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The Influence Of Super Mario 64 Is Still Evident Today.

When I was little my favourite game was Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES. It was the one with all the original NES Super Mario games updated for the 16-bit power of the SNES. That game started my love affair with platforming games. I eventually grew older with Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, but since then, platformers have been rare. On the Playstation Ratchet & Clank popularised platforming and shooting action, but nothing’s really matched the formula that Super Mario 64 provided for the 3D generation of platoform games. I think platforming moved on.

Now that I look back on it, Super Mario 64 was an open-world game; the castle providing the hub with various missions and side-missions built into the paintings you entered. In fact, where people are looking at Crackdown and Prototype for inFamous comparisons, I was thinking Super Mario 64 all the way through. Which is reassuring, because playing through inFamous made me feel just as happy as my Super Mario 64 memories.

I love inFamous. To be honest, the game has a lot of problems – graphics, framerate, voice-acting – but, I couldn’t really give a crap because it’s just so fun. Who cares if all the elements aren’t perfect when the result is so entertaining? It’s a question that leads me into Bionic Commando: I bloody love what I’ve played of that too.

I’d like to clarify at this point that I’ve only spent a couple of hours with Bionic Commando, but I feel I’m at a point where I can, at the very least, commentate. Why has this game got such bad reviews? As a Bionic Commando fan I feel like the jump into 3D has been everything I wanted it to be. The swinging mechanic is brilliant – yes there is an adjustment period but stick with it – the gunplay is basic but fun and the level design is inviting. Fair enough, unlike inFamous, Bionic Commando is somewhat linear, but I think that helps the game to focus on the player making some speed through some really interesting levels.

Between inFamous and Bionic Commando I feel like my Playstation has two platform games it’s sorely been craving. There’s more to inFamous and Bionic Commando than just plain platforming, but at their heart they are all about defying gravity, climbing and exploring rich worlds, and that’s exactly why I’m enjoying them so much.

So while it’s fair to say that the characteristics of Super Mario 64 grew up; it’s also undeniably present in both inFamous and Bionic Commando.

More please?

“Twiggy” is an anonymous PushSquare columnist who has been spotted in three major cities across the globe. It’s rumoured he’s on the run from the British monarchy who accused him of treason.

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