*Meteor falls from VGR* ..... *Sonic57 hops out, looking all around in confusion and speeds off*  We've reached upon a new indie journey wherein you think one's story and adventure may not have much going for itself; however, this little marathon athlete of a runner will prove to you just how much one bit trip can do alongside its quest! Now for those of you newbies out there whom may consider this the beginning of our little rectangular hero then be sewn to your cushions there and let the tears flow as this is actually our hero's fourth journey of many ventures; although, the only difference is that this one gained more popularity and as such is more well-known and acclaimed by many as a interesting and great gift. But, as much as we can sit and talk about its praises and glories there really isn't any time to waste...*shows Sonic57 speeding around world confused* we need to follow our hero now throughout his journey as a newly grown adult, seeing exactly what it is that is making this rectangular shaped man feel entranced with fear; yet, still willing and wanting to persevere. Let's find out! *Dashes off with Rainbow Behind, towards VizPemtus*
   


             /Level 1-1/ ~ Creating some interesting sights and lands, in one indie game adventure ~
   
    *Ducks and slides across ground* Graphics, Pixelation, HD, and more. Many of times a game gets "mostly" critiqued harshly and is the main centerpoint of whether a game can be described as great or horrible, giving some games a great chance and other...more expressive and unique titles very little chance of being praised. This is where some indie developers come into play, (some being noted as not all of them are creative/unique with their game ideas) bringing in those fresh ideas while usually creating a nice looking environment to play around in. This is where the Bit Tip Runner's gameplay unfolds returning to the old 8-bit/commodore 64 kind of roots that you would've seen in the past. Wherein the character's design looks simplistic; yet, in an artistic and background sense...it's actually pretty involved and beautiful to look at...proving that one's simplistic style doesn't always give itself away as looking horrible throughout the game! Keeping in mind that this game is only made by a couple people at the indie company known as "Gajin Games" and isn't made by a huge "retail" company that you'd see on a Microsoft HIT title, so why don't we be fair and jump into some examples for ourselves and give an honest unbiased opinion shall we? *Spring jumps over to next segment*
       

          |~-_*** Tenacity *** _/-~|
   
    *Giant Fish flies towards Vizzed Board*  If there's anything to say about this one area, is that it's the most peaceful out of all the locations and more lively of all the places we've come across thus far. I honestly don't see the big deal with going around this nice greenland-ish kind of scenery, feels almost like I'm just running through a nice park with the native life all active and cheery! *tiny meteorite's head towards runner* WOAAH?! What was that? Wasn't this place supposed to be more peaceful than before?!?! Well...Yeah, turns out that this trip goes from a happy-appy fun funny mood to a more dangerous yet still a colorful and bright all around setting. Just when I thought that fish flying towards my face was scary enough this happens to our running man (not similar to jumpman at all).  This is probably the best place if you decide to pop this game into your system/PC and just want to relax while enjoying the bit trip fun that you know and love from this game, keeping your wits about you; although, enjoying the fresh and happy scenery inside the foreground!  I won't waste all your time here as I have already been told last time that I dawdled far too much, (even my character can't help but run away from my words, look at him!) so I'll leave this off here and say this area looks fantastic and interesting for an indie level.  This can be shown from how the tone of the game first lead you off on to this point in the game. Time to move on!! *dashes forward and bashes into door barricade* OW!! Geez...stupid red sad face blockade, you ruined my spiky blue due! *kicks blockade destroying it and runs onward*
       
            !!!XX__Triumph__XX!!
   
    *Stops sprinting for a bit* Hah hah....hooo..just need to take a little break for a "bit" haaaaa...huh *looks across world* w-what's happened here? E-Everything is destroyed or at least could crumble at any moment with just a single tap or added weight. I wonder what could've happened to all the inhabitants here, hopefully they were able to evacuate before this got out of hand like how it is now. I don't even really want to continue my running journey any longer after having to see all of this; *rainbow aura tones down behind Commander* however, I must run ahead and destroy the source that's causing this issue as it's now my main goal! This place...probably very life-filled and happy with enjoyment, now made into a cookie crumble kind of scenery is just revolting, not even the bit mice want to hide out around here and search for food! ....w-what? Ok what's seriously going on here, now the roads are all cracked and broken apart from one another with houses burrowed into the ground?! Talk about a devastating sight to have to look around and definitely sets the mood for how I feel as well: "bored and depressed" from this journey, the depressed part because of this...town? Whatever the case I can't stand to be here anymore and unless you like devastated landscapes then this won't be a very appealing place for you! *blocks falling debris with shield* Time to end this segment of this story off.
   

    Well...that's certainly an interesting look at feel that this game decided to pick around, being nice and happy to dark and twisted within hours of each other. It's easy to see that though this game isn't anywhere near the typical graphics you would expect in a game made during 2010, that is of course if you're judging by First party/platform developed games and not this genre of indie titles. In that sense I'd say this game so far seems to have excelled the most in terms of graphical quality and use of background elements; (especially if you play the 3DS port) however, I will be fair and say that even with the game's chosen style I'd have to give the game an 8 out of 10 for graphics because at times it can seem too simplistic. *blasts off into blue and pixelated sky*
       


       .:+-++- Bringing the 8-bit classics back to this generation, will it live up nicely though? +--+-:.
   
    dadada dadumda dum! Dededede dundun dundun! What's the random gibberish or spam (no not that plastic cube of fat in your fridge) that you say to the left of this sentence? Well it's actually not spam and is a rendition of what you'd come to expect from this games style; (Super Mario Esque) although, one thing that makes this game far different from normal 8-bit inspired games or normal games in general is the fact that the music changes in style as you move forward. Don't quite understand what I mean by that? I don't really blame you either, as it's kind of a hard concept to understand; yet, I'll give you a little run-down of what happens. Basically the music is in a tone like Super Mario Bros NES; although, being even simpler when starting off at the beginning. What makes the big dramatic change though in the pitch and overall power behind each song is based upon your ability to collect (+) power-ups throughout the stage, and with each one you gain the melody of each level picks up and becomes more lively. Keeping in mind that with everytime you jump over an obstacle it makes a "beat" sound so having that melody mixed together with the background and your character can feel VERY empowering at times. Funny side note this bit trip hedgehog actually enjoys when the melody is at "Super or Ultra" and not really much of the last stage "Extra" for some reason. Enough Jibber-Jabbering though, let's move onto some examples of what you'd hear inside this game.
   
 
       / **xx__ Blackout City__xx** /
   
    Now what would you expect from a main theme, I mean let's just be perfectly honest it's just going to be monotone and basic right just like the games "assumed" graphics? We might as well turn this "bit" up and on full bass! Ok let me just sit down now and *Music tone shifts up in bass and tone* AHHHHHH *flies back through bedroom wall* nnnngh....lesson learned...don't judge a song on it's looks *passes out*. Alright so now that the wonderful acting is over let's get down to "bit"ness.  Right when you start up the game to the main menu, you'll be greeted with a simple retro kind of song which doesn't seem like much; but, about maybe 5 seconds into the song it really kicks up and almost sounds like something you'd hear at a club. (that uses techno music I guess?) It really gives off a good first impression if you're not quite sure it was a great idea to buy the game or not and can easily turn some heads from just that one theme alone. Really gives you that feeling of: "Yeah, YEAHHH I'm ready for an adventure! Bring it on!" and just makes you tense and full of energy for what may be coming ahead when you enter the first world.  Great first song to start off with now let's jump out into an actual level.
     
        | _/\_ Fortitude _//_ |
   
    I'm sure just like our commander, you're probably going to be getting tired if this just keeps going on and on. So why not try to race to the finish and talk about the final song you'll hear in the game...well at least the one that's cuddled right next to the last level. The level starts up with a very softly uplifting tone as if the game is trying to make you look back on your journey from where you are now and then picks up even more, becoming more darker and mysterious; and yet, even more empowering somehow? It's like when you hear the final boss inside a well renowned game like Zelda or maybe Metal Gear, it usually sounds dark and almost depressing though at the same time you feel imbued with power now that you're finally coming to a close on this journey. I feel that this song fits perfectly with the scenery and level it's covering ground with, having seen the decimated town from the previous segment it really gives you that energy and spirit you need to take down the final monster up ahead. Another great song!
   

    Even though it seems like I'm only praising the soundtrack there is one downside I'm posting about this game with its soundtrack, it's that  almost half of the songs that you'll hear in the game are just remixed versions of past levels. To put that in perspective there are 13 songs in the entire game with 6 of the songs just being repeats of other levels you were just in. That takes the score down a bit an the fact that there are about 36 levels in the game that means you'll probably be hearing a lot of repeats so that's a bad sign. The music is good on its on; although, that one small detail is going to take down the score a bit...sooooo I'll say the Sound portion of this game earns an average 7 out of 10 for interesting design but failing scores on amounts of themes. *Blast forward into next section*

     

         __---__+++An interesting an fun filled game, though limited in some factors+++---__---
   
    Many people may question how fun this game can be and if it's worth the 8~10$ price tag you'd have to pay to play it? Honestly, I'm not sure how to answer that other than it all just depends on what kind of games you enjoy and if the game seems interesting enough to you. As I said above it is a basic game only with unique charms and buffed music compared to the norm; but, in essence all you're really doing is running forward and dodging things so it must not last that long for normal gameplay right? Like I just said it all depends on whom you are, I personally can spend hours at a time playing this game while at other times I can only play for an hour to a few minutes. What makes the game addictive is mostly the sound and/or the gameplay style as the best way I can compare this game to another would be with yet again ANOTHER indie game known as: "SUUUPPPER MEAT BOOY!!" where the gameplay is just to get to the end of the stage with your...girlfriend?  The game is harder yet a lot of people seem to enjoy it just for the gameplay factor that it has even though it's REALLY simplistic. If you're into Super Meat Boy then you'll most likely enjoy this game if not then you may or may not like it at all.
   One factor I think really makes this game addictive is how I said above in the sound segment wherein the music kind of changes tone based on how you play and dodge obstacles such as jumping over a rock and having it cause a beat sound effect to occur. The second thing that causes the sound portion to be highly addictive is the fact that the tone changes and rises each time you get a (+) as stated before, to give you an even deeper understanding off that when you're at Hyper or Mega level it may only sound like an NES game but when you reach "Super" it sounds like a SNES game almost which can be addictive for gamers whom are a fan of those nostalgic systems, and it's personally one of the things I love about this game as it makes you forget about the whole running scenario and is just like you're playing with your favorite music. It's one of the main aspects that always draws me back in to play at least one more level!
   
    There isn't much else to really be said about the addictiveness of this game as it mostly relies on the player and not the actual game itself to be enjoyed (same with Super Meat Boy) you'll either love or hate it depending on what game styles you're open to. If you're a fan of these games like myself I'd say it's a addictive; though probably not the most addictive game out there as besides the main levels there isn't much else to this game like a level editor or anything. Being the simplistic yet fun game that it claims and proves to be (at least in my case) I feel that a score of a 6 out of 10 for addictiveness is perfectly fine here as it could use more yet it's still ok to pick up and enjoy every now and then. *blocks reviewing debris with shield while running off segment*

    

         /_ 0o0o---A short and open-ended story, to a long attributing saga---o0o0 _
   
    Judging from what you'd heard about this game you'd probably guess that this game doesn't really have much of a story at all, just a normal go to the end and demolish the villain at the end right? Well you'd be correct....sort of, why do I say sort of? That's because this game is actually part of a running saga of bit.trip games and is the 4th game in the entire series of a long running story, I actually didn't know this until researching it up for this. I'll try and detail the story as best as I can right here; but, the basic premise is that this game takes place after the events of the 3rd game Void and start his journey in Runner so let's talk it out now!
   
    Growth, understanding, and flaws...these are all the things that help make up us humans and allow us to walk as logical lifeforms instead of rampant animals/genetic life. Even with these 3 stages in our life...not everyone comes out of it sparkling clean either...some learn yet still continue to contain flaws that would've been passed by with their understanding and growth periods. This is something our own hero has learned well from, after having grown up from his infatuated and enlarged ego he grew up to learn reason and finally become an adult! Zooming off our hero now begins his journey to this new land he discovers after leaving his own, everything seems strange with not a single familiar sight or videoman around? Shortly after exploring this stand world he runs into a stranger person known as Mingrawn Timbletot whom he tries to befriend; however, unlike Commander he doesn't take so kindly to new visitors and tries to attack our character without any care in the world....this is when video learns that alongside becoming an adult he must now deal with diversity of all the worlds that are around him and the adversity of the foes and dangers the world around him may carry. Realizing this foe Mingrawn is going to be the source of his problems he sets out to stop this evil creature from any plans he desires to carry out!
   
    *bubble with breath icon appears* whew....that was a long explanation and that's not all of it either; although, I can't give everything out to you. Just like Commander you'll have to learn for yourself just what can happen during this journey, otherwise his growth and yours will not have changed anything from past. Not quite as detailed or possibly as interesting as other games you could play during this time; and yet, it is a story and a story nonetheless. I'd probably say in terms of what you would expect to come from this one game it's higher than most ideas; but, sadly it's still not one of the greatest or even longest ones either which leaves me to give this game only a 4 out of 10 for its story as though it does give a story it's not the most interesting nor does the story expand during its length much. *looks down and speeds off once more*
 
    

      (^)(v)(^)(V)---An indie adventure with more levels than before, but falls in other margins---(V)(^)(v)(^)
   
    As I stated before in the addictiveness portion of this adventure, this game besides the initial gaming mode doesn't have much to offer and therefore doesn't leave much variety in what you're able to do. Although, when you compare this game to older styled games such as Super Mario or Sonic 1 it actually does last longer in terms of how many levels the main game contains yet as stated previously it falls because of the fact that unlike the Mario or Sonic series of games there aren't really any added modes or features that you can unlock after having completed the game. It terms of how long the game is there are 36 levels (not including bonus stages) split between 3 different lands that our hero will venture through, each having a boss at the end of each 12th level, which you have to admit is a little surprising when you compare older games which usually only came with 24-26 levels at most. (doesn't compare to Super Meat Boy's amount of levels though) What probably makes this game last such a long time in a person's collection is a match-up of both the music and the difficulty, because this game will usually have the player fail several times causing them to restart right at the  beginning of the level and have them run all the back again...I'll go into greater detail in the final segment of our quest.
   The only other thing left to really bring up would have to be certain cameo's that this game shows up with during certain later stages within the game, as one would probably guess from how much I've mentioned the little guy that our little blob of bloody meat shows up in various backgrounds of Bit.Trip Runner's world and befriends our video character by helping him out through certain levels same with 2 other friends whom are related to Commander's world. It's a nice tie in with the whole meat boy part (seeing as how Commander made a cameo in Meat Boy's game) and does add some cute character to this games long running saga; however, like I said in the addictiveness portion it needed to have a bit more added to the game in order to have a greater replay value but long lifespan as well...maybe something like a level creator or maybe just more options of what to play around with in the main game over again?
   

    Overall I'd have to say that this game only deserves a 5 out of 10 for its depth value, due to all the issues I've stated above and relying on difficulty to make your game longer as much as you may try to believe doesn't help raise your score any higher in my eyes. *Jumps and slides down to following section*
   
     

        !!--__+++Average difficulty that will not only test your memory, but your reflexes as well+++__--!!
   
    *Slips while sliding and falls on rock, flying back to beginning* Probably alongside the graphics/gameplay/story one of the most critiqued, hated, or praised featured of a triple A title or indie title. Seeing how this game rises and falters in certain areas, you'll probably wonder if this game is very difficult like "The Impossible Game" or if it's very easy like "Kirby's Epic Yarn" where there is no challenge whatsoever. (if playing normally) This is one of those games that tests your reflexes along with just normal difficulty that you would expect in a side scrolling game, what do I mean by this?  A good example of the normal difficulty would be that while you're trying to stop from landing on rocks or missing a jump, you also have to make sure you're kicking any obstacles in your path away or using springs that appear throughout the level.
    The reflex part comes into play when while trying to dodge everything above in later levels they'll start throwing cubes around at you fast and from the right side of the screen which can cause you to restart all over if you're not fast enough to react...it can also work by having you need to jump and duck quickly one after another in order to avoid being sent all the way back again. It's basically what I like to call a reflex alongside a trial and error based game as there's no way you're going to make it through perfectly the first time around without knowing how the stage might look, although I still feel the game has a moderate level of difficulty and isn't "really" unfair in most ways but it certainly kicks up towards the end of the game.  All in all I'd say with an average difficulty game that only really relies on reflexes and trails and error instead of skill that it deserves a 7 out of 10 for difficulty! *happily jumps off spring carried by friend*
   

    We've finally reached the end of this long winded journey and it's easy to tell that it took a toll on us physically and emotionally as it's become boring and just not as interesting as we had first anticipated/experienced. But now that we've reached an stopped the evil villain Mingrawn in his final attempt at keeping us held back, it's time we end this story off *reaches for Mingrawns hand, as he slaps Sonic's hand away*. Looks like our offering of friendships and forgiveness isn't going to work to end this feud battle. I guess I'll see you all in the next adventure we have together and hopefully it can...be more...pea...*looks and see's Pokefreak (commander girl), as heart forms in  speech bubble*. *Mingrawn pops out and yells* Well...I guess I'm wrong looks like he hasn't given up the fight just yet and we can't let him continue this madness anymore it's time to head off and finish him once and for all!! *User, Sux, Poke and Sonic fly up into air after Mingrawn*

                               Sonic57+Pokefreak219 tm2015

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Sorry that this is so late into the month everyone, I'm trying really hard write now to get started on the next 2 reviews and hopefully I can still have it done by the 30th. Been busy with moving from our current house so I haven't had as much free time, if I don't make it this month with 3 I'll try and make it up next month as well. Hope you enjoy this and thanks for following <3 <3 always means a lot. 

sonicthehedgehog57 : Good job on this one! You gave many details on each section, and my favorite was the sound section. The music keeps changing as you go forward. I like it. Don't worry about being late, I understand that real life is getting on the way. Good luck on your future.

Ugh... This is so long! Very detailed, though, I highly applaud you. I've never really been a Wii-guy, but you made this game look really interesting. Good job! As always, lol

This is such a long review... and I'm reading it before school! Oh well, at least I'm a fast reader, lol.

I've never really heard of this game, but it seems interesting. The music would probably not bother me that much if the tunes are great. I like platformers, so I'll probably like this game. Congratulations, you have convinced me to try out the game, and that's an achievement on my end.

OrdannonsX : hehehe I only did this game cause I thought the review would be only like 2500-3000 words at most x'D < 3 nooope I just don't think I can be small anymore. Yeah like I said it's also on the 3DS with (Biit Trip Saga)  but I only wanted to review this one game instead of all 6. Glad you at least liked it!

ZeroTails : Hehe x3 thats me now <3 and I actually heard of this from youtubers xD so < 3 yeah, I bought it afterwards and it's definitely an average game but a fun one :3 

This is one indie game I've actually played. As always, you know how to make fantastic reviews. It always amazes me how long you're able to make your reviews. Whether or not you're able to get those next 2 reviews you mentioned done or not by the end of the month, I'll still be looking forward to reading them.

gamerforlifeforever2 : Again like I said xD I was only expecting 2500 words at most cause it's just a game or running x'D I've given up trying to figure out my writing ability. And that's awesome is your opinion about the game similar to mine? Wasn't sure if this game was popular or not so I figured it'd be nice to do a review of it. And I'm hoping I can do both x3 I'll still do both of them either way.

Yeah, I have a similar opinion to yours about this game especially in the addictiveness and depth and difficulty categories. The only reason this game may take awhile to complete is because of the difficulty.

gamerforlifeforever2 : yeah that's the only reason, cause it's a trial and error system so that's the only reason, had it been simpler it probably would've been like SMB levels where it's easy to die from blades and crumbling floors but pretty simple if you know what you're doing. Glad you liked this though