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Just in time for Halloween, this batch of game reviews I’ve written recently at GamerDad.com features all sorts of spooky stuff, like witches and bats and alien bugs!  Well OK, it’s really not that spooky, this IS me we’re talking about here.  But please click on the links and read as many as you can anyway and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  OK let’s begin!

Yars Rising (PS4)

As you all may know, I love retro gaming.  Heck, I grew up during the Atari and NES days, so it’s part of my childhood.  But I do have one retro game that’s on my ‘wall of shame’ because up until now, I never figured out how to play it.  And that game is Yars’ Revenge.  Oh sure I’ve tried many times to figure it out, especially when I would get a new Atari collection that it was on.  And I understand the significance of the game, as it was the best selling game on the Atari 2600 that WASN’T an arcade game first.  And the reason why it is called “Yars” is because that’s the name of Atari’s CEO at the time spelled backwards (way to butter up your boss, Howard Scott Warshaw)! But yeah, I’ve never figured out how to really play the game.  That is until now, thanks to a new game in the series called Yars Rising.  Strangely enough, Yars Rising is actually a “Metroidvania” title mixed with blocky, Atari 2600 style mini-games based on the original Yars.  And it was made by WayForward, which really tells you all you need to know about the quality (yeah it’s good).

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain (Switch)

Mika is a young girl who aspires to be a witch like her mother, so she enrolls in Witch School which is held at the top of a mountain on an island.  But when she gets there, for her first lesson the witch on the mountain pushes her off!  Luckily Mika lands safely, but her broom breaks and she can’t fly high up to the top of the mountain anymore.  She meets an artist who can repair her broom, but it’ll cost money so Mika gets a job in town delivering packages to people while flying on her broom.  To say this game is “Ghibli-inspired” would be an understatement, as there is a Ghibli Studio cartoon movie called “Kiki’s Delivery Service” that has nearly the exact same plot.  Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is a 3D action adventure game.

Aero the Acro-Bat 2 (Switch)

About a month or so ago I reviewed a re-release of Aero the Acro-Bat, a 16-bit 2D mascot platformer.  I rented the game back in the day and honestly didn’t like it very much.  But I was glad to be able to review it again because I’m always willing to give a game a second chance.  Unfortunately, since I didn’t like the game when I first played it, I never bothered with the sequels and spinoffs so I never got a chance to see how they may have improved.  So I’m glad I got a chance to try Aero the Acro-Bat 2.  In the game, Aero finds a magician’s box that transports him to all sorts of different worlds and it’s up to him to save the day again in new environments.  I believe this re-release is still the SNES version.

Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU (Switch)

There is a music synthesizer called Vocaloid that can replicate singing voices, and in Japan, they’ve created characters to go along with those voices.  Probably the most popular of those characters is Hatsune Miku, an anime styled girl character with long blue pigtails.  She’s been in a lot of other video games as well, and I’ve even reviewed a couple of them.  And now she’s appearing in another video game, and this time strangely enough, it’s the Fitness Boxing game series on Switch!

Truck Star (Mobile)

A while ago, my stepdad asked for me to check out a mobile game called Truck Star.  He’s driven trucks and car haulers most of his life, so he wanted to know if I think he’d like this game.  He showed me an ad on Facebook he saw for this game, and in the ad, it shows a behind the wheel view of driving a truck.  Another truck cuts you off and you hear someone yelling out “F-you!” and then the truck crashes and explodes.  And then the video showed scenes of you putting trucks together and repairing and customizing them.  So it was a big surprise for all of us when I downloaded this free to play mobile game (reviewed on iPad here), and found out it’s just a pretty standard match three puzzle game!  You do get to repair and customize all kinds of trucks by playing the puzzles, though, and you’ll get to work on haulers, flatbeds, and even monster trucks!  But there’s no behind the wheel driving, cursing, or explosions!  Just goes to show you to be careful with Facebook ads!

Cash Cow DX (Switch)

Help a cow grab all the gold in this action game that looks like it came from the 80s golden age of arcades.  This game is kind of a mix of Sonic the Hedgehog (there’s even loops on one stage), combined with the platform gameplay of something like Miner 2049er.

Kiki: A Vibrant 3D Platformer (PS4)

I think it’s an interesting coincidence that I reviewed a game on this list that plays like Kiki’s Delivery Service, but doesn’t have that name in the title, but another game here does!  Kiki may be vibrant, but it’s still a pretty bare bones 3D platformer.  View the action in first person perspective as you jump over pits, avoid obstacles like sawblades, and collect stars and trophies as you make your way to the exit.

Moe Waifu H Genius (PS4)

Well I’m not sure what the “Moe” means but “Waifu” is what you hook your internet up to, right?  Nah, I’m just joking.  I know it means like a pretend girlfriend or something.  Anyway, in this game you can unlock pictures of fantasy anime ladies in different outfits by playing a memory game.  They’ll play a pattern and you must memorize and repeat it.  So yeah, it’s pretty much Simon.

And that’s all for now!  Thanks for reading my reviews and posting ‘likes’ and comments on them.  I do appreciate it!  Happy Halloween!  --Cary