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Cel Damage HD Retro Review

Sean Phillips
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Back in the day, one of the best game genres we had was the Car Combat genre. Games like the Twisted Metal franchise, Interstate ‘76, Vigilante 8 and its sequel 2nd Offense took many hours of lives as we strapped rocket launchers to our vehicles and blew each other up to cheesy rock music. However, for every classic one, we did get some stinkers like Streets Of SimCity or ones that went under the radar and never got the recognition they deserved and this is one of them. Released back on the GameCube, Xbox, and on the PS2 in Europe, Cel Damage had a mixed reception upon release back in the day but, it must’ve had a cult status as, between the years 2014 and 2019, an HD version, appropriately titled Cel Damage HD, released on modern consoles and it’s this version that’ll be the subject of this review. Is it any good or should this be sent to the scrapyard with the others?

Great

Wargroove 2 Review (Xbox)

Joshua Wyld
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Your mousey crew lands on Aurania, a land of mystery and potential. What follows is an epic turn-based adventure filled with twists and turns, lots of interpersonal and faction-crossing drama, and plenty of combat. Wargroove 2 follows the events in Aurania 3 years after Queen Mercia and her allies defeated the ancient adversaries and restored peace to Aurania. Now, this team of explorers and researchers (with some formidable fighting skills) seems keen on unearthing forbidden tech that could have catastrophic consequences. Filled with beautiful sprites, luscious maps, and engaging cutscenes, Wargroove 2 turned out to be a great time for pixel-lovers and turn-based aficionados alike.

Metal Slug Tactics Review (Xbox)

Sean Phillips
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What happens when you take the run-and-gun gameplay of a classic arcade game and replace it with strategy gameplay and sprinkle in roguelike elements as a topping? You get Metal Slug Tactics; A spin-off of the long-running iconic arcade franchise and, though it’s not a bad game, it’s one that does one area well but doesn’t really stick the landing in the other area.

Speedollama (Xbox) Review

Sean Phillips
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Ever wanted to play a gun-totin’ llama engaged in a war against the evil alpaca empire? Then this game is for you! Speedollama (pronounced Speed-o-llama) is a fast-paced 2D side scroller where you choose one of three distinct llamas and battle your way through nine worlds in order to defeat the evil alpacas.

So, when I first heard of this game and saw the screenshots, I honestly thought this was another Contra-style game and, normally, I’d be less than thrilled. But, after playing the amazing Iron Meat, I was more open to another Contra-style indie game. Well, that’s what I thought I was going to get with this game but boy was I wrong. Not only is Speedollama nowhere close to Contra, it’s more akin to those run-and-gun flash games from sites like Newgrounds and Shockwave. Which is not a bad thing, mind you, as I grew up playing many titles with this style of gameplay on those websites back in High School. In fact, if I could boil this game down to one sentence, it’d be ‘Easy To Play and Easy To Master’ which, again, is not a negative.

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Review

Brandon Billingsley
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The SaGa series is an interesting case in the JRPG world. It follows its own rules and was never quite as popular as Square Enix’s flagship Final Fantasy or even the much newer Bravely Default. Recently though, it's seen a bit of a resurgence with Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song getting the remastered treatment and now Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. Even though it says 2, the SaGa series is quite a bit longer and like Final Fantasy, they don’t really relate to each other. So what is Romancing SaGa 2 about?

Great

Fruitbus Review

Joshua Wyld
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I’ve been following Fruitbus for a while, which piqued my interest with its quirky animal characters, boppy sound design, and charming visual style. Since I played the demo, the developer Krillbite has refined the concept they introduced, which has you driving around a set of islands, chopping and cooking up food recipes for people around the various areas using fruits, veggies, and other foodstuffs that you acquire by gathering them through various means as you explore. It’s a simple concept with a few twists and bugs to navigate around along the way, but overall I truly enjoyed my time with Fruitbus and its cast of characters.

Great

Ravenswatch Review

Janie Wyld
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A tale as old as time, Ravenswatch brings Folktale heroes and legendary characters together to stop the nightmare that is rising in the land and restore the balance that was once there. Under the full moon turn into a werewolf as you play as Little Red Riding Hood (Scarlet), Lead your Rat army as the Pied Piper, or redeem yourself as Wukong, the Fallen Monkey King. Will you be able to rescue your fellow heroes and comrades like the Three Little Pigs or Sinbad? Only the Ravenswatch stands between the Nightmare and restoring balance!

Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge Review

Sean Phillips
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I love the fact that we’re getting so many remasterings and re-releases of classic video games as of late. From classics like the upcoming Gex Trilogy to all the titles Nightdive Studios put out, we seem to be living in a golden age for this market and I’m all for it. However, not all games hold up well and, sadly, this is one of them: Aero The Acro-Bat. First of all, I don’t ever even remember hearing about this game’s existence. I mean, outside of a small blurb in an old Nintendo Power magazine, I don’t recall ever seeing anybody talk about it. Heck, I never even saw it in any YouTube videos on the subject of forgotten mascots, so you’d think that means this is a hidden gem, yes? If we’re talking about the original console versions, then maybe, but not in this game’s case.

Good

Extremely Powerful Capybaras Review

Joshua Wyld
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There are plenty of bullet hells out there, but none that you can team up with friends for a 1-4 roguelite battle against foes as a Capybara…until now! Extremely Powerful Capybaras is a frantic roguelite that was great for a few entertaining gaming sessions with friends, but did become a bit worn after a while, with a difficulty curve that seems to hit a few walls along the way. There are some intriguing combos of abilities that are able to be used to take down foes in droves, and the capybaras themselves are a highlight of the experience.

Great

Amber Isle Review

Joshua Wyld
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Dinosaurs can be considered many things: fascinating, prehistoric, even frightening! To some though, there’s nothing cuter than a dino. That’s obviously how the development team behind Amber Isle, Ambertail Games, feels about them, because they’ve gone out and released a game that features a plethora of precious “paleofolk” to entice to your island through the creation of a burgeoning shopping empire and a blossoming town, appropriately named “Amber Isle.” Suffice it to say but if you’re thinking that sounds a lot like Animal Crossing but with dinosaurs, you’re correct. But also, you’re probably not disappointed. I sure wasn’t, and I have so far enjoyed a lot of my time with the game.

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