Joe Redifer's Super-Awesome Reviews!!!! - Page 98

Zachalmighty · 04-22-2008, 10:29 PM

Rad racer have any relationship to ridge racer?

Joe Redifer · 04-22-2008, 11:06 PM

Nope. No relation to Speed Racer, either.

Vicviper · 04-22-2008, 11:13 PM

lol. no relations to ridge racer.

Nice comparison/review. This must be a new category. It seemed more like a high school paper asking to compare and contrast Rad Racer vs. Outrun. Well Square read your review/comparison and went back in time to 1990 and made Rad Racer II. Part II corrects "bad programming" that the first one had. Mainly the track in the distance doesn't turn the same direction as you turn the wheel. Secondly you can choose between two music tracks or silence before the race starts. The control is much better and forgiving but feels more slippery. You should rent it some day.
I am in agreement with you that Outrun is a better game but Rad Racer does have a small amount of charm that I like.

Joe Redifer · 04-22-2008, 11:34 PM

I actually did have a few sentences about Rad Racer 2 and Out Run 3D, but I removed them as I have not yet rented Rad Racer 2 so I couldn't really say anything in depth.

And yes, the review was supposed to be from my 1986 or 87 perspective. Seraph, please read my first post in this thread and you'll see that a Sega bias is one of the rules here.

Zachalmighty · 04-23-2008, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

Nope. No relation to Speed Racer, either.

Go speed racer go speed racer. YEh!

Vicviper · 04-23-2008, 12:44 AM

Dammit! Run down to Power Play or Buy Back and rent it. It's only a 1$ a night.

Joe Redifer · 05-01-2008, 03:44 AM

Mario Kart Wii
6/10
Nintendo Wii

Nintendo is marketing the fact that you can
use the wheel instead of the gameplay itself.

OK, I think that maybe, just maybe Nintendo is whoring out Mario just a wee bit too much. Isn't everyone sick of him yet? Neither he nor any of his friends/siblings/babies/alter egos/enemies are likable in any respect whatsoever. Even Sesame Street characters are geared more towards adults than this. Seriously, he's in nearly every damn game Nintendo makes... unless it is a Zelda game. Nintendo doesn't make Metroid so that doesn't count. Perhaps everyone else is getting sick of him as well, because this appears to be the least-anticipated Mario Kart game ever. Most people don't express any interest in it, and it has received generally average reviews. Anyway, to the game:

Just another Mario Kart game.

Graphics: 4/10
The graphics are pretty much dogshit with only a few exceptions. They really don't look any better than the Gamecube edition which itself was extremely lacking. Some of the retro courses have an extremely blocky look, they didn't even try to make them look much better at all. The graphics are also very jaggy with extremely simple textures and a polygon count low enough that the Sega Saturn could probably run this game (with poorer textures, of course). Tree trunks are 4-sided blocks! At least the colors are generally pretty nice.

Online, opponents are automatically picked for you and their geographical.
location is shown. You can join friends, though. And no, that is not me.

Sound: 3/10
None of the music is memorable or good. All of the character voices are annoying (again, even Sesame Street is more mature and less annoying). There is nothing special here at all. I am surprised they even made an effort to make the game in stereo. Play with the sound off and put on your own music, you will enjoy it much more, guaranteed.

You get "VR Points", whatever the hell those are, at the end of each online race.
Yipee!!!!!

Gameplay: 6/10
Since I have fully grown testicles, there is no way I am playing with the included Fisher Price steering wheel that was built for 4-year-old hands. Fortunately there are other control options available. You can hold the nunchuck in one hand and the wand thing in the other and use this combination to play. I tried this and it wasn't bad. But you can also use a Gamecube controller which is even better. Unfortunately you can't remap the buttons to a more comfortable setup since Nintendo is always behind the curve. You can do tricks and wheelies to gain a mini boost and keep repeating them over and over to gain boost after boost. But Mario Kart really isn't about racing... it's about cheating. All of the cheat items are random, so the outcome of any given race is random as well, at least in multiplayer. You can go from first to last is a matter of seconds due to cheats, and you can go from last to first in the same amount of time if you happen to have the right cheat.

Nintendo finally got an online mode that works, but it is still far inferior to that of Sony and Microsoft. You are not allowed to communicate except with pre-selected phrases that Nintendo has chosen for you. This makes everyone else seem pretty lifeless. Online mode is a bit more challenging than the computer because everyone is alive, but other than that it feels exactly like you are playing the CPU. As a result, online mode isn't that great and you can't really earn anything other than a score.

The game gives you all of the old cheats and probably some new ones as well (I can't tell, they all seem the same to me). As always the banana is the cheat you really want to get because it is so frickin' awesome! It's a ~~good thing~~ fantastically amazing thing you'll get it nearly every other time!!!!!! Half the tracks are new, the other half are reruns from older games due to Nintendo's laziness. Some of them are cool, some of them are mediocre. There are also battle modes with balloons and other such nonsense. There really isn't much to say about this game except that Nintendo did not give it very much attention or effort. Compared to games that cost $10 more like Burnout Paradise and given that they offer at least 200 times the amount of stuff/detail that this game does, it kind of feels like a rip off even at $50.

Motorcycles are now part of the game. Wheelies can help a bit on straightaways.
They are easy to do, along with tricks to get a boost, on the Gamecube Nintendo pad.

Wrap up:
At least it's better than the Gamecube Nintendo Mario Kart. There are lots of tracks, so that is cool. But when it comes down to it, this game doesn't offer much, was cheaply made without much effort and offers little replayability. A half-assed effort to be sure with graphics that looked good 8 years ago.

Alexander · 05-01-2008, 04:01 AM

VR must stand for

Va-rooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooom

good review

Seraph · 05-01-2008, 01:49 PM

I haven't tried it myself yet. However I agree Mario is being whored way too much. It's almost getting to Sonic levels of street walking whore. It's sad to see the Mario Kart series get sucked up into the no-effort MarioParty/Sports shovelware category. I miss when Mario Kart was a respectable AAA series. At least we will always have Mario Kart DS.

The online aspect of this game is probably the only reason I want MKWii, it looks really awesome. Well, that and I think the motion controls look really fun.

Vicviper · 05-01-2008, 10:00 PM

Seraph, it looks to me like Joe would gladly sell you his copy of the game and probably at a slight discount. It even has an unused steering wheel.

Seraph · 05-01-2008, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicviper

Seraph, it looks to me like Joe would gladly sell you his copy of the game and probably at a slight discount. It even has an unused steering wheel.

As much as I'd love to, I couldn't afford a near $50 pricetag right now. WiiFit is coming and my money is already set for that. Besides, since Joe is a collector I dont think he sells games.

Oh also I missed this my first read though

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

None of the music is memorable or good.

I have to disagree. From the videos I've seen it seems like a good soundtrack, I like the WiFi connecting music at least. At the very least it has some remixes of classic songs right?

Joe Redifer · 05-01-2008, 10:36 PM

It does, barely remixed with an extremely primitive/minimalistic instrument set (no real instruments, of course) and few channels (instruments at the same time). Those tracks are best for nostalgic value, but since I don't get nostalgic over Mario Kart they don't have much effect on me. I remember everyone going apeshit over the Rainbow Road music back in the day and I was like "WTF??" Nintendo music rarely appeals to me, except when it does. The WiFi connecting music is ethereal and I agree it is good, however it gets old after about 8 seconds since there are only two bars at about 2 seconds each. Not something you'd put on your iPod.

WiiFit? Please, you can't be serious. It has sold assloads in the UK, though. Also, why is the UK getting all of the Nintendo games first lately?

Seraph · 05-01-2008, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

WiiFit? Please, you can't be serious. It has sold assloads in the UK, though. Also, why is the UK getting all of the Nintendo games first lately?

I find that lately I get bored of traditional games. How many times have I bought the same game in a different outfit? After playing games for almost 20 years, I feel the industry is full of genres that are just tired. While I still get enjoyment out of these traditional games, its new unique games like WiiFit that get me truly excited.

I’m also into get-up-and-play games like DDR, Wii Sports, ect…I also have the false dream that it will be an easy fix to get skinny : (

EDIT: I dont want to come off as turning into an Icarus, dont worry guys I still like normal games. :)

The UK is getting these games becuase the have to wait for the megaendallbestgamesinceocarinaoftime11outof10 smash brawl.

SuperAngelo64 · 05-02-2008, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

None of the music is memorable or good.

Wha-?

I can think of some great tracks off the top of my head, though I couldn't give you the names (or where they appear in the game) since I just have a rip someone made listed with numbers and vague titles. None of the ones I'm thinking of are remixes either (though those tracks are definitely more memorable and nostalgic (since their respective games have been out for more than a few weeks)).

Joe Redifer · 05-02-2008, 03:09 AM

I probably should have said "particularly good" instead of just "good". I wanted to convey that the music is pretty much unnoticeable and has very little to make you sit up and think "Wow, this is nice music", but at the same time it isn't just random bleeps and bloops or something horrible.

04-22-2008, 10:29 PM	#1456
Zachalmighty Future Demon King Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: USA, NJ Posts: 3,739	Rad racer have any relationship to ridge racer? __________________ An unavoidable war is called JUSTICE. When brutality is the only option left, it is HOLY.

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04-22-2008, 11:06 PM	#1457
Joe Redifer Olé! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 20,144	Nope. No relation to Speed Racer, either.

04-22-2008, 11:13 PM	#1458
Vicviper Hello handsome! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,081	lol. no relations to ridge racer. Nice comparison/review. This must be a new category. It seemed more like a high school paper asking to compare and contrast Rad Racer vs. Outrun. Well Square read your review/comparison and went back in time to 1990 and made Rad Racer II. Part II corrects "bad programming" that the first one had. Mainly the track in the distance doesn't turn the same direction as you turn the wheel. Secondly you can choose between two music tracks or silence before the race starts. The control is much better and forgiving but feels more slippery. You should rent it some day. I am in agreement with you that Outrun is a better game but Rad Racer does have a small amount of charm that I like.

04-22-2008, 11:34 PM	#1459
Joe Redifer Olé! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 20,144	I actually did have a few sentences about Rad Racer 2 and Out Run 3D, but I removed them as I have not yet rented Rad Racer 2 so I couldn't really say anything in depth. And yes, the review was supposed to be from my 1986 or 87 perspective. Seraph, please read my first post in this thread and you'll see that a Sega bias is one of the rules here.

04-23-2008, 12:44 AM	#1461
Vicviper Hello handsome! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,081	Dammit! Run down to Power Play or Buy Back and rent it. It's only a 1$ a night.

05-01-2008, 03:44 AM	#1462
Joe Redifer Olé! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 20,144	Mario Kart Wii 6/10 Nintendo Wii Nintendo is marketing the fact that you can use the wheel instead of the gameplay itself. OK, I think that maybe, just maybe Nintendo is whoring out Mario just a wee bit too much. Isn't everyone sick of him yet? Neither he nor any of his friends/siblings/babies/alter egos/enemies are likable in any respect whatsoever. Even Sesame Street characters are geared more towards adults than this. Seriously, he's in nearly every damn game Nintendo makes... unless it is a Zelda game. Nintendo doesn't make Metroid so that doesn't count. Perhaps everyone else is getting sick of him as well, because this appears to be the least-anticipated Mario Kart game ever. Most people don't express any interest in it, and it has received generally average reviews. Anyway, to the game: Just another Mario Kart game. Graphics: 4/10 The graphics are pretty much dogshit with only a few exceptions. They really don't look any better than the Gamecube edition which itself was extremely lacking. Some of the retro courses have an extremely blocky look, they didn't even try to make them look much better at all. The graphics are also very jaggy with extremely simple textures and a polygon count low enough that the Sega Saturn could probably run this game (with poorer textures, of course). Tree trunks are 4-sided blocks! At least the colors are generally pretty nice. Online, opponents are automatically picked for you and their geographical. location is shown. You can join friends, though. And no, that is not me. Sound: 3/10 None of the music is memorable or good. All of the character voices are annoying (again, even Sesame Street is more mature and less annoying). There is nothing special here at all. I am surprised they even made an effort to make the game in stereo. Play with the sound off and put on your own music, you will enjoy it much more, guaranteed. You get "VR Points", whatever the hell those are, at the end of each online race. Yipee!!!!! Gameplay: 6/10 Since I have fully grown testicles, there is no way I am playing with the included Fisher Price steering wheel that was built for 4-year-old hands. Fortunately there are other control options available. You can hold the nunchuck in one hand and the wand thing in the other and use this combination to play. I tried this and it wasn't bad. But you can also use a Gamecube controller which is even better. Unfortunately you can't remap the buttons to a more comfortable setup since Nintendo is always behind the curve. You can do tricks and wheelies to gain a mini boost and keep repeating them over and over to gain boost after boost. But Mario Kart really isn't about racing... it's about cheating. All of the cheat items are random, so the outcome of any given race is random as well, at least in multiplayer. You can go from first to last is a matter of seconds due to cheats, and you can go from last to first in the same amount of time if you happen to have the right cheat. Nintendo finally got an online mode that works, but it is still far inferior to that of Sony and Microsoft. You are not allowed to communicate except with pre-selected phrases that Nintendo has chosen for you. This makes everyone else seem pretty lifeless. Online mode is a bit more challenging than the computer because everyone is alive, but other than that it feels exactly like you are playing the CPU. As a result, online mode isn't that great and you can't really earn anything other than a score. The game gives you all of the old cheats and probably some new ones as well (I can't tell, they all seem the same to me). As always the banana is the cheat you really want to get because it is so frickin' awesome! It's a ~~good thing~~ fantastically amazing thing you'll get it nearly every other time!!!!!! Half the tracks are new, the other half are reruns from older games due to Nintendo's laziness. Some of them are cool, some of them are mediocre. There are also battle modes with balloons and other such nonsense. There really isn't much to say about this game except that Nintendo did not give it very much attention or effort. Compared to games that cost $10 more like Burnout Paradise and given that they offer at least 200 times the amount of stuff/detail that this game does, it kind of feels like a rip off even at $50. Motorcycles are now part of the game. Wheelies can help a bit on straightaways. They are easy to do, along with tricks to get a boost, on the Gamecube Nintendo pad. Wrap up: At least it's better than the Gamecube Nintendo Mario Kart. There are lots of tracks, so that is cool. But when it comes down to it, this game doesn't offer much, was cheaply made without much effort and offers little replayability. A half-assed effort to be sure with graphics that looked good 8 years ago.

05-01-2008, 04:01 AM	#1463
Alexander I speak with codes. Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,235	VR must stand for Va-rooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooom good review

05-01-2008, 01:49 PM	#1464
Seraph >:3 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Troy, MI Posts: 11,000	I haven't tried it myself yet. However I agree Mario is being whored way too much. It's almost getting to Sonic levels of street walking whore. It's sad to see the Mario Kart series get sucked up into the no-effort MarioParty/Sports shovelware category. I miss when Mario Kart was a respectable AAA series. At least we will always have Mario Kart DS. The online aspect of this game is probably the only reason I want MKWii, it looks really awesome. Well, that and I think the motion controls look really fun.

05-01-2008, 10:00 PM	#1465
Vicviper Hello handsome! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,081	Seraph, it looks to me like Joe would gladly sell you his copy of the game and probably at a slight discount. It even has an unused steering wheel.

05-01-2008, 10:36 PM	#1467
Joe Redifer Olé! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 20,144	It does, barely remixed with an extremely primitive/minimalistic instrument set (no real instruments, of course) and few channels (instruments at the same time). Those tracks are best for nostalgic value, but since I don't get nostalgic over Mario Kart they don't have much effect on me. I remember everyone going apeshit over the Rainbow Road music back in the day and I was like "WTF??" Nintendo music rarely appeals to me, except when it does. The WiFi connecting music is ethereal and I agree it is good, however it gets old after about 8 seconds since there are only two bars at about 2 seconds each. Not something you'd put on your iPod. WiiFit? Please, you can't be serious. It has sold assloads in the UK, though. Also, why is the UK getting all of the Nintendo games first lately?

05-02-2008, 03:09 AM	#1470
Joe Redifer Olé! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 20,144	I probably should have said "particularly good" instead of just "good". I wanted to convey that the music is pretty much unnoticeable and has very little to make you sit up and think "Wow, this is nice music", but at the same time it isn't just random bleeps and bloops or something horrible.