KIRBY’S DREAMLAND 2

Saving Popstar mouthful by mouthful

Played on: 3DS

Also available on: GameBoy

Genre: 2d Platformer

Developer: HAL Laboratories (Adventures of Lolo, Earthbound 2, Pokemon Ranger…)

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

Played for: around 4 hours

hello everyone and welcome to my new review! :D Today I’m gonna tackle and review the second installment of the Kirby series for the GameBoy: That’s right, Kirby’s Dreamland 2!

I don’t know if you know this, but Kirby’s Dreamland 2 is the first title in the Dreamland series to have given Kirby its power-absorbing abilities…that’s right, Kirby’s Dreamland, the first title, had Kirby being simply able to suck in and either swallow or spit enemies out without being able to absorb any power and had to rely on power-ups found around the stage (the spicy curry power up from Brawl had its roots in the first Kirby title). Kirby’s Adventure for NES had the honour to give Kirby it’s amazing absorbing powers. But enough talking about the past titles, let’s talk about Kirby’s Dreamland 2 now;

King Dedede seems to be at it again in trying to rule Dreamland, so Kirby is off to save the day again, this time with the help of its new absorbing powers and three animal friends who will aid him on his quest, also being the core gameplay reason of this title…but let’s get deeper into it!

GRAPHICS

The game features a very similar graphical quality to the first game, though more polished and with added details, making the levels more appealing to the eyes. The cutesy style is, of course, a charm for the title, asl well as the funny animations of Kirby and his friends between a level and another, depicting quite cute cutscenes showing the shenanigans of the group.

beside that there’s not much else to say, really. The game makes good use of the GameBoy hardware and also depicts a cutesy art direction wich fits well with the style of the game as well as offering a quite wide array of locations and powers to use and admire.

GAMEPLAY

While the first Kirby’s Dreamland was a more straightforward platform game, this new title features a save system for the first time, given how longer and bigger it is. It features actual worlds with different levels to explore in each, as well as a secret, true ending,w ich can only be obtained by getting star shards, hidden within every world of the game.

Kirby’s power absorbing abilities are of course quite fun to use, going from being able to turn into a heavy rock, a flaming meteor or being able to spit out ice or use an umbrella as a weapon. Another element is added into the mix though: Kirby’s friends. They’re three…a hamster named Rock, an owl named Coo and a quide derpy fish named Kite. Kirby can pretty much “ride” them by finding and rescuing them by minibosses in the levels of the game and they provide, not only an additional health bar, but also modify Kirby’s powers according to who he’s riding. Rick can use the fire power to spit out flames, while Coo can use the boomerang power to fling sharp feathers at enemies.

This adds quite a bit of variety and fun to the power-based gameplay and they’re also implemented in the simple, yet clever puzzles that hide the star shards, wich will need specific powers and, in most cases, specific animal friends to be solved and obtain the star shard. Puzzles get harder and harder along with the game progressing, wich also has an overall nice difficulty curve, resulting challenging enough for more seasoned gamers who want to get the shards, but also easy enough for beginner gamers to get into the game.

Kirby’s Dreamland’s gameplay is fun, simple and addictive and added enough to the series to feel quite fresh even to people who played Kirby’s Adventure. It still holds up well nowadays :)

STORYLINE

Not much of a story here, if you don’t count the secret ending and the funny cutscenes each time you enter a world for the first time…so yeah, no go for plot lovers XD

SOUNDTRACK

Kirby’s style is all over the soundtrack of course. Mostly happy, quick and upbeat music makes the full track of this game, as well as the quite particular boss battle themes, wich are strangely “badass” for a game about a pink marshmellow-like thing XD a couple of examples here as usual:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f7qgrZ32SA

grass land, the first level of the game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE5lSQ0SRFs

my favorite of the “animal themes” :)

FINAL RATING

Kirby’s Dreamland 2 is not only a very good sequel to the first title, but also a much much better game and one of the best GameBoy portables out there…charming cutesy style, simple and compelling gameplay, fair challenge and nice soundtrack, all for ya :D Wich is why I give this game a…

8.8/10

get it on the 3DS VC if you can :)

VVVVVV

In another dimension no one can hear you flip gravity

Played on: 3DS

Also available on: PC

Genre: 2D Platformer

Developer: Terry Cavanagh (Don’t look back and other indie games)

Publisher: Nicalis

Players: 1

Played for:  Around 4 hours

Hello everyone, welcome to my new review! Today I’m gonna review an indie game, a quite popular one, wich I recently had the chance to play on my 3DS, even though it’s also available on PC :) The game I’m talking about is VVVVVV! Yep, quite the weird name, but once you play it you understand why it’s named like that ;)

So, anyway, this indie game has a simple start, with a group of weird, coloured space people having an incident with their ship and ending up in another dimension, wich is quite unstable too if that wasn’t enough! Captain Viridian is left stranded somewhere in this dimension, separated by his other crew members and using his ability to flip gravity he’ll have to make his way through the game world and find everyone as well as going back home with their ship!

I have to say that I absolutely loved this game to bits, both for the visuals and the gameplay, as well as the concept, wich is simple, yet very effective and addicting! Let’s dwelve deeper into it though!

GRAPHICS

The graphic style of VVVVVV is really distinct, trying to be a sort of tribute to the very old games of the Commodore64 age and using very basic shapes for the sprites of the characters, but at the same time it feels very polished as look. The art direction is simple, yet it does its absolutely fine job with portraying an unique look for the game, giving it its own identity.

There’s not much else to say about the graphics. They’re simple, effective, charming…A little work of game art :)

GAMEPLAY

Like I mentioned earlier, Viridian, the main character of the game, is able to flip gravity. If he has his feet on the ground, that is…That way he’s able to simply flip between floor and ceiling, wich makes him able to make his way through spike-filled traps wich pretty much are scattered through the entire game world, wich is surprisingly quite open for being a 2d game.

The game world is composed of open areas and more linear areas, wich pretty much work as levels in wich Viridian will have to make it through. The “levels” or areas themselves are quite various in nature. Most of the dangers involve pits and walls filled with spikes to go over using the flipping abilities of the main character, but there also are examples of very odd and random enemies, like 8-bit ghosts, rotating squares, a bus that tries to ram you…pretty random stuff :D

beside that, there are also different elements varying the situation, going from lines that automatically flip the gravity for Viridian, who’ll have to constantly flip through incoming threats or spike-filled walls, or an ever-moving tower, wich forces Viridian to run for his life to survive and not end up in the spike-filled bottom. Everytime Viridian dies he spawns at the last checkpoint and there are quite a lot of them scattered through the game world. This doesn’t make the game any easier, if anything it’s a signal of how hard it is! several deaths will be achieved during many sequences of the game, wich is quite brutal in difficulty but also somehow addicting, managing not to be frustrating, but instead encouraging the player for “one more try”.

Also cute how the rooms of the levels are named, sometime in very hilarious or ironic terms to describe the room itself or what it represents. Plus, scattered around the world there are hidden shiny trinkets to find, wich are needed to complete the game. Believe me, it’s very satisficatory to do so, and encouraged ot enjoy the game sequences to the fullest!

VVVVVV is addicting, brutal and downright fun, with a very simple gameplay that uses a single button and yet it gets to have a level of depth that few games achieve to have. Only downside is the lenght as completing the game roughly takes about 4 hours…but they’ll be some of the best 4 hours of your gaming life :)

STORYLINE

despite the game being light on story, it does have an interesting concept to follow with the origins of the weird dimension and the strange messages scattered around the world. Very simple and light story, but it works in creating an interesting setting for the game.

SOUNDTRACK

The soundtrack is another strong point of the game, wich uses chiptunes to make one of the most charming 8-bit soundtracks I’ve ever heard. The tunes are all upbeat, pumping and absolutely catchy, from start to end. old strumentation with modernized tunes, works really well :) here are a couple of examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYANYGCgRz4

“Pushing Onwards” the first theme of the game :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Jk94ri3W4

“Predestinate fate” another very nice one :)

FINAL RATING

VVVVVV is an exceptional game. Short and yet really addictive and fun, a worthy experience to play from start to end. It uses a very simple concept and controls and yet shows a very nice depth of variety and gameplay, as well as having a very particular art direction, a very good soundtrack and an absolutely fun and brutal level design

I give this game a…

9.0/10

Recommended to everyone, PC and 3DS owners!

RAYMAN ORIGINS

Lums, Lums everywhere!

Played on: Wii

Also available on: PC, PS3, X360, Vita, 3DS

Genre: 2d Platformer

Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier (Rayman series, Beyond Food & Evil, Rabbids Go Home…)

Publisher: Ubisoft

Players: 1-4

Played for: around 15 hours

I know that due to the latest news of Ubisoft executors acting like jerks (especially to their developers) you probably aren’t in much of a mood for Ubisoft reviews…But hey, games are games and I recently finished Rayman Origins and it must be judged for what it is, not for where it comes from :P

Anyway! Rayman Origins! I finally got to play it and I have to say…I’m totally mindblown. Rayman’s return to its roots is an amazing game! In this title, Rayman and his friends have to yet again start gathering lums and bring peace to the land of dreams (Kirby would be so proud <3 ) this time able to band all together kinda like in Super Mario bros. Wii/U. So let’s go into detail and see how it went!

GRAPHICS

Rayman Origins is a piece of artwork. There’s no other way to say it. The characters are drawn in a sort of Flash-like style, with the animations being absolutely goofy and toony as they should be, for both enemies and main characters. The animations and the expressions depicted are absolutely hilarious and the smoothness of the movements is top-notch.

And should we talk about the environments ? I wish I could draw that kind of backgrounds. They’re colourful, luscious, full of life. You could pretty much take a screen of the game, take off the characters and pass it off as a piece of art. it’s just THAT good. Kinda makes you wish Sega and Nintendo went for those routes for their Sonic and Mario 2d games XD 2d graphics can still be absolutely impressive, no matter what vthe naysayers say :P

So, not much else to say here. The game looks and moves impressively and every bit of it is just a pleasure to the eyes of all gamers…unless you’re one of those who’s scared of colourful games XP

GAMEPLAY

Rayman Origins’ gameplay is fast-paced and addictive. I must really say that the developers did an astounding job with making the level design look always creative. Levels are various and challenging, full of traps and enemies as well as lums to pick. Lums play a key role in this game, as every level will have cages of them hidden around, You can easily found them by being careful and following the cries of help of the cute lil guys. At the end of every level, depending by the normal golden lums you got (wich are like rings or coins in sonic and mario games), you’re given the chance to get even more caged lums, with an additional one to get by replaying the level within a certain time frame, wich will really put the skill and speed of the player under heavy pressure in certain levels ;)

The game also features quite a few chasing sequences in wich Rayman will have to run at crazy speeds among death traps and enemies to try and get either a fairy that will give him new powers (and make him even more acrobatic for those chase sequences) or a chest that contains a tooth gem, wich can unlock a very special secret level at the end of the game.

There’s just so much stuff to do and the game pushes and encourages the player to get all the “lum badges” in each level. it’s really satisficatory to just complete all the levels and also a helluva fun doing it! The challenge is very high, so platform veterans will certainly be happy about this.

The choice of keeping boss fights until later in the game is interesting, but I can assure you that it’s worth it…the boss fights, even if few are very fun and very well implemented with the spirit of the game, as well as various in concept and battle pattern.

In the end…Rayman Origins has a fantastic gameplay, a high challenge and a lot of stuff to complete…the lenght of the game is quite good for a 2D game…only little nitpick ? some of the hardest levels depict certain moments in wich the player may lose for an element of the level “screwing him up” rather than him having jumped in the wrong way…luckily it didn’t happen in more than 2/3 levels for me!

Also! The side-scrolling shooter sequences are absolutely fun, though getting all the lum badges may mean tiring your thumb out quite a bit by quickly spamming the shoot button :P

STORYLINE

Well, don’t expect much of a story here, being a 2d platform and everything…expect a few interesting and hilarious cutscenes toward the end though :P

SOUNDTRACK

The music of Rayman Origins is…really “happy” sounding in most cases, also using a bit of acapella tunes here and there wich are, of course, hilarious like most of the games. Many tunes did just make me smile as soon as I heard them, so expect to do that a lot :)

Here are a couple of examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_m-50qXcLc

the main theme of the game already depicts the happy-go-lucky nature of the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGvdfpkJVyM

the theme of the shooter sections is also pretty nice and distinct :D

FINAL RATING

Rayman Origins is an absolutely spectacular game, on all platforms. Astounding hand-drawn 2D graphics, fast-paced and challenging gameplay, crazy level designs and concept, toony and colourful art direction, a happy and crazy-sounding soundtrack…all of this makes for a very compelling experience from start to end, alone or with friends.

this is why I give this game a…

10/10

Let’s hope Rayman Legends is just as good…and that Ubisoft learns to treat its developers a little more respectfully, because they’re clearly talented :P

MARIO VS DONKEY KONG

buy them all! buy them all! buy them all!

Played on: 3DS

Also available on: Gameboy Advance

Genre: Puzzle/Platformer

Developer: Nintendo Software Technology (Metroid Prime Hunters, Pokemon Puzzle League…)

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

Played for: Around 10 hours

Hello everyone and welcome to my new review! So, today I’m gonna review the spiritual sequel to Donkey Kong 94, one of the greatest gems for Gameboy!

The spiritual sequel I’m talking about is Mario VS Donkey Kong! Developed by one of the most lesser known developement teams of Nintendo, the game proves to be quite the surprising title, both in presentation and concept. Donkey Kong gave up on stealing Pauline from Mario. This time his object of desire is the Mini Mario toy line constructed by the Mario Toy Company, advertised through an addicting ad wich makes our good old kong get infatuated with the desire to get one! Too bad they’re all sold out in shops! So what’s the most logical thing to do ? Rush inside the factory and steal all of them of course!

The big ape is soon caught by Mario and this starts a long chase through the levels of the game, in wich Mario will have to find keys to open doors and go forward and also rescue all the Mini Mario he finds! So let’s see how this game fares up!

GRAPHICS

The graphic style used for this game is surprising. It looks like NST decided to go for the Donkey Kong Country  style, using pre-rendered sprites for the game, even if, by comparison to DKC, the game is much more simpler and colouful as well as using smaller sprites overall.

The thing surprisingly works. The sprite animations are really fluid and I liked the weird and kinky style of the environments, using abstract shapes to make the common environments like a lava-filled stage or a forest make somehow more unique, wich puts this game in its own identity, compared to other Mario games, even though the game worlds are way less various and surprising than the ones in the original Donkey Kong 94, I have to admit. The style is basic, but all of the elements put together work really well.

Just yet another example how art direction can make a game look good or at least unique in its own way. The graphics of Mario VS Donkey Kong aren’t anything mindblowing visual-wise, but they certainly do their work to make the game stand out from the crowd, wich is already a nice achievement to have.

It’s also nice to note how the enemies in the game are very simple in design as if they were created with a mindset of the 16 bit age…may not be a praise per se, but I did like the “vintage” feeling of those simplistic enemies :D

GAMEPLAY

If anyone of you played Donkey Kong 94, you may already have an idea of how the game plays. Every “world” of the game is divided into levels and in each one Mario will have to find his way around the traps and the enemies set in the level to reach the key and manage to bring it to the door to exit the level, all before the time runs out. This isn’t it though. Once Mario gets in the door there’s an additional phase of the level in wich Mario will have to find his way to the trapped Mini Mario to free and once that is done, the level is clear.

There will also be, in place of the three objects belinging to pauline, three surprise boxes…like in the old game, those optional items will trigger a minigame after the level is clear, to have a chance to get a few extra lives. And believe me, you’ll need them. The game tends to become quite brutal toward the end.

The game also features different kinds of levels in wich Mario will have to lead a group of Mini Mario toys to their toybox in a sort of Lemming-like levels in wich Mario will be followed by the toys and he’ll have to make sure they get to the box safe…each Mario toy will represent a life to use in the boss battles against Donkey Kong himself. The boss battles are quite fun if I can say and most of them are quite challenging too, demanding quick reflexes and lots of jumpings to do! Just like any good Mario game should, really! :D

The game also has an arcadeish feeling to it, given how every level can be mastered if you manage to do a good speedrun through it so that the score is enough for the level to be “starred”. Score-obsessed gamers will take quite a bit clear every level, it’s already hard on the easy first levels XP

Plus, the game is also longer than it seems to be…there’ll be a surprise waiting for gamers at the end as well as a few nods to the first game on Gameboy! So yep, gameplay works like a charm and the level of challenge is quite high.

STORYLINE

There isn’t much story as you may imagine and the 3d-rendered cutscenes kinda look silly on a 2D game, I must admit, but it’s also nice to hear Mario actually speak more than a single word now and then X3

SOUNDTRACK

The soundtrack of Mario VS Donkey Kong is as peculiar as it’s predecessor…it bases itself less on melodies and more on beats and both slow and fast paced rhythms…while some of the tracks are kinda forgettable, there are also some very good catchy tracks in it as well as the boss battle themes being quite epic, especially the final ones. A couple of examples, as usual:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBwf_kLL9hc

One of my fave tracks from the Mystic Forest level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSVWFqoKMcw

And another nice track :)

FINAL RATING

mario VS Donkey Kong achieves into being a worthy spiritual sequel of its original title, taking a quite different approach in concept of graphics and levels but keeping the same basic gameplay while adding whole new different mechanics, wich work really well and are healthy for the variety and the lenght of the game while also keeping the challenge high even for platform game veterans.

The graphic style is distinct even if it features less variety of locations compared to the first game andthe soundtrack features nice tracks as well as a few mediocre ones though.

Overall, the game deserves to be played, wich is why I give the game a…

8.5/10

give it a chance if you find it around :D

POKEMON CONQUEST

Go forth, my Pokemon! For Ransei!

Played on: DS

Genre: Strategy/RPG

Developer: Tecmo Koei

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1-2 (local and online)

Played for: around 20 hours

Hello everyone, welcome to a new review from yours truly!

Today I finally have the chance to review a game I’ve been playing for quite a while now and I finally cleared the story mode: the game, as the title says, is Pokemon Conquest! Known in Japan as Pokemon + Nobunaga no yabo (Nobunaga’s ambition), this game mixes two series that seemingly won’t ever be thought as a perfect match for a crossover, especially with how Pokemon is a fictional fantasy world,while Nobunaga’s ambition is a historical game, even if in this case we have quite the Samurai Warriors influence on the style of the characters.

Despite that, it looks like the games have been mixed into a nicely-crafted crossover that surprised many and that gave to players a genre that Pokemon still left untapped despite the potential left there, wich is the strategy/RPG genre. Fans of Final Fantasy Tactics, Super Robot Taisen and Disgaea should know what I’m talking about!

Anyway, let’s get deeper into the matter and let’s see just how this game turned out to be!

GRAPHICS

Visually the game presents itself with a mix of simple 3d for the environments and sprites for the pokemon and the warlords. It goes for a simplistic colourful style, wich works quite well with merging the Pokemon style with the style of the warlords, wich are drawn into a more animeish style in comparison to the SW series, without absolutely betraying the original art though. If anything it works surprisingly well!

The sprites are quite cute, even if they may look kinda pixelated during zooms on the action, but for the most part they are nice to look at and the “battle effects” are quite varied too and portray the action in a good way, mixed with the camera zooming or turning around to show the result of the attacks better. The environments don’t look like anything mindblowing, they could be compared to simple 3D versions of the Final fantasy tactics environments, style-wise, but in a way it’s better to portray clearly what goes on, on the battlefield. With many pokemon units on screen I do think that a simplistic, clear style is better to always have a clear view of the current situation…it IS  a strategy game afterall! Still, this means the game isn’t anything of special graphically, so don’t expect mindblowing visuals, just the essentials for the game.

The dialogues are told through the usual anime cut-ins of the characters and I must say that the Pokemon art for this game is something I really enjoyed as it was caught perfectly while making them kinda edgier in a way.

GAMEPLAY

f you played games like Final Fantasy Tactics you should know what to expect from this game. The game action takes place on a large map with different kingdoms around the player to conquer and in each conquered kingdom, the player can manage things like money gathering, pokemon training or raising the affinity between the pokemon and their warlords. The battles themselves take place on an arena divided into grids, kinda like chess, but with various levels of height and different types of terrain and traps, wich can influence the ongoing battle negatively or positively depeding by the actions of the players on the field.

the battles are always one team versus another team and each team has a max of  6 Pokemon on the field, kinda like how in Pokemon games one has a max of 6 Pokemon in total. I must say that the battle system surprised me. In a way, it’s a simplified version of the normal strategy/RPG game, with each Pokemon unit having one specific attack that has a specific field of action on the grids of the battlefield, as well as a pokemon power. In turn each Pokemon has a warlord in his command, wich means the warlord can have an equipped item wich can be a single-use item or a passive item that raises a stat, as well as each warlord having a special power they can use once during each battle, wich in some occasion can really turn the tides of battle. This, mixed with the amount of Pokemon available in the game, the amount of warlords, the very different and varied battlefields, each with its own shape and its own sets of  terrains and traps, makes for quite the compelling, strategic experience.

Despite the concept of the battle system being simpler than the usual strategy/RPG game, Pokemon Conquest finds its own way to do things, offering quite the challenging battles to the player as well as entire armies of pokemon to handle, train, evolve and so on. It’s quite addicting for people who love this kind of games and the game is also quite good at introducing new players to the concpet of strategy games, so people qho never played this genre may find themselves at ease with this title. The main story campaign is lenghty enough being around 20 hours of gameplay, but for who wants more there will also be more episodes focusing on different warlords, as well as the online multiplayer being an incentive to play more and improve the pokemon troops!

In the end, the game mixes the strategic elements of Nobunaga’s ambition with the rules of the Pokemon games pretty much perfectly, making the game a nice experience for both veterans and beginners.

STORYLINE

The story of the game is quite easy to follow and there isn’t much character developement in the play, just a couple of twists toward the end. The plot simply serves the purpose to push the game forward, even if Nobunaga still manages to be quite the charming villain. The extra episodes also make further work to let the player know the other characters and warlords a bit more deeply for anyone who wishes so. Still, nothing mindblowing :)

SOUNDTRACK

Really good job on the soundtrack, wich mixes traditional japanese instruments with more modern tunes. Each battlefield, most of them are themed after Pokemon types, got its own tune and pretty much all of them distinct themselves from each other, some of them featuring calm tunes, some presenting more epic ones, but somehow always working very well with the strategic action on screen. One of the best soundtracks on DS in my opinion! Here are a couple of examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8BYina0o04

The fire battle is an example of the epic tunes :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ii5ObEMWOk

The grass battle is an example of the calmer ones…they both work very well ^^

FINAL RATING

Pokemon Conquest is a surprising game. It mixes two series that didn’t have anything to do with each other, creating its own totally new world, mixing rules from both games and featuring simplistic but effective visuals, a battle system wich is quite simple to learn but also has a hidden depth within itself for more veteran players, pretty much like the normal Pokemon games as well as featuring a quite varied set of battle tunes and a fun story campaign and an online/local multiplayer mode, wich will increase the lenght of the game for strategy lovers. One of the best spin-offs of the Pokemon series for sure. Wich is why I give this game a…

8.8/10

I’m secretly hoping for a sequel on either 3DS or Wii U…a game like this with the modern online infrastructure and Miiverse compatibility would be an absolute blast! :)

WARIO LAND II

Captain Syrup’s greedy revenge!

Played on: 3DS

Also available on: Game Boy, Game Boy Color

Genre: 2D Platform

Developer: Nintendo R&D1 ( Wario Land series, Super Mario Land series, Kid Icarus…)

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

Played for:  around 15 hours

Welcome to a new review, gamers! Today I’m gonna review the second title of Wario’s adventures, Wario Land II. This time, our fave treasure stealer, will find himself in quite a pinch, as Captain Syrup, the villain of the first game, decided to get revenge on Wario, stealing all of his gold, causing ruckus in his castle and flee as fast as possible.

Wario, of course, won’t have any of this, so the player will have to lead him in levels full of coins and secret treasures to find, as well as facing a game with multiple endings and routes to follow, wich makes for quite the unique approach for an old-school 2D platformer. let’s see how it came out!

GRAPHICS

This is the first title to make the jump from Game Boy to Game Boy Color (still having a Game Boy version though). So the result is quite the leap in graphical quality, not only in regard to having colours, but also in terms of better spriting and animations.

The sprites are all well done, looking a lot more polished than the ones in Wario land, Wario being more refined as character design and the animations being better than ever. Boss design improved too as well as the overall looks of the levels, wich are now a lot more various-looking if compared to the previous title, helped by the fidelity of the colours but also by a better handling of the art design.

So overall, Wario land II is a nice big improvement over the first Wario land, as well as being one of the most polished “Land” games ever made graphic-wise. Kudos for the variety of the settings too, as well as the toony looks of the bosses.

GAMEPLAY

Wario Land II keeps being a platformer like its predecessor, but also adds a lot of emphasis over making the levels full of platform-themed puzzles to solve, as well as making the levels more open, full of secret rooms, walls to smash down and similar where to find hidden stashes of coins and giant coins or secret rooms, leading to more coins or even treasure rooms wich, instead of just containing a chest, will start up a minigame in wich the player will gamble a certain amount of money to change the difficulty of the mini game, adding a bit of thrill to this element.

Another big change is in regard to how Wario plays, being a little less clunky than in the first title and not being able to die…instead, when he’s hit he’ll be bounced backwards, losing a little amount of coins and, given how coins are needed to complete the game, you could see how the consequences of being hit are just as bad as dying pretty much :P

Boss battles, infact, don’t kill you, but they simply push you out of the room and, believe me, they’re quite challenging and creative in concept and design, one of wich will have the boss and Wario try to turn each other into a basketball to score and win a basket match…a very fun idea, if you ask me ^^

Another big change is in regard to the power-ups. The hats are gone and instead Wario proves to be quite resistant to certain abuses like being squashed, zombified, put on fire or stung by a bee, wich will give him particular powers such as floating around, flat like paper, be able to break certain fire blocks or float around inflated like a balloon…all of the results of the physical abuses are quite hilarious and each power up got its own pros and cons of course, being specificly used for the platforming puzzles scattered around the game rather than real power-ups to keep and use.

As a result of all of this, the gameplay, qhile being quite different from the first tile is also quite more varied and quirky, taking its own real identity as platformer and detatching itself from the Mario Land series even more, wich isa good thing in my opinion ^^ The Mario land titles are good, but it’s also good that the Wario titles got their own way to do things.

Ah, another important fact…The game features different courses…there are secret exits in certain levels, changing the course of the game, leading to different “worlds” (called chapters, like in a story) wich can, in most cases, lead to a whole different ending. Once clearing the game the first time, the courses will be all shown, but it’ll be up to the player to find all treasures and map pieces, the latter of wich are unlocked through another minigame at the end of each level, still gambling money on it. this adds a lot of replayability to the game and the reward for it is a real final level, wich is pretty much the hardest level of the game (by a big leap too), wich will need all the skills of the players to be cleared..quite the nice reward for more seasoned players if you ask me :3

STORYLINE

As usual with “Mario” titles, not much story is shown, but some of the endings are quite cute, as well as the cutscenes between each chapter, showing the endless chase of wario after Syrup…still, not much story, you know the deal with those games :P

SOUNDTRACK

The soundtrack of the game keeps its “distorted” and clumsy style from the first game, but in a way, it polishes it, making for a better range of tunes to listen to…the main theme will be stuck in your head for sure and the themes for the “power-ups” are quite fun too…here are a couple of examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqhYgVQPDuY

this tune will be remixed in different ways through the game, but every time in very nice ways

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqdRrf1En8M

always loved the underwater tunnels theme for some reason, it’s very melodic ^^

FINAL RATING

Wario Land II reinvents itself, polishing the formula it started in Wario Land and adding a lot of new elements, as well as multiple endings, way better and more open level design, lots of secrets and a high replayability. I took around 15 hours to get everything and mostly just because I also remembered stuff from when I played this game as a kid, so it may take you a little longer than that.

I fully recommend Wario Land II, you can either get the old GBC cartridge or simply download it on the 3DS Eshop, it’s worth it, believe me! wich is why I gave this game a…

9.5/10

fully deserved!

NPC: PIKMIN 2

On planet earth, no one can hear you scream

Played on: Wii

Also available on: Gamecube

Genre: action/strategy game

Developer: Nintendo EAD 4 ( New Super Mario Bros. series, Pikmin 3, Super Mario 64 DS)

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1-2 (local only)

Played for: 27 hours

Hello gamers and welcome to a new review! So, Pikmin 3 is getting closer and closer despite the delay Nintendo gave to the game, so I thought I should get ready for it, so after playing the original Pikmin months ago, I decided to play the second chapter…and man, it was a true challenge, worth every second of it though!

Pikmin 2 takes the simple concept of Pikmin and expands on it, adding many other elements, new Pikmin and removing the time limit of 30 days…don’t think that this makes the game any easier though, oh no! Anyway, the story revolves around Olimar coming back from his adventure on the mysterious Pikmin planet wich is quite similar to planet earth and discovers his agency is in huge financiary troubles! So he’s sent back by his boss with his new partner Louie to try and gather treasures (wich are mostly garbage or common earth objects) to repay the debt!

So, let’s dive once again in the world of Pikmin and let’s see what they came up with! :)

GRAPHICS

Pikmin 2 didn’t change too much from its previous title, though it has more polished graphics obviously and better use of the art direction in my opinion. The models are better-crafted, textures and effects used better, but what really improved in my opinion, visually, was the enemy design. In the first Pikmin there was a quite high potential and despite not having a huge variety of enemies, the game did show quite a few examples of unique designs, mixing bug-like elements with either creepy or goofy looks, giving the game its own identity.

In the sequel, this is expanded greatly, the designers got braver and tried more extreme kinds of designs, coming out with some of the most unique enemy designs I’ve ever seen, some of wich are, not only quite creepy in looks, but also dangerous and overpowering in game! XD But I’ll talk about that later. Kudos for the bosses though, most of them are quite the impressive sights.

The distinct art style of the game is still there, with the levels looking like little gardens wich become huge landscapes for the small Pikmin and their captains Olimar and Louie. The caves do look quite basic though, not really having anything too distinct about them, wich is the only “lame” part of the game graphics-wise, they could’ve put a little more effort on that front.

GAMEPLAY

The game shares a similar gameplay with the first title. Olimar still has his Pikmin to follow him, wich can be increased by bringing back “Pikmin coins” or dead enemies to the lil Pikmin ships, depending by their colours and there are different kinds of Pikmin, red who are immune to fire, yellow who are immune to electricity and can be thrown further and blue who can go in water. This game does introduce two  new kinds of Pikmin though. The Purple Pikmin, who are really heavy and can bash down on emeies when thrown, as well as being as strong as 10 Pikmin to lift heavy objects and White Pikmin, who are very light, quick and also immune to poison, as well as being able to poison enemies who eat them.

Now, about those new elements…While in the first game you had to find pieces of Olimar’s ship before the 30 days expired in the different areas of the game, in Pikmin 2 you have to find certain items that are rated as treasures…they can be bottle caps, fruit, a pencil and even nintendo-related objects in some case. This without any day limit and, while there’s still the pressure of the day itself coming to an end, the pressure of having a day limit is removed wich, in turn, means that to balance things, the game itself is more challenging now, as enemies are more aggressive and cruel, the areas are better designed and the element of caves was introduced.

The caves are pretty much dungeons…they can be found scattered in the larger areas and inside of them, the day time doesn’t run out and it has the player going through floors filled with enemies and hidden treasures to find…this is where things get the most cruel. Some of the dungeons will need very good Pikmin management, the player will be pushed to think and strategize before barging in, as, once inside, he won’t be able to recover the Pikmin he’ll lose, unless in rare occasions. Luckily the save system lets you retry individual floors if you ever happen to screw up, wich will be quite often, believe me. The game is cruel, sometime really unpredictable, and it features a lot of absolutely dangerous enemies, wich need caution and a certain level of thinking and strategy to defeat.

At the end of every cave there will be a boss fight, wich will give off special treasures wich will give special abilities to Olimar, like a radar to detect treasures or immunity to fire, or other very useful things. The boss battles are the peak of the battle system of the game…they need strategy, quick thinking, pikmin management and a good aim, as well as reflexes. While completing the main object of the game is quite challenging but not impossible, clearing the game to get the true final ending or completing the treasure list will be an absolute challenge.

The wide array of enemies, the cruel bosses, the level design and all the traps set around areas and caves are like the work of a meticolous master mind who made sure it’ll be absolutely hard to complete the game…It was an absolute pleasure to finish the game and mastering a cave or an area with all the treasures gives a great feeling of accomplishment and some of the bosses will probably stay in your memory for either the epic fights you had with them or just how cruel they are as setup and concept (I’m looking at you, Water Wraith). Also, the final battle was something of absolutely unvelievable and epic, as well as very pleasant to finish despite being quite hard!

This game is a true challenge for seasoned gamers, as the game makes sure you feel frail and in constant danger…no pikmin in safe…you’re so small afterall and anything in the game can potentially eat you quite easily :P The atmosphere work is astounding and the level of pressure on the player here makes you almost miss the pressure of the 30 days limit at times :P

STORYLINE

Not much story here, just like the first game, though it’s quite fun to read the letters sent to Olimar and Louie at the end of each day from their boss, family or relatives, it gives you the feeling that your planet goes ahead with the events while you’re away, wich kinda gives a sort of sense of isolation, quite surprising for such a toony and colourful game. Also, after all the adventures and perils you’ll face with your Pikmin, I’m sure the ending will make you shed a little tear…it did that with me :’)

SOUNDTRACK

The game features a soundtrack style quite similar to the first game, though also featuring qay more tracks, with atmospheric, quirky and particular tunes for the caves, nice boss fight tunes and a dynamic soundtrack system wich shapes and shifts depending by the events going on in games…quite quirky…let me share a couple of nice examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvOQFbK4jzc

the first area’s theme, starting the game on a quite cheerful note.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-NYNxyC6vU

you’ll never forget this theme…NEVER…it’ll haunt you in your dreams and nightmares… D8

FINAL RATING

Pikmin 2 is not only a huge improvement in lenght and content over the first game…it’s also a real example of true challenge and how a colourful toony game can still have an oppressive, isolating atmosphere and pressure over the gamer…the sense of satisphication is really nice when you find a treasure or defeat a boss or difficult enemy, the sense of anxiety, danger and panic great when a huge enemy suddenly pops up, feeling like you don’t know what to do, totally helpless…like a prey >:D The atmospheric music works very well, to complete the game fully, it takes around 30 hours, offering quite the nice lenght for players and the strategic elements make up for a very compelling experience. The game is quite unique and let’s just hope Pikmin 3 continues on this line of thought…from what I saw, the enemies seem to be quite as cruel as the ones in Pikmin 2, so thats a good sign ;)

I give this game a…

9.5/10

Be warned…this game may wipe the floor with you :)

SPY HUNTER

Played on: 3DS

Also available on: Playstation Vita

Genre: Racing/Shooter

Developer: TT Fusion (LEGO games series, Tle Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest)

Publisher: Warner Bros.

Players: 1

Played for: around 6 hours

I’m quite in a nice “finishing games” spree lately, it seems ^^ don’t worry though, I’m not slacking on drawing, most of my time goes toward that ;D

So, today I’m gonna review Spy Hunter, the 3DS version, precisely. What’s Spy Hunter ? Well, the original title was an Arcade game by Midway. The concept was really simple: the player had a view of the road from above and he had to play as an advanced spy car, making his way through enemy cars and copters and other enemies, using gatling guns and the good old oil puddles to send its foes off the road. It was your typical arcade game, where rather than completing levels, the point was to resist as long as possible while scoring as much points as possible.

The new reboot seems to take the concept of the spy car and extend it, adding proper missions and levels, a story and a lot of customizable equipment for the Interceptor, as well as making it able to transform for off-road and sea-mode .

So, how did it go ? Well, let’s just say…very good concept and ideas but poor execution…let’s see why…

GRAPHICS

We aren’t starting on a good note. Both on 3ds and on Vita, the game doesn’t really do much to impress the player with high-quality graphics or a nice art direction…The Interceptor itself is well-designed and the transformations look nice, but the game looks pretty much like an early PS2 game and even the PS2 had better-looking games early in its life.

Models are quite poorly-done and, like mentioned, beside the Interceptor itself, the rest of the game just doesn’t have any visual charm, the art direction being relaly bland. The only nice-looking thing I can mention is the water effects, wich are “kinda” nice, nothing special, but not a punch in the eyes either.

I should also mention the repetitivity of the settings used for the game…the game very rarely tries to use different-looking assets for the levels and the missions and overall the game just doesn’t look nice…it’s blandness  all around, with the exception of the car that, again, stands out enough, with all the weapons coming out of it and stuff looking cool enough to at least give a little bit of a good thing graphics-wise

GAMEPLAY.

The gameplay concept is quite fun in itself as we have to play as this absolutely amazing spy car running through the roads and decimating cars, trucks, copters and doing other badass things. The array of weapons unlockable for the cars is quite varied too…it’s nice how the buttons are mapped in a way that they represent the area of the car they activate. X is for front weapons, A is for side-weapons, B is for back weapons and Y is for weapons on the roof of the car. There are gun turrets, flamethrowers, mines, stun guns, shotguns, razor blades, exploding rosters, they were creative with it and finding the perfect combination is quite fun.

The problem is that the game itself has a lot of technical problems…bad collisions, messed up physics and the controls for moving the car around re REALLY floaty, so that you have the constant feeling of racing on ice. The floaty controls are somehow manageable after a bit, but sometime it’ll happen that the game problems will get into the way, making you lose for something that wasn’t (not fully at least) your fault.

The missions themselves are varied enough for being a spy car game…simply reaching a spot before time runs out, fighting against invisible cars, transporting a nuke and being sure not to get too much damage. Another nice thing is how the game slows down to show whenever you get rid of an enemy in a quite nice and cinematic way…quite a cute addition, yep, but doesn’t get rid of the other problems.

Don’t get me wrong…the base concept is fun and despite the clunky controls there’s still quite a bit of enjoyment to find in the game, but the blandness of it all as well as the glitchy and technical problems hinder the game quite a bit…it doesn’t help that completing all the missions takes quite a short time, around 6 hours or so.

It’s a real shame, because the idea IS fun, but it wasn’t executed that well.

STORYLINE

The story is pretty much just an excuse to push things forward, don’t expect complex plots or twists, though I have to mention I liked the presence of a villain with a cloaked voice, wich gave a feeling similar to the one of Claw from Inspector Gadget, this super powerful villain who always tries to get you, but you always get to outsmart…cute stuff :)

SOUNDTRACK

Not much to say about the soundtrack…there’s a nice remix of the classic Spy Hunter theme, but beside that, the musics are quite forgettable and get repetitive quite fast…can’t even show you an example of the remix because no one put it on youtube XD

FINAL RATING

Spy Hunter has a really fun premise…the armed spy car idea is something I’d like to see in a more polished game, because it has a lot of potential. And it does show through this game, but lots of problems like collisions, bugs, floaty car physics, repetitive settings and music, as well as bland art direction doens’t make this a recommended purchase, unless if found at a REALLY low price. Wich is why I give this game a…

6.5/10

a wasted opportunity. let’s hope Warner Bros gives the Interceptor another chance…from what I know they’re working on a movie, so maybe that’ll be a nice chance to change things around.

PAPER MARIO: STICKER STAR

Played on: 3DS

Genre: adventure/RPG

Developer: Intelligent System (Fire Emblem series, Advance Wars series, Pushmo/Pullblox…)

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1

Played for: around 25 hours

Hello everyone and here I am with yet another review for you! XD

So, today I’m gonna review the new title in the Paper Mario series, wich this time, has been moved onto handheld. The game is quite different from the usual outings of the series, but it’s also different from Super Paper mario, wich was still a fantastic game in my opinion, by the way. But enough of that, let’s see what the guys of Intelligent System cooked up this time around!

We have the overall theme of the game being Stickers this time around, as a legendary Sticker Star wich seems to be able to grant wishes, comes to visit the Mushroom Kingdom every once in a while, Bowser takes this chance to steal the Star, kindp Princess Peach and gain a great power to make an entire mess of the Mushroom Kingdom! So, let’s go into more detail!

Review time, go!

GRAPHICS

It looks like in this Paper Mario title, the developers gave their best with trying to make the game world look like made of real paper, any kind of paper, really, even cardboard, you know, the one you use to make boxes and stuff.

Art Direction is the keyword here as the game looks like a carefully made papercraft, with characters being flat sheets of paper, houses and constructions made out of paper or cardboard and even going as far as having powerful enemies shown as shiny paper, like the one you find on rare Pokemon cards wich are, infact, more powerful than the usual ones.

The paperish art direction doesn’t stop here though. Many puzzles, when triggered or solved actually cause absolutely fun and pleasant paper-related shenanigans that will make the player smile all the way until the end, going from having a simple flat piece of ground unfolding to reveal an entire construction to  in-battle stuff like enmies having a “crumpled” status wich makes them look all ruined and, in return, weaker to attacks.

Absolutely gorgeous if you ask me. Plus, the implementation of real life, non-paper items used as some sort of mythical objects and summons to use in puzzles or battles is a simple, yet absolutely awesome concept, showing a great creativity on the developers’ part.

The animations are quite basic for the characters, but being made of paper, that’s something that won’t bother you.

GAMEPLAY

Like I mentioned earlier, Paper Mario: Sticker Star isn’t your typical Paper Mario title. While it still is an RPG instead of being a platform with rpg elements like Super Paper Mario was, the differences are of other nature. First of all…There is no experience.

The battle system of the game is structured to be based on coins and sticker alone…what does this mean ? It’s simpler than it sounds. Playing the game, the player will be able to find or purchase stickers around the entire gameworld, taking them from shops, pulling them off walls or even winning some by defeating enemies. They pretty much work as “ammo” in battles and there are different kinds, with the main types being the Jump and Hammer stickers, for different types of enemies. There are, of coruse, other kinds too, like flower types, healing mushrooms, multiple types of jumps and hammers and all of them are organized in an album with limited pages, wich means the player will need to put a lot of thinking into the battles to better organize and strategize his moves and the room in the album, as there also are stickers of varying sizes depending on their powers. Also, rest assured, the battles still have the feature of attacks being more effective and powerful if one presses the A button at the right time ^^

The coins are instead used, not only as currency in the game, but also as a gambling currency in battles to trigger a slot machine, wich can unlock more attack slots, letting Mario be able to use multiple stickers in one turn…the slot machine also rewards you with a special effect depending by wich tris of items you got (three coins will make a rain of coins go down on Mario for extra income).

I also mentioned real life objects earlier: They can be found in the different levels of the game (yes, it’s structured in levels, rather than a full world…the thing works surprisingly well though, with a very cute world map and all) and can be turned into stickers to use either as very powerful summons in battle or as solution to certain puzzles in the game.

This is where the bad part comes. The game is absolutely amazing gameplay-wise, the battle system is quirky and fun, making the player think before acting and manage his stash of stickers well…luckily the game is also balanced in a way that, if he plays well enough, he won’t run out of stickers to use. Anyway, this is about the way the puzzles and hints are managed…it doesn’t happen everytime, but sometime, to overcome a certain puzzle you’ll need a specific sticker of a real life object (called Things in the game). The problem is that the game doesn’t give you any idea of where the Sticker is, in wich part of the game or even in wich level. Wich makes the player wander around aimlessly unless he gets lucky or reads a walkthrough.

A similar problem comes with boss battles…Bosses have a very specific weakness, wich is suggested just after three times the player loses against the boss…too much if you ask me. Sure, the bosses are still defeatable without knowing the weaknesses, but it just triggers a “trial and error” process that may come as annoying to some players, making the game kinda unbalanced in difficulty in certain parts…so, be warned, if you get stuck, don’t feel ashamed to read a guide, you won’t be the only one who did XD

It’s a shame becaus ein some parts it can be quite a problem and yet the rest of the game is so much awesome and wel-polished that it makes you wonder why they didn’t put in a better hint system…After all, your partner in the game can be asked for hints, but they rarely help you with what you’re looking for.

This hinders the game quite a bit, because without this problem, it’d just be a great game, but this “calculation error” makes the game harder than it was meant to be unless you use a guide.

STORYLINE

The story in this Paper Mario title seems to be a lot simpler than the usual. It was confirmed that Miyamoto suggested to cut down on the story, since the team wanted to opt for a plottier plan, instead. This, in my opinion, was a mistake, since it’s true that the story doesn’t make a game, but since the mario RPGs always had quirky, nice plots within them I don’t see why cutting on them. I love you, Miyamoto, but I’m of the opinion that this time around you didn’t take the right choice.

Still, everyone can take a mistep sometime, so it’s funny seeing enraged PM fans insulting him and demanding that he gets fired for a mistake :D criticizing is alloweed, overreacting is retarded, my friends ;D

Still, the game does still have a couple of interesting characters and quite a few interesting and Paper Marioish situations to enjoy, so it isn’t a tragedy, unless it becomes a trend of the next titles.

SOUNDTRACK

The soundtrack is, as usual, top-notch. It features many nods to classic tunes as well as lots of original tracks. This time around, the soundtrack seems to be quite Jazz-styled with lots of trumpets and other details of this musical genre, though it also touches other styles.

another gem to put among the best Nintendo-related tracks, if you ask me :D a couple of examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yVOxni0aO0

The theme of the main city of the game :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftXlVwzsjWc

and the battle theme, catchy and upbeat as usual!

FINAL RATING

Paper Mario: Sticker Star features great art direction graphics-wise, a step up compared to the previous series, a fun and unique battle system and many levels to explore, full of secrets and paperish shenanigans. The story isn’t as thick as previous titles, but still nice to follow. The only real drawback is too much of a lack of hints dropped at the player to solve puzzles or deal with certain boss fights, especially the final two.

Nintendo has been often scolded by fans for too much hand-holding, but in my opinion, a lack of instructions or hints on what to do next on a modern game may be even worse, with absolutely nothing in the game being able to tell the player how to solve it, not even by simply logical thinking. This hinders an otherwise awesome game, wich still has a lot of many very good points to back it up and make it a worthy game to play, not without a guide though…that’s why I give this game a…

8.0/10

could’ve been one more vote without its big drawback, but it still can’t be rated as a bad game at all :)

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS U

Played on: Wii U

Genre: 2D Platform

Developer: Nintendo EAD 4 (New Super Mario Bros. series, Yoshi Touch & Go, Pikmin 3…)

Publisher: Nintendo

Players: 1-5 (local only)

Played for: 16 hours

Two reviews in a row! well, given how I delayed the Nintendoland one it’s normal that I had two games to review piled up! XD

So! Today I’m gonna review New Super Mario Bros. U! Afterreviewing the title for 3DS, wich was developed by a team of young developers at Nintendo EAD, I was eager to see what the main team was working on. It looks like the wait was worth it! But let’s see that into detail.

GRAPHICS

One of the big complaints about the New series was that the game pretty much always used the same assets and never tried anything new with the art direction. While this title doesn’t seem to stray off too much from the formula of the previous title, it looks like the art designers managed to make the game world way more appealing and vibrant.

Beside the obviously superior HD assets, with the 3d models of enemies and players looking crispier than ever, the backgrounds of many levels have a stunning sense of depth and the designers tried to impress the player a lot more with flashy graphical effects or even with special level designs.

There are absolutely beautiful levels such as the “painted” one, wich looks like it has been ripped off a picture painted by Van Ghogh. Sure, the overall art direction can still be improved a lot, but it’s quite obvious that it looks like there’s an overall improvement on the art assets, beyond the simple HD power of the console.

Oh, won’t spoil anything, but Bowser looks gorgeous in this game, I warned ya ;)

GAMEPLAY

Nothing much has changed here. The Mario gameplay is still the same, tight as ever, fun and endearing, especially in single, or two-player…beyond that, things get a little chaotic, so keep the 4 players for when you simply want to mess with friends, wich isn’t a bad thing.

Beside that, it looks like the developers improved, not only in the creativity of the levels themselves (even better than NSMBWii, my former fave NSMB title), but also in the difficulty curve, with the last worlds reserving quite a few difficult surprises for the more seasoned players…and if you want to get the star coins ? Prepare to rage a lot, Star Coins and hidden exits are hidden quite well in this game, or put in very difficult places. It’s like the developers made this game by keeping in mind both casuals and seasoned players. 

While the main adventure can still be cleared easily enough ignoring all the rest, completing the game will be quite the big task, with quite a nice reward too, wich some Super Mario World fans will probably drool over ;) This without counting the entirely new modes added…The challenge mode, the coin rush mode and the boost rush mode are all specificly developed for experienced Mario players. Believe me, if you complained about the NSMB games being too easy, this title will probably be what you’re looking for.

The team at Nintendo packed this title with content, way more than the previous chapters of the series and many nods to the Super Mario World and Bros series will probably make the old-school fans smile more than once.

Also, Baby Yoshis are adorable and also nice additions to the gameplay :P

STORYLINE

Well, as I say every time, Mario games shouldn’t be played for the story, even though this title has one lil, slight change in the plot that will probably make some of you pull a smile ^^

SOUNDTRACK

This is probably the least improved aspect of the game, since, for the most part, the game reuses remastered tunes from the old games…the castle and tower themes for example, are still the same, as well as many other tunes…wich is a shame, because there ARE new tracks, like the main theme and a different remix of the underground theme, as well as others, wich do sound quite awesome in my opinion…wich makes me wish they did more, pretty much! XD Come on, Nintendo, try a bit harder with this one in the next title, ok ? don’t rehash :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV0jmjYIZ7w&list=PLD132FFD4295AB670&index=1

the new overworld theme is quite nice and catchy ^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c2pZ4Opvwg&list=PLD132FFD4295AB670&index=17

a lil remix that never hurts ;3

FINAL RATING

New Super Mario Bros. U uses pretty much the same formula of the old titles, but this time around the game is, not only packed with content that will make both casual and hardcore players happy, but it’s also an overall improvement, especially regarding the art direction, creativity and gameplay elements, feeling like a more solid and fresher title than the others ever did. This is why I give the game a…

9.0/10

The best New Super Mario Bros. title yet. heavily recommended as one of the first Wii U titles to get, along with Nintendo land, of course ;)