The Gamer's Quarter

[player 2]

I have a ton of VC games. Some of them are surprisingly great, some of them are surprisingly so-so. I have a ton of them because I don't know what a game is going to be like until I buy it. That kind of is uncool!

So let's have a thread where we review VC games. Don't make the reviews really long or anything. Make them short and concise. Anything more than 5 sentences and I'll make a face. Oh, and to complicate things make sure to give the game you are reviewing a rating 1-5.

Super Star Soldier (TG16): 3
It's a fast paced crazy shooter with a ton of power ups. Four weapons with the traditional pick-up-the-same-weapon-to-level-your-weapon system makes for a ton of variety, but it also happens to complicate things a bunch. There's a certain bit of inelegance here. If the setting was a bit more wild I'd call it a punk rock shooter, but as is, it's just fun.

The Legend of Zelda (NES): 5
I was surprised at how well this game has aged. There's no doubt that some of you will be annoyed at how dungeons are hidden or unnecessary or that the difficulty of the game is imbalanced, but for me it fixes all of Twilight Princess's shortcomings. In the time it takes TP to get interesting the original Zelda can be completed twice over. What's great is that the exploration and sense of adventure is all there and the Wii's autosave feature makes it even a better pick up and play game.

More to come
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

[JasonMoses]

[helicopterp]

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Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

[silentmatt]

I have a love/hate relationship with the virtual console. I love playing these games on my Wii and the huge nostalgia factor/experiencing new old games that I probably wouldn't have had the chance to otherwise. I hate the fact that I am spending ridiculous amounts of money to do so. Damn you, geniuses at Nintendo.

So far, I have downloaded 9 games. Let's try this:

Mario Bros. [NES]: 1.5
I guess this game is relevant from a historical perspective... but from as a person playing it now, I find the controls unresponsive and the concept fairly boring. This was the first VC title I downloaded (mistakenly thinking it was Super Mario Bros.) and I still regret it.

Ice Hockey [NES]: 3.5
Wow, nostalgia. While there is really only so much you can do with just 2 buttons, this game holds quite a bit of depth, for a hockey game. It doesn't matter that there are only 3 types of players (fat/average guy/skinny) - Ice Hockey is the perfect stadium for a 2-player competition. The game makes much more sense than it did to me as a child (I never realized you could switch players when playing defense) and I must say, despite having hesitations when downloading it - I am pretty glad that I did.

Wario's Woods [NES]: 4
I had never played this until a couple weeks ago when it was released as a VC title and I regret that I hadn't. It is awesome fun. I've only really played on Game Type B since I love the boss battles. It is a puzzle-style game but I have found it hard to teach other people the nuances of the gameplay in a short period of time... which greatly reduces the fun of the multiplayer aspect. Perhaps, one of these days, one of them will get it and it will be a blast.

Altered Beast [GEN]: 3
I downloaded this mainly for my girlfriend, who loved it when she was young. I haven't really played it much but the gameplay seems fairly straightforward (move right, kick some ass, move right). The characters are massive, taking up most of the screen, so there isn't a huge amount of room to move around but it still looks like it will be a good time for a rainy afternoon. Nothing life changing though.

Golden Axe [GEN]: 4
Despite never owning this, it was a favourite as a kid. As I find with most of the VC titles, this one is all about the co-op gameplay. It is a fantasy-style Double Dragon where you actually get to ride dragon-beast-things and slaughter goblins. The graphics are still nostalgic and - despite not having a block button - this game is still a riot.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine [GEN]: 4.5
I never played this until yesterday... but now.... I am obsessed. I love it. It is very similar (in my mind) to Dr. Mario (I know some of you are going to say Puyo Puyo, but I never played that so I'm not in a position to name-drop it) except for the fact that it gets brutally hard very early on. A few hours into the game last night and Arlie and I only were able to get to level 7 or so. The speed increases at an alarming rate but the fact that you get unlimited continues helps relieve some of that frustration. I cannot wait to play this competitively against some of my friends.

Gunstar Heroes [GEN]: ?
I only played this for a couple minutes so I'm not really at liberty to review it yet... It looks like it is going to be fun (sillier interpretation of Contra?) but I am waiting for one of my best friends to finish his finals so we can start it together as it definitely looks like it should be a 2-player experience.

Ristar [GEN]: 3
I haven't played much into this either despite getting it a week or two ago. I just haven't "grasped" the controls yet. It almost seems random where I'm going to go when I grab onto things.... I'm sure that will change in time. I also don't really get the whole "being a star" thing but it is still to early to give a final verdict.

Bomberman '93 [TG16]: 4
I love the Bomberman, it is a fact. What this game does feature: an extensive single-player experience with GREAT (yet quite difficult) boss battles. My main beef with the game is that there are not enough multiplayer maps to battle upon (there are maybe 6 in total). The fact that all the sprites are so large makes every one of them feel crowded. Don't get me wrong - it still makes for great 5-player (!!!) competitions but I kind of wish there was a bit more emphasis on diversity in the muliplayer options.


On that note, Arlie is still waiting for her SMB3/Lost Levels/SMB World, dammit. Come on, Nintendo!
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PSN: Twitch_City ||| Wii: 8083 5371 5767 6700
"Jadis, si je me souviens bien, ma vie était un festin où s'ouvraient tous les coeurs, où tous les vins coulaient."

[player 2]

[silentmatt]

[dessgeega]

don't be afraid to get close to your enemies. that's all you should need to know.
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[Harveyjames]

Bomberman '94.

Why are there speed-up items mentioned in the manual but not in the multiplayer game? Speed-ups were my favorite thing to pick up when I played this as a kid, but they don't seem to appear in battle mode so everyone spends the whole battle trundling around at super-slow speed. Maybe you unlock them or select them in a secret option screen I haven't found yet. I hope so because without them this game is a CRIPPLE

[dessgeega]

they made 94 available where yousabouts?
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[JasonMoses]

[silentmatt]

[Harveyjames]