Clockwork Aquario Switch Review

Clockwork Aquario 

Developed By: Westone Bit Entertainment

Published By: ININ Games 

Date of Release: December 14, 2021 

Price: $19.99 

 

Well now, this was an unexpected one! An arcade action-adventure game that started it's development cycle in 1991 at the now defunct Westone Bit Entertainment, and ended up coming out in 2021! A world record breaking 30 years later (too bad for Duke Nukem Forever!), and Clockwork Aquario is now available to purchase and play for the Nintendo Switch (and PS4). It's a colourful pixel-art run and jump affair, and it looks absolutely impressive on the Switch in both handheld and docked mode with it's myriad of graphics options, including some great CRT effects. It feels like it would be perfectly at home on the Sega Saturn, with it's crisp sprites and detailed backgrounds.

The controls are as tight as can be, and that helps a lot as you hop and bop and pop your foes. Despite the game being short, clocking in at around 15-20 minutes, it's still worth replaying over and over, and once you finish the game once you unlock an arcade mode with infinite continues, though that might make things a bit too easy. There's a crapload of extras too, including two soundtracks, a gallery, multiplayer minigames, and plenty of settings to tinker with. It's clear that Clockwork Aquario had a lot of love poured into it's development. I definitely think that it's worth picking up, as it absolutely oozes charm.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition PS5 Review

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition PS5
Developed and Published By: Wayforward
Date of Release: November 2, 2021
Price: $39.99

Hey everyone! Our favorite half-genie is back! From the time that the original Shantae launched back on the Game Boy Color up until the last release, Shantae and The Pirate's Curse, this series has been known for awesome metroidvania gameplay, an amazing soundtrack, bouncy beauties, and a familiar pixelated charm. However with Shantae: Half-Genie Hero things have majorly changed on the latter front, pixels are out and gorgeous hand drawn HD sprites are in! Thankfully all the series other hallmarks are still there (including Jake Kaufman's signature jams), all that has changed is the visual aesthetic.



From the first level of the game (which features an AMAZING vocal number by Shantae's voice actress, Christina Vee.) where you face off with the Part Omni-Organic, Partially Titanic, Ocean-Optional Tinkerslug (don't call it P.O.O.P. T.O.O.T.!) it's clear that the team at Wayforward have not lost their touch, and that Half-Genie hero is definitely not Half-Baked. The game runs at a smooth 60fps, and scales nicely all the way up to 4k. On top of that the controls are tight with zero discernible input lag. All the good stuff is still here in full form, and the new visuals just add a nice feel to the whole experience. Also, giant-ass mermaids are freakin' awesome!



Of course it wouldn't be an Ultimate Edition without a shipload of extras, and this edition delivers the booty! All of the original DLC is included, and a whole raft of extras like concept art and formerly backer-exclusive content is there. The game is majorly extended by all the new game modes that have been added, I've already sunk about 30 hours extra into everything after clearing the main scenario. It feels just as good to play it on the PS5 as it did on PS4, and the new haptic effects are a nice touch. 

 

My only complaint about the Ultimate Edition is that it feels a bit overwhelming at first. You've got a damn lengthy main game, a remixed version where you play the villain, a hardcore mode, and three costumes to mix things up. The added costumes even have their own playstyle and rulesets that pretty much change the game completely. There's a helluva lot of stuff there, and my complaints really aren't a negative. So if you love platformers, metroidvanias, bouncy babes with bodacious bods, and counterfeit mermaids, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero on PS5 is the game for you. The best part is if you already have the PS4 Ultimate Edition it's a free upgrade!

Cotton 100%/Panorama Cotton Switch Review

Cotton 100% / Panorama Cotton

Developed By: Success/Ratalaika

Published By: ININ Games

Date of Release: October 29, 2021

Price: $14.99 Each

 

 

The Cotton series of SHMUPS has always been an adorable franchise, a Cute-Em-Up if you will. Starring the cute-as-a-button candy-obsessed witch named Cotton, the series has been a gleeful romp through various fantasy worlds with no signs of slowing down at all. And now with ports of two of the best 16-bit entries in the Cotton universe, it's easier than ever to experience these titles for yourself, no need to import any cartridges!

Cotton 100% for the Super Famicom is a fine entry in the series, basically a brighter more colourful remake of the original Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton. It featured better level designs, tight controls, and an absolutely fantastic soundtrack. It has incredibly vibrant graphics and perhaps slightly overly detailed backgrounds that can be distracting at times, but the eye candy isn't too distracting. This port from Ratalaika matches their other retro ports in quality and scope of options, though the video aspect ratio menu is bugged and has no effect. Still a solid port, and the definitive way to play this classic title.

 

 

Panorama Cotton for the SEGA MegaDrive on the other hand takes an entirely different approach to the formula. The best way to describe it would be Cotton in Space harrier form. It's a massive departure from the rest of the series with it's over-the-shoulder view of oncoming enemies and hazards, but it somehow manages to work. All the fancy options that are present in Ratalaika's other ports are present here, and the aspect ratio does actually take effect properly this time around. My only real complaint with both of these titles is they are untranslated, sticking to the original Japanese script. Still completely playable, but it would be nice to know what is going on. All in all though, both titles are amazing, and worthy of a place in any SHMUP fan's collection!

Forza Horizon 5 Review

Forza Horizon 5

Developed By: Playground Games

Published By: Xbox Game Studios

Date of Release: November 4, 2021

Price: $59.99

I'm going to admit that I've never been terribly good at serious racing games. I've always given them a fair try, but all the simulation style racers like Gran Turismo and the like are way above my skill level. Arcade racers on the other hand, those I can do well in. That's why ever since the beginning I've been in love with Microsoft's Forza Horizon series. The Horizon games take a more arcadey, open-world design to the standard racing formula, with a greater focus on exploration and car collecting. 

I'm glad to say that Forza Horizon 5 lives up to the pedigree of the franchise, starting off rather bombastically with a parachute landing on the rim of an active volcano in Mexico while driving a 2021 Ford Bronco. And the insanity doesn't stop there as you'll soon be exploring ruins and jungles, chasing storms, and finding classic cars stashed in barns all across the country. Forza Horizon 5 takes the precedents set by the previous entries in the series and just turns everything up to 11. You'll always have something to do

                      . 

Despite being a cross-generation title across the Xbox One and Series consoles, Forza Horizon 5 looks AMAZING on the Series X. I personally played in the performance mode, as the slight reduction to the visuals is worth it for a locked 60FPS. I've had an absolute blast collecting cars and racing against my friends and their Drivatars, and I can safely say that this is my favourite Forza experience to date. Anyone who is a fan of driving games, or collecting cars in general should give Forza Horizon 5 a spin, it's really worth it.

Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer Switch Review

Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer

Developed By: Masaya

Published By: Ratalaika Games

Date of Release: October 15, 2021

Price: $6.99 

 

When it comes to the venerable Shoot-em-up (SHMUP) genre, one system always comes to mind for me, and that is the SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis. The little 16-BIT powerhouse of the 90s was home to a massive library of SHMUPS, and so many of them still hold up today. And MASAYA's Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer is one of them for sure. Featuring some impressive graphics for the time with some absolutely amazing parallax scrolling that pushed the system to the limits and really gave a glorious sense of 3D space. The number of sprites visible on the screen is massive, and the details on the enemy ships really can't be matched.

Gleylancer also features a rocking score by none other than Noriyuki Iwadare, who composed for a lot of amazing JRPGs and SHMUPS of the 16-bit and 32-bit era. Add to that an arseload of digitized speech and meaty sound effects, and the soundscape absolutely blows away the vast majority of competing titles. Gleylancer would have easily looked at home on the early days of 32-bit consoles such as the PlayStation or Saturn.

 

As for this new port, the emulation is absolutely flawless on the Switch, and the controls are tight an responsive with zero discernible input lag. Add to that a well done translation, various tweaks and enhancements to make the game accessible to newcomers, and some amazing CRT shaders, and it's clear that a lot of love has been put into this offering. At $6.99 it's pretty much a steal for what you get. Every switch SHMUP fan should add Gleylancer to their collection immediately. And if you're just starting out with the genre, it's an amazing title with which to start out on your journey into the world of SHMUPS.

Dusk Nintendo Switch Review

Dusk

Developed/Published By: New Blood Software

Date of Release: October 18, 2021

Price: $19.99

 

So as you can already surmise by the name of this site, I absolutely LOVE the original Quake game from id software. The mixture of fast shooting, awesome level design and lovecraftian elements complete with an utterly atmospheric soundtrack by Trent Reznor has always kept me coming back for more. In 2018 New Blood Interactive decided to blow the world away with DUSK, an absolutely raunchy love letter to fans of all things Quake. With retro styled graphics, awesomely sprawling level design, badass enemies, bigass guns, and even badder enemies, plus a banger of a soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult, DUSK is a perfect example of what can go right with a retro FPS throwback.

And now that glorious experience has been ported to the Nintendo Switch. Normally it seems that ports make sacrifices to shoehorn an experience into another platform it was never designed for. Not DUSK though, it feels like it has transcended it's original medium. The Switch version is an evolution, a tour de force, a magnum opus. Running in 1080p at 60 frames per second, it almost feels too smooth to be true. Add to that the refined interface and gyro controls, and it's a match made in heaven for the Switch hardware, whether playing in docked or handheld.

People usually complain until they're blue in the face that games using the Unity engine are slow and janky, but DUSK is absolute proof that the engine can be used to craft incredible experiences. It absolutely plays as smooth as a game like Doom or Quake, and would completely feel at home in the 90s. The PC version was already frigging awesome, but the Switch port goes just the extra mile and makes it in my opinion the definitive DUSK experience.

       I give DUSK for the Nintendo Switch 10 Ralseis smoking a fat blunt out of Dave Oshry.

Mary Skelter Finale Review

Mary Skelter Finale

Developed By: Compile Heart

Published By: IFI

Date of Release: September 30, 2021

Price: $49.99

 

Well, Compile Heart's Mary Skelter series is back again, and this time it's the big finish. Mary Skelter Finale is out for the Nintendo Switch, however it's an unfortunately lacklustre spectacle. It's pretty much using the same assets as the previous games, just with a new plot slapped on top. That's the problem when a game series start re-using previous assets and layouts lifted verbatim, things start to feel like a retread. That's not to say that the production values aren't still high, they just don't hit as hard as they did in Mary Skelter 2. Sorry if it seems like I'm being overly critical of things here, it's just that the devs kinda dropped the ball on this one.

 Speaking of the previous games, the stories of both games have been shoehorned into the new engine, so you can watch them at your leisure. At that rate though I'm not sure why the devs didn't just include the full gameplay, as the assets are all there. What's there is all well and good though, and if you enjoyed the previous games you'll have a good time, but it still feels a bit lazy and rushed, there could have been so much more to it. 

At the end of the day, Mary Skelter Finale is a slightly mediocre if passable dungeon crawler. It really does feel like it could have been a DLC for the previous release, which had a far greater scope. Go for it if you're a fan of the series, otherwise you might want to wait until something a bit meatier comes along, or wait for a sale. Sorry to be a downer but the way this release was put together just rubbed me the wrong way.