Ah, the one that started it all! This game may look strange for players of Mega Man 2-X because of a few differences.
For one there are only 6 six enemy robots instead of the traditional 8.
They consist of:
Cut Man, who uses scissor-like blades
Fire Man, who uses flame attacks
Elec Man, who uses lightning attacks
Ice Man, who uses freezing attacks
Guts Man, who uses strength to throw huge boulders
Bomb Man, who uses, obviously, bombs to get his point across.
This game also uses a point system. You get a certain number of points for beating enemies and picking up pellets, you get a certain number of points for beating bosses. Also, after a boss is killed, you must walk over to where you killed him and pick up a capsule ot recieve his weapon. If you wait too long, it will disappear and you have to do the level and the boss all over again. Quite a difference, but fun.
Gameplay is good for an early NES game. There are some challenging parts that may have you pulling your hair out.
I know it took me a little while to even get off the first part of Guts Mans level! Graphics are classic 8 bit, everything is flat, but it's a detailed flat, mostly with backgrounds and non-moving things, everything else is pretty solid looking. The background of Bomb Man's stage is impressive though.
<i>Mega Man 1</i> paved the way for a great series in gaming, and did a good job asserting itself, letting the world know it was for real. For these reasons and others, I rate <i>Mega Man 1</i> a 7.5 out of 10.
Standing proud, outwardly defying that sound and graphics make a game, is the Game & Watch series. Going on 20 years old, they still provide a fun factor that can still be unmatched by many games on next-gen consoles. I defy anyone to play Fire, Chef, Manhole, or Octopus and not get addicted. They're deceptively simple in gameplay with usually only two controls for movement, yet they can be maddeningly difficult on the higher difficulty levels and when things get hectic. They made the handheld game what it is today, but now with the onset of better handheld consoles, these gaming gems are slowly and unfortunately falling into obscurity. Not if Nintendo has anything to say about it, and with that in mind, they release <i>Game & Watch Gallery 4</i>, which showcases these gaming legends for all to enjoy once more.
You start out with 6 games, the ability to unlock 6 more, and I've heard rumors you can unlock games you see in the Museum part of the Gallery. If true, this brings the total to over 20 games, not a bad deal for the same price as any other GBA cartridge which includes but one game. The games you start with are Boxing, Rainshower, Mario's Cement Factory, Donkey Kong Jr, Donkey Kong 3, and the most popular game of all, Fire. Each game includes the classic black and white, frame-by-frame game as it used to be (they even make it more realistic by making it appear to be an LCD screen by shading the unoccupied frames gray). The beeps and boops from the games remain as well. If you're looking for something a bit more visually and audibly pleasing, they've also included Modern versions of every game, starring famous characters, catchy music, and of course beautiful graphics. Boxing pits Luigi against Wiggler, Boo, and even Waluigi, while Fire has Peach's castle on fire and you must save falling Toads, Yoshis, and Donkey Kongs.
Controls are very responsive, for the most part. One complaint I have is in Modern Boxing. It can occasionally be difficult to switch Luigi's punches from upper to lower blows. Other than that though, they are flawless, which is necessary considering the sometimes quick movements you must make in order to win. Music in the Modern games is quite catchy, and I found myself humming some of the songs to myself on just the second day I had the game.
If you need a break from the old-school games, you can take a trip to the Gallery, where you can access the Museum, which showcases more Game and Watch games (as I said, I've heard <u>rumors</u> you can unlock these to play too, but I don't know for sure), also you can play all the music from the game in the music room, or you can visit the present room where Mario and Mr. Game and Watch (who looks exactly like he did in Melee) gives you what you've unlocked.
<i>Game and Watch Gallery 4</i> took me back to when gaming was simple yet enjoyable, and when Nintendo made games because they wanted to entertain people, not to compete with other company's sales. I rate this game an 8.0!
This game follows the style of most Zelda games. Zelda is in trouble, and Link must rescue her. The storyline is that there is a Light world and a Dark World of Hyrule, and many years ago, the Seven Sages of Hyrule sealed the Dark World, and the Triforce forever. Or so they thought. In the beginning, Link wakes up after hearing Zeldas pleas for help in a dream. His uncle tells him that he is leaving for a while. Link goes outside searching for the voice that is calling him. Upon Links arrival to Hyrule castle, in a hidden passageway Zelda tells him of, he finds his uncle dying in the hallway.
Link takes his sword and shield and begins quest. Throughout the game you learn that an evil entity called Aghanim (sorry it's been a while I forget how to spell his name). You must then get three pendants to receive the Master Sword. Then you find that Aghanim is just a puppet for Ganon, who is trying to get the Triforce so he can rule the world. Link must find the descendants of the seven sages entrapped in seven crystals around Hyrule, all guarded by powerful monsters in castles.
Gameplay is very addictive, and in my opinion is the best Zelda game. Graphics are good for the SNES, very much detail on terrain and characters, but most other things are in solid colors with little detail.
<i>A Link to the Past</i> remains one of my favorite games, and I'm sure it will be one of yours too. I rate <i>The Legend of Zelda : A Link to the Past</i> an 8 out of 10.
Vegas Stakes is a game about 5 people, yourself and 4 friends, taking a road trip to Las Vegas, in hopes of getting rich. You arrive at hotel/casino The Golden Sunshine, one of the five casinos available. Your other options on the Strip are:
<b>The Hideaway</b> - a run down, low maximum bid casino, which should be saved as your last resort in Vegas.
<b>The Buffalo Head</b> - A western themed casino with bids close to that of the Golden Sunshine.
<b>The 2020</b> - A futuristic themed casino with moderately high bids.
<b>The Laurel Palace</b> - High bidders only! This elegant casino sports minimum bids of $500, and can make you or break you quickly. This casino comes available to you after you make about $500,000.00
Vegas Stakes incorporates some unique attributes of a casino into it. For starters, this game used the SNES Mouse, making it easier control than a standard SNES controller. One cool concept is that strangers actually come up and talk to you. They can say any number of random things such as they "fell and twisted their ankle so they need you to take then to the hospital", or they'll sell you something. The problem is, they're not always sincere. If someone bumps into you or rubs a spot off your shirt, it could be just that, or it could be a pickpocket. You have to take chances when dealing with these people, they'll scam you, or if they are telling the truth, reward you in a few turns.
There are 5 available games in each casino with varying bids. Slots, Craps, Poker, Blackjack, and Roulette. If you don't know how to play some of these games, the friend that accompanies you can tell you how to play, alos give advice on bidding, slot values, and other useful information. Vegas awaits you, gamblers! Know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Test your judgement to tell if strangers are sincere, or crooks. Play your cards right and you may leave Vegas a Millionaire. If not, well, I have a shirt you can borrow. I give it a 6.5 out of 10.
Almost everyone has played <i>Simcity</i> at one point or another, but just in case you haven't here's what the game is like: You are the mayor of a huge open area of nothing, and your job is to build that from a village, to a town, to a city, to a capital, to a metropolis, and finally, a megalopolis. You build neighborhoods, residential, commercial, and industrial zones, power plants, airports, stadiums, and road and mass transit systems. You get your money from taxes. You must also deal with natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods.</font>
You view your city from a birds-eye view, the buildings don't have a whole lot of detail, but enough to tell what they are. Airports have planes, nuclear power plants have cooling towers, etc. Not a feast for the eyes, but it looks okay.
Gameplay can be addictive if you get into it, especially if you know the money cheat so you can build to your hearts desire. The cheat escapes me now, but it should be easy to find if you look on a search engine.
You are Drake, a hacker in a futuristic world, ruled by computers and The Matrix (no blue or red pills here though). You wake up in a morque and begin your quest. Your journey starts as a quest to find yourself, to find out who you are, you wake up with almost zero memory of your past. After you find the truth, you go to do what you feel is your duty, revenge. During the game you will find several enemies and gunfights. You eventually are able to hire mercenaries to join you for a little while. Some are mages, ogres, and gunslingers of all walks of life.
Graphics and gameplay are very good. Gunfights are realtime, you have to move your crosshairs to the enemy and fire. There is a chance you will miss too. There is free movement, so you can move anywhere you wish. When you kill enemies, you occasionally get money, and sometimes you get a karma point. When you sleep, you can cash in your karma to make your skills better. Gameplay is very addictive, you are driven to find the next step in the game. If you are going to play, prepare to get hung up in some places because it will happen.
I really enjoy this game, however some parts may get you so hung up you may stop playing. This is what happened to me, so I can't say I have beaten it, but the time I had playing it was a lot of fun, and I recommend this game highly.
I rate it 7.5 out of 10. Give it a try, I think you'll have a great time.
<i>Super R-Type</i> is a scrolling, kill-everything-in-sight game. You know the kind. The game details very little, but I'll sketch together what I can remember from the manual. Apparently an alien known as the Womb has captured four ships, and you are the fifth ship that must come to rescue them. Accompanying you through this is a large glowing orange ball of goodness which can fire any number of weapons, from a barrage of fireballs (I call them cheese-balls), to reflecting lasers. Also available are what are called "pits", which hover above and below your ship when found to protect from more angles. Also available are different sorts of missiles which can either be dropped on the ground, or sent out to home in on random enemies.
This game has four different levels of difficulty, Novice, Easy, Normal, and Hard. I prefer to think of them as Easy, Hard, Impossible, and shouldn't-even-be-allowed-to-be-this-difficult setting.
Graphics take full advantage of everything the SNES can do, creating stunning backgrounds, meticulously detailed bosses, and realistic looking weapons. Music is also very catchy, especially in the very first level, gets stuck in your head. I usually don't care for scrolling games, but this one was an exception, very well done.
This game takes a bit of strategy too. You have to maneuver minefields, jets of water, shrapnel from exploding enemies, and a million other threats to your weak little ship, even a minor hit from a weak foe and you and your ship is a cloud of smoke. So it takes a bit of skill to get the feel for how that ship moves and to steerit out of danger. Level 4 consists of a huge Battleship which you must maneuver through. Its difficult by itself, but the ship is moving and you aren't moving with it, also with enemies and bullets flying everywhere, it makes for a great challenge and overall great game.
<i>Super R-Type</i> has been a recurring favorite of mine for many, many years, and I never tire of playing it. The game sucks you in, and the fact that you can die so easily makes it all to easy too say "well, lemme just try that again". Addictive, fun, and challenging. My kind of game. I rate <i>Super R-Type</i> an 8.0 out of 10!
Surely you remember? That magical moment when you first flipped the switch of your SNES to reveal the lush color of Dinosaur World? The first time you saw <i>Super Mario World</i>, a game that would become one of the greatest games ever made.
Bowser has kidnapped the princess while on vacation with Mario and Luigi to exotic Dinosaur Island. Not too long after they begin their journey, they find a friendly dinosaur named Yoshi trapped in an egg. Henceforth, Yoshi would become an invaluable ally, while Mario was riding Yoshi he could swallow turtle shells. Red shells would cause Yoshi to spit fireballs, Yellow shells made him hit the ground and raise dust clouds when he jumped, and blue shells made him sprout wings. A very versatile dinosaur, Yoshi made Marios success possible.
This game, for it's time, is quite large. From the rolling Donut Plains, to the dark and dreary Vanilla Dome. From Cookie Mountain, to the insanely difficult SPECIAL stages, which made you think if you wanted to win.
In <i>Super Mario World</i>, there are seven castles, each inhabited by one of Bowsers seven villanous children (Bowser must be a ladies koopa). You must defeat each of Bowsers children to retrieve a trapped Yoshi egg, and you can then move on to the next level. Along the way you may find doorways ot the useful Star Road, capable of transporting you anywhere in Dinosaur World in mere seconds. Not only are there castles, but also Fortresses and Ghost Houses.
<i>Super Mario World</i> remains one of the best games ever, boasting a lot of great features. Since the Super Ninteno has fallen out of play since the advent of N64, GameCube, and Playstation 1 & 2, this classic game gathers dust on many shelves, but then came the Game Boy Advance! Yuo can once again play this game, and better yet, take it with you wherever you may go!
The game begins with Bowser kidnapping Princess Toadstool (original, huh?), and taking her to his castle. Mario, of course, rescues her about 5-10 gaming minutes later. Just as she is being rescued, a huge sword falls from the sky and plants itself right into Bowser's castle. This is where the game really begins. You come to find that the huge sword is part of an army of the villian Smithy. Now all hell breaks loose in the Mushroom Kingdom and all around Mario's world. Soon, you find that Smithy is attempting to destroy the Star Road, where wishes are granted. In doing this, he wants to make a world filled with weapons and evil. Mario can't have that. During the course of your journey you make four allies. The supposed "tadpole" Mallow, the inhabited doll messenger of the Star Road, Geno, Princess Toadstool, and even King Koopa himself, Bowser joins with Mario. You must defeat bosses like Mack, Bowyer, Yaridovich, the Axem Rangers, and Captain Jonathan Jones to retrieve the seven star pieces, the last held by Smithy. There is so much more to this game, but this is only an overview.
The graphics in <i>Mario RPG</i> are wonderfully detailed and great eye candy, as SNES games go. The music is also quite good, making for a great gaming experience. Even the battle animations are good looking.
If you want to play <i>Mario RPG</i>, quit your job, wait till summer vacation, break up with your significant other, and put a lock on your door because you WILL get hopelessly hooked! This game takes a long time to beat and makes you use your brain in parts too. Once you start, its hard to stop, trust me. I'm a recovering <i>Mario RPG</i> addict myself.
Overall I rate <i>Super Mario RPG</i> a 9.5 out of 10 on the gaming scale, it's really that good. Now go buy it, an emulator just wouldn't do it justice...oh and if you do download an emulation, be sure you have the original cart, or delete it within 24 hours...*wink*.
<i>Civilization</i> is a turn-based war game/strategy game. In it, you begin a civilization of your choice of 18, including the Germans, Japanese, Aztecs, Babylonians, Americans, and Romans. As you play, you build cities and army units with the money you make from mines and city taxes. You add buildings to your cities to make them and your civilization greater. Also, you can build one of several Wonders of the World, each with their own advantages. The Great Wall forces other civilization to make peace with you, while the Pyramids give you all the food you'll need to run all your cities. There are two ways you can win <i>Civilization</i>, one way is to destroy all your opposing Civilizations, and rule the world. The other way is to make it so far into the future, that you build a starship and travel to Alpha Centauri.
Graphics leave something to be desired, cities as well as units appear as squares over a gridded layout map. Attacks show the attacking unit moving and colliding with the opposing unit. But the city screen boasts better graphics. You have the option to view your cities, as well as each building within them, including Wonders, in fairly good detail.
Gameplay is EXTREMELY addictive! I guarantee that when you play this game and get good at it, you'll be hooked for a long time. Because 5 levels of difficulty offer a more challenging game all the time, you'll never get bored.
I give <i>Civilization</i> a 7 out of 10, and highly recommend it to strategy buffs.
