Beastly Byte: Another Metroid 2 Remake; Advanced Remake

Let's face it, since Metroid: Other M has jumped the shark since Nintendo doesn't not know what the fans want anymore by making Samus an utter daf. Meanwhile, many game devs like Kojima have to make games on their own or bailed gaming on their own to prevent the curse of Peter Molyneux to where everything they made after their best hit turns into cancer. While there are fan games made from time-to-time, especially Phyco-Waluigi, tons of Earthbound Hacks, and the flood of Sonic games, fan remakes are often a risky thing since afterward Nintendo took the game down. However, what hits the internet usually stays on the internet; no way to hide you shame!

However, has the game advanced much from being remade to the PC?

Well...

Positives

+  As a remake, it blows the original out of the water
+  Added plot from the lore that fits into the cannon
+  Game soundtrack influenced by the Metroid Prime series; Huge plus!
+  Save Stations now heal and refuel; no need to travel to the old healing/reloading locations
+  Game map re-haul
      + Shows Metroids currently need to hunt; can switch back to classic anytime
      + More hidden goodies while old short-cuts still exist
      + Designs based of the game-boy advance games
      + Map Blimps showing where collectibles are, making completing the game fun and easy
+  Power-ups from past metroid games are back and serve a function of the game
+  Built on either exploring or speed running; A Metroid tradition
+ The story such as Creature log and back-story is on the side and is not intrusive
+   Game-flow for the story is straight-forward even for  main upgrades

Negitives

-  Not a good starting point for newcomers for the series!
-  The game can be brutal even after the patching to 1.1
-  The Omega Metroids are health sponges; even if one fallows a pattern, they take time to take down
-   Steep difficulty curve at the near end of the game
-   Slows down because of the mentioned difficulty curves

Grade: A 

While this game dose have issues for newcomers to the Metroid series, this is a great game for those who skipped the original game. This game has even beat the original to many critics and fans alike, which is why Nintendo has order a claims take-down since the company tries to sell the dated original on the virtual counsels. While fan games are technically illegal, it did help many project makers into game developers themselves like Christian Whitehead and other modders from games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. this shows that there is a place in the market for remakes and mods to prove to show off the creativity of one's heart and or mind. 

Sadly, the purpose of corporate companies is to make money. Many companies, while they do allow mod support, are more likely to be in to gain profit for power sake. Which is why many critics fear gaming might become soulless.  With games that are coming out half-baked in early-access, failed kick-starters,  broken promises and lies, it's no wounder people have been carefully voting with their wallets more than ever now. With game developers fan-ficking to catch their audience, we can only hope gaming would grow-up...and only time can tell.

Thank you and pleasant dreams.... 

Beastly Bash: Samsung Oculus; A taste of 3D

Ever since the 90's, many game devs have been fighting and backstabbing just to be the first one in the market from those 3d glasses for the PC to the Nintendo 3DS when Nintendo stole the blueprints from Sony, sad to say. With the Oculus, while people did back this project on kickstarter, it was seen as betrayal when Google came in and bought the invention from the developer. While this isn't new when you consider the PlayStation brand was suppose to be a deal brand between Nintendo and Sony. So could 3DVR be the next big thing?

While this is a spin-off protect of the real product, it is just a(n) accurate as the main product itself. However, there is the problem with the product already as exclusives and DRM (Digital Rights Movement.) While there's ways around this via mods and work-around, most programs are locked in and out thanks because of the limits caused by the Oculus store. While they are now lifting off the DRM slowly from the hardware, it still burned their core audience to not trust the management of the Oculus store. 

However, dose the 3D work? Yes, but to a certain point. The major flaw of the hardware is it's limited by the limitations of the phone and whether or not the person is comfortable with goggle-scope used for the 3D. What made the 3DS successful was it was 3D without the motion sickness known in most 3D Technology in past hardware.

Sadly, if one plays a face-paced game, for example, this would cause the worst-case motion sickness for those who want to be amerced in games like Minecraft or classic games like Original Doom. For more relaxed or paced games from puzzles and simulation games, this is fine as there's little or no movement, but that defeats the original purpose of 3D immersion. While there is some plausibility of playiblity, it's also limited by phone cool-down time --Literately!

Basically, the Samsung phone heats up if it's used for too long because the apps over-heat the graphics in the phone. While graphics are the least worried part of the experience of 3D, especially games like Doom and Doom II, it's yet another crappy limit people have to deal with, or better yet, get the HTC vive.

As stated, this is merely a small taste of 3D gaming that can be bitter-sweet to those who wanted to be swept away by such innovation. While it was a step in the right direction, other hardware like the Nintendo 3DS did it much more comfortably. The straps are tight to prevent slippage, but are more akin for kids than most adults meaning its open to third-party pandering for more hardware parts. It's a literal headache waiting to happen as well as the eyesore!  

Could it be used on the PC with the current apps? Maybe, but it will take some time as the current apps are still currently being worked on. But by the time when they get it working, the player base is better off for third-party hardware like the HTC Vive as that was built as a pediment system instead of temporary solution, but you're better off with other, better solutions.

Wait it out...

Beastly Bash: Pokemon Go and Miitomo; Nintendo's Moble Games

Well now, look who has crawled into the mobile market, even though they said that they weren't, because they're like a handicap man who lost their run-away wheel chair. What's also sad about this is that it's the only way to survive in today's market if you make just one small mistake which was the mismanagement of the Wii U. Not to beat a dead horse, but this is a good system that Nintendo did not know what to do with. The system did have good launch titles, but I got a PC Game machine since I knew Nintendo would scare off third-party with their limited system specs as well as the bulky gimmick that is the game-pad while they could have improved their 3d like what the HTC vive  beat them to.

So the first game is Miitomo, a social game staring Miis where the player make friends, gain in-game coins to buy clothes, gain game tokens or spend coins to get gifts for you Miis, and the big part of the game is to feed-back all the questions the Miis gives on a daily basis. Personally, while it is a social game that's fun and less punishing , it's more of a social experiment for Nintendo to see what their main core audience is like. While some take the program very serious, most are just doing silly, uncensored nonsense. Yes, this is a game not meant for the young ones as there is a lot of horrible stuff that can happen in Miitomo.

It is a fun app to pick up and play as like tomogachi life it is not as punishing and less soulless than Miitomo...and it didn't cost forty dollars and make buyers feel like garbage. However, this is a free-to-wait app as there are micro-transactions to buy coins, so please keep this away from children and children-at-heart as these people are very self-destructive. Thankfully, since this app is not as addictive and less destructive as Pokemon Go, I recommend this one.

There is a huge social group for Pokemon Go and  because of this, this boosted Nintendo out of financial crisis and has managed to make millions off the micro-transactions from Nintendo fans. In this App, the trainer travel realistically on foot and toss pokeballs in VR to catch Pokemon, power them up via crystals earned from trading spare pokemon in, visiting real places to get free items, get fired from your workplace and save thirty percent in some stores. This game help push nerds out of the door for them to at least try to tan theirselfs for heaven's sake, but there's a problem...

Pokemon Go is one app that I wouldn't recommend because it was badly rushed! There are news that horrible things has happened from planed muggings using tracers, trespassing players that caused issues for home owners, the rivalries from the clans causing violence occurring between fractions which is suppose to be a friendly game, to even the classic case of murder/homicide.A proper heads-up to the authorities would have prevented this as they know the danger of playing Pokemon Go!

There was no warning nor release date for this app given at all! As said this game is incomplete, as trading is currently not in the game and Battle is so bare-bones as it's nothing more than a button-masher as trainers take over. I know the trademark battle-system is grounded to be gameboy exclusive, but that dose not excuse the blandness of the battle system.

Granted, it wasn't made by Nintendo, but a third-party company who made shovel-were games. I personally think they where caving into the pressure, which is why they where forced to push the product out the door. Maybe in a later update to improve the game, this will become water under the bridge, but judging from the drop of 3DS sales, I don't think that is the case as cellphones and tablets has over-taken the mobile market as new cellphones can even emulate most games. Personally, Nintendo would somehow use the mobile market to survive, but only time will tell if they're going the way of Sega.... 

Day of the Tenticle: Maniac Mansion's sequel

This is one of the many point-and-click games that many have messed out since it came out during the business part of life. There's even players that are not aware that this game is actually a sequel to the DOS and NES game. Thankfully, is located on the computer Weird Edd's room for anyone that is curious or wants to play-though the game that it was based off of. To sum it all up, a group of high school students go off to stop a mad doctor from experimenting on a woman to find out that it was all because of a pet purple tentacle brainwashed him to do his evil deeds. He has returned with a brand new pair of arms thanks to pollution pumps by Dr. Edison himself. It's up to one of the last main protagonist,  Barnard, and his two friends Hoagie and Lavern to stop Purple.

To do so, Dr. Edison tries sending them into the past, but due to the doctor being cheap, things go wrong as Hoagie is sent 500 years in the past to America's past while Lavern is sent to the dark future where purple took over the world. Hilarity ensures as they out-smart the awkward creatures as they slapstick and humor they way onto adventure. While they are far apart, they can transfer items from their inventory from their portijons, the put-houses converted into teleporters to help variate from past point-and-click games made in the past by devs of Double Fine, former devs of Lucas Arts games. And since Disney no longer making games thanks to the back-lash of shovel-ware like Infinity, not only can Capcom capitalize on this but it means that Lucas Arts can focus on remaking other past Lucas Arts games in the fallowing years.

But back on subject, the art-style has been revamped from the pixel lines to it's
new cartoon-like art style with the option to switch back and forth just like the monkey island remakes in the past. Like the Monkey island remakes, the verbs have been reorganized into an action wheel, which takes time to get use to.  The music has been remixed as well, making the experience more like an interactive cartoon more than ever. While the changes seem minor, one can easily appreciate how the developers make this game playable as DOS*BOX can have compatibility issues with some computers these days. While the art is only a small change in the long run, it is a fun colored adventure for both fans and new comers alike!

This game is a blast that must be experienced as most point-and-click games like this should. Talking too much about this game would give this game some injustice. While the game dose smell of 90's adventure cheese, the remake  recaptures what made the original great while fixing issues with the DOS-BOX version as it doesn't run on most modern PCs. This game comes highly recommended.

...

It's a point-and-click game, It speaks for itself...

Beastly Byte: Star Fox Zero: Starting over yet agian

Star fox has been remade and rebooted as much as Conker Live and Reloaded, but unlike that game, this game actually has heart put into this game with respect for those that has fallen. However, it has taken the original story and adds variations that is different from the past Star Fox games. So in the end, how dose this play out and how different is the game?

Well...

Positives
+ This game is very colorful! Almost smooth 60 FTP, great graphics, and great story
+ The story stays close to the N64 original, while safe, it has it's charm
+ Co-op controls makes the game fun to play with a friend, if one has any
+ New ship transformations unlocks to use in the game, the ones unused from Star Fox 2
+ New challenge mode which is an actual challenge
+ No quest in the game feels the same; Has great verity in each level
+ Game has great replay value because of the multible paths


Negatives- The game was originally designed as a rental since the Nintendo 64 Blockbuster days, making the game four to six hours long. Too short in today's modern games!
- The controls are glued to the game-pad, causing sore wrist for those not use to the controls.
- No real completion bonus, as most of the high scores are bragging rights
- No online play, which most modern games have in today's age
- The controls, like in splatoon, takes time to get use to, adding artificial difficulty where it shouldn't be there
- There just needs to be more options; There's an old saying that's being overused for a reason!
- Stealth missions in this game SUCKS because of bad controls
- Comes with a tower deference game, which should have been a game of it's own to lower it's cost


C+
As much as I want to support good games like this, this game still needs a patch or two. Because of it's short total gameplay, this is most likely a rental thanks to Star Fox's original design. Star Fox is still a fun arcade game, but players prefer the original StarFox 64 as its holds up as a classic. It also doesn't help as remaking the game twice in a row is very redundant when players take in consideration that StarFox 3DS was only made a few years ago. With all due respect to those who has fallen, it's a good game. However, personally recommend waiting until a price drop or a humble sale to grab this game. Until then, thanks for reading!

Clock Tower Series: Where did it all go wrong?

Disclaimer: Please note that this is a retrospective piece originated for Valentine's day but due to delays, the project was put on hold. The research may not be 100% accurate, so please take the articular with a grain of salt. If you are easily triggered by sexism in games, this is your warning. Thanks, and good reading!
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The Clock Tower series; Where do I begin?

 It started out as a exclusive japan only Super Nintendo game that's a point-and-click game. Why it didn't have a PC port is a good question since games since Windows OS was found during the 90's. While Maniac Manson, Uninvited and other point-and-click games where on the NES, Clock Tower predates quick click-action found like in today's action games like The Walking Dead telltale game to Until Dawn, as Clock tower has multiple endings depending on what the player dose within the game.

In Clock Tower 0: The first Fear, the player stars as Jennifer, a fifteen year old girl (which is the legal age in japan) who is on her way to being adopted by her new step father with her three friends, however, the caretaker for the girls went missing. While the girls grew cowardly to go out, Jennifer volunteers to look for her. Just when she reaches the hallway, the girls screamed and Jennifer goes back to check on them. To her horror, she finds them missing and then the game starts.  Depending on who dies and which path Jennifer takes, there are endings from A-E, with A being the best and cannon ending. This ending system was later adopted by games like the Dead Rising series as a way to have multiple endings.

In the end, only Jennifer and Helen survive as Scissor-man. This antagonist who stalked and killed the other girls is actually based off a a Grimm tales about a monster who cut the thumbs of bad children who suck their own thumbs. Clearly, there must be something more going on about that. Apparently, the caretaker is actually scissor-man's mother who sent them there just to be his sacrifice. You also out-wit her and she meets her demise depending on your ending... or Jennifer dose if she fails the QTE.  This game is Japan exclusive, but this just in there are repo game companies that can help players get the game legally.

After the PlayStation's launch, game companies where split-off between Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. As expected, Sony took off with most of the Japanese horror licenses like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and, of course, Clock Tower which was then re-released with a bonus added content within the game. Of course, the game was japan exclusive as well but not it's sequel Clock Tower 1, as it was the first game to hit the US/UK.  (and yes, even the PS1 version been translated. so check that out.) 

Clock Tower 1 takes place years after clock tower first fear, where Jennifer is being treated by a therapist while Hellen works as a reporter/writer for the local newspapers to help support Jennifer by researching the origins of clock tower. However, someone posing as scissor-man starts going on a killing spree, cutting and killing citizens within the city. This time, however, BOTH characters are playable with their own story and levels. While most of the gameplay stayed the same, it was now in playstation 3D graphics...which sadly made the game dated unlike first fear.

In the end, it ends up that there where more than one killer this time, as on Jennifer's end, it end up this one boy did the killings to be a yandero to her. Meanwhile, the physiologist of Jenifer lost control out of curiosity for the scissor-man's mind and how he lost himself like how players play the Genocide route on under-tale, as the mask and scissor-man's scissors possesses him. However, the boy Hellen met earlier ended up as scissor-man's twin brother. Jennifer/Hellen then take it upon themselves to seal the boy once in for all. While this was a happen ending for these two, this game suffered from "engrish" translation and voice acting, adding cheese to an already cheesy game. It also ended the original storyline made for the first two games, meaning the devs have to make a new one from scratch...w

...But before moving on to the next game, HUMAN entertainment was facing major debt as the Clock Tower games did not sell to well. This is where thing got awkward: The head developer Hifumi Kono made a porn game studio called Nude Maker just to survive around the 00's. This was caused by the spin-off of the Clock Tower called Ghost Head, or what the US called Clock Tower II. This later taunted the game developers as later installments are somewhat taunted the series with perversion later in Clock Tower 3 and Domento, also known as Haunting grounds.

Clock Tower II is one of the worst horror games on the Playstation One. While it dose start off like normal in the first chapter, things got very bad as this game is the Batman and Robin of horror games. Too many zombies that constantly spawn in almost every room! This adds a layer of  annoyance like if players getting a call every five minutes from a jealous ex. There was also a new mechanic as the main character was possessed by a demon known as Bates, the only thing interesting in the game. Depending on who's in control at the time, different things happen and can even give one a different endings. However, switch is a pain as it's based on an emulate and misplacing it can be a pain and Bate's gun-play can be annoying as it's out-of-place, killing the horror gameplay the series is known for! This game was a flop commercially and critically, causing the devs to sell their rights to Capcom who handed it to the ex-devs of Sunsoft. The moral is if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Clock Tower 3 will be the last of the spin-off games based on this series with mix results. While it did have a cult fallowing, this game was still a flop. For one, it was during a bad time when horror games began to fall off the radar thanks to the first-person shooter boom during the time. Another issue is that it was too campy and took the stalker-horror to the wrong direction. The developers did try to take it back to how the original clock tower worked, but in the game took a too anime feel to where it should have been an entity all alone.Why reboot scissor-man into twins?! It's like they took influences from bad horror movies at the time. This game took two steps forward only to fall onto it's face as it don't have the endings of the past-games.

Now for Domento, known in the west as Haunting Grounds? It's just way too lewd.  I would talk about the game if it wasn't a controversial mess. After all, if the main protagonist was running for her life just to be impregnated just to reincarnate a the main antagonist. If that doesn't speak controversial game, then nothing will. It also doesn't help that the unlocks are lewd cosmetics that are based on the ending of the game. While this game dose have SOME mechanics such as a dog side-kick, it's not a good horror game as the character designs are too distracting. It also did help that the main focus at the time was Resident Evil 4, but at least that's a better action horror game that is highly recommended dispute how the game aged.

If you want to check the series out, the fan-translations of the first game is out on boot-leg on the SNES and the Playstation One. Maybe if the stars a placed properly in alinement, you can get them on the Playstation Store. The first two games are recommended to those who want to look at survival horror games of the past. Thankfully, there is a game in development called Night Cry done by the same original developers, so I do wish them luck on the project as Triple A gaming has not been the same since the gaming industry has been crippled in other countries.

...Just make sure Nude Maker take a cold shower, please...

Zelda: Twlight Princess HD; For those who missed out!

Well, this is one of my favorite Zelda games as it's actually a sequel to Majora's Mask. However, the Game-cube and Wii port has not aged well because of the aged graphics of the Nintendo Gamecube and the insanity that is the Wii's controls where one thing everyone wants to forget. Nintendo has also re-released Wind Waker HD and it ended up as a great port of a classic. However, can the same be said about Twilight Princess HD? The answer: Maybe, but only if one missed out.

Twilight Princess takes place after Majora's Mask, as country boy Link helps heard goats on the farmstead as an erran boy. While preparing to deliver a gift to Zelda, he gets ambushed and the children get kidnapped as well as Link's love interest who ISN'T Zelda. In fact, he dreamed of her in one sequence in the game. Link is one chick magnet, for better or worst.  This was built as a different, dark Zelda game just as or even close to Majora's Mask. Personally, it may be close to Majora's Mask but it's not as dark because of the theme of duality. Majora's Mask is a based off Africa's designed  metaphor about grief and death, so it will always be the darkest Zelda. I will not spoil more of the game from here on out, but link dose have this wolf forum which  is known as Wolf Link.

Gameplay-wise, the mechanics did remain the same for both better and worst partly because many of the old glitches still exist as the game is not a remaster, that and the fact Nintendo themselves think  glitches are fun. Sadly in this cases, they are what causes some issues which should have been ironed out. The worst case happens is the ice level as not only the evil that is slide puzzles happens, but a bug with the mid-boss, which is focused on distance combat, had that one bad screw up : He just would NOT attack! The problem was that the play would have to go up too close for it to attack for his weak spot to open up. The sad thing is the dungeons lay-outs has to be one of the best for Zelda games, but it gets messed up by small mistakes like this one. It's pure laziness in these respects.While they did add short-cuts like in Wind Waker HD, it it NOT a true game changer as these are optional and not noticeable in retrospects. Why was the Wii U game-pad made again?

While the gameplay dose stay in tact, sadly the frame rate dose drop from sixty frames to even choppy twenty or less in some busy areas! This is noticeable in areas like Farron Woods as this problem was NOT fix from the past ports of the game. There's also some areas in the game where they have a lot on monsters can also cause a lag as well, like being crammed in an elevator with sumos during a sporting event!   Maybe getting this game as a digital download would fix this mess or adding an instal feature to help the load can fix this issue, but this is one fix that Nintendo really needs to work on.

Wolf Link is one of the main mechanics which is used to hunt Poes for their souls, get to areas that link cannot go to normally, dig up treasures,  and using his new wolf skills to become a blood-hound, using it on key-story parts of the game. However, wolf link dose lose it's use to those who want to finish the game. There is a new Wolf Link's challenge which give you something that was really needed within the game: the biggest wallet since the way to get the other wallets suck. It is very challenging, as Wolf Link faces enemies that only link can easily accustom to. This would have been better if Wolf link have items and upgrades as well. It's not like he can use link's swords or shields as demonstrated, but with human link is much more useful that Wolf Link.

The world map may not be huge as OoT but it dose not have the long travels of the Wind Waker, as later on Wolf Link can teleport from warp points that opens up after beating up dark beast. While back tracking is very bad, as it is a flaw. It was because of the limitations of memory space for both the GameCube and the Wii Port, so this is why the game is shaped that way. The game will force ones to back-track into sections once visited, as Link is able to access places he wasn't able to go before...Which is dumb because he could have visited these areas but Link couldn't because the plot demands it!

In the end, this is a good Zelda game, but this game can easily date itself too easily because of it's flaws. For those who missed out and needs a game for the Wii U to help buy time for the next Zelda game, this is an option. However, those who played this game for either the GameCube or the Wii won't feel left out, even with the added social features. While it's it is FAR from a bad game, getting this game might not be for every Zelda fan. I personally had fun replaying the game, but prepare just in case your nastolga glasses start to crack, shatter, and explode. That tends to happen to some nerds....