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by Published on March 19th, 2007 12:11
SSX On Tour
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: EA BIG
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-4
Reviewed on PSP by gdf
SSX is the Snowboard series. First appearing on PS2 in 2000, it has grown and changed over the years, dominating the snowboarding corner of the extreme sports genre virtually unchallenged. On Tour is the latest, appearing on the creaky old PS2, Xbox and PSP. After the brilliant predecessor SSX3, many expected this to be the be all and end all of boarding games, and though it is solid and competent, it doesn't quite measure up to this expectation. Some of the magic has been lost and the title is misleading- the whole game takes place on the same mountain- don't expect to be hurtling down the French Alps one minute and snapping your neck on Mt. Everest the next.
On Tour has made some additions to the franchise; it is the first game to include skiing and there are more challenges to do. Skiing is fun for the first ten minutes but seems to fade when you realise it is exactly the same as boarding. The tricks work in the same way, the characters are the same, the speed is the same, the designs are the same, the levels are the same and the handling is...you guessed it, the same. This poses a problem as all skiing really brings to the game is more challenges, all of which are mirror images of the boarding ones. It is like a driving game claiming to have 50 tracks, but really there are just 25 reversed. Thankfully the handling is good all round anyway, so at least the game isn’t twice as long and a bitch to play at the same time.
The controls work surprisingly well on the handheld. Cross is crouch/jump, Circle and Square are trick buttons and Triangle is the modifier. To flip you press the D-Pad like in SSX of old. This actually works better than on PS2, where EA's bumming of the right analog has led to a poorly implemented "Trick Stick". On paper this sounds more natural, but series veterans will be put off by the fiddlyness and are better off playing on the portable. Unfortunately, the absence of four shoulder buttons on PSP has led to the boost being mapped to Square, so even a tiny lift off the ground could send your protagonist rolling off a cliff because they tried to do a 180 Stalefish three inches in the air.
The boarding itself hasn't changed much, which can be seen as a relief. There is little better than bombing down a mountain at 90 miles per hour, trees rushing past and only your pure, concentrated skill stopping you ramming into one. When this game works, it works beautifully. There are times when you will feel nothing else, hear nothing else and see nothing else; undiluted gaming Zen, but given the skill of this particular reviewer, that headfirst tree-rape comes a little too often! On a more serious note, it has to be said that there are too many tracks. Wait...don't criticise me for saying this. SSX3 had three parts to a single mountain, with a few secret routes here and there. You could, with some practice, learn the course inside out and choose your own way down, knowing where to go next. On Tour has loads of separate courses, none of which are particularly memorable, so finding that personal route is hard to achieve. You may recognise a course, but you won't be able to go the same way time and time again, honing your skills to a knife edge. With this lost, it is all too often that the hardened SXX fan will lose on the easiest difficulty for the seventieth just because they didn't know where to go next.
The visuals in OT are quite impressive, though not outstanding. Motion blur is well done and really adds to that sense of speed as the screen melts in your face. The snow looks really good when it puffs and whooshes out from the board, and you can really feel like Mr Cool cruising down the mountain with a trail of sparkling snow behind you (Sorry if that sounds a bit gay). Character models are fine, but on close inspection can look a bit ropey. The soundtrack is impressive, featuring a raft of great bands. The playlist is customisable too, so if you think a song sucks, you can simply refuse to ever let it piss in your beautiful ears again. The sheer amount of music that has been jammed onto the UMD is amazing, as there is at least an iPod Shuffle's worth of tuneage here.
This review may have sounded harsh, but that is only because the series has offered so much more in the past. Number three was easily the best snowboard game ever, so On Tour is really a bit of a disappointment. It is by no means a bad game, don't get me wrong. It is solid, fun, and well made. Series newbies will love it and enjoy every last minute, but for those of us who have played the previous titles it is slightly flat. If you are buying SSX on PS2, go for the previous instalment, which can now be found for fewer than ten notes. For PSP owners hankering for some mountainside action there is no other option, ...by Published on March 17th, 2007 13:37
Loco Roco
Publisher: Neversoft Entertainment
Developer: Activision
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-4
Reviewed by gdf
Loco Roco, released last summer on Sony's portable, is without a shadow of doubt the happiest game ever made. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise and if you happen to disagree then you really have no soul. It is a game made of Happy, the idea being to roll a happy ball creature around the happy levels on their happy little planet. The plot is a stripped down version of the traditional battle of good versus evil; the planet is being attacked by evil alien invaders called Mojas, and it is up to you and the friendly fluorescent testicle things to save the day.
The control scheme is simple but effective, doing away with the d-pad and nub and using the R and L buttons to allow the player to rotate the world right and left. You press both at the same time to make your Loco hop, and circle to split it into all its little parts, providing you with the means to get through small spaces. As you progress you will come across red fruits, which you eat to add another ball to your main one. This means the next time you split it, there will be more Locos and you get points at the end of the level for collecting them. You can lose the poor things if you fall on a spike or get sucked up by a Moja and you will be terribly distressed by their little screams as they are separated from the others.
The levels are packed with fun features and secret areas. Some creatures you meet will help you out, for example giving you a boost up to a higher platform. Other objects are to be found throughout the world, with trampolines and air streams particular highlights. These are all useful and will have you smiling with childish glee. Secret areas often house fruit or Mui Muis, the Locos' friends, and can be fiendishly hard to find. This ensures you will keep coming back to the same levels in order to find all 20 Locos and all the Mui Muis. The game itself is quite short however, with 5 worlds of 8 levels each. Considering the longest time it takes to complete a level is ten minutes, it can be over and done with in a few hours. Bonus games and level editors help, but fail to add much longevity to the game. The length poses a real problem, as though the game has buckets of replay value, it is so damned addictive that you can end up running out of stuff to do in a week.
Fortunately, this is one of the only weak points of the game, and doesn't detract much from the overall experience. An area it really excels in is the sound. The music fits the backgrounds brilliantly and really contributes to the overall feel of the game; you can't help but grin when you see your Loco sing along to the sprightly tunes. Aside from the music, the visuals are impressive, managing to look cute and sharp at the same time. It all looks like some kind of surreal cartoon, but it is very well done and neat. The graphics make it very accessible; gamers and non-gamers alike will lap it up and rightly so, because it works for everyone: Kids will enjoy the cartoony looks, girls will love the cuteness factor and gamers will play it to death trying to find all the Muis and fruit. It really is one of those "Family" games, but not shit like Buzz.
Sadly, there is no Multiplayer, but level sharing is available. I would love to have bashed around the world with a mate, but the next best thing is the game sharing, which allows your friend to sample the game on his/her PSP. This is great as it allows you to share the joys and spread the love. The game can be pretty psychedelic at times, which can only be a good thing. There are five colours of Loco to unlock and you find them as you progress. Each has a distinctive look and their own little antenna thing (a la Teletubbies), that wags when you are near something important. Occasionally, your Loco will split up and sing a song to help one of the other creatures feel better, and if that doesn't brighten up your day then your heart is actually made of coal from the fiery pits of Hell. That has been shit out by the devil. Into a...you get the picture.
Loco Roco is a quality example of how things should be done on the PSP. Originality is the keyword here, and although it isn't the first ball rolling game ever (Check Super Monkey Ball and Katamari Damacy for that) it is one of the best games on the system. It is a perfect fit and highly recommended for all ages. Loco is more what would be expected on the DS, but it proves that cute can be done on any hardware. If Sony don't do a version of this with motion sensitive controls on PS3, then they are seriously screwed in the head. A great 2D platformer.
Replay Value 3/5 Hampered by a short lifespan.
Sound 5/5 Well judged and in the right tone. Perfect.
Graphics 4.5/5 So cute it makes you want to cry tears of joy.
Gameplay 4.5/5 ...by Published on March 16th, 2007 21:17
Quake 4
Publisher: Activision
Developer: id Software
Genre: First Person
Players: 1
Quake 4 is produced by id Software inc. for the PC and Xbox 360 Computer Entertainment system.
Quake 4 may not be as well known around as Doom 3 (even though they were made by the same people and company), but that doesn't keep it from being an all-around better game. Quake 4 looks to have incorporated all the needs that Doom 3 didn't have fullfilled, such as the flashlight-on'a-gun for one. Quake 4, when first shown at the 2005 E3 convention, fans flipped out of their minds for this game. The graphics, gameplay, and classic scenerio had many people, me included, waiting on the edge of their seat for this incredible FPS. We were waiting for gold...and we got platinum. The graphics, AI, weapons, and pretty much anything else incorporated in this game were much more advanced then the best up to this point. The gameplay becames highly repetitive after a while, though. The multiplayer is also a bit overused for various reasons.
The graphics for Quake 4 are the best I've seen until the time I bought it in 2006 as the first 360 game I got. I was stunned at the level of detail on each individual level. Textures were different for almost every part of the level, none repeated themselves through consistancy. Even when looking close to walls and sides, weapons and pretty much anything, the textures didn't became grainy or pixaled, for lack of a better term. They retained their smooth and shiny display from point-blank to distances half-across the level. The characters were almost life-like, having individual features such as a larger nose, bigger jaw, different eye colors, and whatever else there is to have on physical featuring. Such as the detailing in the next screen-shot:
The lighting is often very dark, which makes the light attachment for the guns come in very handy.
The AI in the game, both enemy and ally were nice, to say the least. It wasn't what I'd call an AI revolution, but the enemies often knew when to dodge and when to shoot, as did the allies. What amazed me is how id made the allie's movement. They used actual people with motion sensors to replicate movement into a virtual "skeleton". They used that skeleton as a basis for the movements of your buddies in-game. They add in textures and physical features of the characters and put them in-game. The result? An artificial ally thata replicates the same movements in the same style that the actor performed in reality.
Gameplay is the real deal in Quake 4. The gameplay features the standard shoot-and-get-shot style that all good FPS have and has made id Software famous. You, as corporal Mathew Kain set out with Rhino squad to break through the Strogg enemy lines to take out their central system called the Nexus. While along the way, you confront the Makron, the leader of the Strogg whom Mathew Kain killed in Quake 2. How hes standing in front of you is another story. You are shipped to a Strogg processing facuility where you are turned into a Strogg--literally. But before they have time to implant in your head the chip to make you obey they're every command, the remaining Rhino squad busts you out. Thus you, in your strogganized state go with the rest of Rhino squad to finish the job, and take Quake 4 features a great variet of weapons from both Quake 2 and Quake 4 introductees. This can range from the Rotosaw and the Nuclear pistol, to the clip-loaded shotgun and dark matter cannon(the Quake alternative to Dooms BFG9000) which creates a black hole, sucking in furnature and enemies alike.
While writing this my friend next to me said "I'd hate to be on the recieving end of that" when I showed him a shot of what it can do. Try being on the recieving end in multiplayer. It's not too fun I'll bet...
Multiplayer isn't near as good as it could have been. Still gun, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't utilize some of the nicer features of Quake 4. For instance, its maps are directly ported maps from Quake 2 with better graphics. There are very little parts of Quake 4 multiplayer that are original to Quake 4 and not the rest of the Quake series. Another bad let down is the fact that Quake 4 cannot be played multiplayer by 2 or more people on one Xbox 360. You can system link up to 8 Xbox's though for a game of up to eight players. You can also play online multiplayer through Xbox Live. The sad part is id seems to have forgotton all about co-op, which would be very nice in Quake 4 considering its dim storyline and levels. Heres a screenshot for the masses, although its shrunk so it doesn't show good detail.
Now onto ratings:
Graphics: 5 out of 5
I couldn't really ask for anything better. For its time up until this day, its graphics have proved amazing. Those shots aren't even in HD!
...by Published on March 15th, 2007 21:55
Dead Rising
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Reviewed on Xbox 360 by gdf
Ah, zombies. The shambling, brainless undead. Long hunted down by many a gamer, they have created numerous great games over the years, most notably Capcom's infamous Resident Evil series. Dead Rising is another zombie game from the survival horror masters, but is in an altogether lighter, more humorous tone.
You play Frank West, a photographer who has hitched a chopper ride into a sleepy American town that has recently been blocked off by the army. Chasing the scoop, you land on a mall and have 72 hours before your lift returns. When you get down to the shop floor, you find survivors of the outbreak barricading themselves in and fighting off zombies using whatever they can find, and when the undead brain munchers break in, you must employ similar tactics. After the initial scrap, you are taken up to the security room, a safe haven from your enemies, and meet all manner of mysterious people. You can try to uncover the outbreak of the scoop, try to save survivors or just kill piles of zombies, the choice is yours!
To begin with all you have is a camera, a watch and the clothes on your back; however, if you can pick an item up, you can use it in battle. There are literally HUNDREDS of weapons to be found, from novelty masks, to lawnmowers to plastic lightsabers, and almost all of them are useful in some way. Though there is just one attack button, the range of items negates the need for complex combos and each weapon has several different attacks: they can be swung, thrown, made to do a special attack and more, depending on the weapon. Some of the weapons are highly inventive and excellent fun to use and can cut through swathes of enemies. Body parts go flying all over the place and claret pours across the screen as you hack into a crowd with the small chainsaw or bash them up with the sledgehammer. The action is great and there are thousands of zombies to be brutally dispatched in increasingly inventive ways (death by shower head anyone?), so it never gets boring. It's a far cry from Resident Evil: there's no wandering around the same locations for scarce ammo, code guessing, or saving the best guns for the really bad boys; just a huge amount of zombies and an unlimited stock of badass weaponry with which to pwn their sorry hides.
When you bring up your watch in game a list of missions will appear; some important to the story, most just survivor escorts. Escorting survivors is an absolute ******* as they seem to be willing to hurl themselves into large crowds of zombies and get themselves eaten. After a while you'll get used to it, but it's not usually worth the bother to herd a fat man across the whole mall whilst being pursued by a gaggle of zombified shoppers and psychopathic cultists. There is only one door to the security room and save points are scarce, so trying to take others there could result in the loss of an hour or two's play. Hardly fair. Another complaint is that you are extremely unlikely to complete the game first, or even second, time round as it is hard to keep up with the tight time schedule of story missions. You can, however, choose to restart any time but keep your previously earned abilities and level, something that will come as a relief to those who just kept running out of time after the medication mission on day two and saved an already failed game. We know Capcom like to make their games challenging, but this is a step too far. All of this makes completing the game close to impossible to the casual gamer, who is the market this game should really appeal to.
Once you do properly get going on story mode you'll have great fun, and the kill count will rack up surprisingly fast. You can, as previously mentioned, gain new abilities and improve your stats and this is done in a clever way. Instead of the usual killing stuff gets exp. points (prestige points in this game, or PP), here you do it by taking photographs. Each photo you take is ranked and counts up target markers or special events, such as the high ranking PP stickers, which can be taken at specific moments. Once your photo is done you get PP for it and certain types of photo get more than others. This system works well, as it is down to player skill, not just awarded for winning a battle or whatever. PP are supplemented by completing missions or successfully escorting those bloody survivors to safety, and when you level up you improve your stats, and get special moves, like the head-busting knee drop, or zombie owning wall pounce.
After the missions are done you can continue to play, but I can't say much more without ruining it. There are loads of achievements in the game and many can be done with simple tasks like: "walk ten metres over a crowd of zombies"; "hit 30 zombies with a parasol"; "get ...by Published on March 15th, 2007 21:44
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams for the Game Boy Advance Nintendo handheld game system
Now this was the first Klonoa game I bought. After playing it, I was hooked. This game set a gold standard for GBA games for me, platformers specifically, and this was a definate before-its-time, being one of the first GBA games to be released.
As with all Klonoa games, its a standard platformer. Unlike its earlier relatives, it is full 2D, as a GBA able to emulate 3D would be a miracle. The sprites a well done, they fit together very well, fully articulate design spaing no pixel of Klonoa's character and essence in attacking, jumping, and the other things a game character basically does. The enemies are particularly something, as they reflect the lighting effect that would be present in a 3D game. The background is not as intricately designed, often being a single landscape. The level design is a bit more detailed on most maps, despite the glossy background. Here is a screenshot of ingame play:
While not showing much in foreground, you can plainly see the glossy land-scaped background, but it isn't very noticable during in-game play, despite its obvious nature. Cut-scenes have nicely rounded textures, showing obvious work in detailing most parts of the character and background images, with touch ups to the already nicely drawn and created sprites. Heres another screenshot for the good nature of adding them:
The sound is perfect for the levels...but sometimes the levels are a little too fluffy for their own good, much like in the Kirby game series. This makes some levels music both vexing and calming, which usually makes you tune them out. This doesn't mean the music is bad, its simply not very noticable when indulged within the addicting gameplay. The music in the cutscenes usually fits the scene to the best I would think possible. Again, like in the other Klonoa games, they speak they're own, un-interpretable language. For the music type the GBA is able to chug out, this is a good addition to the game.
The battle system remains the same in this Klonoa game as all others; sucking in enemies with your ring and expounding them to other enemies or into a walls or to gain distance. Although this style has gotton a bit old, hte Klonoa game series is still holding to it strong. With that effort they also make it continue to remain interesting. In this game, like Door to Phantomile, your ring is powered by the spirit which dwells inside it, namely Huepow.
The story begins as you, Klonoa, find yourself in multiple visions where you are not sure where you are, or whether theis place even exists or not. Soon you find out that the King of this land has put a law out which claims that no one may sleep, or dream more importantly as the law states. So now I know what your all thinking: "So what if they dream? Whos gonna stop them?" In answer to that: the guards. They, even though made miserable from this law, go and arrest anyone who they find sleeping, even breaking into homes to perform the arrests. The king's reasoning upon the law? The king is having a sever case of abnormal insomnia. He has not been able to sleep in days, and will not permit others to sleep. So comes Klonoa, the "dream traveller". Not really sure what he's doing, he fights through the visions to find out why the King is having insomnia and to liberate the land from this dreaming deprevation.
Now onto the ratings:
Graphics: 4 out of 5Nicely drawn sprites and eneies, and great front-gound scenerio textures. Now we get to that screwy-looking background. Sheesh...good thing its not very noticable.
Sound: 3.5 out of 5
Very calming music, which fits the levels. Unfortunately, sometimes you just wanna start smashing stuff to some jamming music, but oh well, this is second best!
Replay Value: 4.5 out of 5
Im not sure just what it was about this game that made me want to play it about 3 times over before I got bored. All I know is that it is wicked fun from start to finish and back again.
Gameplay: 4.5 out of 5
Another well done, good-to go platformer. What makes this one special is its the first best I've seen for GBA, AKA handheld.
Overall: 4 out of 5
As GBA games go, this one has held out to me as one of the strongest een since its release at the beginning of the GBA saga of gaming.
Score:
...by Published on March 15th, 2007 00:22
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Klonoa. Probably the most woefully underrated game series out there. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil for the Sony PS2 went almost unnoticed on the greater scheme of PS2 gaming. Another reason why it may have not gained recognition is because it came out around the time of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. Talk about bad timing, huh? In any case, the 3D platformer has gained the respect of most who've played it.
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil gameplay revolves mainly on its 3D set up as a platformer, with a few twists. As with all games in this genre, it is a side-scroller adventure with you fighting baddies along the way. Unlike most platformers, though, you don't simply run through each level hitting anything that moves along the way. You also must solve certain puzzles along the way with each level. These puzzles seem complicated when you first run into one. However, by the time you finish, you'll be smacking you head, thinking "Oh! It was so simple! Why didn't I think of that..." The game isn't all about puzzles, not at all. While there are many challenging puzzles there is also the classic smack-around-the-bad-guy feel to it, as you often use enemies to solve puzzles, among other things. The battle system is unusual and rather original. Not the effect of smashing bad guys, but the way you do it, and how they can never really be destroyed.
Rather the a shooting, jumping, or smashing way of fighting, Klonoa 2 uses an original-classic pulley battle system. Pulley may not be a good word, but the idea remains the same, as you take in enemies into a special weapon, and use them to unlock puzzles, or smash them into other enemies, or use them to propel to new heights.
The story is a classic "Save the world scenerio" with a couple of new and old ideas. You play as Klonoa, Namco's half-mascot, waking up into a different world, which leaves a lot of the WTF feeling in the air. They still use they're own language, much like in Animal Crossing, so even if you know Japanese you won't be able to understand what they're saying, despite the accent similarities. Woken up by a apprentice priestess and her dog, they instantly dub you the "dream traveller". You are almost tricked into helping the girl earn her priesthood, but all is well, as that was apparently neccesary for the plot. You learn that only the so-called "dream traveller and his sacred weapon" can save the land of Lunatea from a destructiv force. You embark on a journey along with the priestess and her human-like dog to ring the four bells to seal off the evil that will reveal itself in the King of Sorrow.
Onto graphics. Unlike the first few Klonoa games, this game is rendered in full 3D, no sprites involved. The first Klonoa game rendered 2D objects in a 3D background. Klonoa 2 has what players called "awesome visuals" for its time. The cutscenes were among the best of the graphic moments, when the visuals were nicely mixed 2D-3D. The gameplay graphics weren't too far behind, making this game a for-its-time(not before) in that department. Posted is a screenshot of in-game play during a sentry boss-battle:
The textures in that screenshot are smooth due to the circumstances, much of all boss battles run graphics in a much smoother fashion then during Vision gameplay(levels). Here are some screenshots of the natural side-scroller level play:
The music track isn't one you'll be likely to hum to, but its definately one you won't hold your ears hoping for a bomb to come before the end of the track. For the type of game, its considered a nicely, well rounded soundtrack, that (I've never really noticed it during gameplay, but I've never really listened)will keep either a calm or rushed mood, depending on the levels circumstance. The OST was even demanded enough to be created and released a few months after the game being released.
Well that was a bit to type. Rather enjoyable, I guess. Heres my rating on Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil for PS2 Sony Entertainment System.
Replay Value 3/5 Not too much to be had in this department, once you beat the game its usually the same thing over unless you do some of the mini-quests. Replaying does give an oddly good feel compared to most games.
Sound 4/5 They matched the scenario being played upon, thus making them a good style for-the-moment music, as well as sound
Graphics 4.5/5 Not bad at all, not what I'd call a masterpiece but for its time it was a huge advance form the original 2D rendered on a 3D set.
Gameplay 5/5 There isn't much more you could ask in a platformer. Klonoa 2 is almost what I'd call the absolute perfect platformer.
Score:
If your looking for a platformer, there isn't much better ...by Published on March 14th, 2007 21:47
Killzon: Liberation
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Guerilla
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Reviewed on PSP by gdf
The original Killzone was released a couple of years ago on the PS2 after an enormous amount of hype, mainly orchestrated by magazines. When it came out it proved a very enjoyable, if unoriginal game, and wasn't quite the "Halo-beater" that it was widely tipped to be. After the implausibly beautiful PS3 trailer for Killzone 2 appeared the hype once again stirred. Over a year on and with no more news concerning it, fans felt lost. Not any more.
Killzone Liberation is a pint sized version of the shooter that continues the story of the first game. You play as Keller from the first game- on a mission to hunt down the evil Helghast officer General Metrac- but from an altogether different perspective (quite literally). Instead of being in first person, the game's developers Guerilla decided to take the player a step (or twenty) back from the action and have a psuedo top down view a la Metal Gear Solid. Amazingly it seems to have worked and the game proves more fun and rewarding in the new view. The controls are very well adapted to the portable's limited button arrangement and the game maintains the feel of the original. Your man can roll, melee, shoot, grenade, reload, order squadmates, perform context actions, crouch, cover and even strafe thanks to good thinking on the developer's part. It almost feels like Gears of War Mini at some rather excellent parts of the game, especially due to the clever cover system...
You press R to crouch and if you are behind cover when you do so then you attatch to it. To fire over you press square, and thanks to a laser sight and some subtle auto aiming, blasting enemies is easier than ever; of course this is compensated for by the nails-hard Helghast, who can take more lead than a stack of peiodic tables (I know, that was awful). The system works surprisingly well, and this is good, since without it getting past Level 1 would drive most to suicide. Another life-saver is the strafing, which is activated by pressing L. This makes you lock-on to the nearest enemy and lets you circle round like a little crab with guns-for-claws. It is well implemented and becomes second nature after fifteen minutes' play.
There are only eight guns in the game and they only become available by progressing in the story, but they are a tight, well balanced lot, all of which have spcific strengths and weakness'. My personal favourite has to be the magnum, a great combination of fire rate, accuracy, power and reload speed. Sadly, only one gun can be carried at a time, which doesn't help when you want a sniper or a bazooka and a shorter range weapon, but have to settle for the most boring one purely because you simply wouldn't be able to progress using just the more powerful or longer range weapons. On a happier note, throwing grenades has been well adapted. You simply press circle to enter grenade mode and tap fire when you want to throw. When in this mode, a set trajectory appears and you move around, locking on to specific targets if necessary.
One area the controls fall down slightly is in the conrol of the Tanks, a bizzare mixture of shoulder button rotation and weird face button driving. Thankfully these are few and far between enough so as not to disrupt the rest of the game. Another potential sticky area is the VIP escorting, though thankfully this is one game where a) they can take care of themselves and b) they do what you tell them to. This is the kind of thing that puts many next gen games to shame and is a reflection on the excellent AI on show. Enemies will crouch behind cover like you and help each other out, trying to flank your position. Of course this can be put to rights with a few blasts of the shotgun or a lobbed pineapple.
The action in the game is tense and exciting, especially when you have a teammate in tow. A tap of select brings the pace of the game to a crawl, and you select a position, enemy or your character and they will go there/kill them/follow you. Sadly there aren't nearly enough of these sections as it's a great way of ordering the AI; very streamlined and simple, but effective. Another commendable element of the game is the graphical punch it carries, with some excellent effects and enemy death physics. The visuals are well above par for a portable game and it impressively matches up to the first game on the creaky old PS2.
Multiplayer is great in Liberation and an online download will be out soon- enabling you to take on the world wirelessly- thus extending it's already decent lifespan. Combined with the story and excellent challenge mode, this could keep the UMD in your PSP for months to come. A warning however; this game is HAAAAARD. The levels are long and arduous and you'll be swearing at the screen more than once throughout the ...by Published on March 14th, 2007 21:10
Tekken: Dark Ressurection
Publisher: Namco Bandai Group
Developer: Namco
Genre: Fighting
Players: 1-4
Reviewed by gdf
Tekken, a series seeming to have lost it's way in recent years, has always been a friend of Sony. This hasn't changed for the legendary series' first outing on the Playstation branded handheld. Dark Resurrection was originally a spruced up version of Tekken 5 for the Arcades, but the PSP seemed like a perfect format for the title to be given a commercial release on, and it works a treat. The Namco brawler feels like it has found its true home and somehow, you seem closeer to the action than ever.
The player feels every kick, punch and special move like they have just been smashed in the face with a rock covered in diamond spikes. The absence of rumble on the portable seemingly makes no difference to the intense fights and you hardly notice its not there. The bouts are fast paced and fun, great for (I hate this phrase) "Gaming on the go" (Eugh), as they come in tiny bitesize chunks and can be done one at a time if you need to keep putting the PSP on sleep. Loading times are very impressive- even for a PS2 game these would be quick- so you can get into action quite quickly. Of course, the Intro movie when you load the game up is great and looks mighty fine on the LCD screen.
This moves me along to the next point: the visuals. The graphics in Tekken were always fairly impressive, even on PS1, but here the game properly shines. The character models are especially excellent, with curves and smooth lines rather than bumps everywhere. The backgrounds are impressive too, and the small, constrained arenas also look the part, with shattering ground or flying coins (in one level). The PSP has often been susceptible to awful (occasionally game-destroying) ghosting, but that it not in evidence here. Movement is smooth and swift and doesn't seem blurred that strange yellow colour you can get. All in all, I'd go as far as to say this is the best PSP graphics have gotten so far.
The action itself is instantly gratifying and is finely balanced between button bashing and combo mastery. Combos are usually simple and effective and there is a wide enough variety to satify both extremes. Noobs to the fighting genre will be able to string together a couple of moves and oldies (have their fingers not succumbed to arthritis yet) should go for the ludicrous 10-hit combos and suchlike. There is a training mode for fighters to try out and a combo challenge, where you try to nail each characters' moveset in as quick a time as possible. The action feels right as well, as opponents provide sufficient challenge to those who want it. Bouts can just as easily time out as be over in seconds and there always seems to be a fine-line between victory and loss, though it never looks to be unfair. The PSP's often limited and flawed control layout doesn't seem like a problem either and you always feel in total control of your characters. When you lose it is most definitely your fault.
Though Arcade provides the main meat of the action, there are a raft of other modes to take into account. Story is fairly self explanatory, and sees you guide a character through their KOIF tournament. Quick Battle is just as simple but very fun, and is great for diving into a fight without fear of losing your ranking, which I'll come back to later. One of the more interesting modes is Dojo, which sees you work through an Island of martial arts training houses to become the champ. Dojo is a lengthy trudge, and can feel a little repetitive at times, but mostly proves quite a fulfilling alternative to arcade. There are also dozens of options to be tampered with, and a rather fun Edit mode, where you spend Gold earned in-game on new costumes for your characters.
And there are a lot of characters. Two new additions Lili and Dragunov feel useful in a fight, especially the former, whose devastating kicks can whip even the largest opponent. Another commendable part of the game is that the list is well balanced. The big, slow ones aren't always the useless *******s they had been before and the light ones don't feel like a bunch of weak ass pussies. My personal favourites are Jack-5, the superpowered robot, and Lili, the aforementioned newcomer. When you use a character in either Arcade or Dojo they are given a percentage and ranked, so after prolonged play you can see who you are the best with. The system works surprisingly well and makes you really determined to win each round.
Tekken seems to have found a new lease of life on PSP and proves an excellent companion to the system. Not only are the fights rapid and violent (not MK violent mind), but you feel every blow and look absolutely sumptuous to boot. It is a well balanced game and another good example of "How to port a game to PSP". It seems to have found its spiritual ...by Published on March 13th, 2007 21:24
Tony Hawk's Project 8
Publisher: Neversoft Entertainment
Developer: Activision
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-4
Reviewed on Xbox 360 by gdf
Over time, it is inevitable that a series will get tired and run out of ideas; especially if it happens to be an annually updated sports game. After a while change is demanded and has to be put in place for the survival and continuation of the franchise, but it can be difficult to make massive overhauls without changing the core experience. This is where the last couple of Hawk games have struggled. 2003's THUG was a natural expansion of the gameplay offered in games 1 to 4 and opened up the world to fans of the series. The sequel, THUG 2, ended up recreating the humour of Jackass with its stupid stunts and rocket powered Segway-riding midgets. After that, it was demanded that the series deviate from this before it became overly tired, but the result was a bit uglier than expected. THAW attempted to be a jack of all trades, but ended as a pathetic loser of most. The skating was put on the back foot as you could nip around the supposedly load free world (loading screens were disguised as suspiciously bland alleys and tunnels linking parts of the world) in a car or BMX; a rather bad idea considering the only consistent name in the series' titles is Tony Hawk, y'know, only the most well known skater on the planet. THAW turned out to be a mini disaster area and there were some doubts over the series' future. Happily, all the wrongs have been righted thanks to THP8, the lastest from Activision.
From the off it appears a much more skateboardy experience. The environments in the free roaming city are choc full of trick oppourtunities, and much of the joy can be found from simply crusing around, grinding and flipping away. At the beginning of career you create your character, and straight after that it's off to skate. The plot goes like this: Tony is building up a team of the best 8 amatuer skaters he can find (see what they've done there) and he has stopped off in your town. It's up to you to climb from number 200 to the team and this can be done in numerous ways.
The great thing is that you can go at your own pace and pick and choose what you want to do. There are some missions and competitions which will improve your ranking a good few places and there are also the rather excellent spot challenges, addictive little nuggets of rank boosting fun. They can be activated when you are going about and are just graffitied words on the ground like "grind" or "Jump". The further, higher, or whatever, you go, the better grade you get ("Am", "Pro" or "Sick") and the more rank spots you will gain. the beauty is that even if you fail you can just carry on to your destination or restart quickly. Spot challenges can be tough but great fun at the same time and goals like "break 15 bones" are always welcome.
This brings me on to the next point of the gameplay: New features. Thankfully, THP8 is bursting at the seams with great new introductions to the series. Most noteworty are the bails, focus mode and the awesome "Nail the trick" er...trick. Bails have been overhauled and you are now able to direct the fall of your skater, bounce him (or her) off the ground and get up quickly. There are some moments of absolute joy when your protagonist goes flying and gets totally smashed up (complete with wince-inducing bone crunch sounds). Focus mode is a more serious but nonetheless useful addition. When the bar at the top left of the screen fills up, you click in the left stick to slow time down, very useful for tricky grinds and manuals or sustaining a combo. To stay in slow motion, you have to keep the bar filled by doing more tricks, so the more skilled you are, the easier a long combo gets. Also, it looks very cool grinding round a level 6 times and landing a million point combo at a snail's pace. The final large addition is the much lauded "Nail the Trick". At any time during play, you click in both sticks to slow time down, but this is different. Instead of keeping control of the skater's body, the camera zooms to his feet, and each stick controls its respective foot. Yet again this is very cool, but good timing and skill are required to land anything more than a one or two trick combo. Most of the time this feature produces some decent points, especially when used as part of a larger combo or in conjunction with focus. These features are great to have and make the skating both more enjoyable and realistic.
The game's soundtrack is also surprisingly good, with great bands such as Wolfmother, Kasabian and Klaxons all featuring. THP8 also has very tidy visuals and, for a cross-platform title, looks fairly next gen on the 360. Overall, THP8 really takes the series back to the heady days ...by Published on March 3rd, 2007 16:21
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Action
Players: 1 (up to 12)
Get From: Goozex US/CAN / Goozex EU
Overview : The WarioWare team took an idea so wacky, it could only be made with the latest technology: the Wii Remote! Wario stumbles into an old building called the Temple of Form. Inside, he finds a mystical treasure called the Form Baton. There are many ways to hold and move the baton (called "forms"), and legend has it that if the holder follows the forms, he can overcome any challenge. With this discovery, the form craze spreads and soon everybody is doing their best to master the moves.
Features :
- Revolutionary Fun: With hundreds of microgames, this game is just as wild as you'd expect from the name WarioWare, but the gameplay has been revolutionized. Under Wario's tutelage and with the help of the Wii Remote, players will swing, spin and squat their way to victory.
- Tons and Tons of Microgames: With more than 200 lightning-quick microgames and controls that range from scribbling to flailing, WarioWare: Smooth Moves takes interactive gaming to a whole new level. All players need is confidence, a Wii Remote and their best moves.
- Off-Screen Party: With games that are as much fun to play as they are to watch people play, WarioWare: Smooth Moves brings the party to its feet. It's hilarious for players and audiences alike.
Gameplay : The concept of the WarioWare franchise is based on a bunch of speedy mini-games in a row. Players will choose from a map along with available missions. Each mission has a different mini-game to each. WarioWare Smooth Moves uses every aspect of the Wii-mote. You use 15 different positions to perform certain actions and challenges. For instance, you would try to balance the Wii-mote on your palm, or hold the controller like you're throwing a dark or just minor movements such as hula hooping or steering a car. Each mini-game takes only a few seconds and you move on to the next mini-game. You are only allowed four fails before the game is over.
Nintendo packed in over 200 mini-games. While majority of the mini-games are entertaining, some aren't as fun and are challenging. Each mini-game is unique in its own way. They can vary from just inserting grannies dentures, to balancing your character a on a ball to moving and doing a hula hoop motion. There are unlockable mini-games when you complete. In story mode, you can beat the game within three to four house and unlock everything in five to six hours.
Multiplayer is by far the most enjoyable way to play WarioWare. Depending on the mini-game, you can play up to 12 people. Unfortunately, there just enough modes for multiplayer. There are about 4 modes to choose from as opposed to 8 on the GameCube version; Mega Party.
Graphics : Graphically, there isnt anything to drool over, but its still fun to look at. If you have played previous WarioWare games, this follows the same concept and look.
Sound : As you pass/fail each mini-game, the music becomes faster and picks up the pace with each mini-game. The music fits perfectly with each mini-game.
Replay Value : To get your money worth, replay value plays a big role in games. Considering this is a party game, you would think there would be replay value but WarioWare falls short. You wont be bored after an hour or two of play but single player mode is short. As mentioned, you can unlock everything with in five to six hours.
Conclusion : Overall, WarioWare: Smooth Moves is a nice party game. The game falls a little short in replay value when it comes to single player mode but the multiplayer kind of makes up for it but still lacks in the number of modes available. But if you do have a bunch of other players, the best mini-game on Smooth Moves has got to be Hot Potato.
Score: Very Good
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