Mario Kart Wii Review

By super_stanly

Ok, my first Review, but enough about me. I'll be reviewing Mario Kart Wii. This Review goes on a scale of one to ten, 1being just plain wrong and 10 being the best ever.

STORY: 1 No story, they're just racing. Besides, since when do racing games need a story? Lameos, that’s what!

FIRST IMPRESSION: 10/10 What’s that? If a demo at a store gives a bad impression people won't "buy it" (literally). I first played this at a local Gamestop. I had to use that horrible Wii Wheel (more later) but I had fun nonetheless. I had just got my Wii so this was my first Wii game. Overall I had a good first impression.

PLAY CONTROL If you can't control the game you can't play it. Since you can play 4 ways each will get a section. WII WHEEL: Oh dear. What to say? 1star. You over-steer too easily. That’s why real wheels in cars don’t float in the air. A piece of junk, it should come free. 1 star. It's so bad I had to rate it again. REMOTE AND NUNCHUK: Umm... Better. Oh, so much better. I still don't like it. 5 stars. -GCN/CLASSIC: One of the best. No over-steering and no wanting to throw it out of a window, unlike some of the latters. 10 stars.

GRAPHICS: 8 Some people hate the visuals but they're ok to me. They are super glossy though.

CAST/KARTS: 10 The gang’s all here, though we didn't need Baby Daisy or anything. As far as karts go you have plenty to choose from. My favorite is the sugar-scoot (i think that’s what it's called) Overall there's something for every one.

GAMEPLAY: 5 Things get fun, in fact you're in first place, but then a Red Shell hits you. No problem. But then a Blue Shell hits you and you are in third. Now a POW Block, then Lightning, last a Bullet Bill knocks you (after you’re small from the Lightning) off some cliff. Even if that doesn't happen CPUs start getting faster on the last lap and closing in on you like crazy. 50cc feels too slow, yet 150cc just makes you sick. With human players things get better, but still…

FUN FACTOR!: 8 Once you're around the hectic Grand Prix you start seeing a really fun game. The CPU cheating was the two points taken off of the perfect 10.

MUSIC: 7 A mixed bag. Some hate it but it isn't bad, just a distraction. On some stages it's good, on others, it’s what I said earlier.

MULTIPLAYER: NA This game is best played this way (in theory). Wi-Fi is cool but I haven't trid that yet so I cant comment on that. I normally play alone so I can't rate this fairly. As far as battle mode goes it's fun and can be played single player, but it's too easy to let your teammates do all the work and just as easy to lose even though you might be winning.

COURSES: 10 I love the new ones and the selection of old ones. One complaint, some retro tracks that might have been in the Flower Cup were moved to the Star Cup, throwing balance off, and the new Rainbow Road might be the hardest version of the course in all the Mario Karts I've ever played- and thus near impossible with the Wii Wheel. Anyway, there's a course for everyone.

OVERALL: 8 All right, the part we've all been waiting for. I give it 8 out of 10 stars. As long as you aren't using a Wii Wheel you're going to have fun.

RECOMMENDED TO: Think hard about this one if you get mad at games easily. If not or even if so I would still recommend this to anyone. It's one of the best Mario Karts I've played and, AI freakiness aside, is a near perfect racing game for the Wii.

REVIEW AT A GLANCE Pros: - Plenty of everything (characters, courses, etc.) - Snaking’s gone ^_^ - Wifi - Good multiplayer - Free wheel worth $15

Cons: - Very questionable AI - Wii Wheel is really a gimmick - Course difficulty questionable That's it. It was hard thinking of too many bad things, so get Mario Kart Wii NOW!!! Thank you for reading!

Game & Watch Gallery 3 Review

By super_stanly

The is a game for the Gameboy Color that came out a while ago- ok, years ago. Anyway my grading system is a little different now. 10 is, as always, the best of the best, 1 is the worst, and the new part is that 5 is average.

CHARACTERS: 8 stars Well we have the gang here and some others, but as long as Mario and the gang is here I'm fine. The eight is for the fact that it's good enough but as always there's room for improvement.

GRAPHICS: 9 stars I've heard people say they're just ok, but this is the original Gameboy we're talking about. The details are amazing since they could have been so much worse. When played on a original Gameboy (with only four shades of gray, might I add), you might wonder if they could get better.

PLAY CONTROL: 7 stars This depends on the minigame, really, but overall it's ok. You will die or, uh, game over ever so often because the controls are way to loose, but... more later.

THE MINI GAMES+MUSIC -Turtle Bridge Modern: 8 stars. You jump across Goonies to give Peach an item from Mario. In fact he's the port of call and the only safe area since both the platform and clouds can fail on you. I really like this one, though once the platform becomes timed it gets really hard. Classic: 5 stars. This is ok but gets too boring too fast for me to stand after a while, thus the average score. Music: 7 stars. Not the best but avoids getting annoying after a while, which is good.

-MarioBros. Modern: 8.5 stars. The Mario Bros. must be paying off something because they're in some food court. Oh well, I didn't buy this game for stories, I play for gameplay, and this game gets it right. Though at some moments you'll almost get cross-eyed, Bowser shaking things up at higher levels and stars that you earn for filling out Wario's truck keeps things always fresh and frantic. Classic:.8 stars: For the first time the classic version doesn't stink. It's basically the same but with less franticness and the trays fall faster, making this a bit harder. Music: 5 stars. Only ok, but once you get into things you barely notice in the heat of action, and that's the bad thing.

-DonkeyKongJr. Modern: 9.5 stars: This has to be the best, or one of the best games in this game. You must get the key and then reach your daddy four times to advance to the next level. The first is just right there and you can, with out any hassle, get out of a bad situation. In level two you're most likely to die by human error, and in the last level from getting trapped by enemies. Classic: 3 stars. Uh... Once you find out what you're supposed to do, or you get trapped or killed several times, nuff said... Music: 8 stars. Each level has a different song and they're catchy and fits the theme well.

-Egg: Modern: 9 stars. Another I enjoy. You help Yoshi eat cookies, but to get more points and fill the meter quicker you should try to eat them cooked. Once at least one of the meters fills a Yoshi cookie comes and if you eat it cooked something special happens. My main complaint is that while action-packed, it's too easy, plus the fact that you can get half of a miss means that you should reach the 1,000 points pretty easy Classic: 4 stars. This feels too slow in the beginning and it's often hard to tell which egg is falling fastest. Avoid this. Music: 6 stars. Nothing special and repeats itself too much for me.

-Greenhouse Modern: 7 stars, It's ok in the beginning but the monkeys are a constant hassle and it's too easy to skip over the pipe. Collect the melons and your life will be easier, but dealing with a split screen just isn't for me. Classic: 8 stars, This is actually better than the new edition. You have less room for error since spiders can be pushed back and worms take forever to eat your tasty plants. Be sure to have the top screen the biggest though. Music: 8 stars. Actually good but after the 11th time hearing it, it can still get a little tiresome. EXTRAS: 10 stars Boy, does this game have surprises. Basically collect stars from minigames and just watch all of the goodies that come along. I've been avoiding spoilers (and not reviewing special minigames) but I must tell you that you must link with someone to see everything the game has to offer. Despite that I still think this game has a lot to offer, not trying to repeat myself.

OVERALL: 9.5 stars (if you want to avoid spending thousands on Ebay trying to collect classic Game&Watch's) or. 8 stars (if you're everyone else) I know this review is pretty high compared to what others might say but you get a lot of bang for your buck and collector-wise, assuming you don't have to have the real thing, it's a must buy.

REVIEW AT A GLANCE Pros. - Lots of game play - Nice graphics - Good minigame selection

Cons. - The classic versions stink overall (counting secret ones) - Music isn't too interesting - Loose controls on select minigames

Sure, it isn't perfect, but is anything in life perfect? You can get this cheap now so if you have a Gameboy hanging around get it, because it's worth the risk.

Wrecking Crew Review

By super_stanly

is a game where Mario basically destroys stuff. Sounds fun, right? Bomberman is basically that, right? Well we'll get to that soon enough. My rating system goes like this: 10=best of the best, 1=just plain wrong. Oh, 5 is about average. MUSIC/SOUND 3 stars. Wait, 3? Yes, 3. They aren't really bad, just... not good. Not only is there just two or three songs but the two or three get repetitive, fast. I suggest you pop in your own tunes. Sound effects get a humble 5.

GAMEPLAY Like I said before, you basically destroy stuff but also you must avoid Gotchawrenches and the Eggplant Men. Fireballs will appear if you stay on a level too long but you can avoid those by wrapping around the screen. Now the worst for last, Foreman Spike. If you aren't careful with him it can be impossible to beat the stage. Not everything’s out to kill you (this isn't Frogger), as you have bombs that do 1 hit worth of damage to anything near them other than yourself or Foreman Spike. The walls that you destroy may take more than one, hit and gray ladders can be wrecked also. 7 stars, there is strategy but it's mostly staying alive and doing your business... Hmm, almost like life, right?

GRAPHICS Like most early NES titles, not so good. You can deal with it, though, and the animation of moving characters is nice I think. 8 stars (for an early NES title), or 5 stars (compared to later ones).

DIFFICULTY Most of the difficulty comes from doing some things in a certain order and staying alive, because Mario can't jump or defend himself. See, you have to try to trap enemies in doors, and as for Foreman Spike, you can tear down something he's behind and knock him down. Fireballs simply can't be hurt but aren't hard to avoid unless you are cornered by other enemies. So, overall, 7 stars. The bad guys have it made and you can only take one hit. I strongly suggest you use a Game Genie code ( unless your playing the VC way).

PLAY CONTROL You move around and press A or B to smash stuff. It's simple and works well. It would have been nice if B was maybe a powerful hit that took time to charge but had the power of two hits or possibly could hurt enemies. Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself, this is the 80's we're talking about. 9 stars, it works well but could have had more going on, if you know what I mean.

REPLAY VALUE I forgot to mention the custom stage mode. You can make a stage as hard or easy as you like. Sounds fun, but as with the regular game, once you've been though all of the stages, that’s it. 8 stars for custom mode), 4 stars for everything else.

OVERALL Well, first thing’s first, it isn't worth 500 VC points but it is worth the $1.45 US I spent. Also it works perfectly on my YOBO NES. Now important stuff, this is a game to pull out when you want a different kind of puzzle game. The custom stage mode is nice and there are plenty of stages. It's too bad later stages focus on trial and error more than using your mind (unlike Gyromite) and that Mario’s just plain defenseless compared to the enemies. Still I had plenty of fun and limited lives can be solved with a Game Genie code, which you might need due to the trial and error thing. 7 stars.

REVIEW AT A GLANCE Pros - Custom level mode - Two player - Lots of stages - Nice gameplay (aside from my complaints)

Cons - Too much trial and error - Mario is usually defenseless - Not too much replayability

I'm over all happy with this game but some issues can make this a no go for some. If you aren't sure you would like this, if you like puzzles it's worth two dollars, but think hard about spending 500 VC point on this unless you can't get enough of games like this. Thanks for reading! super_stanly out!

Yoshi's Story Review

By super_stanly

It's me again, super_stanly, to bring you… Yoshi's Story! Why? It's a game Nintendo doesn't want you to know about since a Yoshi’s Story-themed stage is completely gone from Brawl. Also it is criticized for being too childish and easy, but I'll show you that isn't always true in some ways. Now my scoring system: 10 is the best of the best, 5 is aveerage, and 1 is just plain wrong.

STORY This game is called Yoshi's Story right? Baby Bowser turns Yoshi's Island into a picture book and steals the Super Happy Tree. Now the young Yoshis must travel though six pages to confront him. 7 stars. As long as it doesn't involve Bowser stealing a princess I'm fine, plus it's Baby Bowser and not Bowser Jr. Yay!

PLAY CONTROL It's a bit shaky but easy to learn. You can eat jump and sniff. The shaky part? Try to play with a controller with a good control stick because I died when the control stick didn't act right when I was on some little platforms over a void. 8 stars. The incident happened only once and I had no other problems.

GRAPHICS Ok, strangely I like it. Everything’s colorful and pretty, even the stages that are meant to be a bit scary. I don't know why some people hate this game’s graphics. 9 stars

SOUND 10 stars. I'm sure you're shocked but the Yoshis have good voices and the sound effects sound like they could fit in a storybook that has those little sound buttons (which fit in perfectly). As far as music goes the soundtrack is famous when you think about it because the Yoshi’s Island theme plays when Yoshi wins a match in all the Smash Bros. games. One last thing worth mentioning is that all of the songs are based off the themesong just, altered to fit the level.

GAMEPLAY The game runs smoothly, no slow downs or too many foes on the screen at once. My only problem is the fact that when you're hit you get knocked to the side and get stunned. Of course you can get hit many times as long as there’s fruit to refill your flower meter, and fruit is everywhere. Once you get 30 pieces you complete the level. You'll find yourself flying though the game. 7 stars. The game flows too quickly but you'll have fun while at it.

DIFFICULTY It's kind of true and kind of false that this game’s too easy. There is fruit everywhere but there's also a hidden difficulty there. It's not really a difficulty, it's more of an annoying thing, like when a Blurp is always trying to eat you, eels appear everywhere, or birds drive you nuts while you’re fighting an invisible boss. Like I said, this game isn’t hard but is something annoying. Other than that you'll fly though the game, but levels in the last world gives a very interesting challage. 5 stars.

FUN FACTOR! 8 stars. I find it very fun and the colorful, happy levels add to that. Not much else to say, but if you don't like platform games this won't make you a fan of them.

REPLAYABILITY I sometimes dig out my N64 for this game, but unless you count the trial mode's scoring system, that’s it. If you have a favorite level (I do) you might enjoy playing it, but the game doesn't have much else to offer. 4 stars.

THE VERDICT Not many care about this game but that's part of the fun of playing an underdog game like this. You only have to play six levels, but there’s 24 of them and the levels are good. As far as looks go, the game is real’y pretty. The sound is great but lack of difficulty and good replayability shy most away. I think’s it's still worth it but I would encourage you to try before you buy. Of course the game can be bought for less than ten dollars so you don't have too much to lose.

REVIEW AT A GLANCE Pros - Nice, pretty graphics and great sound - Easy controls - Great levels - Can be gotten cheap

Cons - Too short and easy for most - Little reason to play again once it's been beaten - Annoying spots in some levels So that’s it, now stop overlooking this forgotten gem and give it a try.

BONUS erm.. a review of my review???

Sgt. Fly Yoshi story May 29, 2009 YOSHI’S STORY REVIEW – By super_stanly

Ah, Yoshi’s Story…one of the 64′s most underrated games. Short, yes…very…very…short…But fun, oh yes, most certainly fun. Well, would this new author agree with me or not…and thus begins this review. Have at you, Mr. Stanly.

STORY <8.1/10> 7 out of 10 stars seems just about right, maybe a bit too generous. 6 stars might’ve been more appropriate for such a shallow story. Oh, and being such a short and hollow plot, I suppose I can’t blame Stanly as much for making the section so short. That’s typical of Lemmy’s Review authors these days.

PLAY CONTROL <8.4/10> Controls are a difficult section to write a lot about, so again, Stanly gets off the hook for a short section. He may not get as much mercy in further sections, though. He has a valid point with the very floaty controls; I went back and played Yoshi’s Story for the first time in months, and the controls felt awkward, but I got used to them. Definatley a nice job here, Stan.

GRAPHICS <5.9/10> Okay, see, here’s a section that could’ve used a lot more coverage. Yoshi’s Story really does have a unique graphical style, what with the denim-stitched skies and cardboard-cutout backdrops. Yet Stanly only gives the visuals the label of “colorful”. Almost all Mario games have colorful graphics, so “colorful” just won’t do, as that description, while true, does not paint an accurate picture of how the game really looks.

SOUND <6.8/10> T-Ten stars?! Oh dear…That’s…generous of Stanly. The credits theme of the game is beautiful, no doubt, as well as Baby Bowser’s Lullaby or Alpina Blue, or whatever the snow theme was called…But I think the soundtrack would earn 8 or so stars.

GAMEPLAY <7.7/10> Okay, fairly good job here, but it fails to deeply cover some of Story’s unique features. The worst violator of this flaw would be the mention of the grocery-hunting mechanic, probaby one of the game’s bigger imperfections. It is not stated what he thinks of this. Comments about the game’s ease are also incorrectly placed in this section at times.

DIFFICULTY <8.0/10> Pretty nice. While the game is far too easy, it’s definatley agreeable that those Blurps in Jungle Puddle are quite annoying. This reviewer also did well to point out that fruit is all over the place, so you can pretty much just recover your health whenever you need to. I think the absolutely pathetic bosses deserve a dishonorable mention though; Don Bongo…hmph. I had more trouble fighting Monstar in Paper Mario with the Power Bounce + Super Jump Charge combo than I had with Don.

FUN FACTOR <5.7/10> Fun Factor is a difficult section to write for, requiring th ability to pick apart all the central points of fun or tedium in the game in order to make it of sufficient length. It seems Stanly, however, didn’t feel like doing that and just typed up a single line of text. The rating of 8 stars is pretty accurate, though.

REPLAYABILITY <6.2/10> It’s unclear to me what this author’s criteria for beating the game is, but I’d consider it to be beating one level in each page. In the chance that he thought the same way, he obviously forgot to include the fact that more Heart Fruits can unlock more levels, ultimatley rendering up to 4 entertaining playthroughs of the game. Stanly’s been a little too generous throughout this Review, but here, he’s maybe being too strict.

THE VERDICT <8.4/10> Probably the best-written section of this Review. He included all the more important critcisms in the review and presented them nicely. The recommendations are sort of iffy, though. He suggests you “try before you buy”, but I doubt that any stores offer Nintendo 64 rentals anymore. He’s also failed to mention that this game’s on the Virtual Console, perfectly accessible from there.

REVIEW AT A GLANCE <8.0/10> I have a soft spot for these pros-and-cons sections. A good conclusion to the Review, and the title “forgotten gem” fits Yoshi’s Story pretty well. Perhaps “gem” is an overstatement though, it’s more like…a cool-looking, shiny rock that you could live without, but you’d still like to have it. ——————————–

And now, to judge the author’s writing style and overall performance.

LENGTH <7.2/10> Always a problem with most Reviewers nowadays. While pretty short, Stan’s Review is longer than most other modern reviewers, which keeps him safely in the 7 out of 10 range.

PRESENTATION <8.9/10> Oh, lovely job here. Nothing too hard on the eyes, and putting the category names in all-caps somehow makes it more appealing. The only flaw is that the number of stars is stated in random places, as opposed to being right next to the title, where they belong.

TASTE <8.5/10> As I said before, Yoshi’s Story IS an underrated game, and Stanly is one of the few people who gave it a fair score, despite being too generous in the music category.

OVERALL <7.8/10> Well, this isn’t the best Review, but it’s surely better than most of the reviews we see, because some authors have only trimmed their reviews only down to the bare essentials, to a point where there are only one or two sentences per category. While still pretty short, that DOES make this Review easier on the eyes, and it’s overall pretty good. This gets a 7.8 out of 10 from me.

Hopefully Stan plans to keep submitting Reviews. ~Sgt. Fly

Modern commentary: Sorry Sgt. Fly, I didn't after this. Thanks though. He's right, I didn't go as far as I could have with this review.