Strategy/Platformers

The Rating System:

Filet Mignon=Excellent, fresh, and a memorable piece of art.

T Bone= Good helping, but not worth trading for a Filet.

Pork chop= In the middle, barely recommended.

Hotdog= Nearly complete garbage.

Cat Food= The slums of the food/videogame franchises

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New Super Mario Bros. DS

I am not a huge Mario fan to begin with, but I decided to try this game. It was like any other Mario game…but it was replayable. This game was about Mario, who must save princess Peach, because she isn’t tough enough to murder Bowser Jr. and escape herself…so Mario has to try to look tough and go through 8 Worlds to save her. The two key points to this game are levels and mini-games. As you race through 8 Worlds, there are various environments and challenges. There are standard worlds, snow worlds, ocean worlds, fire worlds, desert worlds, stone worlds, and so on. The graphics were pretty impressive for a Mario game. In this game you could acquire many power-ups. There are mushrooms (get you medium sized), fire flowers (make you shoot fire), Shell Suits (turn you into a shell), and Giant/Mini Mushrooms. You could also ride clouds, jump off walls, use springs, encounter bouncy/elevating mushrooms, and more. This Mario has similar foes, like Bowser, Goombas, Bowser Jr., Koopas, Bloopers, giant fish, Dry Bones, those spiky cactus worm things, Bullet Bills, etc. In all the levels there are 3 coins, which you must get by using some sort of skill. You use coins to get items, 1ups, and…sadly…to save. That’s one turn-down I was faced with. You need 5 star coins to unlock a bonus mushroom vendor, which gives you items/1ups…and that’s the only way you can save, besides beating castles. The game has no auto-save feature, so you must have 5 Star Coins to save most of the time. Very inconvenient if you are a busy person. The levels involved swimming, flying, jumping, hitting switches, going through pipes, etc. The classic Mario stuff. Jump on the enemy’s head to kill ‘em. Same simple concept, like always.

The mini-games were clever. They included simple tasks, like building a snowball, shooing bombs, sorting bombs, and racking up points in random ways. They are very entertaining the first few times, but go nowhere. They feel worn out after being replayed over and over. Killing groundhogs and trampolining Mario is fun, but it is overused very quickly. Mini-games are able to entertain you if you have a partner. You could connect with four players and play over the DS connection. You could have 3 files, so this game is good for your friends or siblings. The controls are simple, and so is the gameplay. I suggest this game if you own a DS, even if you are against Mario…it will last you a long time. This game is a T-Bone, because this Platformer is long lasting, and one of the most impressive Mario games ever.

Tips and Tricks:

• Take it slow. There is no need to rush.
• Take advantage of the blue shell and use it in the icy/snowy levels.
• If you have trouble finding Star Coins, look up their locations online…I did it myself.
• Use the turtle shells to your advantage. Ground pound on enemies rather than jump on enemies.

The final boss battle

Get 1ups instantly!

Bad quality, but will help you out.

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Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn

You’re probably thinking: What is this game? Well, if you are Japanese,or you an RPG (Role playing game) fan,you’ll know it as one of the best strategy games on a game console. The game allows you to direct,  level up, and be over 50 characters, which each have special looks,personalities, and weapons. The 3 most recognizable points to overlook were weapons, gameplay, and extra features. The weapons were extremely extensive, and include swords, axes, lances, javelins, fire, wind, throwing axes, knives, tomes, and thunder. You can ride dragons, horses,and pegasuses. Characters that you can be and fight are mages, sorcerers, soldiers, mercenaries, wolves, cats, lions, paladins, knights, hawks, ravens,and much much more. Still,there is a let down for Xbox lovers,…no guns. Sorry.

The gameplay was very unique, and was somewhat like chess. It is for strategic players. Once you beat the very long game, you replay additively. Characters can change, level up,and be found. Items are plentiful, and so are special weapons. You can actually forge, color,and name weapons. This gameplay is fairly enjoyable, but there is a let down…if somebody on your team dies, you can’t bring them back…no exceptions. What dissapointed me was that there were only a few extra stuff. There was no online connection, not enough cutscenes, annoying and lenghty talking blurbs, and music that is too happy. The only good extras were the extra conversations, forgery, music gallery, picture gallery, and the base shop stuff. If you’re an RPG player, or you want to try something new, get this. It’s kinda cheap now, so get it to try it. It’s not Pokemon or Japanese or anything. It’s very new.The graphics were somewhat fair, yet still, there was no blood. AH well. There are still vicious dogs and violent weapons! Radiant Dawn is a Filet Mignon, aged to perfection.

Tips and Tricks:

• Try not to constantly use your favorite characters in battle, or they will die.
• REMEMBER! Axes beat lances, lances beat swords, swords beat lances.
• Don’t feel too strongly about characters, or you may restart when you’re angry.

Battle between Ike and the Black Knight

Crazy Spells in the game

The famous execution scene of the game

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Sly 2 Band of Theives

This isn’t the most popular game, but after having it for so many years, I just had to review it. Sly 2 is a game about a slick raccoon and his two friends. They’re theives, yet they stop even bigger theives, if that makes sense. Sly is a sly raccoon, who is the leader of his 3 man clan. He has a cane, which can pop smoke, pick locks, and be used as a weapon. He’s a funny young guy. He is the character that brings out the humorous cracks of the game. The smart one of the the group is Bentley, a turtle. He’s the guy who makes most of the plans. He uses grenades, sleeping darts, a bow-caster, and he can get upgraded to sprint quickly. Not bad for a turtle. Lastly, the tough guy is a hippo named Murray. Murray has funny catch phrases, flaming hands, a big appetite, and is the driver of the clan’s van. He’s all the brawn.

The game is about these three thieves traveling around the world trying to claim parts of a robotic bird. They visit Paris, Africa, India, Canada, and even in a high tech zeppelin. The game is full of twists, plots,and fun missions. It’s fairly easy, so anyone can play. The graphics are a bit sharp and laggy, but the fun game play deducts from that. It’s worth your money,and it’s not that new, so it would  be worth a low amount. If you like hardcore shooters though, stay away. Trust me. If you get the game, you’ll quickly get over the fact that all the characters are animals:) This is a T Bone. If this game had other modes, it would be a Filet.

Tips and Tricks:

• Use Murray for taking out strong Spotlight Guards.
• Use Bentley for quiet takedowns.
• Use Sly for stealth
• Loom for green bottles and GET THEM ALL!
• Stay on high ground if you get attacked.

Mission #62

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Scribblenauts DS

Nintendo has had a horrible year. Girly Wii Games, low rated wanna be shooters, and pointless cooking and puzzle games have ruined them this year. There is a shine of hope for the Nintendo DSi, however. It has tons of features, like a camera, sound bender, flip book, Facebook connection, and much more, and to add to the hype of the DS is Scribblenauts. The game is about a kid named Maxwell, who can write just about everything into a notepad, and have it pop up on the screen. You must use the notepad to get through puzzles and get a starite, which is a star looking object. There are 2 points of the game: theme and gameplay. The the theme of the game is imagination. You can type any word in, and have it pop up on the screen to navigate through maps and complete missions. One mission example could be give the chef 3 items, or get rid of the zombie and turn the lights on. In navigation missions, you have to get the starite while dodging lava, animals, enemies, etc. There are some limitations, however. You can’t type in bathroom words, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, inappropriate words, plural nouns, and culture. I’m sure that the first word all players type in is poop. Still, it won’t come up. The gameplay of the game is fun and everlasting.

There is freestyle mode, mission mode, and level buildeer mode. In freestyle mode, you can play in a variety of locations and type in anything you want. In mission mode, you complete action and puzzle missions. Lastly, in level builder, you can create, name, and customize levels. The music in the game makes some gameplay irritating and girly, but considering you can type in tank, pocket knife, gun, bazooka, marine mine, swat, tranquilizer gun, bow, piranha, assassin, and much more, scribblenauts was overall addictive. It will last you quite a while. Scribblenauts is an under seasoned Pork Chop. Its sequel, Super Scribblenauts, makes this look like some crappy version of it. They shouldn’t have even come out with this. Imagine the difference between Call of Duty 1 and Call of Duty MW2…..

Tips and Tricks:

• Think outside the box!
• Handcuff a Starite to a Vending Machine and open the Machine to get the Starite.

How to Play

Spreading Swine Flu