To make something fresh, you don’t always have to start from scratch. Sometimes you can take something that’s very well established and simply put it in an entirely different context. Suddenly, what is old becomes new again.

This is something Aliens Infestation does in more ways than one. In it, you’ll find a combination of many things. While the most pronounced is its Metroid “Lite” structure, it also borrows elements from cover based shooters and even has a tinge of survival horror. Everything comes together to form a game with its own strong identity, never feeling like a clone of any of the games it takes inspiration from.

You’ll start with four marines tasked with exploring the Sulaco, but these four might not be the ones who make it out alive. Every marine that dies is dead for good. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to beat the entire game with only four lives. There are fifteen additional marines scattered around the map who, provided you don’t already have a full party, will join you in a heartbeat.

Each marine plays the same, but has their own unique dialogue and personality that make you want to keep them alive. Sure, some of them are meat-heads that are hard to care about (and will probably end up being used as boss fodder), but others are more quirky and endearing like the cowardly rookie, the man cursed with luck, the toothless old man, and Bonesaw (no, not that Bonesaw).

As if this system of living, breathing, extra lives wasn’t interesting enough, marines can also be captured instead of killed when their health is depleted. They’re then marked on the map and you have a very limited time to reach a xenomorph nest to save them before they’re gone for good.

This sense of urgency works very well with the game’s high tension. You aren’t super soldiers. Xenomorphs are much faster than you, even when you use your depletable stamina gauge to run as fast as you can. And the more you run, the more likely you are to encounter packs of enemies simultaneously, which is exponentially more dangerous than taking it slow and fighting enemies one by one.

But while the tension feels expertly crafted in the earlier moments of Aliens Infestation, more powerful (and upgradable) weapons and increased familiarity with the limited types of enemies and their spawn patterns diminish it somewhat. Walking forward slowly is far more effective than it should be as most enemies take a second to jump out at you allowing you to fire first. You’ll never get to a point where you can run and plow through aliens without a care, but the sense of dread as you explore during the game’s later portions is definitely lower than it could have been.

Despite its 2D presentation, there is a cover system with blind fire, though you’ll likely only use it when fighting human enemies. But it’s the use of limited ammo and having to reload clips that really help the game to differentiate itself from the average run and gun. It’s odd to think of something as simple as having to reload as an interesting mechanic, but in the context of a 2D game it feels new and even terrifying as you find that your incredibly slow shotgun is completely empty after noticing an enemy dropping down from the ceiling.

You’ll never find the same level of openness as a Metroid game here, but you will find a handful of things to help you reach new areas including various key cards, a wrench, and the keys to the Power Loader to name a few. New weapons on the other hand exist almost exclusively for their killing power, with the exception of the flamethrower which allows you to burn off the alien resin covering certain doors. Paths aren’t exactly hidden, so if you’re even moderately persistent in your exploration, you’re likely to obtain 100% completion like I did (something I almost never accomplish in Metroid games).

Bosses are an unfortunate low point. Each consists of a giant bullet sponge hell bent on performing annoyingly repetitive attack patterns. What should have been a much needed crescendo feels more like a chore. Luckily, boss fights make up a very small portion of the game.

Aliens Infestation earns its spot in the list of licensed games done right. A few rough edges hold it back from being an instant classic and it can be completed rather quickly, but what’s there is a game that manages to feel unique despite what it borrows from other titles. Don’t let the fact that it’s “last gen” stop you from enjoying this successful blend of retro and modern ideas.

This review is based on a copy of Aliens Infestation purchased by the reviewer.

You read that right.

The are assuring everyone that this is no April Fool’s prank and that there is no expiration or cut off date. So if you’ve been on the fence about trying their latest episodic adventure, you are officially out of excuses.

You can head over to the Telltale games website right now and download Back to the Future The Game: Episode 1: It’s About Time. If you like what you play, the complete five episode series is only $24.99.

"Fan of Naruto or not, this is a fun and very accessible fighter."

There are a lot of ways to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. You could try to balance the most spoons on your face, eat a 12″ pizza the fastest, or type the most books backwards. CyberConnect2 tried to get in the spotlight by having the world’s longest game title, Shonen Jump Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja: Storm 2.

As if the title wasn’t confusing enough, there are two more unrelated Naruto games coming out in a week. But before you assume this is another slapped together licensed game, I’m here to tell you that, not only is Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 fun, it also has some insanely high production values.

Like the first game, Storm 2 is a 1 on 1 (excluding support characters) fighter. But rather than the typical side-view perspective that dominates the genre, the camera is closer to that of a third person action game where you and your opponent share the spotlight equally. Given that both players have free movement in all directions, it’s an impressive feat that local multiplayer matches are possible without the need to split the screen and still manage to not have any camera problems.

Much like the Super Smash Bros. series, Storm 2 is incredibly easy to learn. You won’t be performing any “quarter circles” or remembering giant lists of input that only apply to a single character. Instead, melee combos are all performed with a single button, but can be altered by holding different directions on the analogue stick. Projectiles, guards, throws, and everything else can also be accomplished by one or two simple button presses.

One of the interesting aspects of the controls is the “Chakra Load” button. While holding it will make you power up DBZ style (filling your Chakra gauge), pressing it acts as a modifier to your other buttons. It can increase the ferocity of your projectiles, turn melee attacks into special attacks, and make your jump button perform a super fast dash maneuver; all of which spend Chakra.

“Playing online is less daunting than more technical fighters.”

But while the input for every character is the same, that doesn’t mean every character plays the same. Each of the game’s 40+ characters have their own distinct flow. Special attacks can be especially different. While one character’s special has them charge forward, another generates a dome of energy around them. The same goes for characters in the support role. In fact, when selecting support characters (which pull from the same roster as the characters you control directly), an indicator shows whether your support is an Attack, Guard, or Balance type.

While it isn’t as technical as Street Fighter or Tekken, that doesn’t mean Ninja Storm is devoid of strategy. It’s a game of timing and managing the distance between you and your opponent. Timing is especially key when you’re on the defensive. Hitting the guard button at the precise moment an attack is about to hit will make you appear behind your opponent. This allows you to break free from your opponents combo and unleash your own brand of ninja-related punishment.

The story mode is leaps and bounds better than the original game. Unfortunately, that really isn’t saying much considering how monotonous the first game’s campaign was. It definitely has a slow start, but once it get’s going it’s actually pretty enjoyable, assuming you ignore the boring parts in favor of moving forward.

There are a lot of sidequests you can do for people in the village, but none of them are particularly interesting. There are also a lot of shops where you can purchase items and use materials to expand each shops’ inventory. But like a “filer arc” in the anime series, it all feels very unnecessary. If you ignore these elements, the campaign becomes much more enjoyable. Sure, the world becomes an empty (but beautifully rendered) vehicle to get you to the next fight, but the actual fights and the story itself are the interesting part, so why waste your time?

“Elaborate boss battles don’t happen often, but are stuffed with QTEs when they do.”

I was surprised at how closely the story follows the manga it’s based on. It’s a compressed version of course, but there were plenty of opportunities for them to shoehorn in extra fights and for the most part, they avoided this. What’s most astounding, though, is the story’s presentation. This is cel-shading at its best. It’s amazing that a video game can actually look better than its cartoon counterpart. Almost everything is fully voiced (thankfully with the option for Japanese), and all the animation is full of life.

This is especially apparent during the large-scale boss battles. There are only a small handful of these, but they are real visual treats. This is where the game periodically wrestles control away from you in favor of Quick Time Events. In fact, unlike the first game, these select few battles are thankfully the only time you’ll see QTEs. Don’t worry. You’ll still perform some normal combat on these parts as well, and it’s admittedly hard to get too upset when the QTE segments are so mind bogglingly gorgeous.

My experience playing online has been excellent. I never experienced any lag, and getting into a match was never a problem. And thanks to the accessible nature of the gameplay, fighting random people online is far less daunting than in more technical fighters. There are a few balance issues with certain characters, but they aren’t too bad.

If you’re already a Naruto fan, chances are good that you’ll love Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. But even if you’re not, this is still a really enjoyable fighter. The combat is extremely fluid. It’s really easy to learn, but still has enough depth to be interesting. There are tons of unlockables and multiplayer (local and online) can be a lot of fun. But do the clerk a favor and find it on the shelf yourself. If they have to type that full title into the computer to check their inventory, their fingers will start to hurt.

This review is based on a copy of the Xbox 360 version of Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 purchased by the reviewer.

I’m of the opinion that kids games shouldn’t be garbage.

Just because a game is licensed or made for kids, this should not be used as an excuse to shove shoddy, unfinished games out the door. More often than not, short development cycles thwart any attempt to make a licensed game good, because much of the sales come from hitting the shelves at the same time as the movie a game is based off of.

That’s why I was happy to see that Toy Story 3 felt like a real game.

You would expect the game to simply follow the story of the movie. While it does to a degree, it is much more clever about it than the usual licensed game. If you’ve seen the Toy Story movies, you are familiar with the “imagination” sequences. Rather than seeing the world as it is (a child playing with his toys), we see what he is imagining is going on.

Several of the levels in the main story mode fall under this. As Woody the cowboy, you make your way along a train to stop an evil pig in his space ship (this is supposed to be a young boy’s imagination, remember). As Buzz Lightyear, you are on a mission to stop the evil Zurg in a level that feels straight out of Ratchet and Clank. These are easily the most visually interesting levels in the story mode.

The “real world” areas keep things interesting with a mechanic reminiscent of The Lost Vikings. You switch between three characters, each with their own special ability that lets you solve the puzzles presented in the level. Buzz has the strength to throw his companions farther (and aim better), Jessie can stand on objects too small for the others, and Woody can use his pull cord to lasso and swing across wide gaps.

Getting through the story is pretty easy, though younger players might need some help on a few of the trickier parts. There is a mechanic built into certain areas where if you fail enough times, something will change to make it easier. The only example I found was in the Buzz level. In a sequence that involved a fairly complex platforming puzzle, a set of easier platforms eventually appeared after failing it a couple of times. I was unable to determine if this type of thing occurred in other sections of the game or not, as this was the only time it came up for me.

Each level is filled will collectibles, which adds to the replay value. The collectibles go towards unlocking characters and items for what feels much more like the main mode of Toy Story 3, Woody’s Roundup.

In Woody’s Roundup mode, you play fully in the imagination world. You choose Buzz, Woody or Jessie, none of which carry over their moves from the story mode. It’s really just down to personal preference at that point.

This mode of Toy Story 3 is a sandbox game. You are given tons of quests from various characters throughout the town, and most can be done in whatever order you choose. Or if you prefer, you can completely ignore all of that and spend your time searching for collectibles, re-painting the town, dressing up townsfolk, or riding around on your trusty horse, Bullseye. This mode even has a drop-in, drop-out split screen so two people can play off of one console simultaneously.

While the difficulty curve is a little steep in a few sections of the story mode, Woody’s Roundup makes up for it with its open gameplay. Most kids will be much more attracted to this mode of play than the rigid structure of the story mode.

There is plenty to do and see, and more collectibles than you’ll know what to do with.

As far as kids games go, this is one of the best ones I’ve played this generation outside of the Lego games. If you have kids, especially ones into the Toy Story films, you should definitely give Toy Story 3 a chance.

This review is based on the retail version of Toy Story 3 for the Xbox 360 rented by the reviewer from Gamefly.

Scott Pilgrim is having a bit of a media explosion at the moment. It’s gone from an independent comic (started in 2004) that I had only heard about in passing, to a franchise that the entire internet seems to be talking about (both positively and negatively) with a movie and a videogame released last week.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is an old-school brawler through and through. You and up to three local friends (sorry, no online multiplayer) play as either Scott, Ramona, Kim, or Stills and get to punching and kicking your way through each of the game’s stages.

At first, the game feels overly simplistic. Thankfully, as you defeat more and more enemies, you’ll level up. Every time you level up, you gain a new ability. This adds a much needed sense of progression and depth. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll learn counter-attacks, dodge rolls, double jumps, and other classic moveset staples.

Learning new abilities gives you an added incentive to progress, and the game gets better each time you get one. In fact, when starting the game over with a new character (all your leveling is saved on a per character basis), you’ll really miss the abilities you don’t yet have, like kicking enemies while they’re down.

"Each boss battle feels unique."

Strangely enough, leveling doesn’t affect your stats. To increase your character’s attack, defense, speed, and willpower you will need to purchase items in shops. Doors to shops can be found throughout the various levels.

Thankfully, the game makes revisiting shops easy. The levels are spread out on a map screen. Each level also contains a halfway marker, which is often where shops are, that you can go straight to. Once you’re done, you can hit pause and return to the map screen resulting in minimal backtracking to shop.

The shops themselves are a bit strange. You aren’t told what items do until you buy them, resulting in guess work and forcing you to keep this information in memory for later. Sometimes descriptions can help you figure it out, but more often than not they won’t.

This way of increasing stats also comes off as pretty chaotic. At one point, I bought a large number of strength enhancing items because my strength was incredibly low. The next boss I fought went down in only a few hits. He went down so fast that I thought it was a fake-out before the real boss fight. I didn’t have to grind for money to do this. I can’t help but feel that a more guided stat increasing system would’ve made the game more balanced.

"There are tons of classic gaming references around every corner."

The level design, enemies, and boss fights provide a great sense of variety. I never felt that the assets were used ad nauseam. Each stage is a bright, colorful, and unique feeling world that throws new enemies at you regularly. The levels are also of decent length, often greatly changing the scenery within a single stage.

Paul Robertson’s art direction is fantastic. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a constant treat to look at. The quality of the sprite-work reminds me of how impressed I was when I first saw Metal Slug. It may be intentionally blocky, but it’s also incredibly detailed, both in the drawings themselves and in how they’re animated.

You’ll find tons of references to classic gaming. From Scott’s hurricane kick to Kim floating away on a star at the end of the level, you won’t go a minute playing this game without seeing a barrage of playful nods to gaming’s past. If you are a classic gamer, there’s a lot to appreciate here.

"Shops allow you to purchase stat boosting items."

The soundtrack definitely deserves mentioning. The entire score is done by Anamanaguchi, a band with a unique hybrid style of punk rock and 8bit sounds. It fits with the game perfectly and mirrors the game’s entire feeling of “old, yet new” with great success.

There are a few unfortunate quirks. Unlike the arcade games that inspired it, players can’t drop in and out, meaning if a buddy shows up and wants to play, they have to wait till you’re starting a level. It’s not too big of a deal, but as I mentioned, the levels can be quite long.

I’ve also ran into an occasional glitch where, despite defeating all enemies, the level does not progress. It only happened once or twice, but given that I’ve heard multiple other people talk about the same problem, I feel it is worth mentioning.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is a very competent brawler with charm oozing out of every orifice. It may not be as deep in certain regards as a brawler like Castle Crashers, but there’s definitely enough there to keep the game from getting stale. And like all brawlers, it’s exponentially more fun with friends. If you do have people to play local co-op with, Scott Pilgrim manages to be a very memorable experience in a genre whose games normally blur together in my mind.

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

One of the coolest parts of playing video games as a kid was the feeling of exploration. Sure, back on the NES it was still in a pretty abstract way, but a well designed adventure could really suck you in. Even back then, when passing the controller back and forth with my friends to work our way through a game (old school co-op), we felt like we were there.

Never was this truer than of the original Metroid. It totally blew us away that we were free to explore the game’s world in whatever order we wanted. Sure, you needed to find new abilities to progress past certain obstacles, but that only added to the challenge and fun. But there weren’t nearly enough of this style of game. We were surprised and delighted to find there was a sequel to one of our favorite movies in game form, and it was in the Metroid style.

That game was The Goonies II.

Back then it didn’t bother us at all when a game’s plot was complete nonsense. The Fratellis have kidnapped six of the Goonies and a Mermaid named Annie. It is up to you, as Mikey, to save them.

I fully admit that that the plot of Goonies II is pure insanity. It was made in Japan as a sequel to a game that only came out in the states via the PlayChoice-10. We didn’t even realize that was why it was called #2. We all assumed it was a sequel to the film.

The main field of play is a 2D action platformer where Mikey uses various weapons like a yo-yo, boomerang, and bombs to defeat his enemies. As you progress, you will need to find various tools that will help you reach new areas and save all the Goonies, then Annie (the mermaid).

The secondary part of the game is a 3D first person area, reminiscent of (but a very much simplified version of) games like Shadowgate and Déjà Vu. Here is where you must use many of the tools you have collected to find hidden doorways, collect new items, and ultimately rescue your captured friends.

The 3D zones are also the connecting pathways between the various 2D areas. A very cool design concept was that the 2D map was actually double sided, with the warp zones in the 3D areas linking the two sides of the map.

Why did I pick this game?

Like most people who grew up in the 80′s, The Goonies was one of my favorite movies. This year is the film’s 25th anniversary and as strange as it sounds, the NES game Goonies II really ignited my love of the film. Games from that era were designed to be power fantasies for kids, making it feel like you were the one on a crazy adventure.

Since every kid I knew back then wanted to be a Goonie, it only made sense that playing through the game made us feel like part of the action.

How does it hold up with time?

The 2D segments of The Goonies II are solid even today. I was still able to jump in and find my way through the game with a minimum of frustration. Sadly, I can’t say the same for the original Metroid.

The 3D segments really slow down the action. I remember loving those parts as a kid because they felt so strange and mysterious. Nowadays, the slow interface of using your tools to bang on the various walls to find the hidden stuff starts to get tedious after a while.

One of the first strategy guides we ever had our hands on was simply called The Nintendo Player’s Guide. It is a black book with every major release up to that point laid out for you. If it wasn’t for the in-depth maps and hints in that book, I doubt I would ever have made it very far in Goonies II (or Rygar for that matter).

Going back for my recent playthrough, I thought it only fitting to once again use the book in tandem with playing through the game. I’m glad I did, as it made it a smooth ride that was as fun as I remembered it.

"Actual Game Graphics (as seen by my memories)"

As the internet makes everyone’s voices heard more and more, whether it be through comment systems, forums, or social media sites, it’s interesting to see the different patterns that develop. One I’ve taken note of in the last couple of years is the inaccuracies of our memories. Yes, I say “our” because I’ve fallen into this same trap from time to time just like everyone has.

Most people have games they remember loving long ago, but haven’t played in years. It can be a sad truth to find out that games you use to love don’t stand the test of time, but it can also be fascinating to see just how different reality is from our aged memories.

This curiosity is one of the motivations behind our Friday Old Games series. Sometimes we battle against our own memories as I did when reviewing Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; a game my memories would have me believe is fantastic, but in reality is a pretty shoddy licensed game. Other times, we want to set the record straight on games like Goldeneye that have been put on a pedestal for merits that are no longer relevant today.

In many peoples’ experience (including my own), a lot can be attributed to finances. When you are a little kid with little to no source of income, you don’t have a lot of options when it comes to gaming. Even so much as renting a game can drain all the money you have. And when you’ve gone and spent all the money in your possession, it better be justified. While you might not feel it’s worth it to spend time on a poor quality game now, back then there was no turning back. You already spent all your money and now you’ll drain every ounce of fun the game has to offer, regardless of how much bad design it’s buried under.

Fortunately, there are a lot of great games that hold up really well. But in order to find out which ones truly stand the test of time, we can’t rely solely on memories.

I’ve heard many people complain about both the supposed increase of licensed games today and how they wish Nintendo would bring back their “Seal of Quality“. This is something that always gives me a bit of a chuckle as the first thing that enters my mind is Yo! Noid. Not only is it an NES platformer based on the mascot of a pizza chain, it’s also one of the many terrible games sporting Nintendo’s old “Seal of Quality”. The NES is a great system with many wonderful games. However, there are also plenty of licensed games and plenty of terrible games with a false assurance of quality printed on them.

One of the most common comments displaying memory failure I hear in this generation are regarding graphics. While some are intentional exaggerations, many people look at a game with graphics they don’t find satisfying and honestly believe they don’t look any better than that of the previous console generation. I’m not saying it’s impossible for that to be true, but more often than not it’s based on inaccurate memories.

To illustrate, I’ll relate a specific example in which I fell into this same trap. I once rented Tales of Symphonia on the GameCube. While I didn’t put a ton of time into it, I enjoyed its visual style. Four years later, the sequel released on the Wii. When I saw the trailers I thought to myself, “These graphics don’t look any better than the first game.” I honestly believed that until I then looked up screenshots of the original. Below is my memory’s lie, completely exposed.

"My memory would have me believe these look identical."

Unfortunately, it’s not just random people on the internet making these mistakes where few will read them. Even people from large media outlets let their memories get the best of them. A recent offense came in the form of Destructoid’s Final Fantasy XIII review with the quote, “…if this is the future of the franchise, that future is incredibly bleak indeed.” Like Final Fantasy XIII or not, the next inevitable non-online entry will most likely play nothing like it. Even if we just look at the last few games in the main series (IX, X, and XII), we can see just how incredibly different each game is, making “the future of the franchise” something you can’t effectively predict. But alas, the reviewer’s memory betrayed him.

While some may have better memories than others, we all make mistakes. The next time you’re in a discussion or even writing on your own blog about something from an old memory, take a step back. Think for a second on the subject. Ask yourself, “Are things really the way I remember them?” And of course, when in doubt, do your research! Look at images of the old games that supposedly look just as good as this generation’s, research facts about gaming history, and re-play that game you use to love to see if it still holds up.

"A licensed game from the developers of the Ace Combat series."

It’s very odd that I would seek out a licensed game based on a license I (at the time) had never heard of, but The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces had several things going for it. First off, the team behind the Wii exclusive flight game is Project Aces; developer of the highly regarded Ace Combat series.

Secondly, it boasted a unique and ambitious use of motion controls, which is something I’d like to support. And finally, the game retailed at the budget price of $30 on the day of release, though admittedly that could be taken as a strike against its predicted quality.

While Innocent Aces is based on the Sky Crawlers movie by Ghost in the Shell director, Mamoru Oshii, (which is actually based on a series of novels) it doesn’t tell the same story. Seeing as how there is very little combat in the movie, that is a good thing. Instead, the game is a prequel.

In The Sky Crawlers, wars are fought by companies for show in a peaceful, alternate history. There are also mysterious pilots called “Kildren” that never age past adolescence. But unlike the movie, Innocent Aces stars a normal adult pilot; a skilled rookie who later becomes Captain. In fact, the entire squad is devoid of Kildren until the new recruits show up, though that happens very early on.

The story is told in a combination of in-game radio dialogue, pre and post mission cutscenes using the game’s normal graphics, and fully animated cutscenes that actually look better than the movie. The slow drama storytelling of the film has been replaced with a faster paced tale of action and betrayal. The game’s plot ties in with the film in a very clever way, which makes me really wish that I had actually enjoyed the film (unfortunately, it wasn’t my cup of tea).

"The quality of the animated sequences rival that of the film."

The flow of the game follows a very rigid formula. You’ll go from story section to mission briefing to mission and back again until the games’ seventeen missions are over. You’ll get various planes, weapons, and paint jobs as you progress. You’ll also get upgrades to customize the planes, but this feature has so few options and makes so little statistical difference that I can’t help but wonder why they even bothered putting it in.

One of the biggest draws for me to pick up this game were the controls. The Wii Remote is held in your left hand, acting as the throttle. Pulling up on it will increase your speed. The nunchuck is held with the right hand. Instead of using the analogue stick to steer, you move the entire nunchuck around as if it were a joystick.

On paper this works great, but there are a few glaring flaws. For one, your motion control joystick has no base to connect to which can kill your wrist. Fortunately, this can be mostly remedied by firmly planting the Nunchuck against your leg. The problem that really ruins it, though, is the size of the Nunchuck’s nonadjustable deadzone. You simply have to move the Nunchuck too far before your plane will begin to react. This requires you to make exaggerated motions, completely removing any hope of precision flying.

These flaws are a real shame because, if they were absent, it would be a truly ingenious use of motion controls. Instead, I found myself often switching to the classic controller setup, effectively eliminating the game’s biggest draw.

By default, the control type is set for a more arcade experience with your roll and yaw linked together for easy turning. Unsurprisingly, the more limited movement this causes makes hunting down agile enemies difficult. There are two systems in place to combat this. For one, there are a large variety of shortcut maneuvers that can be performed by holding the stick in one direction and tapping a single button.

"Some landscapes, like these mountains, are much more interesting than others."

Alternatively, you can perform a Tactical Maneuver Command (TMC) by flying within a certain proximity of an enemy for an extended period of time which will place you behind them. How well you’re positioned is dependent on how long you were flying within their radius. In a large portion of the game, TMCs are essentially the “I Win” button. Later, enemies manage to not instantly die when you appear behind them, but you’ll still rely on them so much when fighting agile enemies that you’ll start to wish the game wasn’t so automatic.

If you’re like me, this is the point where you’ll attempt to master the advanced controls where roll, pitch, and yaw are controlled individually. This is also the point where you’ll find out that, although the option is there, no control scheme supports it well enough to use. Rather than mapping roll and yaw to two different analogue sticks, every control scheme uses the d-pad for yaw. That means that, when using the classic or GameCube controller, you will need to use the d-pad and left analogue stick simultaneously to effectively maneuver your plane. I’m not sure how many people in the world have the two left thumbs required to do this, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a low number.

Ultimately, it feels like the game can’t decide whether it wants to support arcade or simulation control, and fails at both as a result. It’s certainly playable, but rarely satisfying to steer your plane no matter which option you choose. Even while flying like a drunkard, you’ll probably rarely (if ever) die on the game’s normal setting. Even when attacking special artillery built into a fortress located on the side of a volcano, I never felt like I was truly in danger. The ground posed more of a threat to me than any enemy could ever hope to.

Innocent Aces‘ aesthetics are very mixed. The menus are ugly as sin and you can tell a lot of corners were cut in this area. To illustrate my point, no matter which controller you have plugged in, the Wii Remote and Nunchuck will be shown when attempting to change button layouts. On the other hand, you have beautifully drawn, fully animated cutscenes (and a surprising number of them) and the graphics, while a bit drab at times, are certainly passable.

In the end, The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, while not a terrible game, is rather mediocre and largely forgettable. Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect more of something that’s both a budget title and a licensed game, but given that it was handled by a well respected developer in the very genre they’re known for, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

"Nice to see you Jim. You been working out?"

“2 Player Reviews” is a series of articles in which two members of the Wing Damage staff separately review a game, so as to give our readers multiple perspectives on the subject matter.

Player 1 – Jonah “spambot” Gregory

Player 2 – Luke “masterlookas” Jahnke

In comparison to most other superheroes, Batman is a pretty complex guy. He is one part genius detective, one part silent, stealthy ninja, and one part total henchman-punching badass. So it is pretty easy to understand why developers in the past have had such a hard time capturing the Caped Crusader in videogame form.

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

Due to overwhelming demand, a federal court order, and a purple nurple, I have been forced to go back and examine one of the crown jewels of gaming’s yesteryear, Goldeneye.

Before frat boys were learning the intricacies of system linking their Xboxes and Pierce Brosnan was the hot new Bond, Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 set the world on fire (in a good way). Millions of gamers discovered the joy of shooting their friends in the face.

For many years, this was the gold standard for console first person shooters. To this day whenever people talk about it, they do so in hushed reverent tones. For many people, this was their first experience with a real FPS. I spent many a night trying to beat all the time challenges in single player, and many more nights were spent shooting my friends in multiplayer. I can still remember which character all my friends played with as my Boris rained death upon them.

There were a host of weapons that were unique and fun to play with. Ask an old school Goldeneyer about the RCP-90 and they will either smile nostalgically (thinking of all the times they shot their buddies with it) or punch the nearest wall (thinking of all the times their buddies shot them with it). Weapons like the Golden Gun and proximity mines are still indelibly etched into my subconscious. You can even place the proximity mine on the toilet for maximum comedic effect when you spawn in the vent.

The single player campaign had a host of challenges to complete as well as the ultra tough 00 agent difficulty. The gameplay was revolutionary. This was a shooter where shooting people wasn’t always the best course of action. Guards could be alerted to your presence and would sound alarms. Doesn’t sound like a big deal now, but at the time this was crazy. Most other FPS games consisted of “shoot everything, find blue keycard”.

The problem when you try to go back and play Goldeneye now is that modern games have moved on from Goldeneye’s particular brand of deathmatchery. A typical Goldeneye match would be a contest to get the body armor and the RCP-90 or some horrifically mean combination of the 2. Things like balanced weapon sets were unheard of back then. A halfway decent player with an RCP-90 will smoke a good player with a regular weapon.

Why did I pick this game?

In high school, Goldeneye was the game all of my friends, enemies, and acquaintances played. My entire basketball team would come over to my house for pizza, cookies, and shots to the face. I probably logged more hours into Goldeneye than any other game. I averaged at least a couple hours a day for at least a year and a half. No other game was able to get its hooks into me the way Goldeneye did.

Does it hold up with time?

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really stand the test of time. While shooting your friends will always have some inherent allure, the genre has moved on. The crazy aim assist feels jarring, and the N64 controller really could have used a second analog stick. The N64 textures have always appeared as though you are looking at them through a thick Vaseline fog. These faults could be forgiven, but the core multiplayer strategy of racing from the overpowered weapon to the body armor seems completely ridiculous now.

The single player campaign that used to feel so revolutionary feels almost comical now. Part of the reason for this is what I call the rail glitch. Enemies cannot shoot you if there is a rail in the way. You can walk right up to a guard and if there is an inch of rail in between you he can’t shoot you. Now when I play, I realize I just spend my time running from rail to rail laughing at my invincibility.

Goldeneye held a magical place in my heart and it is tough for me to admit, but the FPS genre has moved on.