Superman 64 (Nintendo 64)

I gotta be honest, I'm a little disappointed with Superman 64. But it's for the complete opposite reason you might think. Superman was released in 1999 by french developer Titus Software for the Nintendo 64; based off the animated series that was running at the time. It was meet with highly negative reviews and went on to be considered one of the worst Nintendo 64 games released. Over the years the game has become synonymous with horrible game design. Yet no one I've ever met has gotten through the first level let alone beat the game. I thus I decided I  had to know myself if it was as bad as people were making it out to be.

Man do people really know how to hype stuff up. I was expecting a game in which I couldn't even get past the first few minutes, yet honestly, this game is a breeze. Throughout the game you alternate between flying Ring levels, and action levels. The Ring Levels consistent of flying through rings and completing smaller objectives like saving citizens and destroying enemies.

 The problem is that these levels get fairly repetitive, and longer and longer as you go on. Yet for myself, they provided some of the most amount of fun in the game. Superman controls best in air, and despite superman having this awkward car like feeling, once you get adjusted to the controls, you will find yourself blasting through the levels. Now one problem remains, why in the hell is superman flying through rings?

 The ring levels feel like padding for what I consider the true Superman 64: The action levels. These levels seem closer to what you would expect out of a Superman game; having many cameos from the animated series villains. The levels felt ambitious, having multiple objectives and tons of enemies to tear through, yet there is never a satisfying level of polish.

The game tends to get fairly bugger at this point. I must of feel through the god damn floor so many times. I did want to punch the screen when I had to restart the last level 3 times becomes characters wouldn't do what they were suppose to. Superman 64 was at least able to remind me during these levels why people hate this bloody game so much. Though in the game's defense, the action levels were fairly short, and even the ring levels helped you out when you did bad.

Despite the bugs, I still found the game to be charming at points. It captured the look and feel of the show fairly well during the action levels, it had a variety of powers and locales, and the flying mechanic was robust. While it wasn't great by any means, and could use some serious bug fixes, it wasn't that bad of an experience.

Even with it's flaws, I suggest to try out the game before jumping on the hate wagon. You might be surprised at what you might find... mostly shit, but come on, I'm trying to be as positive as I can.

Pros
+ Ring levels can become fun if you forget it's suppose to be a game about Superman
+ Game is forgiving and rewards players for continuous effort.
+ Decent adaptation of the Animated series

Cons
- Ring levels become fairly repetitive later on, as the same concepts repeat
- Controls are awkward and take a while to get use to
- Bugs will mean you will play some levels a lot
- Poor Production value

Zone of the Enders HD (Xbox 360)

I've been a Mecha anime fan since as long as I can remember. Throughout the years, I'd only gotten a small taste of mediocre licensed Mecha Games like the Gundam games Bandai shit out during the Super Famicom and Playstation era. But it was Zone of the Enders that changed my outlook on mecha games. It holds a special place in my heart when I experienced it all those years ago.

Revisiting this game in 2013 was definitely an interesting experience. It doesn't hold up quite to what I remember, and has some of the more annoying tropes of Mech anime that was much improved in it's sequel. Leo, the main character of the game, is an whiny little bitch, and it wouldn't be so bad if the voice acting wasn't god awful. It's honestly embarrassing at times. After Metal Gear Solid, I seriously expected more from Kojima.

One of the biggest problems though is that you don't visit many areas in the game, and the game ends when things finally start to pick up. It almost feels like the developer had all these great ideas, but was only able to put down the framework of the game. The game never feels fully realized, and it took a sequel to justify Zone of the Enders existence.

But the core gameplay is just so inherently fun to play and an even bigger treat to watch. Jehuty, the Mech that you control through the game, elegantly twists and turns in combat, with beautifully animated attacks. The game makes you feel like you're in control of a total badass killing machine, tearing up through enemy after enemy and than facing off with these giant bosses. The game even has a leveling up system so you get the sense of progression, which helps as you revisit many areas an end up doing much of the same things.

One of the greatest aspects of the game are the visuals. You can tell that a lot of thought was put into the Mech designs, as the majority of them are memorable and stand out. Jehuty is a work of art, with it's Egyptian style Headpiece. The various enemies have this bone like aesthetic that gives off a very interesting appearance. And the Space colony you fly through ties the overall look of the game perfectly, with it's futuristic blue tones.

Zone of the Enders still holds up even today. The Controls are just as fluid as you might remember, and the camera and animations are still as refined as they've always been. Even sports a great soundtrack with many memorable tunes. It's still in my opinion, hands down the second best single player experience in a Mech game, only bested by it's Sequel. I'd recommend the game too anyone who wants to experience Mech games at their finest.

Z.O.E was Developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and released in 2001 on the playstation 2. It is now available on the Zone of the Enders HD Collection for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Pros
+ Fun and Fluid Combat and Gameplay
+ Level up System helps fight monotony
+ Beautiful visuals and design

Cons
- Poor Voice Acting and Characters
- Short with Repetitive Areas