Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Review

 Game Reviews, IronKnuckle, Nintendo Wii  No Responses »
Jul 252012
 

I’m just going to say it: I am a huge Dragon Ball Z fan. Ever since being a little tyke sitting in front of television at exactly 8:00pm on YTV I have grown a love for the series that has continued on into my adulthood. To sum up the series in a few sentences really does the show no real justice. Your best bet would be to watch and see for yourself one of the most defining and amazing anime cartoons of all time. The show is basically about fighters with super human powers. With these amazing powers they are able to unleash enormous amounts of energy into what the series calls ki. And with over a hundred different characters the series is perfect for fighting game!

So much to do in this content packed game for all those Dragon ball Z fans out there!

This is the third game in the budokai tenkaichi series, and the second dragon ball Z game to hit the Wii. The game was released in the year 2007, so it does look a little outdated compared to other modern games. The game is a third person fighting game with cell shaded graphics. I like this because it stays true to the anime art style and feel. The game features over 150 playable characters! That’s enormous for a fighter! The game also features a story mode, tournaments, local and online multiplayer, and an upgrade system.

The fighting is a little difficult to learn at first, but is very satisfying once you master it

This game features a high octane fighting system that is just plain addictive. Unfortunately it is a little difficult to understand if you are a new player to the series as the training mode is mostly text. It took me at least half an hour to finish reading the entire training section, and by then I was just fed up and wanted to play. There are many controller options that you can use when playing this game just in case you have a certain preference (Wii remote, Classic controller, Gamecube controller).  To simplify the control scheme, you punch with the A button, shoot blasts with the B button, and do mega blasts by holding down a direction on the D pad and moving the Wii remote as if you are really doing the attack! Learning how to do the more complex attacks and chained combos takes a lot of practice, but is totally worth it if you want the full Dragon Ball Z experience.

Shoot blasts powerful enough to destroy an entire planet from the palm of your hand

There is a story mode called Dragon History in which you get to re-enact fights from the anime. This mode is pretty cool and is pivotal if you want to unlock all the characters and special stages in the game. I felt as though the fights were very good, but the actual story telling was a little weak, because they would resort to boring text to tell you what was going on. Besides that complaint the story mode is very fun and pretty long too!

Even though the online multiplayer is lacking you’ll still have fun kicking peoples faces in Dragon History mode

One of my favourite modes in the game is multiplayer. When playing local multiplayer the screen is divided vertically. Unfortunately this does hinder you point of view but is fine after some getting used to. There are a few different modes in which to fight in including singles and tag team matches. Online is probably the weakest part of this entire game. Never before in my life have I ever seen a more laggy server. It is so slow that it is simply unplayable which is very disappointing since it looks like they put a lot of work into player stats and different online match types.

Did I mention that you can transform into a Giant Ape!

As a final verdict for this game I would recommend it to hardcore Dragon Ball Z fans and gamers looking for a good fighter for their Wii. This game is not sold in stores anymore and does go for over $100 bucks new or $50- $60 used which is quite a lot. If you are lucky enough to find this game, many hours of action packed and over the top fighting bliss will be had by all!

I challange you gamers to try this game out if you get the chance!

Happy Gaming!

Dark Void Zero

 Game Reviews, IronKnuckle  1 Response »
Jul 012012
 

Dark Void Zero started out as an April Fools prank by Capcom. A trailer was released that showed an NES era style Metroid action platformer. However, Capcom decided to actually make it into a game available for download from the eShop on the 3DS or DSi. I recently downloaded this game, which is now almost two years old. For $4.99 this game is definitely worth my money.

Available for download on your DSi or 3DS for only $4.99

The game is basically what I already described it as: a side scrolling action platformer that is dedicated to the NES era. This game goes so far that it requires me to blow into my 3DS’s microphone to mimic blowing into an old cartridge before I’m even allowed to begin playing, cool huh! The game features three difficulties, so confident in my gaming skills I chose the medium setting and pressed start.

Blowing into your microphone is almost as good as the real thing!

The plot behind this game is very forgettable, but these types of games don’t require too much story since it’s all about the action. Basically you are fighting an alien race in a post apocalyptic universe. Your goal is to destroy portal X and defend Earth. Immediately after the opening cinematic you are put right into the action. You start the game with a simple machine gun. Later on in the game you can obtain a multitude of different weapons including a laser cannon or a rocket launcher. Your guy, named “Rusty”, can also obtain a jetpack that allows you to fly through the level. However in certain areas you will lose your jetpack. In those cases you will have to rely on your platforming skills to navigate the treacherous halls that lie ahead.

The story is generic and wierd

The game has a couple objectives for you to complete as you traverse each level. Your primary goal is to find key cards to locate and defeat the boss at the end of the level. There are also secondary objectives for each level. For example, level one has you searching for five journals that reveal critical information on how to defeat the alien enemies. Another objective is to collect all 100 yellow orbs in each level. By defeating enemies and completing these objectives you can rack up a high score that will be saved onto your SD card.

 

Pick up weapons and upgrades in order to traverse through the alien bases!

The controls are pretty good. Rusty is able to shoot in multiple directions and is easy to control when jumping and flying around. The levels themselves are very cleaver and the enemies become increasingly difficult to defeat as the game goes on. There seems to be a fairly good variety of enemies to defeat, however I do think they could have expanded a little more. The levels themselves are not the most pleasing to look at as they are NES styled, which in some sense gives it a more sci-fi feel.

 

Hard as nails!

The game is pretty difficult, even on the medium difficulty. The enemies become stronger as you progress, however not to the point of becoming too overwhelming. The game does not take very long to beat, as it only took me a couple hours to go through it. If you are looking for a quick action packed game reminiscent of the old NES days, then this is a safe bet. Even though the game is short, there is a lot of fun to be had with this new-classic!

 

Happy Gaming!

Epic Mickey Review

 Epic Mickey, Game Reviews, IronKnuckle, Nintendo Wii  1 Response »
Jun 252012
 

So for last Christmas I received Epic Mickey (Collector’s Edition) for the Wii, and it took me a couple of months to actually go and play it. My lack of motivation for playing this game stems from my distaste of any movie/cartoon licensed games due to their poor quality and repetitive game play. After playing this game for five minutes I already began kicking myself for not starting this epic adventure much sooner!

Doesn’t get any more epic!

 

The story begins with Mickey adventuring into his mirror. Mickey finds a paint brush and a miniature in which he begins to paint. However, something goes wrong when Mickey accidently knocks over a can of thinner that spills onto the small world. Mickey quickly retreats from the mirror and returns to his bed. We fast forward in time and Mickey is suddenly taken from his bed and brought into the miniature world by a black monster. After being sucked into this barren world Mickey finds out that this place is called Wasteland. It is a place where forgotten Walt Disney cartoons live. It is from here that the actual game begins, and Mickey embarks on his quest to either repair or continue to flood Wasteland in a pool of destructive paint thinner.

 

Create with paint, or remove with thinner.

The game is a third person platformer. The main game mechanic revolves around the use of Mickey’s magical paint brush. With his magical paint brush he can choose to either create objects with paint or destroy them with thinner. Not only are these abilities vital to the actual game play but they are also integrated into a moral system. What I mean is that in some situations Mickey will have the choice to defeat enemies covering them in paint or disintegrating them with thinner. Mickey’s actions whether good or evil actually affect the ending, don’t worry I won’t spoil anything!

 

You mad bro?

The visuals are fantastic. I would rank this as one of the more pleasing visual titles for the Nintendo Wii. The designers decided to go with a more traditional look for Mickey which makes him fit in with all the other “forgotten cartoons”. The setting for Wasteland is very tragic and really emphasises the pain and misery that felt by the characters in the game. There are also 2D side scrolling levels in between areas that add a mix to the game play. They are very fun, but become a little tedious when going in between different areas. Overall, the graphics and character design are impressive and really bring out the best of the Wii’s capabilities.

Looks gorgeous on the Wii.

Besides the main story mode there are also medals that can be collected. They can be found scattered throughout a certain level in usually hard to find areas. You can also receive medals by completing side quests for certain characters. The morality system I was explaining earlier also comes into play in finding medals. Usually doing something good for a character will yield a medal, whereas ignoring or mistreating characters will instead result in you getting money.

There are plenty of side quests; however, it’s your choice whether to help anyone out or not.

So far I have only been praising this game, but there are a few flaws that cannot go unnoticed. The first is the games camera. It is simply horrible. It is very hard control because in some areas the camera will remain fixed in a bad spot which will result in some hard jumps or some unfortunate leaps of faith. Another problem is the reticule for aiming Mickey’s paintbrush. It is often very finicky and will sometimes be hard to aim. Also there are times where you have a combined situation of both a bad camera angle and an uncontrollable brush reticule, which results in major frustration. Also the inability to access some previously completed areas will require you to play the entire game over again just to require overlooked medals. As well, the game does also become a little repetitive by the end.

Steamboat Willie!

Epic Mickey is a great game despite its flaws. The graphics are beautiful, the story is enticing, and the interactions and choices you can make are very cool.  Even though the camera is frustrating this is defiantly a very unique title. If you own a Nintendo Wii, then I would suggest you pick up this title.

Happy Gaming!