Postal Redux Switch review

Postal Redux

Developed By: Running With Scissors

Published By: MD Games 

Date of Release: October 16, 2020 

Price: $9.99 

 

  In a world where highly offensive and politically incorrect shooters reign supreme, none can quite top the original granddaddy of them all, the original Postal. Released in 1997 by Running With Scissors, the original Postal was a gratuitously chaotic orgy of carnage. Starring a nameless protagonist lovingly referred to as "The Postal Dude", the dark and twisted events of this game sees players carrying out the Postal Dude's particular brand of "justice" on a town he believes to be stricken by a plague of madness.  TL;DR: Shoot shit. Shoot everything that moves. No survivors. Buttsauce.Postal has an incredible aesthetic, provided by it's hand-drawn background graphics, which were a big thing back in the say when games would generally use tiled textures in the backgrounds, which led to the environments feeling samey and boring. that's not the case with Postal, as the environments all have their own lurid charm, mired in an atmospheric ambiance of grit and grunge. Add to that a glorious mix of graphics filters that simulate everything from retro computers to cel-shading and comic books, and you have the makings of a 2D masterpiece. The polygonal characters and items that populate the levels are cleanly rendered, with a nice layer of antialising to hide the jaggies.The sound design is also excellent, with crackling flames, sharp gunshots, and the sounds of panicked citizens fleeing for their lives. Also worth noting is the game's performance, with the Switch version running at a smooth 60fps docked and in handheld. The controls are tight as well, with perfect twin-stick aiming and movement. Personally I think it even manages to top the original keyboard/mouse controls from the PC. The only disappointment IMO is lack of rumble, but perhaps that was just a minor oversight, it could always be patched in at some point in the future. The game works perfectly without it.So when it comes right down to it, Postal Redux is a glorious port to the Nintendo Switch, complete with all it's dangly bits intact. Nothing seems to have been censored at all, and that's damn impressive IMO when you consider how family friendly Nintendo has tried to be in the past. If Postal had been released on a Nintendo system in 1997 one can only imagine how many pairs of political pants would have been shat in over it. Bravo to Running With Scissors for bringing this classic shooter to the Switch. Anyone into classic PC gaming or top down isometric shooter fans should totally grab this when it releases on October 16th.

 Now how about Postal 2?

Battletoads Review

Battletoads
Developed By: DLaLA/Rare
Published By: Microsoft
Date of Release: August 20th, 2020
Price: $19.99

When I was a kid, there was one game that conatantly handed my ass to me on a silver platter. That game was Rare's Battletoads for the NES. Released to 1991, it was known for it's brutal difficulty (especially in the turbo bike sequences!) and gained quite a cult following. The basic premise is the three main characters (all badass anthromorphic toads) known as Rash, Pimple and Zitz are teamed up to fight the Dark Queen and her miniouns across the galaxy. Over the years there have been ports, sequels, and a freakin awesome crossover game featuring Double Dragon. And now in 2020, the Battletoads are back, and you won't even need to call the pawn shop to find them.



The first thing you'll notice about the new battletoads is the animation style. Some people may find it offputting, but personally I like it. It's quite reminicient of modern cartoons, and it somehow really suits the style of the game. For the most part Battletoads plays in a sidescrolling beat-em-up fashion like the classic entries in the series, however it will switch genres at the drop of a hat, even more so than the original game. It's truly an offbeat experience, though it all manages to work cohesively together no matter how weird it gets. The controls are tight, and the 'toads have all their signature moves intact. All in all the gameplay of Battletoads is more than adequate.



So the gameplay is solid, the controls are just right, and on top of that the voice acting and soundtrack are absolutely superb (one fight even had an awesome remix medley from Battletoads/Double Dragon!). But then there's the story. I don't want to give too much away, but the story is where the real meat of this package is, and it's quite literally batcrap insane. After playing through the game I really ended up wanting more of it, so here's hoping a sequel is coming soon. If you're a fan of offbeat humor, beat-em-ups, or just the Battletoads in general, this is a game you shouldn't miss.