The Games We Bought PlayStation For

On December 3rd, 1994, 26 years ago, the original PlayStation was born, ushering a new console and competitor in the market. Today, on this 26th birthday of the PS1 and the PlayStation brand in general, let's celebrate on SuperPhillip Central with a personal journey of sorts from yours truly, going through the games that pushed me and my family (hence, the "we", since when I was a kid I couldn't buy a PlayStation myself) into the PlayStation ecosystem again and again. Whether on consoles or handhelds, I've owned almost every major PlayStation platform (save for a recent, quite obvious one!). So, join me on my journey as a reminisce and briefly touch upon those killer apps that enticed so nice that they pushed me towards these PlayStation platforms.

[PlayStation One]

Final Fantasy VII 

Let's begin with a big one. Nintendo lost a lot of immediate ground to its new competitor, Sony, in the console race due to sticking with expensive cartridges on its Nintendo 64 over the PlayStation's CDs. What was seen as a massive betrayal was then-Squaresoft moving its complete focus to the PlayStation. The biggest game that Nintendo fans were going to miss out on (until 20+ years later, of course) was Final Fantasy VII. My older brother and I definitely didn't want to be one of those fans, so we begrudgingly begged our mom for another console, the PlayStation. It's fortunate that we did, as we have been happy PlayStation customers ever since. Maybe not so much big-time Final Fantasy fans, though, due to the series' quality over the years... 

Mega Man 8: Anniversary Edition

Like Squaresoft, Capcom, too, opted to jump ship from Nintendo to PlayStation after the rising costs of cartridges on the Nintendo 64, and they took one of our favorite franchises with them: Mega Man. Perhaps Mega Man 8 and its anniversary edition was more of a killer app for us than Final Fantasy VII was! Not only was the game gorgeous with its colorful, vivid, and vibrant sprite-based visuals, but the game featured so many new things, such as fully (and badly) voiced anime cutscenes, collectible bolts to use to purchase permanent upgrades at Dr. Light's, and a Mega Ball item, for kicks, of course. We would have missed out on so many Mega Man games--particularly one of my favorites, Mega Man X4--had we not leaped into Sony's ecosystem.

[PlayStation 2]

Final Fantasy X

With the PlayStation 2, the initial launch wasn't too exciting, so it was rather easy to pass on the PS2's offerings in the beginning. Of course, we all know how that story played out--the system has one of the best, all-encompassing game libraries of all time now. But, there were two games that truly tested my brother's and my will to ask for a PlayStation 2. One of these was Final Fantasy X. After adoring the PlayStation Final Fantasy games and much of Squaresoft's catalog on Sony's first system, it only made sense for us to have extreme hype for the first Final Fantasy on a bold new platform. Final Fantasy was already impressive and exceptionally large on the PS1, so we couldn't even imagine how big the newest game would be on the PlayStation 2. While the end result wasn't the best game in the series to us--far from it--Final Fantasy X will always have a special place in at least my heart for being the bait that lured us to the PlayStation 2's sunny shores.

[PlayStation 3]

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

I should take the time to note that my family has never actually gotten a PlayStation platform at launch. But, if there was a case of purchasing one the closest to launch, that would be the case with the PlayStation 3. That's funny because we would both argue that the PS3 was Sony's weakest home console in terms of library. Regardless, my love for the Ratchet & Clank series' PlayStation 2 outings, especially Going Commando--my first game in the series--saw me absolutely drooling at the thought of playing the newest entry. Not only would be a bigger and bolder adventure, but it'd be in glorious high definition for the first time. That game was of course Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and thank the lovely lombax for that, or else I would have never gotten to play his other PS3 adventures or this next game on this list.

LittleBigPlanet

"Play, Create, Share." I love making video games. Sure, I've only published one real game, but the act of creating levels, designing characters, and implementing all of it to work into one cohesive project is both exciting and fascinating to me. LittleBigPlanet came with the promise of being able to create massively complex level creations and share them with the world. You can bet I enjoyed doing just that! LittleBigPlanet quickly jumped to the top, right by Ratchet & Clank, as my favorite PlayStation franchises, and basically I'll now go anywhere Sackboy as well as Media Molecule does!

[PlayStation Portable]

Mega Man: Powered Up

Let's take a detour from PlayStation consoles to Sony's handheld efforts starting with the PlayStation Portable, or PSP. Another case of getting the system almost a year after launch like several other PlayStation systems, we did the same with the PSP. However, this time around I did something I never did before--I bought a game before even owning the system. Yes, my love for the Blue Bomber was so much that I NEEDED to own a copy of Mega Man: Powered Up, a remake of the original Mega Man with new content. The main selling point and killer app-potential for me with Powered Up was, like LittleBigPlanet, the ability to create and share my own levels. The fact that it was dolled up in Mega Man clothing, one of my favorite franchises, only made that decision stronger. 

[PlayStation Vita]

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

With the PlayStation Vita, despite all three of the games that attracted me to the system were launch titles, I didn't purchase a Vita until six months or so after the fact. Nevertheless, one of the top titles that enticed me to buy a Vita was Nathan Drake's then-latest adventure, and his first handheld epic, too: Uncharted: Golden Abyss. While I could have done without several of the hardware-themed gameplay gimmicks, there was something mightily impressive about taking a PlayStation 3-sized, graphically gorgeous adventure and having it in the palms of my hands. This was an amazing future for portables. Little did I know that the PlayStation Vita wouldn't have as bright of a future as many owners like myself would have hoped from Sony's first-party studios.

Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational

If there was ONE game that I had to pick that single-handedly thrusted me into the PlayStation Vita ecosystem, it would have to be none other than Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational. I adore the Hot Shots Golf series, now known as Everybody's Golf here in North America to match the PAL naming scheme. The game's phenomenal visuals certainly wowed me as an introduction, but what really got me was the tried and true excellent golfing gameplay. Developer Clap Hanz definitely knows how to make a great golf game, and while it's not the best in the series, it certainly shines as a bright title in the Vita's impressive library.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

If you haven't picked up on the theme yet (and no worries if you haven't), something that gets me running to a game, or in this case putting the pedal to the metal on a game faster than 200cc Mario Kart is a game that allows me to create my own content. ModNation Racers: Road Trip was one of these games, and it was in one of my favorite genres, the kart racer. Not only was the allure of designing my own custom tracks appealing, but so was building my own karts and characters! I spent so many hours designing content for Road Trip, yes, but the single player campaign was also a blast all by itself to its own credit. A double dose of kart racer awesomeness, indeed--whether creating or actually racing!

[PlayStation 4]

Ratchet & Clank

With the PlayStation 4, I did something I never did before with a console: I bought it used and online, and I did it just for Ratchet & Clank, the re-imagining of the very first game in the series and tie-in to the movie of the same name. The latter was a bust, but the game itself was my favorite upon the year of its release. Both Ratchet and Clank never looked better, and the various planets and environments seen throughout the game absolutely stunned. The risk of buying a used console online ultimately paid off. I got the system for a price I could realistically afford, and I got to enjoy one of Sony's best lineups of games on offer for one of their platforms.

[PlayStation 5 ...eventually!]

Astro's Playroom

While the jury's still out on when a PlayStation 5 will grace the SuperPhillip household--due to the console's incredible and insane popularity that sees sellouts on the words "we now have stock"--I know that one game that I just can't wait to try out is Astro's Playroom. Plus, it comes free with the system, so that's a plus already! Add in the fact that it's a 3D platformer (another plus) and that it looks adorable, charming, and masterfully made as all get out, and I have more than enough reasons to be jealous of gamers who can put Astro's Playroom on their "best of 2020" lists!

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Hopefully the stock situation with the PlayStation 5 clears up by the time this last game on my personal journey through PlayStation releases. It's my favorite PlayStation franchise's latest game, and I don't know if I'll have the self control and patience to wait for stock to come in after Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart releases. I might just pay people to rent their PS5s! Okay, okay. I wouldn't be THAT desperate, but my desire to play Rift Apart at launch is darn near excruciating. Between the visuals that make my jaw fall down to and through the floor, to the awesome gameplay showcase that Sony showed several months back, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will most likely be the game that puts Sony's shiny new white toy in my entertainment system... that is, if that large goliath fits in there!

===

What games on PlayStation systems were YOUR killer apps that made you want to get those systems? Let the SPC community know in the comments below!

BLTN Reviews: LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4, PS3) Review

A Better Late Than Never review is deployed when a game I cover has been out for a while, and I'm only getting into it now. Usually this is reserved for games that are several years old. The next BLTN review subject is LittleBigPlanet 3, a cross-gen release for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. The series is one of my favorites from the PlayStation brand, so let's see how this entry shapes up.

A lovingly sewn-together game with bugs that can tear it apart

When LittleBigPlanet 3 originally launched, it was plagued with bugs and glitches that severely dragged the experience down, as well as review scores and fan feedback in the process. Now, several years later, I have returned to the world that Media Molecule gave birth to, and now a cavalcade of new developers to the series have taken control of for this entry as Mm makes Dreams, an upcoming PS4 release. While a lot of the bugs have been "ironed out", as they say, the experience isn't totally clean, with glitched trophies, falling through floors, and other gripes.

The first level of LittleBigPlanet 3 introduces the controls to new and returning LittleBigPlanetians. 

As always with the LittleBigPlanet series, the main attraction outside of creating levels is getting ideas for your own creations. This is where LittleBigPlanet's lovely little adventure mode comes in. The adventure mode of LittleBigPlanet 3 shows off developer Sumo Digital and friends' masterful ability to design spectacular and highly clever levels, each with their own theme and gimmick. Many of these levels utilize one of five new equip-able items that are gained throughout the adventure. One of these sucks and blows air to move certain platforms around, while another shoots out small balls that when they hit a specific green target, you're transported to it. This makes for some creative puzzles and dangers where you have to shoot a ball through a small tunnel that your Sackperson can't quite fit through. The ball goes down the tunnel, hits the green target, and your Sackboy or girl immediately transports to it.

Using this special gun, Sackboy blows out air to get this gear moving.

That isn't the limit of LittleBigPlanet 3's creativity in the level design. Adding to the roster of playable characters are three legendary heroes of Bunkum, each with their own special abilities to get through levels. The first is a dog-like creature known as Oddsock. He can run rather fast, jump off walls to gain height, and slowly slide down walls. Good levels featuring Oddsock showcase his extreme mobility and agility and put them to good use. Then, there's Toggle, whose name belies his ability to switch, or toggle, between his normal heavy form that can weigh down switches and a smaller form that can run through tiny tunnels and skim across water. Switching between the two forms at the right moments is the difference between clearing a level and coming close but no cigar. Finally, Swoop, a flying bird, is the last of the three heroes. He can of course fly, but he can also grab onto certain materials and objects, carry them, as well as use his titular swooping ability to perform a downward arc, perfect for slipping by certain hazards in levels.

Oddsock shows off his massive mobility in his introductory level.

LittleBigPlanet 3's adventure mode is all about bringing these legendary heroes of Bunkum back into the swing of things. This is done by collecting marbles, which are positioned at most levels' conclusions. Throughout the adventure, you visit three different hubs, another new feature in LittleBigPlanet 3. These hubs are not only home to the various entrances to levels, but they also house optional quests for players to complete. Many of these are completed in special challenge levels, again, not mandatory to beat.

The final hero of Bunkum, Swoop, soars onto the scene.

Despite having three adventure hubs and containing four books (or worlds), LittleBigPlanet 3's adventure mode is by far the shortest in the series's history on any platform. Still, I think the developers went for a more quality over quantity approach with the amount of levels, as most of the levels in LittleBigPlanet 3 are some of the greatest in franchise history. Each are packed with an abundance of Prize Bubbles, a collectible in the series that unlocks new goodies like costumes for Sackboy or Sackgirl and new objects and materials for the Create Mode the LittleBigPlanet series is most known for.

And yes, the Create Mode is the best it has ever been in LittleBigPlanet's life. The amount of options to create levels both small and large can be overwhelming, as you can pretty much create as complex a level you want (i.e. as big as you want, whether you'd like to use beginner-friendly "programming" to create more complex levels, make levels that aren't even platformers, make movies, and so forth). Fortunately, LittleBigPlanet 3 comes equipped with a much more entertaining tutorial system than past games. Sorry, Stephen Fry, but even your whimsical words grow tiring after having to sit through the umpteenth tutorial like in previous LittleBigPlanet games.

My older attempt at creating a level.

This time around the tutorials are interactive puzzle levels that teach you concepts of using LittleBigPlanet 3's tools to get the most out of your budding creations. These 3-5 minute levels have you interacting with pre-made gadgets and objects made to build levels, and then they have you make them yourself by the level's end. These are a great deal of fun, and the more interactive approach is much appreciated and welcomed.

The Popit Academy levels are interactive tutorials full of stimulating, puzzling scenarios.

LittleBigPlanet 3 has come a long way since its launch. While the game won't crash on you as much as it did, there are still problems with unlocking some trophies, some progression-based glitches towards quests, and other technical mishaps. The frame-rate isn't always cooperative in staying solid, sometimes chugging along to ridiculously low levels for brief periods of time, usually at the start of levels and especially when you're logged in online. The visuals themselves are pleasant to look at, but it's obvious that this was a cross-gen release. You won't be dropping your jaw at any graphic-related thing in the game. You'll save your jaw-dropping for some of the cool sections of levels that the developers have crafted instead. The voice acting is animated and energetic-- full of charm as well. The new tunes for LittleBigPlanet 3 aren't the most inspiring (though I love the ones featured in Shake, Rattle, and Roll), but they fit the moods of each level quite well.

SackerPhillip returns to save the day!

Offering some new goodies into the mix like new gadgets, adventure hubs, and three new playable character types, LittleBigPlanet 3 is a game that successfully continues the winning formula that Media Molecule had laid down. It's just that the game doesn't do too much to stray away from that, which might put off some returning players to the series. If the idea of creating levels appeals to you with the easy-to-use Create Mode, then you'll definitely find yourself spending a great deal of time with the game. For everyone else, the pre-made levels from the developers are some of the best in LittleBigPlanet's history, and the online community continues to create some really special stuff. If you are cool with some occasional hiccups, then LittleBigPlanet 3 is a satisfying platforming purchase on a system lacking much in the way of family-focused games.

[SPC Says: B-]

Skylanders SuperChargers (PS4, XB1, Wii U, PS3, 360) Review

SuperPhillip Central keeps on rolling review-wise this month, as does the Summer of 700. While we won't quite reach that milestone THIS month, NEXT month will be something even more special! For now, let's turn our attention to last year's Skylanders SuperChargers. With Imaginators coming out this year and all the hype around Crash Bandicoot being in it, it seemed like a smart time to try out the game's predecessor. Here's SuperPhillip Central's review of Skylanders SuperChargers.

Five years in and still all charged up

Update: @SP_Central Twitter follower @Trev_G1 (Trevor Gould) let me know that you don't need the air or sea figurines to beat the game. You can actually skip the segment I was talking about in the last level. I apologize for the error! The grade remains the same, however, as the figurine "problem" didn't heavily weight on the overall grade.

This year, the first competitor saw its exit from the toys-to-life arena with Disney Infinity calling it quits. This made gamers and fans wondering what the future was for other games that revolve around figurines for their gameplay and thus, their success. Well, if Activision's Skylanders series, now at its fifth game with Skylanders SuperChargers, can continue to be as well rounded and engaging as the latest game in the series, then fans have nothing to worry about.

Skylanders SuperChargers, of course, brings back the toys-to-life concept that Activision's series helped spearhead, thus bringing us competitors from LEGO to Nintendo. However, I still maintain that Skylanders has the best use of toys-to-life concept to date. For those unaware of what toys-to-life entails in regards to Skylanders SuperChargers, the game comes with a portal known as the Portal of Power. Here, you place figurines on them to bring the characters into the game. With SuperChargers, you need to place two figures on the Portal of Power at once: one Skylander and one vehicle. Depending on your vehicle, whether land, sea, or air, you can access different challenges within levels. While I had thought this was optional to play the game as sea and air missions aren't required throughout most of SuperChargers, I ended up being required to have a sea and an air vehicle for the last level. So, yeah, that's a bit of a bummer-- playing through the entirety of Skyalnders SuperChargers just to end up having to buy two extra vehicles to beat the game.

No mere minion is a match for Spitfire!

The Skylanders you place on the Portal of Power are what you control through the game's 13 levels. Through defeating enemies as a given Skylander, your character earns experience points. Earn enough points and your Skylander levels up, giving them more health and strength. If your controlled Skylander loses all of his or her health, you need to replace them with a different Skylander until you either finish the current level or start it from the beginning. You'll have to do the latter if you run out of Skylanders with health.

Some Skylanders have long range attacks, because why get all up close and personal?

Each Skylander can pick up coins, giving them their own separate total instead of every Skylander pooling their collecting coins into one pot, if you will. These coins at certain spots of the game allow you, the player, to purchase new moves for them, helping you contend with enemies more easily in battle. As the moves become more complicated and worthwhile, the prices go up. There's also branches that make you choose between moves of one style over another.

Skylanders SuperChargers is part action-adventure platformer and part vehicular combat and racing. The action-adventure parts sport a modest amount of platforming as well as a camera that follows your Skylander around without relinquishing control to the player. This mostly works well, as the camera is far enough away that you can go backwards in levels, towards the camera, without the fear of getting hit by an off-camera enemy or falling into a pit.

Meanwhile, the vehicle segments either put the camera behind your vehicle racing-style as you speed along a road, usually needing to avoid some kind of series of hazards in the process, or they put your vehicle in an arena-like setting. The arena segments are a little harder to control, as the camera is at an isometric view with the vehicle controls taking some getting used to. Meanwhile, the flight segments are brilliant, offering either normal or inverted controls depending on players' preference.

The 13 levels within Skylanders SuperChargers are well executed and constantly bring new variety into the fold. One level had my Skylander growing to the size of a titan to level buildings and tower around a tropical series of isles with ease, while another had segments where it turned this normally 3D game into a 2D side-scroller.

Dive-Clops only needs one eye to take out enemy minions.

In-game collectibles are an important part of Skylanders SuperChargers to add even more longevity to the game. There are things like hats that a Skylander can wear for increased stats, vehicle modifications that add both aesthetic and statistical changes to your rides, and legendary treasures that can be placed around the hub world of SuperChargers, Skylanders Academy.

Outside of the main campaign, there is plenty more to do in Skylanders SuperChargers. The main extra mode is a Mario Kart-style racing mode, complete with six initial, well-designed, tracks (six more needing to be unlocked by figures). Starting off, both race mode with up to seven other AI players or three other human players online or locally as well as a time trial mode are available. With different figures in the form of trophies, extra content like boss battles and grand prix events are unlocked. Regardless, the racing is absolutely aces, offering item-based combat where you try to whittle down the health of an opponent's vehicle to slow them down while trying to avoid enemy fire as you race through an elaborate set of courses.

The racing could be its own game-- that's how good it is. ...Wait a minute.

The other extra in Skylanders SuperChargers is the return of Skystones, a collectible card game that is a cross between Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone. This uses cards gathered throughout the game from treasure chests or through won games, and using them to attack your opponent's cards and overall health until it is emptied to nothingness.

Skylanders SuperChargers is a very pretty game with a tremendous art style and design to it. Characters exude personality and charm, environments are well detailed and original, and everything runs smoothly. The PS3, 360, and Wii U versions sport longer loading times when compared to the PS4 and Xbox One versions, but other than that, all versions of Skylanders SuperChargers play well. The voice acting is pure Saturday morning cartoon goodness, played off well and presenting lots of humor for both kids and adults like me. The music is joyous to listen to, relaxing to explore levels in at some times while dramatic when it needs to be at others.

Smash Hit's next record is how many of these insects he can exterminate at once.

Overall, Skylanders SuperChargers makes the case for the series' longevity. After now five installments, the series successfully keeps adding to itself and changing things up just enough to stay both rewarding and satisfying. Being able to use all of the figures from past Skylanders games means you don't have to pick up new ones just for this game (apart from vehicles), unless you're like me and are just a collecting freak who can't help himself! You can even use a Portal of Power from past Skylanders games as well. While being locked out of air and sea content is annoying, and the occasional troublesome camera angle can mean some annoyances here and there, ultimately, Skylanders SuperChargers is a really fun game that both kids and adults can love and cherish.

[SPC Says: B+]

Mighty No. 9 (Multi) Review

Before we close out the month of July, two more reviews are coming. The first of which is for Mighty No. 9, a game which has a development story that I would pay to read about because of how many controversies plagued it. Regardless, the game ended up being rather fun overall. Check out the SuperPhillip Central opinion with my in-depth review.

Totally NOT a Mega Man Clone

One of the most infamous Kickstarter projects started out so innocently and with a lot of hope. Keiji Inafune, one of main minds behind the Mega Man franchise of old, put a lot of passion behind a Mega Man-like game called Mighty No. 9. With a beautiful piece of concept art, fans quickly backed the project, contributing more than four million dollars total.

Following this was a lot of controversy, from Inafune asking for even more money, multiple delays, the launch of a second Kickstarter before Mighty No. 9 even released, and community manager mishaps. While the final product of Mighty No. 9 is hardly what I'd say awful, for a four million dollar Kickstarter-backed game, most of us can easily expect more from this project.

The story of Mighty No. 9 follows Beck, the ninth robot of a unit of warriors known as the Mighty Numbers. When an unknown virus infects numerous machines as well as the other Mighty Numbers, the unaffected Beck must combat against the threat by taking down each corrupted Mighty Number and discover the reason for the virus breakout.

Being a game created by former Mega Man mastermind Keiji Inafune, it only makes sense that Mighty No. 9 would take a lot of concepts and mechanics from his past works. This is seen throughout the gameplay, where you control Beck as he shoots, runs, jumps, and dashes through one of a dozen or so side-scrolling platforming levels. The levels don't have as much in the way of secrets, as they're linear just like many of the classic Mega Man series games. However, many levels do reward points for completing certain challenges, such as getting a Sprinter bonus for moving quickly through a specific area of a level, or a Quick Clear bonus for taking out a room full of enemies with swift timing.

Take out all of these foes within a fast enough amount of time to receive a Quick Clear bonus.

The majority of levels are decently designed, though there are numerous instances of bad design here and there. One level has a place where you are required to carefully floor dash underneath two purple spinning turbines. The timing here is so strict that failing to perform floor dashes with the correct precision results in immediate death. In another level, the goal is to pursue a far off sniper. Coming into contact with him results in the Mighty Number retreating to another area. This game of cat and mouse goes on for a ridiculously long time, and the fact that death results in you being forced to start the level from the beginning makes for a needlessly tedious time.

However, when Mighty No. 9's levels do shine, it's a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed a level where Beck is moving across the tops of vehicles in a fast-paced highway level, though the frame-rate isn't always the smoothest, slightly diminishing some of the enjoyment I had. Another level has Beck scaling a radio tower to reach a Mighty Number to battle. The vertical nature of the level and the fierce winds make it one of the most interesting in Mighty No. 9.

The highway is one of the more interesting levels featured in Mighty No. 9.

Mighty No. 9 adds to the Mega Man formula with a dash mechanic that is put to use on weakened enemies. When a foe has been pelted with enough of Beck's bullets, they enter a weakened state where Beck can then dash into them, defeating them while gaining points. Depending on how fast Beck dashes into a baddie after they've been weakened, the enemy gives him a boost as well as the player a specific percentage. Keeping a combo going by dashing into weakened enemies while getting 100%'s is a lot of fun and is the main way of earning high scores in levels. This even goes into boss battles, where giving one of the Mighty Numbers enough damage will present them with a weakened state, allowing Beck to dash into them to not only deal permanent damage to their life bar, but also allow Beck to continue his combo, pending he's fast enough to dash into them when a boss has become weak.

The true enemy of Cryogen's level is that of the ice puns that will leave you out in the cold.

Speaking of the boss battles, Mighty No. 9 shines in this aspect, creating battles that are both memorable and challenging for the most part. Just like with normal enemies throughout the game, the Mighty Number bosses as well as other stronger enemies can be weakened when enough damage has been dished out to them. However, bosses will regain the health Beck just gave them if he doesn't dash into them while they're weakened within a relatively small window of time. Usually bosses add a more powerful attack and change to their patterns when their health has been lessened to about halfway, making these fights quite dynamic and quite fun.

Continuing to borrow from ideas from the Mega Man franchise, defeated Mighty Numbers give Beck their signature special weapon that he can use in levels and against other bosses to make for an easier time of things. While it's not as enjoyable as the Mega Man series to figure out which Mighty Number weapon works best against which boss, as the effects aren't nearly as drastic against a boss's health, it's still pretty fun all the same.

Alongside the main campaign, you can unlock new challenge missions for either solo or cooperative play. These missions have you doing everything from getting to the goal with various caveats such as one that has you being unable to use your dash or attack abilities, destroying all the targets as a particular character within the time limit, and the hardest of the hard challenges, playing through all of Mighty No. 9's stages without dying. Yeah, I don't think I'll be getting to that one any time soon! In addition to the challenge missions, once you initially beat Mighty No. 9, you unlock a boss rush, pitting you against all of the Mighty Numbers in succession.

The feel of controlling Beck is one of the highlights of Mighty No. 9 that the development team got right.

Mighty No. 9's budget certainly didn't go to its presentation... or if it did, then Inafune and his team certainly botched it considerably. The environments are sterile, bland, and mostly lacking personality. The characters in story sequences pantomime to one another, never moving their mouths, and talk so slowly that it's difficult to stay interested in the story, even with a vested interest like I started out with. The frame-rate also leaves something to be desired, sometimes sinking to embarrassing levels in more action-oriented sections of the game.

Watch out for those pink spikes. They will end your run if Beck even so much makes contact with them.

On the sound front, part of the Kickstarter budget went towards hiring voice actors to deliver the game's lines. The voice acting is generally very dull at best and incredibly grating at worst, especially Mighty No. 2, Cryogen's high pitched voice and ice puns that would give Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mister Freeze a headache. Musically, what is featured is hard to hear thanks to the repeated lines of dialogue that is featured in each level. Sometimes the dialogue boxes actually detract from the experience as they can cover up hazards in levels such as one-touch-and-Beck-is-dead floor spikes.

All in all, Mighty No. 9 isn't an absolutely horrid experience by any stretch of the imagination. It's, dare I say, a good deal of fun. However, some design decisions especially in some levels, dull environments, and unappealing voice acting make for a game that is good but not great. In total, Mighty No. 9 is an average platformer, but considering the game somehow took four million dollars to create, "average" is simply not good enough.

[SPC Says: C]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (PS4, XB1, PS3, 360) Review

Welcome to the last week of June here at SuperPhillip Central. What's planned is a variety of reviews to send this month off in style. This next review is for a game in one of my favorite comic book properties. It's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Platinum Games-- what could go wrong?

A shell of a time or a shell of a headache? 

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a video game series was at its highest point in the early '90s where Konami developed a slew of well received and well regarded games. Since then, however, good Turtles games have been few and far in-between. Now, it seems that the Turtles are in good hands with a good developer, Platinum Games, masters of character action combat games. Nonetheless, with the developer's known quality, it makes it even harder to have to say that the latest game starring the heroes in a half shell, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, is more of a dud than what fans would expect of Platinum Games.

Right away, however, Mutants in Manhattan gave me what I wanted story-wise. It had the Ninja Turtles interacting with one another with funny quips and humorous one-liners. It had them investigating why Shredder's Foot Clan and Krang have teamed up to commit crimes all across the city, and it all culminates in an epic showdown. It feels like an adventure from the comics, and the scenes that bookend each level are well done and enjoyable to watch.

The cel-shaded art style of Mutants in Manhattan shows great detail, making it feel like you're playing an interactive comic book. Environments look nice enough as well. However, one part of the presentation package that doesn't work so well is the frame-rate, which can dip to low numbers in especially-packed-with-enemies-and-objects areas. Meanwhile, the music plays well with the game, though I couldn't hum you any song from it. It's mostly generic rock noise.

Brothers in arms and in half shells, ready to stop Shredder and Krang.

While the overall presentation of Mutants in Manhattan is serviceable, other parts of the game don't work out so well. Combat is usually one of Platinum's strong suits. In Mutants in Manhattan, however, it's a mixed bag. For one, you have usually four Turtles at once participating in battle against Foot Soldiers, Stone Soldiers, and Krang UFOs, and this can be very messy to look at. It can be hard to follow what's going on the screen at once, especially when all of four Turtles are engaging in kicking some enemy butt. The flashy visuals distract, and it can sometimes make it where seeing an enemy's prompt before they're about to attack somewhat difficult.

Battling with foes, you have a strong attack and weak attack to use. You also have four Ninjitsu abilities that are more powerful moves, but they require a cool-down period to use once again after they've already been used. Ninjitsu abilities can be mixed and matched between Turtles through the loadout screen from the menu in between levels. You'll want to have good Ninjitsu skills equipped, as even with these moves unleashed on foes, many enemies take WAY too long to defeat.

Just a typical Tuesday night in Manhattan, four bipedal Turtles taking on sword-wielding ninjas.

In addition to offensive abilities, the Turtles have ample defensive maneuvers to dodge and evade enemy advances. The back right shoulder button is used to guard. If timed correctly, your turtle can slip around the back of a foe and hop on their back, leaving the foe defensive while you pummel away at its head. The timing here is a bit tricky, and again, the craziness of battle with everything going on makes the timing hard to ascertain exactly. Using the guard button is a great way to avoid attacks, but using it too much causes a gauge to empty. As a turtle guards, it spins in his shell. Spin too much in too little of a time span, and your turtle ends up being vulnerable as it enters a dazed funk.

They may not be horses, but Michelangelo and Leonardo can still ride these enemies like cowboys-- er, cow-turtles!

When a turtle loses all of his health, they wind up hiding in their shells, requiring another turtle to revive them, or else they get sent to a pizza room where they must gobble up pizza to restore enough health to be sent back to battle. If all four Turtles end up in the pizza room, it's either time to use a continue or it's game over. The game difficulty selected means that on harder difficulties the time to revive a turtle before they return to the lair is shortened severely. Easy mode gives you ten seconds to revive a turtle while very hard only gives you three seconds.

These Stone Soldier enemy types are annoying due to how much health they have, a common problem in this game.

Items are found in Mutants in Manhattan all over the levels. You usually earn them from green orbs sprinkled around levels, as well as occasionally from fallen foes. Entering a manhole in a given level takes you to Splinter, where he offers various items for a price, specifically battle points earned from fighting enemies and completing missions. Most offensive items are completely throwaway in comparison to just normally attacking an enemy, and it's disappointing to see that. Meanwhile, you can stock up on pizzas that refill health when necessary.

Mutants in Manhattan also falters in its length. The game has but a small nine levels, and at least two of them are too long for their own good, as if Platinum Games realized its game was too short and needed to pad its length, and tediously so. These occur in the sewers. Sadly, even Platinum Games can't make trekking through the same similarly designed corridors without much level variance fun. Fancy that.

Most levels' structure have you getting calls from April O'Neil to check out various disturbances in the general area. By using a Batman: Arkham-like T-Vision to scan the area of enemies and objectives, you can easily find where these disturbances are. When you arrive at the location, you initiate a mission. These can vary from level to level, and they're random which ones you get (which for trophies that require you to do a certain mission a specific number of times, this results in TONS of grinding for the hopes of the RNG being kind to you). Missions can require you to protect three ATMs from being assaulted and robbed by Foot Soldiers, to team up with a second turtle to bring a Krang bomb to a designated location, or to deactivate several time bombs in the general vicinity.

After completing a set number of randomly assigned missions, the area where the boss of the level is hanging out at is unlocked. Boss battles are some of the most fun combat scenarios in Mutants in Manhattan, having the Turtles take on familiar foes like Bebop, Rocksteady, Slash, Karai, Krang, and yes, the nefarious rival of the Turtles, The Shredder. The harder the difficulty selected, the more life bars a boss has. Additionally and occasionally, a second boss can join a fight midway, making it so you have two targets to take down instead of just one.

Even with four Turtles fighting against one, that still might not be enough to take down Rocksteady.

As stated already, Mutants in Manhattan isn't a long game with its nine relatively short levels. However, if you frequent online, you can enjoy multiplayer with up to three other people, either in your own lobby or joining another's game. This makes for a more fun experience if you can get players to mesh well with one another, as the Turtle AI in single player isn't the brightest. It's just a shame that offline you can't play cooperatively with a local player in split-screen, something that past Turtles games are almost synonymous with.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is an okay entry in a video game series that once was always a sure thing regarding its quality. However, with a developer known for its excellent work behind many of its games, just "okay" doesn't seem good enough here. In fact, it's quite disappointing. With combat that can be hard to follow, repetitive gameplay, a short campaign, and little to do outside of grinding for trophies, Mutants in Manhattan isn't the shell of a time I was hoping for.

Bummer, dudes.

[SPC Says: C-]

LEGO Marvel's Avengers (PS4, XB1, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita) Review

It's the big Hollywood blockbuster season, so while we take a quick break away from E3, let's delve into one of the most popular forms of Hollywood blockbuster, the superhero movie! LEGO Marvel's Avengers actually is a double dose of Avengers goodness, retelling the plot of both Avengers films. Though the game was originally released earlier in the year, there's no such thing as being too late to this Marvel superhero jamboree. Here's the SuperPhillip Central review of LEGO Marvel's Avengers.

A LEGO game to marvel at?

DC or Marvel. As a child of the 90's, it wasn't as big of a battle with kids my age which one was better as, say, Nintendo or Sega. However, the struggle, as some say, was indeed real. While I loved Batman and still do to this day, the collection of superheroes that Marvel Comics has established over the years always appealed to me more.

LEGO has had multiple successes taking both DC's and Marvel's characters and putting them into game form. Now, LEGO has returned with another chapter in its Marvel line of games with LEGO Marvel's Avengers. As someone who hasn't seen any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films yet, I was understandably confused by the organization of the plot of the game. LEGO Marvel's Avengers's main source for providing the story elements for the game itself come from the two Avengers movies. The slight bouncing around between Marvel's Avengers and Age of Ultron was a bit perplexing, but now after reading more about the movies, I know that the game starts with the opening of Age of Ultron before delving into a flashback from Captain America: The First Avenger, then goes to a more orderly structure, going from the first Avengers movie to Age of Ultron.

Looks like the gang is all here and ready to rock and roll.

LEGO Marvel's Avengers takes the humor of the LEGO series in the form of various sight gags and overlays them with lines directly from the films the game is based off of. One curious running gag is characters at various points of the game slurping from a strawberry milkshake. While that fell flat for me, other instances provide plenty of comedy, especially for the young ones. The lines used from the movies range from too quiet to too loud. They're imperfectly used and imbalanced. It's nothing overly jarring, but I made sure to have the volume up a little bit to compensate.

Most LEGO games released in the past few years have taken on a fully explore-able hub, filled with usually simple environmental puzzles (e.g. have Thor use his lightning to charge a panel which then opens a chest revealing your prize) or a series of environmental puzzles that unlock Gold Bricks. LEGO Marvel's Avengers has more than a handful of these instead of just one overworld hub. However, while there are different vistas and locales to visit, such as Asgard, Tony Stark's mansion in Malibu, Washington D.C., and more, Manhattan still remains the largest hub with the most things to do.

A relief to me was that the flight controls for characters like Iron Man are vastly improved over the last LEGO Marvel game. Makes jetting around this game's hubs much more enjoyable.

These hub areas are a lot of fun to explore. When you're not looking for Gold Bricks from doing various puzzling tasks, you can participate in races, initiated by pressing the confirm button whilst in near the starting line in the form of a ring (there are both ground and sky races to partake in, with the sky races being much improved over past games due to better handling with the flight controls); help fulfill various Marvel superhero and villain requests, which reward that character for use in Free Play; find various vehicle and character tokens; and help out famed comic book artist and storyteller Stan Lee out of some problematic predicaments. Everything is connected between a map-- that includes other hubs as well as the various fifteen levels of the game.

The aforementioned fifteen levels that LEGO Marvel's Avengers possesses are nothing new to anyone who has played a post-2005 LEGO game. You move around contained stages, essentially destroying every object in the area with your Marvel character's fists or other form of weaponry, using specific broken LEGO pieces to form new structures to solve environmentally based puzzles. In the first run of a level, you won't be able to collect everything it has to offer. This encourages replaying levels through Free Play, which allows you to call in any unlocked Marvel superhero, villain, or other character to interact with level elements that your original characters weren't able to do on your first run of the level.

Careful, Iron Man, this ain't no jolly green giant you're dealing with.

Each character in LEGO Marvel's Avengers follows the established LEGO formula, containing a specific power or ability. Some characters have multiple powers and abilities. For instance, Iron Man's red hot laser beam can destroy gold brick objects while Black Widow can use her cloaking ability to slip past security cameras and beams without being detected. It can be annoying switching between characters as much as you need to in Free Play, but thankfully, you have two characters in a level at the same time-- one you control and one the AI controls.

Not one to run from a fight, Captain America simply lost his sense of direction here.

However, you need not stick with an AI teammate if you do not wish to. LEGO Marvel's Avengers brings the well loved cooperative gameplay to the LEGO series once again, offering local play for two players in one form of split-screen or another (the Wii U version offers the ability for one players to use the GamePad screen while the other uses the TV). Unfortunately, with the Wii U, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions, co-op results in some occasionally very sluggish frame-rate issues that are quite noticeable.

Perform two-character combat moves to slightly alleviate the otherwise boring fighting in this game.

The design of levels tries to keep players engaged, but it's a bit of a problem whenever the game throws in multiple enemies for you to dispatch. The combat in all LEGO games are extremely basic to the point of being effortless. Being a game for the family, particular young children, a character losing all their hearts just results in a loss of some LEGO studs, the currency of the LEGO series, an incredibly minor inconvenience at that. This means when you have segments of the game where you have to take on a boss or defeat upwards of 30 enemies in a row, the ennui definitely kicks in.

There are 250 Gold Bricks to find-- many gained from discovering them through solving simple puzzles around the various hubs of LEGO Marvel's Avengers, while others come from completing the story missions, collecting enough LEGO studs in a given level, finding all 10 mini-kits in a level, and helping to rescue Stan Lee from some sort of perilous and compromising position. Then, there are the Red Bricks to find, 15 of them, that unlock bonus cheats, as well as all of the characters and vehicles you can unlock. If you're a fan of collecting stuff, and doing so in a fun way, you'll find a lot to love and enjoy with LEGO Marvel's Avengers-- just like any other LEGO game, really.

LEGO Marvel's Avengers might seem a step back compared to the innovative and fresh new things the developer's own LEGO Dimensions is doing, but if you're looking for the gaming equivalent of comfort food which is good for the whole family, then take out a controller and have a healthy helping of LEGO goodness.

[SPC Says: B-]

Transformers: Devastation (PS4, XONE, PS3, 360) Review

Transformers: robots in disguise. It's one of Hasbro's most prominent franchises, and it has seen multiple iterations, including the recent Michael Bay helmed blockbusters. But now, Transformers goes back to its roots with this partnership between Activision and Platinum Games. It's Transformers: Devastation, and here's the SuperPhillip Central review.

Holy Cybertron, this game is good!

I've never been a huge follower of the Transformers franchise (seriously, my only fandom of the franchise growing up was the CG Beast Wars cartoon and its collection of figures), and it over the years went in a direction I didn't care for in the mainstream, a Michael Bay, grim, dark, edgy spectacle starring Shia Lebeouf. Really, the only word in that description that appeals to me is "spectacle". However, now, Activision and Platinum Games are once again working together to not only make another licensed action game (the first was The Legend of Korra), but they're using the version of the Transformers that is much more appealing to me, the cartoon version.

Platinum Games has one heck of an impressive resume under its collective belt. They've made creative character action games like Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. They've also went for a different route with The Wonderful 101, Vanquish, MadWorld, and Anarchy Reigns. In total, it's an amazing collection of titles developed by the studio. Platinum Games' latest is Transformers: Devastation, and as an outsider to the Transformer franchise, I am impressed, so I can only imagine how exciting this game should be for longtime fans.

Time to deconstruct this giant!

Transformers: Devastation fits right in with Platinum Games' development philosophy and general structure of its games. For one, each of the seven chapters of the game is split up between multiple missions. Doing well in these missions (i.e. earning enough points through dispatching enemies in a speedy enough amount of time) gives you a certain ranking, with SS being the best.

There's a great level of skill involved generally in Platinum Games' titles, and this is a continued trend in Transformers: Devastation. You can't just button mash your way through the game's battles and expect positive results. No, between your onslaughts of weak attacks and strong attacks on enemies, you'll need to do a lot of dodging and evading when a foe winds up its own brand of attack. Here, Bayonetta's Witch Time mechanic fits in well with the Transformers universe. A well timed evasion will slow time down to a crawl for everything except your Autobot of choice. It's at this point that you can get in some nice attacks to knock down an enemy's health bar.

Optimus Prime merely wants to axe these enemies a question.

Transformers: Devastation has other mechanics, too, to make for an exciting action game. As in the series, your Autobot can transform into a vehicle at will, quickly transitioning between Autobot and vehicle immediately. Attacking a foe enough with allow you to perform a vehicle attack, turning from your Autobot form into its vehicle form and then slamming into your enemy. You can also speed towards an enemy while in vehicle form and pop up into your Autobot form to perform a rush attack, great for taking out foes with shields or just to take down more health from an enemy than usual. The combat of Devastation has enough variety and challenge that all of the battling you'll be doing against the hordes of Decepticons never feels tedious or tiring.

Insecticon? Kill it with fire!

Outside of melee attacks, each Autobot comes equipped with ranged weapon possibilities. Whether it's a twin blaster or a sniper rifle for faraway targets, you're never without some formidable weaponry. This is because throughout Devastation, you can gain nice loot in the form of beneficial items and weapons from fallen foes, completing in-game challenges initialized by walking into specific portals, and from treasure chests strewn about the game's levels. The harder the difficulty you're playing, the better the rarity and rank of the weapons you earn.

While most of the action in Transformers: Devastation takes place in traditional combat form, there are parts of the game that completely change the rules of how the game is played. This is something that Platinum Games likes to do, such as Bayonetta's flying or bike sections or The Wonderful 101's Punch-Out!! inspired robot battles. It's the same with Transformers, and like those two aforementioned games, these sections do offer gameplay variety, they aren't to the quality of the other gameplay experiences found in the game. I'm talking about things like a side-scrolling chase on a bridge as well as an overhead section where you need to transport explosive Energon to specific part of a level.

Choose from one of five Autobots to play as in Devastation's relatively short campaign.

Transformers: Devastation isn't a long game by any stretch of the imagination. To complete its seven chapters will take most players upwards of six hours. As stated, there are multiple difficulties to choose from, where enemies will attack for more damage on higher difficulties. You also have a choice of playing through the game as each of the five Autobots, with each completed playthrough unlocking an achievement or trophy. There is also a host of collectibles to be found in the form of Decepticon flags and spy drones, logs, and little red jumping gnat-like creatures to collect. If that's not enough, there are fifty challenges outside of the story mode to complete; various battle scenarios that pit you against a selection of enemies. Despite its appearance of being a short game, you can see that there is plenty to accomplish in Transformers: Devastation.

Depending on your skill level, your score can give you anywhere between a D and an SS rank.

Staying true to its cartoon roots, Transformers: Devastation looks immaculate with its beautiful cel-shaded characters and colorful world. Staying true to its developer roots, Platinum Games has managed to create a game with a frame-rate that is as smooth as fine glass. Devastation successfully emulates the essence of the cartoon, making the whole experience feel like an episode from the show itself. High praise indeed. Meanwhile, the voice actors of the series have come back to reprise their roles, making for an even more authentic Transformers experience. And if you like rock, you'll also like the soundtrack of the game, particularly the ultra cheese (and in a good way) of the ending credits theme.

What you get with all of this is something that will truly excite Transformers fans, especially those who have felt jilted by the grittier direction the Hollywood movies went. This is pure Transformers goodness in all of its lighter-hearted cartoon glory. The gameplay is up to the usual excellent standard of Platinum Games, and the amount of time you can spend with the game makes it worth a look for either fans of Transformers, fans of Platinum Games, fans of action games, or fans of robots, vehicles, and/or robots that transform into vehicles.

[SPC Says: B]