- Joined
- May 21, 2009
- Messages
- 2,242
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- Age
- 32
- Location
- Virginia
- Website
- www.monkat.net
- XP
- 105
- Country
Story. I got home from work, and found a package on my front porch. A box (not a shipping box), with my name on it. Naturally, I go upstairs and open it, only to find Flingsmash sitting there. I have no idea who it's from (but given the fact that like....3 people who know me know where I live, it's not hard to guess).
Anyway, I'm going to try and make the review as short as possible - no reason to extend it.
The game starts out on the wrong foot with unskippable cutscenes that last a few minutes - not the end of the world, but still pretty annoying when the subtitles stay on long enough for toddlers to read them. The cutscenes open up a story that is very reminiscent of another game series...a princess is sick, the island is in danger, and a legendary hero must go out and findthe pieces of the triforce 7 pearls to gain power, and take on the bad guy.
Beyond that, the story is just stupid, not that it wasn't to be expected with a game like this, but it is really just awful. Not only are there not 7 pearls necessary to collect, 24 actually, but we have no idea what the bad guy's motivation or plot is. Ever. At the final boss battle, he says something about destroying the great palm tree. First time I've heard of the palm tree. Ridiculous.
But story isn't really what you expect from this game, anyway - it's gameplay. Each of the 8 worlds consist of three levels and a boss. In each level, you are tasked with slapping around the hero (with your Wiimote+, of course!), and getting three coins throughout the level. There are always more than three available to get (often quite a few more), but some of the levels make you work for it. Some are lying about, some simply require you to kill a certain enemy (by...hitting it), and some require you to hit numbered boxes in sequence before it appears. The most annoying are the type that, when you hit an enemy holding the coin, a minigame appears - at the end of the game, this can be brutally difficult. If you stay still for too long, a three-headed dragon will eat you, and you will lose a life.
The controls don't help anything, either. Chances are, if you're having a difficult time, it's because of your sensor bar, or because you're flailing. Play the game like racketball - few precise shots are going to help you a lot more than waggles. Still, it's not entirely precise, and headaches are common, especially in levels that have bursts of wind and water forcing you completely off from where you planned to go.
There are also some pretty bad difficulty issues. There is no curve. It starts off as extremely easy, and will remain that way until the third to last world, where it becomes moderately difficult, and then the second to last where it is simply annoying. Randomly during the second to last world, the aforementioned dragon will suck you in, with almost no chance of escape, eating a life. It wouldn't be a huge problem, but often there will be only a thin strip that you can travel through, so, just for existing in the game, you lose a life. The last world and boss are both a breeze, except for the second stage, which is brutally difficult - only a few real chances to grab a coin, and if you don't grab them fast enough, an enemy may grab the coin away.
The graphics look like they belong on the PS2 or Dreamcast. That's all there really is to say about it. It's definitely colourful, but it feels like they originally slated this for a Wiiware release, and were trying to limit the file size by reducing the quality of the graphics. The audio is mostly the same throughout the game, and it's not horrible, but none too memorable either. The last world has a remixed heavy version of it, though, and it provides some pretty good atmosphere.
The last thing that I need to mention is the length. As I said, I got this game today. About three hours ago. This game took me three hours to beat. Granted, it was only really $10 after you count the price of the Wiimote+, but for whoever bought it, that's simply not gonna cut the $50 price tag.
Overall, it's just not an excellent game. It's definitely a step up over Wii play, which is good, considering that it is taking it's place, but it's not a very high step.
4/10
Anyway, I'm going to try and make the review as short as possible - no reason to extend it.
The game starts out on the wrong foot with unskippable cutscenes that last a few minutes - not the end of the world, but still pretty annoying when the subtitles stay on long enough for toddlers to read them. The cutscenes open up a story that is very reminiscent of another game series...a princess is sick, the island is in danger, and a legendary hero must go out and find
Beyond that, the story is just stupid, not that it wasn't to be expected with a game like this, but it is really just awful. Not only are there not 7 pearls necessary to collect, 24 actually, but we have no idea what the bad guy's motivation or plot is. Ever. At the final boss battle, he says something about destroying the great palm tree. First time I've heard of the palm tree. Ridiculous.
But story isn't really what you expect from this game, anyway - it's gameplay. Each of the 8 worlds consist of three levels and a boss. In each level, you are tasked with slapping around the hero (with your Wiimote+, of course!), and getting three coins throughout the level. There are always more than three available to get (often quite a few more), but some of the levels make you work for it. Some are lying about, some simply require you to kill a certain enemy (by...hitting it), and some require you to hit numbered boxes in sequence before it appears. The most annoying are the type that, when you hit an enemy holding the coin, a minigame appears - at the end of the game, this can be brutally difficult. If you stay still for too long, a three-headed dragon will eat you, and you will lose a life.
The controls don't help anything, either. Chances are, if you're having a difficult time, it's because of your sensor bar, or because you're flailing. Play the game like racketball - few precise shots are going to help you a lot more than waggles. Still, it's not entirely precise, and headaches are common, especially in levels that have bursts of wind and water forcing you completely off from where you planned to go.
There are also some pretty bad difficulty issues. There is no curve. It starts off as extremely easy, and will remain that way until the third to last world, where it becomes moderately difficult, and then the second to last where it is simply annoying. Randomly during the second to last world, the aforementioned dragon will suck you in, with almost no chance of escape, eating a life. It wouldn't be a huge problem, but often there will be only a thin strip that you can travel through, so, just for existing in the game, you lose a life. The last world and boss are both a breeze, except for the second stage, which is brutally difficult - only a few real chances to grab a coin, and if you don't grab them fast enough, an enemy may grab the coin away.
The graphics look like they belong on the PS2 or Dreamcast. That's all there really is to say about it. It's definitely colourful, but it feels like they originally slated this for a Wiiware release, and were trying to limit the file size by reducing the quality of the graphics. The audio is mostly the same throughout the game, and it's not horrible, but none too memorable either. The last world has a remixed heavy version of it, though, and it provides some pretty good atmosphere.
The last thing that I need to mention is the length. As I said, I got this game today. About three hours ago. This game took me three hours to beat. Granted, it was only really $10 after you count the price of the Wiimote+, but for whoever bought it, that's simply not gonna cut the $50 price tag.
Overall, it's just not an excellent game. It's definitely a step up over Wii play, which is good, considering that it is taking it's place, but it's not a very high step.
4/10
like a 250 dollar kit back when DDR4 was Intel only
