Tank! Tank! Tank! Review

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It’s time to look at a game I’ve had my eye on for quite a while. The cover and screenshots looked pretty good and it has a 3D multiplayer option. You can’t really beat that. Alas, there’s a reason why this game isn’t getting the critical acclaim that you might expect. The reason is that the game is quite limited in content and won’t last for very long. At full price this would be quite dicey.

The basic plot is that you are fighting off an alien invasion. We don’t know why all of these Kaiju and robots are attacking but it’s up to you and your tanks to fight them back. Show these guys that Earth is not on the menu. Defeat is not an option so fortunately you will have quite a few tanks to choose from by the end. The story is also co-op enabled or you can have an A.I. jump in.

The basic gameplay is probably just as you would have imagined it to be. You control the tank and drive around 3D environments as you take it to the monsters. You have your main weapon and you can also grab 2 other temporary ones during the level from enemies you defeat. You will naturally be driving around during this as well to try and dodge as many shots as possible but be warned that some tanks have a very hard time moving. Sometimes it’s best to just find a good spot and hold your ground. It definitely looks and feels like the arcade game that it is which adds a nostalgic twist to the title. The gameplay may not be quite as smooth as you would like but it feels natural.

The graphics are nice and bright with colorful designs for the monsters and the levels. It all looks pretty solid even if not groundbreaking. It’s a game that is very nice to look at visually. The soundtrack is less impressive as the game has a very small amount of tunes which keep on looping. The tunes aren’t bad but more of a selection would have been good. You can only hear the same tune so many times before it loses some impact.

Now lets talk about what hurt the game quite a bit. It’s the fact that the title really tries to artificially extend its length. There are around 35 levels in the game but at first you can only play around 8. How do you unlock the next batch? You have to beat all of the levels again with a different tank. The game runs on a star system. You get 1 star every time you beat a level. To complete the game you need dozens and dozens of stars so you have to complete each of the levels over and over again. It’s done to a very tedious degree.

I understand that the game wants you to play it a little extra, but you can’t lock the main story behind such a thing. What that shows is that the developers were nervous and thought people wouldn’t willingly replay the levels purely for the tanks. They have to trust in their game or put some good unlockables in. I played their game for a while and did the replays, but when I saw that I had to replay the 20 levels again deep into the game I just put it down. There’s just no way I was going to do that many levels just to play a few more reskins.

Yes, towards the end of the game you started fighting the same bosses and opponents over and over again. The stage limit is limited and same with the character models. As a result you can tell that this should be a short game. It just didn’t have the production values to be extended so much by just reusing the levels. The game could have been clever with shifting the levels or the goals a bit to make it more unique, but didn’t do any of that.

So, Tank Tank Tank is a fun game, but it is stretched out to the point where it loses some brownie points with you. It does have a good amount of replay value though I suppose. Beating all of the levels with all of the tanks will take quite a while. Each level is fairly short at only 1-2 minutes, but beating it over and over again just isn’t the most enjoyable experience. You also have to take into account the short cutscenes that play before each level which cannot be skipped. They’re short, but it’s the little things like this which hurt a bit. Fortunately the game does have a multiplayer option which is where most of the real replay value will come in. Now that’s a mode where you can play for a long time without getting bored.

Overall, I would still recommend this game. It goes for bargain prices nowadays so that will help with the lack of content issue. It’s a good low price option for getting in some multiplayer fun. You also have to give it some credit for the cool monster designs. The whole thing feels like a big Kaiju homage at times. You have characters like Ghidorah and King Kong running around and again, the core gameplay is fun. That’s still the most important part of any game and this one nails down that part so you’re still going to have fun. It’s best in short batches and if you follow that you’ll be entertained for quite a while.

Overall 7/10

Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu & Let’s Go! Eevee: Adventure Start Comic Review

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It’s time to look at another quick Pokemon manga. This one is about the Let’s Go game and decides to frame the one shot as being about the kids playing it as opposed to taking place in the game. It’s a tactic that Nintendo used earlier with another Pokemon manga so I guess they thought it went well. I do like this approach. I probably wouldn’t want it to happen too often but it’s a good change of pace once in a while to keep us guessing. This is a nice one shot to quickly check out before you play the game.

It starts with two brothers getting their copies of Pokemon Let’s Go. The main character is a longtime Pokemon fan so he’s been waiting for this one while the other admits that he has never played the Pokemon games before. Naturally the lead decides that this won’t do and so he lets the brother play first. As he is playing, the main character shows his bro the ropes. How to land a good catch and stuff like that. As this game takes mechanics from Pokemon Go it is a very different experience compared to most of the classic Pokemon games. A tutorial like this makes sense for newcomers although Nintendo’s always done a great job of making their games pretty self explanatory so I don’t think it would confuse you for long. As they play the two main characters quickly realize that this may be the best Pokemon game yet.

At the end of the day this is basically a glorified advertisement for the Pokemon Let’s Go game. I think it’s a pretty effective one though. The artwork looks nice and it is a very realistic showing of what the game looks like. The screens on the TV in the manga look accurate and all of the advice is quite sound. I never ended up getting the game myself so I had to forego my chance at getting all of those crispy Meltan gifts, but it’s definitely a title I could see myself getting one day once it has been long forgotten by the masses.

Overall, This is another good one shot. It helps that I am just a Pokemon fan in general. I don’t expect you will learn anything new here unless you somehow missed the Pokemon Go boom. Still, it’s a nice enough story to remind you that for some people, Pokemon Let’s Go will be their first big Poke experience. It’s definitely something to keep in mind when playing. It may not be the best installment yet, but if you hadn’t played the others then I think it would rank even higher. I’ll definitely be ready for when the next big Pokemon game comes out.

Overall 7/10

Delibird’s Present Review

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It’s time to look at a quick Pokemon manga one shot that came out. This one is extremely short, but technically a lot of one shots are. The average one shot either ends up being about as long as a monthly chapter which is preferable or it just ends up being a few pages. I don’t think I can say much about this one’s length as it is technically reasonable, but of course there is only so much that you can do in a one shot. I think it’s a pretty nice manga and worth a read.

The plot involves a Delibird as the title suggests. Pikachu and his Pokemon pals were playing around in the snow when they accidentally bump into Delibird and cause the package he is carrying to be sent down the hill. They feel a little guilty about this and decide to go and help him retrieve it. The only problem here is the fact that the package won’t stop rolling. It turns out that the content inside is a Lucky Egg that is being delivered to a sick Pokemon so he can light the Christmas Tree. The stakes have never been higher and Pikachu is determined to help, but what if the electric mouse is simply too powerful for such a peaceful mission? Time to find out!

Most of the one shot is the chase scene which makes sense. You feel the intensity behind Pikachu when he’s trying to grab the egg. He also uses some quick thinking to make the best of a situation that almost got very dicey. He reminds me of why I’m such a big fan in the first place. Pikachu gets the job done. The art looks pretty good for this title. You can always tell what is going on which is ultimately the purpose of art. It’s naturally not ready for the big leagues, but it’s considerably better than it could have been.

Overall, This makes for a fun little Christmas story. It’s always nice seeing all of the Pokemon hanging out without any trainers around to hold them back. Pikachu and the gang make for good main characters. Seeing the Christmas tree light up at the end was also a good epilogue to this fun story. I have another quick Pokemon one shot review coming up so expect that one soon as well. This will help us wait for that promised Pokemon Switch title. Slowly but surely it draws closer.

Overall 6/10

Splatoon Review

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It’s time to look at one of the biggest new Nintendo IPs. When this game first came out it was getting a lot of buzz. After all, it seems like Nintendo hadn’t had a new IP in a while as typically we just got more games for the established series. This would also be a shooter which is very different from what they usually churn out. After playing it I can see why this game was such a big hit. The multiplayer is definitely the big appeal for this title but it does have some single player content to keep you busy as well.

The basic plot of the game is that the big electric fish has been stolen. The main character is quickly brought into a secret task force in order to combat this threat. He has to find out who is responsible and put a stop to this madness. The kid is up to the task and is equipped with an ink gun. As he is part squid, he can use this to his advantage. The actual story isn’t particularly long. It’s a little under 3 hours so you’ll breeze through it. Still, it works as a pretty good tutorial. You’ll learn all the basics in terms of shooting and movement. The levels aren’t too hard, but are challenging enough where you will need to use some strategy. Prepare to get destroyed when you first go online, but you’ll pick up on the controls right away.

The gameplay is that of a third person shooter. You use your ink gun to blast away at the enemies. The objective of the match is to paint the stage in your color as much as possible in multiplayer and to simply make it to the end of the level in story mode. As the game is very team based how you perform will depend on your teammates. Unfortunately I don’t think there is a single player option for online, but I guess the point of the game overall is about teamwork. If you decide to try and do everything on your own then it simply won’t work. That being said, I was able to get a lot of players in my second round when I tried that tactic. I still wouldn’t officially advise it.

Of course, this game has been out for several years and the sequel is already in stores as well. As a result, finding a match can be pretty hard now. It took a little while for the game to put me in a fight and the first time it actually kicked us out since we only had 7/8 of the players needed. Once you do get in it’s a blast but this is definitely the kind of game that loses a bit of its appeal as it gets older. You’re better off just jumping right into the second game which is certainly very active and will stay like that for a very long time.

The multiplayer automatically adds a bunch of replay value and there’s more stuff to do in single player mode as well. Try to grab as many orbs as possible in order to level up your equipment and continue on your goal of being maxed out. In Multiplayer each match gives you coins which you can then use to buy new clothes and such. It’s a nice incentive system and Nintendo clearly put in a lot of work here. Nothing about the game feels like it was given anything but their best effort. It’s a shooter that is easy to pick up but there are enough mechanics where training will feel like it pays off.

The soundtrack is very lively and energetic. I don’t think I would put it in the same conversation as something like Mario of course, but it’s reasonable to say that it will age fairly well. I look forward to seeing what tunes are in the sequel although they may start to blend together. The lore around the universe is a little less interesting to be honest. I don’t really care much for the setting and the plot could be a bit dull. This is a game that lives or dies on its multiplayer so make sure that you have a good connection before playing.

The graphics definitely look really good. The sharp colors have aged very well and this is the kind of Wii U game that can try to pass for a Switch title. You won’t have any complaints with the technical merits of the game. Again, if I had gotten this game a little sooner I think it would have had a very strong case for being an 8 star title. Alas, I have to dock a point since there aren’t nearly as many people playing it now and that will only grow more apparent as the days go by.

Overall, Splatoon is a fun game. I’m glad that I finally got to experience this title to see what all the hype was all about. It’s certainly deserved and I’m sure that I’ll probably grab Splatoon 2 a little sooner than it took me to get the first one. Maybe now this will give me more of an incentive to play the Inklings in Smash. Regardless as I mentioned several times, while I recommend this game you should probably just go and get the 2nd one. This game will probably be dead before you know it. The fan base is loyal enough where I’m sure some will stay with this one for years, but not enough to consistently get a match whenever you want. That won’t be a problem with the sequel.

Overall 7/10

Best of 2018

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All right guys it’s time to look at the Best of 2018 in various areas! WordPress used to give us a detailed stat sheet as well which I certainly miss, but I’ll improvise and throw in a bunch of stats as well. I was having some trouble deciding which categories, whether it should be top 3, 5, or 10, and a bunch of other things. Listed below are what I ultimately ended up choosing. 2018’s been a pretty power packed year. It was the first year I ever got under 100 games in my backlog. It also saw the return of Super Smash Bros with the most recent installment that is guaranteed to make waves. Wrapping up the video game news is the fact that it revitalized the Switch, it went from collecting dust to getting over 600 hours in it between Fortnite and Super Smash Bros. It’s automatically become one of the most played consoles in the blink of an eye. There are definitely quite a bit of categories so without further adieu lets jump into the stats and categories.

In 2018 I got 153,292 views. This is a bit of an increase from 2017 which is cool. I’ll aim for 2018 to have a more consistent posting schedule. I tend to be on and off with the posts, but getting at least one post up per day would be cool. I’ll probably start that in February though as I’m still busy catching up in games for this month. I published 1275 new posts including close to 350 reviews and over 800 battles. Finally the blog has now reached 5 million views which is awesome!

Top 10 Most Viewed Posts in 2018

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm
One Above All vs Goku
I am accepting Requests
Goku vs Beyonder
Allosaurus vs Raptor
Thor vs Galactus
Giant Octopus vs Bones
Mephisto vs Thanos
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Stats and Records
Why Sonic Forces is going to be better than Mario Odyssey

Some of these posts are a little surprising like the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm ones. They didn’t get any comments recently or anything like that so I’m guessing that the images got a lot of clicks. That’s definitely pretty cool.

I’ll quickly give a shout out to some of my more frequent commenters (I don’t think I’m spelling that word right but it doesn’t seem to work well with either variation but you know what I mean) : iKnowledge, riagabriella, riaastuff, jhg195, and Kratos god of war. For the following commenters who have their own sites I have linked them into the names. You should check them out, their sites are definitely a blast!: Krystallina, Livid Lightning, Paul Bowler, The Otaku Judge, and Anime Girls NYC

Top 5 Theatrical Films

1. Avengers Infinity War
2. Mission Impossible: Fallout
3. Spider-Man Into The Spiderverse
4. Black Panther
5. Aquaman

This was definitely a pretty tricky one. There were quite a few solid movies of 2018 which is definitely a good thing. Infinity War and Fallout were easily the top 2, but after that it gets pretty tricky. You’ve got a slew of titles thrown in there. Some just barely didn’t make it but deserve a quick mention like Creed II, Bumblebee, and Ant Man and the Wasp. I would give Venom a shoutout but honestly it couldn’t quite keep up. CBMs definitely dominated the year as expected with only Mission Impossible keeping up. Naturally this is only counting big mainstream theatrical films or My Hero Academia would certainly be up there.

Top 5 Video Games of 2018

1. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2. Dragon Ball Fighterz
3. Blazblue Cross Tag Battle
4. Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Brittania
5. Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet

As with the films the top 2 are extremely easy here. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is essentially the perfect fighting game and FighterZ has more care into it than I would have thought possible. Then we have Cross Tag Battle which is also excellent and ArcSYS always delivers with the combat. After that the next two are pretty tricky. Seven Deadly Sins actually managed to bump off Black Clover along with SAO. Sins just has a solid story and a good amount of bonus content while Fatal Bullet had a long campaign and a terrific combat system. I’ll give shoutouts to Black Clover, Secret of Mana, Sonic Mania, Crash, and Spyro for putting up a valiant effort though. These games will not be forgotten.

Top 5 animated films I saw in 2018

1. Cardfight Vanguard Neon Messiah
2. My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes
3. Digimon Adventure Tri: Confession
4. The Death of Superman
5. The Iron Giant

Cardfight and My Hero naturally take center stage here. These films really brought on a ton of action and excitement all the way through. Confession is definitely one of the best Digimon films out there and really did a great job of furthering the plot. The Death of Superman is another adaption of the classic Doomsday story and you really can’t go wrong there. Finally, the Iron Giant really exceeded expectations with how well made it was. I have to throw the various Equestria Girl films a shout out as they were quite solid. Naturally the same goes for the rest of the Digimon Tri films and the Scooby Doo/Brave and the Bold team up. There are quite a few good films here.

Top 5 live action films I saw in 2018

1. Sherlock Holmes Pursuit to Algiers
2. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
3. Murder on the Orient Express
4. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
5. Sherlock Holmes Terror by Night

This is probably the toughest section because I’ve seen over 150 films this year. The Sherlock Holmes titles I certainly don’t have memorized, but I remember liking the 3 I listed above quite a lot. I could even make a case for all 5 selections being different Sherlock Holmes titles. Pelham One Two Three and Murder on the Orient Express were both terrific films as well though. They had a nice blend of suspense and humor. (Humor more for the former, the second one is an intense mystery thriller) I also have to give Scrooged a shout out for being a lot better than even I had remembered it to be.

Top 5 Video Games I completed in 2018

1. Fortnite Battle Royale
2. Pokemon Y
3. Pokemon Sun
4. Driver: You Are The Wheelman
5. .Hack Part 3 Outbreak

Naturally in this list I’m not counting the video games that came out in 2018 so there won’t be any overlap here. This list was pretty stacked considering that even an exceptional game like Professor Layton & The Miracle Mask barely didn’t make the cut. There were also a lot of fun app games like Dragon Ball Legends and Dragalia from this year. The Pokemon games are always elite though and Fortnite has completely changed the shooting genre for the better. Driver still lives on as the best Open World game and .Hack’s plot is as intriguing as ever. I look forward to finally getting the 4th game and finishing up the saga once and for all.

Top 5 TV shows I finished in 2018

1. RWBY Volume 5
2. Yugioh Arc V
3. Future Card Buddyfight X
4. Cardfight Vanguard G: Z
5. My Hero Academia Season 3

Definitely a very strong year for shows. Naturally RWBY dominated the competition and after that the Cardgames took over. It’s always great to have all 3 major titles churn out a new addition. That probably won’t happen for a while since the next Yugioh title won’t be finished in the dub so soon so I’m glad I got to experience it at least once. Then MHA managed to surpass both Phi Brain and Sonic Boom to claim the 5th spot. Other solid titles include .Hack, Dinosaur King, and Monster Hunter. All 3 of those are solid shows in their own right as well.

Top 5 Manga I finished in 2018

1. Super Dragon Ball Heroes Dark Demon Realm
2. Spiral: Alive
3. Beyblade
4. RWBY
5. Kingdom Hearts II

Super Dragon Ball Heroes was definitely an awesome title. It’s essentially an official Dragon Ball AF with a lot of crazy things happening constantly. Spiral: Alive made for a very compelling story with an awesome plot. Beyblade’s got the action down to an art and RWBY is always exciting. I’m glad that now we have an ongoing story, that’s definitely going to be very awesome! Kingdom Hearts II felt like it went on for years before the online translations finally caught up so it feels good to finish it. Now I’m really all set for Kingdom Hearts III.

So, can 2019 have a better selection in any of these categories? Next year I’ll do a comparison section in the post so we’ll see how it stacks up. I can say with utmost confidence that 2019’s video games will not beat 2018’s. I think it’ll also lose in shows, but maybe there will be a reasonable shot with the films. I dunno….honestly it’s looking like 2019 might get stomped for the most part. It’s going to have to depend on the upcoming Godzilla film to tip the scales! Well, that’s it for my 2018 wrap up. I’ll see you all next year!

Rango Review

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It’s time to look at a cash-in for a movie that I haven’t even seen yet. Rango is one of those games that I wasn’t initially planning to buy, but Gamestop had a B2 G1 Free sale and I needed a third game. The gameplay seemed reasonably fun and these titles are typically short so what’s the harm right? It’s a fun game even if there isn’t a whole lot to it. You can feel right away that this isn’t a AAA title and while the premise for the gameplay is good, it just isn’t very polished. It makes for a fun game for a one time playthrough.

The story involves a lizard who is the Sheriff of a village. One day, one of his friends runs into his bar and gets vaporized as he takes out a mysterious stone. Everyone at the tavern is shocked, but Rango calmly explains what has been going on. His story takes up most of the game as each level is a different experience that he had in the previous week. He doesn’t remember everything too well and likes to throw in some hyperbole so the viewers have to keep things real for him at times. Still, with aliens involved it does seem as if Rango is their best chance for survival. Can he do it?

The gameplay is pretty simple. It’s a 3D platformer game. You move and jump across the obstacles. You also have a gun on hand which you use to blast away at the enemies. Alternately you can engage them in hand to hand combat, but there is little reason to do that since the gun is simply better at all times. You’ll get the hang of the controls in mere moments. Jumping is important while shooting at all times to keep your counter combo up by not letting your opponents strike. You want the counter high because you get extra money that way and that’s how you get upgrades to all of your skills. The gun upgrades are definitely good to have. By the end you’ll be shooting so fast and the reload will be nonexistent. Of course, this game isn’t meant to be challenging anyway, but you’ll progress through the levels quicker which is always good.

There are around 9-10 levels in the game and most of them are quite short. You’ll be done with the game in 2-3 hours I’d say. It’s a pretty short amount of time, but at least there are trophies to obtain which helps a bit with the replay value. You’ll also be buying the game for a pretty cheap price at least which helps. I do have to still give it a thumbs down in the replay value department though. This is the kind of game that you play once, but typically won’t go back to. That’s just the way it’s built.

Naturally there isn’t all that much to say about the graphics either. It’s not as if they are downright bad or anything like that, but they just don’t stand out. They are as average as the graphics can get. Still, as long as the levels are clear that’s what counts. Likewise the soundtrack isn’t anything special either. It’s around, but you won’t remember any of the tunes once you have finished. Again, this is just a very average game, but I’ll take average over bad.

This review isn’t exactly all that positive, but you have to understand that I enjoy the average game. As long as a video game doesn’t make any big mistakes I’ll probably have fun with it. That’s the case with this game. Rango provides some fun levels with good gameplay. We also get a few racing levels and the fact that we get an actual story with cutscenes helps the game as well. It’ll keep you entertained throughout. One thing I have to warn you about is how often you shoot though. R2 is the trigger button which is normal but your finger will probably be sore by the end with how much you have to spam it. It’s because this is like in the Wild West so you have to keep pressing instead of holding the button down. I was ready for the game to be over by the end so my hand could get a break.

Overall, Rango is a good PS3 game. It is exactly what you would expect it to be like. These movie tie-ins rarely try to mislead you into thinking that they are something that they are not. This is a very basic 3D platformer game. It’s no Mario or Sonic nor is it trying to be. It’s just trying to earn some extra cash while giving you some good levels. If you tend to like these movie tie-ins then I would recommend checking it out. If you need something more from your gaming experiences then you can safely skip this one since it won’t give you any of that. At least we do get a retro arcade type level as a nice homage to the old days of gaming by the end.

Overall 7/10

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash Review

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It’s time to look at one of the new Christmas games! I’ve always been a really huge fan of Mario Power Tennis for Gamecube and in many ways it was incredibly ahead of its time. The gameplay was exceptional and there was a good array of characters to choose from. There were many modes and the replay value was off the charts. Since then the series has struggled and unfortunately Ultra Tennis does nothing to escape from this. It ends up being a vastly inferior version of Power Tennis.

Right from the start you will realize that something is off as there is no Tournament Mode. You really only have 3 options here. Vs battles with the CPU, Mega Rally, and Online battles. There are some nuances here like Simple Tennis, Standard Tennis, Mega, etc. These are just different versions of the battles though. Gone are the minigames and such. You’ll just be playing a lot of Tennis so get ready.

This game really tries to get you to play around with the new Mega options. So much so in fact that this is the default Tennis game and is used in the survival mode rumble. Get ready for this to extend every match as it is hard to lose when you are big. The only real way to stop the computers is to also turn huge and at that point it’s just a lot of back and forth. I can tell you now that I am not a fan of this mechanic. It’s a very forced gimmick. I don’t mind having it as an option, but certainly not as the default. You just can’t get around it for most of the game.

The actual gameplay aside from that is unfortunately a step down from the last game as well. You now have a bunch of different shots that you can use based on the color of the circle next to the ball. I guess this is a way to let newer players know when the proper time is to use each one. The main problem with this is that it makes the game easier and makes those shots more effective. You’re now letting the game tell you what to do. Power Tennis had it perfect so why change the setup? Nintendo really went overboard with all of the extra gimmicks during this era. I would say that the new Mario Tennis for Switch could fix it, but I played a bit of that one and it seems like a step below Ultra so that’s worrisome.

Again, if you want to have fun you should go to the Simple Tennis mode. That one plays the most similar to Power Tennis and is just a far more rewarding experience. The matches are quicker without the turning huge part and it just feels a lot more natural. Still, if you like the new additions then you’ll be able to experience that everywhere else. Not for very long though as the game is quite short.

So I mentioned that there is no tournament mode so why are you playing anyway? Well, there are 25 achievements in the game. All of them are meant to grind the experience even further. You have to beat 15 opponents in a row with a bunch of different characters to get their Star form. You also have to play 10 games of each mode, get to 100 in the Rally mode, and make it to round 40 in survival. They’re mostly fairly easy or at least achievable with time, but you can tell that they just take a really long time to do. That’s easily well over 100 games if you want to do them all. Fortunately you can buy the achievements with money that you earn from the matches. It still takes a long time and I lost count of how many matches I completed, but buying them all is definitely the best way to go about it. I finished the game with 3 hours and 39 minutes of play time so it is considerably short. That is 100% of the single player content done. At that point all there is to do is online and local multiplayer. A good multiplayer game can last with just that, but this isn’t exactly Super Smash and there is virtually no reason to play it if you still have Power Tennis. As a result, I have to give this game the thumbs down there.

Still, to give it a bad score just because it isn’t as good as a previous installment just isn’t enough of a justification for me. If Power Tennis did not exist then this game would probably be more fun. I’ll acknowledge that the game could and should have been a lot better, but at its core it is a reasonable tennis game. The gameplay is still fairly entertaining and you’ll be able to play it for a few hours at least. The price isn’t that bad nowadays either. I recommend playing the Mega Ball rally a bit just because it’s at least a slightly different way to play here. It’s the only minigame that survived but what wrecks this one as well is the fact that you can lose if you beat your opponent. You have to keep the ball going back and forth so if you or the CPU loses then it’s all over.

Then there are the graphics which are quite good. The game still does look very modern. The colors are vibrant and the character designs are on point. That’s certainly what I like to see in a big Nintendo game. I’ll also give the soundtrack a thumbs up even if it isn’t the most original one out there. It sounds nice while you’re playing and that’s the important part. Even if the replay value isn’t high, the technicals are on point. It’ll be a fun game for a while even if the time is limited.

Overall, Mario Ultra Tennis is not the game changer that you would hope it could be, but it’s not a bad title. I do think the developers spent a reasonable amount of time with it. They just tried to be too inventive with the controls. It’s a Tennis game, they really don’t need to be doing anything too fancy with it. Just nail the fundamentals and the rest would come into place just fine. If you haven’t played the other Tennis games then this is a reasonable pick. If you still have a Gamecube/Wii though then I would recommend picking up Power Tennis instead. Trust me, I’ve put in over 100 hours on that game and it is legendary. You would not be disappointed in the slightest.

Overall 7/10

2018 Christmas Wrap up

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Time for a 2018 Christmas Wrap Up! I’ll be having a larger scale end of year post coming up (It’ll be out by mid January at the latest although naturally I’ll aim to have it up sooner) so this one will be fairly blank. I had gotten the video game backlog down to under 100 for the first time ever, but it is now back over 100 as I got 19 new games for Christmas! While I don’t think this is the largest batch I’ve ever gotten, it’s certainly up there and I am back to 104. Most of these games are only 4-5 hours long though so I’ll be back under 100 fairly quick I’d say. A lot of hype titles here and you can probably tell at a glance that I went on a big Need for Speed marathon. It’s time to try and get caught up with this franchise. The picture above shows all of the new games.

All right, Merry Christmas folks! Expect more blog posts soon. I’m also going to quickly take the time to plug in the fact that I will be doing a Best of 2018 post at some point. I may just bunch it up with my other post and make it a really long one. On a final note, here’s another pic of my dog. He’s a little old at this point at 8 years old but he still acts like a pup. He just doesn’t like staying still for the phone which makes taking a snapshot hard.