GameSetWatch: Platforming on the PC: A Brief History

After an extended absence, I’m posting at GameSetWatch again. Writing about Abuse had me looking back to the early 1990s and the excessive number of platforming titles released by Apogee and Epic MegaGames, so I decided to put together a brief history of the trend. While I only touched upon Jazz Jackrabbit 2, I expect to be revisiting the game in its own column, as I still believe it is one of the finest 2D platformers ever made.

GameSetWatch: Abuse: The Lost Shooter

Another retro feature at GameSetWatch, this time looking at cult classic Abuse and its place in PC gaming history.

Yoshi's Island

I never played Yoshi's Island for the SNES. The sequel to Super Mario World, one of my favorite games for that platform, was largely forgotten in those transitory years that eventually made me pursue PC gaming exclusively. Games at that time had to compete with the likes of Ultima VIII (which I had convinced myself was being ripped off by Blizzard for Diablo), Command and Conquer, and Dark Forces for my attention. But from what I've read, I don't think I was the only one that was distracted. It seems that the crayon-and-markers art style made some gamers avoid this title, when compared to what was capable with Donkey Kong Country only a year before, despite the critical acclaim that followed. Am I only kidding myself, or was Yoshi's Island really that overlooked?

Alien Shooter 2: an alloy?

Recently, there have been more complaints lodged against the game criticism community by developers. Apparently these so-called "journalists" don't finish games before assessing their quality.

I am about to describe a game after exactly eight minutes of playing it. Because that's all I was allowed in the time-locked demo of Alien Shooter 2. Though I did have some help from the official site:

This is the unique alloy of arcade action and RPG elements which combines well-established world of classical games and unmatched dynamics of the first part.

Have you ever asked someone a simple question, and in response received an answer that goes into so much terrible detail that the question itself becomes irrelevant to the entire conversation? Sometimes a developer has to know when to leave things alone. In the case of Alien Shooter 2, Sigma Team couldn't stop talking.

Harmony of Dissonance

The Gameboy Advance saw three Castlevania adventures in as many years after its release: Circle of the Moon (2001), Harmony of Dissonance (2002), and Aria of Sorrow (2003). Aria of Sorrow was my first experience with the remodeled portable Castlevania series, and still remains the finest (excluding last year's fantastic Dawn of Sorrow on the DS, of course). At the time of Harmony of Dissonance's release, the step up in visuals combined with a simpler brand of gameplay made it stand out as a worthy successor to the two-dimensional masterpiece Symphony of the Night. The RPG/Castleroid adventure style it adopted and familiar main character made for an easy comparison; whether it deserved the subsequent praise it received is debatable.

Shadowgrounds: another alien shooter

To appreciate Shadowgrounds, you have to ignore the story . Like any other arcade-styled shooter (or your typical run and gun FPS for that matter), the story should be of no consequence next to the action. To its detriment, Shadowgrounds tries to emphasize the story. And like Doom 3, a game that has influenced it in many ways, it has fallen victim to that mistake.

X-Men: The Official Game: The Review

X-Men: The Official Game makes an attempt at tying together the events after X-Men United and The Last Stand where you actually get to find out what happens to Nightcrawler. I was fully prepared to write an overbearing examination of why multiplatform games frustratingly insist on low-res menus and keyboard-only input for their PC counterparts. I was going to complain about how after 10 years of 3D platforming there are still a bunch of assclowns out there who can't get a camera right. I would have been sure to demean the bad art in the still cutscenes that only work in a game like Thief that has style to match. I usually take pleasure in disassembling such disposable entertainment as this, but the inadequate collection of moves spread across three playable characters combined with the infuriating controls serve as an excruciating reminder that it's nothing more than a movie tie-in.

New Super Mario Bros.: it's all relative

Did the New Super Mario Bros. have to be made for the DS? After all the thought that went into the handheld's features, is a simplistic, side scrolling platformer really what it needs? Short answer: yes.

Now it's time for the long answer.

Dawn of Sorrow: Julius mode

From what I can tell, the upcoming Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is introducing another playable character, with a series of puzzles that can only be solved while using both characters. It follows that a co-operative multiplayer version of the game is also available. Other than that, it seems like a return to pre-Symphony Castlevania. It also sounds like a game that I played last year.

Dawn of Sorrow's "Julius Mode" is unlocked by completing the ending where Soma (the character in the main game) assumes the mantle of Dracula. As Julius Belmont, you must go through the same castle to fulfill the destiny of the Belmonts. Subtracting the details of spell and inventory management, what remains is a veritable tribute to the Castlevania games of old. In fact, this same premise was used for Julius Mode in 2003's Aria of Sorrow. Only this time you have friends.

Dawn of Sorrow's Julius Mode gives you a team of three characters. Aside from the whip, Julius comes with a solid collection of traditional Castlevania powers like holy water, axes, and a cross boomerang. Yoko Belnades, who was a character from the main game, adds fire, ice and lightning spells into your repertoire of powers. Last, but certainly not least, as Julius you run into Genya Arikado (a returning character from Aria of Sorrow), who reveals himself to be none other than Alucard. While not having as many powers as the other two, he can change into a bat which allows entrance into some of the castle's otherwise inaccessible areas. The current character is switched at the press of the "X" button.

As such, balancing the use of these three characters becomes an entirely new game that focuses on the straight ahead side-scrolling action of Castlevania before it had been fused with Metroid. The game even allows you to level up the characters. Aria's Julius mode simply gave a full powered static character to plow through the game with, which was no easy feat during the last third of the game. My only criticism for this experience system is that the levelled-up life and mana pools are shared among the three characters, so the weaker Yoko will tend to drain the health pool faster than say, Alucard. Yoko's mana will recharge a lot faster, though. With regard to castle exploration, there are quite a few dead ends such as the "Ice Blocks" area that is extremely time consuming to clear with the whip, only to find that there's nothing at the other end worth pursuing. Though I'd hardly fault Konami for these shortcomings - they've essentially turned a bonus for completing the main game into a completely separate adventure.

xbox 360 quick hits, Part 2: Full Auto

At its best, Full Auto is a tease. For a game that calls itself "the world's most destructible racing game", I guess it's pretty accurate. You can destroy lots of things in this game. Buildings, street-side cafés, fences - well, as long as it's accessible from the race track. You aren't offered much flexibility to drift off of it. And if you were to compare it to Rock N' Roll Racing as I noted in Part 1, it might be a more accurate representation of the style of gameplay that is being offered.

However, while we were playing I couldn't help but reminisce about Carmageddon 2, which was a lot more open in its design. I'd even call it ahead of its time. Free form "races" with multiple conditions for winning (like killing a certain number of pedestrians, or destroying all of your opponents), and all of it doused with a thick red coating of ultra violence. As long as you could suspend your disbelief when you ran over the pedestrians with cubic heads. Full Auto doesn't allow you to simply go after your adversaries and destroy them, because you're in a race. Unless the objectives at the beginning of a mission stated otherwise, crossing the finish line was the only necessary goal to complete.

To be fair, you can do a lot of damage to the environment in Full Auto, but it has no real effect on the way you drive. You can plow through three fuel tankers causing massive explosions and keep going as if nothing happened. This apparent lack of repercussions is even stranger in the face of the detailed damage modelling of the vehicles.

I found that my car was exploding without any real warning beyond the damage indicator on the bottom of the screen, which I rarely checked due to the fast-paced nature of the action. My vehicle may have looked like a scrap heap on wheels, but it didn't drive any differently. It didn't cause me to rethink my strategy to conserve energy or shields - I simply kept driving until I was ultimately destroyed by gunfire, colliding with another car, or simply diving headlong off of the top level of a parking garage.

Though all this can be avoided: the "Unwreck" feature is a Prince of Persia-styled reversing of time to make a jump, avoid a rollover, or even being targeted by an adversary's machine gun. I wondered if a feature like this was even necessary. Is the ultimate point of Full Auto total destruction or winning a race? Carmageddon had an auto-repair feature you could use while driving (depending on how much money you had available). It was equally unrealistic, but was at least suited to the overall theme.

What bothered me was the lack of originality and variation in the weapons available to upgrade vehicles. They're often made up of one forward weapon and one rear, and categorized into "packages" like Assault and Melee. Individual components of the sets can't be interchanged. What's worse, like the other cars in the game, the weapon sets must be unlocked.

The available game modes are pretty straightforward, and actually kind of dull after the initial novelty of driving clear through a brick building with a hot rod wears off. The most glaring omission was the lack of a free for all or arena mode included in the likes of Carmageddon or Twisted Metal. In a game that's bent on providing wholesale destruction, why is it so focused on racing? Perhaps I was simply attributing features to the game it was never intended to have.

Nevertheless, there was something about Full Auto that just felt rushed, as if Pseudo Interactive started with a sound concept that got stripped down to meet the "arcade racing" requirement for the 360's library. I'd call it "Semi-Auto", but that's too obvious. It isn't a bad game. Just an unremarkable one.

return of Alien Shooter

It's been over a year since I first played Sigma Team's Alien Shooter, an excellent arcade shooter that blurred the lines between shoot 'em up, FPS hallway crawlers and isometric clickfest RPGs.

Sigma Team has since released an informal sequel of sorts, Theseus: Return of the Hero. In it you play Theseus, a lone warrior that crash lands onto the surface of Earth only to find that it has been overrun by the same aliens seen in Alien Shooter. What I want to know is, just where is he returning from? Is this indeed the Greek hero of old? The question just begged to be asked.

Immediately noticeable are the game environments. No longer are you limited to the gray corridors of a research facility teeming with nasty aliens; you are instead transported to a Western-styled post-apocolyptic wasteland, complete with dual six-guns and a suitably twangy soundtrack.

Though I knew something was funny when I saw "Powered by Alien Shooter" on the title screen. Apart from the different objectives and open yet strangely corridor-driven outdoor areas, this seems like a repackaging of Alien Shooter. The monsters are the same, and what's worse, there are less weapons available! Was the intent of Theseus to develop the storyline in the Alien Shooter universe from another perspective? Had the alien creatures escaped from the research lab, despite my best efforts to trap them inside the structure with thousands of packets of dynamite? Why am I asking these questions about a simple arcade shooter? It doesn't matter; I want Alien Shooter 2.

Resident Evil 4: the most overrated game of 2005

"You are Dead," Resident Evil 4 tells me as my avatar gets fried for the fourth time by the trap with erratically moving laser beams. It's this type of hamfisted advice that seems to be the undercurrent of the entire experience. The game isn't content to set up a rustic, chilling atmosphere for you to cautiously explore, and instead offers you many, many reasons on why you should be killing the things on screen, as if the player couldn't figure it out for themselves. If Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer had made a game, I'm pretty sure this is how it would turn out. Only with less plot.

I'm O.K.!

Remember Splatterhouse?

I remember parents being up in arms over the game's presentation of ultra-violence, afraid that their children would don a hockey mask and run out into the street to whack people with 2x4s while praising the name of Satan. Except without the flying heads. Or shambling mounds of undead flesh. Of course, that was before Mortal Kombat made its way into the arcades, educating young children on the wonders of spine removal.

Now we have Jack Thompson, the self-proclaimed White Knight for parents against violent videogames everywhere, and a repeat offender when it comes to putting his foot in his mouth.

In a comment that was probably intended to be a joke, Thompson asked game developers to create a game about Osaki Kim, a man "swearing revenge upon the video game industry whom he is convinced contributed to his son's murder." In this statement would be a task that gamers would take to the bank.

Shortly after this proposal was handed over to the entire Internet, "Defamation of Character: A Jack Thompson Murder Simulator" was revealed. Even though it really had nothing to do with Thompson's idea, it was sure to mock publicly the sensationalist campaign he was waging upon the games industry. What's more, this game was a modification of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - a game at the very centre of his crusade against the video game industry. How deliciously poetic.

Bodythumper, the first original game to be based on Thompson's "modest proposal" was released shortly after. Though I think it was made out of principle than to actually create something worth playing.

With Thompson's proposal having such a stunted viewpoint on violence in videogames, I didn't think anyone could create a game that was actually, well, a game that would still be worth spending some time with. Insert a few over-the-top conventions of violent video games, make a few jokes at Thompson's expense, and call it a day.

Last week, Thompsonsoft released "I'm O.K.", the latest game to adopt Jack Thompson's design proposal. I didn't think I'd end up actually enjoying it.

After an extremely humorous cutscene that borrows heavily from the poor art direction in intros from the NES titles of yesteryear, you're given a bat and the violence begins. This is what made me think of Splatterhouse. The endless, almost nonsenical beatings that erupted into blood and gore. Enemies would drop coins that could be used to purchase bigger and better weapons between levels. But I didn't bother. I liked the bat. All of the elements of Thompson's proposal are in there: the detailed opening cutscene, the bloody trail blazed across a map of the U.S. and a visit to the fictional Paula Eibel's house.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more gratuitous, I was asked to pee on the dancing brains of people I'd just bludgeoned to death. At this point I was speechless.

With "I'm O.K.", Thompson's sarcastic remarks have been given right back.

castlevania: dawn of sorrow

I find Castlevania in its current form irresistible.

As much as I love to complain about a lack of exciting new concepts in games, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow continues to refine the formula that makes the portable version of this series so appealing. When you aren't mentally replacing the main character with one that wears bionic armour, the gameplay remains gripping. The need to collect better armour, weapons and more powerful spells (the souls that first appeared in Aria of Sorrow) drives the game forward. Ever since Symphony of the Night, Castlevania has turned into a kind of "Castleroid", adopting the exploration to acquire new power to unlock new areas methodology. Though what Castlevania adds is experience points. It gives purpose to repeatedly visiting the same rooms during those long sessions of trying to figure out where to go next. Except this is not really an RPG, because the player has no control over the main character's stat progression. And yet somehow the entire system manages to work.

gunstar super heroes

I've decided to share a few words about Gunstar Super Heroes, the recently released follow-up to the Genesis classic, because it has me completely turned around.

My initial skepticism was rightfully deserved, as the wounds of disappointment I sustained while playing Guardian Heroes Advance continue to bleed to this day. That games are still being published for the GBA is a revelation in itself; the fact that an excellent 2D side scrolling shooter has been made available at this point in its lifespan is doubly surprising.

What initially gripped me was the game's speed. Gunstar Super Heroes runs smooth. Actually, forget that - the game runs as smooth as my fondest memories of Gunstar Heroes. It made me remember the days where we convinced ourselves the term "blast processing" actually possessed technical weight. Compared with my experiences with Guardian Heroes Advance - a game that single-handedly made me question the existence of a special hell for gamers - this was reason enough to embrace the game immediately. But.

Similar to Metal Slug Advance, the game is limited by its number of levels. Someone proficient in the 2D side scrolling shooter arts will likely surpass the game's extremely diverse levels within an afternoon. Once you complete the first mission, the four following missions are available to be completed in any order, though it does completely obliterate the game's forgettable storyline. A "final" stage and giant boss battle are encountered at the end of these four missions. Once again Treasure has produced some legitimately challenging bosses, complete with their over-the-top appearances and attacks. In a bid to prolong the game, you're dumped to the menu screen every time you die, forcing you to continue from the beginning of the level. As usual, pattern recognition becomes the only gameplay strategy.

Disappointing was the lack of cooperative multiplayer, which is how I got most of my enjoyment out of the original Gunstar Heroes. The game lets you begin as either Red or Blue, offering a different selection of starting weapons and moves and a slightly different perspective on the same story, but it's no replacement.

I was bothered by the need for Treasure to lead off every level with some kind of "vehicle" or "flying" sequence, where you're on a jet or flying a helicopter over a cityscape replete with skyscrapers. Because each sequence is so different, they require a brief learning period to adapt to the change in controls and environment. Still, when it got down to the actual running and shooting, I was appeased. All the weapon power-ups from the original Gunstar Heroes - including some new ones - are available, and for a few moments it felt like I was playing the same game, familiarity clouding my ability to judge quality. Nevertheless, I remained most impressed with the style of gameplay that was so effortlessly maintained throughout the game.

As the DS continues to gain momentum in the portable gaming market with its many holiday releases, it's heartening to see that simple affairs like Gunstar Super Heroes are still worth pursuing by developers. While I can understand the need to supply games for the GBA given that Nintendo's official position on the DS is that it is not the follow-up to the GBA, the release of Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Lunar: Dragon Song has shown that traditional 2D titles can offer something more than a pushbutton experience. That being said, a game like Gunstar Super Heroes would almost certainly fail in any context other than the GBA. As the shift towards graphical prowess permeates the handheld market, it becomes harder to determine who plans to sustain this genre.

I found that essence rare

treasure tries it again with Gunstar Super Heroes

I caught some scanned screens from Play magazine from the upcoming "Gunstar Super Heroes" for the GBA. This follows the rumours last month that Sega had trademarked the game's title.

Treasure's involvement was also confirmed in the article, creating a significant amount of buzz for fans of the original Genesis game. However instead of losing control like so many others after hearing the words Sega, Treasure, and Gunstar in the same sentence, let me be straight with you.

Advance Guardian Heroes sucked. In fact, it was the worst game of 2004. It should also be known that Treasure developed Advance Guardian Heroes. Even though Treasure only assisted in the development of Astro Boy: Omega Factor, it was undoubtedly the better game, and one of my favorites from 2004. Omega Factor shared the same visual and gameplay style as Gunstar Heroes, and in hindsight was probably its true successor. My reluctance to accept Gunstar GBA lies in the sprites and backgrounds that are too reminiscent of Advance Guardian Heroes. I'm afraid to get excited because it would be too easy for Treasure to use the same engine that made Advance Guardian Heroes completely unplayable.

I like that classic titles are being retooled for the GBA: Zero Mission and Metal Slug are just a couple of other recent examples. It lends credence to why the GBA remains such a wonderful outlet for 2D gaming. What I don't like is the dependence on a brand that seems to give developers and publishers some kind of license to abuse the unconditional love of the fans that made these titles successful in the first place.

Konami to provide more Castlevania action

Konami has answered the question I have been asking myself since the Nintendo DS's release in November. I think I always knew that I would eventually get one, because the fascination of what it offers in terms of new and exciting types of gameplay is more appealing than what it lacks in streamlined design. Sure the stylus is a bit awkward for portable gaming, but when I saw it used in this gameplay video for Castlevania DS, I knew I was witnessing the reason I should own a Nintendo DS.

Any negativity surrounding the use of the touch screen has now been dispelled for me. The rumoured "sealing" system that will be used in Castlevania DS will allow you to "banish" boss monsters by tracing a certain sequence on the touch screen like some demonic incantation. And as seen in the video, the stylus can actually be used to eliminate obstacles, or provide access to new areas. Castlevania DS follows the further adventures of Soma Cruz from Aria of Sorrow, who must put a stop to an evil cult intent on resurrecting Dracula.

Though this isn't the only Castlevania title due out this year - Castlevania: Curse of Darkness will be released for the PS2. This latest chapter establishes a new hero, Hector, a former student of Dracula and skilled in the summoning of "innocent devils" who can be used to complete his quest. This isn't that far off from the use of captured Souls in Aria of Sorrow, but a brand new character complete with a new story should hopefully renew interest in the series. Based on the reaction to Lament of Innocence, Castlevania may have to be entrusted to its heritage of 2D adventures.

leon, where are you going?

I've been playing Resident Evil 4 almost exclusively since the weekend. See, I've been trying to figure out why these high scores keep popping up. I can't help but reminisce about the early days of Doom 3, to be honest, because it doesn't seem to be going away.

I'm not really a fan of the series, but when I've read numerous reviews (and received personal recommendations) that wax poetic about this game's quality, eventually I have to give in. Yes, the game is indeed beautiful, and probably the best looking game I've seen on a console next to the Metroid Prime series and Crystal Chronicles. However, judgement of this game seems to be obsessively focused on its previous incarnations, and not other games in its genre. Am I missing something? If the fact that this is a Resident Evil game was removed from the equation, would it still be considered good?

When I hear the words "survival horror", I assume an implicit agreement between the player and the developer. I should be scared. I concede that the game did a great job of setting the mood. A creepy, dilapidated remote village populated by grizzled looking farmers deftly establishes the tone. I freaked out the first time I saw a zombie shambling towards me even after I had just blown his head clean off. But the story, as detailed as it may be, just doesn't seem that compelling to warrant an expedient playthrough of the remainder of the game. I feel like a tourist. Resident Evil 4 feels like Metal Gear Solid. Lots of story, action on rails. I have no control. Why should I be scared?

Maybe it was the annoying "interactive cutscenes" (an oxymoron if there ever was one) that switched up button combinations between tries, or the completely annoying controls that are almost useless during boss battles.

For me, I think what finally sealed Resident Evil 4's fate was babysitting the president's daughter. She can climb up a ladder with the best of them. But if I wander away after climbing down, she's completely fucking helpless. Maybe if she would just pick up a god damned pistol when I'm about to get my head chainsawed off, I wouldn't be so bitter.

the currents have their say

another shooting spree

Playing both Metal Slug Advance and CT Special Forces in the past couple of weeks awoke in me a renewed desire for the simplistic arcade shooters of old. It's been a year since I last checked out Kraisoft's offerings, and it seems they have been busy crafting an entirely new shooter to join their collection: After the End. The game is an isometric clickfest that pits you, a lone human soldier, against hordes of evil mutants as you blast your way through 73 levels and a variety of locations on the planet Rydon 7. Though they seem to have a strange obsession with the word "hot" when describing the game's many attributes.

Anyone familiar with Reflexive's Crimsonland will have seen this approach before: your character is dropped into an arena and you must destroy a certain amount of monsters before proceeding. And while After the End allows you to switch between weapons, the power-ups and basic gameplay elements are almost identical. Though After the End feels more open, as the later levels in the demo have more objective-based missions where you must fight your way to a point on the map. In both cases, it feels like the develoeprs tried to merge a space shooter with a ground based battle. Crimsonland's graphics are more polished, and definitely has the better soundtrack, but they're equally fun if you don't mind seeing your character rotate 360 degrees about his waist.

And then there's Alien Shooter. Such a simple, unassuming name. Why are you brought to a mysterious facility full of corridors and power switches and barrels of green goo? To shoot aliens, of course. In the same vein as Crimsonland and After the End, the game is an isometric shooter with a simple objective: destroy everything on screen while completing various mission objectives, and collect money that can be spent on better weapons, skill upgrades or extra lives at the end of each level. It feels a lot more complete, and has more in common with games like Quake and Doom than Crimsonland or After the End. The sad part is that the demo only lets you play for six minutes at a time. It's like they give you the needle, but only let you stick it part way in before snatching it from your eager hands. So what was I supposed to do? Buy the full version, of course. And I'd be lying if I didn't fire it up at least once a day, if only to see myself be swarmed by endless waves of monsters, my chaingun slowly running out of ammo.

Clearly English is not Sigma Team's native tongue, but I won't hold it against them. In games like these it's really hard to accept the story for why you're unloading buckets of lead into alien creatures, let alone how you got your hands on the weapons in the first place. For an arcade-style game, Alien Shooter is great - though the 10 missions in the campaign go by pretty quickly once you get accustomed to the basic "hit and run" strategy. Survival mode will keep this game on my computer for a long while indeed; much like some will load up Bejeweled or Alchemy to kill some time, I'll be trying to survive the endless waves of aliens.

After playing Alien Shooter for hours on end, it's hard not to notice how much actual detail went into the creation of the game's engine. The majority of the items in the game are movable or destructable, certain walls can be blown up to reveal secret areas and the explosive weapons have area/splash damage. If there was one thing I would change for an added touch of excitement, it would be the load times on the weapons. Both Crimsonland and After the End have magazine-style weapons, and once you run out of ammo there is a short delay while it reloads. This adds a lot of tension when you're being attacked from all sides. As long as you have a lot of ammo in Alien Shooter, you could basically stand in one part of the screen and completely unload on anything that approaches. Anyone who's interested in more Alien Shooter action after the first game can check out Sigma Team's two expansions, a bit ridiculously priced for what they're offerening (only 5 more levels each) and considering the cost of the original game.

Back to the realm of traditional shmups, Wings of Megaira is an entry in the 2005 Independent Games Festival student showcase. I read about it on this blog, a collection of Shockwave and Flash games that I could easily dedicate another post to (the port of the original Prince of Persia comes to mind). You'll need Direct X 9.0c to enjoy Megaira's commendable 3D graphics, and I'm not sure if it's just my computer, but there was no sound in the game. It would have added a much needed dimension to the experience, because visual feedback alone in such a fast paced game almost becomes irrelevant. Megaira uses two features to make this game interesting: you can absorb enemy weapons to use them on your own ship, as well as create a "Time Shift" that stops time and allows you to dodge tougher spread-fire attacks. You get a meter on the side of the screen similar to the Sands of Time that fills up when you kill enemies. As a complete game experience it still needs some refinement, but it was nice to see what the next generation of game developers are up to.

A fucking rock concert of an experience, Jets 'n Guns is another shoot 'em up that lives by its name. I wish all developers were this straightforward. Instead designers love to obfuscate the game's intentions by giving it a title like "Project: Snowblind" or "Splinter Cell". Why not just "Generic futuristic first person shooter" or "Stealthy espionage action-adventure that is suprisingly realistic for a multiplatform release"? Never mind. The game has style, too: the cartoonish, Crimson Skies-inspired aircraft and exaggerated environments are mixed with an incredibly catchy soundtrack by video game metalheads Machinae Supremacy. Like Alien Shooter, the whole point of the game is to complete missions while making money to upgrade your equipment; in this case, the parts on your jet. A great addition is the temperature monitoring of your weapons - the longer they are in use the hotter they get, eventually making them unusable. This deters players like myself that just lay on the fire button flying their ship all around the screen. Based on some recent reading, this game might even be available in arcades thanks to the FlexArcade PC-based cabinets.

There's something to be said about this simplistic approach to game design, because the end result is just as fun to play as the latest FPS or 3D platformer sporting a licensed engine. If you can look past the low-tech visuals, you'll find they share more in common with their big-budget counterparts than initially apparent. In fact, all this makes me think about what Andrew Phelps said about the game industry needing B-sides. Why not include these experimental, simplistic games as a side order to the main course? I mean Valve did this by releasing nuclear vision's Codename: Gordon over Steam. I think it would be entertaining to see developers have a little fun with their properties and create mini-games based on the main game. Better yet, give an independent developer a chance to show off by including their game as part of a larger package - this will increase their visibility or perhaps create a cult favorite, while adding value to the purchaser. There are way too many underground developers out there trying to save dying genres (adventure games are a classic example) while big publishers keep pushing out sequels or rehashes of proven formulas. For the industry to survive in the long term this symbiotic approach is almost necessary.

one finger parallel to the sky

metal slug advance

After Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, Metal Slug Advance was to be the next major event on the Gameboy Advance for me. Its first delay from a summer release gave me the excuse to pick up the thumb-numbingly good Astro Boy: Omega Factor, which I killed time with while travelling around Hong Kong. Also a side scrolling action game, Omega Factor reminded me why 2D platformers aren't dead, and in fact can still feel fresh and interesting while dipping into fond memories of gaming's collective subconcious. Metal Slug Advance is not one of these games.

You can't expect much of a story going into a game like Metal Slug, and so it comes as no surprise that there isn't one in this incarnation. At the beginning of the game you choose from two new characters to the series: Walter or Tyra. Though it makes little difference, unless you've been waiting all these years to play Metal Slug as a woman. Why not make this a co-operative multiplayer affair? Two players blasting away on-screen would certainly lower the difficulty later on, but at that point the game would need at least another five levels.

Still firmly baked in the mold of past efforts, Metal Slug drops you into a series of familiar-feeling levels, gun in hand, and politely asks you to destroy everything in sight. You'll have various power-ups at your disposal - whether found in crates or given out by rescued hostages, as well as the series' namesake, a sturdy tank with a sizable complement of weapons. The difficulty that the series is known for is also here, and though the first two levels lull you into sense of security, it only gets harder from there. What annoyed me the most were the respawning enemies - no matter who you cut down in your path, changing screens will redraw those enemies and you'll have to kill them again. This essentially makes the strategy "run and gun" in the purest sense - you really can't stop without taking damage. One thing I would have liked is the ability to shoot diagonally, like in the Metroid series. While you can run and shoot upwards, it's impossible to shoot at someone on higher ground on the opposite side of a chasm or long drop.

The seemingly random distribution of weapon power-ups echo the feel of whenever you stumbled upon a power-up in Contra; the excitement of getting spray fire knew no bounds. But as soon as you died, you lost it and were reverted back to the basic rifle. Problem is, power-ups in Metal Slug Advance are finite - and you can thank the addition of the health bar for that. Instead of the "one shot death" traditional to Metal Slug, you have hit points. When a weapon power up runs out of ammo, you revert back to the basic pistol regardless of how many hits you've taken. Forcing you to use a power-up until its gone seems wasteful - especially when there are much tougher and bigger enemies that you could be saving them for. CT Special Forces, a game mostly dismissed as a Metal Slug knockoff, has an equally varied arsenal that you can switch between as needed.

Aside from the addition of a health bar for your character, Metal Slug Advance's unique feature is a series of 100 cards found throughout the levels that can enhance your abilities, or in some cases unlock some hidden "dungeon" areas within a level. The catch is that you have to finish each level with them in your possession, because that's the only time your progress will be saved and you can use the benefits of the cards in later levels. Any death and subsequent restart of an area will negate any card-collecting you've done up to that point. As it was with Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, the addition of a card system to a port of an old game achieves minimal results.

The levels certainly appear to be part of the Metal Slug lineage, and since the game takes place on a nondescript tropical island you don't expect much in the way of varied terrain. From beach fronts to ancient underground ruins, though, the game still suprises in some respects. Metal Slug Advance has five levels in total, each increasing in size and difficulty. The levels are in turn broken up into smaller sections, allowing you to continue from those points if you die. It isn't the same as a save point, though - for that you have to finish the entire level. This becomes a problem later in the game when the boss battles become longer and drawn out. I turned my GBA off in frustration after many failed attempts at beating the game's bosses, and for doing that you have to start the entire level over again.

It's probably unfair to call it a rail shooter - I mean it is a side scrolling action game after all. I just felt like I was on a conveyor belt with my thumb constantly pressing the "Fire" button. And with the amount of enemies on-screen at any given time, that's basically the way you've got to play it. You only have to look as far as the "Options" menu - there is a choice to turn on Auto-fire or you'll find yourself repeatedly tapping the fire button. I can't help but contrast this against CT Special Forces, which coaxes you along, but you still feel like you're exploring the levels. There are occasional obstacles that require backtracking, or the scaling of a mountain cliff only to parachute to safety below. Not to mention the inclusion of a few top-down helicopter flying missions reminiscent of Desert Strike. The gameplay felt more varied, instead of the obvious repetition and course memorization that you're subjected to in Metal Slug Advance.

In the fall, SNK Playmore announced it would be taking Metal Slug to 3D on the PS2. Though they aren't the only one - Hip Games revealed that CT Special Forces would be given the same treatment in a behind-the-shoulder 3D action game. While it may seem like a good idea to push these franchises into the third dimension, I've said in the past that this does not always result in a successful game. Why the Gameboy Advance has been delegated the position of holding fast the traditions of 2D gaming is a wonder; I honestly believe that extrapolating the success of Viewtiful Joe should be pursued by other developers.

Like Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, Metal Slug Advance is visually a faithful recreation. Any fan of the series would be hard pressed to argue that. But in terms of new gameplay additions, I wouldn't classify this game as anything other than a cash-in on a well known franchise. The game length is artificial, extended through the difficult, enemy-packed areas and no mid-level saves. And once you're done, the bitter taste of the heart rending boss battles will make you cringe at the thought of picking it up again. Metal Slug Advance's card system may provide some extended play for obsessive completists, but I'm reluctant to recommend it for anyone's holiday playlist.

he slept through half the show

warrior within

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within casts a blood-soaked shadow over its mostly kid-friendly original. Looking back on the Sands of Time, the theme was pretty dark, but combat was fairly sterile in its presentation. In the PC demo for Warrior Within, a more flexible combat system opens up some new ways in which you can gut, decapitate and otherwise eviscerate your enemies, complete with copious blood sprays and slow-motion for particularly violent kills.

Unfortunately the title screen has some kind of nu-metal band playing the main theme which doesn't even come close to the middle east meets west themes of the original. Stuart Chatwood is back on soundtrack duties, but I wasn't able to determine if vocals had simply been added to the title theme or if this is an entirely separate song. In any event, fans of The Sands of Time's soundtrack will be disappointed in the direction it has taken. I mean if we wanted cock rock, we would be playing Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. The official site has some other examples of in-game music, complete with unnecessarily overwhelming guitars.

At first I was captivated by the new look for the Prince and the game world - it certainly looks more gritty - but I think they went a bit overboard with the character and monster design. The amount of straps, buckles, thong-wearing bosses and bondage costumes make me think that American McGee was advising the art director. Once you get past these cliches, the game looks incredible. I was impressed with the PC demo for The Sands of Time, but the environments in this game are a lot more detailed, if a bit more..er...brown.

The demo is set up so that you must complete certain attack sequences that open up new areas of the level, and gradually introduce you to wielding two weapons. Every monster's weapon is up for grabs, which is neat, and depending on what you're carrying your fighting style will change. While some felt that combat was the weakest part of Sands of Time, this new focus on fighting doesn't mean there isn't a shortage of wall leaping and puzzle solving. The Sands of Time are also back, and do not require a dagger to collect this time around. Whenever an enemy is killed, a cloud of sand is automatically absorbed into the Prince, fuelling your ability to rewind time as in the last game.

Against my better judgement I played through the whole demo, but not without some serious stomach churning along the way. If the demo can be considered an indicator, the camera will be the death of this game. Playing Sands of Time on the Gamecube was a very different experience from the PC, as one control stick was dedicated to rotating the camera at any point when the viewing angle became unwieldy. Even though you can choose controls to redirect the camera in Warrior Within, none of the positions "stick", and so you're stuck with whatever angle the game feels it should be giving you. Most often this is through a wall, or looking straight across over the action, which was completely useless in battle. Wrestling with the mouse to get a good angle for the jumping and wall running puzzles was an unfortunate excercise in frustration.

Technical problems aside, there are two things that trouble me about this game. The first is the November 30th release date. From what I played, Warrior Within is in no way fit for shipping. I'm not sure if UbiSoft is trying to make something of an anniversary release, but I wouldn't be the least bit upset if it was delayed until 2005 for some final polishing. Based on the demo, the experience just doesn't feel as complete or seamless as the original. The second is this god awful blog that was set up as some kind of forum for the corporate shills team behind the game. I'm going to hold out for the final product, as I'm sure most fans of its predecessor will, and for that reason the game will probably do well. I just don't expect it to garner the same accolades as one of last year's best games.

you can't cross the desert outside

review: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

It's hard to believe that Splinter Cell only came out a year ago. When it first arrived on the scene I thought that the Tom Clancy license was being spread around too eagerly. The previous year saw two expansions for Ghost Recon, and a new Rainbow Six game was in the works for an early 2003 release. As a result I really didn't understand the place for this multiplatform title, or even how well the series would be accepted by gamers. When I heard about Pandora Tomorrow I feared the worst - with little over a year for development I didn't think many improvements could be made. I was glad to be proven wrong in some respects, though, as the multiplayer component has shown us what will work in future games to take on this theme.

On Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

The Wife purchased Super Mario Bros. 3 for the GBA a couple weekends ago, and I keep meaning to talk about it. It got a lot of good reviews - and deservedly so - because it perfectly recreates the Super Mario 3 experience as seen in Super Mario All-Stars with a few minor improvements. The most notable being the remixing and addition of a few new sounds, like Mario's voice, which we all most definitely could do without. Another thing I noticed is that all the Mario Advance titles - even Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - contain a separately playable update to the original Mario Brothers, which can be enjoyed by two players if you have the means to link up. It's a small thing, but a nice gesture nonetheless. As Super Mario 3 is hailed by many as being the greatest Mario game ever made (looking back at the hype it's hard to believe anything else) and the best selling video game of all time, I would call this latest manifestation a grand accomplishment. If we're comparing remakes though, Zero Mission still has it beat.