Tag Archives: Nintendo Switch

One-Shots

Daemon x Machina: Exploring the Prototype Missions

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I’m no expert on mech games — or indeed the mecha “genre” in general — but Daemon x Machina had me intrigued from the moment Nintendo announced it.

And it’s certainly a game that is worthy of your attention, regardless of whether or not you have an interest in giant robots blowing things up; the sheer amount of pedigree attached to the project makes it immensely intriguing.

With that in mind, then, I decided to give the Prototype Missions demo that launched on Valentine’s Day a go. Read on for some impressions!

Continue reading Daemon x Machina: Exploring the Prototype Missions →

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Canyon Bomber

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Time after time in gaming, we’ve seen that the simplest concepts can be some of the most effective and addictive.

Atari’s Canyon Bomber, originally released to arcades in 1977, is a prime example of this. You only need one button to play, and that button drops bombs. The concept is so simple anyone — even someone not at all familiar with video games — can understand and enjoy it. Drop bombs, hit things, score points. Whoever scores most points, wins.

And one of the best things about this game when compared to some of its contemporaries is that the simplistic concept means that it was very straightforward to implement a “computer-controlled” opponent to compete against if you didn’t happen to have a friend handy. So even those of us with no friends can still enjoy this game… and end up playing it a lot longer than you might expect!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Atelier Arland Trilogy, Videos

New Game Plus: Creating Explosives – Atelier Rorona DX #3

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When returning to a game for a second playthrough, it’s always incredibly satisfying when you manage to complete an objective well ahead of “schedule”.

Despite only certain things carrying over to a New Game Plus run in the various incarnations of Atelier Rorona, you can still bash out a lot of the early game content very easily, leaving you with plenty of time to make money, grind for experience, build up your relationship values and just generally have a good time in this pastel-coloured world.

Hit the jump to see just how quickly I managed to satisfy the second assignment…

Continue reading New Game Plus: Creating Explosives – Atelier Rorona DX #3 →

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Furaipan Da Yo – Atelier Rorona DX #2

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Our (re)adventures in Atelier Rorona DX continue! Now we’ve finished the first assignment in this New Game Plus run, what’s next?

Well, there are plenty of options. Complete some quests, go out exploring, craft some items, make some materials and turn them into weapons and armour, fill out a bingo card, buy some beehives…

Hit the jump and see what Rorona got up to while waiting for her first deadline to hit.

Continue reading New Game Plus: Furaipan Da Yo – Atelier Rorona DX #2 →

Delving Into...

Delving Into Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition – #2

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As I noted last time, I’ve primarily been spending my time in DW8XLDE so far in the Story mode, so I thought I’d talk a bit about that today.

The Story mode (or Musou mode, as it was called in some earlier installments) has changed its form and structure numerous times over the course of the various Dynasty Warriors releases, but it has always focused on one thing: retelling the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms by showcasing a number of its most significant battles from several different perspectives.

DW8XLDE’s take on Story mode has a few interesting wrinkles that provide it plenty of replay value… and give the game as a whole a significant amount of content even before you get into the more freeform, strategic Ambition mode. Let’s take a look.

Continue reading Delving Into Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition – #2 →

Atelier Arland Trilogy, Videos

New Game Plus: Producing Sundries – Atelier Rorona DX #1

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It’s time for a new series of New Game Plus, in which I take a game I’ve already beaten and explore its postgame content and/or New Game Plus modes.

With the Atelier Arland Cover Game feature now done and dusted, that would seem like an ideal time to immediately revisit those games and see what happens on a second playthrough, right?

We get underway today with a new beginning for Atelier Rorona DX: The Alchemist of Arland on Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading New Game Plus: Producing Sundries – Atelier Rorona DX #1 →

Delving Into..., Dynasty Warriors, Musou

Delving Into Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition – #1

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I remember a day when people used to take the piss out of Capcom for adding all manner of prefixes and suffixes to their games, but I think Koei Tecmo and Omega Force have actually had them beat for some time now.

Yes, today we are indeed looking at Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition, a recent release for Nintendo Switch that combines the content from the original Dynasty Warriors 8 game, its standalone expansion pack Xtreme Legends, plus all of the DLC that was subsequently released for both of them. By all accounts, it’s a tremendous value package with enough content to keep you busy for months if not years. And you can play it on the go, which is just fabulous.

So with that in mind, I thought I’d poke at it over the course of the next few weeks and see what it had to offer over and above other Warriors games I’ve been fiddling with, including Warriors Orochi and Hyrule Warriors.

Continue reading Delving Into Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition – #1 →

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Atari Baseball

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I don’t… really play sports games. I don’t generally like them, I don’t generally understand them and I am certainly not good at them.

However, I have discovered over the course of the last few years or so that late ’70s/early ’80s sports games are about on a level I can understand for the most part, since the games simply weren’t capable of playing host to complicated mechanics or rules that you’d have to understand the actual sport to be able to fathom.

My time with Atari Baseball may have ended in crushing defeat, but I didn’t hate the experience. In fact, I can see this being quite fun in its original double-sided incarnation, facing off against a fellow player across the top of the cabinet. I suspect I’d still suck, though.

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Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Avalanche

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1978 arcade title Avalanche is a game I’d not heard of prior to encountering it on Atari Flashback Classics for Nintendo Switch, and it’s entirely possible you might not have come across it either.

The reason for this is that its official home port (developed by the creator of the arcade game, Dennis Koble) only came to Atari 8-bit computers rather than the popular 2600, and even then only through Atari’s “Atari Program Exchange” system, whereby community-developed games and software would be published by Atari.

Meanwhile, Activision, seeing a good concept that wasn’t being leveraged as much as it could be for the home market, decided to release Kaboom! for the Atari 2600 in 1981, and as a result, the idea of paddle-controlled platforms catching falling things at an increasingly unreasonable tempo tends to be credited to them rather than Atari.

You now know the truth! Shout it from the rooftops!

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