Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is here, and with it, more planet-hopping fun. The game takes just about everything from its predecessor, and adds even more stuff to it, including the loveable, green stallion, Yoshi, and a handful of new power-ups. Is this second installment of a true 3D Mario adventure on a single system really necessary, or at least feel different enough to warrant its existence? Read on to find out.

The first thing you’ll notice with Super Mario Galaxy 2, assuming you’ve played the first one, is that it is nearly identical to look and feel as its forerunner. The file system looks the same, graphics are about the same, and the controls are identical. The old power-ups are present as well, although they are relegated to use in a single galaxy or two each, so you won’t see them very often.

One of the main differences you’ll find off the bat is that you no longer have a large hub world to walk around in, going from room to room to get to a different galaxy. Instead, you have a small little space ship, which you can still explore, but you get to each world via a map, similar to New Super Mario Brothers, but very basic. Your space ship is still large enough to walk around on and investigate, with new creatures showing up every now and again to add a bit of character to your ship, but there isn’t anything too interesting to do on it, although you can learn some useful tidbits from some of the inhabitants. The world map is very familiar and easy to navigate. Each world has a handful of galaxies, which are set up on a couple of paths. You must get at least one star in a galaxy to open up the path ahead and continue, however, you don’t have to get all of the stars in a galaxy, nor do you have to even get a single star in all of the galaxies, as some world paths open up a bit and allow you to bypass certain galaxies. However, like previous Mario games, there are still star gates, in which you have to have a certain number of stars to progress, so you can’t just go skipping every level there is, and I don’t know why you would want to anyways.

The game starts you off running, and throws each new feature at you one after the other. One galaxy has you using the new drill, and then the next has the cloud power-up, while the one after that has Yoshi. I was surprised how each level at the beginning had a new item, but it’s in no way overwhelming. I just assumed they would have paced it differently, and spread them out a bit, but it’s not a detriment I don’t feel. Overall, I found all of the new items and features really cool and fun to use, although some have a few quirks. For instance, I couldn’t find a way to drop the drill, other than going into a transport star or getting hit by an enemy. Also, I would have liked to have had a bit more control with the cloud power-up. You only get three clouds to use per item pick-up, and they are activated by shaking the Wii remote, which usually gives you a little extra oompf with jumps. So, you can’t really do that spin to get that extra distance, as it would instead place a cloud. Also, I tended to place clouds on top of other platforms, which means I couldn’t get the item directly below me, but that would just be something I need to practice more on I guess. Also, the former didn’t tend to matter too much, as those cloud items were pretty generously placed.

Which brings me to difficulty. Galaxy 2 is supposed to be a lot more difficult that the first, however, I didn’t find that to be the case. Granted, I’m a pretty hard-core gamer and know my way around some Mario, but still, it didn’t seem dramatically more difficult than the first, and even, might have been easier. There were definitely 4 or 5 stars that gave me major trouble, but I don’t think they were more difficult than that infamous one in Galaxy were you had to get the 100 purple coins on the 8-bit Mario stage. What was also disappointing was the ease of getting the comet coins. I came in with the impression that they would be hidden within the stages, and it would be a bit difficult to go around and try to find them, however, this wasn’t the case at all. Most of the comet coins were literally right in front of your face, and you would have to go out of your way to NOT get them. There were 2, maybe 3 of the coins that actually took a little thought to try to find, but other than that, they were seriously in plain view and on your path to the star, and didn’t require any special moves or thought to obtain. I was thinking in some levels, “Oh, maybe it’s hidden behind this planet/boulder where the camera doesn’t show,” or “maybe it’s around this corner that’s out of the way, just below the cliff,” but it turns out, that instead of being cleverly hidden away, it’s right in your path, when you’re flying through the air via a transport star, so you HAVE to get the coin…..yeah. (Ok, it’s not THAT easy, but pretty much).

However, if you do like scouring levels for hidden items, then you’re in luck, as:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SPOILER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
once you’ve gotten 120 stars, you unlock the green stars, which double the number of stars on each galaxy. These green stars, unlike regular star challenges, are instead hidden throughout each galaxy and must be found. These are actually pretty hard to find and you’ll be going through every nook and cranny in a level to uncover them. So, these act as those comet coins for me, where you actually have to put forth effort to find them. I was a little bummed out at first to realize that the green stars were merely hidden, instead of like regular stars, where you had to do some action to get, but it still adds more than the original SMG had, and does add a lot of gameplay.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! END SPOILER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will say that if you are completely new to Mario and 3D games in general, then you’ll probably get pretty frustrated with the “difficulty”. Obviously, there is a lot of platforming going on, with jumping around, avoiding/killing enemies, and all sorts of stuff, so if you are new to this kind of thing, you’ll have some major trouble, but as a veteran, I didn’t find it too bad. One issue I did find however, was with the camera. It’s pretty good overall, but there are times when it won’t keep up and won’t track you when circling around a planet or other such task, and then the directional controls get wonky and you’re moving up when holding down, etc, which can be frustrating. This didn’t happen TOO often, but it was definitely noticeable when it did, and confused me a bit, so n00bs would be totally thrown off for these short periods of inconsistency.

The most difficult stars are most definitely the prankster comet ones, as these usually have time constraints and can be purple coin challenges which can take a few tries to master. Luckily though, this means that beginners can usually bypass these stars and still beat the final boss and “beat” the game.

But enough with that, let’s talk about Yoshi!!! He’s so cool, and my best pal, unless I’m playing SMW and have to sacrifice him to get to a tall ledge. Sorry, Yoshi. His appearance in Super Mario Sunshine felt a bit weird, as he would shoot juice out and instantly dissolve in water, which didn’t make any sense, but he is back in true form in Galaxy 2 I felt, even though there are three interesting powers he can gain. The first is a Dash Pepper, which gives you and Yoshi about 10 seconds of super speed where you can run up vertical walls or make a dash through a closing gate. It takes precise movements to control, so can be tricky at first, but not too terrible overall. Another item Yoshi can consume is the Blimp Fruit, which inflates your comrade and allows you to float upwards for a short time. The last is the Bulb Berry, which gives Yoshi the ability to illuminate hidden platforms, however, you can only stand on these platforms while the Bulb Berry is active, so if you run out, even if you where on a platform, you will fall, so be quick about it.

All of these power-ups can be gained by either walking into them or using Yoshi’s tongue to eat, which is done by pointing at the item, seeing a red circle encapsulate it, and pressing the B button. Yoshi can also eat just about every enemy, and sometimes spit them back out as a projectile, which comes in handy. Yoshi also retains his famous flutter jump, and controls just about the same as Mario, except you can’t do a long jump anymore, nor would I assume you could wall jump. Yoshi is a pretty good partner in crime in Galaxy 2, but like the power-ups, you can’t really get him unless you NEED him, which I feel a little odd about. For instance, in Super Mario World, you can get Yoshi fairly often, and keep him to use in other levels if you wished, but you never really NEEDED him. In recent Mario games, you can’t get him unless you NEED him for something. Same with the power-ups. You can never get a starman or fire flower when you don’t NEED it for something. You can’t get one and just mess around and have fun and play a level a different way. You can’t get a cloud suit and explore a level that wasn’t intended to be explored. I understand you wouldn’t want to take Yoshi into a level he wasn’t supposed to be in and completely break the platforming difficulty and the like, but it just seems that you don’t have as much freedom as you could, and it makes levels a bit more linear in a sense.

Galaxy 2 does throw Luigi your way again, with the same semi-different “abilities”, where he is slightly faster, can just slightly higher, and can’t stop worth crap. He first appears in seemingly random galaxies and asks for you to play as him, so he can help his bro find some stars. Playing as Luigi doesn’t unlock new star opportunities, but instead, unlocks ghosts. For every star you collect as Luigi, you unlock a ghost of him, which you can then follow when replaying that star. It’s a nifty little feature, but I think it could have been implemented a bit better. You see, Luigi only appears every so often on random stars, so at first, you can only get ghosts on those levels, beating the rest with Mario. Then, once you beat the final boss for the first time, you unlock the ability to play as Luigi whenever you like, so if you want to get ghosts on all of the stars, you’ll have to replay a lot of the levels, and then play them AGAIN to race/see the ghosts. It seems a little inconvenient.

The level design and variety in Galaxy 2 is pretty superb. Each galaxy, semi-strangely, only has 2-3 stars to grab, and in past games, it’s more like 5 or 6. However, this isn’t a bad thing, as that means there are more environments to explore and play in, and each one feels like a new experience. One galaxy will focus on one gimmick, and the next will have something completely different. It’s obvious the developers had a ton of little ideas they wanted to throw in, and most of them are probably there. You have cloud levels where you have to clear large gaps and go high into the air, rock levels, where you have to roll around, Yoshi levels, and a star for each kind of power-up. You’re always doing something new and different.

The bosses in the game are also fairly creative, although simple enough to kill. This happens to also be the case with the main bosses, which I found disappointing, especially with Bowser. He’s always been the same, where each subsequent encounter features the same moves, but with slightly more difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, the final such encounter still felt a little too simple. I would have hoped for a little more epicness.

In the end though, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is another fantastic Mario game. There are almost 50 new galaxies to explore, 120 main stars to grab, and another 120 to collect after that. There are new suits, Yoshi, a slightly modified co-op experience, and staff ghosts. There is plenty of help for newcomers, with a few helper TVs to give you hints on what to do, and the Rosalina guide to physically guide you through a level. However, these features can be easily ignored by players more familiar with the series, and there is a fair amount of challenge to all gamers. Most definitely a buy if you like games.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

Dennis Hopper: 1936 - 2010

Well, this sucks... much like last year's loss of Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Billy Mays, and Michael Jackson all within days or weeks of each other, so seems to be the case this year. Famed and awesomely brilliant painter Frank Frazetta recently passed, as did metal legend Ronnie James Dio. And just one day after the death of former child star, Gary Coleman, an other great has passed. He was 74.

Dennis Hopper, most notable for directing and starring in the 1969 film, Easy Rider, and most infamous for portraying Bowser in the retched Super Mario Bros. movie, has died due to complications with prostate cancer. While it's been awhile since I've made an obituary post, and for the three recent passings I probably should have, Hopper's passing has the most for me to talk about personally.

For one, Easy Rider is a cinematic classic for its depiction of rebellion culture, and its influence lives on in many films today. Heck, the season one finale of The Venture Bros. perfectly mirrors the ending moments of the film! Hopper, who has been acting since 1955, has appeared in hundreds of films, some fantastic, and some a bit beneath his level of talent, but he was always great in everything did, and I always enjoyed seeing him on screen.

I think I'm going to have to play Gorillaz' "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" on loop for the rest of the night. For those that don't know, it's the track on Demon Days that Dennis Hopper provided narration on, and can even be seen recording in their documentary, Bananaz. He (and the others I mentioned) will truly be missed.

Red Wii Packaging?

Spotted this on the Nintendo Press Room earlier... and it has me insanely confused and slightly bothered...

I have what's called "gamer OCD" sometimes even called "collector's OCD" in which I like having all my game and movie packaging to be uniform and sitting on my shelf in alphabetical order. It was bad enough when Player's Choice/Greatest Hits/Platinum Hits have their "sore thumb" packaging... but when new releases do it (like Sony has done with both PS3 and PSP packaging), it's unsettling because now I have no choice.

It's for that reason I haven't bought a LucasArts game on the Wii, because of their unnecessary yellow siding. Now Nintendo has an uncalled for red package? I sure hope there's at least a proper reason for the sudden color change...

E3 09: Nintendo Media

Hey there readers, hope you enjoyed the E3 conference recaps, but now it's media time. I just received some assets from Nintendo, so I've gone and posted videos for:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Golden Sun DS, Sin and Punishment 2, and Metroid: Other M.

I'm not embedding them here because that would be a slow-down nightmare. Enjoy!

Hopefully I'll be able to get some footage from Sony later, other Microsoft didn't have much video content available on their press site, so I can't help you guys out there.

Update: Got some screenshots and artwork from the press site. Not posting everything, because of bandwidth limits, etc. But I'm posting stuff that caught my interest.

Screenshots of Metroid: Other M


Artwork for New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Golden Sun DS


Artwork for Sin and Punishment 2

Not too much, but the stuff is still cool no less. I'm just waiting for Konami to release artwork for Metal Gear Solid: Rising and MGS: Peace Walker so that I can have a real fanboygasm.

Survey giving early look at Wii Sports Resort?

Call this a mixed bag of information, but I recently was sent some pictures from an apperent survey regarding Wii games like Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. For the most part the images just look like concept art and mock-ups, but if this is Wii Sports Resort, there's definitely more to the game than previously thought.

At this point these concepts could really be for anything. The one layout is clearly for Wii Sports Resort, since it features screens from the games as well at the MotionPlus peripheral; the other, clearly for Mario & Sonic. But the more fleshed out one, with four featured resorts is the one that seems most intriguing, as it too uses screens and similar concepts as that of Wii Sports Resort; but that one lagoon looks way too much like Pac-Man for me to believe it's a Nintendo game.

Anyone else participate in this survey? If so, what do you make of all of this?

New Play Control: Mario Power Tennis Review

Nintendo has begun to introduce a new line of games for the Nintendo Wii, entitled "New Play Control". These games were previously released on the GameCube, but have been updated for the Wii to take advantage of its unique control capabilities, including the IR pointer and accelerometers.

Thus far, Nintendo has released Mario Power Tennis and the original Pikmin, with announced future titles of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Pikmin 2. Today, we’re going to be looking at Mario Power Tennis and I’ll give you low-down and let you know if these new controls make it worth the re-release.

Note: This isn’t a full review of the game, as it is a few years old, so I will be focusing on the changes, mostly with controls, instead of all of the game features.

The controls in this title are a bit interesting, but relatively simple to get a hand of. Instead of pressing a different combination of buttons for a certain shot, like chip, drop, lob, etc, you have a different swing. You can hit a neutral ball by swinging horizontally, or you can slam it by swinging downwards. You can also swing diagonally to put topspin on the ball, or go downwards for a drop shot. These motions take a little bit of getting used to, and you’ll miss the precision of just pressing a button or two for the exact shot you want, but the motion controls add a bit of depth to the game. However, don’t expect to pick them up instantly. You’ll have to play through a couple of sets before you feel comfortable with the controls, but once you are, you can pull off the shot you want 85-90% of the time. Lob shots are particularly different to get, as you have to move the Wii Remote straight up and it won’t always register, so this can get frustrating, but overall, the controls work well.

Another issue I sort of had with the game was placement. It doesn’t seem like moving the control stick effected the direction of the ball, like it would in other games, so I think it’s more based on the timing of your hit, as well as if you swung the Wii Remote backhand or forehand. However, it’s not as precise as Wii Sports Tennis was, where it really mattered how your character was positioned and how you swung the Remote. Overall, the controls were satisfactory and fun to play with once you got a handle on them. It’s unfortunate though, that you can’t plug in a GameCube controller and play; the constant swinging is a bit tiresome and it just would have been nice to have the ability to play a more traditional way.

Mario Power Tennis still has all the fun it did back on the GameCube, with around 20 playable characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, over 10 courses to play on, 6 regular tournaments plus 3 gimmick ones, over 8 mini-games, and the ability to unlock all sorts of bonuses, including star players. There is a ton of fun to be had with this title, so if you haven’t played the original, I would suggest picking this one up. To me, there is just something ridiculously enjoyable with Mario sport titles; not sure what it is. However, if you do already own the GameCube version, then I’m not sure I could suggest getting it for the Wii. The only addition is the control setup, so you’ll be playing through the same thing, but tennis is tennis. You may want to just hold out for EA’s Grand Slam Tennis, which will utilize the upcoming Wii MotionPlus device for a true tennis experience.

Overall Score: 6/10

Posted in cooperation with GamersPlatform

Mario Super Sluggers Review

Hello hello. Very exciting week, what with the new Apple products, and other things, but today, you get the review for the latest Mario sports game for the Wii!!!!! Super Mario Sluggers!!!!!!!

I know...exciting right? Okay...maybe not the greatest game in the history of time, but it's better than nothing. You can check the review over at Classic VFH.

I still semi-plan to make a post about multiple iPhone games, but am very lazy, so not sure when I'll get around to it. If you are a Nintendo fan though, I should be getting my hands on Wario Land: Shake It and Kirby Superstar Ultra, so keep your eyes open for those by the end of September.
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UPDATE (3/22/10) VFH Classic is dead:

Mario Super Sluggers brings America’s favorite past time to the Wii, combining it with the Mushroom Kingdom’s charm, but do these two places come together for a home run, or is it a foul?

The first thing you will want to note are the controls, and seeing as how this is a Wii game, it obviously utilizes the unique features. The game has a few control schemes, but I will only focus on the Wiimote-Nunchuk combo, as the Wiimote alone is just not good and doesn’t allow for as much control. There is a fairly in-depth tutorial that goes through most of the aspects of the game, such as hitting, pitching, and fielding, so it is a good idea to walk through these to get a feel for the controls, as they are a bit confusing at first. The pitching and hitting use the same timing mechanism, and neither are 1:1 like in Wii Sports. Instead, you pull back to start the “meter”, and then swing or throw at the appropriate time to perform those actions. When you pull back, a circle closes in on your character and represents the power. When the ring reaches your character, the power is at the max. With hitting, this makes your sweet spot marker smaller, making it harder to hit the ball, but if you do, you will have more power. You can bat and pitch without pressing any buttons, but you can perform special maneuvers with the use of the A and B buttons. If you hold both A and B, you can perform a star move, which is a character-specific technique which can generally secure either a strike or a base hit, if not a double. Luckily, neither move is over powered, so if you happen to collect a lot of star points, you won’t by any means secure a victory. With pitching, you can also throw a curve via the control stick or a change up by holding the A button. The main problem with these controls are simply controller recognition, as numerous times I had both A and B held down and I couldn’t do a star move, which was very frustrating, but aside from that, the controls held up. Obviously, you can also move left and right via the control stick.

You've got your star meters on the bottom, so you can see if you can use a special move, and if you can use an item, it will also be displayed. That sweet spot marker will get smaller as you charge your swing up, so figuring out exactly how you want to hit is key.

The fielding controls are pretty standard, but the AI and other automated movements were very upsetting. For one, when a ball is hit, it is very difficult to figure out which character you currently are in control of, and it will switch to whichever character is supposedly closest to the ball, making things even worse as you are trying to go one way, but then are automatically switched to another character. Also, when a ball is rolling on the ground, it is hard to pick it up. The AI characters won’t go near it, and you can be right beside it, but unless you run directly over the ball, you won’t pick it up, which can be very frustrating. It also takes a minute to really ingrain it in your head how the running and throwing work, with going to a specific base. If I am in the outfield and want to throw it to second, I hold down on the control stick, but that throws it straight to home base…You have to hold up on the control stick to throw it to second, but that is a bit counter intuitive in this case. Also, as far as I could tell, there is no way to throw it to anybody other than people on the bases, so making a double throw is impossible, which would be theoretically quicker than throwing the ball across the entire field and having it roll to a base. The AI also gets very frustrating when running bases. There may be an option, but I didn’t see it, so no matter what, the AI will run to the next base, even if he doesn’t have to. It is very difficult to keep track of all the characters, from the hitter to the other few people you may have on base, so when they automatically run, it can be painful, especially when you don’t want them to. There were plenty of times when I didn’t want or even think that the little toad would go for the next base, but of course he did and got out, urg. You can however, get them to run to the next base, go back, or steal, which are nice features, but I wish they wouldn’t run when they didn’t have to, completely throwing you off your groove and inducing you to shout at the tv.

One very important feature to consider while creating your team is the chemistry aspect. Certain characters have chemistry with one another, like Mario and Luigi, so placing them near each other has its perks, such as giving you special abilities and overall enhancing their performance. For this reason, it is very important to plan your line up for maximum benefit. For one thing, they can assist each other in the outfield, by both allowing them to jump higher to catch a ball or throw faster to get that double play. Also, while batting, if two players with chemistry are next to each other in the line up, you will be able to use an item. These items range from shells and bombs, to POWs and fireballs, all of which devastate the fielders if used correctly, allowing you to gain an extra base or two. The items are pretty fun, but kind of hard to use in practice, due to other controls. To use an item, you simply point on-screen and click the Z button, however, to sprint under any circumstances, you must shake the Wiimote like crazy, so you have a decision to make. You can sprint to first, or attempt to take out the unsuspecting fielder. However, if you miss with the item, you may very well get out, so it’s very difficult and unfortunate that you can’t do both.



Now that you’ve gotten a minute to get a handle on the controls and how the game works, you will want to start building up your team for ultimate dominance. To start, you’re going to want to play through the Adventure Mode, which will unlock a majority of the characters, but assuming you have already done that, then you will have your choice over 40 different characters, ranging from all over the Mario universe. You’ve got your standard Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Yoshi, but you also have the likes of Donkey Kong, Dixie Kong, King Boo, Toad, Kremlings, Nokis, babies, and all kinds of other characters who I wont spoil for you. Also, the generic characters have a variety of color choices, which actually act as separate characters as they have different stats. The stats are general and include running, fielding, pitching, and hitting. Also, most characters have a special ability or two, giving them the upper hand in certain areas. You will want to look at both these special attributes and character chemistry when planning your roster, so this gives the game a good amount of depth.

Aside from exhibition play, the game’s main mode is Adventure Mode, which actually has little to do with playing baseball. The game throws you on baseball island, which is comprised of a variety of stadiums, each themed after a main character/captain. Naturally, Bowser Jr. wants to spoil everyone’s fun and take over the island, so you are tasked with the goal of building up a baseball team and beating Bowser Jr. in a game. So what you need to do is go from park to park, recruiting individuals as you go. Some of these characters are in plain site, while others are hidden and require a special character or action to be performed to speak with them. Most of these characters require you to pass a test before they will take your side, and these amount to simple little tasks, such as getting a double play, or throwing someone out, hitting the ball to a specific part of the field, or a variety of other such activities. Most of these must be done 3 times out of 10, or you fail, but you can always try again and most are very easy. Aside from recruiting, you will run into enemies, but you can do away with them in the same manner, with a little activity that you must accomplish. Once you make it to each area’s stadium, you must “fight” Bowser Jr., but most of the time, these again are little activities, but some let you play an inning or two of actual baseball, and if you win, you get to control a new captain, all of whom have a special ability that allows you to reach new areas where you can unlock and find new characters or items. Overall, the Adventure Mode is pretty basic, but has a few cool things going for it, and you will want to keep playing to unlock all of the characters and get everything the game has to offer, including mini-games.

Bowser Jr. doesn't think too highly of you, Mario, but I know you will pull through and defeat the forces of evil and take back the baseball stadiums for the good and down-trodden!!!

Each of the nine stadiums contains a mini-game, which have four levels of difficulty. These are all pretty cool and very varied, with some specializing in batting to try and hit certain objects, or throwing specific pitches to keep a piranha plant at bay, while another has you running around the bases trying to get treasure and avoiding a giant squid. There is even a cool pinball-like game. These games won’t keep you busy for too terribly long, but they are a good distraction, and with high scores, will give you something to brag about. Another side item is the Toy Stadium, which combines a variety of things together. You play with four people and one gets to hit while the other three field on a special field. The ground is lined with numbered sections, and the batter wants to rack up as many points as possible, while the fielders want the ball so they get the chance to bat. Before the pitch is thrown, the fielders choose, via slot machine, what kind of pitch with what speed will be thrown and what item the batter will get. Then the madness ensues. The player with the most points at the end wins, well, after the bonus points are divvied out that is.

Unfortunately, there are no other modes than the ones I’ve already talked about. You have your Adventure Mode and mini-games, and also the Exhibition Mode, however, that is all. There are no cups or tournaments, which is very disappointing. It is a baseball game, but actual baseball is pretty limited. Being a Mario sports game, you would expect to see a Mushroom, Flower, and Star cups, but alas, there is nothing of the sort. You don’t even have an option to start a tournament, even with friends, which is very mind-boggling. Luckily though, the exhibition mode is everything you would expect it to be, where you can set up your team and the opponents’, as well as their difficulty and all of the options, including whether to use items and star powers or not, as well as setting the number of innings. There are the nine stadiums to play on, all of which are very detailed and pleasing to the eye, with many of them containing some sort of special enemy or gimmick that makes the level unique and challenging to play on. These include King Bomb-omb who will throw bombs at fielders, or conveyer belts in the outfield to change the route of the balls.


While it looks impressions, these star powered hits won't get them over the fence, but instead, wreak havoc on the fielder trying to pick it out of the air, making these moves fair and balanced.

Overall, what the game contains is decent, with a good exhibition mode, good controls, fun mini-games, and a decently lengthed Adventure Mode, with a variety of characters to use. The game’s depth comes in the form of character chemistry, special abilities, and the running abilities you can perform, such as stealing a base. The controls take a minute to get used to, but once you have them down, you can perform some very satisfying maneuvers, such as diving for a whizzing ball and making a double play, or stealing a few bases under the pitchers nose, however, you may get a bit frustrated with the AI and the things they do or don’t do. Sadly, the game lacks a tournament system of any sort, including cups, which is a major disappointment, and the Adventure Mode doesn’t really make up for this. The hitting and pitching is satisfactory, with hitting requiring very good timing for best results, but it would have been nice to see more depth in these areas, such as 1:1 movement like what was seen in Wii Sports. However, Nintendo went fairly basic in this iteration, and it is very easy to see that this game is geared more for children and families looking for a casual experience, as opposed to those that want a hardcore baseball one.

Posted in cooperation with GamersPlatform.

6.5/10

Seth MacFarlane takes on Mario

I might not be Seth MacFarlane's biggest supporter, at least from an artists stand point, I think he's smug and takes too much credit for work a guy in Korea's doing. But people still like this guy, just look at has $100 Million contract from FOX, and that's after they canceled him 5 years ago! And what does Futurama get? Comedy Central, yuck. And the people responsible for all of this success, Adult Swim, end up with the shaft in the end. But enough about my rants, and onto the real story.

Seth MacFarlane has recently launched a new series of Burger King branded shorts on YouTube called Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy, which is essentialy the "like that time when ..." moments of Family Guy and American Dad, minus the washed up characters of Family Guy and American Dad. One of the first shorts stars Mario, so why don't you just take a look.

I suppose it's mildly amusing to me, but I'm sure some of you will laugh out loud.

The BK's YouTube page can be found here. Or if YouTube advertising isn't your thing, check out SethComedy.com

New Nintendo media

Nintendo's Press site just released some media, descriptions, and release dates for four upcoming titles!

"Wario Land™: Shake It!, a classic side-scroller for the Wii console launching Sept. 29, stars Wario, the smelly, bad-mannered alter ego of Mario™. With the Wii Remote™ controller turned sideways like an old-school controller, veterans and newcomers alike can run, jump and smash their way through hectic side-scrolling stages. Players shake the Wii Remote to help Wario take down his enemies, empty bags of treasure or cause earthquakes. Best of all, there are numerous stages each offering multiple missions to keep players coming back again and again to unlock everything, collect more coins or just improve their best times."

"Kirby Super Star™ Ultra for Nintendo DS, launching Sept. 29, re-imagines one of the most beloved Kirby games of all time. Kirby Super Star Ultra features new graphics and fully rendered animated cut scenes. With so many adventures waiting to be unlocked, there will never be a dull moment as Kirby runs, floats, copies enemies and uses Helpers to fight King Dedede and Meta Knight. New modes like Revenge of the King and Meta Knight Ultra await, along with classics like The Great Cave Offensive and Milky Way Wishes. On top of the main modes, there are also three new touch-screen-controlled mini-games that can be played with up to three friends via DS Download Play. Not only that, but players can go on Kirby adventures with a friend via local wireless as well."

"Mystery Case Files™: MillionHeir™, launching Sept. 8, uses the unique Nintendo DS interface to expand upon the seek-and-solve game play of the popular series from Big Fish Games. Players seek out cleverly hidden items in a multitude of painted scenes. Players progress through an interactive detective story investigating a cast of characters and uncovering new evidence to find the rightful heir to a million-dollar fortune. This new portable installment is available only for Nintendo DS. With interactive logic puzzles that use both the touch-screen interface and built-in microphone and include the first ever multiplayer mode for a Mystery Case Files game, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir presents a new generation of seek-and-solve games for casual gamers and franchise fans."

"Mario™ Super Sluggers, launching Aug. 25 for the Wii console, stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports™ and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart® Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics."

All in all a decent batch. Wario Land still seems interesting to me, but I'm not sure how Nintendo plans to market something so simple in design, and at $50... It's nice to see we're getting the new Kirby, as i'll finally get the chance to own Kirby Super Star. Mystery Case Files from what I know is a Windows series... so as to why it's on DS and published by Nintendo is beyond me. And Mario Sluggers... I'm not sure what to think of it, I never played Mario Superstar Baseball; and unless the game has wi-fi and Wii Sports like control, then I probably won't even care.

via Nintendo Press Room

Two New Reviews Over at VFH

Aight, I gots Bully: Scholarship Edition and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, so check em out.

Also, I'm planning on writing a Lego Indiana Jones review soon, perhaps today, so keep your eyes open for that.
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UPDATE (3/22/10) VFH Classic is dead:

Bully: Scholarship Edition
So, this is my first mini-review. Essentially, it's the same as a review, but with less information and a little less formal. Expect mini-reviews for older games, as opposed to full reviews for newly released games. Also, it's quite possible that once I get into the review, it'll be just as long as a full review, so yeah. Enjoy.

The first thing I noticed with Bully, is the fact that it is basically Grand Theft Auto for kids; is the best way to describe it. You play as this kid who is thrown into a new school. You meet new people and partake in both missions and classes.

Mario Kart Wii Impressions

The game starts out by giving you a license, which is your save file, but still cool. The main menu is split into four main categories: Single Player, Multiplayer, WiFi, and the Channel.

In Single Player, you can play in a Grand Prix, Time Trial, VS, and Battle. There are a total of 8 GP's, only 4 of which are available at the start. 4 are comprised of classic courses, while the other 4 are brand new tracks. For the 50cc, you can only use karts, for the 100cc you can only use bikes, and for the 150cc you can choose either.

*Only Karts can drift and get that special drifting boost, while Bikes have better handling and can pop wheelies, which are just bad ass. Both can perform mid-air tricks.


Right from the main menu, you can choose how many people you will be playing with in Multiplayer, which is pretty cool. Then you choose from VS and Battle. VS is neat as you are basically creating your own GP, where you play in a series of 4 races of your choosing.

With Wifi, you can play by yourself or bring in a partner locally. Then you choose from races or battles, both of which have separate rankings, which start at 5000 and decrease or increase depending on how you fair. You start by choosing worldwide, regional, or friends, and then which category you want to play in, races or battles. Then you choose your character and kart. When all the players get set up, you choose a course you want to play on and the computer randomly selects one and you get to it. You may have to wait a little while if you get thrown in the middle of a "battle" and just be able to view the end of that match, but you can choose a view and from whom to look from so it's not too terribly boring. Also, the wifi is super smooth, as if you were playing locally, and the ranking points keep you coming back for more and to improve.


-You unlock more characters, tracks, and karts as you play, as well as special bonuses or awards perhaps for doing well online.

-There are two battle modes: balloon and coin. Both have you split into two teams. If you play with only a few people, computer opponents may be added. Even if you lose all your balloons, the game continues until time is out.
-The fact that you can't play in more than two teams is lame.
-Some courses seem too big...much too big.

-There are both karts and bikes.

-A few new items which are neat and mix up gameplay a bit.

-Computer is cheap...stupid awesome blue turtle shell.

-Wii Wheel...kinda lame. Best is Wiimote/Nunchuk combo.

-When playing online, it shows where the opponents are from, which is very cool.

-Neat stat tracking.

-Very easy to add a friend to friend list, even without friend code!!!! Done using Wii's friends and messages

-Overall, a fun experience. It's Mario Kart.

Mario Kart Wii Channel Impressions

Note: This channel has to be loaded from the game initially, and can also be accessed via the game, but you can use the channel when the game disc is not in the Wii.

The channel has four main sections: Friends, Ghosts, Ranking, Tournaments.

With the friends channel, you can simply see if any of your friends are online, and if they are, you can join them or invite them to play.

With the ghosts, you can send and download ghosts as well as race some random ghost from some random track.

With the tournament section, you can join current tournaments, of which there are none, but the future is sure to hold some cool stuff.

Rankings is the most exciting section to me. Here, you can see who holds the top spot in three sections: friends, regional, and worldwide. Each shows a number line of the average times of players for a single track at a time and how you stack up, with the top 10 being able to be viewed. You are also given the ability to race the top man's ghost to see if you can keep up, which is pretty friggin' awesome, considering you can race against the #1 player in the world. Also, in worldwide ranking you can race against the Staff Ghost, which is always fun.


Overall, the Mario Kart Channel is pretty nifty, but will only really be used to check if your friends are online, seeing as how you can and will access the rest of this stuff via the game itself.