Sonic Lost World is the big Sonic game for the current generation (Yes, the Wii U is a part of the current generation along with PS4 and Xbox One) This time, Nintendo would be pulling the strings, so it would be interesting to see how that would work. This one was supposed to be very similar to Mario Galaxy, but would that be a wise move? Only time could tell and since we have had enough time, it’s time for things to get real!

The plot of the game is simple enough. Sonic and Tails are chasing Eggman, but he proves to be far too powerful to be defeated and he damages the airplane. It is revealed that Eggman has enslaved the Deadly Six and he’s using them to conquer the world! Sonic steps in to see that justice is served, but now he must deal with Eggman and the Deadly Six! The stakes get especially high when his friends start to die and he can’t save them!

All right, this game definitely had a lot more emotional scenes than the average Sonic game. The whole second half of the game used a lot of emotion as Amy and Knuckles started to have their life force sucked away from them and Sonic isn’t even able to help them. I won’t say whether they die or not, but let’s just say that the population of the planet probably shrunk pretty drastically towards the end of the game. Knuckles talked very tough until he was no longer able to do so and it shows us that he is not to be underestimated. He implied that he could actually defeat Sonic and that he would have saved them all a lot faster. Amy gets a decent role as she tries to remind Sonic how dire the situation is, but he doesn’t seem to get the memo. Amy and Knuckles don’t actually try to help Sonic as they may have realized deep down that they’re no match for his opponents.

Tails is a lot better than how he was portrayed in Sonic Colors and is slowly starting to look like his old self. He’s still not as good as he was in the good ole days, (Sonic Adventure 2 Battle) but he is a solid character. We find out some startling plot twists about how smart he truly is. Tails is definitely not a fighter anymore, but he’s a solid support character to have at the ready and his bond with Sonic is decently strong. It could be stronger as it was shaken thanks to Eggman, but he tried. Tails had one of the most “emotional” moments in the whole game and it does make you double think Sonic’s decisions. Tails is smart enough to deactivate the device on his own, so why do they really need Eggman? Just something to think about.

Sonic is the main character, but you probably could have guessed that with your eyes closed. Personality wise, Sonic’s pretty solid and he makes sure to mock his opponents whenever he has a chance. He is always ready to disrupt Eggman’s plans and he doesn’t back down from any of the villains. He almost seems to be amused by their threats and he definitely has an air of confidence about him. The main problem that I would have is the fact that Sonic has been seriously depowered in the recent games. In the cutscenes, you can see how slow Sonic is moving and makes the average debater really think that Rainbow Dash and (gulp) Mario could outrun him. (Check out Mario’s speed feats in Brawl. He nearly took Link down for the count) One of the villains nearly destroys him with a sandwich and the old man seemed to be a lot faster than Sonic. They’re doing pretty good on Sonic’s personality (Although I still miss all of his lines from SA2B.) but they definitely need to show his speed more.

Eggman is another one of the major characters in this game, but I did not like his portrayal. He gets some really intense lines, but they don’t match his personality and it just didn’t make sense. His “Heroic” moments were pretty cheesy and he’ll never become a truly cool character at this point. I’m not even going to mention SA2B this time, but Eggman needs to sharpen his coolness skills. Orbot and Cubot are definitely not helping and they should be written out of the script.

I think that we’re all interested to hear about the Deadly Six. They were definitely hyped a lot and they could become the next big thing right? Well, they do have their positives, but I’m not sure how long they could last before they start to become stale. Zavok is the leader of the group and he’s easily the best member.

It all starts with his character design and then things just move up from there. He seems like a villain who can actually fight Sonic in hand to hand combat and he doesn’t need gimmicks. That’s why it was a little disappointing when he used a giant monster at one point, but at least we got to fight him hand to hand later on. One problem is that Sonic Lost World doesn’t really let you get close and personal during a fight and we have to rely on speed and tricks to win. I would have liked a no holds barred fight like when we fought Gamma or Shadow in the past. Those were pure fights where you just had to take your opponent down for the count. That being said, Zarok does have potential and while his overall ability may disappoint some, he’s tough enough in the end. The game does use a lot of comedy so we couldn’t expect him to be the next Metal Sonic, but he’s still pretty good.

The other members aren’t quite as good unfortunately. Zazz is pretty annoying and he’s one of the weaker members. I don’t think that this guy would really be a match for Mario, let alone a guy like Sonic! Zazz can’t really be taken seriously and I believe that he can’t overcome that big problem. We’ve also got Zeena and she’s not much of a fighter either. Her cutscenes should be taken pretty lightly and her abilities are really not impressive. There aren’t really any reasons to like her at the moment.

We’ve also got Master Zik who seems to be the wisest one in the group. I didn’t like how he appeared to be vastly faster than Sonic in the cutscenes and he was really all talk. He wasn’t ready for a fight of this level, but did anyone really expect him to be on Sonic’s level? Zomom is a guy who likes to eat his sandwich. I’ll never forget the cutscene where he nearly defeated Sonic by accident with it. He’s a very weak fighter and he’s one of the slowest guys that you’ll encounter so…why is he fighting Sonic? Please Understand that I don’t fully understand! Finally, we have Zor. Zor can’t really fight either, but at least he realizes that this won’t affect the cosmic scheme of things. He seems to accept the fact that Sonic and friends are out of his league and is mostly there to be defeated.

I have to say that the Deadly Six should probably not appear again. Zavok was easily the best member of the group, but he was really the only decent member. The others are all basically non combatants and would be better in sport games. It’s still hard to take any of them seriously after what Eggman did to them and they’re no match for Sonic. I think Sega needs to go back to their roots and give us enemies like Shadow and Metal Sonic. Those guys were true threats!

Gameplay wise, I would definitely say that the game has a lot of the same elements as Mario Galaxy. It’s essentially a mix of Mario Galaxy and Sonic Colors so the gameplay is really fun. The levels flow pretty well and the controls are pretty fluid. There was one level with the search light that was extremely difficult. It was easily the toughest part of the game and made the final boss look like kid stuff. One Mario element that I should mention is the fact that Zavok turns into a giant monster and they’re in a fire area. If that’s not borrowing from Mario, then it’s time to pack our bags and head to Nintendo’s Gamecube commercials! You will probably miss the Pro Controller in this game, but the Gamepad is still better than the Wii Remote. The controller scheme will be back to normal for the next gen so you just have to hold out and make the best of it.

The game has a pretty solid soundtrack. You won’t really remember many of the tunes after completing the game, but if you try to think about them hard enough, then I’m sure that you will remember a bit. The villain’s have a pretty catchy tune and the music is mostly somber aside from that one.

Animation wise, the game is pretty good. We’re not at Adventure 2 Battle level, but it does look better than Sonic Colors. I’m not sure if it beats Sonic and the Black Knight overall, but the gameplay looks sharper. I still have to get a little used to Sonic’s look, but it’s pretty good. It helps to convey his confidence and determination. That’s good since the games have basically cut out all of the other epic characters like Shadow and Silver.

Overall, this is a solid addition to the Sonic franchise. The series is definitely in the comedy genre now and Sega will likely try to keep it light and friendly for as long as they can. I will definitely miss the intense days of Adventure 2 Battle, but the new games are fun as well. I do believe that they should tone down the comedy and bring back some of the all star characters, but at least they took a step in the right direction by adding some new characters. They should also remove the Wisps as they are unnecessary and are actually some of the worst parts of the gameplay. Tails finally got some new feats and we got to see that Sonic is definitely the toughest character on the block at the moment. I definitely recommend this game and maybe you’ll enjoy the emotional moments. It definitely makes things interesting and adds a new dimension to the game…or it tries too at any rate. If you got the Deadly Six Edition, then you also get to try out a bonus level which is pretty fun. You get to fight all of the bosses again, but they’re slightly modified and ready to take you down for good!

Overall 7/10

Generator Rex always looked like a pretty fun show, but I haven’t gotten around to seeing it yet. Either way, the game was a must buy since it’s a 3D beat em up. Those games are always very fun and you’ll have a lot of fun spamming the attack buttons to lead you all the way to victory. Easy Trophies also make it a keeper Could this game live up to the hype?

Well, the hype was definitely immense as the Gamestop employee even told me that I had made a good choice. He claimed that Generator Rex wasn’t your average cash-in and that it was actually pretty good. It was under 10 dollars so what would be the harm? The plot involves Generator Rex as he must find all of the pieces of the super important blueprint to keep them safe before Van Kleiss can get his hands on them. Rex also needs to make sure that Circe is okay since she seems to be heading for the dark side.

The plot is very simple and that’s expected since the game has less than 10 hours. The gameplay is what you’d typically find in a cash-in video game as it’s 3D with a very simplistic method of attack. You have about 3 different attacks per weapon and I recommend spamming the light attacks forever. Just keep on attacking and the villains will never have time to fight back. Once you get the Omega Builds, the game gets that much easier. The fact that the game is really easy and basic isn’t a crushing loss since we would expect no more from this game during the get go.

I’ve actually grown fond of this gameplay that we find in a lot of the cheaply priced games. (Thor, Batman, Hulk and dozens of other games that I could mention) The game is still in 3D and simple or not, it’s a pretty fun experience to take all of the opponents down. The gameplay also does get a quick variation for some levels as you get a sky diving level. That one was pretty fun and while it was easy, it was a nice change of pace. There’s also a level where you’re on a motorcycle and while the controls may have been a little sketchy, I always love a good race!

One warning that I would give to people interested in the game is the fact that there isn’t much replay value. After you’ve beaten the game, you can go and find the last remnants of DNA and get trophies, but not even that will last for very long. There are upgrades that you can buy, but you’ll probably attain that shortly after you finish story mode since there aren’t many upgrades to buy and they don’t cost that much money. I ended up having over 50000 left in reserve after I got the Platinum trophy. Replaying levels can be good for another time, but since there are cutscenes that can’t be skipped and the levels aren’t exactly Adventure 2 Battle level, you won’t want to keep on replaying them.

The soundtrack is decent and while there are some good tunes, you won’t remember them by the time that you leave. The animation…is pretty bad for a PS3 game. It really looks like an older PS2 game and can even bridge the way to a PS1 game. Definitely not something that will be able to help the PS3 overthrow the gamecube.

The main characters weren’t anything special either. Agent Six gets a lot of hype but he doesn’t get any good scenes and he never challenges any of the big bosses. Generator Rex is about what you’d expect and he talks a good game without anything to back up. He gets suckered several times and he doesn’t really recover from that. Circe wasn’t a good character either as she had some serious problems trying to choose a side to help. The villains were all one shots and Van Kleiss was basically suckered at the end.

Overall, this is a decent popcorn fun video game. It’s sold for less than 10 at most places and that makes it a decent buy. You’ll have fun while you’re playing it, but you should only expect it to be a temporary hobby and it’ll be over very soon. It’s good if you just want a little placeholder game to last for around a week. I recommend this game if you want a platinum or to sit back and play a fun game. If you’re looking for an incredible PS3 experience, make sure that you go and buy Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations!

Overall 7/10

Lego Marvel got a lot of hype when the release date drew near. DC has owned the Lego side of things for a long time and Marvel was finally ready to take what was rightfully theirs! This game would have over 100 characters and have a plot which would feature many well known heroes and villains. Was it a success!?

Well, the Story Mode has 14 levels. Each level has a final boss, but they also tend to have one (or more) other bosses before that point. Each level focuses on a different group of heroes (Some appear more than once, but it’s understandable since they’re so popular) and they go to challenge the villain. Spiderman ends up saving the heroes quite a few times.

The plot revolves around the fact that Loki has assembled a powerful villain group and they’re looking to get the Cosmic Bricks. Along the way, the Tesseract also gets involved and the Avengers must reclaim it. The plot starts off as being pretty Avengers centered, but don’t worry, The Xmen come to help as well. They get their own plot once the Tesseract is in their area and they’re forced to deal with the Juggernaut. It was good to see Cyclops back in action since it’s been so long and it was a very nostalgic experience. We don’t want to forget the Fantastic Four either and Mr Fantastic gets a decent role. The Thing tries to say his catchphrase a lot, but it may be tougher than he thinks.

The game is largely inspired by the MCU for the Avengers cast so it was especially interesting to see how they interacted with guys like Spiderman and the Xmen. Agent Coulson is pretty good in the game and he always seems to be on alert. Nick Fury is constantly sipping from his giant cup of soda (I assume that it is soda) and he’s always throwing the cup around, which is where Coulson comes in. Maria Hill also has a tendency to drop her cup as well, so Shield definitely shouldn’t be around fragile objects.

The ending of the game is pretty intense and you’ll want to stick around for the sequel. The sequel probably won’t be out for a while, but you can definitely keep busy in this game. Lego Marvel has a very large amount of replay value and there are so many things that you can do. The hub world is pretty huge and there are loads of side missions (The races are epic) and things that you can do to have fun. Once you are aboard the Hellicarrier, you can also access the shop for characters and other cool things. You can head to Deadpool’s room and read some comics, or you can even make your own character. With all of the characters around, I don’t think that you’ll need to make anyone, but it can be fun to see yourself fighting super villains.

After beating all of the levels the first time, you can go back to rescue Stan Lee and collect all of the collectibles. If you don’t want to use the same characters, you can bring anyone that you want. From Thanos to Galactus to Agent Coulson, the game’s made sure to give you a very solid arsenal of characters. Each character has a specific type which enables him/her to break certain kinds of blocks or use their powers to the fullest. You’ll want to find the right combinations to get everything right on the first go.

The comedy isn’t bad either. The characters are used for comedy, but you should be prepared for that if you’re buying a lego game. Captain America gets a lot of good lines and while the villains may not come across as smoothly, they do their best. The animation is lego centered so it’s not going to look like Mario Galaxy 2, but the facial expressions are pretty fun. Iron Man and Nick Fury tend to have the best expressions from all of the characters. The gameplay is similar to Marvel Ultimate Alliance. There are less attacks per character, but with such a large roster, we can definitely overlook that. If you like overhead, then you’ll definitely like the gameplay a lot. Either way, you’ll enjoy flying as it is done pretty well. I still haven’t mastered the controls, but you can definitely cover a lot of ground in a very short amount of time.

This is a pretty fun game to buy. There are a ton of Marvel references to be on the lookout for and it’s a nice way to get to know the universe. My only warning would be that the game does have some glitches (Getting stuck in between a wall and a bush for example) but you can always exit and come back later. If you’re in two player mode, then you can just have the second player blow you up which will sometimes end the glitch. As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of replay value so this game should last you a long time. You definitely get your money’s worth with this purchase and I’m sure that you’ll enjoy the game.

Overall 7/10

I have always been a fan of the Madden series. It’s true that the games don’t seem to change very much and you could buy a Madden from 2004 and have an even better experience than if you went and bought Madden 25. The reason is not only was Madden 2004 the best Madden game of them all, but it essentially did everything right. A lot of the “improvements” that have been made have actually been bad for the series. This review is of Madden 2010, so I’ll be focusing on that year.

When launching the game, you’ve got several options. Franchise mode and many others, but that’s the only one that you need to care about. Franchise mode is what I’ve grown up with and it’s the best thing to play. I do miss the fact that we don’t have a minicamp mode anymore. You can play them in franchise mode, but what about checking them out for fun? That was one area where Madden 2010 took a turn for the worst, but let’s talk about the critical difference.

Turning the game on and paying an ordinary match is what Madden is all about. Unfortunately, the actual gameplay isn’t quite as fun as it used to be. It’s still really fun and I could play it for hours, but there are several factors that hurt it. One of these is the fact that the gameplay is a lot slower. I suppose that you could take this to be more “realistic” but it just doesn’t work. Playing on a virtual field is much different than on a normal field for many reasons. One is the fact that the field itself feels a lot smaller. Odds are that if you’re sacked in the game, you’ll lose around 10 yard because of how short the field is. Trying to run an outside route is risky because if they catch you, you’ll end up losing a whole bunch of yards.

They’ve “refined” the passing game so that your throw greatly depends on how you angle the control stick. This is okay since Madden 2004 did this as well, but Madden 2010 overdoes it. If you hold up and throw the ball, you’ll often overthrow your receiver and if you’ve got the wrong direction on the controller, you’ll probably be throwing a pick six. Making the controls more sensitive isn’t a bad thing in itself, but it takes some of the fun out of the passing game. I loved throwing a lot of deep balls and seeing what would happen.

The running game also seems to be a lot more difficult than in previous games. Because of the reduced speed of the gameplay, breaking into a sprint may not be enough to get our of the backfield. If a defender punches through the defenses, you won’t have the speed to evade him. This game seems to emphasize running between the tackles as opposed to taking outside pitches, which is too bad since that’s how I typically like my running game.

All the same, these changes may not be my favorite, but the gameplay is still very fun overall. Maybe the running game is more challenging, but that will just make a long run more satisfying right? For passing plays, it’s still easy enough to throw a short pass to your tight end or a screen pass to the running back. I may just have to lighten up on my Hail Mary type throws.

The animation is definitely solid and while we aren’t in the perfect Gamecube era anymore, the PS3 is the next best thing in terms of graphics. Yep, after the Gamecube, I believe that the PS3 has the greatest graphics from all of the consoles so far. PS4 has a shot at taking it down, but we’ll see if it can take down the Gamecube. The tackles have more variety in Madden 2010 than in Madden 2004, but the sacks aren’t as impacting. You could practically feel the charge when you sacked an opposing quarterback in Madden 2004. It was just so thrilling to see! Likewise with interceptions, but they don’t feel as exciting in Madden 2010. I’m not sure why that is, the sound effects may be lower or something. Either way, it’s minor and I’m sure that you can adjust something like that in the options menu.

Let’s talk about one major positive where I feel that the game may have improved. That would be in the kicking area. Kicking a long range field goal was virtually impossible in Madden 2004 because you could never really defy the wind currents. Your kick would go off target towards the wind or against it, but it was hard to actually get the field goal. In Madden 2010, it’s not quite as difficult and while kicking a 60+ could still be unheard of, 30-35 yards and under are a lot simpler.

Overall, the game may have made the gameplay a little less enjoyable by taking away the speed factor, but it’s still a very fun game. If you had not played the older games, then you wouldn’t even notice. The fact that kicking a field goal is now an easy task is definitely a plus as well. The animation is solid and the games are slowly adding more and more features that make it like a real football game. Some things may just slow down the flow of the game, but if you’re in the middle of Franchise mode, you’ll probably be glad to see how the other teams are doing. This game and 2009 are my least favorite Madden games that I’ve really gotten to play, but things take a turn for the better once we hit Madden 2012. I shall be reviewing that game shortly so keep an eye out for it! I’ve already said it several times, but I’ll say it one last time to make sure that the message lasts. While the review may have pointed out most of the negatives in Madden 2010, it’s still a great game. The gameplay is really fun and never gets tiring. If I wasn’t so busy with other games, I could see myself playing it for many hours. There is a ton of replay value and franchise mode could theoretically last you years if you play season after season after season. I definitely recommend getting this game if you want a fun football experience, but if you want the ultimate NFL experience, make sure that you buy Madden 2004.

Overall 7/10

Mario is/always will be a famous video game icon. When you think of the term “Video Game”, Mario will typically be the first thing that you think of. It’s just a reflex action at this point. Mario may not be in his height of popularity at the moment, but he still has quite a few games coming out every year. (Mario 3D World and Yoshi’s Island for starters.) I’m proud to say that I’ve played nearly all of Mario’s console games. (Starting from the GBA/GC era) Mario’s games are consistently good and you’ll rarely regret buying them. (Unless you got Mario Golf….It’s not awful, but definitely not one of the better ones) New Super Mario Bros was the beginning of Mario’s legacy for the new generation of DS gamers. Let’s see how well it turned out!

New Super Mario Bros throws you into the thick of it, when Bowser Jr. decides to kidnap Peach. Mario attempts to stop him, but he’s quickly taken care of. Mario’s a pretty dependable hero, so even if he fails to save Peach over 10 times, he will continue to try and save her. That’s the basic plot, but there is a mild mystery? Why does Bowser wish to kidnap Peach? Does he want to rule the Mushroom Kingdom with an iron grip? Does he want to conquer the universe? At this point, he may just want to defeat Mario once and for all!

The story may be recycled, but how about the gameplay? Well, it’s more or less what you would expect, but there are subtle changes. The animation is drastically different from the previous installments of the Mario portable games. When I first turned the game on, I was pretty shocked by how ug-different the animation looked. This wasn’t the normal 2D that I was used to playing. The animation grew on me as I played the game, but part of me missed the nostalgia of the old look. The game is a lot easier than the classic Mario World/Land titles, but that’s to be expected. There are still some levels that may take you a few tries, (Especially if you are in a hurry and trying to fast blast through the stages) but nothing that will make you want to close the DS for the next few years. The game is very bright and playing in the Mushroom Kingdom is definitely a blast. It remains as my favorite world in the game.

There’s not much to say character wise. Mario might be an extremely brave hero, or he could be about as brave as he was in the animated movie. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that may be for the best!) Mario’s definitely not that strong or powerful, but he uses the items around him to get the job done! One saddening part of the game is that Luigi wasn’t around. Luigi always gets going when the going gets tough. If he had been around, Peach probably wouldn’t have been kidnapped. It also would have been nice if Princess Peach hadn’t let herself be kidnapped this time. Ah well, I’m sure Nintendo will fix that at some point. We desperately need a new plot. Have some aliens attack NYC or something like that. It would make for a nice change of scenery and I would buy that right away! (Since I took so long to buy this game)

Aside from the regular story mode, there is also a minigame mode. The disappointing part is that many of the mini games are the same as in Super Mario 64 DS. They are still fun to play, but it’s just not as fun as playing a minigame for the first time. The best minigame is sorting the bombs from one area to the other without mixing up the colors. It’s pretty intriguing and a nice way to test your skills.

New Super Mario Bros is definitely a solid Mario game. It’s a good way to pass the time by and it’s pure fun. There’s no part of the game that holds it back and every level is fun in its own way. The game may not be very long, but there is still some decent replay value. Getting all of the gold coins and beating all of the extra levels will help you get your money’s worth. I highly recommend this game to all gamers out there. Even non-gamers will get a kick out of playing this one. There’s just nothing to dislike about it. Buying this game was definitely an accomplishment! Now I just need to purchase that Super Mario 3DS game that I’ve heard so much about….

Overall 7/10

Paper Mario has always been a pretty solid spin off to the main Mario game series. They switched up the gameplay and also featured some pretty deep plots. They were a big step away from the casual Mario plots and I’d say that it was a good move to keep things fresh.

Super Paper Mario is a game that I’m pretty familiar with. A long time ago, I rented it from the library and was able to complete most of it. Unfortunately the game was due back before I could complete it and my Wii ended up breaking two to three years later. So it wasn’t until the other day, that I finally got to complete it.

This installment of the Paper Mario series changed the gameplay so that it was more like the traditional Mario games. I missed the turn based gameplay that the other games had, but this gameplay is still pretty fun. It’ll feel like you’re playing one of the retro Mario games, but you can also shift the gameplay into 3D temporarily. While in 3D, Mario will lose energy and eventually lose all of his health, so use this ability at your own risk. It is essential to shift to 3D throughout the game, so just keep an eye on your energy meter.

The plot involves Count Bleck attempting to use the legendary Chaos Heart to destroy all worlds. The only thing that can possibly stop him is the seven Pure Hearts. Mario and his new friend Tippi must gather them as quickly as possible before the Dark Void consumes everything. There is also a subplot involving Luigi. (Who foiled Count Bleck’s plans in the first place) Luigi looks pretty awesome in this game, but more on that later. Mario and Tippi must also locate Bowser and Peach because only the 4 legendary heroes teaming up can possibly stop Bleck and his group of…loyal followers. The best part of the story mode was when the villains would have a meeting. It was pretty epic and surprisingly intense for a Mario game. I definitely enjoyed each meeting and they felt like a true villain group. (Like the Espada, Spiders, or Akatsuki)

Mario makes for a pretty good protagonist and he never seems to back down from a fight. He’s definitely very brave and heroic, plus he gets the job done. Throughout the game people mention his mustache in a very positive light and it would appear that he may have one of the best mustaches of all time!

Luigi is the real star of this story and he performs better than Mario for a majority of the game. Not only is he the one to stop Count Bleck in the initial meetup, but his defense seems to be better than Mario’s. When the team are knocked out during the end of the game, Luigi wakes up before Mario. Luigi also takes on the powerful Dimentio and proves that he’s not to be messed with. Since Luigi can talk (unlike Mario) he steals all of the epic lines for himself. Unlike the main Mario games, Luigi is incredibly brave in this game and talks tough to all of the villains. Just about all of his lines are pretty epic.

Tippi was a pretty good helper to Mario, but I didn’t really care much for her back story. She talks to herself a lot, but luckily Mario and his friends never seem to notice. Otherwise she may have blown her cover a little too early. Princess Peach was a pretty solid character in this game and she’s tougher than you may have guessed. She can fight and doesn’t need anyone to save her for the most part. Bowser is as strong as always and he never fears the opponents. Next to Luigi, he definitely gives the villains the hardest time.

Mr. L is a mysterious figure who appears towards the end of the game. He bears a bit of a resemblance to Luigi, but we quickly dismiss the notion since Mario would probably have recognized him….right? He goes on to help Count Bleck and the gang, but he seems to have an ulterior motive. He’s very smart and he was even able to build a powerful machine known as the Brobot. Mr. L was easily the best villain in this game and he quickly stole the show with his epic lines and comebacks.

Count Bleck is the leader of the villains, but he’s not quite as interesting as the other characters. He gets some character development, but it’s pretty predictable (Once they start hinting at it) and he doesn’t strike me as a big villain. Once Mario and friends took him on, Count Bleck went down pretty quickly. His other minions O Chunks and Mimi were all right. O Chunks has some pretty impressive strength and he was actually keeping up with Bowser. Mimi has a very cool moment where she turns into a twisted spider like creature and terrorizes the heroes.

Dimentio is a pretty tricky villain and you can never guess what he’s thinking. He’s constantly goading the other villains into attacking Mario or hinting that he knows more than he’s letting on to Count Bleck. He can teleport around whenever he wishes and he was a pretty powerful opponent. His cube attack is deadly and he actually destroys several of the heroes…he DESTROYS them. Who knew that a Mario game would have so many fatalities. In one of the best scenes in the game, Dimentio and Mr. L have a climatic battle.

The soundtrack in this game is pretty good and I particularly like Count Bleck’s theme. It’s a fun piece to listen too and helps to elevate the anticipation to even greater levels. The final boss theme is also pretty exciting and I found the quiz theme to be catchy. Once again, Mario never disappoints with the music.

There is one thing that I wasn’t too fond of in this game. There was several puzzles and things to look for that just felt like time wasters. Locating the star pillars was a bit more work than it needed to be. It takes forever to walk across the town and look for them all. Of course, there weren’t too many of them so it’s not a huge negative. All right, there’s one more mildly negative thing in this game. They played up the romance a bit much towards the end and I don’t think that it was a needed subplot to add in this game.

Super Paper Mario was definitely a fun Mario game and it’s something that all Mario games should strive to be like. The plot was deep and there was a real sense of danger. The fatality count has never been so high and the fate of all planets was at stake. I’d definitely recommend this game to you gamers out there and it was pretty fun.

Overall 7/10