Game Review: Mario Tennis

Game: Mario Tennis
Console: Nintendo 64
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 28th August 2000

Released in the middle of the N64's lifespan, Mario Tennis was the first proper tennis game to feature Mario and friends, since I'm not counting Mario's Tennis on the Virtual Boy or the original Tennis for NES, which featured Mario as referee. Also of note is the fact that Waluigi debuted in this game, as a partner for Wario in doubles games. Alongside Mario Golf which was released a year previous, it paved the way for further Mario sports games on the Gamecube and later consoles.

The gameplay is solid for a tennis game; mostly intuitive and easy to grasp. The characters seem a little big on the court compared to most tennis games featuring real players. Running around the court can feel a little slidey in a similar way to Mario's momentum in Super Mario 64, and learning the distance at which players lock on to hit the ball can take a while also. As with most Mario sports games, each character has slightly different stats and this affects gameplay also.

Players can choose to compete in tournaments of rising difficulty, ring challenges where the goal is to pass the ball through rings, a special match with Bowser, with items and a tilting court, or a Piranha Challenge where balls are spewed towards the baseline, and players hit back as many as they can, out of 50. This is a great variety of tennis based matches and challenges, and with doubles also featuring in the game there's a ton of stuff to complete and work through. 

While there's a good selection of characters unlocked at the start of the game, there's a couple that can be unlocked through completing cups and connecting a Gameboy version of the game to the N64 with a transfer pak. There are also unlockable courts and cups to provide the game with even more content than it initially seemed to have. As with many Nintendo titles, the replayability is very high.

Graphically the game isn't perfect by any means, but there are some nice touches which improve the game. The ball boys are either Bob-ombs or Koopas and will react in certain ways if the ball comes their way. Mario is usually the umpire unless he's playing in the match, and Lakitu sometimes does humourous things as camera operator. Musically the game is acceptable but there's nothing particularly special like you'd see in main series Mario titles.

Overall Mario Tennis is a solid tennis game with tons of modes and things to do. There's lots of characters and it's generally very good fun despite not having ultra tight controls as we'd see in today's realistic tennis games, or whacky super powered shots as with Mario Strikers.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Top Gear Rally

Game: Top Gear Rally
Console: Nintendo 64
Developer: Boss Game Studios
Release Date: 1997

Top Gear Rally is a simple but enjoyable rally game for the Nintendo 64. There are two main game modes, Arcade and Championship as well as Time Trial and Practice modes. In Arcade mode players compete against a single AI opponent through checkpoints for three laps on any unlocked circuit. In Championship mode players race through seasons and attempt to gain a set amount of points overall to progress and unlock new cars and circuits.

There are three types of handling in game; A, B and C. A is the loosest handling, with which the player's car will turn and slide very easily. Handling type C is the tightest handling, requiring more input to turn and hardly ever breaking into a slide. Personally type B seems to be the best since its inbetween these two extremes and as such allows players to slide when needed, but avoid doing so unnecessarily and potentially spinning the car around or into barriers. There seems to be no way of reversing, meaning that one mistake can spell the end of a race.

The selection of cars is limited by a lack of licensing; all cars are given a two letter moniker. Their stats vary but there's little else to go on in terms of choosing a car, and there are real differences in handling. Edited car decals can be made and saved, but the default ones are bearable too. There could definitely be more variety in the types of cars featured; nearly all of them look like the same type of box-shaped racer.

The circuits are interesting and fairly varied; a coast and jungle circuit are unlocked initially and both of these offer different racing experiences. The jungle circuit reminded me a little of Sega Rally Championship 2 with its wide turns and open plains. The only downside here is that the courses aren't in a point-to-point format, as with many later rally titles. Arcade mode also features another racing pet peeve of mine which is competitive checkpoint racing; it's not enough that you're beating the AI; you have to race against time as well. Checkpoints could have been perfect for the time trail mode instead.

Graphically the game holds up pretty well for the era, but is obviously dated with a view to modern graphics. There's a lot of fog covering up a lack of horizon detail and draw distance, but the tracks themselves disguise these issues well. The soundtrack to the game features looped music which is a little short at times, but it's to be expected from cartridge based games, when compared to disc based PS1 titles of the time.

Overall Top Gear Rally scores big in the important sector of actual gameplay; Championship Mode is fun and competitive, and features a variety of circuits to race. Arcade mode can be difficult with its added time limits, but once a few faster cars have been unlocked it doesn't pose as much of a problem. It'd be nice to have seen a little more progression in the game, with only car and circuit unlocks driving players to complete Championship Mode, but it's worth a few hours to enjoy.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Parappa The Rapper 2

Game: PaRappa The Rapper 2
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: NaNaOn-Sha
Release Date: 5th April 2002

PaRappa The Rapper was an undoubted Playstation classic which, though short featured classic rhythm game action, a whacky plot and a unique art style with 2D-esque steamrolled characters. PaRappa 2 is the first direct sequel, not counting the spin-off Um Jammer Lammy which had similar gameplay with an emphasis on playing the guitar rather than rapping. Ultimately PaRapper 2 isn't radically different in terms of gameplay, music, or style but it's more than just an expansion for the first game since it moved up to the next generation of consoles.

The rhythm in this instalment seems tighter than in the first game, with less input lag and much more room for improvisation. As before the game rewards creativity from players, within limits. It's difficult to know exactly what the game wants for a "Cool" rating, but its easy enough to finish with a "Good" rating, needed to clear a stage. Another small stage is that transitioning between ratings yields a short clip and simplifies or complicates the rhythm inputs. Sometimes this can be disconcerting, but it works well enough.

Characters from the first game make re-appearances in a few interesting ways, and there's definite references for fans that enjoyed the original. The storyline is as off-the-wall as before, and a little longer, but the main advantage here is the replayability of the game. Once the game has been completed, Parappa's hat changes colour, and the lyrics to each rap increase in difficulty with each playthrough. There's also vs. stages where improvisation is key and players are pitted against the computer, which work well and add much needed content.

As a series, Parappa the Rapper appeals to somewhat of a niche audience; the slightly cringy lyrics, 2D characters in bright and simple colours and rhythm gameplay could be drawbacks for some players. To those who can look past the game's unique features though it's a fun experience which is only held back by its overall length. Where rhythm games that feature licensed songs can have an expansive song list, all songs featured were original recordings with each of Parappa's inputs able to be played at any time, for improvisational purposes.

Graphically the game has improved from the Playstation, but as previously mentioned the characters are still stylistically two dimensional. Some stages could have been a little more visually interesting, though players will likely be concentrating on the required button inputs. As ever the music is enjoyable and consistently funky, though some of the near rhymes in the lyrics take some getting used to.

Overall Parappa The Rapper 2 is more of the same for gamers who enjoyed the other games in the series. It could serve as an interesting introduction to the series for new players, but the first game would be somewhat of a step back afterwards in terms of replayability and responsive controls. The Playstation 2 was a console where games of all varieties were able to thrive, and with a 5 year gap between this and the original, we were lucky to get a follow up at all for such a niche but well loved game.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Asphalt Urban GT 2

Game: Asphalt Urban GT 2
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Virtuos
Release Date: 1st July 2010

Racing games for portable systems rarely turn out to be classics, or even particularly good. While there are a few notable exceptions to this rule, the majority of handheld racers disappoint. Asphalt Urban GT 2 is the sequel to an N-Gage and DS title, and combines many elements we've seen before in racing titles. On track pickups include money and nitrous, of which there are 3 different boost levels, racers also gain money for takedowns and dangerous driving, for which they can be pursued by police. The tracks are set in real world locations and the game features licensed cars, some of which even look something like what they're trying to represent!

Gameplay-wise, racing feels like a mash-up of other series; London Racer, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Burnout, and the Crus'n series. This is mostly thanks to all of the different elements that have been brought together, the racing itself feels pretty budget; takedowns aren't at all satisfying and look rather silly when your opponents go crashing across roads, nitrous boosts shake the screen like an earthquake rather than giving any sense of speed and the difficulty level is beyond easy. Cornering is arcade with a hint of cheap handling models, it's difficult to actually crash unless you're trying to.

There are two modes in the game; arcade mode acts as more of an exhibition mode since there's no real reward for winning its single races. The main mode has championships which can be won by taking part in three types of races; elimination, speed trials and regular racing. These are set on the game's limited selection of tracks and there's no other real progression as the game continues. Some cars are unlocked and there's modification options, but there's no real incentive to use any of these options as most championships specify the make of car you must use.

Graphically the game performs badly with some licensed cars being near unrecognisible. The locations too aren't of enough detail to admire, though it's mostly obvious what they're trying to represent. The game is endorsed by the Pussycat Dolls for some reason, who appear on loading screens, but add little else. There's just one song included for the menu screens which plays incessantly every time you're taken back between races, after sitting through an unbearably long load time also. This is pretty poor for a game that Ubisoft dared to put their name to.

Overall Asphalt Urban GT 2 is yet another half-assed racing game, this time a sequel to a mobile game which was likely ported with few changes. There's no challenge or progression to the game, which has taken aspects of some popular franchises, only to arrange them into a racing experience which holds little joy or excitement. The real kicker here is that the game was released in 2010, when there were literally hundreds of better racing experiences available.

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D