rman
The Grapist!!
- Mar 8, 2011
- 290
Story:
Super Meat Boy is about a wad of meat who has his girl friend (Bandage Girl) abducted by an evil fetus (Dr. Fetus) that survived abortion and wears a tuxedo robot suit (think Brain from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but in a spiffy suit). So now its up to Meat Boy to make his way through a series of sadicstic platformer worlds which Brain....I mean Dr Fetus concocted to kill MB.
The story works on the level that it gives you a goal; get to your girlfriend at the end of each stage. Other than that, its a game about completing the "platform". So the game is not very story intensive; told with short cutscenes at the beginning of each world and after completing the boss level of each world.
9/10 (for the originality of a meat boy vs a robotic fetus)
Gameplay:
This is the heart of SMB. SMB lives and dies in its gameplay. The best description of it is Super Mario Bros on crack. Its faster paced, way harder, ripe with puzzle, and full of ways to die.
Super Meat Boy starts you off rather easily by getting you used to its physics and basic "puzzles" before quickly plummeting you into platforming HELL. And it is HELL....but in a good way. Each level will have you gritting your teeth and have you dieing MULTIPLE times until the point of frustration. But each time you are able to finally complete a level you are filled with a sense of euphoria that makes you forget then endless stream of explitives and continue to the next level.
Though dieing should not scare you. Death is handled simply. You die, you spawn instantly at the start for another try. Then, as a taunt to futility, once you complete the level SMB will show the "successful" run through the level with each of the deaths shown simultaneously. This often results in watching TEAMS of meat boys streaming across the screen to grizzly deaths on saw blades, down pits, and other various means of torture while one reaches the goal.
As was metnioned previously, each level is a "puzzle." Though its not a puzzle in the classic puzzler sense, each level has a pattern to figure out. Once you have the pattern of the level down, it can be mastered and completed "easily." These puzzles are a series of platforms, islands, and walls that you jump between and slide down while avoiding missles, spinning blades, strange clones, spikes, strange gravity fields, and the standard pit.
As if each of these hazards wasn't bad enough, each level comes with a "target time." If you are able to complete the level within the target time, you are given an "A+" (which appears over the level on the world map). Each level in which an A+ has been earned allows the player to access the "dark world" version of that level. What is the dark world? Basically the same level but made even HARDER than before. And remember an acheivement it tied to completing the Dark World.
While in certain levels, the player can notice 2 additional things; portals and bandaids. By entering portals the player can access additional levels to unlock additional characters and more bandaids. Bandaids are collected and then used to cash in to unlock even more characters. Character can be chosen/swapped out for MB at the start of levels or while in the level. The collection of bandaids will only count if you are able to collect the bandaid AND successfully complete the level. While seemingly simple, bandaids can be placed in challenging locations.
Each of the characters have unique abilities. Meat Boy is fast and jumps phenomenally. Other characters have the ability to stick to walls, fly horizontally for a period of time, etc. Based on level design it may be advantageous to choose a character with a special ability over our trusty hero, Meat Boy.
Now, this game is hard, but its true strength comes in its physics engine. In a mind bendingly brutal game like this where you could literally die thousands of times before its completion, the physics could render the game un-playable. In this case, the physics engine is flawless. The characters are not "floaty" and if you want Meat Boy to arc forward and back a little, that is what he does. The game responds immediately to commands and becomes the game's strength.
10/10
Visuals:
The visuals are actually pretty simple. Its the standard high def 8/16-bit beauty with a high attention to detail. As meat boy runs, a blood trail fly up behind him like he is some type of hellish sea-doo streaming down the river of platformer hell. Each death is also detailed in all its glory. Each contact with a saw blade sends up a bloody splat and forever tinges the blades red. While its not "impressive" its up to snuff for what you look for.
8/10
Audio:
The audio can be summed up in one made up word.....MONOTASTIC!!! Its catchy, simplistic, and holds the frustrating atmosphere for you as you plummet to your death time and time again.
9/10
Summation:
At the end of the day, if you like platforming games and you like a challenge, then Super Meat Boy is for you. Its the most solid platformer I have ever played and stands at the pinnacle of XBLA games available. For those lucky enough to grab it when it was first released you got it at 800 MSP (a steal). It currently stands at 1200 MSP.
Final Rating: 10/10!!!!
[video=youtube;N9WyFfTjcio]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9WyFfTjcio[/video]
Super Meat Boy is about a wad of meat who has his girl friend (Bandage Girl) abducted by an evil fetus (Dr. Fetus) that survived abortion and wears a tuxedo robot suit (think Brain from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but in a spiffy suit). So now its up to Meat Boy to make his way through a series of sadicstic platformer worlds which Brain....I mean Dr Fetus concocted to kill MB.
The story works on the level that it gives you a goal; get to your girlfriend at the end of each stage. Other than that, its a game about completing the "platform". So the game is not very story intensive; told with short cutscenes at the beginning of each world and after completing the boss level of each world.
9/10 (for the originality of a meat boy vs a robotic fetus)
Gameplay:
This is the heart of SMB. SMB lives and dies in its gameplay. The best description of it is Super Mario Bros on crack. Its faster paced, way harder, ripe with puzzle, and full of ways to die.
Super Meat Boy starts you off rather easily by getting you used to its physics and basic "puzzles" before quickly plummeting you into platforming HELL. And it is HELL....but in a good way. Each level will have you gritting your teeth and have you dieing MULTIPLE times until the point of frustration. But each time you are able to finally complete a level you are filled with a sense of euphoria that makes you forget then endless stream of explitives and continue to the next level.
Though dieing should not scare you. Death is handled simply. You die, you spawn instantly at the start for another try. Then, as a taunt to futility, once you complete the level SMB will show the "successful" run through the level with each of the deaths shown simultaneously. This often results in watching TEAMS of meat boys streaming across the screen to grizzly deaths on saw blades, down pits, and other various means of torture while one reaches the goal.
As was metnioned previously, each level is a "puzzle." Though its not a puzzle in the classic puzzler sense, each level has a pattern to figure out. Once you have the pattern of the level down, it can be mastered and completed "easily." These puzzles are a series of platforms, islands, and walls that you jump between and slide down while avoiding missles, spinning blades, strange clones, spikes, strange gravity fields, and the standard pit.
As if each of these hazards wasn't bad enough, each level comes with a "target time." If you are able to complete the level within the target time, you are given an "A+" (which appears over the level on the world map). Each level in which an A+ has been earned allows the player to access the "dark world" version of that level. What is the dark world? Basically the same level but made even HARDER than before. And remember an acheivement it tied to completing the Dark World.
While in certain levels, the player can notice 2 additional things; portals and bandaids. By entering portals the player can access additional levels to unlock additional characters and more bandaids. Bandaids are collected and then used to cash in to unlock even more characters. Character can be chosen/swapped out for MB at the start of levels or while in the level. The collection of bandaids will only count if you are able to collect the bandaid AND successfully complete the level. While seemingly simple, bandaids can be placed in challenging locations.
Each of the characters have unique abilities. Meat Boy is fast and jumps phenomenally. Other characters have the ability to stick to walls, fly horizontally for a period of time, etc. Based on level design it may be advantageous to choose a character with a special ability over our trusty hero, Meat Boy.
Now, this game is hard, but its true strength comes in its physics engine. In a mind bendingly brutal game like this where you could literally die thousands of times before its completion, the physics could render the game un-playable. In this case, the physics engine is flawless. The characters are not "floaty" and if you want Meat Boy to arc forward and back a little, that is what he does. The game responds immediately to commands and becomes the game's strength.
10/10
Visuals:
The visuals are actually pretty simple. Its the standard high def 8/16-bit beauty with a high attention to detail. As meat boy runs, a blood trail fly up behind him like he is some type of hellish sea-doo streaming down the river of platformer hell. Each death is also detailed in all its glory. Each contact with a saw blade sends up a bloody splat and forever tinges the blades red. While its not "impressive" its up to snuff for what you look for.
8/10
Audio:
The audio can be summed up in one made up word.....MONOTASTIC!!! Its catchy, simplistic, and holds the frustrating atmosphere for you as you plummet to your death time and time again.
9/10
Summation:
At the end of the day, if you like platforming games and you like a challenge, then Super Meat Boy is for you. Its the most solid platformer I have ever played and stands at the pinnacle of XBLA games available. For those lucky enough to grab it when it was first released you got it at 800 MSP (a steal). It currently stands at 1200 MSP.
Final Rating: 10/10!!!!
[video=youtube;N9WyFfTjcio]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9WyFfTjcio[/video]
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