Mario's never been one to turn down a shindig--one need only look at the numerous Mario Parties he's thrown over the years for proof of that--but his anniversary is one occasion that is rarely celebrated. His 25th anniversary was marked with a Wii re-release of Super Mario All-Stars, of all things--hardly the most auspicious way to commemorate such a remarkable milestone. This year, however, Nintendo is giving Mario a more fitting anniversary tribute, headlining the festivities with Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a Switch compilation featuring a trio of the plumber's most influential adventures: N64's Super Mario 64, GameCube's Super Mario Sunshine, and Wii's Super Mario Galaxy.

But while Mario 3D All-Stars is ostensibly a celebration of Mario's history, a chance to revisit the plumber's genre-defining leap into the third dimension, it's still lacking in some regards. For one, you won't find anything in the way of supplemental material here: just Mario's first three 3D adventures, modestly touched up for high-definition displays, and their accompanying soundtracks. The presentation is minimal but handsomely designed, and the soundtracks are a nice bonus, but the package on the whole hardly feels like a celebration of the series in the way that, say, Kirby's Dream Collection or even the original Super Mario All-Stars did.

Still, the games that are included here are some of Mario's most memorable, and they've all been given an HD sheen. Mario 64 runs in 720p whether you're playing on the television or in handheld mode, while Sunshine and Galaxy both run in 1080p docked and 720p in handheld. Sunshine's aspect ratio has also been increased to 16:9. Thanks to the improved resolution, the games all look more vibrant and colorful than ever, which helps mask their otherwise aging visuals; Galaxy in particular has benefited greatly from the HD touchup and is often stunning. The UI elements in each game look much crisper as well, and the in-game text has been updated to reflect the tweaked controls (and in Mario 64's case, the fuzzy font has been smoothed over, making it much easier to read).

Official Mobile Gaming Accessories and the Best Xbox Game Pass Deals

What's New to Xbox Game Pass in September?

• Company of Heroes 2 (PC) – September 17
• Destiny 2: Shadowkeep & Forsaken (Android & Console) – September 22
• Halo 3: ODST (Android & PC) – September 22
• Night in the Woods (Android, Console, PC) ID@Xbox – September 24
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (Android & Console) ID@Xbox – September 24

What is Cloud Gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

Does Cloud Gaming Cost Any Extra?

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Unfortunately, the fake Frosty news with Jason wasn’t the only PR tactic used to distract from the seriousness of the JL situation.

Ben returning as Batman was clearly meant to be revealed at DC Fandome. I’ll give you one guess as to why @wbpictures likely jumped the gun. A>E pic.twitter.com/IvmOOnN97s — Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) September 15, 2020

Others (including an implicated individual that called me to apologize) have already been interviewed.

We will not let ANY investigator cherry-pick interviewees that best suit @wbpictures’ false narrative and scapegoating efforts. All with stories WILL be heard! A>E 2/2 — Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) September 14, 2020

There are only two radio channels in the slice-of-life driving simulator, Road to Guangdong--one plays some blend of milquetoast "oriental" music, while the other broadcasts more upbeat and decidedly modern synthwave-inspired melodies. It's this gulf between the two genres that also seems to inspire one of the few highlights behind Road to Guangdong: the light-hearted ribbing between you and your Guu Ma--the Chinese honorific for aunts--as you embark on a road trip together. The elderly Guu Ma's disdain for the pulsating grooves of electronic music means she will always try to change the radio channel back to the vaguely Guangdong-esque music she's more familiar with, after much grumbling about the unrefined state of modern music. You can, of course, flip the channel back again, if only to annoy her--and cackle at her exasperation as she reaches out to change the music once again.

While this small interaction is mildly amusing, it doesn't sustain the game's novelty for long. Road to Guangdong is a long-winding, exhausting ride--and I don't mean in terms of hours. Not only is its pacing extremely sluggish, its characters' minimalist expressions are also overly mechanical and too limited in their range to convey any emotion--an unfortunate design choice that only brings more attention to the game's flat, lacklustre dialogues. This is made more apparent when Guu Ma occasionally sprinkles some canned advice over the course of your endless drives, one of which is a recurring suggestion to change your radio channel. But why would you suggest that, Guu Ma, if the only other option is these trance-like bangers you hate so much?

There are only two radio channels in the slice-of-life driving simulator, Road to Guangdong--one plays some blend of milquetoast "oriental" music, while the other broadcasts more upbeat and decidedly modern synthwave-inspired melodies. It's this gulf between the two genres that also seems to inspire one of the few highlights behind Road to Guangdong: the light-hearted ribbing between you and your Guu Ma--the Chinese honorific for aunts--as you embark on a road trip together. The elderly Guu Ma's disdain for the pulsating grooves of electronic music means she will always try to change the radio channel back to the vaguely Guangdong-esque music she's more familiar with, after much grumbling about the unrefined state of modern music. You can, of course, flip the channel back again, if only to annoy her--and cackle at her exasperation as she reaches out to change the music once again.

While this small interaction is mildly amusing, it doesn't sustain the game's novelty for long. Road to Guangdong is a long-winding, exhausting ride--and I don't mean in terms of hours. Not only is its pacing extremely sluggish, its characters' minimalist expressions are also overly mechanical and too limited in their range to convey any emotion--an unfortunate design choice that only brings more attention to the game's flat, lacklustre dialogues. This is made more apparent when Guu Ma occasionally sprinkles some canned advice over the course of your endless drives, one of which is a recurring suggestion to change your radio channel. But why would you suggest that, Guu Ma, if the only other option is these trance-like bangers you hate so much?

The set-up for Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York, the second V:TM visual novel following last year's Coteries of New York, is irresistible. The protagonist, Julia, is a newly turned vampire whose life as a struggling freelance investigative journalist is now thankfully behind her. But instead of living a glamorous, exciting vampire existence, she essentially becomes a glorified immigration officer, overseeing vampire movement in and out of New York. It's a rather drab existence until her background as a journalist gifts her an opportunity to head up an investigation concerning the locked-room murder of a high-profile vampire, and her future within New York's vampiric society will depend on whether she's able to solve the crime.

In practice, Shadows of New York is less exciting than this premise indicates. There's a murder, yes, and Julia has to solve it. But you, the player, are barely involved. This is a five-hour visual novel that's very low on meaningful choice and consequence, and while there will be some differences and unique elements to different playthroughs, your impact on the investigation is negligible. But even though it's light on player input, Shadows of New York is an entertaining visual novel for the most part, with an interesting central character, solid script, and strong presentation.

Shadows of New York is somewhere between a self-contained spin-off and a direct sequel to Coteries of New York. Julia and a few other characters are new, but most of the main cast carries over directly from that first game, including the murder victim. The main thrust of Shadows of New York's story involves meeting with the four characters who you could choose to serve in the first game's titular coterie, all of whom have some insight into the case and what happened… kind of. In truth, the investigation into the murder never really coheres into a satisfying whodunnit--you spend most of your time reading text that's projected over animated backgrounds and character portraits, and occasionally you get to make a choice about what Julie says or does next. However, these don't lead to meaningful consequences, with most of the major reveals happening right near the end. None of them are particularly surprising either.

The set-up for Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York, the second V:TM visual novel following last year's Coteries of New York, is irresistible. The protagonist, Julia, is a newly turned vampire whose life as a struggling freelance investigative journalist is now thankfully behind her. But instead of living a glamorous, exciting vampire existence, she essentially becomes a glorified immigration officer, overseeing vampire movement in and out of New York. It's a rather drab existence until her background as a journalist gifts her an opportunity to head up an investigation concerning the locked-room murder of a high-profile vampire, and her future within New York's vampiric society will depend on whether she's able to solve the crime.

In practice, Shadows of New York is less exciting than this premise indicates. There's a murder, yes, and Julia has to solve it. But you, the player, are barely involved. This is a five-hour visual novel that's very low on meaningful choice and consequence, and while there will be some differences and unique elements to different playthroughs, your impact on the investigation is negligible. But even though it's light on player input, Shadows of New York is an entertaining visual novel for the most part, with an interesting central character, solid script, and strong presentation.

Shadows of New York is somewhere between a self-contained spin-off and a direct sequel to Coteries of New York. Julia and a few other characters are new, but most of the main cast carries over directly from that first game, including the murder victim. The main thrust of Shadows of New York's story involves meeting with the four characters who you could choose to serve in the first game's titular coterie, all of whom have some insight into the case and what happened… kind of. In truth, the investigation into the murder never really coheres into a satisfying whodunnit--you spend most of your time reading text that's projected over animated backgrounds and character portraits, and occasionally you get to make a choice about what Julie says or does next. However, these don't lead to meaningful consequences, with most of the major reveals happening right near the end. None of them are particularly surprising either.