Rad Racer - Review

High Speed Fun
Rad Racer on the NES

Square-Enix is primarily known for their role-playing games, and rightfully so. After more than two decades of Final Fantasy games, it's difficult to dispute their impressive track record for fantasy RPGs. However, mastery in one genre doesn't mean that a developer has to make only games of that description, but all of that was yet to come. In the summer of 1987, Final Fantasy was still months away, and even though the young company was flailing financially, it managed to release Rad Racer on August 7th in Japan and October 1st in North America.

History is all well and good, but video games are all about the gameplay: if the game isn't fun, it's not fun. Thankfully, however, Rad Racer remains an amazing game and one of the finest driving games on the NES. Given the hardware, developers had to keep things simple in those days, but Rad Racer's arcade style and exhilarating sense of speed keep Rad Racer remains enjoyable and excellent. Lest I lavish on the praise too thickly, let's talk about the game in a little more detail.

The first thing you're likely to notice when looking at Rad Racer is the graphics. The Super Nintendo with its “Mode-7” capabilities was still years away, but this game presents a very competent 3D illusion within the narrow bounds of the NES processing power. Compared to the sometimes tacky use of Mode-7 in SNES games, Rad Racer has a beautifully old school look because, of course, this game is old school, and with that title comes a certain level of difficulty. This is not an easy game, and you'll have to master the gas, brake, and boost mechanics before you can advance to the later levels. Aiding you in this effort are the wonderfully tight controls. In stark contrast to the too-much or too-little brakes of so many racing games, Rad Racer feels just right in the controls.

Uh-Oh...

My one complaint with Rad Racer would have to be the way your car interacts with the other cars on the road. You're not really racing with anyone in the sense that there are no positions and you don't have to pass any cars to win, per se, but if you don't pass cars, you'll run out of time and face a game over. The other cars move much more slowly than you do, so you'll come up to cars fairly often, but when you do come upon cars, you'll know it. Hitting another car squarely from the rear will slow you down, but if you touch another car from the side, you'll go flying off to the side of the screen where you'll likely crash and burn. Needless to say, it can be frustrating to be tossed off the screen by a car that continues on unfazed, and at times the game can seem more like bumper cars than anything close to driving a real car.

However, any shortcomings are more than made up for by the sheer joy of playing the game. There isn't really a better way to say it: this game simply appeals to me, as I'm sure you've gathered. You've probably heard good things about the game, and, while I hesitate to gush too much, I highly recommend that you pick this game up. There's really no reason not to have this game in your collection, especially given the fact that it can be purchased for just a dollar or two.

--Tom

Review - Fable III

The Game in question? Fable 3
What console did we review it on? Xbox 360
Is it available on any other formats, and if so, which? No other formats as of yet.
Who reviewed this game? Serde

So, without wishing to dilly dally... Any more, it being a month since this game hit store shelves and made me scream in pleasure as a leather bound book fell into my hands containing Fable III. I just want to briefly sum up my thoughts during my first play-through: It's good, but not as good as the second one. Take from that what you will, as Fable III is a mixed bag, there wasn't many sweets I enjoyed, but perhaps you are a fan of Bertie Basset whilst I stick to chewing on jelly tots.

The games narrative opens up on a solemn note, your brother (Who it has to be said, is a bit of a dick) Is the ruler of Albion, Fables fantasy land that is so close to England in the 19th century you could taste it, bar the magic and exceptionally cool people within the royal family (ooh, burned). But I digress, within the first half an hour of wondering around the palace you are thrust into a decision so suddenly, and so perfectly that I found myself messaging people over the globe asking advice on what to choose. This moment gave me hope for this game, however it is unfortunately the hardest choice you'll be making in III, as with all games with "choice" nowadays, the mechanics the choices work on are plain as day, and it's easy to exploit any further decision moments. Either way, this choice pisses your prince (or princess, ladies) right off. So he huffs and he puffs and his mate Walter and his Butler take him away! It's at this point you discover you are a hero, and (surprise, surprise) are destined for the throne as Peter Molyneux has been telling us from the go like a dog on speed alerting us to some bloke walking past the house.

It has to be said that the "King", or should I say "Monarch" section of the game is one of the most unique sections to be in a game within recent memory. Which is why it's so unfortunate that it doesn't last long at all. The build up over the game falls flat, as it comes down to you ruling for about 5 to 6 days before the game calls it quits and lets you roam free, which is not a good thing. However, this is a section that should be experienced by everyone, so at least watch someone going through this portion of the game.

So the game-play eh? If you've played Fable II, you know the score. There’s a melee button, a magic button and a ranged button for combat, hold the button for more powerful attacks or repeat for a combo, simple hack and slash fun. Whilst mixing the different weapons and spells together in fights can be cool, you won't be coming back for the thrill of the fight. Ever. The conversation system has taken a turn for the worse as you have to talk to each villager individually rather than gathering a crowd. This makes things slow and clunky when getting a village to like you, and whilst the meetings feel more intimate, because the mechanics are so obvious and you're limited to two to three expressions at a time, there's no fun to be had here. The likes and dislikes for each villager have also done a runner, so each villager is pretty much the same person.

The much touted Pause menu? It's even slower than Fable 2's menu's! Sure, it looks cool and it's nice to walk round, but i can't find anything! For those not in the know, Fable III's pause menu is another 3d physical environment for you to explore, if you have a weapon, it's on the sword rack in the armoury. If you have a new jacket, you'll find it in the walk in wardrobe! Literally everything you collect, money, achievements, everything will be on display in some way shape or form within the pause menu, known in game as "the sanctuary". But as i say, whilst cool, it's too much hassle.

By far the best part of this game was the voice cast. You've got John Cleese, Simon Pegg, Sir Ben Kingsley, Stephen Fry and various other British actors taking up roles. It's masterful, and the British humour, as ever in the Fable games, is funny. If there’s anything that'll keep you coming back, it's the characters these guys pour their heart and soul into.

To round-up some other points. The game will set you back 10 hours at the least and around 30 at the most in one play-through. Definitely worth the £40 but i wouldn't spring for the collectors edition especially as the dlc included is almost entirely available on xbox live now. The property market in this game is too much hassle compared to II also, as houses need repairing every 20 or so minutes otherwise people won't pay rent. So you'll have to go to the Sanctuary, find the town that person is in, the house and then repair it within the map, it's too much hassle if you own most of Albion! Thankfully though it doesn't occur with shops!

"Fable III is a game everyone should have a go at. The first half an hour is an experience in itself, and the Monarch portion is something to behold however short it may be. On the other hand, the game is very shallow and basic in game-play, and the pause menu gimmick can become tedious."

- For anyone who purchases this game -
A WARNING: DAY 120, IS THE LAST DAY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

- Serde

Image credit: www.Lionhead.com/blogs

Freeware Friday: N (and a comparison to n+)

I love platformers. Mario, Metroid, Sonic, they're just so fun. N displays this to the fullest, but can at times be too difficult.

STORY

Like most freeware games, N is lacking in the story department. You're a ninja, who likes gold. You have 2.5 minutes to beat 5 crazy hard levels (an episode). There are 100 episodes. Ninjas like gold, so collecting gold makes you live longer. Unfortunately for you, everything from drones to gauss turrets want you dead. 

GAMEPLAY

Like I said, there are 100 episodes, which have 5 levels each. In each level, you have to dodge any and all enemies in your way, flip a few switches, and run to the exit. Gameplay is often frantic, leaving you little time to think and plan. And coupled with the ninja's timespan, this can make N an insanely difficult game. Collecting gold increases your life span by 2 seconds, which makes it invaluable. Thankfully, you get infinite lives, so you can die as many times as you need. There's also a suicide button (default:k), in case you get stuck. For enemies, there are zappy drones, which kill on contact, floor chasers, which run after you whenever you're on the same platform, mines, gun drones, which shoot you if you come into they're sight, gauss turrets, which shoot you, rocket turrets, which shoot rockets, laser drones, all kinds of stuff.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

Graphics are crisp and sharp, but nothing too spectacular. No music, but N has some really, really cool sound effects, blips, bloops, bops, vrrs, cool stuff. No voice acting.

N AND N+ COMPARISON

N+ is a PSP, DS, and 360 port of N. On the DS and PSP, the graphics and sound aren't quite as good. All the levels are original, and the level editor is better. The 360 is the same, with better graphics. Save your money and just stick with N. 

Overall, N is a wonderful game, with difficult platforming and pure genius. Highly recommended



Developer's website
N download

Images credit: thewayoftheninja.org