February 2006

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2

February 5, 2006

Game Boy Advance / Reviews / by Wayne Phinney Make a comment! / Tweet it!

One of the video game world’s most recognizable heroes is back on the GBA and this time he’s battling Koopa over 96 levels. Everthing is here from the orginal [i]Super Mario World[/i]: Yoshi, The Cape, Star Road and all the hidden extra’s scattered throughout the game. This direct port of the SNES classic is perfect down to every detail. The Gameboy Advance re-captures Mario in all his glory, the levels are just as colorful and detailed as it was on the SNES.

The sound quality is also fairly good with the creepy ghost house level music to the showdowns with Koopa’s children. It also plays the same, with the A button jumping, B to run and grab, and the L and R shoulder buttons doing the spin jump. The controls are simple and easy to use, although I did find that the shoulder buttons were uncomfortable to hold onto for long periods of time, which is thankfully offset by the fact that you rarely need to use them. If you’ve played the original game then there are no new suprises as far as levels go. It’s all classic Mario.

My one biggest complaint with this game was Mario’s slightly less famous brother Luigi. Although it’s nice that Luigi is getting some more spotlight, I found his jumping difficult to control since he seems to float more than jump, and when he’s in the air he skids around like he’s walking on ice.

All in all, if you liked the original [i]Super Mario World[/i] and you want to revisit a familiar land or if you’re not familiar with the Mario franchise and interested in seeing what its all about, its a great game and I recommend you pick it up.

Pikmin

February 5, 2006

GameCube / Reviews / by Wayne Phinney Make a comment! / Tweet it!

I bought [i]Pikmin[/i] thinking it would be an interesting new game by Shigeru Miyamoto. The man is a god when coming up with original ideas for video games and this is no different. You play as Captain Olimar who went on a vacation to ease the stresses of work. He goes on a little space vacation on his own and sets his ship, The Dolphin, on autopilot. He ends up being struck by an asteroid and blacks out during the impact. He then awakens to find himself on an earth-like planet. His ship is in bad shape and 30 parts of the ship are missing. He discovers that the planet he landed on is full of oxygen which is toxic and deadly to his people. His life support will only last him 30 days. Since there are 30 parts and you have 30 days, it’s good to have an average of one part per day in order to win this game. He can’t carry the parts alone, but he discovers an interesting creature that he calls a [i]Pikmin[/i].

[i]Pikmin[/i] are tiny little humanoid creatures that are generally known as common prey on this planet. Olimar is the size of a quarter and Pikmin are about the size of a dime. Olimar may have up to 100 pikmin on the field at the same time, and there is NO slowdown in the game at all from there being so many characters on the screen. There are 3 different types of pikmin and each have their own special abilities. While a couple of pikmin are near useless except for in the first area of the game, 25 or more is sufficient for most battles and chores, and 100 can take out most any enemy, even boss type enemies with ease.

[i]Pikmin[/i] is a great game. It is easy to learn, and the game pretty much teaches you how to play, but the difficulty in the game is the lack of time you have to accomplish your mission. Now, Olimar hints to you as the game goes that he may not need all the pieces to make it home, which may very well be true, but I got them all, so it really didn’t matter in my case. I did have to play through twice to get all the pieces though.

Now, overall the game is rather easy and simple, but there are points where you’ll do something stupid and lose 100 pikmin at once(like drowning them for instance). It CAN be a pain at some points, and a few of the parts do take a little thinking to get to, and that’s half the fun. Overall I think this is a great original game, and even if you fail to complete your mission at the end, there is a top 5 scoreboard that you get added to if you make the grade. This helps keep it from being such a disappointment if you lose. Overall, this game looks great and I have enjoyed it quite a bit. I find it rather addicting, and it has a neat little storyline to go along with it.

The biggest downside to [i]Pikmin[/i] is the days are short, and so is the game itself. The game can be beaten in just a few hours if you know what you’re doing. That’s why it’s probably better to rent this game, but it does have a top 5 chart that is good inspiration to play through again and again to try to beat your best high scores.

Still, even though the game is short, it’s a solid title. It’s quite unique and is the first great real time strategy game I’ve seen on a console. It looks great, there are no slowdowns, and there is virtually no learning curve.

Transformers

February 5, 2006

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Chris Massey Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Fans of the [i]Transformers[/i] series have wanted a game released in the U.S. for a while now, and Atari has finally delivered with [i]Transformers[/i]. [i]Transformers[/i], for the PS2 console, takes place in the [i]Transformers[/i]: Armada universe, rather than the old [i]Transformers[/i] people might remember from the 1980’s. While the emphasis is still on vehicles that transform into gigantic robots waging war against one another, in [i]Transformers[/i], the goal is to retrieve the tiny Mini-cons before the Decepticons can do so themselves. [i]Transformers[/i] is, surprisingly, a very rewarding game, with intense combat, great controls, and overall, great game play.

In [i]Transformers[/i], the main conflict is between the Autobots and the Decepticons, both trying to get all the Mini-cons to enhance their powers by linking with them. You play as the Autobots, who have followed the Decepticons to Earth after the Mini-cons, who crash-landed millions of years ago, were activated. Optimus Prime, Hotshot, and Red Alert make up the three selectable characters in the game, each having their own advantages and disadvantages. You will progress through a number of levels set in different parts of the world, including the Amazonian jungle, a research base in Antarctica, the middle of the Atlantic, and more in search of the tiny bots.

[i]Transformers[/i] is essentially a third-person shooter. You go through the game battling Megatron’s “Decepticlones,” which are endless masses of robots sent to battle the Autobots. You eventually come across higher ranked characters like Starscream and Cyclonus, usually at the end of a level, which act as boss fights. As you take damage, your life, or Energon as the Autobots call it, will drain and begin to make a rather annoying beeping noise when it is about to run completely out. You find life by destroying enemies, and it can be a little hard to find life if you are taking on a large squadron.

You start out with a simple blaster, but soon you will inherit new abilities through the Mini-cons. One of the interesting parts of [i]Transformers[/i] is the Mini-con system, which lets you set Mini-cons to the different shoulder buttons. Each Mini-con you find can be linked onto your character to give them weapons, defensive, or other upgrades. Many include missile and grenade launchers, while others include defensive shields. Some have special abilities, like Mini-cons who can activate Energon vision (which is essentially what we Earth people call thermal vision), or ones that let you glide through the air. This allows the player to customize his character with different abilities, and adds to the uniqueness of the game. You can only hold four Mini-cons at a time though, so it can be hard to decide what bots you want to attach to yourself. There are bonuses to collecting and placing Mini-cons onto your character though. For instance, if you color-code the Mini-cons just right, you can receive health and other bonuses.

Mini-cons can be found throughout each level in [i]Transformers[/i]. There are a set amount of Mini-cons to be found, and if you happen to miss one, don’t worry. You can go back to the level whenever you want after completion to retrieve them. You can also find Data-cons, which really don’t help your game, but they do add special features into the game. Data-cons usually contain nostalgic things like comic book scans, pictures of [i]Transformers[/i] action figures, the instruction booklet for those toys, art, and much more. Like the Mini-cons, you find these throughout the levels, and the game also displays how many of these you’ve captured on a level.

Of course, what would a [i]Transformers[/i] game be if you couldn’t transform into vehicles, and [i]Transformers[/i] doesn’t disappoint. Each Autobot can transform into different types of vehicles. Optimus Prime transforms into a slower but powerful truck, and Hotshot goes into a fast coupe while Red Alert transforms into a police SUV. Surprisingly, the driving physics are actually quite nice, not like many games that simply throw in a rehashed, hard to maneuver driving system. Transforming doesn’t play a very huge part in [i]Transformers[/i], and most of the time, you’ll probably be in robot mode shooting enemies since you can’t fire in vehicle mode, but it is a nice feature, and it’s good to see that it is used properly.

Eventually, you will receive a Mini-con partner, who will follow you around and fire at enemies. These partners aren’t to be confused with the Mini-cons you equip to your character. While they can be linked to you, these Mini-cons have much different effects. If you press the power link button, the Mini-con partner will link to you, and cause you to go into a sort of Matrix-like slow down. In this state, you can move around and shoot enemies long before they can react, as well as deal more damage in doing so. The only problem with the power linking is that it uses up Energon, and if you’re not careful, your Energon will slowly deplete before you even realize it.

The visuals in [i]Transformers[/i] are very nice, but are also lackluster in some way. The Autobots look nice, and are fairly shiny for the most part. The levels are a little on the bland side though, although they aren’t horrible by any means. The voice acting sounds decent, but some characters are much better than others. Optimus Prime has his old, wise-sounding voice that he’s had for years, and characters like Cyclonus, Megatron, and Hotshot retain their voices from the Armada series. Red Alert’s voice seems to sound like his Armada counterpart, but it sounds real deadpan and he seems more bored than anything, and Starscream’s voice is completely different.

The storyline in [i]Transformers[/i] is a little loosely tied together, and sometimes seems a little convoluted. The game doesn’t follow the Armada series storyline, although that isn’t too big of a problem since the story in that focuses more on a band of pre-teens than it does on the [i]Transformers[/i] themselves. What is a problem is that [i]Transformers[/i] seems to take the story from Armada and alter it, and in the process, make it seem a little confusing. You will usually get a cut scene before entering a level or before and after fighting a boss. You can usually understand what is happening, but sometimes you’ll wonder why they Autobots trek all the way to Antarctica just to go back to the Amazon where they had just come from.

One big problem with [i]Transformers[/i] is that you will often receive some massive slow-downs. The frame-rate drops drastically in some areas, specifically when taking on legions of enemies at once. You can also receive it when fighting bosses and when you get into areas with a lot of water splashing around. It probably also happens in other places as well and is probably the biggest problem with [i]Transformers[/i].

The boss fights in [i]Transformers[/i] are probably one of the best parts of the game. Usually you will fight familiar character like Starscream or Megatron. Sometimes boss fights will only have you fighting a single Decepticlone, which is fairly easy to beat. The best boss fight of the game though would have to be in the Pacific Ocean. The game even takes a neat twist with the fight, by having you infiltrate a Decepticon battleship to disable it, only to have it transform into the one hundred story tall Tidal Wave. All the boss fights are fairly challenging, and add to the quality of the game.

All things considered, [i]Transformers[/i] is the game that fans have been waiting for. Fans will no doubt want to pick this game up, because of the Transforming goodness within. But [i]Transformers[/i] is such a good third-person shooter, that even a person who isn’t into the [i]Transformers[/i] television shows will like it. The Mini-con system adds a great feature into [i]Transformers[/i], and Transformer fans will love the nostalgia found in the Data-cons, but even without those two features, [i]Transformers[/i] is a title well worth recommending to any third-person shooter fan.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

February 5, 2006

GameCube / Reviews / by Chris Massey Make a comment! / Tweet it!

[i]Metal Gear Solid[/i], released in 1998 on the Playstation, is praised for revolutionizing the stealth action series, not to mention the excellent storyline it had. The graphics were superb, although now they are extremely dated. In fact, after playing [i]Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty[/i], you might think they are downright ugly in this day and age.

Enter [i]Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes[/i] for the Gamecube. [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] is, in all truth, the same exact game we all played around six years ago. Although at the same time, it’s almost like a completely new game. Silicon Knights, a developer known for games such as [i]Eternal Darkness[/i] for the Gamecube, has teamed up with Konami to bring back Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i], in the way we have all wanted to play since we first saw [i]Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty[/i].

The graphics are the biggest draw in [i]Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes[/i]. They resemble the graphics its sequel, [i]Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty[/i], showed off on the Playstation 2 in 2001. Actually, since the Gamecube has more graphical power than the Playstation 2, the graphics may actually be slightly better, although any change would be near unnoticeable. Of course, the graphics really only fuel the already incredible storyline in the form of brand new cutscenes.

It would probably be best for novice players to know little of [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i]’s storyline. The game series is known for its conspiracy and epic turns in the storyline. In fact, you play through most of the game knowing little of what is actually going on. To be frank, if you were to read the story from the manual or watch the opening cutscene, then you would be surprised when you enter latter parts of the game’s story at how much the story has changed. There’s also the fact that if anyone who hasn’t played the original were to hear any part of the game’s later story, it would probably wear some of the surprises out of the game.

But it is fairly safe to reveal at least some of [i]Metal Gear[/i]’s storyline. You play as the famous Solid Snake, the hero of the [i]Metal Gear[/i] series. You were once with the organization known as Foxhound, but since, Snake has moved to Alaska to lead a quiet, peaceful life. One day though, you are kidnapped, and brought to a submarine underwater in the Bering Sea, and informed of a national crisis. It seems Foxhound, the very organization you used to belong to, has captured a facility on the island Shadow Moses, and is now threatening to launch a nuclear missile if their demands are not met. So now it’s up to Snake to infiltrate the base and stop the terrorists from going through with the launch, as well as rescue hostages being held at the facility.

People who have played the original [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i] will know exactly what’s going on, and will know every twist and turn the ever-changing storyline takes. That’s where one of [i]The Twin Snake[/i]’s first problems comes into play. The fact is, almost everything about this game is the same, save for updated graphics, cutscenes, and a few other newer game mechanics. While most of the game’s cutscenes look amazing, you have to play through the game again just to see them. Although that may not be a problem, as many people who have played the original MGS for the first time have played it over and over again on the Playstation, solely because the gameplay and story are so satisfying. As long as you don’t expect huge changes in the game, and want to experience [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i] in a new way, then you should have no problem with [i]The Twin Snakes[/i].

Of course, you might also have to look at [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] from the viewpoint of one who has never played [i]Metal Gear Solid[i/]. If you have never played the original, then this will be a completely new game experience for you. In fact, while the game gets a lowered score for being the same game from 1998, for a person who has never experienced [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i], this game would get much higher marks. Not only will you get to play the gameplay of the original for the first time, but you will also be in for many unexpected surprises from the storyline.

While mentioned earlier that [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] game is, for the most part, the exact game from 1998, there are some changes besides the graphics and cutscenes. In fact, [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] takes many mechanics from its sequel (or perhaps prequel in some ways), [i]Sons of Liberty[/i]. While in the original [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i], a soldier’s body would disappear after death, [i]Sons of Liberty[/i] eliminated that, requiring you to hide a dead body to prevent other soldiers from finding it. This has been added into [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] as well. Another thing taken from [i]Sons of Liberty[/i] is the first person viewpoint, where you can press Z to get a first-hand perspective of your surroundings, as well as aim your weapons to get in a headshot, which kills guards instantly and deals heavy damage to bosses, as well as disable cameras.

Snake’s arsenal hasn’t really seen much change. You have a SOCOM handgun, as well as stinger missiles, guided Nikita missiles, C4 explosives, and more. You also have items like rations which restore health, and mine detectors. Along with that, you have items which help you sneak up on enemies or avoid detection. For instance, if you find a book which pictures of women in it, you can lay it on the ground and wait for solders to take notice, and while they are looking at the book, you can take the opportunity to sneak up and attack. There are also boxes that you can hide in to avoid guards. There are two new additions to Snake’s arsenal; both which appeared in [i]Sons of Liberty[/i]. The M9 tranquilizer gun, which can put guards to sleep, and the PSG1-T sniper rifle are both found in the game.

The guard’s A.I. has been upped to the quality of the A.I. in [i]Sons of Liberty[/i]. A lot of newer detection methods have been placed in the game. There are several times in [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] when you have to keep in mind that killing a guard could lead to you being detected. For instance, like mentioned earlier, since the bodies of soldiers don’t disappear, if a guard finds a dead body lying around, he will raise the alert and more guards will be sent into the area. Some guards also radio in to guards who are not in the area. If you kill one of these guards and the unseen guard radios in and gets no response, he will send troops in to investigate. Even so, the guard’s A.I. isn’t on par with that of an actual human being. Even though the A.I. is good for a video game, it seems strange that you can walk right by an enemy or be right on the other side of the room without them noticing. Still, this doesn’t mean the A.I. is horrible by any means; just don’t expect a perfect transition of real life intelligence to a video game in [i]The Twin Snakes[/i].

[i]The Twin Snakes[/i] also brings back the faithful Codec device. In fact, the Codec takes over a good part of [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i] and [i]The Twin Snakes[/i]’ storyline, by having characters speak to each other through text with pictures of each character talking. These aren’t graphically impressive, and the still Codec images are still from the old MGS (versus MGS2’s 3-D avatars), but they help to fuel the story along. The Codec also provides you with helpful hints, by contacting people who will give you advice on the given situation. The radar also makes its return appearance, although you can have the option of having it off (which makes things MUCH harder). The radar will show the enemies in an area, as well as their field of vision. Of course, it has its flaws, and won’t work in tight areas and gets jammed just as easily as any other kind of radar. Still, it’s a helpful asset to the mission.

The voiceovers in [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i] were great. For the most part, all of the voices for each character return in [i]The Twin Snakes[/i]. David Hayter still voices Solid Snake, so hardcore fans can rest easy. Some characters though have suffered a bit in the transition, but for the most part, all the voices in the game are enjoyable in their own merit.

In it’s entirety, if you watch every cutscene (which you should, at least the first time through), you will probably spend a lot of time with your controller on the ground. Be aware that there is probably just as much movie as there is game to [i]The Twin Snakes[/i], but thanks to the enjoyable storyline, most will enjoy the sometimes long-winded cutscenes. Speaking of the cutscenes, they are probably the things that make [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] great enough to play through again. You’ll most likely drop your jaw at certain cutscenes with a certain cyber ninja, and most of the cutscenes just look downright amazing. Of course, it was inevitable that with the creation of [i]The Matrix[/i], many movie and game companies would use the bullet time effect. [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] doesn’t disappoint, and in the end, it really uses it a little too much. Most of the bullet time scenes are ridiculous as well, with Snake dodging seemingly impossible to dodge bullets while strafing at times. Still, they look really nice, even if they are way too over the top.

In the end, [i]The Twin Snakes[/i] is just a rehash of [i]Metal Gear Solid[/i] with a few new features and much better looking graphics and cutscenes, but considering that many people played through the original over and over again, this is a welcome update. If you don’t want to shell out the money to play the same game from 1998, at least give it a rent or borrow. If you have no problem with playing through again, and realize that there is no significant change in the gameplay, then by all means get [i]The Twin Snakes[/i]. Just be sure to note that what you’re playing is essentially what you might have played years ago.

Fire Emblem

February 5, 2006

Game Boy Advance / Reviews / by Chris Ingersoll Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Some games you love to hate. Others you hate to love. For me, [i]Fire Emblem[/i] is the first and only game in my many years of gaming I’ve actually hated to hate.

This is a good game. I know it is. But something about it turns my mind away from it, to the point of requiring extreme willpower for me to turn on my GBA. But I’ll get to that later. First the good stuff.

If you’ve played either of the [i]Advance Wars[/i] games, then you’re already halfway home to knowing [i]Fire Emblem[/i]. The same team made both series, but where [i]Advance Wars[/i] put you in charge of a bunch of faceless, nameless, and essentially disposable (as long as you weren’t worried about your ranking) units, [i]Fire Emblem[/i] throws in some RPG qualities into the mix that make the battle much more personal, both literally and figuratively. By literally, I mean that you units have names; they’re not just units, they’re characters. The figurative part comes through your units’ growth and the progression of the story, with you (as the “tactical advisor” who is never actually on the battlefield) along for the ride. Another twist is the old rock-paper-scissors deal with both melee weapons and magical attacks; none of this is anything earth-shattering, obviously, but it does make the game fairly unique.

Like most tactical games, everything you do revolves around battles (I mean… duh). But [i]Fire Emblem[/i] takes that to an extreme: unlike just about every other tactical RPG I’ve played (which, admittedly, is only two: [i]FFTA[/i] and [i]Gladius[/i]; the [i]Advance Wars[/i] games aren’t technically RPGs), you at least have some down time in-between conflicts for shopping, chatting with the locals, and what-have-you. Not so in [i]Fire Emblem[/i]. Other than being able to outfit your troops with whatever items you might have handy, everything productive is done during battle. I thought this would be obnoxious — and it was — but only for the first few chapters; once you find Merlinus (the merchant) it becomes much less of an issue.

Everything that isn’t a battle or the pre-battle phase is a series of cut-scenes, the majority using large, blinking (meaning the eyes open and close, not as in “flickering”) cartoons of the characters and scrolling text boxes; the occasional sketch-like frame is thrown in for certain dramatic moments. There aren’t a lot of expressions, but it’s a nice change of pace from the usual thumbnail sprites we usually get from console RPG conversations. As an added bonus, the writing is well above average and the story is an interesting ride as it unfolds over the 30+ chapters you first have access to. The first 10 are the tutorial starring Lyn, and the next 21 are the meat of the story, starring Eliwood; beating Eliwood’s chapters unlocks Hector’s chapters, many of which run concurrent with Eliwood’s, as well as “hard” versions of all three. Several chapters also feature optional side-quests if you accomplish certain goals, so there’s a lot of content packed in this cartridge.

Graphically, the game has three main divisions: the aforementioned “cut scenes”, the spritely field map, and the actual battle graphics. The map graphics aren’t anything much, but they get the job done. The battle graphics, however, are spectacular (especially the criticals!); you have the option of turning some or all of them off, but unless you’re restarting the entire game to correct some haunting mistakes (it could happen…), I have no idea why anyone would want to do so.

The sounds are nothing special. The background music is nice, but as with most GBA games I tend to play with the sound off (or very low) so I can’t remember much of it. I do, however, remember the effects. The hits are solid, the magic effects grand, and the critcals have a little extra “oomph” that makes you feel it (when playing on the Game Boy Player, I could have sworn the rumble feture kicked in, but that may have just been my imagination).

Gameplay is every bit as simple as [i]Advance Wars[/i]: move your unit, select “attack”, and watch the result. Repeat until dead or objective reached. There are a few variations, like trading items and upgrading classes, but by and large nothing complicated. The other side to that coin is that the actual tactics are basically limited to the weapon/magic triangle and some defensive terrain effects; no facing, no elevation, no ganging up, and really no special abilities to speak of. Considering that these battles are literally the whole show, they probably could have been a little deeper. In later chapters it’s actually a better tactical move to not attack bosses on your own turns and instead rely on counterattacks following your opponent’s strikes to do your damage, on the basis that they get to counter attack each and every one of your swings, but they can only move once on their turn, freeing your turn up to heal the damage they inflicted to your one character. It may seem cheap, but there’s simply no other way to deal with them if you haven’t leveled up to near-godlike ability along the way and delayed your class changes as long as possible. However, while the tactics aren’t as tactical as I’d like them to be, they’re still a nice change of pace from the static turn-based combat of more traditional RPGs (which have other elements, like puzzle-filled dungeons, that [i]Fire Emblem[/i] does not); the gameplay itself, in theory, isn’t my main problem with the game.

Here’s my problem: once you pass Lyn’s tutorial chapters, any characters who fall in battle are dead. Gone. Indefinitely put on the sidelines. Unavailable. All that work you put into leveling them up? Pfft! Out the window. (Of course, this isn’t all that different from the series’s [i]Advance Wars[/i] bretheren, but then again… it is, since there’s no leveling in [i]AW[/i] at all.) And if Eliwood, Lyn, or Hector die, your game is over. In a world filled with pegasi, wyverns, and three or four different kinds of magic, apparently no one was able to discover any sort of revive spell. When you consider the fact that the story spans the clichA

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