When New Super Mario Bros. released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, little did we know we’d be getting a plethora of Mario games the likes of which we haven’t seen since the NES era. After another 2D entry on the Wii, which featured 4-player cooperative play, Mario and Luigi make their way back to the portable space on the Nintendo 3DS in New Super Mario Bros. 2 for nothing short of a coin grab by both plumbers and Nintendo.
The most prominent feature of the 3DS system is that it can have glasses free 3D. This is a feature that does grab your attention most of the time, and in New Super Mario Bros. 2, this is no different. The game’s 3D effect is nothing short of lazy, making the depth of field go up by blurring the background. This ruins the texture work of vistas in the background, and does cause problems when turned all the way up. The best solution for this is by having the 3D slider partially up, being no greater than halfway for the best viewing experience. It’s disappointing since Nintendo usually has been the ones revolutionizing the tech.
Despite that, the levels look good, and have a definite flow to them. While some hardcore gamers will decry the easiness of the series, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is deceptively difficult. While the game wants you to collect coins, they often set up situations where your best interest is to rush in order to get them. The levels however are designed against you doing so, causing you to lose power-ups and unnecessary deaths along the way. Additionally, each level has 3 Star Coins hidden throughout them. While a definite majority are out in the open and will be found through simple exploration, a good portion of them are hidden cleverly throughout each level. It adds a bit of replay value if you desire to collect them all.
That’s a good thing since the game, straight through is relatively short, taking players three to five hours to beat. Most players will rush through the game though, since the game doesn’t start with a “Save Anywhere” feature like Super Mario 3D Land. Instead, it’s a step back to the previous New Super Mario Bros. games where you save after a Castle, and can Quick Save anywhere, but if you lose your progress, you’ll be put back at your last Main Save. Another thing that’s just like the original New Super Mario Bros. games is the music. Almost every track is ripped from previous entries with the exception of adding small vocals to them. It makes the game feel rehashed and uninspired at times, despite being enjoyable to play.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 is simply more Mario. It’s not a groundbreaking entry into the series, and feels like it needed an extra year of development to provide a better experience. It’s fun, but it feels more like an Expansion than a proper sequel.
Pros
- Coin Rush is where most people will spend a lot of time in to get 1 million coins
- Level design is good, and rewards usage of different power-ups
- A Good Challenge
Cons
- Controls feel slippery, causing unnecessary deaths
- Cooperative Play is tacked on and pointless
- 1 Million Coin Reward is a joke, and not worth it
Score: 6 out of 10
Friday, August 24, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Unknown Powerhouse
With a little over a month to go in the 2012 MLB season, the playoff picture is finally beginning to materialize. While the Yankees are atop the AL East, the Rays and Orioles give chase. The Tigers are trying to rundown the White Sox in the AL Central, while the Rangers have a sizeable lead in the AL West. While Tampa Bay is sure to get a playoff spot, the Orioles, Tigers and Athletics are in competition for the second AL Wild Card spot. In the NL West, you have the Giants and Dodgers battling for West Coast supremacy, while the Reds are finally distancing themselves in the NL Central from the slumping Pirates and the semi-consistent Cardinals. But in the NL East you have what should be the talk of the baseball world, even though many focus on things that while important, shouldn't be the reason people are talking.
In second place, you have the Atlanta Braves, the team that is synonymous with Post-Season failure. A team that won the NL East consecutively for over a decade and only managed a handful of Post-Season wins, including 1 World Series title. As of writing this, they are 7 games behind Baseball's best team, and the focus of this article, the Washington Nationals. At 76 wins and 46 losses, they hold baseball's best record by two games over Cincinnati in a tougher division, with more runs scored, less runs allowed, 2 cy young contenders in Gonzalez and Strasburg, 3 gold glove contenders in Zimmermann, Desmond and Bernadina, a rookie of the year contender in Harper, and an MVP contender in Desmond. But ultimately they are a team that, because of their lack of time in the spotlight doesn't really get the credit they deserve.
While it's true they haven't won anything, over the last few seasons they've constantly been improving, and this year, while many thought they would be competing for a playoff spot, few thought they'd be on top of the baseball world. They never go down without a fight, playing every last out. They have consistently gotten help from every player on the team, particularly when injuries have occurred. No player has really gone missed this season for the Nationals, as it seems like 2 players pick up the slack for when one of them goes on the disabled list. After years of being the laughing stock of the league, every single player on the team is fighting back, and it's making a city that has long gone without a Championship proud.
While the Yankees and Rangers are odds on favorites to win the World Series due to their storied and recent playoff history, don't be surprised if they end up facing this year's 'Little Engine that Could,' the Washington Nationals in the World Series. Because they are baseball's best team, and have consistently proved it all year.
In second place, you have the Atlanta Braves, the team that is synonymous with Post-Season failure. A team that won the NL East consecutively for over a decade and only managed a handful of Post-Season wins, including 1 World Series title. As of writing this, they are 7 games behind Baseball's best team, and the focus of this article, the Washington Nationals. At 76 wins and 46 losses, they hold baseball's best record by two games over Cincinnati in a tougher division, with more runs scored, less runs allowed, 2 cy young contenders in Gonzalez and Strasburg, 3 gold glove contenders in Zimmermann, Desmond and Bernadina, a rookie of the year contender in Harper, and an MVP contender in Desmond. But ultimately they are a team that, because of their lack of time in the spotlight doesn't really get the credit they deserve.
While it's true they haven't won anything, over the last few seasons they've constantly been improving, and this year, while many thought they would be competing for a playoff spot, few thought they'd be on top of the baseball world. They never go down without a fight, playing every last out. They have consistently gotten help from every player on the team, particularly when injuries have occurred. No player has really gone missed this season for the Nationals, as it seems like 2 players pick up the slack for when one of them goes on the disabled list. After years of being the laughing stock of the league, every single player on the team is fighting back, and it's making a city that has long gone without a Championship proud.
While the Yankees and Rangers are odds on favorites to win the World Series due to their storied and recent playoff history, don't be surprised if they end up facing this year's 'Little Engine that Could,' the Washington Nationals in the World Series. Because they are baseball's best team, and have consistently proved it all year.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Nightmare Fuel
While talking about the upcoming release of Dead or Alive 5, Yosuke Hayashi of Team Ninja was quoted with the following:
...
The following question comes to mind: "Would Nintendo really be that stupid?" It's safe to say that Other M was both a critical and sales failure to Nintendo, in addition to destroying the image of character of Samus Aran for almost everyone, and destroying any coherent lore there was about Metroid because of it. While the majority of people blame Team Ninja for it, others blame series Creative Director Yoshio Sakamoto of Nintendo for many of the games' poorer elements. The reality of the fact is that all parties involved with the project share part of the blame.
Yoshio Sakamoto bares the blame for his depiction of the Series Protagonist Samus Aran, as well as the Metroid universe, since it was him, after all, that wrote Other M's story. He is also to blame for Jessica Martin, Samus' English Voice Actress, who he picked out himself, despite not being a native English speaker. He also decided that the game's story must be literally localized for all languages. Outside of the story, Sakamoto forced Team Ninja to use the Wii Remote only for the game, and adding the first person element via threat of shutting the project down. He also decided that the series staple, the Gravity Suit, would be depicted by a "serious-natured" purple aura instead of the standard purple suit with blue visor. In the music department, Sakamoto insisted upon ambiance for the standard fare of music instead of a more traditional and expected Metroid soundtrack.
These decisions, by and large, made fans upset, and a backlash ensued. This, in tandem with scathing reviews by journalists and fans alike led most gamers to stay away from the title until the game received gashing price cuts, or outright refusing to buy it altogether due to the story, and the controversy about how sexist against women the game was, particularly with a female protagonist, that was at the time, and maybe still is, highly respected and loved among gamers.
Then there comes Team Ninja's contributions for the game. Their CG team, D-Rockets, helped put together the story in Other M in movie form. Team Ninja also produced several gameplay mechanics are at fundamental odds with the core structure of Metroid games, finding items, and exploring new paths to find shortcuts for speedruns. The game mechanics introduced Other M vehemently discourage players from doing these things, including fighting enemies later on since they are basically a chore at that point. You can't even get 100% item completion before the game's final boss, which is ultimately a story-based unlock.
The quote from Hayashi is troubling to Metroid fans, as well as Nintendo fans who have been desperately hoping for a new Metroid game to be announced, hopefully paired with the retconning of it due to its' terrible story and complete mediocrity in almost every other area. It shows that Team Ninja doesn't realize that their mechanics are not what's best for Metroid, nor does it give the indication that Yoshio Sakamoto believes he did any wrong with Other M. While it was his dream game, he made it a nightmare. Giving it back to Team Ninja, especially after Other M, would be more fuel to the fire to killing the series, if it isn't already dead.
Unfortunately Metroid is kind of out of our league as it’s Nintendo’s game, but we’re still in close touch with co-creator Sakamoto-san, so we want to do something with him moving forward definitely. It really depends on what he wants to do with the game first.
...
The following question comes to mind: "Would Nintendo really be that stupid?" It's safe to say that Other M was both a critical and sales failure to Nintendo, in addition to destroying the image of character of Samus Aran for almost everyone, and destroying any coherent lore there was about Metroid because of it. While the majority of people blame Team Ninja for it, others blame series Creative Director Yoshio Sakamoto of Nintendo for many of the games' poorer elements. The reality of the fact is that all parties involved with the project share part of the blame.
Yoshio Sakamoto bares the blame for his depiction of the Series Protagonist Samus Aran, as well as the Metroid universe, since it was him, after all, that wrote Other M's story. He is also to blame for Jessica Martin, Samus' English Voice Actress, who he picked out himself, despite not being a native English speaker. He also decided that the game's story must be literally localized for all languages. Outside of the story, Sakamoto forced Team Ninja to use the Wii Remote only for the game, and adding the first person element via threat of shutting the project down. He also decided that the series staple, the Gravity Suit, would be depicted by a "serious-natured" purple aura instead of the standard purple suit with blue visor. In the music department, Sakamoto insisted upon ambiance for the standard fare of music instead of a more traditional and expected Metroid soundtrack.
These decisions, by and large, made fans upset, and a backlash ensued. This, in tandem with scathing reviews by journalists and fans alike led most gamers to stay away from the title until the game received gashing price cuts, or outright refusing to buy it altogether due to the story, and the controversy about how sexist against women the game was, particularly with a female protagonist, that was at the time, and maybe still is, highly respected and loved among gamers.
Then there comes Team Ninja's contributions for the game. Their CG team, D-Rockets, helped put together the story in Other M in movie form. Team Ninja also produced several gameplay mechanics are at fundamental odds with the core structure of Metroid games, finding items, and exploring new paths to find shortcuts for speedruns. The game mechanics introduced Other M vehemently discourage players from doing these things, including fighting enemies later on since they are basically a chore at that point. You can't even get 100% item completion before the game's final boss, which is ultimately a story-based unlock.
The quote from Hayashi is troubling to Metroid fans, as well as Nintendo fans who have been desperately hoping for a new Metroid game to be announced, hopefully paired with the retconning of it due to its' terrible story and complete mediocrity in almost every other area. It shows that Team Ninja doesn't realize that their mechanics are not what's best for Metroid, nor does it give the indication that Yoshio Sakamoto believes he did any wrong with Other M. While it was his dream game, he made it a nightmare. Giving it back to Team Ninja, especially after Other M, would be more fuel to the fire to killing the series, if it isn't already dead.
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