129 public written reviews
The views here are this user’s only and are not representative of Giant Bomb's thoughts and opinions on the discussed video game. GB's official reviews reside at giantbomb.com/reviews.
During the 80's to mid 90's, the side scrolling space shooter was every bit as popular as the plat-former and side scrolling brawler, some would probably argue even more so. It seemed as if a month couldn't pass by without these games being released a dime a dozen, especially for the Sega Genesis which was heavily crowded with them. There were several stand outs in the genre for sure, and many of them have went on…
The whole purpose of being a then next gen console owner was to be able to enjoy the game you were playing in the arcades at home. On many occasions this wasn't the case and we were given games vastly or slightly different which didn't end the quarter munching; the results were good games or bad games to simplify things. Shinobi: Shadow Dancer for the Sega Genesis was definitely the latter. The console version…
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master has to be the best of the franchise, at least to me as it narrowly edges out Revenge of Shinobi. This game has far more in common with Revenge than the original series which is a great thing, because Revenge upped the stakes in what a Shinobi game can be so high that it hurt the series in my view. This game did exactly what is expected of a sequel and that's improve on the…
Read the full review Shinobi III : Return of the Ninja Master
The Shinobi series has been among the better franchises known to kick out some quality action/adventure plat formers. Over the years they have been known for their high difficulty and challenge; but most importantly these games usually saw a steady progression in game play introducing something innovative to keep them feeling familiar yet not too much the same. The Revenge of Shinobi I think was such an amazing dash…
Even as a Pac-Man fan I never even heard of this game until about a week ago after I saw a play through of Pac-Man 256. Many people had recommended it therefore I gave it a shot, and although I don't think it's the best classic style Pac-Man game since that honor still belongs to Pac-Mania. Pac-Man Champion Edition DX is more than a decent enough time killer if racking up points for a respectable high score is your…
I'm actually still amazed that a game as simple as Pac-Man which simply follows a little yellow ball with a mouth eating dots to clear a stage has survived this long, as well as still be insanely fun to play; and this doesn't even include when there's a bit of innovation thrown in. Pac-Man received another make over about a year ago borrowing elements from Pac-Man Jr. and Pac-Mania to create another solid gaming…
There was no possible way that a video game by the name of Guns, Gore, and Cannoli would not pique my interest. Something with a title so absurd yet hilarious demanded a look. The second I saw the trailer and realized this was an old school 2D classic shooter it was a wrap for me right there. Plus it reminded me a lot more of Metal Slug with its zany artwork and personality. Guns, Gore, and Cannoli (GGC) is a homage…
After I finished the original Shank it was pretty much a must for me to try out the sequel. I immediately downloaded Shank 2 yet put it off for a long while out of fear that just maybe a second dose of the knife wielding, gun toting, pissed off warrior may not have been as interesting. The novelty of this style of game could have easily over stayed its welcome, and it felt that way to a degree yet it’s nothing too…
If I hadn't already lost complete faith in the beat' em up genre by now, then this recent venture may have completely killed my interest for it altogether. If not, then it's definitely in a critical state. TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan co-released by Platinum Games and Activision continues the problems that have run rampant in the beat' em up, with a game that is totally a step backwards for what was once a very proud…
Read the full review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Castlevania had been among those consistently great series during the days of NES and SNES, as they introduced something different with each sequel. These were games I never hesitated to pick up when they hit shelves, and the second I saw Super Castlevania IV I remember coming into it with very high expectations. Unfortunately many people I knew got to the point where they avoided these games and it was solely for…
Metroid is one of those rather tricky classics I can clearly understand lots of the fuss against. I will admit a few things though, it is one of my all time NES favorites, it's more of a product of its era, and time really doesn't help it out. Therefore the negative reception it receives from some gamers really isn't lost on me, because in my view it is overshadowed by pretty much every game in the franchise. For…
During the days of the NES and SNES there was a reason to wait salivating for the next Nintendo first party titles, especially Super Mario games. The reason was because you knew that a very solid and memorable gaming experience was coming your way and it was only a matter of time. I still remember the hype surrounding Super Mario Bros. 3, with this game being the talk in those junior high school walls. I mean…
Super Mario Bros. for the original Nintendo is a classic for sure and it indeed deserves every last bit of respect it gets. This was the game that firmly put Nintendo on the map and no one can truly deny this. It was indeed an incredible plat-former at that particular time, but I personally think there were probably one or two I liked better with Wonder Boy and Pitfall (arcade version) coming to mind. However, as…
Double Dragon II: The Revenge was released one year later after the previous game, and it continued to blaze a trail for the beat’em up genre, and not only in regards to its game play but in its risk taking as well. This sequel managed to improve the fighting engine creating a more fun experience; but what must be noted is that Double Dragon II began its story quite sinister introducing the most memorable opening to…
I grew up on the 80's arcade scene and I can pretty well remember the progress especially when it came down to the side scrolling beat'em up genre. Renegade which was released in 1986 was quite popular when it hit arcades, and although it brought a lot to the table in regards to giving the main character so many different moves to work with, along with physically over-powered bosses. It merely scratched the surface…
I fell in love with Shank the second I saw someone playing it during one of their youtube reviews. It seemed to be everything I liked all rolled into one package: highly action driven, over the top, and in 2D. Of course there’s more but those were the elements to rope me in. After playing the game and finishing it on normal difficulty in just a little over 3 hours; I can say that my crave was satisfied and Shank is…
I had absolutely no idea this game had already been released on PC, in fact I knew nothing about Lichdom: Battlemage besides it having a pretty neat premise. The game is said to be a magic based first person shooter, where the main character will unleash powerful attacking spells against his enemies. As a fan of this genre whom have grown just a little weary of the military themed shooters. This was definitely…
I’m always a bit over eager to take a look at old classic games making brand new returns in the modern age of gaming. Reboots, remakes, a whole dimension introduced, bring it on, because I feel some games shouldn’t be left in the forgotten realm, and quite frankly I can’t complain too much about these games that have risen from the grave over the last decade or so. Strider is a retelling of the original 2D arcade…
Originally written 9-5-12 Little Mac is an up and coming boxer who has winning on his mind. He hopes to become World Champion. However, before he can do that, he must fight through the two lower circuits before he can get a shot at the world title. It won’t be easy for him at all due to the very tough competition, and some of these fighters have a habit of playing dirty. -summary The Punch-Out! series is definitely…
When the PS4 was released one of the games that was heavily hyped coming for the system was The Order: 1886. I remember being quite intrigued by the game's presentation. The screenshots did look amazing and my interest was piqued. However, after the game's release, majority opinion at the time pretty much claimed that the game looked great, even amazing to many others; but the game play really didn't have a whole…
After my experience with Wolfenstein: The New Order one may think that my venture into this franchise would be completely over. I thought so too because that game simply got to the point where it wasn't fun anymore. The only reasons I didn't outright hate it were because it wasn't completely broken, plus it still had some good moments that couldn't be overlooked, such as the visuals and carnage. Wolfenstein: The Old…
It has been out in the open for awhile now that video games have gotten quite easier over the years, and for some people this is a bad thing while for others it simply isn't. I'm more towards the middle of this, yet I have a better appreciation for tougher games because they simply generate a sense of greater excitement which equates to being more memorable; I must make it clear though, the type of games I do…
Originally written 2-16-11 Doctor Doom of the Marvel Universe joins forces with Albert Wesker of the Capcom Universe, in an attempt to take over both worlds. The heroes representing both of these realities unite to stop them. But there’s a greater menace approaching that threatens the very existence of these worlds.- summary Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a sequel that was long over-due. It has been over ten years since the…
Read the full review Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Originally written 1-28-11 When a powerful being named Abyss threatens the Earth with extinction. A female pirate by the name of Ruby Heart summons the most powerful fighters aboard her ship to assist her on stopping him. – summary Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was released back in 2000 for the now defunct Sega Dreamcast, but saw a later release for the PS2 . It’s the fourth game in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. It pits…
Bub and Bob are two guys whose girlfriends were kidnapped by a monster named Super Drunk (seriously, that’s his name!). On top of the kidnapping, he turned the two into bubble blowing dino-mites. Now the two must venture through one area after another to save their girls. -summar One thing about the late great 80’s when concerning video games is that they used the whole save the girl gimmick to death. I’m not…
Claiming itself to be a throwback to 90's first person shooters. Shadow Warrior which was released in 2014 and developed by Flying Wild Hog, lives up to its boast as it heavily focuses on fierce combat, devastating weaponry, and overall simplicity. In addition, it also manages to stray away from that notorious pack consisting of mainly military themed shooters. Shadow Warrior takes the fantasy side as the main…
One year has passed since Lara Croft's experience on a desolate island that killed nearly all of her friends. She's struggling with the experience and finds herself becoming obsessed with her late father's work involving a very powerful artifact. This leads her to Siberia in search for answers on a new quest. -summary The sequel jinx definitely does not rear its ugly head here. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a vast…
The Autobots arrive to a city that is clearly under attack by Decepticons. They encounter Megatron and learn that he has gained access to an ancient Cybertronian artifact. The Autobots spring into battle to stop the Decepticon leader but they have no idea what they're really up against. -summary License titles have been quite the surprise for several years now not only being playable titles, but several have…
Originally written 2-1-14 Lara Croft, a young archaeologist is searching for the lost city of Yamatai with her expedition team. The ship is heavily damaged by a raging storm and they're forced on an island. Lara is captured by an unknown assailant and she later awakens in some cavern. She plans her escape with intentions on finding her teammates. -summary In 2013 Lara Croft was reintroduced into the gaming world in…
Originally written: 11-28-13 The richest duck in the world, Scrooge McDuck, foils a robbery attempt against him by defeating the Beagle Boys. This encounter leads to him learning the locations of five hidden treasures. Since there's no such thing as enough money for him, he gathers up his pilot Launchpad McQuack to take him to these locations.-summary I remember the announcement of Capcom releasing an updated…
Originally written: 12-12-13 The kingdom of Hyrule is invaded by a powerful sorcerer. He kidnaps certain people for his own evil purpose. A young boy by the name of Link learns he's destined to become the hero of Hyrule. But can this lazy young boy, who can't even show up to work on time possibly be the land's savior? -summary The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U are indeed in some type of trouble. They are seriously in dire…
Read the full review The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Back in the late 90's Capcom had already began experimenting with the whole vs. fighting game series, which pitted popular characters from their different fighting games against each other. In all fairness though, they shamelessly swiped the idea from SNK when they introduced their King of Fighters series back in 1994, which did the exact same thing by pitting their fighting games Fatal Fury, Art Fighting, and other…
Read the full review Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium
Originally written: 12-2-13 The half demon with an attitude, Dante, is waking up after a party in his trailer; suddenly he's attacked by a demon known as a Hunter. He then receives a visit from a girl named Kat explaining to him some of the situation. Dante goes off into battle, then he later finds himself assisting an underground group called the Order, whom are at war with the demon threat led by a god-like entity…
Originally written: 8-9-13 Lara Croft, a young archaeologist is searching for the lost city of Yamatai with her expedition team. The ship is heavily damaged by a raging storm and they're forced on an island. Lara is captured by an unknown assailant and she later awakens in some cavern. She plans her escape with intentions on finding her teammates. -summary Tomb Raider 2013 went down as the most highly anticipated…
Originally written 10-1-13 Bowser aka King Koopa is at it again. He invades Princess Peach's castle and knocks Mario, Luigi, and two Toad servants out of the castle across the land, thus holding Peach prisoner in her own home. Mario and co. must make their way across the Mushroom Kingdom to once again save Peach. -summary It has been a very long time since Nintendo launched a Super Mario game together with their…
Originally written 10-3-13 Bowser aka King Koopa is at it again. He invades Princess Peach's castle and knocks Luigi along with two Toad servants out of the place across the land, thus holding Peach prisoner in her own home. Luigi and co. must make their way across the Mushroom Kingdom to once again save Peach. -summary The New Super Mario Bros. series for me has been a disappointment, and because of this I no…
The King of Fighters tournament is back once again and the usual teams are entering for their personal reasons. The new sponsor of the tournament is a man named Magaki, and he's seeking to reawaken the powerful Orochi whom was defeated in the tournament once before. But what is his real plan? It seems as if there's more on his mind besides Orochi's rebirth. -summary SNK fighting game fans are usually very vocal on…
The Mad Titan named Thanos has collected the Infinity Gems collectively known as the Infinity Gauntlet. He plans to rule all and several superheroes have gathered to stop him in a tournament like battle. The fight for survival has begun. -summary Capcom were on the way towards re-dominating arcade rooms once they saw their gameplay formula for Street Fighter Alpha was a hit. They were able to obtain the rights to…
Several months has passed since Mega Man X destroyed former Maverick Hunter turned rogue Sigma. Now X leads the Maverick Hunters as they corner a group of Mavericks in an abandoned factory. While X deals with them, a new group plans in the shadows to deal with him. -summary In 1993 Capcom had debut their newest Mega Man title on the SNES, Mega Man X. I doubt it was a surprise to anyone that the game had done very…
Mankind coexist with robots called Reploids who are programmed to serve them. Unfortunately, some of them have the tendency to go rogue and begin killing humans. This leads to them being labeled as Mavericks. To stop them, the Maverick Hunters group was created with their leader being a powerful robot named Sigma. Eventually he too goes rogue taking several Hunters with him and becomes leader of the Mavericks. Mega…
It had been established at one point that Nintendo's Super Mario Kart franchise was undisputed king of the Go-Kart racer. While the original Super Mario Kart would clearly be surpassed in terms of quality by Crash Team Racing which starred Sony's Crash Bandicoot. The franchise would go on later to plant its flag as the premier Go-Kart racer anyway. There were very few that could equal or surpass it as each sequel…
An alien race invades the planet of Arkanoid and attacks their 8 satellites. One of the inhabitants named Ananke leaves to liberate his other 7 friends that were kidnapped from them. -summary When most gamers think of puzzle games it's usually Tetris that springs to their minds. And why not? Although a very simple puzzle game, it's charm came from the fact that anyone was able to pick it up and have a lot of fun.…
Originally written 8-14-13 Deadpool, also known as the Merc with the Mouth, is in his apartment hoping that the video game developer High Moon Studios accepts his idea to create a video game for him. At first they refuse but he was able to persuade them into going through with the idea. From his apartment the game begins, he goes after a man whom is later snatched from under his nose by members of Mr. Sinister's…
Fortune seeker and adventurer Nathan Drake along with his best friend Sully fall victim to a botched exchange, that was being fronted by Sully's former business associate Marlowe. The duo pursues Marlowe to her hideout where they learn of a failed voyage lead by Sir Francis Drake, an ancestor of Nathan. This leads them searching for a lost city located somewhere in the Middle East. -summary When I heard Uncharted 3:…
Fortune seeker Nathan Drake, wakes up wounded in a bad situation. Later on he blacks out and remembers all of the events leading to his dilemma. His quest began when he decided to try and steal an artifact from a museum in Istanbul which lead to him later searching for the mythical city Shambhala. -summary Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a game I refused to pick up during its original release in 2009. I waited to grab…
An adventurer and treasure hunter by the name of Nathan Drake is after the lost treasure El Dorado which is located on an abandon island. He's on the trail with various clues left behind by his ancestor Sir Francis Drake. He brings along a reporter by the name of Elena and his associate and friend Sully. The group is eventually separated and Nathan finds himself on the island searching for the treasure solo, while…
While on a quest for a treasure Conan unknowingly sets loose an evil that would go on to terrorize the land. The sorcerer by the name of Graven whom Conan releases unleashes a Black Plague on the populace. Conan sets off to kill the man and save the land. -summary Conan is a video game I put off for a very long time. Normally games that are based on either comics, novels, or movies, are some of the worst titles you…
Originally written 8-23-12 Mario and Luigi decide to go out on a coin hunt. While gone Princess Peach is kidnapped by the Koopa Kids and now the duo embark on another mission to save her.... again. -summary In 2004 Nintendo announced that they were going to restore the 2D style of Super Mario back to original form. This pretty much sent long time fans off into a frenzy whom were craving that old school formula of…
