Stats time!
Play Time 6h 15m
24/37 PS3 Trophies
21/40 Zoni
Weapon Stats
Time Bomb level 1
Mr Zurkon level 4
Buzz Blades level 3
Sonic Eruptor Level 2
Judicator Level max
Mag-net Launcher level 1
Cryomine Glove level 1
Plasma Striker level 1
Rift Inducer 5000 level 1
Dynamo of Doom level 1
Tesla Spikes level 2
Groovitron Glove level 1
Spiral of Death level 5
Mega Constructo Pistol level 5
Ratchet and Clank is finally back with their next installment! The time trilogy effectively ended here, but little did we know that another one would come out soon. No worries, I’ll certainly be buying that one soon. I do own Ratchet and Clank All 4 One so you can expect me to start that one at some point, but I shall be switching consoles to work on another game for now. Ratchet and Clank is one of those franchises that has never had a bad game. My least favorite would be Secret Agent Clank and that was still a solid title. The series has been getting better and better as it consistently gets 8 stars from me nowadays.
The last game ended with Clank being kidnapped and Ratchet vowing to find his little sidekick. Ratchet is forced to work alongside Captain Qwark and he also meets a fellow Lombax who still lives. The Lombax wants to use the legendary clock of time to alter the past and save Ratchet’s family. Meanwhile, Clank is now the ruler of the clock and he learns how to manipulate time. The problem is that the clock is not meant to alter past or future events so Clank needs to make sure that nobody uses it to affect the past or future. That includes Dr. Nefarious, who wants to spread destruction and chaos throughout the timestream. All of the players are getting ready to make their moves so there is a lot on the line this time.
As always, Ratchet and Clank is a blast and a half to play. One of the main reasons why it is an all star title is because you can simply plug and play at any time. The plot is engaging enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, but also simple enough that you can take a 6 month break and still understand what is happening. The only part of the game that can be considered a little dull is the Clank segments, but we still get some witty burns from the side characters. Manipulating time is also really fun and that never gets old.
The graphics look very good and you can immediately tell that this is a PS3 level game. The developers really put in their best effort as the gameplay and cutscenes easily hold up well. Everything is colorful and vibrant, which is great since you are typically in high tech areas or in space. It’s like Sony’s version of the Mario Galaxy titles. The soundtrack is a little more on the forgetful side. I can’t say that any of the themes really stood out to me and you’ll likely forget them very quickly. That’s probably the game’s only real weak point and at least none of the tracks are actually bad.
Ratchet is still a great main character. He’s heroic with a good personality as he doesn’t back down for any opponent. I expected him to be a little more upset at the guy who tried to destroy him, but Ratchet really didn’t want to have to destroy the fellow. I wonder if Ratchet’s father will ever appear or if he is truly lost to the cosmos. Only time will tell I suppose. Clank’s a nice sidekick and he’s a good character. I’ve never been crazy about him compared to the other sidekicks, but I’ve grown to like his sense of humor a little more and he made the right decision at the end of the game. You certainly couldn’t ask for a more loyal partner and seeing as how he beats Bentley, Murray, and Daxter, he really is the best sidekick in this area. I wouldn’t mind if Clank got another game to himself.
Captain Qwark is also a fun guy to have around. He’s a superhero and he is legitimately tough as he destroys many opponents with his physical strength. He just has a bad habit of overrating himself and Qwark loves to be in the spotlight. Deep down, he’s a good guy and his joking just masks that. He’s still one of the best characters in the series and I would really miss his banter if he was gone. Qwark may not always be on the side of justice, but he helped save the universe in this game and we won’t be forgetting that anytime soon.
Azimuth is a new character for the game and he really hits it off with Ratchet. The lombax’s design is very similar to Kratos, which is cool. He even acts a little like the guy as he is always ready for a fight and is a fierce general. The game implies that he is almost as skilled as Ratchet and maybe even a little more. I like to think that Ratchet would win in a fight though. You will likely find this guy suspicious from the start, but his team ups with Ratchet were a lot of fun. Finally, we had another fighter on our side!
The main villain was Lord Nefarious and his butler was around as well. Nefarious seems to be one of the more popular Ratchet and Clank villains. I can’t say that he’s one of the better ones for me, but he is a robot so at least he can fight on his own without throwing minions at you or hiding. Nefarious can fire energy blasts and he does come very close to destroying the universe. He even captures Ratchet and the others at one point, which is no small feat. He has a habit of shorting out and then a video will play, but that’s why Nefarious has his butler! The butler can be a little defiant at times, but he still seems loyal in the long run.
As for the gameplay, it’s your standard third person shooter. The series has a lot of experience with it so it runs very smoothly. There aren’t many games that can hold a candle to it in this style. You get a large variety of guns that you can use by the end and each one works a little differently. I mostly loved the rockets, mini bombs, and my trusty blaster. You can also use your wrench to fight. It’s a little riskier, but it does a lot of damage as a result. If you have faith in your speed, I say go for it! The gameplay is very fast paced and exciting so you should certainly enjoy it a lot.
As for replay value, the game has a lot of that. There are the trophies to unlock of course and there are many collectibles to conquer along the way. There are multiple tournaments to complete and even a Challenge Mode to conquer once you have wrapped up the game once. The story mode will likely take you around 5-6 hours to complete, but the replay value should at least triple that although I’d expect around 20-25 hours unless you manage to take everything down on your first shot. That’s a reasonable length and the game is so fun that it would be worth the purchase even without the replay value.
It’s safe to say that Ratchet and Clank is probably the best shooter that Sony’s got. This series has always been top of the line and I look forward to getting caught up with the franchise in time for the film. It’s lightly possible at any rate. While Kingdom Hearts may still take the title of “best ongoing series with Sony” Ratchet and Clank would be right behind them at second. This isn’t really counting fighting games, but just platformers, shooters, and the other genres. I’m hoping that Ratchet and Clank has another big game coming up aside from the remake of the first title. That will be cool as well of course, but a big one to continue the plot would be a lot of fun. (Unless they really are rebooting the games. In which case, it shall be missed!)
Finally, another big reason as to why Ratchet and Clank is so good is due to the writing. We’re talking 5 stars here as the writing is dynamite. The characters are all rather clever. They don’t talk constantly during gameplay like in the Spider Man games, but they really get to shine in the cutscenes. I think it’s safe to say that the video game series wouldn’t be nearly as legendary without the great script that is always present.
Overall, I highly recommend purchasing this game. Whether you are new to the franchise or already own the other games, this is a title that you do not want to miss. It is a complete video game that has everything that you could possibly want. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is some of the best in the video game world. I could easily play the game over again given how much fun it is. Someday, I will to get the Platinum trophy in this game, but it’ll likely be a long while until then. The next game is going to have a very tough time beating this title, but we should never underestimate Ratchet and Clank.
Overall 8/10
On my video game quest to own all of the games worth owning, I sometimes like to take a step back and aim for a game that’s from the older generation. I got this one a quarter year ago and I have to say that it was easily worth the 4 dollars. This is one of the greatest movie tie ins that I’ve ever played and maybe The best one not including games that tied into superhero films. You don’t want to miss this action packed experience!
The plot is from the film I believe, but it involves a man by the name of John. He works at an organization where they target people who will commit crimes in the future and then take them out personally or lock them up in prison. One day, the future seers have a vision that John ends up murdering someone, but it’s not a unanimous decision as one of them does not report this. John knows that something is up and he aims to get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately, the entire agency made up of hundreds of fighters is out to get him. Will John be able to find out the truth about his alleged murder or will he be stopped in time!?
Since the game is based off of the film, I typically wouldn’t talk about any of the characters. I won’t here either, but I do have to comment that John made for a pretty good protagonist. He made the hero calls when necessary and he never lost sight of his goal. After experiencing a lot of twists and turns throughout his journey, John’s first words in the final level when meeting the final boss are “You’re under arrest.” Now that’s a dedicated hero!
The gameplay is where Minority Report really knocks it out of the park. It’s a mix of third person shooter and a 3D fighting game like Bouncer. It makes for the perfect blend of action types into the combat system. Shooting is pretty easy and linear as you have several guns. All of them are incredibly useful to a fight, but you don’t want to waste the ammo. More on that in a bit. The hand to hand combat techniques are surprisingly deep and there are about as many different combos in this game (20+) as in the average superhero game. You really feel the blows, but simple button mashing won’t be enough as you continue to progress through the game. You need something a little different.
What really makes the game interesting is how challenging it is. You don’t have a certain amount of ammo in each level. It really depends and sometimes you’ll be running on empty. You can spend some cash on it so have a temporary edge to beat the level, but then it can hurt you in the long run. Likewise, you can buy a permanent upgrade like extra health, but you’ll need to last through around 5+ levels without buying anything to work up the funds. Each choice has its amount of ups and downs. The items also aren’t unlimited for some of the temporary power ups like armor or an ultimate shield. I saved the armor for the final boss because…it’s the right thing to do. Trust me, you’ll want to save it! A helpful tip for the final boss is to use any combo that starts with A>B because it will stun her every time, which makes the boss fight a cakewalk after you get the hang of it.
Defeating any of the robots without a gun is very tough and almost impossible to be honest. They don’t flinch and you can’t risk more than 3 hits at a time or they will counter and knock you to the ground. Likewise, all bosses are impervious to guns as they’ll just jump over it or flip to the side. (With one exception.) This definitely forces you to think strategically about how you’ll want to tackle each situation. Saving up your bullets can be a wise move, but sometimes they can be useful to disperse a large crowd of attackers so that you can run by them. An attack that is really a must if you are to survive is the quick slide tackle. It can trip up opponents and deal damage so you should spam it to get the melee fighters out of the way so that you can target the gun fighters.
I also have to say that the game did a great job with the level designs. They do recycle a few old levels during the game, but the plot demands this since he goes to old locations. I especially loved the levels that take place inside of the base and the ones in the city. You actually get a jet pack to use for a few of the levels and it definitely comes in handy. It’s an amazing piece of technology and the gameplay for it is sound. You can move at high speeds and ram opponents to the ground instead of fighting them in hand to hand combat. Proceed with care though because the long range fighters are really good at hitting you no matter how fast you’re going.
The game doesn’t really have any replay value, which can be a little discouraging, but the actual story is pretty long. It contains 40 levels, which is certainly a lot more than one may have expected. The levels aren’t terribly long, but they’re long enough that you’ll feel like you got a good deal from the game. Not to mention that playing it at a higher difficulty will make things interesting. It was already very difficult at some points during the initial playthrough and the other levels of difficulty must be insanely tough. Playing through those would definitely be a fun challenge and that would likely keep you entertained for quite a while. (I would give it a whirl, but I have too many other games to try out….)
The soundtrack is great as you tend to expect from a Gamecube game. The random battle themes that play during the game are all very fast paced and they tend to really give the fights that extra boost. The themes are definitely very engaging and I would give it a 4/5 at the very least. Trust me, good music can certainly make the difference between a great game and a truly great one.
The graphics are pretty good for the game. The legs are realistically detailed as they turn into onion rings when you’re knocked to the ground. (They basically curl into a circle, which looks pretty painful for the main lead, but he tends to walk it off) The graphics definitely aren’t the next Wind Waker or Adventure 2 Battle, but they’re still good and that’s always fun to see from a Gamecube title. Gamecube is the King of Graphics after all.
Overall, This is a pretty great video game and I highly recommend picking it up. It’s going for a very low price and it’s a steal considering how flawless the gameplay is. There are also a few pain arenas where you get to face various copies of a boss, which makes for an unbelievably tough fight. How many games can you get for around 4 dollars that have 40 levels? The soundtrack is top notch and the graphics are good as well. You definitely don’t want to miss out on this title and you should stick around after the screen fades to black as there’s an extra scene in the post game. I can’t really say much more to hype up the game so you’re either sold on it at this point or you’re just not going to get it. Still, I have to say that you’ll be missing out if you pass on such a title!
Overall 8/10
This is another one of the beauties that I snagged at the 5 dollar bin over at Gamestop. See, this game is a steal because it was a little less than 5 dollars and it brings the original Nerf N-Strike game as well as the sequel. You have to admit that two full fledged (Under 10 levels in the second one) games for such a low price is pretty great. The second game improves upon the first one and it’s a game that you’ll want to check out.
I guess I’ll talk about the first game first. It should be noted that the game originally came with a blaster and the sequel came with a red lens, but you don’t actually need them. It just means that you have to get the codes wrong and trip the alarms in the second time every time such a situation pops up. It means more danger for the player, but I’m sure that you could handle such a challenge right? Let’s hope so!
Back to the game. It all starts off when a kid by the name of Shane is playing with his friends at the arcade. He loses the (rigged) level and goes home only to find out that he has been selected to join the Nerf N-Strike team. B.O.B. tells him that he must defeat the other combatants in order to climb to the top of the ranks. Unbeknownst to Shane, B.O.B. is also goading the other combatants to defeat him. Whether it be through threats or insults, B.O.B. makes sure to get the job done. Can this kid fresh out of the arcade really defeat these trained (semi) professionals in a game of Nerf? To do this, the kid must infiltrate each of their hideouts and destroy the high scores at each minigame. Sounds like fun eh!? Let’s just say that B.O.B. may not be as heroic as he seems.
Nerf N-Strike Elite’s plot is a lot deeper and it has a more cinematic feeling. Jackal has decided to round up the team once again because a certain villain has returned and he feels like it’s their duty to stop him. Shane is arguably still the main character even though Tango is the one on the cover. The heroes join forced and take out their new Nerf Blasters. Only one group gets to walk away this time!
The gameplay for the first game is a little different from your typical shooter. There are 4 rooms and each room has 5 minigames. You have to beat them to proceed to the next room. We do have the classic FPS feel during the final minigame of each section, where you shoot all of the robots who oppose you. You cannot move as that happens automatically and you just focus on the shooting. It’s pretty fun and they did a good job with the mechanics until the final level. The other minigames are fun variations of the style. One of them involves shooting boxes out of the ring until you come across a purple one and you shoot it to win. Another one has you only aim at robots of a certain color. My personal favorite one is where you have to shoot boulders into a soccer goal/pool table. There’s also one where you have to shoot the boulders 5 times to blow them up without hitting the red ones. There are a few others, but that’s mainly the jist of it. There aren’t many actual FPS levels where you’re on an adventure, but the minigames are actually pretty fun so it’s all right.
The gameplay for Game 2 is more straight forward. Picture your average FPS game except that the game characters move for you. You just aim for anything that moves as you go through the adventure. I didn’t have the accessories with me so I had to incorrectly guess every password to let the villains come, which would let me go past once I defeated them. That’s all right and it doesn’t make things that much worse. I will say that the first game was infinitely tougher than this one, but the second does have difficulty levels that you can adjust to make the game harder. I’m sure that on Elite mode it would end up being even more difficult than the first game.
Shane gets the most character development from all of the characters. He’s pretty full of himself in the first game and he really rubs it in whenever he wins. He insults his opponent’s skills and he loves to hear himself talk. He does make the tough calls when it counts though as seen in the ending. In the second game, Shane has become a natural born leader and he’s an expert with a gun. He now believes in teamwork and he never leaves a man behind on the job. He’s essentially Duke from G.I. Joe in the second game. I’m not sure why he changed so much, but he is easily the best character in both games. His heroics rival Mario’s!
Tango is the army member of the group. In the first game, he’s a no nonsense fighter. He makes a lot of puns about his name and he proceeds to put up a decent fight against Shane. In the second game, he represents the strong, but not smart character. It’s a pretty big change and one that is a little hard to embrace. He’s scared of elevators and a few other things, but he does have the strongest (Nerf) gun in the group. Tango is a good teammate to have on board, but it’s hard to say that he’s likable.
Komodo is the first opponent that you face in the Nerf game so he’s also the weakest. From all of the characters, he easily gets the least amount of character development. I can’t say that I recall too many things about him and he’s just easily forgotten. He does have a pretty great moment in the second game though. After the most emotional moment in the franchise where someone betrays them and their hometown is about to be nuked, Komodo says “This is the best day of my life!” after seeing a cool rocket. That’s….a little insensitive to say the least since everything that they know was about to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Maybe it’s all just a game to him.
Jackal is one of the more intriguing characters. By that, I mean that he had the biggest accent. He’s always talking about how he hunts alone and “My grandfather used to say that one person starts the game and another one bags it. Watch as I bag this one.” It’s actually a pretty great saying, but the way that he says it is more humorous than threatening. (Which is what happens to most of the dialogue in the first game) His personality does a 360 in the second game as he gets a pretty huge plot twist that you may not have seen coming. I didn’t either, but the odds of any of my readers playing the game is low so you may not get to experience it. That’s pretty sad if you really think about it.
Raven is another one of the kids who was selected for the Nerf N-Strike team. She loves to remind her opponents that getting beaten by a girl is a pain that will never fade. She loves to use the girl power angle to humiliate her foes as much as she can when defeating them. In the second game, she’s mostly there to taunt Tango and she is the one who lets the villain know that the heroes are now N-Strike Elite members. She doesn’t get as much character as some of the others, but she is consistently around to help out when the going gets tough.
B.O.B. is the recruiter from the first game. His threats know no bounds and he’ll do anything if it means that he’ll get a new fighter for the N-Strike. His methods go a little far and one of the members gets suspicious when two of the kids disappear. B.O.B. can’t have that now can he? He doesn’t mind being frank with the heroes as he lets Shane know that he will not be able to defeat Tango. After Shane defeats Tango, it gets pretty personal and B.O.B. lets us in on a startling fact…this isn’t a game anymore! As a boss fight, B.O.B. is pretty impressive.
In the second game, he is more of a pawn than a strategic mastermind. He gets a big power up in the form of a giant robot, but is that really enough to defeat a few Elite agents? The boss fight in the first game was actually very difficult and it took me a handful of tries, but that was mainly due to the gameplay and the fact that I got a pretty bad gun. The second game smoothed out the gameplay a whole lot so the battle was a cakewalk. I definitely won’t be forgetting B.O.B. though.
The graphics for the first game are all right I suppose. The character models are a little sub par and that doesn’t really change for the sequel. Things just don’t look like they should for a big Wii game. The sequel does look a lot better. The difference is night and day between them and it helps that I played the second one immediately after the first game. Everything suddenly looks like it’s in HD and they put a lot more thought into the backgrounds. The second one’s graphics are actually very impressive and they can easily hold up to any of the other big Wii games.
The soundtrack isn’t really that impressive. I forgot just about all of the themes immediately after I finished playing the games. There isn’t really anything in it that likely took them a while to compose and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all free domain music. The themes aren’t that important in a shooter since your shooting will likely drown it out anyway, but it can definitely help. Just look at the Metroid Prime games as a shining example of this.
The bundle has a decent amount of replay value, but I would’t call it an exceptionally large amount. In the first game, you can continue to break your records in the minigames until all of your medals are Gold Rank and you can try to unlock all of the guns. In the second game there are a lot of weapons to buy and upgrade for each of the characters so it should take at least 20 playthroughs to get everything. Personally, I’m not That dedicated to getting all of the items so I would never even consider if, but why not right? The actual story mode for game 1 is 21 levels and assuming that you beat them all in a single shot, it should only take 4-6 hours to complete. The second game is even shorter with 8 levels and they’re very easy. That game should take you 3-4 hours or maybe even less. Overall, counting the bonus content, it’s still a decent amount, but the second game’s story is a little disappointing level wise. 10 is really the minimum amount that I find acceptable for a video game.
Overall, This was a pretty fun bundle. From the 5 Dollar bin, I would say that it beat Flingsmash, but lost to Geometry Wars. It also managed to beat Roogoo somehow. This is easily worth the 4 dollars since it has a lot of content. Either game works as they’re both good for different reasons. The first game was fun for the minigames while the second one has some really great animation and the plot is really there. The first one had a loose plot with some cutscenes before each boss battle and for each intro, but the second one has a deep and cohesive plot that continues for the whole game as the heroes try to save their town. If you’re looking for plot then the second title is for you and you’ll love the first one for gameplay. Either way, this is a steal and you can show the world that Nerf guns can hold up against giant robots bent on world conquest!
Overall 7/10
After Chaosfield, I feared that I would never again play such a chaotic shooter filled with terror and honor. Luckily, I saw Geometry Wars in the 5 dollar bin at Gamestop and I snagged it. You have to make a move on a game like this quickly if you want to end up with it. It looked intriguing from the back, but I can’t say that I really knew what to expect from it. Suffice to say, the game was much more enjoyable than I had thought it would be.
There is no plot in the game and you are just launched onto the level select screen. Every Galaxy has 3-8 levels and you must earn money to buy the stages. When you buy a Galaxy, you are given two stages and then you must buy the other 6. Rinse and repeat for quite a few galaxies and then you have the game. There must be at least 40-60 stages in this game and completing them all is a true challenge. There is also a secret world at the end, which acts as on disc DLC. Instead of paying 5 dollars to open it, you must buy the DS game and use it to unlock them. One could argue that this is a more expensive form of DLC, but maybe you’ll like the game so much that you have to get both! (I like the game, but I won’t be getting it on the DS)
Geometry Wars Galaxy also brings a mini version of it called Retro Evolved. It’s a nice tribute to the fans, although I mainly stayed with the Galaxies part of the game. I’m glad for extra options, but it’s a lot more fun to launch into the main game and start earning those records and medals. The gameplay is the same except that you don’t have a robot to back you up and the exp bonuses take much longer to build up so your score will likely be considerably lower.
The gameplay in the main game is pretty simple, but describing it is tough. It’s essentially Galaga, but you are allowed to move throughout the space that you are in. The shape and size of the area will vary depending on the stage and the important thing is to simply stay alive. You have an endless supply of ammunition so you’ll want to keep your finger on the button for the duration of the battle. (With a few exceptions such as the block level. Shooting at the wrong time can bring out more enemies than you can handle)
You are allowed to bring an ally with you during the battles. There are several types of robots to choose from and it can be an Attack, Defense, Turret, Collector, or another kind of ally. It’s pretty self explanatory as to what they will do and the only three that I would use were the Collector, Turret, and Attack. The Attack bot saw me through the first few galaxies, then I turned to the Collector for a while and I would sporadically use the Collector. Those are the three best robots in my opinion (I have not obtained the final two though) and I made sure to max them all out.
Now, Attack and Turret may make sense, but why would the Collector be so useful? Simply put, as I mentioned, you will need to keep on destroying the enemies and rack up points. There is no timer and no end to the monsters so you just need to survive. At first beating an enemy may grant you 100 points. After you defeat him, the enemy will drop a yellow orb, which will increase your EXP bonus to 2X. You can go all the way up to 150 and you can see how much of a help that is. That same enemy will now give you 15000 points instead of 100 and that’s one of the cheaper enemies. Later on, some enemies will give you almost one million points in a single shot if you are that maxed out so the Collector is pretty awesome. That being said, he doesn’t fire at the enemies so you are truly on your own at that point. The Attack and Turret bots will give you a whole lot of backup, but then you must dash for the orbs yourself. Getting them is important because staying at 2X bonus or less isn’t very efficient.
Sometimes the enemies will just be too vast to overcome. In those cases, you will have bombs to help out. A bomb will take out every enemy in the area or at least most of them if it’s a very large arena. The bombs do not give you any points though so it’s truly a last resort if you are about to die. Otherwise, it’s simply not worth using one of them. They are certainly good in a pinch though.
The gameplay itself is masterful and it really provides you with a challenge. It’s easily one of the hardest games that I’ve played in a while and some of the levels can take many tries. If the gameplay was boring, beating this game would have been pretty painful. I’ve earned well over 400 million points at this point and I still don’t find the gameplay repetitive. It’s simply a lot of fun and I could keep on playing it over and over again. There is really nothing that drags the game down except for one factor.
This factor would be the Wii Remotes. The game is sensor based and I’m sure that we are aware of how sketchy the Wii Remotes can be at times. The nunchuk is perfectly all right, but the main remote has a tendency to destroy you when you are about to win. It happened to me several times and I would have to let the console rest for a few hours. This game would be so much better if I could use a Gamecube remote. The classic controller is compatible I believe so that would fix this negative. It really helps your reflexes out and the levels would be a whole lot easier. It would still be a challenging game, but you would feel like you were battling on even grounds.
There is one other part that affects the game, but it’s more of an annoyance than a total negative thing. That would be the money system. As I mentioned earlier, you do have to buy the future levels in order to play them. Earning money is by no means an easy task. Getting a medal for the first time gets a lot of money and if you end up getting a lot of Golds, then it won’t be a problem for you at all. For me, I finally had to start replaying a lot of the levels by the final galaxy because I just needed the money. Eventually, I just kept on replaying the same level since I would always get at least 10000 a shot and I would earn around 50000 if I managed to win. The final levels were 200000 and around 130000 so I had to play the level quite a few times. It’s not as much of a grind as in other games since the gameplay is always fun, but it’s an artificial way of lengthening the game.
The graphics are pretty good. They aren’t all star material, but the graphics are definitely important in a game like this one. You’ll constantly be blowing up dozens of enemies when playing and the screen is filled with tons of bright colors and pellets for the EXP bonus. If the graphics were bad, then the game would be much harder to play. Luckily, the gameplay is very bright so you won’t bang into an enemy by mistake and every object looks pretty sharp. This isn’t Final Fantasy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, but it’s good enough. The soundtrack is pretty forgettable though. I don’t even recall hearing any music amidst all of the explosions and chaos. It’s something that you just forget by the end as the sound effects are what you’re focusing on. The sound of getting an extra life or bomb is pretty great!
Overall, this is a very good game. I dare say that it may even be better than Chaosfield. Gamecube remotes would have helped the game out even more and getting rid of the money system would have been great. It likely would not have jumped up to a 9 if those things had been appropriately changed, but it would still help the experience. The game is decently long thanks to the need for money, but you should still be able to beat it in under a week. Any fan of shooters or Chaosfield will enjoy this title and it’s a timeless classic like Pac Man. (The gameplay, not necessarily the game) The soundtrack could be better, but you can always mute the game and play a cool track from the computer. (At the risk of being unaware of a seeker alien coming out of nowhere) Hopefully, this game gets a sequel for the Wii U or PS4 someday. I do wish that something could have happened after the final level like a message or some bonus money to show that you’ve beaten the game, but nothing happens. Ah well, maybe I need to get all Gold Medals to unlock a message.
Overall 8/10
Who would have thought that I’d be playing a James Bond game eh? While the films leave much to be desired; the concept is pretty good for a video game. This one is actually a First Person Shooter, which is the first time I’ve played one since Metroid Prime if I recall correctly. It’s not my favorite genre, but as long as it’s better than the Eternal Ring…it should be fine. Let’s see if the game had what it takes!
The plot involves 007…AKA James Bond as he undergoes a mission. See, detailing the plot for anything James Bond related is tough because there are numerous plot twists and changes that occur during the story. You can’t really say who the main villain is without spoiling the character and the history behind it. Either way, it’s not ultimately important because the game doesn’t even have an ending. After you blow up the building (With a big character still inside) the game abruptly ends. I suppose that there is no longer a threat so it can be an “ending” in that sense, but it feels really sudden. The ending just comes out of nowhere and hits you like a flash.
While the plot is forgettable; the cutscenes will stay with you for a while. James Bond continues to make many wisecracks and one liners in these scenes. Some are pretty clever like what he says when one of the villains falls in a vat of acid. Others just remind me why I don’t like James Bond. He can never take his mind off of pleasure. It also leads to his demise more times than not. One of his allies suckers him into going to the base because he put a hologram of a shower with someone inside. Another person hired a lady to jump into a pool and when Bond rushed out to appreciate the view, he got tackled from behind. Bond never seems to learn from these mistakes as he’s back to normal in the next cutscene. The voice acting is pretty good and Bond definitely sounds similar to his voice in the films. There are other characters in the game, but none that are really memorable. This is a James Bond game after all! I could have done without the romance in the story, but it’s James Bond so I was prepared for it.
The FPS gameplay is about what you would expect. It can be a little hard to remember that the C stick moves you horizontally and I fell a few times from it. One can still jump, crouch, and use a lot of gadgets aside from the gun. FPS definitely isn’t my main style, but it could have been worse. Metroid Prime definitely wins with pure gameplay, but Agent Under Fire managed to stay fun through the levels. Aside from the shooting aspects, there are also a pair of levels where you get to drive in a car. Naturally, this was the most fun part of the game. The gameplay was really good for this part and it felt like Need For Speed, but even better. (My problem with Need For Speed is the lack of actual speed) You really got to zoom in these levels and the various weapons on the car made it fun as well.
There are 12 levels in this game. That’s not a whole lot and most of them can be finished in a few minutes. In that sense, it’s definitely a lot shorter than De Blob. (Another short game) It took me two sittings to finish all of the levels, but it was a considerable amount of time because of the later levels. There are rarely check points so if you lose; then you usually have to go back to the beginning. That can be tough after a while because of how long the levels can feel. I definitely could have used more check points in the game. A slight negative would be how vague the game can be at times. It took me a while to figure out that I needed to use my jetpack to get to the final boss and blowing up the ceiling with a rocket launcher that I didn’t even know I owned was another challenge. I randomly got lost a few times as well. Maybe this helps the game to be a more complete experience, but they could have added more details.
Agent Under Fire has a decent amount of replay value. You can keep on playing the levels to get all of the Platinum Medals and unlock a hidden video. I got a bronze and a gold or two, but getting all Platinums sounds pretty difficult. It would be a nice challenge, but one that I don’t really have time for. The game also has a multiplayer mode, which considerably increases its replay value. Nothing like challenging your friends to the FPS that was cool before Call of Duty showed up! I dare say that this one is a lot more fun than Call of Duty. (Haven’t played it, but it’s not my style)
The graphics are a little underwhelming. It has a retro Gamecube feeling, but it’s just too dark. As with the Mummy, you’ll need to increase the brightness settings on your TV if you want to be able to see well. In a game where sharpshooters can be found anywhere; this is pretty critical. I wouldn’t say that the graphics are terrible, but they could be better. I still have fun with them since they’re awkward in a good way. (Like Hotel Mario)
I know that I’ve been giving just about everything a lot of props for the soundtrack lately, but it’s just my good luck that the themes have been so good. James Bond doesn’t disappoint with the fun tracks and we have the classic one from the films, but also a great danger theme. When you run into some minions; the theme will quickly pop up and it’s a very fast theme that’s fitting for battle. It reminds me of some of the themes from the original Spider Man game for Gamecube.
Overall, Agent Under Fire wasn’t a bad game. The car levels were a lot of fun (I wish that there had been more of them!) and the FPS mechanics weren’t bad considering that I’m not usually a big fan of them. The story may not have been memorable, but the cutscenes were pretty fun at times. (Some much more than others. Naturally, I could do without the romance) I definitely recommend this game to all fans of Call of Duty and you should enjoy it if you’re looking forward to a good secret agent story.
Overall 7/10
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