| TheScarletSaiyan's Last 5 Game Reviews (view last 25) |
Basketball
02-03-16 07:17 PM
|
Bare-bones basketball still manages to be enjoyable
The Atari 2600 is well-known for being an old school console and thus being about as simplistic as you can get, sans the Magnavox Odyssey. Since it was released in 1977, most of its games were pretty bare-bones in terms of what they had to offer. It was common to get nothing more than a few basic squares and shapes with a background that consisted of just a few colors, with the sound effects being all about beeps, boops, and explosions. With that said, Atari 2600 sports games were no different from most of the system's library, such as Basketball, which is... Basketball. The name may not be creative but it doesn't need to be; the game is all about basketball and nothing more.
I'm going to guess this game takes place during a Los Angeles Lakers practice, since one of the players is yellow and the other purple. Their movements pretty much consist of stomping their leg, about as basic as one would expect from Atari. Premise-wise, it really couldn't be much more simple; two people play a game of one-on-one and whoever scores more points in four minutes wins. You can move, shoot, and steal the ball. You can decide whether or not you wanna play alone or with a friend but beware, because this game has a very unique flaw: selecting one-player gives you two-player and selecting two-player gives you one-player. Who knows why that's a thing but it is. As for sounds, you've got the sound of dribbling, making a basket, and that weird noise when players are right next to each other and the ball is in a... questionable spot. The ball by the way is a square, because that's the power of the Atari 2600 for you. After 4 minutes, whoever has more points is the winner, and if it ends in a tie than... nothing happens. I guess I shouldn't expect an early game to have an overtime system, but it would've been nice to do so. It's worth noting that the AI doesn't miss very often, so you gotta be careful and make sure you hit as many shots as you can. In the end, you just ... Read the rest of this Review
|
Castlevania
07-22-13 06:25 PM
|
Fun, addicting and hard- an NES classic!
Konami has released many outstanding video games over years, but perhaps no Konami game carries a bigger legacy than the NES classic, Castlevania. Released in 1987, Castlevania put you in control of Simon Belmont and had you fight your way through Dracula's castle, fighting several monsters before going face-to-face with the count himself. The game is composed of 6 stages, as you begin in the courtyard of Dracula's castle and begin your journey towards the top of the castle. Along the way, you will be attacked by several enemies, including skeletons, flying medusa heads (these guys are so ANNOYING!), bats, hunchbacked igors (also annoying!), knights (extremely hard to kill), and more. At the end of each stage, you will face a boss, and when you will move on to the next stage after you defeat the boss. The bosses in the game include a vampire bat, medusa, twin mummies, Frankenstein's monster, Death himself, and Dracula.
The game play is quite simple. Simon can walk, jump, crouch, and swing his Vampire Killer (his whip) either left or right. In addition to whipping enemies, also make sure to whip every candle you see. In candles, you can find handy sub weapons, powerups that allow you to throw more than one sub weapon at a time (you can throw up to 3 at a time), hearts (these acts as ammunition for sub weapons), and money bags that give you extra points. Also, whip the walls, as you may be able to break them and find more hidden goodies, including a pork chop that will restore your health.
And speaking of sub weapons, you want to get those, as they are quite handy. The sub weapons include a dagger that you throw straight ahead, an axe that you lob, a stopwatch that can momentarily freeze enemies, a cross that acts like a boomerang, and holy water that can stun enemies and bosses (holy water will really come in handy in the final showdown with Dracula!!). Make sure to get hearts though, they are your ammunition for sub weapons. Also, you c... Read the rest of this Review
|
Toy Story
07-16-13 11:55 PM
|
A decent game based off a great movie
The 1995 Pixar hit film Toy Story captivated audiences young and old with its computer-generated animation, bright colors, fun characters, and great writing. It makes sense that a blockbuster film like this one would have a game based off it, and sure enough, Disney Interactive released the Toy Story video game in 1995 for two different consoles: the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. I have only played the SNES version, so this review will be only for that version, since I've seen game play for the Genesis one, and it does have some differences in game play and graphics. The Toy Story video game may not be groundbreaking, like the movie, but it is a decent game, and I would say it's worth picking up. The graphics are good, though not the best the SNES has to offer, the game play is pretty smooth, the stages are all uniquely designed, and the soundtrack is catchy.
The game basically follows the same plot as the movie: a cowboy doll named Woody is the leader of a group of toys that all belong to a kid named Andy, and Woody is Andy's favorite, up until Andy's birthday party, when he receives a new Buzz Lightyear action figure. Buzz becomes Andy's new favorite, and Woody, in an effort to reclaim his spot as Andy's favorite, accidentally sends Buzz flying out of Andy's bedroom window. Andy comes in to take Woody to Pizza Planet with him, but as Andy's mom drives off, Buzz hitches a ride and confronts Woody when Andy's mom stops for gas. The two fight and fall out of the car, and when Andy's mom drives off, Woody and Buzz try to find a way back home, which they have to do quickly, because Andy will be moving soon.
There are 17 stages in the game, and for most of them you will be controlling Woody. Woody can jump, duck, and swing his pullstring like a whip to not only stun enemies, but also to swing across certain gaps (like Simon Belmont in Super Castlevania IV). The controls aren't hard to get the hang of, and you can decide what buttons will make W... Read the rest of this Review
|
Donkey Kong Country
07-15-13 11:24 PM
|
The game that began a timeless trilogy
In 1994, Rare released a game for the Super Nintendo that would be the first game in a glorious trilogy which stands out as my favorite video game series of all time. Donkey Kong Country impressed and wowed many people with it's astounding graphics (made using Silicon Graphics), smooth game play, great levels, and fun bosses. Yes, the first DKC acted as a great way to kick-start the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, although it honestly is my least favorite game of the 3. That doesn't mean I find the game bad, of course. It's still a great game, and one of the best on the SNES.
In this game, Donkey Kong and his best friend, Diddy Kong, must take on a horde of crocodiles called the Kremlings, who have stolen all of the bananas from Donkey's banana hoard. Donkey and Diddy will have to travel through 6 different worlds on Donkey Kong Island, defeat the toughest of the Kremlings, and then stand up to the Kremling King himself, King K. Rool, to reclaim all of the stolen bananas. On their journey, the Kongs will travel through many different environments, such as jungles, caves, mines, temples, factories, forests, and a few other areas.
The graphics in the game are certainly incredible, as each stage has a very well-designed background, with a special shout-out going to the snow stages. The gray skies and the snow that starts out slow but then turns into a fierce blizzard... nothing short of impressive, really. The amount of attention the developers spent on making the stages look beautiful is certainly noticeable. Also noticeable are the amazing character sprites. Donkey and Diddy are animated very well, and sometimes can do some pretty amusing actions, like when Diddy throws his hat down and stomps on it angrily if he loses on a bonus game, or when Donkey claps his hands and makes happy monkey noises when he defeats a boss. The enemies and bosses are all animated nicely as well, thanks to the wonders of Silicon Graphics.
The variety of game play ... Read the rest of this Review
|
Donkey Kong Country 3 - Dixie Kong\'s Double Trouble!
07-11-13 01:02 AM
|
The DKC trilogy ends with one of the best games ever made!
There is no doubt in my mind: the Donkey Kong Country trilogy on the Super Nintendo is by far the besst threesome of video games ever made. The original Donkey Kong Country, released in 1994, is an extremely nostalgic game for me, and one of my favorite SNES games of all time. Donkey Kong Country 2, released in 1995, is my favorite video game of all time, and then we have the third one. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, released in 1996, concludes the SNES trilogy by giving gamers all of the things that made the first two games so great: jaw-dropping graphics, superb gameplay, unique level-design, and of course, one of the best game soundtracks ever created.
The story line for DKC3 is similar to DKC2. K. Rool, having been defeated twice by the Kongs, is gunning for revenge once again, and this time both Donkey and Diddy Kong have been captured by the Kremling king, who now has a mad scientist persona and is calling himself Baron K.Roolenstein. What's more, K. Roolenstein has created a robot called KAOS, which has enough power to take over the world! So it's up to Diddy's girlfriend, Dixie, and her toddler cousin, Kiddy, to travel to the Northern Kremisphere and reach the castle where K. Roolenstein dwells.
Dixie and Kiddy, the game's two playable characters, are both very easy to control. Just like in the first two games, you can run, jump, dash/roll, and duck, and like in DKC2, you can use Dixie's helicopter spin along with the team throw technique. However, there are a few new things you can do in this game. For starters, the team throw technique has been altered. Kiddy is a lot larger than Dixie, so if you use the team throw while controlling Kiddy, you can throw Dixie far to get items in the air or reach high ledges. And while controlling Dixie, you can't throw Kiddy very high, but his weight can be used to break cracked parts of the floor, revealing hidden passageways, items, or bonuses. Kiddy can also skip on water, which yo... Read the rest of this Review
|
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Digg
Google
Buzz
Del.icio.us
.jpg "Tetris (nintendo) - nes")
.jpg "Akumajou Remilia (Touhou Castlevania) - nes")
.jpg "Sonic CD (european version) - scd")
