Vilge Duin

We bought the Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 gold edition (the one that comes with Soaked already on the disc) for my girlfriend to tinker around with. She loved the first game to death (probably because it was the only game her computer could play), so I figured why not? She did let me get Rome: Total War afterall. And I have to say, I've put so much time into the damn thing I'm addicted. I've gotten so many new games recently that it's hard to pick what to play at any one time, but RTC is just damn awesome. I don't get why people hate the third one so much. It is vastly superior to the other ones in my opinion, I actually like playing it instead of just doing so for the sake of it. It has so much personality and charm. Wish there was more entertainer types though.

I swear I must be the only person I know of that wasn't amazed with the game. I thought it was a mediocre trip through mundaneland. The graphics were too jagged around the edges but were otherwise nice and serviceable. There's been plenty of games that have immersed me in their world far better. I was interested at first with the trip across the bridge and into the temple but then the game began and was boring. Sure, there's a large and expansive world, but it lacks any personality nor is it anything I'm interested in. The colossi that I went through were pathetically easy. I found myself deliberately screwing up and making them harder for myself just to listen to the wonderful battle music. Which I do have to say was very rousing and quite epic. But there was too little of it and the rest was almost utter silence. And awkward controls did not help its cause. I personally felt God of War's first boss against the Hydra trounced anything from Shadow of Colossus. I do see what others like about it, but meh, at the time I played it it was totally not what I expected nor what I wanted. Maybe down the road I may rent it again.

Just picked the game up yesterday and have gone through a couple skirmishes. So far its exactly what I hoped it be. The battles can be frenzied and the gameplay is pretty fast (which can be adjusted). I've grown sick of strategy games that chug along at a snails pace requiring resource gathering. I was confused how everything worked and wound up sending a platoon of troops across the Tatooine map straight into a rancor. Twas not the wisest. It's pretty damn fun so far with the hour I've spen Just picked the game up yesterday and have gone through a couple skirmishes. So far its exactly what I hoped it be. The battles can be frenzied and the gameplay is pretty fast (which can be adjusted). I've grown sick of strategy games that chug along at a snails pace requiring resource gathering. I was confused how everything worked and wound up sending a platoon of troops across the Tatooine map straight into a rancor. Twas not the wisest. It's pretty damn fun so far with the hour I've spent with it. Have yet to try the campaign, galactic conquest or even touch a space battle but I shall see. Anyone else pick it up or at least try the demo?

After me and my girlfriend picked it up I haven't seen it anywhere. In fact most DS games seem to be in nonexistant quantities, unless you're sporting to find Nintendogs or a bunch of less acclaimed titles. Although the EB we regularly go to is starting to have a better selection. You should contact Zellers about it or maybe call around elsewhere.

I will always prefer the Ben Reilly Spider-man costume when he took over for Peter for that while. I think Peter's kid May in Marvel2 uses it as well. The base design looks decent enough, if it were red and blue. Spidey's costumes have changed pretty frequently the in the past 20-30 years. This is just another one in a long line. It probably won't last, just for the short term when The Other concludes. I avoid Marvel and DC's main universes for things like this, since you don't get what's going on unless you follow. Vertigo's where it's at.

Only if you go into the match and either play as who you want to win, and win. Or play as who you want to lose, and lose. Otherwise, it's completely random.

I don't have any memories of this, but when I was 6 months or so my parents took me to a party at a friend of their's and they had a brand new NES. Well while they grownup people mingled I apparently wandered over to it and started playing around with the controller. They turned the system on and I was apparently enchanted by Super Mario Brothers. Even made it to the second level apparently after two hours of random button pressing. Some time shortly later my father bought one (after they got rid of ROB but before they had to change the light gun colour). And I suppose I've been playing since. It did help that I was quite more advanced than other babies (I could talk and walk well before I should have... much to my parents chagrin). Some of my favourite memories were being a little kid playing games. Even games I could never get the hang of like Castlevania 2, Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior because I couldn't read were still fun. I suppose my interest really exploded when I got a Super NES and Genesis (Megadrive). I favoured the SNES and my all time favourite games were on it. I played the hell out of those machines though. Also helped that I started making more friends interested in games at school and they came over. I don't really know about games anymore though. I go in phases. Around '95/'96 I lost interest with the SNES and Genesis dying out. I got a N64 shortly after it came out but only had Wave Race for the longest time and no quality games were available to rent for quite some time. Got a Playstation when Final Fantasy 7 came out, but it's use was limited beyond RPGs. I can barely remember playing any other games except for the "classics" like Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, etc on off chance rentals. I got a Dreamcast about a week before Sega decided to call it quits (that sucked shit... get a new system and it's pretty much done in out of the box). Aside from the Sonic games and Skies of Arcadia which I owned, I didn't get a chance to play anything else for it. My Playstation 2 got the initial treatment of Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2, Vice City and eventually Kingdom Hearts. I didn't really play it much beyond that. In the last year I had a kind of resurgence in playing it but I've quickly grown bored. I have a handful of games for it that I haven't played and no desire to even touch it. Earlier this year I got a Gamecube with my girlfriend along with a Gameboy Advance. Had a blast with the initial games such as Smash Brothers, Future Perfect and a couple other games but it's boring too. I'm playing through Wind Waker and am bored (not because it's a bad game though), same as I forced myself through Mario Sunshine. And a few other games too... I just look at it sitting there. The Gameboy was more for her on her trips to work since it takes her almost an hour to get there. We got a few games for it but they too are boring to me anymore. We just picked up a DS and I have to say I'm having some fun from it. Only have Mario Kart and Animal Crossing (addictive as fuck) but they're growing tiresome and cash is not that free to come by anymore. Damn bills. The future looks bleak too. I have no interest whatsoever in any way shape or form in either the Xbox or the Xbox 360 (but the Xbox is the only thing my friends swear by). The PS3 looks just as bland as the previous two incarnations and no real info is available on the Revolution. I miss the good old days. When I could try shooting those damn ducks, miss, have a stupid dog laugh at me and have the funnest of times. I still find the old games more fun. I'd rather start up Mario World than touch Mario 64 or Sunshine. Same with anything else. Pacman is still awesome. So my first experiences are also the best I've had. I suppose I lose interest in consoles after I play the initial crop of games, and when my social life picks up. Which is probably why i didn't play many games if any throughout high school. Blah.. I shall stop rambling.

Now that's an interesting screen shot. A full blown rape similator... Yep, that's the best they can do with their minds.

As mattman said, it's not a foot. I went frame by frame and it looks like a cement "crate" dropping. And a destroyed city could imply the phoenix in Jean being unleashed, or ya know a more obvious take... The mutants fighting it out with each other. If they had sentinals in the movie, they'd make a bigger deal of it than a slight one second flash.

If you haven't, I again wholeheartedly recommend Ratchet & Clank. At least the series. Going Commando (the second one) is a good game to ease into with not much difficulty. Up Your Arsenal (the third) is almost straight up action taking away from the platforming roots of the series, and it is also fairly easy. The first is a mixed bag, and not even necessary to understand the whole thing since all the games are connected but not. Kind of like unreleated sequals that share similar one or two plot threads. RPG wise... I haven't found anything in this generation of systems that truly caught my interest. Final Fantasy X was good in some ways but most every other game I couldn't get into. Xenosaga was shit in my opinion and the Suikoden games lost their charm. If you have a Gamecube Paper Mario would fit the bill. Much of the humour is even adult centric. Or if you haven't played it, and aren't ashamed at the thought of Disney, Kingdom Hearts is a way to go to mix two worlds of action and RPG. Good easy fun, with some decidedly difficult side quests if you want. I'm not ashamed to admit it was cool to wander around Pooh's hundred acre woods.

What the fuck does that have to do with Prince of Persia? I'm interested in the game, but still unsure. I played but never did beat the other two. Sands of Time got too puzzle centric for me, and Warrior Within just lambasted you with combat. This is supposed to be a happy marriage between the two, so hopefully it's exactly what I want. Even though the Prince moves fluidly, I've never taken a liking to the controls as they just seem clunky. It'll take awhile to get it though, I have a ridiculous back catolog of games I have gotten but some I haven't even opened from their plastic.

Of recent memory only a few games have gotten me annoyed, which is surprising since I'm normally calm, cool and collected. San Andreas in multiple parts just pissed the ever living hell out of me though. Mainly the flight school stuff. Since it's mandatory and was just a bitch to do right. Trying to do well in the car school was a pain too (the one where you have to go around repeatedly in a little oval... crash and burn or something like that). I got bronze and quit. Day of Reckoning 2 was annoying as well. I barely beefed up my created wrestler and there's some random match during it's season with Big Show. I couldn't pick him up, and I could only do tapping headbutts to hurt him. So a few hundred headbutts and a few dozen shining wizards and he stayed down long enough for me to barely get out. Also in the game, I had a cage match with John Cena. Fucker blind sided me with a clothesline, picks me up and body slams me and then climbs right out of the cage while I didn't even get off the damn mat. No Mercy was a bitch too. Had a season going in that as a tag team of Aki-Man and Aki-Woman.... Gah. Got to a a match with Edge and Christian I have to win and the stupid bitch is useless. Slinking under the ropes and then just standing there watching them pin me. I could do reversals well years ago, but anymore I have no idea. Jak II was plain frustrating. I took over my girlfriend's game when she quit and tried my hand at doing some of the stuff she couldn't and barely pulled any of it off. Got to the last boss and I just left it. I got there, if I tried I'd beat it but seeing the ending didn't hold my interest to deal with more frustrating shit. EDIT:

Thanks Apple Shampoo. Sounds more promising than getting told "your computer sucks loser". And I usually shut every single process down and turn off my antivirus and firewall (since I also unplug my modem for the purpose of no internet connection to worry about, and to give it a reboot). Even Explorer gets shut down.

For the longest time I wanted an upgraded PC and this was among the games I wanted most (seeing as I'll likely never get an Xbox, so PC is the only way to go) but I've been keeping my distance from it for a variety of reasons. Mostly what I hear in various reviews (Gamespot, IGN, etc.) and a fair amount of user reviews from a variety of sources. Loading issues, major bug crashes and freezes and the need for a lot of graphical power to run it. Knowing the plot twist at the end thanks to an idiotic Gamefaqs user kind of makes the story seem meh to me as well. I have a 3.06 ghz Celeron processor with 256 mb of ram and a 128 mb graphics card (although my computer recognizes it as a 256 card so I think the tech guy installed the wrong card on me). Would I have an major issues with running the game? I can run The Sims 2 quite dandy at regular settings (initial loading is a pain though), but it gets bogged down the more stuff is in a house and the number of sims increases. If that info helps at all. I was told by someone if I have those issues with that I should stay clear of KotOR.

Most definately. On the multi-platform point I get every one for the Gamecube since they usually trounce the Playstation (I however can't compare to the Xbox). Smash Brothers is just simply an awesome game to behold. The insanity you can develop in it is astounding. It's decent as a single player game (albeit admitedly can get rather dull just going at the computer) but it's a gem if you have even one other person to play with. Despite people shitting on the graphics, Wind Waker is a great fun game. Perhaps not as hard as other Zelda games but it's filled me need for some light hearted fun and adventure lately. Mario Kart: Double Dash I personally didn't like much but that's always a good aside. My own issues with it aside, Metroid Prime is one of the most atmospheric and enchanting games you can come across. The sheer amount of it is awesome. The moment you look up into the rain and see your visor steam up, it'll grab you. Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, is also slightly in the vain of Zelda providing a light hearted adventure. Everything is quite refined and well put together. Little asides like Luigi's own simultaneous journey can be quite hilarious. Also, if you like them, you can get every single Resident Evil game made, starting with the remake that would likely scare the shit out of you. The Rogue Squadron games are also great fun, although if you can play with another person I'd get the third (since it contains all of Rogue Squadron II as a coop mode). Day of Reckoning 1 or 2 are also decent plays, but as with all wrestling games have their faults. What it comes down to is if you like some of the features (create an entrance, better create a wrestler, interupting moves, unique counter sets, "No Mercy" style play, etc.). Super Mario Sunshine, Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos, Battalion Wars, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Donkey Konga, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, Pikmin 1 & 2 (being far superior) and the Mario Party games are all also exclusive and depending on your tastes may be to your liking. There's a fair bit of other stuff, but eh that's a start. Then you have things like the Sonic Adventures games, Twin Snakes and Skies of Arcadia Legends which are all pretty much ports or reworkings of already established games (mostly Dreamcast games that some people may not have played). The Gamecube is a very good choice for a system to have, especially at that price. You can't really go wrong.

Shadow of the Colossus was... meh. I heard all of the praise and what not for it, and as others figured it would be similar to Zelda. Only slightly in execution. The controls are awkward and not nearly as fluid as they should be. And battles with the colossi can be exciting a bit but I never experienced the awe that others did. Some of such obvious patterns. Replay value is nil almost as well. It's a game with a gimmick. I was more intimidated by the first boss in God of War. Scared the bejesus out of me when I got to the "main" part. Which might I add, is an excellent choice. I've only personally gotten about half way through (still have the other half left) but the combat is satisfying and a fair amount of the puzzles had me scratching my head at first. Kaneanite is right on the simplistic side but eh, the atmosphere and everything just reeks of greatness. Have you thought about looking into the new Prince of Persia game? I'm not sure when it comes out in the UK, but it should be a good choice for that style of game (liberal amounts of combat with good puzzles).

Still A Niche Title: A Review Of X-Men Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse For The Gamecube Introduction ========== X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is the anticipated sequel to one of 2004’s surprise hits. For most of console video gaming’s history super hero titles have not done well outside the realm of fighting games and side-scrollers, but X-Men Legends was a mix of traditional hack-and-slash dungeon crawling, slight RPG elements and an amalgamation of the regular and Ultimate X-Men universes with enough new to make it fresh. This year Raven Software continues on that games success and tries to rectify some of its more glaring faults, but did they pull it off and succeed? Features ======= XMLII is a single or multiplayer (up to 4 simultaneously) hack-and-slash action RPG that allows you to take up arms as an assortment of 15 X-Men and Brotherhood of Evil Mutant members with 3 unlockable characters. There are over a 160 varying mutant powers to unlock and experiment with across the 70 or so areas of the game that are divided up into 5 large acts. The game also includes plenty of collectibles and things to unlock, ranging from alternate costumes to pre-production scetchwork. There is also a New Game + feature for those who wish to play the game over again with their acquired stats and items. Story ===== The story takes up shortly after the events of X-Men Legends and begins with the rescue of Professor Charles Xavier at the hands of both X-Men and Brotherhood members. Apocalypse has risen and begun his assault on human and mutantkind alike in an effort to conquer the world and prove that only the strong shall survive. You must take up arms against his diabolical plans as you battle across the Savage Land, Genosha, Egypt and many other places from the X-Men universe in order to save the earth from his clutches. Graphics ======= Graphics in XMLII are almost unchanged from its predecessor, but Raven Software has improved their use of what they have. Everything is cell-shaded as with the last game, sporting a somewhat dull yet colourful appearance. The opening levels in Genosha are especially wonderful to look at with their multiple paths and dense foliage with decent lighting effects. However as with XML many of the later levels begin to blur together and lack any defining details as they become so large that only so much variety can be present. Dark dungeon after dark dungeon rear their ugly head, much like military installations were the previous game’s forte. Enemies as usual begin to blur together as much as the environments and many are just palette swaps for others. You’ll see the same basic set of 5 or so enemies throughout entire levels, with very little different to tell them apart. They simply provide you with constant fodder to be disposed of. The exception of course comes in the form of the bosses that you will face such as Apocalypse and his Horsemen. Much attention has been given to the bosses giving them personalities of their own. Your own characters are much improved from the previous game, boasting a sharper and more colourful appearance for all. The black lines that were apparent in XML are now less obvious and this makes the characters stand out a bit more amongst the onscreen anarchy. Powers and special attacks often fill the screen with dazzling light and a flurry of flashes. Quite frankly, this can lead to a lot of confusion. If similar sized and looking characters (such as Bishop and Gambit) are onscreen together when absolute chaos breaks loose, you can lose track of who is who very easily. This can lead to several unwanted deaths and plenty of missed attacks. Also when playing with another player, you may confuse who you have control over. For some this may be easy to manage, but it could cause problems for those who have a difficult time managing health, energy and all of the incoming enemies while keeping track of all characters. Also in regards to powers, many are just slight alterations between characters and very few are truly unique. The game’s interface has been changed and fixed up in some places, but it is also a little bit more cumbersome. This is mainly apparent when it comes to the power distribution screen. The previous game had a much better employed system that showed you all levels of a power as well as showing you what it did. In XMLII you have to press and hold Z while on a power to see what it does. This tends to create a more cumbersome time as you’ll have to go back and forth between the power list and a power’s description until you learn what they do. Everything however is easily readable and available within a manner of seconds. On a final graphical note, even though they are not plentiful the CGI sequences are gorgeous. They are fully motion captured and acted excellently with top notch computer animation to give those who enjoy eye candy a treat. They are so good you will likely wish more were included and they make the in-game cutscenes look clumsy and poorly put together by comparison. Music and Sound ============= Music? What music? Oftentimes you will find yourself scouring through large expanses of a level that you’ve cleansed of enemies in search of a missing comic or homing beacon and find yourself met with eerie silence. When the music does kick in, when you are entering into combat, it is generic and typical action material; quickly forgotten after you’ve finished playing. Sounds effects can begin to blur together, and most of it is reused stuff from the previous game. Generic thumps and smacks when using your melee attacks and your typical energy sounds when you use a power. Nothing about the sound is overly impressive and can be rather dull, making some stretches of the game monotonous. On the voice acting front, some of the actors do a competent enough job but the vast majority of the actors seem bored and uninspired, phoning in their performances. Voice acting veterans like Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor, Richard McGonagle, John DiMaggio and especially Patrick Stewart do excellent work which makes the rest of the enormous cast pale in comparison. Some voices (such as Deadpool’s as a glaring example) are not what’s to be expected and in some occurrences is almost cringe worthy. Most notable is the character’s banter during battles. You’ll soon grow to hate “I cannot do that, I am out of power” and similar sayings said by your characters almost any chance they get. The game would have heavily benefited from more quips spoken by the characters. You can only hear Wolverine tell you he’s the best at what he does so many times before you wish his vocal cords were removed. Gameplay ======== Most of the gameplay comprises of taking your chosen X-Men or Brotherhood members (any combination of 4) through large environments, killing every enemy in your path towards you goal (which is often displayed on your mini-map). Attacks are relegated to the A and B buttons with rudimentary combos possible from multiple presses of one or both. Y as before allows your character to jump and allows some characters to teleport a short distance or fly if they have one of those abilities as powers. Healing your health is as simple as tapping Z, but regaining your energy is still cumbersome with the need to press and hold X before you press Z. This can lead to momentarily lapses in concentration and some unwanted damage incurred by your characters. Powers are handled by holding down the R trigger and pressing a corresponding button with a power assigned to it. On that note, Raven Software has expanded the selection of powers greatly. Each character has over a dozen active and passage powers ranging from temporary stat increases, energy attacks, Xtreme attacks to gaining energy from knockouts, flight, increased attack speed, etc. The attacks are often varied and befitting of the character that uses them. However, many seemingly identical powers are shared amongst multiple characters. For instance Rogue, Colossus and Juggernaut all have a similar “power punch” power that does pretty much the exact same thing. Iceman and Sunfire are near carbon copies of each other (with basic differences such as bridge building vs. flying). This is simply a result of trying to take similar powered characters from the comic page and translate them into a video game. Every character gets at least one or two alternative costumes that can give them a bit more visual flair if you don’t like their Ultimate X-Men defaults. Also you can collect sketchbooks and comic books along with a couple other things like stat increases and homing beacons to give those with a desire for exploration some extra fun. None of them are mandatory to be found but do provide a little bit extra for those on the lookout. Level design has vastly improved over the previous outing. Gone are the sterile military installations of old, replaced with lush jungles and Egyptian temples. But as with the last game, many of these different areas begin to look identical after awhile and there’s nothing to really hold your attention once you’re used to it. Some areas (such as a specifically large section of Act 3) can blend together so much you begin to lose track of where you are easily and wonder where you’re going. All of these environments have destructible elements but essentially the exact same things are destructible in them all. Barrels and crates, random walls, but nothing really spectacular can be destroyed unless it’s part of the story. Some walls can be obliterated, but as with before, Raven Software conveniently placed indestructible walls behind others in order to prevent going beyond the game’s limits. It’s an annoying artificial invisible wall that just shows the lack of true destructibility. You’ll be asking yourself “Why can I break through this but not that?” many times. The games difficulty greatly depends on how you wish to play through it. If you take the same 4 characters and decide to plough through everything, then it’ll will be very easy no matter the difficulty setting you choose. If you try to keep everyone levelled up the same, you’ll come across many situations where enemies will far outclass and you may find yourself slaughtered. This is not helped by Raven Software’s asinine new experience system that rewards characters for beating enemies close to their level. An example of how flawed this system is: if you have a character at level 35 and they beat an enemy at level 30, they will get more experience than a character at level 20 who beat the same enemy. The concept of gaining more experience for beating enemies far stronger than yourself, that has been apart of RPG’s since they were created, does not work at all in this game as a result. You’re better off keeping the same 4 characters during an entire playthrough which makes some elements of the game even more repetitive. Many will find the lack of any true Brotherhood members disheartening. Juggernaut, despite being a very welcome addition to the game, is not a mutant while Scarlet Witch’s inclusion as a Brotherhood member over Mystique, Avalanche, Pyro or Blob is suspect. So for those who wanted an equal roster of X-Men and Brotherhood members you are left with Magneto, Toad, Juggernaut and Scarlet Witch. While on the X-Men side only Sunfire and Bishop are new characters with the other’s reprising their roles again. Many fan favourites from the first game like Beast, Emma Frost, Jubilee and Psylocke are either left to cameos or left right out of the game. Also with many clone characters and very little differences it will seem like you have an even smaller roster of characters to choose from. To slightly combat this Raven Software have included “team attributes” that add slight stat boosts or other bonuses to groups of four characters that fit the description. This is a nice addition but many of the bonuses are nearly useless and the results are negligible. But the heart of the game is the combat, and to be honest it can grow tiresome and uninspired. Many late game battles will be simply running into your enemies and unleashing all sorts of havoc on them with the screen filling up with countless lighting effects and texture changes. Four characters plus a handful of enemies plus powers going off every which way every second plus plenty of things being destroyed equals one clustered, confusing and crazy screen. Oftentimes you won’t know what happened, just that you came, you saw and you conquered. This can take a great deal of the enjoyment out of the game, and just make it seem like every other hack-and-slash game out there. The personality of the X-Men universe is all that keeps it from being yet another entry in a growing clone market. The inclusion of dragons, goblins and assorted ‘fantasy’ enemies also takes away a lot of the immersion with the game and there are many times I questioned if I was playing X-Men or Baldur’s Gate. Aside from the combat, there are some simple fetch quest puzzles and simple traps to overcome. Nothing to really interfere or break up the battles, which can make it sometimes seem even more monotonous. The inclusion of some more character specific game elements would have been welcome, but as is the game’s puzzles are solved with having a character with a specific ability (flight, bridge building or might more often than not).and simply pressing a button. On a final note, the game has thankfully done away with the rather boring and overlong “mansion” sections of XML. All players can now move on screen at almost all times, and most of the story elements are even optional. For those who just want to dive in and go through the game you can without being really hassled to follow the story. However for those who want to, you may find yourself watching mission briefings well after you’ve already completed the mission in question. There is absolutely no forcing you back to the hub sections and this can be slightly confusing as to your progress through the game. Also aside from an opening section where you are forced to play with four specific characters, the game is fully playable with all fifteen characters from the get go. Replayability =========== Raven Software listened to criticism and they have addressed the biggest fault with the previous game. This time round a New Game + feature has been added that allows you to take your earned powers, experience levels, money and items and carry them over to a new game. This opens up countless possibilities. From simply playing as extremely strong characters from the start (albeit against enemies that begin at level 50) to trying single character challenges. The New Game + feature does away with having to start a completely brand new game as with XML and allows you to keep on playing. You can also go back to previous levels this time to fight enemies and explore for secrets. Despite the sameness of some of the characters, each is fully realized and useful in their own right. No character is completely useless and no character completely dominates (unlike the previous game). Some that may even seem very similar to others might have some little nuances that make you pick them over another. This variety can allow many combos of characters to be achieved and played through the game as. Play through the game as the Brotherhood your first time through? Well play through as a group of X-men right after. Your choices are pretty vast. On a replayabilty side there is always the human factor. Adding a friend or two can greatly increase the amount of fun and can invigorate life into the game. Other players can come and go with the touch of a button and in seconds you can be battling with friends. The game also comes with danger room challenges and an unlockable skirmish mode to try out various characters and teams against each other. Value ===== The large amount of replayability is countered by the lack of online play. While the X-Box, PS2, PC and PSP (through Wi-Fi) versions have online play the Gamecube was shafted in this regard. Although controls, graphics, sound and everything in general between the versions is almost negligible, the lack of online play may make getting XMLII for another online capable console a better buy. However as a standalone Gamecube game you can find no better if you want some dungeon romping fun by yourself or with friends. Conclusion ========= If you’re a fan of the X-Men and enjoy hack-and-slash action RPGs than this game is for you. The sheer volume of your quest (which can take upwards of 20 hours) and the many inside things for fans make this a highly enjoyable title. For those who are on the lookout for a good game, you may grow tired quickly with the game’s repetitive battles and slightly cumbersome controls. It is a good game, don’t get me wrong, but many of its flaws are still present and are simply a result of being this type. Unless you can see yourself battling identical enemies constantly without much variety than you are simply going to grow tired of the game pretty quick. Also if online matters to you at all, one of the other versions will definitely suit you better (the PC and PSP versions also have additional extra characters) since the Gamecube completely lacks it. What it comes down to is if you enjoy the X-Men and like this style of game, then you’ll definitely enjoy this title. If you’re sitting on the fence and unsure of it you may want to rent it first to see if it’s more to your liking then making a decision.. Overal Breakdown (All out of 10) ========================= Features - 6 Story - 7 Graphics - 6 Music and Sound - 4 Gameplay - 6 Replayability - 7 Value - 6 Overall (Not an Average) - 6 Note: Everything except control specific comments and anything online related, this review also goes towards all other console versions since they are generally identical.

Less For More: A Review of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 for the Playstation 2 Introduction ========== WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 is the seventh game in THQ's long running Smackdown series developed by Yukes that started on the Playstation. The series has had its ups and downs but has almost always been heralded with success shown by its sales numbers. However as has been seen with the last few instalments, the game engine is beginning to show its age after seven ongoing years without any major change. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 is a game best owned by hardcore WWE fans who need a more recent fix, but for everyone else it’s better off to pick up an earlier, and cheaper, version. Features ======= SDsvR '06 has numerous match styles that range from regular one on one bouts to six-way Armageddon Hell-in-a-Cell matches. The number of match styles is almost mind boggling. There are singles, tag with managers, 6-man elimination tag, Royal Rumbles, Fulfill Your Fantasy, Elimination Chamber, Hardcore, Submission, First Blood and a plethora more including variations on those. Almost every style of match you can see on WWE programming is included. This year the game sports much improved voice acting from almost every WWE superstar. It is much better than the previous iteration’s and sounds much like it would straight from a broadcast. However plenty of stars such as Tajiri, Steven Richards, Sylvain Grenier, Rob Conway, Eugene, Snitsky, Scotty 2 Hotty, Ric Flair and Chris Benoit provide no voice talent and are unusable in the game's season mode. Also almost all of the legends provide no voice over work either barring Hulk Hogan (only his most recent version), Steve Austin and Mankind. However this is understandable for those that have passed away (such as Andre, British Bulldog and Junkyard Dog). With that mention of season mode, the game boasts an all new system for the game’s traditional “story” mode which I will mention later in detail. New this year is a sleeper hold system, momentum and stamina system, possum pin, create an entrance, cage door escapes, GM mode and a few other system tweaks. However nothing has been substantially changed from the previous game. Most of what has changed is graphical, general gameplay tweaks that in some cases hurt the game’s overall appeal and a lot of work has seemingly gone to improving last year’s online function. On that note I cannot comment on the game’s online capabilities since I do not have a PS2 able of getting online. THQ has released information themselves though on what you can expect. Every match that uses four or less wrestlers is capable of being played online, as well as being able to trade CAWs (doing away with formulas) and play for created titles. Story ===== Yukes has done away with the past few years’ season mode structure. Now almost every wrestler you can play as (excluding those who provided no voice work) share a variety of storylines. There is about 8 or so different angles that they can partake in, with some being interbrand (the Legend Tour storyline is available to both Smackdown and Raw) and others being available only on a specific brand. A season comprises of four of these storylines pieced together with some directly leading from one to the next, creating a larger overall story. Seasons end though once you complete them and either win or lose a final title match at Wrestlemania. You can generally complete them in a manner of a couple hours of steady play and once completed there is barely any reason to play through again. The voice acting, as stated previously, is very good but you can tell it is pieced together based on which wrestler you choose. There are subtle comments made by some wrestlers but the wrestler specific storylines that THQ promised are almost nonexistent. Unless they are one of the nonplayable members of a storyline, no wrestler has one that is unique for them. Overall the seasons are fun the first or second time through, but once the storylines begin repeating the game shows it has even less replay value in this regard than the Here Comes The Pain and Smackdown vs. Raw which had a forever ongoing and two year season mode respectively. Graphics ======= The graphics this year are perhaps the best ever seen in a wrestling game, and that is no exaggeration. Gone are the ridiculous shine and plastic look of wrestlers in the past, replaced with living breathing grapplers. Almost every wrestler is spot on with their real life counterparts and created wrestlers have never looked more real. The overall presentation of the game is also astounding, playing off of the Smackdown vs. Raw theme very well. The video quality for titantrons is also the best seen yet. Everything just flows seamlessly together, with very little glitching. However, as with most 3D wrestling games there is a fair amount of clipping involved with some moves. Wrestler’s hands, feet, and even their bodies will clip through one another taking away from the overall experience. Music and Sound ============= Sound this year is a mixed bag, which is more so up to personal taste in regards to music. There is no longer any background music that plays during matches, and commentary chatter is almost unchanged from last year. Much of it begins grating over time, especially with no variety. Also some of the comments begin based off of moves being performed at that moment, but are not synched properly. For example, Triple H can go for a Pedigree but Jim Ross will comment about “What a devastating Pedigree” when Triple H has only done the kick set up and the move completes with barely a sound. Music for created wrestlers has also been gutted completely. The original songs that have been part of the series for so long are no longer there. In their place is an even smaller assortment of actual songs than last year. There are 17 or so tracks in total for use, but that number is deceiving. Almost half of them are instrumental versions of other songs that contain lyrics. The in game wrestler’s music sounds great just as usual though, with almost every theme there including a couple people not in the in game roster (such as Vince McMahon, Teddy Long, Eric Bischoff and Tazz). Every wrestler gets unique announcing from either Smackdown’s Tony Chimel or Raw’s Lillian Garcia and they do a competent enough job. They don’t sound totally right, as again you can tell the game is accessing its memory while they announce the wrestler. Instead of announcing a tag team together for example, they are announced separately and the waiting between phrases leaves noticeable gaps. This is especially obvious with created wrestlers. The sound effects, as per usual are top notch. Every grunt, stomp and chair shot sounds spot on. The absence of the Elimination Chamber’s glass chambers shattering sound effect as well as a few others is odd. Gameplay ======== The gameplay comprises of using the X button for strikes, the O button for grapples (5 sets of 5 different moves), square for doing various things, triangle for running, select for regaining stamina, L2 and R2 for reversals, R1 for changing focus and L1 for finishers. All the basic rules of wrestling apply, as dictated by the match style you choose. Now instead of focusing on every aspect of the game, which there is too much to go over and much of which is best experienced first hand, I’ll go over the various things I think the game has that go wrong. - Limited selection of weapons. You have chairs, a sledge hammer and a barbwire bat under the ring. Depending on the match you have tables, ladders and a title belt available ringside with a couple other things in the Backstage brawls match type. Other games like Day of Reckoning 2 have chairs, tables, crutches, brass knucks, garbage cans, kendo sticks etc. Even games from years ago such as No Mercy had variety in what you could beat your opponent with from stop signs to oversized beer cans. The lack of weapon variety makes no DQ, TLC, Hardcore, Table, Ladder, etc. matches blur together. - The roster, albeit outdated already because it is a WWE game (which comes with their ever changing programming) has a few notable missing wrestlers. Guys like Hardcore Holly or Val Venis, who are staples of WWE programming, are no where to be seen while guys like Mark Jindrak, Spike Dudley and Charlie Haas who haven’t been employed by the company for a good portion of the year are still in. I’m all for including guys who have been recently released but at the expense of guys who were in the previous games it is unacceptable. Smackdown 2 had almost everyone you could imagine in it while some people’s favourite wrestlers are still not included. On a similar note, the opening videos are of their most recent updated versions. Wrestlers like Animal, MNM and the Mexicools can be seen but are not available in the game. Odd considering most of them have been champions of some kind and Animal was previously in as a Legend. - The game allows sliders to adjust things such as reversal rate and weapon damage, but at their default settings the game seems unbalanced and slightly broken. You shouldn’t have to adjust the right off the bat so you can have a reasonable chance. This may be no problem for veterans of the series but for those who are new, it will be a steep learning curve even on easy without adjusting them. - Even though it’s minor to some, the saving and loading of the game take ridiculous amounts of time. In a one hour time frame I spent 40 minutes wrestling matches and 20 minutes loading. This was also without using entrances. Other bigger and larger games like Final Fantasy X and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have quicker loading and saving than this game. After so many years, you would believe Yukes would have fixed the system. - GM Mode is almost a joke. Giving it credit where it is due though, THQ did say this year was almost a beta version, but it still is ridiculously bare. When free programs like Extreme Warfare Revenge exist, this looks sophomoric in comparison. You begin by drafting up to 20 superstars for whichever show you pick (they can include unlocked Legends and created wrestlers if you turn them on). You then spend a year going head to head in a ratings war with the other show. The mode is fine and decent if played with a friend, but it is downright cheap and ridiculously hard against the computer. The CPU never has wrestlers gain fatigue, never has injuries and seemingly has an infinite supply of money when it comes to putting on shows (which usually have every variety of main event you can find). If you try to keep up with its relentless onslaught you in turn will have numerous fatigued wrestlers, multiple injuries and a growing hole in your bank account. Also the implementation of things like rivalries and interfering with other shows is pulled off in a hackneyed way. As a big selling point for the game, it fails miserable on its first outing. - The inclusion of WWE Legends is also horrible. This year Hulk Hogan has three versions of his persona included, but Yukes has taken out his unique taunts that were in last year’s game. Why? It is one of the most asinine decisions in any game series I have seen. To include a wrestler three times and yet TAKE OUT his taunts that make him unique is unacceptable. A big issue with the Legends is the controversy surrounding unlocking Jake “The Snake” Roberts. At first he was declared playable for this game and weeks later it was changed to him being a PSP exclusive. That is a bait and switch that should not have occurred. And regardless of the annoyance that comes with it (unless you have a PSP, the PSP version of the game and a USB cord or a cheat device there is no way to get him) you cannot even get him now since the PSP version of the game is not available. If you’re going to force people to do that, fine, but at least make it so they can get him the moment the game ships. Another big qualm is Bret Hart’s movseset. For the second year in a row it is horrendous. That is inexcusable. Never once in his career has he done a jumping round house kick, but it’s a default strike. Junkyard Dog is also announced as “The Legend”. If you cannot get the proper announcing for him, why include him in the game? And on a final note involving Legends, why no Piper or Animal (or Hawk, or anyone from the previous games)? They were in before and those two specifically have been involved in matches and angles over the course of the year (Animal being a champion as previously mentioned). Add wrestlers, don’t subtract. - Counters again are horrible to the point of being sickening. Big Show should never do a backflip over someone who grapples him from behind. Never. Yet he does, at least a few times a match. Yes, there’s a weight detection system but what’s the point if you mock it with super heavyweights doing backflips? The 10 or so canned animations grow tiresome after all, and with other games like Day of Reckoning having multiple reversal SETS (not just reversals) this looks amateurish by comparison. - Why is there no move interruptions? It has been in games such as No Mercy and is a core principle the Day of Reckoning system is touted over, but nothing even close here. I don’t ask for DoR style interrupt everything at a touch, but if a guy has someone in a stalling suplex, I expect him to drop the guy when I kick him in the gut. Also on that point, targeting for kicking someone out of pins or submissions is a pain. If you’re not targeting the wrestler doing the pinning, you won’t kick him out of it even if you are physically kicking him on screen. - The create an entrance feature is horribly implemented. The lack of variety in lighting type and animation selection shows how limited it is. Other games have done it, and done it far better even on the first try. Taking out the original songs also was a blow to the CAW (and now CAE) feature that was unnecessary. Some may not have liked them but those 21 songs had variety and allowed many to create their own unique wrestlers without using the ingame soundtrack or an existing star’s song. - One of the biggest problems is movesets, as I mentioned before with Bret Hart. Some are so inaccurate it is not even funny. And with SDvsR ‘06’s change in how moves are grouped, guys like The Rock and Steve Austin can now no longer be completely accurate. Then there is the case of taking moves out as well as taunts. More time is spent fixing up the wrestler’s movesets than playing the game. And Yukes pride themselves on being wrestling fans, when things like this show what a lie that is. - Not particularly gameplay related, but relevant. The in game roster, season rosters, GM mode rosters and the opening video rosters are all different. In one section of the game someone may be on Raw while they are on Smackdown elsewhere. Even the commentary gets in on the confusion with mentions of Smackdown on Thursday nights, but in GM mode Smackdown is on Friday (a very recent change to the show, but older things like including tag champions is excluded). One example of this is Rob Conway and Rene Dupree listed as the World Tag Champions, when Dupree has been on Smackdown for the longest time and Sylvain Grenier has been Rob Conway’s partner. Also in regards to mixed up commentary, hearing them announce Wrestlemania IX from Minneapolis, Minnesota is laughable. - Women are also barred from any matches involving more than four people. Why? This makes little to no sense and is an unnecessary change. They were able to before but not now. In regards to the women though, the new Fulfill Your Fantasy match is slightly amusing. You can choose from any of three outfits for the women (school girl, French maid and nurse) and you hit each other with pillows, spank each other on a bed and try to remove each other’s clothing in order to fill up a fantasy metre for the win. Amusing, but becomes boring very quickly. - About the new gameplay tweaks and changes. The sleeper system, although adding a sense of “WWE Programming” to the game, is also flawed. On some occasions, you cannot hit X to get out at all and it is unclear which match types you can actually perform it in. Possum pins are an intriguing new addition but are difficult to pull off and in some cases unnecessary (it requires a stored finisher, which could be better used to actually finishing off your opponent). Escaping the cage has been changed to a meter system. Simply hit X at the right spot to climb out progressively. Escaping the cage through the door is done in the same manner after grappling your opponent in that corner (which is sadly always a superplex), The Buried Alive match is just a casket match and its mechanics are quite frankly horrible. It’s a basic tug of war battle button mash to get your opponent in, and then it’s simply tapping a button and seeing if they can counter at the right time. They have also taken out the ability to knock over ladders if one person is on it, as two do. And if you are climbing up second, you may as well kiss the mat since the first one up has the advantage of punching you off. Other little nuances have changed for the worst as well. Such as “Dirty” wrestlers trying to deliberately get DQed if you are dominated a mtch. Nice addition in theory, as it occurs in real life. But the game can't capture WHY a wrestler will nail you with a chair and get disqualified. If Triple H took a chair to Ric Flair over and over, it's to injure him for an upcoming show and send him a "message". Something that has no relevance in the game (but would if they ever implemented it in season mode) aside from being annoying. - The locker room feature is interesting but after slightly messing around there’s not much to do with it aside from change 4 posters/objects on the walls and three “collectibles” (two on your desk and on in front of a TV). There are plenty of unlockables but getting them is as easy as completing one season of both Raw and Smackdown and going through all of the challenges available (which can now be done with two players). - Create a wrestler is more streamlined and is overall better implemented but otherwise nothing has really changed. Clothing items and the such are still as limited as ever and some things still look painted on while others have very little “3Dness” added. Moves as previously stated have been taken out and made worse for wear as well. Not much can really be said for something that is mostly graphically changed. - And on a final note about the new momentum and stamina systems. Stamina is used up every time you run, do a move, counter, etc. At its default setting, it drains extremely fast with most wrestlers. When it reaches the end of your bar you “pass out” by falling over for a few seconds exhausted. Getting it back is a matter of holding select for a couple of seconds. The momentum metre has been seen in games since WCW vs. nWo almost ten years ago. Do the same move over and over and you get punished with your momentum going down. Do a variety and it goes up. Get it maxed and you can do a finisher or store it for later use. Do it at max and it does the most damage, do a stored one at half momentum and it does half damage. A very simple system that’s been implemented elsewhere is not that revolutionary in any way. However it is much better than the constantly increasing “no matter what” bar from the previous games. All in all though, both features are bare bones and don’t affect gameplay that much (in fact the stamina system can be turned off entirely). Replayability =========== ] Replayability comes down to a few deciding factors. Do you have friends? Do you have online? Have you played a Smackdown title before? Each one of those questions will heavily factor into your decision. If you have no online and are stuck playing the computer, than this game will likely grow tiring after awhile. The computer very rarely changes its tactics, and going to higher difficulty levels simply makes it reverse your moves more frequently. Season mode only has so much replayability and after you’ve seen all the storylines the only difference will be what the wrestler you choose says. GM mode in its current state is almost too flawed and limited for multiple playthroughs. With some friends you very well may have quite a few matches, but as is the case with any game in the Smackdown series the fun can run dry if you’re friend is not a WWE fan. Also, having more than 2 players requires a multi-tap. But even though the single player GM mode is flawed, 2 players can have much fun trying to one up the other and build a superior show. I cannot speak personally, but the online functionality is sure to enhance the replay value quite a bit. With a seemingly unlimited slew of other online grapplers to contend with there would be no end to the amount of matchups you could take part in. Especially with the increased number of modes. However as with last year, this year may be plagued by players using cheap tactics to win a match, disconnectors and rampant use of maxed overall CAWs. But the deciding factor is if you’ve played the previous games. If you have, very little has changed. Most of it is cosmetic and not much has been added to the gameplay. Some meters and new bars are in place, but nothing has changed with the core gameplay. So if you’re already tiring of the same old gameplay nothing has been added or changed to likely excite your interest again. If this is your first Smackdown game, than you very well may be in for a treat. A 7 year running series must be doing something right, and this could be the wrestling game you’re looking for. If you’ve never played one than by all means try it out and see if you like it, but I recommend you stick with a more cost effective and almost identical experience with the previous one or two titles. Value ===== For the price tag of a brand new game, it isn’t worth it. Very little has changed with the game aside from the superficial. It may have tonnes of features, but many are still implemented poorly. Yukes has never been able to pull off brand new things right out of the gate and it shows. With the availability of Smackdown vs. Raw as a greatest hits title and even Here Comes The Pain for less, the $60 price tag is too much to ask for something not very changed nor improved. Conclusion ========= Suffice it to say, what it comes down to is you are paying more for less with this game. With all the negative that the game has going for it, some of which is inexcusable (such as taking out moves), it is simply no more than a rental at most. If you are new to the Smackdown series I highly recommend you try out one of the previous games as they are very similar for far less money. If you’re a rabid WWE fan who doesn’t care much for any difference in gameplay and you only want an updated (and in some ways a downgraded) roster than by all means go out and buy the game. Nothing will likely persuade you otherwise anyway. But for those that are weary of this new Smackdown title or are new to the series, you are simply getting less for more money. Do yourself a favour and rent it first if you want to try it out or just buy the previous instalment for half the price. Overal Breakdown (All out of 10) ========================= Features - 7 Story - 5 Graphics - 9 Music and Sound - 8 Gameplay - 6 Replayability - 5 (Cannot judge online) Value - 4 Overall (Not an Average) - 6 EDIT: I wrote this up for something else and felt like posting it here. The thread's a very good idea and has died off in the past week or two... maybe this will help jump start it again since Benji's little revolution.

Sorry if I quoted this wrong... didn't want big quote boxes...

I don't mind long songs, some are very good in fact. I can't really stand short songs (a la System of a Down, Linkin Park, etc.). One of my favourite songs is off the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack, 'Dancing Mad' and it's 12 minutes long. It has a base core melody but it changes into varying styles throughoutl. Plus it has one of the most badass guitar solos near the end. I prefer the version done by The Black Mages.