PixlBit

Kids are, in fact, able to discern a quality title from a middling one.

A while ago, I made the decision, as most parents do, to involve my children in my hobbies. I did this by playing catch with them in the backyard, going to baseball games, playing video games, and most recently, writing a co-op review for PixlBit. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the experience, it’s that kids will surprise you with just how mature their perspective can be, even if they aren’t able to properly articulate it yet.

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What happens when kids review a children’s title? You get surprisingly honest results.

Reviewing children’s titles is always tricky business. As adults, it really is impossible to mentally travel back to our developmental years and place the game in its proper perspective. The only way to truly get around these limitations would be to have a child perform the task. On the positive side, as long as there’s no motivation for them to lie, kids are usually brutally honest, even to the point of being impolite. On the other hand, children lack the perspective, critical reasoning, and linguistic skills necessary to create their own reviews. They also tend to be very polar in their opinions, meaning anything they like automatically gets 5 stars, while games they hate earn zero with no middle ground. Clearly this is a problem. The solution? Have daddy help.

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Even if you didn't like the similar adventure in Zelda 2, you may still like this game.

One question frequently asked about the Monster World games is “Did Zelda influence the Wonder Boy franchise?” While there’s a well-documented commonality between these games and Nintendo’s Zelda franchise—particularly Link’s second NES adventure— there’s enough done here to make it feel unique from its rumored 8 bit Hyrulian influences. It is safe to say however, that if you enjoyed even the concept of Zelda 2, you can stop reading now and hit the marketplace to pick this up. If the mere mention of The Adventure of Link brings fear or loathing to your soul, read on, as the game may still be right for you.

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The show is over and so the PixlBit staff discusses the games that gave them the most thrills this year.

This year was a bit thinner than what we were expecting, especially with Nintendo supposedly pulling back the curtain on the Wii U.  But while we were left a bit underwhelmed and with more questions than answers there were still plenty of games on display to get us excited for something.

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It’s not the size of the gun, it’s… oh wait, this is Doom we’re talking about.

I love Doom.  From the moment I shot my first demon with a shotgun on an occupied Martian base in the early '90s, I was hooked.  The sense of power, the satisfaction of getting a perfect shot, the click-clack of cocking that beastly boom stick yet again for another blow, all balanced with the tension of not knowing what’s around the next corner. It all came together to form an addictive stew of demon slaying madness.  Doom II was basically more of the same, and after that, the franchise lay dormant for over a decade.

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