Mahjong Cub3d Review (3DS)

The next iteration of Mahjong offers over 200 levels if you count all the modes and the difficulty within each board. It also offers three modes--Cube mode, VS Mode and Classic mode. Cube Mode is the main mode with the most levels. Players will have the option of playing the alpha, beta or gamma puzzles. Essentially, this is just a fancy way of saying the puzzle’s difficulty level. Alpha, beta and gamma are easy, medium and hard, respectively. To confuse you even more, within alpha, beta, and gamma, there is also another option for difficulty that players can select on each individual board. With each level, the board or cube will change into a completely different shape than the previous level. As the difficulty level increases, the number of tiles increase, and the boards get a lot harder.

VS mode is the same thing as Cube mode with the exception of one thing: an actual player on the other side matching your wits. Unfortunately, you can only play online with one other player. Obviously, this limits how much you can really do online; offering more in the multi-player area would have been nice. Also thrown into the mix is the classic mode, which is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of new, futuristic 3D cubes, it harkens back to a simpler time of flat tiles and lots of them.

Moving on, Mahjong Cub3d is basically the same Mahjong Solitaire that we’ve been playing on our computers and video game consoles for many years now with the exception of one tiny thing: 3D. Using stereoscopic 3D, the classic Mahjong is taken into a completely new world. Instead of being flat, each tile is now placed on a four-sided cube. Using your circle pad and the L or R buttons, you will rotate the massive shape to match cubes on the board, making them disappear until you are left with no tiles at all. As you do this, you will have a limited number of moves and a limited amount of time, presenting even more challenge to the title.

Fortunately, the game also has a couple of help features to help players if they start to struggle on a particular puzzle. There is an undo button that lets the player undo his last move. Although players only get a specific number of undoes, it is nice to have that there just in case. In addition to the undo button, there is also a hint button; when it's pushed, you can see the next best move available.

The stereoscopic 3D brings Mahjong into the modern day. The graphics are beautiful; its simplistic form will capture the player immediately with its well-designed menus and look into a new 3D version of Mahjong. Finding matching tiles is even more fun than Mahjong titles of the past because the environment, as simple as it is, is able to immerse you into a puzzle world like never before.

Simply put, Mahjong Cub3d is strictly a variation of a traditional puzzle game. Its combination of simplicity and difficulty makes it an enjoyable experience. Regrettably, with the reinvention of the classic puzzler, a few things went wrong.

The controls for Mahjong Cub3d, although not horrendous, are still a little inconvenient to use. There are no touch controls at all, and It will only take a matter of minutes to figure out that a stronger control scheme could have helped this game indefinitely. Holding the R or L button while using the thumb stick to move the cube feels extremely awkward. Not only that, but you are constantly having to move the cube around to find tiles. Doing this combination all the time is a hassle and could have easily been prevented.

The lack of content is also saddening. The only things available are Cube Mode, VS mode and Classic Mode. To Mahjong Cub3d’s defense, there are lots of levels between all the modes. However, there are a lot of different modes that could have been added to make this game even better. Sure, having 200 puzzles is nice, but regurgitating a harder difficulty on the same level doesn't really consistute as a level all on its own.

Overall, what makes Mahjong Cub3d good is its simplicity. It isn’t hard to pick up, it is challenging, and visually, it looks pretty good. It's fun and its simple gameplay offers a new and welcomed puzzle presence on the 3DS. Although it would have been great to have more content and an easier control scheme, Mahjong Cub3d is still a must-have if you are a puzzle fan.

Via: Mahjong Cub3d Review (3DS)

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VVVVVV Review (Nintendo 3DS)

Originally released back in 2010 for PC and Mac, this platformer has made a successful transition to the 3DS shop, available for a somewhat reasonable price of $7.99.  If you’ve been waiting for a solid downloadable title, or just something to kill time with until the next great game arrives, this is definitely the one to go with.

In the game, you control Captain Viridian, a simple looking dude who finds his ship on a collision course with some strange teleport.  He barely escapes with his life, but his crew members aren’t so lucky, as they’re scattered across a vast, trap-filled map.  The Captain takes it upon himself to rescue them, though he’s got no weapons to speak of, nor can he bop enemies on the head Mario-style.  The only ability he is able to use is a temporary switch in gravity.  With a tap of a button, he can go from walking on the floor to the ceiling, and back again.

When you first start VVVVVV, it’s simple enough, so you get an idea of how the gameplay works.  It’s easy to get into, but after a few stages, you’ll realize how vitally important precision is.  Hitting a spiked floor with even the slightest touch by the Captain’s foot kills him, so you have to be perfect in some areas.  (Luckily, the game comes with unlimited lives, so you can keep trying without severe punishment.)

As you proceed through the map and find crew members, you’ll find bigger and badder challenges awaiting, including randomly moving enemies that require timing to get around and walls that automatically bounce you back, making movement even trickier than you could’ve expected.  As you proceed, you can also unlock bonus levels, which really test your abilities to an even greater effect.  We love it.

Yeah, it’s tough, but you’ll find satisfaction when you finally beat a challenge, only to come upon another one that pushes you to think even further.  Kudos to the developers for throwing in sparingly helpful checkpoints, so that you don’t have to start all the way back at the beginning.  We hate when a game does that.

While VVVVVV isn’t the kind of game that takes advantage of the 3D layout (it’s about as effective as, say, Kirby’s Adventure, with cosmetic touches), it does look great when it comes to recreating the Commodore 64 vibe.  Characters are simply designed, but smile-inducing, especially the captain, who boasts a stupid grin throughout most of the game – unless when he’s dying, of course.  Then it’s all frowny.  The level design is diabolical and tricky, but that just adds to the fun.

Likewise, the music is upbeat and charming.  It sounds like something you’d hear out of a really good NES cartridge, a well-composed soundtrack that keeps you listening to hear what’s coming up next.  The sound effects are minimal, but not really necessary.

While $7.99 may be a bit hard to swallow for a downloadable game (especially one without a level editor), VVVVVV is definitely worth it, not only with its nostalgia but also its challenging gameplay and unlockable extra levels.  It’s worth flipping out with.

Via: VVVVVV Review (Nintendo 3DS)

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Zen Pinball 3D Review

Well, like Crave’s Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Experience before it, Zen Pinball does get a slight boot from the addition of a third dimension, as it actually feels like you’re sitting in front of a real machine, seeing the ball coming down the lane so you can prepare for shots.  It can be slightly distracting if something bigger is happening on the table, like the gigantic robot moving its arms in Earth Defense, but the game comes with multiple view options, so you maintain control for the most part.  The only time we felt like we were losing track was when multiball was activated, and a default wide view was used.  Other than that, we experienced no problems from a technical standpoint.

Visually, Zen Pinball performs admirably.  The 3D layouts are fascinating, each with their own themes, skill shots and special areas to gain mega points.  And little markers come up to show you just what kind of point value you earned from each shot, without getting in the way of the action itself.  Some of these pinball table designs are pretty neat, too.  Excalibur definitely has a medieval flavor to it (even if the warrior won’t shut up about the might of the sword – yeah, we get it, buddy) and we dug the old-school sci-fi vibe of Earth Defense, as it reminded me about the classic Mars tables that Williams used to make in its pinball heyday.  Even if you turn the slider down to 2D, you’ll like the presentation this game is packing.

What’s more, the game is conveniently laid out across both screens.  You see the pinball action happening in 3D on the top screen, while the bottom displays both the LCD screen for that table (complete with classic light-ups and score display) and indications through the online leaderboards.  (More on that in a second.)  Kudos to Zen Studios for keeping it simple.

While the game doesn’t have the most in-depth leaderboards we’ve seen, it is quite competitive.  You’re given constant reminders about where you stand on a leaderboard, such as a point value that needs to be reached before you move up a place or how you’re faring against friends you’ve got registered.  While the pop-ups happen more frequently than expected, they are good reminders that keep you flipping for that high score.

Zen Pinball only comes with two modes.  You can jump right into a single player session for high score boasting, or jump into Hot Seat, where you play along with friends and pass the system around when it’s their turn.  Nothing major, but it works for party play, and keeps things competitive on a local scale.

The game comes with four tables, a decent value for $7.99, but the lack of any major licensed tables from, say, Marvel or other companies, is slightly disappointing.  There is some variety here, but we expected at least one of the major tables from Marvel Pinball to show up.  Don’t fret, though, as more are on the way via downloadable content over the next few months.  We’ll keep you posted.

While Zen Pinball 3D isn’t the ultimate pinball collection, it’s still a top-notch addition to your eShop library, and a good deal if you’re up for a night of flipper tricks and skill shots.  Zen Studios does it again.

Via: Zen Pinball 3D Review

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New Super Mario Bros. 2 review

It would have been fitting if New Super Mario Bros. 2 revisited the land of Subcon, starred Shy Guys and Birdo as primary enemies, and featured weapons such as onions and pumpkins that you could pluck from the ground. This game could have been a revival of Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo's dark horse in the Mario franchise, and maybe it should have. Instead, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is once again a story about how Mario and Luigi need to destroy Bowser and save Princess Peach. The game doesn't suffer for that, because it's an expected formula, but the fact remains that there's absolutely nothing memorable about Peach being kidnapped at this point.

While it may seem that I'm being critical of the story in New Super Mario Bros. 2, it goes without saying that no one plays Mario games to experience a riveting plot. We play Mario games because they're mighty impressive platformers, and the portly Italian plumber's latest outing is no exception. Levels are a sheer joy to play through, with enemies, pitfalls, and secrets at every corner. As a matter of fact, that level of discovery is possibly greater than ever before. New Super Mario Bros. 2 revolves around coin collection, and you'll be surprised at just how many ways you'll be able to snag the precious golden Mushroom Kingdom currency.

Practically everything you do in New Super Mario Bros. 2 rewards you with coins. Defeating enemies using fireballs will score you coins. Going to hard-to-reach areas within levels will cause walls of coins to magically appear nearby. Going through a coin ring will result in baddies yielding even more coins. It's all about the coins in New Super Mario Bros. 2, and this is evident from the very beginning of the game. There are even new power-ups that help fill Mario's pockets with more gold. The prize block, for example, is a golden item that goes on Mario's head, and the faster he runs, the more coins it yields. Then there's the golden fire flower, which works like the regular fire flower, except that shooting regular blocks results in a sea of coins for the protagonist to collect.

This whole theme of greed carries over to every mode in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Coin Rush mode tosses you into three randomly selected levels, and you're tasked with snagging as many coins as possible within a set amount of time before reaching the goal. This is a decent distraction from the main mode, but it serves mostly to continue racking up your coin count, which the game constantly reminds you of in an attempt to entice you to reach the one million coin mark. If you want to team up with a buddy, you'll be glad to know that New Super Mario Bros. 2 features two-player co-op for its story mode. The only hitches are that this component only supports local play, and both individuals need a copy of the game. Trust us however, like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, playing co-op can be an infuriating experience, as you'll constantly be killing each other off by sheer mistake.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 looks about as great as it plays. Everything in the game is rich in color, and the levels themselves have that signature Mario charm. Throw in the massive amounts of gold you see throughout the entire experience, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a fine-looking game. As far as the 3D effect is concerned, I've heard some people say they weren't fans of it due to the blurred out backgrounds that add a bit of depth perception. Personally, I enjoyed playing New Super Mario Bros. 2 with the 3D effect turned all the way up because that added depth makes the foregrounds pop a bit more.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a great Mario game for 3DS owners who want exactly that. Despite the emphasis on coin collection, it doesn't add much that's new to the formula. You're still getting fire flowers and raccoon leaves, bouncy mushrooms and falling platforms, Goombas and Koopalings. But bearing in mind the fact that we've seen Nintendo do it all before with the Mario franchise, this is still a great platforming romp. Playing through the six main worlds and unlocking a couple of extra worlds is a great deal of fun. Running around like a greedy treasure hunter (read: Wario) is addictive, and it may be a mindless addiction, but it's ridiculously enjoyable nonetheless.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is exactly what we all expected it to be: It's a superb Mario game that does a lot of things right and hardly anything wrong. Maybe "new" shouldn't be a part of the game's title because there's really nothing here that Nintendo hasn't done before. That said, if you're a fan of the series, or if you're a 3DS owner looking for some wholesome fun, you really can't go wrong with New Super Mario Bros. 2. Now, let's just hope that when Nintendo makes another one of these games after New Super Mario Bros. U, it'll actually take place in Subcon.

For a bunch of indie game and burrito talk, follow @thesanchezdavid on Twitter.

Via: New Super Mario Bros. 2 review

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Mutant Mudds Review (Nintendo 3DS)

In the game, the Earth is being overrun by these creatures known as Mudds, little rolling balls of mud that are simply making a mess of things.  A young kid by the name of Max sees these as a threat to not only his grandmother, but also the planet, so he grabs his water gear and heads out to eradicate the threat.  Of course, battling this evil force is a lot more than he bargained for.

Along with dealing with this army of mudballs, Max will also have to be careful through each stage he runs through.  Dangers lurk about, including inexplicably spiked floors that can easily end his turn.  Fortunately, along with his trusty water cannon, he can also activate a water-powered jet pack, enabling him to hover for a few extra seconds to reach areas just outside his jumping range.  While this is nothing revolutionary in a platforming game (Mario sported the FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine), Mutant Mudds handles it with utmost precision.

The gameplay is pure old-school fun.  Mutant Mudds is all about shooting enemies on the fly while avoiding rocks that jump from the distance and collecting diamonds.  There are 100 scattered throughout each stage, and picking them all up enables you to unlock additional rewards, including a higher powered water cannon and a better jetpack.  You are limited to only using one power-up at a time, but Renegade Kid probably set it up that way so the game wouldn’t be a total pushover.  No biggie.

What’s more, it utilizes 3D in an ingenious way, where you can actually jump between the background and foreground without it being a distraction.  Enemies pop out beautifully, right at you, and it never gets to the point of feeling gimmicky.  Renegade Kid has a damn good idea how the third dimension is supposed to work, and we can only imagine where they’ll take it with their next project.

Along with savvy 3D effects, the graphics smack of old-school NES flavor.  The character design is vintage, with tricky level design, cartoon-like explosions and little pieces of environment that stand out in their own right, including clouds and trees.  Clearly, Renegade was influenced by the earlier era of video games – thus my estimation of what their offices are like.

For that matter, the music also shines.  The soundtrack is definitely of the “bit chip” variety, but truly excellent.  The sound effects aren’t much, save for little bop noises and explosions, but they serve their purpose.  Plus, I’m happy with the fact that Max isn’t saddled with a cruddy nerd voice.  We hate it when the unlikely hero sounds even more unlikely than he’s supposed to be.

The only way Mutant Mudds could’ve been any better is if Renegade added some online leaderboards to the completion times.  But that’s a very minor complaint for an otherwise superb platformer that every 3DS owner needs to experience.  Mutant Mudds is well worth its $9 price tag, an adventure that’ll remind you of the good ol’ days – or prompt you to check out what made them so special to begin with.

Via: Mutant Mudds Review (Nintendo 3DS)

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Heroes of Ruin review

You'll spend your time around the city of Nexus, where you'll be tasked with awakening Ataraxis, who just so happens to be the founder of Nexus. With Nexus acting as your primary quest hub, you'll be tasked with the usual, kill a bunch of monsters, collect a bunch of items, you know, the works. While I wasn't that caught up with the story, it did catch me off guard in a few instances, but honestly, I just cared about the hacking, the slashing and most of all, the loot.

You have a choice of four different classes to pick from; The Vindicator being the Paladin of the group, Gunslinger who is your obvious Ranger class, Savage who is the main warrior class, and Alchitect (yes, it's spelled that way) who excels in magic. From then on, it's pretty much a standard hack and slash affair that is actually quite fun.

One of the most surprising aspects come up even before you make your first step as your newly created character. The game right away suggests hopping online and starting your adventure with three other people. That was definitely a pleasant surprise and not something you see on a handheld often. It actually worked quite well. I was able to hop on and actually connect fairly easily with others.

That isn't even the best part. One of the most unique features and something that I would have loved to see other ARPG's do as well, is the Alliance system. Your friends who are on your 3DS friend list can be tagged as part of your alliance, which add a whole new layer of gameplay to the game. While questing alongside an alliance member, you'll be able to level up your relationship (which isn't as weird as it sounds) and gain certain buffs and effects. Some of these are truly fantastic and make questing with people that you know extremely worth it. 

The daily and weekly challenges I’ve mentioned above often have a co-op component - there are currently two active ones that ask you to accomplish certain tasks in co-op. If you haven’t already figured it out, Heroes of Ruin has co-op coming out of its ears.

Heroes of Ruin does some other things right too though. For instance any loot that you pick up and don't need, you can instantly sell, no matter if you're deep in a dungeon. This quick sell system allows you to keep questing, without much downtime. Side Quest aficionados will be happy to know that there are lots to lose track of time with.

Now on to the downsides. Each Hero can specialize in three different Ability Trees, though they aren't really trees, but more so sequential unlocks. After learning an ability you can then map three of them to your face buttons to unleash them on hordes of monsters. The problem here is that since the game is so easy, you'll find that your standard attack gets most of the work done, which is truly a shame since some of the skills are actually pretty awesome, they're just not necessary. 

The menu system is tedious too. Not just because it somewhat slow to load, but you have to navigate a bunch of submenus just to get where you want to go. Scrolling through all your new gear is extremely tedious, and at this point, I would have much rather had a "Equip Best Items" feature, just so I wouldn't have to scroll through the whole thing.

While Heroes of Ruin definitely has some of the best online play capabilities of any 3DS game that I've previously got my hands on, it doesn't share the same amount of polish in the graphics department. Now I'm not one to usually complain about graphics, but I've seen very impressive graphics on the 3DS before. Seeing your characters close up, you really see how little detail was put into them. On one hand, it's understandable, something had to be sacrificed in order to make the online play so fluid, but this is just an eyesore. The environments are somewhat of a mixed bag. Some of them look really good, while others have muddled textures, making them stick out like a sore thumb from their surroundings.

The game also shines when played in 3D, because the depth of field effect actually works quite well in isometric games like this. The problem is the slowdown. As soon as you flick that 3D slider, you're going to see a noticeable dip in frames per second. This is nothing new, as I've stated a very similar problem with Dead or Alive Dimension on the 3DS as well, but when things get really chaotic on screen, the slow down is pretty unbearable.

Heroes of Ruin is simply a little rough around the edges. While one part of it is truly great (fun hacking and slashing and impressive online play) the rest suffers from not enough polish. If you can get over the somewhat bad presentation, and not turning up that 3D slider, you will find that Heroes of Ruin can be quite enjoyable, especially when played with others online.

Via: Heroes of Ruin review

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Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword Review (Nintendo 3DS)

The story revolves around a princess who is spirited away by an evil overlord, and the land falling into chaos.  Eventually, the dust settles and peace is restored, though the princess is never really found.  Saddened over this news, an old man who hangs out by a pool of water weeps for her, then finds a destined warrior who can make the perilous journey to rescue her.  You’ll set out on your way, making stops to do battle with warriors and eventually get to temples, where you’ll tackle tough bosses and gain the tools needed to save the princess.

Though the action doesn’t change much in Sakura Samurai, it’ll no doubt be familiar to those who grew up playing a Punch-Out!! game.  There’s a heavy emphasis on dodging opponents when they strike, then hitting them back at the key moment, sometimes with a quick one-two slice, and others with a great combo move, a flurry of sword strikes with flower blossoms pouring out.  As you proceed through each battle, you’ll need to take special care of your katana, using a stone to sharpen it up on occasion or calling upon a blacksmith in the village to treat it like new.

The balance between combat and strategy is very well done in Sakura Samurai, and the game has heaping amounts of action.  Rewards include coins and health upgrades, so you can continue on your journey.  Along with enemy encounters, you can also stop in villages, buy new items, upgrade your weapons, and play a few mini-games that will keep your skills from dwindling.  You’ll also earn your own Rock Garden, which grows as you work your way through the game, unlocking a special hard mode as well as additional challenges.  There’s replay value galore here, even if the gameplay doesn’t change much beyond dodge, strike, repeat.  (But, hey, it worked for Punch-Out!!)

While Sakura Samurai doesn’t have the same style of visual pop as, say, the Ninja Gaiden games, it’s a very good-looking downloadable game.  The traditional samurai environment pops out of the screen, and the bad guys, though lacking in a little bit of variety, strike just like traditional warriors -- some even with a running slash.  The over-the-shoulder perspective is quite satisfying and gives you a decent enough view of enemies that surround you.  The bosses are particularly well designed and give you a run for your money in the heat of battle.  As for the sound, customary samurai tunes and strong weapon effects sufficiently do their work.

For a cheap downloadable game, Sakura Samurai is more than worth it, between its classic style gameplay, its striking 3D visuals, and its abundant extras, most notably the Rock Garden.  If you even dreamed about being a samurai at some point in your life, this is one you’ll definitely want to holster in your virtual library.

Via: Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword Review (Nintendo 3DS)

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