MEMBER PROFILE FOR Flood
Average Overall Score Given: 8.05714 / 10
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Reviews
Rogue Ops
In recent years, the third person stealth combat genre has been a very popular one among gamers. Some games have pulled it off very nicely, like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Splinter Cell. But unfortunately, some copy cats of these two great games have fallen short of being as good as them. Is Rogue Ops the exception, or does it fails like so many others have in the past?The game?s plot is far from original. You control Nikki Connors in a battle against (you guessed it) a terrorist organization called Omega 19. Nikki is fighting for a counter terrorism group called Phoenix, not to mention her own personal vendetta to avenge the death of her husband and daughter (another BIG surprise).
The game plays like any other stealth oriented game. You are dropped at a location and are given a mission via radio (be it kill a key person or plant bombs in various places). Your job is to carry out the orders without being seen as much as possible. It has all the workings of being a decent game except for 2 main things: the controls and the camera. Rogue Ops uses the standard control set up of camera being controlled by the right thumbstick and movement with the left thumbstick. Usually this set up works well, but not in this case. The movement of the camera is not fluid at all. Often you will find enemies shooting at you while you try to realign the camera so you can get a good shot at them. This is a big problem for a game that relies on quick thinking and action.
Speaking of action, this review wouldn?t be complete without mentioning the action button. The action button is grab, climb, jump, press, open, etc... all in one button. That?s right; you can?t do any of these actions without it being the proper time, not even jump. In order to climb a ladder for example, you have to look at the ladder and wait for an icon to appear. If the icon is orange, that means you?re too far away, so you must move closer until it turns green and THEN you may climb the ladder. Once again, this disrupts the flow of the game greatly.
One plus I will give this game is its stealth combat system. When you sneak up behind an enemy, you press the action button and then a timer pops up on the screen with a string of arrow directions. In order to perform the stealth move successfully, you must press the thumbstick in the order on the screen before the timer runs out (around five seconds). This is much more challenging that pressing one button to kill someone silently as in other games.
The graphics in Rogue Ops aren?t the greatest, but aren?t the worst. The cut scenes look very nice and make you wish the whole game looked like that. But the in game graphics are sadly not as good. The character models are decent, but the face maps are not too pretty. It looks as if they just recycled the same face map for all of the characters with minor changes. When a character talks, they show very little to no movement in the face other than the occasional blinking or the off time mouth movement (which makes cut scenes look like spaghetti westerns dubbed over in English). The game is lacking in the shadows and lighting department as well. Shadows have little to no definition at times so it?s hard to tell if you?re in a shadow or not, which is very frustrating if you?re trying to hide from a camera or enemy.
The in game sound isn?t anything special. When it occurs, the environmental sounds are mediocre at best. Foot steps, gunshots, and screams are all greatly lacking. Even the voice acting, which is usually decent in most games, didn?t really impress me. The actors voices almost always sound like they?re talking in monotone, which gives their voices no soul or memorable character what so ever.
Suggestions: Don't copy other games so much and try and develope a completely original game(especially the plot...the terrorist plot is so overused).
Definetly work on the camera...and add a jump button!
Overall Score: 5.2 / 10
Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance
Ever feel like avenging the death of your leader using swords and battle axes? If the answer is yes, than Gladiator is just the game for you.Set in ancient Rome, your character has been chosen by the gods to fight anyone who gets in your way to win back the throne of the Roman Empire that was stolen from the people.
To put it simply, this game plays a lot like Gauntlet. You go around on a set path, killing anyone who gets in your way. The fighting system isn?t greatest though. At first glance it seems like they have a semi-decent combo system, but in the end it turns into a button masher. The controls consist of two attack buttons (each which do the same thing), two ?lock on target? and a dodge button. What is it missing? A Block Button! All the enemies you face and block your attacks, but your only line of defense is to use the dodge button to roll away or jump back a few steps. Your character also lacks the ability to jump at free will. The only time you are allowed to jump, is at designated points by pressing the ?action button?.
Even then, it?s impossible to miss a jump, thus taking some fun out of the game. As you go along on your journey, you will come across challenges which will unlock special features like new items that can be found, or the most useful, yet most frustrating one: the fight gauge. The more unique strings of attacks you do, the more the fight gauge goes up, as does the power of your attacks. But the developers also decided to put a field of multicolored nonsense rotating around your character when his fight gauge is built up. This is very frustrating, especially in heavy combat, because it makes it VERY hard to see your character and the enemies very close to you.
Overall, the way it plays is lot like a Gauntlet rip-off, except for one major thing: Gladiator is only ONE Player! This game would have been a LOT more fun if they would have added the ability to play with friends. The only other major problem this game has is lack of a difficulty setting. Experts in hack and slash fighting games will find this game very easy.
The graphics in Gladiator are pretty decent. The character models are quiet nice, a problem found in most games nowadays. The landscapes and environments aren?t the best seen on the Xbox, but they?re far from the worst. There is one area where you fight in tall grass which looks real nice from a distance, but at a closer look, the grass looks very pixilated. One aspect of the game that isn?t pretty is the camera.
The only control you have over the camera is zooming in and out, that?s it. One would figure that since there?s no control over the camera, it would stay the same most of the time right? Nope, you?re not that lucky. The camera is always changing; making the game feel like a Hollywood movie, but really affecting your game play.
The sound is the only place where this game actually shines. The game is set in ancient Rome, and they got some great voice actors to fit the parts. Many games over look this, but Gladiator did quite a good job in this department.
When listening, it makes you feel like you?re watching Julius Caesar because it sounds like it should. Environmental sounds are pretty good too. The sound of wind rustling the grass, and the waves crashing against the beach all sound very good.
Suggestions: Fix the camera! The ability to zoom in and out isnt enough. Add multiplayer as well, it would make the replay factor much higher.
Overall Score: 6.0 / 10
Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack
After being announced, cancelled, and then re-announced, the latest titles in the Grand Theft Auto series have finally made it to the Xbox. Let me be the first to say that it was well worth the wait. The most talked about and controversial games in the last two years have never looked and played better. Rockstar really showed Xbox fans how much they love them with all the improvements they have made to these games exclusively for the Xbox.The gameplay of GTA 3 and Vice City are truly unique. The game?s open ended play has been copied by many, but none have pulled it off as good as the GTA series. One can play through the missions in any order you choose, or just drive around and kill innocent bystanders for hours on end. The story, missions, and layout of the cities are exactly the same as previous versions of the games, which isn?t bad for new fans, but those who have already played the games on the PC or PS2 might be disappointed.
Both games have you control a character who is trying to get by in the city. He goes around and makes money by doing odd jobs for various big shots in town. Jobs range from putting a hit on someone to driving people from point A to B. The mission cut scenes are fairly decent too, unlike other games. I found myself actually laughing at some of the jokes in a few key scenes. There?s never a dull moment in either game.
The controls are very good and responsive. The handling while driving cars changes as the terrain changes almost realistically. So don?t expect to go speeding around a turn while it?s raining and not run into oncoming traffic. The hit detection is slightly off at times and every once in a while there?s some clipping issues. Other than that, the controls are near perfect.
This is where the Xbox version of these games got a MAJOR face lift. Anyone who has played either game on the PS2 can tell you that they were far from perfect in the graphics department. Rockstar fixed all of that for the Xbox. The character models, cars, and buildings don?t have all the ugly ?jaggies? that were present in past versions of the games. Everything looks a lot smoother and the frame rate is much improved as well.
Oh, but that?s not all! The lighting has been improved drastically. Street lamps and headlights now reflect off of objects in real time. Not to mention the nice reflections on windows and cars coming from lighted store signs as it rushes by. Rockstar did a great job of improving the look of the in game fire and water as well. So now as you ditch your flaming car into the river, it looks a lot more realistic.
The one feature that didn?t seem to be improved much was the sound. The voice acting is good, but all other sounds are another story. Both games? sound effects are mediocre at best. Some of the guns sound like toys when you fire them. Makes you wonder if your character accidentally picked up a cap gun instead of an Uzi. The one good thing though is that they enabled custom soundtracks for both games.
It wasn?t needed as much in Vice City due to the large amount of 80?s music which fits the theme of the game quite well already included. But the radio stations in GTA3 are awful! Now I can listen to ?it?s a small world? as I run over gang members in a fire truck or create a massive pileup at an intersection with a rocket launcher.
Suggestions: Better sound effects. Guns should sound like real guns, not toys. And don?t wait so long to bring the next GTA to Xbox!
Overall Score: 9.2 / 10
NBA Jam
If you miss the phrases "Boomshakalaka" and "Is it the shoes?" coming out of your TV, then you're gonna love the new NBA Jam! Not only is the original commentator, Tim Kitzrow; back in the hot seat, but the latest NBA Jam title is definitely the greatest. With all your old favorite dunks and stars of the NBA, but with lots and lots of new features and unlockable content. The arcade classic has just gotten a whole lot better!The gameplay in NBA Jam is a lot like previous versions, except one major difference. The game is now 3 on 3 instead of the usual 2 on 2. Sadly there is no option to switch to the classic 2 on 2, which would have been nice. At first, the added player to each team is a bit confusing and frustrating. After a game or two, you'll get used to it and be taking advantage of the added player every chance you get. One addition to the gameplay is the use of Jam Points. At the top of the screen in a game is a jam points meter. To get jam points, you have to do things such as steal the ball, make a basket, or perform crazy dunks like a triple ally-oop. When you fill the jam points bar, you have the ability to activate a hot spot (introduced in NBA Jam T.E.) worth between 3-7 points.
Jam points also accumulate and after each game you can use them to purchase unlockables in the Jam Store. Items such as new courts, cheat codes, and new attire for existing or your created characters, which is also a new addition to NBA Jam. The create-a-character option isn't as expansive as other games, but it does its job. You can also use your jam points to increase your created character's attributes or make a dream team consisting of all your favorite stars.
The best new feature to the series is the Jam Tournament and Legends Tournament. The Jam Tournament pits you against all 29 NBA teams in order to make it to the top. The Legends Tournament is what really makes this game stand out above all the others. In order to win, you must play teams of the best players from the past to the present. You start out playing against Pre-70's teams. Not only are you playing players whom retired MANY years ago, but also you see the game as it was back then, Black and White! You also get to listen to music from that time period and an old time style commentator. As you beat all the teams in a time period, not only do the characters become playable, but you move on and the display, music, and commentator all change. One complaint though is the AI is really cheap.
Every chance they get they steal the ball or knock you down. Eventually you will learn their tactics, but it can be really frustrating at first. And for people who want to pick up the controller and have a good time, there unfortunately is no option to switch the difficulty. The default camera can also be annoying at time, but luckily there is the option to change that. My biggest complaint of all is that it's not playable on Live. They added the ability to download content in the future, but no play on Live? WHY???????
The graphics in NBA Jam are nothing groundbreaking, but I wasn't expecting them to be. A game such as this, which doesn't try to be realistic, doesn't need the most detailed graphics. But it looks good for what it is, and arcade style basketball game.
The new dunks and animations look spectacular and really light up your TV screen. When the players are souring through the air doing backflips well above the backboard, it makes me wish I had a big screen TV.
The sound in game is great! The placement of bits of music is perfect and doesn?t distract you from the game. But just because music isn't constantly playing doesn?t mean its quiet the rest of the time. Between the crowd and the commentator, there is never a dull moment.
Unlike past NBA Jam titles, the commentator has plenty of sayings so you won't get sick of hearing the same things over and over. One of my favorite sayings is from the pre-70's commentator, "he's heating up like an electric blanket".
Suggestions: They should have made this playable on Live. It would have been so fun! The ability to change the difficulty would be nice too. Other than that, I have no complaints.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Midnight Club 2
This is the summer for street racing fans. Not only did the sequel to the movie Fast and the Furious come out, but Rockstar Games has released Midnight Club 2, the latest and greatest street racing game for the Xbox. Race in three huge cities across the globe against the computer or any of your friends on Xbox Live. Midnight Club 2 will satisfy anyone?s need for fast arcade style racing.Sick of racing games that feel like they?re always stuck in first gear? Well you don?t have to worry about that with Midnight Club 2. The gameplay is very fast paced, but not too fast like some racing games. Also unlike some racing games, the controls are quite good and precise. As you get farther in the game, you unlock new tricks to use while racing which are taught to you on screen instead of leaving you to figure it out on your own like other games. The gameplay won?t get boring either as there is much variety with every turn you take. There are three basic gameplay modes: Career, arcade, and online. In career, you start the game in Cruise mode, where you can freely roam the massive city to get a feel for the game. When you?re ready to race, you find a challenger using the map and flash your lights at them. From there, you race them (and other racers) in different styled races. To win, you must finish in first place. The more races you win, the more (and better) cars you get. After you defeat all the challengers in a city, you move onto the next. As the races go on, the harder the competition gets. That?s the great thing about Midnight Club 2, it?s actually challenging. You?ll have to race the same 2 minute race over and over again until you finally get the edge on the other racers or figure out a strategy.
Arcade mode is basically just multiplayer play offline. There are three types of multiplayer games: circuit, detonator, and capture the flag. Circuit racing is plain old fast paced racing that we all have grown to love. Detonator is where you?re split into teams and have to grab the detonator, which is represented as a big green bomb, and take it to a designated spot on the map to score a point for your team. Capture the flag is basically the same game. The only notable difference between the two is in detonator, if someone rams into you or you crash, you blow up and the detonator goes to a new location. In capture the flag, if someone runs into you, they get the flag.
One of the biggest appeals to most is the ability to play on Xbox Live. Although it can be fun at times, it?s not exactly fun for everyone. One of the biggest flaws in Live play is that you can only use the vehicles that you have unlocked in career mode. So if you only have 4 cars unlocked, 9 times out of 10 you?ll be blown away online by people who have all the cars unlocked because the cars get better as you unlock them. Although, this might make some people happy to know there is quite a challenge on Live. And Midnight Club 2 keeps track of all races in scoreboards so many will strive to be number one.
The graphics in Midnight Club 2 are really nice. From the details of the city to the reflections off your car as it zooms by. Although it isn?t the most amazing graphics as far as detail, it?s very far from the worst. The cities and pedestrian models resemble the likes of Grand Theft Auto 3 very much. This should come as a surprise though because Rockstar published and developed both games. The environmental damage in the game is very nice. The details of sparks flying from your car as you grind against a wall to debris from wooden boxes and windows flying through the air as you smash through them. The damage to your car is quite nice as well. Slam into light posts too many times and your front end will be smashed up with fire and smoke pouring out.
The sound effects are decent in the game. Nothing too special about tire screeching, engines roaring, and the sound of two cars smashing together. One thing that I feel was totally unnecessary was the horn. Not only does it serve no useful purpose, it sounds like a horn that hasn?t hit puberty yet. If I had a horn like that in real life, I would NEVER use it in fear of someone beating me up for how horrible it sounds. However, what doesn?t sound bad is the in game music. It?s your run of the mill fast passed techno and hip hop, but it really fits the game. It fits so well, it melds into the background as you blaze down the dark streets at 120 miles per hour. Although I personally like the in game songs, some most likely won?t. Unfortunately, they are out of luck because Midnight Club 2 does not allow custom soundtracks. This is one of the biggest flaws in the game.
Suggestions: Add custom soundtracks!!!!! Custom soundtracks should be mandatory, instead of being an extra treat.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War
The legendary Wolfenstein series has finally made it to the Xbox. Its predecessor, Wolfenstein 3-D, was the first first-person shooter video game ever released. Now Xbox owners can finally play what PC gamers have been playing since it was released in 2001. But Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War isn?t just a port from the PC version. Id Software has totally revamped Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and optimized it especially for the Xbox.Return to Castle Wolfenstein is set during World War 2. The main character is B.J. Blazkowicz, a US Army Ranger fighting with the Allies against the Axis. The object of the game is to try and get to Hitler?s right hand man, Heinrich Himmler, and kill him and everyone else in the way. You are give a variety of weapons to do so, knives, handguns, machine guns, sniper rifles, and the all-mighty Venom chain gun. The guns are quite balanced and realistic. For example, you?ll have to deal with an unsteady scope when using a sniper rifle, as well as it kicking back just like a real gun. Unlike most first-person shooters, the game isn?t just a frag fest. It?s possible to be very stealthy and still get the job done. But if you prefer to run into every room shooting, it?s not a problem. The game is quite flexible in that respect. It all depends on how you play it.
A big draw for the game is the ability to play on Xbox Live. The online play of Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a little awkward at first. For one, when you join a game, you are automatically put into observer mode. In observer mode, you can freely view the game?s action from a birds eye view with the ability to zoom in or out. From there you can join either team, axis or allies, and jump right into the game already in progress. This eliminates the need to wait for the current game to end, like in Ghost Recon. Although, this sometimes leaves you very confused and unsure what to do.
The gameplay on Live is great! On a server hosting the suggested amount of players, everything runs very smoothly. It can sometimes be hard to tell your teammates from the enemy in heated combat because teammates? names only show up when you place your crosshairs over them. One great feature in Live gameplay is when your teammates talk, a speaker icon appears over their head and on the compass so you know who?s talking and where they are. Unfortunately, you?re not given the ability to use all of the weapons available in single player. The game also lacks the ability to play co-op on Live, which is only available offline.
One of the best parts of the Live multiplayer game is the class system. On Live, you have a choice of 4 different classes to play as: Soldier, Medic, Engineer, and Lieutenant. Each class has restrictions to what weapons they can carry, but each also has a special skill none of the others have. Medics can give out health packs, but can only carry one weapon. Engineers can set and defuse dynamite, and can carry more grenades than anyone else. Lieutenants can call air strikes and are the only class equipped with binoculars. Last but not least, soldiers can use any gun, and are the only ones who can carry the flamethrower and the Venom chain gun. The beauty of the class system is the many possible combinations for putting together teams. The balance of the team usually determines the outcome of the match.
The graphics in Return to Castle Wolfenstein are pretty decent. The textures on walls and scenery are very detailed. The character models are nice as well. The only graphics area Return to Castle Wolfenstein lacks in is shadows. The developers should have made the shadows more realistic to match the rest of each level. For example, when your character looks down, the only shadow that is cast is a circle that stays the same size throughout the entire game. The over all animation is pretty fluid during the game, free of choppiness and glitches. The effect surfaces such as metal and sand make when shot with a gun is quite nice. Although, the cut scene animations aren?t the best the Xbox has seen, but they?re far from the worst.
The music in Return to Castle Wolfenstein isn?t the greatest. At random times during the game when enemies are coming up, the music will suddenly change and become louder and more dramatic. Although this succeeds in heightening the action a little, it also sometimes happens when there are only 1 or 2 enemies in a room, when it should be reserved for bigger battles. After playing for a good hour or so, you will get very sick of the monotonous music score. Music scores like the one in this game make me wish that custom soundtracks were a mandatory addition for all Xbox games. But unfortunately for players of this game, they?ll have to either suck it up and deal with it or mute the TV and put a cd on. Though the latter might be better to keep your sanity, it?s not the best for playing the game. Many times throughout the game, you can rely on your ears to figure out where enemies are. Footsteps and full conversations between Nazi soldiers can usually give you clues to where they are located.
Suggestions: Work on the shadows in the game and make them more fluid and realistic. Custom soundtracks and co-op on Xbox Live would be nice too.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
Rocky
"And in the blue corner... RRRRRRRRROOCKYYYYYY BALLLBBBOOOOAAA"
. Fans of the Rocky movie's can finally be a part of the movies and fight as the Italian Stallion in all of his memorable matches. I honestly wasn't expecting this game to be that great before I played it. I've never played a decent boxing game before, and I definitely haven't ever played a tolerable game that was based on a movie. But this game changed my opinion on both of those issues. The intro to the game is a nice clip reel from all 5 movies. I have never seen any of the Rocky movies in their entirety, but after playing this game I want to go out and buy them all.
I was really hoping that this wasn't going to be a button masher like so many other boxing games have been. Luckily, it has a better fighting system then most, but not perfect. There isn't a whole lot of variety of punches, but it's enough to make each fight different. Dodging punches is well done. Holding the L trigger and pressing the direction you want to sway works pretty well when you're getting a beating from your opponent. After each round, they show a chart of number of punches thrown and landed, knockdowns, and points earned in the round. While this is shown, each coach gives their respective boxers pep talks, which become quite old after a while. Matches overall are fun, but some might find them to be repetitive. I played through the first 2/5ths of the game and I didn?t encounter any opponents with a unique fighting style or patterns in their punches.
After each match, you are given the ability to increase your stats by exercising in different ways such as jumping rope, speed bag, sit ups, or punch a slab of meat. Doing these tasks manually requires lots of button mashing and/or good timing and will leave your hands sore before the next match. Luckily, there is the option to auto train for each attribute so you can go into the next fight without having to take a 15 minute break. But choose wisely because you only get 2 training sessions before each match.
There are 4 playable modes in the game: story, sparring, exhibition, and knockout tournament. Story mode is where you play as Rocky and fight all the fights he did in the movies in order. Sparring is a practice mode where you can try out new moves on a stationary or fighting opponent. Exhibition is 1-2 players in a single match, where any boxer you have unlocked in story mode is playable. Knockout Tournament is a tournament mode where up to 16 players can fight for the belt. Knockout isn't accessible to start; you have to unlock it by finishing Story mode.
The graphics no where near show Xbox's capabilities. Although not bad, they could definitely be better. The character models look a lot like the actors they are based on from the movies, but have a sort of cartoony/caricature look to them as well. In story mode, Rocky changes to the way he looked in each movie as you progress, including hair style and truck colors. The arenas you fight in aren't that amazing either, but they do its job. Simple crowd movements and the occasional beer can thrown into the ring is the most you get as far as action outside the ring. Before the last match of every movie in story mode, there is a nicely done cut scene about the upcoming fight.
If you like the Rocky Theme ("Gonna Fly Now" by DeEtta Little), then you're in luck because it's played ad nausaum in the game. Every time Rocky comes out and wins a fight, the song is played. Thankfully, for those like me who get annoyed easily by songs played over and over, it can be easily skipped. There isn?t much music besides that song, other than a few bad midi-quality entrances for other boxers.
Punches sound pretty realistic, as do the boxers' grunts.
Suggestions: Develop a little more sophisticated fighting system, don't play the Rocky theme every 10 seconds, and make some new game play modes.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
