Tag Archives: Beat Em Up

Golden Axe II Review

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It’s time to follow up the original Golden Axe with the sequel. This one is very similar to the first game to the point where you could almost think of it as unlocking some new levels. They did fix the magic system though which I appreciate. The A.I. is a bit easier as well so it’s easy to always trick them into pitfalls. I highly recommend doing that to save yourself some time. It’s not like there is an EXP system anyway right?

The game starts off with the villain returning to conquer the land once again. You must now put an end to these evil ambitions! Yeah it’s an extremely basic story all the way through. Not much is going on here at all in terms of the plot so you’re really just thrown into the gameplay once again. The game feels shorter than the first and you should have it completed in under an hour. I think part of that is due to the difficulty not being as high so I didn’t need to rewind quite as much.

The basic attack combo does more damage than the first game which I appreciate. The jumping attack does a little less but that balances out fairly well. Your hitboxes also seem a bit bigger so you can actually approach the enemy more often without having to worry about getting hit with some kind of a counter attack. I definitely enjoyed being able to be a little more active here. Additionally the magic system fixes the main issue I had with the first game.

In the first title, you could store up to 6 magic crests so that you can cast spells but you were always forced to use the all up in one shot. Your magic would be more powerful when using all 6 of course but sometimes you just wanted to use one or two. Well, in this game you can hold down the action button to determine how many magic orbs you want to use at once. You don’t have to actually fire everything off in one shot unless you really want to and I can’t stress enough what a massive quality of life upgrade this is.

In terms of graphics and soundtrack, it’s very similar to the first game. It sounds and looks fairly good/decent so I have no complaints here. The themes may not stand out a whole lot but they work well enough within the context of what’s going on. It’s high budget enough to assist the gameplay but also not quite impressive enough to amplify it either. So it’s sort of in that happy middle ground.

I mentioned this in the intro, but if you see any area where you can fall, absolutely make sure to bring the enemies over there. It saves you a lot of health from having to beat them. Basically the trick is to exploit the fact that the A.I. mirror your movements. So just go a little to the left or right of the pitfall and walk down. Keep going and they will keep repeating the action until they fall over. It wasn’t so easy in the first game so I wonder why that switched. Granted, there aren’t many areas where you can fall so it is still a decently rare occurrence.

All of the different bosses tend to be very unique so the game did a good job of not copying them. Most of the bosses tend to be a bit easier than the minions since you only have to deal with one opponent. The exception to this is the final boss though who is incredibly difficult to defeat. That’s because he constantly summons new minions to attack you. He brings out up to 3 at a time and while they are weak, this is the kind of game where sheer numbers are hard to deal with. No matter how careful you are, a lucky hit will get through and deal a lot of damage.

You already have to approach the boss carefully as it is so this also messes with the timing. Then there’s the time factor because if you leave him alone for too long, the boss hits you with an unavoidable, unblockable magic attack. So you have to hit him before he gets that off, meaning you have to stay really close to him. This boss took me quite a while to defeat due to that. Get ready for a lot of rewinding or if not, a ton of game overs at this point. This is the kind of game where you have to start from scratch if you get a game over and let me tell you…that’s not very fun. Particularly when you lose at the end because in the back of your mind you know it could happen again at which point you will lose all of your progress.

Overall, Golden Axe II is pretty much just the first game all over again but the gameplay did have some improvements that I appreciated. The short length becomes more noticeable in this iteration though so that’s something to keep in mind. You will absolutely be blasting through this game at record pace. So it’s a fun title but definitely keep that part It keeps this one from going any further but it’s still worth a playthrough if you have the Switch Online.

Overall 6/10

Ghost Rider Review

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It’s time for an old school superhero game. This one’s not trying anything fancy and is really just focused on letting you smash as many demons as possible. This works out well though and while the game could maybe use some polish in some areas, it always keeps up a fast pace so you are bound to have a great time here.

The game starts off with Ghost Rider being told by Mephisto to destroy a bunch of demons or the main heroine is going to be taken out of the picture. So Ghost Rider will reluctantly be helping Mephisto to stop Blackheart but if the demon lord lets his guard down for even a moment then it’ll be all over. Ghost Rider is a being of vengeance after all, he will never relent and he will never stop. His abilities are simply too powerful.

The story’s really just a cover to start on the beat em up gameplay. It’s technically about as thin as they come, particularly for a newer console like the PS2. The cutscene are still a lot of fun but the sound gets real low for those which is a really odd decision. I would have the volume in the 20s for the gameplay, then I’d quickly have to shoot it up to the 30s for the cutscenes. It was a lot of back and forth there and there’s no subtitles option.

Now the gameplay is where this one really excels. You have your standard attacks, power moves, jumping attacks, shotgun, super attack, and super mode. You have to carefully decide which moves you want to use when taking the enemies down. Shotgun, and Supermode use the same energy. Personally I would say to stick with the mode since it lasts a while so it’s way more useful than the gun. The shotgun is only good to use if you ae fighting one of the enemies who is protected by a barrier that won’t break until your combo level is high enough. Those guys can be annoying but the shotgun does help with that. See your combo meter goes up by switching up your attacks rather than a total number of blows.

A good tip for that though is to use your super move. If you have it properly leveled up then it automatically raises your combo level enough to destroy any barrier. The game is also extremely generous with the EXP. Trust me you’ll be blasting through the levels like it’s nobody’s business so you’ll have maxed out all of the abilities early on. From there it’s really a breeze. I would say the game is on the easier side. I died like 2-3 times total and they were all because I fell off of the stage. There was one tricky elevator ride where the edges always got real close real fast. Beyond that I didn’t have a problem with the enemies.

Mainly just make sure you jump a lot since the jumping combo is super handy and don’t worry about saving energy. You earn it so fast that you should just focus on blasting away at any enemy that stands before you. Then you keep it moving. Your super attack is also so good that it can take out a clean 1/3 of even the final boss’s health bar. Not bad right? It’s why you want to level these attacks up real fast.

If you let your guard down or get too sloppy then you can still lost some lives here. When I say that the game is easy, I’m certainly not saying that it’s a cakewalk or anything like that. It will still take some effort here and good planning but as long as you fight carefully then you should be okay. The game has 30 levels but the overall length is fairly short at around 4 hours or so. The longest levels can go up to 12 minutes but the shortest ones are under 2 so it really depends on the stage. Around half of them are the racing levels which tend to always be on the short side. I did enjoy the gameplay a lot with those though. The motorcycle controlled really well the whole time and the shotgun did work wonders while here.

Of course I always like beat em up gameplay so the combat levels were also really solid. You had takedown throws and everything. The way you recover health is to stand next to fire which I thought was a pretty interesting way to go about it. Meanwhile one of the highlights here is the rock music. There is nonstop rock music in just about every level in the game. When you’re fighting just about any kind of demon it shows up and really gets the blood pumping. The game properly understood that when you’re playing as Ghost Rider you want to feel that special intensity since you’re such a powerful force. It’s safe to say that this really helped elevate the game up further. It was so good.

The visuals were more on the standard side. They were good and all but definitely could have popped out a little more. I like all of the fire everywhere and the character designs are on point so that’s what counts. Blackheart even gets to show his true demonic side this time which was really nice to see. Ghost Rider really needs to get another game at some point, there’s a lot you can do with him.

Overall, Ghost Rider was a pretty good game. You can tell that it is a movie cash-in in some ways but on the other hand I don’t think it was totally phoned in. You do get to use Ghost Rider’s chain a lot and the moveset really does a good job of working out the way you would expect it to for this fighter. There’s enough content to keep me entertained all the while here so I really have no complaints there. You can get it for a really good nowadays too. So if you haven’t played this game yet then you should definitely change that!

Overall 7/10

Golden Axe Review

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Golden Axe is one of those retro games that just about everyone has heard of and for good reason too. It’s a very classic beat em up that got several sequels and the gameplay is very smooth. It’s also got a bit of a story to it so there is more of a budget than some of the other titles. The difficulty level is super high but what else is new right? At this point that’s really just par for the course.

The gameplay is fairly straight forward here. You can swing your sword, hit opponents at close quarters, and you can throw them. I found the most effective attack was to jump and swing your sword. This is because most enemies can’t reach you in the air which is already a super big advantage and then another good bonus is that it knocks the opponent over. So if you were getting trapped in the corner or something like that then this will give you a whole lot of space. Trust me, it’s a really good way to reset your positioning.

The only downside is that the attack isn’t particularly strong so you will have to use it a lot. Still beats getting hit constantly while trying to use the normal attacks though right? I would say to never use the standard hits unless it’s a one to one because almost inevitably the opponent will land a counter attack on you somehow. For some reason your hits just don’t really have much of a stun effect on them so the opponent is able to squeeze in a hit sometimes. Let me tell you, your health bar goes down really quick so those hits tend to add up before you know it.

That’s the part of the game that I would definitely like to have tightened up a bit. The beat em up style works better with large hit boxes where I can really be sure that my attacks are landing. You need at least some hit stun on the opponents and that’s really not much of a thing here. It makes it so you have to go with some cheesy strategies like the jumping hit that I mentioned. I really don’t think that’s the intended way to always launch an attack but it worked the best so why wouldn’t I use it right?

The graphics here are really good and I would say that’s one of the more impressive parts of the game. The colors really stand out and the stages are well designed. The soundtrack is also good with a lot of energy and life built into it. They didn’t hold back on the technical elements. As for the game’s length, I’d say it’s around an hour or so. The difficulty should definitely add on a few hours to that though as you will not be beating most of these levels on your first shot.

Maybe if you find the best place to use the bombs that will help. I never really figured out how to be more efficient with those. I sort of just used them as I got more because otherwise I’d be filled up a few times and the extra bombs would go to waste. Only unfortunate thing is you use them all up at once, I couldn’t figure out how to make it so I would only use 1-2. There has to be a way to do that though.

That’s about it for my gameplay tips here. It’s fairly straight forward so it’s really just about executing the attacks with perfect timing as opposed to learning anything fancy. You can always try to wait for the opponent to lunge at you. That way you step out of the way and then launch a counter attack. That’s actually a pretty effective way to handle things but not all enemies will do that. You can also cause an enemy to fall off the stage. Some minions like skeletons will literally just walk off the map if you bait them, while others require a quick jumping hit to take them over the edge. Either way it’s not super hard to do and it is really efficient since you are skipping a fight so I would say to keep that in mind. I feel like most beat em ups don’t really do that so it’s a nice little touch there.

The toughest enemies in the game are definitely the knights with a shield. I’m still not sure what the best way to deal with them is. Their blades are so long that they can hit you while you are jumping and they don’t let you get up close to hit them. I mostly just kept moving up and down to try and hit them as soon as they appeared in front of me but that’s hardly foolproof and I definitely took a lot of hard hits in the process.

Overall, Golden Axe is a pretty good game. It may not be the longest one out there and I had a few suggestions to improve the gameplay but on the whole I think it did pretty well for itself. I’m certainly ready to go and check out that sequel. It’s yet another game that would work really well in a modern setting. I can picture this becoming a 3D beat em up like Dynasty Warriors on the PS5 and just enjoying the process of taking all of the opponents down a few pegs. That would be a lot of fun. In the meantime if you have the Switch Online I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Overall 7/10

Comix Zone Review

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It’s time for a Genesis game that really had a pretty memorable style to it. This game looks like a comic book all the way through which was pretty cool. You get to run through the pages and take down a bunch of enemies. At times the concept can be a little better than the execution but at the same time I can’t really be too harsh on it because it’s a good game either way. It almost goes without saying at this point but the game is rather difficult.

So the author/artist gets sucked into his own comic and has to get out. He’ll need to play through the adventure now but the comic doesn’t fully go the way that he drew it. Fortunately this guy gets the hang of being an action hero rather quickly and starts taking names left and right. Nobody’s going to be keeping him down for very long here. The gameplay is that of a classic 2D beat em up. You go through waves and waves of enemies as you try to make it to the end. There is usually a boss somewhere along the way and you take him down with your fighting moves. Eventually you will have beaten the game.

The gameplay is super basic but it’s till difficult because your attack range is rather small so you have to get up real close to the enemies. That means it gets really easy for you to end up taking a stray hit and your health goes down very quickly. Realistically you can expect to get a ton of game overs before you complete the game unless you bust out the very trusty rewind feature. In some ways that may be your last and best hope.

The graphics are pretty solid here. Like I said it does really look like a comic so they did a great job there. The soundtrack is also really good. It’s got that 90s tough guy type of vibe to it. A lot of rock themes all the way through which helps to make the gameplay more exciting as well. There is a good amount of dialogue in the game and a real story the whole way through which I appreciated as well. So the game had a good budget all the way around.

On the negative side, the actual gameplay is just very uninspired. You’re not going to be super entertained while fighting the enemies. Not saying it’ll be a snooze or anything but even for a beat em up you need some better attacks. Something that stands out more than a simple punch you know? That would have done a world of good for the game. Also some of the aerial enemies would feel a bit cheesy with how quickly they would fly into you. Again, your attacks are short range so it’s really hard to deal with these enemies except to just eat the hit and then counter. The problem is that the hits add up very quickly and then you’re out.

The final boss is a really fun level though because you’ve got a time limit that has two different endings play out. Basically you have to try and beat the enemy before the main heroine dies. Unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough so I got the bad ending here. It’s really tough to defeat the enemy right away especially because I didn’t realize at first that I needed to have the machine hit him. I was just landing combos on my own but apparently that was not nearly enough.

In terms of replay value, there isn’t much here but that’s normal. The idea is to beat the game and then that’s the end of the road. The game’s length is fairly short at around an hour or so but still longer than other Genesis titles. It sort of comes with the territory of being an older game but if you have the Switch Online it shouldn’t be much of a factor anyway. I don’t think spending a lot of money on these games back in the day would have been a good investment but the game has definitely changed with how the online titles work.

Overall, Comix Zone is a game that I won’t forget. It absolutely is memorable but in terms of gameplay it’s not as strong as the average beat em up. So you’re playing this more for the novelty than the quality which can be tricky since the novelty can’t hold you up for the entire time. Still, it’s a good game and I would recommend checking it out if you have the Switch Online. You’re going to be experiencing lots of action all the way so it definitely delivers on the genre you’ve been promised here.

Overall 6/10

Alien Storm Review

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This is definitely a weaker Genesis title. It’s a beat em up which is usually awesome but it has some extremely questionable design choices that hold the whole thing back. Like I’m talking design choices that will just have you scratching your head the whole time. Like why is this the case? It has some interesting ideas and I like the final boss but the game could have been better.

Basically you jump in to save the humans from the aliens that are everywhere. The aliens are shapeshifters and have even started turning into humans and different objects. One common object here is a trashcan that the aliens will turn into to get you to lower your guard before they pounce! So you have to still save the normal humans without letting the fakes go. No worries though, none of this is reflected in the gameplay. There is no friendly fire so just blast everything and you’ll only hit the aliens anyway. Most of the game is the 2D beat em up style but some levels at the end will quickly turn 3D where you blast a lot of aliens trying to get onto the screen.

This game is fairly unforgiving as even with rewind I got myself completely doomed on the first playthrough and barely survived on the second. The reason is that your normal attack either goes straight up if you’re playing as the guy or is a flame thrower that doesn’t do much damage if you play as the girl. Why can’t you just blast these aliens straight up? The whole time I’m wondering why the gameplay would be intentionally making it hard for you to hit the opponents. You have to use combos by hitting the normal attack button several times to do a ground move which knocks them out but this costs energy.

You can always call in an air strike or drop a massive nuclear bomb on the enemies to clear the screen but it takes up a ton of energy so you really shouldn’t spam this. If you do run out of energy then it’s tough because even your normal attacks don’t work anymore. When you have no energy, you swing it like a club and hope for the best. The problem is that this does almost no damage and it’s super hard to dodge the enemies.

I should underscore that when I ay it does almost no damage, that technically does mean that it does a little bit. So in theory you actually could beat some enemies like this but not enough to clear a level. Even with rewind I tried every kind of angle to get close to the aliens and it just wasn’t working. Then if you enter a 3D level with no energy, you can only fire a few blasts here and there so there is no way to blast all of the creatures in time. In both cases you are doomed so these are what I’d call complete choke points. Once you’re out of energy then even rewinding won’t save you.

All of this is to say that it’s an extremely difficult game. Perhaps the third playable character would have had a better weapon to use, I didn’t actually play as him. The core issue though is that your normal attack shouldn’t use energy. You should always have an attack that you can use at all times in a beat em up. Otherwise you can’t really focus on just having fun and blasting away at everyone because you’re worried about running out. I definitely think the game needed to improve on this aspect.

The 3D parts were fun at least but in part I admit it’s because they were just easier. These parts felt enjoyable to just be blasting everything as the screen keeps panning left to right. It’s even soothing in a way as it’s all so symmetrical. You know exactly what you will get at all times. It’s also good that it was fun because otherwise the plot really doesn’t exist here. You barely even know why you’re doing all of this. Of course in general you’re saving the world but it’s such a general/basic plot. You are not going to be playing this game for the story.

Now we come to the graphics and I can safely say that the game looks pretty good. I like that we actually see different shops and lots of unique backgrounds. The enemy character models are good and the same goes for the civilians. The music is fast paced and so I don’t have any issues with the technical effects here. The game is fairly short but considering how difficult it is, it’s probably a good thing it wasn’t longer or that would have been really daunting.

Overall, Alien Storm is a game with a fun premise but the gameplay doesn’t live up to this. My main problem stems from the fact that it’s a beat em up where you can’t just have fun knocking out the competition because you’re always worried about your energy and ammo. You should be able to just go in there guns/fists blazing and then fight them. It feels like the game missed out on what I would consider to be the critical point of any beat em up. Why make a game in this genre when you can’t do that? So check this game out and maybe there is some kind of attack option that I missed but otherwise this is not the title that you will want to check out.

Overall 5/10

Hellboy: The Science of Evil Review

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It’s time to jump into the world of Hellboy! This is one of those games that I sort of forgot existed but it’s a pretty fun beat em up. The gameplay is solid and there are a good amount of cutscenes in here. So while there aren’t a lot of frills around the game, it does really do the job of being a fun title that keeps you entertained all the way through. The combos are tight and while you will be spamming a lot, it’s just fun.

The story is kind of all over the place since you keep jumping from the past to the present. There’s an evil witch who is causing trouble so you have to destroy her in the past and then in the present you’re dealing with an evil scientist who is probably trying to take over the world. You feel like Hellboy himself is probably overwhelmed too because it feels like every level involves him getting beat up and thrown around over and over again. Like he seriously can’t catch a break and he’s fed up at this point. Fortunately he does have super durability so he can handle himself.

Hellboy’s a fun lead because he has a very sarcastic air about him. No matter what happens, he’s got to have the last word on it and I can respect that. The guy is also a total tank with how he can just keep taking shots and walking them off. It doesn’t always translate into full attack power which his opponents take advantage of but he wins in the end which is what counts. The gameplay is mainly beat em up style so you go around crushing enemies with your fists or using your gun. For 99% of the game I recommend sticking to your fists but one world has a light gun which one shots all opponent so I definitely recommend using that one.

There is no level up system or any kind of power ups so what that means is you should only fight the enemies that you have to. I would just keep on running until a barrier stopped me and then I would fight the enemies. After all, why fight when there’s no benefit right? Occasionally there are a few puzzles that you have to solve like moving a lever or breaking something but the game keeps them fairly simple so I wouldn’t worry about that too much. You’ll typically be able to notice that the object or wall look a bit different.

One mechanic that makes the game a whole lot easier is that you are able to absorb health from enemies. This attack is petty much broken to be honest. You just grab the enemy and thrown him in the air for a slam. Do this and you get half of your health back. You also have high speed health regeneration if you can dodge attacks for around 5 seconds. So with very few exceptions, you should not typically be in any danger. It is possible to get overwhelmed if you let your guard down though. Also, the final boss did finish me off the first time. The laser basically covers the screen and is tough to deal with. I very nearly lost a second time but hung on with the last bit of my health. That seems to happen to me in a lot of games to be honest.

The game has constant checkpoints which is a great quality of life feature. As I mentioned the gameplay is also just fun because it’s nice and flashy all the way through. You may be using the same moves over and over but they’re still fun because of this. The platforming is a bit clunky but there are only a few sections in the game where you have to jump so this tends to be rare. The graphics are also fairly decent. It’s not a high end PS3 game but it is still PS3 level and so you have full cinematics and a lot of different backgrounds. I felt like the game had a reasonable budget. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side.

There isn’t a ton of replay value to be had here. You can try to find all of the collectibles scattered throughout the game but aside from barely charging the power up meter that you never use anyway, I’m not sure if there is much of a point to it. The main playthrough here will really be for the story all the way through and that works for me. It’s short but there’s enough levels here. The ending also leaves room for that hype sequel even if you know that it’s just not going to happen at this point. We did get an unrelated Hellboy game recently though so it’ll be fun to compare that one at some point.

Overall, Hellboy is a pretty fun game. It brings you back to the simpler days of movie-tie ins where they had basic gameplay styles and just took you through the events. Some would be about the same as the movie and some would diverge immediately but you didn’t have to worry about advanced mechanics or anything like that. This is a very simple plug and play that I think works really well. I’m not going to call it a great game but it was never trying for that. It’s a game that you can get for cheap and will last you for a few hours so there’s no real downside to that right? I’d say to pick this one up as long as you like the beat em up genre.

Overall 7/10

TMNT Splintered Fate Review

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It’s time for one of the most impressive Apple Arcade titles. Some of these games have been a little hit or miss to be honest but this one was a full on grand slam. It’s a title that holds its own with the big ninja turtle games and has impressive production values all around. The only weak part is the incomplete story that does its best to feel like a mobile title. Ah well, I likely won’t be around to see the ending of the game as my free trial will be over by then but otherwise this was a great game all around.

The game starts with Leonardo getting crushed by the Shredder and his goons. He’s then warped back home where it turns out that the Shredder has kidnapped Splinter. The Turtles will have to go and save him but the tricky thing here is that there are so many unanswered questions. Who has this teleportation technology at the ready that is backing the Shredder and why do they need Splinter? For now the Turtles will have to worry about that later and dash in to secure their victory.

It’s a good thing that they don’t have time to worry about the mystery because the game doesn’t either. Lets just say that the game ends with more questions than answers. The final cutscenes have a ton of moments where they break the 4th wall and do so rather unapologetically. Now granted, I actually thought that was pretty funny to an extent but the game should have had a little more of an ending. It gave me flashbacks to Mega Man X Dive which always loved to taunt you with future developments that just never ended up happening. It would just taunt you over and over again. It’s too early to say if that is really the case with this game or not though.

So the gameplay is an aerial beat em up. I’ve seen it compared to Hades and that sounds about right. I really like this rogue style where you really do get stronger in each run. There are several ways to handle this, for example Has Been Heroes is one such game that I played. I did enjoy it a lot but the problem is that there are no permanent upgrades. So when you die you start from scratch but aside from just getting better at the game there is no easy way to progress further. It’s difficult but without a level up system or anything it drags on a bit too long.

This game is much better with that as every loss gives you new hope as you get more currency to start your next run in a much stronger state. For example you can buy upgrades so you start out with 10% more health, 10% more damage, etc. They continue to accumulate as you play. It’s at a rate which is just quick enough to make a difference without being too fast that it makes the game too easy or anything like that. It’s got a perfect balance all the way through if you ask me. Then inside of the actual levels there is a ton of variety as well. For example in each level you get a power up. 3 random abilities will appear and you have to pick one.

There are so many types that each run will have you experiencing different options. You have to see which combination gives you the most potential and highest amount of offensive capabilities. For me I liked fire abilities (big surprise right?) like an explosion at the end of your swings and leaving a fire trail while I dash. You can equip power ups to your attacks, specials, and tools. Once you have chosen one, you can later discard it for another element or power it up. At shops you can quickly replenish health or get even more powers.

It’s always a real debate you have to have with yourself. Do you go with the immediate power up right now and get stronger or do you take the slow and steady approach by gaining more health? Personally I say to always go for the health and get any power ups if you have leftover currency. That said, if you’re early on in the game and know you won’t get far then I’d say to get coins which are what you use to get the permanent upgrades. Each run can take anywhere from 20-60 minutes depending on how far you get so it’s easy to keep on playing.

The title has so much depth that it’s hard to talk about it all. Basically just know that you were in real good hands with this one. You can just keep playing it over and over and over again and when you finally do get the win you will feel really good. The levels and bosses all have a few different varieties to them as well so there is some RNG in your run. For example one version of the Karai boss was so tough it would always set me back a little. Her mystic form I think it was. Once you win the first time it’ll get easier to keep on winning though as you’ll really have the gameplay down at that point.

When it comes to the graphics, those are naturally top tier. I also especially like the character designs here, they are some of the best that I’ve seen for the Turtles. The costumes for Shredder and Karai work really well too and then the graphics in-game are really solid. The soundtrack is less memorable but it works well enough. There was clearly a ton of budget put into this game which is why I hope they really start to speed up with adding in more content. This is the kind of game that has so much potential but even while it is unfinished it is good enough to play right away.

Overall, TMNT Splintered Fate is a great game. It’s really a powerhouse on the Apple Arcade and the kind of game I could easily spend hours and hours on. It’s just really addicting with a tremendous gameplay style that has a lot of variety. I definitely enjoyed every minute of this game and would love to see more titles use this kind of gameplay. The feeling of growing stronger in a tangible way is something I’ve always loved. Shantae is another series that does really well with this. Most RPGs have this feature but it especially feels nice with more of a real time system like this game. So even if you are not a big TMNT fan, I would suggest checking this game out because it really is just that fun.

Overall 8/10

Monkey King: Hero is Back Review

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This game was definitely one of the more random ones that I ended up grabbing from Gamestop but when a title is just a few bucks you’re inclined to take a few risks right? Odds are that this would be worth the few bucks and naturally that was the case in the end. This is the kind of game that may not be great but it’s good fun and by the end you realize you had a good time with it. I’d definitely be down with a sequel to this one someday.

The game starts off with the Monkey King getting taken down by the gods so his powers have been sealed. A kid unseals him and the hero, Sun saved him but a girl gets kidnapped by the villains. The kid begs Sun to help out and at first this Monkey King can’t be bothered but as the adventure goes on he realizes that it is finally time to step up and be a hero. Without his famous powers will he really be able to win though? Only time will tell! One thing’s for sure, he will need to eventually find a way to remove those chains before it’s too late.

The story of the Monkey King is a classic one and this adaption does a good job of going through the motions. He gradually learns about empathy, kindness, and humility as the days go on. At first he is very gruff but gradually becomes a team player. It’s all handled rather well here even if it may come across as just a little generic. The story is fairly barebones as it is. Even the trio of characters have a fairly old dynamic with Sun being the gruff one, you have the guy who talks tough but is actually weak, and finally the kid who means well and is super cheerful but isn’t really cut out for tangling with the others even if he has the heart for it.

So you’re playing this one more for the gameplay which is fortunately pretty good. It’s a 3D action game where you take out enemies with hand to hand skills or use one of your attack powers. I highly recommend using a bench to fight most of your battles. Yes, you heard me right…. a normal bench. It’s surprisingly effective the whole time. It has a longer reach than your normal blows and also deals more damage so it’s kind of a no brainer right? Once you get hooked on it then you won’t want to use anything else. The only exception is a staff that you should unlock by the very end of the game. Once you have it, it is an immediate upgrade over the bench so you’ll never use it again.

You can upgrade all of your special abilities as you play through the game so choose the ones that you want to max out carefully since by the end of the game you won’t have enough points to max everything. Mainly if you go with a maxed out bench and staff then you should be okay. There are other fun abilities like your projectiles but they all just feel a whole lot weaker. Also, the game is more fun with those items because otherwise the game can feel a little too slow and clunky the whole time. I do have to say it’s a pretty valid complaint against the game. The core combat doesn’t feel super balanced or organic at times. Mix that in with how the game can actually be rather difficult and you can have a rough time here.

I only barely beat the final boss after a lot of cheesing and was nearly out of magic meter. Just one or two more hits and I would have lost. It makes for a spectacular story down the road of course and you feel good when winning a real nail biter like that but I can’t help but feel that I would have done better if the game was just a bit more polished. At times it can feel like you dodged an attack when you get hit or an opponent launches an attack with no real way to dodge it. The enemies also have a whole lot of health at their disposal and you feel like they would have calmed down on that a bit.

The free roaming parts of the game where you pick up collectibles and find things is okay but I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of effort put into that. The focus is definitely more on the combat. I do give the game a lot of props for making the final, final boss a blast though. There is a whole different gameplay style created just for that fight and it ends up making a real big difference. See, you can actually feel the power and high stakes behind the final boss due to this. It is worlds different from every other boss fight and that’s exactly the kind of feel and atmosphere you’re supposed to be going for with this. The game understood the assignment here.

Overall, The Monkey King is a fun game. I’ll admit that it gets off to a rocky start and you have to get used to the game so initially it was leading up to more of a 6 star slot but by the end the game came into its own and really surprised me. It’s still a fairly short game so you’ll likely have it beat in around 10 hours or less but it’s a complete title. It also helps that I got the game for around $5-10 which is a fair price for this title. If you see it for a price like that then I recommend grabbing it. There’s not a lot of replay value here beyond aiming for the platinum so I’d say to just enjoy the gameplay/experience and call it a day. At the end of the day that’s really all that you need/want here. The wii Monkey King game I played was more fun but this one still gave me a good time.

Overall 7/10

Dusk Diver 2 Review

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It’s good to have Dusk Diver back in action. I thought the first Dusk Diver was quite a bit of fun even if it was real short. Well this game continues with that action while also being longer so that’s a good thing. In some areas the budget does begin to show itself and I think the game could have masked that more but either way you’ll have a fun time here.

The game starts by explaining that Yang has somehow kept her abilities after the first adventure. Additionally her teammates can still turn into animals at times so clearly some ties to the gates have stayed in place. The heroes have to look into this but in the meantime a mysterious kid has appeared in the other world and the government is starting to act really shady as they create a lot of barriers. When you throw in another faction that wants nothing more than to destroy the world, the heroes know that they are going to be in for a tough time here.

I wouldn’t say the plot itself is amazing compared to the average RPG but there’s enough in here to keep you engaged. It has a bit of a slow start but once the dark diver shows up then the game really starts to cook. I’d say that it also went all out in the climax with the big villains and fights there. You can see all of the potential here and how this would make for a great anime. Throw a solid budget at it and there will be no looking back. There’s still a lot of comparisons you could make here between Yang and Yang from RWBY. Their personalities are different but the similar power set and character design will always be fun to note.

The gameplay is your classic beat em up style. You control one character and try to destroy all of the monsters. Beating all of them allows you to then proceed to the next area so you keep on repeating those steps. You can buy new moves as you earn ability points and you also upgrade your weapons. You can even control how you level up by personally picking the attributes that you want to increase. The max level is higher than 100 so you can expect to go very far here. I made it to around level 100 before beating the game.

My only critique on the gameplay style would be that the enemies have a lot of health so it can feel like they are damage sponges at time. You aren’t in any real danger but beating them can take quite a bit of time. The combat system is rather basic too so you’ll really spend most of your time spamming the same moves over and over again. Not exactly the most explosive gameplay style. I always like beating enemies so it works out well enough but they probably could have done more with this.

The graphics are definitely solid. There aren’t a lot of cinematics here but the ones that we do get are fun. I like the lyrical song that plays when you unleash your final smash during some of the big bosses too and overall I’d say the soundtrack is good. The game succeeds on those technical areas. One odd thing is how the text boxes can’t keep up with the game is in the middle of a cutscene. You have to turn auto off and manually click through or it’ll be as if the characters are constantly cutting each other off.

Throw in a typo or two as well and those are the kind of cracks you don’t see as much in a AAA game. There is a lot of content to go through here though so they didn’t skip out on all the bonus content. I even beat the game without getting a significant amount of the trophies here. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like there is a level select and a lot of the trophies are miscible so I would have to go back to the start anyway. I’m hoping New Game+ at least lets you keep the collectibles so you aren’t completely starting from scratch but I’m not sure exactly how that works.

It does add to the replay value though so you can bet that you will be here for quite a while. This is no longer a game that you can just pick up and complete in a batch or two. My advice when playing is to max out your power right away so you end the battles easier and then save your gems so that you can quickly level up your weapon as soon as you have beaten the chapter. It’s always a good idea to do this since the boost is big. Additionally, make sure you eat food as often as you can and always buy something different. I bought every food dish I could find in the city and it paid off with a ton of extra EXP.

You also get passive stat boosts so there are really no downsides to doing this. You want every advantage that you can get in a fight after all. While the game isn’t super difficult, you can still be given a good run for your money if you aren’t careful. There was a boss or two where I just won with barely any health left. It’s very cheap to buy items though so don’t be afraid to buy a ton of potions and revives. Those always come in handy.

Overall, Dusk Diver was a lot of fun. In some ways I absolutely think they could have done more with it and I really zoom in on this because my expectations for the series are quite high. The concept is just so good and I always like this kind of gameplay after all and the characters are fun so right off the bat that’s a lot of advantages for this title. With more of a budget I think they can take this to the next level but we’ll see if they do that for a 3rd game. The new concepts and characters were all fun to see. There’s a lot more you can do with this world as well now that it has gotten so much development and build up. Especially since you could say this game ends on an even more open note than the first. There’s no reason why the series would have to end when you take that into consideration. If you want to play through an action title with a lot of combat then this should be right up your alley.

Overall 8/10