Is the skatepark back in business? — Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games possibly being remade

If you were around in the late-90’s and early-2000’s, you’ll most likely remember just how big of a deal the Tony Hawk game franchise was. It brought skateboarding games to mainstream success thanks to its easy-to-pick-up gameplay, memorable music, and skatepark-sized amount of replay value. And despite a nasty bail in the form of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, which was released shortly before Hawk and Activision Blizzard split ways, it doesn’t seem that all is lost. Word on the street is that Activision are in the process of giving the first two games in the franchise (Maybe more) the remake treatment. As a longtime fan of extreme sports games, this rumor has me absolutely pumped, and I hope this remake (Or package of remakes) really is a thing. I have confidence that there is at least one studio at Activision that is fully capable of producing the game that Pro Skater 5 failed to be. Maybe it’ll even be as good if not better than Skate 3. In the meantime, all we can do is wait and find out if the Tony Hawk franchise truly is ready to drop into the halfpipe again.

Review of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 — Oh no, there goes Tokyo

Everyone’s favorite plumber and hedgehog are once again going for the gold, as the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series has come to the Nintendo Switch for its sixth installment. Sure, it may seem like nothing more than a simple cash-grab, but there are some enjoyable new features to be delved into. So without further ado, let’s light the torch and get into the review itself.

Time-travel turmoil

We haven’t seen a story mode in this series since the 3DS version of the London 2012 installment, but it returns in this edition. After an opening confrontation, the competitors are inadvertently sent back in time to the Tokyo 1964 games (The setting of which is presented in 2D), and getting back to the present is going to be way easier said than done. In the meantime, our heroes and villains must venture around the retro venues and compete in old-school 2D events, and there are also 10 special minigames that you must unlock in this mode before you can play them elsewhere.

It shines like gold

Tokyo 2020 has a big list of events to play, and there are some new ones like skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, and karate. Whether you’re playing the 2020, 1964, or Dream Events, each minigame comes equipped with tight control schemes, and you can choose between motion controls and standard gamepad controls. While the controls are fluid and responsive, you still might want to read the instructions for each event in case they seem a little complex at first.

For the first time in the series, online multiplayer is included. However, I feel that it is, at the very least, half-baked. The tournament format in events like table tennis and badminton is ditched (Thus making them feel way too short in length), and you are unable to play the 1964 events. These aren’t dealbreakers, but they make me believe that the online in Tokyo 2020 just isn’t for me. If inviting three friends over (And possibly ordering a bunch of Pepsi and Domino’s Pizza) is what I need to do in order to get the multiplayer experience I truly want from this game, so be it. But hey, maybe the developers will improve the online multiplayer in a future patch.

It’s the final countdown

It may knock a few hurdles to the ground, but this is a decent comeback for the Mario & Sonic series and a fine debut for it on the Switch. If you can stomach the fact that this isn’t supposed to be in the same league as minigame compilations like the Mario Party series, this Tokyo 2020 installment is a great place for you to go on the hunt for gold medals.

Review of Luigi’s Mansion 3 — Welcome to the Hotel Luigi

After a six-year hiatus, Mario’s younger bro Luigi has once again busted out his trusty vacuum and flashlight in his first titular adventure for the Nintendo Switch. Even though I missed out on Dark Moon, I got pretty psyched when I heard that Luigi’s Mansion 3 was going to be a thing. And now that I’ve gotten my hands on it, I can say that Nintendo and Next Level Games have done an admirable job with the third chapter of this spin-off series. With that preamble out of the way, let’s chat about all the cool stuff that Luigi’s latest Ghostbusters-like adventure brings to the table.

Hotel hijinks

The Mario Bros., Princess Peach, and a group of Toads have received invitations to a luxurious hotel called the Last Resort, so they hop in their bus and hit the road without thinking of what could possibly go wrong. After everyone gets checked in and hits the sack, Luigi and his Polterpup sidekick wake up in the middle of the night to find that his friends and bother are nowhere to be found and the hotel seems a little haunted. After an encounter with the hotel’s corrupt staff, as well as King Boo, it turns out that Luigi’s allies (Prof. E. Gadd included) have been imprisoned in paintings. With the help of his ghost-sucking prowess, it’s up to the green-clad plumber to restore order to the hotel and rescue his pals.

It sucks and blows…Literally

Luigi’s Mansion 3 runs on the same engine as its 3DS predecessor, with some obligatory refinements. The mission-based structure of Dark Moon has been given the boot, and has been replaced by checkpoints that autosave your progress. Luigi’s Poltergust has been given some new moves like shooting plungers, knocking enemies back with a jet of air, and throwing ghosts onto the floor or into each other. You can even play as Gooigi from the 3DS port of the original Luigi’s Mansion, and he’ll be a big help if you need to navigate tight spaces or walk across spiked floors (Just don’t fall into water).

If you want the option to have friends explore the haunted hotel with you, your wish is granted. The campaign supports two-player co-op, and you also get a plate of eight-player modes that task you and your friends with capturing ghosts, firing cannonballs at targets, or catching as many coins as you can. It’s evident that replay value was high on Nintendo’s priority list when this game was in development.

Who ya gonna call?

The Luigi’s Mansion spin-off series is not intended to be in the same league as the heavyweight platformers the Mario franchise is heavily lauded for, but that doesn’t mean it can’t produce fun games. With its high replay value and truckload of charm, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is, without a doubt, another must-have for Nintendo’s hybrid console. We might not get a fourth installment anytime soon, but there’s plenty of ghost-sucking fun to be had here.

Review of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019) — I want this to be my awakening

It’s no secret that Nintendo has a knack for releasing updated ports of prominent games in their catalog, but it should also be noted that they haven’t released that many full-blown remakes. For a long time, the big N seemed nearly completely hesitant when it came to completely redesigning classic games for new consoles. However, as the 3DS’s life cycle winds down and the Switch continues to be highly successful, that hesitance is becoming a thing of the past. And now that games from established franchises like Pokémon and Metroid have been given the remake treatment in the last two years, next in line is The Legend of Zelda. But instead of the first Zelda remake being that of a heavy-hitter like A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time, Nintendo and Grezzo have chosen to unearth the 1993 Game Boy gem in Link’s Awakening.

I can swing my sword, sword

If you’ve played the original version, you’ll know the story by heart. Link is caught in a storm while sailing on his ship, and he ends up stranded on Koholint Island. The skilled swordsman then spends time lying unconscious on the grains of sand, until a girl named Marin comes to the rescue. After getting acquainted with this new location, Link must awaken the Wind Fish so that he can begin his trip back to his home kingdom of Hyrule.

We all know the gameplay structure when it comes to Zelda games, and this remake is no different. There’s a sword to swing, dungeons to explore, sidequests to complete, and upgrades to buy. The dungeons you complete can now be played in a time attack mode if you want to earn some goodies You even get to create your own dungeons as your journey goes on. From the dungeons to the minigames, this remake doesn’t disappoint in the upgrades department.

Despite a noticeable amount of framerate drops, the visual style is both charming and beautiful. The dot-eyed character models are kind really cute, in my opinion. Also, the soundtrack does an above-average job recapturing that of the original Game Boy version.

Gone with the Wind Fish

This remake of Link’s Awakening does have a few dents in its shield, but it’s definitely a must-have for your Switch library, even if you never played the 1993 classic it’s on based on. Will the success of this one influence Nintendo to pump out additional Zelda remakes on the Switch? Time will tell, but I don’t see why not.

Review of NBA 2K20 — As cinematic and emotional as virtual basketball can be

There have been many competitors when it comes to basketball games, and NBA 2K has been on the top of the mountain since its opening tip-off in 1999. For many years, it faced its toughest competition in EA’s NBA Live series, but the latter began throwing up very bad bricks as the eighth generation of consoles started. The 2K series has been heavily lauded for its spectacular graphics, tight controls, and incredible depth, and this year’s iteration once again delivers all of the above in spades. With that being said, let’s hit the paint and discuss all the three-pointers that NBA 2K20 effortlessly drains.

A virtual Mike Lupica novel

The most notable change in this year’s game is the overhauled MyCareer mode. You still have the usual prelude games and exercises, as well as off-court interactions with NPC’s, but the storyline of your career is more cinematic and emotional than ever before. It feels like 2K took notes from the story modes of FIFA and Madden NFL, and that’s not a bad thing. The cutscenes look beautiful and the voice-acting drains its layups. Did I mention the story was written by a team that includes LeBron James?

Other than a career mode with a new structure, the list of modes is business as usual. You’ve got obligatory modes like exhibition games, MyTeam, MyGM, MyLeague, Blacktop, and online play. Also, you can now play through a full WNBA season if you’re up for shooting hoops with the ladies. The Neighborhood has new additions like a day/night cycle, seasonal changes, and even a disc golf course. The sheer level of depth that NBA 2K is known for once again delivers.

Shot clock cheese

The graphical improvement is very subtle, but the visuals are still as crisp and beautiful as ever. 2K20 also has stellar audio, with the usual butt-ton of above-average commentary lines and a decent soundtrack that blares everything from Ariana Grande to Motley Crue.

I like the way they dribble up and down the court

Ever since ’99, it’s clear that the folks at Take-Two Interactive love basketball, and they’ve once again proven just how serious that love is. Even if basketball isn’t your favorite sport, NBA 2K20 belongs on your shelf if you need a sports game that constantly delivers backboard-shattering dunks worthy of the highlight reel.

Review of Skate 3 — You wanna go skateboards?

When EA decided to start the Skate series and go head-to-head with Activision’s Tony Hawk franchise, that was a big deal. The latter had long been the king of virtual skateboarding, but it was beginning to go downhill in the late 2000’s, and something else eventually had to drop into the halfpipe and issue a challenge. Thanks to a more realistic resemblance of the sport and a unique “flick-it” control scheme, Skate was quickly lauded by critics and skaters around the globe, proving that you don’t need Tony Hawk on the cover in order for your skateboarding game to be popular. With that being said, it’s been over nine years since the third installment in the series, so let’s hit the park and reminisce about the virtual skating masterpiece that is Skate 3.

Pretending I’m a superman

The story takes place in the fictional skate haven of Port Carverton. After a stunt on live TV goes horribly wrong, your filmer convinces you to start your own board company. From there, you recruit a team of rookie skaters and complete a wide variety of challenges, including things like trick competitions, races, following other skaters, filming/photoshoots, Hall of Meat, Domination, Own The Spot/Lot, 1-Up, and S-K-A-T-E. Your ultimate goals are to impress the pros, earn as many fans as possible, and sell a million skateboards. Best of all, your path to becoming Port Carverton’s top skater is entirely up to you.

The control scheme is business as usual if you’re familiar with the previous two games. Your right stick is used for ollies, nollies, manuals, flip tricks, and tweaks. The left stick is used for steering, spins, and reverts. The left and right triggers are used for grabs, each corresponding to whichever hand you want to grab the board with, and also for frontflips and backflips. The face buttons are used for pushing, getting off your board, briefly taking your feet off the board during a grab, and lying down on your back while your board is moving. The right bumper is used for lip tricks and darkslides/dark catches. When you get off your board, you can perform hilarious aerial stunts and bails, and also grab hold of different objects to use for your trick lines. This game does everything in its power to be both easy to learn and challenging to master, just like a certain other skateboarding franchise.

‘Cause I’m TNT

If you’re tired of skating solo, you and up to five friends can team up to complete goals, go head-to-head, or just explore Port Carverton. You can even share your photos and videos around the online service, as well as create your own skateparks for anyone to visit. The sky’s the limit in terms of the amount of freedom you have in this virtual skateboarding experience.

Unless you’re playing this on the Xbox One X, the framerate won’t always be consistent and the graphics can have a case of pop-in somewhat often, but the team at Black Box did a fine job creating a massive skating playground with many places to roam around in. I personally like the audio better than the visuals, as all of the pro skaters lent good voice-acting to their virtual counterparts. You also get a decent soundtrack that features popular artists like Neil Diamond, Beastie Boys, Jeezy, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., and Agent Orange.

I don’t think contrast is a sin

Like many other people on social media, I have long been begging EA to make a sequel to what I consider to be the best skateboarding game on the market. But for the time being, Skate 3 will always be a very prominent title in my gaming repertoire. Whether you’re a longtime skater or sports-game junkie, you’ll definitely want to tighten up your trucks and take this game for a spin.

Sunscreen at the ready — EA reveals Need for Speed: Heat

Despite its last game being filled with loot-box controversy, Need for Speed‘s engine is still revving loudly. EA’s long-running, high-selling driving franchise returns this November in the form of Need for Speed: Heat. The team at Ghost Games promised months prior that the series would once again return to its cops-and-racers roots, and the reveal trailer has proven that to be true. Palm City is full of cops that get more and more aggressive as the sun goes down and the moon comes up. You’ll be competing in the Speedhunters Showdown competition during the day, and partaking in illegal street races at night. And in typical NFS fashion, every car in your garage will be customizable in numerous ways. On November 8, Need for Speed: Heat busts out of the starting blocks.