Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Category: Modern

Donkey Kong Bonanza Brings Back Some Memories

Posted on by Viljami

Playing Donkey Kong Bonanza just a moment ago brought some memories to my mind. I think this game is the first good game for this new Nintendo gaming console Switch 2. It definitely showcases what the console has to offer. I really enjoy the graphics and the whole gameplay.

Its been over 30 years since I got to play my Sega Mega Drive for the first time. I think the year was 1993. I used to play my Mega Drive for a while before I made my way to school in the morning. I only had a short way to my school and I usually went there by bike. So, I had about thirty minutes to play Sonic The Hedgehog before meeting my pals at our school and starting my then a bit short day in school. Those were the days!

Sega Mega Drive was my first gaming console. Earlier I had already played some games on our family’s personal computer. The computer had MS-DOS as an operating system. I remember many cool titles that I played. Some of them were a bit shorter and some took many hours to complete. Playing Sega Mega Drive was actually something that you couldn’t directly compare to what our PC had to offer.

One huge factor was the way that games on Mega Drive were played. With this console you only had to insert the game cartridge and start to control the character with the controller included. You did have to adjust some settings. You could even take another controller and give it to a friend so you could play together. Mega Drive offered support for two controllers. There was some kind of an adapter of sort that you could plug in to expand the multiplayer capabilities. We of course didn’t have any way to play in any kind of a network back then.

Sonic The Hedgehog was released for Mega Drive in 1991. Mega Drive had been in the markets for several years. Now it was time to change the strategy. Nintendo and NES had already an icon or a mascot – Super Mario. Sonic quickly became the character that represented this console. We have seen similar strategies from the era of Sony PlayStation in the form of Crash Bandicoot. You can also think that Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Bananza now showcases Switch 2’s power in a similar way.

I really like Donkey Kong Bananza. I really like Switch 2. I have been playing some Switch 1 titles also. It is nice to have a backwards compatibility like this. Since I have bought Switch 2 I have bought some Switch 2 games but also some Swithc 1 titles. I am really waiting for Terminator 2D – No Fate to get released. The release day was actually just recently pushed to end of Octoberw while it was earlier set to be released already in September. There is also a new NBA2K game coming in the beginning of September. I am not sure about if I am going to invest in a new basketball game. It just seems that the game is modified only slightly. It takes a lot of time to complete a modern NBA2K game. I have bought NBA2K every year for at least five years in a row so it might be a good time to take a break in that matter.

There’s some games getting released for Switch 2 later this year. The next Metroid Prime game is getting released in this years December. We are also going to see Hades II also for Switch 2 in December. I already have Hades II for my current Windows PC. I am still looking for a good moment to buy also a new personal computer that would utilize the new Windows 11 operating system. You might have heard that Windows 10 is going to be somewhat unsupported in October. There is also an option to keep using Windows 10 by paying a small amount of money to keep the system supported. It is also possible to install Linux. I am thinking about this and I haven’t yet made my final decision about this issue. We will see how things are going to begin shaping in a moment. See you again soon!

What Has Burnout Paradise (Remastered) to Offer?

Posted on by Viljami

Burnout Paradise was first released back in 2008 for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows/PC. This isn’t for me an introduction to this game. I haven’t yet finished it but I do have it for PS3. I also have a digital copy of the remastered version of Burnout Paradise on my Xbox Series X. I decided to purchase this game once more and this time for Nintendo Switch. I am playing this game on my fresh and still shiny Switch 2.

This game is something that I like to play on my Switch 2. The game offers a large open-world area of roads and intersections to explore. The map is large but compared to some newer open-world exploration games it might already seem to be a bit small. The gameplay concentrates on different events and objectives. All in all there is a lot to explore. The game is said to have content for about eleven hours.

While we are talking about Burnout series I have to mention a very good game that also belongs to this series. That game is Burnout  3 – Takedown. That is a very good racing game that was released for PS2 and Xbox in 2004. If you like Burnout Paradise you probably like Takedown too. And you can also say that if you like Takedown you will like Burnout Paradise also.

I purchased a while ago a new game that is optimized for Switch 2 or you could say that it was released as a Switch 2 game. That game is Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 + 4. I did play some hours but the gameplay just seemed to build so much around trying to hit a perfect combo of tricks that I decided to have a break in playing the game. There is a lot to explore and you should give some time for the game to also be explored. I also don’t have so much nostalgic feelings on THPS 3 and 4 as I do have against the first two games of the series.

We are still going to have to wait for some new games to be released for Switch 2. The new Donkey Kong game might relieve this matter a bit. Donkey Kong Bananza is already available for Nintendo Switch. Some titles that I am personally waiting to be released are the new Metroid Prime game and Hades 2. The first Hades game was very nice action roleplaying game. I had some fun playing it about a year ago. I played it on my Xbox Series X:

While waiting for some new games you can actually play some a bit older games that were originally released for the first Switch console. Burnout Paradise Remastered can be one such game. Since I already have owned a Nintendo Switch console for several years already I actually own many good games that are backwards compatible with Switch 2. Burnout Paradise Remastered might not be a game that is widely available at least when you are talking about the actual physical copy of the game.

All-in-all I can recommend Burnout Paradise Remastered for someone who likes racing games. I definitely recommend it if you already have some experience about other games in the series. I don’t recommend this game if you totally hate open-world games. The game offers steady and exciting racing and lots of achievements and objectives to get into.

Burnout Paradise might not be as nice as a video game as Burnout Takedown was. I think it takes a steady second place if we compare different games in this whole series. I am definitely going to play it some more while I am waiting for some new Switch 2 games to be released,

As you can see from this picture there is a very nice weather here in Finland today. I really appreciate these sunny days. We don’t have these kinds of days all the time in here.

Hogwarts Legacy

Posted on by Viljami

I spent about two weeks playing Hogwarts Legacy for Xbox Series X. This game has received several good, or maybe excellent, reviews. It is not the newest game since it was released in 2023. So, it is about two years old. This also means that you can get it with a cheap price. You definitely don’t have to pay 80 euros for it today.

Hogwarts Legacy is a role-playing-game with lots of action included. The basic gameplay operates on completing quests, finding new areas through map and also fighting against enemies with many spells. You also get some gear from time to time. You get to upgrade your gear and also your skills.

The open-world environment is fun to explore. You face some enemies while you are finding these new places. You can also sort of “unlock” waypoints so you can travel to these locations just by selecting them from a map and clicking the button.

The game gives you full statistics of how much of the game have you completed. There are different areas of these challenges like how much of you have explored, battled and how many quests you have completed.

It took for about 40 hours to finish the game. There are several difficulty levels to choose from. They actually make the battles harder. Hogwarts Legacy offers a lot to play even after you have finished the main quests. You can develop your character and explore even more.

The graphics, or visual, are very nice in Hogwarts Legacy and so is the music. The world is the world of Harry Potter. I have to say also that I am not so familiar, actually not at all, on Harry Potter. This might be the first game that is placed in the world of Harry Potter that I have finished. Nor do I have memories of any books or movies. Still while I was playing it didn’t really bother me so much.

It is nice to see a game where battles are structured to just swinging your wand instead of shooting with a gun or fighting with a melee weapon (like an axe or something. I did enjoy this game. It really isn’t still something that I would like to spend more time on. As I am writing this I have just begun playing the newest Dead Space. I am trying to really play these games and they have been in my game shelf already for a good amount of time.

I am also waiting to get my hands on the Nintendo Switch 2. So, I really don’t have many reasons to go and play some Xbox Series X titles. I am already waiting for some new Switch 2 titles to play. I bought the version of Switch 2 that has Mario Kart World bundled. I would have liked to buy some other game for the first game of the console but this is now the game I have to start my journey with Switch 2. The console seems already really promising.

I also read that there is a new handheld Xbox console coming. It is interesting to see how huge game console companies are moving towards handheld gaming. It hasn’t been a long time since we were first introduced to Steam Deck. There might be something new coming from Valve, also. And of course we have all our Windows 11 handheld PCs already in the markets and selling very nicely.

Do we see something new in a form of an operating system from Valve in the near future? We will have to wait and see. I am very interested in seeing how Linux can operate with some applications that are usually utilized with a Windows PC. We have already seen how PC games bought through Steam can already function on a Linux operating system. They seem to work fine.