Total Reviews: 82
Average Overall Score Given: 7.73171 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 2,390
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Reviews
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AMF Bowling 2004
Overall: There are just so many things that could have been done to this game to make it great, or at least good. They should have upped the detail on the player models. They should have had some kind of career mode, where you could earn points or maybe your character would get better as you progress. They should have had other people in the bowling alley bowling on different lane’s, instead of just an empty alley and you on two lanes. This way the game wouldn’t seem so stale when you’re playing. They should have had an entire song playing in the background, instead of cheesy music playing each time you go up to bowl. One thing that really bugs me is that you have to press a button to see the scoreboard. It should show you the scoreboard after every throw, but instead it won’t show it to you till the end of the match, or if you press a button and wait for it. If it would have shown the scoreboard after every throw, you would know where you stand, and it would have made the game feel more like a sports game. Xbox live support would have been nice, although I bet no one would play it online.
The people making all these bowling games need to realize that people don’t go bowling in real life just to go bowling; they go for the atmosphere as well.
Gameplay: I've played many bowling video games, some are fun, some are not. This one can be fun if you have another person in the room to crack jokes about the cheesy music, or how cheesy the players look. If not, this turns out to be rather boring.
You can basically do either a single game, or a tournament. Tournament mode isn't that fun though. You don't get anything from winning a tournament, and even when you are in a tournament, it still feels like you're playing with yourself.
Single games can be fun if you have another person(s) in the room to play with. Another person who is willing to play this game, and is willing to take the time to figure out how to play the game.
If you've bowled before, and had an instructor show you how to bowl, then figuring out how to do it in this game isn't too hard. You line you're player up on the dots, and you line up where you want the ball to go over the arrows. Then there’s a little meter in the bottom right. You press the button to activate the meter, then stop it around the top for power, then the meter drops down for accuracy. You want to stop it on the bottom in the center for this. Then the meter starts again where you get to choose how much spin you want to put on the ball. This sounds complicated, and it is somewhat. I couldn't figure it out on my own till I read the instruction manual, and I haven't seen anyone else that was able to figure out how the meter worked on their own. You can also look at how wet and dry the lane is.
The game and instructions never tell you how much power, or spin you should put on the ball, or where you should line up your player. So it usually takes about 2 games before you figure out where to set everything and the timing of the meter.
Graphics: The menu system looks plain, but it doesn't bother me. A menu is a menu.
There’s only a limited selection of bowling alleys, and they all look nearly identical except for the backdrop above the pins. The alleys, lanes, and pins are detailed and look nice. However, the player models and animations aren’t that great. The player models should have been a lot more detailed. Why? Because the Xbox could have easily supported 2-4 highly detailed player models. The only other thing rendering on the screen are the lanes, and two sets of pins. The players stand in awkward position, the animations are somewhat jerky, and the lower detail in the players makes everything else look not as good.
When you actually bowl, it shows the ball rolling down the lane and then shows the ball hitting the pins. The lane is detailed. It shines with oil like in a real bowling alley. The pins are detailed too. The physics on the pins act like real pins in a real bowling alley.
Audio: They did the same thing with the sound that they did with the graphics. Half of it is great, and the other half is horrible, which in turn brings down the overall quality. When the ball’s rolling down the lane and hitting the pins, the sound is excellent. Sound’s just like bowling all by yourself in a bowling alley.
However, each time someone steps up to bowl, there is some cheesy music that gets played. Let me describe this music to you. If any of you were in elementary or middle school anytime in the 90’s then you’ll know what kind of music I’m talking about. Remember those puberty, aids, and the just say no videos? Remember the music? The same songs get played each time you go up to bowl, except for the cheesy rap songs.
Overall Score: 7.0 / 10
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American Chopper
Overall: Well I rented the game because I like the show. Well after playing it now for a while, I must say I like it. It is a blast to play with challenging levels that keep you hoping.
The graphics are not in par with other games. They are a little choppy and not smooth. The people models are rough but easily identifiable.
Sound is lacking in my opinion but it isn't horrible. The dialogue could have been better handled. Engine sounds and ambient sounds are nothling like the real thing.
Overall the game is still fun to play even though it seems to be push out to sell.
Gameplay: Easy to play in terms of controls but still challenging. Just not a whole lot of depth to the game at all.
Graphics: Average Graphics not really showing the true power of the xbox. Seems like a pretty rushed game in terms of graphics.
Audio: Lacking in voice overs and Engines and ambient sound could use an overhaul.. these bikes are supposed to be powerful... they sound weak.
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
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America's Army: Rise of a Soldier
Overall: I gave this a 4 because I think it passes for really realistic but this game doesn't have enough in it for weapons and missions for each class but there is alot here but not as much as I want. I am however very demanding when it comes to dropping $50 on a game. This game does however rate alot more realistic than alot of the other army games except for Socom 3 maybe but even this game has some things in it that all other games could use.
Gameplay: This game is sort of like an RPG in that you level your guy up by earning experience for doing good in missions and in training and you get your rank up so you can become different classes. You also get skill points in which you can use to add to around 8 skills. Now the skills are actually unique to this game since there isn't strength or nothing like that it's all military related so expect to see leadership, honor, condition, etc. Now in this game you actually have to train for every class you want to be. That is after you qualify for them. You start out as rifleman and work your way up to Grenadier than auto rifleman than sniper and so on. You have to go through at least 1 training mission for each class and there are a total of 7 classes and 5 missions for each class but note that some classes the missions are training. There isn't no 20 weapons or nothing like that. There are not alot of weapons but hey the weapons they give you are good. They all really need to use their sighting system to aim accurately since no crosshairs in this game bud. I found that all the guns I have fired are easy to aim. Even the M203 is easy to aim but it takes a little while to get used to. The grenades I find a little harder to get used to but they do work good once you're used to them. To sum up the gameplay I have to say that I give it an awesome rating but it could be better by adding more modifications and weapons but hey still a good set to pick from.
Graphics: This game looks realistic and the explosions look really real. The sights on the weapons are great to aim since they look realistic and work like real life. The one thing I do not like about the graphics is the mouth of the people who talk doesn't move. The buildings and tree and vehicles all look highly detailed. I have yet to find any flaws besides the talking in the graphics.
Audio: Now the sounds I notice are awesome since when you are fighting you here comments about what is going on and even better the guns actually sound realistic in my opinion. Now what I think is neat is how when you crawl around for sniper training you can hear the guys talk to themselves and it's actually realistic because who doesn't talk to themselves when they are trying to find someone who you know is trying to sneak around? Overall I didn't noticed any music because this game pulls you in.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Alter Echo
Overall: Probably a weekend rental. It didn't take long for me to clear this game, and for those of you who enjoy having a quick pick-up game of kill everything, a steal for eight to ten dollars.
Gameplay: Here's where the game does shine at times. The ability to instantly morph into one of three forms allows for a lot of cool customization of battle combos. For instance, juggling your enemy into the air in sword form, then morphing into Gun form with the Seeker bullets and rapidly firing is kind of neat. Thankfully, enemies adapt to your patterns, so you dont get bored using the same moves over and over again. The combat system alone is what, for me, brings this game to its shiniest peak.
The Sync nodes and time dilation, however, are where this game falls flat on its face. An annoying minigame wherein you have to time d-pad presses in order to connect the dots, essentially, it serves only to frustrate the player and distract them from what could have been a really good spot for a mini boss or something of the like.
Graphics: The game presents you with a nice sci-fi feeling from the get go, from Nevin's cool looking Echoplast suit to the unique enemies that are thrown at you. This feeling of graphical awe lasts about ten minutes, which is my personal recommended game time for one sitting. After more than that, you begin to notice the collision errors (read; in Stealth form, Nevin's head can go through walls), the lack of any real variety in the drones, and the down-right plainness of the backgrounds. The environments, while incorporating cool form-specific elements, are still lackluster half-way through the game.
Audio: I have come to expect better music and sound effects from this console. While I'm not entirely aware of how old this game is, I can say with confidence that there are plenty of games with better sound quality and voice acting (though, this surely wasn't any 'Don't open that door!')
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
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All-Star Baseball 2005
Overall: This is a great game for HardCore Fans. Casual gamers will probably tell you that MVP is the best or ESPN, but if you want a real challenge at the plate you better avoid those games and get this one. I would score this over all an 8.8 or 8.9 but since you can't use fractions I'll have to enter on 9 on this review.
PS. The only big glitch I have encountered in this game is occasionaley the cpu lets a ball get away when fielding and then doesn't attempt to pick it up allowing you to score all or any of your baserunners. This happens sometimes when the computer makes an error. Hopefully one year Acclaim will get a glitchless game, but I'll still probably be playing this game regardless.
Gameplay: I have to say this is where this game stands out. It's all about the dynamics of pitching and hitting which I find realistic about ASB. Baseball is a pitcher's game and this game recognizes that. The pitch speed on the harder difficulties is about the right speed which it should be. You will get burned on hard thrown fastballs if you are not guessing the right pitch. That's the way it should be. You have to be guessing allot to get the pitch you want otherwise you'll get struck out. It's not like ESPN or MVP where you can pretty much wait on any pitch and then swing away.
Also as far as strike outs and pitch counts, I think this game is closest to the real thing. When I play this game I can get around 12 ks with the best pitchers whereas when I play ESPN or MVP I can pitch 7 innings with Pedro and wind up with 0 ks. That's ridiculous. Also I found in ESPN I can get through most games throwing under 65 pitches after 6 or 7. This game usually you have to throw around 80 or more.
So far this is the only game that makes you feel dominant when you have a great pitcher on the mound. In the other games I routinely get pummled even when pitching with the top studs.
*note there are slowed down versions of pitch speed in ASB for the timid. But I liked this game a whole lot better in 2003 when there was only one Pitch speed, and that was EXTRA ****ing FAST
Graphics: Well Graphics are the one area that this game is overshadowd by the competition. They are really nice by their own standards but they are not quite on par with the rest. There is allot of improvment this year over last year's game but the players still seem a little robotic in their movement. The sky changes from day to night during afternoon games and the Stadiums look very realistic, and there are a host of new animations like when the bat flies out of your hand, etc.. Overall everything is allot smoother than the previous version . There are many new camera angles for homeruns and foul balls, etc. There is also the fielder cam and the broadcast camera during pitching. Both of these are great features and can be turned off if necessary. However this game does look a little antiquated when you play the other baseball games.
Audio: Tom Brenaman and Steve Lyons are back for another season of indepth commentary. I like these guys and find them pretty entertianing. Although I do prefer ESPN's commentary by John Miller but I can live with what ASB has. Stadium sounds are all great as usual.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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All-Star Baseball 2003
Overall: This game won't appeal to some people, particularly those people who don't have a lot of free time, want more customization, or are easily annoyed by some of ASB's minor gameplay problems. However, despite those problems the game IS quite fun. Plus, with all the different modes, it's a game that will hook you in if you let it.
Gameplay: The biggest problem that people have with ASB games are the fact that they are HR happy. This means that you could take pretty much any player and smack 40-50 HRs with them. I'm happy to announce that is no longer true in ASB2K3. Through 6 games in my Expansion Franchise mode (as the New Jersey Admirals), I have hit only 2 HRs (Russel Branyan has 1 and Robin Ventura has 1) on All-Star difficulty (the highest difficulty level). The pitcherbatter interface is fine, and the cursors aren't as annoying as you might think. Pitchers do have a lot more control with the cursor, but they can get wild as they tire. The hits produced by the game are also very realistic. I've gotten plenty of ground ball hits and there aren't so many bloop singles like in HH. So why a 7 you ask? Well, it's because ASB still has its share of gameplay problems. The main problem I have with ASB is the fielding aspect. If a ball is hit on the ground, it moves so fast that you practically have no time to react with your infielders. The game has the CPU assist you a little, giving your fielder the initial direction that he needs to go to get to the ball, but this takes away from the feeling of you playing. Sometimes, the play happens so fast that the CPU does most of the work, leaving you with the simple job of tossing the ball to the correct base. Also, as I mentioned in the graphics section, the outfield seems too small. Often times you'll smack a ball straight into the gap that looks like it'll be a double at least, and the CPU outfielder will get on his magical horse and track it down easily. The baserunning in the game also has problems simply because sometimes the baserunners won't react to your instructions. Lord knows this has cost me at least 10 runs in my season and was often the difference between me winning and losing. Still, despite these faults, this years version of ASB is a big step up from last years. It's actually playable and enjoyable.
Graphics: The ASB baseball series has always had good graphics, even back on the N64. This year, Acclaim really outdid themselves. Thanks to the 3-D Cyberscan technology, Acclaim has the best, most realistic looking faces. While the face doesn't always match the body perfectly, you can easily tell who's who just by looks alone. The animations for the players are astounding. The players move with slick, super realistic motion and the transitions between animations are very well done. The stadiums are all very well done as well, although I can't help but feel that the outfield is too small. I don't know if it's because the players move too fast or throw too fast or the fact that the outfield is just plain small, but it is noticeable. If it weren't for this, I'd give the graphics a 10.
Audio: What can I say... the sound in ASB is fantastic. I know a 10 might be surprising, but ASB's sound department deserves it. The menu music isn't the greatest (in fact, it sounds A LOT like the NBC Olympic music), but it doesn't make you grind your teeth. The in-game sound is where ASB gets a 10. The crack of the bat is very distinct and you'll know right away whether you hit the ball on the sweet spot or not. Also, when a bat breaks you can tell INSTANTLY by the sound. The commentary is great as well. Tom Brennaman does a nice job as the play-by-play man and Steve Lyons is excellent as the color commentator. He provides so much information for you that you'd think he's actually there. Bob Brenly doesn't really say much. He actually just comments on the stadium or players at the start of the game, and then doesn't say much afterwards. I just love the detail that Acclaim put into the sound. One of the best details I noticed is that if the home team is winning and it's the bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, and the pitcher on the mound has 2 strikes on the batter, the fans start cheering loudly for the strikeout to end the game. How cool is that? Living in NJ and watching a lot of Yankee baseball on MSG (the cable network), I've seen the crowd do this numerous times especially when Mariano Rivera is trying for the save. It's stuff like this that justifies why I gave ASB a 10 in this department.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction
Overall: Rent or Buy
If your a die-hard Alien/Predator fan, buy it. If you haven't seen the movies or read any books, rent it.
Gameplay: This is where the all the action happens! The gameplay is great. With a couple of flaws like marines always running from battle and stuff like that. But I always loved the queen. She ran the show. In the game, you control her. Lay your eggs. Hatch them. Breed. Pure joy. On the Predator's side, you can turn invisible and rip off people's heads. Last and least: The (boring old stinking) marines. They are good, but there is always the one group that doesn't understand anything. Go here. No, here. Right there. NO! Can't you guys do anything without screwing up?!?!?! That happens. The gameplay was great. The difficulty can be changed. So if it's easy you can change to medium if you beat that you can change to hard. The gameplay was absolutely gorgeous. Besides the marines of course.
Graphics: The graphics weren't that bad. The background was real nice. The aliens color and skin were great. The Predators were awesome. The marines lacked a little bit. They were real bland. They weren't horrible, but marines messed up the graphics.
Audio: I love it! The sound in this game came straight out of the movies. The predators click and they roar when they rip off heads off prey. The aliens screech and scream. The marine's motion detectors and their guns firing all sound the same as the movies. The music. I can't really hear the music. If I do I don't really think much of it. But great sound.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Aeon Flux
Overall: an amazingly well lograted game, with only one problem, the control, it is a little confusing and unprecisly but this game realy rocks, it is like a mixture between, tomb raider, perfect dark and splinter cell, definitly a game thet should be in your xbox or ps2 game collection, of course the best adaptation is for the xbox it is an amazing adaptation on the movie based on the series by peter chung, if you had never seen this, it may be a little excentric, but really it has an amazing interfas an it stays loyal to the series.
Gameplay: this is the biggest problem, an amazing story and levels but a poor control. Really holds back the game... could have been really amazing.
Graphics: very good graphics, sometimes it looks like a new generation game, but sometimes they are a little ugly.
Audio: amazing music and voices, but some times they talk like politicians, as in they are annoying. haha.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
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187: Ride or Die
Overall: Ride or Die is a game that should have focused less on exuding street cred and more on gameplay. Larger, more varied race courses and greater differentiation between the weapons would have gone a long way towards making this game more enjoyable. Midway Arcade Treasures 3 comes out in September and includes a full version of San Francisco Rush 2049. Twenty minutes with that classic game is all it takes to realize that the concept behind 187 has been done better many times over. Don't be blinded by the bling, 187's poor track design and loose controls will at best provide a weekend's worth of entertainment.
Gameplay: Both driving and shooting feel loose and unresponsive, the track design doesn't help. Very boring to play.
Graphics: Everything in 187 is shiny or glowing. The game glistens like a freshly waxed, chromed-out escalade.
Audio: A good soundtrack, a terrible script, decent sound effects, repetitive blurbs of profanity make this both ad passable and an awful game in terms of audio.
Overall Score: 5.0 / 10
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Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes The Neighborhood
Overall: Well, not really a lot for me to say. If you like death match wrestling, then you might like this. If you don't like death match wrestling but might be interested in it, rent it. If not, then don't buy this
Gameplay: The CAW is way better than the first game's CAW, but this one is kind of generic. Even though there are about 20 independent wrestlers littered throughout the game, you can't really make any good one. The best CAW I could make was the Wifebeater from CZW, but he's not really that hard to make.The actual game-play is repetitive but fun. There are a large variety of weapons to use in your matches. The new grappling system is good and also includes submission moves. The Enviro-Mental system is a good idea, but there isn't a lot of things to do with it. The A.I. is not the best. The opponents will either just stand there and block (which gets annoying quick), or counter your grapples a lot, which makes it seem unfair. The finishers are back and they are kind of disappointing. I mean, they are good, but the wrestlers who do them in the game don't use them in real life.
Graphics: The graphics are a much better than the last game's, but that doesn't mean that they are good. The character models are very "meh". The blood on the characters doesn't look good either. It looks like someone just threw some paint onto them and it just dried. The girls all have big boobies, so people with sick minds will enjoy that. The venues are actually pretty good looking. From the fast-food place to the construction site, the venues are probably have the best graphics. Attendants to matches don't look good at all; they look very 2-D.
Audio: Beginning at the soundtrack, I think it is very good. From either kicking someone's !&%$@#* to Sick Of It All or chopping up someone with a weed whacker with Channel 3 playing, it's an absolutely huge soundtrack. Unfortunately, it will skip during play and the menu music (Kjell Vistad) is very irritating. The weapon shots and punches sound very generic. The voice work is good. Only 2 people couldn't provide work for the voices, but they still sounded good anyway.
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
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New Legends
Overall: Avoid purchasing this game, instead it relegate to a weekend rental. The general sloppiness of the game has me questioning Microsoft's Standards. I was hoping for more excellent Titles after I purchased Halo. Oddworld. and Doa 3, instead a mound of crap has flooded the X-box. Next time be more skeptical of the term ''Only on X-Box''. New legends could have been another Halo, if the developer didn't execute such a shoddy and undermined game. In addition to the developer, it is a shock that THQ would release such garbage in the wake of their hit title Red Faction for Playstation 2. To release such an inferior product is truly unacceptable.
Gameplay: I give props to the fighting system, yet with the horrible camera angles and horrible fighting animations the system is never truly utilized. Simply running around and killing things is fun but it would be be better on a non-glitchy fully polished game like Baldur's Gate. To top that off it's not even a multiplayer game
Graphics: Am I even playing a game on the X-box? The graphics have a general look of the first generation N64 launch titles. The textures and colors are as bland and plain as an unfurnished apartment, and the trees and buildings look like they were drawn by a five year old. The framerate stutters consistently in addition to some horrid slowdown that hurts gameplay and the overall fun factor. There is not even one graphical piece that impressed me, and this game is probably using about 5% of the X-boxes graphical capability. Clearly an eye sore
Audio: The sound gets extremely repetitive and the sounds of your own footsteps will annoy the living hell out of you. The voice acting is average and the general presentation remind of another crappy beat em up Fighting Force 2.
Overall Score: 4.0 / 10
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Commandos 2: Men of Courage
Overall: Oh my god, what were the developers smokin' when they made this up? Commandos is a strategy/ combat game originally launched for the Pc, well ladies and gentlemen, that was not just because the pc just looks nice if you get my point here....... Rent or buy?
Neither, period! Go pick up the Pc version, it's a lot better then this piece of crap.
Gameplay: Okay, this is what REALLY destroys this game. Commandos is a very complex and involving game. The Pc version used a keyboard configuration where just about every key was used for a specific action. Well.....how do you convert that to a 8 button controller? Answer: you shouldn't!
The whole thing is to take a team of specialized soldiers, each with it's own unique abilities, and complete a bunch of missions which will demand some extreme brains and strategies in order to complete them.
Sometimes you have to press 10 buttons before you finally have the thing you want, but by the time you have it, you have already been killed by the enemy 10 minutes ago.
Besides that, the characters sometimes seem to ignore orders (?????) and enemies seem to blend into the background way too easy, but they ALWAYS see YOU! And it is very easy to loose track of your men, sometimes they stick into lampposts, crates, buildings, and when one of your teammembers is being shot at, the controller seems to refuse to let you switch to that man end run away, so if one of your men get's shot at, he's dead for sure.
There is a tutorial in the game which takes you about 3 hours to complete if you do everything right from beginning to end without failing, but the button configuration is just so unbelievably illogical and fiddly you'll be returning this game the minute you got it should you be foolish enough to buy it in the first place.
Graphics: Okay, just about the only category this game impresses in. The graphics are really top of the bill and although some environments look very dark and some others tend to make enemy soldiers completely disappear, they look absolutely breathtaking. Even from so far away, the characters look very detailed and so do even the smallest things like tiny packs of cigarettes and footprints.
Audio: The background music is really good, but some of the sfx sounds sound like complete rubbish, and even others sound like they were used for the wrong thing, footsteps sound like you're walking through water, guns sounding like peashooters, my god!
Suggestions: keep it on pc
Overall Score: 4.0 / 10
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James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
Overall: Overall Everything or Nothing is no slouch in the Bond series. It is fun to play and will be a great title for any Bond fan. They put the money into getting professional casting from authentic Bond actors and it pays with the cutscenes. This is a fun and immersive Bond game which I personally found to have some control and camera issues with. I still would highly recommend this game for any avid action fan or Bond fan.
Gameplay: This is a shame because the game provides such a thrilling Bond experience. Some of the most enjoyable levels are the vehicle levels and these are just a blast to play because there fast and get your adrenaline pumping. The regular Bond levels left something to be desired. Many of them for me simply became frustrating to play in a stealthy manner. Most of the time id just run aim shoot because killing guys that way was much easier. The aiming is too good however, the controls and camera caused some major havoc on me. Locking on sometimes would not work and id be left with a much closer battle than i wanted. Movement wasn't as smooth after playing games like splinter cell Bond seemed really awkward to play with in a stealth like manner. Bond moments were fun to try but most of the time I just couldn't be bothered to try to discover them. In the end i still have lots of fun with the vehicle chases but to complete the rest to grab gold or platinum will be a test of my will. I have not yet played multi player however with the controls taking a while to get used to this could be a frustrating endeavour.
Graphics: The graphics are some of the best Bond has seen for a long time. The cinematics are very impressive with lifelike personalities and CG. They put the time and money into getting the character models right and it makes the experience that much better. The explosions are great looking and the vehicles are sharp. The only real drawbacks are the gun models are not that great and some of the terrain and building modeling can be quite blocky.
Audio: Bond i must say has never sounded so good. The voices are true to the actors and are done remarkably well. You have Bond's witty puns and this turns the game into feeling like the movies. In game sounds are well done, rockets flying, voices are loud and gun shots sound very authentic. This is some great audio and even the theme song is produced at a high quality with professional singers.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Overall: Ultimate Destruction is a work of art. Destruction at it's finest. It should easily keep you occupied if you try to do everything, like get all moves, beat all challenges, get all skins, etc. Even better if you are a fan of the Hulk. But if you are not, then rent it first. Rent or Buy, get this game today!
Gameplay: If you have played Spider Man 2, you know the drill. Ultimate Destruction Puts you in the shoes of the Hulk, and drops you in a large area to explore at your own pace. But the similarities stop there. In Hulk, the name of the game is breaking things, and you get a LOT of ways to do it. Some are obvious, like punching it into scrap, but later on you can earn many interesting and powerful ways to deal with foes and the environment. The best of which consist of weaponizing vehicles and debris. An example of this is crushing a car, breaking it over your knee, and slamming the halves on your hands to make steel boxing gloves.
You also get many ways to move across the playing field, like running, or the Hulks trademark jumps, which involve jumping between pre-designated markers. Need to get somewhere? Why not jump there? Need to get on a building? Why not run up the wall?
Then there are missions. They are set up as way points on the map, allowing you to start them any time you wish. Some are essential, and some, called challenges, are completely optional. The missions are very fun, usually versing you against the U.S. Army.
Graphics: Not the best in the world, but still good. In a game named Hulk, I am not looking for RE4/Ninja Gaiden graphics. Besides, you will barely notice it while beating your enemies to mush. The only time the graphics got to me was during a particular fight that involved a HUBE explosion. It was a freaking SPHERE! I mean come on. I was expecting lots of fire there. Other than that, explosions were good, and actually DID have lots of fire involved.
Audio: All the sound effects rock, like blowing things up, the Hulk after various actions, the scraping against the ground after hitting it at an angle, it's all good. The voice acting is also good, from cutscenes to the soldiers talking to each other to people screaming, it all sounds realistic. The music, however, is not too breath taking at all, unlike many games.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Overall: The best game I have played in a long time. Also easily the best game on the Xbox as of now. Excellent game. EXCELLENT. Thank you Ubisoft.
Rent or buy?
Are you stupid? Why are you even reading this review? You should already be out purchasing the game. If you haven't yet, then do yourself a favor and drive out and pick this game up, you wont regret it.
Gameplay: The meat of the game. In Splinter Cell you're main objectives are to complete given objectives while staying as stealthy as possible. That means, not being seen. Though you can go through and knife everyone you see. But thats kind of tacky in my point of view. Anyways, a new addition to the game is the knife. Which really is a great tool. It also brings to life the whole, stealthy quick assassin kill. Unlike the first two games this time you can just walk up to a guard and slash his throat quietly. Or just jab him with your palm. Which ever way is good. This definitely beats walking up to someone and elbowing them a few time while getting shot at to take them out. Another great addition is the fact that the game is now more open ended and takes away the whole trial and error system you got in the first two games. You now have multiple pathways toward your objectives that really help you become more stealthy and avoid enemies at all cost. Which by the way the guards are a lot smarter this time around due to the great AI in the game. Guards sometimes will light a flare to check around if they hear noises. They hide behind cover while in a fire fight. And even lay on the stomachs when the fights last awhile. The game lasts about 9-10 hrs and spreads out through 10 great levels. You have the option of difficulty at the beginning ranging from normal, hard, to expert. The game is probably the easiest of the series but that doesnt make it a bad thing. Gameplay also gets a perfect 5.
Graphics: These are literally some of the best graphics I have ever seen. There is so much detail in the environments and the characters that it sometimes looks too good. The lighting and shadow effects really bring this game to life. Sometimes it's even worth walking directly under a light just to see the sheer beauty of the graphics. Only to get shot afterward. Anyways, graphics are top notch and push the Xbox to it's limits. An easy 5.
Audio: First I just have to say that the music in this game is freaking awesome. Some of the best I have ever heard. Amon Tomin (sp?) did an excellent job. Furthermore the voice acting is superb, from all of the main characters to even the guards. They all sound believable and lifelike. Now for the sound, which is also really good. The nice clickedy clack of Sam's equipment as he uses them, the loud bursts of fire from the weapons, the great friction sound of Sam as he moves through vents. It's all just excellent.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
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Outlaw Golf 2
Overall: If you're looking for a game that will make you want to throw your controller through the TV, then I highly suggest this game. But, in all seriousness, if you like golf games and a lot of them seem too easy to you, then this just might be worth a look. I'd say rent it, but it's so cheap now for practically a few dollars more you could just buy as opposed to renting it.
Gameplay: Why they chose to make this game so difficult, I'll never know. It's to the point of being so ridiculously hard that it fails to be fun and only causes frustration. I am 0% through the tour. It's that difficult. Now, you're probably thinking I just suck at golf game’s and phail at life, well, you're half right. Not to sound conceited, but I kicked Links 2004's ass. I didn't have to retry a single challenge. But, this game of pure frustration, I can't even beat the first challenge.
Even when I just screwed around in Exhibition mode and set the difficulty to easiest I couldn't win. When I first started the round I see that the computer is aiming nowhere near the ball. "Thank God, I might actually have a chance." I think. Oh how wrong I was... I see that the computer aims for the wall and that makes the ball bounce and land right next to the hole. Doing this the normal way would have required 3 shots. And once again, I see the computer has kicked my ass. Now, I ask you, how am I supposed to have a chance against that? I tried to replicate their shot, but since I didn't know how hard they hit the ball or where they aimed it exactly, mine goes flying into the water.
Now the one almost redeeming factor is the mini-games. Which aren't ridiculously difficult and pretty fun. There's the Beat Your Caddy mini-game which just requires you to hit A as the boxing glove nears your caddy's face and my personal favorite, the Golf Cart Challenges. Where you drive through rings and go off ramps and fly through hoops. You can even run over people, which is always a plus in my book.
Graphics: The graphics in this game are kind of a mixed bag. The character's each look very different and they're pretty well animated, a lot of the girl's look and move pretty realistically. But, a lot of the courses are just plain thrown-together looking. Some actually look pretty cool and the graphics are better on some courses than others for some reason, but the spectators don't even look human. It looks like they put about 1 minute of time into creating them.
Audio: The voice acting is actually very good in this game. Nothing sounds over-done, it's just right. Even the background noises like birds and the sound of the waterfall sound great. But the music...oh my dear God, the music. I haven't heard 99.9% of this music before in my life and it's some of the worst I've ever heard. There isn't even a real category of music that they used, they just threw in the worst music from any genre imaginable. Thank God the Xbox has custom soundtracks.
Overall Score: 7.0 / 10
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Spider-Man: The Movie 2
Overall: I really enjoyed this game. It is a great distraction from some of the ‘heaver’ titles this season (Riddic, Manhunt, etc), and provides excellent bang-for-your-buck potential. You can play this game for well over 30 hours, or you can beat it in 10. It’s your choice. Too many games don’t let you make that game. Spider-Man 2 tried to give you the freedom to just play the game, and do what you want, and it succeeded at that. Sure the graphics could have been better, but the gameplay was so good that you didn’t notice that there was some fuzziness around some of the textures here and there. This game is like your first college girlfriend, it may not what you want to spend the rest of your semester with, but it’s great fun for a couple of months.
Gameplay: The gameplay in this title is outstanding. Those of you who played the first title will remember the fun that slinging around New York was. Well take that fun, multiply it by 10, and you have Spider-Man 2. One of the most brilliant things that this game accomplished was that the whole city of New York is open, with no load times, and no hiccups between areas. You can literally sling from one end of the Big Apple to the other. It’s truly fun. I spent several hours simply slinging all over the place. Not really accomplishing anything, but that’s the fun of this game. You’re not forced into completing any missions, or doing anything. Obviously you should if you want to progress in the game, but you don’t have to—and that freedom is awesome. You can’t do anything per se, since you cannot be a villain, but you can do just about everything else.
You are able to go on missions by speaking to people, or activating hovering markers throughout the city. Occasionally, you’ll be swooping through Manhattan and you’ll hear people below you screaming ‘help’ or some other cry for assistance, and you’ll know that there’s something going on below you. Also Peter Parker will sometimes interrupt you with a phrase like “Oh great! I’m going to be late for class!” and you’ll be encouraged to go somewhere and meet someone, which also advances the plot.
The combat is pretty good. It’s limiting, at first, but as you continue to purchase upgrades for Spider-man you are able to do a lot more. It is a fairly solid aspect to this game, as any action game should have. Where the game bogs down is during the boss battles. They are tedious at best, and can be so ridiculously irritating that it makes you pull tufts of hair out of your head. But this does not ruin the game, thankfully. I don’t know when it became acceptable to make bosses impossibly difficult, or ultra easy to beat but with an annoying manner of defeat, but it seems that we’ve had a slew of games in recent memory that have adopted this strategy (Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Metal Slug 3, etc). Thankfully, the major portions of this game are consumed with web-slinging from building to building, completing various challenges and tasks—being that superhero that you were always meant to be.
Graphics: Overall the graphics are okay. They don’t look as good as Ninja Gaiden, and don’t look as bad as Drake and the 99 Dragons. But I’m not sure they could have provided Ninja Gaiden quality graphics and still allow for the whole of New York to be rendered simultaneously. The full motion video looks a bit awkward, especially when the camera is zoomed in on any of the characters, and the models move like they’re doing “The Robot” anytime they move. The in game experience is pretty fun, you move seamlessly through the Big Apple, and Spidie looks pretty good doing it. You won’t be dazzled, but you won’t be disappointed either.
Audio: Pretty decent voice acting. Not all the real voices from the movie but pretty decent overall. Some of spideys one liners get old FAST.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Soul Calibur 2
Overall: Soul Calibur II will not disappoint you and will last you a long time, considering you have the patience to master some of the harder characters and combo. This game is one of the highlights of the 2003 gaming year.
Gameplay: Soul Calibur II, easy to learn, difficult to master. What I mean by this is that someone can pick up the controller and learn the basics of the fighting system (eight way run, horizontal, vertical attacks, etc.) in about an hour or less. But these basics are the bases of much more complex actions which are the bases of ever more complex actions! Someone can pick up this game and have a good time and then they can have an even better time trying to master the system. The only complaint I have is that some characters might seem to overpowered and ring-out are easy to get and rather annoying. Other than those complaints, Soul Calibur II has a gem of a fighting system.
Graphics: The graphics in this game are wonderful. If you thought Soul Calibur’s graphics were good, Soul Calibur II’s graphics will grab you by your eyes and burn them, but in a good way. The characters and stages are very detailed and nice to look at. The character combos look awesome and whether you are on the receiving end of the combo or not, you will enjoy watching them. The only complaint with the graphics is that there are minor clipping problems (hair going and weapons going right through characters’ clothing when the characters pose, etc) but that is minor complain. Namco did a wonderful job in this department.
Audio: The sounds in this game are great and, most of the time, sound authentic. The characters’ voices are for the most part, well done. But sometimes it sounds like the American voice actors were trying too hard with some of the voices which makes the voices sound a little fake, but that isn’t so bad. The music in this game also stands out. The tunes flow along well and fit each level for the most part. Even though it wouldn’t have hurt adding a little more fast-paced tunes to the game. The sound in this game gets the job done well, even though you might get tired of hearing some characters say the same thing over and over.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
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Madden NFL 2006
Overall: Overall, I think this is a great buy and worth $50. If you enjoyed the previous Madden Games, or if your new to football games, it is fun to everyone. I recommend it.
Gameplay: This is what the whole idea of football games come down too. Whether you like it or not. If you like realistic football games, then you will LOVE this. The game play is a little like Madden 05, but it has been improved drastically. They have plenty of new features also in this years game. NFL Madden 2005 was about defense, but this year...The O is what it is about. The tag line for this game is...The Year of The Quarterback. That statement is true in two new features. The first feature is the new QB Vision. It is a cone shaped vision, and you can look down field for your open receiver, or look for him in the flat. Either way, it will get some getting used to. It will take you a good 2-3 hours before you will get the hang of it, and I'm not sure if anyone will be able to prefect it. Another new feature would be precision passing. You can pinpoint wear you wanna pass, and you can pick apart the D. If you have a defender in front of you, throw it behind the receiver, and if he is trailing you, throw it in front of him. This year isn't just about the quarterback, it is also about the running back. Another new addition to this game would be the "Truck Stick" and it is similar to the "Hit Stick" With the new Truck Stick, you can knock oncoming defenders on there backsides, and continue on your way down to the end zone.
Graphics: The graphics for Madden 06 on the XBOX are phenomenal. They have improved drastically over the past year, and look like they will continue to get better. The presentation is also great. This year, they also have new facial features in this game. They have also re-added the infamous coming off of the helmet after a huge hit. There, you will see how real the faces look.
Audio: The sound in this game is spectacular. If you are a fan of rock music, or rap music...you will love the soundtrack. It has many new faces on the soundtrack, and it alternates between rap and rock song, so you can get the best of both. Also, the sounds during the game sound realistic. Whether you hear the grunt of a linebacker when trying to hit a quarterback, or the yell of a running back after trucking a corner back, it all sounds authentic and its like you are in the game.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
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Amped 2
Overall: A great sequel to a bad prequel. What I suggest you do? Rent it first obviously. I mean... I don't want you buying the game and finding out that it wasn't the game for you. Rent it first and then if you really like it, buy the game. This is actually a great game so I just advise you to buy it. :)
Gameplay: The gameplay was very, very good. The controls were simple, but not as simple that it gets boring very, very fast. It was easy to do a flip and what I thought, is now way, way easier to do a grab as in Amped 2 than in Amped 1. In Amped 1, you had to tap the A,B,X, or Y button and that is pretty difficult to do was A,B,X and Y also have other controls as well. I thought the accelerate for A was kind of annoying because when you let go of A, he automatically jumps. Also, when you try to jump when you accelerate, they go way, way to far. Way to far to actually be reachable in real life. The one option I like that most is custom soundtracks. I mean... most game music really, really sucks. Amped 2 actually has custom soundtracks and I really appreciated that about this game. Keep up the great work!
Graphics: Indeed, the graphics have gotten way better than in Amped 1. The snowboarding action is twice as good in Amped 1 and you have more extra details in there as well. When you stop, the snow actually spreads... far. It also doesn't have those ugly loading screens from Amped 1.
Audio: Everything was fluent and was totally great. The snow spread when you stopped was great and the crashed were okay at sometimes. This was also a very,very good improvement from the last Amped.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
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NHL 2K6
Overall: The 2K series wins again. This game is definitely still the hockey champ on the xbox. The gameplay is stellar and much better for people looking for less of an arcade hockey experience. For only 20 bux american and 30 canadian you can't go wrong with this one.
Gameplay: They brang back all the old goodies-- slapper, wristshot, snap shot, fake slapshot, poke check, diving poke check, checking, pinning, etc. That's all the same, for teh most part. However, they've added some new quot; type features:
Pro-Control Passing: In the years before this hockey game, dating back to the very first one, whatever it was, how many of you found passing a game of luck, if you will? Ah... fear no more, my friends! This has been fixed in a big way! Basically, this is the best new feature by far. What it does, is it allows you to bring up player icons, with the click of the right analog stick, and allows you to pass to that respective person with relative ease. Yep, no more guessing or awkwardly adjusting your body, just one click of the button and it's there, barring any interceptions. To remove the icons, simply press down the R analog again. Shuffling the puck just got a WHOLE lot easier!
Skating Backwards: Although you could do this on defense in last years game, you couldn't do it on offense. Now, you can by pressing and holding the R trigger (Xbox). This allows you to make better moves on the puck or keep yourself out of danger, depending on the situation.
Maximum Goaltending: By far the worst idea in the game. Good concept and unique idea, but it just falls short due to many other aspects of the game. Perhaps, if KUSH/2KSports could come up with a better view so you could play the puck better it would be a better idea, but until then, this one's better off in the trash.
Graphics: Obviously not the best in a sports game, but still enough to keep one satisfied. Even though the graphics on a whole probably aren't as good as NHL 06, the player models and body shape seem to fit the bill. Player movements seem as fluid as ever, and now with the enhanced gameplay it shows.
Audio: Although many a folk prefer the ESPN tandem, this year's announcers are famous in Canada. They are the CBC announcers and in my opinion sound much more realistic than the espn announcers. MAJORLY good move by the 2K team. So, you ask "Why such a high score?" Well because the in-game sounds are incredible. The ice sounds nice, especially when players stop on a dime and the ice shoots up. The grunts and impact sounds during checks are the best I've heard, and pad sounds are authentic sounding, also.
Suggestions: Doing awesome. Maybe a bit deeper franchise with more of a storyline or something and it will be STELLAR
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
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NHL 06
Overall: Can it get any worse than nhl 2005? I dont think so. This game is definitely better than 2005 but still not all that it could be. Many areas are improved but much is not up to par with the competing NHL 2K6.
Gameplay: The gameplay is decent. A definite drawback is the completely non aggresive AI defense. We went from a hit fest last year to defense that stand back and watch as you do whatever you please. You just cant win. Also the scoring in the game is ridiciously high on the medium setting which lots of people play at. Then if you put it to difficult it turns into a cpu one time frenzy.
Graphics: The visuals are very well done. The ice reflections and markings after players skate on it is very well done. The player models are very good as well.
Audio: The sound is getting better year by year in my opinion. The goofy commentary is starting to get a bit more serious and doesnt make you want to mute it after just 3 games. The on ice sound is great as well.
Headed in the right direction so far.
Suggestions: Please revamp the gameplay totally. Lets have some decent shot counts instead of 63 to 16. And lets make the goalies a bit better by having them play more positinal instead of flopping around like fish.
Overall Score: 7.0 / 10
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Blitz: The League
Overall: Football fans most own this, it is a jewel in need of shining but it is completely fun and enjoyable for the time it is out. Buy this if you need a sports game with a fun twist and a couple of F bombs on the side.
Gameplay: Blitz has the same 30 yard first downs, but don’t worry if anything it should be more. You should expect huge plays as you will be relying on a special gauge called the Clash Meter. Each time you use this meter the gameplay will slow down alloying you some time to think while almost doubling your chances for a successful play, Unless you are on defense then you will have to expect no slow down but major hits (Fumbles and Injuries should be expected!). This concept is fun to play with and really does not get old. In story mode it is fun to create a team from city to stadium while choosing 2 beginning stars to actually lead your team to victory. Live is fun and you will find yourself yelling in annoyance two player quick match.
Graphics: Could be better, but I only found real complaints in the game models in the story cinematic, they are too bland for a game revolved around a compelling story. You will not be disappointed in-game however so don’t worry.
Audio: The voice acting will leave your ears happy as there is not much to complain about, but it would be nice to have a bit more variation in the music soundtrack even though it is all pretty much good.
Suggestions: good work. some more extreme non-unleash tackles would be good.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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FIFA Soccer 2005
Overall: I have some clear problems with the game but overall due to Xbox Live support this is definetly a game worth picking up and is well worth the numerous hours you will spend trying to get shooting down and figuring out the online stuff.
Gameplay: A slight slip from last years despite the whole game was ultimatly the same I did have some issues. First off the control works quite well and this year instead of having to do the through balls manually you can now do it automatically with a touch of the Y button. You can still do it the old way if you want but the new way is easier. The AI has been improved, the computer will now change formations on the fly and knows better then to run down the center of the field. It is now a little harder to score off freekicks and corners which make for more believable scores even against easier difficulties. The shooting system in this game is impossible from long range because of the camera angle and it is very difficult to get in close because of the AI. This can lead to some frustrating moments in the game but once you get used to it the game is very fun.
Graphics: Similar to last years, improved but not by much. The faces look decent at best and the croud is clearly a cardboard cutout but the player models and animations all look fantastic. This is not to say I disliked the visuals the were fantastic all I'm saying is that they could have been a little bit better.
Audio: Same as last year as well. The sounds put you right in the middle of the game and the commentaters although they sound good are still using the same phrases as they were when FIFA was first introduced. This didn't bother me personally but some people might be bummed by those tiny little details. The soundtrack contains a nice variety of foreign music which is suiting for the game because football is mostly popular in the rest of the world as opposed to the US.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Overall: This game is really one that can truly stand out of a space cluttered with clones (Mercenaries, maybe Twisted Metal). It's a fine game that will go down to be a classic.
Gameplay: There are a ton of things to do in this game. You can drive around, you can kill people, you can go on missions, you can go on missions with friends for co-op (FINALLY!). The basic things like climbing and swimming have finally been added to make the game a lot easier. Oh and I forgot to mention, you can pick up hookers. Yeah. Shoulda saw that coming. Anyway, they also added a new RPG-esque system of game-play, where you have to actually manage your character like you would manage yourself in real life (per say). You have to eat right, you have to work out, or else you become a fat slob who can't do have of the missions he's sent on. Also, if you eat too much fast food, you throw up (Super Size Me anyone?). This adds a pretty deep element to playing this game as to where you don't have to always go around and shoot people or do missions. This game lasts a good long time, not only because it takes a while to make it through the main story, but because it's so dang hard! It took me 60 hours to finish the whole thing! It's all very fun and rewarding to do, because it defines true video games. Being very realistic but yet crazy enough to know not to imitate (I don't know what you parents are talking about). I really had a fun time with this game. A true game to stand the test of time.
Graphics: This is the only area where there are some true faults. The graphics, especially now on the Xbox version, are not up to par with other games. You'd think that now that you're putting this game on the Xbox, you could change some stuff. But alas, they haven't changed a thing. You don't see many of the characters move their lips when they're talking during cut-scenes! How does that work? Are they all master ventriloquists? The animations of the actual characters are well done, and so are the explosions. And for a game like this, that's a very good thing! I don't blame them for not updating because there's a ton of things for this game, but still, after so long of a change, they've gotta do something! They're still okay, but nothing outstanding.
Audio: This is keeping the trend that Vice City set. I mean the whole decade specific music. This game features a lot of music from the '90s, when rap was in it's infancy, and Guns 'N Roses reigned on top of the rock world. I loved all of the songs you heard on the radios while driving, so I give them big props for that. There are a ton of celeb voice-overs in this game, from James Woods to Samuel L. Jackson (THE MAN!). All of these are pretty well-done and pretty funny at times. The sound effects sound incredible! The explosions sound real, the gunfire sounds real, the cars thumping...well you get the idea. The sound is very very well done and is probably the best overall sound area I've ever reviewed. Again, not much change from the PS2, but that's definitely not a bad thing.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
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NHL 2005
Overall: This game just seems to continue to keep getting worse ever since 2002. The gameplay is slowly sliding down but at least the franchise mode is getting a bit more interesting.
Gameplay: This is what has killed this game this year. It seems all the defence knows how to do is body check and that just ruins the game.
Graphics: Not bad... not great. Ea sports will never really have a 5/5 for graphics on xbox but its not bad considering its a port.
Audio: I guess it would have to be the best part of the game.. the commentarry isnt too annoying and its not as whacky as previous years.
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
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Madden NFL 2005
Overall: The best game so far in the Madden series, and the best football game this year, overtaking both ESPN and EA Sport’s own NCAA Football from last year.
Gameplay: As in past years where the gameplay enhancements added little to the overall play of the game, like last years playmaker, this year it changes the entire complexion of the game. The offense remains pretty much the same with just a few upgrades. Option routes, where your WR chooses which route to run based on the coverage he is looking at. An increased pocket, boy do I enjoy this, actual protection from the offensive lineman, getting rid of speed blitzing by the D-Lineman for good. Playmaker is back, and is pretty much the same, though they claim the “point” where you can re-route your wide receivers in different directions to be improved, I see no real difference.
The real upgrade occurs on defense, finally, Tiburon getting around to addressing the issues of absurdly high scoring games in Madden, and the major issue of cheeseers in online games. The number one improvement, legitimate containment of the QB on Hail Mary type plays where people like to be the Falcons and run all day with Mike Vick. Unlike the last two years, you can actually stop that now, with containment plays. The number two addition, the hit stick, is a really cool feature, which at first sounds a bit arcadey, but is a well-implemented feature. The hit stick is a powerful hit that is very risky. In essence, you tap the right analog stick in the direction of the player you want to hit, if you hit him, he gets lambasted with a real pretty animation, if you miss, oops, you just gave up a huge play. It works really well on punt returns I’ve found, I have already created two fumbles with the hit stick, and given up a TD or two or three. Another innovation is improved DB logic, and it really shows, they have gotten rid of what I dubbed, “The Madden Catch,” where one could catch balls in quadruple coverage routinely. While it still is possible, usually if you double team a WR you can stop him from being a major factor in the game. Defensive Assignments allow you to assign a certain player to always cover another, real helpful if your opponent likes to run their best receiver in the slot, you can just throw your best CB on him and keep them together the entire game. And because I don’t know where else to put it, the new create-a-fan feature flat out sucks, the signs in NCAA 05 were so much better. Xbox Live is great as well, no hiccups at release like there were with NCAA, and a roster is already waiting for you to download, with the newest singing and cuttings, up to about the Tim Brown release. And there are plenty of tools to cut down on cheesing, like the inability to go for a 4th down in the first 3 quarters unless it is very short.
Graphics: The graphics are great, but this game was designed for the PS2 and it really shows in comparison to ESPN NFL, which has much better graphics. But the graphics are fine and just work; graphics have never been stealer, Doom 3-type in any football game, so these are fine. I just wish Tiburon would utilize the Xbox’s superior hardware.
Audio: The on field sound is fine, the booms, the hits, the snaps, its all there, but its old, it needs a boost, but I imagine this won’t happen until next-gen, and I am fine with that. But the commentary, god, get some new lines. Madden makes the same comments he has made since 2000, it’s really getting out of hand. But Al Micheals does fine play-by-play, so I guess its okay
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
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Dead to Rights II: Hell to Pay
Overall: The first Dead To Rights was an unabashedly ambitious game. With its stylish presentation and visceral gameplay, it became a sleeper hit. DTR2, in essence, strips most of the trappings away from the original, supplying a short, extremely violent game that will either leave you satisfied with the experience or wishing you had that part of your life back.
DTR2 will make an enjoyable rental to anyone who is a fan of early arcade shooters, or anyone who just wants a quick, bloody, explode-y romp through a moral vacuum. Otherwise, there are plenty of better ways to spend your time.
Gameplay: The original Dead To Rights was a fairly straightforward game to play. You were put in a level, given a weapon, and given a goal to accomplish, which was usually done by killing everyone that tried to stop you. This gameplay would occasionally be interrupted by a mini-game, which took the player out of Jack’s shoes. DTR2 abandons all of the diversionary mini-game from the original, instead focusing on the process of killing everything that moves. While this portion was the strength of the first game, it suffers without the breaks and sporadically interesting diversions that that game featured.
The controls, thankfully, are very good, and feel natural on the XBox controller. The left analog stick moves Jack through the game’s environments. You’ll enemies with the right trigger, and mash or hold down the A button to fire your weapon at your target. The right analog stick cycles through targets, and the D-pad allows you to cycle through your armaments. Pressing the X near an enemy causes Jack to grab that enemy, for use as a human shield. The Y button, pressed in conjunction with a direction on the left analog stick, has Jack do a dive in the chosen direction; if the button is held down for a second, rather than tapped, Jack’s dive will be in slow motion. Jack also has two special moves that he can use to murder bad guys with: pressing the white button will sic Jack’s dog, Shadow, on any targeted enemy, while the pressing the circle button near an enemy causes Jack to execute an excessively stylized slow-motion disarm. Both of these special moves will net Jack some ammo, as both the dog and the disarms give you the dead enemy’s weapon. The X and Y buttons also have Jack climb short obstacles, while the circle button interacts with switches and doors. For the curious hand-to-hand levels, A and X are your punch and kick, respectively, and Y blocks. The solid control scheme makes DTR2 an easy game to pick up and play.
DTR2’s guns are, really, the stars of the show. There’s plenty of variety in the weaponry you’ll use; pistols (wielded either one or two at a time), assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and rocket launchers all make an appearance. Just like in the original, Jack does not keep any guns for which he has run out of bullets, so whenever he runs out of ammo, he will drop the empty weapon. Luckily, with the tons of enemies you’ll be dispatching, as well as the above mentioned special moves, ammo is not going to be scarce. The game governs the use of the special moves (the slow-mo dives, disarms, and somewhat oddly the use of Shadow) via an adrenaline meter, which recharges over time after it has been depleted.
As a whole, the gameplay is repetitive, but its over-the-top violence and straightforward design are appealing simply because of their echoes of previous generations of shooters – games where killing the bad guys was the only reason to play. Much like these older games, the pacing of the game is frantic, as you’ll constantly be charging ahead, blasting baddies at every turn. Without any mini-games, the only breaks in the action come in the frequent (and excruciatingly long) load times, as well as some hand-to-hand combat levels. These levels are poorly implemented, as Jack will go from a level of shooting straight into one where he can’t use any guns. The melee combat is terrible compared to the shooting, as even the addition of melee weapons to the game can’t make the button presses interesting. Thankfully, these levels are few and far between. The whole game is rather short, although on the default difficulty it can be challenging at times.
Enemy AI is run-of-the-mill. Most bad guys are content just standing in one spot, blasting away at Jack. If Jack stays in one spot, your foes will toss grenades and Molotovs your way, which is good at keeping you moving most of the time. Still, if you should so desire, you can hide behind a corner, taking potshots and using your dog to kill everyone, while the enemies simply stand there and allow themselves to die.
Boss fights in DTR2 are bland and unmemorable. Bosses are essentially regular enemies with lots more health, as well as the annoying ability to make themselves invincible for intermittent periods of time. Disappointing is a word that comes to mind when describing these, as the first game had several enjoyable and original fights.
For a shooter, DTR2 doesn’t do much in the way of extras to make it stand out from the pack, and that ultimately is what makes it stand out. This game is a throwback to a time when videogames were simple, mindless tests of reflexes, and that fact will definitely define its appeal to the game market.
Graphics: Much like the first game, DTR2’s menus utilize a simple, to-the-point style. All your options are clearly presented, and everything has a clean, neat visual look. Pause menus are easy to navigate, and there is even a pause that allows you to review your goals for the given level, unnecessary as it may be. DTR2 keeps the original’s simple menu style, and ultimately this is a good thing.
There are several cutscenes in DTR2, and they are all pre-rendered; unfortunately, none of these look very impressive, save for the introductory video (which, incidentally, does not play any role in the story whatsoever). Chunky character models and bland textures are the norm, and after seeing the in-game visuals, you’ll come to understand why this is.
From a graphical standpoint, DTR2 could have well been an XBox launch title. Everything is low-polygon and low-resolution. Environments are repetitive and mundane, save for a small level of destructibility. Character models look blocky, and animate stiffly to boot. The enemies you will face are the same 20 or so models repeated ad nauseum, and since the whole point of the game is to mow through hundreds of them, you will grow tired of them in a hurry. Effects are done in a similarly unspectacular manner; everything looks good enough, but nowhere near great – although, in the game’s defense, it does Molotov Cocktail and grenade explosions well. In another visual leftover from the first game, the color palette is consistently darker than most games, although in DTR2 there are several outdoor environments. There are also plenty of graphical bugs, such as enemies clipping through corners and problems with pathing on AI-controlled characters. The frame rate, for the most part, does a good job of remaining constant.
While the original game’s average visuals could be construed as a sign of developmental focus elsewhere, it is clear in DTR2 that the visual aspects of the game were constructed to be purposefully middling.
Audio: There are more than 20 weapons to play around with in DTR2, and they all sound how you would expect: overstated and cheesy. The sound effects are about as bland as the visuals, although there are no terribly egregious problems. Synching for the guns and explosions are solid.
The voice acting in DTR2 is significantly worse than that of its forerunner, which is very disappointing, due to the middling quality of the voiceovers in that game. Most of the speech you will hear comes in the form of profanity-saturated one-liners by Jack and the clone army he murders his way through, and none of it is any better than corny. Worse yet, you’ll hear every line from the enemies dozens of times, and Jack’s own lines hundreds of times! The little bits of voiceover work during the cutscenes are bland and, at times, ridiculous. Overall, the severe lack of quality voice work hurts the game’s cr music is low-key and, luckily, merely average. It plays constantly in the background, never changing pitch or key along with the action. The tunes themselves are generic rock or techno, and are nothing if easily forgettable.
As with the visuals, DTR2’s audio features a significant drop off in quality from the previous game in the series. Where the previous game had been merely average, DTR2 is just plain bad.
Overall Score: 5.0 / 10
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Hulk, The
Overall: This game has to be the best super hero game out there right now. The Hulk has always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to video games, and I thought it would happen again when I saw that Universal Interactive was working on the game (especially after flops like the Lord of the Rings Fellowship games). After an hour of play all of my doubts were long gone and I was having the most fun that I had ever had with a super hero game. If you are a Hulk fan you don't need to read this review, hurry and buy this game, everyone else read the review and then rent the game. I will admit that the game isn't perfect and people will disagree with my score, but for a Hulk fan it couldn't get any better.
Gameplay: If you can't control this game, you can't play video games. This is the easiest game to pick up and play from the get go. All of the battle controls are easy to learn and there is enough variation in attack so the game never gets boring. The only problem I ever encountered was the camera, but the camera isn't so bad that the game isn't playable.
Graphics: Wow... The graphics are simply astounding. The form of cell shading used makes this game look like a comic book come to life. Everything was made with vivid colors and plenty of detail. The character models are simply astounding to look at because of the amount of detail each one has. Another great thing about the graphics is if you see something hanging from a wall, more likely than not you will be able to knock it down and use it as a weapon. I have never seen that much environment interaction in a game before. The only thing that keeps the graphics from a perfect score is the fact that many of the environments look the same. The only level that doesn't look like another level is the introduction level in the desert. If it weren't for the reuse of so many backgrounds, the graphics would've been perfect.
Audio: This is the weakest aspect of the game and it still isn't too bad. The problem with the sound is the fact that everything sounds alike and the background music never changes. It really starts to annoy you after about 2 hours of play and I had to turn off the sound during gameplay parts. The reason the sound got a score higher than a 4 is because of the voice acting. Eric Bana, the actor who plays Bruce Banner in the movie, reprises his role and does a fairly good job. All of the other voice actors did a fairly decent job, aside from the soldier banter that wears thin through out the game.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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X2 Wolverine's Revenge
Overall: The reviews for this game have been all over the place, which I think is unfair. You can't compare this game to Splinter Cell or Halo because it's simply an entirely different type of game. If you want a ''perfect'' game, this may not be for you. However, despite its flaws, Wolverine's Revenge is the answer to many X-fans prayers because it really does deliver an adventure that takes full advantage of Ol' Canuk's special abilities. A definate buy for fans and most definately a rental to everyone. You won't be dissappointed.
Gameplay: Now THIS is where the game really hits a homerun outta the park! When most average people hear the name Wolverine they think '' OH YEAH that's the guy with the claws!'' and it would've been very easy to make the game based on just that. Activision took the next 3 steps and incorporated his healing factor (in a suprisingly balanced way) as well as his heightened senses and combat prowess. You actually FEEL like Logan as he searches for his past, using your senses and taking on outrageous missions...with the occasional SNIKT! of course, heh. In addition to stealth kills (which earn you Bonuses and new moves), you have a very interesting combo system that will allow you to take out as many as 3 foes at once! This level of immersion is no small feat and it shows how much effort Activision has put into this game. I could go on about this category for a few pages but then you'd all fall asleep so.....
Graphics: While the character models are well done (especially in the FMV's), they are a little on the choppy side in terms of animation. Anyone who has played Spiderman on the Box will know what to expect. Also, the indoor environments look a little muddled, but whether or not that was intentional is up for debate. I've always felt that the Activision teams had trouble making a living, breathing world in their games...and this one is no exception. With that said, there are some very good lighting effects as well as ''weather effects'' (snow, raindrops, etc.). The coolest graphical feat in the game would have to be the Heightened Sense mode. The screen goes blood-red and you can actually see the heat emissions of your enemy's as well as ''sniff'' their scent. Very cool stuff.
Audio: Everything sounds as it should. Metal clanging, wood breaking, yadda, yadda. The voice acting is VERY well done. Mark Hamill had me worried, but he pulled Logan off really well. Patrick Stewert voices Prof X with the same passion that he brought to the movie, and it adds a lot to the experience. The in-game score is passable, but you'll probably want to create your own custom soundtrack.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Yager
Overall: Yager will perhaps go unnoticed by the gaming public by and large (thanks mainly to its non-appearance in the US), but those that have a means to grab a copy should do so. Yager represents an apotheosis of console shooters dating back to the 16 bit era. Currently, it is by far the best 3D space shooter available on a console (leaving aside Smilebit’s efforts) and one of the best games available for the Xbox.
Gameplay: You can see elements of other games in the main gameplay dating back as far as the Strike games on the Megadrive (Genesis) and Super Nintendo systems. More recently, Yager shares many similarities with Gunmetal and Battle Engine Aquila. You take the role of Magnus Tide pilot of the Sagittarius, a hybrid craft capable of sustained flight (Jet mode) and a Hover mode that allows you to fire from a stationary position. Yager is set in the world of the near future where there are no longer any nation states. Rather, allegiances are defined by which Trade Zone you belong to. Two of the more powerful Zones are Proteus (a conglomerate of old Western ideologies i.e. the good guys) and the DST (a fascist, militaristic organisation hell bent on total domination), both of which are at each other’s throats. Into the mix comes Tide, an ex-Proteus marine turned freelancer (mercenary) who has come crawling back to Proteus for one last score. The story has a black comedy tinge to it as it unfolds over the 20 or so missions. You’ll encounter a raft of humourous support characters (the Spanner Brothers being the best, they have interesting uses for furniture) and you’ll have a front row seat to Tide’s attempts to get back into Sarah McDavid’s (his superior and former lover) good graces (long story). Needless to say, while the back-story can be cheesy sometimes, it manages to remain interesting throughout.
Each mission takes place within a Zone, a large patch of terrain littered with power-ups, repair points and ammunition caches. At the beginning of each mission you are given a brief overview of what the coming objectives may be, however, these usually change dramatically as you’re forced to run off to defend an encampment or destroy a DST Carrier. Mission objectives vary from level to level, with a healthy mix of offensive and defensive stages. The Zones themselves are quite massive. While most of the action is confined to one section, there are instances where you’ll be able to go off and do a little exploring between objectives. The control of the craft in both modes is very intuitive. I was initially surprised to find how similar it felt to a first person shooter. In this regard Yager Development have successfully nailed the divide between the two modes on offer unlike previous attempts (read Gunmetal). One must note that Yager isn’t entirely a conventional space shooter. Some missions require you to keep you distance from your target in Hover mode while others require the full frontal approach in Jet mode. Yager balances between the modes of play admirably. There are a number of ways you can approach a mission and dogfighting that lends to Yager to a style of non-linear combat. My only gripe is that the craft in Jet mode is quite slow. While speed isn’t an issue when you’re dogfighting with DST cruisers or pirates, it becomes evident when you have to traverse large areas of terrain on your way to the next check point. Overall though, while it may take time to get used to the controls, once mastered you won’t be struggling with them throughout the entire game. Yager Development has successfully produced a title that is better because of the sum of its different parts
Graphics: It’s no secret that the Xbox is a graphical powerhouse, and Yager Development has made full use of its capabilities. Yager may very well be the best looking game on the Xbox to date. Everything is extremely detailed and crisp. The Sagittarius is fully animated and articulated in the chase views and you can even see your ship taking damage from all angles. In the cockpit view, your visor will crack and spider as you take hits from enemy fire. Special note must be made of the sky. It looks incredible, especially at dusk. Every hue in the rainbow is on display, sometimes I found myself distracted from the action I’d fly off just to look at the horizon. When you do remember to do battle, you’ll witness wonderful lighting effects as ships explode and laser fire reflects off the ocean’s surface. The Zones themselves look fantastic, the best being the Free Trade Zone. Throughout the FTZ you can see freighters hauling cargo along trade routes. Commercial craft zipping around the ocean. There are evening reporters buzzing about who will take your picture if you’re not careful. About the only fault with the graphics is that there is no landscape deforming, no matter how much you shoot that hill it will remain unmarked. That said, most of the action takes place in the sky, you’ll hardly notice what you have destroyed on the ground. Overall, you’d be hard pressed to find a better looking game on any system available.
Audio: Like the graphics, the sound is very well done. The voice-overs in particular show what a little effort in a game can do to the overall package. All of the major characters are extremely well done (Sarah in particular is the modern definition of the confident woman) but the NPC’s for change are also well voiced. You’ll hear all manner of different accents and when you manage to !&%$@#* someone off, they let you know in no uncertain terms. The music is sometimes incidental to the gameplay, but it is a stirring orchestral score nonetheless. Craft engine noises are also superbly done so much so you can distinguish the whine of DST fighter from the hum of a pirate one. Well done overall.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Dawn of Destiny
Overall: This game could have been a lot better than it was, had it not been rushed. This game is perfect for Xbox Live, and it's therefore a real letdown that this feature wasn't included. As far as renting or buying, I would suggest renting, unless of course you're a huge Yu-Gi-Oh fan, in which case I don't even need to tell you to buy it.
Gameplay: In this game, you are a duelist who's sole purpose is to beat a slew of other duelists, which are, of course, spawned from the TV and manga series. It plays the exact same way as the other games, so if you've played those before, the learning curve isn't exactly steep. The game follows the rules of the actual card game, requiring you to basically knock out your opponents life points before they knock out yours. A point that makes this game slightly better than the others is that the AI "cheats" significantly less, leading to a richer gaming experience.
Graphics: This is the part where the game really falters. The card setup looks exactly like it did in the GBA version. The background is bland, Egyptian landscape, except when you summon a field spell card, which results in a psychedelic swirling of colors in the background. The fights between the monsters are horrible, as the models are poorly rendered, and look worse than many N64 games. Truly, Konami did not at all take advantage of the Xbox's superior gaming engine.
Audio: The music in this game is just kinda there. You don't really notice it unless you're paying attention, and if you are, it's nothing spectacular.
Overall Score: 5.0 / 10
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Alias
Overall: Alias is just another poorly made game, riding on the fanbase of the TV series. I really can’t recommend Alias to anyone other then big fans of the show, but even then, I’d be weary of a purchase. If you really want the opportunity to play as the Alias cast yourself, then be my guest and get the game. Don’t come crying to me when you’re disappointed with it. Just keep it at a rental at best.
Gameplay: Alias is part action-adventure and part stealth, a combination of genres mixed many times before. The adventure part has you wandering around the area, often completing an objective. Pretty standard for an adventure game. The main sections of Alias are stealth based. You may think that since it focuses mainly on stealth, that it would be a good stealth game. Well, sadly, this game is merely a simplistic stealth game filled with decent A.I. enemies. The game also tells you how to get through your obstacles every step of the way. The game points you in the right direction and tells you what to do multiple times throughout the game, making the game overly simplistic. Also, the clunky controls and awkward camera cause the game to become a chore at times. While the controls are manageable, there are times when you’ll find it difficult to perform even some of the simplest of moves, such as putting your back against the wall. Splinter Cell, this is not.
Occasionally, the game uses a unique cinematic split-screen view, showing you when a enemy or guard is doing something. This alerts you of incoming danger. Much like other spy games, you are equipped with a variety of gadgets. Each level varies in which devices you have depending on what the mission calls for. However, you are usually told when and what gadgets you need to use when you do, so you really never have to experiment. While there are a variety of firearms you can use to slay your foes, you’re often forced to use hand-to-hand combat. Fighting consists of pressing either A or X. Pressing them multiple times results in executing combos. The fighting, however, feels very clunky. By pressing B next to certain objects, you can grab and use assorted items as objects, such as pots, pans, wine bottles, and many other things. You pretty much need to use weapons in order to knock out your enemies, because hand-to-hand takes forever, especially if you’re ganged up on. However, you’re never really presented with any challenge in this game. This is mainly thanks to the dim-witted A.I. There were times that I was standing in a light room, with a guard facing right towards me, and he didn’t even notice me. I guess villains will hire anybody these days. Even when holding high-powered weaponry, they seem to hesitate to attack you. And, for some strange reason, Sydney seems to have the ability to regenerate her health, Wolverine style. Alias has moments when you need to hack computers, but since the hacking is a simple bout of “process of elimination,” it proves practically no challenge.
Graphics: At first glance, the graphics in the game look very nice. The character models and detail found in the beginning cutscene are remarkably life-like, as each of the characters resemble the ones found in the show, although they don’t perfectly resemble their TV counterparts. However, once you get into the game, it begins to look more average. Sydney and the other main characters have the best looking character models in Alias. The other characters and enemies in it don’t look anything spectacular. The textures found throughout the levels aren’t breathtaking either.
Audio: The game does have almost every character from the show doing their character’s voice acting, so that's a big plus. There is one thing you’ll notice during the talking segments in-game. When talking, the character’s mouth doesn’t move. On top of that, you’ll find little variation in the guards dialog. During the missions, you’re accompanied by normal Alias theme music that you’d find in the show. You’ll find a few licensed songs playing during some of the brawling scenes, so you get some variation there.
Overall Score: 5.0 / 10
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Airforce Delta Storm
Overall: That pretty much sums it up if you are a Xbox owner I would recommend picking up this game it is very good, Especially if you like flight-Sims. You should not have my problem finding it anymore because I see it in a bunch of different place now. If you are specifically looking for this game I would suggest looking at eb first. I hope you enjoyed my review and found it useful. It is my first review so please don’t be to harsh. Thanks for Reading.
Gameplay: The gameplay is unbelievable. I Just love it. I love how you have to buy your planes. I also like how you planes are not kept if you are shot down. This is realistic but it makes the game extremely challenging, and the only plane you get to keep is the corsair and that plane just sucks it is so heavy and it is very slow. it doesn't even have an afterburner. Another hard part is the some of the missions. Some are set up so if you don't go the exact right speed and direction you will fail the mission. This brings up another good fact there is no plane in the game that can just go and kill hundreds of planes and not get a scratch. Even with the most powerful plane the missions are still difficult. The rest of the missions are really fun they are long but they are not drawn out you get to fly though canyons, over the ocean, through snowy mountains and many more. I also like all the different enemies you fight you get to fight tanks, boats stationary guns full bases, and of course there are tons of airborne crafts to shoot down. Well that’s it for the gameplay.
Graphics: The graphics in my opinion use all of the Xbox’s potential. In my opinion they are perfect they could not have made them any better than they are. The graphics are also smooth and crisp. I’ve yet to see a fault or a skip or a scratch in the graphics. The planes look like they should. The game uses mostly imagined planes but they are not unbelievable designs. They look like planes we might see maybe in the next ten years. That’s just about all I can say about the graphics except restate that they are perfect.
Audio: That sound is the only other thing that nicked the score. I’m not says the sound is bad. The sound is fine. The problem is the music. The music is not horrible it is just sometimes a little slow. Like if you are flying in the open air with no enemies near by there is only quite kind of a tune playing in the background. This lead me to another problem the music is not really a song it is like a tune and on top of that you can’t you the custom soundtrack that is a big bust especially with the lack of actual music. One thing I do like is when you die it plays a little bit of final fantasy seven music… da da da dea, dea dea dna, dae dae dau. Hah hah hi hi hoh. Ok sorry enough of that. Thanks to my friend for noticing that. Personally I crash just to here that little clip sometimes. Another part of the music I like is when you are in a dog fight (Close quarter fight between 2 or more planes) the tunes get to be really good.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
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Advent Rising
Overall: All in all, I would give Advent Rising a 4/5. It's a nice, unique presentation that the developers give you, but frame rate problems and a few minor problems might turn some people off to it. Though the game isn't as long as some people, including myself, would like it to be, it is still an average length for its genre. The movie-style presentation, average graphics, superb music, fluid controls, character(strength-wise) development, and various other unique tidbits will make this game remembered. However, the frame rate problems, minor flaws, length, and main character may turn some off. If you're worried about your hard earned money going to waste, rent this game at a local rental shop or from GameFly. If, like me, you've been anticipating the game for a while and will be happy with what it does do well, then go out and purchase it. It's something both the casual and hardcore gamers should like and any patient action fan should enjoy, but it is a hate it or love it type of game. I, obviously, unbiasly love it for what it is, but play it yourself before jumping to conclusions about it.
Gameplay: Ahh, the most important part of any game. First off, the controls of the game have been well done. The flick targeting system ranges from alright to downright annoying at times and is sort of hard to adjust to at first. Luckily, there's a kind of auto-targeting that occurs when you fire and aren't locked on to anything, so if you can't pick up and get a hang on the controls at first, you'll be fine. But, sometimes the game will automatically lock on to enemies and you'll have to hold down the right joystick to stay locked off of them. It's kind of annoying, until you realize holding down the joystick keeps the target free. The rest of the controls are easy to get used to and are decently done. Even though some buttons are used for different things (for instance, Y is used to pick up a right-hand weapon and to reload), the two rarely clash. The only time they do is when you're trying to pick up a weapon for your left hand. Since X is both Dodge and the button to pick up the left hand weapon, if you don't completely stop, your character will dodge instead of picking up the weapon. It only takes a second to stop and pick up the weapon, so unless you're at the very end of your life, you won't be harmed much from doing this. And finally, the vehicle controls are done averagely. The vehicles and how you drive them are just like in Halo; you move the camera to help you steer where you want to go, along with moving the stick, and the right trigger hits the boost for the vehicle. It's not perfect and it's not horrible.
Graphics: As for the graphics, they aren't anything too spectacular or unique. They're on par with most 2005 Xbox games, if not a little worse. The stages are nicely done and are, later on, special. In the beginning, though, they're your normal "in a space ship" stages. And, for the characters, they're definitely different. The humans aren't really unique. The main characters | |
