Reviews by overdrive, page 33

Reader NES

Sweet Home review

Long before Capcom released Resident Evil upon the unwashed masses of gamers, they created Sweet Home for the Famicom. Due to some violent and gory imagery and the common use of prayer to solve problems (a Nintendo of America no-no), this…

overdrive · September 11, 2004

Reader TurboGrafx-16

Tensei Ryuu: Saint Dragon review

While playing the first level of Aicom side-scrolling shooter Saint Dragon on the ol’ PC Engine, I nearly fell in love. Piloting a skeletal dragon definitely earned this game points in my book, but there was a lot more to it than just…

overdrive · September 11, 2004

Reader Game Boy Advance

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon review

If I were forced to come up with one flaw in Konami’s masterful Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the Playstation, it would involve that game’s lack of difficulty. For a person who had nearly cried bloody tears after suffering his…

overdrive · September 1, 2004

Reader PlayStation

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night review

Throughout the glory days of the eight- and 16-bit systems, Konami’s Castlevania series earned a reputation as a tough, unforgiving collection of platform games. Moving your fragile (taking as few as four hits to kill) hero through level…

overdrive · August 20, 2004

Reader SNES

Donkey Kong Country review

It was a story so eloquent that you’d think Shakespeare had penned it. Donkey Kong, a large ape, woke up to find his enormous horde of bananas was missing. Enlisting the help of Diddy Kong, a smaller (and less useful, as a few enemies just…

overdrive · August 19, 2004

Reader SNES

Darius Twin review

Maybe the original Darius wasn’t the greatest shooter ever made. It wasn’t as intricate and demanding as R-Type or as simple and mindlessly fun as other early shooters, but it was still a quality game. Heck, I can safely say the PC Engine…

overdrive · August 11, 2004

Reader SuperGrafx

Darius Plus review

A lot of promising shooters that I’ve picked up have taken that promise, crumpled it up and discarded it callously. I thought Insector X for the Genesis would be fun and original — it was a tedious game marred by you having to control an…

overdrive · August 9, 2004

Reader Game Boy Advance

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance review

The first video gaming system I owned was an Atari 2600. You could play ports of a vast majority of that time period’s most beloved arcade games on that classic system. Of course, since the Atari 2600 wasn’t the most powerful thing around…

overdrive · July 28, 2004

Reader PlayStation Review of the Week

Final Fantasy VII review

Remember the good ol’ days before RPGs were cool? Days when you’d be controlling tiny, blocky characters through a game with little story beyond destroying the forces of evil? While there were a few exceptions to that rule, that was what…

overdrive · July 23, 2004

Reader Genesis

M.U.S.H.A. review

I’d been in a slump as far as shooters went, it seemed. It felt like forever since I’d actually played one that was fun and aesthetically pleasing. Those paying attention to “All Things Overdrive” probably know that among the recent ones…

overdrive · July 20, 2004

Reader TurboGrafx-16

Heavy Unit review

I’ve decided I have to be some sort of mentally ill glutton for punishment. You see, when confronted with a shooter of the lowly caliber of Taito’s Heavy Unit on the PC Engine, the average player likely wouldn’t get too far. They’d start…

overdrive · July 15, 2004

Reader SNES

Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest review

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest can best be described as a slap to the face of any American fan of role-playing games. Commonly referred to as an RPG for beginners, this SNES blunder seems to be less of a tutorial game and more of an insult to…

overdrive · July 7, 2004

Reader Arcade

Black Heart (Import) review

It starts out so innocently. An evil wizard kidnapping a damsel. A brave knight to the rescue, determined to save the day. Leaping onto the sturdy back of his dragon mount, the chivalrous warrior departs to face whatever dangers come his…

overdrive · July 6, 2004

Reader Arcade

R-Type review

Back in the days of my youth, my parents bought me a Rubik’s Cube. Even though the objective was simple (make all the squares on each side the same color), that confounded cube still proved capable of captivating me. I spent hours, days…

overdrive · June 30, 2004

Reader SNES

Daze Before Christmas review

I’ve been playing Daze Before Christmas for a while and really enjoy it. Admitting my liking for this 1994 Sunsoft platformer is a pretty easy thing to do — explaining why I like it isn’t such a simple task. While many platformers look…

overdrive · June 24, 2004

Reader Genesis

Insector X review

I really wanted to love Insector X. In a shooter genre overloaded with military planes and bizarrely-shaped spaceships, this Genesis game looked to be a breath of fresh air. Controlling a robotic insect, you’d get to engage in battle with…

overdrive · June 24, 2004

Reader NES

Amagon review

When Nintendo released Super Mario Brothers, a new age of video gaming began. Players controlled the cheerful plumber as he traveled on land, in caves, underwater and through castles in his quest to rescue a beautiful princess from the…

overdrive · June 17, 2004

Reader PlayStation

Alundra review

On the surface, things seemed pretty good in the regions surrounding the quaint village of Inoa. Sure, the fell demon Melzas had been a threat, but he was now trapped in a submerged castle and seemingly out of the picture. Things wouldn’t…

overdrive · June 9, 2004

Reader NES

Rygar review

The fine (if somewhat barren) land of Argool had seen better days. The horrid and demonic Ligar, hidden within a floating castle, had sent his army of beasts and monsters throughout the land to steal hope from the general populace. Their…

overdrive · June 2, 2004

Reader SNES

Kouryu Densetsu Villgust: Kieta Shoujo review

One of the greatest joys of playing a role-playing game comes from watching characters that start out as weak as a newborn child evolve into a force powerful enough to topple evil beings possessing godlike might. In that aspect, you could…

overdrive · May 27, 2004