STU2
Reviews
Wii Sports (Wii)
A more then generous introductory free game to the Nintendo Wii
The Good
I suppose I was among the lucky few who actually managed to snag a Nintendo Wii; even luckier was that I managed to get one a few days after launch. Since then I've been able to play and sample several games (ExciteTruck being the worse, Zelda being the best), but the one game that I keep coming back to is Wii Sports.
Writing reviews for Wii games is going to become an ongoing difficulty in the game industry. How do you write reviews that are almost entirely based on user's preferences and general gaming skill? Sure, you can look and judge games based on quality of graphics, music, dialogue, story, the usual; but when it comes to the Wii, there really is no universal standard for gameplay.
Wii Sports demonstrates this pretty effectively. Wii Sports is the pack-in game that comes with the Nintendo Wii. It offer 5 different sports: Bowling, Golf, Boxing, Tennis, and Baseball, plus a few other smaller options. If you sit down with this game, you will have a fun time playing it; but when you sit back and watch others play, you will notice that everyone has their own play style, and as such get different results.
Since Wii Sports is essentially 5 games in one, I'll review each game type seperately, starting with my favorite and what I believe is the best game.
Bowling - Most reviewers will agree with me that this is the best developed of all the games. In order to play, you hold your Wiimote in front of you, like you'd hold a real bowling ball. You swing back, just like in real life, and move forward (while releasing B) to throw the ball. Depending on how straight your motion is, the ball will either go straight, curve, or have spin on it. The same goes with the speed of your movements controlling the speed of the ball. One little interesting addition that they put in the game is that you can literally do the "drop throw" you see in real life. While it is possible to play this game sitting down and just using your wrists, the best control is achieved when you actually stand up and do a full arm motion; no need to actually line up and take the required steps, however.
The scoring and game is standard; 10 frames, strikes, spares, the dreaded splits, etc. This is also one of the few games on Wii Sports that allows you to have multiple players controlling one Wiimote.
Baseball - Pretty much the only complaint I've heard about baseball is that it isn't completely realistic. The player has two duties in this game: to bat the ball, and to throw the ball. Batting is pretty self explanatory; hold the Wiimote like a regular bat, and swing away. This is one game where it actually is easier to just use one arm/wrist instead of doing the full motion with both hands wrapped around the controller. Pitching is accomplished by moving the controller in a throwing motion. Speed is determined by how fast you whip it, and direction by directional control, naturally. One interesting thing is that there are multiples times of pitches: fastball, curveball, screwball, and splitter. These are changed by which button or combination of buttons you hold down as you pitch.
Boxing - The only game in Wii Sports that uses the nunchuck. You hold both hands before you, just like you would your fists in a real match. Depending on where you swing, you will perform different punches: jabs, uppercuts, body blows, etc. You are able to dodge blows by physically moving your body (or the controllers) to the far left or right.
Interesting bit of trivia: the first opponent in boxing looks just like Jim Caviezel from Passion of the Christ.
Golf - My least favorite of the games. It's golf. You have enough control that you can slice, hit it halfway decent, change your clubs, putt fairly decently, and still get so bored that you quit halfway through the first hole. You actually have to swing your controller like a golf club to get results in this game, and I guarantee that the first time you putt you will seriously overcompensate and send your ball flying. If you can tell, I really haven't played this one too much; it's golf.
Tennis - 2 on 2 tennis match. You have no control over the movement of your characters; just the club/paddle/stick/ whatever. Probably the most simple and underdeveloped of the Wii Sports games. Another game that I really have not put much time into.
So those are the 5 main games. Two other neat additions to Wii Sports is a training mode and a Fitness mode ala some of those Brain games for DS. Through 3 events (Pick up the Spare, Hit the Tennis Ball, and Hit the Homerun) the game tracks your progress daily and provides you with your "Wii Age", pun very much intended I'm guessing. This is actually pretty entertaining, and provides a little incentive to put some time into Wii Sports daily.
One last thing very much positive - the music following the boxing event is highly infectious. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a new source of remix music.
The Bad
Ok, let's do this by game type again.
Baseball - I personally did not have any issue with this, but a few have commented on it to me. Baseball does not follow normal rules. If you bunt, you are out. If they catch the ball after it bounces anywhere in the infield, you are out. You also have no control over anyone else but the pitcher and batter. Basically, you swing and throw, and in the case of batting, depending on how long it takes them to get to the ball or how far away the ball is, you will either get a single, double, or the rare triple.
My response to people who voice this complaint? Wait until Mario Baseball. Oh, and stop whining.
Boxing - This is boxing, not Street Fighter. If you attempt to land a thousand hyper fists, you will get hit. I, and others who have played this, have tried to move faster than the game. It is very easier to move faster than your character can react, and when that happens, you just end up losing control while your Mii spazs out. Once you slow down and actually start thinking of which punches you want to land, and the timing of those punches, the game will respond normally.
Golf - Fairly easy to trick this game. There really is no need to do any backswing. Just hold the controller stationary then throw it forward; instant shot that often tends to be better than perfect. Putting takes some practice; the key is to followthrough, and odds are you will still overshoot.
Bowling - Really nothing I can say bad about this game. It controls nigh perfectly. Some better camera angles would be appreciated though; at times, you can never tell if you are looking at one pin or a row of pins. I've also noticed that the closer you get toward the sensor bar, the straighter your shot...but that would be cheating.
Tennis - It might just be me, but I've really felt no noticeable control over where I can send the ball to. It feels like I'm just hitting the ball, and letting it go where it wants. This is probably just a failing on my part, though.
Other than that...well, I suppose the argument can be made that the graphics suck, there isn't enough games, the music isn't of FF quality, etc. But those are others complaints, not mine.
The Bottom Line
Wii Sports is probably more like a Zero Generation game than a 1st Generation game for the Wii. While it is a pack-in, this is a highly well done pack-in that not only can provide hours of entertainment for you and your family and friends, but is also the perfect introduction to the system that many have predecided is geared toward first graders.
Prove them wrong. Go buy a Wii and play some Wii Sports.
By STU2 on November 26, 2006
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PlayStation 2)
Jak and Daxter: One Silent Hero, One Loud Mouthed Son of a...who we love.
The Good
For years I held off buying a PS2, for many different reasons; chief among them being that I already owned a Gamecube and an Xbox, and most of the the time if a game appeared on all three systems it was superior on the Xbox or Cube. However, there was still that cursed "exclusive" game that I wanted to play on the PS2. One of them that I wanted to play was the Jak and Daxter Trilogy, and so one week while a friend of mine was out of town, I "borrowed" his PS2 and went out and picked up a copy of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
Jak and Daxter is simply a platform game, but one that elevates the genre from where it had languished post-Super Mario 64. The game stars Jak, some weird Elfish guy who never talks, and Daxter, a little furry sidekick thing that never shuts up. The goal of the game is to run around platforming while collecting Precursor Orbs (cash), Power Cells (power), and Eco (the game's version of magic, which comes in many different flavors). The game does include a villainous duo who you must defeat at the end of the game.
One of the first things you will notice in the game is that Jak is essentially Crash Bandicoot v 2.0. Many of his moves are the same, and he just controls and feels like the same character. This is not really that surprising considering both games were developed by Naughty Dog.
Without a doubt, Daxter is one of the best sidekicks ever. He is essentially the voice of the game, providing many hilarious one liners and comedic acts. While he is not actually a playable character, and never once pulls his own weight in the game, he still steals the show.
The graphics are amazing, especially for being an early generation PS2 game. Cutscenes are all well done, as well as well scripted and voice acted. Daxter in particular is memorable once again. There is however no actual story progression that does not involve cutscenes in the game, unless you count someone telling you to go somewhere after you complete an objective.
Boss fights are pretty easy as most of them follow the simple pattern attack style. The end boss is especially interesting, composed of multiple stages. The game also rewards you with a secret ending...two in fact, if you can manage to collect everything in the game (which is extremely tough...when I finished the game, I was hovering around the 87% mark).
The music is also pretty excellent. While it's not something you will want a cd of, it nevertheless fits the game perfectly.
The Bad
While the controlling Jak is universally excellent, one minor gripe I had was that he doesn't recover fast enough between attacks. I lost much health because I'd attack, and before I could respond again I'd be nailed by an enemy.
Don't you hate it when it seems every single other platformer game out there has to mess with the camera controls? One game you have to move the controller to the right to turn the camera left, other games it is reversed, etc. While this is only a minor nuisance, it does get annoying if you jump back and forth between games, and find yourself wrestling with the camera because it just won't pan like you want it to.
The difficulty level of the game raises some questions too. While I mentioned above the boss fights, there is still some difficulty with just the typical platforming parts, mainly due to the camera or the ineptness of the person playing the game.
Oh, and have I ever mentioned how much I hate ice levels? It is incredibly difficult to fight or land on ledges that are covered in ice; you are constantly sliding everywhere, including off the map! Ice levels brings up another interesting disappointment with this game: level design. Some of the levels are superb; some, such as the ice level, seem to be designed to confuse the heck out of you. The game tells you to go find something, but the levels are designed in such a way that you end up walking in circles because you can't find your way around.
Yet overall, there really is nothing "wrong" with the game.
The Bottom Line
The first part of a trilogy, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is much different than the rest of the games. The first game is a platformer that teaches you the controls, introduces the characters, and sets up the rest of the story. Fans of games like Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, or Pyschonauts will appreciate the game, and will spend many fun hours immersed in it.
By STU2 on October 24, 2006
Dracula in London (DOS)
A classic PC game based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula"
The Good
Back in the mid to late 90's, a few companies would release "super cds" full of games. Most of the games were just demos or shareware, such titles as the single episode games of Wolfenstein and Doom. However, many of these discs also included the full version of older games, such as the Hugo Trilogy, Jill of the Jungle, or Nightmare 3-D. One of the games included on these discs was "Dracula in London," based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula."
A quick note - I'm writing this review based on my memory of playing a game a good 11-12 years ago. I've searched around, but I no longer have my original game cd.
While having never read the original "Dracula" novel, I can not tell you how closely the game follows the book. I do remember a definite sense of deja-vu when I finally sat down a few years ago and watched the movie "Dracula", the one with Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins. The game definitely follows the events of that movie, which makes sense since they both came out around the same time I believe.
"Dracula in London" is a dying (or dead) breed of game. The graphics and style of the game is vaguely reminescent of classic games like "Carmen Sandiego" on the old Macs and IBMs. You read a big long paragraph or two explaining what is happening, where you are, and hopefully what you need to do. Then the game gives you multiple text options, things like "Search the cemetary"; "Go visit the Library"; "Check your inventory"; or as the screenshot indicates, "Go Visit Renfield."
Speaking of Renfield, I remember you do visit him quite alot in the game. Based on what day it is and what time, not only will he be acting differently but there would be different gameplay options you could do with or to him. Things such as heal him, talk to him, attack him...the usual things.
Since the game essentially takes place over a short period of time, about three to four days, the game experience remains largely the same each time you play the game. You basically being to memorize when and where each event in the game will take place. What the game does to break this up is having you search for both Dracula, his minions, and his coffins of dirt (go watch the movie).
Suppose you need to go search a warehouse to find those coffins of dirt. You'd choose your party, decide which weapons you want to carry with you (Holy Water, cross, medical kit, etc...go see the screenshot), and then go to the warehouse. You'd first assume control of one character, move him around, and then assume control of the next character, repeat, etc. I do remember each character had a limited number of moves he could make per his turn (although I can not remember if that applied to general movement or just movement during combat).
If you found a box that might contain dirt, you'd start tapping the arrow keys in the direction of that box. Then, depending on who your character is, or what item or weapon he has, the game will declare if it's just regular dirt or if you managed to poison the dirt that Dracula brought with him.
Eventually you'd face off against Dracula himself. You would need to attack him all at the same time with your party, using the variety of weapons at your disposal. Occasionally he would attempt to poison or subvert your party (ie, turning them against you) by mind control, and you would have to deal with them too. Depending on how successful you were in the game, and whether or not you managed to even defeat Dracula, the game would treat you to a different end game screen, chronicling what happened to each of your characters after the events of the game. If you were highly successful, each character would grow old, retire, and die wealthy or at least happy. If not successful, chances are half your group would end up in mental wards, and the other half would be suicidal or minions of Dracula.
The Bad
Ever read a review on Mobygames, usually by someone who writes one or two lines without thinking about them, where it says something like "Tetris sucks because there are only x number of blocks?" Or my personal favorite - "Super Mario Bros. is a bad game because the graphics aren't that good."
This game was made in the late 80's to early 90's. As such the graphics are not Half-Life 2. They are not even Quake II, Doom, Wolftenstein, or X-Wing. What they are is a good example of what gaming was like back in the olden days, for better or for worse.
Yes, you could make the point that "Dracula in London" sucks because Dracula is not in 3-D and dripping with blood, but you'd be missing the point. This game is by and large a text adventure, with some nice visuals just to add flavor. Your onscreen characters do not need to be heavily visual; a simple "D" for Dracula is sufficient to tell you that that the big D is moving at you.
Here's another good negative review- "There is too much writing." If there is one thing "Dracula in London" is good at it is making you read, what with numerous journals, vampire lore, and even just location and event descriptions. Many gamers nowadays get turned off by too much reading; they want their action now. Yet when this game was made, nearly all pc videogaming was text based; therefore "too much reading" is not a reason to not like this game.
If I had to give serious thought to a flaw in this game, it would be the length. You do essentially play the same things over and over again, with minor variations. Yet what you do play is still good enough to warrant playing over and over until you do everything just right.
The Bottom Line
After writing this review, I want to play this game again. And isn't that what a classic game should do to you? It should remind you and haunt you of fun and chills you had long ago. While it might not hold up as well today, any game worthy of the "classic" label should be first a walk down memory lane, and a "technical and visual achievement that still holds up today" second.
This game, along with many others, I wholeheartedly recommend trying out if you ever find a copy. A perfect weekend game.
By STU2 on October 10, 2006
Geist (GameCube)
Geist- It Will Possess You...if you give it a chance
The Good
One of the more interesting games I have ever played, Geist is a game that should be experienced by everyone, regardless of your taste in genres.
A supernatural action adventure, Geist places you in the shoes of John Raimi. You infiltrate the Volks corporation, get your spirit separated from your body, meet a strange little girl who died nearly 80 years ago, accidently help set loose a demon, change genders (and even species), discover a vast underground santuary home, and beat up old men in wheelchairs. Quite alot of things to do in this 10-15 hour game.
Geist is a hard game to categorize. While at first it might seem to be a shooter...it's not, really. Shooting a gun is merely the combat system of the game. It's difficult to describe. It does not follow a lot of the rules of a typical FPS. You do not go around collecting ammo or grenades, you can't pick up and choose different types of guns, and alot of the functions of typical guns, like sniping and secondary fires, are not present either. However, the multiplayer is a typical (and by Gamecube standards, very excellent) FPS game, and there are a variety of types and bots and weapons to choose from.
Geist borrows elements from a variety of different games. Most of the first person interactivity of the game can be traced back to "Breakdown" on the Xbox. That was one of the first games to physically show your hands doing common movements, like pulling a switch, twisting a screw, picking up food and eating it, etc. Geist is very similar.
Another game, or rather genre of games, that Geist borrows heavily from is the old point and click adventures on the PC. Those games would set the game world up so that you had to do this and that, normally in a certain order, while providing lots of graphical eye candy to look at but not touch. Geist takes a similar approach: while there might be dozens of objects in a given room, only two or three of them are truly interactive and possessible; you essentially have to do what the game designers want you to do. This approach to game design encourages only a little bit of creativy on the gamers part, but allows many attempts at scripted humor and drama.
Sadly, many professional reviewers marked the game down precisely because of that. They didn't seem to understand the game very well, and as a result Geist was butchered by the press. They seemed to believe that if you are able to possess things in a game, you should be able to possess everything in a game. That would be near impossible to program, and frankly would have made the game boring. Not every game can be Ultima VII...
A note on the boss battles: they do not follow a set pattern. In many games you just have to memorize how a boss will respond, and then at what time you need to fire or hit that certain sweet spot. In Geist, you have to figure out each bosses weakness and exploit it, and then hit the weak spot. It definitely puts life into that "3-hit rule" of boss battles that Nintendo is popular for.
This game also has amazing level design. I'd easily put it on par with the amazing Eternal Darkness. Some of the locales are breathtaking and inspiring. The underground home that was built in the 1920's is especially amazing. It's rare for first person games to put so much thought and creative energy into just the environments.
Another thing that makes the levels so great is that they are scaleable. Meaning, you can walk the area as a human, see certain things, and then possess the body of a rat, and see the same things, then notice cracks in the walls which you can run into and around the room to various ledges and cracks. The detail to the level design is simply amazing.
One more thing: I want the soundtrack. Most of the music in the game is amazing, although one or two songs get a little repetitive.
And it's always funny to me when I hear sound effects that have been recycled. In Geist, the door opening is the exact same effect used in Goldeneye. That old familiar "chatch" sound...
The Bad
I have to mention the final boss battle. While I'm all for having a final boss that is a challenge, and this one certainly is...it should be a challenge based on player skill and a small degree of luck, not based on the cheap little "bitch attacks" of the boss. The boss fight is one of those fights were you are shouting at the screen "How did he hurt me?" or "Why am I getting hurt by nothing??" As far as I can tell, in a typical fight, you are hurt by either A- the opponent's attacks, or B- the environment (lava, etc).
Geist introduces something new: an invisible and random "energy field/game pathway" that throws you either into the ceiling or ground unexpectantly and does damage to you for no explainable reason. All of a sudden, you just lose control and are hurt. And then the boss spazs out and hurts you even more.
Even after I figured out how to beat the boss, I probably still wasted a good half an hour just hoping that I might get completely lucky and avoid these damaging "throws" while avoiding the real boss attacks and returning fire. Frustrating it was.
Which brings up a thought- Are there any games out there that have a final boss that is impossible to defeat, because the designers created it to be impossible? As an object lesson or such?
Another subtracting note might be some of the design of the puzzles in the game. In one section, you have to find a bag of medicine for a man lying on a medical table. You know where the bag is (on a shelf) because you saw a flashback of it earlier. However, that shelf could be anywhere. I was wandering the corridors for quite a while just trying to figure out where to go next; turns out I had to run through a fire, taking half of my health away, before finding the room I needed. Then I died, but at least I knew where to go, and that I needed a fire extinguisher.
On a minor comment...part of the game's M rating is listed as "partial nudity." Wouldn't that imply that there is at least some nudity? The only "nudity" in the game is in the infamous locker room shower scene, and the ladies in question are completely covered in soap or towels. Hardly enough to warrant a mention.
The Bottom Line
Geist was blasted by the game journalists when it came out in 2005, but if it had been released as a 3rd or 4th generation Gamecube title, it would have become a must own. While the shooter mechanics are not up to par with a current shooter, the knowledge that the FPS aspect is just one part of the whole package elevates this game to a standard of excellence and creativity that the is definitely not the norm in the game industry.
Geist: a spectral masterpiece deserving a next-gen sequel.
By STU2 on June 13, 2006
Metroid: Zero Mission (Game Boy Advance)
Metroid: The Director's Extended Cut - "Going Back To Where It All Started"
The Good
Metroid: Zero Mission is the second Metroid game I've beaten; I beat Metroid Fusion a while back and started Metroid Prime but got nowhere (need to pick that up and play it again sometime).
M:ZM is essentially a remake of the very first Metroid game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. However, it is more like a Director's Cut than a straight remake; a good example of another Director's Cut game would be the Gamecube version of the original Resident Evil. While the core game is intact, new locations, enemies, and bosses have been added to the game to extend the experience and provide more of a back story to your adventure.
Originally released in 2004, the graphics for M:ZM definitely stand up to the test of time. The majority of the time I played this game on my NES Edition Gameboy Advance SP; however, the graphics show up even better if you play it on the GameBoy Player that you can attach to your Gamecube. Colors are brighter, graphics are enhanced, and the music and effects sound clearer.
The gameplay is your typical Metroid style. You are thrown into an environment and have to go around recovering/acquiring various abilities in order to advance further through the area. Sometimes you will come across a locked door that you cannot even open without an ability you won't acquire until maybe a few more hours into the game. While this adds a certain level of longitivity to the game, it occassionally gives off a sense of artificially prolonging the game. However, completionists will delight in trying to achieve a perfect 100% collection score with a minimal time.
If you can complete the main mission, you will unlock a perfectly emulated version of the original Metroid for the NES, as well as a Hard mode that will definitely give you a challenge.
The Bad
While the Metroid series has never been known for its immersive story, it seemed that there was even less of a story than in Metroid Fusion. In M:F, cutscenes would occur more frequently, and you would constantly be getting updates from that computer personality.
The essential story of M:ZM seems to be 1- Destroy Mother Brain, and then 2-Destroy the Space Pirate ship. Not really much of a story, although I guess it's comparable to the "story" in the original Halo. However, it does get the job done; although it leaves us with a lot of questions, such as "Why was Samus raised on this planet by these creatures in the first place?"
One thing I appreciated about Metroid: Fusion was the directions your computer "friend" gave you, as well as good story reasons why you should go there. In Metroid: Zero MIssion, you are still prodded at times, but there is no reason as to why. Whenever you stumble across a Chozon statue, you will typically gain a new ability, and then be treated to a quick little shot of where you need to go next, without any reason as to why you should go there (other than you really can't go anywhere else).
I know a lot of fans of the series hated the prodding in the other game. They are disciples of the Super Metroid game where you have to find and discover everything for yourself. I am afraid I must disagree with them on this. Some motivation as well as direction is always a helpful thing in games, and is an evidence of good game design. Ever play a game where you have no clue where to go or do next? Not fun.
I beat the game just shy of 5 hours with a 76% completion rate. Obviously the game is a little on the short side. However, I'm thankful for the fact that I had already beaten another 2D Metroid game, because if I hadn't, and I hadn't used any guides or FAQs, it would probably have taken me much longer with a smaller completion rate.
The Bottom Line
A short action adventure title that can whittle away an afternoon or car ride, Metroid: Zero Mission is an excellent introduction to the series and is also a fun and enjoyable game for long term fans of the genre. I highly recommend it.
By STU2 on June 11, 2006