Thomas Cregge is playing “NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams” (Wii)
It’s a not-so-well known game by Sega. The plot features a boy and a girl having nightmares and they soon find themselves in a dream world, where they meet our titular character and adventure throughout their dreams and as they battle nightmares, they find each other and love. You may recognize the gameplay from just about any other Sega or Sonic the Hedgehog you’ve ever played. The plot may be repetitive for any Sega fan, but it does get pretty deep, somewhat psychological, and some of the sweeter moments that just hit you right in the feels! In a typical Sega fashion, with what they lack in a limited gameplay, and a somewhat recycled plot, they more than make up for in their soundtracks and musical scores! The songs and music is just so wonderful, from soft, gentle scores that you could fall asleep to, to the lyrics that make you want to fall in love all over again, it makes playing the game worth it just to listen to all the music! Recommended for anyone just looking for a new game to try, or anyone who loves game music!
Alexander Suffolk is playing “Pokemon Yellow” (Nintendo 3DS)
In the beginning, I was obsessed with “Pokemon Go” just like the rest of the world. But as the weeks went by, it has slowly lost its appeal piece by piece. I wanted pokemon battles to be more than just mashing the screen and I wanted to collect pokemon beyond just Pidgeys. In short, I wanted a fully fledged Pokemon game with only the original 150 that I hadn’t experienced before.
So imagine my pleasant surprise to find that the original Gameboy Pokemon games had been put on the Nintendo 3DS Eshop! And I realized that with all my childhood hours poured into both Red and Blue versions, I’d never gotten around to “Pokemon: Yellow Version.” Ten dollars a few minutes later, I was right back into my childhood, sicking my Charizard on poor youngsters who dared interrupting my journey to make me fight their zubats. It felt good to once again strive to build a balanced team, and years later, I still felt giddy whenever I managed to come across a pokemon I had yet to register to my pokedex. Not to mention my triumphs in constantly defeating my bitter rival, Anus, and laughing in juvenile joy whenever he’d tell me that he’d “smell me later.”
I had also forgotten some of the quirks of the first generation pokemon games. I forgot how all the NPCs only communicate with playing advice or random musings before trying to mug you. I forgot how simple words like “It hurt itself in confusion” could send me into a frothing rage. I forgot how stupidly powerful psychic types were, which inspired me to catch an Abra only to realize that Alakazam could only be obtained by trading pokemon with another player. Seems I forgot that trading annoyance too.
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Still, I’m glad Nintendo wizened up to re-release these sublime games in the wake of “Pokemon Go.” Honestly, I’m surprised their availability on 3DS hasn’t been marketed to death. They still stand the test of time, and I’m happy for the glimpse of nostalgia. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still need to grind this Magikarp into a Gyarados. I guess some things never change.
Donald Strohman has been playing “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
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If you had to pick a game that would break your video game system, which one would you want it to be? Perhaps a copy of Skyrim, maybe Naughty Dog’s stellar experience in The Last of Us? Well, seven years ago, I rented a copy of the video game X Men Origins Wolverine from my local library, and it was the one that broke my old PS3.
Which should be enough to turn anyone away from ever playing the game again. However, I saw a copy at my local game store, and I couldn’t resist picking it up and playing it once again. Unlike the terrible film, the video game adaptation is actually a lot of fun thanks to its bloody and fast paced combat. Sure, the story is lacking just like the feature it was based on, but where this game absolutely shines in how much dumb, gory fun it has to offer.
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Evan Griffin has been playing “Metroid Prime Trilogy” (Wii)
Yes, yes, I know, I already wrote about how this game is my Chicken Pot Pie two weeks ago. That being said, it had been a while since I played the game at the time of writing my ranking of all the Metroid games in existence, so I took some spare time to zoom through the first half of the game, and I really did forget just how well I knew the planet of Tallon IV like the back of my hand. I seem to instinctively remember where certain missile expansions and energy tanks are just based on the geometry of the overworld, which can really only signify good game design to make me excited about going back to places I’d already seen. As my game save is now, I’m not even 3 and a half hours of time in, but I’ve already gathered 13 missile upgrades, 6 health expansions, a varia suit to protect me from lava, all the morph ball upgrades excluding the Power Bomb. I remember how my original playthrough back in 2003 and 2004 seemingly took forever so I could take my time and discover things at my leisure, but now I feel confident and overpowered even on veteran mode. This playthrough reminds me that Metroid isn’t necessarily a massive challenge to players on a skill or combat level, but a challenge against yourself and how efficiently you can clear a plane of evil under a time constraint. Considering how isolating Metroid is in a calming way, I can’t help but equate the competition against myself to a game of golf.
Allyson Johnson has been playing “Flower” (PS4)
It has been established that I don’t have a good grasp on how to go about video games. I get Mario Kart, but otherwise I need a lot of instruction and I need to a game that isn’t too long that won’t lose my focus. Enter, Flower! The PS4 remaster of this game quite literally serves no purpose other than to turn a generic landscape into something visually stunning. I didn’t even realize there were levels at first. The aerial point of view as you take flight coupled with the gorgeous score kept me captivated for a game that falls on the short side. It’s perfect for if you’re deciding between what you want to watch on Netflix or just need something to do to kill the time. Created by Nicholas Clark and That Game Company, Flower was originally a spiritual successor to Flow, and is a gorgeously rendered game that is simple enough for this newbie, but certainly engaging enough for the gaming experts as well.
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