|
1) Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (360)
2) Metroid Prime (GC)
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) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (GC)
11) Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC)
12) The Lion King (Gen) NEW!
13) Sonic 3 (Gen)
14) Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (xbox)
15) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360)
16) Marvel VS Capcom 3
17) Portal
18) Beautiful Katimari
19) TBD
20) TBD
I've finally done it! I finally beat the the game i've had the longest (technically tied with Sonic 2) The Lion King has been put to rest.
I blame the large span of time on two separate levels. First and foremost, the 2nd level based of of " can't wait to be king". The giraffe you have to jump through are impossible. the ostrich ride is incomparable difficult, and what 5 year old is gonna figure out the monkey puzzle.
Second, and more importantly, Simba's Exile (5th level). The rocks falling from the sky are quite annoying, but what really kills me every time are the boulders that move super fast while you are in a cavern and cant jump over them. and to put a porcupine in the middle of said cavern so that the only way to get past is to run at full speed, take the hit and fall off the edge is unfair at best.
But it's done and thats all that matters. Plans for the future include continuing wind waker and GRAW, starting sonic and perfect dark, and getting ready for Otakon at the end of the month! Anyone else going?
~official backlog count 209
I love Atari because they were the guys that introduced me to gaming when I was very young. The 2600 stands like a demigod in my collection. Well, demigod because I only have the 4-switch model right now. Give me the Heavy Sixer and watch me float.
So what is your favorite Atari Game? And I really mean EVER. Was it on the 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, Jaguar, or a PC model?
I would say that the game that I enjoyed the most in the Atari era is Dig Dug.
Monitoring Craigslist has almost become an addiction for some, and I may be part of that group, but every once in a while a deal comes along that is so amazing - so difficult to fathom, that it just reaffirms your love for the site. Like when I find "defective" laptops for cheap that only needed something as simple as a new RAM chip or power adapter, or just to default the BIOS. And I enjoy being able to build a PC for someone that doesn't have one. Okay, I'm getting away from myself here.
So, when I opened up the page yesterday and found this lot, I was ecstatic. If you read my Sweet 16 favorite games on my profile (most are from years gone by), you will notice Kenseiden from the Sega Master System is on the list. A friend of mine had the only SMS in the neighborhood back then, and that game alone sparked my Sega bug. And since I had decided to get back into game collecting a few months ago, and toss my sports card collection aside for more... playable pastures, I still had quite a few Sega products to re-acquire. Through the years I had owned the Genesis console three different times, and this makes a fourth.
So here it is. A Genesis 2 console (cables not shown), SMS Power Base converter, two controllers, 6 Button Arcade Stick, Game Genie, 9 SMS games (2 loose), 14 Mega Drive games (all loose), 8 Genesis games (3 loose), and rare Phantasy Star IV Strategy Guide. In one fell swoop I found all 4 Phantasy Star games, 4 Wonder Boy's, and Kenseiden. And the price for everything you see (except my cordless phone) - $15.00. Long live Craigslist.
[img width=550 height=413]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Gaming/SegaLot1.jpg[/img]
[img width=413 height=550]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Gaming/SegaLot2.jpg[/img]
6 out of 10 game are now off the list. Yesterday afternoon I finished up Sin & Punishent: Star Successor. I'm really sorry that I put it off so long. It was fantastic. A little frustrating at times, but even then it was still fun and a good challenge. The last two levels were just amazing and very epic. Great variety of play for the style of game it was. There was even a 1 vs 1 fighter boss. Thats right an on-rails shmup with a fighting section. I was afraid that the last level was just going to be a boss rush, but every single boss you had to re-fight was unrecognizable as their former selves. It was really great from start to finish. I cant wait to get someone to try out the 2 player with me.
Also logged a couple hours into FFVIII so far. I forgot just how dull it is at the beginning. I'm gonna try to stick with it though and see if it picks up. I dont think I'm really understanding the Junction system so I'm hoping I get a better grasp on it as I progress. Didnt really care for the card game so I'll probably spend as little time as possible on it.
I'll probably move onto some GEX soon too.
Another game is crossed of the list. FFXII has now fallen. I had quite low expectations for the game before I started, but it surprised me several times and kept me interested enough to see it through to the end. That said it is still one of the worst in the series as far as I'm concerned. The battle system did grow on me a bit after getting a full party, but it was still pretty lame. And the LP system basically meant that all of my characters were identical. Going into the last fight I could have swapped any of my main 3 characters equipment, spells, mist abilities, summons and would have never noticed a difference.
While it was nice that all 3 characters had access to a full range of White/Black/Time/Green magic it would have been even nicer to have a little variety. Why would you play through this again with a different team since they will end up identical yet again? I found the optional quests such as hunts very unneccessary. I did the first 3 and then decided it wasnt worth the effort.
Glad its crossed of my list, but its not something I would recommend to most people.
Onto FFVIII now!!
Another week has come and gone, so its time for a giant list of treasure, right? Well, not this week. You see, I did a different kind of hunting this weekend. Instead of hunting for games, I was hunting for fish. Early Saturday morning, my brother-in-law, his dad, my dad, and I went fishing and stayed there until about 9:00 at night. The fishing was awesome, with the crappies biting like crazy, we kept 40 fish total. The largest was caught by yours truly, a nice big 26 inch catfish that put up one hell of a fight. I fought the thing for a solid five minutes, and my arms were burning by the end of it.
But, I know you're not here to read my fishing stories, so you are in luck, I did manage to get a few nice games on Friday. Though it wasn't as much as I would have liked. Because of the fishing, I didn't get to the flea market on Sunday, so no scores from there either. After spending 13 hours on the water the day before, I was exhausted and slept in until 10AM, it felt like I had drunk a case of beer the night before.
Now, since looking at just one deal might be a little boring, and my into would be longer than the meat of the blog, I thought I'd add in some more info on this week's auctions! And there are a bunch of them coming up this week!
Continue reading Treasure Hunt Chronicles 2011 - #5
Off to a great start so far
1) Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (360)
2) Metroid Prime (GC)
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) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (GC)
11) Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC)
12) The Lion King (Gen)
13) Sonic 3 (Gen)
14) Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (xbox)
15) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360)
16) Marvel VS Capcom 3
17) Portal
18) Beautiful Katimari
19) TBD
20) TBD
so apparently, i haven't wanted to play much of the games i had set out to do this with...
Picked up MVC3 for 20$ @ KMart (on sale for 40 + 20$ coupon ^_^) and unlocked pretty much everything. still a few challenges left but this list was supposed to be based on story completion and major unlocks....done and done.
Borrowed orange box from a friend so i could play portal...very glad i did. done in one sitting. Worth the play through if you haven't already
as for Beautiful Katamari...a friend gave me back a stack of PS2 games they had borrowed, one of which was We Love Katamari...Seeing it jogged my memory that Xbox has the exclusive BK...checked on gamestops site and didn't find an available copy within 50 miles O_o. happend to look at the digital game downloads on the marketplace and BINGO!!! and for 10$ less that gamestop had it used! Gave me an excuse to pick up all the downloadable levels too ^_^ (total spent on BK with all levels downloaded = 27$....cost of a used copy = 30$)
Been working on Wind Waker now...quite impressed on how goo it is so far.
more updates when im less lazy
peace!
~Official backlog count: 211
[img width=550 height=769]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/CM-Title.jpg[/img]
Continue reading Unloved #26: Cursed Mountain
I'm closing in on the halfway point of my summer challenge. 4 of 10 games have now fallen to my mighty thumbs!!
1. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor (Wii)
2. Vay (Sega CD)
3. Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
4. Wario Land (VB)
5. Battletoads/Double Dragon (SNES)
6. Panzer Dragoon (Sat)
7. Kung Fu (NES)
8. Gex (3DO)
9. FFVIII (PS)
10. FFXII (PS2)
I dusted off my Virtual Boy which has been neglected for far to long and popped in some Wario Land. Started up my old save file to see where I was and after about 30 minutes of playtime I was finished. I cant quite remember why I stopped playing it in the past, but I was pretty close to the end. It was a little unsatifying since I had very few of the treasures and got a crappy ending. I would like to go through it again and hunt down all the treasures, but the left eye of the system was shorting out occasionally. Luckily it came back in time for the end boss. I'll unfortunately have to wait until I get a new visor or look into fixing it before I can attempt that. For the purpose of this list I'm calling it done though.
Booted up some Panzer Dragoon also this week. First episode was a little boring, second level was frusterating until I figured out you could look around your dragon a full 360. That made things completely different! Died at the end of episode 4, but I blame my poor performance on not understanding the gameplay until near the end of episode 2. Next attempt not only saw better results, but I also learned you could score extra credits by hitting a lot of targets in each level. Made it to the last boss with 1 extra credit and was soundly destroyed on my first attempt and got him to about 1/3 on my second try. 3rd try was the charm. Racked up 7 extra credits (which came in handy on both episode 5 and the last boss) this time. Still took me 3 tries to defeat the last boss and it was a real nail biter with me down to 1 or possibly 2 hits left.
After figuring out how to play I really loved the game. Each level was surprisingly varied for an on-rail shooter. Episode 4 was my favorite by far. Flying through a tight dark tunnel was a blast. Unfortunely that Episode also had the most annoying boss. Last fight was pretty epic though and made up for the lack of boss on the prior level.
Still plugging away at FFXII. Just shy of 28 hours in at the moment with my main characters all at level 42. Feels like I'm nearing a climax, but I really couldnt say for sure.
My wife and son are going to be away for the week so I'm going to use that extra time to log as many hours into Vay as I can.
[img width=640 height=467]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/563522_45536_front.jpg[/img]
Finally, we get to the SNES Stuff here at Finding Nintendo Version 2.0! We'll be starting with a review this time!
Beavis and Butt-head is a Platformer based on the hit TV Show of the same name. Released in 1994, it received mixed reviews. I found it entertaining and fun myself. Here's why:
Story: 3/5
"Beavis and Butthead want to go to a GWAR concert and the only problem is that
they don't have any money. They think that if they take pictures of themselves
doing cool things, they will be able to get in for free."
Yes, it's a pretty basic story, but I found it rather unique for it's time. Anyway, that's about it in terms of story.
Gameplay: 4/5
This is a Platformer with Action elements, as many of them have. You know, left and right, up and down, kill enemies with whatever means the game gives you. Still, who could argue with this tried and true formula? You move left and right, picking up weapons along the way to combat whatever comes your way, whether it be jocks, skateboarders, evil teachers, dogs, or whatever. The basic goal of each level is to get to the end, defeat a boss, then take a picture of yourself doing something cool to get into the GWAR Concert. There are many things you can do to complete each level, such as having Butthead jettison Beavis over obstacles to overcome them. For whatever reason, the Character your not controlling won't get hurt by obstacles.
Controls: 2/5
The Control Scheme is kind of annoying. Seriously, what kind of game makes you use X to run and B to jump? If you know your SNES Controller, you'll know that it would be annoying to do that.
Sound: 3/5
The Music is pretty good and sounds pleasant on the ears, but the Voice Clips sound awful. It boggles the mind, considering other SNES Games have Voice Clips that sound good. Anyway, more on the Music, it's mostly heavy metal, and if you like that kind of music, your in for a treat because, interestingly enough, 16 Bit and Heavy Metal mix well.
Overall: 4/5
This is an EXTREMELY fun game, but it's also really hard, so if you plan on playing it, get ready for a challenge.
Would I recommend it? Yes, I would, especially for people who love a challenge.
Screenshots:
This is ReddMcKnight, signing off!
E3 has come and gone and, as usual, none of the content in our episodes is going to be breaking news. But we thought it was important to talk about and give our perspectives on.
Continue reading RF Generation Nation - Episode 13: E3? That's Still Around?
[img width=300 height=300]http://i.imgur.com/O6WPKl.jpg[/img]
Last night I beat the second game on my Summer Gaming list, Dead Or Alive. Of course the series is rather infamous for its shapely fighters, but I really didn't have much experience with them. However the wonderful article about the series on http://HardCoreGaming101.net had always made me curious. And it being an infamous game only made me want to give it a try even more.
I should say that I'm most interested in 2D fighting games. However I've dabbled in some 3D and borderliners: Tekken, Soul Calibur II, Battle Arena Toshinden, etc. Upon firing DOA up I was immediately reminded of Virtua Fighter 2 which I had played -- and hated -- in the past.
[img width=300 height=200]http://i.imgur.com/jq4TYl.jpg[/img] [img width=300 height=200]http://i.imgur.com/bGlWQl.jpg[/img]
I decided to go with Kasumi, as she was the one I recognized from reading about the series. Of course I knew Ryu from Ninja Gaiden, but let's be honest. If you're going to play a game known for its bounciness, then why pick a dude? That would take away some of the campiness of being exposed to it for the first time.
Usually when I play a 2D fighter for the first time, it really doesn't take me long to complete the arcade mode. Generally speaking, it's a one or two session deal for me to get used to the controls and make it through. But Dead Or Alive turned out to be something totally different to me. I expected long matches with lots of special moves. Instead I realized that matches could be over in a matter of seconds if the AI unleashed a particularly brutal combo. So instead it took me a good four or five sittings of getting used to controls, and learning some strategy to get through the Tournament Mode. Indeed DOA turned out to be a far deeper fighter than I expected. I had to learn patience for one. This wasn't the sort of game where you could always just rush at an opponent. No, I actually had to play quite defensively at times. But after enough practice -- and admittedly some frustrated button mashing -- I came out victorious.
[img width=300 height=200]http://i.imgur.com/57dy0l.jpg[/img]
All in all, I thought it was a pretty fun game. Certainly it was a bit rough around its edges. But I liked it way more than Virtua Fighter 2. And I liked enough that I plan on playing some of the sequels as well. Who knows, maybe I'll even subject myself to the movie as an added element of camp?
[img width=215 height=317]http://i.imgur.com/O30Xt.jpg[/img]
Chrono Trigger
Dead Or Alive
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown
Mega Man X4
Metal Gear Solid
Mr. Driller
Myst
Ridge Racer
R-Type Delta
Silent Hill
As for the rest of my list, I'm about nine hours into Chrono Trigger, I still need to figure out how to kill the third Sigma in Mega Man X4 and I've bean the Beginner track on Ridge Racer.
 |
|
[img width=640 height=439]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/1/197771_14106_front.jpg[/img]
Lets take a trip back to November 23, 1998 . Remember how revolutionary the graphics were and we all were blown away at the beauty of Zelda Ocarina of Time... Well I do and it was a #1 selling game of all TIME for years until Super Mario Galaxy came along for the Wii. But I will never forget getting that for Christmas in 98 my brothers and I were so excited and we put the cart in the N64,,, We were so blown away at how Link looked in 3D. To this day it still looks pretty good considering how old it is... BUT now I/we (Rfgen members) can relive this experience in FULL 3D...
[img width=640 height=563]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/997842_172011_front.jpg[/img]
So lets take a trip forward in time to June 19, 2011. This is when it will become a Legend again, but this time will be different... This time it will be portable and in full 3D!!! This version has updated graphics, touch screen capability, boss challenge mode, visions, mirrored Master Quest Mode, and more!!! Here's a few screens of it... I will show N64 then 3DS pics...
N64 Title Screen
[img width=625 height=558]http://thegamingliberty.com/wp-content/uploads/ZELDAO3DS.jpg[/img]
3DS Title Screen
[img width=570 height=342]http://bzzz.3dsbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oot3dstitle.jpg[/img]
here's a comparison trailer video showing the N64 & 3DS Trailers side-by-side on youtube (not made by me):
Ok now more about the newer stuff... Boss Challenge (Rush) Mode is where you can battle any of the bosses you've beaten in the game, but there is a timer so you can see how fast you can beat the boss. You cannot battle mini-bosses though (Dark Link, Big Octo, etc) which is kind of a bummer but oh well... Here's a pic of what it looks like
[img width=416 height=504]http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/6/62/Boss_Challenge.jpg[/img]
Now for "visions" in a nutshell this is something to help you if you get stuck. You crawl into a Sheikah Stone which is a bigger version of the Gossip Stone... and a menu pops up with things you may be stuck on. Here's another pic showing the menu. One note you will not be able to use the visions to help you in Mirrored Master Quest which I totally agree with...
[img width=320 height=240]http://www.zeldadungeon.net/images/News/Folder/11-05-11/ZOOT_PR_050811_14.png[/img]
The touch screen is used to use items and equip equipment faster (no more going through the menus to equip iron boots, hover boots, or the tunics). You can also use the touch screen to play the ocarina as well as cycle through the songs to see how to play them in case you forget. Here's a pic showing the Ocarina:
[img width=312 height=376]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2011/157/997842_20110607_screen004.jpg[/img]
A really cool thing they also added is the use of the gyroscope to look around and aim your weapons. Basically it uses the 3DS' gyro-sensor to make it easier to aim and stuff... But I personally will just stick to using the Circle Pad.
Remember the Stone of Agony item that helped you find the secret holes/hidden stuff in the game... Well don't worry its back, but now its called the Shard of Agony! All I know is it replaces the Stone of Agony. But I've read it makes some kinda noise when you are by something hidden. Don't know if its true, but I would assume so because there is no rumble feature on the 3DS system. Here's a pic (not great quality):
[img width=150 height=150]http://www.nintendobuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Ocarina-of-Time-3DS-Shard-of-Agony-150x150.jpg[/img]
Finally, The Mirrored Master Quest is just a reverse version of the original Master Quest game on the Gamecube. I can't wait to try this out, but the downside is you have to complete the Normal Quest first yo unlock it (thats what I read).
Well that wraps up our trip through time... Hope you enjoyed it! I know I did. Post your thoughts below in the comments. Sorry for all the pics btw  I may also write a review for OOT3D in the future... I hope all you Zelda fans pick this up I already pre-ordered it! Thanks for reading
Video Game Weaponry
Melee Based |
Game developers provide us with a myriad of instruments to defend ourselves against their virtual army of evil. These can be classified into the following categories: Melee Ranged Magic This article will take a look at the first class, the Melee based method of assault/defense. This writing is not meant to be all-inclusive, inventory type of document, but more of a general overview from this old school gamer. For me, this type of attack is the preferred method during gaming. The personal, upfront confrontation with some dark spawn is my cup of tea, especially when I am brandishing an instrument of mass destruction in my gloves. I also like the aspect of not running out of ammo or manna like you can with the other two types. Sure, I have to keep watch in some games with my stamina level, but overall this is usually a small price to pay. The following takes a look at some of these pain-bringers and my thoughts on them.
|  | | | Fisticuffs | Hammer |
 Executing the uppercut of the century is always satisfying. Even back in the day, the sound effects were spot on and conveyed perfectly when delivering bare-handed punishment to your foes. Range, on the other hand, is always its downfall. Be prepared to take a few whacks to your grill when powering up your guns.
|
 They don't call it "The Persuader" for nothing. The Hammer is not what you would call a subtle instrument of destruction. Known for dishing out massive damage, this tool is extremely slow to wield and maneuver, often leaving the Hero in a vulnerable position. It worked pretty well for Mario though. Overall not one of my favs.
| | Crowbar | Lead Pipe |
 In my humble opinion, the Crowbar is one of the most underrated melee weapons of all time. Sure, Gordon showed off its true potential in Half Life, but very few others have taken his cue. Its simple, elegant form contradicts the pure pain-inflicting nature of this device. Another plus is that it always comes in handy when having to break some window or pry open that door to a secret room filled with loot and other goodies.
|
 The Lead Pipe has been a favorite weapon of game developers for quite sometime due to its overall effectiveness and simplistic design. One overhead whack to the coconut and you can say goodnight to any villain. One of the constants throughout the gaming years has been that hollow, high pitched 'clunk' sound effect when connecting with the bad guy's melon. Unfortunately this iron pain baton has lost its luster through the years.
| | | Aluminum Baseball Bat | Axe \ Hatchet |
 What is there not to like about the Aluminum Baseball Bat? The sound effects are awesome, you can wield it with one or two hands and the damage is usually staggering. There is also something unnerving when you see one in real life stashed in the back of someone's car or next to your lady friend's bed. Out of all the blunt weapon types, this is definitely one of my favorites.
|
 For whatever reason, the Axe doesn't really do anything for me. I admit that I am not a big fan of slow, cumbersome armaments like this (see Hammer). Most times it is a two-handed affair which limits my options (shield, secondary arm, etc.). I still have no idea to this day why every single member of the Dwarvian nation absolutely loves the Axe. Must be something in their genes.
| | | Chainsaw | Whip |
 Nothing more clearly communicates your intentions to the baddies when you lumber towards them with a churning chainsaw in your mitts. As a gamer, that guttural 'wheee' noise truly gets my blood pumping. One of the great things about the Chainsaw is that it never runs out of gas, but it can get 'stuck' in monsters.
|
 These come in all varieties and have been a staple throughout the evolution of gaming. From Simon Belmont (Castlevania) to Kratos (God of War), the Whip has always proven to be an effective instrument during combat. Though it inflicts moderate damage to the evil minions, its range and usefulness (climbing) are excellent.
| | | Katana | Light Saber |
 There are all sorts of swords that become available to the gamer during their progress through a title, but the Katana is usually the ultimate score. Lightening quick and capable of felling a foe with a single swipe, this sleek blade exhibits unusually high precision. Unfortunately most games require two hands to take advantage of this power. The is definitely a drawback, but it is still cool!
|
 The infamous Light Saber. This is most definitely one of the most versatile melee weapons out there. It will not only dole out unequalled pain, but it can cut threw sealed doors, be thrown like a boomerang amongst other activities. The bad thing is that use is usually restricted to members of 'The Force'. Luke was cool, but if Han could also wield this blade I would be a very happy camper.
| |
What are Your Favorite Melee Weapons?
Which Ones Do You Absolutely Abhor?
| |
[img width=420 height=591]http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/gamecube-games/306-1.jpg[/img]
Here at Is It About My Cube, it is certainly my job to inform you of good games. I enjoy talking for paragraphs upon paragraphs about games that I honestly believe are worth your time and money. That goes without saying. However, it is also my duty to warn you of bad games. This is the tough part. I went into Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions expecting a slightly watered-down Yakuza game for the Gamecube. I wanted to beat up punks and thugs on the streets of Tokyo, the kind of things that the series is loved for. What I got was something very, very different. Fellow Gamecube fans and gamers at large, let me say with complete assurance that this is not Yakuza. Do not be fooled by the title; it means nothing. So, in that case, what is Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions? Let's explore this mess to find out.
Gameplay
From the moment I started playing Wreckless, I knew something was wrong. Actually, even well before that, I knew something was wrong, but since this section is about gameplay, we will leave that for later. When I started to play the first mission, the first thing I noticed were the controls. Let me preface this by saying that Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions is meant to boil down all the fun of the Yakuza games into driving missions alone, with most of the missions centered around destroying other vehicles or objects by ramming your car into them. Sounds passable on paper, but in reality, it makes for a disaster. Whenever you make even the slightest movement on the analog stick, your car goes fishtailing and careening into a 90 degree turn. Unless you gently tap the stick a little bit to turn, then you will crash into a wall, and essentially have no chance of completing the mission. Speaking of crashing, if you do hit a wall, then your car will spin out, come to a complete stop, and only then can you start driving again. In a game that is meant to be about crashes, this makes for insanely frustrating gameplay. It really feels like the developers didn't think about how the game was meant to be played in the context of the goals set out for you; it is more akin to a racing game, where crashing is meant to be a punishment of poor performance, as opposed to games like this where it is an inevitable part of gameplay.
Another badly-thought-out aspect of the game is the missions themselves. Almost all of the missions presented are single-minded in their goal: "Wreck this object, then go and wreck another object, but now you're being timed." The game presents a cripplingly narrow scope of mission objectives to complete, and many of them feel just like blatant copies of each other. They are uninspired, bland, tedious, and annoying to play. Adding this to the awful controls makes each mission a nightmare to complete. I have to admit that I was for once unable to finish this game before reviewing it; something that I usually will do out of principle. I apologize for this, but I simply could not force myself to play it any more, and it did not seem like it was going to get better anytime soon. Besides, with the missions being so repetitive, I feel like I could just replay the ones I had already beaten, and essentially have gotten the same result as playing through the rest of the game. It is a terrible shame to see such restriction brought on a game that is part of the Yakuza series; one known for its interesting and creative gameplay, being akin to a Japanese Grand Theft Auto. Wreckless, however, is nothing more than a terrible Burnout clone.
Gameplay: 3/10
[img width=640 height=480]http://xboxmedia.ign.com/media/previews/image/wreckless/yakuza33_640w.jpg[/img]
Story
Instead of following the standard Yakuza game formula of allowing you to play as a member of the titular Japanese Mafia, the first story mode puts you in control of the Flying Dragons police squad, assigned to stop the local Yakuza organization. The dialogue in the game's cutscenes are abysmal and make absolutely no sense and are inappropriate to the rest of the plot, taking on a lighthearted and silly feel that is completely out of place in a game of this genre. Actually, scratch that; it would be wrong to say that a coherent plot in this game, since it is mission-based and can be played out of order to a certain capacity. It is saying something when you actively try to do something else to occupy your time during cutscenes; not out of boredom, but out of disgust. Perhaps I am being too harsh, but it is my opinion that this game deserves such criticism. In fact, the only reason that I did not simply skip past the cutscenes altogether was for the purpose of this review. There is nothing of interest to be found in the story nor the dialogue. However, it should get a point for even existing at all, considering this is a driving game.
Story: 1/10
[img width=640 height=480]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2002/gamecube/wreckless/w_screen001.jpg[/img]
Sound
The music in Wreckless is certainly not good, but it isn't terrible. In fact, it may be the most tolerable aspect of the game. It is bland and entirely forgettable [I actually had to go back to the game for this segment just to remember what it sounded like], but it was not outright offensive; something the rest of the game was unable to achieve. You will likely not notice the music at all, but that also means it will not distract you, so I am willing to cut the game some slack. One area where I must cast judgement, however, is the voice acting. *Sigh* Seriously, where do they get actors like this? Not only are all the voices done in a stilted, robotic monotone, they are out of sync with the character actions. It's kind of like watching one of those old Japanese movies that received a hilariously bad dub. This is essentially the video game equivalent of that, since it is a similar situation. The voices are annoying to listen to and bland. I strongly recommend skipping or at least muting all of the game's cutscenes. In fact, unless you were previously interested, I would recommend skipping the game altogether.
Sound: 3/10
[Sorry, this was all I could find for game music.]
Graphics
The visuals in Wreckless were passable, but not particularly notable. The game was actually originally designed to be an Xbox-exclusive, but late in development, it was also ported to the Gamecube and PS2. Now, the Xbox version looks great, using many fancy graphical effects and high-resolution textures that the system could accomplish standing on its head, but something went very wrong during porting. Activision clearly didn't know their way around the Gamecube's hardware, as it actually ended up with the worst version of the game. Even worse than the PS2! It is not a matter of whether the system is powerful enough or not, because the Gamecube certainly could unquestionably handle the graphical flair present in the Xbox version, it was simply the fact that the developers were lazy in porting the game properly. But, still, these are certainly not the worst graphics I have seen on the Gamecube, but they are only good enough. Good enough to justify the fact that this is a next-generation console with distinctly next-generation graphics from the 32/64-bit era. Technically, the game is equally mediocre. The on-screen action often makes the game take a sizable framerate drop, and then jets back up to 60 FPS in a heartbeat. I am impressed [for lack of a better word] that the game can manage 60 FPS at all, but the constant fluctuation between low and high is disorienting and makes gameplay difficult.
Graphics: 3/10
[img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2002/gamecube/wreckless/w_screen004.jpg[/img]
Extras/Value
There are a good amount of unlockable cars available in Wreckless, each which do seem to have distinct strengths, and a great deal of the cars are outlandishly-designed and bizarre, so in that respect, the cars available in the game are certainly interesting; the game does have a decent selection of vehicles to drive, and features two separate story modes to play through, but it all turns out to be effort wasted when attached to poorly-conceived game mechanics. I do admire the game developers trying anything extra they could to make the game appear substantial, but it comes off more as trying to put lipstick on a pig than anything. There are also bonuses for completing secondary objectives in missions, such as hitting a certain number of scenery objects before completing the mission, which qualifies as the game's Hard Mode. The game also features a Multiplayer mode, but the aforementioned slowdown can make missions a bit of a chore when 2 people are playing. Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions is currently going for $1.99 at Gamestop, which is actually quite fair. You are indeed likely to get approximately $2 worth of fun out of Wreckless. This is actually probably the biggest thing the game has going for it right now; that it has a price so low that it makes ramen noodles jealous. If you are still interested after this review, then I supposed you don't have much to lose.
Extras/Value: 5/10
[img width=640 height=480]http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/39/image4315.jpg[/img]
Overall
Unless you are a big Yakuza fan, then stay away from Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. It is a poorly-made, uninspired game that has no resemblance to the other games in the series. But I must stress that even standing on its own, it is a bad game. Even if the other Yakuza games never existed, this would have been a disappointment. Why did it turn out the way it did? Perhaps it was because it was made by Activision, and is just a case of a western developer trying to develop for an eastern franchise. Perhaps it was a lack of budget and motivation. Perhaps it was always destined to be a quick cash-in game for the franchise. All of these are likely components of the truth, but I can say with certainty that Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions for the Nintendo Gamecube is a bad video game.
Overall: 3/10
This is Lisalover1, scaring the living piss out of driving instructors.
|
|
|
|
Blog Navigation
Browse Bloggers | My Blog
|
We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
|
|
Hot Community Entries
|
|
Hot RFG Blog Entries
| |
|
