Super Mario Run - iOS

Ouch! £7.99. FFS! Screw you Nintendo! That's bloody expensive, but take my money you dirty rotten scoundrels. But know this, I'll forever hold a grudge against you.

It's quite sickening what Nintendo have gone and done here, they've given us the first few levels for free, hooked me in, and then fleeced me of £7.99 of hard earned sterling. I'm already addicted (business as usual Nintendo)! The lure and temptation are too much with the first four levels being bloody brilliant, easy to control and capture you from the start. I'm enjoying it, but that price has left a bitter sickness deep within.

The world tour mode, the only one I've discovered thus far, appears to consist of only six measly worlds, with four sections within each and the "end level" boss at the end of each section. The first world is easily pushed aside but does enough to prepare you for the trials that lie ahead. The second world reminds me why I hate Mario games; it's not because they're rubbish, it's because I'm crap at all of 'em. I get the feeling that a seasoned Mario enthusiast like my sister would whizz through this experience in a heartbeat. I normally get about halfway through and end up giving up, I've tried 'em all, Super Mario Bros, World, 64 and Galaxy, but I lose interest as the game usually becomes way too difficult for me to persevere with. In Super Mario Run, the difficulty is pitched just about perfect, I'm still struggling, but more determined than ever to complete this now, I'm giving it every ounce of concentration, and despite my platform inadequacies, I'm strangely loving it. You know what, Super Mario Run has definitely put a smile on my face, even my wife gave it a passing glance.

I should probably mention Toad Rally, a daily occurrence where you race off against all the colourful characters throughout Nintendo's empire, but when I say race, it's more of a side-scrolling affair, Track n field if you like, only collecting coins in style, building up a toad fan base using a weird kudos system, and then housing them within the castle grounds. I'm sure there's more to it, but for me, at this moment, it's all about completing the world tour.

Don't hate on me for saying this, but at times, it feels like Nintendo have borrowed a few playing elements from Sonic, all the sliding around, quick time running jumps and being catapulted through the air whilst trying to collect coins is great, but strangely familiar to Sega's offering, only better. The airship level on world 4-4, quite literally tested my platforming skills beyond their crappy capabilities, by sheer luck, not through determination, somehow I made it through, and by some stroke of wizardry, I continue to advance.

In a nutshell, it's gorgeous, fun, but somewhat limited in regards to content, but who knows, that could be remedied in the next update? I haven't noticed any lag, issues with 'internet always on' or reliability. I'd just like to clear one thing up, though, it's definitely not worth the asking price, and I'm quietly convinced I've played better, more in depth games from the App Store for half the cost, but equally it's definitely something to celebrate, what with it being Nintendo's first foray into mobile gaming.

First-day target score, reach world five!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amstrad CPC 8-bit exclusive games

Image
Have you ever wondered what Amstrad CPC games were exclusive to the Amstrad CPC? The list below is what I know of, some of the games below are truly awful, but then again, there's quite a few games I wouldn't have missed for the world. This is by no means a definitive list of exclusives, and in most cases, you can find these games on the Amiga, ST and Consoles, but you won't find 'em on the ZX Spectrum or C64 (That's if I've done my homework correctly).  There's some real classic amongst this lot, Bumpy is brilliant, as is Bactron and D.Day is a masterclass in arcade strategy. I also found a game I never knew existed in 'Dempsey and Makepeace' a classic cop series set in the 80s. But the jewel in the crown for me is Get Dexter. Star Driver needs to be checked out if you've never played it, it scrolls along like a mode 7 game, the scrolling technique from the SNES, and if you think you're ready for a challenge, try Builderland, it needs
Read more

AMSTRAD CPC - TO SCROLL OR NOT TO SCROLL

Image
I used to think it was strange that Commodore 64 and Speccy owners always claimed that their respective machines were far superior to the Amstrad CPC? I mean, c’mon, had they seriously never seen or played the likes of Wec Le-Mans, Robocop, ChaseHq, Sorcery+ and Rainbow Islands on the CPC? The C64 versions of Chase HQ, Continental Circus and Wec-Le-Mans look, and churn along, like a badly curled poo! For sure, there are plenty of examples of this being the case with the CPC (Out Run), and likewise with the Speccy. But I don't want to get too lavatorial or reduce this article into 8-bit zealotry. Instead, I’d simply like to air my frustrations and thoughts in order to quantify and better collect all the facts. Undoubtedly, the Amstrad is the machine of personal choice for me, it left me with some of the best and worst memories (Green Beret), and it was, and still is, a very pleasant machine to program and play games on. One of the biggest complaints I hear ab
Read more

Donkey kong Jr - Zx Spectrum

Image
Just a few thoughts on the tribute game made with AGD, for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It's great and everything, but I'm confused? I'm still a massive fan of the original Donkey Kong arcade-style platformer from the 1980's. It is said to be the game that launched the career of Shigeru Miyamoto, but more importantly, Mario and Donkey Kong. The game went on to give Nintendo international stardom, with Miyamoto creating a legacy so powerful, that Nintendo and Japan should pray daily for his continued existence. However, Donkey Kong Jnr wasn't a great sequel, in fact, Miyamoto himself thinks it's a weaker game. It sold well, but so did the USGOLD home conversion of Outrun, so sales don't really mean diddly squat, in regards to us gaming enthusiasts. I did like the way this game reversed the characters roles, with Kong now caged and Mario becoming the antagonist. The game featured a good premise as well, instead of climbing the platform, you now traversed
Read more