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REVIEWS - Game & Watch Gallery 2 ::
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| Nintendo "cooks up" some portable fun. (I'm sorry) |
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| Game Info. |
Genre
Puzzle/Arcade |
Publisher/Developer
Nintendo/Nintendo |
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Peripherals
(none) |
Release
11/98 |
Game & Watch Gallery 2
Nintendo kicks the dictionary to the curb and redefines "awesome".
Reviewed by Sam - December 15th, 2001
In the early 1980s, Nintendo jumped into the video gaming market with a list of handheld liquid-crystal games known as Game & Watch. The success was stellar, but that of the NES in later years far overshadowed these portable things of the past. So in the late 90's, Nintendo decided to "re-release" the Game & Watch series in a trilogy of Game Boy Color games, the Game & Watch Galleries.
For the second installment in the Game & Watch Gallery games, we have 6 classic titles: Ball, Chef, Donkey Kong, Helmet, Parachute, and Vermin, each in its own classic and modern edition. Such a combo of past and present is hard to find in video gaming, but it truly seems Nintendo's willing to do it, and in a big way.
Gameplay
Every title is ingenious, both in its simplicity and challenge factor, but the two that seem to stand out most are Helmet and Vermin; both are extremely challenging, but fun enough to keep your interest until you get up to the golden 1000 points. Speaking of which, this is your basic goal in the Gallery; to accheive a high score of 1000 points or more in every game on each difficulty setting (hard/easy), and on both Modern and Classic Modes. If done enough times, you'll find yourself rewarded with simple things like the Game Museum that don't really matter at all. Though it may seem like a lame prize to give out, the real prize is found in the pride of 1000 points; seriously, that's not easy to get.
9/10
Control
The controls follow the basic, two-button scheme of the ancient Game & Watch games, which generally control the characters' movement left and right. Nothing more to say, honestly. Tight, and rarely confusing or accident-causing.
8/10
Graphics
Obviously, the graphics in Classic modes are what they are, pretty much directly replicating the Game & Watch visuals. Modern modes are done well enough, with colourful characters and backdrops, and fairly smooth animation all around.
8/10
Sound
Classic mode, while it doesn't quite get tedious, is musicless, which can actually make you more easily "bored" of a game in Classic mode than in Modern mode, which is too bad, however inevitable. The Modern modes, as expected, add enjoyable tunes to the mix that change as the pace and difficulty to the games increase. It's also worth mentioning that I feel the tunes themselves are of exceptional quality.
8/10
Replay Value
While the games are challenging, they're not in excess. This can be a problem for a lot of arcade-flavored video games, as I'm sure you know. The balance is done well enough here to keep your interest in a fairly simple, repetitive task for possibly up to an hour or two. Many a plane ride of mine hath been deminished by the Game & Watch Gallery. It is mine humble opinion that it could also... deminish... yours... ith.
9/10
Overall
While it may seem like I've been rapping down on the Classic games, believe me, they offer at least as much fun as their Modern counterparts and are really the heart of the pak. On a whole, Gallery 2 has been very fun for me to play these past few years, and while you might not get hooked immediately, the simplicity will definately grow on you. It's a collection full of tiny classics, but I have to say, without a doubt, that the Gallery series is fast becoming a series of classics itself.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10
=Great=
Send feedback to: sam@ngeb.net
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