80's Overdrive 3DS Video Game

in , , , , , , ,

80's Overdrive

3DS Video Game Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

3D

 

The stereoscopic 3D visuals fit this game perfectly. The game uses a pixel art graphic style that is similar to other car racing games from the 1980’s. This graphical art style lends itself perfectly to depth based 3D, because the player is inherently looking into the screen to see where the various tracks lead to. Simply put the 3D looks totally rad. The gameplay is fast and smooth regardless if you play it in 3D or 2D. The 3D really gives the player an immersive racing experience and makes the high speed racing more enjoyable and engrossing. In fact I didn’t want to play this game in 2D, because it looks so nice in 3D. Depth based 3D is just a natural fit for racing games and the 3D element really shines within this game.

 

Final Verdict: Great 3D

 

Video Game

 

 

80’s Overdrive is a throwback to arcade racing games from the 1980’s. It many ways this game resembles the classic “Outrun” or “Rad Racer” games, but it also feels modern and is it’s own thing. 

 

Are you the fastest racer? Are you the best racer? Are you ready to compete around the world and prove your excellence? Like any other racer, the main goal of this game is to be the greatest racer and to win all the races. The game has a fairly strait forward gameplay loop. After each successful won race you will receive prize money, money which you will need to purchase entry into other races. You can also spend your earned money to upgrade your vehicle(s) or buy new vehicles. The currency system is a huge element of this game. Success breeds more opportunities for success and the player needs to strategically invest the money earned to be become more successful. Upgrading and maintaining your vehicle is a major aspect of the game and necessary for advancement. Most of these upgrades are self-explanatory but within this review I will discuss a few of them in detail. The player can upgrade / maintain the following aspects of their vehicle(s):

  • Increase Top speed
  • Increase Maneuverability
  • Increase Structural integrity
  • Make repairs
  • Add nitro boost capability
  • Refuel the gas tank
  • Add a police scanner

The Nitro boosts can only be used twice per race , and only when the player has already reached the vehicle(s) maximum speed. Using Nitro boosts to push yourself ahead of your competition or ahead of traffic or the police is something you must do on a regular basis to win. Nitro boosts are a fun dynamic and I enjoyed using them within the game. 

 

The vehicles can receive damage from hitting other vehicles or going off road. So upgrading the structure integrity is key to mitigate future  damage. The player will need to watch the damage meter and occasionally pay to repair the vehicle. Traffic which I mentioned earlier is another thing to consider as the player needs to avoid hitting other vehicles to prevent damage. Sadly the game doesn’t showcase any crazy crashes or radical flips so any damage to your vehicle is largely invisible. Your car can become wrecked if you reach the maximum amount of damage on the damage meter. It’s pretty cool to see your car become smoky and break down on the side of the road when you wreck your vehicle . The cost to repair a totaled vehicle is higher than just repairing it in between races, but you might not be able to afford to repair the vehicle unless you win the race. The damage is saved automatically so you can’t forget to maintain and repair your vehicles. The vehicle damage system is a nice addition to the game and is well implemented  . 

 

The police are a big aspect of this game and the police scanner vehicle upgrade tells you when police vehicles are nearby. Sadly this information is displayed on the bottom screen, so you would need to quickly look down from the main top screen to view the scanner. It takes a split second to view the other screen so it’s a risk/reward dynamic to view the police scanner. You might crash your vehicle or miss a turn within that split second so viewing the policy scanner or anything on the bottom screen is potentially hazardous to the race.  Honestly I don’t care to know if the police are close by, because there isn’t much that you can really do about it. The police will go after the player for going above the speed limit, however if you slow down your vehicle to be under the speed limit that will dramatically decrease your ability to win the race. The police are a serious threat to the player and have aggressive artificial intelligence. The police will actively try to hit the player and try to run you off the road . If the police catch the player they will give you a speeding ticket. The player can decide to pay the ticket and continue the race (which is not necessarily worth it and the race is probably already lost) or just reset the race entirely and not pay the ticket. The police can be outrun if your vehicle is fast or agile enough. I do enjoy the element of the police being within the game, it’s a thrilling gameplay mechanic. It’s incredibly satisfying to use a turbo boost and blast past the police. Ultimately the police scanner is a frivolous addition and I would suggest the player not spend money on this feature.

 

The game does many interesting things to add variety to the gameplay. The main game includes random bonus missions for the player. For example one bonus mission is to purposefully lose a race and to finish in a specific place. If you complete the bonus missions you will be handsomely rewarded with cash prizes . Many times the rewards for successful competing a bonus mission will be significantly more money than actually winning the race. Sometimes you will be able to double dip and complete the mission and still be able to win the race and receive a huge cash reward for doing both simultaneously . Another example of a bonus mission is when a mysterious man asks you to purposefully damage another specific character in the race to teach them a lesson. Finally another mission you may receive is to you collect several packages that are left on a specific track. These bonus missions are sometimes unethical but are always fun. These bonus missions are also totally optional and you can ignore them if you so wish.  If you run out of money the game will institute a touch screen mini game. Within this mini game you will need to use the touch screen to clean the dirt off your opponent’s vehicles with the stylus. This mini game is only available when you run out of money . This mini game is a smart design choice by the developers and gives the player the ability to earn small amounts of money and be able to get back into the main game. The game also has a time attack mode, which is a fun alternative to the main story mode and asks for perfection from the player. Can you beat the times set by the developer for each of the tracks? This game mode is lengthy and is well done. I do applaud the effort the game developers have done to keep the gameplay fresh. 

 

Sadly the track design leaves allot to be desired. The game has a large number of tracks to race on with eight visual themes. The player selects the individual tracks via the world map and they have free reign to select whatever track they can afford to enter. The vast majority of the tracks look and feel the same with only minor deviations. The different visual themes (beach, desert, etc.) are nice but overall the track designs are all nearly identical. The tracks are all on highways that may or may have sections that split the lanes apart, but they always lead to the same end goal. The tracks are linear by design and the game heavily discourages exploration. If the player goes off the main track you will almost instantly hit an obstacle that will promptly stop your progress and damage your car. The tracks are essentially surrounded by invisible brick walls , and it is jarring to see a small traffic sign instantly stop a car going 200 miles (321 Kilometers) per hour. I couldn’t find a single short cut within this game. I feel that short cuts should be part of any racing game so a total lack of them is disappointing. The player can pick previously won tracks and replay them as needed to make money. The game can become monotonous to play because of all the nearly identical track design and the need to replay tracks to gain enough money to advance. The various tracks do offer terrain that contains hills and valleys which gives some variety to the design, but I wish the levels did more to differentiate themselves. Overall the track design is adequate for this style of game, but it left me wanting more.

 

The game includes a track editor and sadly this addition is all but worthless. The track editor is a series of menu sliders you can change to create new tracks. Adjusting sliders in a menu isn’t the most satisfying or fun way to make your own content. The custom tracks can be saved and the game will generate a specific numeric code for each created level. The game doesn’t have a built in community to view and share custom track codes. Nor does the game have an option to share the tracks via social media. Some aspects of the level editor are vague and I was left confused to what certain options did. With the tracks looking so similar from one another it can become difficult to see how your custom levels are any different from the ones made by the developer. I simply didn’t care about making my own tracks and didn’t find this mode to be enjoyable or well implemented .

 

The controls for this game feel tight and are responsive. You have the option to have manual transmission and shift up and down the transmission with the L/R buttons. One small issue I had with the controls is how you travel to your next track within the world map via the touch screen. The game doesn’t indicate that you can move the map around with touch input on the touch screen. The game does have a cursor to select tracks but it doesn’t automatically pan the screen to reveal more of the map when you hit the edge of the viewable screen. The game never tells you how to move the world map and assumes that you will figure it out. I did figure it out (eventually) but it’s a strange obvious omission. This map scrolling issue is a small nitpick but overall the controls are excellent.

 

The music for this game is truly fantastic. The electronic techno songs presented within this game perfectly match the style of synthesized music from the 1980’s. The game has a large selection of musical tracks to select from . I really enjoyed the entire selection of musical tracks within this game. Sadly the player has to select the song they want to hear before each race, and this can be an agonizing choice since all the music is totally tubular. Having a simple shuffle option would have helped to alleviate this difficult choice for the player. Some of the songs even have some lyrics and fairly complex compositions. Some of the songs resemble other popular songs from the 1980’s, but they still sound distinct and unique . Easily the music in 80’s Overdrive is the best aspect of the game. I only wish I could make the music louder on my Nintendo 3DS, because maximum volume is simply not loud enough to enjoy this superb sound track. I kid you not, these jams are gnarly.

 

In closing 80’s Overdrive is a fun yet flawed game. I enjoyed my time with this game and I can mildly recommend it. The gameplay has a surprising amount of depth and the music is excellent. Sadly the level design could have been more compelling and the track editor is lack luster. Old school racing fans should rejoice with this release and find many hours of entertainment with this choice game.

 

Final Verdict: 7/10

 

 

Learn more about our rating system by going here. 

© Copyright 2017 Insane Code

Chicken Wiggle 3DS Video Game Review

in , , , , ,

Chicken Wiggle

3DS Video Game Review

Written By Adolph Vega

 

 

 

3D

 

 

The stereoscopic visuals are a nice minor addition to the visual presentation of this game. The 3D uses a few layers of 3D depth to present its classic  2D platforming gameplay. The 3D looks sharp and doesn’t detract or impact the smooth fluidity of the game’s overall visuals. One impressive use of the 3D is that of passing clouds. Occasionally transparent clouds will float by the screen that are closer to the player than the main gameplay, and these clouds really showcases the different layers of 3D depth. The more you turn up the 3D slider, the more graphics will recede and give the player more 3D depth. The pixel art graphical style of this game lends itself nicely to multiple layers of 3D depth. Sadly no enemies, characters or objects travel in-between the layers of 3D. The 3D depth is limited to the static backgrounds and has no impact on how the actual game plays. Overall I really enjoyed the 3D element of this game, and I can easily recommend playing this game in 3D .

 

Final Verdict: Good 3D

 

 

Game

 

Chicken Wiggle is a new 2D side scrolling adventure game from Atooi. Atooi has created several excellent 2D side scrollers in the past, and I’m happy to report that Chick Wiggle is another great title in their repertoire. In Chicken Wiggle you play as a small chicken who is attempting to save his flock who were kidnapped by a witch . A worm joins the chicken's quest, and they work together to save the flock in various levels and worlds within the game . The story of the game is minimal but it works well for this style of game. The game is played in similar fashion to other 2D platform adventure games like Super Mario Bros, where you explore 2D levels to reach an eventual end point. When you free a kidnapped comrade the level is completed . At first glance this game may appear to be aimed for small children, but the fun gameplay and great level design make this game fun for anyone of any age. Chicken Wiggle is a new franchise and it feels like a fresh new gameplay idea that is well executed and a joy to play. 

 

The gameplay of Chicken Wiggle is fairly strait forward and is a joy to play partly because of the excellent precise controls. You have direct control over the chicken as you explore the various levels with either the circle pad or control pad. I prefer to use the control pad, because 2D side scrolling games just feel more natural to play with the control pad. The choice is ultimately up the player, regardless both control inputs work well for this game . You can jump as the chicken with the B button. You can do a peck move with the A button. The peck move can be used to defeat enemies and is a context sensitive action.  As the chicken you can use the worm to cling to parts of the environment with the Y button. Clinging to the environments is a core element of the game, and learning how and when to use the worm to hook-shoot around the levels is key to the players advancement and the exploration. The worm can also be used to temporarily stun enemies from a distance. As you play the game you will need to use multiple buttons simultaneously and they all work without issue. The start and/or select buttons can be used to pause the game and take you to the submenu where you can exit the level and go back to the main menu , retry the level or continue the game. The touch screen can be used to navigate the various menus and to assemble user created levels (more on that later). Overall the controls are pixel perfect for the player and feel tight, responsive and precise. 

 

I really enjoyed how well crafted the levels are within this game. The game is broken down to eight worlds with six levels per world. You play the levels in sequential order and within each level you have floating golden diamonds to collect and the letters that spell out the word FUN. Each level has a certain amount of golden floating diamonds to find within the level. The game counts the amount of gold diamonds you have collected and shows the player how many total golden diamonds are present within each level . The letters that spell out FUN are placed strategically in each level too, and they can be fairly tricky to find . Exploring every area of the level and fully understanding the level design will help you find all the letters that spell out FUN and all the golden diamonds. Sadly, nothing outside of personal satisfaction is gained by collecting all the letters of FUN or the golden diamonds for each level. After you finished a level you cannot see if you collected all the FUN letters or all the gold diamonds in that perspective level. The lack of knowing if you fully completed a level is a disappointing omission from the game. Replay value for the story aspect of the game is diminished by not being able to clearly see what levels you have fully completed. In other similar games collecting a percentage of the trinkets can unlock the player a bonus section, additional levels, music selection, art gallery , etc, so it's disappointing that nothing like that is present within this game . Personal satisfaction is simply not enough of a reward for collecting the various trinkets within the game. The actual level design for the story mode is fairly inspired and clever. The levels have various check points to help the player  and a difficulty that never feels cheap or annoying. The game does a wonderful job of adding variety by slowly introducing several new gameplay mechanics, power ups, and enemies to the game. Sadly the game only has one boss battle. It’s a shame that more boss battles weren’t present within this game , because I found that boss battle to be a fun and interesting twist on the gameplay .  The game overall has a fantastic pick up and play mentality with levels that aren’t overly long and keeps the player interested from start to finish . The game feels good to play on a portable gaming console where you can play and complete  a level within a few minutes. The main story mode lasts a few hours and it never out says it’s welcome . The gameplay of Chicken Wiggle is a unique twist to traditional 2D side scroller video games. Overall Chicken Wiggle and is a breezy adventure that is intelligently designed and is very enjoyable to play .

 

The game has a level editor that allows the player to easily make and share levels. The level editor exclusively uses the touch screen and is well designed with a straightforward drag and drop mechanic for creating levels . The level editor is robust with options and features for the player. This level creator essentially gives the user full access to make levels as they see fit. The game does limit the user with the overall size and number of items/enemies each level can have, but those limitations are understandable and overall these limitations don’t hamper the level creation experience.  Unfortunately, the level editor doesn’t have any kind of tutorial, which is a small annoyance. I strongly recommend playing and completing the story element of the game before making your own levels. The aspect of sharing levels is well done and requires the player to first complete the level before uploading it to the server. This aspect should prevent uploaded levels that are impossible to complete. You can save dozens of user created levels onto your game file so you can play them whenever your offline. The level editor also allows the user to make levels that have different criteria for completion. One example is a user created level that reminded me of the original PAC-Man arcade game. This user created level has a maze design , ghost enemies and still uses the gameplay mechanics of Chicken Wiggle. This Pac-Man inspired level requires the player to collect all the golden diamonds within the level to win. The game has a built in level browser that gives the player many options to search for and find user created levels like the PAC-Man level. As the user makes a level they can edit the title and several key searchable words to help make your level more discoverable. If you play a specific level within the built in browser you can like (heart) the level after you complete it . You cannot leave text comments or dislike a level so the interactions the user can have with user created levels is minimal. The game gives you an alpha numeric code for each uploaded level that is fairly easy to remember. The level code for the above mentioned Pac-Man level is 328. I created one custom level for the purposes of this review . The code for my custom designed level is 685. This level is also the final photo on the photo slideshow at the top of the page. Sadly, the game does not offer a way to easily share your levels via popular social networks like Facebook , Twitter, Tumbler and or Instagram. Using the built in 3DS web browser the game could have easily implemented a way to share and find new levels via social media. I would love to see a dedicated Offical Facebook group  for sharing Chicken Wiggle levels. Maybe have a official chicken Wiggle hashtag for twitter. Having a official blog post on Tumbler that allows commentary and voting on specific levels would be awesome. These ideas could dramatically increase the thriving community of level editors. Obviously I am judging the game on its own merits and not what I would want or expect from it. The current system of sharing and viewing user created levels within the game is sufficient, but I feel like it's lacking and could have been further developed . Overall the level editor is is a fantastic addition to this game and give the player a huge amount of value . 

 

One aspect of the game that I must discuss is the colorful graphics and delightful music. The graphics for the game (outside of the 3D element) looks like a long lost Super Nintendo game. I say that in the highest regard, because the Super Nintendo has many beautiful games that still look fantastic decades later. The pixelated sprite based art style created for this game is a timeless design. The graphics never have any slowdown or graphical glitches so the engine is incredibly solid . The animations within this game look nice and are very smooth. One minor complaint I have with this game is the fact that the text on screen uses a tiny font size. I don't know why the game developer decided to make the fonts so small for the player to read. I played this game on a NEW Nintendo 3DS XL with near 20/20 vision and I still struggled at times to read the tiny sized text. The tiny font size is annoying, especially since most of the real estate of the screen is still present so it was obviously a design choice. Going back to the graphical design, the various levels do a great job of setting themselves apart. The art work in the different levels cycles from a few different variants. Having several different level art themes keeps the game looking fresh and different and I appreciate the effort. Overall the best word to describe the graphics for this game is adorable. The game looks clean and sharp on the 3DS screens, while it doesn't push any boundaries it does have a distinct style that preforms well without issue. Regarding the musical melodies within this game they are upbeat, peppy, and catchy. The music also varies based on the graphical design of the levels and it complements the gameplay. The game is dripping with cuteness and is incredibly charming both with the audio and visual components.

 

All things considered Chicken Wiggle is a great 3DS game. I enjoyed the level design and found it to be very fun to play. On a technical level the controls, graphics, and music are all top notch. I also enjoyed the level editor included with this game, but I found it lacking in some key features. Overall Chicken Wiggle is a delightful game that I can easily recommend . 

 

 Final Verdict : 8 / 10

Copyright © Atooi LLC. All rights reserved. 

 

This game was provided by Atooi for purposes of review.