• Tag Archives Game Boy Advance

  • Sonic Pinball Party (Game Boy Advance, 2003)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/702382877867917312/sonichedgeblog-casino-paradise-table-sonic

    Sonic Pinball Party was a sequel of sorts to Sonic Spinball on the Genesis. It wasn’t really so much a sequel as a follow-up with the same theme. That is, a pinball game featuring Sonic. Whereas Sonic Spinball had been released on the Genesis in 1993, Sonic Pinball Party was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

    As a pinball game, Sonic Pinball Party was more like a traditional pinball game than was Sonic Spinball. To me, this kind of game is also a good match with a portable system. The game play is pretty straightforward. In arcade mode, play is pretty much like any other pinball game it’s just that this one has a Sonic theme with many references to past Sonic games and the goal is simply to score as many points as possible.

    There is also a story mode which adds goals beyond just scoring points. The story takes place in Station Square (also central to Sonic Adventure) and involves Doctor Eggman turning gamblers into robots and also brainwashing Tails and Amy Rose. Sonic must rescue them (and everybody else) by winning a pinball tournament.

    As far as pinball games go, this one is pretty decent and any video pinball fan should give it a try but especially if you are also a Sonic fan. Interestingly, when this game was first released it was released as an exclusive to Target. However, a couple of years later in 2005 it was also released as part of a compilation pack including Sonic Advance, Sonic Battle and Columns Crown and also in “twin packs” with Sonic Battle and Sonic Advance so there were other ways to get it.

    Having said that, this game has not been re-released on other platforms that I am aware of. While a bunch of Sonic games have shown up on, for example, the Nitnendo 3DS virtual console, Sonic Pinball Party was not one of them. So if you do want to play it, you will either have to track down an original cartridge or resort to emulation.


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  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (August 2002)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – August 2002

    Electronic Gaming Monthly was perhaps the most popular and certain one of the longest lasting video game magazines in the U.S. The first issue came out in the late 1980s and it continued publication into the 2000s. The August 2002 issue includes:

    Features

    • Miyamoto’s Angels – Referring to Nintendo’s popular franchises Metroid, Mario and Zelda. This article previews the new games coming soon in those franchises to the GameCube and Game Boy Advance including Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube), Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (GBA), Metroid Prime (GameCube), Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance), Legend of Zelda (GameCube), and Zelda GBA.
    • The First GameCube and Xbox RPGs – Morrowind for the Xbox (but honestly, your better off playing it on a PC) and Lost Kingdoms for the GameCube are a couple of the first major RPGs for those platforms.
    • Grand Theft Auto Copycats – A look at some games that are, shall we say, influenced significantly by Grand Theft Auto, including The Getaway and True Crime: Streets of L.A., both for the PS2.

    Departments

    • Editorial – Looking at trends in video games, both good (adult themes in games) and bad (poor licensed games…but this has almost always been a trend).
    • Letters – Letters from readers about Tony Hawk 4, cel shading, Star Wars games, the Final Fantasy movie, and much more.
    • Press Start – The top news this month includes highlights from E3, and update on the PlayStation 2’s success, Microsoft pushes online gaming with the Xbox and new games like Unreal Championship, Nintendo pushing new games in major franchises but lacks online presence (Phantasy Star Online is the only online game at the time). For the GBA, more games are being released that make use of the GB/GBA link. Get extras in Animal Crossing and Phantasy Star Online.
    • Gossip – Quartermann speculates on rumors including Sonic retiring from Adventure games; Rare to start developing games for multiple systems; Doom III for the Xbox; and more.
    • Previews – A look at tons of upcoming games. For the PlayStation 2: Shinobi, The Two Towers, The Getaway, True Crime, WWE Smackdown!, Dark Cloud 2, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, Zone of the Enders 2, Contra Shattered Soldier, The Sims, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Mega Man X7, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, James Bond 007 Nightfire, Silent Hill 3, Suikoden III, Wild Arms 3, Breath of Fire, Tenchu 3, Red Faction II, DDRMax Dance Dance Revolution, ATV Offroad Fury 2, War of the Monsters, RTX: Red Rock, DAve Mira BMX XXX, and NCAA Football 2003. For the GameCube: Resident Evil 0, Mario Party 4, Project BG&E, Wario World, Haven, F-Zero, Capcom Vs. SNK, Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, 1080 White Storm, and Aquaman. For the Xbox: Metal Gear Solid 2, Dead to Rights, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Blinx, Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, The Fellowship of the Ring, Duality, WWE Raw 2, Project Ego, Tao Feng, and Hitman 2. For the Game Boy Advance: Kirby, Contra Advance, Golden Sun The Lost Age, and R-Type III.
    • Review Crew
      • PlayStation 2
        • Aggressive Inline – Like Tony Hawk games but with inline skates.
        • Britney’s Dance Beat – A pretty terrible music based game.
        • Dropship: United Peace Force – A combat vehicle sim in which you not only pilot aircraft but drive ground vehicles as well.
        • Endgame – A light gun game that you probably don’t want.
        • Freekstyle – Kind of like SSX but with dirt bikes in instead of snowboards.
        • Legion: The Legend of Excalibur – A Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance like action/RPG that unfortunately does not live up to that comparison.
        • Fire Blade – A 3D combat helicopter arcade game.
        • The Mark of Kri – A 3D action adventure game that earns EGM’s ‘Game of the Month’.
        • MLB Slugfest 20-03 – A baseball game on steroids.
        • MX SuperFly Featuring Ricky Carmichael – A motocross sim with unrealistic physics…but fun to play.
        • Shifters – A not so great action/RPG.
        • Stuntman – A fun game that pits you as stunt car driver. Can be frustrating completing multipart stunts…
        • Sky Gunner – A fun 3D shooter but with some slowdown.
        • Stitch Experiment 626 – A 3D adventure featuring Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. Could have been a better game with better camera tracking.
        • The Way of the Samurai – A 3D fighting/adventure game.
      • Xbox
        • Test Drive – A continuation of the Test Drive series that I started playing on the Commodore 64. This one is comparable to Burnout.
        • Crazy Taxi 3 – A great sequel in a great series.
        • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – An excellent RPG from the PC world. The Xbox version is excellent…it’s just that the PC version is better.
        • Totaled! – A demolition derby simulator that even has a career mode.
      • GameCube
        • Bomberman Generation – There have been a great many Bomberman games over the Years. This is one of the better ones.
        • Lost Kingdoms – A new and somewhat unique RPG for the GameCube.
        • WWE Wrestlemania X8 – Fans of WWE and wrestling in general should enjoy this one.
      • Game Boy Advance
        • Guilty Gear X: Advance Addition – A decent portable 2D fighter.
    • Tricks – Infinite grenades in Resident Evil, play as Laura Croft in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, several secrets for Jedi Starfighter, increase the size of your stolen-car collection in GTA3, Bonesaw in Spider-Man, strategies and clues for Eternal Darkness, unlock hidden wrestlers and arenas in Wrestlemania X8, plus tons of codes, GameShark codes, and questions answered by the Game Doctor.
    • The Final Word – A look at some of the under the radar games at E3 including Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Robotech: Battlecry, and Super Monkey Ball 2.

    …and more!


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  • Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway (Game Boy Advance)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    npa-4-099

    Source: Nintendo Power Advance – Issue Number 4

    Mario Kart has just about perfected the kart racing genre of video games. So much so that you rarely see competitors these days. Which is a shame really because as good as the Mario Kart series is, it would seem to me that there is plenty of room for some unique variations and even improvements. There have been a number of competitors in the past and while some are better than others, few come close to Mario Kart.

    Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway is one of those games that doesn’t come close. This game was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2002. It’s based on a movie license (Shrek) so that’s a clue right away that it probably won’t be all that great. It tries to stick very close to the Mario Kart formula being a virtual rip-off of Mario Kart: Super Circuit which was also released for the Game Boy Advance and was the first handheld Mario Kart. However, it just doesn’t execute very well. The graphics are not as good, the controls are not as good, the music is not as good and the sound effects are not as good. The tracks aren’t as well designed either for that matter and there are fewer of them. I suppose that if you are looking for a bad rip-off of Mario Kart with a Shrek license slapped on then this is the game for you.

    This game has never been re-released and given the Shrek license and being a mediocre game at best I’m sure it never will be. You’ll have to track down an original on eBay or elsewhere (which is pretty easy to do) or resort to emulation. Those looking for a good alternative to Mario Kart should probably look elsewhere though. Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a much better choice for the Game Boy Advance, even if you really, really love Shrek.

    The ad above is from issue number four of Nintendo Power Advance.



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