Namco Museum (Nintendo Switch) Review

Namco Museum on the Switch is the most recent incarnation of a series that has been running since the Playstation era. For $30 at the time of this review, you get 10 classic Namco arcade games (ranging from 1980-1991) and the highly regarded 4 player Pac Man Versus (released in 2003) in one game. While not as jam-packed as some of the previous versions of Namco Museum, this is still a great collection for some great authentic arcade action on the go, for those who are fans of the majority of titles featured, or for anyone that is in the mood for some classic leaderboard/high score chasing.

Selecting from your list of games is simply done by moving left or right to cycle through the available titles. Once you're on one, you can view the global leaderboards or filter it for each title and see where you stack up with the rest of the world. Each game also features its own profile specific leaderboard, so if you want to track your own progress, that's always there and hard saved to the system. You also have the ability to rotate the console to support a more authentic resolution, which you can make manual adjustments to via the start menu for each game if you wish to try to override the aspect ratio. Be aware that by rotating the game, your controls do not flip, so you are going to have to detach your joycons or rotate your television to make the most of this feature.

Each game also has its own game-specific options, which can allow you to adjust all sorts of aspects of gameplay, but some will warn you that you will be excluded from online leaderboards by changing. On the topic of options available for each title, if just having these games on the go in their normal form isnt enough for you, there is a challenge mode for each title with its own separate leaderboard. Some of these can range from simply getting a high score on the last level of a game, to trying to rescue as many ships as you can in Galaga with a 3 minute time limit. While these challenge modes aren't going to be a main draw for anyone, they are a neat addition.

One of the features I really enjoy about the game but wish was a bit more fully featured is that each game includes its own manual. For most games, you can probably figure out how to play them on your own, but they also throw in some tips for each title on how to get a higher score, and The Tower of Druaga goes so far as to include a full hint system to explain how to find all of the treasures hidden on each floor to finish the game, provided you can make it that far. My complaint is that I wish for the price, the game included some interviews, scans of arcade flyers, or even history of the games. I am assuming most people aren't going to care and just want to play the game, but bonuses like that are what make certain collections a bit more appealing than others to me.

I've always felt a bit worried about how retro games would control with the joycons considering there is no traditional dpad, but everything feels fantastic. You can use the analog stick for movement, but because of the smaller range of movement, it's not going to be quit e the same as using an actual arcade stick. Another one of the big surprises is just how good the HD Rumble feels in these games. Everything from the feeling of picking up a power pellet in Pac Man, the different feel of each gun in Rolling Thunder 2, to the satisfaction of hitting an enemy with a weapon in Splatterhouse, Namco Museum is somehow one of the better showcases for HD Rumble.

Overall, I think this game is definitely worth at least checking out, because I feel like there's something here for pretty much everyone. If you aren't a fan of classic games like Pac Man or Galaga, or don't get the appeal of Tower of Druaga, you still have Rolling Thunder 1 and 2, Splatterhouse, and you can probably find another title on here to please you. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else that has a switch, so I haven't had the chance to try out Pac Man Vs, but I hear nothing but great things about it. There are some notable exceptions from the games list, with Ms Pac Man and Pole Position being the ones fans are most vocal about, but this is still a great package that has fantastic emulation with plenty of features.

Overall - 8 out of 10

Splatoon 2 Review

One of the summer's biggest games has finally splashed in, giving the Switch another excellent title to add to it's already growing library. While the original was highly regarded, the lower install base of the Wii U means a lot of people missed out on the first outing of the squid kids. With Nintendo's new console already having a solid lineup with more games around the corner, does Splatoon 2 have what it takes to deserve a place in your collection or is it something to skip over until Super Mario Odyssey arrives this October?

In a world full of hyper realistic or pixel art games, every single aspect of Splatoon 2 is dripping with a style that makes it stand out from the competition. From the moment you see the title screen and land in Inkopolis, the central hub area, you see a plaza full of other squid kids just like your player hanging out in the latest squid threads, a bunch of store fronts, and colors and graffiti that hasn't been seen since the days of cel shading. Provided you have an online connection, these other kids represent other Splatoon 2 players and showcases art they have uploaded to the servers. I absolutely love the art style, character designs, and unique setting, but the one thing I'm not crazy for is the music. It fits the game and some of the tunes are kind of catchy, but it's all a bit too different for me. It definitely fits with the tone of the game, but it's not a major selling point and nothing strikes me as overly memorable.

One of the first things that you will notice and either love or hate about the game is the controls. While the Joy-cons do have analog sticks and plenty of buttons, Splatoon 2 is a game where the community will vocally tell you that if you want to perform the best, you're going to have to adjust to the motion controls. The button layout is reminiscent of almost every other shooter, the big thing you'll notice is that by default, the right stick only lets you look left and right. If you want to look up and down, you have to move the right joycon, which allows for more precise aiming. You are able to shut this feature off, but aiming feels a bit too stiff once you practice with the motion controls.

Unlike most shooters, Splatoon 2 isn't completely dependent on the number of kills or how well you can snipe someone across the arena. While being able to effectively take out the enemy is a useful skill to have, the most important thing is spraying your ink across the ground to cover as much territory as possible. Another unique aspect of this series is when you hold ZL, you turn from a kid into a squid, which allows you to refill your ink, move faster, and to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. In online battles, this can help you either flank enemies or escape a rough situation as long as you've made sure you have your escape route still inked.

If this all sounds a bit overwhelming or you aren't a fan of competitive shooters, don't worry. Splatoon 2 features a decent sized single player campaign, a totally awesome co-op mode, and the turf war mode offers something for players to do who aren't going to log 20 hours a week into the game. The single player mode is accessed either by going to a drain in the Inkopolis square and holding ZL to drop into the new area. The entire thing consists of 5 areas and about 27 levels, with each section ending in a refreshingly creative boss fight. The single player campaign does have an entertaining but light story, which does a good job of keeping you engaged or smiling through the 8 or so hours it might take you to finish it for the first time. In order to keep the levels feeling fresh and keep you from getting to comfortable, the game does a great job of dropping you into a new level with a weapon you might not be comfortable with on the initial playthrough. You are able to revisit levels later with unlocked weapons to try to complete them faster or pick up hidden items you might have missed out on. It's also worth mentioning that each of the single player levels, once you arrive in a new sector, you have to find the entrances and cover them in ink to access them. This does a great job of encouraging you to explore the sector and gives you a sense of discovery, but sometimes I wish the entrances were a bit more apparent, especially in the final sector of the game.

The previously mentioned co-op mode, called Salmon Run, is Splatoon 2's take on a horde mode. While the game doesn't allow you to play the game in split screen, you can find a lobby online whenever Grizzco (the area that hosts Salmon Run) is open. Your goal is to survive 3 waves of increasing difficulty, collecting a specified number of eggs, all while keeping your team alive. Before playing the mode, hearing that it's only 3 rounds sounds like it might be a bit too brief, but the game can get overwhelmingly tough in a short time, and your goal at the end of the day is to still try to survive the three waves and not holding out for 30+ minutes. One of the things that is also different is that each time Salmon Run is open, the game automatically assigns the four participating players new weapons, then has them cycle the weapons, so you are forced to change your tactics rapidly, which definitely helps in the tension and feeling of overwhelming odds stacked against you at any given moment. Luckily, you are able to revive your teammates by shooting them or tossing a grenade at where they died at, but if your whole teams goes down, that counts as a loss and you're able to dust yourself off and try again.

Lastly, the multiplayer is what's going to keep most people coming back to this title probably throughout the Switch's lifespan. At the moment, there are only 8 maps available, with 4 modes of play. When you're first starting out online at level 1, you are only able to play Turf War, which is a mode where the goal is to cover the most territory within a 5 minute time limit. You are also restricted to using one weapon until you reach level 4. Personally, I wish you had access to a basic variant of each weapon, but the default starting weapon is highly effective once you learn how to use the controls and make the most of the abilities. As you play more, you earn money which you can use to purchase new weapons or clothing, the clothing all has different stats and abilities that you can use to boost your own playstyle, but never feels like it gives anyone a gigantic advantage over other players, unlike most other loadout heavy shooters.

Once you reach level 10, you are able to participate in ranked battles. The biggest change in ranked is that Turf War is gone and you now get to play either Tower Control, Rainmaker, or Splat Zones. Splat Zones is similar to king of the hill, Rainmaker is essentially a single scoring Capture the Flag, and Tower Control is kind of like a payload mode from Overwatch or Team Fortress 2. These modes require you to use different tactics from how you approach Turf War and a huge change is that while you do have a 5 minute time limit, these games are often decided in 1-2 minutes. It's also worth mentioning that while the there are 8 total maps in the game right now, you are only able to play 2 at a time in Turf War, Ranked, and League Battle, which is all dependent on time. It keeps things a bit more fresh and can also encourage you to take a break if a mode or map comes up that you don't want to play on. These change every 2 hours and you are able to view them from the + menu or with the Nintendo mobile app.

In a world full of hyper realistic or pixel art games, every single aspect of Splatoon 2 is dripping with a style that makes it stand out from the competition. From the moment you see the title screen and land in Inkopolis, the central hub area, you see a plaza full of other squid kids just like your player hanging out in the latest squid threads, a bunch of store fronts, and colors and graffiti that hasn't been seen since the days of cel shading. Provided you have an online connection, these other kids represent other Splatoon 2 players and showcases art they have uploaded to the servers.

Splatoon 2 is one of those games that is worth checking out if you're looking for something that's a bit different. If Breath of the Wild is finally wearing down for you and ARMS is a bit too competitive, it's definitely worth a purchase. The single player campaign, while brief, is a ton of fun especially if you're into unlocking all of the hidden items, enjoy trying to beat your fastest times, or you want to prepare yourself a bit before heading online. The addition of co-op Salmon Run gives people who want to play with others and not against them, and also has its own exclusive unlockable items that change over time. Let's not forget about the excellent multiplayer suite, and while it is a bit of a downer that so much content is restricted until you level up or locked behind specific times, unlocking weapons and modes shouldn't take you too long and allows you to get familiar with how each weapon and the basics work so you know what to be prepared for against better players.  

Overall - 9 out of 10

Holiday gaming memories

 It's that time of year again. The time when the weather gets colder, the nights start getting darker, holiday music is being played endlessly in every store you walk in. While this specific part of time has always been a wonderful time of year, it was also the time I looked forward to the most when I was younger. I have fond memories of taking the first Friday for my Winter Break from school and going straight to the video store to rent a game that would tide me over until Christmas day hit and I had a new console or whatever game I had been looking forward to all year to hopefully play. Despite having many of these and all of them being very special memories, I'm going to focus on one in particular; the day I received my Sega Genesis.

 I was a soldier in the bloody 16-bit wars. I enlisted on the side of the Sega army in 1993. I'm not sure what made me go with a Sega Genesis over a Super Nintendo at the time, since the first 16 bit game I had the honor of seeing was glimpses of Street Fighter 2 - Ryu vs. Blanka - being played in someones bedroom with 7 much older kids gathered around a TV at someones birthday and I was isolated to another room and left to play Super C since I was much younger than anyone else there. I think what did it for me was the fact that I was learning how to read and would look through video game magazines anytime I went to the grocery store with my family. Seeing images of Sonic the Hedgehog, finding out there was a game based on the X-Men, and probably seeing commercials for the WWF Super Wrestlemania would have inevitably lead to me begging my parents and Santa Claus to please try to get me a Sega Genesis and any game for Christmas that year.

 The Sega Genesis is the first console I can say was actually mine. I grew up always having an NES around, but it belonged to my older brother. I can remember waking up that morning and using the usual strategy of giving my parents a hug, excitedly asking them if I could open presents, and instantly targeting the largest box with my name on it. The rest of that day is just a blur to me, outside of sitting there and looking at the box the console came in, looking at how much cooler I thought it looked compared to the NES, and how sexy the curves on the controller were. I'm sure "sexy" isn't a word I would have used to describe the controller at six or seven years old, but it's definitely a drastic change from the boxy rectangular NES controller. To this day, there's just something magical about turning the game on, that white screen with the blue SEGA logo, hearing the iconic "Sega" jingle, and going straight into a games title screen that looks better than anything I had ever seen before.

 Sonic the Hedgehog is one of those games that gets a lot of criticism in 2016 for design decisions that don't work great when you look back at the progress platformers have made over the past 20+ years of development, but in 1993, I felt like I was controlling a cartoon. I feel like if you ask anyone who had the pleasure of trying out Sonic the Hedgehog back when it was released, it's very difficult for them to not have a brief wistful expression pass across their face. Sonic the Hedgehog is a game that was considered to be direct competition to Super Mario World. In hindsight, people praise Super Mario World for it's ridiculously expansive world, branching levels, tons of secrets, and easy to control - hard to master game mechanics. What sometimes gets overlooked is that Sonic had two things that made it truly stand out and cemented its legacy in the hearts of those die hard Sega fans; speed and attitude.

 As I'm writing this article, I just went through Green Hill Zone's first act, and the sheer speed the game moves at, down to the annoyed look sonic gives the screen any time you leave the controller for too long is something that Super Mario World could not touch. There's also the brilliant use of the Yamaha YM2612 sound processor that gives Sonic and many other Sega titles a score that is unlike almost anything else out there. Due to my transition being straight from the NES to the Sega Genesis, the improvement of the sound was something else that really impacted me and made me pay a lot closer attention to the soundtracks and sound effects used in games. Sonic 1 was, and I say still is a wonderful game that deserves it's view as one of the most important Sega games of all time and definitely showcased the difference in game development philosophies between Nintendo and Sega at the time. Despite all of this raving about receiving the Genesis and Sonic, there was one other title I knew I had to have that still impacts me to this day.

 I must have been 7 or 8, but after seeing it for probably 30 seconds, I knew I had to have Street Fighter II. I remember opening the smaller box that this game came in and absolutely freaking out once I realized I could play the game all the older kids said I was too young for. I remember when I finally peeled myself away from Sonic, popping this cartridge in and just getting destroyed over and over by the computer. I was convinced they were cheating because they could turn into electricity, shoot fire from their hands, stretch their arms, and all sorts of other things. I don't know when I threw my first fireball, I just know that I spent so many hours playing SF2CE and was happy just picking ryu over and over and trying to beat all of the stages on easy. Again, this was a different time in gaming history. If someone wants to learn how to do a fireball in any fighting game, there are countless youtube videos and you probably know someone that could teach you the dark arts, but in 1993, at least with my brother, his friends, and I, it was just dumb accidental luck if someone threw one and everyone would get extremely excited when it looked like a player knew what they were doing.
 
 Street Fighter II was such a huge impact to me because fighting games are still one of my most played genres today, and this is definitely where that passion started. I'm sure I probably have dozens of smashed controllers from when I was younger just from frustration of playing SF2CE and Super Street Fighter II against the computer and getting beat over and over, but that's also responsible for me learning fundamentals over time that still apply to fighting games being released today. I can also say that I had a 3 button controller pretty much the entire time I had a Sega Genesis and I somehow made Street Fighter II work for me and still be fun. Now that I think about it, maybe having to think about whether I wanted to use punches or kicks also drilled in that I need to consider what attacks I'm using and what strength instead of just having all six buttons easily available.

 Getting a Sega Genesis as a Christmas present is definitely one of the best gaming related holiday memories to happen to me, but I'm probably going to post more if I can get myself back in the habit of writing. Starting with Thanksgiving break and ending at the start of the new year, along with summer vacation, were definitely the time I did the most gaming. If anyone reads this, write in with some of your favorite holiday related gaming memories.

 Thanks for visiting and happy holidays!

Holy smokes! It's a new post!

The last year has had all sorts of ups and downs for me, and somewhere along the way, I completely forgot about this. I've started streaming stuff on a regular basis on Twitch, playing tons of games while I'm out on the 3ds, and bought a lot of retro games, but... I feel like I should probably express my feelings on some of these games in words, just so it's easier to go back and look at my feelings on different games. Hopefully, this leads to me putting up a lot more content here on a regular basis. Hopefully. At the very least, I can make a few adjustments to this page so it doesn't look as completely atrocious as it does right now! I'm not sure when or how, but everything here is green. Green on green on green is no bueno.

Bioshock Infinite

So, I just finished playing through Bioshock Infinite and my mind is now blown. The Walking Dead Season 1 from last year was an incredible experience, but the last few hours of Infinite might have just put this above that game in terms of my favorite recent titles. The entire experience was incredible, and this is coming from someone that was not a fan of Bioshock 1 and skipped out on 2 after hearing all the negative press. Also, this MIGHT lead me to finally starting to use this blog again, just as a way to express everything going on in my head revolving around games, since I currently don't have a Facebook and don't want to bore all of my friends with long reflections on games that they probably don't care about. We shall see what comes of this! One thing is for certain - play Bioshock Infinite. Just do it.

Have we finally reached zombie saturation?

Maybe 10-15 years ago, once in a blue moon, we'd receive a game that might feature zombies. Now, it seems like every single game that comes out has to include some sort of a zombie mode. It's cool to see something different happening, but at the same time, even though it's only been two or three years since Left 4 Dead reminded people how fun it is to kill zombies with friends, is it possible that there's too much of a good thing happening?

The big reason why I feel like zombies caught on is because for once, instead of worrying about shooting brown people or Nazis in the face in some fictional take on a war, you were teaming up with friends to take down hordes of a new type of enemy that only seems to pose a threat in large hoards. This is wonderful and all, but...I feel like it started getting out of hand with Saints Row 2, and now that Crackdown 2 features tons of them to fight instead of fictional games, it's making me scratch my head in confusion.

Is this really necessary? Aren't there other ways to do co-op? While Left 4 Dead, L4D2, Killing Floor, and Nazi Zombies are all good fun, what happened to the days when it was fine to just walk down a street, fighting thugs in Streets of Rage, or the 4 player fun of Four Swords where you were on a quest? I'm not saying that zombies need to be out of games completely, but if you're making a game and want to let people work together, there's still some other things that you could do that are almost untapped.

GTA4 had an awesome thing going with its multiplayer exclusive co-op missions and its tight knit team v team v team v team modes. New Super Mario Bros take on the traditional Mario formula, then throwing 3 other players into the mix easily helped it on to many peoples top 10 games of 2009. At the same time, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see a game like MAG add in some bizarre 256 player zombie mode in the future, provided zombies keep selling like hotcakes (do those things actually sell still?). Anyway, I think I've rambled as long as I can about this, so let's just remind ourselves to keep a tally of how many last-minute zombie modes make it into 2010.

Arcade Spotlight - Crazy Climber/Crazy Climber 2

Just to clear this entire concept up, the Arcade Spotlight is going to be based on just highlighting games that I feel are well worth playing or at least deserve some mention, whether its one of those crazy cabinets you have to experience or just a really fun game I came across on MAME. This one's a MAME game. I'm sure the cabinet was probably weird to play on, but its already weird enough emulated. After Geometry Wars came out on Xbox Live Arcade, suddenly everyone was obsessed with making their own twin stick shooter with a slight twist. From Super Stardust to last years smash hit, I MAED A GMAE W2TH Z0MB1ES!!11, there's been tons of choices. So what about twin stick climbing games?

Crazy Climbers is a really...bizarre concept for a game. It makes perfect sense on every level, which is what makes it even crazier. You start the game as a guy that's scaling the side of a skyscraper or something for some reason (I can personally imagine 50 other things to do when bored). The left stick controls movement of the left side of your body while the right is, respectively, your right. The entire game consists of going up the side of a building, all the while dodging planters and closing windows, while still looking for good spots to grip on to. It's one of those things that is even more fun if you've got two joysticks that you can hook up to the computer just to waste maybe 30-40 minutes of your life, or see who can get the highest between a group of friends. The sequel is more of the same, but has a better art style and more obstacles to overcome. Again, they're not the best games ever, but if you come across them, give them a shot and let me know what you think.