Luigi’s Mansion: A Spirit of Fear
Luigi tends to play a supporting role in most of his brother Mario’s adventures, but the Luigi’s Mansion series of games shoved him directly into the spotlight… without his usual […]
Nintendo – Playing With Power?
In the early NES console years, gamers looked to Nintendo to replicate our experiences with games we played in the arcade… but because the 8-bit platform lacked the power to […]
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out: An Adversity Advantage
Few games have been as frustrating but still addictive as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out… and even after all these years, I still remember the exact techniques required to dodge Bald Bull’s […]
Donkey Kong: From Villain to Hero
Donkey Kong might be best known for his most recent actions as the hero of the Donkey Kong Country series of games, but that’s not how his story began… he […]
Hi-Fi Rush: When Doing Everything Right Still Goes Wrong
In an industry where originality is becoming exceptionally rare and parity tends to be rewarded with huge sacks of money, Hi-Fi Rush stood tall as a beacon of hope for […]
Mario and Sonic, Better Together
For years, Nintendo’s Mario and Sega’s Sonic existed in an adversarial relationship … as the mascots for their respective console platforms, the idea that we’d ever see them team up […]
Tiny Pikmin, Big Impact
The Pikmin series features some of the most unique protagonists in all of gaming… these tiny beings are individually pretty weak and helpless, and at first glance the world around […]
Mega Man and a Perfect Plan
My original console gaming experiences were pretty linear affairs… games like Mario simply took me from one level to the next, while Zelda gave me a rudimentary feeling of exploration […]
StarFox and Doing a “Barrel Roll?”
When a supporting character in a video game gives us advice, it is typically designed to be helpful… but when it is given in a demanding, repetitive manner, it only […]
Dr. Mario and “Overcoming Evil With Good”
While most of Mario’s adventures involve acts of physical acrobatics, his exploits as Dr. Mario allows him to show his more cerebral side by carefully matching doses of medication with […]
Finding God in Video Games 