ransonshan

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Being the 8th installment of a beloved franchise, I expected this game to do great. I was wrong, it did not do fantastic for my standards, IT SURPASSED ALL OF MY STANDARDS! This game was the reason I bought a Wii U like most people did and I don't regret one penny I spent on this title. The graphics are superb, one of the best looking Wii U titles on earth. You can see every detail on every character and kart in the game as well as the wonderfully creative courses new to the series. The sound is a mix of classic, adrenaline-pumping, calm, jazzy, psychedelic, and fun soundtracks to go along with updated remixes of old stages. Playing split screen, once again, is a blast with friends and strangers alike. Being an Assassin's Creed multiplayer fan only, i had little expectation for this game's online multiplayer. How wrong I was, this is one of if not the most addicting multiplayer I have ever being happy to be apart of in the digital age of gaming. The lag is noticeably absent for the most part and never had i felt so comfortable playing with other players online thanks to this game's beginner-friendly community. If anytime you come across i player or players so far out of your league, there is nothing preventing you from limiting your options to lower level players in the new custom menu to get used to the game's controls and stages. The single player mode in this title has been flushed out more than any other game in the series thus far, making the 150cc AI much harder this time around for added competition as well as the new highlight system to give your single player experience better purpose than just to waste time. This game features an all-star cast of unforgettable Mario characters as well as lesser-known characters. Kart customization is back from Mario Kart Wii and I am glad to say that the kart customization is much more expansive and offers a large variety of control setups depending on your character, wheels, and glider. The anti-gravity featured in most stages gives off such a vibe that was absent from previous games, making the stages feel grand and epic simultaneously with its large array of gimmicks and visual spectacles. So after all of that you may think this is the absolute perfect Mario Kart ever made, I wish I could say that. The main beef many people have with this game (and many reasons there are more negative than mixed scores) is the lack of classic battle mode. By that I mean it ditched the arena concept of the original games and instead opted for the players to race ON THE RACE TRACKS to battle one another. I appreciate trying something new but this was not the way to go, this mode can drag on and most of the time players barely make contact with other racers. Fix this mode and all that remain are very minor nitpicks, like the meta-game first place player being safer in this game than ever before compared to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place players fearing for their lives. Overall, a phenomenal game with all the reason in the world to buy a Wii U.

I will give a very honest review of this game I am long time KOEI fan and have played my own fair share of Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Nobunaga's Ambition, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. However, this game took a different turn in terms of location and gameplay elements, which got my hopes up high. Starting the game i was happy with the game for a while, though since I view myself as a KOEI fan I feel I need to address some major concerns with the game as a whole. The good stuff first though, the gameplay is addicting and fresh, based more so on tactical combat rather than hack-and-slash. The voice acting, though a bit corny, does do its best in staying authentic with its british and french voices. Leveling up and using different units makes for great variety during combat and each battle you participate in does feel grand and epic due to the massive scale of the fights around you. Hearing news that an enemy base is taken or your ally is defeated in battle, on a completely different side of the battlefield makes the game seem much larger and active, which I believe is its greatest strength. Unfortunately, there are some problems that come into play very early on. The first major flaw is the hit detection, I don't know about anyone else who played this but i experienced a LOT of faulty hit detection during close encounters, mainly with sword units. They initially attack way too early and give up an opening for attack on you and your units. The combat, though strategically fun, is incredibly wonky and usually unresponsive if your up against less than groups of enemies. Early on in the game enemy AI and allied AI would act accordingly and logically in battle, attacking their nearest base and providing sufficient defense. However later in the game the AI goes completely braindead! Almost as if they have no clue what to do, or most of the time they leave YOU to do all the fighting and just sit tight in the back. The Graphics arent too good for PS3 and 360 standards, and the battles seem to get repetitive after a while when you know enemy weaknesses very well as well as your ability to abuse their intelligence. The battles are overall grand but ultimately are a mixed bag for me, as i LOVE the concept of this game, i really do. But I cannot bring myself to rate it as a great game in its current form.

Star Fox 64 Graphics 9/10- look amazing, extremely detailed environments and textures for N64 standards. The rumble pack was used for the first time in this game, enhancing the vibrating controller experience. Some points have enemies and texture pop-ups a bit too close to the player. Many items and textures can fit on screen, but this sometimes results in the game taking a slowdown, fortunately this only seems to happen on the non-arwing stages. The laser blasts and bombs are colorful and cartoonish. Sound 8/10- pretty solid, voice acting is corny but well done, sound effects are awesome to hear and correspond with the gameplay perfectly. The music and soundtrack differs in each linear stage and some sandbox stages, giving an atmospheric feel for the level design and situational urgency it has to offer. The boss music is the same throughout the game minus the final boss and Star Wolf's theme, but the track itself is pretty stimulating and appropriate. Gameplay 9/10- addictive, and stimulating, so much is happening on screen at once, enemy variety certainly helps and even though some may be disappointed with the generic cookie-cutter enemies that die with one shot and lack of difficulty. Choosing multiple paths and two different endings give it much replay ability value. Boss fights are fought in either a sandbox or POV fashion. They are generally easy and not too challenging, though there are some exceptions. Minus the sandbox levels, each stage ends with a boss battle. Defeating these bosses under certain conditions can unlock multiple paths to take upon completion, but you arenâ

Kessen Graphics 6/10- The graphics for itâ