Topic: Mutant Mudds

Not exactly a fair statement. I dont find the game amazing in any way. I think it's alright - but it all comes down to your own opinion.

@Rockgamer I have not played this yet, and your comment has saved me a couple of bucks.

The videos of this game make it look so... mundane, and I guess it is. Slow shooting gun? Check. Hover-pack, since platform games aren't allowed to just let you jump just once anymore? Check. Big levels which are really just rooms filled with gems? Gotcha.

I certainly can't knock on this game too much, since I haven't played it obviously, but it really just looks like a by-the-numbers platformer. The physics look so simple, and it appears that the only goal is to get from A to B. I bet it's kind of fun while it lasts, but I can't see going back to this - once you've "gotten" it, there's nothing else to do or see. It amazes me that 20+ years after games like Mario and Sonic were published and STILL sell like gangbusters despite their short lengths that more people aren't attempting slightly higher-level design and physics in their platformers.

If you haven't played the game, you will never understand. That is all I have to say in the matter.

This is useless for me. I love platformers, but I don't see the appeal in this one, and no one here has described it beyond "it's great!" Do levels get more interesting later on? Is it good for exploring? Right now, it just looks to me like a slower, easier MegaMan.

I'm purposely being a bit harsh here for the sake of discussion. This game just has such high ratings all around, I'm really wondering what is so excellent about it. If someone asked me why Cave Story is great, I'ld talk about the interesting mix of Metroid with a Shoot-em-up, or how the story really does some very interesting stuff, despite the game seemingly using 20 year old tech. Not too mention the migraine-inducing time attack mode included.

Help me out here - I've seen no videos or reviews giving a tangible "why" for this game's great reviews.

Man, i want this game. The 3D Trailer looks amazing. Hurry up, renegade!

How have you played it when you live in the UK?

The last cloud (world 4) level that sort of combines elements from worlds 1-4 is evil.

I think the fact that not one out of the 20 or so sites I've seen review the game has given it below an 8.5. And 90% of the scores have been 9.0 or above. That's amazing in my book.

Mutant Mudds is one of the best games I think I have ever played to be honest. It accomplishes something I feel that many developers should learn in an age where plenty of gamers keep asking for more challenge in their games. I've felt that with nearly every game that strives to be challenging, that they also go too close to frustration and as a result slowly begin to fall short of being an overall enjoyable experience. Then there's Mutant Mudds. I have died plenty of times in this game; however, it is so upbeat, charming and inviting, that I simply do not find myself getting annoyed with the challenge when I otherwise would have in other games. I would say that dying and retrying a level, even multiple times, is nearly as rewarding as the experience of clearing a level with flying colors.

That really all starts with Maxwell's world, a world that is very vibrant in colors and thanks to its layers, full of life and depth. The beauty of Maxwell's world is already a well crafted invitation, but then you also have the diamonds placed throughout these levels. Traversing Maxwell's world is ultimately full of reward, and the placement of these diamonds brings out their own set of challenges for me which have lead to a greater sense of accomplishment. The different ways the world is shown gives a reality to it, it feels like it has the depth of a world. Nearly every level has Maxwell going to or observing the foreground, middle ground and background, each of these layers hosting a variety of Mudds to contend with.

Exploration-wise, Mutant Mudds delivers in my opinion. First, to get the diamonds, you're likely going to end up observing and traversing each level's layers for these objects which are important for not only getting upgrades to Maxwell's abilities, but also for gaining access to the final area and a bonus in terms of replaying the game. Another thing that will take place in getting all 40 Water Sprites, is exploring the levels for their secret door to either V-Land or G-Land. Since Maxwell only has access to one upgrade at a time, each of the three upgrades plays a key role in finding the secret doors. You could end up visiting a level three times or more to fully experience what it offers.

The placement of the Mudds is where a number of challenges arise with the game, and I personally am not sure if I've ever played a game where enemy placement provided so much variety. The placement of enemies gives the experience a very thought stimulating edge to it, especially considering that Maxwell shoots straight and can just take advantage of jump, standing and crouching shots. Since most of the game's enemies take more than one shot to finish, going with a faulty method in terms of defeating some of the stronger Mudds could lead to the level's timer becoming a threat. I'm sure many think of the hover nozzles as an assist to Maxwell's jumps, but this ability can double up as an effective way to get more shots in on an aerial Mudd where repeated jump shots (in time with the Mudd's movement) are just taking away too much clock. I personally do this a lot when dealing with the fierce Pork Plop. It's this placement of enemies and obstacles that doesn't make Mutant Mudds feel like a Point A to B platformer, but rather one that's really segment by segment trying to ensure smart decisions in terms of taking down Mudds and being as mistake free as possible for Maxwell's sake.

The short and sweet version to this really boils down to Mutant Mudds being a very inviting, rewarding, challenging, thoughtful and charming platformer that should not be missed by any 3DS owner. If the eShop had an option to gift this game, you would have a copy.

wait 'till you get to 5-4, that is true evil

By the way, to people who finished the game, could you read "it" at the end of the game?

This game is slow (well, at least you move slow, there can be a lot happening at once so it doesn't feel slow) but definitely not easy. A lot of the difficulty comes from timing but there definitely are a fair share of "intense" combat moments as well. I'm only half way done with it and have had a blast so far. There is a bit of exploring involved to find the 20 hidden levels and then find out which power-up it takes to get there. The reason why this game is so great is the level design. Combined with the difficulty, it is truly satisfying whenever you manage to beat a level.

I just got it and man, it's fun, music is cute and nostalgic, 3D effect is great (so far it works a lot better on 2D than 3D) and it's challenging! I'm only on the 4th level and I've died a lot >< This game takes no prisoners but I'm glad, makes it last longer

I finished it twice and read most of "it" but not all. I almost want to finish it again just to get through a few more lines.

It's likely to take you a few trips to read all of it. And you'd better have good eyes. Try turning off the 3D for that.

I'm at the last stage in the foreground of the stage select screen. When I complete the final level, I'll whip out my trusty camera and record a video of whatever fast moving or briefly appearing text you guys are talking about.
Pats self on the back

If you can read that video, let me know.

@I-U and @nickcarney +1s all around.

I just finished the super-polished port of Sonic CD on IOS, and am on the prowl for more platform goodness. This'll prob be next, although Sakura Samurai looks pretty awesome as well. I've kinda wanted to get this game based on looks, but I've resisted due to being disappointed with Shantae and Might Flip Champs. From what you guys are saying, though, this sounds like it has more than looks going for it.

just found this in world 2-3, towards the end where the 3 big eyes are flying back and forth quickly, you can super jump to an invisible ledge on the ice to the right, fall down into the ice and walk off the edge to fall through all of the back ground.

@Rococoman I can't think of a single bad aspect about Shantae. What could there possibly be to be disappointed in?

@Dark_TeeJay Shantae had the makings of an excellent action-adventure game, but fell completely flat in execution. While the dungeons had some cool designs to them (though they were too short and WAY too few... 2 dungeons? Really?) the overworld was generally a confusing, albeit pretty, mess. Your map is completely useless, and most of the overworld was really just walking from A to B. Some of the monkey platoforming areas were cool, but the rest of the action is pretty bland. Combat is especially disappointing - your cool back dash is useless, and the strategy for basically every enemy is whip until they fall down. Searching for collectibles is a stupid chore, as well - the world isn't huge, but it's big enough that you can't remember if you've checked every corner, leading to tons of double-checking since, again, your map is garbage.

The adventure aspects really disappointed me though. The game starts off great, with well-drawn characters and witty dialogue. Some of the dialogue really had me on the floor, even. However, the game then does nothing with it. The bad pirate steals your egg, and you steal it back. The end. All of the cool secondary characters get, like, 2 lines of dialogue. I understand that WayForward originally wanted to make this an episodic game, which might be why this one feels cut short, but I just feel like they wasted the whole town and all of the other characters, giving the game a very "unfinished" feeling.

It's a great-looking game with a lot of personality, that's for sure, but I really thought Shantae was a great example of having almost everything right, and then ruining it with some very poor design decisions. Why is the map SO bad? Why not add some quests for the secondary characters, even if it's just "go here and kill 10 bad guys." They were lots of great-looking areas that you just passed through once and never looked back - why not use them? Why does the town NEVER change? Again, I'm being harsh here, but for a game that was supposed to be an adventure-platformer, it's amazing how much a little extra dialogue would have gone.

Back on topic, though - I'm glad to hear that the gameplay is up to snuff in Max. Can't wait.

PS. One last thing, and this applies to all of WayForward's games - I'm sorry, but I'm just kind of creeped out by their female character designs. Does EVERY female need to bounce? Do we need that much cartoon cleavage? I'm embarrassed to let anyone see me playing one of their games, since it looks like some weird, foreign cartoon porn.