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alexjohnbrown
Reviews
Super Meat Boy (2010)
Annoying, Frustrating & Tedious ... But Perfect
I recently downloaded this for the X Box 360 as it was the free X Box Live Gold Arcade Game of the Month. It looked like an light, gentle arcade-style platformer so I decided to give it a go. Little did I know, the level of courage, dedication and tenacity I would shortly have to muster in order to complete the gargantuan task at hand.
Super Meat Boy is indeed a platformer, but to simply label it as a 'platformer' would be doing it nowhere near the justice it deserves. What initially seemed like a simple enough game quickly evolved into a game so frustrating that it must have been spawned from the depths of Hell itself (which ironically is one of the settings for some of the levels).
Levels become increasingly hard to the point where it is unwise for any person playing this game to be surrounded by fragile objects, as they will more than likely be hurled at the nearest solid surface. Yet, with each passing level, something happened. The unbreakable will to keep playing, keep improving and keep pushing forward to victory - No matter the amount of times tried on a level, I would complete it! I had to - There was simply no alternative. Something I didn't even no I had came alive - The sheer determination to keep playing and find a way to complete the mind- warping levels - No matter the odds or attempts required - And for that, it is no normal platform game, but something far more.
The plot is simple enough - A 'Mario going castle-to-castle searching for the princess' style with simple, yet effective (and humorous) cut-scenes as Super Meat boy searches for his girlfriend, who has been kidnapped by the sinister Dr Fetus. (or at least I HOPE she is his girlfriend, for his sake with the amount of effort he goes into rescuing her).
The gameplay has numerous 'old-school' arcade style references with the ability to play as other characters than Super Meat Boy himself. While this gameplay appears to be graphically simple, it is completely appropriate for the game and does it unbelievable justice. The amount of content also does the game justice with hours of gameplay to be had including many secret levels.
The soundtrack is again quite 'old-school' and does a grand job of setting the scene, with elements of a more modern arcade style also present.
To sum the game up, it is both remarkable and unique and for that, I have rated it 10/10. If you haven't played this game and feel the need to try it, be warned. This game is not for the feint of heart. It will attack you mercilessly - both physically and mentally. To put things in perspective - One of the final levels took me several hundred attempts with hours of perfecting the right jumps and motions. For this, it is understandable that this may be more appealing to a more 'hardcore' gamer, but the feeling of completion and success is unmatched by the majority of other games.
Probably one of the best arcade-platform games out there.
Alex Brown
Falling Skies (2011)
Good, But Not Great 6/10
I would like to start by saying that I have watched every episode in order to properly grasp the entire concept of Falling Skies - And firstly, to answer a few basic questions:
Are there plot holes? Definitely. Is the acting good? Only from certain individuals. Is the story solid? To an extent. Is it one of the best shows out there? Hardly. Is it still watchable? Definitely.
Falling Skies is a Sci-fi, action-drama following the adventures of a now ex-History Teacher, Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) during an alien invasion of Earth. The series follows his exploits as he does all he can to protect his family from the war with the aliens.
The plot itself, although not particularly original, is generally sound, however as the story unfolds, it begins to head in a very far-fetched direction with numerous plot holes surrounding the invading alien race.
The acting overall, generously speaking, is average, but I found differed massively between individual actors and actresses. Generally speaking, I found many of the younger members of the cast to be very stale with poor displays of emotion, leaving the responsibility of making this a programme worth watching up to the older, more experienced cast such as Will Patton who seemed to be one of the few consistently good actors throughout the series.
The story in some places became very repetitive, with main characters being captured countless times, only to escape or be rescued the same episode or the episode after. Overall however, I found myself unable to stop watching what was next in store for Earth's resistance force due to the occasional cliffhanger. One could argue that the end of almost every episode was a cliff-hanger, but some of the time, I found myself frankly not caring what happened, with the story at the time being borderline absurd or revolving around a completely un-charismatic character.
To sum the show up - It would likely appeal to fans of Science- Fiction, but even so, it can become tedious at times. I can understand some of the negative reviews this programme has received, but despite the plot holes, partially stale acting and some dislikeable characters, it was still an entertaining watch and one that I do not regret.
Alex Brown