Slingshot24 - Golden Sun (GBA) Review. (Article)

Welcome Article Writer, Slingshot24.
He Brings you one of his favorite GBA Titles and truly a classic,
"Golden Sun" for the Gameboy Advance.


Ahh, Golden Sun. So much to say...


Golden Sun was an RPG created for the Game Boy Advance by Camelot (also responsible for mario golf:TT and mario tennis) and Nintendo, that brought together a compelling story, a colorful cast of characters, amazing powers, and a whole world to explore.

First let's talk about the story. You start off as a young boy (defaultly named Isaac) being awoken by your mother in a hurried manner, as you have to evacuate your house as a result of the horrible storm ravaging your village, Vale. Your mother leaves you to go assist the villagers and you are given control of your character. Upon your journey to catch up with your mom, you come across your friend Garrett who after a brief talk, joins your party. after some walking, you get to a scene where your father and a few others are trying to rescue a boy named Felix, your neighbor, who is stuck in the middle of the river, hanging on for dear life to a stick. soon a cutscene ensues and a boulder crashes down washing away felix and killing all who were trying to save him- your father included. after walking some more you are attacked by two mysterious people who basically obliterate you in a single turn.

After all this, you arrive at the real game, which takes place in the future, a few years later. upon meeting up with your party, you venture into a temple, guided by Kraden the scholar. After getting through, you meet the fiends who defeated you all those years ago, and they attempt to light all elemental lighthouses that provide the world with psynergy- a psychic energy possessed only by a few called adepts, such as your main characters. The main goal of the game is to catch the villains and reclaim the stones they steal to prevent the lighting of the light houses, as well as to rescue your friends whom they abducted during the meet up in the temple. With many towns and cities to visit, and numerous dungeons to explore along the way, you will not be disappointed.

Though there is much dialogue to sit through, it is usually entertaining enough so as you wont really mind it. You even get to make a few yes or no calls while it runs!
___________________________
Gameplay-
This game was for me a perfect combination of adventure, puzzle, and battle. You are given a world map to explore, and can travel anywhere provided it is not blocked by water or mountain ranges. You visit places like cities, towns, dungeons, temples, and caves.

The battle system is a random battle stlye, but does not overpower the gamer with excessive fights, as they are not too frequent. You battle with an array of options- from attacking with strength, to using your psynergy to battle for you, casting spells and healing your allies, and can even use acquired companions called Djinni's to do battle based on their abilities. With the increasing difficulty of enemies, you really will need all the help you can get.

Since it plays such a big role, i will list the general uses for psynergy-
-puzzle solving
-Battle
-Healing
-mind reading
With these aspects of the game, you feel the power is truly at your hands.

The puzzle aspect of the game is quite strong as you must solve puzzles using your mind and your abilities. The forementioned Psynergy is used frequently to do things like moving objects, revealing invisible items, and even reading minds. This combination of adventure and puzzle is somewhat similar to that of a Zelda game, but not too much so that you feel they are the same. Basically, This game will make you think, but will not likely cause you to be stuck for too long.

Though there is much dialogue to sit through, it is usually entertaining enough so as you wont really mind it. You even get to make a few yes or no calls while it runs!
_________________________
Sound-

Ahh, the sound. First, let's talk about the background music. This game has scores that fit the mood of the area perfectly. Be you trading with a merchant, or trekking through a desert, you will feel the music is right at place, and even somewhat catchy. You can even hear the Battle BGM played in Smash Bros Brawl!

The sound effects are great as well, as they emulate the meaning or definition of what just happened. Heck, there is even one comparable to the sound effect in Zelda when you discover a secret.
__________________________
Graphics-
Well, it's a GBA game. The sprites are pretty well drawn and unique for each character. The gameplay outside of battle is almost 3D, but is just 2D in battle. Regardless, the Battle Visual effects are incredible to look at. God knows howmany times I did a move just to see the cool animation that went with it.
_________________________

UPDATE****
BONUS CONTENT

I neglected to mention that there was a bit of bonus content.

From the main screen, you could select the additional game, battle mode, where you could load your file and battle monsters with your characters, or with a link cable, battle your friends in head to head combat to see who had the greatest strategy and abilities.

Also upon beating the game, from the main menu, by pressing to the right and tapping the R shoulder button, you revealed an extra "Send" setting, in which you could transfer your file and its contents to the game's sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
__________________________

In conclusion, I never had a complaint about this game. I can't possibly imagine me complaining about it other then maybe me getting my ass kicked a few times by a boss. Of course, I would just reload the game and try again.

With many memorable moments, and a few jokes here and there, I can honestly say that Golden Sun is worthy of the title "Gaming Gold"

Read more...

Edwin's Generation: The Wii Documentary P. 3

"Wiiii Are Waiting"


Read more...

PekoponTAS - Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Review (Article)

Pekopon Reviews an all time Classic.


When I was growing up, I didn’t even know Sega existed. I was born in 1989, so by the time I was around six years old and could consistently remember stuff, Sega’s consoles were pretty much in the crapper. As the years went by, I learned about Sega and Sonic, and just decided to hate Sonic even though I never played his games. It was only when the Wii and Virtual Console came around that I downloaded the first Sonic game. It was surprisingly fun, if not a bit unforgiving. A month later I came across a model 2 Genesis and Sonic 2 in a thrift shop. I bought them, and for the first time I got to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

So why did I tell you all of this? Basically all of this set up is just to emphasise that I didn’t grow up with Sonic, and thus have a nostalgia free opinion on it. What you are getting is an unbiased view.

So on to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. To me, this seems like Sega’s Super Mario Bros. 3. I can’t imagine someone owning a Genesis without Sonic 2, much like I can’t imagine someone owning an NES without Mario 3. Sonic 2 squeezed every last ounce of strength from the Genesis, and it sure paid off. I’ll go ahead and spoil the rest of the review right now and say that this game is fantastic. I can’t call it amazing or incredible, but I can call it fantastic.

So the story of Sonic 2 is… I don’t know. I don’t have the manual. From what I can gather, Dr. Robotnik has kidnapped and imprisoned a bunch of cuddly animals because I guess he just hates cute things. Maybe he had a traumatic past with bunnies attacking him or something. He also has a giant robot that’s modeled after himself (egotistic dick) that I guess he plans on destroying the world with. So Sonic and Tails have to go stop Robotnik because the army doesn’t seem to care about the crazy egg guy trying to destroy the world with a giant robot. Though I guess Robotnik wouldn’t stand much of a chance against an armoured tank since his robots explode when hedgehogs jump on them a few times.

Sorry, I’ve gotten a bit off topic…

Bottom line, nobody cares about the plot in a Sonic game.

The Gameplay is what Sonic 2 is all about, and that’s where the game shines. (As any game should) It’s a 2D platformer where you jump on platforms and baddies, but Sonic’s gimmick is that you can run really fast. Oh sure, Mario can be pretty speedy in some games, but Sonic could easily out run him. Though if you go by their respective anime counterparts, Wheel Kirby would pwn Sonic in a race so badly that Sonic would have to retire in shame.

Unlike the first Sonic game, there aren’t as many platforming heavy stages, so most of the stages can be beaten really quickly with good timing and memorisation. It’s always super satisfying to memorise a stage and breeze through it in less than a minute.

Of course if that’s all there was to it, it would get somewhat boring. That’s why in each world that consists of two stages there are several elements exclusive to that world. In Chemical Plant Zone there are pipes, in Oil Ocean Zone there are oil slicks and hot air balloons, in Metropolis Zone there are screws to run on, and many more exclusive features.

Throughout the game there are various boxes that hold useful items such as 1ups, invincible powers, shoes that give Sonic super speed, force fields that give him an extra hit, and most importantly, the power rings. These golden rings are essential to the Sonic series as they count as your health bar. Basically so long as you have rings, you are able to get hit without dying. When you get hit you lose all your rings, and they go flying all over the screen. You really want to make sure you pick at least one of them up again so you can have another free hit. This makes Sonic pretty unique from most health systems of the day, and even to this day it’s pretty unique.

Something cool (or not cool depending on your views) is the addition of Tails. Tails is a computer played character who tags along with Sonic. For the most part he’s useless, but he’s often a life saver for me during boss fights. He’ll hit Robotnik sometimes, and he’ll make a special effort to collect rings you’ve dropped while fighting the boss. Most of the time I depend on Tails to land some hits on the annoying pinball boss in Casino Night Zone. He can also be used in a two player mode, but let’s just say that the 2 player mode is less that stellar. It’s probably the worst part of the game as it lags like crazy, and the split screen makes it hard to see anything.

Let’s talk music for a minute. Most of the music is Sonic 2 is good, but the thing is that it’s also pretty forgettable. Nothing really jumps out as amazing. Well, except for one tune that kicks some serious ass. The Chemical Plant Zone theme is easily the best song in the game, and currently holds a spot on my Top 10 Video Game Themes Ever list. Just listen to this and TRY to tell me it’s not incredible.



As far as graphics go, I can’t really comment too much. After all, I never owned a Genesis until the amazing graphics of today, so it’s hard to judge. However I’m willing to bet that this was pretty impressive for the Genesis. It still looks nice today, and I can honestly say it looks better than Super Mario World by a long shot. (Take THAT you overrated piece of history!)

Now while most of the game is pretty stellar, I do feel that I have to bring up the lack of a save feature. While it is a pretty short game and doesn’t really require one, I still wish there was a way to continue. Oh sure there’s the stage select option, but that’s cheating! You gotta play from start to finish for it to count if you ask me. (Yeah, I’m a purist that way) I can’t really blame Sega for not adding it, but these days games without save features haven’t aged very well. I don’t have the attention span for that, and it also doesn’t help when I get far in the game and it freezes. I’ll confess that I haven’t beaten the game, but I’ve landed three hits on the final Robotnik, and to me that’s close enough.

There are other minor nitpicks I could complain about, but there’s not much point. Those minor things don’t detract from the game at all. In the end Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is fantastic, and is easily my favourite of the three Genesis Sonics. I’m aware I could use the Sonic and Knuckles cart for it, but I’m not gonna buy that. Sonic 2 is fine as it is, and doesn’t NEED an expansion. If you can get your hands on Sonic 2, I say do it. It shouldn’t be too hard as you can get it on Virtual Console or Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. Though if you ask me, I say you should find a way to get it on a Genesis, even if the game does occasionally freeze.

I give this game a 9/10
Excellent in every way save for the 2 player mode and the lack of saving.
Read more...

Riz - Super Smash Bros Brawl Wii Review

It's an Oldie, but still one of my favorite games to review.


Read more...