Freeware Review #1: Bonesaw

Welcome to the first Freeware game review of Bonesaw, now these reviews will sometimes be a bit more brief than my other game reviews, but will give all the general information you need to know about the game. My first review is for Bonesaw The Game, an action platformer developed by Kyle Pulver. It combines elements from classic platformers and action games but does it stand out?
Story:
This is a fictional story based around the Clarkson collage hockey team, the Golden Knights. As they are preparing for a hockey match, the evil Referee comes in to stop them all from getting to the game as he puts all the golden knights teammates into the inter dimensional penalty box, other than you that is. You are then whisked out on a quest in order to save the hockey team while fighting the "sluzers" guarding you from achieving victory. Its a simple story, but there are quite a few funny moments in the story to make it enjoyable the whole way through.
17/20
Design:
You play as one of the Golden Knights hockey players who is tasked to take on the Referee to save his team. The game is designed similarly to many games of yore such as Kirby's Adventure, Super Mario Bros. 3, and it even has many different sound effects taken from the NES Megaman games. Each level is designed like the Mario 3 games as you must get from point A to point B while killing some enemies or solving some puzzles on your way. Enemies come in a good variety(with some color swaps) and the later ones give you a good challenge, but the early enemies are extremely dumb. The regular human enemies hardly even throw a punch at first, but you should still not give them an opening to do so. Hidden in each level lie three golden hockey pucks, but I won't spoil what they do since its more fun to discover what they do. This also gives the game a decent replay value, since you will most likely miss some of them and it would be best if you collected them all.
18/20

Gameplay:
By far the best quality of this game is the gameplay, and it is spot on. It plays like a classic platformer merged with a beat em up. Your abilities consist of a four hit combo which allows you to pull two punches then a kick and finally an dragon punch-like uppercut. You can also perform a spin kick in the air to get enemies while jumping and perform a dash kick by running and pressing the attack button. This would get repetitive if it wasn't for the power ups you could get. These upgrades appear in certain levels and once you get one, killing enemies becomes much easier. A great example is the first one you will find: The Hockey Stick. Not only does this keep you more of a distance from your enemy and double your attack, but while in the air you could perform a spin attack which really helps when breaking blocks that are in your way.
The only weakness to this is the fact that if you get hit once while carrying a weapon, you will drop it and it will fly around the screen for a couple of seconds where you can retrieve it, much like the Kirby games. After a few levels, you will have to fight a boss which will take a great amount of strategy to beat, and once you beat the boss you will go on to the next world. One thing to not is the red Bonesaw meter over your health, as you kill enemies and collect the red orbs they drop the bar will fill and once that happens, you will be able to activate the powerful Bonesaw mode where you gain a giant sword, or "Bonesaw" where you can shoot a powerful shock wave and do a powerful aerial spin. The only issues with this is that it makes boss fights relatively easy if you have it activated, but overall its not too much of a problem. However another issue, and this is a big one is that the game can sometimes be frustrating. Some of the puzzles in the game(mainly those that involve you hitting a giant ball into a holder) are just really irritating at times and the enemies sometimes deal more damage than they should, but most will find it a great challenge and since this game is trying to give a classic feeling the frustration is acceptable.
20/20

Sound:
If there is a word to describe the soundtrack in this game, Retro would be it. The game has some extremely catchy music that sounds both new and retro. Plus it sounds relaxed too, like if one is frustrated at a certain point of the game, the music could easily keep one relaxed. The sound effects aren't too original, but they are taken from great NES games of the 80's(mainly Megaman) and they fit their roles just fine. There is actually a tiny bit of voice acting here too, mainly the brute-like voice you hear every time you get the Bonesaw gauge full or when you complete a level.
19/20

Presentation:
The game looks and runs like an 8-bit game on a super Nintendo(if that is possible). While it looks and feels like a retro side scroller, the animation and frame rate makes it feel like it wouldn't be able to run on a console like an NES(hypothetically speaking, since this is a computer game). The color pallet vibrant and colorful, and the enemies and bosses look awesome. There are a lot of pallet swaps though with environments and enemies which kind of detracts from the variety.
19/20

Overall:
This game is an amazing piece of freeware. If you are into retro side scrollers like Mario and Kirby, I demand that you download this right now!

93/100
SPECTACULAR

Download Link: http://www.kylepulver.com/view.php?id=12

Note: Sorry this took so long to review, I have been doing much schoolwork and have been indulged with Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst(private server)...which will be the next game I will be reviewing. Also, sorry for the lack of images, all the ones I tried to upload turned out to be errors and wouldn't let me publish this post so go to the website to see the screen shots, sorry :(

Update 3/7/09: Review progress

I again haven't been active in a while. This is because I have much more studying to do than ever and I am working on two reviews at once. One of them is my first freeware review for the game, Bonesaw. It will be the first of the two to come up on the site. I will soon after post the Call of Duty: World at War DS review afterwords. So hang in there, good things will come for those who wait.

Review #3: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles(wii)

Resident Evil was a series that practically defined 3D horror survival. While games like Alone in the Dark were horror games, Resident Evil perfected it with advanced gun play, story(minus the horrible voice acting), and puzzle mechanics. When the fourth Resident Evil came out, it totally changed the way Resident Evil was played giving the player a whole new over the shoulder camera for aiming, which definitely improved accuracy. With Resident Evil 5 coming soon, was there any resident evils to come out in between RE4 and 5? Well yes there was, in an attempt to give some back story from the previous games of the Playstation era, Capcom released Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. A rail shooter covering Resident Evils 0, 1, and 3 but included a missing part of the series where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine go to investigate an Umbrella outpost in Russia. While the game is ambitious in it's design, we have had many Resident Evil based rail shooters in the past and none of them did too well. Could this break the mold of mediocrity?


Concept:
The game is narrorated from the series mastermind, Albert Wesker as he reflects on how the efforts of Umbrella was foiled by the numerous S.T.A.R.S. (raccoon city police force) members. It all begins in the Arklay Mountains outside of Raccoon City where the S.T.A.R.S bravo team has to investigate the murders that have been going on. Then you play through 3 chapters of a very rough version of Resident Evil 0's story. Then you do the same for Resident Evil 1 and 3, then finally the final chapter dubbed "Umbrella's End" which is supposedly the final assault on Umbrella. Even though this game has most of the important parts of the plot in tact, many things are cut out of the stories that were pretty significant. Plus, some things are wrong about the story, like since when in Resident Evil 1 did Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine explore the mansion together? They were separated in Resident Evil 1, not together and things like that are very misleading. They also cut out MANY things from Resident Evil 3's storyline, but revealing those might spoil that story. One other thing that baffles me is where the hell is Resident Evil 2? That is one of the most important parts of Resident Evil's story, they shouldn't just leave it out. The story is half baked in this game, but it is by no means bad. It gives the players a general idea of what is going on, but nothing more.
10/20
Design:
The game is a rail shooter, therefore you are always moving forward. You can slightly turn the camera with the nunchuck's analong stick, but most will forget that feature is even there as it is never really needed since it barely turns the camera. With it's rail shooter design, it can feel limited at times and most people will wish that they can explore the areas and have free movement when shooting zombies.

Points cannot be taken off for that reason though, since that is a rail shooter's design in the first place and it is still a lot of fun. You have many different weapons at your disposal and you always have a handgun with infinite ammo. Weapons range from shotguns, machine guns, magnums, grenade launchers, and rocket launchers, all of which can be upgraded. There are three types of each category, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. You can also unlock secret files that will give you information like the origins of enemies or characters. Finally, you could also unlock side missions which have you playing as characters such as Albert Wesker and they do a good job of giving the game length. However, these side missions mostly recycle the same environments from the main mission, just with different enemy locations and the fact that you could be going in another direction. Co-Op is also included for the main missions of the game and it would be a sin if it was left out for this kind of a game, and it is much more fun to play it with a buddy. The design aspect of the game is sound overall, there is plenty of weapons to collect and files to read. However, the side missions while have intriguing mini-stories seem a bit tacked on.
17/20
Gameplay:
As a rail shooter it is only natural that you shoot things. You will be shooting alot of things like zombies, dogs, and even giant spiders. The environments are pretty varied and most of them encourage you to shoot an object to gain an unlockable weapons or files. It is also very important to use the right weapon for the right situation.

Your handgun is your best friend as it has unlimited ammunition, fires at an acceptable rate, and is pretty accurate making it a reliable weapon, but that won't always cut it. When you are surrounded by enemies, you could either mow them down with a machine gun or if there is a powerful enemy that can take a lot of punishment, the shotgun would do the trick. You aren't only limited to guns though, hold down the A button and you can swipe the wii remote rapidly to use your combat knife. This tool is useful for getting enemies away from you but the other use kind of breaks reality, you might be prompted to knife leeches off of your face. Realistically, this would end up cutting your face pretty badly and would end up hurting you even more, but then again this is a zombie shooter so the bounds of reality are already broken so its not so much a complaint as it is an oddity. If you hold the A button and then press the B button, you can as well chuck a grenade which you can use if you are outnumbered or just want to save weapon ammunition. The game takes many pages from Resident Evil 4, such as the way a zombie reacts to being shot in a certin place. The biggest thing bought from Resident Evil 4 is the quick time events, where you must waggle the controller or press a button at the right time to dodge an attack or get a zombie off of you and finish it off. For a rail shooter, it is pretty varied but one big problem lies in it that can be described by one word: Repetitive. While there are for sure a varied amount of enemies, they repeat level after level. Some of the bosses aren't that fun to fight either as they either are annoyingly hard or seem too similar to another boss in the game(Tyrant and Nemesis both have an attack where they lift you in the air and strangle you). Something that lowers the tedium is the Cooperative play, which allows you to beat levels that would take an hour if done alone with ease since having a partner makes the game much easier but at the same time challanging since you both share the same health bar and must react to quick time events at the same time. The gameplay is pretty good for the most part but it's repetitive nature keep it from being spectacular.
17/20
Sound:
So the game has a lacking story, decent design and gameplay, how is the sound? Well for the most part, the musical score ranges from creepy to unfitting. Unfitting because in moments that should be tense moments, you have oddly upbeat music playing in the backround, which makes encounters a bit less startling.

However when there is creepy music playing, it certinly puts you on edge as you wonder in fear about if a zombie will randomly run down the hallway, and as your character looks back, you see nothing then you turn around to see a zombie running right at you. The music definitely helps the atmosphere in those moments. The voice acting is hit or miss, even though it is delivery is decent. The characters you play as will more or less spout out a corny one liners as you play through a level. However, the voice acting of some characters is gold, especially Albert Wesker who has the best acted voice in the game. The game may have some akward tunes and voice acting, but the sound by no means is bad.
15/20
Presentation:
For a Nintendo wii game, the production values here are pretty good. Detailed enemies, character models, and wonderfully animated CG cutscenes are the visual highlight of the game overall. However, the environments are a mixed bag. In one area(talking about the caves in the RE1 portion of the game) you have water streaming down off the wall with incredible lighting giving it a realistic look.

However, in another area(Raccoon City in the RE3 portion) it could look bland and boring. Add that with some bad textures and the environments are truly a mix of awesome and boring. There are also some graphical glitches as you might see an enemy pop in right when your character turns or they might clip into the walls when you deliver a powerful shot with a shotgun or rocket/grenade launcher. The animation of the characters and enemies are top notch as an enemy can react specifically where you hit them and the quick time events are fun and exiting to watch. Graphically the game could use some work but like the sound it is by no means bad.
16/20
Overall:
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is like a love letter to all Resident Evil fans everywhere. Sure it's story is lacking, it can feel repetitive at times, and it could use more polish but its a solid game with a good amount of replay value thanks to the unlockable content and especially Co-Op. The game is long too by rail shooter standards, as most will take about 5 or 5 1/2 hours to beat it on the normal difficulty, and even longer on the hard difficulty so you are definitely getting your moneys worth with this one.
75/100 Solid

Update 2/16/09: Im back!

Hey gamers, I am back from a long absence. Why was I absent you ask? Well I had to do some heavy studying, but now since that is over, I will be on more frequently. However though, I have decided to put more time in my reviews, so you won't see them pop up as frequently(every week or 2, it really depends on my schedule). However I am almost done with my Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Review and I am planning to make a review for a fun Indie game, Bonesaw. Both of these reviews will be in different categories, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles being in my Game Reviews and Bonesaw being in the new Freeware Reviews. With Freeware Reviews, I can review free games like MMORPGs or Indie games. Expect the Umbrella Chronicles review to come, later today or sometime tomorrow. Have a great day!

Sorry Guys :(

It turns out that I missed a lot of information in my Castlevania Lament of Innocence review, but don't worry as I will do a re-review of it another time. I am sorry for the inconvenience :(

Review #2: Call of Duty: World at War(360)

Alright, when it comes to the Call of Duty series, nobody does it better than Infinity Ward as they created the spectacular Call of Duty 4. However, many forget the second company which alternate with IW to make some Call of Duty games. What did we get from them? Well in the past we got Call of Duty: Big Red One which just lost it's logic when you had to kill 25 tanks with 1 bazooka and the better but still mediocre Call of Duty 3. No they haven't had a great go at the series in the past, but that all changes here. Call of Duty: World at War is their latest entry in the series and it is the best damn game they have ever made with the license. I will review both the DS and 360 versions of the game, but first the 360 version. Does it live up to the standards Call of Duty 4 set?

Concept:
You are in the boots of either an American soldier while taking over two islands on the war with japan, or you are the Russains who are pushing the German Nazi threat from their motherland in Stalingrad to Berlin. It is basic World War 2 stuff here, nothing too significant but the problem lies within the fact the characters are not as well developed as the ones in Call of Duty 4, other than the main Russain Character Reznov who is awesome. It is standard WWII, meaning it is nothing we haven't seen or heard of before.
15/20

Design:
The game plays exactly like Call of Duty 4 in every way in control as in they haven't changed it which is a good thing from CoD4 veterans as they will be quite used to it at the outset. The modes are the same, you have a returning campaign and multiplayer mode but there are acually things that were added. The mode added is Co-Op where you can do most of the missions with a friend. You also have Nazi Zombies which is an awesome mode where you are trapped in a house and you have to survive wave after wave of zombies. The gameplay is the same too, but the guns are entirely different to the ones in 4. The weapons range from machine guns like the MP-40 and the Tompson, Rifles like the M1 Grand, Bolt Action rifles like the Mosin Nagant, Shotguns like the Trench Gun, and Light Machine Guns like the Type 99 and BAR. While the weapons and technology are certinly different, the gameplay is overall the same as nothing has really changed other than some additional multiplayer modes and 2 new features.

The first of those features is the M2 Flamethrower, for the first time in Call of Duty you can now light people on fire and unleash hell. The M2 is a bit overpowering but thankfully you need to be lv 65 to unlock it in multiplayer so you won't see too many people using it. The second is the inclusion of tanks which are avalible on about 4 multiplayer maps and even have their own perks. They control very well and are miles better than the Call of Duty 3 tanks as it would require at least 5 Bazooka shots to take one out. Despite these inclusions, nothing has changed meaning nothing too original. However, the new things that were added certinly give it more veriaty than CoD4 which is good in it's own right.
17/20

Gameplay:
Like in CoD4, the gameplay is fantastic. The controls are spot on and they are easy to use. The campaign consists of you running from point a to point b while mowing down Nazis or Japaneese with your guns of power. What is significant about this game that no other WWII based call of duty game did is that you are acually fighting 2 different enemies depending on the campaign and not just Nazis. Japaneese soldiers have much different tactics like playing dead, banzai running you, and sniping through the trees. These make for some very intense firefights as you must watch for these new tactics as well. These new tactics however might have messed up their AI a bit as they sometimes stand and stare into space and not even do anything at all. This is the same with the American allies for some reason. I found this much less frequent in the Russain campaign thankfully but even so, when it does happen it is pretty weird. Aside from the campaign you have the multiplayer where you can fight up to 18 people online in many matches. Oddly enough, the game is easier to play than Call of Duty 4 on multiplayer but I am guessing this is because of the new "Boot Camp" mode which is basically noob team deathmatch that is locked when you reach level 8.

Speaking of leveling up, you can do that here and as you do you will unlock new weaponry and equipment. You can also unlock "Perks" which give you certin boosts like having more health or holding 2 primary weapons. It is apparent that this plays very similar to Call of Duty 4 but it is much easier meaning much more easier on newbies.
18/20

Sound:
The musical score is epic and really fits the game well. It ranges from orchestra to metal gutiar riffs and it will always fit the situation. The voice acting is very well done despite the constant F-bombing of the American soldiers. The gun sounds sound authentic as well but some sound like a rapid fire stapler which could get on some gamer's nerves. Great sound.
20/20

Presentation: The game runs on the same engine as you guessed it, Call of Duty 4 with some improvements. The weapon detail is slightly higher here as are the textures. As in it's predocessor the game is beautiful as you see some extremly realistic lighting and effects all around. Unlike its predocessor, it is MUCH more gorier as you can tear arms and legs off if your gun is powerful enough giving it a gritty feel of war. Some graphic oddities appear when enemies are either floating in the air randomly or clipping with the environment but it looks very good all around.
18/20

Overall: It is apparent, WWII games have to die already. But that does not stop World at War from being one of the best WWII shooters on the system as well as a masterpeice on Treyarch's part. Sure it mimics many things from CoD4 but the engine is so great that many people can put that aside of them. Is it better than CoD4? Well both are basically the same game but if you like WWII games better, buy this game right now.

88/100 Awesome

Review #1: Metroid Fusion

When it comes down to Metroid, I think of free roaming in a huge planet while getting lost in the gorgeous environments while blasting through enemies. Metroid Fusion was the first entry on the gameboy advanced and many critics and fans liked this game but said it was too short and very linear, lets see if what they say is true...

Concept:
Samus Aran, a galactic bounty hunter who rid the universe of the terrible mother brain is out on a science expedition on the planet SR388 with a couple of scientists to explore and observe some of it's peaceful and at times hostile wildlife. While exploring, Samus comes across a hostile and eliminates it. However, it turns out that an odd parasitic organism came out of it and attacked the bounty hunter. Not thinking of the concequences, she heads back up to the B.S.L. only to pass out and crash her ship. Things don't look too good as she is infected with a parasitic organism known as "X" and it is slowly killing her.
They have to remove parts of the infected power suit in hopes of curing it, but things seemed bleak.....that is until they use a vaccine obtained from the metroid hatchling found in one of Samus's previous adventure and it purged her of all X parasites but in exchange made her change, as she now has metroid like abilities and can absorb the X at will for her own need. She is then sent to a B.S.L. research station that fell under attack to investigate. The game has a huge emphasis on story and for the most part it is pretty damn good as it puts emotion into the bounty hunter we thought had no emotions. Many plot twists happen as well to keep the player keep coming back for more, it is truly a wonderful story.
20/20

Design:
The way this game is designed mirrors the previous metroid games to some extent. You are in a space station and you explore 7 areas within, which does not sound exiting but the areas acually have lots of wildlife inhabiting it as the X created an environment for themselves to live in. This brings many well designed environments such as sector one which mirrors the look of SR388 with similar enemies. The X parasites can mimic organisms, so you will see many farmiliar enemies that when you kill will turn into an X. Enemies range from hopping frog like enemies and classics like side hoppers. There is even a clone of samus who you will encounter numerous times in the game known as the SA-X, which is basically the removed parts of Samus's armor which were infected and now it lives to kill you.

Samus can absorb the X to give her health or missile ammunition and even new abilities when you kill a boss. Leave the X dropped by enemies out for too long, then they will either fly away or mimic a different enemy meaning you must collect every X you find or have a chance of suffering the concequences. There is one major difference in the design compared to the metroid games that came before it, it is objective based. This means that you go to a navigation room to talk to your computer, Adam and he will give you an objective you must do.

You will do these missions in point A to point B kind of fasion and the upgrades you get like suit and beam upgrades come at you in a linear fasion. It makes it more player friendly but as well makes it more linear and less emphisized on exploration. There is still hidden energy tanks and missile expansions, but it just does not feel entirely like metroid. It does not kill the game, but it does however make it much shorter. It will take atleast 8 hours on the first try to complete which in turn is not too long, but if you like speed running then this is perfect for you. Overall, the design is solid as the levels are well made and are each very distinct. While the new objective system is more user friendly, it almost removes the exploration factor of the game and it as well makes it shorter but the design is rock solid for the most part.
14/20

Gameplay:

The game plays like any recent 2D metroid game, you run around with the directional buttons, shoot with 1 button and jump with another. Unlike super metroid, to take out the missiles you just hold the R button and you will automatically weild the missiles as you hold the button. Another difference that affects gameplay is samus's new suit as it is FAR weaker than her other suits and certin conditions due to it's metroid-like properties so death will be frequent if you aren't careful. The SA-X brings a stealth portion to the game as when it appears, you must hide as you cannot hurt it with your weapons at first and as it gets further, evading it gets tougher. Samus has many weapons at her disposal wether it be returning weapons like the charge beam or super missiles to the entirely new ones like the wide beam which is basically makes all weapons after it look like a spazer beam-like shot and the ice missiles which freeze enemies much like the ice beam. The gameplay is fun but you won't be able to take all of it in due to it's short length.
18/20

Sound:
The music in this game is awesome. Each track equally compliments the area or situation and my favorites have to be Sector 1 and Sector 4's tracks. As great as the music is, some of the music repeats alot depending on the situation so a couple of tracks that sound awesome at first start to get tiresome to the ears. The sound effects are great as well and makes the space station feel desolate. When there is no music on the main deck, you can hear the distant beeping of computer terminals as well as hear the echoing footsteps of samus. The weapons also have great sound effects as well from the charging of the charge beam to the echoing blast of the super and ice missiles. It is solid all around in the sound department.
19/20

Presentation:
The presentation certinly is very different in comparison to most metroid games. It has a sort of comic book style to it and it looks great for a 2002 game. All the backrounds and environments are vibrent and colorful which is very different for a series that usually looks dark and eerie.

That is not to say it is not dark and eerie at times where in Sector 6 and some events in the game have such a creepy atmosphere. Samus and her enemies are greatly animaited too with tons of frames of animation for Samus and it all looks great. The graphics are a technical masterpeice for a 2002 game and the frame rate does not slow down one bit. It's production values are definitely impressive.
20/20

Overall: Metroid Fusion is a great game that needs to be played by anyone who loves Metroid. It is currently the final chapter in Samus's story and it is a well written and executed adventure, despite it feeling a bit too linear and short. It must be played.

91/100 SPECTCULAR