The Video Game Critic

VideoGameCritic wrote:I am actually reviewing Dragon's Dogma, but it's coming along slowly.

Is it the Dark Arisen version? That's the one you should be playing.

ProTip: wolves hunt in packs!

VideoGameCritic wrote:I am actually reviewing Dragon's Dogma, but it's coming along slowly.

Awesome! I can't wait to hear what you think of it.

Gentlegamer wrote:ProTip: wolves hunt in packs!

I GRANT YOU FIRE'S BLAZE!

All I can say about the game recommendations in this thread:

They're masterworks all, you can't go wrong.

Something just made me think of another game:

Darksiders (Xbox 360)

It's like Zelda with God of War combat

Critic, I know you get a million recommendations a year, so I've always been very conservative with my game suggestions to you, only giving them if I think they're strongly warranted (less than 10, or maybe 5, games in the past 10 years). So, for that reason, I hope you'll give some strong consideration to the 3 listed below, all of which I've mentioned in the past.


North & South (NES): This is a genius action-strategy game (set during the Civil War, with a dose of modern humor) that truly must be played in order to comprehend its brilliance (read about it or watch Youtube videos, and you might be tricked into thinking its mediocre). By now you've played so many games, that you might think you've tried everything--but there is truly nothing else like North & South. Is it an A? I don't know... it might be or it might be a B. But, having a decent idea of your gaming tastes, I'm confident that this will be earning a decent grade and a "hidden gem" icon. It's the uniqueness of this game that is the main reason for me recommending it. It's hard to describe, so I provide this for more info: http://www.defunctgames.com/review/1032/north-south .

Final Fantasy VII: I'm not recommending this based on the claim that it's the best RPG ever or anything like that. It deserved an A in the late 90s, but I hear that it hasn't aged well-- so maybe it's only a B or C now. Regardless, I recommend this game, because, of all the games that you haven't yet reviewed, in my opinion FF7 is the most glaring omission from the site. And, while I think 99% of RPG reviews could be done by an RPG Critic, Final Fantasy 7 is in the rare 1% category where I think your readers really would not only prefer, but need, your review. You wouldn't have let the Platformer Critic do your review of Super Mario Bros., would you?

Final Fantasy Tactics: Final Fantasy Tactics is in my top 2 games all-time (I can never decide between this and Panzer Dragoon Saga). IMO, it also has the best story of any game ever. But neither of those is why I recommend it. Normally you could pass on this game. But, you gave Vandal Hearts an A+ and loved that game, so that's why I recommend this. FFT is the same style of game as Vandal Hearts, but FFT is almost universally considered a superior game.

Retro STrife wrote:North & South (NES): This is a genius action-strategy game (set during the Civil War, with a dose of modern humor) that truly must be played in order to comprehend its brilliance (read about it or watch Youtube videos, and you might be tricked into thinking its mediocre). By now you've played so many games, that you might think you've tried everything--but there is truly nothing else like North & South. Is it an A? I don't know... it might be or it might be a B. But, having a decent idea of your gaming tastes, I'm confident that this will be earning a decent grade and a "hidden gem" icon. It's the uniqueness of this game that is the main reason for me recommending it. It's hard to describe, so I provide this for more info: http://www.defunctgames.com/review/1032/north-south .

I can absolutely vouch for North and South, at least as a two-player game. My cousin and I rented this game over and over growing up and would play it together for hours. A few years ago when I was on summer break from college and he was waiting to get hired on to a new job we spent some time together playing old 8-bit and 16-bit games and we still had a lot of fun with this one.

Here's another game I don't think I've seen recommended to the Critic before:

WWE All-Stars: As NBA Jam is to basketball and Blitz is to football, this game is to wrestling: a simplified, over-the-top, arcade-like experience. Has a large roster of both classic wrestlers and modern ones and a fair number of different modes. The characters are colorful and cartoonishly exaggerated in appearance, and all the moves are similarly larger-than-life. The mechanics are closer to a fighting game than a hardcore, simulation-style wrestling game, not far removed from a game like Saturday Night Slam Masters from the 16-bit era. A fun pick-up-and-play game with a lot of unlockables, and perfect for when you have friends over. It came out on a bunch of different platforms: PS3, 360, PS2, PSP, Wii and 3DS.

"Skyblazer" is a solid SNES platformer. It's short, not too difficult and has a password feature so you should have no trouble finishing it to review.

I would be interested in your take on "Dracula X" for SNES. I haven't played it, but I'm a big fan of "Dracula X" for the Duo.

Some awful games you should review:

Action 52 (NES) It's amusing to play on an emulator for free, but they wanted $200 for this mess. It was an unplayable cash grab, making it arguably the worst commercial game of all time when it was first released.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (NES) Made (in)famous by the Angry Video Game Nerd. The control is so sluggish and the random enemies so ridiculous in the later levels.

Back to the Future Part III (Genesis) I beat this the other day. The infamous first stage is the most fun part. It's downhill from there.

The Terminator (SNES) You need to be a gaming god to even complete the seemingly infinite first stage.

The Vector Pilot homebrew for the Vectrex comes to mind:

http://www.kristofsnewvectrexgames.comli.com/

Heck, I'd be happy to loan out my own copy for a review. I really would enjoy reading The Critics take on this homebrew

Deca Sports (Wii) could best be described like this: Cheap, waggled control, and perfect to rip to shreds.

Once more, I'd like to recommend Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. If Majora's Mask gave you a bad taste in the mouth try this one, it offers all the classic Zelda charms.

Another great game is voor modern retro-style gamers is Shovel Knight. This amazing platform game will actually get a fysical release this October on Wii U, 3DS, Xbox One en PS4!