https://www.tendocity.net/ Wed, 13 May 2026 14:18:32 +0000 MyBB https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=7526 Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:45:16 +0000 Dark Jaguar]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=7526
It's the visuals that most struck people playing this version.  On the one hand, it's technically impressive that they managed to get everything working and recognizable.  Credit must also be given for making sure everything is identifiable and that it's easy to tell sprites from background, or landable terrain from mere background art.  This can't be said for the Donkey Kong Land series, due to limitations of black and white or even the Super GameBoy mode those games are designed to run in.  That splash of color to differentiate is critical, however, because the decision to keep using the CG assets and downgrade them to this level means everything looks rather messy and noisy at this level of resolution.  There is, simply, too much detail to work with, so scrunching it down means things tend to blur into each other as opposed to hand-crafted sprites.  As a result, the game is not colorblind friendly any more than the Donkey Kong Land games were.  Further, the decision to use those assets and try to maintain the same "size" results in a smaller viewing area, meaning some secrets need more telegraphing to avoid being overlooked.  Fortunately, clever use of the camera helps to make sure few can be overlooked, but many obstacles still jump out at the last moment.

The audio is notable as well for borrowing heavily from Donkey Kong Land, taking tunes that were already demade into tone generated form from their MIDI style originals.  In a few cases, whole tunes were out and out replaced, and one brand new song was made, but not for the brand new level.  All in all, they're enjoyable versions, even if half the tunes had already been done in games previous.

The controls are serviceable and familiar to anyone who's played Donkey Kong Land.  While reduced, no sacrifices needed to be made due to the first DKC not having things like "animal special moves" or a "team up" mechanic that needed their own button.  What's much more notable are the altered physics.  Platformers are particularly sensitive to changes in physics, since every single level in a game, all it's jumps, enemy patterns, bounce pads, tricky items meant to be reached at the very extent of risky moves, all of it is specifically calibrated around the game's original physics.  This means even a slight change can have pretty drastic repercussions.  Giving credit where it's due, the Donkey Kong Land physics did get altered just enough to be pretty close to SNES values, but it's not just those values.  Hit boxes are a lot looser, more like pure boxes than the more form fitting boxes in the original.  Further, certain behaviors linger on.  The "camera death" glitch (wherein if a camera has a fixed high vertical position, it might not scroll in time to prevent the engine from killing off the player interpreting it as a bottomless death pit) has been mostly resolved from the Land series, but still occurs from time to time.  Further, the "bounce" behavior has some odd inertia for players to get used to.  Oh yes, then there's the timing of the "3 card monty" style mini-game, which is now far harder to see the final barrel the item appears in.

The game's save system was overhauled.  The game now auto-saves level completions and secrets found, which necessitated giving Candy Kong another purpose entirely.  Further, new difficulty modes were added.  The game allows you to disable either all Kong partner barrels or all continue barrels, but not both at the same time.  Notably as a boon to completionists, the game will track progress in all three "modes" on the same save file.  So, you only need to unlock stickers and find all bonus levels once, saving some time when you're playing through all the levels three times in a row.  Further, the game's old "101% completion" now requires completing both of these new harder difficulty modes.

Back to map design, most of the maps are very accurate to the originals with very few changes.  Necky's Nightmare was introduced as a new near-final level in the last world of the game.  It's appreciated to see some additional content, and this level is pretty well made, if short.  It's a test without being nearly as frustrating as the actual final level in the game.  Notably this level would be scrapped from the GBA port later on, but the GBA port's failings are again for another time.

Beyond that, there's a few other notable additions.  There are "stickers" hidden in many levels.  All of them require giving the ground a hard smack which will stir up a fluttery 8 bit sticker to quickly grab.  These can all be viewed in a "sticker book" and printed.  Notably the GBA port also added a lot of "photos", but these are not just completely different images, they're all hidden in completely different places.  There are also three new mini-games.  Candy Kong now has a mini-game barrel.  These are a series of unique "bonus levels", much like the ones normally found hidden inside levels but with some unique mechanics.  This is honestly my favorite new "mini-game" as it uses the existing game's mechanics instead of tacking on something else entirely.  It's certainly better than if they'd decided to have Candy do a dance rhythm game or some crazy thing.  This is also part of full completion percentage as well as helping to unlock the other two mini-games by winning unique "coins".

The other two bonus modes exist outside the main game.  One involves a series of escalating "shooting gallery" stages... on the Gameboy... without a lightgun...  It's serviceable, and even the hardest level at the end isn't too difficult.  It's much like a similar mini-game in DK64.  The second is a "fishing mini-game", because this was an era when EVERY game had to have a fishing game hidden in it.  It's a little more complicated than the Link's Awakening fishing game, but also involves a lot of luck.  Beating the high score will be a test of patience more than anything, as no matter how good you get, you can get a string of garbage instead of the squid you so desperately need to extend your time.  All in all, these mini-games don't enhance the core experience and in the case of the fishing mini-game can really drag out that full completion time way longer than is enjoyable.

All in all, for the most part the new additions were well thought out (certain mini-games aside) and the demake looks and sounds good enough to at least be playable.  However, this is one case where it's hard not to recommend the original simply because the whole package with original graphics and sound really complete the experience.  Add to that certain frustrations brought on by the smaller viewing area and the altered physics, the original edges this version out.]]>
It's the visuals that most struck people playing this version.  On the one hand, it's technically impressive that they managed to get everything working and recognizable.  Credit must also be given for making sure everything is identifiable and that it's easy to tell sprites from background, or landable terrain from mere background art.  This can't be said for the Donkey Kong Land series, due to limitations of black and white or even the Super GameBoy mode those games are designed to run in.  That splash of color to differentiate is critical, however, because the decision to keep using the CG assets and downgrade them to this level means everything looks rather messy and noisy at this level of resolution.  There is, simply, too much detail to work with, so scrunching it down means things tend to blur into each other as opposed to hand-crafted sprites.  As a result, the game is not colorblind friendly any more than the Donkey Kong Land games were.  Further, the decision to use those assets and try to maintain the same "size" results in a smaller viewing area, meaning some secrets need more telegraphing to avoid being overlooked.  Fortunately, clever use of the camera helps to make sure few can be overlooked, but many obstacles still jump out at the last moment.

The audio is notable as well for borrowing heavily from Donkey Kong Land, taking tunes that were already demade into tone generated form from their MIDI style originals.  In a few cases, whole tunes were out and out replaced, and one brand new song was made, but not for the brand new level.  All in all, they're enjoyable versions, even if half the tunes had already been done in games previous.

The controls are serviceable and familiar to anyone who's played Donkey Kong Land.  While reduced, no sacrifices needed to be made due to the first DKC not having things like "animal special moves" or a "team up" mechanic that needed their own button.  What's much more notable are the altered physics.  Platformers are particularly sensitive to changes in physics, since every single level in a game, all it's jumps, enemy patterns, bounce pads, tricky items meant to be reached at the very extent of risky moves, all of it is specifically calibrated around the game's original physics.  This means even a slight change can have pretty drastic repercussions.  Giving credit where it's due, the Donkey Kong Land physics did get altered just enough to be pretty close to SNES values, but it's not just those values.  Hit boxes are a lot looser, more like pure boxes than the more form fitting boxes in the original.  Further, certain behaviors linger on.  The "camera death" glitch (wherein if a camera has a fixed high vertical position, it might not scroll in time to prevent the engine from killing off the player interpreting it as a bottomless death pit) has been mostly resolved from the Land series, but still occurs from time to time.  Further, the "bounce" behavior has some odd inertia for players to get used to.  Oh yes, then there's the timing of the "3 card monty" style mini-game, which is now far harder to see the final barrel the item appears in.

The game's save system was overhauled.  The game now auto-saves level completions and secrets found, which necessitated giving Candy Kong another purpose entirely.  Further, new difficulty modes were added.  The game allows you to disable either all Kong partner barrels or all continue barrels, but not both at the same time.  Notably as a boon to completionists, the game will track progress in all three "modes" on the same save file.  So, you only need to unlock stickers and find all bonus levels once, saving some time when you're playing through all the levels three times in a row.  Further, the game's old "101% completion" now requires completing both of these new harder difficulty modes.

Back to map design, most of the maps are very accurate to the originals with very few changes.  Necky's Nightmare was introduced as a new near-final level in the last world of the game.  It's appreciated to see some additional content, and this level is pretty well made, if short.  It's a test without being nearly as frustrating as the actual final level in the game.  Notably this level would be scrapped from the GBA port later on, but the GBA port's failings are again for another time.

Beyond that, there's a few other notable additions.  There are "stickers" hidden in many levels.  All of them require giving the ground a hard smack which will stir up a fluttery 8 bit sticker to quickly grab.  These can all be viewed in a "sticker book" and printed.  Notably the GBA port also added a lot of "photos", but these are not just completely different images, they're all hidden in completely different places.  There are also three new mini-games.  Candy Kong now has a mini-game barrel.  These are a series of unique "bonus levels", much like the ones normally found hidden inside levels but with some unique mechanics.  This is honestly my favorite new "mini-game" as it uses the existing game's mechanics instead of tacking on something else entirely.  It's certainly better than if they'd decided to have Candy do a dance rhythm game or some crazy thing.  This is also part of full completion percentage as well as helping to unlock the other two mini-games by winning unique "coins".

The other two bonus modes exist outside the main game.  One involves a series of escalating "shooting gallery" stages... on the Gameboy... without a lightgun...  It's serviceable, and even the hardest level at the end isn't too difficult.  It's much like a similar mini-game in DK64.  The second is a "fishing mini-game", because this was an era when EVERY game had to have a fishing game hidden in it.  It's a little more complicated than the Link's Awakening fishing game, but also involves a lot of luck.  Beating the high score will be a test of patience more than anything, as no matter how good you get, you can get a string of garbage instead of the squid you so desperately need to extend your time.  All in all, these mini-games don't enhance the core experience and in the case of the fishing mini-game can really drag out that full completion time way longer than is enjoyable.

All in all, for the most part the new additions were well thought out (certain mini-games aside) and the demake looks and sounds good enough to at least be playable.  However, this is one case where it's hard not to recommend the original simply because the whole package with original graphics and sound really complete the experience.  Add to that certain frustrations brought on by the smaller viewing area and the altered physics, the original edges this version out.]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=3386 Fri, 09 Dec 2005 01:27:52 +0000 A Black Falcon]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=3386 for Game Boy Color
Developed by Nintendo Software Technology
Published by Nintendo (with liscence from Capcom)
Released in 2000.
Review written 12/8/2005

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces is a fantastic remake of one of the great classic platformer serieses. The original Bionic Commando, for the arcade and now available on PS2 and Xbox in the Capcom arcade collection, is supposedly not as good but I have not played it. Bionic Commando on the NES, though, was a great game and is one of the great NES classics. Bionic Commando for the original Game Boy was similarly fantastic, and improved on the NES title in many ways (Note that those three games are each completely different games, despite all sharing the same title). This game brings back that series, which had gone without a game in eight years (since the GB version's release in 1992), with a game developed by Nintendo's then-new American division, made up to a large extent of Digipen (game design college part funded by Nintendo) graduates. It is faithful to the series, and anyone who liked the NES or GB Bionic Commando games will love this one.
The Bionic Commando serieses most unique feature is the bionic arm. Other games have tried to emulate this, but none have quite matched the briliant simplicity of the arm as seen in these games. In Bionic Commando, you cannot jump. Yet, it is a platforming game with a heavy focus on the platforming, as opposed to the enemies, who often feel somewhat incidental to the point of the game. The key to the game, and the series, is the bionic arm. It works like an extending swing, so you can attach to any celing or box or platform-bottom and swing. As you get better, you can swing endlessly on the celings, letting yourself go and then reattaching in front of you, swinging forward. The game throws trickier and trickier jumping puzzles at you too as you progress, so you have to work your way between tiny swing platforms suspended over nothing or swing along the underside of a plane, just a fall away from certain doom. It can be hard at first, but as you get better at the game all but the hardest jumps will become mostly routine -- though that is not to say that they become less fun. The bionic arm swinging is the best part of the game, and the kind of stuff you can do with it is great -- where else have you swung between lampposts or dealt with a bottomless pit that suddenly stretches into the horizon by simply swinging across the celing?
How much you like Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, like the Bionic Commando games before it, is entirely decided by how much you like the bionic arm. I loved it, and have replayed the game again and again over the years mainly because of how fun the bionic arm is. It's a unique gameplay concept and one that does not appear with such purity of purpose in other titles -- one common complaint about Bionic Commando is "Why can't you jump over little boxes or tiny pits?" My response is, "Because that would ruin the entire point of Bionic Commando!" The game exists because of the bionic arm. Bionic Commando with jumping would not be Bionic Commando, for it would not make you use the one thing that makes this game noticably different from the others. Jumping has no place in this game. Gameplay gets a 10 out of 10.
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces has sixteen levels along the main path in each game. Two of those levels are exclusive to each of the two characters (a male and a female commando, who are otherwise essentially identical except for looks). There are two additional bonus levels that are a bit harder to find (and change the colors of your costume when you beat them, a nice bonus), and top-down stages accessed by running into trucks on the overworld map. The topdown stages are short and easy (though you can die) and mainly exist as your main way of getting extra lives, but for that purpose they are very useful. Each time you beat a normal level you will usually get some kind of item, like another weapon, or a special item, or armor to protect you from hits, or a keycard that lets you access further levels. Generally though, you will want to take with you your best weapon, the health pills (they refill your health when used -- absolutely invaluable), the correctly colored card, and the best armor you've got so far. There is one level that forces you to take an item other than the health pills, making that one a bit harder, but it's not too bad. The game goes by quickly -- the first time I played the game, during vacation in 2000, I beat it in two days (and then played it again and beat it again within the week) -- but perhaps that is as much because of how much fun it is as because of its length, as Game Boy games are often short. In addition, I've found that the game is highly replayable, as I've played through it at least five times. The single player game gets a 9/10 (10/10 in my opinion, but I must do something to show that some people don't like the bionic arm game mechanic, so there it is...).
There is no multiplayer in this game.
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces has good graphics for a Game Boy Color game. Because of the small screen there are a few times when you have to throw yourself forward into the unknown, but they are rare, and you can look up and down for the cases when it is that way that you think you must go. Bottomless pits are often marked with skull images, making it clearer 'do not fall here'. The character art is great. The game has very colorful still cinema scenes that use a trick of the GBC in order to show many colors on screen. The ingame graphics are also pretty impressive, though, and the animation especially is fantastic. The swinging animation is very smooth and it is clear that a lot of time went into the animation. Very good. Graphics get a 9/10.
The music and sound just improve the presentation of the game. The sound is simple, but has voices -- when you select items before entering a level a voice says the name of the item, enemy bosses scream out when you defeat them, etc. It's low quality, but you can only expect so much from a Game Boy Color... The music, though, I loved. It is true that there are a limited number of music tracks in the game, but even so, I thought that all of them were great. I've often found myself watching the introduction every time I launch the game in a large part because of how much I like the music.
Sound and music gets 9/10, one point off for the average sound effects (though if they were seperated I'd give music a 10 and sound an 8).


Plusses
+Amazingly fun
+Endlessly replayable
+Two exclusive levels for each character
+The bionic arm is awesome!

Minusses
-Somewhat short
-Once you get good the game's difficulty drops
-The Bug
-Some people dislike the bionic arm game mechanic

Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Singleplayer: 9/10
Multiplayer: N/A

97% (not an average). Second best game on the Game Boy Color after The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.]]> for Game Boy Color
Developed by Nintendo Software Technology
Published by Nintendo (with liscence from Capcom)
Released in 2000.
Review written 12/8/2005

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces is a fantastic remake of one of the great classic platformer serieses. The original Bionic Commando, for the arcade and now available on PS2 and Xbox in the Capcom arcade collection, is supposedly not as good but I have not played it. Bionic Commando on the NES, though, was a great game and is one of the great NES classics. Bionic Commando for the original Game Boy was similarly fantastic, and improved on the NES title in many ways (Note that those three games are each completely different games, despite all sharing the same title). This game brings back that series, which had gone without a game in eight years (since the GB version's release in 1992), with a game developed by Nintendo's then-new American division, made up to a large extent of Digipen (game design college part funded by Nintendo) graduates. It is faithful to the series, and anyone who liked the NES or GB Bionic Commando games will love this one.
The Bionic Commando serieses most unique feature is the bionic arm. Other games have tried to emulate this, but none have quite matched the briliant simplicity of the arm as seen in these games. In Bionic Commando, you cannot jump. Yet, it is a platforming game with a heavy focus on the platforming, as opposed to the enemies, who often feel somewhat incidental to the point of the game. The key to the game, and the series, is the bionic arm. It works like an extending swing, so you can attach to any celing or box or platform-bottom and swing. As you get better, you can swing endlessly on the celings, letting yourself go and then reattaching in front of you, swinging forward. The game throws trickier and trickier jumping puzzles at you too as you progress, so you have to work your way between tiny swing platforms suspended over nothing or swing along the underside of a plane, just a fall away from certain doom. It can be hard at first, but as you get better at the game all but the hardest jumps will become mostly routine -- though that is not to say that they become less fun. The bionic arm swinging is the best part of the game, and the kind of stuff you can do with it is great -- where else have you swung between lampposts or dealt with a bottomless pit that suddenly stretches into the horizon by simply swinging across the celing?
How much you like Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, like the Bionic Commando games before it, is entirely decided by how much you like the bionic arm. I loved it, and have replayed the game again and again over the years mainly because of how fun the bionic arm is. It's a unique gameplay concept and one that does not appear with such purity of purpose in other titles -- one common complaint about Bionic Commando is "Why can't you jump over little boxes or tiny pits?" My response is, "Because that would ruin the entire point of Bionic Commando!" The game exists because of the bionic arm. Bionic Commando with jumping would not be Bionic Commando, for it would not make you use the one thing that makes this game noticably different from the others. Jumping has no place in this game. Gameplay gets a 10 out of 10.
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces has sixteen levels along the main path in each game. Two of those levels are exclusive to each of the two characters (a male and a female commando, who are otherwise essentially identical except for looks). There are two additional bonus levels that are a bit harder to find (and change the colors of your costume when you beat them, a nice bonus), and top-down stages accessed by running into trucks on the overworld map. The topdown stages are short and easy (though you can die) and mainly exist as your main way of getting extra lives, but for that purpose they are very useful. Each time you beat a normal level you will usually get some kind of item, like another weapon, or a special item, or armor to protect you from hits, or a keycard that lets you access further levels. Generally though, you will want to take with you your best weapon, the health pills (they refill your health when used -- absolutely invaluable), the correctly colored card, and the best armor you've got so far. There is one level that forces you to take an item other than the health pills, making that one a bit harder, but it's not too bad. The game goes by quickly -- the first time I played the game, during vacation in 2000, I beat it in two days (and then played it again and beat it again within the week) -- but perhaps that is as much because of how much fun it is as because of its length, as Game Boy games are often short. In addition, I've found that the game is highly replayable, as I've played through it at least five times. The single player game gets a 9/10 (10/10 in my opinion, but I must do something to show that some people don't like the bionic arm game mechanic, so there it is...).
There is no multiplayer in this game.
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces has good graphics for a Game Boy Color game. Because of the small screen there are a few times when you have to throw yourself forward into the unknown, but they are rare, and you can look up and down for the cases when it is that way that you think you must go. Bottomless pits are often marked with skull images, making it clearer 'do not fall here'. The character art is great. The game has very colorful still cinema scenes that use a trick of the GBC in order to show many colors on screen. The ingame graphics are also pretty impressive, though, and the animation especially is fantastic. The swinging animation is very smooth and it is clear that a lot of time went into the animation. Very good. Graphics get a 9/10.
The music and sound just improve the presentation of the game. The sound is simple, but has voices -- when you select items before entering a level a voice says the name of the item, enemy bosses scream out when you defeat them, etc. It's low quality, but you can only expect so much from a Game Boy Color... The music, though, I loved. It is true that there are a limited number of music tracks in the game, but even so, I thought that all of them were great. I've often found myself watching the introduction every time I launch the game in a large part because of how much I like the music.
Sound and music gets 9/10, one point off for the average sound effects (though if they were seperated I'd give music a 10 and sound an 8).


Plusses
+Amazingly fun
+Endlessly replayable
+Two exclusive levels for each character
+The bionic arm is awesome!

Minusses
-Somewhat short
-Once you get good the game's difficulty drops
-The Bug
-Some people dislike the bionic arm game mechanic

Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Singleplayer: 9/10
Multiplayer: N/A

97% (not an average). Second best game on the Game Boy Color after The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages.]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=535 Thu, 17 Apr 2003 05:13:04 +0000 Weltall]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=535 System=Game Boy Color
Game= FaceBall 2000
Released: 1991

This quirky game came out amid the early days of First Person Shooters. FaceBall 2000 is a nice, long, difficult pseudo-FPS game that wonderfully utilized the pokey innards of the old bulky GameBoy to create a shooter with huge levels and tons of secrets. The game features 70 main levels, 5 secret levels, and a 2 player deathmatch mode with a slew of maps and settings. This game was far ahead of it's time based on these options alone. One-player mode is like any other FPS game, get to the exit, shoot whatever gets in your way. 2 Player mode, of course, has you against your opponent, plus up to 8 (!) computer-controlled drones, to make things interesting. You can of course try your hand at the deathmatch alone, against the drones, but squaring off against a friend is so much sweeter in the end.

GRAPHICS
For it's time the graphics of this game were very good. The game utilizes a pseudo-3D engine like most 3D games of the period did, which means that the framerate is somewhat slow. For the most part this will not matter, only in heavy deathmatches will this be a problem. The only real problems lie in the lack of variety: Each of the 75 levels has the exact same plain look. While you do have to keep in mind that the old GameBoy could not handle detail in a game like this, it still gets to you after you play through 30 or 40 levels. Your hippie-smiley enemies have different styles, which helps you determine which enemy it is and how threatening it is. Of course, the screen tells you this, but you'll be too busy wiping the smile off those faces to see.

Each level also has it's own map, which is revealed more and more as you explore. This is an invaluable asset, as it not only tells you where you are in these huge levels, it also reveals enemy positions. Note that the action does not halt while you check your map, so make sure you're in a safe area when you do so.

SOUND AND MUSIC
There's only one song, and you better get used to it, because you'll be hearing it a lot! Sound effects are bare, just your basic GameBoy blips and bloops. Nothing special.

GAMEPLAY
The game has aged remarkably well. Early levels have you facing harmless, inanimate enemies (shootme!). As you progress, enemies gain the ability to move (ShootMe2), then to shoot (IShootU), then shoot and move (IShootU2), in the first 15 levels. You can almost certainly make it through the first 15 levels without ever taking a hit, because even the shooting enemies seem to try to miss you. After level 15, enemies with brains begin to appear, starting with the timid Turkeys, who wander aimlessly until they spot you, to the wall-hugging Wallys, to the immobile-but-fast-shooting Scanners to the fast Bouncers and all the way up to the deadly Ninjas. Though each enemy is merely visually recycled from the four basic shapes, each enemy has their own little quirks. The aptly named Vampire does not shoot, but rather comes right on you and bites repeatedly. Sharks, if you are healthy, will ignore you. Get injured however, and they will swarm you (and they usually hunt in packs). Crosseyes are blind. If you stand still, they will ignore you. But if they hear you move, you are attacked fiercely. The variety in enemies is one of the game's strongest points.

When you begin the game, you are slow, you are physically weak, and your rate of fire is slow. As you progress through the levels, you will find powerups, such as Speed Boosts, AutoMag (quickens your fire rate), and Armor, which gives you an extra hit. All of these are permanent. There are other non-permanent items such as Freeze, which freezes your opponents, and Camo, which makes enemies ignore you. You also have your standard Extra Lives and Health bonuses.

The mazes themselves get progressively larger, and most are loaded with secrets (especially level 1). There are certain methods to breaking secret walls. Sometimes you ram them, sometimes you shoot them. Later levels also feature invisible walls, multicolored keys, buttons, and warps to complicate matters. All this adds up to a wonderful old-school FPS game that's well worth a trip through.

Multiplayer Arena mode features roughly 16 levels from the game. You can change certain settings, and you can determine what opponents you want to face, up to 8. You can choose any combination from Turkeys, Rovers, Gremlins, and the mighty Bouncers. Some levels are intricate mazes, where ambushes are key, and some are wide open free-for-alls where speed and dodging are key.

PURCHASE PRICE
Unknown.

Synopsis=While not very pretty, this game will make you awe at what BulletProof Software was able to do with some very limited hardware.

Score=7.5]]> System=Game Boy Color
Game= FaceBall 2000
Released: 1991

This quirky game came out amid the early days of First Person Shooters. FaceBall 2000 is a nice, long, difficult pseudo-FPS game that wonderfully utilized the pokey innards of the old bulky GameBoy to create a shooter with huge levels and tons of secrets. The game features 70 main levels, 5 secret levels, and a 2 player deathmatch mode with a slew of maps and settings. This game was far ahead of it's time based on these options alone. One-player mode is like any other FPS game, get to the exit, shoot whatever gets in your way. 2 Player mode, of course, has you against your opponent, plus up to 8 (!) computer-controlled drones, to make things interesting. You can of course try your hand at the deathmatch alone, against the drones, but squaring off against a friend is so much sweeter in the end.

GRAPHICS
For it's time the graphics of this game were very good. The game utilizes a pseudo-3D engine like most 3D games of the period did, which means that the framerate is somewhat slow. For the most part this will not matter, only in heavy deathmatches will this be a problem. The only real problems lie in the lack of variety: Each of the 75 levels has the exact same plain look. While you do have to keep in mind that the old GameBoy could not handle detail in a game like this, it still gets to you after you play through 30 or 40 levels. Your hippie-smiley enemies have different styles, which helps you determine which enemy it is and how threatening it is. Of course, the screen tells you this, but you'll be too busy wiping the smile off those faces to see.

Each level also has it's own map, which is revealed more and more as you explore. This is an invaluable asset, as it not only tells you where you are in these huge levels, it also reveals enemy positions. Note that the action does not halt while you check your map, so make sure you're in a safe area when you do so.

SOUND AND MUSIC
There's only one song, and you better get used to it, because you'll be hearing it a lot! Sound effects are bare, just your basic GameBoy blips and bloops. Nothing special.

GAMEPLAY
The game has aged remarkably well. Early levels have you facing harmless, inanimate enemies (shootme!). As you progress, enemies gain the ability to move (ShootMe2), then to shoot (IShootU), then shoot and move (IShootU2), in the first 15 levels. You can almost certainly make it through the first 15 levels without ever taking a hit, because even the shooting enemies seem to try to miss you. After level 15, enemies with brains begin to appear, starting with the timid Turkeys, who wander aimlessly until they spot you, to the wall-hugging Wallys, to the immobile-but-fast-shooting Scanners to the fast Bouncers and all the way up to the deadly Ninjas. Though each enemy is merely visually recycled from the four basic shapes, each enemy has their own little quirks. The aptly named Vampire does not shoot, but rather comes right on you and bites repeatedly. Sharks, if you are healthy, will ignore you. Get injured however, and they will swarm you (and they usually hunt in packs). Crosseyes are blind. If you stand still, they will ignore you. But if they hear you move, you are attacked fiercely. The variety in enemies is one of the game's strongest points.

When you begin the game, you are slow, you are physically weak, and your rate of fire is slow. As you progress through the levels, you will find powerups, such as Speed Boosts, AutoMag (quickens your fire rate), and Armor, which gives you an extra hit. All of these are permanent. There are other non-permanent items such as Freeze, which freezes your opponents, and Camo, which makes enemies ignore you. You also have your standard Extra Lives and Health bonuses.

The mazes themselves get progressively larger, and most are loaded with secrets (especially level 1). There are certain methods to breaking secret walls. Sometimes you ram them, sometimes you shoot them. Later levels also feature invisible walls, multicolored keys, buttons, and warps to complicate matters. All this adds up to a wonderful old-school FPS game that's well worth a trip through.

Multiplayer Arena mode features roughly 16 levels from the game. You can change certain settings, and you can determine what opponents you want to face, up to 8. You can choose any combination from Turkeys, Rovers, Gremlins, and the mighty Bouncers. Some levels are intricate mazes, where ambushes are key, and some are wide open free-for-alls where speed and dodging are key.

PURCHASE PRICE
Unknown.

Synopsis=While not very pretty, this game will make you awe at what BulletProof Software was able to do with some very limited hardware.

Score=7.5]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=351 Wed, 26 Feb 2003 21:44:59 +0000 A Black Falcon]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=351 Release Date: 2000
Date: review started 10/24/2001; continued and finished on 5/17/2002
Review republished at Tendo City on 2/26/2003
System: Game Boy Color Only
Developed by HAL
Published by Nintendo


Game Overview: Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble (Yes, that's how its spelled in the game... I think it should be "Kirby's Tilt n' Tumble", but it isn't) is a unique game. It is the only Game Boy game that uses "Tilt" technology -- you move the game boy to move Kirby on the screen. This unique gameplay does have some problems, but overall it's good. Everyone should try it, if just to try the interesting tilt technology.


Gameplay: Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble is, as mentioned, unique. The tilt sensor in the cartridge means that to move Kirby, you tilt the system. To have him jump up on the screen, you flip up the system. This is a interesting and definitely unique control scheme. While the game wouldn't be nearly as good with normal controls, with the added interest of tilt control it is a lot of fun. As for the gameplay itsself, it is viewed from a top down perspective and you tilt to roll Kirby around on the maps to avoid obstacles, solve puzzles, and kill enemies. While there is no swallowing enemies or other forms of Kirby like the main sidescrolling games in the series, as it is top down and Kirby essentially is playing the role of a ball that can inflate, it doesn't seem like a missing feature because that kind of thing would not work as well in the topdown game style that it is. Even so, it is too bad that Kirby is missing his trademark ability. The game is still a lot of fun to play so those small issues are not enough to bring the score down much.
There is one important issue here: this game cannot be used like other Game Boy games. Because it tilts, using it in a car can be problematic-- if the car shakes, takes a turn too sharply, etc, the game will shake and Kirby will move. Because of this, it is best to be stationary. Also, because you must constantly tilt the system, lighting can be bad. Even when under direct light that normally is fine for most Game Boy games, this one can at times be dark because of some positions you must have it in sometimes to move to some places. If you can live with, or look past, those issues, though, there really aren't many other problems with the game except its short length.
Score:9 /10

Single Player: There are eight levels, each with a boss, and then a mode where you play the levels again and try to get all possible points in each level. After that, you play it again in hard mode. Even so with all that, it is not a very hard game. While not super short, it will probably seem a little short, but since it is a lot of fun along the way, it is a good game. It could stand to have a higher difficulty level though. Once you get good at the game and beat the levels, there is little reason to play again because it is not very hard and has no more rewards. There are no hidden modes or games beyond the hard mode, unfortunately, unlike previous games in the Kirby series (Kirby 2 had several minigames at 100%, for example). Even so, the fun factor cannot be denied so the game gets a good score for the single player game.
Score: 8/10


Multi Player: None.

Graphics: For a Game Boy Color game, Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble has good graphics. While they certainly can't compare to Game Boy Advance graphics, they are good for the system it is on. Every level has its own look and its own hazards and environments, and it all looks good. It is about as good as a topdown Game Boy Color game can look. Some people will not like them as much, though. They are definitely cartoonish and ‘cute', as all the rest of the Kirby games are. For some that style may not be appealing, but I liked it and have no complaints about the graphics.
Score: 9/10

Sound: Like the graphics, they are pretty much what you would expect for a somewhat cute Game Boy Color game from Nintendo, and a Kirby game in specific. The music is OK if you like the style of Kirby game music, you will like this. Some may find it too ‘nice' or something', but I think it fits the game perfectly.
Score: 8/10 (this is comparing it to other original Game Boy games, not any other platforms...
otherwise a GB game would never get more than a 4 or 5 except for very rare occasions)

Other Info: This is the only Game Boy game that has tilt technology int it, so if you want other games similar to it, you will have to wait for the Game Boy Advance / Gamecube sequel coming sometime this year, hopefully. The Kirby series, though, has many games in it in many genres-- sidescrolling platformer, pinball, breakout, golf, tetris-style puzzle game, etc, and is generally very good. This game is no exception. I recommend that it should be at least rented to see if you think the game is long enough to justify owning. That depends on how much you like it and how good you are at the game.

Scores:
Gameplay:9 /10
Single Player:8 /10
Multi Player: N/A
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Total: 34/40 or % (not the final score-- this is just the total of the parts)

*Final Score: 88% (not an average)*]]> Release Date: 2000
Date: review started 10/24/2001; continued and finished on 5/17/2002
Review republished at Tendo City on 2/26/2003
System: Game Boy Color Only
Developed by HAL
Published by Nintendo


Game Overview: Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble (Yes, that's how its spelled in the game... I think it should be "Kirby's Tilt n' Tumble", but it isn't) is a unique game. It is the only Game Boy game that uses "Tilt" technology -- you move the game boy to move Kirby on the screen. This unique gameplay does have some problems, but overall it's good. Everyone should try it, if just to try the interesting tilt technology.


Gameplay: Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble is, as mentioned, unique. The tilt sensor in the cartridge means that to move Kirby, you tilt the system. To have him jump up on the screen, you flip up the system. This is a interesting and definitely unique control scheme. While the game wouldn't be nearly as good with normal controls, with the added interest of tilt control it is a lot of fun. As for the gameplay itsself, it is viewed from a top down perspective and you tilt to roll Kirby around on the maps to avoid obstacles, solve puzzles, and kill enemies. While there is no swallowing enemies or other forms of Kirby like the main sidescrolling games in the series, as it is top down and Kirby essentially is playing the role of a ball that can inflate, it doesn't seem like a missing feature because that kind of thing would not work as well in the topdown game style that it is. Even so, it is too bad that Kirby is missing his trademark ability. The game is still a lot of fun to play so those small issues are not enough to bring the score down much.
There is one important issue here: this game cannot be used like other Game Boy games. Because it tilts, using it in a car can be problematic-- if the car shakes, takes a turn too sharply, etc, the game will shake and Kirby will move. Because of this, it is best to be stationary. Also, because you must constantly tilt the system, lighting can be bad. Even when under direct light that normally is fine for most Game Boy games, this one can at times be dark because of some positions you must have it in sometimes to move to some places. If you can live with, or look past, those issues, though, there really aren't many other problems with the game except its short length.
Score:9 /10

Single Player: There are eight levels, each with a boss, and then a mode where you play the levels again and try to get all possible points in each level. After that, you play it again in hard mode. Even so with all that, it is not a very hard game. While not super short, it will probably seem a little short, but since it is a lot of fun along the way, it is a good game. It could stand to have a higher difficulty level though. Once you get good at the game and beat the levels, there is little reason to play again because it is not very hard and has no more rewards. There are no hidden modes or games beyond the hard mode, unfortunately, unlike previous games in the Kirby series (Kirby 2 had several minigames at 100%, for example). Even so, the fun factor cannot be denied so the game gets a good score for the single player game.
Score: 8/10


Multi Player: None.

Graphics: For a Game Boy Color game, Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble has good graphics. While they certainly can't compare to Game Boy Advance graphics, they are good for the system it is on. Every level has its own look and its own hazards and environments, and it all looks good. It is about as good as a topdown Game Boy Color game can look. Some people will not like them as much, though. They are definitely cartoonish and ‘cute', as all the rest of the Kirby games are. For some that style may not be appealing, but I liked it and have no complaints about the graphics.
Score: 9/10

Sound: Like the graphics, they are pretty much what you would expect for a somewhat cute Game Boy Color game from Nintendo, and a Kirby game in specific. The music is OK if you like the style of Kirby game music, you will like this. Some may find it too ‘nice' or something', but I think it fits the game perfectly.
Score: 8/10 (this is comparing it to other original Game Boy games, not any other platforms...
otherwise a GB game would never get more than a 4 or 5 except for very rare occasions)

Other Info: This is the only Game Boy game that has tilt technology int it, so if you want other games similar to it, you will have to wait for the Game Boy Advance / Gamecube sequel coming sometime this year, hopefully. The Kirby series, though, has many games in it in many genres-- sidescrolling platformer, pinball, breakout, golf, tetris-style puzzle game, etc, and is generally very good. This game is no exception. I recommend that it should be at least rented to see if you think the game is long enough to justify owning. That depends on how much you like it and how good you are at the game.

Scores:
Gameplay:9 /10
Single Player:8 /10
Multi Player: N/A
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Total: 34/40 or % (not the final score-- this is just the total of the parts)

*Final Score: 88% (not an average)*]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=267 Wed, 12 Feb 2003 19:10:44 +0000 The Former DMiller]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=267
By Derek Miller

Super Mario Bros. for NES. What more needs to be said? The game was pure fun. In Super Mario Bros. Deluxe the classic has been brought back with some awesome additions. This flagship title for the Gameboy Color is truly worthy of the Mario series.

Graphics

Mario Deluxe was one of the first titles for GBC so it looks pretty good, especially when compared to regular Gameboy games. It definitely has improved visuals over the NES title. The backgrounds look spectacular and the characters are equally as impressive. All in all it looks just as good, if not better, than Super Mario All-Stars for SNES.

8.5

Sound

You know the Mario sounds and there is no change here. What you heard in the original Mario Bros. you can expect to hear here.

7.0

Gameplay

It's Mario Bros. so you know the basic gameplay but some additions have been made that make this game well worth the purchase. For instance, in every level there are three optional objectives to complete besides actually completing the level. You need to find 5 red coins, a hidden Yoshi egg, and earn a certain score for the level. This makes the game almost infinitely replayable since it will take you a while to complete all of these objectives, but it's still fun. You can also unlock the Lost Levels which will prove to be quite a challenge to beat. There are also other extras such as a picture gallery, a race against Boo, and more. Believe me when I say you will love this game.

10.0

Replay Value

I already mentioned the replayability of this game. There are so many options that you will be enjoying this game for quite some time.

9.5

Purchase Price

This one should be easy to find either new or used. Expect to pay somewhere between $15 and $25 for it.

Total (not an average) : 9.5]]>
By Derek Miller

Super Mario Bros. for NES. What more needs to be said? The game was pure fun. In Super Mario Bros. Deluxe the classic has been brought back with some awesome additions. This flagship title for the Gameboy Color is truly worthy of the Mario series.

Graphics

Mario Deluxe was one of the first titles for GBC so it looks pretty good, especially when compared to regular Gameboy games. It definitely has improved visuals over the NES title. The backgrounds look spectacular and the characters are equally as impressive. All in all it looks just as good, if not better, than Super Mario All-Stars for SNES.

8.5

Sound

You know the Mario sounds and there is no change here. What you heard in the original Mario Bros. you can expect to hear here.

7.0

Gameplay

It's Mario Bros. so you know the basic gameplay but some additions have been made that make this game well worth the purchase. For instance, in every level there are three optional objectives to complete besides actually completing the level. You need to find 5 red coins, a hidden Yoshi egg, and earn a certain score for the level. This makes the game almost infinitely replayable since it will take you a while to complete all of these objectives, but it's still fun. You can also unlock the Lost Levels which will prove to be quite a challenge to beat. There are also other extras such as a picture gallery, a race against Boo, and more. Believe me when I say you will love this game.

10.0

Replay Value

I already mentioned the replayability of this game. There are so many options that you will be enjoying this game for quite some time.

9.5

Purchase Price

This one should be easy to find either new or used. Expect to pay somewhere between $15 and $25 for it.

Total (not an average) : 9.5]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=266 Wed, 12 Feb 2003 19:09:58 +0000 The Former DMiller]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=266
By Derek Miller

Just because I am including these two excellent games as one review doesn't mean they are so similar that it would be a waste to get both. Far from it. I highly recommend getting both of these extraordinary games. Not only do they provide two unique challenges but they also innovatively interact with each other. Get both of these games, it will be well worth the price.

Graphics

The graphics look good in these games, but won't blow you away, obviously since they are GBC games. The games look similar to The Legend of Zelda : Link's Awakening for GBC but include still-shot cut-scenes at important moments that give the characters a little more life. The graphics are good but they aren't what your focus will be on when playing these games.

7.5

Sound

Of course you'll find the original Zelda theme but there are also dozens of new themes. Each dungeon has it's own unique theme and they are all pretty catchy. The sound effects are nothing special but we are about to get to the part of the games that will really be your focus.

8.0

Gameplay

If you've played The Legend of Zelda : Link's Awakening then you will realize that the gameplay in the Oracle games is similar. It's not so similar that you'll feel like you are playing a rehashed game, though. There are many new items in both games that will hopefully be found in the Gamecube Zelda game simply because some of them are so cool. The new magnetic gloves replace the hookshot in Oracle of Seasons. Don't worry hookshot fans, the hookshot is still in Oracle of Ages. I considered myself a hookshot fan until I first used those gloves. They are beyond cool. Roc's feather makes a return but Oracle of Seasons also includes Roc's Cape, which lets you float for a bit after jumping. The games also contain two unique features: Oracle of Seasons allows you to change the seasons to complete your quest. Each season changes certain things in the environment. In Spring, flowers bloom which will lift you to higher points. In Summer, some lakes may dry up and climable vines grow on cliffs. In Fall, some pits may be covered by leaves and mushrooms can be picked. In Winter, water freezes over and snow covers the ground. In Oracle of Ages you can travel back and forth through time. Don't think this is a rehash of Link to the Past. In this you start out only being able to warp in certain places but eventually you can warp from anywhere. The games are also much harder then Link's Awakening. Some areas are going to have you stumped for quite a while. The bosses are also different from what you might have seen before. There are a few that are similar to bosses from other Zelda games but there are also many interesting new ones. Now for the really cool part : how the games interact. Once you beat one of the games there are many things you can do. For one, you can start the other game with four hearts instead of three, your sword, and the Hero's Cave is also different. You will also fight a second boss at the end of the second game although I won't say who. You can also take your rings, which are another cool addition in these Zelda games, from game-to-game. A really cool thing is passwords that you will be given by characters in the second game. You then tell these password to someone in the completed game to earn something cool. You can get a ring, the ability to carry more items, or even a completely new item. This really increases the replayability of these games. I'll always have something to play while on the road.

10.0

Replayability

As said above the connection between the games greatly improves the replayability. Instead of searching for those last heart pieces, you can search for passwords which seems much more fulfilling. In my opinion these are the most replayable Zelda games yet.

9.0

Buy/Rent

Buy them...both of them...now! You'll probably spend $50-$60 for the games new which isn't bad for two games, especially Zelda games. You will not regret your purchase for one second.

Total (not an average) : 9.5]]>
By Derek Miller

Just because I am including these two excellent games as one review doesn't mean they are so similar that it would be a waste to get both. Far from it. I highly recommend getting both of these extraordinary games. Not only do they provide two unique challenges but they also innovatively interact with each other. Get both of these games, it will be well worth the price.

Graphics

The graphics look good in these games, but won't blow you away, obviously since they are GBC games. The games look similar to The Legend of Zelda : Link's Awakening for GBC but include still-shot cut-scenes at important moments that give the characters a little more life. The graphics are good but they aren't what your focus will be on when playing these games.

7.5

Sound

Of course you'll find the original Zelda theme but there are also dozens of new themes. Each dungeon has it's own unique theme and they are all pretty catchy. The sound effects are nothing special but we are about to get to the part of the games that will really be your focus.

8.0

Gameplay

If you've played The Legend of Zelda : Link's Awakening then you will realize that the gameplay in the Oracle games is similar. It's not so similar that you'll feel like you are playing a rehashed game, though. There are many new items in both games that will hopefully be found in the Gamecube Zelda game simply because some of them are so cool. The new magnetic gloves replace the hookshot in Oracle of Seasons. Don't worry hookshot fans, the hookshot is still in Oracle of Ages. I considered myself a hookshot fan until I first used those gloves. They are beyond cool. Roc's feather makes a return but Oracle of Seasons also includes Roc's Cape, which lets you float for a bit after jumping. The games also contain two unique features: Oracle of Seasons allows you to change the seasons to complete your quest. Each season changes certain things in the environment. In Spring, flowers bloom which will lift you to higher points. In Summer, some lakes may dry up and climable vines grow on cliffs. In Fall, some pits may be covered by leaves and mushrooms can be picked. In Winter, water freezes over and snow covers the ground. In Oracle of Ages you can travel back and forth through time. Don't think this is a rehash of Link to the Past. In this you start out only being able to warp in certain places but eventually you can warp from anywhere. The games are also much harder then Link's Awakening. Some areas are going to have you stumped for quite a while. The bosses are also different from what you might have seen before. There are a few that are similar to bosses from other Zelda games but there are also many interesting new ones. Now for the really cool part : how the games interact. Once you beat one of the games there are many things you can do. For one, you can start the other game with four hearts instead of three, your sword, and the Hero's Cave is also different. You will also fight a second boss at the end of the second game although I won't say who. You can also take your rings, which are another cool addition in these Zelda games, from game-to-game. A really cool thing is passwords that you will be given by characters in the second game. You then tell these password to someone in the completed game to earn something cool. You can get a ring, the ability to carry more items, or even a completely new item. This really increases the replayability of these games. I'll always have something to play while on the road.

10.0

Replayability

As said above the connection between the games greatly improves the replayability. Instead of searching for those last heart pieces, you can search for passwords which seems much more fulfilling. In my opinion these are the most replayable Zelda games yet.

9.0

Buy/Rent

Buy them...both of them...now! You'll probably spend $50-$60 for the games new which isn't bad for two games, especially Zelda games. You will not regret your purchase for one second.

Total (not an average) : 9.5]]>