by Eternal Rain » 01 Jan 2013 04:35
(apologies in advance for grammar or spelling mistakes, typed this late at night and didn't proofread, and at the time of typing this I really need to just hit the hay)
Should- Battalion Wars 2
Whenever people talked about underrated gems on the Wii, this is one that's very often overlooked, even criminally so, because while everyone will mention gems like Zack and Wiki, this game, which actually was released during the same time frame, is so overlooked it never makes those lists ("run on sentences, because I couldn't think of a proper way to break it up"). The game is of course a sequel to the original "Battalion Wars" for the Gamecube, a alternate take on Nintendo's "Wars" series of strategy games. While most games in this series are turn based strategy games like Fire Emblem, these games combined RTS elements with third person shooting and controllable vehicles. The first game was good, but still had plenty of room for improvement. This is where I feel the sequel really shines, as it feels like a great example of "even better sequel." It keeps everything that was good in the first game like the multiple units you can control and varying maps, but also adds many more RTS elements, like being able to capture bases and gain extra resources, control multiple nations (first game stuck mainly to one, only using another for bonus missions), and the addition of sea and air units (I admit my memories of the first game are slightly fuzzy, but I'm fairly certain it didn't have any of that).
The game also made good use of the Wii remote for commanding units and using IR aiming for the third person shooting. Odd thing to mention, but the game also turned an annoying character from the first game into a much better character this time around (forgot her name, sadly, all I know is that the first game she might as well been named "military commander Barbie," but the second game made her more of a straight up action girl with a new look and new VA). Combine all of this with a fun story that doesn't take itself completely seriously, and it was just a fun game all around. The game even leaves itself open for the possibility of sequels. It's a shame the game pretty much bombed sales wise (only sold over 300,000 copies over a FIVE year period, never even got a "Nintendo Selects" re-release like some other 2007 Nintendo releases), because I really want to see a Battalion Wars 3 on the Wii U. I guess we could still get a good ol' Advance Wars game, but I feel that it's more likely we'll be seeing it on the 3DS.
Shouldn't play- Spyro: Year of the Dragonfly
Yep I'm gonna harp on a game that's now over a decade old. You know how Broly is always hating on Other M? Well... this game is MY Other M. I was a big fan of the Spyro games that Insomniac made for the PS1, and of course couldn't wait for the fourth game. Sure it wasn't being made by Insomniac, but it did still have the same composer as the first three games so part of me was hopeful that maybe it was also being worked on by at least a few other Insomniac devs. Unfortunately it looks like the composer was the only returning staff member. To make matters worse, Sierra, the game's publisher, forced the game to be rushed out for the Christmas season in 2002, so as a result planned content like the return of Gnasty Gnorc, many more levels and power ups, and fixes to the load times and graphics were never implemented. Of course... at the time I did not know any of this. I was just an ignorant 12 year old who was eagerly awaiting both this game and Wind Waker. Take a really good guess which game ended up being bad, and which one was good. Needless to say, I was glad Wind Waker came out later so that way I could rid myself of the disappointment Spyro 4 left me with. Poor level design, poor graphics, story was abysmal (hey the first three games weren't exactly award winners story wise either, but at least those games had satisfying ones anyway), ending was crappy as hell, new power ups were underutilized, and the game has LOADING SCREENS FOR THE LOADING SCREENS! You heard me right. Worst part was that this was a birthday gift, so I couldn't just tell my parents how much I hated the game, because I was worried I'd seem ungrateful (heck they even got me TimeSplitters 2 as an early birthday gift just a month before).
So yeah... my loathing for this game is probably on par with what Broly feels about Other M, so at least he and I have THAT in common (even if I like Other M).
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you should try as much games as you can 
