Resisting The Urge To Dig Myself A Grave With A Shovel Joke (Dammit) -- A Shovel Knight Review

Written By: Tyler
Platforms Available On: PC, Wii U, 3DS
Platform Played On: Wii U

The first of many badass encounters.

Rating: 9/10
Verdict: A love letter to the past, but also a game that forges its own identity, Shovel Knight is an 8-bit inspired platformer that reaches beyond its humble roots and gives us a game that mentions the past but doesn't rely or get lost in it.


Releasing games inspired by the classics of the 8-bit era isn't anything new within the indie community. The indie scene is flooded with nostalgia, and you can't go five seconds without tripping over something that harkens back to the past. Shovel Knight is no different in that regard, being a game that is very much entrenched in the days of yore, but not trapped in them.

Let's just get this out of the way, because this is what you're here for: Shovel Knight is awesome. There will probably be very few games this year that bring me greater joy than this unassuming little platformer about a knight with a shovel who is trying to save Shield Knight from the evil Enchantress. Mario, yes, but that's not where it ends. The levels look like Mega Man, you can use your shovel and bounce off enemies and objects like in Duck Hunt. The world map is ripped right from Mario 3. The references are numerous, but like I said in the first paragraph... Shovel Knight owes to them but isn't defined by them.

Despite how obvious the influences are, the game forges its own path ultimately, and that's something a lot of indie games lack when calling to the past. It's one thing to make us go "aha" when we spot a reference, but that overstays its welcome. The better route is to make us go "aha" but then follow that up with making us go "wow" because the game has its own identity.

Shovel Knight has simplistic controls. Use a button to jump and another to swing your shovel. Press down while you're in the air and you can use it as a pogo stick. Press up and the attack button and you use your spell. If you're playing on Wii U you can either press a button to call up your inventory or use the screen on the gamepad, which is what I do. That's about it, but the game doesn't need anymore because the foundation is so solid, the levels so well-designed, that what might appear as a limitation these days is a strength. You don't get bogged down at any point.

All games need clever world/level/stage design, but platformers need it more than most genres, and Shovel Knight has it in spades. Every level has its own motif, whether it's something a little more trippy, or it being dark with only lightning lighting the way, or a level that uses air in interesting and dynamic ways, the game is always throwing something new at you.

Enemies are placed in interesting areas, and if you're not careful you might jump over to a ledge only to get hit off because that particular enemy is placed for that sole reason... the game assumes you'll get careless and make that jump without thinking, and a lot of people probably will. There are times that your platforming skills are truly tested, as the game consistently throws new types of jumps at you. The game is hard, but -- to the dismay of some retro-gamers -- it's not impossibly hard, which I'm completely fine with. I had a nice challenge throughout the whole thing.

Each stage ends with a boss, of course, and like the rest of the game there's a lot of variety to them. Since all the characters are knights with different specialties, such as the Tinker Knight, Specter Knight, Polar Knight, etc, they all have their own method of attacking and you have to adapt to that. The battles are fast, and if you sit back they will probably eat you up. I tended to lose on the first fight but won on the second more often than not. 

I have a confession, and yes I've chosen until the middle of the review to say this: I actually am glad we've moved on from the past in a few ways. Namely, I hate redoing levels over and over just because I died. I welcome checkpoints. I did my time, so now once I beat a section I beat it and I don't want to go back until my next playthrough. Shovel Knight has a bunch of checkpoints throughout each level, and each time you die you lose money where you died and you can go back and collect it. This is an interesting play on what we know and love.

Part of the identity of the levels is the excellent soundtrack. Each level has its own, and the soundtrack itself has 48 songs. All of which are great. As I write this review I am listening to it, and each song fits the mood of the stage, transporting you into that world with its usage of chiptune. Yeah, it's another homage to the 8-bit era, but it's extremely well composed with a variety of different moods and atmosphere. Some of it is victorious, some of it is darker, some of it sounds incredibly urgent.

You don't level up in the game, but you can buy different spells such as a fireball, a green orb that bounces around, a powerful blast, and much more. There's a good variety of spells in Shovel Knight, especially when you consider that it's not an incredibly long game. More on that in a second.

You can also spend your money on giving yourself more life, upgrading your shovel with a few different abilities like an homage to Zelda where your shovel shoots something across the ground when you have full life. There are also a bunch of armor upgrades, all of which with their pros and cons, except for the gold armor which I don't think really changes your stats but makes you do a flip when you jump. Plus you look stylish and that's all I really want.

As of writing this review, the game is $15 and I feel like I got every penny nickel worth. I completed the game in roughly five and a half hours but I didn't get everything. Besides the main stages, there are side stages and side boss battles, along with the many dream sequences in which you fight enemies until the Shield Knight drops and you catch her. I don't know why I love this so much, but I think the numerous campfire scenes add to the experience. It's a nice touch. There's also a new game plus after you beat the game, which allows you to keep your old equipment but ups the difficulty.

Shovel Knight is special. It's one of the best platformers of the last ten years, at least, and it's a good price. If you're looking for a retro-inspired game that offers more than just nostalgia, then pick up Shovel Knight because while it does have the novelty of you playing as a knight with a shovel, it has an abundance of excellent level-design, lovable characters, great boss battles and amazing music.

This Week In Games: June 22 - 28, 2014

Written By: Tyler

Every Sunday or Monday I'm going to try to give a quick preview of some of the interesting upcoming games for the week. These will often be games that people should be excited for, even if I'm not, but sometimes I will throw in terrible games that you should avoid.

These release dates are based in North America because that's where I'm from, unless noted otherwise. If I get any of these dates wrong I apologize, because sometimes games are released in different regions on different dates and I don't realize it because when I'm looking for upcoming games it only says one date. This was the case for Sniper Elite 3, but I noticed it right at the last second.

June 24

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare  

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Third-Person Shooter/Tower Defense

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gin3uYn95QU

I've never actually played Plants vs Zombies, but people really dig it. This is actually already out on console but it's coming out for PC. It actually looks like a fun blend of third-person shooting and tower defense, which is a mash-up I've been a big fan of since Dungeon Defenders. It looks to have a sense of humour, a colourful art-style, and it should be worth your time if you haven't played the console version. The developers also said that it's not just a port and it's been reworked to function well on PC.


Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

Coming Out For: PC, X360, Xbone, PS4, PS3, WiiU, 3DS
Genre: Third-Person Shooter/Strategy-RPG

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxCy0Uo72p0

This is an interesting one. On consoles, it is a third-person shooter much like the other games in this series. You can choose between being the Autobots or the Decepticons, or play the online mode where up to four players fend of hordes of enemies. The online mode is not a part of the Wii U or 3DS versions. Honestly, I haven't played any of the games in this series but I've been told by someone that I trust that they're a lot of fun because they make it feel awesome to be a Transformer. I reckon if you're a fan of the series, you're already excited.

The reason this release is interesting is because the 3DS version is a strategy-RPG with turn-based combat. I understand why they'd do that because I don't find action games to be that great on the 3DS, but it also gives you a reason to buy the game twice.



June 25   

Another World (20th Anniversary Edition)

Coming Out For: PS4, PS Vita, PS3
Genre: Platformer/Adventure

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHqS35B_aV4 (PC version because I couldn't find much video-wise)

The classic game is back, and even though other systems have gotten it, it hits the Sony systems this week. If you missed out on this before, and you have a Playstation, now is a good time to pick it up.


Valiant Hearts: The Great War 

Coming Out For: PC, X360, Xbone, PS4, PS3
Genre: Puzzle/Adventure

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEMv0ia6cSM

I think that the gameplay/puzzle elements will be solid, but I don't actually think that's where this game will shine. If the E3 presentation was any indication, then this game is going to pull on my heart strings. The artwork is beautiful, so I imagine this will go down the same road as Child of Light: a completely solid, pretty game. I enjoy that Ubisoft does these smaller games in between bigger releases.



June 26

Shovel Knight  

Coming Out For: WiiU, 3DS, PC, Mac, Lin
Genre: Platformer

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo-uuawy9Ok


This is the big release of the week for me, and not because I'm some retro-nut that just flocks towards everything retro. I do love me some retro, as I grew up in it, but if a game isn't bringing interesting mechanics and is just milking nostalgia then I'm usually not interested. The pitch of Shovel Knight is obvious -- you're a knight with the most badass shovel imaginable. You can use it to jump on enemies (ala Duck Tales), reflect enemy attacks back at them, open chests, and of course... smash and dig things like a shovel should do. It's a novel concept, and you know the game is going to be silly in a good way. It helps that the game legitimately looks fun to play and from the video that I posted above, it looks like the developers have taken great care to craft a game with interesting level design and awesome 8-bit inspired music.


June 27

Sniper Elite III (Releases in Europe on this date)    

Coming Out For: PC, PS3, PS4, X360, Xbone
Genre: Third-Person Shooter

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1yg9jffjxI

This one doesn't interest me at all, and since I don't get paid to do reviews I'm not sure if I'll get around to this one or not. It's not that it looks terrible, but it doesn't look like it brings anything to the table that we can't get a million other places. The kill-cam idea doesn't really make me feel like I'm seeing the damage I'm doing, it just seems annoying, and the action looks okay but there are so many shooters it just doesn't stand out.

Weekly News Round-Up, March 9 - 15: The Witcher 3 Delay Kills Millions

Written By: Tyler

When I write these round-ups, I edit the article at least once a day since it's an on-going thing throughout the week. With that said, let's see if we can get through the week without mentioning TITANFALL, outside of that once.

Since The Wire officially had its last episode on March 9 of 2008, and many people were mourning for at least a week six years ago because of that... expect to see a lot of gifs in honor of the greatest show of all time. 

This week's Weekly News Round-Up Is Sponsored By:

No, not really... but of they want to back up the Metal Gear truck to my house and unload a whole bunch of merchandise I will be theirs forever and do anything they want -- up to and including killing a man. I can be bought. Get this game on March 17.

I hope you enjoy this week, and tell me what you think in the comments below or follow me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime and yell at me there.


SHOTS FIRED!!! Microsoft Takes Aim At Sony Concerning "Games With Gold"
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-s-phil-spencer-says-games-with-gold-is-fundamentally-different-than-playstation-plus/1100-6418195/

Phil Spencer says that "Games With Gold" is different because you get to keep the games even if you don't renew your subscription., which admittedly is a bonus. But I would imagine a lot of Playstation users will always have Playstation Plus because you need it to play most online games, so the rental-type service isn't really that bad.

But I'm jealous because in the past "Games With Gold" has offered games such as Halo 3... a game that pretty much every Xbox owner must have had anyway.


Newegg Is Offering The Xbone With A Free Game
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-comes-with-free-game-on-newegg/1100-6418194/

If you buy an Xbone from online retailer Newegg for 500 dolla dolla billz, you get a free game! You can choose between Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 (makes a good beverage coaster), Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Need For Speed: Rivals, NBA 2K14 and... Just Dance 2014.

Or, by the time you read this, you can get the TITANFALL bundle.


I Am Sorry, For I Have Failed

I mentioned TITANFALL again.


Bobby Kotick Receives A Measly 7.85 Million Dollar Bonus
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-receives-7-85-million-bonus/1100-6418250/

This news makes me so sad. The Blizzard CEO only got a 7.85 million dollar bonus due to his performance in 2013. As we all know, Blizzard basically pumps crack into the streets in the form of WoW, Starcraft and Diablo, so he should be commended for his drug dealing skills.

EA States That When You Push Innovation You Miss Other Things

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-on-battlefield-4-simcity-issues-when-you-push-innovation-you-miss-other-things/1100-6418234/

Yeah, like functional games. Releasing sequels that may slightly improve on the games prior isn't innovation either. Shut up EA.


EA Cuts Jobs At Plants vs Zombies Studio
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-cuts-jobs-at-plants-vs-zombies-studio/1100-6418302/

Apparently 40 people lost their jobs. Always sad to see layoffs.



Ubisoft Has A Bunch Of Games Planned
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-has-assassin-s-creed-splinter-cell-and-three-more-unannounced-games-in-the-works/1100-6418209/

Quoted from Gamespot:

Ubisoft Toronto's Current Development Pipeline:

• New Assassin's Creed
• Two new IP
• New Splinter Cell game
• Mystery game based on one of Ubisoft's "biggest" franchises

Necessary Jade Raymond Picture:

I have no sex appeal to market so I use the sex appeal of others.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 2 Is Comin' April 17
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/11/incredible-adventures-of-van-helsing-2-gets-a-release-date

The first was surprisingly good, so anybody who hasn't played it should go play it meow. Then play the sequel which I can only assume will be more Van Helsinger than the original.


The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Is Delayed Until 2015
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/11/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-release-date-delayed-to-2015

If you haven't killed yourself because of the headline, you can expect the game in February of next year. It'll be okay, they just want to make the game the best it can possibly be.


Xbox One Live's Core Services Were Limited This Week, Not TITANFALL's Fault
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/11/xbox-ones-live-core-services-limited-not-titanfalls-fault

Xbox Live had some issues this week, but don't worry, they made sure to inform us that it wasn't TITANFALL's fault... which was unnecessary because like your troubled child, nothing is ever really TITANFALL's fault.

Here's A Shocker, Flappy Bird Creator Considering Bringing The Game Back
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/11/flappy-bird-creator-considering-bringing-the-game-back

Dong Nguyen recently had an interview in Rolling Stone and he stated that he's considering bringing the game back, but with a precaution that people should take a break from it. Personally I don't see the appeal because the game is ass, and he didn't say that it's coming back for sure by any means... but I wonder what is making him consider it? Hmm..

Don't Have Enough MMOs? The Wildstar Release Date Leaked
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/11/wildstar-release-date-leaked

The MMO is a growing genre that up until recently had no popularity whatsoever, so it's nice to see Wildstar coming out pretty soon to finally breathe some life into this dying genre. It comes out on June 3.


Yakuza Forced Ubisoft To Reveal Watch Dogs At E3
http://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-forced-watch-dogs-e3-reveal-minimum-pc-specs-defined-271858.phtml

Okay, so I'm just kidding about the Yakuza thing. In reality Ubisoft forced the Watch Dogs reveal at E3 that year where it erupted and completely consumed the gaming world. New consoles what? We have Watch Dogs.

The specs were also revealed, so, there's that too. The specs are in the link above. What? You thought that I was going to show them? What do you think this is?

Fine:
IntelCore 2 Quad Q8400 2.66Ghz or AMDPhenom II X4 940 3.0Ghz, 6GB RAM, 1024 VRAM DirectX 11 Shader 5.0 SCard: DirectX9 25 GB.

Don't say that I don't love you.


Speaking of Watch Dogs...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-beta-download-found-on-xbox-one/1100-6418231/

It's also possible that there will be a beta before the final release.

The Last Of Us Movie To Re-Tell The Story of The Game
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/another-reason-why-the-last-of-us-movie-is-sounding-good/1100-6418282/

Really, it's a funny concept when you think about it -- a video game adaption in movie format that tells the story of the game. So strange.

To those who haven't played The Last of Us, here's a basic rundown of the story: Two people try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world run by infected. Never been done in the movies before... should be good!

SHOTS FIRED!!! 2 Sony Vs Microsoft Again
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-fires-off-another-shot-at-xbox-policies/1100-6418280/

Adam Boyes took a shot at Microsoft over their policies for ID@Xbox which basically limits independent developers in the sense that every game they release must be released on the Xbox One at the same time as any other console, so no timed exclusives.

Adam Boyes figured that was stinky so he released this image on Twitter, the place where everyone goes to feud:

Um... pwned? Do people say pwned anymore? Well I do.

 Will this be the Biggie vs Pac of this decade? Time will tell.


Sony Talks The Last Guardian
http://www.destructoid.com/sony-i-love-that-people-are-still-interested-in-the-last-guardian-271839.phtml

Scott Rhode said, "You’re going to be very frustrated by this answer, but it is 100 percent the God’s honest truth, and that is that we want to make great games. And when we see that the public is so interested in a specific game, of course that drives us to want to complete that game. But it also drives us to want to make it great. We would not want to ship that game if we don’t think it’s great."

He said that the game is in the mix.

We've been waiting at least 73 years for this game.

And this is all we get?

Stallion83 Basically Becomes A God Among Gamers Who Love Unlocking Achievements
http://kotaku.com/watch-live-as-a-hero-gets-a-gamerscore-of-over-one-mill-1542821937/1542852654/+lukeplunkett

Though I'm not a guy who really gets caught up in that kind of thing, I have to give props to any gamer who accomplishes anything substantial within gaming. Congrats, comrade, for reaching a gamerscore of 1 million.

Never has this been more appropriate.

Masahiro Sakurai Doesn't Give A Shit About Your Console War
http://kotaku.com/smash-bros-creator-reviews-the-ps4-1542882797

Masahiro Sakurai has a badass name. He also created Kirby and Smash Bros. Guess what he also does? He likes the PS4, despite being a Nintendo guy... a concept that is immune to fanboys of any console.


Shovel Knight Is Delayed
http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/12/5502070/shovel-knight-delay

Shovel Knight is the game about Triple H (a little bit of humour for anybody who has ever paid attention to what the Internet Wrestling Community thinks) has been delayed by a few weeks in order to offer a better product. Whew, at least it's only a few weeks.


Never Fear, The Fun Box Is (T)Here... Er, In China
http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/12/5501608/china-getting-its-own-native-built-gaming-console-the-fun-box

So China has its own console coming out soon, and if you remember, the video game ban was lifted not too long ago. So um, yeah, The Fun Box. The Fun Box.

Does this mean China world domination in video games? Probably.


Wii U Is Outpacing PS4 In Japan
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/13/wii-u-sales-outpacing-playstation-4as-in-japan

So, you wouldn't believe it but the Wii U is actually outpacing the PS4. The Wii U sold more systems in its first three weeks than the PS4 has. Well, that's embarassing.


Hideo Kojima Wants To Make A Silent Hill
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-would-like-to-work-on-silent-hill-is-he-a-good-fit-for-the-series/1100-6418299/

Gamespot asks, is he a good fit? Are you nuts? Of course he is... he's Hideo Kojima.

So the news is that he wants to make a new Silent Hill, but also would be interested in a free-to-play adventure game even though it seems unlikely. He doesn't want to make puzzle or card games.


Hideo Also Wants Snake in New Super Smash Bros. But It's Probably Not Happening
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/14/kojima-open-to-snake-returning-in-super-smash-bros-for-wii-u

I loved Snake in Smash Bros. but it appears that he isn't going to be there this time around, despite Hideo asking really politely to have him put in. What a nice guy.


Hold Your Horses, A Second MMO Hits The Market In the Future
http://ca.ign.com/videos/2014/03/14/swordsman-announcement-trailer

Following the buzz of Wildstar and this new avenue to explore in PC gaming, there's a martial arts-inspired MMO titled Swordsman coming out. There's a video in the link above, and it looks like Jon Jones is finally going to fight Daniel Cormier.

I just hope that we don't get flooded with MMOs to the point that they become stale.


Playstation 4 Going Up In Price In Canada
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/14/playstation-4-prices-going-up-in-canada

On March 15th (holy crap that's today!), the PS4s are going up in price, same with the camera and Dual Shock 4. I would say go out and get one before it's too late, but if you're just finding this out today then it's too late, you've already been hit (Limp Bizkit - Head For The Barricade reference, since nobody actually listens to that garbage but me).

Canada is the greatest country on Earth. Obviously.


Now Onto Some Good News -- Crazy Taxi!
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-crazy-taxi-game-revealed-here-s-everything-we-know/1100-6418312/

Yay! New Crazy Taxi!

...For mobile.

In the link there is a rundown of everything they know so far but I've just become depressed because everything I hold dear gets sequels on phones. Hopefully it's good but, uh, forget it. Fuck this.


Josef Fares Thinks Very Highly Of His New Game
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/designer-of-acclaimed-brothers-says-next-project-is-something-that-hasn-t-been-done-before/1100-6418313/

So Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons seemed to really catch on, and now Fares says the next game will be something we haven't seen before.

Fares... I've been on the internet for over 10 years, there's nothing I haven't seen before.

No User-Generated Content For Infamous 3: Second Son
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-game-infamous-second-son-won-t-support-user-generated-content/1100-6418317/

So unlike Infamous 2, there wont' be user-generated content as part of Second Son. There won't be a demo either. Which means you're in the dark about as much as you can be with the internet connecting everybody at all times, infecting your brain until you can't take it anymore, to the point where you explode and start watching reruns of Heroes while you wonder how they could mess up something so great so bad.

Ahem.

I don't know where I was. So, moving on...


More Details About Hyper Light Drifter
http://www.destructoid.com/here-s-some-info-on-how-hyper-light-drifter-is-going-to-play-271956.phtml

The game is going to be hard but never unfair, with enemies being smart and the battles being more thoughtful. I don't even care, just give me the game right NOW! Inject it into me, it doesn't matter, I just want it.


Infamous Was Going To Be Animal Crossing With Superheroes
http://www.destructoid.com/infamous-started-as-an-animal-crossing-like-game-271958.phtml

This makes the whole "Villager is a psycho" meme even more terrifying.

In what is probably the funniest, strangest and most awesome news of the past week (and possibly my life), Infamous was going to be like Animal Crossing, but with you being a superhero. I am always down for Animal Crossing, and this sounds amazing. I want this instead of Second Son, not that I think Second Son will be bad.


New Steam Controller Prototype
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-s-the-latest-steam-controller-prototype/1100-6418327/

On the left is the new design.

I guess I close out the news this week with an image of the new design for the Valve Steam controller. Personally, I think it looks kind of stupid but I'm sure it'll be functional and fine. They're going to show it off next week at GDC so make sure to stay tuned.


Oh Wait, There's More! Let's Talk About Skype On Xbox One
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/15/skype-for-xbox-one-receives-many-new-features

Always reliable Skype has some updates for the Xbox One version and these inclu