A trailer for the upcoming Rare Replay, a collection of 30 classic Rare games for $30, is here for fans and viewers alike. It's so Rare in quality and charm, don't you think? Regardless, Rare Replay will without question be considered one of the greatest deals in gaming history when it releases August 4th.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Bad Boss Battles in Gaming History - Part Five
WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING GAMES AHEAD!
Welcome to some more boss bashing! It's part five of Bad Boss Battles in Gaming History, where we take a look together at some of the poorer fights, confrontations, and encounters within video games. These fights can be boring, annoying, anticlimactic, or just plain not fun. Since there are spoilers in these articles, you can check out part five after the break.
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
- Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
- Various Super Mario games
Welcome to some more boss bashing! It's part five of Bad Boss Battles in Gaming History, where we take a look together at some of the poorer fights, confrontations, and encounters within video games. These fights can be boring, annoying, anticlimactic, or just plain not fun. Since there are spoilers in these articles, you can check out part five after the break.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Top Five Ball-Rolling Games
Let's get the ball rolling (har-har) on a new top five list for SuperPhillip Central. The ball-rolling game generally consists of guiding some form a ball to a goal. There have been many iterations of this type of game, so it's been a bit of a trial to formulate a list of the five best. However, a list has been made!
5) Mercury series
Archer Maclean is a British programmer with an illustrious history of games under his belt, such as the Atari's International Karate, as well as various pool and snooker games. His Mercury series takes the ball-rolling game into a form, literally, as the gelatinous mercury ball that players in the game controlled could split in half, transform into new shapes, alter its color, and morph. The Mercury series has appeared on the PlayStation Portable, where it debuted, the PlayStation 2, and Nintendo's Wii, where the Wii Remote's motion control functionality was put to great use, having players tilt it to move the blob of mercury around.
4) Marble Madness
One of the originators of the ball-rolling genre, Marble Madness is as classic of a title as you can get. Although there weren't a wide array of levels (approximately six, if I recall correctly), the challenge was guiding your marble around an isometric world, avoiding hazards, trying not to fall from a great height, which would shatter the marble into pieces, and rolling through the finish line before time runs out. Perhaps it's a bit blasphemous that Marble Madness is only number four on this list, but I argue that the genre only got better as time marched (or should I say, rolled?) on.
3) Marble Blast series
Marble Blast is a series by GarageGames, although the rights to the series have since been lost by the studio. Both Marble Blast Gold and Marble Blast Ultra are no longer available for purchase in an official capacity, and that's a shame, as the games are some of the best in the ball-rolling genre. Ultra consists of 60 levels, spread across three difficulties of 20 levels apiece. Each introduces new gameplay mechanics into the mix, such as gravity, the need to plan careful jumps across dangerous gaps, and special items. I can only hope that the duo of Marble Blast games somehow gets another chance to shine.
2) Kororinpa series
Kororinpa: Marble Mania, and to a lesser extent, its sequel, Marble Saga: Kororinpa, are Nintendo Wii games that put all of the courses of the game into your hands. You see, the Wii Remote is used to tilt the levels to move around your marble through, requiring not only speed to beat the times, but also precision and accuracy, especially for the harder levels with more places to fall off. The sequel offers the ability to create your own levels, which adds great replay value and longevity to the game. Unlockable levels and marbles also increases this. What you are left with is a pair of ball-rollers that are absolutely charming and fun to play.
1) Super Monkey Ball series
Now, is it really fair to call the Super Monkey Ball series number one when most of its games aren't very good? I believe that the original Super Monkey Ball and its sequel (perhaps even the Game Boy Advance game, too) are so fun and well done that they more than enough make the Super Monkey Ball series worthy of being number one on this list. Controlling Aiai and his monkey cohorts through colorful and increasingly more challenging and creative levels is a blast, and the arcade nature of the game makes it so you're always trying to make a little more progress in the game with each attempt. I say "attempt" because these games are mighty difficult, even for a seasoned player of the genre. Throw in some excellent mini-games, and the choice of Super Monkey Ball as my number one pick is just the way the ball bounces.
5) Mercury series
Archer Maclean is a British programmer with an illustrious history of games under his belt, such as the Atari's International Karate, as well as various pool and snooker games. His Mercury series takes the ball-rolling game into a form, literally, as the gelatinous mercury ball that players in the game controlled could split in half, transform into new shapes, alter its color, and morph. The Mercury series has appeared on the PlayStation Portable, where it debuted, the PlayStation 2, and Nintendo's Wii, where the Wii Remote's motion control functionality was put to great use, having players tilt it to move the blob of mercury around.
4) Marble Madness
One of the originators of the ball-rolling genre, Marble Madness is as classic of a title as you can get. Although there weren't a wide array of levels (approximately six, if I recall correctly), the challenge was guiding your marble around an isometric world, avoiding hazards, trying not to fall from a great height, which would shatter the marble into pieces, and rolling through the finish line before time runs out. Perhaps it's a bit blasphemous that Marble Madness is only number four on this list, but I argue that the genre only got better as time marched (or should I say, rolled?) on.
3) Marble Blast series
Marble Blast is a series by GarageGames, although the rights to the series have since been lost by the studio. Both Marble Blast Gold and Marble Blast Ultra are no longer available for purchase in an official capacity, and that's a shame, as the games are some of the best in the ball-rolling genre. Ultra consists of 60 levels, spread across three difficulties of 20 levels apiece. Each introduces new gameplay mechanics into the mix, such as gravity, the need to plan careful jumps across dangerous gaps, and special items. I can only hope that the duo of Marble Blast games somehow gets another chance to shine.
2) Kororinpa series
Kororinpa: Marble Mania, and to a lesser extent, its sequel, Marble Saga: Kororinpa, are Nintendo Wii games that put all of the courses of the game into your hands. You see, the Wii Remote is used to tilt the levels to move around your marble through, requiring not only speed to beat the times, but also precision and accuracy, especially for the harder levels with more places to fall off. The sequel offers the ability to create your own levels, which adds great replay value and longevity to the game. Unlockable levels and marbles also increases this. What you are left with is a pair of ball-rollers that are absolutely charming and fun to play.
1) Super Monkey Ball series
Now, is it really fair to call the Super Monkey Ball series number one when most of its games aren't very good? I believe that the original Super Monkey Ball and its sequel (perhaps even the Game Boy Advance game, too) are so fun and well done that they more than enough make the Super Monkey Ball series worthy of being number one on this list. Controlling Aiai and his monkey cohorts through colorful and increasingly more challenging and creative levels is a blast, and the arcade nature of the game makes it so you're always trying to make a little more progress in the game with each attempt. I say "attempt" because these games are mighty difficult, even for a seasoned player of the genre. Throw in some excellent mini-games, and the choice of Super Monkey Ball as my number one pick is just the way the ball bounces.
Monday, July 20, 2015
SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Platformers Aplenty Edition
This week's edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs is a special one. This week we're going to run and jump with five platforming games! We start off with Super Mario Sunshine-- perfect for summer, enter a village with Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, get dirty with Conker's Bad Fur Day, do that voodoo that I do so well with Voodoo Vince, and we use our heads with Bonk's Adventure.
Before we jump into this edition of the 'ol VGMs, take a listen to some past VGM volumes with SPC's VGM Database. All 920 prior VGM volumes are located right there!
v921. Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) - Bianco Hills
While we're in midst of summer in the States, why don't we take a trip to Bianco Hills, the very first world within Super Mario Sunshine. Up until this year's Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Sunshine was one of the last Mario games that Koji Kondo composed most of the music for. Bianco Hills' theme is a peppy piece that makes running up and down through the village, up the path to the windmill, and through the lakeside forest a lot more fun.
v922. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3) - Zanifar - A Peaceful Village
One of my favorite Ratchet & Clank games comes from the series' second PlayStation 3 outing, A Crack in Time. It's a great platformer that had brilliant platforming, awesome running and gunning, and clever Clank puzzle segments. Since this IS SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, perhaps I should say something about the music, hmm? Well, the soundtrack is one of the series's best, using a lot more melodic cues than past soundtracks.
v923. Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64) - Barn Boss
Even in a game that is bad, you know that Rare will create a sensational soundtrack to go with it. Luckily with Conker's Bad Fur Day, we don't have to worry about the game being bad. Actually, the only thing that was bad about the game were the pathetic sales for it on the Nintendo 64. It was a late release on the system, plus Nintendo had no desire to market it due to its questionable humor and (im)mature content.
v924. Voodoo Vince (XBX) - Main Street
We go from the N64 to Microsoft's first Xbox with Voodoo Vince. It's an absolute shame that the only real way to play this game is with the original Xbox release, as the game is not backwards compatible with the Xbox 360. Still, it's rather worth tracking down an Xbox to play it, as the game does a lot right and has a unique gameplay hook to it.
v925. Bonk's Adventure (TG16) - Swamp
Finishing up this platformer-centric edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, we have Bonk's Adventure, a TurboGraphix-16 game. Whereas the NES had Super Mario Bros and the Genesis / Mega Drive had Sonic the Hedgehog, the TG16 had Bonk's Adventure. You smashed into enemies with Bonk's enormous noggin, running through platforming vistas in this enjoyable classic.
Before we jump into this edition of the 'ol VGMs, take a listen to some past VGM volumes with SPC's VGM Database. All 920 prior VGM volumes are located right there!
v921. Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) - Bianco Hills
While we're in midst of summer in the States, why don't we take a trip to Bianco Hills, the very first world within Super Mario Sunshine. Up until this year's Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Sunshine was one of the last Mario games that Koji Kondo composed most of the music for. Bianco Hills' theme is a peppy piece that makes running up and down through the village, up the path to the windmill, and through the lakeside forest a lot more fun.
v922. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3) - Zanifar - A Peaceful Village
One of my favorite Ratchet & Clank games comes from the series' second PlayStation 3 outing, A Crack in Time. It's a great platformer that had brilliant platforming, awesome running and gunning, and clever Clank puzzle segments. Since this IS SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, perhaps I should say something about the music, hmm? Well, the soundtrack is one of the series's best, using a lot more melodic cues than past soundtracks.
v923. Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64) - Barn Boss
Even in a game that is bad, you know that Rare will create a sensational soundtrack to go with it. Luckily with Conker's Bad Fur Day, we don't have to worry about the game being bad. Actually, the only thing that was bad about the game were the pathetic sales for it on the Nintendo 64. It was a late release on the system, plus Nintendo had no desire to market it due to its questionable humor and (im)mature content.
v924. Voodoo Vince (XBX) - Main Street
We go from the N64 to Microsoft's first Xbox with Voodoo Vince. It's an absolute shame that the only real way to play this game is with the original Xbox release, as the game is not backwards compatible with the Xbox 360. Still, it's rather worth tracking down an Xbox to play it, as the game does a lot right and has a unique gameplay hook to it.
v925. Bonk's Adventure (TG16) - Swamp
Finishing up this platformer-centric edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, we have Bonk's Adventure, a TurboGraphix-16 game. Whereas the NES had Super Mario Bros and the Genesis / Mega Drive had Sonic the Hedgehog, the TG16 had Bonk's Adventure. You smashed into enemies with Bonk's enormous noggin, running through platforming vistas in this enjoyable classic.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Tiny Galaxy (Wii U eShop) Review
A new week begins with a new review for a new Wii U eShop game that released last week, Tiny Galaxy. In the dog days of summer, is it a title worth downloading? The answer is in my review.
Super Mario Galaxy is one of my favorite games of all time. Now, that was a 3D platformer obviously, but it seems like the idea to make a game that was similar, moving from planet to planet in a 2D plane, should have been made already. Well, now it has with Tiny Galaxy, developed by just one guy! Is the game one that will pull you in or one that will send you off course?
Tiny Galaxy has a simple premise. You trot around miniature planets, (hopefully) avoiding obstacles, and collecting three stars to open the exit portal to complete the level. Levels are made up of multiple miniature planets that require you to jump from one planet to another when you're in their gravitational pull. This boils down to jumping when you're on one planet with the intended planet you want to land on being directly above you.
One thing I noticed immediately with Tiny Galaxy is how difficult the game is. Even in the first world I died a seemingly endless amount of times, and on many occasions I found myself not enjoying myself due to how blisteringly challenging the game is. The main hazard in the first world is moving and stationary saws. The movement patterns require near perfect movement to survive, and even then it's all too easy to die. This is a game purely of pattern memorization and millisecond timing to survive. As Tiny Galaxy progresses, the patterns become harder to memorize and make note of and the timing for jumps become obnoxiously tighter.
Now, that wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for Tiny Galaxy's not-so-tiny physics issues. Many times I tried to jump to a planet from directly below it, only for the game to not register that I wanted to change planets. Then there were the times when I moved to a new planet when I didn't wish to do so whatsoever. Considering there are hazards in between planets that you must time your jump between planets carefully, this makes for an even greater irritation concerning the gameplay.
Furthermore, the camera isn't the greatest. Now, while a fixed camera might have been better for Tiny Galaxy to null any players who might become nauseous with the camera moving around a planet as Orion walks around it, what is an obvious problem is how the camera transitions between when you move from one planet to another. When protagonist Orion jumps to a new planet, he's at the bottom of it, so the camera needs to spin around to situate itself right for the player. The main issue here is that this camera transition takes a couple of sometimes crucial seconds to occur. Some hazards can kill you while this process takes places, and while you can move Orion during this transition, moving in the proper and necessary direction when the camera is upside-down is a bit confusing and challenging.
The issues go into the menus as well. While the game is played with buttons, the level select is purely controlled via touch, which is a bit confusing and annoying. Furthermore, there is no visual cue to determine which levels you've completed and which you have not. This means that if you skip around, you have to make mental notes or literal notes on which levels you've actually finished and which have yet to be completed. Very baffling oversight. Among another bewildering oversight is how even if you're in a world beyond the first one, if you complete a level, Tiny Galaxy takes you back to the first world's level select instead of the world you were actually in.
On the presentation side of things, Tiny Galaxy shines. Each world has its own sense of ambiance with planets that fit the theme of the world. Even though the worlds borrow from the traditional, perhaps cliche, tropes of games, such as the ice world and the tropical world, the levels are visually attractive and well themed. The music is passable. It doesn't hurt or accentuate the action that happens on screen. It's merely there. Meanwhile, the opening still frame cutscene is pleasantly done and enjoyable to watch. It's low tech, but it gets the job done.
Being a fan of games that try new things and have a unique hook, I really wanted to love Tiny Galaxy. Unfortunately, countless gameplay gripes that negatively affect the overall experience and some questionable design decisions wholly detract from the game. Most will not be able to tolerate the high difficulty of the game, but if you're one of the few that can, you'll still suffer from several issues with the game. This seems like a good first try for the developer, and it shows promise for the future. Hopefully future games from the developer will take the lessons learned from Tiny Galaxy to make a game that's a lot better.
[SPC Says: D]
Review copy provided by Taylor Hajash.
Tiny Galaxy, Big Problems
Super Mario Galaxy is one of my favorite games of all time. Now, that was a 3D platformer obviously, but it seems like the idea to make a game that was similar, moving from planet to planet in a 2D plane, should have been made already. Well, now it has with Tiny Galaxy, developed by just one guy! Is the game one that will pull you in or one that will send you off course?
Tiny Galaxy has a simple premise. You trot around miniature planets, (hopefully) avoiding obstacles, and collecting three stars to open the exit portal to complete the level. Levels are made up of multiple miniature planets that require you to jump from one planet to another when you're in their gravitational pull. This boils down to jumping when you're on one planet with the intended planet you want to land on being directly above you.
 |
| The goal of each level is to collect three stars and reach the end portal while surviving. |
 |
| I came, I saw, I came and got killed by a saw. |
Furthermore, the camera isn't the greatest. Now, while a fixed camera might have been better for Tiny Galaxy to null any players who might become nauseous with the camera moving around a planet as Orion walks around it, what is an obvious problem is how the camera transitions between when you move from one planet to another. When protagonist Orion jumps to a new planet, he's at the bottom of it, so the camera needs to spin around to situate itself right for the player. The main issue here is that this camera transition takes a couple of sometimes crucial seconds to occur. Some hazards can kill you while this process takes places, and while you can move Orion during this transition, moving in the proper and necessary direction when the camera is upside-down is a bit confusing and challenging.
 |
| There's no time to chill out, Orion! Get moving! |
On the presentation side of things, Tiny Galaxy shines. Each world has its own sense of ambiance with planets that fit the theme of the world. Even though the worlds borrow from the traditional, perhaps cliche, tropes of games, such as the ice world and the tropical world, the levels are visually attractive and well themed. The music is passable. It doesn't hurt or accentuate the action that happens on screen. It's merely there. Meanwhile, the opening still frame cutscene is pleasantly done and enjoyable to watch. It's low tech, but it gets the job done.
 |
| The environmental design is rather nice in Tiny Galaxy. |
[SPC Says: D]
Review copy provided by Taylor Hajash.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)