Retro Game Friday: BattleTanx

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a game that I have been meaning to cover for a long time. It’s BattleTanx!

Plot: The plot of BattleTanx is pretty much nonsense, a plague kills 99.99 of all the women in the world and the rest are held up as feudal ladies that are the leaders of all the various gangs that come after the world went to crap. If you are looking for a really deep story, this isn’t going to satisify you.

Gameplay: Thankfully that wasn’t the point, and the gameplay was. The gameplay is purely Tank vs Tank combat in various locales across the US, such as Chicago, and New York. It was pretty fast paced and fun to play, especially with a friend or two. This also included destructible enviroments, though you could say that took up much of the power that was used in the game. Still it was fun to play as a kid, even if it was a bit violent. Still what kid doesn’t like explosions?

Art: The art has aged incredibly poorly since it was first released, but given that this was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 that isn’t too surprising.

Music: I honestly don’t remember much of it. I was too busy talking with my friends while we played.

Overall: A fun game, and if you get the chance to play it with a friend or two it’ll entertain you for a bit, but not too long since games have improved greatly since this was released.

For those who like: Tanks, Explosions, Action, Drama.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Killer7

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a rather oddball game. It’s Killer7!

Plot: The plot is pretty complex and not at all kid friendly. That said this is a Suda51 game, so that is to be expected.

Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty poor, with it being an On The Rails shooter for the most part. Honestly I enjoyed the story more than the gameplay by a very large margin.

Art: Killer7 used Cel Shading extensively and while it’s aged pretty well since then, it still has aged.

Music: The music is pretty good, and fits the game well.

Overall: An okay game, but much better story. Honestly you might just want to watch a Let’s Play instead of actually playing this.

For those who like: Action, Drama, The Noir Genre.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Ape Escape 2

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a sequel to a classic game. It’s Ape Escape 2!

Plot: The plot is just as ridiculous as the first game, which is saying something as the first was rather slapstick at times.

Gameplay: The gameplay is much like the first game, with the player using various gadgets via the right analog stick and controlling Hikaru via the left stick and the shoulder buttons. In addition the game has new gadgets you can use which add to the wackiness, like a Bananarang to lure monkeys with it’s scent.

Characters: Kakeru, the first game’s protagonist isn’t really in the game, though you can play as him in the New Game Plus mode. Hikaru is our new main character, with Natsumi taking over for the Professor for the most part.

Art: The art of the original game has aged poorly, although there was a PlayStation 4 port with enhanced graphics that was released four years ago.

Music: It fits the game, nothing more really needs to be said.\

Overall: A fun game, and a classic that is often overlooked.

Retro Game Friday: Vigilante 8 2nd Offense

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a sequel to one of a lesser known series I covered ages back. It’s Vigilante 8 2nd Offense!

Plot: This sequel has a decent plot, but it’s nothing spectacular either. That isn’t to say it’s bad, just that it’s not amazing.

Gameplay: This plays a lot like the original, which is to be expected. However the newly added two player co-op mode made this game lots of fun to play with my friend when I was younger.

Art: The game has aged poorly, but that’s to be expected from a game that was near the end of the Nintendo 64 era.

Music: I don’t remember much of it other than that it fit the game, I was too busy laughing with my friend.

Overall:  A fun game, but it has aged poorly.

For those who like: Vehicular Combat, Action, Adventure.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Pokemon Stadium 2

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a sequel that was better than the original. It’s Pokemon Stadium 2!

Gameplay: This game focused more on the connectivity with the GameBoy games, even allowing players to play the actual games they had loaded into the Transfer Pak. This was a big draw for lots of players. There were also some mini games like the previous game, so it wasn’t purely just a Pokemon battler for the console.

Art: The art has aged pretty poorly but considering that this was a N64 game that isn’t a surprise.

Music: Pure Pokemon music, nothing else need be said.

Overall: A better sequel than the original, which is pretty rare.