They're out this week. Both have gotten great reviews so far and you can get each one for $20 at--... whups, wouldn't want to offend DJ or ABF by letting everyone know how to get the games for cheap!
I'll probably only be able to pick up MvDk tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know how I like it.
IGN has a review of MvDK up. They say it's a well done sequel to DK '94 (no, I'm not the only one who calls it that, which is to be expected because I think I first saw it called that in Nintendo Power...), but that the 3d rendered/polygonal graphics just don't fit the game. Based on screenshots, I'd agree... I think it'd have been better if they'd gone with traditional Mario graphics, certainly. Oh well, the gameplay still looks great...
Wouldn't more people know what you were talking about if you just said "DK GB"?
I want to check this out eventually myself though.
Donkey Kong '94 was easily one of the best GB games... it's great to see it get a sequel. It may not be quite as good, but it still looks great... the main problem of course being just how MANY great GBA games there are. :)
Yeah, I think I have around 30 GBA games now, and there are so many more I want to get.
Yeah, I only have 8, but when I go to the store and see like fifteen games I want it gets a bit overwhelming...
The GBA does have an amazingly large selection of good games, that's for sure...
So how can I get these games for $20 ?
One of my friends played Mario vs. DK and said it sucked, but he's the least reliable of my friends... hell, I can hardly consider him a friend most of the time. I'd like some other opinions before I buy it. (If I could rent it, I would.)
As for Sonic Advance 3, I plan to buy it as soon as I get the chance. I loved the first two Sonic Advances, even though I've nowhere near completed the second one. (I haven't even unlocked Knuckles.)
I want to get Mario vs. Donkey Kong, but there's too many other things that I want so I don't have money to spare on it. I probably won't get Sonic Advance 3, though.
I got both games last night, so here are some brief impressions:
M v DK
Lots of fun, very similar to DK '94 but with tons of new stuff like a Mario that controls like he did in Mario 64, including some of the moves from that game. I don't really like the visual style. It's like the pre-rendered artwork for Mario 64 meets DKC, but not half as pretty as either. The backgrounds are rather dull and the foreground lacks weight. It would have looked much better in a more flat Mario World-ish style, or all the way like DKC. It's kind of stuck between those two words, in a bad way. The good thing though is that the animation is wonderful, and when you play the game you tend to forget about the blah art style. Very fun game, though I worry that it might end too soon.
Sonic Advance 3
The two character system works a lot better than I thought it would and seems much more natural than it did in Sonic Heroes. There's an actual hub world now which makes things interesting, and I can't wait to explore everything. There are many different ways to beat each level, though I still prefer the level designs from the 16-bit Sonics. I'd rather have one or two great paths in each level than two dozen not-as-great paths in each level. Still, it seems to be the best Sonic game since Sonic & Knuckles. You old-school Sonic fans will get a very special treat once you each world 2. I certainly did. :)
Now all Sega needs to do is release a Sonic Genesis compilation for the GBA...
Um, which moves did Mario have in Mario 64 but not in DK'94? I can't think of many... in DK'94 he had a double jump, a triple jump, plus the handstand and the spinning on wires... does he have that 'kick off walls' thing or something? Other than that I can't think of much that he had in Mario 64 and not in DK'94...
Oh, and as for length the reviews say that there are more unlockable worlds after you beat the first six and that it's got a hard mode, so the easy first game isn't a problem.
He does a backflip exactly like the one in Mario 64.
I know... I mean, I can handle someone disliking a game, but he didn't exactly show good reasons for it... and aren't reviews supposed to try to say how good a game is... like, I've seen reviews where the reviewer says that they didn't like something about it but they know that others wouldn't mind that so they don't mark it down quite as much or something like that. This guy just says 'its stupid and I didn't like it'... it does support the contention that Gamespy's reviews are of questionable quality, for sure.
Gamespy reviewer: It wasn't as good as the Zelda or Metroid games so I didn't like it. I won't tell you why I didn't like it, but rather post factual information about the game and then say that I would rather play other games than than this.
Dumb.
Yeah, if you dislike something it's generally best to say why...
Oh, and this shows Gamespy to be stupid. I mean, having someone who said they dislike puzzle games review a puzzle game? Umm... what were they thinking?
"I don't like puzzle games. This game is a puzzle game. Thus, I dislike it. And you should too because it's stupid. The end."
IGN and Gamespot had much better reviews. And both mention the game's one big flaw, the fact that the graphics just don't work.
For reviews they are definitely inferior to IGN and Gamespot.
Gamespy has pretty lame reviews overall...
All sites have poor reviews sometimes. But Gamespy just does it far more often than either IGN or Gamespot... those sites each have some problems, but really overall both are decent sites which usually have okay reviews. Not always, but nothing always has reviews you agree with... and you learn to get used to their flaws... but Gamespy... I go there sometimes, and read their reviews, but the site does not match up. Reviews like this one show why.
I like EGM's reviews, they generally give games the same scores that I would.
I disagree with almost half of EGM's reviews, but I love the format.
I agree with OB1 on the format. I love that EGM gives multiple opinions. That said I haven't picked up a copy of EGM in several years.
I have a huge stack of EGMs in my room.
I have every issue of EGM from the past six years (thanks largely to gift renewals) and several dozen here and there from 1996-99.
I have nearly every issue from November 1998 to the present.
I just got Mario vs. Donkey Kong today. I traded in a bunch of my old games, all of which were mediocre at best [can't part with anything good!!]. I was going to get that fighting game made by Hudson that's like SSBM, but the place I went to sold their only import copy since I was there yesterday [punks].
I have more than you!!!!!
*cries*
Get a hold of yourself, man!! By the way, do you want this crumpet I found in an old trunk in my attic?
GR: Fine, be that way! I'll give it to this homeless bum! I bet he won't be rude you're being right now!
Homeless bum: This crumpet is stale...and it has dust on it...
GR: Hey now, that is a good crumpet!!
OB1: I wish I had a crumpet. :(
Um...I have a rock that sort of LOOKS like a crumpet, don't know if you want that though...
Some people go in for that kind of stuff, I don't know.
What can I say? ABF asked if I had any rocks that looked like crumpets so I gave him a few. I guess he ate them or something...
EGM has improved its review style from the mid '90s (my three issues are from '95 and '96...), true (by having longer reviews -- in those three issues all reviews are 1/3 of a page and there are four reviews so each is just a few sentences...), but I still like single-review layouts better. More room for detail.
However, I'd say that game magazines have gone downhill in the last three or four years. Gone are the days of PC Gamer pushing 300 pages... or even 200... or, usually, 125... and with less pages there is just less content.
I'd rather have a multi-person review because at least one of them will probably have similar tastes as mine.
We've discussed this before, and I doubt that either of us has changed their opinion at all. :)
I like a multi-person review format, it gives you a wider range of opinion.
As I said before I prefer a longer and better written review.
Yes, ABF, we know. You've only said it like A HUNDRED TIMES!!! Geez. :p
Hey, I didn't bring it up in this thread...
*punches ABF in the arm* Can't you tell when I'm just messing around with you?
