Level Up: Double Dragon 2 & Renegade

We’re continuing our look at beat-em-up games in honor of Adamant Ditto’s Beat-em-up month: the Revengance. Let’s take another look at one of the series that helped popularize the genre with Double Dragon 2: The Revenge (that sounds familiar) for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

There are a lot of changes between Double Dragon 1 and 2 on NES. First off, you’ll notice that in Double Dragon 2 you can play as both Billy and Jimmy Lee, which is confusing since Jimmy was the main antagonist in the first NES game. Double Dragon 2 is a lot more of a straight port, while a lot where a lot of things were changed in the first game. (This might be a result of Acclaim and Technos now handling this instead of Tradewest.) Jimmy becoming a good guy might have been necessary anyways, since you can now play 2 players simultaneously, a big plus on this game over its predecessor. However, this comes at the cost of the leveling up system and though it doesn’t really hinder this game (since you still have all the skills), I do miss it.

One more change I have to mention is the controls: B and A now do the same thing, but in different directions. If you’re facing to the left and press B, you’ll do a regular punch to the left, but if you press A you’ll do a kick towards the right (and vice versa). This can be a good way to prevent enemies from sneaking up on you, but it is odd to have to keep remembering to switch buttons so you don’t start kicking air.

The graphics are weird, as it looks like they were trying too hard. I think “Rob Leifeld like” best describes it: the characters have tiny heads when compared to their massive arms and chests. They got weird bumps all over their bodies, so it’s funny to see them walk on such relatively tiny feet. And that’s the last thing I really have to say about Double Dragon 2, otherwise I think I’d be explaining obvious things, like you beat people up in this beat ‘em up. So, how about I move on to a related game? Here’s Renegade for the NES.

Guru Larry does a better job at explaining how Renegade and Double Dragon are related in his review of it, but basically Renegade could be considered Double Dragon’s father, while the Kunio-Kun series would be the mother. The first Kunio-Kun game was released in May of 1986 in Japan, but when Taito got the western distribution rights, they decided to make a few changes (mostly re-skinning the game) and called it “Renegade”. Technos apparently liked “Renegade” and decided to combine elements from both versions, and so Double Dragon was born.

It’s important to note that Renegade came before a lot of beat-em-ups because it doesn’t seem that impressive. Don’t get me wrong, the game is still fun, but it’s very restrained: you mostly stick to side streets and just punch regular people. The game is also hurt by the fact that the multiplayer is turn style and it also uses the “B attacks left, A right” control scheme. Punching is still satisfying, but a lot of enemies can break your combos and get in cheap hits easily.

The graphics are kind of bad. A lot of backgrounds look flat and most people are really oddly shaped, making their animation frames look weird. However, the music is really good. For most tracks, the rhythm is really up-beat and lets you know to have fun. This might have to do with the fact that this game was possibly inspired by the 1979 movie “The Warriors”, and some of the music from that sound track could easily be compared to the tracks in Renegade.

So those are my thoughts on two NES beat ‘em ups that left me a little underwhelmed. Now, Double Dragon 2 could actually be considered one of the better multi-player experiences on the system, but when it comes down to it, a simultaneously 2 player version of the first game would be better than this one. And though Renegade has an interesting history behind it, that’s not what I rate the games on (like with Popeye). Both of these games are of fun, but I felt like they were an honest try away from being great. You could easily find worse beat ‘em ups though. I give Double Dragon 2 8 and Renegade 7 Levels out of 10.

Level Up: The Simpsons Arcade

Around this time last year, Adamant Ditto decided to start “Beat-em-up month”, and this year it’s back with a “Revengance”, so I’m celebrating again. Now one thing that’s surprising about beat-em-ups is how some of the most iconic games in the genre include licensed titles, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, the X-men arcade game and even (relatively) recent entry Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. However, one that surprises me the most is The Simpsons Arcade game. Who would of thought a show with little fighting would make for a great game where people fight? However, that’s not the game I’m here to talk about: there is actually another Simpsons Beat-em-up that people tend to miss because they think it’s the same game (more on that in a bit). So let’s now look at the Simpsons Arcade available for your mobile devices.

I will start off by saying that I do not think this is a port of the original arcade game: there are too many features changed, the levels are different and the publisher is Electronic Arts instead of Konami. This could be considered a remake, but I still think that would be stretching it. However, the games do feature some of the same aspects. This is why I decided not to do a classic vs comeback, because some might say I’m just comparing ports, which is not the point of that feature. Even if it is a port, it has enough differences that it’s still worth checking out separately.

The game starts off with a cut scene where Springfield's most powerful citizens (and Krusty), are discussing Project: Operation mission, which is a secret plan to “steal all of Springfield’s natural resources or something” (the game rightfully assumes that you don’t care). They hide a flash drive in a donut, which happens to accidentally fall into Homer’s hands. Once Homer has his mysterious donut taken from him, he thinks about how delicious it must be if it’s worth assault, so he chases after it.

The story works in a tongue and cheek tone that plays the fact that this is a Simpsons brawler. I can’t help but enjoy the amount of personality that comes through in a short time. Though this might only work because I know the characters before hand, the quick lines the boss and mid-boss characters say tend to get a Dr. Hibbert chuckle out of me.

You’ll play as Homer as you bash your way to your delicious goal. (Mmmm, goal *drool*) You sadly can’t play as one of the other Simpsons, but they do still make an appearance in the form of special move items. You can also find other Simpson cameos for extra lives. You can also get extra lives in the mini-games between levels.

The hit detection and controls are spot on (though using an arcade stick on the touch screen can make your finger slide off). However, there is one BIG ISSUE: minimizing restarts the game. Even if you pause it, loading another app or going to the home menu will send you back to opening credits and title screen. You have the option to continue, but you have to redo the whole level. Now this isn’t a long game, you can probably beat it during a trip to Shelbyville, but mobile games should not work like this.

The Simpsons Arcade is a great game for your mobile devices and truly another great Simpsons beat-em-up (or great new version of the old one, depending on your view on the subject). There are issues with how this game works in regard to the platform it’s on, but those can be over looked as the content itself is really good (I’d like to say that there’s also a possibility for an update, but it’s been a few years since this game had one). If you’re a beat-em-up fan or a Simpsons fan, you really can’t go wrong with this game: the game play is classic, the story is well played and the characters are all recognizable and full of personality. The game looks just like the show (though Homer’s eyes are looking in a weird direction) and it uses voice clips from the actors too. If you’re not a fan of either I still recommend you check out the free trial version, and the full game is only 99 cents. I give The Simpsons Arcade for the iPhone 9 levels out of 10.

Level Up: X-men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse

Once again I am here to celebrate Canada Day with an X-men game. Last year I talked about X-men Legends, so it only makes sense that this year I review it’s sequel. However, before I start on that, I want to comment on something I said in the first year of Level Up. Since this is a game again published by Activision, I want to talk about how Activision was my favorite gaming company. There WAS a time where I thought they were doing great (for most of the 6th generation in fact). However, there was a noticable change during the last generation. They used to release a variety of games, but it started slowing down and X-men Destiny seemed to killed it. I’m not exaggerating when I say I can’t remember the last e-mail sent that wasn’t about a shooter or Skylanders game. They did just release the Deadpool game and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is set to come out, but it seems like big exceptions to their normal “shooters n guns” releases, rather than the mixed bag I think it used to be. Regardless, here’s one of their games that was part of a great series they published (with developers Raven Software and SuperVillain Studios): X-men Legends 2 - Rise of Apocalypse, available for the PS2, GameCube and PC, but I’ll be playing it on the Microsoft xBox.

The gameplay is quite similar to the last game. For those of you that need a refresher or haven’t listened to that one, here’s a recap. The game is basically an action-RPG where you use parties of four people and fight brawler style with each player able to actively control one person. You have your basic light and heavy attacks, and you can use mutant powers by pressing the R button and pressing one of the main buttons (this uses energy though). You gain experience with each person you fight and, once you level up, you can allocate points to make your character stronger. You can also equip items to them to help their stats and you cary a number of health and energy potions you can use at any time. You also collect money, which can be used to buy equipment or potion, as well as revive fallen x-men (otherwise, they stay down, but still gain experience). Caught up? Good, because there isn’t that much changed between games. Most of the mechanics have been balanced out though, and there are more mutants and abilities allowing for more variation.

In the last game, the X-men had faced off against Magneto, and though he’s their main villain, another game where he basically just went “I’m trying to destroy the world again” would have been kind of lame. This time, the main villain is Apocalypse, who decided that the “Age of Apocalypse” is at hand and starts kidnapping mutants for unknown reasons. However this time you don’t just get to play as the X-men, but also as members of the brotherhood, as they are trying to save their members and stop Apocalypse from enslaving all of mutant kind too.

This is played out rather well. The game starts out partially in medias res, so it immediately intrigues you to see Magneto and Wolverine working to free Professor X, and you’ll want to figure out what is going on. That being said, the ending is not all that satisfying, as it basically boils down to a fight, and then “back to the status quo!”

X-men Legends 2 is, in a way, a very typical sequel video game. It pretty much uses the same game play mechanics, the same characters, a continuation of the story, etc... but offers more of it. In a way, I can’t praise it much, because it only really did what was expected from it and didn’t take many risks. On the other hand, it IS still better than the last game, and the story shows significant improvement with the new direction they decided to take. The graphics aren’t noticeably better though (still fine... from a distance) and the voice acting has it’s ups and downs (though Josh Keaton playing  Cyclops is  BIG up!). Basically, what I’m getting at is, if you liked the last game, you’ll like this one too, but if weren’t a fan of it, this one won’t win you over either. I give X-men Legends 2 for the xBox 8.5 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Lilo & Stitch

Ok, I just got to admit this right away: I love Lilo & Stitch. This is one of those Disney movies that manage to avoid most of its tropes and yet still be great: it’s not fantasy based, there’s no princess, there’s no big musical number, etc… Really the story becomes about two of the oddest best friends who find each other. As someone who was often the “weird” one in school growing up in school with an unconventional family, I can also sympathize with what Lilo is feeling at the start of the movie. Beyond that, we’re dealing with space aliens for a good amount of the run time, which is cool and makes for some damn fine action scenes. It’s really the kind of movie that I think has a little something for everyone and I still enjoy watching it every time.  If you haven’t seen it already, please check it out. So yeah… Um… what was my point again? … RIGHT! Lilo & Stitch for the Game Boy Advance.

The game takes place sometime after the movie. Lilo and Stitch are playing one day when suddenly aliens come and kidnap Lilo *for no particular reason*. Stitch then grabs 4 guns out of apparently nowhere and faces off against what I call the “Space otters”. Ok, I joke about it, but I really like alien designs in this game, as it looks like something we might have seen in the movie.

The first level has you playing as Stitch to shoot aliens. At this point, you might think that the whole game is going to be something like Contra. Surprisingly, in the next level, you play as Lilo, which plays out more like a puzzle adventure. She can’t fight enemies so you’ll have to tactically avoid them and instead focus on triggering the correct sequence of events to go on. You’d think this would be a harsh change, but these two styles complement each other. First off, Lilo still controls much the same way as Stitch, so it doesn’t feel like two different games. Furthermore, it shows how different Lilo and Stitch are, which was kind of a theme from the movie, but they still manage to find a solution and be together.

However, it wouldn’t surprise me if you never get to see Lilo’s stages during a play test. The game starts out difficult, especially for something seen as a children’s cartoon. The game doesn’t really seem to get harder once you get used to it though, and the number of levels is pathetically small. You’ll probably have trouble simply getting started with this game and then you’ll breeze right through it (however to me, that was just motivation to play it again right away).

Graphically speaking, this game is gorgeous! You’d half expect flat looking characters with really thick outlines, but the colors are all well-chosen, the details perfectly handled and they’re all fantastically drawn, though perhaps a bit small. The animations are really smooth, but they don’t take up more time than is needed, so it doesn’t hinder the game play. As a matter of fact, the only animations I would have a problem with are the movie clips used, as the downgrade is really noticeable and distracting. The cut scenes between the levels aren’t good either, as they’re just still images with text. It’s not terrible, I know a lot of games do this, but for the effort put into getting movie clips in the game, there could have been some put into the cut scenes (though they are still gorgeous).

The sounds in this game though aren’t good. Again, the quality from the movie rips is noticeably lowered, seeming to clip when I listened to it. The sound effects are passable for the most time, but poorly chosen quite often; a lot of hard click or pop when the sound should be something smoother. But the real fail is the music. You’d expect either something that gets you pumped and ready for action, or something really up-beat and ready to have fun. However, the main track of the game (for example) seems to be a Hawaiian inspired number (which is appropriate) but it’s really more relaxing that anything else, which NOT what this game is (with its difficulty). This continues for most of the game.

Lilo and Stitch is a game that really surprised me, as I did not expect it to be this good. Of course, I bought it thinking that it would be passable, but when you deal with licensed movie games you tend to set your expectations low. When I managed to really get started with the game, I found myself praising Digital Eclipse and Disney Interactive for putting a bit of creativity in the game play and not just making a run and gun shooter. That’s not to say I can overlook the game’s glaring flaws though: it is difficult considering the target audience, the music is very ill-fitting, you could change Lilo and Stitch to original characters and NOTHING is affected and the game is way too short. This prevents me from giving the game a great score like I wanted, but with its fun game play mix, smooth controls and beautiful graphics, I still highly recommend it. I give Lilo and Stitch for the Game Boy Advance 7 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Roller Coaster Tycoon

Out of all the game genres, Sim games are the ones that divide my opinion the most. Some people avoid them with the reasoning of “Why would I play a game about real life?” Which I agree with, because even when you’re not doing something you do in your daily life, still you’re worried about the same kind of things: making sure you have money, keeping things clean, doing regular upkeep, etc. And yet, anyone who’s played them before will often admit they’re so addictive they’ve probably lost a full day in one gaming session. As a matter of fact, the back of today’s game is advertised as “Addictive! You won’t want to stop!” Let’s put that to the test with Roller Coaster Tycoon for the PC.

The designer Chris Sawyer took a great angle to the Sim genre: you take charge of something realistic, but yet very fun. Now, Spore is a cool concept, but it doesn’t really seem like a Sim game so much as a creature creator adventure. And the Sims has that problem I said in the start: it’s much like real life. Not to say that either of these games are bad, but if you set out to find a “fun Sim game”, Roller Coaster Tycoon does a good job at being both. Sim City, who came before it, also comes close, and it’s obviously the inspiration for Roller Coster Tycoon, but what sounds more fun? Worrying about roads and energy sources, or making roller coasters and watching people ride them?

So yeah, in Roller Coaster Tycoon you play the role of the owner of an Amusement Park. Depending on which campaign you picked, you’ll start with different conditions. You may want to start out with nothing at all, or you may want to turn something small but already started into a huge, national success. There are also “goals” in the game, but I don’t know anyone who actually played the game for them: you could go on and start building a whole new empire after accomplishing one, but most people I know grow attached to their parks and just keep building onto it.

As the owner, you get to pick what rides and attractions are placed in your park, and it is a very good feeling to place a new attraction and watch the little Sim people go for it right away. One of the main attractions Roller Coaster Tycoon offers for some rides is the ability to make custom tracks. So, if you’ve had an idea for a Roller Coaster you’ve been itching to see come to life, this is the game for you.

Of course, it’s not just as simple as “pick an attraction and watch people have fun”. Being in charge of everything comes with the responsibility of… being in charge of everything. You need to pick where to place the attraction, how much to charge to get on and how long the cue should be: all important to the success or failure of the ride. Beyond the rides you also need to make sure there are footpaths leading everywhere, decide what the entry fee should be, maybe do some advertising, take care of any landscaping that needs to be done, purchase land if you want to expand, make sure there are garbage cans for trash and hundreds of other little jobs you can probably think of. Oh, except for the cleaning, ride maintenance, security and entertainment: you hire people to do these things for you. However, since you’re also in charge of hiring, you do still play a role. While doing all this, you’ll have to watch your money and make sure people are actually enjoying themselves. Suddenly, this game doesn’t seem so carefree.

I consider Roller Coaster Tycoon a success of a Sim game for one big reason: I put off writing stuff about this game for several HOURS because I didn’t want to stop playing the game. Even with games I love like Mario & Luigi SuperStar Saga, I’m at least able to bring myself to save, write a bit and continue later. Roller Coaster Tycoon wouldn’t let me do that as I just had to keep playing and see what happened if I changed a price by a dollar. Next thing I knew it was midnight aaaannndd… I lost that save file… I’m playing this game on a newer Windows OS, so if you have the original game disk, you need to change the compatibility options to run as Windows 98 and disable the visual themes (this is done on the properties of the execution file). Alternatively, you can now download a deluxe edition (that includes the two expansions) on GoG.com, and there is a smart phone port expected to come out this year. Though the graphics and sounds are nothing to rave about, they still more than get the job done.  The interface works fine which feeds your addiction even more, though it can open a lot of windows. True, sometimes you’ll just be waiting for money or to get a new ride, and it might seem more fun to be doing something instead of managing something. But if you’re into Sim games at all, you’ll never want to get off this ride. I give Roller Coaster Tycoon for the PC 9 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Nintendo e-Reader Part 2

It’s time now to continue our look at the Nintendo e-Reader for the Game Boy Advance by looking at its content. As I explained last time, the e-Reader disappeared quickly from North American markets, lasting for only roughly two years. Still, you could release a whole lot of stuff within two years, but the e-Reader honestly had very little to offer, even if you DO count the Japanese exclusives. I don’t nearly have a complete set for it but I will be talking about what I managed to get.

Let’s start with the Classic NES series that included 12 games from the early NES days. I got three: Balloon Fight, Ice Climbers and Donkey Kong Jr. I now have no reason to use these cards though, since I got them on my 3DS thanks to the ambassador program (of course, these would be the only three found in both collections…). These games deserve to be reviewed on their own, so I’ll talk more about how they’re ported. The changes are minimal, though there seems to be a few options missing, like the two player mode (THIS is the one thing you don’t let me use my link cable for?). There’s also no save feature for high-scores even if you store the game on the e-Reader’s memory. Along with the dot codes, the cards themselves have the rules, the controls, some tips and even the story for the game. So it’s like a helpful version of the instruction booklet conveniently always with the game.

Next up, I also have some Pokemon cards, which was what I was most excited about. I got two games, but those were from promotions, so it’s not like I found them myself. The first game is Machop at work, a single screen game where you crush boulders, and the other is Fire hoops, an auto scrolling game where you need to jump at the right time. In both cases, the sprite work is really good, making great use of a 32 bit system. The games are a little more than a distraction though, and once you hit the 100 point limit, there’s very little reason to play again. I feel like if they made a collection of these games separately on a GBA cartridge, it would have been better. I wasn’t able to collect the necessary cards for other games, however if you scan one card that is part of a game, it lets you know what else you need (for example, I have Corsola, but to play its game, I would also need Quilfish). There are other applications offered, such as a customizable music box and a timer for your card matches, and along the bottom of each card there is a second code which allows you to access Pokedex data.

Two more games I got through promotions are the Manhole-E and Kirby Slide games. The Manhole one is just a recreation of the Game & Watch game and the other is just a slide puzzle to promote “Kirby Right Back at ya”. Both aren’t very fun to play, look at or listen to and aren’t worth the money now.

But the real reason I decided to do a second part was to talk about the Mario Party-E game (terrible title by the way: Mario Part-E-E, Mario ParteeeEEE). This isn’t really a video game, but rather a card game with video game elements. The game is played with a deck of cards which includes coins to play cards, special cards that do different things and the superstar items, which you must collect for the end goal. Where the e-Reader comes in is with some of the mini-games and challenges. There are some games to earn added effects for the card they’re on or that can allow you to play the card for free. On average these games last like 10 seconds for each player. Why even include the e-reader option at all though? The duels could be settled with rock-paper-scissors and you could just ignore the free card options. Bottom line; if you want to play a board game, play a board game. If you want to play a video game, play a video game (like, maybe Mario Party?). This mix of both feels too forced.

So that is most of what I got for the Nintendo e-Reader: the only other cards I have are a couple add-ons for Animal Crossing and Pokemon that that I never used. All and all, it’s just very underwhelming. It’s obvious that Creatures Inc. really wanted to push this to succeed by making the Pokemon Trading Card game compatible with it and that was probable enough to sell a decent amount of units. However HAL labs and Nintendo didn’t seem to want to push it as much, and there is no third party involvement. I’m of the opinion that, if you’re going to make the customers pay so much for the add-on and make games for it so cheaply, MAKE A LOT OF GAMES. This was a really cool concept that was just wasted. Even if you can find an e-Reader for sale with everything I have offered with it, I still don’t think it would really be worth your time or money (especially considering how much they’re priced online). The e-Reader itself isn’t bad; it works fine and does what it was meant to do. But everything for it is either irritating or lacking. I give the Nintendo e-Reader Accessory for the Game Boy Advance 4.5 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Nintendo e-Reader part 1

Today, however, I feel like doing something a little bit different. Instead of reviewing a game, I decided to review a piece of hardware. Now, don’t worry, it’ll be a full review, but I’ll be talking about an accessory that helps you play more games on a pre-existing game console. These types of devices aren’t unheard of in the game industry; if I say “Sega CD”, I think you guys would know exactly what I’m talking about. However, it’s rare that they are a success, so how did this one turn out? Without any more hesitation, let’s talk about the Nintendo e-Reader add-on for the Game Boy Advance.
The Nintendo e-Reader was an accessory released in Japan in late 2001 and in North America in September of 2002. This add-on allowed you to scan specially encoded data on the sides of cards to access games or other features. The concept was pretty cool for a few reasons. First off, cards are a lot cheaper to make and distribute than video games. This meant, not only could they be cheaper for the gamers to buy, but it might be easier to get your hands on them. As a matter of fact, Nintendo Power took advantage of this by including a couple of games inside their magazine, and some of the official Pokemon Trading Cards also had strips of data (so yeah, you could get a video game inside your card game. Xzibit would be proud).Secondly, it was possible to add more content to some already existing games through the e-Reader. Get the right cards and you could have more levels, exclusive bonuses, tips, cheats or other neat stuff (kind of like DLC before it’s time).
The e-Reader itself was packaged with one game from the Classic NES collection (like Excitebike, Urban Champion or Ice Climbers). This was a unique (and relatively cheap) way to play old NES games on a newer system before the Virtual Consoles. There were also a lot of “mini games” and the Mario Party Card Game available for it. Games compatible with the e-Reader for extra content included Animal Crossing, Super Mario Advance 4 and most of the Pokemon games to come out around that time. With all this offered though, why is it that the e-Reader vanished from North American markets so quickly?
The e-Reader was actually a lot of hassle. For example, the classic NES games meant that you had to scan ten dot codes. If you planned on playing one over and over again, you could store one in the e-Reader’s memory and keep accessing it. However you could only store one at a time, so if you wanted to play a second e-Reader game, get your wrist ready to scan. Some of the smaller, mini games (like the Pokemon ones) required fewer cards, but the scanning itself can still be a pain. Sometimes you’ll get that one card that doesn’t want to scan, so you do it over and over until it FINALLY goes through. Plus you could easily lose or damaging one of the cards, and you really need them all.
But that doesn’t compare to how much stuff you need if you want to add content to a game. Let’s say you have a card that lets you import a design onto Animal Crossing. To get that design into the game, you’ll need the card of course, along with an e-Reader and a Game Boy Advance. You’ll also need a copy of Animal Crossing to load it and the GameCube (and a TV) to play it on. All that’s obvious, right? Well you also need the GameCube-Game Boy Advance link cable that’s sold separately. That’s a lot of work and money just to get a picture of Link.
So that’s the Nintendo e-Reader and  honestly, one thing I asked myself a lot while preparing this review was “What would I do differently?”. Well, I’d start by giving it bigger memory so it could store multiple games and not have to scan cards every time (I’m sure it was possible). Also, I would have included the GBA and GameCube to GBA link cables with the system to cut down on the cost, as well as make it a worthwhile bundle (including just one of those would have helped). But one drastic idea could have been not making it an add-on at all: just add a screen and a couple of buttons and you’d have a mini-system (yeah, the price would go up a bit, but it would have to be less than what the e-Reader plus a GBA were together at the time). Regardless, the e-Reader was a good and ambitious idea in theory, but practically it was too much hassle than it was worth. I don’t feel justified in giving the e-Reader a rank just yet though, as since it’s an add-on, so its full value comes with its content. So, how about we look at that next time?