Video Games

I just played the new Mario Kart 8. As good as all of the previous games have been, Mario Kart 8 for the WiiU is a cut above.  Quite simply put, it may just be the best Mario Kart game ever made.  Come find out why.

Hit the links with this all new addition to the Mario Golf series! A staple of the Mushroom Kingdom brand of gaming, Mario Golf has been crushing balls for a long time. Now on the 3DS, Mario Golf: World Tour branches into the realm of the third dimension, and with online and local multiplayer, this is one little golf game that isn’t so little.

I’ve never been able to figure out what Kirby is, but does anybody really know? It’s always been rumoured that he got his name from a lawyer that defended Nintendo in a lawsuit 25 years ago, but what species is a pink ball of nothing with triangular arms and feet? Video games never have to make sense, and that’s the best thing about them, right? Kirby’s back for more wind sucking, enemy mimicking, side scrolling fun in Kirby: Triple Deluxe for the Nintendo 3DS. One thing’s for sure: It’s nothing like you’ve ever played before.  Read on to find out more.

Known for many things, but few of them painterly fairytales about lost princesses, Ubisoft is known for quality games and talented people. These last two have combined to bring something new and striking, though perhaps easily judged or dismissed upon first glance. A powerful experience packaged in something beautiful and unassuming, Child of Light surprised me, and I think it might surprise you too.

Between the adventures of a Hobbit hired as a burglar, and  his nephew’s tale many years later is a story.  What happens to the people standing in the way when the ancient evil, banished so long ago, announces his return and takes back his dark throne? Nothing pretty, I’ll tell you that much.  In Shadow of Mordor, play as a Ranger set on nothing less than revenge against the Dark for the loss of his family, friends, and home. Take up your sword and head into the midst of the enemies territory, take the fight into the Shadow of Mordor!

Gather round ye fans of MMO’s, Fantasy RPG’s and The Elder Scrolls alike, for the convergence is nigh!  Or, put in english, The Elder Scrolls Online will be out in less than a week! It feels like the MMO space has been waiting for something to come along and redefine it, others have tried, and it might be that Bethesda and Zenimax are up to the job, they certainly have game development chops and a world that’s right for it. Exploring some new ways and means in the MMOsphere, we might just have the solution to your Massive Multiplayer Online blues, with The Elder Scrolls Online.

A world defined by death and dying, filled with horrible monsters big and small, you stand poised at the beginning of an unimaginably long journey, every step you take fought for, stained with the blood of your opponents, and all too often, your own hollowed corpse.  Interested?  Me too!  It’s Dark Souls 2, that unforgiving, punishing, wonderful, amazing gaming experience that not everyone is cut out for.  Are you?  Lets find out.

The game Putty Squad has a pretty screwy life cycle.  Originally released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo in PAL (outside North America) regions, it had review copies released for the Amiga, but Ocean Entertainment started to move away from publishing, and never released it.  Almost two decades passed, and Putty Squad was almost released for Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita and then FINALLY debuted for Amiga last year.  Putty Squad is now available in North America for Playstation 4, having been a rest of the world launch title.  Then, it will be released on Playstation 3 and Vita at the end of this month.  Was that confusing enough?  Hopefully the review isn’t.  Click on to read about Putty Squad.

You can always count on Sony to keep the titles coming after a generational shift. Ever since moving from the PS1, they’ve supported their last gen hardware, and proving nothing has changed are two very different RPG titles, and a fighter.  Whether its the JRPG stylings that capture your fancy, of if you prefer a more Diablo-esque hack, slash, and loot-athon, we’ve got a bit of both, with The Witch and The Hundred Knight and Atlier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk.

There are very few game series’ I’ve enjoyed more in my lifetime of gaming than the Professor Layton one.  It always excites me to no end to get to unwrap and solve another couple hundred puzzles, and I always keep going back for more.  I don`t have to explain how excited I was to hear that the final installment of the prequel to the first trilogy is finally available and also how much I`ve been anticipating having it in my hands.  I did get it, and click below for my thoughts.