I finally got all of the trophies along with all of the hats! The only collectibles left are the custom specials and I’ll probably just take a pass on those for now. It’s been a fun ride!
Super Smash Bros Wii U Update
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Street Fighter Review
All right, it’s time for a big name! Street Fighter is a video game series that is still immensely popular and there are even individuals who would say that it is better than Super Smash Bros. I would never go that far, but it certainly has earned the right to be called the most popular fighting video game of all time. A comic based on the franchise was sure to be a blast and I wasn’t disappointed!
There is no real plot as the game essentially shows you how the game should be played. Every time you win, a stronger opponent is there to take you out. So, we get some brief fight scenes as every character gets a win and then gets to lose. This means that we literally have nonstop action here and it works perfectly. There’s no better way to show off the Street Fighter universe than by having their best fighters duke it out.
The art looks very good and this helps the action scenes to be even more fun. Without good art, a series that is focusing on the fights would be very risky as the action just wouldn’t be enjoyable. This is one comic where the art is more important than the writing although it is very relative. You still need good writing in order to succeed and Street Fighter has that at the ready.
This doesn’t seem to really be a preview for an upcoming ongoing, but I’d certainly be interested in reading more Street Fighter comics. The franchise has always had a lot of potential and it is very interesting. There’s currently a rumor going around that Ryu will actually make it into Super Smash. If he does make it, I’ll definitely believe that he earned his trip there. Ryu is a video game icon and while he may not be as important to the industry as Mega Man, Mario, or Pac Man, he’s still a living legend and his moveset practically writes itself.
Currently, the best free comic is still Divergence. After that, I think Street Fighter can make a solid case for 2nd. It’s just that good and I think that Ryu may actually be in the Worlds Unite crossover that is coming out. I hope so as that would be fairly neat. Now, I only have a handful of free comics to read and I saved them for last as they didn’t look as interesting as the ones that I have already read. This means that there is a good chance that none of the issues coming up will be able to surpass Street Fighter so I shall have to savor this moment.
Overall, I veered a little off topic, but the comic is really top notch. There’s not a whole lot to say about it as there’s just a lot of fights to be witnessed and no real plot, but that’s what I like to see in a Street Fighter adventure. Ryu is still a likable main character and the other fighters meant business. I was surprised that Chun Li was nowhere to be found, but I suppose that she can’t come to steal the show every time right? Reading the comic will get you in the mood to play the games and that’s why this issue ultimately succeeded.
Overall 9/10
New Super Mario Bros 2 Update
I completed the Star World! There are still many things to do in this Mario game and maybe I’ll get around to them eventually (Like getting a million coins) but for now, it’s time to go back on the shelf!
Excitebots Trick Racing Stats and Records
Stats time!
8 Stars
Lifetime Stars 5008
7/12 Cars Unlocked
Tricks
Air 54
Red Bar 25
Tree Run 15
Drift 19
Bot Throw 3
Air Spin 0
Sandwich 0
Bar Release 24
Backflip 4
Ring 5
Bot Smash 6
Leg Smash 1
Best Stunts
Air 2157.50
Drift 1132.76
Tree Run 14
Air 360
Jump Combo 5
Stage Stats: Time, Rank, Stars
School Cup
Mexico 2m 22s B 95
Fiji 2m 51s A 215
Canada 2m 22s A 130
Finland 3m 15s S 192
Bronze Cup
Ehypt 2m 32s A 181
Scotland 2m 7s B 129
Mexico 2m 15s S 197
China 2m 16s A 167
Kilimanjaro 4m 23s A 240
Silver Cup
Mexico 2m 12s S 176
China 2m 21s B 144
Kilimanjaro 2m 35s S 197
Finland 2m 19s S 187
Egypt 3m 36s B 212
Gold Cup
Tasmania 3m 25s B 222
Fiji 3m 13s S 216
Scotland 3m 19s S 212
Mexico 3m 22s A 277
Guatemala 3m 2s S 244
Platinum Cup
China 3m 15s B 223
Fiji 3m 19s B 239
Canada 3m 32s S 269
Guatemala 3m 55s B 222
Tasmania 3m 5s B 232
Excitebots Trick Racing Review
All right, let’s check out another game from the legendary 5 dollar bin! It’s games like this that make the bin so worth it for me because this is a hidden gem that I likely would have never played otherwise. It’s certainly not going to be the next Mario Kart of F-Zero, but Excitebots ended up being pretty fun and certainly worth the 5 bucks.
There is no plot so you are free to jump into the grand prixes. There are 5 different cups and each one has 4-5 different races in it. This title is a little different than most racing games as getting to 1st place is heavily encouraged, but there are other aspects in place. See, this game is also a bit of a stunt racing game as the amount of stars that you have in the end is what ultimately matters. Coming in first gives you an extra 55 as opposed to the 15 in second so that’s a good reason to get to 1st place, but you also want to do a lot of tricks along the way. No worries, they come rather naturally.
You get stars for drifting and bumping into other cars. If you decide to drive into a forest, you get a star for every tree that you dodge. The stars add up quickly there, but it is typically much more dangerous than the normal path so you have to decide if your driving skills are up to par. If you hit something, then you’ll quickly be taken back a little bit, which can eat up your time although it’s not all that bad. You’ll still be okay even if you crash a few times. Just make sure that you get the stars first. Naturally, you also have a nitro boost that you can activate quite often. You just can’t use too much of it at once or you will overheat so make sure to use it gradually and in bursts.
All of what I just mentioned was already in Excite Truck so let’s get into the new features for this title. This game placed a lot more emphasis on the Motion Controls than the older game. For starters, you’ll see various poles throughout the race. You will then have to make a motion with your Wii Remote depending on what color the pole is. Typically it will require you to make a sudden push forward or to act as if you are making a circular motion. To be honest, this is an addition that I definitely would have preferred to not have made the cut. Getting the motions can be as tough as you think considering the Wii Remote’s dicey reputation and it doesn’t add anything to the game. I can guarantee that the game would be even better without this gimmick although it certainly doesn’t hurt the game all that much. It was just a little unnecessary.
One of the new additions that I did like was the item boxes and tools that would appear. You can get items like some teeth to throw at enemies or a fishing rod to get some fish/stars. The items are typically fun and if you get a wrench, then you can turn into your true robot form. This was a good addition to the game and I’m glad that they added it. I certainly would like to play without any nitro or items as an option as well, but if you’re going to have some gimmicks, then you may as well add them all in right? You can play a lot of the individual minigames in minigame mode in case you really like one. There’s also a Poker Mode, but I decided not to try it out. It didn’t really pique my interest.
There are many other ways to search for stars during the race, but I’ll allow you to find those on your own. The actual gameplay is very smooth, which helps to negate the Wii Remote’s handling. The Wii Remote actually works well enough here. I would still prefer almost any other remote, but it’s passable as you have to hold it sideways to play this game, which has always been the best way to use the Wii Remote for a racing game. Each race is only about 2-5 minutes so they’re short, which helps to make them very exciting. Nothing’s worse than playing a really long race only to discover that you’ve lost and have to play it all over again.
The graphics are sound and the robots all look good. This is certainly no Mario Galaxy, but it’s still a big step above titles like Casper and Rudolph. The graphics are not bad, nor are they very good. They’re simply caught in the middle, but that’s not a bad thing. The designs still compliment the races rather well, which is all that I could ask of the title. The soundtrack is great, but I would expect no less from such a solid racing title. All of the themes are fast and intense, which lets you really feel like you’re in the race. Racing games have had a superb track record when it comes to the music included in them and this game does not disappoint here.
Completing the cups won’t take you very long. There are 24 courses and all of them are short, but you have to consider that you will be getting this game for a bargain price. Also, there is a good amount of replay value. If you get S ranks on all levels, then you can unlock the Super Excite difficulty so that you can play the stages yet again. Moreover, there are many things to buy with your stars. That’s where it gets to be a bit much though.
For starters, you have to actually buy the alternate colors for your vehicles. You have to buy the vehicles and then you also buy avatars for your profile and statues of your cars. This gives you a lot to buy, but earning stars isn’t so simple. For example, you will earn around 200-300 per race, but most of the cars are 2500-5000. I ended up with around 5000 stars when I beat the game so I bought one car. Imagine how long it would take to buy the 20+ profiles, 20 statues, colors, and cars. Certainly longer than I’d really be willing to play this game. I actually did bother to do the S ranks for Excite Truck, which shows how much fun these games are, but it’s not the kind of thing that I’d probably do now. Nowadays, Super Smash Bros is probably one of the only games where I’d actually go that far. Don’t get me wrong, the gameplay here is still a lot of fun, but I’ve got a lot of games to play so it’s best that I move on while I can.
Overall, Excitebots is a fun racing title. It’s certainly a lot better than you would expect upon looking seeing the cover and you should certainly give it a chance. It’s a short, but fun experience and the actual gameplay is quite good. It’s fairly unique for a racing game and you’ll have fun earning those stars as you beat the levels. The soundtrack is really good and the graphics are sound so this game really has no weak points. There’s also a multiplayer mode to boost the replay value a little higher. Yes, this is one of those 5 dollar bargain bin titles that is really tough to top.
Overall 7/10
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Stats and Records
Stats time! There isn’t much, but it’s something!
Holiday Helper 22
Toy Maker 50
Cookie Cooking 23
Saving Christmas 63
Scribblenauts Unlimited Stats and Records
Stats time!
Play Time 8h
60/106 Starrites
Stage Stats: Starrites and Star Shards
Edwin’s Farm 1/1 2/2
Capital City 1/1 8/8
Capital City Runoff 0/0 6/6
The Virgule Gallery 1/1 8/8
Capital City Firehouse 1/2 5/9
St. Asterisk 1/1 1/7
Hyphen Heights 2/2 10/10
The Under Line 1/1 5/5
Full Stop Diner 1/2 8/9
Inkwell High 1/1 8/8
Majuscule Grotto 1/1 7/7
Grave Manor 1/1 10/10
Metaforest 1/1 9/10
Sir Guillemet’s Castle 1/1 7/8
The Saurus Park 1/2 10/10
Bullet Point Bayou 0/1 0/7
The Listy Colon 2/2 7/11
Payper Plains 1/1 7/7
Anaphora Falls 0/2 0/10
Payper N. Penitentiary 2/3 11/11
Ruins of Ellipsis 0/1 0/7
Storybook Keep 0/1 8/12
Dot The Island 0/1 0/10
Alliteration Abyss 2/2 2/10
Syntax Station 1/1 8/8
Kana Craters 2/2 9/9
Palindromeda 2/2 6/7
Tilde Reef 0/0 4/5
Ampersand Beach 1/1 7/8
Vowelcano 2/2 9/11
Ampersand Beach 1/1 7/8
Camelcase Oasis 0/1 0/7
Abjad Dunes 1/1 5/8
Underscore Mine 0/2 3/5
Tomb of Onomatopoeia 1/1 4/7
Dusty Brush Canyon 1/1 6/9
Underscore Mine 0/2 3/5
Pilcrow Peaks 2/2 9/10
Exclamation Point 1/1 8/9
Abian Sea Front 1/1 8/8
Lost Kingdom of Parentheses 0/2 0/10
Scribblenauts Unlimited Review
Time to play the next installment in the Scribblenauts series. This is the first one for the home consoles so that was definitely neat. This also meant that I was one step closer to completing the series! It is definitely different from the first two in a few ways. It’s more open world and that’s always a good thing, but it also results in a slightly shorter game.
The plot involves the origin of Maxwell. Long story short, his parents were explorers and they found a book that brought anything that you wrote in it to life. This was pretty neat so they gave it to Maxwell, but the power quickly corrupted him. Then, his sister started turning into stone and Maxwell was told that the only way to save her was to help people with his incredible book. Helping them would cause the people to drop Starrites and he could save Lily’s life if he collected enough of them. With this knowledge at his disposal, Maxwell headed off to go save Lily…and the world.
Collecting Starrites is classic and a tradition for the series. The new part is that there are also Starrite Shards to find. Getting 7-8 of them will form a full Starrite. There are 106 of them in the game and you only need 60 to complete the story. Seeing as that is only a little over half of them, it’s pretty easy to find enough solvable puzzles to work through so that you can save Lily. Each level has 1-3 Starrites and 5-10 Shards. There are quite a lot of levels, although not as many as the previous games since you can compact a lot of missions onto one level. I actually prefer it this way since you don’t have to move around as much. Finding and solving the missions is more linear.
When you enter a world, you’ll see people who need help. The ones with Starrites over their heads will give you one if you help them and you get hints if it is taking you a while. There are no hints for the Shard missions, but they are typically a lot quicker anyway. As you collect the Starrites more and more levels open up. The final ones are all in space so you can tell that the stakes have been raised.
The graphics are about equal to the other games since they’re still using sprites. I assume that they are in HD here and they are certainly a little clearer. Watching the objects on the big screen is definitely a lot of fun. You can’t say that the graphics are at Legend of Zelda or Sly level, but they’re not meant to be. You’re using sprites to save the world and that’s good enough for me. The actual gameplay is crystal clear so you never have to wonder where to go next or what an object is supposed to be.
The soundtrack is not really around. There are a lot of familiar jingles like the remixed victory theme, but it’s more of a soothing experience than most games. There is background music, but it’s all very subtle so that it transitions smoothly from level to level. The music is pretty calming to listen too and it definitely fits the gameplay.
For Replay Value, you can naturally go back and collect all 106 Starrites. That’s about it for replay value, but that should still last you quite a few hours after getting the initial 60. That would end up at around 10-20 hours of play time and it would probably steer closer to the 20 than 10. It is definitely shorter than the other Scribblenaut games and technically it’s the easiest since you don’t have to worry about fully beating all levels. It’s actually a little more appropriate for the kids since I found the first one to be a little too difficult for the average youngster, but this one is just right. There are some that they will likely have trouble with, but that’s what the hints are here for right? Typically, the final hint will make it clear enough to solve the riddle. The going price for the game is less than 20 so that more than makes up for the short campaign and the replay value helps even more.
Fans may be a little disappointed with Maxwell since he is evidently not the selfless hero that we all had expected. He likes to play pranks on everyone and the power went to his head very quickly. He quickly sees the light once his sister is in danger, but I’m sure that his fans will be surprised. He’s a pretty likable main character although he doesn’t get to talk. Lily gets all of the lines so Maxwell may just end up being a silent main character. It’s worked well for Mario and Link so it could be a good move.
One thing that was mildly disappointing is that there is no final level joke this time. Perhaps you get a secret level if you get all of the Starrites, but I was expecting a little more. Some kind of final boss would have been nice like in the last game. Something that forces you to create a Starrite or do something really simple. The previous two games loved to troll the gamer like that and I was hoping that the tradition would be upheld. Instead, you just get a quick cutscene when you get the 60 Starrites. Again, I’m assuming that something happens once you get all 106, but I wanted more closure.
A tip for any future players is to always have your wings on. It’s helpful in just about every scenario and it beats walking through all of the levels right? Using your adjectives wisely will help you complete a lot of missions since you can just make a beast cheerful instead of giving it food to make it cheerful. As there are many words in the English language, there are many ways to beat a mission so you can really choose one that you prefer over the others. There are also dozens of playable characters so you can switch how you look, but that doesn’t impact the gameplay. It’s merely a stylistic choice.
Overall, Scribblenauts Unlimited is a pretty fun sequel to the first two games. The fact that it is now all mission based as you help the people is a fun twist in how you collect the Starrites. It’s probably the best game in the series and the big screen effect certainly helps with that. It’s less repetitive in the types of missions that you complete as opposed to Super Scribblenauts and the gameplay is smoother than the original. The original game will always be a classic since it was the toughest and had the most environments, but this one has done a good job of upholding the legacy. It also helped to increase my Wii U collection. The next Scribblenauts is already at home waiting to be played, but quickly it’s time to go back to a Wii game first. That being said, it shouldn’t last long and then we’ll see if Unmasked will be able to take on Unlimited. Get ready for an adventure! I recommend Scribblenauts Unlimited to Casual and Core gamers alike. It’s a fun way to spend your time and it’s pretty unique. I’m sure that everyone will have fun putting their life experience to the test as you try to think of how you can help someone. It will test your mastery of the English language.
Overall 7/10
Tenkai Knights Brave Battle Review
Looks like it’s time to check out another 3DS game! It’s always a rush when you get to play a new Wii U or 3DS game since they’re part of the current gen. They won’t lose this shine for about 5-8 years so I need to appreciate all of the games while I can. Tenkai Knights is probably one of the greatest new franchises to step out of the great blue along with Buddyfight and Cardfight..depending on if you count Cardfight as recent or not. A video game based on the show was sure to be good. Knowing this…I opened the 3DS and began to plug and play.
The game adapts the first arc of the TV show. Essentially, 4 kids are given lego bricks and told that they can turn into 4 legendary heroes on another planet. They are needed because an evil robot has ammassed a large army and both planets are at risk without help from our heroes. They are glad to join in and quickly find confidence in their new roles. They are the Tenkai Knights and they shall protect all of the worlds!
Their confidence won’t be forgotten as the main character says “I won’t ever give up” whenever you complete a level. There are almost 30 levels in the game and this number gets closer to 50 if you count the side missions. That’s a lot of times to hear his catchphrase so you’ll certainly remember it by the end. I was impressed with the length of the game since I was expecting something closer to 15 levels. The game took me about 6 hours, but I had fun with a lot of the side missions so about 4 hours would probably be closer to the actual campaign length. Keep in mind that the majority of the game is made up of cutscenes as the actual levels are typically short. There are some long ones, but most of them can be finished rather quickly.
The cutscenes are basically just pictures and text. Once in a while you get some actual voice acting for the lines, but it seems like that was added at the last second since it comes very sporadically and it doesn’t mesh well with the music. It’s very hard to hear what they are saying even if you have the game on maximum volume. It’s probably not what you may have expected from the 3DS era, but at least the screencaps are good thanks to the quality animation of the show. It’s not the greatest silver lining, but hey…the cutscenes could be like the opening from Mario Galaxy 2!! These are still passable and the actual plot is very engaging like in the show. It really feels like you’re watching a kids version of the Power Rangers at times. At least, this is how I’ve always pictured a Power Rangers show to be like.
The graphics are pretty pixelated, but they’re decently good. Super Smash Bros and Kid Icarus are easily the best looking 3DS games by a mile. So, it’s probably a little tough on this game since I was playing Super Smash Bros rather recently. The graphics still aren’t bad and they won’t deter you from doing what needs to be done. It’s still fun to use your final smash although the smoke effect is a little lazy since they don’t need to add any explosions that way. I guess I would give the graphics a C-, but the screencaps have the solid animation of the show, which helps.
Brave Battle’s soundtrack is surprisingly good. All of the big characters get their own theme and I actually like most of them. I don’t care for Valorn’s or Venetta’s, but the rest of them are all pretty great. Chooki’s sounds like a classic Mega Man X theme and the Guardians have a cinematic level theme with their opera music that plays. I actually don’t care for Villius’ theme while his two henchmen get a pretty good theme. It’s very overused since it plays constantly, but it’s pretty fun. Naturally, Guren has a pretty good hero theme as well. This aspect of the game was certainly above average and I was not expecting such a good array of songs.
We cannot forget the gameplay though! It’s a side scroller that plays out like Mega Man to an extent, but you typically use a close range weapon like a sword. There are many weapons to choose from though so you can stick with a classic cannon if that’s your preference. The gameplay is definitely comparable to the Naruto Ninja Council games, but if you are not familiar with that series, then think of any GBA cash in title. Especially a super hero type game like Spider Man or the Power Rangers. It’s 2D and there are always playforms, but it’s not a platformer. You are stuck in a limited area and you typically have to beat a boss or clear out some enemies. It’s pretty fun and the controls can be a little iffy when jumping, but you can typically win any level from the ground anyway. Just stick to your strengths and you’ll be just fine.
The health bars are a little odd though as you can beat Dromas, the second final boss in under 10 seconds, but it takes you a few minutes to take out the large cat creature. That boss was definitely a lot of work until I realized that my standard attacks did more damage than my power ones. To spice up the gameplay, you can pick up items that the minions drop. There are two kinds, health items and final smash items. The latter let you destroy all of the enemies on the screen at a time while the health ones replenish your strength. You can also find material that comes from the enemies to build new weapons. The developers may have overdid it with the weapons selection as there must be over 100. I built a whole lot of them, but I’m not even close to getting them all. Unfortunately, the materials that you get are random and it takes quite a while to stockpile what you need to build the weapons that you want. It’s a long grind and not one that I’m about to do, but it’s better to have too many options than too little right?
I have to say that buying some weapons should be a top priority for you. I got one that improved my attack power to 280 and it still didn’t do all that much damage to some of the final minions and bosses. I can’t imagine how long the fights could have taken with a standard blade. Don’t worry about your booster and just pour all of your resources into a good sword and a good shield. Those weapons will never let you down and you’ll be able to go all the way to victory!
Overall, Tenkai Knights Brave Battle is a pretty fun game. The gameplay may not be the greatest example of how to pull off a classic Ninja Council gameplay on the big screen (Relatively speaking) but it’s still a lot of fun. You won’t even notice the time ticking by as you slice up all of the bots. The soundtrack is great and more than makes up for the graphics. The plot is also very engaging and especially intense if you have not seen the TV show yet. The game isn’t very long, but the side missions and obtainable items will certainly extend the overall length. I highly recommend buying this game and getting introduced into the world of the Tenkai Knights! (Maybe we’ll get a sequel to this game.)
Overall 7/10
Madden 2003 Stats and Records
No stats since I didn’t attempt to play a whole season. I beat the CPU on Pro, but I ended up losing a tight game on All Pro (For a while anyway) and couldn’t beat All Madden. I’ll work on those…someday.
DReager1.com 