New Games on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg en-us Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, also known as Donald Starring in Maui Mallard in Europe, is a platform game, released in 1996 for the PC, Game Boy, Super NES(SNES) and Mega Drive/Genesis consoles. The game was developed by Eurocom and released by Disney Interactive. The game was one of the first games to be released under Disney Interactive.

Maui Mallard (played by Donald Duck) is a medium-boiled detective visiting a tropical island when the mysterious Shabum Shabum idol goes missing. Shabum Shabum is considered the island's native guardian spirit, and unless the idol is recovered, the whole island will explode. Maui is put on the case, and his investigations lead him through a creepy mansion to a native village, where Maui is sacrificed and thrown into a volcano as a sacrifice to the native gods. Maui survives the volcano, and the islanders put him through the "test of duckhood", which Maui passes, gaining the natives' trust. The natives tell Maui that the only one who knows where Shabum Shabum is has died long since, and Maui goes through the land of the dead to escort his soul into rest.

Besides typical platform game gameplay (running around, jumping from platform to platform), one of the game's most distinctive gameplay features is allowing to switch the player character's form to suit one's needs. The player begins the game as Maui, whose only mean of self-defence is an insect-launching pistol that can launch several forms of bugs, some of them combined for greater effect. However, once the player reaches the second level, Maui transforms into Cold Shadow, his ninja alter ego, who defends himself with short-range attacks using a staff. Cold Shadow's staff is also primarily used to explore the level further, such as climbing a narrow tunnel. After the second level, the player can switch back and forth between Maui and Cold Shadow at will, provided he has enough ninja tokens for the transformation. The amount of ninja tokens Maui or Cold Shadow holds determines Cold Shadow's strength when played as him. Some levels of the game, however, prevent Maui from transforming at all, as Cold Shadow cannot bungee jump on vines, for example, which forces the player to use Maui throughout the level.

]]> 02 Mar 2007 07:45:23 Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a video game released in 1994 for the Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis by Activision. It was ported to the Sega Mega-CD (1994), Sega 32X (1995), the Atari Jaguar (1995), PC (1995), and the Game Boy Advance (2001), with the last one ported by Majesco. Pitfall: TMA was also the first commercial game released for Windows 95.

In this game, the player takes the role of Pitfall Harry Jr., son of the hero of the original game, who has to find his kidnapped father.

An extra feature in all versions is the ability to play the original Pitfall! (the Atari 2600 version) after finding a secret doorway. The doorway can be found by looking for something that seems out of place. The Mega-CD, 32X and Windows ports contained extra (and expanded) levels and other enhancements over the earlier versions.

]]> 02 Mar 2007 06:57:03 Wolverine: Adamantium Rage is a 16-bit platform-action game released for both the Super NES and the Sega Mega Drive in 1994. The Genesis version was published by Acclaim and developed by Teeny Tiny games, while the Super Nintendo version had LJN as the publisher, and Bits Corporation as the development studio. Both versions of the title differed from one another in some key areas, but their story and gameplay remain largely similar.

The SNES version follows Wolverine as he receives a mysterious transmission via computer; someone or something has information about his past and arranges for them to meet at a undisclosed location in Canada. It's here where the game's first stage begins; a laboratory teeming with armed guards and sentry robots.

The Genesis version had a narrative that was a little more vague in its presentation. Wolverine is shown holding what looks like a crumpled newspaper, and expresses his desire for revenge. He then recounts the procedure that he underwent which bonded Adamantium to his bones. It's at this point where the same laboratory level begins without much explanation as to why, or how Wolverine got there.

The rest of both games see Wolverine chasing down details to his past while meeting and battling several villains and arch-enemies along the way.

Both versions share similarities with Nintendo's Metroid franchise, as Wolverine jumps and attacks through large multi-floored levels, attacking doors to give him access to new areas. It's also here were both versions have some major differences as well. The SNES version requires a set amount of enemies to be destroyed before entry to the next area is granted. The Genesis version however, has a countdown timer that expires if the player takes too long, where upon the Wolverine comic character Elsie Dee automatically finds Wolverine and kills him, wasting one of his 5 lives. Both games give Wolverine a percentage of his available health, always starting at 100%. Upon taking damage, his energy will recover overtime thanks to his mutant healing factor. The SNES version has this being a slower process, but the player can wait as long as they want to regain 100% health. Genesis users however don't have that luxury as the previously mentioned count down timer will keep them moving.

Wolverine also has different move sets based on what version the game is being played on. The SNES for example, has Wolverine being able to climb on any wall or ceiling with his claws, and is able to make springing leaps. The Genesis version has Wolverine being able to roll up into a ball and travel short distances, much like the Metroid heroine, Samus Aran.

Each stage is usually ended with a boss confrontation, and these differ from level to level between each version as well. The Genesis game also places more emphasis on basic puzzle solving, and not level navigation and enemy destruction like the SNES version does.

]]> 02 Mar 2007 05:35:54 Earthworm Jim 2 is a platform video game released in 1995. It is a sequel to the original Earthworm Jim.

Earthworm Jim 2 follows the exploits of annelid superhero Jim and his new sidekick Snott as they try to rescue Jim's beloved Princess What's-Her-Name from a forced marriage to the nefarious Psy-Crow. While chasing them across the universe, Jim comes across the summer homes of a number of villains from the first game, including Evil the Cat and Bob the Killer Goldfish.

The game originally appeared on the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES and PC, with enhanced versions later released on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was also ported to the Game Boy Advance.

Like the original game, Earthworm Jim 2 contains a lot of irreverent, random humor. It also features more diverse gameplay than the original, with each stage having a different style and mission, as well as various new weapons.

]]> 02 Mar 2007 05:09:24 X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse is a 1994 Super Nintendo fighting game by Capcom in which the X-Men must rescue mutants from captivity in the Genosha island complex. Each X-Man has a specific mission he or she must accomplish. Professor X issues an order which the X-Men must complete to finish their missions, but the levels may be played in any order. After that, Apocalypse (and later, Magneto) appears with the intention of destroying Genosha. In this case, the missions are shared by all characters (not specific) and the player can choose which X-Man suits better for the current mission.

]]> 02 Mar 2007 04:46:34 Mega Man X, released in 1993 by Capcom, is the first game in the Mega Man X series. The first subseries of the popular Mega Man series, it was made primarily as a stepping stone between the NES and SNES incarnations of the original series. In Japan, it is titled Rock Man X. It was released on the SNES first, then ported to the PC in 1995. The game was remade in 2006 as Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (Irregular Hunter X in Japan), for the PlayStation Portable.

The Mega Man series has always been an action game that focuses on "run-and-gun" gameplay. The player takes control of Mega Man X ("X" for short), a Maverick Hunter who seeks to stop Sigma's rebellion against humans. After an introductory stage, the player is presented with a stage selection screen that depicts eight Maverick boss characters.

After the player selects a Maverick to battle, X is teleported into the Maverick's base of operations. The player must dodge obstacles, destroy enemies and other hazards, and keep their life bar as high as possible. Defeating a stage and its boss Maverick rewards X with the boss's weapon, which can be used in a rock-paper-scissors fashion to defeat other boss characters. This mechanic is carried over from the Mega Man Classic series; Capcom maintained the tradition throughout the new series, with a few twists. In the X series, completing a stage may affect the environment of other stages, possibly making them easier or more hazardous.

]]> 02 Mar 2007 02:12:59