Devil May Cry (Switch)

Devil May Cry has been a series that I have known about since it’s introduction on the PS2 back in 2001. I have had several friends tell me how great the series is and explain to me how I NEEDED to play it. After years of waiting I finally managed to download it for the Nintendo Switch in all it’s updated glory and can say it was worth the time! Here..we..go..

The game for the most part is a fast paced action slasher built around playing the character Dante. A demon hunter who is quickly learning about his abilities and skill thru combat against King Mundus and his demons. For the most part the game is action based on using swords, and guns in combination. You will pick up weapons as you move thru a large castle and it’s surrounding area. Learning to use a combination of different sword swipes thru button combinations can seem a bit intimidating at first but quickly like learning a fighting game it becomes second nature about an hour into playing the game.

Much of the game also involves solving room puzzles. Finding the right keys for the right doors and figuring out how to get to new locations. Exploring statues, books, and all the little details is important in that you can find more from exploring those things than not. It doesn’t handhold at all in that it wants you to explore the rooms. While the action is fast paced it is without question a game you want to explore and move around in. Examining a statue or picture in one room could be the key to finding how to get to the next.

I personally had to have someone who had already finished the game help me get past much of the game because of how many details I was horrible at figuring out. Once I figured out it was more of a exploring type of game than just a normal liner action based game it all worked out.

While you explore you will pick up new weapons and upgrades to your character. You do have continues and health advantages but keep in mind it again is very important you search the details. If something seems out of place it’s probably that way for a reason.

Over all I enjoyed the game and while I would normally jump to the sequel I have been told by everyone I know that Devil May Cry 2 SUCKS… and to just try 3 because of it. While I don’t normally take the advice of people and like to explore things myself. EVERYONE I KNOW has told me to me…with no variations on the topic….so I might just skip 2 and jump to 3 in the future. WHO KNOWS!

The Legend Of Zelda Twlight Princess HD (WiiU)

Re-released in 2016 Originally Released in 2006 for the Wii and Gamecube. Twlight Princess HD is without question the best Game to buy for the Nintendo WiiU. With rumors spread recently on a RE …RE…Release for Switch. I Finally took the time to sit down and play thru this amazing game only this time INHD…so…here….we…go

While the WiiU System itself gets a great deal of bad representation I can full heartily say the price for the system and this particular game make it worth a buy. While this is the 14th game in the series it takes big strides to tell a brand new story that includes the characters you want to see in the series with additional new characters to expand a fantastic story. While Dark and a bit grittier than previous titles this game takes everything you know about the Zelda series and adds a bit more complexity to the story being told.

This particular version uses the controller screen to give easier access to the menu, map, and helps with the interface of the game as you play. Making access to the weapons and armor you pick up as you go easier is a plus but not really a huge selling point or change to the game. The big change comes in the design from Gamecubes software to the jump the WIIU provides. It’s a beautiful, clean and probably the most detailed version of The Legend of Zelda series.

The games sound design and direction are easy to follow. The story nothing short of perfect and engaging. Taking both the old hack and slash puzzle solving you would expect from the series and adding brand new characters, dungeons, and places to discover. Full of side quests, and of course hidden items it’s art style in every respect shows a mature tone to the series that has yet to sadly be repeated.

Without question if you own a WIIU it is a must have title. I purchased in a long time ago and only recently managed to find the time to finish and enjoy it again after having finished it originally on the Gamecube. I was happy to return to the title and recommend anyone who has the chance to also do so. The HD version is worth every cent.

Castlevania Anniversary Collection part 1 (Switch)

So this one took me a bit because it’s a collection of games and I only finished the first 4. Castlevania 1 – 4… Having barely played the first 3 before.. it was intersting.. so here..we..go

Well to begin with I have written about my love for this series in the past. I grew up with Super Castlevania IV for the SNES (That being the first in the series I played and Finished). It wowed me back in 1991 with it’s amazing background designs and simple yet technical platforming adventure. The game was and still is pretty straight forward for the most part but having gone back a time before with the first three games was a treat and a challenge.

This collection which holds the first 4 games in the series for both NES and SNES along with 4 other titles that had been previously released for Gameboy and Sega Genesis and Overseas release was fun to dabble with. With this be the first part of what will be a two part write up. I will be talking about I – IV.

Castlevania 1…3…and 4 are pretty straight forward games and in some ways are the same game. 3 being the most different because you play not only as Trevor Belmont but it introduces two other characters to the series Sypha Belnades and Alucard who both have there own traits to add to the gameplay of the game. This also the first and from my understanding the only game that has multiple endings and routes to play it between these 4 games.

Castlevania 2 was by far the most frustrating but also interesting games I played between the 4 because it wasn’t liner in that it was an open world platformer. It took place both during the day and a night and required a great deal of mystery solving to it that honestly without a walk thru I have no idea how anyone could figure out. You played as Simon Belmont and some parts of the game were so difficult that I couldn’t think of how anyone for it’s time figured out how to solve the game with it’s poorly written clues. From my understanding Nintendo Power was REQUIRED to figure out much of it.

Honestly for what the games are I understand all to well why they are classics. It’s monsters and action at it’s best and at times most difficult. The game today still runs for about 20$ and really for that price you get your dollars worth considering this is more than 10 + hours of content involved with it. Personally I’m glad I bought it and while the series continues on well past this point. It’s a great classic to have on the switch and has aged well enough for it’s time.

Streets Of Rage 4 (Switch)

So me and the girlfriend last night played and Finished the newest addition to the Streets of Rage series.. Streets of Rage 4! for the Switch… and here…we..go..

My background with this series is very limited as I never owned a Sega system till recently while getting into Emulations on the pi… So beat em ups are really just a dabbling genre that me and the girlfriend will pick up every now and again to enjoy.

While a background with this series I am sure would have been cool from what we gathered of the story and the characters it became clear it’s not Necessary. I does a good job of explaining what is going on and the why.

Picking up the game is super easy and you don’t need Two Controllers to play it. We used the Two Joy Cons and no issue playing the game. It plays pretty basic. Jump, Attack, Special Move and Pick up items. A combination of pressing two buttons at once allows you to do a super move. Again pretty simple and very Classic Arcade system for a beat em up.

You move up and down the screen beating up enemies of several types. Progress from stage to stage each with it’s own types of bosses and Enemies. In between each stage a small comic book clip like move explaining the story.

The game is beautiful by design, with really cool Synth Music to keep you pupped and going. It’s fun and easy enough to learn that anyone can just pick it up and play.

The best part!! Cause of a sale in the Nintendo Store it only cost 9.99! However I would have probably payed more cause it is a fun coop game. It does comes with other modes and you can reply it with lots to do in variation. Honestly.. IT’S A FUN GAME.. and I hope for more!

Doom 64 (PS4 & Switch)

With the release of Doom Eternal “The latest in the Doom series”.. a Re-release of 1997s Nintendo 64 Doom 64 has been released for current gen Consoles. I have already finished it and played thru all of the game and here is what I have to say about probably my favorite in the series.. so.. here.. we go..

Doom 64 to start with is a game I have written about several times in the past.

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

It’s without question one of the games I would recommend on my top 3 games of all time. It has atmosphere and a feeling to it that is both simple and Creepy at times but always full of action. With this being ported to current gen games I was a bit worries we would get a poor copy of the amazing experience we had in 97 however I was pleasantly surprised to find that the game holds up VERY WELL!

The graphics while dated of course are clear and adjusted extremely well for HD. While basic in it’s design but amazing for it’s time. This translation of the game is everything a person who didn’t play the game would want. It controls are simple as it was in 97 and the sound design holds up perfect for the experience. Everything was translated to this port in a perfect art.

Zero load times, smoother than the original frame rate and a slightly faster running speed that really can only be noticed while fighting off some monsters that otherwise weren’t a problem before are now. It’s perfect and exactly what any Doom fan would want out of a translation.

Now people who pre ordered DOOM Eternal will receive the game for free which clearly is a STEAL!! However if you didn’t preorder the game you can still get it for 4.99$.  Which again is a steal.. Now why would anyone who already owned this game buy it?.. Well three changes I noticed that made it worth the price. First ADDED LEVELS!! Yeap they added a entirely NEW chapter to the game called THE LOST LEVELS… This was in prep for Doom Eternal.. and while I will say they are fun to play and give a little more insight into the story of Doom 2016. It more than made for the price point of 5$..

Second thing I noticed is that on the Nintendo Switch Version of the game it has a tracking Movement control. Doesn’t sound very interesting but it’s a cool thing to see. You move the switch motion Left.. The guy moves left… so you get it.. The other odd change I noticed which really was the ONLY change to the game was that medical boxes are BLUE …Not Red Crossed.. my guess .. Copyright or something… Either way.. YOU SHOULD PLAY IT IF YOU HAVEN’T!! it cost less than a pizza… Why wouldn’t you buy it??

Doom 2 1994 (Switch)

To go along side the release of Doom 1 and 3.. Doom 2 was also released for the Nintendo Switch so naturally I had to buy it with the rest of the series. This time around I played it solo “Yes coop is in the game” and came into a few different issues with it. SO HERE are some thoughts..and here…we…go

To begin with Doom 2 is the least played Doom game I have played and not because I didn’t want to play it more but because I never really owned it for PC until I got my first Personally owned PC which was maybe in 2002. It’s slightly different from DOOM 1 in that the difficulty level even on normal is SOOOOOO MUCH HARDER..

So what makes it more difficult? More enemies, harder stages to solve and a personal sense of ego that causes me to never give up on stages that i put myself into a hole with! The biggest change in this game from DOOM 1 is that you are given a Double Barrel shot gun and NEW DEMONS!! The Double Barrel is slower but more powerful than the single Barrel and it helps to killing off some of the previous monsters but not so much the Newer Demons such as the Pain Elemental and Revenant “HATE BOTH OF THOSE GUYS!! But love the designs!”

You can tell that with this sequel everything that was learned from DOOM 1 that worked.. Works really well with this Sequel. The satisfaction factor of clearing out a room of 30 Demons is always pleasant however I will say that so many times you will die and saving is a must considering how often you can do it in this game.

With this game concluded I am happy to say that a recent update has added that on top of this game coming with the Master Levels which is a added 30 + stages. The game will have added FINAL DOOM AND DOOM SIGIL On top of the upcoming release of DOOM 64 which now comes with the new Doom Eternal to be released on March 20th!

SUPER EXCITED About that.. Yet coming back to topic.. Yes doom 2 is sooooooooo much harder than Doom 1 but for the price of 5.99.. your out ya mind not to buy it! It’s fun…Simple.. AND challenging

UNDERTALE Switch

After months and months and months of me telling my girlfriend I would get to Undertale.. WE FINALLY DID IT… and all it really took was for me to buy it on the Nintendo Switch.. to do it… SO HERE WE GO!!!

To start with HAVE AN OPEN MIND…cause to say this game is an experience is an…UNDER….STATEMENT… HAHAHAHAHAHAH…. ok … ummm

You play as a little boy?…..little girl…… ummm…little person.. “That works!” who falls down a hole into a world of Monsters. You encounter lots of different creatures, monsters, both cute and scary looking.  One of the most interesting things about the game is how it’s played. It has sort of a turn base thing that gives you the options for Fight, Act,Items, and Mercy. It forces you to interact with your actions by moving your heart piece in a box while things try to attack it.  Personally I think I sound crazy describing that but that’s exactly how it works.

Lots of text fills this game and personality is a quality I have learned it builds very well. It’s a unique story to tell and often I found myself saying….”what?…what happened?” The music and graphics are probably some of the best I have heard in awhile with this type of retro style. It was a good mix of horror at some points.. and some action rpg…You will gather items and build the character as you would in most RPGs.  Like I started with it was a experience.

From my understanding of this game it has several endings..and depending on how you choose to play it can change the game dramatically.. I went with the pacifist route…  Meaning I didn’t kill anyone the entire game… Which was hard.. but not impossible. I might go with the more aggressive route in the future but … who knows…

Was it worth the money to buy it off the Switch Shop…YES!! If you are looking for a adventure game that is over all easy to play and unique… GO FOR IT!

The Legend Of Zelda Breath of the Wild Wiiu

So before I start this I think a brief bit of history should be given. I have in the past Finished Most of the The Legend of Zelda games which include (The Legend of Zelda, Link, A Link to the past, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Twlight Princess, and A Link Between worlds) Any that I haven’t named I am still working on currently. I have never been a fan of open world games and have even gone on the record to say I HATE OPEN World games. So this being my prospective of this title I was very weary going into it. Yet here we go…lets see what I thought.

To start off this is the first Zelda game I have played in awhile that really had no guide to it. You wake up and you get going for the most part. No real directions are given as to what place you should go or how you should go about playing the game. This is also the first Zelda game that I can remember in awhile that you didn’t get the sword or shield in the first 10 minutes of the game. Cause it’s open world (very much like Zelda 1) you are pretty much given the story that you have been asleep for 100 years.. Zelda needs your help.. and you need to find your memories to figure pretty much everything out. No Navi, No Midna, No real help….short of the nice people of Hyrule.

Now while I did finish the story to this game I am 100% sure that I didn’t find everything the game has to offer. I knew from exploring that I had to defeat the 4 Guardians and that the world was open to explore and without bounds. Which is why it took me so long to just get past the story.  I knew that from playing the other Zelda games that a Master Sword was probably in a forest some place. That a Master shield had to be around to go with it and that Link would also acquire different outfits to get past different areas. That much is Common with every Zelda series. However the amount of exploring this game opens up for you is just OVERWHELMING.

One of the main reasons I don’t really do well with open world games is because I get lost very quickly. However getting lost in this game is pretty much how you find everything. It places into your hands the thought of HEY .. what’s over that mountain or what’s in that cave and lets you explore. Personally I both love and hate that idea. I love it because if you think about something chances are you can do it. I hate it because if you just want to get from point A to point B chances are you will have to deal with some nonsense in between that.

It’s a beautiful game without question and has all the things I personally want out of a Zelda game. Puzzles, Interesting Monsters, Interesting mythology, Fun story telling, Items to help me get in and out of places and above all HOURS UPON HOURS of replay ability. Yet for the most part the one thing I noticed that was missing was lack of Direction. I know at least 4 people who are currently or who have already finished this game. Every person has a different story to tell as to how they managed to finish it and what they needed to do TO DO IT. Personally I think that is awesome because it becomes a experience. It makes for great conversation and keeps the game mysterious while maintaining a basic concept for what is happening.

Again the game is beautiful and full of things for you to explore and do. The world is very much alive and something is constantly happening around you at different times. While I will say I would have much rather it been a linear adventure much like A Link Between worlds with some exploring on the side I find this game to be a very new and very modern way of exploring the game world. Who doesn’t want to run around Hyrule without bounds after all?

Now in terms of game play the game has a really easy setup. You get health from eating/cooking combined Items. Yes you can still gather faeries and yes they still do what they always have done but for the most part you want to keep the food to up your hearts. The game puts a emphasis on gather hearts and gathering Stamina upgrades. All Zelda games have had in the past the heart meter and while the Stamina gauge is new it also limits what you can explore. Without the correct amount of Stamina you aren’t climbing some mountains or gliding to some areas. So in a very clever way of gathering that you are required to gather orbs from Shrine locations all over Hyrule. From what I understand the game has over 100 Shrines. You are required to have 4 orbs per heart and or Stamina Upgrade.

To sum it all up simply If you find a shrine you deal with a small puzzle and or Enemy to get the orbs. Again the game emphasis or exploring to get those heart and Stamina upgrades.  You will run into Forest, Deserts, Water temples (I HATE THOSE in every Zelda), and Caves. Overall the game never leaves you bored with things to do and to explore.  It does have a fast travel system that allows you to teleport from one Shrine to another and this time around you can gather mounts to run around the world if you like as well. Again the game is an experience because of all the things it allows you to do while maintain the basic structure of a Legend of Zelda Adventure.

Personally for my money I am happy I purchased it and still want to explore more of that world. Like I said I am 100% sure I didn’t find EVERYTHING just…yet.. and yes it has DLC…but we will get to that another day…maybe….

Fatal Frame Maidens of the black water WIIU

So this is a game I have been working on for awhile now. To this day I have only really played 3 of the 4 Fatal Frame games in the series, so going into this I had a small idea of what I was getting myself into. Any who..this is what I thought!

To begin with this is one of the more beautiful horror games I have seen to date. The Graphics are really good in a dark and gritty sorta way. Not so much gory or bloody but it sets a good environment and atmosphere for what the story is trying to tell. The ghost are creative and really you are going to run into the same ones over and over again but what really stands out are the places they appear.

Because the game is 3rd person (like resident evil 4, Evil Within) to explore and First PERSON to attack it becomes a bit difficult to play. All the ghost in the game are slow moving until the moment of attack. You will switch from 3rd to First in a instant and this will cause you to move the wiiu pad to follow the ghost. It took me a moment to understand but like taking a REAL Picture with a camera angles and position with timing is very important on how you attack each enemy. Getting a Fatal Frame which is the strongest attack you can have is tricky but by the end of chapter 1 the game sets you up to understand everything you need to know.

The Upgrade system for the Camera is also very important to keep in mind and while the game paces it VERY VERY SLOWLY.. not upgrading makes the later chapters harder to finish “EVEN ON EASY…personally I played on Normal”.

Now again this is a slow paced horror game. You aren’t going to be running and hiding like most games now a days. Film is used as ammunition and for the most part it’s a giving system. In total you have 14 chapters to finish and while that doesn’t sound like much I would say it’s probably a 6 hour adventure NOT Counting the bonus Chapters after you finish.

What really drives he game is the story and for the most part it’s clear to understand HOWEVER you are going to read notes and pages of information that seem repetitive at times. By the middle of the game you pretty much get what is going on and for some odd reason the game likes to hammer it in.

Over all it’s a very fun game and the sounds and graphics are worth playing if you are looking for a slow paced horror game. A couple of times I got lost but only because of some minor detailed glitches. I enjoyed the game and for the most part the characters are fun to play with. Do I think it was worth the price? Yes! It had a free demo which included the first chapter of the game so really anyone can try it out and see what think. I am happy I finished it and think the series is still one of the better horror series I have played.

Why Nintendo remains best!

So this is a love story about a event that accord recently. More specifically yesterday “04/07/2015” it involves Customer Service and how THINGS SHOULD BE DONE ALL AROUND!

So I have had my Nintendo Wii “Not Wiiu” for about let’s say.. 8 or 9 years now. The machine runs great! All but once did I have to send it to Nintendo to get it repaired and even at the time that I did send it in.. they REPAIRED IT FOR FREE. So really no big deal on my end.

Now at first my thought was that maybe it was the memory card. I have had that GameCube Memory Card since 2002 so that was more then 10 years ago I figure maybe I needed a new Memory card. I went on amazon and managed to purchase a NEW memory card for fairly cheap. No big deal! I put the memory card in and played Resident Evil Remake and it worked fine. The card saved my data no biggie.. didn’t think anything more of it.

Then I played Mortal Kombat Deception and managed to get all the way to the Second Quest of the Conquest mode and for whatever the reason when it went to load the next Chapter it started the issue again. Only this time the game said it was corrupted and needed to DELETE EVERYTHING off the memory card. Sad to say..it did that.. and I was back to START on ALL GAMES.

So I looked up the phone number for NINTENDO CUSTOMER SUPPORT. The phone call lasted over all perhaps 20 minutes. I spoke to a really nice gentlemen and explained my problem to him. He listened well and was very helpful at trouble shooting the problem. In the end it came down to me sending my Wii in for a repair. Not really a big deal because I sort of knew this was going to happen when I called.

Now here’s the best part! The guy would explain to me that a price would be required “something I also knew would happen”. He started out explaining the price of shipping tax and how much the repair would cost at about 99$. So I questioned him.. “at 99$ couldn’t I just go out and buy a new one?” and he replied.. “Yes you could so I tell you what.. I WILL DROP the price to 75$ is that a better price?” I was like …yea that’s not to bad.. but I think I will just wait it out then because that’s still sort of High for me…HE REPLIED AGAIN..”Ok 75 is too high how about I cut the price of shipping and make it 50$” …

I…WAS…IN…SHOCK… Because not only did he cut the price down to 50$.. but he added a renewed warranty on the machine IF they could repair it.. OR A BRAND NEW MACHINE with all my data transferred for the same price.. SO TO SUM IT ALL UP.. FOR 50$ I GET MY MACHINE SHIPPED AND REPAIRED “OR REPLACED” in just a week and halfs time!

no company I have dealt with in the past has been this giving..”I AM LOOKING AT YOU SONY”.. Hell Sony when I called about my ps3 being yellow lighted.. WANTED 150 BUCKS TO REPAIR IT .. PLUS I HAD TO SHIP IT… SO MORE THEN 200 BUCKS..

Honestly.. I will be shipping my Nintendo this morning.. I already have my shipping information.. and really.. I LOVE HOW AMAZING NINTENDO IS FOR BEING SO COOL WITH A MACHINE I HAVE HAD FOR ABOUT 8 OR 9 YEARS AND WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO HAVE FOR ANOTHER 8 OR 9 YEARS…

THIS IS WHY NINTENDO IS THE BEST!!