Joe and Mac Retro Collection Review (Switch)

Long time readers of the site will know we absolutely love when more obscure console games are given a second chance to shine. The latest of these is the return of Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja, or more precisely, the Super Nintendo Joe and Mac trilogy which contains the original game, Congo’s Caper and Lost in the Tropics. Sadly though, other variations of the game are not included.

For the uninitiated, the games are side scrolling platform beat’em ups filled with dinosaurs and cavemen. Your character has a limited move set of jumping and bashing and you can upgrade your basic weapon from a club to a stone wheel, flame or a host of other prehistoric, themed weapons. Each level ends with you taking on some kind of big dinosaur as well. The SNES version of Joe and Mac also adds a map section to transition levels which is different from the arcade and adds a couple of extra areas.

The graphics are big and bold and fit the game world well. There’s a host of little touches, such as some dinosaurs crying when you bash them, which add character and humour and the challenge is set just about right to keep things interesting, while also letting you progress. The only real issue, much like when the games were first released, is that the game gets a little samey when played in anything other than small amounts of time. If you have a second player to join you then things get a lot more fun of course. The now standard quality of life issues such as saves and rewinds are also included.

In terms of extras there is a decent selection of artwork and the original box art. You can go into the virtual gallery and ‘unbox’ the games and look at the original manuals. Extras like this are a nice touch as it adds character to the package and lets you see the original tone and other quirks that the manuals had. It’s something that is always a very welcome addition.

The biggest and most obvious issue here is that there are so many other versions and variations of Joe and Mac that could have been included. The original arcade games are available elsewhere on the Switch eShop but would have been great inclusions here. Especially the second game which takes a much different approach. Away from those though the games were released across NES, GB, Mega Drive and Amiga (to name a few), and all these have variations and nuances. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by other recent collections that have really catalogued titles but as a result this release seems somewhat lacking.

Overall, the Joe and Mac collection is much like the games themselves. It is a perfectly enjoyable and solid seven out of ten that will make you smile but you’ll likely not stick with an extended period of time. We would love to see other games added in the future, but even without this we would encourage people who like retro games of the 16-bit era to try this out.

Overall 7/10

Nuclear Blaze Review (Switch)

 

I’m not sure many had the follow up to the much loved, and continually expanding, Dead Cells to be a puzzle platformer based around putting out fires. But that’s just one of the many things that separates the creative minds of the folks at Deepnight Games from the rest of the world. There are a few tiny similarities to Dead Cells but on the whole this is a fresh and clever platformer that even has a kids mode containing lots of extra trucks and helicopters.

The plot is fairly light with you being called to a blaze and ending up stuck in a secret underground lab where there may be more going on than just the outbreak of a fire. The controls are straightforward with you being able to spray water, roll and jump and that’s all you need in order to get by. There are a few nuances to the system of course. You can create different arcs of water spray and pushing down makes a sort of water shield around you. This is particularly useful when opening doors as sometimes you’ll be hit by a back draft and burn up if you don’t protect yourself or get out the way.

The levels are set out as self-contained puzzles of burning death with you needing to extinguish the flames in a section before moving onto the next. You must be quick as well as flames will begin to spread again if left for too long. In order to help you can normally turn on sprinkler systems or collect wheels to allow you to turn on water pipes. This at least gives you a few safe areas from which to plan your next move. Your two main concerns are your water level which you need to keep refilled and the fact that taking a single hit means death and normally starting the puzzle again from the start.

Each section follows the same sort of rules and it’s more about the design in terms of how you travel around putting out fires that changes. There are a host of obstacles such as locked doors, falling debris, burst gas pipes and the occasional key card that needs collecting but it’s all really about working out how to get around without running out of water.

Should the game prove too difficult though there are a wide selection of sliders that can be used to balance it out to your hearts content. You can make minor tweaks or make yourself pretty much invincible. We got through the game without playing around with it but some of the puzzles did prove to be sticking points so it’s good to see players have a way to keep their progress going should they wish.

Overall, Nuclear Blaze is a brief but fun platform puzzle game. It’s both creative and challenging and while there are frustrating moments it was never enough to turn us away from it. Once completed there’s an extra ‘Hold My Beer’ mode which adds even more challenging content as well so there’s enough here to keep you coming back. It’s just something a bit different that works well and we would recommend it to anyone looking to live their best fireman hero life.

Overall 7/10