Game Reviews

What DOES impress me is the box. Dad, who still hasn't mastered round pegs/square holes, was tasked with pickup. Everything packs neatly away! And best of all, a fold over flap magnetically seals the handled box. (OK, perhaps it doesn't take much to impress me.)

Bottom line: A good game for the 6-10 year old set when you only have half an hour.

Basically, you throw the pigs (much like rolling dice) and the way the pigs land (dot side up, touching each other, on top of each other (my oh my!), etc) corresponds to a score (each with cute little piggy names like pig-out, leaning jowler, trotter, making bacon (very bad!), etc.. Where strategy comes in is the roller of the pigs has to decide whether to keep the score and pass or to keep rolling in an effort to add to the score. The object of the game is to reach the winning score first (usually something like 100). The roller of the pigs can keep rolling until pigging out (which is fairly easy to accomplish) or pass. If you pig out, your score is reset to zero. It's fun stuff!

It's a great game to take on trips, or to pull out when entertaining children of various ages; everyone can enjoy it. I've played with children as young as 4 and had a fine time.

Although the rules of the game rely on the player taking a turn until he or she determines that luck is about to run out (at the risk of losing all accumulated points), this can easily be modified (esp. for younger children) so that each player throws the dice in turn and records points.

The educational value is in using mathematical skills, and pattern recognition skills, for younger players.

This game is very durable, but it would be a sad day indeed if the little pigs were ever lost. Luckily, all the parts (pigs, score pad, pencil) fit into a neat little case.

So get out your competitive spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

Only 4 words:This game is AWESOME!!(and really fun)

This game is a gem, and unbeatable within its realm.

Metal Gear Solid makes good use of the GBC's colors. This game is more colorful than a rainbow and the colors are vivid and bright (especially if you play it on a GBA SP). The graphics are also put to good use. It's a reminder of the graphics presented in the first Metal Gear game only you can now move in eight directions as opposed to four and most guards and such look clearer. But you'll definitely notice resemblence.

The game sounds pretty good for an 8 bit game. The music can get annoying at times but it clearly sets up the tone of the game (sneaking).

The game adopts the gameplay from the Playstation version. There is a sneak mode, alert mode and evasion mode. Sneak mode is simply that you just run from point to point without worrying about anything. As with the PSX version you have a radar in the corner of your screen. The radar isn't as detailed but it'll help you stay out of sight. Alert Mode happens if you're discovered by the enemy and so you must run away. Much like in the PSX version there's a countdown in the corner that covers the radar. When you successfully escape the enemy you go into Evasion Mode where you must hide and the enemy will stop chasing you and begin searching for you. Picture evasion mode like a game of hide and seek.

Metal Gear is known for its storytelling and MGS on the GBC is no exception. The game has several plot twist and such but that's just it. The game is full of TONS of twist. The story is great but the way the story is presented to the gamer is not to pleasing. The original playstation version had cinemas to make the storyline more interactive. The GBC has LONG LONG LONG cutscenes of Snake exchaning words with others. This wouldn't be so bad if the cutscenes weren't so long of just two people standing there. The Codec I didn't mind and it showcases more of just how well the graphics of the game are. But even codec conversations get long. If you're really into the story then you probably won't be falling asleep anytime soon.

As far as Extras go this game has a lot of them. Well, there is one HUGE extra. This would be the VR training. Many of the missions come from the PSX game "Metal Gear Solid VR: Missions" and the original MGS game but on the GBC they can be quite challenging. There are over 150 missions but most of them are repeats of earlier missions... only with a twist such as maybe a time limit or you're supposed to eliminate all the guards. Still, the VR missions will keep you busy for a while.

The other extra is after you complete the game once you get a new difficulty level (Very Hard mode). Difficulty levels in this game are NO joke. Unlike the PSX version there are more changes than just guards with wider range of vision. The most noticeable is there are MORE guards than you could possibly imagine on Very Hard mode.

Perhaps what I disliked most about MGS on the GBC was that it didn't have the power to make you love the characters. Many of them are stale without being able to see some emotion. That and some of the supporting characters play no real role in the game they're just there to take up space and carry on long conversations.

Overall though, for the GBC Metal Gear Solid is by far one of the best you could get.

The Good
+Excellent graphics
+Great Storytelling
+Great Gameplay
+Fun VR Missions

The Bad
+LONG LONG LONG Cutscenes
+Supporting characters lack developement and chemistry

First off, you can have multiple classes to your characters over the course of the game. The world is huge and the battles are new in that the monsters have animations, and so do your attacks. From what I have played the difficulty seems just about as hard on the NES version. Also the passage of time is incorporated into this game, as night and day pass, and people have different things to say depending on the time and some people will be out at night, etc.

I haven't found anything that detracts from this game. I'm only about an hour into the game, but I'm impressed with what i've played so far. It makes an excellent game to play on breaks and when everyone leaves the office (it can get lonely at night when you are the only customer service rep in the place ;)). I'm very impressed with this game and if you liked DW I+II and/or Final Fantasy (all of them) you will definitely go for this game. It earns every ounce of recommendation I can give.

Even in the face of today's modern graphics and effects, the scope, storyline, and gameplay of Dragon Warrior III still stand strong. The characters can be customized in numerous areas, and even retrained if they aren't working out - you can take your Lvl 40 fighter and make him a wizard, or let your cleric train as a merchant. The number of sidequests and the evolution of certain areas is impressive, and will give you 60+ hours of things to do. Best of all, the fighting system is so simple that even a novice can start playing and get hooked immediately.

This game gets my highest possible recommendation. For a fraction of the cost of a Final Fantasy game, you can get a game that will give you more enjoyment for a longer period of time.

While playing the game, the situations can change quickly - just when you have a plan, someone will play a jack and remove a crutial token, or will play a jack and take a crucial spot.

One rule - no table talk to coach your partnet, can give rise to various coversations, for example if you want your partner to play the 2 of hearts, my daughter came up with a conversation about how she LOVES her TWO dogs. Each of these tangents brings up a new converation for the players.

This has become a family favorite, and for every occasion it is set up and played by all who are there.

Adults and children can play on the same level, kids are sometimes the most brutal, they don't feel bad about taking your "place". While adults may think ahead more, the kids come up with cleaver methods to foil the adults.

I would highly recommend this game to any family or group as a fun way to spend the afternoon.

You don't have to be a game person to like this game, which plays easily from two to four people. It's got a playing board, poker chips, and uses two decks of cards. But you don't have to figure a lot out, or do a lot of math, or hold a lot of cards (just six at a time). It's part luck, part thinking and, with four persons, part teamwork. Not as thorny and infinitely long as chess, nor as obvious as checkers, not a strategic all-nighter like Risk, or a major undertaking like Monopoly. Not a way-too-educational game you got instead of a toy for your birthday (to your dismay). If you like all those games, you'd probably enjoy Sequence also. But if you're not a game person, and don't like all of the above, this might be the one game you would like. It's like hearing a clean joke that's actually funny, or finding non-alchoholic beer that tastes good. The odds are stacked against it, but Sequence may have beaten the odds. The only other game I like this much is Battleship, but if you hate Battleship, you may still like Sequence. If you've already got Cranium, empty the box out and put the Sequence pieces in the Cranium box. Then you've got the best of both worlds: a great game and great Gary Baseman box art.

Anyway, to play Scattegories, first you choose a letter and a list. Say the letter was "G" and the list included "boy names". Well, if I put Gregory, and so did one of my sisters, neither of us would get the point. If someone repeats your answer, you don't get any points. However, say I put "Gavin", Jordan put "Gregory" and Taryn put "Guy", then we'd all get the point. You have to make sure to think outside of the box (don't put the most popular band as an answer, or the city you live in!).