Nick "Shpeshal Nick" Baker
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XboxEraLatest Reviews
Overall, I’d say Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is worth your time if you’re a fan of the genre and especially if you’re a Power Rangers fan. The presentation is excellent, from the character select screen to the in-game speech scenes, everything feels like the Power Rangers TV show. I particularly loved the little nods Digital Eclipse included to other classics in the genre. Be it the little baby turtles wading in radioactive goo in the background of one level, to the giant enemies dressed like Hugo Andore from Final Fight. There’s a loving care placed into the finer details of the game that’s really worthy of acknowledgement and appreciation.While there are some oddities or frustrations like the less than tight control, or the baffling inability to change your character during the game outside of completely quitting, there’s a lot to like and love here.Yeah, Rita’s Rewind doesn’t quite stand toe to toe with the greats of the genre, even the modern ones, but it’s still a very worthy entrant into this classic genre still in the midst of a high quality revival.
It’s pretty hard to argue Street Fighter 6 isn’t the best iteration of Street Fighter as an overall package. Yes, debates will take place for years over which version has the best fighting mechanics, best visuals, music, roster etc.But no Street Fighter game has been the complete package 6 is. As mentioned off the top, Capcom heard the content criticisms hurled at V and clearly learned from it and delivered in spades with 6. Even if you manage to burn through the more traditional modes Street Fighter 6 has to offer and getting pummelled online isn’t your jam, the World Tour mode will keep you busy for absolute ages and the level of customisation in the avatar creator is hilariously ridiculous and you could probably spend weeks and months just fine turning that.The roster is pretty varied with a nice blend of classic and new characters, but honestly not much in between outside Juri and Luke as the only “recent” options. Everyone else is either an old favourite or brand new. Am I a pretty boring old man who mostly stuck to Ken and Ryu? You bet.Xbox players have had to wait a long time for Street Fighter to come...
Put simply, SIFU is a fantastic game. It’s everything I wish more modern video games were. Short (the game can be beaten in just a handful of hours if you’re good enough) but with an absolute stack of replay value. Be it via the brand new Arenas mode or through the games collectibles, modifiers and high score chasing. There’s even a surprisingly in depth and creatively open photo mode and replay editor that allows you to take some beautiful artistic shots or create awesome clips of your action. Virtual Photographers and Video Editors should have a blast with this. Unfortunately I lack the creative spark to fully exploit the tools available here, but even a dullard like myself could appreciate the power of the tools at the player’s disposal here. It’s quite impressive.PC, Switch and PlayStation players should definitely jump back in to try out the new Arenas mode and Xbox players should definitely give SIFU a go. If you can find a way to break through the difficulty barrier, there’s a fantastic brawler on offer here that I definitely think is the template going forward to bring the 2D scrolling beat ’em ups into the 3D world. Where previous...
There’s not much else that needs to be said. Tetris Effect: Connected is to this point the best version of Tetris that exists. I adore Tetris99 and up until now, Tetris DS was probably my all-time favourite, but Connected just blows right past both. Outside very very minor quibbles with the slight lag in multiplayer and my disappointment at the missed opportunity for Achievement art, there’s nothing actually wrong with this game. It’s mandatory for Tetris and puzzle game fans, a must for music lovers and anyone who appreciates good visual artistry. But most importantly, it’s just so damn fun. Xbox owners have no excuse not to dive in as Tetris Effect: Connected launched straight into Game Pass and I implore everyone to give it a try.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is everything any Blind Forest fan would have wanted, or possibly hoped for from a sequel. Moon have created a game that has every right to be in the ‘AAA’ conversation with its 3D counterparts, with a level of care and polish normally reserved for much larger studios and far bigger budgets.Ultimately, it can’t be said enough how incredible Ori and the Will of the Wisps is. Blind Forest was already my personal favourite metroidvania of all time and Will of the Wisps has managed to raise the bar even further.