mssq
78 Reviews liked by mssq
Genuinely funny, great art direction, combat that forces you to be engaged just enough to not spam A, good location diversity, a unique cast, great music, fun secrets
It really has just about all you could ask for out of a SNES RPG. It’s such a unique collaboration that really shows so much love for the source material, but so many great aspects hold up on their own.
Honestly I think aside from some isometric jank, this has aged very well and it’s a shame it’s not on the Switch yet. And as someone who was not alive at the time of this game’s release, I can’t explain how impressed I was that this game released before Mario 64
It really has just about all you could ask for out of a SNES RPG. It’s such a unique collaboration that really shows so much love for the source material, but so many great aspects hold up on their own.
Honestly I think aside from some isometric jank, this has aged very well and it’s a shame it’s not on the Switch yet. And as someone who was not alive at the time of this game’s release, I can’t explain how impressed I was that this game released before Mario 64
Visual novels are often extremely long feeling. Reams and reams of text filling up dialogue boxes to seemingly justify their existence, after all, they are called visual novels. This isn't a complaint about reading however, I love reading. This is a compliment about understanding the need for such text at the expense of keeping your readers attention. Some games use 1000 words to convey 100 words worth of information. Less is sometimes more.
999 fully understands pacing in a way too many visual novels don't. The scenes are interesting, relevant and don't outstay their welcome before the escape room puzzles break up the change of pace. Honestly I think the game's fairly brief length and the way it's laid out in it's exposition to puzzle ratio is entirely to it's credit. The story was actually surprisingly engrossing as facts get revealed unraveling the mystery. I quite liked most of the characters even if some of the ridiculous obscure objects of knowledge some of them have conveniently are hilariously daft at times. It all fits together in a satisfying way once you unlock all the endings however.
The puzzles themselves are pretty good too. I got stumped by a couple briefly but they are balanced in a way that they tell you what needs doing without directly holding your hand I appreciated. I also appreciated that trying different routes gives you new puzzles in those locations but allows you to skip the old ones once you've beaten them. This is a game about rushing against time that also respects your time as a player in most cases.
Not what I expected going into it. Looking forward to the next game in the series.
+ Surprisingly interesting story and characters.
+ Pacing is excellent, good mix between story and puzzles.
+ Looks surprisingly good on PS4 visually.
+ unlocking alternate endings is a painless affair if you choose.
999 fully understands pacing in a way too many visual novels don't. The scenes are interesting, relevant and don't outstay their welcome before the escape room puzzles break up the change of pace. Honestly I think the game's fairly brief length and the way it's laid out in it's exposition to puzzle ratio is entirely to it's credit. The story was actually surprisingly engrossing as facts get revealed unraveling the mystery. I quite liked most of the characters even if some of the ridiculous obscure objects of knowledge some of them have conveniently are hilariously daft at times. It all fits together in a satisfying way once you unlock all the endings however.
The puzzles themselves are pretty good too. I got stumped by a couple briefly but they are balanced in a way that they tell you what needs doing without directly holding your hand I appreciated. I also appreciated that trying different routes gives you new puzzles in those locations but allows you to skip the old ones once you've beaten them. This is a game about rushing against time that also respects your time as a player in most cases.
Not what I expected going into it. Looking forward to the next game in the series.
+ Surprisingly interesting story and characters.
+ Pacing is excellent, good mix between story and puzzles.
+ Looks surprisingly good on PS4 visually.
+ unlocking alternate endings is a painless affair if you choose.
I remember reading a review once many years ago - I think it was for the original Infamous on the PlayStation 3 - that spoke about how open world games should be judged on their traversal. Whilst I don't think that strictly true the basic premise of that sentence stuck with me. These are huge games in which a lot of time is spent going from point A to point B is important, like tremendously so. To that end Insomniac's Spider-Man games have excelled perhaps beyond all others.
There is an absolute joy to swinging through New York, the rush of diving down toward the road to last minute swing through traffic and crowd before jumping into the sky and bouncing off rooftops. It's an endless thrill and the instant I started Miles Morales it brought that experience rushing back. These are the only open world games where using the fast travel feels like a waste, because it means I wouldn't be swinging through the city feeling that rush. I would go so far as to say the mechanics of Spider-Man as a character are the ultimate open world traversal, not for efficiency, that would probably be flying, but simply for the joy of the actions and great animations.
I suppose I should talk about the rest of the game at some point though, honestly it's excellent. I see it labeled here as an expansion and I can certainly see that with the story being maybe 5 hours and doing everything with side missions, challenges in about 20. This feels more like an intermission though (an interquel?) allowing Miles to catch up for Spider-Man 2. And catch up he does as the game introduces his bio-electric and stealth abilities not to mention his suit. This is set about a year after the first game with Miles still coming to terms with being Spider-Man. When Peter goes on a work vacation Miles is left on his own to look after the city so inevitably he uncovers a conspiracy in his neighborhood of Harlem. The story is actually very good and quite personal to Miles about family, where he lives and the people there. I really enjoyed the touching moments, more in the side quests than anything partially thanks to the great voice acting. Nadji Jeter especially does a fantastic as Miles coming across as an unconfident but caring teenager.
Voice acting isn't the only way this is shown though, even when swinging through New York Miles will sometimes flail his arms or swing awkwardly to show he doesn't quite have the experience that his mentor Peter does. The visuals are generally gorgeous despite being a cross gen title. I played on the PlayStation 5 but I've never cared for ray tracing much which is an option but I love performance and playing this at 60fps was a joy with the smoothness of how it plays and the detail and draw distance now available. Lastly on the subject of presentation, not normally the sort of music I like but the soundtrack absolutely kills at times.
Though short this is still a great game put together with passion in a time in which the BLM movement was starting to grow and I couldn't help but think about aspects of that as I played. In my nearly 1000 games played maybe four have had a POC as the pre-designed lead? It's still sad that is the case and I hope games like Miles Morales can help push to companies that there is a demand for diversity.
Be Greater, Be Yourself.
+ Traversal through the city is an absolute blast.
+ Great story and voice acting.
+ Gorgeous visuals and art design.
+ Great music.
There is an absolute joy to swinging through New York, the rush of diving down toward the road to last minute swing through traffic and crowd before jumping into the sky and bouncing off rooftops. It's an endless thrill and the instant I started Miles Morales it brought that experience rushing back. These are the only open world games where using the fast travel feels like a waste, because it means I wouldn't be swinging through the city feeling that rush. I would go so far as to say the mechanics of Spider-Man as a character are the ultimate open world traversal, not for efficiency, that would probably be flying, but simply for the joy of the actions and great animations.
I suppose I should talk about the rest of the game at some point though, honestly it's excellent. I see it labeled here as an expansion and I can certainly see that with the story being maybe 5 hours and doing everything with side missions, challenges in about 20. This feels more like an intermission though (an interquel?) allowing Miles to catch up for Spider-Man 2. And catch up he does as the game introduces his bio-electric and stealth abilities not to mention his suit. This is set about a year after the first game with Miles still coming to terms with being Spider-Man. When Peter goes on a work vacation Miles is left on his own to look after the city so inevitably he uncovers a conspiracy in his neighborhood of Harlem. The story is actually very good and quite personal to Miles about family, where he lives and the people there. I really enjoyed the touching moments, more in the side quests than anything partially thanks to the great voice acting. Nadji Jeter especially does a fantastic as Miles coming across as an unconfident but caring teenager.
Voice acting isn't the only way this is shown though, even when swinging through New York Miles will sometimes flail his arms or swing awkwardly to show he doesn't quite have the experience that his mentor Peter does. The visuals are generally gorgeous despite being a cross gen title. I played on the PlayStation 5 but I've never cared for ray tracing much which is an option but I love performance and playing this at 60fps was a joy with the smoothness of how it plays and the detail and draw distance now available. Lastly on the subject of presentation, not normally the sort of music I like but the soundtrack absolutely kills at times.
Though short this is still a great game put together with passion in a time in which the BLM movement was starting to grow and I couldn't help but think about aspects of that as I played. In my nearly 1000 games played maybe four have had a POC as the pre-designed lead? It's still sad that is the case and I hope games like Miles Morales can help push to companies that there is a demand for diversity.
Be Greater, Be Yourself.
+ Traversal through the city is an absolute blast.
+ Great story and voice acting.
+ Gorgeous visuals and art design.
+ Great music.
As a passion fan made project this game is insane. From my understanding the developers built this from scratch not using any of the original sprites over a period of eight years. It feels like a best of Streets of Rage where it mixes all three of the original Mega Drive/Genesis games together where you can choose which paths to take. It adds in a load of new stages with multiple routes to play through and extras to buy and unlock. It really has an absolute ton of content to work through. The music remixes are fantastic, the pixel art is also gorgeous.
The gameplay is a mixture of Streets of Rage 2 and 3 mostly. A health draining special move, unique weapon attacks, back attack mapped to R1 (if playing with controller) the dash special attack with run and vertical screen roll. It generally plays well taking the best aspects of the 3 games. It's reasonably customizable as you can include the police attack from Streets of Rage one and adjust some of the settings to your choosing before you start.
I wasn't keen on how it was balanced though. Enemies feel far more aggressive than their original titles at times and move too fast to circle you. Some of the new levels aren't as well done as the originals and at times it just feels... off. It's a small criticism to an other wise fantastic game made with love by fans that Sega should have supported and perhaps even released themselves rather than shut down.
In the end I'd rather play the original titles but got to respect the pure love and effort that went into this.
+ Awesome idea.
+ Great music remixes.
+ Looks gorgeous.
- Not all new content is great or balanced.
The gameplay is a mixture of Streets of Rage 2 and 3 mostly. A health draining special move, unique weapon attacks, back attack mapped to R1 (if playing with controller) the dash special attack with run and vertical screen roll. It generally plays well taking the best aspects of the 3 games. It's reasonably customizable as you can include the police attack from Streets of Rage one and adjust some of the settings to your choosing before you start.
I wasn't keen on how it was balanced though. Enemies feel far more aggressive than their original titles at times and move too fast to circle you. Some of the new levels aren't as well done as the originals and at times it just feels... off. It's a small criticism to an other wise fantastic game made with love by fans that Sega should have supported and perhaps even released themselves rather than shut down.
In the end I'd rather play the original titles but got to respect the pure love and effort that went into this.
+ Awesome idea.
+ Great music remixes.
+ Looks gorgeous.
- Not all new content is great or balanced.
"Heroes in a half shell, Turtle Power!"
When the opening animated scene starts playing the theme tune to the 1987 animated show I felt like I had been transported to my childhood again. Whilst Shredder's Revenge leans into that nostalgia bait with aplomb using cameos, some of the original voice cast and influence from Konami's original beat 'em up Turtles in Time, the thing is Shredder's Revenge is just a good game that respects the source material, but doesn't rely solely on it.
This game features 16 stages selected across a Super Mario World styled map you move the Turtle Van onto to select. There are 7 playable characters to play and though their basic move sets are identical in controls the attacks and animations are specific to each character based on their personality. Leonardo is very professional, Michelangelo does a dance yelling "party dude!" for his taunt, April smash's Foot clan in the face with camera equipment etc. There is a lot of love and care put into it. The actual combat is pretty simple with basic attacks, run attacks, a super various jump attacks and a dedicated dodge button. As you beat enemies of find collectables you gain experience and your character levels up gaining new moves or extra health. Though the game itself is fairly easy especially playing multiplayer (I've only tried two player with a friend so far but it goes up to six somehow) there are challenges for each level including some for not taking damage which offer a bit more of a skill based gameplay to aim for.
The thing I love most about this game though is how hard they nailed the aesthetic. The sprite work is wonderful, the art design is spot on and The Original Soundtrack Manages to sound both retro and modern at the same time done by Tee Lopes responsible for the sublime Sonic Mania OST.
This game is basically exactly what I wanted. Roll on the Cowabunga Collection.
+ Great references to the original animated show.
+ Fun game with a lot of heart.
+ Fantastic visual design.
+ Amazing modern/retro soundtrack.
When the opening animated scene starts playing the theme tune to the 1987 animated show I felt like I had been transported to my childhood again. Whilst Shredder's Revenge leans into that nostalgia bait with aplomb using cameos, some of the original voice cast and influence from Konami's original beat 'em up Turtles in Time, the thing is Shredder's Revenge is just a good game that respects the source material, but doesn't rely solely on it.
This game features 16 stages selected across a Super Mario World styled map you move the Turtle Van onto to select. There are 7 playable characters to play and though their basic move sets are identical in controls the attacks and animations are specific to each character based on their personality. Leonardo is very professional, Michelangelo does a dance yelling "party dude!" for his taunt, April smash's Foot clan in the face with camera equipment etc. There is a lot of love and care put into it. The actual combat is pretty simple with basic attacks, run attacks, a super various jump attacks and a dedicated dodge button. As you beat enemies of find collectables you gain experience and your character levels up gaining new moves or extra health. Though the game itself is fairly easy especially playing multiplayer (I've only tried two player with a friend so far but it goes up to six somehow) there are challenges for each level including some for not taking damage which offer a bit more of a skill based gameplay to aim for.
The thing I love most about this game though is how hard they nailed the aesthetic. The sprite work is wonderful, the art design is spot on and The Original Soundtrack Manages to sound both retro and modern at the same time done by Tee Lopes responsible for the sublime Sonic Mania OST.
This game is basically exactly what I wanted. Roll on the Cowabunga Collection.
+ Great references to the original animated show.
+ Fun game with a lot of heart.
+ Fantastic visual design.
+ Amazing modern/retro soundtrack.
Playing this felt like playing through multiple generations of PlayStation in one game. The animations, user interface, AI and linear level design feel like a PlayStation 2 game, the textures feels like a PS3 game and yet I played this on my PS5, backwards compatible as it's a PS4 game from 2019 remastering a game from 2012.
I went into this straight from getting the platinum on Sniper Elite 4 and going back to this was a little rough in comparison. The co-op won't allow you to progress without your partner reaching the same point due to the extremely linear level design. My friend went to get a drink and the toilet mid level and it booted us both from the match completely for being idle. The levels are very linear, guards see you like they are X-Men sometimes, stealth options feel a lot more limited etc.
That all said though...it's still fun which is all that matters. In many ways the linear level design was a nice change from the two hour sprawling maps of Sniper Elite 4. The slow motion zoom in X-ray shots are still satisfying, the speed they hit the ground sometimes was hilarious. It has a ton of modes, multiplayer, bombing run, Overwatch, Kill Tally, plus 4 DLC levels. V2 Remastered also still plays very well once you adjust to it being an older title (kind of) with bullets flying and smashing into bones etc. To be honest all it takes for me to enjoy these is seeing the eyes of a fascist bursting as a bullet spirals into their skull so in that sense this is a 100% success.
Good game, but it's great to see that though very similar there has been a large amount of quality of life and design improvements in future titles.
+ Shooting people and watching their bones shatter is still satisfying.
+ Linear level design actually allows for some more engaging set pieces.
+ Plenty of content and modes.
- Game is kind of ugly with dodgy animations, textures.
- Co-op doesn't work as well, this was clearly a single player game with it added on.
I went into this straight from getting the platinum on Sniper Elite 4 and going back to this was a little rough in comparison. The co-op won't allow you to progress without your partner reaching the same point due to the extremely linear level design. My friend went to get a drink and the toilet mid level and it booted us both from the match completely for being idle. The levels are very linear, guards see you like they are X-Men sometimes, stealth options feel a lot more limited etc.
That all said though...it's still fun which is all that matters. In many ways the linear level design was a nice change from the two hour sprawling maps of Sniper Elite 4. The slow motion zoom in X-ray shots are still satisfying, the speed they hit the ground sometimes was hilarious. It has a ton of modes, multiplayer, bombing run, Overwatch, Kill Tally, plus 4 DLC levels. V2 Remastered also still plays very well once you adjust to it being an older title (kind of) with bullets flying and smashing into bones etc. To be honest all it takes for me to enjoy these is seeing the eyes of a fascist bursting as a bullet spirals into their skull so in that sense this is a 100% success.
Good game, but it's great to see that though very similar there has been a large amount of quality of life and design improvements in future titles.
+ Shooting people and watching their bones shatter is still satisfying.
+ Linear level design actually allows for some more engaging set pieces.
+ Plenty of content and modes.
- Game is kind of ugly with dodgy animations, textures.
- Co-op doesn't work as well, this was clearly a single player game with it added on.
Much like the Castlevania Anniversary Collection before it this review is more about this as a collection rather than the individual games though I'll discuss those too.
The most notable thing about this before even loading it up is despite the title it isn't exclusively Game Boy Advance Castlevanias here, there is a bonus game of Castlevania Dracula X. This would have been more suitable on the Anniversary Collection as it's not even a Metroidavania but a classic styled game. Still a kind of nice addition regardless, so a total of four titles to play through.
The game enhancements are a step up from the Anniversary Collection as well and things that are starting to be standard with retro collections I appreciate. My favorite being using R2 and left on the d-Pad to rewind time. Make a mistake? Rewind. Enemy not drop an item you want Rewind. Though this is an entirely optional feature if you want to play through the original way. There are also save states so you can save anywhere rather than just the save rooms if you suddenly need to stop playing. Due to the original game's screen ratio there are also options for sidebar wallpapers if you choose (I didn't like the distraction so kept them black) as well as some screen settings like pixel perfect to choose from. Lastly in the quality of life updates is the ability to change the controls! I like having attack square and Cross as jump and fiddling with others until comfortable. I really appreciated this, a simple thing but not something all games allow.
There are some other additions less gameplay related like a great art gallery from concept art to box art. The latter of which was hilarious as they were clearly scans of the original cardboard box cases in different regions as you can see the wear and tear and damage though they've been cleaned up as much as possible. There is also a music gallery where you can create your own playlists if you want.
Onto the games themselves. Despite being mostly Game Boy Advance Games they actually hold up on my 42" TV remarkably well visually.
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 2001 - 2.5/5
The first Game Boy Advance game of the series. It's a little rough in places, having to double tap to run, I don't like the castle design and the magic system is a great idea flawed in execution. It's not bad though.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 2002 - 3.5/5
The first Koji Igarashi made game of the collection. The influence from Symphony of the Night is obvious in this one. A great game overall but I still didn't like the castle layout.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow 2003 - 4.5/5
My favorite on the collection. A good balance on Castle design and the soul magic system is sublime.
Castlevania: Dracula X 1995 - 1.5/5
I didn't like this much. I understand it's a SNES port of the original Rondo of Blood. It was great to be able to play it but eh.
All in all this is a great collection. Some of these games to buy in their original form were seriously expensive or in some cases just kind of rare. To get them all on modern platforms at a bargain price with quality of life enhancements was such a wonderful surprise from the floundering corpse which Konami has sadly become.
+ Great quality of life enhancements (Save states, rewind)
+ Games look surprisingly good and play smoothly.
+ Four games for the asking price is a steal.
- Dracula X is kinda meh though but cool it got added in any way so torn about putting this as a negative when it's a nice little bonus game really.
The most notable thing about this before even loading it up is despite the title it isn't exclusively Game Boy Advance Castlevanias here, there is a bonus game of Castlevania Dracula X. This would have been more suitable on the Anniversary Collection as it's not even a Metroidavania but a classic styled game. Still a kind of nice addition regardless, so a total of four titles to play through.
The game enhancements are a step up from the Anniversary Collection as well and things that are starting to be standard with retro collections I appreciate. My favorite being using R2 and left on the d-Pad to rewind time. Make a mistake? Rewind. Enemy not drop an item you want Rewind. Though this is an entirely optional feature if you want to play through the original way. There are also save states so you can save anywhere rather than just the save rooms if you suddenly need to stop playing. Due to the original game's screen ratio there are also options for sidebar wallpapers if you choose (I didn't like the distraction so kept them black) as well as some screen settings like pixel perfect to choose from. Lastly in the quality of life updates is the ability to change the controls! I like having attack square and Cross as jump and fiddling with others until comfortable. I really appreciated this, a simple thing but not something all games allow.
There are some other additions less gameplay related like a great art gallery from concept art to box art. The latter of which was hilarious as they were clearly scans of the original cardboard box cases in different regions as you can see the wear and tear and damage though they've been cleaned up as much as possible. There is also a music gallery where you can create your own playlists if you want.
Onto the games themselves. Despite being mostly Game Boy Advance Games they actually hold up on my 42" TV remarkably well visually.
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 2001 - 2.5/5
The first Game Boy Advance game of the series. It's a little rough in places, having to double tap to run, I don't like the castle design and the magic system is a great idea flawed in execution. It's not bad though.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 2002 - 3.5/5
The first Koji Igarashi made game of the collection. The influence from Symphony of the Night is obvious in this one. A great game overall but I still didn't like the castle layout.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow 2003 - 4.5/5
My favorite on the collection. A good balance on Castle design and the soul magic system is sublime.
Castlevania: Dracula X 1995 - 1.5/5
I didn't like this much. I understand it's a SNES port of the original Rondo of Blood. It was great to be able to play it but eh.
All in all this is a great collection. Some of these games to buy in their original form were seriously expensive or in some cases just kind of rare. To get them all on modern platforms at a bargain price with quality of life enhancements was such a wonderful surprise from the floundering corpse which Konami has sadly become.
+ Great quality of life enhancements (Save states, rewind)
+ Games look surprisingly good and play smoothly.
+ Four games for the asking price is a steal.
- Dracula X is kinda meh though but cool it got added in any way so torn about putting this as a negative when it's a nice little bonus game really.
Aero Blasters
1990
I feel a lot of retro games from the 90's just have way cooler front covers than a lot of modern games do. I mean look at this beauty, it's like Starscream from Transformers speeding through orbit with a random background explosion. I love it.
As for the actual game it's a pretty good shoot 'em up overall. You control A 'Blaster Fighter' jet plane across six levels using a variety of weapons you can collect liberally. I do mean that as containers with about six power ups at once are found in generous quantities. There are 7 weapons types; Reverse shot, Six way shot, Satellite guns, Homing and three different types of missiles as well as power ups for your main weapon the Vulcan gun. In all honesty I feel the last one is the most important upgrade available. Sometimes the Reverse shot and Homing missiles can be helpful on some small enemies but overall the wall of firepower in front of you will be doing most of the work. Additionally there is a charge shot that damages all enemies on the screen though only the smaller enemies will die from the blast however the recharge time to use it is fairly short and doesn't require collecting or shooting to power up.
Where Aero Blasters really shines compared with Arrow Flash the last Mega Drive Shoot 'em up I played is in the level design and variety. Initially it seemed a little the same with the first level flying across a sky and city landscape followed by a slower cave level but things changed where that level suddenly sped up having to speed through narrow sections with warning signs for the obstacles ahead. The level after that the parallax scrolling came at an angle as if flying into the atmosphere with ships and enemies coming out of the clouds in front of you before finishing in orbit with a gorgeous horizon view of the planet below. From level 4 due to being in space the controls change so that pressing a direction the ship's velocity won't stop due to the vacuum meaning you need to constantly change direction to control it's direction and momentum.
This is a really neat idea but I feel this is where my experience with Aero Blasters slightly loses it's positivity as this can get a little irritating at times and creates an artificial difficulty. The last level inside what seems to be an alien mothership is also a real let down, it's absolutely full of moving obstacle puzzles and is really hard (I'm not good at shoot 'em ups to be fair) and I felt my earlier enjoyment of this title slipping as I directed poor Starscream into yet another moving block where I misjudged the small gap I had to traverse through. The wikipedia page for this game has this quote:
"MegaTech magazine gave the game 78%, commenting on the "excellent graphics, sound and playability", but criticising the low challenge factor."
Which is hilarious to me considering how insanely hard I found the last couple of levels. Overall though I had a good time with this one. The music is pretty fast paced with a nice beat, the action is good and the graphics are crisp and bright with some nice level aesthetics and interesting mechanics. Just slightly too hard for me on the backend, there's a reason the title banner for this game here says 'Game Over'.
+ Some nice unique level design/mechanics
+ Colourful, vivid visuals.
+ Action packed gameplay.
+ That front cover.
- The last couple of levels are way too hard.
As for the actual game it's a pretty good shoot 'em up overall. You control A 'Blaster Fighter' jet plane across six levels using a variety of weapons you can collect liberally. I do mean that as containers with about six power ups at once are found in generous quantities. There are 7 weapons types; Reverse shot, Six way shot, Satellite guns, Homing and three different types of missiles as well as power ups for your main weapon the Vulcan gun. In all honesty I feel the last one is the most important upgrade available. Sometimes the Reverse shot and Homing missiles can be helpful on some small enemies but overall the wall of firepower in front of you will be doing most of the work. Additionally there is a charge shot that damages all enemies on the screen though only the smaller enemies will die from the blast however the recharge time to use it is fairly short and doesn't require collecting or shooting to power up.
Where Aero Blasters really shines compared with Arrow Flash the last Mega Drive Shoot 'em up I played is in the level design and variety. Initially it seemed a little the same with the first level flying across a sky and city landscape followed by a slower cave level but things changed where that level suddenly sped up having to speed through narrow sections with warning signs for the obstacles ahead. The level after that the parallax scrolling came at an angle as if flying into the atmosphere with ships and enemies coming out of the clouds in front of you before finishing in orbit with a gorgeous horizon view of the planet below. From level 4 due to being in space the controls change so that pressing a direction the ship's velocity won't stop due to the vacuum meaning you need to constantly change direction to control it's direction and momentum.
This is a really neat idea but I feel this is where my experience with Aero Blasters slightly loses it's positivity as this can get a little irritating at times and creates an artificial difficulty. The last level inside what seems to be an alien mothership is also a real let down, it's absolutely full of moving obstacle puzzles and is really hard (I'm not good at shoot 'em ups to be fair) and I felt my earlier enjoyment of this title slipping as I directed poor Starscream into yet another moving block where I misjudged the small gap I had to traverse through. The wikipedia page for this game has this quote:
"MegaTech magazine gave the game 78%, commenting on the "excellent graphics, sound and playability", but criticising the low challenge factor."
Which is hilarious to me considering how insanely hard I found the last couple of levels. Overall though I had a good time with this one. The music is pretty fast paced with a nice beat, the action is good and the graphics are crisp and bright with some nice level aesthetics and interesting mechanics. Just slightly too hard for me on the backend, there's a reason the title banner for this game here says 'Game Over'.
+ Some nice unique level design/mechanics
+ Colourful, vivid visuals.
+ Action packed gameplay.
+ That front cover.
- The last couple of levels are way too hard.
GreedFall
2019
I've played every game from Spiders since trying a demo of a quirky role playing game on PS3 Faery Legends of Avalon. I feel like I could start every review for every game they've ever made as "Great but rough around the edges" And this applies equally to Greedfall though in many ways it's easily their best title and seeing their tiny team make old fashioned Bioware type RPGs with a team of only 30-50 people and a budget made of buttons and old chewing gum wrappers pulled out the depths of an old pair of trousers never fails to impress me to be honest.
Greedfall is set in a fantasy world inspired by 17th and 18th century history in both art style as well as story premise about three different large countries each colonizing areas of a large island which already has a native population more in tune with nature than it's newcomers. You play a character called De Sadet, a diplomat and official legate of one faction known as the Merchant Congregation. Some of the story beats and characters are pretty interesting with different factions and lore for the island. However there is a big elephant in the room that this is quite a sensitive idea to be taking, as a British citizen I am especially aware of this and I'm not sure Spiders quite have the nuance to pull off what they were going for here. One group is basically the Spanish Inquisition and the other feel like an Persian Empire based on science. Both of which often are pure evil in their actions to the natives and I found many of the quest outcomes just a little unsatisfying as the game makes you play the shades of grey diplomat. Though your choices can shape out comes it's often not enough from what I experienced though it didn't stop me enjoying it, it was a feeling I couldn't shape for the 50 hours I put into it. It made me feel uncomfortable at times but maybe that's what they were going for?
The combat is Spiders best yet. You can build your character how you want choosing a range of skills from melee, magic or technical. I went full in on technical at first and was just blasting muskets, pistoles, laying traps, throwing bombs and enjoying it a lot. I changed halfway through re-specking for a dash of magic half way though for a quick dodge but then I found it just became one note of firing overpowered guns and wiping enemies out with my 900 plus bullets. The same issue occurred with equipment where I equipped and upgraded a unique set I liked the look of and never found anything better for the next 20 hours playing so I just had gold and crafting supplies coming out of my ears. All in all it's a little unbalanced, doesn't have huge variety but is fun enough when you are fighting.
When you're not fighting then you are exploring the world Spiders created. Cities and wilderness beyond. The cities look fantastic, full of life, buildings still being built and the art design is really a perfect representation of the era they are aiming for with npcs walking around in long dresses or tricorn hats etc. The wilderness outside the cities are similar in scope with very autumnal colours of leaves and trees as you explore I appreciated. The game is easily Spiders most technically impressive to boot. I played on PS5 and set it to performance mode and it sticks a pretty consistent 60fps most of the time. There are occasional judders and a bit of screen tearing at the bottom of the screen but to say this is a step up from their previous game would be an understatement.
Some of Spiders budget restrictions do show through though. Each house you can enter is identical, every palace layout is the same despite the factions being so different, each barracks is exactly the same etc. If gets a bit annoying considering the effort that has gone into the external view of the city. There are other design choices that also don't really work. While I enjoy exploring, running back and forth is just soul destroying as you can only fast travel from certain places and even just going back to report a side quest gets old really fast. On the flipside I really enjoyed all of your parties personal side quests. They were decently varied and helped flesh out each character and the faction they represented.
Reading back through this makes it seem like I'm negative about this game but I actually did really enjoy my time with it. Spiders have improved a lot as a developer and I appreciate they make really unique settings for their games that so few developers do. I mean their next title SteelRising is about a French Revolution styled soulslike fantasy world with clockwork soldiers. How nuts is that?
+ Great art design.
+ Spiders most technically impressive title to date.
+ Some cool side quests for the part characters.
+ Really cool premise...
-...Not always handled well.
- Combat gets a bit dull as it's unbalanced at the end and lacks depth.
- Some frame rate judders here and there.
- The lack of a fast travel from anywhere just makes moving around sometimes a chore.
Greedfall is set in a fantasy world inspired by 17th and 18th century history in both art style as well as story premise about three different large countries each colonizing areas of a large island which already has a native population more in tune with nature than it's newcomers. You play a character called De Sadet, a diplomat and official legate of one faction known as the Merchant Congregation. Some of the story beats and characters are pretty interesting with different factions and lore for the island. However there is a big elephant in the room that this is quite a sensitive idea to be taking, as a British citizen I am especially aware of this and I'm not sure Spiders quite have the nuance to pull off what they were going for here. One group is basically the Spanish Inquisition and the other feel like an Persian Empire based on science. Both of which often are pure evil in their actions to the natives and I found many of the quest outcomes just a little unsatisfying as the game makes you play the shades of grey diplomat. Though your choices can shape out comes it's often not enough from what I experienced though it didn't stop me enjoying it, it was a feeling I couldn't shape for the 50 hours I put into it. It made me feel uncomfortable at times but maybe that's what they were going for?
The combat is Spiders best yet. You can build your character how you want choosing a range of skills from melee, magic or technical. I went full in on technical at first and was just blasting muskets, pistoles, laying traps, throwing bombs and enjoying it a lot. I changed halfway through re-specking for a dash of magic half way though for a quick dodge but then I found it just became one note of firing overpowered guns and wiping enemies out with my 900 plus bullets. The same issue occurred with equipment where I equipped and upgraded a unique set I liked the look of and never found anything better for the next 20 hours playing so I just had gold and crafting supplies coming out of my ears. All in all it's a little unbalanced, doesn't have huge variety but is fun enough when you are fighting.
When you're not fighting then you are exploring the world Spiders created. Cities and wilderness beyond. The cities look fantastic, full of life, buildings still being built and the art design is really a perfect representation of the era they are aiming for with npcs walking around in long dresses or tricorn hats etc. The wilderness outside the cities are similar in scope with very autumnal colours of leaves and trees as you explore I appreciated. The game is easily Spiders most technically impressive to boot. I played on PS5 and set it to performance mode and it sticks a pretty consistent 60fps most of the time. There are occasional judders and a bit of screen tearing at the bottom of the screen but to say this is a step up from their previous game would be an understatement.
Some of Spiders budget restrictions do show through though. Each house you can enter is identical, every palace layout is the same despite the factions being so different, each barracks is exactly the same etc. If gets a bit annoying considering the effort that has gone into the external view of the city. There are other design choices that also don't really work. While I enjoy exploring, running back and forth is just soul destroying as you can only fast travel from certain places and even just going back to report a side quest gets old really fast. On the flipside I really enjoyed all of your parties personal side quests. They were decently varied and helped flesh out each character and the faction they represented.
Reading back through this makes it seem like I'm negative about this game but I actually did really enjoy my time with it. Spiders have improved a lot as a developer and I appreciate they make really unique settings for their games that so few developers do. I mean their next title SteelRising is about a French Revolution styled soulslike fantasy world with clockwork soldiers. How nuts is that?
+ Great art design.
+ Spiders most technically impressive title to date.
+ Some cool side quests for the part characters.
+ Really cool premise...
-...Not always handled well.
- Combat gets a bit dull as it's unbalanced at the end and lacks depth.
- Some frame rate judders here and there.
- The lack of a fast travel from anywhere just makes moving around sometimes a chore.
Risk of Rain 2
2019
Super visually impressive. Setting + enemies are colorful and, combined with the music, give off these "edge of the universe"/"lost in space"-vibes.
Shooting + choosing upgrades is easy fun. Each class is unique and satisfying.
Downsides: the game doesn't explain itself very well. You'll need to dedicate some time to understand each upgrade. Also there'll be times where you're just waiting for enemies to show up, and that can slow down a run, which sucks because a run can last an hour if you're like me.
Shooting + choosing upgrades is easy fun. Each class is unique and satisfying.
Downsides: the game doesn't explain itself very well. You'll need to dedicate some time to understand each upgrade. Also there'll be times where you're just waiting for enemies to show up, and that can slow down a run, which sucks because a run can last an hour if you're like me.
If you're in your 30s or 40s and owned a Megadrive / Genesis? This could be the collection for you.
Sega over their history no matter what people think of them now have had some smashing games. Of the consoles they released though, by far and large my favorite of these was the Sega Genesis / Megadrive. Nostalgia factor aside there are some truly quality titles here spanning across all genres that will take hours to actually finish and at a good price.
Writing a mini review for each game would take too long, so lets just say there are some amazing games here. Not all the games in this compilation are gems though (I'm looking at you Alex Kidd and Altered Beast) however there are certain games on here that are almost worth the price on their own such as the brilliant role playing games Shining Force and Phantasy Star series which to buy an original of isn't cheap. There are classic beat 'em ups like Streets of Rage and Golden Axe, platformers like Ristar and Sonic, rare adventure titles like Beyond Oasis etc.
On top of all the original games Sega went one further with the original master system release of Phantasy Star so all 4 are in one set as well as arcade versions of Shinobi, Altered Beast and Space Harrier as a bonus throw in. A rating system for each game has also been included so the player can see what they like as they scroll through the list, a nice touch. There are also plenty of developer interviews about some of the original games and what they were trying to do back at the time as well as original box art for almost every title. Not bad going considering the RPG's alone will take a good 20 hours each never mind every other game.
Overall there are 49 games in this collection along with trophies and all the bonus features. There are few games that will give this sort of value for money and I for one would have paid double just for the Shining Force and Streets of Rage games. Now I wish Sega would release a Saturn and Dreamcast set with games like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, Nights, Skies of Arcadia etc.
+ Great value for money.
+ Includes some very hard to get hold of titles....
- ....not all of which are worth playing.
Sega over their history no matter what people think of them now have had some smashing games. Of the consoles they released though, by far and large my favorite of these was the Sega Genesis / Megadrive. Nostalgia factor aside there are some truly quality titles here spanning across all genres that will take hours to actually finish and at a good price.
Writing a mini review for each game would take too long, so lets just say there are some amazing games here. Not all the games in this compilation are gems though (I'm looking at you Alex Kidd and Altered Beast) however there are certain games on here that are almost worth the price on their own such as the brilliant role playing games Shining Force and Phantasy Star series which to buy an original of isn't cheap. There are classic beat 'em ups like Streets of Rage and Golden Axe, platformers like Ristar and Sonic, rare adventure titles like Beyond Oasis etc.
On top of all the original games Sega went one further with the original master system release of Phantasy Star so all 4 are in one set as well as arcade versions of Shinobi, Altered Beast and Space Harrier as a bonus throw in. A rating system for each game has also been included so the player can see what they like as they scroll through the list, a nice touch. There are also plenty of developer interviews about some of the original games and what they were trying to do back at the time as well as original box art for almost every title. Not bad going considering the RPG's alone will take a good 20 hours each never mind every other game.
Overall there are 49 games in this collection along with trophies and all the bonus features. There are few games that will give this sort of value for money and I for one would have paid double just for the Shining Force and Streets of Rage games. Now I wish Sega would release a Saturn and Dreamcast set with games like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, Nights, Skies of Arcadia etc.
+ Great value for money.
+ Includes some very hard to get hold of titles....
- ....not all of which are worth playing.
Lollipop Chainsaw
2012
God, I forgot how amazing this game was. Overstylized as fuck, a pure fun fest of characters, story and music, my god the music. Licensed songs are raising games to a whole nother level.
Epic presentation, action packed cutscenes, pure mind boggling madness.
Suda51+James Gunn, this delivered what it promised.
They aren't just doing games like this anymore these days. 🥲
Epic presentation, action packed cutscenes, pure mind boggling madness.
Suda51+James Gunn, this delivered what it promised.
They aren't just doing games like this anymore these days. 🥲
Horizon: Forbidden West does everything I want from a sequel. It balances making improvements overall and adding new things whilst still keeping the aspects that made the first title Zero Dawn so great. Sometimes all I want its more of the same of something and that's essentially what has happened here.
The story carries on a few months after the first game focusing once again on the Nora huntress Alloy. The story premise was one of my favorite aspects of the first game and I like what they have done here though one mission I can't talk about due to spoilers was a total disappointment. Where Guerilla games have really excelled though is in other aspects of world building and interactions. Zero Dawn was heavily criticized by many people due to it's wooden facial expressions and conversations which the developers really took to heart and if anything have almost set a new standard for open world game dialogue and facial animations. They are truly brilliant at times with different micro expressions clear on each character.
The combat has also received some improvements. Melee now has full combos available, power moves and a special called a 'valor charge' to choose from but in all honesty, it's still clunky and not comfortable to play. The ranged combat just still feels like how the game is designed for. Sprinting and sliding past a robot aiming in slow motion at a weak point and blasting it off is just far more fun in every way. There are new weapons such as shredders with boomerang discs that explode, javelins, bolt throwers but for me a mixture of a hunter bow for combat and sharpshooter for stealth were the optimal load out. I appreciate the new options though.
Presentation wise the game is simply stunning and though I don't normally, I found myself using photo mode all the time. This is mostly due to the fantastic art design. Every 50 to 100 yards there is something interesting, a waterfall, a crashed plane, an old ruin, amazing trees or vistas. With the colourful mix of new world, old world, tribal influences and cool looking machines resulting in a gorgeous blend. I played the whole game on presentation mode on PlayStation 5 and it played incredibly smoothly at 60fps and the fast travel was sub 2 seconds thanks to the SSD which I loved.
It's not all perfect though, whilst I love exploring around the climbing is terrible. You can only climb certain things, sometimes with no reason why. Often when getting to the top of a wall of cliff Alloy just would not pull herself up forcing me to move around a bit until she did which was frustrating. (I loved the new glider though) It also had a few bugs and glitches throughout. Occasional black screens, crashing, stuck in scenery and some weird sound issues. Nothing reloading last saves didn't solve and there have already been patches to smooth some issues (and i'm sure more will come as it's only been out a couple of weeks) but these must be noted. Speaking of sound, the soundtrack is gorgeous. I always felt the first game's music was underrated but feel it stands out a lot more here.
The game took me over 80 hours to platinum but I do have a tendency to explore every last corner of open world games, complete all side quests, take in the views etc. It could be done more like 30 for those that play in a more streamlined fashion. I loved my time with it despite some slight issues. Alloy is such a great character and I simply love the world that Guerilla Games have created. I look forward to the third game in the series.
+ Good story continuation.
+ Great world, lore and characters.
+ Ranged combat is excellent.
+ Gorgeous art design.
+ Excellent music.
+ Alloy.
- One story mission was such a let down for me.
- Melee combat is still meh.
- Climbing is terrible.
- Some glitches and crashing mar an otherwise smooth experience.
The story carries on a few months after the first game focusing once again on the Nora huntress Alloy. The story premise was one of my favorite aspects of the first game and I like what they have done here though one mission I can't talk about due to spoilers was a total disappointment. Where Guerilla games have really excelled though is in other aspects of world building and interactions. Zero Dawn was heavily criticized by many people due to it's wooden facial expressions and conversations which the developers really took to heart and if anything have almost set a new standard for open world game dialogue and facial animations. They are truly brilliant at times with different micro expressions clear on each character.
The combat has also received some improvements. Melee now has full combos available, power moves and a special called a 'valor charge' to choose from but in all honesty, it's still clunky and not comfortable to play. The ranged combat just still feels like how the game is designed for. Sprinting and sliding past a robot aiming in slow motion at a weak point and blasting it off is just far more fun in every way. There are new weapons such as shredders with boomerang discs that explode, javelins, bolt throwers but for me a mixture of a hunter bow for combat and sharpshooter for stealth were the optimal load out. I appreciate the new options though.
Presentation wise the game is simply stunning and though I don't normally, I found myself using photo mode all the time. This is mostly due to the fantastic art design. Every 50 to 100 yards there is something interesting, a waterfall, a crashed plane, an old ruin, amazing trees or vistas. With the colourful mix of new world, old world, tribal influences and cool looking machines resulting in a gorgeous blend. I played the whole game on presentation mode on PlayStation 5 and it played incredibly smoothly at 60fps and the fast travel was sub 2 seconds thanks to the SSD which I loved.
It's not all perfect though, whilst I love exploring around the climbing is terrible. You can only climb certain things, sometimes with no reason why. Often when getting to the top of a wall of cliff Alloy just would not pull herself up forcing me to move around a bit until she did which was frustrating. (I loved the new glider though) It also had a few bugs and glitches throughout. Occasional black screens, crashing, stuck in scenery and some weird sound issues. Nothing reloading last saves didn't solve and there have already been patches to smooth some issues (and i'm sure more will come as it's only been out a couple of weeks) but these must be noted. Speaking of sound, the soundtrack is gorgeous. I always felt the first game's music was underrated but feel it stands out a lot more here.
The game took me over 80 hours to platinum but I do have a tendency to explore every last corner of open world games, complete all side quests, take in the views etc. It could be done more like 30 for those that play in a more streamlined fashion. I loved my time with it despite some slight issues. Alloy is such a great character and I simply love the world that Guerilla Games have created. I look forward to the third game in the series.
+ Good story continuation.
+ Great world, lore and characters.
+ Ranged combat is excellent.
+ Gorgeous art design.
+ Excellent music.
+ Alloy.
- One story mission was such a let down for me.
- Melee combat is still meh.
- Climbing is terrible.
- Some glitches and crashing mar an otherwise smooth experience.
Genuinely chilling, hit my soul extremely deep in a very specific place that I haven't been hit in a while. Just the way the girl words things and talks about her life and experiences have this chilling aura when you read between the lines and put things together, it's not quite something you can express easily. The game's minimalistic artstyle makes it that when the game actively tries to be creepy, that it hits. Incredibly short, not even totaling in 10 minutes, you could beat this easily, but its an experience that'll stick in your mind for a while... I look forward to seeing how the sequel disturbs me further.
Chicory is just a super wholesome game full of charm.
It's just full of heart with its fantastic characters and surprising themes about loneliness, pressure and failure all wrapped up in a surprisingly beautiful world.
The story moments to this game feel like almost personal experiences of the developers that created it and I found myself really relating to some of the personal moments of self doubt and depression that feature in some moments. Despite these though Chicory still feels like a game about hope and building a better future past these roadblocks I really liked, but wasn't expecting going in.
Gameplay wise, Chicory plays like the top down game boy Zelda adventure games but instead of enemies you refill the world with colour as you explore. You can be as slap dash or meticulous as you want and the game doesn't punish you for it. It's a surprisingly long adventure coming in at about 30 hours but I never got bored painting or exploring, unlocking new abilities, collectibles and areas.
The visuals are simple but perfect for the game in black and white 2D. I have seen some fantastic screens of areas people have painted resulting in gorgeous environments. Mine tend to be way more simple blobs but they often look nice anyway.
Overall, it's an easily overlooked gem. Please buy it, spread the word.
+ Interesting characters and themes.
+ Fun to explore and paint.
+ Great art design and music.
+ Just warm and charming experience.
It's just full of heart with its fantastic characters and surprising themes about loneliness, pressure and failure all wrapped up in a surprisingly beautiful world.
The story moments to this game feel like almost personal experiences of the developers that created it and I found myself really relating to some of the personal moments of self doubt and depression that feature in some moments. Despite these though Chicory still feels like a game about hope and building a better future past these roadblocks I really liked, but wasn't expecting going in.
Gameplay wise, Chicory plays like the top down game boy Zelda adventure games but instead of enemies you refill the world with colour as you explore. You can be as slap dash or meticulous as you want and the game doesn't punish you for it. It's a surprisingly long adventure coming in at about 30 hours but I never got bored painting or exploring, unlocking new abilities, collectibles and areas.
The visuals are simple but perfect for the game in black and white 2D. I have seen some fantastic screens of areas people have painted resulting in gorgeous environments. Mine tend to be way more simple blobs but they often look nice anyway.
Overall, it's an easily overlooked gem. Please buy it, spread the word.
+ Interesting characters and themes.
+ Fun to explore and paint.
+ Great art design and music.
+ Just warm and charming experience.