March2024
Review Top Racer Collection (Switch) - Three Classic Racers And The Odd Backfire
One for the Gear-heads
Racing game fans who’ve been around since the SNES era are likely to be familiar with the Top Gear series. Developed by Gremlin Graphics (later Gremlin Interactive) as the SNES equivalent of its Lotus games on other consoles, it’s the closest Nintendo’s 16-bit system got to its own version of Sega’s classic arcade game...
October2023
Review VISCO Collection (Switch) - A Well-Presented Neo Geo Arcade Set With Online Play
A magnificent seven?
Unless you’re a Neo Geo diehard, Visco isn't as recognisable as Namco, Konami, Capcom, or the other big hitters they used to roll with in the early '90s arcade scene. And, although the company made strong impressions with the likes of Vasara, the majority of its work was for SNK’s Neo Geo hardware, as represented by the...
August2023
Review Adore (Switch) - Thrilling Monster-Catching Combat, But Switch Performance Falters
Quite the catch
Pokémon made waves when it debuted on the Game Boy back in the '90s, introducing audiences to a new type of RPG that went on to become a global phenomenon. Since then, many have tried and failed to capture that same kind of experience, though it seems there’s been a renewed push in the last few years for indie developers to try...
May2023
Violently political
If you think the title is little more than a healthy pun, think again; Pulling No Punches means what it says. Politically charged, littered with incendiary themes, and crammed with expletives, this Brazilian indie title is quite the surprise, combining combat with combative opinion. A scrolling beat 'em up in a retro style, its...
Mini Review Wild Dogs (Switch) - Solid Contra-Style Running And Gunning
Contra addiction
Wild Dogs borrows almost everything from Konami’s classic Contra series, and this is a good thing. Initially glowing in perfect shades of monochromatic green and formed like a beautifully detailed Game Boy title, it’s both visually pleasing and successful in its nostalgic reimaginings. Playing as mercenary Frank Williams and...
January2023
Review Breakers Collection (Switch) - Visco's Neo Geo Fighters Return In Fine Form
Give me something to break
Visco Corporation, responsible for shoot 'em up Andros Dunos (1992), was a Neo Geo stalwart, releasing 15 titles across SNK’s arcade and console hardware. One of its only forays into the fighting game arena was Breakers and its semi-sequel, Breakers Revenge. In 1996, the fighting game market was flooded. And, while it...
August2019
Review VASARA Collection - A Welcome Pair Of Bullet Hell Curios
Fly me closer, I want to hit them with my sword!
Visco Corporation may be best known for making 'unremarkable' games. We don’t mention this in a derogatory fashion; the games under their belt are far from bad, just arguably derivative and somewhat “safe”. Most of their arcade games were never given home conversions to begin with, making their...
