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THQ Astro Boy Omega Factor
by SWSt
I recently dug out my old Gameboy Advance and have been playing on some of the titles that I missed out on first time around. Since Astro Boy Omega Factor had recently featured as a classic title in Retro Gamer magazine, I decided that was a good a place to start as any.
The game is based on the popular cartoon character Astro ... Boy (personally, I'd never heard of him, but then that's probably because I'm old). Omega Factor sees the robotic boy flying into action to save the world from a dastardly plot to make all robots subservient to humans. This amounts to a series of different stages where Astro Boy must fly, shoot and negotiate platforms, overcoming a variety of enemies and bosses out to stop him.
There are a number of things that really set Astro Boy apart from other, more generic platform/shooter hybrids. Chief amongst these is the presentation, and particularly the story which flows throughout the game. Every level has a cut-scene before and after it (and sometimes mid-way through as well) which charts the story. Never mind that the story is a bit bonkers and doesn't make a whole heap of sense - it really adds to the atmosphere of the game. Rather than simply doing a level because that's the one you are up to, you feel as though you are doing it for a very specific reason, explained to you through the cut-scenes and its accompanying dialogue. It also gives you a sense of progression and achievement as you move through the game. This is not just a generic shooter, it's one which makes good use of its licence and immerses you in Astro Boy's oddball world.
True, occasionally the cut-scenes occur a little too frequently and it sometimes feels as though for every 5-6 minutes of gameplay, there is 2-3 minutes of dialogue to read through. However, the cut-scenes are quite endearing and without them, it's unlikely the game would be anywhere near as entertaining (and you can always skip them if you really get bored).
Graphics, too, are excellent. Each level has a very different setting and hence a very different feel. Again, these graphical differences add to the sense of progression as the look and feel of the game changes as you move through the plot. Although relatively simplistic by today's standards graphics are clear, crisp and well-defined and have a pleasing cartoon like quality that captures the feeling of a cartoon. There is a huge variety in the different sprites used for the enemies. Some of these are fairly generic "evil agent" man-shaped enemies, others are far more imaginative; all are excellent. I particularly liked the frequent use of bosses which offer a bit more of a challenge
Sound is also surprisingly good, with creators Treasure squeezing some excellent tunes and effects out of Nintendo's little grey box. The tunes are catchy without being annoying, whilst the sound effects are suitable and very atmospheric. Sound is sometimes an area which can let games down badly, but there's no problem here.
It's the superb level design which is the real icing on the cake, though. They are generally short (typically taking less than 5 minutes to complete) and so are ideal for more casual pick-up-and-play gaming sessions. They are also varied and fun. Some are simple straightforward shooting levels, other are platform based, whilst still others see you having to defeat a series of enemies before you can move on. This mix of styles means that the game never becomes dull as no two consecutive levels are the same. Throw in the end of level bosses, and plenty of variety to hold your attention.
True, it's not the most difficult game in the world, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The game is such a joy to play that you will want to get to the end of it, and for once, even the most average of gamers stands a chance of doing just that. It's also a lot of fun, so even when you've completed it its replay value is high and it's a game you will return to every so often.
Controls initially seem a little daunting. Basic directional controls are accessed via the D-Pad, whilst the two buttons control other features like Jump. The shoulder buttons are used to access more advanced weapons and (this is where it gets more complicated) various combinations of all these buttons control other moves (such as the handy dash attack). Unlike many games, all these moves are available to you from the start and whilst there is a brief tutorial level, you do initially feel as though you have to learn a lot of controls at once. Initial fears quickly subside as the controls prove to be surprisingly intuitive and after a few short minutes of experimentation, you will soon have the hang of them.
Best of all, getting hold of this game is not going to bankrupt you. I bought a boxed copy in excellent condition for just over Ł5. For the number of hours' entertainment you will get out of this Omega Factor that is excellent value for money. I might not know a lot about the Astro Boy character or be able to comment on how faithful a representation this is, but I know a good game when I see one.
© Copyright SWSt 2011
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Power Rangers: Ninja Storm (GBA)
by Dentolux
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm is a Gameboy Advance video game based on the long running kids show of the same name. The series was known for mixing story segments featuring American actors with action sequences lifted from the Japanese Super Sentai shows. The combination was a big hit and no one seemed to notice the most politically ... incorrect casting ever. The girl naturally had to be the Pink Ranger, an African American was selected for the role of Black Ranger and the Yellow Ranger was an Asian chick. Speaking of the Yellow Ranger, did you know that they picked a girl for the part even though the fight scenes featuring the character were recorded using a costumed Japanese man? Is it a lady or a boy? Sounds like a Thai holiday nightmare come true.
STORY
I have very little to say with regards to the game's plot as I haven't got the foggiest what it is. The in game cut scenes merely show bad guys up to no good prior to a level starting. There's no text describing what is going on so I can only presume that they wrote the story in the game's manual, which I no longer have access to. I cannot even hazard a guess based on the TV show as I never watched it. When it originally aired I was too old to be interested and besides I was already tired of ninja stuff having watched reruns of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles a million times over. I must however say that the show's cheesy theme song was rather catchy. Go, go Power Rangers... you mighty morphing power rangers!
PRESENTATION
The game's audio and visuals aren't terrible, but they won't be winning any gaming awards either. The graphics are nice and colourful, but the character designs don't seem to mesh. The Rangers are drawn realistically, almost as if they digitised the actors in question, but some of they enemies they fight look cartoony (such as a giant plant with a face which you encounter in level one.) It's almost as if two different artists worked on the title and didn't communicate with each other. That flaw coupled with bland repetitive backgrounds really lowers the quality of what you see on screen. The soundtrack isn't much better either. It's another example of a game with mediocre tunes that loop over and over to the point that they start to get annoying.
GAMEPLAY
Simple is the best word I could use to describe this game. You pick the Ranger of your choice and then control him through a number of side scrolling levels beating up the enemies that get in your way. Pressing the attack button slashes your sword which can be switched for a ranged weapon by picking up the relevant power-up. There are no combos to perform and frankly they are not needed as most of the bad guys you come across will go down in one hit. Using the L button performs a special move, but I barely used it as the regular attack seemed to get the job done. The only other significant move in your arsenal is a weak throw that can knock down oncoming enemies and break down obstacles that get in your way (such us fences or cars.)
Pressing one button to down weak enemies gets real old real fast and the tedium isn't alleviated by varied enemy types. All the bad guys you come across in the levels look the same aside from a slight tweak to the colour scheme of their outfit. The colour of your foe determines what is special about them (e.g the yellow ones perform a baseball slide attack, the red ones can take more damage before dying etc) but it is rare to see them do their thing as most of the time you knock them down before they can unleash any offence. The only variation comes in the form of end of level bosses who aren't particularly tough. They all have easy to memorize attack patterns so it is easy to fend them of with hit and run tactics. Some of the easier bosses didn't even require dodging as you could trade blows with them and win as your energy bar would outlast theirs.
Beating a boss isn't enough to complete the stage though. Before you clear the level and earn a password to save your progress you must battle a giant guardian by piloting your Ranger's transformable mecha. I was expecting the action to switch to a fighting game at this point, but what we get instead resembles a dance game. You press the prompt that appears on screen (for example A and up) to land a hit before the monster you are battling strikes. After dealing enough damage the bar at the bottom of the screen fills up allowing you to perform a death move that blows up the bad guy. One thing of note is that these duels always take part at a forest outside of the city. It doesn't matter whether the level you are on is underground, in a warehouse or alien lair you always end up in the forest. You know the developers were lazy when they cannot be arsed to draw enough backgrounds to cover every stage.
OVERALL
There's very little to recommend here. Power Rangers: Ninja Storm is a run of the mill side scroller that gets boring after a few minutes due to its overly simplistic fighting engine. I can only imagine that hardcore fans of the show with an age that doesn't reach double digits would enjoy this. They will be content with playing as their heroes and won't get frustrated as the title is lacking in difficulty. The parents who cough up cash to purchase it may however be less than amused when said child is pestering them again for a new game seeing as how Ninja Storm can be completed in one sitting. Do yourself a favour and give this a wide berth. If this game was a character from the show it would be the Turd Brown Ranger.
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