Alkaiser's Full Review: Maximo: Ghosts to Glory for PlayStation 2
Prior to this game's release Capcom did something that I don't understand, and at face value, is probably one of the stupidest things ever done in the history of a game's release.
They released it for rental 1 week before they launched it for sale. And unless Capcom is getting some sort of kickback from Blockbuster, the fact that this game can be beaten in a day is going to be a real detriment to actually selling the game. Especially since Blockbuster has 5-day rentals.
I thought the game looked kinda cool at E3 2002, it looked like a 3D update of the old school classic, Ghosts & Goblins, right down to the running around in your underwear thing.
So, I bit and did what any other gamer would do given the situation Capcom presented. I rented it. (There isn't any way in hell I'm going to BUY a game that's got less replay value than a DVD for $50.)
Plot
The plot has you, Achilles, getting backstabbed at the beginning of the game. Not only does he kill you, but he steals your woman, too. So, you make a deal with the Grim Reaper to go back topside to avenge your killer. He keeps you alive as you keep supplying him with Grim Reaper koins which you get after collecting 50 of these sparkly fairy things.
General Overview
For the most part, Maximo is a pleasing experience. Mindless running around old-school arcade hack & slash style in the hizouse. Puzzles are as simple as "hit funny looking rock to find secret", so pretty much any gamer is going to be able to deal with this.
The controls are nice and simple too, almost idiot proof. Square to hit, Triangle for a big swing. Circle to defend, and X to jump. You start out with a jump and a double jump, and you pick up little items later, that will allow your to throw your shield, hit twice real quick, and have a flaming sword.
You use the analog stick to control your character, and the camera generally follows you. Unfortunately, there really isn't any way to look up and down (well, there may be, but rental copies don't come with manuals.) so you end up falling into things a lot.
The game's just fine for your standard mindless action game. It feels very similar to the first Abe's Oddysee, where you run through the levels, and basically run around until you beat the levels, and try and find all the secrets. Every time you complete a level, the game will tell you what mastery percentage of the level you have acheived, and how close you are to completing the game.
The world system works like it did in the Gauntlet remake. You've got a bunch of different worlds, and there are levels within them. After you beat a certain number of worlds, you fight the world boss, and then go on to start all over in a different world.
Special moves are set up kind of interestingly. As you kill enemies, they'll occasionally drop little icons. You pick these up, and you can hold up to three of them as permanent enhancements. Everything else you pick up only stays with Maximo until he dies, so it important to swap the abilities around once you get them, because some appear with a lot less frequency than others.
Problems
The one big problem I have with the game is it invovles far too many jumping puzzles, one of my most hated gameplay "features". I'll never understand the fascination with game designers putting you in a situation where you have health bars and stuff, and then putting you in these totally artificial instant death situations. Mega Man used to be the worst at this. You could take all sorts of damage from bombs, lasers and what not, but if your foot, hand, etc. touches a spike, instant death!
In Maximo, due to the odd camera, sometimes, you can't see where you're supposed to jump, and fall to your death. The Maximo level designers also apparently love the equally ancient variation of the jumping puzzle, the jumping puzzle where the ground starts falling out from under your feet.
I don't think there's a single level in Maximo that doesn't involve the ground shifting. And that grows tiresome very, very quickly.
In Conclusion, Ladies and Jellyspoons
All in all, the rental is enough for me. I don't have to own Maximo, and despite all the little secrets (like the cow boxer shorts instead of the little read hearts boxers.) there isn't enough in this game to keep me interested enough to plunk down $50. You'll enjoy playing it, just like Rez, but you won't enjoy paying for it.
JJ Games Maximo Ghosts to Glory for Playstation 2 FREE Shipping on US and Canadian Orders Condition: New. Brand New System: Playstation 2 Includes: Ga...More at eBay
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.