2001
The first game in the "Animal Crossing" series is considered by some to be one of the best, and it's easy to see why. It introduces exclusive elements that have become distinctive parts of this installment, such as the ability to play NES games and enjoy events like watching villagers do aerobics or have a picnic day. The game is incredibly relaxing and offers a variety of activities, like completing the museum, paying off your mortgage, and engaging in gardening, among other things.
However, there are certain aspects that can be a bit bothersome. For instance, neighbor personalities often repeat, and obtaining certain items can be tedious when they require specific actions at specific times, causing you to miss out if you're late. It's frustrating to wake up at 6 a.m. on a Monday just to turn on the town lighthouse. Additionally, some tasks depend on interacting with busy neighbors, resulting in a whole day wasted without progress.
Despite these drawbacks, "Animal Crossing" succeeds in its goal as a relaxing game to pass the time and unwind. I hope that "Wild World" addresses some of these issues.
However, there are certain aspects that can be a bit bothersome. For instance, neighbor personalities often repeat, and obtaining certain items can be tedious when they require specific actions at specific times, causing you to miss out if you're late. It's frustrating to wake up at 6 a.m. on a Monday just to turn on the town lighthouse. Additionally, some tasks depend on interacting with busy neighbors, resulting in a whole day wasted without progress.
Despite these drawbacks, "Animal Crossing" succeeds in its goal as a relaxing game to pass the time and unwind. I hope that "Wild World" addresses some of these issues.
1991
Bonk's Revenge suffers from almost the same issues as its predecessor, with disastrous difficulty and life bar management that leaves much to be desired. However, it also features many improvements in its artistic design. There's a significant change in the music too; it's no longer as repetitive as in the first part. Additionally, the gameplay has notably improved, feeling much more controlled and satisfying.
Kane and Lynch 2 takes a completely different turn from its predecessor. The first game can be classified as an action movie about heists and revenge, while this sequel is a "found footage" action film with an atmosphere reminiscent of "Pseudo-snuff" movies.
The gameplay improves compared to the previous installment. You can now take cover with a button, and your companion's AI (Kane in this case) is generally better and immortal, relieving you from worrying about him as a problem. However, the game doesn't offer anything noteworthy in terms of gameplay; it's a functional but generic third-person shooter.
The game introduces interesting features that give it a "unique" touch, such as its camera. The entire story is presented as if we are watching found footage, so while playing, you have a camera on your back simulating a digital video camera, creating the sensation that someone is recording you. In my opinion, this implementation is well done, and I never felt nauseous throughout the entire game. You can deactivate the camera movement option if it becomes an issue.
In terms of audio, the game lacks a soundtrack; instead, it relies on ambient sounds where all you hear is the noise of the streets, people screaming at your atrocities, gunfire everywhere, etc. This adds to the game's darker and more depressing atmosphere. The graphics are significantly improved compared to the first game, which seemed like a PS2 game running on an Xbox 360.
The story is brutally raw, depicting the journey of two bastards spiraling into pain, stress, and misery, refusing to leave a world they know has only brought them suffering but still persisting. This aspect kept me engaged the most.
Overall, it's a mediocre but entertaining game, lasting less than 3 hours, so you don't feel overwhelmed by the lack of variety in the level designs. It has other issues like enemies seemingly appearing out of nowhere and occasional instances of bullets passing through enemies, but for me, it's an "okay" game.
The gameplay improves compared to the previous installment. You can now take cover with a button, and your companion's AI (Kane in this case) is generally better and immortal, relieving you from worrying about him as a problem. However, the game doesn't offer anything noteworthy in terms of gameplay; it's a functional but generic third-person shooter.
The game introduces interesting features that give it a "unique" touch, such as its camera. The entire story is presented as if we are watching found footage, so while playing, you have a camera on your back simulating a digital video camera, creating the sensation that someone is recording you. In my opinion, this implementation is well done, and I never felt nauseous throughout the entire game. You can deactivate the camera movement option if it becomes an issue.
In terms of audio, the game lacks a soundtrack; instead, it relies on ambient sounds where all you hear is the noise of the streets, people screaming at your atrocities, gunfire everywhere, etc. This adds to the game's darker and more depressing atmosphere. The graphics are significantly improved compared to the first game, which seemed like a PS2 game running on an Xbox 360.
The story is brutally raw, depicting the journey of two bastards spiraling into pain, stress, and misery, refusing to leave a world they know has only brought them suffering but still persisting. This aspect kept me engaged the most.
Overall, it's a mediocre but entertaining game, lasting less than 3 hours, so you don't feel overwhelmed by the lack of variety in the level designs. It has other issues like enemies seemingly appearing out of nowhere and occasional instances of bullets passing through enemies, but for me, it's an "okay" game.
Kane and Lynch presents an interesting story about a irredeemable protagonist who ruins everything around him due to an obsession that surpasses his sanity. It's a shame that this story is embedded in a disastrous video game.
Kane and Lynch is a third-person cover-based shooter that, released shortly after Gears of War 1, seems like the developers didn't quite grasp how it should function.
The gameplay falls short in many aspects. Taking cover is a disaster, as you don't use a button for it; instead, you have to approach a SPECIFIC spot, and the character does it automatically. This brings many issues, as the game doesn't precisely indicate which objects you can use for cover and in what position you should be for the character to do it. So, you'll be moving around, waiting for the character to take cover while enemies fill you with bullets in the chaotic action where it feels like bullets are passing through walls.
One feature of the game is having companions to whom you can give various orders, similar to the game Spec-Ops. Unfortunately, the AI is terrible, and there are instances where your companions are standing still amidst chaos, taking damage (which is terrible because if any of them dies, the objective restarts), or shooting at you due to friendly fire.
Now, the graphics. I theorize that the game was originally intended for the PS2, but at the last moment, they decided to release it on Xbox 360 and PS3. Otherwise, I can't understand why the graphics and animations are so horrible; it's like watching a pre-alpha.
Despite everything, the game entertained me, especially the story and characters. I would have liked to learn more about Kane's and Lynch's pasts.
Kane and Lynch is a third-person cover-based shooter that, released shortly after Gears of War 1, seems like the developers didn't quite grasp how it should function.
The gameplay falls short in many aspects. Taking cover is a disaster, as you don't use a button for it; instead, you have to approach a SPECIFIC spot, and the character does it automatically. This brings many issues, as the game doesn't precisely indicate which objects you can use for cover and in what position you should be for the character to do it. So, you'll be moving around, waiting for the character to take cover while enemies fill you with bullets in the chaotic action where it feels like bullets are passing through walls.
One feature of the game is having companions to whom you can give various orders, similar to the game Spec-Ops. Unfortunately, the AI is terrible, and there are instances where your companions are standing still amidst chaos, taking damage (which is terrible because if any of them dies, the objective restarts), or shooting at you due to friendly fire.
Now, the graphics. I theorize that the game was originally intended for the PS2, but at the last moment, they decided to release it on Xbox 360 and PS3. Otherwise, I can't understand why the graphics and animations are so horrible; it's like watching a pre-alpha.
Despite everything, the game entertained me, especially the story and characters. I would have liked to learn more about Kane's and Lynch's pasts.
It improves many aspects from the first game, and some are worsened, like the first-person camera... but everything else is incredible. Now, you don't take too long to go from one place to another. The AI is better balanced, the campaign is enjoyable, and it works very well as a tutorial.
Now, I understand that they lied, and the things they promised in the past were never fulfilled, but it's a game that continues to be enjoyable, despite its recycling.
Now, I understand that they lied, and the things they promised in the past were never fulfilled, but it's a game that continues to be enjoyable, despite its recycling.
1989
For a platformer... it has very little platforming. The level design leaves much to be desired, often not progressing beyond entirely flat areas with very little to explore.
The music is "okay," although there's very little variety. The bosses are interesting but become a joke thanks to the 'turbo' button.
It's an entertaining game, but it has many issues that I hope they've fixed for the sequel.
The music is "okay," although there's very little variety. The bosses are interesting but become a joke thanks to the 'turbo' button.
It's an entertaining game, but it has many issues that I hope they've fixed for the sequel.
2010
It starts off really well and ends up being a very 'meh' video game. Missions don't go beyond being "you have to do something, wait, I forgot something, and that something has to be obtained in such a place, wait, that something doesn't work without the other thing." It feels like you're doing the same thing over and over, as if it's artificially prolonging itself.
The mechanic of the "time hand" (can't remember the actual name) is the best part of the game, although it could have been explored more. Everything else is just "okay," the story is very predictable but keeps you interested, the gameplay is fine, the graphics... well... fine? I'll be honest, I don't know if it happened to anyone else, but most of the time the game took a while to load textures. There were moments where I walked in white hallways because nothing had loaded. I don't know if it also happens on PC, but it was terrible.
Anyway, it's a fun game. In the end, it made me want to try out the Bioshock series.
The mechanic of the "time hand" (can't remember the actual name) is the best part of the game, although it could have been explored more. Everything else is just "okay," the story is very predictable but keeps you interested, the gameplay is fine, the graphics... well... fine? I'll be honest, I don't know if it happened to anyone else, but most of the time the game took a while to load textures. There were moments where I walked in white hallways because nothing had loaded. I don't know if it also happens on PC, but it was terrible.
Anyway, it's a fun game. In the end, it made me want to try out the Bioshock series.
2006
This game feels very different, both visually and in mechanics. It's not as impressive and seems like it tries a lot to be like Metal Slug 3 but doesn't come close at all. It's okay; still enjoyable.
2003
Much better than Metal Slug 4, but this one feels incomplete in content, and even the "story" feels truncated. It's as if they wanted to create a game that was too ambitious, but the system itself limited them.
2002
Fun, but unfortunately, it's a significant step back from what was seen in the previous game. There are highly recycled scenarios from earlier games, and the bosses are not as impressive. The soundtrack, however, seems to be one of the best aspects of the game.
2000
The best Metal Slug of all. It has an incredible variety of enemies with fantastic designs, they added several routes you can take in the missions, giving the game replay value, and the final mission is amazing, a bit long but incredible.
1999
They improved performance, slightly enhanced the sound, made changes to the stages that I personally liked more, added new power-ups, and balanced the missions much better. In conclusion, this is the "true" Metal Slug 2.
1998
Better than the first game, with more characters to choose from and missions in more varied locations, but the game has a serious issue with performance. It enters "slow motion" when there are many enemies on the screen, which is ironic since this type of game focuses on having many characters on the screen. In the end, Metal Slug 2 loses its sense due to the existence of Metal Slug X.
1996
It's a very fun "Run and Gun." Compared to its sequels, it falls short in mechanics and content, but it's still equally entertaining.
2000
I didn't expect to like a sports game so much. I'm not into sports video games, but this one entertained me a lot. It has its quirks, like sometimes the AI does weird things and doesn't respond well (talking about doubles matches), but everything else is great.
I'll try more Mario sports games, maybe even make the leap to more 'serious' games of this style.
I'll try more Mario sports games, maybe even make the leap to more 'serious' games of this style.