Need for Speed: Most Wanted Limited Edition Review

Need for Speed: Most Wanted Limited Edition

Publisher: EA Developer: Criterion Platform: Xbox 360 Players: 1-MMO Release: 2012 Genre: Racing / Sandbox Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Great

Above is a scene of a street race

This great game is a remake of 2005's Need for Speed: Most Wanted. As in the other games in the long-running Need for Speed series, you play as a rebellious driver and explore a massive world, competing in street races and hijacking cars. Many of the cars are of the some of the most luxurious sports-car brands around, including Lamborghini and Bugatti.  The plot has you assume the roll of a nameless driver who aims to beat the top 10 most wanted cars in town and claim the title for themself. It's up to you to beat every one of them in a race and become the most wanted. To become worthy to compete in a race with the Most Wanted, you must obtain Speed Points (SP). Speed Points are earned by dispatching police units, smashing through the billboards and restricted area gates scattered throughout the land. I always get into police pursuits. To do so, you simply need to crash into a cop-- you have to hit them because they're ridiculously ignorant of pile-ups, knocked-over objects, and any other traces of reckless driving. The more damage you do to police cars, the more wanted you become. The maximum wanted level is six. By tapping the right bumper on the controller, you can browse through a massive selection of music from a wide array of artists, most of which perfectly fit the game. Additionally, the visuals are shockingly realistic and are easily some of the seventh console generation. Everything from the reflective metal to the sunsets look fantastic. But the one of the game's few flaws comes in during pursuits. The police AI can be laughably dumb, although that makes me, well, laugh. They don't bother to hit the brakes at the edge of a cliff, and they make fatal jumps constantly. But it may be deliberate, as you receive SP when a cop slams into a car-- traffic poses a larger threat than the police, and it leads to cheap crashes galore. Even so, pursuits prove fun. Another small complaint is that the environments can feel lifeless at times, due to the fact that there are no civilians-- only cars. I get that you're not supposed to be able to harm civilians, but why not have them jump out of the way of vehicles like in Midnight Club: Los Angeles? And finally, even when travelling slowly, it's easy to lightly bump into a wall-- and crash. Despite these flaws, Need for Speed: Most Wanted Limited Edition is a fantastic game full of high-speed thrills, and no racing game aficionado should miss out on it.

Ups
Solid racing action
Wide variety of music
Hilarious dumb police AI
Incredible visuals

Downs
Hilariously dumb police AI (it's a con from a technical standpoint)

Overly dangerous environment

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, and Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)

Angry Birds Review

Angry Birds

Publisher: Chillingo Developer: Rovio  Platform: iOS Players: 1 Release: 2009 Genre: Action / Physics Based-Puzzle Rating: 8.7 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above is a scene from the game's first stage
 

Angry Birds has an amusing premise-- it's a physics-based puzzler in which you use your finger to fling-- ahem-- angry (and not to mention unusually shaped, hand-drawn, and anthropomorphic) birds at makeshift structures housing green pigs that have stolen their eggs using a catapult. There are tons of levels to play through and a variety of birds to fling, the types in each stage depending on the environment. There are standard red birds; tiny blue birds that, when you tap the screen, will split into 3 other tiny birds, which are weak but are effective against structures made of ice blocks; yellow birds that will zoom forward with the tap of the screen, crushing wood and ice; bomb-shaped birds that explode when the screen is tapped; duck-like birds that act as a boomerang when the screen is tapped; incredibly plump red birds that slightly boost when the screen is tapped, and orange birds that puff up like airbags, demolishing structures. The goal of each level is to defeat all the pigs within the structure without running out of birds. You get a 10,000 point bonus for each bird left over you have, and you'll get a higher star rating on the level. There are tons of levels to play through, but many of them can prove to be very challenging-- that's the downside of this fantastic game. That's really my only complaint, but getting stuck on one stage for a long time can really suck the fun out of the experience. Even so, Angry Birds is arguably the best game available on the App Store, and for a mere $2.99, it's a real bargain!

Ups
Amusing premise
Variety and creativity

Downs
Hard at times

ESRB: E Content: Comic Mischief Price: $2.99 (Download)

Bike Baron Review

Bike Baron

Publisher: Mountain Sheep Games Developer: Qwiboo Platform: iOS Players: 1 Release: 2011 Genre: 2D Platformer / Racing Rating: 7.7 \ 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is Bike Baron making a jump.
 

Bike Baron seems like your typical motorcross platformer at first, but it's far from it. There's really no backstory-- you just ride your way through tons of insane obstacle courses. But the game has a comic sense of humor-- a plump, monster-like tavern owner, a cat that rides on the back of your motorcycle, nitro-boost power ups, a title theme um... growled by monsters, and more-- it's all there. The impressive polygonal visuals add to the charm. There are four default playable characters to choose from: Young Ace, a young all-American rider sporting shades, a leather jacket, a goatee, and most notably, a cat on the back of his motorcycle; Domovoi, the aforementioned tavern owner, Bike Baron himself; and Mr. Cool the daredevil. But if you collect all of the hidden gold cat statues dubbed the Golden Gabetto, you will be able to customize your character. And best of all, you can even create and share your own levels! Every day, a user-generated level is dubbed the level of the day. Some players have been lucky enough to have their creations featured as actual stages! But Bike Baron still has its share of issues, mainly the fact that some of the levels can be insanely challenging, especially if you try to replay every course without checkpoints, and many crashes feel cheap and undeserved. In turn, some of the stages are so easy that they can be completed simply by holding the "Go" button. Also, the flawed ragdoll physics have effects such as, your head getting stuck in a wall or floor, or having your body horribly distorted. However, it's also hilarious. Other than that, flaws are few. Bike Baron is a fun game, and it's well worth a try.

Ups
Quirky sense of humor
Impressive polygonal visuals
Level creator
Hysterical glitch physics

Downs
Insanely challenging at times

ESRB: ??? Content: ??? Price: $0.99 (Download)

Kirby's Adventure Review

Kirby's Adventure

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Laboratory Platform: NES Players:  1 Release: 1993 Genre: 2D Platformer / Adventure Rating: 8.3 \ 10.0: Great

Above is a scene from early in the game

Kirby's Adventure is the first Kirby game I ever played. It's certainly well worth the Wii Shop Channel's low $5 price, and it's what turned me into a Kirby fan. The second game in the Kirby series, Kirby's Adventure is the full-color appearance of the pink puffball, and players no longer assumed that he was some sort of friendly spirit, as one might have guessed from viewing the box art of Kirby's Game Boy debut, Kirby's Dream Land, in which he was displayed white. The plot has Kirby awaken to find he isn't dreaming. He heads over to the Dream Fountain to discover that his gluttonous archrival, King Dedede, has stolen the Star Rod, the Dream Fountain's source of power. He broken it into several pieces, giving a piece to each of his friends, who serve as the bosses of each world. Kirby's Adventure marks the debut of Copy Abilities, the powers Kirby obtains by inhaling and swallowing their corresponding foes, as well as the mysterious Meta Knight, the masked warrior who has served as both a hero and a villain throughout the series. After clashing with swords at the end of the sixth world, Orange Ocean, Meta Knight removes his mask for the first and only time in the franchise. The abundance of secret rooms add a sense of adventure throughout the game, and many of the gameplay elements were recycled in the 2011 Wii hit, Kirby's Return to Dream Land, which I reviewed and gave an outstanding score of 9.3 (and take my word for it, it's amazing). There are also a couple of fun minigames accessible from the world map. In one, you are in a boxing arena, and King Dedede tosses eggs that you must inhale, while you must avoid bombs, and you receive points for your efforts. In the other, you must press A (or 2, if you're playing the downloading Wii Virtual Console rerelease) to lower a claw into a machine full of toy Kirbys. You have two tries, and for every toy you pull out, assuming you get any, you receive an extra life. And there is a standoff game that takes place in a desert in which you must be the first to draw you're gun against a an enemy is Western getup. But there are several flaws. Some stretches of the game can be difficult, some secrets can be very challenging to discover, and intense action can result in slowdown. Even so, Kirby's Adventure is a fantastic classic not to be missed by any Kirby fan, and it's one of my favorite classic Nintendo games.

Ups
Color graphics
Introduction of Copy Abilities
New emphasis on adventure
Fun minigames

Downs
Difficult
Notoriously-hidden secrets
Minor slowdown issues

ESRB: E Content: Mild Fantasy Violence Price: $5.00 (Download)

Epic Mickey Review

Epic Mickey

Publisher: Disney Developer: Junction Point Platform: Wii Players: 1 Release: 2010 Genre: Adventure / 3D Platformer Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Great

Above is Mickey preparing to enter a film reel

Epic Mickey is a adventure-platformer starring Disney's beloved Mickey Mouse. It's set in Wasteland, and world where long-forgotten Disney characters reside. You embark on a quest to stop the evil Mad Doctor from destroying Wasteland. As you travel through forgotten Disney worlds playing as Mickey, you wield a magical paintbrush. Pointing the Wii Remote to aim, you press the B button to spray paint, which can restore objects and befriend foes, and press Z to spray thinner, which destroys objects and defeats enemies. To travel from area to area, amusingly, you must leap into a film reel and play through a 2D side-scrolling level based on a classic Disney cartoon, such as Steamboat Willie, the latter of which was even in black-and-white! You will face Disney-themed bosses throughout the game, including the It's a Small World ride from the Disneyland theme park! This is because all of the locales and withered and rotting and flooded with thinner, and everything is possessed-- the game has a rather gothic motif. And it's up to you to repair it all. There are classic Disney characters everywhere with side quests for you to complete, adding a sense of exploration to the game. The constant classic Disney references and the exploration elements work well, but the game features a somewhat klutzy camera and some stretches of the game can be very difficult. But still, Epic Mickey is a great game, and it shouldn't be skipped by any Disney fan.

Ups
Neat paint and thinner system
Classic Disney references

Downs
Klutzy camera
Difficult stretches

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail)

Sonic Generations Review

Sonic Generations

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Platform: Xbox 360 Players: 1 Release: 2011 Genre: 3D Platformer / Action Rating: 8.5 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above shows Sonic and Tails alongside their original versions
 

Sonic Generations celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In what I believe to be a nod to the classic titles, the game immediately begins with you playing through a redesign of Act 1 of Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. A splendid remix of the iconic stage theme plays, and you will notice that you're controlling the classic short and pot-bellied incarnation of Sonic. The current Sonic then finds that his friends throwing him a surprise party, which becomes humorous when Sonic receives a chili dog from his friend Tails as a gift. But suddenly, a deranged figure composed of a dark substance appears, and captures all of Sonic's friends and freezes the world in stone. In the next cut-scene, the classic version of Sonic travels into the present. You must then complete a 3D rendition of Green Hill Zone as Sonic. All of the stages must be completed with both versions of Sonic. The levels are 2D and side-scrolling when you play as Classic Sonic, and 3D / 2D when you play as modern Sonic. There are nine stages divided into three eras: Classic, Dreamcast, and Modern. Representing the good ol' days are Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant, and Sky Sanctuary When you complete both Acts in a stage, one of Sonic's friends will be restored, as will the stage. From the Dreamcast era, there's Speed Highway, City Escape, and Seaside Hill. Finally, Crisis City (Sonic '06 is canon now? Oh boy ...), Rooftop Run, and Planet Wisp symbolize the recent history of the franchise. One of my favorite features are the slight changes to the stages. For example, the G.U.N. truck in Act 2 of City Escape now chases you across the walls of buildings and is equipped with an arsenal of massive blades. After completing all the Acts in an era, you'll have to complete a handful of stage-themed challenges to earn boss keys. These tests of your skill range from doppelganger races to calling upon Knuckles to dig up medals. Many of these challenges can be very frustrating, which is why I'm glad most are optional. For each challenge you complete, you're granted a chance to ring a bell and track down a musical note with a 20 second countdown, earning you either artwork or a song. If you for some ridiculous reason don't enjoy the default music in the stages or just don't enjoy the Classic and Modern remixes, you can change which song plays. Wanna listen to "Live and Learn" while playing Green Hill Zone, or "His World" while in Rooftop Run? Weird, but go ahead. All the artwork can be viewed when travel to a shack located to the far left of the map. The skill shop is also located in this white, barren area, and it's here that you can purchase elemental shields, abilities, extra lives, and even an in-game copy of the original Sonic the Hedgehog (and infinite continues for the game) using the points you've accumulated. Each era also contains a rival battle and a boss battle. In the Classic Era, you'll face Metal Sonic and Death Egg; in the Dreamcast era, you square off with Shadow and Perfect Chaos; and in the Modern Era, you'll fight Silver and the Egg Dragoon. A Chaos Emerald is earned each time you win a battle. I'm not done explaining the plot-- how did Classic Sonic enter the present anyway? To make matters worse, Dr. Eggman has teamed up with his "classic" version who is under his original name of Dr. Robotnik,. But either way, the twist is a great way to celebrate Sonic's anniversary. This game is incredibly fun, but there are a few setbacks that prevent it from being any better. There is a steep difficulty curve, and I found myself tearing through my lives. Also, it becomes quite repetitive to play the stages twice, mainly because Modern Sonic has as much 2D gameplay as he does 3D, and Classic Sonic's sections are full-on side scrolling. Also, longtime fans will be miffed by the reminder of Sonic '06's existence), and that's really all. Sonic Generations is still a superb platforming adventure, but it could have been better. Still, Sonic Generations will provide loads of fun to any Sonic fan, and newbies will get something out of the redesigned stages.

Ups
Nostalgic twists
Classic references
Music can be chosen
Skill shop

Downs
Hard at times
Can feel repetitive to play each stage twice

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Review

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: AlphaDream Platform: 3DS Players: 1 Release: 2013 Genre: RPG / Action Rating: 8.8 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above is gameplay of the Luiginary Ball attack

Finally, after four years, the a new Mario & Luigi game has arrived! It all starts when the Mario Bros. receive an invitation to Pil'lo Island. you board a blimp, accompanied by Princess Peach and Toadsworth, who were also invited. On the blimp, you are greeted by returning characters Broque Monsieur (the blockhead doesn't even remember the bros! And he is quite literally a blockhead-- in fact, he's made of blocks!) and Starlow. But on the way there, you are confronted by an anonymous floating figure, who you will later find is called Antasma. After arriving on the island, Luigi falls from the blimp, becoming unconscious. After taking a short stroll, you will end up battling a pair of Goomba-like creatures called Grombas, and you will receive  battle tutorials. That's perfectly normal at the start of the game, but one of my main complaints about this game is the excessive amount of pointless tutorials. There's a new battle feature, in which when you jump, if you press the attack button right before impact with your opponent, you'll jump again and dish out extra damage. Next, you will make your way to Pil'lo Castle, where Peach and Toadsworth will step on a jet-propelled platform, not realizing it would propel them into a secret room. You must follow them, guided by Starlow, and after exploring a hidden dungeon, you will find them, and have a rematch with Antasma. Eventually, you'll come across a stone pillow. Luigi falls asleep on it, and it opens a portal to the Dream World. Mario and Peach are sucked in the portal, and Peach is carried away by Antasma and into Dreams Deep, the deepest reach of the Dream world. You then begin your journey in the Dream Word. The Dream World is limited to a 2D side-scrolling perspective, rather than a top-down open-world perspective, similar to Bowser's insides in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. You will encounter many foes that are not in the real world, although there are "dreamy" versions of outer-world foes as well. As I mentioned in my Bowser's Inside Story review, the combat is turn-based. first, you attack, and then you must counterattack and do damage or take damage from your enemy. In the Dream World, you're assisted by Dreamy Luigi, who enhances you're abilities in combat. When you jump on your foe, Luigis will rain upon it (or them, as many dreamy enemies attack in large groups), and when you attack with the iconic hammer, a wave of Luigis will strike as well, creating a massive shockwave. There's also a new twist in battle-- in the real world, when you collect all 10 Attack Pieces in the real world, you will unlock a powerful Bros. Attack, such as taking turns kicking a Koopa shell, by using your BP (Battle Points?), and in the Dream World, you'll unlock a Luiginary Attack, which usually involves lots of Luigis. Luiginary Ball, for example, has Mario roll upon a ball made of Luigis, moving from left to right by tilting the 3DS system, and you can enlarge it by rolling through the large line of Luigis that runs throughout the battleground, and finally, you tap A to kick the ball at your opponents. The bigger the ball, the more damage you do. The returning badge system adds even more depth to the combat. You can mix and match badges for different effects, such as restoring HP or Bp to each bro. To use badges in combat, you must fill a meter by attacking. You can purchase badges at item markets. But in every area of the Dream World, there are a certain number of Nightmare Chunks. Break 'em all, and you'll release a Pil'lo Folk from ancient times. The first of these is Prince Dreambert, who was the prince many years ago back when the island was dubbed the Pil'lo Kingdom. Dreambert will assist you throughout your adventure. But one of the best new features in the Dream World are the objects that Dreamy Luigi can morph into. Luigi's face is displayed on the touchscreen, and by touching specific areas of his face, you can trigger the objects. For example, you can pull Luigi's moustache to use it as a catapult, tap his nose to make him sneeze, unleashing a gust of wind in the Dream World, and more. In the real world, things really take a turn for the worst when Bowser teams up with Antasma to wreak havoc. But as great as this game is, and it is really great, there are still flaws. The game can sometimes have a rather steep difficulty curve, which can mess things up, and the soundtrack, although still great, isn't as catchy as before. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is still an incredible games, and one of the best RPGs available on the 3DS, and as fun (and not to mention funny) as before, its predecessor is slightly better.

Ups
New villain
Epic Luiginary attacks
Great badge system
Takes advantage of 3DS

Downs
Tough at times
Not as catchy soundtrack

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)

The Incredible Hulk Review

The Incredible Hulk

Publisher: Sega Developer: Age of Reality / Amaze Works Platform: Wii Players: 1 Release: 2008 Genre: Action / Sandbox Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above us the Hulk beating down an enemy mech-suit pilot

Based on the movie released the same year (based on the popular Marvel comic book series) The Incredible Hulk chronicles the quest of the identically named superhero, who is secretly a scientist named Bruce Banner. After being exposed to gamma radiation, he gained the ability to mutate into a hulking beast whenever he becomes angry. And then, the army, an organization known as the Enclave, and Hulk's enemies pursue him. The first level has you escape the US military headquarters, and afterwards you are dropped into the massive sandbox of New York City. Here, you can run around and climb and smash buildings, pick up streetlamps and use them clubs or javelins, hurl cars across the street, and more! You will find many missions to engage in that that are divided through multiple storylines. Above the mini-map in the corner of the screen, there is a number that divides a bar. It starts out at zero. As you do damage, you earn points and it starts filling up. Once you reach level one, the military will come in with foot soldiers and Humvees with machine-guns mounted on them; at level two soldiers in flying mech-suits will arrive; and at level three, they'll send in tanks that infinitely deploy soldiers. The max level is four. If you take a few hits, you can run away and slowly regain you health. All throughout the city there are mission points. The game branches multiple storylines through the missions, some involving the military, some involving the Enclave, and more. There are also a total of 15 jump challenges scattered throughout the city, completed by jumping through a floating yellow hoop, and completing them grants you a higher jump, charged by holding A. There are a large variety of moves to learn, such as grabbing a vehicle and tearing it in half to use as boxing gloves. You can also unlock different characters to play as from Hulk's comic book adventures as well as other extras, such as comic book covers. However, exploring New York City can become boring after awhile, and the visuals aren't particularly impressive. The Incredible Hulk is a great game, and fan or not, you should give it a try.

Ups
FREEDOM!
Tons of missions
Wanted-level system
Wealth of extras

Downs
Exploring gets boring
Not-very-impressive visuals

ESRB: T Content: Mild Blood, Mild Language, and Violence (PARENTAL WARNING: This game contains moderate violence, and some bad language) Price: $39.99 (Retail)