The new dimension.. a look at nintendo's other 3D console..

So, the 3DS has been out for a while, for many, this will be their first experience of 3D games. Nintendo has been working on 3D technology for a long time, all the way back to the NES. the Gamecube is 3D capable (but no games supported it) and they even tried to add a 3D screen to the Gameboy Advance SP.
go here to read more about Nintendo previous 3D efforts:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-01-07-nintendo-had-3d-working-in-gba-sp
or here if you want a more in depth look:
http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/how-nintendo-3ds-made/0/1

 But theres one 3D console that everyones tends to forget, whether intentionally or not. and that is...... the Nintendo Virtual Boy!

I'm lucky (unlucky?) enough to own one and a few games to go with it..

The system was a huge commercial failure, selling very few units and having only 14 games released (in america) it was far too expensive and had "headache inducing red and black graphics" but, even so, i love it! and heres why.... it looks hideous, like one of the Martians from war of the worlds, or simply, a pair of goggles on legs..

The 3D works amazingly well

Unlike the 3DS, which you have to hold at the correct angle, you don't have to worry about being at the wrong angle to see the virtual boy's 3D effect, you just have to put your eyes in the screen and the image is there, in full 3D right in front of you. despite the red graphics it is very impressive to see things flying towards you and you really do feel like your there.. its a very impressive effect and is much more noticeable than the 3DS. There are dials on the top of the console so you can adjust the depth and other things to make the 3D work better for you, but i find it works well whatever setting you put it on. it's very immersive, shutting out all the light apart from the screen, and the speakers on the side of the system provide a very good surround sound experience that adds to the immersion. one thing that doesn't help immerse you in the game, it the very annoying "Auto Pause" which pauses the game either after 30 minutes, or, on some games, after each stage..

It has better games than the 3DS (So Far)

It has 3 mario games! Mario tennis, mario clash and wario land VB. all three of the games are good, wario land is especially good, i haven't played it but I've heard its one of the best in the series, and its unfortunate that it was only ever released on the virtual boy, heres hoping for a re-release on the 3DS once the virtual console shop becomes active! 

Mario clash is much like the original mario bros arcade game, but in 3D, you play on two different layers and can throw shells into the background or foreground to take out unsuspecting koopas!

and mario tennis probably has the best use of the 3D effect, you can really tell how far away the ball is, as well has having good 3D it also has an amazing soundtrack! with music just as catchy as mario land. and fun, if a bit simple, gameplay. its also quite long, having single player and tournament modes, where you have to play a match against all the characters, there are unlockables and it saves your scores onto the cartridge, this is one of the VB games i go back to and play and still enjoy just as much now.

mario tennis music! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndD4_CP3S5U&feature=related

Great puzzle games, such as tetris (every console needs a tetris!) infact the virtual boy has 2 versions of tetris, a normal one and a "3D" tetris... i've only got the normal version, called V-Tetris, it plays exactly how you would expect. but with flashy 3D backgrounds and once again, awesome music! its just as addictive as any version of tetris, except you have to play it with your head inside a war of the worlds Martian...

another fun puzzle game is Panic Bomber, i have the Japanese version so i have no idea what the story is.. but somehow, bomberman and his friends have given up running through mazes and decided to play a game of puyo pop instead. its quite fun but really, has very little to do with bomberman. 

Starfox won't the first 3D nintendo game staring a space ship, that award goes to the fantastic VB title, Red Alarm! it plays very much like a clone of star fox, but benefits from the virtual boy's controller, having two d-pads, one for movement and another to dodge enemy bullets, it plays well and looks awesome in 3D, the levels are challenging but not annoying and the boss fights are clever and fun to look at. of course, from screenshots its impossible to tell exactly what it looks like, but trust me, its a lot easier to see when your actually playing it, and doesn't look like a jumble of lines, even though this picture might make you think otherwise...

Another shooting game i have for the VB is a vertical scrolling shooter called Vertical Force. it plays much like any vertical shooter, such as Raiden, Nanostray or any other shooter like that.. except, this one has two separate layers you can play in. you can move your ship into the background, and back again by pressing a button, and enemies appear on both layers, so you have to keep switching between them, its a very clever idea and one that could only work in 3D. its one of the best games for the system and uses the 3D to its advantage to create a new gaming experience. it's pretty much impossible to find good screen shots, so heres the back of the box..

of course, not everything about the virtual boy is good, its powered by SIX AA Batteries, which go, INTO THE CONTROLLER, which is a strange design choice, and they last even less time than the game gear, about 3 hours.. it's awkward to use the machine unless you have a table in front of you to stand it on, don't even try using it anywhere other than a table, its just not possible... as this guy shows.. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/angry-video-screwattack/30755

but as a piece of gaming history and certainly one very unique machine, it's worth experiencing at least once. one of the most experimental game systems i have ever seen. although it has its problems, i have a soft spot for the virtual boy, and it shows that Nintendo isn't afraid to try new ideas. and im glad they haven't been put off making a 3D console, i hope the 3DS will have Virtual Boy games available to download, so people can experience these games, as most of the games are decent, its just the console that lets them down. but i doubt nintendo want's to acknowledge the existence of the VB so the chance of a VB virtual console is slim at best... but i can hope!

Kirby's Super Star Ultra

The happiest game title ever? :D 

sorry for another playfire post, the next one will be new.. just haven't decided what to write about yet..

Kirby Super Star Ultra!!

Posted: Feb. 9, 2011, 11:36 a.m.

Related to: Kirby Super Star Ultra

A remake of one of my favourite games!! 

The original SNES version was my favourite game, until another snes game, Illusion of Time, took its place.. (but thats for another time) 

so, i've been after the DS remake for ages! but, as with most kirby games it was very hard to find. well, I've got it now! :D and it was worth the wait!

The main addition to this game in the Kirby series is the ability to make a "Helper" this is an aditional player which takes the form of whichever ability you had at the time, a second player can join in at any time and take over from the computer.  

The main game is more or less the same as the snes one, so if you've played that, you know what to expect. Spring breeze, Dynablade, Great Cave Offensive, Gourmet Race, Revenge of Metaknight, Milky Way Wishes and the rest are all there and as good as ever.

As well as all these classic SNES kirby adventures, theres some original games made just for the DS as well, First is a sort of remake of Spring Breese, called Revenge of the King. with some extra stages and harder enemies and slightly different level layout.

Then theres METAKNIGHTMARE ULTRA, which is split into different levels, and each level is several areas from the main advantures, although, for this mode, you get to play through them as Metakinight!! along with all his special moves, which are activated by pressing buttons on the touch screen.

Another game called Helper to Hero, which is the Arena mode, but you choose one of the helper characters to play as, which makes it quite hard because they only have limited move sets!

The new Helper to Hero mode brings a new challenge to the game.

Also new to the DS version are 3 touch screen mini games, the best of these is called Snack Tracks, you have to watch as a converyer belt moves down the scren and tap on bombs and insects, which kirby eats all the food on it. it gets very fast and fun! other new mini games are a card game called kirbyCardSwipe, and Kirby on the Draw. which is like a light gun shooting game.

if you've already played the snes one, skip this bit, if not heres a quick description of each game mode:

Spring breeze:

This is basically a stripped down version of the original Kirby's Dreamland for the Gameboy. its the easiest of all the games on the collection and has no kind of gimmic to go with it, its classic kirby gameplay.

Dynablade:

This game has a map screen so you get some control of where you want to go next, there also hidden levels which are made avaliable by finding a hidden switch somewhere in one of the levels. the aim of this game is to defeat the giant bird, Dynablade.

Great Cave Offensive:

This is by far the longest of the games, its a giant treasure hunt, which sees you and a helper exploring caves, castles and other areas to find hidden treasure chests. its very fun if you like exploring.

Revenge of metaknight:

This one has more of a story than the others, with brand new CG cut scenes and characters talking on the bottom screen while you play. its also fairly short but has some good boss fights and great music! 

Milky Way Wishes:

This one gets rid of kirby's ability to eat enemies and turn into them, instead you ahve to find the abilities hidded around the worlds, once you've found one you can use it at any time you want by selecting it on the touch screen. this game finished in an awesome boss fight which turns the game into a side scrolling shooter! 

Gourmet Race:

This is a race against King DEDEDE to eat as much food as possible and finish the race first! 

Arena:

This is a boss rush mode where you have to fight ALL the bosses in the game, you get to choose any ability you want, but you only have limited health supplies.

its an awesome game and the best kirby game by far!!

Nicktendowii out. Till next time! :D

A hand full of games

as you probably all know, i spend a lot (probably too much) on games... i've got another 20 or so in the last few months alone... so i wanted to give my opinions on some of them. of course i wont write about all of them because that would take far too long and both me writing this, and you reading this, would get bored. So i'll just pick a hand full of games and talk a bit about them..


Project Diva! (PSP)

got this from Play Asia, i love Vocaloid music and Miku so i've been after this game for ages! :D very glad i've finally got it!

The game its self is a music rhythm game where you have to press the correct button in time with the music and the icons on screen. its a lot of fun, especially on Hard mode where you need to use all 4 of the buttons. the song list is good and had quite a few that i hadn't heard which is always good, along with some of my favourites, World is mine, Melt, Last Night Good Night and more. as you play through the game there are lots of unlockables to collect including new costumes for Miku, as well as some other characters, (Rin, Len and Luka) decorations for the house and new songs / difficulties. For most of the songs in the game, they are accompanied by an animated music video that plays in the background, they look amazing on the PSP's big screen and are very well animated, although, sometimes if theres a lot going on the frame rate slows down a bit, but its still perfectly playable. some of the very fast songs near the end of the game only have pictures instead of the 3D animations.

apart from the music mode, there is also a mode where you can decorate a house, called Miku's Room, here you can play background music, including some songs that were not playable in the game! (including on of my favourites, Luka's "Double Lariat")   in this mode you can also take photos to save to the memory card inside the psp. you can also play any music you have on your psp in this mode. i found there were some classic SEGA consoles you can unlock to put in the room, which was a nice suprise!

if your thinking of getting this but don't like the thought of playing a japanese game, don't worry, the menu's are simple to navigate and you will quickly learn what everything does, i also found this website helpful to learn where and what the options do: http://projectdiva.wikispaces.com/

Next game is: 

Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing (Wii)

Not quite on par with the awesome Mario Kart Wii (damn, if only it was a golf game, that would have been an ace pun!) (damn, if only that pun would have been about tennis... never mind.. back to the game..)

Don't go into this thinking its just another sonic racing game. The amount of Saga in this game will be reason enough for most people to play this, it has everything you could want from SEGA in here, its got Ulala from space channel 5, AiAi from Monkey ball, Beat from Jet Set Radio, Billy Hatcher from.... Billy Hatcher :P Alex Kidd!, Even Ryo from Shenmue is a playable character! the stages in this game are its best feature and they all are well planned and fun to race on, and all taken from other classic Sega titles! 

here's Ryo on his motorbike on the Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg stage:

the game is incredibly colourful and the graphics are really nice and detailed. there is also a great selection of music from loads of past sega games, including songs from Sonic R! amazing! :D 

Apart from the normal Gran Prix mode, there is also a mission mode, where you have to do challenges and get graded on how well you did, Time trials, and an online mode, which i haven't tried yet... a very fun game and an easy recommendation for Sega fans!

Odin Sphere (PS2)

AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! is what I scream as I throw my controller against the wall after being killed by a boss for the millionth time..... This game is HARD with a capital EVERYTHING!! but apart from its insane boss fights, its a great game so far, let me tell you a bit about it...

first off.. HOLY MOTHER OF 2D SPRITES! this game looks insanely good!

the attention to detail that has gone into the characters and background really is incredible, the animation is very smooth and the whole thing feels like a painting come to life.. now I've finished drooling over the beauty of the game i will do my best to explain the gameplay.

Throughout the game you will play as several different characters, each with their own story's. At the moment im still on the first character, Gwendolynn's story. She is the daughter of King Odin, her sister Griselda, gets killed in battle and Gwendolyn, she inherits her spear, which has a crystal on the end which can absorb Phozons which let you use magic abilities. She is a warrior and you have to travel to many different places killing enemies and collecting treasure. the game is more of an action game than an RPG, Each level is split into sections, and each section is like a circle, so for example, you can run all the way to the right and end up at the same place again. the objective in each area (apart from the shops) is to kill all the enemies or the boss. Thanks to the map at the top of the screen, which shows an outline of everything happening within the stage, its easy to find the enemies, you have a basic attack which is assigned to the Square button. and you can press triangle to bring up a list of magic spells. 

The yellow circle you can see in the bottom right of the screen is the map of the section you are in, the yellow dots are exits, you have to check the over all map to see where they take you. 

you level up, not by fighting enemies, but by eating, using items or by other means, to eat you have to first plant a seed which grows into a tree and grows fruit, each seed takes a certain number of phozons to grow. When you kill an enemy it releases phosons and they can be absorbed by holding R which powers up the blue bar in the top left, which gives you the power you need to use magic spells, or they can also be absorbed by seeds that you plant in the floor. it sounds complicated but its fine once you get used to it. The game also includes  very in depth alchemy system where you have to mix certain items together to make new ones. you get scrolls through out the adventure telling you what you have to mix.

one more thing worth noting, the music in this game is amazing too, composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, the composter for final fantasy XII. its all very epic orchestral music and really sets the tone for the game.

It's certainly not a game for everyone but so far im finding it to be a very enjoyable experience (apart from the damn boss fights!!) 

Pilotwings Resort (3DS)

the long awaited sequel to Pilotwings 64... but was it worth the wait..?

the game is basically Wii Sports Resort Airplane mode with extras.. the game is set on the same island, and the free flight mode in this pilotwings is more or less the same as the one on wii sports. you fly around in the plane and pop balloons (which is much more fun than it sounds)

the game is split into two modes, Missions and Free Flight. Missions range from basic flying through rings, to rounding up UFO's and taking them to the mother ship. along with poping balloons and following other planes, doing tricks, landing on platforms etc, so theres plenty of variety. The first few sets are extremely easy and cen be a bit dull, but from Silver up to Platinum they are more enjoyable. It's fun to re-try the missions to improve your score and aim to get 3 Star ranking on all of them. I've managed a *** rank on all of the Novice, Bronze and Silver missions and i'm now working on Gold. 

Apart from the plane you can also fly using a Jet Pack and Hand-Glider, same as the other two Pilotwings games. there are also three unlockable vehicles to get, a faster Jet Plane, Super Rocket Belt and a Pedal Glider. these (apart from the pedal glider) are just faster versions of the same thing.

The main part of this game, and where you'll be spending most of your flying time, is the free flight mode, where you are given a certain amount of time to explore the island and pop as many balloons, and find as many (i) Information points as possible. for every 30 balloons you pop, 30 seconds extra is added to the timer. The game also has three separate times of day to fly around in, and each time of day has a different set of balloons to find. Each vehicle also has its own collectables, the plane had rings with your mii's face on, which could be at any angle or spinning around, and depending on what the mii inside is doing, you have to do the same while flying through it in the plane. the rocket belt has present boxes that contain your mii which are hidden all around the island. and the hand glider has gold rings you need to fly through.

It is a very good game, but maybe a bit too relaxed, i enjoyed my time casually flying over Wuhu island looking for (i) points and exploring the caves and passageways in the island. but i can understand that some people might find this very dull and just finish the missions and then forget about the game. 

theres some interesting uses of mii's in this game, not only do you fly as your mii, but also, depending on the colour of your shirt, it changes the colour of the airplane / hand glider! nothing special, just a small extra i noticed.

In my opinion i think this is just as good as the previous pilotwings games and if you enjoyed them its definitely worth playing. 

Thanks for reading

No food or movies? i'm outta here!

(extra points for getting the reference)

Nicktendowii

My thoughts on: Sin and Punishment Successor of the Skies

Another post from playfire, hopefully my next post will be a new one now i don't have any more uni work to do! got as long as i was to write here now :D

My thoughts on: Sin and Punishment Successor of the Skies

Posted: Jan. 14, 2011, 5:03 p.m.

Related to: Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies

I had been meaning to pick this up for a while, and im glad i did! 

as many people probably have too, when the original sin and punishment was released on the virtual console i kept hearing about how good it was, unfortunately i never got round to downloading it, however i was also aware that an equally good sequel was avaliable as a full retail release on the wii. i put off buying it for a while because when it was released and for a few months after, it was on sale for £39.99 which i thought was a bit too expensive for what i thught would be a short, but fun, arcade style game. well i waited for the sales and got it for only £15! 

i was right about only one thing, it is fun and arcade style, but it definitely isn't short, and it worth every penny!

the game has only 7 levels, but they last anywhere from 5 mins to almost an hour, add extra characters and 3 difficulty levels and its quite a long game! 

i havent tried the game as the other character yet, she flies on a hover board and can target multiple enemies at once. so this will add some replay value to the game, another thing that adds value is the inclusion of a world wide, and local high score table, each time to beat a level, you score gets uploaded via nintendo wifi connection and you can compare your score and times with everyone else around the world! i came 88th overall for UK and Ireland at the end of the game, which i was pleased about! lol

i played through on normal, using ISA, he can fly and run on the ground, and has a charge shot which takes time to re-charge but does a lot of damage. 

the controls are best when using a wiimote and nunchuck, you use the wiimote to point at the screen and aim the cursor, the nunchuch is used to move your character around the screen, press the Z button to dodge and the A button to charge your special shot. you hold down the B button on the back of the remote to shoot, i found these controls much better to use than the classic or gamecube controller. 

the closest game to compare it to is probably Lylat wars. or maybe the panzer dragoon series, although you get much more control of your character in this..

the game is VERY hard, i died countless times on some of the bosses, and there are a LOT of bosses! each is killed in a different way and it is very fun to try and figure out how to kill a certain boss! each level is action packed and the action does not let up once dirung the whole game. it is very exciting to play and i would reccomend it to anyone who enjoys fast paces action games, so probably not that many people with a wii then... its not for casual gamers at all. my mum tried to play it and she died immediately and said she didn't have a clue what was going on! XD

there are a few issues with the game i feel i have to address. first, using the sword is awkward, and quite irritating especially on (Spoiler) The last boss, as you have to use the sword attack to defelect projectiles which appear from all angles on the screen, and if you don't hit them they hit the person you are trying to protect.(spoiler finished)  to use the sword you have to tap the B button, (which is also the button used for shooting) but you can only swing the sword 3 times before your character has to stop and re charge, however this leaves you open for attack, and sometimes when you stop shooting and then try to shoot again you will accidentally use the sword instead. another gripe i have is that there is no retry button, so if you know you are going to fail at a boss fight you have to still play it all the way through of kill yourself as there is no way to retry. 

apart from this the game is amazing, there are great boss fights scattered throughout the levels, the graphics are smooth and run at a constant 60fps which is really nice and definitely makes the game better to play.

Fragile Dreams

Not a new post, but the website i posted this on doesn't have a blog feature any more so i put it here instead :-) enjoy.

My thoughts on: Fragile Dreams

Posted: Dec. 11, 2010, 5:28 p.m.

Related to: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

I've been looking forward to playing this as soon as it was announced, unfortunately i didnt get it when it was released, it was a year later when i finally got a copy. so, where to start?...

The game starts with a lovely anime intro which sets the scene for the game (last person on earth) it shows the main character (Seto) walking around a barren land, it seems everyone is dead. and this theme continues throughout the whole game. along the way you meet several characters, a ghost named Sai and a boy called Crow.

Sai follows you around, floating eerily behind you like she is swimming through the air. you can put the wii remote to your ear to hear her talk, sometimes she will give you clues, although most of the time she will just say random things, such as "what is your bloodtype" ...

before you meet these two however, you are completely alone. the first thing you find is an old radio, which has A.I and can talk to you. it has a gentle voice and helps you at the beginning of the game. unfortunately its batteries run out soon, and with an emotion cut scene, you never hear from it again...

another character you meet is a mysterious silver haired girl. i wont tell you her name as it is left in secret until near the end.. you see her singing, sitting on a wall, she falls off and you run over and try to help her. then she runs off and most of the game is spent trying to find this girl, as she seems to be the only human left..

The mysterious silver haired girl...

there is a merchant who appears at the bonfires (which act as save points) who has a very mysterious past which is not fully explained until near the end of the game. he always wears a chicken suit and pushes a pram.

don't worry.. near the end, it does "Kinda" explain why he wears the chicken suit...

the story, as you might have guessed, is full of mystery and suspense. this is a really effective way to keep you interested, as throughout the game, small pieces of the plot being to be revealed and it slowly dawns on you why the world has ended up as it is. 

 the gameplay is a mix of adventure and action, it plays much like a survival horror game, you explore the ruins and collect items which go into your bag. the bag has limited space and you frequently have to re arrange the items, or walk back to a bonfire to empty some items out into the briefcase. the item management plays an important part in the game. 

the combat is very simple, simply face the enemy you want to hit and press the A button to use the weapon you have equiped. there are several different typed of weapons avaliable, sometimes you find them on the floor, other times you need to buy them from the merchant. they range from, swords, poles, bow and arrow (and other projectiles) and hammers / axes. each has different timing and strengths and weaknesses, its important to pick the right weapon for the situation. 

the graphics are beautiful, especially in the times where you get to explore outside, the characters are also extremely detailed and well animated. all this makes for a lovelly looking game with plenty of "wow" moments, for example, the first time you get outside, you walk along an empty rail road track, the sky is swirling with colour and the stars twinkle above, grass sways beneath your feet and you are the only person left in the world. its an amazing feeling to be wandering around such a desolate, yet beautiful place.

the music is eaqualy well done, most of the time it is silent, but as soon as you enter an important area or a battle orchectral music begins to play, it fits each scene extremely well. there is also a fully voiced introduction and ending song. the best bit about the audio though, is not the music, but the sound effects. not only are they extremely creepy, but also certain sounds come from the wii mote speaker, making the game a lot more immersive, for example, you are walking around an abandoned theme park, and there is a cat in the distance, you hear it meowing through the TV, you approach it slowly and as you do you can hear it begin to meow through the speaker on the wii remote. 

the best bit of the game for me, was collecting the "mystery items" throughout the game, these can be hiding around the world, or be found after killing an anemy, when you take the mystery item back to the bonfire, you can see if it was something to sell, an item (such as a health pack or weapon) or a short story. these stories are "memories" of people who have died. there are lots of these throughout the game and they are fully voiced (in japanese or english, depending on what language you chose) and are usually very well written and suprisingly emotional, at first they will not make sense, but once you discover the secret to how everyone dies, they suddenly become clear and its a very shocking truth, so i hope you will play the game and find out the truth for yourselves.

 There's a lot more i could mention about this game, such as the map system or how levelling up works, but im going to end this here before i get carried away.

Bottom line, its a fantastic adventure game with an amazing plot and likeable characters, and a great plot twist at the end, so if your looking for a good, and lengthy, game for the wii and don't mind a lot of reading, definitely get this. its a bit hard to find but well worth tracking down. another overlooked gem on wii. Thanks for reading.

Thats just CRAZY!

Was just playing Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and i just finished the Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg course, and i thought to my self, "Wow, Billy Hatcher was such a strange game...." so it got me thinking, what other strange games have i played???....

Super Putty (SNES)

in this game you play as a ball of putty, (as the title suggests) that lives in outer space.. you can stretch yourself out to reach places, and bounce around the screen. the aim of the game is to defeat the enemies in each stage, which turn into babies when you kill them, yes, actual babies, that bounce around wearing nothing but a nappy.... but sometimes a strange cat breaks through the background and laughs at you before stealing the baby! the enemies in the first level are snails and mushrooms... no idea how a baby managed to get itself into either of them...  To be honest i've never got much further than the first level... im not sure if i want to... :P

Freak Out (PS2)

This game is easily one of the weirdest things i have ever seen and played.. you play as a girl called Linda who is one of 12 sisters, all of her sisters are vain and do nothing but buy new cloths and put on make-up all day, linda isn't like this at all, the only piece of clothing she likes is her scalf. one day Linda was on her way to get her sisters cosmetics order from the mall when on the way back she walks past a truck which delivers a box to their house, in the box is a magical doorway that talks to the sisters, it tells them basically that they can get better cosmetics if they go through the door. of course they all go through it. Linda sees the door and moves towards it slowly,  the door tells her to go through it and save her sisters.. and thats when the game starts... and it just gets wierder from there..

the game is split into two sections, levels and bosses, there are only 3 levels (maybe 4, i dont remember) and the only reason to go to them is to get enough points to excercise the bosses with a demon that lives in your scalf, then bring your sisters back to life... but to get the points you have to walk around the levels and...... use your scalf to pinch peoples boobs.... yes you heard correct..... the idea is to grab onto the enemies head and flick it so they explode, but all the enemies have gigantic breasts.... they are also uses as a helicopter to fly away..... i've honestly never played anything as surreal as this... its fun but soooo crazy... XD the boss fights are great though..

if you want to read a review i wrote on Freak Out check this link: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150430684900648

Zoo Cube: (GC)

Animal's heads fall out of the sky and stick to a floating cube that was sent to collect these flying animal heads. the story goes that some scientist was making a device that could change the size and shape of animals (for some reason..) but it went wrong and all the animals turned into cubes so its your job to pilot the "Zoo Cube" and bring the animals back to their normal shape... its a fun puzzle game but a strange concept... also extra points go to having a real life monkey on the box! :D

Parodius (SNES)

Plays much like a drugged up version of gradius, you can pilot either an octopus, a penguin, the Vic Viper from gradius or Twinbee from the twinbee series. the game has some mental stages and bosses... just take a look at these screen shots.......

That will do for now, im sure i could think of more but i've got work to do.. 

Till next time.

Nicktendowii

Looking back on the DS

Now the 3DS is out and will soon take over from the DS as the main portable game console. i'm going to take a while to look back at my favourite games for the DS.

i have more than 100 games for the DS and in some way, i like all of them, but for this i will TRY to limit myself to just 5 games (some games might be part of a series, in which case i will mention all the games in the series).. After adding them all to the 3DS's built in software library and having a chance to play them again, in no particular order here are my top DS games and a bit about them and why i think they are so great!

Number 5: Kirby's Super Star Ultra (also mentioned: Kirby's Power Paintbrush, Kirby's Mouse Attack)

One of my all time favorite games for the SNES, remade for the DS with improved graphics and sound, and loads of extra game modes and features! if you like nintedo platformers this is one you can't afford to miss out on! :D I have written a review for this (not sure if the link will work, as its on facebook, but its worth a try) http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150430678555648

The other two kirby games for the DS are also worth a mention, Power Paintbrush (also known as Canvas Curse) is a very fun game, in the same style as Yoshi's touch and go, in which you dont have direct control over kirby, instead you draw a rainbow which kirby can ride on. it makes for some very clever level design and gameplay.

The third Kirby game is Mouse Attack (aka Squeak Squad) which is much more of a traditional Kirby game. a straightforward platformer that is maybe a little too easy. but still fun non the less. its also quite challenging to try and track down all the hidden treasure chests! 

Number 4: Castlevania Dawn Of Sorrow (also mentioned: Castlevania Portrait Of Ruin, Castlevania Order Of Ecclesia)

                                         

All 3 of these games are amazing, and its probably my favourite trilogy of games ever (yes better than metroid prime) and easily 3 of the best games on the DS. if i had to pick i would say that Dawn of Sorrow was my favourite of the 3, but only because its more about exploring one giant castle, compared to Portrait of ruin, which has a big castle, but also levels hidden inside portraits on the walls, which makes for a nice change of scenery but limits the exploration somewhat. and order of Ecclesia is much more action oriented compared to the other 2, the levels are slightly more linear and there are loads of side quests you can do.  All of these games are amazing on their own, but when played as a set, they are even better, also worth playing are the 3 GBA castlevania's which are the same style as these.

Number 3: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (also mentioned: Kingdom Hearts Re-Coded)

Both the Kingdom Hearts games on the DS are worth playing, but by far the better of the two is 358/2 Days, it has one of the most compelling and genuinely emotional story lines in any game i have played. the gameplay can get a little repetetive with the mission structure of the game making you re-play the same levels several time with different objectives, but it never gets dull, its definitely worth persevering with to see the next cut scene, which are nearly all done in lovely CG graphics and fully voice acted which is rare for a DS game. The game also has an excelent levelling up system, where you have slots where you can place panels which give you new abilities, more health, etc. its a very rewarding system and it can be fun to just re-arrange the panels so you can fit more upgrades in. its a very in depth system that adds another level of strategy to the game. the combat is also very well done, and is much like the PS2 versions of KH. 

Number 2: Another Code: Two Memories

One of the first DS games to be released after the launch of the console, and still one of the best. an extremely atmospheric point and click style adventure game with lots of clever puzzles that put all the features of the DS to good use. theres some very surprising solutions ot the puzzles that you wouldn't even think were possible. such as one puzzle where you get a stamp and you have to stamp a book to reveal a picture, in order to use the stamp, you actually have to close the DS and open it again, just like you're pressing down on the book with the stamp. there are other equally inventive puzzles but i wont spoil them all here. Also the game has a very nice story which is centred around the girl on the box, Ashley Robbins, who has gone to a mysterious island to find her father, who has been missing and is presumed dead (until Ashley receives a message from him telling her that he is waiting for her on the island). of course, he isn't there when she arrives, and the rest of the game centres around you exploring the island and the mansion trying to find Ashley's father. Until the last couple of chapters where it all goes a bit Sci fi. which are awesome, and the events of this game follow onto the sequel for the Wii called Another code: a journey into lost memories, which is an equally good game.

Number 1: Time Hollow

Another game with an amazing story line, following the life of Ethan Kairos, after he discovers a pen called a "Hollow Pen" which lets him draw portals into other time periods. the game sees you trying to solve the mystery of why it seems your parents have gone missing, one moment they are there, sitting at the dinner table, then when Ethan wakes up the next morning... they no longer exist.. Someone had changed the past and Ethan has to use the hollow pen to travel round the town and change the past. its a hard story to describe but well worth playing / reading for yourself. It's got a great cast of characters which really help add a level of realism to the story. The graphics and music are also top quality, really i can't prise this game enough, just play it! :D

Of course theres lots more DS games i want to talk about, but thats all im going to mention here..

Thanks for reading, hope you decide to try some of these games after hearing my opinions of them.

LONG LIVE THE DS!

Nicktendowii.

Hardcore Gaming 101!

hey guys, just a quick post.  I've been listening to the Hardcore Gaming 101 Podcast, which is extremely awesome and definitely worth listening to if you like retro or obscure games, especially 2D ones! :D you can download them here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/podcasts.htm there's only 6 episodes.

also the website is really good if you like games: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/

so, as i've been listening to them, heres some games i want to get / play!

first is Sigma Star Saga, by Way forward, its an RPG with battles that switch into a shooting game in space. hard to explain but it sounds cool. oh, and also Contra 4 for the DS which is made by the same company.

Melty Blood, which is a dojinshi fighting game for the PC (which im downloading now!)

Odin Sphere for the PS2, which is an amazing looking platformer / RPG with lots of characters. i've really wanted to play this for ages! but first i need to find a way of playing american PS2 games on my PS2... if anyone knows how, please let me know in the comments!! :D

and if i can't find this or play it on the ps2, then theres also Muramasa the demon blade for the wii..

i'd also like to play Princess Crown, which is the prequel to odin sphere but it was only released in japan on the saturn which is a shame :(

Arcana Heart, a PS2 2D fighting game (not sure if its released in english)

It's a shame that 2D games like these are hardly released any more, on consoles at least... 

:(

not related to the HCG101 podcast, but theres quite a lot of games i want for the PS3, (one of the only consoles i don't actually own!) but thats for another time...

Cya, 

Nicktendowii