ctizz36 » Video Games

Epic Game Review: Paperboy

Craig — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:35:05 +0000

Welcome all to a brand new Epic Game Review and I will be doing things a lot differently than before. Instead of short reviews, I will be doing a much more in-depth and detailed review of my video games that I have played in my lifetime. To start the new way of reviewing, I will do one of the first games that I have played since I became a gamer way back in 1996. That certain game that I am speaking of is none other than Paperboy. This zany title of a game was a big favorite in my house and even when we, my two brothers, break out the old NES 2, the Top Loader model, we always put Paperboy in first even before Mario Bros. or Duck Hunt. Here’s is my epic review of a highly underrated gem that was tossed aside in favor of more popular titles.

You start off right off the bat as a regular adolescent boy riding on the street with his trusty bicycle and a sack of papers for all of your paying customers who are waiting so patiently for you to deliver the good news to them. There are two paths of transportation and that is either the sidewalk or the street, but there is no difference and I presume that it is the gamers choice. The main objective to the game is to deliver all of your papers to all of your customers with blue houses and not to the red houses. Isn’t it nice to know that the people love to help the paperboy by painting their houses thus signaling him that they want his paper? Anyways, you must toss your papers to the right customers and you will receive payment or lose customers based on exactly how well you did during your route. You can also pick up packs of papers during your ride so you don’t run out of them during the game. But if you fall three times during your route you will immediately end your route and lose your payment as well as your own customers. If you lose all of your customers, you will retire as Paperboy, get a game over and you will have to start all over again from scratch.

You may think this is easy because all you move and throw your papers to your houses, but there far more at stake than giving papers to your somewhat loyal customers. There are all kinds of obstacles that will prevent you from succeeding are these strange happenings that happen on this bizarre street. You are faced with deranged mutts that won’t go away unless you throw a newspaper at it, crazy Stepford wife’s with rolling pins, a suggestive construction worker who is, at least I certainly hope he is, operating a Jackhammer, and even the Grim Reaper, the bringer of death, is trying to prevent our hero from delivering his papers. I must say this is one interesting neighborhood if they house the Grim Reaper. If you are skilled enough and I guess brave enough to trek down this “dangerous” street just to earn a quarter a paper then who am I one to judge.

When you finish your route and delivered to all your customers, you will then be in an obstacle course of full of ramps and targets. This is the games bonus stage where you can earn large amounts of points so that you can get a high score and beat out the competition, including your brothers. While this part of the game is the most enjoyable out of everything else you have done so far, it no doubt the hardest section of the entire gaming experience overall. For some unforeseen reason, you are going at top speed unlike what you went through during your paper route. With this in motion, the turning is very lackluster and you will indeed miss a ramp and crash making you lose all the potential points you could have gotten if you had only slowed up. At the end, you are greeted by your adoring fans who cheer for you and possibly have no life at all except to watch a boy deliver newspapers. After that awkwardness is over you are shown the map of all your subscribers and non-subscribers and it will inform you of whether someone re-subscribed or canceled their subscription to your newspaper. Also, if you keep failing you will retire as a loser and be humiliated or if you keep succeeding you will retire as a champion and be praised by your three big fans.

When it comes to controls in this game it is either hit or miss. The turning with the bicycle is very unresponsive and can serious mess up your game if you miscalculate when to turn and avoid an obstacle. This is an instance where the game could be better if there was a joystick so that moving would be more easier and you’ll be less likely to crash and lose your game. Another fault that stems from this game is the paper throwing being too precise. What I mean by that is that you have to throw the paper exactly at the right spot in order to get signature bleep sound to give you that fact that you made a successful delivery. If you are off by a just a little the paper goes into a bush or worse window and just like in real life you have to pay for it out of your own earnings. This feature makes the game more harder and less enjoyable for those with the temper of an angry Stepford wife with a rolling pin.

Despite of all the games short comings and unearthly events, this is still an underrated classic for anyone interested in classic games. The plot and game play are simple and there is a challenge factor for all types of gamers out there. Also, it is more fun to play along side another player and play a battle of Paperboys to see who can do the best in the game. If you have a functioning NES, this game or money to buy it I recommend it as a fan of nostalgia.

I give it a 8 out of 10 for it exciting and challenging game play but still a hard game to master even today

Epic Game Review: Rhythm Heaven

Craig — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:50:05 +0000

It is now time for my last rhythm-based game that I’ve recently got is my favorite of them all. The game Rhythm Heaven is a very unique and innovative game to come to the DS in quite a long time. In the game the objective is to use your stylus and either flick, tap or hold it in sync with the music in order to receive a perfect from your conductor. Unlike the first two previously mentioned rhythm games that have music we all know, this game has it’s own soundtrack that is very addicting to listen. To also add on to this amazing game, would have to be the mini-games it self. Each game has their own interesting use of what function or functions to need to utilize in order to get a Perfect in the end. I mean what other game has you plucking beets or in a choir trio singing to the conductor or slicing vegetables with Samurai swords. While the game is exciting it is also very challenging. Any type of gamer will have all kinds of troubles trying to beat these levels that the game will throw you a bone and you can skip this level entirely and do a different one. Among the games faults, this is a great game for anyone and should be known as wonderful addition to the system.

I give it a 9.5… it was short of 10 because of how hard it was in the end.

Epic Game Review: Elite Beat Agents

Craig — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:32:13 +0000

After my enjoyable experience with the Looney Tunes game I decided to try another Rhythm based game that I heard called Elite Beat Agents. I was once again hesitant in getting this game, but I really enjoyed the last game I decided why not and I got it and enjoyed it. Unlike the Looney Tunes game instead to tap and drag you have to just tap, repeatably tap or spin according to the music you are playing. There isn’t much story except three agents, depending on which game you play, have to solve all kinds of dilemmas like a babysitter trying to keep her job and her football loving boyfriend or helping two movie starlets survive the wild or even helping a young girl with her Christmas wish… I will not spoil that one. The humor in this game is very top-notch and really makes this game work very well. Also, the game is never repetitive and it never gets boring no matter how many times you play it. My only concerns is that while they are enjoyable to play over and over they are considerable hard and even when you are on the first level of difficulty. Another reason is that, like in the Looney Tunes game, some of the songs just don’t along with the scenario. For example, “Sk8tor Boy” is being played to a guy driving a woman to a hospital to give birth to a baby… where is the connection to the song? Besides that, this game is very fun for anyone that loves rhythm based games and also a very challenging one as well.

I give this game a 9

Epic Game Review: Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor

Craig — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:49:09 +0000

Let me start off by saying that I am a big Looney Tunes fans for years I even have all the Looney Tunes DVD’s too. Now when it comes to their video games they are all just hit and miss with me like the Crazy Castles or the recent movie game Back in Action!, which were all not that great from what I’ve seen. This was my instinct until I came across a new Looney Tunes game that was a rhythm game with all the original characters we all know and love for the past fifty years. I will admit at first I was hesitant on getting the game since I had never played any rhythm based games in my gaming life, but soon changed when I first started playing this game. Right off the DS stylus, the game features all kinds of famous scenes from all kinds of Looney Tunes cartoons from Bugs Bunny to Foghorn Leghorn. The reason for re-creating these scenes is because the dim-witted Tasmanian Devil destroyed all the cartoons and you, the conductor, must help Bugs and his friends fixed the cartoons. I will admit this is a bit of a let down, but that makes up when you start playing the game. You have to click and either drag your stylus to go along with the music which is both creative and simple for anyone interested in rhythm based video games. The only problem I have is that the music in the game is not the “right” music for this type… I mean “Carmen” for a Foghorn Leghorn cartoon just doesn’t seem right to me at all, but some songs go very well with the cartoons like the “Barber of Seville” goes great with the famous cartoon Rabbit of Seville. My favorite part of this game would be the remixes that are in the game which is very well done.

Overall, it is a good game and I give it a 7.5

Announcement for All

Craig — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:33:20 +0000

First off I’d like to say that I’ve been quite busy with school ending, but that will end soon and I can start blogging yet again.

There will be, of course, my Epic Game Reviews and my TV Corner with ctizz36 with new games and shows to be reviewed by me.

There will also be new things on my blog that include rants and much more to come( it involves my new Bamboo Fun that I got recently).

Like I said before, expect a lot this summer and in the coming months so stay tuned for more

Epic Game Review Eternal Sonata

Craig — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:02:18 +0000

Now there are a lot of RPG’s with beautiful graphics, well developed story and characters as well as repeatability… and this game is the very essence of all those aspects in an RPG. I don’t want to spoil the game by telling you about the story, but I will talk mostly about the gameplay. Most RPG’s have a certain kind of fighting styles and for this one you play as three characters and control what moves and attacks they should use to defeat their enemies from walking onions to powerful humans with powerful magic that could kill your whole team. Another great thing about this game is that you can play it anyway you want like you can find all the items in all the areas or battle countless enemies in order to gain a few levels. Finally, the game is not only a simple one for beginners, but it provides plenty of challenge later on during the game, which makes the game more fun to play. The problems I had in the game are that some of the American voices were just weird choices by the voicing director. Another problem is that the game may be too simple for hardcore RPG gamers and may dislike this one factor and also this game. Nonetheless, this is a great game and anyone interested in RPG’s should at least pick it up.

I give it a 9.5

Epic Game Review Gumshoe

Craig — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:29:06 +0000

There are a lot of unique controllers, but using the Nintendo gun, the same one used for Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley, is used as a controller in the game Gumshoe. I think this was an interesting concept instead of using just the regular controller for the NES. Now on to the game, like I said before the game has an interesting concept and that is you shoot your character to make him jump and avoid enemies and save the day. I know this is a weird format, but for a game like this it works in a weird way. My concerns is that this game is far to short and it could have been a bit longer, in my opinion. Also, the Nintendo gun is to unresponsive and you may miss your character or an enemy and lose your game. Other than that, the game is fun to play and gave us a new way to play an NES game.

I give it a 7.5

Epic Game Review Yoshi’s Story

Craig — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:39:33 +0000

In this interesting game you play as a herd of Yoshi’s that are on a deadly mission to save the world from the eminent destruction of the free world with the help of John Connor… o sorry I’ve had the Terminator on the mind right now… anyways you play Yoshi’s in attempt to save Baby Mario from Baby Bowser from him playing with… him. Besides the story being a little weird the gameplay is actually pretty good with hard levels and endless Yoshi deaths abound… I mean seriously what do they do to all those Yoshi’s anyways. Each level is a great challenge and the game has some tough bosses too with make it even hard for most casual gamers. My only other fault is that the game may be too challenging and you may lose so much frustration will take over and you may lose a controller. Besides that it is still a good game and worth playing if your in on platforming action.

I give it an 8

Epic Game Review Adventure Island

Craig — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:10:14 +0000

Let me start off by saying that this is a strange game, but an enjoyable one to say the least. You play as an islander who is trying to save his girlfriend and the only way to do that is to… use a skateboard. Yeah despite sounding weird it is actually the best part of the game. The games has hard levels to play and is very challenging as well as it progress on. Also, back to the skateboarding, while it is fun and funny to see your character your platforming is drastically changed and you’ll lose a life. Speaking of lives, the game is a pain with them since you only have three to play and no continues… big let down to a good game. Besides that, it is still a fun and enjoyable game to play and more of a challenge to anyone.

I give a 7

Epic Game Review Ice Hockey

Craig — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:32:58 +0000

Now I don’t usually review Sport video games, but the NES was my childhood and I played some of their sport games and of those there was Ice Hockey. First off, there isn’t much to do except just pick a team like the United States or Canada with the player both big and slim and try to beat your opponent. I for one like the simplicity of the game… I mean nowadays the games, from what I’ve seen, are very complex and monotonous I mean there are modes now with refreshments and when to have Fan Appreciation Day… that is just my opinion. Also, I like how it felt more like playing a fuse-ball like Hockey game and requires less strategy and a bit more gameplay. My only gripe with the game is the graphics aren’t that great and they overuse of the same sprites, but this was back in the NES era so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.

In the end, I gave this game a 8 for making this game enjoyable to play