Rate the Game: Week 128
 

You want a Rate the Game? You got a Rate the Game! Where is the Nacho Man? That punk can't even get in the building!

Woah, got mixed up there for a second. It's really early. The good news there is that I can get this edition of Rate the Game cranked out in good time! Quickly, though, let's take a look at last week's Xenoblade Chronicles and see how it fares. It's time to do that leaderboard thing:


<select><option selected="">Rate the Game Results

<option>1. Super Mario World (4.81)
<option>2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (4.8)</option>
<option>3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (4.8)</option>
<option>4. Hitman: Codename 47 (4.75)</option>
<option>5. Mass Effect (4.75)</option>
<option>6. Goldeneye 007 (4.72)</option>
<option>7. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)</option>
<option>8. Silent Hill 2 (4.66)</option>
<option>9. Super Mario Bros. 2 (4.5)</option>
<option>10. Portal (4.5)</option>
<option>11. Red Dead Redemption (4.5)</option>
<option>12. Chrono Trigger (4.5)</option>
<option>13. Final Fantasy 3 (4.5)</option>
<option>14. Silent Hill 3 (4.5)</option>
<option>15. Mega Man 2 (4.44)</option>
<option>16. Donkey Kong Country (4.44)</option>
<option>17. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (4.44)</option>
<option>18. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)</option>
<option>19. God of War (4.4)</option>
<option>20. Mega Man X (4.36)</option>
<option>21. Metal Gear Solid (4.33)</option>
<option>22. BioShock (4.33)</option>
<option>23. Perfect Dark (4.3)</option>
<option>24. Shadow of the Colossus (4.28)</option>
<option>25. The Last of Us (4.28)</option>
<option>26. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)</option>
<option>27. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)</option>
<option>28. Resident Evil 2 (4.14)</option>
<option>29. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>30. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>31. Grand Theft Auto 3 (4.06)</option>
<option>32. The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>33. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>34. Super Mario Kart (4.0)</option>
<option>35. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4.0)</option>
<option>36. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (4.0)</option>
<option>37. Super Smash Bros. (4.0)</option>
<option>38. Super Metroid (4.0)</option>
<option>39. The Simpsons (4.0)</option>
<option>40. Resident Evil 4 (4.0)</option>
<option>41. EarthBound (4.0)</option>
<option>42. Fallout 3 (4.0)</option>
<option>43. Mirror's Edge (4.0)</option>
<option>44. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (4.0)</option>
<option>45. Donkey Kong Country 2 (4.0)</option>
<option>46. Banjo-Kazooie (4.0)</option>
<option>47. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>48. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (3.92)</option>
<option>49. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>50. Castlevania (3.86)</option>
<option>51. Contra (3.86)</option>
<option>52. Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>53. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>54. Half-Life (3.83)
<option>55. Final Fantasy 8 (3.83)</option>
<option>56. Infamous (3.83)</option>
<option>57. SimCity 2000 (3.8)</option>
<option>58. Final Fight (3.8)</option>
<option>59. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>60. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>61. Double Dragon (3.75)</option>
<option>62. Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>63. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>64. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>65. Alan Wake (3.66)</option>
<option>66. Diablo (3.66)</option>
<option>67. Xenoblade Chronicles (3.66)</option>
<option>68. F.E.A.R. (3.66)</option>
<option>69. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>70. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>71. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>72. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>73. Kirby's Adventure (3.57)</option>
<option>74. Ninja Gaiden (3.5)</option>
<option>75. Burnout Paradise (3.5)</option>
<option>76. Thief: The Dark Project (3.5)</option>
<option>77. Dark Souls (3.5)</option>
<option>78. Shinobi (3.5)</option>
<option>79. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>80. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>81. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>82. Crash Bandicoot (3.33)</option>
<option>83. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (3.33)</option>
<option>84. Wolfenstein 3D (3.33)</option>
<option>85. Dead Island (3.33)</option>
<option>86. Left 4 Dead (3.33)</option>
<option>87. Nights Into Dreams (3.33)</option>
<option>88. Condemned: Criminal Origins (3.33)</option>
<option>89. Gauntlet Legends (3.28)
<option>90. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>91. Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>92. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (3.22)</option>
<option>93. Duke Nukem 3D (3.2)</option>
<option>94. Darkstalkers (3.2)</option>
<option>95. Quake (3.2)</option>
<option>96. SoulCalibur (3.16)</option>
<option>97. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>98. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>99. Virtua Fighter (3.09)</option>
<option>100. Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>101. Earthworm Jim (3.0)</option>
<option>102. Metroid (3.0)</option>
<option>103. Time Crisis (3.0)</option>
<option>104. Tekken (3.0)</option>
<option>105. Halo 2 (3.0)</option>
<option>106. Destiny (3.0)</option>
<option>107. The Secret of Monkey Island (3.0)</option>
<option>108. Sonic Adventure (3.0)</option>
<option>109. Shenmue (3.0)</option>
<option>110. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>111. Ecco the Dolphin (2.85)</option>
<option>112. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>113. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>114. Bayonetta (2.75)</option>
<option>115. Assassin's Creed (2.71)</option>
<option>116. Gauntlet (2.71)</option>
<option>117. Dead Rising (2/71)</option>
<option>118. Saints Row (2.66)</option>
<option>119. The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>120. Silent Hill (2.6)</option>
<option>121. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>122. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>123. Twisted Metal (2.42)</option
<option>124. Crackdown (2.42)</option>
<option>125. Golden Axe (2.33)</option>
<option>126. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>127. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>


Ugh, editing this thing is really going to be a chore as we march on. Nevertheless, Xenoblade Chronicles is another title that can't come close to the upper elite levels of our leaderboard and doesn't break 4.0. It's 3.66 average earns it a place with F.E.A.R., Diablo, and Alan Wake. An odd cadre of games to say the least.

But now we press on! It's week 128 of this sucker and we've got some more bowl action to get to! Give us the goods, oh, exalted one!

https://i.imgur.com/QqaStJs.gif

There we have it. Who's in the mood for some brawling? Some killer brawling? Some brawling that feeds into some kind of instinct inside you? A "killer instinct", if you will? Well, you're in luck! This week we take a look at the sequel to Rare's original surprise arcade hit, Killer Instinct 2!!! Did it fare better than its predecessor? Or do you think all the Killer Instinct games are rubbish? The forum is yours. Let's do the rating thing and discuss. Until next week!

I might have played this one, who knows. Definitely played the first...

I vaguely remember this. But I'm gonna chalk it up to as never played it. Apparently, this was in arcades before it landed on the 64.

If you played "Gold" I think you played this.

I'm not big on figthers, so 2.

This post is sponsored by New Eden
 

Yeah, Killer Instinct Gold is essentially the second game ported over.

I think might have rented it once. I had the SNES one. I think.

Gave it a 3. There was a lot of hype around KI, but really looking back at it, those games really didn't stand up to their contemporaries at the time.

The latest KI however, gets 7 meltzer stars out of 5.

3 out of 5.

Think last year was the first time I ever played the actual arcade version via Game Pass for a little bit but all of my real playing experience would be from KI Gold.

Overall, its a pretty good fighting game that stands out a lot on the N64 library due to there being very few really good fighting games on it.

Gameplay-wise, it suffers from the same issues MK had in terms of not being that friendly to new players due to the dial-a-combo system and its difficulty spikes during arcade mode because it was originally designed to be a quarter muncher.

At least in regards to KI Gold, graphics-wise it had the same issue that Capcom vs. SNK 2 had in terms of not going fully in either direction as a 2D or 3D game and tries to meet in the middle with the mishmash of 3d backgrounds and MK-style 2D fighters. Makes the game look less visually appealing than had they went full 3D or 2D.

This might also have been the game that caused my N64's controller joystick to suffer from limpness.

What stnads out to me about killer instinct is red cartridge and Fullgore...

This post is sponsored by the Council of Reeds
 

Mario Party and No Mercy each fucked my thumbsticks, for different reasons. Mario Party was because of how I used it, No Mercy was because of how often I used it.

This post is sponsored by Muspelheim
 

Had to ponder over this one a good bit. Killer Instinct never really grabbed me like Mortal Kombat, but this entry did catch my eye. I played a bit of it in the arcade and I had Gold for the Nintendo 64. If nothing else, I loved the music, the themes for Sabrewulf, Glacius, and Spinal being standouts in particular.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/82ViBsZSylw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mp32LY2QtU8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QYlVDWpSjKA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Just like the first game, though, it was kind of intimidating, especially watching more experienced players just unleashed 40+ hit combos at will like it was nothing. It controlled great, though, and it was still fun among friends. I'm not sure it warrants anything more than a 3, however.

I always loved Tusk's theme.

This post is sponsored by Roger Rabbit
 

Tusk had a great look, and I fucking loved his meteor shower finisher. Kim Wu was my go-to character for the game. Even with my limited skills I could get some good results out of her.