A Winner Is You! (2012)

[goldenband]

36. The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Juggernauts (Game Boy)

Back to the platforms, the franchises, and the colons. (But only a small amount of memorization.)

I had very low expectations, but this send-up of American Gladiators isn't half-bad. The core of the game is figuring out how you're supposed to play each event; once you understand the gameplay dynamics, most events are actually pretty easy.

It does, however, take a few tries to figure most of them out, and I was annoyed when I thought the game was falling prey to the "you have to endlessly replay earlier stages just to get a single crack at this later stage" syndrome. But it turns out to not be much of an issue here.

That said, I don't have the manual, so I did look at a walkthrough (which I don't normally like to do) to help me understand what was going on at certain points -- partly scoring issues, partly control issues, and also a map of the last level which wasn't 100% making sense to me (and the map was full of errors so it didn't help THAT much). I actually think that made the game more fun than it otherwise might have been; still, if I'd been patient I would've figured most of it out soon enough.

Otherwise, the graphics and sound are average, but the controls are pretty solid and the game has a touch of humor. So, call it 6/10.

[The Jackal]

Universal Soldier (Mega Drive)

So in perpetration for Gunlord, I decided to play some Universal Soldier, which most of you should know, is really a palette modified Turrican II. Played through the game from level 1 and finished it in one sitting on the Hard difficulty setting.

[goldenband]

37. Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (PlayStation)

Tons of classic arcade games were "remade" in the late 1990s for PlayStation and other consoles, and alas, most have gotten panned by critics. But Frogger 2 is actually good fun, and meets the challenge of preserving the basic feel of the original while adding new gameplay elements. At first I was concerned that the new elements would be overcomplicated and collect-a-thonish, but actually it all works very well and isn't intrusive at all; while the unlockable content isn't much of anything, the process of unlocking it is actually fun. And the Super Retro mode is a nice touch, and spending an hour or so to clear it was entertaining.

Other than a few minor issues with the camera (the zoom level is occasionally too close), and humorous CGI cutscenes that don't quite make the grade, the biggest letdown is the forced loading time when restarting a stage. In general the loading times are OK, but I can't really forgive a game that takes the same 15-20 seconds to reload when you're restarting the same stage you were already on. Or maybe I'm just a grump who can't reconcile himself to the limitations of optical disc-based systems, who knows.

Anyway, I'd give it 6/10, pushing 7/10. Either way, given that I paid 83 cents for it at a yard sale (six PSX games for $5), I got more than my money's worth. I have the first PlayStation Frogger game, so maybe I'll take that one on soon, though I've read that it's vastly inferior to its sequel.

[Bloodreign]

Rampage World Tour (PS1)

Finally did it, on Day 128. It did get kinda tedious, but I did it.

After destroying each and every one of the ScumLabs headquarters the ScumLabs CEO for no reason turns into some giant monster that looks right out of Smash TV and starts going around the levels. Then you go to the MOOOOON and destroy the shit out of some buildings there. After that the female doctor that appears between levels appears in a spaceship and captures George, Lizzie and Ralph and probably takes them back to ScumLabs. And that's it.

But then you get a little FMV of the developers running around a street with the Rampage trio destroying some stuff and eating a few of them. For no reason. And it's good.

Damn it, I almost decided to get this version as well as PS1 War Gods, but instead went for Gauntlet Dark Legacy for PS2 (those 2 PS1 games are amazingly still dirt cheap too). I have RWT on MAT 2, but it doesn't have that little extra you mentioned at the end.

Did defeat a game recently, and boy did it make me pay dearly as it got frustrating the last few levels. The New Zealand Story on Taito Memories (Japan) PS2. Was breezing nicely with the level warps, but the game gets amazingly hard in the final stage. Basically it's an ice stage with 1 block jumps, with enemies and spikes abound. Definitely felt good beating it legitimately for the first time. Never tried beating my MD copy as the continues are limited in it, and I credit fed my ass off tryng to finish the arcade version on the compilation.

[The Coop]

#16 Legend of Grimrock (PC)- A modern take on the dungeon crawlers of old. Inspired by the likes of Eye of the Beholder and its kin, it's oldschool gameplay with present day graphics and music. It's about 20 hours of gameplay, with some nasty little puzzles, and an interesting final boss. I had fun with this one, even though I'm not very good as this genre.

[jerry coeurl]

I have the first PlayStation Frogger game, so maybe I'll take that one on soon, though I've read that it's vastly inferior to its sequel.

It sucks, man. I had it when it was new, and it was a big disappointment. I also had the Q*Bert remake which I recall being terrible as well.

[MrMatthews]

Now, Pong, on the other hand... I loved that game (still do, although the graphics are a little muddy by today's standards ).

As I recall, there was a surge of uber-retro remakes during that era, and not many of them got it right.

[M4R14NO94]

The only one I played was Activision's Asteroids remake for the PS1 once at a friend's house years ago. I don't remember much of it but I think I enjoyed it.

ON TOPIC:

Earthworm Jim 2 (Virtual Console)

Finished it today, and had to continue a few times (mostly on See Jim Run, Run Jim Run)

[The Coop]

#17 Legendary (PC)- It got some bad reviews to be sure, but after finding it dirt cheap, I decided to give it a try. The premise sounded interesting, and running around fighting off werewolves, griffons and minotaurs sparked some curiosity. The end verdict? It's not as bad as the reviews made it seem, but it's no leader of the pack either. The graphics are good, the music is so-so, and the game is very linear. The controls are good, it does tell a descent tale, and some of the set pieces are pretty cool. But you're rarely overwhlemed by enemies, the hacking thing feel like a waste of time after the first few areas, and while some enemy designs are good (griffons, minotuars), others could have used work (werewolves, those little imp things). So yeah, it's a mixed bag. It'll never win any awards, but for what it is, I've played far worse FPS games.

[mcurkman]

I finished two games today, Portal and VVVVVV.

veni vidi vici

[goldenband]

38. The Adventures of Kid Kleets (SNES)

I started working on this oddball soccer-themed platformer early last month, and came back and finished it today. It's kind of an acquired taste, thanks to the tricky control scheme and unusual gameplay dynamic: since your ball is your weapon, you have to fetch it after you kick it at an enemy, or else suffer a momentary delay while you make a new one out of thin air. I adapted to that easily enough, but had a harder time getting used to the headache-inducing camera, which whips around just a bit too violently whenever you turn.

I've read that the 3DO and Jaguar versions, known as Soccer Kid, have 25 levels vs. this game's 15 levels (in sets of 3 spread out over five countries, plus an extra boss fight if you get all the Cup pieces). If that's true, I'm glad this version's cut down, because the game was on the verge of wearing out its welcome anyway. Maybe that's partly my fault, since I beat it three times in one day: first I finished beating Practice, then I beat Normal and got the bad ending, and then (sigh) played through once more and got the good ending. And the game has passwords, so there was no obligation to even do one playthrough in a single sitting. But I'm stubborn like that.

(EDIT: But maybe they're counting the bonus levels and boss fights as separate levels, so that 5 x 5 = 25? If so, that's silly.)

I guess I'd give it 5/10. I'm tempted to give it a weak 6/10, but the main character's design -- as shown on the splash screen before each level -- is so off-putting that it deserves a penalty; he looks like some sort of disturbing, misbegotten hybrid of Fred Flintstone and Bobby Generic.

It sucks, man. I had it when it was new, and it was a big disappointment. I also had the Q*Bert remake which I recall being terrible as well.

Yeah, I played Frogger PSX for a little while the other day and wasn't too impressed with what I saw. The first set of levels (in original-Frogger style) wasn't too bad, though the enemy patterns were deliberately cheap, Frogger's movement was slow and unforgiving, and the lack of warning with the disappearing turtles was vexing. But at least it was playable and seemed in the spirit of the original.

As soon as the "new" levels started...well, I just shut the game off. Ugh.

[The Coop]

#18 Sonic 4 Episode 1 (PC)- Bought this a while ago, but finally got around to playing it once I got Episode 2. Not a bad game. The physics are wonky in some ways, but it's still a pretty good Sonic game. Got all seven Chaos emeralds, and had a hell of a time figuring out what to do for that last boss' final moments, but I managed to completely beat it with 74 extra lives left over.

[muchomojo]

I beat Beyond Good and Evil the other day. I really wish I would have got around to this sooner. It was a really fun game.

[goldenband]

39. Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (Game Boy)

Dull, repetitive, and mostly quite easy -- which wasn't really a surprise, since I'd played and beaten the NES version way back when, though there are a couple of levels late in the game that get tricky. Still, it's a not-unpleasant Puzzle Game Lite™ experience that's useful for winding down after a busy day, and the tunes are tuneful enough. But with passwords for each level, why bother having a life counter or "GAME OVER" at all? 5/10.

[goldenband]

40. Star Blade (3DO)

Wait...that's it? I put the game in to test it, and 17 minutes later I've beaten it?

That was Arcade mode, so I tried "3DO mode" (which uses textured polygons instead of single-colored ones) to make sure I wasn't missing anything...and 17 minutes later, I'd beaten that too.

Sure, the game plays OK enough while it lasts, though the 3DO controllers are poorly suited for omnidirectional targeting. And it looks decent, and sounds OK (though the absence of music is ultimately detrimental to the atmosphere, which is surprising since I'm frequently a big fan of having minimal-to-no music in movies and games).

But...17 minutes? Really? Yes, I know it's a port, and I could get more value from the game by learning to 1cc it, but that challenge is still no substitute for content.

I'd give StarBlade 3/10 normally, but I'll offer up a bonus point because, despite significant physical damage to the game disc, it ran more-or-less smoothly all the way to the end (and when it didn't, simply pausing the game did the trick). So a generous 4/10, but no more than that.