Hello there!
As you've probably noticed, I like videogames and comic books. They are both popular forms of fiction. I will now explain why.
The thing I really love about fiction is that you can explore fantasy worlds, and do things you can't do in real life. In games, you can control heroes and follow them on their adventures through deserts, oceans, forests, mountains, volcanoes... you get the point. In comic books, you can learn what it's like to be a hero, to have so many enemies and be known by everyone.
And that's simply it.
Thanks, and goodbye.
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Mini-Post #3 - Weird Music and Trying a New Game
Hello there!
I felt like doing another Mini-Post, so here we go. These will probably contain a lot of random thoughts.
First, I'm listening to a really, really weird yet oddly addicting track from the game Yoshi's Story. It's called 'Yo-Yo Yoshi'. You should listen to it and either not want to stop or think 'omg what is this'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiXghNsWLoA
I've been getting into Minecraft a lot lately, and it's actually pretty good. I used to not like it, but I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover. It's especially fun to play with my friend Reece on his Playstation 3.
Expect future Mini-Posts to be equally as short as this.
Thanks, and goodbye.
I felt like doing another Mini-Post, so here we go. These will probably contain a lot of random thoughts.
First, I'm listening to a really, really weird yet oddly addicting track from the game Yoshi's Story. It's called 'Yo-Yo Yoshi'. You should listen to it and either not want to stop or think 'omg what is this'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiXghNsWLoA
I've been getting into Minecraft a lot lately, and it's actually pretty good. I used to not like it, but I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover. It's especially fun to play with my friend Reece on his Playstation 3.
Expect future Mini-Posts to be equally as short as this.
Thanks, and goodbye.
Review #5 - Mario Kart 8
Hello there!
Welcome to Hedgehog Reviews, where I, Thomas, review the latest and greatest Nintendo games, movies, and very rarely TV shows and comics series. Last month, in June, I reviewed Lego Marvel Super Heroes, for Wii U. It was a good month... 'June'-o what I mean? Today, I will be reviewing a game you've likely heard of. It's the latest instalment in what is probably the greatest videogame racing series ever... Mario Kart 8, also for Wii U!
Many of us are fond of our Mario Kart memories, even those who don't play videogames any more. Whether you remember overtaking the racer in second place just before the finish line, perfectly aiming a green shell at player two, or even discovering a hidden shortcut that none of your friends knew about, Mario Kart is a game series that played a big part in a lot of people's childhoods, gamers and non-gamers. I remember my first time playing a game in the series; I was about seven, and I was playing Mario Kart DS in Woolworths, a UK media store that unfortunately closed down several years ago... I loved Woolworths :'(. I remember the exact track I was playing: Yoshi Falls. Man, that music was catchy. It's not surprising that I have bought every game in the series that came out since, and have even managed to download some of the older ones that came out before that on my 3DS.
And now it's time for... Trivia Fact of the Month!
The main games in the Mario Kart series so far are Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992), Mario Kart 64 (N64, 1996), Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA, 2001), Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Gamecube, 2003), Mario Kart DS (DS, 2005), Mario Kart Wii (Wii, 2008), Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011) and Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014). There are also three Mario Kart arcade games, called Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005), Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007) and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013). The arcade games, however, aren't very well known, and are not considered part of the main game series.
Anyway, back to the present. Mario Kart 8 is an enthralling, beautiful, multiplayer-tastic game, mixing Formula One with the world of Super Mario; you'll find yourself skidding down (or up, depending on if you're in Anti-Gravity mode, which I'll get into later) a track full of shortcuts and loop-de-loops, when all of a sudden -- BOOM! -- a red shell hits the back of your vehicle. It truly does feel like you're participating in an actual race, but with an added dimension of fun and things that wouldn't actually happen in real life.
The first big thing you'll notice about the game, and practically the first thing that was announced about it, is the new 'Anti-Gravity mode', more commonly known as 'Anti-Grav'. It really is a spectacular new feature, that allows the player to steer their vehicle up walls, and onto ceilings. The game actually allows you to skid along the ceiling of a level as you watch your friends racing below you. To be able to drive up walls and ceilings, you must enter Anti-Grav mode, which is extremely simple: just drive over a blue panel on the floor then go where you like. This new option adds a lot of choice as to where to go during levels, and can help you discover well-hidden shortcuts.
New items in the series include the Super Horn, which serves as a way to evade the long-hated blue shell (no more cursing loudly and hurling controllers at the TV) and can also defend against many other items too. The piranha plant item has a similar use as its role in Super Mario 3D World. It bites enemy racers that you pass, making them stumble for a moment, like in 3D World where it bites enemies when you get close to them. The coin item simply adds two extra coins to your total (more on that in a minute), whereas the Crazy Eight item gives you eight items all at once! It's a follow on to Mario Kart 7's 'Lucky Seven', which gave you seven items. The final new item is the Boomerang Flower, based on the item from Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World. It flies forward, hitting any racers in its path, then flies back towards you, again hitting any racers in its path, meaning there are lots of chances to hit other racers.
Like MK7, MK8 allows you to unlock new vehicle parts (main bodies, wheels, and gliders) by collecting coins. Collecting these coins is simple; there are many coins scattered around courses. The maximum amount of coins you cab gather in one course is ten. You lose coins if you are hit. Getting a certain amount of coins altogether in the game will bag you a new vehicle part, which will always be random. If you want all vehicle parts, you're going to have to collect a LOT of coins.
The game hosts thirty-two tracks to race upon, as previous games in the series do. There are eight cups, each with four tracks, and the first four cups all contain new tracks, meaning there are a whole sixteen new courses to explore and familiarize yourself with. The other four cups all contain tracks from old games that everyone knows and loves, but have been modified and updated to include the new Anti-Grav feature. For example, a track from an old game in the series (Mario Kart DS) called Wario Stadium now has a section where you drive up a piece of track at a crazy angle. Wario Stadium now has an underwater and gliding section too; the previous game in the series, Mario Kart 7, added the ability to race underwater and through the air. The feature returns in this game, also adding to old tracks along with the Anti-Grav.
There is a very wide selection of characters to play as ranging from Waluigi, that creepy purple spider-like guy creep that my friend is scared of, to Donkey Kong (no Diddy Kong, sadly), to... Pink Gold Peach. I'll never understand why they added this character. Plus, for the first time ever, you can race as the Koopalings, Bowser's seven... children? They consist of Larry, Roy, Wendy, Iggy, Lemmy, Ludwig and Morton.
Time trials allows you to race against the ghosts of people who work at Nintendo. If you manage to beat them (which, by the way, is extremely hard) you are rewarded with a stamp you can add to posts on Miiverse. Online mode is also great allowing you and a friend to play against other players over the internet. You may end up in a match with people from England, America, Japan, and many other countries. Mario Kart TV lets you share you replays across the world, and you can even upload them to Youtube.
Like always, the music in the game is spectacular, and it was all recorded live. The courses returning from old games have remixed music, some of my favourites being Tick Tock Clock (MKDS) and Piranha Plant Pipeway (MK7). The new music is also as good; just check out Thwomp Ruins (which everyone agrees has a section that sounds a lot like the song Jump On It), Electrodrome and Cloudtop Cruise.
The graphics look beautiful, and being the first Mario Kart game in HD, everything is wonderful and shiny, like Super Mario 3D World. It's great to be able to watch replays of you and your friends racing in gorgeous HD, especially since the game adds the feature to speed up, slow down and rewind these replays, meaning that you can now see Daisy slip on that banana you threw in slow motion.
One of the only things about Mario Kart 8, and all Mario Kart games for me really, that deprives the game of being even better than it already is, is that for me Mario Kart gets a little boring after a while. Maybe it's because I've been playing it so much, but the games seem to get a bit stale and repetitive after a while. It's probably just me though, because my friends who have the game are still constantly playing it over 6 weeks after the game's release. It depends on how you feel about it, really.
Now, believe it or not, if you buy this game before the end of July 2014 (which I did) you can actually get a free game that would normally cost £40-£50! You can choose out of 10 games in the UK but only 4 in the US (Nintendo are being really kind to the UK lately). My friend recommended I choose a game called The Wonderful 101, so I did. I'm so glad I did. So, I'll be reviewing that next time, on September 15th (I'm not going to do an August review, because I want some time to rest and I don't want my writing to become boring and stale). Hope to see you then.
Goodbye for now.
Overall Score: 93%
+ Lots of game modes
+ Fantastic music and graphics
+ Lots to collect
- Game can feel a bit boring after a while
Welcome to Hedgehog Reviews, where I, Thomas, review the latest and greatest Nintendo games, movies, and very rarely TV shows and comics series. Last month, in June, I reviewed Lego Marvel Super Heroes, for Wii U. It was a good month... 'June'-o what I mean? Today, I will be reviewing a game you've likely heard of. It's the latest instalment in what is probably the greatest videogame racing series ever... Mario Kart 8, also for Wii U!
Many of us are fond of our Mario Kart memories, even those who don't play videogames any more. Whether you remember overtaking the racer in second place just before the finish line, perfectly aiming a green shell at player two, or even discovering a hidden shortcut that none of your friends knew about, Mario Kart is a game series that played a big part in a lot of people's childhoods, gamers and non-gamers. I remember my first time playing a game in the series; I was about seven, and I was playing Mario Kart DS in Woolworths, a UK media store that unfortunately closed down several years ago... I loved Woolworths :'(. I remember the exact track I was playing: Yoshi Falls. Man, that music was catchy. It's not surprising that I have bought every game in the series that came out since, and have even managed to download some of the older ones that came out before that on my 3DS.
And now it's time for... Trivia Fact of the Month!
The main games in the Mario Kart series so far are Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992), Mario Kart 64 (N64, 1996), Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA, 2001), Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Gamecube, 2003), Mario Kart DS (DS, 2005), Mario Kart Wii (Wii, 2008), Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011) and Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014). There are also three Mario Kart arcade games, called Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005), Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007) and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013). The arcade games, however, aren't very well known, and are not considered part of the main game series.
Anyway, back to the present. Mario Kart 8 is an enthralling, beautiful, multiplayer-tastic game, mixing Formula One with the world of Super Mario; you'll find yourself skidding down (or up, depending on if you're in Anti-Gravity mode, which I'll get into later) a track full of shortcuts and loop-de-loops, when all of a sudden -- BOOM! -- a red shell hits the back of your vehicle. It truly does feel like you're participating in an actual race, but with an added dimension of fun and things that wouldn't actually happen in real life.
| The five main game modes include Single Player, Multiplayer, Online (One Player), Online (Two Players) and Mario Kart TV. |
New items in the series include the Super Horn, which serves as a way to evade the long-hated blue shell (no more cursing loudly and hurling controllers at the TV) and can also defend against many other items too. The piranha plant item has a similar use as its role in Super Mario 3D World. It bites enemy racers that you pass, making them stumble for a moment, like in 3D World where it bites enemies when you get close to them. The coin item simply adds two extra coins to your total (more on that in a minute), whereas the Crazy Eight item gives you eight items all at once! It's a follow on to Mario Kart 7's 'Lucky Seven', which gave you seven items. The final new item is the Boomerang Flower, based on the item from Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World. It flies forward, hitting any racers in its path, then flies back towards you, again hitting any racers in its path, meaning there are lots of chances to hit other racers.
| Bikes also return from the much-loved Mario Kart Wii. |
The game hosts thirty-two tracks to race upon, as previous games in the series do. There are eight cups, each with four tracks, and the first four cups all contain new tracks, meaning there are a whole sixteen new courses to explore and familiarize yourself with. The other four cups all contain tracks from old games that everyone knows and loves, but have been modified and updated to include the new Anti-Grav feature. For example, a track from an old game in the series (Mario Kart DS) called Wario Stadium now has a section where you drive up a piece of track at a crazy angle. Wario Stadium now has an underwater and gliding section too; the previous game in the series, Mario Kart 7, added the ability to race underwater and through the air. The feature returns in this game, also adding to old tracks along with the Anti-Grav.
There is a very wide selection of characters to play as ranging from Waluigi, that creepy purple spider-like guy creep that my friend is scared of, to Donkey Kong (no Diddy Kong, sadly), to... Pink Gold Peach. I'll never understand why they added this character. Plus, for the first time ever, you can race as the Koopalings, Bowser's seven... children? They consist of Larry, Roy, Wendy, Iggy, Lemmy, Ludwig and Morton.
Time trials allows you to race against the ghosts of people who work at Nintendo. If you manage to beat them (which, by the way, is extremely hard) you are rewarded with a stamp you can add to posts on Miiverse. Online mode is also great allowing you and a friend to play against other players over the internet. You may end up in a match with people from England, America, Japan, and many other countries. Mario Kart TV lets you share you replays across the world, and you can even upload them to Youtube.
| The game is just plane beautiful. |
The graphics look beautiful, and being the first Mario Kart game in HD, everything is wonderful and shiny, like Super Mario 3D World. It's great to be able to watch replays of you and your friends racing in gorgeous HD, especially since the game adds the feature to speed up, slow down and rewind these replays, meaning that you can now see Daisy slip on that banana you threw in slow motion.
One of the only things about Mario Kart 8, and all Mario Kart games for me really, that deprives the game of being even better than it already is, is that for me Mario Kart gets a little boring after a while. Maybe it's because I've been playing it so much, but the games seem to get a bit stale and repetitive after a while. It's probably just me though, because my friends who have the game are still constantly playing it over 6 weeks after the game's release. It depends on how you feel about it, really.
Now, believe it or not, if you buy this game before the end of July 2014 (which I did) you can actually get a free game that would normally cost £40-£50! You can choose out of 10 games in the UK but only 4 in the US (Nintendo are being really kind to the UK lately). My friend recommended I choose a game called The Wonderful 101, so I did. I'm so glad I did. So, I'll be reviewing that next time, on September 15th (I'm not going to do an August review, because I want some time to rest and I don't want my writing to become boring and stale). Hope to see you then.
Goodbye for now.
Overall Score: 93%
+ Lots of game modes
+ Fantastic music and graphics
+ Lots to collect
- Game can feel a bit boring after a while Thursday, 26 June 2014
Mini-Post #2 - Comic-Con!!!
Hello there!
As you can maybe tell from the overuse of exclamation marks in this post's title, I'm very excited about what I'm about to tell you. Something I've wanted to do for a very long time now is go to some kind of comics or game convention -- you know, like E3, or PAX, or something. Seriously, it's like one of my lifelong dreams. Well, a few weeks ago, my mum told me that a friend of hers had heard of some kind of convention happening near where I live, as apparently her daughter is a big Marvel fan. Well... Comic-Con is coming to my city, on 19th-20th July!
I'm sure you've heard of Comic-Con; it doesn't just involve games or comics... it involves both! My mum knew that this was my big chance, so she said she would take me and my best friend, who also loves comics and videogames, on Sunday 20th July! So now, I just wait, and soon, what could possibly be the best day of my life arrives. Here's to hoping it goes great!
I thought I'd just share that, it's something that really cheers me up to think about! I'll be writing about it, and who knows, maybe I'll even get pictures! Join me here on 15th July 2014, for my fifth review, Mario Kart 8.
Thanks, and goodbye!
As you can maybe tell from the overuse of exclamation marks in this post's title, I'm very excited about what I'm about to tell you. Something I've wanted to do for a very long time now is go to some kind of comics or game convention -- you know, like E3, or PAX, or something. Seriously, it's like one of my lifelong dreams. Well, a few weeks ago, my mum told me that a friend of hers had heard of some kind of convention happening near where I live, as apparently her daughter is a big Marvel fan. Well... Comic-Con is coming to my city, on 19th-20th July!
I'm sure you've heard of Comic-Con; it doesn't just involve games or comics... it involves both! My mum knew that this was my big chance, so she said she would take me and my best friend, who also loves comics and videogames, on Sunday 20th July! So now, I just wait, and soon, what could possibly be the best day of my life arrives. Here's to hoping it goes great!
I thought I'd just share that, it's something that really cheers me up to think about! I'll be writing about it, and who knows, maybe I'll even get pictures! Join me here on 15th July 2014, for my fifth review, Mario Kart 8.
Thanks, and goodbye!
Mini-Post #1 - More About Me
Hello there!
Before I explain what this is, let me just clarify that this is not Review #5. Review #5 will be published on 15th July 2014.
No, instead this is a new little feature I'll be calling a 'Mini-Post'. I'm not completely sure, but it's likely I'll be posting more of these than actual reviews, mainly because these Mini-Posts will be about me and my life, in contrast to the reviews I've been doing, which means these are easier and faster to write, as all I have to do is speak my mind.
First, some information about me. I live in England, UK and have lived here all my life. I'm thirteen years old, I was born on 25th April 2001 and will be starting Year 9 (A.K.A. Eighth Grade, to any American readers) this September. When I'm older, I'd like to become somebody who works with videogames, though I'm quite good at Maths and I'd like to maybe work with comics if not that. I also think I'd like to write official video game reviews, as you can probably tell from my reviews. I want a job that pays well, but one I can enjoy, too; definitely something with Maths or Media. I also intend to go College and University, but that's a long time away.
My interests mainly include video games, comics and films, but I also listen to lots of music and enjoy reading, especially Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I also enjoy puns a lot too, as you can probably tell from the reviews. Like many teenagers, I use the internet a LOT and go on Social Networks very often. I have made quite a few online friends due to the same taste in videogames and media. My three favourite things in the world have probably got to be Nintendo, Marvel and Harry Potter.
Even though I'm a rather shy person, I can be very funny and goofy sometimes, especially around my best friends.
Anyway, that ends this Mini-Post. I'm going to actually post another one right after this, because I wanted to separate the topics in this one and that one. So, I'll see you on July 15th 2014, for Review #5 (Mario Kart 8) or you can check back here very, very soon for Mini-Post #2, which should be up in the next hour.
Thanks, and goodbye!
Before I explain what this is, let me just clarify that this is not Review #5. Review #5 will be published on 15th July 2014.
No, instead this is a new little feature I'll be calling a 'Mini-Post'. I'm not completely sure, but it's likely I'll be posting more of these than actual reviews, mainly because these Mini-Posts will be about me and my life, in contrast to the reviews I've been doing, which means these are easier and faster to write, as all I have to do is speak my mind.
First, some information about me. I live in England, UK and have lived here all my life. I'm thirteen years old, I was born on 25th April 2001 and will be starting Year 9 (A.K.A. Eighth Grade, to any American readers) this September. When I'm older, I'd like to become somebody who works with videogames, though I'm quite good at Maths and I'd like to maybe work with comics if not that. I also think I'd like to write official video game reviews, as you can probably tell from my reviews. I want a job that pays well, but one I can enjoy, too; definitely something with Maths or Media. I also intend to go College and University, but that's a long time away.
My interests mainly include video games, comics and films, but I also listen to lots of music and enjoy reading, especially Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I also enjoy puns a lot too, as you can probably tell from the reviews. Like many teenagers, I use the internet a LOT and go on Social Networks very often. I have made quite a few online friends due to the same taste in videogames and media. My three favourite things in the world have probably got to be Nintendo, Marvel and Harry Potter.
Even though I'm a rather shy person, I can be very funny and goofy sometimes, especially around my best friends.
Anyway, that ends this Mini-Post. I'm going to actually post another one right after this, because I wanted to separate the topics in this one and that one. So, I'll see you on July 15th 2014, for Review #5 (Mario Kart 8) or you can check back here very, very soon for Mini-Post #2, which should be up in the next hour.
Thanks, and goodbye!
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Review #4 - LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Hello there!
Welcome to Hedgehog Reviews, where I, Thomas, review the latest and greatest Nintendo games, movies, and very rarely TV shows and comics series. In my last review, I talked about a 3DS game called The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and I think it 'May' have been quite a good review. (Geddit, because it was in May?) This time, I will be reviewing a game that I discovered much recently, a game that combines two of my favourite things to ever exist: Marvel and videogames. This game is called LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. I own the Wii U version, but I'm pretty sure it's the same as all console versions (though I heard the 3DS and PSP versions are terrible).
Now, when this game was announced, I honestly had almost no interest. My best friend was VERY excited about it though, and picked it up on the day it came out, last November. It was about four months later that he properly introduced the game to me, and once I finally realized how great it actually was, and saw that I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover, I got it as an early birthday present in April (a.k.a. last month at the time of writing). Now it's time to explain why it's so great.
Now, I don't really care much for the story in Lego games, so I won't spend too much time on this. Basically, Galactus (Fantastic Four fans probably know him), the guy who hungers for planets, has set his starving eyes on Earth (it's always Earth, isn't it? Darn it, galactic monsters). Meanwhile, on the aforementioned planet, three of the world's most dangerous villains, Doctor Doom, Loki and Magneto, have seemingly teamed up to harness the power of the recently discovered 'Cosmic Bricks' that fell from the board of the Silver Surfer, Galactus' herald. It's up to the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man (my favourite), and all your favourite Marvel heroes to fight for what's good.
Like in most (if not all) Lego games, there are levels that you must progress through in order to complete story mode. In this game there are fifteen, but there are now also 'bonus levels'. These are much shorter than normal levels, but this doesn't mean they are easier; there are still a lot of things to find if you want to fully complete a level (and, of course, the whole game).
Speaking of collecting, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes has a TON of things to do, characters and vehicles to unlock, gold bricks to collect, and... 'Stan Lees in peril'. Yep, if you thought ol' Stan 'the man' Lee got enough cameos in Marvel movies, this legendary comic writer also has to be rescued multiple times throughout the game, in levels and in the game's main hub, Manhattan.
Indeed, this wonderful creation allows you to
walk, float, web swing, and soar (you can actually fly extremely fast with characters such as Iron Man, the Wasp, the Human Torch and Thor, to name but a tiny fraction) around a fully Lego version of Manhattan. This really gives the game a bigger sense of fun and freedom, and I personally love speeding through the sky above this enormous city. If you fly high enough, you can even land on what I like to think of as the game's kind of secondary main hub, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the larger than life floating fortress from Marvel comic books and movies, most noticeably the Avengers movie (which I believe is the third highest grossing film of all time).
And now it's time for... Trivia Fact of the Month!
Did you know that the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which connects film series such as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Avengers and Incredible Hulk, and plays a big part in the characters and plot of Lego Marvel Super Heroes, has so far grossed over 6.3 billion dollars? That's just 9 films, with many, many more to come!
As to be expected in a Lego game, the character roster is packed to the brim. With over 150 characters to play as, you could spend hours just exploring all the different abilities and traits of these heroes and villains. Want to throw Pumpkin Bombs all over New York as the Green Goblin while flying through the air? Want to shrink down as Ant-Man and investigate normally unreachable places? Want to turn invisible as the Invisible Woman, Black Widow or Nick Fury, allowing you to avoid security lasers? How about wreak havok as the Hulk, the Thing, the Rhino or the Juggernaut? LEGO Marvel Super Heroes makes all of this completely possible. Just check out the nearby picture for a gander at some of the many playable superhumans.
The game also boasts a wide selection of vehicles. There are land vehicles (which include motorbikes, cars and other strange ways of driving), air vehicles (such as helicopters, fighter jets and planes, including Tony Stark's expensive private jet) and sea vehicles (which oddly, there are only two of, even though there are much more in the other two categories). These vehicles can also be experimented with and explored, with some able to shoot missiles, hover off the ground and turn invisible. This makes getting around the city fast and enjoyable.
Sadly, like most Lego games, this one doesn't really have music that you'll find yourself looking for on Youtube to listen to; the game's soundtrack isn't what I'd call amazing, and I'd recommend better music and memorable melodies in future big Lego games. Though I will admit I often find myself humming along to the music that plays in New York when you're exploring the city, and the music that plays when you skydive off the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to reach the city.
Another thing that the game could possibly benefit from is stamps. As seen in my Super Mario 3D World review, some games offer unlockable stamps that can be posted to Miiverse (see Review #1 for an explanation of Miiverse). It would be nice to be able to add pictures of your favourite character or vehicle to your post, and you could edit them to make cool scenarios.
The Helicarrier is home to many of the game's bonus features. You can come here to create your own custom characters, making mash-ups of your favourite heroes and villains. Some of mine include 'Tin Wolvie' (composed of Iron Man with Wolverine's claws) and 'Spidey Thor' (which kind of explains itself, Spider-Man with Thor's hair and hammer). You can also purchase helpful 'Red bricks' from Deadpool here, and enter codes as a faster way to unlock certain characters. If you collect all ten 'Minikits' in a level, you can unlock a small speechless comic for that level, which even without speech is still a neat goodie. Collecting minikits will usually require you to replay a level when you have unlocked more characters, and thus, more abilities.
Anyway, I hope this review showed you just what LEGO Marvel Super Heroes has to offer. Sorry if there was a little less content than usual, as I recently returned to my main High School after being away from it for a while, and have had a lot of revision to do to catch up. Check back for more new content and bad puns on 15th July 2014, where I'll be reviewing Mario Kart 8.
Goodbye for now.
Overall Score: 91%
+ Graphics work great with Lego
+ Enormous choice of characters
+ Stays true to all Marvel fans
+ Collectibles make the game last much longer
+ Plenty to do, and fun to play even when you've completed everything
- Music is a bit bland
- Story could be better
Welcome to Hedgehog Reviews, where I, Thomas, review the latest and greatest Nintendo games, movies, and very rarely TV shows and comics series. In my last review, I talked about a 3DS game called The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and I think it 'May' have been quite a good review. (Geddit, because it was in May?) This time, I will be reviewing a game that I discovered much recently, a game that combines two of my favourite things to ever exist: Marvel and videogames. This game is called LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. I own the Wii U version, but I'm pretty sure it's the same as all console versions (though I heard the 3DS and PSP versions are terrible).
Now, when this game was announced, I honestly had almost no interest. My best friend was VERY excited about it though, and picked it up on the day it came out, last November. It was about four months later that he properly introduced the game to me, and once I finally realized how great it actually was, and saw that I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover, I got it as an early birthday present in April (a.k.a. last month at the time of writing). Now it's time to explain why it's so great.
 |
| "Hey!" cries Hulk. "Lego of me!" |
Speaking of collecting, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes has a TON of things to do, characters and vehicles to unlock, gold bricks to collect, and... 'Stan Lees in peril'. Yep, if you thought ol' Stan 'the man' Lee got enough cameos in Marvel movies, this legendary comic writer also has to be rescued multiple times throughout the game, in levels and in the game's main hub, Manhattan.
Indeed, this wonderful creation allows you to
walk, float, web swing, and soar (you can actually fly extremely fast with characters such as Iron Man, the Wasp, the Human Torch and Thor, to name but a tiny fraction) around a fully Lego version of Manhattan. This really gives the game a bigger sense of fun and freedom, and I personally love speeding through the sky above this enormous city. If you fly high enough, you can even land on what I like to think of as the game's kind of secondary main hub, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the larger than life floating fortress from Marvel comic books and movies, most noticeably the Avengers movie (which I believe is the third highest grossing film of all time).
And now it's time for... Trivia Fact of the Month!
Did you know that the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which connects film series such as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Avengers and Incredible Hulk, and plays a big part in the characters and plot of Lego Marvel Super Heroes, has so far grossed over 6.3 billion dollars? That's just 9 films, with many, many more to come!
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| SO. MANY. CHARACTERS. |
The game also boasts a wide selection of vehicles. There are land vehicles (which include motorbikes, cars and other strange ways of driving), air vehicles (such as helicopters, fighter jets and planes, including Tony Stark's expensive private jet) and sea vehicles (which oddly, there are only two of, even though there are much more in the other two categories). These vehicles can also be experimented with and explored, with some able to shoot missiles, hover off the ground and turn invisible. This makes getting around the city fast and enjoyable.
Sadly, like most Lego games, this one doesn't really have music that you'll find yourself looking for on Youtube to listen to; the game's soundtrack isn't what I'd call amazing, and I'd recommend better music and memorable melodies in future big Lego games. Though I will admit I often find myself humming along to the music that plays in New York when you're exploring the city, and the music that plays when you skydive off the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to reach the city.
Another thing that the game could possibly benefit from is stamps. As seen in my Super Mario 3D World review, some games offer unlockable stamps that can be posted to Miiverse (see Review #1 for an explanation of Miiverse). It would be nice to be able to add pictures of your favourite character or vehicle to your post, and you could edit them to make cool scenarios.
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| Human Torch jokes that he was the one that melted Captain America out of the ice. Wolverine doesn't laugh. Because he's Wolverine. |
Anyway, I hope this review showed you just what LEGO Marvel Super Heroes has to offer. Sorry if there was a little less content than usual, as I recently returned to my main High School after being away from it for a while, and have had a lot of revision to do to catch up. Check back for more new content and bad puns on 15th July 2014, where I'll be reviewing Mario Kart 8.
Goodbye for now.
Overall Score: 91%
+ Graphics work great with Lego
+ Enormous choice of characters
+ Stays true to all Marvel fans
+ Collectibles make the game last much longer
+ Plenty to do, and fun to play even when you've completed everything- Music is a bit bland
- Story could be better
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Review #3 - The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D
Hello there!
Welcome to Hedgehog Reviews, where I, Thomas, review the latest and greatest Nintendo games, movies, and very rarely TV shows and comics series. Last month, I reviewed Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS (which I'm playing as I write this, heh) and this month, I'm coming right at ya with a review of another 3DS game: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D. Of course, there are a few things I'd like to clear up first. At the end of the last review, I said I'd either be reviewing this game, the Amazing Spider-Man movie, or Sonic Lost World for Wii U. I decided on this game because I haven't been in a very Sonic-y mood lately, and since I'll be watching the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie at the cinema this Saturday at the time of writing, (the UK gets the movie sixteen days earlier than the US :D), I thought it best to wait until I've seen the sequel, so I can maybe tie the two together. Anyway, without further ado, let's begin!
Okay, so I can't remember if I've mentioned this yet, but I'm actually quite a young gamer (I turned thirteen on 25th April 2014). My first video game ever was New Super Mario Bros, a Nintendo DS game, but I've never let that stop me from exploring the classics that were made ages before I was around. One of these being Ocarina Of Time. Now, I haven't actually played the Nintendo 64 version of the game, but I know about the major differences, so this will be a review for both the 3DS and N64 versions of the game.
Now, before I talk about the actual game, let me tell you a quick story. The 3DS remake of the N64 game came out about midway through 2011, a few months after the 3DS was released. I didn't actually consider picking up the game until about April 2012, when I had enough money to buy an extra game or two for my birthday that year. After watching a trailer for the game at HMV (a UK media store), I instantly knew this was the game for me. I got the game, and boy, I have absolutely no regrets. It was my first Zelda game, and was a perfect choice for introducing me into the series.
Even though I've never played the N64 version of this magnificent adventure, I've still seen videos and pictures of it, and I have to say, the graphics in the 3DS version are a very big improvement over the original (although this is to be expected from a remake released thirteen years after the original). And of course, being a 3DS game, the game can be played in 3D. I truly think that this is a 3DS game that really shows the potential of 3D video games. Whereas the 3D doesn't make much of a difference in some 3DS games, this is one game that definitely benefits from it.
Next up: the music. Wow. Just wow. This game (and the whole Zelda series, really) has amazing music. I often find myself with my earphones in, listening to music, or remixes of music, from this game. From the very first minute of the game, to the very last, the music is brilliant. In fact, I'd even recommend just buying the soundtrack to this game, to gamers and non-gamers alike.
Okay, next we have the story. In fact, one of the many reasons I love Nintendo is because their games have such great stories, and I really like games that have a good plot. I'm pretty sure all Zelda games are renowned for their great and memorable storytelling, but this game's story is well known to practically anyone who's played the game. Obviously, I won't talk about all of it, because nobody likes spoilers. Now, the game starts with Link (or whatever you named your character) in his tree house in Kokiri Forest, the place in Hyrule where nobody grows up (literally, the children in Kokiri Forest don't age). Link (or whatever you named your character) is having a nightmare. He dreams of a shadowy, evil man on a horse, chasing a young, scared girl who is also riding on a horse. He is rudely woken up by a character you will soon learn to love to hate (or not, I secretly kind of like her) called Navi the Fairy, who was sent by the dying Great Deku Tree. Our hero is no longer known as the Boy Without a Fairy, and after finding a sword and shield, sets out to save the Great Deku Tree by going inside him.
Inside, Link (or whatever you named your character) must travel through what is known in the Zelda series as a 'dungeon'. It's not a dungeon as in 'Throw him in the dungeon!' but instead, a place that you must explore and make your way through by solving tricky puzzles, and fighting dangerous enemies. At the end of each dungeon is a boss that you must defeat to officially complete the dungeon. There will also be keys in dungeons that you get by doing certain things, which are needed to unlock the next door. There is also a boss key in each dungeon that, well, unlocks the door to the boss' room. Remember, the 'KEY' to success in Zelda is to try everything. Geddit? 'Key'? No? Aww, c'mon! You're 'LOCK'y I take the time to think of these puns.
And now it's time for... Trivia Fact of the Month!
Did you know that in early versions of Ocarina of Time, the music from the Fire Temple (one of the game's 'dungeons') was considered highly controversial, and later removed from the game because it seemed to contain Muslim chanting?
The controls are very similar to the original with the L Button used to target certain people/objects so you can speak to/pick up/investigate them. This is known as 'L-Targeting', and was known as 'Z-Targeting' in the original, simply because the Z Button was where the L Button is on the 3DS. While L-Targeting, your buttons do different things; whereas A would normally be roll, it is a jump-forward-with-your-sword-attack when L-Targeting. Whereas B would normally be a horizontal sword slash, it is a vertical sword slash while L-Targeting. There are loads of button combination moves to discover, especially while L-Targeting. Learn all these, and you'll be the ultimate
swordsman. The game also allows you to use your shield to defend yourself. There are different swords and shields to discover in the game, each with strengths and weaknesses.
In the Zelda series, sidequests are aplenty, meaning that there are tons of things that are optional for you to do while going through the game. If you want to finish the game with one hundred percent, you're going to have to collect thirty-six heart pieces (every time you collect four you get a heart container, which gives you an extra heart, giving you more defense in battle, plus there is a whole heart container to collect after every boss), all one hundred gold Skulltulas (when you kill one of these creepy spiders, you get a gold Skulltula token. The more you collect, the better the prizes you can unlock by visiting the Skulltula house in Kakariko Village) and all items (which you keep in your inventory). You can get a lot of these collectibles by doing things such as helping people out or playing mini games.
There are lots and lots of characters to meet and talk to, and lots and lots of places to check out, be it Death Mountain (what a nice name), Gerudo Valley (the home of the game's main antagonist, Ganondorf), Kakariko Village (which comes with killer chickens, yes you heard me right, and a graveyard that lets you go grave digging) or Zora's Domain (with what may be the most relaxing, heavenly music in the game).
One major difference between this and the original version is the menu. In the original, there was only one screen to play the game on, meaning that every time you wanted to choose a different item, or check how many gold Skulltula tokens you had, you had to open the menu, look for what you wanted and close the menu, which takes longer than it sounds. Because the 3DS has two screens, you now use the top screen for the main game and the bottom screen for your menu and map, meaning you don't have to pause the game every time you want to change an item or check something. The start button is instead now used to save and continue/quit.
Another major difference is the 'Sheikah Stones' that can be found scattered around Hyrule. These let you watch hint videos that show you what to do next if you're stuck. Don't expect any help with collectibles though; you're on your own when it comes to that.
And, if you found the main quest easy, after completing the game once you unlock 'Master Quest', a much harder version of the main game. This features more enemies and harder puzzles to solve in dungeons, so try this if you really want a good challenge.
One of the few negative points of the game is that it has no multiplayer whatsoever. I mean, just imagine being able to go on a beautiful adventure through an amazing fictional world... with a friend. If Nintendo ever remakes this game again, that's something that I personally think they should focus on.
All in all, the game was a masterpiece when it originally came out, and still is to this day. Check it out if you're looking for an incredible fantasy quest.
I hope you enjoyed this review, I was a little shaky since it's only my third and I haven't written one for a few months (last month's review was a draft I had saved for a while). Join me on June 15th 2014, where I'll be reviewing LEGO Marvel Super Heroes for Wii U, a game I got last week as I write this (On Thursday 10th April 2014, to be precise).
Goodbye for now.
Overall Score: 97%
+ Great story
+ Easy/hard gameplay, whichever you want
+ Amazing music
+ Lots of sidequests and extra things to do
- No multiplayer or use of internet
Welcome to Hedgehog Reviews, where I, Thomas, review the latest and greatest Nintendo games, movies, and very rarely TV shows and comics series. Last month, I reviewed Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS (which I'm playing as I write this, heh) and this month, I'm coming right at ya with a review of another 3DS game: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D. Of course, there are a few things I'd like to clear up first. At the end of the last review, I said I'd either be reviewing this game, the Amazing Spider-Man movie, or Sonic Lost World for Wii U. I decided on this game because I haven't been in a very Sonic-y mood lately, and since I'll be watching the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie at the cinema this Saturday at the time of writing, (the UK gets the movie sixteen days earlier than the US :D), I thought it best to wait until I've seen the sequel, so I can maybe tie the two together. Anyway, without further ado, let's begin!
Okay, so I can't remember if I've mentioned this yet, but I'm actually quite a young gamer (I turned thirteen on 25th April 2014). My first video game ever was New Super Mario Bros, a Nintendo DS game, but I've never let that stop me from exploring the classics that were made ages before I was around. One of these being Ocarina Of Time. Now, I haven't actually played the Nintendo 64 version of the game, but I know about the major differences, so this will be a review for both the 3DS and N64 versions of the game.
Now, before I talk about the actual game, let me tell you a quick story. The 3DS remake of the N64 game came out about midway through 2011, a few months after the 3DS was released. I didn't actually consider picking up the game until about April 2012, when I had enough money to buy an extra game or two for my birthday that year. After watching a trailer for the game at HMV (a UK media store), I instantly knew this was the game for me. I got the game, and boy, I have absolutely no regrets. It was my first Zelda game, and was a perfect choice for introducing me into the series.
Even though I've never played the N64 version of this magnificent adventure, I've still seen videos and pictures of it, and I have to say, the graphics in the 3DS version are a very big improvement over the original (although this is to be expected from a remake released thirteen years after the original). And of course, being a 3DS game, the game can be played in 3D. I truly think that this is a 3DS game that really shows the potential of 3D video games. Whereas the 3D doesn't make much of a difference in some 3DS games, this is one game that definitely benefits from it.
Next up: the music. Wow. Just wow. This game (and the whole Zelda series, really) has amazing music. I often find myself with my earphones in, listening to music, or remixes of music, from this game. From the very first minute of the game, to the very last, the music is brilliant. In fact, I'd even recommend just buying the soundtrack to this game, to gamers and non-gamers alike.
Okay, next we have the story. In fact, one of the many reasons I love Nintendo is because their games have such great stories, and I really like games that have a good plot. I'm pretty sure all Zelda games are renowned for their great and memorable storytelling, but this game's story is well known to practically anyone who's played the game. Obviously, I won't talk about all of it, because nobody likes spoilers. Now, the game starts with Link (or whatever you named your character) in his tree house in Kokiri Forest, the place in Hyrule where nobody grows up (literally, the children in Kokiri Forest don't age). Link (or whatever you named your character) is having a nightmare. He dreams of a shadowy, evil man on a horse, chasing a young, scared girl who is also riding on a horse. He is rudely woken up by a character you will soon learn to love to hate (or not, I secretly kind of like her) called Navi the Fairy, who was sent by the dying Great Deku Tree. Our hero is no longer known as the Boy Without a Fairy, and after finding a sword and shield, sets out to save the Great Deku Tree by going inside him.
 |
| These Stalfos enemies can be tricky to hit. |
And now it's time for... Trivia Fact of the Month!
Did you know that in early versions of Ocarina of Time, the music from the Fire Temple (one of the game's 'dungeons') was considered highly controversial, and later removed from the game because it seemed to contain Muslim chanting?
The controls are very similar to the original with the L Button used to target certain people/objects so you can speak to/pick up/investigate them. This is known as 'L-Targeting', and was known as 'Z-Targeting' in the original, simply because the Z Button was where the L Button is on the 3DS. While L-Targeting, your buttons do different things; whereas A would normally be roll, it is a jump-forward-with-your-sword-attack when L-Targeting. Whereas B would normally be a horizontal sword slash, it is a vertical sword slash while L-Targeting. There are loads of button combination moves to discover, especially while L-Targeting. Learn all these, and you'll be the ultimate
swordsman. The game also allows you to use your shield to defend yourself. There are different swords and shields to discover in the game, each with strengths and weaknesses.
| One of the game's more time-consuming but engaging sidequests: a fishing minigame that will reward you with a piece of heart if you catch the biggest fish. |
There are lots and lots of characters to meet and talk to, and lots and lots of places to check out, be it Death Mountain (what a nice name), Gerudo Valley (the home of the game's main antagonist, Ganondorf), Kakariko Village (which comes with killer chickens, yes you heard me right, and a graveyard that lets you go grave digging) or Zora's Domain (with what may be the most relaxing, heavenly music in the game).
 |
| You can even travel around Hyrule Field, the game's main hub, faster by riding your faithful steed, Epona. |
Another major difference is the 'Sheikah Stones' that can be found scattered around Hyrule. These let you watch hint videos that show you what to do next if you're stuck. Don't expect any help with collectibles though; you're on your own when it comes to that.
And, if you found the main quest easy, after completing the game once you unlock 'Master Quest', a much harder version of the main game. This features more enemies and harder puzzles to solve in dungeons, so try this if you really want a good challenge.
One of the few negative points of the game is that it has no multiplayer whatsoever. I mean, just imagine being able to go on a beautiful adventure through an amazing fictional world... with a friend. If Nintendo ever remakes this game again, that's something that I personally think they should focus on.
All in all, the game was a masterpiece when it originally came out, and still is to this day. Check it out if you're looking for an incredible fantasy quest.
I hope you enjoyed this review, I was a little shaky since it's only my third and I haven't written one for a few months (last month's review was a draft I had saved for a while). Join me on June 15th 2014, where I'll be reviewing LEGO Marvel Super Heroes for Wii U, a game I got last week as I write this (On Thursday 10th April 2014, to be precise).
Goodbye for now.
Overall Score: 97%
+ Great story
+ Easy/hard gameplay, whichever you want
+ Lots of sidequests and extra things to do
- No multiplayer or use of internet
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