But, sometimes, something just doesn’t quite add up. You start to wonder if all of these reviews are really carefully considered by people who played the game to completion, focusing just on the merit of the game without unfair comparisons and influence from others already saying the game isn’t very good. It starts to feel like a bandwagon, and perhaps some reviewers are placating to the mainstream more than being honest and saying they enjoyed the game, or are distracted from giving it a chance in the first place.

The biggest thing that the game has going against it, and I would imagine the series always had, is its comparison to the GTA series. Without a doubt, the game is heavily influenced by GTA, of course, but that’s a very high bar of comparison for any game to live up to. The games from the GTA series, deservingly so, are perhaps the highest rated games of all time.

Personally, I’m very good at controlling my expectations, not listening to other opinions until I see for myself, compartmentalizing from comparing to other similar works, and finally, immersing myself into a story, no matter the medium. I’m not a professional reviewer, but I’ve been gaming for 25 years. I’m not a babe in the woods when it comes to identifying a polished, AAA title. And Mafia III is clearly a polished labor of love, with a decent enough budget (being owned by the same parent company, Take-Two, as Rockstar, developer of the GTA series).

Going in with fresh eyes and not even having ever played Mafia or Mafia II, I found that the the story is amazing (your cliché revenge story, sure, but done well); the characters are amazing; the acting is amazing; the location is amazing (New Orleans); the era is amazing (the ’60s); the soundtrack is amazing (Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Elvis, Johnny Cash, CCR, and many, many others); the graphics are amazing; the driving physics are amazing (weight, sliding, drifting — I played with the Simulation setting on); the stealth is amazing; the gunplay is amazing. Oh yeah, and there are gators, which are also amazing:

All in all, the game is simply well-made and fun. If you can enjoy it on its own merit, it’s a great game. If you compare it to GTA, of course it falls short, like any game would. Outside of being in the giant shadow that GTA casts, some of the main complaints I’m seeing are:

#1: It’s buggy. — That’s true; it is. The game crashed on me at least once every play session I had with it (which is apparently the case with most people who played the game). It would happen after playing for a few hours. Strangely, it didn’t bother me that much. Considering the way games have evolved to auto-save and load quickly, it was never really an issue of losing my progress or having to wait an absurd amount of time to get back into the action. If this were an older game, where much of the difficulty lied in the fact that after you reached a milestone, you had to survive just in order to manually save or else you’d completely lose your progress and have to start all over again, that would indeed, be control-throwingly infuriating. And sure, like any game with the complexity of an open world like this, there were other bugs, but mostly they were fun or funny. Nothing really that ever caused me to fail a mission or die because of poor mechanics or camera angle issues.

#2: It’s repetitive. — Again, that’s true; it is. The missions were very grounded in reality, without anything too wild or imaginative happening. Again, this isn’t GTA. There are no variety of missions involving planes, helicopters, tanks, or aliens. It was just straight, back to basics, gritty, on the ground, hand-to-hand, knife, and gun fighting. I really enjoyed it and it never became repetitive in a tiring way. It was repetitive in a fun, replayability kind of way.

#3: Bad AI. — As long as you play on the hardest setting (which I would recommend for most modern games anyway as they generally make games too easy these days), it was challenging enough, especially when enforcers were called in, who seemed to have their AI or aggressiveness turned all the way up. It seems though that it’s impossible to please the current generation of reviewers these days concerning AI, as they often complain about it not being smart enough, but then when a developer makes the AI really smart and strong, they complain about that too. I feel for developers as this is a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” situation.

#4: No online mode. — I actually don’t recall anyone complaining about this, but just for good measure, I’ll cover it anyway. Honestly, breath of fresh air. Games have become too focused on online play, and I was really needing a fix of some strictly story-based gameplay. There are also 3 upcoming story DLCs that I’m looking forward to, especially the third and final DLC, titled “Sign of the Times,” which focuses on the Charlie Manson cult aspect of the late ’60s that I had in the back of my mind and was wondering if anything like that would make an appearance in the game while I was playing, as it was such a crucial part of the history of the late ’60s. So, that answers my question on that.

Bottom Line

The game clearly got off to a rocky start, which needed some patches and a few more to come I’m sure. But, I sincerely hope that people can look past those issues and the bad reviews and give it a try, because I simply don’t think they were significant enough to take away from the otherwise great game that’s there to be enjoyed. Perhaps that will scare most people away from a brand new purchase, but hopefully not from a discounted or used purchase at least, which is just around the corner I’m sure.

First off, I wouldn’t consider myself a diehard fan of the franchise. I enjoy playing many of the Crash games, however, so I was pretty excited about this release. As you can no doubt tell from the title of this post, there are some negatives to this newest installment, at least in my opinion. With the bad comes a lot of the good, though, so let’s take a look.

The Good: Level Design

You could easily argue that Crash 4: It’s About Time has the strongest level design in the entire franchise. To me, I get a ton of Donkey Kong Country vibes when playing a lot of the levels. Given my love of that video game series, that can only be taken as a huge compliment. Not only are the levels themselves brilliantly designed, but a lot of the mechanics are really fun to play around with.

The Good: Different Characters

The plethora of characters that you get to play as is definitely a strong suit of this game. While Crash and Coco are the predominant characters, there are also design-specific levels for characters such as Cortex, Dingodile, and Tawna. Throwing in these different members really freshens up the gameplay. Each of the aforementioned three characters plays extremely different from the rest, and they also have unique moves that make them feel organic.

The Good: Variety of Masks

I can’t tell you how smart it was to implement different usable masks into this game. Though you can only use them during certain points of each level, each of the masks offer dynamic and unique platforming. Sure, they do make the platforming pretty darn difficult at times, but all of them are mostly fun to use. Basing the story around the different masks was also a nice little touch.

The Bad: The Asinine Difficulty

Alright, here we go, it’s time for me to rant. The good news is this is one of the only slights I can make about this game. The bad news is it oftentimes hinders the game so badly that I don’t even care to play it. Let me begin by saying that I’m an advocate for games being somewhat challenging. Video games that are way too easy are sometimes hard to immerse into.

At the same time, games that are stupidly hard can be unplayable. If you can’t play a game without raging every two minutes, then why play it? That’s my philosophy anyway, and boy does Crash 4 have a difficulty problem. One of the biggest issues is the game goes from 0 to 100 in like two seconds. There really isn’t a difficulty curve, either.

Even just from a casual standpoint, this game is over-the-top. When you start talking about what you need to do to 100 percent the game, it just becomes obnoxious. It’s also not as if the game is a fun kind of hard. It’s cruel, unreasonable, and just flat-out mean. The goal was clearly not to attract newer audiences as even seasoned players will struggle with it.

The Bottom Line

Yes, Crash 4 is a good game. There are many elements that make it stand out as a great platformer, but the difficulty is just too much virtually all the time. It’s nice to not die 10 to 15 times per level, but that’s what this game is all about. For the record, my cousin has been playing the franchise for 20+ years, and even he was struggling massively. It’s about time indeed, about time to go see a rage therapist after this game.

Now, virtually everyone has already played the three titles in this collection. So, I’m not going to waste your time and review each of them separately. Instead, I’m simply going to list for you my main likes and dislikes about the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very hard for me to come up with my dislikes. That said, I still enjoy the collection, as a whole. But enough small talk, let’s get into the beef.

What I Like: Super Mario Galaxy

Alright, so let’s get this out of the way first. Super Mario Galaxy is my favorite platformer out of the three in this pack. It’s actually not even close, either, as it’s arguably my favorite 3D platformer of all-time. However, after I finally upgraded to a QLED, 55-inch, 4K HDTV, I noticed that 480p, Wii content doesn’t look too amazing.

So, no doubt, this is the game I was looking forward to the most. Outside of the utterly amazing visuals (seriously, Galaxy literally looks breathtaking in this collection), the reworked controls are actually very nice. I never had an issue with the motion control in the original, as I thought it was executed very well.

Yet, I have to admit, using the Pro Controller to play this game is a wonderful experience. Sure, there’s still motion control required, but remapping the spin/shake to a button was a brilliant idea. To me, it worked out better than I could’ve imagined.

What I Don’t Like: The Bare Bones Menu

Oh boy, I knew the menu system was going to be lazy, but even I was surprised. I know complaining about the menu seems to be nitpicking, but I think it’s fair game. What I was hoping for was some type of overworld to explore. In this overworld, in my mind, you would have the three games in different locations. Heck, this could’ve even included a museum celebrating the history of the franchise.

Instead, Nintendo did what Nintendo does. They slapped a bland menu system with the ability to select between the three different titles and their respective soundtracks. Yippee, so freaking exciting.

What I Like: The Visuals

This was touched on with Galaxy, but really each of the three titles here look fantastic. Nintendo nailed that aspect of this collection, which was one of the main points of doing it. Some people have complained that Super Mario 64 wasn’t expanded to a 16:9 aspect ratio. To me, though, it’s not too big of a deal because the game plays well at 4:3.

What I Don’t Like: Little to No Improvements

As much as I want to say that the 3D Mario games are flawless, they really aren’t. Even Galaxy has its camera issues. Super Mario 64 still feels like the same clunky and somewhat irritating platforming experience. Nintendo could’ve done a couple of things. One, they could’ve at least attempted to fix the awful camera a little bit. Secondly, they could’ve made Mario feel smoother and more modern. Really, the same problems could’ve been fixed for Sunshine too.

Look, some will say that not doing this is a good thing as each game retains the same feel. This still could’ve been achieved with the addition of improvements. Yet, Nintendo went the lazy path again. Boy, that’s a real shocker.

Bottom Line: It was a Cash Grab

Yep, this game was a cash grab. With the limited availability added on to the fact, it becomes even more apparent. However, do I regret the purchase? No, I don’t. Despite the complaints I have, the collection is still pretty darn good. You get three of the most famous Mario games of all-time on one, modern platform. They all look really good, and you can even play them on the go now. More should’ve been done, but it’s still nice that Nintendo did deliver on them.

Not only that, but it often gets overshadowed by Kirby’s Epic Yarn. For the record, both these games were released for the Wii. I personally don’t understand why this entry gets so much praise as I thought it was good, but nothing great. Meanwhile, Return to Dreamland is arguably my favorite game from the storied franchise (though other entries are close).

It truly feels like a return to Dreamland and lives up to its moniker quite well. Yet, what makes the game so great? I will attempt to sum it up in just a few paragraphs so you can get back to more important matters.

Classic Gameplay

I will be the first to admit that the Kirby series needs a change. However, at the time of this game’s release, it had been a minute since the world enjoyed the classic gameplay provided by the pink furball. This entry feels like a celebration of what made the original classics so compelling. You just run from side-to-side as Kirby with amazing copy abilities destroying everything in your path.

But, in this entry, neat secrets were added and some epic boss fights were added (just take a look at the true final boss). Side mini-games (the series has been known for this) were also included to mix things up from the main story mode.

The Soundtrack

If there’s something that most Kirby fans can agree on, it’s that the soundtracks are always amazing. In Return to Dreamland though, the score was as good as it ever gets in gaming. Indeed, it’s that darn good. From the catchy opening to the ominous caves to the utterly breathtaking final boss music, it doesn’t get much better than this (unless your name is David Wise).

Somewhat Difficult in Parts

No, this game is not that difficult. However, for a series that often gets maligned for being way too easy, this entry is at least somewhat hard in certain spots. Full completion of the game, for instance, can be a little tricky. True Arena is also ridiculous (granted you don’t use Tornado), but that isn’t part of the main story mode.

Actually Good Co-Op

So many games don’t do co-op gameplay well. For those who have tried, that is not the case with this game. Up to four players can play at any given time and while the game gets easier this way, it does provide all-out fun for all involved. Kirby has become the master of this over the years, but this may be the most refined.

I am convinced now, this game is a classic. It’s one of the better games on the Wii platform, so pick it up if you haven’t yet. If you can find someone else to play with you, it will be even better.

As for me, I have spent many years playing this game and even bought it (it was a gift) when it was being released in stores. I was back and forth with whether I hated it or loved it for many, many years. It’s all too clear to me now, however; I highly dislike Super Mario Sunshine.

FLUDD is Not Even the Reason

Ironically, the FLUDD mechanic is not why I take issue with this game. To this day, I actually somewhat enjoy the gameplay presented by it. From the different nozzles to the platforming capabilities, it makes the game unique. For the most part, the mechanics of it are also well-executed. The main hover nozzle responds and functions very well.

The Lack of Major Areas

Alright, so now let’s get into why I don’t like this entry. For starters, when you strictly count the main areas you explore (not counting the main hub and the few smaller locations) there are only seven “worlds” that you can access. Yes, they are quite large in scale but more on that later.

The problem is each world centers around water (some of them are pretty much nothing but water). Sure, FLUDD’s main gimmick is that it needs water to function so it makes sense. However, underwater Mario levels are infamous for being despised. So, when you factor in that virtually every level is a water stage, you can see the lack of interest build.

Admittedly, I actually like Ricco Harbor and Noki Bay. But, after a while, the level design gets a little old.

Blue Coins

This game didn’t introduce blue coins, but they function in a unique way. Instead of giving you five regular coins, you need to hunt them down to trade them in for shines. Cool concept, right? Well, the execution is horrendous and here’s why…

Firstly, there are 240 of these suckers throughout the game (factoring in there aren’t very many main stages). Secondly, and most importantly, they are in random (extremely random) spots. Some require you to spray water at specific locations to unlock them. Unless you go around spraying water everywhere, you probably won’t find them all.

Oh, what’s worse? Some are only available in certain stages of each world. To say that collecting them becomes monotonous is an understatement.

The Soundtrack and Linearity

I love Mario music and there have been some epic scores throughout the years (Super Mario Galaxy anyone). Yet, in this game, outside of a few locations, I never dug the soundtrack. It matched the environments (which is a plus) but lacked the flair that other games had.

Wait, did I just call this game linear? This is my number one pet peeve with this game. So many people claim it is open-world, but it really isn’t. While you can access levels in different orders, each level is linear in its progression. Outside of some minor exceptions, each level shine must be completed in the same order every single time.

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind linear games. If there were more areas to explore this wouldn’t be an issue. But, alas, I feel it is with this game.

Not Up to Par

For those who adore this game, I can respect that. Video games appeal to people in different ways and for some, this may be their favorite 3D Mario game of all-time. For me, it will always be my least favorite.

This is going to begin an ongoing series I will be conducting to document what I feel are video games that have become forgotten classics. Do any of you remember playing Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue? It is based on the incredibly popular movie entry but let’s just say that it did not receive the same level of praise and admiration.

It makes sense as all the Toy Story movies (outside of the fourth one which was hot garbage) have been amazing throughout the years and have sold extremely well. But, this game (in particular) has always been by my side and remains one of my favorite video games of all-time.

However, now some 20 years later, it seems that this classic has been all but forgotten in the minds of so many. At the time, it was received fairly well and also sold quite a few units (it was released on many different platforms). Today, though, I want to remind everyone why this game is still a joyful experience.

Pure Platforming Greatness

For those who did not know, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is a 3D platformer. In an era that was oversaturated with this genre, this entry did not exactly reinvent the wheel. It more or less stuck to the same tried-and-true formula that was established by games such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.

As a 3D platformer, though, it is simply brilliant. It is one of the purest platformers I have ever played and never gets away from what it is supposed to be. From level to level, you explore sandbox-style worlds to try and gain all the collectibles. Some may feel it gets too repetitive, but I disagree. Each level feels vastly different from the last as the environments change drastically.

An Unbelievable Soundtrack

To this day, I still believe this video game has one of the greatest soundtracks ever recorded. Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra were the composers and they deserve a heck of an amount of credit for the work they produced.

From “Airport Infiltration” to “Andy’s House” to “Al’s Penthouse,” the musical score is still amazing to listen to. Part of the reason I adore coming back to this game over all these years, in fact, is due to the soundtrack.

Nothing But Joy

Don’t worry; I am not claiming this to be the single greatest video game ever made. I understand it has its faults (it is way too easy, it is quite short, and the bosses are terrible), but the joy that resonates in my body each time I play it can’t be denied.

Also, what other chance do you get to take control of one of the coolest animated characters in the history of the game (Buzz Lightyear)? Couple all this together and you have an experience that all Toy Story fans should indulge in at least once.

Today, that is exactly what I plan to do. When looking back on the first entry, it is somewhat difficult to find realistic ways to improve it. The original Super Mario Odyssey is a near-perfect video game that all ages can sit through and thoroughly enjoy. That said, I have been a Nintendo fan all my life and hold them to a different standard.

As amazing as the first game is, there are some changes and additions that could be implemented in the sequel that could take it to an entirely different level (at least in my mind).

Addition: Old and Familiar Kingdoms

What made the first entry so intriguing was the wide variety of kingdoms that you could explore. Typically, this is what gives the 3D Mario games their appeal and Odyssey was no different. However, the size and scope of the kingdoms made each one feel incredibly unique and special in their own way.

Yet, as much as I adore most of the kingdoms (such as Cascade Kingdom, Sand Kingdom, Wooded Kingdom, and Metro Kingdom) I still miss the familiarity of some of the classic landscapes that you could explore in games past. For the sequel, I would like a bit of nostalgia, in other words.

As an example, as much as I love Bowser’s Kingdom in the first game, I was still expecting a more traditional style Bowser’s Castle to traverse around in. Imagine what could be done to Bowser’s Castle with the game’s playstyle? Even old locations making a return such as Bob-omb Battlefield and Deep Dark Galaxy would be awesome to see.

Change: The Difficulty Level

This one may end up being a bit controversial and maybe I am alone, but I did feel that the first time I played Super Mario Odyssey it was too easy to beat. Nintendo likes to attract its main games to wider audiences so this makes sense. Casual gamers can pick the game up and rather easily advance through it while the hardcore fan base can try to collect every Power Moon in the game.

Without question, I am of the latter half of Mario fans but let’s be honest, there are only a few moons that really test your true skill in the entire game. Thankfully, they are all (for the most part) a joy to collect and you do feel immersed the entire time. Yet, that old-school fan in me wouldn’t mind a more difficult experience overall. Even giving the player an option for a harder mode (ala The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) could be a suitable option for Nintendo to go with.

Addition: Boo!

The most frustrating omission from the first game was Boo. And, no, do not insult me and say that his cameo at Bowser’s Kingdom (Peach is wearing a headpiece with Boo on it) counted. Given the history of Ghost Houses and Boo in previous installments, I was literally waiting for a haunted kingdom the entire time during my first playthrough.

Nintendo even trolled me when the Odyssey crashed and you landed at the Ruined Kingdom. I thought that was the moment we would get a dedicated Boo Kingdom but that was not to be. So, for the sequel, please give that to us. I want a full-fledged haunted ghost house that you can deeply explore. And, of course, Boo needs to be an enemy you can capture.

Yes, there is a Boo power-up in Super Mario Galaxy but its appearances were scarce. This is not a logical reason to avoid adding him in the sequel as Nintendo has repeated power-ups for decades.

Change: The 2D Sections

Let’s get one thing straight; I utterly adore the 2D, old-school 8-bit sections that are present in the first entry. This was one of the best surprises for me when I first played it. I am simply suggesting expanding them into something greater.

Imagine this, you are warped into a 2D section and you notice that the sprites resemble a different classic Mario game. You notice they look like Super Mario World sprites! Given how that is my favorite video game of all-time, you can see the appeal for me. It could be more difficult to pull this off, but the payoff would be legendary.

Honestly, I could ramble for hours and hours on this topic, but it could all be in vain. With all the rumors that have been circling the web regarding the next proper Nintendo Direct, I just hope that we can finally get confirmation that Super Mario Odyssey 2 is actually happening.

Back when I was just a little tyke, I was getting my hands on and playing all the Mario games and was falling in love with the franchise. To this day, it remains my favorite gaming franchise (and always will be). However, I vividly remember constantly going online and viewing forums and best-of lists to find that so many people thought The Legend of Zelda series was superior.

I understand now that everyone has a right to their personal opinions but at the time, I was a mere child and resented the fact that so many fans preferred Zelda. For the rest of my life, I labeled the franchise as an enemy (a rival if you will) and refused to dive into any of the games. But, that would all change.

My Experience with Star Fox Adventures

Wait, what on earth does Star Fox Adventures have to do with this post? Certainly, this is what many of you are thinking. However, for those familiar with the game, it took a huge departure from what the series had been known for. It went from a rail shooter to a flat-out action-adventure game.

To this day, though, it remains my favorite Star Fox game. Yet, there was always something that stuck with me and that was the fact that so many fans dubbed the entry a Zelda clone. Not only that, but several deemed it inferior. It was then that I realized that I may have needed to change my colors.

Then There was Super Mario Maker 2

This journey seems oddly random and looking back at it, it definitely was. Either way, come 2019, I still had not pulled the trigger on the franchise and was still in denial. I could feel a change coming; I just did not know when I was going to snap.

Then, I got my hands on a game that I was highly anticipating. I dove hours and hours into Super Mario Maker 2 creating levels and playing them with my cousin. For roughly three months, I pretty much played the game non-stop and was burnt out and unable to get my creative juices flowing.

Then, It Happened!

What I needed was an epic action-adventure game where everything was created for me. A game where I could literally explore anywhere I wanted to find dozens of secrets along the way. It was then where I had a revelation; I needed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. My cousin arrived home from work and found me face down on my knees.

I looked up and confessed that I desperately needed the game. Yes, this sounds corny and overly dramatic but that is how it went down. And, the rest (as they say) is history.

As we stand now, Breath of the Wild is one of my favorite video games of all-time and is a game I still pump hours and hours of gameplay into. I now want to track down all of the Zelda games and play them in their entirety (at least the mainline entries).

Sure, no other game in the series is designed like Breath of the Wild and I am not expecting a similar experience with any of the other entries. But, the fact remains that the Nintendo Switch entry piqued my interest in the series and made me a fan.