Comments 1,920

Re: Turok And Turok 2 Have Been Updated, Here Are The Full Patch Notes

BulkSlash

I like the "option to toggle respawning enemies off" feature, it is quite annoying to clear an area and suddenly find enemies have come back again as it makes exploration more difficult.

I'm not happy about the "Removed Acclaim intro cutscene" though. The letters dropping into place with colourful explosive particles is quite iconic to starting the game up and it was a pretty effect too. It's a bit like watching a Star Wars film without the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

Re: Review: Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Switch 2) - A Serviceable Port Of One Of Lara's Very Best

BulkSlash

Sounds like they've reversed the gyro activation trigger, it should come on when the menus are closed and switch off when the menu is open! šŸ˜… Should be an easy fix for them.

I love this game, and at this price it's pretty much a no-brainer for me. Borrowing elements from the TV show Lost and the film The Descent just worked so well. It's such a shame the two sequels somehow lost what made this one special.

Re: Talking Point: What's The Best Firework Sequence In A Video Game?

BulkSlash

I remember being so impressed with the fireworks at the end of Super Mario World, but then not long after both Super Ghouls ā€˜n’ Ghosts and Legend of Mystical Ninja did them even better! šŸ˜…

Also, special mention to the final track of Ridge Racer Type 4 where the fireworks go off on the final lap just as the new millennium begins.

I do like the choice of the FFVII fireworks though, that scene had a lot of importance to the characters so that might be the best one.

Re: Reminder: Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws Demo For Switch 2 Is Now Available

BulkSlash

I had a quick wander around in the demo, the key thing I was excited to try was 21:9 mode as I have an ultra wide, but the image isn't 21:9 squashed into 16:9 which I could then stretch to fit on my monitor, instead its a letterboxed 21:9 and sadly my monitor can't zoom to fit. 😢 Oh well, given how many games have launched over the past three days it's probably a good thing I don't want to buy this as well.

Re: Talking Point: How Do You Play NES Games These Days?

BulkSlash

I play on an AV Famicom with the Hi-Def NES mod. I regret parting with my RGB modded console as I play all my old consoles (except this one!) on a CRT these days.

I don’t bother getting my original carts out though, I just use a NES PowerPak with a 72-pin to 60 adaptor. I also have the NES FourScore plugged in so I can be lazy and use auto-fire in Robocop and Super C. Finally, my dogbone controller is modded with an 8-bitdo wireless conversion.

After talking about this, I really feel like playing Mario 3 again…

Re: Hori's New Switch 2 Pad Lets You Lock The Home And Capture Buttons

BulkSlash

I’ve hit the home button so many times on my Pro controller. When I’ve been quickly moving my thumb to the Y button my thumb sometimes extends a bit over the edge of the button and catches the other button.

That said, surely the solution is to put those buttons elsewhere on the controller so they can’t be accidentally pressed rather than engineering a whole locking system.

If it could wake the console, I’d definitely be down for a clear green one.

Re: Opinion: I'm Celebrating Super Mario Bros.' 40th Anniversary By Finally Finishing It

BulkSlash

About 10 years ago or so I realised that I barely knew this game at all. I had it back in the day but as soon as I found the Warp Zones the only levels I ever played were 1-1, 1-2, 4-1, 4-2 and as many levels of World 8 that I could manage (which often wasn’t much! šŸ˜…)

So since then I’ve made a concerted effort to avoid the Warp Zones and to play all the levels Big Shiggy and his team spent time making back in 1985. Ironically, finding the Warp Zone is probably what made me a gamer- the idea that experimentation and exploration could be rewarded completely rewrote my idea about what games could be.

Re: Virtual Boy Is Being Added To Nintendo Switch Online

BulkSlash

I love that they’re doing this, I’ve just got my preorder in. I’ve actually got a VB but I don’t have all the games and I’d expect the 120Hz screen could reduce eye strain by being less flickery (unless Nintendo deliberately try to mimic it! šŸ˜…).

Re: Yooka-Replaylee Gets A Launch Date On Switch 2, Full Physical Release Confirmed

BulkSlash

I tried the demo on PC a few months back and the performance was shocking on Steam Deck and even on my desktop with a 5080 I was getting random frame dips and frame rates worse than Cyberpunk (and that’s with Cyberpunk running path tracing!) I’d recommend waiting for some performance analyses before buying this one in case they don’t fix the problems before launch.

Re: Mini Review: Arcade Archives 2: Aqua Jet (Switch 2) - Classic Aquatic Racer Lags Behind Wave Race

BulkSlash

I’ve enjoyed the game a lot, yes it’s only one track and a slightly different version of it, but it’s got that immediate satisfaction only an arcade game can give.

The funniest thing to me is that all these years later and Wave Race 64 is still the best jet ski racing game ever, and believe me I’ve tried loads of the alternatives hoping someone could scratch that itch. Aqua Jet is probably one of the stronger contenders too!

Re: Opinion: Metroid II Doesn't Care If Samus Lives Or Dies

BulkSlash

Ahh, I love Metroid 2. I beat it back in the day but struggled without a map, but I gave it another go after playing the excellent AM2R and found I didn’t need a map after all, as the game does a great job of encapsulating the game into manageable sections which can’t be reached until the right conditions are met. It’s probably my second favourite Metroid now after Super.

The fan made DX version looks awesome on an OLED GameBoy Colour, with the subterranean creatures and backgrounds often having a nice bioluminescent glow to them. It’s a real shame Nintendo didn’t do an official DX version back in the day.

Re: Nintendo Rolls Out Version 1.1.1 Update For Game Builder Garage On Switch 2

BulkSlash

I loved the idea of Game Builder Garage but I found it too limited in certain ways and what I really wanted was some sort of ā€œencapsulationā€ tool.

Too quickly the flow became a spiderweb of lines that were hard to follow. If I could build a unit within a container which hides all its innards when closed it would make navigating the main program flow a lot cleaner.

Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Donkey Kong Bananza?

BulkSlash

I'm late to the party as I wanted to finish the game before deciding on a score, if I'd scored it in the middle of doing the Zebra Rehearsal yesterday with its annoying time limits it would have been busted down to a 7/10. šŸ˜‚

I'd say it's a solid 9/10 overall. It doesn't quite score a 10 as I found banana discovery a bit more luck than skill and sometimes I'd waste a lot of time trying to find a banana that wasn't actually collectable at that point (the helpful parrot in Odyssey would tell you when there's nothing left to find). The larger level sizes perhaps contribute to more aimless searching for bananas and there seemed to be a bit less variety in missions compared to Odyssey.

I probably sound too negative, I had loads of fun playing it and pretty much played it non-stop every evening and for most of the weekends, so it's very addictive. I think because it's from the Odyssey team that I'm holding the game to a higher standard than I probably would hold any other game. Roll on whatever game they make next (hopefully it's Odyssey 2)!

Re: Talking Point: One Month On, How Did Nintendo's Switch 2 Launch Go?

BulkSlash

On the one hand, all I’m playing on the Switch 2 at the moment is old Switch 1 games, so the Switch 2 is kind of pointless from that perspective. Bananza should hopefully fix that problem.

On the flip side, I like the bigger screen (I think it looks fine, all these reviews saying it’s the worst screen eva and all I see is a nice, big, bright screen 🤷). I also rather like the Pro Controller.

The oddest thing with the Switch 2 is I used to play the Switch 1 handheld all the time, but with the Switch 2 I’m mostly playing docked! šŸ˜…

Re: Poll: How Many Hours Have You Spent In Mario Kart World So Far?

BulkSlash

I’ve barely played it, 150cc is just too slow, so I’ve gone back to MK8D. Maybe if they add a 200cc I’ll give it another go. Most of my Switch 2 time has been spent playing old games (Odyssey, Mario Wonder, Super Metroid and of course MK8D). Hopefully Bananza will reverse this trend!

Re: Third-Party Launch Games On Switch 2 Reportedly Sold "Very Low Numbers"

BulkSlash

For me at least, it's too late for many of these third party games. I bought them and beat them on Steam Deck ages ago. It will be the same for FFVII Remake and Rebirth, beat them both just recently. Nintendo really should have launched the Switch 2 at least 3 years ago. I'm probably mostly going to just buy exclusives on the Switch 2 and carry on with the Steam Deck as my main system.

Re: Review: Arcade Archives 2: Ridge Racer (Switch 2) - Still A Thrill, More Than 30 Years Later

BulkSlash

@Interesting_Bear_184 I agree about the steering feeling off compared to the arcade machine, it’s almost like the whole car sometimes moves sideways when cornering (rather than the expected tail sliding out when power-sliding).

I think it’s down to them compressing the range of an analogue steering wheel down to an analogue stick with a smaller range of movement. I’d seen the same issue in MAME and until now assumed it was an emulation inaccuracy, but now I think it must be correct but never happens on the arcade machine because people don’t steer the wheel so quickly.

Maybe Hamster could find a way to alter the analogue progression so that it increases more gradually to remove the more wild movements.

Re: Poll: So, Did You Order A Nintendo Switch 2?

BulkSlash

Worryingly my card still hasn’t been charged by Nintendo. I assumed preordering with them back in early April would have meant I’d get the Switch 2 on launch day but it looks like that’s not the case. 😢