Action-adventure has to be my favorite genre of movie. The genre has had some very memorable movies over the years from the Indiana Jones series to Pirates of the Caribbean. My favorite, however, has to be Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's The Adventures of Tintin. The film really has everything I look for in the genre; well-directed action, mystery, fun fight scenes, and of course, a sense of adventure.

One aspect I love about Tintin is that it doesn't pull any punches. Right out of the gate, you meet Tintin, his dog Snowy, and an antagonizing pickpocket who ends up playing a slightly-bigger-than-expected role in the overall story. Next up, Tintin buys a model ship that everyone else wants including an older gentlemen who just wreaks of 'bad guy.' In the first five minutes the ball starts rolling unfolding mysteries, constantly asking and answering questions, and causing our heroes to adventure. The first act goes very fast which is refreshing as it doesn't spend too much time on getting to know the main character. Instead, the audience gets to know the main character as the film progresses so it feels very natural but also very fast paced. Toward the beginning, however, it seems a little too fast paced. Throughout the first act you can tell that Tintin is figuring out the mystery as he's going along but he doesn't necessarily key us in on it until later in the film which is slightly annoying. The picture doesn't really kick in to full gear until Captain Haddock is introduced. Aside from playing a huge role in the story as both a rival for the main antagonist and Tintin's partner, he is very funny and enjoyable but still clever enough to take care of himself even if some of his success is because of dumb luck. It's not Captain Sparrow dumb luck, though, because in his case things just happen around him and he benefits. In Captain Haddock's case he gets the ball rolling which allows him to work around a situation somewhat elegantly. This is especially noticeable during the amazingly well-done action segments. There is a general flow and rhythm to them that anybody can appreciate. During these segments, Haddock and Tintin work very well together and shows their chemistry very well. If I had one problem with the action, though, it would be with Tintin's dog, Snowy. He isn't terrible but whenever he does something so extraordinary that not even a human could do it really takes me out of the whole experience. Sure, he's cute, but there is a point where it becomes too much.

The animation and sound in The Adventures of Tintin are both great. The animation is done with motion capture which, in most cases, I would be against because most movies fall into the trap of becomes uncanny valley but Tintin does it relatively well. Because all of the main characters have characteristics about them that are akin to a cartoon, it never seems too real until some of the more normal-looking side-characters come in. For example, there is an opera singer in the second act that is way too lifelike in the most bizarre ways. Most of the background characters in the part of the film can get to the point of uncanny valley which does slightly take me out of the experience. The music is composed by the illustrious John Williams and he is the perfect pick. In all, a very memorable soundtrack. The sound design is also magnificent. Crash hits just when you expect them and winds when the winds blow all make for a very immersive experience.

The Adventures of Tintin is a very great Indiana Jones-esque movie with its own soul that it just magnificent. My only huge complaint is that it hasn't gotten a sequel. Most viewers would say that it deserves one especially with an ending like the one it had but I would be fine if we were left with just this.

The Adventures of Tintin is an enormous amount of fun.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
I wouldn't say that a whole lot of anime talk about death. Sure people die in many shows and movies but none try to go out of their way to explain death. The process of the afterlife and what ends up mattering during life. This is what Death Parade is all about; that is, the afterlife.

Death Parade's set-up and story is amazing. The entirety of the anime takes place at the Quinndecim, a bar in the afterlife designed to test two occupants at a time to conclude whether their soul will be reincarnated into a new body or be sent into the void. The bartender of this mysterious place, named Decim who is an Arbiter, explains this as Heaven and Hell to the occupants for easier understanding. He and the other Arbiters of the various bars that one can be sent to decide the fate of these humans by participating in games with each other in order to bring out their true self. These games can range from arcade fighting games to Billiards to even Old Maid. Playing these games brings out the true intentions of ones soul so that the fate of them can be determined not by who wins the game but who is a better person. Decim's assistant who doesn't have a name and, at first, seems to be an Arbiter-in-training quickly realizes that this method of retrieving someone's true soul by force can be brutal to even inhumane in some cases. Decim and his assistant's relationship between one another is the driving force behind the twelve-episode show. While Decim is a somber emotionless rule-follower, his assistant is generally more morally justified in her actions and can even be quick-tempered at times. The assistant also has a mystery surrounding her that is slowly revealed as the show's various plot lines intertwine with one another to uncover her backstory. All of the other Arbiter's have varied personalities and backstories. I especially enjoy Mona, the 'boss' Arbiter who tries to keep everyone else in line but also has her own motivations. She isn't dull, though, as her personality is almost a combination of cynical and fun. 

The music and animation of Death Parade fit the show extremely well. At first the OP, Flyers by BRADIO, caught me off guard from it's up-beat and fun attitude when the show is the complete opposite most of the time. It did grow on me, however, as it pumped me up and made me feel better before the heartache that was just around the corner. The music at the Quinndecim is very low and jazzy and perfect for a lounge setting while the other areas and bars have different moods and themes incorporated into them very nicely in their own musical ways. The visuals are also very polished and nice looking, though not as stylized as I would've expected from Studio Madhouse. This sounds like a contradiction but Death Parade can be very colorful in its own muted way as characters seem to just pop out from the rest of the scene that they are placed in. 

The Death Parade English sub is on Crunchyroll and the English dub is on Funimation but I prefer the dub overall. 

Death Parade is mortifyingly brilliant.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
"When it comes down to it, there are few people who will swing the bat." This quote, among others, sums up FLCL perfectly. To put it simply, it's a story about growing up; actions vs. consequence, true love, etc. This story approaches it from an angle that I have never quite seen before. Using beautiful story and animation techniques it provides multiple viewpoints for a story about one kid's journey.

The story is all over the place in a good way. Characters are introduced ad nauseum, plot threads get cut and reintroduced seemingly randomly, and personalities can flip at a dime. In any other anime these would all be bad things but in FLCL it sums up what it means to be young. You meet new people, forget and remember past actions, and most importantly, you are extremely emotional. The character of Naota is just this. At the start of the show he is young, immature, and inexperienced but when the finale hits, he is a whole new man. Every single character in this show has a great arc of growing up. By episode six every single character has changed and grown. Before the plot of the show, Naota's older brother had a girlfriend named Mamimi. When he graduated, however, he moved to the U.S. in order to pursue his own dreams which leaves Mamimi heartbroken and she uses Naota as a cushion for her sadness. To her, Naota is the closest she can get to Naota's brother. This does cause trouble, though. Naota is twelve and Mamimi is seventeen. Among the funny and awkward character interactions the position they're in is conducive to them understanding each other more by the end. The first episode of FLCL is an utter masterpiece. I don't want to give too much away but a character is introduced in a way that perfectly captures her personality. The show's story isn't without its faults though. The show does have a supernatural element to it that isn't explained very well. The characters do work well around this element and it can lead to some great action scenes and funny moments, but it isn't until the finale that you truly understand what's going on. Is that a bad thing? No but I feel the series would have been even better if it at least hinted at the explanation.

The animation and soundtrack are both mind-blowing. The art style is perfect and the fight scenes have a certain kind of Saguka to them that really got my heart racing. The character designs themselves are even great. The characters are all memorable just by their designs alone which helps you become attached to them even more. The soundtrack fits the show perfectly. Almost every song is created by a Japanese band named "The Pillows". They do a great job at catching the theme of the show and the entire OST will go straight into my music library after writing this.

FLCL is an anime that I will never forget watching. It is clean, simple, but also beautiful and surprisingly mature for a comedy-action series. The plot is confusing but has great re-watchablity.

FLCL is utterly crazy in a good way but can be hard to follow. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
What makes a hero? That is the ultimate question trying to be answered in the first season of Gatchaman Crowds. This inquiry of responsibility and bravery isn't new to anime or even entertainment as a whole but I believe Gatchaman Crowds takes it from a different perspective than other examples.

At face value, Gatchaman Crowds is a take on the Super Sentai, or Power Rangers, format. A group of super-beings trying to save the world. Those beings are the Gatchaman. Created by a mysterious being named J.J. who every once and a while will knight an ordinary person or alien to take on the role as defender of the Earth. Hajime Ichinose is the newest recruit to the team. The only problem: she's an irresponsible goofball, at least at face value. The truth is that Hajime is simply more aware than every body else on the team. For example, her first mission is to help rid of an alien entity called MESS. The Gatchaman have been hunting these creatures down for years and what does Hajime do? Befriend them. This is her character. Instead of conforming to the status queue she will instead do what she feels will have the best outcome. She isn't the only interesting character. The entire Gatchaman team is very unique with each having their own hidden backstory which I can only hope the next season explains more. That is one of my gripes with the show so far. Nothing seems explained which leaves the continuity between the two seasons confusing at best. Among other problems I have with the second season this is the worst. The first season is fun and upbeat with a simple but ultimately very enjoyable story. The second season, Gatchaman Crowds: Insight, isn't that. It trades off the hero theme with the question of "what makes a perfect society?" This isn't inherently bad and was ultimately engaging but the switch was so fast and awkward that it ultimately left me with a bad taste in my mouth. In the first episode of Insight two new characters are introduced very abruptly and doesn't give the viewer a whole lot of time to get to know them. Besides this misstep the first four episodes are very good. Insight introduces a very interesting villain and a moral opposite to a main character from Season 1. At episode five, however, that interesting villain is caught and stops playing a role in the story, for the most part. In all, Insight was a disappointment but not bad as the second half is very well done. 

The visuals and music of Gatchaman Crowds is great. The music mostly has an EDM feel which fits well with the technology-focused story as well as the upbeat character relationships. Some of my favorites are "In The Name of Love", an exciting hero theme that plays during battles; and "Tutu", a relaxing pop-ish song that plays when the characters are just hanging out with each other. All of the other tracks are used very well and are all memorable. The OP's and ED's of the season are all great and earn spots in my music library. The visuals, though good, are jarring at times. When the Gatchaman transform into their super-suits the drawn models are replaced with shiny 3-D ones. I did get used to it after a few episodes but I can say it caught me by surprise. All of the drawn characters and backgrounds are colorful and expressive. 

Gatchaman Crowds is definitely a different series. It has fun characters and great animation and music but flops all around the place during the second season. Overall, though, worth the watch and I can't wait until the eventual Season 3. 

Gatchaman Crowds is colorful and fun.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Lately, Disney's animation division has had a great habit of taking the status queue and twisting it to modern times through means such as diversity in characters, heavy morals, and a larger focus on character interactions. Films before like Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 have done this in the years prior, but it hasn't done quite as much, at least for me, as Zootopia has.

Other recent movies have dealt with diversity in their own ways by simply having more of it but Zootopia uses this as the main theme of the entire picture. The story takes place mostly in the bustling city of Zootopia where anybody can be anything if they try hard enough; at least this is what the animals who live outside the city limits have been taught. In reality, as in our reality, it's is not quite that simple. This standard of living creates the ideal city but these ideals don't become true overnight as Judy Hopps of the ZPD wants. Of course this should be the case. Everybody should have the same opportunities in spite of ones' religion, class, or race, or species in this case. When the new bunny officer arrives in Zootopia, however, she realizes that the city is filled with bigotry and hate against one another just because of their biology, predator or prey. The eager rabbit takes on a missing persons case and teams up with a sly street fox named Nick Wilde and heads off to solve the case and solve the problems that the city itself has.

Zootopia is an extremely clever film. It manages to take something that we have all experienced at least once in our life and turn it into a comedy adventure flick with great characters that are constantly helping each other out when in need. There really feels like there is a great growth to these characters. Judy Hopps begins on the police force with a sense that she doesn't belong there but with enough determination she learns that she can be whoever she wants to be. Nick Wilde, on the other hand, starts as sort of a conman but becomes more responsible as the film progresses. Usually with Disney's recent films I have the problem of some characters not getting enough screen time but in Zootopia each of the characters got just enough and because of this the twist at the end seemed really fulfilling.

Zootopia does have its problems but not many. First of all, though we did get to see a lot of the city I still wanted more of it. This problem is not the film just simply that it had to fit into a time slot of one hour and forty-eight minutes which doesn't give the characters a whole lot of time to explore. Also though the humor was great when it was present the film wasn't a comedy by nature. Because of the themes it had to portrait, Zootopia was very light on the humor. Again, not a grievance but from what the promotional material was telling me about the experience I was expecting.

Zootopia is a great film with a lot of heart. It swims deep into some themes that other animated movies don't dare to dip their toe into.

Zootopia is wild!
Monday, March 14, 2016
I wasn't expecting much with Fate/Stay Night UBW. I knew that there was a whole universe to the Fate series and a lot of fans to the anime and visual novel alike but I didn't realize that it would be this good. Not only is the animation amazing but the characters are well fleshed out, the story keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the lore is given to you in an easy to digest, but not boring, manner.

First of all, the animation in this series is absolutely fantastic. I can't say the same for the other Fate series' but in Fate/Stay Night Ufotable did an amazing job. Their animation style is so fluid and fast yet easy to follow that I never once had to rewind the episode in wonder of what just happened. There is a term used in the anime industry, though not frequently, called 'sakuga'. The term itself literally means 'drawing pictures' but in the industry it says so much more about the actual quality of the animation being presented, at least of that which is really good. You can see examples of this in anime such as FLCL (which I still have not watched in full) but more recently it can be attributed to Studio Madhouse' 2015 success One Punch Man. Fate/Stay Night UBW doesn't ooze with this term like One Punch Man does but it does perform at about the same level during its fight scenes. The characters all have a certain weight to them that can only be described as 'real'. I say this because when the characters aren't using magic to enhance their acrobatics or do crazy powerful moves, the way they fight is just like what you would expect to see. The sword fights especially are very great but the fights between only magic users can seem a bit lacking at least for me.

The story, though not perfect, is very good and well deserving of all the praise given to it. All the characters are relatable in their own sense but still have a mysterious factor about them that makes them intriguing. The mysteries to the story is really great in this anime. It seems like there is a perfect balance of our heroes, Rin and Shiro, solving mysteries as well has finding new mysteries to be solved. When trying to solve a problem the two characters also have great chemistry that makes them all the more relatable and not forced. Not all the characters are this well done, however. There is a certain young mage who only gets an episode of backstory. Though this seems like a lot because of the overall length of the show I feel that she needed just a bit more explanation. The same goes for some of the side characters. There is a character by the name of Sakura (of course) who seems to just disappear after the first season and is only seen again in the very last episode. The only reason it bothered me is because, in a way, she is directly involved in the plot.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is a fantastic work of animation with a great story to boot.
Fate/Stay Night UBW is great.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Every once and a while I come across a game that is so well designed and has so much charm that I just fall in love with it. Rayman Legends is one of these games. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Rayman series and the only other game I’ve played in the series is Rayman Raving Rabbids for the PS2. I have seen a little bit of Rayman Origins but didn’t think too much of it as it looked like it was simply another platformer. Rayman Legends, however, is not just a platformer.

Firstly, Rayman Legends is one of the most inventive platformers I’ve played in a long while. The level design is on point with a perfect difficulty curve lasting the entire experience with a variety of bosses and extra modes to keep the player engaged. From the beginning you have the choice between Rayman, two of his friends from Origins, and a new character named Barbara who is a barbarian. Though these four characters play exactly the same it is nice to have that variety. You also have a bunch of abilities that you are able to freely use at your leisure in the first world with no level requiring you to use them. These include running, a variety of attacks to destroy your foes, and hovering which I didn’t realize you could do until world two. The level design is very well done. In every stage there is a linear path that is where your destination lies but if you do some exploring you can find collectibles and lums to help you out in unlocking new costumes and characters or even new levels in different game modes.

As previously stated, the level design in Rayman Legends is very good. The game presents a new gameplay mechanic then tests you on it, the game presents another new gameplay mechanic then tests you on that, then finally it puts the two mechanics together that really tests your skills in using them effectively. The only mechanic that I feel is overused are the levels where you control Murphy. Murphy is a tiny sprite that you can control using the touch pad on the Wii U or with a controller on any other console. You can use him to help guide an AI player, or your friends in co-op, to the end of the level. It isn’t that these sections aren’t fun and unique. They are and it provides a different type of game where the pace of the level isn’t dictated on you; rather on the AI and your ability to help them. My problem with this is that there are too many of these levels in the game. Rayman Legends is a platformer, not a puzzle game. If they restricted it to only one every world than I would be fine with it but sometimes there can be up to three for a world. I would have enjoyed this much more if it were a separate game mode or were incorporated into separate challenge levels. Besides this small nitpick the gameplay is fantastic and extremely well designed.

The music and visuals are both amazing. The game boasts a fully orchestrated soundtrack with an abundance of memorable tracks and rhythms. It isn’t just plain orchestral stuff, though. Every world has its own theme which the music compliments perfectly. Also after the final boss of each world there is a bonus level where you run, jump, and destroy enemies to the beat of some famous songs of the past. The visuals are really something to behold. From grandiose and large sky islands in the background or an Olympic hall filled with cartoony enemies in the foreground, Rayman Legends always has something interesting to look at and listen to.

This game has a lot of unlockables and game modes. There are game modes like the Kung Foot which is a soccer minigame, a helping of HD remade Rayman Origins levels that you can unlock throughout your journey, and even challenges that are updated every week and every day. In every level there is a set amount of Teensies that you can find. These collectible critters are used to unlock levels and characters. Though the characters that you can unlock are given different names they are just costumes of the four characters you already have. I would wish that there were more characters but there are an overabundance of costumes to unlock. When you beat the final boss of a world extra challenge levels called “invasions” will be unlocked. In these you play short time trial versions of your favorite levels with enemies from some of the later worlds. These don’t give you anything particularly special but they do grant you more Teensies and Lums you can use to unlock more characters and stages.

Rayman Legends is a fantastic platformer with a lot going for it. Though it does have problems, it is worth any price tag that is slapped on it. It has beautiful visuals and music, great platforming design, and a whole lot of character. 

Rayman Legends is legendary.
Wednesday, March 09, 2016
I love the Nintendo Wii. Though it has a whole lot of the console library can be considered shovelware, if you look hard enough you can find some great games. These following games aren't necessarily great but they each add something unique to the table. 




I’m usually not a fan of anything labeled as “horror.” There are only a few scary movies that I genuinely find to be scary such as Oculus or The Babadook. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a surprisingly thrilling experience, though I wouldn’t say scary. The locations are very unsettling and the motion-centric gameplay is surprisingly intuitive, though unresponsive at times. Again, this game isn’t necessarily scary but it is very ominous and even unpleasant. Dim corridors, icy landscapes, and ghostly apparitions are all elements of Shattered Memories uses in order to give the mysterious town of Silent Hill a very disquieting atmosphere. Though the story and voice acting can be grating at times, the frights are furious throughout the whole experience. This game isn’t without its faults, however. There are certain action-based sections where the player is forced to run from vampiric monsters. These sections don’t further the plot or make the atmosphere even more frightening, it just slows down the pace.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is flawed horror.



I'm a big fan of rail shooters. I have been since playing them in the arcades as a kid and Sin and Punishment: Star Successor really takes me back. Though the story is kind of bland and the voice acting ranges from OK to atrocious, the gameplay, crazy scenarios, and bosses keep me floored throughout the entire experience.  First of all, this gameplay is polished but simple. You have a button for evading, a melee attack for close range, and a reticule to blast down your enemies. The game doesn’t waste its time with pointless power-ups or upgrades as the game is constantly riding a pretty solid difficulty curve with just a few spikes here and there for boss battles. The bosses are all very unique and fun also. One minute you’re fighting a giant sea leviathan and the next you’re being held down by giant underground turtle. This game just likes to throw as many crazy battle scenarios at you as possible. From hovering above a crumbing city to beneath the vast ocean, you will be fighting a great variety of monsters the whole way through. If you liked games like Kid Icarus Uprising or other rail shooters, you will love this game.

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is great rail shooter fun.




I love traditional fighting games. Though I am horrible at them I do find the craft and tournament scene very enjoyable. The Guilty Gear series is one of those tournament viable games that it extremely out there. The characters are varied and strange, the locations cover all of the extremes, and the fighting is difficult and crazy. Guilty Gear XX Core Plus does boast an enjoyable story mode for each of the characters but the story isn’t the interesting part; the character interactions are what is great about it. A robot who only wants love from a women, a British time traveler pirate, a nun who fights with a yoyo and a teddy bear are just some of the incredibly unique characters that this fighting game has to offer. This gem was originally released for the PS2 but look better and, in my opinion, controls better on the Wii with the ability to use the Wii Pro Controller. Guilty Gear XX Core Plus can get pretty weird but I still love it.

Guilty Gear XX Core Plus is crazy and in-depth. 
Monday, March 07, 2016
This past week I started watching Netflix's Fuller House, a sequel to ABC's 90's sitcom of similar title, Full House. I got through the first three episodes with relative ease but I kept asking myself one question: is this even funny? The answer should be yes as Fuller House is a comedy and was made for the purpose to be one. It does have a couple really clever jokes that made me laugh at loud. Only a couple, though, as the majority of the jokes fell flat for me. This got me thinking if sitcoms are even relevant anymore.

The process of inserting laugh tracks to fill in silence in order to make the joke seem funny is, in my opinion, obsolete. Laugh tracks also, in many ways, take away from the sensation of getting the joke myself. In many instances I end up laughing not because the the characters are enjoyable or the joke was funny, but because I was pressured into laughing by the show. This doesn't make a show like Fuller House bad, however. It does have a lot of neat ideas that are being introduced, though a little too slow for my liking. For example, I really enjoy the relationship that DJ has with her sister Stephanie and their friend Kimmy Gibbler. The dynamic is just really fun and interesting, at least for me considering I have absolutely no nostalgia for the original ABC show. I remember certain scenes from it and sometimes episodes, but I was never really a fan because I was born after it concluded and therefore never got around to watching it. I understand that back then a laugh track was just a thing that studios did in order to make their shows more appealing but I like to believe that now we have grown to be smarter and don't need the show to tell us if a scene was enjoyable or not.

Compare the comedy from Fuller House to that of Modern Family. I know that the latter's comedy is much more mature but I think it is a fair argument. Modern Family's comedy can make me laugh hysterically with no laugh track needed. The former's comedy is much more simple and even immature at times and the laugh track just reminds me of how often the comedy doesn't land. I ask myself "Why are these people laughing at this" only to remember that the sound isn't of people laughing at the joke, but just in general. Though the definition of sitcom doesn't include the inclusion of laugh tracks, it is almost necessary for a show to be a 'true sitcom.' But why? Are we as a people that desperate for confirmation of whether a joke landed or are we just too ignorant to realize when it didn't. I don't think so.

There is a reason that Full House was so popular in the nineties. It was because that kind of comedy was attractive to the audience and the masses had just come out of an industry dominated by live studio audiences. These newer shows had to capitalize on that market while also providing new ideas. As a culture we have grown out of that and shows like Modern Family is a great example of this. This is why Fuller House just seems extremely dated. I've only seen the first three episodes but so far I feel like I'm watching the early nineties version. Maybe that's what the creators wanted in order to get the audience's nostalgia? This doesn't make the show bad, just lacking. laugh tracks to fill in silence in order to make the joke seem funny is, in my opinion, obsolete. Laugh tracks also, in many ways, take away from the sensation of getting the joke myself. In many instances I end up laughing not because the the characters are enjoyable or the joke was funny, but because I was pressured into laughing by the show. This doesn't make a show like
Friday, March 04, 2016
Most gamers, like me, have been longing for a MegaMan-style shooter with much of the same tropes and tight controls as the old classics. The Gunman Clive series takes the formula of MegaMan and other similar shooters and strips it down to its roots while keeping the same amount of fun and difficulty.


The original Gunman Clive for the Nintendo 3DS is a very straight forward game. Give chase to the bandits who have kidnapped Miss Watson (or Clive depending on who you’re playing as) through a bunch of stages while jumping, shooting, powering up your gun, and fighting bosses. Like I said, the original is very straight forward with levels similar in theme and scope, though fun.

From the start you have a choice between two characters who play very differently: Gunman Clive and Miss Watson. Clive and generally jump higher and farther than Miss Watson but she has a Princess Peach-style float that she can activate by holding the jump button in mid-air. They do use the same basic gun but throughout a stage you can find upgrades hidden in enemies. The game itself isn’t too hard, but I did feel like some of my deaths weren’t very fair. Like a bird dropping a bomb from off screen. Minor complaints. When you beat the game once you unlock duck mode which is exactly what you think it is. You play as a duck. All the levels are exactly the same, besides bosses, but you play as a duck. I don’t know why this is a feature but it is a nice distraction and can be pretty challenging for those completionists.

Though Gunman Clive 1 is a very good game in its own right gameplay wise, there wasn’t a whole lot of new content being introduced to keep me very interested throughout the entire experience. Gunman Clive 2, on the other hand, adds new mechanics almost every single level and is constantly expanding. One level I’m platforming with interesting gravity mechanics and the next I’m riding a panda through ancient China. It gets crazy fast. Though this does make the experience a constant rollercoaster of interesting mechanics, I feel that Gunman Clive doesn’t keep these mechanics long enough which leaves me wanting more.

If you decide to check out the series, I recommend the Wii U Gunman Clive HD Collection with improved gorgeous graphics and an extra playable character. The HD Collection is $3.99 while Gunman Clive 1 and 2 alone are $2 and $3, respectively.


Gunman Clive and Gunman Clive 2 are worth checking out for fans of the NES classics. 
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
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