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Feb 22nd, 2008 at 17:25:46 - Super Mario World (SNES) |
SUMMARY
Super Mario World is a continuation or another rendition of the classic Mario adventure. Mario and Luigi the italian plumbers reside in a crazy nonsensical world of monsters and turtles and mushrooms, some of which attack them in the form of goombas, red ones make them grow big, and green ones give them lives. Together with their trusty dino pal Yoshi, they commit turtle genocide and progress from level to level in the hopes of saving the Princess Peach for evil Bowser, King of the Koopas.
GAMEPLAY
This game is about as strait-forward as games come. Jump on top of enemies heads to kill them, or grab their shells to kill many with one motion. There are tools to help you, such as a fire flower that allows you to shoot flaming balls of death at your menacing adversaries, or a cape that you may fly with or twirl to unleash an even more lethal blow on an opponent. As in every other Mario classic, you may transcend the ground in tubes and swim about with assasin fish. A level is one in most cases by jumping through two blue barber poles with a white stick in the middle, but it may also be won in secret by placing a key through a keyhole and discovering a secret level.
Your trusty companion Yoshi joins you in many instances along the way. He may eat enemies with his long chameleon tongue or pulverise the monsters he jumps on. In addition, depending on the color of turtle shell he eats, he has various abilities. For a red turtle, he shoots fireballs, a yellow turtle yields an earthquake stomp, and a blue shell gives you wings. Together you progress through every level, except Yoshi is too scared to enter a ghost house or castle with you. These trials you must face alone, which usually includes laughing and insane ghosts in dark creepy maze-like ghost houses, and pits of lava and fireballs as well as stomping angry blocks in brick Castles. Castles always end with a boss, usually with one of the royal koopa family, or at least a roulette of triceratops called Renzor. I was easily and happily able to defeat the first two island worlds in my first sitting.
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Feb 8th, 2008 at 19:23:39 - Downhill Domination (PS2) |
GAMEPLAY
My second gameplay experience was another enjoyable and engaging event. This time I tried connecting with several of my friends and the game in the multiplayer version. This proved successful. Although I have only one other control, going head to head with a person who enjoys the game as much as I do in several rounds was hysterical. There is something that is just that much funnier about beating another biker senseless and knowing that it is your friend, who in turn is laughing even harder.
After some initial frustration with the loss of the Zen that I had felt previously with the game, once I was able to relax I was able to return to my previous ability level. Playing longer and attempting to collectively beat a two player arcade mode did even better to get me and my friend on the same page with the game. After some time, we began to beat each level one after the other finishing alternately first and second place. It was another entertaining and captivating experience.
DESIGN
This game does a very good job, as all games strive to do, at suckering me into thinking that I am the character in the game. When I enter the magic circle of this game, which is already easy enough to do, I master the abilities of the biker and I am able to follow the curves of the level with my movements. All the freedom that the game allows you, in choosing your pat, or your trick, or attack, or speed, you are given many options as you are in real life. This synchronizes your thoughts and feeling with those that the game intends to inspire, creating an incredibly enjoyable game experience.
These elements that convince you of being your character are truly artistic techniques that come through on every level of the game. They are tools that transcend people's differences and appeal to the very fundamental desires of every person. Furthermore, they help connect us to others via the language of the game.
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Feb 8th, 2008 at 19:08:17 - Downhill Domination (PS2) |
SUMMARY
This is a truly captivating rendition of downhill bike riding. You play the role one of several bikers that represent various characters of different nationalities and walks of life. Once you choose the character that best suits you, you follow a career of downhill bike races in a series of of locations, competing for 1st place as well as tricks and cash flow as the ultimate motivation. This is also a multiplayer game, where you may go head to head against your friends in this truly enjoyable game.
GAMEPLAY
I am revisiting this game after years of neglect and having forgotten its true entertainment value. Even so, it was an incredibly refreshing experience that reminds me of why I loved it so much in the first place. When I play this game, I feel very connected with the spirit of the race. Coming out of the starting gates, I am quickly put in the position of my rider as he careens down the hill on his flimsy bike enduring harsh physical attack from my fellow racers. I chose this big Kahuna Hawaiian stereotype, and somehow this made me feel even more engaged in the game. I am given a wide scope of control over my character's actions, and I may jump, pedal, attack, and do tricks all while focusing on the ultimate goal; getting down the hill in one piece in first place.
I completed the first group of races, each of which took place in various beautiful and crazy course locations. Starting in the mountains of Italy, in a new place I begin with the "Freeride" type race, which allows me to roam over a series of preset courses that end up feeling very open and broad as I explore new secrets and possible paths. The freeride is also the longest ride, often taking you to the bottom of a mountain map, such is the case in Hawaii where you ride all the way gown to the beach from a volcano top. After quickly getting into the groove of the game, I easily am able to score first place and I crave more difficulty and technicality.
My wish is granted with the next two race types present at every geographical location. There is the TD (Technical Drive) where you must navigate through many obstacles to reach the finish line. There is also the MX, the short lived incredibly exciting motocross version of downhill biking. After progressing through many of these level groups, I after a while became satisfied by my biking abilities and quit just before attempting a snowy russian mining/army mountain.
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Jan 24th, 2008 at 20:49:58 - Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES) |
GAMEPLAY
My second bout with this game I decided to start with the boss I left for myself earlier. This turned out to be one of the most original bosses I have seen, at least from Donkey Kong. I had to battle a flaming lava bone sword by first running away from it jumping from hook to hook over a pool of lava, then throwing a cannonball at it. Winning this fight took me to the third world, which succeeded in actually thoroughly creeping me out. This Ship was sunken in a woodsy bog, and patrolled by strange creatures. I came across double-sworded kremling babies, purple porcupines, many disgusting insects and pole climbing lizards. The music kinda made me feel like I was in a voodoo swamp in Louisiana.
The boss was probably the scariest part of the whole place. He was just a super buff hulk crocodile on steroids with a giant spike club bigger than Diddy and Dixie combined. The only way to hurt him was by flinging barrels full of TNT at his back as he jumped around from the trees. It was a pretty fair match but I managed to best him anyway.
The fourth world is probably the weirdest part of this game. I think they were trying to freak out clown phobics, because that whole place was creepy carnival themed. The levels were some of the most fun, however. There are several roller coasters where you ride around on a skull and race crocodiles, which remind me a lot of the old mine cart rides from the prequel. Then there is this crazy bramble level where you shoot yourself around in barrels over razor sharp thorned vines. Possibly the weirdest and scariest is the giant beehive you must navigate, where you jump around, get stuck on honey, and avoid giant spiked bees that can only be killed via rhino or barrel.
DESIGN
From an impartial initial inspection, this game is a 1 hit KO platform jumper game. Every time one of your monkey charaters is touched by an enemy, in yelps and takes off down the path. You must rescue your friend before your second monkey is killed, or you lose the level and a life which is marked by the sound of a popping balloon. As like every other platform game you must collect 100 somethings to get a new life, golden bananas in this case, and strewn throughout the levels are other goodies such as big golden coins and the occasional life balloon.
Even though the game seems incredibly cliche for today’s game world, there is no doubt that this game is definitely among the best of its class. Every level feels fresh and new as they vary the themes with the level type, colors, and backrounds. A level can have many platforms, be mostly ropes, be mostly barrels, or can be mostly on the ground; it can be in a cave, in a galleon, on a rollercoaster, or in a bees nest. But the favorite for this game is the pirate ship, fighting crocodile pirates. All of these factors make the gme incredibly versatile.
This game has it all, and seems to oddly mirror the complications that arise from the simplicity at the root of our own lives. I am a primate , whose only objectives are to stay with his girfriend and find his friend, and in so doing recollect his food supply, the Banana Hoarde. They must rise to meet every wacky or creepy obstacle that stands in their way, trampling over and eliminating any enemies with whom they cross paths.
I keep thinking that this game is based on the plastic toy “Monkeys in a Barrel.” These two monkeys can carry or throw each other to whatever destination they need to go, and a constant theme in every level is barrels. You bust your fallen friend out of a barrel, you save your level progress with a barrel, there are barrel enemys, rolling projectile barrels, barrel explosives, and of course you fly around in and are fired by barrels.
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| AlecChristensen's GameLogs |
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AlecChristensen has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 7 days |
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