25th April 2010, 8:54 PM
Quote:It's not like I think it's some horrible game or something, but it just doesn't do much for me. And the tanks in the second stage are stupid.
I played some Shock Trooper 2 today and I really like it, definitely more fun and intense than Mercs. Some really nice graphics help too, of course, but that's certainly not the only thing I like more about it.
Shock Troopers 1 and 2 each have similar gameplay, but the graphics are quite different -- the second one was completely redone with prerendered sprites, and the characters are all different too. I think that the first game is a bit more popular, and probably is a little better, but both are fantastic games. It's kind of funny that you like that but not Mercs so much though, I think of them as pretty similar games... I mean, yeah, Shock Troopers does it better, but Mercs doesn't do it badly, either. Oh well, whatever, at least you do like Shock Troopers. :)
Quote:Blades of Vengeance
Developed by Beam Software and published by Electronic Arts for the Genesis in 1993. Here’s a nice little sidescrolling hack-and-slash title. You choose from one of the three hero classes and then do battles against the evil Dark Lady, who wants to take over the world. It’s pretty standard stuff for the genre, nothing that’s really going to surprise or delight, but it’s not a bad game or anything. You fight monsters with your weapon of choice, jump across lava pools, and locate treasure chests for extra points. The graphics are okay and the music’s fine. Overall, a decent game to waste a bit of time with.
This is a deeply disingenuous review, people will think that the game is light and easy or something like that, while the truth is quite the opposite....
I mean, did you even finish the first level? The lava area is just the first level. The majority of the game is spent in the castle, which is where the game really starts to get hard...
and also, it's not like other side-scrolling action games, either. It has some important unique features. It's not just hack and slash. You need to use patience and timing to not get killed. It's a very difficult game -- there are eight levels, each with three parts, with a boss after the last one. The game's difficulty ramps up multiple times over the course of the game, and you have only a few lives and, unless you get them ingame, no continues. The key to the game is that by holding down, you block against anyone attacking you from the front. Enemies can still hit you from behind while you are blocking, though, so you're not invulnerable -- and the game LOVES to throw enemies at you from both directions. It's a tricky game, and very, VERY memorization heavy. You will need to memorize everything -- when to duck, when to jump, when to attack... you need to memorize all of that in order to not in short order.
Of the three characters, there's a scantily clad female barbarian (the default, and best, character, she is fast and powerful enough, with a high jump and later on ranged attacks too), a scantily clad male barbarian (short range, low jump... sure he has power, but it's not worth it!), and a old male mage (the expert-class character, the only one with ranged attacks from the start, but very weak and squishy).
The game has two player simultaneous as well, which is awesome. The graphics are fantastic, one of the better efforts in the genre on the Genesis without question, and the music is just as great.
Quote:Dungeon Explorer
Developed by Atlus and published by Hudson Soft for the Sega CD March 1989. It’s a bit like the Gauntlet games in that you wander through level after level of an ancient dungeon killing monsters and collecting loot. One of the main differences is that you can actually leave and purchase new weapons and armor with the gold you find. It also features experience points for level up your character to get more health and better stats. It’s much more fun than Gauntlet IV on the Genesis and much deeper experience. Thanks to the CD format it also features some really nice music, definitely a standout in that category. It’s a bit unforgiving though, so be prepared to get some game overs from time to time.
Once again, I really recommend playing the TurboGrafx games instead. The first one is a HuCard game, it'd be easy to find in emulation sites (for emulators use Ootake, it's fantastic and very frequently updated). The TG16 games are simpler, but better. You level up by beating the level; there's no experience or anything. It makes things simplistic, but keeps the game moving... the Sega CD one was the first attempt with an experience system, and they sort of messed it up. The Sega CD game does have four player, which is nice (though of course on TG16 the games had five player support), and the graphics are pretty good, the game just isn't nearly as fun. Gautnlet games all have good experience systems, but Sega CD Dungeon Explorer somehow just doesn't. Oh, and the game has a lot fewer characters to choose from than either TG16 game, either -- there are only six characters here, versus nine or more in the TG16 games. They're also all male, while the TG16 games had several female characters in the lineup.
I mean, the game can be fun, and as a Gauntlet fan I do like it, but there is better out there.
Quote:Vectorman 1 and 2
Amazing games... the only thing I can say against them is that they're really hard. You need to memorize everything in order to make any progress, and I get the feeling that the only way to really progress is to either memorize it all or memorize how to get a 1up with some huge bonus multiplier... I've never finished either game. I've gotten farther in the first game than the second one (I'd say that the second game is the harder one, I think, as far as I've gotten at least), but I've never finished either one despite finding them really good, really fun games. Releasing in 1995 and 1996, they were some of the last great Genesis games, and did a little to help keep the Genesis going at a time when Sega was mostly busy destroying itself and its business.
Oh, the second game starts out somewhat drab, with like four levels in a swamp... it gets more visually interesting once you get to the second world/
Quote:Toe Jam & Earl
I never played much of this game, I don't know, I know it was extremely popular, but it just never grabbed me... I guess we agree, then, but I do have to say it provisionally because I've never spent a lot of time with it. I just haven't found it interesting enough to play very long at all in emulation, and don't have the cart (it's one of the pricier US Genesis releases!).
Quote:Heimdall
I mean to try this sometime, but haven't yet. It's another port of a European Amiga game, and European RPGs from that era can sometimes be playable and other times be unapproachably complex and archaic by modern standards (or even by the standards of the time, sometimes), but hopefully this one's better. Sounds decent. :)
Quote:Pirates! Gold
I got this one last month of course. It's a good game, but it gets repetitive after a while... the 2004 game was better on that, but still I did find myself getting bored after a while. Oh, and strategy? Sort of, there is a very basic trading model, but it's more a variety game, a minigame collection if you will, just like the newer title. There are strategy aspects (attacking towns), trading sim aspects (buying and selling goods), action game aspects (swordfights, ship battles), etc. Good but not outstanding graphics and music. There's a lot here for people who like it, and I do like it, but the existence of the newer one does make me say "maybe play that one instead, it might be better"...
Quote:Beyond Oasis
This Zelda-clone, developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Genesis in December 1994, is one of the better action-adventure games on the Genesis. On top of looking really good and having some really nice graphics, both of which are probably among the best the system has to offer, it also has some really good gameplay. To explain, the gameplay appears very Zelda-like at first, with it’s isometric view and large overworld and dungeons to explore. But, looking closer, Beyond Oasis has gameplay that makes it almost like beat ‘em up. Combat is very fast paced and Ali, the main character, can perform attacks in a series very quickly. He can also jump and perform a jump kick. It’s also got some nice boss battles and weapons that you can find and then use for a limited number of times.. The only real downside is that it’s more combat oriented than some of the other games in its genre, rather than emphasizing puzzles or platforming. That’s just a small complaint though and doesn’t stop the game from being one of the better Genesis offerings in this round.
Well, for once we pretty much entirely agree. Yes, Beyond Oasis is really good, with fantastic graphics, great animation, fun combat, and more. It's easily the second best Zelda style game on the system after Landstalker. :)
The two X-Men games -- Never really played these, but I know that they're considered good games. I've heard a lot about that infamous level in the first one where you have to reset your Genesis to proceed...