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Tempo (Sega 32X); Tempo's in the house tonight!
Topic Started: Dec 5 2010, 12:40 PM (892 Views)
Mr. Fievel
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Shaken, not stirred.
Yes. He sure is, but how good is his game? Well, I'll tell you what I think.

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Gameplay:
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The game is a platformer, as such, not too much should come as a surprise, but the game introduces several elements I don't see too often in video games of yesteryear (or today, for that matter). You play as Tempo, a creature that is presumably a grasshopper of some sort that is appearing on a game show, or something like that. Your goal is to enter a stage, or Performance (as it's called in game) and get to the boss of each stage, some of which make no sense whatsoever. Like a shoe, or a boxing glove. In order to accomplish this task, you have a standard jump that kills enemies, but you also have the ability to throw musical notes at your enemies to stun them temporarily. You also have the option of kicking your foes (which nets you more points), but you'll generally want to save kicking for stationary foes. Also, to aid in your quest, there is a power up of sorts that takes the form of Tempo's girlfriend, Katy. If you stun enemies with your musical notes, she will automatically head towards all frozen enemies on screen and attack them, clearing the path for you so you don't have to risk accidentally injuring yourself by running into your enemies by mistake. She can also unlock new passages that Tempo cannot access on his own. These generally lead to additional health if you need it, and more points, which really makes some alternate paths not worth taking, especially if your health is low.

Since Tempo is a grasshopper, he has the ability to "fly" which is really just slows your descent so you can avoid obstacles. He can also wall kick to reach new heights, and, if you get a running start, he can do a "Super Leap" of sorts, which springs you in whichever direction you jump, though if you hit a wall, he will splatter against it, though fortunately, this doesn't seem to decrease his health. When you reach the boss, your goal is clearly to just kill whatever you happen to be fighting, but the bosses of every stage are often unfair, cheap, and difficult due to strange hit boxes or the boss' appearance. In battle, you can obtain a power up in the form of the host's head that enables you to get an extra hit in without risk, but unfortunately for you, so can the boss. For the most part, the gameplay is fun, if only the bosses were better designed. At least you get to choose the order you fight them in.

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Story/Plot:
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I don't even know what's going on. So I ain't judging based on story.

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Music/Sound:
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Considering the game's theme is basically "Music," it comes as a bit of a disappointment that the music isn't wonderfully superb. Don't get me wrong, the music's pretty good, and is pretty funky (which is what they were going for) but it's far from great, in my opinion. Aside from the opening theme. That's pretty catchy, if I do say so myself. The music does get significantly better if you have Katy with you, though, as her appearance causes the main melodies of every track to appear, which, for some reason, Tempo seems unable to do on his own, leaving him with only the supporting channels. Thankfully, Katy is rarely difficult to find. The sound design is pretty decent, I guess. Despite whatever you see on the American box art, Tempo is not really supposed to be a serious game, so the squeaky and quirky sound effects work in its favor. Also, for some reason, whenever you're in a stage, the background music will randomly insert the word "Tempo" into the track the same way you hear it on the title screen.

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Graphics/Art
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Without a doubt, the art/design is the best part of the game. It's cutesy, and incredibly trippy. One moment, you're just walking in an urban setting, then all of a sudden cows are flying everywhere in the background with tall buildings being replaced by mountains and grass as a man yodels for no apparent reason. In another stage, the background is made up of a plain color screen with ants dancing constantly, or at least, what I assume to be ants. Seriously, the game kinda feels like a strange drug trip for a good portion of the time. Even when the design isn't necessarily trippy, the level design looks pretty good, whether it be a technological, winter, or street environment. Hell, this game was pretty much made to display the power of the Sega 32X in the graphics department.

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Overall/Lifetime
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Overall, I'd say the game is pretty good. Worth checking out, at least, if only for the experience. Would've been a significantly better game if the bosses were funner or better designed, but really, I play the game for the levels, not the bosses, and only one level is not accessible from the start, so I frequently will just choose a level, get to the boss, and if I don't manage to beat it, I'll just pick another level. The music may be a tad lacking, but everything else comes along fairly nicely. Gameplay is nice and fair until you get to the boss, level design is interesting, to say the least, and the overall quirky feel to the game is entertaining, and really, that's all that truly matters.

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Gameplay: 3/5
Music/Sound: 3/5
Graphics/Art: 5/5
Overall: 3/5
Edited by Mr. Fievel, Dec 5 2010, 12:47 PM.
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Link
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Wee, the mushrooms are really good
i liked it but your review is on the spot
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Smashbros81
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The GameCreator
There's a game that's worth playing on the 32X???
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Link
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Wee, the mushrooms are really good
Yes i didn't belive it either
Edited by Link, Dec 5 2010, 09:22 PM.
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