Category: Written Features

First Impressions – Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (WiiWare)

Just before the New Year, Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth was released and I coughed up the thousand Wii Points to buy it. Somehow, I managed to reach the fifth stage on my first game on Normal difficulty… seems rather off. Don’t know if I’m that good or if the game’s that easy… most likely the latter. Even so, it’s still no walk in the park, it’s classic Castlevania, and I wouldn’t have it any other way… unless they made it more like Super Castlevania IV… but oh well.

R.I.P. Captain Lou Albano

July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009

So I’ve recently heard about the untimely passing of Captain Lou Albano. The cause of death is still unknown at the time of writing. You could read the article I read here.

Captain Lou was primarily known for his success as a wrestling manager, leading several tag-teams to WWF championship gold. I first knew of Captain Lou not as a wrestling manager, but for his work on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, where he played Mario in both the cartoon and live-action sketches. Yes, this is the guy who did the Mario… and we all loved him for it.

My condolences to the Albano family.

Godspeed, Cap’n Lou.

First Impressions: Tetris PSP

Bought the version of Tetris that was released last week as a downloadable PSP mini game and have had a week to play it. I’ll probably be posting a full review on GameFAQs or something, but basically this is your usual offering of Tetris. It has a nice, clean presentation, the gameplay is familiar to those who have played the game before (although the controls are somewhat slippery and sensitive), and there are a nice variety of game modes (that you must unlock first) to try out. The game also comes with built-in acheivements or “feats” as they call it.

All in all, it’s a fairly decent Tetris, although at ten bucks, it seem a little steep. If you really enjoy Tetris, this is a nice one to add to your collection, but if you’re perfectly happy with the Game Boy version, this isn’t going to offer you anything new.

Billy Mays (1958-2009)

Billy Mays, the energetic bearded pitchman who appeared in six hundred commercials to promote a whole bunch of stuff like Oxi-Clean and Orange Glo, passed away yesterday. The world has lost a talented salesman and a true, hard-working professional in a world that is lacking of such people.

Rest in peace, Mr. Mays. Hopefully, the afterlife will take heed of your loud sales pitches and buy the products you advertise.

First Impressions: FC3 Clone System (NES, SNES, and Genesis!)

I had recently purchased an FC3 clone system – this is the system that plays NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis games on a single system. With such a wonderful set-up, you’d think it’d be an awesome package. Well in a way, it is, but there are some flaws. I’ll go into more detail in a short while.

First Impressions – Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo DS)

Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake/port of the SNES game of the same name (minus the Ultra part). Essentially, it’s touted as having several games in one, but really it’s the same for a majority of the games; Kirby goes through several levels and clears them in typical fashion – sometimes with the help of a helper. Nothing too complicated, nothing thought-provoking, it’s essentially a what-you-see is what you get type of deal.

It’s a nice little deal that keeps in tune with other Kirby game. My only real problem is that it’s too easy; I’ve already cleared a good chunk of the game’s… er, games and there’s not much left to do other than improve my scores. Definately not worth the cash I paid for, but still a fun little romp and a decent addition to any Kirby collection.

First Impressions: The Force Unleashed (PS2)

So I recently picked up this game recently and only played it yesterday.

As of this writing, I made it up to the third level so far and then took a break from it. For the most part, the game is fairly enjoyable; it’s a simple hack-and-slash with force powers, the story seems fairly decent so far (though it’s supposed to get better later on) and the graphics are of decent quality despite the aging hardware.

 However, there are issues. The Force targeting is a little wonky; sometimes I force-levitate an enemy as opposed to a piece of stray debris on the floor more often than not. Also, the camera seems too broken for my tastes, sometimes placing it in front of some huge set piece that blocks my view and thus I have no clue what the fuck is going on.

But other than those minor complaints, I’m liking this game so far.

First Impressions – Game Boy Micro

So I was able to snag one of these beauties at the best buy for pretty cheap. It’s basically the smallest Game Boy Advance that fits into your pocket much more easily than the old Game Boy Pocket could. And I gotta tell you; for a portable unit this size, it’s surprisingly comfortable. If a bus trip lasted an hour and this was all I had to amuse myself, I’d have a comfortable time doing it. And it even came with two extra faceplates for that bit of customization.

There are drawbacks to the system; its size might be a detriment to bigger hands, it doesn’t play older Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, and chances are some of your old peripherals might not work with this. On the flip side, the screen has several levels of brightness, good battery life, and

NES Retrospective #6 – Zapper Games Round 2

Let’s head back to the Zapper, because I would be a total douche if I didn’t mention the other two launched games that were made for use with the light gun; Hogan’s Alley and Wild Gunman. Not much background I can give on these two other than they were originally arcade titles ported to the NES, which was a fact I didn’t even know until the Internet age. Ah, good old Internet.

I never had Wild Gunmen. However, I did have Hogan’s Alley at one point and remember the game fondly so I guess we’ll start with that.

Hogan’s Alley was basically a shooting gallery where you’d shoot down all the enemy paper cutouts and avoid the civilian paper cutouts. There were three different modes of play: one was a basic shooting gallery mode in which three cutouts would move on screen and you’d have to shoot the bad guy cutouts. It was a basic mode that more difficult with quicker shots and reaction time required, but it was a fun little game. Further progress in the game would dub you Sharpshooter or Super Sharpshooter. Don’t remember or know if there are other titles, but those were the only two I got.

The second game mode took place in a cityscape of sorts where you have to shoot down more paper cutouts. Not sure why you couldn’t include “real” people as your foes; it would have made for a different transition. Game Mode A would be the “training” mode and Game Mode B would be the “real” deal where you’re on the streets, but then again, this isn’t Grand Theft Auto.

If you’re bored with shooting down paper cutouts, you can try the third game mode which has you shooting tin cans and keeping them from falling down the pit. Landing the cans in various spots net you points and unlike the other games, there’s no need to pick and choose which cans to avoid or shoot. It’s a simple romp; if it moves, shoot it. I found Hogan’s Alley to be truly diverse of the three Zapper games (or rather the two I’ve played) and if you have an old Zapper hanging around, I’d check it out.

The third and final Zapper game in the launch wave is Wild Gunman, another port of a Nintendo arcade game. I’ve never played this, but apparently this has something to do with the Wild West and you shoot down cowboys in a good ol’ fashioned one-on-one showdown. There’s even voices in this game. Nice.

Anyway, that covers the remaining Zapper launch games. Unlike ROB the Robot, the Zapper would receive a few more compatible games, such as Gumshoe, so it still got some use even after people grew tired of the initial offerings. Next up, we’ll check out a couple more games on bikes: the popular Excitebike and the lesser popular Mach Rider. Later.