Originally Posted by
metalcasket
AWESOME Land; the heartfelt story of a man and his bike.
I know what you're thinking, right? "Ugh...another Mario clone on the App Store? Moving along." Your typical App Store Mario clone has some of the following traits: Levels which feel a little too familar (if not exactly the same as those in Mario), boxes that can be hit from below that magically produce a power-up and the consumption of a certain something that makes you grow, right?
After a few minutes with AWESOME Land, you'll notice you've never seen those levels anywhere else, you can't hit boxes from below, there are no power-ups, and Manley doesn't grow bigger. Even though he probably reminds you of Mario, Manley's pretty different. He may be a little overweight, causing meat to pop out of crates when he jumps on them and yes, that meat does allow him to be hit one more time (perhaps soft cushioning around his genitalia? >_> Oh wow...meat, genitals...what am I talking about here? BACK ON TOPIC!). Yes, Manley has a mustache, he jumps on bad guys' heads and maybe his bike is in another cas...I mean alien base. That's it...seriously. If you look at things that way, you could probably get away from an explosive Virtual Boy weilding Nintendo fanboy by telling him AWESOME Land is a parody, not a clone. Lep's World is a clone, Super World Adventures is a clone...this is not Mario under a different skin. Heck, calling this a parody isn't even fair...it honestly feels like a tribute to gaming's past.
Now: The game itself. I just wanna start by saying that the controls are abso-mother****ing-lutely perfect. I don't remember the last iOS game I've played that actually feels this smooth. It feels like you have buttons under your fingers and every mistake you do is by your fault and not the controls. As far as I'm concerned, the positioning is perfect (for iPhone at least...has anyone with an iPad tried this yet?), they're responsive and visually, they don't get in the way of gameplay at all.
The visuals are something else. Really. If you take a look at the first level with your iPhone sitting far away from you, it may come off as identical to Mario perhaps, but the closer you get, the details are astounding for how simple they are. I was hoping we wouldn't get a clear image of our loveable Manley because honestly, he's a little creepy...but there he is on the main menu in full retina glory, with his weird hair and massive eye...just staring at you like he's out to get you! He's just as clear in-game and I guess it says a lot when the bad guys are actually cuter than the protagonist. XD The levels stay fresh with variations in the background and foreground over the course of the game's five worlds, whether it's flamethrowers in tight passages, clouds and blocks that are accessible high in the sky or moving platforms. There's not much of a difference between levels, but it's more than enough.
You'd expect a game like this to have chiptunes, but it doesn't. That's a good thing. The game's soundtrack consists of a hard rock/heavy metal vibe that's very fitting...especially in the alien bases. If I were to change anything with the music, I wouldn't have the song start from the beginning each time you die. It gets somewhat tedious when you're constantly dying...
...yes, constantly. :D The first few levels are NOTHING in comparison to what you get in the last world, and honestly, there's some brilliant level design in this game...something completely void of in other Mario clones (teehee :p). Seriously...the last world will have you pulling your arm hair out each and every time you see that massive traffic light (signaling the end), only to die mere inches away from some stupid asshole bee that just happens to ldhfjkhsdklfhj piss you off. >_> Also, at first glance, the last boss is impossible...but there's always a way. ;) It's not an impossible game, but there was some clear thinking behind the levels in the game. No offense to whoever...but compare this to Lep's World and you'll be laughing at game for quite a while.
Also, this may sound a little weird, but I just had to comment on it. In one level, the game introduces this nifty little "gameplay mechanic" where there are seemingly possessed springs that follow you around underneath you (don't get the wrong idea...I'm over-exaggerating) and it's shockingly creepy and you never quite grasp what's going on, but it works really, really well...and as far as I'm concerned, I've never seen that in a game before.
I just wanna say that this game was a bargain at $2.99, and it's even better now at $1.99 and honestly...you're not going to find a better "clone" out there. Mario isn't coming to iOS, and this...without a shadow of a doubt is by far, way ahead of other similar platformers. I know I'm sorta contradicting what I said earlier, but you know what I mean. Unless you feel like you're killing baby Goombas with the mere thought of buying this blasphemous clone, you'd be doing yourself a huge favor by buying it.
For you wrestling fans on TA: HE IS MANLEY AND HE IS...AWEEEEEEEEESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!
