Review #598: Puyo Puyo Tetris

 The biggest crossover event since Space Jam.

 You've heard of Tetris. You've played it too. If you said otherwise, you are lying. As for Puyo Puyo, you might've heard of it and you might have played it, although, maybe, under another title, such as Eggman's Mean Bean Machine. Regardless, someone at Sega thought that it'd be a great idea to mix both puzzle games. Was it? Maybe. But regardless of how you feel about the mixture you're free to play either game separately, so you're basically getting two games in one!

 There're a ton of different modes. The 'big one' being the Story mode, comprised of 14 acts and about 10 stages each. Honestly, the story is childish and dumb, I gave up on it midway through Act 2 and just skipped all the dialogue. Stages cover various different goals and objectives, like clearing certain amount of lines before scoring a certain amount of points, clearing a certain amount of lines under a time limit, defeating your opponent, etc. Some stages can be a bit tough, but it seems like the game takes it easy on you if you fail enough times. I might be wrong. There're VS Modes, against players or AIs, and do be warned, AIs in Versus mode are tough, there's Swap mode in which you battle a certain opponent alternating between Puyo Puyo and Tetris boards, Big Bang, in which you must solve how to clear pre-set structures with falling Puyos or Tetrominoes, Fusion mode, in which you dealth with Puyos and Tetrominoes at the same time, Party Mode, which adds power-ups and, lastly, endless versions of Tetris and Puyo Puyo, either against opponents or on your lonesome. Clearly, there are a lot of ways to play the game, and there are plenty of unlockables, like different skins for Puyos and Tetrominoes, to sweeten the deal.

 You know how Tetris plays, you just do, so I'll just skip over and talk about puyo puyo. Basically,  pairs of bubbles, which may or may not have the same color, drop from above and you can spin them to either let'em down horizontally or vertically. Every time four or more of them touch they 'pop' and you score points. Obviously, in order to score the most points you should try to aim for chains, so that when some Puyos clear, the ones that fall pop other Puyos. As for the mixed mode, the game alternates between pushing Puyos and Tetrominoes. You can't make lines with Puyos and Tetrominoes, but Tetrominoes push Puyos out of their way... which somehow means that the puyos end up being on top of whichever piece you just dropped.

 I'm not the biggest fan of puzzle games, but Puyo Puyo Tetris was a great way to get my fix of Tetris. I suck at Puyo Puyo, and don't care much for it, so I didn't enjoy the mixed modes as much, but hey, I'm sure that fans of both games will get their kicks out of it. The multiple skins, or looks, for the pieces add a nice touch of variety, and there's a meaty offering of modes for those that just can't get enough of either game. As for me? I'm just fine enjoying the Endurance Tetris Mode!
 8.0 out of 10.

Review #597: Medievil

 I prefer it fullievil.

 MediEvil is a franchise I never spent too much time with. I used to have a bootleg Medievil 2 disc that would start you off with everything unlocked, I think, and what little I played was very lame. 10 or so years later, I find myself with an original copy of the first game, and boy, was it a doozy.

 You play as the recently revived Dan Fortesque, a fallen hero from a war hundreds of years past. Except that he wasn't really a hero, he died upon the first volley of arrows, but story remembered him otherwise. Now Dan, revived by forces of evil, is offered a second chance at proving his worth as a hero by stopping the very same necromancer that brought him back to life. The game is big on humor, past heroes are willing to offer Dan a hand, if he brings them a Chalice, but that doesn't stop them from making fun of him! Personally, while I wasn't laughing out loud, I did find the humor endearing. On the other hand, the game looks fantastic, environments and monsters look pretty great for a PS1 game.

 Medievil is the perfect mix of combat and adventure, still, the emphasis is clearly on the combat, as puzzles aren't very frequent nor very complex. Levels are fairly easy to figure out, but it's in your best interest to find each Chalice, one per level. Most chalices are hidden in every level, some in plain sight, but can only be picked up after slaying a certain amount of enemies. These Chalices are tantamount to your survival, as every Chalice collected will give you a reward: This is how you'll be getting better equipment throughout your adventure. That said, not all rewards are worth it, as some are simply gold or healing items, but most of the time it'll be a new weapon.

 You'll have to get used to Sir Dan's movement before you'll really enjoy the game. This game was released when Analog sticks on the Ps1 were still fairly new, so Dan's movement is very loose and slippery, it takes a while to get used to it, but it can be done. Combat is very loose as well, most weapons have two different attacks(A X combo attack and a special Square attack) but attacks feel as if they go all over the place. You will take damage pretty frequently when dealing with more than one enemy, but the game is pretty generous with healing sources, so it's alright. The game's biggest issue comes in the form of water, the camera can be hard to twist around with the L2 and R2 buttons, as sometimes it will refuse to spin, coupled with the slippery movement... it can make platforming over deadly water a bit tough!

 Hidden throughout the game are Life Bottles that will grant you an additional life bar, for a total of 10, so while you'll get a few undeserved deaths here and there, it evens out if you do your due diligence and explore for goodies. By the end of the game, if you've been collecting Chalices, you'll be armed with all sort of weapons: Swords, Axes, Maces, Crossbows, Daggers, etc, and while some weapons are better than others you'll be required to switch it up every now and then. Some enemies practically require you to defeat them with projectile weapons, hopefully you are stocked up(Otherwise, find a merchant to restock your supplies!), some obstacles must be smashed to smithereens with the hammer, and, sometimes, you'll have to set your club on fire to light torches. It's a surprising amount of variety for a PS1 game!

 The game is 20 levels long, and it's a blast to play. The Chalice system makes it so that, potentially, every level will reward you with something new, so there's something pushing you to get that 100%, beyond the True Ending.The game should take about six hours, give or take, and you might find yourself replaying stages if you missed a few enemies for your Chalice collection.

 After playing through MediEvil 1 I can easily appreciate why it's considered a Ps1 classic. The game is worth every penny and has aged relatively well. Definitely worth a try for anyone that's into old action-adventure games or horror-themed games. Getting used to Dan's movements will be the biggest hurdle, but nothing avid retrogamers can't handle.
 8.0 out of 10

Review #596: 64 Memories - Castlevania

 Some of the better Castlevania quotes since Symphony of the Night.

Part 1: The Flashback
 While I remembered spending quite a few afternoons playing this game, I was led to believe that the game was terrible due to pop culture osmosis. I'm happy to report that the game isn't that bad. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

 Castlevania was yet another game I got either for my Birthday or 'Childrens' day', and I remember it being the first game to ever freeze on me. As soon as the Skeletons on the first stage woke up the game froze on a black screen. And again after I reset the game. I was getting worried, but it worked the third time around, and the game went on quite fine ever since.

 I could never finish the game as Reinhardt when I was younger, something I fixed now, I started with Reinhardt first and got the first ending. Carrie was the easier character, and her exclusive stages certainly were easier! But, coming back with a more mature perception I was able to find a few shortcomings with her... Reinhardt does, indeed, have a few things going for him. That said, newcomers are probably better off playing with Carrie first.

 I don't know just why I liked the game so much. Probably because I've always been a sucker for all things horror, but this was the first Castlevania game I ever played. Curiously, as an adult with better defined tastes, I was able to appreciate other areas of the game, particularly the very distinct and colorful personalities that populate the Castle.

Part 2: The Review
 Not quite a Metroidvania, yet not quite a Classicvania either, you play through a very linear selection of levels. There are two playable characters, each one play through a total of 10 stages, 7 shared and 3 unique to each character. Objectives vary, sometimes it's a simple 'Get to the end' objective, other times you'll have to explore and solve puzzles to open your way through. Your mileage may vary, some of the puzzle-oriented stages are alright, like the Villa/Garden section, but the Castle Keep is probably one of the worst parts of the game, in which you're challenged to make your way from one room to another while avoiding getting hit or jumping, lest you explode and die.

 The biggest problem with the game is its camera, it's so bad that there's three different modes(Which you toggle by pressing C-Up): Normal, which tries to stick behind your back, Action, which tries to show you the best angles for jumps(It's a lie) and Battle, which tries to center around enemies(It sometimes fails to, however). While jumping to my doom wasn't always the fault of the camera, it might've gotten me falling to my death just a couple of times. It will make you get hit by enemies, however.

 Other gameplay mechanics are a bit clunky by todays standards. Each character has a main attack(Whip for Reinhardt, Magic for Carrie), a weak-but-fast close range attack(Sword for Reinhardt, Rings for Carrie) as well as any subweapons you can find, y'know, the classic red-heart consuming Daggers, Axes, Holy Water and the Cross. Hitting enemies can be hit or miss, Carrie has an easier time since you can just charge up your shot and let it home in on your enemy, Reinhardt, meanwhile, gets rooted to the ground when he uses his whip. Nearby enemies get soft-locked by an targeting reticule to help you side-step around. It doesn't work very well. As a whole, it's very serviceable, but you'll have to deal with its stiffness. It wouldn't be Castlevania without stiff gameplay.

 While combat is passable, the platforming is the worst part about the game. If it's not the framerate that will cause you to miss-time your jumps, it'll be the endlessly respawning enemies, or the enemies that spawn at the moment you jump, preventing you from defending yourself in any way. And some jumps require precise timing, jump a step to early and you won't make it, sending you all the way back to your last save point.

 There're a few other mechanics that haven't aged very well. There's a needless amount of time-related doors, doors that open only at night or during the day. Time passes incredibly slowly in the game, so hopefully you haven't misused your Morning/Night cards. Don't use too many of them either, as they'll toggle an optional boss at the end of the game and prevent you from getting the best ending. Powering-up your main weapon works like it did on Classicvanias, find two power-up items and you're good to go. Problem? Loading, or reloading if you died, your game sends you back to your level 1 weapon. This means that if you died to a boss, now you're back to your weakest-level weapon. Had to turn off the game? Sucks to be you. And the only way to get it back to its strongest is to grind for enemy drops and hope for the best.

 So far I've completely lambasted the game, and I bet it sounds like a terrible purchase, don't it? But if you are into retrogames you should know by now that these games have aged, which is why you have to appreciate them on another level. Castlevania 64 delivers elsewhere. The stages are just gorgeous, exploring the castle is a real treat. Plus, as soon as you hit the village you'll come across these various, distinct characters that are very memorable. Renon, the devil business man, Vincent, the Vampire Hunter that is way in over his head, Rosa, the wretched vampire and Malus, the lost kid. They don't have too much development, but what little scenes they get manage to leave lasting impressions on the player. While playing the game can be clunky, exploring the Castle can be very fun.

 Castlevania 64 is a game with very high highs, but very low lows. When it's at its best you'll be enjoying your exploration, as you climb through broken debris, land tight jumps, clamber through narrow edges and slay cool looking monsters. But at it's worst you'll be retrying the same annoying jumps over and over again, you'll be going in circles through the same few environments trying to solve puzzles and you'll be dealing with a poor combat system. I honestly think that there's some fun to be found here, if you come at it with the right mindset.
 5.5 out of 10

Review #595: Cold Fear

 As opposed to hot fear, which is sweaty and sticky.

 The sixth generation of videogame consoles had their very own before-and-after in the form of a tiny little game you might have heard about, Resident Evil 4. It changed third-person shooters forever, and Ubisoft was first in line to take a slice out of that pie.

 Cold Fear has you playing as discount Leon Kennedy, a guy so forgettable I don't even remember his name. As a matter of fact, there's very little in the way of set-up in the game, all you need to know is that your main character finds himself in a Russian Ship infested by zombie like creatures named Exocells. As with any other Survival Horror game worth its salt, a ton of the story is told via boring documents you can find laying around. That said, you won't be playing the game for it's story, and this is a very clear case of: It's the journey, not the destination, as the ending is about 15 seconds long and leaves more than a few plot threads hanging.

 Cold Fear is divided into two parts: The ship and the rig. The ship is the first part, it's a medium-sized zone filled with interconnected rooms, most which are locked in one way or another and as you advance through the game you'll be unlocking them, and, sometimes, losing access to others. Y'know, pretty much like any other Survival Horror game. The rig is pretty much the same thing, albeit on a slightly larger area, with even more rooms and threats to your life. Hopefully you've got a good memory, since there isn't a single in-game map to aid you, it's up to you to remember which door leads where... which is kinda nasty when rooms have multiple doors. What's worse, a lot of times you won't know where you have to go. You'll have a simple directive, like 'Get into the Radio Room', but no hint as to where it is... the most you'll get is your character saying out loud that 'This seems to be the wrong way' at times. Also, keep in mind that you're only allowed to save after completing objectives or before a new event, most of the time, you're allowed to save pretty frequently, but there's the occasional save-starved long stretch here and there.

 How you explore about is kinda weird, as the game has fixed camera angles... that mean nothing since holding L1 puts the camera over your shoulder so that you can aim in almost any direction. That said, a few angle-changes can be jarring, I feel they could've been better planned. As for the aiming, it works really well, aiming is easy and simple, just the way it's supposed to be. As a bonus, the game wants you to take your time and score headhshots: Not only do they bring down common enemies instantly(Otherwise you have walk up to them and smash their heads, lest they get up again) but it also gives you this delicious 'Pop' as the head goes boom. Over-the-shoulder aiming let's you move as you aim, Evil Within and Resident Evil 6 eat your hearts out. Basically, they nailed the shooting, it feels great and works great.

 As opposed to other Survival Horror games, there's not much focus on resource management, but rather, the game is more of an arcadey-version of Resident Evil. For instance, Health packs are limited, but you don't store them, instead, if you interact with one you'll use it on the spot. So don't go too trigger happy on the inspect button and save some of those for later. Weapons, of which there're about 8, have ammo caps, so feel free to go postal on your enemies. As a matter of fact, after you finish the Ship part of the game, you lose all your weapons and your stocked ammo. Use it or lose it. But, even if you do a poor job of managing your ammo and health, enemies seem to drop whatever you're hurting for the most. Low on shotgun ammo? You'll discover that enemies will start dropping more of it Low on health? A healthpack will pop up sooner or later.

 Honestly, I had a blast with the game. While the emphasis is more on the action, the game manages to have its spooky moments without sacrificing its faster pace. It's a fun game for someone that wants a game that doesn't require much thinking, but keeps survival horror tropes close to heart.
7.5 out of 10

Review #594: The Order 1886

 Which poses the question, are we humans the real monsters?

 The Order 1886 is a third-person shooter game that was posed to be one of Sony's first steps into delivering bonafide exclusive games to their new console. And, well, the game works better as a showpiece than as a game, but darn if it isn't engrossing.

 The game follows Sir Galahad, one of the many members of The Order, a group of men taking titles  named after the knights of the round table, who hunts monsters. That's the what they are trying to sell you. The truth is that most of the game is spent watching human drama unfold as you lay dozens upon dozens of human to waste. There're a very few werewolves here and there, as well as two vampires(That you don't get to fight, although one is killed in a cutscene) but the rest of the enemy cast are humans. As for the plot, it begins with Galahad escaping prison, as it seems like he betrayed the order... but we know better. 90% of the game is spent catching up to the prelude and then there's a cliffhanger ending that may very well never be expanded upon. I wouldn't say that the story was groundbreaking or noteworthy, but the game is a very cinematic affair and character design is brilliant, I swear to god, these are some of the most stylish characters ever put on a Blu-ray disc.

 The game is pretty much your average modern-day third person shooter. You can hide behind cover, blindfire, aim from an over-the-shoulder camera, etc etc. You can carry two main weapons as well as grenades. The armament is comprised of basic rifles, shotguns and guns as well as a couple of 'Science' weapons developed by Tesla, the electric Arc-Gun and the fire-based Thermite Gun. The latter is pretty fun to use, as you shoot thermite and then set it on fire. You can make use of fire to just shoot thermite nearby and have it instantly catch on fire. All in all, while there's nothing groundbreaking here, what it does it does well. Sticking-in-and-out of cover works great and the controls never get in your way.

 Regenerative health is in, as is to be expected, but if you take too much damage you'll be downed. While downed, you can crawl to a safe space, and if you manage to avoid taking damage, you'll get one second wind. The game is not too hard, so even if you die the game will load your previous checkpoint very swiftly. Sir Galahad has one more ability, Blacklight. By killing dudes you'll fill a gauge on the bottom of the screen, pressing L1 will slow down time allowing you to pelt your enemies with bullets from your secondary gun.

 As with any other cinematic game there're plenty of QTEs, but they are not too horrible. Sadly, the game only has two boss fights, against Elder Werewolves and they are pretty much simple glorified QTEs. They looked amazing, but 'playing' those scenes felt lame. The game is pretty much a straight-line through to the end. There's very little exploration involved, and if you are so inclined, you'll only be rewarded with objects you can pick up and... examine in first person. They really wanted to show off their graphics, shame they forgot about adding reflections on mirrors!

 If the game has something going for it is how amazing the graphics are. Not only are the knights' uniforms brilliant, but every environment looks very realistic. While it doesn't run at 60 fps, the framerate is pretty stable, so it's a very smooth ride. There're some standout pieces, namely, invading the Zepellin and the sunset when you sneak into the docks.

 While it's not the gamiest game around, while it's story is nothing special and while its mechanics are as by-the-book as they can get... I can't lie, I had a fun time with the game. Gameplay is basic, but solid, and while the story won't arrest your attention, the environments will.There's something so appealing about these characters wearing victorian-era clothes and primed mustaches, slaying monsters and the such. That said, the game will be remembered for how good it looked rather than for what it brought to the table... but at least it will be remembered.
 7.0 out of 10

Review #593: GhostHunter

 At least it's got a Medievil reference.

 GhostHunter is often considered one of the PS2's forgotten gems, making it into quite a few Top 10 obscure or forgotten games. That's how I came around it. Curiosity piqued, season appropriate, it was time to give GhostHunter a look.

 Agent Steele and her partner, Lazarus Jones(Quite the name) are sent to inspect an abandoned highschool were murders were committed a few years ago. One thing leads to another and Lazarus unleashes hundreds of captured Ghosts into the world, the bigger, baddest of the bunch kidnapping Steele. Aided by Astral, a ghost that possessed him and grants him the ability to see ghosts, and by a Ghost-Hunting AI, Lazarus Jones sets out to rescue Steele and right his wrongs. The story is silly. It doesn't seem like so, and voice performances are on-point, but the game tries to maintain a weird balance between taking itself seriously and being silly, but I felt that the attempts at humor took away from what could've been a better script. It did get a few chuckles out of me once or twice though. If you're a fan of Medievil you're in for a treat, as one of Sir Dan Fortesque's descendants appears in the game and haphazardly helps Lazarus on his quest. That said, there's a weird subplot which shows the big-bad working for an even bigger bad, but it's never expanded upon... although I could take a gander at who said bigger bad was supposed to be.

 GhostHunter is a fairly linear third-person shooter. There're no secret weapons to find, hidden areas, hidden enemies, nothing. At most you'll find a few health and ammo pickups. Lazarus can equip a few weapons to deal with ghosts, some, like the rifle, sniper rifle and lasso run on ghost energy, while the shotgun and the grenade launcher run on regular ammo, there's also a gun with unlimited bullets. To be honest, I stuck with the rifle until I got the lasso, and why wouldn't you? The Sniper Rifle has its uses on the first stage and then you'll never need it again, and the shotgun has its uses against beefier enemies... until you get the lasso. The lasso is supposed to have high energy consumption as its drawback, but enemies drop so much of the stuff that you'll never run out. You are fighting ghosts, however, so they must be captured, this is done by throwing your 'grenade' at them. While you can't capture a ghost without hurting it first, sticking a grenade in one has many benefits: It distracts them, so you can get free shots at them(They also try to escape while it's in them, but at least they don't fight back... most of the time) but it also lets you see how much health they've got left.

 The shooting mechanics are fairly solid, albeit guns don't have much pizzazz to them, which makes shootouts lack a bit of excitement.  But you'll also have to solve puzzles, most are fairly easy... but time consuming. The Swamp, the second stage, is probably the worst part in the game, featuring annoying, unnecessary stealth sections in which you must hide from a pig-ghost so that it'll open doors for you. These are the worst bits in the game, so, luckily, once you make it past the swamp you'll be fine. As a matter of fact, the game seems to get better as you push forwards, with each stage being better though-out than the previous one. On another note, your mileage on level design might vary, but dammit if they aren't neat environments to look at. The final stage does leave a little to be desired, though.

 But I digressed, let's talk about Astral, the ghost that possessed Lazarus. Numerous times throughout your adventure you'll spot glowing circles on the ground. Pressing X will let you play as Astral. While the ghost-pig sections were the absolute worst part in the game, Astral puzzles come close second. Astral can fly, as well as earn a few abilities(Turn into flesh, manipulate debris, go through green portals(Only used once!!!), etc). The biggest problem is how slowly Astral moves around, you have to explore your surroundings in order to find what objects Astral can interact with and then how to interact with them. Lazarus has two aim modes, third person and first person, you exit these modes by pressing circle. Just like Lazarus, you can have a first person view by pressing square... but if you press circle you'll go back to Lazarus after a lengthy animation sequence. This is another annoyance with Astral, it's very easy to forget that cancelling out of powers or first person mode is done with Triangle, while playing as her, lest you want to suffer through the Astral/Lazarus sequence again. If this game had just been a simple third person shooter it would've fared much better, but as it stands, the numerous Astral sections really soured my experience.

 But don't let me get started on how the game almost became unwinnable. You can save the game at any point in the game, but it'll take you back to the last checkpoint you hit when you load it. You should keep more than one save, unlike me, not because of the glitch I'll talk about but because the savefile also save how much health you had left, which could possibly put you in an unwinnable scenario. Still, what happened to me was that, on the final stage, an AI partner you have to escort got stuck running back and forth in front of a door that was supposed to open but didn't. Restoring my file didn't get him out of the sequence. Luckily, by pushing against him I somehow managed to get him to clip through the door and onto the path he was supposed to be following. That said, I was ready to drop the game right then and there, and I wouldn't have minded.

 I understand that there's a cult following behind Ghosthunter, but I'm not buying what they're selling. The shooting sequences are alright and stages look great, but the puzzle elements bring down what could've been a more entertaining action game. The plot didn't help either, I don't mind the game not being scary and spooky, but the attempts at humor are lame and, once again, take away from what could've been an entertaining narrative.
 5.0 out of 10

Review #592: Van Helsing

 Devil May Hugh Jackmancry.

 Let me take you back to the year 2004. Devil May Cry had already been subject to two games, and Van Helsing, the movie, had just come out. The movie received poor reviews, but somehow, did quite well with audiences, me , personally, found it to be alright, but nothing special. Regardless, someone decided that Van Helsing could be a decent Devil May Cry clone, and thus, here we are. This shouldn't surprise you, someone thought that The Nightmare Before Christmas and Devil Macy Cry coul mix as well!

 The story is a decent retelling of the movie, while I haven't seen it again since 2004, I can remember most of the plot and the game does a good job at retelling it without sacrificing much to the necessary filler in order to pump out a playable version of the plot. I think that fans of the movie would be quite pleased with how the game adapted the plot. As for the story itself, you play as Van Helsing: Monster Hunter, who is sent to help a town from their Vampire troubles. As luck would have it, Dracula is to blame, so good ol' Van will have to deal with Vampires, Gargoyles, Zombies and even Werewolves.

 Melee and ranged weapons? Air juggles? Fixed camera angles? Lock-on button? Collecting orbs to purchase new moves and items? Searching for life-extending items? Devil Trigger? Check, check, check, check, check, check and check. This is a Devil May Cry clone through and through, although a low budget one. Triangle acts as your main melee attack button, while the square button shoots whichever projectile weapon you've equipped. You can lock onto enemies with the L1 button, allowing you to do things such as hold back when pressing the attack button in order to launch the enemy into the air. L1 is your 'Devil Trigger', or super mode, which makes your weapons somewhat stronger for a short while, although you have to find the super modes of your weapons first.

 When you aren't fighting excessively large waves of enemies you'll be making your way from mission to mission. There's some small leeway for exploration, although the path forward is always clear to the player. Sometimes you'll have to clear fairly simple puzzles in order to progress. The game takes place throughout 12 missions, and I cleared it in about 3 hours. You can find 'Cheats' and Challenge Rooms to unlock even more 'Cheats', so there's definitely some replay value here, if you like the game that is.

 The game is fairly alright, however, it sadly fails in the same way Devil May Cry 2 did... Guns solve everything. For instance, there aren't many extra moves available for purchase, and they aren't very useful either. Not that it matters, since you only get two melee weapones(Tojo Blades and Scimitars) while you get about 6 different guns(Dual Pistols, Shotgun, Crossbow, Electric Gun, Minigun and the secret Rifle), clearly hinting at how you should be fighting. Getting close and personal is usually quite unsafe, while you have a useful dodge, most enemies have a ton of super armor on their moves, so your melee attacks won't stop their incoming attacks. To aid to this is the fact that there's a ton, and I do mean a TON of flying enemy types. Heck, using the launcher+Jump-follow-up melee attacks is fairly wonky, if you are gonna pop-up an enemy it's better to just shoot at them.

 And this is a problem, because this game wants to focus on combat, and if it was about pressing buttons and timing them, it'd be alright, but at the end of the day all you'll be doing is holding the square button, to shoot, while dodging incoming attacks. This is how you're supposed to beat the final two bosses, which is a bit lame. That said, for whatever reason, this game feels better than DMC 2. I think they added the right amount of audiovisual feedback from guns to make them sorta gratifying to use

 For as bland as the game can be, I think it's alright if you liked the movie. Van Helsing's character model looks exactly like Hugh Jackman, impressive for its era, even though most of the game's graphics are quite lacking, with stiff animations and jumpy performance(particularly the cutscenes). But, hey, they managed to make a very playable tie-in, and, if anything, I can admire their ambition in aping Devil May Cry.
 5.5 out of 10

Review #591: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - The Pumpkin King

 A nightmare befalls the Gameboy Advance.

 Let me mention a few things I love: Horror, Halloween, Metroidvanias and The Nightmare Before Christmas. This game is all of the above, so it's got to be good, right?....right?

 The game works as a prequel of sorts, chronicling Jack's first meeting with both Oogie Boogie and Sally. As for the plot, it's nothing special. Shock, Barrel and Lock do Oogie's bidding by causing mayhem for all the inhabitants of Halloween Town, and, of course, Jack Skellington will not allow it. Thus begins Jack's adventure, fixing the wrongs done in Oogie Boogie's name and, finally, rescuing Sally(Because of course) from Oogie Boogie himself.

 The game plays like any other Metroidvania: You explore medium-sized levels and will often come across obstacles that you won't be able to sort until you gain the appropriate skill. The game is unusually linear, when you have to backtrack the game will do it's darnedest to get you there, even if it means placing Arrow-signs on the way. You can, however, take off on your own, and try to collect secret collectibles that do nothing as well as shrunken heads that increase your maximum health.

 The A button jumps and B uses your selected item. You begin with Frog's breath, a close range weapon, and eventually get bats, Pumpkin bombs and Peppers. First problem: Some barriers REQUIRE using Pumping Bombs or Peppers... both items that can run out. That's right, while it never happened to me, it's possible to run out of peppers or bombs, requiring you to defeat enemies ad-naseam until more supplies drop. Both are also pretty situational in battle, the Pepper being nigh useless in combat against bosses.

 Nothing's particularly bad about the game, yet everything feels bland. It's also a fairly boring game, there are no good ways to fast-travel between zones, so going back to search for goodies with your newly acquired abilities isn't very compelling. And if you make backtracking boring you've failed on your Metroidvania design.

 It pains me to say so, but Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - The Pumpkin King  wasn't very fun for me. I think that even fans of the movie won't get much out of the game.
 4.5 out of 10

Review #590: RLH: Run Like Hell

 The Thing meets Alien.

 I bet you've never heard of this game. I found it by chance too, searching for a canceled N64 game I remembered reading about when I was younger(Turned out to be a "Survivor Day One", by Konami) and somehow I ended up learning about Run Like Hell. There's not much survival in this Survival Horror game(Infinite ammo, I finished the game with nearly 200 healing items to spare) but it's worth a look if you're into horror flicks.

 You play as Nicholas, a human aboard a Space Station housing a few different species. After returning from an expedition he comes to find the whole station overrun by weird, fleshy aliens that have murdered everyone, including, maybe, his fiancee. The story throws every action/horror movie trope out there, everything you think will happen WILL happen and, even so, I found myself endeared with the cast of characters, even though I knew which ones would die I couldn't help but feel sad they bit the bullet. Word of the wise: Before starting the game you can skip the Tutorial section. Don't. It lasts 30 minutes, provides context and background to the setting and characters as well as having a few supplies and weapon enhancers spread throughout. The tutorial makes the whole of the game much better by fleshing out the story, one of the main focuses of the game. Seriously, there're a lot of cutscenes here!

 Your mileage may vary on this, but one of the game's strength lies on it's cheese. The dialogue is as cheesy as you'd expect out of a popcorn horror/action movie, and you can add to it its weird Computer-game like humor: Beverages called 'B.A.W.L.S.', female character models with ridiculously large breasts, etc. And you can add to this how bad and stilted character animations are. It's certainly around its edges, but dammit, it's bad in all the right ways.

 The brunt of the game has you exploring various areas of the infested ship, searching for key items or door-passwords in order to progress. In a hilarious turn of events, the game's best weapons are also the ones with infinite ammo: The Rifle, the Pulse Rifle and the Automatic Rifle. All the other weapons use ammo, like the shotgun, and they suck! Stick to your rifles and you'll be fine. Combat is a fairly simple affair: Hold R1 to aim at an enemy, and strafe around it while shooting at it. Occasionally you might need to sidestep around in order to avoid attacks.

 The game lasts about 8 hours, which is fine, although it would've been nice to be able to skip more cutscenes. The game is filled with them, it tried to be as cinematic as it could during the PS2 era, but not all of them can be skipped, and having to endure a long one before retrying a boss... is no fun. Although, to be fair, bosses only killed me because I was being stingy,  I did have a surplus of nearly 200 medkits after all! It's a simple, easy game that I think succeeds in doing what it wanted: Being a very cinematic, cheesy playable action/horror flick. Heck, the game throws all pretenses away when the action gets going, changing the music into a hard-rock tune with vocals.

 I'm gonna go the distance and call this one an obscure gem. It's not a great game, at least not in a traditional way, but I found it very, very entertaining. As sloppy as it can be, everything works well enough to compliment how campy the whole thing is, making the game something that's more than the sum of its parts.
 7.0 out of 10

Review #589: Nintendo 64 Memories: Flying Dragon

 Two games, one cart. Almost.

Part 1: The Flashback
 Easily one of my two most wanted games on the N64 ever. I think I only managed to rent it once, because the only place that had it up for rent was far away from home. Everything about this game piqued my interest, how it had two ways to play it(SD or virtual) and the character designs.
 Sadly, the game was incredibly hard to find, not once did I find it up for purchase. Luckily, that's all in the past, and finally, this game has reached my hands!

Part 2: Today
 Let's start with what makes the game so unique: You have both SD and Virtual Modes. Both modes play pretty much identical, but do have their own unique thingies. For starters, each mode has its own character roster, most characters are shared, some have widely different designs, others look the same(But in chibi/super deformed looks) and others are exclusive to either mode. Before starting each mode you can also customize the ruleset, turning attack-cancels on/off or even deactivating sidestepping. There's another mechanic, the Mind's Eye, which makes it so that repeatedly hitting an enemy on the same body part will eventually yield critical damage that can also be turned on or off, as well as turbo speed. Basically, there's a lot you can tune to your liking.

 Both modes offer an Arcade Ladder, a VS CPU Tournament, VS Player and a VS Player/group mode. There're a few hidden characters that can be unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions or using a password hidden behind the 'Treasure Box -> Status' menu of the SD mode.

 Virtual Mode was my favorite, featuring normal-looking characters. A and B are your punch and kick buttons, R guards, L sidesteps(If activated) and Down-C is a third attack button. There're command special moves, attack strings and even super moves that can be used once you fill your power gauge. The fighting is fast and fun, and I had a lot of fun stringing moves together.

 SD Mode is a bit simpler, A and B and normal attacks, while the Down-C button is used exclusively for special moves. There's also a Super move relegated to the Left-C button. What makes this mode so unique is that you can equip your character with items that you find and level up as you go through the VS CPU modes. Sadly, the framerate suffers a lot in this mode, and I'm not too big on the super deformed character proportions.

 I've no doubt in my mind that if I had owned this game when I was younger, it easily would've ranked on my favorite games on the system. Sadly, when you compare Flying Dragon against the fighting games you could find on its rival, the PS1, it falls short where it counts. It's still amongst the best fighters on the N64... not that that is saying much.

 7.5 out of 10

Review #588: Nintendo 64 Memories: Dual Heroes

 HENSHIN!... feels like I've used that one before.

Part 1: The Flashback
 Yet another crappy N64 fighting game that I wanted to own! I've always loved Super Sentai/Kamen Rider-esque characters. I knew the game was bad, magazines told me so, but... I loved fighting games and I loved the designs!
 I know for a fact that I managed to rent the game once or twice, although it definitely wasn't one of the most memorable experiences I had.

Part 2: Today
 Well, I think the character designs have held up if you're into the whole Sentai shebang. The game is fairly simple, A attacks, B guards, Z allows for free movement and Down-C kicks. This is yet another button masher, there're no special moves(Kinda), just attack strings. Pressing Guard twice and then holding the button down will have your character do his Sentai pose and enter a special mode that grants his or her attacks special properties for a short while. You also get access to super moves by tapping Guard, Guard and Punch or Guard, Guard and Kick. This Super Mode can only be used once in a match though, and you need to find an opening since it takes a while for your pose to take off!

 In a weird change of pace, blocking attacks actually recovers your health. It's not something common in fighting games, and I don't think it's the best of mechanics, since it could make battles needlessly long. Despite how rigid the game can be, I felt like the movements and combat had some grace to it, and you can even juggle enemies on the air! Some stages feature walls on which you can deal extra damage, while others allow winning(Or losing!) by ringout.

  As far as modes go, you have your usual Arcade Ladder, VS Player and VS-AI. VS Ai is kinda interesting because you select an opponent based on various different AI types. As a matter of fact, there's yet another mode, 'Robot', in which you can 'train' Robot's AI by fighting it with various characters. It's nothing more than a gimmick, really. Lastly, you can unlock 4 bonus characters, but you need a controller pack in order to save your unlocks.

 So, Dual Heroes.... it's bland. It really is. Even on the N64 you could do better with games like Fighter's Destiny. Still, I think that the game is worth a look if you are into Sentai characters, because these characters really do look cool, and the animations are flashy enough as to make up for the lack of depth.
 4.0 out of 10

Review #587: Nintendo 64 Memories: Dark Rift

 The darkest rift isn't bad enough for this one.

Part 1: The Flashback
 Dark Rift was one of the first games I rented and one of the first I purchased. Alright, so I was a dumb kid and I loved fighting games, so of course, I loved this game. I don't have many memories of me actually playing this game with other people, but my father was probably one of its many victims, since he'd be forced to play crappy N64 fighting games with me.
 On the other hand, I know for a fact that I played this game by my lonesome a ton of times, and I used to main Zenmuron, I mean, what kid doesn't love edgy robot ninjas?
 ...he was still my go-to guy this time around though.

Part 2: Today
 Fun fact: This is the second game in the 'Trilogy of Terror' I've played for my blog! The fist one being Cardinal Syn. Fun fact two: There's a reason this game is part of the Trilogy of Terror. Dark Rift simply isn't very good... although it's probably not as bad as you've been led to believe.

 The C-buttons are used for Kick, Horizontal Attack, Vertical Attack and Blocking, the L and R buttons are your sidesteps, B is your grab button and A is your... special button? Holding A and moving the directional pad in certain motions performs special moves, but characters have, at most, two A button attacks, most have a single one, which makes me wonder just why this was needed. Why not have the projectile attack as the A button and have a few characters have a second A attack by tapping it while moving or something? Attack strings are surprisingly smooth, but moving around feels very clunky.

 There're 10 different characters(Counting the secret bosses), and something I found rather neat back then, and still did today, was how your character's look depended on whether you were the first or second player. Being allowed to choose between each costume would've been, probably, a better idea, but I thought it was a neat touch then and I still think so today. Kinda. The music has a mixture of a few really GOOD song and a lot of very bland tunes. Regardless of which song you get, none of them fit a fighting game, which is kinda hilarious. The game is a bit light on modes too, all you get is an Arcade ladder, VS Player and Practice.

 Dark Rift is a button masher through and through, with very little content and very little depth to be found. That said, I think it can be fun for a few minutes if you can turn your brain off and enjoy a simple battle of weirdos, because, honestly, characters have very different and weird designs, and attack animations are surprisingly smooth, for the most part.
 3.5 out of 10

Review #586: Nintendo 64 Memories: Jet Force Gemini

 Did anybody call for the exterminator?

Part 1: The Flashback
 I followed this game for a long while, y'know before the characters' designs were finalized and Juno was still sporting the red helmet. As a matter of fact, I think I was surprised when I saw the cover art and Juno and Vela looked nothing like they did on the few screenshots I had seen.
 I think I finally got this game on Christmas, and boy oh boy, did I play the hell out of the game. I never managed to complete it, and I didn't this time around either, but it's not because the game is bad, au contraire, but rather because despite how GOOD the game is... I just don't feel like searching for every Tribal.
 I think the upgrade-mid game was one of the neatest surprised in a game yet, suddenly all your characters got cooler-looking armors, more abilities and the ability to go to any previously explored planet. It was freeing and, well, fun. It's a shame that the game hides the true ending behind having to rescue every Tribal!.
 The game also had a multiplayer component, I dabbled a bit in Co-Op, but found it very lame, but spent a lot of time in the VS. modes. Fun times, fun times....

Part 2: Today
 Surprisingly, the game has held up quite well. As with most N64 games the camera is an issue, no doubt about it, but you can work around it with the R button to quickly, and awkwardly, snap it behind you. Aiming is a bit tough, but it might be my old analogue stick, and moving is a bit more slippery than I would've liked, but it's alright.

 As a third-person shooter, Jet Force Gemini delivers in high octane action by spades. You can play as any of the three heroes(Juno, his sister Vela or their dog Lupus) and they each have a unique ability. Vela can dive underwater, Juno can resist lava and Lupus can hover for a while. Initially, each character has their own set of levels before arriving into Mizar's Palace, once they meet up and you defeat Mizar, for the first time, you can pick any character and travel back to any previously visited planet, even planets that were visited by other characters.

 The shooting is where the game really shines: few shooters are THIS gratifying. You'll have to face an army of alien ants, and nothing feels as good as landing shots. The audiovisual feedback is just so perfect, shoots feel squishy when they hit flesh, and metallic when they hit walls and the copious amounts of blood and dismemberment just add to how rewarding it feels. You'll do yourself a great disservice if you don't play the game with the rumble pack! The only area where the shooting falters is on the bosses, which are very poorly designed. You have to shoot at specific parts during specific motions while being restricted to moving either left and right. They aren't very fun.

 I'm quite tolerant to backtracking, I do love metroidvanias. And, initially, this game does it quite well. You defeat Mizar, and now you get neat jetpacks, the ability to turn into ants while stepping on certain panels and the ability to go anywhere. And while you're not given any hints, now you can gather the five-colored keys with every character and go through doors that used to be locked, into new areas and even new planets(Even if they are a bit on the smaller side). It's great, and I had fun going back into new areas. What isn't very fun is being forced to rescue every single Tribal, cute bear-like aliens enslaved by the ants. If you're close to the end of a stage and you accidentally kill or get a Tribal killed... you have to redo the entire stage. Some areas require a specific character in order to rescue every Tribal, since it has to be done in one go. Best part about it? There's no way to know on which areas or planets you've already rescued the Tribals on, so you have to keep track by yourself. It's just not fun.

 Even if you're not planning on rescuing every Tribal, the game is very easy to recommend thanks to how well it has aged. The shooting is fun and feels better than in most shooters you can find nowadays, even if you have to come to terms with the aiming.
 8.5 out of 10

Review #585: Nintendo 64 Memories: Deadly Arts

 No move is deadlier than developing a bad fighting game.

Part 1: The Flashback
 I never owned this game, and finding a place where I could rent it was tough, but dangnammit, that cover was badass and I loved fighting games at that time, so I needed to try the game. And I can clearly remember renting it once. I don't remember how I felt about the game, but the fact that it didn't leave an imprint in my mind and how I never cared about it afterwards... I think I didn't like it too much.

Part 2: Today
 It's horrible. The 10 playable characters are as uninspired as they come, while the cover artwork is pretty darn decent, the game's engine does the art no favors. Add to that how poor the animations are and how stiff everything feels, and you've got one bland looking game.

 But, hey, beauty is only skin-deep, right? Sadly, the game plays as bad as it looks. A is a punch, B is a kick, R blocks and the C-buttons are used to sidestep. Stringing attacks feels all kinds of wonky, and the occasional no-reason-camera-flip is a dumb, dumb addition.

 As for modes, you've got your traditional Arcade Ladder, Team VS, Tag-Team VS(It's not what it sounds like, you form a 3-man team, by defeating the other two in combat, and then proceed to fight the remaining characters) and, finally, practice. It's only noteworthy feature is the create-a-character, it's not too in-depth, but you can have your character learn any move from any playable character, and thus create your own warrior. It takes a ton of battles to be able to learn everything you want, though.

 No. Don't even think about it. Deadly Arts is worth nobody's time, just go play Fighters Destiny or Smash Bros. and let this game be forgotten by time, it's the only kindness this game deserves.
 2.0 out of 10

Review #584: Nintendo 64 Memories: Fighters Destiny

 Hit the mat, loose the match.

Part 1: The Flashback
 You know that game? Y'know, the one you always used to rent, always wanted but never got? That game, for me, was Fighters Destiny. I don't think there was a game I rented more times than Fighters Destiny, it was, and still is, one of the most original fighting games I've ever played. Characters were, for the most part, fairly forgettable. I could only remember Ryuji, Ninja, Ushi the Cow, Master and the Joker, the last three only because of how tough it was to unlock them. On another note, I was hoping that buying this game used would come with the secret characters unlocked, but alas, it was not to be.
 Unlocking characters was so tough! I only got to see Boro, Rob and, I think, Ushi one time. On yet another note, I just managed to unlock Ushi this morning which makes me feel all kinds of happy and fulfilled. I don't think I'll be unlocking the other characters however.

Part 2: Today
 Well, it's certainly an old game. It's stiff, slow paced and somewhat clunky. But it's also really, really fun. Controls are simple: A is a high attack, B is a low attack, A+B is a grab, L dodges or sidesteps and R blocks and that's it, and that's all you'll need. Attack strings and movement isn't as smooth as we've grown accustomed now a days, but I think they aren't too bad and they sorta fit the game.

 You see, this isn't your traditional fighting game with life bars, it's more of a sparring match competition. Once you deplete your opponent's life bar he doesn't just drop down, no, he gets dizzied, which makes him easier to put down or allow a free throw. For, you see, the point of a match is to earn points. Knock down your opponent? Three points. Throw him down? 2 points. Make him drop out of the ring? 1 point, etc etc. How much points anything is worth can be changed at will, as well as how many points players need to earn in order to win. There's also a time limit, and if neither player felled each other, the 'judge' will grant 1 point to whoever did better. This is what makes the game so unique and so much fun, something you can't find on any other fighting game.

 The game features 8 base characters as well as about 5 secret characters. Unlockable characters are... well, they are rather tough to unlock, so good luck. Every character has a small, but unique, moveset and you can expand it by playing Master Mode and beating the Arcade Ladder.

 There's a neat amount of modes, besides your Arcade, VS and Practice mode, there's also Record Mode, which has Survival, self explanatory, Fastest(Time Attack against the secret characters) and Rodeo, in which you must last as long as you can against the never-tiring Ushi the Cow, last more than a minute without knocking him down(Or getting downed yourself!) and you can unlock him... provided you've beaten the game with Abdul already.

 I'm happy to report that Fighters Destiny does hold up, albeit entirely on the merit of its originality. It's not the N64's answer to Tekken or Virtua Fighter, both franchises blew it out of the water(Tekken 3 was out one year earlier!!), but what it does it does quite well.
 8.0 out of 10