Toy Story 3 Review: Pixar Isn’t Perfect

Like the original Star Wars trilogy or The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Pixar gives Toy Story 3 the kind of closure that can only come from an epic storyline. From an emotional standpoint, Toy Story 3 hits the mark in ways that only Pixar can by providing a highly fulfilling ending that wraps up fifteen years of aging.

Pixar is known for its precise, clean, and well-done films - all AAA efforts and box office monsters. Unlike Disney’s past work, few Pixar films are ever predictable. So while Toy Story 3 is a fantastic film thanks to its fantastic franchise, as a stand-alone film it begins to show a chink in Pixar’s armor: mediocre James Bond-style action sequences that bore more than excite. Toy Story 3 is nowhere near as original as the first film nor as genuinely heart-felt and sincere as the second. In fact, dare I say, Toy Story 3 is even predictable at times. As a stand-alone film this might be Pixar’s worst yet.

Toy Store 3, however, does not stand alone. It stands on the shoulders of giants. Toy Story literally re-invented animation and made Pixar a household name. Toy Story 2 let Pixar flex its writing muscle and deliver a story-based sequel far better than the original. For today’s twenty-somethings generation Toy Story is an unmistakable part of our history and identity, a movie that captivated us as children. What makes Toy Story a classic film is the characters - Woody, Buzzy, Rex, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head and even Andy. These characters are timeless, charming, loveable - everything great characters should be. Thus it is these characters that make Toy Story 3 a great film, not the film itself. We care about these characters and want them to succeed - which they do amirably.

Ultimately Toy Story 3 is a film about its characters, and like the trilogy itself, characters who grow, change and mature. For a generation of kids who grew up with Toy Story, the third installment is a bittersweet sendoff to not only these amazing characters, but to our childhood as a whole. There is a strong message here about aging, maturing, and finding one’s place in the world. Letting go is hard, and here we see these toys - the affections of our youth - learning to let go of their past and find happiness. This mirror story of our lives is brilliantly pulled off thanks to a sincere voice cast and a fantastic script.

Overall Toy Story 3 may not always be great throughout, but it ends with a classic one-two Pixar punch in the gut that feels as genuine as the toys we now leave behind. This is not merely the closing of a storyline; for plenty of twenty-somethings like myself, this is the kind of letting go and the kind of emotional closure that can only end in tears.

Week-In-Review: June 19th, 2010

Summer seems to be here with temperatures constantly in the 80's and plenty of sunshine. The transition to summer was pretty damn gradual since some of April and most of May were also in the seventies and eighties. Still, I am not complaining: it has been a blast so far. Here is my week-in-review:

Work: I have been steady and consistent at work, which is enough for me. I am on a steady pace to get several projects done on time and I am learning a little more ASP.NET every day. Almost two years into my job I am still enjoying it greatly.

Games: 2010 has been a busy year for games and this month has been especially busy. Last week came across another new game, Puzzle Quest, and immediately became addicted. I downloaded it for free on my iPod touch to try it out and less than a week later I had purchased it on Steam and installed it on every computer I own. If you have not played it yet it comes highly-recommended.

Yola: I began Yola almost two months ago, and it has been evolving quite well since then. I spent a good portion of this week finalizing the feature-set of Yola, so I find it worthwhile to post an update on the project. My personal take on the social networking idea is almost ready for an alpha-phase of testing. Right now it has the following basic features:

• a profile page
  
• a status updater (similar to Twitter)
• browse members / add members (see all Yola members and add/remove friends)
  
• image uploader (max of 50 images at a time per profile)
• image gallery (for friends to view your images)
• profile manager (for editing your basic profile and privacy settings)

Yola is more Twitter than Facebook at the moment, and that is exactly where I want it to be. I am ultimately looking for a basic networking tool that allows me to post status updates and host a few select images online, all the while allowing me to control how each piece of information is shared with the world. I hope to have this online by the end of 2010 for my own private use and in early 2011 have it open for others to use as well.

Outside: Despite being so busy inside with games and programming, I have found plenty of time to be outside to enjoy the weather. I have a rock-solid routine of going for a daily jog or walk during the work week. On the weekends I spend a good portion of my free time on the road with friends or family while making sure to get Elli to the park both Saturday and Sunday. This constant activity has a major bonus side-effect: I am slowly but surely losing a little weight here and there, now down eight pounds from where I was in March. I am not actively trying to lose weight, I am just trying to be smart in striking a balance between what I eat and how active I am. This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change. As much as I hate that little buzz-line, it pretty much rings true for me right now. This past week was notable because of the following...

Canoe Trip: I went back to this summer's hot-spot, Mongo, Indiana, for canoeing via Trading Post Canoe, Kayak and Campgrounds. The 13-mile trip that we (Colleen, Kristin and Laura) did yesterday was quite fun. This was my second time canoeing there this year, and this trip was far less hectic than the first - dodging debris and bends in the river can be quite a workout for the mind and body. Despite some awkward sunburns on my legs, I had a blast, and I believe everybody else did as well. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who might be interested. Here's the website for more information.

And with that, I am off to walk Elli!

B3 out.

Double Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Super Mario Bros. X

And now for something completely different. Today I present two separate reviews of two Super Mario games, each with a very different background.

First is Super Mario Galaxy 2, the follow-up to 2007's excellent Super Mario Galaxy, and it is one hell of a ride from start to finish.

Second is a game that I recently stumbled upon by chance: a Mario clone called Super Mario Bros. X, an independent Windows XP game based on the Mario universe. I was expecting a mild diversion from this freebie; instead I have discovered one of the best 2D Mario games ever made.

In both games reviewed below we see Mario at his best: in 3D from Nintendo and in 2D by one indie developer, however unlicensed it may be. Quite honestly, I have not had this much fun with Mario since 1996.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Sometimes the impact and impression that a game leaves on the psyche can take years to develop. The Harest Moon series is a good example for me: fun, simple games that I continually revisit year after year. Sometimes the impact and impression is immediate. 1998's Ocarina of Time and Half-Life are solid examples: two games that define my love of the medium. Now comes a game that transcends either path and is simply the best of the best: Super Mario Galaxy 2.

SMG2 gets brownie points right off the bat by being simpler and more streamlined than its predecessor. While the first Super Mario Galaxy was a blast to play, it was also weighed down by its overworld "hub" and occasionally vague goals. No more. Each of SMG2's levels have two or three stars to collect and the levels are presented in the classic overworld map format, allowing for quick access to the fun of gathering stars.

Variety is SMG2's strongest point, with no two levels sharing ideas nor gameplay concepts. Each new level brings new ideas to the table: new places to explore, new tricks to try and new hiding places for each star. It is impossible to become bored gathering the first seventy stars (the amount required to beat the game) and it will be quite a challenge to gather the remaining stars necessary for 100% completion. If Mario games have felt easier and less challenging over the past ten years, SMG2 will reset that notion and provide plenty of challenge.

Yoshi is a major addition to this game, and he is used in many levels, although not nearly enough. His tongue mechanics use the Wii Remote pointer to pick out specific targets and specific objects, which is similar to Mario's, but allow for a whole new set of Yoshi-specific power-ups and abilities.

Technically SMG2 is the Wii's opus: the graphics are beautiful and silky-smooth. Colors pop with bold, bright hues and no bleeding whatsoever. Anti-aliasing takes a backseat in favor of more advanced effects, but it is hardly missed. The music of SMG2 is an orchestrated masterpiece, almost as if Nintendo is apologizing for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube years of tinny, MIDI-based music tracks. Where SMG2 really shines, however, is the control. Controlling Mario has never felt so good, so precise, and so perfect. With a solid camera system and a comfortable control layout, Mario's missed jumps and platforming blunders are your own - there is no blaming the game.

SMG2 is not a new, groundbreaking game - it resembles Super Mario Galaxy far too much to be considered new or groundbreaking. However, instead of trying to redefine the platforming genre yet again, Nintendo simply refines it to nothing less than perfection. This game is all about having fun in its purest form, and to this end Super Mario Galaxy 2 has exceeded all expectations.

Super Mario Bros. X

I have played quite a few Super Mario Bros. knockoffs in the last ten years and my opinion of all of them has been the same: crappy. I can understand Nintendo's desire to tightly control what games Mario appears in, because some of the past Mario games that I have played online have poor graphics, terrible controls, and outright boring gameplay.

Because of these past experiences, Super Mario Bros. X had everything going against it when I downloaded it. Nearly a week later my fears have been put to rest. This is indie-developed fan game is as good as 2D Mario gets.

SMBX is built on the foundation laid by what is perhaps one of the best 2D Mario game ever released: 1993's Super Mario All-Stars. All-Stars was a compilation of the four Super Mario Bros. NES games. SMBX essentially steals this game's graphics, blends it with Super Mario World's physics, and adds every 2D Mario gameplay innovation of the last twenty years into one amazing game.

There are two major forces at work here: nostalgia and design.

An undeniable appeal exists with the original 2D Mario games from the 1980's and early 1990's, and SMBX is drenched in this appeal. Thanks to the re-use of All-Star's graphics set, the look and sound of this new game will tear at your fondest memories of Mario as if it were 1993 all over again. While there are a couple of extremely original levels that borrow from other Nintendo franchises (Metroid, Zelda), for the most part this is classic Mario look and feel from top to bottom. This sort of nostalgic presentation goes a long way in establishing this game's appeal.

Classic Mario graphics and sound would be nothing, however, if the game itself was not fun to play, and SMBX does what Nintendo did not: given gamers an absolutely incredible blend of classic Mario level design and new, original designs that bring the series into the 21st century. This is not the New Super Mario Bros. series. These Mario levels do not always trot left-to-right. Instead, much like Super Mario Galaxy 2, the game constantly treats gamers to an onslaught of new ideas, new items to play with, new challenges to overcome, and new level designs that have yet to be seen in gaming. The variety and original ideas are almost overwhelming at first, but even forty levels into the game there are still new ways to play.. Platforming challenges are extremely fine-tuned and pulled off with a perfect blend of challenge and "just-one-more-try" addiction.

Exploration is important in SMBX, although it is never necessary. Not only are there dozens of new level designs to try out, there are many levels with Super Mario World-style hidden goals that open hidden paths and hidden levels. If opening new challenges does not work for you, most levels have hidden items or alternate paths that can provide much-needed power-ups or extra lives.

If there is anything to complain about, it is technical. SMBX's physics are heavily based on the Super Mario World game engine, and for the most part are spot-on. However something feels just slightly off with regard to hit-detection and projectile physics. Enemies seem to bring death from the left or right of a jump a little too easily - as if their hit-detection box is a few pixels too large. The same goes for projectile physics. SMBX has added a fantastic variable-direction throwing mechanism that allows Mario to toss objects in a variety of directions, yet the trajectories always seem a bit off, as if gravity is too strong. These are minor quirks that most gamers can adjust to, but die-hard Mario fans will notice the inconsistencies nonetheless.

And now for the bombshell. SMBX includes a full-featured level editor. This is no rough, clumsy ROM-hack or hex editor. This is a tile-based point-and-click editor that lets the average gamer control every aspect of level design: background image, music, tilesets, enemy behavior, triggers for events, world map design, warp points - everything. Most interesting is the mix of games. The editor provides all the graphics, enemies, music, and images from all four Mario games that SMBX is based on, so a level can feature elements from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, and Super Mario World all at once. As a bonus, music and some graphics from Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Mario RPG, and Super Mario 64 are available in the editor as well, which expands the Mario goodness to beyond-orgasmic. I have no doubt that creative minds will be in this editor far more than the actual game.

Overall, Super Mario Bros. X comes highly recommended. While Nintendo will undoubtedly shut down this indie project one day, I would rather them sweep it up and release it as a full-fledged Mario game. It reeks of Mario magic, both past and present, and does so with such grace, originality, and endearing nostalgia that it can be called nothing less than the best 2D Mario game ever produced.

You may download Super Mario Bros. X from this website, and if it is pulled by the time you read this review, you may contact me directly and I will provide you with options for acquiring this fantastic game.

A Small Hiatus

I've been on a small hiatus from blogging thanks to several new "pillars" in my life that take up a lot of my time. Between programming and learning new technologies (Yola, PHP), work (lots to get done), and gaming (Super Mario Bros. X and SMG 2), I have not been able to get any writing done whatsoever.

I'll be back soon, I promise!

Super Mario Bros. X

Super Mario Bros. X is an unlicensed Super Mario Bros. clone developed for Windows.

It should not exist due to legal reasons, but I am glad it does exist: Super Mario Bros. X does what Nintendon't.

2009 and 2010 have been great years for Mario games with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 seeing releases. These are both very good games, with the latter being one of the best gaming has to offer. What these two games lack, however, is a comfortable familiarity that comes with Super Mario Bros. X.

Using assets from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario RPG and Super Mario 64, SMBX is the Mario game that I have been waiting for: a return to proper 16-bit platforming fun that has been lacking since 1991's Super Mario World. Everything is here - the graphics, the sounds, the level design, the exploration - that make the Mario games of yesteryear among my favorite, so it is great to see a new game such as this appear.

Even better, the developer has a solid grasp on Mario's history and comes through with fantastic level design throughout and a multiplayer-mode that appears to be implemented better than that in NSMBW. I have yet to play multiplayer, but I intend to very soon.

The only negative critique I can level at the game thus far is that despite overall very good level design that is steeped in classic Mario themes, there are some original experiments that do not go so well and become boring quickly.

With an easy-to-use level editor that will take years off my life, I do not see any sunlight hitting my skin for a long time to come, or at least as long as this gem exists. I am sure that one day Nintendo will cease-and-desist this game to oblivion, but until then download and love this amazing throwback to Mario's gaming heyday.

Super Mario Bros. X

B3 out.