The Nestlekwik Happy Hour for August 9, 2008
Nes: Welcome one and all once again to the podcast you have to read, The Nestlekwik Happy Hour. Today our review finally goes portable, our new releases feature returns and we introduce the classic Objective Tangent to the Happy Hour. Here to help me out is someone who has been waiting patiently for Metal Slug 7 for the Nintendo DS, the one and only, MixMasterLar.
Lar: You have to love when a new Metal Slug game releases. The graphics, music and gameplay are just awesome.
Nes: Actually, I'm still waiting on Waku Waku 7 to release here in America. Are you listening SNK-Playmore? Give us the SunSoft Collection!
Lar: Yeah. If there's one thing all of GemuBaka has in common, it's our love for SNK.
Nes: You said it and that brings us to our next review - our first review for a portable system!
Game Boy Advance Review: Metal Slug AdvanceLar: Developer SNK's famous arcade cabinets housed some of our favorite arcade titles back in the day and it's aways great to have them ported or remade on other systems from time to time. In 2004, SNK entered the Game Boy Advance market with a spin off (well, sort of) to the Metal Slug games that added some gameplay tweaks and a lot of extras that weren't in the arcade titles.
The Metal Slug games have always been simple to play, yet very challanging. Your character runs from (mostly) left to right in a cartoon setting while blowing away hundreds of World War II-like soldiers with a variety of comedic weapons. The game also has you save a boatload of POWs for power-ups and score. The game's easy to learn gameplay makes it fun with all types of gamers, while the later missions can give even experienced players a run for their money. The animation of the game also makes it suitable for younger gamers.
The Game Boy version has changed the game up a bit. Series veterans will first notice that a health bar has been added to the game, allowing players to take about five hits before they lose a life, compared to the arcade's system of one shot = one death. At first this seems to make the game easier but the reason for the change is apparent after a few minutes: The game now requires you to beat a mission with one life or start back at either the beginning or the mid-level checkpoint without all your items and hostages, as apposed to the arcade letting you pick up where you died. The reason why this makes the game a bit harder is there is a new card system in place: If you find a card and beat the mission with it, you are granted either a picture of something Metal Slug-ish or a new ability such as carrying more ammo, taking less damage or even starting off with one of the trademark Slug Tanks. There are 99 cards to find with hundreds of POWs to save and the system adds a lot of replayabilty to the game.
Which is a good thing since two major draws of past titles are missing: Two Player co-op and a real high scores list. Not having a numeric score isn't that big of a deal, but not having mutiplayer of any kind, especially when all other Metal Slug games thrived on it, is a huge loss and a turn off for anyone who doesn't play a lot of portable gaming already. Another downfall with the game is that that it's by far the shortest Metal Slug to date. If you don't care to collect all the shiny objects and unlock the secret paths, then you'll realize soon the game doesn't have that many miles on it. Also note the levels are all revisting themes from past titles and there isn't even a zombie section in the game. At its time of release, though, there wasn't an MS you could easily get your hands on without either owning one of SNK's doomed systems or finding the rare PS1 version, so I can't complain about the company not adding more levels.
The graphics look a lot like Metal Slug 3's and are pretty good looking for a GBA game. The two characters are new to the series but still manage to fit right in. While most of the ingame sprites are reused from MS 2/3, that isn't a problem since they were always animated well. The game looks, feels and acts like any of its big brothers and that's a huge plus to gamers who want to get some shooting action on their GBA. Music is also mostly reused from past titles but in my opinion Metal Slug had a great underrated score of ochestrated / electronic music to play with. I easily give the soundtrack a 4/5 considering it's on a handheld no less.
Overall, I suggest players who play a lot of handheld gaming should go and pick the title up. While it has its down points, its still fun in its own right and does deliver the fast-paced action. The game at least will tie you over until Metal Slug 7 hits the States.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7aq2Q2Jo4jo&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/7aq2Q2Jo4jo&rel=1</a>]]> Nes: Well said, Lar. Looking at the series overall, Metal Slug Advance is a small technical step down from the arcade version, yet, it is a huge leap over the ill-fated 8-bit versions housed on the Neo-Geo Pocket Color. However, the action is all there and, thankfully, SNK crafted an original title that suits the GBA instead of throwing in a watered-down arcade port.
While there is no difference outside of the new characters aside from appearance, the new game play is completely welcomed, especially for fans of the series who can't access an arcade. Lar has already explained all of the new features in the title, so let's just jump into the breakdown:
Only Metal Slug diehards will notice the small cut in color usage and animation as SNK seriously handles the portable's presentation that well. Any player who has seen the series before will immediately tie MSA to the Metal Slug series and that is just a testament to the charm the series' graphics, game play and character has given players since 1996. The sound and music have also come to the GBA straight from the arcades and while all of the presentation elements have been recycled from past games, the mix of elements create a familiar, yet brand new experience.
That being said, this also means the gameplay also comes straight from the arcades and that is a very, very good thing. If you've ever touched any Metal Slug game period in your life, nothing in MSA will remotely surprise you. You have no-nonsense run and gun action that surprisingly runs on all cylinders on the GBA hardware that is easy to pick up, yet may have you cursing in the game's final levels. While the new health mechanic doesn't necessary change the face of Metal Slug forever, it can be conceived as a little more forgiving as players do not lose any of their weapons or collectibles until the final hit puts them six feet under. Obviously, the game's most intriguing addition lies in its card collecting, which gives fans of the series something to look at and certain cards also boost the abilities of the player. If players die, however, they lose all collected cards, which creates a perfection element to the game that twitch gamers shouldn't be a stranger to. The big bottom line, though, is this card system easily saves MSA from being a one-time affair - instead of shoving the game in a drawer after beating it, players who enjoyed the experience will be pressed to tackle the game 100 percent.
I again have to agree with Lar, though, that the lack of two-player support is a huge downer. Even the ability to link to another GBA and trade cards for one you just can't get would have been welcomed for MSA. However, you just can't win them all, and we can only hope Metal Slug 7 will do us the some justice and encourage this much replayability.
Overall: Everything you could want in a Metal Slug game is here aside from classic run and gun two player gameplay, but every fan of the series will want to see this adventure all the way through. Few titles on the Game Boy Advance can give you shooting action like this and the card system was a smart move to encourage players to revisit levels. With all of these elements in place, Metal Slug Advance is an action title you won't want to pass up on the Game Boy Advance.
Lar: Hey, this is great! There are actually decent games coming out this week!
Nes: Yeah, I know. This actually gives us something to hype for this week's Picks of the Week.
The Nestlekwik Happy Hour Picks of the Week for August 11, 2008*As a friendly reminder, these picks are based on hype and preview media and merely suggest what titles we are looking forward to most. We have not actually played builds of these titles unless indicated and do not guarantee their quality.Pick of the Week Runner-Up #1 - Bangai-O Spirits - Nintendo DSThe Dreamcast favorite returns and while Japan has been enjoying this title for quite some time now, D3 Publisher is giving U.S. players a dose of retro action on the Nintendo DS. As you would expect from a Treasure game, the action is promised to be extemely intense, going back to the arcade's twitch shooting genre. While 160 levels come included with the game, a level editor hopes to keep players glued to the DS for a very long time. A very interesting mechanic implemented into the game is the ability to transfer data via sound output - sound files can be received and interpreted between DS systems, uploaded and circulated online via the Internet, or saved to a recording device like a PC or jump drive for transport and distribution, allowing you to catalog, share and compare levels online easily with gamers all over the world.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ps-v7dCioi4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Ps-v7dCioi4&rel=1</a>]]> Pick of the Week Runner-Up #2 - Bionic Commando Rearmed - Xbox 360/Playstation 3For the first time, a downloadable title makes our list, but we would definitely say Bionic Commando Rearmed deserves that honor. Capcom has been flexing its muscle and showing companies how game remakes should be done and Capcom may be outdoing even itself with this NES remake. Not only is the classic NES title being brought back to life, but it makes its return with new, HD graphics, new weapons, bosses and game play elements and the addition of a two-player cooperative mode. We'll be waiting to download this title on our 360s this Wednesday as we man our grappling hooks to take down the dasterdly Master D and save Super Joe and the entire world.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cqECtTE4Opk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cqECtTE4Opk&rel=1</a>]]> Pick of the Week for August 11, 2008 - Madden NFL 09 - MultiIt's that time of the year again. Pigskin fever is about to kick off for the year and rest assured, just as the sun will rise tomorrow, this year brings us yet another installment of Madden. Players now have access to better tutorials through a virtual training mode and all of the classic Madden game play is remaining intact for the new year, which marks the 20th year of the series. The series is going all out, even prompting a release on the once-thought-dead Xbox and receiving Spanish-language installments to be sold in the U.S. EA doesn't seem to be joking around this year, and, hopefully, Madden 09 lives up to its hype. Regardless, you know it's going to sell a metric buttload of copies, anyway.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Eket0S0MrHc&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Eket0S0MrHc&rel=1</a>]]> Nes: What's that look on your face, Lar? you've had that strange stare for most of the show
Lar: I know. Ive been thanking about a few things lately and I think I need to take a minute and speak my mind on something.
MixMasterLar's Objective Tangent for August 10, 2008*This feature is strictly the opinion of MixMasterLar.Lar: It happens all the time; games come out claiming to push graphics to a level we never seen before. New games and systems boast about how realistic they can bring gaming to the real world and players worldwide are overjoyed by seeing game characters look crisp, clear and even sexier then previously possible.
But do we really need it?
Think about it. At the rate games are going we could have games look 100% like reality in the year 2020 (probably it can be done now, but I predict that in 2020 it will be widespread). What good would that really accomplish in the world?
I can easily think of some bad points to realistic graphics. For starters, first person shooters and other war/fighting games would be incredibly realistic and that would be detrimental to young gamers and veterans who have experienced the visceral reality of war. I find that young children have a hard time telling what is actualy a fact, or how conduct in reality should be versus how things go on in a game. In real life you don't walk down the street beating up thugs when something bad happens. That should be a pretty straight-forward, no-nonsense fact for everyone right there. While Final Fight was easy to tell from real life due to it's comic book graphics, I have known children younger than 8 who didn't even understand that it was just a game.
Another concern I have along these lines is there are a lot more games putting you at the role of someone who constently breaks the law. Goldeneye Rogue Agent comes to mind, but I'm sure games like Destroy All Humans does a good job of it as well.
"But that game is rated for 13+. As long as the ESRB does a good job then you have nothing to fear there Lar". Well, even if the ESRB is doing its job perfectly it's very apparent that no one really cares. Ten year olds play Gears of War all the time in my area. I heard a 15 year old say that unless it's M it's not worth playing. No one can deny this is a stand a lot of people are taking. Young children play games like this and see them as something to look up to. Going back to Destroy All Humans, I would be a fairly rich person if I had a dime for every six year old kid who said "Blowing people up is fun."
Six year olds. That's less than thirteen. And Destroy All Humans looks like a cartoon, yet children take it to be real. what would happen if the kids of 2030 had the chance to blow up real life-like humans?
Another reason why better graphics isn't such a great idea is that game devopers would jump at the chance to make sexual characters very much real. Sex in games, movies and pretty much everywere you can think of is just outrageous and uncalled for. I don't think gamers relize how far we are; remember the strip club in Tony Hawk's Underground? Yes it was only one section and, yes, it really doesnt do anything for anyone above 15. My point is gamers under 15 are playing this and if that isn't considered "really unmoral" then how about twice? Three times? Again, how much is too much? And with better graphics it just gets worse.
Now, I know this is very much tied in with ratings, but I feel that game developers should help make games look a lot less than what they are aiming for. No I'm not saying let's go back to the graphics of Pacman ... or Tekken 3 for that matter ... but how far is just too far? We're striving for a game were you can shoot the guts out of people and make it look real and that is just pointless and dangereous. What would happen if every kid though you could just shoot someone and make life better?
Well this is my personal opinion, and as always you are welcomed to post yours here and I'll be happy to read all of them.
Nes: That's all for this week's edition. I hope you enjoyed hanging out with us this week as we will not be able to do a regularly scheduled Happy Hour for August 16, 2008. We will, however, be back in full force on August 23, 2008, so please come back and check us out then.
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