Rayman Origins Review

With Rayman Origins, Rayman and his pals, Globox and the various Teensies, team up in a revivalist piece that marries modern platforming techniques spearheaded by Nintendo with a uniquely Ubisoft flavor. There are no gimmicks here, no motion control, no rabbids, no partially developed gameplay ideas. Instead, Ancel and his team have brought forth a fully realized, perfectly animated sidescrolling masterpiece that glories in the simplicity of running and jumping to the right, and all the complexity and exploration that this belies.

The best dishes served in a restaurant can be amazingly complex, but sometimes it is the simplest dishes with high quality and fresh ingredients that wow and delight. This is Rayman Origins, a game that is absolutely polished and wholly complete, it takes simple joy of platforming with very little in pretension, letting what is great about it argue for its quality.

The core of Rayman Origins is pretty easy to define. The plot serves nothing but to facilitate the platforming, so it’s pretty easy to ignore. What does matter, however, is the tightly designed controls. Each of the characters can jump, float, wall jump, slide, slap, and swim. It’s a control scheme that takes all of three buttons to use, and the player controls are tight and responsive. Every time you die, you know it’s a fault of the player and not the game.

I played through most of the game by myself. Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii or Donkey Kong Country Returns, the game is entirely playable by oneself. It’s actually better to play by yourself when trying to unlock those last secret electoon puzzles or collect those glowing lums to 100 percent a level. With plenty of unlockable characters and costumes, the game does a great job of incentivizing collecting doodads, something I normally hate.

However, once two or more players are involved, Rayman Origins becomes a practice in chaos. I wouldn’t call it a bad thing, as many times players will find that they can complete portions of the game easier with help (such as stacking up on each other, or sacrificing oneself to collect some lums), but for the most part the game spends its time rewarding players who troll and slap each other. If you’re trying to complete everything, go it by yourself, but for a good time with some friends, Rayman Origins stands up with Nintendo’s best multiplayer platformers.

It’s also brutally hard. While early levels pose only a slight challenge, Rayman Origins challenges players with chase levels that require perfectly timed platforming, swimming stages where death is one slight move to the left, sidescrolling SHMUP stages where the desire for a high score can ruin a perfection flown level, and bosses that can border on frustratingly difficult. The never quite feels unfair, and the respawns are fast and mostly at a fair point. Expect to die a lot, especially if you are playing by yourself and you don’t have anyone to bring you back to life. From my time with the game, just trying to survive, much less collect everything on the more than sixty stages, I can say this game is as good as, and as difficult as DKCR.

For masochists with a desire to be punished by a platformer, this should be good enough to get them playing. For slightly casual players, it’s the visuals that are really going to keep them playing. While most companies use 3D polygons to animate and fill out their worlds, even in 2D platformers, Ubisoft and Ancel has decided to return to Rayman’s roots and do a fully hand drawn, beautifully realized 2D art direction running at 60 FPS. This game is luscious and stunning, one of the most detailed and beautiful games I have played, period. It is a title like Rayman Origins that highlights the truth that style and art direction game make a game beautiful. For 15 hours I have been continually blown away by how gorgeous this game is, and from start to finish my jaw drops with every new area and every new cartoon character to interact with.

If a high attention to detail has been paid to the visuals, just as much has been applied to the music. In every stage, orchestral overtones fit the feel and mode of that particular level, and every enemy or environment interaction parlays into its own specific tone or beat. It’s an incredibly musical game, and one that is very satisfying and enjoyable to listen to.

Rayman Origins is an outstanding game, plain and simple, establishing itself as one of the best games I have played this year and one of the biggest surprises of 2011. If you are looking for retro-tinged gameplay with charming presentation, Rayman Origins is one to not miss.

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]

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Selk'bag 4G Lite Review

The Selk'bag 4G is essentially a sleeping bag, that you don't necessarily have sleep in, but instead you can wear while doing other things, like say gaming! The way it's constructed is that it keeps the heat inside, even in more than unnatural cold situations.

The outer covering is made up of soft polyester that's also water resistant, just incase you might spill your favorite energy drink while gaming into the late hours of the night. For extremely cold situations, you can even cover your head with a hood for extra added warmth. The body of the Selk'bag includes zippers that grant convenient access to various areas. The side zippers allow easy access for pockets, but where is the quick access on the front? If I need to go to the bathroom, there is no way for me to go the bathroom without fully taking it off. Sure the same can be said about an actual sleeping bag, but it's safe to say it's much easier to slip out of that, than it is out of one of these. As you can see from the picture above, the sleeves have convenient openings for when you want to pick up a controller, eat a hotdog, or do pretty much anything that requires the use of your hands.

For what it does, the Selk'bag works. It does provide an exceptional amount of heat, while leaving you pretty mobile to pretty much do anything around the house. To be fair, it's not exactly advertised to be used as a tool for freezing gamers, but rather people who like to spend time outdoors, where it usually is much colder than a gamers bedroom.

Is it something that gamers should flock to buy immediately? Probably not, unless you're living in Alaska, and any source of heat is currently unavailable to you. Though I do highly encourage for people who enjoy spending their free time outdoors, particularly in cold areas to give the Selk'bag 4G Lite a look. It works and it keeps you warm and fairly mobile.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review (Wii)

When Twilight Princess came out, many thought that the controls weren’t really up to snuff, preferring the “classic” style of the GameCube version over the gimmicky Wii motion controls.  But there’s nothing gimmicky about how Skyward Sword plays.  Everything feels quite natural here, whether you’re aiming a weapon to take out an enemy from a distance (always trust a slingshot – or rolling bombs) or engaging in terrific combat that has you side-stepping and striking like a pro.  Combat is just part of the picture; you’ll also do a fair amount of exploring and puzzle solving – clearly a tradition of Zelda games.

Link’s additional physical abilities mean a lot to the game as well.  No longer does he have to shoot at switches from afar, as he can climb his way up walls to snag them.  We love the way he can work his way up steep inclines.  If there’s one thing that frustrated us in any given platformer, it’s sliding up a surface, only to come back down without successfully reaching the top.  Thing of the past here.

Outside of the main quest (which I won’t spoil, because it’s dedicated Zelda territory), there’s plenty to do.  The city of Skyloft, made up of a group of floating islands, lets you travel around in style, whether you’re taking an aerial plunge from the island, zooming around on a mine cart (Indiana Jones style!), or taking flight on a giant red bird (one of the game’s more exhilarating moments).  The treasure system plays a huge part with this island, as you’ll occasionally have to complete side puzzles in order to unlock them.  Hey, the best kind of treasure is the earned kind.  (Just ask Jones – fortune and glory, kid.)

Things do get slightly tiring, to be fair.  You’ll have to make your way through certain worlds again, often backtracking and sometimes visiting familiar dungeons to locate items.  But as a whole, the game maintains a high amount of energy; it motivates you to continue onward, even during the parts that tend to drag a little bit.  The later levels are a true testament to this, including the final dungeon, which…well, I’ll let you discover it for yourself.

On a side note, I love the game save system.  It’s fairly paced, so you won’t have to worry about reaching a point where you can’t continue on any further, or get whisked back to an area, needing to clear it again.  Save often if you can, because some of these bosses will simply put you to the test. 

While Skyward Sword may be stuck in the standard definition age (perhaps we were too spoiled by that HD Zelda Wii U demo a few months back), it looks glorious.  Environments are treated with the utmost care, from the darkest of dungeons to some breathtaking wide-open fields.  The animation is superb, especially on the bigger enemies and some of the side characters.  We haven’t seen a Zelda game look this detailed since the old days of Wind Waker.  We were pleasantly surprised by this.

Equally surprising?  The soundtrack.  Wow.  Great stuff by Nintendo.  We can now easily see why they chose to do a few orchestrated concerts to hype the release of Skyward Sword.  It really does sound like a majestic piece of work.  (And if you can’t get enough of that, take a listen to the audio CD included with your game.  Great gathering of classic Zelda tunes.)  The sound effects are about what you’d expect, but they're fulfilling on their part, with lots of ambient noises and very little bothersome voicework to get in the way.

One thing to note – the controller/game package is awesome.  This WiiRemote plus, a gold-plastered controller with the Zelda logo imprinted on the front, is a thing of beauty and an absolute must for fans.  If you can track one down, we highly suggest it.

Even if you’re just stuck with the “regular” version of the game, you’ve got something wonderful in your grasp.  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword isn’t ENTIRELY perfect, mainly due to its backtracking and occasional Skyloft hub issues (nothing serious), but the gameplay and presentation click so well that no Wii owner should be without it.  Consider this a worthwhile holiday gift to yourself.  Go on, you deserve it.

 

 

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Mario and Sonic At the London 2012 Olympic Games Review

You’ll choose from various characters throughout both Mario and Sonic’s universe, including familiar villains, heroes, and the occasional oddballs.  It’s a decent variety of characters, though some fan favorites may be missing.  From there, you’ll make your way through jolly, old London, completing mini-games and taking part in traditional Olympic competitions, either alone or with friends.  These include hurdles, soccer, and various others.

By completing these events and meeting certain criteria (relax, the game isn’t difficult), you’ll earn virtual achievements by way of stickers, which you can then collect in a book.  It doesn’t serve much purpose outside of showing it off to friends, however.  More unlockable stuff attached to said stickers would’ve been a pivotal addition.

Single-player is kind of a grind, mostly due to the fact that the AI isn’t entirely on its game – even in the highest difficulty – which makes some of the events a cakewalk.  That said, it certainly gets better with multiplayer, as friends can join you on the soccer field or in a fencing arena to see who fares better.  Some activities differ in quality, though.  We guarantee you’ll have more fun kicking soccer balls into goals than virtually trying to knock someone out of bounds.

What’s sorely missing from London 2012 is the Festival mode that made the Winter Olympic Games such a blast.  There, you could take on bosses, complete objectives, and work your way through what seemed like a lengthy campaign.  What’s here is just a simple hub where you go from point-to-point.  That takes out some of the much-needed charm that made Mario and Sonic work so well over the past few years.  There’s a Challenge mode, but outside of the stickers, it really doesn’t have much to offer – leading you back to multiplayer.

Visually, Sega didn’t go overboard with London 2012.  It merely sticks with what works, including cute animations and a basic set-up for each sport, which players will get into.  It hardly innovates, save for some side activities – like dodging potholes in a city street – that may put a smile on your face.  However, it feels more like a basic add-on to the first Olympic Games, rather than a solid continuation.  Sounds about the same too, with repetitive character quotes and decent (if a bit bland) background music.

If you’ve got a family that enjoyed Mario and Sonic the last couple of times around, or just want something a little more competitive than the other Wii holiday fare, Mario and Sonic At the London 2012 Olympic Games may suffice.  However, this is a series in need of a much-needed boost.  With the Wii U forthcoming, we just might get that in 2013.  Cross your fingers.

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Centipede: Infestation Review

The game stars a bug hunter named Max, who has made it his mission to eliminate giant bug after giant bug following a worldwide infestation. He runs into a girl named Maisy, and together, the duo sets out to eliminate bugs, discover several personal secrets, and find themselves. The whole thing is a bit cheesy, and the subpar cutscenes are rife with questionable dialogue, cliches, and sexual tension between Max and Maisy. The story doesn't get in the way, but after actually playing Infestation, I came away with the notion that it was pretty unnecessary.

Gameplay consists of running and gunning in small environments. The first few levels are fairly confined, but as you progress, you encounter longer stages and big boss battles. The basic formula never really changes, though, and throughout your adventure, you basically just have to kill all the bugs that appear onscreen. Thankfully, as simple as that may be, there are a few added elements that keep things from getting boring. Ammo pick-ups grant you different types of projectiles such as ice, flame, and laser bursts; they last you a limited time but can really help you out when you begin encountering the bigger waves of enemies. There's also a stomp attack that helps create some space between you and the stronger bugs, all the while splattering weaker critters to bits. These little additions to your arsenal go a long way in making Infestation a fun shoot 'em up with a touch of variety.

You can control your character using either the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo or the Classic Controller. Using the Wii Remote/Nunchuk control scheme, you move around with the analog stick, select ammo power-ups in one of four slots using the D-Pad, and shoot baddies by aiming at them with the Wii Remote and pressing the B button. Alternatively, if you use the Classic Controller, you guide your character with the left stick, select from your collected ammo pick-ups with the face buttons, and shoot in different directions with the right stick, making the whole thing play out like a twin-stick shooter. Both control schemes work incredibly well, and I would definitely recommend trying out both to see which one fits your play style best. As a fan of twin-stick shooters, I ended up playing the majority of the game using the Classic Controller.

Infestation isn't a very long game. You can get through the entire campaign--which consists of 35 levels and five boss battles--in under five hours. There are Normal and Hard difficulties, though, as well as an unlockable Insane difficulty. There are also hidden characters to unlock and in-game achievements, but what really gives Infestation some replay value is the addition of local co-op. Two players can take on the entire campaign together, making for a much more enjoyable experience. At $30, it would be difficult to expect too much more out of this package.

Though Infestation is a fun romp overall, it's incredibly simple. There's not much variety in the gameplay, and this translates over to the visuals and audio. Though the game is by no means ugly, it's overly simple and a bit uninspired. As far as the soundtrack goes, you won't hear any memorable themes here, but a few of them may get stuck in your head after listening to them a few times.

Throughout my playthrough of Infestation, I found myself having a lot of fun. It took me roughly four hours and 45 minutes to get through the entire game, and in that time, I was treated to a shoot 'em up experience that was stylistically retro, all the while updating the Centipede series in proper fashion. The twin-stick shooter design of the game was enjoyable and nicely paced, and while it is super simple, Infestation is a nice little game to sit down and play through, especially if you've got a buddy to blast some bugs with.

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Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny Review

The scenario I described is just one of the many problems that Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny has holding it down. It's fitting that there are such characters in the game to truly terrify you, because the entire experience is enough to send you crying into your pillow, much like I imagine the little boy I just mentioned does on a nightly basis.

Last year around this time, I reviewed Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for the Nintendo DS. I awarded it a great score of 8.5 / 10, and I listed its intuitive and engaging farming, simple yet entertaining combat, interesting story, and sheer depth as great reasons to pick it up. The only real problem I had with the game was that it wasn't exactly groundbreaking for the series. As Tides of Destiny drew closer to its launch date, I was excited to get a console follow-up to the game I invested so much time into in November and December of 2010.

I happily popped in my review copy of Tides of Destiny for the Wii and awaited yet another grand adventure rife with exploration, hack-and-slash combat, and some fun farming. Sadly, all of my expectations were crushed, much like the emotions of that little boy in Tides of Destiny who lives with the priest and I imagine returns to his tear-soaked pillow every day. The game got off to a slow start, which I kind of expected, but as I spent more time with it, it hardly seemed to speed up. Tides of Destiny is an exercise in boredom and monotony, and that's due to one constant element: character interaction.

In Rune Factory 3, you interacted with characters within the village and did favors for them via a job board. There were different activites for you to engage in, many of which were pretty fun. Of course, these jobs weren't the focal point of the experience. Rune Factory 3 featured an underlying string of dungeons that you needed to clear in order to fully progress through the game. Tides of Destiny is quite the opposite. Here, there are dungeons for you to explore, but in order to reach these dungeons, you first need to complete several tasks posted on the job board. Not only are these tasks annoying fetch quests, but they repeat too often, forcing you to do the same thing over and over.

The reason I stated that character interaction is the basis of the game and the very reason the game is so boring is because you need to communicate with the boring citizens of Tides of Destiny constantly in order to unlock new job requests. Talking to them and giving them gifts is a great way to get them on your good side, and the more you interact, the closer you'll get to them, which in turn means you'll unlock more jobs that will eventually lead to the game's dungeons.

Have you ever had those moments with a game where several hours pass and you think to yourself, "Hmm ... I haven't made much progress. Am I doing something wrong? What the heck do I need to do next to keep the game's story going?" Well, the first several hours with Tides of Destiny were like that for me. I spent several in-game days doing absolutely nothing. In Rune Factory 3, I would talk to people, farm, do some level grinding, and engage in all manner of activites, which resulted in my character tiring out before the day ended. In Tides of Destiny, I found myself with hardly anything to do, so I would frequently send the protagonist to bed by 2PM.

Interacting with characters only takes so long, and given just how boring they all are, I found it hard to approach them and watch as they made small talk with me. The game's story, which revolves around a guy named Aden, who has the soul of his best friend Sonja stuck in his body, isn't bad, and it could have made for some sweet conversations. Instead, the whole thing is a boring mess full of annoying dialogue.

That said, I could have handled a bad story and bad characters, but it's the gameplay that really bothers me. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was a game that was centered on its side quests. Story progression relied heavily on these additional objectives, but the game managed to make such a design feel engaging and incredible. Tides of Destiny also relies on side quests, but they're so tedious that the game never truly picks up. Even when you do reach the dungeons, it's hard to really enjoy them because they're not as interesting as those in Rune Factory 3. Since you rely on Rune Points to do anything from fighting to fishing, you constantly find your RP meter running low. So stock up on health and regeneration supplies, and don't forget to grind.

Farming wasn't complex in Rune Factory 3, but it was fun. Tides of Destiny brings back this series staple, but it makes it feel ridiculously uninspired. Farming is overly simplistic, and it's not a major part of the experience. There's something kind of wrong with that, because this is a spin-off of Harvest Moon. Farming should be at least a semi-integral part of these games, and because it's worked so well in the past, it's frustrating that such an enjoyable aspect has been stripped down... like that poor little boy in the church at the hands of that jovially sinister priest.

You can still tame monsters and take them with you, and it's highly recommended that you do. A few extra hands in battle certainly help, even if the combat is strictly reliant on button mashing. You can also craft items such as weapons, which requires you to complete mini-games and use up that ever-precious RP meter. These aspects of the game are decent enough, but when you take into account everything else that's wrong with Tides of Destiny, it's hard to get much if any enjoyment out of it whatsoever.

Visually, the art style in Tides of Destiny is certainly nice to look at. Cool colors adorn the land, characters have a nice anime aesthetic, and there's charm practically everywhere. The sound design is also pretty sweet, though songs can loop a bit, especially since you spend so much time running around town, talking to people and fetching items for them. The Wii version of the game is a lot less impressive than the PlayStation 3 version, but that's to be expected, and I won't fault the developers for that. It's that damn gameplay that makes me pass judgment on them.

At first, I thought I couldn't stay entertained with Tides of Destiny because I wanted to go back to the insanity of Saints Row: The Third. Then I thought it was because I've got a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword that I've only spent a handful of hours with, and I'd really like to return to that soon. I honestly felt that I may not have been giving Tides of Destiny a fair shot, but after sinking more hours into the game, I realized that I had every reason to hate it. Not only is this game a disappointment, but it's a total letdown, especially when you consider that Rune Factory could and should be a much more important series.

You will spend a lot of time playing Tides of Destiny, but most of that time will consist of boring character interactions and even more boring side quests. The little fun that there is to be had here is offset by the sheer lack of depth in the game. Tides of Destiny could have been such a grand action RPG, but it's a shallow experience that launched during a time when there are so many other games that are far more worthy of your time.

Oh, and there's also an old alcoholic dude who thinks he's everyone's grandpa, so there's that.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review (Wii)

When Twilight Princess came out, many thought that the controls weren’t really up to snuff, preferring the “classic” style of the GameCube version over the gimmicky Wii motion controls.  But there’s nothing gimmicky about how Skyward Sword plays.  Everything feels quite natural here, whether you’re aiming a weapon to take out an enemy from a distance (always trust a slingshot – or rolling bombs) or engaging in terrific combat that has you side-stepping and striking like a pro.  Combat is just part of the picture; you’ll also do a fair amount of exploring and puzzle solving – clearly a tradition of Zelda games.

Link’s additional physical abilities mean a lot to the game as well.  No longer does he have to shoot at switches from afar, as he can climb his way up walls to snag them.  We love the way he can work his way up steep inclines.  If there’s one thing that frustrated us in any given platformer, it’s sliding up a surface, only to come back down without successfully reaching the top.  Thing of the past here.

Outside of the main quest (which I won’t spoil, because it’s dedicated Zelda territory), there’s plenty to do.  The city of Skyloft, made up of a group of floating islands, lets you travel around in style, whether you’re taking an aerial plunge from the island, zooming around on a mine cart (Indiana Jones style!), or taking flight on a giant red bird (one of the game’s more exhilarating moments).  The treasure system plays a huge part with this island, as you’ll occasionally have to complete side puzzles in order to unlock them.  Hey, the best kind of treasure is the earned kind.  (Just ask Jones – fortune and glory, kid.)

Things do get slightly tiring, to be fair.  You’ll have to make your way through certain worlds again, often backtracking and sometimes visiting familiar dungeons to locate items.  But as a whole, the game maintains a high amount of energy; it motivates you to continue onward, even during the parts that tend to drag a little bit.  The later levels are a true testament to this, including the final dungeon, which…well, I’ll let you discover it for yourself.

On a side note, I love the game save system.  It’s fairly paced, so you won’t have to worry about reaching a point where you can’t continue on any further, or get whisked back to an area, needing to clear it again.  Save often if you can, because some of these bosses will simply put you to the test. 

While Skyward Sword may be stuck in the standard definition age (perhaps we were too spoiled by that HD Zelda Wii U demo a few months back), it looks glorious.  Environments are treated with the utmost care, from the darkest of dungeons to some breathtaking wide-open fields.  The animation is superb, especially on the bigger enemies and some of the side characters.  We haven’t seen a Zelda game look this detailed since the old days of Wind Waker.  We were pleasantly surprised by this.

Equally surprising?  The soundtrack.  Wow.  Great stuff by Nintendo.  We can now easily see why they chose to do a few orchestrated concerts to hype the release of Skyward Sword.  It really does sound like a majestic piece of work.  (And if you can’t get enough of that, take a listen to the audio CD included with your game.  Great gathering of classic Zelda tunes.)  The sound effects are about what you’d expect, but they're fulfilling on their part, with lots of ambient noises and very little bothersome voicework to get in the way.

One thing to note – the controller/game package is awesome.  This WiiRemote plus, a gold-plastered controller with the Zelda logo imprinted on the front, is a thing of beauty and an absolute must for fans.  If you can track one down, we highly suggest it.

Even if you’re just stuck with the “regular” version of the game, you’ve got something wonderful in your grasp.  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword isn’t ENTIRELY perfect, mainly due to its backtracking and occasional Skyloft hub issues (nothing serious), but the gameplay and presentation click so well that no Wii owner should be without it.  Consider this a worthwhile holiday gift to yourself.  Go on, you deserve it.

 

 

Via: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review (Wii)

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