The idea of a flying/levitating car has danced around in the imagination of Sci-Fi fans for some time now. Guess the closest thing to simulate that is to play a game about them. So what game can you play on a Nintendo console that has floating cars, break neck speeds and takes place in the future? Well, it’s not F-Zero, well on Wii U anyway. No, this is Fast Racing NEO, a futuristic racer made by the indie company Shin’en as a sequel to their Wii Ware title “FAST Racing League”.

I remember catching my first glimpse of this game while at the Nindie Event the night before PAX Prime 2015. Front seat amongst a room full of eager Nintendo fans and there it was. Blasting techno music, smooth gameplay and probably one of the fastest racing games that I’ve ever seen! However, too much speed can sometimes cause/hide mistakes. Does Fast Racing NEO give us the futuristic racer that we’ve been looking for or should we pump the brakes with our wallets on this one?

Jumping right into gameplay, seeing as though there is no story to be had, there are no characters to choose from but rather vehicles. Each vehicle has a balance of two stats, top Speed and acceleration. No braking, or handling here, just pure speed.

The racing premise is similar to that of Mario Kart. Depending on your place, you’ll be rewarded points. Get the most and you win. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? However unlike Mario Kart, there are no items to give you the upper hand. Rather, there are boots orbs that when collected can fill up a boost gauge that can be used to blast through the competition! Or if you’re like me, straight into a wall causing you to crash like a majestic near sighted gazelle.

Along with these boost orbs, are two different colored boot panels. This is where we see the largest gimmick with Fast Racing NEO, the phase system. You can alternate between Blue and Orange with a quick tap of the button. Touch the corresponding color on the track and you’ll get a fantastic boost in speed! Touch the wrong color and you’ll be stopped to a crawl like that scared driver who saw the first flake of snow on the road.

Phasing took some adjusting, but eventually my reflexes sharpened and I was blasting through race tracks in no time! The speed aspect is something that I have to gush about a bit. When you boost or phase on the right track, you feel like a speeding force to be reckoned with! There were times that I caught myself leaning forward on my couch getting fully immersed in the game. And even through these fast speeding moments, the frame rate stayed at the promised 60 FPS.

When it comes to stages, each have their own personality and feel to them. Deserts, Stormy Oceans, Space Stations, Volcanoes, the whole nine yards. What was exciting, was how unpredictable each track was. Some would have hazards such as rotating fan blades and fire spouting vents on the first lap, while other would only reveal giant robot drills on the second. This kept me on my toes throughout my playthrough. While other racing game tracks have a simple motif, I never knew what to expect when the race started. Pure excitement from lap one to three! However, that excitement can be quickly followed with frustration.

The Championship mode is your go to spot for unlocking more tracks, vehicles and the painfully difficult Hero mode, but we’ll get to that later. Like most racing games, the difficulty is split up into three modes. For Fast Racing NEO we have Subsonic, Supersonic and Hypersonic league. While this looks like Easy, Normal & Hard, this roughly translates to “Normal, Hard and HAVE MERCY”. If there’s one thing that this game is, it’s difficult.

Now this isn’t difficult as in, a gentle climbing hill as you progress throughout the game. No, this one will leave you in the dust on the first track. While playing the Subsonic cup, which is supposed to be the Novice difficulty, I barely and I mean by the second, got in the top three places. Granted this added a level of excitement to each race, but again, this was the Novice difficulty.

While you play through the cups, you’ll eventually unlock more vehicles as well as the other higher more challenging cups. You’ll need these better vehicles if you plan on standing a chance against the computer or when playing online. In fact, if there’s one thing that I will applaud the game on, is the online mode which I played a few tracks with others who I’m sure were devs of the game. Now for some perspective, I’m currently in the State of Washington, while my opponents were all the way in Germany. Granted I was concern for inevitable lag and choppy gameplay, this was nowhere to be found. Even while online, the game still played at a gorgeous 60 FPS as if they were in the same room with me.

But lastly, we come to Hero Mode. Where do I even begin with Hero mode? It plays much like the Championship mode but there a few changes. Your boost meter is now your vehicles life force, if you crash its game over and you must place first in each race. If you’ve never contracted road rage, trust me, this mode will be the birth of it. I would approach this mode with extreme caution as to me, this breaks the threshold of a fun challenge to pure frustration.

Frustrations aside, is Fast Racing NEO something worth your time and $15? For playing with a group of friends whether online or on the same couch, absolutely! The game is gorgeous, smooth and exciting. However if you’re playing alone, just be prepared for the inevitable challenge that comes with this futuristic racer.

The post Review: Fast Racing NEO appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

This was also the first game that gave me my first gaming blister. That’s right, I was not one of the many victims of the raw destroyed palms of Mario Party. Seriously, even my young self knew that rotating your palm on that control stick was going to be a bad time.

Sports injuries aside, since Mario Tennis Open for the Nintendo 3DS, Mario and company have made their way back onto the court through the Wii U. But would this return to the home console reignite the competitive flames that came with the original Mario Tennis? Let’s serve up some home runs as we touchdown our opponents on the field!….I know sports.

Seeing as though Ultra Smash contains no story, we’ll just jump right into the gameplay. Each character has their own specific skill set giving them their own unique personalities on the court. Mario and Luigi are All-Around types, Toad and Yoshi focus on speed, Rosalina is a power house and so on. For characters like Toad & Yoshi, I legitimately felt a change in speed, but for other characters such as power and technical types, there didn’t seem to be much difference other than a different character on the court.

Apart from character strengths, the roster this time around seems rather small. Granted there are some unlockable characters, but it seems like other members of the Mario universe lost their invitation in the mail. Which is odd considering there are plenty of Koopas and Shy Guys watching the game in the stands. Maybe they pulled a hammy and cant play?

One of the new features in Ultra Smash is in the title, the Ultra Smash! Whenever you or the opposing side lobs a ball high in the air, this sets you up to return the ball right to their face and into oblivion! I put a lot of emphasis in this as it feels amazing slamming a shot right back into the opponent’s court securing your victory. Equally, when you allow your opponent the chance to kindly return the favor, your body tenses up, your palms get sweaty and you hope to whatever force that you manage to return back to sender.

Along with the Ultra Smash feature, is the Mega Battle. Occasionally, Toads on the sideline will throw out Mega Mushrooms doubling your size and overall power. While this is nice and all, you sacrifice a great deal of speed along with the fact that your Mega Power could run out right when you’re setting up for a shot causing the ball to slip right past you. The long short of it, don’t get cocky.

Aside from the Mega Battles, Ultra Smash features a Mega Ball Rally which pits you against a computer to see how long you can keep a volley going. Nothing really too impressive here, but a good way to get your feet wet with the overall mechanics.

Perhaps one of the biggest game modes that proved the most addicting, was the Knockout Challenges. This never ending gauntlet of computer players will put your Mario Tennis skills to the test, but there’s no reason to go it alone. With an Amiibo handy, you can have your own computer partner that over each match, grows stronger and may even prove to be a better player than you if you’re not careful. Using my Wooly Yarn Yoshi Amiibo, I over time grew more confident at my partner’s abilities to the point where I willingly let the ball pass through me so he could score the winning shot! After every five matches, you’ll unlock a new random perk for your Amiibo which ranges from strength, speed, serving, skill and much more. There was something truly rewarding seeing myself grow with my character match after match.

While Mario Tennis Ultra Smash has its good moments, there are some noticeable issues. Unfortunately Ultra Smash does not sport a tournament mode which was a feature I adored in the original Mario Tennis. There was something exciting about climbing to the top of each bracket ultimately winning the competition! It’s as though this game was designed more around the multiplayer aspect rather than the full single player experience.

Another issue was the character roster. Unlike previous installments, there are only a small handful of characters including the unlockable ones. Again, a small nuisance but when we look at games like Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros. or even previous Mario Tennis titles, it’s obvious that Nintendo has quite a cast of characters to choose from thus making this feel like a missed opportunity.

Ultra Smash also offers a Challenge menu that can give players a better idea on how to unlock multiple courts, playable characters, etc. There are two ways to unlock these features, which to me, kinda hurts it in the long run. For example, to unlock a specific character, you could either play ten matches of a standard game, or just spend 5,000 coins which can easily be acquired after a few matches. While I guess it’s nice to have this separate way to unlock content, it defeats the purpose of a challenge if I can just pay for it by grinding through a few matches.

In the end, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash is a fun time. While yes, it is lacking some gameplay features of previous titles such as a tournament mode, I still had a blast when it came to smashing a ball right past my opponent and growing with my Amiibo as we rose to the top! Another good factor, is the retail price of $49.99 USD which can be easy on the wallets of most gamers. If you’re looking to bring Mario and his friends back to the tennis court on your home console, I’d say grab some friends and keep your Amiibos handy!

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Nintendo has decided to dabble in the horror genre by bringing over the Fatal Frame franchise to the Wii U. While this isn’t the first time that Nintendo has featured Fatal Frame on a Nintendo console, mainly the Wii and 3DS, the franchise has seen a release on other consoles such as Playstation 2 and the original Xbox.

The reoccurring object in this game, the Camera Obscura, is the main weapon used when excising threatening ghosts that seek your death via a ghostly bear hug. But let’s face it, when it comes to Nintendo and horror, there have been only a handful of scary games that left an impact. Will Fatal Frame Maiden of Black Water give us the scare that we’re looking for? Or will a game focused around camera features only continue to make us yearn for the fantasy title that is “Pokemon Snap U”?

Our story starts out with Miu Hinasaki as she awakes in a basement that may or may not have a leaky pipe, as it’s filled with water along with an abundance of corpses. Before she can make it to safety, she’s captured by mysterious unknown forces with her fate, left to mystery. Enter Yuri Kozukata, a young girl troubled by images of the dead, who seems to possess the ability to see the shadow of objects that may be close to the spirit world.

Aside from Yuri, we have Ren Hojo, a writer who is haunted by dreams that almost seem like a distant memory. A memory that is related to past events upon Mt. Hikami. This mountain will be your setting for the game, as its past inhabitants are no longer of this world. Strange cult like rituals took place on this mountain taking many lives, some unexplainable, some never repeated to the world. All three have a connection to this cursed mountain, it’s just a matter of who will survive its mysterious power.

That’s pretty much one of the best ways to describe this plot, as the story itself is experienced mainly through notes found on the floor. While this can make the overall experience confusing and muddled, the plot really starts to pick up around the sixth drop, this games version of chapters, as you’ll begin to learn more about the dark secrets of Mt. Hikami and its relationship to our trio.

What’s really odd about this mountain, is that it used to be a tourist’s location. I can just see the brochure now “Come to beautiful Mt. Hikami! Visit the relaxing Mikomori Hot Springs. Take a dip in the ‘Pool of Purification’. A lovely stroll through the ‘Unfathomable Forest’. And for that romantic scenic view, be sure to visit the ‘Forbidden Valley’. Mt. Hikami, come for the sights, never see your loved ones or the light of day again!”

Maiden of Black Water is played through a third-person perspective, giving you a decent view of your character’s position on the map, as well as the general area. Your GamePad follows that traditional Wii U style of a mirrored screen of the events transpiring on the TV and with a brief tap, can be transformed into your map.

This biggest feature on the GamePad, perhaps one of its shining moments since its release, is the camera feature. Using the built in gyroscope, you can move freely around defending yourself from nearby ghosts, or just get a better lay of the land. While you can use the right thumbstick to look around, you’re gonna need to get up and move when you’re in a tight spot with angry spirits breathing down your neck. There were many time I caught myself doing complete 360 spins in my apt that while hilarious, kept me alive during my playthough. It’s fun, immersive and one of the shining moments of the game.

Another thing about your camera, are the upgrade able features and ammo. This isn’t your fancy new aged digital camera, this bad boy takes film and there’s a fair amount conveniently placed along the mountain! Left by other fallen tourists perhaps? There are multiple types of film coming in different colors and flavors. Some deal out more damage, some load faster but very few will you find a mix of both. That’s when you start spending your ghost-busting points! When you successfully exorcise a ghost, you’re rewarded points on how well of a job you did. Wow, this really is Pokemon Snap but with ghosts! You can use said points to upgrade your cameras special features, or basic abilities such as loading times, damage output etc. Unlike some games with elements like this, I actually got a genuine sense of power when cashing in my hard earned points! Also, you might get so scared, that you’ll forget that you had them in the first place and save up a bunch in no time.

After defeating enemies, you’ll have a brief opportunity to use the “Fatal Glance”. Doing so, will allow you to not only nab extra points to upgrade your camera, but to get a glimpse at the last moments of these spirits. While this feature isn’t seen with every ghost, I always looked for every opportunity to look into their past. Who was this person? Why did they come here? How did the meet their fate?

Unfortunately, Fatal Frame, doesn’t really offer a large realm of exploration, as things are set on a very linear path. However, the game emits such an eerie vibe, that when straying off the main course, you can’t help but shake this feeling that “I shouldn’t be here…”. The most that you’ll find from exploring is the abundant amount of health drops that this game has to offer. Herbal Medicines, usually in pairs, recover small bits of health and Sacred Water vials that restore your health completely are never in short supply. Pretty much, I was never low on healing items, which sadly made dire situations, less stressful, which in a horror game, is actually something I look for.

But don’t get me wrong, this game has its very scary moments. While I don’t believe in ghosts myself, if I saw an extremely tall slender-man like woman with a creepy smile and laugh that would put the Joker to shame, I’d shriek at a decibel I wouldn’t think possible. It also doesn’t help that whenever at Mt. Hikami, it’s always dark, misty and sometimes rainy usually in a very dense forest. Still not scary enough?

Ever heard of a place called Aokigahara? It’s a forest located at the Northwest base of Mt. Fuji over in Japan. It’s also a suicide hotspot with regular patrols to prevent those from taking their own lives. Not only that, but the story and legend of that area is what Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is loosely based on.

While this game does offer a slow but interesting story, immersive camera controls and a very haunting setting, there are some features that I can’t look over. First, controlling your character feels stiff and sometimes unresponsive. It’s like I’m purposely fighting to get them to go where I want, and when you have to flee instead of fight, it becomes a problem fast.

Second, the characters. They’re boring. Really boring. The ghosts that you fight seem to have more emotion than them. While I can’t speak for everyone, I’m fairly confident that if you saw multiple ghosts with terrifying faces walking/running towards you, you’d scream or at the very least show a great amount of concern in your face. Not for the mighty trio of Fatal Frame! It’s like they took some horse tranquilizers and have no idea where they are. Something like this is very hard when it comes to immersing myself into a digital world. Why should I be scared if my main character shows about as much emotion as moist sponge? This also ties in with the voice acting which overall feels lazy and lackluster. Almost like the phoned it in and had to record at the last second.

Overall, I’d say Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is, OK. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s just OK. Using the GamePad as your camera to take down ghosts is fun and the setting is very spooky, but you’re immediately pulled out of the immersion by poor characters, muddled story and stiff controls. Thankfully, you can download a free trial from the eShop to see if this is something that you’d want to invest in.

The post Review: Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (Wii U) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Recently, the good people over at Yacht Club Games released DLC for Shovel Knight entitled “Plague of Shadows”. This would not be a simple quest for Shovelry and Adventure! But rather a quest for power and the essence of those close by.

Players will be walking in the hood and bird mask of the Plague Knight, as he takes a step behind the scenes in his own quest for a potion of ultimate power! Probably the closest thing to a philosophers stone in this world, but powerful nonetheless. Armed not with a mighty shovel, but rather an array of bombs, its up to you to “borrow” the pure essence of your own order.

Now, if you’ve played Shovel Knight, you’re still not going to be ready for what’s thrown at you. Well, maybe in terms of the enemies, but that’s about it. The mechanics are completely different this time around, almost like you’re learning how to walk for the first time. Plague Knight (PK) specializes in explosives rather than the close quarters combat of a shovel. Figuring out the exact arc of your ordinance will be the first step to mastering this new style, as well as the lack of the pogo-feature from Shovel Knight.

Instead of traversing via pogo, PK uses an explosive launch that while covers a lot of ground, can easily send you into your own demise. Anyone here remember Castlevania? Remember how the Belmont’s would suffer knock-back that was borderline cartoonish? Take that and crank it to 11. PK is flat out allergic to pain, which has sent me falling to my death constantly. Granted you can pick up new armor that tones down knock back damage, you’ll need to adapt quickly as you wont get this upgrade until later on.

When playing Shovel Knight, it’s pretty obvious that there was plenty of influence from other past titles such as Mega Man, Castlevania, Duck Tales and so on. Believe it or not, Plague of Shadows gave me a case of nostalgia for Super Metroid. Now there is no sense of massive exploration as the stellar SNES title, this felt more relevant in your weapons. Back at PK’s lab, you can purchase different upgrades for your bombs which when combined differently, will deliver a new effect much like messing with the weapon set up in Super Metroid. Want a boomerang cluster bomb? How bout orbiting explosives that surround you like a shield? With the right coin and set up, all of that can be yours!

At the end of the day, Yacht Club managed to deliver a new twist on an already familiar game. Playing as PK proves to have it’s own challenges and setting up bombs that tailor to your specific needs feels refreshing! What could be better than this! Oh…..its a free update?….Guess it just got better!

The post PN Review: Shovel Knight – Plague of Shadows appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Shapes of Gray falls in an odd category. The premise is not absolutely horrible, but its not necessarily ground breaking. But is everything as black and white, or in this case, gray as it seems?

There’s no real plot to this game as Shapes of Gray follows an arcade style set up, of advancing through levels which gradually increase in difficulty. You play as an octagon gray shaped character, swing your tiny sword and move on.

The overall objective of this game is to wipe out the enemies on the screen as fast as you can. These threats are also gray, sometimes different shades but I wouldn’t say around 50, each having their own set of attack patterns. Some will wait and charge at you, shoot projectiles, or just float around. Along with these pixelated pests, time will be against you as you race against the clock, which for me, felt like the biggest threat of all.

You can take up to three hits total with health only replenishing after reaching specific checkpoints, or finding the rare health drop. The difficulty never felt like it gradually rose, rather it was sporadic. There were some levels that were beyond easy, while others would catch me off guard sending me to my pixelated demise. When a checkpoint was eventually reached, I never felt a rush of pride for my accomplishment, but rather a sigh of relief knowing that I never had to deal with previous levels again.

Controls for Shapes of Gray felt, ok. There really wasn’t much to it as all you had to do was face the enemy, swing your wee sword and keep moving. Granted there were some enemies that had specific weak spots, it never felt to cryptic. Timing will be key in this game, as I took more damage from running into the enemy rather them running into me. With enough time and practice, you’ll quickly become a master at drifting from foe to foe, clearing levels in an instant.

Visually, this game is boring to look at. I understand that “Gray” is in the title, but everything just feels neutral and dull. It looks as though you’re viewing things through a microscope as small organisms fight on a petri dish, but who knows, maybe thats the actual plot?

In the end, it’s really hard for me to recommend this game. Gameplay gets old after a while, controls are ok at best and the presentation was severely lacking. This seemed like a game that you’d play on a web browser at work when your boss isn’t looking rather than something you rush to fire up on your console. Explore at your own risk, but in this case, I’d pass on to something else.

The post PN Review: Shapes of Gray appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

The biggest part of my skepticism was due to the fact that this game was a side scrolling Real Time Strategy (RTS). The majority of RTS games that I’ve played consisted of the usual grinding for gold, make some soldiers, advance to the right. Rinse, repeat and delete cause oh Lordy these games can be boring!

But, when I booted up the story mode, my attention was immediately grabbed by the sudden voice over and soon entertaining narration of an injured drinking Viking (who for some reason had a Scottish accent) named Brokenbeard. Well, ok so far off to a good start, but this is just a narration. Not even a taste of whats to come. Time to gather all of my cunning and whit, take on this genre that puts my platforming skills to a halt and my brain to the test.

Our story begins as mentioned by our guide Brokenbeard, in a dark cave as an army of demons led by Miss Chief, come across a magical wish granting lamp. Eager to make off with this symbol of phenomenal cosmic power, is the Persian army with their leader Al’Beard in hot pursuit to take back what is rightfully theirs!

While this story goes on, we change gears from damp caves to the green battlefields where we see Viking Chief Redbeard fighting off his nemesis aptly named Blackbeard (no relation to the pirate). At one point, the paths of both the Vikings & Persians cross with Chief Redbeard & The Kebab Shack owner Al’Yucaneet teaming up to chase after Blackbeard who is now in possession of the lamp!

On a race for wealth, revenge & the thrill of battle, our adventure takes off!

As previously mentioned, this is a type of game that requires more patience that other genres. But thankfully, this does not leave the experience dry & tasteless. Each playable faction tailors to their own specific themes. Vikings will have more Lightning, Norse magic and beards than you can throw an axe at. Persian armies rely on stealthy soldiers, genies and alchemy. While lastly demons have more emphasis in explosives & dark magic. While you may see similar soldiers in each faction, each have their own personalities and attack patterns, that truly make them unique.

Usually at the beginning of each match, you first need to collect enough gold to begin building your army. Through a leveling up system, that branches off into different pathways, its completely up to you if you want to grind for gold, unleash a massive battalion or build watch towers to slow forces down. Either way, money makes the world go round here. What? You don’t expect these people to fight for free do ya?

One of the features that really won me over with this game, was the fact that I couldn’t rely on similar tactics that were used in previous levels. While there were some that allowed me the breathing room to grind, there were others that demanded me to send out troops the second I could spawn them. There were even some maps that while I wasn’t tasked with destroying an enemy base, I instead needed to race against a sandstorm with limited materials. It’s the little things like this that can take a slow RTS and turn it into a fast paced experience!

When beginning the games tutorial, you have the choice of either using a Wii U Pro-Controller, the Wii U Gamepad or the Gamepads touch screen. While using the controller felt good and I was still able to win a few matches, I had a much more enjoyable time using the touch screen features, as it allowed me to survey my map at a faster pace as well as deploying troops. Either way, the user interface in this game is spot on, making it easier to switch controls in the off chance the Gamepad needs to charge.

Swords and Soldiers 2 also offers friends to battle against each other in custom two player matches with one player using the Gamepad screen, while the other uses a Pro-Controller and TV. After selecting your faction, you’re then given a variety of maps, each with their own special twist. Some maps will have shorter distances, portals that will take you to different locations, King of the Hill matches and much more. Just when I though that this game couldn’t surprise me enough, it certainly did when giving each map its own identity. Those who are absent a “Player 2” can still find fun in these maps by playing the Skirmish mode, which pits you against the games computer for a head on match.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised with Swords and Soldiers 2. The developers put a lot of effort into this game with its humor and gameplay, to deliver a fun strategic adventure. The $19.99 USD price might cause some people to approach with caution, but don’t worry, this game has plenty of content to keep its replayability strong. If RTS games are not your thing but you’re willing to venture out, this is the game that I would highly recommend.

The post PN Review: Swords and Soldiers 2 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Through a friend, I finally got around to checking out the show and man was I not prepared! This anime is dark. Really dark. Every episode seemed to end with bloodshed, a character that you’ve grown attached to dying and humanity barely surviving to fight another day.

Seeing the characters zip around on their OMD Gear, slashing Titans left n’ right, it practically begged to be made into a game. Recently released for the Nintendo 3DS, Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains gives us our first taste into the world of titans and let us join in the fight! Would this first installment of the popular anime give us the hope for future games or would it be eaten away much like a titan to a human?

The story mode follows through the first season of the show, broken up into five different parts featuring Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackermann, Armin Arlet, Captian Levi and Sasha Braus. I’m not going to go into much detail other than that, mainly due to spoilers of the anime.

Humanity of Chains is completely mission based and the objectives that you’re given overstay their welcome. If you’re not taking out a specific amount of titans, you’re resuscitating some soldiers, collecting things as pointless as armbands and running around in circles when trying to “retreat”. I say that with quotation marks, as its kind of hard to call the act of running around in the most awkward circle ever retreating. Instead, its like a game of “duck duck titan”. While its nice that a some of these missions can be finished in under a minute, it isn’t as satisfying as one would think.

Combat is fairly simple and if anything feels like a quick time event. When speeding towards a titan, a small circle will begin to close in towards a red circle and with careful timing, can result in landing a critical hit. You can also send your character in a spinning motion motion much like a helicopter which is great when trying to prevent a titan from grabbing you mid-attack. It was satisfying when approaching titans with a tactical approach, as they can easily grab you in the hopes of a quick snack.

While combat can be enjoyable at times, the controls can make things frustrating. In order to adjust your camera, you need to use the D-pad which absolutely kills the pacing. Something like this sucks the thrill and excitement of fighting titans, as I have to completely stop moving in order to check out my surroundings for oncoming threats or a better view of my next destination.

If you have access to a circle pad pro or have a New Nintendo 3DS, you can easily use the extra control stick for camera movements. I however do not have a circle pad pro and only have a 3DS XL so I was limited to the poor D-pad camera functions. A good example of a game using limited controls to its fullest is Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance that while supports the circle pad pro, delivers a satisfying experience when controlling a games camera.

After progressing through the story, you’ll eventually unlock “World Mode” which is a vast upgrade compared to the story mode, but not by much. World Mode will allow you to create your own avatar as you can take on missions solo or with friends. This is also where you can level up attributes, customize your avatar and upgrade your gear. While this mode gave me the opportunity to level up my character, I never felt like I was getting stronger and the reoccurring missions of kill some titans, save some soldiers, collect some things, felt like a missed opportunity to try something truly unique.

Visually, character models look like their anime counterparts and titans look like towering awkward naked beings from the depths of ones nightmares. But whats even more hideous, is the running animations of titans off in the distance. Titans move at horrendous speeds and look as though they go through some serious lagging issues making it look like they teleport from place to place. At first I thought this was an issue with my 3D turning on which already slows down the games frame rate, but the issue still persisted after switching it off.

If there was one thing that I liked about the game overall, it was the music. Tracks are pulled directly from the anime and can get you pumped up for the action that lies ahead. While we’re on audio, I couldn’t help notice something when selecting characters for missions. Characters spoke in Japanese and aside from the anime cutscenes, contained no subtitles. It was kind of hard to relate to my characters or understand what they’re going through when I’m not able to translate what they’re saying. All I can tell is that they’re loud, possibly mad, or maybe they just stubbed their toe. I wasn’t really sure.

At the end of the day, this game is really only something that I can recommend to the most dedicated fans of the show. Gameplay is exciting for a while but can come to a halt with poor controls. The World Mode can provide a brief reprise from the lacking Story Mode, but you’ll still be met with the same redundant missions. Hopefully, this was something to test out the waters for future Attack on Titan games and maybe the next one we’ll see on a console rather than a handheld.

The post PN Review: Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains (3DS) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

The first video I remember watching was The Nerds review of Castlevania 2 Simon’s Quest. I distinctly remember this game as it was impossible, cryptic and above all, dated. Throughout the review, I began to establish a connection to The Nerd. If anything, it felt as though he represented our most inner nerd that speaks their mind and ultimately drop the metaphorical hammer on horrible games! The coarse language, hilarious commentary, pure nerdy gold!

Being a fan of The Nerd, its no surprise that I was excited when hearing about the release of his game developed by another fellow gaming site “Screw-Attack”. I remember when attending PAX Prime 2013, I had the chance to play the demo and It looked like something straight out of my NES. But this was just a demo, a taste if you will. How well can a game about some angry passionate nerd really handle? Let’s find out!

Our story begins with The Nerd and friends playing, you guessed it, a horrible old school game. Much like a bad movie/Saturday morning TV show from the late 80’s, The Nerd and company are dragged into the game itself. Forced to deal with instant death blocks, crap spewing monsters and pretty much every possible in game death hazard left and right, its up to you to get The Nerd out of this nightmare of a game, back into reality so he can go back to doing what he does best.

Now you might think “Well, it looks like an old school NES game, but does it play like one?”, the answer is yes! If I were to compare a retro platformer to AVGN Adventures, I’d probably have to go with Mega Man with a dash of Ghost N’ Goblins. The Nerd is equipped with an NES Zapper which acts as your main form of attack similar to the likes of the Mega Buster from Mega Man. Throughout your journey, you can find a brief upgrade to a Super Scope doubling the damage making some boss fights a thankful joke. Just know, that the second you take damage, you lose the power-up. This game will look for any opportunity to rob you of the slightest feeling of security.

But The Nerd is not alone in his endeavors. As linear as the game may be, going off the beaten path can reward you with not only the discovery of other well known Video Game YouTuber’s, but some new playable characters that might be familiar faces to fans of The Nerd. First off is Guitar Guy, whose guitar licks can phase through walls and is the fastest character. Mike Matei, who has not just a jump that rivals Luigi, not just the ability to see secrets but is armed with a lightsaber! Lastly, is Bulls#@t man. Armed with the power of, well, bulls#@t, he’s the slowest of the bunch but provides the strongest attacks and sports a double-jump. So I guess with all this said, its safe to say that we can add Super Mario Bros. 2 elements to the mix.

Platforming in AVGN Adventures is deliciously difficult that will leave you swearing at your TV, while laughing maniacally when achieving sweet victory! If bottomless pits don’t kill you, its the insane amount of “death blocks” that will be the bane of your existence. But don’t worry, as depending on your difficulty, you’re given a set amount of lives, health and continues. Easy grants you unlimited lives, Normal 30, Old School 15 plus 5 Continues. For this review, I chose the normal route and even then, I found myself continuing quite frequently adding my current death count to 338.

While AVGN Adventures reminds gamers of the retro days of old, what it lacks in, is length. Normal mode may have caused me to continue from time to time, but after some easy memorization and careful timing, getting through levels proved easy and I was able to make it to final world in about three hours. Its kind of a bummer knowing that the only thing that makes the game challenging, is less lives and frustrating enemy placements.

But in the end, while its length was a bit on the short side for my liking, my time with AVGN Adventures was enjoyable! One of the strongest factors however, is that even audiences not familiar with The Nerd can still find some enjoyment with some old school retro goodness. If you’re looking for a hardcore platformer featuring one of the crudest video game reviewers out there, then this is the game for you! AVGN Adventures is currently out for Wii U and will soon be released for the Nintendo 3DS.

The post PN Review: AVGN Adventures (Wii U) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

I won’t go too far into the story as I’ve actually reviewed the original title about a year ago. Fun fact: It was actually the first article that I wrote for Pure Nintendo and the article that helped me get into E3 2013! I’ll put a link to the article as it goes more in depth on what the game truly meant to me.

Our story begins with Link traveling through a dense forest in search of his lost partner from the previous title, Navi. Why he’s searching for her will forever remain a mystery, but I digress. Shortly later, Epona is startled by two faries sending Link flying off and rendered unconscious. A masked figure appears nabbing not only the Ocarina of Time, but Epona as well. After giving chase, our hero is not only transformed into a Deku Scrub but also lost Epona in the process. Not the greatest start to an adventure huh? Oh, did I forget to mention the large Moon that’ll destroy the land of Termina in only three days?

So let’s see. Lost horse, lost Ocarina capable of bending space and time and the world will end in three days. Easy, right?

When it comes to gameplay, it plays exactly like OoT 3D with the same button layouts so nothing new there. In the original Majora, there was an odd clock display that would give you an idea on how much time is left, but never really an accurate number. MM 3D now sports an accurate clock, making time specific meetings easier to make. Speaking of time accurate meetings, most Majora veterans will remember the Bomber’s Notebook.

The notebook this time around felt more like a daily planner and overall made reminders of certain side missions a lot easier and more manageable. I could even set alarms for certain objectives taking less stress off an already time saturated game. Aside from a daily planner, there’s a handy record of those you encounter with a slight hint on how to complete their given side quest. This makes for a handy check list for fellow completionist’s who plan on collecting everything this game has to offer.

While MM 3D is indeed a remake, this didn’t stop Nintendo from trying out new things to mix things up. I noticed that I couldn’t rely on everything I knew from my N64 days completely. For example: In the past, before I went into the Pirate’s Stonghold, I always went to Ikana Canyon, found the hidden solider and received the Stone Mask making me invisible. When I went looking for him, he was not in the same area I once remembered. I could tell you where to find him, but why spoil the fun. In the end, it will help if you recall previous events, but they may not deliver the same results.

Another factor that Zelda fans should take into account are the boss battles. In the N64 days, boss battles were pretty cut and dry. Exploit the weakness, attack, rinse and repeat. However, I noticed that there was a large eye representing Majora that would only reveal itself after some clever tactics, usually by using one of the three transforming mask’s.

Visually, the game is everything I expected and more. With the 3DS’s hardware, environments were more clear and previous blurry details were now vibrant. Much like OoT 3D, the 3D experience was more about depth rather than popping out making my playthrough easy on the eyes.

Overall there’s not much to say about this game other than it’s absolutely worth your time. There’s also not much to say about it seeing as though it is what it is, an HD remake. The story hasn’t changed in the past 15 years but the mix up of item/sidequest locations did make for a refreshing experience. With that said, I hope this is the last Zelda HD remake that we see in a long time. We’ve already seen Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and now Majora’s Mask. It’s time for something new and it looks like we’ll get that later on this year.

The post PN Review: The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask 3D appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

So much like Sonic Lost World, the newest Sonic title also comes with a 3DS counterpart. This one is a bit different though when comparing it to its console sibling. If you’ve read my Rise of Lyric review, then you already know my thoughts on that particular title. Let’s not waste anytime as we jump into Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal.

Our story starts off with Amy deciphering some ancient texts that tell of a crystal of unimaginable power. Eager to get his claws on the crystal, is our antagonist, Lyric. After a short battle with Amy, Lyric places a mind control device on her head and takes her captive in the hopes that she will show him the crystals location.

Sonic and friends are now following Amy’s trail in the hopes to stop Lyric and save Amy in the process.

What’s odd about this story, is that Lyric isn’t cannon. When playing “Rise of Lyric”, it’s the first time Sonic and company have ever encountered him. Same goes for “Shattered Crystal”. They’ve never met him let alone heard of him. Just a new threat that seeks to conquer the world with the help of this hidden crystal. This kind of threw me for a loop, but it’s easier to state that both games are not linked in any way.

Once you start the game, you can actually read a pretty neat comic that gives more back story to Lyric and his encounter with a returning character in the Sonic franchise. I really enjoyed this little treat, as part of me has been meaning to check out the Sonic comic series for sometime now.

So not only are the stories not linked between the Wii U and 3DS titles, but the gameplay is vastly different as well.

This time around, there is no massive hub world to explore and mundane side missions. We’re back to the traditional style of side scrolling platforming action that Sonic is known for, with a few new twists along the way.

Much like “Rise of Lyric”, Sonic isn’t alone on his adventure. Accompanying him are Tails, who can ride air gusts. Knuckles, who can burrow in specific areas. And lastly, the newest member Sticks, a badger who can throw a guided boomerang to hit out of reach switches. You’ll be swapping between each character throughout your play-through if you plan on collecting everything such as blueprints or crystal shards.

While we’re on that topic, let’s talk about collectables. In each stage, there are up to five goals that can be met. Finishing the level in a certain time or with a certain amount of rings will reward you with a token which can be used to purchase some figurines that I’ll be honest are completely useless. And finishing the level, gathering all blueprints and crystal shards will grant you a medal for each.

You’ll need these medals to access future levels so try to collect everything in one go. While this can break the pacing and also force you to replay old levels, there’s actually a nice payoff. Collecting blueprints will grant you special power ups that actually give a sense of growth, while the crystal shards add to the overall motif of the game. Plus, whenever you get the upgrade that locates shard pieces and blueprints, collecting them becomes much easier.

One of the biggest draw backs that I found while playing Shattered Crystal, were the levels. Now don’t get me wrong, these are some well thought out levels and they make you work for hidden secrets, it’s just at times they drag on. There were moments that took me up to 12 minuets to finish a level and this was without searching for collectables. While I do enjoy the sense of exploration, getting lost happened more frequently than I hoped.

The soundtrack in this game, while not memorable, is easy on the ears and reminds me of a more simple time for Sonic back in his Genesis days. Anyone else a veteran of the Nintendo and SEGA console wars? The music would switch up when transferring over to different parts of the stage which helps alleviate hearing the same track again and again.

In the end, my time with Sonic Boom Shattered Crystal was MUCH more enjoyable than that of Rise of Lyric. It was great going back to the basics of a side scrolling Sonic title with some added exploration that yielded worthwhile results. While I can’t in any good respects recommend Rise of Lyric for any Sonic fan, I can safely say that Shattered Crystal is the stronger of the two.

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