Level Up: X-men Legends

Happy Canada listeners! Once again, I choose to take this occasion to talk about one of the greatest Canadian super heroes and his team: Wolverine and the X-men. Now, as with Spider-man, the X-men and a lot Mavel super heroes have had a fair bit of their 3D games published by Activision (I’ve already talked about X-men Mutant Academy 2). One of Activision’s most popular Marvel games has got to be Marvel Ultimate Alliance. But before I get to that one, I have to talk about the games that lead up it, like X-men Legends for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox (as I’ll be playing it).

It should be noted that this game is not a direct adaptation of a movie, cartoon or comic book plot. However, I find it has some similarities to the first movie. It starts off when the X-men learn of a mutant named Allison Crestmere (real identity of Magma of the New Mutants) who is being chased by members of the brotherhood. Some X-men stop them and take Allison to the Xavier institute so she can train her powers. Meanwhile Magneto makes a plan to basically kill all humans with a new device. Spoiler alarm, but the X-men unsurprisingly beat Magneto and Magma is able to use her powers with the machine to reverse the effects. Now, if you replace Magma with Rogue, you kind of summed up the first movie; the only big difference is that Magneto wanted Rogue to use his machine, while in the game, Magma using it would be the last thing he would have wanted.

Now of course, I’m painting with broad strokes here and there are still many differences. Mainly that this story keeps getting complex; goals change, you move around, new people are introduced, etc… A full analysis of the plot would take far too long. Furthermore, there are also subplots that develop, such as when Professor X is attacked by the Shadow King. It gives us more variety in a very well done way.

According to online articles, the original intent for the game play was to make an “X-men RPG” in a similar manner to Final Fantasy games: you would pick a team of X-men, go out on missions, level up, equip items and all that good typical RPG stuff. However, along the lines they drew inspiration from action RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance where the battle system is comparable to beat-em-ups. This is great, because as anyone who’s played the X-men arcade game could tell you, the X-men are perfect in the beat-em-up style. What we end up with is an RPG with a beat-em-up battle system where you can control 4 characters.  I think that last element is what really cements the game play as noteworthy, as it allows you to change your battle strategy on the fly. Sure the other 3 X-men are always there (working on AI), but sometimes you need to grab the reigns since the AI can be a little dumb.

To go deeper into battle system, you can jump, use heavy attacks or light attacks together to make some destructive combos. As for mutant powers, each character has a variety of abilities and you choose up to 4 attacks to be made accessible by holding R and pressing one of the main buttons. This is a pretty good battle system… but I feel the game as whole lacks a little polish. It’s not just the dumb AI, I also found myself very reliant on money; I kept needing to buy potions as, even enemies I could easily beat, would do heavy damage if they contacted me. (Also the potions didn’t heal for much.) Another reason why money is essential is because it costs to revive partners. Unless you fork up the cash, you can NEVER play as an X-man that got K.O.’d again. This is evened out by the fact that everyone still gains XP, but what am I even paying for, their medical bills?

X-men Legends is an ok start to a good series, but you really get the feeling that it’s not quite there yet. Maybe I was spoiled by playing Ultimate Alliance first, but I think its problems might still get to me. Still, the overall battle system  and the layout for the game make it worth investing time in, even though I know it’s not the first game to do something similar. The graphics are nice with cell shaded characters that look straight out of comic books yet clearly differentiated from the backgrounds, the music and voice acting are superb (Patrick Stewart does his Professor X for this game) and the story just screams “X-men”. There is also no lack of things to do in this game even beyond the main storyline (which is impressive, because that on its own is already HUGE). This game was really good, but more importantly it had potential, and luckily people saw that. I give X-men Legends 8 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Kiwi Kraze

I’ve been reviewing some pretty mainstream video games lately, haven’t I? … Here’s a game called Kiwi Kraze for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Kiwi Kraze is one of those interesting to talk about games to me because not many people ever bring it up. However, that might to do with the name change. See, Kiwi Kraze was first developed and published by Taito in 1988 and released out into arcades. However, that original name was “The NewZealand Story” (which ScrewAttack did a good job at pointing out why that name is comical). When it was ported onto home consoles, it was STILL called The NewZealand Story on every system except for the North American NES version. I tried to find the reason for this, but I can’t even find any leads or theories about it. The only difference I see is that while the other ported versions were published by another company called Ocean, the North American NES version was published by Taito themselves (which makes even less sense to me: why would the original company change the name, while a different company keep it the same?). This is just one of those little video game mysteries that I find pretty interesting (like how Bluto is called Brutus in Popeye). Still, you don’t hear much about The NewZealand Story either, but I just wanted to eliminate some of the possible confusion out there.

The game play of Kiwi Kraze actually has an interesting mix of skills into it. You have the usual jump and shoot to start, nothing too unusual. Next, you also have the ability to slow any decent by repeatedly pressing the jump button to flap your wings. You can also fly in this game, buy you don’t use your wings. Some enemies float on… devices (I can’t tell what they’re supposed to be...) that you can shoot from under them to make them fall to their death, jump on it and knock them off (though this has a high risk of getting hit) or shoot them and then get on the… thing. Once you’re on, you can float around. This doesn’t just help your mobility, it eventually becomes necessary.  And of course, to finish the movement trio, you can walk, fly AND swim in this game. Swimming is my least favorite method of travel: not only do you move SO SLOWLY under water, but you also have an oxygen meter that takes as much time to fill up as it takes to empty. When you need to stop for air, it feels like it takes way too long.

I wouldn’t have a problem with it taking long, if this game didn’t have a time limit. If you take too long, a flying demon will come out of nowhere and chase you, and the time limit is never shown. In longer levels with water, you’ll be worried the devil might come because you took too long to refill your lungs. The demon is a necessary evil however (mind the pun). Most of the levels are very maze like, with multiple paths you can take to get to the end. You have a map on the pause menu, but it only shows your relation to the exit. It’s rare that it ever happens, but it’s possible to be so cold off the track that I understand why the game makers felt the need to just stop players at a certain point.

However, until now I’ve been dancing around the big aspect that really makes this game noteworthy: your kiwi can only take one hit. This changes the game from what would be a cute stroll into a deceivingly difficult task where you’re constantly afraid that something might spawn in front of you. You’re also not given unlimited continues, so it’s hard to practice the later stages. You really don’t see it coming how hard this game can really and it takes you off guard by its challenge.

Kiwi Kraze is a cute little fun adventure game… that is also quite hard. Its graphics and music are all super cute, which leads me to state the same thing as I did in my It’s Mr. Pants review: I assume the target audience for this game would be younger kids and this game will probably only frustrate them. I’m not saying kids games have to be easy, but there needs to be a limit, and when adults are frustrated by parts of it, it’s clear that limit has been passed. But other than being difficult, is there anything really “wrong” with it? Well, it also feels rather bare: nothing is really memorable or outstanding about this game (which might be the real reason why it’s never brought up). But there was a DS game that came out in 2007 called New Zealand Story Revolution, so some people remember it. Kiwi Kraze does have a charm to it, so if you’re into underrated platform adventure stuff like this and see it cheap enough, I suggest you go for it. I give Kiwi Kraze for the NES 7 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Collection Collection 2

Well listeners, it’s finally time for another Collection Collection. Let’s start off with *Capcom time* and go with one I’ve already mentioned I owned before.

The Mega man Anniversary Collection came out for the blue bomber’s 15 birthday for the X-Box, PS2 and GameCube (which I’m playing, but I don’t think there are any differences). It collects together Mega man 1 through 8 and the 2 arcade fighter games which were never released in North America. There are new options available for each game, such as a save feature, navi mode (which changes some graphics and gives you hints as you play), sound options and adjustable difficulty. But I think the main attraction (other than the games) will probably be the unlockable artwork, information, interviews and retrospectives on the Mega man series, really highlighting the fact that this is an anniversary collection. And yes, you get most of these by beating the games. However, I need to talk about the menu. Capcom decided to be a little creative, so you use Mega man to walk around and go to “doors” for what you want to select. This would be neat, if it didn’t feel so slow. Other than that, it’s a pretty good collection.

Going from Capcom to Nintendo now, let’s take a look at Kirby Super Star originally for the Super Nintendo (but I’m playing it on the Wii Virtual Console). Kirby Super Star (or Kirby’s Fun Pack in Europe) is different because most of the games featured on it were made for the collection (this allowed it to get a DS upgrade a few years back, but I haven’t played that one yet). The only exceptions are Spring Breeze, a remake of Kirby’s Dreamland (which I reviewed), and the Samurai Kirby mini-game, apparently a remake of Quick Draw from Kirby’s Adventure.  All the games are similar, but most have small game play elements that make them unique. Since these games were all made for this collection, I can’t judge this one on how good a job it does a collecting them. However, I will say that you need to beat certain games before you can play the others and they do a good job of putting them in order of difficulty, but I would like to have the choice from the start. And, as I’ve already mentioned, there are a couple of mini-games, but they’re nothing to brag about, especially since all the games already have the 2 player option.

Last collection I have for you today is the Metal Slug Anthology on the Wii (but also available on PS2 and PSP). This game collects Metal Slug 1 through 6 and Metal Slug X (which is basically a tweaked Metal Slug 2). Like with the Mega Man collection, this was released for the series’ anniversary (it’s 10^th to be specific). Also like the Mega Man collection there are new options to mess around with, my favorite being limiting your continues. See, Metal Slug was originally an Arcade and made so you’d die easily and would have to pay more money to keep playing. You have one option to just be able to put in a “token” every time you die, or you can give yourself the extra challenge by limiting them. This is a GREAT option that I wish more arcade-to-home ports had. Speaking of that, since the controls are naturally going to change and the Wii has many ways to play, there are A LOT of controller options. I suggest playing around and finding what works best for you, but I personally enjoy the Wii Remote on its side. And of course, this collection (like all disc based compilations I’ve reviewed so far) has extras, such as galleries, sound tracks and interviews. But here’s where it gets interesting: after you’re done playing one of the games, you’ll be given tokens to spend to unlock this stuff. I went through and beat all the games and guess what? I wasn’t given enough tokens to unlock everything. This means they thought ahead of a way to keep players playing even after they beat ALL the games. Clever.

So those are collection games from some series brought to us from Capcom, Nintendo and SNK respectively. Mega man Anniversary Collection is a great game, save for odd choices with its menu. Kirby Super Star is a really interesting compilation, being that it’s mostly original. It is fondly remembered, making it one of the most highly regarded titles of the Kirby series. And the Metal Slug Anthology does everything right and keeps players coming back; the only thing it lacks is an in-game save feature, but the games are so short, I can see why it was left out. These games are pretty easy to find still (since Kirby Super Star is on Wii Virtual Console) and allows gamers to play games that are hard (or impossible) to play again now. Once again, no scores for these collections, since how much you like the collections will be based on how much you like the individual games, but I will tell you, these collections would not fail.

Level Up: Super Mario Land

Today, I’m here to rectify a mistake. Sometimes in the rush of getting out these reviews on time, I will make one. Like my review of Dead Rising Chop Til you Drop; I mention Night of the Living Dead takes place in a mall (that’s actually DAWN of the Dead). Factual errors like that though, I’m ok with because someone can correct me. What I’m not ok with is when I make a mistake on my opinion because no one can and I don’t make the impression I would like to. For example, in my Spyro 2 review, I say I’m a fan of Spyro. Though I do have and enjoy his original PlayStation series, I haven’t played more than that, so “fan” might be too strong of a word. But the one I want to address now is Super Mario Land 2: the 6 Golden Coins. Now, it’s a really good game and deserves recognition, but I gave it 10 out of 10 not acknowledging its flaws, which makes me feel unfair and biased. However, I don’t want to go back and redo a review, so now I present to you a review of the game that came before it, and I will try to be as fair as possible. Here is Super Mario Land for the Game Boy.

Before Super Mario Land, most portable games were on Game & Watch, so a portable game that was comparable to something on a home console was a big deal. Most of the basic elements from the first Super Mario Bros. are still found in this game: you run from left to right, jump on enemies to kill them and mushrooms make you bigger and able to take an extra hit. As a matter of fact they even made a change I enjoyed: different castle bosses (it’s no longer just Bowser every time). There are also a few new and different enemies throughout the levels too. A little more variety is really appreciated.

HOWEVER something feels off to me. Part of it might have to do with the graphics, but there are a lot of little things too. For example, gaining momentum seems less important. What I mean to say is that in Super Mario Bros. it would take a small bit of time to reach top speed. In Super Mario Land, you seem to reach that speed quicker. It’s subtle, but I find it’s noticeable and gives the game more of a jittery feel.

I also have to point out that the hit detection is a little off. A lot of times, I would be running and see an enemy coming right for me. I then jump to avoid it but clearly see Mario running right into it. And then the enemy dies instead. I could keep nit-picking about the fireballs who bounce up in the air and never come back, how ridiculously short the game is and how there are 2D shooter levels (which just feel wrong for Mario), but I think I made my point: it just doesn’t feel much like as much of a Mario game.

I can’t judge the graphics too harshly due to when this game came out and the fact that it was made to look like the first Super Mario Bros. But I don’t think the size of that game was properly scaled back. In Super Mario Bros., most objects take up the same space as one block. In Super Mario Land, Mario looks like a giant! The blocks are all tiny, which, with the jittery controls, makes them really hard to hit sometimes. Mushrooms, extra lives, enemies: they all feel too small and like you need to adjust for it.

There aren’t any colors in this game either, so when you get the fire flower, you don’t see a difference. Often I’ll forget I even have it since I’m holding down the B button just to run. Super Mario Land 2 got around this by giving Mario a feather on his head, but here, no effort was made to distinguish the two.

If it sounds like I’m attacking Super Mario Land to make up for being too nice to Super Mario Land 2, let me assure you, that’s not the case. The thing with this game is that everything it does right is taken straight from Super Mario Bros., so the differences are the only thing to talk about. Sadly the differences I do find mostly make this game worse. As much as Super Mario Land 2 had its problems (like the physics being off for stomping on baddies or it’s detachment to the Mario series at some points) it still felt like getting to experience a good, new Mario game. Giving it a perfect score was a little over the top though, especially since I couldn’t even give one to Pokemon. But the thing is my scores are one of the least important parts of my reviews, as the reason I ramble on for almost 5 minutes is to tell you about what you should know about a game so you can decide if it sounds good.  That’s not to say I don’t put any thought into my score, but now I’m too off topic. Point is, I’ve change a bit since I started, and I think Super Mario Land 2 was judged unfairly in its favor, so don’t think I’m being harsh on this game because it’s not its better sequel. In all honesty, it was probably a good launch title, but hasn’t aged well and there are too many things about it that bug me. It’s a good game, but not one I’d put a priority on playing. I give Super Mario Land for the Game Boy 7.5 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Donkey Kong Coutry 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble

When I was a kid, Donkey Kong Country blew me away. When I finally got back from being blown away, Donkey Kong Country 2 blew me away even farther. Then, a third game came out! I am ashamed to say though that I never owned a physical copy of that game (fun fact, me and 2 of my friends each owned 2 of the 3 games so we had two complete sets between the three of us. I would always just borrow it from one of them); today I’ll be playing it on the Wii Virtual console. Here’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble originally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The game starts off in a similar manner to the last one, but this time K. Rool (now under the moniker of Baron K. Roolenstein) has kidnapped both Donkey Kong and Diddy. He did this by building a giant robot, which introduces us to our theme for the game: the first one was a tropic island, then we had pirates, here, it’s mostly technology. There’s not as much done with it though, but that keeps it from clashing with the jungle setting.

Once Dixie arrives, she is asked to take care of the toddler Kiddy Kong, her sidekick for the game. Now, I want to talk about Kiddy Kong, as his character perfectly represents this game. Kiddy Kong is big and strong and reminds players of Donkey Kong. But much like this game in regards to the first Donkey Kong Country, he’s actually a more childish version. That’s where we run into a problem with this game; it seems too “child-friendly”.  The bad guys look less menacing (they’re big and puffy) and everything is a lot brighter. There is nothing wrong with a game aimed at a younger audience, but when it’s the third installment of a series, you invite the comparison, and too drastic a change becomes a negative aspect.

The fact that Kiddie is big actually adds a lot to the game play. Beyond just returning some old elements omitted in Donkey Kong Country 2, it makes things interesting with the piggy back system. This means that while playing as Dixie, you can throw Kiddie to kill tougher baddies and break through certain areas. Playing as Kiddie allows you to throw Dixie farther, just like in the previous game. So, which Kong you play as makes a more significant impact in this game.

Another BIG change is that you can now freely enter and exit worlds. Before you had to visit Funky Kong or beat a boss, but this time you can come and go as you please. This is because there is now a big amount of over world exploring to do (rare in 2D side-scrollers like this). Any time you’re in the water (which is a lot, since the map is laid out like a series of island), you have free control of movement. Instead of just going to the next destination, you can adventure around, see what hidden secrets you can find and unlock things to get the full 103%. As you play, you’ll be given vehicles to overcome certain obstacles, and the fun of exploring really kicks in.

Now, as fun as over world exploring is, you wouldn’t want to get to the next level if they weren’t fun to play. Again, the common complaint is that the game is more child-accessible, so it’s also easier. You don’t seem to have to master the skills and timing of the game as much (which is good for me, the button layout on a GameCube controller make this hard to play). However, the game makes up for it by having some really creative levels. My favorite parts of this game include climbing up a tree being cut in half, an underwater level where you need to keep feeding a fish that’ll eat you otherwise and one where you play as Squitter the spider while someone keeps shooting at you. These gimmicks are rarely repeated, plentiful and memorable. I applaud the creativity of this game.

I think the Donkey Kong Country series can be compared to a lot of movie trilogies; the first game was amazing, really set things up and made us want more. The second one gave us more and improved it. But the 3^rd one is weakest overall. (And like some movie trilogies, it even has the recent reboot). However, Donkey Kong Country 3 isn’t a bad game. At the time, people might have passed it up due to it being too easy or because the Nintendo 64 was already out, but it really shouldn’t have been. It’s easier, it’s more childish, the 103% ending is very anti-climactic, but it’s still a Donkey Kong Country game on the SNES and still has every good aspect that implies. Though this would be the last game to carry the “country” name for a while, Rare would make one more home console platforming DK game. And as a matter of fact, with the over world adventuring, it’s easy to see how this game led to it. But, that’s a review for later. I give Donkey Kong Country 3 for the Super Nintendo 9 levels out of 10.