Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game
PS3 (via PlayStation Network)
Ubisoft/Universal Studios
Rating: Teen
4 stars (out of 5)
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game is a video game tied in with a just-released movie that's based on a series of graphic novels that pays homage to video games. I know it's not cool to say things are "meta" anymore, but... well, that's pretty meta.
There are a number of ways a Scott Pilgrim game could have sucked, sullying the set-in-Toronto slacker/bassist/superhero graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, or the surprisingly awesome shot-in-Toronto movie starring Michael Cera.
But what developer Ubisoft cleverly did is model Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World after the kind of old-school video games that Scott himself would play, with their blocky 8-bit graphics and bleepy, bloopy sound effects. This neo-retro approach has been used in modern games before, but it's not just a gimmick here - it's a love letter to both classic gaming and the Scott Pilgrim franchise.
The game is a blend of old-school beat em' ups in the vein of Streets of Rage or Double Dragon, with a dash of role-playing game mixed in. Players work their way through a pixelly recreation of Toronto in Scott's quest to defeat the seven evil ex-flames of his new paramour, Ramona Flowers.
Up to four players can join in at once on the same console, playing as Scott, Ramona and pals Kim Pine and Stephen Stills. The game's chronology loosely follows that of the comics and movie, although it frequently takes detours into awesomely surreal territory - flying piggybanks, fireball-flinging ninjas, skyscraper-sized robots and lots, lots more.
As players brawl their way through this Pilgrim-ized version of Toronto, they collect coins (including loonies and toonies, naturally) and acquire experience for defeating enemies that range from street thugs to zombies to the seven evil exes, each of which represents a chapter-ending boss battle.
Levelling up characters unlocks more potent attack moves, and collected cash can be used to pop into Sneaky Dee's for a plate of health-restoring nachos, or to buy power-ups like concert T-shirts and cookbooks that buff characters' strength, speed and so on. When the going gets tough, a tap of a button summons Scott's smitten hanger-on Knives Chau to unleash a devastating area attack.
The game draws heavily on the comics for inspiration, and it's also absolutely rife with the style and vibe of classic 8-bit and 16-bit video games. A wonderful soundtrack by NYC-based chiptune band Anamanaguchi is the cherry on the sonic sundae of nostalgic sound effects.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World suffers from a few flaws, including the lack of online co-op play (not cool!) and its rather daunting level of difficulty - players who chose to go solo will have to replay early levels over and over again in order to make enough cash and experience to survive the tough later stages of the game.
But given that it's just a $10 download via the PlayStation Network (the game is slated to come to Xbox Live later this month) and that it hews so faithfully to the spirit of both the source material and classic gaming, it's easy to overlook these problems. Scott Pilgrim, you rock.
Bottom line: A lovingly faithful recreation of classic video games infused with the flavour of the Scott Pilgrim universe, this is a downloadable - if difficult - delight.
Osmos HD
iPad
Hemisphere Games, Inc.
Rating: 4+
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Equal parts Katamari Damacy, Lunar Lander and some sort of hypnotic Newton's laws of motion simulator, Osmos HD is one of those games that defies easy explanation but demands to be played.
The framework here is simple: you are a circular mote, and you can absorb other motes that are equal to or smaller in size than you. Bigger objects, meanwhile, will consume you. Movement is accomplished by tapping the screen to eject mass in the opposite direction - seriously, this game channels Sir Isaac at every turn - which in turn reduces your size incrementally.
From this dead-simple premise comes eight distinct and deliciously challenging game types. Often your goal is simply to consume enough motes to become the biggest blob in the level. Other times, you'll be chasing down (or avoiding) other sentient motes, or navigating tricky gravitational currents until you're large enough to absorb the star, or subatomic nucleus, or whatever exactly it is
With its sharp visuals and soothing trance music soundtrack, Osmos HD is a treat for the senses. But where it really excels is at engaging the mind. Movement must be carefully considered, since each tap makes you a bit smaller, and thus more vulnerable. But ejected mass can also be used to nudge stationary motes into motion (the game's "Impasse" levels revolve around this) or to defend against an imminent impact.
Time can be slowed down or sped up with a flick of the finger, and this becomes important in the more difficult levels, where the game requires a deft touch and keen understanding of its realistically simulated inertia and gravity. The entire experience is a joy to play, and while there's an iPhone/iPod Touch version of Osmos (and the game originally appeared as a PC/Mac title), go for the iPad version if you possibly can.
The only problem with Osmos HD is it ends too soon. It's not an especially short game - even after finishing the main Odyssey mode, you can still drill away at the Arcade mode challenges for several more hours - but because it's so clever and so well done, I wanted even more levels revolving around different strategies and designs. Hopefully a sequel will feed that hunger.
Bottom line: This beautiful, intelligent game is easily one of the best iPad titles yet.
Wipeout: The Game
Nintendo DS
Activision
Rating: Everyone
Score: 1 out of 5
There are only two reality shows that I'd kill to be on: The Amazing Race and Wipeout. Yes, crass, painful, opiate of the masses Wipeout. I even filled out the seven-page online application for Wipeout Canada, until I got to the part where they said a video entry was pretty much required in order to be considered for the show, and there was no time to create one before the deadline. Heartbreak.
Fortunately there's Wipeout: The Game for the Nintendo DS, based on the ABC obstacle course freakfest that in turn borrows from those insane and humiliating Japanese game shows. Playing this game will surely be the next best thing to actually being on the show, right?
No. Not right. In fact, Wipeout: The Game has the distinction of being the worst Nintendo DS game I've played this year.
The game's TV Mode is loosely based on the show, with signature challenges like the Dirty Balls (hurr hurr), the Dreadmill, the Sweeper and Sucker Punch. Players run a gauntlet of five obstacles, and if they finish in the top four out of eight, they're pitted against the Sweeper. The last two standing then face off in another obstacle course, with the fastest time being declared champion.
Aaaand that's basically all there is to it. Granted, there are also dozens of Obstacle Mode challenges (a set of three obstacles that you must traverse within a certain time limit), and each time you win a round of TV Mode or beat an Obstacle Mode set, you unlock a new challenge or character or clothing item.
The problem is that once you learn the pattern or trick to each obstacle - often through trial and error, as the game routinely bends the rules of physics and logic - Wipeout: The Game is stupidly dull. None of the chaos or charm of the show is here, it's just a dry collection of boring platform-jumping challenges and repetitive commentary. Maybe the Wii version of the game is better - it at least supports four players, versus the DS iteration's single player experience - but I wouldn't bet on it.
Dear CBS: If you make an Amazing Race game, it had better be superior to this. Or else.
Bottom line: A dull, repetitive hodgepodge of boring challenges loosely based on the otherwise entertaining TV show, Wipeout: The Game falls flat on its face.
