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gekko

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Posts posted by gekko


  1. I'm really getting into this game now. The first hour I couldn't really figure out what was going on. The controls were straightforward enough (in theory anyway) but the career mode had me baffled. The second hour I'd worked out how the exploratory nature of career mode worked but I couldn't land any of the flips. The third hour I finally managed to start landing tricks and build up my score. Ubertricks mostly pass me by still but I'm sure that'll come. I'm enjoying the variety of the game - love the halfpipe games particularly as they are good for trick practising.

     

    Seems a good game but you need to put some hours in before you start to reap the rewards.

     

    I have a slight problem though. This game seems to have buggered up one of my remotes. It suddenly won't perform spins and flips, although the point and click element still works. I've switched to my other remote but does anyone know what might be going on and if it's possible to resolve it? Cheers.


  2. I ordered mine through Amazon and it's showing as dispatching soon. Was hoping it would arrive today as the dispatch estimate was yesterday but no luck. As long as I have it for the weekend I'm happy.


  3. I've got both games and had given up on SMB. However, having completed Kororinpa I was inspired to go back and play SMB. It was a really weird experience trying to control the monkey ball straight after Kororinpa. With the latter, you have far more control and can make really tiny movements whereas SMB seems more clumsy.

     

    I didn't find the fixed camera on Kororinpa to be a problem. As Gizmo says, some of the puzzles are built around that. Everything about Kororinpa is just better than SMB - the music is less annoying, the gameplay and design is more sophisticated, the controls are more intuitive and there is more skill involved.


  4. I got it on release day and got 100% completion last weekend. I played it through once pretty quickly but then realised exactly what I needed to do to get 100% and had to go back through several of them to collect the green crystals (not always in obvious places). Completing all the mirror and secret stages took up quite a bit more time - it broke my heart to have to complete stage 43 again!. When you factor in getting 25 gold medals to unlock all the bonus stages, you've got quite a game on your hands. It still doesn't take ages to complete but I'd rather that than something that takes me forever and I leaves me bored/frustrated. The bonus stages are a lot of fun and you reallly see how much you've built up your skill level throughout the course of the game.


  5. My favourite ball is the candy one. It's reasonably fast, which is essential for grabbing those gold trophies but I still feel I have plenty of control over it. It's easy to use at slow speeds too.

     

    I've now completed 4 bonus stages and have done 43 of the mirror stages. It feels as though the end is in sight but I can't quite get there! Still need to complete the mirror versions of some of the secret stages and get that last gold trophy. Going away for a few days tomorrow so will be taking a break from the game (probably a good thing as I've played it every day since Friday).


  6. I found the key was not to hold the remote too tightly. Just hold it lightly and let it roll around in your hand when you need to turn it upside down. Don't make the wrist do all the work ;).

     

    I've now unlocked and completed 3 bonus levels. I've got 16 gold trophies so need another 9 to unlock all the bonus levels. Getting gold trophies is starting to get pretty tricky though now as I've done all the easy ones. The bonus or space levels are a real bitch but addictive at the same time. I can't believe some of the narrow platforms I'm rolling along.


  7. Now completed 83%. Got all the green crystals and have completed the 14 secret levels (number 15 isn't unlocked until you complete all the bonus levels). I've unlocked and completed two of the five bonus levels but need to get more gold trophies to unlock the others. I've completed half of the mirrored stages, which I gather need to be done in order to get 100%.


  8. I've played this for the last few days and here are my thoughts. Let's get the negative over first - the game shouldn't cost £35. When you look at it against other games where you can spend weeks/months just playing through once, a game where the first run only takes hours doesn't justify the price tag.

     

    Right, now that's over, this is actually a really beautiful game. Where Monkey Ball is manic and frustrating, for a game that requires maximum concentration, Kororinpa has a really chilled out vibe. The carved wood platforms and calm music of the first 10 levels just made be feel relaxed - the fact that these levels are all very easy helped too though! As you progress you unlock more balls, which means you can make those easy levels a little bit harder - I'm quite liking the watermelon at the moment.

     

    On the gameplay front, there are a few frustrating levels - one of the night town ones has you guiding your ball along lots of really thin roads with no sides - this took me several attempts. However, there's nothing that will have you wanting to throw the remote at the TV unlike Cobalt Caverns on Monkey Ball. The replay value is in collecting the green gems, which unlock secret levels - I've unlocked five so far, and in aiming for the trophies. There's also this weird thing going on where you can play a mirrored version of all the levels (including secret ones). I'm currently half way through my second run of the game and I'm using the mirrored option to mix it up a little. I've completed about 65% so there seems to be loads more to be done. I've got most of the balls - about two left to unlock but I think I must have many more green gems to collect - some of them are pretty tough to reach and involve you hurling your ball off platforms in a desperate attempt to hit them. The controls are definitely intuitive and I love the way it has you turning the remote over as walls become platforms. You have to be fairly dextrous at times but I never found that it got too uncomfortable.

     

    Overall, this is a really neat game with great visuals and addictive gameplay. It reminds me a bit of Katamari with its quirky flavour. This is a game made by people who know that beautiful games aren't always about having the most realistic graphics. It's more about creating an atmosphere that draws you in.

     

    I'd give it 8/10 - whilst the main game should be longer, the secret levels and multiplayer element mean there's plenty of replay value.


  9. I've got this arriving from Amazon today. I was a bit put off by the price but I'm desperate for a new Wii game so decided to go for it. Will post a review over the weekend when I've played it.


  10. I really want them to utilise the new control system. Otherwise, we'll just get another football game that's exactly like last year's. I already have Fifa 06 for the PS2 and Fifa 07 for the DS. Why do I want exactly the same game for the Wii?


  11. I've got it pre-ordered from Amazon. I wasn't 100% sure about it but I can't wait another month for SSX Blur to come out which will be my next purchase, so I decided to splash out. It's £35 from Amazon btw.


  12. To be honest, I never used all the fancy moves you are supposed to be able to do. When I'm running down the left wing, I'm working out whether to pass the ball or cut inside, not worrying about which button combo will make my player do a step over. The left analogue stick, R1, square, x and circle buttons were all my brain could cope with!

     

    I recently played Fifa 07 on the DS and won the Premier League straight off. It's really no different than playing on PS2 and I'm starting to find it formulaic and boring. So I hope that if Fifa comes to the Wii they make the experience different by utilising the unique control system. I don't want to pay £30+ for the latest version of a game I already have on another console unless there's some added value.


  13. I'd love to see a footie game come to the Wii but I want it to make innovative use of the new control system. I've played Fifa and PES on both PS2 and the DS and I don't want something that just replicates those versions. As these games generally don't change much year on year, they need to do something different to make me want to buy yet another version.


  14. Tennis is definitely my favourite and the one I keep coming back to. I think I'd follow that with boxing as its a good workout. I like baseball but am rubbish at it. I played the golf when I took my Wii to my parents at Christmas as my dad was into it and I play bowling when we have friends round as its easy to get into and good for parties.

     

    My folks loved Wii Sports and my mum has asked my dad to buy her a Wii for her birthday as a result. I couldn't believe it as my mum has never been into gaming before. Hats off to Nintendo for being able to sell a Wii to a woman in her fifties! :)


  15. I'm definitely still happy with my Wii although I'm not playing it as much as I was at first. That's mostly as I have a full time job and other commitments so don't have as much free time as I did over Christmas. As a result, I've still got plenty left to play as I've not completed Rayman, SMB or Zelda yet. I'm still really into Wii Sports though and I had some friends round on Saturday who really got into the bowling and boxing. WarioWare was good as it demonstrated what you can do with the Wiimote although some of the actions are a little clunky and it doesn't last very long - it should have been cheaper IMO but then maybe that's because I'm not likely to play the multiplayer mode as much as people who have loads of gaming mates.

     

    I think we are in a bit of a lull at the moment whilst we wait for new games to arrive but I certainly don't think that's a big deal or is a reflection on the Wii's ability to sustain interest. March and April will see some exciting new releases. As time goes on, developers will become more used to working with the Wiimote and the games will advance. I'm looking forward to playing some more involved sports games and I want to get stuck into some online multiplayer gaming.

     

    I also hope that the internet channel evolves as I'd like to see it support more multimedia formats - YouTube is kind of limiting and I want to access on-demand progs. Also, the news channel isn't that great - I'm currently not sure why I'd use that rather than going on the internet channel and accessing news sites that are more relevant and have more detailed reports.

     

    I still like how innovative the Wii is and I honestly think it'll just get better. I love the way Nintendo produces games that Microsoft and Sony will never produce. For me, variety is important in gaming - I don't want endless 1st person shooters, which are basically the same game wrapped up in a different package. Also, gameplay is more important than graphics. The Xbox and PS3 have gorgeous graphics but the games won't change - that's not innovation, it's just technology advancing, which isn't the same thing.


  16. Any tips for doing the 'boxer' and 'pestle and mortar' forms? Sometimes the game responds to my actions and sometimes nothing seems to happen no matter what I do with the remote. All the other forms seem to work fine but when I'm shredding paper I can do one turn and then it just stops.


  17. Tempted to buy (and by that I mean wait until someone cash trades one in) a PS2 for Singstar and Katamari.

     

    Katamari is a great game - so un-PS2 really. It's one of the only two games I could persuade my other half to play (the other being Crash Bandicoot) although now the Wii is here, I can add Wii Sports and Rayman to that list.

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