RETRO REVIEW: LUIGI’S MANSION 2: DARK MOON (3DS, 2013) ”Mario? Marrrio!!!”
Another in the fairly recent trend of classic Nintendo games receiving the HD remaster treatment, Luigi’s Mansion 2 (formerly subtitled Dark Moon) arrives on the Switch today. And while more games for the hybrid are always welcome, this one is a bit of a head scratcher. The 3rd installment in the spooky series arguably delivered the definitive ghost sucking experience several years back and this game was designed for the 3DS, a console who’s software for the most part remain tethered to the system (the glassless 3D effect is still impressively charming). So what gives, Nintendo? From what I understand based on initial reviews, what we’ve got here is almost 100% the same title with minimal animation upgrades and the obvious higher resolution. I can’t say that that justifies a full price repurchase from me but for anyone out there who has yet to experience it (and enjoyed part 3), it may be worth looking into.
Either way, a great game is a great game so please have a look at my review of the original release.
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #41 “Cthulhu Minus One”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
PODCAST: BATMAN RETURNS (1992): ”The Rob. The Ray. The Cthulhu.”
In honor of that long awaited June 19th from way back in ‘92, please enjoy this podcast episode from the vault. Where Rob and Ray give it up for Batman Returns, our second favorite second installment in the major motion picture Bat-Franchise!
(And for even more nerdiness over Batman Returns, I give the Super Nintendo game a whirl right here)
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #40 “A-ha!”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #39 “It’s an Omen.”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
RETRO REVIEW: JURASSIC PARK: THE VIDEO GAME (SNES, 1993) Based on The Movie Based on The Book.
Anyone who grew up in the NES/SNES days can attest that games based on licensed properties were with very few exceptions, notoriously awful. But this never took away from their allure, an undeniable curiosity would set in begging the question: Don’t you want to play the movie? Jurassic Park was one of those titles that I never had the chance to check out during it’s 16-bit heyday, but thanks to my SNES Classic which has had a few *cough* modifications *cough*, the other night I decided to finally have a go at it. The idea was to drink a ton of beer and with the help of a gamefaqs walkthrough, attempt to complete the entire game in one sitting.
The post which you are about to read is an account of the tragedy which befell me. It is all the more tragic in that I was drunk.
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #38 “Give A Hoot.”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
PODCAST: SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007): ”You Knew this Was Coming, Nerd!”
Rob and Ray are back and on this episode and it’s time to nerd it up about Spider-Man 3. The third and (for now) final installment in the Sam Raimi trilogy!
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #37 “Sunny Days”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
BLOG: NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS “Today We’re Gonna Play Like it’s 1990.”
Well alright now, we’ve got the Nintendo World Championships: NES™ Edition hitting Switch this July and I’d like to share a little story of that time when yours truly competed in an actual Nintendo World Championship! The year was 2015 and by “World” Championship, really it just means that the company restricted the event to North America then threw 8 darts at a map covered in Best Buy locations. As luck would shake out, one of the stores happened to be held in San Francisco and about 10 blocks away from where I used to live. Which means? Yep. I can officially someday watch my grandchildren roll their eyes when telling them the tale of how I participated in a Nintendo tournament. Hell, I may even include it on my resume’ from now on.
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #36 “No Rest for the Lazy”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #35 “A Place To Put Snacks”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
REVIEW: LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2023) Time to Touch that Dial.
If my frequent posts throughout the Halloween season didn’t give it away, I’m a pretty big fan of Horror films. So the excitement really kicks in when a new movie comes out that gets the scary movie nerds all worked up and talking about how “oh man, you’ve just gotta see this one!” It seems to happen on a semi-annual basis and here we are again with Late Night With the Devil. I typically like to squirrel away these new releases throughout the year and go into something I just now decided to call “Horror Hibernation”; saving them for that early August until the end of October Halloween time sweet spot.
What can I say, I was feeling a pretty strong itch and this one looked like it had the potential to be one hell of a scratch.
THE ROBMAN SHOW! Episode #34 “So that’s how it’s gonna be?”
A new comic strip every Sunday morning from Rob Van Brunt!
Nintendo Switch IMPRESSIONS: Endless Ocean Luminous (2024)
Back during the heyday of the Nintendo Wii, there was no shortage of creative swings being made by software developers, both large and small: Attempts to stretch the boundaries of what video games could be. Since the console was appealing to just about every age range, it was a great period of opportunity to take chances, make mistakes and who knows? Perhaps even stumble upon some new type of interactive experience that actually worked. This resulted in plenty of bargain bins filled with what came to be known as “shovelware.” Games that were essentially quick cash in jobs attempting to capitalize on the motion control craze. And a couple of titles which stood out as arguably successful examples of experimentation in that overpopulated sea cough crowd, were the Endless Ocean games.
If one were to rank all of these movies, I’d bet A Nightmare on Elm St. 4: The Dream Master would sit comfortably somewhere in the top 3 on most lists. Maybe even top 2. It’s arguably the most fun of them all, embracing a much more kinetic cinematic style, really cranking up the visuals and overflowing with an overall vision. It’s also just so 80’s, watching it now makes this one feel like the Freddy that comes to mind when you think about Freddy.
It’s kinda iconic.