Scribblenauts Review

Scribblenauts

Publisher: Warner Bros. Developer: 5th Cell Platform: DS Players: 1 Release: 2009 Genre: Puzzle / Sandbox Rating: 7.8 \ 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is the concept of the game's object creation system

I overestimated Scribblenauts-- highly. That's not to say it's terrible or anything-- but I might not have bought it if it wasn't for the fact that Super Scribblenauts, one of the most infuriatingly difficult-yet-greatest games I've ever played, wouldn't exist without this game. But I should've realized that Scribblenauts would be so inferior to its sequel. It doesn't give you control options like Super Scribblenauts-- the frustrating touchscreen controls are mandatory. You must purchase new worlds with Ollars, the game's currency. There are pressuring object-creation pars in levels. And worst of all-- you can't use adjectives! But it isn't all bad-- the game is quite good, in fact. I saw a bright side to the game when I realized that there were a few superiorities. The object-creating concept seemed as fresh as ever, and there are several infectiously catchy tunes that weren't featured in Super Scribblenauts. Although the stage creator from the sequel isn't present, I find that I sometimes want to use the game's level layouts for creating custom levels, and you're welcome to do that through Level Editor, a mode that allows you to create a level using the template of a pre-existing level that you've cleared. Although it's not perfect, I recommend Scribblenauts to anyone with exceptional mental abilities who enjoys and enjoys the clever concept.

Ups
Fresh premise
Catchy music
Level Editor

Downs
Touchscreen-only controls
Object-creation pars

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief Price: $19.99 (Retail)

Super Mario Sunshine Review

Super Mario Sunshine

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo GameCube Players: 1 Release: 2002 Genre: 3D Platformer / Adventure Rating: 9.0 \ 10.0: Excellent

Above is a scene from Gelato Beach

Super Mario Sunshine, as some know, is s sequel to Super Mario 64, despite being almost nothing at all like its predecessor, or any Mario game in general. Mario and Peach are vacationing in the tropical paradise of Isle Delfino, but their plans are ruined when they arrive at the airstrip to find that Mario's face has been drawn in paint-like goop. From there, you must locate the FLUDD-- Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device-- on the other side of the airstrip. FLUDD is a device built in a similar manner to a jetpack composed of a water tank and a nozzle. You'll use FLUDD for cleaning up "graffiti", defeating foes, and more. When you find FLUDD, a cut-scene showing him identifying Mario plays, in which he scopes Mario out from his perspective, and footage of previous Mario games plays on the bottom-left corner of the screen. You must squirt the thick-painted nose of the Mario face painting until a giant goop-covered (and toothless) Piranha Plant erupts from it. You'll encounter this foe many times throughout the game. Squirt his open mouth three times to defeat him. Once you've taken him out, the paint will clear away, and the game's first Shine Sprite appears. FLUDD later explains (yes, FLUDD can talk, and I will therefore refer to FLUDD as "he") that Shine Sprites are magical objects that once gathered around the Shine Gate, which brings sunshine to Delfino, and they've gone missing. It's up to you to recover all 120. And that's only after you get arrested and brought to court and charged for dirtying up Delfino with graffiti. Of course, Mario isn't the true culprit. It's his mysterious imposter Shadow Mario (who I know the identity of and won't tell). As soon as you're released from court and into Delfino Plaza, the Pianta police (the Piantas, as well as the Nokis, debuted in Sunshine) order you to clean up the mess. Near the ocean, you'll find another huge mess. You'll have to once again fight "Goopy Piranha", the big goopy Piranha Plant as I like to call him. Once he's defeated, the mess clears and the Great Pianta Statue erupts from the ground, and Shadow Mario swoops in and snatches Peach. You'll have to squirt him till he drops Peach, and then the adventure truly begins. Shadow Mario runs off and paints a rainbow M on the Great Pianta Statue and hops through it. Rainbow M's act as portals to stages. As you collect more Shine Sprites, more and more destinations are revitalized, such as the boathouse and the lighthouse. The boathouse serves as a shop, where you can exchange blue coins for Shine Sprites. If that doesn't sound very Mario-ish, wait till you see some of the old enemies' new incarnations: Piranha Plants are goopy and toothless, Bloopers tread land, have four realistic tentacles and suckers, and die in water (with the exception from the super speedy ones you get to ride on water and can even move on land-- so awesome!); and Koopas look almost nothing like their original selves-- unless their incarnations from the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros., released two years before Super Mario Bros., count, as they crawl in both games. There aren't even Goombas! I'm not at all trying to make the game look bad, though. (Although I could complain about the cruddy camera, as well as the return of the one-death-and-you're-out-of-the-level concept). Adding to the un-Mario-ishness, but to the variety, are the FLUDD's secondary nozzles. If it wasn't unusual enough to see Mario short-sleeved and wearing a jetpack-like device, FLUDD has a Hover Nozzle that allows you to hover shortly; a Turbo Nozzle that allows you to burst across the landscape with sonic speed; and a Rocket Nozzle that allows you to burst skywards and snatch out-of-reach items. I'm still not at all trying to make the game look bad-- as the series has evolved throughout the last decade, some of these things have become more and more true to the modern Mario formula.  Noticeable are the visuals, which hold up very well for decade-plus old game. There are a few rough models, but I the exotic landscapes are almost beautiful, and the water looks surprisingly realistic. The tropical-themed soundtrack is memorable as well. One of the greatest features about the game is that it has an more elaborate story, unlike nearly every other Mario game. In addition, the game's well-rendered cut-scenes are fully voiced! Sure, Peach had some lines in SM64, but no one else did. The un-Mario-ishness is combated by features like Yoshis (that spew fruit juice that transformers enemies into floating platforms and will evaporate if they run out of juice) and secret platforming stages in which you're deprived of FLUDD by Shadow Mario and an amusing acapella rendition of the "Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme" plays in the background. I highly recommend Super Mario Sunshine to any platforming fan, with the exclusion of Mario-haters and Super Mario 64 worshipers. Once I got far in the game, all my complaints meant nothing, and I loved the game. Super Mario Sunshine, as well as GameCubes, are hard to come by these days. Just be aware-- you don't need a GameCube system-- you can always get a Wii and a GameCube Memory Card and controller(s). It may be one of the only GameCube games I've played, but rest assured that it's one of the greatest titles in the system's library

Ups
FLUDD has multiple nozzles
Great visuals
Catchy soundtrack
More complex story
Secret platforming stages

Downs
Some untraditional elements are not good

ESRB: E Content: Comic Mischief Price: ???

Super Paper Mario Review

Super Paper Mario

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Intelligent Systems Platform: Wii Players: 1 Release: 2007 Genre: 2D Platformer / RPG Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Great

Above is a 3D scene from the game's first stage

I'll assume that Super Paper Mario is a rather untraditional entry in the Paper Mario RPG series-- it's more platformer than RPG. The game begins at Mario and Luigi's house on a peaceful day. Luigi states that it's so peaceful, it's boring, and that he wished that something surprising would happen so they could go on another adventure. They're suddenly told by Toad that the Princess has been kidnapped, and probably by Bowser-- no surprise. So the Mario Bros. sneak into Castle Koopa while Bowser is plotting to kidnap Peach, and he spots Mario and Luigi. Suddenly, a mysterious, deranged figure appears out of thin air. He says that he's Count Bleck and that he's captured Peach. He casts a spell on Mario that renders him unconscious, then creates a vortex that sucks up everyone but the portly plumber. Mario wakes up to see a butterfly-like creature named Tippi who warps him to Flipside, a town in the sky that will soon be consumed by a vortex if Mario can't recover all eight Pure Hearts. After you find an ancient magician in a room behind an invisible door in the first stage,  which begins in 2D, he charges you all the coins you have (or 10,000 coins, his original price, which I highly doubt you'll manage to collect) to gain the ability to "flip". By pressing A, you can "flip" into 3D. While in 3D, a meter will appear under your HP display-- your Dimension Meter. If your Dimension Meter empties, you'll take damage. In order to defeat Count Bleck, you'll need the assistance of Peach and Bowser (who will eventually escape Bleck's grasp and wind up in Flipside, and become playable.) and several ancient creatures called Pixls. The first Pixl, Thoreau, allows you to grab certain enemies and items and toss them. The second Pixl, Boomer, can transform into a bomb to destroy obstacles and activate switches. The third, Slim, lets you become so thin that all moving hazards will pass through you if you stand still. The fourth, Thudly, allows you to jump up and slam into the ground, dealing heavy damage to unshielded foes. And the fifth, Carrie, transforms into a hovering platform, allowing you to move much faster and cross pits of spikes. These are the Pixls who will find during the first half of the game, and there are even more to discover. Throughout the game, you'll play as Peach and Bowser and escape Count Bleck's fortress, and they will join Mario on his quest as fully playable characters. Peach can float with her parasol by holding down the jump button, and Bowser can breath fire by crouching. However, I sometimes think the hints you receive from Tippi to help you solve complex problems are overly cryptic, making me stuck on certain parts of single stages for a very long time (thank goodness for Save Blocks). Also, some stage segments require you to use multiple characters (you can easily swap you character out from your item menu), like flipping into 3D with Mario in order to get on top of an otherwise un-scalable object, and then gliding over a long gap with Peach and her parasol, it can be frustrating to fail and have to repeat the process. Additionally, the script is very text-heavy. The writing is hilarious, but there's just so much, and sometimes I just wish the characters would shut their mouths! Still, Super Paper Mario is a superb platforming-RPG, and I hope to see more games with its unique dimension-swapping concept.

Ups
Unique dimension-swapping concept
Creative and humorous
Variety of playable characters
Platforming focus
Pixls

Downs
Very text-heavy script
Difficult stretches

ESRB: E Content: Comic Mischief and Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $19.99 (Retail)

Metal Slug Anthology Review

Metal Slug Anthology

Publisher: SNK  Developer: SNK PlayMore Platform: Wii Players: 1-2 Release: 2006 Genre: 2D Shooter / 2D Platformer Rating: 9.1 \ 10.0: Excellent

Above is a scene from Metal Slug 4
 

As its title implies (and its release date, too), Metal Slug Anthology is a collection of the seven home console and arcade Metal Slug games released 1996 through 2006 that celebrates the tenth anniversary of the series.. Those seven games are Metal Slugs 1 through 6, and Metal Slug X, MS 2's improved remake. The Metal Slug series tells of a military called the Regular Army and there war against the evil General Morden and his army, the Rebellion to foil his plot to rule the world. All seven playable games are pixel-perfect ports of their arcade counterparts, so the main differences are the control scheme and the adjustable difficulty, which can be modified from the game-selection screen. Since these differences are so small, players of the arcade versions of the games should already know what to expect. Pure, intense, action fueled by waves of military vehicles, destructive weapons, and plenty of other militaristic aspect. I once struggled to beat even the first stage of a Metal Slug game due to my limited quarters, but you now have the option to play with unlimited lives. This allows you to see how good you really are at the game, due to the complete lack of the stress of coin-deprivation, for that made me nervous when playing the arcade versions. You'll otherwise have to spend virtual credits. Better yet, you're actually still rewarded for beating a game even with unlimited lives. Completing the game on Easy mode rewards you with three virtual tokens. Completing the game on Normal mode gets you four tokens. And beating it on Hard mode gets you five. But what are the tokens for? For purchasing in-game memorabilia! All this adds up to a very good collection, but as much as I've enjoyed the Metal Slug series, none of the games have been perfect, which is about my only reason not to give Metal Slug Anthology a perfect score! Either way, I highly recommend  Metal Slug Anthology to anyone who has the slightest interest in action games.

Ups
Nonstop intense action
Awesome weapons
In-game memorabilia store
Adjustable difficulty level

Downs
No Metal Slug game is perfect

ESRB: T Content: Blood and Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Review

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

Publisher: Activision Developer: Toys For Bob Platform: Wii Players: 1-2 Release: 2011 Genre: Action / RPG Rating: 8.6 \ 10.0: Fantastic


Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a spin of the Spyro series with a neat twist. In order to play, you must place an action figure-like toy on a device dubbed the Portal of Power, and it'll appear as a fully playable character in the game. The story has the evil Portal Master Kaos plotting to conquer the Skylands, and banishes the Skylanders to Earth, where they appear tiny and immobile. You'll have to hack, slash, shoot, and bash your way through a series of action-packed stages before you can battle Kaos. Before you can enter Kaos's lair, you must restore the Core of Light, the magical source of the Syland's existence. There are even small platforming sequences: platforming comes in when you have to cross gauntlets of Boost Pads and retracting spikes and rush to hurl a bomb at an underwise indestructible object, as well as other challenges. Your enjoyment of Skylanders primarily depends on what Skylanders you have and how good they are, mainly because of the special Element Gates. These are entrances to secret areas that can only be unlocked by a Skylander of the element emblazoned on the gate. This can lead to bonds with Skylanders you once didn't like before. For example, when I encountered a Life Element Gate, I realized that the only Life Skylander I had was Stealth Elf, and I've been playing as her ever since. Hardcore Skylanders fanatics may find themselves spending lots of money on certain elements of figures just so they won't miss a single secret area. Throughout a stage, you may encounter a treasure chest or a gift box. Chests contain loot, while gift boxes contain stat-boosting hats. Each Skylander can be upgraded with in-game gold. After purchasing the first several upgrades, you'll have to pick between two skill trees to buy upgrades from. Adding to the fun is the Arena mode, where you and a friend can duke it out. The negativity comes in when you realize how difficult the game is at certain parts without certain Skylanders, as many are overpowered in comparison, and some of the occasional lock-opening puzzles are almost unsolvable. But these flaws are fairly minor, and they shouldn't keep you from enjoying Sklanders: Spyro's Adventure, although I'm sure younger children will regardless. I may kind of be among that audience, this is a great game in its own right.

Ups
Solid action
Large variety of Skylanders
Varied gameplay
Skill trees

Downs
Difficult without certain Skylanders

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

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Review

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows

Publisher: Activision Developer: Griptonite Platform: DS Players: 1 Release: 2008 Genre: Adventure / Brawler Rating: 8.6 \ 10.0: Fantastic 

Loosely based upon the 2007 blockbuster movie Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows delivers an exceptionally solid brawling experience. The story tells of a gooey black alien substance that's consuming people and animals, turning them into zombielike drones. You will encounter different varieties of theses foes throughout the game. As you progress in the game, you’ll be able to swap between your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to black Spider-Man, who is stronger, but antiheroic. Both of them have a large set of skills to unlock and purchase. It’s also rather fun to mindlessly use button-mashing combos against the infected innocents— I rarely use specific moves when in the heat of battle— all for the effort of obtaining orbs. Red orbs restore your health and purple orbs serve as currency. I also enjoy beating the crud out of the practice dummy from a save point, even though I know I won't even deter it. Speaking of save points, that’s where the negativity comes in. I normally only find save points after tons of time spent beating up brainwashed baddies and exploring it seems that I'll never find another one. In other words, save points are downright scarce. This certainly isn’t a major issue, though. Although I could nitpick just a bit more. My other complaint is that once you get KO’d, it’s difficult to recover. Before getting back on your feet, you must play through a sequence in which you must drag health-replenishing orbs to Spider-Man to strengthen him under a time limit. For those who have a screen protector, I recommend using the eraser of a brand-new pencil, and if you’re lucky enough, you’ll have replenished all your health in no time flat! While theses aren’t major annoyances, they can sometimes limit the experience, but Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is very enjoyable.

Ups
Solid brawling action
Various purchasable skills

Downs
Scarce save points
Difficult knockout recovery system

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $19.99 (Retail)

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Review

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Publisher: LucasArts Developer: Traveler's Tales Platform: Wii Players: 1-2 Release: 2007 Genre: Action / Adventure Rating: 9.7 \ 10.0: Masterful 

Wow. I was already a big Star Wars fan when I first played this game (I was five years olds, but also new to gaming), and for that simple matter, I thought I couldn't underestimate it. I was wrong. Over time, I've grown to like The Complete Saga far more than I thought I would. It doesn't offer much  to those who've already played through its predecessors, 2005's Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and 2006's Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy. The Video Game is based on the prequel trilogy of the Star Wars film franchise (Episodes I-III) while The Original Trilogy is based on the first three films-- the Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). The Complete Saga recycles all of its predecessor's stages and playable characters while also throwing in some new ones, but for newbies of Lego Star Wars (like I was at the time), it's really quite fun. The addictive nature of smashing Lego structures to obtain Lego studs (the game's currency) is surprisingly addictive, and can lead you to collect every stud in sight. This is the first of many Lego games to use this concept. You need studs to purchase new characters and vehicles. (You can even buy and play as Indiana Jones!) Not only does your stud-collecting pay off, but so does your character-buying. Many stages contain doors that can only be opened by specific characters, such as bounty hunters and Astromech droids. Behind these doors may be one of the stage's 10 Mini Kits. Mini Kits are cylindrical Lego objects that you must collect in order to assemble small Lego vehicles themed after their corresponding locations. You can view these from outside your hub, the Mos Eisley cantina. Other secrets are humorous, such as a movie theater that streams Lego Star Wars movie footage and rooms with disco balls and dance floors. You can also freely customize two Lego avatars from the cantina. Although your avatar can't unlock secret rooms, there's nothing I enjoy more than running around as a caped commando strangling baddies with the Dark Force and slicing up adversaries with a red-bladed Lightsaber in Free Play mode. Free Play allows you to play stages you've beat with any character (or vehicle on vehicle stages), and a group of randomly selected others that can unlock secret areas. But you don't unlock Free Play in a stage until you beat the Story Mode of it, in which you must play the stage with its corresponding characters. Story Mode is also the only way you can watch a stage's humorous cut-scenes, which add laughs and Legos to new versions of iconic film scenes. There are also bounty hunter missions, which you can't play until you purchase all the bounty hunters in the game (with the exclusion of Jango Fett, Zam Wessel, and any other bounty hunter not from the Original Trilogy). In them, you must track down the character hidden within the stage under a time limit. Finally, there are bonus stages, which you unlock from acquiring Gold Bricks. Gold Bricks are earned by collecting enough studs in a stage to earn a True Jedi ranking. Most of the bonus stages are based on normal stages, but some aren't-- like Lego Town and Lego City, which both challenge you to obtain one million studs in a non-Star Wars-themed city. All this fun can be enjoyed with a pal, including the two-player only Arcade mode. In this mode, you and the other player must duke it out in a small area under a time limit. (Tip: If you have purchased a ghost character, use it. They're invincible, and your friend will get really ticked as he / she tries hopelessly to defeat you. Pick the character before your friend does or you'll get really angry you! It's happened to me and it's not fun!) All these bonuses make it so the game doesn't always feel genuinely Star Wars, although it remains true to the formula for a good deal of time. The soundtrack is even composed entirely of John William's incredible tunes, so it's pretty much the best game soundtrack ever. You'll here all your favorite themes, my favorites being the "Star Wars Main Theme", "Mos Eisley Cantina Theme", "Imperial March" (Darth Vader's theme), "Duel of the Fates" (Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon Jin), and "Battle of the Heroes" (Anakin Skywalker vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi, not Darth Vader vs. Ben Kenobi)  (of course)  The visuals aren't great, but that can be excused because this is essentially a port of two previous-gen games. If I have any complaint about this outstanding game, it's that some stretches of the stages are infuriatingly challenging. One part of a stage took me over an hour to beat-- you must assemble a massive puzzle while endless waves of Stormtroopers rush out of two doors. Getting struck by even a single laser while constructing the puzzle will cause it to break. You can temporarily close the doors, but it leaves you ill-prepared for the next assault. One other small issue, a control bug,  is that, occasionally, you'll start veering off course, but all you have to do is unplug and plug back in the Nunchuck. Despite its minor flaws, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga stands out above nearly every game I've played, and it holds many great memories for me.

Ups
Tons of content
Remains true to formula
Sense of humor
Two-player co-op or versus
All the music is from the movie

Downs
Infuriating at times
Mild control problems

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)