All entries for Monday 03 July 2006

New Super Mario Bros.

Title:

New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS)

Publisher:

Nintendo

ASIN:

B000ERVMI8

Rating:

Not rated

New Super Mario Bros. is a return to roots. Not simply because it’s Mario, finally, in a platform game, but because of Nintendo’s construction of this game as a direct sequel to the NES original – an alternate Super Mario Bros. 2.

The generosity of modern Nintendo games has been abandoned here. As in the original, most of the game is spent one or two mistakes away from failure. The most anachronistic left-over is the time limit imposed on each level – forgiving enough to have no impact on a first play-through, but restricting enough to be a minor annoyance when scouring a stage for every last secret. It’s difficult to see any justification for its inclusion, other than to evoke memories of Marios long past.

But that is a large part of this game’s goal. New Super Mario Bros. is arguably one of the most cynically nostalgia-inducing games ever made. Right from the recognisable opening chime, this is a game designed to play off the memories of those of us who spent a parent-worrying amount of our childhood playing Nintendo games, and who were later blown-away by the arrival of Super Mario 64. It is this other genre-defining Mario game that is permitted to form a lesser set of influences over NSMB.

The most apparent of these is the animation of Mario himself. Though the game is steadfastly two dimensional, Mario is rendered as a 3D character, allowing a fluidity of movement not otherwise possible. A number of moves have also been lifted from Mario 64 and translated into 2D. The ability to rebound off walls with a well-timed kick has the greatest impact on play, but sits entirely naturally with the abilities Mario has always had.

Though without any significant innovation to fall back on, this is a game that succeeds or fails on the quality of it’s level design, on how much entertainment can be wrung from the self-imposed restrictions. In this regard, New Super Mario Bros. can barely be faulted. Differing play styles are catered for admirably. Those who choose to dash through a level as fast as possible will find, providing they hold their nerve, that enemies, platforms and obstacles line up so as not to disrupt the joyful sense of momentum. Those who take their time will find NSMB to be a richly interactive world, upon which much jubilant destruction can be wrought – whether it be by their own hand, or from a well thrown Koopa shell. The latter allows the player respite to sit back and watch the sometimes surprising levels of destruction unfold.

The placement of collectables strikes a careful balance between generosity and daring the player to take risks. The secrets areas of each level are never hidden so obscurely as to frustrate, yet hidden well enough to provoke a pleasing feeling of luck and smugness at their discovery.

It is thus clear, that though much of the raw material for New Super Mario Bros. is over two decades old, Nintendo have not let their mastery of the platform genre, developed in the intervening years, go to waste.

Bryan Gale : 03 Jul 2006 23:59 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (4) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Fahrenheit

Title:

Fahrenheit (PC DVD)

Publisher:

Namco

ASIN:

B0009WXQHS

Rating:

Not rated

Creator David Cage would probably baulk at Fahrenheit being labelled an adventure game. The implied years of videogame baggage don’t apply here. Judging from his preface in the manual, he would prefer you call it an interactive emotional experience. You can’t blame him; Fahrenheit is something special.

The game opens with protagonist Lucas Kane, a man supernaturally possessed, murdering a stranger in the men’s room of a New York diner. Playing as Lucas, you are given the task of unravelling why he was made to commit this crime. You will also play as detectives Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles as they track Lucas’s trail. As in The Fugitive, you will want to root for both sets of characters, despite their opposing aims.

The cinematic aspirations of Fahrenheit are clear. For the bulk of the game the screen is kept free of health bars, progress meters and the like. Camera angles are mostly fixed, and because of the sedate nature of the game this doesn’t frustrate as it can in some action orientated titles. Fahrenheit makes good use of split screen, often using a separate panel to indicate where you should head next. It’s an elegant solution, and infinitely more subtle than having arrows bounce about the screen. The orchestral score is excellent throughout, and it is to its credit that you won’t notice it unless you are listening for it. Scattered about the game world are collectable tokens that will unlock bonuses such as deleted scenes and ‘making of’ videos. While such extras are welcome, the method by which they are revealed is unfortunate, since the tokens scream ‘videogame’ and break the illusion of realism.

Between story exposition and cerebral challenges, Fahrenheit contains Simon-says style action sequences, permitted by Lucas’s brush with the supernatural granting him enhanced strength and reflexes. As indicators flash up on the screen, you must press the appropriate buttons. Miss too many and you are made to restart the sequence. The action is well choreographed (given the lack of direct control it would be a disappointment if it wasn’t) but wears its Matrix influence on its sleeve. One particularly impressive sequence sees Lucas in a parking lot, dodging cars as Fahrenheit’s villain uses his powers to propel them towards you. Sadly these sequences do little to make you feel involved in the scene. Often a series of button presses must be fully completed before any kind of response is shown, leaving you feeling disconnected from the action.

Now, onto the meat of what elevates Fahrenheit above the level of the average adventure game. David Cage has created a game that allows you to engage with the three main characters in a way that is engrossing and unfamiliar. Had the voice acting and facial animation not been up to scratch this would not have been possible, but thankfully both are superb. Lucas, Carla and Tyler each have a virtual pet-style meter representing their mental state. Though it may seem a blunt instrument for representing the complexity of human emotion, it succeeds in making you think about the effects of your actions internal to your character. It may lead you to giving Carla a drink of water, or making flashback-prone Lucas switch off his television before news of the murder appears.

The illusion that these are real characters is one that you’ll be compelled to preserve. One scene sees Lucas walking through a cemetery to place flowers by his parents’ grave. Though getting to the next stage faster would simply require holding the down shift key to run, this is a solemn moment, and you’ll want to respect that. It’s a rare game that causes you to follow real world societal rules when only virtual characters are watching.

The downfall of Fahrenheit is the story. For the first half of the game, when the solution to the mystery is pure potential, the story is strong and allows for a good deal of character development. But slowly Fahrenheit’s strengths are lost, as the game becomes less about the characters and more about the increasingly bizarre situations they are placed in. In the final act things take a turn for the absurd, and the power to suspend disbelief is stretched beyond breaking point.

Certainly this is a game that showcases the power of the medium, proof positive that games can excel at providing experiences beyond blasting aliens. Despite its flaws, Fahrenheit is not just a pointer to future promise, something that one may hope will influence the next generation of game designers. It is an affecting and well crafted game, and one that demands to be experienced.

Bryan Gale : 03 Jul 2006 18:02 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem