Funny to stream for friends but very poor in quality. Very limited pizza making mechanics, very confusing directions sometimes, very poor animation and graphics, and I could forgive that if it weren't for the really generic and boring but also confusing story or the fact that the game uses AI voicework that sounds really bad. There was also like, maybe two scares in the entire game that got me at all.

Shoutout to the random ass rock song like one minute before the credits. Went hard for the 20 seconds I was listening to it.

I just don't think I understand the logic of making a Splatoon clone and not using the aspect of Splatoon that makes it fun. Splatoon's gameplay is revolutionary for a shooter, as it prioritizes covering ground over actually killing your enemies or capturing a flag or what have you. To make a game that at its core is "I Can't Believe It's Not Splatoon" and then making none of the game modes be related to covering the ground with foam is frankly flabbergasting. It doesn't help that the modes we did get range from okay to really unfun. The "main" mode, Smash the Star, is really lame.

Splatoon's entire gameplay loop works because the weapons/movement/gameplay feed into the match goal, to cover ground. Nothing about the foam actually feeds into the core gameplay of any of the modes. You have no real reason to foam the ground other than the fact that you move faster on it and your enemies move slower on it. There are some decent to okay ideas in here, I think a hero shooter with Splatoon's mechanics is a good idea on paper, the problem is its executed clumsily here. The abilities lead to where half the time I have no idea what's going on and the character designs are insanely hit or miss. Splatoon has a very strong sense of art direction and this just feels much more safe and generic. The idea of the "ink" (or foam in this case) being able to pile up and create unique geometry is actually pretty cool, unfortunately again, it is cool on paper. Here it feels like it takes so long to pile the foam up and it makes it awkward and clumsy to try to get rid of enemy piles. Furthermore, the foam itself travels so slowly and it definitely feels worse than shooting ink in Splatoon.

It really is like they set out to make "Splatoon but on PlayStation" and then misinterpreted at every turn the core of what makes Splatoon the fun, sudden success that it is. What we're left with is a confused mess of ideas that don't really mesh together or provide an experience that is that fun or engaging. I didn't even mention the insane pricing on the cosmetics but I don't think I have to, because truthfully I don't even think it is a fun enough game to warrant playing for free in the first place. If you own a PS5 and you REALLY want to play Splatoon, just save up and get a Switch.

Not much to say because it is indeed a prototype, but the final version of SUPERHOT is, in my opinion, one of the best indie games of all time, and its really cool to see where it all started. Pretty much everything from this prototype was improved. The polygonal aesthetic really serves the final game well, the physics feel better, the setting feels better, and while interesting its a lot cooler that there is no actual voicelines in the final SUPERHOT game.

That being said, there are actually a few touches in this prototype that are charming and are missing from the final game, like the existence of bullet casings that can be heard hitting the floor and (in my opinion) more interesting visuals for the pistol.

That being said, this was a great start for what became a great game. The biggest improvement though has to be the fact that in the final game, they put more space between "SUPER" and "HOT". I shudder to imagine a world where they didn't make that change in the final game!

Kind of hard to rate this game because like, its insanely short and very limited but that's kind of the point. It's only 5 levels and each level will last you less than 30 seconds each. The actual gameplay would have been very impressive on like, a GameBoy or an NES but its just a downgraded version of SUPERHOT (no surprise there). Its kinda harsh though because its SUPPOSED to be a very short little gimmick. If this were trying to be a real game, idk, 1 star? But it succeeds at what it does, so 3 stars.

Despite not wanting to ever play a GB 2D Mario, I enjoyed Super Mario Land enough to warrant playing Super Mario Land 2, and to be honest, I see the hype. I wouldn't say I like this game as much as most other people still, but I definitely see the hype.

Super Mario Land felt like it was at conflict with itself, wanting to be its own unique Mario game but also having to contend with translating 2D Mario to the GameBoy's capabilities. This game is noticeably better in pretty much every regard. It looks better, it feels better, its more fleshed out. It even takes a wholly different approach to the Mario story formula. There is no princess to rescue, instead you have to take back Mario's castle from the evil Wario (when the hell did Mario get his own castle anyhow?).

What I really enjoy about this game is its approach to theming. Super Mario Land 1 had this globetrotting aesthetic where you were like, going around to different places, and that's kinda cool, but I prefer the theming in this game a lot more. Especially for 1992, some of these themes were actually really dope. In fact even the least creative zone, being Macro Zone (mostly because tiny/huge levels have been a staple of the series since the first game), is still pretty creative in its own right. Hell, if you really think about it Turtle Zone and Pumpkin Zone are also your water and ghost levels, but their theming is very different from what I expect out of either of those in a Mario game. I do have small nitpicks about some of the zones, like why the hell is it called Turtle Zone? Yeah a turtle eats you to get you to it, but like, after that there are no turtles besides the Koopas! It should be called Whale Zone! And Mario Zone is odd, but I kinda dig how odd it is.

Now, despite how much it seems I like this game, and I do like it, I still don't know if it reaches the levels of Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario Bros. Wonder for me, and unfortunately, its entirely because its still a GB game. I'll say this: if they ever remake this game, it will probably be able to join the ranks. I mean, despite not being up there with those two, I'd still actually say this is my third favorite 2D Mario.

Also I can't believe this is where Wario comes from, and I can't believe they immediately made him the protagonist of the followup game. Like I love Wario, but what the hell?

So for a long time I kind of refused to play the GB games because, I'm gonna be so real, the idea of a platforming game on a GameBoy sounded miserable to me. I mean, the GB is already on par with the NES, and I only like one platforming game on NES, Super Mario Bros. 3. Note how that means I don't like Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 2.

That being said, recently I decided, why not? I'll try it out a bit. I didn't expect to finish the game, much less actually enjoy it. My preconceived notions were wrong. Don't get me wrong, I still wouldn't prefer to play this game, especially not in 2024 where I can not only play Super Mario Bros. 3 in three different forms on multiple handhelds, but I can play Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the go. But for what this game is, its fun. The controls are surprisingly good, the gamefeel is even more surprisingly good. This honestly feels better to me than the first two Super Mario Bros. games on the NES. Really, there's nothing to fault it that isn't just a symptom of it being a GameBoy game.

To be clear, it isn't joining the ranks of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder as "the 2D Mario games I actually like", but I did not have a bad time playing it.

So full disclosure, I played only the first level of this, and that's because in the first place I was only playing it because I was really, REALLY curious to see what this game would be. Max Payne on the GBA? What does that look like? I thought I was in for a quick laugh.

But truthfully? This is like, an actually competent game. It's a demake of Max Payne, turning it into an isometric shooter on the GBA. Other than that, it has the same story, and even has the same areas, enemy placement, hell the gameplay is pretty spot on. I couldn't imagine "Max Payne on the GBA" being translated more literally. It even has the same PROBLEMS I had with the actual first Max Payne! Not enough painkillers, way too much damage! This is somewhat exacerbated by a problem unique to this version: enemies can see you from offscreen, and that can lead to frustration as you get shot before you could know an enemy was even there, but it didn't bother me to the point of rage.

I will say, I may actually play the entirety of this game one day when I have time for it. Diving in slow motion in an isometric space was really fun. My biggest piece of advice and my biggest criticism of the game: the audio is HORRIBLE. Cutscene voice files are so crunch its kinda funny (and kinda painful), but even the music that plays in the levels crackles and pops. I would unironically advise playing this game on mute.

You're telling me a DC fighting game on the SNES and Genesis that exists solely to prop up the brand and capitalize on the Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat craze is BAD?!

Not much to say. Very basic fighting game. Very small roster and each character doesn't have that many special moves. Most of them have a very similar projectile even. Also every hero has the same story, so not only is there no reason to replay the story mode as a different hero, but even on your one playthrough the dialogue feels so stilted because they say stuff like "Why would a Justice League member attack me?! I need to find another Justice League member!" because it needs to be any of them. Absolutely no character dependent dialogue.

Its clunky, the story is whatever and generic, and maybe if you really wanted to play a DC fighting game this was like, all you had for a time, but in 2024 you can just hop on either Injustice for a better time.

Or even MK vs. DC for a better time...

Surprisingly enjoyable experience, and this is coming from someone who normally hates beat-em-ups.

They do a lot of cool things to make you feel like you're playing as The Flash, its a shame you probably couldn't have a game like this come out nowadays. The general audience for superhero games barely even want games that aren't Batman or Spider-Man, if a new Flash game came out and it wasn't an open world cinematic third person game it'd get shit on for "looking like a mobile game".

But I digress. Despite only having two buttons for combat, and only one real combo (pressing A four times), I didn't get tired of the combat. I think my problem with most beat-em-ups is actually partially because of the comboes. Your B button acts as a "dash to" button thats great for opening up on an enemy or dodging an enemy's attack by zipping to another enemy. Your R is a slow-down effect thats pretty cool, and L tags in another member of the JL. They all basically do the same thing, which is a screen wipe.

The story was exactly what you'd expect from a GBA superhero game, but to be honest, I was actually very impressed with the short bits of cutscene we got. It was reminiscent of a comic book, and featured wholly unique designs for the characters. Brainiac's design especially was unique, and I loved Grodd's design a lot. The boss fights themselves were pretty fun for the most part, with the exception of Circe, who kinda just keeps throwing the same long attack at you that you dodge the exact same way and it feels super long and boring.

Overall I was very surprised, I thought I was gonna play the first level or two to see what was up with this game and then drop it, but it was so enjoyable I actually ended up finishing it. I dare even say its a hidden gem on the GBA! I recommend people to give it a try, especially if you're into superheroes or beat-em-ups.

At this rate, this will probably always be the best Flash game of all time!

I mean, it's almost as if they traveled forwards in time, read my review of the first game, saw the things I wished were improved, saw the things I didn't like, and just improved all of them.

The gameplay feels so much tighter than the first one, the graphics are frankly beautiful, the voice acting is better, even the story is better. My biggest issue with the first game's story was how generic it was due to it being so influential to future games. This game, while it still has some classic beats of detective thrillers and crime dramas, had a much more compelling and unique story. I was engaged the entire time.

This is also where you can start to really see the Remedy branding come in to play. The first game had a lot of features that are absolutely reminiscent of modern Remedy, but this is where you really see that flower blooming. Specifically, the various TV spots like Lords and Ladies and Address Unknown really add so much character, there are so many fun dream sequences/set pieces, and without spoiling anything, the Vincent Gognitti part screamed Remedy.

I described the first game as having a lot of potential to be one of my favorite games of all time if the remake irons out my issues with it. I dare say that Max Payne 2 COULD be on that favorites list, and I will say with certainty that it's going on my Honorable Mentions list as soon as I post this review.

Gameplay has not necessarily aged the bests, at least on controller. I feel like this game would be a lot smoother with mouse and keyboard, of course its what it was designed for. That being said, the game is still fun.

Gunplay, while not as precise on controller, is really fun. The dive mechanic is fun. My one real gameplay criticism is that managing health is a pain (ha). You have to find painkillers to heal, and if you don't your just outta luck. One of those old "you respawn with the health you had when you saved" type deals where it's easy to get kinda stuck in a shit situation. That being said, it wasn't enough to make me hate playing.

The story is kinda generic but in a the same way something like Dragon Quest is generic. Max Payne inspired most of the detective/crime thriller stories we see to this day in gaming. It is not its fault that its so influential that its now generic! What ISN'T generic at all though is the way that story is told. The comic book style is so fun and engaging, and its really fun to just go through and reread the story. The dialogue is also written perfectly.

Overall this is a great game, and if the remake can fix the gameplay quirks, this could be a 5/5.