Donkey Kong Country 2 Review

Just one year after the smash hit of Donkey Kong Country in 1994, developer Rare and Nintendo published Donkey Kong Country 2 in 1995 on the Super Nintendo. The sequel would change leads and add a new female playable character with Dixie Kong. Would Donkey Kong Country 2 be just as amazing as the original or would this game be second banana? We’re twirling our way into this Donkey Kong Country 2 review!

Donkey Kong Country 2 Plot:

Our favorite Kong has been kidnapped by Kaptain K. Rool. He’s left a ransom note asking for the banana hoard back in exchange for Donkey Kong. Poor DK was just enjoying a nap on the beach when Cranky Kong approached whacking him on the head with his cane. After a few moments of Cranky insulting DK about how lazy he is, Cranky leaves DK alone to nap on the beach. It is during his nap that DK was kidnapped by the crew of K. Rool.

The Kongs gather around figuring out what to do next as Diddy swears to go after DK and take down Kaptain K. Rool again. Looking around at the Kongs, Cranky is too old and Funky Kong hates adventures. Suddenly, Dixie Kong, Diddy’s girlfriend speaks up saying she will partner with Diddy and get DK back. While shocked, Diddy reluctantly agrees and together the two of them set off to find DK and take down the Kremlings.

After making their way through various traps and kremling filled levels, Diddy and Dixie find DK roped up hanging from the ceiling with Kaptain K. Rool. Battling the Kaptain, the duo defeats him and rescues DK before making their way back to Kong Island.

Donkey Kong Country 2 Gameplay:

The formula for gameplay didn’t change much in my Donkey Kong Country 2 review. This is an excellent platformer that has you taking control of Diddy and his girlfriend, Dixie. Diddy controls identical to how he did in the original but with no Donkey Kong, Dixie was quite a change of pace. Both are small and quick but Dixie has the unique ability to twirl her hair and float from platform to platform. She controls great and I found myself using her much more than Diddy. There were even sections later on that required Dixie to make jumps between hazards. Her end-level celebrations were rad too with her guitar whaling anthem.

Back are the familiar and helpful animal pals although I think I used them much less. You can still use the rhino and swordfish but instead of actually jumping on them and using animals, you are transformed with barrels. Jumping into specially marked barrels will turn you into a giant snake, spider, or parrot. I didn’t like that aspect but it still played the same way. Aside from the typical levels of platforming, my Donkey Kong Country 2 review featured familiar levels of cart rides and water levels.

Collecting is emphasized more in Donkey Kong Country 2. There are mini-games that you can be transported to by finding items or secret barrels. These include collecting all the coins in an area or killing all the enemies. Overall, while quite fun I didn’t seek out these mini-games. If you collect enough of the hidden coins you’ll unlock the Lost World which is a bonus world. I had a hard enough time beating the game to try and go for hidden levels but it’s cool that they included it for other players.

Overall, Donkey Kong Country 2 is almost the exact same as the original. That’s not a bad thing but aside from changing characters, it didn’t feel different. The soundtrack is fantastic along with all of the sound effects. Truly, the Donkey Kong series has some of the best music when it comes to games on the Super Nintendo. Although if I had to pick one complaint, I’d say that the level variety is smaller. There were just as many levels but the themes were not as diverse.

Boss fights were challenging but not impossible. The hardest fight as it should be was the final fight against Kaptain K. Rool. Jumping over his cannonballs was tricky but once he started to turn invisible and slide across the room things got tough. It took me numerous attempts to beat him but once you understand his pattern, it became as simple as memorizing his routine.

Memories:
I had a friend when I was in elementary school who had a Super Nintendo. His mom would babysit me after some school days, and we’d head to the basement to play the SNES. I can only think of three games that we’d play and by now I’ve reviewed them all. The first two were Blackthorne and Donkey Kong Country.

Playing Donkey Kong Country 2 as a kid, I remember thinking Dixie was pretty cool with how her hair could spin making her float. It was a great element to the gameplay and made her very valuable in some parts of the game. I don’t think we ever got very playing it but I at least remember my introduction to Donkey Kong Country 2.

Many, many years later, I’d attempt my first Donkey Kong Country 2 review. I was about halfway through with it when I accidentally deleted my save file. That made me quite mad, and I didn’t play it again for at least another year until just recently. Dixie was still cool as ever.

Donkey Kong Country 2 Review Score:

Rare struck gold with the original Donkey Kong Country, and they didn’t change the formula a bit with Donkey Kong Country 2. Smart, because it was just as amazing and immersive as the first with the wonderful soundtrack and inclusion of a new character. Dixie stole the show, but the real winner is gamers everywhere who experienced the second game in this wonderful series.

Donkey Kong Country 2 scores a 9.6 out of 10.

What would you write in your Donkey Kong Country 2 review? Which did you like better the original or sequel? Who was the toughest boss? Did you use Diddy or Dixie more? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Donkey Kong Country 2, I’d love to read them.

TransBot Review

TransBot was released on the Sega Master System in North America in 1986. The sidescrolling shoot ’em up was developed and published by Sega. Players could transform between a spaceship and a robot to blast their way through the game. We’re looping a ton in this TransBot review.

TransBot Plot:

There’s nothing in the actual game to suggest a plot so let’s turn to the manual to figure out what’s going on in this TransBot review:

“It seemed like things were finally starting to get back together after the Nuclear War of the solar year 2,000. People had emerged from their underground shelters. They built new towns. New forms of transportation. An all-new society.

But something has gone wrong. DALAUS, an artificial intelligence computer leftover from the now-defunct regime is creating a dictatorial empire. DALAUS is already gaining control of one city – and it’s rumored that many of the guards are actually working for DALAUS.

The only thing that can stop this treacherous takeover is the new CA-214, a sophisticated transforming combat Astro-plane. And the only one who can pilot this high-performance machine is you.

You’ll have to destroy the enemy’s ARM CARRIER. Then try to find DALAUS’s hidden fortress and destroy ELGRAMZON to rid the Earth of evil influence forever.”

TransBot Gameplay:

My TransBot review was quite short due to the nature of the game. There are essentially only two levels in Transbot before the game loops again. In the first part of the game, you are on a surface of a planet as the background is rocky terrain and futuristic cities. After your clear that section you’ll be transported down into a vent which is assumably the enemy fortress. Here you will make your way down the hallway of a base and destroy the enemy that looks just like an AT-ST from Star Wars. After defeating this enemy TransBot will loop and start you at the beginning. All of this can take as little as five minutes. If you are a high score chaser then perhaps you’ll love this game. I’m not, so it didn’t appeal to me and even for a high score chaser, only two levels are quite a disappointment.

For sound effects and music, I enjoyed the catchy tune on the start menu. It’s nothing to write home about but I suppose that’s exactly what I’m doing in my Transbot review, but I did catch myself nodding along to the music. That pleasant music was quickly drowned out by the annoying sounds of your weapon. 1942 for the NES may have the worst sound effect for a weapon in video game history but TransBot isn’t too far behind. Too bad because the overall music for TransBot is decent.

Picking up a power-up will activate your mega weapons. You will select a weapon in a quick selection area at the top of the screen. Every gamer will want to land on Weapon “C” as it’s by fast the best weapon. Your TransBot will transform into the robot and send mega-waves at the enemies that are one-hit kills and cover a decent amount of screen. The other weapons were okay, but it was clear that weapon C was the best. Each mega weapon comes with a limited supply so when that’s gone you’ll need to pick another power up to restart the weapon selection frenzy.

During my TransBot review, I didn’t loop many times through my playthrough. The enemies are predictable once you learn their patterns so finding the safe zone is the most important aspect in learning where they travel to avoid crashing into them. I’ve seen some crazy YouTubers like 8BitBoyUK and Zanoni_Revived play TransBot. Those guys are good and their playthroughs can get pretty wild with how fast the enemies come at them. If either of them read my reviews, I hope they don’t get too upset at the low scores for some Master System games! It’s all good and fun, guys.

Memories:
My first time hearing about Transbot was when I was in my 30s. That’s somewhat surprising for someone who loved the Sega Master System and history. People were making fun of what a terrible game it was on Twitter and I didn’t think much of it at the time. Fast-Forward to my amazing trip to Ireland where I went hunting for Sega Master System games and I wound up in a dingey narrow basement covered from the floor to the ceiling in records, VHS tapes, and old video games.

This was supposed to be the crown jewel of retro game collecting in Ireland but I was unimpressed at first. I asked if they had any Sega Master System games and the guy behind the counter pulled out a cardboard box with some games in there. Looking through it I was desperate to find any Sega Master System games to add to my small collection. It was in there, that I laid my eyes on TransBot for the first time. It was extremely cheap so I bought it. I think the CIB edition cost me $5. Not bad.

When I arrived home from my Ireland trip a weird phenomenon was going around social media as a high score challenge for TransBot. How strange was it that the game I just bought was now trending on my Twitter timelines? Anyway, I played it a few weeks later to much disappointment!

TransBot Review Score:

My TransBot review was shockingly short. Unless you are a high score chaser there really isn’t a ton of fun in TransBot because you continue to loop after two levels. It’s a very early Sega game but it could have benefited from more levels and another boss. More content could have boosted the review score because the actual gameplay isn’t that bad. TransBot can be fun for high score chasers but should be avoided by everyone else.

TransBot scores a 4.9 out of 10.

What would you write in your TransBot review? Have you ever made the game loop? What’s your high score in TransBot? Which weapon do you like the most? Are there other games similar to TransBot that loop? Let me know your thoughts and comments on TransBot, I’d love to read them.

Metal Gear Review

The beginning of a masterpiece series started in 1987 on the MSX2 computer when Metal Gear was released. Developed and published by Konami with a young Hideo Kojima at the helms, the game was far ahead of its time. A few months later, a port of Metal Gear was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, which took some liberties with the gameplay and had no influence or involvement from Kojima. It is the NES version of Metal Gear that I’ll be reviewing today. Make sure you bring your pack of smokes as we sneak our way into this Metal Gear review.

Metal Gear Plot:

Twists and secrets are expected in almost every Hideo Kojima game and while he didn’t direct the NES version of Metal Gear, it’s heavily inspired by his work. During my Metal Gear review, I recognized familiar plot lines and elements. Big Boss, a threat of a nuclear bipedal Metal Gear, and communication through an earpiece all were welcomed.

Our Metal Gear review begins in the year 1995 in an alternative universe where the Cold War has not ended. You play as Solid Snake, a new member of an elite squad called FOXHOUND who has been dropped into an area in South Africa called Outer Haven. In Outer Haven, a weapon of mass destruction is being developed. It’s Solid Snake’s mission to disarm/destroy this mass weapon or rescue prisoners and other members of FOXHOUND. Originally, it was Gray Fox who was handed this mission, another member of FOXHOUND but the team lost contact with him with his last transmission being “METAL GEAR”.

With the help of his commanding officer, Big Boss, Solid Snake parachutes into the area to infiltrate the fortress. Aside from Big Boss, Solid Snake has help from Diane, Schneider, and Jennifer. After rescuing Gray Fox, Solid Snake learns that Metal Gear is a nuclear bipedal tank that can fight in various forms and launch nukes with ease.

As Solid Snakes goes deeper and deeper within the fortress, he rescues the Doctor responsible for creating Metal Gear and the doctor’s daughter who was held hostage to force the Doctor to build it. Solid Snake makes his way toward the Computer System that controls Metal Gear but he begins to receive bad advice from Big Boss that leads him into traps.

Solid Snake continues to make his way to the center of Outer Haven to destroy the supercomputer that controls Metal Gear. After he successfully detonates it he is confronted by the leader of Outer Haven who turns out to be Big Boss! Big Boss sets up a self-destruct code for Outer Haven as he battles Solid Snake. Snake defeats Big Boss and escapes Outer Haven before it blows up. After the credits, a message is received from Big Boss who declares the two will meet again.

Metal Gear Gameplay:

During my Metal Gear review, I was blown away by how ahead of its time this game was. I don’t even think the term “stealth-action” was a genre but if it was Metal Gear magnified it by a million. The majority of gameplay will be sneaking around on a single screen and avoiding any enemies that may spot you. These enemies include soldiers, guard dogs, and security cameras.

You’ll have plenty of weapons at your dispense but I stuck with my fists and a silenced pistol. Crucial weapons to advance include a rocket launcher and grenade launcher which helped destroy equipment and make fights with bosses much easier. Speaking of bosses let’s review some of the bigger fights in my Metal Gear review.

The “Shotgunner” was quite weak but an excellent first boss to fight against. Twin Shot Gunners I took down with the grenade launcher and they weren’t difficult but a bit tedious. Just like the Shotgunner, the Machine Gun kid was simple, run to the corner and shoot him where he can’t hit you. Flamethrowers were also easy but the hardest fight by far was the tank that comes in an alley. You need to put down mines in front of it and it took me about 10 attempts to beat him. I kept running across the field of fire and getting hit. Even the Big Boss fight is pretty easy. All you do is wait for him to go into the corner and continually fire at him until it’s over. Despite the low difficulty on most of the bosses in my Metal Gear review, I loved fighting them as they changed the pace from the regular grunts that I was taking out.

Another element that stuck out to me during my Metal Gear review was the hilarious mistranslation of when a soldier falls asleep. They said, “I feel asleep”. I also didn’t enjoy punching the poor dogs in the face but I knew it had to be done to quietly make my way into Outer Haven.

Sneaking is a huge element of Metal Gear. The famous cardboard box starts here and I was thrilled. A signature item throughout the series, the cardboard box allows you to hide from guards in a pinch. An example of how far ahead of its time Metal Gear was beside the cardboard box was the hidden transmitter in your inventory. At one point you are captured and have to escape. When you gather your belongings you will have guards constantly attacking you unless you remove the hidden transmitter from your gear. This was genius and I couldn’t believe it was included. Another item that always seems to be in the inventory is cigarettes. These were used at the very end of the game to boost the countdown clock before Outer Haven explodes to give you more time to run away.

Remember the amazing but long scene from Metal Gear Solid 3 where Big Boss is climbing up the ladder? Well, an aspect like that is in the original Metal Gear. Instead of climbing a ladder, you hop onto an elevator that seems to take forever. Knowing about the ladder in Metal Gear Solid 3 made me appreciate the insanely long elevator ride.

While my Metal Gear review is mainly me fawning over Hideo Kojima and his brilliant mind, there were some things that took away from the fun. I had to use a guide almost the entire time simply because of how easy it was to get lost and not exactly know what to do next. You can call via the radio and speak with your team but they aren’t quite as helpful as they’d later become in the Metal Gear Solid series. At times, there were things I had to do that I never would have thought of unless the guide told me so. Examples include punching at certain walls to expose hidden doors to rescue characters and radioing certain frequencies to gather required weapons. Maybe after weeks and weeks of playing Metal Gear, I may have found out about this but I don’t have all the time in the world to find these elaborate and hidden features.

The ending also felt quickly rushed. You defeat Big Boss in a less than stellar fight and then escape Outer Haven in about 30 seconds. You get a small scene of the base blowing up and then the credits roll. I wish I could have gotten one of Kojima’s infamous 30-minute cut scenes where characters wrapped up the plot and story to let me know exactly what I had just done. I know that’s not possible on the NES but some more text on the screen explaining what had happened would have been welcomed. The other thing that really bothered me besides the rushed ending and lack of direction on the mission was the trap doors. There are plenty scattered throughout Outer Haven and you have a split second to avoid them. Many times I did not. If you hadn’t saved in a while you were out of luck. These deaths felt really cheap and sometimes they were simply unavoidable even to the gamers with the quickest reflexes. My Metal Gear review was tons of fun but it was frustrating at times.

Memories:
I can’t tell you how many times I thought about playing Metal Gear to see how the brilliant series began. It took me years to finally do it and I’m satisfied to see how my favorite series started. When I first attempted my Metal Gear review a few months ago, I made the mistake of not getting a crucial item. I can’t remember which one it was but to backtrack it would have taken me an hour to grab it. Not wanting to waste all that time I quit and didn’t attempt to play the game again until this version of my Metal Gear review in which I used a YouTube walkthrough.

Metal Gear Review Score:

Hideo Kojima despite not overseeing the NES port of his masterpiece still influenced much of Metal Gear on the NES. A game so far ahead of its time shocked me with the inclusion of sophisticated items, a well-rounded cast, and even breaking the fourth wall. Metal Gear starts the best franchise in video games, and it’s a must-play for all lovers of the series to pay homage to how it began.

Metal Gear scores a 9 out of 10.

What would you write in your Metal Gear review? Be honest, did you use a guide as I did? What was your favorite boss fight? How many trap holes did you fall into? What’s your favorite game in the series? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Metal Gear, I’d love to read them.

Code Vein Review

What do you get when you combine anime-style characters with an in-depth emotional story and the gameplay of a SoulsBorne game? The answer is Code Vein. Released in 2019 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Code Vein flew under the radar. Developed and published by Bandai Namco, Code Vein surprised me in quite a few ways. We’re drinking blood in this Code Vein review!

Code Vein Plot:

Starting my Code Vein review I was awoken by a busty girl in the middle of city ruins in some futuristic world. Humans are now few and far in-between. They are there but most people are now Revenants. Revenants are humans who have died but are resurrected by tiny micro organisms in their bodies that need a fresh supply of blood to survive. Think of blood as food as most need it daily. If these revenants don’t get the blood they will turn into the “Lost” which are monster forms who attack anything in sight.

The player is a revenant and teams up with others who are trying to put the pieces together after Operation Queenslayer, a horrible experiment that was a colossal mess for humanity. It’s revealed that blood beads are drying up which helps revenants stay “alive”. The player has the ability to revive blood bead trees and absorb memories of others to help put together the clues of what happened. Apparently, and I’m just using my giving the bare minimum of story, but there was a girl who was sick and they kept experimenting on her to save her. She was saved but the cure frenzied her (the micro organisms) and turned her into a monster that slaughtered others turning them into the Lost and other revenants.

She was killed but scattered parts of her called relics into huge monsters called “successors”. The player hunts down these successors restoring them into their human forms while collecting their memories and learning more of the story. The main goal of Code Vein is to restore the Blood Spring and defeat the successors while collecting all the memories.

There are three different endings. In my Code Vein review, I made it about 90 percent through the game until I simply could not defeat a boss. In the best ending, the players collect all memories and restore every successor to their human form. If this occurs, one of your team members named Io (the girl who you woke up next to) absorbs all the relics and transforms into a new Bloodspring which allows the player and his team to venture outside of the ruined cities for a new life. There are also two other endings. One has the player absorbing the relics with Io by their side as they are stuck for eternity in that area but still save the others. The bad ending occurs when you don’t rescue anyone and when you try and absorb the relics, you transform into a frenzied lost while your team kills you.

I kind of slaughtered the plot as there’s a lot that goes into it but like some Japanese games, the story is very heavy and would take much more in-depth details to fully explain it. That’s the gist of it at least for this Code Vein review.

Code Vein Gameplay:

Before I could even start my Code Vein review I was completely blown away by the opening video. It had me rock hard and got me stoked to play it. While the opening video was sick, the gameplay that followed wasn’t always enjoyable. One feature that always frustrates me and I just don’t understand why this is implemented into games like this but Code Vein does not come with a pause button. I understand the aspect of making a game difficult but there are valid times when pausing would be welcomed. The doorbell rings, your phone goes off, emergency nature calls. These are reasons for a pause button.

While environments are beautiful particularly the white cathedral area that was built from gorgeous ivory structures, one small but noticeable flaw always remained. Whatever weapon I carried throughout my Code Vein review would go through the walls or environments. Now, I understand it can’t be perfect but the weapon would disappear completely if I walked against a wall. I wish there was some type of detection.

I know I’m complaining a lot but there are some valid criticism points. The autosave function was garbage. Code Vein does not save after very long cut scenes so if you watched one that took 15 minutes and then didn’t rest at the saves bush then your game didn’t get saved. I learned this after fighting a boss, watching the cutscene, heading back to the home base, watching another cutscene, and then shutting the game off to head to bed. Nothing was saved. It’d be great if you got a checkpoint at least after huge cutscenes or boss fights.

Let’s finish up the complaints in my Code Vein review before moving on to the good stuff. There are some lag issues when approaching some enemies. It looked bad and unimpressive, thankfully it only happened a few times throughout my Code Vein review. The last complaint I have is the AI. For the most part, it’s pretty good and even impressive at times but there was one boss fight where my partner just kept rolling around. I think they mimic your style and I was dodging constantly by rolling and the boss had just taken a ton of damage and became vulnerable but instead of finishing him off, my partner was rolling around him for 10 seconds and letting the boss back up before he killed us both.

Despite all of my complaints, I actually enjoyed my Code Vein review. The character design was so refreshing to see. Bandai Namco wasn’t afraid to make their characters sexy and busty. It sounds ridiculous to write that but after the insane amount of toning down female characters in video games, Code Vein went back to the style of the early 2000s and kept all their characters sexy.

Boss fights were exciting and every time I reached one I knew I was in for a treat. They were all very unique and I was able to beat most of them on my first or second try. There were a couple that took many times to defeat but it felt gratifying to beat them. I might as well admit it right now but Code Vein got the best of me. I could not defeat the duo of Blade Bearer and Hand Canonner. It was a combination of fire and ice from them, one quick, one slow but no matter what I couldn’t defeat them. I was highly leveled up but here’s the quicker. Code Vein has a somewhat in-depth weapon and talent skill implementation. I was quite confused when trying to figure out how to activate the skills. There were some explanations in how to create advanced skillsets but I simply was too lazy and hack and slashed my way to victory most times. In the end, it bit me in the butt as I didn’t master the skills I needed to defeat them. While it sucked, that duo is about 90 percent done with the game so I essentially didn’t reach the end boss but played throughout the entire game. The combat was adequate. Nothing special, but it was enough to keep me playing. Blocking was somewhat useless, so my main strategy to avoid damage was rolling all over the place.

What had me cracking up at the end of my Code Vein review was the Disney-type song that was at the end of the game. I watched it on YouTube and couldn’t believe how silly it was. I loved it but it was silly. Code Vein can be broken down into some very simple gameplay. You’ll want to clear out all enemies in an area earning experience. You can take that experience and level up improving health, weapons, and stats. If you die before you reach a save spot, you’ll drop all that experience but you’ll be able to pick it up after being revived if you make it back to that area. The goal besides clearing out all enemies is to find the boss and defeat them to advance the story. Areas do require some exploring and there are sections that are very well hidden. I had to look at a guide a few times to figure out where to go next as Code Vein isn’t linear.

You can collect some important items along the way, the most important being parts to memories that you can relive. When you collect all the memories you’ll earn the best ending and there are three different endings. The more memories you collect, the better the ending you’ll have.

Memories:
I had seen Code Vein a few times in stores, and the cover always interested me, but I knew nothing about the game. It wasn’t until I went to one of my favorite video game store chains in downtown Milwaukee that I decided to snag it. Code Vein was I think $12, and I figured I wouldn’t see it again at that price so I bought it. It took a few months for me to play it but once I did I remember being blown away by the opening video and quite confused that it wasn’t a JRPG. Instead, I had purchased a SoulsBorne game!

While playing it I always blasted from my phone a band I had recently discovered. They’re called “Knocked Loose”, and I love them. They shred so hard with their filthy metal and screaming, and it was the perfect soundtrack to play for Code Vein as I hacked away at enemies.

Code Vein Review Score:

Code Vein is an underrated game filled with refreshing character designs, average combat, great boss fights, and a heavy story. It comes together for an enjoyable experience for any SoulsBorne fans but it’s not perfect. There are lag issues and small defects that spoil an environment that could be immersive. If you love anime-style characters and SoulsBorne action, you’ll want to play this.

Code Vein scores a 7.9 out of 10.

What would you write in your Code Vein review? What did you think of the character designs? Which boss was the hardest in the game? What other SoulsBorne games are out there? What ending did you get? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Code Vein, I’d love to read them.

Red Steel Review

When the Wii was released it helped usher in a new era of motion control for video games. As a launch game for the system, Red Steel was released in 2006 developed by Ubisoft Paris and published by Ubisoft, Red Steel was a combination of first-person shooter and first-person fighter. The combo, much like the motion controls were a mixed bag of laughs, frustration, and fun. Grab your katana and glock, we’re heading into this Red Steel review.

Red Steel Plot:

What’s the most disastrous first meeting you can think of when a boyfriend gets introduced to the parents? Whatever you can think of, Scott Monroe has you beat. He’s the protagonist in Red Steel, and it begins as he is getting introduced to his fiancé’s father at a hotel in Los Angeles.

Scott’s fiancé, Miyu Sato is the daughter of Isao Sato. Just as the three are about to meet, gang members bust in on the hotel room and fire upon everyone as Scott is knocked out. Waking up, he sees Miyu and Isao being abducted by the Yakuza. He grabs a pistol and rescues Isao on the roof but it’s too late for Miyu as she is rushed away. Isao and Scott team up and get Miyu back as the pair head to the parking garage while Scott stays behind to fight off gang members. Unfortunately, Isao’s bodyguard Ryuichi betrays him and kidnaps them both leaving Scott behind.

Wanting his fiance back, Scott works with Isao who introduces him to a man named Tony Tanaka in Los Angeles. Scott crashes a spa that Ryuichi’s mistress owns and gets info on him. Meeting at an airport, Ryuichi spares Scott in a sword fight after kicking his butt as he escapes to Japan with Miyu.

The Yakuza want back an ancient sword called the Katana Giri that was used to execute many of their members long ago. Mortally injured, Isao gives Scott the sword and tells him to travel to Japan and meet a man named Otori. Scott travels to Tokyo and is trained by Otori who is a former samurai. A nightclub owner named Harry helps Scott out in tracking down Ryuichi at a garbage facility where he is handing off Miyu to a man named Tokai. Scott defeats Ryuichi in a sword duel but before Ryuichi talks he is murdered by a sniper.

Back at Harry’s, Scott is informed that Tokai has taken over many factions of the Yakuza including some big businesses. These owners have come to Harry’s and request Scott’s help in getting rid of the Yakuza. Eventually, Scott meets up with Tokai but Harry betrays Scott and knocks him out as the sword is taken. Scott wakes up and battles Harry in a sword fight while getting more info.

Scott duels Tokai as it is revealed that Tokai wanted the sword for himself to take revenge on a rival gang member who killed his father. Tokai loses the duel and flees. Otori and Scott find Tokai together and Scott finds Tokai again and duels him. Otori wants to kill him but it’s up to the player on the decision. Miyu is rescued regardless.

Red Steel Gameplay:

My Red Steel review nearly didn’t happen. After 15 minutes of playing the game, it was near impossible to get the motion controls down. How you value Red Steel depends on how well the motion controls work. If they work well, Red Steel is a great game filled with arcade action and adventure. If the motion controls are compromised, you probably won’t get past the first level. Any other game, I would have given up but I saw the potential that Red Steel had to offer.

I worked very hard at getting the motion controls to work enough for me for a playthrough and in the end, I got them to work enough where I could experience most of Red Steel along with some hilarious sequences. The controls didn’t kill me but they made it so my character would spin aimlessly during sections and shootouts. The good news is that Red Steel isn’t difficult. In most shootouts, you can survive getting hit a few times while you collect yourself with the motion controls. This was a launch game for the Wii and I try and remember that during my Red Steel review.

If, and it’s a big “If” you can master the motion controls, Red Steel has a lot to offer. Making your way through levels you’ll fight off plenty of Yakuza with various guns and swords. Gun fights are awesome, it’s pure chaos and fun. Sword fights are fairly pointless as the controls don’t mimic what you do so you’re just flailing your arms about attacking your opponent.

Cover is your best friend during these shootouts and you can regain health fairly quickly by ducking or covering. There are enough guns to please you and you’ll rotate through most of them. Sword fights are meant to be “boss” fights but they are typically uneventful. Red Steel offers enough unique environments that I enjoyed playing each level.

The presentation for Red Steel works very well. Each cut scene is presented in a drawing with a voice-over. The voice acting in Red Steel is absolutely hilarious. It’s bad but I love it. I wish they still made games like this as they tried their best to get Asian accents in English-speaking scenes. During my Red Steel review, I was surprised at how mature the theme was on a Nintendo console. There was plenty of murder, gang action, slutty girls, and swearing. It was great and a refreshing experience.

Memories:
Red Steel was always one of those games at retro video game stores that I saw whenever I went out shopping. I wasn’t sure if it was because it was mass-produced or if the game sucked. Either way, the cover intrigued me and I knew I wanted to try it out regardless. Playing through my Red Steel review I had to focus much more than other games because of the motion controls. It was fun when it worked but that was far and few in-between.

Red Steel Review Score:

Red Steel’s review score will vary depending on each user’s experience with the motion controls. If the motion controls work well, this is a fun arcade action shooter filled with hilariously bad voice acting. If you can’t get the motion controls to work you’ll likely quit within 10 minutes and throw it on the shelf never to be touched again.

Red Steel scores a 6.9 out of 10.

What would you write in your Red Steel review? What was your first game on the Wii? Did you have issues with motion controls? Did you like the shootouts or the sword fights more? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Red Steel, I’d love to read them.

Crash Bandicoot Review

Exactly one year after the launch of the original PlayStation, Developer Naughty Dog teamed up with Sony Computer Entertainment to release Crash Bandicoot on September 9th, 1996. The 3D platformer would launch the biggest PlayStation mascot that Sony had in the 90s. Packed full of white-knuckle jumps, entertaining bosses, and debuting on a newly released console, Crash Bandicoot would achieve massive success. We’re grabbing as many Wumpa fruits as possible in this Crash Bandicoot review.

Crash Bandicoot Plot:

Dr. Neo Cortex is a mad scientist who wishes to achieve world domination. He’s invented an “Evolvo-Ray” that speeds up the evolution of wild animals. His assistant, Dr. Nitrus Brio helps Cortex catch animals and brings them to the lab for experimentation. They plan to turn these animals into super soldiers and build an army for world domination.

One of these animals, a bandicoot named Crash has been selected to become the leader of the army. As he is being subjected to a brain-washing machine, Crash escapes where Cortex and Brio chase him out a window watching Crash plunge into the ocean. He wakes up on a beach determined to rescue his girlfriend Bandicoot, Tawna, and takedown Cortex.

Crash makes his way through various islands defeating Cortex’s henchmen including Papu Papu, Ripper Roo, Koala Kong, and Pinstripe Potoroo. He reaches Cortex’s castle and defeats Brio who drinks a potion to turn himself into a monster. With Brio out of the way, Crash fights Cortex on his airship and defeats him by deflecting the plasma bolts back. Cortex falls out of the sky and Crash rescues Tawna as they ride into the sunset together.

Crash Bandicoot Gameplay:

Naughty Dog was barely walking on four legs when it developed Crash Bandicoot in 1996. With such an early game on the system, there wasn’t a ton like it in terms of aesthetics and environments. It’s a colorful mix of tropical islands, rainy castles, and dark temples. As a platformer, it’s absolutely brutal but with plenty of practice, you can squeak through the stages.

During my Crash Bandicoot Review, I had to traverse 32 levels. The first 30 percent of the game is where the real fun is. Players can expect to make their way through linear levels with rolling stones, pitfalls, and even ride warthogs! It’s here where Crash Bandicoot flourishes and gets the player hooked.

Crash Bandicoot is a one-hit kill game but there are ways to help you survive. Throughout each level are wumpa fruits. Collect 100 of these and earn an extra life. Littered throughout the levels are wooden boxes for Crash to smash. They have various symbols on them. Plain ones will give wumpa fruits, striped ones can be bounced on, and boxes with the question mark symbol can give you a variety of things like wumpa fruit or a token. These tokens feature a few different characters and you’ll have to collect three in a stage to activate the tokens.

A big gripe I had during my Crash Bandicoot review was the save function. You don’t get to save your progress after each level or get a password. In order to save, you must collect 3 tokens of Tawna which will transport you to the save stage but first you must make it to Tawna! This is easier said than done. During this stage, Crash will jump across a bridge made of boxes. Most are steel boxes so they won’t break but others are wooden and if you hop on them which are required sometimes, Crash can fall through ending the save level. If this happens you don’t get to save the game. You have two options at this point. Restart the level and try again which is very time-consuming and can lead to more lives being lost or falling off again from the save stage or just keep playing and waiting for the next save stage in a few levels. It’s not a good system and is quite unfair. Later save levels became so crucial to get to but the advanced levels are incredibly hard.

Throughout my Crash Bandicoot review, I used Crash’s two weapons of defense which were jumping on top of enemies or spinning wildly with his arms into a tornado. At the basis of Crash Bandicoot is a very simple platformer with easy controls. Almost all of your deaths will come from missing a platform or not landing a jump. The most frustrating levels are the climbing levels in which crash will progress through a level vertically. These are brutal and it was these levels that caused me to shout in frustration during my Crash Bandicoot review. There are only about five or six of these levels but each one was such a pain to play. I dreaded starting the level knowing that it would take me 7 or 8 lives to beat.

Checkpoints are scattered throughout levels which helps ease the pain of constant death but just getting to these checkpoints is a challenge. Another pain about saving which I thought was unfair was the fact that the number of lives you have is not saved. The game just saves what level you are on, not your hard-earned collection of lives. Reloading the game will result in five lives. It’s frustrating because at times I’d have 17 or 20 lives stocked and then I’d save my progress only to be rewarded with 5 lives when turning the game back on.

If the levels from my Crash Bandicoot review were absolutely brutal, the boss fights were a welcomed piece of cake. Each boss was fun to fight and most of them were easily defeated. Papu Papu, Ripper Roo, Koala Kong, and Pinstripe Potoroo were a pleasure to fight. They weren’t difficult but the fact that they were included was a treat because it was a relief from the platforming. Brio and Cortex upped the challenge, particularly Brio as he drinks a potion to transform into a monster but even these fights took me only two or three tries to win. Believe me, that’s not a complaint.

Memories:
When I was in elementary school each Summer I’d stay with my Grandma for about a week. Sometimes I’d bring a friend, others I’d just go by myself. I loved my Grandma dearly and she thought the world of me. I have nothing but fond and loving memories from my time with her. On one of the visits to her place I brought my PS1. This was the height of my childhood and I spent hours playing Crash Bandicoot. I vividly remember it was a Saturday morning and I was playing Crash Bandicoot for a few hours. My other love besides video games was Pokemon and it was nearing the climax of season one where Ash was in the Indigo League rounds. It was the one where he fought Bellsprout with his Pikachu and ended up winning with Muk. Man, what a time to be a kid. I miss those days.

I’d beat Crash Bandicoot as a kid and I honestly don’t know how. It may have been from the simple fact that I didn’t have anything else to do. Not a care in the world as I repeated every single attempt at a level. However I did it, I respect my 10-year old self. Playing it again 20 years later the game kicked my butt. I got the job done but it was a frustrating experience compared to my carefree days as a kid.

Crash Bandicoot Review Score:

Crash Bandicoot kicked down the door for Sony announcing to the world that he was the reason to purchase a PS1. Filled with iconic music, exciting but brutal platforming, and stocked with secrets for replayability, Crash Bandicoot was a must-play for all PS1 owners.

Crash Bandicoot scores an 8.5 out of 10.

What would you write in your Crash Bandicoot review? What was your first game on the PS1? What is your favorite game in the series? Who was your favorite boss fight? Did you have issues beating this game? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Crash Bandicoot, I’d love to read them.

Resistance Fall of Man Review

In 2006, Sony would release the PlayStation 3 to follow up the massive success of the PlayStation 2, which became the best-selling console of all time. The PS3 had some issues early on including the price point, but one of the brightest spots was the launch title Resistance Fall of Man which was developed by Insomniac Games and produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. Resistance didn’t have too much competition in 2006 but would be crowned PS3 game of the year by many outlets. We’re heading to an alternative 1950s in this Resistance Fall of Man review. 

Resistance Fall of Man Plot:

Set in an alternative timeline of the 1900s, an Alien race landed in Russia in the early 1900s. The aliens have slowly taken over the continent with the spread of infecting humans and turning them into Chimera. Despite the efforts to keep the Chimera at bay, they’ve been effectively invading other countries and eventually reach Europe by the 1950s. 

It’s time for the United States to do what it does best and save the world! The U.S. certainly doesn’t want the Chimera setting their sights on America so U.S. troops team up with the British to take back Europe. The main protagonist in this Resistance Fall of Man review is a soldier named Nathan Hale. History experts should know the name well, but it’s not that Nathan Hale. His team begins the operation of taking back starting in England but his unit is ambushed and everyone becomes infected by the Chimera virus which is spread by cockroach-like creatures that enter your body. 

Hale’s body has unusual natural immunity to the virus which allows him to continue to fight when his team is abducted and taken to a conversion center. At the center, he meets a woman named Rachel Parker who is a British Intelligence Officer and frees her. She has Hale team up with her unit and launches an offensive attack on the Chimera. Hale shows extreme abilities including speed and natural healing. These Chimera-like abilities freak Parker out as she begins to realize Hale may not be human anymore but still allows him to fight as he is kicking a lot of Chimera ass. 

After surviving a few more battles, Hale and a British sniper named Stephen Cartwright discover a number of tunnels connected to central command centers that the Chimera have built. It’d be a suicide mission essentially, but if they can make their way through the tunnels and blow up the command tower they would make a significant dent in the Chimera’s hold over Europe. 

In the command centers are special Chimera called “Angels” that can telepathically communicate to the masses of Chimera and command them. Cartwright is mortally wounded, but Hale makes his way to the center of the command and is able to destroy the core. Within a matter of minutes, the entire tower is blown up and Hale is assumed to be killed in action. It’s a massive victory for the humans but the Chimera invasion is still in Russia and parts of Europe. After the credits roll, Hale is seen to be walking around in a snowfield before being picked up by a human task force who seems to know that Hale isn’t quite himself. Hale allows the humans to take him. 

Resistance Fall of Man Gameplay: 

As a launch title for the PS3, Resistance Fall of Man is immensely impressive. It helped usher in the new era of gaming and gave gamers an idea of what the PS3 could do. During my Resistance Fall of Man review, there were many moments of “Wow” from the realistic window-breaking physics, unique weapons, and helpful A.I. teammates. 

I played my Resistance Fall of Man review with my wife. It was at least my fifth time beating the game, but it was my wife’s first playthrough. She’s no stranger to first-person shooters but I was curious about how she’d handle it. The controls for Resistance aren’t overwhelming and the ability to quickly switch between your weapons was welcomed in swarms of chaos. 

One of the most fun aspects of Resistance was experimenting with the generous variety of weapons. During my Resistance Fall of Man review, I started with the typical 1950s machine gun but as we progressed deeper into the game we received alien technology that breathed fresh air into the gameplay and battles. A must-have weapon included the Auger, which can shoot energy balls through any object making it ideal in killing hiding enemies or ambushing squads. Another favorite was the hedgehog grenade which elevated about five feet off the ground before sending spikes everywhere. Not only were these weapons useful, but they were fun. Overall, Resistance offered numerous weapons to fight a number of enemies. 

Speaking of enemies, there are a few different Chimera soldiers you’ll face. The basic grunts are manageable, especially when they drop health packs for you. About halfway through, new Chimera started to show up including beast-like dogs, enlarged scorpion Chimera, larger and more deadly grunts, and a few goliath creatures that would fit at home in Lord of the Rings. My wife’s favorite enemy was the “Stupids”. These near harmless creatures are weaponless but act like zombies as they make their way toward you. One or two shots will drop them but watch out as they are near silent. They gave my wife a shock a few times but she enjoyed killing masses of them in factories and facilities. 

Resistance had a near-perfect pace of play for level length. Levels lasted anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes which felt satisfying and avoided the overwhelming feeling that some video games can give. Throughout levels, there were checkpoints to restart and if you are playing two-player, you’ll be able to heal each other when the other dies. One small complaint would be the lack of bosses or memorable characters. Most levels end with a medium-sized battle that you must survive. There were no alien generals or monsters to kill at the end of any levels that would count as a “boss”. Not every game needs in-depth characters, but it would have been fun to at least face off with a few unique enemies. 

To complete my Resistance Fall of Man review, it took about 12-15 hours to beat. That’s a great length for an FPS and it was rewarding when completed. If you’d like to start the campaign over again, the game unlocks new weapons that can be collected. My last minor complaint about Resistance would be the cut-scenes. They were presented in dull black and white slides as the camera panned out. With this being a launch game for the PS3, I would have liked to see more firepower to showcase what the PS3 can do during cutscenes. It felt a bit outdated in a game that was for the next generation. 

Memories: 

Resistance Fall of Man was one of the first games I played on a PS3. My first was Motorstorm, and I think the second game I picked up was Resistance. It was tons of fun and offered me a glimpse into what the future of gaming could be. I beat the game by myself and then invited a friend over a few weeks later. We beat the game in three days. In college, I completed a playthrough of Resistance with a girlfriend, and then for this Resistance Fall of Man review, I beat the game again with my wife. Each playthrough was full of fun and it’s a game I’d recommend to anyone. 

Resistance Fall of Man Review Score: 

There’s not a whole lot more you could hope for in a PS3 launch title. Resistance Fall of Man showcased the next generation of gaming with improved physics, stellar weapons, and helpful A.I. in your quest to eradicate Europe from the clutches of the Chimera. This is a must-own for all PS3 lovers and it started one of the most underrated video game franchises. 

Resistance Fall of Man scores a 9.7 out of 10. 

What would you write in your Resistance Fall of Man review? What was your favorite weapon? What was the first game you played on your PS3? Do you wish to see this series revived? Did you play it with friends? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Resistance Fall of Man, I’d love to read them. 

Moving Out Review

In 2020, developers DevM Games and SMG Studio teamed up to create Moving Out while Team17 published it on the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. Team17 is famous for publishing the wildly popular and fantastic series of Overcooked. Moving Out would take a similar concept of giving players the task of moving items in and out of building with exaggerated physics. Would this be a successful spin-off, or should Moving Out be packed away? Get your duct tape and PIVOT when reading this Moving Out review.

Moving Out Plot:

You and presumably a friend will be playing Moving Out together. It’s best played in couch co-op, but here’s the gist of the plot. Your buddy and you are grunts in a moving company happily taking orders every day while your boss gets rich. You both have great attitudes and generally love moving heavy items.

There’s not much more to the plot than that. At some point, you accidentally begin stealing items for a mysterious client. Other than that, it’s simple. Move boxes in and out with a smile and listen to your boss.

Moving Out Gameplay:

I didn’t know what to expect when I began my Moving Out review with my wife. We were both avid fans of Overcooked and expected similar addicting and challenging gameplay but there was just something missing from Moving Out. Teamwork is key in completing levels. You and your friends will be tasked with moving boxes, items, and other silly objects into a moving truck. You’ll need to do this within a certain time period to “beat” the level.

My wife and I were able to 3 star almost every level in Overcooked 1 and 2, and while they are separate games, I believed we would have the same type of success in Moving Out. We did not. Moving Out was much more difficult and we barely earned bronze in each stage. Part of the frustration is on purpose which is too bad. The physics of how you move the furniture is quite silly and will make you laugh. It will also create frustration as controls are difficult to predict. You may mean to go left and your character goes up. Double the frustration will occur when you are carrying a couch or a heavy item that requires two movers as you and your partner will both have to master the controls and if you both aren’t masters then you will fail.

During my Moving Out review, I was pleased with the amount of unique level design. You’ll move packages from haunted mansions filled with deadly ghosts, wild farmhouses with animals running around, busy streets with cars, and more advanced stages with factory conveyor belts, rising lava, and speeding trains. Due to the controls being so erratic, my wife and I were never able to advance past the lava stages. We would fall off repeatedly on narrow passageways that continued to grow our frustration.

In Overcooked, we eagerly replayed levels excited to learn from our mistakes. They were OUR mistakes. In Moving Out, we didn’t enjoy replaying levels or trying again as the mistakes were more control issues than us. We’d get the same results almost every time and didn’t see a need to replay levels.

What I did enjoy from the Moving Out review were the characters and dialogue. They were well done and added a flare to the game. Every level had some jokes and they were clever. There was also some 80s electronic music that we vibed to. We enjoyed customizing our characters too. I stuck with a dog with an astronaut outfit and my wife chose to be a toaster head. Literally. When her character got overworked toast would come flying out and litter the ground. Even more so when she was frustrated, the toast would be burnt. All nice touches.

During our Moving Out review, we encountered many obstacles. Some of the most frustrating but fun items to move were farm animals. Chickens clucked and ran around while you chase them into the truck. There’s another element to keeping them in the truck though as you’d need to build a pen for the animals in the truck with other items. There is a strategy that goes into Moving Out and a lot of it involved teamwork. The obstacles and hazards were fun to make our way past but I keep coming back to the main issue in this Moving Out review. Controls. If the controls are too difficult then everything else is wiped away which is, unfortunately, the case with Moving Out.

Memories:
My wife and I have plenty of fun memories playing Overcooked. It’s one of our favorite series to play together. When Moving Out was announced I knew I’d buy that too for us. I was surprised to see some not-so-positive reviews about Moving Out but despite them, I purchased the game on the Nintendo Switch for Christmas.

We giggled a ton while playing Moving Out but both expressed our frustrations of the physics and how overly difficult moving some items was. For whatever reason, the magic of Overcooked didn’t translate to Moving Out but we were still able to get some enjoyment out of it. We made it to the last few levels but could never beat them.

Moving Out Review Score:

After the massive success of Overcooked, Moving Out had everything in its favor with a set fanbase of Team17 games. Unfortunately, the secret sauce that Overcooked had didn’t translate to Moving Out. Sure, it will make you laugh and giggle with the humorous dialogue, unique characters, and silly physics but it will also frustrate you with the tasks, layouts, and difficult levels with the absurd physics. In the end, Moving Out unpacked more frustration than fun.

Moving Out scores a 6.2 out of 10.

What would you write in your Moving Out review? Did you think it held up as well as Overcooked? What levels did you enjoy the most? Were you able to beat the game? Did you play it with friends? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Moving Out, I’d love to read them.

Minority Report Everybody Runs Review

Throughout much of the 90s and early 2000s, Tom Cruise was a blockbuster actor. In 2002, he starred in a film called Minority Report that grossed over $358 million. While it wasn’t a smash-hit like some of his other films, it still did well. So well, that it earned its own spinoff video game. In 2002, Treyarch developed, and Activision published, Minority Report Everybody Runs for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Would this game be a big hit or like the title suggests, everybody should run away from this game? Either way, let’s settle in for this Minority Report Everybody Runs review.

Minority Report Everybody Runs Plot:

While this is based on a movie, there are some differences in the plots. The game stars John Anderton, who Tom Cruise portrayed, but he looks different in the video game. As for the plot, here is the gist of it.

In the future, murders are predicted by psychic humans who can see the future. The images in their minds are projected on a screen for the police units to see and help stop murders before they happen. This special program has only been rolled out in one city in the United States, but the FBI is auditing it to see if it makes sense for the entire country to use since it has prevented any murders for the last six years. John Anderton is a top cop on the force and swears by the system.

One day an image of a woman murdering Anderton comes up. They leave to arrest her and it turns out she works for SOL Enterprises which is a weapon manufacturer on the black market. This woman, named Nikki escapes, and Anderton and his crew return to headquarters where a new vision appears of him murdering a man he has never met. Anderton is then forced to become a fugitive on the run. With the entire police force after him, John must fight for his freedom. As the city is highly advanced in technology, John has his eyes replaced on the black market so scanners can’t pick him up. He learns that there can be glitches in the system from the PreCog inventor, and to clear his name he must download the info from the PreCog, who did not have the vision of him murdering the man.

Anderton returns to Precrime headquarters and steals the PreCog, who did not have the vision in hopes of downloading the information from her. He makes a deal with a former PreCog employee who can download her vision as proof that Anderton is innocent and that somehow the leader of Sol Enterprises Verhagen is behind the faux visions. I’m not sure they didn’t do a good job explaining why Verhagen wanted to frame Anderton.

Either way, Anderton makes his way to SOL headquarters and fights the woman named Nikki, who was acting as a bodyguard at this point to Verhagen. After fighting countless robots, Anderton reaches Verhagen and arrests him. The end scene is Verhagen being taken to virtual reality prison.

Minority Report Everybody Runs Gameplay:

Square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square! That’s all I pressed during my Minority Report Everybody Runs review. This game is a beat ’em brawler, but it’s one of the most repetitive games I’ve ever played.

I’ll start with what I liked about my Minority Report Everybody Runs review. The body physics is hilarious. It’s the reason I asked my dad for this game so many years ago. Throwing bodies and watching their limp bodies crash into objects and flop around does give me a chuckle. The other cool thing about this game is all the destruction you can cause. You’ll fight in offices, parks, and other environments that will have many breakable objects, all of which are fun to throw enemies into.

Now let’s get into the bad of this Minority Report Everybody Runs review, and believe me… there is a lot of bad. The gameplay boils down to a simple formula. You are in an area starting at Point A, you’ll need to make your way to Point B. There are many bad guys in your way. Fight them and proceed to your destination. That’s the basis of this game and there are other games very similar to that but are done much better. You can punch or kick, but I chose to kick as it deals more damage. I kicked every enemy to death with the same attack over and over, which is square. There are combos offered that you can unlock with money you find in levels, but they aren’t worth it. My mind went numb as I repeatedly pushed square every single battle. Sometimes I’d face 15 enemies, and I knew all of them would be kicked to death.

Speaking of enemies, they are bland, non-imaginative, and boring. You’ll fight the same PreCrime units over and over. Other than that, you’ll fight a few street thugs and some security robots. Each enemy looks almost identical, just different clothes. Each enemy attacks exactly the same. There are 40 levels to play through, and it sounds like a lot, but it’s not. Each level can take anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes to complete. Here’s what is lazy of the developers. There are only about 5 different areas and environments that you’ll experience. You make your way through the PreCrime offices, the streets, a hotel room, gardens, and sewers. About halfway through the game, each level gets recycled as you make your way back to the starting point of the game. It just comes off as lazy, and it was unenjoyable in my Minority Report Everybody Runs review. They even include a level called “Deja Vu!”

My Minority Report Everybody Runs review reminded me a lot of the original Fighting Force except on the PlayStation 2. There are fun brawlers out there, I enjoyed Anarchy Reigns, but Minority Report just feels lazy. You can use guns in combat which I did to defeat the tough bosses. There are only a few guns that you can pick up, but my favorite weapon was the puke grenade that made enemies, well you guessed it. Puke.

Some bosses were just stupid hard. There is a reoccurring agent who likes to fight hand-to-hand. It took me 15 minutes of fighting him and then waves of enemies between breaks to beat him. That doesn’t sound too long, but it is when you just press square nonstop. His health bar barely went down, and he was near impossible to hit. The game makes you jump through so many hoops just to defeat a boss and misses the mark between challenging and fun.

Want to know how I was able to complete my Minority Report Everybody Runs review? CHEATING! Probably the best part about this game is that there are cheats! I miss them in video games and for terrible games like this one, cheating is a must to keep playing. I turned on invincibility, and away I went. Even being invincible, the game wasn’t much fun. It only allowed me to see how repetitive the entire game is instead of the first 15 levels. Believe me, it’s not like I wanted to finish this game, but I had to for a proper review. The best thing about beating the game is seeing the end credits with the goofy guys dancing in it.

Memories:

This is a great example of what a good demo can do to a child. I had this game on a demo disc from my beloved PlayStation magazine. I played it tons of times and loved the ragdoll physics to the bodies and the destructible environments. I asked my dad for this game, and he bought it for me. Surely, the entire game would be as fun as the demo, right? RIGHT?

I had some fun with it as a kid, but I didn’t love it. It got too hard, and I ended up using the cheats. As a kid, I loved throwing the bodies all around and seeing them crash into things but even with cheats activated I couldn’t beat the game or lost interest. I don’t remember.

Turns out that when I decided to write a Minority Report Everybody Runs review and play a game that I hadn’t played in years, it was pretty terrible! I couldn’t wait for this experience to be over with. Wow, the game just kept getting worse and worse, and I played it.

Minority Report Everybody Runs Review Score:

Despite the hilarity of the ragdoll physics and satisfying destruction, Minority Report Everybody Runs is a repetitive lazy experience where you are outmanned at every turn. Even the most die-hard brawler lover will have issues completing this game due to the uninspired gameplay.

Minority Report Everybody Runs scores a 5.4 out of 10.

What would you write in your Minority Report Everybody Runs review? Did you turn the cheats on? What was your favorite level? Did you ever see the movie? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Minority Report Everybody Runs, I’d love to read them.

Diner Dash PSP Review

Niche games are nothing to the video game industry. Some games are made directly for a certain audience in mind. Diner Dash is one of those games that is targeted toward casual female gamers. With a mix of time-strategy and quick controls, it makes for an experience that can be addicting. Originally released on the PC in 2003, Diner Dash has made its way onto various consoles and handhelds including the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. In 2007, developer PlayFirst and publisher Eidos Interactive teamed up and released Diner Dash on the PSP. We’re serving up a fresh hot plate filled with a Diner Dash PSP review today.

Diner Dash PSP Plot:

You are a woman named Flo, (no not that Flo who sells insurance) but instead, you work at a stock market company located in Dinertown. Flo has had it with the stock market and feels burned out on that career. She quits her job and spots an old diner that is falling apart. Flo decides to buy it and magically has enough money to fix it up too. She must have done very well in the stock market.

Flo begins to become very successful in running her diner and opens up new restaurants and locations. (The beauty of capitalism!) She becomes so successful that she opens up a restaurant in a dark forest and it becomes a big hit. This is where Diner Dash gets wild and takes a turn I never saw coming. I had to confirm this with my wife because I thought it was some prank after reading the plot. (My wife is the one who played the game) Anyway, this is all true!

After the success of all her openings, Flo is transported to the clouds where she meets a SHIVA GODDESS! What the heck is going on?! The Shiva Goddess has her own restaurant and challenges Flo to 10 Indian trials inside. To help Flo, the Goddess gives her two extra arms! Flo completes the trials and the Goddess congratulates her and flies away. After coming back from the clouds, Flo sees a young man burned out from the Stock Market and offers to make him a waiter. What a wild turn of events! I never thought that Diner Dash would have any type of plot but here we are with career burnout, launching restaurants, and satisfying a Shiva Goddess!

Diner Dash PSP Gameplay:

Diner Dash is not my cup of tea, and I mean no offense to people who love it. I simply enjoy other games but my wife loves these types of games. Her thoughts and notes are in this review, not mine. I’m simply the vessel for this Diner Dash PSP review.

Overall, my wife found her Diner Dash PSP review very enjoyable. It’s a short game and can be fully completed in a number of hours but its addictive nature of time management and bustling food orders out to customers had her hooked. Diner Dash looked great on the PSP and she had no issues with the screen.

Where she did have issues was the controls. Sometimes the controls would annoy her because she’d had to hold down the back trigger to go to the right side of the screen to get a mop or an item. This was a bit of a nuisance because of all the other buttons she was mashing at the time. She hoped there were easier ways to complete those tasks.

To beat a level you need to reach a certain of money earned. Seating customers and getting their orders to them in a timely fashion is the main aspect of the gameplay. Aside from seating customers, and getting their orders out to them you must also give them the check and clear their dishes so the next customers can sit. Chaining combos with multiple orders is the best way to raise your score. Each time an order is delivered to a customer in a timely fashion, you’ll receive points. Fail to deliver an order and you miss out on points. Customers give indications on their mood based on how many hearts they have over their heads. You can help gain hearts by having Flo talk to the customer or serving them drinks. When all the hearts are gone the customers will storm off and leave the resturant. There were times that she had to decide on what would be best for her point total based on the outcome. She’d be at the point of chaining four orders together which meant four times the amount of points and then a special order would come up. She could either take the special order and receive those points but it’d break the chain she had going. It was a bit of a “Catch-22” for her.

Her favorite part of her Diner Dash PSP review was decorating the restaurants. You’ll be able to choose different interiors for each restaurant including the wallpaper, and other items in the restaurant to make it yours. It added another element to Diner Dash.

Memories:
I picked up the PSP about 10 years too late and was just getting into retro game collecting. For a while, it sat on my shelf collecting dust with just a few games to go along with it. My wife found out I had the PSP and decided she wanted to buy a game for it for herself. She ended up with Diner Dash which I immediately rolled my eyes at.

She played it a few times and then put it away. It was about two years later that she busted it back out and played the hell out of it. I think she was getting burned out on Two Point Hospital for the Switch so she wanted something else. She quickly beat Diner Dash in a matter of days and bragged about how she got “expert” on each level. Good for her, I love seeing her happy and seeing her face when she beats a game.

Diner Dash PSP Review Score:

Diner Dash is extremely popular with casual gamers for a reason. Its sheer addicting nature of time management puts players in the role of growing and expanding the restaurant business. If you’re looking for deep gameplay elements, look elsewhere. If you want to kill a few hours without having to learn new skill sets or advanced concepts, Diner Dash is a great choice.

Diner Dash PSP scores an 8 out of 10.

What would you write in your Diner Dash PSP review? What were the main differences from the other Diner Dash version? What was your favorite restaurant? Did you struggle on any levels? Let me know your thoughts and comments on Diner Dash PSP, I’d love to read them.