The Adventures of Super Meat Boy

So about a month ago, I saw an ad on my Xbox 360 for 800 free Microsoft Points. Obviously I clicked on it to see what the catch was, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. To get those 800 points, one just had to spend 2400 ($30, being $1.25 for every 100 points). Seeing as how I already had 400 points on my account, I figured why not, there were plenty of things I've been meaning to purchase on Xbox Live, but was waiting for the right time. What could be a better time than basically buying two games, and getting a third free?

My problem now is that I still have 1200 points left to spend, and only have three days left to choose. I already spent 400 right off the bat on the downloadable content map for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, and today I gave in and purchased Super Meat Boy (I'll be getting to that soon) on sale for 800 (normally 1200). I'd usually save the other 1200 points, but I can't if I want the extra 800. So what do I buy with the remaining points? I've got a few ideas, but I want to make sure I spend the points wisely, and make sure I don't overlook anything. The first idea is to purchase Psychonauts for the full 1200, which has become a cult classic and is said to be extremely overlooked. Another idea is to buy The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, also for 1200. I've been wanting to play that game for a long long time, but it is very hard to come by for the computer these days. So that's another option. And the only other idea I have is to get the downloadable content for Mirror's Edge, which contains nine more courses set across four different maps. It's another thing I've been meaning to purchase, just never had the money. Though even if I got that, it's only 800 points, so I'd still have 400 left over to have to buy something else. Maybe downloadable content for Fable II or Borderlands? Do I even have the memory space for the d/l content? We'll see, and I'm sure I'll put on here soon what the final decision turned out to be.

But back to the game I did purchase. Super Meat Boy actually started as a free flash game made by two guys, put up on Newgrounds. There's a good chance that the free version of the game still exists on that site, so I'd highly recommend people to give it a shot. But be forewarned, this game is not for amateurs. It may start easy, but that's just to lure you in.

Anyways, the game's main character is a cube of meat (Meat Boy), and his girlfriend is another cube composed of bandages (Bandage Girl). Unfortunately, another character hates Meat Boy, so he beat him up and stole his girlfriend. His name is Dr. Fetus. He's a fetus in a jar wearing a tuxedo, and he's a real dick. Yes, this game is that awesome. So basically the game is comprised of many short levels that Meat Boy must traverse to rescue Bandage Girl, who is waiting at the end of the level. However, whenever he reaches her, Dr. Fetus appears out of nowhere, gives one of them a smack or punch, and whisks her away. It's true that Dr. Fetus likes to smack around Bandage Girl. Like I said, he's a dick. Don't worry, he knows everyone hates him, which is why he's always giving people the finger.

But I'm getting off topic. As I said, these levels are very short, ranging anywhere from five to thirty seconds to complete. That's not to say that it takes that long to actually complete the level, no way. That's just how long it can take to beat the level once the player finally understands how to beat it, and can actually pull it off. Many times a 12 second level can take me ten minutes to beat, if not longer. It's because these levels are just brutal. Not including the first few introductory levels, they range from hard to insanely and unfairly difficult. It's like taking a MegaMan game, except traversing the worst levels without any weapons. Unlike the MegaMan games (which I actually just started playing), my frustration doesn't stop me from playing. Maybe it's the fact that one has unlimited lives, and even if one dies, the levels are really short. It could also be the fact that after the level is finally beaten, the player is given a replay of not only the winning run through of the level, but every single failed attempt to race through the level. So it's not uncommon to see 50 Meat Boys all running across the place, slowly dying by different means. It's a extremely rewarding sight and feeling. The levels are basically big rooms, platforms, and walls all over the place, and Meat Boy can run, jump, wallslide and wall jump. Wall sliding and jumping are the key elements to the game. If you've ever played N+, it's very similar to that...except with chainsaws, lava, salt pits, fireballs, and more chainsaws...and a fetus in a jar wearing a tuxedo.

So far I'm 43% done with the game, according to my statistics. I've heard there are around 340 levels to the game, and I've beaten about 100 of them. It's too bad that there are actually only around 150 levels, and then another 150 are just the same levels, but made harder in a mode called "Dark World." Basically each level has a quote time to beat, and if the player can beat that time, they get an A+ for the rating (there is no other rating, so it's just a way of saying that the player has beating the time), and unlock the Dark World version of the same level. I played some of the Dark World levels in the demo, and man, those aren't even funny. No room for error in those ones, and there isn't even that much room for error in the normal levels! That only adds up to 300 levels however, so I'd imagine that the other 40 or so are secret warp levels. To get to these levels, one must find a WORM HOOOLE!!!! on different levels. The announcer is strange, and he says certain words very loudly and with much gusto. These levels are super cool though, and are based around classic games. I've already played levels that are modeled after and look strikingly similar to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Land, Tetris, some Atari game, and some evil undead type of game, maybe Splatterhouse?

Finally, the player must try to collect bandages throughout almost every level, and in doing so, unlocks secret characters. The developers (all two of them) had fun with getting secret characters, and I'm impressed already. I've so far unlucked just one character, and that's the Bit.Trip block thing from the WiiWare Bit.Trip games. But I also know that the main character from Braid is in the game, among other cool cameos. So that's neat, especially seeing as how every character controls differently. The Bit.Trip character even had his own WORM HOOOLE!!!! levels. I definitely encourage players to at least try the demo on the 360 or the free flash game on Newgrounds.