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Super Meat Boy (PC)
by JasonReview
I spent quite some time looking for a game that kept the classic, unforgiving system, ensuring that the player's hand was not held for the entire game when I stumbled upon this. It left me very sceptical of what to expect as a game this unique was extremely rare and not without its impending flaws. I took a gamble and purchased it within ... 10 minutes of viewing it, thinking that it may provide me with at least a few hours of reasonable entertainment for long trips on the train and for bus journeys.
When I returned to my desktop computer and began to install it, I was overcome with nervousness, hoping that it would be everything it stated on the box but in the majority of cases this was not true. The installation process was quick and easy as the game is only 238 Megabytes. I ran in to a few problems where the game did not launch after a few play sessions unless I repeatedly spammed my left mouse button on the launcher but this problem ironed itself out over a short period time.
When launching the game, it was apparent that the development team (Team Meat) had quite the sense of humour, presenting me with a variety of slogans, stating that the gameplay experience would greatly benefit from the use of a controller. To my relief, the keyboard controls were equally excellent to control Meatboy and no corners had been cut in the PC release. You wouldn't expect much of a story from a Retro 2D plat former but on launch; it shows you a little monotone backstory without a variety of humorous elements. In the style of old black and white cinema, it explains how Meatboy loves his girlfriend Bandage girl, why Dr Foetus is depressed and how Bandage girl is then kidnapped. With some very interesting but quite beautiful background music, this little story comes together perfectly.
Once you arrive on the main menu, you will have your first taste of the legendary soundtrack produced by Danny Baronowsky. The soundtrack alone is worth the £15 price tag, not even getting in to the gameplay. Once you start a new game, you will see your happy little Meatboy standing on a slightly ticked off forest (you'll understand when you see it) with a few innocent looking saw blades in the background. Upon starting the level, you will be eased in to the world of Super Meatboy but things do soon escalate. Before long you will be dodging saw blades while racing against the clock, bandage girl always in arms reach before being grabbed away by the despicable Dr Foetus. You will travel in pursuit over five separate chapters in very unique settings, including; a psychotic hospital, a factory, the depths of hell and the rapture. Each one getting tougher and tougher, forcing you to push your little Meatboy to the limits.
You will die many times during your stay on Meatworld and a very handy replay feature will combine every effort in to one when you finally complete a level. This will force you to watch every mistake you made over the course of the level, ending with either a disappointing sign or a triumphant cheer, depending on your performance.
Overall, Super Meatboy is definitely in my top 5 games of the century due to the perfect engine in place for platforming, ensuring that every death is entirely your fault and can be avoided with fast enough reactions and additional practise, the fantastic soundtrack specifically designed for the different paces of each level, the wonderful unique art style and finally the length. Depending on your skill level, it could be anywhere between a very short game to an endless pit of frustration, testing you at every turn. Due to the nature of the game and the shear mass of collectables, it has more replay value than any game I could possibly think of.
I only have one problem which is not related to the quality of gameplay, music or anything for that matter. It is just the fact that the system requirements are extremely high for a game created and developed in Flash. On a mid-tier laptop, you may encounter extreme key lag and the possibility of Meatboy clipping through walls but apart from that, I cannot think of any possible flaws apart from the keyboard I broke in the process of playing at four in the morning. Remember to Stock up on extra keyboards!
I would recommend this game to anyone even slightly interested in computer gaming, even if just to see their faces light up red after the impending frustration. At the very least, the soundtrack will draw in quite a few music lovers and maybe even convert a few in to gamers.
Super Meatboy is a unique and exciting platformer, leaving you on the edge of your seat due to the tension built up over the first few minutes of gameplay.
I would rate this game a perfect 5/5. If only ratings could go higher...
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Super Meat Boy (PC)
by Red-Fox
Modern video games are determined to help you out wherever possible. Constant checkpoints, a slow difficulty curve and even opportunities to skip more difficult parts of a level. Modern video games also try their best to make it feel like you are playing a film, with big, highly detailed surroundings. Super Meat Boy proves that you don't ... need either of those things to make a fantastic game.
Super Meat Boy has a very simple, cartoon design that works very well. The main character, who is essentially a meat blob that splashes blood everywhere he lands, would not work if the game was designed to try and look highly detailed. The world as well isn't highly detailed, but takes nothing away from the experience.
The game itself will make you want to rip your hair out with frustration at points, but is a very simple premise. Your character, Meat Boy, must save his girlfriend Bandage Girl from the evil Dr. Fetus. You must navigate Meat Boy across levels, very often filled with various death-traps, to reach Bandage Girl, only to see Dr. Fetus steal her away again, forcing you to play the next level to try and save her again. Every time that you die in a level you will taken back to the start of it, which can be extremely frustrating if you are just about to reach the end of the level, but it also feels very rewarding to complete a level after dying several times.
One great feature of the game is once you have completed a level. The game will show a replay of all of your attempts playing simultaneously. While this looks slightly boring if you completed a level first time, it is great fun to watch as 20 Meat Boy's make their way through a level and watching all the various ways that they died.
While £12 is definitely worth paying just for the story mode alone, there is also a level editor, basically allowing for almost an unlimited number of levels to play, giving the game great replay value.
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Super Meat Boy (PC)
by stacey10304
Super Meat boy is a wierd and wonderful game for the PC and is a sequel to the original Meat Boy that was released in 2008.
You star in the game as Super Meat Boy - a small cube shaped piece of meat (strange I know). Super Meat Boy must save his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the Evil Dr Fetus. The aim of the game is to guide ... Meat Boy through each level by running, jumping, climbing walls and avoiding obstacles such as buzzsaws and other potentially fatal obstacles.
The game is divided into chapters which feature different themes and contain several levels within each chapter. Altogether the game has around 300 levels I think, which is a lot of levels! Completing a level within a certain amount of time will unlock an even harder version of the level in the dark world.
The game is very difficult and challenging, and quite frustrating at times - in 2010 it received the award for Most Challenging Game from IGN. You have an unlimited amount of lives and every time you die you start at the beginning of the level that you are currently on. Dont be fooled into thinking this makes it easier though, you will die ALOT! If it didnt have unlimited lives then the game would be far too frustrating and there would be alot of broken pads and keys from people suffering from severe game range - thats if they arent already.
Despite the difficultly the game is still enjoyable, it has managed to find that nice balance between challenging and just so hard that its not fun anymore - which is great! Its a highly addictive game that keeps you hooked wanting to get from one level to the next.
If you love retro style platform video games that are a bit of a challenge then you will love this and I definitely recommend it! It retails for around £15 from stores and from amazon and comes with a tshirt and soundtrack, however if your not bothered about the accessories then download it straight from Steam which should cost you round a fiver at the most!
Definitely one of the best games to be released recently - love SUPER MEAT BOY!
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