Preview: "Duck Tales -Remastered-" (2013) " Golden Goose or Ugly Duckling?"

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Andrew Desrosiers

Duck Tales -remastered-
Golden Goose or Ugly Duckling?


Welcome back dear readers, your friendly neighborhood gamer Andrew D here and today we’re gonna be talking about “Duck Tales” (not phony tales, nor goblin tales, no Duck Tales woo-ooh-hoo! )


Right, so as some of you may have heard Capcom is set to release “Duck Tales -Remastered-“ via online digital download sometime this summer for Xbox 360, Ps3 and Wii-U.


Supposedly the game is a “Re-imagining” of the classic 8-bit Duck Tales released on the N.E.S. in the 1980’s and features among other things: hand drawn animated sprites, original Disney character voices, richly paint and “re-envisioned ” level backgrounds, a soundtrack built from the original but with more modern amplified iterations of classic melodies. (It's okay if you have no idea what the hell any of that means, truthfully I’m not really sure myself !)


Also the “Remastered” game is suppose to have a new tutorial level to teach you how to pogo jump and cane smack things upside the noggin, (FOOORE!). Even a museum to check your progress achievements and leader board status and as well as the ability to track your horded wealth and even take a swim in it in Scrooge's famed money bin! The game claims to be just as much fun as the NES classic it’s based off of only updated and with a few new features that will win over hard core retro fans and newcomers alike.


So what’s not to be excited about?


Well lets take a minute and discuss the NES verison of Duck Tales.


In some regards it seems to be copying Mega Man a bit mostly in regards to the level selecting and boss fights albeit watered down compared to Mega Man though this may just as likely be a fluke.
The game consisted of five levels (technically six) which needed to be explored in order to find each of their legendary treasure (on the moon level this was green moon cheese…yummy!) These were of coruse guarded by a boss character that needed to be pogo-ed in the head a few times before coughing up the said treasure.

The five levels Transylvania, Amazon, Himalayas, The Moon, and African mine (the sixth being Transylvania again) were full of secret rooms and hidden goodies, so much so you could hardly go 5 feet without a diamond or ice cream (health) popping up out of nowhere. The gameplay being one of the better examples of what a fun 8-bit game could be whether it was pogo stick jumping on bad guy heads with your cane or walloping a rock, block, treasure chest etc into them. Also listening to the hysterical sound effects they made or shimmying up a rope or jumping across platforms over bottomless pit the gameplay was varied and fun, the backgrounds beautiful and imaginative, the music seemed to fit the level moods well and were pretty neat to boot too. The sound effects again were a riot in of themselves everything from the sound of defeated bad guys to shimmying to the sound of Scrooges brain rattling around after getting whacked by a solid object with his cane were always fun to him and added to the charm that made Duck Tale so much fun.


The enemies were also just as verified and just as charming from spiders, mummies, jetpack wielding space ducks, homicidal snow bunnies… (no really the look in those bunnies eyes screams crazy, normal bunnies do “NOT” look at you like that) ghosts, and some carnivorous tomato looking plants that make Mario’s piranha plants look like tulips were all fun enemies to mess with!
All in all the game was a simple and quick to play through game that kept you coming back again and again.


So again why not be excited for a remake of such a grate game? My answer to this is another “Remake” of a beloved retro game, has anybody here ever played Ninja Turtle 4 aka Turtles in Time?
Epic game right, loads of fun?


The remake “Turtles in Time-Reshelled ” was (without getting to into detail) to the original game, what M.Night.Shamalan’s  Airbender was to the show The Last Airbender; a travesty!


The remake of Turtles in Time change “everything” that gave the original it’s charm, among them changing characters moves, switching a up down left right style game to diagonal style play  to changing the end of level boss Slash with a freaking mud monster nobody’s ever heard of to “DELETING” one or more whole levels from the game!


Also it caned the two player vs mode and if I remember completely changed the soundtrack, in short they ruined it.

That said Duck Tales-Remastered’s talk of being a hand crafted “re-imagining” of the original and it’s “re-envisioned” level backgrounds along with it’s “modern amplified iterations of classic melodies” all leave me a bit wary.


Especially since I still own the original Duck Tales game and truthfully I’ve not see many modern takes on old sh cool games live up to the originals.


8-bit games have a special charm to them from old 2-d graphics to goofy sound effects and soundtracks whatever, if you’re trying to build a game the harkens back to “the golden age of gaming” then you can’t just throw a bunch of modern game development methods and features at it and expect it to be good you have to really strive to emulate and in some cases straight up copy the things that make those “cherished” classics grate, so in a sense if it ain't broke don’t fix it till it is, or don’t reinvent the wheel!


This is not to say however that a game like Duck Tales-remastered is automatically going to be bad, but I for one don’t see the sense in a leader board function for games like this or Turtles in Time.


Also I’m kind of  bummed that with all the “new” features to the game that no one thought to include a co-op play option so more than one person could plop down on the coach and play offline co-op together as I imagine this would inevitably lead to some hysterical mishaps and make the game more enjoyable.


So to sum things up while I’m am still very much wary of this so called re-imaging of one of 8-bit gaming’s most iconic titles being all shine and no fun, I am still very much curious to see if it will live up to it’s lofty claims and am willing to give it a fare chance before condemning it, I am however still airing on the side of caution with regard to my expectations of the game or getting excited about it!


But what about you dear readers? Are you excited about Duck Tales-remastered’s release or worried, do you think yours truly is right on or just paranoid? Tell us what you think and keep an eye out for Duck Tales-remastered when it releases for Xbox, Ps3, and Wii-u via digital download this summer!


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Special: What Being A Gamer Means TO US!

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Our Honest View

When my good friend Tre first approached me about being a video game article
writer I was first and foremost surprised, second honored that he and other good folks and
friends at “ourhonestview.com” would consider me and of course being a rabid video
gamer I was totally stoked as well!

But where to start off for a first article?

Mario?

Pacman?


PONG?

Although I had a few good choices in mind, it seemed logical to start with a question
few actually ask or even consider and that is (as the articles title implies)… What is a
gamer?

Is a gamer just somebody who plays video games? Well no, I don’t believe so. that’s
like saying an artist is just someone who paints a pretty picture, or a musician is just
someone who strums a guitar. No, there’s more to it than that. A musician will tell you that
it’s not just a matter of playing notes, you have to feel the music and let it move you, while
the artist will tell you that at times you have to let the art take shape and see what
develops.

Like these examples there is more to being a gamer. Video games and video gaming is a
crazy culture all its own and one that crosses over into many other cultures as well. It’s
one that has grown, spread, and evolved over time. One that is vast and varied with lingo,
jargon and terminology to match, with more than a few inside jokes and references that
only gamers will get. Anyone that has seen Wreck it Ralph will know what I’m talking
about.
But it’s not only that, like the musician or artist will tell you, it’s a form of expression
and trust me folks, gamers LOVE to express themselves as surely as villains love a good
monologue, or people in survival horror movies love to split up to cover more ground! Just
ask Bioware about Mass effect 3’s fan feedback if you don’t believe me.

Seriously, there are few ways to strike up a conversation with people of all different walks
of life and cultural backgrounds faster than a speeding death by head shot in halo 4 on
legendry than to bring up video games except for politics or religion, but that’s a whole
different issue. I should point out that video game conversations will also oftentimes
descend into some pretty hysterical and side splitting banter and/or debates.

The point is is that there is so much more to it all than just the playing the video games
themselves, although there’s a lot to of playing video games too. There are the stories they
tell and the experience of being drawn into them much like a reader gets drawn into a good
book. A few of my most memorable video game stories include Breath of Fire 3 on the Ps1,
Final Fantasy X on the PS2, Skies of Arcadia on the GameCube, and of course Mass Effect
12&3 on Xbox 360.

Other times it’s just the zany fun of a good party game with friends like Mario Kart,
Smash Bros, Twisted Metal 1 or 2, or Mortal Kombat. And of course there’s the memories and laughs you get from such get togethers.


Also, for many gamers there’s the feeling of nostalgia from playing old-school games on retro systems like the original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis, or even Atari. And let’s face it, who doesn’t like playing old-school Pacman, Mario, Sonic, etc.

Now there are some who say video are a bad influence.

 Can it be?

Well, in much the same way that movies or music can be, yes it can. Please note I said CAN, because games, just like movies, have a rating system. Movies are rated G, PG, PG13, R, and NC17, while
video games are rated E, E10+, T, and M. So what does any of that mean? Well parents, let
me ask you something; would you let your kids go see an R rated movie at the theaters by
themselves? No? Well it’s kind of the same thing with video games, so parents please stop
buying games like Saints Row the 3rd for your 1st graders…. “PLEASE!!”

But I digress a bit; yes video games can be a bad influence (I know I’m a traitor now
right), though no more or less so then other forms of media, and video games can be a form
of escape for some people. Don’t get me wrong; I love video games. I’ve been playing them
since the 1980’s and it can be easy to lose yourself in them. That being said, parents need to
be actively involved in and know what their kids are playing, as well as knowing what’s
really in them. Also, older players need to use some self-disciple and discretion. Again,
while video games are fun they’re no substitute for human interaction.

Alright that’s enough of the heavy stuff for now. So what else can we say about the
video game culture? Well, it’s come a surprisingly long way since they first debuted a few
decades back. For instance, video games now have an effect on many other forms of media
from movies, comics, novels, and anime, and that doesn’t even include the plethora of T-
shirts, energy drinks, toys, clothing, artwork, fan fictions, and music..... sweet, sweet, kick-
butt video game music tracks. Sorry, I got nostalgic for a second there, although video game
music scores are among some of the most unique and truly amazing music there is. Some of
my own favorite game soundtracks include the soundtracks from Double Dragons 2 the
Revenge, TNMT4-Turtules in Time, StarFox64, Final Fantasy X, any of the games in the
Mass Effect series, Skyrim, and I’ll give an honorable mention to Tiny Tina’s intro song from
Borderlands 2. What can I say; I love that song.

Indeed, video games and the video game culture have come a long ways, especially
considering that the first real console game, if memory serves correctly, was created by
accident with of all things electronic diagnostic equipment. So yup, there’s a lot to video
games and video gaming. So much so that if the contents of this article and the views
expressed here do not give you a suitable idea of what it means to be a gamer, well then I
am sorry to tell you this but: your princess is in another castle!

P.S. Thank you readers for… well reading this article. If you have any comments please feel
free to post them on our Facebook page. They are welcomed and appreciated.

Andrew Desrosiers

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Our Honest View