Recent reviews by lantanadan

It's taken some technical finagling and driver upgrades, but yes, these games DO work! Your mileage may vary, as the other reviews have shown, but everyone has had different levels of success with various methods to get the games running steadily. In my case, getting the latest NVIDIA drivers and keeping the game running in windowed mode was all it took. Hopefully we can expect some stability patches soon, but in the meantime it DOES work and works fine!

Now for the games. This first collection, in particular, is filled with the classics. X1-4 are all great in their own right, for both casual players, speedrunners, and everyone in between. You can quickly switch between English and Japanese versions with the press of a button. Screen filters are there for anybody who wants them and they haven't impacted performance for me. You can remap controls, however trigger compatibility is missing in the SNES games as of this review. X1-3 also only have one save slot apiece, but X4 has its full save list as always.

The Museum is a great addition with loads of artwork, music, and photos of merchandise from over the years. The Day of Sigma anime from Maverick Hunter X is here as well! It's "HD" but hasn't exactly been rerendered, just upscaled from its original PSP release. Still a fun addition. In fact, all the videos have been upscaled, including the FMV's from X4, with drastically improved audio all around.

Speaking of audio, I have noticed many of the sound effects have been given a lot of extra kick from the original releases. They're the same, but remastered, and it's a welcome bit of polish.

Overall once you can get the games working they work just as you remember them. Yes, that includes the classic slowdown, which ideally gets patched into something like a "Fullspeed Mode" in the future. In the meantime this a great collection that no Mega Man X fan should miss! Hopefully we see a stability patch soon, and once we have that, everything should be smooth sailing.

At the very least, add this to your Wishlist so you don't forget about it!

Elephant Dance? Check. GAME. OF. THE. YEAR.

Half-Genie Hero feels and plays like an HD 2.5D Shantae should. The animation and music are, as usual, incredible. The dialogue is hilarious and it's great to see all the old favorite characters return. This entry has more in common with Risky's Revenge than Pirate's Curse, as you'll be dancing to take animal form, INCLUDING THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE ELEPHANT! It feels rock-solid right from the start and you'll be hair-whipping mermaids in no time.

Two very minor, very patchable gripes though: my natural instinct is to use Escape to get out of/go back in menus, and that doesn't work here. Two, monkey controls for climbing might take you a bit of getting used to, as they're not what you'd think they'd be (pressing toward the wall does nothing, pressing away from the wall holds you still, can't remember if it felt this sticky in Risky's Revenge).

Overall though, I am loving the game and am very happy with how it turned out! Worth picking up if you enjoyed the previous games or are in the market for a fun, colorful, and actually fairly challenging Metroidvania platformer!

Would you like some salt with your Dark Souls?
Salt and Sanctuary seems to be one of those games that I play for half an hour, close, and then immediately reopen. The game delivers a bloody good time with a dreary atmosphere and narrative to boot. The soundtrack is very Diablo-esque with some more Perfect Circle and Castlevania influences (that alone should be enough to convince you). Sure it still has a few quirks, like the main menu does not pause the game despite there being no online multiplayer (so only stop when you're sure you're safe), upgrading equipment feels a bit underwhelming (but still necessary) when there COULD be new loot right around the corner, and checkpoints are nonexistent, as instead of bonfires, you have very rare Sanctuaries where you level up, hire shops, and heal. So yes, you have to do a lot of backtracking, but you'll need to do all the level grinding you can to hold your own against the tougher enemies.

I should point out that this game is not for everyone. It's barely for me, but I can't put it down. A second player is almost a necessity. It's going to make you salty, but you're going to enjoy every minute of it.

I played this game a bit as a kid (still have the floppy disks right next to me actually!) and it still has a lot going for it. Very creative weapons, each with a Powered Up mode that changes its functionality, as well as some creative uses of interactive environments (like flowing water that pushes you in a particular direction, ceiling crushers, and plenty of hidden secrets). What makes this game stand out from other 1990's FPS titles is the inclusion of an inventory, with loads of different items like Time Bombs, emergency health potions, and an egg that'll turn enemies (or you!) into chickens.

I would, however, recommend playing this game in the free zDoom or gzDoom program, which will allow you not only to customize the controls, the UI, etc. but also run the game at higher resolutions. Simply make sure your HERETIC.WAD file (you get this when you purchase the game) is in the same folder as the zDoom executable, and you'll be good to go. The higher resolutions help sharpen in-game shadows and clarify other visuals.

Pick this one up, it's a classic!

What can I say about Cities: Skylines other than this is the simulation that other developers could only dream of making. It's a perfect mix of casual gameplay, city planning, intense policy management, and figuring out hundreds of interconnected systems. Add user content, mods, and expansions to the list, and you've got a complete package. Runs a little rough on my GTX 650, especially when zoomed in, but it's not a game that needs 60fps in order to be playable at all. I'm just a sucker for pretty things and should probably turn weather effects off.

Rebirth is one of those games where you've poured 20 hours in and don't even realize it. Then you sit down to write a review and you get the itch to play it again. That alone should tell you how good this game is. If you're into roguelikes that really put the focus on building up your character in weird but superbly synergized ways, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is the game for you.

A.R.E.S. is kind of short, but very very sweet. While recently updated to the EX edition, also on Steam, this version costs half as much, so if you're on a budget, you can do a lot worse. The game has a very Mega Man X4 feel, with tight controls, an interesting upgrade system, and some really cool environments. Totally worth picking up, but if you've got a few extra bucks to spare, go for the EX version.

Having put a full day's-worth of time into this game, I figured it was about time I wrote a review. First and foremost, you will die. Not in a Dark Souls kind of way. More in like a Dark Souls "I WAS FIVE FEET FROM MY CORPSE AND I'M DEAD AGAIN" kind of way. Nuclear Throne is like a post-apocalyptic Groundhog's Day adventure, where the only way off the loop is basically to not play the game. Of course that's not an option, because this game has been fine tuned to perfection. From an eclectic soundtrack to really punchy sound effects, tons of screenshake, colorful environments, funny characters, and a world full of mystery, each playthrough gives you something different, but familiar. You'll learn the path to the throne, but you won't quite know what's waiting for you on it. If you're looking for a game that will challenge your hand-eye coordination, your patience for starting over, and your mouse's structural integrity, Nuclear Throne is the game for you.

This is one of the most intense games I've ever played. It oozes style from beginning to end. Other than a few frustrating moments where it's disabled, the save system is very generous and NECESSARY because this game punishes you a lot. However, controls are super tight, the music is fantastic, and the experience will be hard to forget.

This game was a childhood favorite of mine and still holds up today! It has an incredible soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, tons of secrets, and easy-to-get gameplay. It holds up really really well. The pinnacle of DOS platformers!