PixlBit

It's the most wonderful time for more games! Sit back and enjoy todays batch of games!

 After some mixed entries in the series, Sonic Colors brought back hope for many Sonic fans. Sonic Colors has a lot of fast paced running segments with some power ups (in the form of wisp powers that you get) mixed with some platforming. It's the sonic you love, the sonic fans enjoy. While some stages have some checkpoint headaches, stages are never so long you can't take a crack at something again. The bosses are also a bit too easy as well, though it's nice to see Eggman appear as the final boss again after a few entries where it was some sort of super mutant space alien monster

Sonic Unleashed got two different versions. A PS3/360 HD version and a  more linear styled act based adventure for the PS2 and Wii. The difference is pretty clear and it depends on what you enjoy. For instance many may have enjoyed going through the hub worlds in the hd versions, while in the standard versions opt for a simple click on the next marker and scroll through a cutscene approach. The hd versions ad rpg mechanics for speed and werehog that you could distribute. The standard version gives you no level option for speed (instead opting for a speed bar) and the werehog leveling is automatic. While the game is a fairly mixed game as you may or may not like the werehog, I will say I didn't find it as infuriating...probably due to the fact that in the standard PS2/Wii versions the night stages are a hell of a lot shorter and simpler.

Soul Calibur Legends is not a traditional Soul Calibur game. Instead it's a rpg style action, platformer, hack n slash game. The game is okay for the most part. The adventuring is fairly linear as you go along a set path breaking jars and crates to pick up health and money to upgrade weapons, but that's about it. The game also features a cameo from Lloyd Irving from the Tales of Symphonia series.

Spectrobes Origins is I'm guessing Disney's answer to what a 3D Pokemon adventure should be. And while I enjoy a game like Gale of Darkness Disney Interactive made an engaging kids game thats an open world monster raising battle game. It's not a turn based game, sticking to a more traditional action rpg format and free range combat. You can utilize a sword, lance, gun, etc. And you can have up to 3 monsters in your party. My copy came with cards that you could use to get metallic versions of some of the in game monsters. You mostly get monsters from chipping away at fossils with lasers and tools and putting them in a fossil resurrector. The story is fairly saturday morning cartoon affair and the main character has an annoying catchphrase in "Let's do it! Honki de ikuze!" But overall it's a pretty enjoyable game, if not overly monotonous and repetitive in some aspects.

Spore Hero took the concept of the original Spore and made it into a platform based adventure. It's a bit of an odd decision and it didn't really work to well. You can engage other spore monsters in fights, but for the most part it's about the better parts you equip. Certain monster parts are better than others, giving you less incentive to design a monster how you like and more so to advance the game and at one point you have to when you are tasked to give your monster the ability to fly or jump higher.

I reviewed Spray a year or so ago. The game is fairly bad, but it's got a unique concept. Taking inspiration from Super Mario Sunshine you have the ability to spray water on various things and you collect golden sun pieces. There are some other abilities that let you spray ice, vomit, slime, and antimatter for some cool, but albeit lacking in polish puzzle elements. The game could have been a nice 3rd party game, but it's more shovelware.

Spyborgs is a fairly average beat em up game. It's got some neat aspects, but it's only fairly average. You'll bash enemies, bash crates, railings, chests, etc. You can control 4 characters and each has a different play style, but it's still overall pretty basic. It's not a bad game by any means. But nothing to right home about. It's kind of a rental title really.

SSX Blur is pretty bad. I remember getting SSX Tricky back when and it was a lot of fun…not so much with this title however. The controls ruin the overall experience. The motion controls often miss your input you do and you’ll wipeout more often than not

Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 were just fantastic. I don’t think I have ever not enjoyed a main Mario platform game and Galaxy & Galaxy 2 are without a doubt the best games you can play on the Nintendo Wii. The motion controls are very minimal in them. You’ll shake to do a spinning attack or point at the screen to collect star bits, but thankfully Galaxy 1 & 2 keep it light on that front. On top of that the level design, the graphics, and yes even the story presentation is incredibly detailed. Both are different. In the first Galaxy you had a hub in the comet observatory to get to levels, the hub in Galaxy 2 takes you to levels, but in a different way. Galaxy 2 also included Yoshi, hidden green stars, and prankster comets. I can’t do these games justice. They are by and far the best games you can get for the Wii. An absolute must play

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz is terrible. I hate Banana Blitz. Yes, I realize I shouldn’t be too hard on a launch title, but the controls ruin this game to a degree where I actually broke a remote by throwing it against my wall. I have never raged so hard in a game. Usually I hate games that are bad. Like I hate Alone in the Dark, but even it is far more playable than this. In addition to that most of the 50 mini games included aren’t very fun.

Super Paper Mario…When Super Paper Mario came out it got a lot of “huh?” from the fans. In both the original Paper Mario and Thousand Year Door, battles were turned based like a typical rpg and you had a sidekick character. While Super Paper Mario still has sidekick characters the rpg mechanic is much different. Before Sticker Star garnered downright toxic attention, Super Paper Mario may have been the prototype to turn away from the first two series style. However, many saw the 2D platforming as an homage to the 2D platforming segments of Thousand Year door where you controlled Bowser expanded upon. I admit part of me loves Super Paper Mario. The humor is there, you control multiple characters, the game is chock full of content from 2 pits of 100 trials to side quests. It is however not a typical rpg and I can’t stress enough about how this is indeed platformer. So as Mario fan I can get behind that…as a Mario RPG fan…it’s at least by far way better than Sticker Star.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl brought the Smash you know and love online and was by far one of the most extensive rosters (Before Wii U and 3ds respectively) It brought in Sonic the Hedgehog which many fans had clamored for in the very beginning and a very nice surprise in Solid Snake as Hideo Kojima had to practically beg Sakurai to put Snake in the game. The multiplayer component was a hit as usual even if the online was downright terrible. However, what was new was a story driven adventure mode. And whether or not you enjoy Subspace Emissary is up to you, I found it to be a nice easy way to unlock all the characters, but overall just a slightly mediocre and boring beat em up.

Takt of Magic was released exclusively in Japan and is the spiritual successor to LostMagic on the Nintendo DS which did see a US release. Takt of Magic is everything you could ask for in a sequel as various mechanics are made easier. Whether it’s performing magic spells (such as tracing a lightning symbol for lightning) or the overall way missions are more lenient in their objectives…Takt of Magic is a very control friendly, easily interpreted game. So even if you don’t know Japanese, it’s very good about its gameplay explanations. There was even an online mode

Tales of Graces was eventually brought to the PS3 in the US (because I’m a Tales nut) and I do have that, but prior to this I had bought Tales of Graces for the Wii as an import game. It’s a typical jrpg with weapon upgrading, an anime story of love and friendship, etc. I sunk in over 80 hours into this game do the side quests, doing the extra dungeons and beating the extra bosses, and the battle system was an absolute blast.  The PS3 version is definitely the way to go, but still at the time before Namco got their head out of their ass and finally released it (3 years after the fact) it was an enjoyable game to play.