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Review | 'Kong: Skull Island'

Nintendo Switch – Figuring out the Flaws

by Kyle Neely on March 7, 2017


The Nintendo Switch has had a successful launch and is definitely the real deal but Nintendo’s newest console is not without it’s issues. Skepticism is healthy and it comes very easy to people who have yet to actually try the system out for themselves, but for those of us who have had a little more hands on experience it can be hard to see past the hype. It is important to point out that this new hardware is amazing in the many things it sets out to do while at the same time being grounded in the reality that nothing is perfect at launch. Here are some of the more prominent issues to look out for before you decide if you want to sink north of $300 into the newest gaming trend.

Battery Life is Laughable

For what is being touted as a hybrid system, your total time on the go will add up to 2.5 – 3.5 hours. That barely gets you anywhere when playing The Legend Zelda: Breath of the Wild, just trust that your Switch can and will die on you. Even on medium brightness! The controllers thankfully have such a long battery life that I have yet to find myself with a live system, and dead sticks. Make sure you are carrying around the charger if you leave with your Switch.

Bring a Charger for your Switch….because it will die!

You Will Need a Screen Protector!

The Switch’s dock will scratch up the screen of your Switch if you are not careful with sliding it in. Now this is mostly user error, as if you do sloppily put in the Switch, the screen will scratch. How to combat this? Treat it like your cell phone or expensive handheld device. Buy a screen protector and be sure to place the Switch into its dock very carefully every time. Ya know, treat your expensive hardware correctly! All screens on all devices, be they plastic or glass, are not immune to damage. It may be common sense, but its in need of pointing out.

Limited On Board Memory

If you plan to download a lot of games and extras on your Nintendo Switch, it is in your best interest to grab a SD Micro Card! 32 gigs of space with over 5 uses on the Operating System leaves you with very little extra room. I’d suggest spending the extra money to get more memory!

Lack of Release Titles

 

Games, games everywhere. Except launch.

I currently have 3 games on my Switch. A racing game called Fast RMX, an old game called Shovel Knight, and the main event of course being The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While Zelda may be a solid contender for one of the greatest games of all time (seriously, I’ve put over 20 hours into it and there is nothing like it), it still only is ONE game. The other two titles work well as pallet cleansers, but beyond these there just are not a lot of offerings currently.

Reported Dead Pixels

If you have a Switch that is suffering from dead pixels, take it back to the store and make them return it. These things happen in all products and while Nintendo is saying “it is not their issue,” you can certainly still return it to the store you bought it at. Make sure you do a good inspection before keeping the system for too long. Dead pixels will be pretty obvious pretty quickly.

Frustrating Comparison of the Joy-Con Grips

Joy-Cons Can’t Charge Without Being Docked

Now this is just a classic Nintendo maneuver. This just screams of, “Hey this is okay, just buy our 30 dollar proprietary peripheral to place your Joy-Cons in to charge your controllers while you play!” To add more insult to injury, this purchasable peripheral looks exactly like the controller cradle that comes with  the system – except it is unable to charge, which seems like a standard feature. This may be among this most frustrating things about the system and accessories.

Controller Syncing Issues

Though they are meant to be used together, the Joy-Cons themselves are standalone controllers and there have been multiple reports of the left Joy-Con un-syncing.  It seems many things are interfering with the signal and there is talk of a possible a firmware update to fix this, however it is still an unacceptable issue to have at launch.

No Virtual Console

This is a subjective issue but many were anticipating virtual console, so I imagine its absence currently is a deal breaker for some. This addition could have padded out the Nintendo Switch’s, launch but they were unable to deliver. This service is coming, but for now it is not present and no idea when it will become available.

No Party Chat

Party Chat currently does not exist – and when it does, you will need a phone app to use it. Um what? I will reserve any more judgment until this feature comes out and I get hands on time with it. Because that’s what you do, use something before forming an opinion on it.

Friend Codes Are Back

The friend codes are still used to find friends online. This is old, archaic, and there has to be better ways to do this by now. But I quickly got over it as I filled out my friends lists with help from previous Nintendo apps to help find people I have interacted with, or putting in your 75 (not a real number) digit arbitrary code to find somebody specific.

Kickstand Woes

 

Switch’s flimsy kickstand

The Nintendo Switch kickstand is flimsy and it feels like the console is always on the verge of tipping over. I suggest some sort of case that props it up if you plan to play it on the go and upright.

Game Saves Locked to System

Unlike other consoles, the save data for your games is currently locked to the system. Now this seems like it will be something that is addressed in a firmware update but for the moment I hope you are not planning on continuing your gaming adventures on a friend’s console. It is a traveling system, though, so there should be little to no need for save data transfers outside of upgrading to a new system or extracting data off of a broken one. Here’s to hoping this is fixed soon!

No Ethernet Port

What is this the 90s? Sure I get everything is wireless now but for online gaming, internet speed is paramount and Wi-fi does not always cut it! How much cost was cut from excluding this? its a big omission but thankfully I have had zero issues with the wi-fi, connecting online, or being unable to update my games or get into a quick race in Fast RMX.

Report Card:

Some of these issues with the Nintendo Switch will be deal breakers to some while not even being a blip on the radar for others. For now if I had to impart advice to anybody who is on the fence, I would say that all early adopters for any piece of hardware are basically glorified beta testers. There will be kinks, there will be issues, and oversights in the first batch of these systems, but that is not exclusive to this product.

My take on it? Wait for a few months. Watch the catalog of games grow, watch some of the issues be addressed, and when it feels right for you, pull the trigger, because there is nothing in the world like never having to stop playing. There is something so novel about grabbing the system and continuing your session at work, on the bus, or on vacation, while never feeling like the limitations of playing cell phone game or handheld device. This is true hardcore, triple A gaming on the go which was the mantra of the Nintendo Switch. In that regard, they nailed what they set out to do.

I hate to dwell on the negatives, but being objective about the shortcomings of a new product is important! Stay tuned to a future feature about all the things I loved about the system, and strap yourself in because there is A LOT to love!

A-Link-Between-Worlds-Box-Art

At one time, you couldn’t get a better handheld series port than Zelda. Link’s Awakening, the Oracle games, and Minish Cap were masterpieces in their own right, distinctly different from their console brethren, but equally as challenging and entertaining.

Then the DS came along and screwed it all up for everyone.

Phantom Hourglass is the second worst handheld Zelda ever created. Though it had the visual charm of Wind Waker, it captured none of the exploration and adventure, instead replacing a vast world with a central dungeon which needed to be beaten nigh-endlessly to get to its ending. This frustrating repetition on top of a less than stellar game made for an experience I care to not repeat. The only game worse than this was its successor Spirit Tracks, which decided if it made us go on set paths to get to areas to explore, it would somehow be better than a free roaming boat. Though the central dungeon idea was improved by removing its time limit and allowing you to skip previously played parts, the developers stuck to their guns of extending gameplay time at the expense of monotony. Bleh. The age of handheld Zelda darkness was upon us.

zelda-handhelds

But hark, like the sun peering through a dark cloud break, a new game was announced. One that featured top-down adventuring ala the previous handhelds and was a sequel to one of my personal favorites, A Link To The Past. A Link Between Worlds promised to take us back to a familiar Hyrule and bring the series back to its roots. As wary as I was, I bought it on the hopes that just maybe the developers realized that exploration is a crucial part of gameplay and it’s a bad idea to have half your game consist of playing the same level ad nauseam. I popped it in the 3DS and braced myself for disappointment.

I’ve never been so happy to have my fears unfounded.

Okay maybe I have, but you get the picture.

Link to the Past Nostalgia, But Better

First off, just to hear the classic Link to the Past tune to start off the game brought a stupid grin to my face. And it didn’t stop as I started the game. This version of Link is the blacksmith’s apprentice, which makes you wonder how far it is in the future if the fame and deeds of his ancestor didn’t keep him from working, but I digress. You start off in the same house from Link to the Past, you have an almost identical world map to Link to the Past, and all the music is revamped versions of, you guessed it, Link to the Past. This game just screams nostalgia in the absolute best way possible.

link-between-worlds-house

Another feature that struck me almost immediately was the smoothness of gameplay. Not only do you have full range of motion instead of just 8, you can break pots with your sword, and the complete pause of gameplay when going upstairs has been removed. The sword swings also seem to be faster and produce such a crisp sound and fast effect, it feels noticeably quicker and more satisfying to cut down a bush. I know that sounds stupid, but when you try it you’ll know and be like “Man, AristoGamer, you were right.” And I’ll pull down my aviators while I power up my helicopter to fly over the ocean and say “I know, kid.”

The story is also quite interesting. An evil entity named Yuga is turning sages into paintings and it’s up to Link, who suddenly gets the power to merge into walls, to foil his plot and save Hyrule and another place whose name is too hilarious to spoil. The second half of the game (there’s always a second half to a Zelda game) features a compelling plotline and one of the best endings to a handheld Zelda game in some time.

Breaking New Ground By Reexamining Old Ground

link-between-worlds-item-shop

For the first time in franchise history, you can complete the dungeons in any order you want! When I first heard that, my mind was blown. “A non-linear Zelda should not be possible”, my psyche screamed. It was quickly silenced by the logical addition of Ravio, an item salesman who runs a store out of your house to rent you weapons. That’s right, from the beginning of the game you can rent every single quest-critical item for a price. The only catch is when you die, the items get returned and you must pay for them again. You also don’t need to worry about ammo or magic for specific items, as their use takes away from one unified bar that refills. Though it doesn’t make much sense for arrows to use the same system as the fire rod, it’s much simpler and more streamlined. I definitely don’t miss running out of ammo halfway through a dungeon and having to scrounge for more. This novel system singlehandedly loosened up a series which didn’t need loosening, but benefited from it greatly. The resulting game is radically fun, figuring out what items you need and want for each place and placing emphasis on gaining rupees.

That’s another cool thing, not only do start with a rupee limit of 9999, but because they’re so important, you find yourself caring about getting them far more. Gone was the exasperating feeling of needing to purchase something—anything—to lighten your coin purse. With this system, I don’t think I ever had over 4000 rupees. It seems so simple to place more importance on something so ubiquitous between games, but it’s a smart choice that made even cutting down bushes more rewarding.

Link-Between-Worlds-blue-rupee

In fact, the only negative thing I have to say about this game is I don’t really like the way Link looks from the top down view. Look at his front coif and tell me they couldn’t scale that back just a smidge so we could better see his face. Just compare Link to the Past and Link Between Worlds and tell me one doesn’t look more limiting.

link-between-worlds-comparison-link-to-the-past

Also, the art style reminds me of what they did with the new Donkey Kong, Kirby, and Mario Brothers games—they all look kind of similar and shiny. Though it’s not as pronounced a problem in this title and it harkens back to Link to the Past, it still has that same plasticky feel that the New Super Mario Brothers has where I feel like Nintendo got a bit lazy on the art. But again, it’s not nearly as noticeable in Link Between Worlds as it is in the aforementioned series.

Verdict:

Even if you’re not a Zelda fan or just haven’t played Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds is an excellent game that has one of the smoothest engines, best soundtracks, and most creative dungeons of the series. The nonlinearity of the game allows the player more freedom while smart design choices remove the small annoyances and increase fun just running around. If you have a 3DS and like Zelda games or adventure titles, this should absolutely be the next game you buy.

I’ve talked about it often with my friends, cursed wol_lay’s name for not releasing it soon enough, and ventured to the deepest depths of the internet to try and find a copy of the game. But no more.

Cube World is here.

For those of you that don’t know, Cube World is a voxel-graphics adventure game inspired by Zelda, Minecraft, and other dungeon crawlers, programmed over the past few years by a German man named wol_lay and his wife. You can join friends or play alone to quest across an infinitely generating world to slay enemies, grab sweet gear, and discover new and exciting lands. Also you can hang glide, boat, and ride horses which is just rad. Also, before you ask, no, it’s not another Minecraft clone. In fact the similarities only go so far as the graphic style and the infinite world, everything else is wholly different though equally as fun and addicting.

But before you jump into this dangerously fun title, you might want to take these tips to heart.

Water Mage for multiplayer, Fire Mage for
single

Mages come in two different element variants, each with their own advantages. Fire Mages have potentially more attack power, especially in the higher levels, whereas Water Mages have access to healing magic. Though it’s nice to be able to heal yourself, fire magic is more suited to solo questing for being able to eliminate more enemies quickly as you can still heal yourself with potions.

With groups, however, Water Mages are one of the most crucial components. Not only can they pull aggro if needed, their attacks can double as both attacks and heals, meaning warriors can tank far more effectively since mages only have to cast one spell. This spell comes in handy when to keeping a warrior alive as he leads a Dwarf King on a merry chase.

Think you don’t need a pet? You’re wrong

For one if you don’t want a pet, you probably also don’t like ice cream, fireworks, or hope. Secondly, the friendly animals in this game are all so cute, it’d be difficult to say no. And for three, they all attack!

Yes, they all attack.

Yes, even the bunny. Look at this cute little guy.

Beyond that, you can ride your pets for a movement bonus, which is nice when you need to cross a plain and there’s nothing to hang glide off of. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rode my horse across the land and straight into a castle sheerly because it was faster than running.

Oh also, the spitter is the best pet. It has water mage powers and looks like an octorok from Zelda. He’s great. I like that guy.

Item power

You have a power level associated with your character, and since the game never stops, it may even one day reach over nine thousand. This power level determines what gear you can equip and can often be a source of trouble when trying to get new items as you generally find things for power levels greater than your own. Fear not though, since a quick trip to the guy in the giant tower in each town can adapt that equipment down to your level free of charge. He can also adapt equipment you’ve grown out of, but are still quite in love with, up to your level, though that costs far more than free. So is it better to wait and get the level required for your sweet new sword, or do you want to use it now to smear gnoll blood across the mountains? That’s for your play style to decide.

Another, similar note is that when you craft items, their power level is in line with your own. I didn’t know this when I crafted 50 pumpkin muffins that were all +2. Now that I’m level 24, I’m still eating 6-7 muffins just to gain back my health, whereas I could just make one +24 one now and my health would regain exponentially more. So the secret is to get as many items to craft as possible, but only craft when needed!

Glitches/Quick tips

1)      Warrior’s berserker class is broken and the attack speed bonus is not nearly what it should be, so be a guardian just to get the HP boost
2)      There’s missing sound effects for a large number of things as well as no ambiance music, so get a playlist ready
3)      If you take too long clearing a dungeon, the monsters will respawn, so you’ll have to fight your way back through the same guys you killed 15 minutes ago in the same areas
4)      There’s no death penalty other than being transported away from the enemies and them regaining their health, so use that to your advantage and be adventurous!

And that’s about it! To pick up a copy of the game go here, then play it and make your friends get it, and go raid some old castles or temples! Cube World is as expansive as Minecraft, as challenging as Fallout at times, with a unique item system like Diablo, and all the charm of a 6 week old kitten. Give it a try if you like Minecraft, Zelda, or hate having free time.

Credits: Spike Tv

The VGA nominees for 2011 are in, so who will win this year? Visit Spike’s site to cast your vote, make a difference and your voice heard by clicking here. The Video Game Awards will air on Spike TV on December 10, 2011. Don’t forget to cast your votes!                    The nominees for each category are as follows:  (more…)


The day after the turkey feast is supposed to be the biggest shopping day of the year, but is it really worth it? Thanks to CAG, IHOG now has the inside scoop on the deals for this year’s BLACK FRIDAY! Start saving, dip into your saving account, or apply for a credit card because you are not going to want to miss these deals. (more…)

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