GOLDENEYE 007

As far as its legacy is concerned GoldenEye 007 on the N64 – as one of the first good shooters on a console – will always remained untouched, but in terms of sheer quality, the game hasn’t aged very well. Aiming and controls are a bit of a nightmare by modern standards, owing to the N64 controller’s limitations, and it’s something that obviously affects the whole experience. Meanwhile, much like many other games from the N64/PS1 era – many of which will be on this list – GoldenEye’s visuals don’t hold up very well either, and the mucky quality of draw distances and textures also often gets in the way of the action.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/14-video-game-classics-that-havent-aged-well/feed 0 422770 https://gamingbolt.com/15-times-video-game-villains-became-players-best-friend-in-a-sequel https://gamingbolt.com/15-times-video-game-villains-became-players-best-friend-in-a-sequel#respond Fri, 15 Nov 2019 11:22:36 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=422342 Heel-face turns are nothing new in pop culture, be it movies, books, TV shows and yes, even video games. Still, there’s something poignant about a former enemy joining your ranks for the greater good. Let’s take a look at 15 times an enemy became an ally in video games.

Panda King and Dimitri – Sly Cooper 3

Panda King and Dimitri Lousteau have both had run-ins with the Sly Gang before, the former notorious for helping to steal the Thievius Raccoonus. Still, old enemies become new allies in Sly Cooper 3. After the gang rescue King’s daughter and retrieve diving gear belonging to Dimitri’s grandfather, the two former villains are recruited for the Cooper Vault heist.

Twinmold – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Imposing enough initially, Twinmold in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo 64 isn’t really all that terrifying when Link himself turns into a giant. Hilariously enough, Twinmold doesn’t even attack and damaging its weak points is all that’s required. Majora’s Mask 3D does up the danger by having Twinmold actually attack Link and this becomes a proper boss fight as a result.

5. The Ancient Civilization of Hoverboards

In Sonic Riders, Sonic and his friends have to deal with this new team of furries who use hoverboard gear to commit crimes. And so they must enter a competition with these furries on their own hoverboards in order to…I don’t know. Didn’t Fonzie also have to jump a shark at some point to prove a point?

But when Tails, at a fairly early point, revealed the origins of the so-called Gear – the product of an ancient Babylon civilization – where we then proceeded to cut to shots of hieroglyphics, tapestry paintings and the like, that’s when things went from “Lol, fail” to “I need a drink. Even if it’s formaldehyde.” Yes, he’s a brilliant, talking inventor fox. But we loved him a little less after he uttered that drivel. Forever.

4. Sonic the Werewolf…Hog…Thingy

Pop quiz kids: What is Sonic’s most powerful form? If you said Super Sonic, wherein the brave blue collects 7 almighty Chaos Emeralds to defeat world conquering monsters and the like, then you are wrong. No, not even Super Sonic was strong enough to break free of a particular force field that Dr. Eggman had constructed to set up Sonic Unleashed. The solution? Lycanthropy.

Or whatever the equivalent of a friggin’ werehog is. In Sonic Unleashed, Sonic undergoes bizarre transformations at sundown that turn him into a werewolf-esque hedgehog creature that does stretchy arm punches. At this point, we weren’t sure if the physiology was more sad or the game itself. Both answers inevitably lead to “Drink!” so what did it matter?

Irony: The non-werehog portions in Sonic Unleashed are actually quite fun.

3. Drama! Storylines! Sniffing Glue!

It’s hard to pluck a single moment out of Sonic Adventure 2 but here goes: Tails transforming his plane into a car to catch the US President’s limo. Sonic being captured by the military G.U.N. Eggman’s ancestor. The friendship between Maria and Shadow. Conspiracies, cover-ups and the fate of the world in the balance. Heck, showing the world as being made up of stiffs like those seen in Sonic Adventure 2.

But the worst part of all is when you collect everyone’s equipment and just…look at them during the cut scenes. Seeing the obscene amount of gear on Sonic and Knuckles as they do their best to emote wasn’t laughable – it was sad.

What was laughable was Sonic Heroes, the further delineation of the story-line into team-specific endeavours that did nothing but try and fit as many furries into the game as possible. But Espio as a ninja? Shadow as an amnesiac (and possibly a clone)? Metal Sonic’s horribly underwhelming return?

In summation: Storylines and colourful casts. Stop them both, Sega, if only to stop giving us reasons to drink.

2. Shadow the Hedgehog: Why? WHY?

For the love of God, just why? Who in their right minds at Sega looked at that picture of Shadow the Hedgehog, all dolled up in emo tones and reeking of Linkin Park, on a motorcycle, wielding a machine gun and staring as menacingly as a two-year old into the camera and thought, “Greenlit!”?

Add to that some attempts at open-ended gameplay, aliens, the military, run-ins with other Sonic characters, awful controls that made the signature Sonic running feel like skating with a walrus tied to your back and Shadow the Hedgehog remains one of the worst games in the series, if not one of the worst games ever made.

Did we mention there are multiple endings? That’s right: Sega wanted you to play this game more than once, forget trying to drink your way through the first play through and dying of alcohol poisoning every time Shadow had a “Mariaaaaa” moment.

1. You May Now Kiss the Animal Corpse

But no. You can make a tough-talking, sword wielding hedgehog your protagonist. You can have time-travelling hedgehogs and bunnies and big cats and ninja chameleons as your supporting cast. You rip off Dragonball Z, and conjure up horrid spin-offs that make Mario is Missing look like Broken Sword. But this moment from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) beats them all.

The context is simple: Sonic and Princess Blech show fleeting traces of love between each other. All well and good – everything was all hunky-dory and PG-rated with Maria and Shadow. But then Sonic died (seriously) in-game and there was only one thing that could bring him back: A kiss from his so-called beloved.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) did what Twilight could not do: Successfully combine necrophilia with bestiality. And then sell it to children.

No amounts of cold water could wash away the shame and embarrassment this created for the franchise.

That does it for our top 5 list of some of the most embarrassing moments in the history of Sonic games. Any particular Sonic moments you found embarrassing or just plain icky? Maybe something from the comics, another cesspool of awful moments? Let us know.

Xbox Live is having a sale on all of the good Sega games including all of the Sonic the Hedgehog games.  Sonic and Friends are discounted below:

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 – Episode 1 — 33% Off 800 MSP
Sonic Adventure — 50% Off 400 MSP
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 — 50% Off 200 MSP
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 — 50% Off 200 MSP
Sonic The Hedgehog — 50% Off 200 MSP
Sonic & Knuckles — 50% Off 120 MSP
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 Select Avatar Items — 50% Off
Phantasy Star II — 50% 200 MSP
Ecco the Dolphin — 50% 200 MSP
Happy Tree Friends – False Alarm — 50% 400 MSP

Sega Arcade Deals
Crazy Taxi — 50% Off 400 MSP
After Burner Climax — 50% Off 400 MSP
OutRun Online Arcade — 50% 400 MSP
Cyber Troopers Virtual ON OT — 50% 600 MSP
Streets of Rage 2 — 50% 200 MSP
Gunstar Heroes — 50% 200 MSP
Golden Axe — 50% 200 MSP
Altered Beast — 50% 200 MSP
Comix Zone — 50% 200 MSP
Shinobi — 50% 200 MSP

Was Sonic Adventure always this bad?

Sonic Adventure is the first game to show up when you pop the disc into your console, and what a bad note it is to start on. The version seen on the disc is exactly the same as the stand-alone re-release we saw back in September last year, and you can see a detailed review of that version here. For those who just want a quick summary, know this: Sonic Adventure is not the same game you enjoyed in your youth. The game has aged terribly with bugs, frame rate issues and poor camera angles plaguing this port to death. The additional support characters and poorly designed hub levels are also much more frustrating than I remember them being, rendering Sonic Adventure as little more than wasted disc space for the Dreamcast Collection. Why they didn’t select the superior Sonic Adventure 2 is beyond me. The fact that they also still haven’t properly ported the game to support wide-screen displays is also just extremely lazy. Bad times all around.

It’s still the same game you loved eleven years ago, but with warts and all

Crazy Taxi has also recently seen a re-release last November, but is included as part of the Dreamcast Collection. Check out the full review of the November re-release here. In short, Crazy Taxi is just as it was nearly a decade ago. This is a double-edged sword though as, whilst the game retains its zany attitude and addictive gameplay, it also keeps the out-dated visuals and potentially shallow driving mechanics. The port has, however, lost the original’s killer soundtrack. You wouldn’t think this was such a big deal, but you really do notice it.

Space Channel 5 part 2 is an absolute mind f**k. No two ways about it

Starting off the two properly new re-releases is Space Channel 5 part 2. Having spent minimal time with SC5 back in the day, this was more a new experience for me than a retrospective nostalgia trip. The game sees you control journalist and reporter Ulala, as she combats the aptly named rhythm rogues through various locales in space. The gameplay revolves around you mimicking your opponents moves with the correct timing and generally feels like a very crazy and wacky game of simon says. Think Bop-it on acid and you’re about halfway there. SC5 is enjoyable in just how unique it is. It defines Sega at its weirdest and best, and is best described as a total assault on the senses. I honestly found myself having to take breaks from the game every half hour for fear my mind would explode. Though the gameplay is quite shallow, Space Channel 5 part 2 is one of the more memorable and interesting gaming experiences I’ve had in a while. It’s extremely camp and bizarre, but it’s almost so bad it’s good. This is often seen as the weaker sequel to the original Space Channel 5, but it is still entertaining and a solid addition to the DC collection. Whilst the port is generally translucent, the FMVs have been left with an ugly blur filter that makes them seem washed out and imprecise. It’s a small thing to pick up on, but it denotes the laziness with which Sega has handled some of these ports.

“Enjoy your fishing.” Classic stuff

Sega Bass Fishing is the fourth and final title in the DC Collection and is honestly a better port than you might think. The idea of playing a fishing game without a rod peripheral (no euphemism intended) seemed ridiculous at first, but SBF’s dual analogue stick control method is simple and satisfying. Pulling the rod is dedicated to the left analogue stick, and reeling is done with circular motions on the right analogue stick. You use the A button to cast. It really is that simple and brings the “easy to pick up, tough to master” quality of the game to the fore. With its cheesy voice acting and classic gameplay, SBF was the only game on the compilation that genuinely gave me that fuzzy, warm feeling of nostalgia; and I liked it.

On the whole the DC Collection isn’t bad, but it is rather disappointing. For achievement fans, you’ll only find 800 Gamerscore you can obtain through the four games, as they are classed as four separate arcade games. This begs the question of why there weren’t any more games on the disc? Would it have been that hard to give us five or six titles instead of four? And, of the games they did include, who the hell decided these games were an accurate representation of the Dreamcast’s incredible back catalogue? Why Sonic Adventure instead of its superior sequel? Why Space Channel 5 part 2 instead of its better prequel? Where is Jet Grind Radio, Chu Chu Rocket, Phantasy Star Online, Samba Di Amigo and either Shenmue title? Any of these games are more deserving of a place on the collection than the four provided.

If you really have a hankering for all four games on the disc then the value isn’t horrendously bad. At its partially reduced RRP, the DC Collection might be worth your hard earned cash. If you want a proper indication of the Dreamcast era however, I’d strongly recommend you just go and buy a Dreamcast. Hell, you could probably pick up the hardware and all of its significant releases for about the same price as the Dreamcast Collection.

Sega haven’t committed any major sins with the DC Collection, but the Dreamcast honestly deserves better. Make sure you vote with your wallets and leave the Dreamcast Collection on the shelves.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

For those of you who missed out on Adventure way back when, lets get you up to speed. It was the first properly 3D Sonic title and saw Sonic and pals once again trying to stop Dr. Robotnik (who for some strange reason has been referred to as Dr. Eggman as of late) as he tries to raise an ancient evil being. Each character has their own story and gameplay style and you can witness them as they intertwine in this new version for the Xbox live arcade. Sonic has the fast paced platforming stages we know and love and Tails is of a similar inclination, except his stages take the form of a race. Things start to go downhill with the other characters. Knuckle’s levels see him searching for shards of the master emerald and they are painfully slow and downright frustrating. If that wasn’t bad enough, Amy Rose has her own story where you need to run away from one of Eggman’s robots. This would’ve been fine if she didn’t control like a lemon on stilts. Then we have Big the cat… The only thing this guy is big on is tomfoolery. I could just about put up with things so far but his, so called, fishing levels defy anything fun about gaming in general. I don’t think I’ve cursed so frequently since… Well since I played the Big the cat story on my Dreamcast many years ago. Finally you also control Omega, one of Eggman’s mechanical lackeys who has a change of heart and decides to help Sonic and the gang. Compared to Big the cat this guy is a real angel, even if his stages consist of mashing A until all the enemies go boom.

If only there were fewer levels that were this slow moving

It must be said that some of the more creative aspects of the game still hold up well. The intertwining plots are still a nice idea, even if they are a bit repetitive and basic, and the open world adventure stages were quite a daring formula change for a Sonic game even now. These are the kind of details though that only made sense in the context of the time. Why then they decided to release a remake of this, of all games, is beyond me.

Whilst it’s nice that the more daring gameplay mechanics of Sonic Adventure still hold water, it seems that many of its glaring flaws have also retained their destructive prowess after all this time. I could just about manage the dodgy camera back in 99, as this was almost a prerequisite of 3D games at the time. That said, it’s been long enough now and yet they still couldn’t be bothered to fix that damn camera. It still hangs behind like a lame dog getting stuck in nearly every wall in sight (or is it just my dog that does that?) If this didn’t already suck enough, then just wait until you encounter the abundant and colourful colony of glitches that inhabits the very core of Adventure’s gameplay. Expect to fall through your fair share of floors and die for seemingly no reason on a regular basis. If they were going to be charging us once again for something we already have, they could’ve had the decency to actually try to fix what was wrong with it the first time around. The sound too hasn’t aged particularly well. Unsatisfying sound effects, cheesy vocal clips and lame rock music are the order of the day when it comes to the audio in Sonic: Adventure. It is a game that is more like bread than wine: It gets worse, rather than better, with old age.

And here we have the plot for every Sonic game, ever

So are there any improvements upon the original then? I think the only thing that really springs to mind is that the character models are a little bit sharper and more shiny looking. Aside from that the game has received no graphical touch ups. It doesn’t look too bad considering its age, but the textures are still pretty limp and some improvements would have been welcome. Ironically, this new version is actually lacking what the more recent director’s cut remake had; sort of. The DX version on PC and Gamecube added the character of metal Sonic and sixty missions to the fold, features that aren’t present on the XBLA version unless you buy them as a separate download priced at 400 MS points. Crippling the game like this seems ridiculous and, whilst the main game is slightly cheaper than the average price of 1200 points, it’s still pretty lame to charge extra for content that already exists. Adding to the frustration is that the DX version was actually capable of displaying a wide-screen image, whereas this poor excuse for a 360 port is not. Instead they just use that lame blue bar either side of the screen, much like the ones that were present in the original mega drive Sonic games that are available on the XBLA. I could put up with it in the mega drive games, but the fact that a version of Adventure already exists that can display a wide-screen picture makes me seriously question what the hell they were doing with this port. Add in the poorly optimised movement when using the 360 controller and we have what is possibly one of the worst conversion jobs I’ve ever seen.

For the 800 MS point asking price it’s tough to judge whether Sonic Adventure is worth the money. If you enjoy the one Sonic stage available in the demo it may be worth picking up, as there is a reasonable amount of content considering the low price tag. The achievements are fairly easy, but generally comprise a well rounded list. Those who want the full 250 gamer score associated with the game though will need to fork up the cash for the director’s cut content.

Yes, those blue bars either side of the screen are in the game and, no, they can’t be removed

I always thought of Sonic Adventure as a beautiful memory from my formative years and I honestly wish it could’ve stayed that way. This uncaring and poorly realised 360 port manages to accentuate all the things that the mass populace hates about the 3D Sonic titles. If you missed out on this the first time around and enjoy the demo then you might get your money’s worth out of Sonic Adventure. If, however, you are like me and enjoyed Adventure in the past then makes sure it stays there, as it is not the same game you once enjoyed all those years ago.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.