I Charge Gravitar: Recharged With the Crime of Being a Good Time | FIRST!

Prior to this recharging, I had never played Gravitar before--I'm not even sure if I've heard of it before--but that's all changed now and, much to my surprise, I really enjoyed my time. Of all the classic Atari games to receive the "Recharged" treatment, Gravitar is easily my favorite of the bunch. It may in part be because it's entirely new to me, but that didn't do Black Widow any favors, so it's more than just that; Gravitar is just a very interesting game and one worthy of your time whether you've played the original or not. Touché, Atari, touché.

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If You Like The Revenge of Shinobi, You're Gonna Like Ganryu 2 | FIRST!

The Revenge of Shinobi is one of my favorite Genesis games, so when I booted up Ganryu 2 and realized it was basically just The Revenge of Shinobi, I went from six to midnight faster than when I've got a fresh bowl of oatmeal sitting in front of me. From the visuals to the music and, most importantly, the gameplay, every aspect of Ganryu 2 knocks it out of the park, making it one of the best games I've played so far this year. Maybe it'll get super repetitive or cheap or do something to ruin my love as I keep playing, but as far as my first impression goes, I can't recommend Ganryu 2 highly enough. 

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Cloudy With a Chace of Loot Showers: A Loot River Preview | FIRST!

Loot River is yet another action roguelike...except it isn't; by letting you manipulate the ground you walk on, allowing you to reach places you otherwise wouldn't, Loot River creates an identity all to its own. It's a neat mechanic and makes Loot River stand out in a very crowded genre. The problem is, once the excitement of this unique mechanic dissipates, the truth reveals itself: Loot River really is just another action roguelike; it's not a bad game by any means, but it's not particularly special, either, with average combat, okay visuals, and a few enemy designs that lean more on the annoying side than the challenging side. When the rest of the game is okay at best, one unique mechanic just isn't enough to warrant one's time. 

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The Episode Where I Get on Every Visual Novel Fan's Bad Side: A Vengeful Heart Preview | FIRST!

I apologize in advance to all visual novel fans for what you're about to endure. Vengeful Heart is maybe the worst visual novel I've ever "played." It is everything I hate about visual novels. There are no choices to be made, no mini-games to be played, and nothing to do but read, read, and read some more. What makes it even worse is that the accompanying visuals are so worthless that not even those add anything to the story, leading to the only question I had during my entire time with Vengeful Heart: Why is this a video game? Unlike most visual novels I've played (and usually not enjoyed), Vengeful Heart doesn't have an answer. Now, I know visual novel fans will disagree and that's fine, but I will never understand how someone could prefer consuming a solely written story by reading it on a TV instead of a tablet or similar device, but such is life, eh. 

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Crash Bandicoot Is Anything but a Bandihoot! Amirite, Amiright, or Amiawriter? | Attack the Backlog

On this episode of Attack the Backlog, I crash all the bands in the remake of Crash Bandicoot, a game that's anything but a hoot and more resembling of poo. As bright and colorful as the game may be, it sure made me miserable as you will see. As someone new to the series, it's rather disappointing, 'cause now when it comes to checking out the sequels, I'm more than a little weary. But like with Going Commando, I'm not giving up for good; however, I can't say I'm a fan, yo, with no chubby for Crash, or what some refer to as wood.

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Eternity Is Right: An Edge of Eternity Preview | FIRST!

Edge of Eternity has two things going for it: Great voice acting and giant cat-like creatures; once the luster of those wears off, the cracks in the foundation show their ugly face. The combat is slow, bland, and boring, the writing isn't anywhere near as good as it seems when you're left to read it yourself, and there's just a general meh-ness throughout the entirety of the game. It's admittedly hard to take away a lot from a game like this based solely on the first few hours--it being a sprawling and epic turn-based RPG--but those few hours were enough for me to know I didn't want to waste a single additional second in hopes my feelings would change.

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If You're Not Fast, You're Last: A Warstride Challenges Preview | FIRST!

If you like shooting demons in the face and going fast while you do it, Warstride Challenges is the game for you. As the title suggests, Warstride Challenges is just that: challenges...and nothing else. There are no meatier levels or campaign(s) of any kind to be found, just bite-size challenges often taking only 20-30 seconds to complete (if not less time). If that sounds appealing, you'll probably enjoy your time with Warstride Challenges; however, if you're a more casual shooter fan, best play something else instead. Warstride Challenges is not casual-friendly thanks to a skill floor that requires one to be at least a certain level of "good enough" in order to progress, so, if you don't find failure encouraging, I encourage you to play Turbo Overkill (or something else) instead.

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I Think the Title Might Be a Spoiler: A Martha is Dead Preview | FIRST!

Spoilers: She's dead. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the game, eh. Martha is Dead is a narrative-heavy horror game with an emphasis on photography and graphic imagery--if you're squeamish or triggered by images of self harm, this is not the game for you; however, if you can handle tough topics and graphic images, the story or Martha is Dead is well told and very well acted (though one aspect made it hard for me to personally engage with it). That said, as well put together as much of Martha is Dead is, the sum of its parts don't add up to a satisfying experience and I long for the game it could have been than the game it actually is.

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The Episode Where I Say "Feels Really Good" Every Other Sentence: A Turbo Overkill Preview | FIRST!

Turbo Overkill is a good game. Turbo Overkill is a very good game. Turbo Overkill is so good that I, unknowingly, said, "Feels really good," way too many times when recording this episode. Is it annoying? You betcha, but it's probably more annoying for me than you; however, as much as I humored re-recording this episode (and I did humor doing just that), I figured I'd leave it as is and accept the fact that Turbo Overkill--a fast-paced, retro-inspired shooter--is just so good it made me sound like the most inarticulate person in the world. I mean, who needs words when you have not one, but two satisfying shotguns at your disposal for disposing of disposable baddies who are anything but good? Enough said, mic dropped, bing fucking bong.

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A Tale of Two Games: An Anguish-Filled Vanquish Review | Attack the Backlog

On this episode of Attack the Backlog, I slide my way through an average game before discovering the game I played is completely different from the game others have played, except the only way to know it's different is by being told it's different. Why? Because the game itself tells you nothing. Confused? Welcome to the club--the, "I played Vanquish, but I didn't really play Vanquish" club--it's quite crowded in here and y'all know how I feel about crowds, so hopefully this episode helps you realize what Vanquish really is before you start playing it yourself, lest you end up like me and annoyed that what you played in a far cry from what others have played.

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