Category Archives: 6 Star Games

Splatoon 2 Review

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Splatoon 2 is one of those games that I didn’t think I would be buying for a long time. Still, it’s hard to turn down a great deal and so now I can say that I’m a bit deeper into the franchise. It makes for a pretty decent sequel. I still wish the games had a bit more aura to them and more compelling story elements but the title itself isn’t bad. I’ve got my nitpicks here and there but on the whole it is a good game.

The general plot revolves around a famous singer going missing. The prime suspects are those Octo fighters that are always causing a whole lot of trouble. They will need to be dealt with but it won’t be easy. These guys have been behind the scenes for years and the original Splatoon agent from the first game is busy on another mission. As a result the agency is forced to hire a new guy to take charge. Is he ready for this?

One thing about the mute main characters is you can always let them get right down to business. There is no hesitation or anything like that as he leaps right into action. The game has 5 worlds which each have around 4-7 levels in them. You use your variety of weapons to complete each level but in most cases you will be forced to use a specific one. I figured the final boss would be a level where you could pick any weapon so imagine my surprise when they forced me to use a weapon that I had not upgraded at all? It actually made for a reasonably challenging final boss as a result since I had to make the best of it. I even lost once which is pretty impressive for a Splatoon title. The boss also had 3 phases which was pretty detailed.

The core gameplay here is that of a 3D shooter. You can’t move very quickly on land so you shoot paint on the ground so that you can submerge in it and then zip around the level. You have to do some platforming to get past obstacles and then you shoot down any opponents who get too close. This will take a lot of practice and timing to master as you just feel very sluggish at first. I don’t think the controls are amazing but this game is built for online play. In theory since everyone has to deal with the same limitations then it works well enough.

You can shoot bombs which takes up a significant amount of ink and then of course you have all the guns I mentioned earlier. I personally prefer the dual guns which is why I maxed them out. It was just too bad that I couldn’t use them for any of the bosses past that point. You have to find bonus fish throughout the levels as well as orange orbs in order to level up each weapon. They can be a little difficult to find but granted I was prioritizing the story above all so I wasn’t searching a whole lot.

I do think that one thing which would immediately make the gameplay better would be to increase the default movement speed. It feels like you’re moving through molasses half the time unless you’re swimming and I think that can be a bit much. Just make the running speed around 20% faster and it would make an absolutely massive amount of difference. Trust me that would be a really good thing all around. It would automatically make the gameplay feel a whole lot more intense.

The graphics aren’t bad. They are going for a very colorful look with this one as the characters are very cartoony. It’s aged well and that’s definitely not an area where I would take fire at the game. The soundtrack is much weaker, it’s just not really my style. They even try to add a big song at the end since the game is about finding a singer and it did not really work. The made up squid language just isn’t all that engaging and so it ends up bringing everything down around it. Not a good idea if you ask me. They should just have them all talk normally and that would be better.

In terms of replay value, well it depends if the servers are still up. I’m actually not sure if they are and either way they probably won’t have a lot of traffic since everyone would be playing the newer titles. The story doesn’t have any real replay value. I guess you could find more fishes but there’s no real reason to do so. No more bosses to defeat or levels to unlock so that basically defeats the purpose there.

Overall, Splatoon 2 is a good game but not one that I would feel the need to pick up again. I commend it for having an actual story and even providing a decent amount of levels though. A lot of times nowadays you will see online games completely forsake the offline portion of the adventures which is not a good idea. You want to have some balance and this game would have been much weaker if there was no story. If you see it around for an easy $10 then I would definitely recommend this one. We don’t have a ton of third person shooter titles out there so you have to take what you can get. The game may not be hype but the actual gameplay is fun enough.

Overall 6/10

Armored Core Review

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After all these years I’ve gotten to play the original Armored Core now. The series has been known as the most difficult mech series for a long time now. If Madden is a football simulation, this would be known as a robotic simulation series. You actually have to craft your mech and add in the new parts that you want to use. At the same time there are strict weight requirements for each part that you have to keep in mind. Unlike most games you cannot just equip whatever you want. That’s not how this works and each part has around 10-12 stats as well. You better start studying!

The story follows a group named Raven that are basically terrorists for hire. The main character is a new recruit to the gang and so he just follows orders. The orders come from two competing companies that are always trying to one up the other and destroy the opposition. In a way that means you are destroying each corporation a little bit at a time. Throughout all of this you have people saying cryptic stuff and trying to get the lead to leave Raven. Raven might actually be the mastermind behind all of this.

I have to say that the main character isn’t very heroic either way. He willingly says yes to missions like murdering squatters and resisters all the time without batting an eye. So even if he starts to get wary once the threat comes close to home, it’s a bit late for that. This guy is completely complicit and it’s definitely interesting to be playing a full villain like this. It’s not like it is the only time that it has happened but it is still rare overall.

The gameplay is a little more complicated than usual just like the rest of the game. You shouldn’t expect to just run in and start blasting. For starters there isn’t a traditional lock on so you have to try and face the opponent. This is difficult because they are always boosting around you so you have to boost, strafe, and fire at the same time. You must keep an eye on your engine throughout this process as well or you will overheat.

It is really tough to keep all of this in mind at all times and the enemies are frankly super fast. It’s incredibly difficult to get a bead on them for long so you should expect to be on the back foot most of the time here. You do have a close combat sword that you can use but it has a long startup time and will leave you vulnerable if you miss. To make up for that it does have devastating attack power so sometimes it is worth the risk.

Without the PS5 built in rewind system this would have been even more difficult. It’s definitely not the kind of game that you can just walk in and conquer at any time. The levels are also high stakes because there is no way to go backwards. If you lose a level then you pay a fine and there is no way to go backwards. So now you have lost money which means you have less time to buy an upgrade and get prepared before the final boss. Lost enough levels and you will be in a really difficult spot. Some levels are quick but others are really long so this will keep you unbalanced the whole time.

I also could never figure out which weapons and engines to buy. Ultimately I had to run through a ton of different setups before I could beat the final boss. That one was incredibly tough even with rewind. Yeah this game is definitely not for the faint of heart at all and the difficulty lives up to the hype. There isn’t really much replay value when you beat the game but it does unlock the ability to play levels that you may have skipped earlier. There won’t be a lot of them but there are a few that you don’t get to play based on the levels that you do select.

I am looking forward to the more story based games in the future though. Games like this where you can absorb the lore from the background are fun too of course but it’s still not quite the same as actually getting out there and just being able to enjoy the cutscenes. They just need to have a good lore reason for why you can get to the garage and begin your repairs after each round but you can always just say that the main character has a secret cave for when things get dodgy.

Overall, Armored Core is not one of the greatest games out there. It is a good title but doesn’t really have the simplicity that makes a lot of other titles good. It will never be on Gundam’s level for example but I totally get the need for at least one really realistic mecha series. For people who really love customization then this will really hit home. I definitely intend to play the other Armored Core titles at some point, perhaps sooner than you may expect. In the meantime you can pick this one up for $10 from PSN so I’d definitely recommend doing so. It’s hard to go wrong for that price and you want to experience an armored core at least once so you can see just how intense it is.

Overall 6/10

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 Review

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It’s time to jump into a classic Wario game. The style tends to be fairly similar to Mario while still being different enough to stand out. This one definitely follows that formula and makes for a fun game. I would say that the Mario style is ultimately better though. Wario puts a bit more emphasis on puzzles and slow gameplay which keeps it from having Mario’s energy. That’s not completely crippling to the series or anything but does mean that you can’t just turn your brain off and have fun like some of the other titles.

The story follows Wario trying to do what he does best, get rich! Most of the plot is really in the booklet here so you mainly just know that you need lots and lots of money. It won’t be easy as a lot of enemies continue to get in your way but they are not ready for this level of power. In order to complete levels you have to donate 10 gold coins to a mysterious tower. I know that has to hurt Wario quite a lot since giving away money is definitely not his main thing. Wario is all about keeping money after all.

This is also a pretty unique gimmick since usually just making it to the end of a level is how you complete a platformer. The whole money thing took me by surprise at first as I wandered for a little bit before realizing what I had to do. The levels are extremely plentiful when it comes to coins though so you aren’t going to run into a scenario where you have none. You can also spend 10 coins to unlock checkpoint throughout the level. I recommend doing so of course. It is worth the price since not having checkpoints is always going to be super rough.

Even with that you will still have a lot of coins. That’s because this isn’t a Sonic game so you don’t drop the coins when you are damaged. You have to actively try to avoid the coins in order to not get them so the game is really working with you here. I would say the toughest part just tends to be about navigating through the levels. Even the enemies aren’t very difficult because bumping into them hurts the enemy instead of you. I thought that was a really nice twist because it’s the opposite in virtually every other video game. It was a subtle, but effective way of showing how powerful Wario is.

All of his power ups also feel like brand new forms which was impressive for the game. For example he has one form where he can shoot out fire breath. It’s an incredible ability and makes every boss go by quickly. I highly recommend hanging onto that one. Another one lets you temporarily fly which is good for cheesing levels. Then of course there is normal Wario which can body slam into opponents. The forms each have their uses to be sure and none of them are weak by any means.

That’s why the game feels like it got a lot of effort by Nintendo. You’re not seeing recycled abilities here or anything like that. It is a fresh Wario experience right from the start which is definitely impressive. The levels are also fresh. They can be a little mazy but nothing crazy. The bosses are also fun and actually have some rather sinister designs by Nintendo standards. Yes, Nintendo has had scary designs over the years but I wouldn’t say that it was routine even back in their more intense days.

The graphics are also on point. The colors are all gone since that’s how all of the Game Boy games look here but the designs are good. I will admit that I miss the color though, it can be hard to play a game when it’s so washed out for large periods of time. I guess I wouldn’t have lasted in the really old days. As a medium I just think movies and books work much better in black and white. Although this is more of a green and white which might be why it is tough.

The soundtrack is okay but definitely does not approach Mario levels. That is par for the course though as the only big Wario theme that I tend to remember is Mona’s pizza. Now that was a really fun song back in the day. This game is fairly long with over 30 levels and has solid replay value with another 20 bonus levels after that. You have enough bang for your buck to be satisfied here and again I would expect nothing less from Nintendo.

I’d say my biggest problem with the game is how slow Wario moves. There is no way to run in this game so you have to slowly walk everywhere. This makes the levels feel a bit more dragged out than they would be afterwards. I know that Wario isn’t the fastest guy on the block but I would have made him just a touch faster. There could be all kinds of game reasons used to explain why he is faster. It’s a relatively small nitpick but at the same time I would say that it is the difference between a 6 star game and a 7 star one.

Overall, I would recommend playing through this Wario title. Naturally as part of the Switch Online you can play it for free but even aside from that it is just a well rounded title. I still find it impressive how Nintendo succeeded in making the Wario series actually be a mirror to the Mario series in the same way that the characters are reflections of each other. They really got creative there and showed off their imagination. The Wario series may never become my favorite titles but they are still fun to play through.

Overall 6/10

Fortified Zone Review

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It’s time to play one of those games that I had never really heard of before. It’s really old school and holds up pretty well next to some of the other titles on the console. That said, it is incredibly short so you’re not going to be playing it for much more than an hour. There is a real chance that it won’t even last the hour either. Still, the core gameplay is good and doesn’t really fall into any big issues except for a little padding with how the layout works.

The plot is mainly in the booklet so just get out there and take down the enemy! The gameplay is similar to Legend of Zelda in that it is top down and you walk from room to room. Instead of a sword you have a gun though. Your job is to blast away at all of the enemies who oppose you and get to the boss of the sector. This will often involve getting keys that allow you to proceed through locked doors. You can find them after defeating enemies or in different rooms.

Where the layout gets tricky is that some rooms are behind invisible doors. You have to blast away at the walls in order to reach these rooms. Additionally you also have to consider that different areas have multiple paths. You can end up travelling in a circle and the enemies all immediately respawn. That’s definitely a tricky thing to get around because your health isn’t massive. Without rewind you would probably lose in some annoying ways as you play through the game.

There also isn’t any real replay value. That is true of most games for this era though. So once you beat the game then there isn’t really much to do. It’s just time to put it down and play something else. For that reason I wouldn’t give it a higher sore but a 6 still feels fair as an entertaining game. It still passes the time by and I do enjoy the gameplay. It’s fun to use strategy to hit an opponent while he is just out of range and then retreat. This is not one of those games where you run up and just start blasting. At the very least if you try that, it’s not going to end very well for you.

The graphics are pretty solid here. I wouldn’t say that any of them are something to write home about but they work well enough within the context of the title. It’s an old game after all but even then you can still differentiate between games that put in an effort and the ones that really didn’t. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. I wouldn’t say that any of the tunes will stick with you at all. They will be lost from your memories before very long.

The various boss designs are pretty solid. You have some interesting looks here with a lot of variety. There are also no recycled bosses which is good. I wouldn’t have expected any in a game that was this short but it was still nice to see that this was the case. There isn’t much of an ending/final boss but again I would just attribute that to age. Nowadays they try to make sure that the final boss/ending really sticks out.

I guess the main tip I would give for this game is to just make sure that you take your time. The spike traps are set up to perfectly hit you if you walk at full speed. You are meant to pause in between each one so that you don’t get damaged. It may not feel right to be pausing each time but it is really the only way to do this. Once you get around that issue then you will be off to the races. Combat is a bit different since I would say that striking right away is key.

You can usually take one of the minions out before he can fire back. Then all you have to do is dodge the other 3 while landing your counter attacks. If you do this right then you won’t be taking much damage at all. There are recovery boxes that will show up every now and again but they are fairly rare. The boss fights aren’t super difficult as long as you keep your distance. Often times the only way they will hit you is by ramming into your character. The energy blasts are much easier to dodge so you need to stay back.

Overall, Fortified Zone is a fun game. It has some interesting ideas and I think it would make for a killer remake in the present day. It could stand out from other shooters by keeping the top down style. It’s not quite a puzzle game but adds a unique spin to what you would usually expect here. They just need to make the game longer or else it would really just be worth a clean $10 instead of $70. I would recommend checking it out if you have the Nintendo Switch Online. After all it’s free at that point so there is no real downside to checking it out.

Overall 6/10

Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Review

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It’s time to return to Poppy Playtime! I think the biggest mandela effect here is that it’s Poppy Playtime vs Poppy’s Playtime. I dunno I’m used to the latter version but apparently it’s never been like that. The adventure continues on here as the lead is still stuck in this facility with no way out. This place sure was huge and it looks like the journey to the end is going to get a bit longer for him. If you thought that the villains were out of cards, think again!

The game picks up where the last one left off with Huggy Wuggy about to finish you off for good. There is no escape, no way out. Only death awaits but fortunately it turns out that there was a door behind you so you escape with that. At this point it’s hard to say if there is anyone left to save so you just have to get out of the facility but there appear to be more creatures across every corner. Additionally we learn a bit more about the origins of these creatures.

Chapter 5 brings in the main gloves from the first 3 games but changes out a few of the ones from game 4 for new controls. You now have a steam hand that can be used to overload doors and push objects as well as an elemental hand that can control the powers of fire and ice. It allows the game to have fun with more puzzle variations outside of the usual hand movements. As a result this is the first time I’ve completed the game without needing to use my grabbers over 200-300 times and got that bonus trophy. So that was pretty neat.

As always there is going to be a big mix of chase scenes and puzzles. The chases tend to be my favorite as they can get legitimately difficult and force you to really memorize the map. The toughest part is always transitioning from crouching to running. I tend to get eaten a few times during the chases but the check points are spaced well so retrying isn’t a big problem. At most I can say it would be nice not to have to sit through the quotes every time you die but that’s a staple of the series.

Most deaths are also spaced after an unskippable cutscene so you don’t have to wait too long. The only exception is during a tense game of green light/red light. Although it’s not like I died a ton of times so maybe there are other tricky death points. As for the puzzles, they are consistently better than other games. Puzzles can be really hit or miss for me but most of these felt rather balanced. There are maybe a few that are super unclear but most of them you can brute force your way out of when needed.

This may be the darkest game in some respects. It’s hard to say though, maybe that should be the earlier part with the hour of joy. You get to see a lot more of what the kids and toys had to go through here. While it is done stylistically with the toys, the whole intro is pretty disturbing with the outimals. The game uses your imagination as the scare factor here which is how it can keep to a T rating. So you are given enough tools to picture what happened without seeing anything. The better your imagination, the darker it gets. All in all, nothing too crazy but the game does want to really remind you how tough things are.

We don’t have the kid in your ear trying to tell you that everything will be okay this time after all of the twists in the 4th game. So this time you have a little guy here as your moral support but he wanders off for most of the game anyway. As a result the game is a little quieter even with the various audio tapes around. This was nearly the first game where I got all of the audio tapes on my first playthrough but unfortunately I missed one which held me back. I saw the VCR and everything but could not find the tape.

The graphics have definitely improved from the last game. I would say without a doubt that this is the best looking out of the Poppy games. They’ve done a great job with the colors and designs. I would also say that the sound effects are nice and eerie for the game. There isn’t much of a soundtrack here but I’ll give it a bit of a pass given the horror vibes of the game. Not a full pass mind you since horror games should still have great music but at least I understand where it’s coming from.

The game is fairly short like most Poppy titles but does last for 5 hours which I believe does make it the longest game in the series. It’s a bit easier than some of the earlier parts but still has enough difficulty where I would expect you to lose several times during the playthrough. There is an extra trophy in it for you if you can beat the game without dying though. Getting the platinum would be very difficult in this game because of how specific the trophies are. You would need to complete the game under a certain time limit and without dying. Given the constant auto saves, it’s a bit tough to get around that but there is probably some trick to it.

Every game has a big boss and of course this one is no different. She has a fairly strong powerset even if her design isn’t quite as scary as most of the previous enemies. They’re going for more of a crazy angle with her. I’d say she leaves more of an impression than the crazy doctor from a while back and even beats Doughy but is not on the level of Huggy Wuggy or Catnap. Those bosses are definitely all time threats.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking Poppy out. There are a few glitches that will cause you to have to restart the game but that’s normal for while it is new. A patch will probably fix this. Just try not to go too fast, the glitches tend to happen if you do something before the game is ready for it. This especially happens during one of the flashbacks where you have to pick some toys up. You never lose too much progress though. As we get closer to the end, we’ll see what the main character can do to finally get a win here. He is probably going to need a full on hand gun at this point. The game ends on a pretty weak cliffhanger but I’m sure there will be a lot of fun theories to come out of this. Either way I will definitely be there once episode 6 is out.

Overall 6/10

Ball X Pit Review

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I’m a really big fan of roguelike games at this point. As long as there is some way to get stronger while you are playing then I am definitely game. So by all accounts this one would be up my alley. To an extent that is the case and I had a good time but it does feel like the game made a few key missteps. One of them is adding in a gardening/town building mechanic. Lets keep that stuff in Animal Crossing! As far as this game is concerned, I just wanted to dive into the action.

This is essentially an endless runner in terms of gameplay except there is an ending so that’s not quite right. Basically you start off with your baseball that you shoot at enemies automatically. It will bounce off of the enemy based on the angle and then go back to you. You will want to catch the Baseball and then send it right back at the enemies. This will save you a few seconds per throw. As you progress into the level you will get level ups and new powers. They all reset once you lose or complete the level but you keep some permanent stat boosts through the XP that you got at the very end. Each level is around 10-15 minutes in length.

I got to play this game thanks to the Nintendo Game Trial which is a super cool feature. It’s not something they do super often but it’s always great to see and makes a real difference if you are unsure about a game. Or in my case, if it’s something where you can play the game enough to do a review without having to buy it. This game makes sense for a trial since it is virtually endless but without a story there wasn’t a reason for me to keep going. I made sure to eventually beat level 1 after about 15-16 tries and then I was satisfied.

Once you beat a level, you cannot move to the next one until you beat it with a second character which means a lot of rinse and repeat there. Based on the icons for the next levels this would grow each time. So soon you would have to beat the level with 4 characters for example. It’s an interesting mechanic that forces you to try everyone out. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a mechanic be mandatory though.

Let me not make it sound like I’ve played a ton of these though. I’ve played Vampire Survivor and a Justice League mobile game which had the same concept. Both of those were vastly superior to this game though. The movesets were more fun and the games had a lot more variety. It feels like the budget was a bit lower on this one and so the repetition becomes more obvious. It still takes a lot of strategy and memorization though so this game isn’t for the faint of heart.

Yes, you have permanent power ups so eventually you will win without a doubt. That’s the appeal of the genre but how quickly you progress is really up to you and your talents within the game. You’ll gradually see which power ups are worth obtaining and which ones aren’t. There are a lot of different weapon and ability combinations as well and I imagine those you will have to learn through classic trial and error.

So why don’t I like the building aspect? Well for starters it is throwing another grind on top of the main game’s which is already considerable. You have to find logs and stones in order to make houses which allow you to unlock new characters. You then have to play a pinball minigame to break the houses and can only play it once per run. It all just feels like a distraction from the main game. For this genre the most enjoyable part is just getting into the action. The building parts feel a whole lot clunkier.

If you’re going to do it, there shouldn’t be a pinball game. Just let me make the houses and watch them grow over time. That would be so much more satisfying and would just make for a better form of side content in the long run. The main gameplay is pretty fun as it is and the title could stand up with that alone. I would remove the need to beat every stage with every character though. I feel like the game should just put some good rewards to make you want to do that without forcing you into it. Then down the road I would do it and the game wouldn’t feel as repetitive.

The graphics are fairly decent. Nothing as good as the cover art/promotional images for the game which are incredible. Still good though, you won’t lose yourself in all of the explosions or anything like that. The developers clearly have a flair for the dramatic which works well for this kind of title. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though, nothing like Hades. I feel like more Indie games should invest in having a great soundtrack or some customizable music options. It would really help to support the gameplay quite well.

Of course you can’t knock this one for a lack of replay value. The stages being at 10-15 minutes long in length is great for replaying. You will be going through them a lot after all so having the levels be 20+ minutes or anything like that would have been a mistake. This feels like the right amount of time and it’s also clear that the game has hundreds of hours of content in it. If you want to beat everything then it is going to take you an extremely long time to get there. This game gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, I feel like this game is entering a heated market right now with the genre being so popular. It is unfortunately not going to be up to the task of conquering its rivals but I do think this is a fun game. It is a title that I would play a lot more if it was free. If it had a real story, I dare say that I would have purchased it on the spot. Alas that wasn’t meant to be. I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are looking for a fun game to play on the side though. It is the perfect palette cleanser.

Overall 6/10

The Phantom Review

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This is one of those games that didn’t make a ton of waves when it came out but it centers around one of the original superheroes out there. The Phantom basically predates any of the big heroes that you’ve heard about. So it’s cool to play a game based on this guy. The gameplay’s fun enough and I like the overall presentation but what hurts the title is the short length. You can complete the game in a little over an hour. There are only 5 stages in the game, which total to 14 levels. Most levels aren’t very long either so yeah that’s why this goes by quickly.

The story begins with the Phantom’s son being stolen by a gang. He does not take this well at all to the point where his wife is really worried about the nonstop rage that she is seeing. The Phantom intends to save his son at any cost and may want to destroy these villains in order to prove a point. Will he be able to calm down in time and can his son really be saved?

It’s not like this is a super deep story or anything like that but I was just glad to have one with some story updates after each stage. The game is fully voice acted which is always a good thing and it adds to the intensity of the game. The way the cutscenes are advanced is a little odd though as you have to click X to go forward every few lines but the icon used is the same as for the skip button so it was always very nerve racking. I don’t see why they didn’t just push everything forward automatically.

So as 2D beat em up you’re going to be familiar with the drill here. You punch and kick at the enemies until they all go down. At that point you can continue and then fight the next batch of fighters. Rinse and repeat until you have made it to the very end of the stage. The only exceptions here are when you have a boat/car level and have to blast away at your enemies. Coming up with a second gameplay style was probably not easy so I can appreciate that level of effort.

I don’t think the gameplay was play tested too much though because you have way too much hit stun on all of your attacks. What that means is you can infinite combo every character in the game. Yes, that includes all bosses including the final boss. That’s a bit rough because then they never stand a chance. For that reason the bosses have a checkpoint system so if you do too much damage in one combo, the damage eventually stops at 0 for him to summon some enemies and rest up.

It doesn’t make the bosses more difficult, this only serves to drag them out more. I suppose that will just have to be good enough this time around and the game is still super short so clearly this didn’t make it too long or anything like that. The gameplay is smooth though. It may not be balanced but it does play well. Then you also have the Phantom yelling out his catch phrase every time you use the super attack. He has maybe 3 stock lines so you will be hearing those quite a lot. They work really well though. It’s the right amount of cheesy and campy if you ask me.

After you beat the game, there is technically some replay value by playing arcade mode or doing story mode on hard difficulty. There is no platinum trophy in the game this time though so you will have to settle for just getting the normal 100% completion clear here. Still not bad of course, that will be a feather in your cap but I admit that I would have liked seeing the Platinum on display. I probably would have beaten had mode right away if that had been the case.

In terms of gameplay hints, I will just say in the boat levels you don’t want to spam the gun. You actually do run out of ammo and then you might not have enough bullets when it is time to fire the gun. So shoot strategically and wait for an opening. Then when you have the opening, that is your time to pounce. In the normal levels, shooting is actually not recommended. It does less damage than your hand to hand combat and it knocks the opponents to the ground after 2 hits so they get their temporary invincibility back again. It just makes the fights longer and you’re better off powering up your super move to use instead.

Overall, 2D retro beat em ups are really in right now. It feels like everybody is getting in on this genre. Typically games in this genre are going to be short but the key is in putting a lot of bonus content for multiple runs. Maybe you have some different modes or something like that. This one desperately needed some more content and then I think everyone would have looked on it a whole lot more favorably. It is still a fun game though and that gives it enough of a nod to stay in the green. If you can get this game for cheap then you should do it. It’s not every day that you get to play as the Phantom after all! You may even be surprised at how big a fan of him you are.

Overall 6/10

PAC & Roll Review

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It’s time for a classic Pac-Man adventure. I completely forget that this game even exists 90% of the time. I give it some props for having a real story mode but that’s about all that I can say in its defense. At the end of the day it still has some pretty major flaws. The game is fun to play through but only because I got it for a great price. If you paid top dollar for this back in the day then you would really be in trouble. There would just be no coming back from that so it would probably affect the score.

The general plot is that the ghosts of Pac Land conspire together to bring back the ultimate evil. A powerful ghost that had to be sealed away before he would destroy everything. He wastes no time in declaring battle against Pac-Man. Fortunately a fairy shows up and she knows how to handle this guy. All of Pac’s friends are taken down so Pac-Man is the last fighter on the planet. If he loses, then the world will truly be doomed.

You shouldn’t think too hard on the story though because it is absolutely true that it makes no sense. The fairy seems so powerful that she could defeat the main villain on her own so why is she even asking Pac-Man for help? It’s a little hard to gauge what is actually happening here when you take away the gameplay mechanics as well. I suppose none of that matters too much at the end of the day. Pac has a job to do and he’s gonna do it! Unfortunately in this tile which appears to be a full on reboot, Pac is more of a rookie and is super scared/startled the whole time. He’s really not sure what to do and is always on the back foot here.

The sound effects don’t do him any favors here as he sounds really whiny. The soundtrack in general is only okay. There are no tunes that you will be looking up later on. As for the graphics, at least those are okay. I like the various character illustrations and the effects within the actual gameplay are good too. The technical efforts aren’t as underwhelming as you may have guessed initially.

As for the gameplay, well it is a clear inspiration from Monkey Ball. You have to guide the ball that Pac is in through a variety of courses. It’s a cool concept but unfortunately this is controlled by the Stylus which does take some of the fun out of it. I’m sure it was hard to resist using this gimmick since the game was on the DS but man would it have been more fun without the stylus. You have to move really quickly through some areas so you are swiping at your screen a whole lot.

The game starts out real easy but I gotta admit that the fire world actually gets rather difficult near the end. Nothing that will stop you for long but at least the game isn’t a total walk in the park. There still isn’t a whole lot of replay value here but the game does have a few bonus levels and collectibles to grab. So if you want to 100% the game then you do have some bonus content here at least. The main campaign won’t take you longer than 3-4 hours so maybe this can buff the whole thing to around 6 hours.

Aside from the normal rolling around gameplay, you also unlock two power ups later on. One of them makes you heavy so you sink into the water for ocean levels and the other one makes you light so you can actually glide around a bit. They don’t change things up too much but at least it’s something. The game also does have boss fights. You fight the same ghost the whole time but the battles themselves are different each time. You have to grab 3 power pellets and then tag the ghost.

The fact that you need 3 of them at once to deal any damage to him does give the villain some extra hype. He squanders it all by the end naturally but up until that point at least the reputation is deserved. This is also one of the only games I can think of where the villain has a game over theme. Every time you defeat him it plays and this isn’t just one note or anything like that. It’s an entire jingle so that was absolutely funny no matter how you slice it.

The game is a complete comedy so you shouldn’t expect any of the characters to look particularly cool. Gone are the days of the classic World series which had its share of humor but also balanced things out with a real plot. Maybe that’ll come back at some point and in that case I would be there day 1. There are a lot of things you can do with Pac-Man and yet the company is basically content to just make a bunch of remakes right now. Digging up ancient spinoffs is all that I can really do in the meantime.

Overall, This isn’t the kind of game I can really recommend but if you see it around for $5-$10 then you may as well pick it up. There’s no real downside to it at least and the gameplay itself is fun. The stylus may hurt but the core concept is still solid. The title is just so short though, you should make sure that you really understand this before you pick up the title. Then you know the risks and are all set to make the purchase. I really hope we get a real new Pac-Man game one of these days though.

Overall 6/10

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Review

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It’s time to look at a shooter that a lot of people probably haven’t even heard of. The game is one I only found because I was looking for poorly reviewed titles. It can always be fun to give them a whirl and these games tend to be dirt cheap anyway. Well, I can safely say that this one is a trip. I can understand the bad reviews because there are noticeable glitches here and that tends to weigh heavily. So long as my game isn’t crashing though, glitches aren’t going to limit my adventure too much. I had a pretty good time with this one and it just really lacked some quality of life features.

The game starts by introducing us to an alternate history where Chamberlain died in his car accident and so the Nazi’s ran unopposed for a long while. They also launched a pre-emptive strike on the USA and managed to take over the country. You play as a construction worker who survives the initial assault and decides to help the resistance fight back. It won’t be an easy fight, nor will it be a short one but this is a battle that he can’t turn his back from. One way or another, America will be united once more!

The gameplay is your classic first person shooter style. You go around blasting away at all of the enemies as you get closer to the goal in each level. Occasionally there is a little bit of platforming but these sections are few and far between. Generally you will be sticking to the shooter gameplay here. You can hold up to two weapons at once and will be switching between them a whole lot as you go through the levels. Keep a close eye on your ammo as well since you can run out at the worst times.

You can also carry grenades but the enemy tends to survive them while they pose a lethal threat to you so I recommend avoiding them. As you play through the game you will quickly find out which weapons you like to use and which ones hold you back. I recommend getting a favorite weapon quickly so you have it ready for the more difficult fights. The game’s difficulty level is considerably high so you don’t want to underestimate it.

The toughest part of the game is that checkpoints tend to be few and far between. So you could be having a great run but then die right before the checkpoint and have to redo a large portion of the level again. This is easily the game’s biggest issue because it adds a lot of unnecessary repetition. You will be dying quite often in this game so then it makes you want to speed through the level on your next attempt rather than taking your time which can make things even trickier.

Additionally, your health meter isn’t visible so you can only tell how close to death you are based on how gray the screen is. This is an interesting mechanic but it also means that sometimes it appears to be very inconsistent. There are times where I would die to a quick pair of bullets when I had survived 5 prior to that. Additionally there are explosions that happen randomly with RNG during some levels so if you get hit by one then you die right away. There’s nothing you can really do to defend against that.

So moments like that will feel a bit cheesy. Parts of the game’s difficulty are completely legitimate and then other parts like this tend to feel quite cheesy. The game does its best to make the best out of it but it does feel rushed at times. Just remember to do a lot of running and gunning. Your health completely restores if you can avoid taking damage for about 2 seconds so you need to try and buy that time.

Meanwhile the graphics are pretty decent. The game has full on cutscenes between each level and the graphics within the game are pretty solid. One unfortunate effect is that the flash on your gun is so high that you will have a hard time seeing where you are firing depending on the gun. It’s another reason why you have to pick your gun very carefully because the wrong option will actually cost you some lives.

The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side. I wouldn’t say that any of the tracks are particularly memorable. The story is really the driving force of the game and fortunately that part is really good. This is just a very fun what if and it’s also a good excuse to be the hero and save your country. You can’t really go wrong on that account. There isn’t any replay value as there are no trophies or a multiplayer mode to keep you afloat. So the main campaign has to tide you over at all times. It’s fairly short but the difficulty might add an hour to round the experience to around 5 hours or so.

My final tip here will be that the hand to hand combat attack is actually an effective strategy. If you are running out of bullets then you should run up to an enemy and take him out. One hit will defeat any opponent so the key is to only do this when you are in a one on one combat situation. Definitely do not do this when it’s 2 v 1 as the other fighter will shoot you during the long animation of you fighting the first guy. You are fully open during that period.

Overall, Turning Point is a good game. I had fun with the story and the gameplay is good enough for me even if I’m not a big fan of the FPS genre. That said, it does have noticeable bugs involving the health bar and how explosions will hit you out of nowhere. A few more checkpoints could have also gone a long way to getting the game to the next level. So long as you don’t despise fps titles or anything like that, I think you’ll have a reasonably good time here.

Overall 6/10

Balloon Kid Review

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Balloon Kid is one of those games that is perfectly serviceable. There’s nothing really wrong with it but it also doesn’t have enough actual good elements to really get it going. So what you end up with is a rather forgettable experience. A modern remake of the game could really end up being a whole lot of fun as it would at least be a bit longer. This game is under an hour long with no real replay value in terms of a post game or anything like that. So that puts it behind the action right from the jump.

The game starts with a little boy being carried off into the winds on his balloons. His sister must now rescue him by using her own mastery of balloons in order to follow him. Alas, this will not be very easy. There are a lot of monsters running around and different natural obstacles. The world itself appears as an enemy and balloons are rather unpredictable. Can she destroy all of the monsters and save her brother in time? She will have to really push her own abilities to their very limit.

The game doesn’t really have many cutscenes or anything like that so for the most part you’re just going through the levels until you clear the game. The controls themselves are rather simple. You want to hold onto the balloons and use them to go above and under objects. At times you will need to discard the balloons entirely so that you can pass a tight space. Then you will put them on once again. You do this by digging into the ground. Or at least that’s what it looks like, technically you are probably pressing air into the balloons.

I didn’t actually realize this at first so I died a few times until I realized what was going on. The game has some reasonable difficulty as a result of this because you have to be reacting quickly. If you are slow to react then you will really be in danger here. So keep your guard up at all times because if you don’t, then you’re gonna be in a jam.

I did appreciate that we had real boss fights here. For a little while there I was not expecting any so that was a welcome treat. The boss battles feel a bit like a Mario or Sonic fight as you have to jump on the enemy and then use your momentum to dodge their counter attacks. That’s why if the game had just been longer then this could have probably reached the next level as a 7.

The graphics are okay at best but not really my style. It’s all due to the color though as you don’t get to see all of the fun colors the way that a GBC title would have been able to unleash. The soundtrack is also more on the forgettable side. So you’re really here for the gameplay 100%. The rest of the areas will just have to suffice in the end.

If you have the Nintendo Switch Online then you should check the game out since it’s free with the service anyway. That said, if you are looking to pick this game up, then I wouldn’t really recommend that. You are just not going to have enough content to really justify it in the end. You’d have to be a really incredible game to be worth it even at lasting less than an hour. In a way it just goes to show how high the expectations are. Most people wouldn’t bat an eye to spend $10 on a quick lunch that will only last 15 minutes as opposed to a 60 minute game that you can replay as much as you want in the future. It’s just different expectations there.

Overall, I had a good time with Balloon Kid but it was definitely a brief time. I can see the vision of how this kind of gameplay would be fun for a whole title though. Just look at Flappy Bird. In a lot of ways this game is super similar because you are trying to go above and below the obstacles. If you bump into something or go too low then you lose. It’s a really creative style and you can’t 100% cheese it the way that you can for some Kirby games. I’ll definitely be ready if we get any more Balloon titles.

Overall 6/10