Super Meat Boy- it's Meatylicious!

Welcome readers to Geordie Green Lantern's blog. Forgive my tardiness in updating I have had a busy few months.

This is part 2 (the final part) of my series on the Xbox 360 version of Super Meat Boy. The last part focused on the challenges of the game so it was more like a review of the difficulties than the overall reasons for why I love the game.

This blog entry will be split into 5 parts: the plot, the gameplay, the graphics, the music and the replay value.

The Plot

Much like the Super Mario series, Super Meat Boy doesn't have much going for it in terms of its plot. It essentially comes down to Super Meat Boy rescuing his girlfriend Bandage Girl from the evil villain Dr. Fetus. I enjoy this simplicity though. Like Mario, SMB is beautifully simple to the point where you can get on with the game rather than worry about plot holes or other contradictions.

The Gameplay

Quite simple really, one button to run and another to jump/ perform a special. The knack of the game is to time jumps correctly so you do not go plunging to your death time and time again or fall into some sort of death trap. It's challenging indeed but I covered that in my last post. It is very addictive but its brilliance lies in the fact that you will want to keep playing until you finish a level, so odds are you will probably base complete the game whatever your ability if you have a little dedication! You can ignore 3 missions out of every 20 if there are three you do not think you can complete.

The Graphics

Similar to traditional platformers so it has nostalgia value, particularly with 8 bit Meatboy as an unlockable character. Charming and retro!

The Music

There is a good variety, something different for each level set. The Forest level has quite pleasant music, The Hospital is quite creepy yet funky, The Salt Factory is quite serene and trance like, Hell is intense, fast and has darker, chant like beats, The Rapture has very fitting music given its final battle between good and evil kind of sound, The End can be quite simply described as epic in the classical sense and Cotton Alley has a really pretty and light sound about it even in the Dark World version which says something considering how hard Cotton Alley is!

Replay Value

This is where Super Meat Boy shines even brighter than all the other aspects. The other aspects shine brightly in my opinion but it is like the difference between a regular star and a supernova. The game is great because you can focus on one level at a time and to some extent you can pick the order you finish levels. You can base complete a level, then go for the bandage in the level then go for the A plus ranking. On top of that when you gain an A plus rank on a Light World you will open up the Dark World equivalent mission. This isn't even counting the extra Teh Internets levels which you can play if you are online. The fun goes on and on, it's tasty and meatylicious!

Now over to you Norman Osborn!

 

Thank you Geordie Green Lantern. Today I approve of Super Meat Boy and its meatyliciousness!