Game Review: The Suffering

Game: The Suffering
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Surreal Software
Release Date: 9th March 2004

When I first picked The Suffering up I wasn't expecting much of out it as a game, due to the almost comical cover art and the fact that it was published by Midway, one of the least inspiring publishers of the modern age. I was surprised to find one of the most genuinely scary and fun to play horror games on the Playstation 2, despite some cliched themes and locations within the game.

Players control Torque, a prison inmate who is able to make an escape from Abbot Maximum Security Prison during a large scale monster attack. Although its never explicitly explained why these enemies appear, they're based on forms of torture that have been used at Abbot's facilities (including an asylum) over the years. Some of the time the monsters will conveniently take out members of Abbot staff to aid the players escape, but aside from this small piece assistance they provide, they're the main enemies of the game.

Players have the choice between first and third person viewpoints, controlled with the Square button. Personally I stuck with the third person view for much of the game, but its nice to have the choice. The d-pad controls the inventory of weapons and items, of which there's a nice variety of firepower, throwing weapons and a few melee options too. The right analog stick is used for aiming, while R1 and L1 are used for firing guns and thrown weapons respectively. The X button is used for actions, such as opening doors, flipping switches and turning valves, amongst other things.The circle button is used to consume Xombium, which increases the player's health bar (as long as they have some on hand), and R2 is used to jump.

An interesting addition to the game is an insanity meter which fills as players make kills. Once the meter is full, players can press the triangle button to transform into a monster-like creature themselves and do an extreme amount of melee damage with their hands to enemies. Using this mode too much can affect which ending players get however, as morally it seems to be questionable.

Torque's backstory is slowly explained through a series of hallucinations, imagined phonecalls, and images which briefly flash up onscreen at certain points. All of these contribute towards the overall scare factor of the game, and unless you're playing in the middle of the day with people around you, it should be pretty scary. The locations and areas inside of the game also add a lot to its atmosphere; the insides of the prison and asylum are often decrepit and blood stained, while the outside areas are misty, and keep players on edge.

There are 20 chapters to the game in total, which follow Torque from the beginning of his prison break to the end. Chapters are often used to change setting, and can vary in length and difficulty. With 3 game endings based on how players perform morally there's a little replay value, although I doubt many players would be willing to go through the entire story again for a slight difference in ending cutscene (even if the implications of the cutscene are wildly different).

While there's a lot of shooting and killing monsters in the game, a lot of chapters also feature puzzles of some sort which involve moving and manipulating objects inside of levels to achieve a goal. This changes up the pace of the game every now and then, and allows players a break from the constant threat of attack. On the whole the game isn't particularly difficult (although there are multiple difficulty settings), and it's easy to restart from checkpoints in the event of the health bar being emptied. My only complaint here is that it's possible to get stuck without any health or ammo items after a checkpoint, and have to restart in a bit of a sticky situation.

Graphically The Suffering is impressive on the whole; some textures and characters can look a little blocky when compared to the graphics of modern consoles, but once players are immersed in the experience, it doesn't diminish the experience at all. While there's not a lot of music to accompany gameplay, the voice and soundclips used in the game add a lot to its ambience and give it a true horror feel.

Overall The Suffering has some pretty scary stuff hidden under its almost budget looking cover. If you're after the deepest psychological horror, then this game probably isn't what you're looking for, but if a few jumpscares, weird enemies, hallucinations and a generally creepy setting sound like they're up your street, then this game is definitely something to check out. There's a sequel too, called The Suffering: Ties That Bind, which I hope to play before too long.

If you've got a PS2 and you're without this game, I'd honestly recommend picking it up; it's not too rare, it provides a lot of enjoyment and horror based action, and it's probably the best thing Midway's ever published.

Rating; 81/100
Grade: B

Master System Celebrity Based Game Double Header: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker vs Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

Game: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1989

Perhaps nowadays a game about Michael Jackson attempting to save a group of children from being kidnapped would be seen to be in bad taste, but in the late 80s there was no such problem. Thus, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was born, a game for the Mega Drive and Master System in which players attempt to rescue children from "Mr. Big", playing as Michael himself. Although the music and graphics are unquestionably better in the Mega Drive version of the game, I decided to check out the Master System release.

Featuring a total of 5 main areas each with 3 stages, as well as a final boss level, the game is fairly short and can be completed within an hour. The overall gameplay is similar to that of other run ad gun style games such as Shinobi and Rolling Thunder, although only short range attacks are available. Players can kick and punch, as well as throw Michael's hat to damage enemies, although swapping between these two methods seems to be almost random from level to level.

The children that need to be found are hidden in increasingly strange places as the levels continue, including in windows, behind gravestones, and in car boots. This can make collecting them all a bit of a nightmare as missing just one hiding place can entail searching the entire level once more to find the last child. Another issue is the fact that many of the later enemies have frustrating attack patterns and are difficult to get rid of, as they respawn almost instantly once Michael moves away from them.

The controls and overall gameplay aren't particularly bad, and there's a certain Off The Wall humour to the game, which includes being able to moonwalk, most of Michael's movement animations being completely in character for him, and enemies flying away when hit. While the early levels seem to keep to a general theme, later levels don't seem to be as recognisible, although I haven't seen the Moonwalker film.

Graphically the game is fairly good for the 8 bit era, although there's not a huge amount of stylisation to it. Most objects and locations are fairly standard for gaming, and wouldn't look out of place in any other title. The music  is one of the game's biggest features; with five Jackson songs in total, but they're not particularly impressive on the Master System and this proves to be one of the weakest features.

Overall Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is definitely worth a play on the Master System, unless you have a copy of the game handy for the Mega Drive, in which case I'd go for that. The control and premise for the game aren't bad, but the part I enjoyed most was Michael's animations when moving around levels. This is an example of a game that's so retro it almost hurts, considering the number of things that'd get in the way of it being released today.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Virgin Interactive
Release Date: 1995

Released a full 6 years after Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and based on the movie of the same name, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is an incredibly late era game for the Master System. Despite this, in many aspects it reminded me of games for home computer systems in the 80s such as the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64. There are 12 levels in total and the goal of each is to get to the end, defeating enemies as you encounter them. The game is presented as a beat 'em up with platform navigation inspired by Shinobi and Rolling Thunder at times.

Controlling Bruce Lee is fairly difficult because of a few key decisions made by the developers; firstly the jump and attack buttons are the opposite of most beat'em ups and can't be changed, secondly unless players are pressing a directional button in conjuction with the attack button nothing will happen, and lastly the hit detection and attack range is truly awful, leading to a lot of button mashing in the hopes of actually hitting something.

Graphically the game is pretty poor, using unattractive colours and repetitive backgrounds throughout the 4 different areas. There are few enemy types and the only standout feature is Bruce's animations which are fluid and fairly impressive. With no musical accompaniment whatsoever to gameplay, it's hard to assess the overall sound of the game; the sound effects are pretty standard but it's disappointing to have nothing to listen to alongside the "action".

Overall Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is probably one of the worst Master System games I own. The gameplay, controls, graphics and sound are all poor, and there's no real effort at level design or an attempt at a plot. The game's 12 levels over 4 areas seem more like 4 elongated levels which are very similar to eachother. There's really no reason why anyone should play this game as it's barely functional as a video game, even by 1987 standards.

Rating: 10/100
Grade: F

PSP Rhythm Game Double Header: Parappa the Rapper vs Gitaroo Man Lives!

Game: Parappa The Rapper
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: NanaOn-Sha
Release Date: 17th July 2007

Originally released in 1997 on the Playstation, Parappa The Rapper took ten years to be ported to the PSP. In this time, lots of things changed in the gaming industry, including the release of many other rhythm games. Gamers were surprised to find then, that the PSP port of Parappa The Rapper was virtually unchanged from the Playstation version, featuring only a few downloadable remixes and fairly poor online capabilities.

The events of the game see the titular character through 6 stages, in which he must rap well enough to impress the instructor of each stage. In game activities vary from learning karate and driving, to cooking and selling merchandise on a market stall. All of these are achieved by pressing any of the X, Circle, Square, Triangle, L and R buttons in time to musical cues, copying the rhythm of the instructor to rap.

The story of the game is quirky and doesn't make a huge amount of sense as a plot, but it serves to inspire players to continue well enough. All players really need to know is that Parappa is in love with a girl named Sunny, and that the aim of the game is to impress her enough to reciprocate Parappa's feelings. As the game is fairly short, it'd have been difficult to put much more detail into the story.

The mechanics of the game itself are hard to master at first; visual cues must be disregarded, save for the buttons which need to be pressed. Unlike Dancing Stage games, the visuals aren't properly synchronised to the rhythm and so following the cues at the top of the screen is a sure way to lose the stage. While this can be an annoyance, it's not too hard to clear stages once this has been realised. There's also an issue with songs which use a double bar at the top of the screen, or scroll straight through to a third and fourth, as players are required to press buttons before they even know what's coming up. Again, being forewarned is the only way to combat this.

Graphically the game is presented in an almost hand-drawn style, with paper thin characters and low levels of detail for backgrounds and background objects. With no visual update from the Playstation era, the characters and locations do sometimes seem a little lacking, but liked the visuals overall. The songs and music used are catchy, and enjoyable. The lyrics are often simplistic and sometimes even cringe-worthy, but this only serves to amplify the game's character.

Overall while there are several problems which haven't been fixed from the original release of the game, Parappa The Rapper for PSP allows players to experience the game who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to. The downloadable remixes for the game are not particularly easy to find or download, which is a shame. The game can feel a little too short, even for a rhythm game of this kind, so an extra difficulty mode of some kind would have been a nice touch. Nonetheless the game is a quirky and somewhat enjoyable experience for fans of rhythm games, even if it doesn't have the polish and array of features we usually see in modern rhythm games.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Game: Gitaroo Man Lives!
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Koei/Inis
Release Date: 14th November 2006

Another rhythm game port, this time from PS2, Gitaroo Man Lives! tells the story of U-1, who must defeat enemies with his Gitaroo skills to stop Zowie from obtaining the final Gitaroo, and presumably conquering the world. To do this, U-1 must showcase his playing skills against opponents over 10 stages, attempting to empty their life bars before his own becomes empty.

There are three modes to each stage; usually the first is charging, which allows U-1 to fill his life bar by playing well, with no damage for missing notes. Next comes battle mode which is split into two sections; attack and defense. Attack mode is played in the same way as charging, except that playing well now damages the enemy's health bar and missing notes damages U-1. Defense mode changes gameplay significantly, as button symbols fly into the middle of the screen from all directions and must be pressed in sequence to avoid taking damage. Finally when the opponent has been weakened, the final stage can begin, which works the same as attack mode, without the threat of a defense section.

To play the Gitaroo, players must point the analog stick of the PSP in the direction of the green line on which notes to be played sit, before pressing (and holding) a button to play each note. This system is pretty easy to get the hang of, and is unlike anything I've ever seen in a rhythm game. The defense system in battle mode utilises the face buttons for a change up in gameplay, and in many songs these two mechanics are switched between very quickly.

After all 10 story mode stages have been completed on either Normal or Easy difficulty mode, Master mode unlocks for an extra challenge. The overall difficulty of the game is pretty high, and towards the end it's challenging, even on Normal difficulty. Theater mode and Jukebox mode allow players to watch cutscenes from story mode and listen to music from previous stages. There's also some duet stages which can be played alone or with a friend who has a PSP and the game, that are a nice addition.

Graphically the game has an interesting cartoon style, with plenty of detailed characters and enemies, even if background objects lack in detail a little. The game's interface works well with the graphical style and doesn't get in the way of events happening onscreen behind the game. Musically the game is excellent as it features a wide range of musical styles and some truly enjoyable tunes. The voice acting in cutscenes is a little lacklustre, but I assume that it's been dubbed from the Japanese version.

Overall Gitaroo Man Lives! is a very interesting rhythm game that has innovative gameplay and many unique features, combined with a great soundtrack and a cliched, but tolerable story. The originality of the concept and overall style gives the game an impressive sense of identity. I'd definitely recommend this to fans of rhythm games who are looking for some extra challenge, as the game isn't particularly easy.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Game Review: Wonder Boy in Monster World

Game: Wonder Boy in Monster World
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: West One
Release Date: 1993

The best way to describe this version of Wonder Boy in Monster World seems to be as an RPG themed platformer, or action RPG. While the platforming isn't particularly difficult, it's mixed with RPG elements to make progression slightly less linear. The overall goal of the game is to rid the land of monsters by beating 5 bosses, each inhabiting a different part of the world. To do so players must find the correct NPCs to guide them in the boss's direction, buy upgrades for their equipment and fight through multiple screens of smaller enemies before reaching the bosses.

The game world features four main towns; Alsedo, Purapril, Lilypad and Begonia, as well as connecting areas such as a forest, desert, ice world and set of pyramids. Before completing areas there's usually only one way to get to them, but after they've been cleared shortcuts often open, allowing players faster travel between locations. At times it can be difficult to remember which shortcut leads to where, and I found myself wandering around lost a few times.

The game's controls are pretty simple; Button 1 is used to attack, while Button 2 is used to jump. The pause button on the console brings up the equip menu, which is a nice use of the feature even if it does mean having to stretch over to the console to press it. To use special attacks or items, players must press the up button in conjunction with Button 1 or 2. On the whole the game controls very well, although I have a few minor complaints of the general gameplay.

A lot of locations are hidden below the screen's visible area; unlike many video games where jumping down a hole spells death for characters, players are expected to explore below what's displayed. Also, when jumping the status bar at the top briefly disappears until players land. There doesn't seem to be any explanation for this, and it's a little distracting for player who are trying to make a precise jump.

As players progress through the game, they're able to gain more heart cases to increase their health, increase their attack, defence and speed points through buying new swords, armour and boots, and learn new magic spells which can be used to defeat enemies of any kind. While the equipment idea works well, and you're never short of money thanks to many enemies dropping stacks of cash, learning new magic spells seems a little pointless as the game can be completed by using just two of them, one of which you have from the start of the game.

I felt inclined to compare this game to the Legend Of Zelda series, as it features heart cases in the same style as heart containers from Zelda, there are treasure chests to be opened, and the whole platform style RPG was explored in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. While it's impossible to deny that some inspiration must have been taken from the Zelda series, the graphical style and overall gameplay varies enough to avoid being labelled a "Zelda clone".

The fighting featured in the game is pretty simplistic; there's a choice of 5 swords for use as weapons as well as a trident. When attacking players can swing the sword, lie on the floor and poke enemies with it, like a pool cue, or jump and swing the sword. It's entirely possible to kill and enemy and be hit at the same time, so a certain amount of technique must be applied. When players have got a shield equipped, they can defend against arrows or other attacks coming at them at a medium height.

Offensive magic usually auto targets enemies, and defensive magic such as the Shield magic protects players from being hit for a certain amount of time. At no point in the game did I have to use magic on enemies that weren't bosses, and once 6 or more heart cases had been collected, there wasn't really much need to use magic on bosses either; I can't remember a single boss in the game that I struggled to beat.

The overall difficulty of the game is pretty low considering that players can get passwords to continue from any point where an inn is accessible, and dying only results in being transported back to the last inn that was slept at. With a total playtime of around 3-5 hours, it's a pretty long game for the Master System which doesn't rely on difficulty to artificially extend play.

Graphically the game looks great for Master System, almost resembling 16-bit levels of detail on an 8-bit system. The enemies and bosses are very well presented, and each location has something to enjoy visually. The music of the game is catchy in places, but not overly memorable. My biggest complaint of it is that each time you reach another screen, or enter/exit a door, the music track resets, leading to a lot of repetition.

Overall Wonder Boy in Monster World is an interesting Master System game in that it's essentially a scaled down port of a Mega Drive game, but manages in its own way to be an enjoyable if slightly flawed experience. The story is a little cliche, and there are better platforming and RPG style games out there, but the blend of features work well together without the need for a complex level up system. I'd be interested to play the Mega Drive version and note the differences between the two, but honestly I doubt it'd change my opinion of the Master System game.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Multicart Game Boy Reviews: 12 in 1

Recently I've acquired 3 original Game Boy multicarts, each featuring their own assortment of games. Some of them aren't the sort of games I'm able to review, but others are exclusive to Japan or the sorts of games that I would like to review, so I'm going to take a look at each cart in turn.

King Series 14 in 1 Multicart

Sporting simply the word "GAME" at the top of its cartridge, the King Series 14 in 1 multicart features pictures relating to the games on it, as well as a gratuitous picture of Pikachu next to the title. Unfortunately there are only 6 games in total on the cart, as they repeat with altered titles which are variants of the original name.

Game: Detective Conan: The Suspicious Gorgeous Train
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Bandai
Release Date: 1998

The first game on the King Series 14 in 1 multicart is a Japanese graphic adventure style game based on the Detective Conan anime and manga series. With only one game in the series released in Europe on the Wii in 2007, this isn't a particularly well known series of games. As this one is entirely in Japanese, and requires various detective skills to complete, I can't give my opinion on it for lack of understanding. It's a shame, as it looks like it could be a good game, if I understood it.

Game: Crayon Shin-Chan 4: Ora no Itazura Dai Henshin
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Bandai
Release Date: 26th August 1994

Translating roughly to Shin-Chan 4: My Big Transformation Prank, this game features the cartoon character Shin-Chan (anyone remember Jetix?) platforming his way through 4 different levels. Players can collect powerups which transform Shin-Chan into an insect (with feelers that attack), a chicken (which can shoot eggs) or a super form (which can shoot lasers). When in any of these forms, taking damage by touching an enemy or their attack will transform Shin-Chan back to his regular form.

At the end of each level is a boss, who requires minimal platforming logic to beat. The most players will ever have to do is avoid an attack and wait for an opportunity to strike. The overall difficulty level of the game is low, but it's fairly obvious that the game was designed for children.

Despite this, the controls for the game are surprisingly tight; any deaths are purely the result of player error. The level design is also good, with varied stages including one with moving shopping trollies and bonus items to collect if a more difficult path is taken. Throughout the levels of the game there are items to pick up besides the transformation powerups; Shin-Chan icons provide players with extra lives, the long, tall rolls with a japanese marking on them give players an extra life once 30 are collected, and smiley face icons can be used to play minigames, once a stage has been beaten.

There are three minigames to choose from; a shooting game of sorts where players must hold back enemies by multitasking control of 4 shooting locations, a bug catching game, and a jumping challenge. If completed successfully, these games become more difficult the next time they're played, as well as providing the player with extra lives.

Graphically the game is pretty basic, but the style resembles that of the cartoon series in a few ways and when Shin-Chan is suited up as a chicken or insect it can be rather cute. Musically there's a few listenable tunes which accompany gameplay. While they're not particularly memorable, they fit well with the action featured in the game.

Overall when compared to other Game Boy titles targeted at children, Shin Chan 4 excels in providing tight and responsive controls, a small amount of difficulty, and a choice of minigames to break up the monotony of playing each platforming level in turn. While the game isn't exactly a classic, it's something to kill 20 minutes with that is interesting and well made.

Rating: 63/100
Grade: C

Game: Motocross Maniacs
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 1990

Motocross Maniacs is a pretty simple Motorbike platforming game which challenges players to complete various courses, with jumps, loops and other obstacles within a certain time limit. There are 3 game modes; Solo, vs Computer and vs 2-Player. Essentially the gameplay is the same in all modes, except for the addition of the opponent's shadow being onscreen in vs modes. It's also a requirement to beat the opponent as well as the time limit in competitive modes, making them more difficult.

There are 8 courses in total which can be played on any of 3 difficulty levels, although these only affect the amount of time players are given at the start. On each course are different collectibles such as Nitro for a boost, Speed (which gives a boost in top speed until players crash), Time (which increases the countdown timer) and Tyres (which boost grip until players crash).

In terms of control, players are only able to tilt the bike's orientation to land safely on parts of the course. This reminds me of modern day motocross flash games which have the same concept. Many of the courses have a two-tier system where the more difficult top route rewards players with many of the powerups, and the bottom route contains loose rocks and sand to slow players down, as well as lacking powerups.

At points in the game it's possible to get stuck, especially when approaching a loop without any nitros left. While it's possible to save them on the off-chance you'll encounter a loop, there are many other situations requiring nitros, and it's frustrating that there are parts which can be literally impossible without a nitro. Another small annoyance is that the lower route hardly ever allows players to pass levels, as there are no time powerups to increase the countdown clock. 

Graphically the game is very basic, with very small sprites and letters in boxes representing the individual powerups. Movement and animation is generally smooth, and the game moves at a fairly fast pace on the whole. The music that accompanies gameplay is unimpressive and even a bit annoying after a while.

Overall Motocross Maniacs is a strange cross between platforming and racing. It's not particularly complex, or enjoyable even, but it works decently. Tracks aren't particularly well designed and can be difficult to traverse between the controls and the overall difficulty. With almost no replayability once you've tried out each track, it's not something I can particularly reccomend.

Rating: 25/100
Grade: E

Game: Trump Boy

Console: Nintendo Game Boy

Developer: Pack-In Video

Release Date: 29th March 1990

I've never been particularly keen on video games that could be easily replicated in real life. Video games based on card games, board games, and anything that could easily be played without numerous hours of programming and development seem rather a waste of time and resources. Trump Boy is a collection of 3 card games which are at the very least, operational. 

Game: Shanghai
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Release Date: 1990

Before games like Smash Bros Melee and Kirby, HAL Labs were making Mahjong games for the Game Boy. As I said of Trump Boy, I don't think there's much point in reviewing a game that could be easily played elsewhere, especially in this case as Mahjong games are so prevalent on almost every console. It's not particularly good or bad in any way, and if I'm honest I don't really understand the appeal of Mahjong on such a small screen.

Game: Dr. Mario
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1990

I've already reviewed Dr. Mario for NES, and this version is pretty similar, save for the lack of colour. The gameplay and music are pretty much identical to the original, and thus this is just a portable version of it. It's a decent little game for inclusion on these types of multicarts, and the final unique game on the cartridge before they start repeating under different titles. Overall I'd give this the same score as the NES version.

So that's the King Series 14 in 1 cart, featuring 6 games in total, and a real mix of titles. Personally I think the main appeal was intended to be the new Detective Conan game, as well as a fairly recent Shin-Chan game, supplemented by some far older table and puzzle games. It's nice to get the opportunity to play some Japanese exclusives, even if they're not terribly good.

Color GB 32 in 1 Multicart

With a much more official looking cartridge, the Game USA Colour Advance 32 in 1 cartridge sports pictures of Mortal Kombat, Mario 64, Asteroids, Dr. Mario, and strangely "Happy Kombat" which doubtless is just another one of their titles for Mortal Kombat. Of the 32 games promised, the cart actually features 6.

Game: Mortal Kombat
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Probe Entertainment
Release Date: 13th September 1993

While it's no secret that I'm not the biggest fan of the SNES or Mega Drive versions of Mortal Kombat, it's obvious that they were developed in line with the power and capabilities of the 4th generation consoles. As you may be able to imagine, the Game Boy version of the game isn't quite as graphically or technically impressive as other versions. There's a choice of 6 fighters, 1 less than the home console versions of the game. and no options of any sort to choose from.

The game goes straight to the arcade mode upon choosing a character, and gameplay is slow even compared to home console versions. With only two attack buttons available for kicks and punches, there's a very limited set of moves available to players, and while there's still the sort of special moves which supposedly set the game apart from other tournament fighters, they're not executed in a way which is satisfying to players.

Graphically the game looks awful, with the motion captured animations appearing in even lower quality than before. The life bars are also difficult to see properly due to the size of the screen, so it's best to play on the Super Game Boy if you can. Musically the game features watered down versions of the home console themes, and they're not too bad when all things are considered.

Overall Mortal Kombat for the Game Boy is an almost perfect example of a game that's been watered down for handhelds. Less fighters, less features, worse graphics, worse gameplay and a worse overall experience. There's no real reason anyone'd want to play this version of the game, especially not if they had access to literally any other version.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Super Mario 4
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: ???
Release Date: N/A

Super Mario 4 uses assets from various games in its attempt to convince players that it's a legitimate game (it's a ROMhack in case that wasn't obvious). With a title screen based on Super Mario 64, sprites from Super Mario Land 2, Yoshi's Cookie and Mario & Yoshi. The game itself is a hack of Crayon Shin-Chan 4 (reviewed a little further up), and while the level design and several elements have been changed a little, it's still pretty obvious what it's based on.

The game itself is pretty hard, with no continues, many blind jumps, and areas that require taking damage to continue. Donkey Kong makes an appearance as the boss of the 4th world, but other than this it's not a particularly noteworthy game. The next game on the cart is Dr. Mario, which I've reviewed already, so I'll be skipping that as well.

Game: Flipull
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Taito
Release Date: April 1990

Subtitled as "An Exciting Cube Game" in Japan, Flipull is a puzzle game which requires players to match blocks with certain shapes on, in order to obtain a set number of points to clear the level. Each level begins with a special block, capable of clearing any other block, but after this players must match the block behind the one they've matched with previously, while the block that's been hit disappears. If this sounds slightly confusing, you'll be able to appreciate my confusion as the game doesn't explain any of the rules.

If players can't find a match for their block, and they run out of Special blocks, then the game is over and the level can be retried as long as there's a continue available to do so. Unfortunately not much strategy can be applied to the game, and wins and losses are mostly random and based on how the level is presented at the start.

Graphically the game is simple, with the majority of the screen taken up by blocks. While it's not difficult to see what you're doing, the game hardly pushes the Game Boy to its limit, and a little more animation might have added some interest. The music is simple and as equally inoffensive as it is unimpressive. It suits the puzzle theme decently, however.

Overall Flipull is about as basic as puzzle games get. While it's not quite as bad as card games or board games on consoles, there's very little gameplay or interest, and there's not really any skill to winning the game. It seems to be the sort of game that's included on the collection for its small filesize rather than any attractive graphics or gameplay.

Rating: 14/100
Grade: F

Game: Asteroids
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: The Code Monkeys
Release Date: February 1992

Asteroids is a game which should need little explanation to gamers; players control a space ship which can be rotated and moved forwards in order to aim and shoot at asteroids which are hurtling through space. As players shoot the asteroids they split off into smaller segments, any of which can destroy the player's ship until the tiniest segments have been destroyed. In this version of the game levels increase in difficulty after all asteroids have been cleared, up until the player loses.

Graphically the game looks pretty good for being on the Game Boy; the animations are smooth and the asteroids are relatively detailed.  The lack of music behind gameplay is a little disappointing as the sound effects don't give enough of an atmosphere on their own. Overall it's a working version of Asteroids on the Game Boy, but very little else. There's a choice of difficulty settings and multi player modes, but all are essentially the same experience.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Boxxle
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Atelier Double
Release Date: 1989

Boxxle is a puzzle game that's appeared on multicarts and other consoles in many formats. The object of the game is to push boxes from their starting positions onto the marked areas. Unfortunately boxes can only be pushed into areas where there's space for them, meaning boxes can get stuck, preventing levels from being finished. There's an undo button in case of this happening, but sometimes the puzzle will need to be restarted to find the proper solution.

Graphically the game is basic, but adequate. What needs to be done is clearly displayed, and any strategy can easily be worked out with the information provided. There's only one theme that plays behind gameplay but it's tolerable, especially considering the short nature of the game. Overall while there's not a lot to the game, it does its job well and just like Asteroids was included due to its small overall size on the cart.

Rating: 22/100
Grade: F

Without any real blockbuster titles included in its 6 games, the Color GB 32 in 1 cart falls a little short of even low expectations. On of the most despicable features of multicarts are ROMhacks purporting to be legitimate games (such as Super Mario 4), because they're attempting to entice ill informed gamers to buy a product which they'll no doubt be disappointed in. With only one multicart to go, let's hope there's better things to come;

Color 32 in 1

Similarly titled to the Color GB 32 in 1, and sporting the same type of sidebar and serial number, I think it's safe to assume that this cart was brought to us by the same people. Featured in the pictures on the front are Adventure Island 2, Super Mario Land, some sort of Pool game with fuzzy writing, Spiderman, Snoopy, Battleship and Bugs Bunny. This makes for a seemingly high quality assortment of games when compared to the other carts.

Game: Adventure Island
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: February 1992

Adventure Island has a rather interesting backstory as a gaming series; it was originally a direct port of Sega's arcade game 'Wonder Boy', until Hudson Soft obtained the rights to the game and decided to change the main character to their spokesman, Takahashi Meijin. In Western versions of the game, the main character is called Master Higgins. While the Wonder Boy series eventually went down the route of action RPGs, later Adventure Island games stuck to and expanded upon the original Wonder Boy platforming formula.

The overall objective of the game is to rescue Tina who appears to have been kidnapped and trapped inside of an egg. To do this players must traverse 8 separate islands, each of which have 5 stages before a boss, making for 40 different stages and 8 bosses to beat. Each of the islands have different themes such as Ice, Cave, Cloud and Desert which influence the scenery and enemies found there to a degree.

At the beginning of each level is a powerup egg containing an axewhich players can use as a weapon to defeat enemies. In addition to this various powerup eggs are hidden along the way which contain a skateboard, or creatures to ride on. As well as making platforming easier, these also provide an extra life for players if hit.

Graphically the game is pretty simple, although there are some interesting features to some of the backgrounds and locations. The music sounds good even if it isn't particularly memorable or technically impressive. Overall Adventure Island for the Game Boy has some tight platforming, and a good overall design, but suffers from being repetitive over its many stages.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: The Amazing Spider-man
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Rare
Release Date: July 1990

There have been many Spider-man games across many consoles over the years. The Amazing Spider-man for Game Boy was developed by Rare and published by LJN, a strange combination as Rare are best known for their amazing line-up of Nintendo 64 games, and LJN are best known for releasing poor NES games. The objective of the game is to fight through the 8 stages and beat 8 of Spider-man's nemeses.

Most stages feature a beat 'em style of gameplay, allowing Spiderman to punch, crouch kick or jump kick his opponents with different combinations of the directional and attack buttons. Having only 3 attack options is a little restrictive at times, and Spider-man often takes damage from enemies thanks to the poor hit detection. A few stages change up the gameplay, such as the wall climbing level, but these are few and far between.

Boss fights are generally pretty easy, as long as players are aware of their pattern. The fact that you're given 5 continues also helps, although Spider-man's health is depleted very easily in the course of gameplay and it's almost impossible not to take any damage at all. Graphically the game has some issues; Spider-man looks as if he's suffering from back pain most of the time, and there's a general lack of detail, but it's not too bad. The music is pretty standard for a Game Boy title, and there's no Spider-man theme or recognisable tunes from the cartoons.

Overall while this definitely isn't the best Spider-man game I've played, it functions as a beat 'em up and allows players to get decently far thanks to the number of continues given at the beginning of the game. Perhaps if the developers had gone for more of a Shinobi style game with a ranged web attack, and more use for web slinging than just avoiding all enemies it could have been a better game.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: D

Game: Super Mario Land
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: August 1989

Super Mario Land was the first handheld platforming instalment in the series, featuring 4 worlds with 3 stages each for a total of 12 stages. At the end of every 3rd stage there's a boss, with a final boss appearing at the very end of the game. Each world has a loose theme; these include Egyptian, Moai, and Water based worlds. Some enemies from the console games make an appearance such as goombas and koopas, but there are also some new enemies like spiders and flying Moai heads.

The overall difficulty is pretty low, and with a minigame which can replenish lives inbetween each stage, there's no reason players shouldn't be able to complete the game on their first run through. Even going slowly through the worlds, there's about half an hour of gameplay in the entire game. On the bright side it controls pretty well and does feel like a primitive version of a Mario game.

Graphically the game is strange; everything seems very small in comparison to console releases; item boxes and goombas seem especially tiny and this can be offputting at first. Musically the game is good, despite using only a few original tunes throughout the stages. Interestingly the invincibility theme is a version of the Can-Can. Overall while Super Mario Land feels like a bite sized version of a Mario game in many ways, it's a decent platforming experience and it offers most of the excitement of a console Mario game. 

Rating: 67/100

Grade: C

Game: Side Pocket
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Data East
Release Date: November 1990

As mentioned earlier, I'm not the biggest fan of video games that are entirely possible to play in real life without too much trouble. Pool is on the edge of this bracket as it's entirely possible to go to the nearest pub and play a game for a pound. Side Pocket isn't a bad Pool game, especially by Game Boy standards; the animations are fairly smooth, and there's a career mode of sorts, and two player capability.

One of the best features of the game is that when aiming, the view shows which ball is which by number, allowing players to easily apply some strategy to their shots. Unfortunately though at the end of the day it's still a very simple Pool game and as such I feel that it doesn't belong in my video game ratings.

Game: Snoopy Magic Show
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Kemco
Release Date: October 1990

Snoopy Magic Show is another multicart title that was only released in Japan. As a puzzle game of sorts, there wasn't much need for the game to make its way over to the West. Players control Snoopy in a 72 tile rectangle and can move horizontally or vertically between tiles. The goal of each level is to reach every Woodstock, without getting hit by the balls which bounce around each level. Once players have done this they'll advance to the next level, of which there are 120.

Most levels are fairly simple, and there's not a great deal of different features to increase the difficulty in later levels. This means that after 20 levels or so players have seen pretty much all of the game. It should also be noted that there are only 60 level layouts, which are repeated once to pad out the game. Graphically the game is simple and save for featuring characters from the Peanuts comic, it's not particularly interesting. The music is generally upbeat and fits well with the game.

Overall this isn't a particularly original puzzle game and although it's pretty easy, it's easy for players to get bored with the amount of repetition and lack of features. There's no real reason for the Snoopy theme, save for selling copies of the game and it seems like the game will only really appeal to hardcore Snoopy fans.

Rating: 27/100
Grade: F

Game: Battleship
Console: Nintendo Game Boy
Developer: Pack-In Video
Release Date: December 1992

Battleship is another game that can easily be played without the help of video game technology. In fact I'd almost argue that it's better off without. As the original game is a battle of random chance with a little skill mixed in if players know how to exploit certain rules, it's good for 2 players to have an even contest with. Playing against a computer opponent feels too meaningless when players win, and too frustrating when they lose.

There's some nice animations for when ships get hit, and a few rule variations that keep things interesting such as radar and missile clusters, but these could easily be worked into a real life game of Battleship too. The music is easily the best feature of the game with a fast paced action soundtrack to accompany combat. Overall though, there's really no reason for this game to exist, let alone have a version on 14 different consoles.

Game: Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle

Console: Nintendo Game Boy

Developer: Kemco

Release Date: March 1990

Originally a Mickey Mouse game in Japan, Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle is a platform game in which Bugs Bunny must collect all 8 carrots on each level to progress to the next. There are 80 levels in total, which vary wildly in difficulty between really easy and some which take a little planning to beat. There are enemies roaming each level, as well as a variety of weapons and means to eliminate them with, such as boxing gloves, 10t weights and safes to push off the edge of ledges. 

Generally gameplay is good although it can get a little repetitive after a while; most of the 80 stages are well designed and there are tubes, stairs and other features which keep them fresh and different. The AI can be a little dodgy at times, if players stop moving the sometimes the enemies follow suit, and there can be some cheap deaths, especially at the end of pipes which players have entered blind due to their length. 

Graphically the game has decent likenesses of the cartoon characters, although the backgrounds and location of the entire game are pretty bland. The plot is simply that Bugs is trying to save Honey Bunny who has been kidnapped, although upon completing the game she's not shown or even mentioned (probably due to this being a port of a Mickey Mouse game). Musically the game has a listenable soundtrack which accompanies gameplay well.

Overall this isn't a bad start to the Crazy Castle series, some players may find it a little boring or even easy, but the concept and ideas are pretty fresh. Perhaps 80 stages is a few too many also, but with a password system and infinite continues, it should only take an hour or two to beat the entire game with a little effort.

Rating: 57/100
Grade: D

Easily the best of the three multicarts, this offered the best selection of early Game Boy games, with everything on the cart released before 1993. Multicarts can often be a bit of a gamble with ROMhacks and filler games being prevalent on many, but sometimes what's offered is a look at somewhat forgotten or unreleased (at least outside of Japan) gaming experiences.