Joakim Kihlman @Herrkilman
Reviews
FIFA Soccer 08 (Windows)
More of the same?
The Good
The only really new feature in this version of FIFA soccer is the "be a pro"-feature, and that's an exciting and good new addition.
In "be a pro" you play only one player on the field, trying to keep your positions and do your job. However, this is a quite useless feature unless you play with one, or preferably more, friends. You can play up to four players in one team, working together on different positions. It's actually quite fun to play through a season like this, although the feature is far from perfect. More on that later.
The soundtrack is extensive and at times pretty good, and the number of teams and players is huge. There is a good career-mode where you try your luck as a manager for a team, buying and selling players and developing new ones. That's the best feature of the game.
The Bad
The problem with FIFA 08 is that it is more or less exactly the same as FIFA 07. The only new feature is "be a pro", which is good, but not good enough.
The problem with "be a pro" is that the computer-controlled players are worthless. They just stand around, they never take any initiative, never make any runs and they don't even try to make decent passes most of the time. This makes "be a pro" useless if you are playing alone, and just about bearable if you are two. You need at least one human player in each line (defence, midfield, attack) or else you will only get frustrated by your incompetent team mates.
Another big problem is the bugs. Too often the game crashes. The worst thing is that your saved careers can get corrupted so you will have to start all over again. Not too much fun if you have played about ten seasons or so. It also tends to lock up when you make substitutions. Annoying? You bet.
I'm also extremely disappointed in the graphics. FIFA 08 actually looks even worse than FIFA 07, which also had dated graphics. But FIFA 07 had a nice "blur" effect in replay sequences and more that made the graphics look nicer than it really was. FIFA 08 is more "clean" and therefore looks much worse. The worst part is the players' hair, which looks more like helmets than hair. Terrible.
The absolute worst part is that FIFA 08 is so good on PS3 and Xbox 360, while the PC-version is so dated and utterly disappointing in every way. It's not even good enough for an expansion, let alone a full price game.
FIFA 08 could have been great, just look at the Xbox 360-version. Sadly it wasn't.
The Bottom Line
More of the same, only worse. The only new feature is so flawed it far from makes up for all that is bad about this game. I expected much more, and got nothing.
By Joakim Kihlman on July 4, 2016
Ghostbusters II (Atari ST)
By Joakim Kihlman on December 29, 2014
Ghostbusters II (Atari 2600)
By Joakim Kihlman on December 29, 2014
Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny (Windows)
By Joakim Kihlman on April 27, 2012
Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny (DOS)
By Joakim Kihlman on April 27, 2012
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (NES)
An excellent licensed game
The Good
Gremlins 2 was a fairly fun movie, even though, or because, it refused to take itself seriously. The games based off it all sucked, though. Except for one. Sunsoft's effort for the NES was different from the games on the other platforms. On the Amiga, Gremlins 2 was a horrible platformer. But on the NES it was a great top-down action game with Mogwai in the lead role.
Much like the equally excellent Batman-game from Sunsoft, Gremlins 2 is far from faithful to the movie. But this is no bad thing. We recognise some of the environments and enemies from the film, and the ending is the same. But most of all, Gremlins 2 is genuinely adapted into a video game, and all the better for it.
Mogwai scuttles around, killing mice, bats, giant tomatoes (!) and, of course, badass gremlins. All while avoiding traps and holes and the occasional lava pit. It's a quite difficult game until you master it, but once you've done that it can be beaten easily. I played though it again yesterday for the first time in over 15 years and I didn't lose a single life (it was close on the electric gremlin boss, though).
The graphics are excellent, some of the best on the NES. I also like the typical Sunsoft aesthetics, with the slightly dark tone to the graphic style. It's gritty and cute at the same time.
The music is good, as always when Sunsoft is involved. It's not as good as in Journey to Silius, but it's good. The SFX are adequate and they do their job. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
Gremlins 2 on the NES is an overlooked little gem of a game.
The Bad
Gremlins 2 isn't perfect, but it hasn't got any huge, obvious flaws. It does, however, have some minor annoyances. The first is the store. On most levels you can find a store where you can buy one of three things. Nothing wrong with that, but it's kind of pointless to have you buying the things, since you quickly and easily gather more "money" than you could ever spend. It's no big deal, but it's slightly dumb.
The game is quite short. As soon as you get the hang of the game, you can rush through it easily in a short amount of time. On the other hand the game can be forgiving to new players. It's one of those weird games that seem too hard at first, and almost too simple when you learn how to deal with the many, many sadistic perils in the game.
The Bottom Line
An overlooked licensed game that is actually good. Up there with other good Sunsoft games like Batman and Journey to Silius.
By Joakim Kihlman on May 6, 2010
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Windows)
The Dark Knight at his very best.
The Good
When I saw the first pictures and gameplay videos from Arkham Asylum I wasn't very convinced. It looked decent, but not great. I was dead wrong.
From the very first second of the intro Arkham Asylum had me spellbound. It conjures up a great atmosphere that blends the comics, Batman 1989 and The Dark Knight into one lovely entity. It's dark and brooding, but also fun and spectacular.
Many characters from the comics make appearances and cameos. The Riddler, for example, has planted clues and trophies for Batman to solve and find, in order to unlock challenge modes and whatnot.
The main villain, though, is The Joker. Naturally. The unsettling psychopath is the natural nemesis of Batman, and he comes off as truly menacing and disturbing in Arkham Asylum. Brilliantly voiced by Mark Hamill, you really feel Batman's frustration with The Joker as he murders and destroys everything in his path in order to execute his diabolic plan.
The gameplay is complex and simple at the same time. As Batman you have to fight, sneak and use your detective skills. And jump around on platforms, of course. The controls are very intuitive and easy to learn, making the game a joy to play. The fights flow smoothly as Batman performs blocks and combos and breaks a few bones in the process. It's extremely satisfying.
There are lots of stuff to find and unlock in the game and as the story progresses you get more and more advanced equipment which to use in order to get to hard to reach places. This means that you can always backtrack in order to reach new areas when you have completed the story. So even when you have completed the game, there is still more to do. The challenge modes, for example, are quite entertaining. These consist of different arenas where you are supposed to beat up bad guys as flawlessly as possible to get high points, or to sneak and silently take out bad guys as quickly as possible. It's relaxing fun, although quite challenging.
What works best in the game is the atmosphere and that all the aspects of the game (fighting, stealth, platforming, detective) work so well together. You constantly have something to do. Always a threat that needs to be averted. And you get to kick plenty off ass along the way. And all along the way the game is extremely satisfying. It's just as fun to weave long combos together in a huge fight as it is to silently take out armed guards.
The Bad
There's not much to complain about, but there are some aspects that could have been better. The biggest flaw with the game is the boss fights. Most of them are a bit uninspired. The part where you meet Killer Croc in the sewers was disappointing, and I would have liked to get some closure in a big final fight with the always menacing Scarecrow, but sadly you never get the chance to.
Even the final fight with The Joker is more or less just a retread of a fight you have done all through the game. These fights are very entertaining so it isn't really such a huge problem. I would have liked some more spectacular fights with Batman's arch enemies, though.
In order to unlock all challenge modes you have to backtrack a lot and search through the whole asylum in order to reach all those places you couldn't reach when you passed through the first time. I really don't see the fun in running around in an empty asylum collecting trophies after the story is completed. I guess it is a good thing that there is more to do for those who love to collect all sorts of things in their games, but I don't have the patience for it. I just want my challenge modes unlocked so I can play them already.
These complaints are minor, though. All in all, this game delivers, big time.
The Bottom Line
The perfect Batman experience. Whether kicking ass in bone-breaking fights or sneaking around on ledges, this game is thoroughly satisfying.
By Joakim Kihlman on October 6, 2009