Alex Kidd: High-Tech World - SEGA Master System

    It’s more Alex Kidd and he’s in High-Tech World. Ummm…yeah. I gotta be honest here. It’s the name of our blog after all. I was not expecting…”this”. After playing the first two Alex Kidd titles, this one gave me expectations whiplash. Alex Kidd: High-Tech World is a free roaming scavenger hunt and puzzle game. Alex is looking for a map to a new Video Arcade. Unfortunately, the map was ripped and teared into pieces. Alex searches for the pieces throughout his home. Alex is a Prince, so his house is HUGE. I almost completed the map, but I fell into some beginner's traps. There’s no enemies, but you can still get a Game Over. This is an Adventure Game, played with a Master System controller. You don’t see the traps coming, until you try something or you walk into the next screen. After the second trap, I had to put my controller down in disbelief. I was done for the day.

    I, I actually like this game. The gameplay is fine. The controls are responsive. The music is repetitive and a little lame, but not really offensive to the ears. It’s a solid Alex Kidd title. Wow! I finally like an Alex Kidd game. Give this game a play through, if you’re into Adventure Games. 

A Boy and His Blob: Trouble in Blobolonia - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

    David Crane’s original NES game. About a Boy, and his Extra Terrestrial Blobby friend. Two companions on a mission to overcome their unintuitive game play and slippery controls. The Boy is on ice the whole game. He is always on run mode. I’m constantly over stepping my intended distance. As for the Blob, it takes so long for it to stand and stay in a precise position. I spent minutes trying to line him up to a platform to climb up. I easily outrun the Blob and lose him. The Boy is just too fast for his own good. At one point, the Blob disappeared right before my eyes off screen. Where did he go!? This is trial and error the video game. There are no on screen clues to your goals or objectives. You’re on your own and you will spend most of the time experimenting with the game’s mechanics to figure out what needs to be done. This isn’t inherently a bad game design, but the bad controls and mediocre music make it feel like a chore. I was not having fun. I eventually rage quit. I ran off a cliff and the game did a goofy animation before I plummeted to my death. 

    The game is short, if you know what you’re doing. Out of curiosity, I looked up a complete play through and found it takes less than 25 minutes to complete it. So, the majority of the game is just experimenting with the jelly beans and exploring caverns with blind leaps of faith. I mean, if you’re wanting to play something different and spend most of your time wondering and experimenting, this game is fine. I personally couldn’t get into the controls and the music is not for me.