This Week in Gaming: “NES Remix 2” & More
Get the scoop on all the best video game releases for the week of April 21.
Platforms: WiiU
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Nintendo use the “remix” formula (hence the “2” in the title), but we were impressed to find the level of depth increased this time around. NES Remix 2 puts a spin on the essential Nintendo franchises by taking favorite slices of favorite games and challenging you to complete them for world records that can be shared on the WiiU’s Miiverse. More importantly, it’ll often create these challenges by borrowing a character from one classic game and injecting them into another. The end result is a wonderful combination of nostalgia and innovation, like taking Metroid’s Samus and dropping her into the world of Super Mario Bros 3. Mainstays of the NES generation like Samus, Mario, Link, Kid Icarus, and Kirby feature front and center here, and their crossovers are easily the highest points in the game – making the challenges without crossovers, like the straight-laced Punch-Out!! cameo, feel sad in comparison. If we wanted to beat the piss out of Glass Joe or Von Kaiser, we’d just play Punch-Out!!
Platforms: PS4
Baseball fans who had the patience to hold off on their annual MLB game purchase will be happy to know that MLB 14: The Show is finally available for PlayStation 4 after its PS3 and PS Vita counterparts launched weeks ago. The PS4 version actually boasts some of the best graphics we’ve seen yet on the next-gen, with even the smallest minutia showing up in extreme detail, right down to the stitching in the gloves and stubble on the players’ faces. Main game modes like Road to the Show and other gameplay elements mimic what we’ve seen of the versions from weeks ago, including the Quick Counts that help you play a nine-inning game much quicker, a gripe among fans who were eager to dig into the game but didn’t have hours to spend on it. We’re especially excited to take our Gold Glove skills to the new Community Challenges. If you think we’re letting the Yankees lose the three-game lead they had on the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS on our watch, you are sorely mistaken.
Platforms: PS4
Off-beat games offer us a nice break from the highly competitive FPS and sports games we’re used to playing on a weekly basis, and video games don’t get much more off-beat than Octodad. Dadliest Catch, the sequel to 2010’s PC-only original, which made a big splash on the internet when it was released a few weeks ago, is finally arriving on PlayStation as a download available on the PSN. The plot? Take your family to the aquarium. Not a problem for a normal dad, but a much bigger feat when you’re a cephalopod masquerading as a run-of-the-mill father. Hijinks ensue as you’re challenged with sneaking through puzzling levels, all while avoiding the onlooking eyes of aquarium employees. Winning in Octodad requires a degree of stealth usually reserved for ninjas. If you’re able to pull this one off as an eight-legged sea creature, you’re a champion in our book.
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