Cleared: Maximo

[BioMechanic]

Finally got around to beating Maximo this weekend, and I must say, I was very impressed the whole way through. I loved how the gameplay never got overly complicated - just jump & hack, but with some serious strategy necessary at times.

The REAL final boss fight was incredible. I actually died on purpose a couple of times so I could replay it.

For all the vaunted difficulty, I didn't really have much of a problem. There were a couple of tough spots (Infernal Devices, for one), and the camera made some jumps much trickier than they should have been, but it wasn't nearly as hard as Ecco or MDK2. But at the same time, you couldn't just wade blindly into an area and start slashing away. A couple times I warped to some early levels to stock up on coins and 1UPs, but that was it. I finished at 92%, and plan to go through and collect everything for the bonus level.

The Ring of Pain is one of the coolest power-ups ever.

Maximo is one of the best games I've played this year. It didn't try to do too much, but concentrated on delivering a highly polished, old-schoolish adventure. The animation and level design were some of the best I've ever seen. Looking forward to the sequel!

[bbobb]

Congratulations on the accomplishment. One of these days I'll get around to beating it myself... hopefully. I'd agree with you on the difficulty, it's hard but not obnoxiously frustrating like MDK2 and Ecco (damn those games to hell).

[Despair]

Yes, It was a great game, but I didnt find it difficult at all, except for Underworld levels(Damn those Brain trampolines !!!) Some times you couldnt even see where exactly you had to jump, and had to orient on that while in the air.

Final Boss fight was Cool in concept(those blackouts were Cool idea), but it was EXTREMELY easy, I didnt even got hit ONCE ! Fight before that was MUCH more challengic, since Boss did regained all of the health back in the middle of the fight, if you are not fast enough !

Still very good game, and I'm looking forward sequel as well. Bring it on Capcom

[Cheebs]

Originally posted by BioMechanic
For all the vaunted difficulty, I didn't really have much of a problem.

I don't see what the difficulty fuss was about myself. There were'nt any real sticking points, and coins were so plentiful that buying armor and saves was never a problem. It was certainly not as hard as Sunshine, and you don't hear people harping on Mario's difficulty nearly as much. But read Maximo fan reviews and it's difficulty this and difficulty that.

The Ring of Pain is one of the coolest power-ups ever.

Lock that along with the wide shockwave upgrade and your're set!

Maximo is still holding on to my personal GotY spot. I loved it.

[Despair]

I also love Shield of Midas powerup, for some cool coin and treasure sucking powers And combine it with long throw it gives you a great too to get all those hard to reach treasures, and you dont have to risk your life to get them either !!

Wind Shield was also great power up, since you could ATTACK enemies while blocking !!! It was awesome against those Bight Armor Knights, which blocked all of your attacks !!! Just use block near them few times, and they are dead

[BioMechanic]

Originally posted by Chibi Nappa
Lock that along with the wide shockwave upgrade and your're set!

I did just that! Saved my butt on more than a couple occasions.

I remember reading an article where David Siller bemoaned the fact that MediEvil came out during development for Maximo, and as a result, he had to change/remove a lot because parts of the two games were very similar...........

.......but he HAD TO LEAVE IN THOSE DAMN BRAIN TRAMPOLINES!!!!!! Yanked straight from MediEvil. Bleargh.

I think my favorite level was Voodoo Village in the Great Dank.

[Despair]

Boss Fights were interesting, and it was cool trying to find Boss weaknesess. But as I said, they werent that hard, once you knew what to do, it was easy to bring them down.

There was also: Dungeon of Despair level Not bad level at that

[Zerodash]

Originally posted by Chibi Nappa

It was certainly not as hard as Sunshine, and you don't hear people harping on Mario's difficulty nearly as much.

...I just may well take a break from Sunshine for Maximo. I have had enough of that level of difficulty.