The overall presentation and aesthetic is quite pleasing to the eyes, as well as to the gamer in general. The ideas behind Sideway New York are unique and fresh, even for a platforming action game. The artwork is distinctive, cartoony, and with an air of playfulness also. The level design is what sets the game aside from others of the same genre. It is a combination of two-dimensional andThe overall presentation and aesthetic is quite pleasing to the eyes, as well as to the gamer in general. The ideas behind Sideway New York are unique and fresh, even for a platforming action game. The artwork is distinctive, cartoony, and with an air of playfulness also. The level design is what sets the game aside from others of the same genre. It is a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces with a novel way of going about the buildings and other structures. The game screen often flips and changes angles as you progress through each level, and you must find ways to jump, skip, slide, and pounce around the environment. All of these actions are not very fast paced, but they coincide with the game adequately, and in an enjoyable manner. The storyline is short and casual, not going very far away from the usual beat the bad guys who kidnapped my girlfriend fare, but this does not get in the way of game play gratification, as you will be mostly busy platforming and appreciating the levels and environments. As you advance through the game world, you will unlock special abilities that are both fun to use and applicable within the game world. They range from special attacks, to special jumps, and even gliding through the air. There is also the option of collecting tags in the levels, but this does not reflect any changes in the storyline or game play whatsoever. It is a mere collection mechanic for your own accomplishment and bragging rights. The ability of playing with a partner in local co-op is available, but I have not personally tried this. The soundtrack seems to have only about three or four songs that loop endlessly, which makes for quite the repetitive listening experience. On the other hand, it is done entirely by renowned underground hip hop artist from Boston, Mr. Lif. This means that depending on what your musical tastes are, you will be either pleased, neutral, or annoyed. Either way, the music may be turned off or kept on. There seems to be a serious bug with the options menu, as sometimes, it will not allow you to exit it and get back to the game. The only way to fix this major problem is to end the game in Task Manager; which also means you will lose all progress if you were mid-level. There are several instances during certain levels, which involve mechanics unique to Sideway New York that are slightly unintuitive, and the game does not do a very good job of explaining clearly how to go about accomplishing certain actions. This means there will be much trial and error before you are able to figure out how to approach some situations. The last two boss battles can be a bit frustrating, as they require several precision based actions, until you are finally successful. For a short and casual cartoony game, Sideway New York gets most what it is trying to accomplish right, and for what it is, it is quite enjoyable. It took me about 5 hours to complete.… Expand
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