Mary Skelter 2 Switch Review

Mary Skelter 2
Developed By: Compile Heart
Published By: Idea Factory
Date of Release: October 22, 2019
Price: $39.99

When it comes to RPGs, nothing quite beats the tried and true approach of a first person dungeon crawler. They've been around since the early days of the CRPG scene, but they've really had a resurgence lately with series like Wizardry and Etrian Odyssey. And back in 2016 the original Mary Skelter hit the Playstation Vita with its own fresh spin on the genre and brought a bunch of macabre goodness to the table as well. and now 4 years later Mary Skelter 2 has brought the series to what many people are calling the second coming of the Vita, the Nintendo Switch.



The first person dungeon crawling in Mary Skelter 2 feels just right, with crisp visuals, and an absolutely creepy design to the dungeons. The first person perspective flows smoothly, and the turn-based battles work just as you'd expect. the auto-mapping keeps you from getting lost, and that's going to help with all the backtracking you need to do. The voice acting is great, and the soundtrack perfectly conveys the mood. It's quite similar to the first game, and for good reason as it's not a direct sequel but more of an "alternate universe" re-imagining.



Now Mary Skelter 2 is perfect and all and would be a great value on it's own at the price, but that's not the only thing you get in the package. The entire original version of Mary Skelter is also contained within the game, and can either be unlocked with a free DLC or unlocked after you finish Mary Skelter 2. The developers suggest saving it for after you finish Mary Skelter 2 if you haven;t played it before. All in all there's a lot to love here in this package, and for the price if you're a fan of dungeon exploration it can't be beat.

Ori and the Blind Forest Switch Review

Ori and the Blind Forest
Developed by: Moon Studios GmbH
Published By: Microsoft Studios
Date of Release: September 27, 2019
Price: $19.99


As I sit here, the tears have finally dried. Why was I crying? Maybe it was the beautiful artwork. maybe it was the flowing narrative. Or maybe it was the sheer Bambi-class heartbreaking feel-trip from the prologue of Ori and the Blind Forest. Yeah, definitely the feel-trip. The game starts out swinging with the emotional narrative, and keeps it up through the entire experience. By the time you're done you'll probably need to re-hydrate. Now all of you know how much I love a good platforming romp of the Metroidvania persuasion. I could sit and play said genre happily for the rest of my life, and I can definitely say that Ori and the Blind Forest is a worth addition to the hall of Metroidvania fame. I will warn you though, it does pretty much start with a nut-punch right in the feels, but don't let that detract from your enjoyment of the game. Just put a little ice on it.



The first thing that struck me about Ori and The Blind Forest is how much work went into the visuals. The entire game looks like a surreal moving painting, with the artwork flowing around like sands on the wind. The sound design is also quite up to the task, painting an aural canvas that is as pleasing to the ears as the visuals are to the eyes. The voicework is amazing as well, being in it's own fictional language with subtitles. There's a deep and rich story masterfully woven into this game, and the plot pacing is utterly superb. All in all, everything that made this game amazing on the Xbox and PC have made the journey to the switch completely intact, in fact the switch version actually runs at a smoother framerate than previous iterations. That's a pretty significant feat on it's own.



Of course the gameplay is also an important part of the package, and you can definitely compare Ori and The Blind Forest to stalwart classics such as Super Metroid and Castlevania Symphony of The Night. Ori however takes a more organic feel to the whole system of upgrading and backtracking, giving it perhaps a more natural feel than other titles. All in all it is an extensive meaty experience that has aged extremely well since it's original launch some 4 years ago, with plenty to offer genre veterans and newcomers alike. Ori and The Blind Forest is a must have for any Switch owner who enjoys a good adventure, as well as a truly emotional roller coaster ride.

Gears 5 Review

Gears 5
Developed By: The Coalition
Published By: Microsoft Game Studios
Date of Release: September 6, 2019
Price: $59.99

Back in November of 2006 (wow, has it truly been 13 years already?) veteran developer Epic Games released their first game for Microsoft's Xbox 360, titled Gears of War. Powered by the impressive Unreal Engine 3, it was a third-person cover-based shooter and single-handedly cemented the distinctive gameplay style that would be used in the series from then on. Highlighting humanities struggle against an underground-dwelling race of creatures known as the Locust, the original trilogy followed a rather erm.. Epic storyline indeed. Having wrapped up the main plot in the finale of the third game, the fourth entry (developed by The Coalition) introduced a new plot starring the son of the main character, JD Fenix. And now here we are with the latest title in the series, which drops the "of War" moniker, Gears 5.



Gears 5 picks up right where the fourth installment left off, following JD and co as they continue to fight the new antagonists introduced in Gears of War 4, The Swarm. To give too much away about the story would spoil the previous game for anyone who hasn't played it, so I won't go that far. The writing and pacing are FAR better than the previous game, which suffered from feeling a bit rushed which may have been due to the development changing hands from Epic Games to The Coalition partway. Story aside the gameplay is the same tried and true gears formula that we all know and love, and as usual it brings a wealth of upgrades to graphical fidelity and just better production values all around. The graphics are great, the sound is fantastic, and the controls are tight and responsive. It just feels like slipping on a familiar pair of comfy shorts before kicking back and kicking ass.



And then there's the multiplayer. The Gears series has always been known for it's amazing multiplayer modes, and as amazing as the campaign is, the multiplayer is just a little bit better. Featuring most of the modes from previous games that you would expect it also throws in some new goodies like a Left 4 Dead style "Escape" mode. Also making its debut is an Overwatch-tinged Arcade mode, which just makes things feel really fleshed out. With the lag-free smoothness of the server connections I never felt like things were getting choppy, despite using a wireless connection for the whole time I played. Add to the mix constant promotional tie-ins such as cameos from Terminator Dark Fate and pro wrestling, and it's hard not to feel satisfied by the meaty offerings in this package. So all in all if you have an Xbox One or Windows 10 PC, you seriously need to pick up Gears 5. There's just way too much good stuff to miss out on here.

River City Girls Review

River City Girls
Developed By: WayForward
Published By: Arc System Works
Date of Release: Septmeber 5, 2019
Price: $29.99

Back in the good old NES days, there was one game that always had me coming back for more, it was the famous River City Ransom. A sidescrolling beat-em-up with mild RPG elements, it was an amazing experience and it blew my young mind. You'd beat the crap out of your foes, take their lunch money, and use it to level up in shops and spas. The gameplay was tight, and the graphics were awesome for the time. Later on I found out that River City Ransom is actually part of a larger series from japan known as Kunio-Kun, and I had a blast playing the other entries in the series whether they had been localized or not. There have been a lot of games in the series over the years covering a wide range of genres, and I loved them all. But that's all in the past though, now here in modern day 2019 Arc System Works has teamed up with WayForward to make a new entry in the series: River City Girls.



River City Girls star Kunio and Riki's girlfriends Kyoko and Misako as they set off on an ass-kicking adventure to rescue the kidnapped duo. And kick ass they do, with style and flair! The spritework in RCG is absolutely amazing, with fluid animation and amusingly exaggerated expressions on your foes as they receive their beatdown. The fighting system feels just as good as in the original games, and has some decent upgrades as well with EXP earned for knockouts, and the ability to recruit defeated foes. The music and voices are amazing, with an awesome assortment of vocal tracks backing some stages. The controls are tight, and fighting your foes feels great with awesomely destructive combos and special moves you can pull off. The bosses are also incredibly punishing, until you figure out their attack patterns and grind a couple levels. When you finally beat them it feels like a real accomplishment.



The only complaint I really have with River City Girls is that the multiplayer is local couch co-op only. I'd have liked to play online with my friends but it just doesn't have that feature, and I suppose the timing would have been a nightmare to get going over the internets. But other than the lack of online, this is an amazingly solid experience. The story is extremely entertaining, overflowing with anime cutscenes and awesomely voiced manga panels. River City Girls is every bit in the spirit of the rest of the Kunio-Kun series, and WayForward should be proud of what they accomplished. Here's hoping for a sequel in the future!

Ion Fury Review

Ion Fury
Developed By: Voidpoint
Published By: 3D Realms
Date of Release: August 15, 2019
Price: $24.99

In the year 1996, a small game studio in Garland, Texas dropped an atomic bomb on the gaming world. Using the revolutionary Build Engine developed by Ken Silverman, Duke Nukem 3D ripped the emerging FPS genre a new one. Featuring balls-to-the-wall gameplay, a badass attitude, a titular hero who never stopped spouting macho one-liners and a level of interactivity and level design never seen before, it took the world by storm. The following year 3D Realms would strike gold again with Shadow Warrior, an ultraviolent Build Engine powered romp across the land of the rising sun. Several other companies made smash hit games as well on the Build Engine, such as Monolith's Blood, Xatrix's Redneck Rampage, Lobotomy Software's Powerslave, and the critically acclaimed masterpiece Extreme Paintbrawl* by Head Games. The Build Engine ended up powering quite a few amazing games, however such fame could not last forever with the rise of true-3D engines such as id software's Quake.



However time changes many things, and the original 3D Realms is no more. The new studio is in Denmark, and has a few familiar faces and some Fresch, er fresh ones, but what remains for sure is the dedication to bringing the best gaming experiences to the market, whether they be modern refreshes of classic styles, or in Ion Fury's case an absolute love letter to fans of the classic Build Engine shooter. The development studio Voidpoint partnered with the new 3D Realms to create Ion Fury on the EDuke32 variant of the build engine, which allows for modern resolutions, widescreen graphics, and much much more complexity in the levels, and not to mention it works on modern operating systems.



When I first fired up Ion Fury I was blown away by the vibrant colors, the sprawling urban vistas, and the sheer detail that had been crammed into the retooled Build Engine. Right off the bat I noticed a billboard that had a cute reference to Duke Nukem 3D's pig cops. Then the music hit, and wow, it's good old XM tracker format. It sounds amazingly like a blend of classic Apogee/3DRealms style music with a dash of futuristic electronica, and really fits the tone of the game. Another thing that bears mentioning is the excellent voice acting. The main villain, Dr. Jadus Heskel, is actually voiced by none other than the voice of Duke Nukem, Jon St. John! His performance is incredibly impressive, and perfectly conveys the mad-scientist persona of the character. Valerie Arem returns as Shelly, reprising her role from the original Bombshell, and let me tell you, she sounds appropriately badass.



The level design in Ion Fury really shines with an absolute arseload of secrets to find, sprinkled all throughout the classic sprawling mazelike layouts that games of the era were famous for. One problem (not really a problem) I had when playing is just wanting to stop and take an obscene amount of time to go through and savor the loads of in-jokes and references that flavor the environments. There are some amazing tributes in this game, and they are all quite clever. Another thing that stands out are the vast majority of pickups and switches in Ion Fury are high-resolution voxels, which certainly add to the charm and appeal. The weapons are amazingly balanced, and the ammo distribution is paced nicely so that you need to keep on your toes and swap weapons to keep up. It nicely encourages you to think outside the box rather than just relying on one gun to spam endless shots. The difficulty is quite challenging and will keep you on your toes, but I didn't feel like there were any cheap deaths. The boss encounters are quite enjoyable as well.



About the only thing Ion Fury is missing that games from the 90s excelled at is multiplayer, however it doesn't really suffer for it. It works just fine as a single player experience, and would not have benefited IMHO from the typical tacked on deathmatch/capture the flag/etc. modes that usually ship with fps titles. I'm much happier having an awesome single player campaign in this day and age rather than just dive into a stale online fragfest. Atthe end of the day, that's what Ion Fury brings to the table and it does a damn fine job of it. So I'm going to once again break tradition and give a numerical score, as much as I dislike doing so. Ion Fury gets a solid 10/10 in my books, and should be played IMMEDIATELY by anyone who loved 90s fps games growing up.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to duck out to Caco Bell for a $5 Phobos Fill-Up!



























*No, not really Extreme Paintbrawl is an utter POS and a disgrace to the Build Engine.

Mighty Switch Force Collection Review

Mighty Switch Force Collection
Developed/Published By: WayForward
Date of Release: July 25, 2019
Price: $19.99

The Nintendo 3DS is a Mighty handheld system with a Mighty gimmick: an autostereoscopic 3D display which can give a sense of depth without needing to wear 3D glasses. And so it was a perfect fit for Wayforward's Mighty Switch Force series, in which you control a protagonist on a 2D playing field with blocks that switch between 3D planes. Using these blocks to your advantage as you traverse the levels is key, and the 3DS handled the depth brilliantly, with the blocks seemingly popping right out of the display.



The original Mighty Switch Force and Mighty Switch Force 2 are present in all their crisp pixelated glory. Even without the depth effects from a 3D screen they look amazing on an HDTV, being upscaled quite nicely from the original 3DS. The sprites are clean and smoothly animated, and have the classic WayForward bouncy goodness in every frame. Mighty Switch Force Hyperdrive Edition on the other hand has sharp HD visuals, but I'm not sure if I dig the look quite as much as the original sprites. Then we have Mighty Switch Force Academy with it's zoomed out presentation, which looks crisp and clean as well.



The pixelicious production values on display here really make the Mighty Switch Force Collection worth it, and there's a whole lot of gaming here for your $20. On top of that the replay value is quite decent if you want to spend time and improve your scores, however I do wish that WayForward had included the puzzler spinoff Mighty Switch Force: Hose it Down. All in all though this is a decently rounded package, and the gameplay/price balance is just right.

Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night Review

Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night
Developed By: ArtPlay
Published By: 505 Games
Date of Release: June 18, 2019
Price: $40

In the year 1997, a legend was unleashed upon the night. A masterpiece of 2D platforming with nonlinear exploration and RPG-style progression, it took the gaming community by storm. It was Castlevania: Symphony of The Night for the Sony PlayStation, by Koji Igarashi. Featuring superbly fluid sprites, glorious paralaxing backgrounds, and a sweeping score by Michiru Yamane, it was the pinnacle of the franchise and led to the term that would be used to describe it's genre for the decades to come, "Metroidvania". And now it would seem that a worthy successor to this legendary title has been born. And that successor is Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night. After a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign and a lengthy development time of around 4 years, it has finally been released. But does it truly live up to the hype?



The first thing noticeable in Bloodstained is the fluid cel-shaded 3D graphics. Though a major departure from the sprites of yore, the new look adds a vast feeling of depth to the games aesthetic. Levels have a true feeling of 3 dimensions as you explore them despite the game being confined to the traditional 2D plane. As for the sound design, Michiru Yamane has returned with a score that invokes feelings of the Castlevania series, and cements Bloodstained as the true successor to the franchise. The voice acting is also on point, with excellent performances from all the cast, and even appearances by some fan favorites.



But how does it play? Well, Bloodstained feels quite like Symphony of The Night for sure, but through the shard powers that the protagonist can use it feels a lot like the soul system from Castlevania: Aria/Dawn of Sorrow. In the end it becomes a wonderful blend of fine-tuned gameplay seasoned with ample amounts of fan-service. If you have ever been a fan of the Castlevania series, then Bloodstained will feel like coming home after a long time away. And for newcomers to the genre, it really is a good starting point as well. All in all, Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night is proof both that Kickstarted games can be good, and also that Koji Igarashi has not lost his touch.

Guilty Gear/Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R Switch Review

Guilty Gear/Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R
Developed and Published By: Arc System Works
Date of Release: May 16, 2019 (June 20 in Canada)
Price: Guilty Gear: $9.99/AC+R $14.99

In the year 1998 a small development group within Arc System Works referred to as "Team Neo Blood" quietly released a fighting game for the Sony PlayStation known as Guilty Gear. Led by game designer/illustrator/composer Daisuke Ishiwatari, the production values (especially the soundtrack) and excellent technical gameplay quickly propelled it to be a smash hit. The popularity of the series resulted in several sequels, and tweaked versions of the game, which resulted in the culmination of the 2D iteration of the series, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R. And now for the 20th anniversary of the series they have both been re-released for the Nintendo Switch in remastered form.



The first thing you'll notice about Guilty Gear is Ishiwatari's badass metal soundtrack. The next thing is the gorgeous crisp pixel art that comprises the entirety of the game's graphics. The fighters are massive fluidly animated sprites that take up a good amount of the screen. The controls are precise, which is a good thing considering the technical nature of the series. This is one game you will not be able to get through just mashing buttons, as the AI is brutal and unforgiving. That's not to say it's unfair, if you take the time to learn the combo systems you'll do just fine. Now plenty of fighting games have impressive finishing moves that you can use to end a match once you've whittled away enough of your opponent's health, however Guilty Gear introduced "Intent Kill" moves that you can use the moment you start a match. However they can be blocked or avoided, and if you miss, you end up burning through most of your powers and will have a hard time pulling off flashier moves for the rest of the match. All in all Guilty Gear for the Switch is an amazing port of an amazing game and I can highly recommend it.



Now on the other hand, with Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R I'm not entirely sure WHAT went wrong with the switch port. The graphics are completely scaled wrong in both docked and handheld leading to jagged edges on sprites rather than the crisp pixels on the previous versions of the game. Normally the pixels would be perfect squares but they are distorted and artifacted on the Switch port, leading to shimmering and aliasing. Even more jarring is the soundtrack which has been compressed down to 22khz and only has the left channel data which is played in mono through both channels, resulting in the audio dropping out when the original song would have panned between the left and right. Oddly the intro FMV is still in 44khz stereo, but if you play the opening song through the sound test it suffers the same unmixed 22khz mono weirdness. All this bizarre audio shenanigans persist despite the game somehow being double the size of previous releases. How can such a drastic drop in quality cause the game's size to balloon like this? In all honesty I would suggest avoiding this disastrous Switch port until Arc System Works addresses these issues.

SIGIL Review

SIGIL
Developed/Published by: Romero Games
Sweet-ass shreds by: Buckethead
Date of Release: May 31, 2019
Price: €6.66

In the year 1993, my 9 year old mind was blown by a certain little shareware game. That game was Doom, spawned by the gnarly minds at id Software, chief among them co-founder John Romero. It was received with much fanfare and acclaim, and would go on to spawn a fourth episode, and several sequels. And now John Romero has made his triumphant return with a fifth and final episode for The Ultimate Doom, known as SIGIL. It's a 9-level megawad that adds a fifth episode with an all-new soundtrack, and map designs that are more devious and challenging than anything seen before. You'll need the original retail doom iwad, and a modern source port such as GZDoom or Chocolate Doom. Trying to run SIGIL on the original dos version just won't work due to memory constraints.



The first thing that smacked me upside the head was the shredilicious Buckethead soundtrack that comes with the paid version. The tracks cover a broad spectrum of musical stylings and really set the tone well. The opening track "Romero One Mind Any Weapon" in particular could be the new E1M1 IMO. I don't want to sell the free version's midi soundtrack short however, it's pretty epic as well. The next thing that caught my attention is how freaking dark the levels are. This megawad is definitely best experienced in a dark room with the sound cranked up. It's hard as hell too, I've lost track of how many times I've died (playing on Ultra Violence), but they never felt like cheap deaths, and ask I learned the enemy placement I was able to carve a bloody path of carnage through their ranks.



SIGIL is definitely an experience for the true diehard Doom fan. If a newcomer to the series experienced SIGIL before any of the other episodes, I'm pretty sure they would be scared away by the sheer scale of the challenge. As a veteran of the series though I can say personally that it feels just right. The levels are well built, and offer an amazing feeling of tension as you explore them, and it's good to finally feel challenged again by a Doom game. Recent entries in the franchise have been far too forgiving as far as difficulty goes. Sigil just cranks things up to 11 though, and then rips the dial right off. I don't normally give a numerical score, but SIGIL deserves, nay it DEMANDS one.

John Romero's SIGIL scores a facemelting 666 out of 10

Turok Switch Review

Turok (Switch)
Developed and Published By: Night Dive Studios
Date of Release: March 18, 2019
Price: $19.99


In the year 1997, the Nintendo 64 was just starting to take hold in the market, with a solid library of cartridge based games. The analog stick in the center of the controller afforded a new standard of precision control for consoles. And so the N64 was a perfect place for Acclaim to debut their new FPS title, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. The first game in the genre on the N64, it was a breakout success for it's lush (at the time) graphics, smooth analog aiming, and sprawling levels. And now 22 years after it's smashing debut, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter has been reborn a full 4 console generations later on the Nintendo Switch.



The original game on Nintendo 64 was released early in the console's life, so it lacked support for the famous Rumble Pak. However the Switch version of Turok has HD rumble support, and has everything from the expected weapon firing effects, all the way down to subtle thumping of dinosaur footsteps that increase in intensity as they get closer. Another welcome addition are the modern dual-stick controls that FPS games have been enjoying for quite some time now on consoles, a far cry from the Nintendo 64's limited, albeit revolutionary at the time single analog. This makes the various precision platforming sections much easier to handle, thanks to having precise control over your movements, as the original game relied on using digital buttons to move around.



The sprawling levels that make up the world of Turok are all connected by a central hub, and to progress between levels you need to collect the keys to open the portals that link the worlds, which can lead to a fair amount of backtracking. it's nothing that gets overly tedious, however. If I had to make one complaint though, it would be the save system, using checkpoints and savepoints. It would have been nice if the option to save anytime, anywhere had been added, but it's certainly not a dealbreaker. This port is extremely faithful to the original game, and it's clear that a lot of time and effort went into replicating the original look and feel on the KEX engine. All in all Turok for the Switch is an excellent port, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves retro FPS games. Here's hoping we'll see Turok 2 soon!

Blood: Fresh Supply Review

Blood: Fresh Supply
Developed By: Monolith Software
Published By: NightDive Studios
Date of Release: May 9, 2019
Price: $9.99

The first time I played Blood was way back in the summer of '97. I was 12 at the time, and well versed in the ways of the FPS. I had blasted my way through Wolfenstein 3D, the Dooms, Quake, Heretic, Duke Nukem 3D... I thought I had seen it all. Then along came blood to blow everything out of the water with it's own macabre brand of fun. Sure, it was the same Build Engine that powered Duke Nukem 3D, but gone were the bright comic-book inspired locations and brightly lit urban environments. Gone were the hilarious one-liners and pop culture jokes. Gone were the invading alien bastards and their plans for enslaving earth. Taking their place were dark, dank and decrepit mortuaries, monasteries, and mausoleums, the aliens replaced with zombies and beasts and raving cultists. The morbid ambiance flowed sanguine like the fresh blood that would soon be spilled. It was time to paint the town red!



It only took me a level or two to realize that Blood had just as many snappy one-liners and wink wink, nudge nudge moments as Duke Nukem 3D, they were just a much more subtle and darker brand of humor. The references to classic horror abounded, oozing out of every crevice in the complex and brilliantly designed levels. The main character, Caleb, was decidedly a connoisseur of the arts as well, as he spouts wonderful references to classic films and Shakespearean plays, and if you let him idle for a while he'll start singing some improv showtunes. There's a brilliantly moody midi soundtrack that sets the tone wonderfully, but if you leave the game CD in the drive you'd be treated to a chillingly ambient soundtrack, with haunting choirs and chanting cultists. With Blood, the bar had been raised far over the precedents set by Duke Nukem 3D, and in my humble opinion serves as the epitome of what makes a Build game good.



So here we are 22 years later. Blood has been out for a while on Steam and GoG, but it's just the original DOS version running in a wrapper, and that's all well and good, if slightly underwhelming in terms of presentation. But what if it could be MORE? Well Night Dive Studios certainly took that into consideration, as they had Samuel "Kaiser" Villarreal rework the entire game and port it to his amazing KEX engine, which is the backbone of many other Night Dive re-releases such as Turok 1+2, System Shock Enhanced, Forsaken, and Strife. The result is Blood: Fresh Supply, a smooth amalgamation of the classic DOS gameplay with a host of modern conveniences such as newer graphics API support, high resolutions, and so on. They ripped out the heart of what made Blood so good back in the day and resurrected it in a new body, so to speak.



So how IS Blood: Fresh Supply? To sum it up simply, a breath of fresh death. Sure, there are a couple of other ports for blood like BloodGDX and nBlood, but neither of those come as a preconfigured plug and play package the way Fresh Supply does, not to mention BloodGDX still has some rather glaring frame-pacing issues. Fresh Supply on the other hand runs smooth as butter, supports DX11, OpenGL, and Vulkan rendering, has added ambient occlusion to make the environments THAT much more moody, and also doesn't fall apart when you turn on vsync. It also supports optional true 3D aiming and allows you to also turn off autoaim, which makes wasting cultists that much more satisfying. On top of that the multiplayer has been revamped with new netcode, and splitscreen play. Both the MIDI and CD soundtrack are included, and controller support has been added too so you can kick back on the couch and blast the baddies on the big screen. Night Dive is also working on squashing any bugs that crawl out of the woodwork, with a dedicated channel on their Discord where players can submit reports. When it comes right down to it, the previous no-frills release of Blood packed with DosBox was just a drop in the bucket.

Blood: Fresh Supply is the full transfusion.

Moero Chronicle Hyper Switch Review

Moero Chronicle Hyper
Developed By: Compile Heart
Published By: Idea Factory
Date of Release: April 25, 2019
Price: $19.99

In a world where Japanese games are being censored left and right by a certain major game company who will not be named, we North American anime game fans are left high and dry most times when it comes to the latest releases. Sure, we can still pony up our cash for these neutered experiences, but what's the point? Thankfully Nintendo is here with the Switch, and so far they haven't forced anyone to censor their stuff, allowing for wonderful uncut experiences. Enter Moero Chronicle Hyper for the Nintendo Switch, possibly the lewdest game to come out on a Nintendo console thus far! It's a by the numbers dungeon crawler at it's core, with an excellent auto-mapping system, and some erm... rock-solid gameplay.



What sets Moero Chronicle Hyper apart from other dungeon crawlers though is the method which is used to recruit your party members. As you journey through the dungeons you will occasionally run into a recruitable monster girl with which whom you will be immediately thrust into battle. Sure you can just deliver a beatdown and defeat them, however that will just result in them running away only to come after you again later on. Instead you have to work on... erm... defeating their outfit. Wrecking their clothes will leave them vulnerable to.. I'm not even making this up... "bumping scratch" mode where you basically grope the monster girl into submission. Success here will result in them joining your party. It's completely lewd AF, but that's honestly the point here.



So when it comes right down to it Moero Chronicle Hyper has some great dungeon crawling gameplay, an incredibly cute aesthetic with no shortage of adorable monster girls, decent voice acting, and the music is good too. The graphics have a major upgrade from the original PC version, and it runs better to boot. The only thing that could really be a dealbreaker here is if you just don't care for lewdness, and if that's the case why are you even here? Idea Factory have gone out of the way to be decidedly un-subtle about what this game is. So if you like dungeon crawling goodness with a whole lot of lewd monster girls shoved up it's arse, then I can wholeheartedly recommend Moero Chronicle Hyper. Just don't play it in public with the sound turned up. That could get awkward.

Toejam and Earl: Back in The Groove Switch Review

Toejam and Earl: Back in The Groove (Switch)
Developed By: HumaNature Studios
Date of Release: March 1, 2019
Price :$19.99

The year was 1991, and the world was in a dire need of funk. The Sega Genesis/Megadrive was on the scene and sure, it had some good hits, but nothing that would just make you say "Whoa, that's rad!". Then a pair of joyriding Hip-Hop aliens crashed their ship into it, and things got hella funky. With a fresh attitude and funkadelic presentation, Toejam and Earl was a smash hit. The sequel, Panic on Funkotron didn't do bad either. Their third outing went over about as well as a skateboard coated in limburger cheese, but lets not dwell on that. Point is, Toejam and Earl were groovy, and the world was better for it. Sadly after the third game flopped they disappeared back into space for a while, maybe taking a much needed vacation. HOWEVER! In these modern times, just as things were looking dark and devoid of the righteous funkitude, the titular duo have returned, and things can only get groovier from here.



Toejam and Earl: Back in The Groove is an absolute love letter to fans of the original, and an extremely faithful recreation of the original version. It retains the same funky fresh attitude, the same wonderfully wild 1990s era aesthetic, however it's all been brought forward into modern times with a full-hd gloriously hand-drawn look, complete with the wild and wacky patterns and visuals that gave the original game it's flair. And let's not forget the soundtrack! The glorious funkarythmic tones of the original have been gloriously reworked and are like nothing you'll find anywhere else. The soundtrack just stands there, arms crossed, proudly wearing it's 1990's flair like a pair of snazzy hi-tops. It's all too cool and ready to take you to school. Radical.



Of course it wouldn't be Toejam and Earl without getting the gameplay right, and Back in The Groove is spot-on. At it's core it's a rogue-lite, and just like the original you'll be traversing the levels to seek out the pieces of your broken ship all while avoiding insane earthlings and opening presents. There's an old wise dude dressed as a carrot who'll help you out if you need it, and impromptu rhythm-game danceoffs can be found at every turn. Earth ain't so bad, you just need to know where to chill, dawg. The randomly generated (or fixed if you so choose) level designs are fun to explore and varied, and are stuffed full of stylized 90's goodness. Each part of Toejam and Earl: Back in The Groove is a delicious treat on it's own, but when you toss them all into the full funky fresh combo meal it's like a trip back to the food court of your soul, where the mall is open 24/7, they always have good pizza, and the arcade is on free-play. It's the real deal, yo!

Crackdown 3 Review

Crackdown 3
Developed/Published By: Microsoft
Date of Release: February 15, 2019
Price: $59.99

Back in 2007 on the good old Xbox 360 there was this wonderful title called Crackdown. In a time where there were plenty of open world games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row saturating the market where you always played as a criminal on the run from the law, it was refreshing to play from the opposite perspective. Crackdown's signature brand of superhero cop action was fresh and exciting, with a vast city to explore and plenty of collectables to find strewn about. It was almost like GTA meets a RARE collectathon.



After the slightly mediocre Crackdown 2 came out however, the series went dark for quite some time. However that's all changed with the launch of Crackdown 3. Crackdown 3 takes everything that's good about the series, cranks it up to 11, bolts on some chrome rims, and then shoves Terry Crews up it's tailpipe. The gorgeous comic book graphics are present and accounted for, the batsh*t crazy storyline is in full effect, and the gameplay is just as good as ever. Not to mentions Terry Crews. Also, Terry Crews anyone?



Not EVERYTHING is all sunshine and Old Spice though. As is the usual for Crackdown games after a while things do get a bit repetitive, but at least this time around there's enough variety to keep it from becoming a slogfest of Crackdown 2's proportions. Oh, and Terry Crews. All the Terry Crews. Anyway, back on track. As this is the first Crackdown outing to be released on PC it's nice to see how well optimized it is. it ran flawlessly at 1440p60 maxed out on my GTX 1070TI. I'm sure with a 1080TI and up it would be a comfortable 4K60. All in all Crackdown 3 on PC is a good experience, and and there's a lot to keep you busy.

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force Switch Review

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force (Switch)
Developed By: Compile Heart
Published By: Idea Factory International
Date of Release: January 17, 2019

When Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force released on PS4 back in 2016, it was utterly amazing. A turn based sword collection RPG of epic proportions, with the likes of veteran fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano, the acclaimed composer Nobuo Uematsu, the writing talents of Toshiki Inoue, and the character designs of Tsunako. It was a perfect re-imagining of the original Fairy Fencer F, and remains one of Idea Factory's most solid efforts to this date. Sadly, the new version on the Nintendo Switch doesn't quite live up.



It's all still here, the sharp jaw-dropping visuals, the j-rock inspired battle tunes, the clashing sound effects and the flowing score, along with a host of excellent voice acting. The problem is the technical aspects of the port. From the opening video which stutters and crackles constantly throughout, to the opening monologue which seems compressed at 11kbps, to the battle and field themes that also seem to be improperly mastered, clipping and glitching as you go, the soundtrack has taken a serious hit. In fact the mixing is also all over the place with characters seemingly whisper quiet and then blaring loud in the same sentence. The sound effects will often come in at ear-rending levels, making playing with headphones a dangerous affair. On top of that the framerate fluctuates wildly, in the field and in battles it can dip down around 10-15fps, and that is only exacerbated in the blurry muddled handheld mode.



I can only wonder if the Switch port in fact went through any QA before release, as the previous incarnations were utterly flawless. 60fps framerates abounded all across the board, and crisp clean audio and mixing rounded out the package on both platforms. When it comes right down to it, with all the problems this port has it is very hard to recommend when you can simply buy a far superior version on both the PC and PS4. Only diehard collectors are going to want this dud of a port in their collection.