Exhuminator wrote:Did you beat 1001 Spikes on PC or 3DS?
PC. It's apparently very inspired by Rick Dangerous.
I've heard that there are some small technical foibles with the 3DS version.
It looks great. I have the Wii U version, and I am excited to play it (especially after your review). Once I get through with the other video game "genres" for the summer gaming challenge, I should be getting back to my usual platforming routine. (Apparently...there are video games where you drive cars, play sports, shoot guns, fight people, and do all sorts of things that aren't jumping over and running around obstacles...Who knew?) This and Super Meat Boy (and, of course, Epic Dumpster Bear) are at the top of my list.
MrPopo wrote:Based on what I read on the CRPG Addict it sounds like they start to get good by modern standards around 6. 1-3 are ball busters (especially if you don't back up your saves in 2 and 3), 5 is still nasty, and 4 is WTF.
Yeah, V is the one I will have to play to get through all of those SNES NTSC-U RPGs. It shouldn't be too bad, but I've already granted it the status of "LAST TO PLAY" in my head.
prfsnl_gmr wrote:It looks great. I have the Wii U version, and I am excited to play it (especially after your review). Once I get through with the other video game "genres" for the summer gaming challenge, I should be getting back to my usual platforming routine. (Apparently...there are video games where you drive cars, play sports, shoot guns, fight people, and do all sorts of things that aren't jumping over and running around obstacles...Who knew?) This and Super Meat Boy (and, of course, Epic Dumpster Bear) are at the top of my list.
It's kind of strange, though. I didn't cotton to Super Meat Boy like I did this one, despite there being obvious similarities between the basic premise. I think my biggest hangup with SMB is that I didn't like the physics in that game, whereas everything just feels right in 1001 Spikes.
Sarge wrote:It's kind of strange, though. I didn't cotton to Super Meat Boy like I did this one, despite there being obvious similarities between the basic premise. I think my biggest hangup with SMB is that I didn't like the physics in that game, whereas everything just feels right in 1001 Spikes.
Ha, yeah, that's true. I actually listen to the soundtrack for it quite a bit, but I never think to play it. I think I'm about halfway through it. I do believe I could slide through it, though. Might take me a while, though!
EDIT: Muahaha. Electronic Super Joy is down. At least the original content. The repeatable chunks are actually a lot smaller than 1001 Spikes, so it actually keeps things flowing pretty smoothly overall.
1. Shadow Warrior - Playstation 4 - January 1 2. The Order: 1886 - Playstation 4 - January 2 3. Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop - Wii - January 3 4. NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits - WiiWare - January 4 5. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd - Vita - January 5 6. Shadow the Hedgehog - Gamecube - January 9 7. Fairy Bloom Freeia - Steam - January 10 8. Petit Novel Series: Harvest December - 3DS - January 13 9. Gas Guzzlers Extreme - Steam - January 14 10. Muramasa: The Demon Blade - Wii - January 16 11. Project Zero 2: Wii Edition - Wii - January 19 12. Killzone: Liberation - PSP - January 20 13. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor - Wii - January 20 14. Kirby's Epic Yarn - Wii - January 24 15. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love - Wii - January 25 16. Corpse Party - PSP - January 25 17. Freedom Planet - Wii U - January 25 18. Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space - Vita - January 25 19. Silent Hill: Homecoming - Xbox 360 - January 26 20. Life is Strange - Playstation 4 - January 28
February (8 Games Beaten)
21. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows - PSP - February 2 22. Megadimension Neptunia VII - Playstation 4 - February 12 23. Dr. Discord's Conquest - NES - February 13 24. Corpse Party: Blood Drive - Vita - February 17 25. If My Heart Had Wings - Steam - February 18 26. Missing: An Interactive Thriller - Steam - February 18 27. Her Story - Steam - February 18 28. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright - 3DS - February 26
March (8 Games Beaten)
29. Saints Row 2 - Steam - March 1 30. Saturday Morning RPG - Playstation 4 - March 3 31. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest - 3DS - March 6 32. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Wii U - March 8 33. Pokken Tournament - Wii U - March 20 34. Moe Chronicle - Vita - March 22 35. Tom Clancey's The Division - Playstation 4 - March 23 36. Yoshi's New Island - 3DS - March 28
April (13 Games Beaten)
37. Alien Rage - Steam - April 1 38. Alien Breed: Impact - Steam - April 2 39. Alien Breed 2: Assault - Steam - April 3 40. Alien Breed 3: Descent - Steam - April 3 41. Bravely Second: Ballad of the Three Cavaliers - 3DS - April 6 42. Quantum Break - Xbox One - April 7 43. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric - Wii U - April 8 44. Akai Katana - Xbox 360 - April 9 45. Otomedius Excellent - Xbox 360 - April 9 46. Chasing Dead - Wii U - April 10 47. Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation - 3DS - April 14 48. Ratchet and Clank - Playstation 4 - April 20 49. Starfox Zero - Wii U - April 23
May (6 Games Beaten)
50. Aero Fighters 2 - NeoGeo - May 8 51. Bravely Second: End Layer - 3DS - May 11 52. Uncharted: Golden Abyss - Vita - May 15 53. Doom - Playstation 4 - May 20 54. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Playstation 4 - May 22 55. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan - Playstation 4 - May 25
June (13 Games Beaten)
56. MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies - Vita - June 2 57. Republique - Playstation 4 - June 3 58. Splatterhouse - Playstation 3 - June 4 59. Spec Ops: The Line - Playstation 3 - June 5 60. 1943: Battle of Midway - NES - June 6 61. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst - Playstation 4 - June 12 62. Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem - SNES - June 13 63. Homefront: The Revolution - Playstation 4 - June 15 64. Gone Home - Playstation 4 - June 15 65. Double Dragon Neon - Playstation 3 - June 16 66. Vanquish - Playstation 3 - June 17 67. Epic Dumpster Bear - Wii U - June 20 68. B3: Game Expo for Bees - Wii U - June 21
68. B3: Game Expo for Bees - Wii U - June 21
B3: Game Expo for Bees! The newest super quirky indie game exclusive to Wii U does not fail to deliver in the departments of style and uniqueness. What it does fail to deliver, however, is a worthwhile gaming experience or any real substance. You play as Security Bee, the security officer (obviously) at the B3 bee game expo. The dreaded RoboBear attacks the expo, and you have to defeat it! You'll spend the next 30 minutes (maybe 60 if you EXTREMELY stuck looking for one not-even-all-that-well-hidden item like I did) solving basic puzzles, shooting five enemies and two bosses (and it's just the same boss twice), and generally wondering why you're spending your time on such a sub-par game.
It's not that the game's bad, per se, but more that it's just so minimal and short and - frankly - pointless. It feels less like a game and more like a college student's project for a programming class. It does, at least, control well, and if you see it on sale (its new regular price is $5 down from $10), then I'd say give it a download just to have the quirky title on your Wii U, but it's not something anyone should rush out to buy. It is, at the very least, unique and quirky.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
Sarge wrote:EDIT: Muahaha. Electronic Super Joy is down. At least the original content. The repeatable chunks are actually a lot smaller than 1001 Spikes, so it actually keeps things flowing pretty smoothly overall.
Nice! Now get that bonus content!
.....
First 25
1. Ultimate NES Remix (3DS) 2. Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iOS) 3. World of Goo (iOS) 4. A Dark Room (iOS) 5. Shovel Knight (WII U) 6. The Room (iOS) 7. Mega Man 10 (PS3) 8. The Room Two (iOS) 9. Braid (PS3) 10. Kung Fu Fight! (WII U) 11. Kung Fu Rabbit (WII U) 12. Escape Goat (360) 13. Canabalt (iOS) 14. Leo's Fortune (iOS) 15. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2) 16. Grim Fandango Remastered (iOS) 17. Dust: An Elysian Tale (360) 18. Shantae (GBC) 19. 3D Space Harrier (3DS) 20. 3D After Burner II (3DS) 21. 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS) 22. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GB) 23. Shantae: Risky's Revenge Director's Cut (WII U) 24. Final Fantasy Adventure (GB) 25. Furdemption (iOS)
26. Virtua Fighter Remix (SATURN) 27. Manos The Hands of Fate (iOS) 28. Virtua Fighter 2 (PS3) 29. Fighting Vipers (PS3) 30. Ikari Warriors (PS3) 31. Virtua Cop (SATURN) 32. Virtua Cop 2 (SATURN) 33. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director's Cut (iOS) 34. Virtua Racing (PS2) 35. Daytona USA (DC) 36. Sega Rally Championship (SATURN)
One more summer challenge game down. Sega Rally Championship is very solid, and short tracks combined with lightning fast loading times make it very addictive. (I raced each track dozens, if not hundreds of times, trying to shave fractions of a second off of my best times.) I wrote more about this game and its predecessors in the summer challenge thread, and I highly recommend all three of them.
1. Mega Man ZX Advent|DS|2007|platformer|8h|7/10 2. King's Field III: Pilot Style|PS1|1996|dungeon crawler|1h|8/10 3. Sleeping Dogs|360|2012|action-adventure|20h 45m|8/10 4. Sleepings Dogs: NiNP DLC|360|2012|action adventure|1h 22m|5/10 5. Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS|GB|1992|shmup|33m|8/10 6. Vattle Giuce|GB|1991|shmup|45m|5/10 7. MechWarrior 2 (Clan Wolf)|PS1|1997|mech sim|2h 35m|7/10 8. Gradius: The Interstellar Assault|GB|1992|shmup|27m|8/10 9. SolarStriker|GB|1990|shmup|23m|7/10 10. Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1999|fighter|45m|6/10 11. Dead or Alive (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1998|fighter|23m|5/10 12. Asuka 120% Burning Festival Final (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1999|fighter|26m|8/10 13. Soul Blade (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1997|fighter|18m|9/10 14. Trax|GB|1991|shmup|23m|7/10 15. Street Fighter: The Movie (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1995|fighter|36m|5/10 16. Warpath: Jurassic Park (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1999|fighter|17m|4/10 17. Psychic Force (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1997|fighter|22m|7/10 18. Touki Denshou: Angel Eyes (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1997|fighter|27m|7/10 19. Advanced V.G. 2 (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1998|fighter|15m|8/10 20. StarHawk|GB|1993|shmup|1h 15m|4/10 21. Nemesis|GB|1990|shmup|28m|7/10 22. Cardinal Syn (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1998|fighter|54m|7/10 23. Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1997|fighter|15m|7/10 24. Street Fighter EX 2 Plus (Arcade Mode)|PS1|1999|fighter|22m|8/10 25. Battle Unit Zeoth|GB|1991|shmup|24m|6/10 26. Soul Calibur IV (Arcade Mode)|360|2008|fighter|12m|9/10 27. Mercenary Force|GB|1990|shmup|54m|5/10 28. Battle Arena Toshinden (Story Mode)|GB|1996|fighter|12m|8/10 29. Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior's Dreams (Arcade Mode)|GBC|1999|fighter|10m|7/10 30. SD Hiryu No Ken EX (Story Mode)|GBC|1999|fighter|24m|7/10 31. Guilty Gear X: Advance Edition (Arcade Mode)|GBA|2002|fighter|8m|6/10 32. Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Revival (Arcade Mode)|GBA|2001|fighter|10m|7/10 33. Dual Blades (Arcade Mode)|GBA|2002|fighter|23m|4/10 34. Gradius Galaxies|GBA|2001|shmup|1hr 24m|8/10 35. Tekken Advance (Arcade Mode)|GBA|2002|fighter|15m|7/10 36. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade Mode)|GBA|2002|fighter|22m|7/10 37. Black Belt Challenge (Arcade Mode)|GBA|2002|fighter|8m|4/10 38. Iridion II|GBA|2003|shmup|58m|9/10 39. King's Field III|PS1|1996|dungeon crawler|25h|9/10 40. Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel|360|2013|cover shooter|7h 54m|7/10 41. Panzer Dragoon|Saturn|1995|rail shooter|55m|7/10 42. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei|Saturn|1996|rail shooter|1h 25m|8/10 43. Kirby Air Ride|GameCube|2003|kart racer|45m|6/10 44. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!|GameCube|2003|kart racer|35m|8/10 45. Bloody Roar: Primal Fury (Arcade Mode)|GameCube|2002|fighter|35m|8/10 46. XG3: Extreme G Racing|GameCube|2001|racer|1h 35m|7/10 47. Mario Kart 7|3DS|2011|kart racer|1h 54m|9/10 48. Code of Princess|3DS|2012|beat 'em up|4h 25m|7/10 49. Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy|3DS|2011|flight sim|3h 42m|7/10 50. Crimson Shroud|3DS|2012|JRPG|6h 55m|7/10 51. Gunman Clive|3DS|2013|platformer|54m|7/10 52. Gunman Clive 2|3DS|2015|platformer|1h 30m|7/10 53. Attack of the Friday Monsters!|3DS|2013|adventure|3h 2m|8/10 54. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception|PSP|2006|flight combat|2h 25m|8/10 55. Ace Combat: Joint Assault|PSP|2010|flight combat|6h 26m|4/10 56. Nayuta: Endless Trails|PSP|2012|action-RPG|16h 03m|8/10 57. Alpha Protocol|360|2010|action-RPG|12h 20m|5/10 58. Makai-Mura Gaiden: The Demon Darkness|Game Boy|1993|action-adventure|6h|7/10 59. Hangman|Atari 2600|1978|puzzle|15m|8/10 60. Beneath Apple Manor|Apple II|1978|roguelike|2h 28m|9/10 61. Rusty|PC-9801|1993|platformer|3h 46m|7/10 62. Night Slave|PC-9801|1996|mech shooter|2h 37m|8/10 63. Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut|360|2013|action-RPG|31h 15m|6/10 64. Target Earth|Genesis|1990|mech shooter|49m|7/10 65. Assault Suits Valken|SNES|1992|mech shooter|1h 23m|8/10 66. Everblue|PS2|2001|scuba adventure-RPG|12h 38m|7/10 67. Shadow Tower|PS1|1998|dungeon crawler|14h 51m|7/10 68. Shovel Knight|3DS|2015|platformer|6h 47m|8/10 69. Earth Defense Force 2025|360|2014|3rd person shooter|20h 38m|7/10 70. FRAMED|Android|2014|puzzle|1h 35m|7/10 71. Fuse|360|2013|cover shooter|11h 18m|7/10 72. Front Mission 5: Scars of the War|PS2|2005|SRPG|32h 39m|8/10 73. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare|360|2007|FPS|5h 45m|9/10
74. Call of Duty: Black Ops|360|2010|FPS|5h 35m|6/10
Black Ops attempts to take Call of Duty into edgier darker territory, but only partially succeeds. Amping up the cussing, the gore, and the ethically questionable objectives only goes so far when crippled by inadequate writing and brutally linear design. Black Ops is a tremendously scripted corridor shooter, leaving the player zero alternate agency as they shoot through what might as well be a movie. Black Ops does at least uphold the series' tradition of great graphics and tightly designed shooting mechanics. Yet it still manages to annoy with occasionally badly balanced mission designs. Black Ops is simply a very pretty, very dumbed down, summer popcorn movie of an FPS. As such, this CoD is best played through quickly, with your brain shut off, and then immediately forgotten about. You were never here, this never happened, and it's stricken from your service record.
I know I've been sayin' this a lot lately with games I finish, but holy shit did this game blow my expectations out of the water. I really didn't know what to expect going in, Papa & Yo meets Legend of Zelda I guess, but I certainly didn't expect a game so compelling and so fun! Even though most of the game centers around the two main characters, they really are made out very well in the few cutscenes the game does have. The exposition before and after boss fights, as well as the almost Thief Gold-esque 2D story bits you get occasionally really put together a nice picture of the world you're in. The graphics are also bright, colorful, and look great, with only very occasionally FPS hiccups.
Most of the game is combat against the forces of darkness with the Majin. He's your constant companion and battle partner throughout the game. You can direct him with simple commands (wait, follow, attack X-enemy) to both fight and solve puzzles. The terrain occasionally makes it a bit slower for him to get around, but he does a good job keeping up with you, so it doesn't feel like you're constantly babysitting him. He does have a health bar, but it's very big. He can heal you when you're hurt, and he's healed by killing enemies. This combined with how manual Majin-healing items are common, it was enough that I never had problems with him dying. He can even revive you if you're near him when you die, although I never personally had it happen.
You slowly unlock powers he can use for both puzzles and combat, and they really feel good to throw around in combat. The feedback given when you pull off special moves, and when you execute finishers in a sort of Splatterhouse-style fashion, is great. When an enemy has been sufficiently damaged by Majin, it'll go into a stunned mode. Whack it a couple times, and you'll be able to do a special combination move depending on your positioning in relation to Majin. Killing enemies in this fashion gets you friendship-XP. This is different than the XP your hero normally gets, as while the hero's level-ups just increase his attack and health, friendship levels affect things like the speed of Majin's heals, different kinds of combo moves you can do, and how fast you build up finishers.
The puzzles are also very fun, and I'd say at least as good as your average 3D Zelda. There was more than one where I had to really think about how I was supposed to go forward, because it's fairly hard to cheat the system and just go around a puzzle. They were never horribly stumping though, and always felt fair. The puzzles were made even more fun by all of the hidden chests and power-ups throughout the world. The Majin is such a fun character, it was always exciting finding a new health or strength power-up to feed him. There are also costumes you can find, which in addition to looking cool, give passive bonuses (usually defense against a specific enemy group). I found all the collectables in the game, but I never had to use a guide to find any. Some are rather cleverly hidden, but they're always sitting in a place you could see them if you just stood in the right place.
Verdict: I know Sarge has already sung this game's praises a while back, but damn, I have to do it to. I'd say it's certainly one of the best 3D-Zelda-style games not on a Nintendo Console. Adamantly recommended to any Zelda fan looking for something a little different.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
