It's certainly not a bad game but it doesn't really fit well into the Metroid franchise. Let's say Team Ninja has some traditional ideas about masculinity and femininity. I think the gameplay is generally fine though it unfortunately misses the point of adventure games by railroading you a lot. I think it's actually pretty cool to try an innovative control system by having the player switch between sideways mode and pointer mode. Even if the idea didn't end up being so good, I like experimentation for the sake of experimentation. And the story starts out great by recreating the classic ending of Super Metroid in glorious 3D. Indeed, throughout the game Team Ninja pays homage to other Metroid games so it's clear Other M was made by true fans. The real problem with the game is the horrendous mistreatment of Samus's character. They took the most badass independent woman in the universe and transformed her into a delicate sobbing flower with "daddy issues." All Metroid games have to come up with some reason Samus doesn't start out with all her powers from the last game, and in this game the reason is that she's not "authorized" to use them. Samus should have given Adam the finger when he demanded that she follow orders. She was there as an independent bounty hunter answering a distress signal and she can do what she wants.
At first glance it's just an ordinary platformer with a gimmick, and I do quite like the gimmick, but I can see why many critics rate the game poorly. However, as I got deeper into the game I fell in love with its brilliance and its weirdness. It's incredible how much effort went into designing levels that are played as both a 3D foreground and a 2D shadow projection. And the song Hinagiku by Gutevolk sets the tone of the atmosphere so well. I wish there was more of this game!
If you're considering not playing this because you already played Mario 64, just know that there is a ton of new content! Not only are there something like 30 extra stars and a ton of unlockable minigames and 3 new boss levels, but you even get to play other characters besides Mario! Not even Mario Galaxy offers that kind of variety.
Nice game. I filled it with porn. :D I think this is one of those games that has no idea what its target audience is. All the marketing makes it look like a game for the youngest DS players but it's way too difficult for them. And it's not even the kind of difficulty that more skilled players enjoy overcoming. It's the annoying kind.
One of the best games on the DS. The main story is fairly easy to get through and for those seeking a challenge there are a ton of extra challenge maps, each with their own gimmick. There were two that were too hard for me at first but I liked the game so much that I came back months later to beat those maps. My only complaint is that I had to look up how the scoring system works because that's not explained in the game at all.
It's an okay game if you like RPG Maker. But I'm really not a fan of long dialogue-reading segments and unintellectual turn-taking combat and slowly walking around.
Basically the same as Ben There Dan That, though perhaps a bit harder. I wasn't able to solve this one, which isn't a bad thing because I like challenging games.
It's clearly a loving homage to LucasArts adventures, but it really pales in comparison to what it's imitating. It's too slow-paced, the puzzles aren't that interesting, and the humor is self-serving bro banter that relies on the idea that other people find these two twenty-something white guys as funny as they do themselves while constantly taking stabs at people who aren't like them. The dialogue is boring to read through (yes "read" because there are no voices and few sound effects). I did appreciate the part where they make fun of the US, because it's always fun to see what other countries think of us.
This takes everything good about King Dugan's Dungeon and doubles it. Now there's a more involved story that appropriately intertwines with the gameplay and doesn't distract from it. Unique NPC behavior makes for unique puzzles. DROD isn't a game for everybody, but it's certainly a game for me!
I enjoyed it for a while but eventually it was just a grind. Progress became too slow so I quit. Maybe my experience was skewed because I made it too hard by choosing "deprived."
Other than its moderate focus on melee combat, it's not particularly different from any other shooter in the genre. There's a normal number of levels with a normal number of enemies. There are a handful of weapons that you're encouraged to switch between because otherwise you'll run out of ammo, and if you're like me you want to get the weapon-specific achievements. I understand the original is completely off the wall and tongue-in-cheek. This game starts out that way but eventually becomes oddly serious, so that comes across like a tone issue to me. It's good for one play-through but maybe not for two.
Programming, art, design, sound, every aspect of this game is spectacular. I don't normally like this experience-on-rails kind of game. I'm normally a hardcore gameplay junkie that doesn't care much for story. But Inside blew me away. I took the time to find all the secrets on my own.
Best Sonic game I've ever played. I have many complaints about the original 2D Sonic and this game fixes all of them. The fast-paced levels are designed to keep you moving all the way through rather than to stop you and slow you down, and it's clear that Sonic works so much better in 3D because you can see what's coming and react to it. I'm a big exploration gamer and secret hunter, and this game not only provides secrets to be found in the many different routes of the fast levels but also provides a whole separate game mode where you slow down and explore levels at a moderate pace. This gives the game great variety which I also like. And then there are unlockable puzzle levels that impressively combine the two radically different play styles into one.
I can't for the life of me understand why this game has such a high score. The only reason to play this game is because it doesn't have a lot of FPS competition on the Wii. But that's kind of silly because the Metroid Prime games were already out. And if Metroid isn't your thing, well Red Steel came out in 2006. I kept thinking I was enjoying the game the way I'd enjoy crappy indie game with all its indie charm, but there's nothing indie about it. By the time I got to the end, it was clear it was just a regular bad game. The complete non-resolution of a cliffhanger was just insulting. Definitely not worth suffering through all the mediocre repetitive gameplay and bare-minimum linear level design. I'm very good at searching for secrets, but I couldn't find all the secret messages in any of the 9 levels. I have no idea what I was doing wrong.
Don't let the match-3 appearance fool you. It's actually a unique and imaginative strategy/puzzle game, and it's executed very well. It might not have much to do with Heroes of Might and Magic, but it's worth a chance to appreciate it for what it is.
I highly recommend this game, especially for adult gamers who have a hard time finding a challenge on the DS. It's like a Pokemon RTS. And not only will you want to catch all the monsters, you'll want to complete your list of spells (which are cast using an innovative rune-drawing system). There's a very strong appeal to people who like collection-based games. I understand that this game failed to gain popularity because it was regrettably released still needing to be tweaked a bit. The inconsistent difficulty curve could certainly use some ironing out. But like I said, it's a rare example of a hard game on the DS so that's a plus. And the charming graphics/story/character design make me willing to forgive its flaws.
It's a very fun and happy game with catchy music. Should put a smile on your face. One of the few games I've gotten to play with my mom. I figured the balance board might appeal to her.
The boards in this game are actually pretty cool, although there are only 6 of them including the unlockable Bowser board. The downfall of this game is that none of the minigames are any fun. The N64 Mario Parties are way better than this. Mario Party 8 has no minigames that I really like or look forward to or am excited about when they get drawn from the hat.
Very short: only 3 levels. Also keep in mind that it's an arcade-style rail shooter. It has some replay value because there are different routes you can take. You unlock new routes and guns by playing over and over again. There's supposedly a bikini mode that you unlock by maxing out your weapon levels to level 99 or something, but nobody should ever want to play this game for that long. My brother was obsessed with this game but even he couldn't bring himself to get even halfway there. But this game is fun to make fun of. I have a lot of inside jokes with my brother about this game.
It's like a linear Assassin's Creed. The game is a combination of melee combat and freerunning/climbing sequences. It can get repetitive, but towards the end there's one of the most memorable puzzles I've encountered that will appeal to all the puzzle lovers out there. I'm referring to figuring out how to maneuver a giant statue through a room along a sort of conveyor belt. And the final boss on hard mode was so hard that it took me about 3 hours of attempts.
Has plenty of different sports like skiing and even ice skating. But this should be a game that's sold on its multiplayer capabilities and the multiplayer experience is very poor. Apart from a handful of racing tracks in some kind of "dream" mode that's not even based on real sports, every sport in this game is played one-at-a-time. That's right, almost all of the multiplayer involves sitting and watching while waiting for your turn.
Waste of time. Uninspired running around small arena levels collecting pickups and fighting or dodging baddies. Much more fun to be had playing free games on a browser.
I know this game isn't for everybody, but it's a guilty pleasure for me. It's weird that I like it so much since it's barely even a game. It's missing two key game components: a challenge and a way to lose. It's just a fun and relaxing experience that captures the wonder of scuba diving without the tension of "I'm gonna die down here!" I'd say I don't recommend it if you're a hardcore gamer, but then again I consider myself to be a hardcore gamer. It's strange how many hardcore gamers like this game. So I'll say this. What's your favorite part of Skyrim? If you'd say the exploration like I would, this game is for you. (copied from my Blue World review)
I know this game isn't for everybody, but it's a guilty pleasure for me. It's weird that I like it so much since it's barely even a game. It's missing two key game components: a challenge and a way to lose. It's just a fun and relaxing experience that captures the wonder of scuba diving without the tension of "I'm gonna die down here!" I'd say I don't recommend it if you're a hardcore gamer, but then again I consider myself to be a hardcore gamer. It's strange how many hardcore gamers like this game. So I'll say this. What's your favorite part of Skyrim? If you'd say the exploration like I would, this game is for you.
Not sure what the point of reviewing is since this game comes with the Wii. If you got a Wii secondhand and don't have it then I guess it's worth buying for a dollar, but it pales in comparison to Wii Sports Resort. Resort improves upon bowling and golf, changes tennis to table tennis, and has a ton more sports to play. I think boxing and baseball are the only reasons to have Wii Sports if you already have Wii Sports Resort, and boxing and baseball are pretty limited minigames.
Took a lesson from New Super Mario Bros. Wii on how to make a great co-op single screen 4-player platformer. I'd say it's more difficult than Mario. So far I haven't gotten enough lums to get a medal on a single level.
I love this game, but then again I love all Fire Emblem games. The level design is impeccable and the strategy gameplay is deeply involved. Unfortunately, I thought I could count on a Fire Emblem game to have a standalone story. I didn't realize this was a sequel to the Game Cube Fire Emblem which I haven't played. Yet. So anyway, I often find myself confused about which characters I'm supposed to recognize and which are new.
The game isn't awful. The colorful graphics will appeal to anime fans. But this is a rare example **** that I actually trading in before beating. I've described it as an MMO without the MMO. It's Harvest Moon with an MMO-style combat system tacked on, where you just click the bad guy and wait for the battle to end. I think there was a Rune Factory game that actually had "A Fantasy Harvest Moon" as a subtitle. What this means to me is that after the small world has all been explored, I just gotta get up every day and work. Work! That's not fun. It was fun while it lasted to explore around town and level up my tools and see what all I could do, kind of figuring out which female character I'd like to romance (if it's an anime, it's a harem anime). Sooner than I expected, I discovered how to grow a beanstalk up to the floating whale-shaped island where all the enemies are. I had to go back every day as I leveled up and could get a little further through the cave every time. Eventually I got to a dead end where there's a girl in a tower and I figured you gotta grow special flowers in her garden to draw her out. But I never did, because that was the point at which I decided this game wasn't worth my time.
I'm not really into fitness games, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with this. There are 9 minigames that really come across as actual games, all of which involve testing your balance with the balance board. I'm talking about hula hoops and ski jumping and stuff. There's a really cool one where you have to sit on the balance board and apparently meditate, keeping absolutely still. It's really difficult. I liked the DDR-style step aerobics sequence because I'm really into DDR. The game assumes you're playing to lose weight, and it doesn't really know what to tell you if you're underweight. The game can even come across as kind of mean. My mom isn't that fat, but the game kept calling her obese.
This game really has something for everyone. It appears to have 12 minigames at first, but then you'll find that those are actually 12 categories of minigames, with up to 3 games in each category. Skydiving, island flyover, and swordplay showdown offer great single-player experiences. A few of the multiplayer experiences like wakeboarding are really just single player where one person does the whole thing and then the next person goes, whereas in other minigames you get to take turns interspersed like in archery or golf or bowling. But the best multiplayer minigames are where everyone gets to play at the same time like in table tennis. The only game that lets you have 4 people at the same time and thus requires 4 Wii remotes is canoeing. And one of the 2 canoeing modes is the only minigame that's co-op, so don't expect a lot of co-op in this title.
I was interested in playing this game because of the inflammatory press coverage calling it a Columbine simulator. I guess controversy really does sell. Anyway, it's a great little task-based minigame-based adventure game full of variety. Lots of great characters, tons of cutscenes, tons of content that keeps it interesting. I was amazed by how this game kept going and going. And I should note that there's no killing in this game whatsoever. Your arsenal of weapons looks like it belongs to Bart Simpson. You can fall asleep while swimming or run people down with a go-kart, but no one ever dies. No real guns at all.
It's pretty lackluster compared to the GBA original. Each microgame only has 3 difficulty levels. It doesn't scale up forever like in the GBA game, so there's very little replay value. The multiplayer minigames are lackluster as well. There are collectable cards that are sort of awarded to you at random and really aren't worth taking the time to collect, so completionists will not like this game. I was trying to complete this game but only ended up with about 30% of the cards.
This is the first Wii game I ever played. It's a great example of what the Wii can do. Great 3D physics, great variety of minigames including competitive and co-op.
I'm 90 hours into the game and I gotta say it lives up to the hype. The game is gorgeous and the action-packed gameplay is involved enough to not feel repetitive. The main character is obnoxious and the writing is lacking, but I've seen worse and the game gives you a Japanese voice track option for all you Japanophiles. Be warned, however: I think this is the single most complicated game I've ever played. And I should mention that if you're the type of gamer who wants to play as one of the female characters and strip her down to her underwear and watch her run around, this game is for you too.
Don't be fooled by the infantile presentation. When you start this game, you'll feel like you've made a mistake by buying a game for babies. But the puzzles get really difficult really fast, and this game has some of the most clever puzzles I've seen. There's a level where you have to examine a lock and make a key of that shape... out of ice! If you stick with this game you'll find the characters to be likable and the overall experience very satisfying.
When it comes to the difficulty of the top platformers for the Wii, I'd say Epic Yarn is the easiest, Mario is medium, and this is the hardest. It's a fun game with lots of fresh gimmicks and variety, and the story cutscenes are cute. DK at his best.
It's very impressive how Nintendo has masterfully conquered the challenge of making a 4-player single-screen co-op platformer. They must have painstakingly designed each level to work with 4 people, but it flows so smoothly that you never think twice about it. And long-time Mario fans will have fun noticing elements taken from every Mario game that came before, including the level-end flag from Super Mario Bros, the overworld map from Mario Bros 3, Yoshi from Super Mario World and backflips / triple jumps from Mario 64.
Metroid Prime 3 takes the franchise in some bad directions and not only includes much more character interaction but makes the dialogue infantile and stupid. I can see how 3 might be seen as paving the way for Other M. But it's still worth a play for Metroid fans. (copied from my trilogy review)
If you played Okamiden and were disappointed, know that its predecessor Okami is better in every way, at least twice as good as Okamiden. Without invisible walls and railroading, Okami lets you feel free to explore and use your powers to uncover every secret. The brush techniques feel more like real Zelda-style puzzle-solving tools rather than stupid quick time events. Okami was meant to be played on a home console, where it's a beautiful and very satisfying experience.
Metroid Prime is on my list of the three best games of all time, and Metroid Prime 2 is just about as good as the first and even improves on it in some ways. Metroid Prime 3 goes in some bad directions and not only includes much more character interaction but makes the dialogue infantile and stupid. I can see how 3 might be seen as paving the way for Other M. But it's still worth a play for Metroid fans.
If you love Smash or fighting game in general, obviously you'll want to get this. If you're not that into fighting games but like platforming brawlers, the 5-hour single player or co-op campaign should seal the deal.
All my complaints about Galaxy 1 apply here as well. 1 and 2 are very similar games. Some stuff was added, some removed, but none of it is particularly important. It's still a risk-free whitewashed Mario experience. I will say that if you're looking for co-op, Galaxy 2 offers better co-op than Galaxy 1.
It meets Nintendo's high standards of quality, and you're almost guaranteed to have fun with this game, but all that goes without saying. This game is clearly trying to be another Mario 64 and it fails to do so. Mario 64 allows you to explore each level like an adventure game. In Mario Galaxy, you have to pick which star you're going for before you even start the level, and then it's just linear like an old-fashioned Mario game. There are plenty of cool gimmicks, but the lack of risks on the developers' parts makes this game a whitewashed experience.
This is the worst Zelda game. That doesn't mean it's a bad game though, since Zelda does set the bar pretty high. I'm mostly turned off by how uninspired it is. Instead of someone saying "I have a great idea for a new Zelda game," it feels like someone said "we need a new Zelda game for the Wii, so what can you come up with?" The story is the same old boring crap about how you're the hero of destiny who has to fulfill a prophecy. Every single item in this game is based on an item in another Zelda game. And Navi doesn't hold a candle to how obnoxious your sidekick is now. As a testament to how sloppily this game was thrown together, it was released with the most glaringly fatal glitch that has ever been seen in a Nintendo game. I'm sure the developers were all very embarrassed by how badly this reflects on them. One thing that annoys me about this game is that it was advertised as going at the beginning of the "official Zelda timeline." I could write a whole other review about how stupid that timeline is and how I wish they could just treat Zelda like many other highly respected series like Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem by accepting that the games don't have to be connected in their storylines. Anyway, since I was expecting this game to be set at the very beginning, I kept my fingers crossed in hopes that they wouldn't start the game off with the Wind Waker Zelda trope of having hieroglyph-like murals explain the ancient historic conflicts that occurred long before this game. And sure enough, that's exactly how this game starts. And the game is full of references to the distant past, like with the admittedly cool mechanic of having time shift stones reveal the world of 1000 years ago. It's full of ancient things because the makers of this game don't know how to do things any differently, but also because I'm sure the decision to put this game at the beginning of the timeline came after the game was already made and so the writers were not part of that conversation. Minish Cap explains the origins of Link's hat, so if you want Link to have his signature hat in the game you better put it after Minish Cap in the timeline! To be fair, I do appreciate the few new things they tried with this game, like the stamina bar and the limited inventory space. But the problem is that both of those things serve to limit what you can do and so are perceived as nothing but an annoyance! Players want to feel empowered rather than stunted, and so those new features fall flat on their face. And speaking of empowerment, I'm sick of the Zelda story trope of having your every move be predetermined as part of some prophecy, which is hit harder in this game than any other. I'd like to carve my own destiny, thank you very much.
To get my main complaints out of the way, traversing the overworld is boring and uneventful. You eventually activate Stargate-looking warps but they each take you to one specific spot! It's bad enough that you can't warp from anywhere like in Wind Waker, but once you enter a warp you can't even choose which warp to go to from there! And completionists will have a problem because you have to collect treasures to buy all the train parts, but you have to rely and randomly getting the right treasures from the environment. You have to grind by leaving and reentering areas over and over again hoping you'll get the right stuff. But enough complaining. You're a Zelda fan: if you can get over the train segments then you'll like this game. And interestingly, I think Zelda plays a larger part in this game than any other Zelda title, because the titular princess is now your very own sidekick! This lets you get a better impression of who she is as a character, which I liked. And Spirit Tracks also has the coolest instrument of any Zelda game in my opinion, because blowing into the microphone gives the impression that you are actually playing it! Reasons to skip this game: - If you don't like Toon Link or Zelda in general - If you're a compulsive completionist and can't stand to have missing items - The overworld is slow and boring to traverse - There's not a lot that's different about this installment in the series Key differences between this and Phantom Hourglass: - Because of the titular tracks, Spirit Tracks gives you even less control in the overworld navigation - Spirit Tracks is more detached from the Wind Waker storyline - Spirit Tracks gives you a cool instrument to play like in other Zelda games - The recurring dungeon in Spirit Tracks has no time limit, and doesn't require you to redo sections
