Developer/Publisher: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo Released: April 2013

Played on: 3DS

Triumph early on in Fire Emblem: Awakening is a thrilling shot of satisfaction that becomes a time-sucking addiction. Repeated failure in the last third of the game becomes a humiliating cycle of rage. Awakening is one of my favourite games of 2013, but if I ever touch it again I’ll probably snap my 3DS in two. Continue reading →

Feeling content with my 92% completion of Assassin’s Creed IV, I was still keen to prolong the experience a little longer and checked out two of the extra missions available. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Released: October 2013

Played on: PS4 (also available on PS3, 360, Xbone, Wii U, PC)

After two middling titles in Revelations and AC3, the Assassin’s Creed series really needed to prove it was still one which could deliver a fun open-world adventure experience. In Black Flag, Ubisoft delivers exactly that in spades. This golden-age-of-piracy sandbox is the most untethered fun I’ve had in an Assassin’s Creed game since Brotherhood, and while it still fails to deliver a cohesive story, it is an epic experience and a real heave-ho for the floundering series. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Starbreeze Studios/505 Games Released: August 2013

Played on: PS3 (also available on 360 & Windows)

Brothers attempts something that not enough videogames attempt by making the control scheme instrumental to the game’s story and ultimate emotional impact. It all seems very simple at first, the left stick & trigger control the older brother, and the right stick & trigger control the younger brother. While this seemingly simple control scheme is tricky to get used to at first, you’ll soon be exploring and solving puzzles naturally. You build an essential association with each half of your controller and the unique characters on screen, and it is not until the end of the game that you realise how significant and tangible a bond this simple mechanic creates between you and the game. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Drinkbox Studios Released: April 2013

Played on: PS3 & Vita (also available on Windows & Mac)

The first 15 minutes of Guacamelee! are a delightful romp through a small Mexican village. You play as Juan the farmer who has a thing for El Presidente’s daughter, but on your way to see her she is kidnapped by a skeleton-man who kills you. Questions of the afterlife remain unanswered however, as you are returned to the land of the living as a Mexican wrestler tasked with stopping Carlos Calaca, the Skeleton Charros, from sacrificing El Presidente’s daughter and taking over the world. VIDEOGAMES! Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: October 2013

Played on: Wii U (2003 original available on Gamecube)

I came quite late to the Zelda Party. I played my first Zelda games in 2003, and they were A Link to the Past on the Gameboy Advance and Wind Waker on the Gamecube. Both were purchased for my younger brother, and for the life of me I can’t remember which one I played first. What I do remember is playing both games within a short time frame and being totally bowled over by the games’ structures and level designs. At this point I was only playing point-and-click adventure games, first person shooters and games with Mario in it, I had no idea that anything like Zelda existed and that it could be so bloody good! I was an instant fan, and worked my way through the older titles and all subsequent releases. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: November 2013

Played on: Wii U

Nintendo need to rethink their game titling. Super Mario 3D World sounds like a 3D remake of 1990’s SNES classic Super Mario World, when it’s actually a sequel to 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land, which is presented in stereoscopic 3D. Super Mario 3D World is not, it has a 3D perspective, but it’s on the Wii U, but is not New Super Mario Bros U. Confused? Thankfully the game kicks arse, but from now on I shall refer to it colloquially in conversation as “The One With The Catsuit”. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Platinum Games/Konami Released: February 2013

Played on: PS3 (also available on 360, PC)

Waging a personal war against a private military company that is trafficking human children to extract their brains to use in their cyborg creations, our hero Raiden must hack and slash his way through a slew of robots and technologically enhanced humans, hacking at just the right angle so that he can extract useful parts and supplement his own Cyborg systems with them so that he is ready for his final battle with a United States Senator. Oh and at some point along the way he gets a sweet pet robot wolf. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: December 2013

Played on: Wii U

This mini-game compilation of retro games was a total surprise announcement in December’s Nintendo Direct video, especially since it was made available from the eShop for $13AUD immediately after the video ended. Felt like a no-brainer to me, I snatched it up, played it for 20 minutes, decided it was a total waste of money, and put it down. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Capcom Released: October 2013

Played on: 3DS

There is a case you need to solve in Dual Destinies that involves ancient Japanese spirits haunting an old town. Normally this is the fun kind of nonsense one expects from a light-hearted mystery or an episode of Scooby-Doo. The problem here is that the English versions of Phoenix Wright have previously been set in North America, because clearly Westerners can’t deal with crime investigations and court battles set in Japan. So the localisation team clumsily create a “Japantown” in the USA which feels intolerably insincere and stupid, particularly when the rest of the game is filled with Japanese design, weapons and food. Condescending localisation decisions don’t break Dual Destinies by any means, but illustrate just how problematic poor decisions made 8 years ago can become, distracting from the story and characters with unnecessary nonsense. I really need to learn Japanese. Continue reading →