GO!! Mega Otaku Game-Reviewer Alpha

Nintendo, in my mind, has always been the master of platforming hop-and-bop style games (although I would put Sega at a very, very close #2). Sony has had a winner with Little Big Planet, but the company wasn’t around early enough to establish much else. Side-scrolling platformers/action/adventure games have made a comeback in recent years. Nothing on the level of Mario or the original Sonic games, to be sure. And as far as 3-D platforming, Nintendo rules the roost. But wait. Here comes Astro Bot Rescue Mission. A 3-D platformer for sure, in fact better than mere 3-D, it is a Virtual Reality experience that really delivers. It has all of the action, all of the smooth control you want and NEED in this kind of game, and something else required in this genre: a completely LOVABLE, ADORABLE little character that is a JOY to control. The little robot is comical; when under heavy fire from even the most vicious of bosses, upon pause he will look at you, make a happy lit...

Ridiculous Boss Battles. Brilliant Graphics, decent gameplay, and genres flashed before your eyes spanning the entire video game history. Shooter. Bullet-hell shooter. Side-scrolling Platformer. 3-D Platformer. Adventure Game. Fullblown Single-Player JRPG. Hardcore, from start to finish. Damned bosses that piss you off, and make you want to throw your controller across the room. Then your monitor. Why? Because you try and try and TRY. And you fail and fail and FAIL. BUT… this is a mark of a GREAT game. I wanted to see what happened NEXT. No matter how much of a PRICK (and they WERE PRICKS) the bosses were, I NEEDED to see the next thing. The story was too important. The emotional attachment that forms between the player and this game; between the player and these characters- is SERIOUSLY intense. DESPITE the fact that they are androids. I am OLD. My skills aren’t what they used to be. (They are still quite good, kiddies.) But my determination still IS good. A...

     Before I go into this let me first mention a GOOD H.P Lovecraft-inspired game. It’s called Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem and it was a Nintendo GameCube exclusive. I whooped up on this gem on all three alignments back in the day thinking a fourth one would open up. No such luck. But the feeling of horror and madness sunk in and… it was good.      Now let’s dig into Call of Cthulu (available on multiple platforms, but my version was the Xbox One version). But not too deep. Why? Because it’s not worth spending too much time talking about it.      Sure, I am a Lovecraft fan. So I am biased towards completing a game with those lovable daemonic beings from another dimension looking to turn humanity into a tasty banquet. That being said, the story in this game has strong bones, but otherwise doesn’t develop and gets ruined in the developers’ (Cyanide) attempt to, well, make a game out of it.      Pointlessly tedio...

      When I first played REZ HD, it was on the Xbox 360. Being already familiar with the control scheme of the likes of Panzer Dragoon on the Sega Saturn, I was able to quickly grasp the concept and play it well. The FIRST thing I thought of the game was, “THIS would make an EXCELLENT Virtual Reality game!” Too bad there was nothing like this then, at least on a commercial level.      I love it when I am right. And I was definitely right about this one. REZ DOES make a fantastic VR game, in the form of REZ Infinite. The added Area X is a sweet addition that is even more mind-blowing than the original, although it is only one level.      Included is the original REZ from REZ HD, as far as I can recall. 4 levels of pumpin’ techno music, totally influenced by the players shots, either individual or built-up bursts. Despite being a game we enjoyed on the ‘360, make no mistake. This is a VR game of the future, way ahead of it’s time. Af...

     Quantic Dream has created a work of genius with their game “Detroit: Become Human”. This is a story-intensive genre-buster. I would call it an interactive movie- NOT to be confused with 1990s “interactive movies” like “The Daedalus Encounter” or “Burn Cycle”. No, this interactive movie is ALL about making choices. There is basically NO action that isn’t set to QT events- tapping buttons as they are shown on the screen to produce a desired effect.      The story involves three androids in the near future, 2038. There’s Connor, who is a Police Officer (sort of), Kara, a housekeeper, and Markus, a caretaker of an elderly man who turns revolutionary. After digging his own murdered corpse out of a junk yard of squirming android parts. Yes. There is creep-factor all through this game.      And it makes you think. Racism is the main theme of this game. Androids are slaves. They assert themselves as people who merely want freedom. F...