Mario Kart 8 Hands-On Impressions

Mario Kart; a series as consistently frustrating as it is addicting. Going strong since 1992, these games have seen action on consoles, handhelds, and even the arcades for quite some time. The Mario series is so expansive and has so many iconic and long-standing characters and locations that it’s not really a surprise to see that Nintendo’s always capable of turning them into a diverse range of playable characters and tracks, but it’s still so delightful to see these ideas captured in motion. Mario Kart 8 is, from everything I’ve seen, the strongest example of this so far in the series.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review

I've always loved Donkey Kong Country! The Super Nintendo trilogy was packed to the brim with creative and challenging levels that were memorable and left an impression; each level had its own theme and gimmick that meant you could never mistake it for another. The revival on Wii from 2010, Donkey Kong Country Returns, was also an outstanding game in the same ways. Tropical Freeze continues to provide the same dynamic and creative levels that the series has always given us, but it's hard to not wish Retro Studios had done a little bit more.

Super Smash Bros. Retrospective! Part 1/3

Hello, friends! Today I am happy to share with you my first blog of 2014! I got several games over the holidays that I’ve meant to play through and review (like Beyond: Two Souls, The Wonderful 101, and Zelda: Link Between Worlds), but…well, I haven’t really played any of my new games extensively yet. I will at some point, but for the last month or so I’ve been investing the majority of my time playing the Super Smash Bros. Brawl mod known as Project M.

It’s been a work in progress for a long time and I’ve been playing the older builds of PM for about 2 years, and for the unfamiliar, it combines Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s huge and creative roster of characters with the fast-paced, more competitive gameplay of its predecessor, Super Smash Bros. Melee. On December 9th of last year, the newest build was released, and it completely blew me away. They finally completed every character, added multiple cool looking alternate costumes, new stages, refined menus, a whole new way to play in the form of Turbo Mode, and what personally had me the most excited, the return of Mewtwo and Roy from Melee. It’s an awesome mod with a lot of effort put into it and I’ve barely been able to put it down since downloading it about a month ago. If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, check it out right here.

And as many of you know, the 4^th installment of the Super Smash Bros. series is set to come out…wait, this year!? Good lord, time flies. It’s already been nearly 6 years since Brawl! The new game looks impressive, to say the least, the colorful HD graphics, the super unique movesets given to the newcomers, and…hell, dude, it’s Smash Bros.  This is a series known for having an absurd amount of content that lasts for years without getting old. Between the hours I’ve poured into Project M and the excitement of knowing that later this year I’ll be playing Smash 4, it’s hard not to be reminded of the series’ history and be kind of taken aback at just how much time I’ve put into playing this game with my friends. To celebrate, I decided my next blog will be the first of a 3-part series; you guessed it, a Super Smash Bros. Retrospective!