Oh, by the way

I recently started writing for Kombo, so you can find a bunch of my news posts over there. Meanwhile, I'm still writing for The Tanooki and most of my blog-style posts go to OMGMyGame. Feel free to check 'em out!

Games That Hit The Wall and Shatter

Many moons ago, games were short. Most games could be finished in an hour or two. They were also incredibly difficult. This was to keep you from finishing the game the first time you played it. Essentially, beating a game boiled down to memorizing the difficult parts to avoid enemies and traps. Some games, though, took it too far. Certain games hit a proverbial wall at some point, making them nearly impossible to finish and sucking anything resembling "fun" out of the experience. There are only so many times you can play the same two levels, dying at the third, before the whole experience becomes boring. Often, this happened in levels that were designed around unique gameplay mechanics that weren't used in the main game.  Let's look at a few examples.

Earthworm Jim - Down The Tubes (Tube Race)

Released in 1994, Earthworm Jim became an instant classic with its quirky sense of humour. It even spawned one of the few video game cartoon series' that was actually fun to watch. The platforming was kind of awkward, but it wasn't too bad and was pretty easy to overlook. Unfortunately, there was one level that threatened to ruin the whole experience.

The Tube Race is an underwater level (which tend to be pretty awful anyway) that involves navigating a glass bubble through a maze with a limited amount of air. The bubble itself is incredibly floaty and difficult to control, not to mention fragile. It only takes a few hits to shatter into a million pieces. This would be more manageable if you didn't have the time limit to deal with. Luckily, Earthworm Jim had a level skip code, so if you knew it, you never really had to do the tube race at all.

Battletoads - Wind Tunnel

Battletoads is one of the first games by Rare to make a big splash. Like Earthworm Jim, its sense of humour gave it a strong cult following that has lasted for 17 years. It is also incredibly hard. The standard beat-em-up levels aren't too tough, but relatively early in the game, you're forced to navigate a hoverbike through an obstacle course. The bike is flying through the stage at about a million miles per hour and you have to weave your way around, over, and even under walls of varying sizes. There's even a part where a jump is hovering in the air above your head and you have to leap up to it to avoid a painful death. It looks easy enough starting off, but anyone who has played it will tell you it's actually quite hard. Especially later in the race when a stream of walls appear in rapid succession without warning.

Certain versions of Battletoads had level select codes, but most of them forced the player to either beat the Wind Tunnel level or just give up. (A lot of players chose to give up.)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Water Dam

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) is a better game than it's given credit for. It's meant for younger children (being a Ninja Turtles game and all) so its simplicity is to be expected. The graphics are nice and colourful and each turtle plays differently enough to keep the game from getting too stale. The reason it has such a bad reputation is the Water Dam level.

In the water dam is an underwater level where you have to diffuse a certain number of bombs within a time limit. There are several problems with this, though. First of all, the stage is a maze. It's not too complicated, but the time limit leaves no room for error. The player in the above video does as good a job with the level as you can really expect, and he finishes with only 11 seconds left. Also, for a team of mutant turtles, none of them are very good swimmers. That's a problem when you have to navigate a narrow tunnel of electrified seaweed. All of these problems ruin the game for the audience it was designed for, and for everyone else for that matter. There's no way to skip the Water Dam level, either, so many, many players never got to see what was beyond it.

These days, games provide replay value and length in more legitmate ways. Games tend to last dozens of hours even if you never die. These types of levels have become less forgivable and harder to overlook. That's definitely for the best. Sure, games may be easier overall, but there are still plenty of games out there that provide a fair challenge, without resorting to game-breaking levels like these.

My Game Boy History

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the original Game Boy, the machine that defined handheld gaming. The Game Boy was actually the very first video game system I ever owned. I got it for my sixth birthday, and it was a huge surprise. Up to that point, video games were something I'd never be able to have. My parents had simply refused to buy me a NES or Game Boy before that point, so naturally I was surprised (and very, very happy) to get a Game Boy, and I treasured it for years. Since then, I've always had a special place in my heart for handheld gaming. I've decided I'd like to take a look back at the Game Boy games that left the biggest impression on me. So here they are, in no particular order:

Super Mario Land

Super Mario Land was the first game I ever rented, and, if memory serves, the first game I ever finished. It was one of those games that was good in its own right, but really left the impression that handheld gaming was destined to be like console gaming, only not quite as good. (That stigma would stay with handheld consoles until the Nintendo DS.) Looking back, I have no idea how I managed to finish this game on an original Game Boy. The screen was blurry and the sprites were tiny. It's amazing that I could tell what was going on at all.

Tetris

What Game Boy retrospective would be complete without a mention of Tetris? Tetris was the Game Boy's original pack-in game. It's also the game that showed just how much better puzzle games are when you can play them on the go. They're perfect to pick up and play in small doses. Of course, Tetris is the definitive falling block puzzle game, and the Game Boy version is, in turn, the definitive version of Tetris. This is the game that got my mom into gaming! Today, she still loves to break out the old Game Boy Pocket I gave her and her copy of Tetris.

Amazing Penguin

What? Yes, I know. Amazing Penguin isn't exactly the first game that comes to mind when you remember the Game Boy. It doesn't even have a Wikipedia article. It was never really well known, but it left an impression with me because it was the first Game Boy game I played that I couldn't find a bigger version of on another console. Amazing Penguin didn't really do anything that required the use of a handheld or anything, but it was an original game. The point of the game was to destroy black and white dots strewn about a maze. When you destroy all of the dots surrounding an area, that area would fill in with a pattern or part of a larger picture. The game just oozed charm, which is part of what makes it so memorable to me. I'd love to see a modern day Amazing Penguin on the DS, but it will probably never happen.

Game Boy Camera

Now here's something that could only work on a handheld. The Game Boy Camera was more of a toy than a game. It was a digital camera that plugged into the Game Boy's cartridge slot and could store up to 30 black and white pictures. The pictures could be edited with stamps and brushes (a feature that lives on in the modern DSi) and printed off as stickers using the Game Boy Printer. It was the coolest toy I had ever owned. There were a ton of other nifty features, too, such as slideshows and the ability to place "hot spots", areas that you could "click" with an on-screen cursor to make various things happen. You could create your own point-and-click adventure with that feature. You could even take pictures of your face to use in a small collection of minigames. I love to take mine out now and then and look at my grainy 10-year-old pictures of friends and family members.

Wario Land II

What a fantastic game this was. It was a puzzle platformer where you could never die. The game was chock full of secret treasures and coins to find by bashing through walls and sniffing out hidden doors. There was one main path through the game, but once you finished it, you gained access to a map of every level you had completed so far with a ton of newly-revealed branching paths. It was amazing to get to  the end of the game, only to find that you were only about half done. The game was truly epic, which is something that's difficult to accomplish on a tiny little handheld. This is the game that brought Wario into his own.

Darkwing Duck

Capcom did some pretty great things with the Disney license during the NES/Game Boy generation. Darkwing Duck made his way to both the NES and Game Boy, and it was pretty much the same game. Capcom managed to take the NES version and shrink it down to about as perfect a Game Boy port as you could really hope for. It was a really good game in its own right, but the main reason this one stands out for me is that it was the only game I managed to keep when my Game Boy and games were stolen when I was 8. I woke up on my birthday and this was my gift from my parents. I went to get my Game Boy to play it, only to realize that it was missing. I had brought it to school and it had apparently been stolen there without me even noticing. Worst. Birthday. Ever. I did eventually get a replacement, though, and I immediately popped this game in and played it to completion. So satisfying.

Kirby's Dream Land 2

Kirby's Adventure is the game that invented the modern Kirby. It was the game that introduced Kirby's copy ability, which would end up being his defining characteristic. Kirby's Dream Land 2 was the game that brought Kirby back to his handheld roots, bringing his copy ability with him. More importantly, though, it introduced Kirby's animal pals, which in turn means it introduced a degree of versatility to Kirby's copied abilities. Every animal had its own unique take on every ability. Kirby could shoot sparks with the Spark ability, but if he did so while riding his pal Kine, he ended up with a fish that could shoot exploding light bulbs. And come on, what's cooler than a fish that can shoot exploding light bulbs? This concept was refined in Kirby 64, which introduced the ability to combine abilities, but the charm of Kirby's Dream Land 2 was never really recaptured.

Donkey Kong

There has never really been an arcade-style platformer with quite as much depth as Donkey Kong for Game Boy. It starts off as a basic remake of the original arcade Donkey Kong, but after the original four stages, the world opens up and a whole new slew of obstacles and enemies are introduced. The most interesting new feature, though, is the inclusion of a variety of new moves for Mario, most of which involve different ways to jump. Mario really lives up to the title of Jump Man in this remake. These moves can be used to find interesting ways through the levels, bringing lots of depth to what starts off as a Donkey Kong remake. Like Wario Land II, Donkey Kong is another game that's deceptive in its scope.

Pokemon

It's Pokemon. As in, the game that started one of the biggest video game franchises in gaming history. I won't go into the whole history of Pokemon, but I will say this. Pokemon wouldn't have been nearly as effective if it hadn't been a Game Boy game. Each game is like a Pokemon trainer kit. Each cartridge is meant to be a set of tools for catching and raising Pokemon to play against other Pokemon belonging to other trainers who have their own copies of the game. It's important that the game be A) easy to personalize, and B) easy to interact with another person's save file and copy of the game. What better way to accomplish these goals than by making Pokemon a Game Boy game?

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Here we go. This is the game that got me into what would turn out to be my absolute favourite series of games of all time. One thing that Link's Awakening does well is king of the opposite of what games like Wario Land II and Donkey Kong do. Where those games seemed small but were actually huge, Link's Awakening feels like it takes place in a giant, epic world, but is actually very small. The variety of places crammed into such a small world map help to make Link's Awakening feel incredibly epic. It does one thing that most other Zelda's don't do, and I really wish they would. It allows you to un-equip your sword and replace it with another item. It's great to have a boomerang in one hand and a fire rod in the other. Oh, and did I mention there's a zombie rooster? Yeah, it's just that cool.

Well, there you go. Those are the Game Boy games that had the biggest effect on me. They may not all be the most important Game Boy games ever made, but they're all great and they all fill me with a feeling of nostalgia. I really need to break out my Game Boy Color and give a few of these another play through....

My Life in Games: Part 1: Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (1988)

I was 3 years old when I first picked up a NES controller. I was visiting relatives and my 8-year-old cousin's NES was hooked up to the TV in the living room. I watched him play Duck Hunt for a while and apparently he let me give it a try. (My memory is understandably foggy.) I was pretty awful at it. I was only 3 years old, so that was to be expected. I was perfectly happy just blasting away at those ducks. If I managed to hit one, great. If not, I liked the dog and his little laughing noise anyway.

I also gave Super Mario Bros. a try. I was less awful at that. I wasn't great with the bottomless pits, though. I lacked self-confidence. I could make it to level 2 by going into the pipe in the first area and skipping most of level 1, including all of the holes. I'd play until I got to that first mandatory hole, and then I'd just stop. Then I'd start over! I didn't make much progress that way, but I liked it. I don't know what I was afraid of, though. What's the worst thing that could happen if I fell? I'd lose a life, or get a Game Over. So what? My tiny toddler brain didn't understand the consequences and I decided to err on the side of caution.

I'm kind of glad my first two games were such iconic ones. Especially Super Mario Bros.. Super Mario Bros. came out the year I was born. I don't even really need to explain why it's such an iconic game. It was a giant hit. People would buy a NES just for this game. It made Mario into the star he is today. At one point, Mario was more famous among children than Mickey Mouse. Super Mario Bros. marked the beginning of revitalizing the video game industry, as well as the beginning of my life as a gamer.

Mega Man 9 DLC Thoughts

The (presumably) last bit of Mega Man 9 DLC was released this week. Here's everything you should know before making a purchase:

Proto Man ($2): Proto Man can charge his shots, block shots with his shield, and slide. Sounds good, right? Well, maybe. There's a lot more to him than that. For instance, he can't visit the store and he takes double damage. Before spending the points on him, you should definitely consider his pros and cons, because for some gamers, the weaknesses may outweigh the strengths. For the sake of keeping this brief, here's a list of details about Proto Man I wrote for The Tanooki when he was released a few weeks ago.

Endless Attack Mode ($3): In Endless Attack Mode, you basically play until you die. To keep things interesting, the stage you play is brand new and randomized. That means you won't be playing in any of the stages you've already played in the main mode, and every time you play it's a different experience. This mode is definitely worth the money.

Special Stage ($1): The Special Stage is a new level for Time Attack mode, complete with a new boss. The stage is pretty challenging, and it reuses some of the bosses from the main game. It's about as tough as one of the Dr. Wily stages. The new boss is nice, but he's not particularly tough if you know your weapons and figure out his pattern. Still, the level itself is great and it's a steal at one dollar.

Hero Mode ($1): Hero Mode is a new difficulty setting, harder than the standard mode. The difficulty increase comes from new enemy placement and obstacles. This mode is a bit disappointing. If you've finished Mega Man 9 and are looking for more of a challenge, this may not be enough. I still managed to breeze through the Robot Masters stages. Of course, that's not to say it's not challenging. Mega Man 9 is pretty tough on its own, and Hero mode is even tougher. (I "breezed" through it because I've been playing the game since it was released and I had a pretty good idea of what to do.) It's just not much tougher than the standard mode. I guess that's why there's:

Super Hero Mode ($1): Argh. Alright, this isn't really fun any more. See, the challenge of Mega Man 9 is the fun kind of challenge, because as difficult as it is, it's never cheap. Well, Super Hero Mode is cheap. For example, there's one part in Galaxy Man's stage that WILL kill you if you're not insanely lucky or psychic. Right before the boss door there's an enemy that will grab you (because you won't know he's there). Your choices then are to either sit there and let him do his thing, ending up smashed against a wall of spikes, or jump over the wall of spikes and land in a pit. That's it. Those are your options. Death or death. Things like that will likely annoy a whole lot of people, but if you don't mind the frustration (and if you're a fan of Mega Man, you're probably ok with frustration), it might be worth a look. It's too bad there's no middle ground between Hero and Superhero modes, though.

Well, that about covers it. There doesn't seem to be any more DLC planned. All together, the game and DLC costs $18. I bought it all, so you don't have to!

Review: World of Goo

A week ago, World of Goo was released for PC and WiiWare. I will admit that I was just a little bit late to the party. I didn't have any Wii Points handy and I'm not much of a PC gamer. It wasn't until a few days later when a generously-sized demo was released that I paid any attention. 

World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game by indie developers 2D Boy. 2D Boy is basically a two-man team, which makes this game all the more interesting. They have proved that you don't need the budget and manpower of a small country's military to make an amazing game.

I can probably let you stop reading here with this statement. The PC has Portal, the Xbox 360 has Braid, and now the Wii has World of Goo. 

It's a very simple concept that's executed perfectly and constantly expanded upon so that it never gets stale. You can not be bored while playing World of Goo. Every level introduces some new twist or gameplay element. By the end of the game, it still feels like you've just started playing. When simplified, the basic premise of the game is to build a path from your party of goo balls to a pipe for them to escape through. You must get a specific number of balls from the beginning of the level to the pipe in order to clear it. That description doesn't do the game much justice, though. While that basic mechanic is addictive on its own, what really shines is the unique design of each level. There's always some previously-unseen trick or nuance, such as an explosive goo ball that can demolish walls, or a giant head you need to grind down into a pile of smaller balls to fit into the pipe.

The genius level design is complemented by a very unique atmosphere. The whole game feels like it could have been designed by Tim Burton, with its stylized 2D graphics and truly epic musical score. Every world is ended with a story-advancing cutscene that leaves the player with the feeling that the game is on a much, much larger scale than it actually is. While a sense of humour is certainly prevalent from beginning to end, I couldn't help but get chills whenever I watched certain scenes. 

That's not to say the the game is completely flawless, of course. For instance, there's one level where you have to navigate a giant goo head (like the one pictured above) across a line of goo being supported by balloons. I underestimated the weight of the head and it went plummeting into a pit. When I undid my last move, I saw the head flying across the pit, straight into its destination. I suppose little things like that are to be expected when so many gameplay mechanics are present in a game developed by two people.

I know some people will be put off by the $15 price tag (just like Braid) but I hope this game gets the attention and sales it deserves. 2D Boy has set a very high standard for indie developers on major platforms, including themselves. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else this studio has coming, because their first effort is one of the best games I've ever played.

Tanooki-Ho

As of today, I've started writing for The Tanooki. On the off chance that there's actually someone out there who reads this blog when I don't link them to it, you'll be able to read a lot of what I write there from now on. Imaginary fans of this blog shouldn't feel abandoned, though. I'll definitely continue writing here, as well. The Tanooki is a Nintendo-only site, after all.