How I got Lost In Shadow: A Review

The atmosphere that the Hudson Soft-produced Wii title Lost In Shadow creates is remarkable. The game's premise is simple, yet compelling: the player takes control of the shadow of a nameless boy to reach the top of an enormous tower in order to reunite shadow and body. Here's the catch: as a shadow, you are confined entirely to other shadows that make up the environment.

This makes for some brilliant gameplay that revolves around the interaction of light and shadow. The puzzles force players to correctly utilize the ability to move real-world objects, rotate the game world, and shift light sources, all of which alter the layout of the shadows. Simple sword-based combat adds a touch of variety to the platforming gameplay.

Unfortunately, this game suffers from one major issue: poor pacing. The levels never seem to get much harder, and both the combat and the puzzle-solving become stale after a while. The visuals, though quite fetching, also lack desperately-needed variety as the game progresses.

All said and done, I don't know if this game justifies a purchase, but a rent is certainly well-deserved.

2012 Nintendo Lifeline Awards: Nominees

Well, it's that time again. The time when we look back at all of the best moments of the year. The purpose of the Nintendo Lifeline Awards is to celebrate the best moments in the world of Nintendo. First, however, I feel it necessary to offer this disclaimer: I will never have the time or money to try every worthwhile game in any one year, so my experience is quite limited. The Lifeline Awards are for entertainment and reflection only.

That said, here are the categories and corresponding nominees:

Best Overall Game

• Super Mario 3D Land (N3DS)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (N3DS)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
• Mario Kart 7 (N3DS)
• Wii Play Motion (Wii)
• Star Fox 64 3D (N3DS)
• Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (N3DS)
• Lost in Shadow (Wii)

Best Overall Graphics

• Super Mario 3D Land (N3DS)
• Star Fox 64 3D (N3DS)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (N3DS)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
• Steel Diver (N3DS)
• Lost in Shadow (Wii)

Best Get-up

• Tanooki Mario (Super Mario 3D Land)
• Ghirahim (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
• Metal Mario (Mario Kart 7)
• Kirby Hat (Nintendogs+cats)

Best Method of Travel

• Loftwing (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
• Tanooki Tail (Super Mario 3D Land)
• Cannon (Super Mario 3D Land)
• Propeller Block (Super Mario 3D Land)
• By Shadow (Lost in Shadow)
• Submarine (Steel Diver)
• Arwing (Star Fox 64 3D)
• Horse (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D)
• Hang Glider (Pilotwings Resort)
• Customizable Kart (Mario Kart 7)

Best Use of Stereoscopic 3D

• Super Mario 3D Land
• Steel Diver
• Nintendogs+cats
• Pilotwings Resort

As you can very well tell, there isn't a whole lot of variety in either my categories or the nominees therein. You'll also notice that the "Best Method of Travel" category easily packs in the most nominees of all, so my advice is that you take all of this with a grain of salt. Please feel free to give your favorites shout-outs in the comments, because I will certainly take them into consideration as I decide the winners. Check back in early January for the results!

Xenoblade Chronicles is coming to North America! Yay?

Say hello to Xenoblade Chronicles, North America! What do I know about this game? Not much. Just that the Wii exclusive was released in many parts of the world, but not North America for whatever reason, and that a fan-made organization called "Operation Rainfall" pushed for the North American release. Nintendo of America has officially announced a release for the game sometime in April 2012. For now, the game will only be sold through Nintendo's online store and Gamestop.

So lets take a look at this trailer! First of all, if I were to get this game, it would probably end up as the most violent game I've ever owned...according to the ESRB descriptors, that is. I'm just glad it's not M-rated, because that would completely eliminate the chance of my getting it. Why do I mention this? It brings to mind the most basic conflict that comes up with this release: is there an audience for it? I'm guessing most of the people who really wanted the game already imported a European copy.

But then there are people like me. I might just get this game now that it's more readily available. I like RPG's okay, and this one has gotten stellar reviews, including a lot of perfect scores.

I'm pretty conflicted about this, so time will tell!

Oldies - Nintendo 64

I think that it's time to look back at the good ol' times of the Nintendo 64. With its great game library, playing this station is for sure one of the bests! I have a number of 64 games but by far my favorite to play is Harvest Moon. With its awesome music and the fact that you can pick who you marry and then have a kid with them (who never ages past 2, I swear!) this game is just an example of how awesome the Nintendo 64 truly is.

Lately with all of the new stations coming out (DS, Wii, Xbox Kinect) everyone forgets about the better things in life. What happened to family, friends, school, and old Nintendo stations? Now everything is about how good the graphics are, or how swift the motion control is. Did developers forget how nice it was when all you had to do was stare at the screen and push a couple of buttons?

I think the 64 is kind of like a loving grandparent. No matter how old they are you'll still love them and respect them always. Sometimes they can even teach you a couple of things. Well that just about wraps it up for me! Go and play some of your old stations again and forget about the new, even if it's just for a day.

Video games and snow

This won't be the last of the winter snow.

A chill in the basement, a heavy coat, a car that won't start...yep, just a typical winter morning in my little southern Utah town. The chilly season has begun. With it, I can't help but think about the many, many Nintendo games that feature snow or ice areas.

Think about any Super Mario game from Super Mario 64 to the present and you undoubtedly remember some of the ice/snow levels in them. Can you really be surprised that that's the case? The unique features of ice provide for a compelling platforming environment. Right now I'm specifically thinking of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the penguin suit, which brought ice-based platforming to a new level of fun.

"Ice? Fun?!" you may be thinking. Hey, I don't like ice much myself, but one thing is certain: it adds much-appreciated variety to video games. So how about you guys? Do you like or dislike the inevitably slippery ice levels of today's platforming games? Go ahead and let us know in the comments!