Believe it or not, there was a time where a game about rubber ducks floating on the water was a good enough idea for a game meant to showcase new hardware. Those times shall be missed by me and probably me only, but what I won't miss will be playing Super Rub a Dub.

Super Rub a Dub is an arcade-styled game where you're controlling a board which moves the rubber duck (like Super Monkey Ball, fairly popular game) in which the main objective is grabbing as many little ducks as possible and bringing them to the exit (like Flicky, not a very popular game). The game is structurally sound, there's enough variety in level types, creative enough combinations of obstacles and enemies, it even has a nice risk/reward system with trying to get every duck in a level netting the best time (and final rank).

It's all well and good, if it wasn't for its one fatal flaw: the game can only be controlled with motion controls, no option for the left stick. The controls work as well as they could with the sixasis (even though jumping could be more responsive), but just like with the Wii Super Monkey Ball games, its layout is inherently really uncomfortable to do anything precise with. This one thing pretty much killed all my desire to do anything with the game that wasn't just finishing every level, because while it's definitely possible to get used to it, it's hard justifying doing so when there's a better way to play the game at a thumb's reach. At least in that case I could go in a straight line without sweating profusely.

Would I recommend Super Rub a Dub? If you can get over the controls hurdle, probably. It's definitely a solid arcade game, and if nothing else it's also interesting in an "historic" sense, just don't dust off your PS3 for it, or you might break your wrists while trying to jump and land on a specific platform.

hi it's phil back for the game reviews for watchmojo.com i got another review for the- for you this time and this time it's gonna be called dra KEN gard not dragonguard that's dra KEN gard it's rated m for mature it's only for playstation 2 keep in mind this is a one player game there's no online possibilities there is the possibility of toning down the blood but god knows nobody tones down the blood so just forget about that.

this game is a mix of devils may cry action rpg where you have to constantly get your character's hp as we call it health power and magical power up as levels go up now keep in mind that this was made by ubisoft which is a very renowned company for games like this. now this is also offers you a great animations in terms of japanese animation and also effects in between scenes cinematics are a may zing uhh if i don't know if you're a fan of final fantasy or if you know these japanese animation kind of settings but this will offer you the same setting or maybe even more. i was very surprised with the outcome of the ps2 can offer on this game. nevertheless, i would consider you probably umm playing the first title before playing the second because i did not play the first title before and i was a little confused, nevertheless at the beginning of the game you get a little prologue of what previous game offered. now if you go into details into the game there is weapons you can accumulate, items, like any rpg game the idea is to constantly get your levels up so that your strength goes up so that obviously the game becomes easier and you're stronger.

now this was based in ... a magical world where ... you as a character ... named legna with your dragon end up taking over uhh the world and uhh trying to save different destinations with they're called keys, there's a total about six keys to take care of and they all have certain foes to fight to be able to take care of those keys. now, this is the kind of game where you get to the part where you think you're finishing it but there's always a little loop that makes you go on and on! now it's a total of twelve chapters and at the tenth chapter you think it's over but it's not. that's the beauty of the game.

now this is obviously like i've always said the best part of the show where i give mmmy opinion on dra KEN gard not dragonguard remember people there's dragons in this game but it's called dra KEN gard anyways let's just leave it at that. now all i have to say is ummm if you remember our legend i will repeat it again: 9 to 10 was a purchase where you keep the game because it's a-mazing. a 8 to 7 where it's a late rental fee because umm you think you can finish the game in one rental but then you realize that you have to rent it a second time so you end up renting it for seven days just to make sure. and the other one was 5 to 6 where... forget about it. you rent it uhhh maybe for one day and then you put it away and you never look at it again. just joking. nevertheless, i will place this game in 7 to 8 because it's very close to 9 to 10 but it's all seen before. umm very confusing because it gives you a lot of opportunities and a lot of side track missions and stuff like that that i don't really think that follows through the game. now a lot of people will maybe have a different opinion on this than me but i still think that the japanese factor thing of games are getting overwhelming, i mean for sony playstation 2 you can see 25 japanese animation titles come out while there's only one north american coming out at that time. i don't know if it's sony playstation is really more based or powerful in japan, god knows. but go on the website see for yourself, it's all written in japanese. i finished it in 56 hours the game was established to be finished in 85 hours, so it's up to you do your best to finish it but again i repeat myself: remember: it's just a game!

The early-mid 2000s were a fascinating (and scary) time for arcade games. There was no real space for them anymore, as audiences almost universally saw them as dated and quaint compared to the longer, more complex games you could find on home consoles by then, so they had three options: re-releases through collections, trying their luck on the GBA, or the dreaded reboots. Space Raiders takes the latter, and has it even harder than most games of that time (Altered Beast, Final Fight Streetwise, Maximo, just to name a few) because there just isn't much to take from its original inspiration. Despite that, Space Raiders is actually more faithful to Space Invaders than it probably should've been.

The concept of taking Space Invaders and putting it in the context of controlling a human character who is shooting with their guns at aliens in (mostly) urban settings is really bizarre, but the actual gameplay is pretty much beefed up Space Invaders: you move only left or right, you dodge the enemies that are coming at you, you shoot them. There's some things that spice it up a bit, like having power-ups, bosses, and a somewhat interesting combo mechanic, but this is pretty much the game. It lasts about 90 minutes if even that, 99% of the story is thankfully just in the intro video, and the game does its job competently enough to be entertaining for as long as it lasts. Its original release in Japan as a Simple 2000 game (if you don't know what these are, please look them up, you'll discover a whole new world) explains its very barebones gameplay and content, but the game is so simplistic and barebones that there isn't much reason to go back to it once finished, if anything towards the end it actually feels like it's dragging, which is obviously not a good thing for a 90 minute long game.

Would I recommend Space Raiders? Kinda, I guess. If you're into arcade games this is inoffensive, but the main reason to check this one out would be for its bizarre existence alone. It's not as bad as a Bomberman Act Zero and it's not as pointless as a Prince of Persia 2008, so by the standards of videogame reboots this one might actually be in the better half of them, as sad as that is.

At the time of this writing, PS3's online store was about to get shut down, but after tons of complaints Sony surprisingly caved in, even though it most likely will get shut down anyway sooner rather than later. This made me think to check out (at least some of) the games that are only available on PS3, for personal curiosity and posterity's sake. That was my only real reason to check out Blast Factor, a PS3 launch game that is meant to show off the console's particle effects, the sixaxis motion controls, and the fact that you can now buy videogames digitally. Might seem obvious now, but in 2006 this was a fairly big deal.

Other than being a good showcase for all those things, Blast Factor is actually not half bad as a twin stick shooter either. Its obvious surface-level similarities to Geometry Wars (another launch game, that one on the Xbox 360 instead) will show immediately, but there's nothing wrong in taking something that works and tweaking it a bit. Blast Factor's two tricks are the sixaxis controls and the fact that the main method of destroying enemies aren't specifically your shots as much as the chain explosions that an enemy will create.

Getting it out of the way immediately, obviously the motion controls are very tacky and stick out really badly from the rest of the game. You can slow down time by shaking the controller, which is an action that can be useful but was more of a hindrance because of how sensitive the controls are, leading this action to be triggered by accident more often than not, and you can tilt the field by literally tilting the controller, which is the worst offender. Not only is it a complete pace breaker but there's literally only one enemy that this move will be useful against, which really makes it feel like Sony told the developers to add some motion-based actions at the last second. The mechanic of having to use enemies' blasts to create a chain reaction that can very quickly wipe out entire waves is, instead, pretty fun. It makes the game feel pretty different from most other twin stick shooters as it makes you prioritize enemies based on size and/or positioning, and in general it's a fun gameplay loop.

I wouldn't tell anybody to start up their PS3s and go on PSN specifically for Blast Factor, but next to other purchases this can be a pretty ok time-waster. It offers some extra content, it's pretty easy to just pick up and play, and for the price of $3, you could honestly do a lot worse nowadays. Shame that Bluepoint became just a port/remake company after this, because the foundation of Blast Factor is surprisingly solid.

nier replicant/gestalt is one of my favorite games of all time and despite having played more games since the first time i experienced it, nier still has a special place in my heart for having one of my favorite stories in any piece of media. so it only makes sense that i'd check this remake out and despite being wary initially due to not liking the idea of remakes in general i'm very glad to say that what's presented here is a really solid refresher for returning players and after experiencing everything the game has to offer i'm relieved to say the new content is extremely well integrated.

the first of these changes involves the combat! while still familiar enough for returning fans, a lot of the combat has been retooled and i'm glad to say that the weapons feel unique enough across classes and that the movement during battle feels pretty similar for the most part. there's also a few nice quality of life changes with being able to move while casting spells now and also nerfing the air dash and spear dive (and while i was disappointed initially with its changes, the spear here has been retooled with a lot sleeker of a moveset well that flows well with the pace of the combat here in a way that incentivizes using more of its reworked moves). the original combat in nier was grounded and simplistic and while i don't think a lot of that has changed there's a bit more depth to this new one with letting you spice up your inputs (not that you can't abuse the same few moves like the original which is a welcome sight lol). overall, the combat here doesn't necessarily feel more complex but it feels like an expansion of what the original set out to do for better or worse.

combat, however, isn't the focus here in nier, it's the story but before i get into that i want to address two of the leading forces that drive it forward and create the overall experience: the soundtrack and voice acting!

the original soundtrack of nier is one of my favorites of all time due to how well integrated into the world it was and how it highlighted key story moments. each and every track of the original nier has been embedded into my mind over the years due to multiple replays yearly and it's incredible how much staying power these tracks have had in my life to the point where i've gotten emotional just by hearing it. so needless to say, i had high expectations on how the tracks were handled and the overall musicality of the remaster's soundtrack was under a large amount of scrutiny for me personally. having heard everything by the end of it i'm glad to say that the new original tracks are incredibly solid while the rearrangements range from decent to pretty amazing and on par with the original at times. for the sake of avoiding spoilers, i'm going to say that the entire final area of the game is beautifully reorchestrated with a lot of the rearrangements being on par with the original which should hopefully reassure old fans of the original and hearing it in-game was an absolute pleasure for me. there are a few gripes i have with the treatment of some tracks in particular like "the wretched automatons" and "gods bound by rules" but i think the entire thing is a great effort at putting a new spin on the original's legacy and keiichi okabe's direction on most of the tracks shows with the amount of respect most of them receive.

as for the voice work, i think it's really solid for the most part! as someone whose first experience was with the japanese release of nier replicant for the ps3, i was really glad to hear the japanese voice cast again with their performances rendered pretty faithful to the original and the voice direction in some scenes, in particular, is absolutely a joy to listen to! the overall cast reprises their roles here really well and devola and popola's voice actress shiraishi ryoko absolutely nails the scenes they're in with the main cast doing a perfect job as well. as for the english cast, which i was familiar with due to having also played the original nier gestalt, i'm glad to say that the new voices are great and the returning cast members do really well here despite some performances reflecting their age a bit. i won't name names but to old fans of the original it's pretty obvious and while the delivery of those important lines are great it's a bit of shame to admit it's a bit distracting at times. i'd also like to mention that weiss's voice actor absolutely kills it AGAIN with liam o'brien doing a great job as well with some extremely quote-worthy lines.

now for what we've all been waiting for, the story! the story here is adapted pretty faithful to the original with the slight addition of new content here and there to make it rewarding for returning fans to experience. one change, in particular, i really liked was the addition of a multitude of new scenes to the additional routes as the original felt repetitive to many due to how subsequent routes felt samey. however, the new scenes in this remaster handle this by consistently spoon-feeding the player new scenes that really help to spice up an otherwise repetitive structure while also helping to incentivize exploration and overall game progression. as for the endings, i won't go into detail about them as i wouldn't want to spoil the story for anyone who might be going into it for the first time but fear not original nier fans, these endings still hit like a TRUCK lol and i often found myself eliciting similar emotions to my first playthrough despite knowing exactly what would happen. i probably cried too many times to count throughout my playthrough but i'm glad to say none of those tears were from frustration.

as this review comes to a close i'd like to address that despite a large portion of contention for me with this remaster in general was largely with the addition of new content, i feel like it's been handled tastefully and while the original was a result of a rushed production schedule (which still accomplished what it set out to do, might i add) the new content here definitely feels like remnants of their original plans but fully expanded upon. to put it simply, it's good and i think most returning fans will find a lot of enjoyment in the new stuff. sure some of its fanservice is definitely for those who played it initially, yet i can't imagine some of the same emotions i felt being replicated within those who are making this their first experience with the game. nier replicant remaster for better or worse feels like a love letter to those who loved the original and will continue to do so and as someone that loved nier from the first time i played it, i'm glad to say that this remake served as a great reminder of one of my favorite experiences of all time. while i don't think older fans are missing out much by skipping this remake despite it being a great source of fanservice, i understand there's a great poignancy in the original's final ending and i can respect the choice to leave things as they are. the new stuff is good but the original remains near and dear to my heart and this remaster is merely a reminder of that! so all in all, did i love it? absolutely. is it a good substitute for the original? i'd still recommend playing the original so you can experience how older fans felt back then and how they'd feel now but i'm not your mother lol do what your heart tells you to! nier replicant remaster had a lot riding on it for me personally and i'm glad to say it delivered in full and then a bit more! yoko taro might be one of the most divisive people in terms of output but i'm glad to say he did a great job directing and respecting the older fans while bridging the gap between those who never experienced the original. i never thought that a remake of all things would come to be one of my favorite things this year but i'm really happy it was ! here's to looking forward to more things in the future! i love nier and i liked this remaster! there's really not much more i can say :) kainé / 10 ~!

the premise sounds a little tired at this point, but moon's promise of an RPG story flipped on its head is backed up with a sincere love for RPGs and games in general. no lame cynicism or tired parody here. everything in this game just makes me smile.

I think I would have liked to have played this much earlier before COVID, and maybe via a fan translation cos I like old playstation more than nintendo and it would make me feel a little smug about playing it, but I'm glad during a time like this it's now available in english for more western players to enjoy. please resist the urge to look up a guide, at least not until the end, and just take pleasure in this lovely adventure game. (remember to read the manual though)

my favourite moondisc is The Other Jet... or it might be Warp Wet Woods... or Silver Thread Spinning Song... actually I think it's