#personally I love Peach taking the Odyssey and forcing Mario to make a run for it as a small revenge

[heloflor]

Unpopular opinion: The ending of Mario Odyssey is amazing and one of the best Mario games endings.

First off, it’s hilarious. Between Mario being pushed out of the way, Peach low-key considering Bowser when he gives her flowers, Mario and Bowser fighting like idiots, their faces when Peach rejects them, Mario comforting Bowser, Peach trolling Mario with the Odyssey, Cappy and Tiara just watching the chaos unfold, all while there’s a music playing that doesn’t even sound like a Mario song... All of it is just so good!

Second, about the way Mario acts, it actually makes sense. Something random I noticed a while ago is that, when Mario and Bowser are shouldering each other, Bowser barely looks at Mario and remains focused on Peach, while Mario looks more pissed and glaces at him more than once. And in general, that’s the whole vibe of this scene. Bowser is still genuinely trying to court Peach, while Mario is instead fully focused on his rivalry with Bowser, completely forgetting to consider Peach’s feelings as a result. It was definitely a shitty move from Mario, but he’s not doing it to impress Peach, he’s doing it to one-up Bowser.

On that note, this scene is great because it helps in giving the headcanon of this game taking place very early on in the Mario timeline (or is that just me?), I’m talking a year and a half into Mario and Luigi being in this world. As a result, you could see Mario being a bit too caught up into the fantasy of being the hero saving the princess, and this game would give him a reality check. You could also imagine that, once they get back to the Mushroom Kingdom, he and Peach have a talk, basically starting their friendship all over again but this time on better terms, with Mario having no expectations of a romance and Peach being more open to him about who she is as a person rather than keeping up her royal appearances around him.

Third, I love that Peach is allowed to be angry at the situation. She has every right to say no. She doesn’t owe Mario a romantic relationship, especially when he’s acting exactly like her captor does. I especially like how we see her take a breath when she gets on the Odyssey before bringing her smile again. It shows that she’s still angry but willing to put it on the side for now.

This scene also shows what I talked about in previous posts with Peach being sassy in a playful way. It’s obvious she has no intentions of leaving Mario behind, but also she’s mad at him so she only calls for him after starting the Odyssey, forcing Mario to run and jump to get on. And she does it all with her usual smile, showing even more that it’s playful rather than petty.

Oh and for those worried about Bowser “being left behind”, he literally came to the Moon by airship, airship he spent the whole game in and that Mario never destroys in any way. He’ll be fine. I’ll be more concerned for all the kidnapped guests who have no way home and were inside the church when shit went down. Speaking of which, are the guests the characters looking at the Earth at the end? No because that also implies they don’t really have a way home unless the Toad Brigade helps them. Or the taxi.

[bearpillowmonster]

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle Review

This game has been out for years now so if you haven't played it, you either don't have a Switch or don't have enough interest in it. So I will try and give you reasons why to play this game and spoil some gameplay details along the way but will save what the bosses are.

This game doesn't appeal to me, "Mario and Rabbids: Battle Kingdom", I mean Rabbids are basically the original Minions. I've heard it called a "Baby's first XCOM" and I, for one, am not about strategy or turn based combat. So, then why is it that when I got my Switch, this was the first thing that came to mind that I wanted to get? 

I haven't played many games on the Switch yet but I can tell that there are games that are best played on the TV, best played on tablet, and best played with the Joycons loose, some fall under all of the above such as Super Mario Odyssey. This falls under the best kind of tablet game, it's like it was meant to be played port-ably and is something you can play a level here and there, casually, or seriously and play a whole chapter's worth.

This is pretty much as clever as it gets, it's no wonder they got Grant Kirkhope to compose it, it has the humor of Banjo Kazooie, it's not even Minions-like humor, it's charming to the max.

There are times where you'll play a stage and just go guns blazing but you need to be careful because sometimes there will be a gauntlet of levels and you will either have to find a mushroom or just go straight to another level before it heals you again. Of course later in the game you can switch up the characters (that have more health) but you shouldn't always assume it as a fail-safe, especially for a boss, so if you're low on health and haven't found a mushroom, change BEFORE you get to the level, that is if you keep your other character's stats and weapons, good and balanced.

Ok, I hear this and that about how everybody loves Rabbid Peach and while her gameplay has a lot of perks, Rabbid Luigi was instantly my favorite and I tried to use him for every battle, I mean he has a Yo-Yo and his hat is on sideways, how can you not love him? I made him a beast with his 'Vampire' ability which allows you to slide into enemies and take some of their health to add it to yours. There is a Fridge boss that it's strongly recommended not to use him but I sure as heck tried. So you will more than likely get attached to a certain character but it's up to you who it will be towards and remember that you might not be able to use them EVERY time. You can choose to have 3 different characters at a time but one of them has to be Mario, he's a default and you can't exchange him. There have been multiple times where all my other characters have died and all I have left is Rabbid Luigi and I pull a clutch with that Vampire ability, making a clean sweep and finishing the level alone, I wasn't really able to do that with any other characters (though I valued Rabbid Luigi more so maybe I didn't try hard enough). And don't worry, even if you don't have a character in your current party, they still obtain skill points for the skill tree so you won't have to grind for a character once you unlock them or anything.

So, how do you make your character stronger if every level is right in front of you and not really an RPG style of sidequests? Well, there are little puzzles you can go around, collect coins, hidden chests, some cannons that you can shoot out of that take you to a Red Coin type level (except blue coins) and you get a new weapon out of it. Also you can go back to worlds you've completed and complete challenges, I usually hate doing stuff like that but it's all good in this game. And it's not required, this game is pretty balanced, it's not too hard but not too easy either, there's no difficulty setting so that's good to hear. Sometimes I would play a boss just to kind of test them out and see what they did and then adjust for my second playthrough for them when I inevitably failed. There are definitely some levels I would spend a few days on, usually those bosses and I would lay in bed thinking of different strategies to beat them, some of those were the most satisfying after beating. Now that may sound like a lot of thinking and seem repetitive but it doesn't force you to come up with a strategy, do you think I actually did stuff intentionally? Not really, I used trial and error and it never even got tired, I usually fail the same level of a game just a few times before putting it down and say "I can't do this." because yeah, I am kind of a baby when it comes to some of these games but I feel accomplished when I beat stuff like this. This is where the 'Baby's first XCOM' comes into play, if you're not into that genre, this is the right game for you but if you are into the genre, you're experienced and it may seem a bit more tame but it's still a good play, Win-Win.

Given that topic, if you feel "too challenged" then it will offer you extra health for a level so it will heal your party up and add some extra, but I like to think of it as the chicken hat in MGS5, only use it if you need it, and even if you do need it, it's not ridiculously easy once you have it. I HAVE failed using the extra health before, sometimes you're just not using the right characters or weapons or need something from the skill tree, it's not a bail out free card, it's just a boost. I've played the ending gauntlet many times and each time it was different, some times I would do great until the third wave, sometimes it's just left up to chance whether your shot hits or not because if they're hiding behind a wall, it may not hit and are you hitting the enemy with the right character? Maybe you need a different order for maximum damage. It's a lot to process but you're not forced to think about it too hard, you have time, that's why it's turn based, I am describing it in a lot of detail but don't think that it's overly complicated or anything, if it was, as I mentioned, I wouldn't play it, it wouldn't seem so darn good of a game to me if it was.

And before you think that enemies get too easy or anything because you just upgraded everyone, they're constantly introducing new ones so it's always even with where you are in the game. Some of these enemies need to be handled differently because of how they attack such as the big ones without guns, they usually have a big stone or log or something and if they get close to you then they'll do a hefty amount of damage so it's always entertaining, keeps you on your toes, and brings me to my next topic.

I suppose it's easy to think that they all just have similar blasters but that's wrong. Most weapons come with a status effect such as honey which prevents them from moving on the next turn, ink which does the opposite and prevents weapons from being used, flame which catches them on fire and and makes them run around until they are extinguished, this ability is especially cool because if they hit another enemy, he will also be on fire, that doubles for you though so be careful with placement. There are also some other abilities but I'll get back to this topic in a minute. Not only are there different variations, which really just fit your preference, but there are also shotgun types which only have a short range but a higher amount of damage, rubber-duck grenades, yes you heard me right, and they're even decorated, there's even a Sam (King)Fisher one from Splinter Cell, not even joking. There are hammers which can get multiple enemies at once if you're within range, and these things that are called sentries but don't shoot anything, they're more like rolling bombs, they can be used to divert an enemy's attention away or can be used similar to a grenade but with more power, and then there are rocket launchers which can fire farther and machine guns which are a bit of an odd ball because you shoot a bunch of weaker bullets vs one big blast but you have more of a chance of hitting due to it's ability to instantly break a wall that an enemy may be hiding behind, leaving them open for the next person. I also wanted to mention that before you attack, aiming at an enemy shows you how much damage you'll do, I guess that's easy to look past or expect but given I haven't played a tactical game of this nature, I want to be thorough.

It tosses it up with a few different types of missions, rather than just walking from area to area to fight the next battle, you actually get some landscape to look at, some puzzles which are actually quite fun, I like a good puzzle and it makes me want to try Captain Toad, but there are also escort missions. Most players dread escort missions in games because they take forever to follow you, this is in a different genre though. It will give you a goal and all you have to do is get that character (most of the time it's Toad) to the goal, sure they can't attack or anything and you have to rely on your other characters to defend but you don't have to defeat all the enemies like most stages, just get to the goal and you control the escort just like you would any other character so they don't drag behind. My only slight complaint with this is that Toad or whoever, isn't be able to use a teammate to bounce like everyone else but it's still fine. Same with the bosses, the only requirement is to just beat the boss, there will be other enemies too though. Before you think you can cheese it that way, most bosses have multiple health bars so you may take out their first form tanking hits with guns blazing but will you have enough to last the second and third form? Probably not so you need to take out those side enemies first because for one, they make it harder, and two, once the second form comes, the boss will bring a second wave of enemies and if you don't have the first wave beat yet then it will stack.

Ok, so easily the best thing about this game is the atmosphere, every little detail feels so good to just walk around in, they didn't have to make the world so good but they did, this accompanied with Grant Kirkhope's music is splendid even the different versions of classic Mario tracks. My favorite one would have to be "Exploring the Mine". With that, the designs for characters, enemies, and such will be added as collectible models throughout the worlds, it's a fun little thing to look for if you're into that sort of thing, I made sure to get a few for the bosses I liked the most. This goes double for the music tracks, you can collect them and go back and play them in the museum. But back to the way it looks, it looks so good that there will be points where Beep-O (who is kind of the guide and serves as a reason this tactical map exists) will have a magnifying glass option and if you press it, he will bring attention to certain landscapes and sights such as a Rabbid in a hot tub burning himself or a Bullet Bill with Underpants on his head, it's all in good fun and really makes you see the vibe they're going for with this fusion between worlds. The landscape for battles includes these pipes that you can travel between to slide kick enemies easier and get a better piece of ground to defend, it's really cool when you get a chain of attacks for example: With Mario, you can stomp on top of enemies, so you slide kick an enemy, bounce off of a teammate to get farther, land by stomping on another enemy then finally make your destination where you want to shoot, so much damage can come from just one turn if you really know what you're doing. And about those effects like flame, there will be different boxes around the stage where if an enemy is stationed behind them and you can't see them good enough to get a hit in, you can fire anyway and hit the box, making the effect hit the enemy so it wasn't a wasted shot and may even make them vulnerable enough for another character to shoot.

Some characters have something like "Hero-Sight" or "Steely-Stare", this is amazing, it's up there with the Vampire ability for me. This comes in handy for those bulkier enemies with the stones and if you have a weapon that has "bounce" it's so freaking satisfying because you can use the ability, fire at the enemy and if they make an attempt to get closer then your character will shoot a few more times.

There is a bit of a problem when you don't properly close the game however because sometimes I would just leave it open on the home screen then shut the console off and come back to it later. Yeah only do that once or twice, don't leave it on standby every time because what will start happening is that the models for some of the items and characters will glitch and turn into blocks, it's not a performance based issue, just visual but it was my fault in the first place for not closing the game for so long so I can't really complain.

There is a bit of DLC that I'm actually considering getting (if it wasn't as much as the base game, crimeny!)because it expands off the story and revolves around Donkey Kong, so that's cool. Speaking of after the game, there is end game content. Throughout you unlock puzzle abilities such as moving crates, picking up totems to put them on pedestals so you can unlock new areas, break blocks, and drill a hole. You can go back to each of the worlds and finish some puzzles you weren't able to before because you didn't have one of those unlocked, if you're going for 100% that is or even if you're just trying to make some extra moolah during the game.

[skyrocketdog]

My 2017 GOTY List

As the year finally comes to an end once again, I figured I would write this list because I actually played some games this year and had some pretty strong opinions about what games that I feel should be my personal GOTY.

Honorable Mentions:

Destiny 2 - With how the post game support has gone, and despite me actually enjoying it quite a bunch as I progressed through the story; afterwards when questioning “What to do now” I was simply just answered with “Well, there’s like one or two things left” or really grind heavy things that I personally wasn’t particularly a fan of. So, while that original story run was actually fun, I felt like it could have used more, and maybe next year it will be improved upon and I can put this as a game I enjoyed more. But, as it is in it’s current state, I didn’t feel this made my top 5 for the year.

Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite - I love this game. Anyone who knows me knows that I still enjoyed this game a ton, despite any negative feelings I have towards it or even how it was viewed by the general public, I still love this game. But, it’s flaws become more and more visible to me the longer I play it, but even those are not enough to take it off the honorable mentions to me.

Tekken 7 - I actually like this game less than MVC:I, but I cannot deny that I still had fun (When it did work online, due to my slow internet) with this game. I didn’t get to everything in the game, but just based on my experience with friends & online I can safely say this is a fantastic fighting game and that I will probably play more in 2018 than I did this year, but due to my limited time frame with it I don’t feel confident enough putting it on my top 5 list yet.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Despite being a older game re-released with some added content, it still managed to be just as fun and make my own list once again. Plus with the amount of enjoyment I got playing with friends, just like the original, it still felt worth a mention to me.

#5 Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

This game has been nothing but fun to me. And that’s all I want in a video game sometimes, nonstop fun with friends. Being able to play in squads or duos with my close friends for hours as we keep trying to take down every other player is just good fun, and explaining the thrill of actually winning in this game is really difficult unless you’ve played it, but that definitely helps the experience overall. Plus I have put about roughly 300 hours into it now, it just keeps bringing me back at least twice a week, and I consider that one of the best things about a game, constant replayablility and a desire to keep playing. 

Sure, it does have some flaws (Most of which I think I had were fixed in the 1.0 release), but really when looking at a game, I don’t expect it to be 100% perfect in every single way. It’s going to have some flaws and I have to take them with the positives(And to me, there’s a lot of positives), and that’s why this game is in my Top 5. If it continues to get support, I think it will still be on the list of my favorite games.

#4 Zelda Breath of the Wild

A bit lower than I originally thought it was going to be on my list, but I still loved this game a lot. This is also not counting any of the DLC content, which I have yet to play and I’m very excited for, but this is just the base game as it is. The locations, being able to explore pretty much anything I saw, all the fun shrines and moments I had just made this game the second Zelda game to me. I still consider Wind Waker to be my personal favorite in the series due to the story and art style, but this is definitely my #2 pick in the series.

One of the things I actually really enjoyed the most was the fact that it was so different from the other games in game play styles. Some have viewed this as a flaw, but honestly, to me it only made it better and more of a game I could personally enjoy. Plus it does still have that Zelda feel, it’s just missing it in some small key areas that could be improved upon in the next game in the franchise in this style easily.

Also, the music, while being limited in some areas, is completely fantastic and every song used in the game got stuck in my head, and just made me wish there was even more all throughout the world. Here’s to hoping that the next game in this style improves on the music and any minor flaws I’ve had with this game.

#3 Super Mario Odyssey

This is now my favorite mainline Mario game, and Nintendo have once again outdone themselves. Every world in this game was just non-stop joy for me, and Cappy as a sidekick, I enjoyed way more than I was expecting to when I first saw him in trailers. 

Everything in this game was just perfect Nintendo quality too, the small story with Peach & Bowser, every single boss fight was perfectly fun and exciting at the same time, and also every song being memorable (Jump Up, Super Star. Enough said really.) and having that Nintendo charm at the same time. 

Another reason this is so high on my list too, is due to the Koopa Freerunning, I can’t really deny that. That has been one of my favorite things in this game, because it introduced me to the thrill of speed running, which is something I’ve never attempted really, but after the 500th restart in the same Koopa race, I just wanted more and more to just take down a few seconds. (I actually ended up being in the top 100 in the post game kingdom of the game too! Very proud of that.)

On an ending note, every Mario game needs this camera feature from now on. It has been one of the best things about this game, and it seems i’m not the only one to agree based on seeing all these fantastic pictures all over the internet.

#2 Persona 5

Me Slime...

Persona 5 is probably the best in the series when it comes to game play and design and art style. (I’m just going to say Persona 5 has the best UI/Hud in any game and end my discussion here about the art style otherwise I won’t shut up about it.) But, it has one flaw, and I felt like it’s very, very important in a game that was about 100 hours long. The story.

The story is honestly my only flaw with this game, and without getting too far into spoiler discussion, I felt like it needed more story in areas. Which isn’t the worst thing, but it does make me question “Why didn’t they do this instead?” in certain areas. Despite that however, the story was enjoyable and well, without getting too far into any discussion about it, the first boss/palace/dungeon was probably one of the best ones in the series to me, due to how well written I felt it was. The other ones...not as much to say the least, besides a couple that stand out to me.

Some areas in the story also felt like it needed to happen, just because it was a game and it was getting close to being too long without a dungeon, and not because it fit into the story it was trying to tell at all. Which is fine and I can accept that really, but it overall makes the story feel more forced instead of naturally happening in areas, to me at least.

The music is another really important part of this game to me, as I feel like it’s better than the other games in the series. With it’s heavy Shin Megami Tensei influence showing this time around(Some songs sound like they can be in SMT:Nocturne honestly, and to me that’s fantastic) it really made the soundtrack as a whole stick out to me. Plus, Rivers in the Desert. Really all I have to say when it comes to the soundtrack.

The last 10 or so hours of this game was quite possibly one of the best moments I've had in gaming recently, and I really do believe that the whole game was fun overall but, what is Persona 5 doing as my #2 you may ask, despite me already saying it’s GOTY for months(If you’ve known me), well...

#1 Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Uh oh, a last second addition.

I got this game as a gift the day after Christmas, and attempted to beat it before the year was over, just so I could see where it fit on this list. What ended up happening was probably this ended up being one of my favorite games of all time, and overall better than Persona 5 was to me. 

It’s a tiny bit difficult for me to talk about why I liked this so much due to spoilers(I might have to make a side post talking about everything I loved at some point), but here’s a small attempt:

Masafumi Takada OST. Seriously, this soundtrack has ended up being one of my all time favorites in video games due to just how completely fantastic it is all around. There’s so many songs I just cannot get out of my head, and even when playing they were already stuck in my mind. (The Split Opinion song has been my favorite so far, just as an example.)

The Cast of Characters. I was going into this game after the demo of V3, expecting to like about...50% of the cast at the absolute best. Near chapter 2 of the game, I didn’t want any of them to be taken away, and I ended up liking every single character. With the other two games in the series, it has been about me liking only a select few in the cast, but those few being well done characters to me. I was kinda taken back by how much I loved each one of these characters, and that I felt each one was written perfectly into the story.

Game play Improvements. The new mini games introduced in the trials, such as Split Opinion, and Psyche Taxi were just really fun to say the least. The other mini games that were featured in older games were also improved heavily in this game, and I feel like they were at their absolute best for once, instead of feeling like a drag to weigh the experience down. (Hangman’s Gambit from DGR1, Eugh)

Story. I can’t really say much here, but overall the chapters in this game were at their absolute best, and probably some of my favorites in the whole entire series and genre this game is in. Every chapter was just an absolute blast, and there was no low point in the story for me.

That’s about it really. This has been such a fantastic game, and I really do think this may be the top of the series, and the next Danganronpa game would be in a hard situation to top this one. I really enjoyed this game a lot and despite the despair, I consider it to be my personal GOTY.

[danielphowley]

Super Mario Odyssey review: Nintendo tips its cap to the past

‘Super Mario Odyssey’ is a wonderfully quirky experience that pays homage to its past.

Nintendo’s (NTDOY) Super Mario is finally ready for his next big adventure Thursday with the launch of “Super Mario Odyssey.” Available for the Switch, “Super Mario Odyssey” is both a leap forward for the franchise and a love letter to its storied past.

After bringing Mario and crew back to its side-scrolling inspired roots in “Super Mario 3D World,” Nintendo has dropped Mario into an open world-style game that’s a callback to “Super Mario 64” and “Super Mario Sunshine.”

“Odyssey” lets you travel between various kingdoms as you try to save Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil Bowser. So yeah, the plot isn’t very original. But it’s how you travel the world, and the various ways in which you interact with it, that makes “Super Mario Odyssey” among the best “Mario” offerings in recent memory.

Come fly away with me

Mario doesn’t play alongside his brother Luigi in “Odyssey.” Instead, the mustachioed one is teamed up with a living top hat named Cappy. It turns out, Bowser wants to force Peach to marry him and he’s kidnapped Cappy’s sister, who happens to be a tiara named Tiara, to act as her headdress.

Bowser has kidnapped both Peach and Cappy’s sister Tiara.

Mario and Cappy give chase in the Odyssey, an enormous top hat-shaped ship that runs on power moons. Your goal is to collect power moons from each world you visit to refuel the Odyssey and ensure you can reach Peach and Tiara in time.

Toss your hat in the ring

Cappy is the most unique sidekick in Mario’s long, storied history. He’s also indispensable, as throwing him at enemies allows you to take over their bodies. Does it make sense? Nope. But then again neither does an Italian plumber from Japan throwing fireballs at giant man-eating plants that live in sewer pipes. So get over it.

Taking over enemies and using their abilities is fun, sure, but it’s also the key to solving the majority of “Odyssey’s” puzzles. Want to dive deep underwater? You’ll need to take over a Cheep Cheep. Want to fly? Grab a Koopa Paratrooper. It’s a slick mechanic that allows you to take an inventive approach to the game’s various challenges.

Mario and Cappy aboard the Odyssey.

You can also use Cappy as a floating stepping stone to reach distant platforms, or as a spring to jump up to out of the way areas.

“Odyssey” also takes advantage of the Switch’s motion-sensitive Joy-Con controllers. Flick the Joy-Con in one direction and Mario will toss Cappy. Flick the controller in a different direction and Cappy will spin around you, clearing out any enemies that have surrounded you.

The motion controls worked well, but I preferred playing with the Joy-Con Grip, since it feels more like a traditional controller.

The best looking ‘Mario’ game to-date

A strong sense of exploration permeates “Odyssey.” And that’s just how producer Yoshiaki Koizumi and director Kenta Motokura planned it. “Odyssey” focuses on the excitement of travel and discovering new locales, which pushes you to look into every nook and cranny of the game world to find its seemingly endless secret areas and items.

From ancient islands with an enormous T-Rex that, yes, you can take over, to long-forgotten towns and beach resorts, Nintendo has managed to craft a game where each new kingdom feels unique onto itself.

Even the game’s maps are designed to look like travel brochures for the various worlds you visit complete with points of interest.

New Donk City is a standout among ‘Odyssey’s’ many quirky worlds.

It’s important to note just how beautiful “Super Mario Odyssey’s” kingdoms look. New Donk City, a New York City analogue, has the feel of a living world, right down to the rats that scurry past your feet near dumpsters, while the Seaside Kingdom’s Bubblaine made me long for a chance to lounge at a beach resort.

“Odyssey’s” graphics look even more impressive when compared to the game’s 8-bit side-scrolling sections inspired by the original “Super Mario Bros.” title for the Nintendo Entertainment System. During one particularly tricky area, I found myself bouncing between an 8-bit section and the game’s 3D style, and the difference was staggering. It felt as if the 3D Mario was almost real.

I was also taking muscle relaxers for my strained back, but still.

Ready player 2

Like any great “Mario” game, “Super Mario Odyssey” includes a two-player mode. Interestingly, “Odyssey” lets your friend jump in and play as Cappy in the middle of a play through by simply opening the pause menu and selecting 2 Player mode.

The co-op aspect of the game doesn’t limit what you can do with Cappy, either. You’ll be able to jump off Mario’s head and attack enemies, reach out of the way coins and take over objects and adversaries.

  Yes, Cappy can even take over this T-Rex.

It also makes for some interesting tag teaming experiences. At one point I was stuck on a platform that was about to fall out from under me, so the person I was playing with flew over as Cappy and let me jump on him, saving my skin.

That said, since you’re traversing a fully 3D world, you need to rotate the camera to get the best view available at any given time. And since both Mario and Cappy move independently, it becomes difficult to ensure both players have the right angle, which can be frustrating.

Should you get it?

Mario’s big debut on the Switch is a joy to experience. It’s beautifully realized worlds, excellent platforming, admiration for series’ past and new gameplay mechanics make “Super Mario Odyssey” worthy of the portly plumber’s legacy.

My only real issue with “Odyssey” is the camera experience during co-op play. Still, this is a game that is focused primarily on the single-player aspect, and is an incredibly one at that.

If you’ve got a Switch, get this game. If you don’t have one, “Odyssey” just added moved in alongside “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” as one of your biggest reasons to snag one.

    What’s hot: Gorgeous, endlessly explorable game world; Cappy adds an inventive gameplay mechanic; Fantastic callbacks to the franchise’s best moments

What’s not: Camera can be difficult to control in co-op mode.

More from Dan:

Samsung North America CEO believes we’ll soon talk to all of our appliances

Amazon’s all-new Echo is a more attractive smart assistant

Why Microsoft is playing nice with iPhones and Android

The biggest problem holding VR back right now

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL review: Android phones done right

‘South Park: The Fractured But Whole’ review: Disgusting, smart and fun

What it takes to play video games for a living: Insane hours and tons of stress

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

[megadads]

We came, we saw, we played, we got severe sunburn on our feet. Well, at least I did because I’m an idiot who only puts sunscreen on 95% of his body. Other than having feet the color of plums for the entire show, I had a hell of a time at my first ever E3. Yes it was loud, crowded, and chaotic, but it was also probably one of the greatest three day stretches of my life… ever. Obviously it can’t compare to my wedding or the birth of my children, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t close behind those monumental life moments.

From getting to meet industry icons like Neil Druckmann and Victor Lucas, to seeing and playing a slew of amazing games, it was 21 hours of pure joy. The sheer spectacle of it all is something that I’ll never forget. As I try and digest it all and choose which moments stood out the most to me, I realize that by attending the show in person I probably saw less games than I would have if I had been at home on the couch watching the countless YouTube videos of gameplay, but seeing as many games as possible isn’t what going to E3 is all about. But I did manage to pick out 3 games that I either played or saw lengthy demonstrations of that stood out from the rest of the pack and are my Games of the Show.

Spider-Man

From the behind closed doors demonstration that we got for this game, I don’t think it’s an understatement that this game could very likely end being the best that developer Insomniac has ever created. Through a combination of stunning visuals, amazing cinematic quick time sequences, and fast paced combat that seems inspired by the Arkham series, this game is ready to set the bar for what comic book based video games can be. If the entire game is as good as what was shown this week, it’s already an early contender for Game of the Year for 2018.

Detroit: Become Human

Developer Quantic Dream are experts on crafting interesting narratives in games. With previous titles like Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, they’ve managed to push the limits of interactive fiction. Their newest game takes place in a future where androids have begun to rebel against their human masters and you take on the role of several of these androids, from one that is investigating the phenomenon of androids becoming self aware, to one who is leading the fight for equal rights between humans and androids. The gameplay mechanics may be familiar, but the story is incredibly interesting and will hopefully once again force players to make some difficult decisions.

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is the perfect blend of nostalgia and fresh ideas. It both reminds you of classic 3D Mario titles such as Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, and turns the series on it’s head with weird and wacky new concepts. You’re once again rescuing Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser, but this time you need to get past his army of evil wedding planners first. Yep….. that’s what I said. And the new mechanic of being able to toss your sentient hat Cappy onto various enemies to take control of them is an exciting and neat gameplay mechanic. I think if any game has the potential to give Zelda a run for it’s Game of the Year money, it’s Odyssey.

I never would have imagined that after 3 days and countless games, I still feel like I could have spent a few more days at the L.A. convention center before I saw everything, although I don’t think my body could have held out that long. E3 2017 was an absolutely unforgettable experience that has reenergized both my love of the games industry and my excitement for what we do at Mega Dads. I hope that this is only the beginning of our starting to attend more of these events and expand the type of coverage that we can do. That L.A. traffic on the other hand….

      E3 2017 Wrap Up: John’s Take We came, we saw, we played, we got severe sunburn on our feet. Well, at least I did because I'm an idiot who only puts sunscreen on 95% of his body.