Category: Reviews

So, how was it?

Metroid II: Return of Samus – Exploring the 8-bit Abyss

Welcome to SR388, home planet of the Metroids. My desire to learn more about these creatures has thrust me into the dark depths of Metroid II on the Game Boy. It’s an ancient screen the Chozo used to replay historic moments over and over. On SR388, Metroids thrive in a monochrome habitat and keep themselves hidden in a dot matrix maze of grayscale caves. They are aggressive creatures when threatened but enjoy their privacy. This game stars Samus in her most faithful role as a Bounty Hunter, with the goal of hunting down 39 Metroids to eradicate the entire species. Set after Metroid 1 / Zero Mission and Metroid Prime 3, the Galactic Federation just randomly held a conference and decided the only way to stop further chaos is to drive Metroids to extinction. It might be the only way, or perhaps this is a classic overreaction to a threat they don’t understand. A sensation that might be familiar to Metroid fans. Could it be a cover up, a conspiracy, a trap, or just plain stupidity? What is going on behind the scenes? A bunch of Federation Troopers mysteriously disappear while “investigating” the Metroids here. Samus is sent to terminate the Metroids because “she can handle it” based on previous experience. This must be how Next Level Games feel right now. Metroid II is a hostile environment, with convoluted passageways forming a structure that takes advantage of the Game Boy’s limitations to provide a great sense of scale. Isn’t that contradictory? I would say it’s ambitious and necessary. Metroid II shoves an entire planet under the Game Boy screen and lets the player deal with the repercussions.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Danger of the Ooze

The talented (seriously, check out his comics) Josh Nickerson has been playing the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game on 3DS, and blessed us with this guest review to tell us all about the game. Please enjoy.

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Booyakasha! The most recent TMNT game is the best one in ages… of course, it was a low bar to begin with…

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had a turbulent history with video games. One could argue that there hasn’t been a decent TMNT game since Tournament Fighters back in 1993, with the sole exception being the GBA game based on the 2007 animated movie, made by Ubisoft of all developers. That trend would seem to continue with Activision picking up the video game rights to the current Nickelodeon animated series. However, after dumping out a couple of turtles turds such as “Out of the Shadows”, Activision slipped up and hired a decent developer to produce the next game, namely the good folks at WayForward. Now, WayForward, while most of their original output has been at the very least solid, their licensed games have ranged from good (Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?) to terrible (Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit World). Still, I was optimistic that they could pull off a decent platformer. But by the time the game released in the game glut month known as November, I had forgotten about the game, distracted by sleeper hits such as Super Smash Bros.

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Shovel Knight – A Tale of Shovelry

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What a day. My arms are tired from shoveling, and my legs ache from jumping and squatting. Such is the life of a Knight of Shovelry, but I am prepared to do this every day. My purpose is to stop The Enchantress and rescue Shield Knight, but right now I am consumed by the warmth of this fire. There’s something magical and innocent about it. Those 8-bit flames might not light up a castle, but they keep me warm. A mellow tune plays in my mind as I reflect on a hard day’s shoveling. It was tough but I got some gems, beat some enemies and took down one of the Knights of The Order. Such fools, surely they see The Enchantress is using them. Alas, not my problem. I will knock some sense into them the only way I know how, with my shovel. As I drift off to sleep I search for pleasant thoughts, the chime of gems, the great jumps I cleared, that musical note I found… yeah… I did all that… I will save you Shield Knight… zzzz.

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Yoshi’s Woolly World – Touch Fluffy, Get Knitty

This game has been a long time coming. Since Yoshi’s Island in 1995 there have been a number of competent sequels, but none of them captured that true magic. Yoshi’s Island remains one of the greatest platformers of all time not just because of its brilliant game mechanics, but the outstanding level design that took advantage of everything Yoshi could do. Furthermore, it was different to any other game at the time and made a big impact on the industry with impressive graphical effects that pushed SNES hardware to its peak. With such big shoes to fill, development team Good-Feel have taken up knitting and made some brand new fluffy shoes to climb into instead. Since Kirby’s Epic Yarn came out in 2010 they’ve done a bunch of side projects, but Yoshi’s Woolly World has been in development for all of these years and has become, by far, their biggest project yet. It’s the first time Yoshi’s visual style has really been changed up, with Yoshi’s Island DS borrowing heavily from original’s art style, and Yoshi’s Story and New Island adopting a half-arsed 3D look with no real identity. It’s also the first console Yoshi game since Yoshi’s Story on the N64, three generations ago. This woolly makeover was exactly what the Yoshi formula needed, because Yoshi’s Woolly World is an absolute triumph in game design. I got it when it launched in Australia last month, and I’ve already 100% completed it and replayed it multiple times. I love it for many reasons I didn’t expect. Not just as a worthy follow-up to Yoshi’s Island, but as an original game in 2015 that brings new ideas to the table and stands strong as an example of how much further games can be pushed.

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Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse – eShop Treasure

Shantae on Game Boy was an incredible technical feat in 2002. The Game Boy Advance was already out, but Wayforward stuck to their guns and made the best GBC game possible, working so hard to make it one of the best looking games on the system. Unfortunately while the gameplay had some neat ideas, it felt like it wasn’t as exciting as it could be. It’s well designed and I understand why people like it, but I personally never really felt inspired by it, and the movement is very basic to the point where it’s not that enjoyable to play. It made an interesting one-time playthrough at the very least and established the character. Fast forward a decade, and Shantae has been set free from technical limitations with the release of Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse on 3DS and Wii U. Sporting a glorious pixelated style in 3D and on the big screen, the game takes Shantae’s wildest wishes and makes them come true. I’ve just played through the Wii U version and it’s absolutely fucking amazing. The music, controls, gameplay design, structure, presentation are all excellent and everything has suddenly clicked in a brilliant way. It’s significant. I’d liken the improvement here to the jump between Metroid and Super Metroid. Great foundations were already in place, but now it’s a lot more fun to play. This is a top-tier videogame, and I felt that the second I started controlling Shantae.

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EarthBound Beginnings – I’m A Kid Now

Nintendo’s E3 this year opened with what I personally still consider the biggest bombshell of the entire show: EarthBound Beginnings not just announced, but released on the Wii U Virtual Console. It was a quiet Monday morning in Australia and I was excited to see what the Nintendo World Championships would bring, waking up early just to get hyped. However, it wasn’t until Shigesato Itoi appeared on the screen that I fell out of bed. He hadn’t said anything, but this man could only be there for ONE reason, something Mother related. EarthBound Beginnings was announced with this beautiful trailer, and some very touching words from Itoi. It melted my heart and I downloaded it straight away. I played through EarthBound on the Wii U for the very first time 2 years ago. It was the first time Australia actually got the game, so I consider that its official release here. I absolutely loved it, and since then have been patiently waiting for the other games to come over “officially”. Now, I’ve spent the last month playing through EarthBound Beginnings and making the most of the experience. From the look of the game and people’s vague impressions, I went in thinking this would be “EarthBound Lite”, just a more basic novelty version of EarthBound. Boy, was I wrong. This is a game that stands strong on its own, a finely crafted piece of work that expresses more emotion than anything I’ve played on the NES before. The game kicks off with a strange event unfolding, and suddenly you’re ready to go on an adventure. What does this world have in store for a 12 year old boy?

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Wario Land: The Shake Dimension – Bigger and Smellier

A year before New Super Mario Bros Wii made 2D platformers popular on consoles again, a 2D masterpiece had already been delivered to the system. That masterpiece is Wario Land: The Shake Dimension, also known as Wario Land: Shake It in the USA. That’s right, Wario beat Mario to the punch on this one. Unfortunately, corruption in the Mario Media meant this game was somewhat overlooked, and I’ve only just had the pleasure of playing it. It’s a little strange how this game came about. 2008 was a time where everyone was splurging over 3D worlds, motion controls, demanding HD graphics, and even Wario himself was cashing in on the mini-game craze. The heavens just opened up and decided it was time for some serious platforming in 4:3 aspect ratio. Wario Land: The Shake Dimension is the first Wario Land game to hit a home console, and Wario’s fat arse lands on the Wii with quite a thump. Shake Dimension is an extremely polished 2D platformer that excels in all areas, with great art, amazing music, fantastic gameplay and genius level design. I’ve recently finished it and feel like I’ve come out of the experience enriched with garlic breath and a full tummy.

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Mario Kart 8 – Livin’ That 200cc Life

Mario Kart 8‘s been out for a year now and it’s by far my most played Wii U game. Over 500 hours of swearing, exploding, green shell betrayal, banana intimacy, and blue shell disappointment. It’s been fantastic. I’m here to talk about the new 200cc mode, which has completely changed the online scene and revitalised the racing, almost more than the amazing new tracks. It’s a challenge when you’re first exposed to the speed, but that’s definitely not a bad thing in a competitive racing game. I’m gonna break down in 5 points, Mario Kart TV infomercial style, why it’s worth making the lifestyle change to 200cc.

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Metroid Fusion – Review Authorised

I’ve just finished a playthrough of Metroid Fusion on Wii U and there’s a lot I want to say about it. I remember it fondly as my first Metroid game in 2002. The dark unstable black hole that is the classic GBA screen, a perfect window to the man-made prison that is Metroid Fusion’s research station. Gazing into that screen with a burning lamp on my ear made me feel like I was out in space, in hostile territory. Fast forward to 2015 and I still love this game, it’s aged very well graphically and is fantastic to play on Wii U. Unfortunately, a lot of the design choices don’t fly with me anymore after experiencing the good stuff. Super Metroid, Metroid Prime 1, 2 and Zero Mission are what I would consider perfect games, and happen to highlight a lot of Fusion’s flaws just by existing and being their own beautiful selves. The biggest flaw being a slap in the face right at the start of the game.

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Bioshock – Late to the Rapture

I’ve had this game for a couple of years and never thought about playing it. The box is bland, it’s an FPS, and muddy brown shooters do not excite me; almost all Xbox 360 shooters I’ve played have been terrible. Nothing personal against the game, but that’s how my shallow mind worked for the last few years. It was one of those “one day” games that really means “never” because I only play what excites me. What finally piqued my interest was a friend talking about this game as if it was more than a shooter. Could it be, a fun game on the shelf right in front of me? Lo and Behold, it’s fucking amazing. Bioshock is an extremely well crafted game with a heavy, purposeful atmosphere that actually makes the Unreal Engine seem legitimately titled. I beat the game a few days ago and I’m still thinking about it, it’s one of those games that sticks with you. While my head is still putting itself back together in the depths of Rapture, allow me to drag you down with me and capture the essence of Bioshock like a true artist.

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Metroid: Zero Mission – The Last 2D Metroid Is In Captivity

I’ve been on a massive Metroid binge lately, playing through the Trilogy again on Wii U with glorious Wiimote controls, then revisiting Super Metroid which I have already written a piece on. Metroid: Zero Mission is a game I’ve had my eye on for a while because it’s the only Metroid I hadn’t played. It came out on the Japanese Virtual Console over a year ago so I thought surely, it can’t be far way. How hard is it to translate a Metroid game? Months passed, and sarcastic tweets were muttered into oblivious PR accounts, as Nintendo missed so many chances to release this game. The game had passed the Australian ratings system gauntlet which is usually the hardest step, but there was just no sign of Nintendo caring about it. Eventually I gave up, and this was the game that made me stop looking at eShop updates. I decided life was too short to live by a release schedule and in retrospect I have to thank Zero Mission for liberating me.

Anyway, the game finally came out and was it worth the wait? Fuck no, but it’s an absolutely fantastic game.

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Retro Review: Star Fox Adventures 2: Krystal In Action (GCN)

I had blocked this game from my mind completely, but ZapR2k has written a wonderful review for Star Fox Adventures 2: Krystal In Action and all the memories have come flooding back. We’re honoured to present this guest review for such an overlooked game, please enjoy.

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The original SFA was perfect for the GameCube crowd. It had everything Nintendo gamers had always cared for in Nintendo games: great graphics, endless collecting, poor-man’s-Zelda combat controls, annoying talking animals, tacked-on Star Fox branding, and more. It made perfect sense to pop a sequel out in 2004 while the world was moving on to the twin snakes of sales juggernauts that were Metroid Prime 2 and Pikmin 2. Never doubt, my friends, that Nintendo knows what it’s doing.

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