manhattanprince
2006
Great game! It elevates everything good about the first one and adds more quantity and quality. It has a nice selection of songs, creative characters, and guitars to choose from. Overall, it's a great game.
1993
One of my earliest gaming memories. How old was I when I played this game? 5 or 6 years old? Anyway, it's a simplistic fighting game with four characters representing archetypes (ninja, grappler, etc.). You fight the other characters and then an alien as the final boss. It's not a good game, but it's a very simplistic one. Only play it to learn more about fighting game history.
Very fun game. Creative scenarios, power-ups, and boss battles. The stages where you drive bikes and jet skis are not very good, but they don't ruin the game. A good game over the first two and a good game to play in general.
Good game. Very refined gameplay and with a variety of stages and locations. Love the weapons to choose from and the ability to save anywhere. To play casually in the mansion is very nice too. Just to complain a little bit, the final boss is cheap as hell. Good game overall.
Amazing game, quite excessive, but amazing game nonetheless. Refined gameplay, great graphics, and a fun story mode to end this awesome trilogy. The game suffers a little for excessiveness in every aspect: more gadgets (some useless), strange missions with the Batmobile, a ton of useless collectibles, and Joker being the center of attention can make the experience a little bit exhausting. At the end of the day, it's a great game, a must play indeed.
The Jackass TV show really melted the minds of young boys in the early 00's, didn't they? More damaging than porn, I guess...
It's a very nice skateboarding game with good gameplay, creative scenarios, and an awesome soundtrack. The story is about Tony Hawk competing with a fellow pro-skateboarder and pro-junkie, Bam Margera, to do... something... I don't remember. The game tries to be edgy and rebellious (a reference to the Jackass and Viva La Bam TV shows), but looks goofy and stupid trying to appeal to western teenagers. It's pathetic, you know? Good game in general, very fun.
It's a very nice skateboarding game with good gameplay, creative scenarios, and an awesome soundtrack. The story is about Tony Hawk competing with a fellow pro-skateboarder and pro-junkie, Bam Margera, to do... something... I don't remember. The game tries to be edgy and rebellious (a reference to the Jackass and Viva La Bam TV shows), but looks goofy and stupid trying to appeal to western teenagers. It's pathetic, you know? Good game in general, very fun.
This looks like a Nintendo 64 game disguised as a Gamecube one. What I mean by that? Everything is very bland and uninteresting: the combat, platform levels, boat exploration, enemies, and so on. Would this game be acclaimed if it wasn't a "Zelda" game? You tell me...
1998
A vehicular combat game with a 70's aesthetic. Solid gameplay for its time, simple stages, and frankly quite easy. The most memorable part about this game is the cool character designs; the cars look mostly basic. An okay game, good to have fun with.
Amazing game! Good gameplay, graphics, and a well-made eerie ambiance in the scenarios and music. The characters are very charismatic and the sprite work is jaw-dropping. One big issue is the small freeze at the beginning of the fight. The final bosses are cheap as hell, classic SNK.
Iza! Jinjou ni... Ipponme!... shoubu!
Iza! Jinjou ni... Ipponme!... shoubu!
Kojima Unleashed! (But It's Not a Good Thing)
In this game, Kojima's vices outweigh his qualities, especially his obsession with narrative and cutscenes. The duration and quantity of cutscenes in this game is ridiculous, and it's a truly unpleasant experience. It's surprising that this happened, since Kojima is a movie fan and should understand the importance of cutting and editing cinematic moments to keep the story moving forward without losing momentum.
As for the gameplay, there's not much to say. You basically just need to progress forward in order to watch the next cutscene. The new features and environmental camo have few opportunities to shine, since every situation is dictated by the narrative, not by your skill or creativity as a player.
This game is where Kojima lost himself in his own fame. It provides an excellent ending to the series in terms of writing, but as a video game, it fails on the most basic levels of structure. Don't play it. Bookmark the full cutscenes in your favorites and watch the story little by little. There's no game here to play.
In this game, Kojima's vices outweigh his qualities, especially his obsession with narrative and cutscenes. The duration and quantity of cutscenes in this game is ridiculous, and it's a truly unpleasant experience. It's surprising that this happened, since Kojima is a movie fan and should understand the importance of cutting and editing cinematic moments to keep the story moving forward without losing momentum.
As for the gameplay, there's not much to say. You basically just need to progress forward in order to watch the next cutscene. The new features and environmental camo have few opportunities to shine, since every situation is dictated by the narrative, not by your skill or creativity as a player.
This game is where Kojima lost himself in his own fame. It provides an excellent ending to the series in terms of writing, but as a video game, it fails on the most basic levels of structure. Don't play it. Bookmark the full cutscenes in your favorites and watch the story little by little. There's no game here to play.
2005
Volume 3 exchanges the cartoonish aesthetic for a more realistic approach, which makes the game somewhat bland. The major change is the ability to perform dribbling moves with the analog stick. The game itself feels a bit empty and rushed compared to the first two entries. It is not a bad game by any means, but it is uninspired in comparison to the other two. Nevertheless, it is still one of the best basketball games available.
1999
Studio Tour tries to elevate all the content of the first game. It has different scenarios, more stages, and more minigames. The developers get bolder with the platforming sections, but they don't make the gameplay better. This makes the game more challenging than the first one, which could be a difficult spike for young children (the target audience, of course). It's not a terrible game, but it may be too difficult for small children. However, there is some enjoyment to be had. The pirate stage is quite memorable. Adults probably won't enjoy it, but young children might. Only play it if you have young children in your house.
A fun game, but too basic... unfortunately, it was rushed for release with the movie. The gameplay feels clunky, and there are few combos to experiment with against enemies. Paul Robertson's Pixel Art oozes with style, and the soundtrack from Anamanaguchi is very cute. This game is average, but if they made a sequel more robust, it could be a beat 'em up classic.
1998
If this game wasn't created as a joke, it could have been good. The turkeys are very annoying, and the fog used to cover the scenario pixelates in front of you, which is bad. It's an awful game, but you can have a little fun in the multiplayer mode. In general, don't play it.
1999
A very cute game with terrible gameplay. It has a good story, vivid colors, cute enemies, and elaborated stages. However, the gameplay gets in your way and makes every jump very frustrating. Since this is a kid-oriented game, it might be disappointing to play, especially if they are very young. Play it only if you're interested in learning more about platform gaming.