Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release: 2009

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is the 2^nd installment of the Legend of Zelda series for the Nintendo DS. Like all its predecessors, this game is also an action-role playing game and has kept the perspective/viewpoint to those of the older 2-dimensional Zelda games while sporting 3-dimensional graphics. Once again, the game lets you control Link, the game’s protagonist, and assumes his adventure to save Princess Zelda. Though unlike Mario games, the protagonist you control in each games are different from one another and existed in different timelines and worlds even though he has the same name. Also unlike Mario games, Zelda games also have a fully fleshed out story. But as the story and characters in each game are not in continuity, it will not be necessary for gamers to play through previous games to enjoy this one.

It is quite a feat for Nintendo to have translated Zelda’s complex control scheme to a portable console. As the DS do not have enough buttons, Nintendo had decided to use the touch screen and the microphone as the interface. You are able to play through the whole game with just the touch screen and the microphone, although buttons can be used to access certain features easily. You move the character by touching the direction you want Link to move and the speed of the character’s movement is based on how far your stylus is from Link, the further the faster. Attacking with the sword can be done through 3 different ways. You can attack enemies by tapping on them, swiping a line between you and the enemy to do a horizontal slash or move your stylus in 360 degree around Link to execute the 360 degree circular slash. There are also quite a number of weapons and items to be collected and used. One interesting weapon is the boomerang. To use it, you switch to the weapon and then use you stylus to draw the path that you want the boomerang to follow. There are also other weapons which require you to blow into the microphone to activate them. The game also features this flute which requires you to blow into the microphone and use the touch screen to move the flute much like a harmonica to play certain tunes.

Movement in the game is not restricted to foot and as the title suggests, you are able to travel around the world on the spirit tracks in a train. The train controls are simple and requires you to either shift the gear to accelerate or brake. You are able to switch paths and attack enemies with a cannon.

The heart of all Zelda games is still the well designed dungeons. There is any mechanics introduced in this game that are not found in the previous Zelda game on the DS. Even so, the puzzles in the dungeons are cleverly designed and are varied enough to keep the gamers engaged throughout. Boss fights are satisfying although the bosses in this game are much easier compared to previous Zelda games. Generally, this can be considered the easiest Zelda game and is particularly noticeable if you have completed other games in the series. That doesn’t mean the game is easy and gamers new to the series will still find it of a decent challenge.

Like the previous DS outing, Spirit Tracks follows the cel shaded art style that was first used in the series by The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker on the gamecube. The graphics are bright and colourful and the cel shaded style allows for extremely expressive facial animations. Much of the game is pleasant to look at with only certain environments that used extremely low resolution textures marring the aesthetics. The music in the game is excellent and is made up of mostly remixed tunes from the past games.

The Legend of Zelda games have always been excellent with interesting story, characters, huge world to explore, tight gameplay mechanics, cleverly designed dungeons and satisfying boss fights. Spirit Tracks does most of that really well and doesn’t disappoint. A good game to tide Zelda fans through until the next installment releases on the wii.

Rating: 9/10
Weiwen

 

 

Developer: Crytek

Platform: PC

Release: 2007

When it comes to graphics in a first person shooter, nothing beats Crysis when it was first released late 2007. Actually, even till now 3 years later, only a handful of big budget titles are coming close to matching the fidelity of its graphics. 

Crysis is set in the near future and in the game you take on the role of one of the US special force operative. The story begins by having the character transported to a North Korean controlled tropical island on a secret mission to extract the US scientists who had uncovered alien artifacts. The story slowly expands along the way as you move from one objective to another.

What I really enjoyed was the first half of the game. There is really just one level in the game. The whole of the tropical island is the level and it is huge. It will take you hours just to get from one end to the other end of the island. The reason I enjoyed the first half of the game is because I am able to roam around the island anyway I want and can decide when I want to complete the objective of the game. Only when you meet the objective of the game does the story continue onwards.

Destruction is also what made this game really fun. Crysis features an advanced physics system and almost every object in the game can be interacted one way or another. As the game took place in a tropical island, there are shrubs and trees everywhere. Trees in the game broke off at the point where you shot it and even after they fell, they can still be further broken apart by shooting at it. It is possible to clear out an area of trees by wasting your bullets on them. Houses fall apart realistically if you decide to destroy the supporting beams, certain objects will float while others will sink depending on their mass, vehicles can be broken apart on different levels and the list goes on and on. It is always fun to fire at the gasoline tank of the jeep and then drives it down enemies’ path and jumping off before the whole vehicle explodes.

Vehicles are also very fun in the game and there are quite a few to choose from. Some vehicles sport mounted guns which allow you to fire and drive at the same time. The vehicles are found throughout the island and they are not limited to land vehicles only. There are boats that you can hijack if you decide to steer clear of heavily patrolled land. A couple of aircrafts are also found in the game though they are more limited in their usage.

The game plays similar to other first person shooters except for one special gameplay mechanic. In the game, you donned a special suit which allows you to have a temporary powerup for a limited time period before recharging takes place. It allows you to choose from having more strength to jump higher and have stronger melee attacks, more speed, more armour to take in more damage or a cloak feature whereby you turned invisible. The game balances this mechanics by making you extremely weak during the recharging period. There are plentiful of weapons to use in the game and they are customizable with different parts such as a silencer or a scope. The AI for the enemies in the game is also extremely clever. The enemies are able to coordinate with each other in groups and will hunt for you in the open world based on sight and sound.

Like I said earlier, I only enjoyed the first half of the game. The second half of the game became more linear in which the game would force you to move in one single path. You suddenly lose all the freedom you got used to in the first half and the whole game played like a generic shooter. The epic boss battle at the end did make up a little for it though.

The graphics for this game is breathtaking when played on a high spec pc. Some parts of the game look as good as TV quality CG. Performance though is a little flaky as even the top spec machines today will have trouble in certain areas. Sound is equally good for this game.

Crysis is still one of the most technological advanced pc game and despite that did not sacrifice the gameplay as it provides hours of enjoyment for me.

Rating: 9/10

Weiwen

Developer: Connect2Media
Platform: Mobile/Android/iPhone
Release: 2009

Edge is a platform puzzle game on the mobile gaming platform. The game has the player taking control of a white cube and the objective of the game is to get from the starting point to the ending point of each level with the least number of deaths and the fastest timing.

Edge has 43 levels each with increasingly more challenging puzzles. Cubes are the only elements that make up the levels in the game. Levels in the game are multi-leveled, contain moving parts and traps and can change its own form when triggered by buttons or in-game sequences. Although the levels in the start of the game are pretty boring, they slowly got better and more creatively designed as I progressed through the game. One memorable portion was a moment when I stepped on a button on top of a pile of cubes, the cubes form themselves into a humanoid figure and brought me across a huge gap that would otherwise be impossible to cross.

I played the game on a non touchscreen phone so i cannot get the motion and touch controls of the other version. Controls are simple and intuitive. You move the cube in-game by the 4 directional keypad found on a mobile phone. Holding a particular direction will cause the cube to rotate towards that direction. Release the key before the cube gains enough momentum to tilt over and the cube will flop back to the previous position. This control system allows for an interesting gameplay mechanic which allows the cube to be able to 'stick' to the other cubes in the level if the tilt angle of the cube is within a certain range. This allows the player to travel great distance in the game by 'sticking' onto moving cubes in the game if the player is skilled enough to get the timing and angle correct.

The visuals and sound in the game is fantastic for a mobile game. Presented in an isometric view, the levels look clean and minimal. Shadows that are casted by the cube shows clearly the multilevel design. Music in the game is made up of simple beats which work well with the visuals.
Edge is a great mobile game that is fresh and fun to play.

Rating: 8/10
Weiwen

Developer: Nintendo

Platform: Nintendo DS

Release: 2005

I was thrilled when Mario Kart DS was released back in 2005. After experiencing multiplayer kart racing goodness on the N64 years ago, I was expecting the same experience but on a portable level. The same experience was not ported but in its place is a much better Mario Kart experience.

Mario Kart DS is a 3D go-kart racing game. Like most other racing games, the objective is simple. You earn trophies after winning first place in races. The game has two main types of play, single player and multiplayer. Each type of play is further categorized into a few modes of play. The standard Grand Prix, Time Trial, VS, Battle and a Mission mode can be found in the single player mode. Most of these modes involve standard kart racing with the exception of Battle and Mission modes. In the Battle mode, each racer is expected to take out their opponents using the various weapon powerups in the levels. The racer’s health denoted by balloons can be inflated through blowing into the mic of the DS. Having more balloons inflated means you have a better chance stay in the game longer but the weapon powerups you get will be inferior to another racer who risked his stay in the game by having less balloons inflated. The Battle mode involved a little strategy and it comes into play more obviously when played in teams. The Mission mode on the other hand is there to hone your racing skills as the objectives often forced you to apply certain techniques. The Grand Prix mode is where the main bulk of the game is at and it offers 32 tracks in 4 different vehicle class races. Half of the tracks are brand new while the other 16 are tracks from previous Mario Kart games.

Mario Kart DS is easy to pick up but not quite that straight forward to master. The karts are accelerated by holding on to the A button while the B acts as a brake. It is not recommended to use the brake button in the game for it will slow down the vehicles too much and to circumvent that you can use the L and R trigger buttons to do a drift around corners. Pressing the left and right rapidly while drifting will charge up the nitro boost and will give you a temporary boost of speed. With enough practice, it is possible to get constant speed boost even on a straight path.

Powerups are found throughout the tracks in the form of boxes. The powerup you get is generated based on you current position in the race so the last racer will have the highest chance to get the best powerup. The powerups come in both offensive and defensive forms and some are of both forms. Powerups can be stored in inventory and therefore can be part of your strategy to win the races.

The 32 tracks offer a lengthy gameplay and they are mostly well designed and fun to race in. Most of them are based on levels in Mario’s platform games and create this familiar atmosphere to the game. The levels are laid with obstacles ranging from enemies found in Mario’s other games to oncoming traffic from the opposite direction.

Replayability of this game is extremely high. There are plenty of modes and tracks to try out in the game. Add to that are the 12 characters, 4 which have to be unlocked, each with different vehicles. The characters and their vehicles have different specifications and all of them controls differently from each other. There are also unlockable vehicles for each character which requires you to replay the tracks to get good placings for all races with the individual characters. The multiplayer portion of the game adds on further to the already highly replayable game. It is always fun to race and battle other players whether through local wireless play or online. The online portion has connection issues at times and sometimes will take a long time before the game finds other players.

As this is a portable game, it will not be the prettiest Mario Kart game. The graphics of Mario Kart DS looks as good as the N64 version with bright colourful characters and tracks. Furthermore, it runs at a solid 60 frames per second which is crucial for racing games.

Mario Kart DS is an excellent kart racing game and with its high replayability, can be even described as value for money.

Rating: 9/10

Weiwen

Developer: Eugene Karataev, Artem Popov and Johnny-K 

Link: http://www.playedonline.com/game/597857/splitter.html

Splitter is yet another physics-based online flash game. This time you take control of a blade and with it, you are able to slice up objects in the game.

This game consists of 25 short levels in which the objectives are identical throughout. You have to send the ball character from its starting point to the end point, denoted by a red circle. Levels are littered with obstacles that will block the ball from its path at the beginning of the level. They consist of wooden blocks, metallic blocks and bricks. With the blade, you are able to slice wooden blocks so that they can either be broken up or act as a ramp for the ball to roll on. Metallic blocks while unbreakable can be knocked off balance with enough force while bricks are totally static in the game.  There are also objects which are constrained to a fixed point by rope joints and can be released by slicing the rope. The scoring system is based on a timer, with the score reducing as time goes by. Additional score can be obtained through the collection of stars in the levels.

As you are able to slice objects any way you want and at the same the game relies on a physics system to function, most of the levels in the game can be completed in multiple ways. While this seems to make the replay value higher, I ended up not going back and replay all the levels again. This is mainly due to the game's uninteresting level design. After playing 10 levels, it gets really boring for me and I have to force myself to complete the rest of the 15 levels so that I am able to access the overall gameplay of the game.

The physics system in this game works remarkably well and is extremely responsive.

Graphics are very simple and works for the game. I am able discern between the different materials very easily as the objects in the game are painted clearly with the specific texture of the material. That said, the simple graphics also made the game a little boring to look at as every level looks very similar to each other. The background of each level is also of the same shades of colours making every level in the game look repetitive. Music is a looping track which works well with the game and the sounds are functional though nothing worth taking note for.

Splitter while not quite the best physics game I’ve tried is still a decent game with well implemented game mechanics. With better level design, the game has the potential to be very good. The game already has a sequel and is probably loaded with better levels.

Rating: 6/10

Weiwen

 

Developer: Igrek Productions
Link: http://armorgames.com/play/5393/blosics-2

Blosics 2 is a physics-based puzzle game. Initially, the game looks somewhat similar to Red Remover, a gamewhich I reviewed weeks ago, except that the objective of each level is totally the opposite. Instead of keeping the green blocks and removing the red blocks like in Red Remover, the player has to remove the green blocks and keep the red blocks on the stage. The gameplay also relies heavily on physics much like Red Remover.

That is where the similarities end. Interaction between the player and the blocks is done in a completely different method which in turn affects the whole gameplay. The player has to control a slingshot-like mechanism in a predefined area to launch a ball in order to hit the blocks in the level. The speed of the ball, which defines the force it will hit the blocks, is determined by the length the player pulled on the slingshot. The trajectory of the ball depends on the direction which the slingshot is facing and any interaction between objects in the level. Every object in the game pretty much has a basic physics system applied on it. They behave expectedly in a logical sense and appear to affect each other in the game. Bigger blocks will be heavier to push, an explosive force will send blocks flying in all direction and every object comply with the concept of the law of gravity no matter how unrealistic it may appear to be.

Length of the game is pretty decent with 30 levels to complete. Each level requires the player to achieve 100 points to complete. Points are scored by removing the green blocks off the screen while the removal of the red blocks will reduce your points. Levels are designed to be varied enough to keep the gameplay interesting throughout the game although some levels can get frustrating. The frustration comes mainly from the fact that some levels depend on luck to win as the objects are controlled by the game’s physics system and the player do not have much control over them.  This causes some levels to play very long as the player has to wait for the game physics to perform and push the blocks off the screen. It may also trigger a lot of level restarts if things do not turn out the way you want. Despite being a puzzle game for the most parts, some levels play more like an action game and test the player’s reflexes more than the player’s ability to solve puzzles. It breaks the gameplay a little and I like it even though puzzle gamers may not.

The graphics are simple and fits well to this kind of game. Blocks are clearly coloured and a moving background keeps the game from looking totally static. The sounds and music are nothing worth to take note and the game would have played the same with the volume mute.

Blosics 2 is fun but I find the game to be a little on the easy side.

Rating: 7/10

Weiwen

Developer: Double Fine Productions

Platform: PC & Xbox

Release: 2005

Psychonauts is a platform game that is filled with charming characters and a really whacked out storyline that kept the game extremely compelling for me. The game has you taking control of a boy named Razputin who escaped from his father’s circus and decided to take part in a summer camp. The summer camp, which was a secret government training program in disguise, took in special children with psychic abilities and trained them into special agents called the Psychonauts. The game starts right when you crashed into the program and the plot of the game slowly fleshed out as events happened in the camp.

One very interesting point pertaining to the levels in the game is that all the levels took place inside the mind of various characters in the game, be it the sergeant of the camp or a gigantic lungfish by the name of Linda. The levels are all very imaginative and different from each other which make playing every level a fresh experience.  One memorable level took place in the mind of Linda the lungfish. In its mind, you play as the enormous ‘bad guy’ in the city of lungfish. It’s very similar to the Godzilla movies where you can trample the tiny citizens, climb the buildings and knock down landmarks all while the teeny lungfish army of tanks and planes firing at you. The level ends with you fighting a superhero who really is the sergeant of the summer camp in disguise. In each level, you are able to collect figments of the character’s memories. This allows the game to have deep character development and make each of them relevant to the entire plot of the game. Collecting the figments also allow you to gain new psychic abilities which are crucial in some of the puzzles and boss fights in the game.

The character design in this game is simply brilliant. The characters in the game are interesting and their personalities showed through really well with the well written and quirky dialogue lines. Voice acting for the characters are also very well done and brought out a certain charm to the characters. Not only did the characters speak well in the game, they looked good too. The visual design of the characters is appealing. They have this certain dark yet cartoony look to them, something you would see in a Tim Burton film. They varied in shapes, sizes and colours and each of them has their own certain traits which brought out their unique look.

The actual gameplay is very standard, platforming kind of game. You control the character in a 3d environment and are able to jump, slide and climb objects as well as attack enemies with a standard punch. The psychic powers do bring some engaging gameplay mechanics into the game. One interesting power is the ability to see from another character’s point of view. It is well implemented in a boss fight in which the light goes out and only the boss had night vision ability. You are thus able to see through the viewpoint of the boss and be able to dodge her attacks while finding a chance to strike. There are also standard platform game elements such as collecting the figments to gain new powers, finding secret items and buying of items to help you get across certain obstacles. Enemy variation in the game is surprisingly limited although there are quite a number of very interesting boss characters.

Graphics of the game are somewhat dated by today’s standard but the animations of the characters make up for it. The game performs very well in a modern machine and running it in high resolution makes the visual decent and workable for its unique design style. The sound effects and music in the game are decent but not very memorable. The voice acting on the other hand shines and is still better than most of the games today.

Overall, Pyschonauts is a very enjoyable experience. Even though the platforming mechanics are good, I find that the main reasons I’m attracted to the game are the interesting cast of characters and the well presented storyline. I love this game.

Rating: 9/10

Weiwen

Developer: Team Shanghai Alice/ZUN

Platform: PC

Release: 2004

 Imperishable Night is the eighth game in the Touhou Project series which began in 1996. The Touhou Project series are vertical scrolling arcade shooters filled with characters that are created by the one man developer ZUN. The series is also known for its incredible difficulty.

What made Imperishable Night different from most other arcade shooters is the incredible level of focus required of the gamer while playing it. This game throws out the concept of learning curve almost entirely. The enemies in the game are unforgiving and will throw projectiles relentlessly at you in huge amount. It is not uncommon to see hundreds of moving projectiles all at once on the screen thereby requiring your utmost attention to dodge through them.

While the uncountable amount of projectiles might make the game seem impossible, that is not entirely the case. The designer is smart to have the hit area of your character small enough to make weaving through the projectiles possible only if you respond quickly. The numerous power-ups obtainable once the enemies are destroyed also power up your character enough to balance up the seemingly impossible to beat game. There are two types of power-ups in the game. The red power-up will increase the damage that your character unleash and also allow for more projectiles to be fired at once. The blue ones on the other hand are collectibles that will give you an extra life once a certain number are collected. Continues will set you back to the beginning of a level if you used up all the 3 lives. The game used an interesting way of representing the number of continues that are available for use. Every time a continue is used, the game clock will increased by 30 minutes. The game’s story starts at 11pm (game time) and you must complete the game before 5am (game time). The clock will also progress every time a level is complete.

The game has 4 difficulty levels and I found that only the first three are actually enjoyable while extremely challenging. The hardest difficulty is almost impossible to play through and even the developer states in game that it is a joke. The game is split into 3 levels and all 3 levels are staged in the same way. The story is told through dialogue sequence before the boss fight.

Controls are very responsive and simple. You use the arrow keys to navigate the character around the screen. The ‘z’ key is used for firing and the ‘x’ key is used for unleashing special ability.

The visuals in this game are a mixed bag. On one hand, the hundreds of projectiles flying across the screen are animated with beautiful mathematically calculated patterns. The patterns are very varied and fill the screen much like fireworks. The projectiles, varying in colours and sizes, also help to beautify the game.  On the other hand, the low resolution sprites used in the game is a letdown. The low resolution sprites caused the characters in the game to have a slight blurry look with pronounce stair-stepping effect. A letdown especially since the character designs are done well. The background of the each level also looks similar throughout and does not help in breaking up the level’s appearance or making it interesting. The music and sounds are designed very nicely and gives a soothing feel to the game. They complement well with the frantic action happening on screen.

I enjoyed Imperishable Nights tremendously. The game has challenging enemies and bosses and pretty addictive gameplay if you like the challenge. Gameplay is great but not fantastic as I soon realized that the strategy to beat the game is simply to survive through the projectiles while holding down the fire key. This is the kind of game that may probably fail as a commercial game because of its ruthless difficulty and limited appeal to the masses. But as an indie game built for veteran shooter fans, this game excels.

Rating: 8/10

Weiwen

Developer: iNiS

Platform: Nintendo DS

Release: 2005

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is a rhythm game that is as quirky as its name sounds. The whole game revolves around the idea of playing as a male cheerleading squad and helping out  the troubled citizens all over the world.

The levels in game, presented in the form of scenarios encountered by the squad, mostly consist of very mundane issues that people faced in their everyday lives. What makes them interesting is the twist of plots that were added which transformed them into scenarios that are overly dramatic and out of this world. Each accompanied by a song, the scenarios are shown in the form of animated comics and work pretty much like music videos. Each level is split into 3 segments and depending on how well you scored, you are presented with either a good transition of plot to the next segment or a bad one. The transitions also act as an intermission, allowing the player to get a break from the fast moving pace of the game and enjoy the sequence of moving pictures. 

The objective of the levels is to simply survive through the song. A Genki meter is used to keep track of your performance in the level and will be constantly depleting throughout the song. In order to replenish the meter to keep the game playing, you are required to touch a series of markers in succession to chain up combos. The chain of combos will in turn keep up the momentum of the cheerleading squad. Once a marker is missed, the momentum will halt immediately and the Genki meter will be depleting at a faster rate until you chained up a combo again.

The control is simple. You simply need to touch the markers that appear on screen at the right timing with the stylus. There are 3 different kinds of marker in the game and depending on how precise you are with the timing, they will award you with different amount of points. The most common type of marker are denoted with numbers to cue the order in which they have to be touched and are presented in sets marked by different colours.  Another type of marker requires you to follow and glide your stylus along its path while the last type requires you to move your stylus in a circular motion around the screen rapidly.

The game paces pretty well. The levels are represented by citizens in need scattered throughout the game world map. You start with only one level and as the game progresses, a group of harder levels will be made available to the player. Except for the first and final level, the player gets to choose the order they play out the levels which prevents the game from being totally linear. There are four difficulties in this game. The easier two are made available straight from the box while the next two are only unlocked once you completed the game in the previous difficulty level.

Replayability in this game is very high. This is partly due to the fact that the whole game is made up of a bunch of levels consisting of only songs and scenarios. As every level can be played out very quickly, the chances of them getting replayed are higher. The ranking system in the game also encourages the player to replay the levels to get a better score and rewards them with a new rank. Gamers who want a challenge will also be tempted to unlock the two other difficulties. The multiplayer portion of the game allowing both competitive and cooperative play with a friend also increases the longevity of the game. One other motivation to replay the levels is the good soundtrack. You will be found replaying certain levels more than others simply because you like those particular songs.

The visuals in the game are fantastic. The scenarios in the game are all presented in high quality hand drawn manga style drawings. Figures in the game are also adequately modeled with good details and textures. The personality of each members of the cheerleading squad is brought out really well by the animations. Other visual cues such as the growing flames behind the characters to denote the momentum are crucial and eye catching. The soundtrack of the game is also fantastic although they are slightly low in quality and are undermined by the tiny speakers of the DS. This game is best played with a stereo system or a pair of headphones plugged into the DS.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is a fantastic game that all rhythm game fans must try. It is a very enjoyable experience and is a game that most gamers will most probably go back to once in a while.

Ratings: 9.5/10

Weiwen

Developer: Tom Fulp, Dan Paladins
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/254456

Dad n’ Me is a flash game that took on the tried and tested formula of old arcade side-scrolling beat-em-ups without bringing anything new to the table. There isn’t much of a story in this game and the whole game is about this pair of father and son assassins who went into town to get rid of these hoodlums who were all kids. Yes. You get to spank, whack and kill kids in this game. Fun. You take on the role of the child assassin and the objective of the game is simply to kill all the kids in town as well as get rid of the gangster head. Obviously, humour is a big part of the game and it worked really well.

This is a short game as it only consists of 1 level. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete the whole game. The level plays linearly, with you starting at the left side and progressively moves to the end of the level at the right side. Certain items on the screen such as dustbins, lawnmowers and other hazardous objects can be picked up and thrown by the character. 

Controls in the game is very similar to traditional beat-em-ups like the street of rage or metal slug series. You use the arrow keys to move the character around the screen and there are only two other buttons which do light and heavy attacks respectively. The controls of the game are very responsive easy to get used to. Dad n’ Me also features a well implemented combo system. Mashing a combination of both the light and heavy buttons in the game will cause the character to unleash a chain of attacks that does more damage to the enemies. This system adds on to the gameplay as it allows you to experiment and play with different combinations to see what works well. Much of the game’s enemies have a really simple AI routine that does nothing except to move towards you to get beaten to a pulp. The game was probably created this way to accentuate the humour of the game although there are a few exceptions such as the bully, ninja kids and the final boss who will attack you on sight. The ninja kids and final boss who are only found at the last portion of the game brought about an unbalance to the difficulty in the game. They are much harder to defeat compared to all previous enemies and are introduced so late in the game which caused the difficulty to get rammed up so significantly in the last portion that it became inconsistent.

The most memorable aspects of this game are its graphics and sounds. The whole of this game is done in bright colourful digitally painted vector graphics. The characters in the game animate fluidly and are wonderfully designed with a cartoony look and feel. The backdrops are nicely drawn with very bright, cheery colours and details. Slight depth can also be seen with the use of parallax scrolling on elements in the background. The graphics in the game works very well as the very cartoony look also contrasts with the violent nature of the game. The music in the game is quirky, fun and upbeat and suits the theme of the game immensely.

While the game doesn’t bring anything new to the genre, it had implemented the old formula well and is one that is very enjoyable. It’s short too and works as a great stress reliever during a break session.

Rating : 6.5/10

Weiwen

Platform : Nintendo 64/Wii Virtual Console/Nintendo DS

Developer : Nintendo

Release : 1996

This is the game changer. Well, as far as 3D platforming games go.  Super Mario 64 is the first game in the series to sport a change of perspective, moving from the flat 2D world to a fantastic 3D polygonal one. It is also the game that set a new standard for the genre, providing a template for the myriad platforming games that follow after it.

Like all other Super Mario games, the cast and story is simple and familiar. Princess Peach wrote a letter to invite Mario over for a cake. When Mario arrived at the castle, he realized that the princess was once again missing and was kidnapped/transformed by none other than Bowser himself.

Since the gameplay is being brought into a new 3D perspective, controls of the game changed. The N64 controller is made to good use and it would even seem like the controller was designed specifically for this game. The controls are perfect. The analog stick is used to make Mario move, with 360 degree freedom, around the world. With the additional buttons on the N64 controller, Mario is also not limited to his usual jump and stomp attack anymore. He is now able to punch, slide, crouch and roll. Mario is also capable of pulling off more advanced moves such as butt stomps, long jumps, wall jumps, back somersaults and triple jumps that allow him to reach areas which aren’t accessible without them. All these may sound extremely complicated, almost to the point of being able to imagine your fingers getting tied into knots while fiddling around the controller. Fortunately this is not the case as the new controls are very intuitive, since the buttons placement is great on the controller, to learn once you started playing. The controls are also so responsive, executing the moves became almost like second nature. Mario’s arsenal of new moves also allowed for new ways of level designing with much more variations compared to past platforming games.

Super Mario 64 is much lengthier, with 15 worlds to explore and 120 stars to collect, than all previous games in the series. But that does not mean that it is draggy and simply consists of repetitive levels found in so many other platforming games. The 15 worlds of Super Mario 64 are so imaginative and different from each other that entering each of the game worlds for the first time was always a breathtaking experience. Many of the worlds are still very memorable even now, over 13 years after the game was released. Worlds, such as the one that took place inside a grandfather clock and the boss levels, are extremely fun to play and were designed so well that they are in my opinion only bested when Super Mario Galaxy was released. The game is also very well balanced when it comes to difficulty. Game worlds will progressively get more challenging but they will only be unlocked as you collect more stars in the game. This acts as a path to guide you through the game, avoiding the risk of throwing an extremely difficult level at the beginning of the game when you are just starting to get the hang of the game. The levels are also designed so that you will be required to learn new moves and make use of the power ups in order to get past them, ensuring that you are comfortable with the controls to finish the game by the time you get past the first couple of worlds. While saving the princess from Bowser will be achievable by most gamers, collecting all the 120 stars in the game is left only to the most hardcore group. Collecting all the stars requires the mastering of the control system of the game and exploring every nook and cranny of each world.

 

Primitive as it may seem by today’s standards, the graphics were simply jaw dropping during the time of its release. It was almost impossible to find a game prior to this game’s release that is so rich in textures, detail and effects. The game made good use of the N64’s power to churn out bright, colourful and smooth graphics. Characters in the game are also nicely detailed and are animated livingly. Music and sounds in the game are fantastic too. The tunes suit the game’s lively environments and atmosphere very well and the sound effects cue the actions of the player and events of the game appropriately. Some of the sounds are so unique to the series that we are able to associate future Mario games with it.

From the way I described it, Super Mario 64 seemed like the perfect game for me. It is a pity one aspect of the game is not as good as the rest. The camera system in the game acts somewhat like a primitive version of the ones found in today’s platformers. Not only does it occasionally get stuck in weird places, you are also expected to rotate the camera manually as it is not unusual for the camera to choose a weird angle to track Mario on screen. There are also times when the camera will automatically flip itself in another direction suddenly, causing you to lose orientation in the game.

Still Super Mario 64 can be considered to be one of the best videogame that was released for the N64 and brought radical changes to the entire series. It stands the test of time and still provides a very enjoyable experience today.

Rating : 9.5/10

Weiwen