This is a good adaptation of Monopoly, but it really would have benefitted from some touch ups. The “speed” of the game is too slow, and that makes it a chore to get through. Although all the “character” pieces are nicely animated, they’re just not appealing enough to deal with how long the animations are go on for. The game board itself is well done, with dynamic lighting and all. But you’ll probably noticing how the controls are also awful too. I mean the D-Pad is right there but it’s just... never used. Instead you have to rely on the C-Stick to navigate menus, which makes for a cumbersome experience.

As for the game itself, it is pretty self explanatory. It’s standard Monopoly, and I can appreciate the variety of options you can tool around with to make it your own kind of Monopoly. Also, bonus points for allowing multiplayer with one controller.

As it stands, unless you’re trying to build a N64 collection, or relive some nostalgia, there’s little value in this version of Monopoly. Although it’s better than it’s PlayStation counterpart, you’d be better off trying the newer iterations or well, playing it in person like it’s always meant to be.

Burnout suffers from "first game syndrome". It's easy to overlook for those who wish to go through the highlights of the Burnout, and by extension, arcade racer peak. On the other hand, it's a bland slog that shows points of promise for the more historically inclined. A glorified tech demo, that it's been often described as, is just about sufficient to determine whether you wanna experience these frustrating beginnings.

The RenderWare engine, in it's sixth-gen infancy, still looks quite nice. The cars sheen, and the detailed and tight race corridors are all quite nice to look at... but the game suffers from some emptiness. Perhaps it's the boring music, or the maladjusted audio mixing, but it's hollow, and it makes the racing a bit boring at times.

The rubberband AI here is the worst, it discourages driving like you'd expect from a Burnout game. If you crash often but stay fast, you'll never be able to get to first place. The game contradicts itself by rewarding following racing lines and staying on the right side of the road (or cheesing your way to the end of the opposite end). There may be times where it all clicks together, and you find yourself chaining up Burnouts, but it's too rare to really get you to seek out this title. The hit detection is dumb. A slight nudge and you're done. The lack of damage you can take is such a major oversite. The racing itself, for whatever is worth, is okay at best.

Once you clear all the GPs, you can unlock some additional cars in "Face-Off" but I found myself too bored with the title by then to really go through the tracks again with my new fangled hardware.

Burnout, at this point, is better served as a historical capsule to be observed and maybe lightly played. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone saying the OG was better than the numerous sequels.

The Force Unleashed (talking about the PS2 version from here on out), is like video game junk food. It has a nice story you don't have to concentrate much on, it has easy to learn and easy to master combat, and you do cool stuff like fighting giant monsters and robots and dealing with a boss fight at the end of each level. Easy on the eyes, light on thumbs.

If you have experience of playing the seventh generation versions ("Next-Gen"), expect a slightly different experience. The story of Starkiller is slightly more fleshed out, with the additioanal ambiguity adding some meaning to the through-line of the story: Is there good in this clone of a murdered Jedi? Knowing Star Wars, the answer is in the question itself, and although the story still does very easily prefer you become a Jedi, I appreciated the slightly more fleshed out moments that are in modified backdrops. The difference between the versions does increase as you go along the game. I wouldn't say it's better or worse, it really comes done to personal preference.

The combat, when in sync is your typical beat 'em up/hack 'n slash. You deal with normal enemy cannon fodder, some brutes, and the cannon fodder become stratified as the game moves along. There's not much strategy involved, but the sense of progression is nice as your increase in abillities. If your a Star Wars fan, there is innate fun in swinging your lightsaber around and killing bad guys, and the game is aware of it. Your journey as a Sith apprentice progresses from weak, one two way lightning to eventual crowd control lightning storms. You'll move from small crowd control repulse to eventually becoming a mini-moving tornado. As you collect orbs from killing enemies, the upgrade tree makes being able to roleplay whether you wanna be "good" or "evil" with your force powers. The combat encounters eventually become repetitive, but the short length of the game makes up for it.

As your roam from Imperial destroyers, to the tropical Felucia, or to the deprecated Jedi Temples, you'll find a variety of collectibles that are at-times, frustratatingly hidden. The game doesn't have a replay feature (just a New Game Plus), or ability to track how many collectibles are in each level, so you're left to your own devices if you really wanna play this to 100%. The Jedi Holocrons showcase some neat concept art, and the lightsaber components give some welcome customisation.

For a late-PS2/Wii cross-port (that somehow is best on the PSP), the game looks great, albeit muddy at times. It's certainely ambitious when trying to go for open-vista battles, however I do feel the game looked best when going for smaller environments with attention to detail. The character models and cutscenes are all in-game, but they do look good for the hardware at hand. The highlight here, are the animations. The way Starkiller twists and turns as he strikes contact with anyone in his way, with whatever clothes he has swinging around in the background, is immensely satisfying, even though the actual game skill required to get there isn't much. By the time you're at the end, and just about to go for New Game Plus, the hybrid combat and force power combos are just plain fun to perform. Enemies will ragdoll around and although it may not be at Euphoria levels like it's next-gen counterparts, it's nothing to scoff at either. Also.. Star Wars music. Need I say more?

The Force Unleashed is through-and-through for Star Wars fans, but if you like a fun action game, I think you'll get your mileage out of this one. It's a decent game to sit down for a weekend on and just plow through.

In the end of Virtua Tennis 2, you come face to face with the "King". His stats are all maxed out, he hits great shots almost every time, and he's a good challenge after the cakewalk that will be the preceding match. The good thing is that by this point your stats aren't anything to scoff at either. You grinded out Tank Attack-perfectting your deadly stroke, you're fast after smashing through cans, and your serve is deadly.

Then the match starts. First rally is imminent. You hit a MAX Power Serve, inches away from an ace. King gives a fast top spin serve back. You counter, this goes on for 20-30 strokes.

This is the peak of Virtua Tennis 2. The constant back and forth, with the different shots at your disposal make it more than just a "pong clone". It's an actual good representation of Tennis, it makes the game interesting. Sure, it may be a bit arcadey- but it's to be expected. It's a perfect arcade port. Doesn't make it any less fun. Right?

You're now at the perfect spot, you hit a deadly slice shot to the opposite end of the net after a fierce battle near the net. It's hanging a little high but that's okay, it's not gonna be out. This is it. It may have been the first rally, but it's a mental victory. That Love 15 is finally gonna be in your hands. You got this. Then... BANG

The King returned that slice shot with a spike top spin and there's virtually no way to react to it. No problem, it'll be 15 all on the seond rally. You serve again, another great rally, and at the end, King hits you with two back to back smash points that conveniently land just in front of the baseline out-line. Did I mention he was in netplay?

Right...

Nevertheless, this frustrating end does not stop Virtua Tennis 2 from overall being a fun game. Learning the ins and outs of different players and mastering their sets is a joy with the nice stage scenery and great animations. Players twist, turn, contort, dive, and if your lucky, leap into the air to hit volleys, strokes, spins, and lobs that all prove their worth on 4 court types. Everyone gets their chance to shine here. The carpet courts showcase the lob shots (slow but high) but that doesn't make a great slice shots (fast and low-lying) any less viable. With the right player anything is possible, and it's that what which makes Virtua Tennis 2 so versatile. This can all be experienced in the Tournament mode, but the World Tour mode has it's own quirks too.

When you're tired of the court- the minigames are there 2 minigames for 4 skills. Each one of them pose unique challenges, with Tank Attack having you train your stroke by hitting tanks, or Pin Crasher which turns tennis serves into a bowling game. The personality each minigame has is varied, and by the end you'll be having some favorites that will also at the same time train specific skills for your playstyle. I liked working on Pin Crasher, Tank Attack, and Danger Flag so I was a fast player that best worked at the baseline throwing out powerful strokes. But that doesn't mean your experience will be the same. If you like bullseye training, you may end up with an excellent volley. The intuitiveness of integrating minigames, and your proficiency actually translating to better play- is nothing short of clever. But once you get really good at the minigames- perfectting them is a slog, and progression stalls. The requirements just become too high and require near perfect execution, which just isn't fun to me.

It's a recurring theme of Virtua Tennis 2- the game is great, but the endgame is just bleh.

This is all accompanied by a nice electronic soundtrack which may irk some of the progressive rock fans of the original. It can be heard in the background of the also great SFX on the court, but it's still pleasing to listen to. All-in-all i'd wager that this entry clears the original in almost every aspect. There's greater depth to the gameplay, with proper adjustments like diving recovery being made, in addition to females being playable and better overall visuals. I see little reason to play the original unless you're nostalgic.

It's a shame then that Virtua Tennis 2 is underlooked when it comes to Tennis game discourse, with most people in the Top Spin 4 or bust camp and some preferring Tennis Elbow. It's a sneaky good addition the also underrated Dreamcast. VT2's place in just shy of VT3 i'd say, but it's DNA is all over it's successors.

Maybe one day i'll come back and show the "King" how good I really am. But for now, i've had my fill of Tennis gaming. Since I did it with Virtua Tennis 2 i'd say that's time well spent.

Here I am, playing Ratchet and Clank on the PS2, using this nifty thing called RetroAchievements and having a grand ol' time. Much to my dismay on a windy Saturday night, I began to deal with power cuts for the past two days. No way would I risk my PC just to squeeze in 30 minutes gaming sessions between the cuts. Thankfully I have my tablet, and an internet connection for it.

I also have that nifty thing.

Oh that nifty thing. How it tricked my curious little brain into stumbling into this unexpected path. If you're still wondering, yes, I did play this for achievements, on a relatively obscure website for tracking game progression. Did I mention I have my finals in December? Truly this is something you can insert into the legends of procrastination.

Whatever it is, it's done, i'm happy, and here we are. Reviewing a glorified "3 game pack" of board games for the GBA. To be fair, I always wanted to pay Game of Life, so that was worth the price of admission. From this review on, i'll be tackling each game piece by piece.

The Game of Life is well, just that. It's the board game. FWIW, it's a neat little board game, and the CPUs waver a bit on the easier side, but the paths and the RNG bring you along the ride. I had fun trying to become a millionaire as on 40K a year. Of the 3, this is easily the most approachable. The only issue is, the AI is dog slow- and this is something that will repeat. The game would have been nice with some built in fast forward function.

Payday, well, this crap is just as broken as Payday 2- that heist game that doubles down as a horde shooter at this point. Not only are the AI dog slow, but the RNG options suck. You like being charged 5000 on your 20,000 because you rolled dice? You like being in debt? You like having your properties worth 0 if you go all into your tycoon desires? Yeah whatever it is... just play Monopoly man. Oh, and as a added bonus- expect crashes as your high scores from Game of Life may carry over here. It's the cherry on top for subjecting yourself to this.

Yahtzee- I expected nothing from this, and I actually really enjoyed it. It's the one that requires the most strategy, and you feel like you actually have the most control over your ability to win. The AI are faster this time, but man are they tough. They'd give Swordfish AI on Chess a run for their money when you come to 4 player matches. But why bother when the 1 player high score option works the same magic? Anyways, of the 3, this might be the one i'll play again IRL when I get the chance.

On the presentation, well it's boring as hell. Sprites are nice but there's nothing you'll be remembering here, except for Payday- it sucks that much. Audio, whatever. I kept a podcast in the background and had my fun. That's it really. I really have nothing to analyze here. The terrible AI speed really brings down the rating for me, but i'd say this is a nice game if you wanna get an introduction to these board games. They are presented simple enough and without informing you in all the minutia. A neat thing I can commend the devs for is you can pass and play and not rely on Link Cables and the like.

If you wanna achievement hunt- it's up to you. The RetroAchievement set list veeers more into RNG achievements, so it's your call if you want to subject yourself to that. As i'm a student in medical school, i've grown acclitimized to mental drainage in the mundane, so it wasn't too bad for me. Your mileage may vary.

So there you have it- the legendary 3 game pack, whose damning revelations torment the GBA library to this very day. I hope it was worth it, Destination Software.

If you want to play this on PC, read the end of my review.

"People don't forget, nothing gets forgiven" is a fitting line to describe this game's narrative, one that is built around legacy. Legacy is what dictates the major players in Red Dead Redemption for the actions they take, whether it be in spite of, in retribution of, or to redeem themselves from. When finishing Red Dead Redemption, I came to understood the imperfect character of John Marston. He is similar in style to characters like Niko Bellic and Michael De Santa when looked at broadly. A flawed person trying to move on, but whereas Niko and Michael are drawn into crime by necessity, John is drawn into it by force for his wife and son. In such a way, it's pretty easy to empathize with him and go through the same feelings he does throughout the storyline.

The setting in particular only accentuates this. John as a character feels more grounded in the juxtaposition of a fairly realistic dying west filled with a cast of characters colorful in personality. The degree of difference between going from the beginning McFarlane Ranch, to the borderline industrialized Blackwater, or the untamed wilderness of Tall Trees is stark to the say the very least. The map has it's own sort of language. It provides further insight to the narrative without being a bit too on the noise. It is very easy to see what you'll encounter in Mexico when just visiting every city. In addition, the characters are made to a degree that they are almost caricatures and in some cases a biting satire, with some being a bit more obvious than the other. However, the dialogue executes it with a degree of earnestness reminiscent of the old 3D GTAs. It is unabashedly a spaghetti western, but the writing team has added a degree of percipience that you may not always find in those films.

Gameplay itself is good enough, as the main allure of this game will be the setting and narrative. The missions at first can be a bit slow, as with many Rockstar games, but once the second and third act come around there is a good variety to all the missions and the pacing ramps up quite a bit. In between, you'll have smaller things like challenges for exploring the world via picking plants, hunting animals, finding treasures along with some shooting challenges. The last few ones for hunting and shooting can get a bit tricky. There is also minigames like Poker, Blackjack, etc which can be a bit of a time sink if you get distracted. I found myself getting quite a bit into Liar's Dice and Poker. The AI in the former can get a predictable however.

For an older title the game still looks good apart from some frame drops and aliasing issues. Given the supposed troubled development it is unsurprising, but you might find yourself annoyed once or twice with it. Face models and the soundtrack are specific technical highlights. The soundtrack in particular fits this game like a glove, I really can't think of anything wrong with it. Face model capturing and expressions are little more natural than GTA IV, and the VA is superb with great performances present in even the most minute characters.

To say the very least, RDR is an incredibly engrossing game from start to finish. Every detail put into it is kept with a degree of genuineness unmatched within the generally limited western genre.

As of Nov. 22 2020, if you want to play this on PC you need a pretty decent computer and be willing to sacrifice random encounters, treasure hunting, and some traversal aspects when doing Xbox 360 emulation. I did this and played the PS3 version for stuff I missed out on. Unless you're fickle for these relatively smaller aspects i'd say it's worth emulating if you only have a gaming PC.

Unless you have a lot of nostalgia for this, a penchant for bad games, or slow games it's not very good. Spawns are too little, tracking is a nuisance, and you move way too slow. Also, the tracking with the plastic shell it comes in is way too fickle. However, with a controller configuration in emulation it's a bit more bearable.

Despite this my personal enjoyment is a little bit above this rating as revisiting it was more fun than I expected. If I had to rate it by that merit itself it would be a 3.5/5, but apart from that it has not aged very well.

FYI: Gynoug and Wings of Wor are the same game. To get a NA Copy, look for Wings of Wor

Wings of Wor is horizontal SHMUP with a unique personality, varied level design, and great production values throughout. It is also conviniently easy for newcomers to pick up and be exposed to this relatively obscure genre to get into. The difficulty is just right at it's default, slowly creeping as you get along through the game. With this difficulty does come some issues, such as the occassional peculiar projectile that blends into the background, or enemy that pops out of nowhere from the frame. These are few in between, due to the art direction of the game which clearly has much love kept into it.

If you want the jist, you play as an angel fending off an invasion of mutants. It is supplemented with a great soundtrack, a nice clash of uptempo beats against what one could consider dreary conditions. The graphics hold up quite well with well-done sprite work. These mutants all have unique designs in each level, and seldom repeated in either their action or patterns. In addition, the bosses you can encounter fortunately suffer the same affect. Their name of mutants rings true, but they are also adaptable. In one level, you will encounter a castle, with it's Castlevania inspiration quite apparent. In another, you encounter a sea creature as you fly into the abysses of the deep ocean. Their bosses reflect it, with unique patterns that also can be considered a homage to the environment. It adds a memorability to each stage. Unfortunately, the bosses themselves in their difficulty are a mixed bag. Some are a joy to defeat, with fun yet not unfair patterns not beholden to unwelcome suprises. Others, are bullet sponges, taking forever to defeat and offering no real challenge. Why they are in the game is something I have no clue about. It is also unfortunate that the final boss tends towards the latter. Nevertheless, the production value of this game can not be dismissed.

The gameplay is a standard SHMUP fare, with unique things such as combinations of letters leading to more powerful power-ups (ie 3 Os stronger than 1 O). Red and blue orbs encapsulated in Silver scattered and given affectionately throughout these levels are helpful if you want some more firepower (Red) or cover all your bases in case of surprise attacks (Blue), which unfortunately happen occasionally. It's a shame that hitting the floor also costs a life, something that even Sol-Deace and Elemental Master have wisened up to. Irrespective of this, the gameplay is accomodating to many players, with difficulty levels that actually matter. If you are new to SHMUPs, you will be greeted with generous orbs that will give immunity to hits in the form of non-capsulated orbs. If you want a challenge or feel more risky, increase the difficulty for a more challenging, and more rewarding experience. Either way, I find the experience to be well worth its 1 hour runtime.

Gynoug / Wings of Wor is an underappreciated SHMUP from the early years of the Genesis, shortly before Sonic would dominate the system. It is a stellar, fairly unique experience that is unlike other SHMUPs from it's time period, and a good starting point for those new to the genre.

An overlooked solid SHMUP on the Genesis. The music is stellar in this game, perfectly complementing the bosses and the stages you go through. It's quite catchy as well. The artstyle isn't particularly unique in it's own right, but given the amount of Sci-Fi SHMUPs seemingly flooded the 4th gen, it is a very nice change. Enemies and their bullets are easy to recognise and avoid.

It is basically a better version of Phelios, that doesn't have it's speed locked behind power-ups and gimmick levels. This is is very much a standard affair, but the design of the first four stages are fun to traverse and avoid enemies in and an additional 4 you need to finish to beat the game. You're given a good amount of free space to experiment with your shots and the game promotes frantic movement with a barrage of enemies coming forwards and backwards. The story... is there. I didn't pay much attention to it but it wasn't very interesting. Granted, I don't play SHMUPs for their story but if you are interested I would reccomended reading the manuals or overviews as there is two twists that you'll miss if you just breeze thru the game.

Boss fights are probably the best parts of the game as there design directly compliment their patterns and are fun to fight as they don't pull any cheap tactics. However, the final boss can be a bit gruelling given how you have to beat each prior boss before beating him. It's not a unique thing to this genre, but i'd at-least prefer having the last boss on a separate stage.

Difficulty scaling however is all over the place, the inital 4 stages are moderately difficult (but I was able to 1CC on my first try), the next 4 stages are a different story, going from -easy-hard-easy-really hard. And within each of those stages that pacing is terrible as well. Sometimes there will be too much dead-space to even bother shooting enemies. You're better off just dodging them and charging your shot for whenever a difficult enemy appears.

I don't think it's good enough to 1CC, but if you want A) A better Phelios or B) A SHMUP from the early 90s that isn't Sci-Fi... Elemental Master is a solid pick and another fine addition to Technosofts library of SHMUPs.

A side-scrolling action game with unique stage design, The Secret of Shinobi is a serviceable experience. You complete levels by saving civilians in each level, riddled with enemies until you go to the third stage where you have a boss fight across 5 worlds. All these levels are 2 minutes long, but it is more than enough time unless you really are trying to explore the levels, of which there is no point. The boss fights are fine, but nothing special, the issue I have with them is there hitboxes which are either difficult to hit or laughably easy to hit. There is no in between. Enemies become more active as the stages go but the stages allow for less movement then you'd like, which can lead to frustrating deaths. You also have a dog with you, who can freeze enemies. It is useless on tougher enemies so you will not find much use for it in the game.

Audio design is satisfactory. The soundtrack is nothing special, but it fits the environments. Hit sounds and other sound effects are also decent. The best part of the audio is the unique power-ups and bonus stages, which have an undoubtedly characteristic sound of it's time. The visuals are excellent, with good sprite work, identifiable enemies and patterns, and the Shadow Dancer himself doesn't look that bad either. Environments and their worlds are thankfully distinct, with nice stages, however the last world is disappointing and feels rushed with it's boring warehouse look. The final boss's room makes up for this.

The gameplay is typical with not much unique features, every level plays out the same way, as do the boss fights, but that doesn't mean it's bad by any means, because it is fun. Controls and movements are excellent with many ways in which you can move in your character in the precise way you would like. Hitboxes apart from the boss fights are fair, however near the end there is a lot more action going, but less room to do things within it. It can lead to cheap deaths and the final stage itself is a lives sink. It also would have been nice if boss fights had no timers since as previously said, the hitboxes can be a bit too small on the bosses. Once you finish the game, the only thing left is to try and increase your high-score.

Shadow Dancer is a short well-made action plat-former romp, just don't expect much else from it.

I didn't expect much from this game and it matched up to that.

Presentation wise the game is great. The graphics are good for an early SNES title with good sprite work and discernible environmental obstacles and backgrounds. The enemies are also varied in each world, but sometimes their patterns are had to get at first. It doesn't help that they occassionally change to. The audio is probably the best part, with music that seems ripped off of an epic.

Gameplay is decent, but the controls made me despise it. You control like a tank in this game. To change where you look you need to move in that direction for 2-3 seconds. The jumping is okay, but you have no way of forcing yourself back on the ground (ie cancelling it, speeding it up) so some specific sections can get frustrating. The boss fights aren't even that great either, ranging from OK at best to frustrating at worst, tending towards the latter. But on the bright side, the final boss fight was good, being challenging yet fair. The rest feel cheap. Their patterns are easy to get but you rarely have any way of hitting them. They simply brute-force their way past you, chipping away your health. It doesn't help the jumping is so slow that you have to stay still while doing it to avoid getting hit. But in the normal moments the gameplay is good with some fun platforming and decent room for exploration. It's unfortunate that the magic spells are really only useful as a clutch rather than being something that can add a little depth to the game.

The sim mode was neat but I didn't get the appeal of it. It was very basic to me and just felt more like padding to the actual meat of the game which is the sidescrolling. It feels more like a gimmick of genre-bending than anything else.

There's some novelty to be found in that it blends two distinct genres, but apart from that I don't find ActRaiser enjoyable.