Warlocked Review

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What’s a game that comes to your mind when you think of amazing games that no one else knows of? For the Game Boy Color, that game is Warlocked. In 2000, Bits Studios put together one of the best real-time strategy games for the handheld system, but sadly very few people know about this game. Let’s party on grunts, and jump into this Warlocked review.

Warlocked Plot:

Warlocked features two different paths in the game. You can choose to be the human faction or the beast faction. If you are the humans you’ll be defending Queen Azarel as the beasts try and kidnap her and destroy the human kingdom. If you decide on playing as the beast, you’ll be working for Chief Zog who has a goal of marrying Queen Azarel but he shows it in a funny way by burning down her villages and killing her troops.

I only played as the humans, so I don’t know what happens if you beat the game with the beasts, but as the humans, you’ll have to rescue the Queen, defend her villages, grow enough crops for the troops and citizens, and seek-and-destroy enemy bases in order to defeat Chief Zog and his army of beasts.

https://youtu.be/LmCV-fqmKmg

Warlocked Gameplay:

As a real-time strategy game, you’d think it’d be difficult to play on the Game Boy Color, but the programmers did a fantastic job with the controls. Using a cursor on the screen you can navigate the map and give commands like attack, defend, build, gather and travel. It made the playthrough for my Warlocked review much more enjoyable not having to navigate terrible controls.

Each campaign has different objectives for their missions, playing as the humans, you’ll need to grow your army, rescue wizards, build farms, free prisoners, and attack enemy bases. If you love real-time strategy games you’ll love this game. Everything is satisfying as you watch your grunts mine for gold, cut down logs, or search for treasures to help build your forces.

You can recruit archers, knights, and grunts to help you along the way. Grunts will cut down trees, head into the mines, and rebuild your damaged farms or buildings. Archers are weak in hand-to-hand combat but can be helpful when taking down dragons, that’s right there are dragons in this game!

Knights were my main battle units, as I sent them to do the majority of my killing. They have a strong attack and can absorb much more damage than archers. I’d keep at least six knights guarding my city or out attacking the enemy at all times.

In Warlocked, you can rescue wizards who are being held as a prisoner. Each wizard has a unique power that you can use to defeat the enemy. My favorite was Chickenwiz who turned enemies into chickens so you could kill them easier. There was also sleepywiz, who you guessed it put the enemies to sleep. You can combine attacks, so sometimes I’d have them both out where the enemy would turn to a chicken and fall asleep, making them helpless to my sword attacks but my favorite attack was the roast chicken. You can find baby dragon eggs scattered throughout the lands and once they hatch you need to take them back to the center of your city for them to grow. Once fully grown these mega attack units can burn anything in their path and turned the tide in my favor more than once. With Chickenwiz I’d turn the enemies into clucking hens before my dragon would fly in and burn them to a crisp. The result was a roasted chicken animation, which was a nice touch.

https://youtu.be/PquT3DpyXRU

Missions at first took around 20 minutes to complete, but the further you advanced in the game the longer they became, near the end of the game the missions were taking around an hour to complete which made it all the more important not to make any mistakes. On occasion, I had to retry a few missions which sucked due to how long they took but I learned from my mistakes and made sure not to repeat them on my next try.

Warlocked rewards the player for exploring during missions. You may find a hidden treasure chest, a magical scroll that will give you a hint, or a wizard that is locked up. I made sure to clear the entire map before completing my objective. Another fun little reward is seeing the animated drawings after your victory. My favorite involved grunts drinking rootbeer.

For a Game Boy Color game, I had no issues with the sprites or needing to see more of the map. The game warned you when you were being attacked and you can hold a button down to move your cursor faster to the action. Warlocked offers just about everything you could possibly want from a mobile RTS in 2000. If you beat it with one campaign, you can replay the game as the other with new missions.

Memories:
I didn’t discover Warlocked until a few months ago. It’s a shame because I think I would have loved the game growing up. The battles are fun and the game gives you helpful hints if you are stuck or don’t know what a button or action does. After playing the first few missions there was a point where I couldn’t wait to get home from work and put a few hours into my campaign.

Warlocked Review Score:

Who knew this game would be so fun? I certainly didn’t and I wonder why it gets looked over so much for great Game Boy Color games. I was sad to learn that a sequel was in development for the Game Boy Advance called “Wizards” but was canceled. Bits Studio did a wonderful job on the Game Boy Color and I bet they would have delivered another great game with better technology. Warlocked is the perfect game during a car ride or for a Saturday morning when you’re watching cartoons.

Warlocked scores a 9.3 out of 10.

What would you write in your Warlocked review? What did you think of Warlocked when it first came out? Did you play both campaigns or did you struggle with a certain mission? Have you ever heard of Warlocked or are there other hidden classics for the Game Boy Color? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Warlocked, I’d love to read them!

If you’d like to own a copy of Warlocked, you can purchase a preowned edition on eBay for between $18-$40.

Ultra Golf Review

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Released in 1989, the Game Boy took the United States by storm as every kid was now able to play mobile video games. In 1992, Konami developed and released “Ultra Golf” for the Game Boy.  In this Ultra Golf review, we’ll hit the links and compete in a tournament as I blow a lead and lose the green jacket. Let’s tee up and swing away!

https://youtu.be/IdZ7BgB9pT4

Ultra Golf Plot:

It’s golf…I mean it’s ultra golf but unless it’s Tiger Woods snorting coke and banging waitresses, the goal of this game is to keep it in the fairway and your stroke count down.

Ultra Golf Gameplay:

I didn’t know what to expect when playing Ultra Golf. I’m quite fond of the Game Boy but for other reasons not related to sports games. I didn’t know if Ultra Golf would be fun or if I’d even be able to tell where the golf ball was on the course or how realistic the game would be. In real life, I’m a terrible golfer. There’s the rare occasion where I play out of my mind and birdie a hole or two but for the most part my days of golfing revolve around searching for my ball in the tall grass and missing easy putts. It’s a good thing my friends suck just as bad.

However, in Ultra Golf I was pleasantly surprised by how in-depth the gameplay would be for a tiny handheld game. Ultra Golf offers two different courses. I only played the first course, so I can’t speak for the second but I imagine that the second course ramps up the difficulty. I didn’t bother practicing so I jumped right into the tournament mode.

The mechanics are quite good and easy to pick up on. Even if you aren’t a talented golfer or have knowledge of the clubs you need to use, the game gives you the distance from the pin and the power of the clubs so you know if you used that club and used the max power, that’s where the ball would go.

You can look at each hole before swinging which is helpful when determining what direction you need to hit the ball toward. I was worried about the graphics and how they’d hold up but you can clearly determine what’s what including the sand traps, water, the fairway, and trees.

Swinging the club is a smooth action, you can select where you intend to hit the ball and how hard you hit it with a power meter. There’s a sweet spot that you need to hit each time during the meter and this will determine whether you have a great swing or not. During the first few holes of the tournament, I birdied a few holes and gained confidence. It was neat to see my name on the leaderboard after each hole.

https://youtu.be/6sK87HFxNtw

My arrogance, however, was my downfall. The tournament was 18 holes and around hole 10 I started to mess up. Maybe my nerves got to me but if you don’t hit the sweet spot perfectly in the meter, your swing will be terrible. There were a few times that I just missed the sweet spot and went over the maximum power. When this happens, the golfer whiffs at the ball knocking it only a few feet off the tee. This started to kill my score and I quickly found myself out of first place and tumbling down the leaderboard. Even though my lead shrank and I found myself trying to climb back into first place, the tournament was enjoyable from start to finish, and with a bit of practice, I bet I’d be wearing the green jacket in no time.

Putting is fun in Ultra Golf and it was the easiest part of the game for me. The green will give you hints with the slants so you’ll know where to hit the ball. It’s not just as simple as hitting the ball toward the cup, sometimes you have to hit it a few feet to the right or left, or you have to barely tap it as it rolls down the hill. It’s almost a puzzle within the game and it was another element of fun during my Ultra Golf review.

Memories:
I don’t have too many games for the Game Boy and I don’t know if I’d enjoy this game as a kid, but now as an adult I really enjoyed it. My only memory of this game is searching for it at used video game stores in hopes that they’d have a copy that I could buy. I never found it which surprised me but I’d love to have it.

Ultra Golf Review Score:

Ultra Golf has just about everything you could possibly want in a golf simulator for the Game Boy. The controls are easy to learn, and when you mess up it’s on you. If you aren’t sure what clubs to use, the game helps with showing you the power of each one and where the ball would go if you used it. That helps a lot when you are on the fairway and don’t know whether you should you your pitching wedge or three-iron. Even if you don’t play golf in real life, it’s a relaxing game that I would gladly play during a car ride for an hour or two. In fact, I did just that after reviewing it. I don’t remember the sound effects or music but you don’t need the bells and whistles for a golf game, after all, golf is all about focus and silence. If you have a Game Boy and enjoy sports games or just want a casual game that you can pick up and play for twenty minutes or three hours, Ultra Golf is where it’s at!

Ultra Golf scores an 8.5 out of 10.

What would you write in your Ultra Golf review? What did you think of Ultra Golf when it first came out? Were you able to master the tournaments and leave as a champion or did you falter like I did and lose the lead? Did you play it during long car rides? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Ultra Golf, I’d love to read them!

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Review

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Back in 2002, a developer called Bunkasha that I’ve curiously never heard of dropped the game “Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions” for the original Xbox. The car physics and nature of the collisions made Wreckless a flash in the pan for the beginning of the Xbox. What stood out from Wreckless and how does it fair today? Let’s save our city by causing one billion dollars in property damage in this Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions review!

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Plot:

Wreckless features two different storylines. The first follows two policewomen who are your typical cute Japanese girls who seem innocent but try and act tough. Their missions involve following the Yakuza around and stopping the crime organization. Some of their missions involve delivering blood packs to a hospital, surviving a demolition derby from the Yakuza, chasing down Yakuza cars, and taking down the crime boss on top of a building. You do all of these missions from your cars, so it’s not like you are fighting the boss in hand-to-hand combat, you are literally ramming his car off of a 50-story building. The policewomen, who I don’t remember their names act silly in most situations during the cut scenes like getting upset over spilled pudding or pointing their guns at the wrong guys, they seem like your stereotypical police fools albeit they are cute.

The second story revolves around two undercover spies who are working to bring down the Yakuza for the police chief. If you thought the policewomen were incapable, wait till you see these guys. These goons are straight from a cartoon with their dumbfoundedness one-liners and over-the-top dialogue. It doesn’t help that one is a towering man with a little boy bowl hair cut and the other looks like the Japanese version of Austin Powers. Not saying that either pair of characters are stupid, just that they are very much “video game” characters, which is a good thing. The second set of missions has you crashing food stands, taking photos of the crime lord on his yacht, and smashing your car into a rocket ship before it can take off.

Each story ends with both sets getting small recognition for their efforts in bringing down the Yakuza.

https://youtu.be/GZwzjnJEQng

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Gameplay:

Wreckless could be straight from the arcade with its Crazy Taxi feel. The car damage sticks out immediately, and I remember at the time of Wreckless coming out that the damage was one of the selling points. Most of the environment is destructible too with fences, poles, food carts, and some hidden walls breakable.

All the missions are timed, but the time limit is usually generous. I was able to beat almost all the missions on the first try. Out of the twenty missions available, there were probably only four that I had to replay with two of them having to replay more than ten times. The missions were challenging but fair, I knew I’d be able to beat them if I kept practicing.

Wreckless is a short game, you only have twenty missions to complete and you can do it within two hours if you know what you’re doing. I was able to complete the game over two days, so the difficulty isn’t very high although I had the difficulty setting on normal and the traffic setting on “light”. I’m sure it becomes much more difficult if you are on hard with heavy traffic.

https://youtu.be/-71QdNNjG_Y

Each story comes with numerous cars that you can unlock during missions, which I found to be a fun bonus. The policewomen start with a small police vehicle that looks like it’d roam the mall parking lot and dune buggy. The spies start with a British taxi and a jeep. You will quickly unlock the speedster car which is some type of convertible. The spy sports car looks like the car from Back To The Future although I’ve never watched those movies. Once you defeat the crime lord for each story you’ll unlock their car that may be the fastest of the bunch although they are near impossible to control at such high speeds. There are also two tanks, one looks like a police tank and the other is a literal tank that shoots missiles. That can get fun real quick!

One thing that is lacking from Wreckless that would boost its score would be a casual driver feature. It’s so much fun driving through the streets and causing mayhem during missions it’d be nice to have that option while you don’t have to worry about time or some objective. I’m quite surprised that feature is not included.

The most bizarre mission was when the spies had to stop stolen plutonium from being shot into space, so first, you had to steal the key cards to the space station and then launch your car into the space rocket to sabotage the lift-off. Most missions were light-hearted and didn’t take themselves too seriously. The cut scenes have not aged well, and when I saw the policewomen running I laughed out loud. They were in slow motion, as their legs looked like they were struggling to move forward. Hilarious.

Memories:
I remember playing Wreckless for the first time in a hotel room when I was with my stepdad and mom. The Xbox had just come out and my stepdad bought it for me knowing he’d probably get on my good side. (It worked) and I played it for a few hours in the hotel room while they went to dinner or shopping. Causing all the car crashes and wreaking havoc on the street was fun but I remember thinking the missions were tough at the time. I was in fifth grade at the time and could beat the first few missions but that was it. If only Wreckless came with a free mode to drive around, I would have played it for hours and hours. I didn’t play it much after the hotel room. It wasn’t until last week when I dug out my Xbox that I threw it in and reviewed it.

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Review Score:

Wreckless is a great arcade game but it’s on a console. The action is fast-paced, and the controls are decent. I do have some minor complaints about steering but was able to make due. The car damage was fantastic and is still realistic for the most part. In my opinion, the game is too short, but I like the unlockable cars, they just really needed to include a casual mode where you can drive around for fun!

Wreckless scores a 6.9 out of 10.

What would you write in your Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions review? What did you think of Wreckless when it first came out? What was your favorite vehicle to drive? Did you have a favorite mission or was it too tough to beat? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Wreckless, I’d love to read them!

Power Stone Review

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The Sega Dreamcast was way ahead of its time but ultimately failed due to the poor management of Sega and the lack of response from consumers. That’s not to say that the Dreamcast was a critical failure, video game historians look back fondly at the system that just couldn’t compete with the PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox. A few games for the Dreamcast library stick out from the rest. Power Stone is one of them. In 1999, Capcom released the brawler Power Stone that would take from the Super Smash Bros formula with Sega’s twist. Let’s smash some tables and open some chests in this Power Stone review!

Power Stone Plot:

Fighting games typically have backstories for their fighters which I enjoy reading but most just have a “fighting tournament” in which the user participates. Power Stone is unique in that the fighters aren’t battling each other for a tournament, but for the right to receive the power stone. The stone is said to make any dream come true, so you can imagine it’d be sought after!

The game itself is set in the 19th century as fighters all around the world search for the stone in hopes of making their wish come true.

https://youtu.be/0sDl7Fd5PrM

Power Stone Gameplay:

Powerstone shines with the gameplay combination of its colorful fighters, unique environments, weapons, and controls. I’ve never been great at fighting games, and my lack of skills showed in Power Stone. You’ll face an opponent one-on-one in their home environment that can range from a museum, pirate ship, or park among others. Each place has breakable objects and it’s fun to send someone flying through glass cases or park benches. I don’t have the patience to learn all the combos in fighting games so I just punched and kicked my way to victory, but believe me, I had to turn down the difficulty as I struggled just on the normal setting. These fighters kicked my ass and I detailed that in my Power Stone review notes.

The key to victory is finding the power gems that eventually unleash your special attack. Each character will transform into a special version of themselves equipped with a few power moves that deal massive damage if you can hit your opponent. I spent the first half of the fight desperately searching for the power gems while smashing chests or picking up weapons to keep my attacker at bay. If the opponent snatched the power gems up first, it was usually game over for me as they destroyed me with their specials. Once I was powered up, I had a decent shot of winning the fight.

The second to last boss took me almost 15 times to beat and after I defeated him, I thought I beat the game. Instead, I was greeted with another battle by an even tougher end boss who I must have fought 50 times. I know I’m not the greatest in fighting games, but man this was tough!

https://youtu.be/sLePCxCFAlE

Power Stone Fighters:

Let’s take a look at the roster of fighters you can play as.

  • Edward Falcon
  • Wang-Tang
  • Ryoma
  • Ayame
  • Jack
  • Rouge (Can’t imagine why she was popular)
  • Gunrock
  • Galuda
  • Kraken
  • Valgas

Edward Falcon is a 21-year-old boxer who is the son of a famous boxing champ. When he transforms, he looks like Iron Man and can launch missiles at his opponents. I played at Edward the most.

Wang-Tang (I love these names) is an MMA fighter who wants to become a chef. He’s 19 and as his name suggests is from Asian descent.

Ryoma is a 19-year-old swordsman who can transform into a silver samurai when he is powered up. Looking at the ages of the characters, this is a young man’s journey!

Ayame and don’t even ask me how to pronounce her name is a traveling entertainer. She’s 16 and becomes a dancer when she powers up.

Rouge is a 23-year-old fortune-teller known for her beauty. I don’t believe I ever tried her out as a fighter, so I’m not sure how effective she is.

Jack looks like a mummy as his body is covered in bandages. His age is just a guess but people say he is around 40 years old. He transforms into a mad clown when powered up.

Gunrock is your typical big boy fighter who looks slow but is a powerful brawler. He is 38 and was a pain to defeat.

Galuda resembles an Indian and when he powers up he looks like a totem pole. At 34 years old, I was expecting a better fight from him but he was easy to defeat.

Kraken is the pirate and second to last boss. He was so tough to defeat, especially when he powers up. You can unlock him as a playable character.

Valgas is the final boss in the game, and he has two forms. He is extremely powerful and quick. I faced him 50 times at least before defeating him.

Memories:
I never played Power Stone as a kid, I only knew one friend that had a Sega Dreamcast, and I don’t recall him ever having this game. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I played Power Stone for the first time. It reinforced the idea that I suck at fighting games.

Power Stone Review Score:

Power Stone isn’t just a fighter, but more of a brawler where you smash your opponent through the environment, pick up chairs and other objects to throw at them, and power up in hopes that you do it before your opponent does. I liked the overall game, and the settings were fun to destroy. It was a bit too hard for my taste, but I liked the characters and their sprites. This game would be perfect for a weekend of multiplayer with friends on the couch. If you like Super Smash Bros or Playstation All-Stars, this is the Sega version.

Power Stone scores an 8.0 out of 10.

What would you write in your Power Stone review? What did you think of Power Stone when it first came out? Who was your favorite fighter and were you able to defeat Valgas? What special power-up did you use? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Power Stone, I’d love to read them!

Pikmin Review

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Shigeru Miyamoto was already well-established as a creative genius in the video game industry before he created Pikmin for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. With Mario and Link already under his belt, Mr. Nintendo produced a game around the idea he conceived while gardening. Pikmin is a real-time strategy game where you take control of a tiny astronaut who has crash-landed on a planet and enlists the help of the tiny Pikmin race to repair his ship. Let’s follow the lead of Olimar and dig into this Pikmin review!

Pikmin Plot:

Pikmin doesn’t have an in-depth story, but it does have a simple one. The player takes control of Captain Olimar, who has crashed his ship on a strange planet after a comet crashed into him. As the days go by, he reveals more about his family, writing in his journal about his son or daughter and how he hopes to see them again. Olimar is not a human, but some type of humanoid alien that looks like a tiny human. He can’t breathe oxygen as it’s poisonous to his body and determines that his life support will only last 30 days. The small little creatures are known as Pikmin grow in the ground and are naturally drawn to Olimar as a leader to their race. It’s possible to have three different endings, if you collect all 30 parts, you’ll receive the best ending (which is what I did). You can also end up with a good ending if you collect 25 parts including the critical ones necessary for flight. There’s also a bad ending that will occur if you fail to collect enough parts to relaunch your ship into space. Essentially, the good endings have Olimar blasting off into space and heading toward his family. The bad ending has Olimar failing to launch. After his ship crashes again, the Pikmin take his dead body and suck it up into their home resulting in Olimar being turned into a seed and planted. He has now turned into a Pikmin who will be able to live on their planet.

Pikmin Gameplay:

I’ll get this out of the way now, I hate time limits. You may remember my review of Sega Rally Championship in which I trashed it for the timing checkpoints. Pikmin threatens the player with death if you do not build your ship in 30 days. That’s finding one part a day, which is easier said than done. Watching the days go by constantly gave me an uneasy feeling, knowing that death was upon poor Olimar if I didn’t get enough ship parts in time. The impending doom freaked me out instead of motivating me. But that’s just a small complaint and it didn’t change the Pikmin review score too much. I found Pikmin’s gameplay to be wonderfully addicting.

https://youtu.be/e_qkIlbDqo0

Olimar needs to grow Pikmin to advance his search for his ship parts that have been scattered throughout the area. There are three Pikmin races for Olimar to grow. The first is the red Pikmin, which are the most capable of fighting, think of them as your grunts. You’ll need them to take down big enemies that walk around the grass and dirt. There’s yellow Pikmin that Olimar can throw higher, making them useful for reaching items where other Pikmin can’t. The last race is blue Pikmin, they can swim and survive water where the other Pikmin would drown. Each Pikmin has a unique talent, and all are needed to survive.

At first, I cared deeply about every Pikmin. They were so loyal to me, following my every order. I vowed not to kill any during the process of saving my ship. I remember the first time a Pikmin died in battle for me, stomped on or gobbled up by one of the numerous large bugs that roamed the dirt fields. Their little soul appeared with a tiny cry as the white silhouette floated toward the sky. It was heartbreaking and I felt terrible about that Pikmin’s life. I learned the hard way that not all Pikmin can swim, sending one of the reds into the water to collect a ship part, he drowned shortly after.

I soon grew numb to the loss of Pikmin life, becoming a bloodthirsty war general in my quest to save my ship. I’d send hundreds of Pikmin marching to their death if it meant they’d bring me a ship part for the day. Each loss of life was a gain to Olimar in his quest to return to his family, the deaths were necessary for the greater good.

The Pikmin have three stages of power, as they all have little plants on top of their heads. The newborn Pikmin are the weakest with a small bulb on top. Second-tier Pikmin has a budding flower, and the most powerful have fully-bloomed flowers on top. You can grow their powers by waiting to pluck them in the ground, waiting for them to soak up the sun. You can also have them drink nectar which instantly grows them to a large flower head.

Finding the ship parts was the easy part, after collecting a few items your ship capabilities increase, and you can fly to different sections on the planet. But just because I found a ship part didn’t mean I’d be able to reach it right away. I was able to collect the first twenty or so parts with relative ease, but the final parts were more difficult than I anticipated, and with the countdown on, I had to look up how to collect the parts on guides. Some parts were very difficult as you’d have to lead the Pikmin on narrow ledges or cross small bridges to get to secret areas. Pikmin is half puzzle game, half real-time strategy. It’s a great game for people who like to think on their feet.

Pikmin has a few bosses, some of them having ship parts that you need to advance. Most of them will go down if you throw enough Pikmin onto them as the little guys bash their flowery heads against the bodies. For my Pikmin review I thought about writing detailed strategies but just figured that throwing enough Pikmin on them was enough.

Two bosses stick out to me, one is a large bird that pops up from the ground with its long neck. He was difficult as I didn’t always know where he’d appear. The final boss took me a few attempts as you have to get him to eat small exploding rocks to deal massive damage. By the end of the game, I had hundreds of Pikmin ready to go to war for me, but the final boss gobbled up almost half my army before he fell.

https://youtu.be/5JzdF7FDKN0

Memories:

I remember when Pikmin came out, I was in sixth grade and I had one friend that owned a Gamecube. He got Pikmin and we played it together, but it really wasn’t a two-player game. A few months after he got bored with it, he let me borrow his Gamecube and Pikmin. I spent a weekend trying to figure out what to do and how to get the parts. As a sixth-grader this game was difficult and I never got very far with collecting parts. It wasn’t until a few months ago when I decided to try my hand at the game and write a Pikmin review that I was able to beat it in a week.

Pikmin Review Score:

Some of the best games are the ones with fresh ideas or ideas that are presented in different forms. Pikmin is a real-time strategy game in disguise. With tons of puzzles to solve and addicting gameplay in the form of growing your Pikmin army for your conquest. Pikmin scores high for me.

Pikmin scores a 9.1 out of 10.

What would you write in your Pikmin review? What did you think of Pikmin when it first came out? Did you fear the impending doom as I did? Were you able to collect the parts easily or was there one that you got stuck on? How about the final boss, did he gobble up your army like he did mine? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Pikmin, I’d love to read them!

God Of War Review

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Santa Monica Studios released Kinetica in 2001 to general success, but it wasn’t until 2005 when the developer would release God Of War for the PlayStation 2 that they’d become a household name. The first game in the God Of War series brought to life Kratos and his epic adventure of revenge. The hands of death could not defeat Kratos, but will it defeat this God of War review?

God of War Plot:

God Of War shines bright in all phases of my grading scale, but its story may be the best part. I love history, and I was able to learn more about Greek Mythology than I ever did in a history class. Set in ancient Greece, you are Kratos a Spartan warrior who serves the Gods. In a massive battle against the barbarians, Kratos and his army are finally defeated. On the verge of death, Kratos makes a deal with the God of War Ares to serve him if Ares would spare Kratos and his men while giving him the power to defeat his enemies. Ares agrees and bestows the Blades of Chaos around Kratos’ wrists, a sign of his power and slavery. With the blades, Kratos defeats the Barbarian king.

Kratos develops a lust for war and blood during his battles for Ares and eventually attacks a village under the command of Ares. Kratos in his bloodlust kills his own wife and daughter, who were transported to the city by Ares. Enraged by his murdering of his family, Kratos swears vengeance on Ares. During the attack of the village, an oracle places a curse on Kratos, coating his skin with the dead ashes of his wife and daughter, making his skin a ghostly white, a reminder of the terrible acts he committed against his family.

https://youtu.be/uFnSSpU-KGE

With his mind set on revenge, Kratos seeks out help in killing Ares. He discovers that Pandora’s Box grants the power to kill a god. With instructions from Athena, who has been feuding with her brother Ares, Kratos sets out into the Desert of Lost Souls to find the Titan Cronos who carries a temple on his back containing Pandora’s Box.

Ares has a few harpies steal Pandora’s Box from Kratos, where he tracks them down in Athens. Kratos steals the box back and opens it granting him godlike powers. Ares does his best to strip Kratos of any powers or magic, but Kratos is still able to kill him. With the death of Ares, Kratos becomes the God of War but his nightmares of killing his family remain. He tries to commit suicide, but Athena steps in and transports him to Mount Olympus to take his rightful spot on the throne.

God of War Gameplay:

God Of War had a tremendous story, but what about the gameplay? The game is packed full of action and a few small puzzles. It wasn’t just button mashing, but you had to remember what was effective against enemies. Smashing the attack button may not be effective for every opponent, sometimes you’d have to wait for an opening.

This game is often associated with “quick-time events” or QTEs. When you are finishing off a boss, you are prompted to hit certain buttons in time to kill the boss. I don’t recall many games having this feature, but I know God of War made it popular. QTE is okay in small doses, and God of War did a nice job not putting it in every battle and saved it for the special fights.

Small treasure chests are littered throughout the world where Kratos can open them to become more powerful or restore his health or magic meter. Speaking of magic, Kratos can learn a few different tricks including shooting lightning bolts, an ultra rage form, and using Madusa’s head to turn enemies into stone.

There is a variety of enemies to fight all with ancient greek themes, like harpies, sirens, minotaurs, and, centaurs are just a few to name. The opponents feel fresh and make each new stage exciting to play. You won’t just come across enemies, however, there are a few gods that you’ll cross paths with, and some of them will even guide you or grant you powers to help your journey. God of War wouldn’t be complete without the addition of a mini sex game with two naked females waiting for Kratos in bed. The game has you mash buttons to satisfy the girls, and when it’s over, Kratos is granted some bonus orbs. The orbs you collect during fights reminded me a lot of the ones from the Onimusha series.

I don’t have anything negative to say about the gameplay, even today the game holds up very well. I played the God of War remastered version on my PS3 for this God of War review, so there may be some slight differences.

https://youtu.be/LPG6NNIwHKA

God of War Bosses:

You all know I love a good boss fight, and God of War is stuffed with them. The first boss is the famous Hydra fight that dropped so many jaws when the demo first came out. God of War is full of gore, and this first boss exemplifies what is to come in the series. I loved slamming the Hydra’s head down on the wooden mast.

Next, you’ll encounter Medusa, who I admittedly was stoned from a few times before wrangling her in my arms and ripping her head off. Kratos will then face an armored giant minotaur. Metal Gear Solid does a terrific job making boss fights interesting and challenging. God of War does the same with this example. The minotaurs health bar is covered in armor, you need to first destroy the actual armor on his body to reveal his health bar and hurt him. Little things like this go a long way.

Ares is the final boss, and he was pretty tough in my opinion. The section where Kratos must protect his family in his mind was difficult, and I had to replay it a few times before fighting off all the enemies. God of War’s bosses are challenging but not impossible. The battles are fun, and that’s key in making the player want to hit the restart button instead of quitting. With each boss falling to their knees in defeat to the blades of chaos, I felt satisfaction. God of War knew just how to set the stage for the epic battles.

Memories:

I didn’t play God Of War when it first came out, but I did snag the HD Collection a few years later. I remember being fresh out of high school and playing it on winter break during my freshman year of college. It was a blast, and I beat it in one weekend. I do remember when the game first came out with all the hype that surrounded it. I had a friend who was really obsessed with it and how “cool” the gore and battles were. Unfortunately for him, he never had a PS2 so he couldn’t own it. I’ve replayed the first God of War a few times since then, and it’s always an enjoyable experience.

God of War Review Score:

God of War is a masterpiece on the PS2. Santa Monica Studios showed up big time in their second game. The story is tremendous, the history is fun to learn, enemies are fun and unique to kill, and the game is filled with epic boss fights. If you haven’t played God of War, you must get a copy and see what started the critically-acclaimed series. It’s not perfect, but it’s close.

God Of War scores a 9.5 out of 10.

What would you include in your God of War review? What did you think of God Of War when it first came out? Did you love the blood, sex, and action that came along with it? Who was your favorite boss to fight? Let me know your thoughts and memories of God Of War, I’d love to read them!

Sega Rally Championship Review

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Originally released by Sega in the arcades, Sega Rally Championship was ported to the Sega Saturn in North America in 1995. The game has been hailed as a new milestone for racing games as it was supposedly the first to feature different friction properties based on the type of terrain the car was driving over. Let’s hit the dirt and ramp some hills in this Sega Rally Championship review!

Sega Rally Championship Plot:

Sega Rally Championship has a very in-depth dramatic story that revolves around the plot of your wife being kidnapped by the Yakuza. The only way to win her back is to beat the Yakuza’s top rally driver in head-to-head races. Fail, and your wife is killed. This makes for a white-knuckled race the entire way.

Just kidding, there’s no story. Just beat the other car in the race while passing the time checkmarks, and you’re good.

Sega Rally Championship Gameplay:

Sega Rally Championship probably holds a special place in the hearts of many who grew up in the early to mid-90s. Unfortunately, I never played the game until I decided to review it a few months ago. I had heard of the series before but wanted to learn what made it so special. The game was made for the arcades, and it feels very much that way. There’s not much to do except race on three courses with an unlockable fourth as opposed to including practice, car customization, or one-on-one racing against A.I. cars.

https://youtu.be/m0eSbJW3qf4

The game scores points for its history in rally car physics. As the terrain changes, so do the resistance of the tires. Surfaces can be slick or rough to drive on. You’ll have to memorize the courses to navigate the rally car to the best of its ability. Learning when to put your foot down on the gas and when to brake is key when memorizing every inch of the track. This isn’t a game where you can just hold the acceleration down the entire race and expect to win.

Where the game loses me is the short nature of it. I grew bored of playing it after an hour. There are only three rally cars to choose from which is pretty lame, and only two of them are available for the majority of the game. With a racing game, I’d expect at least four choices for your car. You can unlock the third car, but it will take a lot of work. For such a short game and one that gives you a beautiful replay of your race, it would have added style points for seeing different rally cars on the replay instead of the two standard ones that the game gives you. Simple customization of changing the color of your car, adding a different number, or slapping on one of a few generic logos would have been welcomed.

The main game is called “World Championship”, where the player must race through three courses against time. The first takes place on a desert-like course, which was relatively easy to win. The next course was “Forest” with some mud puddles, and the final course was “Mountain” in which the course circled up a mountain. I’ll spoil the secret right now and let you know I never came in first place during the third stage. If you end up in first place, you’ll reach a “secret” level called “Lakeside”, which you can unlock for the time attack and multiplayer modes. If you finish Lakeside in first place, you’ll unlock the third rally car. These cars can be driven in automatic or manual, but of course, I chose automatic, I don’t have time to learn when to shift!

Aside from racing opponents, you also have to reach checkmarks to refill your time. I found this added feature unnecessary and tough to continue. It really frustrated me to see a checkpoint ahead and realize I’m not going to make it. During my Sega Rally Championship review, I realized that this wasn’t about beating opponents, but a race against yourself. Sega Rally Championship in pure form is a time trial race. You aren’t racing the opponents, but instead, you are racing to beat your best time. There are some people that love those modes and love shaving seconds off their time, but I’ve never cared for “time attack” or “time trials” in racing games. In simple form, Sega Rally Championship is one big time trial. The opponents aren’t there to race you but instead act as moving blockades that delay you when going for your best time. The entirety of the game lasts under four minutes if you clear all the courses.

Sega Rally Championship needs a mode that isn’t timed. A practice mode where you can freely roam the course over and over would have gone a long way in mastering tracks. I must have played the mountain course twenty times before giving up on the time checkmarks. I will say that I did like the helicopter near the finish line in one of the races acting like they are filming the race.

Overall, there are many people that are very passionate about Sega Rally Championship. That’s great to see, but for me it wasn’t a game that I’d spend hours on just to shave off a few seconds. There needed to be more than time attack mode, more cars to choose from or at least a customization feature, and a different mode for racing. A one-on-one race against the A.I. would have been great. Sega Rally Championship is an excellent arcade game, but on console it falls short in terms or replayability and offering different modes for players interested in something other than a time attack.

Memories:
Sega Rally Championship was a game that I never played until recently. Arcades were dying out when I was growing up, so I never was able to play its arcade form, which I believe I would have found much more fun. As for the Saturn version, the game just didn’t have much to satisfy me with. My only memory is cursing at the clock as the seconds ticked down.

https://youtu.be/bmTc8lTA1mw

Sega Rally Championship Review Score:

I really want some gamers to respond and tell me how wrong I am about this game because I hope my patience just got the best of me. Perhaps I didn’t give the game a fair shot, but I spent a few days playing it and never was able to reach the “secret” level. I would always finish second or third or not reach a checkpoint in time on the “Mountain” stage. The terrain changing the friction of the car is cool, and I think it helped shape future racing games like Gran Turismo, but it’s too short and too rough around the edges for my taste. I don’t see any replay value, and I don’t feel the need for anyone to play it today unless you love time attacks.

My Sega Rally Championship review score is much lower than the previous reviews that praised the game for its physics and “down and dirty” feel, but perhaps my score is a symbol of the time. I’m used to the feeling of my cars turning through mud or sliding on ice. Back then, I’m sure it was a big deal, but I didn’t play it back then. It’s odd to see this game get listed among the greatest Sega games from numerous magazines or websites. I just don’t understand the hype.

Sega Rally Championship scores a 5.5 out of 10.

What would you say in your Sega Rally Championship review? What did you think of Sega Rally Championship when it first came out? Did you play it in the arcade or did you have it on the Saturn? Were you blown away by the terrain resistance or were you like me and struggled with the timing checkpoints? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Sega Rally Championship, I’d love to read them!

Wave Race 64 Review

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In 1992, Nintendo released “Wave Race” for the Gameboy. The popularity of the original Wave Race spawned a sequel four years later for the Nintendo 64. In 1996, the jet ski racing game Wave Race 64 was released to commercial and critical success helping launch the N64 into popularity. Let’s hit maximum power in this Wave Race 64 review!

Wave Race 64 Plot:

You don’t need a story for a jet ski racing game! Just compete in the championship tournament and win your races!

Wave Race 64 Gameplay:

You can take control of four different racers, three guys and one girl. I personally always chose the third racer named M. Jeter, who wore a blue and red water suit, which looked like the typical “white guy”. The other racers include an Asian guy, a fat guy, and a blonde girl. The first thing you’ll notice is the brightly colored graphics instantly grab your attention. The crystal clear blue water and the colorful outfits and scenery put a nice touch on the game, making you feel like you’re in the environment of a jet ski race.

There are a few modes you can try your hand at. Championship mode will have you racing against the other three racers in a series of courses. I chose “Normal” mode, which gives you six courses. The hard mode will give seven, while the expert mode has eight courses. There’s also “Time Trial”, which I didn’t try, and “Stunt Mode”, which sounds really fun but again, I didn’t try it. Perhaps I’ll go back and play stunt mode, that sounds like something fun to do, but I never was any good at pulling off tricks and stunts during the races. I was just concerned with achieving “max power” and making my way around the buoys to power up my jet ski just to hear the announcer scream “Maximum Power!”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MudJnBz08rE&t=2s

Wave Race 64 has a cheerful tone for the entirety of the game. From the colors to the announcer who screams enthusiastically when you win the race or receive maximum power. It’s fun to listen as you race along. During my playthrough for the Wave Race 64 review, I even found myself in a better mood!

But don’t think that you’ll just be racing through crystal clear waters. One of my favorite courses is “Drake Lake”, a foggy race around a lake that you’d find down South complete with ducks flapping around the screen when you zoom by the corners. In the advanced races, you can race near an ice glacier, a few naval yards, and even an island that has a killer whale that flops around the water. Some of the courses even have obstacles, like floating water spikes or wooden poles sticking out of the water that you must avoid. Each course is unique, and this game would fit perfectly into an arcade scene.

Wave Race 64 is the perfect game to play on the couch with friends. Multiplayer might be more fun than the single-player runs as I imagine racing would get intense between friends. The controls can take a while to get used to, and the N64 controller will never feel “right” in my hands, but after some races, you get used to the steering and resistance of the water and waves.

When I completed my championship run on “Normal”, it was a decent challenge, and there were a few times I got lucky at the end of the race, but overall it wasn’t extremely difficult. I didn’t feel the need to try the “hard” or “extreme” modes for this review, but I imagine I wouldn’t fare too well on those settings. Something I wish I had the opportunity to do was play Wave Race 64 with friends. Racing games can be fun, but I’d love to shove first place in the face of my friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_w5v7CSMqs&t=20s

Memories:
I don’t have any memories of Wave Race 64 growing up. I was a PlayStation kid, but a few of my friends had the N64, but I don’t recall ever playing Wave Race 64 with them. I was aware of the game, so it must have been popular to some degree.

The only memories I have are the ones I just made a few months ago when playing it for the first time.

Wave Race 64 Review Score:

Extreme sports games were very popular during the 90s, and I bet Wave Race 64 had a lot to do with that. Do you remember games like Coolboarders, Sledstorm, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater? Those games probably owe a little nod to Wave Race 64 for making extreme sports games popular and showing that they can be commercially successful.

I’m sure many people have fond memories of Wave Race 64 whether it was playing it late into the night or racing against siblings or friends. The game was a massive success, which is why I’m surprised we’ve only received one sequel since then. Nintendo has recently renewed its copyright for Wave Race, so there could be something in the works for a future game. As for the N64 version, Wave Race 64 is a superb unique racer. I can’t say I remember other jet-skiing games that had an impact as it did. The colorful graphics, the cheery announcer, and the unique courses all help shape Wave Race 64 into a fun game. There will be plenty of people who complain about the score I give it, but I don’t have the memories of this game growing up. All I can do is grade the game based on how I played it for the first time a few months back. Once you complete the championship run, I don’t see much replay value in the game except when friends come over. So, what is my final score in this Wave Race 64 review?

Wave Race 64 scores a 7.5 out of 10.

What would you write in your Wave Race 64 review? What did you think of Wave Race 64 when it first came out? Am I giving the game too low of a score? What’s your favorite course or race? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Wave Race 64, I’d love to read them!

Driver Review

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Released June 30th, 1999 for the PlayStation, Driver was developed by Reflections Interactive and published by GT Interactive Software. The game stood out for its realistic car physics and damage. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grand Theft Auto III drew inspiration from the driving in Driver with the detailed city landscapes and busy streets. Driver is a treat, and it’s a game from my childhood. I’m excited to speed away with this Driver review.

Driver Plot:

What’s the objective of Driver? Well, you are an undercover cop named Tanner who is an ex-race car driver, so naturally, you’re great behind the wheel. Tanner gets informed by his Police Chief that he is going undercover to become a wheelman and infiltrate a dangerous gang. During my Driver review, I had to keep track of all the double-crossing or hidden agents from the plot. I’ve never been good at keeping track of these types of plots, but I tried my best.

Like many police movies, Driver mirrors the complicated plot intertwined with politics. I’ll give a short scoop of the story. Tanner infiltrates a gang in Miami through a pimp named Rufus. Our boy Rufus gets popped by his girlfriend, and his boss moves to San Francisco. Tanner follows and begins working for him while discovering that the gang he is working for is planning to assassinate the President of the United States because their leader is running for President. Tanner’s missions take him from San Francisco to Los Angeles, to New York.

The majority of the story is about Tanner completing missions that will help build a case against the gang and identify the criminal bosses. In the final mission, Tanner drives the President of the United States as thugs, police, and double-agents for the FBI chase his car. Tanner saves the President before turning in his badge, believing that his boss is in on the arranged hit.

Driver Gameplay:

Everything that should be in a video game is in Driver starting with the main menu. Games today don’t have interactive menus. It’s always New Game, Continue, and Options. Boring! The interactive menu scored huge points in my Driver review.

Driver’s menu is tailored to the game, it’s not just some boring backdrop, it has character. It has mini-games, cheats, and it has an option just to drive around, which I took advantage of many times. It was fun just to explore and see where I could drive the car or hone my driving skills. This is what I miss about games, you know it’s a video game. Games today take themselves too seriously now, and I know I sound like an old man yelling at a cloud but part of the reason I enjoy video games is that they aren’t real! Driver doesn’t take itself too seriously, and you understand that right from the menu because there’s even an entire section just for cheats.

The menu is top-notch but so is the preview video, another lost art of video games. When you used to wait a minute at the main menu, the video game would play a video that would sort of hype up the game. I don’t think many games do that anymore, but let’s go ahead and watch the Driver video that plays at the beginning of the game.

The world of Driver feels like a real world, it feels lived in with its interesting characters and busy city life. Your missions will occur in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Each city is different from its structures and cars, really making you believe you are in unique areas. You’ll also get a new car in every city so get used to driving it while you’re in town!

The biggest complaint that I hear is how tough the tutorial stage is which is essentially the first mission. Tanner needs to impress some thugs into letting him be the wheelman so he takes them to an underground parking lot where he needs to do things like 180s, slamming on the breaks, and zooming in and out of pillars. I remember playing it and beating it maybe after my third try and that was as a kid! It wasn’t as difficult as everyone makes it sound, so if you can’t beat that, I’m sorry but you suck.

I mentioned the characters in Driver, and boy there are some good ones. Not only are you treated to cut scenes after completing a mission but in-between missions you can take a break by returning to your hotel room. This little hub is where you can save your game, take a ride, or select your next mission by listening to your answer machine that is filled with job offers. This brings up another thing that makes Driver so great, it has replayable value! If you skip one mission during your first run, you can select it on the second run. One thing that had me laughing out loud was the messages on the answering machine from wrong callers. Sometimes you’d get a message from a Chinese delivery man and his accent was hilarious. That attention to detail really made Driver come to life.

Here’s my one complaint with Driver, I recently replayed it for the first time in almost 15 years. As a kid, I could never beat it but I could get pretty far. As an adult, I had no problem cruising to the end mission. There was only one mission that I failed on the first attempt, the rest I was able to complete on the first try. The final mission, however, is almost impossible to beat. The difficulty ramps up so extreme that I was shocked when playing it. I must have replayed the final mission close to 50 times. Think about that! That’s so many restarts. In fact, the poor PS1 that I’ve had for 20 years froze on two different occasions. I will admit that I didn’t properly beat the final mission, I used a cheat code to become invincible to beat it. But what could I do? After 50+ attempts I was fed up with how unfair the mission was!

The final mission has you taking the President of the United States into a parking garage while the secret service and police chase you. You have to be PERFECT to beat this level and I came so close on numerous attempts only to be crushed by police with the end goal just a few feet away. Cheat codes activated!

Memories:
Driver was a game that my neighborhood friend had. The same kid that had Blackthorne for the Super Nintendo also had this game for the PlayStation. Once I started playing it at his place, I knew I had to get it. I had recently gotten a PlayStation for Christmas after begging my parents for it and they had gotten me two games with it. Rampage and NFL Xtreme 2. Probably not the best games in the PS1 library but they kept the attention of a fourth-grader.

The third game that I ever got for the Playstation, was Driver. One night my Dad and I went to Meijer. Now for those who are not in the Midwest, Meijer is a supermarket store similar to Walmart. So my Dad bought it for me and all I could think of was playing this game on the way home. I grew up in a town of a little over 2,000 people, so if we went to the store, we drove a half-hour to go to the store. As a 10-year-old kid, sitting in the car waiting to get home seemed like an eternity. Once we got home, that eternity grew longer because my oldest sister was using the tv watching the movie The Body Guard, I’ll never forget it. So I’ll forever associate that movie with Driver as I waited another 45 minutes for it to end before kicking my sister out so I could use the PlayStation.

I have so many fond memories of playing Driver but it wasn’t until I decided to review it that I actually beat the game. I could always reach the last city but the missions to a fourth-grader became increasingly difficult in the final stages.

The main game was tons of fun but so were all the mini-games. I loved running from the police and watching the replays. The car damage back then was so realistic and it was satisfying to relive it through the replays. I’d spend hours just playing running from the police, so much fun! If I didn’t want to finish my Driver review and move on to the next game, I surely would have kept replaying the mini-games.

Driver Review Score:


This game is the complete package, a near-perfect game for the original PlayStation. Amazing gameplay, immense attention to detail, a fresh story, and addicting mini-games made Driver a must-have. The controls are a little rough today, but I still loved replaying it. I highly recommend playing it if you haven’t.

Driver scores a 9.7 out of 10.

What would you write in your Driver review? What did you think of Driver when it first came out? Did it blow your mind like it did mine? Did you have fun running from the police or did you spend hours watching your replays? Were you able to beat the tutorial or were you able to beat the final mission without cheating? Let me know your thoughts and memories of Driver, I’d love to read them!

If you’d like to own a copy of Driver you can purchase a preowned edition on eBay for $5-$10.

Altered Beast Review

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After its success in the arcade in 1988, Altered Beast was ported to the Sega Genesis in 1989 in North America and bundled with the console at launch. The game has received a lot of flak over the years, and until recently, I have never played it. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I decided to write an Altered Beast review and see what all the fuss was.

Altered Beast Plot:

First, what is the plot of Altered Beast? Well, according to good ole’ Wikipedia, you are a roman centurion who died in a legendary battle. Besides the dying part, The God Zeus was so impressed with you that he decides to resurrect you from the dead to save his daughter Athena, who has been captured by a demon god called Neff.

Now to withstand the incredible journey and battles that this unnamed centurion will have to go through, Zeus grants this warrior the power to transform into a creature with incredible fighting powers once three spirit balls are collected.

This centurion warrior must go through five levels to rescue Athena from Neff, with each level ending with a boss fight.

So there’s the plot…I don’t see any issues with that. I think it’s pretty cool. Fighting in ancient Greece, being resurrected by Zeus himself to free his daughter from a demon god? Being able to transform into different creatures to combat the enemy forces? Hey, I’m all in! So on paper, it sounds good, but how does the actual game hold up?

Altered Beast Gameplay:


The game begins with Zeus speaking to you from the heavens.

Are we sure this is a bad game?

Well, it might not be a bad game, but it’s certainly an easy game. I’m not very good at beat ’em ups but I had no issues beating Altered Beast. Once you collect the three spirit balls on each stage, it’s pretty easy. You transform into a hybrid of a beast, and your attacks become very powerful. I loved the transformations, they just scream the 90s! (Yes, I know this was made in the 80s) You can transform into a werewolf, a dragon, a bear, a tiger, and even a golden werewolf. Once you can transform, the level becomes extremely easy.

Something that I’m grateful for is the health system in Altered Beast. You won’t die if you take a hit, but you can take multiple hits as your health declines. That helped a lot when getting the levels down.

Altered Beast Bosses:

One thing that I think makes video games so fun is the boss fights. I love working my way through a level and finding a boss waiting for me at the end. There’s just something in knowing that you’re about to face the final test at the level. Boss fights were interesting to say the least and I enjoyed writing notes from them for this Altered Beast review.

While the boss fights are pretty easy, I at least applaud Altered Beast for having them in there. Sega must have had fun coming up with the ideas for the bosses as the creativity oozes from the developers here. The bosses look like a combination of creatures and nature that the developers just threw a dart at and combined them. Unfortunately, there aren’t good photos of the bosses, so you’ll just have to imagine them by my descriptions or play the game yourself.

https://youtu.be/h1jQJAjOCaI

The first boss looks like he is detaching his head and throwing multiple heads at you while he grows them back. Interesting strategy. The next boss looks like a giant plant that grows eyes balls and shoots them at you. The third boss is a sandcastle snail dragon? Not to be outdone, the fourth boss is a floating lava crocodile, and finally, the fifth boss is Neff who transforms into what I assume is a character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I found Neff somewhat challenging. I think it took me three to five times to defeat him, but once you know his pattern and when to mash the buttons, he falls pretty easily.

Altered Beast can be beaten in like 20 minutes, so I think that’s where the gripe is. I’m sure plenty of kids had fun with it for a day or two, but afterward, there’s not much replay value. The sound effects were awesome though, I love all the voices especially when Neff yells out “Welcome To Your Doom”!

Memories:
I don’t have any memories of Altered Beast growing up. I never played it as a kid and didn’t play it until reviewing it a few months ago. I just know that it got ripped on a lot, but I have to say I’m a little surprised by all the complaining, sure it’s an easy game, but it’s not terrible! I’m sure if I played this as a kid I might grade it a bit higher, nostalgia tends to blind me.

https://youtu.be/HN4SrdgBVbU

Altered Beast Review Score:

This game is a wonderful beat em up for the arcade, and I get why it was popular in Japan. Unfortunately, great arcade games don’t always transfer into great console games. I think the shortness of Altered Beast hurt it, but I do love the dialogue sounds. You won’t hear me complain about that! Altered Beast would have benefited by adding in a few more levels for the console release. When you beat an easy game in twenty minutes, how much replay value is there? Not much.

Altered Beast scores a 6.1 out of 10.

What would you write in your Altered Beast review? Were you around when Altered Beast came out? Do you remember playing it for the first time and did you find it easy? Did you have a favorite transformation or boss fight? Did Altered Beast come packed in with your Sega Genesis? If so, I want to hear your thoughts on it, does Altered Beast suck or is there some charm to it? Let me know your thoughts and comments below, I’d love to read them.