The cover art is the best part of the game. Sonic Spinball is a poor attempt to work a franchise into the theme of pinball (which is weirdly common, if you ask me). The idea of being a ball that can manipulate its trajectory in a pinball game is a good idea . . . if the physics were accurate, but it's so finicky and inconsistent. Also the tables aren't that interesting either, causing frustration pretty often when you're merely looking to find the paths to clear them.
I found some satisfaction in actually taking the time to sit down and play it from beginning to end, but it's so obvious why it isn't revered as a classic, but rather a strange early point of Sonic. I imagine it wouldn't even be remembered all that well if Sega didn't constantly port it and include it in all collections regarding Sonic/Genesis games.
I found some satisfaction in actually taking the time to sit down and play it from beginning to end, but it's so obvious why it isn't revered as a classic, but rather a strange early point of Sonic. I imagine it wouldn't even be remembered all that well if Sega didn't constantly port it and include it in all collections regarding Sonic/Genesis games.
Travis.
2003
An incredible sequel to the original Silent Hill on all counts. The gameplay, narrative, and presentation in Silent Hill 3 was 100% for the fans of the original game, rather than the paradigm shift we saw in Silent Hill 2, which went for a more dreary, depressing atmosphere along with more relaxed gameplay when compared to the original game. Silent Hill 2 was still scary, but Silent Hill 3 REALLY goes for your senses with its grotesque imagery and panic-inducing scenarios that'll really trigger your "fight-or-flight" response.
Like Harry proving he can fight vicious threats better than your typical S.T.A.R.S agent, Heather evolves the survivor's way of fighting even further with more options, such as strafing and blocking. The monster designs are also a sight to behold, and the puzzles are even more brain-teasing than ever! Without explaining the entire puzzle, the number pad in the hospital (on hard mode) is one I'll never forget, it was simply genius!
The story itself is also heart-rending, especially for those that experienced and understood the events of the original game. It feels like a definitive end to the series, and the performances by all of the actors are some of the best of this generation!
I guess I'll end this review saying it's funny how the "Haunted Mansion" scenario that parodied typical jumpscare bullshit in the game is what it would end up becoming shortly after this series was hocked off to the likes of Climax and Double-Helix.
Like Harry proving he can fight vicious threats better than your typical S.T.A.R.S agent, Heather evolves the survivor's way of fighting even further with more options, such as strafing and blocking. The monster designs are also a sight to behold, and the puzzles are even more brain-teasing than ever! Without explaining the entire puzzle, the number pad in the hospital (on hard mode) is one I'll never forget, it was simply genius!
The story itself is also heart-rending, especially for those that experienced and understood the events of the original game. It feels like a definitive end to the series, and the performances by all of the actors are some of the best of this generation!
I guess I'll end this review saying it's funny how the "Haunted Mansion" scenario that parodied typical jumpscare bullshit in the game is what it would end up becoming shortly after this series was hocked off to the likes of Climax and Double-Helix.
1998
I adore the visual appeal and vibes of Sonic Adventure 1, it's so goddamn cozy and charming, while feeling like an evolution to the original Genesis games in various ways. Yeah, the story isn't great, and some of the stages can feel a bit cumbersome, but this was such a wonderful, ambitious piece of 3D platforming fun, especially for 1998. Good shit, people that don't like this game are stupid.
1999
An incredible survival horror game that managed to stand up against the already-famous Resident Evil titan at the time! Silent Hill 1 is a chilling experience full of brain-teasing puzzles, impeccable sound design, and a mesmerizing atmosphere!
The latter is especially impressive, as all the venues you explore as Harry Mason look and feel like well-furnished areas that were once lived in, rather than set-pieces for a video game. The story is also fantastic and make it very believable that someone like Harry would put himself through this nightmare of a town.
A desperate father looking for his daughter, the only thing left he loves in this world. He has to claw his way through these hellscapes to find the ultimate truth, while you discover the tragedies of other characters involved! Silent Hill is awesome.
The latter is especially impressive, as all the venues you explore as Harry Mason look and feel like well-furnished areas that were once lived in, rather than set-pieces for a video game. The story is also fantastic and make it very believable that someone like Harry would put himself through this nightmare of a town.
A desperate father looking for his daughter, the only thing left he loves in this world. He has to claw his way through these hellscapes to find the ultimate truth, while you discover the tragedies of other characters involved! Silent Hill is awesome.
2009
A shameful, disgusting cash grab. Earthworm Jim HD is worse than the original versions on SNES/Genesis in every single way possible.
All the sprites are traced over and look mostly like a filtered emulator, the backgrounds look like shitty pngs slapped together, the new voice for Jim is bad, the gameplay feels so much clunkier and has less refinement than the original game (hard to describe entirely, but the best example is how climbing across ropes looks/feels), and the developers stole art from fans. The multiplayer mode is worthless as well, considering the new stage designs being an absolute mess.
Fuck Interplay, and fuck this garbage remake. Anybody that thinks this is suitable way to experience the original game in any way is a fucking moron. I'm glad it got delisted.
All the sprites are traced over and look mostly like a filtered emulator, the backgrounds look like shitty pngs slapped together, the new voice for Jim is bad, the gameplay feels so much clunkier and has less refinement than the original game (hard to describe entirely, but the best example is how climbing across ropes looks/feels), and the developers stole art from fans. The multiplayer mode is worthless as well, considering the new stage designs being an absolute mess.
Fuck Interplay, and fuck this garbage remake. Anybody that thinks this is suitable way to experience the original game in any way is a fucking moron. I'm glad it got delisted.
Anybody who thinks this is a suitable experience for either game is a fool. Both games run like shit, sound like shit, and look like shit, Silent Hill 3 is just slightly worse in all ways since the developers probably prioritized 2, and couldn't even get that right.
And anyone that claims "it ran fine for me" is either braindead or lying. Nobody has the magic PS3 that runs either game half as well as they did on PS2. Even with the Xbox Series X's overcompensation of power, these abominations they have the audacity to refer to as remasters still run horribly.
The only enjoyment anyone can get from this is listening to the new voice actors, which are terrible all-around for both games.
And anyone that claims "it ran fine for me" is either braindead or lying. Nobody has the magic PS3 that runs either game half as well as they did on PS2. Even with the Xbox Series X's overcompensation of power, these abominations they have the audacity to refer to as remasters still run horribly.
The only enjoyment anyone can get from this is listening to the new voice actors, which are terrible all-around for both games.
1999
The director of this game would go on the make JFK Reloaded.
2007
Silent Hill: Origins is your step-dad trying his best to be that father figure of yours, but you were already forming memories a while before your parents got divorced. The older you get, you appreciate the valiant effort he made trying to fill that hole in the family, but you know it just isn't the same. And, despite this new father figure's heart being in the right place, you want him to just stop trying to talk to you the same way your dad did.
This game marks the beginning of Konami outsourcing the "Silent Hill" franchise to Western devs as the team behind the original 4 games disbanded. And, in my opinion, their most valiant attempt at recreating the magic from those original games. However, its monster design is uninspired and the writing is especially poor. When it isn't boring, it's insulting, especially to those familiar with the 1st game that Silent Hill: Origins is basing itself on.
If I could say one thing, it's probably one of the best-looking PSP games. Some of the environment is impressive, but layering that with really annoying core design that is the "mirror" function is mind-numbing, especially for a game that puts a heavy emphasis on exploring.
From the horror to the puzzles, just about everything in this game is just a vain attempt at recreating the magic of the original games. One that I don't find suitable to play as part of the series, never-mind the very beginning.
This game marks the beginning of Konami outsourcing the "Silent Hill" franchise to Western devs as the team behind the original 4 games disbanded. And, in my opinion, their most valiant attempt at recreating the magic from those original games. However, its monster design is uninspired and the writing is especially poor. When it isn't boring, it's insulting, especially to those familiar with the 1st game that Silent Hill: Origins is basing itself on.
If I could say one thing, it's probably one of the best-looking PSP games. Some of the environment is impressive, but layering that with really annoying core design that is the "mirror" function is mind-numbing, especially for a game that puts a heavy emphasis on exploring.
From the horror to the puzzles, just about everything in this game is just a vain attempt at recreating the magic of the original games. One that I don't find suitable to play as part of the series, never-mind the very beginning.
2005
More fun than a bus full of cheerleaders, Ratchet Deadlocked on PS2 felt like the developers recognizing that they've expunged their creative motivation to make new entries involving Ratchet and Clank exploring vast planets with a healthy mix of platforming and blasting (case and point: R&C 3), and decided to embrace the direction they've been leaning towards with every sequel, which is BLASTING, BLASTING, and MORE BLASTING!
Despite its initial lukewarm reception, Deadlocked is easily one of the best games the series has to offer. While it can be considerably one-note, it sings that note with absolute expertise using its dense enemy-count, banging tunes, amusing commentators, and explosive weaponry!
Where people saw absolute reduction in the environmental variety, weapon-count, and characters, I saw a tighter, more-focused direction in these aspects, making for very charming interactions throughout regarding the narrative and characterizations, and fun-filled action regarding the raw gameplay.
Speaking more on narrative, I adore the stronger, slightly sharper bite this story had regarding fame and corruption that tends to follow with that lust for admiration and profits. It's all still cartoonish and funny, but perfectly serves the slight edge this game has compared to its predecessors.
With that said--and looking back at this game more than 15 years later--this is the last real Ratchet & Clank game in my eyes. It felt like a perfect series finale to everything the stories before it represented. Helps that it's a fun game too.
Despite its initial lukewarm reception, Deadlocked is easily one of the best games the series has to offer. While it can be considerably one-note, it sings that note with absolute expertise using its dense enemy-count, banging tunes, amusing commentators, and explosive weaponry!
Where people saw absolute reduction in the environmental variety, weapon-count, and characters, I saw a tighter, more-focused direction in these aspects, making for very charming interactions throughout regarding the narrative and characterizations, and fun-filled action regarding the raw gameplay.
Speaking more on narrative, I adore the stronger, slightly sharper bite this story had regarding fame and corruption that tends to follow with that lust for admiration and profits. It's all still cartoonish and funny, but perfectly serves the slight edge this game has compared to its predecessors.
With that said--and looking back at this game more than 15 years later--this is the last real Ratchet & Clank game in my eyes. It felt like a perfect series finale to everything the stories before it represented. Helps that it's a fun game too.
2009
I remember being really excited seeing the initial teaser, showing a very worn-down "What a fucking week, and it's only Tuesday" look on Chris' face as he points his gun towards an oncoming mob of infected locals. I remember also loving all the survival aspects they had planned for the game, like sun exposure, hunger, etc.
Too bad literally everything I was excited for got removed/replaced LOL. At launch, I despised everything about this game, and I still think it's kind of shitty now. Granted, it plays about as well as Resident Evil 4, perhaps even a bit better with a handful of new options. It's the experience itself that offers nothing very unique or interesting.
I never looked that deeply into the production, but I imagine adding co-op is what overhauled much of the game's design, demanding it be simpler for a full 2-player experience. And that's a big bummer, despite co-op being fun enough with a friend.
The story itself starts off okay, but careens off a cliff about halfway through into absolute ridiculousness and terrible writing. Some of that is still fun, but overall it's very forgettable. Slapped together with unbelievably boring environments and awful monster designs, Resident Evil 5 remains as a mostly-disappointing experience.
Too bad literally everything I was excited for got removed/replaced LOL. At launch, I despised everything about this game, and I still think it's kind of shitty now. Granted, it plays about as well as Resident Evil 4, perhaps even a bit better with a handful of new options. It's the experience itself that offers nothing very unique or interesting.
I never looked that deeply into the production, but I imagine adding co-op is what overhauled much of the game's design, demanding it be simpler for a full 2-player experience. And that's a big bummer, despite co-op being fun enough with a friend.
The story itself starts off okay, but careens off a cliff about halfway through into absolute ridiculousness and terrible writing. Some of that is still fun, but overall it's very forgettable. Slapped together with unbelievably boring environments and awful monster designs, Resident Evil 5 remains as a mostly-disappointing experience.
This game was absolutely magical to me! When I was a kid, I had no interest in RPGs. I remember not even enjoying Super Mario RPG back then, as I was an action game purist. I had no idea what kind of game this was supposed to be, asking for it as a Christmas gift purely out of it being a Mario game!
When the truth sunk into me and I realized this was an RPG, I was pretty annoyed at first, but ended up getting into the rhythm anyway. Giving you the ability to avoid enemy attacks when it was their turn added a lot to the experience for me. I love how it called for twitchy reaction and learning patterns against bosses, it made the game so much more fun!
The adventure aspect isn't bad either, giving you so much to do and tons of secrets and side-objectives to find, all with their own charming characters with their own personalities. I got this with a Gameboy Advance SP, so having that light-up screen with this game (that required a lot of reading) was a perfect combo!
It's a shame that none of the sequels would really live up to this game, but I'm grateful we were able to get this fantastic experience! It was definitely what opened me up the RPG genre.
When the truth sunk into me and I realized this was an RPG, I was pretty annoyed at first, but ended up getting into the rhythm anyway. Giving you the ability to avoid enemy attacks when it was their turn added a lot to the experience for me. I love how it called for twitchy reaction and learning patterns against bosses, it made the game so much more fun!
The adventure aspect isn't bad either, giving you so much to do and tons of secrets and side-objectives to find, all with their own charming characters with their own personalities. I got this with a Gameboy Advance SP, so having that light-up screen with this game (that required a lot of reading) was a perfect combo!
It's a shame that none of the sequels would really live up to this game, but I'm grateful we were able to get this fantastic experience! It was definitely what opened me up the RPG genre.
One of the most personal games I've ever played. Travis Strikes Again is a prime example of a creator putting their own life into a game. It's something Suda51--the game's main director--poured his heart, soul, happiest memories, and biggest hardships into. And what came out was a very unique beat-em-up with a dazzling assortment of different worlds, topped off with an incredible soundtrack that enhances the narrative and atmosphere throughout the entire game.
Besides the endearing story, the gameplay itself is really good, albeit monotonous in single player. It really shines when you're playing co-op with a friend. This was a trip down memory lane that no hardcore Suda fan would dare to miss!
Besides the endearing story, the gameplay itself is really good, albeit monotonous in single player. It really shines when you're playing co-op with a friend. This was a trip down memory lane that no hardcore Suda fan would dare to miss!
2003
Throughout my teen years, there was a really REALLY awesome arcade near me that took pride in providing the latest and greatest arcade experiences, and did a great job maintaining all their machines. They would not only keep the big classics in premium condition, but also get the newest in high-profile arcade action. Time Crisis, Tekken, Initial D,, you name it! This place had them all! They were usually imports of the Japanese cabinets, since they would arrive much sooner. People from across the East Coast would hoof it to this humble arcade in New Jersey.
One of those machines was motherfukken F-Zero AX! The premium cabinet with the moving seat, and this was about a month or so before the Gamecube counterpart hit store shelves. I was already a big fan of F-Zero X, so witnessing that big beautiful bastard show up at this arcade was a really significant point of my nerd-ass teens.
I will never forget the first time playing the simplest course for the first time, Mute City. The stunningly gorgeous graphics, the intense speed, the roaring sound design, and that INCREDIBLE remix to the familiar song! Hearing that guitar riff the first time, I want to cry just thinking about the dump truck of dopamine my brain experienced that very moment. It's something I've never felt before, and probably never will again. F-Zero AX still stands as the absolute PEAK of arcade racing goodness, everything about it is perfect.
I even remember getting the Gamecube game immediately when it released. They offered exclusive content if you brought your memory card to the arcade machine and insert it while playing! Unfortunately, the cabinet broke down the day after the game came out, so I wasn't able to even try that. Apparently there was a serious problem with the machine, so they sent it back. Never to be seen in that arcade again. Never did I experience the feeling of heaven-on-earth and then immediate heartbreak like that.
The only other time I've seen this machine was at MAGfest. If you ever go to MAGfest and want to find me, I'll likely be skulking around the F-Zero AX machine because that's all I want to play when I'm there.
One of those machines was motherfukken F-Zero AX! The premium cabinet with the moving seat, and this was about a month or so before the Gamecube counterpart hit store shelves. I was already a big fan of F-Zero X, so witnessing that big beautiful bastard show up at this arcade was a really significant point of my nerd-ass teens.
I will never forget the first time playing the simplest course for the first time, Mute City. The stunningly gorgeous graphics, the intense speed, the roaring sound design, and that INCREDIBLE remix to the familiar song! Hearing that guitar riff the first time, I want to cry just thinking about the dump truck of dopamine my brain experienced that very moment. It's something I've never felt before, and probably never will again. F-Zero AX still stands as the absolute PEAK of arcade racing goodness, everything about it is perfect.
I even remember getting the Gamecube game immediately when it released. They offered exclusive content if you brought your memory card to the arcade machine and insert it while playing! Unfortunately, the cabinet broke down the day after the game came out, so I wasn't able to even try that. Apparently there was a serious problem with the machine, so they sent it back. Never to be seen in that arcade again. Never did I experience the feeling of heaven-on-earth and then immediate heartbreak like that.
The only other time I've seen this machine was at MAGfest. If you ever go to MAGfest and want to find me, I'll likely be skulking around the F-Zero AX machine because that's all I want to play when I'm there.
2004
I love love LOVE the product placement in this game. It was such a cute and creative way for the game to make a connection with the person playing. And seeing all the kinds of names Olimar would make up for them, being artifacts he is not aware of, was so pleasing and funny. Dr. Pepper isn't just a soda, it's a DROUGHT ENDER.
Besides that extremely charming aesthetic, I actually do not like this game very much. It plays and controls fine, but the level design just feels overbloated most of the time. I was already annoyed that the sense of pure survival and the calendar were completely omitted, but if the trade-off was having so so SO MANY CAVES with monotonous tasks? I'll take the original game's design any day of the week.
Besides that extremely charming aesthetic, I actually do not like this game very much. It plays and controls fine, but the level design just feels overbloated most of the time. I was already annoyed that the sense of pure survival and the calendar were completely omitted, but if the trade-off was having so so SO MANY CAVES with monotonous tasks? I'll take the original game's design any day of the week.