Titles like Streets of Rage 4, Shredder's Revenge, Fight n' Rage, and River City Girls have been responsible for a beat 'em up renaissance in recent years. That last one is notable, because two years prior to its release a different River City/Kunio-Kun revival was released! It's... uh... the game I'm reviewing. This game seems to fly under most people's radar, which sucks, because I find it to be a pretty good game, albeit one with a few flaws that keep it from greatness.

One interesting note is that this game follows the western canon of River City Ransom instead of the Japanese canon of Kunio-Kun. Instead of Kunio and Riki, we have Alex and Ryan. This makes Provie and other characters from this game showing up in River City Girls 2 completely nonsensical since those games follow the Kunio-Kun canon but I'll discuss the plot of that game at a later date. For now, I need to discuss the plot of this game. Uh... A gang of teenagers is framed for taking a business tycoon's family member hostage, so the gang teams up with Alex and Ryan from the first game to beat up the bad guys. Some other stuff happens with the military-industrial complex and kittens and stuff, but story really isn't the main draw here. I do think the game can be funny occasionally, and it's less obnoxious as the River City Girls games can occasionally be, but I still wouldn't say it's a strength here.

Instead, the strength is the gameplay. In my opinion, this game has done the best job at combining the Beat 'em Up and RPG mechanics in a satisfying way. I know RPG mechanics seeping into pretty much every genre has been the ire of many gamers (Including me, in many cases), but it does offer a lot of strengths. This game starts you off with enough tools so that gameplay doesn't feel boring, and you unlock moves from there. Personally, it felt like I was being eased into a pretty expansive moveset. Most moves don't feel extraneous and redundant either, which is a common pitfall with this progression style. Pulling off combos takes a bit of effort and you're forced to be varied in the moves you use, which makes linking a string of moves super fun. Although, I never felt like I was rewarded for going above and beyond. To my knowledge, longer combos don't really result in higher rewards. I wish that they implemented a system where longer combos resulted in more money or experience.

There's also a lot of characters here, and many of them play very different. You start off with only 4 characters, but can earn many more as you play the game. I stuck to Glen for the most part, but after playing a bit of the other guys, I can confidently say that most are pretty distinct. Unfortunately, If you want to switch to a different character mid-playthrough, you're going to be underleveled. I'm sure they could've implemented a way to distribute experience to every character or something.

I think playing this and River City Girls 2 back to back made me realize that exploration is often the most fun with a very simple map. When everything's just laid out for you, it's harder to say that you're truly exploring. In this game though, you'll often be told where to go a la A Link to the Past, where you're given a general direction on a pretty simple map and have to find the specific route yourself. I honestly rather enjoyed this element.

Honestly, most of my issues are due to a lack of polish and a few rough patches. Finding bosses can sometimes be cryptic, the game could be a bit more up-front about how different stats work, There's a few big difficulty spikes, and while the exploration was fun, I wish the map was a bit more compact and interconnected. However, it's a really good game aside from those issues, and a sequel could be great. I hope that Provie being in River City Girls 2 will drum up some interest in a sequel, or at least a port to other consoles. For now, 7/10.

A while back, I saw a trailer for a game called Momodora: Moonlit Farewell. It looked interesting, seeming a bit more intimate and less empowering than many Castleroids. I would later see this game while browsing the Nintendo eShop and it was on sale, so I bought it.

It's a pretty good game, but it's also lacking in a few key areas. I like the combat well enough. It's very simple at the end of the day, but it's deliberate and can be pretty fun. The bosses seem intentionally designed to be less of an endurance test and more of a short burst of a challenge, as your character can often die in two to three hits. There aren't many items, but the ones here are pretty well-designed and implemented.

The game in general is fairly difficult, and it has the old-fashioned system of 'if you die you lose all progress since save, no and ifs or buts'. I'm fine with that, honestly. There are a few times where save rooms were a distance away from bosses though, and getting back to the boss was usually a cakewalk, so this choice was just tedious.

In terms of ability progression, this game has very little. You earn a midair dash and a cat transformation, and... That's about it. There's a fairly good sense of exploration here but backtracking is very rare, so I feel that there was a missed opportunity with the structure. It lacks the best parts of both linear and non-linear games to me. The level design is good enough but not great and you rarely feel like you're truly exploring because most detours are very accessible and short. Maybe I would've been more accepting of this if it felt in service of story and worldbuilding, but both of those felt pretty underwhelming to me.

An IRL friend of mine read my Tears of the Kingdom review and said, "You talked all about how bad it was and then said it was a great game." I feel like this review would probably illicit a similar reaction, but I still enjoy the game well enough because it was very brisk in pace and had pretty good audiovisuals. If this game was a lot longer, I'd probably dislike it because of a lack of interesting level design or abilities. Ironically though, I think a few of the problems also come from it being underdeveloped and missing a lot of opportunities, opportunities that would probably make the game longer. Oh well. Maybe with the sequel they'll make a true banger.

Overall, a fairly good game. Might play the other ones. 6/10.

As of writing, I have yet to play any Dark Souls games, or any games spun off from that series. It initially started off as a lack of interest and opportunity, but I think that at this point it's just a personality trait. The thing is, despite never playing any of those games, I can still tell that Blasphemous derives quite a bit from them. The flasks, the tone, the general gameplay, it all seems pretty similar, although feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Whether or not my lack of experience with Dark Souls had an effect on my perspective, I did enjoy this game. There are some issues, as there are with pretty much every game, but as far as Castleroids go this isn't bad. I think one thing this game does very well is backtracking. The map is tightly designed and a pretty good size. It's not too big or small. Even that aside, many in the Castleroid genre simply give very generous warp points for backtracking, unlike Blasphemous. While the opportunity for that does eventually present itself in this game, much of the level design is simply built around making backtracking easier, with switches and doors that will open and make travel more interconnected and convenient.

This also works well with the death system, something else taken from Dark Souls. Now, if there's one thing I didn't like about Hollow Knight, it's dying and having to return to where I died lest I lose all my money. I think that's a pretty annoying punishment for non-linear games where I might just want to explore another area. Blasphemous has a similar system, but I like it a little more because it's not quite as punishing. Honestly, it maybe should've been even more punishing than it is, as a few times I'd just not bother to collect my guilt, even before a a couple of bosses. At the end of the day, I'd still just prefer a flat money decrease upon death to this shenaniganry that seems so prevalent. However, I'll take my blessings where I can get them.

The combat is good, barely above average. You have your basic sword strikes, special attacks called prayers, a ranged attack, and a few more sword attacks, many of which... honestly don't matter. Honestly, aside from using the different prayers I didn't really feel that combat ever actually changed. Most fights I would just do chip damage, see a big opening, raise attack speed, and unleash whatever sword combo I had. There's also a parry and dodge with i-frames. They're... fine, but some enemies are explicitly designed around waiting and parrying, which I don't like, and I'm a bit tired of dodges with i-frames. Generally though, my biggest issue is that I don't think the progression changed my combat approach that much.

That stagnation of gameplay unfortunately extends to any platforming abilities. If you think of most Castleroids, you'll notice that almost all of them have some kind of platforming upgrade. Double jumps, high jumps, grapple hooks, jet packs, high-speed dashes, and more. These are very effective because stumbling across a future area, you go, "Oh, I guess I'll be able to reach that place somehow with some new ability." Different Castleroids have varying focus on this aspect. Metroid has tons of it, whereas a game like Iconoclasts has very little. Blasphemous is one of the few Castleroids where you essentially gain no new abilities that allow you to progress further in the world. Instead, you gain items that will add extra platforms to the world or grant you immunity to poison, along with quest items that open up new paths. The fact is, very little of what you earn in this game actually changes the way you play. This is fine I guess, but I still would've liked something to actually change how I traverse the world, since that can often be the best part of these kinds of games and I can't think of any downside to adding such a thing, especially since the level design rarely feels super specialized or finely-tuned.

What about the story? What's it about? That's a good question.

Anyway, onto the audiovisuals. I say once again, "I'm kinda tired of indie games doing pixel art but this game does it really well". There's clear inspiration from Spanish Catholicism with the imagery here, all of which looked really cool as it went over my head. The music is also pretty good.

All in all, a pretty good game, but I think better progression would've improved it a ton. I'll probably get the sequel not too long after it drops. 7/10, closer to a 6 than an 8.

My endless hunt for good 3D Platformers continues with Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2, yet another game Nitro Rad talked about. However, even he was pretty lukewarm on this one, so my expectations were tempered here.

Firstly, let me say that this is yet another case of IGDB having the clearly inferior box art. The US version's has not only far better use of foreshortening and color contrast, but also a great metacontextual commentary on the game itself. Oh well.

Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 is by far the most popular game in the series, and you still may not have heard about it. I picked it up at a retro game store near my home despite how cheap the game is on steam sometimes (Once even being free).

I can't really say that this game is all that great. It's a pretty serviceable platformer, but it's not really unique in any way. As inconsistent as a game like Glover can be, I really appreciated the uniqueness of the movement, level themes, and music. Wait, no, Glover is a masterpiece, I meant Demon Turf. Anyway, Kao Round 2 doesn't really do anything unique at all. In fact, it's extremely derivative of Rayman 2. You start in prison, the second level is called 'The Great Escape', you gain a hover ability, etc etc... However, this game also lacks a lot of what I liked about Rayman 2: The great, cohesive variety and the good use of mechanics focused around a simple moveset. In these regards, this game is extremely simple with few interesting mechanics. Like, I can't think of anything interesting right now. The movement is also very barebones, although I liked the infinite roll you can earn near the end of the game. Despite how simple it is, this game holds your hands pretty much throughout the entire game. I guess it is a baby game, and you can skip any dialogue, but this was still somewhat odd to me. I did appreciate a lot of the more obscure collectible hiding places though, even if the gems are pretty much useless.

Despite that, this game does have better combat than Rayman 2. That's not because this game's combat is great or anything, and moreso because the combat of Rayman 2 is so mediocre. We have a 3 hit combo, aerial attack, roll, ground pound, and boomerangs. It's fine as far as 3D platformer combat goes, but the hit detection can occasionally be wonky. It also has boss fights, which was something Rayman 2 lacked. They're fine.

The story of this game is interesting. You have to get 3000 dabloons to go fight the boss, which may make you think this is a collectathon where you're given freedom in your stage choices, but nah. 2000 of these have to be gained through the levels you play through in a completely linear fashion. At that point, I don't get why they didn't just use a different macguffin or something. Also, I don't get why Kao didn't just beat up the guy demanding money like he did with every other guy. He had no problem stealing a guy's money and beating him up, so it's not a moral issue, and the guy doesn't look particularly tough. I dunno.

I know I've been pretty negative here, and honestly the only thing holding me back from giving this a 4/10 is how charming this game can be on occasion. Kao sounds pretty cute and his neck stretches out in water. So, 5/10 I guess. Maybe I'll lower it to a 4/10 later.

You know, I should really play the first one, especially since I have a Dreamcast. Let me go pick up a copy on eba-

O_O

The 3D Platformer is my favorite genre, but that doesn't mean I automatically like every 3D Platformer. Moreso, it means I really love a great one and am annoyed by boring ones. One of the most common annoyances with the genre I have is when a 3D Platformer feels like it's ashamed with the genre. There's a weird amount of '3D Platformers' with platforming that is extremely easy and/or simple, where there's more focus placed on other elements. Banjo Kazooie arguably started this trend, but a few key elements make Banjo a good game, albeit one I personally don't like as much as other people. Despite the lack of difficulty, there's still always a feeling of vertical progression in each level, and platforming challenges often take place in fantastical areas or are contextualized with humourous mini-stories. The moveset ironically de-emphasizes movement, but the level design is so dense that exploring is extremely fun, and the platforming simply compliments that. Tie in some good audiovisuals, and you have a winner of a game.

A lot of games, especially in the late 90's, were influenced by Banjo. This is fine, but many failed to realize what made that game good, and Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is one of the best examples of this. It does get one thing right: The audiovisuals. The music keeps the fantastical style of the original Spyro, and the visuals are still well animated, even moreso in the Reignited Trilogy rerelease. However, things begin to fall apart after that. You see, there's another element of Banjo I neglected to mention: minigames. I thought the minigames were pretty middling overall, but they're also not the main focus, so I still enjoyed the game. The problem with Ripto's Rage is that the focus is switched from platforming to these minigames. Instead of building a world with platforming challenges and sprinkling in the minigames, Ripto's Rage built a world filled with minigames and put platforming challenges between them.

Honestly, this could've worked as far as I know, but the issue is that neither element is good. The minigames are pretty middling overall and all of them feel extremely disconnected. The platforming takes place in levels with basic level design and a very simple moveset, which leads to most sections feeling very mindless. It leads to a game where each part feels like a chore, because that's basically what it is. Ripto lacks any presence in the overall game, and most substories are completely disconnected from the core conflict, so I never felt much actual importance in what I was doing.

My point is that Ripto's Rage has a lot of the stereotypical flaws of the genre without any particular strengths. The platforming is weak in both level design and movement, the story has some decent characters but the events are disconnected and not entertaining, and the minigames aren't good. You could probably say at least one of those about many decent 3D Platformers, but the fact that all of them apply to Ripto's Rage is what makes it a 4/10 for me.

A few months ago, I bought Pokemon Scarlet. I thought that maybe despite what I had heard about it, the game would bring me back to my childhood when I liked those games. I wasn't in the best place in my life when I bought it, and I was hoping this would make me feel better, even though I knew that it would only be a distraction. Even with that, it was a bad distraction, and I think the Armored Core series would've... helped (?) more.

This series has quickly become one of my favorite to the point where objectivity is hard, despite how aware I am of the flaws. One of the missions is a nigh innavigable maze (although you don't have to play the mission to beat the game). In terms of audio, while the music is great, the actual dialogue occasionally seems delivered unnaturally fast, as if to save on file space. Some of the enemy AI isn't super great, and while I did think the story was pretty good, combining the best of the previous two games' structures, your player characters' motivations aren't explored at all.

However, none of these things stopped me from loving Armored Core: Master of Arena. The customization is better than ever, and moreso than the previous games, I felt challenged to actually adapt my AC to each battle. There were tons of great weapons and parts that I used and loved, and all of them are well-balanced. I think the game was well paced and I liked the focus on the arena. I was afraid that the game would feel bad doing several arena matches in a row, but those matches are broken up by story-pertinent missions. I do wish that you could still do optional missions late-game, but it's not a huge deal and makes sense story-wise.

But the real reason I compared this to Pokemon is because of the ability to transfer the AC to each subsequent game. By the end of this one, my AC (Which I named Wyvearn for some reason) felt truly powerful, and it felt like it really was something I made. Just like in Pokemon, you can really make your own powerhouse through morally questionable means. Even more than something like Shin Megami Tensei, Armored Core: Master of Arena is the closest I've felt to playing Pokemon for adults.

There's also the EX arenas, which I haven't gotten into that much, but it's pretty neat. You can the ACs of the developers and winners of an AC tournament. You can even duel your own AC in it, and this mode really does justify the title 'Master of Arena'.

So yes, I loved this game, despite its flaws. It's the best of the PS1 trilogy and a great finale to it. 9/10

I'm gonna be real with you guys. I didn't plan on playing this one. Master of Arena looked better and I wanted to respect my time a bit more. But then I learned you can't transfer your AC straight from Armored Core to Master of Arena. You have to do it like this: Armored Core -> Project Phantasma -> Master of Arena. I decided that if I was going to download a rom of the game buy it to transfer my AC anyway, I might as well throw the idea of respecting my time on this Earth out the window and play it.

Ultimately, Project Phantasma is moreso an expansion of the original; It's akin to a standalone DLC campaign, like Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den or something. It does add the arena, which lets you climb the Raven Ranking for cash and rewards, but this is ultimately a shorter experience with a few more AC parts and customization options. And that's just fine, and it doesn't stop from there being a few improvements. Already the oversaturation of cramped indoor levels from the first game has been solved here though, so it's clear the developers were trying to improve to some extent.

Then there's the story, which is far more conventional the original's. The story of the original game is very impersonal and loose, but I rather enjoyed it. This one is kinda dumb though. You're helping this good Raven who wants to stop the creation of a superweapon... for some reason. You're a blank slate and just go along with whatever she says. Also, she somehow hired you to help her escape from a prison and do other tasks? How did she do that? And then there's the main villain, Stinger, who just shows up and is like, "Heh, I guess I have to take you out so you don't get in my way" right before being utterly defeated. You fight him like five times. In a longer game that probably would've been neat, but it's just annoying here and makes the world feel smaller.

The more focused story also creates another problem where you're given far less freedom for which missions you can do. In the first game, you usually had at least three missions to choose from, but here, you may have a choice between two missions. Otherwise, you're just doing the next one in the story. I wish there were optional side missions one could do in between the story missions or something (The arena kind of fits this description, but short 1v1s are far cries from actual missions, especially with the sub-par AIs of the enemies).

However, even if the story structure didn't work, I appreciate that they tried something different, especially since pretty much every other AC game has a story more similar to that of the first's from what I can tell. However, it didn't work ultimately and I'd far sooner replay the original Armored Core. I'll give this one a 7/10, but I could lower it to a 6.

I've talked about how the 3D Platformer is my favorite genre. While one could argue that there are 3D Platformers that pre-date Jumping Flash! (Most notably Alpha Waves), it's nevertheless one of the earliest examples of the genre, releasing a full year before Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. Considering the impact on the genre both had, I was interested to see how a game unaffected by those legacies would play.

Everything else aside, it's interesting for sure, and I'm honestly surprised more games weren't inspired by it. It's played in first person, a rarity for the genre. It's also kind of a shooter, although that takes a backseat to the running and jumping. In fact, the aiming reticle has a secondary purpose, as the camera pans down when descending and you land where the reticle aims. This means depth perception is never a problem, which is something many early 3D Platformers struggled with. As far as controls go, this game is pretty good, and the issues like the tank controls are fairly easy to adapt to.

However, the level design is pretty lacking. Your goal is to collect 4 Jetpods and go to the exit, and the levels are usually open-ended. This is cool, but many times I'd find all but one Jetpod and wander around looking for the last, an issue hurt made worse by the low draw distance. Aside from that, The locations of the collectibles would sometimes feel random and enemies usually pose no threat at all.

Some levels are in enclosed spaces though, and they're an interesting change of pace, but not great. They ultimately transform the game into an underwhelming FPS with tank controls (Although you can strafe while jumping, so it's not that bad).

The bosses are also pretty good all things considered. I enjoyed saving special weapons so I could unleash them on a boss, and the fights are fairly distinct as well.

But uh... It was fun, and considering it had very little to go off of, it's far better than I would've expected. It's like an hour long, so check it out. 6/10.

I tend to think I have pretty balanced tastes. I love all kinds of games, all kinds of comics, all kinds of movies, etc... However, I've come to learn over the years that I really love mechs. This love was solidified after playing Armored Core: For Answer. I'll review that one some day, but for now, let's look at the origin of the series all the way back on the PS1!

First off, I set the controls so that moving is handled by the d-pad and aiming by the face buttons. This could've had an adverse affect on my experience if this was a conventional shooter, but Armored Core locks onto enemies for you, meaning you only have to aim close enough to the enemies to hit them in most cases. It ultimately wasn't hard to adapt to considering this.

As stated before, Armored Core is fairly unique, and most people probably wouldn't care for it that much. The main appeal is the customization of your ACs. You can make big ones, quick ones, add some tank treads or quadrupeds, give it machine gun arms, paint it like your favorite Gundam or Eva Unit or whatever else, all sorts of stuff. Even if later entries expand on this, the original still nailed this core part of the series, no pun intended. It strikes a good balance between challenging the player to experiment with their loadout and still giving the player tons of freedom. A significant part of the game, at least for me, is just spent properly preparing for missions, and this is why I say that this series isn't for everyone. But for me? Nah, my inner autist adores this.

However, there are some issues with gameplay for sure. While there is a lot of level variety, far too many take place in repetitive labs where you kill the same kinds of enemies. Later games realized that mechs being outside was more fun and logical, but the developers didn't get the memo here with many missions.

On the customization side, you can't actually see stats for weapons before buying them. The names are also pretty confusing. Instead of just calling the sword a sword, they have to make it a bunch of letters and numbers. It definitely puts a damper on customization and can waste some time. However, the game wisely lets you sell back parts for the same price you buy them.

If you worry that such is a bit forgiving, don't worry. The game is plenty punishing. You see, upkeeping your cool mech is quite expensive. Your ammo and repair costs can impact your finances significantly, especially if you fail the mission. Just like in Animal Crossing, you can go in debt if you're not dedicated to constant saving and resetting! If you're really down on your luck, you even end up being sent to a lab and experimented on, which ends up giving you cool new abilities. You do have to start from square one, but this difficulty system is really neat, and one of the few ways this series actually feels accessible.

The story of Armored Core is interesting. Most story is just told to you through mission briefings and emails, but I rather enjoy it regardless. You're ultimately a gun for hire called a Raven who takes the highest bidder to avoid debt and build your cool robot. Oftentimes that means killing strikers and causing general mayhem at the behest of warring corporations. Yeah, uh... if you hate doing mean things in videogames, this one's not for you. It's not like this game's story is brilliant or anything, but it's good enough. It has hints of commentary between the missions. Such things as the economy of war, the established system, etc... It's moreso setdressing than anything, but the effort is appreciated.

All in all, I did really love this one. But I think it's time I play another Fromsoft title I've long been rejecting. One with a more supernatural theme. That's right, next time I'm playing Echo Nights! See you then!

I haven't reviewed Marble Blast Ultra, but it's honestly a top 10 3D Platformer. Great presentation, simple yet fun movement, and good variety make it a great time.

In a lot of ways, this is more of the same. It's extremely derivative of Marble Blast Ultra. Many mechanics are taken directly from that one. Now, I'll give this somewhat of a pass, since, if you didn't know, that game is delisted from any online retail, and the developers lost the rights to the game. Maybe they just wanted to deliver the same kind of experience for a modern audience, and I get that.

Even with that excuse, there is one bad change here: The lack of the chargeable shockwave jump. I thought this was an excellent move in Ultra, as it simultaneously lowered the skill floor and raised the skill ceiling. New players could wait to get some extra height, and veteran players could use it to sequence break at least once a level. This worked great in a game where completion speed was the main replay value.

Marble It Up! ditches this entirely, and offers nothing new in return. And ultimately, that's the only notable gameplay change. The level design is somewhat different, but not notably better or worse. The visuals shifted from 'Early Windows Aesthetic' to Vaporwave, and there's finally more than one song, but the gameplay is ever so slightly worse.

There is one way this game does exceed Marble Blast Ultra: The impact from online connectivity. There's a level creator and weekly challenges, which is really cool, but most fan levels won't be up to par and the community challenges reuse the main levels.

Once again, I'd be pretty upset at the lack of ambition if not for the very specific circumstance this series is in. Hopefully, a sequel would take more risks if it ever comes to fruition. For now, while this is a good game, I'd recommend everyone play the fan PC port of Marble Blast Ultra first. 7/10.

Ever since this game was announced, it's been in the back of my mind. It got a lot of attention at release, with a lot of people review bombing it because of its Switch exclusivity... for some reason. It's even weirder because no one talks about this game nowadays. Ironically, I think it being an exclusive kind of brought more people to it. It certainly stands out when next to Mario and Zelda and most other switch exclusives. Regardless, is the game good?

Yes, but I'd probably be way less forgiving of its shortcomings if it wasn't for the ingenuity on display. Platinum was definitely creative with the Chain mechanic here. You can have your Jojo Stand pull you over to a platform from afar. You can wrap an enemy in the chain to trap them. You can send a charging enemy flying by pulling against them. It's all unique and fun, and the chain aspect was far more intuitive than I expected, although the game was far too willing to frontload a lot of tutorials. The game strikes a good balance between making the player use a lot of abilities and also allowing the player to express themselves. Overall, the combat is pretty good.

The game definitely has a little too much going on though. I think the arm and axe stand could've been combined into one. Not only could this let the d-pad control stand switching, but it would've tightened up some of the combat. I also think either the skill tree or ability distribution had to go. I think having some RPG mechanics was a good idea, as it allows the player to be eased in before things get truly insane, but they went a little too far here.

I also think this game was too easy. The ridiculous difficulty spike at the end aside, between the healing items, free revives, and full healing with glory kills, this game rarely challenged me. And I played on the hard difficulty. I'm sure the harder difficulty actually has some teeth, but I expected a bit more difficulty wise.

My last gameplay comment will be on the pacing. Now, I think the game is a fine length, and a few files go on too long but they're not too bad. I rather liked the investigation sequences at the beginning of levels, although I'm not sure how they'd hold up on a replay. My main issue with the pacing is a clear lack of urgency. Even right before the final battle, one of the side missions is just helping some guy impress a girl. There's no rising of stakes here. On could say this is more of a story issue than a gameplay issue, and... uh...................................

The story sucks. I know I made an allusion to Stands from the hit manga My Hero Academia earlier, but this game actually takes more from Neon Genesis Evangelion, with one of the alternate skins for the stands being an overt reference to EVA Unit 01. The rest of the inspiration from Eva is about as surface level as that example. Most of the characters are extremely underdeveloped, and the ones that aren't have no presence near the end. Even among spectacle action games like Devil May Cry 3 and God of War, this is extremely weak. I really don't get why Platinum thought putting in a Fire Emblem-esque casual mode for people who only care about the story was a good idea. The best thing I can say about the story is that it's pretty easy to ignore.

Now... I know I spent a lot of time talking about why this game is pretty garbage, but... eh, it was fun. I think a sequel could improve on this concept a lot, and it's not out of the realm of possibility. For now, I'm giving this a 7/10, but I could certainly lower it to a 6.

I'm gonna be real with you guys. I didn't care for Dream Land 2 and I thought Dream Land 3 was really bad. I knew this game was directed by the same guy as those two, so I didn't have particularly high hopes. However, I enjoyed this game, although it still has issues.

I think anyone will agree that the best thing about this game is the charm. The fun cutscenes, great level variety, music, and insulting ease of the game all lead to a really relaxed experience. I also think the copy abilities fusions are far better as an idea than the animal buddies. It's simple, but still fun to mess around with.

That aside, I still think there's issues. First, some of the fusions are really useless, while others are kind of overpowered. All of them should at least be better than a base ability, but many can't even cross that bar. Second, there's the level design. Sakurai's Kirby games are far better at making more creative uses of abilities. Cutter can hit things through walls, fire can light cannon fuses, high-jump is great for verticality, and much more. This game never really has that, and any uses of copy abilities are just, 'Use the right ability to destroy this block', which is still extremely lame and even more annoying if the ability isn't in a stage (Any of these examples pertain to optional collectibles, but I still find it worth mentioning). Maybe this looser level design would've been more fun if the movesets were more intrinsically fun or expressive, but they're mostly very simple and have few movement options.

At the end of the day though, I had fun with it. I just think it's far from great. 6/10.

I recently started referring to 'character action' games as 'spectacle action', and God of War is a very clear example of why. As flashy as a series like Devil May Cry can be, it's also a case where the spectacle is often based on if one can actually pull off combos. In comparison, God of War is not only more accessible in its spectacle, but is often specifically framed around it.

Whether it be its action, locations, or setpieces, this game is pretty much always trying to wow you. It's trying to please all crowds, and I guess it did this well. Certainly, enemies can be too spongy, and normal mode is a bit brainless, but there's still fun to be had. The thing is, simplified action aside, there's some dumb 'variety' that doesn't really belong here. Some slow platforming, block pushing puzzles, and ledge climbing may feel better than many games just because it consistently keeps Kratos in control, but it takes focus away from the action far too much, unlike many of the climbing sections where combat is still important.

To be honest though, I was expecting so stuff like that to some extent. What was so odd to me was the sheer lack of bosses. There's only 3! That should be this game's thing! Big, insane bosses that make you feel powerful! However, they're far too spaced out to leave an impact.

I started God of War 2 recently, and not only is that one better at presenting simple, visceral spectacle, but so is Metal Gear Rising. I'm giving this one a 6/10, but it may be a 5.

Ok, this is going to be short because I already did a review of the base game.

First, the things that are worse than in the original: the 'power to the people' machines have been replaced by pickups in the world. I think the former offers more decision making and customization. Also, the game is a little too short.

Other than that, this is pretty identical to Bioshock 2 gameplay wise, aside from the awesome new Ion Laser, which replaces the camera. I'm fine with this, since this is a shorter experience and the need to experiment is less necessary in a standalone DLC that the player will assumedly play after the base game. I think this fact also made the developers more comfortable with letting go of the players' hands more often, with more atmosphere and a few more tricky areas to explore. There's also a new plasmid that's fun to play around with, the Gravity Well.

Of course, the main thing people discuss is the story, and yes, it is indeed better than that of the base game. It was far more focused and had a decent twist that recontextualizes the rest of the game fairly well. I do have a nitpick though. In Bioshock 2, Eleanor says that the little sisters would trust Delta because they're based off of her or something, as if Delta was special in this regard. However, Sigma can also adopt little sisters, so I'm not sure if the developers thought that through entirely. Whatever.

The point is, it's excellent, but not perfect. 9/10.

A while back, I wrote a review of Bioshock that really did numbers (It got 4 likes). I didn't care for it that much. I didn't review Infinite, but I didn't like that game either. So imagine my surprise when Bioshock 2 ended up being one of the best shooters I've played.

So first off, I have to admit that I made the very conscious decision to play this game with vita-chambers off. This pretty much erased my paramount problem with the first game, the lack of any punishment for dying. I'm pretty sure the first game had this option too, so I may go back and play it that way, because I find that a properly maintained sense of difficulty/consequence is one of the most important things in a game. I also turned off the quest arrow because I found it really annoying, and the game thankfully was still pretty navigable, both with the map and diagetic landmarks.

However, aside from that, I still find Bioshock 2 to be superior to its predecessor in several ways. I went on a pretty long tangent in my Bioshock review about why hacking was so dumb because there was never any reason not to hack and hacking itself was annoying. In this game, hacking is a great mechanic. First, it's a short timing minigame that's a little more difficult. Second, it takes place in real time, meaning you have to be aware of your surroundings when doing it. Third, even more decision making is introduced with a dart gun that allows remote and auto hacks. Accidentally triggering an alarm for bots and immediately successfully hacking afterword to save your skin was always such a risky but great feeling.

Generally, I also enjoyed the tools here a lot too. Lots of the guns and technology are characteristically makeshift, but they're also really cool. Aside from that, the mix of basic encounters, Big Daddy attacks, adam gatherings, and Big Sister chases made me consider which ammo types and plasmids I should use for each situation. I would've experimented a lot regardless, but the video camera gives one extra bonuses against enemies for actually experimenting against enemies, a great mechanic for a game with so many options. The point is, the gameplay here is surprisingly great.

Most of my issues come from me thinking the game was a little too accomodating in a few ways. One example is that the game always tell you which code to use for any door lock once you find it. I remember peering through a broken wall and seeing a tonic on the other side, and going to the door on the map to get it. I saw the code that the game presented to me and punched it in despite not remembering where I got it. After entering the room I then saw that some now deceased woman had wrote it on the wall in a way that would've been visible from the hole, and I likely would've spotted it if I wasn't focused on the tonic. I suppose me looking through triggered the game into giving me the code despite me, the player, not actually seeing it. It's a small moment, but it demonstrates the fact that the game will present these potentially great moments and then ruin them entirely due to over-accessibility. Even when I was well over halfway into the game, it would still patronizingly point out that I should use my medkit and other details despite already having an audio cue that does a far more effective job at it. It's not a dealbreaker, but it holds the game back from excellence.

Storywise, it's good. I liked Sinclair as a character, and some of the audio logs are interesting, but I never really understood why this series was so acclaimed in terms of storytelling. It far too often feels like a 'tell don't show' game, and while I appreciated pretty much always having control of Delta (Which is coincidentally my username as well), I don't think this comes close to the best of the medium. Although I do think this is a bit of a step down from Bioshock simply because Ryan has a far more commanding presence, It's not nearly enough to neutralize the far improved gameplay.

Visually, the game is great. Rapture is even more decrepit and run down than in the first, leading to a great blend between nature and the old timey architecture. The audio was pretty good too, but the game can occasionally be a bit overbearing with stereotypical horror music when silence would be far more effective

Overall though, I had a great time with this one. I'll definitely try Minerva's Den soon. 8/10.