Classics I Can Return To - Part Five

Welcome to an all-new installment of Classics I, your friend Phil, Can Return To! We all have games that we find ourselves coming back for more even long after we've beaten them. This segment is dedicated to those titles that are recent and of yesteryear that I can easily find myself coming back to time and time again. It's primarily a modern Nintendo-filled edition of Classics I Can Return To this time around, so get yourself comfortable and let's get to my latest list of seven classics!

If you have interest in a past installment of this series of articles, check them out at the following links:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U)

This highly anticipated fighter finally came out this past November, and it brought with it loads of content-- almost an obscene amount of things for players to do. It's four months later, and I'm still digging into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, beating challenges to unlock new content, fighting against my Amiibo, playing online, fighting offline with friends and family, and just enjoying the game on the whole. The copious amount of trophies, challenges, characters, stages, and modes means that players entering this game need to make a great time investment if they wish to view everything Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has to offer. I certainly I know have spent over 70 hours already on this beast of a game, and I expect to log in many more hours on top of that amount.

Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

A lot of folks were disappointed that Nintendo didn't have a new 3D Mario with the scope of Super Mario Galaxy as Mario's first (and maybe only?) three-dimensional romp on the Wii U. While the initial unveiling did little to fully excite, subsequent trailers and impressions turned towards Super Mario 3D World's favor. The game itself is a sensational one, full of variety, platforming challenges, well designed levels, and the extreme amount of polish that one would expect from Nintendo EAD. Whether playing it by my lonesome or with up to three other players for some local multiplayer mayhem, Super Mario 3D World is a game that I've already beaten three times, and I have the itch to do so again.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

Another game that disappointed Nintendo fans with its announcement since it was "just Donkey Kong", Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze takes the foundation that Retro Studios laid down with Donkey Kong Country Returns and creates a masterful 2D platforming game full of challenge. The fact that levels are tailored for both normal and speed-run play says a lot to the strength of Retro Studios' wondrous level design. I kept wanting to see what new mechanic or obstacle I would encounter next, keeping me engaged so much that I would hook the Wii U GamePad to its charger just so I'd have an excuse to continue playing. Tropical Freeze is a textbook example of great design and gameplay trumping anything else.

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

The gift that keeps on giving is Mario Kart 8. The first downloadable content pack gave racers eight new tracks on top of the 32 that were already on the disc. The second DLC pack is due out this May, and it adds new vehicles, characters, and tracks to further entice players. I didn't need new tracks as an excuse to keep playing Mario Kart 8. The pure adrenaline-driven gameplay, tight controls, intense races, series-best courses, and online play were all things that beckoned me to return to Mario Kart 8 on a monthly basis. Whether online or off, Mario Kart 8 is one of my favorites in the franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds did a lot to make me love it. It tickled my nostalgia bones by having it set in a familiar A Link to the Past-era Hyrule, but it also brought a lot that was new, including a profound sense of freedom when compared to recent Zelda games, an ingenious wall-merging mechanic that opened up the level design to massive degrees, and dungeons that were delightful to play and replay. Like A Link to the Past, I find myself returning to the lands of Hyrule and Lorule, playing through the Lorule dungeons in different orders, collecting heart pieces, and exploring the world. It's a near-perfect Zelda game, and that is why I can't say no to coming back to it.

Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS)

A golf game that is packed to the brim with stuff to do, a common concept that a lot of these classics I can return to possess, Mario Golf: World Tour features a wide selection of varied courses, characters, challenges, modes, and unlockables for players to dive into. The different tournaments that go on online, officially run by Nintendo, unlock new costume pieces for players just for participating in them. This means that I am encouraged to keep coming back to the game, seeing what new gear and equipment I can unlock. The addition of DLC that was reasonably priced means that six 18-hole classic courses from the Nintendo 64 Mario Golf are available to me if I somehow get bored of what's already available on the game card. (Hint: I haven't gotten bored of them yet!)

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Multi)

While it doesn't have the amount of polish that the Mario Kart series has, I do find myself entering the arcade racing action of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The creatively designed tracks alter their appearance each lap, meaning each race feels like its own adventure and offers a high amount of unpredictability. The game is mighty tough, too, on harder difficulties, requiring the player to have great skill to overcome the challenges presented to them. That's part of the reason I keep playing Sonic the Hedgehog's latest racer, to hone my racing skills to routinely become better against the harder AI. Throw in highly competent online, and you have a game that encourages replaying.

Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones (Wii U eShop) Review

The first Tuesday night of November sees a brand-new review on SuperPhillip Central. It's for a sequel of a game that originally did not appear on a Nintendo platform, yet the sequel is a Wii U exclusive. It's Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones.

A game to enjoy all by your clonesome

If you remember how it was with the Nintendo 3DS eShop, that service started out eerily similar to the Wii U eShop. Both launched with very few games, and it would take a long stretch of time before content would come on a frequent basis. Not just content, but GOOD content. It seems we've hit that stage where the Wii U eShop has finally hit its stride, and what was once a multi-platform series is now seeing its sequel debut as an exclusive for the digital storefront. Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones has sneaked its way onto the Wii U eShop. Should you alert your wallet?

In Stealth Inc. 2 you play as a cute, little, chubby clone whose biggest features are a potbelly and pair of goggles, who recently escaped from a routine shutdown procedure, much to the chagrin of an employee obsessed with being top dog of his company. This mastermind wishes for your failure at every turn, mocking you and taunting you at every step of the way. This isn't done with voice work, but instead with text ingeniously displayed on the game levels' walls in a way that blends in well to the environments and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, either. Unfortunately, the cutscenes that show off the biggest events of the story don't impress as much, being pretty ho-hum still-frame pictures with incredibly limited animation. Regardless, the tale is endearing even without a big budget given to something as unimportant to a game like this than cutscenes.

The main attraction to Stealth Inc. 2 is the game's various test chambers. These have you taking a multitude of skills, whether they be reflexes, timing, platforming precision, and brain-busting, and solving puzzles to reach the exit of each chamber.

Your tubby robotic clone has a limited move set available to it. It can jump, crotch and crawl, and hang from ledges. It can also interact with computer terminals, buttons, and switches. However, as you'll find out through playing the first set of levels, the game tosses in enough variety and challenges and continues at a steady pace to keep things fresh and engaging. It also keeps things rather difficult.

As the title of the game suggests ever-so-subtly (sarcastically said), Stealth Inc. 2's gameplay deals a lot with stealth. It's all about avoiding detection from enemies who will quickly destroy you upon sight. No worries if you're destroyed, as you're nine times out of ten placed back near where you died, though that one time where you have to redo a whole section can be really, really annoying.

There's some insanely clever puzzle platforming action to be found in Stealth Inc. 2. One test chamber required me to have a vent blow some steam into a camera's sight, obstructing its vision so my tubby little dude could sneak past undetected. Light is also a major factor, requiring your robotic avatar to stay in the shadows to avoid being seen and using the environment to cast shadows that can hide your robot's presence. Stealth Inc. 2 is all about learning from mistakes to come to the correct solution, and finding the right solution on your own is so darn gratifying!

Each test chamber is timed, and players' times are posted on individual online leaderboards on a per-level basis. It takes some great response time, memory, and skills to perfectly run through the later test chambers, especially if you're going for an "S" ranking. An "S" ranking requires an insanely fast time, no deaths, and no detection from enemies or cameras. Since later test chambers are so long and involved, it's easy to just say "forget it" and just run through the game, perhaps only being concerned with time.

The most brilliant part of Stealth Inc. 2's design is an old adage of game development that the developers here have gotten down well-- showing the player through doing instead of simply through telling. Stealth Inc. 2 has you trying out solutions through experimentation, rather than through an out-of-place tutorial dictated by the developers.

Additionally, Stealth Inc. 2 does a tremendous job at slowly yet steadily building upon your tool set of skills each level. It provides a small amount of knowledge for the player, but just enough that the player can experiment a fair amount to reach a solution to a given puzzle and test chamber.

Part of this is done through how each set of test chambers besides the first puts a different gadget of your clone to use. The second set of chambers puts to use the Inflate-a-Mate, a gadget that can weigh down buttons, give you some extra elevation, a means to block lasers, and more. Then there's the Jack Boy, a gadget that allows you to hack nearby enemies, fully controlling them with the right analog stick as you move around with the left. Each chamber layers the uses of each gadget well enough that you're constantly learning and creating different ways of using each gadget.

Stealth Inc. 2 employs a Metroid-style overworld, unlike the multi-platform original, which simply had a menu containing every test chamber. For those unaware, what I mean by "a Metroid-style overworld" is one where you earn new gadgets for use outside of the test chambers, making it so you are able to use them to reach previously inaccessible locations. Most of these locations are for progressing in the game and venturing to new sections of the complex for new test chambers, but others house collectible costumes that can be used to customize your clone. Confusingly, there doesn't seem to be anyway to revert your clone back to its generic self once a costume piece has been equipped. Regardless, that's a minor quip with this otherwise excellent game.

Although, one big quip concerning the overworld doesn't occur often, but it can be obnoxious nonetheless. Sometimes a missed jump or a botched choice of direction can result in having to redo an entire section of the overworld map. This is an unnecessary punishment for such an easy mistake, making retreading ground unintentionally an annoying happenstance.

Stealth Inc. 2 comes with a really cool level creator that pretty much allows players to use the exact same toolkit that the developers of the game used to design their own trials to share with other players online. In essence, there can be an unlimited amount of levels for players to enjoy. That is, of course, as expected with any new tool, you take the time to learn the ins and outs of the level creator. (Unlike the actual game, a tutorial here would have been most welcome!) Regardless, you start off with an empty grid, setting the size of your personalized test chamber, and then select from a bevy of tools, structures, and obstacles to create a (hopefully) engaging and fair challenge for other players to (also hopefully) enjoy.

Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones is a spectacular puzzle platformer and a great "get" for the Wii U eShop. It's not just a terrific game all to its own, but it's one of the online store's most competent and satisfying titles to date. Yes, it's not for all, as those with little patience will find constantly retrying levels to be tiresome, but everyone else will find a game packed with puzzles, precision platforming, twitch gameplay, and a robust level creator. Stealth Inc. 2 is a brilliant puzzle platforming package, and it's one that most Wii U owners shouldn't do without.

[SPC Says: 9.0/10]