Tim Conneally @Fun Fun Fun!
Reviews
Prince of Persia (Game Boy)
Worthy on every system
The Good
Thankfully, Jordan Mechner game graphics rely on fluid animation over color depth, so even on the 4 colors of the venerable Game Boy, Prince of Persia is a treat for the eyes. With spare backgrounds and music only to serve as theatrical highlights, the game environment is desolate, unforgiving, and engrossing. It's a shining example of "less is more."
The Bad
The main annoying thing about this game is not localized to Game Boy, it's the "skin of your teeth" deaths where you think you're about to make a tricky jump or pass through a timed gate, but you're instantly killed. As for the GB version, some controls and animations are a bit sluggish, especially the stationary vertical jump, which is slow and frustrating.
The Bottom Line
It's a timed puzzler, but not necessarily a puzzle game. Mastering Prince of Persia means knowing where and when to step, run and jump in order to gain access to new areas of the game.
By Tim Conneally on November 28, 2008
Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad (Game Boy)
*sigh* ...a skateboarder's perspective
The Good
As it is with all of the Skate or Die branded games, the music is top notch. At the time, I was 13 and hooked up my Game Boy to a tape deck to record the music for a couple of levels, especially the vertically-scrolling boardwalk level (It's as close to an 8-bit ska tune as you can get!)
The variation between side-scrolling and vertically scrolling levels makes this game interesting enough to play through, though often times the "environmental kills" get annoying.
The Bad
It has absolutely nothing to do with skateboarding or the general silliness of the Skate or Die series of games. The whole skateboarding element could have been eliminated and the game could have been turned into an excellent Contra-style affair. Sadly, it wasn't.
The Bottom Line
A decent side-scrolling platformer with excellent music and no real skateboarding.
By Tim Conneally on November 21, 2008
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
Is this the same Etna?
The Good
It's got everything you love about the original Disgaea for PS2 and tons more.
The Bad
The alternate storyline with Etna is extremely weak. Besides the fact that the voice actor sounds almost like a different person entirely, practically all of her dialogue is with the most annoying characters in the game: The Prinnies and Flonne. Her rivalry with Laharl was what made the game brilliant to begin with, and when they're not paired together and foiling one another, it's really lame and annoying.
The Bottom Line
A turn-based, grid-based strategy game with so much depth that investing 200 hours in playing doesn't seem like enough. Hilarious characters and storyline, addictive gameplay and intuitive controls (unless you're a Final Fantasy Tactics fan, then they're just dissimilar enough to screw with you,) make this game series a MUST BUY on any platform (PS2, PS3, PSP, DS...buy all of them, but start with the original).
By Tim Conneally on November 7, 2008