Fenix Rage

Fenix Rage is very, very competent at what it does but isn't that satisfying because it so easily invites comparisons to other games in the genre that simply do it better. That sounds very harsh, but, although this tries to continue in the tradition of Super Meat Boy (with an emphasis on environmental challenges), this feels less inventive or lovingly crafted. The controls will frequently be the cause of your deaths in the game. For example, it doesn’t matter whether you tap or hold down your jump button; you'll do an enormous leap that you’ll just have to adjust to, although these inaccurate jumps will repeatedly force you to start a level over and over. Additional difficulty is included if you choose to dart for the bonus cookie in each stage, though the only way to progress is by reaching the glowing blue box unscathed. As you get deeper into the game, this gets a bit more challenging, since you must pay close attention to differently colored teleportation beacons to zap about the stage or sprint while harnessing flames to smash icy blocks.

But overall the levels feel uninspired. You'll see the same handful of green blobby enemies over and over throughout the game, and on some levels they're positively swarming. Anyone looking for an out-and-out challenge won’t mind, but there's something to be said for dishing out a diversity of challenges and opponents. That said, if you can look the other way on these shortcomings, you can eke out some enjoyment with what’s here. There certainly are a lot of levels in the nine worlds, but it’s tough not to wish for much more going on in all of them, even if there are more than 200 stages.