Petite Reviews 2

Shantae Half-Genie Hero

Shantae Wallpaper

What’s good

• Vastly improved graphics
• Great soundtrack as expected
• Entertaining and likeable cast of characters

What’s okay

• Transformations are varied and fun to use, even though it’s mechanical design isn’t as practical as the pirate equipment

What’s bad

• The pirate equipment from Pirate’s Curse was significantly better for speed running and casual play because it kept the player’s move set concise and could be instantly used in all manner of situations 
• Certain transformations are redundant (Bat and Harpy, Mermaid and Crab)

Muramasa Rebirth

Muramasa The Demon Blade Wallpaper

What’s good

• Fantastic art style based on Japan’s Edo period
• Delightfully fierce and stylish combat

What’s okay

• Dodging is done by pressing down on the left stick and moving in a direction
• Getting all the weapons and endings requires all the optional side quests for both characters

What’s bad

• No fast travelling from save points until the post-game
• Combat is awkward in vertical sections

Downwell Review

Downwell Logo, Downwell website 2016

Developer: Ojiro Fumoto

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android, PC

Genre: Rougelike Platformer

Played on PlayStation Vita

Arcade games focus on the essence of a video game, one or two good mechanics that create everything else. Pac Man eats dots on a screen, Tetris aligns blocks together to destroy them and Asteroids is shooting and avoiding incoming asteroids. Downwell was created by Ojiro Fumoto who was inspired by a quote from video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

Shigeru Miyamoto, Time 2016, 7 Fascinating Insights from Nintendo’s Gaming Genius Shigeru Miyamoto, captured on October 21st 2008

“A good idea is something that does not solve just one single problem, but rather can solve multiple problems at once.” Shigeru Miyamoto Interviewed by Eurogamer.net, 31 March 2010

Downwell takes the philosophy of this quote to its logical extreme and has the simplicity of its contemporary’s, but is deceptively skilled based. Downwell will be remembered as the modern arcade game because of the incredible amount of depth, skill and player choice provided from just two game mechanics.

Gameplay

God is a Geek 2016, “Downwell coming to PS4 and PS Vita this month” May 6th 2016

In Downwell, the player goes down randomly generated levels to the bottom of a well. They encounter enemies, rooms with power ups and a perilous threat at the bottom. Downwell’s excellence comes from how the two actions of jumping and shooting do more than what is expected of them.

Shooting makes the player slightly hover in the air, destroys blockades, creates gems from defeated enemies and has different attack attributes depending on what power up is obtained. Jumping and stomping on enemies without landing builds a combo, landing on the ground or enemies refills the player’s ammo count and landing on the ground stops the combo and rewards gems, ammo and health depending on how high the player’s combo is. The rewards and risks from these multipurpose mechanics direct the player to play at full speed.

Downwell artwork by BlueASIS, “Jelly Smash!“

This is expanded with randomly generated power ups at the end of a level that add beneficial abilities, such as collecting gems refilling ammo and creating a blast by stomping on enemies. Rooms the player encounters during their descent offer a break from the fast action and have power ups that change the attributes of the shooting attack and give health or ammo. When enough gems are collected, the player enters a gem high that increases the power of their attack, but withers out if the player can’t maintain a constant flow of gems.

This rapid fire decision making is possible because of the art style. Hazards are pure red, enemies indicate they can be jumped on by being predominantly white with a hint of red, walkable and jumpable objects being white and a black background to make colour stand out.

This makes Downwell have the qualities of iconic arcade games such as Pac Man, but has a layer of mechanical sophistication that is easy to understand, but difficult and engaging to master. When a game like Pac Man is understood, it doesn’t offer a way of adjusting difficulty to suit the player’s mastery and understanding of its mechanics. It only offers more challenge by making enemies faster and more unpredictable. Downwell uses randomly generated power ups that increases the player’s defence or attack capabilities and the player is able to decide on what is best for their skill and situation depending on what they have on hand.

After the end of a playthrough, the player unlocks palette swaps and player styles after collecting a set number of gems. Player styles give unique player native abilities that can make future playthroughs easier or harder depending on their skill level. Palette swaps change the primary colours of the game’s art style. Some palette swaps such as Dirtsnow make reading what’s happening on screen more difficult because of the background colour being different from black.

A problem with power ups is that power ups at the end of a stage are randomly generated. This means the player can’t really customise what playstyle they want and have to replay the game again and again until the right combination is generated. The game could have capitalised on allowing the player to start with a select number of power ups and offer challenges that are unique to the specific power ups the player chooses at the start. While these trappings do not ruin Downwell, it eventually makes repeated long term playthroughs tedious because the player can’t have an optimal loadout from the start.

Value

Designing a game around one or two game mechanics is an effective way of making one. Downwell is evidence of what happens when just one or two mechanics are developed to their full potential, with gameplay that offers an enjoyable learning curve and depth. Downwell is a short game. While hard mode and palette swaps offer a bit more for the player to achieve, the main game can be finished in fifteen to twenty minutes. This is both Downwell’s strength and weakness, because it makes it an excellent game to pick up and easily get into without a substantial time commitment. But for a player who wants a substantial amount of content and can’t meet that need from replaying and mastering a game’s gameplay, Downwell isn’t going to convince them.

But Downwell has an understanding of how systems and mechanics influence player behaviour that is more sophisticated than most iconic arcade games. Arcade games such as Asteroids and Pac Man had to find the most easily understandable way for people to interact in a virtual space. This meant gameplay had to be about moving around a space and getting a high score.

Downwell Steam Store cover page

It made them easily approachable and players would try everything to reach a new high score. But this meant challenge could only increase by making enemies more aggressive, faster and in greater waves. Downwell’s challenge is changeable for the player’s skill. The native abilities from player styles can give more health at the start or make the jump have more float. The player can also decide to take the risk of building a large combo so they restore their health when landing on the ground or build up their gem count to spend on health and ammo items. The skill involved in Downwell comes from how the player survives by making deliberate and intuitive decisions and using the strengths and drawbacks of power ups the player has to decide on at the end of a stage.

It results in a game that is as approachable and fun to play as Asteroids and Pac Man, but has a layer of mechanical mastery that keeps it continuously engaging. After the optimal way to play most arcade games is mastered, it’s gameplay is static and predictable. Downwell is a modernisation of the arcade game because even when the optimal way is mastered, there are still equally valid gameplay choices that are better suited for different levels of skill. It’s creator Ojiro Fumoto wanted to show how solving multiple problems with one solution creates powerful player choice and elegant intuitive design. By following the philosophy of a quote from one of the game industry’s most influential designers, Downwell has solved the arcade game’s issue of static approaches to the problems it presents by using rewards and benefits for jumping and shooting at problems.

What’s great:

• Phenomenal player decisions and skill from two basic inputs
• One of the best games iOS and Android has to offer
• Player styles allow players of different skill levels to find their optimal way of playing
• Wickedly smooth and responsive controls complement the frantic gameplay
• Very easy to pick up and get into

What’s okay:

• The overall length is suitable for it’s gameplay, even if it is incredibly short
• Not much to achieve besides beating Hard mode and unlocking palettes   

What’s bad:

• No attempt to capitalise on starting a game with a number of end stage power ups
• Certain palette swaps make observing what’s happening more difficult
• Difficult to recommend to people who want substantial content in their games 

Petite Reviews

Petite reviews is when I give a quick review of a game. It is as concise as possible while informing without going on forever.

Disgaea 5

The fifth entry in Nippon Ichi’s popular series is the most complete game out of them all. All previous Disgaea games have had barriers that limited both casual and hardcore players. Disgaea 1 and 2 were inflexible with mastering a myriad of skills and weapons, while 3 and 4’s Forte system resulted in an overdose of Mana grinding, though well intentioned in theory.

Disgaea 5 perfectly mixes the systems of its predecessors, with its inclusion of Revenge and Squads to allow both casual and hardcore players to fully enjoy the series rock solid gameplay.

What’s Great

• Perfect mix of gameplay systems
• The most beginner friendly (For Disgaea standards)
• Money Maps/Sub-classes/Chara World

What’s Okay

• An entertaining story with an main character lacking the memorability of previous protagonists

What’s Bad

• The series long standing camera angle issue
• A DLC Character requires players to buy all DLC content
• Grinding has always been made to appear fun, though it’s always needed
• Players with great patience and dedication to grinding need apply 

 

Hotline Miami 1 and 2

LogoDataBase 2015, “Hotline Miami Title” Viewed 10th February 2016

For players that simply want pure, raw and quick gameplay, Hotline Miami is as pure as gameplay gets. While well know for its brutal interpretation of the 80’s and electric soundtrack, there is a tragic and violent story commentating on the psychological    difficulties of retired soldiers told out of order. the second game’s constant switching of characters affected by the series central protagonist is equally intense and wild as the gameplay. For players wanting gameplay solid as steel and piece together a scrambled story of bitter bloody misery, Miami is the game of their dreams.

What’s great

• Significant replay value
• Plethora of hidden details
• HM 1’s masks add variety to a simple concept of gameplay
• Excellent soundtracks
• HM 2’s characters add a unique spin to their respective stages
• Scattered story that is both bedazzling to follow and impossible to piece together
• Gameplay that goes to 100 in a eye blink

What’s Okay

• Short playtime
• enemy A.I is delightfully exploitable
• 1 hit = instant death for everyone
• Quick reactions from enemies

What’s Bad

• HM 2’s larger levels are unforgiving to new players
• Out of order story-line can be very difficult to understand
• HM 2 is devoid of the masks from HM 1

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages 2011, “Rock of Ages Store Page Image”, Viewed 17th February 2016,

 Players looking for a truly unique and fun game will be right at home with Rock of Ages. Inspired by The legend of Sisyphus and sporting a goofy sense of humour, Rock of ages effectively uses tower defence mechanics with ball physics gameplay similar to Super Monkey Ball. Rock of ages is an inspired game offering a incredibly fun time for players looking for straight forward experiences that instil in their mind long after they have finished them.

What’s great

• Effective mixture of tower defence and ball physics
• A must play for players versed in European Mythology/history
• An art-style with inspirations from Monty Python and Renaissance artworks
• An enjoyably off the wall sense of humour
• Varied levels with different possibility’s for the player and the enemy

What’s okay

• A generously needed amount of keys for progression
• A.I is relativity non-challenging

What’s bad

• Winning and losing amounts to speed, not strategy
• Very little to offer once finished
• Keys can be difficult to get because of the core objective

Sound Shapes Review (PS Vita)

Developer: Queasy Games, SCE Santa Monica Studio

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Modern Image, 2016, Jivesh Hanoomaun 2013, ‘PlayStation Plus August 2015 Lineup’, viewed 4th January 2016, http://themodernmage.com/playstation-plus-august-2015-lineup

(This review is based on the PlayStation Vita version and is available for the PS3 and PS4.)

Music is a medium made from instruments expressing a meaning or message. Sound Shapes is a game based on a simple idea around the effects of music. What a person imagines when listening to music.

Sound Shapes excels with its inspired execution of a typical game concept with gameplay that unravels the full composition of a song as you play through the level, paired with a gorgeous minimalist art-style. It also implements player created levels that has formed a community creating fun and visually pleasing content that adds significant replay value to Sound Shapes. Sound Shapes however struggles time to time in gameplay because the basic platforming skills can make navigation unnecessarily frustrating. With such strong positives paired against occasional rage inducing level navigation, it will be revealed if this flaw in gameplay ruins Sound Shapes great qualities.

Gameplay

The ultimate core of any video game is gameplay. It is the element that binds all of a video games engagement and there are many ways this element correlates with a games art and possible story. In Sound Shapes, the player can stick to objects with light colours, jump and run and use those ability’s to collect notes in a level while avoiding contact with anything red.

Notes in Sound Shapes play a beat and as the player collects notes, the levels song unravels to its full composition. The campaign is relatively short and unlocks tools for the level editor but offers a wonderful collection of levels that tease the possibility’s of the community’s offerings. The act of getting to point A to point B in Sound Shapes is pleasing because of the imaginative art designs in every stage and relaxed checkpoint pacing.

But an unavoidable problem with Sound Shapes is the occasional difficulty of navigating through certain levels, especially with user created content. While it is great to platform through such visually splendid levels, the spectacle of the stages can possibly distort the actual direction a player needs to head towards.This issue only really show its ugly head in user creations, where creativity often compromises ease of navigation, even when there are stand out creations.

Presentation

It is rare to see a video games presentation be tied so closely to the actions between the player and the game. The colourful and appealing art style invokes a feeling of relaxation through pleasant stimulation. This is reinforced by how the sights and sounds of a level unravel as the player moves through it. It complements the soundtrack in all of its rich, varied and uplifting pieces. Rowdy Cloudy epitomises what makes Sound Shapes work.

In the beginning, the repeated sound of a flying platform hints at a incomplete song. Eventually, the first couple of notes create a catchy tune that incentives the player to progress. Once the momentum of the song comes alive, the players eye takes attention to the distinct marvellous art style on display. The realization comes that they make this art style come alive by their skill and dedication to collecting the notes. This impeccable utilization of design and sound is where Sound Shapes shines, the seamless blend of platform sensibilities and music’s ability to inspire the mind.

Value

Sound Shapes at its very core is a basic sound platformer. The low key gameplay perfectly pairs with an admirable presentation while prevailing over challenges with a consistent casual difficulty, throwing enough challenge to keep interest going. The campaign’s length and memorable art design in its levels allows players jaded from the intensity of more realistic video games to reinvigorate the simple joy they find in the medium, even when artistic ambition conflicts with navigation in user generated levels.

Sound Shapes is a brilliantly executed musical game that ties platforming and the psychological effects of music to make a truly special game. It fills a need for players that isn’t commonly found in the modern gaming scene. To just enjoy a video game and leave a impact on its world.

What’s great:

• Perfect unity of gameplay/presentation
• Fun replay value from campaign/user content
• A wonderful game for portable entertainment

What’s okay:

• Fairly priced DLC for the level editor
• A complete DLC pack costs $11.25AU ($9.00AU on PS Plus)

What’s bad:

• Artistic ambition makes certain community levels a navigation nightmare
• Painfully short campaign   

NekoBuro Cats Block Review (PS Vita)

Developer: F K Digital

Publisher: Neko Entertainment

NeoGaf 2015, ‘Nekoburo CatsBlock |OT| Bow before your (square cat) overlords’, ZeroAKA,

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1076165

Match 3 puzzle games are a profoundly simple genre of video games. Once the core working of its gameplay is made, its up to the other elements of engagement to engross the player and keep them playing. NekoBuro’s vibrant cutesy art style paired with gameplay that effectively spices up the match 3 mechanic with challenges and power ups serves to elevate it from monotony.

The only real flaw with NekoBuro is sporadic spikes in difficulty. Even with this problem, it will be revealed if this detracts from the noteworthy flow of gameplay and appeal of its adorable misfit Square Cats.

Gameplay

NekoBuro’s gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played Teteris. Each level has a unique mission where 3 matching cats have to be aligned vertically, horizontal or diagonally. To help the player in matching up three cats, a power up gauge fills when a match is made or a chain goes off.

The missions keep the player on their toes in the later stages and the beginning stages do a wonderful job at easing the player into the later challenge down the road. Moments however of missions that bring a sudden increase in difficulty is a crack in a beautifully entertaining form of gameplay. In stages such as 4 -8, 5-2 and the ruthless but appropriately brutal 5-10, the player has little space for error, reinforced by the fact squares are randomly generated and what allow the power up gauge to increase. In these stages, the player is more or less hoping they can rapidly align a combo chain within the relentless conditions of these missions or that Lady Luck shines down on them because without her, the game over screen will be practically engraved in their minds due to seeing it countless times.

But the overall experience is a smooth fun ride across a majority of the game time. While these three highlighted stages aren’t going to cause hand cramped frustration along the lines of something like Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine(1993), they are noticeably frustrating by design and easily seen. They are simply however, small valleys in a enjoyable roller coaster of simple fun.

Presentation

While the match 3 gameplay proves to be entertaining, the heart and soul of NekoBuro lies in every inch of its presentation. The colourful art style paired with a peaceful cheery soundtrack invokes a tone and mood of a relaxed, joyful peace of mind. This is reflected in the design and personalities of the Square Cats.

The delightfully chaotic trouble they cause for their owner as they bring their group back together helps motivate the player to finish the missions. The appeal of the Square Cats is reinforced by the toys the player obtains from completing missions, allowing them to cause hilarious destruction to the cat’s home and have playful fun with them too. These elements of NekoBuro’s presentation come together to make a game that anyone can enjoy.

Value

NekoBuro has the unfortunate downside of being short to finish. That does not however ruin it’s incredibly sweet run time. The missions provide a varied and consistent gameplay experience with rare but overly difficult missions cracking at a standard yet flawless experience. The Square Cats are what make NekoBuro, having the right amount of cuteness without coming off as detestably annoying. Players looking for a fun casual experience with a satisfying feeling of accomplishment should try out this impeccably bare bones yet fulfilling tale of box shaped cats.

Child of Light Review (PS4)

Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft Montreal

(This Review is based on the PS4 Version and is available for PC, PS3, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One)

RPG’s have evolved tremendously over the years. Combat has become quicker, robust character customization has allowed for all manner of playstyles and the journeys players partake in have become grander and power fantasy fulfilling. But an integral aspect of the genre has been slightly abandoned with the RPG’s evolution. The ability to submerge a player in a RPG’s world has lost its effect as more RPG’s seek for greater graphics and many gameplay systems and mechanics.

Child of Light is a perfect example of a game representing traditional story telling in RPG’s to highlight how the genre is able to submerge a player in a story. In a role playing game, RPG’s are sometimes called JRPG’s. (Japanese Role Playing Game) This is because players can be in the role of a character or express their own character.

Child of Light is a JRPG because the player is in the role of a set non changeable character, with story being the main player engagement. It is one of the best RPG’s the gaming world has seen because of its fully realised presentation and accessible combat system. The observation of the game’s retelling of Cinderella will reveal that classic and traditional story telling methods of novels and RPG’s are interwoven in Child of Light’s design.

Story

A kingdom’s Duke has fallen ill after marrying a new wife. His daughter Aurora falls asleep under a coma and “Her skin was cold as snow.”  Aurora awakens in a world not her own and encounters a Lady of The Forest, who gifts her with pixie wings to fly.  With this gift, Aurora begins her journey to become a queen.

Child of Light takes the story elements of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, both written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and takes advantage of the JRPG’s typical story arc of good vs evil, to create a story that is refreshing in a genre that often has overly convoluted plots. The loss of Aurora’s mother for her father to then find a new wife takes inspiration from Cinderella who grieves for her deceased mother. The coma state of Aurora and the Duke’s kingdom facing the danger of a flood is inspired by Sleeping Beauty falling into slumber and the castle she resides in falling into the same slumber. Finally, the gift of pixie wings by the forest maiden is a parallel to Cinderella being gifted a dress of silk and sliver by birds of nature.

The use of inspiration from these two fairy tales, coupled with the mystic and fantasy ascetic of the game takes the genre back to why people value JRPG’s to begin with. JRPG’s when they became relevant with the original Final Fantasy in 1987, amazed players with how they were engaged with the world they explored and the journey they took in saving it from evil. RPG’s have been successful in making players feel fulfillment in crafting the character they play as, but having the player engrossed in the world they venture through is why RPG’s are one of the most popular genres in video games.

“I”: Quote from Child of Light’s introductory cutscene that plays when starting the game.

Gameplay

Child of Light has the most casual, beginner friendly combat system of any RPG, with a strong layer of strategy behind it straight forward exterior. This strategy comes from the time line battle system and the crafting system. In battle, an action is executed when the player or enemy reaches the end of the timeline.

Aurora’s companion Igniculus can slow down enemies by pressing L1 while hovering over them. These mechanics result in battles where victory is decided by how the player can take advantage of the timeline, rather than having the highest stats. Gems that are found in treasure chests and being dropped from battles, can be equipped to have an elemental attack, defense against an elemental attack or simply increase a character’s attributes. These gems can be enhanced by combing them and the simple execution lets anyone easily grasp the possibilitys and shape their team to cope with any battle situation. To top it all off, experience is plentiful and stops from the player from needlessly grinding and makes the journey smooth sailing and concise.

Presentation

The retelling of Cinderella is one of Child of Light’s strengths, but the artistry and music is its magnum opus. Every location has intricate detail with soft, masterful layers of tone and light. This amazing level of graphical detail is taken to profound heights by a moving soundtrack. The instrumental piece that plays in the beginning of chapter 5 creates a mood of mystic wonder with pounding drums enforcing the trials Aurora will soon face and the urgency of saving her father from his illness.

Value

Child of Light by HiroUsuda, Deviantart

http://hirousuda.deviantart.com/art/Child-of-Light-451785879

It’s rare for a game like Child of Light to have such an eternal aesthetic. It has a perfect fantasy presentation, solid approachable combat and brilliant utilization of fairy tale classics to allow the RPG genre to rediscover why people adore it in the first place. The world the player can become engrossed in likely evokes the same feeling of wonder players had when they played the original Final Fantasy all the way back in 1987.

Monsterbag (PS Vita exclusive)

 

Developer/Publisher: Iguana Bee

The most exotic surprises can come when you least expect them. Monsterbag is one of those surprises from Sony’s striking handheld.

Monsterbag’s virtues is its vibrant art style and wacky escalating story hiding a dark crafty sense of humor under its child friendly exterior. These delightful elements are brought down somewhat by rare events of frustrating game design. By observing the ups and down’s of Monsterbag, the real thrill of its idiosyncratic roller coaster ride will be revealed.

Story

You are in the role of V, a monster who is Nia’s loyal friend. Nia heads off to the school bus, with V coming along for the ride hiding from a world scared of monsters. The story from this point onwards transforms into a ludicrous tale of discovering secret experiments and ending the apocalypse.

The heart of Monsterbag comes from the lunacy of the story that is loaded with humorous chaos. V’s passionate efforts of catching up to and protecting Nia is a sincere direction among the craziness unfolding. This compassion reaches its peak in the level “Love” that visually depicts Nia’s feelings of isolation in an orphanage because she was born fragile in health and her parents couldn’t financially provide her medical needs.

The somber solitude of Nia crying to then be comforted by V is an emotionally stirring scene in a mostly light hearted game.

Gameplay

Monsterbag is a casual journey through almost the entire play length. The mechanics of avoiding detection and using items with the touchscreen to find the solution makes for an enjoyable experience because of the short length of stages. The puzzling solving is challenging enough to nog the mind, but not overly complex that you will be tearing the hairs of your head.

Monsterbag’s biggest issue however, lies in instances of frustrating gameplay design, inherent from the mechanic of avoiding detection. In the level ‘Another World’ one puzzle phase requires the player to power 4 switches in a time limit, or they reset. Most of the puzzles up until this point let you leisurely figure out the solution while hiding from people’s sight. This design fault won’t tear open heads from frustration, but its primitive execution leaves a bitter taste that brings back painful memories of the worst in old school difficulty.

Presentation

Minimalist, yet vibrant sums up Monsterbag’s art direction. The grey scale backgrounds contrasting with the bright colors of the characters on screen make every movement pop out and come alive.  This friendly art however hides a gruesome dose of dark humor, with surprisingly unexpected gore from what appears to be harmless.

Value

The most enjoyable experiences can sometimes come when you aren’t expecting them. Monsterbag is one of those rare gems, with mild challenge and a wonderfully outlandish story. It’s one of the best games you will ever play about a girl and her little monster.

Note: All images have been captured with the Vita’s Screenshot feature. (Start and PlayStation Button at the same time.)

Spyro The Dragon 2 Review (PlayStation 1)

GameFAQS, Spyro 2:Ripto’s Rage, Title Screen, MrQuiet3

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/198753-spyro-2-riptos-rage/images/screen-2

Developer: Insomniac Games

Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios/ Sony Computer Entertainment

(This review is based on the PS Vita version, and is available for the PS1, 2, 3, PSP, on PSN)

Made in 1999, a whole year after the first game, Spyro 2 successfully refined and developed the foundation and with that improvement came new exciting features. The greatest virtues of Spyro 2 is smoother tight controls, worlds that have more character to them and fun power ups that add meaningful variety without radical changes. Its negative is a minor issue with backtracking.

But the question once again remains: The predecessor has stood the test of time, but has the successor’s minor issues grown into big problems in today’s gaming world?

Story

Ripto’s Rage, Spyro the Dragon 2 Artwork by ImotepNicholas, Deviantart

http://imotepnicholas.deviantart.com/art/Ripto-s-Rage-273148631

Set a year after the events of Spyro 1, our purple hero heads to Dragon Shores to escape his world’s gloomy weather. He ends up in a different realm called Avalar that suffers from the tyranny of Ripto. 4 residents of Avalar ask for Spyro’s help in ending Ripto’s reign and he sets out to defeat Ripto.

Spyro 2’s plot is as simple as the predecessor, but there is greater emphasis on cut scenes with unique characters across the three hub worlds. The antagonist, Ripto is one dimensional but significantly better than Gnasty Gnorc as an antagonist because he is more involved as the game’s villain compared to Gnasty Gnorc’s disconnection until he shows up in the final level. The voice acting is also a step up from the corny performances of the predecessor, with delightfully charming performances by the cast.

Gameplay

AT: Spyro the Dragon by Lauzi, Deviantart

http://lauzi.deviantart.com/art/AT-Spyro-the-Dragon-320077442

Gameplay engagement is mostly the same as the processor, with orbs and talismans that must be collected to progress into new sections. The sequel has made a noticeable improvement in the fluidity and direction of the control and the once slippery charge attack is now been perfected with the charge jump now able to leap great distances. Spyro also has new techniques of swimming, climbing and head bashing which have to be unlocked.

Orbs are obtained through completing level specific missions or locating them in the three hub worlds. The missions are mostly locate and collect/defeat ex number of objects or enemies with certain levels having unique missions such as Colossus hockey mission and Breeze Harbor’s vehicle section. Power up gates that activate by defeating a certain number of enemies provide temporary bursts of fun and are needed to complete missions.

Gameplay engagement is a blast from beginning to end, but orbs and other collectables from previous levels being unobtainable because the player hasn’t unlocked a new technique creates a minor issue with backtracking. Completions will likely notice this flaw, but casual players will be too invested in the concise level design to even notice.

The sequel also handles boss battles significantly better than the predecessor, and all three offer enjoyable challenge even through there straight forward affairs. The final battle is also more climatic than Gnasty Gnorc, with Ripto and Spyro scrambling for power up orbs, ending with them fighting in the air over a lava arena.

Presentation

Rebloggy, spyro summer forest spyro world, spyroismagic, 6^th Image

http://rebloggy.com/post/spyro-summer-forest-spyro-world-viewer-i-m-kind-of-planning-on-continuing-the-id/74656521384

Spyro 2 has a more cartoon world than the fantasy setting of the original. This cartoon setting comes from the comical cut scenes when entering a new level and the more imaginative settings of Robotica Farms and Colossus that deviate from the fantasy norm. This upbeat approach is then contrasted by the hub world’s tranquil and calming music, a musical direction that enforces how Spyro is outside his native home and in a new mysterious land.

The production values of a 16 year old game have also aged well with finer details and better texture quality than the predecessor. Steward Copeland returns with his musical talent and crafts a catchy and memorable sound track with the calming music of the hub worlds flexing his musical variety.

Value

GameFAQS, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, MrQuiet3

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/198753-spyro-2-riptos-rage/images/screen-2

Spyro 2 is a great example of a sequel expanding its foundations and adding thoughtful bells and whistles to its strong core. Even the small negative of backtracking doesn’t affect the engagement as a whole with only completions being mildly grumpy over going back to older levels. With tighter control, a much better villain and solid simplistic gameplay, Spyro 2 is an game that survived the passage of time and is as fun to play 16 years ago as it is today.

Luftrausers Review (PS Vita)

Luftrausers Poster Art by cryptgarden, Deviantart

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Luftrausers-390255322

Developer: Vlambeer

Publisher: Devolver Digital

(This review is based on the PS Vita version and is available for the PC and PS3)

Released in 2014, Luftrausers is a shoot em up that will make one recall the old school arcade shooters with its addicting yet challenging gameplay, and also having a distinct sepia art style. All versions of the game have highly positive reception from critics with an average score of 80 and is praised for its finely crafted risk reward factor.

The great qualities of Luftrausers is its risk reward factor and customisable air ship to let players craft their own play style. Its negatives is a lack of end game options once the missions are completed.

By observing Luftrausers strengths and weaknesses, one will know why Luftrausers is at its best on the PS Vita.

Gameplay

KARATERAUSER Luftrauser Artwork by AuraHACK, Deviantart

http://www.deviantart.com/art/K-A-R-A-T-E-R-A-U-S-E-R-447648368

When the player starts the game, there introduced at first a standard ship and a set of missions such as defeating a number of certain enemies. Each ship part has its own set of missions and if the player defeats a particular enemy for the first time, such as a ship, or complete a certain mission for a ship part, a cut scene will play for their efforts.

Luftrausers creates thrilling game play through subtle mechanics that have a significant impact on the chaotic action unfolding.

When flying through the air, enemies will be everywhere trying to shoot the player down and from the numerous airplanes to the power house battle ships. How is it possible to survive so much chaos unfolding? It’s possible by simply not shooting with the R button and fly away.

The mechanic of ship recovery by ceasing fire and recovering while making the split second decision of fleeing to get some breathing space or shooting down more while falling into the ocean and flying back up results in an involved and stimulating experience that makes the player feel like the commander of the sky.

However, Luftrausers has a lack of content, and the extra mode SMFT, obtained when all parts are unlocked, cranks up the enemy numbers and strength so high that the player’s lifespan is in seconds, not minutes and once the SMFT missions are finished, the best parts are unlocked and there isn’t anything else to achieve. But as Luftrausers has a simple to learn level of mastery, the lack of content is a moot point as Luftrausers tremendous replay value makes it perfect for coming back to when the player simply needs a simple fun game they can put down when they had their full.

Presentation

Luftrausers Wallpaper, PC Game Wallpapers

http://www.pcgamewallpapers.net/1920×1080/luftrausers-02-wallpaper/

Based on World War 1 air fights and using a sepia art style with pixel silhouettes, Luftrausers has one of the most distinct art styles in video games released in 2014. The main theme that plays in Luftrausers is an electrifying 8-bit techno sound that changes into a triumphant blare of trumpets that creates a feeling of bravery as the player is lost within the insanity of bullet hell and exploding air craft. The music also will play alterations of the main theme depending on the air ship parts equipped, and it makes the main theme consistently terrific.

Value

Luftrausers Wallpaper, Wallpaper Abyss- Alpha Coders

http://wall.alphacoders.com/by_sub_category.php?id=220020

Luftrausers is one of the best indie games of 2014 with its intelligent take of the arcade shoot em up’s of the past successfully crafting a game that is ideal on the PS Vita. With an exceptional risk reward factor, play style crafting air ship and a pleasing art style mixed with pixels, it soars high into the sky carrying an almost immortal level of replay value. Even when it disappears within a growing library of games, it will come back and deliver the magnificent experience of mastering the skies.

Spyro the Dragon Review (PlayStation 1)

Insomniac Games, Spyro: Ripto’s Rage

http://www.insomniacgames.com/games/spyro-riptos-rage/

(This review is based on the PS Via version, and available for PS1, 2, 3 on PSN and 4 with PlayStation Now)

The time period of 1995 was the debut of Sony’s original PlayStation which brought 3-D gaming into the mainstream and a host of great titles were made for the system and introduced many iconic franchises such as Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid.

One such franchise of the PlayStation era that was introduced in 1998 and became one of the most beloved of PlayStation’s franchises was Spyro the Dragon. The original from the PlayStation era was highly received from critics and audiences and praised for its soundtrack by Stewart Copeland, creative worlds and being a franchise that appeals to children in a time period where games for the PlayStation were more focused on older audiences.

In 2012, the original trilogy became available in a bundle on the PSN (PlayStation Store) and can be played on the PS3 and PS Vita and the original is a lot of fun on both consoles, and possibly better on the Vita.

The question remains:  Has the original Spyro the Dragon stood the test of time, or is it a game that was only meant for the original Play station?

Blue Spyro, WordPress, Spyro the Dragon PS1, Screenshots

https://bluespyro.wordpress.com/games/spyro-the-dragon-ps1/

Story:

In a time of peace for the Dragon Kingdom, an interview with the elder dragons of the Artisan World has one of the elder dragons badmouthing the game’s villain Gnasty Gnorc. Gnasty Gnorc in his home world separate from the dragon world is angered by the dragons and casts a spell that crystallises the dragons throughout the Dragon Kingdom. All but one small purple dragon were crystallised and is the game’s protagonist Spyro who sets out to save the Dragon Kingdom from Gnasty Gnorc.

The protagonist displays his character through the interactions of the dragons he saves, and that character is of an upbeat and confident dragon that isn’t expected from someone his size. The dragons he saves are all mostly vocal and display a royal English personality. The game’s villain Gnasty Gnorc is a simple but forgettable character and the complete absence of his presence through the Dragon Kingdom until the disappointing final battle makes him one of the weakest parts of the game, but the story isn’t the most important aspect of the game.

It’s a very simple plot that creates a cartoon fantasy world that the player loses themselves in through its settings, the reactions and actions of the enemies the player encounters and well preserved 3-D graphics.

Image kid, Spyro the dragon PS1 wallpaper, a crystallised dragon

 http://imgkid.com/spyro-the-dragon-ps1-wallpaper.shtml

Gameplay:

The gameplay is broken into flying stages, collecting objects to enter the next level and boss levels. The game will have the player travelling through the Dragon Kingdom collecting gems, recover eggs from thief’s and rescuing the dragons from their crystal prison. The flying stages are thrilling areas where Spyro is granted the ability to fly and under a time limit to destroy a certain amount of objects and this bonus challenge is in every area of the game besides the final level.

The majority of the game play will have the player in levels were they collect gems, eggs and release dragons and collect a certain amount of these objects before accessing the next world. The smooth and responsive controls go a long way in making every level enjoyable to blitz through and with an easy to understand control scheme.

A fault with the controls is that camera movement is done with the L2 and R2 and feels uncanny in today’s gaming world where camera movement with the right stick is pretty much expected from 3-D game worlds. This control scheme isn’t problematic on the PS3, but on the Vita, L2 and R2 are mapped to the rear touch pad which is more intrusive than helpful. This issue can be elevated with the triangle button that centres and zooms in front of Spyro, but can be a problem where in an enclosed area and the player needs to see their surroundings.

There are a total of six worlds in the game and each differ in theme and enemies with the enemies all having unique designs and a real sense of imagination put into them. The player has the tools of gliding, fire breath and charging that works together with the smooth controls to make the gameplay the best aspect of Spyro the Dragon. A negative element of the gameplay that is more a disappointing and not fully realised aspect than an unpleasant feature are the boss battles. While they have whole levels dedicated to them and memorable designs, the lack of complexity with their patterns and unique gameplay elements make them feel like regular enemies with extra hit takes. This is especially evident with the final boss against Gnasty Gnorc in which it’s more a cat and mouse chase than a climatic finale that has the player using all there learned skills.

But the gameplay as a whole is enjoyable with its great controls and medium sized levels that will have the player coming back for the replay value form its short length and levels that have an easy/medium difficulty.

Image kid, Spyro The Dragon PS1, Want to share your opinion on

http://imgkid.com/spyro-the-dragon-ps1.shtml

Presentation:

The graphics of Spyro use a technique in which polygons became more detailed the closer the player was to them and less detailed the farther away the player was from them. This technique plays a big role in preserving the graphics of a 16 year old game that looked amazing for its time and has aged well in current times. The six game worlds differ in environments and ascetics from the mystic and lonely mountains of Magic Crafters to the dark and ominous misty marshland of Beast Makers, and these environments set in a world of dragons create a mythical and fantasy backdrop with childlike wonder conveyed through the enemies the player encounters such as the conveying and teasing thief’s that stole eggs, the cowering mooning soldiers of the Peace keepers and the goofy fools of Dream Weavers.

Observant players will notice some texture pop in and distortion, but is something that most of the time isn’t overly glaring in normal play and other PlayStation titles at the time look uninteresting compared with Spyro’s cartoon fantasy inspired graphics. The music by Steward Copeland use of strong drum beats with electronic piano sync create a mood of adventure, beauty, mystery and terror represented in different levels of the game.

Value:

The original Spyro the Dragon was an exceptional title in for its time and even with elements that were not fully realised such as the villain and bosses, the sequel built upon a strong foundation and all elements were vastly improved. Today, Spyro the Dragon is an eternal PlayStation classic with its well aged graphics, simple and fun gameplay and a short length with high replay value. If one seeks a game that can deliver an enjoyable good time, Spyro the Dragon’s fantasy cartoon world shall have the player remembering it’s simple yet endearing purple dragon.

Hd wallpaper factory, Spyro the dragon HD wallpaper, wild animal and reptiles category

http://hdwallpapersfactory.com/wild-animal/spyro-the-dragon-desktop-hd-wallpaper-1251270/