Recent reviews by blue

a decent enough arcade-scoring twin-stick wave based shooter. don't think it'll keep your attention for dozens of hours but at its price point it is hard to complain.

most props i can and will give for this collection is the work m2 put in. this is a solid collection. with that said, there's a couple things holding it back : the price, and the fact that gradius, especially III, is not really good. that game is genuine torture, and i think playing it is more efficient than waterboarding. i had never really tried gradius before, and much like the average person only had heard of it because of its legendary status. needless to say i will not be recommending people to play gradius.

the salamander side of things is better, with 2 being a real video game, and 3 being a brand new entry by m2 that's decently enjoyable to play. i can see myself playing those again, but by god will i never touch gradius ever again.

the features here are great : several versions of each title, with a break down of what changed, filters, hitboxes, rewind, save states, training mode for certain titles... you name it, it's probably there. m2 are masters of their crafts and it shines through here.

get this collection if you are a fan of m2's work or if you are arcade georg who has looped gradius III 234 times.

there is a lot of talk and praise about how the game looks but mechanically this is an insanely fun shmup with its weapon, shield and shot level systems. retro excellence coupled with really really fun gameplay. if you're wondering if you should pick it up you should just pick it up.

this is a good katamari game. i still think we love katamari reigns supreme but between the we love katamari remake, the original's remake, and once upon a katamari, a more than excellent trio of games is available to play for everyone and that is very good. this game goes back to a much more simple gameplay loop that doesn't have jumping like in forever or the weird stretch mechanics from touch, which is very welcome. gameplay is intersected with a bit more elaborate cutscenes when you reach certain points in a level versus the old "you can go there now!" warning, which can get cumbersome, but is far from destroying the game.

some people will probably think the level design / music isn't quite up to the legacy established but i still think it is more than adequate. more importantly, it is very fun! and that is the most important part. if you like katamari i think it is well worth your time.

eh. cool little pre-order bonus i will never play again. just not that fun.

there's no need to really mince words : visually, the game could have used something more. i don't think it needs to look *better*, but more colors would be very welcome.

with that said, the real concern is the gameplay. and i think it's quite fun? a lot of beat em ups, even the better ones, usually can be summarized as "mash buttons". this game offers a lot of interactivity with the environment and items. it allows a lot more freestyling in how you beat up enemies, who WILL fight back and make you eat dirt if you don't try to play the game, with the big pay off being able to pull off more specials if you play properly.

i suppose you can scream about big telegraphs and ground markers but in spite of that i still have fun playing this game. this game will probably piss of double dragon fans because yeah it probably doesnt live up to what fans would want but as i said, i still have a lot of fun with this game, and i usually struggle to pick up most beat em ups because they really offer no meat on the bones.

i do think the price tag will turn away a lot of people, which is a shame, because i think the game is more interesting than it lets on. as actual criticism : some moves, like wall kicks and ground attacks, feel a bit iffy to pull off, and i kind of wish eventually they fix some of the rougher edges to offer a bit more consistancy on that front.

a genuinely funny game. absolutely a quarter muncher with some of its design (bullets aren't numerous but are particularly fast) but with the assist options it's a decent time. unfortunately this isn't the meme version, but despite not knowing much about the game i still found the amount of options more than satisfying. probably not the best shmup to practice scoring with but at least an interesting one to me!

objectively this isn't "terrible" but there really isn't much to do here, and i am not someone picky on gameplay or how many mechanics need to exist in a game. weird music visualizer that's more of a vibe than a game. if you want a music-mapping game, go check out Audiosurf, Beat Hazard or their sequels.

this ain't berserk but if you can ever find this in a bundle or on sale it is an alright twin-stick arcade shooter. pure scoring gameplay and not much else.

easy to pick up and hard to master, and also it's like 3 dollars so