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