really play to your emotions.

The obvious biggest flaw within the game is the community, as mentioned by so many people before me, but that has nothing to do with the game itself, or my score. Riot Games did not create the community of the game, as developers really have no control over that. The gameplay is well crafted, and with the large pool of Champions to choose from, you have many ways to play the game. Or at least you should. The biggest flaw on this game within the bound's of Riot's control is the system for unlocking new Champions. gaining the materials needed to unlock a Champion come with each level, but it gets harder to level up over time, as it requires more experience. When choosing a Champion to unlock, you become flustered, knowing it will become harder and harder to get any of the Champions you don't decide to buy when you finally have enough "Blue Essence" to unlock one of your choosing. This makes the game stale after some time, and just plain not enjoyable when you mix this system with the repetitive gameplay. Without the slow moving character unlocking system, this could be a great online game, that players can have fresh experiences with each Champion they unlock.

Scoring this game was difficult. Free running games like this don't exist much anymore, but I'm so glad we had something like this. The exhilaration of getting a really good stride going in your run is like almost no other in video games, but there is a problem with the main gameplay mechanic. Without knowing where you are going, finding those long strides and confidently running at full speed become more rare. This is definitely a game that rewards a second or third playthrough. Aside from that though, I found very few issues with the game. The combat is simple and rewarding. The music, especially in the final level, is intense and fitting for each moment of the game. The slow sections let your adrenaline calm down and add a bit of puzzle solving to the mix. The graphics for a game made in 2008 are unbelievably beautiful, and the art style on top of that completes a washed out 1984 feeling world. The story doesn't only take place in the hand drawn cutscenes, but in the gameplay as well, making the player much more invested in the few characters that have multiple appearances. This game has so many things going for it that its few mistakes are so easily forgivable and overlooked. Mirror's Edge is an experience that won't be washed out in my mind the same way the city was washed out in their world.

This game is extremely simple, and a very fun couple of hours. The artistic part of the game is limited by the inability to tell much of a story, which is only a negative because they attempt to do it despite not having the resources to do so. The ending was quite unsatisfying, though it was definitely the climax of their artistic style. Now as I said at the beginning, this game is very fun. The puzzles have some decent complexity, and new concepts are introduced at consistent pace and feel very natural as they are brought in. The tone of the game is dark and lonely, which makes every stride towards the end feel more and more desperate and exciting. The ability to do that with any medium of media is an accomplishment in itself and makes the game worth playing. It's short, it's simple, but honestly it's a great time.

Few things in the first Ultimate Ninja Storm installment feel out of reach. With each now challenge, the further ahead tasks seem to come closer and closer to being within the player's ability to complete. The fighting system is satisfying, and has decent depth to its combos and mechanics. It's the kind of game that builds your hype to play it competitively as you move through the story mode. I'm no completionist, but the urge to 100% this game was unlike most other games I've played. I own the Ultimate Ninja Storm collection, and could've moved onto the second installment at any point, but that 100% and true ending felt so close that I had to take the opportunity to grasp it before moving onto the next game. The boss battles are a refreshing addition that aren't often seen in fighting games, not to mention the free roaming open world missions that can be taken, and the two original mini game missions that are played a few times through the ranks. Not until the final mission did I feel bored with the game or even finished playing it. It is a perfectly paced video game with great fan service for fans. The only bit of criticism is that toward the very end, the bonus missions start to make themselves noticeably repetitive, and could've done with cutting the fat of the last couple mini game repeats. I'm completely excited to have everything unlocked and have tournaments with my friends in this game. For it's time, it had no business being this immersive and complete as a full playthrough of the Naruto world and story as it was back then.

Pikmin Bloom accomplished one of the features that Pokemon GO! wanted to, which was getting people active. Where as Pokemon GO! has the main feature of distance events, Pikmin Bloom uses the mobile pedometer to count your steps. I've even found myself taking laps around work in my free time to help sprout a new Pikmin. Some features from Pokemon GO! are obviously not seen here, like PVP battling and shiny hunting. There are a few original ideas though that are very interesting. Firstly, Pikmin can be sent on "expeditions" where over a period of time they will go to a place you've discovered and then bring you back an item. Another feature is the flower pedals. Upon feeding your Pikmin nectar you get flower pedals that can be spread around the map for every player in the world to see. These pedals can also be used to sprout larger flowers on the map that may have their own events. It's an exercise app and a video game wrapped into one convenient app.

This game deserves to be rated on what it was trying to be, not compared to Triple A titles. In the age of smartphone apps we can now appreciate this fun little Wii app as a collection tool for children. You can collect Pokemon daily, expand your farm, and collect toys that the Pokemon can interact with. It isn't the most in depth original app on the Wii, but it's a cute Generation 4 add-on for Pokemon fans. Bonus points come from the connectivity between Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum versions with this app.

Story is a main focus for this game. Pokemon had been adding more and more story to their games up to the release of Pokemon White Version and this game delivered one of the best stories yet. It challenges many things that you think about the Pokemon world and treats you more like a true hero than a kid playing a video game. Almost all of the new content to this game is memorable and fantastic, especially the season changing feature, where the seasons in game will change every few weeks. Pokemon White Version also had the cleanest graphics and art out of all of the 2D Pokemon games to compliment its variety of music, moods, and events. The reason this game falls a bit short is mostly its ambitiousness not quite paying off. The quick connection feature is something you rarely use, that Game Freak seems to have put a lot of time into. It seems like they wanted to expand into an online oriented game before moving the series to 3DS, when they should have waited for their next main series game instead. The "triple battles" was something I was so excited for when the game first came out, but I'm not sure I ever even used it. Most of what Game Freak did for this game, was a massive leap for the series, but they tried to do too much, too fast. The game is definitely an exciting and engaging one, but too many features were a let down.

"Metroid Moments" have been eliminated from the equation in the newest instalment of the series. Besides some of the bumbling critics and players, who aren't very good at video games to begin with, everybody will find that every single section of the game flows smoothly back and forth between locations. The designers knew exactly where to put doors and blocks for you to find them after getting new power-ups without ever shoving them right in your face. I have limited experience with Metroid games, so it's not as if I knew what to look for already. It was so difficult to put the controller down as I kept wanting to get the next power-up, then beat the next boss, then find the next area, and repeat. Credit isn't given enough to the enemy designs in this game and how well Mercury Steam and Nintendo did with them. Regular enemies, the E.M.M.I., the mini bosses, the bosses, and then on top of all that, they found a completely sensible way to make the easy enemies on past locations more difficult to face when you return later in the game. It impresses me to thing about how much perfect planning must have gone into this game to make it as fun as it is to run and gun, discover and adventure in Dread. It sounds like I'm praising this as the perfect game right? So why a 9/10? Well, it's 2021 and video game writers should be putting a little more effort into making the story something we can connect with an understand. The story in Dread was interesting when mentioned, but rarely ever progressing. I suppose it's difficult in a 7-9 hour game to pack more than 30 minutes of story content into it, so I'm not even sure myself how this could've been improved. Another thing to mention about 2021 is that the video game industry has made it acceptable to release broken and unfinished games and sell them at a $60 price point. Nintendo still has you to falter and accept this low standard, and it has to be commended how hard this game was worked on to make such a complicated formula accessible to everybody immediately at launch. One of the Switch's best library additions to date.

When played with friends, Breakpoint brings lots of fun features. My run through the game was with one other person, and together, we really did have to plan and coordinate in order to successfully complete missions. We got to explore the entire huge island together, which took plenty of time on its own, and then aside from that got to experience the campaign together and theorize about where the plot was going. There are some issues with bugs and online connection, but that hasn't been a huge issue for me at all. I had to redo maybe three small sections of missions in totoals due to bugs, which was lame, but nothing detrimental to how the game overall. With some minor tweaks, this could be a great game. I will say the story is nothing to go crazy about, but it certainly isn't boring. You really do feel like your missions are purposeful, even though they're technically all the exact same tasks at different locations. There are plenty of collectibles and little things to look into for people who really are deeply interested in the story. For everybody else, there's so much exploring and upgrading to do to last you weeks. For the bugs within the game, I've really seen nothing major. I haven't fallen through the map, my game hasn't crashed, and I've never lost game progress. The only real bug issue I've had in being unable to find or pick up intel, or the issue of reching a checkpoint that does register, meaning you can't progress. The few times it happened, I reset and it took less than ten minutes to get back to where I was. The online connection is bad. I don't play the online so it personally doesn't bother me, but it just doesn't work well sadly. Bug and server connection need to be top priority for Ubisoft, but after that, they do have a really good game on their hands.

Pokemon Y is quite the innovative piece of art. The overarching theme of the game, being a lush Paris lifestyle with lots of gardens and villages, follows you throughout the entire game, while still keeping slight contrast. Game Freak had a lot on their plate trying to nudge Pokemon towards the world of 3D, and they did a great job of keeping it tame. Changing up the art style and dimensions of an already successful franchise is tough business, but Game Freak knew what kind of work they had cut out for them. Music carried the heart and soul of Pokemon through the entire game, reminding you that when you enter a new city, or your Pokemon is sent out to battle, that this is still the Pokemon adventure you set off on long ago. The Mega Evolution idea was very interesting, and added a cool new power to play around with about half way through the game. It immediately made sense as part of the Pokemon world, even if you don't quite understand it at first. The story of the game follows suit with the rest of Pokemon games. It's not awfully original, but the developers clearly tried to draw a line in the story to make it stand out from the rest. In all honesty, it didn't feel like a whole new world, just a new region to explore and conquer, which I loved, though I'm not sure how new Pokemon players feel about the lack of hand holding. Pokemon designs are fresh, the region and story stand out from the crowd, and there are several new features to get accustomed with and enjoy. There isn't much wrong with this game at all other that it's seemingly careful approach to not diverge from the typical ideas of the Pokemon series. Even then though, they pulled it off well and made sure it didn't fall into forgetfulness. Being not an awfully hard game, it's worth the pickup for anybody with a 3DS looking for a new adventure to dive into.

Pokemon X is quite the innovative piece of art. The overarching theme of the game, being a lush Paris lifestyle with lots of gardens and villages, follows you throughout the entire game, while still keeping slight contrast. Game Freak had a lot on their plate trying to nudge Pokemon towards the world of 3D, and they did a great job of keeping it tame. Changing up the art style and dimensions of an already successful franchise is tough business, but Game Freak knew what kind of work they had cut out for them. Music carried the heart and soul of Pokemon through the entire game, reminding you that when you enter a new city, or your Pokemon is sent out to battle, that this is still the Pokemon adventure you set off on long ago. The Mega Evolution idea was very interesting, and added a cool new power to play around with about half way through the game. It immediately made sense as part of the Pokemon world, even if you don't quite understand it at first. The story of the game follows suit with the rest of Pokemon games. It's not awfully original, but the developers clearly tried to draw a line in the story to make it stand out from the rest. In all honesty, it didn't feel like a whole new world, just a new region to explore and conquer, which I loved, though I'm not sure how new Pokemon players feel about the lack of hand holding. Pokemon designs are fresh, the region and story stand out from the crowd, and there are several new features to get accustomed with and enjoy. There isn't much wrong with this game at all other that it's seemingly careful approach to not diverge from the typical ideas of the Pokemon series. Even then though, they pulled it off well and made sure it didn't fall into forgetfulness. Being not an awfully hard game, it's worth the pickup for anybody with a 3DS looking for a new adventure to dive into.

Ultra Sun is loaded with content, most of which you may never use. Even after finishing the game there will be so much for the player to discover. I originally though I would dislike the new style of not having Gym Leaders, but I was happily surprised by the originality of the Island Challenges, and how much I enjoyed them. The story of this game is very engaging, and the characters fulfill the definitive personalities we've come to expect from Pokemon characters. This is the most original of all Pokemon games to date, but it didn't let go of most core qualities that fans love about Pokemon. The difficulty definitely spikes in this game, but its nothing a casual player can't manage. It's simply speed bumps that require more training of your Pokemon, which in turn cause you to explore more of the region and find all of the secrets hidden within. For the first time in Pokemon history, you truly feel as if the journey is yours, and not the character's on the screen. Between taking pictures with you Pokemon, petting them, exploring the region with them, and fulfilling your quest with them, its a true Pokemon journey you won't forget.

If you're looking to compare this game to the rest of the Pokemon series, don't bother. Game Freak is taking their world famous series in a different direction, and as a life long Pokemon fan, I'm not upset at all. There are new introductions to the series between battle functions and main quest direction that keep things interesting at all times. There is of course room for improvement, as with any video game produced, but it's plenty of fun, and a welcome introduction to my lineup of Pokemon game cases. When the game was first announced, and we were told that the National Pokedex was gone (meaning not every existing Pokemon would be in the game) I was quite upset to say the least. I had a feeling some of my favorite Pokemon would be cut, and I was correct. Looking back on it, I was an idiot. The 400 Pokemon included in the game fit so perfectly into the world, being spread out not too thin, but also not having an overwhelming variety in each area. The game feels balanced on the combat side of things due to the limit on specific Pokemon and abilities. Cutting Pokemon from the final project wasn't a split second decision of laziness, it was a decision made to ensure the world feels expansive enough without being crowded, it it works like a charm. The story driven content in the game isn't very deep. Not in the slightest. The sad excuse for the "Team" of this generation is something to be disappointed over for sure. The climax has very little build up at all, and a majority of the game is just the protagonist children talking about how they'll be the best trainers there ever was. The post game content is a bit better. More witty, funny, and overall entertaining, but short. I do wish there was deeper lore in the game, or really any significant lore at all to make me excited about the world, but sadly there is no hope. The one slight upside, is that some of the character development is very fun to follow, and caused a few smiles and laughs from me watching the characters change, or chose not to. The online features work a bit better than I expected. A bit laggy in the Wild Area sometimes, but otherwise very smooth and reliable. The servers had some issues at the start, but that has nothing to do with the actual experience I had while they were active. The new Raid addition to the game, as well as Trades and Battles are very smooth and work like a regular online game server, which is more than is usually expected from Nintendo. In conclusion, this generation is very fun, without a doubt. If compared to the rest of the Pokemon games, sure, it's towards the bottom of the list. As a standalone Switch game though, it truly is a great experience! If you can will yourself to simply get excited about a new video game, and jump into it with a positive, or even neutral mindset, you truly will enjoy yourself. The game is worth a full play through, and deserves praise for the things it does well.

Ultra Moon is loaded with content, most of which you may never use. Even after finishing the game there will be so much for the player to discover. I originally though I would dislike the new style of not having Gym Leaders, but I was happily surprised by the originality of the Island Challenges, and how much I enjoyed them. The story of this game is very engaging, and the characters fulfill the definitive personalities we've come to expect from Pokemon characters. This is the most original of all Pokemon games to date, but it didn't let go of most core qualities that fans love about Pokemon. The difficulty definitely spikes in this game, but its nothing a casual player can't manage. It's simply speed bumps that require more training of your Pokemon, which in turn cause you to explore more of the region and find all of the secrets hidden within. For the first time in Pokemon history, you truly feel as if the journey is yours, and not the character's on the screen. Between taking pictures with you Pokemon, petting them, exploring the region with them, and fulfilling your quest with them, its a true Pokemon journey you won't forget.

If you're looking to compare this game to the rest of the Pokemon series, don't bother. Game Freak is taking their world famous series in a different direction, and as a life long Pokemon fan, I'm not upset at all. There are new introductions to the series between battle functions and main quest direction that keep things interesting at all times. There is of course room for improvement, as with any video game produced, but it's plenty of fun, and a welcome introduction to my lineup of Pokemon game cases. When the game was first announced, and we were told that the National Pokedex was gone (meaning not every existing Pokemon would be in the game) I was quite upset to say the least. I had a feeling some of my favorite Pokemon would be cut, and I was correct. Looking back on it, I was an idiot. The 400 Pokemon included in the game fit so perfectly into the world, being spread out not too thin, but also not having an overwhelming variety in each area. The game feels balanced on the combat side of things due to the limit on specific Pokemon and abilities. Cutting Pokemon from the final project wasn't a split second decision of laziness, it was a decision made to ensure the world feels expansive enough without being crowded, it it works like a charm. The story driven content in the game isn't very deep. Not in the slightest. The sad excuse for the "Team" of this generation is something to be disappointed over for sure. The climax has very little build up at all, and a majority of the game is just the protagonist children talking about how they'll be the best trainers there ever was. The post game content is a bit better. More witty, funny, and overall entertaining, but short. I do wish there was deeper lore in the game, or really any significant lore at all to make me excited about the world, but sadly there is no hope. The one slight upside, is that some of the character development is very fun to follow, and caused a few smiles and laughs from me watching the characters change, or chose not to. The online features work a bit better than I expected. A bit laggy in the Wild Area sometimes, but otherwise very smooth and reliable. The servers had some issues at the start, but that has nothing to do with the actual experience I had while they were active. The new Raid addition to the game, as well as Trades and Battles are very smooth and work like a regular online game server, which is more than is usually expected from Nintendo. In conclusion, this generation is very fun, without a doubt. If compared to the rest of the Pokemon games, sure, it's towards the bottom of the list. As a standalone Switch game though, it truly is a great experience! If you can will yourself to simply get excited about a new video game, and jump into it with a positive, or even neutral mindset, you truly will enjoy yourself. The game is worth a full play through, and deserves praise for the things it does well.

This was my first experience with Bioshock, and it was definitely a great one. For its time, the graphics and atmosphere were stunning, and it really enveloped me into the universe. Throughout the entire game, most things never got stale. There were consistent additions to abilities, new enemies being introduced in perfect increments, and a big arsenal expansion towards the later half of the game. The one thing that got boring to me in this game was the combat. Although new enemies with different weapons or abilities were added frequently, the way to combat them was pretty consistent. Even the toughest enemies in the game all seemed to be fought the same way. Luckily, the game gives you a way to switch up combat on your own, if you choose to challenge yourself. With the different weapons and abilities, there are many different ways to turn these stale fights into something new, if you wish. I would have preferred some more dynamic enemies, but at least you can fight the same enemies about eighty different ways. The story of this game is its strongest suit. When the combat began getting stale, and I would have to leave the game, thinking about the story would drag me right back. Every secret I found, every plot point that arose, I knew it was all connected somehow, but I just couldn't put the pieces together. Every single time I wasn't playing this game between the few days it took me to beat it, I spent thinking about the story and characters, and how it was all related. Everything comes together at a beautifully slow pace in this game, and that is what carries it into being such a great game.

At the end of 2018, I sat in my college dorm room wanting to relax after studying. The weekend was coming and I had some time to myself. I picked up the DS that I'd brought with me, but hadn't used yet since arriving at college. Upon looking through my game collection I came past Phantom Hourglass. This was a game I had gotten tripped up on as a kid, being that I was probably too young for an adventure/puzzle game. I decided to give it a shot and see if my favorite franchise was as consistent on the DS as it always had been for home consoles, and boy was it ever. Before I continue, I will follow up on my past remarks. The Legend of Zelda is my favorite video game franchise, and thus I may have enjoyed the game more for the similarities and differences from its predecessors as well as follow up titles. The art style of the game is so childish and cute, yet right at the beginning of the game you are presented with a dark backstory. The dungeons in the game have ominous music and lighting, which makes everything so much more exciting. You begin to feel like a helpless kid, just as the main character is initially portrayed as. Then, it happens. You finish your first puzzles. You beat your first dungeon. All of a sudden, you aren't such a helpless kid anymore, you're an adventurer! You lose yourself within the game, which is constantly moving you along to new islands and throwing speed bumps in your adventure. The innocent art style and mood of the world always sticks around, and you begin to feel like it's your job to protect it. I've never become so engaged in the fun concepts of a DS game as I did with Phantom Hourglass. If you're finding yourself wanting to pick up a classic DS game for fun, Phantom Hourglass is a great pick, and may just pull you back to the handheld console for a bit.

Story is a main focus for this game. Pokemon had been adding more and more story to their games up to the release of Pokemon Black Version and this game delivered one of the best stories yet. It challenges many things that you think about the Pokemon world and treats you more like a true hero than a kid playing a video game. Almost all of the new content to this game is memorable and fantastic, especially the season changing feature, where the seasons in game will change every few weeks. Pokemon Black Version also had the cleanest graphics and art out of all of the 2D Pokemon games to compliment its variety of music, moods, and events. The reason this game falls a bit short is mostly its ambitiousness not quite paying off. The quick connection feature is something you rarely use, that Game Freak seems to have put a lot of time into. It seems like they wanted to expand into an online oriented game before moving the series to 3DS, when they should have waited for their next main series game instead. The "triple battles" was something I was so excited for when the game first came out, but I'm not sure I ever even used it. Most of what Game Freak did for this game, was a massive leap for the series, but they tried to do too much, too fast. The game is definitely an exciting and engaging one, but too many features were a let down.

The game as a whole is so satisfying to play, with every attack feeling skillful and accurate. As a party game and competitive game, Smash stands out above just about every other fighting game, and the new Adventure mode can keep anybody playing the game whether or not the friends are around. If played like a new version of one of its predecessors, Melee, then this game is the new and improved Smash. That being said, the online servers are really bad, even five months after the game's release, several updates, and the fact that the game is on the Switch. With a new ranked system in a competitive fighting game, you think it would be their primary focus to perfect the online, but now. Not only do the connection issues make the game unplayable at times, but even when you do get into a good game, there's a chance it's not the mode you have as your preferred mode, meaning you'll lose rank based off **** mode you didn't even want. The online feature of this game could have made it the last Smash Nintendo ever needed to made, but there are still some flaws that the game has always struggled with. Play this game with your friends, or at LAN tournaments, but don't be driven away by the online as so many people have been already.

I have no idea why I thought this game was weird when I was younger. After recently playing through the game, I found that this was one of the Wii gems that people will talk about as one of the most successful games on the console. There's only two problems I have. The first, is that the Gamecube controlled much better for first person games. The controls for the Wii remote are much too sensitive, and pointing towards the sensor for so long tires out your arm. My second issue with the game is how easy to get lost. The game is so much fun, and the exploration is never ending, unless you get lost. In an exciting Nintendo action game such as this one, the only filler between action is usually puzzles. Well this one holds true to that, with the exception of walking around aimlessly until you just look up the walkthrough. Don't let these issues deter you from the game though, as they are very minor as to how much fun and satisfaction this game provides with its action shooting and optional item searching. I only highlighted the two issues as most of my review as warning of what to be weary about, so you can enjoy this fantastic throwback game without interruption.

Let me start by saying I don't believe there is a better version of this game between the Nintendo 64 and the 3DS. Both games can actually be quite different experiences depending on how you play them, but if I had to choose one to replay, it would be this version. The cleaner graphics allow for a much better understanding of what is happening around you, and quite frankly will not scare your children nearly as much as the Nintendo 64 version scarred the minds of many kids who played this game for the first time on Christmas of 1998 (or Thanksgiving if your family is into that kind of thing). Ocarina of Time is considered one of, if not the best video game of all time by most major and minor video game reviewers and journalists, so for it to be remade with better graphics, on a handheld console, with gyro controls, and in the option of 3D was a huge risk for Nintendo and the Zelda team, but they nailed it. The gyro controls flopped on many games, but not this one. Aiming your bow and arrow or grappling hook on your own using your DS provides a much cleaner and quicker system of aim and shoot than the Nintendo 64 was able to offer, and sometimes the 3D option combined with the first person perspective of the aiming items immerses you so much within the game your heart begins to beat twice as fast when you aim down an enemy with your bow. All in all the 3DS version of this game balances nostalgia and gameplay perfectly. They improved on the only minor issues of the original game, while (aside from the beautifully advanced graphics) not getting rid of anything we love and fear about the original 3D Hyrule.

This game is not a mainline Pokemon game, nor is it an RPG game to be taken too seriously. Let's Go, Pikachu is a visitation back to Kanto for any fans of the game since the first two generations of the game or their remakes, yet at the same time serves as an amazing way to introduce today's youth to Pokemon on it's new home console. This game is unique in that fact that it balances all of the possibilities in Pokemon better than I've ever seen. There is statistical EV and IV training for serious competitors, an easier shiny hunting method for collectors, a spin off story to the generation one games, and simple gameplay for the most casual players. This game offers a plethora of paths to choose from as a Pokemon Trainer, and makes every one of them provide the player with hours upon hours of fun. As a filler between the last Pokemon games, and the new ones coming to the Switch, Let's Go Pikachu will keep Pokemon casuals satisfied.