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Few successful games let you play as the villain, and care for nobody but yourself. No princess to rescue, no world to save. Your only goal is to find treasure, and ransom the gold statue of Princess Toadstool for money. Yes. This is Wario Land.
Wario Land takes a snide twist from the standard Mario formula. You still get Nintendo's wonderful platforming, but you also get this neat sense of exploration. It's rich with secret areas, and secret worlds, encouraging you to increase your treasure hoard to its full potential. After beating the game, the level map tells you where the remaining treasure is hidden which gives you a nice clear path for 100% completion. With 40 brilliant levels to explore, you get quite a large amount of gameplay.
 
In his standard form, Wario can perform a dash attack, allowing you to break blocks and destroy anything that gets in the way of his shiny things. You can also obtain three other temporary power-up hats which dissapear after taking damage. They include an increased dash, jet engines, and a flamethrower hat. These can be used to go places otherwise unattainable, get more coins, discover more treasure, and make Wario happier. There really is no stress in this game at all.
This game is the Anti-Mario. You'll even hear some of the original Mario tunes as if it were remixed by a stoner. The general concept of Wario Land, allowing you to perfectly portray the role of an anti-hero, is complete genius on Nintendo's part. Being a legendary game which helped give the Game Boy its extraordinary appeal, Wario Land is one of the best platformers released on the console.
I highly suggest this game to anyone who owns a Game Boy at all. It's quite affordable, especially for the amount of game you get. Nowadays, bare copies will cost you a little under $10.
Hysteria Project started out as an iPhone game that also got released last year for the PSP Mini brand. I downloaded it shortly after it came out and learned that it was a FMV game similar to many of the Sega CD games back in the day. This will contain spoilers so stop reading now if you plan on playing this game.
I finally played it for the first time yesterday after finding out that Hysteria Project 2 will be coming out later this month and came away slightly disappointed. It is a survival horror FMV game if I had to describe it's genre.
You start out tied up in a shed after being kidnapped(presumably) and find a way to escape. The rest of the game is pushing the X and O button at the right time or choosing to go straight, right or left. Check the images below for an example:
As the games goes by you get chased by a guy in a black hoodie carrying an axe for whatever reason. If you choose the wrong option, it's game over and you go back to the last checkpoint. At one point he recaptures you and you have to start over from the beginning. It's really quite bizarre.
While I was disappointed overall, it was still a unique experience for the whole 20-30 minutes that the game lasted. The game left me wondering "what in the world is going on here?". Supposedly Hysteria Project 2 is going to explain why the character was kidnapped among other things.
I will be buying Hysteria Project 2 when it comes out later this month just for the unique experience and to see what the first game was all about as it did leave a lot of questions in my mind.
After pulling out and starting to re-organizing the multitude of games I possess, I asked myself, what started this bout with borderline hoarding on my part? Can any of you remember the moment you decided to collect instead of just playing? What circumstances started your collection? Do any of you regret this decision?
This thought has brought to my attention many questions, but I think it would be safer at this time to generalize
I have been asked how I determine what games I play for my backlog. I knew I had to get my collection under control, first and formost, and dedicated myself this year to actually finishing games.
I thought about this for a few minutes and came up with this list:
1. It is a game I know I really want to beat for whatever reason(maybe a sequel is coming soon or I have beaten all the other games in the series)
2. I have previously put some time into it before. This makes it easier to go back and finish more quickly. Now this can also be a challenge as it can be hard to remember what I need to do. IGN guides and Gamefaqs are a great help with this!
3. It is a relatively short game. I love RPG's and have a tome of them but I wanted to make sure that I finished as many games as possible this year so I decided to focus on games under 15 hours. Playing on easy helps out a lot as well. I used to refuse to do this but anymore, I want to see the end of the game and enjoy it instead of getting frustrated by replaying the same level for the 50th time.
4. It is a game that I enjoy. This ties into number two. I really don't buy games that I know I won't like so pretty much all the games I get I will enjoy in some aspect.
That is really about it. I do find that blogging here really helps me stay focused as well, regardless if many people read the blog or not.
How do you decide what games to play on your backlog?
Another one bites the dust--this time the PS3 version of Resident Evil 5.
This was yet another game I got at launch and played for awhile and then set aside. I really didn't like it at first but now that I went back and played it, the game really grew on me. The game is not really like previous RE games( a little like 4 I suppose with the shooting technique) as you play a lot of the game outside in the daylight(within the game--not in real life!!) so that did take away the RE feel for me quite a bit. The part I most liked were the boss fights!! They were great!
The game is really meant to play co-op with another person but I played it by myself. Overall, I would give it a 7.5/10. Good game but I would have liked it darker and spookier.
I have to add that the PS1 version of the original Resident Evil is what started my love of survival horror games. The only RE game from the main series that I have yet to finish is Resident Evil 0. I do own that game so I will have to play it sometime.
1. Resistance Fall of Man
2. Ocarina of Time-3DS
3. Silent Hill Shattered Memories-PSP
4. Heavenly Sword-PS3--Currently playing
5. Tomb Raider Underworld-360
6. Bayonetta-360
7. Vanquish-PS3
8. LA Noire-PS3
9. Resident Evil 5-PS3
10. Bastion-XBLA-Currently playing
Continue reading Over 2 Decades of Gaming
The moment I saw that there was a half decent action/platformer featuring adorable cartoon cats, I pounced on the opportunity as quickly as possible.
 Baby Felix, the 2000 spin-off of Don Oriolo's Felix the Cat, was a cartoon series that aired exclusively in Japan. Baby Felix Halloween for GBC was released at around the same time, but as a Europe exclusive, and has seen almost no reviews or any remote amount of attention at all (probably due to the fact that nobody in Europe knew what Baby Felix was.)
And that's a damn shame too, because I quite enjoyed this title. Anyone who's a ham for 2-D action/platforming would love to play this.
The gameplay feels a lot like the Castlevania games for Game Boy. There are 5 levels, each featuring considerable length, enemies, and fun challenging end bosses. You have two playable characters with the exact same attacks: A melee attack (a hat or a wand) and a ranged attack (slingshot or magic-balls.) Gender bend, do what you will, they're both the same. Controls are simple and easy to use, offering this unique parkour-like feel when playing.
I would also like to applaud the amazing background music written for this game. The Game Boy had a fantastic sound board, and Baby Felix is a prime example of how great it can be: (turn down your volume before playing this video.)
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/FNqZk0C1ryk&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/FNqZk0C1ryk&rel=0</a>]]>
By no means is this one of the Game Boy's best, but it is great for 2-D action fans (I can guarantee, you'd be the only person you know who would ever own a copy.) The visuals get repetitive, but the structure of the gameplay always stay fresh and enjoyable. There's even a small shmup sequence in the space themed level.
 
There are three difficulty levels, although I would recommend most avid gamers to play on Hard. This makes the enemies take more hits, slight change in the level structure, and the bosses nice and challenging. Playing this on Hard really made it feel like Castlevania, but with cats!! ^_^
Baby Felix Halloween has lots of excellent things going for it. I recommend it to fans of the genre, but only if you love 2-D sidescrollers. If you're just getting started with the Game Boy, then I will point you in the direction of Donkey Kong '96 and Wario Land, along with the slew of other nice sidescrollers. It is rare by definition, but affordable when sold without a box.
I would normally show you people a good gameplay video, but due to the un-popularity of the title, the only two I could find had people talking in the background. Watch at own ears risk.
Thanks for reading guys!! Look forward to Game Boy reviews of Resident Evil Gaiden, and Dance Dance Revolution. I shall continue to find more obscure GB gems, and give them the justice they deserve.
We have entered August (already), and I'm a little over halfway done with my list.
1.) Pokemon Snap - Beat.
2.) Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn (GC/Wii) - Mostly done with PoR, need to start of RD.
3.) Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS) - Beat.
4.) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GBC) - Beat.
5.) Brutal Legend (PS3) - Beat.
6.) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2) - I'm currently in the month of September, and I'm loving the game so far.
7.) Virtual Boy Wario Land (VB) - Haven't started yet, but it shouldn't take too long to beat.
8.) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) - Haven't started yet.
9.) Monster Tale (DS) - Beat.
10.) Castlevania: Double Pack (GBA) - I got pretty far in Harmony of Dissonance, but then I got stuck and lost interest. Maybe I'll start Aria of Sorrow soon.
I ended up switching Metroid II for Monster Tale because I ended up going on vacation to South Carolina, and I didn't want to bring batteries or a backlight.
I will put all my thoughts of the games into one blog at the end of summer, so as not to clutter up my post.
 Most of you know there are several weird tricks in Super Mario Bros. One of the most famous of these is the Minus World. Did you ever wonder how to get there? I did, back in 1988. How does someone who knows of the Minus World but not how to get there figure out this trick? Write Nintendo Power of course!
In what must have been April of '88 my dad showed the family a newspaper article that changed my life. Well, maybe it wasn't really such a life altering event, but it did start me on the hobby of video games. The Oregonian (newspaper) ran a nearly full page article on Super Mario Bros. and the NES. It was bold and colorful, showing something unknown in my household, a home videogame system. I read and reread the article absorbing everything; the colorful screenshots, the promise of excitement, and the few tricks. Then my dad announced the best part of all, we were getting one!
At that time my only contact with video games was the occasional dollar in quarters my parents would give me for the few arcade machines in the local pizza place, so this was pretty exciting.
As it turned out, this was going to be a lesson in patience. My dad went to the only place in our small town to buy the NES, the local Sears. It was sold out. We'd have to order it. A horrible thing to do to a kid, to make them learn what "on backorder" means on something so awesome as Mario! Before I was putting this together I would have said we had to wait 6 months for this "backorder" thing, turns out, now that I look at the dates, it was probably more like 6 weeks.
 I remember the wait as vividly as anything in my life. In that time the only Nintendo thing of substance in my possession was that newspaper article. Read, reread, study pictures, reread, think about, wait, reread, study.... The thing that most stood out was this fabled "Minus World", I couldn't wait to get there.
Finally the day arrived. It was as totally cool as I expected, running, jumping, waving the controller like it was a Wiimote...awesomness incarnate. But where was this Minus World? I guess I thought it would be in the instructions or explained in the game or be obvious in some other way. We had only gotten the most basic system, we didn't even have Duck Hunt, just Super Mario. To me the NES WAS Super Mario.
Shortly afterward, to our surprise, something called "Nintendo Fun Club News" arrived in the mail. A 28 page magazine all about Nintendo. Nothing about the Minus World but a promise of a larger magazine, "Nintendo Power", that was going to tell me how to get to the Minus World, I knew it. We subscribed right away.
Nintendo actually sent us two copies of the first issue, one must have been automatically sent to people, on a list of owners, to entice them and one because we subscribed so early. Filled with tons of information on all these games I didn't have, it was like a huge wish list. But still no info on how to get to World -1. Didn't Nintendo read my local paper? Didn't they know they were leaving the whole world hanging? I was running out of patience, but I figured issue #2 would tell me. Back then Nintendo Power only came out every two months, lots of waiting. I think we had Metroid by the time issue 2 got to our house so I had more to occupy my mind then SMB but they still didn't answer what I really wanted to know.
Nintendo Power had a section called "Counselors' Corner" where people would write in with questions about problems they were having in games. The format was a one or two sentence question with a Nintendo Counselor giving a paragraph answer with a couple of pictures. I wrote my letter soon after issue #2 arrived. It was something like, "Dear Nintendo Power, How do you get to the Minus World in Super Mario Brothers? I like your magazine." My mom thought I should write a longer letter because two sentences seemed kind of rude. I thought it should have been longer too, but what was I going to say? "How have you been? Do you like puppies?"
Nintendo sent me a very cool response. It included a personalized, typewritten cover letter signed by a real person and three pages answering my question with two other SMB tricks. The format of the letter has always impressed me. There are pictures from the game and is written in such a way I can only think someone put these four pages together just for me.
When issue #3 (November/December 1988) came my question wasn't actually in the "Counselors' Corner" section, it was in the "Classified Information" section. The format was a little different then "Counselors' Corner", there was no question, only a synopsis along with a paragraph of info and a couple of pictures. I had thought this section was where people from Nintendo submitted hints and tricks they had found and wanted the public to know about.
 You'll notice the tip in the magazine is much shorter then what they sent to me. Also it says it is from "Agent 826", where did this come from? Is it supposed to be me? And I like how the time, point and coin count don't match up from picture 2 to 3, it is sometimes a difficult trick to pull off, obviously it took them more them one try here. Personally I don't think anyone in my family could actually get to World -1 at the time. I think we became more infatuated with the "Little Fire Mario" and "Walking through bricks" tricks.
There are scans of all this, the article which probably came out in early April of '88 in the Oregonian, the four pages of response I got from Nintendo, the cover of issue #3 (awesome shoes, I still want a pair), and page 55 of the magazine.
I have to apologize about the format of these images. If you have a slow internet connection they are very large. As they are typed pages, a newspaper article a couple of Nintendo Power pages, the scans are sized to read the text. Also the article is so physically large it wouldn't all fit on my scanner. I had to blend four images, sorry for any blurriness or odd lines.
These papers have been in my possession for 23 years. Only recently did it occur to me they would be an interest to the game collecting community (I think getting a new printer with a scanner helped spark this). Hope you enjoy!
   
-Thanks to my wife for helping with coding and pictures. thetechchef.wordpress.com
After whining about my lost tape to Twin Galaxies last month, I re-recorded and then re-re-recorded my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes runs (after watching the first recording it was very bad quality so I found a better condition VHS tape to record on the next time). Had my lovely wife drop it off at the post office for me a few days later.
The new NES ref is a submission monster and had the tape reviewed what must have been the same day it arrived. He was also very quick to answer questions I had about both gameplay and submitting videos. Twin Galaxies states that the turnaround time for submissions is up to 3 months after receiving the game. The ref Tim Stodden told me that his average turnaround time is within 2 weeks of a videos arrival.
I was a little nervous that both of my runs (fastest completion and highest score) would be rejected for various reasons, but after speaking with the former and current refs it seemed I should send them in and hope for the best. Worst case senario was I'd have to play some more TMNT.
With the video in the mail I left town on a week long camping trip with my family. We returned home Sunday evening and spent a quite night together. Monday morning I decided to see if my score had arrived yet and it was pleasantly surprised to find that it was already approved! Thats right 1st place submissions for both Fastest Completion of TMNT and highest score on TMNT for the NES.
If your interested in checking it out for yourself head over to twingalaxies.com and click on the left tab that says "scoreboard". From there search by my name (have to be a member to do it this way) and just type Kelsy. Kelsy J Polnik should pop up so click on that and it will show all scores related to me (which are currently only the 2 TMNT ones). If your not a member just search by game and go to NES for platform and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the title. You may notice that the competition wasnt exactly fierce (my fastest time is nearly half of the next closest persons), but I'm still quite happy to have the records. I plan to order a certificate for both records to hang in my gameroom soon.
Some of you have asked if I could put up a video of the speed run. I did record another copy to send to ShadowKisuragi to upload for me, but was waiting for the TG approval before shipping it his way. While I was waiting for that approval he has sent a friendly challenge my way to speed run another game against him in the coming months. I'll be (hopefully) getting my old PC running smoothly again and equiping it with a video capture device for the challenge. If that all goes as planned I'll be able to upload my TMNT Speed Run myself. So if thats something your interested in keep an eye on my Blog in the next couple weeks.
The Introduction
About 3 weeks ago I traded in my stash of 360 games and system for a backward compatible PS3. What I wanted and what I got are to different beasts. Below is my trial, criticism, and love affair with my new found system.
Over the course of a week through this story I went through 3 60gb ps3's from GameStop before saying "f**k it" and getting a slim 160gb ps3. I believe I hold the record for most PS3's returned in one week(in my area).
The Prologue
On Saturday 7/16/2011 I woke up to the sound of my iPhone getting an email from GameStop. The Ad said that they are doing a promotion on trading anything in towards used merchandise gets you 50% more trade in credit. For the past couple months I've been thinking about defecting over to the PS3 and figured that now would be the right time to do so. With a duffel bag packed with about 40 games and a system I scurried off to my nearest GameStop. Little did I know what would come to pass.
My first victim
When I arrived at my local GameStop I noticed they were PACKED. The feeling of the clerk hating me for trading my life supply of 360 games and system grew pretty big.
I was greeted by a clerk named Matt who would sign my deal in blood. I explained that I wanted to trade in everything towards a 60gb ps3. Then Matt said "Alright lets see what you got". He then check innovatory for my used 60gb PS3 as I unloaded my collection on the counter. When Matt turned around to see what I had. Him and couple other people in the store were dumb struck by how much stuff I had amassed on the counter.
After about 10-20 minutes my game collection was all scanned in. I remember matt asking if I had a controller for my system. Then it dawns on me I left it at home. He then explains that I would have enough for the system and some extra. So matt goes off to the back to get my ps3 and I go look at some games.
My Grand total trade-in for my games and Hard drive was $358.91
After awhile of browsing the ps3 section I pick up Demon's Souls and Uncharted 2. Matt comes back with 2 boxes a 60gb and 80gb. My reasoning for these models was for PlayStation 2 game support since any model after which have that feature removed. Matt opens the 60gb box to make sure it is the right model that I want and right off the bat I noticed 2 usb ports instead of 4. Meaning at some other store someone got ripped off. I said I don't want to 80 due to the fact it doesn't have hardware support and all ps2 games are emulated. So I asked if any other store has one. Matt checks the area and sure enough on right up the road has one. Matt then explains that hes is going to enroll me in power up rewards so I get the bonus and Game informer. Then I slap up my 2 games and matt was like I got a better used copy of uncharted 2 let me get that for you. He hand me a used GOTY edition with the DLC card unused. So I get sent off home with the 2 game my new card and a game informer.
But hey at least I still got my massive Receipt
So I hurry home and grab a my little brothers wired controller and give my wireless(since mine has the shell customized). Then it dawns on me that I still have a collectors edition of DeathSmiles. I grab all of this the rush to back to GameStop.
After a 20 minute drive to the other store. I trade in the rest and got my system. I end up going to WalMart so I can get RCA extension adapters to set it up with my JBL creature speaker kit. Then it is another 20min drive back and breaking every possible traffic law there is. I arrive at my home excited to rip this thing out of the box and play some Uncharted 2. When I finally hook up everything(monitor through HDMI and audio through RCA). My system freezes during the set up process. So I reboot and try again. It gets through the set up then I start up Uncharted 2 which needed like 19 patches before it can start. After about an hour of waiting for updates to install. My system takes a vacation but this time the screen is all glitched out. So I end up calling up GameStop and by this time it pushing 8pm asking if they will honor my return which they did. So I go take a nap and wake up close to 3am. During the morning hours I figure maybe it needs a system update to make it better. Well during the update the system glitched out during the update bricking it.
The Second System
10:30am rolls around and I scurry off to GameStop to get another 60gb PS3. This time I made the clerk unbox it and boot it up and test ps3 and ps2 games on it before taking it home.
Its about going on 11am when I get home. I hook up everything again. Then I end up playing the waiting game with Uncharted 2. This Time I actually got to play for awhile before taking a nap. I wake up around 2am and start up the system and load my game. I remember playing uncharted 2 and was like I'm going to play some God of War 1(ps2 version). I eject disk and pop in GOW. I get nothing on the XMB. I figure the disk is dirty and get some windex and clean it. Pop it back in still left with nothing. Pop back in Uncharted 2. Nothing. I laughed a bit and was like what are the odds. So I format a flash drive and start a back up. This take about 30 minutes of my time.
I remember some of the criticism from friends/family. I got saying its telling you to go back to the 360. Its not ment to be. Are you doing a Rental from GameStop.
I remember saying to my friend rob if I go back to the 360 with my luck as it is right now. I would be greeted by a big blinking Red Ring of Death.
The Third system
My Third 60gb took some time to get mostly due because my store didn't have one and had to get the manger from another to drive it to mine. So I drive up to the store and get my money on my card then come back the next day to pick up my system.
When I get this back home I remember doing the restore flash drive. The only problem I have with it is that it took 30 mins and it did not restore all the patches/updates/game installs on my new system. So I end up installing updating and wasting about 2 hours of my life again.
2 days later I finally get enough money to buy my next game. Which is BlazBlue Continuum Shift. When I finally get home I have to do a 400mb update. I skip the update and start some arcade mode for awhile before finally bending a little to download the update for BB. This update took 2 hours to download/install. I'm sitting here watching it do the install for it. Then, guess what? The Blu-Ray Spins down during the loading screen. I'm stuck at the loading screen. So I exit to the XMB and there is no disk inserted according to the XMB. So I eject and try agin but I put my ear up to the system. I can hear the laser trying to focus but no disk spinning. I put my face in both my hands and laugh. Apparently there were forces of great power here that prevented me from owning a 60gb PS3.
The fourth system.
Depressing as this must be. I quickly decided it was time to just give up on my backwards compatibility quest and get a slim 160gb. I decided to go to a different GameStop. This time a lot closer to my house. When I arrive the clerk asks if I wanted another 60Gb and I remember telling him I've been through 3 of them this week I must have wasted about 6 hours of my life updating/restoring/installing/patching games this week just please give me a slim ps3. The clerk was like someone traded in this slim ps3 with the retail box. He pull out the system and controller. The clerk explained to me that this system is no more then 2 weeks old and said feel the controller. I pick up the controller and could tell it was new by the rough d-pad. I pick it up and examine the system. No marks. It was like as if someone played it for 5-10mins and put it back in the box. I get my semi new system and end up have left over money due to the 60gb costing alot more. So I end up getting God of War 3 and Little Big Planet.
The Afterwords
Well there you have it. That was my week long rough start with the Playstation 3.
The next person to say that Ps3 don't break down as easily, I will find them and possibly murder them. Just saying. :/
The only thing I didn't like was backing up and restoring.. Not to mention it didn't restore game data/updates. So going through that 2 times was a little tear jerking.
Also THANK GOD I didn't use my Uncharted 2 DLC code on the defective ones.
Hopefully this Slim ps3 will last for a good while,
but we will see.
Thanks for reading
-Darren
Also My PSN ID is driversabovekext
if anyone wants to play some BlazBlue or Uncharted 2.
Just message me and tell me your from RFgeneration. xD
1) Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (360)
2) Red Dead Redemption (360)
3) Deus Ex: The Conspiracy (PS2)
4) Sonic Spinball (Gen)
5) Perfect Dark (N64)
6) Front Mission (DS)
7) Halo Wars (360)
8 ) Ico (PS2)
9) Kessen (PS2)
10) Brutal Legend (360)
11) Fallout: New Vegas (360)
12) The Lion King (Gen)
13) Sonic 3 (Gen)
14) OOT/Yoshi Story
15) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360)
16) Marvel VS Capcom 3
17) Portal
18) Beautiful Katimari
19) Contra (NES)
20) Gears Of War (360)
2 games down this week!!!! Just finished red dead this morning. Really boring beginning, great middle getting crappier towards the end, then WHAM! Ending of win. Really glad i trudged through the beginning, would have missed a really great game otherwise.
As for gears, Ive been playing co-op with the gf for a few weeks now whenever we get the time. got tired of splitting up, but fantastic otherwise.
With Deus Ex: HR coming out soon, im gonna have to slug out a few more off the list...except that i cant put the Undead Nightmare DLC down >.>
by for now!
~Neo
Official Backlog Count: 207
Specs:
Game: We Love Golf!
Year: 2008
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
Controls: Nintendo Wii Remote
Number of Players: 1-4
Average Cost: $5 used - $20 new
Also Available On: Exclusive to the Nintendo Wii
Continue reading We Love Golf!
There is something so timeless and charming about a 16-bit platformer that makes them so cherished to gamers. The bright colors, simple goals, and addictive gameplay cement themselves into our memory. However, the 16-bit era is long past, and gaming as an industry has moved on. However, that does not mean that their unforgettable spirit has passed with it. It still lives on to this day in newer games, just with a fresh coat of paint. I am happy to report that Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights effectively carries the spirit of a 16-bit platformer. Even more shocking, considering it is a licensed game, which, as I have previously mentioned, have a less than sterling reputation. Very few of these games ever achieve greatness, mainly because there is little reason for the developer to make a truly great experience when its intent is just for cashing in on the licensed property. But, it is a bit more common for a licensed game to be "pretty good", notable, and worth playing. Scooby-Doo is one of those games, so let us examine the how and why.
Gameplay
Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights is in many respects, a standard 3D platformer that doesn't bring anything new to the table in terms of gameplay. But, that may be its greatest strength. It plays off the hackneyed gimmicks of every other platformer ever, but in an endearing and almost referential way that makes them work spectacularly. Any given game mechanic from a 2D platformer has probably found its way in some form into this game. Even a couple 3D platformer elements have made their way in, such as the "Collect-A-Thon" staple that requires you to collect a certain amount of an item in order to progress to new areas; in this case, Scooby Snacks. This is a game that is far and away greater than the sum of its parts. Because of its mechanic recycling, it really does feel like a 16-bit platforming game in that it has that intangible charm and personality that makes it so fun to play. It isn't really something I can describe accurately, other than anyone who played video games during the 16-bit era will know immediately what I am talking about upon playing the game. Bosses with attack patterns to memorize, permanent power-ups, backtracking, the works. Heck, I don't want to give the game too much credit here, but with the game almost plays like a watered-down "Metroidvania" game, with new power-ups attained after major events that allow you to access new areas in previous zones to get more items, as well as the fairly open-ended level structure. If the idea of a game with the underpinnings of a Metroidvania with the style of a generic platformer, then I would definitely check this game out. Really, the only way to describe this game accurately is to use other games and genre conventions as reference points. It has some parts that are open-environment 3D areas akin to early 3D platformers such as Super Mario 64, whereas most of the game just takes place on linear, 2D-based segments where you have to get from A to B, with several distractions and branching paths along the way. One more thing I have to mention is that the power-ups in the game are actually quite entertaining. You get a lampshade and a pair of slippers for sneaking past sleeping enemies, spring shoes for double-jumping, etc. It is a nice touch that makes the game more enjoyable.
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Story
Once again, nothing quite special here, but the story is at least better explained than in most games in the genre. Basically, Scooby and his friends are called to investigate a disappearance at a place called Mystic Manor. Upon arriving, they find out that a villain named The Mastermind has rounded up every villain that the gang has ever faced into once place in an attempt to stop them for good. Soon, everyone except Scooby is kidnapped, and he has to go rescue them all before The Mastermind can finish his plan. Standard far for the show, but where the game really shines is its presentation of the story. The game never tries to be anything more than what Scooby-Doo should be; silly, basic slapstick humor. In this way, the developers absolutely nailed it. Nothing ever goes over the top and it rarely feels underwhelming, so it really feels like you're watching an episode of the cartoon. The cutscenes are a natural extension of the rest of the gameplay, running with the pervasive humor of the game and making it work very well. There's not much else I can say here that won't be addressed later, so let us move on.
Story: 8/10
Sound
The soundtrack from Night of 100 Frights is exactly what you expect it to be, if you have ever seen the show: Effective use of various string instruments, Trombones, Keyboards, etc. to create some lighthearted and spooky audio that comes off as completely appropriate and quite charming. The only thing that I could think of being analogous to it in other games is some of the songs from Banjo-Kazooie. There are unfortunately only a few tracks in the game, so you will hear them re-used a lot throughout different areas and levels. Fortunately, said tracks are unobtrusive and pleasant enough to listen to that you probably won't notice. Still, some diversity would have been nice. One thing that I absolutely have to mention about this game is something that I found to be an unprecedented and wonderful addition: The laugh track. Yes, Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights has a laugh track. It doesn't add anything to the gameplay, but its inclusion was a stroke of genius on the developers' part. They went out of their way to ensure the game was for all intents and purposes, an interactive episode of the show. There's not much to it; whenever Scooby does something funny, the off-screen "audience" can be heard laughing. It was a cute addition to the game that was certainly welcome.
Sound: 8/10
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/g2J_uZD5WUs&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/g2J_uZD5WUs&rel=0</a>]]>
Graphics
Don't expect much in the way of eye-candy in Night of 100 Frights, or you will be sorely disappointed. Being a relatively early Gamecube game from a newer 3rd-party developer, it isn't too much of a surprise. The graphics are not pretty, but they only really become noticeably so during the cutscenes, where the disconnect between the game and the TV show becomes apparent through low-quality 3D models and slow animation. This wouldn't be a problem for most licensed video games, but for a game that prides itself on its faithfulness to the spirit [no pun intended] of the source material, it breaks whatever immersion you had in the game during these segments. A little more time spent improving the graphical fidelity with smoother models and more believable animation would have gone a long way in making an already very good game a great game. As for the aesthetics of the game, everything is focused and appropriate for a Scooby-Doo game. Levels take place in suitable environments, set pieces are custom to each area you enter, and the backgrounds, while not much to look at, do give a nice sense of depth to an otherwise 2-dimensional platformer. The only complaint I have in this aspect is that a good chunk of enemies are recycled throughout every area of the game, breaking the trend of different enemies in different levels. Other than that, everything in the game looks just right for Scooby-Doo.
Graphics: 6/10
Extras/Value
There's really very little in the way of bonus content in the game, save for the Scooby-Doo movie trailer and some Easter Eggs, such as different textures are used if the game is played on certain holidays, including costumes for Scooby during gameplay. Some unlockable content would have been nice to enhance replay value a smidgen. The game is a bit on the expensive side at Gamestop, as well, where it is currently selling for $10. I was able to find my copy for $3, so I would recommend looking elsewhere to pick it up. It is a good game, and I would definitely say you should pick it up eventually, but I would probably wait until you can find it for $5 or less. There is a good ~15 hours of gameplay in Night of 100 Frights, so it is on par with a good number of platformers. If you can find it cheap enough, it is worth your money.
Extras/Value: 6/10
Overall
Make no mistake, Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights is a fine game. In fact, I believe that with a bit of spit-polish on the graphics and some padding to the length and extra content of the game probably would have elevated this game to the status of a hidden gem. In terms of game mechanics, does pretty much everything right, despite not bringing any original ideas to the table, which is definitely the game's strongest point. The rock-solid aesthetics of the game really bring it together as everything a Scooby-Doo game should be. The tight controls, simple gameplay, and humorous content are sure to make you smile. If you are looking for a comfortingly-familiar platformer for the Gamecube that still holds its own when held up against its contemporaries, then this might be right up your alley.
Overall: 7.75/10
This is lisalover1, and I swear I saw the Mystery Machine once when driving on the highway.
I have completed another game from my large backlog. This time it is a PSP game-Silent Hill Shattered Memories.
I decided to play this game after my recent playing of Silent Hill Homecoming on the PS3. I loved that game and just felt like more Silent Hill. Now the only Silent Hill game that I have not beaten is Silent Hill 4-The Room. I do own this game but I think I will wait for Halloween time to play it.
Anyway, the game was great, especially played in the dark with headphones on. I liked the other Silent Hill game on PSP more(SH-Origins) though. I think the reason is because in this game you know when you are safe and when you are in danger. Whenever the environment shifts to ice, out come the ghouls(or whatever they are). Outside of that, I never felt unnerved by the game.
I can respect the different direction the designers of the game were taking and would still highly recommend the game. It's also on the Wii.
Here are the games that I hope to finish in the next several months:
1. Resistance Fall of Man
2. Ocarina of Time-3DS
3. Silent Hill Shattered Memories-PSP
4. Heavenly Sword-PS3
5. Tomb Raider Underworld-360-Currently playing
6. Bayonetta-360
7. Vanquish-PS3
8. LA Noire-PS3
9. Resident Evil 5-PS3-Currently playing
10. Bastion-XBLA-Currently playing
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