sodaware.neocities.org

I have the original freeware version of Cave Story on PC but I never explored past the first town. This time around I played it on the 3DS and was completely hooked.

The pixel art works great on the DS screen. The art is crisp and it’s easy to differentiate between the playfield and the background. There are a few particle effects here and there, but nothing too extreme. Sound effects suit the game and the soundtrack is absolutely excellent.

The story is paced well, and I never felt like the game was being padded out between cutscenes. The main game is a decent size size - it took me around 5 hours to finish the normal story, but there were a few items I missed so I didn’t get the “true” ending.

My only real complaint is the final boss rush - there are four separate bosses without a save point between. From a difficulty point it’s okay, but each boss has an unskippable cutscene which you have to watch again if you die.

Overall I really enjoyed it and I’m slightly sad I waited 22 years to finally play it properly.

Despite getting Gears of War back when Games with Gold was a thing, I’ve only just finished it. I originally played through the first few levels, but got frustrated by the “step in the dark and die instantly” stage. I figured I’d come back to it later. Turns out it’s been 13 years since I last played it. Eek.

The combat is heavily based around taking cover and is quite fun once you get the hang of it. It reminds me a little of Full Spectrum Warrior, although without any of the tactical mechanics.

Weapon-wise it’s pretty light on variety. The Lancer is fun enough, and the Torque Bow is very satisfying, but there’s nothing as unique as Halo’s needler. The “active reload” system is a neat change to the standard gameplay loop, and hitting a perfect reload is quite satisfying. Messing up a reload can be frustrating, but it does force you think on your feet.

Graphically it’s definitely a product of its time. The visuals are dark and grimey, and there’s plenty of bloom once you step outside. You’ll spend plenty of time walking through dark buildings and alleyways, and there’s never really anything that makes you want to stop and look around. It’s a bit grim.

The same goes for the music - it suits the game’s atmosphere, but it’s not something I’d choose to listen to.

The story wasn’t particularly gripping, and I didn’t really bond with any of the characters. Wise-cracking muscle-man #1 isn’t really that different from any of the other wise-cracking muscle-men. The interesting threads aren’t talked about and there aren’t really any major twists or turns. One highlight was the death of the final boss - the cutscene had almost as many cuts as Liam Neeson climbing over a fence.

There’s a couple of places I found to be quite annoying: escaping the berserker for the first time (getting caught results in instant death), and making it through the Kryll infested stages (walking in the wrong place results in instant death). The rest was fairly enjoyable, and pacing-wise the game feels pretty good. It’s not particularly long, but it also doesn’t outstay its welcome.

This is also a game about digging a hole.

I love the way this looks. The colour palettes are reminscent of cvga, and the pixel art is wonderfully animated. The shadow creatures that attack remind me a lot of Another World. Over time blocks will grow grass and plants if they’re left alone, which can make the the tunnels feel much more interesting as time goes on.

There are several different ways to play. The main game involves finding relics hidden within the ground. You start with a weak drill and can purchase upgrades as you go. You may find upgrades to make things easier, such as exploding mines or an automated defence laser.

What makes this game more interesting is the dome. Monsters will regularly appear to attack it, and you fend them off with whatever weapon your dome has. You can upgrade this weapon, and you may find extra ones hidden away. Each wave the monsters get a little stronger and things can get quite frantic in the late game.

These attacks make the gameplay loop a little more frantic. You dig a little, find some resources, and then have to rush back to defend your dome. It also means you have to balance upgrades between improving your drill and improving your defences.

I’ve enjoyed this one a lot.

This is a very short game I played via Game Pass.

You start with a small spade. You start to dig a hole. You find rocks. You sell the rocks. You buy a bigger spade. You dig faster. You find more valuable rocks as you get deeper.

There are a few little interesting bits, like a gadget that beeps when you’re near treasure, but it really is just a game about digging a hole.

Every time a new 3D Sonic game is announced there’s hope that it will be good. Then it arrives and it and crushes that hope. Sonic Forces is no different.

The main game plays okay, but it’s not approaching “classic” status by any stretch. There are three main stage types: classic, modern, and avatar.

The classic Sonic stages handle terribly and don’t feel anything like a classic 2D Sonic game. Acceleration and movement are inconsistent, which makes some of the platform sections extremely frustrating. I did like the classic Death Egg stage though. Death Egg doesn’t get enough revisits in modern games.

Modern Sonic is the same boost gameplay that has been present for over a decade. I feel like they slowed it down a little, but maybe that’s to stretch the levels a little further. Some are far too short, which is shame as they look quite nice. Enemies offer virtually no challenge, and there are a lot of “dash and smash 100 enemies” type sections.

Avatar stages are a decent diversion, and it’s fun to change the avatar up, but they’re not that different from Sonic’s stages. I have no idea why they have wisp powers, and it’s not always clear about what they do. Weapons are hugely overpowered, and grappling is totally underused. Some of the wispon addons - like auto-running when you hit the ground after damage - are horrible.

The music grew on me, and each character has their own distinct musical style. Classic Sonic uses some instruments from the Mega Drive era, and the avatar’s stages all have lyrics.

Graphically the game looks nice and there are some cool set pieces throughout the game. Fighting through a city that’s being attacked by Death Egg robots is really cool.

The story is completely forgettable and the dialog is on the level of a 2000-era Sonic fangame. I’m not really a fan of the gritty-lite atmosphere they were going for. The opening plot is completely undone a few minutes later, and I have no idea why classic Sonic is around. It feels like they wanted the best parts of Sonic Generations, but didn’t understand why people liked them.

The game is really short and can be comfortably beaten in an afternoon. Completing challenges awards new avatar clothes and equipment, but playing the same 2 minute stage quickly gets old.

It’s worth renting for a day, but that’s about it.