When indie developer Choice Provisions released Bit.Trip Presents Runner2: Future Legend of
Rhythm Alien in early 2013, it quickly emerged as one of my favorite launch-window games
for the still-fledgling Wii U thanks to its combination of elegantly simple gameplay,
excellent pacing, a visual style that was as eye-catching as it was minimalistic, and
— perhaps most importantly — a wonderful, staggeringly uplifting soundtrack that tied
the whole experience together and drove it home.
Now, just over five years later, CommanderVideo and his pals are back in the comparatively
simply named Runner3.
Despite the fact that the Bit.Trip brand has been scrubbed from Runner3's title and is
barely mentioned within the game itself for reasons I can't fathom, spending just a
few minutes with Runner3 leaves no room for doubt that this is indeed a new Bit.Trip Runner
game.
In fact, it picks up pretty much exactly where Runner2 left off, with CommanderVideo and
friends in hot pursuit of the Timbletot, a recurring mechanical supervillain who was
first established as the series' main antagonist way back in the original Bit.Trip Runner.
But like pretty much any Bit.Trip game, you don't need to know about all that history
to jump right in and start playing.
Runner3, like Runner2 before it, plays fast and loose with its story, and isn't concerned
with being consistent with itself or even making sense so much as it is just putting
a smile on your face.
Runner3 certainly succeeds in that latter effort thanks to the return of Charles "voice
of Mario" Martinet as the game's narrator, who executes perfectly on a stylish but demanding
script that's chock-full of stylized writing, complicated word structure, and an amazingly
astonishing amount of alliteration.
After an opening cutscene that can be skipped or entirely ignored if you so choose, the
game kicks off and the actual running begins — and returning fans will find that the
gameplay mechanics feel comfortably similar to what came before in Runner2.
In a surprising refutation of 2D Platforming 101, the Runner series — Runner3 included
— does not give players full control over their character's movements.
Instead, your chosen character runs automatically, with the player left to focus on dodging,
destroying, or otherwise overcoming the many hazards and obstacles that stand between you
and the finish line.
The game starts off simply enough, steadily acclimating the player to basic actions like
jumping, sliding, and kicking before layering in more advanced mechanics like double-jumping
and fast-falling.
Runner3, much like Runner2, then begins treating these individual actions like the pieces to
a larger puzzle, gradually requiring players to execute longer and increasingly complex
combinations of these various actions to survive the myriad obstacles in your way.
And the margin for error is razor-thin — bump into almost anything and it's back to the
startling line with you, or to the mid-level checkpoint if you've made it that far.
If that sounds punishing, that's because it is.
The Bit.Trip games in general have never been for the faint of heart, and Runner3 is no
exception.
But perhaps because of the game's significantly shorter overall length compared to Runner2,
Runner3 feels like it ramps up in difficulty a lot faster than most newcomers will be comfortable
with.
With the training wheels coming off so quickly, then — especially compared to Runner 2 — Runner3
feels decidedly geared toward series veterans like myself and doesn't seem particularly
likely to attract newcomers to the franchise.
Unfortunately, though, that shorter overall game length I just mentioned is the jumping
off point for some other problems that make Runner3 unlikely to make the same kind of
splash its excellent predecessor did.
While the series' core gameplay is as engaging and entertaining here as it's always been
— of that there should be no doubt — Runner3 introduces some unexpected structural and
pacing problems into the formula that significantly hamper the overall experience.
With just 40 regular stages and 30 retro stages compared to Runner2's whopping 100 and 25,
respectively, Runner3 isn't just shorter and narrower in scope than its predecessor,
it's *shockingly* so.
And while I would never dock a game simply for its length, it's what comes alongside
that shorter length that's problematic.
For example, while Runner3's individual levels are noticeably longer and more varied
than Runner2's, likely in an effort to offset Runner3's overall shorter length, longer
levels also means longer routes to and from each checkpoint, making repeat deaths more
frustrating — especially when they occur very close to a level's checkpoint or finish
line.
And sadly, repetition seems to be a running theme in Runner3, and I'm not just talking
about repeat deaths.
While it's true that Runner3's levels longer and more structurally complex than
Runner2's, with each level having at least two paths and often many more sub-routes along
those paths leading to collectibles, Runner3 also makes you replay most of those levels
many times over if you want to achieve 100% and unlock everything the game has to offer.
And I don't mean replaying each level just once — or even twice.
Let's break it down.
The first time you play any stage you're confined to the gold bar path, where your
goal is to collect 100 gold bars over the course of the level.
Finishing a level then unlocks that level's Gem Path, which is a different and more difficult
route through the stage where your aim is to collect 25 Gems for use in the game's
shop.
Once you've completed both paths, you would think that level is done and dusted, right?
Not so fast.
Each level has multiple collectibles that are often placed so that it's impossible
to collect the item while also nabbing all the gold bars or gems in a level.
This means that you're guaranteed to have to replay most, if not every stage at least
a third time to collect whatever you were forced to pass up in your first two runs…
and this is before taking into account Runner3's all-new Hero Quest system, which encourages
backtracking even further by giving you new fetch quests to complete in already-completed
levels.
Runner3 starts you off with two playable characters: CommanderVideo and CommandgirlVideo.
If you want to unlock the remaining nine characters, you're going to have to complete Hero Quests.
New to Runner3, Hero Quests essentially have you completing fetch quests for NPCs that
can be encountered on specific routes in certain levels.
These quests usually involve collecting three of something the NPC is looking for, but those
pickups won't appear at all until you've begun the quest.
So not only do these quests require that you backtrack yet again to already-completed levels
looking for new collectibles, completing a quest requires you to visit the right NPC
again with their three items in-hand.
But because these NPCs can only be encountered at certain locations in specific levels, you
have to replay those levels simply to reach the NPC again and complete the quest.
And while these NPCs are happy to give you hints and guide you in the right direction
if you can't find what they need, guess what?
You have to replay their level and reach them again every time you want one of those hints.
There are other minor annoyances as well, which aren't a big deal on their own but
do begin to add up over the course of the game.
Loading times always feel just a bit too long, with levels often taking up to 20 seconds
to load after you've selected one from the area map.
The shop is only accessible from a specific node on each area map, making it more difficult
than it should be to visit whenever you want.
There are fewer level obstacles that interact with the music this time around.
And Runner3's new dynamic camera, as great an addition as it often is, can sometimes
obscure your view of the action and lead to deaths or missed collectibles that don't
entirely feel like your fault.
This stuff is maddening, especially because certain other parts of Runner3's structure
have actually been improved over Runner2.
The retro stages, for example, are much easier to access this time around, only requiring
that you find one VHS tape in each world as opposed to a game cartridge in every single
stage.
And in a twist, Runner3's retro levels do not auto-scroll are actually more akin to
a traditional platformer this time around, with the player given full control over CommanderVideo's
movements.
But like I said earlier, Runner3 still succeeds where it counts most, despite introducing
myriad structural and minor design issues that didn't exist in Runner2.
The soundtrack remains phenomenal, and even if it is a little more experimental this time
around and never quite reaches the dizzyingly great heights of its predecessor, Runner3
is still quite capable of pulling you into a glorious rhythmic trance of gaming euphoria
as you "mode up" over the course of each stage, adding exciting new layers to the music
as you go.
While I do miss Runner2's more minimalist, understated visual design, especially with
regard to the menus and user interface, that's more of a subjective preference and it's
hard to deny that Runner3 otherwise looks great and runs smoothly, whether you're
playing in TV or Handheld Mode.
Meanwhile, Runner3's characters and world benefit from the same uniquely bizarre design
sensibilities that helped make Runner2 so memorable, and developer Choice Provisions
should be commended for absolutely nailing what is essentially a three-dimensional take
on a Ren & Stimpy-esque art style.
Runner3 is a good game, and I like it despite the issues inherent in its structure and pacing.
It still nails the series' big-picture elements with rock-solid gameplay, a stupendous soundtrack,
and a weird, whimsical world to run through.
But the devil's in the details, and as a follow-up to the phenomenal Runner2, it falls
a bit short.
While it is a capable sequel, it is merely that — capable, when it feels like it could
and should have been so much more.
While Bit.Trip fans will still undoubtedly find a lot to like about Runner3 and find
their five-year itch scratched, those going in expecting an experience on par with its
predecessor would do well to temper those expectations.
Hey, thank you so much for watching and if you enjoyed this review, please hit that Like
button, subscribe to our channel, and follow us on social media using the links in the
video description below.
Otherwise, keep it on GameXplain for more on Runner3, the Bit.Trip series, and all things
gaming.
Until next time everyone, bye!
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét