It has been a long while since I updated this(Thanks Persona 5) but I did nail two games since I last updated this.....
20) Donkey Kong Country 3(New 3DS) 3/27-3/31, Early April
(I lost the exact date of when this game was finished but it was a game I played throughout my train rides which is why I didn't finish this game so soon)
Well since getting myself a New 3DS, I owed it to myself to play all of the games of this iconic and amazing series so I felt like it was a must to conclude this series(At least the SNES games) by playing DKC3. It was a real good way to burn time on the train to and from work.
Now in comparison to the other two games, it doesn't have the same charm or appeal. I think the enemy designs are part of the reason which such needless and wacky choices like replacing the iconic Zinger with a Buzzer and the kremling overhauls which made them look uglier in this game. Another part of the reason is the needless reasons to overhaul to the duo attack(Such as not allowing Dixie to throw Kiddy which as much as that makes sense, very seldomly were there parts that opened because you threw Kiddy while as Dixie) and also the new DK Coin gimmick in this game. Unlike in DKC2 where you simply had to find and touch to get a DK Coin(very few exceptions to that) in this game you had to throw a barrel and time it right or projectile the barrel in a way to get the kremling to drop the coin.
I happened to think this was a case of if it wasn't broken don't fix it and I think that's really the theme of the game. By no means is it a bad game, I still enjoyed it and think it's still superb but of the big 3 games on the SNES but it's the worst of the three because they tried changes that I don't think were necessary. I would have been fine with a DKC2 similar enough game with very minor alterations but this game tried to put it's own print. Some of the gimmicks like the backwards controls were more of a nuisance more than anything else IMO.
I like that the bosses offered a challenge which the 1st 2 games very seldom provided and this game of the 3 was the most difficult for me so the challenge is much appreciated but playing this game after how much of a masterpiece DKC2 is.....is somewhat underwhelming.
Recommended: Yay or Nay
You know what, despite me sounding a bit pessimistic in my writeup of Donkey Kong Country 3, the game is still awesome and if you loved the 1st 2 games, you are going to still enjoy yourself for the couple of hours that this game provides but it is a drop off altogether from DKC2 but that speaks more so to how good DKC2 was. The game does try to be a bit different which to some is commendable for me I don't necessarily mind much of the same...........as long as the much of the same is quality which the 1st two games of this series were. The core gameplay is still there so it isn't a drastic dropoff but the few aforementioned reasons have this game 3rd in this series behind it's 1st 2 predecessors.
21) Gex: Enter the Gecko(PS3) 4/1-4/3, 5/1-5/3
It's tail time!
Ever play a game that the more you played of it, the more it just got on your nerves and you just began to laugh a lot of less each session you play of said game? This would be it for me.
Now don't get me wrong, the game has a lot of personality, I can't help but laugh at the one liners that Gex is throwing. They are so outdated and so 80's and 90's yet I get a good chunk of them that it's one of those they are so bad they are good sort of ordeals. So far the enemies have not given me fits but it's been more so Blindy vs the Camera throughout this game which is the root of the problem here: The Camera.
The camera is ridiculously obnoxious where you are routinely fighting against it which is quite of the norm for these types of games in the 90's but it is still nevertheless annoying. The most annoying thing of the camera is that there are jumps you need to make or else you have to start over from the beginning of the stage since there are no checkpoints in certain stages, thus making you start from the beginning. Thankfully the stages aren't too long themselves but it's still making me play 5-10 minutes of the same level again and again because the cameras do not cooperate with you as the player.
Another annoyance would be Gex's inconsistency to grab onto ledges, some parts he will make grabs as expected, and other parts he simply will not grab onto it even if you are hugging the platform, with you easily grazing the platform and falling down, sometimes to your death. The grabbing features will haunt you in some portions because it is practically death for floating & moving objects in the game as you continuously are in a grabbing the ledge motion due to the platforming rotating and it's 50/50 if you land on the platform or get thrown off. One of the last levels is the textbook definition of this frustration.
The reoccurance of level themes was a bit of a letdown though each level isn't the exact same but given this game is a 80's and 90's pop culture pokefest, I would have loved to have seen more level themes incorporated because the game does a nice job of poking at franchises like COPS, Looney Tunes, and Star Wars.
The game is a collectathon and you are required to replay the level two, sometimes three times to get the necessary red remotes that are at the end of a specific branched path which means you can never collect everything in one swoop, which can be a good and/or bad thing depending on how you view it. Without this gimmick, the game would have shaved off a couple of hours of it's overall length which is about 7 or so hours if you aren't going for every single item in the game. Me? I got all the red remotes but didn't play any of the 3 secret levels and I did not get every single optional silver remote but I would say I did enough to feel like I got through the game with tons done.
The bosses for the most part are easy and once you get their concepts down, can be taken down in mere minutes but the last boss is a pure RNG nightmare, you have to be lucky enough to be right at the vital switch in the final phase with it's last health or else it's a runaround and waste of time until you get such. Boss sucked and it was a 20+ minute time waster for me and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief to be done with that. Not sure who thought that was a good idea to give you mere seconds to be lucky enough to get near the necessary switch AND manipulate the boss to whack it(Which is a problem in itself since you have to be right next to the switch and often run the risk of getting whacked).
Recommended: Yay or Nay
This game reminds me of a Spielberg cartoon like Animaniacs, Freakazoid, Tiny Toons, Pinky and The Brain etc. Seems like a game that kids can easily enjoy and like but they have some puns and humor that older ages would also get and I happen to grow up with these cartoons so this game and series seems like something absolutely up my alley.
The American voice actor for Gex, Dana Gould does a terrific job with his celebrity impersonations that often got a chuckle out from me. Adam Sandler, SNL, Roseanne, Real World are not spared by this brilliance. Some of it still holds up oh so well, some of it might be outdated and some of it you have not a clue where it stems from but the tone and delivery of the lines are so good. This is Freakazoid/Deadpool esque so if you like that wacky type of craziness, you are going to absolutely love Gould's Gex. It saves the game in so many instances and it makes it worth playing to see all of these zany pop culture puns and one liners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-17-qzIGslA
(It's worth linking here)
But games around this era like Banjo series and Mario 64 just do their craft so much better which is why I think there are other games that deserve your attention more than Gex. The game isn't bad and the humor will be real hit or miss for you so it isn't a total time waster but again it's a game as you keep playing, the lust and allure of the presentation run out and you're left with a frustratingly annoying game that repeats its jokes and levels one too many times.