Category: Editorial

Shaun White Snowboarding Review

Editorial Team

6.5 / 10 Banzai!s

The 1080 series from Nintendo and SSX by EA have long marked the best snowboarding games the market has to offer for console gaming. Ubisoft decided to throw their hat in the ring, find the biggest name they could in the Winter Olympic and Winter X Games gold medalist Shaun White, and released Shaun White Snowboarding in November 2008. But could the game live up to the hype? Let’s find out!

I made three attempts to play this game, the first being when I purchased it in 2010 after my first snowboarding trip. The learning curve proved too steep and I quickly became disinterested in the game. The second time was in 2013. I earned a few trophies, but again it was hard to keep momentum and I gave up. Finally, when Ubisoft announced that they were going to close the servers the second week of August 2014, I decided I would give it one more try to get as many online trophies as I could. Mission accomplished, and with an extra bonus month of server time, I was able to get all the online trophies.

Once you get past the learning curve, however, you can really have fun with the game.

It’s an open-world ride with plenty to do down four mountains: Park City, Europe, Japan and Alaska (five if you have the Target Edition, and six with the DLC for the British Columbia slopes.)

Shredders will know the events–Jibbing (riding on rails, pipes, anything that isn’t snow), Air Tricking (going off jumps, spinning, backflipping), Slopestyle (a combination of the two), Boardercross (a race now known in Olympic events as Snowboard Cross) and the most famous, the Halfpipe.

Players can compete in these to earn money and respect, but there are also collect missions and “Shaun’s Quest,” where you find 12 coins scattered three to a mountain. Bronze Euros, Yen, and Silver Dollars will earn you three super powers, enabling you to collect the Gold Crown coins to unlock the Triple Slam, a series of three events you must win to compete against Shaun himself.

Shaun White Snowboarding ReviewThe best part about the game is the controls. The overblown physics and button layout are excellently done, and you usually know if and why you crash. Quadruple backflips are possible, and I’ve even landed an 1800, which wouldn’t be humanly possible. So the game has a lot of fun moments in it.

Let’s start with the licensed music for the faults, since it’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I liked the music, but not everybody will. There are also a limited number of songs, so they become repetitive. Quickly, I might add, as you grind your way to ten million respect points for the OMG! trophy. I wonder who chose the songs; if they were chosen by Shaun White himself then I would rate the music higher; if they were randomly chosen by Ubisoft, well


Speaking of trophies, most of the skill based ones are related to obtaining a certain number of points during tricks. They are certainly doable, but again require inhuman numbers. Online actually works in your favor, as only eight races need to be done with other players; the rest can be done solo (as long as your session is online, and you reach the leaderboards.)

The graphics are not exactly what you would expect from a 7th generation game, but with PS2 and Wii versions I wouldn’t expect much upscaling for the PS3 or 360.

Also missing from the version I played is perhaps the most interesting feature–the Wii version allows you to use the Wii Fit board as a snowboard. I’m not sure how well that would work in terms of the tricks, but I’m tempted to find another copy of the game to find out. If and when I do, I will add to this review.

Shaun White Snowboarding ReviewFinally, with the impending closure of the servers, any completionist or person who wants to play with their friends may not be out of luck. You won’t be able to go online, but there is a LAN option that would allow you to play against your friends, like an old-school game party.

Overall the game is good for what it is–an alternative to the other snowboarding games available, and backed by the biggest name in snowboarding. The controls are very good once you are past the learning curve. Unfortunately, all but the most hardcore of snowboarding fans, Shaun White fans, or Trophy Hunters will have the patience required to get to a high enough skill level to truly enjoy the game.

 

Fun: 7.5/10 (Once you know what you are doing)

Graphics: 5.5/10

Sound: 7/10

Replay Value: 7/10

Trophy Difficulty: 8/10 (100% might be unobtainable after servers are closed)

 

written by Ben Adkins

Walking Dead Review

Editorial Team

9 / 10 Banzai!s

The Game:

Zombie mania is here. And to celebrate, Telltale Games has created The Walking Dead, a game inspired by Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name – which in turn has also been turned in an AMC TV show. In a nutshell, The Walking Dead game is a point-and-click adventure, like many other Telltale titles such as Back to the Future and the CSI series. But that’s in a nutshell, mind you. The Walking Dead is actually far more than just that.

Reminiscent of Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, players perform actions and make choices along the way, which alter events along the storyline as well as your interaction with other characters. Unlike X-Men: Destiny, these choices matter. Save one character and not the other, and continue the story with one of the characters dead. Disagree with someone, and that person will refuse to help you later on.

As stated earlier, the game is “inspired” by the comic book, existing in the same zombie-infested world, but with a new cast and story (though a few characters familiar to the comic make some cameos). You play as Lee Everett, a convicted felon riding in the back of a squad car on his way to prison, when the zombie outbreak begins. After surviving a car accident, he makes it to the nearest town – and is shocked to see undead walkers roaming the streets in search of human flesh. He meets a young girl named Clementine who’s been hiding up in her treehouse, and the two become a team as they search for safety, food, form a group of friends, and attempt to survive in this apocalyptic world.

Much of the game involves problem-solving. Explore a given area, find the tools you need, and figure out how to use them in order to reach your goal. Along the way, you’ll be settling arguments by choosing (under a time limit of a few seconds) how to respond to members in your group, making friends by finding and handing out food, making enemies by not giving them food, and of course battling the occasional zombie in a quick mini-game.

The Walking Dead video game was released in a series of episodes, five in total, beginning in April of 2012. In July 2013, Telltale released a bonus story titled 400 Days as an added DLC. Despite being criticized for glitches and receiving only moderately positive reviews, The Walking Dead video game received numerous Game Of The Year awards from a number of newspapers and magazines, including USA Today, E!, GamesRadar, and Best Downloadable Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards.

 

What I Liked:

Obviously there’s a lot I liked about this game, to warrant 9 Banzai!s out of 10. The game strongly focuses on the story, and the story is the best part of the game. It’s as fascinating and suspenseful as the TV show based on the comic, with its own brand of colorful characters. The overall game has its own metaplot, but each Episode explores a specific aspect with its own plot and goal. Much like the comics, The Walking Dead video game begins with the focus on the zombies themselves. But soon, the players will face an even more dangerous adversary: other human beings.

Walking Dead ReviewThe gameplay is well balanced between scenes in which you’re attempting to solve a puzzle, scenes that bring out the suspense and horror, and scenes which allow you to take a break. But unlike reading the comic or watching the show, The Walking Dead video game is, of course, interactive – which further adds to the interest of the story. Like Heavy Rain, you’re forced to make choices which not only alters the storyline of the Episode, but the overall game. Continue siding with Larry and not Kenny, then don’t expect Kenny’s help in the future. Chose to sacrifice Carley and save Dog, then Carley is no longer in the story.

The puzzles themselves are far easier than other Telltale games, simply because they have logical answers which feel natural if you were literally in the same situation as your player character. Need to sneak into a building? Then quietly kill the zombies nearby. How do you kill it? With a screwdriver. Where do you find a screwdriver? In a toolbox. Where’s the toolbox? Near the construction area. This logical style of problem-solving adds to the realism of the story, as opposed to the more cartoonish Back to the Future where you need to find a character across town by having the dog Einstein sniff a pair of shoes (possible, but perhaps only in a cartoon).

In The Walking Dead video game, things will jump out and startle you. Things will shock and even disgust you. You’ll feel the clock ticking when you’re trying to save a character’s life. And you’ll feel sad when they die. Yes, it’s no spoiler than many people will die. Those of you familiar with the comics and TV show know best that, just because a character’s been with the story for a long time, doesn’t mean they won’t perish. You just never know who will be the next food for the zombies – and sometimes, it will be the result of your decisions.

 

What I Didn’t Like:

Bugs and glitches. It has been the strongest complaint by most online reviewers, and yes, I had a problem with the glitches as well. The game never froze one me, but there are hiccups throughout – even in the DLC – which interrupt the flow of the game.

The problem, I think, is that the game seems to be loading the next scene and saving at the same time, as I noticed this is when the glitches usually occur. You solve a puzzle, then there’s a cut-scene. Then the cut-scene freezes for a few seconds, but the game is still going. Best case scenario, the picture fast-forwards to catch up with your position in the game. Worst case, is there was a quick decision to make but you missed your window.

Walking Dead ReviewMost of the time, these glitches didn’t impair the gameplay. But they stand out simply because the rest of the game is so good! If these bugs were in Duke Nukem Forever, I probably wouldn’t care. But it’s like a CD skipping while you’re listening to a really good song.

 

Overall:

Despite the glitches, The Walking Dead is an exciting and fascinating game which proves that an engaging story is often necessary to make a great game. (I’m looking at you, Final Fantasy XIII) The action may not be as intense as Call of Duty, the graphics as impressive as Devil May Cry, but the story and characters are so interesting, the gameplay so interactive, that The Walking Dead video game goes beyond being a simple video game and steps into the boundaries of artform.

For trophy hunters out there, you’ll be happy to know that the platinum for this game is quite easy to obtain. Every trophy is story related, which means once you’ve completed the game, you’ve got your Platinum.

Overall, fans of the comic and TV show will not be disappointed. And anyone new to the series will be in for a treat.

Just don’t play it with the kiddies around.

 

written by Damon Finos

From Japan: The Sakura Are In Bloom!

Editorial Team

Spring is a busy but exciting time here in Japan.  For businesses, it marks the end of one fiscal year and the start of the next, which means lots of yearly reports and auditing to do.  Companies are saying farewell to retirees, and hiring new recruits ripe from University, while students are starting their next school year.  And in terms of weather, the frigid winds of Winter have finally come to pass, allowing people to escape their homes and enjoy going for a walk or bike ride under the warm sun – before the Summer’s humidity sets in.

The newspapers may report when Spring has officially arrived, but no one really believes it until they see the cherry blossoms in bloom.  The sakura seem to be the symbol of Spring, a sign in Japan that life is beginning anew.

SakuraHow do Japanese celebrate this festive moment of the year?  By drinking!

Friends often gather for hanami, which directly translates as “flower viewing.”  Much like a picnic, people gather in a park filled with sakura trees, lay out a tarp, and feast on snacks and chug down beer and other alcoholic beverages, all within the beautiful view of the cherry blossoms.  But since the sakura only stay in bloom for a week or two, the parks can get pretty crowded – even on weekdays.  If the hanamiis organized by a company, usually they hand one of the new recruits their first assignment – sit on a tarp in the park all day, holding their spot.

If you can’t find a descent space among the noisy crowds, you may want instead to have a yozakura party, which literally translates as “evening sakura,” a hanami party in the evening.  Maybe it’s a bit harder to appreciate the view of cherry blossoms in the dark, but hey, as long as there’s beer


But is drinking really that much more important than the sakura themselves?

For some, sure.  And there’s even a Japanese proverb to describe such people: “hana yori dango,” which translates as “dumplings over flowers,” meaning such individuals care more about the eating and drinking than the event of admiring the cherry blossoms themselves.

SakuraBut whether you’re there to view the flowers or simply drink with your buddies, having a good time is always the priority.

 

written by Damon Finos

PlayStation Plus Free Games April 2018

Editorial Team

Sony has just unveiled their next line-up of PlayStation Plus free games April 2018, which seems to be a mix of gems and dusty stones.

On the PlayStation 4, we have Mad Max, the action-adventure open-world based on the popular anti-hero from the Australian film series, as Max seeks revenge on dangerous raiders while also engaging in vehicular combat to survive the post-apocalyptic world. And TrackMania Turbo, a racing game that has players zooming across 200 different tracks across four different locations while performing stunts for those extra points.

For the PlayStation 3, there’s In Space We Brawl, a twin-stick shooter featuring space battles with up to four players. And Toy Home, another racing game, this one involving a toy car in a search for coins and hidden medals while performing stunts and reaching the next checkpoint before the timer runs out.

And on the PlayStation Vita, there’s 99Vidas, a brawler with references to 80’s and 90’s culture in a classic 18-bit style. And Q-Bert Rebooted, the classic arcade game which features new enemies, power-ups, and playable characters as you hop your way clearing blocks while avoiding enemies. Both 99Vidas and Q-Bert Rebooted are cross-plat with the PS3 and PS4.

Among the freebies for April, Mad Max, TrackMania Turbo, and 99Vidas have Platinum trophies to unlock. Mad Max is fairly average in terms of difficulty, though will require around 70 hours of gameplay. Also, it should be noted that since Toy Home was released in 2007 before trophy support, the game has no trophies to unlock.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Review

Editorial Team

9 / 10 Banzai!s

 

When Nintendo announced that Retro Studios was making Metroid Prime, the first 3D entry in the series, people were skeptical about how it would work. Skeptics were proven wrong, and Super Metroid was practically reborn in 3D to create one of the best games on the Gamecube.

Two years later, nearly lost in the PS2 shadow of GTA San Andreas and Xbox‘s Halo 2, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (or more appropriately, Dark Echoes, the Japanese name) was released.

14 years later, Nintendo has announced Metroid Prime 4, and I’m doing another in my series of 31 Days, so I decided playing Metroid Prime 2 is long overdue.

Retro Studios knocked another one out of the park.

You start off with little information other than a distress call from Federation forces on the planet Aether. As you fly through the atmosphere, Samus’ ship is damaged by a purple haze, and begins repairing itself as you set off to explore the source of the distress call.

It’s not long before you encounter troopers and creatures that are possessed by more purple haze, which turns out to be a race of creatures known as the Ing. You are then–briefly–transported to another dimension, where you get beat down, lose most of your technology, and see your doppelganger Dark Samus from the bonus scene at the end of the previous game.

Later on, you learn that this race has all but destroyed the Luminoth, a highly advanced race who inhabited the planet ages ago. The Ing came when a phazon meteorite struck the planet, creating a dark world, and have been battling the Luminoth and stealing their energy to the point where if the Great Temple falls, Aether will disappear.

Metroid Prime 2 Echoes ReviewAnd that’s where you come in, exploring the desert-like Agon Wastes, the lush Torvus Bog, and the amazingly futuristic Sanctuary Fortress. Of course, they have their dark world counterparts, and you must traverse both to solve puzzles and pick up the items you need to return the stolen energy from dark temples to the energy collectors on Aether.

The game controls exactly like Metroid Prime, which is a good thing as they were fluid and easy to use. However, playing this in 2018 shows that the old FPS model of having a look button is extremely outdated. Somehow, it works surprisingly well with this game, but of course you can’t aim and move at the same time if you’re holding down the button.

But the on-the-fly weapon swap that made Metroid Prime so great requires the c-stick to be used, so I can’t think of a controller scheme that can implement both (the d-pad switches between visors, also like the previous game.)

While Prime pulled the weapons from previous Metroid games, Prime 2 gives you the Dark Beam, Light Beam, and, much later, the Annihilator Beam. Both of the main beams are used to open portals to the other world, defeat creatures of the opposite type, and of course open doors. The Annihilator Beam combines the two to really mess with enemies with the added bonus of homing in on most targets.

The change I feared the most going in was the addition of ammunition for said beams, but it was actually rarely an issue. There are a few ammo stations located throughout the game, and you can pick up upgrades to obtain a maximum of 250 of each type. I rarely ran out of ammo. If you do, however, you can still charge the weapon to use it (if you need to open doors, for example.)

The story you pick up from scanning the lore, the combat, and the items are all great. So much so that at times I wondered if this game isn’t actually better than Super Metroid or Metroid Prime, two games I consider to be some of the best (if not the best) games in their respective genres.

There are a few things that force me to take a good hard look at the game before I decide whether or not it’s the best Metroid game ever.

The difficulty isn’t too bad (not that I’m interested in playing it again on hard mode,) but I can see how some players could feel like it’s a kick in the nuts at times.

I died on practically every boss, including the first one, which made me wonder if starting was a bad idea, but I persevered. The main problem was the Boost Guardian, the upgraded Warrior Ing who stole Samus’ boost ball at the beginning of the game.

What makes this fight unfair is that it’s early in the game, so you have little health (I believe you can have five energy tanks at that point in the game, and I had four during my run,) there is constant health degeneration thanks to the atmosphere on Dark Aether, and very few opportunities to regain health during the fight. The longer this fight drags on, the more likely you are to lose. On top of that, you can only damage it when it’s in Ing form, not when it’s the puddle oozing around the room, and not when it’s racing around the room as a morph ball dealing massive damage with its speed and your lack of cover.

Metroid Prime 2 Echoes ReviewLater on, you come across the Spider Guardian, and it’s another difficulty spike you just aren’t prepared for.

The morph ball simply isn’t designed for combat. Sure, you come across the occasional bomb jump puzzles in all games, but it’s always been a means of transport or problem solving, never true combat.

Until this game.

You have to bomb this creature until it turns green, and then you need to race around the maze to get to a bomb slot, which directs the boss into a barrier to actually damage it, and opens up a path to the next area.

The second and third areas feature half-pipes that you have to boost up to get to the bomb slots, and then the fourth has three! of them, requiring quick reflexes, precise positioning on mounds that are extremely easy to roll off of,) and a LOT of skill with bomb jumping.

Did I mention that the save point before this boss is at least 10-15 minutes prior, with a cut scene that cannot be skipped?

Add all that up, and that’s your reason why they toned the starting difficulty way down for the Wii port. It also has motion controls, including free aim and a morph ball jump.

Once you get the spider jump, the game goes crazy with the morph ball puzzles. Whether it’s picking up items, or simply advancing through the game, Retro Studios requires you to ball, and ball a lot.

The map system shows its age, and it’s hard to figure out where you are or where you need to go as you rotate the map. It’s OK when there’s just one floor, but when areas have two or three floors it can really get ugly. It doesn’t even tell you if there is an item (collected or not) in the room, as many other Metroid games have done.

The music, while good, does a lot of borrowing from Metroid Prime (which itself borrowed from Super Metroid,) but doesn’t offer anything nearly as memorable as the two. Then again, there isn’t much time to listen to it if you’re running and gunning.

Finally there is SO MUCH backtracking. After two or three passes through the same areas, going through to collect remaining items becomes tedious. The game even forces you to make yet another trip to collect Dark Temple keys at the end of the game, which seems a forced way to make you spend more time playing the game. Thankfully at this point you probably have access to the elevators between each of the three regions, as well as the Light Suit which gives you access to a teleportation system between the four temples.

At the end of the day, however, if you can scan 100% of the creatures, mechanisms and lore, collect 100% of the items, and beat the final bosses, it is SO SATISFYING to have beaten a challenging game.

If you can get passed not having dual analog sticks in a FPS, this game complements the first Prime game wonderfully and brings new elements to the table for Metroid veterans. It does everything that Prime does, and does it better, which is why I’m having such a hard time deciding which I like more.

Kudos to Retro Studios for being daring, changing the formula and giving us a part of the Metroid Universe not centered around Space Pirates and Metroids.

Fun: 9

Sound: 7.5

Story: 9.5 Replay Value: 5 (You’ll get enough tours with one playthrough, and only the most hardcore players will attempt hard mode.)

Graphics 8 (They hold up fairly well for a 14 year-old game; if this were 2004 the rating would be a 9)

 

written by Ben Adkins