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Sorry I have not been around as much lately I just scored a new job and am making the transition of being irresponsible to responsible in about two weeks. With this new job though I will have money to invest in the site, something Cone and I have wanted to do for a while now, and now I can. As such we have so many things in store for Snackbar its not even funny the latter part of the summer will be on fire I can assure you.
Also make note that Cone is a review machine right now, my gosh.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/eggmania/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Egg Mania is nothing special when it comes to puzzle games. There is nothing that puts it a huge step above the rest, but I really like it. There is just something so addicting about playing it that makes you want to keep on playing it until hours have gone by and you are still sitting there mashing buttons and building towers…
Like I said, nothing all that special about Egg Mania. It is a puzzle game a lot like Tetris, but backward. You flip and position blocks to build a tower, but your lines don’t go away as you make them, they make your tower stronger and taller so that you can reach you ultimate goal… the blimp thingy that says you’re the winner.
There are two modes to play in, Egg Mania and then there are all the Extra Modes. Now, in my opinion they should have called them eggstra modes, but then I am not a game developer am I? In Egg Mania there are eight levels to compete in, each getting slightly, but not much harder than the one that precedes it. Your goal is to build the tallest, but most stable tower and get to the top before your CPU (or live person) opponent. The blocks fall out of the sky and you catch them, flip them, and move them around to the position you like. At first this task is pretty easy to accomplish, but then they introduce bombs to throw at one another, baddies that pop up and knock you off of your tower, hammers that break your tower down, and more baddies that steal your blocks. There are also things that help you build as well. A shoe that allows you to jump higher to retrieve your falling pieces and a token that helps your tower fill in its gaps. The nice thing is that unlike Tetris, a gap in your structure is not permanent. You can go lower and fill in your holes if you get a piece that will fit. Remember, the key is stability. If you just build a tall slender tower, I assure you that you will be sitting on the ground in a heap of rubble while the other person is winning. There is a meter at the bottom of your screen that lets you know how stable your tower is. Keep an eye on it, it’s a handy little device. The sad thing is that there are only eight levels to compete in and then Egg Mania is over. Too short, really.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/eggmania/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The Extra Modes offer a selection of five mini games. The first is my favorite – BOMB mode. In bomb mode you play through eight levels like in Egg Mania, but the point isn’t to build, it is to destroy. You catch bombs and throw them at your opponent’s already existing tower as they do the same to you. The first person to fall into the water under the tower is the loser. They too get more complicated as you can catch blocks and rebuild your tower in the higher levels. There is a definite art to bomb throwing. The longer you hold onto the bomb, the quicker it blows up when you throw it across the screen, but hold it too long and you will be blown up by your own bomb.
The other modes don’t stand out as much as the bomb mode does. There is a solo mode where you can play alone to get the highest score. There is a survival mode where you play until you lose, the further you get without losing, the higher your score. There is a custom mode that lets you build your own mini game, so there is potential for some fun there. The last mode is the tournament mode in which up to eight people can compete in. This would make a fun party game.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/eggmania/ss06_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]The controls in Egg Mania are a bit weird. It takes a little getting used to. There is a practice mode that teaches you how to play the game. I recommend using it to learn. Like I said, the controls are just a little weird. Just an example of this, to jump you don’t push a button, you push the direction up. That took the most getting used to. There are several characters to choose from, all eggs of course. Overall, Egg Mania is a fun game to play, that can be very addicting. If you like puzzle games, and especially if you like Tetris I think you should give Egg Mania a try.
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2 big announcements concerning contests. The first one is that our forumer and EB Bandera employee s2 has ponied up a 2nd copy of CS:CZ. That means first prize is CS:CZ and an Onimusha 3 post and 2nd prize is just a copy of CS:CZ. Screenshots can be sent up until midnight tomorrow CST so send them in now.
I also wanted to make you aware of another contest in progress. DRE is giving away a copy of Doom 3. There is a short quiz and then you are all set. I know many of you PC gamers are interested in this one so here is your chance to preorder the game for $0. The cheapskate in all of us should go wild for that one. Full details are here
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/metalslug3/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Metal Slug 3 is a port of the fantastic Neo Geo game that has been a franchise favorite of many gamers for many years. The Xbox is an unlikely candidate for the port since most shooters end up on the PS2, but I am grateful that it came out in the first place. I have been an avid fan of Metal Slug for many years and I have regrettably not kept up with the series in recent days. I imported a copy of Metal Slug for my PS1 many years ago and have not had a Metal Slug fix since I sold my PS1. Enter Metal Slug 3 for Xbox.
The nice thing about the shooter genre is that it can take on many forms. Metal Slug is essentially the same type of game as Ikaruga and the R-Type games, but they are presented much differently and I think it gives the genre a nice variation that keeps it fresh. Metal Slug would have to be my favorite series by far in the shooter category.
In Metal Slug 3 you battle your way through 5 frustrating missions in an attempt to defeat the evil General Morden. I say attempt because in all likelihood you will not actually defeat him. What I am trying to say is that this game is hard. I am not sure if it is actually this hard or if I lack the skills to make any reasonable progress on games in this genre despite my love for them. I say that in jest because Dots and I did make it to mission 5 and I am getting increasingly closer to completing it on my own, but not without a little colorful use of the English language.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/metalslug3/ss01_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The graphics are just like the original from what I can tell. Simple cartoonish 2d backgrounds with 2D sprite based characters in the foreground. Nothing spectacular, but then again this is a port of an arcade game that came out about 4 years ago.
The game does feel a little on the short side with only 5 missions and anyone that may be an expert at shooters could possible beat this game in one sitting. Once again, it’s an arcade port and arcade games typically don’t take an abundant amount of time to beat otherwise nobody would attempt it. (by nobody, I mean most normal people)
When SNK picked the Xbox for the port I have to wonder if they actually considered that the Xbox control had triggers that typically work very well for shooting applications. If so, they just opted to ignore them. MS3 allows for some minor control tweaking but my hands got very tired from hitting the fire button. No you can’t hold it down and fire, you must push it very rapidly and with it being the X button, it got very tiring. I would have loved to see a fully customizable button map setting, but you only got to customize a few of the additional buttons that were used in-frequently.
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/metalslug3/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]If you have played any Metal Slug game before then you are familiar with the style of gameplay you can expect. You play 1 or 2 player co-op and basically run through the level shooting everything that moves and many things that don’t. As you progress through levels there are many different paths to take, some are obvious and others are not. You will be accompanied by special vehicles to make the trek easier. Some of them include METAL SLUG, Camel Slug, Rebel Armor, Slug Mariner, Ostrich Slug and more. There are 10 scattered throughout the game. As you complete each level, you are allowed to start from there in later games so it isn’t like you have to complete the entire game on 4 men like some games I have played recently. Continues do dump you back at the beginning of the level though, even if the other player is still alive you have to wait until they die to join back in.
Despite the complaints I have with this game being ungodly hard and the button configuration MS3 is an awesome port from the arcade. It delivers the original arcade experience in the comfort of your home. I would definitely recommend MS3 to any fans of the series or anyone looking for that next shooter. Before playing I recommend getting a stress ball and taking a chill pill since things may get a little crazy.
As I finished writing this I noticed that Metal Slug 4 & 5 are due out in January on a single disc for both [url=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=TEq8vCphy*Q&offerid=13850.242311&type=2&subid=0]PS2[/url] and [url=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=TEq8vCphy*Q&offerid=13850.243660&type=2&subid=0]Xbox[/url] in addition to [url=http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=TEq8vCphy*Q&offerid=13850.240861&type=2&subid=0]Metal Slug Advance[/url] which should be out in mid August. While most fans prefer earlier games, it will be a treat to see these awesome arcade shooters make it to home consoles.
At first I wasn’t sure if I liked Chris Morris. The first column of his I read seemed like he was one of those market analysts that like to make lofty claims about our industry only to be way off the mark. I have recently discovered that my first impression of him was in fact way off the mark. Chris’ articles address many of the issues that we often ignore because he is writing to a different audience. He writes for CNN Money and so I guess you can figure out his target audience. Regardless, I suggest you all check out his column “Game Over” on a very frequent basis.
His most recent column was about a study trying to link childhood obesity to playing video games. Instead of the typical viewpoint that makes you slap your forehead, Chris says exactly what the rest of us are thinking and really makes some good points. Chris’ articles tend to spread through the gaming world very quickly so many of you have already read it, but if you haven’t you can check it out here.
