She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. “The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Still, the fact that Tecmo Bowl was released without some sort of repercussion for quitters is poor form. A patch was supposed to be released for Xbox Live, but there's no telling when PlayStation users will get the same treatment. Not only that, but there seems to be no penalty for simply quitting games, even in this PS3 release. Lag was a problem in the few games that I tried, despite playing on IGN's super-quick connection. Thankfully, there is a multiplayer aspect to Tecmo Bowl Throwback, but it comes with its own issues that actually hurt more than help. There are no mascots attached to teams, and when you try to alter a player's name, there's no indication of what team he plays for, making it pretty much impossible to create a league that mimics the NFL. Tecmo claims that you can customize your teams, but that only extends far enough to allow you to switch player names and the names of the cities. You get three modes: Preseason (exhibition), Season (a series of games) and an All-Star game that assembles the best talent from the league and pits them in a one-off competition. As it stands, there really isn't a lot more to Tecmo Bowl's package. All of those annoyances are part of the old Tecmo Super Bowl game, but it would have warranted the slightly steep price tag if they had offered more ways to experience the gameplay. As it is, you'll have to deal with not being able to switch guys mid-play on defense and the inability to take control of a receiver and catch a ball after it's been batted by the defense. Had they separated the old and new visuals, they could have devised two separate game modes. It's a curse because it constrains the core football experience. It's a blessing because it allows you to do what I just explained in the previous paragraph. They're able to pull this off by mimicking the same animations and speed of the game regardless of which visual style you're using. The novelty wears off over time, but the ability to switch between the old 4:3 and the new 16:9 aspect ratios without having anything change in-game will keep impressing people for some time. Breaking an 80-yard run down the field? Tap R1 and quickly switch between visual styles as you make your way to the endzone. Even cooler? You can switch between the new and old treatment at any time. When you first plop down your $10 and hop into a game, chances are you'll be mystified by the new HD graphics and the ability to switch between them and the old school, uber-pixelated visuals. Sadly, some of the initial draw wears off over time, but I think Tecmo Bowl Throwback will still find an audience with those looking for a quick trip down memory lane. It's even more appealing when you see the redone, high-definition visuals.
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