Nerf N-Strike Double Blast Bundle Review

Posted on July 19, 2014 by dreager1

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

One Piece Unlimited World Red Review

Posted on July 15, 2014 by dreager1

I currently own most of the One Piece games that have come to America, but none of them have really stood out. I don’t own the Wii installment, which is supposed to be pretty good and I just had the GBA and Gamecube games. Luckily, this one is a few leagues ahead of those and it’s definitely the definitive One Piece game. As Budokai Tenkaichi 3 revolutionized DBZ and Ninja Storm Generations helped Naruto, Unlimited World Red is currently the ultimate One Piece experience.

This game takes place after the long time skip and the Strawhat Pirates are in the New World. They stop by an island to resupply and let Pato go home. Luffy goes to get some food, but that’s when Pato breaks the news. Luffy’s comrades have been kidnapped and Luffy will have to find all of them. Pato seems to be pretty happy about this and he follows his master’s orders without question. That’s just the kind of guy that he is. Luffy isn’t thrilled about this and he’s also a little skeptical since his comrades are supposed to be tough. Nontheless, Luffy begins his journey and sets out to save all of them. Guarding his friends are most of the big fighters that Luffy has met in his travels and it’s odd how they have all appeared. Are they real or are they fake? It doesn’t matter since Luffy plans on winning either way!

Meanwhile, the game also has a Colosseum Mode. This acts as a separate Story Mode which covers the current arc in the manga, but very loosely. Luffy and Law have formed an alliance and they need to win the large tournament to take down Doflamingo once and for all. Doflamingo mostly seems to be amused by this and he allows the two fighters to stay in the tournament. Will they be able to defeat all of the challengers as well as Doflamingo? The journey begins!

The gameplay is one of the main highlights since it is a classic beat em up. Picture Dynasty Warriors, but add a little more substance to the attacks. It’s not a straight fighter like Naruto or DBZ, but it does take some of those elements and ends up incorporating them into the beat em up style. Because of this, most enemies won’t go down so quickly. The health of the minions is pretty formidable and while they won’t pose a threat, it is wise to use combos to take them out as soon as possible.

I do think that beating the minions can be a little time consuming at first, but it gets better as you level up. I have not attempted hard story yet so I cannot say how much tougher they get, but I do plan on completing that mode soon since it’s necessary for a trophy. The boss fights are really fun since you’ll need strategy alongside your button mashing. You are given the option to dodge (Like Luffy) or block (If you’re Zoro) an attack right before it connects. This holds true for most final smashes as well, but there are exceptions as seen with Shanks and Doflamingo. You don’t want to use too many power attacks in a row since it can eliminate the option of dodging or blocking an attack.

You can equip words, which act as your equipment. They can from something to help in battles like an attack boost or something more subtle like extra money or exp. I highly recommend going for the EXP option since that’s just about always worth it. Having some items at the ready can also be the difference between a victory or a loss since those healing potions are crucial. Typically, you’ll be fighting in a group of 3 members. Even if one member dies, you can just switch to one of the other two. One key thing to know is that your partners never lose health while the computer is controlling them. In light of this, you should never let one of the members die and just make sure to switch when you’re at low health. This way, you’ll still have two partners draining away at the enemy’s health. It’s a pretty solid strategy!

One part that makes this game stand out as a cut above the rest is the fact that the developers really went all out with the story. We get many cutscenes throughout this mode and some of them feature actual fights. We get to see Red take on the crew and we get a brief glimpse of the fight between Lucci and Luffy. Scenes like that are just great because I always love to see a good fight. Even if you’re a video game, there is no excuse not to have an animated fight. Currently, it is still pretty rare so the game did a good job of including these scenes. Luckily, the graphics are solid so the fight scenes work really well. I would definitely say that the characters are drawn in more detail than the average game and this one definitely looks like a modern PS3 game. It’s not at Final Fantasy levels, but one could argue that it’s intentional since One Piece is supposed to be colorful and fun to look at. I’d say that the game managed to show this perfectly.

Naturally, this game has trophies. There are more of them in the game than usual as it contains 57. I have amassed around 35 of them so far and I’m lightly aiming for the Platinum. It seems to be a little on the time consuming side, but I’ve already posted around 30 hours so I may as well go all the way. None of the trophies are unreasonable although finding all of the strong words will take a while. A lot of the trophies are simply grinds like rocket jumping 500 times or slicing a bullet 100 times. The trophies are not very difficult and you should definitely get the Platinum if you purchase this one.

The soundtrack for the game is decent. There aren’t a whole lot of tunes in the game, but the ones that are present as decent enough. It definitely does have Soul Calibur feeling to it and it compliments the gameplay. I would have liked some really fast paced music as well, but you can’t have it all in one game. Otherwise, the others wouldn’t look so good.

Red is the new villain who was made up for this game. He’s known as one of the legendary pirates since he could fight on equal grounds with guys like Gold D Roger and Whitebeard. He’s decided that he needs to be immortal and he sets off on this quest while mocking the heroes. He’s a very formidable foe and he’s easily one of Luffy’s strongest opponents. I definitely respect his raw power, but I can’t say that I care for him all that much as a villain. Towards the end, he never became one of my favorites, but he is decent and he definitely beats some of the other fighters as well as the other two game original characters.

Pato is a raccoon who was with the Strawhats prior to this game and he ends up revealing that he is working for an unknown master. This destroys a lot of the trust that the Strawhats had had in him and it was definitely a low move by Pato. I never cared for him by the end because his heart may have been in the right place, but I just couldn’t take him seriously. He doesn’t have enough power to back up his tough talk and his personality was really similar to Chopper’s. I don’t know, we could have had a better fighter.

There’s also the shop owner. She doesn’t get a whole lot of screentime, but we know that she’s decently tough since she stands up to the thugs at the beginning of the game. She mostly lets us know which parts of the town should be built first and it’s a noble sentiment. That being said, she just doesn’t have much of a role in the story and she didn’t really change any of the events. Things would have played out with or without her.

The Strawhats are interesting to see since they’re in their New World forms. I still can’t say that I’m a fan of most of the changes. Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Robin are all right. I don’t dislike their new forms, but I can safely say that I do prefer each of their old forms. Brook is beyond saving from before the timeskip so it’s really Usopp and Franky that are a little hard to take in. They’re all still in character besides that and the banter between them is good. With the exception of Brook, this group is one of the stronger Shonen Jump casts and they’re far more interesting than the Genin 11 and Ichigo’s pals. It should be noted that this game was not dubbed so everyone is talking in japanese. That shouldn’t really affect the game for you since the text is still in english and it’s fun to hear how they sound in their original voices.

There is certainly a lot of replay value present in the game. The story mode takes around 4-6 hours as there are 9 levels and each one takes around 30 minutes. Aside from that, you are also tasked with building the city and it can take a while to get all of the necessary parts. After that, the trophies require you to buy 100 things from just about every store. There is fishing to be done, insect catching, running a museum, planting, etc. We also have the alternate story mode, which is about as long as the main one and there are many bonus challenges to do in the Colosseum as well. I’ve clocked in around 30 hours and I still have plenty of things to do. I’d say that this game will last you at least 50 hours and that’s definitely a lot of content. You certainly can’t say that this game was empty.

Overall, This is easily one of the best games for the PS3 and one of the best ones out there. The gameplay is nice and smooth. It doesn’t get repetitive after playing it for a long time. The trophies will take a long time to get, but they are achievable so it’s a fun goal to work towards. (No online trophies so no worries about servers!) I highly recommend this game and it’s a good way to get into the One Piece franchise. You’ll be able to meet the characters and see how strong they are. It may be a beat em up, but I wouldn’t call it a complete button smasher thanks to the depth. I highly recommend checking out Colosseum mode as well as the normal story mode because you get to play as some of the stronger bosses. Whitebeard, Doflamingo, Shanks, they’re all in it! So, this is a golden opportunity to play as the strongest warriors around. Hopefully, all One Piece games will reach America starting with this one.

Overall 9/10

Pac Man World 3 Review

Posted on July 12, 2014 by dreager1

It’s been years since I played Pac Man World 2 and this game has always been on my list. It just never made the cut and finally my bro ended up purchasing a copy. Does this game live up to the 10+ years of hype? Well, it’s tough for any game to do that and this one is a good game, but it’s not quite as enjoyable as the last installment…despite some fun additions. Time to see why it didn’t click!

The game takes place on Pac Man’s 25th Birthday. The festivities are cut short when Pac Man is whisked away into the Spectral Realm by Orson. Orson tells him that a new villain by the name off Erwin has kidnapped the four main ghosts and he’s wrecking both planets through his siphons. Once he has gained enough energy, then both planets will collide and the outcome will be devastating. Pac Man (extremely) reluctantly agrees to help, but he’s not too pleased about this scenario. Erwin is determined to stop him and he has the Spectral Fiend by his side to ensure success. In light of this, Pac Man gets some help from Clyde and Pinky.

Pac Man is the main hero in this game, but I’m sure that you expected that. He’s always the main hero in this series after all. He finally gets to talk in this game, which is a big gamble from the writers. We all come into the game with certain expectations of how cool Pac Man will be and this gives us less freedom for interpretation. He’s a little on the mean side and he believes in insulting first and fighting later. He’s an experienced veteran at this point, but he does complain a lot.

What might really get Pac Man fans is the ending. It’s not just Pac Man as Ms. Pac Man and Pac Man Jr look pretty mean as well. Let’s just say that if you’ve just been through a tough ordeal and you helped a hero save two worlds…don’t think that you’re invited to stay over. The situation ends up escalating very quickly and Pac Man decides to eat some people. Pac Man may have been a little on the mean side during the game, but that scene may have been overdoing it a little.

Pac Man did have his moments though and he gets a lot of witty comebacks. He typically outsmarts the villains and distracts them through discussion as they end up setting up their ultimate demise. Pac Man is definitely very crafty, but he arguably sacrifices his heroics in the process. I have to say that the character personality isn’t terrible, but it’s really not Pac Man. I’m sure that Mario fans would be outraged if he ever looked like this. Pac Man’s portrayal could have been worse though and we have a current example of that in the media…..

Orson is the helpful ghost who aids Pac Man throughout the game. “I’m sure there are many things that you don’t understand Pac Man” is one of his better lines as he insults Pac Man to his face. Usually, his insults aren’t quite that direct. He typically starts off every sentence by saying “Sorry Pac Man” right before stating what negative thing is happening this time. He typically teleports the hero into dangerous circumstances and you have to wonder whether it is intentional or not. The whole game he tells Pac Man that the worlds will be destroyed if they collide….and then the villain points out that this isn’t the case towards the end of the game. Orson quickly agrees and we find out that he knew this all along. Of course, most of that isn’t to be taken seriously as he’s a hero through and through, but his character was definitely interesting. He was a solid ally for Pac Man and he provided us with some necessary banter and epic lines.

Erwin is the main villain of the game and unfortunately, he’s not a very good one. He’s a comic relief scientist who is good at building robots and that’s about it for his character arc. Pac Man loves to humiliate him verbally whenever they meet. He’s supposed to be humorous through their chats, but while I do like Orson and Pac Man’s lines, Erwin’s aren’t really my style. They really needed a better villain to make the story more interesting. Erwin just isn’t very powerful and threats won’t be enough to stop the legendary Pac Man!

The Spectral Fiend doesn’t really get much of a name, but he’s a solid character. He’s tricky and he doesn’t mind a little deceit if it means that it will help him win the fight. He doesn’t seem to be much of a fighter as he talks a good game, but he quickly crumbles when things get dangerous. That being said, he was a fun villain and his voice is catchy. This is someone that I could root for and I wish that he could have been the main villain instead of Erwin. This guy’s design was also pretty great and he reminded me of a Sonic character.

The gameplay for Pac Man is your average 3D platformer. You walk and jump to the place where you need to be and solve puzzles along the way. Pac Man can ground pound and he can also punch in this game. Punching is pretty fun and it’s a great addition to the series. I definitely used it a lot at first, but ground pounding tends to be a lot more effective. There are also several orbs in the game that give him powers like thunder and circle explosions. They are pretty good and they can help to take out the villains a lot quicker than you could have otherwise. The gameplay itself is pretty fun and I just don’t care for the parts where you have to stop and fight a bunch of villains. There was something about the gameplay that made it a little less fun. It may have been the speed or something. That being said, it’s still a very good form of gameplay by any standard.

Once in a while, you have to enter the arcade and then the gameplay goes back to how it was in the original game. The only difference is that the gameplay isn’t quite as smooth and the levels are very small. You get 4 lives, but most of them are a cakewalk with one as you just grab a Power Pellet, regular pellets, and then repeat the formula. The ghosts will never even be able to recover and you’ll be set. If the levels were not so easy, then it could have been a challenge since the animation didn’t work well with the gameplay. It was hard to tell when you were being chased or not.

The gameplay itself shouldn’t be that bad, but it’s just not as great as it could have been. Each level is around 30 minutes and that’s not necessarily a bad thing although it is definitely a big threat when you are not a beat em up style game like Dynasty Warriors. Getting through a level can feel like a big challenge because the game typically leaves you to your own devices. I got lost or temporarily stuck several times because I was unsure of what to do next. Because of that, the game lasted for quite a while and I’d say that the game was around 7-8 hours long. It could have been a whole lot shorter though since 3 our of the 15 levels were very short. There are times where you get to play as the ghosts, but I can’t say that it really added a lot of depth to the game.

This game puts a lot of emphasis on fighting so there are many rooms where you simply have to stop and fight the enemies. Defeating the enemies isn’t really that fun because the gameplay simply wasn’t built for it. Beating an enemy can take a little too long at times and defeating the ghosts requires you to run to a power pellet and just eat them. The only problem is that they only come out 4 at a time instead of all at once so you have to keep running back to the power pellet.

There are also two levels where you get to play as Toc Man. His gameplay is fun although it’s a little too easy and simplistic. Just keep on punching away at the villains until they go down and then the level is over after a few minutes. I would have liked more of these levels since they were a pretty nice change of pace. They could have added in some more challenges and then I’d be set.

Pac Man’s graphics holds up pretty well. The ghosts can be a little hard to take seriously with their big mittens and all, but they don’t look bad. The level designs can be a little dark so it’s hard to see, but it’s not really an issue with the graphics. Older games just tend to come out dark on my TV. It’s good to see Pac Man have his classic design back as well. The graphics aren’t the next Super Smash Bros Melee, but they are very good.

I enjoyed the soundtrack in the game since it could be pretty catchy. Unfortunately, most of the good tracks aren’t in the actual gameplay, but around it. I like the theme that plays when you jump into the arcade and battle it out with the ghosts in a retro fashion. Losing always brings about a classic sound and the stages within the game were supported by the peaceful music. You’ll forget the in game music instantly, but the arcade one never fades.

The game has a decent amount of replay value to it. You can replay a level to get a higher score or to get more of the collectibles that are scattered across the stages. Doing all of this will take some time and you can always keep on playing the retro stages for points as well. The replay value is there, but there isn’t a whole lot of incentive to getting all of the collectibles.

The difficulty of the game is pretty low as you continue from where you were even if you lose a life. So, you can die during a boss fight and wake up in time to beat him. He won’t regain any health and building up lives is pretty easy. I had over 10 left when I completed the game. One area that separates this game from Pac Man World 2 is the boss fights. World 2 had several of them and they were all fairly interesting. This game only has two bosses and the second one is just a recoloring of the first. Since this game was more fight heavy, I was expecting a whole lot more in that department. When I saw the final boss, I couldn’t help, but feel like it was a wasted opportunity. We need a boss for Pac Man to punch!

Overall, This was a good Pac Man game, but it didn’t have the usual aura of fun that the classic game and World 2 had. World 3 had too many stop and fight moments and the stage designs weren’t that good or unique. You were typically locked inside a pretty small place and you wouldn’t get to see the sun in all its glory. There are a lot less levels in this game than World 2, but they are longer. I prefer a lot of short levels to a few long ones, but it’s a matter of preference I suppose. Pac Man’s portrayal was unique and he didn’t really feel like a hero or Pac Man anymore. His family wasn’t much better and the ghosts were all right, but Clyde is really the only one who got a big role. Orson is a good supporting character, but Erwin isn’t a great villain. The writing can be pretty cheesy at times, but I definitely liked all of the insults that were thrown around by the heroes and villains alike. The graphics and soundtrack are solid and it’s still a nice way to end the trilogy. There may not have been a lot of closure at the end, but there was enough. I recommend this to fans of the platforming genre and especially if you like challenging yourself to solving tough puzzles. They definitely gave me a run for my money at times. Considering that the price for the game is pretty low, this is definitely a worthwhile investment and a chance to see the classic Pac Man one last time.

Overall 6/10

Geometry Wars Galaxies Review

Posted on July 12, 2014 by dreager1

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

The Sly Collection Review

Posted on July 8, 2014 by dreager1

This is a fairly large game time wise and it’s also a memorable one. It was the final game that I got to complete on the old PS3 (Game 1) and then I finally got to go back to it on the newer one. Three whole video games in a single package is a very good deal and the price was right. I enjoy the Ratchet and Clank series as well as the Jak titles so I was sure that Sly would be fun. As expected, it was an enjoyable experience.

The first game is Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. We are introduces to Sly, Bentley, and Murray as they make a pretty solid team. They’ve been friends for many years and are known for stealing artifacts and having fun on vacations. Now, they’ve uncovered a lead onto the gang that took out Sly’s parents and stole the Thievius Raccoonus. The trio decides to recover the chapters from the respective gang members and take down the leader. It will be tough, as a special agent by the name of Carmelita Fox is hunting them and she won’t stop until Sly’s behind bars. Looks like Sly Cooper is in for a rough ride!

The first game’s gameplay is unique as the next two games go for a more traditional route. In this game, you have to avoid detection as you make it to the goal. One hit will essentially finish Sly off so you have to be careful about how you handle it. The stealth part is pretty interesting and it’s like playing as Spiderman Noir in Shattered Dimensions, but without all of the athletics and webbing. That’s not to say that Sly isn’t athletic though. You will have to use his skills to jump from place to place and hang on to a ledge when needed.

It is pretty novel gameplay, but I am glad that they ended up switching it. I believe that stealth works best when you have it for a few levels as opposed to the entire game. Having to re do an entire section because you were spotted can be pretty rough. The game was a solid start to the series and Clockwerk made for a powerful adversary. The story is good and the banter between Sly and Carmelita was in top form. The replay value for the game isn’t incredibly high, but getting the Platinum and finding all of the bottles/clues will take a little extra time.

The second game’s plot picks up from the first since someone has stolen the parts to Clockwerk. Sly remembers how dangerous that foe can be and the gang must quickly get ready so they can find the culprits and stop Clockwerk from being revived. Will they be able to do this? Meanwhile, a new face joins the police force by the name of Constable Neyla. Together with Carmelita…they may finally be able to take out the Cooper gang!

This is where the gameplay becomes finalized for the franchise. There is still a lot of stealth involved, but not as much since you can afford to just tackle your opponents. It’s not really advisable for large groups, but it’s still an option. Sly now has a health bar and it feels a lot like the original Jak game. No guns, it’s just classic hand to hand combat with some athletics. I’m a fan of the gameplay and it’s good to see how the series has progressed. Of course, I would love a laser gun, but it’s not completely necessary.

The third game takes place after a long time has passed since the previous installment. The gang has parted ways and things had been going slowly. Then Sly finds the ancient base of his ancestors and a villain by the name of Dr. M is heading there to get the treasure. Sly will need to bring his old partners back to the team while also recruiting a few new (and old) faces to help with the task. It’ll be the toughest mission yet, but Sly is ready! Carmelita isn’t far behind and she’s ready to take Sly down for the count.

This one experimented with a lot of concepts. We got to control a pirate ship and board other ships to steal a lot of money. This is great for when you need some money to buy everything in the shop. The gameplay could be a little on the tricky side for this mode, but it was pretty fun. There are also airplane battles, which are handled very well and car battles, which are just as exciting. You also get to play as the Panda King and shoot fireworks at the opponents. Dimitri gets his own level where you scuba dive and get to see some action. The Guru’s gameplay involves possessing the enemies and causing them to ram into something or get corralled somewhere.

Carmelita also gets her own gameplay where the game becomes a third person shooter. It’s naturally not as well developed as PN03 or Star Fox, but the gameplay is still fun. Beyond that, we still have the usual Bentley programming game and the Murray smashing part. Sly’s gameplay is also true to form and there is one boss fight that suddenly transforms the game into DBZ. You get to charge with immense speed at the boss and blows are exchanged. It was a very entertaining boss fight and maybe the best (Or top 3 anyway) in the trilogy.

Aside from the three games, we also have a few minigames. They weren’t very memorable and I only gave them a quick try so I could snag the trophies. (Well, I would have played them anyway, but only once a piece) They are relatively basic and you should have no trouble getting solid scores on them. They’re entertaining enough, but they don’t add to the replay value because you won’t really find yourself replaying them. One or two shots per game is typically enough to feel satisfied.

Sly is the protagonist of the Sly Collection and he’s actually pretty cool. See, he actually does flirt with Carmelita and some of the other characters, but he’s always classy about it. It’s more of a game to him and he never goes too far. It’s just light banter and both parties know it. So, instead of having a forced romance subplot or a James Bond character, we get a very interesting hero. He is a thief, but he (typically) only steals from those who have already stolen something. Calling him a hero may be a stretch, but he does bring many criminals to justice Batman style. He always has a few comebacks at the ready and he basically made the series. I can safely say that the trilogy wouldn’t have been half as good without him as the lead character.

He continues to improve throughout the trilogy and he’s essentially a master by the second game. He may have been a little nerfed in the third game since he couldn’t take out the giant mech, but it happens. I didn’t care for his decision at the end of the third game since it was almost a bit of a betrayal to his friends. One scene cannot negate a whole trilogy of solid acts so Sly is still one of the better protagonists in gaming. He’s an example of a romantic who doesn’t let it bog him down. The Cooper Gang is his creation and they shall go far.

Bentley is the tactical member of the group and he makes all of the plans. He gets a small subplot where he starts to get a little jealous of Sly, but luckily he snaps out of it in time so I won’t count it as a negative. His voice is catchy and it’s the most memorable part of his character. He does get into a romance, which was pretty unnecessary and not very enjoyable. It definitely helped to drop him and this occurred during the third game. (Along with Murray’s drop) His gadgets are interesting, but he’s not not a very intriguing character. He just doesn’t have any traits that make him stand out (apart from the voice) and he could easily be replaced with any other genius. Sly is definitely the one carrying the group as far as personality goes.

The Murray started out as a solid character for the first two games and then he went downhill fast. He’s the opposite of Sly in that he’s not very smart or cunning and he never has a good comeback at the ready. He makes up for this with his fists and he’s the power hitter of the group. (I would easily take Sly in a fight against him though) He likes to refer to himself as The Murray and that’s why I liked him a lot. Then, he decided to abandon his fighting methods thanks to The Guru and he started a lot of meditation. So, most of his lines in the third game were pretty annoying since he wasn’t a convincing pacifist and most of his “wise” sayings just weren’t funny. He has a classic rage moment at one point where he turns back into the original “The Murray” but it came a little too late. He still beats Daxter, but Murray definitely dropped as far as characters go.

Carmelita is Sly’s biggest rival and they always get to share a lot of epic dialogue. She makes sure that the police are in top shape and she has risen to a very high position. Her skills with a blaster are definitely worth mentioning and she’s able to take down the bosses that even gave Sly’s gang a tough time. I do miss the days when capturing Sly was her only goal, but the ending is happy for her. A little too much romance if you ask me though. It’ll be interesting to see what her role is in the next game. She’s definitely an integral part of the franchise and her rivalry with Sly is what makes the banter so much fun.

Dimitri is easily one of the more unlikable villains, but it seems like he was well received by the fans so he got to return for the third game. It’s too bad because I just don’t see why he is supposed to be cool. He spends some time flirting in the third game, which isn’t cool and his only good scene that I can recall is the fact that he didn’t succumb to Sly’s black mailing attempts. Beyond that, he’s just another enemy who turns into a hero and then forgets to have any significant character development. I’m hoping that he won’t return for the next game.

The Guru is easily one of the most annoying characters in the trilogy. The fact that he only makes sounds and then everyone can understand him is a trend that I really don’t like. (Just look at Bumblebee) This way, the characters get to say things like “Whoa, impressive thinking Guru” or “I like the way you think Guru” It’s a cop out because we don’t know what he is actually saying and I just can’t root for him. He’s supposed to be immensely hardcore based on the reactions from the characters, but I need to hear it to believe it. His subplot just wasn’t enlightening and he prolonged the game just so that he could be at one with nature. Yeah….that’s a no go for me.

Penelope is one of the new members to join the gang in the third installment and she’s all right. She beats most of the other new recruits, but I couldn’t get myself to become a fan of hers. She’s also pretty smart and she has her remotely controlled vehicles, which makes for solid gameplay. That being said, I just can’t get behind the forced romance subplot between her and Bentley. It didn’t do wonders for any of them…that’s for sure.

The Panda King started out as one of the big villains in the first game. His boss fight was pretty fun and his flame attacks were brutal. He made for a solid villain and he was definitely one of the more memorable bosses. After that, he became a hero in the third game and changed his ways. That’s where he went downhill for me. His new meditation personality was too similar to Murray’s change and he just wasn’t believable. I have to agree with Sly that it’s a little hard to overlook his deeds from the original title. His mannerisms can also be a little tough and you just wait for his scenes to be over. In the end, I’m definitely not a fan of him anymore.

Clockwerk is the big boss from the first game and he shouldn’t be underestimated. The Cooper Clan has feared him for many generations and that’s because of his overwhelming power. The boss fight was pretty interesting and it was fun to test my metal (get it?) against his. His character is solid and he kind of reminded me of Unicron. Maybe it’s just his commanding demeanor, but he’s a solid villain and easily one of the most memorable ones in the franchise. It would be no stretch of the imagination to say that he is my favorite villain in the franchise and it will be reasonably difficult to pass him.

Muggshot is an example of a hardcore villain who stayed as a villain. He appears in the third game and I believe that he was in the original as well. He’s pretty hardcore and we get to witness a battle between him and Carmelita. He has a lot of muscle power while Carmelita is good from long range. I have to admire his raw power and there aren’t many fighters who could take him down for the count. He’s not an amazing villain, but he’s good enough and he has no annoying gimicks. He just works to pound his opponents with simple (yet effective) brute strength. That’s my kind of villain.

Constable Neyla is the new face on the police staff and she’s the only one to get any development aside from Carmelita. I can’t say that she’s very likable because she’s the reasonable, heroic officer. She doesn’t mind teaming up with Sly if it means that they will nab the culprit and she’s just not as fun as Carmelita. Her fighting skills aren’t quite up to par either and you have to wonder why she didn’t just grow up to be a nameless officer like the others. She also seems to be tricking Carmelita…could she have a secret agenda?

The Contessa is one of the bosses in the second game and she’s mainly memorable because she’s involved in a rather large (but expected) plot twist. She’s pretty crafty and she can also engage in classic fisticuffs when necessary. Her design was interesting and the boss fight was pretty good. There’s not much more to say about her, but the Contessa isn’t someone that you want to mess with. Her hypnotic machinery can be powerful and she takes no prisoners.

General Tsao isn’t a likable villain by any stretch of the imagination, but I really did like his boss battle so he deserved a mention. Dueling with him in the forest was good, but the battle on top of the forest was in a completely different league. That’s a battle that I won’t forget and the developers definitely had fun implementing the new gameplay. Personality wise, this guy definitely didn’t rank. He was likely a one shot character so I don’t need to worry about him appearing again.

Doctor M is the big villain from the third game, but he’s easily the most dull compared to the previous two final bosses. He just comes out of nowhere and I have to say that the evil scientist character is really getting old at this point. No…it is already old! He does have a mech to help him out, but the boss fight isn’t terribly fun and trying to finish it in a short time can be brutal. (But worth the trophy) I really could have done without him and he didn’t add anything to the franchise.

It’s also fun to see how the graphics have changed from game to game. The first game is very bright and definitely more cartoony than the other two. I actually think that it looked the best from the three and it’s just fun to look at. The second installment gets a little darker, but you can also see how much newer it is. The third one is basically as modern as it will get and the character models look solid. The graphics are technically “better” I suppose, but the first game still looks the best to me. I just won’t be forgetting that art style!

One bonus that occurs from older games getting to the PS3 is that we can get trophy support! The trophies for all three games are very reasonable and I obtained all three Platinums. I have to say that I’m pretty proud of this and the developers did a solid job. Some may say that the Platinums were too easy, but they were tough enough to present you with a mild challenge during the third game. The minigames also contain trophies, but no Platinum comes along with them. Ah well, you can’t win em all. Either way, this could be another incentive to buy the collection. Who doesn’t want to add three more Platinums to the collection?

The soundtrack for all three games is a little on the generic side. Sly’s main theme from the first game is pretty memorable, but that’s about it. Ratchet and Clank typically doesn’t have a lot of memorable tracks either so it may just be a company thing. (Although Jak’s was pretty solid) It could be argued that I was so into the game at that point that I couldn’t hear the music, but I’m sure that I would have remembered a dynamic boss theme. Well, at least the music isn’t bad.

I do have to say that the ending to the third game isn’t that good. One can definitely see how it didn’t get a sequel for so long, but it really feels like Sly gave his teammates the short end of the stick. It’s almost a tragic ending if you didn’t believe their happy stories at the end. I definitely wasn’t satisfied with such a conclusion, which is why I can’t wait for the next one. The Cooper Gang must never be allowed to split up!

The big question is…could the Sly series defeat Jak or Ratchet and Clank? Well, I would still take both of those series over this one, but they’re a little more out there and the guns advantage almost makes it unfair. Ratchet is the best main character from the three, but Sly’s partners beat the counterparts from the other series. It’s fun to compare the three series and it does appear that Sly has outlasted Jak. Maybe it’ll end up giving Ratchet and Clank a run for their money eventually. (The film is coming out soon for both series after all. Can’t wait to see them compete!)

Overall, this was a fun trilogy and it holds up well against the famous Mario Galaxy series. Completing all three games and getting the Platinum definitely means that you are getting a lot of value for your purchase. Replay value is not an issue and you’ll be glad that you purchased the game. The graphics are good and the banter between Sly and Carmelita can be pretty awesome. The rest of the dialogue is typically well done as well and the writers must have been very focused when working on it. The levels can get a little repetitive in the second and third games, but it’s really not bad and nothing compared to the DS Prince of Persia game. Bentley’s levels are scarce, but I love the Pac Man/Galaga levels where you have to destroy the viruses. The first game allows you to free roam through the levels and the third one has a lot of challenges that are fun since it is basically a way to replay any minigame or stage. Fans of the platforming genre should greatly enjoy the game and the writing is superb as well. All in all, you can’t help but give the collection a thumbs up!

Overall 7/10

Prince of Persia The Fallen King Review

Posted on July 6, 2014 by dreager1

The Prince of Persia franchise is a pretty good one. I enjoyed the film that came out and both games for the PS3 were very well done. I enjoyed the GBA installment as well and the only one that left much to be desired was the “Battles” spinoff for the DS. This is another Nintendo DS spinoff so there was definitely a reason to be a little worried. I’ve actually been working on this game for years and I finally got around to beating it. It’s definitely a decent game, but nothing more than that.

The plot is pretty convoluted and while it is a sequel to the PS3 game, it’s back to just being the Prince. (Evidently the epilogue explains why this is why, but I wasn’t about to spend money to buy the DLC) The Prince is basically looking for the King so that he can help out to stop the dark forces that he unleashed in the last game. He finds a mysterious being by the name of Zal, who is also dealing with some issues at the moment. Pieces of the puzzle have been stolen and villains are running rampant with all of their newfound power. The Prince agrees to help out Zal since he’s such a nice guy. Can they find out who the mastermind is and stop him before it’s too late? (The plot is a little vague because my recollection of it isn’t too good. Good ole Wikipedia definitely helped for the early parts.)

The gameplay for the game is essentially the traditional 2D Prince of Persia style from the good ole days. What’s the problem? Well, you should always be able to jump in a 2D side scroller. Always! Unfortunately, you can’t do this. The stylus is used to control everything and it’s very sensitive. A single misstep will cause you to lose and be forced to go through a long part again. I’m guessing that’s why the developers decided to give the player infinite lives. The only way to jump is if you are leaving a platform and tap the air or the next platform. This will cause the prince to do a little jump, which may destroy you when he jumps unexpectedly. Your partner (Zal) is around to fire energy blasts that can’t hurt your opponents or to disarm them. He grabs onto the purple energy, which is used to finish off puzzles. He can do all sorts of things that are just variations of each other throughout the game.

The actual combat is pretty rough. You have to tap the enemy and hope that the Prince won’t roll and leave you open for attack. The enemies are generally pretty easy since you just need to attack, block, attack, over and over again. It’s a winning cycle, but a tedious one at times. You really don’t feel like you’re fighting at all since you’re just tapping the same part of the screen a lot of times. Thanks to the infinite lives, nothing will really be a challenge for long. The final boss took some time because I couldn’t figure out what the game wanted to do, but I eventually solved it. (Hint…some giant swords can be stuck for a while.)

The Prince is all right, but definitely nothing special. He talks a good game and saving the world is a cool goal to chase after. He just doesn’t do anything noteworthy and The Prince is really along for the ride. I’m sure that he can fight, but there isn’t anyone for him to fight. Most of the game is just banter between him and Zal, but it’s not very good banter. The writers could learn a thing or two from the Sly Cooper writers.

Zal is really the only character in the game aside from the Prince, or at least the only notable one. I did not like him because it felt as if he was constantly making things harder for the Prince. They just need to hash out their differences and team up long enough to go and save the world. Zal may have some noble sentiments in there, but it’s hard to root for him. It doesn’t help that the plot is so vague and the story isn’t that well told. He’s just a really unmemorable guy who happened to be around for most of the game.

Graphically, the game isn’t very impressive, but the cutscenes aren’t bad. The “cutscenes” are stills where we get to see the plot advance. The artwork may not be top tier, but you do know what is happening and how to get there. While in gameplay, you’ll really just see a pixelated figure running around. The Megaman Battle Network games would put this one to shame. The Prince’s super form is awesome, but you can only see this thanks to the illustrations. In gameplay, it’s just not that effective. I don’t think a whole lot of effort was put into it.

There isn’t really a soundtrack. Sure, there is music in the game, but it’s just generic desert music. Nothing special and you won’t be remembering it after a while. This is unfortunate, but just how it has to be. I don’t believe that the music even changed all that much for the boss battles, but maybe it was a little different. Either way, I typically don’t expect much out of the DS games in terms of music, but this won’t win the game any stars. (Now, the GBA had some incredible tunes!)

Uh oh, this is not sounding like a positive game is it? It definitely fails as far as sequels go and it’s really just filler. I think the game was quickly made for a few bucks and you can tell that the quality control just wasn’t there. That being said, the game was pretty long so you definitely got what you paid for. (I got it for 5-10 dollars, which wasn’t bad) I forgot how many levels there were, but around the same as a typical Mario game. Unlike Mario, you cannot go back to play previous levels and you are permanently stuck to the world that you are up to. This means that I can only play the final three levels if I wanted to relive the good ole days. Trust me, I have better games to play so I wasn’t planning on it, but it’s disappointing that the option isn’t even there.

Overall, this is easily one of the worst Prince of Persia games. I’m tempted to say that it is the worst, but I’ll have to go and play the other one a little more first to be sure of this. The story is pretty dull and the characters aren’t very interesting, but the gameplay length is good. The actual gameplay could be much better, but it could also be a lot worse. I would say that the game isn’t very good and it gets repetitive very quickly. Still, the game is decent and I would never say that it was a downright bad game. I do wish that the stylus didn’t have to be used because the controls are definitely prone to cause unnecessary deaths because any movement will have the Prince running or jumping to his doom. I can’t say that I recommend this game and buy the New Super Mario Bros game if you want a true 2D side scroller.

Overall 5/10

Roogoo Twisted Towers Review

Posted on July 4, 2014 by dreager1

Roogoo is a game that I had never heard of before and I was surprised to see that it won an award from E3. It must have been before my time since I only started keeping up with E3 in detail last year. I don’t own a whole lot of puzzle games and I typically just go with a game of another genre, but the cover intrigued me. (As well as the 2 dollar price tag at Gamestop) Knowing that you really can’t go wrong with a 2 dollar game, I ended up purchasing it and I was ready for epicness! (My journey of buying the game was long and arduous as I left it the first time to do some research on Youtube. What sold me was the Airship mode and then I went back after the weekend was over)

There is a plot heavily concealed within the video game, but it’s almost impossible to decipher. There is a quick cutscene at the very end of the game and one at the end of the first world. Beyond that, you have to try and figure out what is happening and the little text bubbles at the beginning of a level do not help. They are all tutorial based with only one of them referencing the fact that you have to save the world. We know that the hero is on a mission of global significance, but that is about all that we can understand. Perhaps…that is all that we are meant to understand at this point in time!

Either way, the plot isn’t quite as important as the gameplay. This is especially true for a Puzzle game where it is easy to mess up and make the puzzles too easy. Just as dangerous is the possibility of making the puzzles too long and tedious. Roogoo does a good job of steering clear of this although the game is definitely on the easy side. I never lost a shape level and only lost a flight battle once. (I’m not even sure if you can lose in Roogoo since I let the timer go and then I still got to play. I believe that it revolves around getting too many of them in the wrong shapes, but I didn’t go and prove that theory. Not this time!

There are two forms of gameplay in this game. The shape levels and the airplane levels. I shall talk about the Airplane levels first as it was the best part, but unfortunately, there are very few of them in the game. You get to control a pilot and you move around as if you are the rim of a soda cup. You can’t go in the center and you can only go around the rim. It’s a very unique way to play. This game is pretty easy for the most part, but I did manage to lose once so maybe I was underestimating it. You mostly just have to collect jewels and survive until the finish line, but there’s also the occasional boss or minion that you’ll want/have to defeat. I really would have loved another 10+ Airplane levels, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The other mode is the Shapes part. In this one, you have to make the shape go through the shake on the bottom. For example, you are given a square. Then you’re taken to a wheel that has several shapes. You must keep on turning the wheel until the hole on the bottom matches the shape that you are holding. It takes a lot of dedication and time since there are around 80+ levels of this. It’s pretty intense when you think about it. After all, you’ll likely lose the round if you end up dozing off. The levels get more complicated as villains try to obscure your view or steal puzzle pieces. You can fight back by capturing them in a net or just knocking them out so we can tell that the main character is definitely a fighter.

One of the complaints that I would have had is the low difficulty level of the game, but that’s actually not an issue since the game has two harder modes. Roogoo mode and I forgot the name of the other one. I can definitely see how this game might get harder so you’ll definitely find a nice challenge in this game when all’s said and done.

You don’t need to worry about replay value because this game is definitely a long experience. There are 10 worlds and they total in about 90 levels. That’s definitely a huge amount and you can’t even compare it to the Casper game for the Wii, which had around 5-8. After you finish the 90 levels you can try beating them on hard mode or buying the DS version to unlock a few bonus missions. The replay value may not be insanely high, but definitely high enough that your two dollars were well spent.

The graphics aren’t exactly outstanding, but this is the Wii and I doubt that the game had an incredible budget at its disposal like Super Smash Bros or Skyward Sword. The game looks decently good, but nothing will stand out. The graphics are terribly average and maybe a little less so, but they’re definitely view able and it shouldn’t hurt your overall experience.

The soundtrack is essentially blank or it may as well be since I can’t recall a single tune. That’s never a great sign for a game. Now, there is one big thing that kept the game from getting a 7 or higher. That is the fact that there are only two modes of play. It gets tedious after around 60 levels of placing the objects in their correct shapes. Having 90+ levels is certainly a good thing because it increases the length, but there should have been more ways to play or at least a better way of dividing up the shape and air levels. There are only around 10 or less air levels and the puzzles got the other 80. At least make it a 50-30 level split since that would be a lot more fair.

Overall, Roogoo is a fun game to play. It’s best in short batches of 5-10 levels since it can get a little repetitive if you play all of them at once. There are 11 worlds, but the amount of levels inside differs from world to world. It’s currently going for around 2 dollars at Gamestop so there is really no reason not to buy it as soon as possible. I recommend it to all puzzle fans and I would also recommend that action gamers give it a shot. It’s definitely not going to be the next Titanfall or Call of Duty as far as quick mainstream games go, but it can be pretty fun if you give the game a chance. How many games can say that they have over 90 levels? A little more plot would have been nice though.

Overall 6/10

Flingsmash Review

Posted on June 28, 2014 by dreager1

I really love the 5 dollar bargain bin over at Gamestop. I decided to get another 4 Wii games over there, which was a steal. This is the first out of the 4 games that I’ve managed to complete and I can say that it was totally worth the 3 dollars (Slightly less) that I paid for it. It’s not bad and I believe that the game could have been even better if it had Gamecube controller support or had been on the PS3. It’s a fun idea, but it doesn’t work to 100% just yet.

The plot is…intriguing. A kingdom is attacked by a villain by the name of Omminus. This guy means business and his abilities are truly frightening. The royalty is backed into a corner and forced to fight fire with fire. Long ago, a hero saved their people, but he was then locked up for unknown reasons. What if they unleash a monster who’s even worse than Omminus? The King decides to take this risk and he opens the box, unleashing Zip. Can Zip stop Omminus? More importantly…does he want too!? Things could get dicey for the heroes.

The gameplay is your traditional Mario/Sonic 2D experience, but with a big twist. Zip cannot walk or run around as you are always suspended in the air. To move around, you must yank the Wii Remote in a direction and then Zip will charge that way. Waiting a second before charging will allow you to go faster and break stronger blocks. The screen moves on its own so you have to wait until the screen is far enough to continue, but you can’t hang back for too long or you’ll be eaten by a dragon. It’s a delicate art. There are 8 Worlds like in a typical Mario game, but there are only 3 levels and then a boss like the classic Sonic Advance series. (Like I said, it’s similar to both Mario and Sonic!) You need to collect three out of 5 Bronze Medals through the level to complete it and secure the pearl.

Through the levels, you can eat fruits that give you power ups like turning giant or splitting into three different Zips. These abilities are very useful and I highly recommend using them whenever possible. So, that’s essentially the gameplay in a nutshell. Just focus on grabbing those medals and making it to the end of the goal in one piece.

Why didn’t this gameplay ultimately work? The gameplay had a lot of potential, but what most gamers and game developers learned the hard way is that motion controls aren’t ready yet. Thus, the game can get a little difficult as Zip won’t go where you want him to go. The motion plus doesn’t really help and Zip was flying all over the place. Several times I lost a level because he made me miss one of the bronze medals. It’s also a little hard on the wrist and I’m glad that I won’t need to move like that again for a while. I haven’t used the motion controls so extensively since Barrel Blast and Wii Sports. (Both of which did a better job of using it) With a gamecube remote, it would have been a lot of fun to shoot around and it makes for a nice platformer with a little strategy built in. I can safely say that the game would have risen to a solid 7 and matched up against Mario Galaxy. (Mario Galaxy is clearly better, but they would both be 7s all the same) That being said, at least the motion controls make the game a little more difficult.

Zip is the main character and he started out as a great guy. He gets scared very easily and he’s definitely no Link or Megaman when it comes to bravery. Still, he fights for what’s right and you can’t help, but root for the poor guy. One can totally sympathize with him because being locked up for so long must be tough. Unfortunately, that goes out the window at the very end of the game as we find out why he was locked up. It’s a classic hero to zero moment as I lost all of my respect for Zip. Zip’s no hero and now I know why he was so worried against the villains. He’s never had to actually fight such a tough opponent before! It’s all been a lie and nobody was able to figure this out until it was too late.

Omminus is the main villain of the game and he’s pretty cool. He reminds me of one of the Super Paper Mario villains, Dimentio. Their powers are similar as well since Omminus has basic reality warping skills or something similar as he keeps on changing Zip’s physical appearance. That not only takes skills, but guts since nobody wants to mess with Zip. Omminus keeps his cool throughout the game and he’s a fun villain. I wouldn’t say that he’s a very tough villain, but Zip isn’t very powerful either so they couldn’t let the gap get too wide. His final forms are pretty scary and I can imagine people being at the edge of their seats when first fighting him at his best.

The graphics for the game are decent. It definitely doesn’t look bad by any stretch of the imagination, but there is nothing that you will find amazing either. Zip’s facial expressions can be a little intriguing, but that’s intentional. His grin is huge and you can’t help but grin as he goes after the villain. I definitely liked his character design even if I didn’t care for his character. I guess I’d say that the graphics were about average and leave it at that.

The soundtrack for the game is surprisingly brilliant. The boss theme is very catchy and that’s a good thing because it plays for every boss fight including the final one. It’s just fun to listen to and it never gets old. The main theme music for the main menu is great as well. It’s happy without overdoing it and the cheerful theme really makes you want to take the win.

Is there any Replay Value? I’d say that there’s a good amount since you’ll want to play all of the stages until you’ve gotten A ranks in them all. (I’m sure that S ranks will also unlock something) You obtain minigames for this and while I only unlocked one so far, it’s pretty fun. That should already be a good reason for a person to replay the levels and that’s really all you need. There are 32 levels in all and only 28 of them are needed for the A ranks. That may not sound like a lot, but this game will definitely last you for a while.

Overall, Flingsmash is a fun game and I don’t see why it’s already down to 2-3 dollars. I guess it fell under the radar and I’m sure that many people would enjoy it if they happened to come across the game. It’s not your standard platformer and it’s a nice concept, but the Wii remote can zap the fun out of just about anything. It still works, but the Wii Remote prevents Flingsmash from getting to the next level. I recommend getting the game if you don’t mind using the motion controls and the price definitely makes it affordable. I beat the game in 3 hours so don’t expect a long playthrough, but the replay value helps to make up for it. 3 hours of fun for 3 dollars isn’t a bad deal right? I found the game to be a little tedious during Worlds 2 and 3, but the game stepped up after that as the future worlds were a lot more interesting. Zip isn’t that great so you may want to play as the female counterpart. She definitely has more composure. Let me know how you enjoyed this game if you ever give it a shot!

Overall 6/10

Chaotic Shadow Warriors Review

Posted on June 1, 2014 by dreager1

Chaotic is a franchise that I never actually got into. It looked pretty interesting, but I just didn’t have time for it. The concept had some similarities to Pokemon and Yugioh and the formula is tried and true. Any toyetic show with monsters is usually a lot of fun so I had to get this game. I’ve owned this game for a long time, but I never really played it until now. I dug up the old game and started playing. It’s a decently fun experience, but there are enough negatives to turn this into a one time play through.

Tom is the main character of the story and he’s isn’t happy when he finds out that something fishy is going on in the Chaotic world. Maxxor is keeping him in the dark, but Tom won’t have that. These Shadow creatures have begun to impersonate the heroes and it would appear that they will stop at nothing short of world domination. Tom’s going to have to get out his old gear and hope that things don’t get Chaotic. (Which is his “epic” catchphrase) The main villain is unknown and it could be anyone, but that won’t stop our Hero as he gets to the bottom of this adventure. He’s going to have to find all 7 of the Mugic pieces in order to save both worlds.

First off, the graphics are pretty bad. Bad is a strong word since it may technically look better than some games that were created decades ago, but I expect more out of the PS3. Everything feels dated and the characters move around a lot. Tom appears as if he’s having a panic attack half of the time and all of the characters appear impatient. They just can’t stop moving! Tom has a yelling match with one of the monsters and the animation makes it pretty humorous. I suppose that it isn’t too bad since it can make you laugh, but I definitely would have liked for it to look as good as Bakugan.

The gameplay is the main chunk of any game so that’s something that you will want to know about. At it’s core; Chaotic plays out like a Pokemon. Turn based combat and the battles can go up to 5 on 5 at a time. There is some strategy involved as you will want to take out some opponents before others for maximum epicness. Health seems to be the most important factor in this game and I just made a team out of the strongest monsters that I had. You’ll typically be okay without using any health items as they will just prolong the battle.

After that, there are more complicated aspects. Chaotic has the element system like in Pokemon so certain attacks will do more or less damage depending on what’s happening. Unfortunately, it’s not as obvious as Pokemon, but Chaotic fans who watched the show will likely understand who they should aim for right away. If not, just look at the number next to the attack and based on whether it’s lower or higher than usual; you’ll know if it’s good to use or not. Either way, you’ll typically just want to use the strongest attack possible. One feature that helps to make the battle easier are commands that are placed on the screen when your creature attacks. Correctly inputting them will add a bit of damage and help to recover AP points. Likewise, you can hold the R2 button and hit X a lot to block an attack and mitigate the damage that you take from it.

From your 5 monsters on the field, only the three in the front can use their attacks. The two in the back are forced to rely on long range spells and Taunts to keep their turns going. You’ll want to stock up on a lot of mugics through the levels or else you’ll have to listen to the taunts all of the time.

The downside to the gameplay is definitely how long each battle can be. There are a set amount of battles in the game and there are no extra ones to stay and level up. (There is a mild level system where you improve their rank by combining monsters that you’ve scanned, but it’s not the best option) This means that the enemies will typically be weaker than you and you don’t have to worry that much about losing, but they will delay the inevitable. Constant health items will ensure that each battle can take 10+ minutes. That’s a lot of time for a simple battle and eventually you will really get tired of them. I dreaded the battles whenever they came up and that’s never a good sign.

Aside from fighting, there is also a platforming part to the gameplay. You get to play as Tom and explore the world. Look for ruins hidden in the rocks and find all of the mugics while blasting away alien insects. This part was pretty fun and you can’t die so feel free to take a lot of risks. I do wish that Tom could run a little faster and a boss battle in this mode would have been fun, but it was still a fun section. I’m always up for some platforming!

The soundtrack can definitely get annoying pretty quickly. I didn’t care for any of the tunes, but the monster lines during the battle can be tough to watch. They have a very limited vocabulary and they will say the same things over and over again. I do appreciate the fact that nearly all of their lines are puns, but they get old after you’ve heard the same one 20 times over. The monsters will talk when they attack so you can’t go through a battle without hearing the lines about 4-5 times over. Hopefully you are a Huge fan of these lines.

You can’t go through the levels freely once the game is complete so I recommend obtaining all of the collectibles in each level before moving on. This can be toughest before the final boss, but you should be fine as long as you keep an eye on the map. It’s highly rewarding for the trophies and you get the maximum enjoyment for your purchase.

The trophies for the game are decently fair except I don’t care for the online ones. Don’t count on getting the Platinum trophy for this title because getting 50 Ranked wins in such a dead online community will be next to impossible without boosting. I don’t believe in trophy boosting so that was the end of the line for me. I managed to get all of the online trophies except for one that I managed to miss. The trophies aren’t very hard and you’ll do fine as long as you make sure to grab those collectibles!

Overall, Chaotic is a decently fun game. The graphics and soundtrack may be sub par, but the gameplay is decent. If the battles weren’t so long and repetitive; I would likely have given the game a 7. As it stands, the game just doesn’t have enough positives and I do wish that there was a better level up system or a level select. One playthrough is likely all that this game will get for most players, but it’s only 9 dollars so it’s a decent purchase for that price. It took me around two days to complete and that was mainly due to the insanely long battles. That’s a decent length for a game though so the overall length isn’t a negative. If you want a more exciting monster game for PS3, check out Bakugan! (Either game works)

Overall 6/10

James Bond 007 Agent Under Fire Review

Posted on May 30, 2014 by dreager1

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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