Super Mario Bros. 3 – Reviewing World 1
(2D platformer)
I began playing World 1 of Super Mario Bros. 3 (SMB3), which I have not played since I was a young tot. I was pleasantly surprised with the ease of getting through levels. With each level, there are more elements incorporated into gameplay. Question mark boxes, enemies, and pipe rooms are incorporated throughout the levels. By level 3, you are introduced to using your enemies shell to destroy blocks to advance through the level and get more coins. I think the introduction of elements level by level is great for teaching your players how to play through playing the game. The levels get harder at a constant pace, and lead up to a boss in each world. I enjoy the fact that SMB3 can be enjoyed by both casual gamers and hardcore gamers. I think sound is also important when playing through a level. The faster the tune gets, the less time the player has to finish the level. I think that is important for giving the player feedback to when their timer is going out, even if they don’t notice the time counting down in the corner of the screen.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Pac-Man World – Reviewing the beginning of the game
(3D platformer)
Pac-Man World is a 3D free roaming platform, so there are no levels like in SMB3. The game starts off with an area that looks like the a pac-man game. There are pellets all around brown wooden crates, and a couple of ghosts going around patrolling the area. Instead of slowly amping up the difficulty through levels, the game is explained through wooden signs with tips on how to further advance through the game. The actual gameplay involves a lot of smashing boxes and both avoiding and attacking enemies. The floating platforms are powered by the player, which you learn how to use from a sign. You also have pac-man power ups, like the silver ball that you can collect and turn into a silver pac-man. This silver power-up allows you to go to the bottom of water which can help throughout the gameplay. The game goes from an earth-like area to a space-like environment, which I think is a component of the narrative but the narrative isn’t the most straight forward to be quite honest.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
