Wii

Metroid Prime Trilogy

September 8, 2009

Reviews / Wii / by Chris Ingersoll Make a comment! / Tweet it!

In theory, this should be a very simple review. What rating to give a single $50 Collector’s Edition disc that contains Metroid Prime (SBG Rating: Purchase), Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (SBG Rating: Purchase), and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (my own SBG Rating: Purchase)? Um… how about “Purchase?”

Sure, all three games are already playable on the Wii thanks to its inherent backwards-compatibility with the GameCube, but Prime and Echoes aren’t just lazy emulation ports; the guys at Retro went in and added Corruption’s awesome Wii controls to the two earlier chapters, as well as widescreen support and some graphical touches (mostly to Prime, which already looked amazing the first time). The biggest question is how the GameCube titles would handle the copious beam-switching that was absent in Corruption, but those games don’t have “Hyper Mode” so that button simply calls up the beam change HUD, which works just like Corruption’s visor change HUD. These controls also include the Spring Ball feature (jumping while in Morph Ball mode simply by flicking the Remote up), which will certainly make a few puzzles easier than the first time around. Corruption’s Achievement-like token system is also retro-fitted (no pun intended) to the older games and is how you can unlock the Fusion Suit in Prime, among other goodies like art galleries and sound tests; yes, this also includes the online “Friend Voucher” trading. (Sadly, you cannot unlock the original Metroid like you could the first time around with a Prime/Fusion link-up; that’s since been relegated to the Virtual Console.)

As if that were not enough, the packaging itself has been made extra-special; a metallic casing gives the case some serious heft (as does the triple-sized instruction manual). There’s also a fold-out recollection of the entire Metroid Prime Trilogy storyline with more concept art. This can be a little hard to read under certain lighting conditions (white text on silver… not a good choice) but is still a neat little addition. The best part? These bells and whistles cost you nothing; the entire three-game, one-disc metallic package won’t cost you any more than any other new Wii title (that isn’t bundled with some sort of controller). That’s some seriously awesome customer service on Nintendo’s part.

Of course, not everything is perfect with Metroid Prime Trilogy. Perhaps most annoyingly, there is no way to import old save files — including those from Corruption, which theoretically didn’t even need any adjustment. You’re just going to have to play through these excellent games again from the beginning of each one (oh, no… the horror!). Then there’s the related problem of the fact that you probably already own all three of these titles (and it’s too late to get good trade-in value now that this is on shelves), which admittedly is a serious obstacle to some. Finally, while the Friend Vouchers are traded online across all three games, the multiplayer aspect of Echoes is still split-screen only; regrettable, but hardly essential to enjoyment. 

But in the end, whether or not you decide to buy MPT probably comes down to one question: did you like the Wii controls of Corruption so much that you were wishing they’d somehow been available in the first two games? Much like the other “new play control” re-releases like Pikmin and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, that’s really all this is: “New Play Control” Metroid Prime + Echoes with Corruption thrown in for free. That being said, this is still an incredible deal for any Metroid fan — and an especially great present for anyone who has (somehow) never experienced the series but would like more of a challenge than most typical Wii fare.
 
ESRB: Teen for Animated Blood and Violence. The box somehow doesn’t mention the terror caused by having a shrieking metroid latch on to your face in a first-person perspective.

Plays like: Metroid Prime and MP2: Echoes with MP3: Corruption’s Wii control scheme.

Pros: Three incredible games with superior controls in a special edition case, one amazing price.

Cons: Three incredible games that you probably already own; no save file import

The Conduit

September 3, 2009

Reviews / Wii / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The Conduit is hailed as “the best FPS for Wii.” That title would mean more if there were a glut of FPS available for the platform or if it were factual. Story-wise The Conduit is riddled with clichés, and the default controls are terrible. You play the part of Michael Ford, a secret service agent recruited into an organization called The Trust. You mission is to track down Prometheus, a former Trust agent who has stolen secret technology. Along the way you will encounter conspiracies, cover-ups, and an invading force of the aliens seen on the back of the game box.

There are a good number of weapons available to you, and they are divided up into three groups: Human, Trust, and Drudge (the aliens). Human weapons are pistols, rifles, and the like. Trust weapons are more interesting variants on the same, and Drudge weapons are far and away the most interesting since they are all completely alien. The All Seeing Eye is also available to the player, and it plays a key role in the game being used find hidden objects and markings, hack computers, open biological locks, and finding and destroying mines. The ASE is also used to find hidden areas containing extra ammunition, health, and weapons, but even when not in use the ASE will beep whenever you are near a place that it would be useful.

The Conduit’s narrative is mission-based, and all the objectives in these missions are simple “shoot anything that moves and the portals they’re coming out of” affairs. Enemies, expectedly, get tougher and tougher as the game progresses, but there does not seem to be enough ammo handed out to handily take care of the late stage Drudge enemies who seem to specialize in soaking up bullets instead of tactics. Weapons also take a long time to reload. Combine those two tidbits together and you’ll be seeing the mission failed screen more and more often as the game goes on.

Single player FPS don’t need grand stories and gripping narrative to draw a player in and keep them satisfied. What they do need, however, is great atmosphere and setpieces. Half-Life 2 did this wonderfully – the story was fairly standard (aliens have invaded, Gordon! Stop them!), but the atmosphere and pacing were wonderful. No gamer who played through HL2 will forget the first time they played with the gravity gun or the giant Strider battle on the rooftops in City 17. Unfortunately The Conduit’s levels are primarily barren corridors and rooms that all look the same. Occasionally you will get to go outside, but these areas are far, few, and in between.

Controls are another sore point. The Conduit has a very common problem among Wii games – there are more things that need doing than there are buttons or reasonable gestures to accommodate them so the awkwardly placed plus and minus buttons are used (minus is reload – how can something as important as reload be mapped to that tiny out of the way button?). Aiming works well as you really do just point and shoot, but turning is awkward and slow as you need to aim at the edge of the screen which makes it impossible to turn and shoot simultaneously. Chucking grenades to mapped to shaking the Wii remote which makes it sloppy as well.

The Conduit is far from the best shooter on Wii. To take that title it would need to be better than both Call of Duty 3 and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. With bland, boring levels and a lackluster plot, The Conduit should be avoided. The Conduit does support online multiplayer, but when I took my copy online I could not find any games to connect to so I can’t speak to how fun online multiplayer is. I can tell you, however, that it was frustrating to look for matches and find none. FPS games can be done and done well on the Wii, but The Conduit is not that game.

Plays Like: Call of Duty 2 but less fun

Pros: Using the Wii remote as a targeting reticule is fun

Cons: Slow and awkward turning, bland levels, bullet sponge enemies

ESRB: T for blood, mild language, and violence; this is standard FPS fare so if Halo is okay then The Conduit is, too

Swords and Soldiers

July 14, 2009

Reviews / Wii / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Since its unveiling as a student project, we at Snackbar had been very excited by De Blob and its Dutch developers. The Wii release of the title, developed instead by Blue Tongue Entertainment but based on the team’s ideas, was one of the most enjoyable titles of 2008. Needless to say, we were excited to see what Ronimo (short for Robot Ninja Monkey) did on their own with their freshman professional effort, Swords & Soldiers.

We weren’t disappointed. The 1000-point title is a tight package that takes the real-time strategy genre and streamlines it into a fun, humorous and intense title for one or two players.

Players get to use three armies: the Vikings, Aztecs and ancient Chinese. Each group has its own 10-mission campaign, and there are also some minigames to enjoy. Deploying units and using magic is made very easy; pointing and clicking large round buttons is all that’s necessary. Units are deployed from your side of the two-dimensional battlefield and begin the march to the front lines. There’s a lot of scrolling to do at times, but mostly all the controls you need are on the portion of the screen you’re focusing on.

The goals on each level are fairly simple.  Most are simply to destroy the enemy’s base on the other side of the stage, but some levels have specific targets to eliminate or time limits.  These aren’t really the compelling elements of the game.  The stages themselves have branching pathways and choices of strategy that are made obvious to the player, but the underlying tactical considerations are complex.

The theme is very tongue-in-cheek. The visuals are bright and cartoony, and the hilarious clash of off-the-wall units ends up looking a little like The Behemoth’s Castle Crashers. The audio is a bit repetitive, but that seems so far to be unavoidable with downloadable titles.

What shouldn’t be missed is the game’s split-screen multiplayer. The game doesn’t use much vertical real estate anyway, so splitting the screen into top and bottom doesn’t hurt the game in any way.

If you like real-time games, get this. If you’re like me and don’t like them so much…also get this. Seriously. It’s not Game of the Year, but it’s certainly a contender for the year’s best downloadable, and originality like this deserves to be rewarded with a few bucks.

ESRB: E10+– Stereotypes fighting other stereotypes. Not much else if you can get over it.
Pros: Original gameplay from the team that created De Blob.
Cons: A bit tough to get a handle on.

Punch-Out!!

July 6, 2009

Reviews / Wii / by Chris Ingersoll Make a comment! / Tweet it!

It’s been fifteen years since Nintendo laced up the gloves and stepped into the ring, but there’s no ring rust to be found on Little Mac. Punch-Out!! was last seen on the SNES, but fans are more likely to remember the original NES Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (or non-Tysoned reissue); this new game is actually much more of a sequel to its 8-bit predecessor than to its Super cousin. Considering the span of time between games, however, it’s actually reasonable to assume that many gamers are experiencing Punch-Out!! for the first time. (It should be noted that both previous editions are available via the Virtual Console.) Those who have played games like EA’s realistic Fight Night series and/or the more cartoony Ready 2 Rumble franchise could be in for a sucker punch when they came in expecting Nintendo’s take on the sweet science.

What sets Punch-Out!! apart from all of the other boxing games is the fact that it’s not really a boxing game at all. As with the two previous editions of the franchise, Punch-Out!! is really more of a puzzle game that happens to be wearing boxing gloves and smashing you in the face. Each of your thirteen opponents has a pattern to learn and what works against one will earn you a missing tooth against another. Your first few opponents will force you to learn the basics, like dodging and counter-punching, but after you conquer the Minor Circuit you’ll need every trick at your disposal to dispatch the remaining combatants.

Fortunately, the big gameplay innovation of actually being able to practice against your opponents (or holographic facsimiles thereof) in advance is a huge help here. The illusory sparring partners won’t damage you when their virtual punches land, so it’s impossible to lose against them, but knowing their tricks in advance will save you some actual stitches. You can pick up some advice from your old trainer Doc between rounds, but most of your learning will be of the Hard Knocks variety. Once you defeat an opponent, the real deal is unlocked in your Exhibition Mode instead, with some challenges for subsequent rematches and replay value.

Thirteen opponents may not seem like much, but once you earn the World Championship a new mode is unlocked: Title Defense Mode. Each of your previous conquests totally revamps their fighting style, adding a whole bunch of new tricks — and harder hits, effectively doubling the number of opponents in the game. There’s a final, secret challenger to be found after a successful run through TD Mode (and earning the final mode, Mac’s Last Stand), but I’m nowhere near good enough to have seen him.

Punch-Out!! offers two control schemes with an option for a third. The classic way to play works basically just like the NES version while holding the Wii Remote sideways, although I find a couple of buttons awkwardly-placed. The new Wii way to play involves swinging the Wii Remote and Nunchuck as fists; normal waggles default to hooks (body blows), but either pressing up on the C-stick or holding the B/Z button will let you jab your opponent in his grill. Once you accumulate stars (up to three), holding the A or C button and swinging will consume all your stars and fire off a brain-scrambling uppercut that will usually drop ’em like flies (if it connects…). Owners of the Wii Balance Board can also employ their footwork to dodge and duck, but I’m not one of them so I can’t really speak to that method of play; I also can’t comment on the split-screen Versus mode, although in theory it strikes me as being a somewhat tacked on extra.

Overall, Punch-Out!! improves over its NES ancestor in just about every way. Comparisons to Super Punch-Out!! are less direct, due to significant gameplay differences, and will mostly depend on your preference of those changes. Taken on its own merits, however, Punch-Out!! is simply a blast that should be enjoyed by all gamers, nostalgic or not. At its higher levels it might skew a bit more towards the hardcore gamer than the casual type, but everyone should be able to get a kick out of knocking the croissants out of Glass Joe.

ESRB: E10 for Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief; there isn’t any blood, but characters do suffer some noticeable bumps and bruises as the match progresses.

Plays like: the ultimate version of the original NES Punch-Out!!, minus Mike Tyson

Pros: large, expressive characters and precise control; technically over 25 opponents

Cons: Some players may prefer the one round/S-meter system used in Super Punch-Out!! more than a return to the 3-round/star punch format.

Klonoa

June 30, 2009

Reviews / Wii / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Namco’s Klonoa series of platformers has always had a small but devoted fan base.  Critical success and little promotion have led to a continuation of this all-too-common situation. With this remake of the PS1 original, it certainly has had little fanfare. Has the series retained its charm and quality?

In a word, yes. Klonoa‘s 2D gameplay is retained now down to the last detail, even with the transition to full-3D graphics from the original’s hybrid scheme. The mechanics aren’t terribly innovative. Klonoa jumps, hovers, grabs and throws enemies, and…not much else. These moves were conceived in the mid-’90s mascot-fest era, so this isn’t surprising, but for that time these are much less gimmicky than they could have been. There are only a few hours of gameplay in Klonoa. There are time trials and such to try to add replay value, but none of this is really compelling. Thankfully, Namco priced this remake at $30, and that feels like the sweet spot for this one.

The presentation is a bit painful, though. The voice acting is worse than Sonic, and the storytelling moves just a bit too slowly, making players impatiently hit buttons between levels in attempts to skip it. The graphics aren’t stellar, but the team focused on making it run at 60 frames per second, and that seems to be the case.

Klonoa is definitely geared towards a younger demographic. Levels are not very challenging, and everything looks a lot like a show for children. That isn’t to say that older people won’t enjoy it; they will, but this isn’t for those looking for a Mega Man-style challenge. This fits in better with games like Kirby, where the fun isn’t tied to a feeling of accomplishment.

The Wii is getting a lot of remakes recently. Some bemoan the lack of originality, and that’s true, but it’s hard to argue with getting a sort of “greatest hits” system that has decent versions of almost every great game ever, and the system keeps getting closer to that goal. Klonoa isn’t going to convert anyone who disliked previous titles, since it’s a bit short and a bit easy, but it just might introduce a great series to the new, young generation.

ESRB: E10+– This should probably be just E.  It’s fine.

Pros: Fun; tight controls
Cons: A bit short; cutscenes are obnoxious

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