Thursday, April 30, 2015

Pulp of a Dead Horse: Mario Kart 8


Mario Kart 8
Kart Racing
1-2 Players (Local) 1-12 (Online)
System: Wii U
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Year of Release: 2014
Beaten: July 20th, 2014

(Wow, this wound up being way larger than I expected. If you just want to see my opinions on the levels and the DLC overall the levels are bolded throughout, and the last few paragraphs are my actual criticism, plus a bonus?)

I haven't stopped playing this, I can't really put my finger on it, but something about this game has worked its way into my psyche and somehow I'm always up for a round of this game. I've always liked Mario Kart, but I've never really been too into them. I think DS is the closest runner up in terms of play time and interest. With 8 I found myself dreading three starring each Grand Prix as that meant a little less content to work through, contrary to some of my initial complaints. Before the latest DLC came out I was finishing up the game, I managed a three star on the final cup but I didn't want to stop. So I decided I'd go for some time trials, something I never really do, I had already done a cup and half's worth, so I figured I'd do about that many. In that sitting I wound up beating every single time trial available. In a desperate attempt to forcibly extend my play session, short of booting up some multiplayer (like a normal person), I decided to collect all the stamps, Miiverse exclusive things of no real importance, which unlock one by one by beating a Grand Prix in 1st as every character. Again, all in the same sitting. I fucking love Mario Kart 8.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Freemium Perdition: Final Fantasy: Record Keeper


Final Fantasy: Record Keeper
Turn Based Battle Simulator
1 Player
System: Android
Developer: DeNa
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: April 11th, 2015

Final Fantasy: Record Keeper is a free to play game for smart phones. The basis of which is that you play the titular role of the Record Keeper (or work for him, honestly I skipped a lot of the introduction), but things have gone awry. Now it is up to you to team up with heroes throughout the multiverse to fix problems and keep the records straight. This is a weird game to write about. I quickly learned my lesson in regards to free to play games, so a game has to offer something unique or very interesting to lure me in while toting "premium currencies" or the like. For the most part Record Keeper doesn't abuse this payment model, as is so easy to do. Which is good because for a game with a premise like that to be squandered on ridiculous fees would be a shame.

Too bad being designed for phones does it no justice.