Strange Brigade Review

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What do you get when you mix Indiana Jones, 1930s serials, and hordes of undead? The answer is “Strange Brigade” a third-person shooter released in 2018 by developer and publisher Rebellion Developments. With an emphasis on co-op teamwork to raid crypts and stop an evil Queen spirit, Strange Brigade was available on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Would Strange Brigade become a hidden gem or would it fall to the depths of the unknown?

Strange Brigade Plot:

If the X-Files existed in the 1930s, Agent Mulder and Agent Scully would be on the “Strange Brigade”. Actually, the better reference would be Indiana Jones as he did exactly what the Strange Brigade did in their era. Four members make up the Strange Brigade, an investigative team that travels to abandoned tombs or dangerous crypts to hunt for treasure and put the undead to rest.

The members of the team are Nalangu Rushida, an African woman who looks like a member of the undead. She is from a tribe and wears traditional tribal garb. You know red, green, and yellow patterns, has the giant earholes, white ash on her face, probably some animal penis skin wrapped around her body, etc..

There’s Gracie Braithwaite, a redhead woman who reminds me of a lot of “Rosie the Riveter”. She has a very annoying accent. Then there’s Archimedes de Quincey, who is a dweeb just like his name suggests. He’s that rich kid that is a little bit of a nerd. Finally, there’s Frank Fairburne who I chose to play as. He was the only character that seemed like a BA and reminded me of the rugged, tough guys that I like to play as, none of that sissy crap for me.

The Strange Brigade’s latest investigation is about an evil spirit who ruled over 4,000 years ago in Africa. This queen is known as Seteki and her tomb has recently been disturbed resulting in her spirit being released and causing havoc around the world. It’s up to the Strange Brigade to travel around the world and destroy the soul cages that grant her power.

They get the job done after traveling around, destroying the soul cages, and taking out her commanding demons. The last mission sees them traveling to the underworld to put down Seteki for good.

Strange Brigade Gameplay:

Okay, let me get the most annoying factor of Strange Brigade out of the way now. The narrator is so annoying and that’s putting it lightly. The game is presented as a 1930s serial with comic relief. The target audience has to be middle school boys because I don’t know who else would enjoy how awful the narrator is. How is he awful you ask? If you pause the game he will say something immediately usually about “getting the door” or “needing to make tea” but if I just set the controller down for 15 seconds and don’t move the character he starts chiming in “You know there is a pause button”. He was just as annoying with his attempts at humor in the black-and-white scenes between missions. The characters had no relationships or likable traits with very little dialogue. It was tough to develop a bond with them or begin to like them with so little interaction shown.

Graphics are nothing special and the game could pass as an Xbox 360 or PS3 title. You won’t get the small details like footprints in the sand or wind effects but the overall environment and atmosphere were solid. There’s a lot to look at and explore so it was enjoyable to take in everything as you entered a cave or discovered a new area. My favorite mission was one that takes place at dusk in a small village. It reminded me of Bloodborne, and that’s a great thing! It was spooky with the wooden crosses in the ground and wispy tall grass.

The goal of each mission is to explore the area, solve small puzzles to earn extra treasure, and survive hordes of undead zombies, skeletons, and other supernatural spirits as they try and kill you. I played the entire game by myself and at some points, I was almost overwhelmed but there were only two times I was killed. One particular instant was in mission six where I had to fight horde after horde of enemies and they just kept coming. I thought I was doing something wrong at first because it seemed like it would never end but after 20 minutes I did kill everyone and they stopped coming.

You can upgrade your weapons or purchase others with the gold you find in missions. I did this a few times but stuck with my trusty rifle as opposed to shotguns or machine guns. The best part of Strange Brigade is the creative ways to kill the enemies. Sure, you have plenty of guns to do the trick but there are hundreds of traps and explosives to activate. This is where the developers shined. It was fun to run around and search for unique ways to blow up the horde as they slowly chased me. Boss fights were fun too and each had an obvious way to kill them. The final boss was easier than I expected but it was creative enough to satisfy the ending.

Memories:
My wife has an Xbox One and her cool older brother bought Strange Brigade for it so they could play together. Actually, come to think of it he bought her the Xbox One too, so emphasis on “cool dude”. Anyway, he lives in Virginia Beach and they used to play video games a lot together but aren’t able to play much anymore. With us living in the “future” now, it’s easier for families to play together even if they don’t live in the same state.

I had never heard of Strange Brigade but one day my wife was playing it online with her brother. I watched for a few minutes before returning to whatever I was doing and mentally noted that I’d have to check it out myself sometime. I was happy to find it a solid experience but quickly realized I should have played with another person a.k.a. (use Borat’s voice) my wife. It’s clearly meant to play with others but since I’m antisocial and don’t like people I played it by myself and had to beat the game with just little ‘ole me.

Strange Brigade Review Score:

If you have two or three friends and want to team up in a fun third-person shooter for a weekend, Strange Brigade will hold your interest. It’s not a deep game and you won’t like the characters or narrator but just for pure fun purposes, Strange Brigade gets the job done.

Strange Brigade scores a 7.2 out of 10.

Do you remember when Strange Brigade first came out? What character did you choose to play as? Did you hate the narration? What would you write in your Strange Brigade Review? What was your favorite mission or favorite gun? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Star Wars: Battlefront II Review

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One year after the release of the original Star Wars: Battlefront, developer Pandemic Studios, and publisher LucasArts followed it up with the release of Star Wars: Battlefront II for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2005. The second game in the series would introduce content from Episode III as well as allow players to take control of famous characters from the Star Wars universe like Yoda and Darth Vader.

Star Wars Battlefront II Plot:

One thing that Star Wars: Battlefront didn’t have was a story or a focused single-player campaign. Star Wars: Battlefront II introduces players to the elite 501st Legion of the clone troopers in the mode “Rise of the Empire”. You’ll play through epic battles from the viewpoint of elite soldiers that are taking orders from the Emperor. Before each mission, you’ll hear an audio log entry of a soldier discussing the upcoming mission and the emotions that the 501st was going through at the time.

The plot plays out right before Order 666 as a few missions in Episode III are featured before becoming the actual Empire. It was interesting to see and hear the perspectives of the elite soldiers. They gave some insight into their relationships with the Jedi and certain characters adding a bit of context to their emotions. You’ll play as the 501st up until Episode V in the Hoth invasion. Some of the missions are from the films, while some were fictitious like capturing the new Queen of Naboo and killing her.

Star Wars Battlefront II Gameplay:

In the first game, the object was to decimate the opposing army by killing all of the troops or capturing all of the command centers. Battlefront II expands on the gameplay and gives more objectives during missions. For example, you’ll still be capturing command posts but now you’ll be tasked with recovering important data plans or destroying specific equipment to turn the battle in your favor. Some battles allow you to play as recognizable characters from the films after you’ve achieved a few tasks. For the Republic/Rebels you’ll play as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Aayla Secura. For the Empire, you can play as Darth Vader, the Emperor, Boba Fett, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku, General Grievous, Darth Maul, Jango Fett, and Darth Sidious. These characters are extremely powerful and can clear most mission objectives once you unlock them. These heroes/villains can kill enemies in one hit, survive massive damage, and use force powers or other unique skills.

Another huge inclusion in Battlefront II is the advancement of space battles. In Battlefront I, players can take control of land vehicles and have the option to fly X-Wings or Tie Fighters but around a battlefield. It honestly didn’t work very well and felt claustrophobic but Battlefront II gave spaceships their own battles making it easier and more fun to fly around. You can fly ships from both eras but I’ll always prefer the original trilogy ships to the prequels. The ships control fine and you can perform tricks to avoid missiles. The sound effects are superb making you feel that you are right in the cockpit of the fighters. Flying around space and blowing up parts of huge ships is addicting. I loved taking out the command bridge, engines, gun turrets, and everything else. Sure, you can cripple a ship but it was a surprise when you could land within an enemy ship and sabotage it from the inside out. Once you land inside a ship, you can exit your fighter and make your way to the command center disabling controls and generators that further cripple the ship. It’s a great idea and it works fairly well.

Something that bothered me was the glitches. Both A.I. and enemies would get stuck next to objects and start to shake violently as they freed themselves. It would ruin a great turning point in a huge battle when I rushed into a hallway and saw fighters from both sides stuck to a wall and shaking for a few seconds. Enemy A.I. isn’t the brightest either. There were times when I’d stand next to a box and they’d be inches away from me searching or doing nothing with their gun as the tip practically pointed at my head unable to detect me. It was strange, and it’s essentially how I beat the Hoth mission by standing next to a box where enemies ran right by me as I launched rocket after rocket at the shield generator.

I thought at first that Battlefront II was easier because during the first mission, I killed 42 droids and didn’t die once. I mean yes, I am a stud but I didn’t think it’d be that easy. Missions did get harder but rarely did I fail a mission as most of them I beat on my first attempt. Some missions gave you numerous objectives to achieve within ten minutes. I liked these as they felt like they were the toughest missions. There was a space battle that I had to cripple numerous parts of a ship, destroy ten space fighters, and do a few other things. I completed my tasks with 40 seconds left so ten minutes is the perfect amount of time to complete these longer mission objectives.

Other modes from Battlefront return like instant action where you can create numerous battles and decide what maps you want to play. This can easily take hours to complete and is a great way of killing a Saturday. Galactic Conquest returns too as that was the single-player mode from the first game where you take over the galaxy planet-by-planet.

Memories:
I got Battlefront II when I was in ninth grade. I loved the space battles and mastered the controls quickly. When I played Battlefront II for this review I was rusty and needed to reeducate myself. It took a few tries but I was soon blowing up ships again and wiping galactic scum off my windshield. I have tons of fond memories playing both Battlefront I and II for the PS2 and to be honest, they have aged wonderfully as the gameplay is just as fun as I remember. I was such a huge Star Wars fan growing up and having these games were awesome to relive the battles.

Star Wars Battlefront II Review Score:

Star Wars: Battlefront II lets you play as your favorite characters as you wield force powers and lightsabers in battle. Space battles were a much-needed inclusion and refreshing flight controls helped it shine. Poor A.I. and glitches spoil some battles on the ground but overall Pandemic made another solid homage to Star Wars lovers.

Star Wars: Battlefront II scores an 8.8 out of 10.

Do you remember when Star Wars: Battlefront II first came out? What did you think of the space battles? Who was your favorite hero or villain to play as? Did you like the 501st Legion plot? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Child of Light Review

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, Child of Light was released in 2014 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U. Child of Light would receive an updated version for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch showcasing its beautiful water-colored graphics. A beautiful game doesn’t always equate to a great game, would Child of Light shine in gameplay too?

Child of Light Plot:

The game follows the protagonist and princess, Aurora, who finds herself in the mysterious land of Lemuria after it is presumed that she has passed away. Her father is a powerful Duke who ruled a kingdom with his new wife after Aurora’s mother dies. With Aurora now “dead”, the Duke falls into a deep depression unable to overcome his grief, he lays in bed all day.

Lemuria is a strange fantasy land filled with many different creatures and inhabitants throughout its vast and diverse landscapes that include underwater caverns, floating cities, and thorny forests. Aurora wakes up on a pedestal and quickly realizes she isn’t in Kansas anymore. She finds a sword and a friend in the form of a firefly who illuminates her way.

Aurora does her best to get back to the land where she is from and along the way she meets numerous people and creatures who join her in her journey to return to her world. Let’s take a look at them:

Rubella – She’s a strange jester who is solid at healing characters while being extremely quick. She was looking for her brother who also performs as a jester in their sibling act.

Finn – He’s a magical dwarf who lacks courage. He reminds me of the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz. He has powerful elemental spells.

Norah – She’s a step-sister of Aurora’s and is a bit pushy. She doesn’t do much in battle either as she assists in status upgrades.

Robert – He’s a greedy mouse that is always thinking about money or real estate. He has some skill as an archer.

Oengus – He’s a powerful warrior who’s race has been captured and imprisoned for some time. After you help free his people he joins you in the quest.

Tristis – He’s the second half of the clown show. The brother to Rubella, he’ll join once you complete her quest. (Oops, he never joined us!)

Gen – She reminds me of a lizard mermaid who has magical spells. She can join the group once the ogre is defeated. (Oops, we never defeated the ogre.)

Aurora discovers that she can make it back to her land through a magical mirror. Norah helps lead her to the mirror where she betrays Aurora when her stepmother, Umbra reveals that she planned to take over the land and banish Aurora to Lemuria. Umbra tells Aurora that her actual mother was her sworn enemy and known as the “Queen of the Light”. She tries to kill Aurora with a curse but the crown that Aurora wears protects her but drains her of energy. She is taken away and thrown into a dungeon.

While dreaming in prison, Aurora receives a message from her mother who tells her that she transported Aurora to Lemuria to protect her from Umbra. She wakes up and breaks out reuniting with her friends before defeating one of her step-sisters who stole the power of the moon from Lemuria. Aurora next heads to the Palace of the Sun where she defeats her other step-sister and takes back the power of the Sun.

Wounded again, Aurora is healed by her mother the Queen of Light. Not wanting to waste any time, Aurora heads to Umbra’s castle and defeats her once and for all. Unfortunately, her father passes away from his grief of losing both his daughter and wife to Lemuria. A terrible storm is coming for Aurora’s homeland and floods begin to sink the land. She quickly returns through the mirror and leads all the citizens of the town into Lemuria to safety.

Overall the story had a “Cinderella” and “Wizard of Oz” type feel to the theme.

Child of Light Gameplay:

Child of Light is one of the most gorgeous games you’ll play. Everything from the background, enemies, characters, and cities are water-colored graphics that flow together incredibly well. I’m not sure I’ve seen another game that looks like it. The game has two difficulty settings, one for casual players and another for hardcore RPG veterans. I played the entire game with my wife so we went the easier route and selected casually. Sure, the game was easier and we never died, but some battles lasted almost ten minutes, and times when our group had two or three fallen members. I think the easier setting still gives a sense of accomplishment where you don’t feel like a baby for playing on it. If anything, I think it just levels you up quicker because after almost every battle it felt like I was adding another skill to our skill trees.

The game plays as an RPG but it’s not a deep one. Maybe it changes with difficulty but it was basic on most fronts. You won’t be changing equipment but you can craft basic gems that improve your weapons and armor. There’s a skill tree for each member of your party and you’ll constantly be adding to it. Skills are simple upgrades to health, speed, power, or a new spell or attack. After a while it got repetitive and whatever skill was next I just added because it seemed like every fight I earned a new skill.

You’ll fight battles with another partner and for the majority of the game, I always kept Aurora in one slot. Finn was useful because he cast magic and enemies were weak against a specific type of element like fire, water, lightning, etc… Battles are not random and you’ll see the enemy coming which was nice to be able to prepare for. During the battle, you’ll have a system to learn which is unique. It’s not turn-based, instead, there will be a meter at the bottom of the screen that shows everyone’s face. The faces race to the “cast” line. When a face reaches it they can select a move to perform with each move coming at a different speed. You’ll then have one or two seconds to wait before they perform the move. There are a few things that change how the meter works and how fast or slow enemies or partners move up it like spells and attacks. You can attack someone when they are in the “cast zone” and it will reset their meter interrupting them. A huge component of battles is Igniculus, your firefly friend. As I mentioned my wife played with me and she controlled him. During battles, he free roams around the field and can heal or restore your health and magic but he also helps on the offensive. He can shine extra bright and blind the enemies so their meter goes slow while you continue to attack them. I thought it was a cool touch and my wife loved playing as him.

You have an open world to explore with very small dungeons every now and then. They might take a minute to explore so as I said the game is not overly difficult. There are a few sidequests to complete for your partners but even if you don’t complete them all you shouldn’t have a problem defeating Umbra. Child of Light is a short RPG, I think we probably beat the game around 10-15 hours of actual playtime. It’s a short but sweet journey.

Memories:
It was fun to play with my wife and I’ll remember our playthrough for years to come. She makes video games even better.

Child of Light Review Score:

Child of Light offers a beautiful but short playthrough of a unique plot paired with water-colored graphics not often found in video games. It’s not deep and you won’t be level grinding or exploring deep dungeons but if you want an RPG to introduce to a beginner or a short game to beat over the weekend that isn’t a shooter, Child of Light offers a solid experience.

Child of Light scores a 7.4 out of 10.

Do you remember when Child of Light first came out? Who was your favorite member of your team? What did you think of the water-colored graphics? How about Umbra and her daughters? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Kirby’s Adventure Review

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After the smash success that was Kirby’s Dreamland for the Game Boy in 1992, HAL Laboratory developed a sequel that was published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. King Dedede is back to his mischievous ways in Dream Land and it’s up to Kirby once again to save the land and repair the Star Rod. Kirby’s Adventure would introduce two huge signatures in the Kirby series that would forever change our hero Kirby.

Kirby’s Adventure Plot:

From the game’s manual:

“Light years away, on a tiny star not visible from Earth, is the magical, peaceful place known as Dream Land. The beings that inhabit this wondrous world live a blissful existence that centers on eating, sleeping, and playing. (MY KIND OF WORLD!) An example of their carefree customs includes the traditional after-lunch nap. After they awaken from their nap, the Dream Landers discuss their dreams and fervently hope that each other’s fondest wishes come true.

One day, a young Dream Lander named Kirby awoke from his after-lunch nap feeling terrible. “What happened?” he wondered to himself. “I didn’t have any dreams during my lunch nap!” This lack of dreams left Kirby feeling very uneasy. After talking to some of his friends, he found that the problem was much more serious than he had thought, for they had not experienced any dreams either! “Something must have happened to the Dream Spring!” they exclaimed in unison.

The Dream Spring is a magical well that is a reservoir for all the dreams of the inhabitants of Dream Land. Dreams also flow out of the Dream Spring and envelop Dream Land, granting all sleeping beings enjoyable dreams. Legends told that the Dream Spring was created by a magical artifact known as the Star Rod. The sparkling star on the tip of this scepter was an actual fragment of a star that had landed in Dream Land in the distant past. The Star Rod now provided energy to the Dream Spring and served as the very symbol of the Dream Land.

The lack of dreams made everyone in Dream Land feel restless and irritable. The joyful laughter that had once resounded throughout Dream Land could no longer be heard at all. Things were bleak. Kirby, the roly-poly hero of Dream Land, boldly announced his intentions to investigate the Dream Spring and find the cause of all the trouble.

Upon reaching the Dream Spring, who did he find but King Dedede, bathing in its magical waters! In the past, King Dedede had caused mischief in Dream Land by stealing all the Dream Landers’ food and Sparkling Stars. Now, in the middle of the Dream Spring, in place of the Star Rod, sat Dedede, covered with bubble bath.

“So, you’re up to your old tricks again, eh, Dedede?!” accused Kirby. “What are you talking about, young pudge ball?” Dedede looked surprised. “I thought I’d do everyone a favor by…”

“No, no, no!” Kirby shook his head. “I won’t listen to your tricks! What have you done with the Star Rod?!”

“Oh, that old thing,” Dedede said nonchalantly. “I broke it into seven pieces and gave each piece to one of my friends…”

“What was Dedede thinking?!” Kirby wondered. Before hearing any more of what Dedede had to say, Kirby set off on the long trek to gather the pieces of the Star Rod and return them to the Dream Spring. Hopefully, he could return the sparkle to the Dream Spring so that the people of Dream Land could again enjoy their happy midday naps.”

Wow, incredible, a video game all about restoring dreams to people who nap after lunch. This is superb and I wish our world was this simple. Kirby just wants a good nap, and I respect him for that. But the truth is… Kirby was wrong!

King Dedede did break the Star Rod, but he did so on purpose and he’s not the true villain of the game. Why would King Dedede break the rod? In an act of heroism, he saw the entity known as “Nightmare” coming and broke the rod before Nightmare could take it and ruin everyone’s dreams. Kirby gets the seven pieces back and builds the Star Rod. He also kicks King Dedede’s butt for good measure and that’s when Nightmare strikes trying to spread bad dreams. Kirby defeats Nightmare and restores the Star Rod to the dream fountain ensuring that everyone can peacefully dream again after their lunches.

Kirby’s Adventure Gameplay:

With the first game on the original Game Boy, players never knew what color Kirby was! Much to the surprise of everyone including many on the development team, Kirby’s creator always pictured him pink so the iconic pink blob saw color for the first time in Kirby’s Adventure but that’s not the only thing that Kirby showcased on the NES.

Kirby’s famous copying ability was introduced in this game and it’s a series changer! Kirby could suck up just about any enemy in the first game but now he can copy their skills by inhaling them and pressing down to copy their ability. It was awesome. Kirby could swing a sword, throw a sword, breathe fire, blow ice, turn to stone, set off sparks, fly around like a twister, scream into a mic, and roll as a wheel just to name a few of the abilities that he can copy. Kirby’s copying ability was a game-changer and made an easy game even easier which I suppose is a bad thing, but it was so unique and fun to change Kirby. My favorite ability was the sword and the ice breath.

As I just mentioned, Kirby’s Adventure like the original game is easy. It’s a platformer spread across seven worlds but each level takes about two minutes to clear. The difficulty seems like the game is made for young children, and along with the story, it’s not surprising that the game isn’t a challenge. What was a big surprise was the final boss because of the difficulty curve spikes. I didn’t like that as the game changed tones completely from a cute little platformer that requires some skill to a final boss that will strike you down every chance they get. It’s not just that “Nightmare” is tough it’s that he has two stages. The first is a shoot ’em up stage where the gameplay is different from the entire game and then the final phase is having to avoid his shooting stars as he opens his cape for you to hit with the Star Rod. It wasn’t easy to beat him and it shocked me that he was that hard compared to the rest of the game.

Kirby’s Adventure aside from the weird spike in difficulty is a fun and simple game. The intro was cute as they teach you how to draw Kirby and between the levels there are tons of fun mini-games to play like grabbing Kirby plushes from a crane machine to gain extra lives or having Kirby gobble up eggs to earn more lives. My favorite was the quick draw mini-game where it’s set in the wild west as Kirby outdraws his opponents. You’ll get a ton of extra lives through your playthrough and it won’t seem like you’ll need them but when you face the final boss you’ll understand why you have 30 extra lives.

Boss fights were unique and I enjoyed a few of them like the artist that draws on an easel before they come to life and attack Kirby. Similar to the first game, some levels require almost no fighting as you can puff up Kirby and float to the end of the level without much resistance. The fantastic and cute animations of Kirby return when you reach new worlds as well as the amazing music that keeps you from turning the volume down.

Memories:
I didn’t have an NES growing up but one of my friends did. In one of my earliest video game memories, I remember playing Kirby’s Adventure with my friend in his living room. We would get stuck with the bomb blocks and his mom would come in and break the block for us. It was weird thinking back on that because his mom was a huge dud so for her to know how to do something in Kirby was very surprising. I also remember the quick draw and thinking that was so cool as a little kid.

Kirby’s Adventure Review Score:

Kirby’s Adventure introduced us to a pink Kirby and his signature copying ability. While the game is solid all-around I didn’t care for the difficulty spike on the final boss when the overall game is very easy. Kirby’s Adventure is more advanced than the original but it doesn’t the magic that Kirby’s Dream Land did but it’s still a solid game.

Kirby’s Adventure scores a 7.9 out of 10.

Do you remember when Kirby’s Adventure first came out? What did you think of his copying ability and what was your favorite enemy to copy? Were you able to beat the game and were you surprised by the final boss? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Review

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Nathan Drake was already a superstar when developer Naughty Dog teamed up with Sony Computer Entertainment and released Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception in 2011 for the PlayStation 3. With the massive success of Uncharted 2, fans were eager to see what Uncharted 3 had in store for them. Would the third game in the Uncharted series take the series to new heights or are the best moments behind it?

Uncharted 3 Plot:

Taking place two years after Uncharted 2 and four years after the original Uncharted, Nathan Drake still hasn’t checked out of the treasure-hunting career. Drake and his old pal Sully are in a London bar where they arranging for Drake’s ring to be sold to a buyer. The deal sours and a huge bar fight ensues where Sully and Drake both are shot.

That’s it. That’s the end of the series.

Just kidding, because both Drake and Sully survive their gunshot wounds but before you know that you get a nice flashback to a young Nathan Drake climbing walls and breaking into a museum where Sully rescues him from the guards. It was cool to see how Drake and Sully met because they have such a dynamic relationship and I was curious about how it all started. The story shifts to how they met the man who ends up shooting them (a man named Talbot) in the present day. Cutter, Sully, Drake, and Chloe (yes, Drake’s side chick from the second game) are working together to break into a library that has a map that details the location of the lost city of Ubar.

Drake and Sully are in search of an amulet that is split into two pieces. They locate the first half of the amulet but are ambushed by Talbot who steals the amulet and escapes. They travel to Yemen where they meet with Elena! Remember her? Drake’s on-again, off-again wife? Well, she joins the crew and helps them into a tomb that has a few clues about where Ubar could be. Talbot and his partner Marlowe arrive and reveal to Drake that he in fact is not related to Sir Francis Drake as he adopted that name when he was a child while in an orphanage. Sully is captured and Drake fights for his life as the two are split up.

Sully has been forced to lead Talbot and Marlowe to the city of Ubar while Drake chases them on a cargo plane. His presence is alerted and the plane goes up in smoke as he tumbles back down to the ground landing in the desert. He catches up with the convey and rescues Sully from Talbot and Marlowe and escapes into a sandstorm. There is a supernatural element injected into the story as an evil Djinn has cursed the city of Ubar through the water system. Drake destroys the support system of the city and causes it to collapse to seal away the Djinn that causes hallucinations. The whole city turns into a sinkhole where Marlowe and Talbot are trapped and sink to their death while Drake and Sully escape. Elena and Drake make up again and the three of them fly home.

Uncharted 3 Gameplay:

Part of what made Uncharted 2 so great was the non-stop action and character relationships. Uncharted 3’s “train sequence” was the cargo airplane where it bursts apart as cargo falls to the desert with Drake in tow. It was an incredible sequence and well done. There are moments in video games that just make you go “Wow” and this was one of them for me when I was careening down to the desert with boxes and mercenaries flying by.

Uncharted 3 improved upon the stealth aspect of combat. Drake has a few more tricks up his sleeve in this game and it was tons of fun to plan the attack and whether I was going to bust in guns blazing or silently take out enemy after enemy. Hand-to-hand combat feels smooth and the action of shootouts returns with multiple guns to choose from, each with their strengths. In the heat of the moment, you won’t be picky with your gun. If you can pull off a headshot, that’s all you need as a skill.

Series favorites like large puzzles and treasure hunting return. You’ll be forced to solve unique problems to advance the story but most are solvable within minutes. You’ll see treasure glisten and Drake can pick it up to add to his collection. I’ve always enjoyed the game within the game of finding treasures. Drake is superhuman again. He is freakishly strong and nimble being able to push or pull ten times his weight as well as well as climb from the tiniest of ledges. Only in a video game! For a series that has beautiful attention to detail with the environments, voice acting, and atmosphere, I wish the physics of Drake were a bit more realistic. He is either immortal or the luckiest man alive.

I know there’s a multiplayer and online section, but I never played it. I’m way too selfish and only story or single-player campaigns to waste my time on online multiplayer modes. I’m sure it was received well, but if you want an opinion on the facets or attributes of the online mode you won’t get it from me, sorry!

Memories:
I remember Uncharted 3 was received well, but the opinion of most video game outlets and critics was that it wasn’t as great as the second game. That’s fine, but Naughty Dog still put together a great game, and this time they didn’t have to pay for good reviews as they did with user reviews of the Last of Us 2 on Metacritic. Uncharted 3 was a great game to play through and I had tons of fun in the gorgeous desert. The series could have ended with the third game, and I think everyone would have been satisfied.

Uncharted 3 Review Score:

Uncharted 3 improves on elements like stealth and hand-to-hand combat and has its own unique “wow” factor with the cargo plane sequence. With Uncharted 2 being hailed as one of the best games on the PS3, Uncharted 3 had a lot to live up to and for the most part, it did. It’s another must-play if you own a PS3 and enjoy action-adventure games.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception scores a 9.1 out of 10.

Do you remember when Uncharted 3 first came out? What did you think of the story? Did you think that one of the main characters would die? How does it compare to the second game? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Virtua Tennis Review

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Video games are amazing for making sports or chores that I normally don’t care about and turning them into something fun. Soccer, hockey, and tennis are sports I don’t care to play or watch but if I get a controller in my hand and see these sports on my consoles, there’s a good chance I have a blast. Developed and published by Sega, Virtua Tennis was released in 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast. This incredibly beautiful arcade and simulation tennis game would go on to critical and commercial success which speaks volumes for a tennis video game.

Virtua Tennis Plot:

Virtua Tennis doesn’t offer a story but it does offer the game mode of “World Circuit” where you can play your way to the top of the world rankings in a career mode.

Virtua Tennis Gameplay:

Graphics aren’t everything, if a game is fun I’ll play it regardless of what it looks like but Virtua Tennis is one of the most gorgeous games I’ve laid my eyes on. I can’t imagine seeing this game back in 2000 because any other game was a mere peasant or serf compared to the beautiful visuals of Virtua Tennis. When a game looks this good it’s bound to attract players and it probably attracted people who normally wouldn’t play tennis games like me. The presentation to go along with the graphics is superb. Before a match, you’ll see the athletes walk onto the court and warm up or stretch. They’ll rummage through their duffel bag, pull out a water bottle or tennis racket, and sit down as they prepare for the match. It all sounds commonplace now in video games but these pre-match details are huge.

Let’s take a look at the tennis players you can choose from. I was surprised I didn’t recognize a single name but I suppose since I don’t follow tennis it’s not that surprising.

Jim Courier – USA. He was known for becoming the youngest tennis player in men’s history to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Tommy Haas – Germany. Normally I’d pick the American to represent the good ole USA but Mr. Haas had such a dope look to him with his long hair locked behind a headband. He won the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics.

Tim Henman – United Kingdom. He peaked as the No. 4 ranked tennis player in the world in both 2002 and 2004.

Thomas Johansson – Sweden. He won a silver medal in the 2008 Olympics and won the 2002 Australian Open.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov – Russia. He won two Grand Slam titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world at one point.

Carlos Moya – Spain. He is a former No. 1 ranked tennis player and won the French Open in 1998.

Mark Philippoussis – Australia. He reached the finals of the 1998 US Open and the 2003 Wimbledon tournaments. He later became a model and starred in the reality dating show “Age of Love”.

Cedric Pioline – France. He reached the finals in the 1993 US Open and the 1997 Wimbledon finals.

Each tennis player has different attributes and has a special feature like a strong backhand or hard serve. Once you pick who you want to play there are a few different modes to play. The exhibition mode lets you customize your set. You’ll pick the difficulty, location, and whether you want to play singles or doubles. The arenas and stadiums look incredible and you’ll get all types of surfaces like grass, clay, and turf.

The two modes you’ll play the most or at least I did were Arcade and World Circuit. I won’t lie, I played on easy mode and after I did I think I probably should have picked normal mode for a better challenge. Easy mode is great if you want to learn how the game works and how to get the basics down. I picked up how the controls work after a few matches and felt very comfortable. With arcade mode, you’ll face off against five random opponents. Once you defeat them if you are deemed worthy you’ll be challenged by the “master” who is a hidden boss and secret character that you can unlock and play as.

World Circuit offers more of a career. You enter the circuit with the rank of the 300th player in the world with the goal of getting to the top spot. I didn’t know how the World Circuit would play being a tennis game but it’s deep with the options and training you can do. If you want to improve in Virtua Tennis this is the mode that I suggest you play. It has training sessions and while that seems boring it’s so much fun with the way they disguise it.

In Virtua Tennis, you control the direction of the ball with the joystick right before you smack it back at your opponent. It can take a little bit of practice to master where you want to place the ball so in the World Circuit mode, there are training sessions to help you out. There’s a bowling pin session where your coach has set up bowling pins that you must knockdown with the ball over six sets of bowling. Not only did it help me learn how to control the ball but it was so much fun and made me want to continue to train. Even better is that if you achieve the goal in training you’ll earn money. Another training session had your coach throwing balls at you and having you smack them at a target to train in precision. The smaller the target you hit the more points you’d get. With the money, you earn from training or from matches you can head to the tennis shop and buy various items. You can buy new players to team up with for doubles, new stages to play at, tennis clothes, and even new strings for your racket or a new sports drink.

Memories:
I didn’t play Virtua Tennis until I reviewed it but I remember there was hype around it when I was a kid which I thought was strange for a tennis video game.

Virtua Tennis Review Score:

Virtua Tennis is a must-play for fans of sports video games. The graphics and presentation were unparalleled at the time of its release and the addicting arcade action and world circuit modes offer gamers of all styles tons of fun to play. It’s a crown jewel in the Dreamcast library and a game that will get your competitive juices flowing with your friends or family.

Virtua Tennis scores a 9.3 out of 10.

Do you remember when Virtua Tennis first came out? Did you marvel at the graphics? Who was your favorite player to play as? Did you love the training sessions or were you able to unlock the secret characters? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Alien Storm Review

Developed and published by Sega, Alien Storm was released in 1991 in North America for the Sega Genesis. The side-scrolling beat ’em up would combine elements of street brawlers and arcade shooters to put together a unique but silly game about saving the Earth from aliens. Would the action and gameplay create the perfect storm or would the aliens prevail?

Alien Storm Plot:

From the manual:

“Vicious predators from the far ends of the universe are invading our planet! They’re mean and wicked, creating havoc everywhere they go! No one is able to end this turmoil until a group of courageous citizens known as the “Alien Busters” takes charge!

(Okay, side note: this game is so cheesy in its presentation and reminded me instantly of an over-the-top action B movie from the 80s. The use of the term “Alien Busters” only further pushes this notion as the characters have gun packs similar to the ones on the classic movie “Ghost Buster”. A lot of the aliens in this game remind me of the creatures and monsters from Ghost Busters too, so the creators were clearly inspired by that film. Okay, back to the plot.)

“Be a Buster and take on giant winged worms and multifaced beasts. But beware – they have the ability to turn themselves into whatever they want – even humans! Blast your Fire Blazer and sizzle mutants ’til they smoke! Chase crawly critters down highways with your almighty Thunder Bazooka! If that doesn’t work, summon the Gunship of the Ballistic Missile! That should do the trick!

But the battle isn’t over yet. In your final mission, you face an incredible creature with terrifying powers. You’ll need a full load of tricks, weapons, and strength to save the world and come out alive!”

So let me tell you, the game ends in a bizarre way that is good for a “WTF” moment. After destroying the leader alien who is a brain…(more on that later) the three heroes are placed in a bubble and float back to Earth. Here’s the text that shows at the end of the game:

“The ambition of the aliens to invade planet Earth has been foiled. Peace is restored.

But what has become of the tremendous three? Did they survive? Nobody knows and there is no way to find out.

But, if any aggression is made to our planet again, they are the ones who will fight back.

Until then, their names shall be engraved on our minds.

“ALIEN BUSTERS”

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Alien Storm Gameplay:

In Alien Storm you’ll have your choice of three different characters to fight against the aliens. There’s a man in a red aerobics jumpsuit, a woman in a yellow aerobics jumpsuit, and a robot that looks like the Tin Man. Remember those cheesy 80s workout videos with Richard Simmons? If not, YouTube it and watch for a few minutes, you’ll get a good laugh. These “alien busters” are straight from the workout videos probably all hopped up on pre-workout powders and need to take it out on the aliens.

I played as the robot because he didn’t look as lame as the human characters. When I played as him, he was a stud. Not only did he have an electric whip that he slashed down aliens with but he would pull out guns from his arms and blast the aliens. My absolute favorite weapon was his gun foot that he raised on downed aliens and blew a hole in their face with his foot. It was awesome! His ultimate weapon was becoming a terrorist member of the Taliban. How do you ask? Well, the robot can self-destruct causing his body to explode as his head falls to the ground. A new body will come running and pick up the head attaching it on.

Alien Storm is fast-paced and there are plenty of aliens to kill. The problem is that it’s always the same five aliens that come attacking in all eight missions. It’s very repetitive but thankfully the missions are very short. I’m talking like two minutes max if you are a veteran fighter. If you’re a pro you can beat the game in less than twenty minutes.

Missions have two stages in them, the first being the beat ’em up stage where you take out aliens in hand-to-hand combat before moving the second part of the level that consists of shooting. You’ll get a crosshair on your screen and be able to move it as aliens pop out behind counters, shelves, and objects. You’ll have to blast them before they rush you. It reminded me a lot of the light gun games you’d play at the arcade. It was a nice change of pace but these stages lasted maybe a minute. There are also stages where you are sprinting and shooting enemies in front of you. During one of the missions, the goal was to “save the laboratory”. It was a shooting portion and I blasted every and all lab equipment as I killed the aliens. It gave me a chuckle thinking that I was in fact destroying the lab but “saving” it.

There are a few bosses in Alien Storm but they are pretty stupid looking. There’s a boss that you will face twice in the game and she looks like a combination of a witch and an old soggy shoe. I didn’t like fighting her and thought they could have come up with something better. Later on, you’ll face something that looks like an eraser with eyeballs that shoots at you. Again, it looks very stupid. The final boss is just as bad as it’s a giant brain with a small eyeball. You’re telling me that the leader of the aliens is just a brain? What is it with video games and putting brains as bosses? Alien Storm isn’t the only game to do this! It’s an odd trope but brains are apparently powerful..and evil!

Memories:
I always got this game confused with Alien Syndrome. It wasn’t until I played Alien Storm that I realized they were different games.

Alien Storm Review Score:

Alien Storm reminds me of “Big Trouble in Little Chinatown” where either you love it or you hate it. It’s bizarre and gives its own spin on 80s action B movies. You’ll have some fun but don’t take this game too seriously. There are better ways to spend your time playing video games.

Alien Storm scores a 6.5 out of 10.

Do you remember when Alien Storm first came out? Was it one of the games you had in your Genesis library? What character did you play as? Did you have a favorite level? What did you think of the story? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

For Honor Review

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Imagine a war featuring the greatest warriors of all time in hand-to-hand combat. Knights, Vikings, and Samurai roam the land invading and defending as they claim superiority. In 2017, Ubisoft developed and produced “For Honor” an action game featuring these armies as you make your way across the land in massive battles. Released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, For Honor would feature a large online presence but would it cut through the competition, or is the blade too dull?

For Honor Plot:

Set in medieval times, For Honor features three different factions to play as. A natural disaster has occurred throughout the land and has forced vikings, knights, and samurai to compete for resources and land for their people. Aside from the natural disaster, there is Apollyon, a female warlord who is hellbent on creating a massive war between the three armies.

Apollyon controls a legion of the knights and splits the army in two. Her faction is the Blackstone Legion and the other is Iron Legion which you would consider the “good guys”. The story begins with the Blackstones killing off a few knights, you take control of a knight and battle the champion of the Blackstone. After defeating him, you are deemed worthy to join the Blackstones and are spared on the condition that you join their army.

The Vikings start to invade the territory of the Blackstone and you work to defend the land against them. Apollyon has her men raid Viking villages killing anyone who gets in their way while leaving just enough supplies for the Vikings to turn against each other and fight over. A great Viking warrior comes down from the mountains and starts to unite the Vikings together instead of bickering between themselves. Soon, the Vikings grow strong again and take back the land from the Blackstone Legion before setting out across the waters to raid the land of the Dawn Empire held by the samurais.

As the Vikings destroy most of the samurai, Apollyon and her men are already there as she kills the Dawn Empire’s ruler. The Emperor’s champion steps up however after being freed from prison and helps fight off the Vikings and their raid. The Emperor’s champion manages to unite the rest of the samurai together and sets a plan in motion to attack the Blackstone Legion’s fortress.

The samurai, Vikings, and the Iron Legion of knights who have broken away from the Blackstone Legion come together and attack the Blackstones. The Emperor’s champion finds Apollyon and fights her to the death defeating the Blackstone Legion for good. Once the Blackstones fall, the remaining three armies turn on each other beginning a new war.

For Honor Gameplay:

When you begin the game, you’ll have your selection of a few game modes. There’s an online mode where you can battle one-on-one. I used this function a few times, and it was fun. For Honor sets you up against other players with your experience online so the more matches you win, the more experienced fighters you’ll be paired against. I probably played only two or three matches just to get a feel for how it worked and I came away victorious. I didn’t play online after that as I’ve always preferred the offline story mode for just about any game.

When you play the story campaign, you’ll have an overview of the world and what missions you’ll be playing with what faction. The atmosphere and environment for each battle are very detailed and feels like the epic war scenes straight from blockbuster movies. I had a sense of awe when playing through my first few battles as boulders were catapulted at me, arrows flung in every direction, and men lay burnt and slain on the ground as I navigated the battlefield. For such a gory scene, it was beautiful.

For Honor is an action game, but it’s no hack-and-slash. There are strict rules to battling and if you don’t master the controls then you don’t have a chance at surviving. You’ll need to lock on to an opponent as you two battle, otherwise, you’ll just swing your weapon freely which isn’t effective. Once you are locked on, you can change your weapon stance by using the joystick. Moving the joystick up raises your weapon, moving it down lowers your weapon and so forth. You’ll need to carefully focus on how your opponent carries their weapon because it shows how you need to attack and defend. If they have their weapon to the left, you need to attack their right otherwise they will block your attack. If they attack you, you need to see which direction the attack is coming from and quickly change your weapon direction to block their attack. The battle mechanics aren’t too difficult to get used to and once you master them it’s a fun game who wit and reflexes. You can use a light attack that is quick but deals less damage, or you can go for the kill blow by using a heavy attack that is slower. Knowing how your opponent fights are key to knowing which attack to use. Every opponent has a stamina bar and health bar to let you know how close you are to defeating them. Be careful because you have stamina too and every swing drains you of stamina so make sure your attacks count.

Every battle you can earn points that give your warrior perks and bonuses during the fights. Each faction has four different warriors that you can choose to play as depending on your style. You can choose from quick assassin warriors to balanced warriors and of course the big boys who have lots of armor, a powerful weapon, and are extremely slow. It’s fun to try out the different options and find a style that suits you.

Memories:

I think I saw the trailer on YouTube and thought For Honor looked awesome. I put it down on my wishlist and my wife ended up buying it for me at some point. I enjoyed playing through the campaign and using the different armies in battle although it was a quick experience. I think I beat the story in a day or two. I dabbled in online play a little bit, but I liked the story the best.

For Honor Review Score:

For Honor has a fair and balanced battle system that allows you to find what style of fighting suits you best. The story campaign is short but is filled with lots of fun battles and gives you the opportunity to play as all three factions. The environments and atmospheres are epic as you relive battles you’ve imagined from movies.

For Honor scores an 7.9 out of 10.

Do you remember when For Honor first came out? What was your favorite army to play as? What did you think of Apollyon? Did you play online and if so what were your experiences? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Sine Mora Review

What hidden gems are in your video game library? A gem in mine would be “Sine Mora” for the Xbox 360. Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Digital Reality Sine Mora was released in 2012 for the Xbox 360 and later for the PlayStation 3. Sine Mora features a very mature plot to go along with great boss fights in this epic bullet hell shoot ’em up.

Sine Mora Plot:

Most shooters are very predictable with their stories. Aliens have invaded and you need to save the world or there’s an evil military taking over and you need to stop them etc… That’s why it was so refreshing to learn of the plot to Sine Mora and have such mature elements throughout the dialogue and story.

Sine Mora takes place on a planet similar to Earth with humanoid animals inhabiting the world. There are probably more species but the characters that I saw were bison, lizards, foxes, rabbits, and cheetahs. Two factions of these nations are at war in the “Eternal War”. There’s the Layil Empire and the Atarach Kingdom. The Atarach Kingdom is composed of a race called Enkies who can manipulate time where they can go back into the past or forward in the future. The Layil Empire wants to wipe out the Enkies so they’ve created a machine that will halt time travel allowing them to nuke the Enkies and end the war.

Throughout the game, you’ll play two separate narratives each in different eras. When the Empire went to nuke the Enkies, there were four nukes to be dropped. Three of them were successful but the fourth was never dropped as the pilot decided against it. This pilot named Argus Pytel was assassinated as soon as he landed from his co-pilot and the rest of the crew. Rontora Koss, the father of this pilot is seeking revenge on the Empire and the entire squad that carried out the attacks. In this timeline, Rontora tracks down each pilot who killed his son and takes them out.

The other story revolves around the Enkies and their resistance. You’ll take control of numerous pilots as you execute missions and destroy the Empire and its army. As it turns out Argus Pytel was responsible for everything during these timelines as he was the one that actually killed his co-pilot and took a different alias as he set up an intricate plot for the Empire to survive the attacks and wipe out the resistance. In a twist of fate, he kills his own father as his father mistakes him to be the killer of his son.

It’s easier to pick up on what is going on when you play the game but there are many dark elements to these stories, especially with the resistance crew. One of the members was raped and they don’t shy from exploring that theme and other dark plot points. There’s also plenty of naughty language where characters drop the “F-bomb” from time-to-time. Overall, the plot was great and I was surprised to see such a great story from a shoot ’em up.

Sine Mora Gameplay:

The game’s audio is not in English, at first I thought it was Japanese, but then I thought maybe it was French and after a while, I gave up and thought maybe they just made up the language. I don’t know what the language is in but it doesn’t matter since you read their dialogue too.

As a shoot ’em up Sine Mora is a unique one. Instead of health or one-hit kills, your ship will be judged on how much “time” it has left. The mission will start with about 25 seconds on the clock and tick down. If it reaches zero, you die but you can gain time by killing enemies. If you get hit your timer will be penalized and large segments of time will be erased. I loved this and thought it was brilliant.

You’ll play as different pilots throughout the game and each has its own sub-weapons that you can unleash. Enemies will drop powerups for you to snag like upgrades for your main weapon, more time, points, and will fill up your power timer. I’m not sure that’s what it’s called but the power time will allow you to slow down time so you can navigate the crazy bullet fields that are heading your way or focus in on a large target quickly. Time is obviously a key contributor to Sine Mora.

As you play through the three chapters and epilogue, you’ll have time checkpoints where the time resets and saves your progress. I played on normal and it will give you eight lives to beat the entire game but if you use them up you can start the game at the latest chapter you beat. It’s a short game but for a shooter, it’s actually somewhat long. I beat the game in just over an hour and a half but you can play through the game again for an alternative ending. Most deaths I wasn’t killed by the timer, but by instant deaths that I didn’t see coming. I was hit by a train a few times, a large laser evaporator, and was destroyed by some red lasers after not disguising myself as junk through the shoots.

The best thing about Sine Mora is the boss fights. They all are different and all of them were so much fun. There’s a spider boss that was difficult to defeat but once you take it down its body opens up and tiny spiders come out of it and attack you. It’s these details that I thought brought the game together. The boss fights are so much fun and there’s a mode that allows you to fight nothing but bosses so if you want to play or train against them you can.

Memories:
Never heard of this game until it was a free game for Xbox Gold members. Glad I played through it.

Sine Mora Review Score:

Sine Mora is an excellent shooter in an era where shooters are an afterthought. A fantastic mature plot, interesting and new elements in gameplay, and epic boss fights make Sine Mora a can’t miss for shoot ’em up fans.

Sine Mora scores an 8.8 out of 10.

Do you remember when Sine Mora first came out? Did you miss this gem when it came out or were you one of the first to play it? What hidden gems are in your game library? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Destruction Derby Review

The original PlayStation was barely a month old when Destruction Derby was released in 1995. Developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Psygnosis, Destruction Derby was one of the early highlights for the PlayStation but was also released for the Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64. Destruction Derbies are awesome to watch, would the fun translate to a video game console? We’re clutching the wheel in this Destruction Derby review.

Destruction Derby Plot:

No plot to this game, just pick up the controller and join the mayhem or stick around and join the league as you work your way up the career ladder on the numerous circuits.

Destruction Derby Gameplay:

Destruction Derby doesn’t have the best graphics, but man does it work. They are messy and jumbled but you know what? It’s a destruction derby game and with polygons and chips flying all over the place, it gives a sense of destruction that can only be found on the early PS1 with this game. On the tracks, the crowds look like tiny dots and the tracks are nothing eye-popping but you’ll see things in the background like billboards which give a little bit of atmosphere.

Before I forget, I love the music for Destruction Derby. It’s bizarre. It’s so weird with a mix of techno and pulsating beats but when you are racing it’s like building a sense of anticipation, and when you zoom between wrecks or barrel in on a car it’s strange but the developers knew what they were doing. You can select your skill level from rookie, amateur, and pro. I raced on Rookie but I suspect I could probably be pretty competitive on pro after my results.

If you want instant action you can jump right in with a single event with “Wreckin Racing” a combination of racing around tracks and smashing cars, a real race where the object is to come in first, time trails, and finally the destruction derby which puts you in a giant bowl against other cars with the object being to cause the most wrecks while staying alive. If you want a little more to your experience you can play the championship mode which will put you in a league with about twenty other racers. I did the championship mode with the wreckin’ racing and destruction derby. I won every single race while blowing away everyone in the standings. For the destruction derby, I came in second place but the championship came down to the final derby. I lost to a man called “Trash Man” what trash!

Destruction Derby doesn’t offer deep gameplay but they put character into the game. If you have ever played the board game “Guess Who” you would have noticed the detailed character drawings. Destruction Derby features tons and tons of colorful characters that look silly but put a face to your competitors. It’s great and it really made me want to beat them more seeing what they looked like. You had all kinds of people from old ladies, to black guys with dreads, to grumpy rednecks. It gave the game a lot of flavor and I loved seeing who I was racing.

Wreckin’ Racing is the most fun mode. It’s pure adrenaline running around the figure-eight tracks or cruising full-speed into an intersection waiting to see if you’ll be T-Boned by another car. It’s so simple but so much fun and that’s what video games are all about. Your car has numerous points of contact which are presented on the bottom right-hand corner. Each section of your car is represented with a green arrowhead and as that section of your car takes damage it slowly turns red. If that section turns black, your car is screwed and likely will be breaking down any second.

The developers did a great job with the mechanics of the car and how damage affects it. If the front of your car is damaged, your radiator may give out which is an instant breakdown. If the sides of your car are severely damaged it will change the way your car steers and makes it very difficult to steer left or right. For a simple game on the PS1, the car acts a lot like a realistic derby car. You’ll score points based on the impact of your car against other cars. The biggest points will be scored if you can fishtail another car causing them to spin out. In championship mode, you’ll start in the fifth circuit and if you want to continue to move up you’ll have five circuits to play through with each one getting tougher.

Memories:
I’m not sure this memory actually involves Destruction Derby but it’s either Destruction Derby 1 or 2. Anyway, it was probably around Christmas 1995 when I was just a wee boy. My mom and dad had taken me with them to do some shopping. Where I’m from (a tiny farming community) you had to drive an hour just to get to stores like Walmart or Toys R Us. We had gone to a few stores and my dad took me to the video game section to entertain me while my mom shopped. I’m pretty sure we were at a Toys R Us and they had Destruction Derby as a demo for the PlayStation.

I was too small to reach the controller so I was on my dad’s shoulders as I played. This was the norm for me as I pretty much lived on my dad’s shoulders until I was like 25 or something. I loved cars back then and the only thing cooler than cars were crashing them. We played this game the entire time as my mom shopped. We eventually left but the memory doesn’t stop. We were driving in a blizzard and had to stop at a family friend’s house on the way home because the roads were so bad. I remember being confused and not knowing what was going on as I looked outside the window and saw nothing but snow pounding the windows. I loved that game so much my dad got me Demolition Racer a few years later which I loved.

Destruction Derby Review Score:

Destruction Derby offers simple but addicting fun. You can easily burn through a Saturday playing hours of derbies or racing. The gameplay isn’t deep and the graphics aren’t special but the bottom line is that the game is fun. If you want a quick rush of plowing through an intersection while taking first place around the track Destruction Derby offers gamers a great soundtrack and simple fun from a game that gives a glimpse into the earliest days of the PlayStation.

Destruction Derby scores an 8.3 out of 10.

Do you remember when Destruction Derby first came out? Was it one of the first games you played on the PS1? What was your favorite game mode? Did you have a rival as I did with Trash Man? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!