Nintendo 3DS Review: Mighty Switch Force

I need a screen protector… from the inside!

By: Uma Smith

Developer WayForward has released a series of Mighty “Blank Blank” titles that turned out to be pretty “mighty” with their unique approach in gameplay. There’s the Mighty Milky Way, which involves an alien with the ability to create planets with candy (that must be one sweet planet) and destroy them with a baton. Then you also have Mighty Flip Champs, a multi-dimensional puzzler mixed with platforming. And now recently unleashed for the Nintendo 3DS is WayForward’s Mighty Switch Force in glorious 3D! Will this title have the same lasting appeal as its predecessors or is it too “mighty” for its own good?

Mighty Switch Force is also a platformer with elements of puzzle tacked on. The Hooligan Sisters have escaped from jail and are bringing chaos to Planet Land. So now it is up to Officer Patricia Wagon to restore peace and apprehend the troublemakers.

Your heroine is equipped with a Siren Helmet giving her the ability to switch the positions of blocks and create new paths and platforms. The blocks can also be used to wipe out your enemies. Just watch them splat onto your screen! But watch out as you can suffer the same fate if you happen to be in the way while the blocks move into position. Additionally, you have a gun that you can fire against the monsters as well as radar on the bottom screen to help you locate the sisters.

Controlling your heroine is pretty responsive, which is important as there are various points that require precise timing for your jumps and movement. Buttons are also arranged in a manner that makes sense and is easy to figure out. You have the fire and jump commands laid out on the familiar face button positions for a typical platformer such as Contra. There is also a button used to switch blocks in and out of position. Despite the absence of an in-game tutorial, the controls are simple enough to figure out.

Besides blocks that move in and out of position, you’ll also encounter those that will lock into place when you’re standing on them. In this case, the blocks can only be switched once you’re not in contact with them. Other types include those that need to be destroyed by exploding enemies as well as those that will launch you across the screen.

For every level, you must find the sisters scattered at random spots on the map and locatable via radar. Here, you must capture all the escapees and reach the extraction point where Corporal Gendarmor will be waiting for you to conclude the level.

A potential irritant associated with Mighty Switch Force is the timer that tracks how long you’re taking to perform your tasks. Also indicated near this timer is the “par” time, which is the mark you want to match or beat. The problem is that during the first run of any level, it’s very difficult to reach such a time without being completely familiar with the layout and patterns. And even if you do miraculously achieve this “par” time, there is no rewards or extra content as a result. So there really is no point in having it.

However, what gives this title its tour de “force” is the attention to detail incorporated into the 3D graphics. The character artwork is “mighty” impressive and speaks volumes to the amount of effort placed in the designs. Furthermore, the 3D effects of the debris from the exploding robots flying into the foreground are, dare I say, eye popping. Mighty Switch Force is definitely a beautiful sight, though spending a prolonged period of time staring at 3D effects may eventually lead to sore eyes.

Kicking up several notches to the presentation is the “mighty” electronic soundtrack. With such catchy tunes, your adrenaline would be heightened during your playthrough. Sound effects also scream with clarity and quality, which complements the top-notch visuals perfectly.

With 16 levels, the game can be completed in a matter of hours, which can be a potential downfall. Plus, the lack of bonus features and unlockables may limit the replay value. Nonetheless, Mighty Switch Force does have quite a bit to offer in terms of entertainment and mind-boggling challenges.

OVERALL (3.75/5)

Although the amount of entertainment contained in this Nintendo 3DS title can be short-lived, there are still plenty of reasons to consider adding Mighty Switch Force to your collection. For $5.99, you get a solid platformer armed with amazing visuals and inspiring sounds. If you’re unsure about these types of games, I suggest you “force” yourself to “switch” your mindset because this is one “mighty” title.

PSN Review: House of the Dead 3

Even the undead enjoy a good teabagging.

By: Mike Chen

The zombie genre has explored all shapes and sizes in the past 15 years or so, from survival-horror video games to the gritty dramatic television of The Walking Dead. But damn it, sometimes you just have to SHOOT some zombies! And House Of The Dead 3, newly released for the PlayStation Network, gives you that opportunity.

GRAPHICS/SOUND (4/5)

House Of The Dead 3 is a port of a 2003 arcade game, so you’re going to get 2003 arcade graphics. So if things look like upscaled Playstation 2 graphics, well, they’re essentially sharing that technology. If you set your expectations to that, then the game looks good. Backgrounds vary, colors pop on an HD screen, and zombie models come in different shapes and sizes, though the animations are still canned between a few select enemy types. Visually, the game registers where you shoot an enemy, so you’ll see a wound appear roughly in the right spot. That is, until you make its head explode.

By 2002, voice acting had become serious business in video games. And by 2002, Sega knew House Of The Dead well enough not to put it in the fine-art category; this wasn’t ICO, it was a rail shooter. Thus, the voice acting sounds like it was pulled out of a mid-90s game (think Resident Evil), and it’s appropriately over the top. I’m guessing this was a design decision to fit in with the rest of the game, and when in proper context, it’s really kind of awesome.

CONTROLS (4/5)

There’s not too much to rail shooter controls, huh? Shoot, aim, reload, and that’s more or less what you get here. With the standard control, the left analog aims the reticle, the trigger buttons fire the gun, and the face buttons reload. Reload happens automatically too if you run out of ammo and attempt to fire again. Controls are crisp and responsive, which is exactly what you want for a rail shooter. There’s not much depth but it gets the job done.

Note: The above score does not include the PlayStation Move motion controls. I’ll address that at the bottom.

GAMEPLAY (4/5)

If House Of The Dead 3 was a flow chart, it’d go like this:

-Watch cut scene with bad voice acting.
-Shoot zombies
-Shoot abnormal undead things (animals/giants/etc.)
-Repeat

Remember, this is an arcade shooter, so deep gameplay doesn’t go hand in hand with the genre. It knows what it is and it gets the job done. There’s some amount of replayability with branching area selection per level, so it’ll take you a number of tries to fully explore the game. In addition, Sega has included a number of gameplay options: free play, limited credits, and ranked mode.

Those gameplay options affect score and difficulty, but it’s really just about shooting the zombies in your path. It’s dumb fun but fun nonetheless, and the perfect co-op experience for a good time.

OVERALL (4/5)

Shoot hordes of zombies with a buddy across a number of varying environments and stages. No, it’s not Resident Evil and House Of The Dead 3 doesn’t pretend to be anything that it’s not. If you long for the arcade experience, Sega has delivered.

PlayStation Move Support

House Of The Dead 3 works best with the Playstation Move, particularly when using the Sharpshooter gun attachment. The Move’s aiming detection is spot on, giving you the true light gun experience. If you have the Sharpshooter, this makes it even better, including using the Sharpshooter’s pump action to reload. If you have the Move, it’s the only way to play House Of The Dead 3.

All-Star Special: Win NBA 2k12′s Legends Showcase on PS3 or 360!

It’s that time of year again, time for the NBA’s best and brightest to converge on Orlando for an exhibition where defense is a four-letter word. Yes, I am of course talking about the NBA All-Star Game. So to celebrate we’re teaming up with 2k Sports to offer owners of NBA 2k12 the chance to win the Legends Showcase add-on!

HOW TO WIN

To enter, post a comment below telling us who your favorite NBA player is/was — it can be someone currently playing or someone retired. Along with the player name include your console preference (360 or PS3) and your @Twitter handle if you have one.

If you do not have a Twitter just make sure your email address is correct.

Sample Comment
Paul Mokeski
PS3
@TheRealJackieMoon

THE DETAILS

Winners will be selected at random on Tuesday, February 28. All entries must be submitted by 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT on Tuesday. Please note that although anyone can enter you must either be following me on Twitter or submit a working email address to win.

Good luck!

XBLIG Review: Union of Armstrong

The robot in the background needs a big hug!

By: Uma Smith

Turn on the news and most likely there will be mentions of violence breaking out in another part of the world, convicted criminals facing multiple charges of murder, or civilians dying. So are we better off shielding kids away from games when the media is showcasing such violence on a regular basis? On a similar note, Domain of the Infinite has developed a new Xbox Live Indie Game called Union of Armstrong where it has incorporated the news broadcasting style onto its interface. Are we going to get any good news from this particular title?

Union of Armstrong centers around the conflict taking place on the Apollo 11 moon colony thanks to the evil corporation, Luna. You begin in a first-person 3D perspective at a space station where you need to walk over to the robot sitting behind the desk. Here, you converse with Luna’s commander and must decide on whether or not you want to admit defeat (I think we know how we’re going to respond). You provide your answer from the choices available within the menu and then it’s out to the battle fields!

At this point, you take control of Apollo 11′s colony and defend against the incoming enemies unleashed by Luna. Essentially, what we have here is a tower defense game where you will allocate your resources and defend against 40 waves of attacks.

Union of Armstrong is like watching the news where you have the ENN logo on screen with the headlines scrolling from right to left. Covering the major part of the screen is the whole battlefield where the gameplay takes place. Meanwhile, the background is showing the space station with the animations of the robots moving quite smoothly. It doesn’t seem all that lively, but the overall visuals are acceptable.

Although the controls are easy to figure out, players could potentially mix up the face buttons responsible for placing (A) and removing turrets (X). Defending your colony is done using the B button while Y pulls up the menu, which lets you transfer amongst the resources, defense and power. Moving your cursor with the left stick or d-pad feels quite sticky and restricted. This happens when you try to move right after placing a turret. Your cursor seems to pause on the spot; that acts as a handicap when you’re frantically trying to reallocate your defenses efficiently.

Like all tower defense games, there is a path that the enemies travel through and it’s your job to place various turrets strategically to dispose of them. Coming up with the best strategy is vital as there are three key areas to focus in during battles: resources, defense and power.

Resources are limited in supply and can be used to build the different types of turrets available. Defense lets you to strengthen your Apollo 11 colony, thereby allowing them to withstand more hits before being destroyed. Finally, power keeps the turrets and defenses functioning.

Throughout the game you want to find out where the best spots to place your turrets are. Additionally, you can reallocate amongst the resources, defense, and power to determine what the best combination for survival is — definitely don’t forget to attend to the power since it will decrease from all the turrets and defense.

Union of Armstrong plays out to be challenging and worthwhile. Wave after wave, the number of enemies will increase and it’s incumbent upon you to ensure that you make the necessary upgrades to your turrets. Occasionally, you’ll need to protect yourself from the giant space craft that fly by. While the gameplay is straightforward, you’re constantly required to keep on top of things.

A very interesting aspect of Union of Armstrong is the audio execution. With the radio station complete with reporter commentary playing in the background, you end up with an unusual yet diverse soundtrack. You can be listening to some exciting rock or calm soothing ambient tunes. There’s even a spoken word track that plays throughout three or four waves.

Union of Armstrong may not demonstrate any major breakthroughs in terms of innovation, but it certainly has the potential to captivate its audience. Because of the simplicity in rules and gameplay, this title should stay “strong” in terms of retaining your attention span.

OVERALL (3/5)

If you’re enthusiastic about the tower-defense genre, you should give Union of Armstrong a try. It’s got a certain charm that will make you smile especially with the news theme incorporated into the presentation.

Throwback Thursday: Win Crimson Alliance & Vengeance Pack DLC!

Get ready because it’s that time of the week again; time for Throwback Thursday! This week we’re going back to just after the Summer of Arcade to pluck Certain Affinity’s Crimson Alliance to be our giveaway. And just to ensure you get the full experience, we’re adding the Vengeance Pack add-on to the character unlock code!

Plus, we’ve got an extra DLC code so if you already own the game but not the DLC you can enter to win that as well.

HOW TO WIN

Post a comment below telling me what kind of Alliance you’d form if given the chance. Include your @Twitter handle if you have one, and if you’re only interested in the Vengeance Pack put “DLC Only” in your comment.

If you do not have a Twitter just make sure your email address is correct.

Sample Comment
Squishy Alliance
DLC Only
@Jigglylax

THE DETAILS

Winners will be selected at random on Tuesday, February 28. All entries must be submitted by 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT on Tuesday. Please note that although anyone can enter you must either be following me on Twitter or submit a working email address to win.

Good luck!