Level Up: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

I think it’s about time to review a Sonic game. I think I’m going to start with Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for the Nintendo Game Cube. Why this one? No real reason, it’s not my favorite, but its not the worst one there is. As a matter of fact, some consider it to be the last great Sonic game. So let’s look at the good and the bad (that’s a joke by the way) of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.

As the title would imply, this game is a direct sequel to the first Sonic Adventure. The “Battle” on the end however, allows us to distinguish the Game Cube version from the original DreamCast game. But, I have very little experience with that game, and I’m not 100% sure what changed, so I’ll be talking exclusively about the Game Cube port.

The game’s plot follows the usual one where Eggman is trying to take over the world (Clip:”OF COURSE!”), this time trying to use the power of the space colony ARC, something his discovered while researching his grand-father’s notes. When he breaks into GUN headquarters (who plays the role of the neutral party fighting everyone in this game) he finds something surprising: Shadow, a black hedgehog with power and speed to rival Sonic. He also eventually finds a female bat named Rouge, and the three team up together to take over the world. Of course, that won’t happen if Sonic, Tails and Knuckles have something to say about that.

Know what’s cool about the story and this game? You get to see BOTH sides! Taking a page from it’s predecessor, which allowed you to play as 6 characters to get a more complete story, this game lets you play as both heroes and villains. However, unlike the first Sonic Adventure, there are only the two stories, heroes or villains (even though you play as 6 characters total). Also unlike the first one, the two modes are quite similar. You see, in Sonic Adventure, each person’s levels had a theme: Sonic was normal level, Tails was a race, Knuckles was hunting, etc… But in this game, each person has been matched up with someone on the other side: Sonic with Shadow, Knuckles with Rouge and Tails with Eggman. So that means there are only three kinds of levels: platform styled, shooting and hunting.

Now I’ve told you all of that to tell you this: the really bad thing about playing the stories is that you have no control over what type of level you play next. This means if you don’t really feel like hunting for emerald shards, you might have to anyways if you want the plot to keep going. You do have the option of trying the other side of the story, but there’s a 33% chance that you might get the same one. Sure you can play whatever type of level you want in level select mode, but that doesn’t move the plot along.

The graphics are pretty good. Not great for what we later saw the Gamecube could do, but considering that this is technically a Dreamcast port, it’s still really good. This is especially true when you compare it to Sonic Adventure, but I have more on that game later on. Anyways, the graphics are good with no real harshness taking away from enjoying the game, just nothing spectacular either. However, I love the music in this game. I honestly think that this was the first game (or rather, the original Dreamcast version) that I was ever able to sing along to and even downloaded tracks from some of the levels to listen to without playing the game. If you have to know, my personal favorite has to go to Eggman’s Theme song.

This game is really good, and I can why some people say it’s the last great Sonic game. Though personally I liked the handheld Sonic games and Sonic Heroes even better, this really does feel like it was before over popular and just to make money. Maybe this game caused that popularity, but there’s good reason to that. It takes an interesting twist on Sonic and gives you some fun levels to play with. You also do get extras in the game, like the battle mode and the chao garden (that I had to skip over due to time), that just add to how you can enjoy this game. The only bad side is that while playing this Sonic game, you’ll have to play levels that just aren’t Sonic, so be ready for that. I give Sonic Adventure 2 Battle 8.5 Levels out of 10.

Level Up: Battle of the Bands

Reviewing games can sometimes be hard. No, seriously. Despite all the fun I might be having while I play a game, when it comes time to review it, I might have to put that aside to analyze it. Let’s take today’s game for example; Battle of the Bands. This is a rhythm game produced by THQ and this is one of my favourite underrated for the current console generation. I really do enjoy playing it, but when I take a step back and analyze it to review it; I can see that it’s obviously not that great. Don’t get what I mean, well just listen and I’ll explain while I review Battle of the Bands for the Wii.

As I’ve said before, this game is a rhythm game, and if you don’t know what I mean by that, think Guitar Hero or any game where you have to hit a button or do an action at a specific time. In this game, the actions are swing the Wii remote left, right, softly and vigorously shaking back and forth or in a stabbing motion when the corresponding symbol reaches a target area. Your reward for matching a certain number of symbols in a row correctly is that you launch an attack at your opponent (hence the “Battle” in Battle of the Bands). Each band has 3 unique attacks you can chose to use during battle and some even have special effects. Finally, you can also block attacks coming at you by pressing B at the right time. This might seem like you have a lot to keep track of (your notes, which attack you’ve chose and possible enemy attacks), and in such a short time, but I think that’s part of what makes this game’s game play so fun; the constant attention, action and reaction.

So, why are these bands fighting? To have their style play. When you go into a battle, both bands seem to be simultaneously playing the same song; however, only one is heard at the time. With enough successful attacks though, that can change. Suddenly, you no longer hear your band rocking out, you hear the other one marching in victory. It may be a different musical style, but the song and tempo don’t change, which is really cool. There are a total of 5 musical styles in this game: Rock, Rap, Country, Marching Band and Latino. This means that there are 5 version of each song, one for each style. With 30 songs covered in this game, that makes the total 150 tracks found on this disk. And the song selection was perfectly done for this type of game. In the background, I’m playing the Marching Band version of AFI’s Miss Murder, but you can also get a country version of a rap song... *Country “Whoomp there it is”* ...a rock version of a Latino song... *Rock “Adios Mexico”* ... and so many other possible combinations *returns to normal music*. If you are a fan of these types of cross styled covers, then that’s the main reason to get this game, especially since you can listen to all of them from the get go. If not, then this will probably be a downside to the music.

Now, for everything I just said I liked about the game, I now have to do what I said every reviewer has to do and take a step back from my feeling of this game and analyze it. When I do that, I can see that there are issues that some people may not like with this game. First off was that some may not like the different style, but I already mentioned that, so let’s move off. Next comes the fact that if you play this game for a while, your wrist will start to hurt badly, meaning that you can’t play this game much more then the recommended hour and you need to take a decently long break when you do. There are also the arguments of the graphics quality in the game, but since you’re going to be looking at the symbols and not the characters, I think it’s a moot point. Also, I find the characters blowing each other up good for what they are. But, I think the biggest issue is that this game is described as “simplistic”. Now, the first reason this might be is because it gets compared to other music rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, which isn’t right, it is its own game and is different (though probably not different enough). The other reason it’s called simplistic is because it’s for the Wii, a system that has games that are SUPPOSED to be easy to play so that everyone can join in. Although I do understand these points and have to agree with them, I have to ask if other reviewers aren’t just overreacting.

I still really like this game. The flaws it has never really got to me and I love the different music heard in the game. I will admit that paying the original 50$ (estimated in Canadian Dollars) would have been really much to ask for this, but at the current price of 10$ at most places that carry this game is more than reasonable. Think about it, a CD with 12 tracks normally cost that amount, and this one has about 150 and is a game... for fun. I’m not going to give this game the score I want to give it, since I do understand the complaints, but I think it is far from a bad game. I give Battle of the Bands for the Wii 8 Levels out of 10.

Level Up: Aladdin

Well, it’s almost Valentine’s Day, the day of romance and love. When you think about it, some of the most popular video games are based around love; the daring hero having to fight impossible odds to save the one he loves, usually a princess. As a matter of fact, not only is that the plot to many video games, but also Disney movies. So, today, I’m going to talk about a game that is not only a great Princess Rescue, but also a great movie. This is Disney’s Aladdin for the Sega Genesis.

In this game, you play as Aladdin while you jump and run through certain places seen in the movie, which is fun since you’ll remember they required some acrobatics. While you’re having this grand adventure, you’ll have to get rid of enemies either by using your sword or throwing apples at them. However, unlike most sword games I’ve played, sword fighting is a bit more than just swinging it, there’s a sense of timing to it to. For example, when you face off with someone, it’s possible that your two swords hit and none of you get hurt (you’ll hear the distinct sound of swords hitting together when you do). You can also stop other objects that might be thrown at you, such as daggers or apples, with a well-timed swing, so don’t go thinking that your only defense in this game is being the first to h. But I do have to mention that swinging in any other direction then directly in front of you can be a little odd, so make a purpose of learning the swing patterns before you need them. But still, it’s so much fun, that it’ll make you forget that Aladdin never used a sword in the movie.

The plot of this game follows closely to that of the movie. Aladdin is a street rat who has to steal to live and has to constantly escape the sultan’s guards. This causes even more problems when he falls in love with Princess Jasmine, the sultan’s daughter. This gets puts on hold when a beggar asks him to retrieve a lamp from the cave a wonders. But once again, things hit a snag when he gets trapped inside the cave. Things look hopeless for Aladdin, but he’s surprised to find that there is a genie living within the lamp who can make his wishes come true. So, he uses the genie (and a magic rug also found in the cave) to get out and try to win Jasmine’s heart. However the beggar turns out to be the sultan’s Grand Vizier, Jafar, who is actually a self-absorbed sorcerer bent on taking over the city with the power of the lamp that he managed to take from our hero. So, it’s up to Aladdin to stop Jafar, get back the lamp, save the princess and hopefully win her heart.

Now, here’s what I really like about the story in the game: it gives nothing away. Everything I just told you is exactly what’s in the game, but it is significantly less then what’s in the movie. What does Aladdin wish for? How did Jafar get the lamp? How does Aladdin defeat Jafar? None of these are answered in the game and you still have to see the movie to find all these out, which I really appreciate (especially since the ending was fantastic).

The graphics are pretty good, and do justice to Disney Animation, but what I really like in this game are the midi versions of some of the famous songs found in the movie. Being able to play to the music of Prince Ali, Arabian Nights and You’ve Never Had a Friend Like me is just really fun. As a matter of fact, playing to that last one gave me a new appreciation for that song, since its played to a wonderfully fun level that matches the magic of the genie perfectly. Of course, that isn’t the only level where the music is suited perfectly: Prince Ali plays in the first market place level and starts us off right, while Arabian Nights is heard in the dungeon level to match the despair of the moment. And for you fans of A Whole New World, that’s saved for the menu screens. There is also original music in the game, which does the job, but hold no nostalgia to me.

Developers Virgin Interactive (mentioned in Thrill Kill) did more than do justice to the movie with this game. Some games actually got a whole new appreciation for the movie after playing it. Sure you’ll have the occasional person who will want to point out the flaws in relation to the movie, or nit-pick about slight flaws in the game play, but to them I say “STFU!” This game is still fun, and with the exception of a single level, the difficulty flows nicely. And let’s not forget, it recreates one of the most iconic Disney romance stories. I give Disney’s Aladdin for the Sega Genesis 8.5 Levels out of 10.

Level Up: Freedom Force

Those of you who also listen to my Podcast versions might notice that there is a lot more writen here then what I say. It ends up that I like this game so much, I wrote an entire paragraph that goes over my time frame. So, enjoy an extended script this week!

Narrator: Once again, we join our hero, Leo Melanson, currently in the process of picking out the game for this weeks review. However, this week, he searches for the perfect game, one special enough to mark the anniversary of his birth. He looks around and finds that none of them quite do it. Then, he sees it, his shelf of PC games. Few, but mighty, he sees the perfect game to review. And so, he reaches up for it.

Leo: Almost… got it…

Narrator: and with one final stretch our reviewer holds in his hands this week’s game: FREEDOM FORCE!

Freedom Force is a super hero game probably unlike any you’ve played. It’s described as a “Real-Time Strategy RPG”, which means you’ll have a team of heroes adventuring around a map and attacking in “real-time”, but you also get strength, weaknesses, stats, and leveling like those you’ll find in RPGs. It’s a great mix because people who aren’t necessarily good at Real-time strategies, but good at RPGs (like I am) can be good at this game, and vice versa. (It also helps that you can actually pause and chose what you want to do). Each level has a certain amount of missions and objectives you have to complete before moving on, most of them being “defeat blank”. Completing your missions and making sure a maximum amount of bad guys are defeated with a minimum of casualties, makes you earn prestige to recruit new Super Heroes.

You interact with objects by clicking around. And when I say “objects” I mean EVERYTHING. You can talk with civilians, pick-up telephone poles to use as clubs and even destroy buildings. We can’t forget attacking the bad guys too. Attacking uses energy, which it refills over time. Usually, the more useful or stronger the attack, the more energy it’ll use. You can also chose to make the attack all around better by using more energy on it. Don’t forget, all attacks have a certain element behind it (going back to strengths and weaknesses) and some have certain effects. Learning how to use all of this to your advantage will make you an expert at this game.

The story is… Super Heroes. An alien race gives an energy X to human and… Super Heroes. That’s the best way I can explain it. Random villains start popping up at the same time super heroes do and our heroes do their best to stop them. They all have their own plans and ways to what they want to do, mostly take over the world (clip: M. Bison: Of course!). Really, if you’ve ever read a comic book or seen Super Heroes cartoons then you know what I’m talking about. They even go all out in the cut scenes and artwork to invite that comparison. Sure, there is this underlying plot with the alien race and someone quote pulling the strings unquote, but like everyone else, he just has his moment. So yeah, the story is Super Heroes. Admittedly its nothing too original, the heroes themselves seem like knock offs: MinuteMan is Captain America, El Diablo is the Human Torch, The Ant is Spider-man, etc… But the story is still really fun to play through if you like Super Heroes. And I lauve Super Heroes.

Now, one thing that is probably the most enjoyed from this game for most of the fans is this game’s ability to customize it. First off, you have the ability to make your own Super Heroes and bring them into the game. But it’s not just that: The game makers actually encourage Moding this game, so much so they released a program to let you do it! You want your own Super Hero design in the game? You can do it. You want to play your own story? You can make that happen too! Even if you don’t have the patience for it yourself, you can go online and look at the fan community and see what they have to offer. Encouraging a game to be this customizable defiantly earns some props in my books.

I just barely glazed over everything I love Freedom Force. I could keep going on about the story details, or the game play factors, or all of that stuff that makes this game just fun, but that would take hours since I love this game so much. This game was developed by Irrational Games, also known for making the well-received System Shock and BioShock games. It was published by Crave Entertainment and Electronic Arts (who once again managed to earn a mention in my reviews), but I believe the true credit does go to Irrational Games, especially since they later self-published the sequel; Freedom Force vs the Third Riech. But that’s a review for another day. To finish off, I would just like to say that I am honored to make Freedom Force the first game I give a full 10 out of 10 levels to.

Level Up: Dr.Mario & Yoshi

(Interestingly enough, I don't own either of these games. My roommate does however, so I borrowed them for this review.)

Let’s talk about a classic; Dr. Mario for the NES. I’m more then certain that everyone has heard of this game before, and if you haven’t *deep effect* SHAME! It’s been ported directly onto a few consoles, been put on a couple compilation games and has had a remake or two. Heck, Dr. Mario was even a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Melee. And here’s why you should know about this game if you don’t.

Dr. Mario is a puzzle game, but probably the best puzzle game of all time. You play as Mario who, for no reason other than Nintendo told him to, became a doctor. He’s developed pills called “Megavitamins” which are composed of two parts of three possible colors (red, blue or yellow). He throws these pills in a giant bottle with static viruses of the same color inside. All you have to do is match 4 of the same color sections in a straight line (either horizontally or vertically) by rotating the vitamins 90 degrees and moving them left and right. But don’t forget, you’re megavitamins fall downwards and if you they clog up the entrance point, you lose, so act carefully, but quickly.

The graphics and coloring in this game are amazing for the NES. Dr. Mario came out in 1990, which was pretty late in the NES’ life, meaning the graphics were pretty much reaching its full potential. In this game, you got a nice vibrant variety of colors and well detailed objects. This is especially good for puzzle games, since you’ll most likely be staring at similar objects for addicted hours on end. The music in this game is some of the most recognizable ones in the world of video games. There’s of course “Fever” (which is often mistakenly just called “Dr.Mario”), one of the most popular scores from the game, but I personally enjoy every song heard in it. Even the menu songs are great! It’s amazing to see and hear that they put this much quality into the game.

And… that’s all I really have to say about Dr.Mario. So, how about now I talk about another puzzle game staring a Mario character on the NES? If you don’t what I’m talking about, I’m talking about Yoshi, and this time, I won’t hold it against you.

Yoshi works in a similar “blocks dropping down” where if the objects reach the top, you lose styled puzzle game which became popular after tetris. However in this game, you don’t control the blocks falling, you controls the ones they land on. The playing field is composed of 4 columns, and you can switch two at a time. If you can make a block land on a matching one, it disappears. But what does Yoshi himself bring to this game? Eggs. They drop down as halfs, bottoms and tops. If a top lands with no bottom underneath, it disappears and nothing happens. But, if a bottom landed and a top lands above it, they will close together, taking away all blocks in between them. Unlike Dr.Mario, this game has two modes of play, one “endless” style, where the blocks just keep coming, and another mode where you start with blocks already and you just have to make them all go away.

This game has a few weaknesses that make it far from the puzzle greatness of Dr.Mario. First off, it’s too easy and too basic. Sure in puzzle game it’s expected that things will get repetitive, but this one feels like it was made for younger kids. The next problem is the graphics. This game looks as if they took the Super Mario World sprites and downgraded them for the NES, and just made things look weird. Far from the great looking wonder of Dr.Mario.

There you have it, two puzzle games based off of Mario characters; one a true classic and another somewhat average. Dr. Mario is a must play for probably anyone who’s played video games, while Yoshi is more just for the puzzle fanatic. By the way, if you do want to check either of them out, they’re currently available on the Wii Virtual Console. I give Dr.Mario a 9.5 and Yoshi a 6.5 out of 10 Level.

Level Up: B.O.B.

I hope you’re all having happy holidays. To celebrate the times, I’m going to review one of my favorite gift games, Bob. (Audio clip: Becker: Bob? BOB?) Yeah, you know, BOB! *Music changes* (Voice clip: Reggie: OH! BOB!) He may not be the most recognizable game character, but he defiantly deserves to be remembered. So, let’s talk about Bob for the Super Nintendo.

Now, the first thing I noticed when I played this game for the first time was the music, and I have to say, I love the music in this game. I think it has one of, if not THE, most underrated sound tracks on the SNES. The music sets the mood perfectly and just makes you want to kick butt. It’s just so bad. But sadly, as I’ve said, I don’t think enough people have had a chance to hear much of it. That’s why, instead of the usual one song playing in the back of my review, I’ve put together a medley of some of the scores heard in Bob. Oh, and just so you know the sounds in this game are wacky, but fitting, and rock just as much.

At this point you’re probably asking “Who is Bob?” Well, Bob is a teenager that lives in outer space. He isn’t human, but I don’t quite know what he is (he kind of looks like an insectoid robot to me). He also speaks the way the late 80’s and early 90’s depicted teenagers, much like Bill and Ted and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You know; lots of “radical” lingo. I wonder what Linkara’s 90’s kid would have to say about him. (Clip: 90’s Kid starts, but gets cut off) But of course, that’s not my character. Interestingly enough, his name is spelt B dot O dot B dot, but I haven’t been able to figure out what it stands for.

The story goes that Bob has a date, so he borrows his dad’s car. However, while on route, he ends up hitting an asteroid field and crashing on an inhibited meteor type thing. So now he needs to search the area, defend himself, find another car and get to his date on time. I’m serious, that’s the plot of the game: he needs a car to get to a date. That’s just so awesome that I couldn’t make it up!

The game play is similar to many Adventure shooting games, like Mega Man, Earthworm Jim and Metroid. Bob has a gun which he can load with different types of ammo, all awesome and useful for different scenarios. He also gets other gadgets called “remotes” in this game, which can do things like launch him upwards, make him invincible or destroy all enemies on screen (more or less the usual stuff). But most awesome of all, Bob can punch enemies with his fist, and if you could see it, you would crap yourself! His fist is about the size of his head! If I were facing Bob, I would be more scared of his hand then his gun. Mix all of this with excellent controls and you get a game that is F dot U dot N dot to play.

If I had to say I had one problem with Bob its that it doesn’t have a save feature. Like many games of that generation without the ability to save, it has a password feature. Sadly, in this game, the levels you continue from seem few and far between. Still, it wouldn’t be that bad, but some of the levels are so long and hard and when you lose all your lives 4 levels after your last continue point, it kind of deters you from playing again. Speaking of lives, I have an issue with that too. Every time you die, all your ammo and remotes get reset back to what you had at the start of the game. This means that, in harder levels where you’ll need a lot of bullets, you pretty much have to do it in one life. It definatly presents a challenge, but one that I’m sure many gamers will be willing to face in a game that’s this enjoyable.

Bob is awesome! Though he isn’t the most popular guy ever, everyone who’s played the game say they really like it. All the comments online about it go along the lines of “I remember playing Bob, he’s awesome!” It plays well, looks great, it’s really fun and we can’t forget about the music. If you want to play this game, it’s available for the SNES, the Sega Genesis and has been put on compilation called EA Replay for the PSP. Wait, did I say EA? That might explain why this game never saw a sequel... Well, I give Bob 9 out of 10 Levels.

Level Up: Lady Sia + Schedule announcement

Hey everybody, before I get started on this week's game, I just wanted to explain why it took so long for it to get posted up and why it's not on iTunes yet. See, I'm on vacation! I went back home and, sadly, I only have limited connectivity here. Furthermore, Word was wiped off my computer AFTER I wrote this weeks review, but BEFORE I could post it up.
While I'm talking about posts being late, the one scheduled for this saturday will probably be late due to the holidays (ironically, it's a holiday special...). Also, there will be none on January 2nd (this was planned in advance as a holiday break). A New Years special will occure on the 9th. After that, updates should continue regularly until further notice.
Anyways, you've waited enough, so here it is, this weeks review.

Talk about underrated games, I can’t tell you how shocked I am no one I know has heard of Lady Sia. Coming out in 2001, just a few months after the Game Boy Advance, this game was developed by RFX Interactive and produced by TDK Mediactive. Both these companies are technically now gone, but they should never be forgotten, just simply for this game. So, let’s look at Lady Sia for the Game Boy Advance.

This game is classic hack and slash platforming. Lady Sia looks to fight the invading T’soa army (I think that’s how it’s pronounced) with her trusted sword, used to chop all enemies down to size. Both the B and R button swing her sword, but in different ways, meaning you can use them to make combos. Another way you can get rid of enemies is your magic ring, which shoots a chargeable ball of energy. Although she does need to stand still to use it, she can shoot it off in any of 8 directions. There’s also few magic spells you activate by hitting button combos, but they’re hard to memorize and not useful enough to bother with. Using all your skills, you’ll help Lady Sia achieve peace by navigating through fun levels and taking down all who stand in you way. To put it simply, Lady Sia controls really well and the game play is fun.

The levels in this game can easily be compared to the ones in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s island. What I mean by that is that Yoshi’s Island had a score system at the end of each level, and so does Lady Sia: she’s scored based on how many gems she’s collected, hostages she’s saved, how much magic she has left and how much heath. Also like Yoshi’s Island, if you get perfect scores in each level of a particular world, you get a bonus level. However, unlike Yoshi’s Island, Lady Sia seems to have a small number of levels, but they are quite difficult, pretty much evening the time you’ll spend playing the game. An advantage that Lady Sia has for having fewer levels is that less of them seem pointless. Sure you can argue that in platformers, no level is pointless since you need to get to the end, but in this game, each level also has a mission to help reach your goal: meet with the members of the alliance, destroy the machines bringing in the invading army, etc… Playing through these levels would still be fun, but it’s nice to know that I also have a reason to be doing it.

The last aspect of the game I want to talk about is the enemies. I love the T’soa. I don’t know what it is, I just love them. Like everything else, they are wonderfully sprited, and beyond that, they’re also well designed. A lot, if not all, of them are anthropomorphs (half animals, half beast), so it’s also amazing that they’ve been able to take this old concept and still seem creative. Like I said, I don’t know what it is, but it’s rare that I meet a game with enemies I enjoy so much.

Seriously, I am still shocked that this game isn’t more popular then it is. It’s fun with very few flaws, and the few flaws are easy to overlook (most games need their imperfections, right?). I don’t know what cause this game to be overlooked like it was when it came out, maybe it was the lack of promotion, maybe it was because the companies that made it weren’t well known or maybe it was because it came out at a time when people were more interested in getting SNES ports for that same consol. Its unpopularity also caused the sequel to be cancelled, so this game is the only of its kind. If you see it in a store or an online game seller, I strongly suggest you buy it. I give Lady Sia for the Game Boy Advance 8.5 Levels out 10.