Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Genesis (standalone: June 23, 1991, Sonic Compilation: 1995, Genesis 6-Pak: 1996), Sega Saturn (Sonic Jam: 1997), Dreamcast (Sega Smash Pack: 2001), Nintendo Gamecube (Sonic Mega Collection: 2002), Playstation 2 (Sonic Mega Collection Plus: 2004, Sega Genesis Collection: 2006), Xbox (Sonic Mega Collection Plus: 2004), PC (Sonic Mega Collection Plus: 2004), Mobile (Q3 2005), Playstation Portable (Sega Genesis Collection: 2006) Game Boy Advance (November 14, 2006), XBLA (July 11, 2007), Wii Virtual Console (November 19, 2006), iOS (December 18, 2007), Xbox 360 (Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection: 2009), Playstation 3 (Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection: 2009), Nintendo DS (Sonic Classic Collection: 2010), Microsoft Windows (October 6, 2010), PSN (March 2011)
Genre: Platform
This is where it all started for the Blue Hedgehog, his Genesis, first game ever, released on the Sega Genesis in the Summer of 1991. Does Sonic's premier game still hold up 20 years later?
There is a bit of story to set the background, you have to have a motivation to do anything, right? Somewhere in the ocean lies a mysterious island not found on any map, known by its inhabitants as South Island. The reason for it being absent is a simple, yet mysterious one: it does not have a fixed position, instead traveling through the seas on its own course. While the reason for this behavior is unknown, it is rumored that it may have something to do with the legendary gemstones known as the Chaos Emeralds. Though legend says they exist on the island, no one knows exactly where they are or how to get a hold of them. All they do know is of the incredible power they are said to contain, and how they can give energy to all living beings. Learning of the existence of the Chaos Emeralds, the mad genius Dr. Robotnik sets himself on a quest to locate the emeralds for his own use, wanting to harness their power for his many mechanical creations. With the plan in motion, Robotnik creates his base in a corner of the island, which he dubs the Scrap Brain Zone. However, he is aware that his evil plans will more than likely be interfered by Sonic the Hedgehog. Though not a native of the island, Sonic the Hedgehog would often find himself on its mystical shores, and more than once had he run into the evil doctor, foiling an untold number of schemes. Just as Robotnik predicted, in no time at all does the blue hedgehog learn of the doctor's intentions, running at sonic speed to confront him. It doesn't take long for Sonic to realize that something is amiss, and is shocked to learn that Robotnik has gone a step further with his evil intentions. Kidnapping the many animals living on the island, he has methodically been placing them in robot shells and using them to scour the island in search of the emeralds. Realizing that Robotnik has turned Sonic's friends into his own personal mechanical army, Sonic wastes no time. Running across the island, he must not only stop Robotnik's latest scheme and gather the Chaos Emeralds, but free his friends in the process. "Hurry! Sonic the Hedgehog - everyone is waiting for your help!" (Story taken from Sonic Retro)
The gameplay is fairly simple on the surface, you go from the beginning of each level to the end without dying, but there are extra elements to distinguish itself. Sonic's main action is to jump, and he curls up into a ball when he does so, this attack is used to destroy the various robots, known as Badniks, and of course to jump up to higher places and over hazards. Sonic's other main action is rolling into a ball while running, he can destroy most Badniks in this manner and pick up speed on inclines while rolling. The levels are designed with momentum in mind, with Springs, Bumpers, and Inclines there to help or hinder. The levels can be played slow and methodically, but also as fast as possible. The levels also feel like part Pinball as well in a sense, as Sonic can jump and bounce around quickly and wildly. The levels in this sense give replay value, trying to find all the hidden secrets of the levels or trying to complete them as fast as possible. The levels are broken up into 7 Zones, each with 3 Acts (with the exception of the Final Zone, which is just a showdown with the Final Boss), and the difficulty is evenly paced throughout. Scattered throughout the levels are Rings, which serve both as a means of Survival and Points. As long as Sonic is holding at least 1 Ring, he cannot be killed by enemies or spikes, although drowning, being crushed, or falling in a pit will still result in a death. When When Sonic is hit with Rings on him, he spills all his rings, and is temporarily invulnerable, allowing for him to attempt to re-collect the rings. If Sonic has 0 Rings when he is hit, it is a Death and he loses 1 life. There are also various monitors on the levels, helping Sonic. A Ring monitor will give Sonic 10 Rings, a Shield monitor will protect Sonic from 1 hit, a Shoe monitor will increase Sonic's speed for a set amount of time, a Sonic monitor will give Sonic an extra life, and a Stars monitor will make Sonic invulnerable to Badniks and Spikes for a set amount of time. There are also Lamp posts on the levels that acts as Checkpoints when passed. They record the Score and Time at that point and Sonic will restart from there if he dies. There is also a 10 minute time limit on each act, and Sonic dies if the time limit is reached and the clock is reset back to 0. At the end of Acts 1 and 2 of each zone, there is a signpost with Robotnik's fade on it, and when you spin it, it flips to Sonic's face, signaling the end of the Act. At the end of Act 3 of each Zone (except Scrap Brain Zone), Sonic has a showdown with Robotnik in his machine, which is modified to give different attacks depending on the zone. Robotnik is defeated when struck 8 times, Sonic then can open the Animal Capsule and end the Zone. There is an optional second objective to complete during the game. If Sonic is holding 50 rings or more at the end of Act 1 or Act 2 of each Zone (except Scrap Brain Zone), there will be a Giant Ring hovering in the air. If Sonic jumps into the Giant Ring, he is taken to the Special Stage for the chance to earn one of the Chaos Emeralds. The Special Stages here involve a constantly rotating 3D maze, where the objective is to work through the maze to reach the Chaos Emerald at the end. There are different blocks on the maze that alter how it behaves, Down will slow the rotation down, Up will speed the rotation up, and R will reverse the Rotation. There are also the Goal blocks, which will kick Sonic out of the Special Stage without the Chaos Emerald they are touched, so it is best to avoid them. Sonic can also collect Rings in the Special stages, with 50 Rings awarding a Continue to use if all lives are lost. There are 6 Chaos Emeralds to collect, which makes for 6 Special Stages, unlike the later games which have 7 Emeralds. If Sonic fails to get the Chaos Emerald in a Special Stage, he can try again by going to the Special Stage again until all 6 Emeralds are collected. If all 6 Chaos Emeralds are collected, Sonic can get the Good Ending as a result, the Bad Ending happens if any amount under 6 Emeralds are collected. There is also a scoring system in play. Each Ring collected and held on to in the Acts or the Special Stage is worth 100 points each. There is a time Bonus giving up to 50,000 depending how fast Sonic completes the level. Points are also earned for defeating Badniks, and more points are awarded for defeating Badniks in a Chain without touching the ground. There are Point Posts at the end of Acts 1 and 2 of each Zone, the give 100, 1,000, or 10,000 points when uncovered, although the 100 point posts really only award 10 points. Defeating Robotnik at the end of Act 3 is worth 1,000 points. Sonic can earn lives by collecting 100 or 200 Rings and holding onto them in an Act or by breaking a Sonic monitor. When Sonic dies, he loses a life, when all lives are lost, it is Game Over. If Sonic has earned Continues via the Special Stages, Sonic is given the chance to Continue from the beginning of the Act with 3 Lives. The Gameplay is fun and satisfying, and has much complexity even though it is simple on the surface.
The Graphics are bright and colorful, and don't looked dated at all, even 20 years later. The Zones are all beautifully designed with each having a distinctive look and feel. The Music is also awesome, and fit each zone nicely.
Bottom Line: Sonic's first game is really good, and offered a real alternative to Mario back in the day among all the other clones. The gameplay, graphics, and sound are all still as solid as ever. This is worth a Play or Buy.
I also did an LP of Sonic the Hedgehog, watch it here:
Part 1: Green Hill Zone
Part 2: Marble Zone
Part 3: Spring Yard Zone
Part 4: Labyrinth Zone
Part 5: Star Light Zone
Part 6: Scrap Brain Zone and Final Zone
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Retro Lookback: Super Bowling
Developer: KID (SNES), Athena (N64)
Publisher: Athena (SNES), UFO Interactive (N64)
Platforms and Release Dates (US): SNES (September 1992), Nintendo 64 (January 15, 2001)
Genre: Sports
Super Bowling was the title of 2 bowling video games released for the SNES and N64, and while the core mechanics are they same, they are fairly different.
I will discuss the N64 version here (I may add the SNES version here after I acquire more information).
The N64 version has more than double the content of the SNES version of the same name. There are 8 character each with different stats that govern Power, Accuracy, and Curve. There are also 8 different lanes to bowl on, based around a different theme and Oil Pattern. The Oil Pattern affects how the ball behaves on the lane. In No Oil, the ball will start to curve a lot right away, Half Oil the ball will barely hook on the first half of the lane and will hook a lot on the second half of the lane, Normal Oil has Oil on about 3/4 of the lane, with the ball barely hooking on the front 3/4 of the lane and hooking a lot on the last 1/4 of the lane, and All Oil has the whole lane coated in oil causing the ball to barely hook at all on the lane. Two of the lanes also have bumpers, which prevents the ball from going in the Gutters on the side for a 0. The mechanics use a 3 step system. You got the Top Arrow, which is where you will throw the ball. Next, you go to the bottom arrow, which is where you will stand. The 3rd step involves 3 different meters. The Power Meter is how fast you through the ball and can be adjusted by pushing the stick up/down, the Curve Meter is how much the ball will curve and can be adjusted by pushing the stick left/right, the Accuracy Meter starts when you press the A button after you adjusted the other 2 meters, it fills up with Blue, Orange, and Yellow segments, and rebounds when it fills up, you press A in the middle of the Yellow section on the Rebound for the best accuracy. Missing the middle of the Yellow section left/right will cause the ball to go left/right respectively of your intended target when you release it. You can also adjust the Power and Curve meter while the Accuracy meter is filling up before for the rebound if you need a last second adjustment. Once you start up the Accuracy meter, there is no going back. You can also change the weight of your ball, from 6-16 pounds. Lighter balls can be thrown harder and hook more, but deflect off pins more easily instead of plowing through. Heavier balls can't be thrown as hard or hook as much, but will plow through pins with little deflection. Choosing the right ball for a given setup of pins can be crucial. You can also play on a Single Lane or Double Lane, the screen is always split in 2 vertically, in Single Lane mode, play takes place on the left half and a Live window on the right half. On Double Lane mode, play takes place on both lanes, which can make for faster play, when one side is done, that side can walk around on the lane and look at things until the other side gets done. The option of Single Lane or Double Lane depends on the number of Players and Game Mode. You can play most modes with 1-4 players, with at least 1 player being Human, the rest can be filled in with CPU players.
The gameplay is basic bowling, you try to get the highest score you can over 10 frames, which is called a Game, 10 frames in a Game of bowling. Each frame can allot you up to 2 balls to knock down all 10 pins. Getting all 10 pins on the first ball is a Strike and the next two balls you throw are added to that frame. 2 Strikes in a row is called a Double, 2 Strikes in a row is called a Turkey and every Strike thereafter is just XX in a row, with XX being the number of Strikes. Getting all 10 pins on the second ball is a Spare and the next ball you throw is added to that frame. If you fail to knock down all 10 pins on the 2nd ball, it is called an Open Frame. The pins reset after all 10 pins are knocked down or once both balls are thrown and play moves to the next frame. On the final frame, which is Frame 10, you can throw up to 3 balls on that frame if you get a Strike or a Spare. If there is a gap between the pins after the 1st ball, it is called a Split, Splits are usually hard to pick up on the 2nd ball. If the ball goes into the gutters on the sides, it is called a Gutter Ball and the ball counts as a 0. A perfect game in Bowling is a 300, which is 12 strikes in a row. The CPU on Pro difficulty will get very close to 300 games on a regular basis.
There are a selection of game modes as well. You can play Standard Bowling (Open Bowling) as described above in Singles, Doubles, or Teams. Singles is that each person bowls for him/herself, for 1-4 players on Single or Double Lane. Doubles is where you pair up with a 2nd player, you each bowl your own Game and your scores are added together for a total, for 2 or 4 players on Single or Double Lane. Teams is where you pair up with a 2nd player, this time you share a game, as in you alternate balls, Player 1 throws ball 1, Player 2 throws ball 2, Player 1 throws ball 3, and so on, and you do that for the whole Game for the highest score, for 2 or 4 players on Single or Double Lane. Golf mode is Bowling Golf, how exciting! In this mode, each frame is a hole, and each hole has a different pin setup that you have to knock down in as few balls as possible. Each hole has a Par, which is always 1 of 2, with the objective being to get at or under Par. You have a maximum of 8 balls to knock down all the pins on that hole before you are forced to move to the next one. There are 9 holes in each game of golf. Stroke mode is a contest to get the lowest score possible in a game, for 1-4 players on Single or Double Lane. Match mode is a direct competition between 2 players, where you compete on each hole for the lowest score, the player that scores the lowest on that hole wins the hole, with the objective being to win the most holes overall, for 2 players only and on Double Lane only. There is also the Challenge Mode. In this mode, you have to clear 10 different setups of pins within 5 misses, if you miss 5 times it is game over. The setups get progressively harder the further in the challenge mode you go, for 1-4 players on Single or Double Lane. In Acquisition Mode, you play in best of 3 matches against CPU opponents, this is also where you unlock characters and lanes to use for other modes. You bowl in the home lane of the opponent you choose, for 1 player only on Double Lane only. You also have the Practice mode, where you can choose any setup of pins and practice forever if you feel like, for 1 player only on Single Lane only.
The last mode available is the Vs Mode, which is probably the most unique mode. This is a 2 player only mode on Double Lane only. This mode is a direct Survival competition between the 2 players. You both start with a set amount of Life, measured in Time. When you run out of Life, you lose. Your life constantly drains while you are lining up your shot, when you go to step 3 of the throwing, the accuracy meter automatically starts to fill and your character begins to throw the ball, so you have to adjust the Power and Curve before the Accuracy meter rebounds. While you are throwing the ball and the ball is traveling down the lane, your Life stops decreasing, and begins decreasing again when you go back to lining up your shot. Unlike the other modes, you can take as many balls as you need to knock down the set of 10 pins that are there, and they reset when you knock down the last pin. There are ways to gain life, lose life, and attack your opponent. If you get a Strike, you attack your opponent's life, and the attack grows stronger with each successive Strikes in a row. If you get a Spare, you regain your life the amount equivalent to bring attacked with a single Strike. Every ball after a Spare increases your life by a lesser amount when you knock down the last pin in the set. If you pick up a Split, you regain life and attack your opponent's life at the same time. If you fail to hit at least 1 pin on each ball or get a gutter ball, it is a Miss and you take a hit on your Life. When you have 5 seconds of life life, you get a warning countdown. Play continues until 1 player runs out of Life. This is probably the most interesting mode out of the lot.
The graphics and music are kind of blah, but get the job done.
Bottom Line: N64 Super Bowling is a pretty blah game overall, but it can provide a bit of fun, especially the unique Vs mode. This is worth a Rent or a Play.
I also did an LP on this game, watch them here!
Part 1: Practice and Open-Single
Part 2: Open-Double and Open-Team
Part 3: Golf Mode and Challenge Mode
Part 4: Acquisition Mode
Part 5: Vs Mode
Publisher: Athena (SNES), UFO Interactive (N64)
Platforms and Release Dates (US): SNES (September 1992), Nintendo 64 (January 15, 2001)
Genre: Sports
Super Bowling was the title of 2 bowling video games released for the SNES and N64, and while the core mechanics are they same, they are fairly different.
I will discuss the N64 version here (I may add the SNES version here after I acquire more information).
The N64 version has more than double the content of the SNES version of the same name. There are 8 character each with different stats that govern Power, Accuracy, and Curve. There are also 8 different lanes to bowl on, based around a different theme and Oil Pattern. The Oil Pattern affects how the ball behaves on the lane. In No Oil, the ball will start to curve a lot right away, Half Oil the ball will barely hook on the first half of the lane and will hook a lot on the second half of the lane, Normal Oil has Oil on about 3/4 of the lane, with the ball barely hooking on the front 3/4 of the lane and hooking a lot on the last 1/4 of the lane, and All Oil has the whole lane coated in oil causing the ball to barely hook at all on the lane. Two of the lanes also have bumpers, which prevents the ball from going in the Gutters on the side for a 0. The mechanics use a 3 step system. You got the Top Arrow, which is where you will throw the ball. Next, you go to the bottom arrow, which is where you will stand. The 3rd step involves 3 different meters. The Power Meter is how fast you through the ball and can be adjusted by pushing the stick up/down, the Curve Meter is how much the ball will curve and can be adjusted by pushing the stick left/right, the Accuracy Meter starts when you press the A button after you adjusted the other 2 meters, it fills up with Blue, Orange, and Yellow segments, and rebounds when it fills up, you press A in the middle of the Yellow section on the Rebound for the best accuracy. Missing the middle of the Yellow section left/right will cause the ball to go left/right respectively of your intended target when you release it. You can also adjust the Power and Curve meter while the Accuracy meter is filling up before for the rebound if you need a last second adjustment. Once you start up the Accuracy meter, there is no going back. You can also change the weight of your ball, from 6-16 pounds. Lighter balls can be thrown harder and hook more, but deflect off pins more easily instead of plowing through. Heavier balls can't be thrown as hard or hook as much, but will plow through pins with little deflection. Choosing the right ball for a given setup of pins can be crucial. You can also play on a Single Lane or Double Lane, the screen is always split in 2 vertically, in Single Lane mode, play takes place on the left half and a Live window on the right half. On Double Lane mode, play takes place on both lanes, which can make for faster play, when one side is done, that side can walk around on the lane and look at things until the other side gets done. The option of Single Lane or Double Lane depends on the number of Players and Game Mode. You can play most modes with 1-4 players, with at least 1 player being Human, the rest can be filled in with CPU players.
The gameplay is basic bowling, you try to get the highest score you can over 10 frames, which is called a Game, 10 frames in a Game of bowling. Each frame can allot you up to 2 balls to knock down all 10 pins. Getting all 10 pins on the first ball is a Strike and the next two balls you throw are added to that frame. 2 Strikes in a row is called a Double, 2 Strikes in a row is called a Turkey and every Strike thereafter is just XX in a row, with XX being the number of Strikes. Getting all 10 pins on the second ball is a Spare and the next ball you throw is added to that frame. If you fail to knock down all 10 pins on the 2nd ball, it is called an Open Frame. The pins reset after all 10 pins are knocked down or once both balls are thrown and play moves to the next frame. On the final frame, which is Frame 10, you can throw up to 3 balls on that frame if you get a Strike or a Spare. If there is a gap between the pins after the 1st ball, it is called a Split, Splits are usually hard to pick up on the 2nd ball. If the ball goes into the gutters on the sides, it is called a Gutter Ball and the ball counts as a 0. A perfect game in Bowling is a 300, which is 12 strikes in a row. The CPU on Pro difficulty will get very close to 300 games on a regular basis.
There are a selection of game modes as well. You can play Standard Bowling (Open Bowling) as described above in Singles, Doubles, or Teams. Singles is that each person bowls for him/herself, for 1-4 players on Single or Double Lane. Doubles is where you pair up with a 2nd player, you each bowl your own Game and your scores are added together for a total, for 2 or 4 players on Single or Double Lane. Teams is where you pair up with a 2nd player, this time you share a game, as in you alternate balls, Player 1 throws ball 1, Player 2 throws ball 2, Player 1 throws ball 3, and so on, and you do that for the whole Game for the highest score, for 2 or 4 players on Single or Double Lane. Golf mode is Bowling Golf, how exciting! In this mode, each frame is a hole, and each hole has a different pin setup that you have to knock down in as few balls as possible. Each hole has a Par, which is always 1 of 2, with the objective being to get at or under Par. You have a maximum of 8 balls to knock down all the pins on that hole before you are forced to move to the next one. There are 9 holes in each game of golf. Stroke mode is a contest to get the lowest score possible in a game, for 1-4 players on Single or Double Lane. Match mode is a direct competition between 2 players, where you compete on each hole for the lowest score, the player that scores the lowest on that hole wins the hole, with the objective being to win the most holes overall, for 2 players only and on Double Lane only. There is also the Challenge Mode. In this mode, you have to clear 10 different setups of pins within 5 misses, if you miss 5 times it is game over. The setups get progressively harder the further in the challenge mode you go, for 1-4 players on Single or Double Lane. In Acquisition Mode, you play in best of 3 matches against CPU opponents, this is also where you unlock characters and lanes to use for other modes. You bowl in the home lane of the opponent you choose, for 1 player only on Double Lane only. You also have the Practice mode, where you can choose any setup of pins and practice forever if you feel like, for 1 player only on Single Lane only.
The last mode available is the Vs Mode, which is probably the most unique mode. This is a 2 player only mode on Double Lane only. This mode is a direct Survival competition between the 2 players. You both start with a set amount of Life, measured in Time. When you run out of Life, you lose. Your life constantly drains while you are lining up your shot, when you go to step 3 of the throwing, the accuracy meter automatically starts to fill and your character begins to throw the ball, so you have to adjust the Power and Curve before the Accuracy meter rebounds. While you are throwing the ball and the ball is traveling down the lane, your Life stops decreasing, and begins decreasing again when you go back to lining up your shot. Unlike the other modes, you can take as many balls as you need to knock down the set of 10 pins that are there, and they reset when you knock down the last pin. There are ways to gain life, lose life, and attack your opponent. If you get a Strike, you attack your opponent's life, and the attack grows stronger with each successive Strikes in a row. If you get a Spare, you regain your life the amount equivalent to bring attacked with a single Strike. Every ball after a Spare increases your life by a lesser amount when you knock down the last pin in the set. If you pick up a Split, you regain life and attack your opponent's life at the same time. If you fail to hit at least 1 pin on each ball or get a gutter ball, it is a Miss and you take a hit on your Life. When you have 5 seconds of life life, you get a warning countdown. Play continues until 1 player runs out of Life. This is probably the most interesting mode out of the lot.
The graphics and music are kind of blah, but get the job done.
Bottom Line: N64 Super Bowling is a pretty blah game overall, but it can provide a bit of fun, especially the unique Vs mode. This is worth a Rent or a Play.
I also did an LP on this game, watch them here!
Part 1: Practice and Open-Single
Part 2: Open-Double and Open-Team
Part 3: Golf Mode and Challenge Mode
Part 4: Acquisition Mode
Part 5: Vs Mode
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Retro Lookback: Crusi'n World
Developers: Midway Games (Arcade), Eurocom (Nintendo 64)
Publisher: Midway Games
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Arcade (1996), Nintendo 64 (September 26, 1998)
Genre: Racing
Crusi'n World is the 2nd Game in Midway's Cruis'n line of racing games, and it is personally my favorite of the series.
The gameplay is straight racing, get from the start to the goal before time runs and while overtaking all your opponents. That's it. You got the classic Arcade mode, where you can do a Single Race on any of the tracks, or you can Cruise the World, where you race on each course in order to get to the final track. You have to place 3rd or higher on each track to advance to the next one, which is easier than the game before, Crusi'n USA, where you had to place 1st. Along with the final Florida track, there is an Extra Moon track exclusive to the N64 version that is unlocked after Florida is cleared. You can play the Arcade Mode with 1-4 players, with Cruise the World being available for 1 or 2 player play (I don't know about 3 or 4, as I don't have the adequate controllers to verify, if you know, please let me know). The N64 game has the Championship mode, which takes the environments from the Arcade Mode and resale them to run in laps instead of a straight Point A to Point B race. There are 3 levels, each level taking the tracks of each difficulty level (Easy, Normal, Expert). On default, you have to race 3 laps on each track, and like the arcade mode, place 3rd or higher to advance. Championship Mode also has the Turbo option. Press the Turbo button during the race to give your car a 5 second burst of speed above your Top Speed. The number of Turbos you have is equal to the number of Laps, so a 3 Lap race gives you 3 Turbos to use. Championship Mode can be played with 1-4 Players as well. New to this game is Stunts. You can perform stunts off ramps and other cars by doing wheelies over them. Each successful stunt knocks time off your total time for a lower total. The selection of cars are nice and varied compared to Crusi'n USA, with unlockable Pain jobs and more Cars. The tracks for both Arcade Mode and Championship Mode are nicely laid out and provide for a good flow of speed. The Single Player experience can be fun for a bit, but this is best enjoyed with 4 players. Multiplayer more is good fun and can prove entertaining for hours.
Some things from the Arcade version have been altered or removed for the N64 version, but it is nothing that affects the overall experience of the game.
Bottom Line: Crusi'n World is a pretty fun arcade racer, but it is best played with a room full of friends. This is worth a Play or Rent.
Publisher: Midway Games
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Arcade (1996), Nintendo 64 (September 26, 1998)
Genre: Racing
Crusi'n World is the 2nd Game in Midway's Cruis'n line of racing games, and it is personally my favorite of the series.
The gameplay is straight racing, get from the start to the goal before time runs and while overtaking all your opponents. That's it. You got the classic Arcade mode, where you can do a Single Race on any of the tracks, or you can Cruise the World, where you race on each course in order to get to the final track. You have to place 3rd or higher on each track to advance to the next one, which is easier than the game before, Crusi'n USA, where you had to place 1st. Along with the final Florida track, there is an Extra Moon track exclusive to the N64 version that is unlocked after Florida is cleared. You can play the Arcade Mode with 1-4 players, with Cruise the World being available for 1 or 2 player play (I don't know about 3 or 4, as I don't have the adequate controllers to verify, if you know, please let me know). The N64 game has the Championship mode, which takes the environments from the Arcade Mode and resale them to run in laps instead of a straight Point A to Point B race. There are 3 levels, each level taking the tracks of each difficulty level (Easy, Normal, Expert). On default, you have to race 3 laps on each track, and like the arcade mode, place 3rd or higher to advance. Championship Mode also has the Turbo option. Press the Turbo button during the race to give your car a 5 second burst of speed above your Top Speed. The number of Turbos you have is equal to the number of Laps, so a 3 Lap race gives you 3 Turbos to use. Championship Mode can be played with 1-4 Players as well. New to this game is Stunts. You can perform stunts off ramps and other cars by doing wheelies over them. Each successful stunt knocks time off your total time for a lower total. The selection of cars are nice and varied compared to Crusi'n USA, with unlockable Pain jobs and more Cars. The tracks for both Arcade Mode and Championship Mode are nicely laid out and provide for a good flow of speed. The Single Player experience can be fun for a bit, but this is best enjoyed with 4 players. Multiplayer more is good fun and can prove entertaining for hours.
Some things from the Arcade version have been altered or removed for the N64 version, but it is nothing that affects the overall experience of the game.
Bottom Line: Crusi'n World is a pretty fun arcade racer, but it is best played with a room full of friends. This is worth a Play or Rent.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Game Rant: Worms Blast
Developer: Team 17
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Windows (October 23, 2002), Nintendo Gamecube (October 24, 2002), Playstation 2 (January 1, 2003), Mac (March 4, 2003)
Genre: Puzzle, Action
Worms Blast is a Puzzle game based around the Worms franchise, and it does alright.
The goal in most circumstances is to clear away the colored blocks on your field. You have a Bazooka which fires different colored missiles in random order. You clear away blocks by hitting the same colored blocks with a same colored Bazooka shell. If your Bazooka shell is of a different color than the blocks it hits, it will turn blocks in the blast radius to the color of the shell. If your Bazooka shell falls down in the water, it will raise the water level by a bit. If you shoot a shell out of the edge of the screen, a heavy item will fall on you and drain some of your health. Loose blocks free floating will fall down, and will hurt you if you are under them. Crates can be collected after they fall to the water, they contain helpful items to aid you, you can store as many crate items as you feel like, you can switch over to crate items and use them one at a time, you can switch back to the Bazooka too. Stars are also on the field, if you collect a Star, it will lower the water level a bit. Be careful, you can destroy crates and stars if you hit them with a Bazooka shell or crate item. Crates and Stars will also sink after they are on the surface of the water, so grab them quick! If the water gets high enough or the blocks get low enough, you can run into the blocks as well, hurting you. Along with the regular colored blocks, there are Anchor blocks, which act as anchors for all other blocks. Bouncy blocks will bounce Bazooka shells and items off them. Dead blocks have no color, which means the cannot be cleared on a fiesta shot. Rainbow blocks will be set off by any color Bazooka shell, and will chain reaction to the colored blocks of the same color as the shell.
The Single player mode involves working your way across various paths each having 2 puzzles to complete. You start your way at the bottom right corner and work your way to the volcano in the center. Not all paths need to be taken to reach the volcano, but all paths must be taken to unlock the extra characters. Most routes are White, and the more difficult paths are Red. Taking the Red paths are usually quicker routes to the volcano. When you make it to the volcano and clear the puzzles there, you clear the game. There are many different variety of puzzles in the Single Player mode, twisted the rules around to give you a handicap, even including a version of the Snake game. The multiplayer mode is a 2 Player Vs, either against the CPU or agianst a 2nd player. The standard Deathmatch mode pits 2 players against each other in a battle to the death. Each player gets half the screen as their field and a divider in the middle. Both players have 2 lives, when both lives are lost, that player loses. The mechanics are the same as Single Player, with some additions. Blocks are always steadily being pushed down. When you shoot out groups of colored blocks, candy falls. If you collect 10 pieces of that candy before they all fall, you fill in that color in the word BLAST. When you fill up BLAST, you enter Blast Mode. In Blast Mode, all the blocks from your field are cleared, and targets will fall. Shoot a target to make a crate fall. Targets will keep falling for about 20 seconds. When you exit out of Blast more, you return to normal play and blocks start dropping again. The divider in the middle will also open up periodically, when it is open, you can shoot over to your opponent's play area. If you hit blocks in your opponent's play area, they will turn into Dead Blocks. You can also attack your opponent directly if you can hit him/her. There are also more items in crates that can hinder your opponent or aid you found only in the Vs mode. There are also different modes, such as a race through a set of blocks or a Fight mode that is just Anchor and Bouncy blocks. The single player also has a few special modes such as Shooting Gallery where you go for a high score. The Single player puzzles are entertaining, although the later ones can get almost too hard. The 2 Player Vs is fun with a 2nd player, and the variety of modes can help spice it up, but you'll probably be playing Deathmatch or Fight the most.
Bottom Line: Worms Blast is an alright Puzzle game with some Action Combat elements thrown in. The single player Puzzles can keep you occupied for a while, and the 2 Player Vs mode can be fun for hours with a 2nd person. This is worth a Play or Rent.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Windows (October 23, 2002), Nintendo Gamecube (October 24, 2002), Playstation 2 (January 1, 2003), Mac (March 4, 2003)
Genre: Puzzle, Action
Worms Blast is a Puzzle game based around the Worms franchise, and it does alright.
The goal in most circumstances is to clear away the colored blocks on your field. You have a Bazooka which fires different colored missiles in random order. You clear away blocks by hitting the same colored blocks with a same colored Bazooka shell. If your Bazooka shell is of a different color than the blocks it hits, it will turn blocks in the blast radius to the color of the shell. If your Bazooka shell falls down in the water, it will raise the water level by a bit. If you shoot a shell out of the edge of the screen, a heavy item will fall on you and drain some of your health. Loose blocks free floating will fall down, and will hurt you if you are under them. Crates can be collected after they fall to the water, they contain helpful items to aid you, you can store as many crate items as you feel like, you can switch over to crate items and use them one at a time, you can switch back to the Bazooka too. Stars are also on the field, if you collect a Star, it will lower the water level a bit. Be careful, you can destroy crates and stars if you hit them with a Bazooka shell or crate item. Crates and Stars will also sink after they are on the surface of the water, so grab them quick! If the water gets high enough or the blocks get low enough, you can run into the blocks as well, hurting you. Along with the regular colored blocks, there are Anchor blocks, which act as anchors for all other blocks. Bouncy blocks will bounce Bazooka shells and items off them. Dead blocks have no color, which means the cannot be cleared on a fiesta shot. Rainbow blocks will be set off by any color Bazooka shell, and will chain reaction to the colored blocks of the same color as the shell.
The Single player mode involves working your way across various paths each having 2 puzzles to complete. You start your way at the bottom right corner and work your way to the volcano in the center. Not all paths need to be taken to reach the volcano, but all paths must be taken to unlock the extra characters. Most routes are White, and the more difficult paths are Red. Taking the Red paths are usually quicker routes to the volcano. When you make it to the volcano and clear the puzzles there, you clear the game. There are many different variety of puzzles in the Single Player mode, twisted the rules around to give you a handicap, even including a version of the Snake game. The multiplayer mode is a 2 Player Vs, either against the CPU or agianst a 2nd player. The standard Deathmatch mode pits 2 players against each other in a battle to the death. Each player gets half the screen as their field and a divider in the middle. Both players have 2 lives, when both lives are lost, that player loses. The mechanics are the same as Single Player, with some additions. Blocks are always steadily being pushed down. When you shoot out groups of colored blocks, candy falls. If you collect 10 pieces of that candy before they all fall, you fill in that color in the word BLAST. When you fill up BLAST, you enter Blast Mode. In Blast Mode, all the blocks from your field are cleared, and targets will fall. Shoot a target to make a crate fall. Targets will keep falling for about 20 seconds. When you exit out of Blast more, you return to normal play and blocks start dropping again. The divider in the middle will also open up periodically, when it is open, you can shoot over to your opponent's play area. If you hit blocks in your opponent's play area, they will turn into Dead Blocks. You can also attack your opponent directly if you can hit him/her. There are also more items in crates that can hinder your opponent or aid you found only in the Vs mode. There are also different modes, such as a race through a set of blocks or a Fight mode that is just Anchor and Bouncy blocks. The single player also has a few special modes such as Shooting Gallery where you go for a high score. The Single player puzzles are entertaining, although the later ones can get almost too hard. The 2 Player Vs is fun with a 2nd player, and the variety of modes can help spice it up, but you'll probably be playing Deathmatch or Fight the most.
Bottom Line: Worms Blast is an alright Puzzle game with some Action Combat elements thrown in. The single player Puzzles can keep you occupied for a while, and the 2 Player Vs mode can be fun for hours with a 2nd person. This is worth a Play or Rent.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Game Rant: Egg Mania Eggstreme Madness
Developer: HotGen
Publisher: Kemco
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox (September 11, 2002), Playstation 2 (September 12, 2002), Gameboy Advance (September 16, 2002)
Genre: Puzzle
Egg Mania Eggstreme Madness is a peculiar puzzle game, and it does a decent job of it.
Most puzzle games have you destroying lines or groups/sets of pieces, Egg Mania however tasks you with building a high tower with various pieces. At the start, you free fall down to the bottom where you start building your tower. The goal is to use the pieces to build up your tower and reach the blimp you fell from the start. The standard pieces come in various shapes and sizes from 1 block big to 5 blocks big. You catch the pieces by walking into them, and you can rotate them in 90 degree increments to fit them in the play field. You can also drop the piece if you don't want to use it. Pieces are always falling, so you have to grab the ones you need before they fall. You are trying to outrun the water, water constantly fills the play area, and if it catches up to the top of your tower, you lose. You have to make sure to fill in all the rows of your tower. You have a meter at the bottom that fills with each row you leave open, when it fills up, all the rows that are incomplete will crumble and shorten your tower. Water will also destroy incomplete rows when the water line reaches the incomplete row. When you complete a row, you get extra blocks called Trick Bricks in your area that boost the height of your tower. If you comeplete multiple rows in succession, as in each piece you lay down completes at least one row, you start a combo, and all the Trick Bricks accumulate and raise your tower by that number of bricks. If you complete 2 or 3 rows at once, the amount of Trick Bricks you get are doubled or tripled respectively. Along with the pieces, items drop as well, that help you or hinder your opponent. Cement fills in 6 Bricks worth of space, High Tops makes you really high, Lightning Bolt will cause a lightning cloud to appear on your opponent's field, Hammers destroy incomplete rows on your opponent's field, and Bombs will blow up pieces when they count down. Bombs can be thrown back and forth between both players before they explode, so watch out! You can drop Hammers, Bombs, or Cement if you don't want to use them. Enemies will also appear on the play area, these enemies will either take away the piece/item you are currently holding or knock you into the water and take time to recover. The gameplay is interesting and fun for a bit, but it can get slightly tiring after a while.
There are a bit of game modes to play. Egg Mania is the standard mode, you can compete in a series of matches vs the CPU to reach the end or compete against a 2nd player to get to the top first. Against the CPU, you start with a set amount of continues, and you earn a continue for each match you win. If you lose all your continues, you lose and have to start over. Bomb mode is the reverse, you start with a high tower and have to use bombs to destroy your opponent's tower, first to have the water catch up loses. Solo mode is single player mode where you get as many points as you can, you keep going up different towers until you lose. Survival mode is an Endless Egg Mania mode vs the CPU, you keep going until you lose. Custom allows you to tweak various settings, you can easily handicap things to help even out the players. Tournament mode is an up to 8 player tournament play, it follows a standard tournament format to determine the victor.
Bottom Line: Egg Mania Eggstreme Madness is a different take on a puzzle game, and it does it fairly decent. The gameplay is solid, but it can get tiring after a while. A 2nd player can help extend the life. This is worth at least a Play or Rent.
Publisher: Kemco
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox (September 11, 2002), Playstation 2 (September 12, 2002), Gameboy Advance (September 16, 2002)
Genre: Puzzle
Egg Mania Eggstreme Madness is a peculiar puzzle game, and it does a decent job of it.
Most puzzle games have you destroying lines or groups/sets of pieces, Egg Mania however tasks you with building a high tower with various pieces. At the start, you free fall down to the bottom where you start building your tower. The goal is to use the pieces to build up your tower and reach the blimp you fell from the start. The standard pieces come in various shapes and sizes from 1 block big to 5 blocks big. You catch the pieces by walking into them, and you can rotate them in 90 degree increments to fit them in the play field. You can also drop the piece if you don't want to use it. Pieces are always falling, so you have to grab the ones you need before they fall. You are trying to outrun the water, water constantly fills the play area, and if it catches up to the top of your tower, you lose. You have to make sure to fill in all the rows of your tower. You have a meter at the bottom that fills with each row you leave open, when it fills up, all the rows that are incomplete will crumble and shorten your tower. Water will also destroy incomplete rows when the water line reaches the incomplete row. When you complete a row, you get extra blocks called Trick Bricks in your area that boost the height of your tower. If you comeplete multiple rows in succession, as in each piece you lay down completes at least one row, you start a combo, and all the Trick Bricks accumulate and raise your tower by that number of bricks. If you complete 2 or 3 rows at once, the amount of Trick Bricks you get are doubled or tripled respectively. Along with the pieces, items drop as well, that help you or hinder your opponent. Cement fills in 6 Bricks worth of space, High Tops makes you really high, Lightning Bolt will cause a lightning cloud to appear on your opponent's field, Hammers destroy incomplete rows on your opponent's field, and Bombs will blow up pieces when they count down. Bombs can be thrown back and forth between both players before they explode, so watch out! You can drop Hammers, Bombs, or Cement if you don't want to use them. Enemies will also appear on the play area, these enemies will either take away the piece/item you are currently holding or knock you into the water and take time to recover. The gameplay is interesting and fun for a bit, but it can get slightly tiring after a while.
There are a bit of game modes to play. Egg Mania is the standard mode, you can compete in a series of matches vs the CPU to reach the end or compete against a 2nd player to get to the top first. Against the CPU, you start with a set amount of continues, and you earn a continue for each match you win. If you lose all your continues, you lose and have to start over. Bomb mode is the reverse, you start with a high tower and have to use bombs to destroy your opponent's tower, first to have the water catch up loses. Solo mode is single player mode where you get as many points as you can, you keep going up different towers until you lose. Survival mode is an Endless Egg Mania mode vs the CPU, you keep going until you lose. Custom allows you to tweak various settings, you can easily handicap things to help even out the players. Tournament mode is an up to 8 player tournament play, it follows a standard tournament format to determine the victor.
Bottom Line: Egg Mania Eggstreme Madness is a different take on a puzzle game, and it does it fairly decent. The gameplay is solid, but it can get tiring after a while. A 2nd player can help extend the life. This is worth at least a Play or Rent.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Retro Lookback: Mario Party 2
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo 64 (January 24, 2000), Wii Virtual Console (December 20, 2010)
Genre: Party
Mario Party 2 is the follow up the successful Mario Party, and it continues the Partying and the Fighting that ensures when playing Mario Party.
The story is that Mario and Co lived peacefully in Mario Land until Wario decided that it should be called Wario Land, a fight breaks out and they bicker while Bowser plots to take over the kingdom. Mario and Co then decide that whoever stops Bowser shall have the land named after him/her, so they go off on the various boards to party and stop Bowser and be the Superstar.
The gameplay remains largely the same from the first game. 4 Players play a set number of turns on a board, while collecting Stars and Coins to win the board in the end, and playing Mini-Games between turns. There are different features from the first game. The boards are themed, like a Space Land or a Pirate Land, and the characters dress up in different costumes to suit the board. New spaces have been added. The Bank Space makes you pay a minimum of 5 coins when you pass it, and when a player lands on the space, he/she gets all the coins in the Bank and the Balance is reset to 0. The rules are Reversed in Bowser Land, however, where you get 5 Coins when you pass the bank and the player that lands on it has to pay off the whole balance. The Item space allows you to play a Board Specific Mini-Game for an Item, but only if you don't already have an item. Battle Spaces trigger a Battle Game, where each player has to pay up the cost and fight to win their money back, with 1st and 2nd receiving a 70/30 Split of the total pot. If there is an odd coin left, it gets randomly tossed to a player. The Mushroom Space and the 1 Player Game spaces have been removed. Different board features and mechanics are in this installment as well. As mentioned before, you can hold 1 item to use before you roll for the turn, these can benefit you or hinder another player. You can buy an item by passing an Item Shop or win an Item from an Item Space. Boo works slightly differently, instead of stealing coins for Free, you have to fork over 5 coins, but you can steal up to large amounts of coins instead if the 1-20 coins of the 1st game. You can still steal a star from another player for 50 coins. Baby Bowser also is on the board and takes the spot of where the Star (Toad) was previously when it is bought. Baby Bowser will take 5 coins from you when you pass him, although he occasionally gives you 5 coins. If a player has a Bowser Bomb at the end of the turn before the Mini-Game, Baby Bowser turn into Bowser and rolls 3 dice, whoever Bowser catches up to has to fork over all their coins. Koopa has been removed from this game, so you don't get a coin bonus for lapping the board. Hidden Blocks occur, and contain either 20 coins or a Star instead of the roulette of Koopa/Boo/Bowser from the first game. Each board has their own gimmicks and features that makes them stand kit form the others. Mystery Land, for example, uses a Day/Night cycle which would later be a main feature of Mario Party 6. At the end of the board, you can get 3 Bonus stars for Most Coins held at once, Most Coins won in Mini-Games, and Landing on the most Green Happening Spaces, like the first game. Instead of the winner being announced right there, a cut-scene in which the winner defeats Bowser plays out. Unlike the first game, every player's coins and stars go into the bank, even CPU players. Stars are converted into 50 Coins each. Coins in the bank are used to buy Mini-Games from Woody in Mini-Game Land.
The Mini-Games are the main attraction probably. There are about 70 Mini-Games, both new and remixes from the 1st game. You play a different Mini-Game Badass on what spaces the players have landed on. A 4 Player Game occurs when all 4 Players are either Red or Blue, these are usually Free-For-Alls with 1 winner. A 1 vs 3 game is when all but one player is the same color, it is a team game of the solo player vs the team of 3, with the solo player given a slighter advantage due to the ways the teams are layer out. A 2 vs 2 game is when the players are evenly split between Red and Blue, the teams of 2 battle each other with one team winning. A Battle Game is when a Battle Space is landed on, which was explained earlier. Players bet the amount of coins determined and fight for the pot, with a 70/30 split going to 1st and 2nd and an odd coin going to a random player if applicable. An Item Game is when a player lands on an Item Space, if you have no item, you get to play for an Item. Duel Games are introduced in this game. In the last 5 turns, whenever 2 players occupy the same space, they play a board specific battle game to determine the winner. The challenging player (the one who landed on the space) bets any amount of coins up to the maximum of the lower coin total, the winner gets all the coins. You can also initiate a Duel Game by using the Dueling Glove item. The Mini-Games where you has to spin the control stick around as fast as you can has been removed from this game due to lawsuits from the first game.
There is also the Mini-Game land, where you can play the Mini-Games without playing the board. You can free play any of the games you bought from Woody in the Park. You can go to the stadium to play a best of series of mini-games to win. You can also play a figure-8 board similar to the Pot-o-Skills in the first game, and you earn coins by lapping the board here unlike the standard game. Lastly, there is the Mini-Game Coaster. This works like the Mini-Game Island from the first game. You can select Easy, Normal, and Hard each having 3, 6, and 9 Worlds to complete respectively. You start with 3 Lives and earn coins by successfully beating Mini-Games. You get a 1up for every 100 coins. You can also get a Win Streak Bonus, where your coin winnings are multiplied by the current win streak. Like the first game, you can also select a partner to compete with you in the 2 vs 2 games and when you are on the 3 side in 1 vs 3 games. You can save at the start of each world and continue from there when you run out of lives. The objective is to get to the end of the Coaster before you run out of lives.
Since this is Mario Party, this game is best enjoyed with 4 People, but the CPU can still be fun to play against (especially when they cheat and rig every Chance Time to work against you). This game has tons of replay value in a group setting.
Bottom Line: Mario Party 2 improves from the first game and adds good new features. This is an experience best enjoyed with friends, but can still be fun solo. This is worth a Play or Buy.
Author's Note: That statement about the Cheating CPU comes from experience... Don't ask... Also, the Runaway Guys have done Let's Plays of Mario Party 2 on YouTube. Go watch them, they are very funny.
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo 64 (January 24, 2000), Wii Virtual Console (December 20, 2010)
Genre: Party
Mario Party 2 is the follow up the successful Mario Party, and it continues the Partying and the Fighting that ensures when playing Mario Party.
The story is that Mario and Co lived peacefully in Mario Land until Wario decided that it should be called Wario Land, a fight breaks out and they bicker while Bowser plots to take over the kingdom. Mario and Co then decide that whoever stops Bowser shall have the land named after him/her, so they go off on the various boards to party and stop Bowser and be the Superstar.
The gameplay remains largely the same from the first game. 4 Players play a set number of turns on a board, while collecting Stars and Coins to win the board in the end, and playing Mini-Games between turns. There are different features from the first game. The boards are themed, like a Space Land or a Pirate Land, and the characters dress up in different costumes to suit the board. New spaces have been added. The Bank Space makes you pay a minimum of 5 coins when you pass it, and when a player lands on the space, he/she gets all the coins in the Bank and the Balance is reset to 0. The rules are Reversed in Bowser Land, however, where you get 5 Coins when you pass the bank and the player that lands on it has to pay off the whole balance. The Item space allows you to play a Board Specific Mini-Game for an Item, but only if you don't already have an item. Battle Spaces trigger a Battle Game, where each player has to pay up the cost and fight to win their money back, with 1st and 2nd receiving a 70/30 Split of the total pot. If there is an odd coin left, it gets randomly tossed to a player. The Mushroom Space and the 1 Player Game spaces have been removed. Different board features and mechanics are in this installment as well. As mentioned before, you can hold 1 item to use before you roll for the turn, these can benefit you or hinder another player. You can buy an item by passing an Item Shop or win an Item from an Item Space. Boo works slightly differently, instead of stealing coins for Free, you have to fork over 5 coins, but you can steal up to large amounts of coins instead if the 1-20 coins of the 1st game. You can still steal a star from another player for 50 coins. Baby Bowser also is on the board and takes the spot of where the Star (Toad) was previously when it is bought. Baby Bowser will take 5 coins from you when you pass him, although he occasionally gives you 5 coins. If a player has a Bowser Bomb at the end of the turn before the Mini-Game, Baby Bowser turn into Bowser and rolls 3 dice, whoever Bowser catches up to has to fork over all their coins. Koopa has been removed from this game, so you don't get a coin bonus for lapping the board. Hidden Blocks occur, and contain either 20 coins or a Star instead of the roulette of Koopa/Boo/Bowser from the first game. Each board has their own gimmicks and features that makes them stand kit form the others. Mystery Land, for example, uses a Day/Night cycle which would later be a main feature of Mario Party 6. At the end of the board, you can get 3 Bonus stars for Most Coins held at once, Most Coins won in Mini-Games, and Landing on the most Green Happening Spaces, like the first game. Instead of the winner being announced right there, a cut-scene in which the winner defeats Bowser plays out. Unlike the first game, every player's coins and stars go into the bank, even CPU players. Stars are converted into 50 Coins each. Coins in the bank are used to buy Mini-Games from Woody in Mini-Game Land.
The Mini-Games are the main attraction probably. There are about 70 Mini-Games, both new and remixes from the 1st game. You play a different Mini-Game Badass on what spaces the players have landed on. A 4 Player Game occurs when all 4 Players are either Red or Blue, these are usually Free-For-Alls with 1 winner. A 1 vs 3 game is when all but one player is the same color, it is a team game of the solo player vs the team of 3, with the solo player given a slighter advantage due to the ways the teams are layer out. A 2 vs 2 game is when the players are evenly split between Red and Blue, the teams of 2 battle each other with one team winning. A Battle Game is when a Battle Space is landed on, which was explained earlier. Players bet the amount of coins determined and fight for the pot, with a 70/30 split going to 1st and 2nd and an odd coin going to a random player if applicable. An Item Game is when a player lands on an Item Space, if you have no item, you get to play for an Item. Duel Games are introduced in this game. In the last 5 turns, whenever 2 players occupy the same space, they play a board specific battle game to determine the winner. The challenging player (the one who landed on the space) bets any amount of coins up to the maximum of the lower coin total, the winner gets all the coins. You can also initiate a Duel Game by using the Dueling Glove item. The Mini-Games where you has to spin the control stick around as fast as you can has been removed from this game due to lawsuits from the first game.
There is also the Mini-Game land, where you can play the Mini-Games without playing the board. You can free play any of the games you bought from Woody in the Park. You can go to the stadium to play a best of series of mini-games to win. You can also play a figure-8 board similar to the Pot-o-Skills in the first game, and you earn coins by lapping the board here unlike the standard game. Lastly, there is the Mini-Game Coaster. This works like the Mini-Game Island from the first game. You can select Easy, Normal, and Hard each having 3, 6, and 9 Worlds to complete respectively. You start with 3 Lives and earn coins by successfully beating Mini-Games. You get a 1up for every 100 coins. You can also get a Win Streak Bonus, where your coin winnings are multiplied by the current win streak. Like the first game, you can also select a partner to compete with you in the 2 vs 2 games and when you are on the 3 side in 1 vs 3 games. You can save at the start of each world and continue from there when you run out of lives. The objective is to get to the end of the Coaster before you run out of lives.
Since this is Mario Party, this game is best enjoyed with 4 People, but the CPU can still be fun to play against (especially when they cheat and rig every Chance Time to work against you). This game has tons of replay value in a group setting.
Bottom Line: Mario Party 2 improves from the first game and adds good new features. This is an experience best enjoyed with friends, but can still be fun solo. This is worth a Play or Buy.
Author's Note: That statement about the Cheating CPU comes from experience... Don't ask... Also, the Runaway Guys have done Let's Plays of Mario Party 2 on YouTube. Go watch them, they are very funny.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Retro Lookback: Wave Race 64
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo 64 (November 5, 1996), Wii Virtual Console (August 6, 2007)
Genre: Extreme Sports, Racing
Wave Race 64 is the follow up to the overlooked Gameboy game Wave Race, and it improves on it in many ways.
The gameplay is a bit different from the Gameboy. The perspective moves from Top-Down to Behind-The-Rider 3Rd Person, and it works great. The objective is to race around water tracks as fast as you can, but you have to slalom through Buoys on the course. There are two types of Buoys, Yellow ones with an L on them have to be passed on the Left and Red ones with an R on them have to be passed on the Right. When you correctly pass a Buoy, you an arrow on the Power meter fills, when all 5 arrows fill, you have maximum Power and can go the fastest you can. When you miss a Buoy, your Power goes back down to 0, but you can build it up again. You also build up your Miss counter, if you miss 5 Buoys in a Race, you are disqualified. You can also be disqualified by going outside of the Pink Buoys marking the edge of the track or by remaining on anything but water for 10 seconds. The main modes are Championship, Time Trials, Stunt Mode, and 2P VS. Championship Mode tasks you with racing through the tracks in order against 3 CPU racers. On each track, you have to get a certain point total to move on to the next track, or it is Game Over and you must start from Race one. 1st Place awards you 7 Points, 2nd is 4 Points, 3rd is 2 Points, and 4th is 1 Point. If you are disqualified, you receive no points. There are 4 difficulty modes, with higher levels involving more difficult Buoy placement and more races. Normal has the easiest placement and 6 races, Hard is slightly hard placement and 7 races, Expert is the hardest placement and 8 races, and Reverse is the Expert difficulty only running the tracks in Reverse. If you start a Normal Championship, you have the option to Warm Up by free riding on the special training track Dolphin Park. You can free practice all you want and start the Championship if you choose. There is also scrolling text at the bottom that explains the basics if needed. Time Trials is a straight up contest to go as fast as you can on any of the unlocked tracks. Stunt More tasks you with trying to get the highest score you can in one lap around the track. You score points by passing through rings without missing them and performing stunts in the air and on the water. You are on a timer, and you get time bonuses too, and earn more Time at checkpoints. You can play on any of the unlocked tracks and the special Dolphin Park track in Stunt Mode. 2P VS is a race between 2 human players, first to the goal without being disqualified wins. You can play on any of the unlocked tracks, and set a handicap to speed up the losing player if you choose. 2P VS is a fun time on the 8 tracks, like 1080 Snowboarding, even with the lack of many tracks and options, it still proves to be fun for hours when playing against a 2nd player. You can also go to the options screen to adjust some of the settings, like the Wave Conditions. There are 4 riders to choose from, each with different stats, from the High Speed one to the Turning one to the Balanced one. You can also customize the Jet Ski to tweak the stats slightly, giving you just that little bit more speed or corning. Even though you can tweak the stats, you can't ever quite get the Max Speed guy to have the same corning as the Turning guy and such. The gameplay is fun, and the slalom between the buoys is interesting and keeps cheaters in check.
The music and sounds are tight, and the Water Physics are really good for the N64, the water behaves like...water, and crashing against the waves feels like the real thing (probably).
Bottom Line: Wave Race 64 is a fun racer, like it's buddy series 1080 Snowboarding. The 2P VS is fun and keeps it rolling for hours. The is worth a Buy or Play.
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo 64 (November 5, 1996), Wii Virtual Console (August 6, 2007)
Genre: Extreme Sports, Racing
Wave Race 64 is the follow up to the overlooked Gameboy game Wave Race, and it improves on it in many ways.
The gameplay is a bit different from the Gameboy. The perspective moves from Top-Down to Behind-The-Rider 3Rd Person, and it works great. The objective is to race around water tracks as fast as you can, but you have to slalom through Buoys on the course. There are two types of Buoys, Yellow ones with an L on them have to be passed on the Left and Red ones with an R on them have to be passed on the Right. When you correctly pass a Buoy, you an arrow on the Power meter fills, when all 5 arrows fill, you have maximum Power and can go the fastest you can. When you miss a Buoy, your Power goes back down to 0, but you can build it up again. You also build up your Miss counter, if you miss 5 Buoys in a Race, you are disqualified. You can also be disqualified by going outside of the Pink Buoys marking the edge of the track or by remaining on anything but water for 10 seconds. The main modes are Championship, Time Trials, Stunt Mode, and 2P VS. Championship Mode tasks you with racing through the tracks in order against 3 CPU racers. On each track, you have to get a certain point total to move on to the next track, or it is Game Over and you must start from Race one. 1st Place awards you 7 Points, 2nd is 4 Points, 3rd is 2 Points, and 4th is 1 Point. If you are disqualified, you receive no points. There are 4 difficulty modes, with higher levels involving more difficult Buoy placement and more races. Normal has the easiest placement and 6 races, Hard is slightly hard placement and 7 races, Expert is the hardest placement and 8 races, and Reverse is the Expert difficulty only running the tracks in Reverse. If you start a Normal Championship, you have the option to Warm Up by free riding on the special training track Dolphin Park. You can free practice all you want and start the Championship if you choose. There is also scrolling text at the bottom that explains the basics if needed. Time Trials is a straight up contest to go as fast as you can on any of the unlocked tracks. Stunt More tasks you with trying to get the highest score you can in one lap around the track. You score points by passing through rings without missing them and performing stunts in the air and on the water. You are on a timer, and you get time bonuses too, and earn more Time at checkpoints. You can play on any of the unlocked tracks and the special Dolphin Park track in Stunt Mode. 2P VS is a race between 2 human players, first to the goal without being disqualified wins. You can play on any of the unlocked tracks, and set a handicap to speed up the losing player if you choose. 2P VS is a fun time on the 8 tracks, like 1080 Snowboarding, even with the lack of many tracks and options, it still proves to be fun for hours when playing against a 2nd player. You can also go to the options screen to adjust some of the settings, like the Wave Conditions. There are 4 riders to choose from, each with different stats, from the High Speed one to the Turning one to the Balanced one. You can also customize the Jet Ski to tweak the stats slightly, giving you just that little bit more speed or corning. Even though you can tweak the stats, you can't ever quite get the Max Speed guy to have the same corning as the Turning guy and such. The gameplay is fun, and the slalom between the buoys is interesting and keeps cheaters in check.
The music and sounds are tight, and the Water Physics are really good for the N64, the water behaves like...water, and crashing against the waves feels like the real thing (probably).
Bottom Line: Wave Race 64 is a fun racer, like it's buddy series 1080 Snowboarding. The 2P VS is fun and keeps it rolling for hours. The is worth a Buy or Play.
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