Review: Mario Kart Wii
By Ravenhawk | May 5, 2008
It’s been a week since Mario Kart arrived and it has been making it’s home in the Wii almost constantly since. I’ve always been a fan of Mario Kart and overall this game was no exception.
Given it’s lack of “Massive Multiplayer” this review falls under the jurisdiction of my single player review criteria.
Gameplay: The largest difference between this Mario Kart and previous ones obviously is the control. While the option to use the “classic controller” is there, the game comes with a wheel to insert your Wiimote inside. The controls with the wheel are mostly intuitive, the D-pad deals with items, the 1 and 2 buttons are break and acceleration respectively, and the B button if you so choose can be used to drift.
The Bikes handle differently than the karts, although for all the complaints lobbied by those who’ve played the game, the only real difference is that they turn differently, have a minor boost ability and don’t drift as well.
The game runs par usual; You and your foes are an epic contest… To see who can go around in a circle three times the fastest. Epic Indeed. They added more racers as well as you can now have twelve people in a race at a time. This makes the competition a lot more fierce and grouping on the tracks is a lot tighter.
The difficulty of the game has improved; That is to say that it has become harder in all three modes from the previous games. Whereas in the previous Mario Kart games the three difficulty levels had very little variation, 100CC and 150cc both take good sized upward hikes in difficulty from their predecessors.
Graphics: Everything in the game looks smooth, clear, and sticks with the usual Mario “cartoonish” theme, meaning everything is bright, colorful, and drops you right onto the various points of The Mushroom Kingdom Infrastructure that they sell permits to race on.
Sound: The background music is perky, happy, and generally guaranteed to get stuck in your head. The sound effects for explosions, etc are pretty normal. The voices of the characters are amusing; the range from baby mario’s cute (but much more vocal than he ever was in yoshi’s island) lines, to Bowser’s growling.
Fun: I preface this section with the following disclaimer: The game being reviewed is MARIO KART. Now returning to your normally scheduled program:
Like it’s predecessors, Mario Kart Wii has the ability to summon forth hours of entertainment. Playing alone, there are three levels of 32 tracks (plus mirrored tracks) to burn your way through.
The real fun, however, comes from it’s Multi-player. With up to four people on a single television or up to 12 on wifi (w/ up to 2 on the same console). There can be a lot of man-made chaos to fight your way through. The human element makes a large difference in gameplay and unspoken rivalries can quickly form between players.
While at first I lamented the inability to speak to your fellow players, as I believe gaming communities greatly increase the enjoyment of the games, after spending a few days straight playing the game with my room mate something occurred to me that I’d forgotten from the days of the N64: Mario Kart induces swearing better than any other game known to man. Therefore it might have been wise to not include voice-chat as could easily have reduced the family-friendly-ness of an otherwise perfect party game. However, it might have been nice at the very least to be able to send messages to one another asides from the ones on your friends list.
Replay value of the game on single player, like most things, has it’s limit. However, with the addition of a world-wide Wifi network, the ability to download other peoples best speeds on your favorite track and battle in two different modes, the multiplayer replay value is almost endless.
Overall: By and Large Mario Kart Wii is an excellent game. I would even go so far as to say it is a must-have for all Wii owners. Unless of course you’re violently opposed to racing games. Or were a victim in the past of Tramatic Blue Shell Shock Syndrome.
On a related topic: I have created a website tonight (Currently just an under construction page, basically) that will soon be home to the Mario Kart clan that Blanks and I are creating, the Blue Shell Socialist Undercurrent.
Edit: For the potentially interested, my friend code is 2621-3027-2402
Tags: Review, Games, Blue Shell Socialist Undercurrent, Mario Kart, Tramatic Blue Shell Shock Syndrome, Video Games, Wii
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Single Player Review Criteria Updated
By Ravenhawk | March 29, 2008
I have (finally) updated the review criteria for single player games. I didn’t mean for it to take so horrendously long, but I sort of forgot I was setting it up and it fell past the back burner.
I do have a particular game in mind for my first review which should, at the latest, be up within the week.
Apologies for the super-short and vaguely pointless update. See you later this week.
Tags: Video Games, Review, Games
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Single Player Review Criteria
By Ravenhawk | September 22, 2007
Returning from my Hiatus, that was quite frankly, equatable almost equally to my PS2 than it was to school, I decided I should at least be somewhat productive and write up reviews for some of the games I was playing. However, my review criteria written up previously were crafted specifically for the MMORPG genre so I had to write up some new ones.
Gameplay: How the game plays, including control, mechanics, difficulty.
Graphics: How the game looks. This doesn’t necessarily mean things have to have the most “intense” 3D stuff, it’s more how well the visuals are pulled together and fit with the overall game.
Sound: I haven’t played many good games that didn’t have sound. From ambient background noise to intense battle music, sound helps set the environment and bring your game to life.
Fun: How fun is the game? This really balances together a lot of the other elements. How entertaining is the game overall? How much replay value does it have?
Overall: This score is an average of all the others. Here will be a few comments on how all the other elements were pulled together.
Tags: Video Games, Review
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Review: GunZ
By Ravenhawk | January 20, 2007
GunZ Online was a third person shooter originally made by Miaet. It is currently being managed by ijji. In it you face off against other players using swords, guns, and grenades. There recently was also added a mode where you fight against npcs.
Grind: 7 GunZ has levels, but as far as Grinding in the tradition sense goes, its not that bad. Because it is almost purely a pvp game and because it is a skill based game has a lot of variety in the games. Unlike fighting a computer which can be the same thing over and over, games are much less predictable. The levels usually don’t matter as much as you’re in rooms which are tiered by level. It can be a bit difficult though, when you’re at the bottom of the level range.
Graphics: 8 As you probably know, I’m not a huge graphics buff. So, I don’t require things to look “real.” GunZ graphics satisfy me, easily. The people look like people, although their faces are fuzzy up close. The towns are pretty well rendered and the snow town looks very nice with all the lights. They don’t waste precious rendering time making things overly graphic, which would really be detrimental to game play as the lower end players would lag.
Sound: 8 GunZ has a soundtrack that, while not highly varied, definitely gets the job done. The tunes are pretty jamming, but they’re background music, not the kind of stuff you sit and listen to. Its the weapon noises that get your attention. Firing shots, drawing swords, cocking weapons, exploding ‘nades… You’re on a battlefield and in games with a lot of people in one room you can hear it.
Community: 8 Overall, the GunZ community is okay. Since the game doesn’t have much standing around time, often there isn’t much discussion between players besides smack talk thrown around. However, their new clan system is pretty cool. Five people can group together to make a clan. Others can be invited later, but thats the minimum. Then the clan members can take part in special fights to gain clan points. If you have a good run of victories in a row, its broadcast to the entire server.
Fun: 9 GunZ is action packed, fast paced, craziness. If you don’t have reflexes… Well, you could probably still play. The butterflies and SSers would slaughter you, sadly. But lack of playing skills doesn’t stop a lot of people from playing, and enjoying themselves to their fullest. If you like shoot ‘em ups, I definately recommend this one. Heck, if you just want to slash stuff, I’d still recommend it, you’d just want to play gladiator mode.
Overall: 8
Overall, GunZ is a great game. It’s awesome for those of us who’re tired of click and wait MMOs and want something that actually entails some playing skill. The only downside is the lively hacking community that has begun to spring up. ijji is doing their best to stamp them out however. Compared to the GunZ beta, ijji GunZ definately has a lot less hackers, which is good.
Sadly, you find lame people in all online games.
If you want to check out GunZ, or any of the other cool games they’re producing at the moment, check out www.ijji.com
Until Next time, Comrades.
Tags: Review, GunZ, MMOs, Third Person Shooter
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Review: Puzzle Pirates
By Ravenhawk | October 14, 2006
Puzzle Pirates is a game made by Three Rings Design which defies typical Massively Multiplayer Online games in that it doesn’t revolve clicking, and then going and getting yourself a sandwich while your alter-ego slays a monster. In a way, it created its own genre as the first Massively Multiplayer Online Puzzle Game. As strange as the genre sounds, it works out surprisingly well, creating a solidly fun game.
Grind: 8
Level grinding is Puzzle Pirates, unlike most MMOGs, is nearly nonexistent. Players don’t have levels, but instead have two ratings for each of the games which they can take part in. The first rating is, basically, how much they’ve done the puzzle, and that is rated from Novice to Sublime. The other is how good they are at it, which is rated from able to Ultimate.
Experience has little effect on the playing of the game. Some crews require you to have certain Experience or Rating ro be able to get promoted to different ranks and getting the broad rating on puzzles allows one to get new puzzles with the Navy. When you have a higher rating you can get more difficult boards for the puzzles. For instance, a high ranked Gunner has faster moving pieces than a low ranked one.
Some would say there is a money grind in the game, but even that is rather minor. If you hope to purchase some extremely expensive item, then expect to need to save up, but overall, money is not too hard to come by.
Graphics: 8
The game’s low graphics may turn off some gamers as not being good enough. Personally I find them to be quite fitting. The have a nice cartoony charm to them, which rings back to a time when Graphics weren’t all that important. Also, due to the simple nature of the game, because its a collection of Puzzles, complicated graphics would be unfitting. One of the few valid beefs that have come up is your inability to move your camera while you’re moving, but that is a minor detail.
Sound: 6
Puzzle Pirates has very little in the way of sound. There is the occasional ocean sound when you’re on a boat but there is no music of any sort. They do have sound effects in all the puzzles and while they’re good sounds, which depending on the puzzle, can be quite helpful, if you’re looking a game with a totally sweet sound track, or a soundtrack at all, this isn’t it.
Community: 9
The community is somewhere Puzzle Pirates really shines. The people are generally pretty cool. The crew system makes it really easy to find others to play with, Crew members are encouraged to pillage together in order to raise their ratings. Eventually this allows them to create or join a flag, which is a group of Crews. The ultimate goal of a flag is to take part in blockades and control their own island. Crew and flags can be left at any time by those in them, if they feel they’d like to search for something better.
Any player can create a tournament for their fellow pirates to compete in for various puzzles while on land. And you can throw “parties” in your house or shop, inviting anyone to come over and chat.
The economy of the game is completely player driven and is actually one of the best economies I’ve ever seen in an online game. Money is pretty easy to come by, but items deteriorate over time, so you eventually need to buy new ones. Only ships, houses and shops don’t deteriorate. Although most of the things you’re spending your money on only have an aesthetic value, there is something about standing in your big new painted house wearing matching clothes, surrounded by expensive furniture that definitely makes you feel good about yourself.
Fun: 9
Unless you’re not a fan of Puzzle games, Puzzle Pirates can be a load of fun. There are a large variety of different puzzles to try your hand at, most of which resemble super popular puzzle games which are out there, with their own piratey twist. Everything from Tetris to Puzzle Bobble style games are available. Its usually pretty easy to find someone to challenge to a sword fight or rumble. And if you find yourself not in the mood for puzzles, you can go relax in the inn, and talk or play Poker, Hearts, or Spades with your fellow pirates.
Overall: 8
Puzzle Pirates is a load of fun. It’s great community and awesome economy mean that, unlike a lot of mmos, you’ll actually want to interact with other players, not just go out on your own and kill stuff for the sake of gather those last few gold to get your uberweapon. With its emphasis on fun, not leveling its a good game to play to relax rather that stressing about being the best. For those who’re competitive, however, the rating system for individuals, as well as crews and flags, gives plenty to strive for.
Giving it another step up on most online games, you don’t have to pay real money to enjoy the game to fullest. If you play on a dubloon ocean, there is no monthly fee. You can pay real money to get dubloons, but you can also use the dubloon exchange to purchase dubloons off other players; there is nothing that someone who buys dubloons can get that players who don’t can’t.
It’s definitely worth checking out, at least for a short play, unless you hate puzzle games. The game is free for download at their website and takes up under 100 megs of space on the hard drive. There is also a retail version which can be bought, but the only advantage I’ve seen to getting it is to gain the coveted Backsword, a pretty nice sword that doesn’t deteriorate.
To check it out, you can head over to puzzlepirates.com or you could always click that handy link I have on the sidebar. If you did that, you’d start with a little extra money, but you’d also be starting in my crew and, oh the horror, be giving me money too. Some people have a problem with doing that. But regardless of how you get there, you should check it out.
Tags: MMORPGS, Review, Games, Puzzle Pirates
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Reviewing Criteria
By Ravenhawk | October 13, 2006
By saturday I should have posted my first game review. Before doing so, I figured I’d make a post explaining the criteria under which all reviews of mmo’s will be judged:
Grind: Let’s face it, most MMOs revolve around some kind of level grind. The game developers need to create a balance with their grinding so that, while not leveling too fast so the game is still sufficiently challenging, they can’t make it too hard to level, or it makes the game less fun.
Graphics: It’s self explainatory, how good are the graphics? Now keep in mind that this doesn’t mean necessarily that they have to super realistic, you can have a really good looking game, that doesn’t kill CPU. It’s a judgement on how good a game looks.
Sound: All games need sound. How nice is the music? How about the sound effects? These things have a large effect on the enjoyability of a game. Without music, your atmosphere takes a big hit.
Community: One of the largest things that make up a MMO are its people. Thus the name Massively Multiplayer. This is the grade of how good the community on the game is, the interaction with other players, etc.
Fun: Games are made to be fun. Obviously effected by all the other categories, this is an overall grade of how fun I found the game.
Overall: This score is an average of all the others. Here will be a few comments on how all the other elements were pulled together.
Tags: Review
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