Video game review thread

[boo boo]

Bonk's Adventure

Developer: Red Company/Atlus
Publisher: Hudson Soft/NEC
Platform: TurboGrafx 16
Year: 1990



Rating: 8

Bonk's Revenge

Developer: Red Company
Publisher: Hudson Soft/NEC
Platform: TurboGrafx 16
Year: 1991



Rating: 9

The early 90s was heavily saturated with video game mascots. They were especially important for marketing consoles. At the forefront was Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic.

And then there was... the other guy.

Bonk (known as PC Genjin in Japan) was a bald little caveman, who looked somewhat like a cross between Charlie Brown and Krillin from Dragon Ball Z, he was the mascot for NEC's ill fated TurboGrafx 16 system, which was released in North America on August 1989, only two weeks after the Genesis was first released. Though the Bonk games were the best selling games for the system, the system itself was a huge flop in the western market, though ironically the system's Japanese counterpart the PC Engine was quite successful in Japan, managing to outsell the Mega Drive by a good margin.

The system failed to sell in North America for a lot of reasons. For one it was marketed as a 16 bit system, despite really having an 8 bit CPU, though it also had a 16 bit GPU (graphics processing unit) which gave it superior graphics to every system before it (PC Engine predated the Mega Drive by a year) and allowed it to display more colors than the NES and even the Sega Genesis, it was still an 8 bit system at it's core. It also had very limited third party support, a pack in game that got little attention (Keith Courage in Alpha Zones) and the marketing just wasn't there. Even though the system boasted an innovative CD ROM add on (the first of it's kind), it was not enough to save the console.

Despite it's commercial failure, those who were lucky enough to own one were treated with some quality games by Hudson Soft, Namco, Irem and Taito.

Bonk's status as the systems mascot is not undeserved, as his games are considered to be among the finest on the system.

The first game in the series was Bonk's Adventure. It's a basic platformer game, set in prehistoric times, the story is that you have to save some princess (what else?) from the evil King Drool, who has also brainwashed your dinosaur friends and turned them against you. Your enemies mainly consist of little dinosaurs with eggshells on their heads (don't ask why) and other prehistoric beasts. Gameplay is nothing incredibly new, but it has an interesting gimmick. The controls are simple, one button to jump and one to attack. Unlike Mario and Sonic, Bonk can't kill enemies by merely jumping on them, instead he uses his oversized nogin to headbutt enemies, he can also use his head to break through blocks and other obstacles. While you can't directly kill enemies from jumping on them, you can kill them from from jumping under them. Bonk can also dive head first into the ground when you use the attack mid air, making it possible to kill enemies from above. Theres another neat trick that takes advantage of the systems turbotap buttons (also quite innovative for the time) in which you can hover in the air from tapping the attack button repeatedly, causing you to do a mid air spin. And Bonk can also swim, including swimming up waterfalls and he can use his teeth to climb up walls, swing on vines and even swing over poles.

Unless you're a total dumbass, you should know that those hearts at the top of the screen is your health, lose them all and you lose a life. You also collect little smiley faces, they become totaled after each level and collecting enough of them will give you more health.

Bonk can power up when eating spicy pieces of meat, eating one small piece will give him an angry expression, in this state you can stun enemies from headbutting the ground. This form fades off after a while, but if you find another small piece of meat while still in this form or a big piece at any time, you will be temporarily invincible and even after it wears off you'll have even stronger attacks for a short time. Flowers are also an important part of the game, red and orange ones will give you certain power ups and yellow ones can be used as trampolines and will give you a boost when needed.

Like most platformers, levels are devided between different smaller stages and theres a boss at the end of each one. Other than that, that's all there is to know.

It's worth noting that this game predates both Super Mario World and Sonic 1 by a year. It was one of the first games of it's kind for the 4th gen era. Indeed, the graphics may not look like anything to write home about when compared to the best looking SNES and Genesis games, but for the time, this was one of if not the best looking console game out in the market, it showed off the Turbografx's capabilities quite well, more detailed graphics than the NES, and more colors than the Genesis. Even early Genesis games didn't look as good in comparison. The cutesy visual style really works for this game, the sprites look great and theres a surprising amount of animation for an 8 bit game, Bonk's reactions are varied and are also pretty funny, when he gets hit his eyes bulge out and he foams at the mouth.

Indeed, part of the game's appeal is it's bizarre humor. One of the early stages has you swimming through the intestines of a T Rex and you exit by... Being pooped out, what else?

The system also boasted a pretty good sound chip. The sound effects are cool and the music is very memorable.

This is a fun game, it's simple no bullsh*t platforming at it's finest. It's not without it's flaws of course, Bonk is a bit on the slow side and the controls can feel a bit slippery. But the level design is solid enough that it isn't really noticable or important.

This game was popular enough that it replaced Keith Courage as the TG16's pack in game. A wise choice in NEC's part.

The next game in the series was Bonk's Revenge. In terms of it's core gameplay mechanics, very little has changed. All the same stuff from Adventure applies here. Still this game improves on it's predecessor in several ways and I consider it to be the best in the series.

The levels are more well designed and more varied, and the graphics are more colorful, theres also a greater variety of enemies. The music is also pretty excellent.

There are a few notable new features, you can now do a wall jump, which will be very useful. And theres a few new power ups, one that makes a big flower grow on your head so you can float in the air, and a blue heart power up that adds an extra heart to your health. Also, when you eat two small pieces of meat or a big piece, you grow an ass on your head for some bizarre reason and you can spit fire. LSD really is a crazy drug.

There's also special flowers that will transport you to bonus stages. Theres also a bonus stage between every level where you can get certain power ups depending on how many smiley faces you collect.

Also, the bosses can be really fustrating, especially that ballerina bitch after the third level. Oh and those purple dinosaurs that chew you up, I f*cking HATE those things.

But overall I really love this game.

Now what with the Turbografx 16's obscurity, finding these games used to be pretty hard to find. But now you're in luck, they are both available for the Wii's virtual console, if you pick only one, let it be Revenge, it's totally worth the wii points IMO. So if you have the virtual console, check it out.

There was one more Bonk game (Bonk's Big Adventure) for the TG16 which was his last before NEC replaced him with a new mascot, Zonk, a futuristic android who bares more than a passing resemblence to Bonk. After the death of the TG16, Bonk did get a few more games, Super Bonk and Super Genjin 2 (Japan only) for the SNES. The series ended after that.

It's a shame when lovable video game characters like Bonk never get their deserved props. His games may have lacked the speed of Sonic or the depth of Mario. But he proved that great games don't always need to have incredibly innovative gameplay, as long as they have personality to burn.

[Laces Out Dan!]

I couldnt find basically a general video game discussion thread. So..Im posting in here..move it if you want. I just wanna talk about how excited I am for NHL10...Ive watched endless videos about the gameplay etc. Ive probably played 4-5 hours of the NHL10 demo on xbox 360 already. Ive got it pre-ordered, cant wait. The only thing I cant stand..is the dumb american prick on the cover. But w/e...hes got a hurtin comin from a new york team this year.

[E5I5O]

Here's a guy who likes to review video games. I've always gotten a big kick out of this guy.

[E5I5O]

Here's another of Armake21's reviews. It's game that I played a long time ago called The Ring: Terror's Realm. I actually enjoyed playing it. I liked my Dreamcast. There weren't many good games for it at the time but the ones I bought were good. Code Veronica, House of the Dead, Crazy Taxi, Shenmue, D2 were all good. Sucks I sold all those games and the console as well. I was actually betting that the games I liked on Dreamcast would be eventually ported for the PlayStation 2. But Sega will never release the licensing on that, I'm pretty sure of that.

[E5I5O]

This guy's interesting to listen to and watch:

[E5I5O]

This is the one I was looking for for a long time. I finally found it again.

[E5I5O]

Here is another video game review. Resident Evil: Gold Edition. It has everything the original RE5 had, but, of course with added features. You get to play through and see what happened with Jill and Chris after the Wesker fight in Chronicles, and you get to play through and get to see what happened with Jill (Brainwashed) after your fight with Wesker. You also get a whole bunch of new characters in Battle Mode, including Rebecca and Barry. This next video features a guy who really tends to like Barry, because Barry has a really big gun. He's always the one with the .44 Magnum. I really don't care who's holding the .44 Magnum as long as it's me. But the Resident Evil game developers have always been stingy regarding great weapons. I posted a comment to this guy's video, so if you want to read further as far as what I feel about Resident Evil, you can simply go to the video on Youtube and read it.

[Horsie]

The chances are, if you're reading this, that you remember the days where you had more time than money and how every game you came across, be it one which you begged your folks for; or one that a bigger kid tricked you into trading your dog for, was fully explored and completed - punctuating your childhood with sprites, wires and bleeps.

Somewhere along the way however your patience became less forgiving and the numerous intentional (and unintentional) obstacles littered in games that once inspired you to try harder now just… yawn…. Make you look at the next game on your list for that… feeling.

Yes, *that* feeling.

Some get it in books, some get it in theatre, some even get it in solvent abuse. Wherever it is acquired, all can agree that it's that compulsion to know what happens next, that eagerness to savour every detail, that reason to walk home slightly quicker, wake up slightly earlier, sleep slightly later…

You get the point.

Xenoblade Chronicles, dare this reviewer say, harkens back to games like Chrono Trigger, Skies of Arcadia, [Insert your favourite game] insofar as it will inspire you and, you will freakin' finish it!

Gameplay

The dogmatic principles of the traditional RPG have been truly tossed out of the window with a lack of random battles, no random battles and, to top it off, no random battles.

The battle system is complex but yields great bounty for those willing to master it. Levelling up, on the other hand, is where one is sure to spend many, many hours. What? What do you mean you don't have a spare 7-year-old in the house who will pay YOU to do it for you?

Visuals

Believe it or not, images do not occur at their perceived sources – rather, they occur in the mind. Xenoblade's visuals were officially six years out of date in 2010 but that doesn't make its endless vistas of green fields, blue oceans and white mountains any. Less. Impressive.

Music

In stark contrast to the visuals, the soundtrack to this game is of titanic quality. Scores composed with such care and embellishment are very rare in modern video games – in fact, they have become rarer as studios now opt for “Hollywood” soundtracks that dictate emotion rather than invoke it.

Story

There's most definitely intrigue here. Characters that have a strong sense of personality, events and motives that are plausible, plot twists that are, on the most part, unique and unforeseen – all in all, it's a solid component that ties together all of the above in a memorable and entertaining way.

Closing comments

Despite the irreverence of the above, Xenoblade Chronicles is clearly a product of true art, devotion and love. The quality teeming from its pores is sure to strike a chord with you whether you are big on stats and strategy, completion-ism, audio/visual design and/or the English accent.

As the title implies, your searches aren't totally fruitless. Long may they continue.

9.7/10

[Mr. Charlie]

Nice review, Horsie. Tis a great game.

[Unknown Soldier]

Originally Posted by E5I5O

Here is another video game review. Resident Evil: Gold Edition. It has everything the original RE5 had, but, of course with added features. You get to play through and see what happened with Jill and Chris after the Wesker fight in Chronicles, and you get to play through and get to see what happened with Jill (Brainwashed) after your fight with Wesker. You also get a whole bunch of new characters in Battle Mode, including Rebecca and Barry. This next video features a guy who really tends to like Barry, because Barry has a really big gun. He's always the one with the .44 Magnum. I really don't care who's holding the .44 Magnum as long as it's me. But the Resident Evil game developers have always been stingy regarding great weapons. I posted a comment to this guy's video, so if you want to read further as far as what I feel about Resident Evil, you can simply go to the video on Youtube and read it.

Originally Posted by E5I5O

Btw, here's a pretty cool video, based off of Resident Evil 5:

Good reviews of Resident Evil 5 and despite being a Resident Evil fanatic I still think that it's the weakest game in the series but still like it anyway.

Good use of "Africa" in that video as well and dig the Pantera T-shirt.