Retro Review: Pokemon Puzzle League

You may be thinking that Pokemon Puzzle League is a mediocre Pokemon spin-off game. It shouldn’t be thought of as a Pokemon game, as it has nothing to do with the popular franchise. What you get is an entertaining puzzle game that excels in multiplayer.

The gameplay is like that of Tetris Attack or Planet Puzzle League. The player’s screen is filled with different types of blocks, and the player must line up 3 or more of the same type of block in a row to cause the blocks to disappear. Combos of more than 3 will “attack” the opponent by putting a large rectangular block on their screen. These large blocks can be turned into normal blocks by making a combo that touches them. In single player and multiplayer this leads to very intense and exciting matches.

There are a number of single player game modes to keep you busy. The 1P stadium is the standard one-player mode, which pits you against a variety of characters from the TV show in five different difficulty levels. While it starts off easy, the last few matches on hard are quite challenging, but give you a sense of satisfaction when you claim victory. The Time Zone mode gives you 2 minutes to score as many points as you can, and is a decent side game. The Marathon mode allows you to select a difficulty and a starting speed and see how long you can last for as the speed at which the blocks move up gradually increases. Spa Service is a mode where the player has to get the blocks down below a pre-determined line to advance past the stage. Finally, the Puzzle University mode forces the player to eliminate all the blocks in a certain number of moves. This provides a good break from the main gameplay, and can get quite challenging.

The game has some decent music, especially the remix of the TV theme song that plays while you choose the settings for a game. My one complaint in the audio department is the use of catchphrases or other sayings for the characters. Each character has about three phrases they say based on various actions. Some are entertaining at first, but after a while you get completely sick of them.

Overall, Pokemon Puzzle League is a very well done puzzle game with an excellent multiplayer component. It is an excellent addition to any N64 library.

Retro Review: NHL 94

Hi, I’m Rich Ramsey for Star Power Games. Welcome to my review of NHL 94 on the Sega Genesis.

NHL 94 is revered as a classic that will live on as most sports games do not. The graphics look fine for Genesis standards, but as with “realistic” graphics from that era, they don’t look great now. However, the presentation is very good for a Genesis game. There is a pre-game introduction done by Ron Barr, who talks about which players are hot and cold, and who teams should watch out for. The overhead camera perspective provides a good view of the action, allowing you to figure out strategies on offense or set up on defense.

But the gameplay is where NHL 94 truly shines. The skating physics are fantastic, especially for 1993 (when the game was made). You are unable to simply stop on a dime and turn, much like actual skating. This gives more of a true hockey feel. One of the best gameplay improvements in NHL 94 was the introduction of one-timers. Passing the puck around to set up a good shot is easily the most effective offense, which is more realistic. The 3 button controls are very easy to learn, but offer far more control than you would expect. Overall, the gameplay is very smooth and after a couple games you have a great feeling for the game.

There are multiple different game modes, like Regular Season, Playoffs, and Shootout. You can save your record and play through a season, or jump right into the playoffs. There are a few in-game options as well. You can have manual control over the goalie or allow the computer to control your goalie. Penalties can be turned on or off as well. This allows you to go between more realistic or arcade styles.

I would recommend this to any Genesis owner, even those who are not hockey fans. The game is somewhat hard to describe, but it just plays so well that anyone can enjoy it. You can find it for quite cheap (less than $5) and it is well worth the purchase.

Borderlands on Sale on Steam

I just wanted to point out that Borderlands and all the DLC is 66% off on Steam right now. If you haven't played Borderlands, it's definitely worth checking out. The best way to describe it is Diablo as an FPS, because it is based on gunning through hordes of enemies to get loot. And, y'know, beat the game. The coolest feature in the game is the random gun generator that Gearbox programmed. Each gun can have different bonuses and effects, even different elements (explosive, corrosive, etc). There are several types of guns, like sniper rifles, machine guns, assault rifles, and rocket launchers (there are more than just those). It's a great game that is just plain fun, definitely check it out.