[REVIEW] Super Mario Maker

Super Mario Maker
Played on: Wii U
Genre: Level editor, 2D Platformer
Developer / Publisher: Nintendo

That Friday, I went to work knowing it was gonna be tough to get through the day. Whatever day job tasks I had in front of me, I could only focus on one thing: the Mega Man-themed level I was going to make when I got out of work, bought my shiny new copy of Super Mario Maker, and scurried home. That's the kind of thing Super Mario Maker does to you: the very idea of such a game-slash-development-tool, a first in the Mario franchise, and quite likely the defining Wii U gamepad-centric title, is enough to inspire obsession.

[REVIEW] Cities: Skylines

Cities: Skylines
Platform: PC
Genre: City simulation
Developer: Colossal Order
Publisher: Paradox Entertainment

Back in 1996, a cousin introduced me to the first SimCity, and it just blew my mind. I was accustomed to games being fairly linear affairs, giving the player a lot of tightly orchestrated fun but very little control. In time I moved my strategy PC gaming from city simulation to stuff like Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic, in no small part because, after SimCity 2000, most games in the genre failed to really entice me in a big way. Cities Skylines, however, managed to rekindle the proverbial spark, especially because developer Colossal Order seems hellbent on undoing all the damage done by EA's immensely disappointing SimCity reboot a few years back.