The Buzz

Yay!! So it’s my first review. ^_^  so, Giddiness aside I’m going to be doing”random video game from Aaron’s Collection” Yeah I know i plugged my own name in there. Don’t judge me. The random Video game this time is  Tomb Raider Anniversary for the Nintendo Wii. Your probably  wondering how i go about choosing these games. well,  it’s a pretty complicated process that is very taxing on the body. I lay all of my games on the floor and i blind fold myself and then i choose one. pretty difficult  I know.  (I’m usually shirtless when this is all goes down for some reason) Well enough of me and my being blindfolded and shirtless =P. On with the review!

 

For those who don’t know, the game stars Sexy, used to be extremely busty heroine Lara Croft as a er…. Tomb Raider of sorts.  Back in the late 90′s she was the go to gal for female action heroes in video games. Guys would drool over her polygonal cubed as hell model and her “assets” I guess you could say. Plus she had a killer english accent. The plot in Anniversary is fairly simple.  Lara is offered to search for the scion by Natla. For spoilerish purposes I’ll leave the rest out. Lara travels from Egypt, Peru, to Greece in search of Artifacts, Relics and hidden treasures. Gone are the days of Lara moving & jumping robotically. She moves and runs with fluidity like a normal person would. This was implemented in “Tomb raider Legends” and carried over to this game. Lara climbs and does everything with ease and the animations are nice for each move.

Tomb Raider is known for being a tad bit on the difficult side  (I never beat the first on the original playstation, hey i was a young kid) with it’s mix of action,exploration & puzzle solving. Which have been the most satisfying parts since the series began. The isolation and the overwhelming feeling of being alone and getting out of the caves and hidden tombs are very present in this game. It has it’s hard moments but you can view Lara’s journal on what do to next if you get stuck.

Of course since this is the Wii version it gets the added feature of motion controls which is the core of the game. You will climb and grappling hook your way through environments with ease using the Wii remote and nunchuck.  The big draw of this version is being able to solve puzzles, pull levers,  dust off artifacts, and crack open broken walls to reveal secrets. The overall feeling is cool and it makes you really feel like your part of the game as opposed to just sitting and watching. It does a good job without feeling too gimmicky. The controls are simple. you shake the nunchuck to use your grappling hook. analog stick controls Lara. the C button is your camera. The controls aren’t clunky but the camera.. could use a little work.

 

My Quote for this game would truly be “Look before you leap” believe me.  The camera caused many deaths because I simply wouldn’t know where to jump next. It’s good to take note of your environments and look  around before you just start climbing around like a monkey. If you haven’t played a next gen TR game the majority of it will feel fresh thanks to the added gameplay enhancements and different things Lara can do made for the Wii version. It’s a lot more fun overall. There’s an adrenaline bar so you can pull of some slow mo kills.  The Croft Manor is also in this game which is Lara’s ridiculously large mansion that you can explore and put things back in order. Her butler hasn’t been doing his job apparently. There is concept art, Developer commentary and alternate outfits and cheats galore. If your a huge TR fan then this is a game you must play.

In 2007, Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy, their next 3d console sequel to the Mario franchise. It was praised highly for its unique level design, fantastic soundtrack, and its genuine fun factor. 3 years later, we come to Super Mario Galaxy 2. It features great new changes to an already amazing formula.

Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser, once again!!! Bowser escapes into outer space to create his empire at the center of the universe again. Naturally, Mario is going to rescue her, with the help of star power from master luma (star-like creatures with the capability to transform). After launching into outer space, Mario is given control of Starship Mario, made by Lubba, which are powered by Power Stars and piloted by other Lumas. Mario’s mission is to fly across the universe in pursuit of Bowser and recue the Princess and to help Lubba find the lost Lumas that were part of Bowser’s plot.

The game leaves the hub world from the first game, and sticks to a traditional world map, like in side-scrolling Mario titles. This works great, and is much easier to navigate making it more linear or straightforward as opposed to the somewhat open world. From here, Mario can enter galaxies. . The music though does bring back at times classic melodies from past Super Mario Brothers titles like the first Super Mario Galaxy did, still remains as epic and very appropriate for the game’s atmosphere which perfectly accents the action.. The graphics are absolutely amazing through-out the game

The gameplay of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is similar to that of the first Super Mario Galaxy, with a focus on plat forming based on and around 3D planets with varying sizes and landscapes. The controls are pretty much the same as the first game, and they seem much smoother and more responsive. There is more challenge as the levels are longer and somewhat more difficult. This is a welcome change for experienced gamers.  Another change is that there is more 2-dimensional gameplay, which is very well done and serves as a good change of pace, giving that traditional Mario game touch.

Making his galaxy debut, Yoshi as your trusty steed. Yoshi can use his tongue to swing across gaps. When riding Yoshi, the Star Pointer is replaced by a red dot which allows the player to aim and control his tongue to swing off objects, pull levers or swallow and spitting out enemies. Yoshi can also eat fruits that give him various powers, such as the dash pepper which makes Yoshi move like a speed demon through Zero-G platforms, or the blimp fruit with the ability to inflate like a balloon and float in the air to get to certain platforms, or the power to reveal secret paths.  Luigi is also available as a playable character much soon then the previous game which required you to collect 120 stars.

With a new game, come new powers and abilities. From the new Cloud suit, where as you jump you can create cloud platforms in midair to the Rock suit that can make you Invincible as you can easily smash your way through foes and rocks to uncover hidden star bits and coins all can be used to help you on your quest. Mario can get a drill that allows the player to drill through planets adding a new dimension to the game. The game also allows a second player to control an Orange Luma to help Mario. In addition to freezing enemies and grabbing stars for the player, the Luma can attack enemies and collect items such as coins and bubbles, holding on to them until Mario needs them.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is smooth, polished and shows the time-dedicated love and attention that was bestowed upon it during its 3-year absence. It takes the best parts of the original and makes them better while taking away what didn’t work the first time. They have wisely included more for player 2 to do while acknowledging that Mario is still, front and center, the star of the show. The music is even more fully orchestrated than before. The attention to detail is phenomenal and showcases Nintendo’s desire to never compromise by releasing a product too quickly without undergoing the rigorous quality control that this game clearly had.

I was finally able to dive into Mario’s latest adventure with a few friends over the weekend. After a

few hours of game play I walked away satisfied yet with a strange new resentment for my friends.

Yes New Super Mario Bros. Wii (NSMBWii) is a great game filled with all the charm and appeal that Mario

has come to known, yet I feel the multiplayer component has forever changed the way his sidescrolling

games will be played. The basic idea is you take Mario, add in one to three other characters ala Mario

Bros. 2 and instead of making them take turns to play or making the player select from one of the four

optional characters you simply make them all play at once.  On paper this sounds like an awesome idea.

In practice, not so much. Don’t get me wrong I had a blast playing this game with my friends but anytime

we felt the need to actually finish a stage and not just laugh and joke or assassinate and torment one

another, we found ourselves frustrated and often soloing the more difficult stages while others waited.

The game is full of hectic moments like this!

Aside from this gripe everything else was flawless. NSMBWii is easily one of the better Mario games to

ever be released.  As a fan of the series with Super Mario World being my fav side scroller Mario game

I would have to say this game is second only to that game.  While this is not an official review I can

highly recommend this game to anyone who loves Mario or is simply looking for some good multiplayer

action on their Wii. Just remember you may have to solo some parts of this game to actually beat it. In

all I am loving this game. I think you will too.

Sky World Action

New Super Mario Bros. Wii gameplay

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