Video Game Review #213: Toy Story

Toy Story

Sega Genesis

Nostalgia Factor:

I have been dreading playing Toy Story. I remember renting this game from Blockbuster Video when I was a kid. I had the game for three days. Three long, brutal days. I played this game nonstop the entire weekend. I remember the game being incredibly challenging. You have a limited amount of lives, and once you run out of lives you have to start the whole game over from the very beginning. This game is tough, and I ended up dying and having to restart the whole thing quite often. Quite often.

I did end up beating the game, but it took a LOT of hard work and dedication from yours truly. After that three day weekend, I never played Toy Story again. This game came out in late 1995. Let's say I didn't play it until 1996. That means that 23 years have passed since I last played Toy Story.

I don't remember much about the game, other than it being extremely challenging. Aside from that, I couldn't even remember if the game was any fun or not. So, was it? Let's find out.

Story:

This game closely follows the plot of the Toy Story movie. If you have seen that movie, absolutely nothing here will surprise you. If you have never seen Toy Story, what the heck are you doing here? Go watch Toy Story!

All jokes aside, I am actually very impressed by how well they captured the spirit of the movie in this game. Toy Story rarely veers from the plot of the film. As far as movie-to-game video game adaptations go, this is easily one of the most faithful I have ever seen.

Gameplay:

For the most part, this is a 2D side-scrolling platform game. I say for the most part because there are a few exceptions to this rule. We’ll get to those later. But first, the basics.

Taking control of Woody, you must navigate your character through 18 different stages. Woody moves left and right. He jumps, he ducks, he uses a whip to tie up his enemies. You begin the game with three lives, however in the options menu you can adjust the amount of lives to anywhere between one and five. Just move it up to five and do yourself a favor. The difficulty of the game stays the same, you just get more attempts this way. And you are going to need every one of them.

Most of the platforming stages, the goal is very simple. Just make it to the end of the stage and you’ll move on to the next one. Some stages, you will have “goals” to accomplish before you can move on. For example, in the second stage Andy is returning to his room, and you have to guide all of your fellow toys back to their original positions (where Andy left them) before he arrives. There are a few boss stages where you have to square off against Buzz Lightyear. There is a “stealth” stage where you have to sneak through the arcade while avoiding getting trampled by paper airplane throwing kids. In my most hated stage of the game, you are trapped in the claw machine while Sid is attempting to fish Buzz Lightyear out from a sea of squeaky alien toys. You have to use your whip to launch these alien toys into the claw, knocking Buzz from its grip. Sounds simple enough, but the thing moves so fast and there is almost no margin for error here. This stage wrecked many a playthrough for me. I’d come into it with full lives and the extra continue that I’d earned, and I’d end up burning through all these lives and having to start the game over again. Definitely a frustrating stage.

The rest of the game isn’t that difficult, but it is still pretty tough. Just keep at it and you’ll be a pro in no time. A little trial and error goes a long way.

As I mentioned earlier, there are a few stages that are not 2D platform stages. One of them takes place from the first person perspective. You have to rescue eight alien toys that have gotten caught in the inner workings of the claw machine. I had no idea the Genesis could handle a 3D environment like this, but it does a fantastic job. I am sure I was awed by this stage when I played it as a kid. There are a few “chase” stages where you zip through the level while riding on the back of fellow toys. You just have to move around and avoid getting hit, which is easier said than done. The other variant stages take place from an overhead perspective where you control an RC car. Basically all you have to do is make it to the end of each “track” while on a timer. You can replenish this timer by picking up fuel containers that are intermittently strewn throughout the stage. I found these stages to be a bit frustrating, but they aren’t that bad when you get the hang of how the RC car handles.

Graphics:
This game’s color palette is a lot darker than I remember, but it still looks pretty good, especially when you consider the game’s age. I can’t believe it is 24 years old! All the characters are accurate representations of their film counterparts. The animations are a bit rigid, but oh well. It is not like this ruins the game or anything. The level design is solid. Andy’s room looks like Andy’s room. The arcade looks like the arcade. So does Sid’s house. The 3D first-person stage looks awesome, as I already mentioned above. I don’t think this is the best looking Disney game out there (Lion King, Aladdin, and The Jungle Book all look better in my opinion) but it still looks pretty darn good.

Sound:

Everything sounds exactly as I expected it to coming from a mid-90s Sega Genesis movie-to-game adaptation. Canned, tinny character voices when you make a menu selection. Remixed tunes from the movie. I particularly like the “You Got a Friend In Me” rendition that the game uses. Thank god I do, because they use it a LOT in this game. Other than that, nothing about the game’s audio really stood out to me. I guess that is a good thing because if it sucked I would definitely remember!

Overall:

Turns out I didn’t have much of a reason to dread playing this game. It is difficult, there is no denying that. But despite its difficulty the game is actually quite fun. Right from the get-go I became invested in Toy Story, and I ended up having a pretty darn good time with it. In fact, even after beating the game I still get urges to go back and play it again. To me that is the mark of a truly great game. Well, I don’t know about “truly great” but this is certainly one of the better 2D platformers I have played in recent years.

Not only is the game fun, but it also stays true to the spirit of the Toy Story film. I played this game the same day I finished watching the movie, and I have to say that I was impressed by how closely the game stayed to its source material. Of course, playing this game will never substitute for the experience of actually watching the movie, but all of the major points of the film are covered by the game. If you have never seen the movie, but have played this game – and then someone asks you to recap the movie for them you would be able to do so just from playing the game.

All in all, this was a surprisingly fun title. Not to say you don’t hit a few ugly spots along the way (I’m looking at you, claw machine!) but it is still pretty entertaining. I’d recommend this to not only Toy Story fans but fans of 2D platforming games in general. It is one of the best movie adaptations the Genesis has to offer.

Final Score:

A

If you liked my Toy Story review, please check out some of my other game reviews:

Aladdin

Dynamite Headdy

The Jungle Book

The Lion King

Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics

Re-Review #8: Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series

PlayStation 3

For my initial review of Game of Thrones, click

>>>here<<<

Recently I wrapped up playing Doom and I found myself in need of a new video game to play. With the holiday season coming up, I didn’t want to start a new game that I would get distracted from, and as a result would take me forever to beat. I figured this would be a perfect time to replay a game I had already reviewed. Something quick and easy. The game I settled on was Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series for the PS3.

I played this game a few years ago and I had a pretty good time with it. I love Game of Thrones. I have always enjoyed Telltale’s games. A Telltale game set in the universe of Game of Thrones? Sign me up! My previous game ended with Rodrik dying and Mira getting executed in King’s Landing. Grim stuff. I figured I’d make new decisions this time around in order to get a different ending, so that is what I did.

What I like about this game is how authentic it is the Game of Thrones universe. Everything from the graphics, the presentation, the music, the opening credits, and the voice acting feels true to the spirit of the show. I think the more hardcore of a fan you are (not only of the show but the books as well), the more you will appreciate just how authentic this game is. House sigils, character references, tie-ins to the main GoT plot… it is very clear that the makers of this game did their research. Another thing to admire is that this game does not take any liberties with the main GoT plot. You’re not going see events of the series changed in anyway. Like, you aren’t going to see Tyrion Lannister getting naked and smearing peanut butter all over Margaery Tyrell. The events of the game run concurrent to the events of the show, mainly focusing on new or minor characters. You will indeed bump into established GoT characters like Jon Snow, Tyrion, Margaery, and Cersei, but none of your interactions with these characters will bump them off their pre-established canon path.

This game feels very high-stakes, which I think added to my enjoyment of it. House Forrester is literally fighting for its life. You always feel like every decision you make in this game carries a certain amount of weight with it. I would say that I was on the edge of my seat as I played, but that would be a bit of an overstatement. One thing this game has going against it is its very slow and deliberate pace. I guess you could argue that the makers of the game are only following in the showrunners footsteps, but god dang do things move slowly sometimes. I understand that House Forrester is never referenced in the show or the books (albeit one tiny sentence in A Dance with Dragons). The house and the major characters that make up the house have to be introduced. I get it. But there are times when this game moves painfully slowly, and this is an issue I haven’t noticed in other Telltale Games.

While I am bitching, let me also mention that the game is still just as glitchy as it was the first time I played it several years ago. You’d think some kind of patch or update would have been offered by now, but no. Several times throughout the game I would hear the characters talking while nothing happened on the screen. There were a few instances where I thought I was going to have to turn the game off and turn it back on again because the action was freezing on-screen and nothing was happening for long chunks of time. Luckily the game never actually froze completely. If I just let it sit, it would eventually work the bugs out and start working again.

Complaints aside, I had a pretty good time with this game. It tells an original, high stakes story set in the world of Game of Thrones. There is a small amount of fan service with some of the recurring character cameos, but it is nothing too over the top or eye roll inducing. Any fans of the TV series or the books should check this out. If you consider yourself a hardcore fan, then I would say you NEED to check  this out. Just don’t expect a solid resolution to the events of the game. Apparently a sequel was in the works, but was cancelled when Telltale went under. Maybe someday we’ll get the solid, canon ending we were hoping for. Just be prepared when you start playing this that you may not get the ending you feel you want or deserve.

Final Score:

B

It got an A- the first time and a B the second time. I guess that means this game averages out to a B+. I feel I overrated the game the first time and I don't think it is worthy of the plus, but I guess it will just have to do.

Video Game Review #212: Super C

Super C

Nintendo Entertainment System

Nostalgia Factor:

As big of a Contra fan as I was growing up, for some reason or another I never got around to playing its sequel, Super C. Several years ago, shortly before I started doing reviews, I purchased a physical copy of Super C for the NES. I played it, beat it, and put the game back on the shelf. I liked it, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the original Contra in my opinion. Now I have purchased the Contra Anniversary Collection for the PlayStation 4, and Super C has once again found its way onto my radar of games to play.

Would my opinion on the game change the second time around, or would I still consider this game as playing second fiddle to its predecessor? Let's find out.

Story:

I don't know much about this game's story, and honestly I don't think it matters. You work your way through eight stages, fighting aliens all the way. At the end of the game you destroy the final boss, and your character flies into the sunset on a helicopter. The end.

Deep stuff.

Gameplay:

Not a whole lot has changed from the previous Contra game. Just look at the above screenshot. I wouldn't blame you if you thought that this WAS the original Contra.

There are eight stages. Most of them are of the side-scrolling variety. You start on the left side of the screen, making your way either up or to the right. There are a shit ton of enemies constantly appearing on the screen and attacking you at all times. You really have to be on your toes here, because one hit will kill your character. You get three lives and three continues. That's it. I never cheat in video games, but I hear that you can't even use the classic Konami code in this game. If you beat this game, it has to be on your own merits.

Just like in the original Contra, there are a variety of different guns to collect. If you die, you lose your weapon upgrade. You want to get the spread gun and hope to hang onto it as long as possible. It will make your life a lot easier... which you are going to need because this is a decently challenging game. I won't sit here and say it is the hardest game of all time, but it took me several attempts and a few hours of my time to beat this game. I thought it was a lot more difficult than the original Contra, and most people consider that to be a pretty hard game (although I don't). So take that however you may.

The only real change that Super C makes is its addition of overhead stages to the game. Gone are the hallway 3D-ish shooter segments from the original Contra. This game adds two over-the-top style levels for you to play. If I had to compare them to something else, I would say they are reminiscent of Guerilla War or Ikari Warriors. It also reminded me a bit of Thundercade (although you are not in a vehicle in this game).

I personally liked these new stages, as the 3D hallway stages are probably the thing I like the least about the original Contra.

Graphics:

This game's look is on par with its predecessor. If it looks any better, the difference is only marginal. That said, I do love the look of the game. It's sharp, colorful, and has its own uniquely Contra feel to it. I don't know how to put it into words, but let's just say I am a fan of this game's presentation.

Sound:

I'm just going to regurgitate what I said about the game's graphics here, too. Super C doesn't necessarily sound any better than its predecessor, but that isn't a bad thing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That said, I don't think this game has as many catchy tunes as the first game did.

Overall:

I hate to keep comparing this game to the original Contra, but when you consider how much I love that game, you have to understand that I would hold its sequel to a high standard. This game looks like it easily could have been a continuation of the original Contra. Similar gameplay, similar graphics, similar music and sound effects. Even the difficulty level is similarly challenging.

That said, why don't I like this game as much as I did its predecessor? I don't have an easy answer for you. I grew up with the original game. I played it when I was five or six years old, and I have its stages and its bosses ingrained in my memory. Super C is good, sure, but without the nostalgia factor in its corner, it falls a little flat for me.

This is a very solid platforming game that has a lot going for it. I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in the genre. Just because I didn't like it as much as the original Contra doesn't mean I think the game sucks. This is a very good game. I just can't force myself to get too excited over it. Very good game? Absolutely. Excellent? An all-time classic? I can't in good conscience say yes.

Final Score:

B

If you liked my Super C review, please check out some of my other game reviews:

Contra (Arcade)

Contra (NES) 

Guerilla War

Ninja Gaiden

Thundercade

Re-Review #7: Castlevania

Castlevania

Nintendo Entertainment System

For my initial review of Castlevania, click

>>>here<<<

I recently purchased the Castlevania Anniversary Collection for the PS4. There are a ton of Castlevania games on this collection that I never had the chance to play growing up. While I am very excited to play some of these titles, I figured I’d give the first game in the series a quick replay before I moved on to them.

I’ve already played and reviewed this game before. It got an A+. It was always one of my childhood staples as a kid, and to this day I still think it is a pretty awesome game. Would anything change on my replay of the game? Nope.

I don’t even really know what to say that I didn’t say in my initial review. This is a wonderful game. Good graphics, tight controls, an awesome soundtrack, classic level design, and a difficulty level that perfectly walks that thin line between challenging and frustrating.

If you’ve never played this game before, I would recommend getting the Castelvania Collection just to check it out. Even if all the other games in the collection suck, this game itself makes it still worth it. The only other game on the disc I’ve played is Simon’s Quest (which I didn’t like as a kid and I am NOT looking forward to playing), but from what I hear the rest of the games on this collection are pretty good. Why not buy it? I can think of no good reasons whatsoever.

So yeah. Castlevania for the NES: it is a true classic. You need to play it and love it. And if you don’t love it, there is something seriously wrong with you.

Final Score:

A+

Other games I have re-reviewed:

Contra (NES)

Super Star Wars (SNES)

The Walking Dead Season One (PS3)

The Walking Dead Season Two (PS3)

The Walking Dead: Michonne (PS3)

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)

Video Game Review #211: Doom

Doom

PlayStation 4

Nostalgia Factor:

Although I’ve never been a huge fan of the first person shooter genre, I absolutely loved the old Doom games when I was a kid. When I heard that Doom was getting rebooted with a fresh and shiny new coat of paint, I became very excited. I had this game sitting at the top of my GameFly queue for MONTHS on end, but for whatever reason they never sent it out to me, despite its status always being listed as “High Availability.” Whatever.

I don’t know what was going on with GameFly, but it became a moot point when I saw the game on sale for dirt cheap on the PlayStation Network. I bought the game as soon as I saw it. Before I knew it, it was downloaded and I was ready to jump in and start playing. Would this game be able to recapture the magic of the older games in the series?

In a word: nah. But let’s explore further, shall we?

 

Story:

Doom’s storyline has never really mattered much to me, and that pattern continues here. There’s something about a space colony on Mars, something about a gate to Hell opening up, something about demons coming through and killing everyone in sight, something about you going through the hole and taking the battle directly to Hell. All cliched Doom stuff that should come as no surprise to anyone.

I feel as if the game really does try to get you involved in its story, but it didn’t work with me. There’s just simply too much chaotic stuff happening while people are trying to talk to you, and that makes it really hard for me to focus on what is going on. I have always been a poor multi-tasker. I have similar complaints with games like BioShock and Dead Space that try to shove the story down your throat WHILE you are walking around and playing. I just can’t do it. For all I know this game could have the most awesome storyline in the universe (doubt it), but I would never know because I can only focus on one thing at a time.

Gameplay:

This version of Doom is less about horror and more about killing demons. Heavy metal music plays while you run around dodging enemies and frantically gunning down everything in sight. That’s this game in a nutshell. Run, shoot, collect items, and try not to get killed.

I like that they moved away from Doom 3’s slower pace and returned the series to its mindless run-and-gun roots. There’s something that’s just very, very fulfilling about the battles in this game. Whenever one big battle would end, I’d already be itching to join another one.

Fighting in this game is fun, but I do have a bone to pick with the game’s pacing. In the old Doom games, you’d wander around the levels, fighting enemies as they popped up. Every once in a while a big scripted battle would take place, but for the most part you were kept on your toes all stage long. In this game, everything seems so predictable. You can tell that almost all the battles are extremely scripted.

Here is an example of what I mean. Let’s say you start a new level. After five minutes of walking through corridors and listening to chatter on your comm radio, you’ll enter a big, expansive room. You’ll see items scattered around the perimeter of the room. There’s a bunch of ledges and things to climb on all around you. It is extremely obvious: there is going to be a big battle here.

Sure enough, you walk into the room and all the doors in this room slam shut. A bunch of enemies materialize in front of you. You kill them. A bunch of flying demons spawn in the air. In the corner of the room a bunch of those armored charging demons appear. Every time you kill one group of enemies, another appears somewhere else, until everything is dead. Then all the doors magically reopen and you can move on.

It seems like 90% of your fights take place in this manner. While I don’t mind the big battles, and like I said I found a lot of them to be quite fun, I would have preferred more even pacing. Outside of these big battles, I rarely if ever felt challenged by Doom.

Weapons in this game are one of its high points. They are all easy to use. It’s easy to flip back and forth between them. You’ll quickly learn which guns work best on which enemies. One of the biggest thrills in battle, to me anyway, was going through my weapons and picking out the right ones under pressure. It added a certain (and unexpected) layer of strategy to the game’s combat. Another thing I liked about the combat is the fact that if you weaken enemies enough, you can perform a finishing move on them that gives you added health items. This twist made me more bold than I would normally be. Normally I’d play hide and seek with my enemies, picking them off and quickly running behind cover before they could retaliate. Now I found myself running right up to enemies in the heat of battle so I could perform a finisher on them and get some much needed health items. Plus the finishing animations themsevles are just really cool to look at. I definitely approved of this twist.

Moving on to the game’s length, Doom is quite short. I remember the older Doom games being much longer. Maybe it is just the fact that I have a crummy memory, but didn’t those titles have like 30 stages in each game? This one has 13. At least the levels are longer, though. When I was still early on in the game and didn’t really understand its mechanics, some of the earlier levels took me hours to beat. Once I got the gyst of how this game worked, I started to breeze through the remaining stages. Before I knew it, the game was over. Wait, was that it? How could it be over already??

I’m not a DLC guy (unless it is bundled with a game for free) and I also don’t really do multiplayer. I’m sure that these features add a lot more longevity to this game. But we are talking about MY experience with Doom. While I had a decent time with this game, I have to say that it left me feeling a bit empty when all was said and done. I expected more!

Graphics:

There is no denying that this game looks quite good. Enemies are well-detailed, lighting effects are realistic, the environments look fantastic. Animations are top notch too, especially with the aforementioned finishing moves you can perform.

In addition to its beautiful graphics, the game is also very atmospheric. I wouldn’t say that I was ever scared playing this game, but I did walk around while very much on-edge. The makers of this game definitely had a vision, and I would say that they were successful in executing this vision.

Sound:

The game’s sound is very good too. Play this in the dark with headphones on. The world of Doom will suck you right in. During its quiet moments, you will walk around noticing all kinds of little sound effects that help to build atmosphere. In the heat of battle, this really loud heavy metal music blares at full volume. Normally this would irritate me, but it fit into what I think this game was trying to accomplish. Loud, in your face action that doesn’t let up. I approve.

Voice acting is fine, I guess. Like I said I didn’t really pay much attention to this game’s storyline. I play Doom to slaughter demons, explore its stages, and collect numerous items and weapons. I couldn’t bring myself to care about its story. As a result, I just kind of pushed all the voice acting and story stuff to the back of my mind as I played. I’m sure the game’s voice acting is fine, I just can’t say I really noticed it at all.

Overall:

As hard as this game tries, I don’t think it quite recaptures the spirit of the original Doom games. Too much focus is put on action and fighting and death. Sure, some of the levels are atmospheric, but what is missing to me is that sense of terror and dread that I would experience when playing the older titles. I wanted this game to scare me, darn it, and it flat out did not. How disappointing. I also feel as if this game didn’t challenge my brain enough. The older Doom games often would trip me up with its puzzles and hidden rooms and switches. This game is very straightforward with where you are supposed to go and what you’re supposed to do. The in-game map and navigation systems hold your hand the whole way through.

If you don’t care about that kind of thing, you will find Doom to be a perfectly serviceable first-person shooter. You’ll come, you’ll shoot stuff, you’ll finish the game, then you’ll move on to something else. That’s my experience with Doom anyway. This game didn’t really give me much of a reason to come back and play it again. I thought it was… fine. And that’s about it.

I’ve come to the realization lately while playing games like this one, Gears of War, and The Order: 1886. That realization is that maybe shooters just aren’t my thing. Shooters can be my thing, but they have to be exceptional for me to enjoy them. Good story, good gameplay, lots of secrets, lots of reasons to come back and play the game again. Most shooters only give me some of those things, but not all of them. Doom is one of those games.

Not to say that this is a bad game. When things were clicking and I was getting caught up in the heat of battle, I really got into Doom and I enjoyed my time with it. I like how so many of the battles can be very challenging. I enjoyed trying new tactics and adapting my approach when I’d run into trouble. Games don’t challenge me enough, and I feel like Doom did an excellent job walking the fine line between being challenging and frustrating.

I also have to give this game props for its production values, as the graphics are amazing, the sound is great, and I had no issues with the game’s camera or controls the entire time I played. Technically, this game is top of the line. This doesn’t completely excuse the rest of Doom’s shortcomings, but it helps.

This is a good, decent first person shooter. I just can't bring myself to get too excited over it. In the future if I ever get the urge to play Doom, I'll play the Doom I or II, or maybe even Doom 64. Although this game tries really hard to recreate the magic from some of those old games, I think it missed its mark. Only a slight miss, but a miss nonetheless.

Final Score:

C+

For a complete list of all my game reviews, click 

>>>here<<<