October 2009

Contra Rebirth

October 13, 2009

Contra has returned on the Wii. Although this game is called ReBirth, many consider Contra 4 for the DS to be the game that once again sparked interest in the series. Still, ReBirth has a lot more going for it than you would think.

The first thing you will notice about this version of Contra is the art style. It is a bit different than any previous Contra title, and takes the cartoony style to an entirely new level. And with a storyline that is more present (and ridiculous) this time around, it is clear that the developers know Contra and just how silly the entire experience is meant to be. The look is different enough to distinguish itself from the rest, but also pays tribute to the original games on the NES and SNES.

Like all of the previous titles, co-op is definitely a must, especially when it comes to the harder difficulties. The game also included three characters to play as, one of whom is unlocked when you finish it the first time through on any difficulty. But aside from their cheesy catch-phrases, none of the characters actually play any differently. You start out with your standard machine gun, but as you progress you can collect other weapons. All of the weapons and power-ups are what you would expect from a Contra game, including the always popular Spread Shot, which is just as effective here as it is in any previous iteration.

There are four difficulty modes: easy, normal, hard, and nightmare, the last of which is unlocked once you finish the game on hard. Newer Contra players should definitely stick to easy to start out with, as the game still presents the same challenge you would expect. But it’s also pretty friendly to newer players as well. While the famous “Konami code” is not available in this game, you can still set your lives from three to seven, and the game even offers unlimited continues. This lessened challenge may disappoint some veterans of the series, but keep in mind, nightmare mode will make you thankful of these changes.

The main problem with the game is the length. Now you would never expect a Contra game to be incredibly long, and its short length is made up for the increased difficulty, but I was able to breeze through this game on normal in less than an hour. I can expect the play time will go up with the increased difficulties, but aside from playing with a friend and trying these higher difficulties, there isn’t much reason to replay this title as well.

If you are itching for a new Contra game, own a Wii and are short on cash, Contra ReBirth might be the perfect fix for you. It is the perfect Contra game for older and younger players alike, and I think everyone will find that it is a fun and challenging experience, no matter what the difficulty.

ESRB: E10+ for ages ten and up; rated for plenty of cartoon and fantasy violence

Pros: Offers an old-school challenge for players of all ages; co-op is just as fun as it has ever been; the different options and difficulty modes make this game accessible for anyone; the look of the game is well done

Cons: The game is very short, even for a Contra title; not much replay value

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

October 13, 2009

DS / Reviews / by Graham Russell /

The Mario & Luigi series has had three installments, but the first two didn’t come near the level of notoriety and hype that this newest game has. Well Bowser’s Inside Story is here, and it’s good. But is it that good?

Fawful, the villain from the previous story, is back, and this time he has played games with Bowser. He tricks the Koopa king into eating a mushroom that makes him suck in Mario, Luigi and Peach, trapping them inside his body, and while Bowser ventures in the outer world, Mario and Luigi must help him by exploring the organs and pathways of Bowser’s body. Essentially, this gimmick works better than Partners in Time’s time-travel one, as each half of the action has its own screen and the two interact.

The gameplay is fairly similar to the last two. The battles involve button timing and combos in a way similar to Paper Mario, and this is taken to a new level with the combos where Bowser sucks in enemies to give the plumbers a chance to take them on. The other half of the game is a sort of puzzle platformer, with lots of interactions and places to explore.

The localization is brilliant, as is normal with Nintendo’s Treehouse team. The game’s very funny in a Pixar kind of way: hilarious for all ages. The art style is nice and bright, and you can’t help but smile when you play this game.

Mario & Luigi is satisfyingly long for a DS game, and though there’s no advantage to a second play, shaping characters’ stats can make for different strategies. RPGs suffer from monotony, but M&L packs in what variety it can, with each special move being a minigame in itself and special game events offering interactive challenges.

The Mario & Luigi series has not yet broken the threshold to be equal to the Paper Mario games. Bowser’s Inside Story comes incredibly close, though.

ESRB: E– It’s Mario. It’s safe.
Pros: Compelling RPG
Cons: Not quite Paper Mario

The future of game downloads

October 11, 2009

Features / Opinion / by Andrew Passafiume /

Industry figures have been saying that one day, whether it is in the near future or ten years down the road, that disc-based media will be out of the picture. That’s right, everything will be downloaded.

This means TV shows, movies, music, and even games will be all-digital media. We’ve seen it for a while with individual episodes of TV shows, with songs and entire albums, and even more recently with entire movies. But games? We have two types of downloads: games that are exclusively released for download, and games that are released both in retail and digital marketplaces.

The recent release of the PSP Go has certainly sparked the interest in the discussion once again. What does this mean for the industry? We’ll see how the Go sells, but for now let us speculate on the future. I, for one, believe that we have no reason to see this happening any time soon, if it ever does. The PSP Go is a great device for what it is trying to do, but it’s way ahead of its time. No one is going to buy it, especially with the lack of UMD support pretty much screwing over current PSP owners. And then there’s the price point: only $50 less than a PS3? Sony isn’t going to be winning any new fans with this strategy.

Some say this handheld is a test to see how well the market reacts to a handheld like this. But that would make no sense; Sony cannot risk losing money on something like this, even though I do not see the device selling terribly well. What would make the PSP Go successful? Releasing it five years later, as a brand new handheld that does not already have a library full of games that most PSP owners have hard copies of. Sure, this may be trying to appeal to a market of non-PSP owners, but even then, the system’s library just doesn’t appeal to that demographic, so it’s an uphill climb.

So yes, the Go is way ahead of its time; I do not see a system such as this succeeding until the next console generation at the earliest. Current PSP owners are upset about not being able to play their currently-owned games on it, and non-PSP owners won’t care that much in the first place. But does that mean game downloads are done for? Not at all. I believe Microsoft has the right strategy: slowly release a few Xbox 360 titles digitally, and test the waters that way. Nintendo and Sony have tested the waters as well, with the the Wii’s Virtual Console and the PS3’s PS1 Classics (which can be played on a PSP as well). Releasing old titles to a new audience, or even an older audience who may no longer own their favorite games, is a good way to get games out there.

You may be wondering what this all means for GameStop and other gaming retailers. There are a few retailers that refuse to stock the PSP Go because, quite frankly, there is no value in it for them. Downloaded games only hurt the used game market, which is pretty much what GameStop makes the most money from these days. Stop-gap solutions have been attempted; for games like Patapon 2, retailers have sold redeemable codes in boxes, but once digital marketplaces become the primary source for games, that will become an untenable strategy. Will a download-only future mean the end for stores like GameStop? It’s a very good possibility, but these powerful companies will fight the change, so this “future” is probably just an unlikely prediction.

So, the future is uncertain, but we are definitely going more towards a download-centric future. Maybe the PSP Go will succeed, but if it does not, it will teach Sony a valuable lesson about how to approach a piece of technology that is pretty far ahead of its time.

A strange postcard

October 7, 2009

News / by Chris Rasco /

I get all sorts of strange promotional items at the house, but this one showed up yesterday and I can only assume it is for an upcoming game. Does anyone know what game this might be for? READ MORE

The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match

October 7, 2009

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Paul Bishop /

Better late than never, King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match is finally released for the Playstation 2, but can an eleven year old game with a bunch of bells and whistles added still satisfy the needs of the fighting masses of today?

King of Fighters ’98 was considered to be one of the best 2D fighters of its generation, so naturally it got the Ultimate Match treatment after it was released giving extra play to an already robust game. Now we finally get the game on our shores with even more enhancements thrown into the mix. For the first time in the series, you have access to every KoF character in your roster. That’s a total of 64 different characters each with their own particular fighting style, more than any other fighting game available on the market. And this is just the tip of the extras iceberg, beyond the inclusion of the original King of Fighters ’98 for historical purposes; the game boasts options galore to difficulty, presentation and modes of play.

Practice mode is quite helpful and essential for anyone not familiar with the fighting mechanics, and while the mechanics are straight forward, mastering each characters special attacks and combos is an awesome time sink. Arcade and Single Play modes are standard story games that pit 3×3 and 1×1 matches as you continue up the ranks to try to attain the title of King of Fighters. These have minimal story involved but are quite interesting as you can finally see different characters from the KoF series meet and interact with each other. Mulitplayer is limited to 2 person Vs mode, with no online functionality available, which isn’t too big of a surprise since that really wasn’t available when the game first came out. Challenge mode gives you specific criteria to complete such as blocking X amount of attacks or using aerial combat X amount of times. Completing these unlocks artwork extras that are really intended for the die-hard fans. Finally, endless mode was my favorite as you choose one character who has to survive the one on one fights with the remaining characters without health replenishment.

In addition to all of this you also have the option of mixing up the command system to tweak your characters to your hearts content. The previous KoF featured two separate command enhancement systems called Advanced and Extra with different skill sets to choose from, and while that scheme is still here, Ultimate has been added in which you can mix and match from both systems to create a highly specific command set for each character. This really gets deep fast and will probably only attacked by the true afficianado. And even if you don’t lean towards the hardcore mindframe, once matches are complete you can lower the bar by decreasing enemies health and difficulty while also giving yourself a full energy meter from the beginning to get an edge. Everything in this package is geared towards giving you the most content for a very inexpensive price of 20 bucks.

Graphics are where everything starts to fall apart. For 1998 graphics they are awesome, nice hand painted backgrounds and spectacular 2D animations, but unfortunately it is 2009, and the retro vibe just feels off for spending the dough. Sure they added 3D backgrounds which you can select from the options menu, but it doesn’t quite justify the option. Similarly the music feels dated, which is fine for the nostalgia, but doesn’t help the non-initiated.

This game has a lot of things going for it; mechanics, depth, nostalgia and price, but for the average gamer it may not be justified. What it amounts to is a decision: is it more valuable as a collection piece or should you save your money for the next-gen King of Fighters XII? Either way, 20 bucks isn’t too much to sink into a game with as much depth or playability that satisfies on many levels.

ESRB: T for Teen, featuring straight-forward arcade style over-the-top fighting

Plays Like: Arcade fighter

PROS: Tons of characters and play styles to choose from with plenty of fighting customization thrown in to boot

CONS: Dated graphics and feel that only a KoF enthusiast could relish

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