Shamashmuddamiq Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002 Video Game)

Entertaining, but not Extraordinary

[24 September 2003]

There are lots of good things about this game. The music (at least towards the beginning of the game) is catchy, the controls are easy to learn, and gameplay is usually interesting. The graphics are great, and the expressions on faces are well done. The camera control is great. All in all, it's much better than Ocarina of Time.

This game does, however, have some problems. Getting around is really tedious. The world is big, but there isn't much there. So you find yourself changing the direction of the wind (do I have to play that stupid tune again?) and then putting the controller down while you wait out your long ride to the next island.

Some of the most annoying features of Ocarina of Time have been brought back to this one. There are some puzzles that really make you want to stop playing ("How in the world was I supposed to figure that out?"), and using the windwaker to perform tasks is a somewhat tedious process. Why don't they just have a simple command menu instead? There are a lot of things you need to do in the game that don't add to the enjoyment or the interest or the storyline, but just seem to be there in order to lengthen the gameplay.

There are some puzzles that need to be played over and over until you get them right. It's this way in just about every trademark game by Nintendo that I can think of (and, in my opinion, this is bad design). However, there aren't as many of these as there are in Ocarina of Time, and it's much less of an issue than it is in games like Super Mario Sunshine (ack!).

The fun, the challenge, and great graphics make this game a good one. Still, I had to stop every once in a while and play Metroid Prime instead, just to remind myself why I bought the GameCube in the first place.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

It doesn't take a genius to know that a genius didn't make this movie.

[3 August 2003]

SPOILERS!

This movie was pretty awful.

Throughout the movie, I was wondering exactly what the filmmakers were expecting me to be feeling. Should I have been feeling empathetic, anxious, fearful, horrified? None of those were part of the experience. First I was bored, then annoyed, then really annoyed, then angry.

This movie sets out to do what only a real genius can accomplish in a horror movie: causing fear without ever presenting the source of that fear on-screen. These filmmakers weren't geniuses.

The characters spent most of their time on-screen screaming at each other. This, in addition to the awful camera work and the black and white (mostly black) scenery made it a very unpleasant movie to watch, even for a horror flick. Also, the scenes are set in Maryland. I like the way Dave Barry put it when he said, "You get the impression that if they'd just shut up and WALK, in 20 minutes they'd come to a Wal-Mart."

The best thing about this movie is the last couple of seconds before the credits roll -- there is no screaming, and the camera is still. During the few minutes before this point, you're getting ready to either (1) see something cool, or (2) leave the theater.

I imagine that if you really really wanted to be afraid, this movie could probably help you out. But mostly it will just scare young grammar-school-age kids that still have the "monster under my bed at night" kind of phobias.

This movie could have had lots of potential. It started out with a really good idea that could have gone anywhere...and it didn't go...anywhere.

Metroid Prime (2002 Video Game)

Metroid does it again.

[28 July 2003]

This game is extremely well done. I've yet to see a better game for any current top-of-the-line console system. I was skeptical about this game, after hearing that it would be a 3D shooter, but I was very relieved as I started to play. This is definitely a Metroid game, and it's the best yet.

The game creators were very skillful in making you feel like you are really part of the action. The sounds, the music, and the environmental effects all help out. The fights with the Chozo ghosts will actually scare you. You'll want to run away and hide.

Super Mario Sunshine (2002 Video Game)

Mario isn't as pleasant this time around.

[28 July 2003]

This game was sort of a let-down. I had fun at first, but after awhile I noticed that there were two types of levels:

1) Those that are extremely easy (though it might take awhile to figure out what you need to do). 2) Those that are extremely tedious. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're hard, it just means that you need to do them over and over and over again until you get lucky enough that Mario doesn't slip, slide, or fall the wrong way. Almost all of the obstacle course levels are like this.

It's one of those games that derives almost all of its difficulty from the fact that you're trying to control a 3-D environment with a 2-D interface. Most gamers would call that poor design.

Probably the most annoying thing about the gameplay is the backward-loop high jump. It never happens when you're counting on it, and it often does happen when you really don't want it to. After you've spent 10 minutes climbing a wall, and you fall all the way down to the bottom again simply because Mario decided he didn't want to do a backward high-jump this time, you just feel like turning it off. I did many times. I only came back because I figured it would get better. It never did.

I found myself saying after just about every level: "I'm glad I'll never have to do that level again."

Except for the gameplay, this game is excellent. Good graphics, somewhat good story, and it's a big game -- there's a lot to do.

Blaster Master (1988 Video Game)

Best game ever produced by SunSoft

[28 July 2003]

This is perhaps the best game that was ever made for the original NES. You are Jason. Your pet frog wandered away from his cage and was mutated by some radioactive material, and then jumped down a hole. You follow him down the hole only to find yourself next to a tank-like vehicle complete with space-suit.

Throughout the game, you are fighting robot machines and mutated radioactive fiends, and at the end of each level you get to add an upgrade to the tank vehicle. By the end of the game, the vehicle can crawl on walls and ceilings, hover in the air, and swim through the water.

This is a very difficult game, but this is what makes it fun. I remember the sense of accomplishment as I finished Stage 3, and then again as I finished the game. After 15 years, I still enjoy playing the game once in a while.