Review
Release Date: 11.26.2002
Platform:
Game Boy AdvanceDeveloper:
3d6 GamesPublisher:
THQ, Inc.Reviewed by
Wade Monnig on 4.28.2003
| Review Rating: 7/10 | User Rating: 4.67/10 |
“Rwise From Your Gwave…and please form an orderly line for release on the GameBoy Advance.” It seems every major publisher has taken a look at the GameBoy Advance and immediately thought “Portable 16-bit.” Nostalgia-filled classics and, truthfully, not so classic releases have been filling the shelves for the GBA.
The original Altered Beast was the base side-scrolling BEU (Beat ‘em up). The screen scrolled left to right and you beat down everything in your path. Collect enough “Pwower ups” and you morphed into a raging beast…that beat down everything in its path. Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms is essentially more of the same, the key word being MORE.
In Guardian of the Realms, Zeus sends you into 15 unique levels, a hefty increase from the original arcade version. Along with these new levels come new beasts that you can “alter” into. There are 10 different animal morphs and that doesn’t include the palette swap and alternate alters you can alter into. No super-sizing of a BEU would be complete without all new power-ups, which come in the form of speed and power improvements along with a screen clearing Defender-esque smart bomb. Nothing wrong with throwing some old school power-ups into an old school remake.
Developer 3D6 has taken the classic arcade quarter-munching mentality directly into this release. While you my wade through a level full of beasts with a fair amount of confidence, be prepared to have you furry ass handed to you by the end boss. Levels are also filled with “candy from a baby traps” that lure you into ambushes with strategically placed power-ups that unleash a flood of enemies. This leads to trips through earlier conquered levels to refill your lives. This sting of this is lessened since you can unlock alternate beast forms and try to find the each realms hidden talisman during these excursions.
If you are one of arcade rats that loved the two-player action of Altered Beast or a homebody who launched the Genesis with a copy of AB and an extra controller, then the multi-player (requiring multi-cartridges) will be right up your alley. Up to 4 players can use the GBA link cable to save the realms as a morphing A-Team (I pity the fool who would try to stand against a were-shark).
If you are looking for a total revamping of the series, you won’t find it in Guardian of the Realms. The combat is still ultra simplistic and the challenge is still ultra demanding. But if you are looking for more levels, more morphs, and more old school gameplay, Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms has it in abundance.
