scully1888

@PikaPhantom Just for the record, when I review games I prefer to do it in my own little vacuum where I don't discuss them with any other writer, so Damien and I never had a conversation about this one.

@SilentBluntman AI is absolutely a tool that can provide answers but, as I explained in the examples I gave, those answers aren’t always correct. Indeed, the same question gave me a different answer to the one it gave you.

If the term offended you I genuinely apologise, but I respectfully reserve the right to keep it there because, by definition, it simply isn’t a term that relates to disability: if I thought it was in any way, shape or form I clearly wouldn’t include it. I have disability in my own family and I’m strongly against people making light of it.

The review clearly gives a scenario in which someone comes home from work, can’t be bothered doing exercise and collapses onto the sofa, before referring to THOSE people as couch potatoes.

It then goes on to point out that the mode is actually designed for people who struggle to perform exercises while standing – I make a point of ensuring the mode’s most useful purpose is highlighted – before going back to the original scenario and continuing the joke which, again, was aimed at non-disabled people (including me, the writer) who just can’t be bothered getting up.

In the pros and cons at the end I then again explicitly point out the accessibility benefits of the mode, in case there was any doubt that I do actually acknowledge who would benefit from it the most.

It was a light-hearted remark aimed at people like me who like the idea of a fitness game but lack the motivation to commit fully to it and, once again, was in no way aimed at disability, because neither is the term.

Once again, I’m sorry if there were hard feelings, but I stand by the text.

@SilentBluntman With the very greatest respect I can muster, I will never have ChatGPT or any other AI tool rewrite my own words, and from "one writer to another" as you put it, you must surely understand that.

The reality is that ever since it was coined by a cartoonist in the 1970s, the term 'couch potato' has always referred to people who consciously choose to sit on the couch and watch TV instead of doing exercise, with the emphasis on 'choose to'.

It has never been a term that refers to people with disabilities who can't make that choice, no matter what an algorithm tells you. If you ask ChatGPT about me, it credits me for books I never had anything to do with, so I'd respectfully suggest that it's certainly not infallible. But if you absolutely insist on referring to it for advice, it told me this:

"The term "couch potato" is generally not considered ableist in the traditional sense of the word, as it doesn't specifically target a group of people with disabilities or impairments. The term typically refers to someone who spends a lot of time sitting on a couch, usually watching TV, and is often used humorously or critically to describe a sedentary lifestyle."

With the last of my respect, I'd politely suggest you focus your attention on people who actually do have discriminatory viewpoints, because time is finite and I'd wager your energy would be best spent preaching to someone other than those already converted.

@SilentBluntman There was certainly no offence intended, it was supposed to be a joke aimed (I thought quite clearly) at non-disabled people – I even went to the effort in the article to ensure I differentiated between people who actually do have physical impairments who would benefit from the sit-down mode (and listed that as a Pro at the end of the article), and people who don't necessarily need that mode and are just too lazy to get off the couch and do the full standing routine. It's the latter who were the target of the joke, as the article itself explains, and I'd hope anyone who knows me knows I wouldn't dream of poking fun of disability.

@1UP-HUSKY Haven't noticed any major occurences of it not registering punches this time, to be honest. That doesn't mean it won't happen depending on your own setup / punch style but it's generally been fine for me.

@norwichred I'm well-read on Senna's career and its tragic end, thanks. The game celebrates F1 racing between 1980 and 2020, and Senna was one of the best drivers from that period. It's in no way inappropriate to simply say his name – he was one of the best to ever do it, and he shouldn't just be struck from the history books or only whispered about in hushed tones for fear of attracting people who who never knew him in the first place but somehow express deep offence any time his name is merely uttered, as if he was an F1 Voldemort. Plus, most of the other best drivers have really difficult names for headline puns and I'd like to see Schumacher better one than I did ❤️

@gcunit You always start at the back. It's arcade-like enough that it's very much possible to get to the front.

@Poodlestargenerica Yes, I am.

@rjejr As you note, there's a $30 pack, so it's not quite the same price as Tears of the Kingdom. Regardless, it will go free-to-play eventually, and the review will still be valid then.

@Chaotic_Neutral I didn't cover the performance in online multiplayer because there's no online multiplayer. But if you'd like me to make something up, let's say 'about the same'.

Well, you know what they Smurf:

"Early to Smurf, early to Smurf, makes a Smurf Smurfy, Smurfy and Smurf"

@PARK1755 Completely different types of product (DLC of mostly old tracks versus full game with entirely original content) viewed in completely different contexts and reviewed by completely different writers. But other than that, sure

@benmalsky198 My friend, I address this in the review. Yes, I'm delighted to see Nickelodeon characters from the past 30 years in the game. But having Rocko and Oblina in there doesn't magically fix the fact that playing it was annoying me.

@benmalsky198 All I can say is:

1) This is a review of the Switch version. How well it performs on PS5 has nothing to do with it.
2) We already waited a few days with the review because we were under the impression a day one patch was coming, we couldn't hold it off for much longer. Even if a patch does come it's going to have to be bloody good going to get it up to the same standards as Kart Racers 2.
3) I know they do, but because of the performance issues they often appear too late to react to.

@benmalsky198 I think you're taking some of this a bit too seriously, mate. The Garfield thing was just a joke: as someone's already explained, there are already awful Garfield karting games so it was just an attempt at humour by referencing them. The JoJo Siwa thing was just a bit of fun too. The important things are the performance, the shortcuts and the items, all of which ruined the experience quite a bit for me. If you disagree and you're enjoying it then I'm really happy for you, but leaving me five comments (and counting, I'd imagine) telling me why you don't get the review is a bit unfair considering there are over 1000 words there in which I explain the score.

@duffmmann Well, like I say, you have to ask for permission for these things, you can’t just put a big collage of character art on a cover and sell it. Playtonic were a great help and provided us with all the print-quality artwork we needed.

Thanks for the write-up guys, really appreciate that. Nice wee surprise.

To those asking about the choice of Yooka-Laylee on the cover, @martynstuff has already touched on part of it but let me clarify a bit more.

As well as the sections covering every Mario and Sonic game, there's a big bit at the back of the book covering 50 other notable platformers, and one of those is Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (notable because it's a spiritual successor to DKC).

I didn't want to put Mario or Sonic on the cover because there are so many books with Mario on them, and Sega has its lawyers on speed-dial, so I gave Playtonic a shout and asked for permission to put Impossible Lair on the cover instead.

I personally think it's the perfect fit because it's a lovely, colourful piece of art, and it makes it clear that the book isn't just ticking the usual boxes, and is actually covering a (hopefully) interesting range of titles.

@WoomyNNYes I used the triggers because to be honest it didn't really feel like it affected things too terribly. There's the option to use the right stick for acceleration and braking instead if you want analogue controls for it, but it's the sort of game where the racing isn't so nuanced that you really need it too much unless you're really taking it seriously and want to top the leaderboards. Hope that helps!

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree here. For what it's worth, I am a huge fan of racing games (which is why I'm asked to review so many of them on here), and as an old fart pushing 40 I'm a huge fan of all things retro too.

This wasn't a case of someone who hates this type of thing being asked to cover it, this was a case of someone who loves this type of thing feeling like it's being over-saturated now, and I personally don't think that's a particularly outrageous thing to point out, as long as it's pointed out with evidence (i.e. the numerous high quality retro racers rhymed off at the start).

@DestructoDisk I don't want to hijack these comments and turn it into a back-and-forth about what constitutes a review, but I have to admit that I just can't fathom this "public facing" versus "personal" thing. My reviews are public-facing because the public read them. They're also personal because they're my personal opinion.

It is impossible to give a review that doesn't "come from deep personal preferences". That's the very definition of an opinion. If it isn't my own "personal preference" then it isn't my opinion. Would you rather I pretended not to have an opinion, and just second-guess what every other publication is going to say so that my review matches theirs?

If you wish to discuss this further I'm easy to find elsewhere: like I say, I don't really want to take over the comments here.

@DestructoDisk With the greatest of respect, I have a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism, have my full Media Law training and have been doing this professionally for 16 years. I also don't think it's fair to the rest of the team to be bringing up "legal red zones" out of nowhere, simply because you disagree with me giving my opinion in a review (which is exactly what a review is).

If you want to read something where there's TRULY "no room for personal opinons", I respectfully suggest you read the description of the game on the eShop, because I believe what you're looking for is a list of facts, not a review.

@DestructoDisk - I can't decide whether to be honoured that you think my review is important enough to be compared to nuclear war.

At the end of the day, as others have said, it's my own personal opinion, and even then I'm not arrogant enough to decide everyone should share it - the last paragraph literally explains that even though I think this whole 'retro 80s' thing has been massively overdone in recent years, it's all down to personal taste. "Your mileage may vary," I believe I say.

@accc - I don't think it's "ludicrous" to criticise the game for having corners that come out of nowhere. Track memorisation may be a key component to getting better at most racing games, but most good ones also have enough measures in place to make sure players don't have a frustrating experience when they play a new track for the first time – be that designing the tracks in a way that turns are clearly visible in advance, providing an on-screen map or simply flashing up big arrows. This game does nothing like that, meaning the first couple of hours with it are a bit annoying.

@Poodlestargenerica To be fair, even if they don't bother to actually read the words I've written (which isn't my fault), they than do actually get to a stage on the eShop where they're told how much the game costs before they buy it. If I'm dropping £50 on a game I've never heard of I'll at least do more than just look at a number.

"Go home and be a family-sized can"

@victordamazio I've had enough in the past with a former IGN writer borrowing my FIFA review without having to steal their ideas, haha!

@PickledKong Not officially, it isn't. A mod played by a tiny proportion of people on a dead handheld wouldn't affect an official release on a popular one.

@SmaggTheSmug Everything has to be taken on a case-by-case basis. In this situation, the publisher informed us that the patch was coming.

However, rather than imposing a review embargo until the patch was released (which would have been silly given it would have been five days after launch), the publisher instead made it perfectly clear to us that we were welcome to a run our review, but asked that we take the patch into account (which we've done in the interest of fairness).

The lack of the patch at this moment doesn't affect the score, however. The track creator's usefulness still remains to be seen, and time is needed to see 1) how well the DLC is incorporated into it, and 2) how many people actually make and share tracks before we can gauge how important that feature actually is.

@SmaggTheSmug I can't speculate about a 'cash shop' being added later because I can only comment on what's in front of me, and the review addresses why the Track Editor isn't covered: it's awaiting a patch that's due five days after launch.

@HamatoYoshi To be fair, two paragraphs that say it's far from a deal-breaker is hardly the 'focus' of the review. If I didn't mention the performance, people would be asking how it performs in the comments.

@BanjoPickles A Switch version of the PS2 GTA trilogy would shift a million copies without breaking a sweat. Handheld San Andreas would be a big selling point alone

Idea proposal: how about you don't get to moan about how "bad" a game is if you haven't played it yet? Lack of knowledge doesn't mean leak of quality. Claymates is a fun platformer and Jelly Boy will surprise a lot of people

@BloodNinja I stand by my figures but out of respect for the request @dartmonkey just made I'm not going to get into it because the topic's derailed enough as it is.

@Generic_Username Chauvin was only the fifth US cop in 15 years to be convicted of murder, despite the sheer number of minorities killed by the police. Whether you like it or not, the protests ensured that case didn't disappear over time and that the media wouldn't get bored of it.

Regardless, this conversation is straying wildly from the point. It speaks volumes when an article about how a game with a strong female protagonist empowered a young girl inevitably ends with arguments about Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights, two subjects that should have nothing to do with the topic, but that people always lump together as 'nuisance' topics they don't like "being rammed down their throats".

@Lordplops I only address people with the same level of decency they choose to treat me with. The article is an entirely positive one, and comments like yours are entirely negative. The issue isn't "if the site can't handle these comments, it shouldn't run these stories", because that's going down a disingenuous "you can't silence us" route while at the same time trying to silence the articles themselves. The article isn't the problem, so it doesn't need to be fixed in any way. The problem is how some people choose to react to it.

@Generic_Username Go for it then. Do something about it. Because at the moment all I see is you saying "something should be done about this" while at the same time complaining that people are trying to do something by speaking out about it and making sure the narrative doesn't run out of steam.

It feels like you're saying "this is a problem, but it's not MY problem so I don't want to know about it".

@Generic_Username But how can that action be taken if you're then going to complain that there's an "agenda" that's "constantly being forced down our throats"?

Forgive me for saying so, but it comes across like you want some sort of nondescript 'action' to be taken, as long as it happens quietly so you don't have to hear about it. That you can say "there's a problem with discrimination here" then wash your hands of that and complain any time someone tries to publicly do something about it. That isn't really how it works: if things are going to change the message needs to be spread wider, not buried privately.

@Lordplops "I do only come to this site 'for games', thanks - it's called Nintendolife for a reason, you know?"

Yes, I do know it's called that for a reason. That's why it's called Nintendo Life and not Nintendo Games. Someone literally wrote an article about how NINTENDO affected their LIFE, so what's the problem?

@Generic_Username While the general "everyone should be treated fairly" mindset is a positive one, I don't agree with your suggestion that there's an "agenda" or that anything's being "pushed onto" people in the media. It's very easy to be a straight white male and say "hey, everyone should be treated the same" and feel like you've done your bit but that won't ever make a difference.

At the end of the day there are plenty of people – be that people of certain genders, ethnicities, sexual orientation etc – who are discriminated against, and people and organisations are fighting against that discrimination for a number of reasons: partly to show these people that they aren't alone and they have support in society, and partly to put pressure on those who disagree, and make it clear to them that discrimination is wrong.

If you feel like it's an "agenda" and it's being "pushed on" you then I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm sure the inconvenience of watching some footballers kneel for five seconds or reading an article about Metroid pales in comparison to the abuse some people receive on a regular basis. That's why there's an upsurge in support.

@HamatoYoshi I'm a freelancer, I'm not under any obligation to say anything about other articles on the site. I could have stayed away and kept quiet if I wanted to, but I chose to support the article. The reality is that whether you like to admit it or not, people don't just come to this site "for games", Nintendo Life has been publishing personal pieces for a long time too. I wrote one here three years ago about how getting an NES for Christmas changed my life (https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/12/feature_how_one_nintendo_christmas_shaped_the_rest_of_my_life). Funnily enough, though, nobody in the comments of that one was moaning about Nintendo Life posting an article about someone talking about what gaming meant to them as a child. Almost as if there's more to this one, and when people say "we don't come here for personal stories" that's not really what they mean but they're not brave enough to say it.

This is a fantastic article, and I'm glad Super Metroid helped you feel better about yourself. I just hope some of the ignorant people complaining about it in the comments find something that helps them feel better about themselves too in the future, because moaning about someone finding happiness is a pretty sad place to be in.

@Edu23XWiiU I meant more if you were out of ammo for that particular weapon

@Slowdive Afraid I reviewed from a digital code so I can't tell you, sorry!

Stumble Bundle.

@Anti-Matter With the greatest of respect though, you can't just watch a video on YouTube and use that to form a solid judgement of how good the game is. Sure, it lets you see the game running but it doesn't demonstrate the feel, the longevity, the bugs that only appear after repeat playing, etc. The proof is always in the playing, so while it's perfectly fine to watch a YouTube video and think "that looks okay actually", when you take that to the next level and actually argue with reviews written by people who have actually played it based on a video you've seen, there's less legitimacy to an argument like that in my opinion.

@Stocksy Just for the record, I'm a massive wrestling game fan (which is why I was asked to write this review) and WWF No Mercy is one of my favourite games of all time, so I don't necessarily think I'm an "average gamer" in this situation (hence the Fire Pro references etc). I have no issue with people disagreeing with my score but I can't go along with the suggestion that it's because I don't know my wrestling games.

@Prizm To be fair, the dialogue boxes are also accompanied by voice acting. There are no text-only boxes, they always have someone reading it out too.

@Terra Dedication's one word for it

@JayJ With respect, racing is one of my favourite genres, which is why I review games like this and WRC 9. If you disagree with my reviews that's completely fine, but please don't put it down to a lack of experience.

@HamatoYoshi I respectfully disagree with the claim that the entire review is comparing the game to the PS4 and Xbox versions. There are seven paragraphs about the game itself (for people who are new to it), and four paragraphs about how it compares to other versions (for people who have multiple systems and want to know how it stacks up). I think that's a fair balance that covers every reader's circumstances.

@Paulo Probably the trilogy. It's about half the price now and there's three games in there. Crash 4 is still brilliant, but it's more for Crash fans who are looking for more: if you're new to the series I'd go for the trilogy instead.