The Gaming Hub

You're in Kong Land, Now!

Thu, 9 May 2013 15:29:55 +0000

When Donkey Kong Country became a huge, runaway hit for the Super NES (as if it could ever have been a failure), you had to know more was right down the line. Would video game-playing adults like to have a version of Donkey Kong Country to carry around with them as they traveled? Of course they would! The practical problem, though, was that all Nintendo really had as a portable console at the time was the Game Boy, an 8-bit console with two action buttons and a black and white screen. And Donkey Kong Country was not only a 16-bit game, but a rather massive behemoth of one at that. There was no way all those levels and secrets, not to mention the beautifully rendered graphics and classic soundtrack, could all be crammed onto a freaking Game Boy cartridge!

But holy fucking shit if they didn't try.

Meet Donkey Kong Land, Rare's effort to shrink a large, solid platformer with some of the most gorgeous graphics and music of the 16-bit era down to bite size. Now, Donkey Kong Land was never meant to be an 8-bit remake of Donkey Kong Country. It's a successor of sorts, but it does contain a lot of the level and character dynamics of its bigger sibling on the Super NES. Donkey Kong Land isn't a game that will leave non-Super NES people unfulfilled for not owning the 16-bit game that spawned it.

Donkey Kong Land even contains a wink at the success of Donkey Kong Country. Donkey and Diddy Kong are basking in the glow of fame that's coming from the success of DKC, and in the meantime, Cranky is watching and turning green. Not just because it's the color of the Game Boy screen, but envy green. As Cranky Kong is wont to do, he starts insisting that the success of Donkey and Diddy only came from the fancy graphics and sounds in the 16-bit day and age, because kids love shiny things! For Cranky to really consider them good, they need to have success without the fancy graphics and music, on a tough cartridge played on an 8-bit console! I'm relatively sure Donkey and Diddy might have been able to shrug all that criticism off, but Cranky went out and pulled a major no-no: He went and told King K. Rool his thoughts. Then he talked Rool into stealing Donkey's banana horde again, which Rool is of course more than happy to do.

There are four worlds in Donkey Kong Land, each with a number of levels. There are a lot of similar level themes between Donkey Kong Land and its senior brother, and that's especially apparent in the beginning of the game. Jungle and water levels are just about everywhere, and Rare doesn't try to veil their level design inspirations at all. Later you get to journey through temples and caves. Anyone who isn't all that familiar with the original DKC can see the jungle levels were apparently lifted directly from the Super NES - they LOOK almost exactly alike, with the only difference being in the colors.

The levels also feel very similar to the old DKC. This is pretty typical platform-hopping action: You jump around, and level semantics emphasize more terrain-based danger than enemy-based danger. The enemies in Donkey Kong Land are very sporadic. Since the game is a platformer, they're not expected to be very difficult; some are there to throw you an occasional curveball, but for the most part, hit them once - either by rolling into them or bouncing onto their heads - and they're done. They're more nuisance than threat, and most of them are in the game either as token resistance or as a way of adding an element of danger to some of the other obstacles. Also, I'm very pleased to report that the water levels are actually very well done in Donkey Kong Land, and I have yet to run into any chase levels. Unfortunately, there are ice levels, though, and the ice in this game is pretty unforgiving.

Of course, since the levels are so straightforward, that makes it an extra delight when you stumble into one of Donkey Kong Land's vast multitude of secrets. There's so much in this game to visit and discover that you'll be sacrificing lives very willingly a lot, on the chance that a pit contains a barrel cannon which will shoot Donkey or Diddy off into the wild blue yonder ("wild blue yonder" here meaning one of the game's many bonus stages). Of course, you could save yourself the trouble by visiting Gamefaqs or Youtube these days, but setting out to find secrets in platformers through trial and error was one of the reasons gamers who were around for the 16-bit era remember it as the Silver Era of video gaming. To make an omelette, you need to break some eggs, you know?

One of the sacrifices needed to bring the gameplay of Donkey Kong Country down to bite size was getting rid of Donkey and Diddy's tag teaming. Okay, well, not entirely. You can still switch between the two of them on the fly, but only one of them can be displayed on the screen at any time. Fortunately, this doesn't have any real effect on the gameplay. In fact, if anyone was distracted in DKC because both Donkey and Diddy were onscreen at the same time, it's an improvement. The other members of the Kong family are also missing in action, presumable because they would have made the game too large for its own good. Unfortunately, there were a couple of other things that needed to be done to make Donkey Kong Land playable on the Game Boy: One was to increase the size of the sprites relative to the size of the screen. Unfortunately, this also means you're not able to see quite as much of the land directly ahead of you. Donkey Kong Land is packed with those ultra-annoying jumps from old school platformers. You know the ones I'm referring to: The ones where you're at an edge where you can't see anything but dead air to land on, and so you're forced to make a leap into the wild unknown, hoping to god there just happens to be a ledge to land on right under the spot you're aiming for.

The game save system in Donkey Kong Country gets an F sharp. Yeah, it works just fine, and it leaves you right at the level you just finished when you turned the game off. But to activate it, you need to go into the level and collect the letters K, O, N, and G for a shot to save your game! I really have to call bullshit on this one. I understand that Rare was working with an 8-bit console, so I won't gripe about the save feature not being a save-anywhere. But if this game was apparently able to offer the player a save between every complete level, then why the hell didn't Rare just do that in the first place? Why torment the gamer like this? I'm one of those gamers who always chides developers for half-assed save systems on portable games because I'm an adult with things to do, and I can't afford to wait for the next save point to pop up. If I have to shut a portable game off, I need to do it NOW. Donkey Kong Land would be fine if it allowed a save option between levels no matter what. Instead, it makes you fight for the right to shut off the game before you're finished, and that's inexcusable.

The graphics in Donkey Kong Land are, relatively speaking, every bit a match for their 16-bit counterparts. Donkey and Diddy move with a respectable number of animation frames without any slowdown. The sprites are probably as detailed as they could be on the Game Boy, and the backgrounds are fit for a 16-bit cartridge. My lone complaint? The character designs. Anyone familiar with Rare's work knew this one was coming. Rare was never the great king of design originality, and with Donkey Kong Land being an 8-bit game, the artists had a built-in excuse to not even try to challenge themselves. There's little variety in enemies, the bosses are some of the poorest excuses for characters ever in video games - they basically have no design at all.

The music in this game just fucking rocks, okay? This is far above and beyond the call of duty for a Game Boy game. Some of the songs in Donkey Kong Land rank among the best you could ever hear on a portable console, several of them could pass for 16-bit as well, and there isn't a weak one in the bunch. There's a fantastic 8-bit redux of the famous "Aquatic Ambience" song from Donkey Kong Country. Actual sounds are a lot weaker, and are little more than an array of pops.

The gameplay is outstanding. There's no slowdown, and everything is easily done with the Game Boy's two action buttons. Switching characters can be done with the Select button. Donkey and Diddy don't have any real differences in handling. The only real difference is that Donkey's ground attack is a roll, while Diddy's is a cartwheel, but even that doesn't mean anything. Unfortunately, the attack button doubles as the momentum button you need to make long jumps, so if you need momentum and have a rather short space with which to pick it up, you have to waste your some of your short ledge space by attacking before you can begin the run, and that will sometimes be enough to do you in.

Donkey Kong Land is one of the finest games available for one of the world's greatest portable consoles. I play it on my Game Boy Advance, where it works just as well. This was the Game Boy Game of the Year in a lot of publications back in 1995, when it came out. Donkey Kong Land has aged very gracefully, and is today a regular staple on lists of the top Game Boy games. Of course, it's no match for its 16-bit sibling, which is now also available in its full form on the Game Boy Advance, but if that's not around, Donkey Kong Land will be more than enough to hold over until you can find a copy.

Far better than the DS version.

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:40:26 +0000

The Mushroom Kingdom are celebrating Princess Peach's birthday in the castle. They bring her a giant cake, but the surprise inside is less than appealing when Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings spring their trap and abduct her. Mario, Luigi, and two Toad servants pursue them. -summary

After probably more than a decade, old school Nintendo fans were dying for the chance to see Super Mario make it to modern consoles in the gaming form that originally made him so popular, and that was in solid 2D plat forming. In 2006 Nintendo introduced New Super Mario Bros DS, which was said to be the little mushroom eating plumber's return to form. Although the game was well received earning mostly high ratings for its game play and new look. I on the other hand wasn't the least bit impressed. I did not care for the short length made even shorter due to being forced into finding two more levels in the main game, to include the insanely easy difficulty. Mario games were never really known for being cakewalks; they were wire tight, sweaty palmed plat formers that tested your memory and reflexes. That game gave me none of that, which is why I had put New Super Mario Bros Wii on hold for a very long time. That was a mistake... The Wii version is what Nintendo should have originally released; this is a totally different game. You get that wire tight, sweaty palm, damn near controller hurling difficulty.

Game Play:

New Super Mario Bros Wii (NSMBW) is a single player plat former that can be played with up to four players, plus it features additional modes. I'm pretty sure by now most people know not to come into Mario games of this type looking for some type of story; it's the game play why you get into these, and I believe Nintendo nailed it here. Mario will venture through eight themed worlds in his mission to rescue Peach. Along the way he will face familiar enemies such as the Goombas and Koopa Troopers, plus the Koopalings make their return in style. Make no mistake, this game is just oozing with fan service and it's done the right way for the most part. Nintendo attempts to mash on those nostalgic buttons, yet at the same time introduce new twist keeping the game feeling very fresh.

First off you get some new items to go along with the usual suspects such as the Fire plant and Starman; there's an Ice Plant that allows Mario to freeze enemies and use them as makeshift platforms to reach higher areas, or even use them as projectiles in the same manner as the Koopa Trooper shells. There's a Penguin suit which seems to be a different take on the Frog suit used in Super Mario Bros. 3. This allows him to slide on his belly into enemies, swim much better than normal, and again, use ice balls to freeze enemies. The mini-mushroom introduced in the DS version returns, but the winner to a certain degree is the Propeller suit that allows Mario to ascend great heights and slowly make his way to the ground. It's definitely influenced by the Tanooki suit found in SMB3, but it's far more difficult to master. In fact, although the game itself is easy to get into, it is very difficult to master; from wall kicking to spring from one wall to the next on to Mario's various abilities. I mentioned Super Mario 3 a few times already, and it's because this game uses it as a pool source. The influence is all in your face, yet it doesn't in the least bit feel like a lazy copy and paste. It's very innovative and incredibly fun to play.

Mario can also collect up to three Star coins per stage. While some of these things are in your face, some are very difficult to obtain and will result in some deaths trying to grab them. They will sometimes be in the oddest places, which forces you to almost become a ninja with your plat forming skills along with using the suits; such as leaping towards a pit and propelling your way out of there. Plus the stages can just be so hazardous to your health. Speaking of the stages though, they are no doubt this games best feature, and I mean by far. Some may believe running and jumping from plat form to plat form would generate some type of redundancy, but you have to peep how Nintendo keeps the stages feeling unique. Nothing really feels the same, and this is across about 80 stages. There are rotating plat forms in some of the weirdest ways, and many devices to kill Mario on his journey, from falling molten rock shooting out of volcanoes, to crushing devices, and even Bullet Bills and other cannons aiming in his direction. I must also point out how the game uses its environment against you. There are stages where you must weave through the dark, and your only illumination is either your Fire plant or some type of light provided by the enemies. The Ghost Houses return bringing their own spooky flavor into the fray. The game also features alternating routes that can some times lead to a warp zone or an additional stage. These things are not in plain view and they demand some type of investigation.

One thing about the Mario games I have come to be quite annoyed by is the lack of challenging bosses. Well, that is far from a complaint this go around. The stages feature two battles with a Koopaling; they face you as a sub-boss and a final stage boss which sees them fighting you two different ways. Later in the game around the fourth world I would say, these battles get really tough, and landing those three hits on the head can some times feel out of reach. One of them uses a vehicle with a Chain-Chomp guiding his direction towards you and his speed picks up as you hit him; at least one of these fights also takes place on small plat forms increasing the danger for Mario. There's one that takes place with the Koopa Wizard, and that fight is just too cool to play and it's among my favorites. And Bowser, I really liked this confrontation. He is obviously trying to kill Mario this time, as it truly feels like the final battle. Even the world map looks nice and is pretty engaging using the mini-games from SMB3, and you can also travel back to beaten worlds and stages, plus there are some surprises to be found through various Toad houses granting more items and 1-ups. And that's another thing too. This game really isn't that forgiving with the extra lives, which makes coin collecting very important. You're going to need every life you can muster, especially for the difficulty spike later on in the game. I even have to mention that the spike feels done right. Instead of only adding more instant death pits, there are tidal waves of flowing lava playing a role towards your possible demise. It's as if Nintendo took to heart the criticism of the last game in regards to fans complaints on just how easy it was.

The game uses the Wii remote, and through the motion sensor you will be able to manually move certain plat forms to guide Mario across lava pits and many falls. There's one stage deep into the game where you're on one of these plat forms, and you will have to multi-task your way across the lava, by paying attention to sweeping birds in the air along with pillars of lava shooting so high in the air that jumping over them is impossible. There are times where it appears this feature is merely added on just because, but for the most part though, it is cleverly placed adding a certain amount of flair to the game.

One thing for sure is that this game gets more right than wrong, but there are flaws that kind of snatches this game away from being perfect. For one thing, there's actually too much fan service to the point where it can feel scatter shot; a few things come to mind here. It's great to see Yoshi in the game, but while he played a prominent role in Super Mario World, he was clearly added here just to have him. The few segments he is used feels forced and quite frankly, I felt those stages should have focused more on using the Propeller suit. You need all the possible practice with that thing and I'll just leave it at that.

Mario has too many moves, he just might have everything he learned here and this could be a problem. You could find yourself in a tight spot where there's no room for mistakes, and you can die a death because you forgot that one particular skill you haven't used much. And yes, I know we don't play these games for story. But does it really have to be that way? The Koopalings are using the same magic wands from SMB3. Why? Did they steal them again? I would have liked some type of story for this. You remember those color corresponding power blocks in Super Mario World? When you hit those switches they created more blocks and alternate paths? In this game, there's only a red one in one world, and it only effects two stages. Why? I see no point digging so deep into history and not even giving these things a reason for being in the game. I understand it's a Mario game, but there's going to be a time when the lack of story is going to catch up with this fat plumber. And finally, if you die enough times, an icon will appear that releases Luigi to complete the stage for you. Up to this day, the gamer's pride in me has never activated this thing. I hate this type of loser handholding and I'll never touch that icon no matter what.

Controls:

One of my gripes is definitely here. Now Mario performs very well and his maneuverability is very tight here. I will go so far to say that if you're slipping off plat forms and missing jumps it's more your fault than the controls. His running is even slowed down a bit, and it just needs getting use to. The Wii remote can be used as a control pad, and I recommend playing it like this for that old school feel. Now my problem with the remote is the motion sensor. Mario has a spin move that can be activated by wiggling the controller up and down. This is also how the Propeller suit works. The problem here is that the motion sensor is way too sensitive. I'm sure most of us gamers have this habit where we physically move around with our controllers during tense moments, well here it can actually kill you. There were times I activated the Propeller suit and went right into the lava, and all I tried to do was scratch my nose. So you can imagine how mad that made me, and still makes me even now when I just want to run through some cool stages. Other than that, the controls are very good, they just needed more thought put into them.

Graphics/Sound/Music:

The game looks like a more polished version of the DS. It's obviously prettier looking with some decent backgrounds. The themed worlds made up of Ice, Clouds, and even Fire look good enough. There's quite a bit of variety here with lava falls in the backgrounds and vines wrapped around trees, but I also have to mention that they feel quite vanilla too, even some times a little lifeless. The animation has a fluid feel from the characters movements to descending pipes and moving plat forms. When Mario is being covered by clouds, he can execute his spin to move the clouds and they have a nice dissipating effect. There are times when certain plat forms pick up speed and I never noticed a frame rate drop. This can also be said about the multi-player with four players on the screen at once. It can be chaos some times and the frame rate was still smooth. The character designs are in full 3D with Bowser looking the greatest here in the end. The usual sound effects are present such as the block shattering and coin sounds. Nothing really stands out here and dialog is very close to non existent. The music is mainly remixed tracks from Super Mario 3 and reused stuff from the DS version. I still enjoy the militaristic BGM of the airships, and the menacing Castle themes. The boss tracks are still great and add to the fun.

Replay:

Unlike that garbage sequel for the 3DS. There's actually reason to collect the Star coins as it opens up world 9, plus I believe most people aren't going to get the coins on their first try. The multi-player has two modes being a Coin rush and Free For All across stages that were already completed. This is basically a competition between the players and nothing more. The main game can be played with four players. This game was made with only one in mind, because all of these players will get in the way a lot. I only play this for some mindless fun. The players can pick each other up and use each other to reach plat forms. The best part is killing your teammates though. I never get tired of hitting them with turtle shells, or just picking them up and throwing them into lava and spikes. The best way to enjoy this part is to not take it serious. This portion isn't online and I won't complain about that either. It's hard to imagine this effectively working without lag.

Final Thoughts:

NSMBW is a short game some where around maybe 5 hours or so if you blast through it; but the entertainment value is pretty high though. Nintendo outdid themselves with the stage design, and the ample amount of fan service works overall. Visually the backgrounds could have been better as well as the motion control. If you were like me and you put this game off because you were disappointed with the DS version; I recommend giving this a try. It's old school 2D and I still look at this as Mario's true return to 2D form. However, if you found yourself stuck on playing this or the Super Mario Galaxy series, then I recommend that instead.

Pros:
Highly entertaining, moderate challenge, some type of replay

Cons:
Some fan service was pointless, minor issues with motion sensor, graphics could've been better

Angry Birds Quick Tip by RabidChihuahua

Mon, 1 Apr 2013 07:10:26 +0000

When I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablet (10.1 inch model) last November, I had to download Angry Birds off Google Play's store.

This game is like crack. This game is fun, but it's too addicting. Who would have thought that a game where you use various types of birds as slingshot fodder to attack evil green pigs and their dwellings would catch on like wildfire?

I'm the type of guy who'd rather sit in front of my PC and play Crysis or Dead Space, but this is a fun game to play when you're on the go.

Seemed worth the wait when it first dropped.

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:09:37 +0000

Doctor Doom of the Marvel Universe joins forces with Albert Wesker of the Capcom Universe, in an attempt to take over both worlds. The heroes representing both of these realities unite to stop them. But there's a greater menace approaching that threatens the very existence of these worlds.-summary

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a sequel that was long over-due. It has been over ten years since the last game was released, and this long awaited sequel has been on the imaginary, as well as real life wish list for quite possibly every hardcore fighting game fan alive. The question on many folks minds most definitely would be, "was it worth the wait?" The short answer in my view is yes, because it gave Capcom time to think and not produce a very lazy effort.

It's always a wise decision to add but never take away, or never try fixing what isn't broken. Capcom kept things the same in some ways, while there has been significant changes and I don't think any of them were for the worst. For me, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is much better than the last game in all areas. I'll lightly cover the key areas as usual.

Game Play:

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is a fighting game that features 3 vs. 3 battles, and the player can swap out characters at any time during the fight. Like its predecessors, the battles aren't decided in rounds. The fight ends when one team has been completely eliminated. The game does have a time limit, but it can be turned off during the vs mode, as well as with the arcade mode. The difficulty can be adjusted from very easy to much harder settings, and this is great for beginners, since the game can be pretty difficult even on the normal setting. This also includes the cheap AI at times.

What's still the same?

The game still features a story mode which takes place in the arcade mode. Here, the player will engage in a series of battles until they reach the end boss. The vs. mode is self explanatory and this is where two players can have it out at. Training Mode is still intact, and it's a great place to learn how the new fighting engine handles(more on that part later). The command list can be accessed during this mode, and in arcade mode to view the moves list at any time.

The characters still possess their own health bars, but once again share their hyper combo bar. For those who are new to the series. Hyper moves are very large and damaging combo's that can turn a fight around, or turn possible defeat into a guarantee. The bar can be charged up to five times, and it can still be used to perform team hyper combo attacks.

There are also some returning techniques such as the "snap back", which is a hit that sends your opponents character out of the battle, and brings in another, or the last character they swapped out. The guard parry is also back, and this move pushes your opponent away when you're blocking. Air blocking, ground, and air combos are present as well.

The game features two play modes; normal play and simple play. Normal is when a player chooses to pull off moves manually. Simple play is more newbie friendly, and gives them a hope in hell at winning.

Now what's new?

The fighting engine has been reworked. Air combos can still be performed by popping characters into the air. The added twist is that they can now be done on a team level. It's very possible to extend the combos by bringing in each character one at a time, to prolong the combo and add very big damage. However, Capcom also took a page out of Killer Instinct in a way. The air combos can also be broken up by performing an air counter. This sends the aggressor crashing to the other side of the screen, and gives the victim of the attacks some breathing space. There is also a technique called the X-Factor, and this beefs up your characters strength and mobility. But the overall effect all depends on how many characters you have left. The character will emit a red aura around their body when this move is activated. For an idea on what this may look like, just think of a constantly powered up Akuma.

Now even though the fighting engine went through a slight change. The game really doesn't have that much depth, and like the previous two games in the series, it's very possible for button mashers to pull off wins. There is a certain amount of skill necessary to beat more advanced players, but the fighting engine just isn't as intricate as let's say; Tekken 6, Soul Calibur 4, or even Super SF 4. Those are more like playing chess, while this is like, well... something else.

The updated game play doesn't exactly make it a must to be familiar with the older games in the series. However, more experienced players will still have an overwhelming advantage, since at the very least, they already have an idea on how to make big combos work. Dedicated players will spend a lot of time in the training modes.

Capcom also borrows from Super Street Fighter 4. There's now a mission mode, where a character must be selected, and there's a list of moves that must be performed to advance to the next mission. I think of this mode as another training mode, and it's extremely helpful, because it features a bunch of combos that are very possible to pull off. And these attacks will prepare you for the harder AI settings and online battle. There's a gallery mode to view endings, character profiles, artwork, and listen to the soundtrack.

Controls:

The control set up is completely new, yet very familiar, and it also happens to be my favorite feature of the game. For Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom had combined the weaker buttons; jab and strong punches, low and forward kicks into one button, leaving the fierce punch and round house kick intact, thus, creating quicker and easier controls. This time around, the six actions are removed, and now there's four buttons taking their place; light, medium, heavy, and special. It may sound strange to a veteran of the series, and I even thought it to be very awkard while trying them out. However, after starting in the training mode first, the set up became very clear and after 2 hours of practicing, I was pulling off 34 hit air combos very easy against the normal AI. The classic Street Fighter two-in-ones are incredibly easy to pull off, as well as linking hyper's into regular combos. The instruction booklet happens to be great help when explaining how to perform these chain and air combos.

The controls are very responsive when dishing out these combos. They're also very smooth when performing the hyper and team hyper combos. Everything is performed with ease, and Capcom did not complicate the hyper move combos either with wild directional pad functions. They're all delivered with half circle motions, basically, a Street Fighter fan will have no problem understanding how these moves work. Newbies who spend time in the training modes will find them easy to pull off also. As a fighting game fan, I will say these are the most perfect controls for a fighting game I ever came across. SNK should take notes here, and realize not everyone wants to go to hell and back to pull off devastating moves.

Graphics/Sound/Music:

Visually, the game is on point and I am impressed with it. Capcom went with the comic book style. The characters are featured in 3D models and their designs have a shiny look with some good attention to detail. The Marvel characters look splendid and they're carbon copies of their comic book counterparts. I'm also happy that Capcom didn't take the lazy route by using the exact same designs from previous games. The animation for some of the older characters looks familiar, but it definitely looks more up to date to me. I also think the animation concerning the moves have a nice fluid flow to them. The action can be very fast at times, but the movements can still be spotted.

The game is a 2D fighter but it blends in the 3D elements nicely. I think the camera work displays the 3D elements well, and it's used best during some of the more powerful hyper combos; Magneto's Gravity Squeeze stands out to me with its perspective range and use of the background animation. The character on the receiving end disappears in the middle of the void without a trace and the segment is kind of eerie to me. The final battle also does a great job displaying the 3D qualities and I think it's one of the cooler stages (won't spoil exactly what it is). Now speaking of the stages, there are some very good backgrounds with the Shield Helicarrier being another big standout. In the background of the battlefield, there's an obvious air battle taking place, with turret guns firing and missiles hitting the carrier. This stage is just awesome all around with the dark setting and the well use of lighting.

I think the sound effects are very good to a certain degree. Akuma's fireballs for example, sound completely different from Magneto's projectile move. I also noticed the slight sound of electricity when Magneto takes off, as well as the small gust of wind when Storm dashes. There are plenty of different sound effects to look for. The only issue that I have is with the sound of the blows. They really don't sound like punches or kicks landing.

The voice acting is very good to me, and the characters personalities are well captured. Deadpool's wisecracking and comedic side is very well intact, and he dishes out a few funny lines. Captain America sounds like the hero you have to follow, and Thor sounds.. well... way too blond and manly.

The music is a gigantic step up from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. That ridiculolus jazz track is gone and the themes are character specific. Shades of the original Marvel vs. Capcom, the characters have versions of their songs playing, and when that character is defeated, the song will shift to the next character entering the fray. There are some easily recognizable tracks; like different variations of Ryu's and Akuma's themes, along with Arthur's theme from Ghouls and Ghost creating that nostalgia trip.

Character Roster:

Some fans may be disappointed with this roster, but I'm glad Capcom slashed down the numbers. The total roster is 20 characters less with 36 this time around. This was one of the problems I had with the previous game, because there were so many throw away characters who were copy and paste. Now, it seems like a little bit more of a balance. My only gripe here is that there are too many obscure characters. And I'm talking characters who aren't really that popular in the Marvel or Capcom universes. Here's the roster:

Captain America, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Thor, Storm, Ryu, Chun-Li, Dante, Trish, Wolverine, Magneto, Ironman, Chris Redfield, Albert Wesker, Zero, Tron, Phoenix, X-23, Hulk, She-Hulk, Morrigan, Felicia, Arthur, Haggar, Akuma, Sentinel, Spencer, Hsien-Ko, M.O.D.O.K. Doctor Doom, Amaterasu, Crimson Viper, Super Skrull, Taskmaster, Viewtiful Joe, Dormammu

Not all of these characters are playable from the start, and I think there was only four to unlock. All I know is that I beat the game twice, lost once, and spent some time in training, and the next thing I know, the notification came up that characters were being unlocked. It didn't take long to unlock them at all and I was amazed at how easy it was. But I think fighting games really should do away with that. Supposedly, there will be more characters as down loadable content. Personally, I'm satisfied with this right here but I will search for it later.

I also liked the attention to detail when considering character rivalries, because it adds a little bit to the story. During some pre-battle match ups, Wesker acknowledges his feud with Chris, along with Akuma and Ryu sparking their rivalry. I thought it was real cool beating Iron Man with Captain America, and Cap mentioning their Civil War feud. There's other good segments like these that will only be familiar to fans of both universes. Overall, despite the play mechanics pretty much being the same. There's a nice mix of slow and fast characters, and the slower characters can perform their combos just about as well as the quicker ones.

Final Thoughts:

The training modes have soaked up almost all of my time with this game so far. The single player is good, but the two player and multi-player are very good. I haven't spent too much time on-line, but I didn't have a problem finding a match. In the long run, this will prove most valuable for die-hard fighting fans. But once I get my fill, I will have to go for some long adventure game.

I highly recommend this to those who loved the first two games in the series, and for serious fighting fans in general.

Super Mario Bros. Quick Tip by RabidChihuahua

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 01:03:58 +0000

Super Mario Bros. has been considered a classic in the world of videogames, and rightfully so. Despite its 8 bit limitations, this game brought about a lot of fun, replayability, decent graphics (for its time), a catchy soundtrack, and challenge that's all balanced perfectly.

I think Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best of all the Mario games, but this is still a superb game that's just as fun to play as it was back in the 80's.

Bioshock, New and Improved!

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:52:58 +0000

Overview
Bioshock: Infinite is an FPS-RPG developed by Irrational Games, creators of System Shock 2, Bioshock and Freedom Force. One of the most anticipated titles of the year and recommended playing for anybody that liked the first Bioshock, or any shooter for that matter.

Story Introduction and Premise
You are Booker DeWitt, former Pinkerton agent deeply in debt. you are given one last chance to wipe away the debt by infiltrating the floating city of Columbia, run by the deeply racist, religious fundamentalist Father Comstock in order to find a woman named Elizabeth and bring her to New York. You learn soon after rescuing her that she can open 'tears', portals to parallel universes. an ability which comes in handy as Comstock tries to take back Elizabeth from you, along with the Songbird, a mechanical beast charged with keeping her locked away in her tower.

Gameplay

Gameplay is incredibly similar to Bioshock 1 with several improvements. The action is more intense with the wider enviroments and the ability to ride 'sky-rails', the 'vigors' operate in the same way as Plasmids and grant you incredible powers, such as fireballs, lightning, and summoning crows to tear apart your opponents. The only major problem with the first Bioshock was the game lost steam after the big reveal three quarters into the game. That isn't a problem here, the game moves nicely from one surprise to the next. Like in Bioshock, death isn't exactly permanent, but this time there is a penalty, you will lose money every time you die. run out of money and you have to go back to the last save file. The larger enviroments allows for a larger degree of exploration than the previous games, but it is still quite linear, but not in a bad way.

Graphics and Sound--Production Values

The game looks fantastic, one of the best uses of the bloom effect in quite a while. Sound design is equally good, the main cast sound great you get to hear some interesting and funny snippets of conversations from the citizens while exploring Columbia. the audio logs return and are as fascinating as always, clearing up some of the mysteries you encounter and detail the day-to-day life in the city. The guns sound appropriately powerful. The musical score accents the action perfectly. Basically, all of the effort that went into designing BioShock went into all aspects of this game as well.

Do yourself a favor, try to avoid all spoilers and give this a playthrough.

Thank you, world.

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:58:35 +0000

Four words: I LOVE VIDEO GAMES!!!!! I thank you, world for having video games in our lives, because that is the greatest invention ever. I hope you all reading this feel the same and agree with me. :)

Assissin's Creed

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:18:04 +0000

I've heard that people don't really like this game and that it was like a "prototype". I, personally, think that it's a really good game. I haven't tried the other AC game's, but I soon hope to get AC2.

System Shock 2 [PC Game] Quick Tip by Pine_Bluff_Variant

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:47:07 +0000

Beware the Machine Mother.

Released in 1998, the influence of this FPS/RPG is still being felt today, especially in the Dead Space and BioShock games (the BioShock series being led by Ken Levine who worked on this game, the gameplay between the two games are incredibly similar)

You awake from cryogenic sleep into a derelict spaceship. All around you are what remains of the crew, and the mutants that seek to end you. Guided around the ship by the malevolent A.I SHODAN, you must find a way to destroy the creatures and stop SHODAN's plans for a new world order.

The real horror of this game is not the dated visuals (although mods exist to bump up the visuals with high-res textures and models) but the audio work. A lot of gamers will be familiar with the concept of collecting audio-logs to provide back-story to the events of the game, a concept the System Shock series introduced to horror games. The taunts from SHODAN and the collective mind of the mutants are quite un-nerving, and the pleading from the mutants for you to escape before they kill you didn't get easier to listen to, even during my second play-through.

This game used to be notoriously hard to get a hold of, until it was re-released a week or so ago on GOG.com and made compatible for modern systems. Sci-fi horror fans can consider this a must play.

A weak collection containing the most unfairly bashed fighting game ever.

Tue, 5 Feb 2013 04:33:49 +0000

19 fighters enter a martial arts tournament for different reasons. Ryu and Ken hope to settle their rivalry, the demonic warrior Akuma, whom completely mastered their style wants nothing more then a death match with anyone worthy enough to face him. And Interpol agent Chun-Li who helped bring down M. Bison's Shadowloo organization finds herself up against a new one; each of the fighters have reasons for participating, but many seem to hold a grudge against the sponsor of the tournament, a god-like being by the name of Gill. -summary

Although Capcom may have developed a reputation for being a lazy company that loves to add small updates to old franchises in their attempt to drain that last dollar. They do deserve some credit for attempting to give back to their loyal fan base over the years. Some time in 2004, two of their best selling franchises being Megaman and Street Fighter II had been around for about 15 years. They decided to celebrate the anniversaries with compilation sets, which brings me to the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. This compilation collects Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Hyper Street Fighter II, & Street Fighter: The Animated Movie. Back in 2004, this was one of the games I had on my list because I loved Third Strike for the Sega Dreamcast. However, my interest was piqued a little more when I saw Hyper Fighting was a blend of the complete SF II series. How on Earth was Capcom going to pull off mashing 5 games into one? Well read on to find out.

Game Play:

For those who may not know, Street Fighter II, III, any form of it at all, is a two player fighter that pits a single character against various opponents in one on one, two out of three rounds fighting. You will fight your way to the boss whom is usually M. Bison; this isn't the case in this sequel though as he was defeated in SFII. The game also has a vs. mode and the matches can be increased to four out of seven. Plus there's a training mode and the movie can be found in the options category of Hyper Fighting Street Fighter.

OK to begin with, I'm cool with Capcom making an attempt to give the fans something, and this is actually a cool collection because you get Third Strike, which I believe is worth the price of admission all by itself. Capcom really did put a lot of effort into making this a completely different Street Fighter, as it combines elements from the previous games in the series along with the Street Fighter Alpha series. The characters possess their usual amount of special moves, ie, Ryu and Ken tossing their fireballs, dragon punches, etc. Plus the frighteningly damaging Super Special Combos appears here, but they're quite toned down in quantity from the Alpha series. SF Alpha gave the characters between 2 to 4 Super Specials at their disposal that can be used when the Super Meter had been powered up. This game gives the characters three, but the catch is that only one can be selected for battle. Originally I did have a problem with this because it does lighten your arsenal, since your opponent already knows which big move to look out for; over time though, with plenty and plenty of time to practice. This is something that grew on me, I'll explain why later.

The game doesn't only provide characters with Super Specials and Specials, but the Meter can also be used to perform EX-Specials. These are lightly beefed up special moves that consume a little bit of the meter bar. An example of what these moves are; Ryu's original single hit fireball will land two hits as an ex-move, with the second setting the enemy on fire. This may seem like nothing at first, but in the heat of battle, this can be a great weapon to consume your enemies single projectile while leaving you with a second fireball heading their path, they may not be able to block it if it isn't expected. All of Ryu's special attacks can be powered in this way creating an ex-move. Each of the characters have their own beefed up ex-moves that add a great deal of variety to the offense. They can be used as desperation defensive attacks to get out of corners, by-pass projectiles, set up juggle opportunities for increased damage, or just plain add insult to injury. Part of the fun is playing with all the characters and learning what cool things they can do to turn the battle in your favor.

Unfortunately, Third Strike is probably the only game in the franchise that isn't the least bit beginner friendly. New players, to include even well rounded Street Fighter players will be at a complete disadvantage against someone who has been playing this for awhile, and this is all because of one new feature added to the franchise, and sadly for some never to return again in the later sequel; the ability to parry attacks. Real talk here, this is the one defensive feature that is very difficult to master, and quite frankly, all the people who do not like the game is because they can't pull it off at will. In other words folks, they just suck at the game and they're mad about it.

The parry works almost like performing a forward dash, but you tap the directional pad forward twice quickly right before you're hit, this results in slapping away the attack. When pressing down twice, it does the same for lower attacks. This technique adds a brand new dimension to Street Fighter; it completely eliminates jumping as the preferred method of attack. The parry can be used offensively to slap away a move, or give yourself breathing space against Shoto-spammers who love to throw fireballs. It gives you a split second to unleash a solid offensive, which brings me into my reason on why only one Super Special grew on me. After the parry, and if you should have a full Super Special bar, you can actually link two-in-one combos into specials, and then into Super Specials for amazing damage. Therefore, if you become very well at performing the parry, plus already mastered pass strategies then you have a better chance at landing those Super Specials. People well versed in playing SF only in the traditional way of zoning and spacing just don't stand a chance against people who mastered this. In addition, they will also be taken apart by the AI, who has this down to a science. Third Strike is by far the deepest version of Street Fighter to date and I know plenty of people who hail it as the best. This is one of those games that rewards you for your effort, by allowing you to mercilessly brutalize and humiliate your opponents. There is nothing like thrashing someone and then throwing out your character's taunt. Slower characters against quicker ones have more than a hope in hell at winning, which is great for me, because the slower non projectile characters are by far my favorite to use in the series; with Alex and Hugo being my favorites here and E.Honda, T-Hawk, and Zangief in all other versions.

One of the bonus stages helps you develop your parry move, but that is not going to be enough. There's a training mode where you select two characters. Let's say you choose Alex to learn with, you pick Ken as your aggressor. You attack Alex for a certain amount of time, then you play with Alex to parry whatever crazy combo you just pulled out of nowhere. This mode helped me out a lot against the AI and great human players.

Ryu, Ken, Chun-LI, and Akuma are the only familiar faces in this game from the SF Universe.The rest are new faces that feel like fused versions of the older line up. One character by the name of Necro feels like a cross between Dhalsim and Blanka with the stretching limbs and elastic body along with the electro-shock move. Alex is among my faves, as he's just a gritty, unorthodox grappler with a variety of cool moves, such as a leaping power bomb, dashing elbow, and some really nice grabs. Hugo, who happens to be one of the over-sized grunts straight out of Final Fight is the new Zangief. I really like using him with those devastating throw moves along with his melee attacks. Personally, I think this is the deepest SF roster with capoeira, boxing, kung-fu, and other styles rounding it out.

Third Strike really isn't for the less patient. The game is difficult to master and at times pretty frustrating. The final boss named Gill is very, very, hard if you're not at least decent with the parry. He battles with fire and ice elemental abilities, plus he has Super Specials that can inflict up to 90% damage. I can deal with this because Gill is a tough boss that can be beaten with skill. He's not one of those overly cheap bosses found in SNK fighting games.

Now Hyper Fighting Street Fighter II.... It's a great idea in theory, sadly it doesn't live up to its full potential. This is the rundown of it; the game features all 5 of the part II games in Arcade form: World Warrior, Champion Edition, Hyper Fighting, Super, and Super Turbo crammed into one. You select one of the games and from there select your character. Let's say you select Ken from World Warrior which is the first game in the SF line up. This is Ken at his most basic. He does not have the super special move found in Turbo, but he can inflict more damage than the later versions. He takes on the roster of Super SF Turbo. He can battle his future self who is at the peak of his power armed with a super special, additional rush in attacks, overhead attacks, etc. The problem with this mode is despite the fact you can choose any character you want, you can only face the default line up which is Super Turbo; therefore, forget about any match ups with the other versions as this throws the many possibilities such as Champion Edition Ken vs. Hyper Fighting Ryu out the window. You can only pull this off in two player vs. mode, and honestly, it never really appealed to me. Up to this day, I still can't put my finger on it, but something about it just bothers me. If Capcom wanted to make this a real anniversary, it should have been a multiple disk set with each of the games on it, plus the earlier versions of SF III being the Next Generation and 2nd Impact. I would've really liked to see how the game evolved, because I don't even remember those first two games.

Controls:

I very recently replayed the earlier SF II's right before coming back into Hyper Fighting, and I don't believe the controls are just as fine tuned at all. I found myself on certain occasions having to mildly exaggerate half circle motions, etc., just to get out moves. It was a problem for me on some occasions, and the AI plays kind of cheap. This lead to some frustrating loses. In the case of Third Strike the controls are perfect. There's no move I cannot perform at all, parry's are simple enough and if they don't work for you, then practice is the key. I can easily move from two-in-one combos into more damaging moves. For this game, there's nothing negative I can say about it.

Graphics/Music/Sound:

SF II series shows its age in many ways. The character designs are still pretty good while on the other hand the animations do feel dated. They look a little stiff if anything. The only real winner here to me is still the backgrounds as they capture the characters personalities very well, like Ken's stage where he needs that attention from the public. The game features three different soundtracks that can be chosen in the options. You can choose the original music found in World Warrior up to Hyper Fighting, the updated version found in Super and Super Turbo, or completely remixed versions. I normally avoid the remixes, not because they're bad but I just didn't grow up with those. The sound effects in regards to the voice overs are arcade perfect. They're exactly how I remember them from the "Hadoken" chant to Blanka's yell.

Now Third Strike still looks very good despite being over a decade old. I really don't care how I come off here, but anyone who tells me that the graphics in this game are terrible either need a new set of eyes, or they simply need to let go of their hatred towards the fighting engine. There are so many small details displaying how visually amazing this game is. The character designs are very good as the older cast appears to have aged a few years. Chun-Li looks more like a woman as opposed to her Alpha prequel counterpart. The newer cast have some very interesting designs, like the hermit Oro who battles with only one arm looking like some little demon. The females showing off some skin look great, but Capcom does resort to the Shoto-fighter design swaps, with Ryu, Ken, Sean, and Akuma using the same design. They do have a few animations that sets them apart though thankfully.

I have to point out the animations which look really good. The bikini wearing African princess Elena has one of the best ready stance movements. She battles using capoeira and during her stance she is constantly moving as if she's dancing in place. I love watching her in action with her break dance style of fighting. The way she spins around it seems as if she has no bones in her body. Makoto's fighting stance appears as if her body is in constant harmony when she slowly moves forward slightly waving her arms in front of her. Ryu's fireball clearly comes from within, as the inner chi burst causes his outfit to expand from the inside. There are many details to look for in the characters movements. The graphics have some truly outstanding backgrounds consisting of dark eerie forests, secluded streets, in front of a Gothic nightclub, another forest area where the fight is taking place at dawn and snakes fall from the trees every time someone hits the ground hard. The only flaw I can think of is how lifeless the spectators are. They look like a window full of mannequins. The BGM compliments the settings with one being a jazz/hip hop hybrid, and at least one trance score that would probably make Paul Oakenfold proud. Some of the characters like Alex, Gill, and Urien have small lines of dialog, while others have their classic move chants. I have no issues with the voices or even the bone crushing sound effects. The blows to the face stand out the most sounding very painful.

Replay:

Of course the vs. mode is going to see many replay sessions, but for me, the training mode refining my skills kept me playing this game. Recently I got back into it because now this game can be played online through the PSN. I found it to be a pretty good experience. I was amazed to see how many people are still playing this game. Now, of course I'm reviewing the PS2 version, however since I did play this online I'll give a heads up on that as well. I gave this several tries after being out of practice for awhile, and I found myself up against high ranked players and got waxed. I'm not sure if I can blame the match set up, it was probably more my fault just diving in. I know how to play the game, so I can imagine the hell newbies are going to experience. It just may turn them off completely. I did notice a little bit of lag which felt like it delayed moves. The matches still turned out well though. I would really love to dedicate more time to this game, unfortunately there are just so many other things on my list to play or replay.

SF II Movie:

For those who saw the movie already, I'll let you know this is the edited version. The blood splatter when Ryu tore open Sagat's chest with the Shoryuken is gone, along with various things in the Chun-Li scene, etc. You're better off putting in your copy of the movie. To others who never saw this; it's the animated version and not that Van Damme garbage. The movie has a bare bones plot that tries to fit in each of the characters for the sake of fighting each other. The animation is definitely a high point, as you will be treated to some really well done fights. The choreography has moments of brilliance, as you will see some nice take-downs and actual martial arts moves.

Final Thoughts:

I would love to give this collection a higher rating, too bad though Hyper Fighting and the butchered movie keeps me from doing this. Third Strike is a great fighting game and it's moving closer towards being my favorite in the franchise; with that said, I really have to mention that over the last several years I began skipping all negative reviews of this game, in which this is just unlike me. It's not because I don't want to hear anything negative about the game. It's just that the negative criticism comes from people not knowing how to play it, which leads them to rip the character roster and visuals only to pad their complaints. I believe if this game was more beginner friendly then the graphics would be great, fighting roster deep and creative, etc. I feel Third Strike is among the most unfairly bashed fighting games out there. If you have a very low level of patience then this game is not for you.

Pros:
-SF III Third Strike

Cons:
-Everything else, Learning curve for Third Strike

Weapon of Choice

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 13:23:06 +0000

My favorite thought about playing the original Ratchet and Clank was, "Finally, an actually, honest to god mind numbing action title!" Thankfully, it turned out to be more than a hiccup. It turned into a semi-iconic video game series for the Playstation 2, and one of the last identifiable console mascots. (Although their being a console mascot has more to do with them being exclusives on Sony's machine than anything else. You don't see any ads for Sony equipment with Clank holding up a miniaturized television set.) Ratchet and Clank was a throwback to the good old days of video games, when challenge was presented through impossible-to-approach bad guys rather than uncovering every patch, hidden or not, to reach the number of whatever mystical item you're collecting.

Up Your Arsenal, the third Ratchet and Clank game, realizes the full potential of the series and corrects a bunch of glaring flaws from the first two games, Ratchet and Clank and Going Commando. It also expands on those two games in some very fun ways while removing some of the riffraff. Those hard as nails space dogfights and motorcycle races from Going Commando are gone.

Up Your Arsenal features the grand return of our two favorite characters from the first game who weren't named Ratchet and Clank. I'm talking about Dr. Nefarious and Captain Qwark. The story introduces us to our two titular heroes, Ratchet and Clank, living a pretty good life. They're still good friends, but all Clank's attention lately seems to be getting the better of Ratchet. It's Clank who's the face of the two by playing the James Bond wannabe on some camp show called Secret Agent Clank, while Ratchet gets the undignified role as Clank's limo driver. Clank is awesome and everything, but Ratchet is still feeling a little left behind, a justifiable thought considering he did all the dirty work in saving the universe while Clank pulled his weight as a backpack. In the meantime, Dr. Nefarious has returned and is now bankrolling an attack on Ratchet's home planet by some gullible warrior race called the Tyhrranoids. His ultimate object is to wipe out all organic life. The Tyhrranoids, by the way, are organic life forms, so in helping Nefarious out, they're also future winners of a Darwin Award. Long story short, it's up to Ratchet to play the universal hero again, gather an arsenal or weaponry which would make Mad Max plotz, and nuke Nefarious back to the age when the deadliest weapons were sticks and stones.

The weapons in Up Your Arsenal are bigger and more explosive (read: fun) than ever before. You want military assault guns? You can leave the M-16 and AK-47 at home for this one. Up Your Arsenal gives us BFG after BFG with names like the N60 Storm, Spitting Hydra, Lava Gun, Shock Blaster, and Annihilator! And yeah, they'll all be blowing stuff up REAL good, too! The Mine Glove attacks any enemy who gets too close. The Agents of Doom run around the battlefield dismantling anything they can get their tiny, scuzzy little hands on. The Spitting Hydra locks onto enemies before giving them a knockout dose of lightning, and the Annihilator launches rockets at whatever it's locked on. Provided you have one of the older Ratchet and Clank games on the same memory card you're using to save Up Your Arsenal to, you can also grab some of the older weapons from those games. Some of the weapons are better, more useful, and more powerful than others, and some are just plain obsolete by the end of the game. And when Slim Cognito offers Ratchet a deal on the Plasma Coil, you're best off picking it right up because without a powered-up plasma coil, the final battle against Dr. Nefarious is going to be a much longer and more drawn-out affair than it needs to be.

The weapons even gain experience and become more powerful the more often you use them, like in any standard RPG. While this is a nice little addition that adds a little bit of replay value, I don't think Insomniac (the developer) went far enough in developing it. The N60 Storm is a nice little basic blaster which packs a sizable wallop in the early goings. It also holds the most significant ammo reserve in the game, with 300 shots, making it a good fallback weapon when the bigger, fun guns are bereft of all projectiles. And, no matter how much you work to get that sucker juiced all the way up, it's still going to do nothing more than maybe tickle your enemies come the game's halfway mark. The effect gets magnified if you happen to really enjoy plugging bad guys with the Omniwrench - Ratchet's default weapon - and the Plasma Whip, which are the only weapons in the game suited more for melee combat than distance battles. They're also outdated early, which makes it a pain later if you get surrounded by little nuisance enemies because most of the guns in Up Your Arsenal are of the one-shot-per-enemy type.

The level designs…. Ah, who cares? We all know the weapons are why people love to play the Ratchet and Clank series. Some of the levels are slight retreads from the first game, like Blackwater City and Metropolis. Still, though, well, first you'll be glad to know there's no real water level. There's swimming in the game, but nothing in the way of water which can really be said to hamper the game. You'll be stopping by a lot of the planets more than once, and it's a good idea to keep dropping by other planets in order to make money. In one level, you can gather crystals which are worth a black market fortune. In others, you help the Galactic Rangers in one of their various missions in restoring peace and order to the galaxy.

The difficulty of Up Your Arsenal took me off guard, probably because I've spent many years now softening myself up through a million video game scavenger hunts in which the only challenge was finding every item. But as far as 3D games go, this ain't your kid's 3D video game. Levels are linear, and in the grand tradition of the old 16-bit era, you actually have to start at one end and you get stuck traversing the same path until you get to a designated end point. In your way are enemies. Not token road block creatures which happen to get in your way sometimes and can be knocked off in one shot, but ENEMIES. Bad guys who either charge you or start firing away on sight, knock off giant chunks of health, and are programmed to kill you in faster, better ways as the game goes on. Some of these guys are in inconvenient places, and they're not privy to just letting you by. You need to do some serious weapon cycling and experimenting to learn which weapons are best suited for those situations.

Up Your Arsenal even has bosses, and they're not tokens, either. They're big, they're bad, they have long and absorbent life bars, and they're not going to let you by until you've shot them enough times. The boss battles are unfortunately one of my problems with Up Your Arsenal. Remember what I said a few paragraphs ago about how outdated weapons won't do much more than tickle enemies in later levels? Well, that's the way it goes in EVERY boss fight. A lot of these boss battles are turned from simple fights into wars of attrition because of that. You walk up to them, avoid getting hit, and blast them as much as they can take being blasted. A powered-up gun can help, but even so, most bosses will be able to withstand the onslaught of nearly everything you can throw. I've fought boss battles in this game which ran over 20 minutes, and that's just inexcusable.

At least you get to start over at any boss you made it to after dying, and that's more than I can say for the rest of the game. Again, this was a 16-bit mainstay so I shouldn't be complaining, but it's still painful to fight your almost way almost to level's end, or at the very least the halfway checkpoint, then die just when you're close enough to smell it because you have to start the whole level all over again, with all the dead baddies resurrected, right in the same spots they were in last time they killed you. Up Your Arsenal could have used the less torturous system of letting you pick up right where you died, thus saving a lot of frustration. What's worse is that, terrible as it is being brought back all the way at the beginning of a level, all the ammo you expended that didn't find its way into robot steel isn't resurrected. You have to visit the vendor and buy a whole new stock. The sections with Clank don't give him any weapons other than a banana launcher which is there only for puzzle-solving. Clank has to walk up to every enemy and hit them with his fists. He only has a handful of hit points, and every time he dies, he has to start his section all the way from the beginning. Good luck with that.

At least the obstacles aren't overtly painful to navigate this time. There are no real tricky jumping puzzles or rushes to use a ledge-creating gadget however many times in a row before you get any time to collect your bearings.

Up Your Arsenal presents us with playable Captain Qwark comics, which are essential to the plot and which function as fun games within a game. The last comic you have to play, featuring a boss fight against Dr. Nefarious, is one of the most annoying scenes I've ever played out in a video game, but all in all the comics are a fun addition and a dash of uniqueness to the game and a welcome break from the action when it gets too hot.

The graphics and sounds in Up Your Arsenal are as perfect as in the rest of the series. Voices are loud and crystal clear, and the graphics perform smoothly while pushing the Playstation 2 to its limits. A lot of action is capable of happening onscreen at the same time, both in the background and foreground. There's nary a whiff of graphic slowdown which tends to infect the Playstation 2 normally when it tries to do the things Up Your Arsenal does; no pop-up problems, smooth camera, beautiful colors. The voice-over work is extremely well-done, and the cast includes veteran character actor Armin Shimerman. Geeks reading this will recognize him as the actor who played Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And no, while the names Quark and Qwark sound exactly the same, Shimerman doesn't portray the cowardly sellout Captain Qwark in Up Your Arsenal. He actually voices Dr. Nefarious.

The controls are as perfect as can be. There are parts where the game is reluctant to let you really get a good look around with the camera, mostly when you're leaning against walls and such. There are also points where it's a little bit too easy to misjudge the distance of a jump, but that's hardly Insomniac's fault. One feature I like is that at the weapon selection menu, you can press R1 to get an alternate selection of weapons, which makes life a little easier when deciding what to place into the quick select.

If you're the kind of gamer who likes to just toss in the cartridge (kids, a cartridge is what we dinosaurs used to play video games on. They didn't have any loading time, but when you played one often enough, you would have to blow on the data chips inside them to clear the dust off to get them to work) and start blowing up everything in sight, Ratchet and Clank is your series, and Up Your Arsenal is the best game in it.

Crash Bandicoot 3: WARPED Quick Tip by Pine_Bluff_Variant

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 22:00:04 +0000

While I admit nostalgia may colour my perception of this game, to me this is one of the best platformers ever released, while nowadays it might be a bit easy for some gamers, the music, the artstyle, the 'wacky' level design, it all came together to form one amazing experience. Platformer fans owe themselves to try this game, or any of the previous titles. A shame the franchise went downhill rapidly when Naughty Dog stopped development of Crash titles.

Still a blast, even if it shows its age [May contain spoilers]

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:16:12 +0000

Overview

In this groundbreaking 1996 title you play as adventurer Lara Croft who is on the hunt for an ancient artifact called the Scion, which requires her to travel across the globe for it's pieces. but she will have to face off against deadly creatures and traps alike to acquire them.

Story Introduction and Premise

The game starts off with a CGI cutscene detailing how Lara comes to know of the Scion. one of the things that have not aged well at all are these cutscenes, with it's compressed video quality and awkward 90's low-budget animation. Thankfully the plot of the game is interesting enough, even if it lacks in intricacy. Lara isn't one of the most detailed characters in the world: she likes adventure, she owns a mansion, and she has a hilariously proportioned body and that's about it. But the fact that a woman was headlining what became a massive gaming franchise was a big deal at the time. Shame they didn't make her a more detailed character.

Gameplay

Here is where the games major strengths and flaws lie. A little over a decade after first playing this game I still enjoy the exploration, the puzzle solving and fighting the strange beasts. A big problem is the game doesn't exactly have fantastic controls (as in, trying to move Lara feels like moving a tank) but I was surprised how quickly I adapted to it's 'unique' control scheme. I played this game on the Playstation, and that system had (and the PS3 still has) a notoriously bad D-PAD. I feel that being able to use an Analog stick to control Lara would have improved the feel of the game (I also had a better experience playing the later games on the PC)

Platforming and puzzle-solving make up the majority of this game, and thankfully it is not incredibly frustrating as one might expect. In fact, solving the puzzles and successfully landing a massive leap give a nice feeling of satisfaction (and the puzzles aren't stupid hard), combat is slightly hampered by the controls but the game features an auto-lock on system so you don't need to worry about aiming, just maneuvering. If combat took up the majority of this game I imagine it would get frustrating quickly.

The level design is a combination of odd and actually quite impressive set-pieces. There are still moments in this game that made me go 'wow' (the camera zooming out and showing you standing on top of a Sphinx) and there are moments that just make you go 'wat' (A lever underwater opens up a door above ground. Why?) a nice thing about the stage design is that navigating the levels isn't a massive hassle, you will very rarely get completely lost. But they also aren't a cakewalk, and the difficulty curve feels fair.

Graphics and Sound--Production Values

I think it's fair to describe the graphics at this point as 'pretty bad', at the time it was one of the best looking 3D games out there (especially in an era with such abominations as 'Bubsy 3D') but now time has caught up with this game: the animation looks stiff, the textures blurry and the level design uses a lot of 90 degree angles. the sound work sounds a lot better, the guns are loud, Lara makes a sickening crunch noise if she falls to far and the large beasts make some pretty good roars. The voice acting does not hold up however, it ranges to mediocre to hilariously bad. Thankfully talking also isn't a major component of this game.

To summarize: while this game is clearly showing its age, and you might take issue with one or two things in this game, I'd say it's still worth checking out, due to its value in gaming history and the fact that at its core it's still a fun game.

Sony steals a winner from Nintendo...and runs with it!

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:36:14 +0000

Ah...the Sony PlayStation! One of the few things my dad actually did for me was introduce me to this console growing up. I have been playing video games since I could ever walk and talk. I have always been a Nintendo kid before, my first console was a NES. Atari was before my time so the only Atari I knew was at the arcade. After a while I got my SNES. When it was time for the N64 to come out, I already knew about it because of things like the Nintendo Power magazine. However I did not get neither the N64 nor the PSone until years later (2003-2004), because we were always tight on money. I still got to play the N64 at a friend's house, but that is another story for another review.

Anyways, one weekend that I got to spend with my dad, he brought me over my uncle's house to spend time with that side of my family. I didn't know what to think when they busted out the grey box that looked like a toilet. I thought at the time that it was just a funky looking CD-player thing. That was of course without knowing about the controllers and mem' cards. They plugged it up and I played my first PlayStation games like Siphon Filter, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Jet Moto among a few others. Note that this was maybe a year after launch. After me and my cousin had our fun with the console, my uncle and dad played games like Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Martian Gothic Unification. I thought the polygons were astounding and me being around eight and never seeing anything like it, my first experience with what is now one of my favorite genres (Survival Horror) gave me many restless nights and literally made me piss myself. It is hard to think nowadays for me to be scared of polygons vs today's crisp HD (granted I haven't seen much HD because tv's are expensive as all hell.)

The point of the story is that while CD's and DVD's are practically useless when scratched and are hard to manage, the system still revolutionized how games are controlled and saved. While it is true that Microsoft perfected saving with the Xbox's internal memory, almost every controller since the original PlayStation has two analog sticks, a D-pad, four face buttons, select (back), start, four shoulder buttons, and a vibrating feature. It also gave new life to the RPG genre, further expanding what the SNES did with it, and with Resident Evil and Silent Hill, invented the new survival-horror genre that screwed with our minds. While the system has it's flaws and Sony stole the plans they had with Nintendo and made something of it, Microsoft and even Nintendo brought elements from the console in their own like the controller design and the use of disk formats for games. Sony may have had trouble with hacking but even with all the innovations at Nintendo, I believe that only Sony shows us how to truly play beyond.

Kula World Quick Tip by Pine_Bluff_Variant

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:35:39 +0000

I would say this is most certainly one of the greatest puzzle games out there, and like all the great puzzle games it has a simple premise with fantastic gameplay. You control a beach-ball, and you have to collect keys to unlock the exit. The catch is you have to negotiate your way through bizarre 3D structures avoiding traps and other assortment of hazards. The music is pleasant, the stage design and art design are great, and with 150 levels (plus 20 bonus stages when you complete the main game) this will surely keep you occupied for a while. Old copies for the PSone might be hard to track down but the game is available on the Playstation Store, although I'm not sure if it is available in the US and Japan regions on the PS Store (the game was released as 'Roll Away' in the US, 'Kula Quest' in Japan) and I believe this game has also been released on Android.

An example of gameplay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qsuNl0XFxg

Legend of Zelda Quick Tip by YodaSan2

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 02:48:47 +0000

Note: I will try to post more often but not so much in this community at the moment. I have roms on the Wii that I can use to review some older Nintendo games and can buy them on the virtual console, but as is the definite case for the Genesis, I don't have the older consoles, so I can honestly review a game until I have played it recently. I'm sure you can understand that I can't review what I don't have. I'm nineteen and until I'm on my own after university, my plans of being an avid reviewer will be at a slowdown. So be patient and while your waiting, check out my other communities.

CCG 2: The Next Generation
The Big 3
Anime101

I had only stumbled across the original Legend of Zelda in recent years. E ven though I had I NES growing up with all three Mario Bros. (Well excluding the real SMB 2, stupid Doki Doki), I had never heard of Zelda until I got my SNES. I believe it was a used unofficial bundle that included both Super Mario World and A Link to the Past, ALTTP instead of a second controller. At the time, medieval based stuff like toys and stories were my thing. Now, I still love the whole knights, princesses, and dragons thing. I really didn't have an opinion on graphics, but it was Zelda and for a NES game it was huge and over the top. To this day, I have not seen nor heard of a NES cart that has had a save feature, maybe excluding Final Fantasy? (Don't quote me on that). It was awesome in all its 8-bit glory and I felt privileged to play the game that started it all. My only complaint was that the dungeons were non-linear in the sense you could go anywhere and do anything you chose (for the most part). It was one of those where the hell do I go games. It had me stunned a little because ALTTP onward, you had a set path for the dungeons and you were always pointed in the right direction if not sometimes subtle. Besides that gripe, the original Legend of Zelda was epic and if you haven't played it, I recommend to go check it out!

Shaq-Fu (SNES) Quick Tip by RabidChihuahua

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:03:18 +0000

Easily among the worst videogames ever made.

The 90's was Shaq's decade to throw his image all over the place, and not even the videogame world was safe, since this absolute disgrace to fighting games came out in 1994. Take away the absurd storyline of Shaq fighting a bunch of supernatural creatures, and you got yourself a fighting game with horrible, horrible controls that make the game extremely difficult to play.

I think it's hilarious that this game has gotten such a deservedly awful reputation that there was a website dedicated to buying all copies of Shaq Fu in existence and destroying them.

Tetris Quick Tip by Madpenguin

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:08:58 +0000

Probably the greatest pack in video game of all time. It still gives me chills to think when the Game Boy was first released I was ready to blow this off because it came with the handheld system instead of Super Mario Land which I ended up buying together with it. In the end, this puzzler took up far more of my time and went on to be my favorite for the Game Boy for a very long time. A true gaming classic.

Decent hack and slash and that's about it.

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:46:23 +0000

Juliet Starling wakes up on her 18th birthday and the day is already starting out a disaster. She's late for school, her boyfriend Nick is more then likely waiting, and her school is being overran by a zombie outbreak. Juliet whom happens to be a cheerleader, is also a zombie hunter together with her family; she equips her chainsaw and begins going to work on the living dead. -summary

Long before I knew Lollipop Chainsaw was a work by Goichi Suda aka Suda51, I was already sold on the name alone, but when I saw it was created by the same mind behind Shadows of the Damned, I knew that I was sure to be in for a bizarre ride. Lollipop Chainsaw like SotD is not something I would consider to be great, yet it's still somewhat fun to play for the most part. The game is an arcade style hack and slash, and like most gamers, I do agree it's a breath of fresh air in a market that is over saturated with first person shooters and RPG's. However, it's not something I would say is worth running out to get let alone shelling out top dollar for. There are far better action games out there worth the time and effort to complete.

Gameplay:

Lollipop Chainsaw takes place in a third person view, as it follows Juliet dispatching hordes of zombies in her school, San Romero High School. The game is very linear, completely free from any type of side quest or mind bending puzzles. The game is arcade style to its core with action packed stages leading to the boss encounters. This is the definition of simplicity for gamers that enjoy turning off the brain and going on rampages. The game takes place across 7 stages through the high school and various parts of the city.

The story kicks off after the opening stage, when Juliet's boyfriend Nick is beheaded and she begins to carry him around on her waist after she uses a spell to keep him alive. She encounters one of her classmates named Swan, and the guy releases five powerful zombies from another world to lay waste to the human world. Juliet embarks on a mission to kill them all. During her travel, she will encounter her two sisters Rosalind and Cordelia, as well as her father.

In the beginning Juliet begins with limited moves, and her abilities have to be upgraded by purchasing items that increase health, strength, and even knockdown recovery. This is also the same in regards to combos with the chainsaw. To purchase these items and skills, the player will pick up coins as currency after either annihilating zombies or saving classmates from zombie dine out sessions. There is a rating scale after completing the missions, and new combos and items will be available in the store all depending on your performance, so it's necessary to try your best at pulling off a perfect game.

Lollipop Chainsaw for the most part is all about style. You can earn bonus coins when hacking through at least three zombies in a slow-mo cut scene. There are also short Quick Time Events (QTE's) of Juliet ripping through zombies with the chainsaw cutting them completely in half, this occurs during combat with the grunts as well as boss battles. I like the variety in the zombie hordes. Besides the running zombies that have become so popular over the years, you will battle against football player zombies that will try and hit you with a vicious tackle, along with cheerleaders whom will try to ice you with a handstand after their legs are hacked off. There's quite a bit of imagination here, along with many homages to films, anime, pop culture, and to the rock and pop genres.

The stages also use various QTE's, such as Juliet cutting her way through falling cars and leaping through whatever opening she can find. Some are very cool to watch though and some may even kill you instantly on your first go around. Thankfully the game doesn't heavily rely on these segments, and it leaves all of the slashing brutality in your hands. If you ever played Ninja Blade for the 360, then you will know how the QTE's gimmick can be so savagely abused which leads to not being much fun at all.

The stages also have mini-games, and all of the horror stories you heard about the zombie baseball mini-game are true stories. This segment is beyond annoying and completely not fun; Juliet picks up a grenade launcher, and she must protect her boyfriend Nick while he's trying to run the bases at least three times by blasting zombies with limited ammo. Fortunately, there are other segments like these that actually are a little fun to play; such as protecting a school bus from dynamite laced zombies and falling boulders.

The bosses in the game are musically influenced and they are pretty interesting in personality, you will fight against a punk rock zombie who battles you using giant cuss words, a disco zombie that battles from a vehicle, and even a banjo playing hippie zombie, whom by the way, is the coolest in the game. She battles you on a mushroom trip in a totally spaced out looking setting. The bosses are jam-packed with style, but I found the battles to be pretty unsatisfying though. I've heard some people say that they died up to 20 times in these fights on normal difficulty, and I been wondering since have we all played the same game. There's very little strategy needed, and some of them only require you to constantly fire your weapon to take them out. On the normal difficulty, I defeated every boss on my first play through; never even coming close to dying or running low on health items. Their weaknesses and patterns were easy to spot, and the final boss was a monstrous disappointment for me.

I seriously look at the bosses as a problem and as for the game play itself, I'm pretty much mixed here. It's very possible to button mash your way through about 95% of the game, which renders the combo system as nothing more than window dressing. However, the game does such a damn good job covering up this glaring flaw with the various combos and special moves, that most players won't even notice. Combos can be performed from the standing position, and finish with Juliet doing a Sonic-like spin dash chopping everything in front of her, or begin low at the legs, plus she has a pom pom combo to stun as well as a vicious throw. Some of the fun is earning enough money to by that next combo or move. There's plenty of potential here, and I feel there should have been more emphasis on engaging and deep gameplay instead of the mini-games. I also have a problem with the characters. Nick is the only one with any type of personality, and his exchanges with Juliet can be very funny. Unfortunately her family did nothing for me, and I was desperately hoping to see Rosalind mauled and torn to pieces. The comedy and jokes lean further towards teen potty jokes than adult humor, so I'm mixed here as well. There aren't any save points, so you have to make it to the various checkpoints for your game to be automatically saved.

The main campaign takes between 6 - 7 hours to complete and there's no online play, which will be a problem for some people. It doesn't bother me though, since I like to beat games and move on. There are leader boards and you can attempt to best your previous scores, plus there are higher difficulty settings. I played it nearly half way on hard and quit; I didn't stop because it was at all tougher, I just couldn't see myself bothering to replay a game that feels quite limited.

Controls:

The biggest problem I've heard from most people were that the button presses are strict during combos. After playing Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat: Deception, there are no precise button prompts I can't handle. Many of the combos begin by pressing either "X" or "square" two to three times then finishing with "triangle' or something. I didn't find anything complicated here at all. However, the functions for the analog stick could have been done much better. The stick moves Juliet, but also when clicking the stick down left, you activate another function called Nick Roulette. The problem is, a few times I accidentally triggered this, and it wouldn't be a problem at all had it been placed somewhere in the directional pad. Since it didn't happen to me often, I can't really complain about it. The right stick controls the camera and this has its ups and downs as well, but you will get used to it as you play on.

Graphics/Music/Sound:

The game almost has a full like manga appearance and it looks nice. Outside of some character movements that look a little stiff, I think they move around quite well. The action is fast, intense, and I never noticed any type of slow down; this is even with up to 30 zombies on the screen all trying to rip you apart. Unfortunately, the camera itself is pretty damn wonky. During fierce combat there would be some type of issue when you're cornered, and I found myself losing Juliet at times. On other occasions it can be pretty good, especially when capturing different views of the brutal action.

The character designs are indeed a strong point which is noticed in the zombie ranks. There are male and females, sports related zombies, guitarist, fat farmers, cows, and they all look great and fit well with the style of the game. Juliet looks nice also, and you can purchase many different outfits for her that she even wears during the cut scenes. The stage settings give off the appearance of a zombie apocalypse, with crashed up flaming cars and school buses. Some of the battles take place indoors and the school hallways are demolished with the occasional school bus crashing through walls. There's also a segment paying homage to classic video games in full 3D backgrounds and they look really cool, with one seeing Juliet having to avoid giant Pac-Man like creatures. The gore is done very well enough, you will see zombies ripped apart by digging the chainsaw deep into their backs along with flying limbs; it's all camp, fun, and done right for the most part.

In terms of style the music is indeed leading the charge. The pop and rock soundtrack compliments Lollipop Chainsaw in a way that is rarely seen. We know this is suppose to be a zombie takeover and things should be quite serious, but when looking at the characters and style, the music works this weird charm that plays into the zany feel of the game. If this soundtrack was to be placed in any other game it would come off completely out of place. The BGM maintains an upbeat tempo from start to finish, and it also helps the boss battles feel as big as they should. I liked the voice acting, especially from Michael Rosenbaum(Flash from Justice League) as Nick. He delivers some of the funniest lines. As for other sound effects, I will say that chainsaw buzzing, gunshots, and explosions are all passable. I don't think anything else really stood out.

Replay:

Suda51 fans and those who enjoy straightforward titles will probably get the most out of this game. I can imagine them shooting to dominate the leader boards, trying out the higher difficulty, as well as unlocking everything. Personally, I felt no real reason to replay this completely a second time. I unlocked a good deal of items on my first play through.

Final Thoughts:

Lollipop Chainsaw may be unique, but unique doesn't at all mean great. This is not something I can recommend as a speedy purchase or even a rental. The game play is indeed lacking, and the secondary weapon which is the launcher is forced upon you to use, yet it really adds little to the zombie killing. And truthfully, I do not really care for button mashers; I found myself working in different combos mainly just because. There's no real strategy here and this leaves the game play with this uncooked feel. In addition, the foul language of course warrants parents to be careful with purchasing this for young kids.

Personally, I would definitely like to see a sequel though, because there's plenty of room for improvement that can push this title to classic status. Suda51 laid out the groundwork, so I really hope he doesn't let what can be special slip through his fingers.

Pros:
-Entertaining soundtrack, gameplay has moments of goodness

Cons:
-Gameplay has moments of lameness

Does what a sequel is suppose to do. Be awesome.

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 03:27:18 +0000

Ryu Hayabasa receives a message from a woman by the name of Sonia, that the Black Spider Clan are attempting to awaken the four Greater Fiends of legend in an attempt to destroy his clan. He encounters a woman by the name of Elizabet, and this later leads him back to his village which is soon under attack; Ryu pursues Elizabet and learns exactly what she's planning. -summary

Ninja Gaiden has proven to be a success since its release on the X-Box back in 2004. Since then, the game had been updated for the same system as Ninja Gaiden Black, and later ported to the PS3 as Ninja Gaiden Sigma, which turned out to be another enjoyable update. Of course, a sequel would soon be in the works and Ninja Gaiden II would make it to the X-Box 360 in 2008, with an updated port Ninja Gaiden Sigma II for the PS3 in 2009. I never played the 360 version, but word around the campfire is that the PS3 got the better end of the deal. Although not as great as the original; Team Ninja still delivered what I believe to be a very solid sequel.

Game Play:

Ninja Gaiden Sigma II is a single player game that follows Ryu through 17 chapters as he battles the Black Spider Clan and powerful monsters named Greater Fiends. Along the way, you will be able to pick up items that increase your health bar, various weapons that can be upgraded when you visit the Blacksmith, as well as magic attacks called Ninpo. One of the coolest features to the game that veterans of the original will notice, is that Ryu possesses his moves from the original game at the start, such as the Guillotine Throw and Izuna Drop. This is some spot on attention to story detail and Team Ninja deserves props for this, because it's unlikely a ninja master will forget what he knows only a year later for the sake of a sequel.

The game forces you to master his blocking, evasion, counter attacking techniques, and long linking combos. It's very important that these basic tactics become second nature, because the cannon fodder will overwhelm you quickly using the numbers game, various projectiles, and vicious combos of their own. Novices will die a lot in this game against the grunts, since more than likely they will rely on button mashing which is highly not recommended. Team Ninja appeared to do their best in making this sequel quite different from the original with deeper game play.

Along with what appears to be Ryu's endless combo list, he can perform Obliteration Techniques on most enemies. These are finishing moves against severely injured enemies whom have lost limbs in battle. The finishers can either be graphic decapitations or the removal of more limbs, by the time you're done with your foes they will probably only have an arm left. Quickly finishing opponents is very important, because despite missing an arm or a leg, they can be extremely dangerous by performing suicide moves against you that can heavily damage your health bar.

The boss battles have moments where they can be very intense, even during the first two chapters. The battles deeply rely on constant evasion and counter attacking; this is basically the core strategy in these fights. Now some of the battles such as one against a Giant statue requires a little bit more than that. The point is, gamers with very little patience and no skill are going to have the worse time even on the normal difficulty.

Some of the boss battles are really cool to fight, such as one against a giant Lycan named Volf, whom battles with an over-sized scythe, with some punishing throw moves along with melee attacks. And the leader of the Black Spider Clan, Genshin; whom puts your evasion and counter attacking to the test. This boss can counter and parry most of your attacks, plus he uses a Ninpo spell attack similar to what you can do.

In regards to Ryu's weapons, almost everything from the previous game returns, such as the double katana blades, which are so cool to use along with the Vigorian Flail, which are pretty much bladed Nunchuks. The new weapons such as the dual sticks called Tonfu are very fun to play especially after being upgraded, and Volf's scythe is cool also, but the Kusari-Gama which happens to be a chain-sickle is by far my favorite; with this weapon, it is very possible to pull off very large combos, plus it has one of the coolest Obliterations. I made sure to master every possible combo with this weapon.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma II is also quite different from its predecessor in design, as it's completely linear and doesn't allow the player to revisit areas and search for items that may have been left behind. This time around, if you missed something, then it's gone and that's all there is to it; which makes searching for items located in treasure chest very important. On the plus side though nothing is remotely difficult to find, and since Ryu is a man of action, the game focuses solely on that leaving out mind boggling puzzles and even traps. In addition, there are three stages which can be played by the three female characters from the previous game and the spin off Ninja Gaiden - Dragon Sword; they are Rachel the Fiend Hunter, Momiji the Shrine Maiden, and Ayane the Kunoichi. Although they possess their own weapons and magic, for example Rachel toting a mini-gun along with her over-sized hammer, they really add nothing to the story and their appearances really aren't that fresh, since they're used in the same areas Ryu already ventured through with little variation. The game does a good enough job hiding how meaningless these characters are by delivering over the top action along with some decent boss battles.

The game is your basic good and evil story, yet it tries to be more than that though. There are some cut scenes with dialog, but some of the story is delivered through scrolls and books found on dead ninjas and various places. The plot mainly follows Ryu as he battles the Greater Fiends, whom are being awaken by Elizabet with the Demon Statue she took from Ryu's village. This all leads to the final showdown with the Archfiend.

Now besides the female characters pretty much just being pretty faces that are used to slaughter waves of creatures. Another problem I have is that the gameplay doesn't reach its full potential. Ryu is a ninja, but his athletic abilities such as wall jumping and running along multiple walls are never tested. I'm not asking for instant cheap deaths like God of War. However, there should have been some way to truly exercise his ninja skills. The final stage in the original game is a perfect example, as it followed Ryu trying to escape the area of the final battle alive, by traversing through the collapsing landscape. In that game, there were a few moments where he felt like a ninja, while here it feels as if other characters can probably make it through his game. The characterization is indeed weaker here, and this is also felt down to the bosses and side characters. And speaking of the bosses, there are rehashed bosses with a couple of lame ones; the giant fire-breathing armadillo makes me cringe thinking about it, and fighting the Statue of Liberty ventures into the realm of completely stupid.

Controls:

I found this area to be very sharp. The controller uses the left stick to move, while the directional pad scrolls through weapons, etc, and along with button inputs everything controls very well. This is very important in regards to the combos, because some of them require precise presses. Counter attacking simply requires practice and this also goes for evading. If you're being thrashed, the solution is practice and nothing more.

Graphics/Music/Sound:

I think the game has a very smooth frame rate, and the cut scenes have some really nice moments. The animation is very fluid and you can see all of the smaller details, such as Ryu parrying a sword attack and then responding with a quick dashing slice to the leg, taking it off completely and watching his enemy fall to the ground. And speaking of legs, the Kusari-Gama ropes an enemy with the chain and Ryu grabs him by the leg and hacks it off. There are some brutal animated sequences during the Obliteration's. There are some memorable backgrounds for me with Chapter 13 being one of them. This stage has a very eerie setting with a backdrop that features a rain storm of bright red blood soaking everything; the stage is beautiful yet very creepy with an other worldly feel. The best backgrounds are found late in the game while Ryu's descending into the Underworld. The visuals are outstanding with nice camera work providing a nice view deep into the background and they seem to expand quite nicely the closer you approach them. It's better to see it for yourself to get what I'm saying here.

As much as I don't mind seeing jiggly breast on female characters; the monsters must get the nod for the best character designs. You can see the shuriken belts by the hind legs on the ninja dogs. Plus the Centaurs and robotic like creatures called the Marionettes look awesome, as the latter creatures appear to be a splice between mannequins and spiders. Most of the bosses look really nice with Alexi Master of the Storm and Elizabet being among them. The BGM is strange in a way; there are moments where it gets the blood pumping with its mix of techno and orchestra, while at times it feels strange in combination with the setting. Overall I enjoy it and it fits well with the grand feel of the bosses. The sound effects I think stand out more with the voice actors, I think they get into their roles pretty well with the actor for Volf clearly having fun hamming it up. Some of the sound effects do stick out, with the splattering of characters bodies when Ryu slams them against the wall breaking their arms and legs, or burning them to death with his Inferno Ninpo. The negative issues in these areas are pretty small from where I see it though.

Replay:

The game does have a two player online mode that can only be done during team missions. I don't really care much for online play, but I had fun here a few times. I bumped into this one player who felt as if they were a kindred soul or something, because they thought like I did and we conquered some hard ass missions despite dying a lot to do it. The missions are in arena like combat, and for the most part it performed well, but I did notice some lag here where things would move in slow motion. In any case, I found it to be pretty good. You can go it solo or with the AI, but playing with another person is the way to go since it can virtually be impossible to do it any other way. The higher difficulty settings definitely add to the replay; you will notice one hell of a difference especially on Master Ninja, since the bosses grabs are instant death.

Final Thoughts:

Ninja Gaiden Sigma II is excellent for gamers searching for highly intense fast paced action. The moderate difficulty along with harder modes and online missions are a plus. The main campaign is around 10 hours, which is a pretty good length I think. There are also various checkpoints through out the stages for people who prefer to take those short breaks. If you enjoy games shades of Devil May Cry, Dante's Inferno, or God of War, then give this a try. It's also not really necessary to play the first game, but I highly recommend doing so since it's better than this one.

Pros:
-Moderate challenge, nice visuals, deep game play, online play

Cons:
-Weak characterization, some rehashing, not for everyone

A Short Tribute to a Trail Blazer

Sun, 9 Sep 2012 18:56:10 +0000

Ah, I remember the good old days, sitting in front of the TV, playing the old Sega Genesis, awesome games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Shining Force 2, and the NHL series, spectacularly losing my battle against video game addiction.

The Sega Genesis broke new ground when it was released in 1989 with it's 16-bit engine, and it killed it's only 16-bit competition, a popular Japanese system called the Turbo Grafx 16 (which, coincidentally, was my first home gaming system. My parents were too cheap to get me a Nintendo.). But sales for the Genesis didn't really begin to take off until 1991, with the release of their new mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. With the introduction of Sonic, the Genesis began to overtake the Nintendo Entertainment System, and Nintendo was forced to launch their own 16-bit system, the Super NES. The two systems then engaged in a legendary neck and neck race for 16-bit supremecy which lasted until the very end of the 16-bit era.

Alright, enough history. Let's get right down to the core of what made the Genesis a great system. I would like to start with the hardware, but I don't know anything about that, except that it had significantly more power in it than it's 1989 16-bit competitor, the Turbo Grafx 16, which was not much more powerful than an 8-bit system (this is not to degrade the Turbo, as it was a good system in it's own right. I'll try to write about it sometime soon.). It's 1993 16-bit competitor, the Super NES, packed more of a punch in that area, but the Genesis still prevailed. But all I really know is that it displayed a lot of great graphics onscreen, and played some catchy music. We didn't hear a lot of voices, though. The boys at Nintendo claimed that the Genesis didn't have the capability, but I think it was just laziness on the part of the programmers. As for the controllers, they were nice, simple things that fit comfortably and snugly in your hands and didn't have l and r buttons on the top. They had a directional button, a start button, and three action buttons. A great layout for most games, but if you were into fighting games, it downright sucked. Fortunately, there were 6 button controllers available, and no, they didn't have l and r buttons, either. The Genesis also had a lot of add ons, but these hurt it more than they helped it. It was the second system to realize the potential of cd technology, and therefore the second system to have a cd attachment (betcha can't guess what the first system to have a cd player was... yep, the Turbo!! The Genesis, however, was the first system to make good games for their cd player. Just a piece of useless trivia from the Baron.). Later, they introduced another add on, the 32X, which was supposed to increase the power of the Genesis to 32-bit, but that turned out to be the biggest mistake Sega ever made. Even Sega admitted they screwed up with that one. Said one representative, "We promised but we didn't deliver". The 32X broke no new ground, and was being sold cheaply (read: from $150 to $19.99 in a year) in flea markets only a year after it was introduced, if that. It did have a few redeeming games, though, like Doom and an outstanding translation of Virtua Fighter.

Now we get to the good stuff. The stuff that makes or breaks the system: The games! And the Genesis had lots of 'em! You name the genre, Sega delivered the goods. The Genesis was the reigning king in the sports arena, with games like the NFL, NHL, and NBA live series from EA Sports. I can't name all the other companies that produced sports games for the Genesis, but among the non-EA Sports titles are Prime Time NFL Starring Deion Sanders, a great translation of the 2 on 2 arcade basketball classic NBA Jam, and the Mutant League games, which featured bloodthirsty mutant players and nasty plays-throw a bomb in football, it's the real thing! Strategy or puzzle games? You'll love Columns and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. As for the action games, there are plenty of those. To begin with, you have the Sonic the Hedgehog series, starring Sega's plucky blue mascot, who runs through levels at high speed, freeing the animals of Mobius from the evil Dr. Robotnik. Earthworm Jim stars an earthworm who gains super powers from a space suit and uses them against the evil Psy-Crow. You also have Aladdin, the best movie to game ever, and the best Contra game, called Contra: Hard Corps. And I dare not forget the Shinobi series, which started the whole ninja craze back in the day. Shooting games included Forgotten Worlds and Space Harrier. RPGs on the Genesis were few and far between, but when one came out, it was remembered forever. The Phantasy Star and Shining Force games are among the most influential in RPG history. There were no original fighting games, but the Genesis does have the better version of the original Mortal Kombat. If you're like me and consider the beat-em-up genre and the fighting genre to be the same, then you can include Golden Axe and Streets of Rage.

If there is one downside of the Genesis, it is that the games Sega rushed out for it at the end of the 16-bit era reek of the fact that they were rushed out. I can't tell you anything about them, as I never played any of them, but from what I heard, I'm not missing anything.

But those without a Genesis are missing something. This is a gaming system that no household should be without. If you happen to find one these days, buy it. You won't regret it.

Farewell, Sega Genesis, you'll be missed!

Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream [Wii] Quick Tip by Madpenguin

Mon, 3 Sep 2012 03:11:06 +0000

Excellent addition to the franchise. Nintendo brought their A game with this fifth installment, which maintains the wacky and energetic style of the previous games; with its pretty high difficulty and additional modes, this is definitely a title I recommend for the dying console if you missed it. Full review coming soon.

Bring more souls, Slayer of Demons! and so I did, for hours...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:26:03 +0000

With Dark Souls releasing on the PC next week and that versions bonus content hitting consoles later this year, I thought I'd talk about Demon's Souls, the game which Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to.

The kingdom of Boletaria is engulfed in a colourless fog after the current ruler, King Allant uses souls to perform dark arts, raising the eldritch abomination the "Old One" from it's slumber. your character is one of many adventurers that enters the fog to save Boletaria, or to harness the souls for your own ends.

The prominent feature of this game and it's successor is the difficulty level. Not paying attention during the game can be fatal, simple enemies can be devastating in packs and stronger enemies will pose a challenge. this is not however fake difficulty that you find in games like "I Wanna be The Guy" as combat is simple to learn but deep, enemies can be defeated with simple strategy and different equipment sets can provide you an advantage over certain foes.

The game world is separated into different areas linked via a hub, all the levels following a dark fantasy theme: a ruined castle, a prison filled with deranged prisoners and stocked with torture devices, a swamp occupied with crazed lost souls... The areas perfectly depict a ruined, besieged world. In-game actions can affect the "tendency" of an area, allowing access to new sections of a level and affecting the toughness of enemies and their drop rate.

Like Dark Souls, the levelling-up system is flexible and you can create a multitude of character builds, along with them using different styles of play: you can have a character utilizing sheer brute force, a magic heavy user that kills from a difference, etc.

The online component will be familiar to players of Dark Souls. players can leave helpful or deceitful notes for other players to read, and they can be recommended.

A few things I disliked compared to Dark Souls: the character animation has very little weight to it, the weapon upgrading system is more complicated compared to the other game, and I thought the boss battles were not as good compared to the Dark Souls bosses.

I would heartily recommend this PS3 exclusive to fans of Action-RPG's and those seeking a challenge.

Links third adventure still holds up over 20 years later.

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 01:42:22 +0000

The kingdom of Hyrule is in danger of being taken over; a young boy named Link follows his uncle who receives a telepathic call from Princess Zelda begging for help. Link comes across his uncle wounded in the castle where she's held; he takes his shield and sword, and continues the mission to find Zelda in the castle. -summary

Up to this day, I know many fans of the Zelda franchise who pretty much hail Ocarina of Time as the definitive Legend of Zelda game, and rightfully so I will add. The game carried the tradition and expanded on what made the franchise great in the first place, and it has become the game that all future Zelda games have been and will probably always be compared to, but those seeds to greatness were planted somewhere, and it was here back in 1991 in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. This game far surpassed the previous two games in every possible way and has went on to being hailed as one of the Super Nintendo's greatest achievements. After replaying it over the weekend; I think it still holds up pretty well 21 years later.

Now for those who may be unaware, although this is the third game of the franchise. It's not a sequel to the first two and it's very much a stand alone story. It's not necessary at all to play the first two games; I will say though that the first game should at least be given a try to familiarize yourself with the world of Zelda, and to see where it all began.

Game Play:

A Link to the Past is a single player, open world action/adventure game with RPG elements. The game doesn't feature any story-related cut scenes during play, but it is pretty much story driven. The player begins on a quest to retrieve three pendants in order to unlock a weapon called the Master Sword, which will help defeat a mad wizard by the name of Agahnim. The pendants are located inside of three dungeons and are guarded by powerful monsters. Once the pendants have been collected the story shifts into its second phase. Link is transported to the Dark World, and here he must free seven maidens trapped inside of dungeons. The maidens collective power is needed to shatter the barrier around the final castle, where the main villain behind everything named Ganon is present.

This games strongest attribute is the game play without a doubt. There is so much to do in this open world, you will spend hours searching for items that may not be completely necessary, but they will definitely help in your quest. In the beginning you're armed with only a sword, shield, and a lamp. As you progress you will be able to upgrade your shield, sword, and pick up many weapons such as fire and ice wands, arrows, bombs, a boomerang, and even a glove which is use to pick up large rocks. The awesome thing about all of these items is that you WILL have to use them all, and some of them are very necessary to move forward. There are areas that cannot be accessed if you don't have some of these things.

Some of the fun is searching around as well as buying things with your currency in the form of rubies, which can be picked up by defeating enemies or cutting your way through bushes; rubies can also be obtained by opening up treasure chest or some characters you meet will just give them to you. There's also something to gain in mini side quest that sees you helping out some of the populace; such as helping a lost blacksmith find his partner, and in return, they turn your sword into a more powerful weapon. The enemies are also vast consisting of spear hurlers, bomb throwers, vanishing ghost, and even a couple of thieves who knock your money on the ground and take it. They become even more aggressive as you progress and some of them will smash your health bar down viciously.

When I first came into this game I quickly noticed how much it expanded on the original, and it felt so much more than just a sequel. It was a full-fledge upgrade. The player begins with a life bar made up of only three hearts. These can be increased by picking up more heart containers. The original granted you these after defeating bosses, plus some were in hidden locations. It's pretty much the same idea here as bosses provide you with these heart increases. However, in the open world, these hearts come in pieces, and you will need to find four to create a whole heart; which makes it very important to literally search under every rock, investigate every cave, play every mini game etc. The game does reward you in different ways for your hard work. It may seem tedious to some at times, and this is when the game provides you with a bird for transportation to different areas.

The other areas this game improved on were the puzzles, dungeons, and boss battles. The puzzles aren't anything too tricky and they really shouldn't leave folks scratching their heads for long; the dungeons though aren't only dangerous but they can be considered puzzles themselves. I hadn't played this game in many years, and I found myself stuck wondering on which door should I take, or should I really use a key for this particular door. The game has its ways to play with your mind. The boss battles range from very easy to moderately difficult. For example, one boss battle requires you to blow the mask off its face with your limited bomb supply before you can attack and do damage. While another one forces you to switch between your ice and fire wands which depletes your magic gauge. These twist in the boss battles is definitely welcomed since it adds some variety to the conflicts, which keeps them from being one dimensional hack and slashes to the finish.

Possibly the best part of the game play is being able to switch at any time between the Dark World and Light World (Hyrule) after you obtain the Magic Mirror. The two worlds are mirror reflections of each other, yet there are small differences between the two. For example, if you come across an inhabited house in the Light World, it will be shattered and abandoned in the Dark World. Traversing between the two worlds also helps in solving puzzles to reach specific points in your travel. This was pretty amazing back then and it's still interesting now.

The game play does have one flaw that I believe can be found in all games like these. It can be frustrating after awhile navigating through the same terrain because either you're lost for some reason or you're grinding for money and items. The game does hold your hand a little, by marking certain points on your world map. So even though you may be stuck because of something, you will still know where to go next without a doubt.

Controls:

The game uses all of the buttons and everything performs very well. New to the game is being able to walk diagonally. This may seem like something small, but if you played the original then you will see it makes a difference. Selecting weapons can only be done by opening up the menu, and this is something I actually like, since there isn't a chance to accidentally use a health item when you're looking for something else. Being able to equip an additional weapon with the sword is still a plus and it performs well.

Graphics/Music/Sound:

Taking under consideration this is a first generation SNES game, like Super Mario World it's still pretty impressive in some areas. There are some nice backgrounds with the dark rainy beginning being the most memorable to me. The best area is definitely the blue fogged Lost Woods which looks so good and even somewhat creepy. The Dark World does live up to its name, being a rather dreary and even dull world as opposed to the lively and vibrant Hyrule. There are several different rock and green bush patterns along with a cemetery tossed in to dampen that repetitive feel, and when you add in the mountain and desert landscapes, it does give off that big world feel. The animation for some of the bosses movements are done well, and some of them have some nice character designs. One thing that stands out to me is Link though, as others have mentioned, it does appear as if he's walking on air.

The music fits well with the look of the game. It uses an updated version of the original song for the main quest. The BGM for the Lost Woods stands out for me the most, and I wish this theme was used more in the game. While the boss themes are good, the dungeon theme is repetitive and bland. The sound effects have their moments too with the rattling chain link sound for the Hookshot being hard to over look, as well as the smashing with the hammer when you turn enemies into ice and crush them.

Replay:

I'm usually not all about replaying long games like these which is probably over 12 hours. I can imagine completest coming back to collect all of the heart pieces, because you don't need them all to beat the game. But with the lack of a multi-player or even an alternate quest. I would say it's best to finish it then move on to something else.

Final Thoughts:

A Link to the Past is definitely among Nintendo's finest. The game was so well received that it saw a re-release for the Game Boy Advance and that should tell you something. If you can down load this or even buy it used then I recommend doing so; with its vast world, many weapons, items, interesting boss encounters, style, and of course save system, this is a Super Nintendo classic that should be played by all gamers. It could have had a more engrossing story though, but this is 1991 we're talking about here; story really wasn't much of a factor back then.

Pros:
-Deep game play, vast world to explore, moderate challenge

Cons:
-Backtracking can be a little irritating

Dragon's Dogma Quick Tip by Pine_Bluff_Variant

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:27:34 +0000

Dragon's Dogma is an action-RPG released this May by Capcom. You play a villager who becomes the 'Arisen' when a dragon attacks your village and tears out your heart. Bizarrely you survive, and you leave the village to hunt the dragon and reclaim what belongs to you.

The game plays like a cross of Skyrim and Dark Souls. there is a game world that you can freely move across, completing side quests or slaying gigantic beasts with the responsive and easy to learn combat system. your basic and heavy attacks are mapped to the face buttons on the controller, but holding down R1/right shoulder button and pressing a face button at the same time performs a special move. your character and jump and climb up onto large foes to attack specific weak points.

The unique aspect of this game is the "Pawn" system. when you start the game you create your own AI sidekick, and if you play online you can recruit pawns created by other online players or the other players can recruit your own pawn, and they share their experience and any items they accumulated while away.

There are flaws of course. the game world is small compared to other RPGS on the market, quite a lot of the sidequests are quite dull and tedious, there is no form of co-op play with online players, and the DLC content is slightly lackluster with the exceptions of the weapon packs. But with this game selling over a million copies and a sequel already confirmed to be on the way, there is certainly something worth checking out here for fans of action RPG's.

My favorite of all the Mario games. 94%

Thu, 2 Aug 2012 16:58:22 +0000

Many gamers consider this the best game in the NES library, and while I won't say that since I don't think I've played a wide enough array of games for that console to come up with such a conclusion, I'll say that this is my favorite game with the Mario title on it. This is my favorite of all the Mario games since I think among Mario's "classic" games, this one is the toughest while still being fun and unlike the two previous Mario games, starts to include features that would be essential to future Mario games.

STORY

Bowser is back to unleash terror, but this time, he's brought his seven children, known as the Koopalings, to wreak havoc in seven kingdoms, and to steal the magic wands from those kingdoms for Bowser's nefarious plans. Mario and Luigi have to go stop the Koopalings' invasion through their airships, retrieve the stolen magic wands and turn the transformed kings back to normal, and eventually, fight Bowser himself...again.

What I find most interesting with this storyline is that unlike most other Mario games, Princess Peach isn't immediately the "damsel in distress," but rather in the beginning of most worlds you enter in the game, she supplies you with a power-up. It's not until near the end of the game that she gets kidnapped by Bowser.

GAMEPLAY

SMB3's gameplay is a vast improvement over the previous two games. If you're familiar with the gameplay mechanics of the first Super Mario Bros. (the American Super Mario Bros. 2 is pretty different, considering that it's merely Doki Doki Panic with Mario characters, and therefore has some pretty different gameplay mechanics, and I don't consider it a true sequel to SMB), then you know around 90% of Super Mario Bros. 3's mechanics. The right and left buttons on the d-pad make you walk right and left (respectively), Start pauses the game, B launches an attack (if you have a power-up that dishes out attacks), A makes you jump, and the Select button is restricted to the title screen to toggle between 1 and 2-player modes.

Throughout the game, you navigate through eight different worlds and have to complete a number of levels until you reach the end of the overworld map (usually you have to beat each level in order to get to the end of the map, but you can sometimes skip a level if there's an alternate, unblocked route), which features a castle with a transformed king and a Toad in distress, asking you to retrieve the magic wand from the Koopaling you have to fight.

The eight lands in the order of progression in the game are Grass Land, Desert Land, Water Land, Giant Land, Sky Land, Ice Land, Pipe Land, and Dark Land. The respective Koopalings you have to fight in these kingdoms are Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr. Wendy O. Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, and Ludwig von Koopa (you fight Bowser in Dark Land). With the exception of Bowser, you fight each of them on giant airships, that are often bristling with cannons and flamethrowers.

In the individual levels within the eight worlds you travel, they're quite varied. There's "regular" levels where you travel through a level on the world's surface while jumping over obstacles and defeating enemies. There's "sky" levels where you have to traverse through platforms above a giant bottomless pit, and these are often "auto-scrolling," so make sure you're staying ahead of the screen's movement towards the right. There's levels where you have to go down a pipe and swim through water, and there's levels where you have to go down a pipe and traverse through an underground level. Aside from that, there' also smaller castles within each world that you have to beat. These castles often have lava pools and jumping fireballs much like the castles in the first Mario game, and in the end of each, you have to fight a reptilian creature known as a Boom Boom, though these guys are often easy to defeat.

There's also optional places in each world you can visit. These include "mushroom houses" that when you visit them, you choose from one of three chests to pick up a power-up and a location where you try to align three images to win a power-up (the power-ups you can win are a mushroom, leaf, or fireflower). Sometimes, a moving card will appear on the map and you can play cards to win things like coins, extra lives, and power-ups by flipping cards and matching two of a kind to win something. Once in a blue moon, a ship will appear on the map and when you get on it, you just collect a ton of coins and you go down a pipe in the end to fight two Hammer Bros..

In each map, you'll bump into the Hammer Bros., and when you beat the two of them, you'll get a power-up.

There's a smorgasbord of enemies you fight in this game. As usual, you got the Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Piranha Plants, and Buzzy Beetles, but there's some more this time around. Some of the new enemies are the Chain Chomp (when I was a little kid, I thought these were spastic football helmets that hurt you), Boo, Dry Bones (the Koopa Troopa skeletons in the fortresses), baby Piranha Plants (these are capable of jumping), Thwomps (the blocks in the fortresses that try to crush you), and Buster Beetles (the beetles that can throw Ice Blocks at you).

There's a bunch of new power-ups as well. Along with the fireflower, there's the leaf, which allows you to fly after attaining a high-enough speed. There's also the Tanooki suit, which like the leaf, allows you to fly, but also allows you to turn into a statue for protection against enemies (and can defeat otherwise invincible adversaries like the rotating lights and fireballs in the fortresses). There's a frog suit that allows you to swim better in underwater levels. Among the "best" power-ups are the P-wing, which is similar to the leaf, but allows you to constantly fly without having to run and fill up the P-meter (and flight ability doesn't run out unless if you get hit by an enemy). My favorite power-up is the Hammer suit, since this makes you throw hammers that can defeat nearly all enemies (such as the Boos and smashing blocks, which are invincible to tailspin attacks and fireballs), and when you crouch, the shell on the back of your suit protects you from fireball attacks. Because of how potent the Hammer suit it, it's only natural for it to be the rarest power-up in the game.

GRAPHICS

SMB3 is a step up in graphics compared to its two predecessors. Because of the more diverse environments, each world has a distinct visual style. With the graphical improvements, Mario and Luigi look better than in the previous two games, and the same can be said for all of the creatures in the game. Also, there's a much wider array of colors used in this game, and this game helped set the stage for what is now Mario's signature polychromatic worlds and creatures (while the first two SMB games had color, the color range wasn't very large). I think some of the best-looking environments in this game are for Ice Land and Dark Land. The former for the fact that it really does look and invoke the feeling of a chilly world (and to be humorous, I bet this is what Mario and Luigi would imagine what countries like Russia and Finland are like) and the latter for its really ominous, bleak atmosphere. Thanks to the wider array of colors, it helps flesh out each world as very distinctive from the other, which is a great thing considering how varied each of the eight worlds are.

SOUND/SOUNDTRACK

A lot of the sound effects from the first two Mario games have been carried over into SMB3, such as the coin sounds, enemy-smashing sounds, and the fireball sounds. These sounds are quite effective, given the NES's hardware limitations.

The soundtrack for SMB3 is some of Koji Kondo's best work yet. There's more Overworld themes instead of just one, and the well-known Underworld theme has been "spiced up" in this game (and it sounds better). Two of my favorite themes in this game are the Fortress and Air Ship themes. The former makes you feel like you're in a hideous dungeon where hundreds of innocents are met with horrible fates and the latter has a percussive, militaristic aesthetic. In one of the levels in Dark Land, you have to traverse through a squad of tanks, and with the ominous black background and Air Ship theme in the background, it feels like a squad of German heavy tanks is pouring into the Soviet Union circa 1941.

COMPLAINTS

I only have a few complaints with Super Mario Bros. 3. My chief complaint with this game is that for how challenging and lengthy it is, there's no saving feature in the game. So this means you gotta devote a huge chunk of your day to beat this thing since you gotta do it all in one sitting.

The difficulty curve among the last three Koopalings is a little off. Fighting Roy Koopa is pretty difficult since he can shake up the ground, temporarily immobilizing you if you're on the ground. However, Lemmy is after him, and fighting him is almost as easy as fighting Larry and Morton, but with Ludwig coming after Lemmy, the difficulty spikes up drastically.

The other is more minor, but it does irk me a little. Why are the Boos invincible to fireballs but not so to hammers? Theoretically, ghosts are supposed to be gaseous entities, so wouldn't fire be a more logical element in defeating them rather than metal projectiles?

FINAL WORD

This is surely a classic in the NES library, and easily among the best of all Mario games. This game is available on the Wii's virtual console (and has been re-issued on various handhelds over the last decade or so), so you can play it on there. However, if you're more of an old-school gamer, you may find yourself dusting off your NES and SMB3 cartridge to play this one again. Regardless of what method you like to play this game on, give it another whirl.

This Duke isn't quite A #1, but still really good. 80%

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:54:12 +0000

Reading a lot of these negative reviews has made me pretty irritated, to say the least. The way people have been trashing this game is almost like they just played Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (considered by many to be possibly the worst videogame ever). True, there are some things missing from Duke Nukem 3D that should have been in Duke Nukem Forever, but it still has a lot of good things as well, along with maintaining an unmistakeable “Duke Nukem” feeling, so it doesn't deserve so much of the backlash that it's gotten.

STORY

It's been quite a few years since the last time Duke Nukem kicked alien butt, and after attaining so much fame for his deeds, he's now franchising himself like crazy. However, the aliens have not learned their lesson and are back to wreak havoc and steal Duke's babes. With the babes being abducted and Duke's various businesses being destroyed, he's mad and ready to unleash lots of pain to the alien invaders.

As you can tell by the story, it's not on the same caliber of storylines like those in the Mass Effect or Deus Ex series, and it's not supposed to, this game is all about fun.

ATMOSPHERE

While the gameplay is the most important part of any game (more on that later), one of the most important parts of a Duke Nukem game is atmosphere. DNF makes no bones about being a crude, violent, sexual, and humorous rollercoaster ride of over-the-top action. Much like in DN3D, there's lots of one-liners spewed from Duke. If you're a fan of classic 80's and early 90's action films like Escape from New York, Robocop, Total Recall, and Commando, then you're gonna have a ball with all of Duke's one-liners that reference said films.

Personally, one of my favorite Duke quotes is when after you kill one of the Cycloid floating tentacle monsters, he'll sometimes say “Take your tentacles and go back to Japan!!” (not quoted verbatim).

Also, there's some more modern humor to make the game more “relevant,” but thankfully doesn't water down the original Duke Nukem-styled humor. Examples of this would be in some parts of the single-player mode, an EDF (Earth Defense Force) soldier states to Duke that “Your power armor is ready, sir!”, and Duke replies “Power armor is for p*ssies!!”, which is an obvious jab at the Halo franchise. Another example include a film director behind a late night TV stage berating one of his crew in parody of Christian Bale's infamous meltdown on the director of photography on the set of Terminator: Salvation (even better is that you get a Steam Achievement for punching the director). The last example is that when you interact with one of the phones in the game, you hear a voice message that's in the same spirit as Bill Lumberg's voice messages in Office Space stating “Mmm, yeah I'm going to have to go ahead and ask you to come in on Sunday.”

There's even a parody of the Olson twins named the Wholesome twins, and I seriously doubt the Olson twins would be flattered with their portrayal in this game.

GAMEPLAY

What's a videogame without good gameplay? Fortunately, DNF has good gameplay to go behind the crude, violent, and humorous atmosphere. While a lot of the game is the good old fashioned gun fights and big explosions against alien “pigcops” and jetpack-wearing aliens, there's also some nice variations from the over-the-top action.

There's some nifty puzzle sections that while not as brain-twisting as those in the Half-Life games, is nonetheless a nice addition to the game. Also, there's some fun platforming sections like when you're shrunken inside a Duke Burger and have to save a pretty female employee from a flooded kitchen with loose live electrical wires. This platforming section in particular is also mixed with some neat gun battles with some pigcops. There's even a section in the game that has you ride through the desert towards the Hoover Dam in a monster truck the Duke named “Mighty Foot.” These stages are fun since you can utilize the truck's built-in jet-boosters to get over some canyons and to get some great speed to turn your alien enemies into roadkill.

One of the things that was lauded about DN3D was the interactive environment, and thankfully, it's back in DNF. Among my favorite and most crude interactions you can do in this game is take a leak in a toilet or urinal when you want a little break from the combat.

I personally like the moments in the game where you get shrunken through alien shrink rays and have to navigate the world as a tiny Duke. This leads to some interesting interactions like having to platform through a dangerous series of cogs in the Hoover Dam, and hearing Duke with a high-pitched voice is quite funny.

There's some neat power-ups that totally match the spirit of the Duke Nukem franchise. Your sunglasses provide “Duke Vision,” which allows you to see in the dark, and this has infinite supply. There's one-time use power-ups like beer, steroids, and the holoduke. The beer slows you down but makes you more resistant to damage, steroids make you crazy and run around killing enemies with one or two punches, and the holoduke makes you invisible while fooling your enemies into shooting a holographic projection of yourself.

The weapons overall, fit the Duke Nukem aesthetic. Some classics like the RPG (this comes with a target lock feature) and Shrink Ray come back in this game. There's also some funky weapons like the Freeze Ray and the Ripper, with the latter being a three-barreled machine gun that can dish out some nasty hits to your enemies. One of my favorites is the alien weapon called the Enforcer, which fires three target-locking missiles at once and can kill big enemies with only a few hits. I wish some weapons like the microwave gun would have came back in DNF, though I can overlook that since the weapons in this game are still a lot of fun.

CONTROLS

DNF is one of the PC games that allows for both control through a keyboard and mouse or through an Xbox 360 controller plugged into your computer. I used the Xbox 360 controller through the game and the game even has control prompts with the Xbox 360 controller buttons on them to allow for easier controls than some other games that say something like “Press button E to climb the ladder.” The buttons are used in a logical order similar to most FPS titles and thankfully, all the controls in the game are immediately responsive to your interactions with the controller.

GRAPHICS

I've only played the PC version of DNF, so I can't really comment on the quality of the graphics on the Xbox 360 and PS3 ports of the game. With that said, while the graphics may not be up to par with games like Metro 2033 and Crysis 2, I think the graphics on DNF are better than the myth that they're no better than on Doom 3. When you max out all of the graphics settings, you actually get nicely-detailed items, people, and environments that I'd say is probably worthy of competing with a 2008 game with top-shelf graphics quality. Besides, graphics aren't everything. What matters most is the gameplay and atmosphere.

SOUND/SOUNDTRACK

The sound in this game comes in crystal clear, and the sound effects for various actions in the game feel just right for what you do. I think especially with the gun sounds, they have a nice punch to them, and go well with the over-the-top feeling of the game.

The music is good, too. There's some decent hard rock riffs in the background that match the macho, “one man army” feeling in this game. There's a more traditional classical score in the background in most levels, and the melodies feel right at home with the scores of action films of the 80's and early 90's, which fits in perfectly with this game.

COMPLAINTS

While I do like this game, it's not without some complaints. I don't like the fact that until you beat the game, you're restricted to carrying only two weapons at a time (if you beat the game, you get an inventory expansion option to carry four weapons at a time). I think when Gearbox was finishing development of this game, they should have had the inventory set up so that you could carry all weapons like in DN3D. Also, the levels seem a little too linear compared to its predecessor (though you can rummage through lockers and crates to get weapons and power-ups), and there's no jetpacks in the game. However, I think in the big picture, these faults don't do too much to degrade the overall quality of the game.

MATURE CONTENT

This is NOT a game for the kids. This game has a lot of scantly-clad and half-naked women and even some Giger-esque visuals like “wall boobs” in some alien dwellings. There's also a lot of profanity-laden humor and insults, along with bodily waste and gore. The gore goes beyond copious bloodshed to even included dismemberment and exploding corpses. In some boss battles, you actually rip off some alien battle lords' horns and stab them in the eyes with them.

FINAL WORD

Don't listen to all the negative backlash this game has got. This game set out to be a slab of crude FPS fun, and it succeeds. If you're looking for a FPS that's all about crude fun, then I'm sure you'll be satisfied with DNF, especially with its current price. I think this game is a much-needed break from the current climate of the FPS genre being totally serious and realistic (not to mention being too derivative of each other). This is a game worth owning, and is also a good companion piece to Bulletstorm.

Turbo Zelda

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 01:04:42 +0000

Here's something fun to try next time you're in Seattle: When you run into Bill Gates on the streets, bet him a couple billion dollars that he can't talk about the old TurboGrafx-16 game Neutopia without ever saying the word "Zelda." Don't worry about a thing if you're not a multi-billionaire. Once Gates is finished stumbling through his not-so-Zelda-free explanation, you will be. Enjoy your retirement, and please think of Netjak - and myself in particular - if you decide to give some away to a charity.

A quick look through video game history finds an ocean of more technologically advanced ripoffs of older games following the release of any new console. In no game is an "I want money from your formula too!" mentality more blatantly obvious than it is in Neutopia. Neutopia simply reeks of Zelda, everything from the gameplay to the plot and everything else in between. This isn't just taking too much inspiration from a single game here; if Neutopia isn't illegal, then it's performing a delicate balancing act on the line. No, that's an understatement. Neutopia is more like that little kid who's crossed the line entirely, except for one foot which he keeps firmly planted in safe territory so he can taunt his sibling: "I didn't cross the line! I didn't cross the line! You can't say anything because I didn't cross the line! Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!" The game's designers better be thanking their lucky stars Neutopia was on such an unpopular console. If more people had heard of it, Nintendo's legal eagles surely would have swooped in and torn them to shreds.

Ask any veteran of both games to explain Neutopia without referencing Zelda, and you'll quickly learn why I opened this review the way I did. It's just not possible. The person in question doesn't necessarily have to be Bill Gates; he could be the world's greatest rocket scientist or the world's most eloquent speaker, or both. Ask about Neutopia, Zelda's gonna get mentioned. Therefore I'm not even going to try to explain this game on its own merits. However, I will list the number of Zelda references I've used at the end of the review.

This action-RPG begins with the obligatory RHC (really hot chick) being gracefully stolen from her residence by the obligatory DEV (dark evil villain). The RHC and DEV of Neutopia are respectively named Aurora and Dirth. The very morning after Aurora's kidnapping, our hero Jazeta shows up in the once-peaceful land of Neutopia (yes, the game is named after the kingdom it takes place in) with a sense of high adventure on his mind and a sword and shield in his hands. His mission: To go forth into the now-hostile land of Neutopia. To seek out new forms of life - and slaughter them like the lowly, evil scum they are. To boldly go where many have gone before - across the four spheres of Neutopia in search of eight legendary medallions which will open the gateway to Dirth's hideout at the North Pole. Let's see now... One hero setting out in search of eight relics which will enable him to fight off one evil villain in the name of one kidnapped princess. Gee, do we spot a certain resemblance to another video game in that objective?

Yeah, that could be the objective description of any other video game. But I'll describe just how Jazeta goes about accomplishing this objective: He wanders through a massive overworld, one screen at a time. In this overworld, he burns trees, crystals, spires, and pillars, and blows up weird-looking spots on walls in search of secret passages. In these secret passages, he picks up information, weapons, and items needed in the search for the medallions, which are hidden in dungeons that are also tackled in a screen-by-screen manner. The dungeons contain puzzles like locked doors and hidden rooms, which Jazeta has to solve by doing things like bombing walls and pushing rocks. To get the medallions out of the dungeons, Jazeta must defeat a boss (well, duh). Wash, lather, rinse, repeat until the kingdom is free of evil. He also does it all with the aid of a compass which points him in a general direction. In dungeons, he also has the aid of a map and a crystal ball when he finds them.

Among the items Jazeta picks up to help in in his mighty quest are a fire wand (one of the primary weapons) bombs, the Moonbeam Moss (Neutopia's candle) the Rainbow Drop (Neutopia's ladder) and various swords, shields, and armor. Are we beginning to see the Zelda-tribute picture now?

Okay, so Neutopia is a dumbed-down version of The Legend of Zelda for the kiddies. But aside from the stunning lack of originality, I'm not going to complain about much else - because, really, there isn't all that much to complain about. A novel could be written on the parallels between Neutopia and Zelda, but none of it will change the fact that Zelda was not a bad game. Therefore, a game which rips off Zelda in every way, shape, and form will not necessarily be a bad game. It may fade back in the shadows while the original version of it basks in the glory of being one of the all-time classic gaming breakthroughs, but that won't mean it isn't worth playing.

In a couple of ways, Neutopia is even superior to Zelda. While Zelda had one overworld for you to lose yourself in, the world of Neutopia is comprised of four of the biggest overworlds you've ever seen, with each one emphasizing a different theme. You start off in the Land Sphere, and finding the medallions will yield access to the Subterranean Sphere, Sea Sphere, and Sky Sphere. While the themes the four spheres are named after could have done a better job playing up their gimmicks, they all perform the function of getting you very lost quite well. The Subterranean Sphere in particular is a tricky world to navigate, but even if you completely lose yourself, there's an item in the game that allows you to return to the last place you saved. (Just don't save if you don't know where you are.) The dungeons aren't quite the fierce mindbenders seen in Zelda, but they're still filled with fun little surprises. I'm certain there are critics of Neutopia who cite the simplicity of necessary items in contrast to Zelda, but I don't consider that much of a complaint. There were times in Zelda when the game went over the top in its complexity. In Zelda, there were two different candles to light rooms with. In Neutopia, however, there's just one Moonbeam Moss which always performs when necessary for as long as needed.

While the overall simplicity is generally a good thing, there are times when Neutopia's lack of complication works against it. The most dangerous enemies in Neutopia are teleporting ghosts which aimlessly float from one end of a room to the other - a nuisance, but not exactly a threat. Granted the enemies in Zelda weren't exactly programmed to hunt you down either, but there were certain tricks and twists to some bad guys which complicated your battle approach. Neutopia's set of foes, while very diverse, can be entirely dealt with using the good old kamikaze approach - just walk up and start hitting. Things get more interesting when you meet bosses, but even those guys are still pretty hit-or-miss in the complication department. The game will give you a really easy boss like the dragon in the Land Sphere, then give you a more difficult boss like the gargoyles in the Subterranean Sphere. An action/RPG vet will have no trouble blowing through the game until the Sky Sphere, but even there the only existing challenge comes in enemies who can stand up to more punishment before going down. I'll even go as far as to say there are only four things about Neutopia which will really challenge anyone: Locating the necessary items, the crystal robot boss, the fake Dirth boss, and Dirth himself. You can include a fifth if you decide to neglect the Moonbeam Moss. Even opening the dungeon doors is no trouble. The door puzzle solutions are a select handful: Push the rock, kill the enemies, or kill the enemies THEN push a rock. Once you reach a certain point, those won't even matter because there's an item, the Bell of Heaven, which can open doors for you once you find it.

Someone got lazy while writing, or while translating for the English-speaking masses, or something. There's something weird about having almost every reference to Jazeta preceded by the words "our hero." "Our hero Jazeta has obtained the medallion!" "Our hero Jazeta has obtained the Boom Bombs!" As if we needed to be reassured that Jazeta has not joined the dark side or is a spy for them. Also, the strongest sword, shield, and armor in the game are called exactly what they are: The Strongest Sword, Strongest Shield, and Strongest Armor. (As Dave Barry would say, I am not making this up.) It is almost like the names of the items were rushed and tacked on at the last minute before press time. Those are the only qualms with the dialogue, though. The rest isn't what would be called well-written, but it's easy to read so your little kids won't have any trouble understanding. Again, simplicity is the advantage.

Neutopia's graphics are what they're supposed to be: A gussied-up version of Zelda's. While Zelda looked two-dimensional, Neutopia's graphics pull off a pseudo-3d effect. That's about all they do. On their own merits, the graphics have color splashed all around, but are otherwise neither here nor there. Zelda, however, still gets the nod in sound. Neutopia has an excellent title theme and good background music in the Subterranean Sphere, but the soundtracks just can't be compared. Zelda's soundtrack has endured over the ages for a reason. No matter how many times you hear it, it's always synonymous with a big adventure. Neutopia's soundtrack, if remembered at all, will be so only for its mediocre simplicity. And there's nothing to say about the gameplay - both games use EXACTLY the same control interface, so if you've played one, you've played them both.

See my rating. I would not give that rating to a bad game. Neutopia is excellent for little kids who don't have the dexterous minds needed to enjoy Zelda, or for people who are new to action/RPG's. It's a justifiable purchase over Zelda with more variety in the worlds, enemies, and simplicity. But for those who have played Zelda, the difference between the two games is like the difference between George W. Bush and John Kerry: One panders to voters by pretending to be a Republican; the other is a real Republican. And when one pretends to be something the other one really is, the voters feel better just putting the real thing back into office for another four years. Therefore, this voter has spoken. Zelda for President!

I have used 24 Zelda references in this review, give or take a few.

Q.U.B.E Quick Tip by Pine_Bluff_Variant

Sun, 1 Jul 2012 20:56:24 +0000

Q.U.B.E (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion) is a PC puzzle game released last year. One thing everybody will note is that this game was clearly influenced by the Portal series, your character will spend the majority of time in white, pristine test chambers. The major success of this game is the style of puzzle featured in this game is comepletely different from Portal, teaches you the methods of solving the puzzles quickly (something also achieved by Portal) and uses these methods to create unique problems for you to solve.

As you probably guessed from the title, the game is based around manipulating blocks, each colored block performing differently from the other. at the start you are introduced to 3 different blocks, and the game gradually adds more complicated features (such as spinning certain sections of the room) the difficulty curve feels natural, you won't be banging your head against the screen in a futile rage, with a little bit of creativity, combined with what you learn in the previous stages, you'll get immense satisfaction once you clear a stage.

Unlike Portal, this game is strictly focused on puzzles, there is no narration or real plot to speak of. the game may be missing Portals charm and humor but the actual gameplay is so satisfying that to me it didn't really matter.

I can heartily recommend this game to fans of puzzle games or anybody that likes a challenging but fair title to enjoy, although some may bemoan the lack of level editor

A gameplay video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AltrokRM4NI

One of the best games released for this generation of consoles

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 23:42:14 +0000

Overview

Dark Souls is an Action-RPG developed by Japan's From Software last year. You play as the "Chosen Undead", breaking out of an asylum housing the undead, you escape to the land of Lordran, where you are tasked to ring the Bells of Awakening and defeat powerful creatures to gather their souls

Story Introduction and Premise

The game does not go into a massive amount of detail regarding it's setting and plot, but a lot is implied through character interactions and item descriptions. The game's minimal use of cutscenes immerses you in the game as it allows the character to take part in important parts of the game instead of sitting and watching it happen with loads of cutscenes. The head of the development team has stated in interviews that the setting of the game was inspired by British fantasy literature, and it shows. The dark, atmospheric fantasy setting of this game stands in stark contrast to your stereotypical JRPG. Regarding the games premise, it could be considered a generic "save the world" plot, but it is more interesting than that and out of the two endings the game has, none of them can be considered a "good" or "bad" ending (that's about as much as I can say about them without giving spoilers)

Gameplay

The gameplay really shines in this game. combat can be fast-paced or slow and steady depending on your play style. The game does not favor people who let their guard down easily, as when a group of weak enemies can devastate you if you're not prepared. The multiplayer component is unique, as you can summon online players into your game to face off against a boss, or you yourself can be summoned. You can even invade a players game (or vice versa) and face off against the player in some PvP action. Also, you can leave messages on the ground to help or deceive fellow online players, and can read the messages left by other players. The RPG element of this game allows for a large amount of character customization. Choosing a certain class for your player does not limit what they can or cannot use, as the Classes in this game only affects what starting equipment or stats you start with, your character can use anything if certain stat requirements are met. weapon and armor customization also allows for a quite wide range of customization, suiting your play style. The game has an almost Metroid-like mentality to exploration, the game world is truly open, you can go where you please and the game does not hold your hand. If you find an area too hard you can explore areas suiting your character level more, then return and wreak vengeance against the enemies who caused you trouble. Dying is an important part of this game, you will probably die frequently in this game, while for some people it may get frustrating but failure aids in the learning process, if a certain strategy fails you can try another one to great success, or return when you have a higher level or better equipment.

Graphics and Sound--Production Values

A significant amount of resources has been poured into this game, and it shows. the environments are huge and quite often breathtaking. The orchestral soundtrack is fantastic and plays at key moments. The game features some really imaginative boss creatures, and even the non-boss enemies can amaze and disgust with their designs, even some creatures that can be considered "generic" (like re-animated skeletons, dragons) can impress. The only real problem I have with this game is that in some areas there is a noticeable frame-rate drop.

Dark Souls is available for the PS3 and X360, with a PC version with additional content coming this August.

The Blue Blur is back in his best game. 94%

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:24:31 +0000

Before I get on with the review, I have to share some nostalgia with you. I believe my first encounter with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was at the nearest Wal-Mart back in the late summer/early fall of 1992 and I remember seeing the game on display in the videogame section, and I played the Emerald Hill Zone, and I couldn't wait for the game to come out. Fast forward several months later, and it's Christmas Day, and I got Sonic 2. I spent most of the day playing this and even back then, I felt it was better than the first game (which is still a classic). Over the years, I've given some deeper thought about which of the classic Sonic games is the best, I think Sonic 2 is the best of all because it retains a good challenge and fixes the flaws in Sonic 1.

STORY

After defeating Dr. Robotnik in the last game, Robotnik gets back to work with his usual scheme of taking over the world. Like in the last game, he's captured a bunch of animals and is turning them into malicious robots, and is building a devastation space weapon called the Death Egg. You take control of Sonic again to thwart Robotnik's plans, and this time, a two-tailed fox by the name of Miles “Tails” Prower tags along and helps you.

GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS

If you're familiar with the way Sonic 1 plays, then you know how to complete 99% of the controls in this game. However, they added a critical improvement in Sonic 2, which is the spindash attack. All you do is crouch down (holding the bottom d-pad) and hit the jump button to start spinning, and when you release both buttons to go much faster than without the spindash. With the spindash, you can also plow into most Badniks and they'll get destroyed.

All the power ups like the Ring monitor, Invincibility monitor, Shield monitor, and Extra Life monitor are in this game. The rules about collecting rings in Sonic 1 carry over into Sonic 2.

Also, there's a point in getting points this time around. At the end of each act, if you get 10,000 points in that act, you'll get a continue. Whenever your cumulative score hits 50,000 and numbers with a divisor of 50,000 (such as 100,000 and 150,000), you get an extra life.

There's also a point to getting Chaos Emeralds. If you collect all the Chaos Emeralds (now its seven emeralds instead of six) and get 50 rings, you turn into Super Sonic. Super Sonic is a yellow juggernaut. Other than drowning, bottomless pits, and getting crushed, nothing can hurt Super Sonic, as he's not only invincible, but he can run extremely fast and jump over really long distances. The only drawback to Super Sonic is that your ring count gets deducted at one ring per second, and once you run out of rings, you turn back into regular Sonic.

The Special Stage is different from that in Sonic 1. Instead of collecting 50 rings and jumping into a giant ring at the end of an act, you collect 50 rings and jump into a bunch of rotating stars that pop up when you hit a lamp post. You also race through a half-pipe and need to collect a certain number of rings before each checkpoint. When you clear all the checkpoints with the required amounts of rings, you get a Chaos Emerald. These Special Stages are significantly more difficult than the ones in Sonic 1 because aside from needed to collect the required rings, you have to dodge a bunch of bombs, and these can be hard to dodge. It also doesn't help that usually, Tails will get hit by bombs, making you loose some of your rings.

You also have the option to switch between Sonic + Tails, Sonic solo, and Tails solo when playing the one-player mode.

2-PLAYER MODE

There's also a 2-player mode for this game. Basically, it's a split-screen racing game where you and a second player choose as Sonic or Tails and race each other until the end of the acts. The acts to choose from in the 2-Player mode are Emerald Hill, Casino Night, Mystic Cave, and the Special Stage.

GRAPHICS

While the graphics in Sonic 1 are impressive, Sonic 2 manages to improve upon this area as well. There's better color arrangements to improve visual depth on the levels and backgrounds. The finest example of this would be the Casino Night Zone. The background in that level is absolutely beautiful and colorful, and makes you feel like you're in a “sanitized” version of Las Vegas. The “industrial” themed levels like the Chemical Plant, Oil Ocean, Metropolis, and Death Egg Zones have improved from industrial-themed levels in Sonic 1 as well. The architecture and atmospheres in these levels are much more serious-looking than in Sonic 1, and particularly with the Chemical Plant and Death Egg Zones, I think they perfectly exemplify the way a high-tech, industrial setting should look like.

SOUND/SOUNDTRACK

All the sound effects from the first game are carried over into this one, so I can't really say much more than what I already said in my Sonic 1 review.

The soundtrack is even better than that in the first game, and Masato Nakamura returns to create music in this game as well. Aside from having more levels and therefore more music tracks, a good deal of the music on here is better than in the first game (which still has great music). Standout tracks on here are for Chemical Plant, Aquatic Ruin, Casino Night, Mystic Cave, Metropolis, Sky Chase, Wing Fortress, and Death Egg (though for Death Egg, you only hear about four seconds of the music since you immediately go into one of the last boss battles). Death Egg is the perfect music to hear when you're in a high-tech spacecraft. Mystic Cave is worth mentioning because the opening melody is really reminiscent of the Inspector Gadget theme, and that the music itself is pretty creepy. Casino Night and Sky Chase have really relaxed, upbeat feelings to them.

The 2-player levels even have their own versions of the music. The 2-player version of Casino Night has a peppier beat to it, and reminds me a bit of the Last Resort club music featured in Total Recall. I personally think the 2-player version of the Emerald Hill Zone sounds better than the single player version.

There's also a track called Hidden Palace for an unreleased level of the same name in the game. Despite not being in any levels, I think this is one of the most elegant videogame tunes I've ever heard.

MINOR COMPLAINTS

My only real complaint with this game is that in the Special Stage, Tails can make it more difficult for the fact that he's prone to getting hit by bombs, so you have to be extra careful with how you play in the stages.

FINAL WORD

Of all the “classic” Sonic games and with the entire Sonic game library, this one is the best. Like Sonic 1, it's been re-issued countless times and is available with other Sonic games like Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (Xbox 360, PS3) and available as individual game downloads on Steam.

This game is nearly 20 years-old and I still think it's totally awesome.

Dark Souls Quick Tip by Pine_Bluff_Variant

Wed, 6 Jun 2012 16:05:15 +0000

So you think you're good at video games? Well this game will surely put your skills to the test. This Action-RPG is notorious for it's difficulty, but it is not an inhuman difficulty curve. If you dislike games that are too easy and hunger for a challenge pick this one up.

The game has an atmosphere that immerses you in the game, accomplished through a minimal use of cutscenes and great musical score. the combat is exciting as even weaker enemies can pose a threat if you let your guard down and the boss fights are intense. The game features a multiplayer component, you can lay down a summon sign and players can call you into their game to assist with bosses (or you can call players into your game) and you can even invade another players game for some PvP action.

The RPG component allows you to customize your character in many different ways, you can upgrade weapons or armor and even "ascend" them, giving them additional powers.

If you want a game that will give you hours upon hours of play time, I'd recommend this game. It's out on the X360/PS3 and a PC version with additional content launches this August.

The Blue Blur makes his rather remarkable debut. 90%

Wed, 6 Jun 2012 02:35:19 +0000

I'll admit that whenever I think of this game, I do get pretty nostalgic over it since this was really the first videogame I ever got heavily engrossed in, since I got this at the age of four on Christmas Day of 1991 (I honestly don't remember much of my life before then). However, the nostalgia factor does NOT influence the rating I have for this game, I'm strictly rating this game on how much quality I think it has. Anyway, on to the review.

STORY

In this game, an evil scientist named Dr. Robotnik is turning animals into malicious robots and is searching for the six Chaos Emeralds, which he thinks will make him rule Mobius. You play Sonic, a blue hedgehog who's really fast and is determined to stop Robotnik from getting the emeralds all while saving his furry and feathered friends.

Admittedly, the story and characters aren't works of art, but the brilliance of this game lies in its innovative style of platforming, lush graphics, and excellent sound.

INNOVATION

While it's been said millions of times before, Sonic really set itself apart from the other platformers out there for its fast speed. While this game series isn't Ninja Gaiden-level difficult, Sonic's speed really makes a gamer refine his or her motor skills and hand-eye coordination to make precise jumps and to jump or run all at the right times. Despite the fact that this game is famed for being fast, there are some spots in the game where you have to slow down to properly avoid certain obstacles, which I don't really have a problem with since I think it's these little “breaks” that add just the right amounts of variation in gameplay to keep from getting monotinous.

GAMEPLAY

The gamplay behind this is simple in concept, as the only buttons you really use are the d-pad and the jump button (and the Start button just in case you need a snack or bathroom break). The physics in Sonic's jumps are well-done, since the movement-arcs feel natural and there's no “sudden stops” when you stop moving, which like the jumps, feels more natural.

Throughout the game, you race through 2D levels with plenty of platforms you jump on and pits and other obstacles you have to avoid by usually jumping over. You also have malicious robots known as “Badniks” throughout the levels where you can either avoid them or you can attack them by jumping on them to set the animals inside the machines free. Some of the most annoying Badniks in the game are Catterkiller in the Marble and Scrap Brain Zones, Roller in the Spring Yard Zone, Orbinaut in the Labyrinth and Starlight Zones, and Ball Hog in the Scrap Brain Zone.

The levels in this game are nicely-varied. You run through six levels consisting each of three acts, and at the end of the third acts (except for Scrap Brain, the last level), you have a boss fight with Dr. Robotnik. Each level has its own theme. The first and iconic level, Green Hill Zone is a level full of greenery and some tropical trees, while there's levels like the Spring Yard Zone that are almost like giant, colorful pinball machines without the flippers, and there's even a beautiful, star-lit level called the Starlight Zone. One of the most hated levels in the series is the Labyrinth Zone, mainly because out of all the water-based zones in the Sonic games, this one is where you were most likely to drown.

You have to collect rings throughout the level to stay alive. If you get hit while you have rings, you lose all your rings, but if you get hit without any rings, you die. If you collect 100 rings, you get an extra life. If you have at least 50 rings by the end of a level, you can jump into a giant ring that takes you to the Special Stage.

In the Special Stage, you go through a rotating maze where you have to reach the end of the maze, in which where you find the Chaos Emerald, and you reach the emerald by breaking through jewels encircling the emerald. You have to keep yourself distanced from the “Goal” areas, which take you out of the Special Stage.

Throughout the levels, there's various TV monitors that provide various power-ups for you. There's a Shield monitor, which gives you a protective shield that's lost once you hit a dangerous obstacle or get hit by a Badnik. There's a Ring monitor, which gives you 10 rings. There's a Shoes monitor, which makes you run fast temporarily (and has faster music when you're in this mode). There's an Invincibility monitor, which gives you temporary invincibility from enemies and certain obstacles (though you can still drown, fall from a bottomless pit, and get crushed). Finally, there's a Sonic monitor, which gives you an extra life.

GRAPHICS

Despite the fact that this game is 21 years-old as of writing this, the graphics in Sonic the Hedgehog still look really good. This game, along with Sonic's sequels in for the Sega Genesis, would take full advantage of the Genesis's processing capabilities to generate beautiful, eye-catching graphics that do an excellent job of creating visual depth by adding many shades and highlights to various objects. I think the levels with the best imagery in this game are the Green Hill Zone, Starlight Zone, and Scrap Brain Zone. Even Sonic and other characters in the game, which are smaller than the beautiful environments, have a good deal of visual depth to them thanks to the proper use of colors within the game platform's hardware limitations.

SOUND/SOUNDTRACK

The sound effects and music for this game are marvelous (especially the latter). The sounds like the explosions, jumping noises, and spring noises despite having obvious limitations from the gaming hardware of its time, still sound fresh today.

The soundtrack is where the game's sounds really shine. The music was created by Masato Nakamura, who's the main composer for J-pop group Dreams Come True. I watched some videos about the development of the early Sonic games, and in an interview with Nakamura, he said that he imagined the Sonic game as a movie and composed music that would fit the caliber of a film, along with matching the moods evoked by the images of the levels. Out of all the tracks on here, the Green Hill music is probably the most iconic track on here, and while I really like it, my favorites here are the music tracks for Spring Yard and Starlight. The former for its really bouncy, joyous feeling, and the latter for its relaxed, beautiful nature. All in all, the music in this videogame is so great, I regularly listen to these tracks by themselves, thanks to websites like YouTube where people have uploaded the music for our listening pleasure.

MINOR COMPLAINTS

My only complaints with this game lie in with the scoring system and Chaos Emeralds. The scoring system for the fact that unlike the sequels to this game, you didn't get any rewards for reaching certain numbers of points.

The Chaos Emeralds for the fact that all you get when you collect them is a “good” ending (which admittedly, is a pretty lame ending). The sequels fixed this problem for the fact that you become Super Sonic when you get all the emeralds.

FINAL WORD

Despite the two shortcomings I just mentioned, Sonic the Hedgehog has earned its place as a classic in the videogame world. It's been re-issued countless times over the years, so you can get it bundled with other Sonic/Sega Genesis games or for you PC gamers out there, downloadable purchases on Steam (or you may dust off your Genesis and Sonic cartridge to play this one again).

I've loved this game for nearly 21 years, and I'll probably still love it by the time I'm 95 years-old.

Decent gameplay cannot overcome glaring flaws [Review may contain spoilers]

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:19:05 +0000

Overview

You play as Samus Aran, famous intergalactic bounty hunter. After returning from her mission to wipe out the Metroids and Mother Brain on the planet Zebes, she picks up a distress signal from the "Bottle Ship" and sets off to investigate. Within the ship she discovers a group of Galactic Federation troops and a wide range of menacing creatures on the loose, the kind of situation Samus knows all too well.

Story Introduction and Premise

Okay, first off I would like to apologize if this comes off more like an angry rant, now on to the review.

Metroid: Other M is the first game in the series to feature heavy usage of cutscenes. and it DOES NOT WORK.

If I had to describe the writing in this game with one phrase, I would use "Really bad anime", the cutscenes are long, and they WILL start to irritate you very quickly. The game relies heavily on Samus to deliver exposition, and I do not think good writing involves having the protagonist repeat to the player what just happened on the screen moments before.

The most complained about aspect of the writing in this game is how the character of Samus Aran was handled. Having the distinction of being one of the first, if not the first female protagonist in gaming history, her character is regarded as a certifiable badass, smashing through hordes of enemies intent on saving the galaxy from hostile forces, even if it ends with her death. And what does she become in this game? Dull, childish and blindly following orders from her former commander. Also she repeats the word "Baby" a million times during the course of the game (A fun drinking game if you liked alcohol poisoning is taking a shot everytime she says baby)

In this game, Samus only activates powerups when Adam (the leader of the Galactic Federation unit) tells her to, which leads to several stupid events during the course of the game. Being forced to run through a lava room without the Varia Suit until Adam decides to finally let her use it while Samus loses health at a steady pace is just stupid. Also, when Samus inevitably meets Ridley, she just loses it and has to be snapped out of it by one of the soldiers. At this point, Samus has met and defeated Ridley twice already, and she just breaks down when meeting him in this game? why?

Other games in the series like Super Metroid and Metroid Prime immersed you in their game worlds, and they did not have to rely on cutscenes to do so. I didn't care about any of the characters in the game or what was happening, while Metroid Prime gave you scannable objects that detailed a far more interesting story than the plot of this game and did not feature ANY supporting characters except for perhaps the boss creatures. Such a shame the writing is so bad, because I am not against the idea of Samus having a larger talking role and I think it would be a good idea for future titles, I just think the depiction of her in this game is awful.

Gameplay

The game plays like a 3D sidescroller with moments where you can swap to a first-person view to fire missiles or observe the environment. Samus has a few new moves in this game, she can dodge or perform finishing moves. The finishing moves are a nice addition, but you will come to rely on them heavily while taking down tough enemies. The staple Metroid gameplay element of hunting for items is still here, but your ability to explore where you please is severely limited, this game forces you down a linear path (even more so than Metroid Fusion did) which is quite disappointing as exploration is such a crucial element to the gameplay of the other titles in the series. The overall gameplay just doesn't hit the mark that Super Metroid and the first Prime game hit.

Graphics and Sound--Production Values

One of the things that Other M nailed was the graphics, this game is one of the best looking titles on the Wii. the sound design and soundtrack are also satisfying (the soundtrack containing remixes of classic Metroid music tracks) but the voice acting falls short. Samus sounds monotone and the other characters don't sound any better, as if the voice actors resented having to read their dialogue (I can't really blame them)

In conclusion, unless you seriously love the franchise and want to play every Metroid game out there, it's probably best you spend your money elsewhere. You could also watch this 2 hour video compiling all of the cutscenes, with added commentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMI1-DDklqE&list=PLC63A602826B0DADA

A very good follow up, and some hail it as the best.

Tue, 29 May 2012 02:47:18 +0000

A sorcerer by the name of Shang Tsung , along with a four-armed half-man, half-dragon beast named Goro, seized and conquered a tournament called Mortal Kombat, by defeating the champion Kung Lao. Tsung hosts another tournament, and 7 fighters with their own goals enter the tournament.

Previous Game:

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat II:

In the final match of the tournament, Liu Kang faced off against Shang Tsung and defeated him in Mortal Kombat. By accomplishing this feet, Liu Kang saved the world from being over-ran by another dimension called Outworld. Tsung's soul journey's back to Outworld were he faces final execution by the Emperor Shao Khan. Tsung convinces Khan to spare him, and they bait Liu Kang as well as the surviving competitors into participating in a second tournament hosted by Khan himself in Outworld. -summary

Back in 1992, Mortal Kombat raised a bloody uproar from overly touchy parents and politician types, who scoffed at the brutal, bloody violence of the game. As a result, the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) rating was born. This was meant to assign ages and content ratings to games. Thankfully, this was the only measure taken, since things could have really gotten out of hand, and Midway could have been forced to either scrap their sequel Mortal Kombat II, or create a kinder and gentler version of it. When looking at the fact the first Mortal Kombat was ported over to the SNES with altered fatalities, plus replacing the blood with sweat; a softer version of the game could have very easily been a reality.

Fortunately, Midway was able to keep the identity of the game intact, and Mortal Kombat II made it to the arcades in 1993. The sequel proved to be bigger and badder than its predecessor, and such a smash hit it was ported over to the SNES and Sega Genesis in full bloody glory. The developers enhanced the game play a great deal, thus making this sequel completely better all around. Unfortunately, Mortal Kombat II was such a vast step forward, it would also be the measuring stick for future games in the series, in which some fans felt the later games would never reach the same level of greatness. Personally, I think it took nearly 20 years to pull it off, so I'm sure that says a lot about this game.

Game Play:

One of my biggest pet peeves ever for home consoles were video games being translated over to them vastly different from their arcade counter-parts. Mortal Kombat II was and still is one of the better translations to the SNES. It really did feel like I was playing it in the arcade, since to the best of my memory everything was left well intact.

The game is still a two player fighter, and the first thing one would notice is the extended character roster. Returning to the fight are Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Raiden. Reptile who was a secret character in the original is now playable with his own moves list, and is no longer using the combined special offense of Sub-Zero and Scorpion. New to the fight are Kitana, Milenna, Jax, Baraka, Kung Lao, and now Shang Tsung as a playable fighter with his youth restored.

For those who may not know, Mortal Kombat II is a game where you can kill your opponent in the most grisly of ways. The previous game featured some vicious finishers, and this game carries on the tradition with several moments of pure barbarism. Take the character of Baraka, who wields two blades in his forearms that can be extended at will like Wolverine from the X-Men. He kills his opponents by impaling, and hanging them high in the air until they completely bleed out and slide down his blades. Jax is a muscle-bound black man who rips the arms off his enemies leaving them to bleed to death, and their are several others out there sicker than this.

Midway upped the ante by giving the characters two Fatality moves each, with Shang Tsung being the only character with a third one. They also possess a stage Fatality, where the characters can kill each other using the environment. For example, during a stage called The Dead Pool, a character can be knocked into the acid, and their skeleton will be seen floating at the top. The Pit also returns and is now referred to as The Pit II. Here, an opponent is knocked off the bridge, and the camera changes perspective providing a view where the victim lands back first on concrete from hundreds of feet and dying instantly. This is actually the best of the stage deaths, as it feels a lot more on the realistic side. Later on in the series you will see how ridiculous these stage deaths can be. And speaking of ridiculous, the developers decided to add in two techniques for comedic effect, and they are Friendships and Babalities. These moves are friendlier alternatives to killing the opponents. For example, instead of Baraka hacking someone's head off, he will present them a gift-wrapped box as his Friendship. Each of the characters would do something crazy like this, and with the second move they can turn their opponent into a baby. I'm not exactly sure anymore, but this may have been a middle finger to the parents and christian groups, whom were still doing a lot of complaining despite the ESRB taking place. I see where the developers were coming from, still, the tonal shift for such a dark game always bothered me.

The game play is tighter this time with some very interesting special moves for the characters; such as Shang Tsung being able to morph into any of the main characters and using their arsenal against them, one of the females Kitana being able to use sound waves from her bladed fans, to lift enemies into the air and damage them. Along with Sub-Zero being able to freeze a section of the ground under his enemies causing them to slip into his vicious punishment. Each of the characters have something very unique to them, and I remember spending so many hours learning how to play them all. Blocking constantly still comes with a penalty, since regular attacks chip away at health. The juggle system is a little better here, allowing players to pull off some interesting, hard hitting, air combos.

Once again, the game boasts two highly unbalanced bosses in the forms of another four-armed beast named Kintaro, whose uppercuts with both fist will send the player flying off the screen. And Shao Kahn himself, who can easily dominate an entire match with his rush attack. Even up to this day, I still sometimes lose to him depending who I have against him.

The AI is my only gripe with the game play, and this is something that will be a problem in the next MK game. The AI plays too defensively and it will counter most of your attacks. You will also never win a grab situation, since it will always throw you first. Your only option is to bait it into offense mode, so you can play defensively and as a result the game will become much easier. This is also a problem, because then the game will become a little boring. Around this time, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition would be the only fighting game with the perfect balance in its AI. The AI in that game was challenging, far from cheap, and you had to possess a certain amount of skill. MK II relied more on a pattern, and this was something that always bothered me. However, outside of this gripe I can't really say anything else negative about it.

I always enjoyed that even as a fighting game, Mortal Kombat II was very story driven. The characters have some very nice back-stories as well as endings. I always found this game to be far more interesting than all of the fighting games out there. This was the only fighting game I remember having to unlock the endings right away. Plus the depth in the characters made the two player mode even more enjoyable. The main game can be ran through in about 15 minutes or less if you're good. If not, then it can take a lot longer.

Controls:

The control scheme from the original returned, with High Punch, Hick Kick, Low Punch, Low Kick, and Block buttons. For the most part these controls are just as responsive, and they once again rely on directional pad movements and button presses to pull out different sets of moves. The cool thing here is, certain characters like Baraka and Kitana, will slice an enemy with their weapon, when holding back on the pad while pressing high punch. While a character like Jax will hammer on an opponent's head with his fist for an instant dizzy. The controls are just too good here, and pulling off specials and finishers performed just as easy as the arcade.

Graphics/Sound/Music:

The game uses a mystical-fantasy setting, and the stages really look that way, as they feature floating monks, and one battle takes place next to a dark portal separating the two dimensions. The Living Forest is one of the cooler stages, with huge trees having very large mouths. The gore is really sick, as you can see the insides of Kung Lao' victims as he slices them into two pieces. The developers let their imagination fly by injecting one of the Outworld natives into the fight, with one being Baraka, and he indeed looks like something from another world, with those big ugly teeth and demonic looking face. The character designs are really good, with Kintaro looking the best with his overly large arms. The digitized rendering on the characters is an obvious improvement as everyone looks sharper and smoother.

I mentioned in my previous review that the original utilized the music a little better when enhancing the atmosphere. I kind of take that back after the recent replay. The setting in this game dictated another approach, and the sound track fits perfectly for what the game was aiming for, at the same time, still maintaining a dark and gritty feel to it. The sound effects are still very good, with the crowd roaring in Kahn's stage, when Kintaro lands a big blow. The sound effect of the characters hitting the concrete in the Pit II indeed sounds bonebreaking. The production values were well used.

Final Thoughts:

Mortal Kombat II only suffers from a shaky AI. If only the AI played more like SF II: Championship Edition, then I believe it would have been the perfect fighter. Still, with its solid two player mode, all around depth, and successful translation from Arcade to SNES, it's definitely among if not the best fighter for the SNES.

Pros:
- Near perfect translation

Cons:
- AI could have been better

Portal 2 Quick Tip by RabidChihuahua

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:23:35 +0000

I just beat Portal 2 and this is one of the best videogame sequels I've ever played, along with Dead Space 2, Streets of Rage 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The fine developers at Valve improved upon the first game my making more complex puzzles and a longer single-player mode. Along with these improvements, they also added a new character, which is a computerized personality core named Wheatley, whose loyalty to you is ambiguous. To make the gameplay more interesting, there's also "bouncing gel" and "speed gel," in which you coat certain parts of your environment with these things, the gelled areas can make you bounce or run really fast.

If you're looking for a game that's really fun that'll also make you think a lot, then this is a must-have game.

Live action Video Game Videos.

Wed, 9 May 2012 18:06:23 +0000

Over the years, I have noticed many Live action Video game vids on youtube. Today I decided to take the ones I really liked (mostly ones i could remmber) and compile them into a list. So here it is. Enjoy.

A new town to paint purple.

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:21:09 +0000

Saints the Third continues Volitions open sandbox world of shooting guns and causing chaos with a polished up face, some new activities and just enough fun to warrant playing over it's predecessors.

Saints The Third gave me a real "Rocky 3" vibe in that the Third Street Saints are not only on top in the world of gangsters, but they are celebrities with clothing lines, adoring fans and merchandizing galore. They also have new enemies in the form of the gangs from Steelport -a run down metropolis full of crime, prostitution and grime. The gangs include the snooty euro trash Morning Stars, the computer hacking Deckers and- I am not joking here, the Luca Libres which are, yes masked wrestlers. Trapped in town and cut off from supplies: you The Boss, Shaundi and a few others must tie up they're shoes and hit the streets to beat the new gangs at they're game and later on take on the STAG Anti Gang task force which turn out to be your basic knight templers in battle armor and laser gun equipped assault vehicles.

Steal cars, attack gangs and take on activities to build up your reputation and use your money to buy new clothes, guns and upgrades for your gang. A lot has been simplified since SR2 in that you don't have QUITE the variety in customization. For example, The Saints franchise, an underwear store and the costume shop is your only clothing options and the clothing stores sell the jewelry so there are no more jewelry stores. No music stores or as many safe houses. Car stores and fast food is gone and so are the liquor stores so no more buying food power ups. Friendly Fires all sell the same weapons and are the only weapon stores and you no longer have to level up your rep to take on more story missions. So while you still have high levels of customizing you're character, it is cut down, but then again it's still leaps and bounds higher then what GTA4 gives you, so it's still a wash.

Activities from the old game are back, and while some like Septic Avenger are gone (aw shit) - new ones like the Tiger Survival are around, not to mention a TRON lightcycle race, Tank Avenger where you, more or less destroy a small section of town with a tank and of course they're s Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Challenge where you shoot mascots with guns and survive traps. Old ones like Meyhem are back and are tweaked to include using unlimited grenades to cause destruction and there is also my personal favorite: Insurance Scam where you literally play in traffic.

Other additions will include getting calls from your friends and told to go take on cops or other gang members or taking on gang strongholds. You can as always call for back up if things get tough. Hidden pickups for money are all across town and include literal money piles, drug stashes, fans who want a picture with a Third Street Saint and: sex dolls. Speaking of sex dolls, did I mention that one of you're weapons in the game is a 4 foot long purple dildo?

So, even though the fat got trimmed what can balance it out? The graphics and sound. Saints 2, as great as it was had some rather lame graphics at times. They weren't BAD but Saints The Third blows them out of the water. The game looks great. Sounds are also nice with new tunes to listen to on the car (including another Rocky reference: Robert Tepper's Theres No Easy Way Out). Controls are about the same as they were the first time but the "lock" system does help keep you steady during big fights. One complaint is that you can be aiming right at an opponent's head and empty a whole clip of SMG ammo and NOT have them die. It's annoying.

Saints 2 is still a great game, but Saints 3 has 2's attitude in a new berg with new games and a fantastic face lift. Nothing lost from Saints 2 is all THAT much missed and what Saints 3 adds is welcome. If anything else, Saints 3 does give you a better feeling of being in a big city with it's run down sections and it's glitzier high rises. Saints 3 is certainly a great addition to your sandbox library and does what any good sequel does best: keep it the same, fix whats broken and make it better. It's up to you if the missing activities from 2 and the larger variety of shops are worth it. Hey, it's how we get things done in the Saints.

GameStop Quick Tip by KingreX32

Sun, 8 Apr 2012 21:28:42 +0000

Goodness I cant stand these guys anymore. Am I the only one who feels like they are being robbed at gun point whenever they shop there? Some things that really annoy me with them is that the prices for some games here are ridiculous and their trade policies for games is just downright theft.

You could go there and buy a game new just as its released, you spend 70 dollars on this game and play it. Two weeks when later you come back to trade it in they tell you its only worth 30 dollars and put it back on the shelf for 50. I cant stand being stolen from, and that's what these guys do.

Its sucks though because Gamestop is the only Gaming Specialty store around, there are somethings you can get at Gamestop that you just cant find at Walmart or Zellars. So its almost like I'm forced to go there. Yes I know Best Buy and Futureshop have their own Gaming sections but the prices are just as bad.

Turtles in Time is a Blast from the Past!

Fri, 6 Apr 2012 04:53:18 +0000

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time is not only the best TMNT game out there, it is SO much more! The 90's through the very early 2000's were the best years in gaming, and It definitely goes to show. The turtles were "da' bomb" back then and playing this as a kid blew my freaking socks off. I remember playing the original TMNT on the NES. Oh, how I remember that craptastic failure. There were very few good turtles games, but this struck green gold. First thing you will notice when you play the game, other than the improvement of graphics and audio, is you can play as all four turtles, AND its TWO-PLAYER! The controls are smooth and all turtles are on an even playing level. You don't have to reach distances with Don anymore to just barely survive. There is a good variety on levels and characters as well. You see April for only a split second here and there. Enemies include foot soldiers, roadkill rodneys, mousers, Krang, Slash, the Rat King, Tokka and Rahzar, and of course, Shredder. The stages go from modern day New York, the technodrome, a sewer, a train, boat, and volcanic mountain--all set in the past, riding on hoverboards in a bright technologic future, and finally in the alternate present, back in the technodrome to face Super Shredder. See in this installment, Shredder takes the Statue of Liberty and the turtles trail him to the technodrome to discover that he wants to take over the world by using the Statue of Liberty and time travel. He sends the turtles through time and at the end, the turtles stop Shredder and take the Statue of Liberty back. This is a weak and senseless plot, but kicking butt doesn't really need it. I have never played the arcade version, but apparently there are minor differences between it and the SNES version like different music, and the SNES version includes minor variations on stages and bosses. There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about Turtles IV. So lets hit the ole' recap!

Pros:
-Awesome music fans of the franchise know and love, plus new ones
-Plethera of locales and enemies to keep you busy and far from bored
-This is a Two player Co-op game, very high replay value!
-Superb graphics, hail to the sixteen bits
-All four turtles are fully playable, and smooth controls help.
-Super Shredder!

Cons:
For plot driven gamers, you will be disheartened by the story. It seems that they added it at the last second, either that or I'm just slow or blind. Either way, this is a minor flaw, if one at all. Cowabunga!

TMNT IV is not the best but when consoles are concerned, the game is nearly perfect. Whether or not you like the SNES or Genesis port better, that is all up to you. I grew up with the SNES so that is the version I personally recommend.

Now that I'm finished, Im a little hungry. ITS PIZZA TIME!!!

Tokyo Jungle (Video Game) Quick Tip by woopak_the_thrill

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 18:13:13 +0000

The concept for this game looks very original and promising. Sure, sometimes newer game genres have rough spots, and it takes 2 more games to improve on the engine and gameplay, but this game has gotten me curious.

Mankind has fled the Earth and the animals have began to take over. Think of it as sims but with characters from the animal kingdom. Fighting, hunting and even animal sex have been confirmed. I am curious--so far, this is an original idea and may inspire me to get into a lot of gaming again!

Console Wars Quick Tip by KingreX32

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 17:00:18 +0000

With every new Console generation comes The Console Wars. An epic battle Between the biggest gaming companies (Sony , Nintendo Microsoft and at one point Sega and Atari) for domination. Although many console cycles have passed no clear winner of any console war has been announced. Lets just say they all ended in a stalemate.

Cant wait to see what happens when Nintendo releases thier new Console The Nintendo WiiU to do battle against th Forces of Xbox 360 and PS3. Its gonna be one for the ages.

Nintendo WiiU Quick Tip by KingreX32

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:09:48 +0000

I got really excited by the announcment of this console at E3 2011. Months later after all the news Ive been hearing, "Crytek intrested in WiiU", "Battlefield 3 Developer sees potential in WiiU" "Nintendo introduces the Nintendo Network", "Assassins Creed 3 to make its way to WiiU", Nintendo could open Ebook store on WiiU". It really seems to me that Nintendo is trying to make up for the short comings of the Wii. It has been stated by various different developers that the console is three times more powerful than the PS3 and is fully HD capable. The most unique thing about this console though is its controller.

The WiiU controller has a 6 inch touch Screen built right in and offers NFC support. The Controller can also stream games from the WiiU console allowing someone else to watch TV and you to continue your game without the big screen. Its been said that the console will also be Backwards Compatible with all Nintendo Wii Controllers, games and accessories.

Skip ahead to the WiiU Announcement.

All in all Im very happy and excited for this console. Ive always said that if Nintendo were to make a Console on Par with the competition they would OWN the industry. And with the WiiU it looks like they are going just that.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Quick Tip by RabidChihuahua

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:30:28 +0000

I honestly don't care if people think this game is a classic in the RPG genre, I don't like it at all.

The thing that really killed KOTOR for me was the combat system; as it's turn-based fighting. Now turn-based combat has its time and place, but when you put it in a game set in the Star Wars universe, it doesn't feel right. Real-time combat in this game would have made it SO MUCH better, as it would have felt more true to Star Wars.

It's a shame because practically everything else about KOTOR is really solid, but even with the RPG genre, I want more than a good story, since appealing gameplay is what I seek from all genres of videogames.

Thankfully, Bioware would redeem themselves down the road with the Mass Effect series.

My Favorite video game Trailers

Wed, 7 Mar 2012 20:10:26 +0000

Video games are becoming the #1 Source of entertainment around. Every year they get bigger and better, not only the games but the trailers too. Nowadays video game trailers have such high production values, if you didn't know better you would think they were trailers for movies.

So here is a list of my Favorite ones. Beware head exploding awesomeness may ensue.

(A Lunch Featured List)

Super Mario 3D Land Review

Mon, 5 Mar 2012 15:26:31 +0000

The following review can be found on my video games blog by clicking here

It’s no secret that Nintendo has had a very rough time releasing the Nintendo 3DS this year. Stemming back to its less than stellar launch with no real AAA titles things only got worse from there with a baron release schedule and bad press associated with health warnings it seemed Nintendo needed an ace up its sleeve. So it seems only fitting that the game to do that job is one featuring the company’s leading mascot. Super Mario 3D Land offers the first truly fantastic, original Nintendo experience for the console and if this is a sign of things to come then count me in.

Super Mario 3D Land doesn’t set out to do anything as bold or adventurous as the Galaxy series did for the Wii but rather take a more traditional approach focusing on the classic platforming elements of older Mario games. So much so that at points it almost feels like a 3D reimagining of the 2D entries, which isn’t a bad thing at all. You’ll notice this immediately in the copy and paste story or when the much publicised Tanooki suit makes its first appearance. But the similarities don’t stop there as levels themselves feel like they would easily fit perfectly if placed in Super Mario Bros 3 or World (of course if in 2D) You’ll find no gimmicks, instead testing your running and jumping abilities as well as your knack for analysing your environments and making it from A to B in one piece. You’ll see icy mountains, grassy plains, dusty temples, magma filled castles and the standard settings you’ve come to expect from the red plumber but oddly enough the little 3D effects such as bubbles and lava flying toward you or spiky pillars catapulting out of the screen make these feel less tired.

As with any Mario title I’m sure you’re interested in the power-ups and Super Mario 3D Land delivers both old and new. Mushrooms, fire flowers and stars are here and accounted for while the Tanooki suit makes its return. The spinning helicopter blocks also make their 3D debut being used in some of the game’s best use of 3D. Disappointingly though there is only one new ability, the boomerang suit. Like the fire flower Mario is able to throw projectiles at his enemies, difference being his boomerangs can collect out of reach items. Useful and fun. Shame there’s not more of them.

Mario handles as you’d expect where performing wall jumps, long jumps, butt stomps and tail wags are all very simple to do. Running is now a case of holding a button (much like in the 2D outings) which may take a little getting used to, but overall the slider and button interface work very well to bring an accurate control system to the series.

Upon starting the game and completing the first world I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Stages were short, the difficulty was almost non-existent and the level design was neither too exciting nor clever. Fortunately things start to pick up after this. Sure the difficulty never really tested me up until the final world but levels become more creative and you finally feel like you’re playing a true Mario game. You’ll be bouncing on ropes, avoiding giant swinging balls and even venturing through a Zelda style dungeon complete with top-down view. It really does continue to get better the more you play. Perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprise however is what comes after beating the ‘final’ boss. Let’s just say that you’re only half done and the difficulty definitely spikes up rapidly offering long time Mario fans that rich challenge they’ve been yearning for.

Super Mario 3D Land silences those worries that Nintendo 3DS can’t do great looking titles showing off bright, vibrant environments and great use of the 3D capabilities. While it doesn’t necessarily make it easier to judge jumps or navigate obstacles it does make for some genuinely interesting effects and marvels. Sadly the music isn’t quite as good relying on older remixes we’ve heard before or new tunes that are fairly unmemorable. Length is not an issue as you’ll have around ninty stages in all to beat each hiding three star coins a piece. Furthermore grabbing the top of the end flagpole and beating the game with another character also provide incentive to go back and play older stages again.

So is Super Mario 3D Land the best Mario yet? No. It does have its share of shortcomings that stop it reaching the dizzying heights of other adventures unfortunately. For starters it’s a shame that the game doesn’t offer any real challenge until three or four hours in as some stages even as late as world five offer no real sense of satisfaction once cleared. These stages are also fairly short sometimes taking no more than a minute or two to finish. I understand this game is meant for on the go but surely would it have hurt to extend them a little. Often you are sat staring at the screen asking yourself “Surely that can’t be it can it?” Also while seeing the old Tanooki suit couldn’t help but bring a smile to my face, the lack of flying took the impact away slightly. Furthermore why not introduce new or bring back more classic suits? Yes it’s still fun to shoot fireball from your fingers but why not include the frog suit for swimming stages, the giant green boot or even Yoshi... Nintendo has so many past power-ups at its disposal it would be nice to see them re-imagined in 3D again. Even straight up new power ups are limited to just the one.

There are a few other small annoyances like the throwaway StreetPass feature and lacklustre music but nothing too distracting. Overall it’s not that this is a bad title, it’s just that when spoiled with the likes of Galaxy one and two you can’t help but see this as a more restricted effort. It just doesn’t have the same remarkable feeling they did.

While never reaching the brilliance of both the Galaxy titles, Super Mario 3D Land offers a solid, enjoyable experience which fans and newcomers alike will love. With plenty to do, a good challenge for even the most seasoned gamers (eventually) and the brilliant polish you’d expect from Nintendo, what you finally have is a great reason to own the Nintendo 3DS.

Score: 9/10

Laying the Smacketh Down

Thu, 1 Mar 2012 23:07:14 +0000

You may recall that in Monty Python's take on the story of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, Arthur got into an argument with a snooty French castle keeper about how coconuts could have randomly fallen into England; the Knights of the Round were chased off by a vicious and carnivorous but otherwise completely normal rabbit; and the group escaped from a monster because the animator drawing it keeled over a heart attack. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is STILL a far more accurate representation of the story of King Arthur and his knights than Knights of the Round, an old Super NES game which was loosely inspired by the same legend.

King Arthur is best known for yanking the mighty sword Excalibur from a stone, which automatically made him the King of the Britons. In Knights of the Round, there is thankfully no crazy minigame where you repeatedly press the button ridiculously fast to draw the sword from the stone. Arthur begins the game with Excalibur firmly in hand, and uses it to hack down the minions of evil attacking Camelot. Through ten levels, Arthur takes Excalibur and gets medieval on the (expletive deleted) of everyone in sight who dares raise a blade against his citizens in his kingdom!

You shouldn't let the lack of an Excalibur-drawing minigame fool you, though. There's going to be a whole lot of good old-fashioned, rapid fire button beating in Knights of the Round! The game is an old-fashioned arcade beat 'em up from Capcom with nothing to make it stand out other than the Arthurian legend motif. Those who played King of the Dragons will be able to identify with it immediately, and people like me who saw brawlers hit their stride with Capcom's classic brawler, Final Fight, will recognize Knights of the Round as Final Fight with a fourth of the gameplay depth.

Yes, the lack of depth works against Knights of the Round. You get one special attack which isn't at all necessary to beat the game, and it depletes your energy every time you use it. But really now, have you met a whole lot of people who play brawlers for strategic gameplay depth? Sure, depth - as well as the slight shred of a plot which can be seen in a precious few brawlers - can preserve the shelf life of a brawler. But the main calling card of the traditional arcade brawler isn't depth. It's the right - nay, the SACRED DUTY - of the brawler fan to let off steam by just forgetting any artistic merit a game could have and just go on a one or two-man rampage, turning all comers' faces into oatmeal!

If King Arthur isn't your favorite character, that's not much of a problem. Arthur is merely Mr. Average in Knights of the Round. He's neither here nor there, but I've found him to be my most troublesome character because he's not the master of any of the traditional brawler traits. He's strong but not strong enough, fast but not fast enough, and has range but not enough. So to assist him, Arthur also has the help of his loyal knights Lancelot and Percival. Lancelot is of course the greatest knight of all time, and in Knights of the Round he's the speed and range guy. Brawler fans at this point are, through a meticulous process of elimination, coming to the conclusion that Percival is the mighty glacier - the guy can't move worth a damn but will rip, tear, and cut you a new one if you accidentally step on his toes.

And there you go! I just explained the entire game! But since Epinions is a harsh mistress and we've both clearly got time to kill, I'll fill you in on all the other pointless details. The only thing besides the medieval motif which really sticks out from Knights of the Round is that there is an RPG-like level-up system. Kill guys, collect power-ups, get stronger. Nothing to it! The progression of levels is very well done, and it's even-handed enough to allow at least one or two level-ups per level. Bonus points for the details - Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival start out looking like fairly scrawny fencers, but as they level up, they grow armor and eventually even shed that as they grow ripped.

There isn't much variation on the bad guys. You'll get some pretty ridiculous foes to fall to Excalibur's blade: Knights with big swords, jesters, peasants, and fat dudes. Like any good traditional brawler, Capcom grants the demand for variety by swapping occasional names and color palettes. There are times you'll see a bad guy attacking a helpless knight and be called to rescue the helpless guy. It's best to rescue the helpless ones; not only is it just plain right to do, but the game will dock you lives if you don't.

The true weakness of Knights of the Round is the lack of depth. I've played quite a few half-(expletive deleted) brawlers in my day, but Knights of the Round really sets the standards back. For Merlin's (now there's yet another missing character) sake, you can't even throw enemies! The most you'll remember is being the victim of cheap shot after cheap shot. This is most apparent when you're trying to come to the aid of one of the aforementioned helpless knights - as you approach, you'll get stabbed from the front before you even think you're in range. When you get up and try again, you'll just get stabbed again. The hit detection in general just sucks, and there will be a lot of times when you end up taking a few hits because you thought you were out of harm's way by merit of being far enough north or south of an enemy to avoid him. This is particularly bad during boss fights.

Speaking of boss fights, those things are an exercise in tedium and repetition. They all go by pretty much the same way: The boss attacks with a very ranged attack which can damage you from halfway across the screen, and so you'll find yourself mounting air assaults a lot, hoping to god you land close to him just when he finishes one of his attacks to you can strike him without any repercussions from being too close. When his health gets about halfway hacked down, he calls in the cavalry, and so you get to deal with ordinary bad guys while the boss beats the hell out of you.

The graphics in Knights of the Round definitely fit the medieval motif, and there's plenty of detail in the characters. The coolest feature of these graphics is the way the characters grow physically whenever they level up. But other than that, they're standard brawler graphics. There isn't a lot of color, which is appropriate given the setting, but there isn't a ton of animation, and the enemies are mostly palette swapped. The short bursts of blood and sparks are nice touches, but the designs are far too generic to warrant any mention. Some of the bosses have creative designs, but that's it.

The sounds run the gauntlet from forgettable to annoying. The music is generic and doesn't even sound like it changes most of the time. The only sound you'll remember is the way your blades sometimes scrape against enemy armor, which is memorable in much the same way fingernails scratching a chalkboard are memorable. It ranks among the warning beep from Katamari Damacy and the crying of Baby Mario in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as one of the most annoying video game sounds of all time, and that's saying something.

The controls are awesome once you get used to the terrible hit detection. Percival moves slowly when he starts out but gains a bit more speed if he walks uninterrupted for a couple of seconds. Knights of the Round is played within the simply constraints of a jump button and an attack button, so you won't have to worry about making any errors. The only real problem I have with the controls is that when you jump on a horse, you have to press the jump button to turn it around.

Knights of the Round is not a good game by any stretch. But it was never meant to be a good game. It was made in the era before video games were brought into discussions about serious art, and it was meant to be a stress reliever. There are certain games which should be played and seen purely in that respect, and this is one of them.

GOD OF WAR Light In the World of Norse

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:37:23 +0000

In VIKING: THE BATTLE FOR ASGARD you play a legendary warrior named Skarin. A war between the Norse gods Freya and Hel has spilt over into Midgard (Earth). Hel is upset about being kicked out of Asgard and raises an army of resurrected warriors. She is determined to conquer Midgard and use it as her launching platform against Asgard. In opposition to Hel is Freya who has selected Skarin as her chosen warrior. She gifts him with a few special abilities and sets him out on a path to free Midgard from Hel's threat.

The overall gameplay is fairly easy as VIKING: THE BATTLE FOR ASGARD is basically a hack-n-slash game with some elements similar to GOD OF WAR and FABLE. You just keep fighting your way through one Legion warrior after each other. There is some strategy involved as you can gain new abilities and upgrade old ones and certain moves work better on different types of Legions. Also, you are able to upgrade the magical ability of your sword, though you're stuck with that sword and an axe for the entire game.

The things I liked most about the game were the visuals and the ease of achievements. The visuals are gorgeous and there are some really scenic shots in different places in the game. Also, when killing Legion, the action turns to slow-motion which shows the hacking of limbs and beheading of Legion soldiers in graphic, gory detail. Visuals aside, what I liked most about VIKING: THE BATTLE FOR ASGARD was the ease of attaining achievements. Most people will be able to unlock about 700-800 Achievement points while playing the game.

At the end of each level, there is a massive battle that involves tens-of-thousands of soldiers as well as dragons. The battles themselves aren't all that impressive because Skarin doesn't really get to fight and instead has to go around killing Legion shamans and giants. What makes these large scale conflicts impressive are the cutscenes.

There's been some criticism that the game doesn't have a lot of sound. Games with a constant soundtrack and a plethora of sound effects can be enjoyable, but it gets tiring after a while. It's nice to play a game that doesn't have a full-fledged musical score during the entire game every once in awhile.
The biggest issue I had with VIKING was the repetition. There are basically five major battles and you go about reaching each battle in pretty much exactly the same way: you kill a bunch of Legion, you free the correct locations, you rescue the correct amount of Viking captives, you collect the proper items, and you call for a dragon. There are only three dragons, but there are some levels where you don't have to call forth another dragon. The consistent repetition makes VIKING easier to play for inexperienced gamers, but also makes it less enjoyable for those who have played more than a handful of video games.

I enjoyed VIKING: THE BATTLE FOR ASGARD. I like hack-n-slash games and it was kind of nice playing one that connects with Norse mythology. I found the repetition a little annoying, but it wasn't enough to infringe upon my overall enjoyment.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Quick Tip by woopak_the_thrill

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 19:39:07 +0000

Action, Romance, Comedy and filled with homage for all the things we love; this film is just a rockin’ good time! This stands as one of my favorite comic book adaptations and a refreshing change from all the super-hero movies that have plagued us of late.

C’mon, how can you resist a super-powered Vegan with telekinetic powers?

See Full Review here.

My most Hated Badguys/Enemies (Video Games edition)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:22:44 +0000

We all have them, that one fictional character weather they be bad guy or good that you just cant stand. They make your blood boils and your teeth clench. GGGRRAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! *punches computer screen*

Here is a list of my most hated Bad guys from different Video games.

Check out my other list
my most hated ci-fi bad guys