Super Smash Bros. Review

Super Smash Bros.

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Laboratory Platform: Nintendo 64 Players: 1 (1 Player), 1-4 (Multiplayer) Release: 1999 Genre: 2D Fighter / 2D Platformer Rating: 8.0 \ 10.0: Great


Above is a battle between two Links and two Kirbys

When it comes to super heroes, the biggest argument is whether batman or Superman would win in a fight. Back in the day, it was the question of whether Mario or Link would win in a fight that sparked squabbles among gamers. In 1999, Nintendo fans put these quarrels to rest. This smash hit (get it? Smash? I made a similar title-related pun in my Super Smash Bros. Brawl review) is the first game in the series of 2D fighters in which you duke it out with your favorite Nintendo characters in various locales from their games. This game was created by HAL Laboratory, the long-time developers of the Kirby games, so quality is expected. Kirby creator Masihiro Sakurai directed this title as well. Although not as good as the more recent game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which I gave a perfect 10.0 \ 10.0 score), the original Super Smash Bros. is a fairly entertaining pummel-fest. You can choose from two modes-- 1P Mode or Multiplayer. In multiplayer, you can play Free-for-All, a standard match in which you and up to three other friends can compete for the most KO's under an adjustable time limit or have a set number of lives; or you can switch it to Team Battle, a two-on-two match (or even a one-on-three) match. The game is a blast with pals, but if you're alone, you can choose how many COM-controlled opponents to face, who they are, and how skilled they will be. The object of the battles is different than in most other fighters-- rather than defeating your opponents by reducing their health, each hit increases their damage percentage. The higher the percentage, the farther they will be sent flying by a blow. To kill them, you must knock them off the screen, resulting in a bright burst of color. Adding to the mayhem are items from various Nintendo franchises, including Mario's Koopa shells, Pokémon's Pokéballs, and the sought-after Donkey Kong Hammer. There are also some original items as well. Nothing can top the fun of playing Smash with buddies, and it's nice to see how the 15-plus years of entertaining chaos began. When solo, you can also play other modes. Here, you can play bonus games or have training bouts against characters where you can spawn in any items, and even stack them up with a glitch so you can make instant-kill shells and bombs. Better yet, you can put your skills to the test in 1P Mode. In this you must complete a series of 12 challenges, from smashing targets under a time limit, defeating a set number of identical opponents, facing off one-on-one against another fighter, and more, and you must do this all without losing all your lives. Your number of lives which can be set from one of to five. If you run out of lives, you can replenish them by sacrificing points from your overall score. The difficulty is also adjustable. In the final stage, you face off against Master Hand, the iconic villain of the SSB. He may be a giant floating glove, but he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. If you defeat Master hand, the credits will roll, but you can skip them by holding Start if you get bored. But my one complaint as that the selection of characters and battlegrounds is small, leading to a lack a variety. Nintendo had been making games for two decades at this point, and some great characters were left out. Did you know that Pit, the star of the Kid Icarus series, would have been in this game in place of the Pokémon Jigglypuff, but was left out due to the massive popularity of the monster-training RPG during the late '90's (the angelic has since appeared in the last two Smash Bros. games, as well an original title)? Although it may not have as much content or be as much fun as its successors, Super Smash Bros. is still a fun fighter, and it should satisfy any gamer, both Nintendo aficionado and fighting game fanatic.

Ups
Blast to play with friends
Plenty of Nintendo references
Solid fighting action
1P Mode is fun

Downs
Lack of variety
So much more Nintendo could have included

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $10.00 (Download)

Gunman Clive Review

TGunman Clive

Publisher: Horberg Productions Developer: Horberg Productions Platform: 3DS Players: 1 Release: 2013 Genre: 2D Platformer / Action Rating: 7.5 \ 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is Clive onboard a train

Gunman Clive may sound like some sort of shooter, but it's not. It's a unique blend of platforming and shooting action that combines the level designs and gameplay elements of Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man. The game chronicles a cowboy named Clive, who is on a mission to save Mayor Johnson's daughter from a posse of bandits. When you create a new file, you may select to play as either Clive or Mrs. Johnson, and pick a difficulty level: Easy, Normal, or Hard. From there, a simple cut-scene showing the Mayor's daughter / Clive being carried away in a wagon, and the game begins. The game, made entirely by the two Horberg brothers, is charmingly primitive. The serene  music suits the simple-drawn environments well, and the game has little sound effects. There are four worlds, each with five levels. On the fifth level of each world, you face a boss. As good as this all sounds, I found the game challenging, even with the short levels and on the Easy difficulty level. The first few levels, I didn't even know how many hits I could take before I died, because it took me a while to notice the thin line the represents your health on the side of the screen. The challenge is what took away most of the fun, but an average gamer like me can beat most levels in just a couple minutes and beat the entire game in an hour or so, but the game's brevity explains the low price tag of $1.99. Well, that's all the trash talk out of the way, so now I would like to explain more: Your default weapon, used by pressing the Y button, is a revolver, but there are a variety of weapons to use. Some are randomly dropped by enemies, some appear normally. There is a spread gun that fires three bullets at a time; an odd firearm that allows for faster fire, but shoots homing bullets; a slow-firing gun that shoots small missiles that instantly obliterate most foes. In the fourth and final world, which takes place aboard an alien ship whom the mayor's daughter / Clive has been taken, which is especially Mega Man-like, you can find an laser blaster and a rapid-firing laser machine-pistol. In a neat twist, when you complete the game, you unlock Duck Mode, in which you play through the entire game as a duck, unable to collect power-ups but able to fly temporarily.  Although brief and challenging, Gunman Clive is still an exceptional game, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better platformer for just a couple bucks.

Ups
Super Mario Bros. / Mega Man elements
Charmingly primitive
Great Western and electronic music
Duck Mode

Downs
Very short
Very hard

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Fantasy Violence Price: $1.99 (Download)

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Review

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo / Next Level Games Platform: 3DS Players: 1 (Dark Moon Quest), 1-4 (ScareScraper) Release: 2013 Genre:  Adventure / Survival-Horror Rating: 8.2 \ 10.0: Great

Above is Luigi getting assaulted by ghosts

After 12 long years, the sequel to the beloved GameCube launch title, Luigi's Mansion has arrived! It all starts when King Boo (I don't know who else a creepy-looking giant ghost with a crown and a scepter could be called, but if this is so, King Boo got a serious makeover!) shatters the Dark Moon, scattering the shards throughout the haunted estate below it. No longer under the spell of the Dark Moon, the ghosts become hostile, and Professor E. Gadd, the mad scientist from the original Luigi's Mansion, hides away in a bunker and calls upon Luigi to help him. He equips the overshadowed bro with the Poltergust 5000, an improved model of the ghost-sucking vacuum / backpack from the original game. This new model has attachments which you'll collect along your journey, such as the Dark Light Device, which reveals invisible objects with ultraviolet light. This time around, you have multiple haunted manors to explore and a wider variety of ghosts to suck up. Each mansion has several missions... several normal ones, and one in which you confront the monster causing the trouble in the mansion. There's a lot of exploring to do-- each mansion has tons of secret rooms for you to explore, and most of them are required to be entered eventually, while there are occasional secret rooms. There are a lot of challenging puzzles to complete, and the environments are almost fully interactive. Nearly any object, from vases to curtains, can either be sucked up or rattled. There are also many gems to find. Although this game is aimed at a young audience, the game can prove creepy at times-- the lights in the room will all of the sudden go off and ghosts will appear in certain missions, and objects all around the room will rattle and fall. Every once in a while, you will be called by Professor Gadd... on a Nintendo DS (I couldn't help but smirk when I encountered the reference). This is likely a replacement for the original Luigi Mansion's Game Boy Horror. He'll give you some advice, but it's usually just where to go next. And there's another new feature. A golden bone may be hidden somewhere in the level. If you find it, It'll be a big help if you lose all your life points. If this happens, then Polterpup, a ghostly dog, will come to you, retrieve the bone, and lick your face, reviving you. As fun as this game is, I have but one main complaint. I found the puzzles confusing and challenging, and it takes me an average of around 40 minutes to beat a level, and it was incredibly boring to hopelessly stroll around the mansion and then finally discover the solution to a puzzle by surprise. But all the frustration is slightly alleviated by the environments, which are littered with intricate details and clever secrets, and, as I said before. nearly every object is interactive, which adds up to being one of the most detailed and best-looking games on the 3DS. Speaking of visuals, I should also mention that the game runs at an impressive 60 frames per second (FPS). Every animation looks natural and smooth-- it's difficult not to notice the improvement. After advancing somewhat through the game, you'll unlock the online ScareScraper mode, in which you and up to three other game owners playing as different-colored Luigis, must work together to clear the floors of the aptly titled ScareScrapers in Hunter mode, in which you must vacuum up every ghost from each floor; Rush mode, in which you must hurry to find the exit to the floor; and Polterpup mode, in which you must track down the pesky pup of the same name. And for communication means, you can use the buttons on the Control Pad to say "Hey", "Help", "Thank you", and "Good job", and you can tap the touchscreen utter "Over here". There's no lag between systems, but there are occasional audio blips, though it's hard to mind. Difficulty aside, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is a great game.

Ups
Tons of detail and fully interactive environment
Funny DS reference
Online play

Downs
Very challenging

ESRB: E Content: Crude Humor and Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail / Dark Moon)

Scribblenauts Unlimited Review

Scribblenauts Unlimited

Publisher: Warner Bros. Developer: 5th Cell Platform: Wii U Players: 1-4 Release: 2012 Genre: Puzzle / Sandbox Rating: 8.6 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above is Maxwell alongside Mario and his pals

Let me tell you, I've played this games two predecessors, Scribblenauts and its sequel Super Scribblenauts. The concept if original: you control Maxwell, a boy with a magic notebook. When a word is written in it, it becomes real (in virtual reality)! You had to obtain objects called Starites by solving problems with the right objects. But why does Maxwell need Starites? And where did he get the notebook? Well, this game explains. Maxwell's parents, Edgar and Julie, were adventurers. They discovered magical artifacts throughout their journeys. After a while, they settled down and had 42 children: 41 sons, and a daughter whom they named Lily. Each child received one of the artifacts their parents had obtained throughout their travels. Maxwell got the notebook, and Lily got a globe that could take her anywhere in the world. The children were spoiled. One day, he and Lily came across a hungry beggar. When he pleaded for food, Maxwell conjured the beggar a rotten apple. Upon eating the revolting fruit, the beggar revealed that he too had magical powers and put a curse upon Lily that slowly turned her to stone. The only Maxwell could save her is by earning peoples' gratitude to get Starites. And so began his quest. There's a whole new way to explore the world. Now, there are aren't nearly as many full missions due to the new Starite Shards. Worlds are now travelable 2D maps, and by tapping the Starite in the corner of the Wii U GamePad's touchscreen, the screen will go dark and several objects will glow gold. By tapping on these people / objects, you will be given a hint. Satisfy the object and you will receive a Starite Shard, 10 of which form a full Starite. And another great new feature is the Wii U-exclusive Object Editor. By tapping on an object you can rename it, apply adjectives to it, change its size, its color, its look, its behavior, even replace its parts with different objects... completely recode it! And finally, there's multiplayer! Up to three other players can join the game with Wii Remotes, and by pointing at an object and pressing A, they can take control of it. But as great as Scribblenauts Unlimited sounds, it has its downsides. There is only one save file, so the game doesn't have nearly much replay value. There is no level builder. And instead of buying avatars with Ollars, you unlock Maxwell's brothers as playable characters by getting Starite Shards from them. However, the game has an awesome new Wii U-exclusive feature: you can create Nintendo objects! The catch is, however, that you can create characters and items only from the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda games. Still, it's fun to create an epic Fire Mario and Link riding Epona wielding the Master Sword versus Bowser and Ganon battle! Additionally, a step up from the still-impressive sprite-based graphics of the previous entries in the series, this game features incredible hand-drawn HD visuals (it's only a coincidence that "hand-drawn is abbreviated the same as "high definition"). Overall, Scribblenauts Unlimited isn't nearly good as its predecessor.  In fact, I gave Super Scribblenauts, this game's 2010 DS counterpart, an unbelievable score of 9.9 / 10.0! But these are but small faults, and they don't stop Scribblenauts Unlimited from being another fun, creative game. It's still a total blast, and its issuess shouldn't stop any Scribblenauts fan from enjoying it.

Ups
Maxwell's origins revealed
New Object Editor
Multiplayer
Special Nintendo content
Amazing visuals

Downs
Not as much replay value
No level builder
Not as many avatars

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief Price: $29.99 (Retail)