Big M’s Weekly Column II

I’m not talking about the arcade game or the NES game. I’m referring to the Gameboy game that expands on the original. (I recommend using a Super Gameboy if you have one.) The first four levels are exactly the same as the original. When you complete them you get to see something new. The new levels (there are over 100 of them) require you to use more moves than Mario had ever used before. (at least until Mario 64) The gameplay itself consists of simple platforming fused with puzzle elements to form a simple, but really addictive game. It should be noted that the control is not like a Mario game, but like the original Donkey Kong. This game should not be missed. This is probably one of the best Gameboy games available.

Overall: 9/10 Pure classic gameplay.

This game is probably my favorite Playstation game. It is futuristic racing at it’s greatest. The graphics are astounding. The game is really colorful, but in a dark sort of way. The tracks are detailed and the game wizzes by quickly at a respectable. Disposable contacts may dry up in your eyes because the game is so fast. Sometimes I don’t even know what place I was in until the race is over. It requires much concentration to anticipate the turns of the insane, curvy tracks and looking to see your place is more of a distraction than blinking. When you have the blazing speed and add some competitors it gets even wilder. Weapons play a major part of this game and your opponents really put up a fight. I have lost several hard fought races at the finish line because of an enemy missile finishing off the last of my power. The weapons themselves are all useful and one of them is particularly impressive. The earthquake weapon sends a wave along the track and knocks the #$@# out of any competitor in front of you. The crafts control surprisingly great with the digital pad. (I can’t wait until Wipeout 3’s analog control.) The game never seems to get old or become overly frusterating. As you move through the game you complete different classes and challenges and as you move up the speed and necessary number of laps speed up too. A great part about class completion is that you don’t have to do it all in one sitting. You can play for minutes or hours. The game has four cars, six hidden vehicles, six courses, and two unlockable super difficult tracks. There is also a two player linkup mode.

Overall: 9/10 (fans of realistic racers) 10/10 (everyone else)

This is one of the must own Playstation racers.

Zoinks!!! A movie licensed, multigenre, ultraviolent game that is actually fun. This CD includes a third person shooter, a lightgun game, and a driving game. It is based on Die Hard, Die Harder, and Die Hard With a Vengeance. Die Hard is the third person shooter. There are terrorists with bombs in a building and you have to kill them all and make it to the bomb before it explodes. There are hostages and you can mow them down without any sort of penalty. The enemies are really, really stupid, but in this case it is a good thing, because they are abundant and often attack in groups. It is fun to wait beside the door in a room with one entrance and wait on an army of terrorists to enter and make a pile of bad guys with a machine gun or grenade. Just be sure to make extensive use of the roll buttons and the map. Die Harder is an improvement on Virtua Cop. There are enemies coming from everywhere in the detailed environments and like all of the games on this disk you can harm pedestrians without a penalty. Mre heh heh!!! Die Hard With a Vengeance is the driving portion and it involves driving around New York City really fast finding and running over bombs to diffuse them. You get to drive various vehicles that easily handle. The best part of the control is the unrealistic breaking. When you use a handbreak while you’re on the gas pedal you preform a 90 degree turn and a 180 degree turn can be preformed with a handbreak, no gas combination. It’s a natural high flying through traffic, smashing civilians, and barely finding the bomb only to find another. The graphics are adequate in the driving portion, but the framerate is a little slow, but by no means makes it unplayable.

Overall: 9/10 Well done, multigenre, movie licensed ultraviolence!

That’s it for this week’s column, I don’t have time for a picture of the week this week, I’ve gone on too long as it is. Until next week…