Topic: RetroActive #22: MotoHeroz (WiiWare)

[Jonnyboy117]

Please use this official forum thread for discussion of MotoHeroz for the RFN RetroActive feature. We'll sample some of the best comments in this thread to be read on the podcast when we discuss the game in a few weeks.


MotoHeroz is a physics-based vehicular 2D platforming game by RedLynx, developers of the smash hit Trials HD on Xbox Live Arcade and the upcoming sequel, Trials Evolution. You can read Jared's review of MotoHeroz here:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/27887


For a different perspective, also check out Aaron's impressions:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/25523


MotoHeroz is available from the Wii Shop Channel for 1500 Wii Points in both North America and Europe. There is also a version for iOS but officially, we will be discussing the original WiiWare version. If you are playing the iOS version, please clearly say so -- the comparisons may be quite interesting, but we do want to avoid confusion.

[doug]

After failing at least twenty times on Spiderwood (where you loose if the red guy hits you), I don’t feel inclined to ever touch the story mode again. The game is far too unforgiving.

[ejamer]

After failing at least twenty times on Spiderwood (where you lose if the red guy hits you), I don’t feel inclined to ever touch the story mode again. The game is far too unforgiving.

Levels are very quick and it's incredibly easy to restart (or move to the next level after you finish one), so that makes it easy to keep playing... but I hear what you are saying. Some of the levels are unforgiving and results can feel almost random.  Is that part of the learning curve that I haven't gotten over yet, or part of the game design?


My biggest gripe right now is that I never seem to get the feeling of real satisfaction or total control when playing.  Part of that is probably because it's essentially a racing game - a genre that I've never enjoyed - but it feels almost like there is something missing to keep me engaged.

[ejamer]

One off-topic comment: I'd really like to hear the podcast crew give their thoughts about WiiWare as a service at some point. It has some obvious faults and failings that probably don't need to be elaborated on too deeply, but were those problems balanced out by any redeeming qualities?  Was the platform a success for gamers/developers/Nintendo, and under what conditions could things end up being particularly good/bad?  How do you think the legacy of WiiWare will affect various parties going forward?




Anyway, to leave at least a small on-topic message is anyone else limited to playing the free demo? I have been playing it, but am not convinced that I care enough about the game to buy the full thing... in fact the most time I spend the less open I am to paying for this content.  Still, there is really no excuse for NWR listeners not to at least try the game!

[lolmonade]

Just a note for anyone who doesn't have the $ or doesn't want to spend $15 on this game: there is a demo available, and I've been able to put a decent amount of time in it.  Not sure if it reflects the full-game experience though.

[Jonnyboy117]

If anyone has played a lot of Trials HD (or Trials Evolution, which comes out Friday 4/20), please share your comparisons. From what I can tell, MotoHeroz is very similar in terms of gameplay and seems to differ in presentation alone.

[TJ Spyke]

I played only played a demo of Trials HD, it's kinda fun but really hard (hard enough that I know I didn't want to pay for it).

[NWR_Neal]

Trials Evolution is much improved over the original, especially in the friendliness department. I completely adored the first game, and the second one is even better.

I still might get MotoHeroz so I can play along with this, but I already had the requisite money on my 360 to get Trials Evo, so I made my RedLynx-developed decision based on that. Always wanted to play MotoHeroz though. I'll probably at a minimum check out the demo and compare it to Trials Evo.

[Jonnyboy117]

If you haven't made it to the underwater levels in Story Mode, keep going. They are quite a big change and worth discussion. I also got to a track with other (physical) racers and attack items -- so a bit like Mario Kart?

[Pandareus]

I took the liberty of creating a league just in case people wanted to join in, and to have that as a possible talking point on the podcast? A little bit late, but still.

League: NWR
Password: AHOYHOY

After failing at least twenty times on Spiderwood (where you loose if the red guy hits you), I don’t feel inclined to ever touch the story mode again. The game is far too unforgiving.

That's where I had stopped playing originally. The game could definitely use a "skip mission" feature, these physics-based games are so finicky and frustrating. But I powered through it and the game is enjoyable again. The underwater stages start right after it.

[Jonnyboy117]

There actually is a skip feature. It costs two spirits (those blue spheres hidden on every level. It may only let you skip after failing a certain number of times, which explains why some people don't realize the feature exists.

[roykoopa64]

I haven't had a lot of time to play yet, but I did download this game and played for an hour so far. It's fun! I wasn't sure what to expect at first.

This game is a lot of fun. Some of the music tracks are really great and have a retro game sound to them. The backgrounds are lush and look great. The details are just enough without being too distracting. Little particle effects like grass kicking up under your tires are cool. Just playing through the story mode, the game starts throwing fun changes in the environment, like when the sky darkens and rain begins to fall.

The changes in environment force you play to adjust your play dynamically: logs falling and paths changing, for example.

I like how easy it is to restart by just pressing the minus button rather than choosing it form the options menu.

The physics feel great and play a big role in how you maneuver your buggy. But lots of times, getting your buggy to behave exactly as you expect it to is really challenging. Sometimes you repeat a track over and over again, wondering... What did I do wrong? Why did I lose speed on that uphill? So many tiny intricacies in the way your buggy handles can be frustrating. But the levels are so short and so easy to restart that the higher difficulty becomes more acceptable, I suppose.

My wife and I tried out Party Rally (local multiplayer) and had a great time. Interaction between the cars makes the races unpredictable (as do the items and the shifting goal posts. These were surprising!).

Wow, it's frustrating trying to figure out how to use the parachute when playing Paratrooper and Spiderwood in Story mode. I finally finished those two levels but I still don't have a good method for falling down the shaft and opening the parachute correctly so I can swing over to safety.


Hope to get some more time into it soon!

[Ryadin91]

I played this game a little last year when it came out. I tryed it out because I was shocked that it scored number 1 on IGN's top 10 downloadable games of the month then. It's a fun little game, there are multiple flash games very similar to this game on the internet which I vividly remember playing in my computer classes in high school (AFTER I did my woork of course!)
15 bucks is kind of a steep price though, I bought it a time where I had a lot of extra money to just spend on games. Now that I'm paying to go to Technical school, I probably would not buy this game. But I'm glad I had the game already.

[leahsdad]

I'll be the first to admit, I didn't pay attention to this game too much when it first came out, though it got a good amount of press and marketing at the time (I remember a full, 2 page ad in Nintendo Power last year).   But now that I bought it and I'm playing it, this is making me think of one very fun but shallow game from my teens:  Motorcross Maniacs!  This was an early Gameboy game, not quite launch but awfully close.   Not long, not pretty, but it is a very obvious inspiration for this game.   The exact same gameplay (and I mean, EXACTLY, powerups and all), with much simpler graphics, and on a motorbike.   I remember playing this a lot, along with FFL 1. 

Here's some emulated footage here, for those who are unfamiliar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOnb3mauQgM

I could probably discuss this game for days, though I won't, since this is a forum thread for Motoheroez.  But one thing I distinctly remember is nearly being able to break this game by using the Jet powerup to get to the end of the level, much like the P-wing.

[Pandareus]

Aaaaand the credits roll.



I should probably have been taking notes, or something.

[roykoopa64]

I made it past the ice world in Story Adventure and just competed 'Catch Up,' which was tricky because you have to go into a cannon at the end of the stage at just the right moment to get blasted out automatically just as the goal post is moving by. If you're off by just a little, time to restart the stage! Obviously I had to try this one a bunch of times.

I'm really liking everything about the game so far, especially the fun and interesting track layouts, leading to some exciting loop de loops and nice jumps off ramps. I also enjoy the different missions where you're doing other stuff besides 'reach the goal in time', including levels where you have to carry a rag-like figure in a basket on the top of your buggy, or using hover power ups to fly through vertical shafts to avoid the rising fatal liquid. There's even races where four cars play at once, which of course is standard fare for multiplayer mode.

My main gripe so far is how very unforgiving the game objectives can be! Knowing when to slow down just slightly so you'll land perfectly on the little curved slope in order to have space to accelerate up the next big hill, tilting your buggy at just the right angle, and being perfectly set up for the next terrain is absolutely crucial yet very difficult to pull off consistently. At least, I've been struggling quite a bit, and some of my victories I truly believe were due to pure luck. But I've refused to skip any stages (so far)!

Oh, and I guess the default medal for clearing each stage is a silver medal, then you can replay the stage to go for the gold? I haven't attempted a gold medal run yet. I also haven't been seeking out the ancestor stuff (two blue orbs) hidden in each chapter. At least with these, it seems you don't actually have to win on the same attempt you get the orbs in order to keep them. But I think it's a different story for the coins? Speaking of coins, so far all I've been purchasing are new buggies, which you can't use in Story Adventure.

I really need to check out Online Events! I had hoped to complete Story Adventure but I will try online, since this RFN event is coming to an end soon, I'm sad to say.

There's some funny dialogue in the game as well, not what I was expecting! such as:
Spider O'Rally: Now everything I touch will shrivel and die!
Gene McQuick: That must make going to bathroom difficult

Eww...

But now that I bought it and I'm playing it, this is making me think of one very fun but shallow game from my teens:  Motorcross Maniacs!

I remember that game! I always wanted to check it on my Game Boy back in the day but sadly never did. I do see the similarities to Motoheroz though!

[doug]

I wish I’d known about the skip feature; it’s disappointing that the feature is there but is not obvious. Sadly I’m back at University now so can’t play Wii.

From what I’m reading it sounds like this game is more accessible than Trials. But it’s still not accessible enough. MotoHeroz would be well suited to either a difficulty setting or more tiers of rewards. I think I’d get a lot more out of the game if it was easier to move on to the next stage; maybe you just get a bronze medal, or no medal at all.

I had the opportunity to try local multiplayer. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think my friends liked it much. The problem is that winning didn’t seem to depend much on skill. I love the element of chance in Smash Bros, but MotoHeroz takes it too far.

I don’t like how the game’s music mostly plays independently of what’s happening on screen, and some of the tracks don’t seem to match the mood of the game. The music misses the point of game music.

[roykoopa64]

Arrggg! So I got past the floating planet/ world and returned to the home planet, and now I'm stuck on this one stage called Bug Rally, where you're getting chased by a giant bug. Of course, the margin for error is slim to none. After making hundreds of attempts (a slight exaggeration but probably not far from the truth), I give up. I use my first 'skip level.'

Then I get to The Big Finish Line and I decree 'no more!' when it gets to the point when I'm no longer having much fun. The story mode has gotten to the point where it's really soured my initial positive impressions of the game.

Anyway, I had more fun doing the online challenges and seeing Guillaume, Greg, and Jonny on the NWR league. Greg has a pretty awesome lead right now! Unfortunately, the selection of tracks right now is a bit pathetic. There are two unlimited play tracks and two one-shot tracks. Of course I screwed up one of the one-shot tracks. Ahhh….

From what I’m reading it sounds like this game is more accessible than Trials. But it’s still not accessible enough. MotoHeroz would be well suited to either a difficulty setting or more tiers of rewards. I think I’d get a lot more out of the game if it was easier to move on to the next stage; maybe you just get a bronze medal, or no medal at all.

That's a great idea and would have made the game more enjoyable if there were bronze, silver, and gold corresponding to easy, normal, and hard. Well, I suppose there is something like that in place already considering there's silver and gold, except that the bar is set so high even for the silver medal.


-Eric

[Jonnyboy117]

I made it past the half-way point in Story Mode but have been stymied not long after that. Maybe it's that I'm not used to the handling of the new truck they gave me.

[Greg_H]

I took the liberty of creating a league just in case people wanted to join in, and to have that as a possible talking point on the podcast? A little bit late, but still.

I joined the league shortly after it was created but I didn't see any other members as of earlier today.

I enjoy the online challenges but I've noticed that it's basically impossible to compete for the top times unless you've unlocked the best vehicle for each particular challenge.

[roykoopa64]

@Greg_H, I must have joined after you last checked. I mistakenly assumed the Gregory scores I saw on the leader board belonged to Yoshidious.


Alas, you're doing a great job ranking on the boards! I raced one of your ghosts and noticed you were using a buggy I hadn't unlocked yet, so I still need to acquire more coins to see what other options are available. It's just like you said:

I enjoy the online challenges but I've noticed that it's basically impossible to compete for the top times unless you've unlocked the best vehicle for each particular challenge.

-Eric

[leahsdad]

I'm wondering if I'm the only one being affected by this, but I noticed that whenever I'm going through my first run on a given level, one of the many reasons I suck at it is because I'm having issues telling between the background and the foreground.  The background is kind of grayed or whited out somewhat, but because the colors are the basic same color scheme as the foreground, it's a little bit hard to tell the difference, especially when my primary focus is on my buggy.

Which makes me think this game would be perfect for a rerelease/remake/sequel on the 3DS, utilizing the 3D to help you tell the difference. 

[roykoopa64]

@leahsdad, I had not really considered that as being part of the difficulty problem before, but I do think there is such a thing as having foregrounds and backgrounds too detailed and busy that it disrupts your ability to 'read the terrain,' so to speak. Actually, the layers in this game are not too busy, but what compounds the problem is the fact how critical it is to know every little slope. The end result of your race is very sensitive to the smallest movements.
 
 Something else I've been thinking about is whether using the d-pad to tilt your buggy is a hindrance since often you want to make a precise tilt, quickly, to reach a certain angle, and a digital input simply isn't responsive or accurate enough. Analog control could have made the game easier to play, perhaps.
 
 Yes, I can see this game being very enjoyable to play on the 3DS!
 
 (And is it just me, or does anyone else wish the story levels were numbered or at least grouped somehow! Instead you just have to scroll through a long list of names. If I hadn't looked it up online, I wouldn't have known how many levels I had cleared through!)
 

[Fatty The Hutt]

Note for you Apple-Heads: MotoHeroz is currently free on the App Store.