Review Round-Up - August 2017

Taking what's old and loved about the classic Sonic games and adding in something new and fresh
into the equation, Sonic Mania easily cast a shadow over any attempt Sonic Team had made before. 

I might have missed my self-imposed deadline for one last review for the month (that one will be posted later tonight), but August 2017 saw nine reviews all the same. It was both a retro and indie themed month of reviews. Beginning the indie part of the month was Infinite Minigolf and Death Squared, which were both impressive enough to earn a B grade. Another indie game, but this time on mobile devices, had lots of inspiration from old school Mario games. This mobile game was Pauli's Adventure Island, only given an average grade (C) due to it not offering enough replay value and being a bit rote (but it being a free download with fun gameplay made that okay in the end).

From there, SuperPhillip Central went down the retro road art style-wise with Slime-san (B+) and the ode to late 80's and early 90's pop and gaming culture with Retro City Rampage DX, roaring onto the Nintendo Switch with a terrific A- score. The Pic-A-Pix-like Piczle Lines DX was a delightful puzzle game, getting a B-, while Nintendo's only game to be featured in this month of reviews, Flip Wars, didn't have enough content or serviceable online to give anything but a slightly above average C+ grade to.

Finally, SuperPhillip Central rounded out August with the Game of the Month, Sonic Mania, a return to greatness and form, and I awarded the game a more-than-worthy A grade to the game. The last review of the month wasn't a wholly new game in its series like Sonic Mania was, but it still brought back classic Mega Man gameplay to the market in compilation form in Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, earning a B.

Infinite Minigolf (NS, PS4, XB1, PC) - B
Death Squared (NS, PS4, XB1, PC) - B
Pauli's Adventure Island (iOS, Android) - C
Slime-san (NS, PC) - B+
Retro City Rampage DX (NS) - A-
Piczle Lines DX (NS) - B-
Flip Wars (NS) - C+
Sonic Mania (NS, PS4, XB1, PC) - A
Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 (PS4, XB1, PC) - B

Mega Man's more modern entries took him from graphical evolution to back to the basics in no time flat!
Experience all to offer in Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, featuring Mega Man 7 - 10!