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To keep up with the expectations of being a staff blogger, I'll no longer be focusing on the Gamecube exclusively for my Unloved series. Instead, I'll be highlighting any game for any system I think needs some more attention. Being mostly familiar with Nintendo systems there is a good chance that many games will be for Nintendo released systems, but when the chance arises I will definitely give some time and respect to other systems.
Look for a quick write up on Power Blade for the NES in the next few days and let me know what you think. Thanks
I haven't heard anyone mention this classic NES title in what seems like years, so I thought I'd make it my job to drudge up any loving memories/haunting nightmares you guys may have that are related to Adventure Island.
[img width=400 height=550]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/adventureislandtitle.jpg[/img]
Continue reading Mnemonics: Adventure Island
Looking for something a little quirkier to play on your Gamecube? Looking for something a bit out of the normal to play? Looking for a game that has a button that literally makes your character take a dump then and there? Then look no further, Cubivore is here.
[img width=338 height=481]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/cubivorecover.jpg[/img]
Continue reading Unloved #5: Cubivore
The year is 2049 and Humans have left Earth looking to colonize other planets. While gone they have left Orbots behind to clean up pollution and litter for when they return. A high-ranking Orbot becomes insane after accidentally becoming attached to a nuclear missile. He changes his name to Warhead and declares himself ruler of the Earth then begins preparation to exterminate Humans should they return to claim the Earth from him.
[img width=468 height=338]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/vectormantitle.jpg[/img]
Enter Vectorman.....
Continue reading Off The Shelf - Vectorman
Slapped on some primer and a couple coats of paint. Just waiting for those damn boards to get in.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1658.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1659.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1660.jpg[/img]
A couple weeks ago I rediscovered a long lost passion of mine. A game I had almost forgotten. Luckily browsing through the RFGen NES High Score thread reminded me to dig out one of my all time favorite games.
[img width=256 height=224]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/bubblebobbletitle.jpg[/img]
Continue reading Mnemonics: Bubble Bobble
After having to postpone another 3 times we finally got together 2 days in a row to finish most of the work. We ran out of wood for the actual shelves and so did Home Depot, Home Hardware and Rona so we are temporarily stalled. Lucas figures he can get some ordered in so hopefully next week we can finish completely. For now we've got a large majority of it done though. I've just got to paint it now.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1629.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1630.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1631.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1632.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1633.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=448]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/sonic.jpg[/img]
With an overwhelming majority of the votes Sonic the Hedgehog will be the next Off the Shelf title. Nothing else really stood a chance did it?
Continue reading Off The Shelf - November - Sonic the Hedgehog
After what seems like an eternity, Lucas (my shelving friend) and I got together after conflicting schedules over the last few weeks and started work on the shelving. We finalized the plans, did a lot of measuring and marking, cut a few boards and put up a solid frame to start with. Heres some pics of what we did so far:
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1591.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1592.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1593.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1594.jpg[/img]
The plan is to finish building and mounting the shelves on wednesday evening. After that I'll probably take a day or two to paint it and then I'll finally be able to start filling it!!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBa...;ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
I got my game on Monday and it was far from "pristine" which is how it was described. The seller hadnt given me feedback yet even though I paid minutes after the auction ended so I was leary to bring it up (he's got 4 times the feedback I do so it would make a difference to me and not so much to him getting negative). I sent him a message thanking him for the quick shipping and then described all the flaws with the games cosmetic appearance. He was surprisingly sympathetic and offered a full refund (and I send the game back) or a partial refund (and I keep the game). I asked him what he was offering for a partial refund and he responded with $30. I kinda told myself before hand that if he offered $20 I'd be happy so $30 was great.
So I get to keep one of my most sought after games for much less than I originally was willing to spend. The cosmetic stuff is all minor and I'm still very pleased with my purchase, it just wasnt "pristine".
It seems weird highlighting a game that had a Player's Choice release and is based off of a hugely popular Nintendo character, but many people seem to look past this game. While Wario World definitely doesn't live up to the high standards of the 3D Mario Platforming games (which it would no doubt be compared to), it rightly deserves its own spotlight.
[img width=256 height=359]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/g.jpg[/img]
The graphics really aren't anything to write home about, but the overall art style makes up for that. The levels and characters are all brightly colored and vibrant (Carnival theme, jungle theme) or dark and gloomy (Ancient Egypt theme) when appropriate. Everything has a rounded slightly cartoonish look to it which suits Wario as a character. Sure he is a villain, but his reputation is as a comical villain so it works nicely.
The game is played almost in a 2D fashion. The camera is fixed on the side so it has a side-scroller feel to it, but at the same time you have some 3D depth to move around in. And the level design it really great! Along with your standard "reach the finish" goal of most platformers there is an excellent mix of fighting, exploring and puzzle solving. And it wouldn't be a true Wario title with out a little treasure hunting and mini-gaming thrown in for good measure. If you're one that finds typical platformers too repetitive you may enjoy this title more as it breaks up the platforming with the other styles of gameplay, although they are still very platforming based.
Now my (and many others) main gripe with this game is the length. Even if you're going for the perfect file with all treasures you probably won't spend more than 10-12 hours on this game. Just a straight ol' run through will probably net you around 7 hours of game time for a first playthrough.
[img width=400 height=300]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/g1.jpg[/img]
If you're looking for a slightly unusual platformer with many little quirks thrown in this is probably the title for you. Or if you're just looking for a fun, cheap game to kill an afternoon or two with this would definitely do the trick. Looking for something with a lot of depth that you can really sink your teeth into... keep looking. For everything Wario World is it is wonderful.
6/10
A little while back I purchased a bunch of NES games off of NES_Rules (a great seller by the way). He had to ship from the USA to Canada for me. When you do this the post office asks you to fill out a customs form declaring what the item is, why your are sending it and what the value of the item is. Anything declared at over $40 comes with a small chance of getting charged an extra customs fee on delivery. I've had dozens of things shipped from the states on only encountered this charge 3 times ever.
Now to avoid this fee I commonly request the seller to state the value at something under $40, such as $35 or less, even when the item may be worth more than that, and declare it as a gift (this also seems to lessen the chance of the customs fee). NES_Rules did just that and yet Canada Post didnt trust him for some reason. They opened the package and some jackass estimated its contents at a whopping $200, which was significantly higher than the actual value of the small bunch of common NES games I was getting.
Because of the large increase in value I was charged a large custom's fee when it was delivered to my house. It was only a few dollars less than I paid for the games!! It was like paying twice, plus shipping. More than a little peeved off I asked the delivery driver for information on how to avoid custom's fee (she wasnt able to tell me anything I didnt already know) and how to get this particular item re-valued and refunded, even if it was just partially. She wasnt sure about the re-value and refund part so I went to the closest Canada Post branch to inquire. I was given a phone number to call because like most places I need help they dont give the store clerks any real power. I called an unusually helpful man who walked me through their website to help find a form I was supposed to fill out and he gave me his extension number incase I needed assistance filling out the form. He also suggested that any form of "proof" I can send with the form would help my case.
Not being a retail sale I couldnt just send a copy of a receipt so I printed off a few of the PMs we had sent back and forth (I blanked out your screen name, email address and any other info I thought you may not want shared without permission NES_Rules). I wrote "PROOF" in huge letters across the top of each page and submitted the form along with print offs of our deal.
This all occured sometime in late June or early July. Just yesterday though I got a check in the mail from Canada Post refunding me for the exact amount I suggested they refund to reflect the actual value of the item. I got two-thirds of my money back from them!! Where not talking about a lot of money or anything, just getting a small wrong made slightly better. I obviously dont want to pay a custom's fee at all, but I'll take my small victory this time.
This was the first release of the infamous Capcom Five (4 in reality and 1 if you want to be even pickier) for the Nintendo Gamecube. For myself PN03 really captured that old 2D Arcadish feeling but with a 3D environment. I cant really think of any other game that has done that for me.
[img width=340 height=474]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/z-9.jpg[/img]
First of all as far as 3D games go this one is quite short. This is remedied by having multiple difficulties and a large amount of unlockables. Even though this game can be finished within 2-3 hours on your first playthough I logged about 15hours into it in the first week I started playing. To unlock new suits and weapons you use the points you receive from destroying enemy robots. These same points are used to keep track of your highscore. I found that to be a very addictive combination. The ability to unlock loads of goodies is a great incentive to really push that highscore.
As for controls its really a matter of taste. It uses "tank controls" similar to the first few Resident Evil games. I just happened to have played a lot of RE2 as a kid and am a huge fan of the play style so I found it very comfortable to jump into. I understand most peoples reservations about them though. With that said its much more stylish and fluid than RE's tank controls. First of all there is very little back tracking. Your always pushing forward quickly to get a good time (which translates to good score) so you don't have to move around a lot. The shoulder buttons act as quick dodges to either side and your character runs at a nice speed when moving forward. This helps keep it seem much faster paced than the RE controls.
The art style and play style complement each other amazingly. The game mostly takes place inside futuristic, huge, white, strangely clean buildings. Your human/robotic character has all very charismatic movements that resemble dancing at times. With a neat techno style music it really ties your characters movements together with the atmosphere somehow.
The enemies in the game are quite boring and repetitive, but fit in well with the style of the game. The bosses on the other hand are enormous and interesting. The last few boss fights are intense, difficult but fair, and just all out fun.
The only real flaw I saw in this game was the story. Its really not a long enough game to develop a story properly yet they attempt to. It just makes the ending twist seem anti climactic. Add this to the fact that there are only 2 characters that ever interact and it just seemed pointless. It also disrupts the fast paced gameplay a few times which is annoying in a game like this.
[img width=480 height=373]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/z1-3.jpg[/img]
Its really hard to describe the unique style this game has to it so I highly recommend checking out some youtube videos to see just what I mean. Heres a link to one to start you off:
It seems to be a very underrated game that falls under a lot of peoples radar. It is definitely one of my favorite Gamecube titles and can be found for very cheap though so grab it if you come across it. Easily worth the few bucks it costs!!
Final Score - 8.5/10
Here it is after the second coat of paint. It looks considerably darker after the second coat. I didnt think it would make a huge difference but it sure did. As you can see im no expert painter (lots of little mistakes if you look around for them), but Im still very happy with how it turned out.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1448.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1449.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1450.jpg[/img]
Now that its painted I just have to get a hold of my shelving guy again and see when he can come give me a hand. So the next update should be one of my favorites!!!
First 2 pics are the Primer, and next 3 pics are the first coat of paint.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1442.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1444.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1445.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=933]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1446.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=525]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/IMG_1447.jpg[/img]
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