Editorial: The Top 10 Wii U Games

The Top 10 Wii U Games

          It’s a big week for Nintendo. Their next console, the Nintendo Switch, is due for arrival on Friday, alongside the hotly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s do or die time for a company that’s definitely had their fair share of struggles the last few years as they swept up the mess the Wii U left behind.

          Everywhere I go on the internet lately I’ve been seeing people calling the Wii U a complete and utter failure. But honestly, I couldn’t disagree more. Yes, the system was marketed awfully and sold extremely poorly, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad system overall.

          So, as we prepare to bid adieu to the Wii U, I’ve compiled a list of my Top 10 Favourite Wii U Games. Keep in mind that this list is entirely subjective, and I haven’t played every single Wii U game out there. I’m also not counting any remakes or ports on this list, although I will be giving honourable mention to both Shovel Knight and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. Those games are honestly at their best on the Wii U, and if you haven’t checked them out yet I’d highly recommend them both.

10. Wii Party U

          We’re starting off with a game I’m pretty sure nobody else played. Wii Party U is the successor to the original Wii Party on the Wii, and it has one of the most stellar minigame compilations on the entire system. This game has become the go-to game at family parties for me, and for good reason. It’s just that fun.

          The main draw of Wii Party U is the various minigames it offers, featuring enough fantastic ones that it’s always fun to pop in and play every once in a while. My personal favourites include a zoo animal race, a game involving rolling barrels down a rushing river, a pole vault challenge, and possibly the most hilarious RC car race in gaming.

          The game also offers twists on the minigames as well, the best of these being “Spot the Sneak”. Every game one player is given “Sneak power”, giving them a distinct advantage over the others. The trick is that the sneak has to hide their power to earn as many points as possible. If they’re found out, they won’t earn any points at all. It’s an interesting challenge where you must pay as much attention to other players as you do yourself, and try to work together to figure out who the Sneak is. It’s a great game overall that I love to play with friends and family.

9. Pikmin 3

          The long awaited third installment in the Pikmin series came to us nearly a decade after the release of Pikmin 2 back in 2004. Thankfully, it was well worth the wait, as Pikmin 3 proved itself to be the quintessential Pikmin experience.

          With three playable characters, several new maps to explore, monsters to fight and Pikmin types to collect, the main campaign of 3 felt like a combination of the best parts of the original and 2, removing both Pikmin’s constrictive time limit and Pikmin 2’s dreadful reliance on cave spelunking. Add in a charming story about a group of intrepid explorers searching for fruit to restore life to their dying home planet and a mystery subplot about the whereabouts of Captain Olimar, and you’ve got a very fun and very Nintendo storyline.

          The true standout of this game was actually none of these. Also included in Pikmin 3 was Bingo Battle, an awesome 1 v 1 multiplayer showdown where two players battle it out to see who can collect the proper items to make a bingo on their personal bingo sheet. It’s fun and chaotic, especially when throwing items into the mix. A usual game of Bingo Battle often involves players launching meteor strikes, giant monster battles and Pikmin feud over who gets to take that apple back to home base. It was easily the best PvP multiplayer game on the system before Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros came along, and if you haven’t checked it out I highly recommend you do so.

8. Nintendo Land

          Coming straight out of the Wii U’s launch library, Nintendo Land proved that lightning can strike twice when it comes with console pack-in tech demos. Wii Sports was universally beloved for the quick and simple way it was able to convey the Wii’s controls to even grandparents, and while Nintendo Land was a bit more complicated than that, it boasted several entertaining minigames that are just as fun to pick up and play today as they were back in November 2012.

          Easily the best one in the whole collection is “Mario Chase”, where one player is Mario and the rest play as his adoring fans, unrelentingly pursuing him around a map until either they capture him or Mario manages to evade them until the time runs out. It’s a lot of fun to play both roles, as the team of four Toads needs to work together to corner Mario, and Mario can use their strategy against them to try and lead them on a wild goose chase.

          Other highlights include a surprisingly difficult Luigi’s Mansion game where four players work to take down a ghost, a nigh impossible game based on the original Donkey Kong involving rolling an egg to the end of an enormous maze, and the closest thing we’ll ever get to Metroid on the Wii U. If you haven’t checked it out in a while, pick it up again. You’ll be surprised how stellar it is.

7. Yoshi’s Woolly World

          Remember Kirby’s Epic Yarn? That Wii platformer where you literally couldn’t die and it was kind of only made as an excuse to show off some fancy yarn graphics? That game’s obsolete now, as Yoshi’s Woolly World arrived to show how a game can be made of yarn and still be a challenging experience.

          I’d honestly argue that Woolly World is the best Yoshi game to date, trumping even the original Yoshi’s Island. The true star of the game is undeniably the graphics. Woolly World takes the foundations set by Epic Yarn and perfects them, creating one of the most creatively designed games in years. I love all the neat little touches the art team snuck into the games, like Yoshi’s legs turning into little wheels when he runs fast or how they become propeller blades when he double jumps. Its attention to detail like that that truly shows when someone cares about a game. Add in fantastic platforming and a true marathon of things to collect, and you’ve got an excellent game worth any Yoshi fan’s while.

6. Hyrule Warriors

                The Wii U never really got a true Zelda game to call its own. Yes, Breath of the Wild is coming to the system, but they’re sharing it with the Switch. There’s no Zelda game exclusive to this console.

          The closest we got was with Hyrule Warriors, a marriage between the Zelda franchise and Dynasty Warriors gameplay. The game felt like a true celebration of all things Zelda, bringing in characters from past games as they go on a mission to destroy as many bokoblins as possible…or something. I don’t know, the story to this game wasn’t that great.

          What was great was the awesome action-packed gameplay, fantastic remixed soundtrack and varied characters, each one playing differently and more uniquely than the last. The game also boasted huge replayability apart from the main campaign through an Adventure mode where you explored the map from the original Legend of Zelda, completing character specific tasks to unlock new goodies and find secrets. Some of the challenges can be especially difficult, making this game a true challenge for anyone up to the task. It was ported to the 3DS as Hyrule Warriors Legends recently, so if you haven’t played the game now’s a good time to check it out.

5. Mario Kart 8

          For years I told anyone who’d listen that Double Dash on the GameCube was the best Mario Kart ever. It was partially out of nostalgia, but I’d always felt that Mario Kart Wii and the handheld installments couldn’t quite match up to the two-dudes-one-kart frenzy that Double Dash brought to the table. If something were to top my childhood favourite, it’d need to really pull out all the stops and create a new spin on the tried and true series.

          Along comes Mario Kart 8, touting new zero-gravity tracks, the best looking graphics the Wii U has ever seen (or will ever see, as I still consider this game to be the system’s peak graphically) and the inclusion of characters from other Nintendo franchises, leaving Double Dash in the dust in the race for best Mario Kart.

          Yes, the Battle mode sucked on the Wii U version (a fixed version more alongside the classic Battle modes is coming in the Switch version of the game) and whoever decided to fill a quarter of the character slots with the Koopalings should never make a roster again, but those are honestly the only gripes I have with the game. It’s truly Mario Kart at its best, and the frequent updates and DLC served to make this a game I was happy to come back to many times.

4. Super Mario Maker

          We all have that one game. That one special game that only exists in our minds but we’d love to see made reality someday. For many years, that game for me was one where you could create your own Super Mario Bros levels.

          In celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of everyone’s favourite plumber in red, Nintendo pulled out all the stops in creating the game we’d always dreamed of seeing. A spiritual successor to Mario Paint, Super Mario Maker was the only game on the Wii U that truly used the GamePad to its full potential. Whereas most games used it as a map screen, inventory management or ignored it altogether, Mario Maker took one look at the screen and made it an integral part of building levels. Dragging and dropping pipes and platforms into the terrain felt pitch-perfect, all thanks to the peripheral most scoffed at as another gimmick.

          The fan community that sprung up thanks to Mario Maker was equally as fantastic as making levels yourself. While there were an overflow of automatic levels and impossible levels towards the end of the game’s lifespan, those who took the tools given to them and used them to create a level up to par with one actually made by Nintendo made Mario Maker a truly special game.

3. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

          Sometimes to make a great game all you have to do is take a previous installment and polish it until it shines like gold. Coming off the ho-hum Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii, I was admittedly nervous about what Retro Studios would do next with the legendary franchise. Imagine my surprise when playing Tropical Freeze, finding that Retro took the foundation Returns built to create not only the greatest Donkey Kong Country game ever, but also one of the greatest sidescrolling platformers ever made.

          The beauty in Tropical Freeze is in the level design, as the developers truly made each and every one feel unique and stand out. Whereas many platformers are content to make a bunch of similar levels that all sort of mesh together, I remember several of Tropical Freeze’s defining moments, such as swinging on giraffe and zebra shaped poles in a savannah environment or chasing down a robot through the jungles while on a flying barrel, Tropical Freeze ensured that no two levels were alike.

          Plus, while the game was very difficult, it never felt too hard. One of Returns’ biggest problem was the forced reliance on motion controls as you made DK jump, roll, climb and hand slap his way through the levels. This resulted in many unfair deaths, as the Wiimote couldn’t quite support a character with this range of movement and oftentimes one poorly timed shake would result in you losing a life. Tropical Freeze, on the other hand, is perfectly balanced, creating a game not too challenging for kids but not too easy for adults. In my eyes it’s as perfect as a platformer can get.

2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

          Every console since the N64 is expected to get a Smash at some point or another, and the Wii U was no different. With Brawl’s popularity on the wane since the rising popularity of Melee and the competitive scene, Nintendo was caught between a rock and a hard place. Do they make the game cater more to casuals or the competitive crowd?

          Their answer? Find the perfect marriage between Melee and Brawl. While Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (or Smash 4 as it’s more commonly known) won’t be replacing Melee as the dominant competitive Smash game anytime soon, it’s much faster and balanced than Brawl ever was. Boasting several new characters and stages as well as more options to matchmake to your liking, there really is something for everyone in Smash 4.

          The beauty of this game is that everyone, regardless of skill level, can pick it up and have a great time. I speak from experience when I say that it’s not as fun as one might think to be absolutely destroyed at Melee by some guy pulling off ridiculous moves that you can’t possibly keep up with. By keeping all characters on a level playing field but still having ways for high level players to figure out some tricks to give them an upper hand, Smash 4 earns its title as the most accessible fighting game on the market right now.

1. Splatoon

          And here it is: Nintendo’s latest IP and the crown jewel of the Wii U library.

          Over the years, Nintendo has dabbled in nearly every game genre known to man. Platformers, adventure games, puzzle, strategy, life sims, you name it, they’ve done it. The only one they’ve never really touched was the shooter, and for understandable reasons. Your typical shooter game is more or less about blood and killing and all sorts of things Nintendo isn’t overly fond of. So, when it came time to finally try their hand at the concept, Nintendo turned it on its head and made it their own.

          The result was Splatoon, a third-person shooter with a delightful world, iconic characters and a concept that seemed unusual at first glance, but in practice it turned out to be absolutely brilliant.

          Instead of focusing on kills and killstreaks, Splatoon is all about one thing and one thing only: covering everything in sight with your team’s colour. The other team is more of an obstacle than anything, as they paint over your colours with their own. Whoever has the most area covered at the end is crowned winner.

          But what I loved even more than the gameplay or universe of Splatoon was the method of release Nintendo took with it. After launch Nintendo continued to update the game weekly with new weapons, gear, maps and events for the low price of absolutely nothing. You could keep coming back to the game over and over to check out the new stuff and never pay a cent. And it worked! For a full year after launch Splatoon stayed in relevancy as fans continued to return to the game over and over to see what was new. And with Splatoon 2 on the horizon, I can’t wait to experience that feeling all over again.

          So that’s my list of my favourite Wii U games! While the system did perform less than spectacularly, I still have a major soft spot for it and I hope what it did for gaming becomes more appreciated later down the line.

          Goodnight, sweet prince. It’s time to see if your next of kin can measure up.

Song of the Week

          The Smash 4 theme. To me, this song personifies the Wii U well. While it’s not as iconic as the Smash themes from the GameCube or Wii, it’s just as big and grand as those, and invites players for a fun time playing some video games.

Little Witch Academia Episode 8 Review

Attack of the Killer Mushrooms

(This review contains spoilers!)

          Since we had an episode focusing on Lotte a few weeks back, I figured it was only a matter of time before Sucy got the same treatment. The thing about Sucy is that, unlike Lotte, she’s a bit of a one-note character. Don’t get me wrong, she’s fantastic, but her sadism and affinity for mushrooms can only get you so far. How would they do an episode centered on her?

          Despite the episode being about Sucy, Akko is the main star, as she enters Sucy’s mind in an attempt to wake her up after she’s been afflicted with a sleeping curse. The episode basically only stars the main trio, which I find nice. While I love the entire cast, it’s nice to have a smaller episode just focusing on the three of them once in a while.

          The inside of Sucy’s mind is very creatively done, with many different versions of the character spread about to represent different aspects of her personality, ranging from Movie Star Sucy to Impatient Sucy to even Llama Sucy. The showrunners have a lot of fun making more and more new Sucys, each more ridiculous than the last. Huge kudos to her voice actress as well, as this episode really allows her to show her range with all the different Sucys she needs to portray.

          The episode is a very small story, being more or less Akko interacting with a bunch of different Sucys while on her way to find the core Sucy and wake her up. While it’s nothing mindblowing or groundbreaking, it’s a weird little episode that befits Sucy’s character. The first place Akko visits is a courtroom where all the “illegal” Sucys are put to death, such as a Sucy that loves cute animals or a Sucy that’s interested in reading Lotte’s favourite books. Akko sets them all free, but this only causes trouble further down the line, creating a monstrous Sucy that represents a supressed wish to destroy Luna Nova with the power of mushrooms.

          After that it’s a madcap chase to the real Sucy’s room, where Akko wakes her up…only to find it was all a dream. Uh, maybe. Towards the end Sucy makes a passing reference to a promise Akko made in the dream to carry her books for a month, implying that it might’ve been real. I’m sure it doesn’t matter, as this was definitely a one-off episode meant to give Sucy the starring role she hasn’t exactly seen in this series yet.

          There’s really not much else to say about this one. It’s a fun episode about Akko and Sucy’s relationship with some very creative ideas about what the inside of someone’s mind would look and act like. I do wish the writers had come up with something a little more interesting than the “it was all a dream” conclusion with a joke implying it might not have been, because that honestly felt like a bit of a cheap ending to an otherwise good episode. In any case, I’m glad that Sucy, my favourite of the main trio, is getting the attention she deserves, even if it won’t be brought up again.

FINAL SCORE

8/10

Great

Star Wars Saturday: A Case for C-3PO

A Case for C-3PO

          Who was your favourite hero from the Original Trilogy when you were a kid? Were you a fan of Luke’s determination and Jedi powers, or maybe you preferred Leia’s bold defiance of the growing Imperial forces? While there’s rarely a Star Wars character I don’t have a soft spot for, the first character who really resonated with me from this franchise was none other than the golden protocol droid C-3PO.

          I was a really nervous kid, content to mostly stay inside by myself while others my age were out making friends and playing sports. It was through this that I discovered many of my passions, including gaming, Disney movies, and of course Star Wars. Through this, I really identified with the plight of C-3PO. In all this craziness, here’s a droid who doesn’t want any part of it, but still manages to be a key component in getting the main heroes the victory they deserve.

          In the wake of Star Wars’ return to popular culture, I’ve noticed many people returning to the Original Trilogy after not having watched it in years and forming new opinions based on how they see it at an older age. One thing I’ve noticed repeated several times is how people don’t seem to be a fan of C-3PO as a character, even going so far as to say he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the cast.

          So let’s see why people don’t like him. One of the major criticisms of 3PO is his overall personality. Some find him too whiny, others find his bickering with R2 to be insufferable. Primarily in Empire Strikes Back, 3PO spends a lot of the movie arguing with Han about the best course of action to take in escaping the Empire, lamenting the doom of everyone aboard the Millennium Falcon several times, and his constant fights with R2 get old fast.

          The other, biggest criticism I’ve seen recently is that despite being cast in a major role and appearing in every Star Wars movie to date, 3PO doesn’t accomplish anything that another character could’ve done. This is supported by what he does in the prequels and Force Awakens, which is honestly not much. Granted, Phantom Menace gives him an origin story and he adds a bit of humour to Force Awakens (his first appearance in that movie is one of its funniest scenes), but he still doesn’t contribute much to the overall plot.

          Honestly, I see where the criticism comes from. 3PO is essentially Lucas’s first attempt at humour in Star Wars, before a certain fish-rabbit-man came along and tarnished his reputation as a writer. Knowing that, even I can admit that my beloved protocol droid has a few moments where he can be more than a bit annoying. I don’t love C-3PO because he’s particularly funny, though, nor do I love him because he does a lot of stuff. I leave that to characters like R2 or Chewie.

          The reason I love C-3PO is because he isn’t those things. To me, C-3PO represents how we would react when thrust into these insane situations. We all like to think of ourselves as Luke or Obi-Wan or Rey, always having a perfect handle on the situation regardless of what the circumstance is. Obviously, that isn’t the case. In reality, we’d all act like C-3PO, running around in a panic and yelling at Han to slow down or we’ll all be killed.

          Despite being a droid, C-3PO is arguably one of the most human characters in Star Wars. Yes, he’s whiny, yes, he doesn’t contribute much, and yes, sometimes he just doesn’t fit in with everybody else, but I don’t feel that makes him a bad character. To me, C-3PO is a testament to everybody who could never fit in with the cool kids, to every kid that feels like an outcast, and to anybody who wants to go on an adventure. We might never be Luke Skywalker, but at least we can live knowing he keeps someone like us with him on these adventures.

BREAKING NEWS

          Lots of news straight from a galaxy far, far away this week! It’s time to look at what’s new and what’s next for Star Wars in a segment that honestly needs a better name!

          First off, something I missed last time: Star Wars Land at Disneyland and Walt Disney World has a set opening date for 2019! I’ve been keeping track of the construction at both parks since it broke ground, and while they’re slowly making progress, it’s pretty obvious that we’re still quite some time away from visiting that remote outpost we’ve been promised.

          Over onto the movie side of things, Disney has officially confirmed production has begun on the untitled Han Solo film. This movie’s been shrouded in mystery for some time, and we still don’t know much about it aside from the facts that it’ll star a younger Han, Chewie and Lando and take place before A New Hope. Other actors have been cast, but we’re yet to find out what roles they’re set to play. Phil Lord and Chris Miller have always been fantastic directors, so I have good faith they will deliver an entertaining story about our favourite smuggler.

          Onto Last Jedi news, Star Wars fans everywhere have been speculating the meaning of the title, especially whether it’s using the singular meaning for Jedi or the plural. Well, wonder no more! We’ve now learned via the French, Spanish and other translations of the title that the Jedi in the title is in fact using the plural term. So what could this mean? Obviously Luke is one of the last Jedi, but who’s the others? Rey seems the most popular answer, but it’s important to note she’s not a Jedi yet, despite likely beginning her training in this movie. Another option could be Luke’s class of dead Padawans, or, while it’s unlikely, maybe even Kylo Ren.

          Disney has also released the official Last Jedi themed packaging that will be seen once Force Friday makes its grand return on September 1 this year. If you don’t remember, Force Friday was celebrated when the first Force Awakens toys were released back in September 2015. I remember it because I spent way too much money that day.

          The packaging itself features Rey, Finn and Poe striking a heroic pose against a white background, contrasting with the dark Force Awakens packaging that prominently featured Kylo Ren.

          So, let’s tear the packaging (ha ha) apart and see if we can find any secrets hidden in this image. Finn seems to be about the same, except he’s now wearing a white shirt underneath his jacket instead of the black Stormtrooper undershirt from Force Awakens. Poe seems to have found himself a replacement jacket for the one he gave Finn. Finally, Rey is wearing her hair down, and appears to be in the same outfit she wore in the final scenes of Force Awakens.

          There’s nothing really new or special here (though I do find it a little interesting Kylo Ren is nowhere to be found), but it is nice to see our heroes changing their looks a little bit going forth. April and Star Wars Celebration is fast approaching, and I doubt we’ll have to wait much longer before we get to see more of what Rey and crew will be doing next.

Steven Universe Review: “Rocknaldo”

Why, Cartoon Network?

(This review contains spoilers!)

          Ronaldo episodes stand at the same place as Lars episodes for me: complete and utter wastes of time focusing on unlikeable characters that don’t further the plot at all. And, despite what Cartoon Network’s social media would make you think, Rocknaldo is no different.

          See, yesterday Cartoon Network started a buzz by posting an as-of-yet unseen gem on their social media, announcing that if we, the fans, could identify the gem type we would know what new character we’d meet in this episode. Being the ravenous fanbase that it is, Steven Universe fans quickly identified the gem as a bloodstone, and hype was running rampant for an all-new gem to shake up the status quo in what initially looked like a throwaway episode.

          I wasn’t even halfway through the episode before I realized we’d been bamboozled.

          This week focuses on (ugh) Ronaldo as he decides to join the Crystal Gems to get a better understanding of them. The Gems are initially dismissive, but Steven argues it’s harmless to give him a change. Ronaldo decides to pick out a Crystal Gem name for himself, and what does he decide on? Why, Bloodstone of course!

          While I spent the rest of the episode hoping and praying that the real Bloodstone would show up, it became obvious very quickly that this storyline was going nowhere fast. Ronaldo feels upset that he’s being left behind while Steven accompanies the Gems on missions, and the episode ends with him leaving the Crystal Gems (I use “leaving” for lack of a better term since he never really joined in the first place) and Steven reconciling with him. Ronaldo also shows that he’s going to start putting in work to help the other citizens of Beach City to help understand the Gems. And then the credits roll.

          So is there anything good about this episode? Well, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me laugh a few times. The episode opens with Ronaldo talking about how “rock people” are dangerous, listing off several Crystal Gem traits. At one point he blurts out “They hate men!”, and that got a good laugh out of me. Ronaldo also shows off his “gem weapon”, that being a sword replica from the anime “Me and My Father Who Is Also My Sword” or something along that line. The episode also continues to preach Steven Universe’s core message of love and tolerance, even when you disagree with the other person, and that’s honestly a lesson we need to hear as much as possible in times like these.

          So, yeah. Two lines from Ronaldo and a nice message that you can get from nearly every other episode of the show. Other than that this episode is a complete and utter waste of time.

          This entire season has been mindboggling, especially following the excellent Season 3. I legitimately went back and counted, and I found that aside from the StevenBomb, we’ve only had four really stellar episodes this entire season: Buddy’s Book, Mindful Education, Last One Out of Beach City, and Storm in the Room. Other than those and the StevenBomb we’ve had episodes that range from entertaining fluffy nothingness to downright 11 minutes of pain.

This is getting legitimately frustrating, as the pacing of the show has gone all out of whack. If you look back at the last two seasons, we’ve already begun the final storylines at the same point in time we’re at now: Peridot’s redemption in Season 2 and the Amethyst/Jasper arc in Season 3. Right now there’s literally nothing going on, now that Steven seems to have relaxed his issues with his mother and the Diamonds still seem to be more of an endgame. It feels like the show is standing around waiting for something cool to happen, and as a viewer that’s just unacceptable.

If Steven Universe wants to stay afloat, it needs to do better than release pictures teasing big developments that aren’t delivered on. Screw this episode.

FINAL SCORE

2/10

Awful

Gravity Rush 2 Review

Cute anime girls vs. capitalism

(This review contains minor spoilers!)

          I never played the original Gravity Rush. In fact, I’d never even heard of it until Gravity Rush 2 released back in January. Knowing this, I decided to go in completely blind so I could be as fresh as possible with no expectations whatsoever.

          So what do I think of it as a result? Yeah, it’s a pretty good game, albeit one with quite a few major flaws.

          Gravity Rush 2 is more or less a 3D platformer with a few elements of superhero games mixed in. The main hook of the game is the titular gravity elements. At any point in the game you can go into a zero gravity mode that allows you to hover, fly and do all sorts of crazy combat maneuvers. The gravity controls do take a bit of time to get used to, but once you figure out how to accurately aim where you want to go without losing control, flying around is a lot of fun. I enjoyed just spending time flying through wide open spaces to wherever the next story point was.

          The game follows the story of Kat, the supposed “Gravity Queen” who’s looking to return to her homeworld after a catastrophe. I assume it directly follows the events of the first game, but as I never played it I couldn’t tell you. There isn’t much introduction given to the characters as such (I spent a lot of time wondering which characters were meant to be significant and which weren’t), and a lot of them felt pretty boring and unmemorable. Kat herself is definitely the highlight, as her optimism and can-do attitude often gave me the determination to keep going when I hit a particularly hard level. Her character design is pretty nice as well, making her stand out from the others while still fitting in with the world.

          Speaking of the world, let’s talk about that. Gravity Rush 2 features numerous floating island locales to explore, each boasting plentiful amounts of sidequests. It’s fun to explore around and see what the different areas are like, but there are a few problems that make the open world more than a little frustrating. First off, everything is spread out way too much. You only have a limited amount of time shifting gravity, and the only way to recharge that is by turning the gravity off for a few seconds or by collecting blue crystals. Oftentimes each mission would be so spread out with no blue crystals in sight that I’d need to turn off gravity up to three times while on my way there. And secondly, while there are plenty of sidequests to do, ranging from collecting lost ducks to stealthily snapping photos of secret business deals, none of them reward you with anything but the satisfaction of a job well done. You don’t earn currency or experience from most of them, leaving me to wonder why I should stray from the main storyline at all.

          You can find currency in the form of red ore scattered around the various worlds, inside enemies and through mining green rocks, and you use it to buff Kat’s various abilities, such as her combat prowess and dodging speed. It also unlocks new combo strings, increases the time of your special moves, and so on. While these additions definitely help make yourself stronger, there’s a significant issue: the boosts are way too expensive. Over two thirds into the game I still had barely even scratched the surface of buffing Kat just because the game rarely gave me the ore to buff her. The only way I can think would make it faster would be going on optional mining sidequests, but that just makes it feel like filler content. If these are so integral to beating the game, why not give me the ore I need to get them by playing the main storyline?

          One of the main reasons why I lost interest in the sidequests quickly (aside from the fact that they seemed pointless) was that the main story is actually really compelling. You wouldn’t guess it from looking at the game, but Gravity Rush 2 is a political thriller, and a surprisingly good one at that. A good chunk of the story is spent dealing with the financial hierarchy of one of the first worlds you visit, and it sends a pretty strong message. Whereas the people living on the lowest island at first seem like the grimy underbelly of the population, it turns out that they’re just doing what they have to in order to feed their families. Conversely, while the people on the highest island appear to be basically royalty, upon visiting them they turn out to be spoiled brats.

          Easily the best part of the entire game doesn’t involve fighting a monster or escaping the royal guard in style, it instead follows a choice you need to make: one of the rich women orders you to bring her a barrel of oil from the marketplace. You have the option of bringing it to her and earning a monetary reward or giving it to the poor folk just because it was the right thing to do. In games we’re so often guided to whatever will give us the most value that seeing a game make a strong moral choice like this is honestly a little groundbreaking. They could’ve made it a necessary part of the mission to bring it to the poor instead of the rich, but having that moment of choice makes it all the more satisfying.

          Graphically, the game is passable. Nothing mindblowing and it doesn’t even come close to some of the other stuff on the PS4, but it’s not a piece of crap either. The cel-shaded style definitely makes you feel like you’re playing through an anime, but I do wish the colour palette was a bit more visually pleasing. A lot of the game is shaded in very ugly browns and purples, and while some areas (such as a neon-lit casino district you find later on) look interesting, overall the open world isn’t as memorable as, say, ReCore’s.

          There are also a few technical problems with the game as it goes along. The game features enormous amounts of lengthy loading times, way more than it deserves. Every time I booted it up I’d have to sit through up to two minutes of loading before I got to play, and every time a scene changed or a mission started or ended I’d need to sit through another one. At first the colour-changing paw print the game uses as a loading icon is cute, but as the game goes on you learn to loathe that paw print and how often it appears. The other real problem involves the camera. It frequently gets stuck or lost trying to follow you as you gravity jump around, especially when you perform special moves and it doesn’t even bother trying to follow you anymore, instead showing you what’s inside the floor.

          I haven’t even talked about the combat yet. The combat resembles the rest of the game in that it’s fun but has a couple of major issues holding it back. Enemies range from corrupt soldiers to goopy monsters, each of them fighting differently. You can fight them off using standard on-ground combos, but the more efficient (and more entertaining) way of fighting is through using gravity. You can unleash a gravity kick, firing Kat directly at an enemy and often resulting in a satisfying one hit knockout, or you can use something called a stasis field to grab nearby objects and fling them at far away foes. Easily the best part of these is when fighting a giant boss and flying back and forth while figuring out its weak spots and dealing massive damage. Every once in a while you can also unleash an ultimate special move that destroys every enemy in range, and while it is fun to wreak destruction on a large group of dudes, because the camera can barely keep track of the high speeds you’re at while you pull these moves off it’s better to just put the controller down and wait until it’s over while they’re happening.

          And now for the problem: the game goes through an enormous difficulty spike midway through, and the combat that was once awesome becomes immensely frustrating. Trust me when I say you’ll need to make use of every single health kit the developers place in the battle arenas to win. I tend to be a very patient and calm gamer, but I honestly had a few “throw the controller” moments due to some of the later fights. Oftentimes the camera will work against you in big battles, pointing in weird directions and disorienting you to a point where you’re not even sure what direction is up anymore.

          Gravity Rush 2 is a fun game with an interesting story, but that’s about it. Gravity shifting and flying around are very entertaining, and when the combat isn’t being a huge pain in the rear taking out enemies is very fun and satisfying. The story is definitely much more compelling than I initially thought it would be, and it was enough to keep me too invested in the game to quit. However, the long loading times, pointless sidequests, awful camera and insane difficulty spike makes it hard for me to recommend this game for more than a rental. If you’ve got a weekend coming up with nothing to play, this game is a harmless choice. At its best it’s a good experience with something to say about politics, and as a game that makes it something unique.

FINAL SCORE

7/10

Good

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Review: “Self Control”

Everything you know is wrong

(This review contains spoilers!)

          Well, that happened.

          You know, it’s kind of amazing that we’re well into S.H.I.E.L.D’s fourth season and yet this show still manages to leave me completely stunned nearly every week. I don’t know how, but the writing team always seems to figure out new and creative ways to pull the rug out from under me constantly, and I love them for that.

          So let’s get right into it. This episode is the grand conclusion of the LMD storyline, and gears up for what’s coming next when the show returns in April. Picking up directly from where last week left off, Fitz and Simmons are surrounded by LMDs that look identical to their best friends, and they need to find a way out of there before they’re captured or killed. But, of course, a wrench is thrown in before long. Fitz and Simmons set off the LMD sensor together, leaving them (and the viewer) guessing who’s real and who’s machine.

          Turns out Fitz has been replaced by an LMD for some time now, leading to an honestly terrifying scene of Simmons having to “kill” him. Also, Daisy is real…sort of? The reveal that Daisy wasn’t an LMD was the one part of the episode that was handled poorly. It opens with her discussing with LMD Coulson and Mace about how to destroy the Inhumans, obviously indicating to us that she isn’t the Daisy we know. Then, she enters a containment pod filled with duplicate Daisy LMDs that exists for some reason. Finally, after LMD Mack discovers the pod, she attacks him with her quake powers, proving she’s the real deal. It’s never really addressed what happened or whether there was an LMD Daisy at all, but it’s a footnote in an otherwise near perfect episode.

          I’ve been saying since the beginning of the LMD storyline that it’s all going to end with a conspiracy inside S.H.I.E.L.D with everyone running around frantically having no idea who’s LMD and who isn’t. This episode delivers on that expectation, leaving Daisy and Simmons the only real people left. Of course, they don’t believe each other when they say they’re human, and their conflict is resolved in a very nice scene between the two. I’ve been very critical of how Daisy’s been treated this season, but honestly this episode was one of her best in a very long time.

          The LMDs are a little upset about LMD Fitz’s tragic demise (but he comes back later, so it’s all good), leading them to kill the power and convince the rest of the agents that Simmons and Daisy are the LMDs. The two of them craft a scheme to get themselves out, including using knockout gas so as to not fight any of the real agents and arming explosives to try and take out an LMD. It doesn’t work, and the base literally catches fire.

          Oh yeah, and while this is all happening, Aida kills Radcliffe because she wants him to live forever in his creation. Despite how much I’ve loved hating him these last few episodes, I can’t say I won’t miss the guy. He was an entertaining villain, albeit one that kind of got sidelined in his last few episodes.

          After an awesomely choreographed fight scene between LMD Mace and Daisy (ever notice she gets all the cool fight scenes?), Daisy and Simmons are able to prove they’re the real deal by literally melting LMD Mack’s skin off, and escape through the back entrance…only to be met by LMD May, who’s sitting on a bunch of explosives. Fortunately, LMD May has a change of heart, choosing to ignore Radcliffe’s orders and allow everyone to escape, destroying the base and the rest of the LMDs behind them.

          Moment of silence for the base. It served us well since Season 2.

          The episode ends with quite possibly the second best twist this show has ever seen (I doubt anything could ever top the Ward is HYDRA twist from Season 1). To figure out where their friends are being held, Daisy and Simmons plug themselves into the framework. What they find in there is…concerning.

          Ward is back, and he’s Daisy’s boyfriend. Coulson is a schoolteacher with a grudge against Inhumans. Mack is living a happy life with his still-alive daughter. Fitz is a celebrity. Simmons is literally dead. And, in the most priceless reveal of all, in this universe HYDRA has replaced S.H.I.E.L.D, even going so far as to paste their logo on the S.H.I.E.L.D base from Winter Soldier.

          It’s honestly quite the reveal, and the fact they’re able to show exactly what’s going on with everybody in this universe and set up the rest of the season in under 2 minutes is astounding. So many questions are posed by that final montage alone: Why is Simmons dead? And if she’s dead, who’s that mystery girl Fitz is with? Why does Coulson hate Inhumans? How is HYDRA the major power all of a sudden? Where’s Captain America when you need him!?

          I’m sure most of these questions will be answered when S.H.I.E.L.D returns in 5 weeks, but taking the episode as is, it’s easily one of the best this show has ever produced. The writing was brilliant, creating an air of tension throughout the entire thing and making you feel like Simmons and Daisy were in mortal peril the entire time. The actors all did a fantastic job, so much so that I legitimately can’t single out one specific person who was especially good. They were all on point this week. And, of course, the setup for the next arc was absolutely mind-blowing. S.H.I.E.L.D always seems to have a new surprise up its sleeves, each one more shocking than the last. If you somehow still haven’t caught up on this fantastic show, now is a great time to get started.

FINAL SCORE

10/10

Legendary

Timeless Review: “The Red Scare”

A Royal Finale

(This review contains spoilers!)

          With this being the season finale we’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get right into it.

          I honestly had no idea how they were going to wrap up all the loose threads of the season in one hour-long episode, but they managed to tie almost everything together neatly, of course leaving a few cliffhangers for a potential Season 2 (#RenewTimeless). Everything was cleaned up in a way that was hard to not be found satisfying, and as any good season finale should, it left you wanting more.

          Picking up right after last week, Rufus has been shot and just barely made it home. Unable to get him to a hospital out of fear of Rittenhouse, Lucy calls on that creepy kinda-sorta-boyfriend she had in the first few episodes. Turns out he’s a doctor. In this we get our first bit of closure, as he ends their “relationship” once and for all. In all honesty I’d assumed they ended it off-screen weeks ago considering how long it’s been since he made an appearance.

          But the Rittenhouse guys storm the warehouse just as Flynn jumps back to 1954, leading Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus to chase after him, bringing Jiya with them despite never travelling with a fourth companion before, and leaving Agent Christopher to clean up their mess.

          This episode is much slower and quieter than last week’s, being more of a character-driven piece than an action-driven one. A lot of the episode is spent on Lucy’s relationship with Flynn and trying to solve the Rittenhouse problem peacefully instead of blowing a room of guys to smithereens, taking out Lucy’s grandfather in the process. Whereas Flynn wants to take out the entire meeting room via use of explosives, Lucy has another idea.

          Instead, she meets up with her grandfather for the first time ever, and tells him about the time machine and that she’s his granddaughter from the future. It’s a fantastically acted scene by both Lucy and the grandfather, and they both sell it. Equally as nice is the scene where they meet up with him in the present where he fulfills his promise of infiltrating Rittenhouse for them, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

          Rufus and Jiya stay out of the main storyline and have a small arc of their own, but it’s mostly a conclusion for the “will they/won’t they” storyline that’s been going on all season and serves as a way to set things up for Season 2 (#RenewTimeless). Since the time machine was only built to support up to three people, Jiya being the fourth causes some…complications. She grows sick fast, her symptoms ranging from a bleeding eye to a full-on seizure. This leads Rufus to finally confess his love for her, in hopes it’ll bring her back. Of course she turns out fine, but again, that’s something better talked about later in the review.

          The third and final arc this week is the smallest overall, but is still just as great as the others. Focusing on Agent Christopher, she’s rescued from Rittenhouse custody by Mason, who finally explains his plan. He’d been pretending to side with Rittenhouse only so they would give him access to all the information he could ever want, and wanted to use it against them to save Rufus from their wrath. For a character that’s seemed so undeniably villainous the past few episodes, it’s actually pretty satisfying to learn he’s just as good as we thought he was back in the first half of the season.

          The only character that doesn’t really have much to do this week is Wyatt, and that’s honestly understandable. While it’s nice to have him around, his overall storyline kind of ended after he failed to bring his wife back. He accompanies Lucy on her mission this week and has a cool scene of taking out some guards, but honestly he kind of feels like he’s just there because he’s a main character. He has a nice talk with Lucy towards the end of the episode about not trying to change the past anymore, but that’s it.   He doesn’t do much overall, kind of giving me the feeling his story is over.

          So, the end of the episode. Let’s get into that. Thanks to Lucy’s grandfather and Mason’s connections, they now know the identities of every single Rittenhouse member, both past and present. They use this to retrieve the name of the man who murdered Flynn’s wife and daughter, but before he can rescue them and destroy his time machine his meeting with Lucy is intercepted by Agent Christopher, who arrests him on account of terrorism. Swearing revenge on Lucy for betraying their truce, there’s no doubt he’s going to come back as a villain again next season (#RenewTimeless). Maybe he’ll bring back a T-rex to destroy Rittenhouse. That’d be cool.

          As for Rufus and Jiya, they officially become a couple, and Jiya makes a full recovery…sort of. There’s a weird moment where she spaces out and suddenly her view of the Golden Gate Bridge transforms into a bridge in ruins. By the looks of it she can travel in time by herself now, which definitely adds an extra wrinkle to everything. I do wish we’d gotten a bit more focus on that plot point however, because it did feel like a bit of a “blink and you miss it” moment.

          The biggest and most shocking moment of the finale comes, of course, from Lucy. Fulfilling her end of their bargain, Agent Christopher permits Lucy to use the time machine one last time to bring back her sister. While waiting for it to recharge, she visits her mother to say goodbye one last time before returning to the timeline where she dies of cancer. After attempting to explain everything that’s been going on and what she’s about to do, her mother consoles her…by telling her that Rittenhouse would never allow her to use their time machine to save one person.

          Wait, what?

          Yeah, apparently Lucy’s mom was Rittenhouse this whole time! Even worse, it turns out Emma has also been a sleeper agent for Rittenhouse as well, and has stolen Flynn’s time machine in his absence. Plus, with both Lucy’s mother and father being members of Rittenhouse, that basically makes Lucy the Rittenhouse equivalent of Draco Malfoy: pure-blood royalty. And that’s where the season ends!

          Honestly, while this episode is very solid, I was kind of hoping for something bigger. Last week’s episode was so fantastic in mixing in the current character drama with the events in the past, and this week the period in time they visited was kind of a footnote. The new character of the time period wasn’t particularly explored and was only in a small fraction of the episode, making him feel like more or less filler content.

          Other than that, I felt that the episode overall was extremely satisfying, especially for those who’ve been watching since the beginning. Every character got a moment in the spotlight regardless of how small, and the twists at the end made it very exciting for Season 2, should the show return. I sincerely hope we don’t have another Agent Carter situation on our hands, where a season finale ends with a ridiculous twist only for the show not to be continued. I’ve heard conflicting reports over the likelihood of Timeless’s renewal, so I can’t say anything for sure, but I’d like to close off with this:

          Watching and reviewing this show has been just fantastic. I loved seeing Timeless grow from a very “meh” show that I only checked out because I had nothing to do on Monday nights to something I actively looked forward to, theorized about and discussed with friends and family. While it’s had rough patches here and there, once Timeless found its footing and decided what show it wanted to be it truly proved it was worth tuning into every week. I’ll sincerely miss checking out what the Time Team was up to every Monday if they don’t return, and if they do you can bet I’ll be there every step of the way.

          #RenewTimeless

FINAL SCORE

8/10

Great