We're gonna run this franchise into the ground, like any good horror movie!
Hello, boys and ghouls! It’s nearing the end of October, which means it’s time for the annual Halloween Havoc edition of Nerds Without Pants! We have some fun discussions in store for you, so let’s get right to it.
Competent kart racing with a light dash of Nickelodeon paint.
Five minutes with Nickelodeon Kart Racers and it’s very clear that Mario Kart 8 acted as not only an inspiration to the game, but in many cases as a blueprint for its design. As it turns out, that’s not a bad thing at all and helps make this a very competent racing game with some nice features and even a few things that help set it apart. But like any facsimile, it’s not nearly as crisp, pristine, or flawless as the original.
This unique boss battler seems to channel Dark Souls, offering players a slew of challenging encounters, along with a New Game+ mode. Built by industry veterans, Sinner is available now on Discord and will hit consoles on October 18, with a full PC release in early 2019.
For once, bards are cool!
At first pass, you may mistake Wandersong for a game about a bard who’s trying to save the world. I wouldn’t blame you, because while that is what it seems on the surface, more importantly Wandersong is a game about emotions and relationships. It’s about conquering your fears and adversity, doing what’s right even when everyone else is telling you it’s wrong. It’s about leaning on your friends when you can’t do something by yourself, and yes, it’s about singing your heart out even when nobody wants to hear you.
You'll have a Marble Blast... once the rest of the content is available.
Back when the GameCube released, I developed a real love for rolling monkeys in balls along complex tracks while hoping to reach the finish line without falling off. Yes, Super Monkey Ball was truly something special. Later, during the Wii’s lifespan, a couple titles based around rolling marbles appeared under a new series, Kororinpa, scratching that same itch. These were incredible games that used the Wii’s motion control to great effect and since then I’ve been pining for more ball rolling goodness in whatever form I can get it. Enter Marble It Up, a spiritual successor to the Marble Blast series that had its final release on the PC and Xbox 360. While I missed these titles, if Marble It Up indicates their quality, I’m sure I’d have loved them.
All warped out.
Velocity 2X, by all measures, is a well made game. It has a pretty extensive amount of content including 50 core levels with a healthy number of objectives to achieve in each, a set of unlockable puzzle-based bonus levels, and the Switch version even includes the DLC out-of-the-box. But even after completing the whole game, I never really felt satisfied with it. While there’s a lot of content, each level feels similar to the last and this lack of diversity eventually wore me down. By the time the credits rolled, I was relieved to be done with it.
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.
... and here's to 9 more!
It appears PixlBit's anniversary is upon us once again! This time we celebrate the site's final year in the single digits; trucking forward towards a full decade of PixlBit. Looking back, it's been a chaotic and interesting ride full of ups and downs. Over the past few years, I'll admit, it's been generally quiet around here. But with a new year of PixlBit beginning, I feel a renewed drive to push content out to you, our faithful fans and readers. Even in the times where the staff has been quiet, all of you have managed to keep PixlBit afloat with your blogs and comments and strong sense of community. Without you folks, I doubt I'd have the fortitude to continue on after all these years.
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.
Being a delivery boy has never been so much fun.
It’s not often that a game does something that completely surprises me, but The Messenger managed to catch me totally off guard. What appears to be a modern 8-bit take on Ninja Gaiden suddenly morphs into something more at the halfway point of the game. Its once linear levels branch out and become a Metroid-like maze, with hidden secrets abound. Not only that, but the graphics and sound boost into 16-bit and the world takes on an extra level of detail. While this gimmick was incredibly cool, the tight gameplay and intricate level design is what makes The Messenger a truly special experience.
