#ishambardpresents

#IshambardPresents Starshot: Space Circus Fever #N64 Developer: Infogrammes I love a good 3D platformer, sadly, Starshot is not one of them. Presents done, cue ending theme. Right, you are probably wondering, what's the beef? I'll see what I can say in 700 characters. Floating space platforms are not a fun place to platform around. Planets are. >50% of jumps are over instant death pits Jumping is theoretical, not always a guarantee Same with activating flight mechanics No invulnerability frames after being hit Some puzzles are way too frustrating to execute Funky framerates Death is inevitable and repetitive to the point of screaming Just the entire last stage of the game, and awful escort/lure mechanics A god-damn sequel baiting negative ending I surprised myself there. Whilst the game has a bizarre sense of humour to it all, it doesn't make up for the suffering this one inflicted on you. Another one for the avoid at all costs pile. Save yourself, it is too late for me.

Watch out, I'm about to just tank my credibility! #IshambardPresents Rescue Heroes: Billy Blazes #GBA Developer: WayForward No, wait! Come back! Hear me out, please! A game based off a Fisher Price toy line has absolutely no right being as enjoyable as this game is. It's all perspective, I would have anticipated this being bottom of the barrel shovelware, but the comments I saw around the game lured me in. Okay, Billy's jawline drew me in, the comments locked me in. A simple platformer, seeing Billy putting out fires, gathering tools to clear obstacles and "fulton extracting" people to safety. Rinse, repeat for 11 stages. It's a tidy gameplay loop that is presented well, and at times provides a level of challenge. One stage has you scaling a building as fire rises from the bottom of the screen, it's surprisingly intense. Is the game easy? Yes, but it is also quite cosy and that's fine. Not all games need to be deep, challenging, emotional, or any combination of those three.