I just beat __

Super Mario Run

Nintendo's first mobile game (excluding Miitomo), and to date the only one to charge a premium fee. Mario Run is without a doubt Nintendo's best mobile game, and I'm not just saying that because it's their only good one; it's actually pretty great! It's not too different from Mario's console adventures, save for the auto-run mechanic, but the simplified controls don't hurt it much at all and I think this is a great fit for mobile. The main story is only 24 levels long, but there's a good chunk of postgame levels too; colored coins, Toad Rally, and Remix 10 add a lot of replay value as well. True, this game is more of a mobile tie-in than anything, but for $10 you could do a lot worse.

Pros
-$10 buys you everything - no f2p, gacha elements, or microtransactions of any kind
-Controls work great on mobile; don't feel oversimplified
-Colored coins in each level encourage multiple runs
-Toad Rally and Remix 10 add a lot of replay value on top of that
-Wide character selection compared to most other Mario platformers
-Content here is well worth the premium price

Cons
-$10 is kinda steep compared to other mobile games
-Game is more of a tie-in to the New Super Mario Bros. tetralogy, and you'll probably want to play those instead
-As with those games, the graphics and soundtrack are nothing special and are mostly reused
-Main story only contains 24 levels
-Online requirement is annoying
 
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Chromagun (PC)

The first time I played the game was on the Switch, where they have a demo. After finding out how difficult it is to control with just analogue sticks, I have decided that it's better to play on the PC where the mouse controls are more intuitive for a game like this: a puzzle-oriented first-person shooter.

Indeed, when one says "Puzzle FPS", Portal comes to mind since it's the most popular of its genre. The game takes a few cues from said game, since you use your trusty gun to solve puzzles. In this game, instead of shooting portals, you can shoot paintballs at things to alter their colour, which comes in red, blue and yellow. Amusingly, the game is not designed for jumping since doing so in this game is pretty much futile, so you can say the level design is more 2-dimensional than Portal is.

With blue, yellow and red bullets, they can be mixed to form a secondary colour, so you basically have 7 colours at your disposal (including black). The way the colours work is that droids are attracted to a wall or tile that matches their colour, so if a droid is blue and there's a blue wall in its vicinity, it will be attracted to it like a magnet, and having two such tiles will make it go between the items of interest. The only exception is when black is involved, as in that case, a black droid will not be pulled to a black tile. The game also has worker droids, which are spiked versions of it and can hurt the player character, and the worst part is that they can follow the player if it starts moving (which can be triggered by shooting at it), unless a wall or tile in matching colour is found. These are very annoying and scary because they can go around obstacles, and it's even worse if the black ones are in pursuit. Thus, in a sense, the game's a bit more limited in possibilities since it's not a physics game, as timing is not emphasised (even though there are some moments that require quick reflexes).

This game also has a narrator that seems to have some black humour, which is basically another thing that it has in common with Portal. Except in this case, the narrator is a human executive so there aren't any manipulative machines here. Amusingly enough, an Easter egg exists in this game where a cake is found in a secret compartment in a room.

Although I never played Portal, even I can recognise that this game is highly inspired by said game, and I guess the developers even acknowledge the similarities. It's a decent game, I would say.

Thank you for reading.
 
Super Mario Bros. (1)

Gameplay: It kind of works for what it is. It's simple and intuitive. But it's not good. Many of the mechanics are broken and outdated. Iirc there was only one real powerup aside from the invincibility star, the Fire Flower. You can't scroll backwards. Multiplayer does exist, but is basically just you take it in turns to attempt the game, and as such is much less powerful than in later games such as Super Mario 3D World and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. You don't get to jump high on enemies or anything. Speaking of enemies there isn't that much variety in that department and there's only one boss. No special moves, no cannons, swimming does exist but isn't that cool, no clear pipes, launch stars, dash panels, etc. Basically, it was really cool for 1985, but Super Mario has come a huge distance since, and as such it's very outdated. Gameplay gets a 4 out of 10.

Level design: One major flaw with the game is how short it is. 32 modestly sized levels, hard versions of them, and that's it. That being said the levels which are there are actually pretty good; they were genuinely challenging and often cleverly put together, such as the first goomba in 1-1 being a really effective way to get the player used to things. However, I certainly wasn't a fan of the fact that you get sent to the start every time you can run out of lives, yeah I know there was the A trick which let you start at 2-1, 3-1, or 4-1 etc. but it could still be really inconvenient and if you miss it then I think you have to start from 1-1. I'm not a bad player really, but I die all the time and ended up pulling out a save state every 30 seconds. Thus I think I'd say they went a bit too far with the difficulty. Lost Levels is understandably, that was always meant to be hard, but this, maybe an appropriate challenge for some but definitely not for all. Also I think they were too sparse on 1-ups and Fire Flowers - one barely gets to enjoy the latter beyond the first few levels. Level design gets a 4 out of 10.

Presentation: Graphics feel retro and all but taking that out they're horrible next to modern Mario games. The music again is retro and are some classics that have been reused and remixed for decades, but there was a serious lack of variation, like 6 pieces of music (Overworld, Underground, Underwater, Castle, Starman, Ending) if you don't count things like the game over, 1-up jingle, level clear etc. or the hurry versions. No dialogue besides like 2 lines, no real plot setting in the game itself, only true characters if we don't count enemies are Mario, Peach, Bowser, Toad, and Luigi, of which the two brothers don't really express any speech, interaction, or character at all, Peach is only really seen once at the end when she thanks Mario, and Toad just says you've shown up at the wrong castle. Bowser's just a speechless boss. Yeah there was backstory written in booklets and all but not in the game itself, and even if you do count it, it's still an extremely shallow and next to worthless plot. The retro/classic feel is the only real reason I'm not putting this one outright on the negative spectrum; the preseneation gets a 5 out of 10.

Conclusion: The game may have been extremely advanced and revolutionary 35 years ago, but it's not 1985 anymore. Not even the most powerful games in history can escape growing old, and this one definitely has. But it's still at least a little bit of fun, and isn't terrible or completely worthless - it can be nice to play a game and know how important it was back then, and you really feel like you're playing something which was truly remarkable for the mid 1980s. Verdict: 4/10.
 
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Luigi's Mansion 3

Originally intended to finish collecting all the Gems, Rare Ghosts, and Achievements, but eh, why not just go ahead and beat King Boo. This game doesn't forcibly delete your save file after beating him like the first game did, so that's good.

Anyway, this game is fantastic and the best game in the Luigi's Mansion trilogy without a doubt. The gameplay builds upon that of its predecessors, but there are a ton of new mechanics too, the most notable being Gooigi. Originally designed as the player 2 character for the 3DS port of Luigi's Mansion 1, Gooigi is now playable in single player as well, and he has different abilities from Luigi too (for example, he can squeeze through tight spaces, but can't touch water). The level progression is a sort of mix between that of its two predecessors: while it takes place in a single building, like in Luigi's Mansion 1, there's a lot of variety in said building, like in Luigi's Mansion 2. Also, I think the presentation is fantastic in this game. The graphics and animation clearly had a lot of thought put into them, and I was genuinely impressed. So, on to the pro/con summary:

Pros
-Great new gameplay mechanics
-2-player co-op
-A nice, beefy, 12-hour game (at least supposedly; it will probably take you longer like I did)
-Lots of collectibles and achievements
-Beautiful graphics and animations

Cons
-Low ghost variety compared to Luigi's Mansion 1
-Not the most difficult game out there
-This game will make you hate Toads

Overall, I recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed either of the previous two titles. And even if you've never played Luigi's Mansion before, perhaps now's a good time to give it a shot!
 
Mario Party 4 (Nintendo GameCube)

Cleared the story mode as Mario, very nostalgic experience for me since I've played Toad's Midway Madness and Goomba's Greedy Gala a lot as a kid but for some odd reason never got around to trying out the other boards or experiencing the story mode. The mini-game selection is superb, some of my favorites include Cliffhangers, Dungeon Duos, Bob-Omb Breakers, Paths of Peril and Hop or Pop.
 
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Pinstripe (PC)

This game is basically a narrative platformer, something like Limbo. Basically Teddy, who is a minister had to chase an enigmatic demonic entity called the titular Pinstripe to a realm called "Hell" and rescue his young daughter before the demonic entity converts her into something demonic. To explain the game further would be to spoil what the entire game is all about, but it has a degree of symbolism, but the game has a tinge of sadness and hope to it.

This game has a shooter element, as Ted will eventually get a catapult to shoot things with, so he's not defenceless. Amusingly, there's only one enemy in this game that can only be defeated by stomping it. The game is partly littered with collectables that are also used as payment. To finish the game one must have at least 300 of them, which is a lot unless playing the game again (a key will be able to unlock certain doors containing a lot of treasure). There are also optional spot-the-difference puzzles, and they depict the life of the characters before the nightmare began.

It's a good game and since it's short, I finished it in a night.

Thank you for reading.
 
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Xbox One)
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yes, I took this idea from you Winstein

I've unlocked the AGES Console Mod, which requires the player to get all of the stars, which requires the player to complete to play every mission in World Tour in S-Class, which I'll consider as completing the game. I have still have the Classic Cup and the Mirror Cups in Grand Prix and almost of the Time Trials left to get 'S' on, but as there aren't any rewards for that I'll consider the game complete.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a Kart Racing. I want to get that out of the way first. It's not a Mario Kart rip-off or clone, it's a Kart Racing game, Kart Racing is sub-genre of Racing, get it right people.

I assume you all know the standard mechanics in Kart Racing games, Mario Kart is the best selling spin-off of Mario after all. You race on tracks, and grab items to hit your opponents. Basic stuff. Most games in the genre step it up with Drifting and Tricks, which allow you to get boosts (most games does not include Diddy Kong Racing). Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed