Level Up: Rock Band Country Track Pack & Rock Band AC/DC Live Track Pack

For the past few years, I’ve been talking about the Guitar Hero series to celebrate the New Year, and I think it’s time that we talk about Rock Band. I’ll get into the history behind the two series someday, but today I want to focus on how they both handled additional content. One of the reasons Rock Band “won” over Guitar Hero is that Guitar Hero focused on pumping out games, while Rock Band just provided more songs. While most were DLC, they also had standalone disks with 20 or so songs on them. Let’s take a look at one of those with the Rock Band Country Track Pack for the Nintendo Wii.

While it might seem a little silly to only have a disk with about 20 songs on it, I need to mention that this was mostly a way for Developers Harmonix and Publishers MTV games to put out extra content for the Wii and PlayStation 2 consoles (which apparently couldn’t support DLC like the others). A handy work around as it gets you a lot of songs at a bulk price, and since it’s a standalone game, you could buy the instruments and not bother with the original Rock Band. But if you just wanted Alan Jackson’s good time, you’ll have to still endure and pay for Sara Evans’ Suds in the Bucket.

This is also a very bare bones version of the Rock Band game mechanic. There’s no shop in game and no avatar creation; you only get the songs. Plus, since it’s modeled after the first Rock Band, you don’t have the option of changing instruments or difficulty if it gets a too hard for you, and in some modes that may stop your progress completely. I can’t hold this too much against the game though, as this remains from what Guitar Hero was doing before. I will say that I believe the songs to be well arranged for the instruments, so no sudden difficulty spike. As a matter of fact, I’ll say that there’s not much difficulty at all. This isn’t for people who want a challenge, this is just for people who like and want to play country.

Well that’s all I really have to say about a Track Pack that’s a little bit country, so now let’s move on to one that’s a little bit Rock and Roll. Here’s the AC/DC Live Track Pack.

I need to start off by saying that AC/DC ranks pretty high among my favorite bands, and that’s why I bought this game. That being said, band specific track packs are very polarizing: you either like pretty much all the songs, or you might like none.However, unlike the country track pack, I can see people playing this game for the challenge, as some of AC/DC’s songs can be fast with a lot of notes. While a higher difficulty isn’t a bad, this does cause a problem with the song order. See, they were arranged to preserve the live concert experience, so the songs aren’t put in order of difficulty. Thunderstruck (one of the songs I’ve had the hardest time with) starts things off, instead of something easy like Money Talks. Also, since this is a live recording, even if you are familiar with the songs you might have difficulties with subtle changes (particularly if you’re singing).

One more issue that might come from the fact that this is focused on a band is that the difficulty the remains pretty consistent. In other Rock Band games, individual instruments have their own difficulty curve, so no matter what you’re playing, as you play, you get better. In here, there are no real mountains to make valleys, and the hardest song for one instrument tends to be the hardest song for another. Other than that, it’s pretty similar to the Country Track Pack: it’s very bare bones, but if you’re an AC/DC fans who likes to play Rock Band, than this is for you.

The Rock Bands Track Packs were definitely a neat way to tide you over between major game releases, and I really do like how they’re standalone games. The country track pack has a really good selection of songs for its theme, however it could be argued that you might be missing your target demographic for this reason. The AC/DC one hit that mark, but it made me realize how much variety having other bands adds to the game play. Now when I was writing this I questioned if it was fair to give these games scores, as with collections, it’s the songs that decide if you’ll like this game. But, since these are standalone games and I can still judge them on how they handle, increase in difficulty and other such elements, so  I still feel just in giving them scores. The Country Track Pack is a good mix for country fans, but that’s it. The AC/DC Track Pack offers songs for AC/Dc fans, a decent challenge, knows its audience more and uses more Rock Band elements (like most of the songs having an ending bonus). I give the Rock Band Country Track Pack 8 and the Rock Band AC/DC Live Track Pack 9 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes

The holidays have always been a time for togetherness, and what says that more than a standard RPG adventuring party? The standard group is an icon of being together, not just out of usefulness, but due to their similarities. As much as it’s always handy to have a rogue to pick locks or a cleric to heal wounds, the backstory and reason they’re all going on this quest is normally about a sense of adventure or duty that they all share with each other. Or… I suppose people could be working selfish angles… or it could be a marriage of convenience… Ok, I really didn’t have anything for this game beyond that I got it as a gift and that fits my criteria. Here’s Dungeon & Dragon Heroes for the Microsoft xBox.

I’m not a D&D fan myself, but I’ll be honest when I say that I never quite understood how things like a movie could be based ON D&D. I get that certain creatures, spells or other details like that could be referenced, but it seems weird to base a structured narrative on a game about creating your own story.

Not to say you don’t know what to expect with the D&D name: it’s going to be something medieval themed, potentially involving sorcery, powerful artifacts, the end of the world and a fight of good against evil. And if you assumed all that you’re right. The story starts with the legend of the evil wizard Kaedin, who sought amazing power with 5 magic gems, each powered by an element. After destroying many towns, 4 brave heroes were called in to stop Kaedin. They stop and kill him, but with his final breath, he kills them right back (which… I don’t know why he wouldn’t do that sooner). 150 years later, a group of evil clerics believe that they can channel Kaedin’s powers for their own use. That backfires, and it brings Kaedin back from the dead. Knowing the best way to stop him is with the same heroes who stopped him last time, the 4 legendary heroes are also revived to fight the evil wizard.

The intro about needing a party and coming together is not completely a joke. My personal experience with this game is that I actually had to start it twice. The first time I decided to play it, I got passed the first boss. However, my rogue character could not get passed the onslaught of enemies that were right after. The boss fight also used up a good portion of my potions, so even going back was not an option. I was stuck. The second time, I played the game with a friend. Granted, I decided on a different class too, but it changed the game so much that I don’t believe that it would make a difference. This is all to say that I don’t think the developer and publisher Atari envisioned this as a one player game, much like how D&D is a better experience at least a second person in the party.

And obviously this game is very much D&D based, but like I said before, I don’t get how things can be based on D&D all that much. Yes, some of the game mechanics do mimic some of the aspects of D&D, such as the skill tree that you get to allocate points to (with the classes having different skills), the different stats, equipment and inventory management, optional quests, etc… The issue is that all that stuff is now very common in games. It doesn’t matter if video games originally took it from D&D, in the video game medium it just doesn’t stand out. As a matter of fact things that are missing from D&D could have added to making this game stand out at the time, such as being able to select your race, more classes or having luck decide some of your stats. It’s still a well done hack and slash style RPG, as I cared about certain aspects of my inventory (since it felt like it made a difference). There’s just that little spark missing to it.

The biggest fall of Dungeons and Dragons Heroes is that, because so many RPGs have evolved from the base of D&D, it sadly makes it seem generic. Considering that over the years so much has been added to the RPG formula, they were sort of painted into a corner. Along with the fact that I don’t find this game being much fun one player, there a lot of the games in the hack and slash RPG genre that are easier to recommend. That being said, saying that a game is generic or hard doesn’t mean that it’s BAD. It still works fine and it’s easy to really get into with a group of fellow adventuring friends. The only other problem is that the last boss was so disappointingly easy, but if you’ve gotten all the way to the end of a D&D style RPG game, it has to have been holding your attention to that point. I give Dungeons and Dragons Heroes for the xBox 7 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Last episode, I talked about Mega Man being a popular request for Super Smash Bros. But while people were clamoring for Mega Man since Snake was announced, people wanted to see Sonic the Hedgehog fight Mario pretty much since the first game (I recall seeing fake screen shots of him in Melee before its release). The rivalry between Mario and Sonic is incredibly iconic for anyone who remembers the Sega and Nintendo console wars of the 90’s. While I sided with Nintendo, I did enjoy playing some Sonic on Genesis when possible. And the game that first struck a chord with me would have been Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Let’s take a look at that one, shall we?

After the events of the first game, the villain, Dr. Robotnik (who would later become known as Eggman), picked himself up after his defeat. However, he doesn’t try the same thing; rather he comes back with the Death Egg: a Star Wars lawsuit waiting to happen that could kill everything in its path if Dr. Robotnik could power it. However, he would need the mystical Chaos Emeralds to power it. This is where Sonic comes in, as he is determined to take down Robotnik and his Death Egg before he is able to find them. Robotnik isn’t the only one who developed in between games though, as Sonic is getting a little help from his new friend “Tails”.

The story is actually a lot better than what you’d expect. Unlike games such as Mario which are content keeping their characters still between games, Sonic and Dr. Robotnik did stuff. It’s not like they took a life changing trip to Tibet or anything, but it’s enough to see they aren’t just 2 dimensional characters living a cycle: Dr. Robotnik tries a new tactic. Though the story doesn’t really come through much in the game play, the levels where you see the Death Egg or hop aboard it, you get that sense that it’s an urgent threat. This is the game where Dr. Robotnik goes from just a goal to beat to a character.

While the addition of Tails might not seem like much plot wise, it would greatly affect pretty much every game to come. For those of you who don’t know, Tails’ nick name comes from the fact that he has 2 Tails, and he can use these to fly by rotating them like helicopter blades. It seems pointless at first you play as Sonic, but this game actually has a simultaneous 2 player option. Someone can take the player 2 controller and control Sonic’s pal. While he might not be as fast as the Hedgehog, he can keep up, and he becomes very useful by killing baddies and accessing new areas. This is, however, a second player in a one player mode, so the screen still only follows Sonic, meaning there will be times where player 2 might be completely lost off screen. It’s still cool that there’s a 2 player simultaneous story mode option (something Mario wouldn’t do until relatively recently)

As for the gameplay itself, I’d say this is really where Sonic started to become Sonic. I’ll get into the first Sonic the Hedgehog game someday and why it’s still a good game, but while that one could be considered a little generic in some ways, there’s no doubt with the tight level design and fast moving sections that this is a Sonic game. The levels even seem to have a lot more personality added to them, with some of them since becoming icons of the series such as Chemical Plant Zone, Death Egg Zone and the first appearance of the Casino Night Zone. The levels are well laid out and the game play is tight, but fast. What else can I say?

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a great game and really could have started making Genesis fans out of Nintendo fans boys. It’s well designed, handles great and even did right by the characters. As a Sonic game, I’d actually recommend THIS as a starting point for anyone who wants to get into the series, as the game play changes less from this game onwards and due to the levels (both in theme and layout) simply feeling more like a Sonic game. …However, this is not the definitive Sonic game I talked about in my Sonic Adventure review. Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but there are just a couple of things another game did better that’ll talk about later on. Beyond that, a lot of people have complained about the special stages (with Tails being more of a bane than a boon there) and it being rather difficult in the later levels (and with no save feature in the original, that might be an issue for some). But let’s not end on a negative note. Like I said, it was enough to make me want to play some Genesis when I got the chance and made Sonic from an attempted mascot, to a gaming icon. I give Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Genesis 9.5 levels out 10.

Level Up: Mega Man

So November is now here, and like any Nintendo fan, I’m excited for Super Smash Bros. on WiiU. Sure, I’m still enjoying the 3DS version, but Smash Bros. just works so much better on home consoles (plus the 50 facts video did get my hyped). But whether it’s on WiiU or 3DS, there’s a new character to Smash that people have been requesting for a while: Mega Man. And why not? He’s just as recognizable as most of the cast and probably more so than the first 3^rd party character introduced: Snake. Plus, he got his start on a Nintendo console, which is what we’ll be looking at today. Here’s Mega Man, originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but I’ll be playing it on the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

To get this out of the way, the biggest down point to the first Mega Man is that it’s missing a lot of things that later becomes standard in the series: no Rush, no password, no charge shot and a bunch of other things. As a matter of fact, this game only has 6 Robot Masters, 2 less than the other games.

That being said, since this is the first game, it has established more than any other single game from the series. Things like the run and gun platform game style, the Rock-Paper-Scissors motif, the ability to select any stage, the Wily level after beating the others, etc… Really, all of the other standard things add to it, but putting this game into perspective, you don’t feel like you’re missing out at all.

This even applies to the Robot Masters, as despite there only being 6, they are overall the most recognizable group. This might have to do with the fact that they were first, but Gutsman alone was brought back at least 2 more times, Cutman is always a favorite and Elecman is an assist trophy in the new Smash Bros, that’s already half of them. They’re all well designed for both powers and look, and just that right level of challenge (expect for Iceman, he’s a pushover).

It should go without saying that this game did establish the basic look for Mega Man, along with how robots look in this world, Dr. Wily and a few other aspects. That being said, remember how I said in another Mega Man review that some of the graphics looked like they were too soft, or full of air? Well this game seems to be on the other side of that spectrum: some things seem too small or scrawny. Perhaps I’m spoiled by future games with half screen wide sub-bosses and other bigger enemies to that identify themselves as being tougher. I also got to mention some of the coloring: yeeesh. I don’t know what you’d call the color of Cutman’s stage, but “nauseating blue-green” comes to mind. But these are just nit picks for the graphics. As a matter of fact, I have no nit-picks I can think of for the sound: it’s all well placed, good and the sound effects have become iconic.

I guess at this point you’re wondering what the plot of Mega Man is. I mean, the series is so big that the first game has to have started an amazing plot, right? Well the story actually goes that that Dr. Light and his assistant had created a total of 7 humanoid robots together, all to serve different functions in society. However, Dr. Lights’ assistant, the now infamous Dr. Wily, grew disloyal and reprogrammed 6 robots to help him, you guessed it, take over the world *OF COURSE*. The 7^th Robot, originally called Rock Man, but localized as Mega Man, was sent in to take care of the situation. That’s right, Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters started about working for Dr. Light. A twist for anyone who thought the Robot Masters were always evil, but other than that the game is a simple “Villain trying to take over the world” story.

The original Mega Man did exactly what it needed to do: be a great game and set up the ground work for a series. It’s always been fun to play, with the platform gunning style, and the weapon copy and Rock-Paper-Scissors Robot Masters makes it easy to see why this would catch on and why a another game would soon follow. However, playing it now a days, it feels quite lacking. It might be unfair to the first game, but I can’t help but wish I had a couple more Robot Masters, the ability to continue via password or a charge shot. It’s just so ingrained into how we play Mega Man now. That being said, don’t think I’m holding anything against this game, because I am NOT. This is one of those must play games of the NES and one of those series starters that still holds up today. I give Mega Man originally for the NES 9 levels out of 10.

Level Up: Evil Dead & Army of Darkness Defense

So it’s Halloween again. Alright, so I guess I should review another Evil Dead game… The only console one I have left though is Hail to the King, and I haven’t played much of that one yet. Should I review it anyways, or should I wait… oh right, there are the mobile games which I have played through! Sweet, get to procrastinate another year. Let’s start off with the appropriately named Evil Dead.

Unlike the other games, Evil Dead is actually a retelling of the first movie, at least to start. It’s pretty much now become a classic story, the “cabin in the woods.” A bunch of University students go up to a cabin for their spring break to party. However, after the students play a recorded reading from the Necronomicon, strange things start happening; demonic possession mostly. And while the game tells that story fully, it then goes beyond with a second “chapter” about the cult that made me the book. It’s not really something I really wanted to know about the Necronomicon, but it does make sense on how to continue the story using only the first movie.

The game is a pretty basic action game. You play as a big headed version of Ash, typically armed with an ax, but you sometimes get a gun. You’ll have to save yourself and your friends from attacking plants and Deadites. But while I know this might be a bit too obvious to say about a mobile game, the best way to describe this experience is “cheap”. There obviously wasn’t a whole lot of effort made into making this feel like a fun, smooth experience; hit detection can feel off and getting into fights fells cheap no matter whom is winning. Adventuring is also shallow, as the levels aren’t very big and don’t have a whole lot of variety. There are some paths you can take that are optional, which might lead to a hidden health pack or gun, so it doesn’t completely miss its mark. It just feels small and restrained.

Moving from a mobile game based on the first movie, we now have a mobile game based on the 3^rd movie. Here’s Army of Darkness Defense.

Yeah, the name probably gives it away: this is a defense game, where you will have to gather resources to be able to prevent a certain amount of enemies from getting to what you are defending (in this case, the Necronomicon). However, you’re not just some random army leader that doesn’t get his hands dirty: you actually play as Ash in this game too. Beyond being able to summon peasants to fight for you, Ash can rush in and use his boom stick or chainsaw to kick some Deadite butt, or use 1 of 2 powers you can select before going in. This comes at the cost of a second loose condition though: not only do you have to keep the Deadite army from reaching the book, but you also need to keep Ash alive. Luckily Ash heals over time.

Again, this is a defense game, so you’ll be given resources to build an army. As time goes on, the blacksmith automatically produces metal for you to recruit army members, and you can pick some from defeated enemies. You can also collect coins from fallen Deadites that are to be used to upgrade your army members and abilities between rounds. All simple enough stuff, with the only really negative thing about it being that there’s only one direction enemies can come from, making the game pretty simple with no strategy really required.

The two mobile Evil Dead games are not the best representations of the series, nor the most enveloping games based on it. However, it is nice to see the other 2 movies in the series get their video games, as most of the time all the focus falls on the on the second movie. Both of these games are pretty short, simple and make great use of movie clips. However, while Evil Dead is a game that’s kind of expansive, it makes itself feel small, while Army of Darkness Defense, which has the smaller map, feels like a bigger experience. Plus Army of Darkness Defense is free, while Evil Dead costs a dollar, though it does have a free demo. I say maybe play the demo for Evil Dead first, but you probably won’t get it unless you’re an Evil Dead fan. Army of Darkness Defense though, is a pretty all around good mobile game. I give Evil Dead 5 and Army of Darkness Defense 6.5 levels out of 10.