Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume 22

Spring has sprung, and with it a new season featuring more of the Best Levels in Gaming History! We've reached the 22nd volume (wow!), and there's no signs of stopping. Whether they be actual levels, missions, maps, or even this time around, golf courses, these sectioned-off portions of games are some of the greatest ever. We've got a packed list of franchises represented this time around--we start with Spider-Man, move on to Sackboy, Crash Bandicoot, and Yooka-Laylee for some platforming fun, and end things by checking in on our backswing with some Mario Golf. 

If you have some time to spare or are simply yearning for more great gaming levels, then no look further than every installment of Best Levels in Gaming History right here with these convenient links:

Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Volume Six
Volume Seven
Volume Eight
Volume Nine
Volume Ten
Volume Eleven
Volume Twelve
Volume Thirteen
Volume Fourteen
Volume Fifteen
Volume Sixteen
Volume Seventeen
Volume Eighteen
Volume Nineteen
Volume Twenty
Volume Twenty-One

Hold onto your web-shooters - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5, PS4)

Our opening Best Level in Gaming History is also the adrenaline-pumping opening to Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, "Hold onto your web-shooters". After the events of the original Spider-Man game from Insomniac, Miles Morales has taken on the mantle as a second Spider-Man and has the original Spider-Man as his mentor. The two are entangled in a mission to oversee the transport of a convoy of R.A.F.T. prisoners who had escaped in the previous game. A helicopter malfunction results in a crash and the escape of several prisoners, including one rambunctious member of Spidey's rogue's gallery, Rhino.

While Spidey takes on Rhino, Miles focuses on the brawn that are the more manageable prisoners. Here, players learn the ins and outs of the most basic of combat: punches, kicks, web-shooting, evading attacks--that sort of thing. After two mobs of enemies, with the second batch having long-range weaponry in the form of guns, Spider-Man wrestles with Rhino, as the latter charges through the city, with Miles pursuing. 

Eventually, the three make it into a mall, where Miles takes over the Rhino-riding duties, weaving through stores, displays, and avoiding taking damage. The fun goes from the top floor straight to the bottom floor, and the rampage continues, even blasting through J. Jonah Jameson's Christmas-themed podcast set, much to Jonah's dismay and utter rage. 

The chase continues through the city streets, causing much more unintended collateral damage, but it ends when Rhino smashes himself, with Spidey and Miles in tow, into a flammable tank, which explodes upon impact. After Miles takes care of some crowd control of the escaped prisoner kind, Spidey #1 finds himself on the receiving end of Rhino's offense, leaving him unable to move. It's Miles' turn to shine, armed with an unknown and mysterious new electrical power that courses through his body, Venom Power, Miles does battle with Rhino, ultimately defeating him.

Between the amazing set pieces on display, whether it's the carnage on the streets or the rampage through the mall, the intense action, great and amusing dialogue, or how seamlessly everything happens (whether on PS4 or PS5), the opening mission in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales starts the game on an insanely impressive note. And the entertaining ride only gets more enjoyable from there.

Flossed in Space - Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5, PS4)

Let's move on from one PlayStation Studios game to another, this time with Sackboy: A Big Adventure, a game that was runner-up on SPC's Games of 2020 list. For good reason, too, as the Sackboy's Super Mario 3D World-like platforming adventure was a masterclass of wonderful design, enjoyable and accessible platforming, and abundant imagination. So many of the levels could be selected from the game and represented for this type of article series, but if you've played Sackboy: A Big Adventure, then you probably already know what level type is most worthwhile.

This obvious pick is any one of the music levels featured in the game. These levels take a licensed track from popular music, such as Britney Spears' Toxic or Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk, and almost seamlessly syncs the running and jumping action on screen with the music. It's similar to Rayman Legends' lovely music levels, though these in Sackboy are not levels you just run like there's no tomorrow. No, in Sackboy, you play these levels at your own pace. 

Really, any of the five or so music levels featured in Sackboy: A Big Adventure could easily be selected for this volume of Best Levels in Gaming History, but I'll pick my personal favorite, featuring Foster the People's Houdini. The level Flossed in Space, an obvious but still clever riff off of Lost in Space, features a copious amount of portals that warp Sackboy to and from destinations, moving platforms, and a stupendous intergalactic space theme that is all complemented beautifully by the backing music. Part of my love for this level stems from the actual song, which is quite the bop, and another part is just how well executed the transitions between portions of the song are. It's an overall incredibly fun, sensationally original level that oozes with personality, much like the overall adventure of Sackboy itself.

Off Beat - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (Multi)

On the subject of 3D platformers, let's turn our focus to a much more difficult game. While I didn't necessarily love Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time for several reasons--as you can read in my review--there is no question or hint of denial on my end that a multitude of levels within the game are abundantly packed with creativity and genius. My pick for my favorite level within Crash 4 comes from the New Orleans-inspired music level Off Beat.

Off Beat starts out innocently enough with a vertical climb of boxes and platforms to the rooftops, and this is where the real fun begins. Complete with rising and lowering block platforms with mischievous faces painted on them, ghosts that bugle out and drop painful-to-the-touch notes from their trumpets, helpful bipedal cannons that assist Crash by blasting him across the city skyline with ease, and even a parade featuring familiar Crash characters and even a Spyro the Dragon appearance, Off Beat is a level that is hardly one-note. It's fun to run through, features limited "gotcha" moments that I felt plagued this game throughout its adventure, and is just jam-packed with creativity.

Cliffside Quest - Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Multi)

From 3D platforming to 2.5D platforming, we turn to the wildly charming, clever, and well executed Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair from Playtonic Games. While Yooka-Laylee was a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie that didn't quite stick the landing, with Impossible Lair, Playtonic successfully nailed its take on the Donkey Kong Country-style with some insanely ingenious additions as well.

The levels in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair are pretty much all wonderfully well done, but nearly all of them are somewhat linear affairs. That's what makes the Cliffside Quest level so unique in Impossible Lair. The premise is simple: Yooka and Laylee are greeted with a statue of villain Capital B., and inside a protected shield is a bee, essentially the "goal" of the level. However, in a "so close, yet so far" type of scenario, Yooka and Laylee need to track down six gems that are scattered on all corners of this nonlinear level in order to unlock the shield and complete the level.

Whether in its springtime version or its frozen variant, Cliffside Quest has myriad platforming challenges to take on, and most of these are relegated to specific rooms and chambers. There are climbing challenges, where Yooka and Laylee must avoid killer lasers as they climb, there are enemy gauntlets, swimming situations, and much more to track down all six gems to satisfy the conditions of clearing the level. It's a scavenger hunt of sorts, and one that is enjoyable in either variant of this atypical, untraditional level in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.

Mario's Star - Mario Golf (N64), Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS)

We wrap up this 22nd volume of Best Levels in Gaming History with a first. Yes, in the 21 previous installments of Best Levels in Gaming History, we've never seen a golf course ever represented. Time to give the game of golf its proper due with some representation, and why not with Mario Golf: Super Rush for the Nintendo Switch fast approaching!

One of the most creatively designed courses in Mario Golf history comes from the very first Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64. Mario's Star is the ultimate course in that game, and what makes it so creative in its design is how each hole is essentially art of famous Mario characters and enemies comprised of things like bunkers, water hazards, rock, fairways, greens, and more. As you can see in the attached photos, the noble and honorable Princess Peach gets immortalized in this course with a striking portrait (and one hard hole of golf, might I add!).

It's more than a gimmick, though, which is much appreciated. The designs lend themselves well to a challenging round of golf, but one that is ultimately fair in its difficulty. Mario's Star would reappear as one of the six downloadable courses in Mario Golf: World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS. In fact, every course in the aforementioned DLC are courses from Mario Golf for the N64 that have been remixed, remade, and mostly renamed for World Tour.

Review Round-Up - January 2021

The Ghost left his mark on SuperPhillip Central with Ghost of Tsushima being January's featured game of the month.

The first full month of 2021 is in the books, and with that comes the monthly tradition of the Review Round-Up! Let's take a trip back at the month that was with this look at the reviews published on SPC during January 2021, complete with links and excerpts of each review! It says something strong about this latest cluster of reviews when the lowest rated game gets a B grade.

The month started in a big way with a look back at the single player campaign of Guerilla Games' Ghost of Tsushima, which told a heartfelt tale and took players through an emotional journey. It earned the highest grade of the month with an A-. Following our strong start, we took a musical turn with the rhythm game goodness of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, giving a great performance and making this reviewer for an encore someday. The game received a B+ grade.

Another game soaring to the heights of a B+ grade was Ristar, our lone retro review of the month. It was wonderful returning to this Genesis platformer. From the stars to the links, SPC then took on the excellent golf simulation of PGA Tour 2K21, particularly the Nintendo Switch version. The game scored under par, earning a B for its efforts. Finally, we took the latest Spider-Man game for a swing with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales--this time the PS4 version--which got a B+ grade to end the month on a good note.

To round out this Review Round-Up, here is the list of reviews, links to each, and excerpts for your reading and viewing pleasure. As always you can check out all past reviews ever published on SuperPhillip Central with the SPC Review Archive. 

The games planned for review this February will have a bit of a 3D platforming focus. You'll see what I mean later this month!

Ghost of Tsushima (PS4) - A-

Ghost of Tsushima is one part sensationally crafted story that paints a bleak picture of life in war-torn Japan, one part incredible combat that is both visceral and mechanically sound, and one part well presented to make for one wonderful open-world adventure. There is some sense of being formulaic with its structure and how discoveries are stumbled upon. Overall, though, Ghost of Tsushima ends up being one of the PlayStation's strongest open-world action games, and one that stands tall among PlayStation's impressive lineup of first-party titles. Another jewel in Sony's first-party crown, for sure.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (NSW, PS4, XB1) - B+

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory takes 18+ years of series history, most notably the sensational soundtracks, and puts them in one concise musical collection that can be enjoyed by any rhythm game fan or music lover. Those only interested in buying this game for the story should probably just catch the ending on YouTube or something, as the new story content isn't worth the $60 price of admission. Memory Dives and the occasional clutter that inhibits seeing and reacting to note prompts on time also detract from the game, but overall my experience with Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory was a positive one. I definitely ended my time with the game on a good note.

Ristar (GEN) - B+

What doesn't deliver a star-ache, or a headache for us humans, is Ristar as an overall game. Sonic Team may have left poor Ristar in the blue blur's dust, but there's no denying that the game successfully differentiates itself from the developer's other, more popular Genesis works. The fact that Ristar still plays as well today as it did over 25 years ago is a testament to Sonic Team for making one of the better, more innovative and creative platformers of the 16-bit era. It may be a short game, but it's also certainly a sweet one. With a wonderfully clever grab mechanic that pours over into all facets of the game from offense to traversal, Ristar remains a very worthy play that any platformer fan out there.

PGA Tour 2K21 (NSW) - B

[PGA Tour 2K21 is] honestly a superb golf simulation, offering controls that can be tailored to suit both beginners and veterans of the genre (and of course everyone in between). Swinging the club feels fantastic, and the system incorporated into the game featured is fun and especially refreshing coming off decades of three clicks gauges and swing meters. For a terrific round of golf, don't pull out a Callaway club: pull out PGA Tour 2K21 on Nintendo Switch from your bag instead.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS4) - B+

[Marvel's Spider-Man; Miles Morales] offers a greater amount of combat options, improved mobility, and a story that I was eager to press on and find out what was going to happen next. Technical bugs and glitches do bring the overall experience down, at least on the PlayStation 4, but overall, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales swings with the best of them and is a worthy follow-up to the original Spider-Man.

Two of Sony's first-party delights bookended the month of January here at SPC,
with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales ending the month just right.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS4) Review

SPC closes out the first month of 2021 with one final review. It's for a launch game for the PlayStation 5, but we're actually going to take a look at the lesser-reviewed PlayStation 4 version. It's Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and without further ado, let's swing into action with the SPC review.

Miles ahead of other superhero video game sequels

The PlayStation 5 launched with not one, not two, not three, but four first-party games. An impressive lineup and accomplishment if there ever was one for a console's launch. However, two of these first-party games were also released on the PlayStation 4, same day and date: Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. While most of the attention regarding both of these games was heavily focused on the PlayStation 5 versions, I wanted to devote some time to looking at the previous generation versions. You might have already seen my Sackboy: A Big Adventure review, but now it's time for Insomniac Games' cross-gen superhero action game to get its turn under the microscope. 

The entirety of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales takes place over the Christmas holiday.

Coming off the original Marvel's Spider-Man's ending, Miles Morales has his newfound powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider similar to the one that gave Peter Parker his powers. Over the past months, Miles has been in training under the tutelage of the O.G. Spider-Man. With Peter Parker leaving the country to go on a trip with Mary Jane that means that while the Spider's away, Miles will... well, not so much PLAY as he takes up the crimefighting burden in Parker's stead. What follows is a personal struggle between living up to Spider-Man's legacy while carving his own path. This is all in the middle of a corporate conspiracy that delves deeply and blurs the line between Miles' private and superhero parts of his life along the way. 

When a standard, trademark Spidey quip won't do, Miles lets his feet do the talking.

Miles plays similarly to the original Spider-Man--after all--he was trained by Peter--but there are various key differences. While Miles' mobility options are mostly unchanged from the Peter's from the first game--what, with the web swinging, web rushing, climbing walls, running up walls, hanging from ceilings, etc.--this new Spidey has some new tricks of his own. These are Venom powers: electrically charged moves that deliver heavy damage to surrounding enemies. As you progress through the story, more become unlocked. From a Venom Punch that sends an electrified fist directly into the faces of foes, to a Venom Jump that sends surrounding foes in Miles' immediate radius up into the air, these moves stun and bring a whole world of hurt onto the new webhead's repertoire of baddies. Each Venom power uses up a section of a special orange gauge that refills as Miles attacks enemies and successfully evades attacks. 

With the Venom punch and other Venom powers, Miles can really send shocks to his enemies' systems!

And that's not all the new tricks that Miles has in his arsenal. Around the midpoint of the game he earns the ability to temporarily camouflage, offering a way to stealthily sneak up on unsuspecting enemies and take them out, or utterly bewilder and confuse foes as he disappears right in front of their faces--a perfect move for getting the heck out of dodge in a flash. There's a cooldown period in between camouflage uses, so it's not something you can just cheese on and off at any time to make encounters easy.

While a lot of times stealth will work--taking down enemies silently from walls, ceilings, perches, and directly from behind--sometimes Miles will just have to get his hands (and feet with regard to kicks) dirty. There are a great number of options available to players in combat situations. Everything from web powers to Venom powers, to gadgets like Miles' web shooters, remote mines, or gravity wells that act like a vacuum to baddies, are all available and fair to use. It's a ballet of carnage, and with enough practice, you can battle even the biggest of baddies with elegance and grace as you evade enemies and cycle between fists, kicks, webbing, Venom powers, and gadgets. This is all as your combo multiplier soars to impressive heights. 

Have a nice trip, see you next fall.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a shorter game than Insomniac's original take on Spidey, clocking in at just under ten hours to beat. However, that is partly due to a lot of the fat from the original game being cut out. There are no stealth missions with powerless playable characters to concern yourself with, which was a major sticking point for this reviewer--among many others players out there. That said, there is an ample amount of side activities to participate in to beef up the playtime of the game. For one, there is checking a helpful "Friendly Neighborhood" app with a quick swipe of the Dualshock's touchpad. This brings up a list of what are essentially side quests to take on from citizens around Manhattan. These range between finding lost pets to more involved scenarios, such as cracking down a crime ring that is stealing from the local F.E.A.S.T. shelter from the first game. 

Miles' friend, Ganke's helpfully designed app allows you to select from a myriad of missions.
These can even be replayed at your leisure for extra experience and activity tokens.

Then, there are fun side activities like holographic training missions set up by Peter Parker before his trip out of town, involving everything from combat to stealth. There are also enemy bases to enter, dispatch all enemies inside either stealthily or not, and complete a specific task in each. Whether you're simply completing side missions, stopping the abundance of crimes that pop up in the city, or gathering collectables like weapons caches and time capsules, you earn experience to learn new abilities via skill tree, and goods that can be used to buy and upgrade various suits, visors, and gadgets. 

Even after the credits roll, there is plenty of post-game content to have a reason to continue shooting webs and swinging around Manhattan. Unlike the original Marvel's Spider-Man, which received a New Game+ option after release in a post-launch patch, you can enjoy a new game with all of your stats, suits, experience, and more already included with the game. Plus, if you so wish, you can take on the Ultimate difficulty, where enemies are ruthless, damage is high, and your Spidey skills have to be of the utmost quality to survive. Even still, we're talking about 16-20 hours of playtime to complete everything both in-game and trophy-wise for Miles Morales. Not bad at all, considering the shorter playtime encourages more play-throughs. I know at least I'll happily return to Harlem and Manhattan as Miles. 

That said, as a shorter sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man, there are some glaring issues I have with the game. A major one is how lesser polished of an experience the entire package feels as a whole. There were multiple occurrences of enemies phasing through walls--out of reach of Miles' attacks, resulting in having to reload a previous checkpoint--instances of falling and clipping through geometry, and various visual glitches. The frame-rate of the PlayStation 4 version isn't the most impressive when things get busy with obvious slow-down at times. I say "obvious" because even someone like myself who usually isn't bothered by or notices such issues had problems with the frame-rate in this game, especially during some cut-scenes. That said, I was impressed with the PS4 version's loading times. While nowhere as instantaneous as the PlayStation 5's, fast traveling around Manhattan (once that option unlocked) was relatively quick, taking about ten seconds to do depending on the distance being traveled. 

While not as impressive of a looker on the PlayStation 4 when compared to the new hotness of the PS5,
 Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales still impresses on Sony's older hardware.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was given a bit of a disservice pre-launch for coming off as but a short expansion to Insomniac Games' original web-slinging adventure. However, Miles' game is so much more. It offers a greater amount of combat options, improved mobility, and a story that I was eager to press on and find out what was going to happen next. Technical bugs and glitches do bring the overall experience down, at least on the PlayStation 4, but overall, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales swings with the best of them and is a worthy follow-up to the original Spider-Man.

[SPC Says: B+]

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5, PS4) "Be Yourself" TV Commercial

I generally don't care for gameplay-lacking commercials on TV as I feel they don't properly showcase why a game is worth buying and don't fully show what a game is all about. I sort of feel the same way with this gameplay-less commercial for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (a PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 cross-gen release), but this is a pretty cool ad regardless. Plus, from the pre-release reviews coming in, the game seems to be another solid Insomniac Games-developed title. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales swings onto store shelves and digital storefronts on November 12th. Less than a week until the new generation of PlayStation begins, all!

Top Five Games Announced at the PlayStation 5 Reveal

This past Thursday saw the much-awaited, much-anticipated, long-hyped reveal of the PlayStation 5, and while we didn't get all of the info we desired like the price and release date (but then again, maybe it wasn't wise to expect either), we did get an onslaught of excellent-looking games, one after the other. It was a parade of PlayStation 5 games, so you can bet that it was insanely difficult for me to trim down and put together a list of my top five game reveals of the show.

After you've read my picks, I'd absolutely love to read your faves from the show. Also, with the PlayStation 5 now announced and revealed, what do you folks think about the hardware design?

5) Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Click here for the trailer)

My first pick for PlayStation 5 game reveals that excited me is also the sole brand-new IP on this list. That's not to say that there was a dearth of new IPs at the big PS5 reveal. There certainly was. It's more that I tend to gravitate to familiar faves. Kena: Bridge of Spirits comes from Ember Lab, and it looks like a magical mix between the adventurous spirit and real-time combat of The Legend of Zelda series and the delightful Pikmin series with its controllable creatures that you use to solve puzzles and help assist our heroine in combat. Kena looks absolutely stunning as a game, delivering jaw-dropping graphics. For those that won't be making the jump to the PlayStation 5 and becoming fast early adapters (much like myself, most likely), Kena: Bridge of Spirits will also be available on the PlayStation 4 and PC, with the latter being an Epic Games Store exclusive.

4) Sackboy: A Big Adventure (Click here for the trailer)

The charm was immediately apparent with this next game on my list. As some of the longtime readers of my writing and blog might be fully aware, I love the LittleBigPlanet series. There isn't a game in the series I haven't played--yes, even the iOS Run, Sackboy, Run game I played and even enjoyed. Now, the series makes a full jump to 3D with what many consider Sackboy's answer to Super Mario 3D World with Sackboy: A Big Adventure. The game looks like a yarn-full of fun with gorgeous obstacle courses filled with hazards of all shapes and sizes, myriad collectibles, and available for up to four players to run around and have a grand old time. As a huge fan of Super Mario 3D World and just 3D platformers in general, I'm pleased as can be that Sumo Digital and Sony are presenting PlayStation 5 owners with this magnificent-looking title!

3) Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Click here for the trailer)

There was some confusion surrounding the latest chapter in Insomniac Games' take on everyone's favorite webhead. Some didn't know if Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was a mere DLC or a full-fledged game. Now, it seems that this first PS5-exclusive game revealed during the gigantic showcase last Thursday is more akin to something like Infamous: First Light or Uncharted: The Lost Legacy--that is to say it's an extended and expanded adventure that isn't quite the size of a full-fledged entry like Uncharted 4, but it's also not a small piece of DLC either. It's its own game, and I'm glad that Miles Morales gets even more time in the spotlight after the phenomenal Into the Spider-Verse film and his very limited playtime in the original Marvel's Spider-Man game. I eagerly await finding out more about this game, as it's currently due out this holiday season.

2) Horizon Forbidden West (Click here for the trailer)

The sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn sees the triumphant return of hero Aloy as she treks westward to a brand new land, teeming with terrific and ultra-impressive sights. The setting is a post-apocalyptic California, and between the harsh weather conditions and the deadly machines abound that both plague the area, Aloy is going to be in for the fight of her life. Thankfully, she looks more than prepared for anything and everything that comes her way. Horizon Zero Dawn was my favorite PlayStation game of 2017, coming behind Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as my favorite game of that year in general. Thus, you can probably imagine my immense excitement seeing Aloy's grand return coming to the PlayStation 5!

1) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Click here for the trailer)

Also well known to longtime readers of SuperPhillip Central and followers of mine on social media is my absolute love for Ratchet & Clank. It's without a doubt my favorite PlayStation franchise, and it tickles me pink that the latest entry, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, is a full-length, completely NEW adventure in the series. The gameplay shown was mind-blowing, showing seamless transitions between multiple expansive worlds without a loading screen in sight, something that wouldn't be overly possible on past PlayStations with that kind of graphical fidelity. All hail the SSD! The icing on top of this delectable cake of awesomeness was seeing the tried and true Ratchet & Clank running, gunning, and action-platforming gameplay goodness being front and center at the PS5 reveal. Between those bits of info and the reveal of a new, female lombax, there's a lot to be excited about for fans of PlayStation's wonderful duo's latest galactic adventure!