Messages

1

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 25, 2026, 10:18:04 pm »

ABANDONED - Super Mario Kart [SNES]


Yeah... i'm sorry. This feels sort of like insulting an elderly grandfather that everyone loves. But the game sucks ass. Like really bad.  It's nauseating visually, cheap mechanically, and a repetitive bore on the level design. It somehow manages to be both brutally unfair and complex and also too simple and dull at the same time.  AI such as bowser get infinite fireballs while you get banana peels and thowmp'd 200 times a race. The game is plagued by rubber banding which forces the same racers to assume the same pole positions knocking you off track in the process.  It is truly a grind and not a good one.   It's also technically cheating. 


The normally 3 dimensional obstacles in other Mario Kart games are now 2D flat road illustrations. How am I supposed to know a flat cement colored tile is a wall? My eyes hurt from playing it. 


It genuinely feels like you're twisting the course, not the kart, when you turn.


I respect it because it's the originator. It has amazing soundtrack. It has cute kart racers. But It's borderline unplayable if you didnt grow up with it.  And I didn't.  I'm not good at it. But never does it feel like that's because I suck. I can admit when I suck. The game sucks and the difficulty is more so adapting to it's filth than conquering it's challenge.  I know its consensus that it aged bad. But damn. I just feel saddened lol. Maybe another day.


On to brighter pastures.

I replayed it for the first time in about 30 years last year and it definitely has not aged well. I could not believe how hard it was just to control your racer and some of the tracks were horribly laid out. I did get through the game on 100cc, but was surprised by how poorly the first game aged.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 24, 2026, 12:05:14 am »

18. God of War III (PS3)

Last year, I made it my mission to at least re-beat the first two God of War games in preparation for finally forging ahead in this series. I've never played God of War III, the various God of War spin offs, and of course the modern sequels that have Kratos living in Norse mythology times. I've read numerous sources online that said you don't have to really beat the original GOW trilogy to understand what's going on in 2018's God of War, however I felt like even if that's true, I'd at least appreciate the 2018 game and Ragnarok a lot more if I did. Well, this evening I finally beat God of War III for the first time, and while I mostly enjoyed my experience with it, the game was certainly a mix of pretty high highs and various low lows that have me feeling conflicted.


My biggest gripes and some of my biggest praised revolve around God of War 3's gameplay. Unlike GOW2 which at times felt way too derivative of the first GOW's gameplay, mainly the various abilities, weapons and power ups you receive, GOW3 felt very fresh. GOW3 introduces almost an entirely new set of weapons and abilities while still using the pretty awesome core gameplay found in those first two entries. Combat feels probably the best its felt in any of the first three GOW games, The various abilities you unlike through the course of the game result in some of the best boss battles of the series up to this point...but also some of the worst too. The Hades boss fight has officially become my favorite boss fight in the series, meanwhile fighting the giant scorpion and Zeus to an extent have become some of my least favorite encounters. However, it's not the combat gameplay that drags my opinion of GOW3's overall gameplay down. No, it's kinda everything else for the most part.


The platforming in GOW3 is definitely the worst in the series up to this point. A new harpy grabbing mechanic is introduced and my god is it awful. I don't know how many times I plummeted to my death when trying to jump to another harpy or onto a ledge. Then there's the issues with some of the platforming when you're not replying on harpies, and just, you know, jumping from one ledge to the next. There are also a plethora of new gameplay mechanics just as sections where you're either flying or plummeting while having to dodge a punch of objects and obstacles. Meandering Kratos in this sections sucks and it's almost a certainty that you will take a needless amount of damage when getting through them. I won't knock GOW3's puzzles too much, but yes, some of them are fairly annoying and tedious as well. Oh, and to top it all off, near the end of the game you're introduced to an escort mechanic which just felt tacked on a frankly just as annoying as escort mechanics are in most games.


While you will be in combat with the various monsters and enemies present in GOW3 most of the time, these other mechanics are enough of an annoyance where it's impossible to to mention them. There were times when playing GOW3 where I thought to myself, "Wow, this game is amazing to play!" only for me to have the opposite opinion of it half an hour later. It was fairly jarring, but in the end, I will say that GOW3's gameplay is better overall than it is worse.


GOW3's best quality consistently is its visuals and presentation. This is a very good looking 7th gem game. Especially the character modeling on Kratos and several other main characters is highly detailed and just gives them new life in terms of how great they look. Although, in saying this, visual fidelity of characters seemed to be a mixed bag, with some of the more minor characters looking noticeably less detailed than Kratos, which was a bit odd looking at times. Still, this didn't distract too much from what was otherwise a game full of very good looking character models and their animations. Likewise, the backgrounds and settings in GOW3 look fantastic! There are a few areas such as the labyrinth that I wasn't as big of a fan of, but like the previous 2 games, GOW3 does an excellent job of portraying the epicness of scale that really gives this series a distinct identity. Fighting, enemy, and boss design and animations are also amazing for the most part.


In terms of GOW3's story, it's definitely the weakest of the original trilogy. The writing just feels a bit all over the place despite the central plot revolving around Kratos' obsession with seeking vengeance against Zeus. There were a few times where you have to go out of your way to find some odd thing, but then another thing needs to be found, and for reasons Kratos seems to care more about those other things than he does getting his revenge. There is also a part towards the end of the game where Kratos just acts weird and it definitely seemed to clash with the character that has been established thus far in the game. I am purposely being vague as not to spoil anything, but yeah, while not terrible, the writing was definitely a lot weaker than it was in GOW and GOW2.


Finally, audio in GOW3 is pretty awesome. Character voice acting, including the inclusion of some recognizable celebrity talent was all really good for the most part. The soundtrack felt like it was lifted from the previous two games, which is fine, but nothing music wise really stood out for me. Still, the soundtrack is perfectly appropriate and fitting for this game which means I have nothing inherently bad to say about it. Sound effects all sound meaty and cool, and the sound design in general is on par with what you'd expect from an early 2010s AAA game.


Beyond mostly enjoying GOW3 and being happy I finally beat it, I am possibly even more excited to move on to the modern GOW games. I know those games have their critics, but overall the consensus seems to be that Santa Monica Studios sent the series in a different direction with a much different Kratos than what we got in the original trilogy and spinoff games. I'm eager to see how this plays out and if I do in fact appreciate GOW 2018 more now that I've recently beat the original trilogy. Still, newer games aside, GOW3 is a fitting and welcome entry in the original canon of games that I'm happy I played and will certainly return to again someday down the road. (2/23/26) [37/50]

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Classic Video Games / Re: So what are our thoughts on Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen coming bacc?

« on: February 23, 2026, 10:45:10 am »

I'm confused about the outrage I've been seeing online. It's like people forgot game companies have been releasing old games on digital store front fro the past 20-years or something. I remember seeing games like Pokemon Snap and Ocarina of Time on the Virtual Console back in 2007 for like $12, which is practically $20 adjusted for inflation. I have no idea what Fire Red and Leaf Green go for these days physically, but unless they're over $100 loose, I'd say you might as well just get the physical cart and skip the digital copy. On top of that, I can't imagine it's very hard to find the roms for either of these, which seems to be a more and more common route people are taking with older games.

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General / Re: Halo is going multiplat...end of an era

« on: February 21, 2026, 12:11:28 pm »

Well, things just even worse over at XBOX. Phil Spenser "retired" as head of XBOX and former president Sarah Bond has left. In their place is a woman whose career has been defined by AI. I'm not going to pretend like the XBOX brand hasn't been in a rapid downward spiral for years under Spenser and Bond, but I can't imagine someone who specializes in AI is going to turn the brand around.

I've read a lot of speculation as to why the new AI boss was chosen, ranging from she plans on replacing a lot of the people at XBOX with AI to she's essentially the fall person for the brand failing and becoming exclusively a third party studio. Only time will tell, but I'm not feeling optimistic about this news. To be completely honest, I barely care since I haven't cared about XBOX since the 360 days, but I still think it would be even worse for the industry if all we had was Nintendo and Sony. There really needs to be more competition in gaming, if for nothing else than to slow or even reverse the continuing stagnation of gaming.

Uh, but yeah, more big L's for Microsoft and XBOX.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Sony shuts down Bluepoint

« on: February 20, 2026, 10:17:01 am »

I never played the Demon Souls remake, but did really enjoy Shadow of the Colossus. It's too bad we'll never get to see them work their magic on other classic Sony titles.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 20, 2026, 01:49:16 am »

17. F-Zero X (N64)

When it comes to futuristic racing games on the N64, my goto series has always been the two Extreme G games on that console. I received the first Extreme G as a Christmas gift back in 1997 and remember the agony of having to wait to play it until later in the day since we were at a relatives house with no N64. I eventually did get to play my new game later that evening and long story short, I loved the hell out of it. It's become an incredibly sentimental game for me and one I still hold in fairly high regard on Nintendo's 5th get console. However, some of the N64's other futuristic, high action racing games kinda flew under my radar, one of which was F-Zero X.


I never played the original F-Zero on the SNES, nor would I even first hear about the series until the 2000s. Seeing gameplay footage of that original game, as well as F-Zero X, I'd always been interesting in trying them out eventually, but just never got around to it for whatever reason. My first F-Zero would actually be GX on the Gamecube, but really it was more of me trying it out for a bit than me really sinking serious time into the game. So yeah, I'm essentially an F-Zero virgin that has put off jumping into one of the series' beloved entries for far too long. I decided to finally do something about that this year and committed to playing the entry on the N64. I know GX is considered the best in the series by most, but due to my personal history as a gamer, I have a soft spot for N64 racing games. So, what did I think of F-Zero X?


X is a fairly lopsided game in terms of quality. On one hand, you have gameplay that is ultra tight, well balanced, and has a high skill ceiling while also continuing to be surprisingly fun and accessible. On the other, the presentation run this game, while not terrible, definitely screams budget title, particularly for being a first party Nintendo game. Still, I respect games that pretty much sacrifice all else in the name of gameplay (it's always nice when a game gives you everything, but gameplay always trumps everything else in my book). F-Zero X's gameplay is highly polished and well thought out. That's a pretty impressive feat given how challenging this game can be with its 29 opponent racers, very tricky tracks, and fairly deep character stats that noticeably impact how certain racers perform over others. That's not to say that X's gameplay is perfect however. Some tracks are certainly designed way better than others, and I'd say the opponent racers on higher difficulties become downright cheap as hell at times. Still, if you play this game on Novice and Standard, you'll likely have a good time despite how difficult the game still is.


As mentioned, the visuals in X aren't the greatest. I know the N64 is generally criticized for its visuals, especially nowadays, but compared to other N64 and 5th gen games, F-Zero reminds me more of third party budget games like Battletanks than it does a first party Nintendo game. The menu and character art is done in an illustrated comic style, which isn't terrible, but what is borderline bad is the art direction of X's various stages. Most look fairly the same from an artistic perspective, except the color pallet has been changed. The only real thing that makes some stages standout is the design of the track itself with its various jumps, narrow sections, or sharp turns. But other than that you have some blurry illustrations of buildings in the background that you'll mostly barely see given the trademark N64 draw distance fog that is heavily present in this game. I get that Nintendo likely had to do this given how much action is going on in each race and also maintaining a smooth, consistent framerate, but the visuals of each track definitely take a hit as a result. Likewise, there aren't any really standout 3D elements like what you see in Mario Kart 64 or Extreme G. In those games, each track felt like it had a distinct personality and identity. Not so much in F-Zero X.


However, ending the discussion of the game's mostly lackluster visuals on a more positive note, I thought how distinct and interesting each of the selectable race ships were was well done. While the 3D models for these ships can be a little plain at times, they're mostly creative and unique, which is a breath of fresh air given how flat and uninspired the tracks looks.


Finally, there is the OST in X, which is pretty good. It mostly consists of a heavy rock/metal instrumental soundtrack which goes very well with the crazy action and sense of speed in this game. There are some sound effects and voice acting in F-Zero X, but really it's all about the OST. I wouldn't necessarily rock out to any of the music tracks in my car, but listening to them in the game is definitely welcome.


I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with F-Zero X overall. While I wouldn't place X among my favorite racing games on the N64, it certainly doesn't sit that far outside that illustrious list. I really appreciate the focus on the gameplay, but I'd be lying if I said nothing else mattered here. When other first party games like Wave Race 64 and Mario Kart 64 can pull off incredibly fun, well implemented gameplay and visuals...and a soundtrack, why can't F-Zero X? This is what really holds this game back from being an all time great of its generation. Still, this is a very well made, highly polished racing game that I'd still definitely recommend despite its blaring shortcomings. (2/19/26) [33/50]

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 18, 2026, 04:22:48 pm »

1. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PS4) - ABANDONED

One of the harsh realizations I've come to while playing the various classic style Castlevania games is I vastly prefer the Metroidvania style games more. Part of it is due to the fact that most classic style Castlevania games were made in a different era with less advanced technology and more constraints to gameplay, but part of it is also due to how questionably designed many of these older Castlevania games are. Poor difficulty balancing and level design, stiff and slow movement, and cheap as hell bosses and enemies are things that plague nearly every pre-metroidvania Castlevania game I've ever played. Given how much praise Rondo of Blood gets, I figured it must have improved the old school Castlevania formula so much that these egregious issues in games like the NES entires and even newer entries like Bloodlines must have been fixed. Nope. If anything, they're even a bit worse in Rondo of Blood.


Like many people, I'll I've heard for years is how incredible Rondo of Blood is. From a presentation standpoint, I completely get it and will fully agree that this is one of the prettiest and best sounding games of its generations. I adore the art, character and enemy design, the amazing stage art direction, and let's not forget how unforgettable the OST is. It's impossible not to be drawn to this game as a fan of retro video games. Still, I have to imagine that a lot of the people that heavily praise this game have never actually played it.


Rondo of Blood is a bit of a mess gameplay wise. As mentioned, Rondo of Blood suffers from the ultra stiff, slow, and cumbersome movement controls of most pre-Symphony of the Night Castlevania games. You can't control Richter's jump once you've initiated it, your invincibility frame between taking damage is a fraction of a second, meaning you will get utterly destroyed in some of the more difficult, unrelenting sections of the game. Speaking of Damage, nearly every attack, whether it's from a standard enemy or a boss will drain roughly 20% of your health, meaning you're screwed after just 5 hits at most. Bosses are mostly agile and their attacks come at you fast, but as mentioned Richter moves with the ability of a sea cargo freighter meaning the only way to get through this game is an offensive amount of trial and error. The gameplay can still be fun, and most enemies and bosses offer up unique challenges and considerations, but nearly all of this is nullified by the poorly balanced and implemented gameplay. At least in the NES games, most enemies and their attacks were also slow, but Rondo of Blood simply has no excuse.


I only got three stages in before I just couldn't take anymore of this game. That's really too bad since I really, really wanted to like Rondo of Blood after nearly almost universal praise for it since first discovering this game back in the late 2000s. There is so much I appreciate about this game, but none of it redeems how shit this game is to play. I know this will likely piss some longtime fans of Rondo of Blood off, but I feel like you really have to have a preference for the classic style Castlevania games to squeeze any enjoyment out of this one. As for me, my opinion of Rondo of Blood gives me little hope that I'll really like some of the other older Castlevania games I have yet to play. I'm sure I'll give them a shot someday, but for now, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic about any game in this series that isn't a Metroidvania or a 3D entry. (2/18/26) ABANDONED

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Modern Video Games / Re: Report: PS6 2029 | Switch 2 price increase soon?

« on: February 18, 2026, 10:46:39 am »

Most developers don't even use the PlayStation 5 to its full advantage. 2029 seems too soon.

Also, I'm fairly certain PS6 will not allow the use of physical media.

I seriously doubt that. However, I can easily envision the PlayStation 6 opting out of a dedicated, built-in disc drive altogether for all models and instead have that be an optional attachment, which is already practiced and set as precedent.

Most game sold on the PS5 are bought digitally, same with the XBOX. Sadly with physical media rapidly going extinct, especially media on discs, I don't see how a console coming out in 2029 would even offer the means to play games physically. I really hope I'm wrong and discs or some for of physical media remain a thing into next gen, but I'm not counting on it. Most people would rather opt for the convenience of buying their games from the comfort of their living rooms than to actually own their games, but require they go to a store and buy it or wait for it in the mail.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Report: PS6 2029 | Switch 2 price increase soon?

« on: February 16, 2026, 03:01:28 pm »

This is good news as far as I'm concerned. I've had my PS5 since 2021 and still don't feel like it's fully lived up to what I paid for it. I feel like there's so much room for this console to shine and I hope with it's going to be Sony's main console for another 4 years or so that it actually gets a healthy injection of excellent titles and exclusives. Also, I'm fairly certain PS6 will not allow the use of physical media. I'm counting on both the next XBOX, assuming there will be one, and the PS6 to ditch discs and any other physical media. The Switch 2 will likely be the last console to embrace it. Regardless, I'm not looking forward to that or really next gen in general given the current trajectory of the industry.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 14, 2026, 06:00:18 pm »

7. Power Stone 2 | 2000 | Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | Arcade Mode | Nintendo Switch 2 (originally DreamCast) | 2/2:



     Hot take, but I liked Power Stone 1 more. It's a little unfair to compare this game to the first game, due in part to the former missing content I guess. Now I haven't played either game in its original format, but there's content like the Adventure Mode and crafting that was not added to this modern port. Judging both games mainly on the "Arcade Mode" portion, I am a bit disappointed with Power Stone 2's offering.

     Gameplay is a lot more loose and random, ditching the tighter closed-quarters fighting of the original with a bigger parody of Super Smash Bros.. That isn't to say what's here is bad; Smash Bros. is a great game to copy from and Power Stone 2 is one of the better examples of just that. There's a lot more generated chaos running around to use new items such as turrets, shields, the Mega Man Buster gun -- plus everything from the first game and more. Wacky stage transitions -- like falling from the sky or climbing up the Himeji Castle -- while fighting everyone else along the way makes Power Stone 2 its own unique game.

     While that's all well and good, I still prefer the feel of the original. A lot of the move set in Power Stone 2 feels dumbed down compared to the first one, and I don't understand why? The first game's hand-to-hand combat is simple enough as it is, so now it feels like there's no point in engaging the enemy without an item in hand, and with how frail your own punches land. Collecting three power stones to transform isn't as big of an event anymore: it's not as overpowered as the first game felt, but now it feels way too underpowered in this one. Even with stage transitions added, Power Stone 2 feels a bit skimpy with maps, only having 5 to pick from. I liked how in the original, there's one map for every playable character that represents their own personality & background. You feel more connected to the characters and their story of collecting the legendary Power Stone, whereas location is just whatever the devs thought was cool in Power Stone 2.

     It's still unfortunate about the missing content. I'd like to try this one again when I get my hands on an original copy and have a group to play with. Grade: C-

I actually 100% agree that Powerstone 1 is better than 2. I never understood why 2 gets way more praise. It just feels like a much more sloppy, poorly designed game.

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Modern Video Games / Re: State of Play | February 12, 2026 thoughts?

« on: February 12, 2026, 07:00:19 pm »

WOW!!!

That was definitely one of the best State of Plays I've ever seen! I was definitely not expecting to have so many wish items revealed and even a few games I am now more interested in than I was before. Here are my highlights.

Legacy of Kain remaster - I've never played a game in this series, but the trailer for the remaster caught my eye. I may have to try these games out finally.

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round - DOA6 has probably the best gameplay in the series and here's hoping this version fixes some of the presentation gripes I had with the original. Regardless, I'll probably end up picking this one up at some point.

Beast of Reincarnation - I remember this game from another presentation and thinking it looked okay. Yeah, Game Freak is behind it, but I wasn't too impressed with it. However, today's SoP trailer definitely caught my eye and I'm at least curious to see more about this game up to its release later this year.

Mina the Hollower - while it still technically doesn't have a specific release date, the Spring 2026 release window has me excited.

Star Wars Galactic Racer - my God is this game looking awesome! I'm getting it day one. Looks amazing!
.
Metal Gear Solid Collection Vol 2 - I was going to replay MGS4 this year, but I'm going to wait until I play it in this collection. So excited this was announced! We also get a modern port of Ghost Babel which I hear is great!

Castlevania Belmont's Curse - This game right here was my "HOLY SHIT!" moment of the SoP. I am beyond excited Konami is releasing a new 2D Castlevania game! I just hope it's as fun as many of the older metroidvanias.

Silent Hill Townfall - pretty excited about this one. I was hoping for a Silent Hill 1 remake trailer, but this was one was not a disappointment by any stretch. Probably a day one buy for me.

Marvel Tōkon - This looks awesome and I can't wait to see more and more on it. I don't know about a day one buy, but it will be a buy eventually.

God of War Trilogy Remake - Pretty excited to see what this ends up looking like. I plan on playing OG GOW3 this year to catch up with the series and ready myself for this release.

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Modern Video Games / Re: State of Play | February 12, 2026 thoughts?

« on: February 11, 2026, 05:38:43 pm »

-Resident Evil Code Veronica remake
-Resident Evil original re-remake

We aren't getting those here since they won't announce them before Requiem releases in a few weeks, but I do hope one of those are next, particularly a RE1 remake, well, another remake to match up with the newer remakes lol

Probably not, but at the very least I feel like there's a very small chance we could get a teaser confirming one or the other. We're talking some spooky music, a small visual element of some sort, and the title, done. No way it's going to be a fully cinematic trailer. That alone would make me really happy, but I the changes of that happening at the State of Play are probably single digits.

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: February 11, 2026, 12:51:09 pm »

I was reminded of a story today.  My friend from elementary school Glenn Constantino got 2 games for his birthday.

Superman 64

And

Ocarina of Time


The kid literally got some say consensus worst game ever made and best game ever made at the same time in the same day.   Kind of ironic.   So I pose the question.


Is Ocarina of time as good as superman 64 is bad?   If you average both off. Is it net negative?

First off, I have WAAAAYYY more seat time with Ocarina. That's mostly because it's one of my favorite games of all time and I've beat it more times than I can count. But from what I remember of Superman 64, not it isn't as bad as Ocarina is good. A bad game, no question, but it's infamy has definitely been inflated by the internet.

Have you done the 3DS version and does it compare?  All I remember of the day is my friend Glen looking at supernan 64 then looking bacm at me and saying "this game f-ing sucks" lol.  The time between that game being in the console and orcarina being in the console was certainly short lol. 

I only ask about 3ds because I am curious about OOT but loathe the n64s controller.

I really liked the 3DS version. I played it several years ago and it still retained all the specialness of the original, but with wya better looking visuals. I played Majora's Mask 3D as well last year and it too still is great.

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Modern Video Games / Re: State of Play | February 12, 2026 thoughts?

« on: February 11, 2026, 12:47:03 pm »

-Silent Hill 1 remake trailer (maybe even a vague release date too?)

Set two hours after the State of Play begins, another Silent Hill showcase is scheduled to begin. It's mentioned that the focus of the event is on Silent Hill: Townfall, but there could easily be other franchise news presented. It's also possible that something is teased during the State of Play and then later expanded upon during the second event.

Ooooo NICE! I'm trying not to get too excited, but that's great news!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: February 10, 2026, 08:54:11 pm »

16. Omega Boost (PS1)

Another long time backlog game for me was 1999's Omega Boost. Despite seeing commercials for this game and it also being mentioned alongside Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, and Resident Evil in the Eiffel 65 song "My Console" (listen to it if you haven't), it took me 27 years to play this game. What's even stranger is it's a game about mechs which for many years was all I needed to know to immediately drop what I was doing and seek a game out. Unfortunately after playing Omega Boost, I can't say it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those other games from the Eiffel 65 their euro pop classic.


Omega Boost is a great example of a game that is easy to see just how much better it could have been. Being made by the same studio that makes the Gran Turismo games, the ability for Polyphony Digital Studios to make a well made, amazing looking game is not outside their grasp. Unfortunately, Omega Boost proves they know cars way better than they do futuristic mechs fighting in space. The ultimate flaw in Omega Boost is its gameplay, which just feels poorly implemented and balanced with controls that don't feel up to the task being asked of you half the time. There are some bosses and section in this game that are downright demoralizing, and not because they were designed that way. Rather, it's so easy for you to lose track of what you're fighting given how the camera just goes wherever the hell it wants. There is a camera recentering button that focuses you back in the closest enemy or enemies, but it's still annoying having to press it over and over again throughout this game. What makes this even more frustrating is one of your primary weapons and the one you'll likely be using the most is a homing laser attack which requires you to lock onto those enemies before using. You also have a standard plaster as well that fires where you're mech's reticle happens to be. But the act of aiming, managing the camera, and then dealing with stages that are constrained or disorienting make for a mostly frustrating time.


Still, Omega Boost's gameplay does have its moments. Being essentially a rail shooter with the illusion of being a third person open air mech combat simulator, you'll be doing barrel rolls, dodging lasers, and going toe to toe with a pretty creative plethora of enemies and bosses. While I'd say at least half these bosses are more annoying than not to fight, there are several which are actually really fun. In fact, the line that separates the good boss encounter from the bad ones is fairly faint. This is what I meant by this game having the potential to be a lot better than it actually is. When this game works, it is really enjoyable and just cool as hell. I just wish the gameplay and game design had been given more time to incubate. I'm a firm believe that if it had, this game may have launched a franchise and been Polyphony's other AAA series.


Not perfect, but certainly an improvement over Omega Boost's gameplay is its audio. The soundtrack is really a mixed bag with some songs and tracks being excellent and fully complementing the fast paced, space battle gameplay, while other tracks are just downright obnoxious. There was one stage, I believe stage 5 that I had to replay several times and every time the sound playing annoyed me far more than the actual annoying, poorly designed boss battle that kept on killing me. Luckily, there are only a few tracks that really grated on my nerves and everything else was decent to pretty good. There are even a few licensed songs, one being from one of my favorite rock groups of the late 90s, Static X. Other than the soundtrack, the sound effects and limited voice acting all fit pretty well and definitely add the the cool sci-fi theme the game is going for.


By far Omega Boost's best quality is its visuals and overall artistic presentation. It is almost unreal that this game was able to look as good as it did and run as well as it does on the PS1. Part of what it is able to do this has a lot to do with one of the game's only visuals flaws. Most stages and areas in Omega Boost are definitely pretty dark. Some of this is because the battles take place in the depths of space, while other times it feels like you're fighting inside a dimly lit cave. There are some more interesting and vibrant backgrounds, but most stages definitely posses this darkness. Still, darkness or not, levels all are fairly memorable and cool, but the real showstopper when it comes to the visuals is the mechs and enemies you'll encounter. The art direction in this game is excellent and there are some amazing looking bosses in this game, with there being virtually none that I would say even look just okay. Likewise, the effects of weapons being used all looks great against the mostly dark backdrops of each stage. There are also some really great damage effects on bosses which show their armor or overall structure becoming more and more damaged as you drain their health closer to zero. From the studio that made the Gran Turismo games, I'd expect nothing less visually, and in this regard, Omega Boost does not disappoint in the slightest.


Even though Omega Boost's gameplay had me on the brink of rage quitting more times than I'd like to admit, I still enjoyed this game far more than I would have normally for a game this poorly designed. The visual spectacle, the cheesy late 90s FMV cutscenes, the smooth, high FPS space battles, and the rad as hell bosses were all just too intoxicating for me to abandon this game. Still, those frustrations and annoyances were also a large part of my experience with Omega Boost, and had me lamenting the fact this game wasn't just a little but better designed. Having played Omega Boost now, I feel like Konami's Zone of the Enders was partially inspired by this game, both in aesthetic and gameplay, but fortunately that game ended up being way more fun, balanced, and designed than Omega Boost, by a fairly wide margin if I'm being completely frank. Still, this is a cool, somewhat obscure title that I'd recommend to mech video game fans, or just people wanting to see how goo a PS1 game can look. (2/10/26) [33/50]