15 Positives and Negatives of the Nintendo Switch Presentation | List

The Nintendo Switch has been officially revealed and a Nintendo Direct Switch presentation took place on the 13^th January to give fans and journalists an insight into what the console can do and what some of the upcoming games and features are. This list is a breakdown of 15 positives and negatives of the Switch presentation and will feature some opinions on what I think Nintendo could have done better and what they got right.

I had quite a lukewarm reception to the presentation itself, I think Nintendo could have gone into a lot more detail in some areas rather than spending so long explaining the gimmicks of the console. The first party games shown at the presentation look great and there are a lot of things to be excited for, but there are also quite a few disappointing aspects of the Switch too (a while ago I wrote a list of things I wanted from the Switch, so you can refer to that to see why I feel slightly let down in certain ways). Below is my breakdown of the best and worst bits of the presentation, starting with the positive points and then going into some negatives.

NES Classic Edition | Review

Developer: Nintendo

Distributor: Nintendo

Released: November 11^th 2016

Nintendo recently released the Mini NES (officially known as the NES Classic Edition or Nintendo Classic Mini in Europe) and just like what happened when Amiibo first went on sale, it went out of stock instantaneously. I must have been particularly good last year because I was given one for Christmas and after spending a bit of time with it, I wanted to share my thoughts.

This is going to be a slightly differently formatted review to usual as I'm used to reviewing games but this will be my first time reviewing a piece of gaming hardware. The reason I wanted to do this review is because you may want more information about the product before spending what could be quite a lot of money on it.

Ape Escape 2 | Video Review

Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Available on: PlayStation 2 & PlayStation 4
Released: March 14th 2003

Ape Escape 2 is the sequel to one of the better 3D platformers on the PS1 (which I reviewed last month). But with the jump to the PS2 can Ape Escape 2 live up to the original and perhaps expand on the solid foundation that Ape Escape 1 laid out?

Despite being quite a big fan of the Ape Escape series I hadn't ever played Ape Escape 2 until I decided to do this review and what made it so much easier is the fact that it's now on PS4 as a PS2 Classic meaning I could play it in 1080p and use the share function to record all my gameplay.

All in all I had a lot of fun with it and I'm excited to revisit Ape Escape 3 after playing the others to see how it compares.

Top 5 Highlights of PlayStation Experience 2016 | List

This is a list of my top 5 highlights of the PlayStation Experience 2016 showcase which was live-streamed on the 3^rd December (the 22^nd birthday of the PS1). The event was basically a mini E3 all about the future (and past) of PlayStation games. While not being as strong as Sony's previous showcase at E3 earlier this year, it was still a very strong event featuring some new announcements and some new gameplay footage for games that have been previously revealed.

Despite not being a huge event (when compared to the likes of E3) Sony didn't seem to hold back with the new releases and announcements. It was a great showcase and got me hyped for more information regarding certain games and to get my hands on some of them. This list is ordered from least anticipated (at the top) to most anticipated (at the bottom). So, without further delay, here are my highlights of the event:

Ape Escape | Review

Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Reviewed on: PlayStation

Available on: PlayStation

Released on: May 31^st 1999

Ape Escape is a series of 3D collectathon platformers I've always been fond of but one which I've never properly delved into all that much. There are three main series games, the first of which was on the PS1 and the two sequels were released on the PS2. I've only ever completed Ape Escape 3 which I remember being very good, though I've not played it for a long time.

I had a demo of the first Ape Escape and this made me want to try out the full game but until relatively recently I had never gotten around to doing so. Exactly why this is I have no idea but it could have something to do with the fact that the PS2 was released quite soon after Ape Escape's release, so I had simply moved on to the new system by the time I would have gotten around to playing it.

My Game & Console Collection | List

Over the years I've collected quite a few consoles and games. My first home console was the original PlayStation which was my only one for quite a while, I also had an original Game Boy as my only handheld console at around this time too. For quite a long amount of time I remained loyal to the PlayStation and Game Boy brands, eventually getting a PlayStation 2 and a Game Boy Color but it was around this time that I started to branch out by getting a GameCube, Xbox 360 and PC. More recently I've found myself collecting the older Nintendo systems I missed out on, such as the NES and Nintendo 64, but I also purchase new consoles (with my most recent additions being the Switch and the PS5). I've also been trying to build up my GameCube collection because that's a system I feel like I massively missed out on as a kid.

Many of the games I had when I was younger I eventually sold when I grew tired of them and started playing them less, which is something I regret looking back on it. Because of this, I've been trying to remember the games I had as a kid and re-buy them to complete the collection I used to have (as well as expanding on that collection).

Hugo | Video Review

Developer: ITE Media

Publisher: ITE Media

Reviewed on: PlayStation

Available on: PlayStation

Released: 1998

This is a Halloween special video review for a PlayStation game I've owned since I was a kid, I've never been a fan of. People often call Bubsy 3D the worst game on PS1 (or ever) but I disagree, this is one of the few games I consider to be worse.

If you give the video a watch, let me know what you think! Any feedback is appreciated!

Mistigri | Review

Developer: Benjamin Soulé

Publisher: Benjamin Soulé

Reviewed on: PC

Available on: PC

Released: 29^th May 2016

Mistigri is a game developed using a game making toolkit called PICO-8, the toolkit offers budding game creators a few preset assets and tools they can use to affordably and easily make a short game that can be played for free in web browsers. The games all have a retro inspired pixel art aesthetic and controls can consist of only six buttons which harkens back to the days of arcade machines and the NES.

This particular game is heavily inspired by Bubble Bobble (which just so happens to be one of my favourite NES era platformers) so I was immediately drawn to it. The level structure, visual style, weapon upgrades, music and some of the gameplay elements are very similar to Bubble Bobble, but does Mistigri do enough to set it apart from the very game that inspired it?

140 | Review

Developer: Jeppe Carlsen

Publisher: Jeppe Carlsen & Double Fine Productions (Console Versions)

Reviewed on: PC

Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One & Wii U

Released: October 16^th 2013

140 is a minimalist 2D platformer created by Jeppe Carlsen who is most well known for being the lead gameplay and level designer of INSIDE (which you can click HERE to read my review of) and LIMBO which are two of my favourite games of all time. But whereas INSIDE and LIMBO both have dark themes and visual styles and focus on telling a story through symbolism and metaphors, 140 is about as simple as you could make a platformer.

140 is almost the anti-LIMBO and INSIDE, it couldn't be more colourful, it has an upbeat electronic soundtrack and it has very little in the way of story. But what it shares with the aforementioned games is how fantastically the levels are designed. At it's core 140 is about as simple as a 2D platformer can get, you move with the left analogue stick and jump with the A button (I'm playing with an Xbox 360 controller) and that's it. You would think this would mean the game is too simple right? Well no, 140 is quite a challenge to complete and despite its simple graphical style, it's more complicated than it first appears to be.

Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow Version | Review

Developer: Game Freak

Publisher: Nintendo

Reviewed on: 3DS (Virtual Console)

Available on: Game Boy & 3DS (Virtual Console)

Released: September 28th 1998

For the first time since the late 1990s Pokemon is once again gaining huge amounts of media attention, everyone is talking about it and everyone seems to not be able to get enough of it. This is mostly due to the hugely popular Pokemon Go app being released on mobile devices, you can't go anywhere without seeing someone playing Pokemon Go and I think this is great because it's a franchise that I really like and it's good to see both old fans and new fans alike talking about it.

But in this Pokemon resurgence let's not forget where the series started, let's rewind to the first Pokemon boom and revisit the original Pokemon games which were released on the original Game Boy in 1998. The original trio of Pokemon games have recently been released on the Nintendo 3DS making them more relevant and easy to get a hold of than ever before (the specific version I played for this review is Pokemon Blue Version).