Full Motion Videos Were a Terrible Idea

If you are not in the know of what FMV's are, they are Full Motion Videos, which was titled very poorly. These videos are about as full motion as claymation, and that's no exaggeration. For some reason, back in the early days of gaming, developers figured out that they could record themselves and impliment the footage into video games. Once CD-Roms and 32-Bit systems, such as the Sega Saturn, were powerful enough, they were able to store a ton of these very stiff, awkward videos to "show off" between gameplay.

Then, there were also games that were nothing but Full Motion Videos. Yes, those exist. The Sega Saturn was not as guilty of wearing out the concept as the Sega CD was. Still, games like Double Switch, Myst, or The Horde have some of the worst cut scenes and gameplay footage on the system. The actors they got for these videos were beyond abysmal. The costumes were cheesy, and there were even a few parts that were absolutely digusting. 

If you would like to see one of those games that relies on FMV's and real people cut-outs, check out my review for Corpse Killer and get a glimpse of the idea at its worst. Even when the video was of slightly better quality, and didn't have that ridiculous amount of grain moving across it, it was still so janky and awkward to watch. 32-bits was still not enough. 

This could also be a case of keeping video games to themselves while also keeping films in their own category. Mixing mediums has bore fruit in the past with Mortal Kombat starting the craze of putting in real-life people into the graphics. The difference there is that the game is still fully controlled and the graphics are not "full motion" for... some reason. I don't know the the grimey details. The point is that putting 2D games into 3D games, making video games into movies, and making video game adaptations of movies can definitely work, so long as you go full tilt into that medium. 

Full Motion Video Games was a lot like taking a movie, and turning it 25% into a game and calling it a day. The aiming is often off-center in rail shooters, the controls are often slow and inaccurate and then there's the fact that the gameplay can often be described as very, very boring. 

Now, are all games that bring in Full Motion Video bad? No! There are exceptions to this, of course. From this standpoint, none of them exist on the Sega Saturn. There is always a chance there are hidden titles or titles that I missed, but by all means, if you have a loved FMV game on the Saturn, talk about in the comments. I know you'll talk about it somewhere.

A good FMV game that comes to mind is Wing Commander 3, which can be seen as campy and fun. The Mortal Kombat Sub-Zero game had some of the worst and most amazing FMV's ever. If you have not seen this video, you are missing out. Of course there is room for guilty pleasures and videos that are just so unintentionally hilarious that they deserve another good watch-through. 

There's always room for a good terrible FMV, but the problem is that these are lightning strikes. There is a fine line between enjoyably campy and absolutely cringeworthy, which is often very hard to sit-through. Making an enjoyable FMV game was a case, like any movie, of actors, directing and camera movement that didn't make you want to vomit. All of these elements needed to be just right and that happened once every other blue moon, it seems. 

Thankfully, FMV's have all but been phased out of existence in terms of recent games. All of them seem to be relegated to the fourth and fifth generations of consoles. The Dreamcast either had no FMV games or they were so few in number that a general search brings up nothing. It's always good to play with technology and experiment with mechanics and features. Full Motion Videos seemed to be something of a failed experiment that they just kept trying at with little to no success.

Even the best of the bunch are usually a one-time play-through, then it can be put away. If there are some favorite FMV games out there, by all means. The 7th Guest had its good points but by no means does it save the concept, nor does Phantasmagoria. If you have an argument for the Full Motion games, you're going to bring it to the table, so go right ahead. There are enjoyable ones but the vast majority were subpar to say the least. I may like to repeat my thesis a lot, but that's mostly because I'm almost finished with college. No, I'm not kidding. Virtua Diploma. 

Virtua Sonic #6 - The Sonic Spectrum

To be frank, Sonic has had it pretty rough in the past decade or so. Ever since his massive success on the Sega Genesis in three massively beloved titles, he has been the victim of some very bad luck. Many would attest that it all began with Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox 360 (commonly referred to as Sonic ‘06), it actually started further back than that, Sonic ‘06 is just when it really became noticeable. Going back and forth in quality from the decent success of Sonic Generations to the abysmal failure of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, the Sega Mascot has had a dual failure/success rate of gigantic proportions.

One clear example of this is the very recent fanmade super game headed by Christian Whitehead, Sonic Mania. One could say that Sonic Mania is the most success the little blue hedgehog has seen in literally over a decade. That’s not to say there aren’t good recent Sonic games by major developers, but Sonic Mania has seen success that is unparalleled by the likes of Sonic’s most recent game, Sonic Forces. Talk about quality difference of day and night, Sonic Mania has enjoyed the highest ratings even by some of the most skeptical gaming reviews while Sonic Forces has been left in the super speeding dust.

Even with the dream game mechanic of original character creation, Sonic Forces had very little else to offer. With poor level design, questionable controls, and the fact that you play as Sonic through most of the game anyway, onlookers were scratching their heads asking “why create a character in the first place??” Sonic Mania blew all of it out of the water and turned that nostalgia dial to eleven. We were gifted with familiar gameplay and level design with a nice little twist here and there to brighten it up for the new generation of gamers while leaving plenty for older gamers to ogle. Even the seemingly outdated graphics are updated and beautiful in a way that does not impede on the oldstyle 16-bit look. 

Sonic Forces has its fans, but it did have some objectively terrible decisions made for it. Not to mention giving your character a random weapon to work with rather than maybe a general skill it can use would have been far more appeal. As it stands, your character is mostly just an aesthetic to run along obstacles. It's not that Sonic Mania had the best ideas for level design as well, but it was a much more stylistic choice to elongate the game just a bit more. It does make traversing some of the level a bit of a hassle when it comes to the timer. They honestly should have taken that into account.

It’s starting to look pretty clear on what Sonic games should have been doing the entire time. There have been successful titles that go outside the fast-running platforming of his original games, but those have been so few and far in between. Now we have two that are mapped out and marketed very near one another for a comparison that paints a very clear picture. Sonic fans are now hoping and praying that Sega takes some serious notes of this outcome, because it’s clear that even true blue Sonic fans are getting fed up with the treatment that he has been getting as of late. 

In the end, it was a one hit knockout. This contrast really goes to show you that innovation and imagination can do some serious damage against just throwing money at a problem in hopes that it improves. AAA Gaming has been under some serious fire for lack of ideas in the ways of Sonic franchise fatigue, cash grab titles and using nostalgia as a way to lure oldschool gamers into spending their money for games that have little to no effort put into them. This fan game may have been distributed by Sega, but let’s face it, it’s an indie game through and through. Now Sonic fans are hoping that the Sonic Team can learn from this experience, but at the same time, given his very questionable past treatment, there is really no telling what they have in store for our blue radical dude. All we can really do is stay tuned and drink water.

The Virtua Star - Great Star Wars Games

 Happy May the 4th! Since the definitive Star Wars experience is a distant memory and we pine for Disney to give us any good Star Wars content to consume, it's a good time to remember the good times with the good old Star Wars games. The Sega Saturn, sadly, doesn't have any games within the universe, but it is interesting to note the ones that are on Dreamcast. Beyond, that, though, these games range anywhere from the arcade experience, all the way through PC, Consoles, handhelds and all sorts of ports throughout the ages. Ever since there were video games, there was a Star Wars game, it seems. 

While this may not be entirely true, it does date back to the golden age of Atari systems for the home television and even has a banger of a title on the arcade cabinets of old. While the home console ports were nothing really to write home about, the arcade port was definitely an experience, especially for its time. 

When it comes to science fiction, Star Wars is the piece of the pie that I have always taken. The journey of Luke through his turbulent past and finding out who he truly is through sorrow and warfare has always been a great piece of lore for the ages. There were even some Extended Universe bits that still hold true to this day, but I won't bore you with the details. Here starts a lovely little idea for a Star Wars segment on Virtua Neptune. We just hope we don't need to make any deals with a certain Lord of the Darkside.

                                                                            Star Wars The Arcade Game

Released in 1983 for the arcades, this was a wonder that it even exists. Someone must have really wanted to be an astronaut, because they simulated the experience of fighting in an X-wing almost to a T. This is a game that still holds up today as an arcade experience that anyone should try. If you have the opportunity to play this in a simulated X-wing, do not hesitate to do so! This is mind-numbing, wonderful fun killing TIE fighters and listening to that wonderful old pixelated soundtrack.

                                                                            Star Wars Shadows of the Empire

If you owned a Nintendo 64 system, then you more than likely have at least played this very prolific title. Star Wars was riding high in its original Extended Universe and this was the pinnacle of its labors on top of miles upon miles of literature now burned to ash with the snap of George Lucas's fingers. This title is a landmark of those ancient texts, though, and its Hoth battle level as well as its many wonderful cheat codes have been celebrated for years! The game itself is rather mediocre as it is. The controls can be considered rather harsh to deal with in the later levels, but this title is still looked upon fondly for many old school fans of the franchise.

                                                                              Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

This game deserves its own review. It is another relic of the Extended Universe with Revan's chapter in the Star Wars franchise. This storyline got a lot more screen time than the other ones and parts of it still exist in what passes as Star Wars lore these days. This is an action RPG and features so many amazing traits you can give your "original character". The highly customizable elements and vast exploratory elements of the Star Wars universe make this a staple for any collection. The sequel is also looked upon fondly, though not as much for several reasons that would suffice in their own entire article. 

                                                                            Star Wars Battle Front 2

The run and gun fun for everyone from the good old version of 2009! Did you really think I would count that intruder among our ranks with the horrible microtransactions and crappy story? HA! Nay! This version is simple: Get to your mission and take down as many battle droids as you can while collecting health and armor powerups! It couldn't get any simpler and you have a limited amount of how many troopers you can use. So, like in real life, your reinforcements are limited to just how good you are and how fast you can get missions done. This is just an all around fun mid-2000's romp with levels from the first game already installed! It's just as good as having both. Enjoy and destroy the opposition!!

                                                                        Star Wars Jedi Academy 

Yet another gem among Star Wars games when you weed through all of them. They really have a great number of diverse titles with a good bit of story involved. Go first person with a blaster or go third person with a lightsaber, it doesn't matter, this game is awesome! The story does take a few too many curves here and there but overall, it's an enjoyable experience. The greatest storywise next to Knights of the Old Republic, if we're being honest. While some of the level progressions can get a bit sketchy and hard to follow at times, this game is definitely worth tracking down and playing for the sheer enjoyment of its retro feel with graphics and gameplay. 

Star Wars goes with gaming like peanut butter and chocolate. The titles are vast and wonderful and with this series of articles, I wish to tackle some of the greatest Star Wars games of the eras. There are a lot of titles to go through and I hope you join me on with Planet Virtua throwing its hat into the science fiction universe with this wondrous collection of titles! Hyperdrive set!

Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC) - Return to Fun

 

One game that has thankfully garnered a cult following over the years, was Return to Castle Wolfenstein. After the breakout success of Castle Wolfenstein in 1981, Id Software got their eye on the franchise and wanted to find out how they could make Wolfenstein into a new game. Thankfully, they let the copyright for the title lapse, so they were given the opportunity to make their dream game! Wolfenstein 3D started a revolution and while we know all about Doom by now, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a bit of its own entity. 

This fully rendered 3D game could have been a banger Dreamcast title. Honestly, it should have been. Released in 2001, RtCW gave us a new outlook of the castle we were escaping from and let us go off into new environments full of Nazis and very strange creatures of the occult. Gray Matter Studios did what they could to bring about an amazing feel for the World War 2 era shooter, one that would be among some of the best in the genre. It was not only accurate in some respects, but it gave us very strange elements along with it. 

The weapons became far more advanced than historically accurate and that's a staple of the genre to this day. This was not only well implimented here, but also the 2009 underrated FPS classic, Wolfenstein, but that's another story for another day. This time, you've got gas masked men in armor, freaks and horrors beyond terrifyingly imaginable and Nazi guards with guns. This game has everything! 

Among the weapons that we get to use far outside the normal was the flamethrower. While this is commonplace today, this was not the case for 2001 games and before. If you really wanted to see your enemies cook, this was an effective tool to do so. This weapon is very easy to screw up by making it either ineffective or way overpowered. What they did was make it very powerful, but also a necessary weapon against some of the larger enemies.

This was also the case for the Tesla Gun and the Venom Chainguns. While one is very powerful but also dangerous against yourself, the Chainguns eat ammo very, very quickly. The Lightning gun is probably the most overpowered in the game, but there are also enemies with this weapon, so there's your double edge. 

The enemies were very much hyped to great levels this time around. With monsters with no legs and the undead corpses coming out, there's also mechanized soldiers with terrifyingly effective weapons. The mechanized opponents are very much an homage to Wolfenstein 3D's epic final boss fight of Mecha Hitler. Thankfully, these soldiers do not have four chainguns. Unfortunately, they are still able to kill you very quickly if you do not find cover very quickly or kill them first. Either way, they are dangerous!

If you were looking for a time capsule of 2001 gaming, this is quintessential. The backgrounds, the character models, the artillery, just about every single bit of this game is sketched to polygon perfection and the gameplay is something you could ogle for hours while you mow down castle guards with an MP40. Sadly, Tommy Gun ammo is rather rare, and you get the gun rather late in the game. 

This game is not perfect by any means, as fun as it is. There are segments in this game where they take certain concepts way too far. The worst of these concepts? Stealth! The first full stealth segment of the game came with an awesome silenced steam powered submachine gun. That gun has become something of an icon of this game, but so has this level, and the latter is not in a good way. One single look from one single angle in some single way and the alarm goes off, you start over. You need to follow a certain path and shoot certain guards at certain times, or you will set off the alarm. 

Then, there are the snipers. Something that a lot of games get wrong are the snipers. Sniper rifles are made entirely too powerful and getting accurately hit from a long distance can be very difficult to see coming. Can you snipe the sniper first or hide from their view? Yes, you can, but to say that this was a very delicate operation is no joke at all. One hair out of line and you are going to get your brains splattered across several screens. 

No, it is not perfect, obviously, and not all of the elements aged well. Of course, we will not hold that against it. This game is nostalgia in three dimensions. If you love First Person Shooters, we got this in spades right here! You can find this game on Steam and if you can find a working copy, do not hesitate to do so! Their blood shall flow and our knife shall stab! 

Gaming Graphics - The Taste You Can See

There has been a lot of speculation when it comes to gaming graphics and their importance to gaming in general. More and more, graphics have increased in complexity and detail to the point where even the most minute water droplet is depicted to crisp perfection. That's all well and good, but why? Why are graphics so important to some people? Since when has the book's cover become a means for such harsh criticism?

It's become something of a stigma that each generation of video gaming requires a drastic hike in graphics and creating a game has become so convoluted that it requires at least 10 years to fully finish a large scale product, keep it within budget and prevent developers from growing exhausted and/or burned out. That is the kind of time publishers don't have. To stay afloat and to keep the big wigs fat and happy, they need to meet an annual quota and that means they will cut as many corners as is necessary. This means pressuring developers, cutting game mechanics and features, compromising quality assurance and any other number of troublesome trends we've been seeing in the past decade.

This is all due to the fact that graphics need to be pristine, even immaculately implimented. This is overtly stupid and nonsensical, especially when you stop and think about how the decade of the 2000's are seen as the best games ever created. The era that brought us the Sega Dreamcast, N64, Gamecube and PS3 are cited as the most remade and referenced games from then on. 

They did not need the shiniest graphics to make that happen. Skyrim was marred with glitches, but given the game's nature and fan reaction, it is still being rereleased to this very day. Minecraft's graphics are laughable and yet people still spend a collective millions upon millions of hours playing it every year since its release.

I still play the Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube to this day. What is the hang-up? These graphics do what they set out to do and they do so unrelentingly, no matter how much they age.

Downplaying the importance of graphics is probably the best thing you could do to help the gaming community. It does not need to be pixelated or polygonal to the very core, it simply needs to look good enough to serve its purpose and get on with the rest of the game features. Cutting graphics to save the rest of the game is preferable to cutting out its singleplayer mode or even entire levels. And yes, this has happened more than once. Games have been straight up shortened to a massive degree, entire online features trashed and huge sections like sandbox features have been left out in order to make way for shinier, more detailed graphics. Was it truly worth it?

There are going to be nay sayers. There are going to be people who cannot live without water reflections and Raycasting in their lives. If you need to see the pores in your character's skin or the sheen in your character's gun metal, then maybe it's time you start questioning how much you actually like gaming. If eye candy is worth sacrificing entire environments in a map, maybe it's time to take up game design and graphical classes to see just how difficult these things can be.

These developers work their fingers to the bone to appease brutal, unrealistic demands and deadlines. Game development has become so unsustainable, publishers are having to set aside five or six years toward a single game's development and that could still end in crunch time for designers depending on the progress. Some of it has to do with a game's complex mechanics but you can surely bet that a great deal of it is for the graphics and the polishing thereof.

Why not go back to 32-bits or 64-bits and create better, more glitch-free games at a fraction of the time and cost? You could work on three or four at a time with the size of the team and money you're spending now and retro gamers would eat that up. Hell, modern gamers would more than likely join in the fun, considering the game dry spell that seems to be getting longer every year. 

Reaching a point in graphics where we can say enough is enough seems like a simple matter. There would be some backlash but let's face it, would it be as bad as the backlash from Cyberpunk 2077 or Battlefield 4 upon their initial releases? Simplifying these things and getting the gaming community back to a creative, more maintainable medium seems far more paramount than seeing each individual strand of hair on a character's head. 

Is it this simple? No, nothing this big ever is. This is merely a suggestion and words of wisdom from someone on the outside, looking in. I am seeing smaller developers begin to thrive with retro style shooters and less graphically inclined games. This is not new. If AAA gaming companies hopped on the trend, it would make a lot of people happier and pull us out of this stigma of releasing half-finished games at full price. Sometimes, less is more and the higher we go, the more room we have to fall. Let's hope someone listens, or at least puts out a pool so we can fall into some water.

Shining the Holy Ark - There is the Dungeon!

The 32 bit era was a landmark for several different game franchises. It allowed many of them to change the perspective of their entire game and bring us even closer to the action. The Shining series brought their games to this landmark as well and we got some great titles as a result. Shining the Holy Ark is no exception to this! The RPG genre was boosted to a whole new level and the push to 3D was a resounding success!

With haunted mansions and an entire barrage of monsters to face throughout caves and other dreary landscapes, you will never grow bored. There is also a cascade of beauty in green forests and grasslands. When you and your band of mercenaries are hired to take down a strange ninja, you embark on a journey that is far beyond what you’d expect. With characters that use melee weapons and characters that are mastered in the arts of magic, you need to make your strategy an effective one if you want to get through all of the ridiculous obstacles.

Now, is the game perfect? No, in fact there are several parts of the game that force you to grind a lot of your progress. If this is your thing, then the game will give you a lot of it. You can easily get lost in the tunnels and caves and this can be a problem when you are running out of magic and items to survive.

The characters are one of the saving graces of the game. There’s enough of a story to keep your involvement solid, while leaving your character enough of a blank slate to make them your own. The monsters can get a bit difficult in spots of the game, but overcoming them gives you a great sense of satisfaction.

The real problem with the game is it can get repetitive and there isn’t a great deal of replay value attached. However, after a long while between playing, it is very easy to pick up once again. The graphics are an example of the time and many have compared playing this game to playing the ever popular Final Fantasy VII. Any Fantasy RPG fan will most likely love this title. The Shining series is a fantastic Sega franchise that boasts several games that are more than worth trying for yourself. Give it a try!

Typing of the Dead Overkill (PC) - Beyond Parody

House of the Dead is no stranger to Planet Virtua. We don't love all of them, but the first two games from the arcade, Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast were some of our most celebrated titles! Overkill has found brand new life, since its introduction on the Wii, and it is some of the greatest the brand has to offer, bar none. 

Oh, yes, this is some of the corniest, cheesiest horror movie parody you could possibly ask for. Since the old days of the grindhouse movies in the dollar theaters, horror fans have had a fascination with slasher/zombie movies with a shoe-string budget, stupid one-liners and questionable effects in both makeup and pyros. As crappy as these movies were in production, they had their own beautiful charm to them. 

House of the Dead: Overkill captured this perfectly, and if you don't have a gun to shoot the screen with, now there's Typing of the Dead. That's right, you can now shoot zombies using the English language and that is yet another point of celebration! Now, you are going through strip clubs, old mansions and dark places, taking down zombies with your typing skills. This is especially endearing because now you can play it with a normal gun, mouse or the keys on your keyboard plugging holes in zombies. 

The real problem with this game is that it is unbearably short. By the time you're ready for another bout of the main characters' hilarious one-liners, it's basically over. Some of the action can get a little disgusting and grotesque, especially with the final bossfight. 

It's very easy, aside from the typing. The typing gives it a wonderful exercise for your fingers and while I type 100 words a minute, I do make typos and the game penalizes you if you have too many at once. Of course, it's a railshooter, and it's going to have the sudden enemies that appear at the bottom of the screen and some of the more unfair things therein. With the typing, this is toned down a great deal because you kind of need to do that when someone has to literally read and word and very quickly type it. This is a little more difficult than it sounds. 

With the Typing version, this game has been given new life and it is wondrous! This is definitely an addition to the House of the Dead series that belongs on your gameslist and do not pass it up. It is better than the House of the Dead remake, for certain. 

Sonic R - Life is Not a Race

I have talked at length about how Sonic has not had the greatest relationship with the Sega Saturn. With a title like Sonic 3D Blast not meeting a lot of expectations, that is a well long dried up in terms of enticing conversation. It’s not a horrific game, but it certainly doesn’t blow up the skirts of those looking for the high octane action of the original trilogy. Sonic Jam was a massively awesome title, but that’s more because it ported Sonic’s success on the Genesis over to the 5th generation. Not only could you play all three original titles, but you can play all of them with Knuckles as well. Total Sonic win!

Then there is a title that many have overlooked for many reasons. Sonic R is not what we would call a celebrated title among the many games on the Saturn. There are legitimate reasons for this for sure. The graphics are not the greatest by any means. The framerate can dip to some single digits and the glitches in the gameplay can make your skin crawl. Then the controls come along, and yes, you need to get used to them in a very steep learning curve. When you are trying to win this game, it can be a bit of a hassle.

However, when you are going into this game with the idea of “fun” in mind, you can have all kinds. It’s really not hard at all. With a bit of practice and a few friends playing, you can engage in some minigames that the game comes with from the very start! On top of the racing, you can also play tag! That’s right! A racing game with a tag feature! With the awesome characters at your disposal, you can have high speed games of cat and mouse with free exploration of the vast maps as far as the eye can see.

When you have a child to entertain, the possibilities are endless! Quality time can be spent scouring the race tracks for a balloon minigame. Finding the balloons sounds childish as all getout, but why not? Isn’t the point of a game to be fun in our own little ways?

No matter how much this game gets lambasted by the critics and snidely turned down by framerate snobs. This game is still a lot of fun to play. This is not a troll, nor is it saying that it’s the GREATEST SONIC GAME by any means. The love for this game stems from a mixture of both its wide variety of gameplay, its characters and its amazing soundtrack.

The music in this game can never be overstated. It is some of the most energetic, majestic, lyrical tunes on the Sega Saturn. If I were to pit this up against Daytona USA, Sonic R would come out on top, and that’s really saying a lot. From start to finish, this game hits the beats hard and does not stop.

Sonic R is far from perfect and it certainly won’t make a whole lot of favorite games lists. However, there are those of us who still love it for both its pros and its cons. Would I recommend it? No, it’s more for a certain group of people and those willing to forgive its flubs in the graphics and gameplay. On a conventional scale, this game is not good and it deserves all of its critical panning. On another level, the subjective, nostalgic, bleeding heart level, this game is endless fun and deserves a second glance if you’ve got the time. If you’re a Saturn fan, give this game a try and don’t drown in the water. Drink it.

Final Fight Revenge - There is no Revenge

This is a fighting game. More accurately, a 3D fighting game. This particular game was developed by Capcom as a Saturn exclusive (aside from the arcade port) and released only in Japan. It is the only fighting game in the Final Fight series, which normally features beat'em up games. Final Fight has come out with a great number of beat'em up games that have received a great deal of acclaim in both arcades and console versions. 

This game, again their only fighting game, is a bland experience. It is so by the numbers and so mediocre that there's really not a whole lot to talk about here. The stages are beyond bland and the fights are about as unimaginative as you can imagine. Imagine that! It's not that it's terrible, there is just nothing to write home about. The graphics are decent for 32-bits and the character designs made a good conversion over to 3D from their 16-bit counterparts. That's about all the good that can be said about it. 

The fighting is boring. You fight the opponent, they block a whole lot, and you spend the entire time trying to get around their blocking. In hard mode, that is accentuated to a glaring degree! It's not hard, it's tedious! Some of the characters control terribly, because they lack the drive to move forward as they attack, making their controls sluggish! 

One thing that other fighting games have going for them is that they either have cool special moves, fancy footwork and interesting martial arts styles to keep the gameplay fresh. This game does not have any of that stuff. There are punches, kicks and grapples. The best you have to mix things up is Poison with her whip and a few other characters with weapons. Oh, and Guy has shuriken that he throws en mass in hard modes. Woot...

That's the real problem with this game. It looks and plays as bland as white bread and the AI for your opponents does nothing but spam block and throwing attacks while also shooting off their ultimate attacks. The ultimate attacks are about as good as it gets when it comes to the aesthetics, but they are teeth-grindingly cringeworthy when you've seen them for the seventh time. 

The most noteworthy aspect of this game is that your final boss is a zombie. It's a zombie version of Horace Belger. That's it. There's nothing interesting about this other than he falls into pieces and throws those pieces at you while they explode. Yeah, that's pretty cool but when it's your only trump card, it's pretty sad. Yeah, he does the Michael Jackson Thriller dance in the credits but by this time, you've already gone through six lackluster fights against people who spam block and grapple moves. It's cute, but too little, too late.

If you're looking for a 3D fighting game, there are obviously worse out there. This was made by Capcom, though and you would expect a lot more out of them. Obviously, there were problems with the production. This game screams "Under Developed" and it was obvious that they either did not have their prime talent on this game or they were not given nearly enough time to polish it and make it any good. It's boring, predictable and not worth going out of your way to pay the scalping price. This game became one of those rare, expensive relics that people ask way too much for. Just skip it and try something else. Try some water, it's more exciting. 

Gauntlet Legends (Dreamcast) - Red Wizard is about to Kill!

Reaching back into the annals of history, there is a smallish franchise that has sadly not seen the light of day as of late. The arcades and the NES were both graced with the presence of Gauntlet, a top-down multiplayer fantasy game Ed Logg and Rob Zeigler of Atari in 1985. Like many fantasy video games, it was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and brought to life for arcade cabinets with gameplay basically ripped from Dandy and Time Bandits. 

Gauntlet is a game series of survival, shooting various ranged weapons into various mobs and making your way to a goal on the other side of the map. Gauntlet Legends is a cut and paste of the 2D game from 1985 brought to the arcades, Dreamcast, N64 and Playstation. While it does tilt the camera at a more isometric angle, the top-down qualities of the game are still in tact.

You fight mobs made up of orcs, ghosts, wraiths, etc. with one to four players, collecting power-ups, avoiding traps (one including Death himself) and making your way through locked doors and blocked paths. Each level is part of a hub world that you return to when you either die or beat said level. As you progress through each of the levels, more of the portals in this hub world open up and you start to unlock more secrets and level up your characters as you fight. 

It is almost essential to have at least two players, especially in some of the later levels. This may not be the deepest of games and it may be somewhat repetitive with its gameplay but there is no denying that it's fun. Employing each of your special abilities in a fight as an Archer, Wizard, Warrior or whatever class you choose is part of your own contribution to the fight. Wizards have catastrophic ultimate attacks that can clear out large amounts of enemies. As you collect potions on the battlefield, they will each have different effects that will help you fight the long line of enemies coming your way. 

The spawn points for the enemies need to be destroyed. If you don't make sure they are down to their lowest point, they will continue to spawn enemies for as long as there is room in the area to have them. This means that the mobs will come from this spawn point and attack you from anywhere on the map. If you leave them unattended, you will have a long line of monsters to battle in order to backtrack and destroy the trap to its fullest. Some of the traps start at a high level and they produce stronger enemies. The more damage you do to these spawn points, the weaker enemies will spawn. 

If you needed an excuse to have over some friends and play a fun little game that's simple and enjoyable, look no further. Gauntlet has always been a game that is very familiar to those who play Dungeons and Dragons and that is always enjoyed most with a small group of people. This is arguably the peak of the franchise in both graphics and gameplay. The iconic quotes like "Red Warrior is about to die" or "Blue Wizard needs food badly" always seems to exist in some gaming circles. Do yourself a favor and give this game a try. Virtua Axe Throw! 

Virtual On (Saturn) - Lasers! Missiles! Laser Missiles!

 

As soon as you hear the phrase "Get Ready!" for the first time, if you hadn't practiced before hand, you were not ready! Virtual On is a game that takes some practice but then you will not put it down! This is hours of fun on single player and years of fun against your friends! Everyone has to at least try this game in order to feel the rush and zap your opponents with just about every type of laser! You will munch metal, tear titanium and sever steel with your own chosen mech! I could douse this game in hyperbole all day, but let's get slightly more objective before I turn this arena into a scrap heep!

If it wasn't clear, this game rocks. It is a third person 3D fighter that puts you in control of your choice of war machine. There are several to choose from and they come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you want the heavy weapons fighter that doesn't run quite as fast or one of the more slender models that are far more agile, this game has you covered. The Saturn graphics really shine with this title. Each machine is very unique, even though each stage is pretty much the same aside from different placements of cover. 

The real problem with this game is that the controls really do take practice to get use to and the game can be very unforgiving in its learning curve. It is moderately hard to learn but somehow very easy to master once you pick it up. All you need is some dedication in order to learn your chosen fighting machine and you can come out swinging! Learning how to throw the bombs, when to fly upward and when to use your ultimate attack without wasting it are all essential. The biggest challenge is the movement and going faster and firing with better accuracy than your opponent is also a very large part of the strategy. All of these elements help the immersion and puts you in that state of concentration that gamers florish in while you grind your opponent into pulp! 

It is very hard to find a fault in this game. The learning curve can be a little annoying at first but it can also be easily overcome. The graphics may seem menial today, but those who appreciate the 32-bits will absolutely relish in its quality and detail. The game has glitches but they are very few and far in between. It would be nice to have a bit more variety when it comes to stages and levels, but even then, they look different and function properly, so why fix what isn't broken? Even the short single player campaign can be forgiven because it has such a great 2-player function. The framerates can take a rather low dip! There we go, there's a fault in the game! There's the smudge on the Mona Lisa! Yes, the framerate can go down rather low, especially when there are the larger explosions. Even then, though, this game is amazing. 

If you have read either my Top 20 Saturn Games or my Top 10 Saturn Games lists, you will probably realize that this has been my favorite Saturn game for a very, very long time. Even after a very high boost in the number of games I've played on this system, Virtual On was never dethroned. This game is high octane action and top rate competitive gameplay for the whole family, so long as your grandpa enjoys turning mechanized warriors into can openers! VIRTUA BEAM!!!!!

Sonic The Hedgehog Movie - Red vs Blue for Real!

At long last, after all of the delays, we finally have it. This was something that Sonic fans of old have been waiting for and dreading for decades. Part of us wanted this more than anything while the sensible side of us never wanted it to come about, for fear that the quality would be so absurdly dreadful. Who in their right minds could blame us for thinking this? Not only was it a fish-out-of-water movie, not only did it have a CGI protagonist working with real life actors and not only was it a video game movie, but the original sonic character design spoke volumes for the content therein. 

That original character design seemed to project a horrific omen of doom and damnation. If Sonic looked so terrible in the trailers, chances were that the rest of the movie was equally repugnant. This movie was sending us mixed signals from the very beginning. As terrible as the original design was, we still had a perfectly suitable actor for the antagonist. Jim Carrey seemed to be the one saving grace for this otherwise depicted dumpster fire. Even after the studio reacted well to the backlash of fans and movie-goers, the outlook was bleak to say the least. They agreed to change the design and that surprisingly worked out well in the end.

Then the movie came out and it was quite pleasa--wait, what?! The movie was good? Hold on, I think I skipped a paragraph or two. By all rights, this movie should never have worked to begin with. James Marsden couldn’t hack it with Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny in a very similar type of film, how in the holy land of crap did this actually pan out? 

The movie was funny, charming, character based and focused on entertaining the audience while telling a compelling story. Sonic wasn’t quite the cool rockin’ dude we grew to love, but that’s because he had next to no human interaction for his entire life. The vast array of differences from the video game were well explained while also being very well executed. We didn’t spend too much time away from our main protagonist and antagonist. In fact, their interactions and solo scenes not only perfectly outlined exposition through the narrative, but also didn’t focus too much on mediocre backstory or stupid character traits. It was balanced. 

Yes, we are not going to persecute them for ruining the original Sonic design. They paid for that in sweat and money and we got what we wanted from it. Now, Sonic looks like Sonic actually should. The CGI effects were well executed. It was very easy to suspend your disbelief, especially when it came to Dr. Robotnik’s mechanical drones. They looked like they were actually part of the movie. 

Sonic’s speed and running effects were ridiculously well pulled off. There was even a great effect where it looked like he was running circles and there were hundreds of him because he was moving faster than the naked eye could comprehend. That’s some great detail. 

Where the visuals undercut was hither and thither. At the beginning, when we first see Sonic as a child, the character design is very underwhelming. Beyond that, there are some nitpicks that I could go into, but just know that they are not a deal breaker and they are easily forgotten about as the movie progresses.

Where this movie thrives is the soundtrack. Gangster’s Paradise was so out of place in the trailer, so it’s good that it wasn’t in the actual movie. However, the music is lively and sometimes even gives you the nostalgia feels as you recognize some of the Blue Blur’s original music. 

Sonic’s voice is sadly not Jaleel White, but Ben Schwartz was still superb. Even if you’re use to the old Sonic voices of the TV shows, it will take seconds before you get used to his take on the character. Without a doubt, he pulled off just about every line with flawless humor and wit. Sure, some of the dialogue was cheesy and some of it didn’t ring all that true, but that’s a minor nibble.

Focus, that’s the key word here. The story was tight and focused while also giving us the visuals and plot points to keep up the pace as it went along. Characters worked and coincided without feeling contrived or forced into easily avoidable situations. Whatever distractions they do put on the screen do not waste a whole lot of time and do not out stay their welcome. You get enough character backstory to relate to the characters and even care for them. 

One major change from the source material is the mythical rings. Their function is vastly different from what we’re used to, but at the same time they perfectly fit where they sit. Instead of the rings being a source of energy, they serve to move the plot along at a good pace. 

To call this a road trip movie would be quite shallow, as the driving sequences, while densely packed, do not take up a terrible portion of the overall film. Besides, the main driving scene is so action packed you kind of forget the road trip feel all together. 

Let’s not kid each other, this is not high art. It is not going for any Oscars and it’s certainly not going to appeal to a universal audience. Therefore, the themes are more what you’d find in your bargain bin Dreamworks and Pixar movies. There’s the friendship quality that’s rather obtuse and palpable throughout the whole thing. Then there’s the evil inherent in a careless government and staying true to your modest roots as well as to yourself. It’s about what you’d expect. They’re ham-fisted, but not at all unwelcome. 

That’s one great thing we can share with our kids, is the power of 90’s Nostalgic Kids Intellectual Properties. Sonic is perfect for the kids. If there were any cursing, it wasn’t noticeable. There’s no real violence or gore. Another great and surprising fact about this movie, aside from the overall quality, is that there is one single fart joke in the whole thing. It’s not entirely wholesome, though, there are small bits of fighting as well as a few jokes that only grownups would find a bit strange and oddly cruel. There was no raunchiness or overall shocking material, though. Bring the younglings.

Everyone pulled their own weight. Sonic and Robotnik were perfectly cast and James Marsden did what he needed to while still being overall likeable. He fit into the plot wonderfully and was not overly accepting of this outlandish situation, especially at first. Along with him was Tika Sumpter, an actress who was actually somewhat under utilized. She joined in on some of the adventures, but she was so likeable, I wouldn’t argue if she were in more of it. 

Jim Carrey was a bright spot on the radar, for sure. From the very beginning, everyone sang the praise of his inclusion. What a perfect concept of a 90’s nostalgic movie featuring one of the 90’s sharpest comedic talent. He brought Dr. Robotnik to life in more ways than one. He was hateable in the most wonderful way and you really didn’t want him to leave the screen when his scenes ended. 

All of the other minor characters served their purpose. There were no terrible performances, though some were a bit stiff. The cast was probably the real glue that made this whole movie stick together so well. 

One place where this movie falls short is picking the plot out in a lineup. Yeah, it’s the alien in the real world who befriends a human and sets out to do something that will take a lot of gusto and fighting to accomplish. It’s bare bones as storylines go. Yet another reason why this movie should not have worked in the first place. 

As a Sega fan, a Sonic fan, a 90’s kid and a part of the movie going public, I absolutely loved this film. One major factor in grading a movie is whether or not I would go see it again. I was ready to buy another ticket for either that day or the next day to see it again. It was just so much fun and so easy to watch. I think I never cringed once. If I did, it was quickly forgotten.

Is it for everyone? Obviously not. However, if you have kids and some time to kill, this movie is ideal. There is a reason why Sonic has lasted so long as a character. He is so easy to love and fun to look at that he has survived this long on charm and a handful of legendary games. This movie is going in my Bluray collection.