Game Review: Super Mario Odyssey

Hello Enthusiasts,

Mario is one of, if not the, most recognizable characters in video games. People who may have never played a game before would likely recognize out Italian superstar. Nintendo has an outstanding record when it comes to their most popular character's main games, and today I will be reviewing the most recent addition to the franchise, Super Mario Odyssey. There isn't too much that I could give away with this game, but please be warned that there may be some Spoiler's Below.

So the main story itself isn't too surprising. King Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach with the intention of marrying her. This time though, he has the help of a sentient hat that allows him to defeat Mario in battle. This leaves Mario stranded in a strange new land, where he befriends his own headwear companion, Cappy. Together, they will work to save the Princess from claws of Bowser. To do this, Mario uses Cappy as a boomerang-like throwing object, and Cappy is able to possess other characters, by basically placing Mario inside these other creatures to control them directly. This allows Mario to do things and reach places that he would never be able to otherwise. This on its own wouldn't be enough to catch Bowser though, so they will use these abilities to find Power Moons, which are used to power Mario's new flying ship, the Odyssey (which looks like a giant red top hat with a giant balloon coming out of the top).

This game follows in the footsteps of its predecessors in being an amazing entry into the series. The new mechanics are a ton of fun, the controls quickly become second nature, and there is a ridiculous amount of content. There are over 800 power moons that can be found (though you don't need nearly that many to beat the game) and obtaining them ranges from super easy to frustratingly difficult, though I never felt like I was being cheated by the game. On top of that, the game is insanely smooth, I didn't experience any drag throughout the entire game. The art is often very interesting, and the soundtrack is perfect for each world the songs are attributed to. This title has so much going for it, it's hard to even mention it all without sounding longwinded. It's honestly easier to just go over the very few drawbacks, so I'll do that from here.

Really, I have only two complaints about this game. The first one involves the lack of consistency in regards to the depth of the worlds. Some of the worlds in this game are deep, amazing, and an absolute joy to play through. Others are more on the alright side, and a couple are just built for a boss battle, which makes going back to hunt the few remaining Power Moons there kind of boring. While I can't expect that every level would be as enjoyable as the Metro Kingdom (my absolute favorite), there are some real highs and lows. My only other complaint involves the difficulty. Not including the content after beating the main game, this is the easiest Mario game in the series. I didn't really feel challenged during the main story, and the only reason I didn't knock out the whole thing over a few days was because of the large amount of content in the game (which is not a complaint). Again, some of the content after beating the main story is significantly more difficult (especially the Darker Side of the Moon), so Nintendo did do something to cater to those of us who did want more of a challenge, but in such a great game, I needed to address any issues that I had.

Overall, this game is still one of the best on the Nintendo Switch. It's a bunch of fun, with hours of content to keep you entertained. I think even newer players to the series will find a lot to enjoy here. If you have a Switch and you haven't picked up this title, you're doing something wrong.

I give Super Mario Odyssey a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Book to Movie: Ready Player One

Hello Enthusiasts,

Ready Player One is a story involving a border-line dystopian future where society hasn't crumbled, but the world is much worse than we have it now. Over-crowding and pollution have become rampant issues, and most of the people in the world have decided to distract themselves from these issues by diving into a wonderfully immersive VR experience called The Oasis. The Oasis has become so big over the years that it is the most lucrative business in the world. However, the creator/owner has recently passed away, leaving his fortune and the rights to the The Oasis up for grabs. Rather than leaving them to a trusted friend or family member (because he apparently didn't have either of those things), his last wish was to have the people in The Oasis participate in an elaborate easter egg hunt to decide who gets it all. Those who primarily participate in this are professional egg hunters, such as our main character, Wade Watts (or Parzival as he's known in The Oasis), and a big corporation called IOI.

Here are the basic highlights: There's an endless VR world with too many references to count (mostly from the 80's), some heavy-handed commentary on society, and a big evil CEO.

The novel was written by Ernest Clines, and it was later adapted into a film that was directed by Steven Spielberg. The book and movie may have the same basic plot, but nearly all of the details were changed for the film. Did one do it better than the other? For many, the immediate answer is yes, the book was much better than the movie (as you get with every adaptation), but I think this is more debatable than people often think. This starts with something that is leaned on very heavily for both adaptations, references to 80's pop culture. Due to the nature of the easter egg hunt, many people have become infatuated with content from the 1980's, so there are a ton of references throughout the story. By the very nature of the mediums that the audience experiences the story through, this is going to be a lot smoother in film. The book will have an entire page or two just describing all of the references Wade encounters in a room, while the movie can take two or three seconds to show us the room and move on. This means that the movie can reference more content in a shorter period of time and move forward with the story, rather than having to explain everything in painstaking detail.

Moving on, the easter egg hunt involves several challenges that need to be completed in The Oasis, and the challenges vary greatly between the different adaptations. I actually appreciate this, because it made the movie-going experience more interesting since I hadn't seen these challenges before. However, the book did do the challenges more justice. The movie's challenges felt like they could have been completed by anyone, where the challenges in the book were not as straight forward. In the movie, everyone knows where the first challenge is, it's a racetrack that nobody can beat. In the book, the first challenge is sealed away in a hidden cave on the school world, which is the only world that Wade really has any access to because he's poor and it costs money to travel from world to world. This adds an additional element to the story and makes it more believable that hard-core easter egg hunters hadn't been able to beat the challenge in the first few years of the hunt. Again, I appreciated that there were changes for the movie, but I feel like the book did these challenges better.

One difference between the two that I hadn't landed on either side of is the timeframe for the story. This story in the book happens over a long period of time, with months at a time being summarized until the next big event. The movie keeps the whole thing within the span of a week or so. While I appreciate that the movie pushes the idea that this easter egg hunt is a mad race once people get past the first challenge, I also really enjoyed the idea that each clue and challenge were so difficult and well thought out that nobody could get it right away. If I had to choose a side on this one, I think I would make it the book, if for nothing else than we get to see Wade grow up a bit as time goes on. The book version of Wade is definitely given more time to develop as a character than the movie allows.

There are several other changes and comparisons to make, but I can boil it down for you. Is the book better than the movie? Yes, but not by that big of a margin. The movie gets a lot of things right, and I think credit is due, even if it wasn't exactly a phenomenal film. However, if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, the best experience comes from doing them in that order. Enjoy the book for what it is, and enjoy the film for what it is. You'll enjoy the similarities and, if you allow yourself to keep an open mind, you may enjoy some of the differences as well.

Or you can hate them both, it's your call.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Retro Game Review: Luigi's Mansion

Hello Enthusiasts,

I love Luigi to a fault, he is by far my favorite Nintendo character and potentially my favorite in all of gaming. He's kinda shy, realistically terrified of all the crazy stuff happening around him, and super nice. He's usually given back seat to his more famous brother, but every once in a while he gets to shine on his own. Today I'll be reviewing what is probably his most well-known solo adventure, Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo Gamecube. As always, there will likely be some Spoilers Below.

The game begins with Luigi following directions to a creepy mansion, which he enters tentatively. As it turns out, this home is infested with restless spirits, which begin to assault our hero in the green hat. He's saved by Professor E. Gadd, who is wielding his ghost-catching backpack, the Poltergust 3000. He brings Luigi back to his lab, where we learn that Luigi won this mansion as part of a contest that he never entered, and that the mansion popped up out of nowhere a few days ago. We also find out that Mario stopped by the mansion a few days prior and hasn't been seen since. So it's up to Luigi to capture the ghosts and find his older brother with the help of E. Gadd and his wacky equipment. I don't want to give away more of the story if you haven't played this one yet, but it is a good one.

As is the case with a lot of the older mainline Nintendo games, this title still holds up today. While the graphics are dated, Nintendo hasn't ever taken the super-realistic approach to their visuals, so even the dated games still don't look that bad. The controls could do with some improving, but they are mostly solid and straightforward. The game isn't as easy as one might think, as there are a lot of details to pay attention to between capturing the boss ghosts and checking the map before you try to enter a door to ensure that it's not a false door that will hurt you. Some of the boss battles are a lot of fun, and the actual mechanics of catching ghosts is one that I still enjoy to this day and it surprisingly doesn't get monotonous. Other abilities are acquired as you progress, such as shooting fire or ice from the Poltergust, and these are used to find and defeat some ghosts, as well as for problem solving.

My biggest complaint with this game has to do with the health system that's in place. If Luigi gets hurt, there isn't always a good way to recover without hunting around for hearts in the furniture. This can get especially frustrating when you defeat a difficult boss and then have to walk down hallways that are still infested with hostile spirits. I understand not making it too easy to heal, and I wouldn't be opposed to the system of finding hearts if there were more readily available after some of the more difficult battles. Also, while I don't find catching the ghosts to be dull, there are small ghosts such as mice and bats that get annoying. They take no work to catch, but there are so many of them that it can be annoying. Plus, if they even touch you they cause damage, so you'll often have to walk through some hallways with your Poltergust constantly on to suck them up before they touch you. It can take away the feeling that there might be something about to pop out at you and replaces it with the feeling that there are constant annoyances.

Overall, this is still a solid title that has provided me with several hours of entertainment. While I would love to get more Luigi-focused games, I'm okay with only having one series for the character since this is it. While it isn't flawless, you could do a whole lot worse. It's a game that I would recommend to almost anyone, and I can't wait for the newest installment to come out later this year.

I give Luigi's Mansion an 8.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: Just Cause 4

Hello Enthusiasts,

There are a few video game series' that I have been a fan of for some years now. Mario, Splinter Cell, the Arkham games, just to name a few. One such series has been the Just Cause games by Square Enix, a fairly mindless series that I've enjoyed since the second game was released (after which I went back and played the original). So today, I will be reviewing the newest entry into this series, Just Cause 4. Is this the best game in the series? Read below with the knowledge that there may be some Spoilers Ahead.

Also, if you would like to refresh your memory regarding my thoughts about the previous title in this series, Just Cause 3, you can find that review at https://boredenthusiast.blogspot.com/2016/11/game-review-just-cause-3.html.

The very fact that I mentioned that there may be spoilers undermines everything that I love about this series, and it's a knock on this game that I cannot wait to mention. The forth installment in the series takes a lot of time going into the story of the game, something which none of the other games have done. This could be one of the worst moves possible, because these games have always been the video game equivalent of an over-the-top 80's action movie. The story has always been bare-bones so the player can get right to the action. But okay, maybe the team came up with a story that is so compelling and driven that we needed it, right?

The game follows our returning character, Rico Rodriguez, as he gets to another island, Solis, with another government that needs overthrowing. Armed with his grappling hook, endless parachute, and wingsuit, he attempts to overtake the weather-controlling weapon that has subdued the people of the island. Rico finds that he is severely overwhelmed and has to take down the government strategically rather than with a head on attack. To do this, he has to take down smaller stations and raise an "Army of Chaos". Sounds a lot like the previous games, but there are a few added twists. It turns out that Rico's father was one of the scientists who created this weapon, along with the uncle of one of Rico's  friends in the game, Mira. It also turns out that the mercenary group that has been plaguing Rico across some of his previous adventures, the Black Hand, is based out of this same island. The leader of the Black Hand, Oscar Espinosa, is the same person who controls the island, the weather machine, and was the person that had Rico's father killed. Also, it turns out the the Espinosa family has been working for generations to erase the rich history of the island, and one of the strong side stories is to uncover the true history of Solis, which may shed some negative light on the Espinosa family.
Also, The Agency (the government group that Rico worked for in the first two games) may have been behind some of this shady stuff, which brings Rico's old friend/enemy Sheldon back into the picture.

Look, it's a jumbled mess of a story that isn't as compelling as the short story of the third game (overthrow that dictator, who was the person that sold you to The Agency when you were a child).

Okay, so take out the story, what are the best parts of this game? Well, the diverse weather across the island is awesome, with twisters and sandstorms adding a lot of variety to the formula. The gunplay is as solid as it had been previously, with some new weapons added in to change things up. The game controls well overall and the environment is vast. There are also some fun additions to Rico's arsenal outside of new guns, such as balloons that can be used to lift up objects and added variety to some of the other gadgets that Rico has used in the past. There are some really fun side missions, both new as well as some that have carried over from prior entries. I personally have always loved the little side missions that don't take long, but add in some diversity to the game. And, of course, there are plenty of explosions to be had all over Solis, with more ways than ever to make things go "boom".

However, the story is not where my problems with this game ends. The graphics are a real downgrade from the third game, especially during the cutscenes. I mean, the characters in the cutscenes wouldn't look out of place in a PS2 game. Plus, several of these characters are wildly annoying, so having to hear them speak while they looked terrible was a bad experience all around. The driving feels kind of sloppy, more so than it had previously. Despite liking the addition of the balloons, I did not like the set up they had for the gadgets. Basically, you have to choose what your grapple does at any given time (it can connect things to reel together, it can add balloons, or it can add jet boosters to a surface). I feel like these would have worked better if they had all been mapped on the controller instead of having to choose what you're currently using, and to what extent. It was a good idea to add the variety, but it wasn't very well executed. I also wasn't a fan of the changes they made to Sheldon, who they basically just prettied up from the previous games.

There's also a problem that I can't seem to put my finger on the cause of, but it has to do with the overall feeling of the game. The third game felt so grand, everything felt so important and worthwhile, while this game just feels less important. I don't know, the stakes were still pretty high in the story of the game, but I just didn't feel as invested as I did during the third game.

So, how does this game compare with the others? I think it's mostly better than the first and second, but it falls short of the third game. It's not a terrible experience, but it was a disappointment after the third game blew me away the way that it did. The fact that I know this series can do so much better made me feel a lot worse about this game. There are better games that you can buy, including Just Cause 3, and I'm hoping that Just Cause 5 will continue the upward climb in quality that we were getting from this series prior to this entry.

I give Just Cause 4 a 5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Comic Book Review: All-Star Superman

Hello Enthusiasts,

For today's review I get to look at a nice, mostly self-contained story by one of the most prolific writers in comics. Not only that, but it's a story about the most famous superhero of all time, Superman! Today's review is of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman. Of course, you can expect some big Spoilers Below.

It's a story that starts pretty standard for the Man of Steel. Some scientists got themselves stuck in the sun, and Superman is rescuing them. It shouldn't be a big deal, as Superman's powers are actually powered by the solar radiation that he absorbs from our yellow sun anyway, but that doesn't end up being the case. Superman has absorbed too much solar radiation, and the overwhelming power is going to be too much for his body.

Superman is going to die before too long.

What follows is a series of stories where Superman tries to make the best of the situation. While he is fast-approaching death, the energy that's killing his is also making him exponentially stronger. He is able to easily pull off feats that even he would have struggled to complete before his overexposure.
It's a story of Superman trying to leave the world in a position where it can survive without him around, while he also works to wrap up the loose ends of his personal life. It's the age-old dilemma of "what would you do if you knew you only had one week to live" with the added twist of "you can basically do anything".

I'll just come right out and say it, this series is, to me, the greatest Superman story ever told. I loved every page and every beat of the graphic novel. It is more light-hearted and optimistic than a lot of DC stories, but it fits Superman perfectly. This is a story about why we care about the mythology of Superman, about why he's an idealized version of what we can be. It's a heart-warming tale, and one that could have easily been a whole lot worse if not in the capable hands of Grant Morrison. It's simultaneously thought-provoking and a feel-good story in perfect balance. Plus, it is a visual treat thanks to the work of Frank Quitely, who's art matches the tone of the story flawlessly. Everything about this series is something else to rave about. It's an important addition to the Superman mythos on several levels, from furthering his relationship with Lois Lane to having him overcome a Herculean gauntlet of feats. It even makes Jimmy Olson okay, though I can't say that he's not annoying, but that's just his character.

I have nothing bad to say about this series. If you haven't read it, you are doing yourself a disservice. I don't care if you don't regularly read Superman stories, or if you normally prefer the darker tales. Go into this and read it for what it is, and even if it doesn't become your favorite comic book, I'm nearly certain that you'll still enjoy the time you spent with it.

I give All-Star Superman a 10 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: Red Dead Redemption 2

Hello Enthusiasts,

Rockstar Games sure knows how to make a game that people get excited for. The company behind GTA isn't a one-trick pony, as they also have a series set in the old west. Today, we look at the newest entry into that series, Red Dead Redemption 2. Now, I don't do a lot of online gaming, so I am going to just be reviewing the single-player game. As always, there will be some Spoilers Below.

This game is a prequel to the previous title, Red Dead Redemption. In this game we play through the story as Arthur Morgan, an outlaw who runs with a gang led by Dutch Van Der Linde. The game picks up after a job that went very, very wrong, and the gang has fled from the law by traveling into a snowstorm on a mountain. This is where the tutorial takes place, as Arthur practices his hunting, horse riding, fighting, and shooting in order to keep the gang alive in this deadly wilderness. Eventually, everyone is able to leave the mountain and head to a more traditional old-west setting. From here the game does become more of an open-world game. I won't give away too much of the story, as it is far more compelling than I would have ever imagined it could be and I would hate to spoil it all. Just know that this is far from the weaker story-telling that can come from the single player campaign in GTA. I also loved that parts of the story were told from the perspective of Arthur's journal, as it added some additional back story and allowed us to see his character grow.

Let's take a look at the pros first. To start, this game is beautiful on just about every scale imaginable. The characters are incredibly lifelike, the landscape is vast and breathtaking, and the objects in the world are insanely detailed. Honestly, an alternate name for this game could have "Attention to Detail: The Game", as everything seems to have been thought of. Arthur's clothes will get dirty and muddy based on what he's been doing, the snow will get caught in his beard if you choose to grow one, and blood from wounds will stain his clothing. The detail doesn't stop with the visuals either, the sound in this game is phenomenally well done. The soundtrack is perfectly fit for a western, and the in-game dialogue is recorded in multiple ways to match what your character is doing (for example, the characters will yell if they are riding their horses with a bit of distance between each other versus if they are riding closer together). The sounds of nature are incredible too, with different animals having distinct sounds that can be identified without even seeing them. The actual gameplay is wonderfully executed as well, with outstanding gunplay, realistic movements, etc.

Long story short, if you are looking for a game that obviously had a lot of attention and care from the designers and developers, you found it here.

However, the game is not perfect. The biggest problem is the travel, as you are going to spend literal HOURS just riding your horse from location to location. I understand that there was a whole lot of effort put into the horse riding, and you will end up caring a lot about your main horse, but it ends up getting real monotonous. I feel like a better system would have been one like what some other games have done, where you have to ride to a location to discover it, but then make fast travel available. The game does offer a "Cinematic Mode" where you don't actually have to control the horse as you ride to your destination, but it takes just as much time, and you can't walk away or anything because you can still get attacked by bandits and the like while in this mode. My other issue is with the in-game money. I enjoyed this system at the beginning, as I would hunt and rob for a dollar or two (which is more than it sounds like in the old west), and slowly start to accumulate cash. I had to think about the things I would buy and how much work went into each cent. Then, around halfway through the game, one of the main story line missions basically eliminates the need to worry about your money and you can almost spend as you please. It wasn't a huge thing, but it did slightly impact my enjoyment of the game.

Basically, this game is awesome, though not entirely perfect. The main story is compelling, the side quests are fun, and you'll likely have a good time for a lot of hours. If you really aren't a fan of open-world games overall this is not for you, because it is very open world, but otherwise I think everyone can get something out of this title.

I give Red Dead Redemption 2 a 9.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast