If you caught our Rise of the Ronin preview content and are keen, there’s a sub-level discount you’ll appreciate. I’ve spent a good six hours with this samurai epic and can confirm that it’s well worth unsheathing your wallet for—click here for a longer version of why that is. Beyond that, you should also be aware that there are cheaper than usual Mario games afoot right now. Wonder, in particular, is well worth your coins.
In retro news, I’m celebrating the 31st birthday of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the best of the Mario/Wario platformers on Game Boy. SML2 is remembered for ditching the original’s Superball Flower in favour of the more familiar and satisfying Fire Flower, plus it introduced Bunny Mario. He could jump higher, glide through the air, and procreate faster (fan theory unconfimred).
Wonder establishes a new standard for what 2D Mario platformers should look like. It is colorful, it is alive, and it is joyful. It also managed to surprise and delight me in continually more creative ways thanks to its unpredictable Wonder Effects.
The Uncharted games have been a diamond for the PS platform, and nothing has dulled their shine here. Despite lacking a level of tweaking we are accustomed to on PC, this port is accomplished and still offers enough choice to personalise to your needs.
Full disclosure: the IGN team wasn’t particularly impressed by the workmanship of this. That said, there have been some pretty major patch upgrades done since that very rocky launch. Personally, I’d buy it for Vice City’s soundtrack alone.
When DBZ: Kakarot is at its best, it’s incredible. The big moments of each saga are brought to life impeccably with beautiful visuals and effects – but more than that, Kakarot also shows love to the smaller, more character driven moments that fans dig.
