Platformer

There was a time when platformers were about the only type of game hitting the market. Spyro and Crash seemed to be the most talked about characters, and Mario 64 was a contender for the greatest game ever made. The genre peaked and, mixed with the dropping quality of long-time franchises, disappeared to almost nothing. The Last Tinker seems to try to recapture those glory days, but misses exactly what made the greats so noteworthy in the first place.

If you want to be a huge hit in the indie world, your best bet is to move to Sweden. At least it feels like that is where all the good games are coming from right now. This week will be no different, as SteamWorld Dig, already available on multiple platforms including the 3DS, will receive an additional release on Nintendo's Wii U console.All I need to tell you is that it is worth it.

At its heart, Shovel Knight is a platformer that echoes the NES classics of Mega Man, Duck Tales, Zelda 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3, then takes everything that works well within those games and throws away the tedium that can become infuriating.

It feels so long ago that I went out and purchased a banana yellow Gameboy Pocket and copies of Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2. As a kid, I always had to pay for my own games as my parents refused to purchase games for birthdays or Christmas. For that reason, these two games were played a lot. Many years later, Nintendo is still releasing titles in the Donkey Kong Country franchise; how thankful long-time fans must be, because Nintendo continues to release high quality, top tier games.

To say that Nintendo has released more of something is nothing new. More Mario Kart, more Yoshi's Island, and now more Kirby. I use these three specific examples for a reason. More Mario Kart has always been a good thing, while more Yoshi's Island wasn't. Another game in the Kirby franchise is not like another Mario Kart game, but is leaps and bounds ahead of Yoshi's Island.

Yoshi has appeared sporadically throughout the Mario universe, playing major roles in numerous games, and providing cameos in others. In 1995, Yoshi was deemed important enough to be given his own game, and little has changed in the spin-offs and sequels since. Yoshi's New Island, available now for the 3DS, is a familiar platform adventure on a new handheld. Although the core of the game is the same, a few new implementations are less than spectacular, making Yoshi's latest adventure feel like a broken version of the older titles.

Knack perhaps got more attention that almost all the other PlayStation 4 launch titles put together. It was directed by PS4 lead architect Mark Cerny and is Sony's big non-shooter push for the launch window. Although there have been many things said about Knack - that it's "kiddy," too simple - it definitely has its good points. It's just a shame you'll see most of them in the first ten minutes.

Mario and friends are back, in a brand new 3D adventure. Belonging to the same family as the 3DS's Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World adds in a massive focus on co-op and a few new abilities that make looking back in on the Mushroom Kingdom well worth it. There's even some actual plumbing, which is probably a pretty major twist.

There was a time, not so long ago, where the very height of video gaming was going from one side of a set of platforms to the other. There were variations on that, but they effectively tested your timing and muscle memory more than anything else. Putty Squad is from that era of games, and it feels like it. If you want one of your first next-gen experiences to be something ignored for almost two decades, look no further.

After a poor showing over the last couple of games, Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus attempts to revisit the series’ core mechanics and return it to its former glory. Series creator Insomniac mostly succeeds, crafting a short but focused adventure that satisfyingly wraps up the Future sub-series. The game rarely, if ever, breaks new ground. But despite this fact, a funny script, engaging characters, sound gameplay, and luscious art design all make this six hour adventure a great addition to this long running franchise.