Review: Toy Story 2 (PS1)

It may be hard to believe but there's a game better than Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. Yes a game better than that genre busting, decade defining jumping simulator. People of the internet I bring you 1999's Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue. A godly game whose game play warps, rends and tears reality into something quite wonderful. A game that was my video game training arc of my childhood. As you may have gathered its the the tie-in game to Toy Story 2 for the PS1 and you most likely think it's crap as it's a licensed game but I'm here to prove otherwise. Oh, and its jumping is fairly good too.

Well as it's a film licence the plot is the same as Toy Story 2, Buzz puts a team together to rescue Woody who's been toy napped by the evil collector AL. It does what most tie in games do; expanding on the plot. Mainly because most film plots don't involve platforming, but this game gets away with it and I hold most of the expansions canon to the film series. Yes even the slimy energy being but we'll get to that later. You play as the legendary Buzz Lightyear, who must have had some upgrades at some point as his laser works, like EXPLODE other toys works and he can kind of fly but only to end the level also he seems to be made of some sort of Nintendium alloy. I guess this contradicts the core character development of the first film that he is a toy but to hell with that, his best friend has been kidnapped, clearly we can chalk one up to FIGHTING SPIRIT?

There are 15 levels, from the safety of Andy's house to the rain soaked airport tarmac for the final showdown with Stinky Pete. From Andy's neighbourhood with its towering bloody tree to a construction site with its towering skeletal building, this game has a thing for climbing - you have to climb stuff in every level but there's quite a few that are built around it like Andy's neighbourhood with that bloody tree! It gave me hell as a kid but this is where you are thankful Buzz is made out of that Nintendium alloy, yes lasers could hurt him but that fall from low orbit just kind fazes him for a second then he stands right back up again.

To progress in the game you have to collect Pizza Planet tokens, and to get them you will have to collect things. Lots of things, it's that kind of game. For example, Mr Potato Head keeps losing his parts or Bo Peep her sheep. Fair enough that's basically their thing but I find it hard to believe Hamm keeps losing all his coins in every level. Then again, it is exactly 50 coins he needs in every level so maybe its having that number of coins in him unlocks some kind of super mode for him, all fiery eyes and tron lines but we didn't get to see it for budgetary reasons. You also get tokens by racing other toys like RC or completing puzzles. Potato Head does help you out with more than just tokens though - getting him his parts back will unlock upgrades like rocket boots and grappling hooks. These upgrades help you get through the level at hand but some tokens in earlier levels can only be gotten with upgrades. Sneaky.

Then there's the bad guys you will face on your perilous journey, they're pretty awesome actually what with them being toys. That's right, you gotta KILL other toys to save dear old Woody, and they re-spawn as soon as you move away from where they EXPLODED so that's always fun. What's cool about them isn't just that they are just toys, it's that for most of the game they're toys from what seems to be the Buzz Lightyear toy line. There's Zurg mooks which explains why they want to kill you, and they're programmed like Buzz was at the start of the first film. That doesn't explain why they are every where though - like in Andy's house and in Al's Toy Barn yeah I get that - but at the construction site or in alleys and gulleys? The second lot of mooks follow the same way of thinking, they're cowboy mooks might not be from the same show as woody but they certainly fit with the theme which is damn cool and makes the world feel bigger with some thought out history.

The bosses in this game are just god damn awesome. Each level has its own mini boss usually at the top of something - like I said this game likes climbing. In addition there's the big bosses that have their own level. There's the ones you expect like the evil Emperor Zurg and Stinky Pete but most of the others the developers just made up. And they are GLORIOUS. There's the angry tin robot in Andy's attic (which despite the kill bot looks quite a nice place to be, just saying Toy Story 3, just saying) to the construction site's jack hammer Gurren, and of course the slimy energy monster that lives in a rubbish bin and gets stronger the more you shoot it. You may say this guy doesn't fit the tone of the Toy Story-verse but dude he's green so he's made of FIGHTING SPIRIT. Moving along. There's one boss I've never forgotten about - one boss that soars above the rest. Yes it's the ZURG KITE and my god he's awesome, you find him at the top of that bloody tree and he totally makes that bloody tree worth it because he's a thousand foot tall and made of fire - not really he dose spin though. In my head he went on to have adventures of his own after the end of the game.

This game was one of the greats, I'm sure you big bad people of the internet played bigger, badder games when you were kids but if you did play this game as a kid then you played it a lot as it's HARD, so many falls and that BLOODY TREE. But it was never so hard it was unplayable, in fact it's so hard it was addictive and to me that's the sign of a true great. To me its aged well and still looks pretty but I may be alone in that. I think some times I turn off the part of my brain that knows what current gen graphics look like. I'd recommend this to Toy Story fans, kite enthusiasts and fans of 3D platformers of its age.

10 ZURG KITES OUT OF TEN.

power rangers lightspeed rescue ps1

Firstly let me say there's absolutely no problem with the jumping in this game, nothing at all. In fact its one of the better modes of transport in the game right up there with walking and running. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Power rangers light speed rescue was the eighth season of power rangers ware the rangers were a government run team with rescue theme. For some reason I remember it looking like a film and the plots being a step up from regular power rangers.

Right so for a ps1 beat em up cash into power rangers light speed rescue this game is actually pretty fun, obviously its fairly standard stuff . you play though levels kicking the crap out enemy's and in a nice touch actually rescuing civilians which is cool in all what with it being a rescue themed ranger team.

Now iv herd complaints about its game play being repetitive and tedious as well as being tediously repetitive but personally I really enjoyed it . Much like power rangers super legends it feels really power rangery-is, you start the level beat up mooks until the boss fight after which its a zord fight .

I know that's not a sane or logical argument but who cares.

Levels design is fairly vanilla to start with but quickly gets bad ass , there's a underwater base level a level ware you fight on top of a train that all so happens to be a megazord ! And a level ware an asteroid hits the city, no not a level ware you have to save the city from an asteroid, it HIT ... thousands must have died. Hardcore.

Oh yeah and the megazord battles are not quick time events. Lets take a moment to breath that in people. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

This is mind blowing , sure that actual fights may take place in a yugioh shadow realm type place and may last all 30 seconds because the monsters die like punks but hey there not QTE'S !!!

Now I cant get away with calling this a graphically pretty game but it moves and its got shapes as well as colours, loads of colours like more than 5 colours. Really what more could you want ?!

Maybe I'm just mad but I really had fun with this game so far its been the best power rangers game iv yet played , it is a good 2 solid hours of fun and did I mention the jumping was absolutely fine ?

Then and Again: Ape Escape (PS1, PSP)

Regular readers will probably have noticed that none of the games I’ve reviewed were released in Europe before the mid-late nineties. This is because I was one of those who’s first console was the Sony PlayStation, and even then, I didn’t get one of my own for quite some time. In fact, I believe I was among the first to get the DualShock controller as a pack in. So when a lengthy demo for a game that SOLELY used DualShock was making the rounds, a lot of people wanted to play it on my console.

When I myself bought Ape Escape, it was one of those games that just DEFINES one’s childhood, a bit like Contra or Super Mario 3 is for a lot of people.

When the PSP was released, among the launch titles was a spinoff called “Ape Academy”. That was shit. However, in the US they got “Ape Escape: On the Loose”, a remake of the PS1 original. I recently downloaded this off PSN (remember, if you haven’t been able to use PSN, it’s your own fault) and...well. Let’s just see how they compare to each other, and which holds up the best, nostalgia aside.

Premise

You travel through time, hunting hyper intelligent monkeys armed with a butterfly net and a Lightsaber. Yeah. A Lightsaber. Levels are based around platforming and capturing a certain number of each level’s monkeys in order to progress. Periodically, you receive gadgets to make this task easier (or harder). This is true for both versions. There are SOME stealth elements, but you can usually just run up to each monkey, club them with the Lightsaber and net the bugger.

Story

Ah. Now THIS is where it gets a little bit subtle.

PS1 Version

You play as Spike who, with his friend Buzz, is going to see if the unnamed German Professor has finished his time machine. When you arrive, you find that the Professor and his schoolgirl assistant Katie have been restrained by some monkeys wearing “Peak-Point Helmets”, which the Professor designed to enhance intelligence. The monkeys activate the time machine, and you and buzz get sucked up with them. Spike awakes in pre-history, and has to capture the monkeys before they change the future. It later emerges that the apes are under the command of Specter, an albino monkey who got his hands on a Peak-Point helmet when Katie and the Professor were at the zoo. He has built a much more powerful version of the Helmet, which makes him smart enough to speak, and has kidnapped Buzz, using technology he has developed to keep Buzz in his psychic thrall.

Ape Escape P

Buzz and Katie are now Jake and Natsumi, although curiously both versions have a text box referring to the character as “Natalie”, no idea why. Peak-Point helmets are now called “monkey helmets”, which begs the question as to why the Professor invented them in the first place. Now the really subtle change. The Professor warned Specter that the Peak-Point’s limits were there because increasing intelligence further could prove dangerous. In the PSP version, Specter’s Spiky helmet is said to be an unstable prototype. This could work, except the opening cutscene still shows Specter putting on a normal Monkey Helmet before becoming  evil. It’s a bit of a plothole, unique to the remake.

Voice Cast

This is what really bugs me. Now, the PS1 version wasn’t exactly top tier storytelling, or indeed voice acting. But it was better.

PS1

Spike and Buzz both sound very much like they are being voiced by women, which is standard for pre-pubescent boys. They and Katie DID have at least Acceptable English accents however, if a tad wooden. The Professor’s German accent meshed pretty well with his character design. Specter, however, had one of the best hammy villain voices ever. A perfect mix of polite bond villain and total psycho. The monkey’s went “Eek!”

Men call me MAGNETO!

PSP

Oh dear. The voice cast is very obviously American, though it only REALLY shows when you hear isolated phrases and grunts. Jake sounds more Australian. Natsumi also has an English accent, for as we all know, red-headed Japanese schoolgirls are a major ethnic group in the UK. The Professor is the only one who can maintain the accent consistently, and the character does suit the accent, so no complaints there. But Specter. Oh, dear sweet Christ Specter. I would say he’s a poor man’s Kefka or Dhoulmagus, but that does it no justice. The Man who’s Kefka this is is so poor they can’t AFFORD to sell their vital organs or turn tricks on the street. They’ve turned this ruthlessly intelligent, delightfully hammy villain into something that sounds like the old ladies in any given episode of South Park. I don’t care for it.

Gameplay

Well, to be fair, Ape Escape isn’t really about the story. There are some apes, and they have escaped would probably be a fair enough summation of everything I’ve said so far. So, onto what really matters.

Basically, the PSP version feels a lot easier by dint of being on the PSP. In the original, all gadgets were controlled by rotating or otherwise moving the right analog stick. In the PSP however, you just press the appropriate face button, occasionally tapping or holding depending on the item in question. Let me explain how this takes away the challenge.

Less than halfway through the game, you receive the Sky Flier, essentially, a propeller that can be spun to increase height and duration of your jumps. As a result, there’re more than a few monkeys hanging around ledges with no other means of access. Now, in the original, getting them would require selecting the Sky Flier, rotating the right stick while jumping in the right direction, continuously rotating the right stick until you’re where you want to be,  pressing the face button for the net/Lightsaber (usually, you stun then catch them), and then swinging the right stick in the direction of the monkey. This IS a fairly quick process, but it does take a little bit of time. In the PSP version, you jump, start tapping a face button, then press another face button. You don’t need to recreate these conditions yourself, since the entirety of the process on the PSP is two of the steps for the PS1. Also, tapping a face button continuously is FAR less strenuous than rotating the right stick. Remember Lulu’s overdrive from Final Fantasy X?

However, there is one way that the PSP has improved the gameplay, though that’s down entirely to intuition. The camera controls for both versions are identical; snap the camera behind you with the L button (L1), and when you need to, you can fine tune it with the D Pad. This was perfectly fine when this was the only game in the world that required dual thumbstick controls, but when I replayed it recently, I found I kept impotently swinging my sword as I tried to move the camera to where I needed it. My hands automatically associated camera with the right stick. It’s even worse than when the axes have been inverted from what you normally use. Having had a PSP since launch, I’m used to using L and the D Pad to move the camera, so it felt a thousand times more natural.

Verdict

Don’t take my word for it. It is impossible for me to be objective here. I loved Ape Escape when I was a kid. Hell, I’ve never even played any of the sequels, because I KNOW that they couldn’t possibly compare to how I’ve built them up over the years. I used to play at Ape Escape with a friend in the school playground, waving around fruit shoot bottles as nets and lightsabers. I honestly can’t even say for a fact that this game is any good. So get whatever version you can, if you’re at all interested. You’re far more qualified to voice an opinion than I. If you get the US PS1 version, I’m told that most of the voice actors are the cast of Pokémon. So that’s neat.

PS: Apparently, a movie is coming out soon. They’ve done the usual adaptation decay stuff, I think Spike is a scientist or something, and the monkey’s gain intelligence from a standard “genetic experiment” plot, and time travel isn’t going to be touched on til the sequel, and the even changed the title, but it’s all there. Hyper Intelligent Apes have Escaped, and are going to usurp humanity.

*sigh* The Movie always get's the best parts wrong...

Final Fantasy IV (US SNES, Wonderswan Color, PSX, GBA, DS, VC, PSP)

I don’t think I like it.

The Final Fantasy series is fairly well liked, though the last three games in the main series have been met with both harsh criticism and high accolades depending on who you ask, with the exception of XIV which came out half finished. Square-Enix gets a lot of criticism for releasing the same game over and over, both in terms of recycled gameplay and actually releasing the same game over and over. To date, I have bought the PSX, GBA, DS and now PSP releases of Final Fantasy IV, widely believed to be the first Final Fantasy with a character driven narrative. The recent PSP release aims to be the definitive version, being bundled with its previously episodic sequel, The After Years.

Unsurprisingly, I’m going to start with the cover. This is something that a lot of people don’t give much thought to where games are concerned, but as a man who routinely switches the cases of his favourite games with those of less well-liked and less scuffed cases, I’d beg to differ.

Like the legacy edition of Dissidia 012, it has a cardboard sleeve, which may or may not be the true cover art. They’ve eschewed the traditional “logo on a white background” in favour of some full colour artwork of the main cast of The After Years by long time promotional; artist Yoshitaka Amano. It’s nice enough, but I’m not sure it’ll suck in people unfamiliar with the original.

I’m focussing the review on the Final Fantasy IV part of the game, since that’s all of managed to play so far. You might think this’d be the sensible option, but the majority of the manual is focussed on The After Years, and all the information for that game is before any mention of the original.

Since this game is only a few months younger than me, I’m not going to bother regurgitating the story. Suffice it to say that it’s surprisingly complex for a game that was originally in development for the NES. The majority of gameplay features seem to be based on the GBA version, though there seem to be a few tiny differences to keep it fresh. The massive difficulty spikes the game suffered from starting at the Tower of Zot seem to have been ironed out, though this could be due in part due to the erratic encounter rate. You could go through a map once without a single battle, and then go through the same map and have a back attack encounter every time you take a step. The bosses all require keen observation to take on effectively, particularly the Eidolons. This is the first time I’ve managed to actually complete the game, and the final dungeon is incredibly arduous if you lack cottages and dry ethers to restore MP.

When I got to the final boss, I was wiped out easily at first. After grinding up a bit, I went back to confront him, only this time, I discovered a shocking secret. Now, this being the future and all, I binged for a strategy to beat him, and as far as I’m aware, nobody else seems to have discovered what I have. Zeromus is so challenging because he can unleash to devastating attacks in quick succession. Except he’s vulnerable to slow. I’ll say that again; the FINAL BOSS is vulnerable to a STATUS AILMENT.

Obligatory Text-Box shot

The graphics have really been tarted up. Shading’s a LOT smoother, and everything looks all shiny. They’ve also FINALLY made Cecil’s sprite resemble how he’s supposed to look...except in battle he goes from having long flowing hair to short spiky hair as in every other version.  And sprite flipping is still used for walking left, meaning that character’s with asymmetrical hair cuts have their partings mysteriously flip to the other side when walking left. This was originally done to save space, but considering they found room for flashy new spell and summon animations (which ARE awesome), this smacks of laziness.

Briefly talking about The After Years, I’d say it’s better than the WiiWare version.  For a start, it’s cheaper, and comes all in one bundle, plus the enemy formations don’t look so oddly spaced (the WiiWare version was adapted from mobile phones, and used the low resolution sprites from the GBA).

I’m having trouble telling if I’m being overly negative in this review, and that about sums up my feelings for FFIV. It’s definitely not my favourite, but I don’t hate it. Hell, I spent the last week playing it pretty much non-stop, so that has to count for something. As a port, it’s pretty amazing. While the other PSP final fantasy ports suffered from immense slowdown (I know for a fact that the UMD version of FFII had actual LOADING SCREENS before random encounters), FFIV Complete Collection has a data install feature, although there isn’t much noticeable lag if you don’t use it, plus it comes with art cards (which...take up space?), a PSP screen cloth with Cecil on it (alas, too little too late for mine) and a costume for Cecil in Dissidia 012 based on his sprite art, PLUS the After Years PLUS an interlude section, PLUS the fact that both GAME and Gamestation had it on sale for £20, it’s not a bad buy.

If you like that sort of thing.

Which I might.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee review

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"This is Rupture Farms, they say it's the biggest meat processing plant on Oddworld. My name is Abe, I used to work here. Well, I was really a slave, like all the others. Then I learned that they were gonna turn us into lunch. That's when I knew I had to escape. So, get me out of here! And help me rescue the others."

You've probably heard that before, because you probably played the demo back when it was available in PS1 magazines. Back before you had the internet (probably) and relied on these magazines for your gaming news. The introduction there pretty much sums up everything you need to know before you begin your epic adventure to save the Mudokon slaves in Oddworld's biggest meat processing plant: Rupture farms, managed by Glukkon business veteran Molluck.

As you probably also gathered from the introduction, you play a slave Mudokon (A race of green humanoids native to Oddworld) employed by the tyrannical entrepreneur of Rupture farms under relatively harsh conditions. All fellow Mudokons seen in the compound are on their knees scrubbing the same patch of floor (All except one who attempts to escape, but shortly gets eaten by a Scrab) closely guarded by Sligs (mechanically bipedal armed guards employed to keep the Mudokons working efficiently) and discouraged from speaking to each other by having their lips sewn together.

The levels are rendered in 3D programs, but are only displayed as images in-game, yet the way its shown will have you thinking it is in 3D, even though only one square of the level is shown at once. This can be useful however, as at a lot of point in the game you must hide from Sligs to survive, this is made much easier as when the Slig isn't in the same square you are, it will be oblivious to your presence no matter how loud you are. But at more points throughout the game when you are in the compound you will need to rely on the Sligs to advance. 


Abe was born with a special power making him different from the other enslaved Mudokons, he can use chanting to control others telepathically (He is also blue) giving him firepower from their guns and control over guard dogs. Any controlled Sligs can be disposed of by more chanting, causing them to explode and causing Abe to laugh and make a rather inappropriate gesture. Chanting can also be used to open bird portals, portals made by circles of bats, which Mudokons can use to safely escape the undesirable working conditions of the factory.

The game has two endings, the only difference being the video at the end. The good ending is achieved by saving more than 50 of the 99 'employees' whereas if you save any less Abe is captured by the Glukkons, killed, and used for meat on their new product 'Mudokon Pops'.


So, a hive-like extremely industrial world, slavery, and pain. A perfect depressing game, right?
Not really, the developers 'Oddworld Inhabitants' didn't take the game seriously enough to stick with the setting, however they did manage it, and the result was close to perfect. with a 1:1 ratio of humour to dystopia.


It would be relatively hard to find today, however UK-based game studio 'Just Add Water' are developing an HD remake of the game set to be released in early 2012. Perfect for players who want to revisit the timeless classic, and players who will be soon discover this epic. 


That will be all,
Pixie