Gamesugar

February 12, 2012

Review – Rhythm Heaven Fever

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 9:19 am

Review Rhythm Heaven Fever
Videogame releases comprised entirely of mini-games leave me struggling come review time, puzzling over some means to measure and weigh how the individual offerings form together into a cohesive experience. The situation might be easier if today’s game was 101-disposable-games-in-a-box – insofar as I could probably get away with giving the quick thumbs up or down to each tiny game and be done with it.

But as with the WarioWare series, Rhythm Heaven is less about bargain quantity and much more about offering dozens of brilliant ideas for tiny games – a landslide of joyful tactile discoveries that find harmony in the audio and visual to leave an impression best captured by a snapshot of the player’s lips curling into a smile the longer they play. My best attempts to describe the experience to others recently tended to descend into off-key singing and wild hand gestures while hurriedly listing off the games that stood out most.

The best review is probably that there are so many offerings from Rhythm Heaven Fever that I feel obliged to mention. If you’re willing to read on however, I’ll try to offer some more constructive words on the subject.

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January 31, 2012

Review – Scarygirl

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , — TJ "Kyatt" Cordes @ 8:59 am

Review Scarygirl
Scarygirl is a new downloadable title based on a Flash game, in-turn based on a graphic novel. I’m not that familiar with either, but a few levels into the game prompted a startling realization – Scarygirl reminds me a lot of another game I’ve been playing recently. That game, for the curious, is Kirby’s Epic Yarn.

How are the two games similar?

Let me count the ways…

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January 30, 2012

Review – Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 12:07 pm

Review Sakura Samurai Art of the Sword
When surrounded by a horde of sword wielding villains, the key is to remain calm and wait for the perfect moment to strike. Eventually, one of those foes will grow impatient and bellow a battle cry while charging toward you, and just as the steel of his blade turns red, that perfect moment will reveal itself, at which point you may take a quick evasive sidestep before swiftly unleashing your own blade to feast on blood.

The action will pause for a moment before the villain doubles over with a cry and vanishes, possibly leaving behind coins as you sheath your sword and await the next opponent foolish enough to try a similar tactic.

Sakura Samurai is never long for providing another adversary either, all of them determined to prevent your quest to save Princess Cherry Blossom and return peace to the land. But for a game overflowing with waves of opponents, an intimate one-on-one battle system makes every fight a dance of patience and precision that offers a chance to mimic the calm and collected spirit of an anime samurai.

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January 26, 2012

Review – Haunt

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 8:57 am

Review Haunt
Creating a haunted house game for the Kinect is a noble pursuit. A shaky hand naturally lends itself to acting as a flickering flashlight, and players are forced to open doors that could reveal unspeakable horrors with their own two hands, rather than the press of a button, enhancing the experience of being an active participant versus a passive observer – key to the evolution of the horror genre via the videogame medium.

Last year saw Sega attempt to strike first blood on the peripheral with Rise of Nightmares, a gritty game of bloody nurses and sharp weapons that asked players to use their body to punch and kick the cream-filling out of the undead. The violent workout met with mixed results in the attempt to stretch the narrative and physical experience into a retail release.

Enter NanaOn-Sha, otherwise known as the people who brought you the music rhythm genre with titles like Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy, now teaming up with Zoë Mode to bring their own full-body spin on the concept on a smaller scale with the Xbox LIVE Arcade release of Haunt.

Although comparing the two games mechanically is helpful, separating them thematically is essential – where Sega sought a B movie slaughter-fest, Haunt is a more lighthearted horror affair. While the game offers jump-scares that get the blood pumping, the spirit of fascination and charm found within the experience is more apt to leave you smiling by the end instead of covering your eyes.

That said however, the game will ask you to cover your eyes at times, though only when set upon by goggle-wearing ghouls.

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January 24, 2012

Review – Mutant Mudds

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 1:32 pm

Review Mutant Mudds
In addition to exterminating dinosaurs and raising the undead, meteorites can also unleash irritable mud creatures on an unsuspecting world. Unlike other catastrophes however, this one can be dealt with by any child equipped with a super-soaker.

Such is the premise of Renegade Kid’s new addition to a growing eShop library of digital offerings for the 3DS, one which gives such a shout-out to the glory days of the Nintendo Entertainment System – from the visuals to the occasionally infuriating platforming – that you may just feel obliged to blow in the empty cartridge slot before playing.

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January 20, 2012

Review – VVVVVV

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 8:46 am

Review VVVVVV
There’s something very heartwarming about indie games on Nintendo hardware. Seeing Cave Story across several Nintendo platforms was like an endorsement from gaming royalty for instance – a nod from the company that built those first pixilated worlds out of thin air and inspired so many to follow in that pursuit.

As such, Terry Cavanagh’s PC indie title, VVVVVV, is a welcome sight on the 3DS’ eShop, but I wouldn’t want any idea of indie fan-service to undermine the move, given that the game’s level of polish and play earn placement on the list of eShop offerings worth the investment of player’s time and money regardless of how many people worked on the title.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with why, let’s fill in some blanks below.

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January 19, 2012

Review – Zen Pinball 3D

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 9:02 am

Review Zen Pinball 3D
Zen Studios has long been offering a digital distribution plan that even the most curmudgeonly anti-dlc advocate would have a hard time complaining about – still, I won’t say it’s impossible for such a person to exist. Available on both Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network for some time now, Zen Pinball offers a package that can be added to as players see fit. Anytime you find yourself board with the tables you own, you can browse, sample, and purchase additional tables at your leisure. I approve of a system by which there’s always the means to refresh the experience while only parting with a few dollars rather than buying an entirely new game.

Said tables vary in theme and license, ranging from generic space opera motifs to tables based on Marvel franchises, and the majority of these offer a wide range of point objectives and shiny neon Vegas styling to seduce the senses. The key ingredient in my continuing addiction is the way the game consistently ranks you against others, urging you to play just a little bit longer to defeat friends and strangers alike.

Zen Pinball 3D carries this exact experience over to Nintendo’s handheld, which would seem to leave little to discuss here. Still, I’m sure we can find something to talk about, so please do read on.

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