Ice Climber

   Ice Climber is a vertical platform game for the NES from 1985. It is the second game in the Ice Climber series. The story is that the two ice climbers Popo and Nana's vegetables have been stolen by a condor. They have to climb 32 of mountains to get them back.
   The first thing I noticed was that the graphics are really bad. I also noticed that you can skip right to the last level or do any level before that. The music also was pretty good. You play as Popo and run around hitting things with a mallet. The game is pretty easy but it's hard to get the bonus sometimes. The goal is to reach the top of the mountain and dodge various enemies. Jumping on monsters does not kill them by the way. I never spent the time to beat the game, but I don't really fell that I would get anything by doing so, the levels are so similar. Maybe I'll just skip to the last level and find out. The last level is nothing special except extremely difficult. I guess that means there is a good difficulty arc, but I actually can't beat that level and I tried five times. There is no extra things to do after you've beat the game.

SCORES

Gameplay-6 The idea is good but sometimes the controls don't work or you fall into a trap that will kill you repeatedly until you get a game over. Also you can't jump on enemies.

Graphics-3 The graphics were really bad

Replayability-7 The game isn't that great, but really you could keep playing the levels over and over.

Size-8 There are a lot of levels and some of them are really challenging so it's pretty big.

OVERALL SCORE: 6

WarioWare D.I.Y.

   WarioWare D.I.Y. is mini-game compilation and design game for the DS from 2010. It is the seventh game in the WarioWare series. The story is that Dr. Crygor is playing a video game when all the characters jump out and have a stampede. He wakes up and invents the Super MakerMatic 2, a machine that allows you to make mini-games, records, and comics. Meanwhile Wario breaks his TV and takes it to Dr. Crygor. He sees the MakerMatic and thinking it is a TV tries to trade in his old one. Crygor tells him what it really is and Wario buys one and founds WarioWare Inc. He hires you to be his employee.
   The game has a clever title-screen where you tap on the screen and choose where the logo goes. After that you go to the main menu which has 5 things. D.I.Y. Shop WarioWare, Inc., D.I.Y. Studio, Distribution Center, and Options Garage. You start the game by drawing a character for a pre-made game WarioQuest. After drawing an enemy there are many more "Jobs" you can take drawing things. After taking lessons in WarioWare, Inc. you can make games, comics, and music. Also you can play some professionally made games, most of the best ones from 9-Volt. You can get games over the Internet, but I don't use this feature often because they don't post new ones anymore. There are tons of cool features like the  D.I.Y. Forum (not actually a forum), The achievements are good and every time you get one you unlock a new professional record, The assembly dojo, and allot more. The graphics are fine but visibly pixely.

SCORES

Gameplay-10 Everthing is perfect the game control, the record control, the menus...

Graphics-7 The graphics were fine but pixely all the time

Replayability-10 You can keep making and playing games not forever but for a really long time

Size-9 I don't know how they could have made this game any bigger, except add more storage.

OVERALL SCORE: 9

Mario Power Tennis

   Mario Power Tennis is a sports game for the Gamecube from 2004. It is the third game in the Mario Tennis series. There's no story but the opening cut-scene shows Mario and Luigi beating Wario and Waluigi. The next scene they go to the Peach Dome and find that they have been crossed out from the tennis tourney bracket. They get mad and draw on the picture of Mario and Luigi. The cops chase them and they end up in a strange room with Bowser. He trains them to become better tennis players while the tourney continues. At the final match they launch bombs at everyone, but Mario and Luigi hit them back at them and they explode.

   I decided to play a tournament as Bowser Jr. The first match was really easy. I beat Diddy Kong without losing a point. They didn't get too much harder after that, but after beating the Mushroom Cup you can play the Flower Cup then the Star cup etc. which get harder each time. There was a good selection of 14 starting characters, and several more that had to be unlocked. Also every now and then, after a nice play I assume, you get a special shot. There are two types of special shots, the long range shot which is good for getting balls you couldn't normally reach, and the power shot which allows you to hit a ball that is harder to hit than a normal shot. The gameplay was fun, and the graphics were good. The controls worked well most of the time, except sometimes when you are trying to hit the ball it charges a shot. It is a sports game, so you can play it as much as you want without getting bored.

SCORES

Gameplay-8 The game was really fun, but the problem with charging shots instead of swinging happens too often.

Graphics-8 The game mostly looked good but words and some picture looked slightly pixely.

Replayability-10 The game doesn't change at all however much you play it.

Size-6 Few tourneys that can all be beaten quickly make this game a little small.

OVERALL SCORE: 8