Reviews by CrimsonWizard

50

Dare Ye Challenge The Ninjas Of Castle Dragonia?

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 7, 2013 | Review of Fatal Labyrinth

Fatal Labyrinth is a rogue-like RPG developed by SEGA where you play as a random nobody adventurer tasked with entering the newly risen Dragonia Castle and stabbing the monsters within to reclaim the Holy Goblet to prevent a thousand years of darkness. Yes, that's all the story you get.

As for the actual game itself, as stated it's a rogue-like which means dungeon crawling through several randomly generated floors with all sorts of loot to pick up and monsters spawned. A nice thing about the game is that the commands have been simplified for the controller, making it easy for first time players of the genre to get into the game. Health can be recovered quickly provided you've eaten something. Items are divided into separate categories and enemies are fought just by running into them, though you're welcome to throw weapons or uses scrolls and spells in your inventory as well. If you kill enough enemies you level up for predetermined increased, but it's overtly simple with no sort of class system. Fatal Labyrinth is also very old fashioned, forcing you to grind quite a bit to level up, and the difficult jumps very quickly even if you do find good armor and weapons, and kill all the creatures on the early floors.

Honestly, this game is very dated with the dungeon levels looking rather drab, and the music is rather boring. The enemies are thankfully colorful and varied, but there's little to actually engage you in the adventure, imagination or not. Even if you don't mind the lack of story or aged presentation, it's also brutally hard with few choices in strategy. Hence, I can't recommend this title, and suggest trying Dungeons of Dredmor or even Lufia II's Rogue Mode if you'd like to try a fun RPG with randomly generated floors.

60

There's Never A Gas Station Around When You Need One, Is There?

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 7, 2013 | Review of Galaxy Force II

Galaxy Force II thrusts into a mission to save the newly formed Federation from the The Fourth Empire whose forces are currently conquering the Junos star system. Technically an updated version of the original 1988 arcade Galaxy Force, the second game plays as a faux-3D space shooter, somewhat like the original Star Fox.

Unlike Sega's earlier and ultra simple Super Thunder Blade, Galaxy Force II is a little more involved and you can even see how it inspired the Star Fox series. For starters, you actually get to pick from 5 planets what your starting level will be, and while you must eventually finish them all to reach the final stage, it is nice having options. The levels aren't bad either with some turns and obstacles added to help make it feel like you're not just flying through long corridors. Though there's heavy resistance in each stage, you're fairly mobile and decent reflexes will help you survive, and your shield can block a few shots for you as well. Your goal in each planet is to blow up as many of the Empire's ships as you can before dispatching the enemy's core at the end of each stage. Thankfully, it isn't too hard to attack thanks to the game's lock-on feature where holding the firing button can charge and home in energy cannons on nearby targets. What is hard is actually surviving though. You'll quickly notice an Energy counter at the bottom of the screen which serves as both a timer and health gauge. Simply put you need to finish the stage before you run out, and you need to avoid taking too many shots without a shield or the damage will reduce your energy too. You can add to this energy value by chaining lots of enemy kills for an energy bonus provided between stage transitions, but even so it's unlikely you'll reach the last stage because of this fuel gauge because once you die once it's Game Over. Sadly, this is one of those arcade ports that failed to include a credit system after a death, a flaw in an otherwise decent space shooter.

Galaxy Force II is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, there are a lot of ideas I like about this game that were used in other games such as selecting a planet to fly through, mixing health and time limits together, and the homing shot. However, it has several flaws as well such as the lack of an actual continue system and dated graphics. Thus, I can't really recommend this one, but I can at least appreciate it for the ideas it helped pass on for later games in the 3D Space Shooter genre.

90

A Darker And More Difficult Journey, But Also More Fulfilling

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 7, 2013 | Review of Shining Force™ II

Sega's second Strategy RPG opens up many years after the conflict of the original game, dropping us off into a moody and ominous storm brewing above an ancient seal within an old tower. Due to the greed of those who knew no better, the magical lock is broken, allowing the Devil King Zeon and his minions to be revived. Unlike Shining Force 1 which sent a bunch of kids out to save the world after a few guards were slaughtered, Shining Force 2 is happy to demonstrate why your enemies are a threat. It isn't long before your happy life at the kingdom of Granseal is destroyed with demonic possessions, the princess being kidnapped, and finally the island kingdom itself has to be evacuated from the hellish influence.

Thus, Shining Force 2 gives us a pretty good story. It isn't just a struggle against bad guys, but you're actually fighting to get your home back and to stop this threat. However, the game won't make it easy, with the foes and missions taking a notch up in difficulty. While the original conventions of Shining Force 1 still apply with units taking turns on a square grid, you'll find you'll need better strategies to win and survive the stronger attacks. Thankfully, the game also offers more options in terms of characters and classes. While old standbys such as the centaurs and bird-men return, new types of characters such as an auto-reviving phoenix and high defense tortoise can be recruited now. In addition, most characters can now choose between two classes to promote to once they reach Level 20, letting you craft a team more to your liking. You'll have plenty of time to figure out the best balance too thanks to Shining Force II's longer campaign.

Admittedly, the game is still fairly lighthearted like Shining Force 1, but it's nice to see the creators take a more serious approach with the story, while still keeping the core mechanics which made the original a classic. You'll be left wanting to know what happens next, even with the tougher threats in your way. For the price you're paying, you're getting a very good bargain for one of the greatest Mega Drive RPGs, and is highly recommended, especially for those who are a fan of games such as Fire Emblem or X-COM: Enemy Unknown.

70

Two Agents Versus An Army Of Robots? I Like My Odds.

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 6, 2013 | Review of Crack Down

Crack Down (not to be confused with the XBOX 360's Crackdown series) is a run and gun style shooter developed by SEGA. The mysterious Mr. X (or Mr. K depending on the version) has managed to amass an army of robotic soldiers to wipe out humanity to make room for his artificial life forms. Why is he doing this you may ask? Does he feel humankind is overpopulating the earth, has become corrupt and is ruining the planet, or because he was a scientist whose robotic theories were dismissed? Ha ha, shut up and get shooting. Like most arcade games and their ports, the game uses the premise merely as an excuse for the actual action.

Thankfully, the actual action is good, though difficult. It has some similarities to arcade classic Gauntlet with an over head view and respawning enemies. However, rather than just collect treasure and escape, your goal in Crack Down is to set several time bombs on key locations on your map throughout Mr. X's facilities to destroy his robot production lines. Of course, you'll have to set them all and escape in time or else you'll blown up yourself and have to restart the stage.

Along the way, you'll have to shoot it out with many of Mr. X's robots, ducking in and out of hallways to avoid the return fire. Among your weapons are a standard rifle (one shot, one kill), a piercing cannon whose shells will keep flying until they hit a wall, and finally a screen clearing smart bomb which will pierce walls and kill all enemies you can see. Despite this arsenal, you're very vulnerable and will die in one shot, but thankfully you can restart where you were killed as long as you have lives and continues left. Only failing to escape before the bombs burst will send you back to start.

To the game's credit, it keeps testing you throughout too, with each stage offering some new kinds of bad guys, and level hazards such as moving platforms or crumbling floors. It's a pity the graphics are so dated, but you can at least tell what's going on, and the music is decent. The game also has a 2 player mode as well, making it easier to progress by flanking your enemies and to reach the time bomb sites faster.

Admittedly, Crack Down has a bit of unnecessary arcade difficulty, but the core game is solid and entertaining. Each stage builds on the last with some sort of new threat or obstacle, keeping things interesting. For three bucks, if you're looking something in the vein of Gauntlet or just want a decent game about shooting robots, this game will satisfy that itch.

Fun Fact: Mr. X was a mad scientist in this game, but would later pop up again in Sega's Streets of Rage series as a mafia boss behind it all, who would eventually dabble in building robots in the sequels. Whether there's any connection is unknown, but that's what happens when you use generic cover names for your villains.

65

Aliens Have Invaded...Again!

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 6, 2013 | Review of Alien Storm

Alien Storm is yet another brawler game developed for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) where you play as a member of a extermination squad, tasked with saving people and blasting any invaders you see. It's very similar to Sega's Golden Axe series only with a sci-fi setting rather than medieval fantasy.

You must first selected one of three characters, a female commando with a flamethrower, a male commando with a Ghostbuster style proton pack, or a robot with an electric whip. It honestly doesn't matter much though, they all play about the same so pick what looks best to you. The basic game then starts where you run around, blasting aliens with your weapon, and collected energy canisters to charge your screen wide special attack. However, there are two functional difference between this and Golden Axe. Instead of a jump attack, you have a dodge roll, allowing you to spin out of the away of a crowd ready to clobber you. The second is that you'll occasionally be thrown into an auto-scrolling first person shooter stage like Operation: Wolf or Area 51 where you have to blast all the aliens in sight, blast objects for more energy, and avoid hitting civilians. It's rather simple overall, but isn't an easy game by any means. Playing on the standard difficulty gives you only 3 spare lives, and while you are very durable, there also isn't any health pick ups in the game either. Of other note are the 2 player modes where you can play the standard game with a friend, or a battle mode where you can duke it out with another person though it's far too simple to match up to the quality of a fighting game like Street Fighter 2.

Sadly, for all the small changes in setting and mechanics, the game just feels like a knockoff of Sega's own Golden Axe games, and doesn't do much to stand out. The gameplay is competent, but simple, and the game's sci-fi theme is adequate, but doesn't really catch the eye either. It isn't a bad game, but I recommend spending your money on a Golden Axe or Streets of Rage game instead if you like brawlers.

75

Why Does Virtual Reality Always Want To Kill You?

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 6, 2013 | Review of Gain Ground

Gain Ground is an run and gun game developed by SEGA where you play as a team of trapped contestants in a virtual reality simulation with armed robots trying to kill you. As the tale goes, the government commissioned a super computer to run this virtual game to keep to satisfy the aggressive desire in people in a more peaceful era in the future. However, something has caused the supercomputer to become corrupted and overrule safety protocols, making the game deadly and inescapable except to those who can overcome its 50 levels.

Gain Ground is very strange compared to other games with an over the top perspective such as Smash T.V. Rather than having one general purpose character who can collected new weapons, you instead gather a party of characters you can use one at a time, sort of like lives only each one as a different attack and special move. You'll need to think carefully about which ones to use as well since some can shoot over walls, while others are better at rapid fire or sniping from afar or strafing and shooting. Heck, some even fire differently depending on if they're left or right handed, or use both hands to fire. You start with only three characters, but can you find trapped players to join your party (provided you can lead them to the exit square) including a boomerang throwing rogue, an uzi shooter who can spray bullets everywhere, and a femme fetale who can throw grenades over walls. Speaking of which, your overall goal is to reach the exit square or destroy all the enemies of each stage with a boss blocking the road every 10 levels. You'll need a fair amount of skill to actually win, but thankfully the game offers plenty of continues and regular offers new party members to replaces ones you might have lose, and there's a two player mode to give you extra firepower.

While Gain Ground is somewhat dated with it's limited graphics and animation, the game's decent music, good pacing, and emphasis on using strategic character selections makes it a really fun run and gun game. I highly recommend this, especially if you have a friend. For three dollars, you'll have plenty of entertainment trying to get to level 50 together and escaping the virtual hell.

65

Cats Are Such Snobs, They're Too "Good" To Eat Common Canaries

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 6, 2013 | Review of Flicky

Flicky was an arcade game created in 1984 by SEGA, later ported to their Sega Genesis (Mega Drive). As such, the premise is very simple, you're a blue bird named Flicky and you need to rescue yellow baby birds named Chirps, scoring as many points as you can along the way.

The gameplay is very simple and easy to pick up. It's essentially a platformer where you jump around, collected Chirps so they tail you towards an exit, and the more Chirps you free all at once, the more points you get. However, Tiger the Cat and Iggy the Lizard are eager to stop your rescue operation. Oddly though, they don't attack the canaries, but they do bump them out of your line-up. They will gladly eat you though, which to their credit means they have their priorities straight since you're the only one who can actually attack. True to his name, Flicky is capable of carrying small objects and flicking them at his enemy when he jumps, temporarily sending them back to one of the cat carriers sitting in the stage.

Honestly, that's all there is to this game. Like most early arcade games, it's somewhat hard and the only real objective is to rack up a high score. For a game from 1984 it's not bad looking, but it clearly doesn't use the Mega Drive's capabilities to their fullest, just offering a straight port from the arcade version with little graphical changes and no variety in the music. Still, for some brainless arcade fun, it isn't bad at three dollars.

Fun Fact: This is technically the first game in the Sonic the Hedgehog mythos with Sega confirming that the birds are the same ones you save from robots in Sonic's original games. You even have a big blue animal saving smaller ones in Flicky. Funny how one thing leads to another.

65

Hire Thieves To Test Your Security Against Thieves

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 6, 2013 | Review of Bonanza Bros

Bonanza Bros. is SEGA's classic take on a stealth game, focusing on a pair of brothers sent to retrieve the items for a mysterious figure in shadows, and apparently testing his security force in the process. Outside of the snippet of story, the basic setup is you're playing a game about heists and robberies.

However, it's clear SEGA wanted to make it a lighthearted take on the subject matter, giving it a cartoon feel in both the graphics and music. While they haven't aged all that well, they at least still convey that wacky and innocent style. This tone extends to the actual gameplay itself with bullets only knocking out both you and the security officers, and with long falls and machinery only squishing you like an accordion.

However, it's also very simple and the game isn't really built around you being able to be stealthy all the time. While early levels feature easily knocked out guards and doors to hide inside, it won't be long until you have to deal with robots that can't be knocked out and harder enemy patterns to avoid.

The game also features a 2 player mode where you can compete for points and stealing the most loot, while avoiding the guards. While it doesn't add much to the overall game, it is still a good time with a friend, especially since the simple controls make it easy for anyone to jump in, even absolute beginners to video games.

Bonanza Bros. is another one of Sega's early games for the Mega Drive (Genesis), but unlike Altered Beast and Super Thunder Blade, Bonanza Bros. had an interesting and fun idea going for it that honestly hasn't been done much in 2D. Though it hasn't aged very well, it's still a decent title, and fun with another player. The foundation is also pretty solid with the some of the stealth concepts homaged in last year's acclaimed Mark of the Ninja. So for three dollars, you're getting a decent experience, and I recommend this title if you're looking for a bit of mindless fun.

80

Heroes Never Get A Vacation, You Know That?

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 5, 2013 | Review of Light Crusader™

Treasure's Light Crusader was one of the late games developed for the SEGA Genesis (Mega Drive) in which you play the role of Sir David, a weary warrior hoping to take a small vacation after a long journey of heroic deeds off-screen. Unfortunately, he arrives to the town of Green Row to find trouble already waiting for him there with several townspeople reported missing and a general sense of dread of shadowy figures running around. Sadly, this is the bulk of the tale which is told in fantastic opening cut-scenes, but outside of that you're left with only snippets of information given to you by the villagers and people you need to rescue.

The rest of the game takes place in a large dungeon just outside of town, filled with all sorts of traps, puzzles, and monsters like a Zelda styled game complete with map. You move and fight on an overhead isometric (tilted) plane like Landstalker, giving the illusion of 3D, but also makes depth perception difficult at times. Thankfully, Treasure made it easier than other isometric platformers by including both a shadow and slower fall times, making it far easier to move to where you want during a jump. Unfortunately, the isometric perspective makes moving blocks and objects for the puzzles more difficult, making simple tasks take longer than they should.

However, the puzzles themselves are fairly interesting and the combat isn't bad either, having some similarities to Treasure's Gunstar Heroes. thanks to the magic system. You're given four elements you can use or mix to cast spells on monsters, provided you have the energy for it. Up close attacks are limited unfortunately with just your sword and a limited system of equipment upgrades for that and your armor. In the least, the game gives you a decent inventory space to carry supplies through the dungeon to help you survive between save points.

The dungeon itself looks fairly nice with Treasure's quality graphics showing up again, especially with the animations and colorful designs of you and the bad guys. Sadly, the dungeon itself is a little bland in design along with the music. It serves its purpose and works fine, but the style of the dungeon itself and it's music is forgettable.

Light Crusader is a game with some odd quirks thanks to it's isometric camera, but is overall a solid dungeon crawl with interesting puzzles to keep you engaged. While it's somewhat short for an RPG with only 6 dungeon sections, it lasts long enough to give you a few evenings of fun, especially with all the spell mixes you can barrage your enemies with. For $2.99, you're getting a pretty good deal for a good dungeon romp and I recommend giving it a try.

40

Military Technology Was Very Combustible In 1988

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 5, 2013 | Review of Super Thunder Blade

Super Thunder Blade was a port of the arcade game made by SEGA during the Genesis/Mega Drive's early days. Like many arcade games of the time, there is little in-game story, you're just a helicopter pilot tasked with shooting down and blowing up all opposition without having your chopper bite the bullet.

The controls and gameplay are super simple where you move around in a faux 3D area like the original Star Fox. Simply put you need to move about, dodging the large enemy missiles or shoot them down, and evade the buildings and environment. The game thankfully gives you a decent weapon where you have straight shooting machine guns to deal with sturdy boss monsters, but also homing missiles that fire at the same time, taking care of stray bad guys firing at you. Hence, the game works well for constant movement while attacking. However, the game is still brutally hard due to the fact that one hit of any kind takes you down. While you have multiple lives to bring you back quickly, once you run out, the game is completely over with no continues like the arcade game would offer for a quarter. Hence, it's very unlikely you'll make it past the first few stages.

Speaking of the stages, the environments and graphics aren't bad for 1988 and look a bit crisper than the ones used for Altered Beast. The problem is that like many aerial shooting games of the time, the patterns of enemies and level design repeats itself a lot, making it rather dull after a while until you reach a boss. The music doesn't exactly thrill the ear either, serving it's purpose as a tune with a decent melody that won't irritate the ear, but doesn't make you want to jam either.

In short, Super Thunder Blade is a very dated game, weighed down by following arcade conventions too closely with it's brutal difficulty. While games like this would help build to better 3D-styled flying shooters like Star Fox 64, Super Thunder Blade has not aged well and offers little entertainment for what you're paying. I would recommend checking out some of SEGA's other games on GMG if you're looking for a fun classic game for the same price.

85

A Game Of Twists And Turns, Lies And Slivers Of Truth

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 4, 2013 | Review of Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol is Obsidian's spy themed RPG, taking a few cues from stealth based games such as Deus Ex and Metal Gear. Originally released to mixed reviews over two years ago, I have had the pleasure of playing it for the first time this week and would like to try and set the record straight about this game.

The story is a very intricate plot with many threads, and it's unlikely you'll see the whole picture in only play through it all. Yes, even if you search for every file you can and do your best to squeeze information out of people, there will still be mysteries to discover. That's part of the charm of this game though and makes it feels more like a spy or mystery game than other games of its ilk. The game gives you a few subtle hints if you look closely, but it relies more on your intuition to drive the story and what parts of the mystery are unraveled. The colorful and varied cast of characters is everywhere, but fade in and out of actual importance depending on how you want to drive the story. Like the Mass Effect games, you get to talk to many people and your choices carry over throughout the story, but unlike its reliance on morality, Alpha Protocol is more ambiguous what the right choice. It manages to be realistic in that, even with the scraps of clues you uncover about your targets and contacts, you'll never be quite sure what the repercussions of your actions will be. Some characters may be fought, while others can be avoided with clever manipulation. Even early choices will have some sort of an impact towards the later part of the game, making every decision matter.

For all the praise I give the story, I do have to comment on the weaker side of the game: the combat. For my play through, I was attempting to be a stealthy martial pacifist where I would use hand to hand combat along with tranquilizer darts from the pistol. To the game's credit, hand to hand combat works fairly well on regular bad guys and mini-bosses if you can break their block. Unfortunately, this is less effective against boss characters. That is where a lot of the problem comes into play because generally, you will want to use a gun against a boss rather than your fists. The problem? Guns tend to be inaccurate outside of short range, even with accuracy upgrades. When you think you've scored a head shot, you'll see the bullet whiz by and your cover is blown. While an offensively built character won't care that much about blowing their cover, for stealthy classes that are using silencers and rely on accurate shots, this is a letdown. It's not completely broken, but this could have been done better.

Speaking of built characters, this game is an RPG and hence, your actions and completing missions will earn you experience points to give your agent skills. The system takes a lot of inspiration from Mass Effect, relying on a table you can put ability points into for various combat, tech, stealth, and defensive skills. In addition, powers are occasionally awarded for investing enough into a certain skill. For example, investing a lot of points in Stealth will offer powers to cloak you from enemy sight, making it far easier to dispatch enemies with your stealthy knockout/kill move. Oddly, there is also some inspiration from The Elder Scrolls series where you can get certain perks if you use certain skills or perform certain actions often enough. While it's not as ridiculous as jumping off cliffs over and over to increase an acrobatic skill from that title, Alpha Protocol does adapt to your style of play, whether you focus on hacking defenses, stealthy pacifism, or loud gunning.

As for the world you'll be playing in, it looks fairly good. The graphics run on the Unreal Engine so you'll notice a similar style in character structure and graphic design as other games that use it. Sadly, this does mean that several characters and locations look rather homogenized. To their credit, the developers did include some colorful characters and moments to spice things up, such as the shootout in a Russian mobster's mansion who is obsessed with 80's American culture. The music matches this trend, filling the role it's given, but doesn't stand out very often.

Thankfully, despite some issues with the combat and the limitations of the Unreal Engine, Alpha Protocol's strong story and characters help drive the game along. It's a game that makes you want to play again, just to see what you missed by siding with one character or making another hate you, and so on. For the price, you're getting several hours of entertainment, and best of all, it surprises you and adapts to your style. Obsidian once again proves it knows how to write an engaging narrative within a game, and makes Alpha Protocol a must-play for anyone who appreciates RPGs.

95

A World Of True Choice And Consequence

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 1, 2013 | Review of Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition

Deus Ex is the legendary shooter released in 2000 built around a future plunging into dystopia. People are dying of a mysterious plague, the economy has fallen off the rails, and governments and shadows organizations secretly vie for control. Throughout this grim and gritty setting, you play as J.C. "Your Name Here" Denton, an new agent of UNATCO who is sent in to deal with terrorists who are occupying the Statue of Liberty.

From there however, Deus Ex lets you decide how to deal with the situation. Though it is a shooter, the game also has strong stealth and RPG mechanics as well with experience points earned for dealing with foes and objectives or finding hidden paths or secrets. You can try to gun down every terrorist you see and take back the statue forcefully, but you're also welcome to sneak past, or non-lethally take down foes with the stun and tranquilizer guns. Hacking security and doors, sneaking through secret paths, using nano-tech powers, and laying traps are several of the means the game gives you towards completing your objectives. In fact, boss fights are optional, with running away being a possible solution if you're attempting a pacifist run.

One of the best things about Deus Ex because of this system is that the story adapts to your choices. The characters will react differently (for good or worse) if you choose to be aggressive, or to be non-lethal in your approach. You can also radically change the events of the story by your choices. For example, in a later mission a character you were sent to capture is going to be killed by a fellow UNATCO agent. The game gives you no notification of what you should do. You can just walk away, or you can try to protect him and kill the bloodthirsty agent in a small boss fight. In fact, the developers incorporated many responses to your actions, even if logically you shouldn't have done something yet or at all.

Honestly, the weakest part of the game is just the actual look of the game. For 2000 these were decent graphics, depicting a dark setting with the characters having pretty good detail. However, they haven't aged too well, and players who prefer crisper textures and fluid animation may want to look into graphics mods for the game if you purchase it. The sound and voice acting do their job fine as well with plenty of ambient sound and the characters have decent voices, though our protagonist does sound a bit wooden like Neo in the Matrix.

Despite those issues however, Deus Ex holds up really well against modern shooters in terms of actual entertainment. With all the options in terms of story, action, and exploration, Deus Ex was one of the first games that really felt like it was listening to the character rather than just pulling you along the planned tale and paths. It also managed to combine several genres equally into a great game, rewarding the player no matter which style they choose. If you're looking for a game that engages you throughout the whole playtime, Deus Ex is one of the strongest titles you can choose.

50

Why Does This Slime Hate Me So Much?

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 1, 2013 | Review of Shining in the Darkness™

Shining in the Darkness is the semi-predecessor to the Shining Force series, linked by the antagonist Dark Sol causing trouble in both for no apparent reason other than he's the bad guy. Unlike Shining Force however which does have a story that is told here and there, Shining in the Darkness is a dungeon crawling game. You have an introduction and a small town with people to talk to, and that's about it for dialogue.

For the game itself, you must delve deep into stone crafted dungeon in a first person perspective, fighting monsters and leveling up to reach Dark Sol. However, this is a very old fashioned game, with brutal enemies that will force you to retreat often to heal, making grinding a real chore. It also forces you to make or print out your own map, making it nearly impossible to progress without some paper thanks to the dungeon's unending passages of similar bricks.

I just can't recommend this one, even to fans of the genre. For fans of Shining Force, they'll be annoyed by the different style of game and the stiff difficulty. For fans of dungeon crawlers, this one is very basic and has little story to offer. And for fans of RPGs, there are games that don't force you to grind nearly as much. There are fun first person dungeon crawlers out there, the recent Legend of Grimrock, the classic Dungeon Master, or even some of the Shin Megami Tensei games would all be better choices of your time and money. That said, if you are genuinely curious or have more patience for so little, then it is at least cheap.

60

Why Am I Being Rewarded For Crushing Gems?

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 1, 2013 | Review of Columns

Columns is a puzzle game originally developed for home computers until SEGA bought the rights and made their own version for the Genesis/Mega Drive. Other than the Roman styled setting, there isn't much here except the game itself.

Basically, the game drops columns of 3 random gems from the top of the screen and you have to direct them down and try to match 3 gems in any direction to make them explode and get points. You're forced to place the pieces vertically, but you can change the order of the three gems to try and set up combinations for more points. Pieces will gradually fall faster from the top as you rack up points and destroy more gems, and occasionally a stack of special games will slide down, enabling you to destroy first type of gem it touches across the entire board. There is also a 2 Player Mode, offering something of a competitive mode, but that's about it in terms of different styles of play.

However, the system just isn't quite as engaging as say Tetris or Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. It's very easy to accidentally set up massive combos without much strategy, and the restrictive manipulation of the puzzle pieces makes it less intuitive than the previously mentioned puzzle games. The lack of extra game modes doesn't help either, offering little in terms of replay value other than racking up higher scores. While it's a competent puzzle game, I recommend a different puzzler than this one.

90

Fuelled By A Twisted People, Rapture Returns With Fresh Madness

CrimsonWizard | Feb. 1, 2013 | Review of BioShock® 2 DNS

Bioshock 2 is the sequel to 2008's much lauded Bioshock, this time developed by 2K's Marin studio. Taking place a decade after the first, Rapture's corpse continues to rust. Yet life continues to linger within the old bones, with new foes known as Big Sisters rising from the ocean depths to kidnap little girls down to ruined city. You play as a enhanced prototype of the first game's Big Daddy, code-named Delta, whose main goal is to reunite with his Little Sister, Eleanor, he was bonded with and escape the death trap of mutants and security drones.

What starts as a relatively standard rescue story quickly gives way to a deeper tale about the circumstances that caused Rapture. The city founder, Andrew Ryan, hears the city's people cry out about mental stress and trauma, and he reluctantly brings Dr. Sofia Lamb to Rapture with her experience as an expert therapist. While it is established very early that she is your ultimate enemy this time around, her views and reasoning are given more more exploration and comparison to the others who ran Rapture in the first game. Bioshock 2 doesn't have the massive twists of the first game, but in exchange asks the player more questions. It shows how the failure of one extreme policy can just give way to others, destroying the lives both the followers and the forced in twisted, inhumane ways. Yet, despite the bleaker tone of the story and characters, there is a faint theme of redemption running through the game. There are some characters you're likely never to forgive, but others may test your feelings despite their shady pasts. You could also say the game is a quest of redemption for yourself as a Big Daddy who couldn't protect his Little Sister years ago.

Whether you decide the journey is for redemption or to just kill a bunch of mutants, the fact remains the city hasn't gotten any better. The graphics of the game retain their quality, presenting a lovely, yet broken city, with the splicers becoming more deformed after another an extra decade under their addictions. However, sometimes the textures need a couple moments to pop in when you first load up the game from a save, but otherwise remain crisp with no slowdown issues after the initial load. The sounds helps build on the graphics to craft another spectacular backdrop for Rapture with the ambient noise helping the tense mood of the game, with some classic 50's music mixed in, reminding the player of the former polish of the metropolis.

As for your actual means of survival, Bioshock 2 takes the same approach as Rapture itself. The basic skeleton work is there, but is given a deeper approach. The main improvement is that you can now use plasmid abilities in tandem with a weapon. While plasmid powers are slightly weaker, it's also very nice to use them to harass an enemy before finishing them off with a spray of bullets. Various weapons have been switched for others, traps can be deployed, and new plasmids have been introduced, but the basic experience is now built around flinging abilities and weapon fire at the same time. Speaking of enemies, realistically there wasn't much room to expand on the roster because of the setting, but the new Brute Splicers and the Big Sister boss fights add a little more challenge to the game.

In addition to those changes, Bioshock 2 also introduces multiplayer which allows you to play as a splicer, fighting other players in various game modes including a few revolving around gathering ADAM or Little Sisters for your team. Unfortunately, I cannot comment much further on this mode as I was unable to play in any matches on multiple occasions due to the lack of active players available for an online game. If you want to really play this new mode, you will have to hope you have some friends with the game as well. Another notice about online features is that this game uses the Games for Windows Live client once again. It is a hindrance, especially with the fact you must keep the game running to update it through the service. What's odd about using GFWL is that the game doesn't even support the X-Box 360 controller this time around on the PC like Bioshock 1. While veteran PC gamers might not miss that feature since the mouse and keyboard controls work just fine, those who used a controller for the first game may be annoyed by this change.

Bioshock 2 had a lot of expectations considering the mountain of praise awarded to its predecessor. Despite some of the issues with setting up the game and multiplayer, the actual meat of the game is fantastic. The story had a lot of thought put into it, offering a different perspective to the fall of the city while still fitting in relatively well with the plot of the first game. Delta's dual wielding skills with plasmids and weapons is more dynamic, making the exploration of the city more fun. The journey remains engaging with 13-15 hours of gameplay, offering plenty of value for your money, and comes highly recommended to fans of both Bioshock 1 and shooter games.

60

This Is Not Proper SWAT Procedure

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 29, 2013 | Review of ESWAT: City Under Siege

E-SWAT was an early game developed by SEGA for the Mega Drive/Genesis in which you play as a police officer fighting the terrorist group E.Y.E. Taking a few pages from Robocop and Terminator however, you're mostly fighting robots and machines in the near future.

While the game plays like a run and gun 2D platformer, unlike Contra and Metal Slug you have to stop to shoot and you have an actual health bar. Thus, ESWAT requires a careful and methodical advance early on with lots of ducking and connecting hits. However something miraculous happens after level 2. You're promoted from being a standard police officer into the ESWAT program and gain a suit of Ice Power Armor, which has no ice powers whatsoever. It does provide many advantages though such as a minigun, an autocharging plasma blast, a ground seeking rocket launcher, and most importantly a jetpack. While it would have been nice for the jetpack to recharge a little faster, it does help give you more mobility in a game that's otherwise has a slow pace.

ESWAT is only 8 levels, but some of the later levels take a while to go through with many enemies and hazards to shoot through. To the game's credit, a few of the levels make use of the jetpack for some interesting platforming, but otherwise you'll be gunning through skyscrapers, a prison, and many secret bases. It could have done a better job with level variety and the music isn't the greatest, neither offering tense ambiance sound nor tunes you can jam to.

All said, ESWAT isn't a bad game. It's a little basic, but it does offer mechanics that differentiate itself from the competition with its jetpack and later weapons. However, it's also slow and less exciting than other games in its genre like Gunstar Heroes also available on GMG. End of the day though, if you're looking for some cheap fun and an excuse to disregard proper police procedure, try ESWAT.

85

Trouble's Brewing! Gather a Mob and Stab Evil in the Face!

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 29, 2013 | Review of Shining Force ™

Shining Force is SEGA's first foray in the Turn Based Strategy genre, where you are tasked as a warrior of Guadiana to prevent the Dark Sol's resurrection of the Dark Dragon after his millennial nap. Yes, the story is a cliche storm, but it also never tries to take itself super seriously, and it focused on delivering you the player a fun adventure with some epic fights sprinkled throughout.

As a turn based strategy game, Shining Force plays a lot like Nintendo's Fire Emblem games with the difference being killed allies are not dead for good. You take turns on a grid battlefield, ripping into each other with weapons and magic, terrain can be your ally or a hindrance, and flying units can be a godsend on slow levels if they don't get shot down first. You travel across the world, occasionally slowing down the game to talk to the common folk, buy new equipment, and also search for people to recruit to your team until you finally return to the fighting. While you can grind experience using the Retreat magic to retry your current mission with higher levels, the game thankfully doesn't usually require it if you use some decent strategy. The only issue you may find which is shared with Fire Emblem is that your medic won't gain nearly as much experience sealing up that arrow wound as you do lobbing a monster's arm off. That said, the difficulty maintains a fairly consistent slope upwards, with no real spikes outside of the occasional boss fight.

In terms of graphics and sound, they are relatively good for the time. While they're aren't very many memorable tunes on the soundtrack, they also don't wear on your ears too much during a long fight. The graphics are fine with a decent amount of color used and all of your units look unique, though it also feels a bit static on the movement screen with limited animations and background effects used. However, the animations within a fight are actually rather nice, playing out sort of like a cut scene with your unit and the enemy having a quick round of combat.

Overall, Shining Force is a bit simple, but a fun game with just a few quirks owed more to the year it was released rather than anything else. It's filled with loads of cliches, but if you're looking for an entertaining romp through a fantasy setting, this game will satisfy you.

90

Eat Chicken and Fight the Mafia's Colorful Thugs

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 29, 2013 | Review of Streets of Rage™ 2

Streets of Rage 2 is the much improved sequel in Sega's classic beat 'em up series. The story of mafia boss Mr. X taking over the city is a rehash of the first game, but everything else was improved from previous installment.

Graphics in this game are bigger, more detailed, and animate fairly well, whether you're just walking, beating the crap out of a minion with flips and throws, or swinging a weapon at the hordes. More colors are used as well to help with the detail, and SoR2 uses the Mega Drive's background effects nicely such as the in haunted fun house section in the amusement park level.

Speaking of the levels, SEGA really tried to give each a unique feel. While you do fight in some familiar places like the opening street level and the bridge level, you're also treated some exotic locations not usually used for brawlers such as the amusement park level, the baseball stadium stage (with underground illegal cage fights), and the jungle base stage.

The music shares in the improvement, holding some of the series' best tunes of all. It's very easy to jam to tracks such as Go Straight or Dreamer which fit the tone of rough action mixed with a bit of techno.

As for actual gameplay, Streets of Rage 2 uses the base formula from the first game, and while not much has changed, it's pretty hard to justify changing the satisfying system of punching, grabbing, and throwing mixed with occasional weapons that was already established in the first game. That said, you now have special moves you can use where you can pay a small bit of life to execute a strong hit against an enemy which usually has priority over their move. A nice addition and counter if you know you're going to be hit, since it's better to take an enemy down than take a blow yourself. However, considering you don't recover life frequently, some may be reluctant to use them at all which is a bit of a downside. The real improvement to the gameplay though is along with all the colorful locations, the game offers up more varieties of enemies along with a few classics from the first game. While you're fight many common schmucks along the way, this is also a game where you'll do battle with ninjas, robots, berserk bikers, and guys on jetpacks. Absolutely ridiculous, but also shows how committed the game is to pure fun.

Streets of Rage 2 is one of the best experiences you can find on Genesis, let alone one of the best two player games you can find out there. For a very reasonable price, you have a game that is very re-playable and memorable, offering some of the best parts of the arcade experience on a game console and now your PC.

75

If You Thought Superheroes Had It Easy, Think Again

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 19, 2013 | Review of Comix Zone

Comix Zone is one of the last beat 'em up games SEGA released on their Mega Drive/Genesis system, and true to it's title, is brimming with the charm and fun of an actual comic book adventure. As comic book creator Sketch Turner, you're sucked into your own comic book and must survive the drawn perils the book's villain Mortus creates, and then escape.

Thankfully, you become stronger upon entering the comic book universe, and are able to stand up to the minions and deathtraps of Mortus. However, unlike nearly every other brawling game, you're restricted to only two lives (or one if Mortus is feeling very uncharitable). And thanks to the occasional platforming peril, you can easily lose after one accidental hop into a pit. Adding to those problems, health pick ups tend to be hidden and scarcely found as well, even with your pet rat tearing up the comic pages for items.

So why play it? Despite the difficulty, the game is a really satisfying brawler with a variety of attacks you can use against all the henchmen and mutants. The comic page environments are really nice too, keeping with the flow of a typical comic story with outlandish scenery tailored to a fantastic adventure. Comix Zone also plays with the fact it is a comic book setting with Sketch and his pet rat routinely ripping apart the paper pages to progress through a stage or find items.

Overall, Comix Zone is a very charming games that fans of superheroes and beat 'em ups will enjoy, but it isn't friendly to newcomers of this sort of video game. Hence, I can only really recommend this to experienced players of the genre, but for those who enjoy this sort of game, you will love it. Will you beat the game is an entire matter entirely however.

40

The Game That Kicked Off A Generation

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 19, 2013 | Review of Altered Beast

Altered Beast is a beat 'em up arcade game made in late 1988, and eventually ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis version you see here soon afterwards. Originally, a pack-in game for the system, Altered Beast was meant to show off that Sega's console could faithfully reproduce the full quality and graphics of the arcade experience compared to Nintendo's more limited NES system. While not a perfect conversion, Altered Beast showed an arcade experience in the living room was possible and turned some heads before Sonic the Hedgehog took center stage for SEGA.

That said, there are several reasons why the Mega Drive/Genesis became far more popular once Sonic replaced Altered Beast as the pack-in game. Altered Beast was designed to show off the capabilities of the system, but has very little lasting charm outside of the hilariously grating sound clip of "Rise from your grave!"

The story is relatively simple. The evil god of the underworld and sorcerer Neff has kidnapped Zeus's daughter Athena, and you're revived and tasked with saving her, punching and kicking anyone who stands in your way. At least Zeus is in character, forcing other people to do the job he should be doing, but where is Hades in all this? While I'm glad Hades wasn't misrepresented as a villain like in the Disney movies, he's nowhere to be found with Neff firmly in his position in the Greek Pantheon. Also, if Neff is god of the underworld, how is Zeus able to revive you when you're dead already? The ending does give a little bit of clarity as to how all this silliness works, but it would be nice if it made sense within the logic of the game.

As for the game itself, it was made in that rough period between 8 and 16-bit graphics, and it shows with Altered Beast having great graphics and colors...for 1988. By today's standards, they're big, somewhat deformed, and rough around the edges. While later games would be able to use tricks and improvements in the cartridge hardware to look prettier, Altered Beast shows they had a lot of work to do to learn the system.

The actual gameplay also shows a lot of simplicity and arcade difficulty. While the parallax scrolling helps make the game a little smoother, it's hard to ignore you have only 5 stages to play through, and that you have only two real attacks, a punch and a kick. The objective is to gain orbs to transform into buffer forms until you become a were-creature of some sort to fight the stage's boss, and while the transformations allow you to play with new attacks, it's still very simple. Yet, despite that simplicity, the game is rather brutal thanks to it's arcade origins, and it will take planning and knowledge of your enemies to be able to survive past the first stage.

Altered Beast is an important game in terms of the medium's history. It was SEGA's flagship title for their Mega Drive, which helped push the way for Sonic and their other fantastic titles. Altered Beast's flaws also helped SEGA learn and improve on the beat 'em up genre with the later Golden Axe and Streets of Rage series. Despite all that history however, the game simply isn't fun to play. Outside of the "Rise from your grave!" meme, there's nothing particularly noteworthy or charming about the game with several titles heavily improving upon what it set out to do. It's not a bad game, but I can't recommend it either, and suggest you try out some of SEGA's other, better games on Green Man Gaming.

85

To Save The Beans You Must Blow Them Up! ...What?

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 19, 2013 | Review of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine CAP

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a spin-off of the popular Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and is a repainted version of the excellent Japanese puzzle game, Puyo Puyo. Oddly, this game uses characters and the version of Dr. Robotnik from the first Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon, and yet Sonic himself doesn't appear anywhere (unless you're to assume that you yourself are Sonic on the left half of the screen).

The game is relatively easy to learn, but takes some skill to really master. Basically, your job is to completely clog your opponents half of the screen with beans. This is done by combining four or more same colored beans on your half of the screen, and making combination reactions of other groups of beans, which causes piles of worthless colorless beans to fall into your opponent's space. You must be swift however, or the opponent will do the same to you and potentially ruin the combos you were developing.

As for the actual game modes, you have single player where you play through 13 stages of AI opponents with rising difficulty in both speed and tactics culminating in a brutal final boss fight against Dr. Robotnik himself. The AI is surprisingly good in the later stages and will test your resilience and patience, but thankfully there is a password system that will allow you to take a break and try again later if needed.

There is also a two player mode, which is always a good time, either as just as a duke out between two friends or as a party game thanks to the swift nature of the experience. Not really much else to say here other than I do think the multiplayer is better than the other big puzzle game Tetris, thanks to the how you can use the beans to attack your opponent rather than just run up a high score.

In short, if you like puzzle games like Tetris, if you're looking for a good multiplayer or party game, or if you're just looking for fast paced fun, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a fantastic choice for you.

95

The Answer Is Always More Dakka

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 19, 2013 | Review of Gunstar Heroes

Gunstar Heroes is a run n' gun game made by Treasure, where you dart about screen, shooting any enemy that gets in your way, such as in the vein of Metal Slug and Contra. Why? Well, the story is very simple, an evil empire is going to revive an ancient evil robot that will obliterate Earth, and you (and a potential second player) are the only one who can blast both threats into dust.

Unlike it's competition however, Gunstar Heroes allows you to survive multiple hits. This doesn't make the game easy, in fact it keeps up a good difficulty curve to the end. However, it does make it fairer, allowing you to survive that one stray shot that would have killed you in similar games. The real mechanic that sets it apart though are the weapon orbs. You have two weapon slots to put in four different guns that can be combined that boil down to flamethrower, rapid fire, a lightning straight shot, and homing shots. While you can combine two of the same gun for a greater effect, part of the fun of the game is trying out the various gun combinations until you find the one you really like to deal with the stage and bosses.

Speaking of the bosses, the game's fantastic graphics give a lot of life and personality to the bad guys you're fighting, and the levels your shooting through. While they aren't quite as sophisticated as the 2D animation found in Metal Slug, Treasure managed to do more with lesser technology, matching the quality of their other titles such as Dynamite Headdy.

Gunstar Heroes is one of those classic games that really holds up well as a solid run n' gun game that few have surpassed. The price is fantastic for what you're getting, even better if you have a friend to play it with. If you're looking for some intense action, Gunstar Heroes will deliver.

80

Who Needs Guns, I Have These! PUNCH!

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 19, 2013 | Review of Streets of Rage™

Streets of Rage is the first in Sega's popular beat 'em up series where you star as one of three ex-cops hellbent on tearing through every thug in down to save the city from the mysterious Mr. X. A simple premise for a brawling game already seen in Final Fight, but Streets of Rage did a decent job of offering some differences to Capcom's competition. Streets of Rage 1 remains of the few side-scrolling brawlers with multiple endings (later seen in Splatterhouse 3), and was one of the first to feature a playable female character.

In terms of mechanics, Sega improved upon the formula set in Golden Axe by adding a fun system based on grabs, throws, and flips in addition to punching your enemy's face into paste with your fists or weapons. While the special attacks were simplified, in return you have more enemy variety, though by the last levels you see an unfortunate amount of recycling with palette swaps of the same enemies until the final boss.

The graphics are decent, and while the later games highly improve on the environments, the first does an serviceable job of portraying a gritty city, while showing off a great amount of colors. The music works really nicely too, bouncing around urban and techno moods for good listening for the ears.

Streets of Rage 1 is relatively simple, but for a cheap brawler, it's a fun time, especially with a friend. While its sequel improves on everything presented here, the first game is a good game in it's own right, being one of the better brawlers of its era.

90

A Medley Of Sega's Finest

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 19, 2013 | Review of SEGA Megadrive Collection - Series 5

Sega's 5th Megadrive Collection features a really good line up with all of them being good, if not great titles. Because there are over 10 titles in the package, I will try and be concise with each game.

Beyond Oasis: An vaguely Arabian themed action RPG with some pretty fun gameplay like Zelda, only with breakable sub-weapons and summoned spirits. A really fun title.

Dynamite Headdy: A really fun and wacky platforming game with the gimmick of switching out your basic head for differently shaped ones with different powers. Also of note are the really good graphics for a game this old.

Golden Axe 3: Unreleased in the US, the third in the basic, but fun beat 'em series vaguely based on Conan the Barbarian and other similar fantasy stories. The green dressed dwarf is put on the sidelines for two new characters, and there are some new level hazards, but it's your basic brawler. Not the greatest of it's breed, but a solid title.

Phantasy Star II: At the time of release, RPGs were mostly a sword and sorcery affair in medieval settings. Phantasy Star's popularity arose from bucking that trend by introducing more of a science fiction element to the series with different planets to explore, and monstrous aliens and machines causing trouble. Swords and magic are still around, the story is very basic, and this title had issues with grinding, but for the time it was really good.

Phantasy Star III: While the game's Generation system allowed for different combinations of heroes to play out and was more sophisticated than the marriage system of Dragon Quest/Warrior V, the game just feels flat. The graphical style of the game just feels off compared to the previous two titles, and it really fools you at the beginning into thinking the science fiction element was thrown out the door for castles and standard fantasy instead.

Phantasy Star IV: Now this is more like it! PS IV is one of the finest RPGs of its generation, boasting really great graphics, a use of cutscenes not really seen in an RPG before, and brings back the science fiction element of the series in full force. The characters are better developed this time around and even banter a little thanks to the chat feature, heavy grinding is no longer necessary, and the abilities and character selection is expanded open in this game. Honestly, the game is full of great ideas that came together for an excellent game and a great cap to the proper Phantasy Star series.

Streets of Rage 3: While the game has a graphical boost over Streets of Rage 2, and has a fun new character in Zan, this brawler has some problems. Chiefly, it's issues lie in it's difficulty and your lack of offensive power. Even with two people, you'll find yourself struggling and limping your way to the final level even on Normal. And if you try playing on easier difficulties, you're punished by being able to play through all the levels. A disappointing end to the proper series despite boasting good new mechanics such as the ability to dash, and a rechargeable special attack bar.

The Revenge of Shinobi: A fine platforming game letting you play as a ninja who requires precise moves and attacks to survive. The really notable part of this game is depending on the version you have, the bosses will be completely different thanks to Sega of Japan's liberal use of comic book heroes and villains as bosses. While this version was forced to recolor or replace most of them, cartridge versions may boast Godzilla, a Terminator, Batman, or even Spider-Man as potential bosses depending on when your specific cartridge was produced.

Vectorman 2: A platformer game where you play a robot fighting to save the Earth from environmental and natural disasters. It plays a little bit like Contra with your main attack being shooting with weapon pick ups scattered throughout a stage. The notable differences from Contra being that you can take more than one hit and heal, but also you have a handy double jump that can even be used as an attack. While the game is a bit tougher than it's predecessor, it's a fine game and maintains the spectacular graphics the first one boasted.

Wonder Boy in Monster World: A sidescrolling, action RPG in somewhat of the same vein as Zelda 2. This game uses charming graphics for the characters, has a fair number of secrets to find, and offers up a decent challenge for our swordsman. The story isn't super amazing like most of it's competition of the time, but it has enough charm and fun to keep you entertained.

Conclusion: This is a great set, especially with this price, compared to buying them all individually. While a couple of the titles were iffy, the overall set will provide lots of entertainment and shows off the great craftsmanship Sega had back in the early to mid 90's.

60

A Piece Of Gaming History, But Times Have Changed

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 15, 2013 | Review of Virtua Fighter 2

Virtua Fighter 2 is a fighting game formerly in arcades and Sega's consoles where the simple set up is: You're in a tournament, knock your opponent's teeth out! Like most fighting games of the time, there is little to no story in the actual game itself. Understandable considering it was an arcade game which relied on people quickly shelling out quarters, but it doesn't help endear the player to the characters in this day and age.

In fact, that's the general vibe of this game, great for it's time, but horribly dated by today's standards. While the 2.5D fighting environments were very innovative for 1994, today's fighting game's have learned many lessons from this and each other's earlier entries, improving upon the old formula here. While something like Street Fighter 2 still holds enough charm and polished gameplay to be fun these days, Virtua Fighter 2 just feels a bit clunky from graphics to the actual controls.

While I can't give this a recommendation for the average customer, a fighting game fan may be interested in this title. It does show one of the more successful steps companies took into the fighting game genre after Street Fighter 2's success. However, you would be better off spending your money one of the newer fighting games out there like Street Fighter 4 or so on.

95

One Man's Fallen Dream Is Another's Fun Time

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 15, 2013 | Review of BioShock DNS

Bioshock is the tale of one man versus the lunacy of the ocean blue, about the freedom we really have, and about how we have to be cautious about progress without forgetting our humanity. Surviving from a plane crash over the ocean, your only hope of survival is a small lighthouse leading to the formerly grand underwater city of Rapture. Like the fabled ruins of Atlantis, mystery pervades the creaky tunnels of the city, with the game teasing you with little scraps of information that eventually piece together the fall of Rapture.

Bioshock's grand story is supported nicely by the great voice actors giving life to the little voice recordings abandoned in the city, all linked to the ambitious figure of Andrew Ryan, founder of Rapture. His crumbling city also serves as the overarching character of the game, showing the player the rise and fall of a great dream with fantastic graphics and set pieces among the creaky ambient sound. The grandeur of the architecture blends nicely with all of the cracks and decay strewn about, illustrating the mood well.

The actual nuts and bolts of the game is very polished as well. While the beginning might feel reminiscent of Half-Life with the creepy opening and because you're limited to a wrench at first, Bioshock quickly veers into it's own direction. Yes, at first they seem like stock shooting weapons like revolvers and shotguns, but thanks to the game's upgrade system you'll be able to decimate your foes with explosive rounds, freeze them and shatter them with well placed shot, or even electrocute those idiots in the water from afar. Guns aren't your only means of defense however, with the game offering powers, called Plasmids in this story, which allow you to burn, shock, or even seek hornets on your enemies among the many other Plasmids at your disposal.

The game is not merely a shooter however, with the open environments encouraging exploration while defending yourself. Secrets and abandoned supplies litter the streets of Rapture, and hacking vending machines and security will make your intrusion on the city easier. While not as open as an actual sandbox shooter like Fallout 3, Bioshock also doesn't feel like a linear path like a typical war shooter.

Other notes in regards to the PC version are that, yes, it does have support for a Xbox 360 gamepad if you prefer analog sticks to the mouse. Also, in addition to the game client you may be playing this on, you will have to use the much maligned Games for Windows Live system to play it. While it is annoying having to log in to GoWL every time you want to play, once your account is set up, it isn't so bad and certainly doesn't ruin the game, but it's something to keep in mind.

All in all, Bioshock isn't just another Game of the Year from the past, but it's an experience well worth trying, even this far after it's initial release. It's a game that feels like art and makes the player wonder what the best way to run a society is. However, it doesn't forget that it's a game and ensures that it's entertaining to play through as well thanks to it's colorful weapon upgrades and Plasmid powers. Everything in Bioshock manages to fit together one of the most memorable games of our time, and I can not give it a higher recommendation.

90

One Of The Last Great Games Of The Genesis

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 11, 2013 | Review of Ristar

Ristar is a platforming game released near the end of the life cycle of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. It shows as Ristar is a very polished game that uses all the potential of the system, providing fantastic graphics that rival higher color counts of Nintendo's system, sounds fantastic, and has tight controls. The story is a rather average setup with Ristar answering the call to fight the evil alien Greedy and freeing the enslaved and hypnotized leaders of nearby planets.

However, the overarching adventure does a fantastic job of giving the player beautiful worlds to explore from blaze of a fiery planetoid, the bubbling life beneath an ocean world, and the tunes of a...music world? Yes, there are some strange sights in Ristar, but it does help to establish you're fighting through alien worlds.

Speaking of fighting and exploring, Ristar uses a unique mechanic to move and defend. Our hero is able to grab enemies and objects with his stretchy arms and hands, and can propel himself higher, swing across gaps, or just defeat an enemy or boss he encounters. It works rather well with the levels doing a great job building around this core mechanic.

While the overall game isn't too terribly hard, it remains a fun romp throughout and the final boss will test your mettle. Ristar is a finely polished game, boasting crisp, beautiful graphics and keeps itself entertaining with it's grab and propel mechanics. While the older systems had a glut of platforming games, Ristar surpasses most of it's competition and is fantastic, charming experience.

85

Super Mario Bros. 3's True Sequel

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 10, 2013 | Review of Kid Chameleon

As the review's title suggests, Kid Chameleon is a platforming game built around a system of power-ups found in boxes. Unlike Super Mario World which cut the number of powers though, Kid Chameleon expands on the idea, giving you many, many hats to play around with. For example, you have the knight helmet which provides extra health and makes you heavy enough to break blocks beneath you.

While Kid Chameleon has no world map, the game has a ridiculous amount of levels and secrets to find, including secret levels within secret levels. Platforming veterans will find a good challenge here too as the early levels quickly lead into many perils from fiery pits with difficult jumps, to having to avoid advancing walls of death.

Kid Chameleon is a game that will provide loads of entertainment for you, requiring several plays to see all the levels it has to offer, as well as finding the best routes to reach the end of the game. The game could have used some sort of mapping feature to make it easier to figure out if you're actually moving forward, but it also makes discovering a new exit all the more exciting, making you wonder what's next. Try it today, because it's a fine example of the 80's/90's platformer craze.

80

Conan the Barbarian: The Video Game

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 10, 2013 | Review of Golden Axe

Golden Axe is the first one of Sega's storied brawling/beat 'em up series. A relatively early title on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Golden Axe lets you choose from either a male barbarian, the female amazon (and sorceress), or a viking dwarf?

Yes, while Golden Axe has a lot of inspiration from Conan the Barbarian, various elements from other fantasy stories are thrown in for extra fun. You can bash your foes in handily with your weapons, but you also have magic at your disposal as a screen wiping attack, or you can get riding animals who can attack your foes.

It's fairly simple and not particular long, but it's an overall fun romp through a fantasy world, just beating the crap out of evil amazons and giants. While I feel that Sega's later brawler efforts such as Streets of Rage 1 and 2 worked better, Golden Axe is a fun experience and great for its two player mode.

100

One of the Greatest Games of the 90's, Now at your Fingertips

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 10, 2013 | Review of Sonic 3 and Knuckles CAP

Sonic 3 and Knuckles is the last true 2D title in the Sonic the Hedgehog series on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Being the combination of Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, this game offers two whole games of content, making one of those most epic platforming experiences of all time.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles builds upon the basic formula of Sonic, run and jump at fast speeds, get emeralds, and beat Dr. Robotnik. However, this game introduces several new features to spice up the experience. Elemental shields now litter the levels, offering Sonic plenty of new abilities such as the Lightning Shield's double jump. There's also a new character select option, allowing you to play as Tails and enjoy his flying ability or Knuckles with his gliding ability (both at the cost of no elemental shield abilities), offering new ways to play through the game.

Level design is fantastic as well, with every zone offering multiple routes through to the end, and each world having a unique look. Mushroom Hill Zone and Ice Cap Zone in particular were a blast with the mushroom platforms and snow mechanics. The music is spectacular as well with nearly every tune fun to listen to, whether it's the multiple Robotnik boss themes, the special zone theme, or just the regular level tunes. While not as clear as those in Sonic CD, Sonic 3 and Knuckles' soundtrack is very memorable.

The game is one of the finest game experiences you can have, offering hours of platforming fun, a good challenge, and multiple ways to play. It looks and sounds great, A lot of heart and effort went into this title and for the price, you're getting quite a lot. I can't recommend Sonic 3 and Knuckles higher, it's one of the best Sonic games if not the best. Try it today if you haven't, you won't be disappointed.

90

How To Make Time Travel Fun

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 9, 2013 | Review of Sonic CD

Sonic CD is one of the lesser known, but still fantastic Sonic games, released as a killer app for Sega Genesis' add-on, the Sega CD. The basic outline is Dr. Robotnik is messing around with time to make his industrial empire in the future. Thankfully for you, you can zip through time as well and thwart his plans before they can take hold.

Sonic CD's basic mechanics aren't unfamiliar. You run and jump across levels with multiple routes, crunch some robots, and play through some special stages to get the gems (Time Stones) to beat Robotnik for good...this time around. The unique mechanic as listed before is time travel however, done by zipping quickly past by one of the conveniently placed time period sign posts. This isn't a half baked mechanic however, with the Past giving the whole level a prehistoric atmosphere, while the Future shows a gritty, grim industrial future (or a shiny, colorful future if you thwart Robotnik's plans in the area). You will also need to explore time in order to progress through several of the levels when you reach a dead end, and it's helpful for getting more rings and lives.

The music also deserves a lot of praise, whether you're playing with the US or Japanese/European soundtrack as the CD quality music sounds really nice, and each time zone for each level gets a tune. I'd also praise the US version of Robotnik's boss theme, which is probably the creepiest theme he's ever had in the series.

Sonic CD is a spectacular entry in the Sonic series, offering plenty for the player with tense moments like the race against Mecha Sonic, or with all the secrets hidden through the stages various time periods. The music is engaging and works well, and keeps true to Sonic's roots as a fast and furious platformer. If you haven't tried out Sonic CD, I highly recommend this title. The main game is loads of fun, and you won't see everything in just one playthrough, giving you a reason to go back.

65

If I Had One Word To Describe This, It Would Be "Awkward"

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 9, 2013 | Review of Sonic 3D Blast CAP

Sonic 3D Blast is an isometric platforming game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. That means in order to simulate actual 3D, the 2D plane is tilted or twisted to give the illusion of depth. Now this concept alone isn't a bad idea and many games have used it to great effect, most notably real time strategy games and strategy RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics. Heck, even some more adventurous games like Landstalker on the Sega Genesis and Solstice on the NES pulled it off nicely.

However, this isometric view has many flaws, particularly when you're trying for precise controls outside of the PC. Older games typically didn't have the option to rotate the camera and depth could be difficult to determine, even with a shadow. This hurts Sonic 3D Blast since these early games relied on Sonic pinpointing his attacks typically by jumping on his foes. Without the precision of the 2D plane however, it becomes odd and harder to hit your foes.

Another issue with 3D Blast is the lack of original or engaging environments. While several Sonic games start with a grassy area and end in an industrial or space area, the creators usually like to fill in the middle with unique and fun areas to zip through. But nothing in the middle has that iconic feel like previous levels like Casino Night Zone or Ice Cap Zone.

That said, the game does work and does it best to be a Sonic game despite the awkward perspective. You run around a level, jump on some baddies, and get the chaos emeralds to stop Dr. Robotnik. Without any unique levels though, without a great soundtrack, and with that isometric camera bugging you throughout the game, Sonic 3D Blast just feels like a mediocre title in the Sonic series. Many have argued that Sonic has had trouble with doing 3D, but it's possible and has been done such as in Sonic Generations or Sonic Colors. In short, skip this, there are better Sonic games you can buy on Green Man Gaming. Even if you're a Sonic fan, this game is unnecessary, offering little to the overall series but awkwardness.

70

A Decent Spinoff, But Only For Pinball Fans

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 9, 2013 | Review of Sonic Spinball CAP

Sonic Spinball is at it's heart a pinball game starring the fastest blue hedgehog alive. Except that Spinball isn't really built around speed. You're still collecting Chaos Emeralds and fighting Dr. Robotnik, but at it's core, it's a relatively standard pinball game where you're trying to collect a lot of points for a high score. That's perfectly alright though, as I enjoy pinball, but this one doesn't excite as much as an actual pinball table does. Heck, it doesn't even match up to it's competition in the Sega Genesis time period with Dragon's Lair.

I believe one of the biggest problems with this game is the sounds and music, as they fail to bring a whole lot of energy to the game, or even sound relatively nice to listen to. They drone on and on, while you're busy trying to get that last chaos emerald. Also, because the game makers wanted Sonic to be big enough to match up with his usual size in the regular Sonic games, it was a poor choice here. Because we're zoomed in so far on Sonic, you can only see a chunk of the pinball table at a time, making it harder to pinpoint where you want to fire Sonic.

Overall, the concept isn't a bad one. A pinball game based on a popular video game character can be excellent like Metroid Prime Pinball which managed to incorporate elements of Metroid with quick, energetic pinball. Sonic Spinball though is slower, and just feels like it lacks the certain about of polish or energy of a Sonic game. If you enjoy pinball or Sonic, you might want to give it a try, but you're not missing that much if you skip on this title either.

80

Why Would a Mad Scientist Need to Gamble?

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 9, 2013 | Review of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 CAP

After the first Sonic's success, Sega quickly capitalized on his popularity and crafted Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It's a classic platformer that introduced several new locations to the series such as Casino Night Zone, and gave Sonic a steadfast ally in Tails, who also allowed for co-operative play.

Graphically the game looks a bit nicer than it's predecessor with an updated look for Sonic and some sharper sprites for you and the enemies. They also do a fantastic job of painting the backdrop of all the new locales Sonic is forced to run through such as Chemical Plant Zone which managed to bring a lot of color to a place that's basically a factory level.

Gameplay is relatively the same, run around to the end of the level, collect rings to protect yourself, and get to the special stages (now in goal posts) to get the Chaos Emeralds. Though with the addition of Tails, you can have another (basically invincible) character run around to help you collect rings or fight the enemies. You'll likely want another person's help too since without it, Tails has an AI that is prone to temporary suicide and little help to you during the Special Stages. The most important part about the game though is speed which the game accomplishes even better than the first title. Along with the ability to stop and spin to quickly roll, Sonic's pace is improved, allowing you to zip through a stage if you feel like it (or wish to speed run).

Honestly, there isn't much more to say. The music is really good with some especially memorable tracks in Chemical Plant Zone and the Final Boss tune, it offers more environments to play through than the first game, and the final boss feels like a legitimate threat rather than just Dr. Robotnik dipping up and down in a piston machine. The ability for two players on the same screen was a great way to include more on the fun, and you still have everything that made the original a good game. StH2 is well worth a play-through if you enjoy platforming games, and holds up well against it's modern competition.

80

The Start of the Blue Blur

CrimsonWizard | Jan. 7, 2013 | Review of Sonic the Hedgehog CAP

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) is the first game in Sonic's long and storied game history. It was Sega's first really huge, commercially successful game in the United States, and fueled the start of the old 90's console wars. Does it hold up though compared to the platformers that came after it?

I say yes. However, there are a few issues that can't really be helped. For those grew up playing Sonic on a Sega Genesis controller, it might feel a little weird playing with PC controller. Also, some effects such as the waterfalls can't be generated as well since the game relied on how the old boxy TVs of old worked and exploiting their quirks.

That said, the game is still fun. Relatively tight controls in a game that invented the idea of a platformer built around speed. It's a little bit short, but each area has it's own personality, from the excellent sound track, to just the neat look of each area such as the fiery ruins of Marble Zone. It also brought the idea of the Big Bad (Dr. Robotnik) fighting you at the end of each leg of the journey, making him one of the most active bad guys in the industry.

Overall, it's a fun platformer. A bit overshadowed by the games Sonic and Mario inspired over time along with their own sequels, but Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) is a classic and should offer you plenty of fun for the price of admission.

85

Insanity Spreads, Time to Fix it Again Engineer

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 30, 2012 | Review of Dead Space 2 (NA) DNS

Dead Space 2 is another in EA's survival horror franchise, built upon the framework of Resident Evil 4 in space. After barely escaping the Ishimura and destroying the Necromorphs in the first game, engineer and psychiatric patient Issac Clarke awakens to find himself on a mining colony shortly before the Necromorph threat re-emerges, making short work wrecking the place and infecting the survivors.

Deep rooted stress seems to have done our hero good as he's finally allowed to speak in this game, making Isaac a more engaging character as he's forced to survive and figure out what's going on this time around. The character cast is also a marked improvement rather than just voices telling you where to go next. You find out you're not the only one going insane, and what you thought you knew gets twisted around and back.

Other improvements over it's predecessor are the increase in environments. Instead of being stuck in either a tin, industrial ship, or space, Issac gets to also fight through an actual city with a church, school, mall, and residences. It actually helps make the Necromorphs appear more threatening, showing how they'll rip apart anything, even our cities for their goals, rather than just some giant mining ship in the middle of nowhere.

Unfortunately, the game still isn't very scary like it's predecessor with monsters still relying on jump scares or sneaking up behind you. The environments are spooky with the marks of death and darkness permeating the colony, but you never get that overwhelming sense of dread like an actual fear gives you.

However, the game seems to know this and instead opted to improve and embrace what Dead Space 1 was good at. Instead of the magnet boots for zero gravity, you get a fun jet-pack to fly around in those sections this time around, and puzzles still pepper the game. Your arsenal from Dead Space 1 is back, but some weapons have gotten nice upgrades with the Military Pulse Rifle finally packing some punch, and the flamethrower not being a complete waste of time. Your stasis power to freeze enemies is also better this time around, a bit faster and makes the tougher Necromorphs manageable.

Dead Space 2 isn't very good at horror, but as an action game it's very nice, improving on every other facet of the prior game. Isaac's an actual character this time around, his supporting cast is better, and the fun of Resident Evil 4 in space is still there, but now with an awesome jetpack. I give this game a big recommendation, and hope they continue the momentum upwards for Dead Space 3. I do have one question though for EA, how come Isaac looks like boxart male Commander Shepard from Mass Effect?

75

You're Stuck on a Tin Can of Monsters, Get Shooting Engineer

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 30, 2012 | Review of Dead Space (NA) DNS

Dead Space is the first of a survival horror series made by EA, putting you in control of engineer Isaac Clarke. You're sent on what you assume to be a repair job, but are quickly trapped on the U.S.S. Ishimura, a giant spaceship with little chance of any immediate help against the infesting threat, named the Necromorphs.

Unfortunately, there isn't much to the story as Isaac is little more than the repair robot the side characters ask and/or demand to run around this hell in space to fix the ravaged Planetcracker. You're completely silent (unless you count the text only messages), with the only real character development being a growing sense of insanity, and most of the other characters are somewhat bland.

However, I can at least praise the game play. At first glance, you'd think you're playing Resident Evil 4 in space, and while that is the base skeleton of the game, Visceral Games made sure to craft weapons and mechanics to take advantage of the sci-fi horror setting. Zero gravity and oxygen deprivation areas are peppered through the game, you have Statis powers to freeze enemies and obstacles, and most of your weapons have a useful secondary mode such as proximity mines from your spread shot laser.

The Necromorphs are also not zombies, but abominations that will have lunge at you quickly with bladed limbs or try to drag you away to the dark depths of the ship. Something that may throw you off is that you must aim for the limbs, not their heads, which at least makes some sort of sense. The monsters are in a way like a parasite or virus, they wouldn't need their victim's brain, and shooting away their means of attack make them useless. While fairly gruesome looking, it's hard to call them scary, with the monsters relying on jump scares or brutal death blows.

Dead Space is fun if you're seeking more Resident Evil 4 and were disappointed with Resident Evil 5. There are actually some puzzles in this game, the environment hazards along with the monsters and weapons are a refreshing change, and exploring and looting is a good bit of fun. However, the game isn't very scary, supplies aren't really limited enough to be considered much of a survival game, and the overall plot and characters are forgettable. If you can get a decent deal on this, I would give it a try. I would also give Dead Space 2 a chance if you liked this one, improving on the some of the faults of this one.

95

You Are The Night! You Are Batman!

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 30, 2012 | Review of Batman Arkham City: Game of the Year

Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the highly praised Arkham Asylum. AC had a high bar to reach from AA's fantastic experience and it exceeds on all accounts.

Arkham City is built around a chunk of Gotham City being sectioned off into a prison town where prisoners along with political protesters and dissidents are thrown in at the dead of winter, left to fend for themselves. While the scenario evokes Escape from New York, you're not Snake, you're Batman, and the city does a far better job of letting you act out that role. Swinging through the Gotham skyline is really satisfying, with the graphics detailing a gritty, decaying world rife with thugs eager for a shot at Batman.

The game is also very respectful of Batman's many incarnations. The story is very dark and thrilling like the current Batman movies, but also has some of the fantastic voice acting of the Bruce Timm cartoons, and nods to comics such as The Killing Joke for it's story. Keep in mind though, the Arkham games are their own universe, events might not play out as you would imagine.

Arkham City pays more than homage though. Rocksteady worked to improve some of the flaws of Asylum. There is more variety in the boss fights such as the Mr. Freeze fight, who learns throughout the fight and defends against your techniques, requiring you to learn and adapt in order to succeed. In fact, another improvement is that nearly all of the major characters of the Batman universe appear, either as their own side-quest or as part of the violent power struggle over Arkham City.

Ultimately, Arkham City is a glorious spectacle and a fun time. Hours upon hours of gameplay are offered between the plot, side stories, and the various Riddler challenges. Rocksteady kept what was good in the first game such as look, voice acting, combat system, exploration,and gadgets, but improved by expanding the game world for Batman and throwing more of his villainous foils into the mix. Whether you're a Batman fan, a fan of sandbox games, or just someone look for a fun game to pass some time, Arkham City won't disappoint you.

90

A Charming Platformer and Fun Challenge

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 28, 2012 | Review of VVVVVV

VVVVVV is a platformer built to resemble some of the 8-bit platformers of old. In particular, it evokes a graphical style like the Commodore 64, while using the unique mechanic of gravity flipping. While gravity flipping has been done before such as in Metal Storm for the NES, but VVVVVV is far more refined in it's use of it's mechanic like Bionic Commando Rearmed's use of the grappling arm in lieu of typical jumping.

By "more refined", I mean that most rooms in VVVVVV feel like a well crafted puzzle rather than just moving from one edge of the screen to the other. Each section of the interconnected world has a theme to challenge Captain Viridian, from spikes to reflective walls, and more. While a few of the collectibles placed in the game require navigating some frustrating puzzles, the game maintains a good difficulty curve. You'll die a lot, but checkpoints are frequent and restarting is quick, cutting down on frustration from a tough chamber.

Also of note, the soundtrack of VVVVVV is fantastic, using some 8-bit beepy sound with a jamming melody, each section's tune standing out from each other. It's a real nice listen when you need to stop to think out how to survive the next room.

VVVVVV is a great example of a platformer with a unique mechanic, paying homage to the old era of games while refining the gameplay to make it sleeker. It's not super long, but for the price listed and the effort put into crafting the world, VVVVVV is a fun experience.

90

The Sonic 4 You've Been Waiting For

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 : Episode II

Sonic 4: Episode 2 takes place very shortly after the conclusion of episode 1, but it's clear in those few minutes that things have changed radically. Thankfully for the better! Episode 1 had the bones of something good, but clearly had too many faults and quirks to be a true Sonic 4. Sonic Team clearly looked at all of the complaints and suggestions and crafted together something amazing.

First and foremost, the physics and actual gameplay are vastly improved. When you move Sonic in this title, it actually feels like Sonic with plenty of fluid speed. You also have Tails helping you out this time, allowing for 2 player co-op. Or for those in single player, you can use him like an ability button to fly up and for combination moves, kind of like how Diddy Kong works in Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii.

Level design and theme is another firm improvement in this game. Unlike the previous episode which mostly copied or paid homage earlier Sonic games, Episode 2 uses mostly new locations for it's 2D fun along with new mechanics such as a level dedicated to tilting platforms or running along the sides of a wall. There are some callbacks to older games such as with the Sky Fortress stages and the Special Zones being based off of Sonic 2, but this time it's balanced out with new locales, and the bosses are all brand new and fun to fight this time.

The game is a lot prettier too with one of the weird quirks of Episode 1. When you run through the Slyvania Castle Zone, you'll be amazed at the beauty and detail that went into the level. While it's not quite on the level of Trine 1 and 2 in terms of graphics, it definitely looks great, even as you zip by at full speed.

The music is even a step up from before, with plenty of memorable tracks that would fit in with any of the old Sonic games.

And heck, for those who want more, owners of Episode 1 received a bonus mode here with Act Metal, letting you play as Metal Sonic himself and trying out some of the Episode 1 levels, but with the new physics engine and tougher hazards.

If my previous points did not make it clear, I'll spell it out. This is Sonic 4, the real one, 2D Platforming goodness and all. A lot of heart and care went into this one, and it feels like they addressed every problem with the first Episode. Actual new levels, better control and physics, wonderful graphics and music, Tails for fun flying, challenging bosses, and a good amount of gameplay hours. A fantastic title, and who knows, if you purchase this, there might be goodies waiting for you in Sonic 4: Episode 3.

70

A Good Game, but Clearly a Beta

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

Sonic 4 is one of Sega's newer initiatives to help sustain and grow the popularity of the long running Sonic the Hedgehog series. Unlike the standalone titles Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, Sonic 4 is to be released episodically, allowing the developers a chance to fine tune and improve Sonic 4 with each episode, essentially making each one it's own game in a series.

However, it becomes increasingly clear as you play that Episode 1 is merely the origin point and beta for what's to come. While the game itself works fine and is a decent platformer, long time fans will likely be put off by the subtle and wacky changes to how the speed and physics handle compared to those in the classic Genesis/Mega Drive games or the 2D levels of Sonic Generations.

Another issue is that the game mostly recycles similar themes for its levels, evoking Green Hill Zone and Death Egg among others. The bosses are most remixes of old bosses from the 16-bit days as well, with the addition of some new desperation attacks for good measure. Even the bonus stages are ripped right out of the style of the Sonic 1 bonus stages.

The music is a positive point though, the tunes working fairly well, especially the invincibility theme. Graphically it looks nice, though there was an odd issue with Sonic looking a bit too bright during the outdoor stages. It's hard to tell without a screenshot, but lets just say there are little lesser quirks like that filling the game.

With all of these issues, it becomes a little difficult to recommend the title. It's not that bad, and it does unlock an extra set of levels for Sonic 4: Episode 2, but Episode 1 feels like a very rough prototype. However, don't be discouraged Sonic fans, for those who want more 2D games and enjoyed Sonic Generations 2D levels, there is Episode 2 which heavily improves upon Episode 1's faults. For more, please check out my review on Episode 2's store page.

75

A Decent Diversion, but Unnecessary

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Sonic Generations - Casino Nights Pinball DLC

In case you did not see earlier, this is not for a new level for Sonic Generations, but merely a pinball mini-game themed after Sonic 2's Casino Night level, given as a pre-order bonus way back when Generations was originally released.

That said, for about a couple bucks, you get a pinball mini-game where you flip Sonic around a pinball table, trying to score as many points as you can. Unfortunately, that's about it. While it's nice that Sonic Spinball gets a little nod in Generations, this does match the sort of fun that title provided. Sonic is stuck in ball form, and there is no objective other than points.

It's not a bad pinball game, mind you. It's a bit easy, and doesn't feel quite as solid as other pinball games I've played, it works fairly well and gives you a nice in-game break from the platform perils. That said, you can skip the DLC as well, and not miss anything. Honestly, it comes down to if you enjoy pinball and/or if you're eager to finish the Sonic collection.

90

Sonic Keeps Racing Towards a Good Future

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Sonic Generations

I would like to give just a little background before this review. My first system was a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and I grew up a Sonic fan, loved 1, 2, and 3 & Knuckles. Then I ignored Sonic for a long time afterwards, having skipped his 3D outings until a few months ago I was dazzled and loved Sonic Colors on the Wii. Enthused by that title, I purchased Sonic Generations and was not disappointed.

Sonic Generations throws our hedgehog into a time travel plot where is was forced into an alternate reality populated by some of his most memorable stages and events throughout his 20+ years of games. Starring the modern version of Sonic alongside his younger, classically styled self, he has to race across each stage, free his friends that have become trapped in the alternate reality, and find a way back home for them all.

The game ran great on my PC with few hiccups despite the speed, making the 2D levels with classic Sonic feel like a return of those fun games from the Genesis/Mega Drive days. They thankfully also add something new thanks to the 2D re-imaginings of the 3D levels, and the abilities you can earn for both Sonics. While I would say Sonic Color's 3D levels were better overall, Sonic's 3D levels in Sonic Generations were still a good time. The camera kept pace with him and it wasn't too hard to keep a good pace through the level. That and it was fun seeing what places like Green Hill and Chemical Plant Zone would be like in a 3D perspective.

The game offers plenty of levels, bosses, and challenges for you to compete, making sure you get plenty of hours out of Sonic's 20th anniversary game. It sounds and looks great, melding together two eras of Sonic nicely, and works as a good introduction to the series for newer players. SEGA did a fantastic job keeping up the momentum from Sonic Colors and Sonic 4: Episode 2, and I look forward to more Sonic in the future.

75

A Decent Game Made Better with Friends

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Borderlands

Borderlands is a RPG shooter in the same vein as Fallout 3 with a massive desert and wild west sort of theme. There are no cowboys, but guns are power in this world, each randomly generated with all sorts of pros and cons.

Gameplay allows up to four players to quest together in the dusty wastes, shooting just about anything that moves, leveling up and boosting the abilities of your chosen class (of which, you have four option), letting you use attack birds and invisibility against your foes among other skills. However, you'll find that while good general fun with friends, it's built upon the same sort of quests of "Go here, kill all the baddies, and loot." without much variation other than the times you can drive around in your vehicle to blast things.

The plot is also paper thin and merely a means to get us to the next level when it rears it's head. The four classes or characters while visually distinguishable, have little in the way of actual impact or personality, just acting as the tool for the player to loot and plunder.

Speaking of visuals however, a positive point is that the cel-shaded look of the game gives Borderlands a neat look, making it visually distinct from some of its competition and lending itself well to some of the cartoonish situations and bosses you have to fight.

Overall, Borderlands is a competent game and has some fun co-operative action, but on it's own merits, it's lacking a certain something. A few different types of missions and locations would have helped the main game, thought the DLC does help to fix those problems a bit. I recommend it if you can get a good deal on it. While I could say it's competition in Fallout 3/New Vegas surpasses it, I see potential in this game which I hope the sequel succeeds in capitalizing on.

95

Classic Gameplay, Shiny New Look

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Trine

Trine is a beautifully crafted game with visuals that will awe you. From hauntingly dark caverns and dungeons to brightly lit forests of viridian, Trine strives to give you something nice to look at while solving it's fun puzzles and perils. At it's heart, Trine is a platformer, using familiar tricks such as jumping, swinging, and swimming to get around to the end of the level. However, it also incorporates other, less conventional mechanics to make levels into more of a puzzle. While combat is relatively straight forward, you'll end up switching often back to your wizard in order to craft platforms and crates to bridge your away across hazards or to reach the next section of a stage. Thankfully, the plot of our three heroes being stuck in one body means that you can switch between the knight, the thief, or the wizard with a single button.

Trine is a glorious experience and is only surpassed by it's own sequel which is highly recommended if you enjoy this one.

85

Gritty New Look with a Familiar Feel

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda's latest game in it's long running series of open ended, high fantasy RPG series. While Morrowind had a dark color palette, and Oblivion used bright colors among the burning portals to hellish lands, Skyrim opts for a more visceral, realistic look. The game's land does a stellar job of a portraying the cold north with nature providing plenty of eye candy, along with the towns and dungeons which evoke a Norse style.

Skyrim also takes some lessons from Bethesda's recent experiments with the Fallout series, with perks you can purchase for your skills after gaining a level. I will say though, that because of the sudden difficulty jumps depending on your level, you might find multi-classing your character (a magic knight for example) to be a tougher challenge early on. However, the game also includes the typical adjustable difficulty slider, so you're welcome to ease things up until you're prepared for Skyrim's full fury.

Actual combat, world traveling, and game mechanics in all however still resemble Oblivion for better or worse. While combat has some new tricks such as dual wielding weapons, spells, shields, or a mix of them all, the actual fighting and enemy AI resemble the previous Elder Scrolls. Those who disliked such combat, may find Skyrim to be a chore. Crafting equipment and potions, enchanting and strengthening gear, and exploring for far off dungeons still remains in full force, giving the player an enormous array of options to deal with threats besides combat.

The actual story of Skyrim while interesting and complimented with more, and better quality voice actors, still falls a bit short with only a handful of truly interesting characters among the massive cast of NPCs to speak to. In the least however, every town area has it's own feel, with the townies having to deal with either the local threat of undead or monsters, or the political situation with the civil war against the rest of the empire.

While Skyrim doesn't feel like an evolution to Oblivion, it does feel like a better polished, and richer sandbox RPG than its predecessor. The Norse vibe throughout the game gives Skyrim a lot of charm, and hey, it's pretty hard not to make slaying a dragon fun.

80

An Interesting Puzzle

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of World of Goo

World of Goo is an indie puzzle game which tasks you with using cute little blobs of living goo to reach a suction tube across the level, taking care not to touch or get hindered by the various hazards.

Your goo blobs each have a unique quality depending on their color with black being your basic connectors, while green is extra bouncy. The physics are a little iffy unfortunately with your connections not always lining up with what you expect after experimentation. The actual level design itself is good however, and the game as a whole exudes a fun, cartoony style, even with the drearier looking levels.

It's a pretty good experience, and should be tried by fans of puzzle games, with plenty of content in a neat package.

90

The True Fallout 3

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 26, 2012 | Review of Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is a an open ended RPG shooter which drops you off in wreckage of Las Vegas...nine feet under. The introduction leaves you shot and left for dead, a simple courier on a mysterious delivery the main quest tasks you with discovering and finishing.

New Vegas allows you to move at your own pace with the plot though. If you can weather the hazards, you're welcome go off the rails. Complete sidequests, explore the far reaches of the map, skip the main path and evade killer bugs straight to Las Vegas.

Overall combat and exploration is similar to Fallout 3, but there are some subtle changes with new weapon choices and perks, and the return of various weapons from Fallout 1 and 2. However, a welcome addition is the new Hardcore mode which tasks you with maintaining your character. Injuries are harder to recover from, and you must eat, drink, and sleep to survive, giving the game more of a realistic edge and difficulty. It never got too terribly hard, but helped to give a persistent threat in the environment, and made food and medicine far more useful this time around.

The story and setting also surpasses Fallout 3 with a tale of mystery, with a mysterious and brutal new faction, Caesar's Legion, stepping up against the expanding New California Republic. Other groups such as the Followers of Apocalypse, Brotherhood of Steel, and the various towns and bandit groups also intertwine and fight each other, letting you join and quest for them like Fallout 2, or cut them down on a whim.

Obsidian worked very hard making a new Fallout that felt like the classic 2 from their Black Isle days, and succeeded, blending the old west scenery and 50's Future look with new threats and mechanics, making a wonderful, engrossing RPG. If Fallout 3 wasn't quite your thing, try this out.

90

Cyberpunk Conspiracies, Gold Paint, and Cool Shades

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 21, 2012 | Review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the third game in the Deus Ex series. Despite that fact, this game is an excellent starting point for people new to the series, thanks to the fact this is a prequel to the other two titles.

The story of DEX: HR is a solid one, leading Adam Jensen across the world as the social issues of augmented humans come to a head. The player is shown how such improvements can help people such as amputees regain their mobility, but also how dangerous they are with the many street punks and enemies Adam is forced to deal with.

As the tale unfolds, the game encourages you to explore your options. You can be super stealthy and sneak past most enemies through the ventilation shafts, and hack your way through every computer and alarm in your sights. You're welcome to grab lasers and rockets to mow down your enemies, or you can be a little more humane and knock them out with a stun gun or tranquilizer rifle. Heck, you can also talk your way through some characters who block your path.

The core mechanic of the game are your augments however. DEX: HR uses a level up system where for each Praxis Kit earned through pick ups or by experience points, you can spend them on skills for combat, survival, stealth, or even to reach new secret areas. The game does a fairly good job of making sure almost every ability will be useful at some point in a level.

There are some small flaws with the game however. Because the boss fights were handled by a separate studio, your only option to deal with them is to kill them, unlike the original Deus Ex. Also, the endings aren't adjusted much by your overall actions in the game, unlike something like the Mass Effect games.

However, the game is an incredible title and a welcome return to the series. I encourage everyone to try it out, whether they like shooting games, stealth games, or RPGs. The game manages to balance all three nicely, and sticks it all in a well crafted world of fantastic visuals.

100

Teamwork: The Bane of Alienkind

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 13, 2012 | Review of XCOM: Enemy Unknown (NA)

I would like to start by stating I speak as a new fan to the X-Com series with no real knowledge of the earlier titles. Despite that however, I found myself absolutely loving Enemy Unknown. X-Com is a turn based strategy game where you're tasked with whipping a team of new recruits into a fierce fighting force against an alien invasion.

You start out with relatively conventional equipment and soldiers, but by taking back the spoils of each victory, they'll all develop into one of the four classes the game offers. Heavies carry rocket launchers for explosive punches to the enemy line, Assault soldiers can run and gun with a shotgun for quick critical, Snipers have the longest range and are excellent on open maps and rooms, and Support has the most speed and can carry extra items to help your teammates.

In order to make the most out of your troops however, you need to equip them properly. That's where research and engineering come into play. After every successful mission, you're sent back to base along with all the alien scrap and materials you scavenged from the enemy. Your science team can take a few days researching and understanding your foes, letting your engineering team concoct several new weapons, armor, and even aircraft to turn the alien technology against the invaders.

Speaking of invasions, though your base only covers one continent, the invasion is worldwide, and you'll need to quickly construct aircraft and a satellite network to defend against occasional attacks from UFOs. Though some missions will have the aliens already on the ground, the game will spawn an UFO occasionally over the world as well. Failure to respond to these attacks will spread panic in the nations funding the X-Com project, and if enough pull out from fear, the plug will be pulled on your team.

Victory does not come easy, the game expects you to use good strategy and good blend of classes in order to win missions. Using cover is a key to staying alive, because early on, even the weakest enemy can kill you in one hit with a uncovered critical hit. Your enemies will slowly change as well, swapping out weaker varieties for their stronger counterparts along with brand new units that will happily rip your well trained soldiers apart. Death is permanent, so don't be surprised if you find yourself restarting a mission or reloading a save just to save a key unit on your team.

I feel I've barely scratched the surface of the title, but it is a definitely recommendation to everyone, especially fans of turn based strategy games. The look of the aliens and ships is interesting, the game randomly generates missions and threats to keep you on your toes, and it will quickly eat up your time as the simple mechanics at the beginning quickly grow complicated. X-Com sheer value in hours of fun gameplay will make this worth it to anyone willing to try, I guarantee it.

90

The World is a Colorful Wreck

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 13, 2012 | Review of Bastion

Bastion is a story of a world ravaged and a lone child forced to fight his way through the ruins, trying to put the pieces back together. The initial premise has been seen before, but the twists the story takes show that beneath all the lovely colors and visuals is a world as dark as the devastation suggests. Through it all however, the omnipresent narrator remains your faithful traveling companion, uncovering some of the mystery of these hostile fragments of a once great civilization in a fine voice.

Bastion is an action RPG through and through, giving the player many weapons and abilities to experiment with. While difficulty is relatively standard, the variety of solutions provided for the game's perils makes the experience fun and flexible. I believe this is a title that just about anyone could enjoy.

While the gameplay isn't particularly new, the story, visuals, and narrator make Bastion an endearing title, and a fantastic example of a well crafted indie game.

95

Can you survive?

CrimsonWizard | Dec. 13, 2012 | Review of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (NA)

When you break down a good game, most of them are like a puzzle. They require you to think of a solution or strategy to overcome its challenge, rather than relying solely on luck. Dark Souls does exactly that and then some to its audience. Many people who complain about the ease of modern games should try out Dark Souls if they seek out a challenge.

Dark Souls is an action style RPG, but set in an interconnecting set of stages which coalesce into a lovely world of the undead. Some may compare the visuals to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but developers From Software made sure to give each section of the game it's own personality, from the style of creatures to the fantastic set pieces. The story itself is rather light with a short introduction to bring you into the world. Afterwards, you're left to wander and try to understand what brought about this undead land on your own with the subtle clues peppered throughout the characters you encounter.

The meat of the game though is in the combat, and preparations for such. Dark Souls is a brutal, but fair game. It will rarely cheat to defeat you, but will gladly cut you down for the smallest mistake. Even if you progress your character down a path of defense and HP, you'll find that only buys you an extra mistake or two against later foes. The game expects you to block, or dodge, or if you're feeling especially skillful, parry and counter. Simply attacking head on will usually fail. You need to exploit opportunities in close combat, use the environment's traps in your favor, or find a place to snipe with arrows or magic if you want to succeed against your foes without losing your precious little health.

Speaking of death, while the game isn't as cruel as to send you back to the beginning, dying can be quite costly. Each enemy defeated (and certain items) will reward you with souls which can be spent at the spread out checkpoints in the world. Death will force you drop those souls in the place you perished, which can be a real effort to retrieve if you died by a nasty boss or trap. The game doesn't demand you to grind, but this system does subtlety suggest that it might be a good idea to retreat to a checkpoint and spend that large wad of souls, before attempting the trek again stronger and wiser of the ambushes and perils.

Dark Souls is fair however in it's brutality. The game offers many ways for you to experiment and explore to find your path to victory, from character and class customization to weapon crafting. Also, even though several of your foes are massive, many have a unique weakness or strategy that can be exploited. Some may be vulnerable to a certain magical element, while others can be easily blocked if they rely on one style of attack.

A final note that is worth mentioning, and why I deducted an arbitrary 5 points from this score was because this game, as fine as it is, has admittedly some porting issues. While slowdown didn't prove to be an issue for me like some other reviewers, this game was clearly made to be played with a controller, rather than a keyboard and a mouse. For some this may not be an issue at all as most PC games have some gamepad support these days. For those who strictly use the keyboard and mouse for gaming however, keep this in mind.

All in all though, Dark Souls is a fine title that succeeds in what it set out to do. It proves to be a difficult, but entertaining challenge, and I look forward to the recently announced Dark Souls 2.