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Author Topic: Let's review...  (Read 21656 times)

« on: February 28, 2009, 05:16:11 PM »
This is my video game review of Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.

Starting fresh:

Ok, so when you start off on a new game, you're going to chat-it-up with Rover for about 15 minutes or so...woo. Depending on how you answer Rover will effect how you'll look for the rest of your digital life (I talked to him like trash and came out looking pretty good). Anyway, after you arrive in town, pick the house you want and talk to the so-called big cheese himself, Tom Nook. Oh yeah, and whether you like it or not, you're gonna work for him by planting flowers, trees, meeting the neighbors, the mayor, mailing letters (just one, relax), delivering stuff, posting an advertisement to the message board and then, guess what? You're done! ...Deja vu, I tell you. You do all of that hard work (which eats up about 45 minutes of your precious time) just to get a measly little bit of cash. So, now that you're free from Nook's clutches, now what? Well, you still have to pay off your house *coughFRUIT-TREEScough!* So you'll have to come up with the cash some other way. Good Luck.

DS suitcase:

The only difference between this and starting fresh is that you'll have your old AC:WW item catalog, character's face and name. That's all. The bells, your mansion and drawn patterns will NOT be transfered to AC:CF. Bummer.

The layout and graphics:

Of the entire game? ...Meh. Same old same old, really. If you skipped playing AC:WW then good for you, cause the Wii version LOOKS JUST LIKE IT! Just a bigger town/village and an added on little bubble called the "city".  Buuut, there are some new things to this game besides the "city" that you'll probably enjoy. The layout is simple. The entire town/village is no longer on one ground level like in AC:WW. One thing that bothered me about this game was the fact that when you run across the grass, it fades away leaving your town looking pretty ugly. But, there's a small remedy to this: plant lots of flowers. Also, a small invisible patch a grass grows back after 6am. A very ridiculous thing to add to a video game. But it did get a small graphical upgrade that makes it look and run smoother than AC:WW.

Upgrades:

Unfortunately, like the GCN version, you can only upgrade your house 4 times (first expansion, second expansion, adding second floor and adding a basement [and this time you can change the basement's carpet and wallpaper]) unlike the DS version were you can upgrade 6 times (First expansion, second expansion, adding the second floor, adding the north, west and eastern rooms) which a huge let-down and also means that you can only customize 3 rooms instead of 5. And now you can upgrade your town by donating money to the Town Hall.  With enough money donated, you can add a wishing well, a windmill, a light house and an additional bridge.This is pretty cool and gives your town more personality. Tom Nook's store has the same upgrade pattern like the GCN version (unlike the DS version where your friend has to buy an item in order for you to get Nookingtons).

In-game camera:

The camera sucks, as usual, but this time you can actually look up at the sky. Don't expect to see a SM64-like camera mode anytime soon because it will probably never happen.

Taking pictures:

Hmm, not bad. But not that good, either.  There's no zoom-in or zoom-out feature. I was hoping for a picture-taking camera like the one from LoZ:WW, but nooo.

The neighbors:

They're not as redundant as they were in previous installments, but they're still pretty annoying. Some will even try to con you out of half (or all) of your money if you're not careful. They do spout some words of wisdom every now and then, which is nice. If you're really nice to your animal-neighbors, one might even invite you to their house. And one might even ask if he or she can come over to your place (to evaluate your house and give it a 1 to 5 star rating). There are a lot of unexpected surprises in this game. One of my animal-neighbors asked me if I wanted to play hide and seek. I choose "yes" and found all three of my neighbors in less than 10 minutes. it was pretty fun. After the game ended they gave me a gift, a gyroid. I have to say, it was something I didn't expect in AC:CF at all.

About Kapp'n:

I always find it interesting to read what Kapp'n has to say as I venture to and from the city. They really gave him some amusing, real-life stuff to mutter about. So read it every now and then. It's pretty funny.

The so-called city:

Well, folks, this is our new city. Pretty neat, huh? Uhh -- no. Looks more like a lobby. As a matter of fact, it looks like it's cut off FROM the real city. This is NOT a city. A city has cars, restaurants, more buildings, an underground sewer (where you'll find Mr.Resetti), a bank, a police station, a mall, a city park and much, much more. Not a ghost town with some pathetically-useless shops and a haircut parlor that is also rendered useless after you find a decent haircut or hairstyle. Another problem is that only YOU can visit the "city". What's the point in adding a city if you can't go there with friends and family? Geez. Anyway, I consider this "city' a work in progress just like the AC series. 

New and returning cast:

I'm not going to go over the entire list of the new and old characters, but I will name only a few.  K.K. Slider is back and he has some new music, along with some old, familiar tunes like Go K.K. Rider and the Rockin' K.K. song. Brewster is back and now acts as a talking storage bin, keeping the gyroids you dig up just in case you don't have room for them at home. Pave is a newcomer to the AC series. He is a dancer who loves candy. He appears on Festivale, which is pretty much a "get-rich-FAST-day" for some players. Another newcomer is Harriet, a hair-stylist.  Jingle, the gullible reindeer is back and this time, the "naughty/nice" feature is gone. So go ahead, shake some trees, get stung by bees and rummage through your neighbors stuff. Gulliver is back. I spotted the UFO but failed to shoot it down. And Wisp will be making his ghostly return as well. It's a pretty big cast of new and old characters. So there's a lot of stuff to look forward to.

Replay value:

This game constantly has you coming back for more since every day holds something new, different and exciting. The game really shines if you have friends or family members to play with. If you're playing it alone...you may still enjoy it...maybe. There's a lot to keep you busy in this game like finding and selling foreign fruit, completing the museum, obtaining your favorite music from K.K. Slider, fishing, bug hunting, adding new stuff to your town, upgrading your house and visiting Tom Nook's shop.

Wii-Speak feature:

The Wii-Speak feature will also keep you playing because it kind of acts as a virtual telephone. If you don't like talking, you can turn this feature off and use the "cellphone style" (not an actual cellphone) and type in words by using the Wii Remote. There are also some pre-installed words to choose from. And if you don't like using the Wii Remote, you can install a wireless USB keyboard.

Final words:

The game has improved, believe it or not. Just not enough to shell out $50 (like I did) to buy it. It's also a real time-eater too, so make sure that you don't overdo it. They could have added A LOT more to this game, but I guess they were being careful and decided not to. Maybe they're holding back until the next installment? Who knows. I am not satisfied with this game and will be trading it in soon. *Sigh*, Nintendo, you could have done a much better job than this...

I give this game a 3 out of 10.
"It's vital to reflect occasionally on whether one is overdoing whatever it is one person is doing." ~Toadsworth

Sqrt2

  • 1.41421356
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2009, 05:41:36 PM »
This is my video game review of Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.

How can there be spoilers in an Animal Crossing game? It has no story, so I find it hard to believe that you need to announce ***SPOILERS*** at the beginning of your review.
AA fanboy and proud!

« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2009, 06:26:20 PM »
Hmm. Yeah, I guess that was unnecessary to do. I know it's a little late to be writing a review about AC:CF, but I just wanted to blow off some steam about the game, that's all. Also, you can find Mario-themed items in the balloon presents. 
"It's vital to reflect occasionally on whether one is overdoing whatever it is one person is doing." ~Toadsworth

« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2009, 02:11:33 PM »
This is my video game review of LocoRoco Cocoreccho! for the Sony PlayStation 3. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.

This is the best game about a farting butterfly I've ever played. However, the game costs roughly half what the PSP LocoRocos do and only provides about a tenth the entertainment.

I give this game a 3 out of 10.

ShadowBrain

  • Ridiculously relevant
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2009, 07:52:22 PM »
Best. Review. Ever.

(and accurate, too--I kind of regret buying that thing)
"Mario is your oyster." ~The Chef

« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2010, 11:23:24 PM »
This is my video game review of Darksiders for the Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.

In this game you be a dude from Warcraft and play through a Zelda game with Mark Hamill as your Navi. You think I'm joking when I call it a Zelda game but after you get your boomerang, bow, hookshot, bottles, map, compass, heart pieces, instrument, lens of truth, Z-targeting, and horse with five recharging speed boosts you'll change your mind. Don't take this as a complaint though, because Darksiders stands toe-to-toe with Nintendo's work. The dungeons are massive and well-designed with some very nice puzzles. The combat is more complex than Zelda's, sort of a poor man's God of War. The music and story are blah, but the final ten seconds of the final cutscene was great. My biggest complaint about the game is that the QA testing was rough around the edges. I fell through a lot of floors/walls at various times, usually just taking the minor health loss and being reset on the ground but a couple times stuck falling through an infinite void and having to reload (not a huge deal because it's constantly auto-saving). There was one major incident where I was riding an elevator upwards and fell through while messing around with aerial attacks. The elevator never resets and there's no way to get it back down so I'm totally locked out of a full third of that dungeon. Luckily I had already cleared all the chests from it and never actually need to go back, but I searched and found people online who couldn't 100% the game due to the same problem. If it happened your first time I suppose it could prevent you from ever even beating the game. Another bug I saw was that the final cutscene's audio was slightly desynched, I think because of many achievements popping at once. I watched it again later and it worked fine when there were no achievements. Anyway, I wrote way too much about glitches; they're not a big problem (just don't jump around on elevators). This game totally came out of nowhere and is extremely good. It's actually Vigil Games's first title. I expect these guys have a bright future ahead.

I give this game a 3 out of 10.

« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2010, 12:17:05 AM »
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ShadowBrain

  • Ridiculously relevant
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2010, 09:27:31 PM »
So I started and beat Darksiders in a span of about three days. On one hand, it's overly gory, has a really questionable save system/lag between when you get things and when said accomplishment is acknowledged, the acting is kind of corny, and it's probably the most derivative game I've ever played. On the other hand, Mark Hamill is in it, you get to play as one of the Goddammn Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Uriel gets the Official ShadowBrain Pants-Adjustment of Approval.

Yeah, I just wanted say that. So?

Oh, and as far as glitches go, I stuck in a wall once and that's about it.
"Mario is your oyster." ~The Chef

« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2010, 05:07:23 PM »
This is my video game review of the Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2 demo for the Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.

If your bowels weren't completely emptied by the last Raging Blast, the Dragon Balls are back again to stimulate your fighting spirit once more. Starting the demo, I received a choice between four characters. I picked Kid Buu and matched up to fight against Ultimate Gohan. The load screen appeared and showed a series of eight buttons. I pressed the first button and to my surprise it disappeared, signifying I was progressing through the sequence! Sadly, due to my delay at understanding the load screen mechanics, I was only able to input 6 out of 8 commands. What would have happened upon success!? The battle began and we traded blows as I figured out the controls. Once I learned how to charge my ki energy, I sat there screaming until my gauge filled to the max. The instant I maxed, I hit the RB icon to activate my raging blast. This gave me superspeed and superpower and most importantly: a Japanese dude starting singing this AWESOME SONG. Using the might of my raging blast, I punched Gohan seven million times with my stretching goo arms. Then my blast ran out and Gohan said, "I've come to kill you." Then he killed me.

I give this game a 3 out of 10.

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« Reply #9 on: November 22, 2010, 11:56:55 AM »
This is my video game review of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the Sony PlayStation Portable. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.

Okay, so, this prequel is by far the best Kingdom Hearts game. When I say that, I don't just mean it's good in comparison to the other games in the series. I mean it's really, truly good, enough so that I wish it wasn't a Kingdom Hearts game so that people would play it.

You start off with a quick (skippable) tutorial explaining the various controls, including the new functions introduced in Birth by Sleep, the Command Deck (which replaces an MP system, and lets you cycle through a customizable set of spells and abilities with a simple cooldown system) and Shotlock (a lock-on attack that does decent damage and, more importantly, makes you invulnerable for its duration). After that, you pick one of three characters to play through the game with: Terra (the angsty hero who has trouble with the darkness inside him; analogue to Riku), Ventus (recycled Roxas in every way except personality, like, seriously, it's the exact same character design and voice actor; analogue to - wait for it - Sora), or Aqua (odd in that she's a Kingdom Hearts female with a visible chest; she's also pretty level-headed and cool, and the analogue to Kairi), then beat up some spheres and leave the opening area after a few cutscenes with Master Eraqus (Mark Hamill) and Master Xehanort (Leonard Nimoy) talking.

Next you go to one of three brand-new old-school-Disney-based worlds based on which character you chose (the other two worlds open up after you finish the first): Enchanted Dominion (Sleeping Beauty), Dwarf Woodlands (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), or Castle of Dreams (Cinderella). In each of these worlds you'll encounter the game's new monsters: the Unversed, beings born from negativity. Unfortunately, this is one of the game's greatest failings: it's the exact same structure many of the prior games in the series used. You're still visiting worlds based on Disney movies, still helping the proper denizens of said worlds deal with the threat of outside monsters - as always, the only difference is the new worlds involved, though this time around there are less Final Fantasy characters involved. However, the three-character structure massively improves this sort of play experience, with each character visiting different parts of the various worlds and interacting with different characters at different points in the stories; for example, when Ven meets Cinderella, he helps make her dress, while Terra escorts her to the ball and Aqua helps with the fitting of the glass slipper.

If you didn't already infer it: you have to play through the game three times to see the proper ending. This unfortunately means you start back at level one whenever you go on to the next character. But each character's route is different enough, both in story and in play style, that it's not that big a deal. Each character has exclusive spells and abilities, and, for example, a Ven strategy that rapes bosses won't work for Terra.

The skill system is very nice; rather than your existing spells simply being upgraded to their -ra and -ga forms as you progress through the story, you have to build up your skills yourself. Each skill gains experience as you kill Unversed; you can fuse developed skills to create new, more powerful ones; fusion also allows you to attach an ability to a skill, and when that skill reaches max level, that ability is permanently unlocked - kind of like the AP system in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, except a lot more versatile. The mechanics of the skill system mean that if you want, you can have Curaga an hour after you get your first copy of Cure; the same applies to any other standard spell, and the ability to control your character's statistical development how you want rather than being at the mercy of the story allows for the player to have a lot more fun.

When I started the game, I chose to play on Critical Mode, the hardest difficulty available, because all the other games on Proud Mode are still too easy. Well...Birth by Sleep on Critical Mode makes me wish the other US releases had included Critical Mode, because it changes stuff from being too easy to being legitimately balls-hard. (The new DS game also features Critical Mode, thankfully.) Also, if you play on Critical Mode, you start with an optional ability that turns off experience gains, for those who don't think being killed in a couple of hits by regular enemies is hard enough.

Kingdom Hearts fans will be happy to know Birth by Sleep successfully ties up practically every loose end Nomura has left in the story throughout the series...or, they would be happy, except that Birth by Sleep is a PSP game, so none of them can play it. One can only wonder why Square Enix chose to develop the game for the PSP, and why they aren't just putting Birth by Sleep Final Mix on a console. I would think porting it to the PS3 would make the most sense, since the main Kingdom Hearts team is also the Final Fantasy Versus XIII team...but then, Square Enix hates making sense.

I give this game a 3 out of 10.

« Reply #10 on: November 22, 2010, 12:53:21 PM »
Warp, you made that game sound incredibly hardcore.

I'm actually tempted to play a Kingdom Hearts game now.
As a game that requires six friends, an HDTV, and skill, I can see why the majority of TMK is going to hate on it hard.

Turtlekid1

  • Tortuga
« Reply #11 on: November 22, 2010, 01:22:13 PM »
So the seven points off is almost entirely due to its being a PSP exclusive?  Or... did I miss something?  Not that I disagree that that part of it sucks...
"It'll say life is sacred and so is death
but death is life and so we move on"

« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2010, 02:17:18 PM »
Did you not notice every game in this thread has received a 3/10?

Now what fan favorite cult classic video game once received that score and made it the benchmark for all good games to be judged as?
As a game that requires six friends, an HDTV, and skill, I can see why the majority of TMK is going to hate on it hard.

Turtlekid1

  • Tortuga
« Reply #13 on: November 22, 2010, 02:33:40 PM »
I have no idea.
"It'll say life is sacred and so is death
but death is life and so we move on"

WarpRattler

  • Paid by the word
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2010, 02:38:54 PM »
I'm pretty sure FBM's initial poor rating of Animal Crossing had nothing to do with God Hand.

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