Tiger Chainsaw

Mega Man 7 Review

After six games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Mega Man series was moving to the Super Nintendo. In 1995, Capcom developed and published Mega Man 7 paving way for the blue bomber to upgrade to 16-bit graphics. How would the series differ from the NES and what new characters would be introduced? We upgrade to the SNES in this Mega Man 7 review!

Mega Man 7 Plot:

Out of the previous six Mega Man games, Mega Man 7 might have the best story as far as how the plot makes sense. We pick up six months after the last game with Dr. Wily sitting in prison. Dr. Wily is no fool and he was bound to get caught at some point so he implemented a plan to rescue himself if he ever was caught.

He secretly hid four robot masters in a base that would activate if there was no contact for six months. With Wily in prison, the robots are self-activated and start searching for their creator. They find Dr. Wily, bust him out of prison, and start destroying the city. Mega Man arrives on the scene and starts to control the damage but not before meeting Bass and Treble, a mysterious duo that is similar to Mega Man and his robot dog, Roll. They test Mega Man’s skill before revealing to be on a similar quest to stop Dr. Wily.

Mega Man begins the process of cleaning out the four robot masters and returns to Dr. Light when his missions are complete. After the four robots are destroyed another four come out and start causing havoc. Mega Man cleans them up too before returning to headquarters to find that Bass and Treble have destroyed it sending a message that they were working for Dr. Wily all along.

In a predictable turn of events, Mega Man storms the base of Dr. Wily destroying the robot masters again before meeting Dr. Wily. This is where it gets really good! Mega Man defeats Dr. Wily and says “I should have done this a long time ago” Die Wily!” MEGA MAN ACTUALLY SAYS DIE WILY!

Looks like Mega Man is sick of all Dr. Wily’s crap like the rest of us and wants to put him six feet under the ground. Wily retorts that robots can not harm humans and Mega Man says he is more than a robot pointing his arm cannon at Wily. But just as we thought that Mega Man had finally had enough and that he was going to blast a hole in Wily’s head, Bass and Treble storm the room and rescue Wily from Mega Man.

I have to say that I was shocked to see Mega Man turn dark and actively discuss murdering Wily! I’m also surprised that Nintendo let that happen as they typically stay on the PG side. It was great to see some real emotion from the Mega Man series, especially from the hero who is frankly sick of having to stop Wily every few months.

Mega Man 7 Gameplay:

I was curious about how the gameplay would change on the Super Nintendo along with other factors. The graphics look great but the screen feels zoomed in. In the Mega Man games on the NES, the screen felt like you were seeing the whole picture whereas Mega Man 7 feels like you’re not seeing everything. The colors and details are great as you are treated to better animation from cut scenes and robots have unique designs. Some robots you’ll shoot their bodies only to have their heads fall off and attack you next.

The biggest change for the series is the control of Mega Man. On the NES he was much quicker and his jumps felt better controlled. In Mega Man 7, he is slower and his jumps feel weighted down. It’s not that big of a deal but you’ll notice it if you just got done playing Mega Man 6 as I did.

As for the challenge of the game, Mega Man 7 is still a very difficult game. The levels are easier than the first six Mega Man games, but the actual robot masters vary. Some are fairly easy, while others will kick your butt. Shade Man was tough as he would swoop down from the ceiling and suck your energy out and inject it into him. You really have to be quick when sliding on the ground and dodging his attacks. The hardest challenge by far was Dr. Wily. I’m used to him kicking my butt all over the place but his second form was near impossible for me. It sucked that the only weapon that I found that could damage him was the spring coils but I had used up a lot of it already on previous fights. If Mega Man is powered up with a ton of weapons, there should be more than one weapon that can hurt Dr. Wily.

A few levels stood out to me like Spring Man’s circus-like atmosphere, Shade Man’s creepy undead robots, Turbo Man’s race track, and Slash Man’s dinosaur-themed park that clearly was influenced by Jurassic Park. You even get a robot T-Rex chasing you through a portion of the level. The music didn’t quite fit for me, I’m not sure what it was but it wasn’t up to the Mega Man mix that I’m used to.

Memories:
I tried playing Mega Man 7 a few times over the years but never got into it. It was only until I started to review video games seriously that I wanted to dive into the seventh game as I’d played the first six games a few times.

Mega Man 7 Review Score:

Mega Man 7 introduces new villains and showcases some great-looking environments to go along with the best plot of the series up until this point. Where the game suffers is the slowness of Mega Man, lack of gadgets, and predictable course to the game as seen in the previous six entries.

Mega Man 7 scores a 7.6 out of 10.

Do you remember when Mega Man 7 first came out? What was your favorite robot master? Could you believe the ending with Mega Man ready to KILL Dr. Wily? Did you even reach the end? Where does it rank in the series? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Aerial Assault Review

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In 1990, developer Sanritsu and publisher Sega released Aerial Assault for the Sega Master System. The side-scrolling shooter put players in control of a jet fighter flying through the sky taking on an evil military organization called the N.A.C. who wants to take over the world. Would my Aerial Assault review fly high or would lightning strike it down?

Aerial Assault Plot:

The game takes place in the very futuristic year of 1999.

“Some years ago, an evil militaristic organization known simply as the N.A.C. developed a huge laser emitter, “EL”, which was capable of gradually destroying the Ozone layer. This posed an ominous threat to all life on the planet, and cast a shadow of fear stretching to the far corners of the Earth.

In the year 1999, the N.A.C. began an all-out offensive against every country in the world. Although initially, each nation’s self-defense forces valiantly stood their ground against this most formidable of adversaries, they eventually proved to be no match for the sheer power and size of the enemy.

(So you’re telling me that an organization took on every country in the world and beat everyone? LOL, okay!)

However, just when all seemed lost, the “Freedom Fighter” appeared on the scene. Not officially attached to any one nation, it secretly sped off to clash with the unsuspecting enemy forces. Now, you must lead the Freedom Fighter into combat and come out on top, if you’re going to preserve life as we know it!

You’ll encounter air, land, and seacraft, and they don’t take prisoners! Attempt to dodge their onslaught while, at the same time, moving forward toward the final targets. As the pilot of the Freedom Fighter, you get no breaks at all – even the elements are against you! (It’s true, fuck the lightning) You are absolutely the only hope remaining for the people of Earth. Go on out and give it all you’ve got, in the name of Freedom!”

*Rolls eyes*

Aerial Assault Gameplay:

Okay, so this story is pretty ridiculous, but is it saved by the gameplay? Meh, no not really. You can select your difficulty between easy, normal, and hard. I played on normal and didn’t have too much of a tough time reaching the end of levels. When I died it was very cheap deaths so unless you suck at shooters, you should beat the game on normal.

This is a quick game as there are only five missions to play through. The graphics are very basic and nothing special. The sprites to the planes are simplistic but I suppose the best thing about the looks of this game would be the background. I think it was level two where the sun sets throughout the stage and the level grows darker. I liked that and thought it was a cool touch.

Your fighter jet starts off very slow but you can quickly power up with some help. I did like that before each mission you’ll receive a message telling you what objects to shoot at to gain power-ups. You can have six different weapons but my favorite was the chaser missile. I think it was the most powerful but you know what I hated? If a powerup was floating near you it would try and hit your jet on purpose. That means that if you have a great weapon and some shitty normal shot power-up was floating around it would try and run into your plane making you switch back to crappy weapons. I hated that and it messed me up a few times when I was happy with the current weapon I had. Most power-ups I avoided because I had no idea what they did, one looked like instant death so I avoided it at all cost. During the last stage, I found out that you can get a highly useful shield.

Let’s talk about the bosses and things that killed me. Bosses were fun to fight though most were easy. Every boss will have obvious weak points that flash red as they shoot bullets at you. Destroy all the weak points and the boss goes down. By far the hardest boss was stage four. It was a wall that shot everything from lasers, electricity, flames, and bullets. I found a few safe spots on the screen to keep my fighter jet as I blasted away at it. The final boss I thought would be tough but it turns out it was a breeze compared to the previous boss.

Death happened a few times to me but they were mostly cheap. On stage two I was killed a few times by lightning. Remember the manual even mentioned that the elements were against you, well they were right! Here I am just flying through the clouds, kicking ass and taking names and all of a sudden lightning strikes my fighter jet and I’m blown up. The first time it happened I wondered if I got hit by something I didn’t see but it happened again and again. You have to fly very low at the bottom of the screen as lightning strikes numerous times throughout the level. It was stupid and a very cheap way of taking away lives.

When you beat the game you are greeted on the ground by a roaring crowd as you pump your fist in the air from your cockpit. A text message appears saying how you are the real freedom fighter and now the world is at peace and whatnot.

Memories:
I have never heard of this game until I chose to review it.

Aerial Assault Review Score:

Aerial Assault is a very basic game with boring enemies and confusing powerups. It doesn’t win any beauty contests but if you like easier shoot ’em ups you might enjoy Aerial Assault. Oh, this game might only have three musical notes too so play on mute if you want to test this game out, otherwise, your eyes and ears will both bleed.

Aerial Assault scores a 5.4 out of 10.

Do you remember when Aerial Assault first came out? Did the lightning kill you too? Were you able to get past the fourth level? If you like this game, what are some redeeming qualities of it? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review

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The first sequel to a video game series is the most critical of whether a series will survive or be laid to rest. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune saw success when it was released in 2007, but when Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3 it blew away the original. Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Song Computer Entertainment, Uncharted 2 improved upon everything the original Uncharted set forth to do making a push for the best series on the PlayStation 3.

Uncharted 2 Plot:

Last time we saw our hero Nathan Drake, he was fighting off mercenaries and sending the cursed El Dorado coffin into the ocean and riding off with his love interest Elena and old pal Sully. Uncharted 2 picks up two years after the first game with Drake teaming up with an old associate named Harry Flynn and his girlfriend Chloe to steal an oil lamp that is connected to Marco Polo. Flynn betrays Nate as the two steal the lamp and Drake is arrested. Three months later, Chloe frees him from prison with the help of Sully. It’s clear that Drake and Chloe have been hooking up before the heist so where is Elena? Well, more on that later.

Chloe reveals that Flynn and his boss, Zoran are after the Cintamani Stone which is a massive sapphire from the mythical city of Shambhala. Drake and Chloe travel to Nepal where they encounter Elena! Awkward! A quick shootout results in Chloe running away and Elena teaming up with Drake again to get out of the mess.

Drake tracks down Flynn who is traveling on a train that Drake hitches a ride on. A wild shootout occurs causing the train to derail and leaves Drake for dead until a Tibetan man finds him and heals him in his village. Drake and Elena are reunited where they learn that Zoran can obtain great power from the Cintamani Stone and set off to stop him at all costs. With Chloe back in the picture, the three of them try and stop Zoran but fail and are rescued by Shambhala’s guardians. The Cintamani Stone is revealed to be not a sapphire but an amber fused with the sap from the Tree of Life. If someone can drink the sap it would make them immortal which is exactly what Zoran wants to achieve.

Drake sets off by himself to stop Zoran where he is able to defeat him by shooting explosive resin around Shambhala. In the aftermath, Chloe ditches Drake and tells him to get back with Elena which is exactly what he does.

Uncharted 2 Gameplay:

I noticed right away that the graphics immensely improved from the first Uncharted. If the first Uncharted was a B-action movie, then Uncharted 2 is a blockbuster. Everything in Uncharted 2 feels epic starting with the insane sequence of climbing up the derailed train in the blizzard at the beginning of the game. You knew you were in for a treat after that.

The firefights in Uncharted 2 are similar to the original. You’ll have various weapons to choose from with pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and grenades. What improved wasn’t the gunplay but the fistfights. Drake can now pull off combos and special QTE moments to finish off big thugs and bullies. If you prefer a more Solid Snake approach, Drake can sneak up behind enemies and take them out silently which I preferred as it helped avoid alarms and waves of enemies. Again, it’s amazing that Drake kills a thousand guys on his way to “saving” the world potentially but as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Puzzles return but you should be able to figure them out if you’re older than ten. Most puzzles require Drake to look in his journal for hints or color cues and have him push levers to get large statues or platforms to move. Remember the small treasures you collected in the first Uncharted? That returns as you can collect over 100 treasures that shine or sparkle as you make your way through the level. It’s tough to pass them up if you see them sparkling in the corner of your eye.

The acting improves and Drake, Elena, Chloe, and Sully are superbly voiced. After having a game under their belt, Drake, Elena, and Sully have their personalities down and the story feels real. It was interesting to see that Drake and Elena had broken up since the first game, and made their relationship more realistic with the difficulties of dating someone like Drake.

Memories:
I was much more impressed with Drake’s second outing as just about everything improved. My friend that I worked with wouldn’t shut up about the second game so I finally played it and was pleased with how well it turned out. I remember thinking Drake might pull off a little threesome action between Elena and Chloe, or maybe that was just a fantasy. Either way, Drake knows how to pull the ladies in.

Everyone always talks about the train sequence as it sets the tone for the game and it’s true, it was epic, and not many games can open up like that but there’s much more to Uncharted 2 than the train. I’ve played through Uncharted 2 a few times and it never disappoints.

Uncharted 2 Review Score:

Uncharted 2 is what a sequel should be improving on every facet of the first game. Characters, firefights, gameplay elements, and graphics all are upgraded to showcase one of the best games on the PlayStation 3. In my opinion, it’s the best game of the Uncharted series.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves scores a 9.5 out of 10.

Do you remember when Uncharted 2 first came out? Do you think it’s the best in the series? Who is hotter, Chloe or Elena? (Chloe, duh) What did you think of the story? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Red Faction Review

Developed by Volition and published by THQ for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, Red Faction showed off a gameplay feature that was foreign to many gamers. Red Faction was famous for its realistic structures and walls taking damage. Explosions caused massive holes in the walls and pillars to fall to pieces. It was a huge deal back then but now has become commonplace in video games. Did my Red Faction review offer anything else besides new gameplay?

Red Faction Plot:

First off, our protagonist sounds stupid. Parker has traveled to Mars in hopes of starting a new life after being lured away from Earth by the promises of a mega-corporation called Ultor who controls the mines on Mars. That sounds like that last thing I’d ever do if I wanted to start a new life. No way would I leave Earth to dig holes on a foreign planet. Sounds dangerous and miserable.

Well, that’s actually what it is! The condition of the mines suck, the miners are hounded by guards who continue to abuse them, and the pay is terrible. A disease starts to work its way through the miners causing them to grow violently sick and die, coupled with the abuse of the miners from the guards an uprising occurs with Parker caught in the middle of it. Oh, you’re probably wondering what year it is. It’s 2075. There, now back to the plot.

Parker joins the rebellion and starts fighting his way out of the mines against the guards. He receives communications from Hendrix, an Ultor technician who wants to help the miners and Eos, a female that started the rebellion. For the majority of the game, Parker is by himself as he goes through Ultor offices, disables Ultor weapons and systems, and is a one-man fighting machine. Parker confronts Dr. Capek, an evil scientist who knows how to cure the mysterious disease that is killing the miners. Dr. Capek is killed and Parker continues on the run.

He soon meets up with Hendrix who is killed by mercenaries led by the mercenary leader, a woman named Masaka. Parker works his way through the mercenary base and kills Masaka before reuniting with Eos who has the cure for the plague. Parker quickly disables a massive bomb and the pair are rescued by Earth Defense Forces who received their messages for help. With the miners now in safe hands, Parker and Eos’ busy day is done. Roll credits.

Red Faction Gameplay:

As I mentioned in the preview, Red Faction is famous for environmental damage in the game, especially the walls and buildings. At the beginning of the game, you are taught that you can attach explosives to walls and blow holes through them to reach the other side or find secrets. It was neat to see this and the first half of the game you’ll be blasting your way through walls. Is there a door locked? Don’t worry, plant an explosive on the wall next to the door and blow a hole around it to advance. I did this a few times including entering a locked guard shack to find some nice weapons and health.

Speaking of health, you’ll have both armor and medical supplies to refuel your health bar. The game is generous at first with these but the further you go, especially in the mercenary base the fewer supplies you’ll find. I ended the game with only nine percent of my health left and zero armor. There weren’t many boss fights in the game, I counted three but they each were difficult for various reasons. The first boss you had to lure into a giant incinerator pit which was a cool strategy.

The voice acting was pretty solid in this game and there were even good jokes in the game which can be hard to pull off. For instance, Parker misses a shuttle in the beginning and Hendrix is ripping him for being too slow. The shuttle gets blasted a few seconds later and Hendrix says “Well, maybe being slow isn’t a bad thing”, it’s not what he said but how he said it that makes it funny. There were a few other conversations like that.

Something I hated was the loading bars. There are no levels in this game so when you cross a certain section in the game the game pauses for a few seconds and loads. It happens probably once every ten minutes and it can be very annoying. You’ll be in a random room and once you cross the halfway point of the room it will pause and load. It was weird and at first, I thought the game was freezing but soon realized that’s just part of the game.

You’ll fight your way through the guards and mercenaries with a variety of weapons. Anything from pistols, submachines, shotguns, railguns, assault rifles, rocket launchers, and grenades will help you along your way. I used almost everything as most guns were very useful. You’ll need to master the weapons because the end of the game is pretty difficult. The mercenary base I thought I’d never get through. You can save the game whenever you want so I had to save every few seconds to beat the base. Masaka was difficult because I had such low health at the end but after about ten attempts I beat her. It helped my frustration that I could load the game only a few seconds before I started fighting her.

Memories:
If you are under the age of 25 in the year 2020, chances are you won’t remember these but back in the 90s and early 2000s large stores like Walmart, Toys R Us, and in Michigan, our big grocery store chain Meijer had video game consoles hooked up to televisions to play demos on in the game department. There’s probably some still around in stores like GameStop but I remember my dad would drop me off in the game department while he’d shop around and come back a half-hour later and pick me up. I didn’t mind and I loved trying out the new games.

One particular trip to Meijer had me playing Red Faction. I thought it was pretty cool how I blew holes in walls or saw chunks of pillars drop onto the ground. Later, I remember seeing a lot of hype about this game either in a magazine or on commercials. I never played the game until this review but I’m glad I did.

Red Faction Review Score:

Red Faction probably has a cult following and I can see why. It’s a good shooter that has some length to it and a decent amount of difficulty. The breakable environments and walls add to the fun and the characters and plot aren’t half bad. Red Faction spawned a few sequels but I’m not sure they are as good as the original.

Red Faction scores an 8.4 out of 10.

Do you remember when Red Faction first came out? Did the physics of the walls exploding blow you away? Did you have a favorite weapon? Was there a section of the game where you were stuck? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Mega Man 6 Review

The final Mega Man from the original series on the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in March 1994. Developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo, Mega Man 6 closed the door on a series that had seen six releases on the Nintendo. The Blue Bomber’s final mission on the Nintendo would see him take on a “new” villain while improving gadgets like a jet pack. Would the series end on a high note on the Nintendo? Load up this Mega Man 6 review!

Mega Man 6 Plot:

By now, we know how Mega Man games go. Dr. Wily comes up with a terrible plot to dominate the world. Usually, it involves kidnapping scientists, posing as an imposter, or stealing robots from Dr. Light. In Mega Man 6, Dr. Wily isn’t mentioned so he must be reformed…LOL. More on that soon.

Anyway, there is a mysterious “Mr. X” who is sponsoring a robot tournament. Designers from all around the world including the United States, Japan, and Canada have entered the robot fighting tournament with their robots. The goal of the tournament is to find out who can create the best fighting robot. The tournament comes down to the final eight robots who enter the arena for the final event when Mr. X comes in and teleports the robots and himself away from the arena.

Mega Man is called into action to once again save the world as it turns out Mr. X has evil plans for the top eight robots. Mega Man battles his way through the eight robot masters and into Mr. X’s fortress only to discover a shocking reveal. DR. WILY IS MR. X! OH MY GOD WHO SAW THIS COMING? THIS MUST BE THE GREATEST PLOT TWIST IN THE HISTORY OF STORY-TELLING.

I hope you are fluent with sarcasm. Surprise, surprise, Dr. Wily is behind the whole thing but like every Mega Man game previously, our blue bomber stops Dr. Wily and puts him behind bars where in the credits Dr. Wily is said to rule in prison now. After the inclusion of Proto Man in some of the previous games, I was surprised that he wasn’t involved in the game.

Mega Man 6 Gameplay:

Mega Man 6 has the best robot masters on the NES. I loved their designs and thought most of them were very unique and loved the stereotypes they represented. Robots like Knight Man, Tomahawk Man, Yamato Man were inspired by human warriors but the designs of Plant Man, Centaur Man, and Flame Man were pretty cool too. The only robot masters that were somewhat lame were Blizzard Man and Wind Man. Let’s take a look at their designs.

One much-needed upgrade to Mega Man was his jetpack. Using his trusty robot dog “Rush”, Mega Man has the ability to hover around and reach higher platforms in this mode. I loved it because it didn’t require energy. The jetpack has limited fuel and replenishes itself as soon as you land making the use of a jetpack convenient whenever you need it. There’s also a “power” form for Mega Man but I never used it and I didn’t know what it was for but as I’m writing this I can recall blocks with cracks in them that you probably could have punched through. So I guess I’m a dummy but that’s just another cool feature for Mega Man 6.

The environments and levels were colorful and I enjoyed running through the castle on Knight Man’s stage or seeing the beautiful blazing sunset on Tomahawk Man’s stage. By the end of the Nintendo’s life cycle, Capcom knew how to get the most from the system in graphics and detail. Another cool thing they implemented was the use of dead enemies. In Flame Man’s stage, there were rivers of oil you had to cross. Some enemies would spit a flame on the river and set it on fire. The only way to cross these rivers was to destroy quick-moving enemies that resemble the Roomba Vacuums. Once you destroyed them they would flip over and land in the fire river and act as a cushion for you to cross. This was pretty cool and I liked seeing the added elements into levels. They also added stats and a small intro for the robot masters before playing their levels. Before the robot masters would do a type of dance or signature pose but now they made it so Mega Man is getting information on them including their power special, and stats for defense and size, etc. It doesn’t affect the gameplay at all but I thought it was a nice presentation.

Memories:
I beat Mega Man 6 for the first time around 2010. So replaying through it felt fresh again. I didn’t remember how much I liked it but for once I wasn’t so frustrated playing through a Mega Man game. Usually, they drive me nuts either with cheap deaths or levels that are super hardcore. Mega Man 6 was the perfect mix of skill and design for me and I really enjoyed my playthrough this time.

This was the last game Mega Man game I played while working at the hospital during my college years. I have never played any Mega Man games after this so I’m excited to continue the series and see what it offers on the Super Nintendo and beyond.

Mega Man 6 Review Score:

Mega Man 6 sends the series off the Nintendo with a bang. It’s the best in the series on the NES, yes better than Mega Man 2. The robot masters are designed well and while Dr. Wily is ultimately behind the evil plot, I appreciate them trying to disguise him in a new way. Mega Man 6 showed that Capcom could tweak the formula and improve the gameplay with the added jetpack feature. Great work by Capcom on the final Mega Man that would grace the Nintendo.

Mega Man 6 scores an 8.6 out of 10.

Do you remember when Mega Man 6 first came out? Were you still playing Nintendo games or were you already onto the Super Nintendo? What was your favorite robot master from this game? I loved Yamato Man. Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

LEGO: Harry Potter Collection Review

What a simple, yet brilliant concept LEGO has found in video games. Taking popular media franchises and turning them into LEGO video games has poured millions of dollars into the LEGO franchise. In 2016, the LEGO Harry Potter Collection came to the PlayStation 4, and later to the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Does the magic of the Harry Potter franchise translate into the LEGO world? Or did developer Traveller’s Tales and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment join the ranks of the Death Eaters and destroy Harry Potter? Get your wands ready for this LEGO: Harry Potter Collection Review!

LEGO Harry Potter Collection Plot:

Do you really need me to tell you the story of Harry Potter? If you do, do yourself a favor and read the books. They are incredible and full of magical characters, well-written story arcs, and plot twists. Seriously, don’t waste your time on this crappily written review if you haven’t experienced the Harry Potter franchise through the books, NOT the movies.

LEGO Harry Potter Collection Gameplay:

In the LEGO Harry Potter collection, you’ll play through Harry Potter’s seven years at Hogwarts. The games are very faithful to the plot of the books and all of your favorite moments from the franchise come to life in the LEGO world.

The characters do not speak, but there is plenty of humor to be found in the world. With LEGO characters being able to pop their heads, hands, and clothes off, there are many jokes to be made as they progress through the level. You’ll be able to explore more than just Hogwarts as you can travel to Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and even London.

Aside from the missions that you’ll do to progress the story like making the Polyjuice potion, fighting your way through the Forbidden Forest, or sneaking into the library, there’s plenty to interact with. I discovered that you can whack just about any item in LEGO World to destroy it or make coins come out of it. You collect coins to purchase spells, outfits, and characters. My wife and I had a competition to see who would get the most coins throughout each mission and once you hit a certain amount you are granted “True Wizard” status which my wife loved to yell when we achieved it each level.

I mentioned that you can purchase spells, some of them are very valuable while others are just for fun like turning student’s heads into flowers or tying their legs together. I think the best thing about the Harry Potter Collection is the sheer number of characters you can play as. You can play from recognizable characters like Harry, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Malfoy, to behind the scene characters like Dean Thomas, Crabbe, Goyle, and even Hagrid’s dog Fang. Of course, you can play as Lord Voldemort too! Each character has different spells or abilities you can use. For example, Hagrid is big and strong and can move items that others can’t, Fang can dig up items, and there are sections in levels that only evil wizards can access so the replayability factor to the Harry Potter Collection is substantial with the number of characters you can use. It’s amazing and it’s something that I never expected. Using different characters was exciting and it was fun to unlock them.

You might expect that a LEGO game is…well for kids. You’d be right, as most of the levels are easier to get through but there are some challenges that require more than a few flicks from your wand. I think the game is actually easier to play with a partner, so if you have friends (probably not if you are reading my reviews) then I suggest you play the game with them to make things easier. Boss fights aren’t difficult and you’ll be able to die and come back to life as much as you want. You might get a “Game Over” if you run out of LEGO blocks from your bank but we never came close to that. You have to really suck at video games or be five years old to lose. Later in the collection, you’ll learn to duel which can come with a challenge but once you understand how it works, it’s pretty simple. Just be ready to mash away at buttons.

Memories:

I bought this game digitally while there was a sale on it but I bought it for my wife and not myself. I didn’t think I’d enjoy a LEGO game as I believed they were for babies. How wrong I was!

After watching my wife play it for a few minutes I saw an option for couch co-op play and jumped in. That was it. I played the rest of the series with her from start to finish. I couldn’t believe how much fun it was with the unique humor of LEGO characters, the small puzzles, all the hidden secrets, finding all the LEGO coins, and exploring the huge world of Harry Potter.

I liked to control Harry much to the dismay of my wife who begged to be him but was stuck being Ron or Hermoine. She would whine whenever I controlled Harry and whined even more if I did any of the fun parts of the mission instead of letting her. What a baby! I guess I was right to get this LEGO game for her after all!

LEGO Harry Potter Collection Review Score:

I couldn’t believe the job that Traveller’s Tale did with the Harry Potter collection. If I was between the ages of 7-15 it’s a game I would have religiously played over and over collecting everything possible and playing with every character. Unfortunately, I don’t have that time and but I was still blown away by the atmosphere and world design that make the LEGO Harry Potter world so magical. The unique humor and detail of the personalities make this a special game to share with anyone that’s a fan of Harry Potter.

The LEGO Harry Potter Collection scores an 8.9 out of 10.

Do you remember when LEGO Harry Potter Collection first came out? Was it your first LEGO game or did you have experience? What was your favorite character to play as? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Destroy All Humans Review

In 2005, Destroy All Humans was developed by Pandemic Studios published by THQ for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game consisted of taking control of an alien race known as the Furons and carrying out secret missions around America to dominate the planet and well…to destroy all humans. A full remake of this classic is set to hit the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in July 2020. So was my brain blown away by this game and my Destroy All Humans review?

Destroy All Humans Plot:

A race of aliens known as Furons that DO NOT resemble little green men, oh no don’t call them that, they don’t like that, are secretly invading Earth. They look more like the “greys” that are popular in culture. Anyway, the Furons are invading because they need more DNA to continue to clone themselves to sustain their immortality. Millions of years prior they visited Earth and took some DNA from wildlife and used it to splice with their own DNA but now they need more and they’re surprised to learn of the evolution on Earth and that humans are now in charge.

The commander of the aliens is known as Orthopox-13 and his top invader is Crypto who invades areas in the U.S. like Nebraska, California, Washington D.C., and New Jersey. Crypto gets the drop on humans and discovers their leaders and ways of life while fighting with the military and top-secret government officials. Eventually, Crypto learns of the “Majestic” an agency team dedicated to top scientists, officials, and military personnel that is tasked with keeping Earth safe from aliens.

Crypto carries out various missions including brainwashing the Americans and assassinating the President of the United States to further the invasion of the Furons. Meanwhile, Orthopox-13 has convinced most of the American Press that communists are to blame for all the strange occurrences in America. A mysterious member of the Majestic named Silhouette meets with Crypto who reveals herself to be a female and launches a 50-foot killer robot on Crypto where he defeats it and then kills her completing the invasion of America.

The end credits roll with Crypto posing as the President of the United States instructing citizens to go to their local “testing” center where they will secretly be brainwashed or have their DNA extracted.

Destroy All Humans Gameplay:

There are basically two modes of gameplay in Destroy All Humans. The first is when you run around on the ground with Crypto and the second is flying his UFO. On the ground, Crypto has various weapons he can use on humans and animals like an anal probe (I never got the hang of it), an electric gun, a vaporizing gun, and a grenade launcher. You can jump to new heights and hoover for around 15 seconds with a jet pack that can fly up to three stories tall. When you aren’t destroying all humans you’ll need to disguise Crypto and you can do that by using a hologram projection as a human over him. He can pick out any human and make his appearance like theirs as long as no one sees him.

Physic powers also come into play. Crypto can pick up objects with his mind and throw them at attacking humans or simply to move them. DNA is key to advancing in missions, you can use it to unlock new weapons or power-ups. You get DNA by sucking the brain out of humans or doing various skill challenges that are in each city. Crypto can also hypnotize humans and make them do stupid things like distractions, sleep, or follow specific commands like going to the UFO.

Most missions revolved around protecting, invading, escorting, or destroying objects or people. The missions were okay but it wasn’t like I was hanging on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next. Some missions required Crypto to fly his UFO and cause massive chaos. In the UFO you have various weapons like the death ray, abductor beam, sonic blasts, and massive explosions. Flying around in the UFO is fun and it is almost a completely different game where you avoid missiles, and other ammo that the humans fire at your ship.

The final mission was a long one compared to the others. It was about 20 minutes long and required Crypto to destroy the 50-foot robot in his UFO before flying to meet Silhouette and killing her. It was a double-boss ending and both were up for the challenge but I did kill them on my first try.

Destroy All Humans is heavily influenced by the 1950s alien shows and theories and it feels like each mission is straight from the Twilight Zone. There are funny bits and pieces to the dialogue but it’s more geared toward teenage boys although I did enjoy watching the cow crap on Crypto.

Memories:
I remember playing a demo of Destroy All Humans from one of my PlayStation magazine demo discs. I thought the game was fun but never played it since then. I have a friend who was convinced I had this game and was obsessed with it. He was pretty adamant about it but I never had this game nor played the full game until this review. I played the Xbox version of this game as it was one of the games on Xbox Gold. I used to get this series confused with Xcom, but can you blame me?

Destroy All Humans Review Score:

Destroy All Humans pays homage to all the 1950s theories with communists and aliens and puts together a solid game where the main goal is chaos. It’s on the shorter side and can be completed within five hours, but there’s plenty of fun to be had after you beat the game in free mode. It’s not a deep game, but Destroy All Humans lets you live out any fantasies you may have invading Earth and brainwashing America.

Destroy All Humans scores a 7.8 out of 10.

Do you remember when Destroy All Humans first came out? What was your favorite weapon? Did you like playing as Crypto or flying his UFO more? What was your favorite mission? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

Project S-11 Review

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Some games just don’t have a strong marketing campaign. Paired with a terrible name and terrible cover art, Project S-11 was developed by Paragon 5 and published by Sunsoft in 2001 for the Game Boy Color. The vertical shoot ’em up was regarded as one of the respectable shooters on the GBC. Would it pass my test or does the game stink like its name and artwork? We take off in this Project S-11 Review.

Project S-11 Plot:

Project S-11 opens up by telling you that you are part of a top-secret project called S-11. You must penetrate the enemies’ defenses and deliver vitally important tactical information to your defensive bases. Battle against over 20 unique alien forces and destroy the alien homeworld to save the planet. Good luck pilot

Project S-11 Gameplay:

Yikes, let’s get this point out of the way. The cover art for Project S-11 is atrocious. It’s terrible and looks like a very cheap game. This cover art might be the top 10 worst cover art in the history of video games sitting at the table with Mega Man. What were they thinking when they named this game and when they approved the cover art for the game? Back in 2001, kids were still choosing their games based on covers and I’m sure this game sold like shit because of this cover. It looks like an art project where you cut out different colors of construction paper and glue them together to make a picture for your parents when you are in fifth grade.

At least this game has decent albeit brief scenes where you are in a control room or a briefing room that looks much better and looks like a little bit of effort went into it. After your commander gives you a pep talk he sends you on your way in the secret ship of S-11. The ship is just as ugly as the cover art and the graphics burn my eyes and just scream cheap. I’m sorry, I know this is for the Game Boy Color so there are limitations in what the developers can do but I’ve played shooters on the original Game Boy that look better.

You’ll take good ole’ S-11 on eight different missions spanning space, jungles, oceans, arctic zones, and more as you deliver the vital info while taking out the aliens. The first level is called Ekans Desert…wait isn’t that a Pokemon? Does this take place in the Pokemon universe?! Okay, probably not…So the game is very ugly but does it play well?

Yes, most of the time. You’ll have your selection of numerous weapons to help take down the aliens. Some alien ships drop power-ups, I think it’s just random so you better hope you have good luck that day. Some levels I breezed through with power-ups, while on others I died because I didn’t see a single power-up. Let’s talk about the weapons that come in this game. I don’t know their official names so I’ll just give them nicknames as I discuss them. I think there are five weapons to choose from and I liked the orange laser one as it was the strongest followed by the frozen penis head gun that shot penis heads in five different directions. A third weapon that I call the “pizza pisser” because it looks like a pizza when you pick it up and shoots like a weak piss stream as it gets less and less powerful the more you hold it down before it dribbles back onto your ship. This weapon can be effective when you have enemies beneath you but other than those three weapons there was a purple frisbee disc gun and a torpedo gun that sucked.

I made it through the first four missions with some luck but once I hit mission five I started to get my butt kicked. One thing I’ll praise is the cool side screen on the right-hand side that shows your armor, the number of bombs, and the ships you have left. I like that this game isn’t one hit one kill, but you’ll be able to take five to ten shots before dying. You’ll need that armor too because this game can get cheap and unforgiving. When you are low on health your ship starts to smoke which I thought was cool.

The reason why I say the game gets cheap is the bosses. There’s a mid-boss halfway through the level who is generally easy but then there were a few end-level bosses that were cheap as they shoved your ship into the corner as they rammed forward giving you almost no space to fly. If they touched you your health would deplete to almost nothing making it very difficult to beat them without serious maneuvers. My best strategy in defeating all bosses was saving my bombs for them. You can shoot a bomb that will have a large explosion for about three seconds that continues to damage any ships that fly through it. These bombs are hard to come by and you usually only have two but they were much needed for killing bosses.

Once you defeat the final boss you are rewarded with a screen of a guy giving a thumbs up and says something like “Good job, you saved the world”. The final level was surprisingly easy for me with the final boss being one of the easier fights. I hated that when you died your ship’s power-ups are taken away making you a dead duck in the water.

Memories:
Thankfully I never saw this game as a kid but even then, I probably wouldn’t have asked my dad for it because it looks terrible.

Project S-11 Review:

Project S-11 is plagued by an ugly game box, ugly graphics, and a terrible name. There is some fun but I’d rather spend it playing countless other Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to pass the time. Unless you love shooters, I’d pass on this one.

Project S-11 scores a 6.1 out of 10.

Do you remember when Project S-11 first came out? What was your favorite weapon? Was it the frozen penis head or the pizza pisser? Have you ever heard of this game? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

U.N. Squadron Review

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Developed and published by Capcom, U.N. Squadron was a side-scrolling shooter in the arcade before it was ported to the Super Nintendo in 1991. U.N. Squadron has you taking control of three pilots as you navigate your way through a war map taking out enemy targets and bases. How would the modern-day fighter pilot game fair? Hint: it soars to new heights! “Top Gun” on the SNES? We’re heading to the danger zone in this U.N. Squadron review!

U.N. Squadron Plot:

From the game manual:

“A year ago, a ruthless army of mercenaries swept across the kingdom of Aslan and destroyed everything in their path. Guided by the arms dealers of Project 4, the mercenaries now control every area of the country – except one.

On a tiny piece of desert lies the last hope of the people of Aslan. There, in a small corner of Area 88, are the world’s finest pilots – the UN Squadron. For months they have been waiting for the exact moment to begin their assault on the forces of Project 4. That moment has just arrived.

Each pilot begins his tour of duty with $3000 in his flight account and an unlimited number of F8E Crusader aircraft. As you destroy air and ground targets, money will be added to your flight account. This money can be used to help purchase additional aircraft and weapon systems to help increase your chance of survival. And only the best survive.”

So there you have it, you’re a mercenary pilot hired to protect Area 88 and drive out the enemy.

U.N. Squadron Gameplay:

Wow, let’s get this out of the way right now. The graphics and color pallet for U.N. Squadron are incredible. It’s one of the most beautiful games on the Super Nintendo and every time I play a new level my eyes have an orgasm mix of colors and graphics.

You can choose from three different pilots to fly each with different personalities. Again, from the manual:

Shin Kazama – Born in Tokyo, Japan. Top Gun of the UN Squadron. Shin raises his power level the quickest.

Mickey Scymon – Born in San Francisco, California. Served as a US Navy pilot in Vietnam. Mickey is capable of handling the most special weapons.

Greg Gates – Born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Former instructor to N.A.T.O. pilots. Greg recovers from battle damage the quickest.

I played as Shin and he looked the youngest and the one I’d relate to the most. Once you pick your pilot you’ll need to pick your fighter jet. The game offers six different jets to fly in but you’ll start out in the F8E Crusader and to be honest, it’s not a terrible jet. I ended up upgrading to the F14D Tomcat and stuck with it the rest of the way. The Tomcat is considered the fastest and most agile jet which is what I like in shooters. There are plenty of others to choose from each with their specialties like being great against ground targets or undetectable against homing missiles. After selecting your jet, you’ll need to stock up on special weapons. There are 11 different weapons to select and each has its strengths. Some will fire in all directions, some are best for ground attacks, some are lasers, some shoot missiles straight up, and some are just really powerful!

You’ll need to select a mission next, this is what makes U.N. Squadron awesome is that you can select the enemy you want to attack next. A large map is displayed with the enemy forces honing in on your base. My strategy was just to take out the nearest target to my base as I cleaned out the map. Before heading for takeoff, your commander will drop hints on the boss of the mission you selected so you know what weapons to take with you.

The graphics remind me a little of Metal Slug with the type of sprites you’ll see from enemies. Most of the enemies will be in fighter jets but you’ll also take on tanks, ships, submarines, and other mounted guns on various objects. Each environment is gorgeous ranging from a level where you fly through huge white puffy clouds, to a desert that has heatwaves, to fighting over a deep blue ocean. Some objects in the environment are destructible like the trees in the forest level that you can mow down. Others will have details in the background like lightning.

Bosses range from huge tanks to stealth bombers, and massive forts that require you to turn around multiple times to finish your bombing run or to ensure that everyone is destroyed. Missions are typically short not lasting more than two minutes. Some are as short as thirty seconds depending on the objectives. The best part about beating a level is the quick cut scene that takes place as your pilot does a trick and flys toward the screen while shouting some catchphrase about the level you just beat. It’s awesome and feels like the game is encouraging you. You’ll need encouragement because this game is brutal! It’s very tough and if I could nitpick at it, it’s the difficulty. You can turn the game to easy if you want but U.N. Squadron is for advanced gamers who are great at shooters. I got my ass kicked numerous times on the cave ceiling machine.

When you beat the game you are greeted with a short cutscene of all three pilots chatting over the airwaves and flying off into the sunset.

Memories:
I’m being honest when I say I have never heard of this game until I picked to review it for the SNES after reading about some of the best shooters for the system.

U.N. Squadron Review Score:

One of the best shooters available for the SNES. It has a beautiful color pallet along with tons of customization. Be warned though, this isn’t for the faint of heart. You’ll get ass kicked in this game.

U.N. Squadron scores a 9.0 out of 10.

Do you remember when U.N. Squadron first came out? Which was your favorite pilot to play as? What fighter jet did you select? Were you able to beat the game or was it too difficult? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!

The Legend of Dragoon Review

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Before there was “Ico” or “Shadow of the Colossus”, SCE Japan Studio had its sight set on making a role-playing game that would become a “Final Fantasy Killer”. In 1999, SCE Japan Studio and Sony Computer Entertainment released “The Legend of Dragoon” for the PlayStation. The fantasy adventure would see some success in Japan, but Americans couldn’t get enough of the game as it was met with commercial success in North America. So what is the Legend of Dragoon and how does the JRPG hold up over twenty years since its release? We get our wings in this Legend of Dragoon review!

The Legend of Dragoon Review:

No RPG can be complete without the critical aspect of the plot. It’s my favorite part of any video game and when perfected can create an entire universe dedicated to the story. The Legend of Dragoon centers around a young man named Dart who has been searching for the “Black Monster” who destroyed his hometown when he was a young child. Dart returns to his home after a five-year journey to find it in ruins, destroyed in a civil war between two kingdoms that are trying to rule the land of Serdian.

One of Dart’s childhood friends named Shana has been kidnapped and taken to the local prison where she will be held until the commander of the army can take her away as he has deemed her very special for unknown reasons. Dart goes on a rescue mission and sneaks into the prison where he meets Lavitz a knight fighting for King Albert who is trying to break out of the prison along with his soldiers. Dart, Lavitz, and Shana escape the prison after defeating the prison warden.

The trio helps end the civil war of Serdian by fighting for King Albert and defending against attacks from Emperor Doel’s army. During these attacks, they meet Rose a mysterious woman warrior who has a great deal of knowledge on the history of the land. It is revealed that 11,000 years ago there was a massive war between Winglies who are a race of winged humans. Humans used the power of Dragons captured inside small orbs to win the war and transform into Dragoons. Rose explains this and shows them the power of how to transform with the orbs they find throughout their journey.

One of the Winglys from the past wants to restore the former glory of their race and sets out to destroy the world so Winglies can reign supreme again. In order to do this, they need three special artifacts to complete the ritual which revolves around the moon (not literally) just moon themed. The rest of the game involves Dart recruiting characters to join his cause to save the world as they fight and defeat opponents to end the world. Shana is revealed to be the “moonchild” a child born every 108 years that can bring about the God of Destruction, Rose comes forward as the Black Monster who is 11,000 years old, Dart’s father is behind the plot at the end of the world (well he is possessed) and the biggest shock was when Lavitz died about a third of the way through the game! I couldn’t believe it and was crushed! King Albert joins your party and is almost exactly like Lavitz so in the end it’s not that big of a deal but I was still shocked.

The end of the journey sees Dart and friends defeat the God of Destruction, rescuing Shana again, and everyone returning to their lives except Rose who dies in the initial blast at the end but honestly, it sounded like she wanted it and at 11,000 years old who can blame her? There is so much history that the writers put into the game, but I don’t have time to explain it all in this Legend of Dragoon review. Overall, the story was great, a little long and confusing in the end but it’s a unique one.

The Legend of Dragoon Gameplay:

The cutscenes really haven’t aged well as many of them are grainy with a lack of focus. That being said, I’m glad they are in the game but be prepared for some ugliness. There is voice-acting in the cutscenes which surprised me. The acting isn’t anything special but I appreciate the effort.

You’ll be able to run or walk with Dart throughout his journey and he controls very quickly. It was nice to be able to run through most environments instead of having to wade through them by walking or taking it slow. This sped up the game which was needed as my playthrough was about 75 hours. The game takes four discs to play so you know you are in for a long ride. Each city and environment felt unique and I didn’t feel like I was being cheated or cheaped when I entered a new area. Each one was different and each one had personality. Speaking of personality I loved all the characters. That’s very hard to do but the cast they surrounded Dart with was great. Characters today are so terrible with their personalities or appearances but The Legend of Dragoon had a perfect cast filled with personalities of all kinds and relationships that you watched grow. I thought Meru was very cute in the way she acted but she was probably near 700 years old as a Wingly.

Shana and Dart’s love story was a small part of the game but it was fun to watch them go on a date at the carnival or listen to them discuss their relationship while the others teased them. The relationship didn’t feel forced and they genuinely cared for each other. The writers didn’t overdo it with super cheesy lines or cringy scenes. They both cared for each other and the game displayed that through them and through other characters that commented on their relationship.

The story can get a little overwhelming and I was a bit annoyed that Zieg was revealed to be the father of Dart because how many times has that happened in movies or games already. The game tested my patience at the end because I just wanted it to be over with as it was a little long for my taste but still an amazing game through its entirety.

When you enter combat you’ll have a few options when defeating your enemy. I stuck with the same three characters throughout the game which were Dart, King Albert, and Haschal. You can attack with your weapon and deal additional damage by hitting “X” during quick-time events. You can perform more advanced attacks that require more QTE as the game progresses. I’d say I was able to perform the QTE at around 75 percent. It’s not like God of War QTE where it’s effortless. Sometimes you’ll mess up because of the speed or counter-attack by the enemy which requires you to push “circle” instead of “x”. If you aren’t attacking with your weapon you can throw a magical item at them that attacks with elemental powers. Lastly, you can transform into your Dragoon which is a mech-like armor that gives you wings, powers up your attacks, and allows you to perform huge magical attacks. I saved my Dragoon status for boss fights and usually crushed the boss. I died only a few times throughout my game, once on the Dragon Buster guardian, once on a random battle where my characters were stunned, and the final boss killed me once because I came ill-prepared. Throughout the game, you’ll upgrade your weapons and various equipment by finding treasure chests or buying gear in stores. I had no issue spending money and for almost the entire game I had around 5,000 gold in my bank. Most items cost between 10-250 gold so it was no issue to buy anything.

Memories:
I have two different demo discs from my childhood with The Legend of Dragoon on them. The problem is I totally remembered the game wrong. I remember the QTE buttons during the battles but I believed Final Fantasy VIII was the Legend of Dragoon is an FMV movie so while I was playing the Legend of Dragoon for this review I kept wondering when that FMV clip would play and it never did! I discovered it was an attack in FFVIII after typing in the description. How silly of me!

Anyway, I do remember kids talking about the Legend of Dragoon in fifth and sixth grade. I don’t think anyone had it but we had played demos of it and thought it was awesome. It had been on my list for nearly twenty years to play and I finally got around to it. It was well worth the wait.

The Legend of Dragoon Review Score:

The Legend of Dragoon didn’t kill Final Fantasy, but it’s well worth a playthrough. It will take you roughly 75 hours to complete but I never felt that I was level grinding and progressed through the story relatively easily. The cast of characters is fantastic and is the strongest point of the game. Each one feels unique and has a personality that separates them from the rest. The cutscenes are ugly but other than that I don’t have a lot of complaints. Someday I hope they remake the game.

The Legend of Dragoon scores a 9.4 out of 10.

Do you remember when The Legend of Dragoon first came out? What did you think of the story and cast of characters? Did you have any issues with the combat? What was the toughest boss? Let me know your memories and thoughts, I’d love to read the comments!