PixlBit

Greetings True Believers!

Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, but his video game history has been a deep well of untapped potential. He’s had good games still worth playing today, yet he’s never had an entry on par with Batman’s excellent Arkham titles. Marvel’s Spider-Man is Insomniac’s attempt at elevating Spider-Man to the same level as Batman. While they do not quite reach that same quality standard, there is a solid foundation for Insomniac to build upon.

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Dust is still as great now as it was six years ago on XBLA.

Somehow it’s been six whole years since Dust originally released as a Summer of Arcade title on the Xbox 360. It’s incredible to me that it’s been that long, but though six years have passed, Dust still holds up as a great title today. Since its original XBLA release, the action-adventure spectacle has made its way to PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and now most recently the Switch, where it feels right at home.

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The Blue Bomber is back!

It’s exciting to finally be playing a new mainline Mega Man game, especially after the whole debacle with Mighty No. 9. While I actually enjoyed what MN9 had to offer and thought it was a capable Mega Man clone, nothing is quite like the real thing. When Capcom surprise sprung on us last week that the demo was available on the eShop (as well as the PlayStation and Xbox store fronts) I couldn’t dive in quickly enough. Featuring just one robot master, Block Man, we were given a small glimpse into what the game will have to offer and I walked away impressed and even more excited for the full release.

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Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Since Portal hit the scene around a decade ago, it’s inspired a variety of other games that have chosen to use the first person perspective for puzzle solving and storytelling, rather than the typical shooting. The Spectrum Retreat is one such game and it does well in both telling an interesting story and providing some great puzzles. However, these two elements rarely coalesce and more often feel like oil and water, separated naturally by the construct of the experience. Though it’s too bad the two don’t come together, what’s presented is still compelling thanks to ever evolving puzzle constructs and the gradual realization of what's going on in The Spectrum Retreat.

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I wish it was good to be bad.

On paper, Nefarious is such a great idea. For once, you get to assume control of a villain, and instead of saving the princess, it’s your job to capture her. The boss battles that end a level? That's your time to shine and stop the would-be hero in his tracks. In execution, Nefarious is rife with issues. Unresponsive controls, mediocre gameplay, and progress halting bugs make for a game that’s just not at all what I had hoped it’d be.

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