Wild 9

"Buy for length and graphics--not for the gameplay."

Considering that this game was in development since the PS1's debut, it should have been much better. I honestly thought better of Shiny. Every other game they've made was actually a GOOD game. However, in contrast, Wild 9 is repetitive, uninteresting and has a messed-up learning curve.

CONTROL

Does anyone remember the days when the 2-D platformer actually had some substance? Wild 9 sure doesn't. The basis of its innovation is in Wex's Rig, the main weapon in the game. It can be used to lift objects and enemies, and in addition, it can be used to throw enemies into dangers to kill them. While there is a certain thrill to this, it is VERY difficult to control; the control stick sometimes brings it into one position, but sometimes it just makes Wex run off. Supposedly, this is determined by whether Wex is already moving, but the Rig has little or no effect while moving. In addition to the difficulty of manipulating it, tossing enemies into dangerous objects quickly becomes repetitive and boring; and, a lot of the perils that have to be passed in the game are removed by throwing a certain number of enemies into them.

Wex is also capable of shooting missiles or grenades; he can only hold one type at a time. The missiles can be controlled while they are in the air, but doing so moves Wex as well, and often ends up moving him into a meat grinder or other peril. Grenades take too long to explode, and the possibility of the player being blown up by them is nonexistent, further destroying the realism of the game.

Like I mentioned earlier, the learning curve is messed up. Some levels, like the ones near the middle of the game, are simply harder than levels at other points. The beginning and the end of the game are the easier levels; the middle ones are the hardest. This isn't right. The levels should become progressively harder, not become harder and then easier. In addition, all of the level designs are way too simple for a 2-D platformer.
There are also many vehicles and alternate modes of transportation in the game. Most of the levels where Wex is only riding something are very easy; At least they help to distract the player from the overwhelming difficulty of the middle levels.

OVERALL CONTROL RATING: 3/10

GRAPHICS

Here's the best part. The textures in Wild 9 are very detailed, the color shading is excellent, the animation runs at a constant 30 fps. . .and the Rig looks just beautiful. There aren't even many jaggies.

OVERALL GRAPHICS RATING: 9/10

AUDIO

The music isn't very memorable; it consists of a lot of weird techno instruments and bass. It does fit the game action very well, in fact; the constant torturing of enemies at the beam of Wex's Rig, with the addition of weird techno music does ease the repetition of the game a bit.

The sound effects themselves are annoying sometimes; every time I heard Wex scream out in pain (and I did A LOT of times), I winced and considered buying a large trout to smack the sound technician around with. The Rig has a constant mechanical whooshing sound which is heard very often; this isn't very annoying, but it could have been more imaginative. There are also a lot of bangs and very low-pitched BOOM's.

OVERALL AUDIO RATING: 7/10

STORY

Wex, leader of the Wild 9, has to save his friends, and he travels through a solar system to do it. There's little to it; He's got an alien stuck on one shoulder and his Rig on the other, and he encounters several of the Wild 9 on his journey. They help him out in various ways, and surprisingly enough, they're designed well. They are all very different, illustrating the diverse amount of species that exists in this solar system.

I doubt that there can be much of a story element to the 2-D platformer genre; I have played many others myself, and Wild 9 represents the most interesting of stories. The many pictures shown while levels are loading depict humorous scenes that are typical to Shiny games; If there had been more story scenes and less repetitive torturing, the game would have been more interesting.

OVERALL STORY RATING: 5/10

REPLAY VALUE

This game is long enough to satisfy me. Although it doesn't feature any difficulty modes, it still presents a good 20-30 hours, and by 2-D platform standards, that isn't bad. A better learning curve would definitely help the game out a lot, though. The fact that it has no secrets is painful, however.

OVERALL REPLAY VALUE RATING: 7/10

OVERALL SCORES:
CONTROL: 3/10
GRAPHICS: 9/10
AUDIO: 7/10
STORY: 5/10
REPLAY VALUE: 7/10

FINAL SCORE: 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/01, Updated 07/13/01