I've played through the original countless times, changed the battery on my SNES cartridge once. Actraiser was the game, other than SMW and Pilotwings, that sold me on getting the system back in 1990 when it launched. Saved up a lot of allowance for that and it was my first real purchase as an "adult" of 11 yrs old. I was HIGHLY skeptical of this remake, especially since the first that I ever heard about it was after the Nintendo Direct on 9/23/21. There was absolutely no hype or previews for this game in any gaming news whatsoever. I threw caution to the wind, and boy am I glad that I did. They did a wonderful job of preserving the nonchalant two styles of gameplay that consist of the action and strategy portions. It is by no means a difficult or complex game, but what it does have- what it always had- is a lot of charm. I truly appreciate the art in the cutscenes that elaborates on the text-based story portions. I really like the ways in which the gameplay has been expanded: horde invasions occur every once in a while and demand that you fortify your city with tower defenses. It is still very basic combat compared to many other strategy sims we have these days, but again, that is the charm of it. It isn't punishing to the level that the player becomes frustrated. The only small gripe that I have with the strategy portion is that there is a lot of dialogue. Every time I am about to use a miracle or upgrade a fortress, the action seems to pause and take me to the temple because they have something to tell me-- but it is a minor issue. The text could have been streamlined a bit, but it DOES serve to help flesh out the original's bare-bones story a bit more. Now the action sequences-- at first, the 3D style is a bit jarring. When you are so used to the old-school charming graphics of the 1990s classic, that is bound to be the case. The hero has a light trail that follows him (a la Alucard in SOTN) and feels a little floaty comparatively, but let's be honest... he controls a LOT better than the very stiff hero in the original. There was never a time that I was pissed because it was hard to hit an enemy. There are more attacks now. You can do an uppercut-style slice, forward 3 hit, ground pound, and magic can be changed on the fly. In the original, you had to choose your magic before you started and were bound to that for the entire level. Also, the levels have been tweaked so that they are not as punishing either. If you fall into the water you don't die, but you do take damage. There is a LOT of new content on display here, including heroes in each region that help defend your civilization. Altogether, I was very pleasantly surprised by this unannounced gem of a title. The team that put it together should be very proud. They did a wonderful service to Actraiser 1990 and added a large amount of new content that not only fits the game but adds a depth to it that I never knew it could have. I am only at the third region in the game (6 hours in maybe?) but I am loving it so far.
Good rendering and acting. Bad BAD level design. I get the Metroidvania approach, but the repetitive amount of wall-running, hill surfing, and wall crack maneuvering get old really quick. Every level is doused with it. Combat is decent, but requiring force power to be used for a heavy attack was a major misstep. Imagine if you lost magic in Dark Souls for every heavy attack you used... it would make chaining together attacks a pain-- and it does here. Once you play through it once you will never want to go back to it again. It could have been worse, but it could have been a hell of a lot better!
A fun, pretty game that entertains with simple yet satisfying puzzles and beautiful stylized visuals. There is more to do after you finish it, but this is a great little game with a lot of heart. Definitely, recommend playing it with the headphones on because the score creates a pretty great atmosphere. Yet another great example of an artistic vision made possible through Kickstarter!
I have been playing this for a week and it is LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than its predecessor. The Kinect commands work really well, esp if you are using headphones while playing (so it can hear your voice better) and the mini games are actually a blast to play. Think Typing of the Dead fun. I have already learned to play some songs and I am way more comfortable navigating the guitar. My fingers are building up some nice calluses as they should be but I literally have never had this much fun using a video game to learn. Such an enormous song list and customization will ensure that I can be enjoying this for years to come. More video games should learn how to be educational as well as fun. I give it a 9 because it seems like ducks redux minigame is always a bit off on the E string. Also, I think that it should have different song areas that stay in the same key. It **** having to retune your guitar for specialty songs when you are just learning. Save special tunings for later on once you have the regular tuned songs down. Anyways- still tons of fun for those that want to learn.
This is outstanding storytelling and character building on display and it carries the entire game. The Graphics are decent and have a nice style, but sadly the animation is terrible and the cut scenes are often choppy. Telltale has always been extremely bad at things that are as basic as lip sync and walking animations (the characters look like they are skating on ice and not natural) and it boggles my mind that they haven't upped their game by now. For a simple game of decision making and a few action sequences, you would think that they could at least have it run smoothly. The ONLY saving grace which makes this game incredible is the story and the voice acting which is so strong that it makes up for these shortfalls. Hopefully, Telltale will not lean on this crutch again though, because without it it is clear to see that they are way behind the times. This game was way better than their other games based on beloved franchises that they are cashing in on, but they need to realize that if they spent the extra effort to really optimize the experience they could not only create something memorable, but truly flawless. ---Sorry but there should NOT be objects that are clipping and disappearing during cut scenes and flickering textures. It is just lazy--- with all of that said though, the story is still very fun and keeps you wanting to play through the end. It is worth a play, just don't expect a polished all round experience.
This is going to be a cult hit if it isn't already. It DOES have flaws, such as a fixed camera that makes jumping t some platforms extremely tough, however playing this game is an experience that you will ALWAYS remember. It is so weird, so unique, so memorable of a story and a setting. With the unconventional view on angels and It reminds me a little bit of reading "Preacher" with the unconventional view on angels and God's kingdom, mixed with the escalating strangeness of one of David Lynch's films just when you think it can't get any weirder it does. Think of it as a mix of Okami, Devil May Cry, Preacher, a Lynch movie, and Deadly premonition all rolled up together and you will have a good idea what it is about... Unfortunately, a lot of people will miss the point of this game and dismiss it as being weird for weirdnesses sake, but I found it to be mesmerizingly beautiful and entrancingly puzzling. One has to wonder what drugs the developers were on to come up with some of the material here, but you cannot help wanting to get to the end of this very very odd yet beautiful trip. Best part- got this on XBOX 360 sale for only 2.99! Double win.
This game is a great entry into the Castlevania series and a lot of fun to play through from beginning to end. It is challenging and rewarding and really well put together. It you like the series in its original incarnations, you will love the superior treatment that this Wiiware exclusive was given. It is too bad that more companies didnt give their old games this kind of treatment. Gargoyles Quest and such would have been excellent additions to the system as well.
As a huge pinball and Star Wars fan I have been looking forward to the release ever since I heard about it weeks ago. Finally I can say whole-heartedly after playing it all morning that I love these tables. A lot of care was taken to give it those subtle touches that pinball tables have always had- from the electric display at the top showing scenes from the movie to the name input being modeled after the carbonite slab display... it is all there. I was geeking out for hours at the love that they have shown the SW franchise as well as great pinball action. It is unfortunate that they couldn't use Harrison's voice from the movies, but the actor still hits it pretty close. My Fav is the Episode V table, closely followed by Boba Fett, and then the Clone Wars. The constant brightness of the lightsabers on the last one I found slightly distracting at times. Finally, I feel that the Pinball Hall of Fame collections have a slightly more true "Feel" to the real thing since those are REAL tables. However, as far as designing new beautiful tables that I WISH were real... this is the best you can do. These three tables are worth every penny.
Got this yesterday and having a blast with it. You will wonder what all those guitar games were about before this... this actually has you learn something useful that you can enjoy long after the game ends. The track list is pretty good but definitely missing some much needed greats like ZZ Top and other classics. Still, a great learning tool and I cant suggest it enough!
The ratings separation over this game tells you where the critics allegiances lie... ALL POSITIVE REVIEWS???? Give me a break - even if the ending would have been fantastic, there were still a lot of issues with the game. My biggest issue is that Mass Effect is a game of choices that all lead up to different outcomes. Both of the first games had them and that was what fans came to expect. The fact that this one opted for the easy, tacked on ending just shows how rushed it was. So sad to see a stellar franchise end on such a tragic note, sacrificing creativity and quality in the face of corporate greed. It wasn't even just about the story of the ending. There is a scene where Shepard and Anderson are supposed to be looking out at a view of Earth and Anderson says "what a view" and it is literally the WORST low resolution bitmap image that I have ever seen in a game. In the ending sequence... How is that not rushed and a slap in the face to all of the people who gave them their money and trust. I truly feel sorry for the employees that worked on Mass Effect 3, knowing that it was such a bomb ****. They likely wanted to speak up, but like many people in this economy, didn't jeopardize their jobs. Well, they have to live with that now - It probably won't be the first thing that they mention when someone asks what they worked on... Then, looking at the user reviews, you see a very different picture. Split right down the middle, with an incredible amount of negative reviews. I wonder if EA employs a division to write positive reviews to offset this.
This is my guilty pleasure game of the year. Yes, it has some spotty animation, yes it can be very frustrating at times, but it also is fun and cheesy at the same time. As a huge Star Wars fan I found the different games to be very entertaining, although the podracing is quite tiring on the arms. I love the franchise, but people that are saying that this is destroying the franchise need to calm down and take a breath. If the series can endure the likes of the holiday special, episodes 1-3, and the Force Unleashed, it can take just about anything. If you can't poke fun at the things you love, then you are just a little too zealous about them. Star Wars has always been a world where you take the things that you love and forget the things that you don't... Ewoks for instance... That being said, the dancing is the best part of the game. The podracing is decent too as well as the rancor rampage. The Jedi quest and dueling is sadly, the weakest link and should have been better, but it was still interesting. I got this only because it came with the exclusive system, but I would recommend waiting until you can pick it up for 20 bucks in a few months or rent it. I probably wouldn't pay $40 for it. You should still TRY it out before you write a terrible review, calling it trash, because you are trying to defend the franchise. Don't trust the "1" reviews on here. Those who wrote those have never played a REALLY bad game before...
I absolutely love this game. It builds upon the story and tension beautifully by weaving elements of many of today's best blockbuster games into the age old tapestry that is Castlevania mythos. At first, I was a little dismayed that it didn't "feel" like that old Castlevania that I was used to, but this is EXACTLY what the franchise needed. Let's face it, the Symphony of the Night clones on the DS were not breaking any new ground and the other recent forays into 3d Castlevania have been pretty sub-par. As a die hard old school Castlevania fan, even I had to admit... Castlevania had gotten stale. This game blew me away. Not only does it continually build up towards an amazing ending, but you truly feel like you are on a journey. It is a very atmospheric and gorgeous game to look at and I absolutely could not get enough of it. I can't wait to play through those long 20 hours again. Besides the story, the game play is spot on and the replay value is high. I simply cannot recommend this title enough. When you start playing it, please get through at least 4 or 5 hours before rating it. It only gets better and is full of surprises from beginning to end.
