Super Meat Boy
Review
A fleshy platformer, pun intended
by Chris Priestman
reviewed on X360
Smells Like Bacon (cntd.)
The levels are well designed and test your control of the character in consistently new ways. The game advances in difficulty very appropriately so you always feel that you have the right skills for the job. As he slaps his meaty body around the level, Meat Boy leaves a trail of blood, acting as a point of reference when death means you will have to try again. On completing a level, a replay of all your attempts is shown so if you have died a hundred times you will be watching a hundred Meat Boy’s flying towards the end whilst only one finally makes it through. It makes for a hilarious sight that can be saved and watched back at a later time.
At the end of each chapter there is a boss that is usually defeated by using the hazards around you in combination with Meat Boy’s agility. Keeping with the light-hearted humour of the game, bosses range from a chainsaw with legs to a fast-paced poop named Brownie. The game unlocks the boss level after completing 17 of the chapters levels meaning you can come back to them later when you have improved.
The More The Merrier
You are being charged for this instalment of the Meat Boy franchise and the developers have added to the free package to make it worth your while. Obviously the game looks better than the original, but the retro style is preserved within Super Meat Boy through the inclusion of a Mario classic; warp zones. These will send you back in gaming history to a pixelated version of Meat Boy. In this zone you have three lives and to complete it you have to traverse a number of small but difficult levels. Finding these warp gates is half the fun and once found, they can be selected from the main menu, ridding you of the need to repeat half a level just to get to the warp gate.
Sometimes a warp gate will actually unlock a new character as well, as soon as you complete the warp zone level with them that is. There are 15 unlockable characters to play through the game as, each originating from another indie game. Some of them are only unlocked by collecting band aids throughout the levels and collecting all will take some effort. Each character can be played through every level and each has a different ability. This ability replaces Meat Boy’s default sprint with a character specific move. For instance, Tim from Braid can rewind time for 3 seconds and Gish from Gish can stick to surfaces. All these different characters change the game in a very profound way and will entice you to try beating the levels again, improving previous time.
More Than You Can Chew
If that sounds boring, then this is the time to confess to a little lie earlier in this article. By beating the par times, an alternate version is unlocked for each level within the Dark World. This means that there are 40 levels in each location, not 20. By transferring to the Dark World, each level is made even harder to really test your skills. With so much to do, it is good to know that the music in the game is varied and bound to add to your enjoyment.
Fans of the original may recall that Team Meat provided a map pack that included the best of the user-generated maps. Well, they plan on doing it again, making an editor available for the WiiWare, PC and Mac versions of the game. The editor is not available for the Xbox 360 version but there are plans to make the best maps available for download on Xbox Live Arcade at a later date.
A Feast Fit For A King
Super Meat Boy is a must buy for everyone that enjoys a challenge and is gifted with a fair amount of patience and a pinch of determination. The game can at times be hard but ultimately is a lot kinder than the classic retro platformers that inspired its creation. The only thing potentially missing is a co-op mode, perhaps in the same vein as Splosion Man’s but with so much content already in the game, it’s almost not worth mentioning.
Rating the game, I would rank Super Meat Boy up there with classics such as Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers, perhaps even beyond them. It is that impressive! It successfully delivers a fresh take on the platform genre, making it more enjoyable by providing modern gaming comforts. This is one of the best arcade titles released. Still skeptical? Try the original for free on your PC or download the trial. I warn you though, it’s addictive.
9.8
fun score
Pros
Outstanding simplicity and sharpness combined with brilliant level design. Huge amount of content.
Cons
Some may find it too challenging at times.
