https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeUB8daNzOg

-Kurt L.

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     Released in 1994, the game was made by the notorious developers at LJN, who have actually made a host of terrible games for the NES back in the day, most infamously - Karate Kid, Friday The 13th, Jaws, Back To The Future, and many more bombs. When I was a young lad playing WWF Raw, I was unaware that LJN had made such awful games in its past, because this new one for SNES was awesome! And even to this day, it is still one of the more memorable and enjoyable wrestling video games. Even with the advent of 3D gaming, WWF Raw maintains a strong foothold in this genre. Though, it is worth noting that the Nintendo 64 boasted a very impressive library of wrestling fare with games like WCW/nWo Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, and WWF No Mercy. But, I must digress.

     WWF Raw features a lot of options for the player. First off, you can play as either 1 or 2 players, then, choose what mode you'd like to play: one-on-one, tournament, Royal Rumble, tag team, etc. - there are plenty to choose from, adding to the games surprising depth. Also, you can choose the difficulty rating, which ranges from a 1-10 scale. One of the best modes in this game is the Royal Rumble, and the action can get pretty hectic if you aren't quick to throw opponents out of the ring - it's a fun kind of chaos. Of course, the more standard matches are a blast too, especially when you take the action outside of the ring - easily transforming the match into a hardcore one with a bucket and a chair available for smashing. It's great fun.

     Unfortunately, by 1994, wrestling great Hulk Hogan was already on his way out of the WWF and continuing his career at WCW, so he is not in the game. As a young Hulkamaniac, I was disappointed, but there are plenty of great wrestlers to choose from nonetheless: Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Doink, Diesel, 1-2-3 Kid, Owen Hart, Luna Vachon, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Lex Luger. Each wrestler has its own signature finishing moves in the game, and their moves vary a bit from one another, while some share the same basic moves - in any case, there is a lot of depth here too.

     WWF Raw certainly stands out as one of the premiere wrestling titles available throughout gaming history. It has a timeless charm, and tight, fun gameplay; not to mention, it has some crisp and vibrant graphics as well, the best of its kind compared to previous wrestling games. While it may not have the high volume of wrestlers and options as more modern games do, it still stands among the best, as it was a marvel for 1994. Enjoy this SNES classic!

-Kurt L.

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     Created very late in the life cycle of the Super Nintendo, Kirby's Dream Land 3 may be fairly unknown to the mainstream public - at least, I would think so. By 1997, the Nintendo 64 was in full swing, armed with a plethora of terrific games like Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye as examples, and the aging SNES was reduced to a few annual sports titles until it was finally discontinued. The SNES got its great swan song a year earlier with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, which turned out to be its best game as well. So, it seems a little odd, as Nintendo would release Kirby's Dream Land 3, so late in time.

     To be fair, it's a decent game, a serviceable one, but unfortunately not a memorable one. As a longtime fan of Kirby games, from the pink puff's first foray onto GameBoy Kirby's Dream Land, to the epic NES game Kirby's Adventure, to the very best of the bunch - Kirby Super Star for the SNES. Clearly, Kirby games have enjoyed plenty of success, but Dream Land 3 falls flat. It doesn't deviate that much from the traditional and familiar formula of the series, but its biggest difference I'd say is in its graphics and gameplay. As for the former, the visuals are very impressive - they have a light, pleasant, very hand-drawn sort of look (more so than the previous games in the series), however, they aren't the best in the series; either way, they still look nice.

     The gameplay is also different, but in a bad way - and this is where the game ultimately loses its punch and replayability. It is remarkably slow. How so? The controls are generally unresponsive, and the action just doesn't seem to move. It's as if the game is operating on only 75% of its power - things just simply drag. It's very disconcerting considering how quick and energetic the previous Kirby games were.

     One saving grace for the game is its formula. The Kirby formula of traversing through nicely ordained stages, sucking up enemies, and absorbing their various powers, is still a blast. Also, Kirby can now ride various types of forest animals that aid him throughout levels - it's a nice touch to the standard Kirby formula. However, like I said, the sluggish gameplay drags down the experience.

     In the end, Kirby's Dream Land 3 is just a bit forgettable. It's not terrible, but it's not great either. It sort of exists in video game purgatory, and while it will certainly provide some enjoyable moments, the overall experience is marred and hindered by strangely slow gameplay. I only reccomend it if you can look past its issues. In any case, I say stick to Kirby Super Star.

-Kurt L.

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     Now, Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues isn't to be confused with Jurassic Park: The Lost World. The Chaos Continues was released some time before the Lost World, and the Lost World received its own game which was one the Sony Playstation. Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues is strictly a video game interpretation of the events that took place after the initial deadly mishap in the park. The game begins with a pretty darn impressive cut scene, animated with voice work, explains that InGen's main competitor Biosyn is out to take control of Jurassic Park and all of its inhabitants. The problem is InGen hasn't completely abandoned hopes of regaining control of Jurassic Park. So, Biosyn sends an army of elite troops and scientists to do their dirty work. Talk about a hostile take over! Anyway, InGen's CEO John Hammond having no where else to turn is in desperate need for a hero. With Jurassic Park under siege by a well armed military force, who is he going to call? None other than Dr. Allen Grant, because when commandos start knocking on your door, the first thing that comes to mind is "I need a paleontologist". As for the rest of the story, that's about all you're going to get. That's not because I won't tell you, there really isn't much else that needs to be said. Aside from the well crafted opening cut scene, a gripping narrative Jurassic Park Part 2 is not.

     Game play is basic, The Chaos Continues is a pretty standard run and gun side-scroller. Players will select which mission they would like to begin with out of a list of 7 main missions. These missions take Dr. Grant through the dense jungles, inside park facilities, a volcano, and a mountain range. Being this is Jurassic Park, the armed commandos aren't the only thing Grant will have to contend with. Obviously, dinosaurs are going to play a factor and levels will switch between the enemies being humans and the dinosaurs. On occasion, there will be a combination of both the dinosaurs and humans, but for the most part its either one or the other. Being there are two different types of threats players will go up against there are two different sets of weapon, lethal and non-lethal. Lethal weapons are used against both dinosaurs and humans, although being InGen wants to take control over the park once again killing their star attractions is frowned upon. Next to the life gauge, there is a stock meter which is a Jurassic Park logo and a number that begins at 100. Killing dinosaurs will cause this meter to drop, and once you reach below 75...game over man. Utilizing the non lethal rounds when facing a dinosaur is a necessity, and trying to use these weapons against a human target is completely useless. Humans will have no reaction to the cattle prod (which looks like something out of a terminator movie), or the violent explosions of a tranquilizer missile (because everyone knows violent explosions will put a dinosaur to sleep...). So anyway, to make a long story short make sure you pick the right tool for the job. With my jests put aside, the side-scrolling action is actually pretty addictive and with some practice players can get very good at it. There is also an option to bring in a second player, who assumes the role of a guy named Wolfskin, and I only found out his name after looking through the instruction booklet. The co-op feature works well, and basically ensures the success of completing the mission. Its like they say, two guns are better than one.

     Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues does have plenty of quirks though. Despite its well polished graphics, and excellent sound effects, the game has plenty of glitches that can work to a players advantage or against them. For starters, on occasion dinosaurs won't react properly to Dr. Grant's presence. Some raptors will flutter on the screen, as if they're stuck position. This makes them easy pickings, but isn't necessarily fun. Some times enemies will also run straight through a wall, or over a cliff. This doesn't effect the game play, but sticks out like a sore thumb. On a more negative note, there are plenty of instances where Dr. Grant can literally fall through a stage. For no reason, Grant will simply fall off the face of the earth. The problem is, fall damage counts against your life gauge. So, every time this glitch occurs the player will lose health. The game also continuously reuses the same levels, and simply replaces the dinosaurs with humans and vise versa . Continuously seeing the same places over and over does take away from the long lasting appeal from the game, but even though they are well designed levels, the repetitive nature does tend to get annoying. One truly useless feature, which is mind boggling as to how it actually made it into the game, is the ability to dodge. Now I know you're thinking right now "how can dodging be useless?" Well, I'll tell ya. By pressing the X button, Grant slightly moves his rifle out of the way activating the dodge. The animation looks good, but the problem is dodging doesn't work. Dinosaurs and humans can simply run Grant over, knocking him down. Plus, spitting dinosaurs and armed soldiers rate of fire is set so fast, even after activating a dodge trying to fight back is impossible. Its easier just to jump or duck to avoid attacks, which still allows you to attack back.

     Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues is a far from perfect game, and there are better JP games out on the market. With that said, The Chaos Continues isn't exactly terrible either. Although it can be frustrating at times, it is a game that can easily be laughed at. So take the game for what it is, another attempt to make a dime off of the Jurassic Park logo. Despite all of its flaws its still really fun to play, especially in two player mode. In the end, isn't that what games are all about?

Written by RB

Over and Out

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     This is the first ever Console Review! Take a look into the past with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and revisit the 16-bit era. Thank you for watching and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMQhatAXBAc

-Kurt L.

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     From the gecko, this game looks and plays great. The graphics, like many SNES games of its time, showcase the power of the systems visuals. They are very well detailed with a post-apocolyptic atmosphere, along with several scary looking alien bases. Everything looks far better in this game than it did back on its NES counterparts, to no surprise, as this system has literally twice the punch. Each level looks distinct, and no two areas look alike. The bosses are also supremely detailed, and some of them are downright horror shows. Contra games have always been known for their truly vile looking hellish bosses, and this game provides many more examples of that. Needless to say, this game pleases the eye.

     The gameplay is crisp, and the heroes in this game are much more dyanmic this time around - they can carries two different weapons, and by pressing Y, you can cycle through them. Also, if in a bind, press L and R together, and then the shoot button, and your character does a wicked somersault while shooting both his guns at once - it kicks a lot of butt. Also, your heroes can climb up the sides of some walls, and hang on girders and wires. This adds to a great variety in the gameplay - and it also makes for some really cool boss battles where you gotta swing and climb from and to different places to avoid being attacked.

     And now to the point to "avoid being attacked"...it's near impossible. This is easily the most difficult game I've ever played in recent memory. Yes, Contra games are known for their intense difficulty, but there is absolutely no stopping Contra III. It is ruthless, and ultimately relentless in what it throws at you. I had always thought that those Metal Slug games were the most difficult over the top action side-scrollers, but Contra III tops them. This isn't to say that the NES Contra games were easy - they were hard too - but by comparison, they are at least managable. Thankfully, like the NES game, the famed Konami Code returns where you can enter a series of buton-pushes on the title screen and get 30 lives, and you may just need every single one of them! Sometimes I felt this game was unfairly hard, especially in the last level, where it just seems to have one boss battle after another, but, you know what? This should definitely appeal to the hardcore gamers out there, because it brings the highest of challenges, and some people, not the faint of heart, are down for it.

     Another leveler of the difficulty is the option to lower or raise it. On the option menu, you can choose "easy", "Normal", or "hard." I don't know who would want to punish themselves by playing on "hard." I played on Normal, and even Normal was HARD! To be perfectly blunt, I played Contra III with my Game Genie on and beat the game with unlimited lives, and even with that huge handicap, I still felt like I was going to run out of lives - you simply will die that often! However, like I had said, there are some gamers out there who are surely better experienced with such an extreme challenge, thus they would get a huge thrill. But I must say, depsite the fact that I was basically cheating with my Game Genie, I still had loads of fun playing through this classic SNES title. It was utterly thrilling, and I'll be back for some more (maybe on Easy this time, without Game Genie!).

     This game is a great experience, but unfortunately, it is a rather short one. It is only 6 levels long, and no, it doesn't need to be a 20 level onslaught or anything like that, but, the NES game had 8. However, the six levels are fairly decent in length, but two of them are top-down view stages (similar to the Base Levels in Contra for NES), where you run and gun through a bombed out street or dessert. These stages are unique, but aren't quite as compelling as the side-scrolling stages, however, they do showoff some impressive Mode-7 SNES techniques and have some cool controls (the L & R buttons rotate the camera view for instance). I felt that the game should have been just a bit longer, about 8-10 levels, and any added levels being side-scrolling ones, because that is Contra at its best.

     Overall, Contra III is a fantastic experience on the Super Nintendo. Yes, it has an incredible challenge, and if you're up for it, then by all means, go in guns blazing! However, it is fairly short, but, the action never stops, and it thrills from beginning to end. I personally still prefer the original Contra for the NES, just something about that game I liked better. That isn't a knock to Contra III, because it is really awesome as well. I reccomend playing it for sure, and if tracking down an SNES cartridge for it fares to be a difficult venture for you, then it is also avaialble on the Wii's Virtual Console - but be forewarned, you can't use Game Genie!! - ah, like you folks will need it! Go give 'em hell! And one more thing, this game, like any NES Contra game, Contra III should definitely be played with two-players, though it is still a blast of course as a solo adventure. Either way, go in there and kick-butt! Just don't forget about that Konami Code.

-Kurt L.

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     When it comes to vintage gaming, there are a few games that stand out in my mind. Whether it is because they're outstanding examples of what early video games could be, strong sentimental value, or even a combination of both, I take great joy in looking back at some classics for review purposes. This couldn't be truer than with the SNES smash hit, Super Mario World.

     I remember when I got my first taste of the new Super Mario adventure, and the SNES's flag ship. I was a young nerd at the time, and was on a shopping trip with my parents to our local mall. Being ridiculously bored as we wondered from store to store, something caught my eye. It was a display, nay, a saving grace...like a beacon of hope was Nintendo's brand new Super Nintendo Entertainment System just waiting for anyone to walk up and try it out. I couldn't resist, and the game was obviously the focus of this review, Super Mario World. Upon playing it, I was blown away. With its beautiful graphics, great musical themes, and Mario's spinning jumps I was hooked. Needless to say, I knew what I was getting for Christmas that year.

     Anyway, that's enough reminiscing for now. Its time to get down to business, and discuss how revolutionary Super Mario World really is. Being that Super Mario World was packaged with the SNES, for many of us who owned the system it was our first game for it. In its hay day, Super Mario World was the perfect game to highlight what the new SNES could do. Featuring better 16bit graphics, sounds, and a freakishly new looking controller with 4 action buttons (A,B,X, and Y) and two bumper buttons, allowed major advancements to be made to the beloved Super Mario Bros franchise.

     This time around, Mario and Luigi's epic adventure to rescue the Princess Toadstool from the clutches of Bowser takes them deeper into the Super Mario universe. For the first time, Super Mario World brings players away from the Mushroom Kingdom and puts them into a place called Dinosaur Land...and no The Super Mario Bros aren't trapped in Jurassic Park. Many of the typical Bowser Baddies return in Super Mario World like the goombas and Koopalings who are Bowser's little brat children that originally were featured in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. We are also introduced to a brand new character that would go on to have his own success on the Nintendo platforms. Being that Dinosaur Land is home to many types of creatures, Mario and Luigi are able to make a new friend in that lovable green dinosaur, Yoshi. After finding Yoshi, the Mario Bros could ride him throughout each level (except for boss castles), and Yoshi could eat almost anything that gets in their way. Similar to the power ups that would grant Mario and Luigi special abilities, Yoshi too could gain new skills by eating different colored Koopa shells. As for the rest of the game play, it is what you would expect from the Super Mario Bros. Players will jump from platform to platform, while collecting coins and power ups as they progress through each level. Thanks to the new 16bit graphic generator, there are plenty of new and unique challenges in Super Mario World. For example, new players to the game can play through each level and progress straight to the end of the game to face Bowser. But for those who have really put their time into Super Mario World will know about the many different secret level exits that makes the game much longer than it would first appear. No matter how you play Super Mario World, there is a level of difficulty suitable for everyone.

     Since its release in 1991 Super Mario World has gone on to sell over 20 million copies making it one of the best selling games of all time. Many of the game's legendary moments have become some of the iconic images associated with the Super Nintendo itself. Despite being a familiar story of a gigantic evil snapping turtle and its offspring kidnapping a Princess leaving two plumbers to save the day, Super Mario World remains a timeless classic. It has seen countless re-releases for Nintendo's Gameboy Advanced, and more recently is being offered over the Wii virtual console. No matter the system, it is a game that must be added to any collection. It is pure clean fun, and anyone can enjoy it.

Written by RB

Over and Out

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     One of the defining video games of this generation, Doom, where a lone soldier, John Doe, is isolated on the distant moons of Mars, pitted against a cast of some vile demons and alien creatures, ultimately fighting for his survival, began on the PC back in 1993. It was one of the most cutting edge games of its time and is indeed a true classic. It was also ported to many different home consoles as well in the years to follow, for instance, on the ill-fated Atari Jaguar, the Sega Saturn, the horrid Sega 32X, 3DO, and Sony's Playstation to name a few. Though, the ported version I have decided to discuss here is the 1995 release for Super Nintendo. Unfortunately, like many of the other versions of this game, this port did not live up to the groundbreaking PC original.

     With its stark blood-red cartridge, Doom for the SNES really stands out in your collection, it surely does in mine - it is the only one that is not the tradtional gray color. I like the gutsy color of red (no pun intended) for the cartridge because it seems to emphasize and embrace a certain no-holds barred attitude in an attempt to be tougher than any game out there on the market. Well, sure, that was the case for the PC game, but that game was able to look macho in a floppy disk format! This SNES port pales to the original with its incredibly blurry and unrefined looking graphics. It's also marred with some terribly slow controls, but, in comparison to some of the other iterations of the game, it isn't entirely bad either.

     For the Atari Jaguar version, the graphics are far superior (as I suppose the Jaguar was a more powerful system, with its apparent 64-bit capabilities), but there was no music! How could such a thing exist?! Doom was not only known for its kick-butt gameplay, but its awesome, and thrilling music reminscient of vintage Metallica. In fact, listen to the music on the first level of Doom for the SNES, or the PC version, and you'll swear it is "Master of Puppets" by Metallica, it's pretty darn cool. Anyway, take a look at the 32X version of the game, it also had some decent graphics, but, the music was astrosis. It was a totally distorted and dissonant mess of a soundtrack, inducing some major cringes. Before I go on, I must quickly note that my information about the Jaguar and 32X versions comes from watching the Angry Video Game Nerd's videos about them, so thankyou Nerd!

     So after seeing those other two odd ports of the game, it makes the SNES one not nearly as poor as it may be. In fact, the SNES game has a really powerful riveting version of the iconic music, and its a real treat to listen to. If you can look past the weak graphics and the sluggish gameplay, Doom for the Super NES is alright, but nothing stellar. It is a functional, serviceable version of what is at the core, a great game, but unfortunately reduced on Nintendo's super console.

     I would stick with the PC version, and there are so many other ways to play the original Doom these days, that it sort of makes these inferior ports obsolete. However, the SNES iteration has a great take on the soundtrack, and it is still Doom, so it is very familar, albeit a lesser game. In the end, it is something nice to add to your collection, and with its cool red cartirdge, it will surely stand out.

-Kurt L.

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