Diablo 3 Eternal Collection (Switch)

This game has taken far longer than it should have for me to finish. However we finally have done it and I’m glad we did! Here …we…go…

To begin with this again was a game I played with the girlfriend! Which is why it took so long to finish “Adult life SUCKS!!” yet we managed to push past it and boy oh boy was it an experience. To begin with if you know nothing about the Diablo series you should know it’s a very very user friendly Hack and Slash adventure game. This one ESPICALLY.. cause it pretty much gives you everything you need to know about it right up front. We played it cooperatively on normal which looking back on we probably could have started on hard and gotten more out of it.

Slow to start you pick a character whom can be one of Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, or Wizard. With this version of the game everything is unlocked and the DLC that was for the PC version is just included in this one. Makes for great value but be warned that if you think it’s a short game… It’s not. Slightly shorter than 2 but not short in general. If you are looking for a place to explore and enjoy it’s LITTERED with details that make it very easy to fall into.

Each character has his or her owns method of playing. Some are easier for support some are better for tanks. It varies depending on how you upgrade the skill tree which really is pretty detailed and fun to explore. One of the coolest things about the game is the ability to change and upgrade your armor BUT KEEP the way you look in the armor with Polymorphs which allow you to change color and style of the armor you are wearing without changing the stats! Personally a feature I think more games should do!

The menus are designed to be very easy to understand. Joining a match also super easy to do. My girlfriend played on her switch lite and I played on my normal switch and we had ZERO problem joining and having fun with it.

The monsters as I stated before are fun to play but on normal setting I will say we had almost Zero challenge. However maybe it being we had experienced games like this before but it seemed a good starting point for people who hadn’t played anything like this. We wanted more challenge and really now that we finished it the game really opens up to online modes and chapters that look interesting to explore.

For the price I see nothing wrong with this game. You will be entertained and it will dig into a interesting world of morbid diablo fun. Check it out!

Cloudpunk (Switch)

So finally finished this GEM of a game. Really fun!! lets just get into this.. here .. we go!

To begin with this game has a very old school feel to it. Beautiful with it’s styling on Pixel/Cyberpunk/Old School story telling. It’s unique in it’s style in that everything that is happening around you it’s both simple and complicated. Think of a city built in a world that is both vast and interesting on every corner. The level of detail that went into making this game is just mind blowing to me because you can tell every inch of it was built to really pull the player into it’s world. While I did finish the game I can say I’m 100% sure I missed several side quest, characters, and just things to do in the game. “I Will be going back!”

A majority of the game you are traveling in a delivery Vehicle. You control “Vehicle” bringing items from one point to the next. During the time you will meet interesting characters and find out more about the character you play as. I don’t spoil things on here BUT.. It gets interesting! While most of the game is story telling and less action. The game is very good at explaining what is happening around you and why that is important. It’s a sort of future that while exploring explains parts of it’s past.

It’s design is amazing, the sound work in it is perfect. It’s a super chill and relax game and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a place to just drift off too. It’s fun and a different and over all a good time!

Building my First Arcade 1 UP Machine.. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

So before I even begin this I want to link the video of me streaming the making of this thing.. It’s a 3 hour video. I streamed on twitch.. Kinda boring.. but yea.. it’s a thing..

So yea I streamed that on Twitch.tv/kainless for anyone curious. That link goes to my Youtube channel but yea.. anyway!! MORE OF THAT STUFF ON KAINLESS.COM…

So.. this is what I BUILT..

Awesome right!! Well.. okay it was a 3 hour project. I have only ever built a Pi Arcade machine before this one. I will say building this one was FARRRR easier than the Pi. All the pieces came in a very heavy box and even came with the Riser, Which if you ask me.. Could be just alittle bit higher.. and it would be perfect.. but really nothing is stopping me from modifying it to make it a few Inches Higher.. So maybe in the future I WILL do that but for right now. Let’s start this adventure the way it went.

I came home from work to this box.

Now fun fact about this was that for me to get ahold of this version of the Cabinet I had to get it exclusively from Sams Club. Which meant yes.. I paid 45$ for a year membership. YET!! On he date it was delivered I guess they lost there exclusive contract because Arcade1Up.com POSTED Yes.. this version is now on sale on there site. HOWEVER.. I will say I spent FARRRRRRR LESSSSSSS for it than the asking price. For the Price I paid for it..it was a steal! The machine and the Riser I managed to get for less than if not about.. 250$ USDs.. So.. yea I lucked out..

ALSO BIG BIG Credit to my Local Fed EX guy who carried that damned box up the stairs to my apartment.. The box was heavy as HELL TO drag in here.. so I can’t imagine.. ANYWAY!! Opening the box was easy enough.. and all the parts came prepackaged according to the Directions. Which are.. vague at.. best.. It’s pictures and Letters.. NO WORDS.. Yes it’s true.. All you need is a screwdriver and maybe a Knife to open stuff.. but that’s it… and that’s all you are going to get.. The directions Don’t explain much.. and really could have been a bit more clear.. I didn’t make any mistakes….BUT!!! I’m sure people will with this.. and while it is mostly just pegs.. screws.. and pieces of wood.. really .. yea..

One of the things that helped me sort out this also is that I built the Riser First.. It gave me a better Idea on where I wanted to place the machine and honestly my boss from work recommended I start that way. It felt right so that’s how it started.. Unwrapping pieces of wood.. finding the correct pegs and parts as lettered was easy enough but like I already stated… Kinda vague on the directions. The Riser while beautiful really is just a box. Simple.. and probably the easiest part of the project.

Front of Riser

Side Of Riser

The next part required some.. improvising. See I built it by myself.. Had my girlfriend been home it probably would have been easier to do. So I will say having a second pair of hands is probably RECOMMENED. True.. I did it on my own BUT!! Probably shouldn’t have… The side panels are HEAVY and standing those suckers up before putting them together was a work against gravity.

Still sliding the screws together and the pegs and so on.. worked and it feels very sturdy once it’s all put together.

Once the Panels had been put together and the screen slide in place. I set the controls inside.. and connected everthing to the back of the Screen. The entire thing is built on that screen. Even the speakers which lay up top.. all connect to that screen AND YES IT’S LOUD!..

Back Panel

It’s all very self explanatory figuring out that the speakers connect up top.. Controller on the bottom. Power port on the bottom…Not exactly rocket science.

Controller

The controller did come with a plastic cover over it that I actually kept on..Didn’t want to risk hurting the artwork which is again…Perfect… Yes this has the red white blue and yellow run buttons.. The sticks are American style… When I built my own machine I went with the Lolly pop controls. However I’m finding it better that the baseball style works.

The games and Controller

Once it was plugged in and put together the rest was simple to figure out. It has an off and on button.. Volume Button.. and two controls… While the space between the two controls is a bit close.. I will say.. it’s far enough..

The machine itself comes with.. 12 games.. it doesn’t include MK 3 Original or MK 4.. It doesn’t have online either. However the versions of the games that are on it are the FINAL Versions..So after playing it and finishing MK 1 2 AND UMK 3 .. I can confirm that the games are flawless.. I have had no issues with it at all. I’ll keep everyone posted..if anything should happen… LOVE IT!

Vigil The Longest Night : Good Ending (Switch)

I have already reviewed this game once. However I played thru it again to get the good ending and WOW this game opened up and changed!

Probably one of the best games I have played in a long time. Trying to get the good ending was something I found probably easier to do after having gotten the bad ending. You keep all your advances after getting the bad ending. Which helps to do the game again but this time with more detail.

It’s important to remember that the game has quest. Objectives that should be completed to a point. Failing some results in different avenues the story will go.

It took much longer to get the good ending because of having to pay more attention to the details of the town involved. Solving puzzles and knowing when to complete each task was tricky but after looking online for a walkthrough of his and that. It became a joy and fun to do. Expanding on the places you go and the universe is a joy and never once seemed like work or a bore.

You gain more abilities and learn more about the lore taking your time with this game. It’s a fun place and while I enjoyed the first run of it he second run was probably the better way to do it.

Ikai (Switch)

Looking into horror games has been an adventure in itself with the indie scene becoming very grabby at making games that are AMAZING and fun..and without question different. Ikai is without question one of those games…So here we go!

To begin with it’s a first person view point game. So not really much learning in terms of buttons or menus or anything like that. However it is also in the grand scheme of it’s design a puzzle horror game. Running and hiding is necessary as well as figuring out puzzles is how the game works.

In terms of design it’s a beautiful game. Most parts of it look like pieces of artwork. It digs deep into Japanese lore and Myths. It plays well into Phycological horror in that most of the time you won’t see he enemies. However when you do.. it’s probably too late!

The defense to the game involves knowing how to be in he right place. How to avoid and understand that the clock is ticking. A feeling of urgency is always following you with this game and it helps to keep the atmosphere very well paced.

Overall it’s a fairly cheap game to buy. Worth every penny and not very long. It’s fun and a cool short trip into horror that I think everyone with the time should at the very least try.

Vigil The Longest Night (Switch)

So I was browsing around the Eshop and came across this awesome looking game that I really knew nothing about short of a small trailer that was presented. It was also on sale at the time so I picked it up and boy am I glad I did!…HERE….we…go…

To begin with the game is probably one of the most beautiful games I have seen in a long time. Everything in it looks hand panted and is set up with so much detail that just standing around looks cool. It’s a sidescroller of course but in it’s details it’s also a Horror Mystery game that allows the player to use both action adventure and puzzle solving to progress thru different avenues of play thru.

In it’s simple state you could look at a game like this and say .. okay the button lay out is easy using a jump and one button attack style to begin with.. but the way it builds the character Leila thru the Inventory and Equipment Menu is how it layers an aspect of character building that helps to make it far more complicated and FUN as you progress. Leveling up Leila thru combat also branches out the weapons you will use throughout the game.

Giving you the option to use Swords, Dual Blades, Axes, Bowes all of which can be upgraded thru a blacksmith makes for advancing the game in such away that you can tell it’s grinding but you enjoy doing it. You don’t stay in one place for very long and depending on how you interact with the people of the town of Maye will set course on one of several ending you can get in the game. “Personally in my first play thru I got the worst ending…go figure”..

Yet even having finished the game I do now look forward to jumping back into it to try to see what I missed and attempt to get that better ending. Really it’s a game that makes you think about what is happening in it’s world and at times can be ruthless with the enemies but again.. in the funniest way possible. I never felt frustrated once with this game just curious as to how I could get past each obstacle the game threw at me.

In terms of design the game is pretty flawless. Having both a visual and Audio track that just keeps it interesting and fun. Everything matches exactly the way you would want it too. For the price I paid I would have paid more for sure had I seen the game sooner. IT’S A GREAT GAME .. and may even be one of my favorites this year that I played.

Metroid Dread (Switch)

Happy 2022!! This will be the first game I post about for this new year. Hoping for it to be a good year?! This site should get some good updates!! Have lots of games to catch up on.. BUT .. anyway.. here we go!

So I have written about this series before..

See..

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2021/10/07/metroid-other-m-wiiu/

Metroid Zero Mission (WIIU)

Metroid Zero Mission (WIIU)

Metriod Fusion WIIu

This game takes place directly after Metroid Fusion “making it Metroid 5”.. While it’s not the 5th game to be made it is placed as such. Now having very little knowledge about the story or anything to do with past games is honestly not a important part of enjoying the game. However as to understand the lore and what is actually happening to our hero “Samus” it helps to have complete 1-4..

Now with all that aside the game itself plays extremally well. Taking what worked in the past and adding a bit of suspense and the correct atmosphere making for the Perfect Metroid Game. While the focus of the game is still a standard sidescolling adventure of exploring and dealing with Aliens. It does so in the perfect pace with puzzles and action being the big focus.

Pretty much exactly what you would want out of a 5th installment to the series is exactly what you want to get. Great graphics in a world full of things to explore and a sound setting that keeps the game driven. Easy controls to pick up and understand with very little to learn about considering it’s again.. the 5th game.

Likely one of my favorite games of 2021..HOWEVER .. On a personal note.. I will say this.. THE LAST BOSS CAN SUCK A BAG OF @#%@#% as far as I am concerned it wasn’t easy.. but well worth the price.

Metroid Other M (WiiU)

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.. I played a game and never wrote about it because at the time everyone was writing about this game and how horrible it was in the series.. AND I DIDN’T AGREE!! So here we go!! Other M!

Let me start with the basics here. The game to begin with is beautiful. Design wise it’s an easy game to pick up and the tutorial is made for everyone to learn and understand how the new mechanics works. Which is kind of interesting because it uses both side scrolling and first person to explore the areas. It adds a level of detail to the exploring that I think is pretty cool because it answers questions about what you are seeing around you.

Like every single Metroid before it “and I played them all” Samus starts off very basic and slowly is granted access to new upgrades of weapons and abilities. Now this in turn is why this particular game is such A PROBLEM FOR SO MANY PEOPLE. She doesn’t lose her abilities.. she CHOOSES to turn them off until she is granted permission by her superior officer whom she is working with ON this mission. She makes the decision which brings up an entire background about her having military training and later on becoming the bounty hunter we all know she is.

It’s the first time we find out any information about the character we have been playing as for 3 previous titles “Zero Mission, Samus Returns, and Super Metroid 3” For the respect of the mission which she wasn’t even supposed to be on but was granted an Alliance because her superiors officer is running the mission “Adam Malkovich”. Now keep in mind I NEVER TALK ABOUT STORY on these post and mostly I focus on the game. However this seems to be the issue with this game that so many people have found to be THE BIG PROBLEM THAT I think can be ignored!

Fact is the game focuses on Samus the Hunter. While it plays very much exactly like a Metroid game should it really does focus on the struggles of that character which very little has ever been said about until this point. I think a big part of what many people held issue with wasn’t the gameplay. It was removing the mystery from the character. All the things you as a player could relate too are gone at this point because it explains what is happening.

You still get to explore a new world, you still get cool weapons, you fight evil monsters and some cool new ones but they dashed the game with a bit of story that wasn’t to the liking of many. Do I think it’s a bad game because of that. HELL NO! While I welcome and lore about this series I paid for a Metroid game and that’s exactly what I got. It’s great action, mystery, and it’s fun to play.

Personally I wouldn’t skip this title because it happens between super metroid and Fusion. So technically it’s Metroid 3.5… could you skip it? Sure… but I think you would be missing a interesting part of lore by doing so.

Doom Eternal part 2(Switch)

Let me just begin by saying I have already done a TON!! Of writing about doom on this site. So without question I’m going to say to buy it. HOWEVER!! Let’s review first..

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/something-for-now-till-darkness-is-finish-here-is-doom-64/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/more-doom-64-stuff/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/doom-3-bfg-edition-part-1-of-3/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/doom-3-part-2-of-2/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/doom-3-bfg-edition-part-3-of-3/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/doom-3-the-lost-mission/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2019/07/30/doom-1993-switch/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/doom-2016-switch/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2019/12/31/doom-2-1994-switch/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2020/03/21/doom-64-ps4-switch/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2020/03/27/doom-eternal-part-1-ps4/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2021/04/01/doom-eternal-the-ancient-gods-part-1-2dlc-ps4/

https://videogamesalexander.wordpress.com/2021/07/28/doom-zero-dlc-switch/

So why even bother writing about this game? Well…here…we…go!

To begin with If you are looking for a copy of Doom Eternal for on the GO! Switch is without question the best way to do that. However I’m sure you could spend well over 2000 $ on a laptop that will let you play it on the go but.. why would you do that?! The only thing this game is missing is the shineyness that makes Doom Eternal on the PS4 PS5 AND PC pretty.

It’s true you won’t get 60 frames a second.. but a reduced.. 30 frames a second.. Which you would think would change the speed of the game. However .. it really doesn’t. I was capable of pulling off the same actions in Doom on those consoles as I was in this. By far one of the most impressive ports on the switch honestly I kept saying to myself while playing it.. How the hell did they manage to keep all of this stuff going on a handheld system.

it’s a beautiful game both docked and undocked on the switch. However the odd thing you will come to find is the only way you can buy it is thru the Digital version.. No Physical version was made “AS OF YET!! 09/14/2021” Will that change in the future… maybe… but they just released both DLCS for the game and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised after all the patch work that it be done.

but as I was saying everything is in it. The best part about it also is that Bethuseda linked the accounts. So while you CAN’T transfer save data YOU CAN .. Transfer all your little details across platform. So that Doom 64 skin you got on the PS4 Version of the game after beating it on PS4 Does transfer to the Switch.

So that’s pretty cool. Of course nothing has changed with the soundtrack being amazing as it was on the other consoles. Honestly it’s the same exact game just slightly less graphical or pretty. Yes sometimes it gests blurry but again.. it’s a switch.. and you would expect as much considering what the game is pushing on it. Yet it does maintain the speed.. and action without question! Honestly loved every second of it and look forward to trying the DLC soon!

The Legend Of Zelda Link’s Awakening (Switch)

While this is a remake of a Gameboy game released in 1993. The game was improved and released also under the title Link’s Awakening DX in 1998 but this is a brand new game based on those two in the series. So what did I think of it!…here….we…go

Link’s Awakening is the strangest Zelda game I have ever played yet also one of the most charming in it’s presentations. Graphic was it’s like playing with Zelda toys on the screen. Both beautiful, and simplistic. The music is amazing and it feels like you are playing a version of A Link to the past that never got released. Now what makes it strange?

How do I even begin to explain how you can never tell what is going to come next. The game keeps you on a surprised setting at every turn. While you think you will see one thing something completely different will pop up. While it’s not a story heavy as Twlight Princess this game is based more around the original concept of find the Dungeon .. Get the Item.. Kill the boss..and move on. The puzzles can be difficult, and fun to figure out. Getting lost is close to impossible because the game does have several characters that try to help you find your way.

Much of what this game does is all traditional NES Zelda. Enter the Dungeon and explore to find a map, compass and Item to help you progress. The menu is easy to use, maps are easy to read. It’s simple to play and expects you to remember details about those you interact with as you progress. Mystery and understanding can be a bit hard but it’s a Zelda game so it’s what you come to expect.

One of the things I find very charming about the game is how it does respect the material it’s presenting. You will find surprise guest characters BUT .. they aren’t who you think they are. In some ways it’s this twisted distorted sort of reality that makes you often question… WHAT THE HELL..IS HAPPENING..hehe

It’s fun game and honestly it’s what an every Original Zelda player could want and more. Without question worth the price which because it’s a nintendo game probably will remain over 30$. still funn fun…