Epic Mickey Review

Epic Mickey

Publisher: Disney Developer: Junction Point Platform: Wii Players: 1 Release: 2010 Genre: Adventure / 3D Platformer Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Great

Above is Mickey preparing to enter a film reel

Epic Mickey is a adventure-platformer starring Disney's beloved Mickey Mouse. It's set in Wasteland, and world where long-forgotten Disney characters reside. You embark on a quest to stop the evil Mad Doctor from destroying Wasteland. As you travel through forgotten Disney worlds playing as Mickey, you wield a magical paintbrush. Pointing the Wii Remote to aim, you press the B button to spray paint, which can restore objects and befriend foes, and press Z to spray thinner, which destroys objects and defeats enemies. To travel from area to area, amusingly, you must leap into a film reel and play through a 2D side-scrolling level based on a classic Disney cartoon, such as Steamboat Willie, the latter of which was even in black-and-white! You will face Disney-themed bosses throughout the game, including the It's a Small World ride from the Disneyland theme park! This is because all of the locales and withered and rotting and flooded with thinner, and everything is possessed-- the game has a rather gothic motif. And it's up to you to repair it all. There are classic Disney characters everywhere with side quests for you to complete, adding a sense of exploration to the game. The constant classic Disney references and the exploration elements work well, but the game features a somewhat klutzy camera and some stretches of the game can be very difficult. But still, Epic Mickey is a great game, and it shouldn't be skipped by any Disney fan.

Ups
Neat paint and thinner system
Classic Disney references

Downs
Klutzy camera
Difficult stretches

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail)

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Sonic Generations Review

Sonic Generations

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Platform: Xbox 360 Players: 1 Release: 2011 Genre: 3D Platformer / Action Rating: 8.5 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above shows Sonic and Tails alongside their original versions
 

Sonic Generations celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In what I believe to be a nod to the classic titles, the game immediately begins with you playing through a redesign of Act 1 of Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. A splendid remix of the iconic stage theme plays, and you will notice that you're controlling the classic short and pot-bellied incarnation of Sonic. The current Sonic then finds that his friends throwing him a surprise party, which becomes humorous when Sonic receives a chili dog from his friend Tails as a gift. But suddenly, a deranged figure composed of a dark substance appears, and captures all of Sonic's friends and freezes the world in stone. In the next cut-scene, the classic version of Sonic travels into the present. You must then complete a 3D rendition of Green Hill Zone as Sonic. All of the stages must be completed with both versions of Sonic. The levels are 2D and side-scrolling when you play as Classic Sonic, and 3D / 2D when you play as modern Sonic. There are nine stages divided into three eras: Classic, Dreamcast, and Modern. Representing the good ol' days are Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant, and Sky Sanctuary When you complete both Acts in a stage, one of Sonic's friends will be restored, as will the stage. From the Dreamcast era, there's Speed Highway, City Escape, and Seaside Hill. Finally, Crisis City (Sonic '06 is canon now? Oh boy ...), Rooftop Run, and Planet Wisp symbolize the recent history of the franchise. One of my favorite features are the slight changes to the stages. For example, the G.U.N. truck in Act 2 of City Escape now chases you across the walls of buildings and is equipped with an arsenal of massive blades. After completing all the Acts in an era, you'll have to complete a handful of stage-themed challenges to earn boss keys. These tests of your skill range from doppelganger races to calling upon Knuckles to dig up medals. Many of these challenges can be very frustrating, which is why I'm glad most are optional. For each challenge you complete, you're granted a chance to ring a bell and track down a musical note with a 20 second countdown, earning you either artwork or a song. If you for some ridiculous reason don't enjoy the default music in the stages or just don't enjoy the Classic and Modern remixes, you can change which song plays. Wanna listen to "Live and Learn" while playing Green Hill Zone, or "His World" while in Rooftop Run? Weird, but go ahead. All the artwork can be viewed when travel to a shack located to the far left of the map. The skill shop is also located in this white, barren area, and it's here that you can purchase elemental shields, abilities, extra lives, and even an in-game copy of the original Sonic the Hedgehog (and infinite continues for the game) using the points you've accumulated. Each era also contains a rival battle and a boss battle. In the Classic Era, you'll face Metal Sonic and Death Egg; in the Dreamcast era, you square off with Shadow and Perfect Chaos; and in the Modern Era, you'll fight Silver and the Egg Dragoon. A Chaos Emerald is earned each time you win a battle. I'm not done explaining the plot-- how did Classic Sonic enter the present anyway? To make matters worse, Dr. Eggman has teamed up with his "classic" version who is under his original name of Dr. Robotnik,. But either way, the twist is a great way to celebrate Sonic's anniversary. This game is incredibly fun, but there are a few setbacks that prevent it from being any better. There is a steep difficulty curve, and I found myself tearing through my lives. Also, it becomes quite repetitive to play the stages twice, mainly because Modern Sonic has as much 2D gameplay as he does 3D, and Classic Sonic's sections are full-on side scrolling. Also, longtime fans will be miffed by the reminder of Sonic '06's existence), and that's really all. Sonic Generations is still a superb platforming adventure, but it could have been better. Still, Sonic Generations will provide loads of fun to any Sonic fan, and newbies will get something out of the redesigned stages.

Ups
Nostalgic twists
Classic references
Music can be chosen
Skill shop

Downs
Hard at times
Can feel repetitive to play each stage twice

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)

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Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Review

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: AlphaDream Platform: 3DS Players: 1 Release: 2013 Genre: RPG / Action Rating: 8.8 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above is gameplay of the Luiginary Ball attack

Finally, after four years, the a new Mario & Luigi game has arrived! It all starts when the Mario Bros. receive an invitation to Pil'lo Island. you board a blimp, accompanied by Princess Peach and Toadsworth, who were also invited. On the blimp, you are greeted by returning characters Broque Monsieur (the blockhead doesn't even remember the bros! And he is quite literally a blockhead-- in fact, he's made of blocks!) and Starlow. But on the way there, you are confronted by an anonymous floating figure, who you will later find is called Antasma. After arriving on the island, Luigi falls from the blimp, becoming unconscious. After taking a short stroll, you will end up battling a pair of Goomba-like creatures called Grombas, and you will receive  battle tutorials. That's perfectly normal at the start of the game, but one of my main complaints about this game is the excessive amount of pointless tutorials. There's a new battle feature, in which when you jump, if you press the attack button right before impact with your opponent, you'll jump again and dish out extra damage. Next, you will make your way to Pil'lo Castle, where Peach and Toadsworth will step on a jet-propelled platform, not realizing it would propel them into a secret room. You must follow them, guided by Starlow, and after exploring a hidden dungeon, you will find them, and have a rematch with Antasma. Eventually, you'll come across a stone pillow. Luigi falls asleep on it, and it opens a portal to the Dream World. Mario and Peach are sucked in the portal, and Peach is carried away by Antasma and into Dreams Deep, the deepest reach of the Dream world. You then begin your journey in the Dream Word. The Dream World is limited to a 2D side-scrolling perspective, rather than a top-down open-world perspective, similar to Bowser's insides in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. You will encounter many foes that are not in the real world, although there are "dreamy" versions of outer-world foes as well. As I mentioned in my Bowser's Inside Story review, the combat is turn-based. first, you attack, and then you must counterattack and do damage or take damage from your enemy. In the Dream World, you're assisted by Dreamy Luigi, who enhances you're abilities in combat. When you jump on your foe, Luigis will rain upon it (or them, as many dreamy enemies attack in large groups), and when you attack with the iconic hammer, a wave of Luigis will strike as well, creating a massive shockwave. There's also a new twist in battle-- in the real world, when you collect all 10 Attack Pieces in the real world, you will unlock a powerful Bros. Attack, such as taking turns kicking a Koopa shell, by using your BP (Battle Points?), and in the Dream World, you'll unlock a Luiginary Attack, which usually involves lots of Luigis. Luiginary Ball, for example, has Mario roll upon a ball made of Luigis, moving from left to right by tilting the 3DS system, and you can enlarge it by rolling through the large line of Luigis that runs throughout the battleground, and finally, you tap A to kick the ball at your opponents. The bigger the ball, the more damage you do. The returning badge system adds even more depth to the combat. You can mix and match badges for different effects, such as restoring HP or Bp to each bro. To use badges in combat, you must fill a meter by attacking. You can purchase badges at item markets. But in every area of the Dream World, there are a certain number of Nightmare Chunks. Break 'em all, and you'll release a Pil'lo Folk from ancient times. The first of these is Prince Dreambert, who was the prince many years ago back when the island was dubbed the Pil'lo Kingdom. Dreambert will assist you throughout your adventure. But one of the best new features in the Dream World are the objects that Dreamy Luigi can morph into. Luigi's face is displayed on the touchscreen, and by touching specific areas of his face, you can trigger the objects. For example, you can pull Luigi's moustache to use it as a catapult, tap his nose to make him sneeze, unleashing a gust of wind in the Dream World, and more. In the real world, things really take a turn for the worst when Bowser teams up with Antasma to wreak havoc. But as great as this game is, and it is really great, there are still flaws. The game can sometimes have a rather steep difficulty curve, which can mess things up, and the soundtrack, although still great, isn't as catchy as before. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is still an incredible games, and one of the best RPGs available on the 3DS, and as fun (and not to mention funny) as before, its predecessor is slightly better.

Ups
New villain
Epic Luiginary attacks
Great badge system
Takes advantage of 3DS

Downs
Tough at times
Not as catchy soundtrack

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)

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The Incredible Hulk Review

The Incredible Hulk

Publisher: Sega Developer: Age of Reality / Amaze Works Platform: Wii Players: 1 Release: 2008 Genre: Action / Sandbox Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Fantastic

Above us the Hulk beating down an enemy mech-suit pilot

Based on the movie released the same year (based on the popular Marvel comic book series) The Incredible Hulk chronicles the quest of the identically named superhero, who is secretly a scientist named Bruce Banner. After being exposed to gamma radiation, he gained the ability to mutate into a hulking beast whenever he becomes angry. And then, the army, an organization known as the Enclave, and Hulk's enemies pursue him. The first level has you escape the US military headquarters, and afterwards you are dropped into the massive sandbox of New York City. Here, you can run around and climb and smash buildings, pick up streetlamps and use them clubs or javelins, hurl cars across the street, and more! You will find many missions to engage in that that are divided through multiple storylines. Above the mini-map in the corner of the screen, there is a number that divides a bar. It starts out at zero. As you do damage, you earn points and it starts filling up. Once you reach level one, the military will come in with foot soldiers and Humvees with machine-guns mounted on them; at level two soldiers in flying mech-suits will arrive; and at level three, they'll send in tanks that infinitely deploy soldiers. The max level is four. If you take a few hits, you can run away and slowly regain you health. All throughout the city there are mission points. The game branches multiple storylines through the missions, some involving the military, some involving the Enclave, and more. There are also a total of 15 jump challenges scattered throughout the city, completed by jumping through a floating yellow hoop, and completing them grants you a higher jump, charged by holding A. There are a large variety of moves to learn, such as grabbing a vehicle and tearing it in half to use as boxing gloves. You can also unlock different characters to play as from Hulk's comic book adventures as well as other extras, such as comic book covers. However, exploring New York City can become boring after awhile, and the visuals aren't particularly impressive. The Incredible Hulk is a great game, and fan or not, you should give it a try.

Ups
FREEDOM!
Tons of missions
Wanted-level system
Wealth of extras

Downs
Exploring gets boring
Not-very-impressive visuals

ESRB: T Content: Mild Blood, Mild Language, and Violence (PARENTAL WARNING: This game contains moderate violence, and some bad language) Price: $39.99 (Retail)

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Super Smash Bros. Review

Super Smash Bros.

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Laboratory Platform: Nintendo 64 Players: 1 (1 Player), 1-4 (Multiplayer) Release: 1999 Genre: 2D Fighter / 2D Platformer Rating: 8.0 \ 10.0: Great


Above is a battle between two Links and two Kirbys

When it comes to super heroes, the biggest argument is whether batman or Superman would win in a fight. Back in the day, it was the question of whether Mario or Link would win in a fight that sparked squabbles among gamers. In 1999, Nintendo fans put these quarrels to rest. This smash hit (get it? Smash? I made a similar title-related pun in my Super Smash Bros. Brawl review) is the first game in the series of 2D fighters in which you duke it out with your favorite Nintendo characters in various locales from their games. This game was created by HAL Laboratory, the long-time developers of the Kirby games, so quality is expected. Kirby creator Masihiro Sakurai directed this title as well. Although not as good as the more recent game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which I gave a perfect 10.0 \ 10.0 score), the original Super Smash Bros. is a fairly entertaining pummel-fest. You can choose from two modes-- 1P Mode or Multiplayer. In multiplayer, you can play Free-for-All, a standard match in which you and up to three other friends can compete for the most KO's under an adjustable time limit or have a set number of lives; or you can switch it to Team Battle, a two-on-two match (or even a one-on-three) match. The game is a blast with pals, but if you're alone, you can choose how many COM-controlled opponents to face, who they are, and how skilled they will be. The object of the battles is different than in most other fighters-- rather than defeating your opponents by reducing their health, each hit increases their damage percentage. The higher the percentage, the farther they will be sent flying by a blow. To kill them, you must knock them off the screen, resulting in a bright burst of color. Adding to the mayhem are items from various Nintendo franchises, including Mario's Koopa shells, Pokémon's Pokéballs, and the sought-after Donkey Kong Hammer. There are also some original items as well. Nothing can top the fun of playing Smash with buddies, and it's nice to see how the 15-plus years of entertaining chaos began. When solo, you can also play other modes. Here, you can play bonus games or have training bouts against characters where you can spawn in any items, and even stack them up with a glitch so you can make instant-kill shells and bombs. Better yet, you can put your skills to the test in 1P Mode. In this you must complete a series of 12 challenges, from smashing targets under a time limit, defeating a set number of identical opponents, facing off one-on-one against another fighter, and more, and you must do this all without losing all your lives. Your number of lives which can be set from one of to five. If you run out of lives, you can replenish them by sacrificing points from your overall score. The difficulty is also adjustable. In the final stage, you face off against Master Hand, the iconic villain of the SSB. He may be a giant floating glove, but he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. If you defeat Master hand, the credits will roll, but you can skip them by holding Start if you get bored. But my one complaint as that the selection of characters and battlegrounds is small, leading to a lack a variety. Nintendo had been making games for two decades at this point, and some great characters were left out. Did you know that Pit, the star of the Kid Icarus series, would have been in this game in place of the Pokémon Jigglypuff, but was left out due to the massive popularity of the monster-training RPG during the late '90's (the angelic has since appeared in the last two Smash Bros. games, as well an original title)? Although it may not have as much content or be as much fun as its successors, Super Smash Bros. is still a fun fighter, and it should satisfy any gamer, both Nintendo aficionado and fighting game fanatic.

Ups
Blast to play with friends
Plenty of Nintendo references
Solid fighting action
1P Mode is fun

Downs
Lack of variety
So much more Nintendo could have included

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $10.00 (Download)

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Gunman Clive Review

TGunman Clive

Publisher: Horberg Productions Developer: Horberg Productions Platform: 3DS Players: 1 Release: 2013 Genre: 2D Platformer / Action Rating: 7.5 \ 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is Clive onboard a train

Gunman Clive may sound like some sort of shooter, but it's not. It's a unique blend of platforming and shooting action that combines the level designs and gameplay elements of Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man. The game chronicles a cowboy named Clive, who is on a mission to save Mayor Johnson's daughter from a posse of bandits. When you create a new file, you may select to play as either Clive or Mrs. Johnson, and pick a difficulty level: Easy, Normal, or Hard. From there, a simple cut-scene showing the Mayor's daughter / Clive being carried away in a wagon, and the game begins. The game, made entirely by the two Horberg brothers, is charmingly primitive. The serene  music suits the simple-drawn environments well, and the game has little sound effects. There are four worlds, each with five levels. On the fifth level of each world, you face a boss. As good as this all sounds, I found the game challenging, even with the short levels and on the Easy difficulty level. The first few levels, I didn't even know how many hits I could take before I died, because it took me a while to notice the thin line the represents your health on the side of the screen. The challenge is what took away most of the fun, but an average gamer like me can beat most levels in just a couple minutes and beat the entire game in an hour or so, but the game's brevity explains the low price tag of $1.99. Well, that's all the trash talk out of the way, so now I would like to explain more: Your default weapon, used by pressing the Y button, is a revolver, but there are a variety of weapons to use. Some are randomly dropped by enemies, some appear normally. There is a spread gun that fires three bullets at a time; an odd firearm that allows for faster fire, but shoots homing bullets; a slow-firing gun that shoots small missiles that instantly obliterate most foes. In the fourth and final world, which takes place aboard an alien ship whom the mayor's daughter / Clive has been taken, which is especially Mega Man-like, you can find an laser blaster and a rapid-firing laser machine-pistol. In a neat twist, when you complete the game, you unlock Duck Mode, in which you play through the entire game as a duck, unable to collect power-ups but able to fly temporarily.  Although brief and challenging, Gunman Clive is still an exceptional game, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better platformer for just a couple bucks.

Ups
Super Mario Bros. / Mega Man elements
Charmingly primitive
Great Western and electronic music
Duck Mode

Downs
Very short
Very hard

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Fantasy Violence Price: $1.99 (Download)

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Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Review

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo / Next Level Games Platform: 3DS Players: 1 (Dark Moon Quest), 1-4 (ScareScraper) Release: 2013 Genre:  Adventure / Survival-Horror Rating: 8.2 \ 10.0: Great

Above is Luigi getting assaulted by ghosts

After 12 long years, the sequel to the beloved GameCube launch title, Luigi's Mansion has arrived! It all starts when King Boo (I don't know who else a creepy-looking giant ghost with a crown and a scepter could be called, but if this is so, King Boo got a serious makeover!) shatters the Dark Moon, scattering the shards throughout the haunted estate below it. No longer under the spell of the Dark Moon, the ghosts become hostile, and Professor E. Gadd, the mad scientist from the original Luigi's Mansion, hides away in a bunker and calls upon Luigi to help him. He equips the overshadowed bro with the Poltergust 5000, an improved model of the ghost-sucking vacuum / backpack from the original game. This new model has attachments which you'll collect along your journey, such as the Dark Light Device, which reveals invisible objects with ultraviolet light. This time around, you have multiple haunted manors to explore and a wider variety of ghosts to suck up. Each mansion has several missions... several normal ones, and one in which you confront the monster causing the trouble in the mansion. There's a lot of exploring to do-- each mansion has tons of secret rooms for you to explore, and most of them are required to be entered eventually, while there are occasional secret rooms. There are a lot of challenging puzzles to complete, and the environments are almost fully interactive. Nearly any object, from vases to curtains, can either be sucked up or rattled. There are also many gems to find. Although this game is aimed at a young audience, the game can prove creepy at times-- the lights in the room will all of the sudden go off and ghosts will appear in certain missions, and objects all around the room will rattle and fall. Every once in a while, you will be called by Professor Gadd... on a Nintendo DS (I couldn't help but smirk when I encountered the reference). This is likely a replacement for the original Luigi Mansion's Game Boy Horror. He'll give you some advice, but it's usually just where to go next. And there's another new feature. A golden bone may be hidden somewhere in the level. If you find it, It'll be a big help if you lose all your life points. If this happens, then Polterpup, a ghostly dog, will come to you, retrieve the bone, and lick your face, reviving you. As fun as this game is, I have but one main complaint. I found the puzzles confusing and challenging, and it takes me an average of around 40 minutes to beat a level, and it was incredibly boring to hopelessly stroll around the mansion and then finally discover the solution to a puzzle by surprise. But all the frustration is slightly alleviated by the environments, which are littered with intricate details and clever secrets, and, as I said before. nearly every object is interactive, which adds up to being one of the most detailed and best-looking games on the 3DS. Speaking of visuals, I should also mention that the game runs at an impressive 60 frames per second (FPS). Every animation looks natural and smooth-- it's difficult not to notice the improvement. After advancing somewhat through the game, you'll unlock the online ScareScraper mode, in which you and up to three other game owners playing as different-colored Luigis, must work together to clear the floors of the aptly titled ScareScrapers in Hunter mode, in which you must vacuum up every ghost from each floor; Rush mode, in which you must hurry to find the exit to the floor; and Polterpup mode, in which you must track down the pesky pup of the same name. And for communication means, you can use the buttons on the Control Pad to say "Hey", "Help", "Thank you", and "Good job", and you can tap the touchscreen utter "Over here". There's no lag between systems, but there are occasional audio blips, though it's hard to mind. Difficulty aside, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is a great game.

Ups
Tons of detail and fully interactive environment
Funny DS reference
Online play

Downs
Very challenging

ESRB: E Content: Crude Humor and Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail / Dark Moon)

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