temporalduality-blog

[temporalduality-blog]

VIDEO GAMES: Sonic Riders

SUUPERRR SAAAWNIIKKKKK SPPPPEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDD!!!!!!

I don’t know about you guys, but it seems to me that whenever I hear someone talking about a Sonic racing game, they always refer to it as “SEGA’s version of Mario Kart”.

Okay, so maybe the more recent games HAVE been blatant knock-offs...

I mean, Mario Kart is a tremendously popular kart racer that has spawned dozens of clones, so who wouldn’t see Sonic racing games in that light?

The fact is that Mario Kart took the racing genre and flipped it on its head, basically defining the current state of the “casually unrealistic yet fiercely competitive” racing game. Items, for example, have appeared in just about every non-arcade/non-sim racing title since Super Mario Kart first hit SNES back in the early 90s.

But that’s not really what we’re talking about here.

Before I start sounding like a triggered fanboy...

Sonic Riders, released in 2006 for GameCube, PS2, Xbox, and PC, is quite different than your typical Mario Kart: Bootleg Edition. Capitalizing on the “extreme” lifestyle being pushed onto Sonic in recent games, Sonic Riders places Sonic and friends (including a few sub-series newcomers) onto Air Boards, which the game labels as Extreme Gear. There is a story behind the game, and it’s your standard Eggman’s-evil-plot-revolves-around-whatever-the-game-is-about. We’ve seen him create a Pinball Defense System before for Sonic Spinball, and, heck, this isn’t even the series’ first Eggman-hosted “World Grand Prix” (Sonic R gets that honor), so we’re used to this garbage by now. Regardless, the characters take things seriously and fall into his obvious traps. In the plot’s defense, one of the best parts of the Sonic series is watching Sonic accept any challenge thrown his way with full confidence, and then easily coming out with the victory, seeing through traps laid out for him as if he were Bugs Bunny (see the animated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog TV series). So at least there’s some classic Sonic fun to it.

Also, I have to say that there are few games in which I enjoy the game-engine-rendered cutscenes more than the pre-rendered CGI cutscenes, and this is one of them. It doesn’t help that the CGI animation is just weird looking (especially when Shadow, released just a few months before, had first-rate animation), but what really helps is that the character models and animation in the real-time cutscenes are some of the best the series has ever seen. Characters are very expressive, making them enjoyable at times. It’s too bad that the voice acting and dialogue is so terrible. I mean, Jet the Hawk’s voice literally makes my ears want to bleed. Have a listen:

The other two newcomers, Storm and Wave, actually sound decent. Wow!

Plot and story nonsense out the way, let’s get to the actual game, which for the most part involves pretty standard fare: three lap races, multiple Sonic characters to choose from, tons of gear that can be purchased (some that even mod the game a little!), and, unfortunately, as seems to be the trend in Sonic-based racing games, only a handful of tracks and play modes, although the variety is FAR better than Sonic R’s!

In terms of control and gameplay mechanics, the game itself is actually fairly complex and takes a lot of time to master. Players advance automatically, and every single action they perform requires air, whether that be basic acceleration, boosting, power-sliding, etc. Boards can only hold air in limited supply, so a core part of the game is moderating your air usage so that you can maintain good speed, never letting the board run out of air, in which case the player will begin running on-foot. Throughout the race, players can pick up items, use gimmicks, or successfully perform tricks off of ramps to not refill their air gauge, but also gain speed, and if players get desperate, they can make a pit stop at one of the many refueling locations scattered around any given race course to refill their air tank. Players can also collect rings scattered around the course to upgrade their boards mid-race, refilling the air supply, allowing players to take in more air, and increasing players’ speeds. It’s just another thing for players to do during a race, keeping things action-packed and busy.

There’s far more to this game than I mentioned above. When introdcuing the game to new players, I reccommend going to the game’s “Extras” menu and showing them this video. They’re going to need it...

Adding to the variety of the game is the fact is each character has one of three “types”: Speed, Fly, or Power, like in Sonic Heroes. Character type determines special moves available to you as a player: Speed characters can grind, Fly characters can fly through boost rings, and Power characters can smash obstacles. Each type gets access to unique shortcuts, and performing their special action replenishes some of their air supply, so it’s important to take advantage of those gimmicks when you can. 

The part of the game that’s going to keep players busy the most is probably just learning how to master everything. Finding hidden routes and items in races, perfecting missions, getting perfect scores in the Grand Prix mode, and playing as characters of different types to try all of the game’s various shortcuts. The Story Mode is essentially nothing more than an introduction to the game, while the Mission Mode is a great way to hone your skills and learn how to actually perform tricks properly, which is probably the most difficult part of the game, since it involves numerous factors like your speed when approaching the ramp, how much you’ve charged your jump, when on the ramp you release the jump, and even the direction of the joystick determines whether you go further or jump higher: it’s really complex and part of the fun of mastering the game, although, since every ramp seems to be a little different in terms of what speed you need, what direction you need to press, and where to let go of the jump button to get an X-Ranking and land on the higher part of the course, it can take a lot of time and be really frustrating when you have no idea what you’re doing wrong. Make no mistake, the game is pretty picky about things and isn’t simple.

Smaller screens = more fun, right?

Unfortunately, this is also the game’s biggest problem. As unique and fresh as it is, not everybody will be willing to give the game’s steep learning curve a solid chance, meaning that most of your time playing this game will be spent in single-player. The game is fun, so definitely pick it up (I tested it on GameCube, but I haven’t heard of significant problems with the other versions of the game), and if you do, try to get your friends into it, because that will add a lot of replay value to the game. Just don’t be disappointed when your friends say they’d rather play something else.

If you want to compare it Mario Kart, here are the facts: Mario Kart is a simpler game, and it’s easier to hook people into it. This game, however, has far more variety than Mario Kart, keeping players busier and more engaged, even though it sacrifices simplicity to achieve that.

And yes, the game has battle modes, but I’ve never touched them due to nobody wanting to play the game with me. I should try introducing the game to more people...

Overall, I give the game 4 out of 5 stars. It’s fun! If you have a GameCube, PS2, Xbox, or PC and are looking for a fresh, yet challenging experience, give this one a try.

[temporalduality-blog]

VIDEO GAMES: How I Rate Them!

Where you expecting...maybe...an image? lol xd lmfao rawr smh...

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll now be reviewing video games on the blog using #Video Games!

Since I like to have an introductory article to each topic I write about, I thought I should take a minute to explain the way I rate games to all of you, since it’s quite unique!

I use a five-star rating system, which I’m sure you’ve all seen before. Instead of summing it up, let me just give it to you straight:

★☆☆☆☆: This game is terrible. There, I said it.

★★☆☆☆: This game is confused: there’s some good stuff here and there, but the game has a couple of problems that absolutely ruin it. There’s no reason for you to play this game, at all.

★★★☆☆: This game is also confused, but beneath all of the problems, there is fun to be found, although the entire game will not be enjoyable. These games will have their rating explained on a case-by-case basis. In general, there are better games out there, even if this one has some fun in it. If you find it for cheap, it might be worth it.

★★★★☆: The goal of a video game is to be fun, and that’s exactly what this game is! This is a game that you shouldn’t miss out on because there’s a good time to be had. Games can range from being system-sellers (”if you don’t have a SEGA Genesis, this game is reason enough for that to be remedied”), to simply being worthy additions to your library (”this game won’t make you buy a GameCube, but if you own a GameCube, you need to check this out!”).

★★★★★: Five-star-rated games aren’t any better, technically speaking, than four-star-rated ones. What pushes a game over-the-top is more than just how fun the game is, but how incredible the experience is. There’s nothing better than getting friends together for some good old multiplayer mayhem, but when a game’s world, characters, and story are just so incredible that it moves you emotionally, that’s when you know that you have something special. This game says, in a way, “I don’t care if you enjoy video games or not: you need to experience this”. Again, this doesn’t make them better games, but the experience they provide is so great that it can only be described by someone with “Wow...”, which is a feeling that even the games that are most fun cannot inspire.

So, there you have it! It’s really a four-star scale, with five being, like, the over-the-top rating. Think of a four as anywhere from an 8-10 out of 10 on a traditional scale, and a five as an 11 or 12.

Patreon supporters, stay tuned for news on exclusive game-related rewards since I’m not sure what to do about that...what do you guys think? Maybe access to an online library of retro commercials, interviews, magazine articles...things like that? Be sure to let me know!

[temporalduality-blog]

VIDEO GAMES: Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Prepare for trouble, and make it double!

To say that Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is THE BEST MARIO KART GAME IN EXISTENCE, believe me, is no understatement!

And before all you people who so solemnly swear by Mario Kart Wii get in my face, no doubts about it, in terms of greatness, Mario Kart Wii is up there as well...BUT, here are a few reasons Double Dash is better than not only Mario Kart Wii but all of the others as well, from one to eight.

Obviously, the big gimmick here is that there are two players on each kart. It’s a great idea, a great mechanic, and far more than just a gimmick for multiple reasons, but you’ll see those as we go on. 

Straight to the good stuff!

First (and for any Mario Kart game, FOREMOST), is multiplayer. Let me just give you the facts:

For the first time ever, Mario Kart has a CO-OP MODE! One player drives while the other throws items from the back of the vehicle. Now, players who are really good and really bad can both enjoy a game together without it both being too boring for P1 and too hard for P2!

Also for the first time ever, there are three different battle modes! All of them are pretty good (trust me, you haven’t gotten the most out of this game until you’ve played the battle mode with friends for hours on end!), with newcomer Bob-omb Blast being especially great!

Link multiple GameCubes together, and you can play up to 16-player (8-kart) races, including 16-player battles! (with the exception of Bob-omb Blast)

Grand Prix mode (racing with CPU racers, basically) is available in single player and multiplayer (however, split-screen must be limited to two screens, meaning you can play up to 4 players if playing co-op).

The WHOLE GAME plays at 60fps! Buttery smooth, it’s exactly what you want in a racing game, especially when playing intense multiplayer matches.

Right off the bat, do you know of any other Mario Kart game to date that has better multiplayer features?

I’ll answer that for you: NO.

1-0, Double Dash.

With GameCube, Nintendo tried to be innovative in a number of ways, one of which was making game controls as simple to understand as possible by making the layout of the controller easy to understand. This is something that Mario Kart makes really great use of, as seen on the game’s pause screen during multiplayer. I’ve used this screen a lot when showing people how to play: really handy, no?

Second point: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is more engaging and intense than other Mario Kart titles due to loose controls that allow drivers to show some serious skills (something fans of the newer games with tighter controls will complain about, absolutely, and I don’t blame them: it’s different!), and some other mechanics that received slight tweaks in order to be more action-oriented. Here’s another list coming your way:

Players can now hold up to two items at once: items literally LITTER the track when the game is at its best: it’s pure, unadulterated CHAOS, and it’s wonderful.

Just like in Mario Kart 64 (although it’s more responsive in this game), power sliding can give a player a speed boost if the joystick is tilted left and right during a slide, changing the color of the tires’ sparks from yellow, to red, and finally, to blue. Once at blue, players get a nice boost when exiting the drift. This is a better design choice than in newer Mario Kart titles, where players simply have to wait for the boost to charge up as they slide. It doesn’t ruin the new games or anything, but allowing the player to charge it manually helps keep players that slight bit more engaged.

Another minor thing, but items can’t be held behind the player as protection, meaning players need to get good at breaking them by shooting items backward, or even dodging them with a good drift! This makes the game more intense in comparison to other games in the series.

DK! DONKEY KONG IS HERE, SUCKAH!

What’s yet to be seen in a Mario Kart game is if the developers will ever find a way to insert a little more variety to its formula. For the record, Double Dash tries something new by giving each character a unique special item that belongs exclusively to them and their partner character (Mario + Luigi, Peach + Daisy, etc.), but that can only do so much. As fun as Mario Kart is, it’s so simple that once you uncover the little depth there is to the gameplay, it becomes a matter of playing through every single track until there’s nothing left to play through. This means players will be hard-pressed to sink large amounts of hours into the game consecutively. Thankfully, Double Dash really gets a huge variety spike in the forms of basic multiplayer racing (including its awesome LAN mode!), co-op play, and the game’s sweet battle mode, but you’re (obviously) going to need other people for that.

So far, the best way of lengthening play times on a consecutive basis seems to be by adding more and more tracks to the game. Mario Kart DS, Wii, and 7 each have 32 races to play, and Mario Kart 8 has 48 when all of the DLC is accounted for (which comes standard in the Deluxe edition for Nintendo Switch!). While Double Dash has the better gameplay, the added tracks in newer installments definitely lengthen the experience...but it doesn’t hold out for long: after playing the tracks multiple times, no matter how many there are, the will start to lose their freshness. I think what really adds to the single-player experience in the newer games is their added online play modes. Multiplayer is where Mario Kart truly shines, and online play gives single players the illusion that they’re playing with others, adding some length to the game.

Personally, I’d like to see tracks with tons of hidden secrets and multiple paths, almost like a world from the Super Mario games, especially games like Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine. Exploration would add HUGE replay value ot the game!

This, HANDS-DOWN, has to be the best course in the game. No sarcasm intended.

Anyway, bottom-line, there are two things to learn from this article:

If you aren’t enjoying Mario Kart anymore, chances are you’re playing it by yourself.

There isn’t a single Mario Kart game out there more fun and action-packed than Double Dash!!

To sum it up in a different way, I rate the game 4 out of 5 stars. For more information on what this means, check out this article here.

[temporalduality-blog]

PC DESIGN: Refreshing the Look of Your Windows PC

And no, I'm not talking about hardware...(although, let me know if you all would like that)

I dunno how the rest of you feel, but when I use Windows, I see two main issues...

First of all, there are, like, five different ways to open your apps. This is just ridiculous: pin to taskbar, pin to Start, pin to desktop, search computer, browse all programs...

...can we all agree that nobody needs this many options?

Secondly, Windows' desktop is just depressing to look at after a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love the look of Windows 10, but the novelty of it faded a long time ago. The look could use a refresh, if not for the sole purpose of inspiring a little more creativity in its users than usual.

So...what if we took this....

...and turned it into this...?

And that’s just one example of what you can do to your desktop!

I'm very happy to introduce a new category of content for the blog: PC Design! Click on the #PC Design tag below to see what's already been cooked up on the topic, and as usual, I not only test everything I post, but I give download links to my Patreon supporters, making setup of anything you see on the blog a piece of cake! I also give chat-based support to any supporters having setup issues, so be sure to pitch in at http://www.patreon.com/dualizehorizons/