TheGreenViper8
2009
2017
2018
2014
An all-time classic for a reason. For as much as I love and prefer the prequel, Transformed is a step up in almost every department and it can stand proud knowing that to this day, it was the only mascot kart racer to ever truly give Mario Kart a run for its money. Great tracks, physics, items, music and everything else I've missed. Only flaw is the game's somewhat flaky compatibility with modern PCs (game struggles with keeping FPS cap in place if PC can handle well over 60FPS, online matchmaking has a tendency to crash out frequently), but as this game ran perfectly on PCs at the time, it's hard to hold these pretty big flaws against it for too long.
The addition of a story mode is a great touch and creates a fulfilling and varied way to unlock all characters and mods that doesn't just feel like ticking a checklist of requirements.
The addition of a story mode is a great touch and creates a fulfilling and varied way to unlock all characters and mods that doesn't just feel like ticking a checklist of requirements.
2011
The perfect modern Sonic game, nothing before or after comes close to the level of technical marvelry on display here, even if my personal preferences lean more towards other modern games.
Modern stages are a perfect test of reaction times and feel satisfying to master while having enough hidden branches and paths to encourage replayability. Classic stages have maybe having aged worse due to the slightly underwhelming physics when compared to more recent titles, but are still great fun to run through and offer lots of enjoyable setpieces that give it a different flavour to the games Classic Sonic's appearance owes to. Great music and dropdead gorgeous graphics help to seal the package. If you have to play any Sonic game as a newcomer to the series, this is likely the one.
Modern stages are a perfect test of reaction times and feel satisfying to master while having enough hidden branches and paths to encourage replayability. Classic stages have maybe having aged worse due to the slightly underwhelming physics when compared to more recent titles, but are still great fun to run through and offer lots of enjoyable setpieces that give it a different flavour to the games Classic Sonic's appearance owes to. Great music and dropdead gorgeous graphics help to seal the package. If you have to play any Sonic game as a newcomer to the series, this is likely the one.
2017
The perfect Classic Sonic game. Refreshing twists on worn out level themes and interesting uses of the characters' core abilities plus an abundance of branching paths all create the perfect momentum-based 2D Sonic game. The visual presentation is beautiful, and the audio presentation is an absolute delight. Even if you've never been keen on the Mega Drive games this takes its roots in, this is one hell of a game. This will arguably go down in history as Sonic's greatest game, and a triumph for passionate fan projects everywhere.
A guilty pleasure game. Although it has been superceded by Sonic Mania and the like, Sonic 4 Episode 2's new mechanics added a level of depth to the Classic Sonic formula that while not needed, added a level of enjoyment to the mix for me. The tighter, more refined controls and (in my opinion) underrated graphics and artstyle should get a bit more love than they do, but the bland level design and dying-cat-riffic soundtrack probably get all the flack they deserve.
Spark takes everything that worked about the games it riffs on and mashes them into one cohesive package that by all sensibilities shouldn't work as well as it does, yet they manage to melt together like butter.
Only complaint to be had is the game's underwhelming performance on most PCs due to the outdating engine powering this beast, so many users may suffer slowdown, screentearing or even worse issues due to the engine holding the game back. As this game has never been fixed in the years since and has not made its way to other platforms (as promised) as of now, points have been docked accordingly as many users won't be able to suffer through the performance issues.
Only complaint to be had is the game's underwhelming performance on most PCs due to the outdating engine powering this beast, so many users may suffer slowdown, screentearing or even worse issues due to the engine holding the game back. As this game has never been fixed in the years since and has not made its way to other platforms (as promised) as of now, points have been docked accordingly as many users won't be able to suffer through the performance issues.
The hate this remake gets is seriously undeserved, but the passionate fanbase who wanted this remake to bring back all of its beloved flaws are likely to blame, and should've known that it was unreasonable to expect them to port glitches into a completely new engine.
Rehydrated is a little rough around the edges (such as some silly bugs and the new promised content being very underwhelming) but overall it's still a very servicable, pretty looking way to play an already great game.
Rehydrated is a little rough around the edges (such as some silly bugs and the new promised content being very underwhelming) but overall it's still a very servicable, pretty looking way to play an already great game.
2020
Played with: Ace Croft
By far the best game in the Streets of Rage series, and a must-play for fans, newcomers or seasoned beat-em-up veterans. The game does a lot to appease players with a lack of skill such as myself, and playing co-op also tips the scales in your favour if you find yourself struggling.
By far the best game in the Streets of Rage series, and a must-play for fans, newcomers or seasoned beat-em-up veterans. The game does a lot to appease players with a lack of skill such as myself, and playing co-op also tips the scales in your favour if you find yourself struggling.
Although still a good bit of fun, Spark 2 feels nowhere near as polished as the predecessor due to the shift to 3D, and all of the challenges that come with such a change. What results is a game that's still well designed, but a lot of the fun comes from circumventing that design and finding ways to either break the game or skip through it for the sake of casual speedrunning, which I doubt was Lake's intention when programming the game. There's a good deal of enjoyment to be had here, but it's far more polarising and less inherently good than the first game.
1992
Neat launchpad for the Kirby series, but after an initial playthrough, it's not much more fun that just being a novelty due to its lack of copy abilities. Soundtrack is for sure its crowning feature, there's a reason that so much of it still appears in most games today. Despite that, it's pretty hard to beat the chiptune bangers from the original.