I don't usually review games because I don't have all that many, and quite often I don't get games anywhere near release date.
Christmas having just passed, I did get 2 new games: Kirby's Epic Yarn and Super Mario Galaxy 2, so I thought I'd share my opinions on them.
Playing Kirby's Epic Yarn is just like eating yarn.
It doesn't have any flavor and while it's not going to kill you, you probably shouldn't do it. If you decide to go on anyways you will only feel unsatisfied and possibly sick.
I made it through half of the game, and if the lame story doesn't drive you away then the gameplay will. Let me be clear, I wanted to like Kirby's Epic Yarn... it just seems that Kirby wasn't the right character for this game. Nor should Nintendo have picked anyone different! Rather, they should have made a new character, (something they haven't done for a while) to replace Kirby. The only reason I can think of that they chose Kirby for this game is because he is "cute", just like the only reason Kirby was chosen to be in Kirby's Canvas Curse was because he was "round". And in that game Kirby at least copied the abilities of his enemies, something completely missing from this game!
I'll be honest, I stopped playing roughly halfway through the game, the lack of any challenge whatsoever just made it absolutely no fun. Sure you'll fall of a ledge every now and again, but the game just respawns you from a safe place, and all you loose are points. These points are like Sonic the Hedgehog's rings, only you don't die if you run out. You can literally go through the entire level without getting any beads, die as many times as you want (good luck finding a way to die) and there will still be no penalty.
I'd like to end on a more positive note, the graphics are "cute" and the use of the "materials" that make up the world are nicely put together. And yet, for all they have done to make use of everything yarn has to offer, it still seems that they could have done more. I've never seen such a massive effort made and still felt like saying they didn't do enough... The most fun level I can recall was when the art style meant nothing, and you are in a race to the finish in an "Off-roader" transformation, something which could easily have been done without yarn.
TLDR: "Cute" graphics, not fun, not challenging, LAME story.
Super Mario Galaxy 2, was SUCH a breath of fresh air after Kirby's Epic Yarn. I really liked the original Super Mario Galaxy, and had mixed feelings when they announced a sequel. I was glad to get more of Super Mario Galaxy, but I (like many others) thought this might be a bit of a cash-in on the first game's popularity.
I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER TO HAVE BEEN PROVEN WRONG IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. Yes, it's more Super Mario Galaxy. But if you remember one thing about Super Mario Galaxy was that they constantly introduced new elements to the gameplay, and very rarely did something appear more than twice over the whole game. So what does more Super Mario Galaxy mean? It means more gameplay elements!
I haven't played anywhere near as much of this game yet, so I can't comment much on the story. So far, it seems like a bit of a re-hash but who cares? This is a Mario game! Bowser kidnaps the princess, Mario is off to go save her. No one really cares about the story in a Mario game, and I think the sad thing is that Nintendo seems to have realized that, and are therefore putting less effort into the game's story then ever... but like I said, who cares?
While my standards had definately been kicked down by Kirby's Epic Yarn, I have to say that Super Mario Galaxy feels like pure fun forged into disc form, and I cannot recommend it enough!
TLDR: PLAY THIS GAME
Okay, so that wraps up these two impromptu game reviews, I may do more of these in the future if I should feel so inclined, (and especially if I get a 3DS!)
~Bluish-Green Productions
