| Tails the Fox's Last 5 Game Reviews (view last 25) |
Galaga - Destination Earth
05-06-13 09:06 AM
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Shoot 'em with your zappy gun!
Galaga has always been rather devoid to me. I got this one with my PlayStation (or possibly shortly after I got my PSX) and loved it. I had never played the original, or any other in the series (though I have played the original now). None of my friends had any Galaga games (as far as I knew) and this was also the first space shooter I had ever played, even before Star Fox on SNES. At first, I could not grasp the concept of shooting the stuff in front and could not quite see the depth properly, but after a lot of practice I could understand it well. This is another review where I going back to one of the games of my childhood and seeing if I still love it just as much.
This is one of those staple PlayStation games that are full of FMVs and I think that games even today should do this. The game starts with a strangely drawn intro (which has changing art styles) which explains the story, which I shall do as well, briefly. In 1981 (the release year of the original game) the Galaga tried to take over by force, but were stopped three months later by earth forces. Humans start to expand to other planets, but the costs mean fewer defences. Years later, a ship called Centurion is sent out to planet M1123 for testing purposes. Near the end of the journey, thousands of flying objects (the Galaga themselves) start moving towards Earth, but the Centurion was told not to return until its mission was complete. Once it does reach the planet, its transmissions completely stop. It is from here that the game starts on stage 1: Shipwreck.
Once the game begins, another FMV shows the player character (the same ship as was played in the first game) flying around the Centurion, likely searching for enemies. Some are found and he flies into position. Then the game begins with its actual graphics. The camera spins into position and it goes into the classic Galaga view, with the player at the bottom going left and right shooting up. Like in the original, ene... Read the rest of this Review
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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
05-01-13 06:58 AM
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The second direct sequel - Much better
Castlevania Symphony of the Night is a classic and brilliant game; everyone loves it. I for one am unable to decide whether this is my favourite Castlevania game, and likely because I started playing Castlevania rather late. I first played this game through the PSN re-release and have played the crap out of it since. I also own the game in the PSP Dracula X Chronicles which has a 3D remake of Symphonies previous game, Rondo of Blood. There, I simply cannot decide my favourite between the two – they are both just so good.
The game originally came out on the PlayStation on the 1st of October, 1997 – a year after I was born. Back then I had never even heard of Castlevania, let alone this legend. I had a PlayStation a year after and still did not have this game. No, my first experience with Castlevania was with the GameBoy Advance game, Circle of the Moon (Although here in England it was just called Castlevania, and so was Lament of Innocence) and ever since then I was addicted to games that are similar but mainly I stuck to Castlevania.
This game starts off on the last stage of Rondo of Blood, likely to create ties between the two games. In this stage, like the final stage of nearly every other Castlevania game, is a bloody long staircase leading to the keep, where Dracula is sitting. One thing I have always found funny about the keep in Castlevania games is how it always seems to have a cross in one of the candles. It makes no sense considering that Dracula is unholy. (As if I know anything about religion.) I have always liked the consistency of the keep in games, how it is always the same shape, even if the castle is completely different. Anyway, I’m rambling without progressing.
The player character from Rondo of Blood that is played in this stage is Richter Belmont, and in this revamped final stage, he is given a few extra moves such as sliding, and spinning his whip (Which was done only once before in Super Cas... Read the rest of this Review
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Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
04-27-13 05:43 AM
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Crash Bandicoot 2 - My Ultimate Retrospective
[img]http://www.crashmania.net/images/2/logo2.png[/img]
Crash Bandicoot was originally released on the PlayStation in 1996, which is also the year I was born. That game was incredibly popular and loved, and all my friends had only good things to say about it. I never played it. No, I did not have my PlayStation at that time, I had a SNES. It was two years after that I got my PlayStation, and it came with a copy of Crash Bandicoot 2. Since that was the first one I had I will review it, and you will read it.
Crash Bandicoot 2 is in every way a sequel to the first game, improving on everything that the original had – as far as I know. The original only used two abilities, jumping and spinning. This one by adding a single button, increased how much could be done with the game drastically. This may possibly be the greatest sequel ever made, and in a year no less.
The game starts off as most do, with a cut scene. This cut scene is set immediately after the end of the first game - Literally. And then the initial reason to play. Crash is sleeping on the floor, looking particularly stupid whilst his sister, Coco is using her laptop... in the middle of a jungle for some reason. Her battery runs out, and instead of charging her laptop like anyone else would, she instead sends her brother Crash to go find a new one. It is strange how she never considers the fact that you are not going to find a battery in the jungle, but that is irrelevant. The game play seamlessly starts here, in which crash leaps up passing over control to the player. I like this style of combining game play with cut scenes, and Naughty Dog seem to know that all too well considering that they still do it with the Uncharted games.
Once this small stage is done, the main area of the game is accessed. The warp rooms each have five stages to play, and a save point. The save point does exactly what you would expect it to, so I won’t explain it. Each stages gateway i... Read the rest of this Review
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Monster Hunter Tri
04-25-13 01:08 PM
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Monster Hunter 3 - Need I say more?
[img]http://images.wikia.com/monsterhunter/images/8/83/MH3tri-logo.png[/img]
Monster Hunter games have always been good and ever since the original release have given a fresh perspective on RPGs. Most people are used to the Monster Hunter remakes that came out on the PSP.(This one got it's remake for 3DS and WiiU) It has been a long time since Monster Hunter 2, and that game is awesome so I had to buy this one. I haven't played the 3DS and WiiU remakes yet, so I don't know if they are better.
Monster Hunter 3 was originally going to be for Playstation 3 since the last two were for Playstation 2, but for some reason got moved to the Wii and considering the sales, for the better. This one also seems to have much improved online play when compared to the others, even scrapping the annoying Nintendo friend code fashion and replacing it with actual usernames.
The game starts, like the others with an opening cutscene. This one shows off one of the new monsters (Jaggi) immediately. It also shows off the new Lagiacrus monster which is a giant electric sea dragon. This movie actually supplies useful information showing off how these monsters attack. I do find it odd how they escaped the urge to show off the switch axe in it. Maybe the switch axe was added after they made the video. Who knows?
In this game you play as a hunter (Shocking, I know) who is sent to an island which appears to be made completely of planks to try and find out and stop what is causing constant tremors. The village chief is a rather odd fellow who tends to sit in random places. He is permanantly smoking which means it is amazing that he lived to as long as he is. He is not too much use to the player as he does not provide any sort of service. It is the village chiefs son, aptly and lazily named Junior. He will give information about the local area such as what monsters are around on which days, which is one of the new ... Read the rest of this Review
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Contra (US, set 1)
04-20-13 11:51 AM
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Contra Arcade - A comparison
[img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111126211142/logopedia/images/d/d8/Contra_logo.gif[/img]
Contra (or Gryzor (or Probotector)) was originally released in Japan by Konami for arcades on the 20th of February, 1987 and was so popular that it demanded several ports, sequels, and is a beloved gaming icon. (Just not any more it seems) This review will say how well it stands up today. (Or at least how well the Arcade version does)
Now I for one bloody love Contra, as do many others. However, most have only played the NES port of this game. This was actually the first Contra game I played which is part of the Konami Arcade collection on the Nintendo DS. I think for once I will label the sections of my review.
And I shall be starting with the gameplay.
Contra has always been a very simple to play game that anyone can pick up and play. This is not to be confused with how difficult it is to get through stages, which I will be getting to. On the NES the controls are as simple as A to Jump, B to shoot, and the directional pad to aim shots and duck. This version is no different. In fact, if you have played the NES version, you will feel a lot at home with this one. The characters are a little larger, and seem to move a little slower than they do in the NES version, but it is easy to adust to that. Each of the stages are well laid out and compliment the controls (And not to mention also the tall screen) very well. The enemy layout however is not as forgiving as a lot of the time you will end up walking into an enemy you didn't see if you are playing with someone else who plays a little slower. This problem is alleviated if you are both good at the game. The game has two kinds of stages, one being a 2D platformer that allows you to jump around and fire in each direction, and the other is a stage made to look 3D and has you firing into the background. Because of the latter not actually being 3D, it is hard to judge distance and wether... Read the rest of this Review
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