Scurge: Hive (Multi) Review

A new review is here, though it's of an old game that recently re-released! Make sense? Excellent! And even if it doesn't make sense yet, it hopefully will with this review of Scurge: Hive, as seen on all current gen platforms.

This Retro Cult Classic: Is it Infectious or Defective?

The original Scurge: Hive released on the Game Boy Advance as well as the Nintendo DS in 2006. It received acclaim for its highly engrossing atmosphere, especially for a sprite-based portable game of its time. Now, ahead of its twentieth anniversary, Scurge: Hive is back on modern-day consoles and PC courtesy of publisher Ratalaika Games with added features for an entirely new generation to [hopefully] enjoy.

Scurge: Hive begins with a Samus Aran-like bounty hunter character named Jenosa Arma, who enters a research lab on the planet Inos in hopes for a successful rescue mission. However, things go awry quite quickly when upon encountering the source of the lab's problems, the titular Scurge parasite, infects her. Now, without immunity and an infection slowly eating at her suit, Jenosa Arma must continue her mission, as the fate of the planet and perhaps the entire universe is in her hands. 

Don't mess with a woman on a mission.

Most of Scurge: Hive's story is told through transmissions between Ms. Arma herself and her ship's AI companion. Occasionally, computer consoles can reveal further lore regarding the story. What's here is serviceable enough and even opens up the path for a sequel (while thankfully not ending on an obnoxious cliffhanger). 

Skewed height and depth perception can make for a lot of jumping errors.

One of the aspects of Scurge: Hive that is immediately noticeable upon entering gameplay is that everything takes place in an isometric-esque perspective. While this is cool indeed to look at, it oftentimes makes judging jumps and especially depth quite troublesome. Missed jumps because of misjudging the distance or heights between platforms was a common occurrence during my playthrough. That said, that usually meant that only some seconds were wasted, sometimes minutes at worst, especially in the latter quarter of the game.

Another somewhat annoying quirk, though one that makes sense for the story but makes for a headache for the gameplay, is that again, Jenosa is infected with the Scurge parasite. There is a meter that accrues percentage points, starting from 1% to, of course, 100%. When the gauge is full, Jenosa's health will automatically start to deplete, and at a somewhat steady clip, too. The only way to buy Jenosa time is to head to one of the game's decontamination stations that have a secondary purpose of serving as save points. It can be frustrating to contend with enemies wanting to kill you as the infection slowly tries to do the same. A watchful eye is needed to ensure that Jenosa doesn't stray too far from a decontamination area, though fortunately, these are generally always marked on the map shortly upon entering a new zone.

Speaking of zones, while the game does feature some interconnected aspects, most of the time you're relegated to one zone or area per excerpt--the game's naming convention for its chapters. Most of the time once you are finished with a chapter, you're done with a given area completely. While this might seem harsh for a Metroid-like game, there are no character upgrades to speak of--at least of the optional variety. Instead, an RPG-like leveling system, where defeating foes and siphoning their cells serve a dual purpose of acting as experience points and health, to boot. 

The basic flow and structure of Scurge: Hive is one that remains similar throughout the length of the game. You enter a new area--you're tasked with finding and pulling six large nodes into their proper sockets to power up a transporter that leads to the chapter's boss. Along the way you get new abilities to access previously unreachable or inaccessible portions of the zone's map, as well as see Jenosa tasked with collecting these turquoise key cards to open gates. More than one is always required, with the late-game gates requiring up to nine. Sometimes this can feel like looking for needles in haystacks, as it necessitates careful combing of each room, side area, and section of the map as to not overlook a card. 

When all six beacons are lit by inserted nodes, the way to the boss reveals itself.

Jenosa starts out relatively weak, but in true blue Metroid-style fashion--and as just mentioned in the last paragraph, of course--she does earn new abilities. Most of these come in the form of firepower. What Jenosa starts out with is a relatively weak pea shooter, but as her mission progresses, various types of weaponry are introduced. Different weapons produce different results on different enemies. One of the earliest examples includes the electromagnetic pulse--EMP--which works wonders on destroying enemies of the mechanical and robotic persuasion, but energy-based foes only get stronger and more powerful when they're inflicted with EMP blasts. 

All manner of infected frights and horrors await Jenosa on her mission.

This weakness-for-some, power-for-others weapon mechanic is rather novel, but like some aspects of Scurge: Hive, it can grow really tedious and annoying. The game loves to pit Jenosa against a multitude of enemies at once, and a lot of the time they're of different strengths and weaknesses. It never failed to frustrate when encounters saw Jenosa face two completely differing enemy types: one weak to the weapon that the other type essentially laughed at when she fired it at them. Of course, both enemies would bum rush Jenosa, meaning that attempting to damage the correct foe was a fool's errand--and yes, I played the part of the fool a great deal.

The latter half of the game sees loads of enemies loving to gang up on Jenosa.

Outside of the myriad weapon types, which can be switched between on the fly through a radial menu, there are upgrades for Jenosa's suit and incredibly helpful tether. This tether can be utilized to pull objects (such as those aforementioned nodes), enemies, and later on in the game, grab floating orbs which can then be used to catapult Jenosa across otherwise impossible-to-cross chasms. 

Each excerpt (or again, chapter) concludes with an epic boss battle. These encounters are some of the most exciting parts of the game, featuring creatures that fill up a sizable portion of room real estate. Generally, patience, well timed shots, and plenty of deft dodging work to defeat these foes, but I will admit that quite a few took me multiple times to take down and out. Still, they're nice breathers in between the slight amount of tedium and large doses of repetition that tracking down keys, nodes, and abilities can deliver to players.

Jenosa's about to show this grotesque creature who's really the boss.

Scurge: Hive on modern platforms isn't just the same game without any bells and whistles added. Save states for both manual and auto saves are supported, a wide supply of graphical filters are included, and one of the better aspects of this repackaged port is that of cheats. These range from invincibility and the contamination gauge never filling, to infinite energy for weapons and auto-healing. Shamefully, I could not withstand the tedium of searching for the final key card I required in the absolute final excerpt of the game, so I happily turned on the infinite key card cheat so I could enter the last gate without scurrying around well-trodden territory ad nauseum. 

All blown up on a big screen, Scurge: Hive isn't the greatest to look at--but obviously it was meant for handhelds and portable play. That said, some of the graphical effects, chiefly the flashing upon using the ice weapon, are way too strong. Otherwise, effects like smoke and mist covering over the screen in trace amounts accentuate the atmosphere and ambiance within this technical and graphical marvel of a game. To ponder and then realize that this was originally a Game Boy Advance game just floors me. The incredible character, enemy, and boss sprites, as well as the highly detailed environments make for a truly impressive experience for the eyes.

Scurge: Hive may not have gone viral back when it released in 2006 as a late GBA release, nor will it most likely light up sales charts nearly 20 years after the fact, but it's great to see more preservation to these types of games performed--much like how Ratalaika Games brought back Aero the Acrobat, for instance. Despite its occasionally repetitive and sometimes tedious gameplay loop, I am certainly glad I was able to experience this game for the very first time. I can see how it was a bit of a cult classic on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, and I definitely can appreciate both its tech wizardry and just the game in general. Though even with this re-release's added quality of life upgrades like save states, graphical filters, and cheats, I just don't see myself returning to Scurge: Hive. It was a fun game to play, but I don't foresee a reason for me to want to RE-play it. 

[SPC Says: C] 

A PlayStation code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Yooka-Replaylee (PC, PS5, XBS, NS2) Review

Yooka-Laylee originally launched in 2017, and now--depending on who you ask--a seemingly short eight years later, a revised remake of the game releases tomorrow. Ahead of the game's launch, SuperPhillip Central has an in-depth review and my thoughts on this newly remade 3D collect-a-thon platformer. Here's my review of Yooka-Replaylee.

 It's Grand Tome Time Once Again.

2017's Yooka-Laylee was an ambitious--perhaps to a fault--3D platformer and a virtual, spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. Like the bear and bird's adventures, Yooka-Laylee featured a pair of precocious protagonists, Yooka, a chameleon, and Laylee, a bat, who took up residence on Yooka's back, essentially serving as Kazooie's role in both a gameplay and sass role. You had endearing gibberish for dialogue, huge, expansive, colorful worlds to explore, and plenty of Jiggies--I mean, Pagies to nab, grab, and collect.

However, as I mentioned, the original Yooka-Laylee was indeed an ambitious game, but one that really stretched too far and too thin to be the amazing game it could have been. For one, character movement wasn't ideal in feel and handling, worlds required players to expand them from their original smaller size to something much more wide open (I realize this design choice was meant to not overwhelm players immediately, but it wasn't as fine-tuned as desired), and many of the challenges in said worlds were a bit frustrating, clunky, and wonky to complete.

No doubt Playtonic Games heard and read all of this feedback from players and critics and took it to heart. Rather than build off the same game, instead, eight years later we have what essentially comes down to a "take two" effort with Yooka and Laylee's remade adventure: the cleverly titled Yooka-Replaylee. The aim of this re-imagined take on the original Yooka-Laylee is to make a bigger, vastly improved, more focused, and enjoyable 3D platformer using the base of the 2017 game. So much has changed, and honestly for the better, too. 

The story of Yooka-Replaylee sees our soon-to-be heroes crash land their mighty vessel, the Bat Ship Crazy (cheeky humor like this abounds, as expected from ex-Rare staff), and find themselves exploring a cavern. Within this cavern they stumble upon a caged up tome, the One Book, and upon rescuing him from his personal prison, he informs the chameleon and bat duo of who locked him up and why. 

The dastardly Capital B and his minions captured the One Book for no doubt nefarious purposes, and soon use a humongous vacuum to suck back up the One Book. Before being able to fully do so, the One Book manages to tear out its Pagies and spread them all across the worlds of Hivory Towers, the main hub of the game, before they fall into the wrong hands. Thus, the adventure begins and both Yooka and Laylee traverse their way into Capital B territory to reclaim the lost, separated Pagies.

Worlds in Yooka-Replaylee are immediately and fully open for exploration right from the word "go".

Yooka-Replaylee keeps in line with traditional 3D collect-a-thon platformers of yore, with the main collectible being that of the previously mentioned Pagies that serve not only as rewards for completing various platforming and puzzle-based challenges within the game's five worlds and one main hub, but also a means to unlock new areas of Hivory Towers. Thus, those five worlds slowly open up one by one.

This familiar challenge from the original Yooka-Laylee is present in Replaylee too,
but so many of the platforming, puzzling, and environmental trials on offer in this game are brand-new.

The worlds themselves are quite vibrant and varied in locales and various in challenges and tasks for Yooka and Laylee to complete for Pagies. As opposed to the 100 or so Pagies in the original game, now there are 300 total, 50 in each world and the Hivory Towers hub. This means that instead of the large but rather bare worlds of the 2017 original, worlds are expansive to begin with, but also are densely packed with challenges to complete, collectibles to find, and things to discover.

Now THAT'S what I call some Pagie Power!

Aside from Pagies, there are plenty of other collectibles within the worlds. One such collectible are the colorful Quills that can be used to purchase goodies from returning intrepid business snake Trowzer (150 in each world), as well as coins called Quids that are used to purchase from Vendi a new mechanic for this iteration of Yooka-Laylee, Tonics, that can change how you play the game entirely. Some are gameplay modifiers that make the game easier or more difficult depending on which ones you equip, while others can provide graphical filters to the game itself like cel-shading or a CRT filter. 

Tonics are worth nothing that they're really nothing new to the series, having been utilized in the incredible Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, but they're well incorporated into this 3D platformer. Aside from purchasing Tonics, Vendi also has an ever-expanding catalog of cosmetics for Yooka and Laylee. From gloves, pants, jackets, shirts, and more for Yooka, to hats and headgear for Laylee, you can have a lot of fun with these purely aesthetic costumes.

Hey, I'm not your buddy--go away!

That's of course not all for the collectibles in Yooka-Replaylee. Many from the original game return, such as the five Ghost Writers in each world that must be captured in different ways depending on their color and type for a Pagie apiece, specific Arcade Tokens that are used to play the all-new Captain Toad-like retro-style, polygonal-visual, level-based arcade games from the endearing dino Rextro, and Mollycools--one in each world--that are exchanged to turn Yooka and Laylee into various helpful transformations. 

Rextro's arcade games from the original Yooka-Laylee were retro experiences that tried their best to be fun, but ended up being more frustrating, unfortunately, and less than appealing. I dug the variety of the games, but their replacements in Yooka-Replaylee are net positives overall. They're bite-sized adventures, again similar to Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker in an albeit non-1:1 way, but they see you controlling Rextro through progressively more challenging stages where Rextro can lunge his head forward to bash into enemies, use his mouth to grab rails and pull himself up to higher platforms, and acquire up to three gold medals placed throughout the levels, all the while avoiding and evading hazards that can be put him in harm's way. 

Rextro's Arcade games in Yooka-Replaylee, like many aspects of this remake, 
are a marked improvement compared to the original game.

Meanwhile, the Mollycools are given to the tentacled Dr. Puzz, who takes on Mumbo Jumbo's role from the majority of the Banjo-Kazooie games, to transform our heroic duo into one of five transformations, one for each world. Depending on the world, these transformations can have very little or a lot of utility to them. For instance, the first world, Tribalstack Tropics's transformation is of little use, really, outside of one Pagie and getting hints for the world from flowers that won't otherwise reveal their secret knowledge outside of the world's floral-themed transformation. Whereas the final two worlds have more Pagie opportunities and tasks for your transformations than merely a modest or meager amount, which makes for a less of a headache. Speaking of less headaches, players can cancel out of transformations by holding down the right trigger instead of being required to trek back to Dr. Puzz. Very convenient!

The convenient features of Yooka-Replaylee don't end there, either. Playtonic added a talking bookmark character appropriately named Mark who serves as fast travel points throughout each of the game's worlds. He also--for a price of 50 Quids, can reveal the location of an overlooked, missing Pagie, too. Though, I did encounter some glitches with Mark, at least playing on desktop, where talking to Mark completely soft-locked the game. The map never popped up (and it wouldn't ever reveal itself for me even when hitting the Select button, yet other options in the menu would be available), and I was stuck in a perpetual waiting screen, having to force-exit the game. Strangely enough, playing the game on my Steam Deck did NOT result in this issue at all. Opening the in-game map worked so I could see every Pagie challenge, NPC location, and fast travel at will--plus I didn't have to actively avoid speaking or interacting with Mark like I would on my desktop version of the game!

That tongue of Yooka's certainly gets the job done when required!

Yooka and Laylee sport a rather impressive repertoire of moves and abilities to help them out throughout their adventure, and unlike the original game, these are all available almost exactly from the start of the game. Essentially, when the tutorial--the aforementioned cavern section--plays out, new moves are introduced as platforming challenges stand before our heroes. Every move from the original Yooka-Laylee is present, and this time there's no need to track down Trowzer in the game's worlds to purchase new tricks for our pair of protagonists. Whether it's the Glide 'n' Ride, allowing Yooka to grab onto Laylee to temporarily--and literally as the name suggests--glide and ride across chasms and chunks of land, or using the Reptile Roll to move up otherwise too steep platforms a la Banjo-Kazooie's Talon Trot, moves are easier than ever to perform with a lack of needlessly complicated button combos to press.

Take flight with Yooka easily, as all moves are unlocked right from the get-go.

Abilities like changing Yooka's color and powers by tasting various elemental berries big berries in the world are easy to switch between. From lashing his tongue at a red berry, Yooka's body temperature heats up, allowing him to light torches, while lashing at a stockpile of cannonballs increases his weight, meaning he can run through wind currents that would otherwise push him back like he was made of paper instead of polygons. Even flying while holding on to Laylee has been upgraded in this remake, offering Yooka the ability to lash his tongue at a cloud to be temporarily given the power of flight.

Yooka-Replaylee does indeed contain 300 Pagies, of those many are collected through discovering different platforming, puzzle-based, and environmental challenges throughout the game's worlds. Again, worlds are positively packed with more mindful use of space, with something placed practically in every nook, cranny, and around every corner. Some challenges, like boss battles (which as an aside have also been improved), Rextro's arcade games, an ancient mine cart named Kartos' mine cart challenges (some remaining unfortunately as frustrating as they were in the OG Yooka-Laylee), among others reward up to three Pagies upon completely clearing them. Others require finding two sets of four Pagie pieces to put together two more Pagies, and these can be rather overwhelming to find in the sense that it can be akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. This is especially so in the ones that require a Buddy Slam by the duo to reveal them. Sure, there's a faint sparkling spot, but not every spot reveals a lost Pagie piece, nor are they all available to be viewed easily until getting close enough to them.

Moodymaze Marsh's mushrooms shine and glow brightly to impressive effect.

No doubt a massive upgrade from Yooka-Laylee to Yooka-Replaylee is that of the presentation. With vastly improved visuals, all-new texture-work, new objects in the environments, better detail, and much more to make the game's worlds feel and look less bland and sterile and instead appear more colorful and alive, Yooka-Replaylee is a fantastic offering visually. While the desktop version delivers the ability to change up your graphical settings, from resolution to changing up V-sync to varying degrees, it's the Steam Deck version that I also played which lacks such functionality. It's one size fits all here, and while the game looks and runs alright on Steam Deck, in the more expansive worlds starting with Tribalstack Tropics, it's noticeably blurry and fuzzy image quality-wise. Still, it's all the while impressive to have the game running on Steam's handheld-that-could in 2025! 

Meanwhile, Capital Cashino is more golden and garish than ever before.

Meanwhile, the majority of the music has been completely overhauled, this time performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, save for pieces like Kartos' cart challenge themes, which remain the same. The new arrangements sound positively great and glorious. Though on the other side of the sound spectrum, your mileage will most likely vary with regard to the cast of characters and their numerous grunts and gibberish voices. I found it charming, but I loved it ever since Banjo-Kazooie.

So much of the original Yooka-Laylee has seen vastly superior improvements with this remake. Yooka-Replaylee is a far less frustrating experience, as the more taxing boss battles from the original have been redesigned, there's more thought put into collectible locations, better and more mindful use of space in worlds, and pretty much everything is a marked upgrade. While my issues with Mark at least in my desktop Steam version of the game made for a less convenient and more aggravating experience overall, there's something to be said about how much fun I had with Yooka-Replaylee that seems like just a sour footnote in an otherwise highly remarkable, rewarding, and enjoyable 3D platformer. With more to do, more to love, and yes, in genre tradition--more to collect, Yooka-Replaylee managed to outperform my expectations, making it a stellar and superb experience.

[SPC Says: A-] 

A Steam code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

James Bond 007: Nightfire (PS2, GCN, XBX) Retro Review

With a new James Bond game from the developer behind the Hitman games--007: First Light, releasing March of next year, I got the 007 bug, as it were. Grab your Walther PPK and get ready for our next assignment--James Bond 007: Nightfire, as part of this retro review!

A gameplay cocktail worth taking a sip from

 

It's hard for any James Bond game to stay, much less get out of the large, imposing shadow that is Rare's GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64. After all, that game paved the way for most first-person shooters on consoles, and offers to this day some truly stellar objective-based mission gameplay. Enter James Bond 007: Nightfire from Eurocom. Past 007 games post-Rare certainly had big shoes to fill--or perhaps in this case, a big well-fitted tuxedo to fill--and to be perfectly honest, past attempts by Eurocom and publisher Electronic Arts really were solid efforts. They merely fell by comparison in one aspect or another. That notwithstanding, James Bond 007: Nightfire delivers action both shaken and stirred for one of the better 007 games, especially of the PlayStation 2 era.

After a New Year's Eve terrorist attack gone astray by none other than James Bond himself, M tasks our secret agent with investigating the seemingly related operations of an industrial tycoon named Raphael Drake. What follows is your classic Bond tale of high-octane action mixed with various betrayals and lots of innuendo for good measure. The script is essentially discount James Bond ("We have James Bond at home" material, really), but it does its duty well enough to have kept me engaged for the majority of the story.  

How do you do? I'm totally not a spy investigating an industrialist hosting this party.

007: Nightfire consists of about ten or so missions spread across traditional on-foot action and to break things up, vehicular carnage. The latter sports incredibly well done controls, particularly the handling of the rides 007 gets control of, whether that's an Aston Martin Vanquish or combat jeep. Cruising through alleyways, cutting through storefronts and cabins, and drifting around snowy turns feel great, which is lovely to report, as driving controls in a non-racing game-focused game could have been a recipe for mission failure. Fortunately, the driving missions work wonderfully and are fabulous additions to the James Bond formula.

First screenshot of this review, and already you're showing off, James.

 The on-foot missions sport more variety and are less linear than your "speed from point A to point B" vehicle levels. Not to say the latter doesn't have variety to it either. Missions generally involve a mix of stealth and action, offering multiple ways to go about completing objectives--a feature I loved from--you guessed it--Rare's works GoldenEye 007 and even Perfect Dark that of course predate Nightfire.

007 gets a massive amount of kit to take along his missions, whether they are high-powered weaponry in the form of guns or gadgets from Q-Branch. One of my favorites is the grapple that Bond can utilize as a shortcut to reach new vertical areas or other locations much faster. Then there's the laser, perfect for cutting through both metal hinges of say, safes, or destroying exposed wires to shut down security systems.

He tripped and fell out of the watchtower. Honest. When has 007 ever lied?

While Bond does get some cool kit to utilize in missions, Nightfire itself can be a bit challenging sometimes. That's particularly when trying to figure out what a given objective requires the player to do. The game itself isn't overly difficult--save for some decidedly utterly obnoxious final missions--and that's because of mid-level checkpoints and a relative abundance of armor to add some defense to Bond's body, available even in the hardest of difficulties. That latter point makes what could be an effort in aggravation to something less frustrating, fortunately.

One of the coolest aspects about 007: Nightfire is how its levels simply beg to be replayed over and over again. Each level gives you a score depending on how well you play through it, doling out medals for doing a bang-up job. It's not just about completing the given mission, but instead, it's about doing it with style. That's to say you'll need to play less like a typical Double-0 agent and more like 007 himself. After acquiring a gold medal in a level, you can replay it to aim for a platinum medal. This is performed by keeping your accuracy high, taking minimal damage, subduing and defeating enemies, but also and more interestingly, performing Bond Moves in levels. 

The mission and locale variety is quite large in 007: Nightfire.

Bond Moves are a holdover from Agent Under Fire which really puts you in the mind of "what would James Bond do?" Take the first on-foot mission in the game where you infiltrate a castle. Sure, you can go guns blazing and have your enemies roll out the red carpet with their blood, but for a more tasteful, less tacky approach, you can sneak in undetected by climbing and inching around the perimeter to successfully earn a Bond Move. These moves don't just pertain to stealth, either. You can earn them from saving some bullets by blowing up a gas tank to destroy a nearby watchtower, or take a zip-line to get a literal drop on your foes. 

Scaramanga might be looking for that weapon--just saying, 007.

Bond Moves and the various hidden 007 tokens sprinkled throughout levels really show how the level design is far from linear. In fact, that aforementioned first on-foot mission sports no shortage of three ways to go about entering its main hub. Experimenting and trying out different approach to missions brought me a lot of joy, especially when thinking to myself, "There's no way this game is going to let me do this," and then lo and behold, 007: Nightfire does just that.

You might ask yourself what is the point of gold and platinum medals in missions other than potential bragging rights. Nightfire's medals award you with content for both solo and multiplayer modes with a heavier focus on the latter. What it amounts to is unlocks in the form of new characters, particularly those from past 007 films, new modes, and new weapons for multiplayer.

The multiplayer itself is quite entertaining, too, which would be a bummer if it weren't, considering it'd kill a lot of motivation in getting medals to begin with! Multiplayer consists of split-screen for up to four players, as well as up to six other bots. There's a massive amount of customization, whether that's setting up bot personalities a la Perfect Dark, choosing weapon load-outs, or setting health handicaps for individual players. 

Perhaps the only downside I found with Nightfire's multiplayer mode is that there is but a sparse eight maps to choose from, and one of them does not allow AI opponents to play on it (the Ravine map). That notwithstanding, the maps are well designed, packed with perfect spots to engage in gunfights and even some explosive action, and are mostly spread out, too, to avoid feeling overly claustrophobic. The maps lend themselves well to exciting and exhilarating showdowns, are enjoyable to explore, and work well for the game's multiple modes. 

Use those special teeth to eat this missile, Jaws!

From standard solo Deathmatch, to Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and also Demolition, where players must work as teams to traverse a map to destroy the other side's satellite via explosives (notably Satchel Charges), among other unlockable modes, which can be customized to play as long or as quickly of a match as you want, there is plenty of multiplayer mayhem to engage with in 007: Nightfire. 

James Bond 007: Nightfire looks great in its standard 4:3 aspect ratio, but it also allows players to play with the aspect ratio stretched out for even more stellar measure. The main graphical complaint I have is within the pre-rendered cutscenes that are remarkably blurry compared to the main game graphics. Still, it's a minor gripe. The action and frame-rate are fluid even at their most heated and high-octane moments, which makes for a smooth playing experience. 

The in-game cutscenes like this one look great. The pre-rendered ones? Not so much.

Meanwhile, if you're a fan of the James Bond theme, you'll be in love with the soundtrack of Nightfire, as it offers myriad takes and arrangements on the classic theme of the franchise, whether that's in the solo campaign or in multiplayer matches. The voice-work is phenomenal in Nightfire, too, offering well performed dialogue and material that doesn't sound phoned in. While Pierce Brosnan's likeness is indeed within the game, it's Maxwell Caulfield (perhaps most notably known for his breakout role as the main character Michael from Grease 2) who provides Bond's debonair, suave, and sophisticated voice.

While lacking in some modern touches and maps in multiplayer, while also containing some super-frustrating late-game missions (but thankfully no escort missions, so that's a point that doesn't go to GoldenEye this time), James Bond 007: Nightfire delivers excitement, positive intensity in and out of the game's well-controlling and exhilarating vehicular missions, and superb multiplayer gameplay. The way missions permit multiple ways to proceed through clearing objectives is most welcome in the campaign, while the multiplayer offers robust amounts of customization and engaging offline gameplay. Eurocom not only had the 007 license to make Nightfire--they also had a license to thrill players with one overall well-done game starring James Bond.

[SPC Says: B] 

The Tuesday 10s: My Most Anticipated Games for the Rest of 2025

There are but three more full months in 2025 to be had, and despite this relatively short time span, there is a massive amount of great games launching from now until 2026. That makes sense, as it's the most wonderful time of the year--the busiest release season in gaming, after all! 

Today, the Tuesday 10s return with a glimpse at the ten titles that I am most anticipated and hyped about for the rest of 2025. From a plethora of platformers to new remakes of old loves, as well as some speedy racers, this list contains a wide variety of gaming goodness to see off the year that was 2025. The following list is in alphabetical order of game names.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (Multi)

 

One of the seminal games of my youth, Final Fantasy Tactics remains one of my most treasured tactical game experiences. Between its myriad memorable battles, sensational soundtrack (one of my favorites within gaming), and narrative that I've only grown to appreciate more as an adult than I did in my younger years, Final Fantasy Tactics is an epic in every sense of the word.

This remaster, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, heads to basically every current platform with an updated graphical style as well as the old style for purists or simply folks who prefer the original look. Voice acting throughout is included, too, and it sounds glorious, in all honesty. The Ivalice Chronicles from the looks of it appears to be what you get when you improve upon near-perfection. Fans knowledgeable of a certain Wiegraf series of battles probably know what I mean by "near-perfection"!

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (NS2) 

To be perfectly honest, I could not care less about the Imprisoning War or learning more lore behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That just doesn't interest me in the slightest, nor does following along with the whims of Nintendo with the lore of The Legend of Zelda series. Where in the timeline does THIS take place? I do not care in the slightest.

I DO, however, care about the Hyrule Warriors series, and while I'm a bit remiss that we're not getting more in the way of the original Hyrule Warriors, instead adhering again to the Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom cast and story rather than the entire franchise, I'm eager to participate in epic, grand-scale battles across Hyrule. There's something to Musou-style games that tickle the pleasure part of my gaymer brain, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment looks to do that yet again with one of my favorite franchises in gaming. Can't complain about that!

Kirby Air Riders (NS2)

The madman Masahiro Sakurai and his team at Sora are back it again. Right from the word "go" and from the information revealed in the first Nintendo Direct dedicated to the game, we know Kirby Air Riders is a racer that is absolutely going to be stuffed with content. Heck, if I didn't gather that from the first Nintendo Direct, the announcement of a second Direct dedicated to the game would have hit that point home big time. Essentially taking the GameCube cult classic and packing it with more, more, more in the way of modes, characters, and features (including a second button to be used during gameplay--you're getting crazy, Mr. Sakurai!!), Kirby Air Riders is destined to provide plenty to love for fans of the original, as well as newcomers experiencing this Kirby racing spin-off series for the first time through this sequel.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (NS2, NSW)

Metroid Prime and Metroid fans in general have really been put the ringer with waiting for the fourth installment of Metroid Prime. Fortunately, the long worldwide nightmare is almost over. ...Maybe. Unless after all this time the game doesn't live up to the impossible expectations thrust upon it. Now, wouldn't that suck!

But, I'm forever an optimist, and I do have faith in Nintendo and Retro Studios to deliver. For almost two decades we've been teased by the return of Sylux, and now his main villain arc is presumably here with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Throw in eye-watering visuals, especially on the Switch 2 version (with graphics and performance options available), optional JoyCon 2 mouse controls, and Samus on a bike (!!), and you have an entry that I truly hope turns out wonderfully. And not just for me, of course, but the entire Metroid fandom. Another win for all of us is deserved!

Mina the Hollower (Multi) 

From the team behind Shovel Knight comes a new game after all this time--Mina the Hollower. Featuring gorgeous pixel art modeled after the Game Boy Color (though using tricks beyond its full capabilities), a massive world to traverse and explore, combat with creatures of all shapes and sizes with Mina's magical whip, multiple Trinkets that can change up a given player's play style in a snap (or maybe a crack of the whip), and you have a game that promises to delight. I can think of no better treat to trick out on when it releases this Halloween than Mina the Hollower.

Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac (Multi)

I very much enjoyed Pac-Man World Re-Pac, a remake of the PlayStation 1's Pac-Man World. The hope with that remake was that Bandai Namco would eventually get around to remaking the more cult-favorite of the bunch: Pac-Man World 2. The Nintendo Partner Direct from this past July revealed this hope would prosper into a dream come true for fans with Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac. Featuring a more 3D world rather than the side-scrolling 3D style of the original Pac-Man World, this remade sequel boasts new improvements to bosses, to accessibility with the new Fairy Mode, and even a light co-op mode with one player taking on the role of Pac-Man while the other controls a drone. I never did finish Pac-Man World 2, but with these upgrades and improvements, I'm looking forward to trying when the remake releases this Friday.

Pokemon Legends Z-A (NS2, NSW)

As a big fan of the previous Pokemon Legends game, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, I'm certainly looking forward to exploring Lumiose City, a veritable Pokemon playground to explore and do battle in. Plus, it won't hurt that with the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game that Game Freak's latest will hopefully run at minimum competently on the hardware, unlike certain recent efforts from the dev. Sorry, not sorry. Regardless, I'm more than ready to once again hop into real-time action battles, where positioning and timing are key factors in the difference between victory and defeat. Throw in the multiplayer Battle Club mode, where battles against wild Pokemon or other players occur, and you have one pretty promising Pokemon package with Legends Z-A.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Multi) 

 
Firstly, let me just mention that I do not care about any forced, cringe, manufactured rivalry between this next game and Mario Kart World. I'd rather be happy for multiple great kart racers in a single year than engage in some juvenile made-up war to pit two awesome games against each other, so please miss me with that console war-like nonsense.

Now with that out of the way, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds sports a colorful cast of characters to customize their rides and speed into one of over 21 unique tracks plus the dozen or so eponymous "CrossWorlds" which take the action on the second lap to a completely new and different locale, albeit briefly. This makes races all the more dynamic and interesting. With crossplay across every platform, this Sonic racing iteration certainly shouldn't see its online population dying in weeks like Team Sonic Racing's did. In fact, I'm positive that with SEGA's determined support of this game, that we'll see a long-lasting racer here, which I'm all for.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (NSW)

Let's start off by mentioning how much Nintendo sometimes has me by the throat. It's sad, really. All the company had to do for me to bite down was put together two of my favorite 3D platformer into one slightly updated package on the Nintendo Switch for Mario's 40th anniversary. Seventy dollars USD, you say? I shamefully submit and will pay that for this, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2. Yes, I am part of the problem, I admit, and for that I profusely apologize. But, BOTH Super Mario Galaxy games--two of the finest, most masterful platformers ever conceived? I have no regrets!

Yooka-Replaylee (Multi) 

2017's Yooka-Laylee was Playtonic's answer to Banjo-Kazooie. Heck, it was a spiritual successor, after all, with various staff who had worked on Rare's platforming classic having had also worked on Yooka-Laylee. That said, the final product wasn't everything that it could have been. I guess even Playtonic knew this, hence a remake of the game less than a decade after. 

Enter Yooka-Replaylee. It's not just the same base game with prettier, more modern graphics and visual effects. No, instead, the team at Playtonic added much more in the way of content--new Pagies (the Jiggies of the Yooka-Laylee series), new challenges, and new mechanics, too! That's on top of remedying and fixing many of the issues and problems that the original Yooka-Laylee suffered from. Even as someone who enjoyed the 2017 original, I'm super excited to be able to return to the world of Yooka-Laylee in this fully remade and newly realized title. 

Tinykin (Multi) Review

Our next review takes us time traveling back to 2022. Sometimes a writer just wants to revisit a fun game and write a review about it! That's exactly the case with this particular game and review. It's Tinykin time, friends!

Honey, I shrunk with some 'kins!

Tinykin is by no means a really recent game. It released in August 2022, but sometimes I feel the urge to review a game not because I want to question and evaluate its quality. No, instead this review is more to beam and boast about the game--as it's one I very much have enjoyed--so much so that I've played it across three platforms to 100% completion, the most current of which was the Steam version. Thus, to say that I have a fondness for Tinykin is a bit of an understatement. While it's by no means my perfect game, it's definitely an entertaining one.

If you're not aware of what Tinykin is, then allow me to enlighten! Not only is it a game but it's the namesake of the little creatures that our hero and intrepid explorer Milodane that assist him along his journey throughout a house while he's in teeny and yes, tiny form. Perhaps a relatable analogy would be that the Tinykin are the Pikmin to Milodane's Captain Olimar. That notwithstanding, Tinykin's comparisons to Pikmin as a series almost totally end there, save for the Tinykin also being able to retrieve items and objects for our plucky protagonist.

Each room of Tinykin's world (house) is interconnected and full of places to discover.

The meat and potatoes of Tinykin is that it's a platformer first and foremost, and one where you explore various worlds--or in this case, rooms of a house in miniature form, to solve environmental puzzles, take on NPC tasks, and complete the overall objective of the room. Whether that's getting things set up for a party around a bathtub for a sudsy shindig, or baking a cake by tracking down and retrieving the ingredients, mixing them up, and putting the ingredients in the oven to bake proper, there is a fair amount to do within Tinykin's sprawling, expansive worlds.

Tinykin come in various forms, usually one form introduced per world (or room). There are your standard pink Tinykin that can grab, retrieve, open/unblock obstacles, and other helpful tasks, while red Tinykin merrily explode upon contact with targets they're thrown at, such as candles, destructible objects, etc. Then, you have your green Tinykin, which can be assembled one on top of the other to create makeshift ladders for Milodane to climb. The more Tinykin in his possession, the higher he can climb to reach otherwise inaccessible areas needing some extra verticality to reach. 

These rambunctious red Tinykin really love to bring the boom.

From there, you have blue Tinykin which are electrical, able to hold charges, and when placed between an electrical outlet and something needing power piped to it, the blue Tinykin can be tossed and arranged to form a chain to bring the power to it. Finally, yellow Tinykin serve as makeshift bridges, though only at specially marked locations.

This gap is not a bridge too far for these yellow Tinykin!

The Tinykin are born from eggs, and ready to be hatched by Milodane discovering them all throughout the worlds of the game. Tracking down enough Tinykin to get a task at hand completed requires a fair amount of careful exploration, as the eggs are practically everywhere. So, too, is pollen, the currency used to upgrade Milodane's bubble ability. 

Yes, Milodane isn't completely helpless to get around the worlds without his Tinykin friends--he can jump in the air and glide for a limited amount of time in a bubble. The more upgraded the bubble is, the more Milodane's bubble will carry him across hazards like water, spikes, and long drops from high up in the air. Milodane can also access a surfboard in the form of a clever bar of soap, not just to slide along surfaces more swiftly, but also to grind along special pieces of string that serve as shortcuts from various points of interest in each world.

Eat your heart out, Sonic the Hedgehog.

But, going back to the pollen and Tinykin eggs, it can be quite challenging to go for 100% completion in this game. There is no radar to determine where missing eggs and pollen are located in a given world, so while you have a tally and total available to you for what's missing, you're practically on your own to track down where those last eggs and pollen particles are in a world. Again, as the worlds/rooms in Tinykin are so open, large, vertical, and expansive, this can be mighty overwhelming to comb every inch, corner, nook, and cranny of these otherwise platforming paradises.

Tinykin has no combat to speak of--enemies are pretty much limited to the aforementioned hazards of water, spikes/thorns, and gravity. This approach may not be compelling to some players, but for me, I felt that combat wasn't at all needed nor something I missed in this game. It was just a chill vibe to leap around levels, searching for Tinykin and pollen, solving various characters' dilemmas, figuring out solutions to puzzles, and discovering secret areas that were quite commonly off the beaten path. The rewards for exploration were so enjoyable to me, that I didn't even second guess the decision to not have enemies of the traditional variety.

Keep your eyes peeled for secret alcoves and other hidden areas 
within the game world. They're all over the place!

The length of Tinykin's adventure isn't too terribly lengthy. For most players, they may be able to beat or even complete the game in less than ten hours. That's a perfect length for me, in all honesty, as the game does not at all outwear its welcome whatsoever. The December 2022 addition of new costumes and rather tricky time attack challenges--both optional content--delivered even more replay value to this already enticing package. Heck, by virtue of me enjoying three separate playthroughs across three years, that should say more than enough about how easy it is to come back to this game.

Tinykin's world is immensely populated with 3D objects and backgrounds to platform and otherwise play around on, while its characters are 2D. It's a very Paper Mario-esque presentation, and it works wonderfully. It amazed me how I could stand atop one of the later level's peaks, essentially, and see so much below Milodane and in the distance, as well. The draw distance in general is phenomenal. There is so much going on, it's any wonder it doesn't fall to pieces in frame-rate. Musically, the score is appropriately bouncy and never grating. Perfect for spending hours in each level.

The draw distance is absolutely awe-inspiring. (This is the Steam version, as an aside!)

Sure, 100% completion in Tinykin can be a bit tedious and irritating to track down a handful of missing Tinykin eggs or pollen particles hidden throughout levels, as it can be reminiscent of looking for a needle in a haystack. Of course, I don't really know anyone who has needed to do such a task with looking for needles in haystacks, but it's a colloquialism for a reason! Otherwise, Tinykin is such a charming and clever platformer that I love returning to it every now and then. Not all will vibe with the lack of combat, but if the idea of exploring expansive worlds full of objectives to complete, items to find, platforming challenges to perform, and secrets to discover, then you probably already have jumped into Tinykin. If not, I wholeheartedly recommend you do!

[SPC Says: A-]