Following its announcement in March, game developer Cold Iron Studios has shut down the servers for the cloud version of Aliens: Fireteam Elite on the Nintendo Switch. The game originally cost $30 (or $60 for an “Ultimate” version with additional content).

Cold Iron Studios hasn't offered customers refunds.

TheGamer reported that affected players are entitled to a discount for the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, which is a 2021 co-op, third-person shooter based on the Alien film franchise. However, that would mean paying money for a game that you have already paid money for once.

Read full article

Comments

Following its announcement in March, game developer Cold Iron Studios has shut down the servers for the cloud version of Aliens: Fireteam Elite on the Nintendo Switch. The game originally cost $30 (or $60 for an “Ultimate” version with additional content).

Cold Iron Studios hasn't offered customers refunds.

TheGamer reported that affected players are entitled to a discount for the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, which is a 2021 co-op, third-person shooter based on the Alien film franchise. However, that would mean paying money for a game that you have already paid money for once.

Read full article

Comments

Profit jump fuelled largely by unknown US refund amount as Japanese video game firm records quarterly sales drop

Nintendo has reported a jump in profits, as the Japanese game maker’s earnings were buoyed up by a long-awaited refund on Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The company said profits surged 53.5% to ¥147.4bn (£694m) over the three months to June, substantially beating expert forecasts for ¥77.8bn.

Being a woman who loves video games has often felt lonely, like being on a hostile planet – but Metroid’s female space hunter has been with me all the way

It’s 1986, and you’re playing a brand-new game. (You’re in Japan in this scenario, by the way; the game in question, Metroid, won’t come to North America and Europe until later.) Anyway, this new game has you in its grip. You are a lone astronaut exploring a hostile alien planet full of ancient, mysterious structures. This astronaut looks human enough – but this distinctly alien place is full of objects that power up their spacesuit’s capabilities. Each new ability allows you to explore a new area, and as you do, you realise that the entirety of the planetary base you’re exploring is one, massive, interconnected maze. Whoa.

Hours later, you finally defeat Mother Brain and set off a timed self-destruct sequence. Upon your escape, you’re treated to an endgame screen: the little astronaut faces you as text on screen implores you to “pray for peace in space”.

Classic 90’s morning cartoon nostalgia with frustrating Controls

Weirdly, time seems to become more valuable as we age. Especially when you consider that each second, minute, hour, week, month, and year has the same duration and cadence.  As a youth, it seemed that this currency was limitless.  I could play what I wanted, when I wanted, and do nearly anything I wanted.  Now, as a married father of four kids, each with their own sports, work/study, hobbies, interests, and a full-time job, I have to be more selective about my activities.  Since my free time is worth more than when I was a child, I have to ration it and divert my energy between only a few activities.   

I have enjoyed playing video games since approximately 1988 when my parents bought a Nintendo NES.  With time I progressed through the NES, Super Nintendo, N64, GameCube, Wii, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, the GameBoy family (Game Boy, Color, Advance, DS, 3DS/XL), Sega Genesis, Sega CD, GameGear, PlayStation 2/3, PSP, XBOX 360, XBOX One and XBOX Series X.  I played a variety of game types to include platformers, first person shooters, RPG, JRPG, racing games, quest/puzzle style games, etc.  In my later years of high school and into college, my father and I played the online role-playing game (MMORPG) Dark Age of Camelot.  Now, I am left with a Nintendo Switch 2, an Xbox Series X, and one to two hours per week of playtime.  One hour is used to play Diablo 4 with my Dad, and one hour is used for Switch 2 time.  

I read about the Nickelodeon Splat Pack, a $14.99 Nintendo Switch eShop game, and immediately fell in love with the nostalgia of morning cartoons and the art style of Rocko’s Modern Life, Real Monsters, and the gameshow Nickelodeon GUTS.  I had the privilege of reviewing the title thanks to the publisher.  With a quick trip to the eShop and a download time of ~7 minutes (1032-1039 am), the game found its way onto my E-storage.  I fired up the game and noticed a virtual card insertion animation, photosensitivity warning, and then the fun, slimy, Nickelodeon image.  Many adults will remember the orange/yellow slime splat, purple lettering, and crayon-like purple feel of Nickelodeon.  I think that feeling is part of why Splatoon felt so fun to play and why Slime remains one of my kids’ favorite pastimes.  We had Gak; now they have every iteration of texture and smell you can imagine in slime form.

The game compilation had several modes/games within the main collection: Rocko’s Modern Life: Spunky’s Dangerous Day, Nickelodeon Guts, and AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (Sega/NES versions).  The main Nickelodeon splat screen will transition into the second screen with Real Monsters 16-bit Mega at the top left, Rocko’s Modern Life: Spunky’s Dangerous Day along the left, Museum, and Credits. Along the right side of the screen, you will find Real Monsters 16-bit Super, GUTS, and a music player. Along the bottom, you have change selection with the L drumstick, Y for languages (French, English, Italian, German, Spanish), B for back, and A to confirm.  

I remembered the kids’ TV game shows like Double Dare, GUTS, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and wanted to start with the GUTS game.  Unlike the cartoony feel of the other games, the GUTS game lacked color and pizazz and felt more pixelated and outdated than retro.  The game’s opening sequence provided several black-and-white photographs of the GUTS game show. You can adjust the screen size between full, 4:3 ratio, and stretch.  You can change the filter from CRT to off and adjust the borders: 1. Off, which is all black. 2. Colored Backgrounds: A yellow, orange-shaped background, purple, yellow, green background, and a green slime background.  You can open up the game manual and walk through the different games and try to navigate/memorize the manual for each game subtype. 

Instead of using the A button to start the game, the GUTS game required you to press the “+” button to start a game. You can choose between single player vs. two player, change between beginner and advanced, and turn the music on and off. You can choose GUTS Show or single event. Select your desired color (blue, red, and purple), and then pick your character. There are eight options to select from, and each one has a different weight, height, and favorite sport.  I am not certain that these differences mattered much in the actual game. From Lacrosse V Attack to track to elastic ball slam dunk, and then to the Aggro Crag, the game was very difficult to play.  The controls were not easy to remember; each mode had its own sequence of button combinations and timing patterns.  Timing the basketball slam, trying to get back onto the ledge, rope grabbing, ball throwing/aiming all created more frustration than enjoyment.  At times, it felt like the athletic character would fall or jump before I even pushed a button.  Again, quite frustrating.  Even though it was one of the first games I played, I did not return to the game and have since not played it again.  

Rocko’s Modern Life: Spunky’s Dangerous Day did a great job at capturing the artistic, visual feel of the 16-bit era.  In this game, you will assume the role of the Wallaby Rocko, and you must guide your dog Spunky through various maps, hazards, and transitions.  The gameplay felt clunky, and the Spunky Mechanic was incredibly frustrating.  I have played many games that required specific timing (Aladdin carpet level, Turbo Tunnel level on Battletoads, Solomon’s Key, Mike Tyson, numerous platform jumps). Still, the escort mechanic, combined with the mapped controls and inability to adjust the controls, made the game quite frustrating.  Despite the frustration, I think it was the best of the collection.  The platformer feel combined with some puzzle-like activities required you to move things/open up pathways for the dog.  If you did not open them in time, the dog would turn 180 degrees and go backward.  Thus, you had to open/close levels/shells/gates to keep the dog from trying to die.  Curiosity, in this case, killed the dog!.  

The AAAAH!!! Real Monsters games had a fun character swap mechanic.  You will need to change your leader by pressing the L/R buttons based on the situation, as Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm each possess their own special ability.  Control your characters with the D pad or Thumbstick, press down to squat, press up to ascend a ladder, Y to throw a monster, B to jump, A to scare, and X for triple monster moves with the other two.  There are a total of three options depending on your leader.  Ickis, the pink-eared monster, has a frightening fling long jump. Krumm has an EERE Eye ejector to search for hidden rooms. Finally, Oblina the taller monster, can reach higher places with a high jump. All three will stack up. You can throw monsters, and will need to use their individual powers to search for trash.  Navigate through schools, sewers, streets, look for character upgrades, and try to get to the end.  Several of the stages reminded me of Metroid, where you could not access certain areas.  At times, I wanted to move the jump button to A, and I would have liked to move the monster-throw button to a trigger button.  Alas, the game did not allow for button mapping or modification.  The button combinations for the Switch controller felt weird and made several of the levels feel more difficult than they needed to be.  The rewind function was a great update for the game.  However, it did not provide enough of a victory to pull the review up from ~6/10.  

Despite the difficult-to-navigate/learn button combinations, the Splat Pack did provide a few modern quality-of-life upgrades.  No, you cannot button map.  If that were possible, this review would be at least an 7.5/10.  However, like with many modern ports, you gain the ability to save progress, and you can rewind/reverse time to try again.  Let me be clear, these games will not walk you through and give you a trophy at the end.  Games from the 80’s and 90’s did not do this; Elden Ring does not do this, and games like Call of Duty won’t do this either.  You will have to practice the controls, remember the sequence, and die/restart a lot.  The 90’s versions were frustrating!  Guess what, the current ports are frustrating!  Some may find this alluring and a challenge worthy of a quest, while others may want to throw the controller and move on to other games.  With valuable time as a resource, we must choose what games to play.  

I liked the Museum and Music Player feature within the main menu.  One of my favorite memories about gaming was the box art, included instruction manual, and sometimes map (thank you Zelda Overworld Map).  The included Museum and Music Player features will let you listen to soundtracks, while the museum feature will show you the box art and scans of the manual.  I would love for other Switch games to include the original box art and scans.  

Summary:

You will need to determine if you want to scratch your nostalgia itch and reignite your love/hate feeling for retro games. Think Battletoads Turbo Tunnel bike level, Ninja Turtles water level,  Ghosts N’ Goblins, Ninja Gaiden, Eco the Dolphin, and so many more without a Game Genie.  I have grown fond of Limited Run games but feel that this title would benefit from some additional love.  Despite the nostalgia of the Nickelodeon era and memories of Skip-bo, Gak, Pizza Hut family time, and morning cartoons, the constellation of games did not hold up well to time.  Despite the minor upgrades to the graphics and color schemes, they still held their original appeal.  The games felt dusted and cleaned up, with some very superficial upgrades in the ability to rewind, pause, and save (single-game save). The 16-bit retro sound and music library provided the best upgrade/“nostalgia” feel. I liked the original tracks, and the fun cartoony backgrounds.  As far as replayability, I would give the game pack a mid-range of ~6/10.  With so many other games available, I would rather have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, or pick up a used copy of Disney Classic Games from Game X-Change to remember how mad I got at The Lion King and Aladdin.  

I would have liked a bit more polish and better button mapping/upgrades, so I could enjoy and complete the games.  The price is not unfair for what you get but I missed a few other titles like Ren and Stimpy Games, or possibly Rugrats.  Will I play them again? Probably.  Will I play them frequently? Likely not. 

Learn more about the Nintendo Switch Nickelodeon Splat Pack.