The eShop Minute - Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (3DS)

The Nintendo eShop is overflowing with affordable, top quality releases, especially on the 3DS.  The Wii U equivalent has some catching up to do but it is getting there with a steady stream of Virtual Console titles coming out each Thursday.  However, my first entry in this new semi regular series is a a portable one...

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
Nintendo 3DS eShop | £8.99

Mario is back yet again in this latest entry in his puzzle game series.  Unlike the previous Mario vs Donkey Kong games though, Minis on the Move does not use platforming as its foundation as is instead similar to the classic Pipemania (or Pipe Dreams).  At least on the surface - in fact, Nintendo brings quite a few new elements to the template.

The main game is made up of four different modes, each with their own rulesets.  First up is Mario's main event, where your task is to take the little wind up Mario figure to the exit whilst collecting 3 coins on the way.  In this mode, the track that you lay out to guide Mario is random, and should the green pipe fill up with puzzle pieces or Mario fall off along the way it's game over.  In theory the 3 coins are optional goals, but you will really want to get them on every level because only then will you earn a star, which unlocks more mini games and options as you go along.

The second game mode is Puzzle Palace, and for me at least this is the easiest and mode laid back of the four. This time the track pieces are pre defined, and the time limit is much more relaxed. As long as you don't lay down a track piece next to your mini Mario (or one of the unlockable characters), then they won't start advancing towards the goal, so it is a good idea to work backwards from the goal.

Third up is Many Mini Mayhem, where like the title implies, you have multiple mini characters to manage at once.  The track is all placed on the board already this time, and it's up to you to slide it around so that the minis don't fall off.  As their paths criss cross regularly, this is easier said than done, and this mode quickly gets quite challenging!

The difficulty of Many Mini Mayhem is nothing compared to the challenged offered by the final main mode though: Giant Jungle.  These are huge puzzle boards, and each one is home to 10 stars to collect on the way to the goal.  Your main enemy in this mode will be the time limit though, and you will constantly have to collect clocks to top it up along the way.  I don't advise trying to pick up all 10 stars in one go - just aim for a few on each run.  You have to reach the goal before these stars are banked anyway.

There are over 160 levels in total over these modes, but the game is bolstered even further by a selection of unlockable mini games.  These are fun diversions but nothing particularly advanced.  It is nice to have something to do when the puzzle modes have you stumped though.  Finally there is Create & Share mode, where you can create your own puzzles and download those thought up by other people on the Nintendo Network.

If you're a fan of puzzlers then this is an easy recommendation.  For a small price you get a lot of game play - in fact this sort of title could quite easily have been a full priced retail release in the past. I have no hesitation in saying that you should definitely pay the £8.99 asking price for this one.

Here's a great video overview of the game from one of the many YouTube channels I subscribe to, GameXplain:

Wii Hidden Gems #3: Kororinpa

When I was a wee lad, children still played with physical toys (as opposed to electronic) on a regular basis. On school trips I would often bring along my mercury maze, slide puzzle, Rubiks cube or whatever else was in vogue, and it was common to swap these amongst my fellow classmates for the duration of the journey.  One of my favourites was a maze carved out of wood, with a small indentation at the end for the goal, and many holes along the way to lose your ball down.  What made this even cooler is that it was actually hand made by my own grandfather. I am not sure what became of it in the end, but I do know that the rise in popularity of first the Nintendo Game & Watch and later their Game Boy led to this sort of old fashioned entertainment declining in popularity.  However, in 2006 Hudson released the subject of today's Hidden Gems - Kororinpa, which is directly inspired by old marble mazes.  I don't think this game ever gained that much popularity, probably because of the title which means very little to the average person (but apparently is a Japanese onomatopoeic word for the sound a rolling marble makes).  However for fans of puzzle games, it is well worth the trouble of seeking it out. Let's get the ball rolling...

Publisher: Hudson
Developer: Hudson
Expect to pay: £15 - £20

Graphics: 6 out of 10
The actual in game assets are mostly fine, albeit starting to show their age a bit.  The main problem I have with this game (at least the version that was released in PAL territories) are the horrifically large borders and the squashed looking aspect ratio.  I find this really off putting.  If you TV has some kind of zoom mode you can circumvent this to a certain degree, but it is a shame Hudson didn't take the time to optimise the game.

Other than that issue, the game features some nice colourful graphics in a range of settings, including a world where which is entirely made of cakes, biscuits and chocolate, as well as one set in a garden.  Think Micro Machines, but with marbles.  As for the ball, it is an accurate representation of a small glass sphere - but this is not your only option.  As you progress through the levels, you will unlock a whole slew of alternative balls, including a panda head, a pig and a frog.  All of these have an effect on the physics and the way the ball behaves - some making what is already a fairly challenging game even tougher, and others slowing the pace down a little. Don't expect Kororinpa to really blow you away with its visuals, they are functional at best.

Sound and Music: 7 out of 10

Music in Kororinpa consists of tunes of a whimsical, cheerful nature.  They are, I have to say, somewhat on the cheesy side, but mostly suit the overall tone of the game.  Besides this, if you choose one of the alternative balls - the frog for example - you can expect comedy ribbits as you collide with obstacles.  This will probably raise a few smiles, especially from younger players.

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10

This is the best thing about the game. It is entirely controlled by tilting the maze using the Wii remote.  This takes some getting used to at first as it doesn't take much movement of your wrist to send the ball flying off into the stratosphere, but with a bit of patience and prudence you will start to get the hang of things.  The overall object of the game is to collect a certain number of of orange crystals from around the maze, then get to the goal.  There isn't really a fail state - falling off just sends you back to the start.  There is the fun addition of a two player split screen mode, where you race each other to be the first to get to the end - again this suffers from the stupidly large black borders that encroach on the real estate of the game. A real shame.

Levels start off fairly easy to deal with but increase in complexity and challenge as you move through the various worlds.  By the second world you will have to deal with moving lifts, obstacles that either just get in the way or actively try and push your ball off the stage, and maze layouts that see you having to flip the whole level 90 degrees.  It is great fun, and the lack of a game over screen prevents things from getting too frustrating.

 

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!

Innovation and Cleverness: 7 out of 10
Marble maze based video games have been done before - most famously with Marble Madness - but Kororinpa successfully implements the tilt controls of the Wii remote and contains many cleverly designed stages.

Value and Replayability: 7 out of 10

Kororinpa won't take you all that long to finish if you are persistant, but the addition of the two player mode adds some life to the game.  The game can actually fetch prices of up to £20 on eBay, which does show that it is in demand by those who are aware of what it is.  A sequel with the title of Marbles! Balance Challenge was released in 2009, and is even pricier - frequently selling for £25 - £30.  I haven't played the sequel as of yet, mainly because of the price, though I would like to pick it up one day.

Overall: 8 out of 10
Kororinpa is still a game that occasionally gets dusted off and booted up when I visit my brother, as he is also a fan of this sort of game and the multi player mode is a lot of fun.  If you are in the mood for a fun and colourful puzzle game, or you were a fan of marble mazes, then you should definitely think about adding it to your Wii collection!

The iPhone App Report #1

I'm going try and tear myself away from my new iPhone 3GS long enough to share my thoughts on the various games and other sundry apps that I have tried out during the first week of ownership. This first App Report probably won't contain any real surprises for those who have owned an iPhone for a while, as most of the games covered here a very high profile, but hopefully next time I will have unearthed a few gems to share with you all. I will embed YouTube clips of the apps wherever possible and appropriate so you can see them in action. Click on the name of the app for a link to the App Store.

Real Racing | £5.99 | Genre: Racing | Tilt and Touch Controls
This is without a doubt the "killer app" for the iPhone right now. The graphics and gameplay are a match for anything the PSP or DS have to offer and even give the home consoles a run for their money. It is at the pricier end of the scale for iPhone games but you definitely get your money's worth, with plenty of cups to win and three different classes to work your way through. Initially the game took a bit of getting used to, but after I turned the tilt sensitivity down a bit, turned off the break assist completely, set braking and acceleration to manual and switched to the in car view, the game felt incredibly natural and extremely immersive to boot. A must have for iPhone owning race fans. Verdict: 10 out of 10

Peggle | £2.99 | Genre: Puzzle/Casual | Touch control only
PopCap's classic pachinko/pinball hybrid game is available on the iPhone in all its glory, at a fraction of the price of other versions and sporting several features exclusive to the platform (including a tap to zoom feature and an on screen scroll wheel for making fine adjustments to your aim. If you've never tried Peggle before, then this is the perfect version to go for - it's cheap, and is ideal for handheld play because you can play a level or two on the bus and then pick up exactly where you left off the next time you fire it up. Verdict: 8 out of 10

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition | £4.99 | Genre: Adventure | Touch control only
Monkey Island Special Edition was only released on the PC and Xbox Live Arcade fairly recently and yet here is exactly the same game (except with touch control of course) available for you to play in the palm of your hand. When I bought my iPhone last Friday this was the very first thing that I rushed to the App Store to buy. The graphics, sound and music have all been updated, but just by swiping two fingers across the screen you can switch to the classic version. Fantastic. Verdict: 9 out of 10.

Tap Tap Revenge 2 | Free | Genre: Rhythm Action | Touch and shake controls
If you're looking for a Guitar Hero style game for your iPhone then look no further than Tap Tap Revenge 2, as not only is it excellent fun, it is also completely free to download with over 100 songs available, spread over five difficulty levels (Kids, Easy, Medium, Hard and Extreme). There are themed Premium Packs for £2.99 each which focus on a particular artist such as Coldplay, or a genre such as Dance, and these replace the stock backgrounds with ones that reflect each particular song, but the free content will keep you playing for a fair old while before you get bored. Verdict: 8 out of 10.

That's it for now, join me again soon where I will be giving some DSiWare similar treatment.

Zuma Deluxe review

Here's my penultimate review for Xbox 360 week. I was originally going to review Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting but I feel I haven't spent enough time playing it to do it justice. Instead I will review Zuma Deluxe, which has been eating up a lot of my time recently.

Format: Xbox 360 (Live Arcade)

Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: PopCap

Genre: Puzzle

Region: All

Price: 800 MS points

Where to buy: Xbox Live Marketplace

Many years ago a company by the name of Mitchell release an arcade puzzle called entitle Puzzloop. In this game you controlled a central "cannon" which fired out various coloured balls. Around you cannon was a spiral shaped track, along which similar coloured balls rolled along, towards a hole near the centre. If any of the balls should reach the centre, you lose a life. To stop the onslaught of balls, you have to fire orbs out of your cannon and match up three or more of the same colour. The aiming system is rather reminiscent of Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move, except you can fire in 360 degrees.

Later on, Popcap took the basic concept of the game, added a Mayan theme, and released it on the PC as a shareware title. It was a roaring success, and as a result Microsoft saw the potential of the game on their Xbox Live Arcade service and signed up PopCap to make a deluxe version. A very similar game entitled Magnetica has also been released on the DS recently - the main differences being a more futuristic look and the use of the stylus as the primary control method. This is really the true sequel to Puzzloop however, as it is made by the original creators Mitchell. That doesn't stoop Zuma Deluxe from being a bloody good game, however.

As well as simple colour matching, there are a variety of power ups that randomly appear and can really save your life in times of stress. There's one that makes all the balls go backwards for a while, one that explodes and wipes out the area around it, another that pauses the movement of the balls for a few seconds, and one that makes your aiming more accurate.

The aim of the game in the main Adventure mode is to earn enough points to activate Zuma mode. You do this by scoring points, from clearing balls, setting of chain reactions, firing through gaps and collecting random coins that appear in hard to reach places. Once Zuma mode is achieved, no more new balls will appear and you can clear up any that remain. Then everything starts over on a different shaped track. Occasionally, there will be two tracks at once and you will really have to concentrate and aim well in order to survive. There's also a Gauntlet mode included in the game, which is endless. This time when Zuma is activated you go up a level and things get harder. Every so often another coloured ball is added to complicate matters even further.

The first time you encounter one of these double track levels, you will probably panic!

Graphics: 7 out of 10
The graphics in Zuma Deluxe are most definitely bright and colourful as you can see from the screenshot above, but there isn't an awful lot to them. Nevertheless the design is quite pleasing to the eye and there are many differently shaped tracks for the balls to travel along. There's not really a whole lot to say here - they're functional, not amazing, but quite stylish at the same time.

Sound and Music: 8 out 10
I really love the sound effects in Zuma Deluxe. There's a very satisfying popping sound every time you fire a ball out of your frog-cannon, and a clack as the balls hit each other. There's only two different pieces of music that play in the game - a normal theme and a panic theme when you're about to lose. They capture the Mayan style of the game quite well with the instruments and chanting, but can get a bit repetitive after extended play. The panic music can be quite useful if you didn't realise you were in danger, but it can also just make you more stressed sometimes too.

Game Mechanics: 7 out of 10
Only a few puzzle games have really captured my attention and kept me playing for hours on end. These include Tetris of course, and Bust-A-Move 2 for the PlayStation. I can now add Zuma Deluxe to the list. It's just incredibly good fun to pop the coloured balls and try and clear as many stages as you can. The sound effects play a part in this, but it's also down to the fact that the basic game design (as detailed in the introduction) works really well. To be fair though this is more down to the designers of the originally Puzzloop, as PopCap essentially copied the game and reskinned it.

Innovation and Cleverness: 6 out of 10
Zuma Deluxe gets 1 out of 5 for Innovation, and 5 out of 5 for cleverness. There's just to escaping that fact that this is essentially a remake of someone else's game, but also that it really works. PopCap did bring a few new ideas to the table such as the Mayan theme, but for the most part it is somebody else's work. The fact that the game has managed to hook me after one look at the trial version is testament to the good groundwork that Mitchell made though, and a good game is still a good game no matter how it is reskinned.

The first stage of the game is a basic spiral but things get much more convoluted later on.

Value and Replayability: 9 out of 10
Once Zuma gets its claws into you there's no escaping the addictivness of the game. There are many different temples to conquer in Adventure mode, and once you've done that you can attempt to earn the highest rank on each of the individual stages in Gauntlet mode which will take both considerable time and skill. There's the usual smattering of achievements that help add depth and challenge to the game, and these include earning 100 gap bonuses, and playing the game for a total of 24 hours. 24 hours might seem like quite a long time to be playing a simple puzzle game, but once you start playing that time will go by fairly quickly as you'll be playing at every opportunity.

Overall: 9 out of 10
Personally, Zuma Deluxe is my favourite game on Xbox Live Arcade at the moment. It beats Geometry Wars because there's a more gentle learning curve, and I'm actually quite good at it (which counts for a lot). Even today at work I can't get the music and the popping sound out of my head and I can't wait to get home and have another go. Zuma is definitely worth the 800 points - it's just a shame they didn't include any multiplayer mode. Magnetica on the DS does have a single card multiplayer mode however, and come pay day I shall pick it up and find out how it compares to Zuma as an overall package.

Join me tomorrow as my Xbox 360 week concludes with Moto GP 06.

Marble Blast Ultra review

We're on day 4 already, and this time I'm reviewing the Live Arcade title Marble Blast Ultra.

Format: Xbox 360 (Live Arcade)

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Garage Games

Genre: Puzzle
Region: All
Price: 800 MS points

Where to buy: Xbox Live Marketplace

If you've ever played Super Monkey Ball then you will be familiar with the basic concept of Marble Blast Ultra. Guide your spherical object around a maze of obstacles and try and get to the goal within the allotted time. MBU does have a few differences however, such as the inclusion of gems scattered around certain levels which you have to collect before the goal becomes active, or a slightly different feel which stems from the fact that you are actually directly controlling the marble this time, rather than tilting the floor. It's your task to make your way through 60 increasingly tough stages (grouped into sets of 20). To start with you will probably just concentrate on finishing each level, but later you can attempt to be the par time for each stage, and once that's done you can still try to get to the top of the Xbox Live leaderboard.

The levels can really get quite fiendish later on.

Graphics: 9 out of 10
When Xbox Live Arcade was first unveiled most people imagined that the games would all be 2D in nature. After all there's a 50mb size limit on each game, so it would be pretty hard to fit anything 3D into that restriction. But, thanks to the bespoke shader engine that developer Garage Games have developed, not only is Marble Blast Ultra in full 3D, but it features quite detailed texture maps, and everything has a polished sheen to it. The marble itself it particularly life like. Some levels even have you rolling around on ice which looks just as you'd expect - all cold and slippery.

Everything moves along at quite a pace too - I've never experienced any slowdown in the game, even in the online mode (more on that later).

Sound and Music: 6 out 10
Functional, but not offensive is probably the best way to describe the sound in Marble Blast Ultra. There isn't really anything that will get on your nerves, but then again there's nothing astounding here either. The squeaking sound of the ball as it rolls on ice is quite cool I guess. The music is a selection of upbeat dancey tunes which again are hardly a revelation but probably won't make you reach for the mute button in disgust.

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10

Besides what I have already mentioned at the start of my review, Marble Blast Ultra brings a few new ideas to the "Marble Madness" genre (for want of a better term). The main difference between this game and similar titles are the range of power-ups. This include speed boosts, gyrocopters for gliding across gaps, giant balls which make certain areas easier to navigate (or make it easier to smack rivals off the level), and an ultra blast. If your blast meter is full enough, you can pull of a special move which gives you a bit of extra height on a jump, or repels rivals in multiplayer mode. The ultra blast is an extra powerful version of this move which can send enemies flying off the level altogether (they do come back after a few seconds, but that can often be enough time to clinch the victory).

I've already mentioned the gem collecting earlier in the review, and this forms the crux of the online multiplayer battle mode. In this mode, gems randomly appear in the level, and the players have to race each other to pick them up. Once all of the current gems have been snaffled up, another set appears elsewhere in the stage and the players all race off once again. There are red gems worth one point, yellow ones worth two, blue ones worth 5 and probably more that I haven't seen yet. The power-ups from the single player mode all return in multiplayer and can make all the difference when it comes to winning or losing. It makes for a fast, fun game that is a great complement to the single player game, and gives you a reason to keep playing once all 60 of the puzzle levels have been beaten.

The Achievements in Marble Blast Ultra include beating the levels, beating the par times, winning online games, getting a certain score in multiplayer and so on. They aren't as inventive as some games doing the rounds but they do give you a little incentive to try and finish the game.

MBU is definitely one of the better looking games on XBLA.

Innovation & Cleverness: 7 out of 10
The basic time-trial game of getting a marble (or monkey in a ball) has been around for years, but the inventive power-ups and multiplayer mode helps set Marble Blast Ultra apart and stop it from becoming simply a "me too" title.

Value & Replayability: 8 out of 10

60 levels isn't really a whole lot compared to the 100+ plus featured in the Super Monkey Ball games, but when you remember that they cost £30 at least, and Marble Blast Ultra is only about £6, you can't really grumble. There is some replay from trying to beat the par times, and the leaderboard is a nice touch. Then you have the multiplayer mode which you can come back to for as long as you want. The great thing about this game is that it's readily available to all Xbox 360 owners that are online and is very cheap, so they'll never be a shortage of people to play against. It's a shame you can play against a friend locally, but I suppose we can't have everything.

Overall: 8 out of 10
Marble Blast Ultra is definitely one of the better games available on the Xbox Live Arcade, and I highly recommend checking it outespeciallyly if you're a fan of the Super Monkey Ball games or even the classic Marble Madness. Rather than being a rehash though, MBU does have enough new elements to make it worth having a go even if you already have those games on other formats.

Hidden Gems - Pikmin 2

Although Pikmin 2 has managed to earn itself an average rating of 89% on www.gamerankings.com, I'm willing to bet that it has been overlooked by many gamers out there, myself included until just recently. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the new look Official Nintendo Magazine was giving it away free with a subscription, I still wouldn't be aware just what a finely crafted sequel it really is.

The first game was one of the very early games on the Gamecube, and it was packed with originality and clever ideas, but ultimately it was very limited. You only had 30 gaming days to try and find 30 items, so if you didn't bring back at least one a day you would have trouble. Nintendo have really worked hard to remedy this though, and the result is one of the most captivating games I have played in some time. It really has that special "Nintendo touch" that many of their best games have.

If you're not familiar with the way the game works, basically you control a little spaceman from the planet Hocotate in a mission to scavenge as many valuable items as you can, in this case to try and prevent his company from going bankrupt. You can't interact with anything in the word directly however - instead you have to enlist the help of the Pikmin - little plant/ant dudes. Soon after starting the game you will discover a few red ones, and then you can propagate and harvest more by cutting down flowers and killing enemies, and then taking them back to the "onion" to be used as fertiliser to grow more. There are many environmental hazards that you will have to find a way around, including water, fire, electricity and giant Pikmin munching insects to name just a few. This is where the different Pikmin types come in to play - red ones are impervious to fire, blue ones can swim, yellow ones are safe from electric shocks, purple ones are as strong as 10 normal guys, and the little sick looking albino white Pikmin are both immune to poison and poisonous to anything that eats them.

The Pikmin crew score a very valuable rubber ducky!

You will be required on many occasions to sacrifice some of your Pikmin to serve the greater good - either in battle with a ferocious bed bug, or offering one of your white ones up as a sacrifice in order to poison your enemy. In this way Pikmin is rather brutal, but then nature so often is in real life too. However brutal the single player mode can get though, it's nothing compared to the multiplayer mode. Some of the epic 50 on 50 Pikmin fights that can take place here rival the battle of Helm's Deep in the Lord of the Rings! The multiplayer mode really helps elevate this game to classic status. There are around 10 different maps each with their own quirks that you can do battle in, with the aim being to either bring back 4 yellow marbles, or the enemies main marble which can be found in their base. You can also lose by having all your Pikmin slaughtered by bugs, or if your spaceman dies. Once both players have a good grasp of how the game plays (which can take a while due to the unique controls and the way the game is set up) things really hot up and some really close tactical battles ensue. I can see myself coming back to this mode for a long time to come and it will most likely rival Mario Kart DS, Super Monkey Ball or Mashed as one of my multiplayer favourites. When you reach a certain stage in the single player mode you also open up a Challenge mode which can be played cooperatively with another player, adding even more depth to the game.

Something else that really enhanced the game is the use of real life objects for the artifacts that you have to find. These include a Nintendo Game & Watch, a Duracell battery, and a 7UP bottle cap. I know many people find the idea of advertising in games abhorrent and usually I would agree with them, but it really works in this context, and the funny alternative names that the sentient ship comes up with for the items really adds character. For example, the bottle cap becomes a "quenching emblem" and the Game & Watch becomes a "Dream Sculptor".

The game has been out for a fair while now so you can probably expect to find it for around £20 new and less than that used. While the Gamecube only came third in the sales battle, it is home to many brilliant games and in my opinion it was the machine with the most consistent level of high quality titles of its generation. Pikmin 2 is yet another example of this, so if you have a Gamecube, check it out!

An army of reds get ready to enter one of the many dungeons.

Hidden Gems 2005 Volume 2

Creatures - Commodore 64

First and foremost, this game has absolutely nothing to do with the Creatures games on the PC - they are all about Artficial Life, taking care or little fuzzy critters and making sure no harm comes to them. Creatures on the C64 is almost the complete opposite of that game, and try as you might, some Fuzzy Wuzzy's (as the good guys are known) will get squished, sawed in half, burnt and just generally tortured to death by the baddies.

Creatures stands for Clyde Radcliffe Exterminates All The Ugly, Repulsive, Evil Slime, or something like that (I can't quite remember). You control the one free Fuzzy Wuzzy, Clyde Radcliffe, as he sets off to free his brothers and sisters. Each world in the game consists of two platform style levels, and then one single screen torture chamber. This is the real highlight of the game! Your poor, helpless fuzzy friends will find themselves strapped to all manner of torture devices, and it's up to you to solve the puzzle and off the baddies running the machine before they are slaughtered. It will usually take you at least one go before you get it right, and it's almost worth failing on purpose just to see the gory demise of a poor Fuzzy Wuzzy.

A few years later, a sequel followed, entitled C2: Torture Trouble, which dropped the rather frustrating platforming sections in favour of the torture chambers. This is just what the fans wanted. I also remember that Commodore Format followed the creation of both games in a diary, which was fascinating to read, and it was great to finally play the game that you'd been reading about for the past year.

Both games really pushed the power of the C64, with colourful, detailed graphics, great animation and some fantastic music. These days, they can be obtained for free from www.c64.com and played with an emulator on your PC.

So go on, join the cause and fight to free some Fuzzy Wuzzy's. Or, just watch them get sliced, diced, boiled, bashed and dunked in acid. It all adds up to a fun evening's entertainment either way!