| Spiderman The Movie | |||
|
| Grade: A- |
 |
Last modified 2007/6/14.
The overriding criteria is how fun the game is to play, although control, graphics, and sound are also taken into account. |
Screen shots courtesy of IGN.com.
|
It really feels good to play a brand new 2D Sonic the Hedgehog game. I credit the original Sonic game (Genesis 1991) with helping my transition from computers games toward the realm of consoles. Just like old times, you dash, jump, and spin as strategically placed gadgets bounce you around like a sock in a dryer. You can play as four characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy. Each has a slew of new "moves" to keep the metallic goons at bay, but these are not an integral part of the game. Sonic Advance's graphics are roughly the same quality and style as the original Genesis titles. Predictably, the first zone is a tropical paradise, conjuring up memories of the Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic. Most of the zones are new, but longtime Sonic fans will find their designs derivative at best. I love whizzing over the snowy peaks of the Ice Mountain zone, but wading thru the water in its lower reaches is a drag. Apparently somebody at Sega really has a thing for those annoying pinball stages, because the Casino Paradise Zone is as irritating as it gets. Other zones are hampered by tedious platform jumping or dangerous blind jumps that cause you to fall off the bottom of the screen. The 3D bonus stages are a lot of fun but surprisingly elusive. I'm not crazy about the fact that there are two enormous stages per zone (the second ending with a boss). This makes it easy to get lost, and really hurts the whole "exploration" aspect of the game. I do like the stage select feature, letting you bypass the stages you've completed. The well-orchestrated background tunes range from the mysterious, grinding jams of the Secret Base stage, to the tranquil, peaceful melodies of the Ice Mountain Zone. Extra modes include a two-player race mode and a time trial mode. Although the time trial saves the best times, it inexplicably does not save your initials. Sonic Advance has some issues, but it sure is good to see the hedgehog back in 2D.
|
|
Now this is more like it! The first Sonic Advance felt a little too familiar for my taste, but this fresh sequel breaths new life into the series. In terms of speed, Sonic Advance 2 is way over the top - there were times when I thought I'd lose my lunch just trying to follow the action! Except for some minor new moves and an additional female character (Cream), the gameplay hasn't changed much. The new zones however exhibit a great deal of imagination (thankfully). The first zone (Leaf Forest) is an unconventional world of angular green shapes, and its soundtrack is equally edgy. In the Music Factory zone, your character bounces off piano keys and gets sucked through organ pipes, and the music is fantastic. The scenic Ice Paradise has a welcome holiday theme, although it features too much "falling off the bottom" of the screen. New gizmos include rails you can "grind" on (Tony Hawk style) and loops that are twice as big as those in previous games. My main gripe with Sonic Advance 2 is the same as the last game. The zones are so huge that it's easy to get lost in them. At least they broke out the bosses into their own stages. Sonic 2's difficulty is just right however, and most Sonic fans will appreciate the added emphasis on speed.
|
|
Whenever the Sonic team starts running low on ideas, they always fall back on the old "team two characters up" gimmick. It's been effective in some cases (Sonic Heroes, Gamecube), and disastrous in others (Knuckles Chaotix, Sega 32X). You can play Sonic 3 like any other Sonic game, but an ever-present "partner" provides you with additional moves and attacks. Instead of whole-heartedly embracing this tag-team concept, I choose to largely ignore my partner. Does that make me a bad person? Anyway, the game is very similar to Sonic 2, with outstanding new zones and a much higher degree of difficulty. One new feature I don't like is the new "zone within a zone" concept. I'd rather just "select" my zone instead of having to locate it within a maze. The zones themselves are surprisingly original. The first (Route 99) is set in front of a bright city skyline. I love it, because it's so reminiscent of the graphics in those old Double Dragon games. The second zone (Sunset Hill) features a gorgeous orange sunset over scenic tropical scenery. I freaked out when I realized its theme music is actually a remix of the Green Zone music from the original Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis, 1991)! Sonic 3's gameplay is more challenging that previous Sonic Advance games. Each zone features three expansive stages, and the boss stages even feature sub-bosses. New gadgets include numerous button switches, teeter-totters, and bungee cords. You really need to watch yourself because it's very easy to get squished by moving blocks. In the end, Sonic 3's "teaming up" aspect fails to excite, but you can't deny Sonic Advance 3's classic gameplay.
|
|
As a huge fan of Sonic and pinball, I had been trying to track down Sonic Pinball Party for some time. Was this game even released in America? Only recently did I find it in the form of a "combo" cartridge, paired with Sonic Advance. Perhaps Sega didn't think this game could stand on its own, and they may have been right. Sonic Party Pinball feels more like an unlockable bonus game than a full-scale cartridge. It offers two tables, one based on Sonic and the other on Nights (I'm told there's also a secret Samba De Amigo table). Actually, fans of Nights will probably appreciate this cartridge more, considering the lack of attention their series has received over the past few years. Pinball Party's flipper controls are responsive, but why aren't these assigned to the shoulder buttons? The main problem with the game is its dull, uninspired tables. The targets are hard to make out, and there are far too many "modes" and words to spell out. Most of the time the ball just rolls around lanes without even hitting anything. There are multiple "stages" for each table, but these do little more than change the color scheme. You get three balls per game, but if you count all the times your ball is "saved", it's more like 20! When you see a ball get saved three times in a row, something's wrong. The scoring is uneven as well. You can execute all sorts of crazy combos to earn a few thousand points, and then effortlessly rack up millions during some easy ring-collecting mode. You'll need at least 50 million to break into the high score table, but in my experience scoring just 20 million is nearly impossible. The playful soundtrack has that Sonic charm, but it wears thin in a hurry. Sonic Pinball Party isn't terrible but it's hardly what I'd call a party.
|
|
Similar to the old Genesis Spiderman titles, this game delivers plenty of exciting action as you swing around a city punching thugs, locating items, and completing missions. There are a nice variety of objectives, from saving hostages, to escaping a crumbling building, to destroying barrels within a certain time period. The levels are short, but hidden secrets add to the replay value. The characters are well-defined using black outlines, and the background scenery looks pretty realistic. Spidey's hits are punctuated with "Thwack!" and "Bam!" graphics, just like the old Batman TV shows. Control is a key factor in Spiderman games, and this one has some issues. In the outdoor levels, it's very easy to swing around from building to building, but in close quarters, you tend to stick to everything, which gets annoying. Spiderman is pretty conventional in terms of gameplay, at least until you encounter the amazing 3D bonus stages, which let you swing through the city via a first-person point of view! Very impressive visual effects for a Game Boy! The introduction even includes some grainy video and the music rocks! Spiderman is a high quality game, and one that is surprisingly addictive as well.
|
|
I'm not a big fan of this one, probably because I already played through the excellent Playstation 2 version. This hand-held edition tries to emulate the PS2 version using scaling sprites and SNES-like (mode 7) ground scrolling effects. Although technically a good effort, it still feels like a water-downed experience. Controlling a well-equipped sports car, you embark on a series of missions with multiple objectives, but your primary goal (required to clear the stage) is usually to destroy one or more special targets. The graphics are fairly convincing, but the fact that the scenery is completely flat makes the stages feel repetitive. Even the water stages feel like you're in a car sliding around an oily surface. The controls are fairly responsive, and gunning down enemy cars and motorcycles is easy. Spy Hunter is playable but not particularly satisfying. The best incentive to play is to open up the original Spy Hunter arcade game, which is far better that this one.
|
|
I can't get over how completely inept this game is! With Episode 2, it's as if all the lessons learned in 25 years of platform-game design had been tossed out the window. The graphics are nice - I'll give it that much. You view high quality stills from the film, and the large 2D character models look practically digitized. There are even 3D flight sequences that adequately convey the illusion of movement. The control is another story; it's unresponsive, stiff, and poorly designed. As a result, playing Attack of the Clones provides about the same level of satisfaction as eating soup with chopsticks. Your Jedi (Anakin Skywalker) walks so slowly that completing each stage feels like an ordeal. You'll be frantically searching the manual for a dash move, but your efforts will be in vain. Episode II's mechanics are downright bizarre; you actually need to be moving forward to swing with your lightsaber! Turning around is chore, and it can be frustratingly difficult to strike an object directly in front of you (or as more often the case, on top of you). Droids tend to hover just between your slashes and low-kicks, prompting certain players to scream profanity. The one element I do like is how you can easily deflect laser bolts with your saber back to their source. Losing a life sends you all the way back to the beginning of each lengthy stage. The 3D stages prove just as frustrating, with heat-seeking missiles that are practically impossible to avoid. I enjoyed the movie, but this game is awful.
|
|
Based on my previous experiences with Star Wars Gameboy efforts, I didn't have high hopes for Episode 3. Once I started playing however, I was pleasantly surprised. Episode 3 sports a bold new style that harkens back to the classic 16-bit side-scrollers. The 2D characters are cartoonish in appearance but nicely animated. The ability to move your Jedi from the foreground to the background reminded me of old favorites like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage. The fighting engine is pretty nifty too, allowing you to employ a variety of saber techniques to disassemble an oncoming army of droids. Your foes fall to pieces in a satisfying manner, and you can even attack from the front and back at the same time - eliminating the painful "sandwiching" deaths seen in similar games. There's some degree of interaction with the scenery, and you can skillfully deflect laser bolts with your lightsaber. In one notable stage you must defeat a tank using deflections alone. Even the one-on-one light saber battles are well executed, requiring a series of well timed blocks and counters. Your Jedi earns new skills and attributes as you progress, and you can play as both Obi Wan and Anakin in storylines that diverge before fatefully merging near the end. With its fresh graphics, tight controls, and cool concepts, I started thinking "they finally got it right." But sadly, the fun does fade as you progress through the game. Although hacking up droids is mindless fun at first, eventually you're faced with tougher droids that require you to continuously pound the heck out of them. Although you acquire new skills as you progress, these don't ramp proportionally to your foes, and the action gets too damn repetitive. Worst yet, the stages are boring (endless corridors) and excessively long. When the game throws the same set of five droids at you over and over (in the same room no less), you'll exclaim "enough is enough!" I suspect the developers were attempting to artificially lengthen the game, and it really backfired. Still, Episode 3 is certainly a big step up from other Star Wars titles for the Gameboy Advance.
|
|
Ubisoft had an easy job in creating a new, side-scrolling Star Wars game. After all, the Super Star Wars games (SNES) perfected that style of gameplay over ten years ago. How could they possibly screw this up? The answer: in just about every way possible! First we have the repetitive stage layouts and frequent shoot-out sequences that artificially lengthen the game. You can shoot diagonally (using the shoulder buttons), but not straight up or down, and you can't shoot while climbing. When navigating platforms, you can grab onto them and pull yourself up, but sometimes your grabs don't seem to register and you fall right through. Of course, when you're trying to jump down, your character grabs onto everything, which is annoying. Further into the game, the lightsaber and space battle stages are a marginal improvement. You have to wonder why they didn't simply translate the superb "Super Star Wars" games to the GBA, instead of developing something from scratch. Perhaps the characters in those old games weren't well defined enough for a portable-sized screen; the characters in Trilogy are all rendered with black outlines. Still, despite its shortcomings Trilogy does cover a lot of ground, and it is Star Wars for Pete's sake. Also, I enjoyed the Time Pilot-inspired shooting sequences. But overall this is pretty uninspired stuff.
|
|
About ten years ago, the Star Wars name meant quality when it came to video games, but apparently those days are long gone. In fact, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a game less than Flight of the Falcon. I was hoping this game would mark the return of those glorious 16-bit Star Wars days, but Falcon is poorly conceived and completely devoid of fun. First you have to sit through one of those slow, obligatory text crawls - are these things really necessary for every Star Wars game? Each level involves either flying or driving, and you view the action from just behind your vehicle. Fortunately, the Falcon's shape is thin enough that it doesn't usually block your line of vision. The 3D graphics aren't bad, and the mission locations are enough make a Star Wars fan salivate, including the Death Star Trench, the forest of Endor, the streets of Tatooine, and the cloud city of Bespin. Unfortunately, aiming is done with a tiny crosshair, and you have to be dead-on to hit anything. In the driving stages, the scenery all blends into each other, making it hard to tell where you can and can't go. Making matters worse, the stages drag on for far too long. In the first stage you have to shoot about 100 tiny Tie fighters! It's really no fun, and once you lose a ship, you'll have to start all over again! At least the audio is good, with digitized music and trademark sound effects. But that's the only bright spot in a game I consider to be a complete waste of time.
|
|
This Star Wars game boasts sharp-looking scenery, motion-captured animation, digitized sound effects, fine-tuned controls, and an epic musical score. I say you can keep all of it, because The New Droid Army is simply no fun to play. This is what happens when video games go "corporate". I'm sure every aspect of this game was planned out in meticulous detail and a competent team of developers programmed the game exactly as specified. If only someone would have had the courage to ask, "Is this thing any fun?" Then again, they probably wouldn't have liked the answer. Despite its lofty production values, New Droid Army is an absolute chore to play. In a storyline that immediately follows Episode 2 (Attack of the Clones), you guide Anakin Skywalker around expansive areas on the planets Tatooine, Coruscant, and Metalorn. As you move from one area to the next, characters send you off on various errands to search for people and objects. Along the way you'll fend off endless Womp rats, Sand People, and Imperial Droids. It's button-mashing hell, although I do like how you can deflect laser bolts. The game might have been respectable had the locations not been so damn huge. Stumbling across the Tatooine desert takes an eternity, especially when you have to stop every few feet to slice up a gang of attacking Womp rats. Every stage plays exactly the same, and the repetition will dull your senses. You'd think the "speed" force power might remedy the situation, but it only comes in five seconds spurts! It's easy to cycle through your force powers, but they are almost totally defensive in nature. You'd have to be a very loyal Star Wars fan (perhaps stranded on a desert island) to derive any enjoyment from this by-the-numbers time waster.
|
|
I was pretty stoked about this new TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) game with its slick, old-school look reminiscent of the Turtles in Time (SNES, 1992). Sadly, Ubisoft gets the graphics right but screws up the gameplay. TMNT is a side-scrolling beat-em-up where your martial arts-trained turtle is pitted against an endless parade of street thugs and silver-plated ninjas. Having grown up with Double Dragon (NES, 1988) and Streets of Rage (Genesis, 1991), I'm accustomed to a certain degree of repetition in my fighting games. But there's a thin line between repetition and tedium, and Ubisoft just doesn't know when to say "when". After defeating a group of creeps in a certain location, it would be nice to move on to the next area. But no, the game keeps dropping more and more thugs out of the sky - usually five at a time! Enough already! TMNT's basic gameplay isn't bad, as you slug, jump-kick, and sweep-kick you opponents into submission. The weapons are effective as well, including bats, swords, and throwing stars. The shoulder buttons are used to call in one of the other three turtles to apply a quick hit when you're in a bind. The urban environments look great, and there are the obligatory crates and exploding barrels to interact with. Between stages you can shop at stores to acquire items and power-ups. TMNT held my attention for a while, but the never-ending thugs and frustrating bosses forced me to throw in the towel before getting too far. It's a shame, because TMNT could have been a winner if Ubisoft didn't emphasize game length over fun. Sound familiar?
|
|
These butt-kicking amphibians may be making a comeback, but it seems like Konami has forgotten how to make a decent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) game! Sure, this portable edition is better than its nauseating Xbox counterpart, but that's not saying much. What's especially disheartening is the fact that Konami produced so many entertaining TMNT games years ago for the NES and SNES. This one can't even hold a candle to those. For some reason, this game is even more 2D that the old 8-bit versions! Most of the time you're stuck in a single 2D plane, although occasionally you can leap a second plane (like the top of a train, for example). Each turtle has four unique stages, and most stages are button-mashing brawls against generic ninjas and thugs who appear in puffs of smoke. Thanks to the overly restrictive movement and a shortage of moves, these fights are arduous and boring. I couldn't wait for each one to end. The game occasionally redeems itself with some interesting racing and shooting stages, but these hardly compensate for the repetitive fighting action. TMNT saves your progress and high scores, which would be a great feature if only the game was any good. Konami needs to go back and study their old TMNT games like The Manhattan Project (NES) and Turtles In Time (SNES). Perhaps then they'll remember how to make a fun game.
|
|
The Tekken series once ruled the realm of fighting games, but lately it has fallen on hard times. I wasn't expecting much from Tekken Advance, but this game earned my respect. It's a quality fighter that retains the classic Tekken style despite its 2D graphics. Actually, it's very similar to Mortal Kombat for the Game Boy Advanced, but the gameplay here is less complicated. The ten familiar characters are large and slightly pixilated, but they move very well and can execute all of their classic attacks. The matches tend to be short in duration, thanks to some devastating combos that can take out huge chunks of your health bar. Successful attacks are depicted by red "sparks", and blocks are displayed in blue. Tapping the direction button down lets you sidestep, and the R button is used to throw. When a throw is executed, you see a pixilated "close-up" of the move, but it's not the least bit impressive. Tekken Advance is big on "juggling" attacks (getting in extra hits before your opponent can hit the ground), but personally I think they're cheap and pretty cheesy too. Button mashing will get you through the first few rounds, but once the CPU starts to get serious, you'd better know what you're doing. A command list is available in the pause menu, and the game tracks statistics on wins, character usage, etc. The background scenery varies from generic factories to gorgeous snow scenes, and better-than-average techno music helps keep the intensity high. Tekken Advance is a very respectable fighter that's easy to play but hard to master.
|
|
Tiger Woods has old school written all over it - and coming from me, that's definitely a compliment! With its fast-paced gameplay and simple controls, I found this infinitely more enjoyable than those plodding PS2 golf games with their constant load screens and touchy analog swing mechanisms. This portable version employs an old-fashioned three-press swing meter, but you'll need to be quick on the trigger because this meter moves fast. In fact, this game is clearly designed for those who want a quick fix. After a long drive, the ball tends to stop quickly instead of rolling forever - not realistic but certainly a time saver. Applying topspin or backspin is easy, and the putting game is refreshingly straightforward. Tiger Wood's graphics have a digitized but slightly blurry appearance, so you'll rely heavily on the overhead view for aiming your shots. After playing PGA Tour for a while, it dawned on me that all the holes look very similar. Then I realized that there were no trees except for those in the distant background! That's kind of lame. Another drawback is how you only get one course. Playing modes include single player, multi-link, or a lame multi-player "pass around" (as if!). Despite its flaws, Tiger Woods PGA Golf is a nice throwback to a time when golf games were less realistic but more fun.
|
|
It's quite a surprise to see Tomb Raider on the Game Boy Advanced. In years past, this adventure series has always been in 3D, best known for its buxom heroine and spacious underground temples. But I have to admit that I'm impressed with how Ubi Soft handled this project. The game looks terrific, and Lara can jump, hang from ledges, pull levers, and shoot her twin pistols much like she does in the 3D games. Though not rendered in true 3D, the scenery is carefully drawn and shadowed to give it a 3D look, allowing you to make out protruding ledges and cliffs (with some difficulty at times). Although the level of detail is exemplary, there's not much variation within each level, so it all starts looking the same after a while. And that's where the game falters - there's not enough variety. One incentive in the original game was to see what sort of monsters and fantastic scenery lay ahead, but you don't get that kind of visual gratification in this game. Lara herself is nicely drawn and fluidly animated. The control is dead-on, and I could jump between platforms with ease. Enemies include wolves, skeletons and wizards, but for some reason you can't shoot them unless they're on the same platform as you, which is aggravating. I thought this Tomb Raider was pretty cool at first, but eventually I tired of its repetitive action.
|
|
Being the jaded gamer that I am, it's rare that I stumble upon a game that I can get genuinely excited about. Such a game is the eccentric and inventive Wario Ware Inc. Basically a collection of mini-games loosely tied together by a silly cartoon storyline, Ware is unlike anything else I've ever played before. When I say these games are short, we're talking about 3 seconds each, tossed at you in a rapid succession. The key is to recognize what you need to do right away. Some are very obvious, like blasting a space ship, catching a ball, or shooting a basketball. Others are simple puzzles, never requiring more than one button. Most people will be able to win most on the first attempt, and even when you lose, you'll think to yourself, "Oh, now I know what to do". Some of the games are completely off-the-wall, like the one where you have to rapidly tap a button to make a princess sniff dripping snot back up her nose! But most tend to be inspired by old-school 2D games. As a matter of fact, one set of games even has a Nintendo theme, letting you play tiny portions of old classics like Donkey Kong, Zelda, and Metroid. This will appeal to gamers of all ages, but I think people who grew up with video games will appreciate it most. Wario Ware is a video game for video gamers.
|
|
Like the original Wario Ware, Twisted offers a fascinating selection of whimsical mini-games presented in rapid-fire succession. What this edition adds is a "tilt sensor" built into its oversized cartridge. It's hard to imagine many applications for this, but as usual, Nintendo has managed to come up with a ton of innovative and off-the-wall ideas. You'll guide a cat across a plank, kick a ball, shave a face, rotate a bow and arrow, pick food from teeth, and rotate a Ferris wheel - just to name a few. The tilt mechanism is remarkably responsive and a lot of fun to use. A wacky soundtrack accompanies the bizarre hodgepodge of games, creating a very unique and oddly compelling experience. On the downside, it's not always evident whether you should tilt the thing left or right, so some experimentation is often required. Like the original game, stages are tied together with odd cartoon intermissions which would be downright irritating if they were any longer. You should be able to skip those things, but you can't. Perhaps Nintendo thought the game would be too short without them. Despite its minor irritations, Wario Ware Twisted adds a cool new spin to an already winning formula.
|
|
.jpg)
I was dying to see what this classic Atari 2600 cartridge would look like on the Game Boy, and then shocked to discover that this new Yars' Revenge plays just like the original! In case you weren't paying attention (or living) back in 1982, a Yar is a missile-shooting, shield-gnawing galactic insect. Set in the darkness of space, the game lets you freely fly around the screen. Your enemy, the evil "Qotile", resides on the right side. Usually hidden behind a shield, he occasionally lashes out at you in the form of a swirling fireball. You can shoot him with a cannon situated on the left side of the screen, and nailing him in-flight is worth big points. That's basically all there is to it - you just shoot him as many times as you can. In this modern version the graphics and audio are slightly upgraded, but the fun factor is dramatically downgraded. The original Yars' Revenge was played on a single screen, but this one scrolls sideways, doubling the size of the play area. This seemingly inconsequential change ruins the dynamics of the game. Since your armed cannon and the Qotile are never on the screen at the same time, it's difficult to take aim. Other unwanted changes include two "zone guardians" that hassle your Yar on the left side of the screen. One visual that should have been improved is that guided "missile" that slowly pursues you wherever you go. It looked like a cheesy cursor in the old game, and it doesn't look any better here. A bonus stage is also included, but it's so trivial that it's hardly worth mention. At least the cool original box artwork was used for the label and title screen. I was initially excited to see Yars' Revenge resurrected, but this ill-advised incarnation can only tarnish its legacy. Stick to the old Atari 2600 version.
|
|
While very much a standard platformer at heart, Topsy Turvy adds a new twist in the form of a tilt sensor embedded inside the cartridge. By tilting your Gameboy Advance from side to side, you'll unroll carpets, swing wrecking balls, and roll boulders over enemies! I was expecting Topsy Turvy to be a blast, but it failed to live up to my expectations. One problem is its incomprehensible storyline, which not only slows down the action, but needlessly complicates the whole game. Apparently Yoshi's Island has somehow been magically trapped inside of a book, and you must defeat a series of "spirits" in order to return the island to normal. The stages are "mission" based, although most boil down to simply collecting a number of coins or defeating a group of enemies. The tilt control is fun for the first few minutes, but once the novelty wears off, it's more disorienting than anything else. You may even find yourself feeling woozy after prolonged play. Topsy Turvy does have it moments, like the stage where you rock the "pirate ship" amusement park ride. But all in all, the whole is less than the sum of its parts, making Topsy Turvy one of the least appealing Nintendo titles in recent memory.
|
Select a new range of Game Boy reviews: [Previous] [A-D] [E-L] [M-R] S-Z
Return to Game Boy main page.
Return to The Video Game Critic's Main Page.
