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Hot Shots Tennis Review

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Hot Shots Tennis is one of those games where I would always see the cover at the game shop but I never really got to try it out. Well, now was my chance to finally play through it and it’s a fun game. It takes a little getting used to because they put a whole lot of effort into where you tilt your controller. So if you hold up for example then the ball is absolutely going to go past the end of the field. I don’t think this was a good idea to be honest but the game still succeeds.

Right away when starting the game you are impressed by how clear the menus are. They spared no expense here, each mode is clearly labeled and I like the way the progression system is set up. For example in the first round if you win then you unlock a new character. After that you unlock stages, new ranks, etc. The game always tells you what the reward will be ahead of time and what you have to do in order to earn it. I really appreciated the way the system was set up.

You always want to know what is coming next. This is something you would see more with some of the older games and it’s something I would like to see continue on with the newer ones. It just gives you extra energy to know that you’re about to reach the next stage. The graphics are also charming and capture the PS2 level of tech really well. The artstyle was absolutely a perfect match right here. It reminds me a lot of the Mario golf graphics when Plum was introduced. It’s not quite chibi either, just compact. It’s a very colorful game.

The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side unfortunately. I suppose not every game can be Xenoverse 2 though. As for the gameplay, like I mentioned it’s a bit different. So the idea is that you don’t want to make your move until the ball is close to your racket. For example if you get to the right spot early enough and prepare your shot, you will hit it too hard in the direction you are pointing. You will end up losing the point.
So in a way you are penalized for reading the ball too well.

You have to really just trust in your reaction times and land the devastating blows at the last moment. This is easier said than done though, it’s a whole other set of skills to pull something like that off. So you definitely need to practice. I was getting rolled for a bit during my matches as well before I got the hang of it. Once you do get the hang of it then you should be playing rather smoothly but the only tricky thing is that it does make the gameplay a bit slower. I’m not really sure how you would combat that. In a way it seems like the gameplay style actually makes that rather inevitable which is a shame.

It’s possible that there are alternate gameplay styles that would really let you show off the speed more though. So I don’t want to put any of this in as being definitive or anything like that. I’m also sure that the more I get the hang of the controls, the more I will have pinpoint timing that will even subtly speed up the gameplay somewhat. It’s really a game that rewards continued effort and dedication.

I dare say they should make a new one for modern consoles. You’d probably need a bit of a hook to make it stand out with how many tennis games there are nowadays though. Some kind of a real cinematic story would go a long way though. That would absolutely do the trick and then you have something that’s really around for all ages with no drawbacks. If I’m being honest there are so many games around that I wouldn’t get it day 1 or anything but I would definitely still pick it up at some point.

Overall, Hot Shots Tennis is a lot of fun. It took me some getting used to with the way the gameplay works but I got it down by the end. It could still benefit from a faster style but it is what it is. This is the kind of game you can pick up with no context and jut have fun with. It’s clear that the developers had a lot of passion with this one and it wasn’t just slapped together. I would definitely recommend it if you like tennis games.

Overall 7/10

NBA 2K24 Review

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The PS+ trial definitely let me try a bunch of games so that was really cool. This one in particular is still pretty new so you’d be paying a pretty penny if you wanted to buy it. It’s a fun game even if I still do tend to prefer the NBA live series to the 2K experience. I feel like this one tends to be more grounded while Live is a lot more arcade style. So the latter just ends up being more fun and explosive. Still, it’s basketball so either way you’re going to have a good time.

I jumped into some exhibition matches to test things out. I can say right away that you will probably have a hard time scoring or doing much in the game at the higher difficulty levels. These guys were absolutely brutal so I had to switch to easy mode real quick. Even then it could get rather close at times. When you’re shooting, you have to hold the ball until it reaches a green zone in a meter that shows up. The tough part is that the speed of the meter really varies based on distance and which player you are. That or it’s completely random. I would have a better idea of that the more I play the game. In the meantime though, it means that sometimes I will be wide open and still miss the shot. This is where the retro Basketball games were a bit better like NBA Live 2003 where you would just line the shot up and make it.

It was less precise but you still had to get into the open lane and time things strategically. I thought it was a pretty good balance overall. Ah well, it gives you something to really practice at until you get good. I ended up challenging myself to getting the trophy for 10 3 point shots in a game and I managed to pull this off so that definitely felt really good. You do start to get into a rhythm after a while although raising the difficulty level would probably destroy that rhythm real quick. So you do gotta watch yourself there.

In terms of the graphics, the game looks really good of course. The sport titles may get a lot of shots for not innovating much but they always do look really solid no matter what console you play them on. This one is no exception. Not much of a soundtrack here but I know you can usually add music in the settings for a lot of sport games and I didn’t check that out so it’s possible that there are some good tunes out there.

Naturally as a sport game there is really endless content to have fun with. You can play exhibition matches against a friend or online forever. There is also a lengthy career mode. So as long as you enjoy the Basketball gameplay then you will definitely be here for a long while. I always do have to give the game some credit for the career mode because you really ought to have that in any modern sport game now. It’s what really lets you get absorbed into the title.

What better way than when compared to playing as yourself right? There are a lot of modes I haven’t even touched on yet either like practice, training, all the online modes, etc. They’re all Basketball modes of course but it does give you some options on what you want to do which is very important. It’s another thing you would expect from a big PS5 title and it delivers here.

Overall, NBA 2K24 is a petty good game. It’s still not the best Basketball title out there and I’d like the gameplay to be simplified a bit in the future. Still, you can’t deny that the game delivers with a ton of content right out of the box. This is the kind of game you can keep on playing for a very long while, as long as needed until 2K25 comes out. There’s not a whole lot to talk about here that I haven’t said about the other 2K titles though which also makes it easy to decide who to recommend it to. The hardcore Basketball fans would be my target audience for a recommendation here. Otherwise I’d say to save some money and get something like 2K17 which will be well under $5 at any shop.

Overall 7/10

2XTreme Review

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It’s time for a title that lets you play different sports. So that part’s pretty fun since you get to really switch things up all the time. That said, none of the games will really wow you and there isn’t a ton of variety to be found here. For the most parts the games are just standard so you will have a good time but you won’t be sticking around for very long. Before you know it you will be gone and this game will vanish from your memories.

I decided to play a few levels in each gameplay style to really get the hang of it. My favorite mode was bike riding. I felt like the controls worked best for this setup. It is really hard to win though so I feel like I’m still doing something wrong. No matter how much I would accelerate, I would never catch up to my opponent. Simply put, he was just way too fast. Nobody was lapping me or anything like that but I would usually be sticking to last place. At least I still got some trophies by driving quickly and staying inside of the gates but I would have liked some more wins along with that.

The other gameplay modes like skating and blading were also pretty fun. It could be a little harder to turn in those modes but still nothing crazy. Your main objective in each mode is to go ahead and win the race. Along the way you can pull off some advanced tricks like going through each gate or keeping up a top speed. If you do that then you can earn some trophies. There isn’t much of a tournament mode here though or at least it isn’t unlocked yet. The way you select the match isn’t great though so the menus could use some work.

You have to one by one go down each setting to set them up for the match and then you can start. The problem with this? That means you can’t just jump into a match with ease. It’s probably something where you won’t even notice it once you are used to the setup for a while but it definitely could have been a lot better. Just let me have my settings straight and I can keep on switching levels with ease. This is the definition of a minor problem though and not something that actually hurts anything all that much.

As far as the graphics are concerned, the game looks good. It is definitely on the older side and of course you can tell that but it’s not sloppy or low budget. It holds up as well as I would expect. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. I can’t recall any of the themes at all which is definitely a problem. So the technicals are okay but nothing to write home about which fits in with the rest of the game as well. This is a game that lets you play some sports and that’s exactly what you get. Nothing more and nothing less. So you will be satisfied if that is why you have selected this title.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about the game otherwise since it is very direct. There are no real gimmicks or items here either. It all comes down to your individual skills. How do you handle the turns and unexpected obstacles? You have to always react quickly or else that is it for you. You will be surpassed by all of the other racers and then it’s game over. Although I thought I reacted quickly and I still lost every time so it is what it is.

Overall, 2XTreme is a reasonable game. I wouldn’t call it all that good but it’s certainly not bad. There’s just not a whole lot of bang for your buck here. So you will play it a bit and get accustomed to what’s going on but that’s about it. Before long you will be ready for the next title. So if you have PS+ then you should definitely check this one out but otherwise you’re not missing much if you decide to just skip it outright. You just can’t really go wrong with the game being free.

Overall 5/10

Tekken 2 Review

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It almost feels a bit strange to be playing Tekken when it looks so retro like this. I’m used to the big and bold plots and all of the electronic music hype. This one still does sound really great to be sure but it is rather basic. You’ll be playing arcade mode and that’s about it. I suppose you can’t ask for much more out of the PS1 era though. That’s just how things were back then. The game’s difficulty is impressively high as well.

When you boot up the game you are given the options to go with arcade mode or multiplayer mode. There might be a practice mode as well but I’m not sure if I saw that there. Either way your main time will be spent across these two modes. The Arcade mode is a classic of course. You go through 10 levels as you beat up on a bunch of opponents and get to see a little ending. It’s good fun but like I wrote earlier the difficulty level is really unforgiving. A few hits are enough to take you down for the count.

The opponent is also really good at creating distance. While I was fighting him, the a.i. would always maintain a perfect distance to dodge my attacks while immediately countering. It was definitely not something to be underestimated. So I actually went ahead and tried on easy mode as well and let me tell you that this was no picnic. The computer was still extremely difficult to defeat and had a lot of tricks up their sleeve. I was definitely taken off guard there. So it’s fair to say that the newer Tekken games are absolutely easier. They have not retained the incredible difficulty jump.

I played through Tekken 7 recently after all and it was nowhere near this tricky. The final boss was super tough, that part is true but it wasn’t the whole game the way that Tekken 2 is. That’s a whole other monster right there. The graphics are also good. Again they are dated, but in a fun way. The blocky style is fun and the game still went out of its way to have a full opening and everything. There are a lot of good attack animations all the way through. Then you have the soundtrack which is really good. It nails the electronic feel that the newer games have and that was probably a very rare thing for back in the day.

The replay value is really as long as you have someone to play with. This isn’t the kind of game that you stick around to just play single player for very long. I suppose you could do arcade mode with every character but there aren’t a ton of them so that won’t take you very long either. You’re here for the combat and the gameplay is on point as always so there is no problem there. You have your various moves plus the throw. What has always separated Tekken from the other fighting game titles is how much damage you deal. You can completely eliminate someone in just a few moves which is always insanely impressive. Just memorize a combo for any of the characters and you will be leaving your opponents dazed.

A big part of the combat is really about memorizing each character’s options. That is how you can dodge in time while landing counter blows of your own. Otherwise you will really just be guessing a lot. Reaction times are also very important to be sure because someone could just button mash and still do well if you aren’t able to react to their random moves. Tekken is definitely a game that really tests your skills and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There aren’t really any gimmicks here, it just comes down to you and your opponent’s skills. Do you have what it takes to bring them down?

Overall, Tekken 2 is a pretty good fighting game. It may be more on the basic side but back in the day that would be the case for all of these titles. It’s definitely a fun blast to the past to see all of the characters back in their earlier days so that’s enough of a reason to pop this one back in and play a few rounds. I don’t see you sticking with it for very long like one of the newer ones but it does age well as a novelty title. If you are able to get your hands on this one for free or for a good price then it’s worth the playthrough.

Overall 7/10

Final Fantasy VII Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 38h 26m
Gil 101166
Cloud Level 63
Terry Level 62
The Sith Level 63

Summon Levels
Ramuh Level 1
Neo Bahamut Level 2
Ifrit Level 4
Hades Level 1
Bahamut Level 2
Phoenix Level 2
Shiva Level 3
Bahamut ZERO Level 1

Final Fantasy VII Review

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Well, it’s time for the big one. I started this game ages ago and have finally completed it. Final Fantasy VII is a legendary game that just about everyone has heard of. I became a big fan of this timeline thanks to the Advent Children film which was a complete and utter success. Unfortunately, the game was unable to live up to this level of hype. I was prepared for an amazing game, but ended up with a rather disappointing game. In many ways, FF VII was ahead of its time and was certainly high budget. In other ways, it was simply not up to snuff and really held itself back from a better score.

The plot involves a soldier named Cloud. He doesn’t really remember his past and the villain likes to mess with him quite a lot. He meets up with some resistance members and they decide to take down the corrupt government and save the day. This gets a little complicated when Sephiroth shows himself. He is a being of near limitless power who wants to end the planet. Cloud and his friends are just normal joes, how can they deal with this? They’ll need a lot of Materia (Summoning/Magic crystals) and allies if they want to overcome him. It’s a race against time now.

That’s probably not the best plot summary, but the game is very long with a plot that is constantly adapting as new stories come into play. There are also a lot of side quests and bonus content t hat flesh out the story even more. It’s a legendary game for its plot and this holds up very well. I actually didn’t know much at all about the game despite being a rather big fan of the series in general. A lot of it was all new to me, which was certainly a blast. Cloud’s origin was definitely nice and convoluted and there were so many twists that even I was a little confused by the end. It was in a good way though as it was well thought out and you can understand it as long as you give it enough thought.

The game was also a little more intense than I had been expecting. To be honest, I didn’t notice that the game had blood in it until I stumbled into the lab level where the staff had been viciously attacked. It really came out of nowhere. I will admit that this level was extremely atmospheric and if anything this element made it all the scarier. This was also when the game’s plot started to pick up and get a little more exciting. The beginning of the game is fairly laid back and FF VII likes to slowly build towards the plot. That’s an element that all Final Fantasy games go for as it lets then plot develop the characters and get you to sympathize with them. It’s a good tactic so long as the payoff is really good.

The payoff was worth the wait. Sephiroth is still the best Final Fantasy villain and both of his themes are incredible. The One Winged Angel theme is extremely iconic and it’s certainly great to see the original version of the song. It has all of the memorable beats and is not something that you’d expect from such an old game. Rock/Opera themes like this didn’t really seem to get mainstream until a lot later. Sephiroth also had another theme, which was the surprise hit of the game. It’s a horror theme through and through and with Sephiroth fading in and out like a ghost the whole time, it was really fitting for him.

Final Fantasy is easily the most tense game that I’ve played. It’s the closest to a horror game at these points and as I’ve never played a full horror game before (Or if I have then I can’t recall at the moment) Final Fantasy VII was a nice glimpse of what that would be like. A horror game done well can certainly be good if handled right as this game showed. Even the final bosses had very intense designs as I don’t think you’ll be forgetting Jenova anytime soon.

The graphics are exceptional. In gameplay the character models all hold up well. They are kinda pixely and you can really see that when you play the mods of them in Super Smash Bros, but they are really good for this day and age. Even more impressive is the fact that it had fully animated cutscenes. They weren’t short either as some were quite long. Even the super attacks had them although that’s an iffy point. It goes without saying that the soundtrack is absolutely top notch. You’re not going to find any game that can completely destroy this one in that area as it’s just very solid.

I haven’t touched on the gameplay yet. It’s classic turn based style and that has always aged well. I do miss it to an extent in modern gaming, but if the alternative is that all future Final Fantasy games will go with Kingdom Hearts gameplay….then I have to say that Square Enix made the right call. Real time gameplay is absolutely better although I really love them both. There is a lot of depth to the gameplay as your level isn’t the only thing to think about. Your Limit Level, Equipment, and Summons are all absolutely crucial. A pro tip for any gamers who haven’t played this yet is to make sure that you switch Limit Levels when you unlock a new one. Having a strong Limit Level 3 or even a Level 2 will make a big difference when compared to level 1. I apparently unlocked Level 3 a while back, but I never realized it so I played the whole game on level 1 until the very end. It was a sad moment.

There is a lot of replay value to be found here. You can easily spend over 100 hours on this game and maybe even more. There are numerous pieces of equipment to find and leveling everyone up to the max will take a very long time. There’s a lot of exploring to be done and side quests to complete. Some aren’t even accessible if you wait too long so then you’ll need to start over again. This is the kind of game that never really ends for you unless you put in a crazy amount of time. Even if you just want to play the main story, that’ll last you a while as well.

So…this sounds like a really positive review at the moment right? Well, lets get into the negatives now. One problem with the game is that it got a little too focused on showing off its graphics. Every time you summon a monster, you have to watch a very long and unskippable cutscene. As you’ll be going for many summons, this really ends up dragging out the fight. You’re gonna get sick of watching these cutscenes and there is seriously enough time to go to the kitchen and grab a snack since you can have all 3 of your characters prepare a summon. This means that you have to watch all 3 back to back to back which can take almost 5 minutes. Lets not forget that Sephiroth has his infamous solar system attack which is the longest one in the game.

The first negative was just a mild inconvenience next to this one. This negative is the fact that the map is very bad. Nothing is labelled so you’ll want to have a note pad on hand to write down what all of the islands stand for. Otherwise, you end up being lost for a while as you try to find the location. Wait, it gets worse. There are times in the game where you are given nothing to go on. I got stuck 3 different times in the game and I spent around 10 hours working to get unstuck. I was victorious the first two times, but in the end I finally cracked and ran to Gamefaqs to see what they had to say. I never would have guessed that I had to go into the ocean and find a secret cave towards the top where there were some designs for a cool mech that would lead me to the robot that would break into Sephiroth’s lair. There was absolutely nothing to even suggest this and this felt like a very unfair puzzle. The game had quite a few moments like this and it made the whole experience lose a lot of its enjoyment.

It’s also not very fun to be attacked by minions constantly for taking even a single step. The minions are everywhere and they just keep on coming over and over again. If you made a wrong turn, too bad. You’re gonna have to fight yet another monster. You can run, but then you will still be taking some damage in the mean time. Did I mention that leveling up in this game takes forever? Seriously, don’t expect to get to level 100 anytime soon. The minions are pretty durable and don’t give all that much EXP anyway. That’s why your top priority is developing your limit and finding cool weapons. Those will ultimately make the difference along with some ribbons to protect you from status attacks.

This game can also be a little mean spirited. If you made the mistake of saving once you were in the area of the final bosses and didn’t make another file…then you’re stuck. If you’re at too low a level to defeat Sephiroth, there is now nowhere to safely train and gather your health back. Luckily, I made around 5 files to be on the safe side and gathered a lot of supplies before attempting the boss again. It took me 2 tries, but I managed to secure the hard fought win. I was pretty proud of myself to be honest even if the area before the final boss gauntlet was way too long.

In the end, my main problem with the game is parts of its design. It was just lacking in some basic areas like the map and quality of life concerns. I shouldn’t have to wait through really long battles thanks to the cutscenes and getting lost for hours because the game sent me on a random goose chase is no fun. It’s a shame because the game is a technical masterpiece and the plot is solid. It’s like an AAA game that just didn’t get a great deal of quality control to back it up. I need my quality control which is why I can safely say that Deca Sports was the more enjoyable game. “But that’s crazy!” I’m not saying that Final Fantasy VII is a bad game, but it just wasn’t a fun game most of the time. I was expecting to have a lot more fun with it.

Overall, Final Fantasy VII was a little disappointing. It’s probably my fault for skipping ahead and playing the glorious FF XIII games though. The tough question here is whether to give the game a 5 or a 6. On one hand, my main negative is alleviated if you just buy a guide book or use online resources to get through the puzzles. On the other hand, that’s kind of a cop out. On the other hand, how can you give a game with 5 star graphics/soundtrack/plot and good gameplay a measly out of 10? It’s definitely one of the tougher decisions that I’ve had to make. It also brings Majora’s Mask into the picture as it’s in a very similar situation to FF VII. It has many of the same negatives with regards to the unfair puzzles, but its strengths are a bit weaker. That game I had been leaning towards a 5 on as well, but that puzzle wasn’t even as unfair as FF VII’s. The 3 day system is madness, but at least you can still make it if you keep on practicing long enough and looking for clues. It’s still a poorly conceived puzzle to be clear, but it’s not as drastic since you at least know where to look. Why can’t more games be like Layton? I was stuck there for around the same time as this game, but it never got upsetting as the puzzle was just very fair. Well, I gotta go with my gut here. Being enjoyable is still a game’s top priority. FF VII messed that up and so I can’t really cut it any slack. It will join other legendary titles like Star Fox Zero, Mario Party 10, Sword Art Online Lost Song, Frogger, and Nintendogs in the 5 star ranks. Hey, it’s still not a bad game and if you don’t mind wandering around for a while and being constantly attacked by enemies, then this is right up your alley. In the mean time, I’ll be looking forward to the remake as the gameplay shift should end up helping out a lot.

Overall 5/10

Knack Review

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It’s time to review one of the big PS4 launch titles. Knack was meant to be the next Mario, Crash, or Spyro. He was going to change the gaming world and become a whole franchise. Unfortunately, just like PS All Stars Battle Royale, it was not meant to be. People were not overly thrilled with Knack and a lot of them said that it was repetitive and simply not as engaging as it could have been. Both are complaints that I can agree with to an extent, but Knack’s a fun enough game. I’d buy a sequel at some point although I admit that it wouldn’t be the most interesting series out there.

The Professor builds Knack (Mostly anyway. He doesn’t seem to fully comprehend Knack’s abilities and sentience so maybe he had some help and that’ll be a plot twist. I forgot if he ever gets a name either, but the Professor works just fine. Human cities have been attacked by Goblins and the army has started to get overwhelmed. The Professor decides to step in along with Knack. Together they crush the Goblins easily and decide to go to their home base to put an end to this. The situation gets more complicated than that when Vicktor and his army of robots decide that they want Knack. They need Knack to open up a tomb that leads to powerful Relics (Source of energy and power in this world) that could last them a life time. They also may have The Professor’s wife held hostage and if that’s the case….The Professor’s agenda may have just changed!

After playing a game like De Blob 2, I really can’t call Knack boring in the slightest. For the most part, it is a fun adventure. However, there are times where the plot will slow to a stand still as you rummage through a forest to grab relics or just walk around for a while. There are 13 chapters and each chapter has 3-5 levels in it. The game’s is of decent length. It isn’t too short, but I wouldn’t call it a long game either. If you play it for 2-3 hours a day then you’ll have it beat in about 3 shots. The plot does start right away so that’s good, but it keeps on changing direction because the Professor’s a little confused about what to do. He has to stop the Goblins, but he also has to stop the Robot army and he needs to free his wife as well. Plus, he wants the Relics for himself. As a result, the characters are constantly running from area to area without actually accomplishing their missions for a while. As an example, we decided to go stop the goblins in Chapter 3, but don’t get around to doing so until around Chapter 11.

I almost forgot to mention the Gameplay! It’s a 3D beat em up although it plays more like an action platformer. You can use standard punches to attack enemies or a jumping homing attack/dashing attack. Those are your only options so prepare to see the same punches thrown for the whole game. Once you’ve built up enough sun meter, you can also turn into a whirlwind or make a mini earthquake to startle the villains. Gaining relics in a level will fill up your health and Sunstone Crystals will fill up your energy. The minions can be a little tricky at times so just make sure that you wait and weigh your options before deciding to fight them.

The levels will have treasure chests scattered throughout them. They are always behind a fake wall so if you see something with cracks in it, give it a good punch. These chests have rare stones or parts in them. Once you collect them all (And there are quite a lot) you can unlock new forms for Knack and gadgets that will help you play through the game like a combo meter that increases your power and a secret radar. This is where the Knack’s Quest app will come in handy as it can at least earn you a few parts to save some time. Unfortunately, I don’t like how the Treasure Chests system is handled. For starters, you cannot find them through Chapter Select. The only way to grab the chests is to play the game over again and unfortunately, it seems like you can get old jewels after a while. This means that you may have to play the game several times until you finally get all of the pieces. Not a very appealing thought is it?

Despite that, the trophies seem fairly reasonable. There are a few speed challenges in there, but mostly it is about collecting everything and completing the game on all difficulties. It’s nothing that should be too difficult so much as it is just a little tedious. This does help the replay value though as it wouldn’t otherwise have any. There’s no multiplayer so the replay value is still a little sub-standard, but trophy hunters will still have their money’s worth. Not to mention that the price has gone down quite a bit since it first came out and that makes a big difference.

The soundtrack is not all that noticeable. It doesn’t really stick out I’m afraid and comes across as generic. As for the graphics, I don’t think that they did a great job of showing off the PS4’s power. The character designs are comically bad to the point where the cutscenes are more humorous than anything else. The characters keep walking towards each other only for the tables to turn so they all keep walking in circles. The character proportions are really off for some and for others the designs are just really cartoony. The in game graphics are solid though. It may have just been the artistic style that didn’t work very well for Knack.

The Professor was an okay lead and I actually agreed with his decision to go grab the relics. Sure it would be dangerous for the rest of the world, but unlimited energy is also a great positive. I typically sided with him over Lucas in their various debates. Lucas was very annoying from start to finish. He was always blowing up at the Professor and just being an ingrate in general. Seriously, the Professor could do no right as far as Lucas was concerned. Everything had to be done his way or the highway. Lucas always feels like he is right even when he isn’t. He never develops into a good character. As the main villain Vicktor is all right, but you have to like the more political villains. He does seem a little more emotional as he actually gets visibly upset when Katrina is seemingly destroyed. The way that he goes out was pretty great even if it is a little anti climactic for his fans. Katrina was a good rival for Knack although I still have to question how they were rivals in the first place. It’s seriously a mismatch no matter how you look at it. It was impressive to see her dodging his blows though and getting a robot suit towards the end was a good idea.

Ryder is an Indiana Jones parody and easily the best character in the game. He makes the hero call and never leaves a man or woman behind even when the stakes are high. The Professor and Lucas couldn’t care less about saving the villains, but Ryder makes the right calls. I’d definitely want him to be in the sequel. Gundahar is the leader of the goblins so you’d think that he has a big role, but he actually doesn’t do all that much in the game. I also can’t take him seriously thanks to his design. Charlotte’s The Professor’s wife and she is a very bad character. She is nursing a grudge with the Professor for not finding her soon enough and she builds the weapons for the goblins, yet doesn’t show a lot of remorse for it. Her character arc is incredibly rushed and aside from the Professor, nobody should be thrilled about having her back at this point.

As for Knack himself, he’s an okay character, but he’s not that engaging or charismatic like most leads. He even admits that he doesn’t do the thinking, just the execution. Main characters don’t have to be smart, but the classic “Strong, but not smart” character is typically the side character for a reason. It’ll get old if the character is in the lead since you can expect the same jokes time after time. Knack doesn’t really make jokes, but the game constantly goes in slow motion to dramatically show how hard he hits the ground every time he jumps. We get it..Knack’s strong! His design also isn’t all that great. He reminds me of Hellboy if Hellboy was made of rock and had an evil looking grin. Knack shows signs of potential like when he gets overconfident or brags, but the sequel will have to give him a lot of development to say the least.

Overall, Knack’s a fun enough game, but it does start to be affected by repetition towards the end of its run. After all, you’ll be using the same attacks on the same enemies for quite a while by the end. Luckily, I did enjoy the gameplay quite a bit, but that’s why it is important to have a lot of different attacks so you can defeat enemies in various ways. The story is decent and it was funny at least so that’s good. The heroes did make a lot of questionable calls throughout though so hopefully they’ll be better in a possible sequel. I recommend this game. Even if you’re not a huge fan of it by the end, it’ll be fun for you to compare it to other titles like Crash and Mario. I haven’t played Crash yet so I can’t really comment on whether or not it beats that title at the moment.

Overall 7/10