Date played: November 1st
Platform: Switch
2017 has been an incredible year for gamers. We got Horizon Zero Dawn, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Cuphead, Gran Turismo Sport and many, many more amazing games! Joining the ranks of these exceptional video games is the latest in the quintessential Mario franchise, Super Mario Odyssey.
Bowser has kidnapped Peach for the thousandth time and he's getting ready to get married to her. Mario confronts the spiky monster on his own airship, only to get thrown off, landing on a mysteriously black and white world. He meets a hat named Cappy whose sister was kidnapped by Bowser to serve as a crown for Peach... He hops onto Mario's head and the pair team up for a masterpiece of an adventure!
Right away, the game is reminiscent of Super Mario 64. It just feels right. They absolutely nailed the movement, momentum and actions, an essential component of any platformer. It also has a bit of a Galaxy feel, with a dash of 3D World and New Super Mario Bros U. It's really a wonderful game in every way.
I played a ton of the game last night, completing the initial objectives of 3 areas. The first was Bonnet Town, a colorless world filled with top hats. Everything is a top hat. Literally. Houses, lampposts, even the holes in the walls are hat shaped! I learned all of Mario's core abilities, including the long jump, triple jump, ground pound, backflip and other familiar moves. There's a host of new ones too, like a powerful roll, an air dive and a spin.
Of course, Mario's hat friend Cappy is another important new tool in the plumber's toolkit. Mario can throw the hat to attack enemies, destroy objects, make a jumping platform and even get coins. I'm playing with the pro controller and it works quite well, even for most motion control moves. All except Cappy's homing attack... My hat friend can also be used to control enemies! I learned how to "possess" a frog, then use it's jumping ability to reach the area's exit.
There wasn't much else to do here, it was more of a tutorial, so I quickly made my way to the next world, Cascade Kingdom. This is where the game really started. This level has elements similar to Super Mario 64's opening level, including some beautiful scenery, Chain Chomps and a relatively small level size.
I controlled Chain Chomps to destroy rubble and make a path and explored the area. I had to find some power moons to repair an old hat ship that Cappy spotted nearby. Power moons are basically the game's Star or Shine equivalent. The biggest difference is that these things are all over the place, but always hidden. They also power my ship, with each new area requiring a certain number of moons to reach. To complete this level, I had to control a slumbering Tyrannosaur to wreak havoc throughout the whole area.
There's really too much for me to talk about here. The game is full of stuff to do, secrets to discover, costumes to buy, amazing platforming segments and dozens of enemies to control. The Sand Kingdom, the third world, really opens up the game, even more than the previous area, offering way more ground to explore, hidden interior levels and even a stone jaguar taxi thing that controls like an overly excited dog on ice.
I didn't even mention the awesome fun I had playing this in two player mode with my brother who was visiting. We basically played the entire Sand Kingdom's first story segment together, teaming up for crazy attacks and fun cooperative moves. It's a little harder to play than alone, but it's also very fun and rewarding.
I can now enter the Wooded Kingdom, but can also go back to previous worlds now. They all have a bunch of power moons and have been modified since I first saw them. This adds a TON of stuff to do, all of which is fucking amazing and lots of fun.
On top of the incredible gameplay and huge world to explore, Nintendo proves why they have always been an important player in video games with some seriously impressive graphics and music. Don't get me wrong, the image quality isn't near any top tier game on a PS4 Pro, but let's not forget that this is playing on a portable device...
The colorful graphics are paired with unparalleled animation and attention to detail. The beautiful orchestral music adds even more depth to the overall presentation and feel of the game. I am stunned at this game's quality and at how much fucking fun it is to play. There's nothing better than long jumping through the desert, throwing Cappy around and running like a madman down some sand dunes. Super Mario Odyssey is something special, that's for sure.
Platform: Switch
2017 has been an incredible year for gamers. We got Horizon Zero Dawn, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Cuphead, Gran Turismo Sport and many, many more amazing games! Joining the ranks of these exceptional video games is the latest in the quintessential Mario franchise, Super Mario Odyssey.
Bowser has kidnapped Peach for the thousandth time and he's getting ready to get married to her. Mario confronts the spiky monster on his own airship, only to get thrown off, landing on a mysteriously black and white world. He meets a hat named Cappy whose sister was kidnapped by Bowser to serve as a crown for Peach... He hops onto Mario's head and the pair team up for a masterpiece of an adventure!
Right away, the game is reminiscent of Super Mario 64. It just feels right. They absolutely nailed the movement, momentum and actions, an essential component of any platformer. It also has a bit of a Galaxy feel, with a dash of 3D World and New Super Mario Bros U. It's really a wonderful game in every way.
I played a ton of the game last night, completing the initial objectives of 3 areas. The first was Bonnet Town, a colorless world filled with top hats. Everything is a top hat. Literally. Houses, lampposts, even the holes in the walls are hat shaped! I learned all of Mario's core abilities, including the long jump, triple jump, ground pound, backflip and other familiar moves. There's a host of new ones too, like a powerful roll, an air dive and a spin.
Of course, Mario's hat friend Cappy is another important new tool in the plumber's toolkit. Mario can throw the hat to attack enemies, destroy objects, make a jumping platform and even get coins. I'm playing with the pro controller and it works quite well, even for most motion control moves. All except Cappy's homing attack... My hat friend can also be used to control enemies! I learned how to "possess" a frog, then use it's jumping ability to reach the area's exit.
There wasn't much else to do here, it was more of a tutorial, so I quickly made my way to the next world, Cascade Kingdom. This is where the game really started. This level has elements similar to Super Mario 64's opening level, including some beautiful scenery, Chain Chomps and a relatively small level size.
I controlled Chain Chomps to destroy rubble and make a path and explored the area. I had to find some power moons to repair an old hat ship that Cappy spotted nearby. Power moons are basically the game's Star or Shine equivalent. The biggest difference is that these things are all over the place, but always hidden. They also power my ship, with each new area requiring a certain number of moons to reach. To complete this level, I had to control a slumbering Tyrannosaur to wreak havoc throughout the whole area.
 |
| Cascade Kingdom was tons of fun! |
I didn't even mention the awesome fun I had playing this in two player mode with my brother who was visiting. We basically played the entire Sand Kingdom's first story segment together, teaming up for crazy attacks and fun cooperative moves. It's a little harder to play than alone, but it's also very fun and rewarding.
I can now enter the Wooded Kingdom, but can also go back to previous worlds now. They all have a bunch of power moons and have been modified since I first saw them. This adds a TON of stuff to do, all of which is fucking amazing and lots of fun.
On top of the incredible gameplay and huge world to explore, Nintendo proves why they have always been an important player in video games with some seriously impressive graphics and music. Don't get me wrong, the image quality isn't near any top tier game on a PS4 Pro, but let's not forget that this is playing on a portable device...
The colorful graphics are paired with unparalleled animation and attention to detail. The beautiful orchestral music adds even more depth to the overall presentation and feel of the game. I am stunned at this game's quality and at how much fucking fun it is to play. There's nothing better than long jumping through the desert, throwing Cappy around and running like a madman down some sand dunes. Super Mario Odyssey is something special, that's for sure.
