River City: Rival Showdown (3DS)
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Posted on December 29th, 2017 by
There’s a popular video game character in Japan named Kunio who has been fighting the good fight for about 30 years now! Kunio is a high school student who is hot-blooded and gets in a lot of fights, but he has a good heart. He mostly stars in a lot of beat-em up games, but also is very athletic and competes in sports titles as well. Many of Kunio’s games have made it to the US, with some graphical and name changes, of course. Some of these include the very first Kunio game, called Renegade in the West. Some of his sports titles that have been brought over here are Super Dodge Ball, World Cup Soccer, and Crash N the Boyz Street Challenge. Even the Double Dragon games have ties to Kunio. But perhaps his most famous game in the US is the NES classic River City Ransom. Over the past year or so, Natsume has brought over some of the more recent Kunio games to the 3DS in the US, and the newest is River City: Rival Showdown. In the game, twin brothers have taken over a neighboring high school and threaten to take over Kunio’s turf. Even worse, Kunio’s best pal and friendly rival Riki has discovered that his girlfriend has gone missing. Kunio only has three days to beat the bad guys and solve the mystery in this 3DS game.
Crawl (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Steam)
Posted on December 28th, 2017 by
Crawl is a pixelated, crazy action rouge-like game (reminiscent of Vs Pac Man) where one player explores and the others control the monsters, taking a turn at being an explorer if they manage to kill him. While an explorer, players level up experience and gain gold. Gold can be spent at a shop to improve one’s items and abilities. While monsters, players gather up “rage” and can spend it to upgrade their monsters. The first person to level their explorer up to level 10 and make it back to the start will warp out of the dungeon and “win” the game. Working well with up to 4 players on the same console, Crawl is another great multiplayer title on the Switch (Switch version reviewed here.)
The Next Penelope: Race to Odysseus (Switch, PC)
Posted on December 28th, 2017 by
The Next Penelope is like a cross between a top down racer like Super Sprint, mixed with the high speed action of an F-Zero game. The story combines intergalactic battle racing with Greek mythology, but the plot doesn’t really enhance the gameplay much. And no, this game is not about Wacky Races’ Penelope Pitstop. You’ll compete in all sorts of super-difficult racing and battle missions as you progress through levels around the galaxy. The Next Penelope is available to download on Nintendo Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
SUPERBEAT XONiC (Switch, PS4, Vita, Xbox One)
Posted on December 27th, 2017 by
SUPERBEAT XONiC is a music and rhythm game featuring a wide selection of international techno songs. Icons will move from the middle of the screen outward, and when they reach a line, you must hit the correct button in time with the music. It’s available for nearly all current game consoles, but reviewed on Switch here.
Poi: Explorer Edition (Switch)
Posted on December 26th, 2017 by
You are either a boy or girl orphan who dreams of going on an adventure. One day you meet up with an old man who has an airship. He is a former explorer, but lost all his Explorer Medals in a violent storm many years ago. Now it’s your job to explore the land of Poi and help the old man get his medals back. Poi: Explorer Edition is a 3-D platformer that hearkens back to the days of the N64 and GameCube, where colorful 3-D collect-a-thon platformers were at their peak.
Super Beat Sports (Switch)
Posted on December 22nd, 2017 by
Some may say that many skills in sports require a rhythmic action to them, and now you can put that statement to the test with Super Beat Sports. It’s a music/rhythm game with a sports theme and you can download it on the Nintendo Switch. In the game you play as a human who travels to a whimsical alien world where they play sports based on music and rhythm. It’s cute and quirky and reminds me a bit of the Rhythm Heaven game series (those games even had golf and ping pong rhythm games).
Party Planet (Switch)
Posted on December 21st, 2017 by
Aside from 1-2 Switch, there’s not a lot of multiplayer mini-game party titles on the Nintendo Switch, at least not that I’m aware anyway. Which is a little surprising, considering Nintendo’s recent console history. But now, Party Planet is here to fill that void for Switch owners this Christmas season. It’s a collection of 30 mini-games for up to four players, and can be played solo, cooperatively, or competitively.
Steven Universe: Save the Light (PS4, Xbox One)
Posted on December 20th, 2017 by
There is quite a dedicated fanbase for Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe series. And there’s yet ANOTHER new game out based on the franchise. Steven Universe: Save the Light is actually a sequel to a mobile game I reviewed a couple of years ago called Attack the Light, which was on mobile devices. It’s unusual for a mobile game to get a sequel on a console, but that’s just what happened here, as Save the Light is available to download on PS4 and Xbox One (PS4 version reviewed here).
Steven Universe: Dreamland Arcade (iOS, Android)
Posted on December 19th, 2017 by
Steven Universe is one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows right now. It’s about a boy named Steven who befriends some gem-based intergalactic warriors and they go on adventures together. As popular as the show is, there aren’t too many video games based on the franchise, surprisingly. Until now, as Dreamland Arcade is not one, but nine games in total for mobile devices (reviewed on iPad here). In one of the episodes, Steven and his friends visit the local Funland arcade. One of his gem warrior friends gets addicted to a game that bears a striking resemblance to Samba de Amigo. It’s called Meat Beat Mania and in this mobile game, Steven falls asleep while she plays it. Then he has a dream where he’s in an arcade featuring games starring him and all his friends. You get to unlock and play these games that Steven dreamed up.
Reader Review: Bad Apple Wars (Vita)
Posted on December 18th, 2017 by
A few months ago, I reviewed a visual novel game from Aksys and didn’t fare too well. So when they sent me another one, I decided to let my brother Benjamin Woodham review it. So here’s his take on Bad Apple Wars for Vita.
