AussieMcBucket

@KingMike Haha, thanks. Thought so.

@Zeeba Haha yes, we all just can't catch a break.

@Banjo- I've played a little of Origins, but it was at someone else's place. It will be cool to have that included, as well.

Oh, NOW you tell me. Seems like this wasn't for USA anyhow.

Even having played much of the original, I'm so down for this. Looks great. Can't wait to do everything.

@poyo_pie Sonic MOBA

That's what they said about "Sonic _____."
But hey, I'm glad they keep trying. Hopefully they hit the nail on the head this time. Maybe it'll be a game I even enjoy. Never really cared much for Sonic games. I actually thought the Frontiers demo was kinda fun. So there's that. 😋

@Xander76 Yeah, you could definitely be right. I also don't like it when the comments draw "obvious" conclusions. And to be sure, I, and likely many others here, have no real idea how or why EA made the game in the way that they did.

That being said, EA doesn't exactly have a great track record. Even just the aforementioned practice in the beginning of this article where they re-skinned the same game for several years. At this point, it's probably fair to conclude that there could at least be some laziness on their part.

Good review, thank you.

New name, same great taste. It's almost as if EA is trying to get the S2 versions to fail so they don't have to keep making them. They certainly did a good impression of this with Wii U.
Not for me anyway, just chiming in as an observer.

@Darknyht I just don't think our systems of business should be structured this way. It basically comes down to brand protection: "Well, the company has to live on, even if you were a big reason why it has made it this far." I was thinking about this with IGN's recent layoffs, which ejected Seth Macy and Brian Altano, among others. I've loved listening/watching them on NVC for years. I know other people have, too. My guess is that they are both senior staff and made too much money with too many benefits, so they were easier targets for the labor cuts. But they are a part of IGN. It's like just voluntarily replacing your body parts with prosthetics. Or maybe the Ship of Theseus paradox, though that sort of makes this a philosophical debate and not an ethical issue.

Yeah, I totally agree with your last bit. It's almost always about money. And if you make it to a certain rung of the ladder, then you get to wear a parachute and stay along to maintain the brand.

@link3710 Yes. 100 this.

See, this is why I keep all my games in a tin, buried in the backyard. That way, the man can't touch them.

@breach187 Oh, thank you. I don't usually go for those kinds of things.

@kal_el_07241 Ah, okay. Because of the drop in parity.

I mean, they feel very different to me. But sure, with the same parent company, there may be some mutual influence.

@Banjo- Agreed. Though looking at just your list, there are several I have never played. I have never finished Banjo, and I'm pretty sure I never even played Tooie. Hooray for Nintendo Classics, at least.
Oh yes. So much Goldeneye. I remember entire sleepovers where we basically played that allllll night. Man, was that fun.

@Banjo- Ah, bummer. It appears we'll never get that for Switch. So.
Yeah, I loved playing it in co-op with my brothers when we were little. I can't remember the controls. It will probably feel really weird now. But I do remember it being quite fun.

Whoa, this is sweet. I haven't played these, even though I think I have the first one on Steam from a sale way back when.

@kal_el_07241 But, this is a new game. It just got delayed for S2. Is it the timing or the fact that S2 wasn't the lead console?? Like, do you say PS5 is full of Xbox ports (or vice versa) even though they almost all come out together?

I agree, Preparation H is effective... ON THE "WHOLE."

Yessss, so glad this is great. It sounds like a blast. It's definitely on my "buy now" list for the rest of this year.

@Banjo- Yeah, that list sounds like a great idea. I'd love a new Jet Force Gemini, though it would probably be such a weird release today. I still need to finish the original.

I think we're all glad that Activision is coming out a real winner in all of this.

@Kid_Sickarus As long as you're not a wise guy with your ballot. Think "R" for "right." Really, really, right. You're gonna be so stinkin' rich. You'll be saying, "Sir, please, no more money. I'm full, Sir."

I hate this stuff, personally. I like to be in on the ground floor for new Nintendo consoles. These are for late-adopters. I wish they would give us more options from the getgo, but I understand why they might not. I'm definitely not buying a whole new console just for this, and I'm also not going to sell mine for like, a third of what I paid for it. That's never made sense to me. And as much as I love Zelda (the franchise), I think I prefer to have non-denominational consoles. Perhaps it would be a logistics nightmare, but I've always wondered why we can't custom-order our consoles with whichever color we choose (from a few options, fine). I loved my cobalt blue GBA SP. I would love S2 in the same shade. Alas.

Can you imagine? Then we wouldn't have gotten all those great games...

(playfully teasing)

So juicy...

WE WILL!!!

@Kid_Sickarus That'll be $5000. But you get a shiny watch. And a dinner with me - date to be determined later. You won't regret it. I'm very strong and some say a genius. Plus, my hands are huge.

@Kiz3000 😂 Thank you for giving a serious response to my unserious question.

@sarcasmasquach Yes, I understand that. Thank you.

Important to be clear that these are business decisions, not personal ones (presumably). I think there should be more personal compassion in business. I also think that the business structure that we are familiar with is broken, always was, and always will be. But the character accusations are perhaps not warranted. Sure, they still collect the paychecks and retreat to an island with their massive contractually ordained severance packages when the company goes under, but it feels more of a "hate the game, not the player" situation. I could be wrong though. There are certainly more socio-pathological examples.

@sarcasmasquach I feel like more CEOs should do that then. Make that line go up.

@KillerIsDead A bit bleak, no? They may find work, but it seems like it might not be in the industry for which they are trained. And sure, they may make a bit more money than us "blue-collar workers"(?), but I'm not sure what is making you wag the finger at the low-level staff. I feel like your indifference ought to be directed at the executive levels. That's where the decisions are made.

@nomither6 Because they're the best. #NintenDOMINANCE

@K1LLEGAL Stop thinking you can think what you want to think!

@Bolt_Strike I'm gonna say that the answer(s) to that question and your receptiveness to them are going to be subjective. But my responses would be:

• They basically created the template when they gave rise to a massive, easily accessible online matchmaking and socially connective platform with Xbox Live.
• I think they created achievements or at least arguably perfected them/made them mainstream.
• They have created at least a handful of franchises that have had huge impacts on the gaming community and other games that followed. Halo is an enormous one, even if its relevance has diminished in recent years.
• Xbox Live Arcade, as I understand it, was a new concept where independent, smaller developers had a platform where they could release their games through at-home purchases. It led to many great successes and plenty of beloved developers that continue to produce today.
• There are certainly others that I'm not quite thinking of.

@Kiz3000 How much longer do you think we have to wait before they finally reveal Switch 3?

@Kid_Sickarus What do you mean? The economy's about to turn a corner! Stay tuned. In two weeks, we'll have more to announce. It's gonna be big. Bigger than anything ever in history before, of all time.

@MackerelMan Yeah, ever heard of bootstraps, Xbox?

@Tyranexx No... );

@JohnnyMind Mina is really great. I was cruising and bruising through that, but I broke away to play Bananza for the DK Challenge. Now, I guess I'll finish up with DK and then go back.

@Joe11 Ahhh, okay. I see what you were going for now. Thanks for the explanation!

@Joe11 You lost me with Chekhov's gun, but otherwise I agree.

@AJWolfTill That's excellent. But also makes me very sad... 😢

Nearly "00" status! I'm still very excited for this. I hope the final results are worth the wait.

Why is it called an "electric" ocarina and not electronic?

Man, that console looks really slick. Very quality.

So wait, is the playable ocarina actually available for purchase yet? I haven't seen anything about it.

@Tempestryke It had better be, geez. A silly decision, otherwise. Oh, true. But I'm sure S2 would be a different story.
Ah, okay. Thanks.

@Tempestryke Well, it's since been delayed into next year. But that is really bizarre. I thought the others sold well for Switch. And am I wrong, or was there some sort of exclusivity for us at one point? Either way, seems like an easier one to put on the (red) hot new console.

After Captain Falcon shows up in the Zelda movie, then we'll get the new game announcement. Before Link finds Epona, he'll need a quicker way of getting around.
I've not really enjoyed the F-Zero games myself, but I don't much care for racing titles. However, I seriously adore 99. It is so well made and really fun. The series will definitely come back around at some point.

As far as the backtracking: What is described in the letter is more like a metroidvania game, which I'm not sure anyone that enjoys those games is upset about. I feel like it's the seemingly unnecessary backtracking that many do not care for. Like when they go, "Okay, now you have to return all the way to the beginning of your path to grab this one trinket" or "Rinse and repeat this challenge" without anything really changing in the process. It's (presumably) merely meant to add time to the game or to add some sort of barriers so that it doesn't feel like you can just easily get to the end. We all have examples of these, I'm sure, and I think that the review writers clarify such things when they point them out. "Get good" is also an odd... challenge(?) for those not wanting to backtrack, since backtracking as I have just described (and in the form I suspect is the actual sore spot for many) decidedly does not require you to be much better, if at all.

This feels weird to me. But maybe they are content with it. Probably didn't expect the level of acclaim this spin-off has gotten. I still need to grab it, myself.

@robotreptile I hope you saved first!

@Tyranexx I'm with you.