Level Up: Halo: Combat Evolved

Well, it’s that time of the year again: the holiday season. And with “Weird Al” playing in the background, I can’t help but think of two things; game gifts and constant slaughter. So, how about this time I combine the two? Now, granted this game wasn’t given to me as a gift during the holidays, it was still a gift. Plus I think the title more the makes it appropriate for a review at this time of the year. That’s right, I am reviewing the somewhat considered classic, Halo: Combat Evolved for the X-Box.

I need to start with the story, and, I know that it has gotten a lot more complicated with the recent additions, but I am going to review it as my interpretation of how THIS GAME presents it. You pretty much start off in the middle of an ongoing war between the humans and a race called the Covenant in the 26^th century. The Covenant followed the human marines and attack them while near an unknown ring like structure in space. The humans decide to “wake up” Master Chief (the player character) since he’s kind of a trump card after being one of the few surviving members of an earlier battle a few decades ago. With stuff not going quite as well as the Humans would have liked, Master Chief is asked to take Cortana, an artificially Intelligence presented as a human female hologram, so that they don’t get a hold of the information she contains. After fighting them off, Master Chief then gets into an escape pod and lands on the mysterious ring (with oddly earth-like landscape) This is of course the giant ring known as Halo.

I am going to stop now for two reasons. Partially cause if I go any further, I think I would be ruining it for some people, and I found the plot twists to still be well kept secrets, so who am I to ruin them? Secondly, I want to talk about how well the plot is presented. It’s pacing is spectacular; repeated levels of “you need to kill the covenant” may start off exciting, but I can imagine lose their substance after a while. In Halo however, just as you may tire of it, BAM, something happens and the game has your attention again. Also, the suspense of the game can just be killer after one of these twists. It can really suck you in a go along with it in a very “I know something’s going to happen, but I don’t know what or when” fashion. Finally, the game has a way of guiding you that just seems natural. More on that in a minute. To wrap up the story; if you thought this game was just about shooting anything that moves, you’d be very surprised.

The game play is a joy. I know the multiplayer is probably the aspect most people are familiar with, but I kinda follow the Yhatzee ideology that “it’s the single played that counts.” Though, to touch on the subject, it is fun, and the system link that this game presents was revolutionary at the time.

Anyways, the controls play smoothly. As usual for first person shooters now, the analog sticks move your character and change your view, which makes seeing your enemies to gun them down easy. The right trigger button fires your gun, which comes naturally, since it’s relatively the same action to fire a gun. All the other buttons (which I won’t get into individually) also do something nessecary and they are very well placed. It easily becomes a second nature; even if you haven’t played Halo: Combat Evolved in a while, you can still pretty much just pick it up and you’ll remember how to play. Also, I have to mention that this was pretty much THE first game to correctly utilise and popularize regenerating shields.

The levels are also great. Remember how I said that the game seems to guide you in a way that feels natural? It’s like that for the game play too. Despite most of the maps seeming very large and open, I was aware that there was pretty much a path I had to follow, and rarely was it that I went off adventuring fruitlessly. Honestly, I think that might be my favourite thing about this.

I could still go on for a while, but I need to wrap this up to get to my eggnog. The game is fun; it plays well, works well and was designed well. The story is captivating, immersive and suspenseful. The music is amazing, perfectly fitting every moment it comes in and uses silence to its advantage (I still cower a bit when I hear the hunter’s theme). Finally, the graphics are great considering this was a one of the first games for the console. I honestly don’t think I have anything bad to say about this game; it sucks you in and makes you enjoy the ride, and even though you’re the one driving, it’s telling you the path without you knowing it. I hate having to do this so soon after my Majora’s Mask review, and knowing there are other games in the Halo series every says “improved” on it, but Bungie Studios and Microsoft Games presented me with something great that started a phenomenon. I give Halo: Combat Evolved 10 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Genesis)

Let me tell you another story of my gaming childhood. If you were around in the fourth console generation era, then you would know that the Power Rangers were very popular back then. Unsurprisingly, they had a few games based on them. There was one I remember playing for the Super Nintendo that was pretty good, and all my friends seemed to like it too. However, it was rented and I didn’t have the ability to purchase it at the time. Flash forward over a decade later when I decide to finally get a Sega Genesis with opportunity to get a game by the same title for just 4$ at the same time. Thinking it was the same game, I couldn’t pass it up. It wasn’t the same game. At all. This is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers FOR THE SEGA GENESIS!

Now, the plot is where I’m going to go easy on this game, because if I run my mouth off too much, someone will say the Power Rangers are why it fails. The basic story line of the arcade mode is that Rita Repulsa is trying to destroy the Power Rangers by sending monsters after them. That’s alright, but my problem is the way it’s presented: it’s far too quickly paced; a monster comes, you beat it, Rita makes it grow, you beat it, next. This especially annoys me when you fight the Green Ranger, because that story had a lot to offer, but all that is never even TOUCHED on. Also, the way it’s presented is terrible; everyone in (what I am graciously calling) the cut-scenes looks like they’re cardboard and most of the scenes are reused to an annoying amount. And remember, this is me going easy on this game.

You know how normally, when I review 2D fighters, I say how I don’t like them, yet every time I’ve reviewed them, it’s been alright? Well, this is an example of one that I don’t like, and I think it illustrates why. First off, there is nothing original about this one: characters are all licenced from the Power Rangers while the fighting system is as basic as you can get. It’s pretty much just cut and pasted from the standard Fighting game format where all you have to do is “insert characters here” and make up some random button combinations for moves. The second problem with the game play is that everything seems to be slow. Moving your character feels stiff and I think there’s a delay in the button response. It definitely takes away from the fact that this is based on a show known for karate action. I actually think I can win more battles by tossing the controller around, then trying to play.

If you’re thinking the last redeemable aspect of this game might be its audio/visuals, then you’re sadly mistaking. As I’ve already mentioned, the cut scenes look like they are made with cardboard. Adding to that, any image taken from the show looks like it had a layer of feces smeared on it. The game made sprites suck too. The Power Rangers look… inhuman, like they’re flat or missing detail. The monsters, however, have the opposite problem: they are overly detailed, which clashes with the rangers (mind the pun). The Megazord also clashes since it’s done in a cartoon style, which is honestly the best looking sprite in the game (except for a tiny sword). Also; the cut-scenes, game over screen an actual game all look like they’re from completely different sources. At least pick ONE crappy look and stick with it!

The sound isn’t at all better either. Everything seems somewhat Atari quality. The voices should have been left out since it’s obvious they couldn’t be properly converted. Each note of the music tends to ring out with its own mix of mediocrity and disappointment. None of it makes me want to fight harder: it makes me want to turn off the volume. The worst offense is what they did to the theme song. Remember how awesome this was: *theme song plays*? Right, listen to this crap: *Genesis version plays*. It’s despicable.

Right, let me just finish this now, cause I don’t want to talk about this game much longer. The story is uninspired and rushed, the look is consistent only in crappiness, the sound is broken, the controls are stiff and the AI is cheap. God, even the game label art is horrible; off centered, poorly chosen and boring. (You really should look it up and see how bad it is.) A game like Xiaolin Showdown can be boring and unoriginal, but get a pass if it’s not flawed, because that’s what separates a good game from a bad game to me. This is flawed. I think if I had played this game instead of the SNES one as a kid, I would have given up on the Power Rangers long before Turbo. Congratulations Banpresto, you’re the developers of the first game I give a failing score to. I give Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the Sega Genesis 4 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

I don’t know why, but when it comes to the subject of the Ninja Turtles, I always think they work better as video game characters. Yes, I know they were originally comic book characters and popularised by a TV show, but whenever I think of my earliest enjoyment of the 4 brothers, I always tend to go back to the NES games. Think about it, these are giant reptiles’ fighting robots, what about that doesn’t SCREAM video game? The popularity of the TMNT has died down since the 80’s and early 90’s, and so has their appearance in video games, but one of the games I still hear people bring up today is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Listen and you’ll see there’s a good reason why.

Now, I’m going to get this out of the way right now: yes this is called an arcade game when it is really a console game. The explanation is simple: it’s a port. The arcade game was just originally called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but a game by that title already existed on the NES’s library. Despite liking it as a 6 year old, I now see that it is a flawed game (mostly thanks to the AVGN), which would explain why they decided to port this much better game. Looking at the screenshots (since I never played the original arcade machine), I can notice just a few differences between the versions. One is a severely downgraded look (16 bit to 8 bit it appears) which is to be expected and luckily handled well. The second is that the arcade version allowed for 4 played, while you can only play 2 on the NES port. Disappointing yes, but what are you going to do with the Four Score only coming out in that same year? However, not all changes between the versions are downgrades: upon doing a little research, I found out that there are actually MORE levels in the NES port. There are other changes, but most of them just don’t matter. So, if you’re like me and aren’t bothered too much about the downed graphics or the two missing turtles on screen, then this might be one of those ports that’s more fun than the original.

In true typical Ninja Turtles fashion, the main focus of the game is a “Stop/Defeat Shredder plot” with of course the need to save April at one point. To do this, you need to beat up wave after wave of Foot soldiers coming at you, by far the most common enemy. You also do have some Mouser Unit and other random robots, not to mention the boss battles, which feature known turtle rivals such as Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman and others, so don’t think it’ll get too boring. Even the Foot Soldiers themselves aren’t that dull since they come in noticeably different colors and have different abilities: some wield weapons while others can jump or have better endurance. All this to say “Don’t think you’ll get bored by the beating up of enemies”.

As a matter of fact, the way you beat them up is pretty fun on its own. Unlike other typical brawlers like Streets of Rage, when the Turtles jump in this game, they FLY! This helps with the combos, which includes ones that may make the game a little too easy, but might be useful for someone just looking to beat the game. Anyways, the combat system is otherwise basic: you can move in 8 different directions while you simply try to punch the surrounding bad guys out before they do it to you. If all of this still isn’t enough to keep you satisfied, then maybe the level designs will: they’re full of things that could take your life away (such as mines, holes you can fall down or giant balls that can knock you over) that will need your attention. And there is also a skateboarding level, and that’s pretty cool in itself.

Like I said when I started, this game is a classic. On the surface, its music is kicking, the graphics are “ok” and there’s generally nothing to complain about. Playing the game itself is just a joy: easy game play that’s always familiar, but with enough of a challenge to keep it interesting. It also has a really smooth style and is well paced. But… there’s just something missing, and I think its variety: you still fight a lot off Foot Soldiers (who are easily dispatched) and most of the levels are just areas around New York, which is a little bland. That might not be the whole problem, which I can’t really put my finger on otherwise, but it could be a factor. Anyways, this game is great; if you haven’t played it, I am ashamed of you, but seriously, go find a copy (it’s apparently coming to the Wii Virtual console soon too). I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System 9 Levels out of 10.

Level Up: Majora's Mask

First, gonna say, I don't know what's up with the previous post, but I can't delete it. However, it's just image and text, so it's not hurting anyone. I'll just leave it. Anyways, here's the review that wasn't posted last week cause of it.

When I did my review of The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, I felt as if I was being a little unfair to the series. The point I was trying to make was that every game that Zelda touches isn’t automatically great, and some should just be considered on their own. The reason I felt bad though was because I was using an already beat down game to make that point, which made me feel like I was picking on the series for doing ONE bad thing. To make up for it, I am going to review a Zelda game that truly does stand on its own, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for the Nintendo 64.

Coming off the success of Ocarina of Time (the game all future Zelda titles would be compared to) Majora’s mask was trying to continue on Link’s adventure, but I would consider this more of a spin-off, since so much is different. You start off as young Link travelling on Epona looking for unnamed friend (it’s hinted to be Navi, who doesn’t appear in this game, but this plot point never comes up again anyways). During his search, Link gets knocked out and knocked off Epona by a skull kid wearing an odd mask. Waking up and realising that his magical ocarina has been stolen from, Link chases after the Skull kid only to fall down a hole. The Skull Kid laughs at Link and uses the mask’s power to turn Link into a Deku shrub. (Yeah, crap has already hit the fan.) The Skull kid then escapes, but leaves behind Talt, who reluctantly becomes Link’s fairy for this game. Link loses the Skull Kid, but meets up with Traveling Happy Mask Salesman. He informs our transmuted protagonist that he can help him out, but needs the Ocarina and would like the mask the Skull Kid had on (which was stolen from him) back. Link is given 3 days to complete this task.

I am now going to stop here, even though I could go on forever about the little details in this game’s story. It has a lot of depth and cool happenings in it. However, part of the fun of the game is experiencing it all first hand. Besides, this is where the game actually begins, and I think that’s a fair reason to move onto the game play.

If you haven’t guessed it already from our “No Ganon, no Zelda, no Hyrule” plot, this game is anything but typical for the series, and there are two Big curve balls to the game play: a time cycle and the masks. It has the normal Zelda adventuring elements, but these are the points WORTH mentioning.

I’ll start with the masks. I already told you that Young Link gets turned into a Deku, but eventually the Happy Mask Salesman helps him out by turning Link’s Deku form into a mask, allowing Link to transform back into one whenever he wants. There are a total of 3 transformation masks that Link will be able to use at any time: Zora, Goron and the already mentioned Deku. As you would imagine, each one has its own use (example: Zora has limitless swim ability and will never drown). There are other types of masks and they all do something special (mostly obtained during or relating to side quests), but these 3 are the real game play element; you’ll always be using them. And rolling around as a Goron is so fun it’s worth mentioning.

The 3 day cycle, though not as fun, is something that was just inspired. Majora’s Mask has a clock in the game that works on 3 (not real time) days. At the end of the third day, it’s game over. However, after you get back your Ocarina, you can go back to the start of the first day. The truly inspired thing is that this game is full of events, and some of them just happen at certain times. For example, there’s an alien abduction scene (once again, far from typical Zelda) and it only ever happens during the night of the second day. You should eventually become impressed by how much time specific stuff is happening in this game outside of the actual adventuring. Restarting the 3 day cycle, however, will undo some events, such as paths you unblocked or people you helped. While this can seem like a headache (especially since its how you save) I think it helps with the replay value of this game: you can redo any dungeon you would like at any time.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is an awesome game not afraid to take risks. Yet, it’s also quite similar to Ocarina of time without being a direct sequel by making references to some of the bit characters seen before and giving it more depth (the Happy Mask Salesman for example). Some may critic it for being short (4 real levels, plus the intro and outro) but the side quests should keep you busy for a while. This game is just all around enjoyable: from the natural feeling setting, to the fun game play, to the creepy pasta story and cut-scenes. Seriously, what can you hate about a game with a gold cartridge? Especially one that lets you roll around as a Goron! I give the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 10 levels out of 10.

Level Up: BEN

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Level Up: Streets of Rage 2

There are some beat-em-up series of the late 80’s and early 90’s that are just truly memorable: from Double Dragon, to Final Fight and even today’s subject, Streets of Rage (known as Bare Knuckle in Japan). The big difference between Streets of Rage and the other two I mentioned is that the others were designed as arcade games and eventually ported onto game consoles, causing two possible things: 1, there would be a lot of differences that people would complain about and 2, that the “original” games would eventually be loss, since they were far less accessible. Did Streets of Rage use this to their full advantage? We’ll find out as I review Streets of Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis.

The game starts off one year after the events from the first game, with Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding celebrating the anniversary their victor over Mr.X. The next morning, Axel gets a call from Eddie Hunter, the younger brother of Adam, better known as Skate. It seems Adam was kidnapped by Mr.X who is seeking revenge. After that, Skate, Axel and Blaze set off on a rescue mission to Mr.X’s hideout. Oh, and this wrestler, Max Thunder, tags along. Really there’s not much info on him, it just says he’s Axel’s friend and helping them out. I guess it makes sense, cause if I were Axel and I had a friend the size of Max Thunder, I’d probably want him along too. Anyways, the story is a classic revenge plot, but cheesy in such a way that just works in early 90’s video games. Wait a minute, why am I even talking about the plot? It honestly doesn’t come up in game, it’s easily missed and doesn’t hurt or help the game. Um, yeah… next?

Once I said “Beat-em-up” at the start of the review, you should have already had a basic idea of how this game would play: you walk around, punching enemies and move on. The controls are pretty good safe for the jumping, which is really slow and seemed to have a delay (don’t worry, I don’t remember any point where jumping became crucial). Other than that, the controls are pretty responsive, the characters move well in the directions you chose (though up and down is a little stiff) and the hit detections is pretty accurate. You also have a button you can press to use a special attack. Although it will use up some of your life, it’s pretty good at getting rid of enemies circling you. You also have a few other special moves you can do by pressing the right button combinations, but don’t worry if you don’t know them, they are far from necessary.

Using all your skill, you’ll travels far and wide to recover Adam. Sure, you may start off on a street of rage, but eventually you’ll be fighting in an amusement park of rage, a baseball stadium of rage, a boat of rage, a beach of rage, a factory of rage and an office building… of rage. Yeah, maybe the “Bare Knuckle” title was better after all (also invites less comparison with Street Fighters). Speaking of the names, every enemy in this is named. The main reason I bring this up is because a lot of the recolors (something I’ll get in soon) are named after a theme. Now, this may sound good when you start with someone named Storm (not the X-men), who sounds like he could destroy a tiny village, but eventually you’ll have to get names like “Fog”. Really what’s he going to do, summon Silent Hill? At least there isn’t any one named 60% chance of rain; that would be too terrifying.

As I’ve just mentioned, most of the enemies are recolors of other enemies seen earlier. Most of the designs are nothing too uncommon to beat-em-ups: normal guys in jean vests, shirtless bald guys, fat guys bouncing around, hot but bad-ass looking women, martial artists and dudes with Mohawks (seriously, that last one is a staple in the genre). They are recolored, but sometimes not enough to make a difference. Also… why have them? They aren’t stronger or any different and you still beat up a illogical amount of the same person… Though, this game is not devoid of any originality; most of the characters introduced as bosses are really unique and are well designed. Also, this is one of those advantages of starting out on the console: no odd downgraded look. This game looks like what this game should look like.

If it doesn’t sound like I’m overly impressed with this game, it’s probably because it’s not the game itself that makes it fun, it’s the genre. If you’re a fan of beat-em-ups, you WILL like this game. It plays it a little safe, yes (with the omission of the different endings seen in the first game) but while still keeping things interesting enough. The challenge is what’s really well done: it’s just at that level of difficulty that, if you lose, you are going to want to play again just to get a little further. If you just play it for the first few levels, you might not be overly impressed by it, but if you get into it, you REALLY get into it. I suggest you check it out: it’s available on the Virtual Console, X-Box live arcade and a few collection games (including the Japanese Sonic Gems Collection, which I forgot to mention). It’s a perfectly balanced representation of a genre of gaming that I really enjoy, and there is a reason this instalment is the highest rated one of the series. I give Streets of Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis 8.5 Levels out of 10.

Level Up: X-men: Mutant Academy 2

Some of you may remember that, roughly a year ago, I reviewed the awesome, but unreleased game of Thrill Kill. As I’ve said, nothing could keep that game from being released anyways, proven not only by the fact that it was released online, but also that parts of it appeared in other games. This is mostly due to the fact that its developers, Paradox Development, still had a right to the engine they made for the game; it was just the gory content that was banned by EA. The best example of its legacy would be Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, which is pretty much a re-skinning of Thrill Kill (and a game I would LOVE to get my hands on), but the X-men: Mutant Academy series also uses its engine (though the game play has drastically changed). It’s also worth mentioning now that all those titles were produced by Activision (giving me another reason to why they’re my favourite company). So, let’s take a look at a game that uses the Thrill Kill engine, X-men: Mutant Academy 2 for the Sony PlayStation.

Have I used the term “standard 2D fighting” enough that you guys know what I meant by now? This is basically it, which is odd since the graphics are clearly 3D. Despite removing most of the awesome game play elements I like from Thrill Kill (3D roaming and kill meter) I was really surprised to find that this game FEELS like Thrill Kill. Whenever you move, hit or throw someone, it really looks the same way it would have in Thrill Kill. Anyone that has played that has played it would notice it right away in X-men: Mutant Academy 2.

There are also still meters in the game that fill according to how much damage you do to you enemy, but not quite like the kill meter in Thrill Kill. You have three different meters, which will fill depending on which attack you’re using. Once they’re full, you can press the corresponding button combination to launch a special attack towards your adversary. Also, don’t worry about not remembering the combo for the meter attacks, they are clearly displayed for you before each fight and are really easy to pull off. As a matter of fact, a lot of the moves in this game are really easy to pull off, which as always, is something I like to see in fighting games.

Here’s one last cool game play feature: while you’re playing, you’ll notice you have a red section to your health meter after you get damage. That section is health you get back over time. Though the section does get bigger the more damage you take, it still goes down, so it’s not unlimited. Also, if the green part hits the end, you still get K.O.’d. Still, knowing how to properly use this can mean the difference between your loss and a come from behind victory.

*Mystique: lick my boot*

This game has a good-WHOA, WHAT DID SHE SAY? *Mystique: “lick my boot” x2* Hehehe, sorry, Mytique has just been my favourite X-women ever since the second movie and-THAT GETS ME to my next point: the characters. Normally I have to describe them to you, but I mean, come on, this is an X-men game, these guys are pretty widely known. Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Sabre-tooth: you know these guys. They also added a lot more from the previous game, which is good, cause X-men has a lot of diverse characters and I think the selection in this game represents a fair microcosm of them. Though this does make me wonder: why are X-men fighting other X-men? I mean, I get things like Wolverine against Magneto and all that, but what does Cyclops have against Beast? This is really never explained, and as much as tried, I just couldn’t go a long with it. While I’m at asking questions relating to characters: why can’t Mystique change her look? That fighting element is used in other games, look at Mortal Kombat’s Shang Tsung. Sorry, some things just really bug me there.

That’s pretty much all I have to say about X-men: Mutant Academy 2. It’s definitely no Thrill Kill, but still really good for a 2D fighter, especially since it has the X-men licence. The game’s look can be a little iffy, the character’s sayings can get old quickly, the music can be boring and there’s the complete lack of a plot for this super hero game, but I think the solid game play should compensate for all of that. Mix it with the unloackable content, the Thrill Kill engine and the fact that-come on- it’s X-men, and you got a pretty decent game. I give X-men: Mutant Academy 2 for the Sony PlayStation 8 levels out of 10.