Excite Truck

Platform: Nintendo Wii
Review: First Impressions

Excite Truck is definitely one of the better Wii games out there. My endeavors into single-player mode have been few, but they have been fun. I mostly experimented with the head-to-head mode, only dissapointed with the limited number of two players.

The game makes great use of the Wiimote, turning it into a steering wheel. The controller is held sideways, much like it is with Virtual Console titles. The player is expected to tilt and turn the device as if it was a steering wheel. It is a little awkward at first, but once you get used to the aggressive motions, it becomes second nature.

Although the winner recieves a bonus, the premise of the game is not to finish first, but to drive the craziest. This is achieved by drifting, catching some air, and slamming into other trucks. Whoever has the most star points by the end of the race gets first.

I will come back to do a Comprehensive Analysis after I battle through more of the single-player mode. So far, the game is great!

Yoshi’s Island DS

Platform: Nintendo DS
Review: Comprehensive Analysis

Graphics: The lands of Yoshi’s Island seem to come to life with this stylized ‘drawn with a crayon’ approach. Much of it is a throwback to the SNES prequel, but the black lines are greatly reduced, making the look a lot cleaner. The dual screen approach opens the player’s eyes to much more of the level, but has several drawbacks. The deadspace between the two screens creates an annoying/helpful scenario in gameplay, described later in the review. 8/10

Sound: Music in the game matches perfectly with the setting created by the graphics. As noted by GameSpot, the soundtrack is similiar to the original’s tropical tunes, but changes things to create a more whimsical feel that fits the feeling of the game well. However, the game suffers from annoying sound effects. An example is when a baby is lost. As with the original, a crying sound on top of a high-pitched beeping noise is made. The awful sound effects detract from the golden soundtrack. 7/10

Gameplay: A unique twist is given with the Yoshi’s Island games. Instead of having an alotted amount of life, you have a baby riding on your back. It isn’t a worry to keep Yoshi alive, but it is a worry to keep the baby safe. Everytime you are hit by an enemy, the baby goes flying off in a bubble. A certain amount of seconds is alotted to catch up with the bundle of joy. This creates a fun little distraction while playing a solid side-scroller.

Enemies are inventive and colorful, making it rewarding to throw eggs at them or gobble them up. Boss battles are usually enlarged versions of standard enemies. Despite the similiarities, new angles are added to make the fight fun.

One major issue about the gameplay is the dead space between the two screens. The game was made to recognize the gap, creating a blatant blind spot. It is an annoyance to loose Yoshi, enemies, and objects in ‘wonderland,’ only to find them again before it is too late. An upside, however, is the ability to easily aim eggs. The screen layout makes egg-shooting a breeze. 9/10

Story: The story behind the game wasn’t the best. A brief, somewhat unbelieveable explaination is given at the beginning of the game to explain why the Yoshis are carrying around babies. However, the game fails to note why someone would want to be capturing babies and dropping them out of the sky. Although, the simplicity retains the feel of the game. 3/10

Replay: The scoring in the game is creative. Instead of getting points for simply stomping on enemies, the amount of stars, red coins, and flowers collected during the length of the level are tallied up, giving the player a score out of 100. This makes play competitive against yourself, making players want to go and replay through levels to earn a higher score. However, the levels may get tiresome after awhile. 9/10

Party: No multiplayer features exist in the game. The game would not attract many viewers due to the private view range on a portable device. 0/10

Overall: Yoshi’s Island DS is a great title well worth its value. Its colorful level and festive music create a great game that will keep players coming back for more.

Yoshi’s Island DS

Platform: Nintendo DS
Review: First Impressions

As I held the game in my hands, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. My experience with the SNES prequel was little, but it remained negative in my mind. What drew me to finally try the game was the striking art style it had to offer. The screenshots were very intriguing.

I put the DS game in my system and turned it on. The title screen was remniscant of the Super Nintendo days. I dove right into story mode, and had quite a chuckle over the storyline. (“Out of nowhere, babies fell out of the sky!”) The gameplay was none to shabby! I enjoyed trampling around the levels as Yoshi. The concept of switching babies was interesting.

I have yet to experience every character as a tiny child, so once I complete more of the game, I will return to assemble a full-on review. So far, I think it is well worth the money.