Game Review: USA Racer

 

Game: USA Racer
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Davilex
Release Date: 14th June 2002

According to the information I could find about USA Racer (and there's not a whole lot around), it was released on the same day as London Racer II. This is fairly evident when the game is loaded and features the exact same menus and menu music as its twin. I did begin to wonder whether the two games would be similar to the point of not warranting a new review, however the differences between them extend further than just their location.

Having said this, the progression and game modes featured in both titles are identical; to unlock tracks and alternate cars for each of the game's 6 characters players must make their way through tournament mode, where series of 3, 5 and 11 races are held on various circuits around the USA. Competing against 3 AI opponents, players must ultimately top the standings to progress to the next round of races.

The game's handling is somewhat different to that of London Racer; there's certainly less grip overall when cornering and any amount of braking will result in some sort of drift. Even small collisions with other cars result in an unrealistically large loss of speed, and often spinning out completely. Unlike London Racer II, police are featured in all races and will usually cause several pile-ups on each track.

The opponent, traffic and police AI are all shockingly poor; opponents often drive into walls, eachother, obstacles and the player's car, causing chaos and unfair setbacks, police are incredibly vicious and will literally hitch a ride on top of player cars if they have to, and traffic cars never deviate from their set path, even if it sends them into a huge pile of scrap metal. In addition to this, the overall sense of speed in-game is awful; 177mph on the display feels like 50mph at most, and even using nitrous doesn't help a whole lot.

Graphically the game is blocky, blurry and undetailed with a poor draw distance and little variation in visuals between locations. Several of the cities featured in the game have the same series of urban looking turns, and even the recognisible landmarks featured hold little excitement. The music and speech featured on the in-game radio are lacklustre and add little to the already dull experience.

Overall I'm starting to think that the "Racer" series by Davilex is the worst video game racing series ever released, with at least 4 incredibly poor titles, and a total of 13 titles released over 7 years, many of which are based on the same game engine and code. At least the Simple Series had the ambition to try and ruin different genres of games every now and then...

Rating: 20/100
Grade: F

Collection Review: Taito Legends Part 3 - 1988-93

And so for the last 9 games on this Taito collection, which were released towards the end of the classic arcade era.

The New Zealand Story

Game: The New Zealand Story
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1988

The New Zealand Story is an undoubtedly cute platformer which features a kiwi as its main character whose task is to rescue his friends from having been kidnapped. Gameplay is initially similar to the Super Mario Bros. series in many ways, though later in the game other mechanics are introduced which help to differentiate the gameplay a little from Nintendo's classic title.

Some of these changes include platforms, on which players can float freely around the level until the platform is destroyed or a bottleneck is reached where the platform cannot be taken, underwater segments which are fairly free of enemies as players have few attacking options whilst swimming (though the player's kiwi does put on a little snorkel, which is adorable), and boss fights which are more akin to other games like Fantasy Zone.

Controlwise players can jump and shoot, with various powerups available for their shot including fireballs and lasers. Precision jumping can be tricky as the jump controls feel as if they're on ice, but for regular jumps it's hardly noticeable.

Graphically the levels are fairly colourful, despite featuring many shades of brown and green which can be rather confusing at times, as hazards are far harder to spot. The kiwis featured in the game don't look much like real kiwis at all, which is a little odd, though they're more in keeping with the graphical style and bright aesthetic than a depiction of a real world kiwi would be.

Overall The New Zealand Story is a fairly fun platform game with inventive levels and ideas based on the platforming genre. Exploring levels is fun and they're set out well, with decent controls as long as there's no precision platforming needed. Enemies are well designed and have a range of different attack patterns, which keeps the gameplay fresh across levels.

Rating: 69/100
Grade: C

Operation Thunderbolt

Game: Operation Thunderbolt
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1988

You may remember Operation Wolf from part 2 of this collection review; I gave it an A Grade for being an action packed, faced paced shooter which was neither too hard nor too difficult, and which featured inventive levels and ideas. Operation Thunderbolt, its sequel is like a poor imitation of the original. The best new feature is the option for two player games, which could well heighten the fun a little, but there's some fundamental issues with the game.

Firstly the number of enemies has increased greatly; the first game had a counter which kept track of kills needed to finish the level which usually started at around 50. In the first level of Operation Thunderbolt alone, I made 154 kills all of which were terrorists rather than their vehicles, as none feature in the first level. This trend continues throughout the game and at times makes it frustrating and difficult to progress, as there can be many grenades, knives and rockets onscreen at any one time, all of which require shooting to prevent loss of health.

Another issue with the game is that half of its levels are now "Outrun" style, with the terrain coming towards players rather than scrolling. This gives are more limited range of shooting, and usually makes it harder to defend against incoming attacks. Graphically the game is somewhat of an improvement on Operation Wolf, but without any background music all that accompanies gameplay is the sound of an enormous amount of gunfire.

Overall I'd have preferred a slightly easier game which still held some challenge to a harder game which kept offering life-up and weapon packages from the sky. Perhaps the added difficulty would be less of a factor in two player mode, but the monotony and poor design of the game compared to Operation Wolf wouldn't disappear. An incredibly disappointing sequel, all things considered.

Rating: 44/100
Grade: D

Battle Shark

Game: Battle Shark
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1989

Battle Shark's arcade cabinet had a fairly unique design for a lightgun shooter style game, in that instead of a gun, a periscope was attached as a sight which players aimed and shot through. As you can probably guess from this, the game is nautical in theme and challenges players to shoot their way through 10 underwater and above water levels in order to take down the enemy.

Due to being underwater, there's a delay between the player's shot being fired and reaching enemy ships which must be anticipated, making the game a little harder than the average shooter of this kind. The game can be a little difficult at times, with bosses and helicopters shooting missiles back at players, however these can be intercepted and even if they're not, there are 5 chances before the Battle Shark is destroyed and continue is lost.

Graphically the game is beautiful with detailed underwater backgrounds, features and enemies. Effects and explosions look as full of impact as they feel, and this adds a stylish juxtaposition to the beauty and calm of the ocean. The musical accompaniment is enjoyable and suits the game well, and the progression and difficulty of the game as a whole escalates nicely.

Overall Battle Shark has enjoyable themeing and gameplay, which helps to propel it above the average light gun shooter. Though it can get a little difficult at times, players are allowed to continue from exactly where they left off, and the entire game can be completed on 10 credits or less. My only complaint is that the action can get a little tedious at times, especially during boss battle which require many, many hits to beat.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Plotting

Game: Plotting
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1989

As soon as I started to play Plotting, I knew I'd seen it somewhere before. A short while after, it clicked that it had been on one of the Game Boy multicarts I reviewed a while back, retitled as Flipull, but still published by Taito. It's a very simple puzzle game, that doesn't require too much skill or forethought, and which could easily be played in a board game style rather than taking up space at arcades.

The graphics are certainly far better than those of Flipull on the Game Boy, but you'd expect that given the difference in power between arcade systems and the original Game Boy. I gave Flipull 14 out of 100 in my Game Boy review, and I'm afraid it's a similar fate for this version of the game as it's just not interesting enough to score any higher.

Rating: 20/100
Grade: F

Volfied

Game: Volfied
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1989

With such an exciting title and game intro, you might think that Volfied is going to be the first in a new level of space shooters, with exciting graphics and gameplay. You'd be wrong however, as Taito may as well have just called this 'Space Qix'. Sure, I thought Qix was pretty fun the first time I played it, and Super Qix was alright, despite not really building on the formula so much as repeating it, but a third game without changing very much is just offensive to the consumer.

Graphics wise, the space themeing would add interest if it wasn't so blatantly obvious that this was a simple re-skin of another Taito game. I'm aware that this was far more common in the 1980s than it is today, but if we wouldn't stand for thousands of re-skinned versions of Pong and Tetris back in the day, why should this be any different?

Rating: 47/100
Grade: D

The Ninja Kids

Game: The Ninja Kids
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

The Ninja Kids is an interesting little Beat 'em up which challenges players to fight their way through satanic hordes of enemies as one of four Ninja Kids, each of whom has a special elemental power. It features many short stages chained together which act as levels, at the end of which there are hostages to be rescued. Some of the concepts featured are culturally Japanese in nature, evidenced by attempts at translation such as "You will be servants of The Satan".

On the whole, gameplay isn't particularly interesting as players are only given jump, attack and special buttons. The special can only be used once per continue, and the jumping attack is somewhat useless, so most of the time players will be mashing the attack button to make their way through the mass of enemies in their way.

The game's graphics are cartoon-like and generally easy on the eye, if a little simplistic. There's a good overall sense of humour with limbs flying off everywhere and zombies controlling mechanical equipment to name just a few comical moments. The music is repetitive, but enjoyable for the most part, even if it isn't the most memorable soundtrack to an arcade game.

Overall Ninja Kids has its problems with controls and unpredictability of offscreen attacks, but overall it's worth a play if you're a fan of Beat 'em Ups, especially since there's a two player mode. I'd have preferred the game to have longer stages instead of chaining very short stages or even rooms together, but the overall effect is about the same, I suppose.

Rating: 65/100
Grade: C

Space Gun

Game: Space Gun
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

Having though the title sounded familiar, I had a look through my other games and sure enough Space Gun got a conversion to the Sega Master System. Having said that the arcade version is a lot smoother, with far better graphics but the concept is pretty much the same. As a light gun shooter in the same style as Operation Wolf, players must shoot their way through various space stations infested with aliens in order to save hostages.

Armed with only a few special attacks, players must get by for the most part with their main automatic weapon, neutralising the aliens. Annoyingly even the basic aliens take a fair few hits to die, which means that it becomes more of a bullet spray fest than my favoured fast paced sniping style of lightgun shooter.

Graphically the game looks superb, with Super Nintendo style shadows and textures. The colours used and mood really set the scene well, and the music adds a horror element to tie the themes together. Overall Space Gun is a bearable light gun shooter which has a few major issues that prevent it from being quite as enjoyable as it could be.

Rating; 60/100
Grade: D

Thunder Fox

Game: Thunder Fox
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

Thunder Fox is part Beat 'Em Up, part Run and Gun, part Shoot 'Em Up with equal amounts of awesome thrown in. Players attempt to make their way through levels, using only their knife at first but with the ability to pick up grenades, pistols, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, automatic weapons and more through the course of the game. There's also the chance to play shoot 'em up style levels between the main levels as new locations are travelled to.

Controlwise the game is great; there are separate buttons for melee and weapon attacks (meaning you can beat baddies up with a rocket launcher, without firing it and wasting ammo), as well as the jump and kick buttons. The level layouts are interesting and fun to explore, with added features such as having to escape from an exploding plane in a certain time limit. While the difficulty does ramp up quite quickly, the fun factor is high so it's not as much of an issue.

Graphically the game is well made with detailed sprites, textures and locations. The game's screen i often cluttered with enemies, but it's usually easy enough to tell where is safe, and how best to defeat the onslaught of goons. Bosses are somewhat disappointing and could have been both more fun to fight, and more interesting. The music featured in the game doesn't quite fit the mood, but is of a good quality and works at a basic level alongside the game.

Overall Thunder Fox is a great arcade game in that it allows players to do many things that other games of this kind do not such as stealing enemy weapons to use against them, driving vehicles to cause damage to enemies, and drowning enemies by letting them fall into the sea in one of the shoot 'em up stages. There are a few issues with the game, but nothing that prevents it from being lots of fun.

Rating; 87/100
Grade: B

Tube-It

Game: Tube-It
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1993

Tube-It is a fun and addictive puzzle game in which players must link tubes from one side of the screen to the other (or back on themselves) in order to destroy the blocks onscreen and continue playing the game. There are several different shapes of tube which appear on screen, and so linking one side to another can be challenging if a specific type of tube is required.

Blocks can be moved from one place to another as long as there is nothing preventing them from being moved. In this way players must think quickly about what block types they require, as there's only a short time before the required block will become immobile, thanks to surrounding blocks being dropped from above. Levels require players to remove a certain amount of blocks in order to progress. if the blocks reach the top of the screen at any point, the game is over and players will have to start the level again if they wish to continue.

Graphically the game is colourful, though simplistic especially considering it's date of release (1993). The music which accompanies gameplay is cheerful an upbeat, if a little repetitive but generally fits the game rather well. Overall as a puzzle game, Tube-It is enjoyable as a fast paced battle of wits, especially in two player form.

Rating: 64/100
Grade: C

As a collection, Taito Legends features a large amount of varied games both in genre and quality. Games such as Operation Wolf, Thunder Fox and Exzius show Taito at their very best, creating fun and innovative arcade games with mass appeal to gamers. Games such as Plump Pop, Plotting and Zoo Keeper represent titles that feel somewhat flat when played in the modern era, though they're nowhere near as poor as the earliest titles featured on Taito Legends 2. Overall, this collection is enjoyably varied and that's what keeps it interesting.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Game Review: Ocarina Of Time

Game: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Console: Nintendo 64
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 23rd November 1998

As one of the most highly rated videogames of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was high on my list of games to review, and after almost 2 years of procrastinating I'm finally ready to do so. I'll start with a disclaimer; I played the game on the 3DS and have previously completed it on the Gamecube. Personally I don't think that the changes between any of these versions affect the gameplay significantly and so all versions will receive the same score, though I will discuss the differences between the original game and 3DS version briefly.

For those that haven't played Ocarina of Time, the game follows Link, the Hero of Time as he attempts to save Hyrule from the clutches of Ganondorf. As a child, Link journeys through The Great Deku Tree, Dodongo's Cavern, and the Inside of Jabu-Jabu's Belly to obtain three spiritual stones which will open the Sacred Realm, allowing him access to the Master Sword. After being sealed for 7 years in the Sacred Realm, Link emerges as an adult to find the world overtaken by Ganondorf. To put things right, he must obtain 5 medallions from various temple sages before facing Ganondorf, and finally Ganon himself, in order to seal the evil in the Sacred Realm and save Hyrule.

The story of the game as a whole seems to be its weakest point as despite some strong supporting characters and locations, Link has no lines of dialogue and very little characterisation leaving him as somewhat of a blank slate. Personally I found that my main motivation for progressing was in order to beat the game, rather than wanting to save Princess Zelda or put Hyrule back to rights, as I simply wasn't invested enough from Link's point of view.

This being said, the gameplay is fantastic in most if not all elements with incredibly inventive and varied puzzles and challenges through the 9 dungeons and 3 mini-dungeons. Weapons and items are acquired in such a way that players can familiarise themselves with their use, and most equippable items are needed specifically at one point or another in game. A few of the puzzles featured can be a little obtuse, but there were fairly few occasions where I had to consult a walkthrough in order to progress. Enemies featured throughout the game are varied in appearance and the strategies required to beat them, but there's not so many that players won't become familiar with most, if not all types.

Each of the dungeons featured in the game has its own ambiance and atmosphere, with music, visuals and puzzles combining to support the overall mood. While some dungeons seem to be a little longer than others, none felt too long or too short overall, and the level of difficulty rises slowly but surely throughout the game. Despite the variation in puzzles, items and concepts throughout dungeons, there's a nice predictability to finding the map, compass and boss key for each.

Talking of the bosses, this is another area with excellent variation as each is usually defeated using a weapon or item found inside of their temple, and requires a different strategy to defeat. Thanks to the overall mix of dungeons and bosses, no single dungeon or boss fight was a favourite of mine; rather they all came together to form a part of Link's experience and journey towards saving Hyrule.

Graphically the game can seem a little dated every now and then on the N64, but on the whole it holds up pretty well with interesting and engaging character models, locations, and items. In the case of the 3DS version, it's nice to have the improved graphics and option of 3D, and this definitely helps the game to feel less dated however it's not crucial to the experience and doesn't improve the game by a whole lot, unless you're super graphics concious.

Musically the game excels, sporting many memorable themes and songs thanks in part to having to learn many of them on the ocarina and their various uses in game. I can't think of a single theme I didn't enjoy in the entire game, and many of the locations and experienced were vastly enhanced by the musical score.

As mentioned before there's not a huge amount of differences between the original game and the 3DS re-release save for visuals, and they are essentially the same game and experience. A few things stood out to me however; Annoyingly Navi has been programmed to remind players to take a break every now and then, Sheikah Stones lend a little less difficulty to the game by providing hints and fairies to players, and Link seems to be a little more animated than in the original, looking around and observing enemies/locations.

Overall Ocarina of Time is a brilliant game, and certainly a benchmark for fantasy adventure games as a whole. Featuring brilliantly varied dungeons with well programmed enemies and bosses, a challenging but fair difficulty curve, and a concise but well paced progression, there's not much which could be improved without changing key features of the game. While the story could be slightly more engaging, additional cutscenes and history may well take away from the pacing and tone of the adventure.

Many gamers regard Ocarina of Time as the greatest game ever made; if it isn't, then it's gotta be pretty close.

Rating: 98/100
Grade: A

Collection Review: Taito Legends Part 2 - 1986-7

While this part of my review contains as many games as the first, Taito's release schedule had become more crowded by 1986, so much that these 10 games only span 2 years at the company.

Bubble Bobble

Game: Bubble Bobble
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1986

Bubble Bobble is one of Taito's more famous arcade titles from this collection, featuring a pair of brothers who have been turned into small dragons called Bub and Bob that the player guides through 100 levels in order to rescue their girlfriends, With only a bubble attack at their disposal until the very end of the game, players must make use of the level layouts to trap enemies inside bubbles and subsequently pop them with the spines on their dragon's back.

The game was also one of the first to feature multiple endings, telling players to come back and complete the game with a friend, if completed in single player mode, and only revealing its true ending if completed in 'Super Mode', Controlwise and conceptwise the game is good for its age, though I'd prefer 10 good scrolling levels to 100 mediocre short ones; even the most keen of players is bound to get a little tired when levels reach triple digits.

Graphically the game is bright and enjoyable, despite featuring fairly crude sprites and basic level design. Enemies are easily recognisible, and there's a good variety of monsters who are out to get the little dragons. This game is also the first in the collection to feature 'proper music' behind gameplay, in that far more effort was put into constructing a melody which fits the theme and feel of the title.

Overall Bubble Bobble is a fun little arcade classic which holds a fair amount of enjoyability though perhaps a few too many levels before the final boss. With good sound and graphical design, the game's popularity was well deserved and I'll be looking at its sequel a little later on.

Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Gladiator

Game: Gladiator
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1986

Gladiator is a primitive hack n' slash arcade game in which players guide a gladiator through various stages as weapons and airborne enemies fly towards them, which can be blocked with the shield. After a while, some enemy gladiators appear who can be taken down with superior sword work (thought button mashing seems to work just as well, if not better). There's no real story as far as I can tell, as each level loads up without any text or cutscenes.

Dodging the airborne hazards in the first section of levels is difficult and imprecise. Often the gladiator will take damage even when he doesn't appear to have been hit, and collecting powerups/score bonuses usually only results in taking more damage. Fighting other gladiators is also difficult as they seem to block most of the player's attacks and have a longer reach.

Graphically the game is pretty detailed for 1986, and looks like it's heading towards the 16-bit era. While the animations are a little choppy, the visuals on the whole are quite impressive. The musical accompaniment to the game consists of a loop approximately 5 seconds long, which is only interrupted by the loss of a life. The sound effects too are lacklustre and don't add much to the game.

Overall Gladiator is based on a good idea; each part of the body has armour protecting it. If the armour is hit, it is removed leaving the bare flesh vulnerable to a second hit, which will end the player's turn. Unfortunately in practice, this doesn't work half as well as it could, and controlling the sword and shield together can prove confusing.

Rating: 55/100
Grade: D

Tokio

Game; Tokio
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1986

Despite being a shoot 'em up from 1986, Tokio does a lot to differentiate itself from other titles of the era. For a start the graphics are very nicely presented, with some almost pixel art-esque moments featured in the game's backgrounds. As players fly through the game and shoot enemies, planes of their own colour will appear which can be shot and added to the allied group. Not only do additional planes provide extra chances for the player, should they be hit by bullets, but attack power is also significantly increased.

While the game can be fairly difficult at times due to the large number of bullets onscreen and their tendency to blend in with the detailed background graphics, it's far easier when controlling a large group of allied planes, and in this way the bonus system works well. With practice it's possible to get pretty far into the game, which is more than can be said for many other shoot 'em ups.

As previously mentioned the game's graphics are impressive for the most part, and the same can be said for its musical accompaniment. Technologically it's far advanced from the simple tunes and bleeps that arcade machines of just a few years before would make, and provides an exciting and fitting musical backdrop to the game.

Overall Tokio is an enjoyable arcade shoot 'em up experience which seems to have withstood the test of time fairly well; very few elements are outdated, and the controls and concept remain excellent. There's very little I'd change about the game as a whole, even nowadays - perhaps only a slight tweaking of the difficulty and some additional powerups.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Continental Circus

Game: Continental Circus
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

Released as Continental Circuit in the US (which makes a lot more sense for a racing game), Continental Circus is an interesting Formula 1 style racing game where players must gain positions whilst racing around different circuits all over the world. Many circuits feature multiple pit lanes as there's a high chance of collisions thanks to the stiff overall car handling and stubborn AI who won't move out of the way. The racing featured is similar to that of Outrun, with a "stationary car, moving track" visual style.

Once players have completed an entire lap of a circuit, and are within the target qualifying position when crossing the finish line, they'll move on to the next race. Otherwise crashing out, running out of time and not making the cut for qualifying will result in a game over, though players can continue where they left off if they wish, making for a fairly easy game in terms of progression. Unfortunately this can also be exploited and used to gain far more positions that would be possible from racing normally.

Graphically the game has some impressive points with detailed backgrounds and track features, comparing well to Outrun and similar games. The locations and tracks featured are fairly varied, and serve to keep players interested as they continue through the game.Unfortunately there's no music which plays behind racing; the only in-game musical accompaniment can be found on menu screens and in the pits. There's still some engine/racing noises, but these would be far more interesting with a fast tempo track behind them.

Overall Continental Circus is a fun racing game, despite not handling quite as well as its closest competitors. The ranking system and grand prix themeing add an element of challenge and competition to the game, though on the whole the game isn't particularly hard to complete.

Rating: 65/100
Grade: C

Exzisus

Game: Exzisus
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

One of my favourites on the collection so far, Exzisus is a shoot 'em up set in space which shares similar elements with Fantasy Zone, and other space themed shoot 'em ups in general. Unlike Fantasy Zone the screen constantly scrolls, though the player is free to move around inside of the frame. Enemies of all shapes and sizes come from every direction and must be seen off with the ship's various weapons.

Without any powerups, players have bullets and bombs at their disposal which are fired simultaneously. Once powerups have been collected players can make use of homing missiles, lasers, allied ships, air-to-ground missiles and more. There's also a powerup which transforms the player into a ship until they are hit, effectively allowing one more hit before death, though the ship is larger than the original player sprite making it harder to dodge incoming fire.

So far you may think that the Fantasy Zone comparison is unwarranted, however the first boss of the game has the exact same concept as the first boss of Fantasy Zone; players must shoot it in a specific spot whilst avoiding scattered bullet fire travelling towards them. Despite this similarity, I wouldn't say that Exzisus copied Fantasy Zone, despite being released a year later as the idea is pretty standard for shoot 'em up.

Graphically the game is good, though perhaps a little less detailed than other Taito games of the time. The music is fitting if somewhat of a short loop, becoming repetitive after a little while. Overall Exzisus provides a fun and engaging shoot 'em up experience which has a good level of challenge, a useful powerup system and the option to continue where you left off, instead of starting all over again.

Rating: 84/100
Grade: B

Operation Wolf

Game: Operation Wolf
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

Originally a light gun shooter in arcades and its many home conversions, it's unfortunate that Xplosiv didn't add light gun support when porting this to the Taito Legends collection. As such players have to make do with controlling an on screen reticule used to target shots and grenades. There are six levels in all, in which players rescue hostages and eventually guide them safely onto a plane to escape a concentration camp.

With different types of targets such as helicopters, armoured vehicles and soldiers scattered across the screen, projectiles which can be shot out of the air and other exciting features, Operation Wolf was a step forward in light gun gaming. Even without the light gun element it's fun to play through and fairly easy to complete once you realise that your weapon is to be fired machine-gun style rather than like a sniper.

There's also a great deal of humour in the game; shooting animals will yield extra bullets and grenades, and accidentally shooting innocents will result in their spirit departing their body. Graphically the game is excellent with great detail and vibrant colours, though soundwise there's a rather annoying effect which plays when enemy soldiers are injured and becomes pretty irritating through repetition.

Overall Operation Wolf is a great light gun style shooter which would be even better with light gun support on this collection. It's short but sweet story line packs a punch and can be repeated endlessly, there's plenty of destruction and havoc to wreak and the hit detection is spot on. With the past few games considered it seems 1987 was a golden year for Taito.

Rating: 88/100
Grade; A

Game: Plump Pop
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

Having just said that 1987 was a golden year for Taito it was inevitable that the next game would be fairly awful. Plump Pop is just that as it's essentially a Breakout clone featuring small animals. There's not much more to the game than that really; there's a choice of dogs, cats and pigs to play as none of which affect gameplay in any way, and the levels appear to go on and on with no end or story in sight.The controls are pretty poor no matter how the sensitivity is set, and losing by not catching your animal on the trampoline is guaranteed after a short while.

Graphically the game looks far more like a Famicom title than it has any right to, considering what we've seen from previous titles, and the music isn't particularly great either. Overall when you combine a boring concept with other unexciting elements, you're left with a kids game which won't even appeal to the youngest consumers.

Rating: 22/100
Grade: F

Rainbow Islands

Game: Rainbow Islands
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

Rainbow Islands seems to me like the sort of game which divides opinion due to a novel, but frustratingly hard to get used to control system. The first action button creates a rainbow which can kill or trap enemies, and the second action button is used to jump. Jumping on enemies won't kill them and results in the loss of a life, but jumping on enemies trapped under a rainbow is an effective method of getting rid of them.

Some parts of the game don't require the creation of rainbows at all; many of the platforms featured are close enough together to jump from one to the other without any need for rainbow help. There are however collectibles available for defeating enemies which have various uses such as creating a double rainbow instead of a single one (though I find that this confuses the gameplay even more). At the end of each area there's a boss fight, most of which are easier than the journey to the end of the area, which is a shame.

Graphically the game has a cartoon style kiddie graphics, much like those of Bubble Bobble. They're not unexciting to look at, and fit the game well, but I wouldn't call them impressive in any way. Musically the game has a light hearted and upbeat accompaniment which suits the presentation and atmosphere.

Overall I wasn't too much of a fan of the overall concept and execution of Rainbow Islands. I found that it complicated platforming with two ways to move upwards, yet only one style of attacking enemies. I can however see how others could get used to and even enjoy this style of play; it's not at all badly made and there's enough areas in game for a proper experience.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Rastan

Game: Rastan
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

Rastan is a hack and slash/adventure style game which sees players taking control of the titular hero through hordes of enemies, with a choice of a few hidden weapon power ups. The best strategy overall for the game seems to be keeping enemies at an arm's length from Rastan, as he'll take damage otherwise. This can be frustrating as many enemies get close fairly quickly, and there's platforming challenges as well as fighting.

The levels themselves seem to be ripped from the pages of generic fantasy books, with no real original features. The enemies faces are fairly interesting, but it's difficult to make out exactly what they're supposed to be. With no overarching story or explanation of Rastan's quest, players will have to rely on their gaming instincts to progress through the game.

Graphically the game isn't quite as easy on the eye as it could be, but it's also not unbearable; the style's somewhere between 3rd and 4th generation graphics. The real visual (and gameplay) issue is that Rastan only has one main attack animation, unless he's crouching. This renders gameplay and fighting in general pretty boring.

Overall Rastan is as generic as it gets; you guide a hero through some fantasy landscapes against enemies, collect powerups and different weapons in an effort to save somewhere. Or something. Probably. It's definitely not the worst thing ever made, but it's too unexciting to really care about for my liking.

Rating: 52/100
Grade: D

Super Qix

Game: Super Qix
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

If you've ever played the PS2 game Bully, you might remember the minigame from art class where you'd have to draw lines across the screen whilst avoiding different types of enemies to reveal a picture. Super Qix is essentially the same thing and most likely served as inspiration for that particular minigame.

As a full arcade game however, it feels a lot more devoid of content; sure there's different pictures to reveal, and different types of enemies and bonuses, but every level is pretty much the same thing. It seems to be a concept which works much better as a minigame than a game in its own right. After a few levels, I lacked the motivation to continue as I felt that I'd experienced all the game has to offer.

Graphically and musically the game's just as boring as its concept, save for the amount of colour that's used. There's always bound to be a few filler games in this type of arcade collection, and this is quite obviously one of them; it doesn't play awfully at all, but whoever thought that Qix needed a sequel was wrong.

Rating: 49/100
Grade: D

Head to Head Review: Super Monkey Ball vs Super Monkey Ball 3D

Game: Super Monkey Ball
Console: Nintendo Gamecube
Developer: Amusement Vision
Release Date: 17th November 2001

Originally this review was going to only be for Super Monkey Ball 3D; afterall I've reviewed a few games in the series before and thought it'd only be more of the same. After playing the newest instalment in the series however, I felt that it was only right to review the original on Gamecube for comparison. Super Monkey Ball is where the series began, featuring progressively more difficult sets of platforming levels where the player's monkey must be guided to the goal. There are 10 beginner levels, 30 advanced and 50 expert for a total of 90.

Each set of levels must be completed from start to finish with 5 continues, each comprising of 3 lives with the chance to pick up extra lives by collecting 100 bananas throughout the course of the level set. While things start out fairly simple, even the last few beginner levels can be a little tough, and by the time players are ready for the expert levels, there are some near-impossible challenges ahead.

The controls are pretty tight and it's fun to pull off advanced manoeuvres once acquainted with them. Completing difficult levels comes with its own sense of achievement, and until things get far too hard, the amount of challenge offered by the game feels adequate. As the levels progress, bonus stages offer players a chance to collect more bananas, and thus earn a shot at an extra life.

Aside from the main mode, there are also party games and mini-games. The party games are Monkey Race, Monkey Fight and Monkey Target. Each of these features the 4 monkeys, still inside their capsules as they race, fight and attempt to land on specific areas of a target in a more multiplayer focussed effort. While none of these party games are excellent as stand-alone experiences, they're a fun addition and mean that the game can truly call itself a "party game".

As for the minigames, these require 2500 "play points" to unlock which means a significant portion of the main game must be completed before they can be played. Once unlocked players can choose from Monkey Billiards, Bowling and Golf. In each of these sports games, the monkey's capsule is used in place of the ball. These feel somewhat tacked on the end of the game, as there's a fair amount to do already. Graphically there are some nice backgrounds and effects featured in the game, though nothing is particularly impressive from a technical standpoint. The music in the game contributes to the overall mood and sets the style for the music featured in later games.

Overall the main game features a steep difficulty curve, and would have benefited from a level select system rather than requiring players to complete all of the levels in a set with a limited amount of lives/continues, however there's still plenty of fun to be had before the difficulty gets too high. The party games and minigames included add a little more interest to the game as a whole, but I'd have preferred some intermediate levels on the main mode.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C

Game: Super Monkey Ball 3D
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 27th March 2011

Having newly acquired a 3DS, the first thing I needed to do was buy some reasonably priced games from yesteryear. Amongst the titles I picked up was Super Monkey Ball 3D, a game that has no real use for 3D, but jumped on the bandwagon anyway. From the main menu, three game modes can be selected; Monkey Ball, Monkey Race and Monkey Fight. All of these are familiar options, and I thought I could predict what they'd entail (no monkey pun intended).

Monkey Ball is the classic main mode, comprising 80 stages which are split evenly over 8 areas. While there's a loose theme for each area, none of them st
and out particularly and the overall level of challenge has been lowered to the point where the game can be completed in a single sitting, without prior experience of the series. Even the last level of the entire game is relatively simple, and there's barely any moving platforms or difficult bits anywhere in Monkey Ball mode as a whole. While there are various collectibles that can be earned in Monkey Ball Mode, it's hardly worth playing through multiple times to earn some of the harder to get ones.

 
Monkey Race mode has been upgraded from simple capsule-based Monkey racing to full blown Mario Kart clone, featuring an array of different characters, a choice of karts and tracks that seem to be a mix of Mario Kart ideas and Super Monkey Ball levels. There are various items which do much the same as items from the Mario Kart series, and gameplaywise there's the same issues with rubberbanding and unpredictability thanks to items. Considering it's a poor imitation, anyone wanting to play a 3DS kart racing game will choose Mario Kart 7.

What's worse, Monkey Fight mode has also been upgraded; this time from a vaguely fun button masher to a complete Smash Bros clone, complete with similar viewpoint and concepts. Players must compete to collect bananas whilst damaging opponents by taking bananas off them. The controls are pretty awful and considering there's a Smash Bros for 3DS now (though there wasn't when the game came out), there's honestly no real reason to use this mode either.

While the game looks good overall,  there's no real need for 3D in any of the game modes; it's not a bad addition, but it doesn't add much. I honestly wish that the fight and race modes weren't such blatant rip-offs so that they could have had their own character and perhaps made better use of the 3D features. Musically the game is far less charming that previous instalments of the series, and left the whole experience feeling rather tepid.

Overall this doesn't compare in any way to the original Super Monkey Ball, it's levels are too easily completed thus lending it no replay value, there's less party games and minigames, and what there are have been taken from other games, and perhaps most damningly it's the first game in the series to blatantly show what a hollow concept the entire idea is.

Rating: 50/100
Grade: D