What platformer are you playing now?

[MC Rex Rexler]

Were they bad? I have great memories of the Gex games, but I haven't touched them in a decade.

Well, initial reviews were average and some folks I've spoken with recently feel they haven't aged well at all. I'll admit, the control is pretty wonky, but they were some of my favorite rentals when I was a kid, so that may factor in to why I still love them.

[dogman91]

I played Gex: Enter the Gecko this past January and it was great! The people trashing it have no patience for the offputting controls. The first two levels in the first area leave a bad impression (especially the Toon level; the music in that is horrible and so is the level design! Ugh!), but it just takes pulling through those two to get to the good stuff. The levels beyond that are really enjoyable IMO. It helps to understand what the collectables are and how the game works in general too to avoid frustration. Just expect really bad camera control is all. It easily ranks among Crash 1 and Spyro 1 in terms of it's PS1 cartoony feel and surpasses them in some ways in terms of variety (only the FIRST games of those series though I'd say).

My favorite level is the first Kung Fu Theater, that ones pretty dang fun.

[Gamerforlife]

Anyone else feel like this was an AMAZING year for platformers? I mean, old school, hob and bop, upbeat, colorful platformers. Rayman, Sly 4, Ratchet and Clank, Tearaway, Puppeteer, Ducktales Remastered, Castle of Illusion HD, a new Mario game, Knack, etc.

It actually feels like a bit of a renaissance. It wasn't that long ago that people proclaimed those types of games a dead genre. A lot of games this year reminded me of fun times playing Crash Bandicoot on the PS1 or Sonic on the Genesis.

The genre just came back strong this year

[brunoafh]

Were they bad? I have great memories of the Gex games, but I haven't touched them in a decade.

I played through the trilogy a few years ago. I too had fond memories of them back in the day. The first one holds up okay, nothing remarkable, but a fun game. The other two were pretty bad, but then again I dislike 3d platformers (I can't play any of them from this era but Mario 64), so it could have just been my bias. There are worse 3d platformers, but let's just say I have no intention of ever playing them again.

[Auron_Amarth]

It actually feels like a bit of a renaissance. It wasn't that long ago that people proclaimed those types of games a dead genre. A lot of games this year reminded me of fun times playing Crash Bandicoot on the PS1 or Sonic on the Genesis.

The genre just came back strong this year

That's awesome news. More platformers, less FPS please

I hope that rumor about a Mario 64 HD release on Wii U turns out to be true. That would be the tipping point for me getting a Wii U.

[AppleQueso]

I hope that rumor about a Mario 64 HD release on Wii U turns out to be true. That would be the tipping point for me getting a Wii U.

I seriously doubt it. Remaking an N64 game would pretty much necessitate them rebuilding the whole game from scratch as none of those assets would be reusable. Add that to the fact that the rumor in question says that it will be part of a larger "budget" line of N64 remakes, I find it flat out unbelievable.

But even that aside, has any Nintendo rumor ever panned out, especially recently? They're notoriously tight lipped, I can't remember a single game from them coming out that was actually specifically rumored before any official announcement.

[BoringSupreez]

I hope that rumor about a Mario 64 HD release on Wii U turns out to be true. That would be the tipping point for me getting a Wii U.

I seriously doubt it. Remaking an N64 game would pretty much necessitate them rebuilding the whole game from scratch as none of those assets would be reusable. Add that to the fact that the rumor in question says that it will be part of a larger "budget" line of N64 remakes, I find it flat out unbelievable.

But even that aside, has any Nintendo rumor ever panned out, especially recently? They're notoriously tight lipped, I can't remember a single game from them coming out that was actually specifically rumored before any official announcement.

Before WW HD was announced, everyone figured Majora's Mask was next in line for a remake. They really do a great job keeping secrets, at least compared to Sony and Microsoft.

[samsonlonghair]

I seriously doubt it. Remaking an N64 game would pretty much necessitate them rebuilding the whole game from scratch as none of those assets would be reusable.

[AppleQueso]

I seriously doubt it. Remaking an N64 game would pretty much necessitate them rebuilding the whole game from scratch as none of those assets would be reusable.

Yeah, what's acceptable to reuse on a system that's effectively a portable N64 equivalent power wise (okay, it's a good bit better than that, but you get my drift) isn't at all the same thing as what's acceptable to reuse on an HD console.

The DS remake didn't even need to worry about bumping the resolution up. They also redid all the models and it also wasn't a budget release.

[samsonlonghair]

I don't really believe the silly rumor either; I'm just playing Devil's Advocate.