Super Meat Boy

2-D platform gaming has been making a comeback in recent years with games such as Braid, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Mega Man. Developer Team Meat makes their attempt at this trend with Super Meat Boy. Super Meat Boy is based on a flash game that was released on Newgrounds. Already a success online, the independent developer looks to make its mark in the console world. Will you want to send Meat Boy to the butcher? Or is he a prime piece of meat?

The plot of Super Meat Boy is very simple and familiar to the aged gamer. It centers on a piece of meat named Meat Boy and Bandage Girl, who is made entirely of band-aids. The two are in love and are very happy until an evil Villain named Dr. Fetus comes along to steal away Bandage Girl. Meat Boy must get back Bandage girl who keeps getting taken away level after level -- sound vaguely familiar? Super Meat Boy holds its roots in retro gaming and one of its major influences has no doubt been Super Mario Brothers. It comes as no coincidence that the initials of the two games, SMB, are the same.

Not only sharing similarities in plot, the game definitely takes notes from Super Mario Brothers in terms of how the game handles by mimicking Super Mario Brother's effortless controls. Whether you take control of the processed little guy on the Xbox 360 or PC, if you die, it was completely by your human error. Despite being a chunky piece of flesh, Meat Boy's movements are fluid and tight. The idea of each level is to make it from the beginning of the stage in a linear fashion all the way to Bandage Girl who is at the other end of the level. At the end of each world – again very similar to the Super Mario Brothers games – there is a boss to fight which is always challenging and exciting.

Jumping through 8 levels, Super Meat Boy has plenty of content that will keep you playing for a while. Even more impressive than the amount of content is the difficulty that the player must endure. The developers really push the player to stay on their fingers throughout the game. Each level is a grueling test of patience. Meat Boy dies instantly if you let him hit some spikes or any kind of harmful material. It's all or nothing, so with each death Meat Boy is sent back to the beginning of the level. That being said, after completion of each level with a victorious sigh of relief, you're given a flashback of every attempt you had at the level. Seeing each of your attempts storm off from the start of the level all at once is a comedic and gory spectacle to behold.

Pieces of band-aids left behind by Bandage Girl are hidden in challenging places on the level. If you gather enough of these bandages, you are able to unlock many different characters including the infamous Head Crab from Valve's Half Life. The other characters range from brand new ones with unique abilities to different characters from other independent games. Beware, though; the attempts to get these bandages will test your dedication to the game and will lead many players to throwing their controller in pain and agony. However, when you're able to get that little piece of plastic and make it to the end of the level, it all feels worth it.  

Musically, video games have been somewhat lackluster in recent years compared to the iconicSonic Green Hill Zone, Mega Man theme, or the first level of Super Mario Brothers. Super Meat boy, however, puts a greater emphasis on the music experience throughout the game. Each track is beautifully made and has a great 16 bit feel while keeping with a fresh feel. You'll have your foot taping to each beat and will grin in amusement simply when the game starts up with its catchy theme song.

The presentation of the game is fabulous. It has an independent style which fits perfectly. The level design is great thoughtout, and the scenery is extremely fitting. By no means would the game win a graphics award when compared to the industry standard of Crysis, but instead would satisfyingly be bestowed with the best art award. The game play syncs with the cartoon styled cut scenes which hilariously play homage to various games likePokemon,Castlevania, and MegaMan. Whether it's Meat Boy being blown up, Bandage Girl getting punched in the face, or Dr. Fetus giving you the finger, each level and cut scene is guaranteed to leave the player in a fit of gamer giggles.

Super Meat Boynot only succeeds as a downloadable game but as a stand-alone piece of greatness. Everything about the game screams bloody brilliant. Whether it is the amazing controls, humor, or the start up screen that is styled to look like an arcade game, everything simply works. Super Meat Boy shows off what a small developer can do and proves that he's not a weenie but a real hot dog.

Super Meat Boy receives 9 out of 10 scabbed band-aids.